[Lovebite]

It seemed that the stranger didn't feel the need to correct herself either due to Philippe taking up the job of collecting Oliver into his arms supportively,"There..."She murmured and then handed off the bottle next, smiling at the little boy and his father as she then cleaned up a bit before leaving silently. Oliver whimpered quietly though settled down as he was found against someone's chest, it was warm and comfortable there and he liked it. The waiter grimaced in his sleep slightly though turned over into Philippe's side with a sigh, closing his eyes silently for a moment then running his hand up his shirt. "When did you get here, Joel..."He yawned lightly in his sleep, half awake now.

[bhdire8]

Reese muttering.out a name had woken Philippe up from the false blissful moment. He squeezed his eyes shut as he remindrd himself again that this man had very little to do with him in fact. True, he had seen his worst moments, sharing a lifr experience that was as intimate as it could get, but afterall he was just some stranger. A third wheel, nay, 4th wheel to the little family of Reese, Joel and Oliver. His face saddened and become.stern again, even though he didnt move away from Reese attmempting to nudge close for thr warmth. He took several breathes before saying with a little awkwardness. "Sorry, Joel's not here. I would be calling him to inform him of.... I.would tell him of the incident. Lucky guy, this Joel." He said with some faint sourness.

[Lovebite]

The other man startled as well out of his dreamlike state and looked up at Philippe curiously,"Oh... I'm sorry, no... I-I don't know why I said Joel, I just... Thought that I was back home."He shook his head some and sighed,"You met Joel yesterday... He... He isn't a very good guy."Reese removed his hand from the other man's shirt,"I usually stay at his place after work, and...and he sneaks in late at night to join me, I just thought..."He sighed and shook his head,"I'm sorry."He looked down from the strangers face to Oliver and almost instantly smiled at the baby who was staring up at them both as he moved slowly to sit up on his own. "Hey there buddy."He murmured and leaned in to kiss his toes through the swaddle the nurse had put him in,"God, you're so precious."He smiled and kissed up to his belly playfully, the boy only closing his eyes and stretching out a bit with a small noise before continuing suckling on the bottle Philippe was feeding him.

[bhdire8]

Oliver so focused on his food, oblivious to what his birth father was doing, was amusing to Philippe. He tilted the bottle a bit higher so Oliver could drink easier. "Either way, rhis Joel is the father of the baby right? I think he has a right to know.... you said you usually stayed at his.place after work... so he's also from that restaurant?" He asked failing to recall seeing that drunkened face when he was dining in the restaurant. The nurse seemed to have noriced soemthing from their conversation, but Philippe didnt exactly have any attention to be spared on her.

[Lovebite]

Reese cringed at the thought of telling Joel anything about the new life he had birthed,"You think so?"He frowned some and shook his head simply,"I... He has a right, but it's up to me and I don't really think he deserves to know."He rubbed Oliver's head gently, his hair was already thick and dark and he smiled at the soft feeling of it, pressing his lips together. The man almost snapped at the other, though he didn't and simply nodded some,"He's... He owns it."He replied and sat up a bit more as he stretched carefully, grimacing at the burn and pulling of his backside and then laying back again.

[bhdire8]

Philippr fell silent hearing that. He could imagine there was more to the story than that. A newbir with the owner. Philippe just sighed and pulled Reese back onto his chest, shifting.him so that his bum wouldnt be further strained. His arm stayed around Reese's shoulder even when all movements were completed, and somehow they each found a comfortable position in a strange equilibrium. They both gazed at Oliver for some time before Philippe started again. "I guess that's your decision to make. If you need amything, you could call me." He said offfering his support to the young father.

[Lovebite]

Reese let himself be brought against the other man's chest and wrapped his arm around his flat middle beneath where the baby laid against Philippe's chest comfortably while suckling from the almost empty bottle,"I will."He said quietly while staring dreamily at Oliver with his thumb running over his back and small arm,"Thank you."He looked up at the other now as he rested his head on his shoulder with his forehead pressed against his neck lightly as the room went silent again, they didn't talk much about anything but the baby after that and Reese was relieved about that at least. As he was sent home to recover a couple days after that with a car seat and pre filled diaper bag, he was on his own for real and that terrified him, even with the help of Philippe, he was young, single and clueless about everything that came with Oliver barging into his life.

