"I think that, right there, is something any parent who comes into their kid's life later than birth can empathise with. It's something I've heard Justin's dad say time and again. I'm not a parent so take my advice in regards to parenting as you will but it might be a good idea to try to not go into this with regrets. Regret is a really hard thing to overcome and I don't think you regret finding him. This isn't a bad thing. It's a good thing. Yes, he already has parents who love him very much, and yes, he's a grown adult who doesn't need any hand's on parenting anymore. But that doesn't mean he doesn't need his real father in his life. It doesn't mean he has no place for you. Figuring out what place that is, it's up to you both to work out together and it's going to take time. It'll probably feel very strange and awkward initially, it'll take a hell of a lot of talking and asking questions. In a lot of ways, being someone he can talk to is one of the most valuable things for Merlin anyway. It is for anyone who suffers anxiety. Merlin's always been a huge talker so he will always need listeners. But he's also an amazing listener, so maybe he can help you in that sense too. I don't doubt it's going to be difficult and emotional for you to tell him everything you went through but at the same time, it could be therapeutic and a way of bridging that gap of time lost between you." Jesse smiled and shrugged, leaning forward to adjust the cushions behind his back. "Oh, well, that particular challenge, I had the benefit of him being furious with the rest of his family at the time, so he really needed me. He felt like he could trust me when he lost trust for them. I was pretty close to his family growing up because my own were... well, you can probably connect the dots. The Larsons just treated me like another son so Merlin already saw me as an honorary big brother. Unfortunately, that did only make calibrating the secret of his adoption more difficult for him. Mostly, I was just a sounding board for his anger. We bonded because I helped him through it. Try not to overthink it. Which, as I say that out loud, I realise might be difficult if he inherited the overthinking tendencies from you."