Quinn all but choked on that little piece of logic. Drew had to hide his face behind his hands at the stark look on Nathan's face. "Well, okay, then. Honey, nobody is going to take Nate away from us, we're stuck with him for life," Quinn told her.
"But, Daddy, Nathan and Drew were just talking about a monster who wanted Nathan and did bad things to him."
"Shit," Nathan swore under his breath, his face gone completely pale. "Emma, that was a long time ago, and Drew and your daddy made sure that monster can't ever come back for me."
"Is that where you got all of your sores?" She looked between the three men trying to decide if they were telling her the truth. "The ones you painted over too?"
"Yeah, sweetie, I was hurt pretty badly. But your daddy saved me. He's my hero."
"And Drew? Is he your hero too?" Emma looked them all over, her heart in her eyes. "If he helped save you, then he's your hero, too, and you should kiss him like you kiss Daddy."
Both Nathan and Quinn grew very still, a look passed between them, almost pained. "Honey, that's not why Nathan and I kiss."
"Oh, Daddy, I know that Nathan is your husband. The kids at school told me that you love each other and it's a sin. I don't think so. Nathan is just a Nathan, he's not a sin."
"Okay, exactly how did this conversation come up?" Quinn looked relieved that the topic had moved on from Nathan kissing Drew, but not so much about where this was going.
"We were talking about our families, how everyone but me has a mommy. But I have two daddies. And they said Nathan wasn't my daddy and that you and him are something called homos and that you're sinners." There was distress in her voice, tears touched her eyes. "You're not homos, are you?"
Drew had no idea how to process the frozen scene before him. Nathan, Quinn, and Natalie stood with identical expressions of horror on their faces as the child looked from one to the other for comfort. "No, honey, we're not sinners. It's not a sin to love someone the way I love Nate. The kids at school just don't understand what it's like to have two daddies who love them, that's all."
"Daddy, what happened to my mommy? Didn't you love her enough to keep her?"
The look on Quinn's face could have been comical, should have been, but Drew felt nothing but pity for him. Horror would closely describe what the man was feeling. Trapped would come in a close second.
"Okay, how about I take Emma inside for a popsicle or a Pop Tart or popcorn or something with the word 'pop' in it. Pudding Pop. Do they still make those things? How about it, Emma, would you like a snack? And I'm sure there's probably an episode of Phineas and Ferb on TV somewhere." Natalie overcame her speechlessness first. She shot Nathan a sympathetic look that swept Drew as well.
"Ooh, do we have any grape popsicles? Those are my favorite." Emma struggled to get down, her questions now completely forgotten. "And I'd rather watch iCarly. Phineas and Ferb is for babies."
Natalie let the little girl run ahead of her into the house before she leaned over to Quinn and said, "You owe me, big time."
"I'll call the florist now, or would you prefer the jeweler? I need to buy someone a diamond, might as well be you, sweetheart." Quinn wrapped her in his arms and planted a huge kiss on her lips.
"Damn, Quinn, you shouldn't kiss me like that, I'll think you mean it. No wonder Nathan loves you." She turned pink. "And it had better be one fricken big diamond to offset the damage iCarly is sure to inflict." She stepped out of Quinn's hug and reached over to pat Drew on the shoulder as if they hadn't met at all just a couple of hours ago. "Hey, Drew, it's nice seeing you here. Mama is bringing dinner with her in about an hour. Don't let these two stuff you too full of junk, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am," he said as she walked away leaving him to face Quinn for the first time since those days they spent waiting for Nathan to wake up.
"Well, she seemed happy to see you, a little bit, at least." Quinn waited until Natalie walked into the house behind his daughter before he greeted Drew. His arms were strong and warm when he hugged, slapping Drew on his back in welcome. "It's so good to see you again, Drew. I just wish it wasn't under horrific conditions."
"I'm like a bad penny. I turn up at the scene of horror way too often." Drew liked the sloppy way Quinn hugged. He pounded him on his back in return and let him drape his arm over his shoulder. He felt included.
"So exactly what just happened here?" Quinn looked from Nathan back to Drew. "What exactly were you two talking about that got Emma so upset?"
Nathan grabbed a towel from a chair and wrapped it around his waist. "Come on, let's go home. I'll tell you on the way." He placed a kiss on Quinn's mouth and walked away from the house toward a trail leading into a copse of trees. "Drag Drew with you."