I had an idea for a storyline that would work within the AU of 'We Are Family' that woudn't leave me alone, but I didn't want to derail the plan I already have for that fic, so I decided to write it as a oneshot. If inspiration strikes me then I may write more oneshots set in this version of the AU but I'm not promising anything.

I hope you're all staying safe in these crazy times.

"You understand that I need to do this right?" Leroy asked softly.

"I do" Hiram sighed into the phone held against his ear, "but just because I understand, doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I know" Leroy agreed, "I don't like it either, I'd much rather be at home with the two of you but…"

"Just, just try and stay safe" Hiram found himself blinking back tears, "we need you to come back to us."

"I will" Leroy promised, "I will, do you want me to talk to Rachel? Try and explain it to her."

"She's asleep" Hiram told him, "she was late taking her nap but I, it's probably for the best if we don't say anything, she's taking this hard enough as it is, I…"

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault Leroy" Hiram reassured him, "just know that we love you and we know you're just doing what you need to do."

Leroy sighed, "It doesn't make it any easier though does it?"

"No. It doesn't."

"Talking about doing what we need to" Leroy cautiously brought up the thing he knew he needed to tell his husband, "I've got a friend who needs somewhere to stay for two weeks before going to their family, they're fine, no symptoms, they just don't want to take any risks, I've offered them our basement, they won't disturb you."

Hiram found himself nodding, "I feel like I should be arguing with you or asking for more details but I… I trust you're not letting a serial killer into our basement." Hiram was too tired, too worried to argue with his husband.

"Of course not" there was silence for a moment before Leroy spoke again, "I love you. Will you, will you tell Rachel I love her too."

"Always. We both love you Lee, so, so much."

"I have to go now, I'll call you when I can."

"Okay" Hiram nodded, "I love you, look after yourself."

"You too" Leroy replied before the phone went dead.

Hiram sighed, only letting his tears fall once he was sure he'd ended the call. It was something he'd found himself doing a lot lately, holding himself together until Rachel was asleep before breaking down and letting his tears fall.

It had been almost three weeks since he'd last seen his husband, since the last night Rachel had spent with both her fathers. Leroy was a doctor, on the front line fighting against an outbreak of a virus that seemed never ending. Once it became clear that this wasn't just going to go away, that things were more serious than anyone could ever have imagined, Hiram and Leroy had made the tough decision that, for the foreseeable future, Leroy would move into their basement so his family weren't at risk if he was to bring the virus home.

At one point they'd had plans to use the space as a home gym so they'd had a small shower room installed, and, once Leroy had decided that he'd be taking himself out of the family home, Hiram had ordered a bed, a couch and some basic kitchen equipment along with several other things that he thought would make the space a little more homely for his husband. But now Leroy had decided thst even that wasn't enough and he'd called to let Hiram know that, at least for the next month or so, he'd be staying with a colleague who lived closer to the hospital than they did.

Hiram was lucky, he was able to 'work' from home, but he hadn't quite managed to do any work. Thankfully his office had been understanding, accepted that he was now a single parent to a toddler who was missing her Papa, who couldn't understand why, not only had her Papa had to go away, but now nobody could tell her how long it would be until she next saw her Mommy either.

Shelby had done her best to step up in Leroy's absence, despite still being in New York she was doing all she could for her daughter. She called her every morning, setting the girl a simple task every day, "find me six red things", "find me two soft things". And then she'd call again every evening so Rachel could tell her Mommy what she'd found, so Rachel could talk about her day and so Shelby could read Rachel a bedtime story, and Hiram was sure it was only the consistency from her Mommy that was stopping Rachel having a meltdown Hiram wasn't sure would ever end. Shelby had even taken to calling Hiram back once Rachel was asleep, knowing he was struggling with Leroy's absence too and wanting him to know he wasn't alone.

It became apparent to Hiram that, whoever Leroy had invited to stay in their basement, arrived not long after his phone call with his husband. They weren't disruptive, they weren't loud, never disturbed him, but occasionally he'd hear the quiet hum of the TV or the movement of another person in the house, and, as much as he knew he should, he just couldn't bring himself to care about the identity of the stranger in his basement, and if he was honest, he quite liked knowing that he wasn't exactly alone.

