4 weeks. 28 days. 672 hours. 40,320 minutes.

One month.

It took Chanyeol one month before deciding it was time to return to his family. One month of therapy sessions and medication was enough to make him not feel like he had to pretend. 

Managing stress was something he needed to work on. Drinking when he was upset was something that never needed to happen again. Bottling his emotions inside was something he vowed never to do again.

He wanted to be around to see his kids grow up. He wanted to share in their joys and sorrows. He wanted to share in their successes and failures. He promised to never leave Baekhyun as a single parent and miss out on his children's lives.

Chanyeol was bombarded with hugs when he arrived home. He had been living at the hotel, not emotionally stable enough to be around Mina for very long. Just hearing her on the phone was enough to make him cry. But when he saw her for the first time in a while, he couldn't help but hug her tightly. 

"Daddy, you missed too much." She mumbled sadly. He smiled apologetically. Mina was too young to understand what her father was going through and Chanyeol wanted her to be naive for as long as humanly possible.

"I'm here now." He promised her. No matter what he had been going through at the time, he managed to visit her for her 6th birthday last week. It was bittersweet to see his daughter after he had been away for so long. Leaving her was one of the hardest things he'd ever done but he knew that spending time away from her was essential to his wellbeing. If he hadn't gone away to get help, things would have continued to build up and he probably would have done something extremely stupid.

Baekhyun hugged him next, his 6 month belly pressing into his husband. 

"Are you back for good?" Baekhyun wondered. 

Chanyeol nodded. "Yeah."

Baekhyun pecked him on his lips before Chanyeol moved over to hug Luhan, Sung-Woo, and Minseok respectively.

Once he was finally able to take a breather with no one left to hug, he was ushered into the living room to talk privately with Sung-Woo and Baekhyun. 

"I hope you've learned how to take better care of yourself." Sung-Woo spoke. 

Chanyeol nodded. He thought he was helping everyone else by pushing his emotions aside, but he was mainly hurting himself without realizing it.

"I have."

Baekhyun hit him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't you dare hide anything from me again. Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean you can't come to me with any problems you might have. If you're feeling upset just tell-"

"Okay." Chanyeol sighed in frustration. "I get it. I ed up. I was an idiot. But can we just move past that? I'm better now, I swear."

Baekhyun nodded slowly. "How much medication are you on?"

"Two antidepressants every day."

"Are they helping?" Sung-Woo wondered. 

"I guess. My emotions are a bit jumbled from the medication so it's hard to tell." 

Baekhyun said, "At least I'll know you aren't putting up a façade anymore."

Chanyeol nodded. "Can I go now? I'm a bit tired and not in the mood for small talk."

"Before you go, I was telling Baekhyun the other day that I want to help you guys get a house sooner rather than later. Especially since you're back now and the baby is 3 months away from being born."

"Great. Can we talk about this tomorrow before work? I'm really tired."

"Sure."

Baekhyun watched Chanyeol disappear upstairs and let out an audible sigh. Chanyeol was different than he was before he left. But then it dawned on Baekhyun that Chanyeol wasn't different, he was just being extremely blunt and honest for the first time in his life.

"I'm so used to the happy Chanyeol. It'll take a while to get used to him being like this."

"But the most important thing is for him to not hide his feelings from you."

Baekhyun nodded. Sung-Woo was right. 

"It's late. Why don't you get to bed too?" The older man added.

Baekhyun couldn't argue with the suggestion because he was tired as well. He made his way up to their room where Chanyeol was in the middle of brushing his teeth and Mina was hanging onto his leg.

Baekhyun understood her need for attachment. Having her father disappear after an intense argument between him and her mother definitely left its toll on her.

She had missed Chanyeol as much as he missed her, if not more.

"We can go house hunting tomorrow if you're up for it." Baekhyun spoke, making his presence known.

Chanyeol caught his husband's eye in the bathroom mirror and nodded. 

"The sooner we can get a home, the better." 

After spitting out the toothpaste, Chanyeol turned his attention to the little 6 year old attached to him. He patted her back gently. 

"Will you let me take a shower?"

"No." She mumbled, hugging his leg tighter.

Sensing he needed some help, Baekhyun stepped in.

"Come on, sweetie. Let's leave him alone."

