The next morning Rosa is up early getting Skylynn ready for school. Rosa does Skylynn's hair with a very pretty pink bow and dresses her in her new clothes, also pink. She misses having a little princess to dress and do her hair, her own daughter is now an adult. Hayes gets dressed on his own and smiles proudly at his reflection. Today is going to be the first time in years that he won't get made fun of, he's actually excited to go to school.
They watch tv in the kitchen while they eat their breakfast and Rosa packs their lunch in lunch bags that Cameron bought for them when he bought their clothes the day before. Cameron gets up and lets Nash sleep in, he looks so peaceful.
He takes a shower and gets dressed, and then goes downstairs where the kids are waiting for him at the door. He smiles at them and picks Skylynn up giving her a kiss on her cheek.
"You look very pretty, princess." He tells her as she giggles and wraps her little arms around his neck. He blows raspberries on her cheek and makes her laugh more.
"You look very good too, Hayes." Cameron tells him and Hayes gives him a bright smile.
"Thank you, Cameron. For everything that you're doing for us." Hayes replies softly and Cameron ruffles his hair affectionately.
He carries Skylnn out to his car and Hayes follows behind them. He opens the back door and places Skylynn in the booster seat that he got for her. He straps her in and then gets in on the drivers side. Hayes is buckled and ready to go on the passengers side. Cameron turns on the car and then reaches into his pocket.
"I have something for you, Hayes. It was mine but I barely used it to begin with because I have my cell and I want you to have it." Cameron says and he hands him an ipod with the charger and headphones. Hayes takes it, his eyes are wide and he stares at it. He runs his fingers over it reverently, his hand trembles slightly.
"Oh my god," he whispers, almost to himself. Hayes feels excitement in the pit of his stomach, the ipod looks brand new and he grins as he realizes that he has something that is just for him. "Cam... you're honestly the 2nd best person that I know. You're awesome."
Cameron smiles as he pulls out and starts to drive them to school.
"Well thank you, Hayes." He says and Hayes begins to chat excitedly about what games he's going to download and the music he's going to put on it. Cameron listens quietly with a small smile on his lips.
He pulls in front of the school where a children are milling around before school starts. He turns off the car and goes around to take Skylynn out of her booster seat.
He watches as Hayes runs up to his group of friends and begins to chat with them enthusiastically and then takes Skylynn's hand and leads her inside. He finds her classroom where a teacher is hanging up art.
"Hi," Cameron says and she jumps a bit and turns to him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. This is Skylynn's classroom right?"
The teachers eyes widen as she takes a good look at little Sky. She seems like a different little girl, her hair is nicely done and she is wearing brand new clothes and a new coat.
"Yes, it is. And you are...?" She asks tilting her head, she doesn't recognize him.
"I'm Cameron, a friend of the family." He tells her as he releases Sky's hand, she immediately runs up to her desk.
"I'll be back in the afternoon to pick her up," he informs her. "Just so you don't send her on the bus."
He wants to make sure she's aware because it would be horrific if Skylynn ended up in the trailer park without Nash or Hayes.
The teacher nods and Cameron waves at Sky before making his way back to his car.
It doesn't take him long before he's back at the farm. He decides to stop by Barts office to talk about some of the things he went over the night before. He hopes that Nash is still sleeping and getting some rest.
He stays there for 3 hours, longer than he intended, going over spreadsheets with Bart. The good thing is that he got most of the work for today done, as he's getting ready to leave there's a knock on the door and Aaron enters, he has a look of concern.
"Bart and Cameron," He says their names as he nods in greeting. "It's really not like Nash to miss 2 days in a row, he must be really sick. I... don't know where he lives, is it possible that either of you could give me his address?"
Cameron hesitates for a moment, but he knows Nash has grown close with Aaron and trusts him.
"I'll take care of it, Bart." He tells him quietly, he motions for Aaron to follow him. Aaron looks confused but follows his boss as he leads him to the ranch.
Cameron walks inside and pokes his head in the family room and smiles when he sees Nash cuddled on the chaise part of the sofa with a big blanket. He's eating from a bowl of fresh fruit and drinking some hot tea while watching TV.
Aaron has never really been inside the ranch, he's looking around in awe. Cameron motions for him to follow into the living.
Nash's eyes brighten when Cameron walks in and his face breaks out into the smile. He then spots Aaron and he looks surprised but happy.
"Nash! I was worried about you," Aaron explains. "Cameron brought me over but Bart had told me you were out sick."
"Yeah... I had a tough weekend." Nash replies, he doesn't go into much detail. Cameron sits on the sofa, close to Nash.
"Make yourself at home, Aaron." Cameron offers but Aaron just shuffles awkwardly on his feet.
"I just wanted to make sure Nash was okay," Aaron says, he's glad to see his friend is doing good, but he's so confused as to why Nash is staying at the ranch and not at his trailer. Maybe he didn't want to get his siblings sick. "I'll get back to work, hope to see you back soon, Nash and that you recover well."
