"Bro, I can't remember when I've seen a cuter sight."
"Yeah, it's definitely a Kodak moment."
"He's going to be too stiff to move if he slept like that all night."
"Maybe we should wake him, although I don't really wanna end the moment."
"Use your funny voice Deji!
"JJ, if I find out you're to blame for these constant orders..."
"Boys, you want to shout a little louder?" Simon peeled one blue, bloodshot eye open and used it to glare at the three men and Tobi standing at the foot of the bed. Four broad smiles beamed back at him.
"Hey Mr. Simon, you're not so scary anymore."
"So I've noticed." Simon corrected his count to five as he finally spotted Ethan peeking out from behind JJ's legs. The child had been cleaned up and looked like any other seven-year-old. Definitely on the small side, both he and Josh were but that was due to poor nutrition; that was why they'd assumed him to be younger than he was. Simon wondered what strings had been pulled to allow him to visit Josh. No doubt the social worker was waiting out in the main area.
Moving a fraction of an inch at a time, Simon began the painful process of straightening out his body, which felt like it was made of wood. Very stiff, very painful. He was still trying to get his neck to turn to the left when Dr. Gamble entered the crowded room.
"Well, looks like I arrived just in time." James held out a small paper cup to the suffering young man. "Muscle relaxers. Just what the doctor ordered."
Simon growled his thanks as he finally made it to his feet.
James introduced himself to the new arrivals and shook everyone's hand, including Ethan's.
"Are you a real doctor? Why aren't you wearing a white coat? Can you make animals better as well as people? Could you fix a horse if it broke it's leg? Mr. Simon's got horses and I'm gonna get to ride 'em cause I'm staying with him and JJ, that's his boyfriend, cause I'm a...uh...a ter-ial witness and they've adopted Tobi so they're allowed to look after me. Are you gonna make Josh better now so he can come riding too?"
While Dr. Gamble answered the barrage of questions, Simon pulled JJ to one side.
"Material witness? When the fuck did that happen? Since when did we agree bringing the kid to our house? Did you even think about Tobi?" Simon fought to keep his voice down but the other men either heard or were clearly expecting such a reaction. As JJ tried to justify his actions, Deji and Cal began making a big show of arranging the balloons and presents that had been purchased in the hospital gift shop.
It was Tobi that saved JJ from the interrogation when he managed to interrupt Ethan long enough to ask his own questions regarding the sleeping patient.
Everyone turned their attention to the doctor who looked at the chart in his hands.
"From what my nurses reported during the night I'd say Josh should make a full recovery. Provided," James held up a hand to hold off the premature cheers. "Provided he does not catch a viral infection due to his weakened immune system. The next few days are critical. He needs plenty of rest and nourishment."
"How long?" Simon moved to stand next to the bed.
"Hard to say. I'm going to keep him on fluids today and if he handles those alright, we'll try soft foods tomorrow. A lot of it depends on Josh."
"On Josh?"
James spoke loud enough for everyone to hear but his gaze was focused on Simon. "He has to want to get well. Hope can mean a great deal to a child. Especially to one who hasn't had any in a long time."
Simon glanced over to JJ who was holding a squirming Ethan under one arm. "Material witness, huh?"
JJ grinned back. "Rachel Davis didn't have a problem with it. At least not until Tobi managed to sweet talk her into it."
Simon glanced to his nine year old son in surprise. "Tobi?" The boy was renowned for liking his privacy and wasn't fond of change.
The young boy straightened himself up self-consciously. "I just wanted to help...like you helped me, I thought you could help them," the boy mumbled. "They're so little..."
Simon smiled in pride. "You're a good man Tobi." The youngster beamed back at the praise.
JJ smiled too. "Being old school friends with a social worker has its benefits as well."
"Does that mean Josh can go riding too?"
"Yeah kiddo, he can ride too but not until he's well."
"Yay!"
...
Ouch Ethan. Why'd he always have to make so much noise so early in the morning? Josh growled and peeled one hazel eye open to glare at the boy.
"Well, look who decided to wake up to see everybody."
"Is it my imagination, or does that grumpy morning look remind you of someone else we know?"
Josh blinked in surprise as he took in the room full of strangers. And not just people filled the room. Everywhere he looked there was a balloon or a toy or some brightly coloured card.
"Josh's awake! Josh's awake! Were you dreaming of angels?"
Just as the first twinges of panic were starting to set in, Josh felt a hand wrap around his and looked up to find Simon smiling down at him. The promise he saw in those blue eyes made his heart race. "Nuh-uh, Ethan. I didn't dream about any angels."
"Oh." Ethan looked disappointed. "So you didn't learn any secrets?"
"No. But that's okay. If I had seen angels Simon said I was to tell them where they could stick their fu..."
"Uh, yeah," Simon quickly interrupted the child much to the amusement of his friends and the doctor. "I didn't really tell him...I mean I thought he was...don't you have some videos or something to do?"
"Nope. Not today, babe." JJ perched himself on the edge of the bed and gave Josh a broad wink, while kissing the blond man on the shoulder. "Got the whole weekend to get to know you."
"It'll be fun!" Tobi stretched himself out on the unoccupied bed, fiddling with the controller. "I was gonna see my friends but I'd much rather spend time with you!"
Deji and Cal found themselves places to sit while Dr. Gamble left with a laugh to finish his rounds.
Never one to lose gracefully, Simon grabbed the bed control from Tobi's hand and hauled the boy back to his feet. "Fine. But we get to share the bed. And which one of you idiots is going to buy me some breakfast?"
Josh looked about the room filled with laughter and smiles and hugged the small toy cat tight to his chest. No, he hadn't dreamt of angels, but that was okay because he was awake now and had a whole room full of them.
The present day...
"And that was how me and Josh got to meet our dads!" Ethan exclaimed, as the story came to a close. He grinned at the two men who'd been listening closely, laughing, smiling and occasionally blinking away the tears as the two recalled their memories of the time.
"Not quite the usual adoption story is it?" Josh added with a smirk. "But then they never like to follow by the rules."
Four year old Vik stared at his older brothers in awe. He'd never imagined that the two, who always seemed so happy in his eyes, had such a dark past.
Crawling forward he wrapped them both in a tight hug with his tiny arms. "I'm glad Daddy and Papa broke the law to find you," he said seriously.
A pause. And then the boys were laughing, quickly followed by the others.
"Yeah we are too," Josh said firmly, picking up the little boy and returning the hug, while looking Simon directly in the eyes. "We are too."
Simon winked back at him. He was proud his twelve, nearly thirteen year olds, had found the courage to share the story with their two younger brothers, or at least a fairly child friendly version, leaving out the scarier details of how bad things had been when they'd found them in the shopping centre. It was all part of the healing process.
Of course, the two hadn't revealed everything. There were certain parts that would be too upsetting for Harry and Vik's ears and were private between the fathers and the boys...