CHAPTER TWELVE

Joshua eventually came to Sammy's room to check on the child.

Damian didn’t want to intrude more and instead focused himself on his phone. Bless Kristian's soul for letting Damian borrow his charger and now the brunette has been texting his eldest son non-stop as he wasn't used to being this far from his sons and Luca was more than willing to assure his father that he and siblings were doing fine every other minute.

A loud sigh made Damian look up from his phone and he saw Joshua writing something down on his clipboard. The frown on his face already gave Damian the feeling it was not good.

"How’s my son Josh? Is he doing well now?"

Joshua sighed sadly, shaking his head, "I’m sorry Owen but it’s the opposite.”

Owen stared at his best friend in disbelief, tears threatening to fall again. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Joshua thought of how he should he break it to best friend but decided to just give it to him straight, sugarcoating will do no one good. Joshua stared straight at his best friend’s eyes, “His heart rate is low and his blood pressure is even lower. We might need to give him a new set of vitamins to help his body fight but that will cost a lot because the vitamins are made specifically for children who are battling cancer to help strengthen and support their immune system." Joshua paused to see and hear his best friend's reaction.

While Joshua's words only answered Damian's questions from when they entered the Oncology ward for Children earlier. He didn't want to believe it at first but now that the doctor himself, Joshua, has indirectly confirmed it, Damian could feel his heart hurting more, then a great wave sadness engulfs his entire being.

Sammy has cancer or had cancer. Damian is not sure about which either and he will need a lot of courage if he were to ask that to Owen. But doesn’t the fact that cancer was one of the worst path someone could take especially at a young age like Sammy. Poor child, now Damian couldn’t imagine how hard it must be all of this for Owen and the man was shouldering everything on his own.

When Owen didn't say anything, Joshua continues, "But if you like, I could put the bills under my name so you won't have to pay for anyth–"

"No." Owen interrupted his friend. "You’ve already done more than enough Josh. I can’t let you do this too. It’s too much."

“I know but I want to do this Owen. I can’t let you do this on your own too. I’m your best friend, just let me help. Please?” Joshua wasn’t ever going to back down. Owen has been through so much already and he’ll be damned if he let his best friend suffer alone again.

Owen saw the sincerity in his best friend’s eyes, and then he takes once glance at his sleeping son, and he finally gave in. he nodded his head and accepted his best friend’s help. The doctor sighed in relief. He walked around the bed and capture the blonde in a tight embrace. Damian just stood at the corner, watching the scene in utter awe.

Soon Joshua left the room as he still had a round to finish, but promised his best friend to return as soon as he was done. Damian turned to Owen and saw the man just standing there. Shoulders slumped and his head hung low making his long blond hair cover his face for Damian not to see what was happening.

That was until Owen's shoulder started shaking and his soft quiet sobs filled the room. Damian left his seat and without hesitation pulled the long blonde haired male into his arms for a comfort hug that Damian knows the angel-like man needed most right now.

Owen stiffened for a moment, not expecting the contact. But he eventually melted into the touch. He emitted quiet sobs as he did not want to make so much noise as he unconsciously buries his face deeper in the brunette’s chest. His delicate fingers clutching tightly at the back of the older man's sweater.

They just stood like that for quite some time. Owen crying his pain and sadness out, and Damian doing his very best to comfort the blonde haired male as he softly rubs circles on his back and whispers sweet words into his ears.

"I don’t want to burden him." Owen mumbled some time later. He was no longer crying but a few little tears escapes him. His face nuzzled comfortably on the older man's chest as he subconsciously leans in closer to the hug. Both of his arms now wrap securely around the taller brunette male.

Damian felt his heart skip a beat at that and his face starts to redden. He tried with all his might not to make it obvious and instead softly hums in response as he also knew who Owen meant by 'him'.

"I know you don’t. But you’re his best friend and he’s only doing what a good friend should. You’re lucky to have someone like him." Damian said when Owen stayed silent for a while.

He felt Owen nod his head from his chest and Damian tried his best to resist, he really did, but ends up giving in and pressed a soft kiss on the blonde haired male's head. His cheeks burning red when he realizes what he just did. Damian mentally cursed at himself and thought just how embarrassing he could be.