"Thank you, Aaron. I really appreciate that. You're a good friend." Nash replies with a happy smile.
Aaron nods at him and then Cameron before he leaves and heads back to the barn.
Once Aaron is Cameron scoots closer and kisses Nash gently.
"I'm glad to see you comfortable down here," Cameron tells him softly and Nash smiles shyly at him and causes Cameron to lean in and kiss him again.
"Mmm, I can taste your strawberries. Are you going to share?" Cam teases him gently. Nash blushes and bites his lip. He picks up a strawberry and he brings it up to Cameron's lips. Cameron stares into his eyes as he takes the strawberry from Nash's fingertips , licking the juice on Nash's fingers before pulling away and chewing the strawberry slowly. Literally, the best strawberry he's ever had.
He is so tempted to go further but he reigns in his urges. The bruises on Nash's face have faded to a yellow, barely noticeable until he's in the bright light.
"How are your back and ribs?" He asks him, he's desperate to pull Nash into his arms but he doesn't want to hurt him.
"They're okay, I just took some tylenol and it pretty much kept me comfortable," Nash replies, he rolls down the blanket and lifts his shirt. He managed to take a shower and he borrowed some of Cameron's clothes. The bruises on his stomach and chest are still purple and appear very painful but they've faded a bit as well.
Cameron traces the bruises and he can feel the rage at Nash's father begin rise again.
"That fucking bastard," he mutters. "I swear I could kill him."
It's interesting how that makes Nash feel just as loved as the sweet things that Cameron does for him.
"I wish so badly that you didn't have to go back to that asshole. Are you sure there's nothing we can do?" Cameron asks as he pulls Nash's shirt down and gently pulls him into his arms. Nash lays his head on Cameron's chest and closes his eyes.
"I just... don't see how I could convince a judge that I'm fit to raise 2 children without a suitable home. And where will they stay in the interim? Some dumpy foster home? I'm just so scared they'll take them from me and I can't let that happen. There's no way Chad would ever sign over custody to me, he'd rather let the children starve or be abused in a foster home than to let me have them," Nash explains, his voice as a mixture of sadness and anger.
"Is it okay if I talk to my family lawyer about it? He may know some loopholes..." Cameron asks quietly. Nash looks up at him, wonder in his eyes.
"You would do that for me?" Nash questions him.
"I would do anything for you," Cameron replies softly and he presses a gentle kiss on Nash's forehead. They stay like that for hours, until it's time for Cameron to pick up the kids from the school. Nash insists on going with him, he wants to be outside in the fresh air, if only for a little bit. Cameron helps him into his car and Nash catches sight of the booster seat sitting on the 2nd row of the Range Rover.
"Is that...?" He asks quietly and Cameron nods at him. Nash leans over the center console and presses a soft kiss on Cameron's cheek.
"You are absolutely amazing for thinking about her safety like that. I wished so much that I could get her one for when we use my Chad's clunker but they were always so expensive," Nash explains as he pulls back and buckles himself in.
"All 3 of you deserve the world," Cameron tells him as he turns the car on and drives to the school. They arrive a few minutes before the kids are let out. "I'm going to go inside and get Skylynn from the class, just in case the teacher forgot about not sending her on the bus.'
Nash starts to take off his seatbelt but Cameron stops him. "It's okay, I'll get her."
He gets out of the car and walks to the classroom he dropped Skylynn off at just as the kids are being let out. As soon as she see's him she takes off running and jumps into his arms.
"Cammy!" She exclaims happily and he smothers her with kisses.
"Hey, pretty girl. How was school?" He asks as he walks back to the car, Skylynn starts to babble happily about her day and how she drew a picture of them. He straps her into her booster seat.
"Nashy!" She says happily and she launches into her story about the picture she drew. They wait a few minutes until Hayes comes out with the rest of the older children. He's talking to a few boys and waves at them before running up the SUV. The kids watch with jealousy in their eyes as Hayes gets into the nice car and they have to go over to the bus that barely runs and is always cold.
And that's how their days go, Cameron drops them off in the morning and he and Nash pick them up in the afternoon.
On Wednesday Nash calls Mrs. Kaplan and lets her know they're returning to the trailer on Saturday night. She informs him that his father had come around again and that he looked horrible, Nash didn't feel a pang of sympathy for his abuser.
Cameron tries to think of the perfect date for him and Nash. He knows he wants to take him out on Friday night but he wants to do something that Nash will genuinely enjoy.
He sits at his computer on Thursday night staring blankly at the screen. He still has no idea what he wants to do tomorrow.
Nash is mostly healed and Cameron decides that he's going to take Nash on their boat. Friday is going to in the 60s unusual for the time of year but perfect for their date. He sends a message to the pier the boat is stored at, to have the boat ready for him at noon.
He's going to surprise Nash and he can't deny he's nervous. He hopes that everything goes perfectly.
A/N-Sorry, filler but a necessary evil. Please check out my new Cash one shot book. I am taking requests so PM me if you have something in mind that you would like me to write!