Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ryan hated their demon episodes and Shane knew it well—his fear this time, though, seemed elevated, for a reason Shane couldn’t quite pinpoint. Even as Ryan explained the strange tales of the house—the standard children’s laughter and cries, lights flickering, writing appearing on the fogged windows, etc—there didn’t appear to be anything spookier than normal. He wasn’t about to contradict his boyfriend, though, especially since this was their first demon episode since starting to date, so he selfishly wanted to protect Ryan against the “demons” (wind, cough cough). He was going to act less critical this time around. 

“There have even been sightings of a little girl during tours of the house—”

“Wow, a little girl during a tour? You don't think it could be, I don't know, a tourist?”

Okay, he was still going to poke a little fun, so sue him. Ryan loved it. Loved him. He smiled at the thought; it still blew his mind every time he remembered it. Ryan Bergara was in love with him. With Shane Madej! The power couple no one expected! (Aside from their families, co-workers, friends, and the entire internet. Shut up.)

It had all happened a year ago now—after their last demon episode, in fact. Ryan had been so terrified—so terrified—that he hadn't been able to sleep, even in their nice, perfectly safe, not-ramshackled-in-the-slightest hotel room. He kept pacing and hyperventilating and Shane finally got tired of it. He pulled the smaller man into his bed with him, forcing him to lay down, to sleep. Ryan, however, got a different idea and kissed him fiercely. Needless to say, not much sleeping was done that night. 

The next morning, they confessed their true feelings to each other—entailing the word love thrown around quite a bit—and from there, it was history. Six months later, they let the audience in on their relationship—mainly due to BuzzFeed's persistence of views and also their own want to be public. Another few months, and Ryan had moved into Shane's apartment full time. Now, they were back to another demon episode and Shane couldn't help but feel as though something else significant was going to happen tonight. He didn't tell Ryan, because as much as he loved the man, he would just spout some bullshit about psychic visions or ghouls, and Shane didn't want to deal with that. 

“And now, it's time to start our investigation.”

He rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Finally!”

Ryan rolled his eyes fondly, patting his boyfriend's cheek. “Let's do this, big guy.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Ryan slammed his flashlight against his palm fervently, eyes darting around the now pitch-black room. 

“It's—it's just the batteries, Ry Guy,” Shane wheezed, steadying himself on his boyfriend's shoulder, earning a glare that he could barely see in the darkness. “No ghosties here.”

Ryan said nothing, pulling out the thing Shane dreaded most: the spirit box. He groaned when Ryan turned it on, the awful radio static drowning out his protests. He covered his ears dramatically, already frustrated with the device. 

“Are there any spirits here with us?” Ryan called, glancing around the room as his eyes adjusted. 

No answer. Shane wasn't complaining. 

“Any—” Ryan paused to swallow nervously. “Any demons?”

“My mama said I was a demon.”

Ryan screamed—actually screamed—so shrilly that Shane needed to balance himself against the wall. He squinted around the dark room. That was definitely a voice, and definitely not from the spirit box. It was too clear and too... young. 

“You're loud!”

Shane crouched down, staring into the eyes of a little girl, poking her head out from under the bed. He inched closer to her and she scuttled backwards. 

“Hey, hey, it's okay. You can come out,” he said gently. “I know we're loud, but we're nice, I promise.”

“What the fuck, Shane! Don't talk to a demon!”

“Ryan!” Shane hissed, looking up—for once—at his boyfriend. “She's not a demon. She's a little kid! A scared, probably lost, little kid!” He turned back to the bed, sitting cross-legged in front of it. “Hey, can you come out?”

The girl hesitated, but nodded, slowly crawling from her hiding place. Shane couldn't see her too well, but she seemed to be dirty and thin. 

“What's your name?” he asked, smiling and leaning forward with interest. 

“I'm Summer,” she said. “What are your names?”

“Well, I'm Shane and that scaredy-cat over there is Ryan,” he replied, carefully scooting a bit closer. “How old are you, Summer?”

“Almost three. My birthday's in October.”

“Wow! Almost three!” Shane gasped with childlike enthusiasm, eliciting a giggle from the young girl. “You're a big girl! But why are you here? Where's your mommy?”

“She left me here,” Summer said, picking at a thread on her shirt. It was so matter-of-fact, so nonchalant, that Ryan and Shane both had to cover their mouths to keep their horror from the child. “She said I'm the spawn of Satan and that I'm a demon and that she was going to leave me here with Lucy Fur and his minions, but that's silly because Lucy is a girl's name and there aren't any minions here!”

“What the fuck,” Ryan whispered, sharing an aghast look with his co-host. “What the fuck.”

It was horrifying enough to hear that any child's mother would leave them in a supposedly demon-infested house, much less to hear that the child was accused of supernatural origins, but to hear it all straight from this toddler's mouth, in her childish lisp and matter-of-fact tone—it was devastating. 

“When did your mama put you here?” Ryan asked, finally crouching next to Shane to talk to the girl. 

“I dunno. It happened after she put Elle Esdee under her tongue,” Summer said with a shrug. 

“LSD?”

“Yeah,” Summer affirmed, seeming to not notice the men's horrified expressions in the darkness. “She talked about bugs and someone named Charlie and then me being a demon, so she left me here.”

“Guys? You done yet?”

Both Ryan and Shane jumped at TJ's voice. They had completely forgotten they were in here to investigate solo. Summer definitely threw a wrench in things. 

“Hey, Summer? Ryan and I are gonna take you outside with some of our friends. So—so that way we can talk in the light, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Teej?” Shane called, looking up when the man in question appeared in the doorway and subsequently gasped in shock. “We might need to cut this episode here.”

The sun had long since gone down, though the streetlights still provided ample light for the crew to see Summer. She was small—so small—and had a thin mess of black hair atop her hair, tangled and flying every which way, covering her big brown eyes. She had definitely been in that house for a while—she had no clue how long, though it wasn't hard to tell based on the dirt caked on her body and malnourishment that was evident. They immediately took her to the hospital and doctors all agreed that it was a miracle she was still alive. 

Ryan felt it was more of a miracle she was so fine. She had a full conversation with himself, Shane, and the crew, she walked perfectly for her age, she was properly developed mentally, and seemed generally chipper—she was scared around needles and doctors, but that was normal for a child of her age. If he hadn't known she had been found on the brink of death in a demon house, he wouldn't have suspected anything to be wrong with her. 

She didn't know her surname, her mother's name, or where to find her, however. The police couldn't seem to have any druggie mothers to a daughter named Summer in their system, though they wouldn't give up. Where she would stay was going to be a complication, though. 

“Since we don't have any of her records and can't find any relations as of now, entering her into the foster care system will be problematic,” the social worker explained. “However...” She smiled at Shane and Ryan hesitantly. “She seems to have bonded with you two. We could make an exception, at least for the time being.”

“You mean...?” Ryan trailed off, eyes widening. 

She began to stammer, back-pedalling immediately. “I'm sorry, I should never assume—”

“No, no! It's okay,” Shane said quickly. “You aren't wrong; Ryan and I are together. We just—we didn't expect this.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, laughing slightly. “Oh, yes. Well, feel free to decline. We can make it work. I just wanted to make sure you knew the option was available.”

The men glanced at each other, then at Summer, who was sleeping in her hospital bed. It was heartbreaking, seeing her frail figure laying there, IV in her hand and hospital gown dwarfing her body. Though they had barely known her for a day, one look at the child and they both knew they would protect her with their lives. 

“Can we wait and ask her?”