Hiram found himself looking forward to Shelby's phonecalls just as much as Rachel did. They'd been encouraged to practice 'social distancing' to try and prevent the spread of the virus and he was finding it hard. With only Rachel for company, and with the toddler struggling to control her own emotions as she tried to adjust to, not only missing her Mommy and her Papa, but with her whole routine of daycare and play groups being thrown out, only to be replaced with a world that now consisted solely of the house, the back yard and her Daddy, Hiram was grateful for Shelby's calls. He'd take himself into his own room once Rachel was asleep, sometimes talking to her long into the night, Shelby too glad of some adult conversation.

Hiram and Rachel barely even spoke to Leroy over the next few days, he was so busy, run off his feet working for as long as he could before grabbing a few hours sleep and going right back to work. He did his best to keep in contact with his family, texting Hiram as often as he could replying whenever he got a minute, reassuring him every day that he was fine, that he wasn't showing any symptoms, he was safe.

It wasn't unusual for Hiram to wake in the morning to find a text from his husband, and it was something he'd begun to look forward to. This morning he woke to two messages from Leroy, the first message the one he sent every morning, 'On my way to work. I love you and I miss you. Give Rachel a hug and kiss from me and give Shel my love when you speak to her xxx'. The second message had been sent just a few minutes after the first, 'It's been two weeks, you and Rachel should go say hi to the visitor in our basement. They'll be moving in with their family later.'

He replied to his husband, telling him he loved him and reminding him to stay safe before telling him that he and Rachel would go and say hello to their guest before breakfast. He'd only just pressed send when his bedroom door creaked open and Rachel padded in clutching a tshirt of Shelby's in one hand and dragging Benny along behind her in her other hand. "Dada" she whispered, eyes wet with tears.

"Hello Sunshine" he held out his arms for his daughter, "why the tears?"

"I wet" Rachel cried, she'd had a bad dream about her Mommy and her Papa going away forever and she'd woken in a wet bed.

"Oh Sunshine" Hiram pushed himself from the bed and lifted Rachel into his arms, "let's leave Benny and Mommy's top here" he gently took them from her and put them on his bed, "we can give you a bath and get you some dry pyjamas."

"I sowwy" Rachel cried as she cuddled into Hiram.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for" he kissed her hair, "now, let's get you cleaned up."

Unusually, Rachel didn't want to stay long in the tub, so Hiram just washed her quickly before bundling her into a big towel and carrying her through to her bedroom, stripping the damp sheets from her bed and leaving them in a pile on the floor as he simpy dressed Rachel in clean pyjamas.

Only as he carried her downstairs, Benny and Shelby's tshirt clutched tightly to her chest once again, did Hiram remember the person in his basement. "Wha' do?" Rachel asked as Hiram carried her downstairs.

"We're just going to see what's down here" Hiram told her before freezing at the bottom of the stairs, sure he was hallucinating.

"Hi" the guest smiled when she realised Hiram was stood at the bottom of the stairs with Rachel.

Rachel's head snapped up and immediately she began squirming for Hiram to let her go. "Momma, Momma!"

"Hello Sweet Girl" Shelby walked over and took Rachel from Hiram's arms, settling the toddler on her hip and kissing her head before wrapping her free arm around Hiram and kissing his cheek, "are you okay?"

Hiram's gaze met Shelby's, tears pooling in his eyes as he reached out a hand and gently cupped her cheek, "is this real? Are you here?"

"I'm here" Shelby led Hiram over to the couch, "Leroy called me a couple of weeks ago, classes were cancelled and the coffee shop was shut so he suggested I came home, he thought you might appreciate another pair of hands and he thought I might want the company."

"You, you've been here for two weeks?"

"I have" Shelby swiped at Hiram's tears, "I was going to get a hotel, I hadn't left my apartment for over a week but I was worried about picking something up in the airport or on the flight. Leroy told me I could stay here. He didn't say anything, we didn't want Rachel to know for obvious reasons and he thought it might be hard for you knowing that I was so close but you couldn't see me."

