Carl was playing peek-a-boo with J.R. when someone knocked on the door. It wasn’t unusual for one of Deb’s boys to show up at any time, night or day. Although, she was at the hospital trying to get Ted to eat and Erik to sleep.

“Want to see whole at the door?” Carl asked the giggling baby. She babbled so he took that as an affirmative. He hoisted her up on his hip and walked to the door.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by a man that looked like he was in his early forties, if that. He was leaning heavily on a cane, but trying to stand up straight. Debbie and her lost boys.

“May I help you?” he asked.

“I’m looking for Deborah Grassi Novotny.”

Something seemed off about the man, and it wasn’t the walking cane he had a death grip on.

“Deb’s out right now. I’m her husband, Detective Carl Horvath.”

The man’s eyes widened. “Debbie married the fuzz? Times, they are a changin’.”

“And who are you?”

“Phillip Winters, I knew Debbie and her brother once upon a time.”

Carl narrowed his eyes. Debbie had told him all about Phillip and Vic. But most he remembered was that Philip had died.

“Listen, pal, I don’t know who you really are but pretending to be her dead brother’s deceased lover is pretty low.”

“Vic’s dead?” Carl watched as the man wavered and almost fell back. He would have too, if that hadn’t been the moment Brian came up behind him.

Brian helped Carl get the weak man to the couch. Carl sat J.R. on the floor so he could get the man some water. He no longer thought the man was playing a crude joke, but he had no idea what was going on.

Debbie wiped the streak of tears away as she left the hospital. The doctors had just told Ted and Erik that Carlotta wasn’t getting any stronger. Ariel and Bradley could go home in a few weeks, but Carlotta would probably spend her entire short life there. Teddy had broken down and Debbie knew they wanted to be alone with their children.

As she drove home she couldn’t help but feel on edge. She told herself it was worry because of the baby. But there was a little part of her that didn’t think that’s true.

When she pulled up to a space in front of her house she noticed several cars. Brian’s car was the only one she recognized besides Carl’s.

Stepping through the door she felt like she had been transported thirty-five years back. Sitting on her couch was Phillip Winters, looking as though time hadn’t touched him with more than a light brush.

“Phil?” she asked, stunned.

The man’s head shot up and looked at her. His eyes were red, he had been crying.

“Debbie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know,” he said.

She didn’t care how he was in front of her, just that he was. For years, she had the guilt of his death on her hands, now he was here. Living and breathing. He stood on shaky legs but that didn’t stop her. She wrapped him up in tight hug.

They stayed that way, hugging and crying for what seemed like hours but only a few short moments.

“Geez, Deb let the man breath,” Brian snorted.

“Shut up, asshole. I have a ghost in my house. I can act any goddamned way I want.”

After letting him go, he filled her in on what had happened on his side. Then she filled him in on Vic. It seemed Carl and Brian told him about most of it already.

“Erik is going to be so happy,” she said before remembering that Erik was in living hell right now.

Her face must had shown something.

“Deb? What’s going on at the hospital?” Carl asked.

“The doctor said Carlotta probably won’t make it out of the hospital.”

“Damnit,” Brian cursed.

“Who’s Carlotta?”

Phillip was still in shock at seeing Debbie. His heart hurt finding out that Vic died. They hadn’t told him what happened to him. He knew Vic and Debbie’s grandfather died young of a heart attack. It was probably what had happened to him. His handsome, sweet Victor. He had met Victor when he was twelve. Vic was fourteen and the best-looking boy on the block.

“Honey, I think you need to sit down,” Debbie told him.

She was so motherly now. He remembered her as a sweet innocent little hellcat. She got pregnant by the second guy she ever had sex with. Vic and he had both tried to talk her out of her obsession with the guy. Danny was still finding himself, young and trying to be something he wasn’t. He took off leaving Debbie pregnant. That was when she came to live with him and Vic in New York. When Michael was born, she starting telling everyone that his father had died in Vietnam. Even going so far as to change her name and giving Michael that name. Vic told him to leave it alone, so he did. He had just found out he was pregnant anyway. There were other things he had to deal with.

“Why?”

He wasn’t sure what was going on but even the smart ass one looked upset. It was a world he didn’t understand. The cab driver talked about things he had never heard of before. Even while he was healing and working on physical therapy he didn’t get out. His caretaker would tell him things, try to get him used to this new world. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and be back with Vic and their baby. A baby that he had lost when he was hurt. A baby he never got to see, never got to know if it was a boy or a girl. Vic was sure it was a boy. Maybe it was, he would have to talk to his parents to see where the baby was buried.

“Phil, I have some news for you and it’s going to be hard to hear.”

“No harder than finding out Vic is dead. How did he die?”

The history he was given was very basic, he wanted to know everything. Like if Vic was able to recover from losing the baby. Hopefully, went on to have a partner and family.

“His body wasn’t able to fight anymore. The virus had just taken too much out of him,” Debbie said.

“What virus?”

“AIDS,” she said sadly.