“Of course!” She stood, backing out of the room to give them privacy. “I've left my card with the nurse. Call me when you've made your decision.”

“Thank you,” Shane said, nodding to her politely. As soon as she was gone, he slumped forward in his seat, holding his head in his hands. “What do we do?”

“I don't know,” Ryan sighed, leaning over to rest his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. “I want it to be easy. I want to say, 'yeah, let's adopt her and live as a family happily ever after!' But...” He smiled sadly. “This sort of thing is never easy, even under normal circumstances, is it?”

Shane nodded. After a few minutes of silence, he posited, “It's only a temporary thing. We're not adopting her; we can't. It takes weeks of classes and hundreds of dollars to even become eligible to foster a child. This is more like... babysitting. But, just—for an unforeseen amount of time.”

“So you're saying we should say yes?” 

“I—I don't know. I guess so?” Shane looked away sheepishly. “I guess I'm just worried that she'll get hurt more than she already is by being tossed around from foster home to foster home. And who knows what her mom will do if she finds her.”

“I know, baby. I know. I'm worried too.” Ryan rubbed Shane's back soothingly. “She reminds me of a couple of my baby cousins. It hurts to see her like this.” 

He contemplated the idea; Summer seemed like a delightful little girl and it would be reassuring to know she was out of harm's way. On one hand, they would need to buy all of the toddler essentials, learn how to care for a two-and-a-half-year-old girl basically overnight, and drastically change their lives in order to fit Summer into it. At the same time, he would rather nothing else. 

“All right,” he said, grinning as he saw Shane perk up. “All right. Let's do it. If Summer wants us to,” he tacked on as an afterthought. 

Shane kissed him. “I know you know this, but I love you so much.”

Ryan's grin widened. “Love you too, big guy.”

Summer woke up a few hours later, in the early hours of the morning. She smiled at them when she saw they were still in the hospital room, waiting for her. 

“You didn't leave!” she exclaimed, and the Ghoul Boys hid their anguish at the implication she expected people in her life to leave her. 

“Of course, we didn't,” Shane said, moving over to kneel next to the girl's bed. “We actually have something to ask you.”

“What is it?” she asked, tilting her head quizzically. Ryan almost cooed at the adorableness. 

“We were wondering if you wanted to stay with us for a little while,” Shane said, “just until they find your mommy.”

“Okay!”

“Okay?” Ryan asked, unsure of whether the girl was just used to complying or if she truly wanted to live with them. 

“Sounds good,” she reiterated, poking Shane's shoulder. “Let's go now. I don't like this place.”

“Slow down there, Summer,” Shane said with a laugh as the girl tried to escape from her IV. “We need to wait for the okay from the doctors.”

She slumped back, sighing dramatically. “Fiiine. But I wanna go home with you.” Her eyes suddenly widened and she sat up straight again worriedly. “Not back to the demon home, right?”

Both men laughed, Shane nearly falling over with how his giggles shook him. “No, no,” he said, wiping tears from his eyes with a gigantic grin, “definitely not the demon home. Back to our normal, not-haunted apartment.”

“Good! The demon home was scary!”

“Don't worry, you'll never go back there again,” Ryan promised, coming around to her other side and squeezing her non-IV hand. “We'll make sure of it.”

Summer was due to stay in the hospital for another two weeks or so while the doctors ran some tests and made sure she was healthy before being sent home. Though the girl was frustrated at this, the men were relieved—they needed to prepare for their new houseguest. They took it in shifts, one at the hospital with her so she was never lonely, the other going shopping for clothes, furniture, food, and toys. They occasionally roped their friends into helping them as well. 

“Hello!!”

Ryan grinned as Steven Lim and Andrew Ilnyckyj burst through the hospital door—well, Steven did all the bursting, as Andrew trailed behind him. He had asked them to come by so that Summer could socialize a bit more—okay, also so they could bring him some not-hospital food. Sue him. 

“Summer, these are some of my and Shane's friends, Steven and Andrew. Guys, this is Summer,” Ryan introduced, gratefully taking the fast food Steven had gifted him. 

“Hiya, Summer,” Andrew said, smiling at the young girl, motioning for a high-five, which she delivered. “We brought you something.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow, watching Andrew hand the child a wrapped present. She tore through it excitedly, gasping when she saw the contents. There were several picture books inside; Ryan laughed when the first was about food. 

“Some of our younger cousins have grown out of their kiddie books, so we asked if we could donate them to a good cause,” Andrew explained, when Ryan gave him an astonished look. 

“Yeah! Plus, a couple we bought that we remember from our own childhoods,” Steven added, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist. “We thought it was the least we could do to help you guys out.”

“Thank you,” Ryan said, standing up to hug them both. “Seriously. I—when we told the office, we didn't expect anything. It's only a temporary thing, after all.”

Andrew shrugged. “Still. Need to keep the kid entertained.” He gestured over to the girl, who was already enthralled by a book called Knuffle Bunny. (She couldn't yet read, but she enjoyed the pictures.) “Figured you wouldn't want her bingeing YouTube just yet.”

Ryan stifled a laugh. Gesturing to the other two men to sit down as he dug into his food, he asked, “How's everything going at the Feed?”

The men exchanged enthusiastic glances, and Steven flashed up his left hand giddily. Ryan nearly choked on his fries when the ring glinted in the sunlight streaming through the window. 

“No way!”

“Yes way!” Steven practically squealed, crushing his boyfriend—sorry, fiancé—in a hug. “He asked me during our last location for the season finale. It was so romantic!”

“I mean, considering we were drinking smoothies, I don't know about that—”

“They were expensive smoothies—!”

“Still,” Andrew said with a laugh, kissing Steven firmly on the cheek. “I guess it doesn't matter. You said yes.”

Steven nodded, gazing into his fiancé's eyes fondly. “I did.”

“Okay, calm down, lovebirds,” Ryan said, miming a vomit. “I get it, congratulations.”

“As if you and Shane haven't been a cringey couple in public before!”

“That's—that's not relevant—”

“Guys,” Andrew interrupted, pointing to Summer, who was staring at them blankly. 

“Sorry, Summer,” Steven said, ruffling her hair playfully. She giggled and he added, “Do you want me to read that book to you?”

Her eyes lit up. “Yes, please!”

Steven smiled, scooching onto the bed next to her. “All right.” He cleared his throat and began to read. “Not so long ago, before she could even speak words, Trixie went on an errand with her daddy...”

Andrew and Ryan watched fondly; Andrew's eyes trained on his fiancé while Ryan's heart melted at the sight of Summer nestled into Steven's side, full of elation at the story being told. Ryan couldn't wait to read more books with her. 

Many more of their friends came to visit after that, nearly all of them bearing gifts. Sara, being the creative being she was, had brought a set of pencil crayons and a colouring book; Keith and Becky came with an American Girl doll that looked vaguely like Summer; Ned, Ariel, and Wes brought a plush triceratops (naturally) and the offer to have playdates; Zach and Maggie gave her a sticker book filled with cute animals; Eugene (who was thrilled to find out the little girl was Asian) and Matt gave her a Mulan doll and a children's book about women empowerment. Needless to say, Shane and Ryan were overwhelmed with love and support and only cried a little bit. 

Ryan had just left the hospital to grab them some food and Kelsey Impicciche flounced into the room. Shane grinned up at her as she squealed at Summer's adorableness. She and the Ghoul Boys had remained close friends since their Sims episodes they did and she was absolutely ecstatic to find out they were temporary parents. 

“You must be Summer!” she exclaimed, bending towards the bed enthusiastically. “I'm Kelsey!”

