"Ryan," her little voice repeated. Ryan jumped out of bed and threw on a pair of shoes.

"Skylar, sweetie, why are you crying?" Ryan kept his voice as steady as possible so he could avoid upsetting the child anymore. Skylar continued to cry through the phone. "Skylar, tell me what's wrong? Where's your daddy?"

"He's not waking up," she whimpered. Ryan grabbed his keys and ran out the door to his car. 

"What happened?" When Skylar's cries got louder, he knew that she was getting more scared. 

"Baby, you don't need to be scared. I'm coming right now okay. Can you tell me what happened?" 

"Dad was here and he was being loud so daddy made me hide," Skylar started crying harder. "and daddy was screaming then dad left."  

"It's gonna be okay Sky. There's nothing to be afraid of anymore. I'll be there soon. Okay?"

"Okay," she said with a sniffle. 

"Okay. Now can you tell me where you're daddy's at?"

"He's on the floor." Ryan gripped the steering wheel tightly. 

"Sky, I need you to put your hand on your daddy's chest and tell me if your hand moves." Ryan heard the girl moving across the room. After a little, Ryan asked again, "does your hand move when you put it on your daddy's chest?"

"Yeah." Ryan let out a sigh of relief. "Ryan.. I'm scared." 

"No baby. Don't be scared." He heard the girl sniffling. He bit his lip and tried to think about what could calm her. "Hey Sky, wanna sing our song?" There was a small pause before Ryan heard anything.

"Mmhm." 

"Yeah? I'll start okay." He took a breath. He was a few minutes from the house. He just needed to keep her calm over the phone a few more minutes. "When the moon fell in love with the sun." He stopped. "Your turn," he said waiting for Skylar to continue the song.

"All was golden in the sky," she sang softly. They both continued together. "All was golden when the day met the night." Ryan listened to her sing, occasionally singing with her. When he pulled up, he ran inside. Skylar was still singing over the phone as he looked around for them. 

He made his way to the kitchen and spotted Skylar sitting next to an unconscious Brendon on the floor. Skylar held the phone against her ear with both hands as she sang the ending of the song through her sniffles. Ryan's heart pounded in his chest.

"Hey Skylar." She turned around and dropped the phone. Ryan kneeled down and pulled her into his arms. He kissed the top of her head. "It's okay baby. It's gonna be okay," he said to reassure her and himself.

"He's not waking up." He lifted her in his arms and went to Brendon. Skylar pushed her face into Ryan's neck. Ryan pressed two fingers on the side of Brendon's windpipe, relieved when he felt a strong pulse. Ryan worked to comfort the shaking child. She was in her pjs and it hurt him to think that she'd been woken up to what was happening to Brendon. 

"I missed you." She gripped the front of his shirt. 

"I missed you too." He hugged her tightly before setting her down. "Can you go to your room while I take care of daddy?" She nodded. "You're so brave," he said with a smile. She returned it before walking to her room. 

Ryan went over and picked Brendon up bridal style, taking the man to his room. He laid him gently in the bed. He kneeled beside the man, taking in all his injuries. Ryan ran his thumb over Brendon's bruised jaw before moving down to wipe a small amount of blood off his cut lip. He moved his eyes down Brendon's body. Gently lifting the boy's shirt, Ryan saw a bruise spanning over his ribs. He ran his fingers over the tender skin, tears forming in his eyes. 

Brendon turned his head, grunting in pain. Ryan slowly pulled away. When Brendon woke up, he sat up fast and winced, bringing his hand to his ribs. He looked around the room in a panic before settling on Ryan. Tears pooled in his eyes. "Ryan?" Brendon's voice was hoarse and by the bruise trying to hide under his collar, Ryan could guess why. 

"Skylar called me." Brendon moved to get up, but Ryan stopped him. "She's okay, just a little scared. You shouldn't move so much." He turned his attention back to Ryan. 

"I'm sorry." A few tears rolled down his cheeks. "I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to leave but he.." Brendon let out a sob. Ryan climbed on the bed and pulled Brendon into his arms. 

"It's okay. We're together now. I'm not leaving." Brendon pressed his face into Ryan's chest. Ryan rubbed his hand up and down Brendon's back, trying to get the boy to stop shaking. 

"I didn't want to leave. I just got so scared." Ryan was going to tell him it's okay, but he wanted to know why Brendon felt he needed to leave. 

"What happened?" Brendon sniffled and let out a ragged breathe. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to," Ryan said when Brendon didn't answer.

"No, it's okay. You deserve to know." Brendon grabbed Ryan's hand for comfort. "I'm assuming you were able to piece some things together after tonight." Ryan nodded silently. "Let me just start by saying that Dallon wasn't always this way. And I know that's how all these stories start, but he'd never hurt me before. But something changed and after I had Skylar, things just got worse. Anyway, he came to see me at the dinner. He managed to convince my manager to let us use the office to talk." Brendon's free hand traced old bruises. Ryan tightened his grip on his hand. 