"Are you, are you staying?" Hiram asked.

Rachel's grip on her Momma tightened, "no" she sobbed, "no go, no go."

"I'm not going anywhere Sweet Girl" Shelby promised before turning back to Hiram, "I'd like to stay until Leroy comes back, but I'll be here at least until classes start up again."

"I'm sorry" Hiram wiped at his eyes, "it's been a rough couple of weeks and…"

Shelby hugged him tightly, "you don't have to apologise, I can only imagine how hard it's been for you over the past few weeks but I'm here now and we'll do everything together yeah?".

"Yeah" Hiram nodded, smiling up at Shelby, "thank you."

"Momma" Rachel looked up at Shelby, her own eyes brimming with tears. "I hung'y".

"Okay" Shelby kissed Rachel's hair and wiped her tears away, "let's get you some breakfast then." Shelby stood with Rachel on her hip, walking over to the suitcase open on the floor by the bed, reaching in and grabbing one of the tshirts she'd thrown in there, "here" she offered it to Rachel, smiling as the toddler dropped the shirt she was holding into Shelby's case before taking the replacement.

"Ta Momma" she grinned as she nuzzled her face into it.

"You're welcome" Shelby smiled, "let's go and get some breakfast shall we?" she held out her hand to Hiram, "you too Daddy." She kept hold of Hiram's hand as she walked upstairs into the hallway of the house before turning to face him, seeing how exhausted, how worn down he looked. "I've got Rachel" she told him, "if you want to go back to bed, or just take some time to yourself then we'll be fine." She saw Hiram go to protest and shook her head, "you've been holding things together for Rachel's sake for long enough, you've been doing a great job taking care of her, but you're not on your own now, I've got Rachel so now it's time for you to take care of yourself."

Hiram didn't argue, Shelby was right, he was mentally and physically exhausted, trying to entertain Rachel constantly without leaving the house, coupled with his worry about his husband had taken its toll on the man," thank you"Hiram squeezed Shelby's hand," and I don't just mean for this, I mean for everything, the phone calls, for me and Rachel. They made so much difference, the routine your calls gave her has helped her so much, and just having another adult to talk to, it means a lot Shelby."

"It was nothing" she told him, "and we can get Rachel into a bit of a routine now if you think it will help her, you can get back to work if you want to, and I'll be here whenever you need company" she promised before kissing his cheek, "now go get some rest, have a shower, read a book, I don't want to see you for at least an hour, take some time for yourself."

"Dadda" Rachel frowned, "no go!"

"I'm not leaving Sunshine" he reassured her, "I'll be right upstairs."

"Stay?"

"I'm staying here, I'll be upstairs and you'll be here with Mommy."

"You come back?"

"Of course" Hiram nodded, "I'll be back in time to have lunch with you and Mommy."

"Momma stay?"

"I'm staying Sweet Girl, we're going to have breakfast together and then maybe we can see if we can find some shiny things today?"

"Five?"

"You want to find five shiny things?" Rachel nodded, "Okay then, we'll have breakfast and then find five shiny things, and then when Daddy comes back downstairs we can show him what we've found."

"Kay" Rachel nodded, "see soon Dada."

Hiram kissed Rachel's hair, "see you soon Sunshine." He collapsed onto his bed once he was upstairs, wiping away the tears he hadn't been able to stop before reaching for his phone to text his husband, 'Your 'friend' is safely with her family. I don't know if I want to hug you or hit you for keeping it a secret, but thank you for getting her here. We all love you and wish you were here with us xxx'

He didn't expect to be able to fall back to sleep, so he was surprised to find himself waking almost two hours after Shelby had forced him upstairs, and he stretched his back, casting a fleeting glance at the empty side of the bed before trying to shake the thoughts from his head and making his way into the ensuite to shower.

Hiram paused on the stairs when he heard Rachel's giggle, a sound he hadn't heard much over the last few weeks, "go on, you can do it!" he heard Shelby encourage, "that's it, well done!" curiosity got the better of him so he made his way into the living room where he found Shelby and Rachel. The room was in disarray, the furniture all pushed to the edge of the room, Shelby and Rachel now both dressed in leggings and tshirts, a 'Mommy and Me' workout playing on the TV that Shelby and Rachel were following along. "Good job!" Shelby held out her hand for a high five once the workout finished.