“Hi, Kelsey!” Summer said, matching the woman's excitement. “I like your dress!”

Kelsey gasped happily, looking down at her appearance. “Thank you, Summer!” she said, obviously flattered. “I love your dolly.”

Summer beamed as she held out her American Girl to the blonde. “I named her Spring because she's like me but she's not me so she's Spring instead of Summer.”

“Aw, that's so smart!”

“Yeah, she's a smartie, isn't she?” Shane agreed, grinning down at the girl next to him. He was sitting on her bed, with her tucked into his side; she had been drowsy before Kelsey had arrived, but Shane understood the woman's energy was infectious. “How are you doing, Kelsey?”

“I'm doing well, thanks, Shane! I just saw Ryan as he was heading out, so we chatted a bit. Still working hard on the 100 Baby Challenge,” she laughed, sitting on the chair next to the hospital bed. “Oh, speaking of!” Her face lit up as she put a bright gift bag on the bed, sing-songing, “I brought a gift!”

Summer clapped her hands together, pulling out the tissue paper obscuring her prize. It ended up being some very cute Disney hair bows, a few sets of clothes that were around her size, and a baby doll, looking very similar to a Sims baby. Shane chuckled as Summer clutched the doll to her chest, profusely thanking Kelsey. He and Ryan had talked with her about how we never expected presents, even though it may seem like a pattern, and how we always thank people for the gift, even if we don't love it. Summer had caught on quickly, not throwing a fit or even mentioning it when Jen visited and didn't bring anything for the girl. It was shocking to him that she was so well-behaved for a child brought up in such terrible conditions. 

“What is their name going to be?” Kelsey asked, bringing Shane back to the moment at hand. 

Summer scrutinized her newest toy and declared, “Kenzie! It's like Kelsey but not.”

Kelsey covered her mouth, making a noise of pleasant surprise. “Awww, Summer! That is so sweet!” She leaned forward in her chair hesitantly. “Can I give you a hug?”

“Yes, please!”

Kelsey embraced the girl tightly, grinning from ear to ear. Shane felt his face heat up—the sheer volume of love he already had for this little girl was tenfold what he ever would have thought. Seeing all of his friends react to her made his heart swell with pride and her enormous love for people was frankly incredible. He was going to be in trouble when the time came to let her go. 

“Can you read to me, Kelsey?” Summer asked, rifling through her stack of books and landing The Gruffalo. 

“Of course, I can!” Kelsey scooted her chair closer to the bed, precariously balancing the book between herself and Summer so they could both see. She cleared her throat and began to read. “A mouse took a stroll through the deep, dark wood...”

“I haven't told my parents yet,” Ryan said suddenly, one day when they were working on editing work as Summer slept. 

“You haven't?” Shane had let his family know as soon as he and his boyfriend had decided to take the girl in. They couldn't make the trip from Chicago at this time, but promised to visit as soon as they could. “They won't be weird about it, I'm sure.”

“I know, I just... I kind of got caught up in it all and forgot and now it's been so long—!”

“Whoa, Ry—” Shane grabbed his lover's shoulders, smiling comfortingly at him. “It's going to be fine. Just call them.”

Ryan nodded slowly, as if he didn't believe it. “Yeah, you're right. Yeah.” Whether he believed his boyfriend or not, he still took out his phone and stood up, dialing his parents' number. On the second ring, his mother picked up. “Hey, Mom. Listen, so...”

Shane went back to his editing, to be respectful of Ryan's conversation. He did keep an eye on his boyfriend's body language though, just in case he needed support. The shorter man was pacing slightly, but that was normal for him. Eyes flitting back to his screen, he chewed on his lip as he contemplated two different thumbnails. 

“Shane?” Shane pulled off his headphones, looking over at the shorter man. Ryan was holding out his phone. “My mom wants to talk to both of us. She's on speaker.”

“Oh, hi, Mrs. Bergara!” Shane said, putting his laptop aside. 

“Please, Shane—call me Linda,” Ryan's mom said with a laugh. “Now, tell me about Summer!”

“Ah, yes. The season with 93 days and a generally hotter temperature!” Ryan slapped his boyfriend upside the head and Shane laughed. “Okay, okay—sorry, Ry.”

“Ryan, you picked a funny one,” Linda chuckled. 

“I guess so,” Ryan said, rolling his eyes fondly. 

“In all seriousness, Summer is a two-year-old angel,” Shane said, smiling over at the child's slumbering figure. “She is honestly so well-behaved and respectful, it's insane.”

“Ryan said you found her in a haunted house?”

“Allegedly haunted—”

“Yeah,” Ryan interrupted, glaring at Shane, who merely snickered. “She had been just abandoned there.”

“Oh, poor thing!” Linda cried. “She's so lucky you two came by!”

“Who knows what could've happened to her if we hadn't rented the place out to investigate,” Shane said wistfully. “She told us she would hide from the tour groups due to fear, but because we were a much smaller band of people, she decided to reveal herself.” He shared a worried look with Ryan. “Imagine if she had just stayed hidden?”

“And she doesn't even know how long she was there before we found her,” Ryan murmured. “She could've been there for days.”

They were silent for a moment, until Linda piped up again. “So? When do Dad and I get to meet her?”

“I don't know, Mom,” Ryan said. “We don't know how long she'll be staying with us. We don't even know when she'll be out of the hospital.”

“Oh, well, we'll just have to stop by, then!”

“Mom, I—” Ryan paused, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I just don't want you thinking she's your granddaughter or anything.”

“Oh.”

Shane pulled his lover into a tight embrace; it was hard seeing him on the brink of tears, listening to his mother's stunned silence. It was difficult, putting so much love and care into this girl that they knew would be leaving them one day. He was sure this was how foster parents felt. Except they knew there was no way they could ever be Summer's parents, since they didn't even begin to qualify. They had already become so attached to her in the few weeks they had known her—even thinking about saying goodbye was excruciating. 

“Mom, we're gonna go,” Ryan said quietly, wiping his eyes. “I promise you can meet her eventually, but... I'll talk to you later.”

“All right, sweetheart. Take care, you two.”

“Bye, Linda.”

“Bye, Mom.”

Ryan hung up and returned to his spot in Shane's arms. That is how they remained until Summer woke up so they could distract themselves with her. 

Finally, Summer was good to head home. Their apartment had a room ready for her, they were almost needed back at work, and Summer was going stir crazy. She could barely sit still as the doctor removed the IV from her hand. They helped her change into a new set of clothes that Kelsey had given them and walked hand-in-hand out of the hospital. 

Upon their arrival home, Summer was vibrating in her car seat from excitement. She practically flew out of the car, running alongside Shane and Ryan as they lead her up to where they lived. Her grin was wider than they had yet seen it as they entered their apartment. 

“Wow!” she gasped as they showed her the room they had readied for her. 

It was filled with gifts from their friends and family—including a rather large dollhouse courtesy of BuzzFeed—all either scattered across the floor, sitting on the decent-sized bookshelf, or in the wicker toy box. Her small bed had a pink duvet and matching pillows. There was a flower-shaped rug on the hardwood floor and floral curtains hung over the window. The walls were still the pale blue that they had been before, though they were now decorated with several picture frames and letters spelling out her name. There was a dresser filled with her new clothes and a tiny rack for her shoes as well. Finally, a tiny ghost-shaped nightlight in the outlet—something Ryan had seen at the store and decided was necessary. 

Before either of the men could say anything, Summer had wrapped her arms around both of their legs, squeezing them in an emotional embrace. 

