"I have to be there for him," Julian said in a hushed voice. Facing the kitchen window, he was staring into the lonely darkness of the countryside at night, and it seemed almost like he was talking to himself. "When there is no one to comfort you, that's when the fear sinks in deep, grows roots."

Rob stood to one side of him, tracing the lines of his profile with his gaze. Losing himself in those beautiful, haunted eyes, he reached out and put his arms around Julian. Rob embraced him gently, letting him pull away if he wanted to. He didn't do that. Julian stayed in his arms and rested against him for a moment, letting Rob feel the beating of his heart. It wasn't long enough for Rob. Julian pulled away before Rob was ready to let him go.

Keeping his eyes down, Julian told him, " Thank you."

"Just returning the hug you gave me." Rob shrugged, but it was a lot more than that to him. He needed to hold Julian, take some of his pain from him. "I wish I had known this sooner. I thought you left all the lights on for Danny's sake," he said as they went out into the hall.

"It's for him too," Julian said.

"I'll make sure every room has more than one light in it," Rob decided but Julian started to object.

"You don't need to..."

"It's not a big deal. It's just a safety measure," he said. He went to the closet under the stairs for a light bulb and saw the costume there. He gave the package to Julian. The sight of it seemed to cheer him up, and he took it upstairs.

Watching him make his way up the stairs, Rob hated to let him go. He didn't want to leave Julian alone or let him out of his sight for a minute. What did he want to do, stand guard over him all night to make sure he never had a nightmare or one bad moment in his life? Yes, that's exactly what Rob wanted.