"Well, he heard that I found someone. I don't know how, but he didn't like the thought of me with someone new. If I wasn't available, he wouldn't be able to... use me however he pleased." Brendon's hand came up to brush away his tears. 

"And before you ask, I've tired to get away, but he stops me every time. Each attempted ended worse than the last. When I had Skylar, trying to get away wasn't possible without one of us getting hurt. I can't stand the thought of that little girl getting hurt because of the stupid mistake I made being with him. He never threatened to hurt her before, not until he heard I was with you. He said he'd take her and..." Brendon bit his lip trying to contain himself. Ryan didn't want to hear his next words either. 

"Why didn't you go to the police?"

"He's a big shot lawyer and has connections to cover all this up. I've tried before and it just ends... bad." Ryan held Brendon protectively. "I'm sorry... for that night. I got scared. I just wanted to keep my daughter safe." Ryan moved Brendon up so they were looking eye to eye. 

"Don't apologize. You have every right to react the way you did. You were just protecting her." Even with tears staining his cheeks, Brendon managed to smile at Ryan. The two leaned in and pressed their lips together. The kiss was gentle at first as their mouths moved in sync. 

Brendon climbed on Ryan, saddling his lap and wrapping his arms around his neck. He pulled Ryan closer to deepen their kiss. Ryan placed his hands on Brendon's waist as he ran his tongue over his bottom lip, asking for entrance. Brendon shuddered as his opened his mouth. Ryan slid his tongue through his lips and explored Brendon's mouth. They clung onto each other in desperation. They've been starved of each other. Now, they couldn't get enough.  

Brendon pulled away panting heavily. They looked into each other's eyes while they tried slowing their pounding hearts. Ryan kept his hands on Brendon's waist as he leaned in. He dragged his lips over Brendon's skin, kissing gently every so often. He left kisses on the younger boy's cheek, across his jaw, and down his neck. Ryan moved his lips back to Brendon's. The kiss was much gentler. They barely touched. When they pulled away, Ryan held Brendon's gaze. His heart was pounding hard as his throat went dry. 

"I love you," Ryan's hands tightened around Brendon's waist after he spoke. He waited for any kind of response from the boy on his lap. After a beat, Brendon pulled him in and connected their lips again. He pulled away with a smile.

"I love you too." The two stayed smiling at each other. A small voice shook them out of their little trance.

"Daddy?" Brendon got off Ryan and went over to the little girl. 

"Hey baby." He pulled the girl into his arms.

"You okay?" 

"Yes baby. I'm okay." She pointed to the bruises on his jaw and neck. 

"Ouchie." Brendon brought his hand up to his damaged skin. 

"It doesn't hurt." 

"Oh," she nodded. "Ryan kissed it better?" Brendon's face turned red and he turned to Ryan who was laughing on the bed. He picked up Skylar and avoided her question.

"Sky, why did you call Ryan?" He asked as he moved beside Ryan. Skylar moved between them, getting comfortable in the covers. The couple sandwiched the child, pulling a blanket over themselves.

"Ryan told me to." Brendon looked at Ryan.

"What do you mean he told you to?"

"He told me if dad hurt you that he wanted me to call." Brendon look down at his daughter sadly. "And when I, was scared, we sang our song." A smile tugged on his lips. She always managed to turn the situation to avoid keeping her daddy too sad. 

"Oh yeah? And what song did you sing?"

"The one about the moon and sun." Brendon smiled at the girl and shook his head.

"Sweetie that's a story, not a song."

"Yes it is. Ryan made me a song and we sang it." Brendon looked at Ryan in confusion. Ryan wasn't looking at him and kept his eyes on Skylar. 

"Can you sing it for me?" Ryan visibly tensed, but Skylar was more than happy to comply.

"When the moon fell in love with the sun. All was golden in the sky. All was golden when the day met the night," she started. Ryan stayed silent as she went through with the first verse.

Brendon reached over and held Ryan's hand. Ryan finally looked up to meet Brendon's eyes. They locked their fingers together. Ryan took a breath before joining Skylar.

"When the moon found the sun, he looked like he was barely hanging on but his eyes saved his life in the middle of summer." Brendon smiled at the two singing for him. This is the first time he heard one of Ryan's songs and he couldn't be happier. 

The three laid in the bed singing and snuggled together. When Skylar fell asleep after finishing the song, Brendon leaned over and kissed Ryan, who didn't hesitate kissing back. "You're amazing," Brendon said, not being able to wipe the smile off his face. 

"Not as amazing as you." After one last kiss, Brendon rested his head on his pillow and fell sleep. Ryan watched the two for a little before closing his eyes. For the first time in two weeks, he had no trouble falling into an undisturbed sleep.