“Thank you!” she wailed. “Thank you!”

“You're welcome, sweetie,” Shane said, carefully bending down to return the hug. He rubbed her back gently. “We're so glad you're finally here.”

“Yeah,” Ryan agreed, also crouching the the girl's level. He ruffled her hair, kissing her forehead hesitantly. “Welcome to your temporary home, Summer.”

Chapter Text

They needed to go back to work eventually and, as much as they'd like to, they couldn't bring Summer into the office all the time. Hence, hiring Rose the Nanny—she was a sweet woman who had recently moved from England and adored kids. Soft-spoken, creative, and intelligent, Rose fit the bill for the type of nanny they were looking for exactly. She arrived at their apartment every day before they needed to leave for work and would stick around to help a bit after they returned. Not to mention, Summer had taken a particular liking to her. 

“This is Daisy,” she said, waving a Barbie in Ryan's face. “She's like Rose but not!”

They were disappointed to see less of the little girl, but glad she enjoyed the company of the nanny. Every evening and weekend, they made sure to spend all of their time with Summer, to keep certain she knew how much they loved her—that they weren't abandoning her with another woman, as her mother had abandoned her to the demon house. This became their routine and they all enjoyed it. 

The first day Rose called in sick, Ryan freaked out. 

“What do we do?” he asked, pacing their bedroom with his hands on his head. “We need to leave for work in an hour! It's way too late to get a replacement!”

“Well, we take her to work with us, obviously,” Shane said, shrugging. 

“But—”

“She knows most of our co-workers already, she's well-behaved, we're not filming today—why not bring her along?”

Shane raised a good point and they both knew it. 

“All right. I'll email the bosses,” Ryan conceded, turning to his phone. Shane kissed him on the cheek. 

“Wow!”

Summer was in awe of the smallest things; it was an innocence very few had and made the men's hearts grow ever fonder. She was gazing up at the lit-up BuzzFeed logo on the wall. 

“It's so pretty!” she exclaimed, pointing at it and looking at Ryan and Shane excitedly. “Look, look!” 

“We see it, Summer,” Shane chuckled. 

“Look!” 

She was already onto something else and the men laughed. They managed to usher her over to the area they worked, which happened to be near Steven, Andrew, Kelsey, and Sara, who immediately began fawning over Summer. 

“Hi!” Summer beamed up at them. “I remember you! You're Steven and Kelsey and Andrew and Sara!”

“That's right! How have you been, Summer?” Kelsey asked, her grin almost matching the little girl's. 

“Good! I have a really cool room and Shane and Ryan let me watch TV and I really like Blues Clues and Max and Ruby and The Backyardigans!”

“Oh, wow! Those are fun shows,” Kelsey gasped. “Do you want to tell me about them?”

As Summer went into a childish spiel about her new favourite shows and the ghoul boys snuck away to get some work done, knowing Summer was safe and only a few desks away.

The morning flew by without any problems—Summer never complained and when she wasn't preoccupied by people, she would quietly play with her dolls or draw a picture. She drew a picture of Kelsey (really, a yellow circle with a face and sticks in place of limbs) and a picture of Steven and Andrew (similar, but their stick arms were touching, or holding hands, as Summer insisted). The three were so flattered and made a show of displaying the art on their desks for all to see. Summer beamed and then immediately got to work on drawing Sara. 

Then, after a break for lunch, there was an instance when she needed to go to the bathroom and they learned more of her tragic backstory. Ryan had glanced over to see the girl looking uncomfortable and squeezing her legs together as she fidgeted on the floor. He paused the video he had been editing and crouched next to her. 

“Hey, you okay, Summer?” he asked, smiling. 

She nodded her head rapidly with a wavering smile. “Yes!”

“Are you sure? It looks like you might need to go to the potty,” Ryan said and grinned when her expression changed, knowing he had hit the nail on the head. He gasped when she started to cry. “Oh, Summer, honey, what's wrong?”

“I'm sorry!” she wept, rubbing her eyes harshly. “I didn't mean to!”

Ryan glanced at his boyfriend, who had turned to look over at Summer's cry, helplessly. He didn't know what he had done to trigger the girl's waterworks, but he felt awful either way. Shane stood and gently scooped the tiny body up into his arms, leading Ryan into an empty break room. He set Summer down on one of the sofas, kneeling in front of her. 

“Summer, what's wrong? You're not in trouble, I promise, we just don't know what upset you.”

“I—I need to go potty,” she wailed, tears refusing to let up. Shane exchanged confused glances with Ryan. 

“That's okay, Summer. We're glad you told us,” he said cautiously. 

“But—but my mommy would get mad if I needed to go potty,” she said, sniffling. 

“Why?” Ryan asked incredulously. The woman couldn't seriously expect a child to never go to the bathroom, could she?

“She said that I could only go when she says I can,” Summer explained, looking down at her hands. “Otherwise, I'd get a punishment.”

“Oh, Summer... It doesn't work like that with us,” Shane said gently, rubbing the girl's back. “If you need to go, just tell us or one of our friends and we'll take you. There's nothing bad about it. Everyone needs to go potty.”

The girl nodded shakily. 

Ryan was hit by the sudden realization that the child had barely gone to the bathroom at all during her time with them unless they specifically asked her to—at the hospital, they had put her in diapers so they could keep her in bed longer—and he had no record of how often she went when Rose was watching her. This beautiful baby girl had been abused for who knows how long... No wonder she was well-behaved; she was forced to be. 

“Do you want one of us to take you to the bathroom now, or would you be more comfortable if a girl took you?” Ryan asked, squeezing the child's tiny hand. 

“I dunno...”

“How about we ask if Kelsey will take you!” Shane suggested, smiling brightly to cover up the horror he shared with Ryan at the thought of the girl's abuse. “I know how much you like Kelsey.”

Summer cracked a smile, taking Shane's hand and allowing him to lead her out of the room. “Okay.”

“She needs therapy.” Ryan was laying on Shane's chest in bed, listening to his boyfriend speak. “Today's outburst confirms it. We have to find some sort of child counsellor.”

“Yeah.” Ryan traced his fingers along his partner's chest gently. “I have no clue where to start, but she needs more help than we can give.”

“I wonder if anyone at the office would be able to help us find someone?” Shane pulled his hand down his face tiredly, staring at the ceiling. “What if this was the wrong decision? What if she would be better off with someone else?”

Ryan didn't voice an opinion, still cuddled up. There were so many things he could say, but none he wanted to. The biggest thought that swirled around his head was how he didn't want anyone else to be better suited for Summer. Selfish, he knew, but he loved her so damn much. He wanted to be the best one for her, the best to help her grow and heal. 

Shane kissed his head, seeming to know his thought process. “The best way we can help her now is getting her the proper resources. We'll find a counsellor who loves her just as much as we do and get Summer the recovery she needs.”

Ryan nodded, looking towards his boyfriend's face, stretching up for a proper kiss. “I love you, big guy.”

“I love you too, little guy.”

“Hi, you must be Shane and Ryan. I'm Laura.” The therapist shook both of their hands and then knelt down to offer a hand to Summer. “And you must be Summer! I look forward to getting to know you.”

Summer waved shyly, hiding slightly behind Shane's long legs. The men had explained to her what was going on and she was understandably apprehensive. As much as she seemed to love people, the Ghoul Boys could tell that she felt a fear around authority figures. 