“What’s that?” he asked.

There was a look of shock that crossed all the faces of the people in the room. He didn’t know what he had said that made them look like that.

“He’s been in a coma for thirty-five years,” Debbie said finally.

He would rather say thirty, it was a nice round number, and made him fifty instead of fifty-five. But it looks like Debbie wasn’t willing to give him that.

It was then he was given a history lesson about the AIDS epidemic. He was horrified, so many deaths. His beautiful Victor ravished by this disease.

“Did he find love?” He hoped so, he wanted that for Vic. Not to be alone when he died.

“He did. It was right near the end but he found a nice man named Rodney. They were both positive, he loved him. That doesn’t mean he didn’t miss you, he did every day. I know he did.”

“I’m glad. I didn’t want him alone. When my parents told me that Vic had left after I lost the baby. All I wanted to do was tell him I understood. I didn’t want him sitting bedside for all these years and not living his life.”

“But he would have. They told us you had died. If Vic would have known that you were alive, he wouldn’t have left your side.”

“Then I glad he didn’t know. Losing the baby must have been hard on him. I’ve just been dealing with it for the last five months. He had all that time to think about it.”

“Yes, Vic died thinking the baby had died.”

“What do you mean?”

“They lied to all of us. The baby didn’t die. They raised him, they made him think you killed yourself. They told him horrible lies about his conception. But he found your letters. He read all about Vic, he found us when he was looking for Vic.”

“Wait…What? The baby…my baby is alive?” Debbie nodded her head, tears running down her face. “Where is he? I have to see him. What’s his name? Do you think he wants to meet me?”

“First, his name is Erik. Yes, I know he wants to meet you. But there is something going on right now.” She hesitated.

“Band-aid, Deb. Just rip it off,” the smart ass one said.

“Erik and his boyfriend Ted just had triples a week ago, two of the babies are doing well, but it’s not looking good for the littlest. They are at the hospital preparing for the worst,” Debbie said.

“I want to see them, please,” Philip begged. If this was the only time he would get to see one of his grandchildren, he needed it to happen soon.

“Brian, can you go prepare Erik and Ted. I don’t think they can handle much more.”

Before the smart ass one, Brian, could leave a noise filled the room. He watched as the man pulled a little black object out of his jacket. Phillip recognized it then, his doctor had one. It was a cellar phone.

“Yeah,” Brian said into the phone.

After a few moments of speaking to whoever it was, he hung up. Phillip could tell the call had surprised him.

“Who was is?” Debbie asked.

“Justin. He’s at the hospital visiting Ted and Erik. It’s Carlotta.”

Debbie gasped. “Oh, god no!”

“Calm down. They’re taking her to surgery to relieve fluid on her brain. They didn’t think she would be strong enough but Ted and Erik signed the papers giving up the chance to sue if she doesn’t make it. It looks like her only chance. If she survives, it looks like she could get better, her body was getting stronger. They misunderstood, it just wasn’t strong enough for what they needed to do. Ben’s watching the kids, he said bring J.R. over and we can all go to the hospital.”

It was finally time for Ariel and Bradley to come home. With luck Carlotta, would be able to come home in a month or so. The surgery had been hell on everyone. Ted was grateful for it though. Days after it, she started to get stronger, at a faster rate than her brother and sister. They were able to hold all of them now, even doing skin to skin contact with them.

Erik wasn’t doing great though. Ted could feel him pulling away from all of them. It started three weeks ago, when his birth father showed up. He has been led to believe his whole life the man was dead. Now here he was trying to be supportive. Erik had shut him out of his life almost from the beginning. Erik wouldn’t even allow Phillip to stay in the waiting room with them. And worse Ted could feel that Erik wanted his space now. He had even talked about getting some time to himself. Ted feared that Erik had found someone to lean on that wasn’t him, in a intiment way. He had been so wrapped up with the babies that he wasn’t that attentive to Erik. But he thought that was okay because the same could be said of Erik. The most important people right now were the babies, he thought Erik understood that. But he had noticed that one of the doctor’s spending a lot of time with Erik alone. Funnily enough, Ted couldn’t really bring himself to care enough to get angry. If Erik decided to run and start cheating when times get tough, they were better off without him. He just hoped he felt the same way if his worries became realities.

At least he had Brian and Justin…well more Justin than Brian. At the moment, Brian was going through horrible pregnancy hormones. Too make matter worse, the lawyers told them that they would let them know when they would have to give their statements to the court. Lindsay wouldn’t be getting out anytime soon, she had been denied bail. Not only did they have deal with Mel’s murder, now there was a custody suit. Lindsay’s parents were trying to prove that Brian was a unfit parent. They really didn’t have a leg to stand on, Brian had already gone through all that when fighting Lindsay for Gus, and Maxwell for Tommy.

Even with all the bad right now Ted couldn’t think life was that bad. After almost losing Carlotta, he’ll take his babies and live his life happy. He didn’t need anyone. He just hoped that Brian would have a better pregnancy than him.