This part's from Danny's POV, a few months later.

Danny was trying very hard to be supportive.

What he really wanted to do was be honest—list all the ways this girl was completely and totally wrong for Martin, from the fact she had been a suspect in their most recent investigation (well, in his eyes, at least) to the way she'd joked with him the first time he'd interviewed her, laughing off his questions about the missing teen (her neighbour) with the admission that she really wasn't all that interested in kids.

He knew that was probably the ultimate deal-breaker in Martin's eyes.

Still, Danny refrained from pointing out these problems, mainly because he knew how nervous Martin was. "I haven't been on a date since Kim," he murmured, fixing his tie as he stood in front of the bedroom mirror.

Danny sat behind him, cross-legged on the bed, plucking at the wool comforter. "That's pretty sad," he said, whistling, and Martin turned to shoot him a look. Danny smiled. "I'm kidding. You'll be fine."

They'd had a week to prepare for this, eight days since Nina Ellison slipped Martin her number and told him to call her, seven days since he had. Seven long days wherein Martin anxiously over-analysed every detail; seven days and Danny still wasn't ready to pretend he was happy for him.

It wasn't that he didn't want Martin to date. It was a free country, he could do whatever he wanted. It's not like there was anything between them. Just because they spent most nights in the same bed—not touching, because Martin had made a silly rule about half a bed each—and they were sharing an apartment and a car usually, not to mention the fact they were successfully co-parenting a little girl who had begun referring to the three of them as a 'family,' did not mean that he had any obligation to stay single whatsoever. This was never supposed to be about them. It was always about Savannah, and Danny wasn't about to let any feelings he should have forgotten by now interfere with the fact things were pretty good for all of them right now.

Besides, he knew Martin was a good guy, that he wouldn't bring somebody new into their lives until things were more permanent, that even if he did end up getting serious with this girl—or any girl, really- he would always put Savannah first.

But that didn't mean he wanted Martin to just go out and fall for the first girl who batted her eyelashes at him. He could do better than Nina Ellison: he could do better than somebody who hadn't known him fifteen seconds before she was throwing herself at him; somebody who probably ate guys like Martin for breakfast; somebody who laughed at his jokes not because it was adorable that he'd messed up the punch-line, but because she wanted him to think she was good for his ego.

Savannah slipped into the room, climbing onto the bed and into Danny's lap. She looked down at the iPad he'd just set to the side, the one he was using to run a quick background check on Nina, desperate to find a solid reason to bring up his concerns to Martin.

"Is that her?" Savannah asked, pointing the picture the check had dragged up, her latest driving licence photograph. When Danny nodded, she turned to Martin. "She's very pretty," she said kindly.

Savannah wasn't even saying it to make him feel better—for all her flaws (that only Danny could see, obviously) Nina was beautiful. Her white-blonde hair was longer in the photograph than it was now, but that just showed she suited her hair both long and short; her enchanting elfin features reminded Danny of one of Savannah's favourite dolls; her bright blue eyes carried a constant spark of something sexy.

Martin spun around to face them, confused and having missed most of the conversation. When he spotted the iPad on Savannah's knee, he paired it with her compliment and then glared at Danny. "You didn't," he said, but it was weak—he was too nervous to be angry.

Danny pasted on his best smile. "The good news is she's not a serial killer."

"And the bad news?"

"That shirt went out of style before you were born," Danny quipped, eyeing him up and Savannah giggled enough to have Martin smiling just because she was, so Danny knew he was off the hook for the remark.

Martin turned back to the mirror. "Really?"

"Relax. You're going to the cinema, right? It'll be dark."

This didn't seem to help Martin even a little bit. Still, he took a deep breath and sat down on the edge of the bed beside them. "What trouble are you two going to get in tonight anyway?"

"We're gonna to watch the Hannah Montana movie," Savannah explained, and Danny flopped back onto the bed dramatically, throwing his hand over his eyes. He didn't need to be watching to know that Martin was smirking at his reaction. "And then we're going to have a tea party."

"Sounds fun," Martin said, and Savannah made a noise of sincere agreement. "We'll probably go for something to eat after the movie, so don't save me anything."

Danny hadn't even considered the fact the date might extend to a restaurant. He'd been comforting himself with the vision of Martin and Nina in a darken room, paying more attention to the movie than each other, then taking their separate cars back to their respective apartments—Martin back home in time for them to read Savannah's bedtime story together.

"Oh," Danny said, sitting up again, and then he realised how hollow his response sounded. "Yeah, well, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Martin laughed a little, but he was eyeing Danny suspiciously. "You sure you guys are going to be okay?"

"No, Martin, we absolutely cannot survive without you for a few hours," Danny joked, rolling his eyes. "We'll be fine and you know it. Stop looking for excuses."

Martin sighed heavily. He looked between Danny and Savannah. "I've always been really bad at dates," he confessed.

"Shocking," Danny deadpanned, and that won him another glare from Martin and another giggle from Savannah.

"I bet she really likes you," Savannah said helpfully, standing up on the bed and wrapping her arms around Martin's neck. She whispered something in his ear that Danny couldn't make out, and then she hopped off the bed and skipped out of the room, singing the song from Enchanted, 'Does she know that you love her?'