Owen felt the kiss and for a second he stiffened again and only then did he realize his and the other man's current position. Color flooded his face and he hides his face on the man's chest. His actions only made him blush darker. His son was sleeping in the room with them and here he was practically flirting with another man that he literally just met hours. Just how embarrassing could it get?

It was rather strange but Owen felt oddly comfortable with their current position. The older man's muscly arms wrapped securely around him made him feel safe and as embarrassing as it is to admit outloud, Owen doesn't want to pull away from the hug. He wanted to stay in the man's arms forever, when was the last he felt this warm.

Suddenly they began swaying gently from side to side making Owen look up at the man in confusion. However, what he saw made his heart skip a beat then a fluttering feeling erupts in his chest.

The man has his eyes closed, his breathing calm and even. His face held no emotion yet he looks as serene as he continues to sway him and Owen from side to side. And then he began humming a song as he subconsciously tightened his arms around Owen making the latter gasp softly and blush darker at how close they were now to each other.

Damian continues to hum the song, he was totally aware of what he was doing and the song he was humming was something special to him. The lyrics of the song had a beautiful emotional depth and every word had power. The first time he listened to it, he actually teared up.

The song gives him comfort whenever he's having a hard time and now he wants to share that comfort to Owen who needs it now more than ever.

When Damian opened his mouth to sing, Owen felt himself completely melt into the man's arms.

"Don't be sorry,

Time to put all your worries to rest,

It’s okay to be scared,

You’ve cried enough now and did your best,

Remember, you are precious and strong.

Can you tell yourself who had a hard time?

That you’re not alone,

That I'm here for you,

That you've work hard,

That someone loves you for you."

Damian's voice sounded so sweet and warm, giving the song's emotional theme a great justice. Owen felt like in the verge of tears again. The lyrics of the song hitting him straight in the heart.

"That I will be your comfort to the rest of your days."

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

"Boys! Breakfast is ready!"

Back at the Xu-Wen residence, it was the next morning and Justine who wake up in a good mood have decided to make breakfast. He made dozens and dozens of sweet egg sandwiches, sweet potato pancakes and a special pumpkin porridge for Little Caiden.

Small pitter patter of feet echoed through the large hall and seconds later Maverick came running into the dining room, pulling a still sleepy Diego with him and behind those two little boys is Theodore carrying a giggling Caiden.

The sight alone made Justine want to have kids even more because Theodore looks so beautiful being a parent to the boys and he could only imagine how they will be like when they finally have their own children. Justine's excitement is overflowing its getting hard to contain. He can't wait to be a parent. It has been his dream since they got married, to have a family together.

Maverick climbs up his chair, almost falling a couple of times, before succeeding. A wide smile on his face as he eyed the foods on the table with hungry eyes.

Diego got on his seat with the help of Theodore. He thanked the man and like the well behaved and good mannered kid that he is, greets everyone a good morning with a cute smile before unfolding the table napkin and placed it neatly on his lap.

Theodore sat at the next chair on Maverick's side with Baby Caiden sitting on his lap. Caiden began reaching for the breadknife but Theodore was quick to take it away from the baby's reach and gave Caiden a teaspoon instead for him to play with.

While Justine takes a seat beside Diego who only nodded at his presence. Through observation, Justine have noticed that Diego have acted as if he were an old soul. Where Maverick was rambunctious and wild, he was calm and collected. He barely made a fuss and was always looking after his brother with attentive hazel eyes.

Utensils clangin snapped Justine out of his thoughts and he couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Maverick with a spilled soup in front of him and a guilty look on his face.

"Oh sweetie, you have to be more careful." Theodore smiled as he takes the napkin that the child disregarded and used it to wipe the child clean while a maid came out and cleans the mess.

The maid gave a bow and left back to the kitchen when she was done and the breakfast proceeded with no more accidents apart from Maverick almost choking on a piece of the pancake. It was the most fun the couple had for breakfast with Maverick and Caiden being the noisiest with their loud giggles filling the spacious hall, Althroughout the breakfast while Diego just smiled and ate his pancakes quietly.

Luca and Ezra had left to the hospital to check on how everything was going, the small male wasn't able to sleep all night because of his constant worrying. Sammy is like the baby brother Ezra never had and so he couldn't stop himself from worrying about the sick child. So at Dawn, He and Luca drove to the hospital using Ezra's father's car that they drove back to the mansion when they went to get stuffs for the boys.