Rachel giggled and high fived her Mommy before reaching in for a hug, needing reassurance that Shelby was only too happy to provide. "Again?" Rachel giggled after snuggling into Shelby for a minute.

"Sure" Shelby reached for her phone, "how about we look for a different one?" She scrolled through her phone for a while before showing something to Rachel, "this one's a dancing one, shall we try that?"

Rachel nodded enthusiastically, "yeah Momma, p'ease"

"Is this a private class or can anyone join in?" Hiram asked with a smile, finally making his presence known.

"Dada" Rachel squirmed away from Shelby and scurried over to him, "you do" she took his hand and led him into the middle of the room.

"Of course you can join us" Shelby smiled, before asking, "are you okay?"

Hiram nodded, "yeah, I… it was nice to not have to worry about anything for a while."

"Good" Shelby smiled, "and now you get to dance too, isn't that fun?" Shelby turned her attention back to Rachel.

"Yeah" she beamed, taking hold of Shelby and Hiram's hands and leading them to the middle of the room, "we do it!"

Hiram manage to lose himself in the video, it was nothing complicated, obviously aimed for young children but Rachel was happier than he'd seen her in a long time and he was only too happy to dance along with her, sometimes getting the steps wrong on purpose to make Rachel laugh, his smile growing as he watched her put her hands on her hips and tell him, "like dis Dada" before showing him exactly what he had to do.

"Momma" Rachel tugged on her hand once the video was done, "more?"

Shelby shook her head, "I think it's lunch time Sweet Girl, so why don't you show Daddy the shiny things we found and I'll make PBJs for us all."

Rachel thought for a moment before nodding, that seemed okay, "c'mon Dada" she took his hand, "you see."

Shelby busied herself making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for them all as Rachel showed Hiram her collection of shiny things that included, a spoon, some aluminium foil and the small mirror from her Mommy's make up bag. As she told her Daddy about her morning, Shelby noticed Rachel kept glancing over at her so she began to hum quietly, providing the girl with reassurance that she was still there, that she hadn't left.

They spent a while drawing pictures together at the kitchen table after lunch until Rachel began getting cranky when they moved to the living room, Hiram moving the couch back into place so they could watch a movie together, both adults hoping Rachel would relax enough to nap for an hour or two.

Their plan worked, Rachel started off sitting between her parents but, by the time her eyes closed, her head was in Shelby's lap, her feet in Hiram's, her Mommy playing with her hair, her Daddy rubbing her feet to help soothe her to sleep.

"I'm not going anywhere" Shelby told Hiram once she was sure Rachel was asleep. "I'm up to date with everything I needed to do for college and I have no plans, so if you want to go back to work, Rachel and I will be fine." Hiram had mentioned to Shelby that he was struggling to juggle working from home with keeping their energetic toddler entertained.

Hiram nodded, "thank you" he reached for Shelby's hand, Shelby squeezing his hand gently when his fingers linked with hers, "They've been quite understanding about everything so I'll make a couple of calls in the morning and let them know that Supermom's come to my rescue."

Shelby smiled and let her head fall onto Hiram's shoulder, "if I could have been here two weeks ago then I would have, but I was worried, I didn't want to risk anything and I…"

Hiram gently squeezed Shelby's hand, "I understand" he told her, "and given the circumstances I think I'd have done the same."

"I'll stay for as long as I can" Shelby promised, "I know this has been hard for you. I can only imagine how worried you are about Leroy, about everything, so if there's anything I can do to make this any easier, you only need to say okay."

"Okay" Hiram smiled, "thank you." He frowned slightly as he heard the beep of the dryer signaling that it had finished, "are you doing laundry?" he asked, knowing he hadn't turned it on.

"Yeah" Shelby nodded against Hiram's shoulder, "I was running out of clean clothes, and I threw Rachel's wet sheets in too."

"I completely forgot about those" Hiram sighed, "sorry. She woke this morning and told me she was wet, it's been happening a lot since Leroy left, I got Rachel cleaned up but forgot about the sheets."