"She seems to be handling this well," Martin said when she was gone.

Danny blinked at him. "It's one date, Martin. You're not marrying the girl— why would she?" He was being defensive, but this was the first family he'd belonged to in a really long time, and he didn't like the idea that it could slip right though his fingers depending on how tonight went.

"Well, you know. It's just been the three of us for so long now. I didn't think she'd like the possibility of change."

Danny still thought Martin was jumping the gun a bit, but he had a point. When Martin had told Savannah he was going out tonight with a girl he'd met through work, Danny had expected a little more of a reaction than her innocent question, "is Danny going too?"

In actual fact, Savannah was handling this a whole lot better than he was.

"Crap, is that the time? I should get going." Martin slipped his shoes on, grabbed his jacket. He paused by the bedroom door, hesitating, as though he were waiting for Danny to follow. "I'll let you know if I'm going to be late," he said gently, typical Martin Fitzgerald, considerate-as-always.

Danny nodded, ignoring the throbbing pain in his chest. "Good luck," he said, winking and offering his best fake smile. "Not that you need it."

Martin flashed him grateful smile, and then he was gone from the room: Danny heard him say goodbye to Savannah, and then he heard a door shut.

Savannah walked in cautiously, jumped back onto the double bed and back into his lap. She patted his arm gently. "You can pick the move before Hannah Montana," she said sympathetically, and he tried not to be struck by the fact he was pathetic enough a six-year old was feeling sorry for him.

They ended up watching Finding Nemo, because it was the only Disney movie with no real romantic plot that Danny could remember off the top of his head. It was the least likely to depress him; it was the least likely to make him reflect on his sorry situation right now.

Until he got halfway through the movie and came to the startling conclusion that the name Marlin was scarily close to Martin—that the plot was basically about a single father struggling to parent alone, but instead of Nemo's mother being eaten by a bigger fish, Danny was seeing Martin and Nina as the reason.

Hannah Montana didn't make him feel much better— another father-kid duo, and Savannah curled up at side should have been a comfort, but instead he was thinking of what might happen if Martin and Nina did get serious: if, God forbid, they got married or she moved in. Where did that leave him? And what guaranteed that Savannah would want to live with Danny, over the family Martin would be able to promise her?

He realised how ridiculous these concerns were—like he'd said before, it was one date. But apparently, Danny wasn't capable of logic when Martin was out probably kissing some girl and the only thought that kept coming back was 'why aren't we enough for him?'

When 8pm came, Danny playfully chased Savannah around the apartment for a half hour to take his mind off of what he might lose. They argued for ten minutes straight about why a fairy princess consume was not a suitable substitute for pyjamas. When he finally got her tucked into bed, she begged him to read the next two chapters of Inkheart, her favourite story of all time (well, this week, anyway) because Martin wasn't here for them to take it in turns.

He read four and a half chapters, because after the first two she still hadn't fallen asleep, and she was cuddling closer, eyes lighting up as he turned the pages and the dark sketches in the corners were brought to life by his voice reading the words.

He had never known a love this effortless, never found making somebody happy so easy, but Savannah didn't take much pleasing.

Every day when he picked her up from school she ran to him like it had been weeks since they'd seen each other, rather than hours; she'd happily tell him every detail about her day, she'd ask him about his because she was genuinely interested and she looked upon the what parts he could tell her about with childish awe; she'd fallen in the park a once or twice—ice on the footpath and her childish naivety that she could run carelessly and not get hurt to blame—and each time, all that it had taken to soothe her was a careful hug from him and a promise of something sweet.

"Danny?" Savannah asked, interrupting both his thoughts and his reading.

"Uh-huh?" he asked, closing the book over halfway, using his hand to keep the page, so he could get a better look at her.

"You know how Martin went on a date tonight?"

Danny nodded. There was a pause.

"Does he love her?" An innocent question from the most innocent of children, but Danny resented it anyway. Martin wasn't that careless—certainly not with his heart—and he'd had only met Nina once or twice, so Danny knew the answer. Despite this, he couldn't say definitively that one day Martin might not love her, or another woman like her, and he knew that was what Savannah was really asking.

"I don't know," Danny said honestly, tilting his head to the side. He didn't know what it felt like to be six-years old and have your life turned upside down too many times; realised that what he considered a threat to their makeshift family might be the hugest deal in the world to a quiet little girl who just had had more than enough upset in the last twelve months. "But I know he loves you more."

He wasn't even saying it just because it was what she needed to hear—it was the truth. Martin loved Savannah just as much as Danny did; just as much as she loved them both, and that was why Martin going on a date for the first time in their life as a family was even warranting this kind of discussion. There was so much love packed into this tiny apartment, but none of them really wanted to share it outside the four walls.

"I don't want things to change anymore," Savannah said softly. "But if it makes him happy, I think I'm okay with it."

Danny stared at her for a beat longer than he needed to, and then he cleared his throat and looked away guiltily. He was being selfish resenting this: if a six-year old who had a hell of a lot more reason to be hurt than he did by Martin going on a date could see past her own feelings and put Martin's first, why couldn't he?

