This got kind of teary, and I'm not sure how! I hope you enjoy it anyway! Chronologically, this fits in somewhere after Tiffani and Alex move to NY, which is only a couple of stories away from the last story posted, but before Tim and Matt adopt the twins. Matt's very angsty about the adoption process.


When Matt disappeared from Tiffani's, Tim knew exactly where to find him. It had been a long day for everyone, but Matt had struggled with spending time with Alex and her friends at her birthday party. They were good kids, but they hadn't met Matt before, so he'd gotten a lot of stares and awkward behavior from the girls.

There was a spot in Central Park that Matt had shown Tim once. He'd said it was his favorite place in the world, and Tim believed him wholeheartedly. He made his way confidently down a path toward the Ravine and its waterfalls.

With a small smile, he found Matt sitting on a rock near one of the waterfalls. His crutches were propped next to him, and he was looking out toward the water with a distant gaze.

"Hey," Tim said softly. "May I sit?"

Matt nodded but didn't look away from the falls.

"Want to talk?"

"Not really."

"Then, I'll talk. I'm sorry that I didn't talk to the girls before the party. They're young, and they needed some guidance so that they could understand."

"It wasn't the girls."

"No?"

"Okay, it wasn't all the girls." Matt sighed and leaned against Tim's side. "I hate waiting. I've always hated it, but it's even harder when we have no idea when or if we'll ever be able to adopt kids of our own."

He held up a hand when Tim took a breath and opened his mouth to speak.

"I love Alex," Matt said, "but she and I will never have the kind of relationship that you have with her. We'll have our own friendship, for sure, but I want to have what you have with someone too."

"You will. I promise you, Matty. I'm not sure when, but we'll have kids of our own. And they're going to be the best, brightest, sweetest kids. And you're going to be an amazing dad."

A tear trickled down Matt's cheek, and Tim wiped it away with his thumb. Putting his arm around Matt's shoulders, Tim pulled him close and held him tight.