Once they were sitting comfortably in Laura's office, she dove right into the session. While Summer sat on the floor, playing with toys Laura had laid out, she answered questions about her home life and her mother. Though Laura would occasionally ask Shane and Ryan questions too, she was more focused on Summer's upbringing. It was clear why she specialized in child therapy; she knew how to phrase her queries in a way that the toddler could understand and was so gentle with the issues that were brought up. 

“Your mommy said that?” Laura asked, passing another Hot Wheels car to the girl. 

Summer nodded, not seeming to realize that it should be cause for alarm. “Yeah, a lot. She says I'm a demon too, or a leech, or...” She stilled for a moment, looking downcast as she finished with, “A mistake.”

“Mm.” Laura hummed, sharing a sorrowful look with Shane and Ryan when Summer looked away. “Summer, that obviously hurt you when your mommy said that.”

She nodded, sniffing loudly. 

“Do you know why?”

“People don't like mistakes,” Summer mumbled, her hair obscuring her face. “Mistakes are meant to be erased.”

It sounded so rehearsed—it hit Ryan that her mother must have told her that. This beautiful baby girl's own mother told her that she shouldn't be alive, essentially. He tried not to audibly sob and squeezed his boyfriend's hand tightly. 

After an hour, the session had finished and Laura pulled Ryan aside while Shane helped Summer put on her coat. “Summer has been severely abused. Not too much physically, but the emotional extent is immense.”

“What can we do?” Ryan asked, voice wavering. 

“Keep seeing me. I'll do everything I can to help her. She's very young, but that doesn't mean the damage hasn't been done. However, I'm hopeful that it isn't permanent.”

“Thank you so much, Laura.” Ryan shook her hand. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “Just doing my job. You three take care, now.”

Shane appeared with Summer on his shoulders, giggling at how tall she was. He grinned at Ryan. “Shall we?”

Ryan nodded, looping his arm through Shane's. Waving to Laura, the trio headed back out to their car. On the way home, after grabbing a quick McDonald's, Summer fell asleep in her car seat and Shane finally asked Ryan about Laura's verdict. He nodded slowly as his boyfriend explained everything. 

“We're doing the right thing,” he said, squeezing Ryan's thigh as he drove. “Summer is getting the healing that she needs. That she deserves.”

Ryan nodded in agreement, sighing as he turned on the blinker. “I just love her so much, Shane. I don't want her to be hurting anymore.”

“I know. I know.”

When Linda and Steven Bergara finally met Summer, they were ecstatic. They swept her up into their arms, spoiling her with hugs and kisses. Ryan had explicitly told them not to bring any gifts—Summer had been given enough toys from their friends—so instead, his parents insisted on treating them to dinner. While Summer rambled on to Linda about something, Steven ambled over to give his son and Shane a hug as well. 

“It's so great to see you boys again,” he said, smiling. 

“It's great to see you too, Dad,” Ryan said. “Sorry it's taken so long for you guys to meet Summer, we just...”

“Your mother told me about your concerns, and from what you told us about her therapy, it sounds like she needs a lot of help. But,” he looked over at the little girl in question, who was excitedly pointing out a pretty painting on the wall, “no matter how short lived our time knowing her may be, we want to show her as much love as we can. Lord knows she needs it.”

“Thank you, Steven,” Shane said, squeezing the older man's shoulder appreciatively. “We—that's all we want for her.”

The hostess appeared at that moment, leading them to a booth with a booster seat on the end for Summer. Handing them menus, she ended by saying, “And your daughter can colour on our kids menu!”

“Oh, she's not—”

“Thank you!” Shane interrupted his boyfriend, smiling at the hostess.  Once she was out of earshot, he glanced at Ryan. “It's easier to just let it be, Ry.”

Summer hadn't seemed to notice what the woman had said, merely elated to scribble across the menu. Ryan sighed fondly, knowing Shane was right. Everything was just getting harder and harder, thinking about how Summer would never be their actual daughter. His parents eyed them, but said nothing. 

“What do you want to drink, Summer?” Ryan asked, leaning over to get the child's attention. “There's apple juice, orange juice, milk, water...”

“Am I allowed to have any of that?” she asked cautiously. When Ryan nodded, she hesitantly whispered, “Can I have apple juice?”

“Of course,” Ryan said, making a mental note to talk to Laura about Summer's experience with food and drink restrictions. 

“Look!” Summer reached over as far as she could, tugging on Shane's sleeve. “I drew you!”

“Oh, Summer! It's a spitting image,” Shane said, holding up the paper for the other adults to see. 

Ryan's parents chuckled, nodded agreeably; the ball had sticks (i.e. arms and legs) that stretched out across the entire paper. Summer beamed, getting to work on another, smaller stick figure, which they all could tell was going to be Ryan. 

Soon enough, a waitress came and took their orders—Summer was amazed by the variety of options, continuously asking if she was truly allowed to have so many choices at her disposal. Ryan and Shane kept reassuring her that she could choose any meal on the kids menu and she, like any almost-three-year-old, went for  the chicken nuggets. The adults ordered food for themselves and continued their chatter, Summer interrupting every so often with a new drawing—Ryan, Linda and Steven, a dog, Kelsey, three flowers, and a rainbow. With every bit of praise the girl got, her smile grew wider. 

After their food arrived, Linda asked, “How do you like living with Ryan and Shane, Summer?”

Summer spoke through a mouthful of chicken. “They're nicer than my mommy. They have nice friends, too.” She smiled, dipping another nugget into plum sauce. “I like it a lot. It feels good.”

“Good?” Ryan asked, blinking. 

Summer nodded. “Mama was sometimes not nice. But you're always nice. It's better.”

Ryan realized that the girl was explaining—without a full vocabulary or understanding of her own feelings—that she felt safe with them. Her mother had been unpredictable, never having foreseeable actions, the chance of abuse always looming; Shane and Ryan were consistent love, a never-ceasing tenderness that enveloped the toddler each and every day. Feeling his heart swell with emotion, it took everything in him not to break down crying right then and there. 

The topic of conversation shifted to something else, but Ryan couldn't stop thinking about just how much he cared about Summer. Not when they finished their meals, when his parents hugged them goodbye, when Shane buckled the child into her car seat and started driving them home. He squeezed Shane's hand, hoping to convey everything in his brain. Shane squeezed back, eyes focused on the road, but a smile on his face. 

By the time they had arrived to their apartment, Summer was dozing lightly in the back. Ryan carried her a gently as he could from the car to her bedroom, Shane on his heels. After tucking her in, they each kissed her on the forehead. It had become their evening routine since Summer had been placed with them. 

Half-asleep, Summer mumbled, “G'night, daddy...”

Both men stopped in their tracks, staring at the child. Daddy. It had never felt like a powerful word—an emotional word—until now. Until this incredible little girl. Ryan felt his eyes welling up. 

“Goodnight, honey,” he whispered, rubbing her back tenderly. She gave no response, obviously asleep. 

“We love you, sweetheart,” Shane added, voice equally soft, kissing her head again.

Noiselessly closing the bedroom door, they stood in the hall for a moment, simply stunned. She had called them daddy. She saw them as her fathers. Surreal and eye-opening as they realized they saw her as their daughter as well. Summer was not just a child; she was their child. 

Ryan let out a sob that could no longer contain and collapsed into Shane's arms, shaking uncontrollably. He couldn't keep doing this—he couldn't continue pouring so much love into this baby, knowing they could never keep her. Shane seemed to know what he thought without him saying a word apart from his erratic weeping. 

“We need to do this, Ry,” Shane whispered, holding his boyfriend tighter. “If we don't, who will? Where will she go?”

“I know,” Ryan cried, burying his face deeper into Shane's shirt, snot, tears, and saliva smearing everywhere. “I just love her so much, Shane.”

