you've got to be kidding me...







"He looks more like you every day." Mark smiled, looking at Scott as he watched his young son play in the yard outside. "Poor Kid." Mark giggled, trying to get a rise out of the miserable looking Scott. Mark couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something in Scott's eyes every time he looked at his son that wasn't there any other time. Something like pride mixed with pain, but Mark couldn't be sure.

"What?" Scott mumbled, only paying half attention to his friend. He was too busy watching Jagger to be listening to Mark. Every since Hilaree had left, Scott had to be extra careful with Jagger. If anything happened it would be his fault, he would be the one to blame. Jagger was all he had, he had nothing else to keep him happy. If anything happened to him, Scott didn't know what he would do.

"I said it's too bad you're kid has to look like you." Mark called. He was used to Scott's dazed state by now. Since Hilaree left him with Jagger, Scott had become more serious than ever. "He might have had a good life otherwise." Mark had hoped for at least a laugh, but instead he received the same dreary glance Scott had adapted. He was like a walking zombie these days, and it seemed like nothing would bring him out of it.

"Shut up." Scott tried to smile, he was so used to the stern frown he wore that it came out like an awkward smirk. "He's a little stud."

"I know he is." Mark nodded, standing and walking to the back door to look out on Jagger. He was a cute kid, and Mark had been right, he looked more like Scott everyday. The same hair, the same eyes, the same nose, he even made the same face as Scott anytime anyone suggested either eat broccoli for dinner. Thankfully, unlike his father, Jagger knew how to be happy. There had been a time when Scott knew how, but it was like when Hilaree left him, she took his happiness with her. Now all Scott ever did was write songs and worry about his young son.

"He takes after his mother." Scott whispered, watching Jagger somersault across the grassy yard. It hurt him as much as it helped him to say it. Loosing Hilaree had been like loosing a limb, he hadn't known how to function without her. Over time, though, he had conditioned himself into getting by without her. Taught himself how to survive without her. It wasn't really living, it was simply getting by. All he had now was his son and a frail hope that he could at least keep him happy even if Scott himself wasn't.

"No." Mark shook his head. "He's you to a T." He had meant it as a compliment, but the look on Scott's face told him that wasn't how he had taken it.

"You know Mark." Scott sighed, pulling open the door to the backyard. Jagger was about to launch himself off of the jungle gym and Scott had to put a stop to it before he got hurt. "I really hope you're wrong." Scott nodded. "I hope he never end up like me." He said softly, walking outside. Mark smiled sadly as he watched Jagger leap into Scott's awaiting arms as if they were a human safety net.

"You know Scott." Mark whispered to himself. "It's not that he's like you." Mark nodded, watching a solemn Scott cradle a smiling Jagger. "Maybe it's just that I wish you were more like him."