It was an entire week later that Reese called Philippe, he sounded distraught and tearful as he held the phone to his ear, waiting for an answer, hoping for one.

[bhdire8]

Philippe picked up the phone just before it was cut off, oblivious to how much of an agony that was causing Reese. He had left the phone on desk while out talking with his secretary.

"Hello?" He asked, not noticing the number was Reese's. He had thought about the young man during this week, especially when he dined out, but it was soon overwhelmed by day to day work that he didnt call him to check him out. At first, it was nothing. "Hello? This is Philippe. Who's that?" He asked again, ready to hung up thinking it could be a misdial. It was then that a shaky breath was heard. "Hello? Who's this?…Reese?" He asked, not even knowing why he had such an association.

[Lovebite]

Reese had almost lost hope when the phone had rang so many times, a whimper escaped him as he pressed his forehead into the palm of his hand and tears streaked down his already wet face when he heard the familiar man's voice, sniffing quietly with a nod,"Y-Yeah. It's me."He pressed his lips together afterwards and sniffed again as he sat back on the closed toilet seat, knowing that Oliver was crying again and yet he had yet to go pick him up,"I can't do this... I-I... Why did he choose me? I can't be a father... I shouldn't be..."He sobbed softly and shook his head quickly, burying his knuckle into his mouth to bite down on it for a moment and compose himself before continuing,"I can't do this, I-I'm sorry."

[bhdire8]

The desperation in Reese's voice triggered all the alarms in Philippe's mind. He quickly moved towards the door, moving to his car ready to speed off to wherever Reese was. "Where are you Reese? Tell me where you are and I would come fetch you. I promise you I would make everything ok again. Just tell me, are you in the place last time? The place with Joel?" He asked urgently. It could be an unlikely place considering how Reese rejected the idea of sharing the news of Oliver with his biological father, he still asked just as some starting point. "Reese, calm down. Breath in.... breath out. Yes, that's it. Please don't cry babe. Tell me slowly where you are?" He attempted again after only hearing hiccups, already starting the engine of his race car where Reese had labored on.

[Lovebite]

It took a moment for the man to reply, he was just listening to Oliver in the next room and didn't process what Philippe was saying as he licked his lips,"I-I'm at home."He replied and flinched at the mention of Joel, going silent as he looked down at his feet with a deep frown and sniffing again,"He's here."He said,"O-Or he was here... I... I don't know-"He sobbed again softly, biting his lip and nodded quickly at what the other said, breathing in and out through his nose and mouth as slow as he could manage,"...I-I'm so sorry."He said weakly and buried his face into his hand, not even realizing that he had been called such an endearing name, he grasped Philippe's business card in his hand tightly."I can't do this... I-I just can't."

[bhdire8]

"Don't worry Reese. I am coming right now. I am going to make this all better ok? Like the day when i found you in the toilet. Have faith in me, I am gonna get some solution to the situation. Tell me something... err.... which floor is it? Which room again?" Philippe asked even though he could remember it clearly. It should serve as some distraction from his depressed state, being asked something factual. "And tell me, which street again? I hope this time they woulnd' thave a car crash nearby." He continued to throw out whatever he could think of as he drove as quickly as he could down the road. "Reese, you are not alone in this. IT's a right thing you call me. Good job."

[Lovebite]

The man swallowed quietly,"You promise?"He asked softly after a moment, he had stopped tearing up at least as he thought about it silently,"The fourth..."He looked up to the door, hearing the baby and thinking he was crying even louder before he heard him again,"I... Uh... 404."He said quietly,"You forgot?"He asked, not as if it was surprising that he didn't remember, but just a bit disappointing that he didn't,"Harriet road..."He pressed his lips together and sniffed once more, hiccuping quietly and smiling softly at the mention of their short history together as he looked down at his hand that he pressed between his thighs then used to wipe his face once more,"Thank you..."

[bhdire8]

"You should reserve the thank for when I really solve your problems." Philippe said as he skidded to a stop at a redlight. The road was thankfully clear, and he was soon running up the stairs. He could hear baby's crying even in the corridor. "Reese? Would you be able to open the door for me?" He deliberately didnt ask for Oliver. The baby didnt sound like he was near Reese at all through the phone, but obviously there's a crying infant here. Reese could be having trouble handling the baby and Philippe.would rather avoid mentioning him for now.

