CHAPTER EIGHT

Owen was in a bad mood.

He tried keeping it together for the sake of the kids. He really did but it was not an easy thing to do when problem after another came barreling down on him.

It all started two nights before the dinner, when Joshua came to check on Samuel after the bunny incident. That night just as Owen was about to doze off, Caiden's loud cries pierce through the baby monitor making him hurriedly left the room to check on him, worry filling him as the sound of the baby's cries did not sound good.

He arrived at the nursery and there Caiden was, wailing as he lays in his crib. Face red as fat tears ran down his chubby cheeks.

Owen gently lifts the baby and cradled him in his arms, swaying side to side as he softly hush the baby and wipes his tears away. A frown forming on his face when he felt the baby's body warmer than usual.

Owen continues to hush the baby as he carefully made his way to the bathroom where he took Caiden's temperature with a thermometer. When the temperature result read above normal, the worry within the long haired male heightens as he left the bathroom and went back to his room where he dialed Joshua's number.

Joshua answered at the third ring and Owen didn't hesitate to invite the man over, again as he had been to house earlier to check on Samuel, but the man didn't complain and instead reassured the long haired that everything will be alright. He promised to get to the house as soon as he can before ending the call.

So Owen waited for his best friend to arrive and while he did, he changed Caiden's nappy and gave him a bottle. He tried lulling the baby back to sleep but Caiden only whined. Now he stares up at his tired father with wide eyes as both of his chubby hands clutches on his second bottle of milk.

Soon Joshua arrived and immediately gave the baby a checkup. Despite it being already midnight, Joshua did his job perfectly and was able to identify what's causing the baby's sudden above normal body temperature.

The baby began sneezing and coughing halfway through the checkup, therefore justifying Joshua's conclusion.

"Little Caiden here has a little cold but there's no need to worry because all Caiden needs is plenty of rest, lots of liquids in him like water and some paracetamol drops. He will be good as new tomorrow," Joshua smiled down at the baby who laid on the bed, looking up at him with those beautiful round eyes of his as he drools all over his fist that was shoved in his mouth.

Joshua cooed and ran soft fingers on the baby's pudgy tummy causing the baby to burst into fits of his adorable laugh.

"Thank Josh for coming in on such late notice. I just......didn't know who else to call," Owen said as he walk Joshua to the front door of the house, Baby Caiden on his arms finishing his second bottle of milk.

"I'm glad you called me and you don't need to thank me every time I do something for the boys. They're like my boys too and I would move heaven and earth for them." Joshua chuckled as he slip on his coat then his shoes back on, "besides, I'm a 24/7 On-Call Pediatrician, so working this late is nothing new for me. You know that,"

Owen adjusts the now whiny baby in his arms as he gave him a tired smile, " Are you sure you don't want stay over Josh? You can stay in Ezzie's room. It's too late to drive home."

"You're too kind Owen but I will have to decline. I need to go because I have to make sure my son doesn't burn my house down. He was hungry when I left," Joshua chuckled as he steps out of the front porch with Owen smiling behind him.

"Yeah, I think you should go home," Owen chuckled in agreement, knowing all too well that Ezra can't cook to save his life and he learned that the hard way.

Joshua bid the two a goodnight and got on his car. He honked his car twice before driving off to the direction of his house. Owen sighs and walks back into the house, locking the door behind him and back to the nursery where he took the baby's pillow and blanket.

He balanced the items and the baby as he made his way back to his own room. He set the baby's makeshift bed beside his bed, it was an old crib that Joshua fixed and turned into a makeshift bed for Caiden. He placed the pillows and carefully laid the baby in the bed, covering him with his baby dinosaur themed blanket.

Baby Caiden loves dinosaurs and pretty much of his stuff have dinosaurs on it. He also has a five feet tall dinosaur plush sitting at the corner of the nursery that he loves to cuddle into. The plush toy was gift from Joshua, the boys' godfather.

Sighing, Owen laid down on his side with an arm mindlessly tapping the baby's chubby leg to lull him to sleep. He and Caiden yawned at the same time making him smile softly as he began humming a song.

But just as he was about to doze off, again, he hears soft whimpers that woke him up. He immediately checked the baby but Caiden has already fallen peacefully asleep. There was a whine again, this time louder, and Owen turned his head to see his little Sebbie standing by the foot of the bed, clutching his teddy bear tightly in his arms.

Owen, though startled with the child's presence, forms a frown on his face when he noticed the child's tear stained cheeks. He carefully got out of the bed and went to where Sebbie stood. The child didn't waste any second attaching himself into his father's leg.