"No." She repeated again. There was an unspoken question lingering in the back of her mind. If she let him go, would he disappear again?

"Mina, let me go." Chanyeol said gently but firmly. With help from Baekhyun, he was able to pry her from his leg, only to have her latch onto him again after his shower was complete.  

Later that night, Chanyeol laid in bed wide awake. Unluckily for him, insomnia was one of the medicine's side effects. 

Mina was attached to him on one side and Baekhyun on the other. He felt crowded in between them and craved some personal space. It would take some getting used to, being back with them. He just wanted to be better for the sake of his family. 

**

The only people that knew about his "situation" were Sung-Woo, Baekhyun, Luhan, and Minseok. Chanyeol wanted to make sure none of their other friends found out because he didn't want to feel handicapped with them hovering over him.

He experienced plenty of hovering from Baekhyun alone who made it a priority to ask him every night if he took his medicine. Even after they had bought their first small house on the outskirts of the city, Baekhyun still watched over Chanyeol like a hawk.

In combination with Mina's clingyness, Chanyeol just needed some space. 

Baekhyun climbed into bed one night with a glass of water and two white pills. He handed them to Chanyeol and the younger swallowed them quickly. 

"How are you feeling?" Baekhyun wondered as he snuggled up to Chanyeol. 

The younger sighed. "I'm fine, Baek. Ever since I've gotten back you've been watching me like a hawk. It's starting to get really annoying."

Baekhyun looked down regretfully. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was smothering you."

Chanyeol lifted his husband's chin with his finger. He pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

"Baekhyun, you care about me as much as I care about you. I appreciate it. But maybe you can treat me more like your husband and not like your child."

Baekhyun bit his lip. "I just want to know that you're okay."

Chanyeol pressed another kiss to his lips. "I love you, baby. And I know that you're here for me whenever I need you but this little baby," he placed a hand on Baekhyun's active stomach, "should be your main focus."

Baekhyun placed his hand over Chanyeol's hand. He could feel the baby kick both of their hands and he laughed. 

"I trust you. If there's something wrong, you'll tell me." The older smiled and Chanyeol smiled back before it faded slowly. 

"I wish the same could be said for Mina."

Baekhyun also lost his smile. "Ever since you got back, she won't let you out of her sight."

Chanyeol nodded. "It's a miracle I got her to bed tonight."

"She missed you, I can relate to that, but I wonder if her attachment to you is something more."

Chanyeol sighed and rested his head on his pillow. "Do you think it's a phase?"

Baekhyun shrugged. "Maybe."

"Then we should just wait it out. Hopefully, it'll pass before the baby gets here."

"Wishful thinking." Baekhyun murmured sarcastically.

Chanyeol wrapped an arm around Baekhyun and turned off their light. "Let's just try to get some sleep." He murmured. 

Baekhyun snuggled into his side. He had no reason to protest. 

The next morning, Chanyeol awoke to a small finger poking his forehead. His eyes fluttered open only to see it wasn't even 4am yet and Mina was wide awake.

"Daddy, are you awake?" She wondered. 

Chanyeol closed his eyes for a split second before nodding. "I'm awake."

"Can I sleep here?" She wondered. Chanyeol internally groaned. It was a weekly/almost daily occurrence. Mina came into their room asking to sleep with them. No rhyme or reason behind it.

"You have a really nice room, honey. Why don't you wanna sleep in it?"

When they first moved into their two-story house, not very long ago, they decorated Mina's new room with everything she wanted because they wanted her to feel comfortable in the house. The room would be all hers for a while as they intended to stay in that house until the kids got older. 

Although Sung-Woo did help them out in buying the home, it was still theirs. They had the responsibility of monthly payments and the responsibility of maintenance. They were responsible for everything that came along with having a house. At least they were finally able to stand on their own two feet. Granted, it took many years, but it was worth it.

"I like sleeping with you and mommy." She replied. 

Feeling it was his time to intervene/take charge, Chanyeol kicked the blankets off his body and got out of bed. He quietly ushered Mina out of their room, leaving Baekhyun snoring behind.

He led her across the hall to her room and gestured for her to climb into her bed. Begrudgingly, she did so.

Chanyeol sat on the side of her bed and her lamp. He his daughter's hair and held her gaze.

"Sweetheart, having trouble sleeping through the night and coming into our room is