The boys, however, are unaware of what was going on. Well most of them are and the couple are determined to keep it that way until either Owen or Damian tells them that's it's okay to tell the boys.

Theodore had just finished feeding Caiden porridge when he noticed that they are one child short. He looks around confused until he met his husband's eyes on him, mirroring his confusion.

"Hey, what’s wrong? You looked confused." Justine asked making Diego look up from his pancake and stared at the couple.

Theodore noticed and he smiled at the child before mouthing to his husband, in Chinese, that he was fine. Diego scrunched his nose as he didn't understand what Theodore had said, which was the latter's intention in the first place, and went back to slicing his pancakes into little squares.

Justine smiled and nodded at his husband then went back to eating. When Theodore was sure that no one was paying attention to him, He subtly called over a servant and whispered to her the words, find Sebbie. The servant nodded her head and left the dining hall to do her task.

"Boys, what do you say we have a barbeque for lunch? Sound's good?" Justine couldn't help the smile as Diego and Maverick nodded their heads eagerly with excited grins on their faces while Baby Caiden just clapped his chubby hands together even though he had no idea what was going on. He was just happy seeing his others happy.

Breakfast went by and the couple brought the boys to the living room where they turned the big flat screen TV on and began watching movies to pass the time. Three Disney Movies later and it was time for the boys to take a bath and get ready for their barbeque.

As Justine bathe the two little boys, Theodore did his best to bathe Baby Caiden with much care and caution. Justine bathe the two little boys in their big tub while Theodore bathe the baby on the sink as they really didn't have a baby tub, at the moment.

When done with bath, the couple brought the boys to the guestroom where they slept last night. When they got there, Sebbie was nowhere in sight. The maid that Theodore tasked with finding the child told him that Sebbie was in the garden, in the gazebo, and she when asked if the child wanted breakfast, the child politely declined and went back to admiring the flowers and talking to Justine's cat, Mr. Willows.

"Mr. Xu where is my Sebbie?" Diego asks as he sat at the edge of the big bed, all dressed in his cute white shorts, yellow loose T-shirt and a white bandana on his forehead. He looks so adorable.

Tying Caiden's little yellow scarf, Theodore felt proud of himself as the child looks so cute with his little outfit. He slips in Caiden's little shoes before lifting the baby into his arms and went to where Vernon was still waiting for his answer.

He sat at the edge of the bed and placed Baby Caiden on the middle of the bed, surrounding him with pillows. Diego crawled to the middle and sat beside the baby who’s now laying on his back, trying to grab his shoe covered tiny feet.

Diego just stared at the Baby for a second before smiling a small smile and laid beside the baby, softly poking the baby's chubby cheeks.

Theodore silently cooed at the sight, tempted to take a picture before realizing he doesn’t have his phone on him. So he just settled on watching the two. Wishing that someday it will be his own children that he will be watching play together.

Maverick and Justine eventually joined them in the room and Maverick cooed at how the little boy looked so adorable with his outfit. Maverick was dressed in a white shirt with the word fragile written in the center in a yellow square and a matching yellow checkered pants. His hair styled in a cute apple bun.

Justine wasn't bad himself. He wore a 3/4 sleeved dress shirt with blue pin-stripes and his pants were also yellow and tight, finishing his outfit with his white Burberry sneakers. He looks fine and cute with the same apple bun as Maverick.

Diego noticed the apple bun and immediately but politely asked to have one too to which Justine was more than happy to do. When he was done, Diego was one of the cutest apple head Theodore had seen. Of course, Caiden was given an apple bun too and he too looked beyond adorable.

When he was sure that Justine can watch the boys for a while, Theodore left to his and Justine's room. He showered as fast as he could and got dressed. Since his husband and the boys were already practically wearing matching outfits, Theodore decided to do the same and wore a yellow mind seeker T-shirt, denim blue jeans and white sneakers. He also wore a bandana on his forehead and finished the look with an apple bun.

Satisfied with his look, Theodore takes his phone and his Nikon FA SLR Film Camera then left the room to where he left his husband and the boys. He frowned when he didn't see anyone in the room but then the sound of Maverick's gleeful laughter reached his ears, Theodore just chuckled and followed the direction of the laughter.

He arrived at their backyard where he found servants preparing the grill for the barbeque while others prepare the meats to be barbequed. Theodore looks around and found his husband by the gazebo. He went there and saw them all sat on a picnic blanket with pillows all around them.