“Me too, Ryan,” Shane sighed, silent tears trailing down his face. “Me too.”

Chapter Text

It was the third month of Summer. The third month of being a toddler's caretakers. The third month of doing everything they could to help her heal from her immense trauma. The third month of this beautiful little girl turning their lives upside down in the best way possible. 

Summer still loved Rose as her nanny. She saw Laura once a week and the therapist told them that Summer was making slow but steady progress, saying it was going better than she'd expected. Their friends adored the toddler and showered her with love whenever they saw her. 

The only thing that had changed was the fact that the Ghoul Boys were signed up for classes to become eligible to adopt Summer. They couldn't just let her go. They were going to do everything in their power to keep her with them. This did, however, raise a new question they hadn't quite confronted yet. 

“Should we be, like, married before we adopt her?” Ryan asked, as they drove home after class one day. 

“You proposing to me, Ry Guy?” Shane teased, but Ryan didn't miss the way his fingers tensed around the steering wheel. 

“I'm serious, Shane. We—I mean, we've never really talked about marriage, but we're trying to adopt a kid together? I feel like a few steps are missing here.”

“Yeah. I—” Shane swallowed, very purposefully focusing on the street. “I won't lie, I've thought about marrying you—kind of a lot?”

“...Really?”

“Yeah! I mean, you know I'm in love with you,” Shane continued quickly, “I say it at least once a day. Of course, I've thought about it.” He finally stole a glance at his partner. “...have you?”

“I—yeah, I have,” Ryan admitted, face flushing and shrinking into his seat. “I was just—just embarrassed about it for some reason.”

“So, we both aren't opposed to the idea, obviously,” Shane concluded, “so, I mean, why not?”

“I—are you proposing to me now?” Ryan joked, poking Shane's cheek in an attempt to play off his nervousness. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I am.”

Ryan choked on his own breath, unable to believe what he was hearing. “What?”

“I mean, I don't have a ring or anything,” Shane said, as he turned into the parking lot of their apartment, “but yeah, I wanna marry you, Ry.” He put the car into park, turning to face his boyfriend. “So? Whaddya say?”

“I—” Ryan shook his head, letting out a teary laugh, then he flung his arms around Shane, ignoring how the gearshift jabbed into his gut and Shane's head nearly hit the ceiling. “Yes. Yes, of course, Shane.” He laughed again, leaning on the taller man's shoulder. “This is definitely not how I imagined our proposal would go.”

“Oh?” Shane squeezed his fiancé tighter, beaming. “How'd you imagine it?”

“You'd give me a ring, for one!” Ryan laughed, kissing Shane's neck tenderly. “Maybe a romantic dinner with candles and roses... Definitely not in our car, coming home from class so we can adopt a daughter!” He sighed contentedly, looking into Shane's eyes. “I actually figured I'd propose to you.”

“You kinda did,” Shane pointed out, lovingly. “You brought it up.”

“Pfft, yeah, I suppose.”

Shane kissed him excitedly, unable to stop smiling. “I'm gonna get you a ring when I can,” he promised, hands resting on the smaller man's cheeks. 

“No rush,” Ryan assured him, patting his cheek and starting to climb out of the car. “I don't need an engagement ring—wedding ring will suffice.” He winked, then smiled softly. “I just want to marry you.”

“When should we do it?” Shane asked, ambling out of the driver's seat and taking his fiancé's hand. 

“Let's do it soon. We can elope,” Ryan said, swinging their arms as they walked into the lobby. “Have a big ceremony for friends and family later. I just want to get the legal stuff out of the way before we adopt Summer.”

“Okay,” Shane said, smirking. “Eager, are we?”

“Aren't you?” Ryan retorted, bumping shoulders playfully. 

“Yeah,” Shane said, expression softening, “I really am.”

Ryan could have died on the spot at the adoration in Shane's eyes. He grabbed him gently by the lapel, signalling for him to stop. They paused by their apartment door, sharing a chaste kiss. They each privately thought how lucky they were as they tenderly held each other, revelling in their ecstacy. 

Eventually, they unlocked their apartment door. Shane called, “Hey, we're back!”

Rose looked up from where she and Summer were sitting on the floor, playing with dolls. “Hullo! How was class?”

“It was great,” Shane said, hanging up his and Ryan's coat as Ryan picked up Summer, who had bolted towards them excitedly. “We've been learning a lot.”

“I'm glad,” she said, standing up and gathering her things. “Well, I'll see you on Monday, Summer!”

“Bye, Rose!” Summer called, waving. Ryan hoisted her up into his shoulders. “Have a good night!”

“You're so polite, Summer,” Shane said, beaming with prime and reaching up to ruffle her hair. 

“Thanks,” she said, tugging on Ryan's hair. He winced, but still squeezed the little girl's thighs fondly. “Learn a lot?”

“Yep,” Ryan said, cheerfully. “We're gonna be as smart as you one day, lovely.”

Summer giggled, kicking her legs delightedly. Neither man had told her what their classes entailed—partly because they wanted it to be a surprise and partly because they still couldn't be certain they would be able to adopt her. Yes, they were in the process of becoming eligible, but that didn't guarantee she would want to stay, or that she wouldn't go to another foster family, or something else. But they were going to do their damnedest to keep her with them. Especially since her drowsy response after their dinner with Ryan's parents. 

She hadn't called either of them Daddy since then, so they assumed she didn't remember it. Neither of them asked or suggested it, not wanting to inadvertently make her feel bad. Secretly, they both hoped she would still want to call them her dads if they were able to adopt her. 

“Can you play with me?” she asked, looking down at Ryan, her hands on his cheeks. 

“Sure, honey,” he replied, carefully placing her back on the floor, allowing her to pull him to where her dolls sat on the rug. 

Shane smiled endearingly at them. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. 

“Shane, babe, you gonna play with us?”

Shane nodded, joining his fiancé on the floor. 

“You're eloping?!”

“Calm down, Golden Boy,” Ryan said with a chuckle, “we'll still have a wedding ceremony and reception and everything. Just... after all this adoption stuff is over. We wanted to be legally married when we adopt Summer. Hopefully,” he tacked on, not wanting to get his hopes up to much. 

“Well, I hope you telling us this was your way of inviting us to the ceremony,” Andrew said, running his hands through his fiancé's hair. Steven, meanwhile, was vibrating excitedly on Andrew's lap at the prospect of his best friends getting married. 

“Of course,” Ryan said, rolling his eyes as Steven squealed. “I thought you guys might want to be our witnesses. You know, to sign the registration and stuff...”

Steven tumbled out of Andrew's lap and pulled Ryan into a tight embrace. “Ryan!”

“Are you sure? You could get someone else...” Andrew said slowly, uncertain. 

“Yeah, we've discussed it already,” Ryan said, patting Steven on the back. “His family can't fly in until late this month at least, and my parents will watch, but we want you guys to be the witnesses.”

“Thanks, Ryan,” Andrew said, standing and giving the man a short hug. “We really appreciate it.”

“We really appreciate it,” he said. “And you'll obviously be at the ceremony too, whenever that happens. We're thinking it'll happen sometime in the fall.”

“Aw, that's a nice time of year!” Steven said, dreamily. “Drew and I are thinking spring.”

“Cherry blossoms?” Ryan guessed knowingly. 

“Of course,” Andrew said with a laugh. “We're gonna look fucking amazing with those in the background.”

Ryan laughed. He imagined his wedding ceremony with Shane, the colours of autumn swirling around them... He couldn't wait. 