Still frowning, Owen lifted the child into his arms and wipes the tear tracks away, frowning even more when the child felt warm. He lets out a sigh and took the child temperature but the result came back normal.

"Why are you crying Sebbie? Did you have a bad dream?" Owen asks as he walks back to his bed, the child shook his head no.

"I hurt Daddy, here." Sebbie then placed his chubby hands on his tummy making Owen to stop on his tracks.

"Your tummy hurts? Since when Sebbie?" Owen was contemplating whether to call Joshua again but immediately decided against it. He can handle this on his own.

Owen placed the child on the bed and left to his bathroom where he keeps an extra of every medicine the boys have so he won't have to leave the boys in the room just to get one in the kitchen. He found the right medicine and walks back into the room with it and a glass of water.

Sebastian caught glimpse of the familiar medicine bottle and he immediately scrunched his nose in disgust. He has a dislike for any types of medicines and vitamins making it a struggle for Owen every time the child needs to take medicines.

But this time was different, the child took the medicine with no complaint before laying down on the bed. Making it known that he had no plans whatsoever to return to his and Samuel's shared bedroom as he snuggles under his father's big fluffy duvet.

Two sick boys in the room and Owen could only hope that Samuel won't catch either disease. Owen made a mental note to make his eldest wear his face mask tomorrow and to remind him to keep his distance from his younger siblings until they all feel better. Easier Said than Done.

Owen laid back down on the bed for the third time and lets out a soft sigh. He should wear a facemask himself because he couldn't risk catching the disease himself but he was so tired and it's already past midnight.

The facemask can wait.

.............................

Owen regrets not wearing a facemask the night before because now he is currently sat at the living room couch, all bundled in blankets as he sneezed for the nth time. Having some coughing fits here and there and he hasn't stop shivering even though the AC in the house are off.

Joshua came by and took the boys back to his house so that they won't catch the cold. He was right and Caiden was all better the next morning. He and Samuel will spend the day and night at Joshua's house under the care of Joshua himself while he has his son Ezra stay over with Owen and Sebastian at the Hayes residence.

Sebastian's tummy ache was not the common one and according to Doctor Hudson, It could be a bug and so he was forced to be under the watchful eyes of his pediatrician. He had pooped a lot overnight making him a crying mess because his tummy aches even more when he poops.

They use that to potty train the child as Owen couldn't physically tend to him and Ezra will never in a millions years help Sebbie with poopy business. Other than the bug, Sebastian also acquired Caiden's flu overnight.

So now the child is also bundled in layers of blankets. His little button nose red from nonstop sneezing and his chubby cheeks faint red from his above normal temperature. He sat on the carpeted floor in front of Owen with crayons and coloring books in front of him. The only noise in the house is Father and Son's constant sneezes and coughs.

Ezra was somewhere in the house, probably the guestroom that he already claimed as his own room. Editing Songs in his Laptop for his final requirements in school. When it comes to Music, Ezra becomes serious and hardworking. His passion for Music never ceases to amaze his father.

Owen called in sick at his work which his boss was not happy about so in return of letting him take the day off, He gave Owen a take home work to do. So much for sleeping all day which was Owen's original plan.

Owen now, still sat on the couch, reads through the paper works that were sent to his house an hour ago. He reads them, rewrites and recalculates them if needed then reads them again to make sure there are no other mistakes. Being an accountant for a big company is giving Owen not only a big responsibility but a major headache.

He was halfway through the paper works when Sebastian began whining about his tummy again. Luckily this time it was because he was hungry. Owen simply called Ezra's name and not a minute later the small teen appeared and takes one look at Sebastian before sighing. He lifts the child into his arms and brought him to the kitchen.

Owen went to the fridge and read the list of foods that Sebastian can only eat for the meantime. Doctor Hudson wrote the list to make sure Ezra won't feed the child something that will upset the child's tummy any further.

Most of the foods on the list had to be cooked and Ezra can't cook even if his life depended on it. He continues to read the list as Sebastian began yawning and rests his head on the teen's shoulder, rubbing his red button nose.

Eventually Ezra found something on the list that doesn't need cooking to be prepared but the real struggle is to prepare the food with Sebastian still in his arms as the child whined that he didn't want to be set down.

Two failed attempts later and Ezra finally made a decent meal for the child. The meal being consist of fresh cut fruits and a warm bottle of milk.

While Sebastian ate his meal, Ezra continues to work with his music. He was currently stuck with one of his songs, the draft tune he made for the song didn't really feel right with the lyrics. He had tried a couple of other tunes but neither fit his lyrics the way he wanted too.