"It's okay" Shelby reassured him, "I've cleaned the mattress protector and put clean sheets on for tonight, not that I think she'll be sleeping in her own bed for a second. You don't need to apologise, 'Supermom' remember" she chuckled, "I'm here to help you, both of you."

Shelby insisted on making dinner that evening, Rachel had spent most of the afternoon after her nap clinging to both her Mommy and her Daddy, she'd been a little surprised to find her Mommy holding her when she woke, she had wondered if she'd dreamed about her Mommy coming to see her. It wasn't a dream, Mommy was there, Papa was still gone but Mommy was here, and for now, that would do.

As always, the freezer and the pantry were well stocked, Hiram telling Shelby that Leroy had been grocery shopping on his way too and from work, leaving the bags on the doorstep for Rachel and Hiram, so Shelby was able to quickly make a simple chicken pasta dish. She could tell Hiram was still exhausted and hoped that, once Rachel was settled, she'd be able to talk him into either, going to bed himself, or relaxing with her for a while and sharing one of the bottles of wine that she'd picked up in the airport.

Bedtime was harder than Shelby expected, Rachel had been allowed to skip bathtime after having one that morning and agreeing she'd shower with Shelby once she woke, but now she was laying on her bedroom floor, clutching Benny to her chest as she cried and screamed. "Rachel" Hiram sighed, "come on sunshine, jump into bed and Mommy and I will read you some stories."

"No" Rachel cried, "no bed." Her Papa had gone away while she was in bed, and although she'd said she'd stay, Rachel was sure that if she went to bed, her Mommy would leave too.

"Come on Rachel" Hiram crouched beside her and gently stroked her back, "you can't be comfortable on the floor and…"

"No!" Rachel wailed, cutting him off, "no, no, no."

Hiram looked to Shelby and she could see the exhaustion in his eyes so she stepped forward to try and calm her daughter down before Hiram ended up crying on the floor with the toddler.

"Rachel" Shelby laid down beside her and brushed the girl's hair back from her face, "it's okay Sweet Girl, it's okay."

"Momma" Rachel hiccuped, realising the woman was close and reaching out, wrapping her arms and legs around the woman and clinging to her as tightly as she could. "No!" Rachel cried as she felt Shelby lift her from the floor, her grip tighter than Shelby thought was possible, "no bed."

"No bed Sweet Girl" Shelby promised as, with a little help from Hiram, she stood to her feet with Rachel in her arms, "I thought we could rock a little until you're calm enough to talk to me."

"No bed?" Rachel sniffled.

"No bed" Shelby agreed, "just your chair, is that okay?" she felt a nod against her shoulder and smiled, kissing Rachel's hair and moving over to sit in the rocking chair, Hiram sitting on the foot stool, wanting to help calm the distraught toddler.

Rachel nuzzled into Shelby as she rocked, she liked being rocked and she liked cuddling with her Mommy so, to Rachel, being rocked in her Mommy's arms was the best! She was beginning to calm down, knowing that, if her Mommy was holding her then she couldn't go away. All Rachel had to do was make sure that her Mommy was always holding her.

"Are you feeling better now?" Shelby gently stroked Rachel's back once she seemed calmer. Rachel said nothing but nuzzled closer to Shelby, burying her face in the crook of the woman's neck, "do you want to sleep in with me tonight?" Shelby asked softly, "would that make you happier?" the pair usually ended up sleeping in the same bed whenever they were together so Shelby reasoned it was better for them both to be comfortable in the king size guest bed than both be cramped in Rachel's toddler bed.

Rachel nodded silently against Shelby's neck as she reached up her hand, letting it rest on Shelby's cheek, craving skin contact with her Mommy. The rocking was relaxing her and she was beginning to fall asleep when she suddenly thought of something and her eyes shot open as she let out a heartbreaking sob. Shelby and Hiram shared a shocked look, they'd both noticed the girl falling to sleep and her cry had scared them both, "Rachel!" Shelby gasped, "what's wrong Darling? What is it?"

