TONIGHT WE'RE GOLD

FORTY-THREE

They wake up to more crying.

'I'll go –' Gerard mumbles, getting up and walking to the small crib on one side of the room where the cries are coming from.

'No, babe –' Frank tries to stop him, but he doesn't have enough energy to get up. 'I'll go.'

'No, you have school tomorrow. You need to rest.'

It's been a week since the babies are home, and they're still trying to get used to their lives as parents and balance taking care two newborns with the rest of their responsibilities. Frank is about to start finals, and turn in important papers in between completing his social work hours at the community center and then come home to be a dad. But it feels good to say that.

And while Gerard is taking a break from writing and work in general to be a full-time dad, Frank knows it's not fair to leave the whole responsibility to him. So, he gets up and takes Emi in his arms, still half asleep. 'I think she pooped.'

'I'll take care of it,' Gerard insists.

'No, it's fine.' He quickly takes care of it, while his husband carries Dylan and tries to get him back to sleep. They both pace around the room, until Emi and Dylan finally doze off. 'This is going to be our life, isn't it?'

'Yes,' Frank mumbles, and then looks up at his husband. 'And I couldn't be happier.'

'Me neither.'

And every morning, he still has to wake up at seven, grab coffee and a bagel before running to his class. 'See?' he says to Gerard when he finds him feeding the babies in the kitchen, who are surprisingly calm. 'You're getting the hang of it.'

'But it doesn't come as natural as it does for you.'

'Who says it does? I have no idea what I'm doing.'

'You're lying.' Frank gets ready, and grabs his backpack from the counter before approaching Gerard for a kiss. 'My mom is coming later to help. But I think it's just an excuse to see them.'

'Aww! That's nice of her!'

'Yeah, she visits them more than she visits her own son.'

'Don't be jealous, she loves you too. And say hi from me, will you?' He kisses him again, and then each of their children's foreheads. 'Dad will be home soon. Take care of your father for me. Love you.'

'Good luck, babe.'

'Thank you.'

Frank is thankful he only has a couple more weeks before finals, and then he could be done with school forever. And sitting in the back of the room, he wonders why didn't he choose online classes instead. But he's almost done. He only has to push a little bit harder, and do his best not to fall asleep in class, and finish his damned essay. At least now, thanks to one of his classmates he discovered how to record the lecture on his phone to take notes later, and though he feels like an old men surrounded by so many younger kids, he knows it gives him an advantage in some ways.

He goes to the center for a couple hours only, helping in the food drive and checking up on the kids before going home.

When he gets there, Donna has Dylan in her arms, while Gerard is in the kitchen. 'Look who's home,' she says. 'It's your dad!'

'Hi,' Frank greets her and then his kids.

'How was school?'

'Stressful. But at least I'm almost done.'

Just then, Gerard approaches. 'Hi, babe.'

'You're cooking?'

'Yeah, making dinner.'