Our Boys

The New Room

JJ opened the door to his own bedroom, knowing how important it was to get the boy comfortable with every part of the home. "And this, is Simon's and my room."

The room was at the corner of the house, allowing for windows on two walls, which they'd taken advantage of to give the men an clear view of most of their property as well as the city skyline a many miles in the distance. Large curtains allowed them to block out the light when they were sleeping, but the rest of the time, the room was lit with natural light. Large chairs sat on either side of the room and a large TV sat in one corner. To the left of the entrance to the bedroom was a door that led into the men's shared walk-in wardrobe. The door next to that led to their master bathroom, which had two sinks, a whirlpool tub, and a separate, oversized shower.

"You can come in here anytime you need us, day or night, as long as the door is unlocked. Don't be scared of waking us up, because it's our job to take care of you and we won't get mad. Even if it's just because you had a bad dream, you can come and get one or both of us."

"They're dads, that's what they're supposed to do. It's in the instruction manual or something," Josh explained reassuringly. He was easily able to notice the younger boy's discomfort with the idea.

The boy stared at Josh suspiciously; evidently trying to work out the truth in the words, but the older boy just gazed back calmly, his face completely honest. Eventually, the child nodded his understanding.

JJ heart nearly burst with the pride he felt for his middle son. He'd been worried for several moments there, that their newest charge wasn't going to accept the fact that they were telling him the truth. Josh had managed to sense the boy's hesitations and, with a few simple words, convince him that it was ok. On top of which, he managed to get one of the preschooler's rare visible responses.

JJ closed the door to the master bedroom, boosting the small form in his arm up a bit from where he'd sipped lower.

"This next room will be the one you're going to share with our oldest son, Tobi. Tobi has the largest bedroom in the house after the master bedroom, so we thought it would be best for you to share with him," JJ explained before opening the door.

Tobi looked up from his PC where he'd been mixing some music, to see one of his fathers, his brothers, and what appeared to be the new kid. Tobi felt anger well up inside of him as he took stock of the visible injuries. The kid had definitely been knocked around.

The boy meanwhile, was tiredly taking looking at what was to be his new room. The room was larger than both Harry's, and Josh and Ethan's, by several feet. It was painted a simple white and was very neat. A set of bunk beds sat along the wall to the right, with the desk Tobi currently sat at right under the first large window at the back of the room. On the other half of the backwall was another, larger window with a long bench seat under it. A large sound system stood next to that window and next to that a number of snapbacks were placed neatly on the wall. Beside that were a couple of shelves that held a plastic skull, art projects, and other odds and ends. Below that were primary school level books. Finally, on the bottom shelf rested a collection of children's books. On the far left wall was a wardrobe, and in the corner to the right of the door, leather chair and a floor light.

It was a very nice room, one which any kid would be glad to have.

Tobi stood up and nervously wiped his hands on his jeans. "Wow, I must have lost track of time." He looked directly at the child in his father's arm. "Hello, I'm Tobi, in case you don't already know. Dad said you're going to be sharing this room with me." The boy simply stared at him, causing Tobi to swallow nervously. "Um, I'll be taking the top bunk, especially with your leg like it is. I put fresh sheets on the bed, and... well I guess that's it..." he stuttered.

JJ grinned and gave the boy a little bounce. "Tobi wants to be a music producer when he's older. He studies everything he can get his hands on about it. He's kind of the nurse of the house too, taken care of everybody when they get sick. He's good at it."

Tobi smiled ruefully. "It's only because of the work experience school made me do, I helped out at St John's Ambulance."

The little boy simply sighed and tiredly laid his head against the man's chest, drained and aching from the long day.

From below, the group heard a couple yelps and looked down at Molly.

"Oh, sorry," Ethan apologised with a smile, realising the puppy was feeling ignored. He crouched down and scratched her behind the ears. "And this, Tobi, is Molly. She'll be your other new roommate."

Tobi looked to his father in alarm, but JJ just scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Um, I might have forgotten to mention this to you...the kid here doesn't let Molly out of his sight if he can help it. Rach says she's pretty much house broken, as long as you let her out as soon as she says she has to go."

Tobi inwardly groaned at this news, but didn't let the expression on his face falter. Before anything else could be said, Simon came in, carrying a medicine cup and a glass of juice.

"Time for his meds," He stated, studying the youngster's face. Just like Rachel had warned, the boy was looking pale and his face looked pained. "Hey buddy, the doctors sent this home to help with the pain. Every six hours we can give you more if you need it."

JJ took the cup and held it to the boy's lips. "Down the hatch. The sooner this goes down, the sooner you start feeling better."

The boy sighed and wrinkled his nose in disgust, but opened his mouth to accept the medication. The cool, sweet apple juice wiped away all traces of the bitter medicine.

The child's heavy eyes lowered of their own accord, the late hour, new place, and meeting all the new people had taken away his energy.

JJ laid the youngster down onto what was to become his bed and covered him with lightweight blankets. Molly was placed on the bed next to him and immediately a small hand searched her out and petted her soft silky fur. With a final sigh, the boy drifted off and one by one, the family crept out.