Rachel began to sob again, what if Mommy had only come to visit so Daddy could go away with Papa, she didn't want that. She didn't want anyone else to leave her. "Dada" she sobbed, "Dada."

"I'm right here Sunshine" he reached out, putting his hand on Rachel's back, "I'm here."

"Dada" Rachel twisted in Shelby's arms to take hold of Hiram's hand, clutching it tightly in her own.

Hiram and Shelby shared a look of concern before Hiram softly told Shelby, "stand up." She did as Hiram asked, frowning slightly as he moved to sit in the rocking chair, her frown becoming a smile when he gently tugged on her waist, encouraging her to sit in his lap so they could both hold Rachel. "Is that better?" Hiram hummed as he ran his hand up and down Rachel's back.

Rachel nodded, clutching at the shirts of both her parents, hoping neither of them would leave her, "I wan' you Dada" she whimpered.

"You've got me Sunshine" he kissed her hair, "I'm not going anywhere. Me and Mommy are going to stay with you." He thought for a moment, "do you remember why Papa and I said he had to go away for a while?"

Rachel's breath hitched as she tried to get it under control, "sick" she managed to mumble.

"That's right clever girl, Daddy's helping make a lot of very sick people better and he doesn't want to bring any germs home that might make me or Mommy or you sick too so he's going to stay somewhere else for a little while. But Mommy and I, we don't know how to make sick people better so we won't be going away, Mommy's come here to be with you and I won't be going to work, I know you're sad and confused and maybe a little bit angry but that's okay, it doesn't matter how you feel, Mommy and I won't be going anywhere."

Rachel nodded against Hiram and Leroy, beginning to get a little sleepy, "wan' you bed" she yawned as Shelby began to him a gentle lullaby.

"You can sleep in my bed Sunshine, that's okay."

"Momma too."

Hiram nodded, "Mommy can sleep with us if she wants to."

"Of course I will" Shelby said softly, "we can all cuddle up together just like this."

Rachel didn't say anything else, slowly beginning to fall asleep now she'd been reassured that her Mommy and Daddy weren't going to leave like Papa had. "I think she's gone" Hiram said as he glanced at Rachel a little while later.

"Good" Shelby smiled, losing herself in her thoughts for a moment before gently kissing Hiram's cheek and running her hand through his hair, "you're doing a good job" she told him, "and no matter what you might think, you're the best Daddy this little girl could ask for." She realised he was about to protest so she cut him off before he could start, "this is a weird, and quite frankly, shit, situation, and you have to be missing Leroy just as much as Rachel. You're doing the best you can with what you have and that's okay, that's all you need to do."

"When she's crying on the floor, screaming like that… I feel like I'm letting her down."

"No" Shelby said firmly, "no you're not. She's still young Hiram, you know just as well as I do that when she's crying and screaming on the floor like that, she's expressing her emotions the only way she knows how to. She's feeling things she can't vocalise so she lets those feelings out the only way she knows how. And as for letting her down, you've created a space, a home where she knows she's allowed to have these feelings, she's allowed to be angry and scared, she's allowed to cry and scream and she knows that you, or Leroy, or I, will be there for her, we won't get angry with her for being mad, we'll cuddle her and help her work through whatever she's feeling. You're a good Dad Hiram, you and Leroy both are, I couldn't think of anyone else that I'd rather be raising my baby than the two of you, and I mean that whether you're both here or if one of you is off saving the world. You and Leroy make a great team, but you only make such a great team because you're both strong as individuals".

"Thank you" Hiram whispered, "that means a lot, but for the record, there are three of us in this team, and there's no one else Leroy and I would want to be raising a daughter with but you, I think it's only your phone calls over the past few weeks that have stopped this meltdown happening sooner, and if I'd have been on my own, I'd probably have been on the floor with her."

Shelby smiled sadly and kissed Hiram's temple, "you're not on your own any more" she promised, "I don't know how long this is going to go on for, I don't know what's going to happen on the future, but I promise you Hiram, you're not on your own, we can take each day as it comes until Leroy comes home and we'll face whatever's thrown at us together."

Hiram nodded and hugged Shelby the best he could as they sat on the rocking chair with Rachel sprawled across them both, "together."