[Lovebite]

Reese nodded in silent agreement as he gripped his phone tightly against his ear, his eyes tightly shut and trying to keep out the crying from his own head. He was so loud, he dragged in a breath and sobbed softly before pushing himself up to his feet, going by memory. As he reached for the corner of the shower and shuffled slowly towards the door of the bathroom, the calmness didn't last though and his breathing sped up once again. He shook his head repeatedly, he didn't want to go out there for the life of himself,"Joel can't have locked it."He sank into the corner of the bathroom, his knees up to his chest, or as far as they would go, the door was left unlocked by the owner of the resturant when he came,"He doesn't have a key... He shouldn't... I... Why did I let him-"He bit down on his knuckle again until he left a deep impression there, whimpering softly into the phone and pressing his wet face against the tile wall. "He knows... He knows..."He sobbed again now, taking in sharp breaths that did nothing to help his panic.

[bhdire8]

There wasnt any response from thr phonr snd Philippr was pressing the mobile tightly against his ear, thinking if it was Reese speaking too softly that he missed it. He waited for awhile and turned up the volume, but all he could hear was sobbing that seemed even more frustrated than before. He quickly stridr through the corridor to get to 404. He was about to bang on the door whne Reese's broken voice once again came through. He listened intently to piece together what Rese was attempting to say through the tears, but all he could get was some broken fragments. "I am comin in now. Reese? I'm in! Where are you?" He turned the knob and just as Reese had said, it wasnt locked. He barged into the flat and found himself looking into a ten times messier place than he last saw. He lookrd around and saw rubbish and.clothes everywhere. The baby's crying nonstop at the corner, but Philippe's priority was given to Reese. He saw the tightly closed door of the toilet and tried the knob. It was locked. "Reese? It's me. Open up?" He said into the phone as he knocked on the door.

[Lovebite]

The man had dropped the phone onto the floor, burying his face into his forearms as if the crying would stop on its own, he shook his head repeatedly and pressed himself firmly into the corner between the door and the sink counter, trying to remember what Philippe had said to him. He tried breathing in and out slow and steady, he would be okay because the other man said so, he would be helped and things wouldn't be as bad any more, he would be okay. Reese swallowed deeply and reached up to grasp the door handle, twisting it and pushing it open slowly, peeking out of the crack and looking upwards only slightly. He looked like shit, dark circles under his eyes and his hair greasy, his clothes had stains on them and he looked like he had been through a fight or two as there was blood under his nose and one eye was blackened with a bruise. "Is he gone?"He asked in a quiet voice, his upper lip split as well.

[bhdire8]

"Oh my god Reese! What… what the hell happened! I am gonna kill that son of a b.... anyway. God. Let's get you to thr hospital." Philippe said decisively. He crouchrd down and pushed the door a little wider open. "Yes he's gone. It's just me. Come on babe, come to me. I am gonna make all your pain go away." He said extending his arms, luring Reeese out of his hiding place likr a scares animal. He smiled softly and encouragingly. "Come on, let's get out of here. You are gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine." He said already thinking whivh lawyer he should call. That Joel thing was so gonna pay for this, dearly.

[Lovebite]

Reese shook his head, he was terrified still as he pressed himself into the corner of the bathroom again, he didn't want to go, he didn't want to leave this place and be beaten again,"I-I can't... He... He..."he didn't know why he couldn't. He just couldn't shake the thought having what happened to him just a few hours earlier happen again, he flinched when the door was pushed open even more and tried getting away though only ending up with his back flush against the wall. For a moment, he just watched Philippe as he looked to hold him and he leaned in to press his face into his chest, collapsing into a ball of silent sobs as he clutched onto the other man. The once, big and strong Reese was reduced to a quivering mess and he couldn't get himself back.

[bhdire8]

It was great relief for Reese to finally choose to comr to him. Philippe wasnt unxerstanding whatever Reese wanted to say, but that wasnt important at all. He patted the sobbing crying so sadly, his heart feeling for the young man who had.obviously went through hell. "It's ok now, I promise. No one's gonna hurt you anymorr..." he said in as soothing a voice he could muster. It took quite some time for the crying to die down into a sob. "Let's go now? Anything you need to pack with you?" He asked looking around. "Let's get out of here.... and if you want, you could leave this place permanently. I always have an extra bed at home...." Philippe offerrd, hoping that Reese would agree to that.