Maybe he thought Martin was too smart or gorgeous or sweet for Nina; maybe he was being such a jerk out of a genuine fear for their tiny family, for what was best for their daughter (and it still felt weird to refer to her as that, but that's effectively what she was now) but he was still being paranoid and unreasonable and unfair.

Just because Martin met a girl he liked did not mean he would suddenly disregard the last five months of their life together; just because he spent tonight with Nina didn't mean he wouldn't have breakfast with Danny and Savannah in the morning, laughing with them over cereal like this is where he belonged; just because he was trying to be a normal guy again did not no longer wanted to be Danny best friend, or Savannah's father.

"You're such a good girl," Danny said, touching his hand to Savannah's dark hair. "What would we do without you?"

She smiled widely and snuggled closer once more. She tapped the cover of the book impatiently. "You were on page 82," she said sweetly, and Danny returned her smile.

He definitely wasn't waiting up.

It was simply that Danny couldn't sleep, not content knowing a part of their family was missing; that he couldn't remember if Martin had taken his front door key with him and he didn't want the other man to wake Savannah banging on the door.

And when Martin did arrive home—using his key, and that was Danny's excuse rendered useless—he was absolutely not pretending to be asleep on the couch.

He felt Martin staring, felt a blush rising on his cheeks, but all of the lights were out so he doubted Martin could tell anyway.

"You suck a fake sleeping," Martin murmured, flopping down on the couch beside him, and that had Danny smiling.

He cracked his eyes open and sat up straighter. "You suck a creeping in, I could hear your footsteps from two flights of stairs below."

Martin smiled too, but it was forced, and suddenly Danny was thinking that he finally had an excuse to kill this Nina bitch, if she'd upset him.

"Do you think we'll ever find people who know us as well as we know each other?" Martin asked, shifting into the cushions and loosening his tie. Danny breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't notice any traces of lipstick or bites on Martin's neck.

Danny felt like his heartbeat was in his throat—he thought he was the only one who'd recognised the intimacy. Still, he had a feeling this was less about them and more to do with tonight's events. He turned toward Martin. "How did it go?" he asked softly.

Martin probably wasn't used to hearing such genuine concern from Danny directed at him, so he understandably seemed a little taken aback. "It was…" he waved his hand around, and it amused Danny to watch his fumble for the perfect description. He settled with, "painfully awkward."

Danny winced in sympathy. "How bad?"

"She kept pretending to accidently brush her hand against mine, and I'm not used to anybody but you talking through a movie."

"Please tell me you weren't thinking about me the entire time?" Danny asked, mock-hopefully, and Martin thrashed his elbow against Danny's side, causing him to laugh.

"Actually," Martin said, when Danny sobered, "I kind of was. Thinking about you, I mean. Well, and Savannah- obviously. It's so weird. I've spent the last five months doing the same thing every night with the two of you, and I never really realised how much I love it until I spent one night doing something different." He threw his hands over his eyes. "Oh God, Danny, do you think we're ever going to want to do normal adult things again? I mean I'm sitting there, watching a Tom Hanks movie, arguing with this beautiful girl that his best role was obviously as Woody in Toy Story, while she's insisting it was Saving Private Ryan. I'm like, taking it personally, like she's attacking a relative, for God's sake."

This made Danny only laugh harder, the image of Martin defending Woody relentlessly too much for him to handle. Eventually, Martin gave in and laughed along with him.

"I'm sorry," Danny managed, wiping warm tears from his eyes. "That's just the best thing I've heard all day."

"You mean two hours of Miley Cyrus singing wasn't this comical?"

Danny glared at him, but it was half-hearted. "That was a low blow," he scolded, but Martin just smiled triumphantly.

"To answer your question," Danny said, after a few minutes of comfortable silence, "I definitely think we'll want to do adult stuff again." When Martin looked at him, eyes wide and expectant, Danny couldn't resist adding, "When she graduates college."

"You are a jerk," Martin growled.

"I'm also very tired," Danny said, yawning just to emphasise his point. He motioned his head toward the bedroom. "Bet you didn't think you'd end tonight sleeping with me, did you?"

Martin's eyes narrowed, but Danny knew there was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "This is not at all how I thought my life—or my night—would go, no." He shook his head. "But I don't know, I think I'm happier than I could have been if things had turned out like I expected, you know?"

Danny did know, because he hadn't seen Martin or Savannah coming either, but now that he had them—and now that they had him, completely by the heart—the sheer thought of not having them anymore was enough to drive him crazy.

"Do you think you'll be seeing Nina again?" Danny asked quietly, as he led the way to the bedroom, knowing Martin was following.

"I doubt it."

"Oh, that's a shame," Danny said, hoping he sounded more sympathetic than he sounded.

It was dark in their room- and they always got dressed in the dark because it was marginally less awkward- so he couldn't see Martin's expression, but he could feel the heat of his glare against his bare back as he slipped between shirts.

"Restrain your glee," Martin said dryly, and Danny would likely get kicked in the middle of the night, but he was smiling nonetheless.