Never Surrender

"Hey guys," Sam greeted as he pulled his daughter into his open arms, "What's up? Max, you remember Markus, right?"

Max nodded as he stepped up from the couch and headed around to the congregation. "Yeah, good to see you again," he greeted with a firm handshake as he looked over the two men, "What are you two up to?"

Sam shrugged a little bit. "Not a whole lot. Just got bored of hanging around the shop and decided to come check on you kids. What did you guys do today?"

Kennedy wasn't bothered by the fact that she was just in boy-short underwear in front of her father, his friend, and Max, and answered quickly, grasping the sleeve of Max's shirt to yank him around. "Max fell ice-skating," she said to the men and pointed to his head, "He has a concussion so I'm making sure that he doesn't fall asleep."

"You know," Markus spoke, "Cuddling sort of facilitates falling asleep, Kennedy." He gave her a look that had her chuckling.

"Yeah, well if he got close I would yank his hair or something," she answered, giving Max the same kind of warning look that she did quite a bit as he turned around and folded his skinny arms over his chest.

"She's cruel," he added lightly, "She's the one that did this to me, you think she could be a little nicer. I mean, really, she almost killed me. She could baby me just a little tonight. Making me dinner and messing with my hair is not enough."

Sam laughed at Max's diluted joke and nodded his head. "She's a pretty good like care-taker," he answered, having seen it between them himself, "I just haven't seen her give someone so much of her attention."

Max smiled and looked at his friend. "Yeah, I guess you could say that she and I are different." He side-stepped and his shoulder was pressing into hers. She crossed her ankles and then looked back up to her father's eyes and his friend's knowing gaze.

"Princess, we should catch up just the two of us," Markus said to his best friend's only daughter, "What do you say we get a cup of coffee just us?" He winked playfully and grabbed for her arm, turning her to lead her to the kitchen.

"Dad, watch out for him," Kennedy said as she walked away, "Smack him in the back of the head if he starts dozing." She gave Max that same look as she wandered down the hall with Markus and left through the swinging kitchen door.

Despite his blatant sexuality, Markus didn't really fit the typical stereotypes. He was a strong, manly looking guy who took a lot of pride in his red-brown beard, never-ending supply of flannel, and the small bait shop that he owned and spent most of his time in. Besides his life-long crush on her father, Kennedy had never seen Markus with another guy. He kept his personal life private and acted just like another father to the dark haired duo he helped raise.

While he never had a family of his own, he had basically adopted Sam, Kennedy, and Konner. He had been a staple in their lives, going so far as to even help raising them.

"God, Kennedy, I've missed you," the man said, lurching forward to hold the girl in his arms, "I can't believe that you were gone so long without so much as a visit."

"I'm sorry, Markus," she said sincerely, "I meant to come home sooner, it was just a lot to handle."

"You can't do that to your father again," he said as he pulled back and gave her a stern look, "I don't think he can handle another amount of time like that without seeing your beautiful face. And I won't lose him to heartbreak."

"I said I was sorry," she answered as she leaned back against the counter and dropped her arms to her sides, "It won't happen again."

"Good." He nodded happily. "Now tell me what's happening with you and that man out there." He crossed his arms like he meant business and raised an eyebrow at her knowingly.

"I don't know what you mean, Markus," she stated although she knew he could see right through her.

"Oh please, Princess. You two were awfully comfortable on that couch. And all that about how you two are 'different'? He's so obviously in love with you. Don't fuck me around now. You know I can sense when you're bullshitting me. You dad may be oblivious, but I know better."

"Max is Max," she answered simply, "He's my best friend."

"Well, either you two have a very close friendship or he feels something more than that for you," Markus replied while giving her a hard look, "You need to be careful because you don't want to put him through believing that you care about him in the same way. From what I saw last night, he's a decent guy."

Kennedy glanced down at her bare toes and nodded, unable to meet his knowing eyes. "Max is incredible," Kennedy answered, unsure of how to really make him believe just how good he was to her, "Max is the one person I've met that I can't imagine being without."

Markus frowned as he stared at the young woman in front of her. He had known her almost his entire life. She was beautiful from the time she was born and brilliant also. She saw the world as though she was looking through a different lens than everyone else, and now, Markus could practically feel the way she looked at Max.

"Are you in love with him too?" Markus questioned, trying to meet her eyes, "I can tell that you really do care about him." He stopped and watched her as she thought about and considered his words. It was obvious to anyone who laid eyes on them that they were more than just casual friends. Their relationship was intense, and whether that was due to a close platonic relationship or other feelings, it was all the same.

"I love him," Kennedy answered after a moment of contemplation, "I just don't know if I can be in love with him. I spent so many years trying to fit him into the hole that Konner left in me that I don't think I can fully separate him from that."

"The best relationships have that friendship bond," Markus answered, "and from what I just saw of the two of you on the couch, there's nothing really sibling-y about you two." He pushed the thoughts of the older Santos child out of his head before they could run rampant and remind him of all the hurt again. Instead he focused on the issue at hand and went on as though Kennedy hadn't mentioned him at all, and as if he had never existed.

"We're okay where we are at right now," she replied to him, hoping to move on from this topic of conversation to something that had more to do with catching up, "Max and I are always going to be okay."

"I'm just happy that there's someone looking out for you out there," Markus said as he smiled and nicked her cheek with his thumb, "Your dad and I were going out of our minds when you were out there all alone. Both of us will be able to sleep better knowing that Max is there for you."

Kennedy laughed lightly and nodded her head. "Max is a true knight in shinning armor," she replied, recalling the countless times he had rescued her from her Prison-Castles. "What about you? What have you been doing?"

Markus shrugged modestly. "About the same things I was doing when you left."

Kennedy grinned cheekily. "I'm sure there have been a few guys along the way. Nobody stuck though, huh?"

"Still holding out for your father, I guess," he joked, although his eyes subconsciously darted to the door that he stood just on the other side of. "He'll come around eventually."

Everyone knew that Markus was in love with Sam. It had been a rumor that spread through town years and years ago when the two men attended high school together and as they grew, so did the authenticity of that rumor. They were side by side everyday of their lives, not due to Markus's feelings, but because they both valued the friendship between them, even if being around Sam without really being with Sam killed the other man a little more each day.

It was the same bullet that Max was willing to take for Kennedy. The same kind of longing that instructed him to accept something small rather than nothing at all. Markus knew first hand that it was painful and saw a little of himself in the musician sprawled out in the living room.

He worried that the boy would end up living his entire life for just a chance that he would get more out of the relationship than the young Santos was willing to give him. And while Markus didn't regret all this time waiting, he wasn't sure if he would chose to do it again in another life.

He often wondered if things would've turned out differently if he had forfeited their friendship to save his own feelings. If he could've moved on after a few years and found someone that erased Sam's name from his memory. All the years spent at Sam's side kept him hopeful and hooked, as though every nod, smile, and word from him was feeding his addiction.

When Kennedy and Markus turned to rejoin the other two, Markus stopped her by grabbing her hand just before she pushed through the doorway. She turned instantly, expecting another joke or easy smile, and frowned when she saw the seriousness on his face.

"If he loves you," Markus said, "and you can't love him. Don't hold on forever just because he's willing. Let him go. He'll be happier eventually." He walked out of the kitchen with a small look and no more words.

Kennedy was stunned by the seriousness and the authenticity behind them.