Their elopement went smoothly—Steven cried, Andrew gave them two thumbs up, Ryan's parents and brother held Summer and clapped—until they and Summer went out for ice cream afterwards, to celebrate. That's when things went horribly, horribly wrong. 

They were walking down the street and were stopped suddenly by an erratic blonde woman with bloodshot eyes and a bony physique. She stumbled forwards, obviously impaired by something , whether it was alcohol or drugs, the Ghoul Boys didn't know. She stared at them in disbelief, not saying anything. Shane and Ryan exchanged perplexed glances. 

“Mama?”

Summer's small voice shocked them. This was her mother? 

“Oh,” the woman said, blankly. “Summer.”

Ryan stood in front of his now-husband and Summer protectively. There was no way he was letting this abusive and obviously high as fuck woman anywhere near them. If she really was Summer's biological mother—the one who had abandoned her in a demonic house and had called her a mistake and wouldn't let her do virtually anything—she might try to hurt her again, not to mention possibly himself or Shane. He wouldn't let that happen. 

“Give me the bitch back,” the woman said, gesturing to Summer. Shane hid her behind his legs. “Put her back in Hell where she belongs.”

“No,” Ryan said, glaring at the woman, who was now glaring at them, though her voice still seemed emotionless. “You will never touch her again.”

“She's been sent by Lucifer himself, to plant his insidious ideas in our heads,” Summer's mother spat, voice rising. She wobbled forward. “She is the spawn of Satan! She needs to be eradicated from the earth; go back to the spiritual realm!”

Shane picked Summer up and held her close as he dialed 911. She buried her head in his shoulder, whimpering. 

“You're obviously intoxicated,” Ryan said, trying to keep his voice steady, holding out his hands in a calming gesture. “You need help, we can help you—”

“NO!”

Summer's mother flung herself at Ryan, scratching and slapping and slashing at his face. Shane yelled his husband's name and Summer began to wail, sobbing harshly at the sight of her mother and one of the men she loved like a father fighting. Ryan fought back, not wanting to truly harm the woman, but desperate to protect himself and his family. He could hear Shane babbling with a 911 operator in the background as the blonde somehow managed to push him to the ground and continued attacking him brutally. He cried out as her knee rammed into his ribs and her long nails cut into his face. She really was crazy, he realized, finally rolling her over so she lay under him. 

He panted as he struggled to contain her limbs so she couldn't battle him anymore. She wouldn't stop squirming and shaking and growling—actually growling, what the fuck?—and he could tell his grip was loosening. He grunted in pain as her knee jabbed him in the ribs again, screaming and trying to escape him. Thankfully, he was far more muscular than she was and was able to keep her pinned down as Shane watched with worry-filled eyes, still on the line with the operator as they instructed him to do. Summer was still bawling and Ryan tore his eyes away from her mother to meet hers. 

In that moment, the erratic woman violently palmed his nose and pushed him off of her. He grunted as his head hit the pavement. As his vision blurred and his consciousness faded, he saw red and blue flashing and heard sirens approaching. 

Shane sat next to Ryan's hospital bed with a sorrowful Summer in his arms, and with Ryan's family, Steven, and Andrew pacing the waiting room. Summer had long since stopped crying, but Shane felt worse with her staring somberly at the floor, stiller and more silent than he had ever seen her. Ryan's injuries weren't extensive or lethal—thank god—still, it hurt seeing him like this, sleeping in a hospital bed with bandages on his bruised head and ribs. 

Summer's mother had been detained and was currently being investigated by the police. Shane had already been questioned; the detectives, Agent Lisbon and Agent Cho, had asked him how he and Ryan knew Mary Leigh (Summer's mother's name, apparently) and what they knew about her relationship with Summer and her drug abuse. He hadn't been able to give them anything too helpful—“We found Summer abandoned,” and “This was our first interaction with her,” and “According to Summer, there's at least once instance of her taking LSD, and it was pretty obvious that she was inebriated today, to me at least.”—but they were very helpful to him. 

“...so Ryan and I have been working towards adopting her,” he had explained, glancing anxiously out the interrogation room window, watching as Ryan's brother, Jake, held Summer while she talked with a blond man in a suit and vest. She seemed to be smiling for the first time since her mother's attack as the man showed her some playing cards. “I just really hope we can.”

“Well, Mr. Madej, I'm sure we can put in a good word for you,” Agent Cho said, writing some notes in the case file. 

“Really?” 

“Of course. After we do a thorough background check on yourself and Mr. Bergara, we would be glad to provide a witness to your legal procedures, to help your case for Summer,” Agent Lisbon said with a small smile. “Cho, get Rigsby and Van Pelt on that.”

“Thank you so much,” Shane said, enthusiastically shaking their hands. “I know Ryan will appreciate it too.”

Soon after leaving, they arrived at the hospital where Ryan was treated for his broken nose, bruised ribs, and various scratches, cuts, and bruises. Which returned them to now, where Shane sat with a dismal Summer in his arms. A groan from their left had Summer gasping with delight. 

“RYANNN!” she shrieked, scrambling into the rousing man's arms. She was sobbing again, this time screeching, “I thought my mommy killed youuuu!”

“Aw, baby,” Ryan cooed sadly, cuddling her close, pushing himself into a sitting position. He kissed her face repeatedly, eliciting giggles. He finally looked over at Shane, as Summer nestled into his shoulder. “Babe... you're crying.”

Shane blinked, feeling tears trail down his cheeks. He hadn't noticed. “I was worried about you, Ry.”

“I was worried about you, too.” Ryan reached over, cupping Shane's cheek lovingly. “Her mom's been...?”

“Yeah. Yeah, everything's okay now,” Shane said, leaning into his husband's touch. They smiled at each other; the world stopped and it was just them.  

Until the Bergaras and the other couple dashed in from the waiting room, crowding Ryan excitedly. He laughed, extending his arms to all of them. It felt like the drama was over and finally—finally—they could just be a family. 

Ryan was let out that evening, with instructions to put on new gauze and bandages every day until the doctors reviewed his injuries. He assured everyone that he felt fine, really! but as soon as he collapsed into the passenger seat of their car, Shane saw his defenses fall. He grunted, cringing as he reached behind him for the seatbelt. It was obvious that his chest was aching. Shane took his left hand and gave it a squeeze, as if to say, ‘Hey, Little Guy, I'm here, I'm here.’ Ryan shot him a tired smile. 

“Thanks, Shane,” he whispered, returning the squeeze appreciatively. He glanced back to where Summer was dozing in her car seat. “I'm sorry.”

“Ryan, you didn't choose to get attacked—”

“No, I mean—well, yes, but I just—” He sighed, touching his nose gingerly. “Technically, it's our wedding day. We got married this morning, Shane. We were supposed to spend today with each other and our dau—and—and Summer.”

Shane nodded, flicking on his blinker as they pulled out of the parking lot. “Well, we can just celebrate when we have a ceremony and reception and stuff. I'm just glad you're okay.” He glanced over at the love of his life. “I don't know what I would've done if... well, y'know.”

“Yeah... Especially since, if my ghost came to visit, you'd brush me off as the wind.”

“Hey!” They laughed, but Shane added, quietly, “If you came back as a ghost, I wouldn't brush you off.”

Ryan whipped his head over to face him. “What?”

“Ryan, you're my—I was going to say boyfriend, but fuck, you're already my husband—I would never just, like, ignore you if you reached out to me.”

“You would believe in ghosts for me?”

