What Matters Most.

Daniel sat down on one of the stones and glanced at his partner, who was nearby. Hmm, apparently, today was clearly not his day, since he has to be in such a company.

About half an hour later, David and the others disappeared into the aisle of this suspicious pyramid, and he already wanted them to get out of there in order to return to the hotel as soon as possible. Because an hour or two, and Corey will definitely open the second bottle of sedative. Daniel was sure that given the time the children escaped, one bottle was already empty.

"Ashley, stop running under direct sun rays, go into the shade!" he shouted to the children, who were looking with interest at something on the ground.

"Well, Dandy, just a little more! It's such a beautiful bug, it has such a shiny back!" the girl clapped her hands and joyfully jumped up.

"Uh, okay, just not for long. And do not touch it with your hand!" Daniel sighed, this sly girl knew exactly how to appease him. Usually, she used this nickname to beg for an additional portion of ice cream, which was not approved by her mother, and that the man easily succumbed to.

"Pff, Dandy. What a girl's nickname. I won't be surprised if she dressed you with hairpins on your head," sarcastic commentary came from outside.

Yes, that was one of the reasons why Daniel wanted it to end faster. Even in the most unpleasant version, he did not assume that he would be left to look after the children in the company of none other than Rick Stein himself.

"Tsk, just be jealous silently. And yes, she not only made my hairstyles, but also dyed my hair and much more," the man straightened his back and looked up with importance, "For your information, Dandy is short for Daniel Daddy, and that was her third word after "mom" and "cat". She was then a little over a year old, she did not even walk very confidently, but even then she was a very active child.

I have a video on my phone where she just learned how to laugh, I still watch it often. I can't believe that this is the same tiny lump that I took with Corey from the hospital."

"There is no need for me to tell all this," Rick muttered in response. If he knew that this person would be carried away in the jungle of memories, he would have said nothing. As a result, his own joke turned into a bad joke for himself. To listen to the adoration with which Daniel spoke about his daughter's childhood and how he took her from the hospital, which should have been Rick's duty, was torture for the man.

Maybe, while there was nobody, it was worth staging some kind of accident and getting rid of a competitor? Rick cast aside dark thoughts from his head, be that as it may, their personal hostility had nothing to do with other people, moreover, by and large, this Anderson guy was not such a bad person. What Rick was certain for sure was that Daniel truly cared for Ashley and Corey.

"Hmm, and I thought that it would be interesting to you, considering that you haven't taken your eyes off the girl for half an hour," Daniel squealed. He deliberately mentioned bright moments to annoy Stein, but also omitted some details, such as the fact that he was not alone who took Corey from the maternity hospital, but also her whole family and Elena and David were there too. This detail Rick was not necessary to know. Additional torment of conscience for this guy would be only good.

Rick turned to the side, unwilling to continue the conversation, and opened a bottle of water to take a few sips. At that moment, a little palm tugged at his hand, "Dad, give me a drink too, please." The girl's brilliant eyes looked at the man with adoration and love, Rick's heart melted from the heat that swept over his body.

"Sure, hold on," he handed the water to Ashley and watched with a smile, as the child drank more than half in one gulp. The girl wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her dress and handed the bottle back to Rick, "Dad, Daniel is good, so don't worry, he won't tell anyone about you," she added in a whisper, but both men still clearly heard her words, "If you make friends, you will make a wonderful team," Ashley winked at the slightly confused man, waved her hand, and ran back to Sean to watch another bunch of swarming ants.

Rick looked at Daniel, expecting to hear some caustic comment from him, but Anderson only silently watched the children, as if he had not heard the conversation between Ashley and her father.

"Do you want to say anything?" Rick could not stand it and was the first to ask a question. At the last meeting with his daughter at a banquet, he did not behave in the most worthy manner, which aroused Daniel's well-deserved anger. So now, when Anderson saw that their conversation with Ashley had a different side, Rick was sure that this man would not resist from a comment.

"Not."

And it's all? Rick frowned, Daniel's indifferent reaction did not coincide with what he knew about the character of this man. Anyway, did he really know him? Even before the main events, when Rick and David were best friends, Daniel's periodic wedging in their company caused only irritation among the guys, since this guy had teased them about this or that from their very youth.

Daniel noticed the suspicion in Rick's face and laughed out loud, it seems he just got another trolling object, "Relax, I've gotten used to your two-faced behavior for a long time. And if my brother decided to trust you again, then he should have had good reasons for this. I am not so stupid a person as to put my personal hostility above logic and reason. Moreover, my plans do not include at least somehow giving up my spot next to Corey. So sorry, friendship is friendship, and love is a completely different thing."

"Hah, you might think I'm interested in your opinion," Rick snapped, crossed his arms and leaned on a stone next to Daniel. He perfectly understood that the chance to return Corey was lower than the minimum, if at all, zero, but the fact that Daniel did not deny his paternal relationship with Ashley was already enough for a man to respect his opponent.

God, and why do people value the most important thing only when they lose it? If he would have acted differently, what would be the life of them all now? The vision Daniel showed him six years ago in a hospital in Germany sometimes surfaced in his dreams, where Ashley woke him up in the morning, and Corey kissed and lovingly congratulated him on his birthday. For all his life he never once had a normal birthday.

In a past life, he of his own free chose to be born with David on the same day. Before the restoration of memories, Rick's life was full of humiliation and the struggle for food, and after, when Marcus picked him up, the concept of a birthday became meaningless for a man.

But now, sitting next to Daniel, he again remembered that vision of a possible future that he had deprived himself of, and this regret was as strong as the desire to hear congratulations from Corey at least once.

"I suppose you and David have some kind of plan to deal with Marcus?"

"It all depends on the behavior of Marcus. In this regard, you and I are more similar, since I do not mind getting our hands dirty if it is necessary for the good of the family, but David is different. He prefers to solve everything as peacefully as possible, and the fact that this man is also Armand's brother is another problem," Daniel answered honestly.

"Marcus is not a man, he is a monster," Rick looked thoughtfully at the ground, sometimes even he felt like a helpless ant next to this hypocritical creature named Marcus Taubert.

"Hmm, then I'll have to look after my brother better," Anderson joked, realizing that they had voluntarily closed themselves in a cage with a rabid predator in the hope of subduing his furious disposition.

"I'm wondering, did anyone tell you that you have a terrible fraternal complex?" no matter how hard Rick tried, he could not understand the logic of this relationship, apparently, this is destined only to those who have siblings.

"Constantly," Daniel answered as an obvious fact, "But I don't care about the opinions of others. Even if from the outside I can look like the last crazy, it all does not matter. But what matters is my family."

Family. Rick looked at the man, and then looked at the children, having fun playing not far from them. Family, you're saying? Unfortunately, Rick was never able to have such an experience.