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father and it all but broke Zach's heart to see his child cry so inconsolably.
    As they walked into their apartment, Archer started chatting. His rumbling and gurgling little sounds were comforting when there was no one to greet them at home but silence.
    "Are you happy to be home, Archer?" Zach asked as he dropped the bag on the chair and sat down on the couch, propping his child on his knees.
    Archer leaned forward, gripping Zach's T-shirt with his little hands and smiling through a scream.
    "Do you want to eat something?" Brought his hand to his mouth and tapped twice.
    Archer laughed again and brought his own hand to his little mouth.
    "Yeah, you're hungry, aren't you?" Zach picked him up again, kissing his cheek and giving him a finger to wrap his little fist around.
    Zach made a bottle with Archer in his arms, who was trying to reach and grab everything around him despite having a pacifier in his mouth. It took skill to maneuver around without the baby knocking anything down and still stay focused on actually preparing food.
    Archer was a good baby. Other than fussing when his teeth first started giving him pains and being upset when Zach and Austin used to argue, he seemed always happy and chatty.
    Zach didn't understand his little words, but loved listening to the gurgles as if Archer told stories of knights and dragons. He might have been as far as Zach knew. Archer was certainly animated enough for that.
    With the bottle done and Archer's eyes already slowly closing, Zach skipped the solid food again and changed his half sleeping baby before taking them both to the bedroom for a nap.
    ****
    He spent the afternoon playing with Archer, reading him stories, driving soft cars around him and watching over him as he gripped the edge of the couch in his attempts to stand – something that freaked Zach out, because babies weren't supposed to do that so early. Archer defied rules, which was apparently something more active children liked to do, and he bounced up and down on his little feet making G joke how he was preparing for the pole, training his hips just like his dad. Michael had smacked the back of his brother's head of course, but Zach was glad every time someone mentioned Archer acting or looking like him. Even when that comparison referred to strip dancing.
    It was past eight in the evening when Carole came over and Archer was already nodding, getting ready to fall asleep. But he knew what Carole meant by then and suddenly he was wide awake, reaching for Zach with something close to panic in his eyes.
    Archer knew that once Carole came over it was time for Zach to leave and while he was alright with that just a month ago, lately it seemed to be more than he could handle.
    "Come to daddy, son," Zach said as he picked him up, feeling the little hands holding him tight.
    "Daddy is going to get dressed now," he told him, heading toward the bedroom and motioning for Carole to follow.
    It was embarrassing at first to let her stay in his room as he changed, but considering his line of work, it quickly became more important to have Archer's cheeks free of tears for at least a couple of minutes more.
    So he handed Archer to Carole, "Daddy is right here. Say hi to Carole, Archer." And while Archer hated the situation he actually liked Carole, and pressed his little face against her neck in hello as he watched Zach change with his sleepy eyes.
    Zach pulled on some casual clothes and packed a part of his costume that had needed to be cleaned before leaning over Archer and kissing his cheek, imprinting his baby scent into memory, to help him get through the night.
    He heard Archer crying as he closed the door of the apartment behind him, but there was no helping it. At night he danced in a friend's strip club to pay the bills. He loved dancing, loved the club, and he certainly appreciated the cash but it didn't seem like a respectable job for someone with a child and while he worked part time as he did in the tattoo parlor, it