Hazy morning sunshine filtered in through the curtains, catching the prisms dangling from the ceiling and melting into hundreds of tiny rainbows that danced merrily across the walls.

A smile tickled my lips as the warm sunshine splashed over my exposed feet. With a mildly exaggerated sigh, I flung my eyes open. Matt's side of the bed was empty but still warm - he'd probably only gotten up a couple of minutes previously.

I got up and crossed the room to Celeste's empty crib. Countless teddy bears and other tokens of affection lined the mattress. I fingered the tiny stuffed Jack Skellington that Matt had bought the week before, declaring that we should install a love of Tim Burton movies in Celeste as soon as possible. Despite my arguments to the contrary, Celeste had taken a shine to the Jack teddy and wouldn't go long without it.

I walked down the stairs, still holding the stuffed Jack. I found Fay, Dave, Jeff, Matt and Celeste sitting on the huge sofa in the living room, watching Spongebob Squarepants on TV. Matt had Celeste in his arms and was giving her the first of her morning feedings.

He looked like he had been taking care of babies all his life, when in reality we'd only been parents for a couple of weeks. Matt was heart-warmingly enthusiastic about the whole thing, doing more than his fair share of diaper changes and late night feedings. All the guys had leapt on the daddy train and I knew that Celeste was very lucky to have 5 willing fathers.

"Morning," I smiled. "How's my favourite girl today?" I asked, kissing Matt's hair and Celeste's head.

"I'm fine," Fay answered, grinning. "Celeste's cool too. But she's cranky because she's seen this episode already," Fay informed me, his face solemn.

"Uh huh," I nodded, sitting down beside matt.

"Are we still going shopping today?" Michael asked, holding out his hand so Celeste could tug on his slender fingers - a favourite hobby of hers.

"We sure are," I answered, smiling again when I realised there were no new cuts on Michael's arms. Recently he'd been attending Matt's weekly sessions with Dr Bernadi, something I was sure was definitely helping both Matt and Michael.

"We're going shopping?" Fay beamed - shopping was his favourite way to spend his afternoons off.

"You're brother needs some new clothes," I told him. "And so does Celeste, she's getting bigger every day."

"She sure is," Matt grinned down at our daughter, who promptly put Michael's thumb in her mouth.

"Yay, I like going shopping with Celeste! She picks out all the best ensembles," Fay nodded. "Can I push the pram this time? Michael got to do it last time!" He whined, flashing me his trademark puppy eyes that would melt an iceberg.

"Sure sweetie," I ruffled his hair, a favourite gesture of mine.

So two hours later, we were ready to go. Celeste was dressed in her white and pink checked skirt with a matching t-shirt - Fay declared it was his favourite baby outfit. Matt looked gorgeous in his ripped jeans and his My Chemical Romance t-shirt. He'd just gotten his hair cut the day before and he looked exactly like the Matt I had met at the school gates on the very first day he walked into my life. Just looking at him made me weak at the knees - I loved him more than ever.

Fay looked adorable in his Billie-Joe Armstrong style pants, black shirt and his frock-coat. Frock-coats had become Fay's new clothing addiction, he had them in every colour of the rainbow. It was no surprise that every teen boy on the face of the planet had taken to dressing like him.

Michael had dressed in ten minutes. Effortlessly cool ripped jeans hung loosely around his waist, held up by at least 3 studded belts. He wore a black shirt, unbuttoned to reveal a fraying Greenday t-shirt. The elbow long mesh glove that he always wore was adorning his left arm, along with a couple of brightly coloured wristbands, one of which was a relic from the "See Me, See Change" tour.

Although Michael had only been with us for a short time, I felt like I'd known him forever. The familiar and endearing sense that he was uncomfortable in his own skin lingered, while he eyes shown with an intelligence and integrity beyond his years. With every day that passed, the pain that clouded his eyes lessened and we saw glimpses of the real Michael - fiery, passionate, care-free, idealistic Michael.

Dave looked incredibly happy in his dark jeans and summer sky coloured shirt that bought out the blue of his eyes and the blonde of his hair with startling accuracy. Fay beamed with pride every time he looked at him - they were clearly very deeply in love and it was wonderful to behold.

I felt so grateful just to walk among them, these exceptional and amazing young men. We had become quite the family, the kind of family I'd always dreamed of having. The beautiful day mirrored my mood as we walked through the crowds of shoppers. Matt and I strolled behind Fay, hand in hand. Michael was in constant blush mode (I felt for him, blushing is not fun) after being drooled over by a bunch of squealing teen girls who exclaimed he was the love of their lives.

After four hours of shopping, we decided to call it a day. Michael had happily used Fay's credit card to purchase what seemed like a whole new wardrobe, mainly consisting of solid blacks and elegant blues that suited him so well. Matt and I had bought endless cute baby-sized outfits for Celeste.

Fay bounced up the stairs to try on the tailor-made pink frock-coat he'd picked up that day. Dave went with him and I was pretty sure they'd be up there for at least an hour. Jeff pulled on his favourite apron and began making dinner. Michael offered to put Celeste down for a nap and disappeared upstairs, cradling Celeste like she was his own.

So Matt and I collapsed onto the sofa, both thoroughly worn out. I curled up in his arms, resting my head against his chest. I listened to the steady thudding of his heart beat and inhaled the musky scent that was Matt. It was moments like that when I savoured his presence, enjoyed the fact that we were together and we were happy.

"I love you," he murmured to my hair, his voice a gentle melody.

"I love you," I replied, smiling to his t-shirt. I caught a glimpse of his content grin as he reached over and hit the "play" button on the answering machine.

"You have…1 new message," The ever-polite voice informed us.

"It's probably Tommi," I groaned - Tommi was a good agent but she was persistent. "She wants to know if I'm over this whole mother thing yet." Matt chuckled, making his hair fall into his eyes in an agonisingly cute way.

But the voice that echoed from the machine wasn't Tommi's - it was the clipped tones of Matt's mother. The recording made her voice even colder than usual. Matt rolled his eyes as soon as the message began - he didn't get on too well with his distant mother.

"Matthew, this is your mom," I couldn't help but giggle, no-one ever called Matt Matthew unless they had a death-wish. His mother ploughed on.

"Mark…I mean your father…he died this morning."