They were all smiling and laughing as Maverick made silly faces to the Baby who was clearly entertained and his loud shrieks of joy filled the atmosphere. Theodore found it a cute moment and quickly snaps picture with his camera. The clicking sound made Justine and the boys look up at him with smiles on their faces at the same time Theodore took another picture.

Theodore checks the photo and found it to have perfectly captured the moment. He saved the photo along with the others before joining them in the gazebo. He sat next to Diego who shocked him by climbing into his lap.

Justine and Maverick had excuse themselves and left to where the servants have started the barbeque. They brought Baby Caiden with them who sat peacefully in his carrier, clearly entertained with the toys hanging from the roof of the carrier.

Diego adjusts himself on Theodore's lap so that he was facing the man, a cute frown on his face. "Mr. Xu, you didn't answer my question earlier. Where is My Sebbie?"

Theodore finds it rather endearing that Diego has a cute nickname for his friend. To him, it seemed that Diego and Sebastian got along really well and it may be early to say it but Theodore could see the two being best of friends.

"Didn't you see him here at the gazebo? He was just here with my husband's cat." Theodore frowned when the child shook his head no.

"When we got here, I only saw Mr. Willows but no Sebbie. Is My Sebbie okay Mr. Xu?" Diego pouted.

Since last night, Sebastian hasn't said a thing. He kept his distance from the other two boys and only smiling once in a while to his baby brother. Sebastian was also shy when either Theodore or Justine tries to approach him, he would away a little or stare at the couple with fear in those little hazel orbs of his. What's even more worrying is that Sebastian hasn't eaten anything since dinner last night.

Theodore really needs to find the child and get some food into his system. Easier said than done because they literally live in a massive mansion and the child could be ANYWHERE.

Theodore opened his mouth to speak but wasn't able to say something when Justine and the boys came back to the gazebo with a plate of steaming hot Korean barbeque. Both beef and pork. They also brought a plate of chicken and dinosaur nuggets for the boys. A servant came to give them their beverages and left to barbeque some more.

"Look Mr. Xu! This nugget looks like a dog!" Maverick smiles his canine smile as he showed Theodore the nugget.

"Yeah, I guess it does." Theodore chuckled in agreement and watched with a fond smile as Maverick shoves the whole nugget into his mouth.

Justine laughs in the background as Caiden holds a nugget on each hand. Diego got off Theodore's lap and is now concentrating on slicing the beef using a spoon and a fork. When he succeeded, he forks the slice of beef and dips it on the sauce plate beside Justine. What a little gentleman and an old soul confirmed.

Diego takes the beef in one bite, his eyes widening and for a moment Theodore was worried that the child didn’t like the meat. Then the child finally swallowed the beef and a wide grin appears on his face. His cheeks flushed red and lips swollen red. Only then did Theodore realized something.

"Babe, did you put chili in your sauce?"

Justine wordlessly nodded his head, a grin on his face as he dips his beef on the sauce, the same sauce where Diego dipped his, and ate in one bite.

Theodore had always known that his husband's had high tolerance when it comes to spicy food. The man's meals in a week is consist of 90% spicy dishes or noodles. So what is considered not spicy enough in Justine's taste is already super spicy for Theodore whose palate was more to the natural and savory flavors. Same thing applies to his sauce. His special Chinese inspired chili sauce.

But looking at Diego, he doesn't seem to have a problem with the ridiculously spicy chili sauce. Theodore watched with wide eyes of amazement as the child continues to eat beef dipped on the chili sauce and his cheeks only got redder but the smile on his face was evidence that he was enjoying his food.

Maverick tried the chili sauce but immediately regretted it, almost crying at how the spiciness burned his little tongue. Caiden managed to dip his nugget on the chili sauce and when Theodore noticed, it was already too late as the baby already took a bite of the chili covered nugget.

Theodore waited for the baby cry in pain like his oldest brother did but it never came. Instead when Caiden swallowed the chili dipped nugget, then his tummy grumbled quietly before he.........farted.

Caiden erupted into fit of loud giggles as he claps his chubby hands together, he finds himself farting as something amusing while his older brother Diego has his nose scrunched in disgust while Justine and Maverick are in fits of laughter.

Theodore smiled at the sight.

One day.

This could be his family.

"No more chili for you little man."