Sebastian was just being his adorable self, counting how many slices of tangerines he has left while mindlessly humming random tunes. He was humming something and Ezra absentmindedly began humming along, his eyes catching the lyrics on the screen of his laptop. As the tune continues on, Ezra began silently singing the lyrics and found it matching well with the tune the child was humming.

That made him sat up on his seat, the tune still playing on his mind as he starts a new music sheet on his editor and began writing the tune. Not even fifteen minutes later, the tune was completed with the help of his genius mind and when he tried to play the new tune while singing the lyrics, Oh how marvelous it sounded.

And so for the rest of the day, Ezra finished recording his new music while also taking care of Sebastian while Owen was finally done with the paper works and continued on with his plan of sleeping all day.

Joshua came to the house at 9 in the evening to check on his best friend and godson. Owen was all better by time evening came with only a mere headache lingering while his Baby Sebbie, though no longer has a tummy ache, still felt feverish resulting for him to be in bed rest for the rest of the night. Owen helped Joshua packed overnight bags for Samuel and Caiden as the house was yet to be cleared of sickness.

Joshua soon left and the house was quiet again. Ezra volunteered to help Sebastian get ready for bed. Bathing him and putting him in his favorite white onesie that has tangerine fruits all over it.

He brought Sebastian to bed and even sang a lullaby until the child had fallen asleep. Ezra left the room quietly and went to where he left his Laptop on the kitchen island. He made sure that all the doors and windows are locked before carrying his laptop back to the child's room where he will continue polishing his new song while also keeping an eye on the child like Joshua had asked him to do earlier.

Ezra played the song after a few polishing here and there, the soft music filling the room like a music coming from an old music box. Both enchanting and mysterious but at the same time beautiful.

The chorus of the song came and Ezra finds himself singing the lyrics. His beautiful voice filling the room.

He sang as he stared at the night sky.

"Because we're together, I'm able to smile,

And because it's you, I'm able to cry.

Like this, how can there be anything I can't do.

No matter when and where you are, Even if we're not together.

We will always be, like we have been, have smiles blossoming.

I will become the spring to your smiles."

....................................

The following day, Sebastian's fever was gone and he was back to being his adorable hyper little self. Owen however still battles the raging headache and he would've wanted to sleep all day again but he couldn't because tonight was the anticipated post-holiday dinner at the Xu-Wen residence and since they are the meeting the couple for the first time, Owen wanted to make a good impression and not attending the dinner party was not how he wants the impression to be.

Half an hour past one in the afternoon, Joshua came by with Caiden and Samuel. The latter child still wearing his facemask by Doctor Hudson's order and the child did not complain. While Caiden missed his father terribly and instantly went in for a cuddle the moment he saw Owen.

They all ate lunch together and Joshua stayed until it was time to leave to get ready for the dinner. Joshua actually insisted to help get the boys ready for the dinner but Owen declined and practically kicked his best friend out of the house. He didn't mean to be a meanie but his headache was making him snappy and be in a bad mood.

He got the boys dressed with much difficulty because the headache was making him lose focus on the things around him and that annoyed him greatly.

At a quarter past seven, they were off to the dinner party.

...............................

"Did you really have to snap at the guy?" Joshua whispered beside Owen as they made their way back to the living where the other guests are waiting.

Owen was still moody and he really tried not to snap at anyone who talked to him. So far he was doing well until when he came to get his son from the playroom and he saw little Sebbie crying, then a random guy snorted at his son's words, something within him was irked and he snapped at the random guy.

The random guy did try to apologize but Owen was not having it and he walked out of the room, in a badder mood than he already was.

"He snorted at my son and for me that was rude," Owen huffed.

"He also tried to apologize." Joshua said stopping his friend from walking.

Owen stared at his best friend, "Look, Josh, that guy was douche bag and what was he even doing inside the playroom? I'm pretty sure he's freaking pedo or something." he snapped quietly.

Joshua stared at his best friend incredulously, everything his friend just said was full of nonsense, must be a side effect of his headache. "Okay, that was too judgmental of you Owen. You barely know the guy and he's not a pedo. He has kids, three I think?"

"Why are you suddenly defending the guy?" Owen raised a brow at his friend who only blushed red and avoids eye contact.

Owen opens his mouth to speak but never got to say anything when someone loudly cleared their throat, catching everyone's attention in the living room.

"Good Evening ladies and gentlemen! May we all proceed to the foyer hall?" The butler said and murmuring fills the living room. Everyone was filled with excitement as they made their way to the foyer hall.

"Mr. Xu and Mr. Wen are ready to meet all of you."