|sad| {edelmandola}

Chapter Two.

"Dad! Daddy! It's breakfast time!" Alex yelled, entering the living room. Julian and Danny were still asleep. "Get up! I don't have all day!"

Julian slowly opened his eyes and got off the couch, being careful not to wake Danny. "Sh, baby. Daddy's still sleeping," Julian picked up Alex, who's eyes filled with tears, "What's wrong baby?"

"I don't want daddy to sleep anymore. If he sleeps too long, he'll be like Shayla," Alex sniffed, "I don't want Daddy to go away."

"Daddy won't go away," Julian promised, "He's just really tired." Alex still looked upset. "You can wake him up after we make breakfast, okay?"

"Okay!" Alex cheered.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Julian sat Alex on the counter and opened the fridge, "We have... Nothing. Great."

"You better make something appear," Alex stuck his tongue out at Julian. 

"Do you want Dunkin' Donuts?" Julian asked.

"Obviously! Who says no to donuts?!" Alex exclaimed. 

Julian nodded and grabbed his phone, texting Rob Gronkowski. 'Hey man, I know you're coming over today to watch Alex for a bit so Danny and I can have some time to ourselves. Thank you again for that, by the way. I was wondering if you could pick up a donut or something for Alex on your way over here? We completely forgot to go to the store and we literally have no food. I'm so sorry, I'll pay you back as soon as you get here. I don't want to leave because last night was really rough and I promised Danny I'd be here when he wakes up."

Within seconds, Rob replied. 'Yes, of course, anything for you guys! You're not paying me back for anything. If the roles were reversed I know your family would do the same for me. How are you guys holding up? I'll be there soon, love you guys.'

'We're doing okay, and thank you so much. We love you too.' Julian sent and looked up from his phone at Alex, who was still sitting on the counter, "Uncle Rob will bring you a donut, baby." Alex grinned. "For now, I'm gonna go watch a movie, do you want to watch it with me?" Alex nodded. "You have to be quiet, though, okay? Daddy's still sleeping and I'm going to try to sleep too."

Julian carried Alex back into the living room. He laid next to Danny again like he had before Alex woke him up. Alex laid on top of Danny, who was still sleeping. Julian turned on the Lion King, before remembering the part where Mufasa dies. Julian didn't think he'd be able to watch anything that had anything to do with death right now. Thirty seconds into the movie, Julian changed it. 

"Dad!" Alex sighed loudly. He loved the Lion King. 

"Baby, don't wake up Daddy," Julian ruffled his sons hair, turning on Toy Story. Julian reached over Danny to set the remote on the coffee table and pulled a blanket across them before situating his head on Danny's chest. 

Since Danny was asleep and Alex was focused on Toy Story, Julian allowed himself to release the tears he had been holding back since he woke up. He hated how quiet the morning had been. It was unusual for their house. The mornings were usually chaotic between trying to get Alex to school and trying of get Shayla up and functioning so she could go to practice with her parents. Neither of their kids were too fond of the mornings, just like Danny, so it proved to be a lot of work to get everyone where they needed to be on time.

This was the first morning that they had as a family since Shayla died and Julian hated it. He missed the little sass machine that was his daughter and the quietness was hard to handle. The past week, people had been in and out of their house, offering condolences and doing anything that they could do to help the young couple. Their parents had stayed with them until returning back to California and Texas, respectively, after the funeral yesterday. This was the first time that Julian, Danny and Alex were alone when they first woke up and it was awful.

It would be even harder when Alex went back to school on Monday, since their home would be completely kid free. Julian was dreading it and although Danny was unable to think that far in advance, he would dread it too. Thankfully, it was almost summer. That meant that Alex wouldn't have school and they would soon become busy with training camp. Julian was hoping that he wouldn't have time to be sad and Danny was hoping for the same. 

Julian wiped his tears away and looked up at Danny before focusing on the movie. A few minutes later, Danny opened his eyes, which instantly filled with tears. He felt the exact same as Julian, he hated the new quiet that came in the morning. 

"Morning, babe," Julian pressed a kiss to Danny's lips, "How are you feeling?"

Danny shrugged, "How about you?" Julian shrugged as well. 

They didn't say anything, they just focused on Alex. They were both so happy that they at least had Alex, but they were also devastated that their little girl was gone.

"Hi, daddy!" Alex climbed on top of Danny, nearly taking out Julian's face in the process. Danny and Julian laughed weakly and Alex kissed Danny's cheek.

"Hey, kid," Danny said quietly. 

"Daddy, why are you still sad? You have me and Dad!" Alex smiled. 

"I'm okay, baby. Go get dressed and brush your teeth, Uncle Rob will be here soon, I think." Danny murmured. Alex nodded and went to his room to get dressed. "I hate this," Danny's voice shook and he looked down at his husband, "I want this to be over."

"I do too, babe," Julian murmured, "I was thinking that maybe you and I could go to the store to get some things for Alex, like a toy or something, once Rob gets here. I think you and I need to get out of the house and go somewhere that isn't a funeral home."

Danny forced a laugh, "Yeah, that'd be nice."

Soon enough, Rob arrived. He didn't have one donut, he had five boxes of a dozen donuts each, various breakfast sandwiches, coffee for Danny and Jules and hot chocolate for Alex. 

"Holy shit, Rob," Danny's eyes were wide, "Thank you."

"Oh my god," Julian laughed, "You bought sixty donuts?!"

"I figured the kid might be hungry," Rob shrugged, setting everything on the counter. 

"The kid is starving!" Alex exclaimed, running over to Rob and hugging his legs, "Thank you, uncle Rob!"

"Anytime, kid," Rob smiled. Alex sat at the table and began eating. Rob greeted Danny and Julian. "How are you, guys?"

"Tired," Julian mumbled, "How are you?"

"Good," Rob answered, looking at Danny, who was leaning on Julian, "How about you, Danny? How are you?"

"I don't know," Danny said quietly, holding back tears and looking at the ground.

"Alright," Rob said softly, "Well, you two do your thing. I'm stealing Alex for the day. Try to relax, you guys. Let me know of you guys need anything."

Julian and Danny both nodded. They were both worried about letting Alex out of their sight since he was their only kid left, but they both knew that they needed to do it and they both trusted Rob. 

"Babe," Julian rested his head on Danny's shoulder after Rob and Alex left. His eyes were filled with tears. "I don't think I want to go to the store anymore."

"I don't either," Danny agreed tiredly, "I'm so exhausted."

"I hate this," Julian stated.