“I mean, I'd probably think I was going crazy first, but if you were trying to—to come back to me, from, like, beyond the grave or whatever, of course. I guess it comes down to the fact that I don't believe in ghosts—” He turned to face Ryan when he slowed to a stop at a red light. “—but I do believe in you.” Ryan was staring at him in awe. “I trust that you would know how to connect with me in a way that I would understand and believe. You're the love of my life, Ry; I'm not gonna give you up that easily.”

Ryan was silent for a few minutes, staring with a flustered expression. Shane focused on the road, trying not to worry about how Ryan hadn't responded yet, until he murmured, “Shane... I wanna fucking kiss you so badly right now.”

Shane laughed. “We're almost home, Ry Guy. Then,” he gave him a wink and a goofy grin, “I'm all yours, baby.”

Ryan let out an involuntary moan, which he quickly suppressed, both from embarrassment and because he could hear Summer stirring in the backseat. Shane stifled a snort. 

“Are we almost home?” Summer asked, rubbing her eyes. 

“Yep,” Shane said, adjusting the rearview mirror to see the girl. “How are you doing, Summer?”

“Mm, tired,” she mumbled. “And scared.”

“Why are you scared, sweetie?” Ryan asked, attempting to twist in his seat to face her, only managing to irritate his sore chest. 

“My mommy is scary,” she said, avoiding eye contact. “She hurt you. I don't wanna go back to her.” She sniffed loudly and both men could tell she was trying not to cry. It didn't last long though, because she let out a wretched sob, yelling, “I wanna stay with you!”

“Oh, Summer, honey, you are going to stay with us,” Shane said, steadily. His voice was treading a fine line of comforting and firm, trying to showcase his certainty that she would never leave them. “You'll be with us for—for as long as you want.”

“Forever!” she wailed, and Shane felt his heart swell. 

“Yes! Yes, Summer, you'll stay with us forever,” Ryan said, pushing through his pain and discomfort to hold her tiny hand and squeeze it comfortingly. “I promise.”

“Really?” she whimpered, tears streaming down her face. The men exchanged affection expressions and nodded. 

“Yes, Summer. Really.”

It was nearly the end of August and they had a court date. It was happening. They were adopting Summer. 

Ryan was all healed up—aside from being ache-y and sore, still—and he and Shane had sat Summer down to explain to her what was happening within the next few days. She listened intently, face scrunched up as she considered their words. 

“So, my mommy won't be my mama anymore,” she said, uncertainly, “and you'll both be my daddies instead?”

“Yes,” Shane said with a smile. “If you don't want that, we can always—oof!”

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence because Summer had jumped into his arms. “YES! YES PLEASE!”

Ryan joined their hug, agreeing with Summer. “Yes! We're going to be a family, Summer! You're going to be our daughter!”

Summer squealed as Ryan lifted her onto his shoulders. “I have two daddies! Two whole daddies!”

Shane laughed. “Are we both going to be Daddy, then?”

“Yes,” Summer said resolutely, hugging Ryan's head. 

“Sounds good, Summertime,” Ryan said, squeezing her hands lovingly. 

Their court date was only a few days later and none of them could stop smiling during the entire procedure. As promised, one of the agents who had helped put Mary Leigh away had testified in their favour, and both of the adults' families had come to witness the trial (and meet Summer, in the case of Shane's parents and brother). It went by faster than the Ghoul Boys had anticipated and soon enough, they were signing legal documents with huge smiles. 

Before the end of the day, their now legal daughter had a new legal name: Summer Felicity Bergara-Madej. 

Kelsey facetimed them after the trial to say congratulations and Summer excitedly told her, “Kelsey! I have a new name! It's Summer Felicity Bergara-Madej! And I have two new daddies!”

“I'm so happy for all of you guys!” Kelsey exclaimed, matching Summer's enthusiasm. Summer dipped out of Ryan's arms when Shane's mom called her over to smother her with grandmotherly affection, and Kelsey added, “Seriously, you guys are such good dads.”

“Thanks, Kels,” Shane said, smiling softly. “Oh, also, just a heads up—we started referring to all our friends as Summer's aunts and uncles. So, she might call you Auntie Kelsey at some p—”

Shane was cut off by Kelsey's squeal. “Oh my gosh! Guys, I'm honoured!”

Ryan grinned. “Thought you would be.”

“Steven and Andrew said that your elopement was nice. Well, before all the, um, excitement in the afternoon.”

“Yeah, it was.” The couple looked longingly at each other; they knew that Kelsey was secretly thinking heart eyes. “Can't wait for the ceremony, though.”

“Me too! Thanks for inviting me.”

“Of course! Wouldn't be the same without you.” Shane had a wide grin on his face and disappeared for a moment to lift Summer back into view. “Summer's excited too, aren't you, Sums?”

“Yeah!” Summer wiggled in Shane's grip. “But Gramma Sherry says she wants to take us all for lunch now.”

Shane laughed—of course, his mother wanted to take them out, she loved any excuse for a celebratory bonding meal. “Well, we'll talk to you later, Kelsey.”

“Bye, boys! Bye, Summer!”

The final day of August came along swifter than any of them realized. It felt strange, Shane thought, that a measly three months ago they were under the impression that summer was a mere season—a simple passage of time, a period, an era—and nothing more. Now, they knew so much better. Summer wasn't a moment, she was a girl. She was a gorgeous, compassionate little girl who they loved more than anything else in their lives. Now, he couldn't imagine their lives without her. 

“Daddy,” Summer piped up, peeking over the arm of the sofa. She poked Shane's bicep. “I drew you a picture.”

She thrust a slightly crumpled piece of paper towards him. He smiled; a familiar scene smiled back at him. Three circles with sticks, all smiling wide—one tall, one short, and one tiny, stick arms touching with the men on either side—it was an identical comparison. He leaned over and kissed Summer's forehead gratefully. 

“What a beautiful drawing of us!” he said, admiring the image. “I think,” he got to his feet and strode over to the fridge, with Summer right on his heels, “it deserves a place right here.”

Summer gasped, bouncing on her heels, watching Shane place a magnet over the drawing, leaving it front and centre on the door. She hugged his long leg giddily. 

“How many more days until you and Dada are married again?” she asked, leaning away from his leg to peer up his face. He chuckled, shaking his leg gently, causing her to giggle. 

“Just over 50 days,” he replied, reaching down to pull her up onto his shoulders. “And you are going to be the prettiest flower girl the world has ever seen!”

She laughed again, patting his head like a hyperactive drummer. “Yay! And there's a party!”

Shane twirled, keeping his hands tight around her so she wouldn't fall. “Yes!” His expression softened fondly. “I'm really excited to marry your Dada again...”

“Did I hear my name?”

Ryan entered the front door, armed with his keyring, bags of groceries, and an ear-to-ear grin. Shane felt his heart race; Ryan never failed to get his heart going. 

“Dada!” Summer squealed, kicking her legs eagerly. “Look what I drew! Daddy put it on the fridge!”

Ryan chuckled, stepping through the threshold. He placed the grocery bags on the counter, leaned up to give his husband a chaste kiss, then turned to the refrigerator. He let out a dramatic gasp, feigning shock and awe. 

“Did our daughter draw this?” he asked with over-the-top bewilderment. He reached up, pulling Summer off of Shane's shoulders and lifting her high in the air. “We have such a talented little girl!”

“We sure do!” Shane said, kissing Summer on the cheek, then pulling them both in for a tender embrace. “We have the best little girl in the world.”

“The very best,” Ryan agreed, sighing contentedly as he settled into his lover's arms. 

They were all finally home.