CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Damian began driving back to the hospital as Owen continues to converse with Ezra through the phone.

"What do you mean something's wrong?" Owen asked urgently, tears glistened his eyes that made worry and concern ghost Damian’s features.

"But that always..." Owen trailed off and Damian saw the color draining from his face. "What?"

Damian didn't know what was going on, but all of a sudden he felt as if there was something caught in his throat, and he couldn't get rid of it. He just couldn't.

"But what did they say?" Owen said, his voice shaky as a single tear fell. "Okay…okay…..We're on our way back. Bye."

Owen puts his phone down, he didn't say anything, but he had this look on his face that terrified Damian.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Damian asked with caution.

"Just drive faster." Owen muttered under his breath and he looked so lost.

"You can talk to me, what's happened?" Damian insisted.

"Just–Please, Just drive." And Owen didn't say more after that as he looked out the window. More silent tears falling.

Damian, though feeling greatly worried, didn't argue and just continued driving faster to the hospital. He had only driven a couple of streets when he noticed that Owen was murmuring something under his breath, but he was only able to get bits and pieces, like the words 'why', 'No', and 'Please'.

The car stops at a red light and Damian takes the opportunity to try and talk to the blonde again.

"Whatever happened, I’m sure you and Sammy can pull through it. I want to help to the best I can, so please let me." Damian reassured Owen. Silently hoping that the blonde male would listen to him.

"I just need to be with my son right now." Owen grumbled, the urgency and worry still evident on his voice.

"What happened? What did Ezra say?" Damian asked. Glancing at the street light timer, noticing that he only has a few seconds left before the light turns green.

"Sammy" Owen had silent tears cascading down his face. "Something's wrong."

"Is he awake? Is he asking for you?" Damian asked, thinking of all the possibilities.

"No, it's worse and I'm not there with him." Owen sniffled, wiping a few tears away as Damian watched him in full concern.

"Owen, you're scaring me."

"Green light. Come on, drive" the blonde male urged.

The car started to move again and Damian knew he needed to get to the hospital soon. He could feel Owen's worry and fears starting to get to him as well.

"What happened?" Damian tried again, hoping this time he’ll get an answer. And because talking could help distract and calm Owen down, even just by a little bit.

"Uh....Nurse Kris showed up to check on Sammy but my baby was still sleeping, so he tried waking him up but..." Owen's voice broke "...he....he wouldn't wake up."

"What?" Damian asked in disbelief swirling with fear.

"My Sammy's not waking up." Owen said in a mere whisper, disbelief and dread written all over his face, and when you look closely, you could see the pain in his eyes and it made Damian's heart ache, and soon dread started to come to the brunette as well.

Owen couldn't believe what was happening. His son was just fine yesterday! He was smiling and laughing like the happy and energetic kid that he is. Owen thought he finally left this part of past behind him. That Sammy was already better and that he would grow up to be a strong handsome independent man. But why.....why was this happening?

"What else? What else did Ezra said?" Damian asked as they drove pass a hospital sign meaning they are close. He increased his speed, not caring that he could be breaking traffic laws, if he wasn’t already.

"Nothing. He and Luca were kicked out of the room. He went to the waiting room and called me." Owen mumbled from his seat. He was starting to get agitated, his knees were bouncing fast and he kept wringing his wrist. The look of dread and fear with occasional tears painted his face.

"Okay……….okay.” Damian breathed out, the emotions radiating from Owen was starting to overwhelm him and he could himself slightly tearing up. He couldn’t help but worry for the child too. His fingers were impatiently drumming against the steering wheel.

“He’ll be fine.” Damian assured after short moment of silence, and in that short moment, the emotions heightened. Damian knew he needed to do something to calm himself down or else he might end up crashing the car. Owen’s emotions were too strong and Damian never felt that way even when his wife died. A parent’s love was really something else.

"You really think so?" Owen glanced at the brunette nervously.

"Yes, I do." Damian reached for one of Owen’s hands from his lap, as expected it was shaking. Damian only smiled and entwined their hands together, giving Owen’s hand a soft squeeze. Not long after he felt the blonde relax a little.

"Sammy is a strong little ball of sunshine. He’ll fight through this, so you have to stay strong for him as well and fight together. I know you can, no, I believe you can." Damian pressed a soft kiss on the back of Owen’s hand and the blonde visibly relaxed, and through the tears, gave Damian a grateful smile.

The car begins to slow down and made a right turn to the hospital parking space. Damian found a nice parking spot and parked the car.

They got out of the car and rushed inside the hospital and straight to the pediatric oncology unit, and then they made a beeline to Sammy’s room. Not even stopping at the nurse's station to ask questions.

But Sammy’s room was empty.

"Dad/Uncle!" Ezra and Luca rushed to their father and uncle when they saw them walk in.

"Where's Sammy?" Owen asked right away, trying not to let fear get the best of him.

"We don't know uncle." Ezra replied.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Owen demanded. Unaware that he just raised his voice making his godson flinch.

"When we came back from talking to you, the room was already empty and we went to the nurse station to ask what was going on but they wouldn't tell either of us because we're not family." Ezra explained. He and Luca shared identical worried looks.

"Ezra where is your dad? I need to talk to him." Owen asked but just as Ezra was about to open his mouth to answer, the door opens and Joshua walks in.

"Josh, what's going on? Where's my son?" Owen wasted no time asking as Joshua approached him

"Owen you have to sit down first then we'll talk." The raven haired doctor proposed. His face void of any emotions making it impossible for anyone to know what was going on. Even Ezra couldn’t read his father at the moment.

"Josh please. I need to know. Where is my Sammy? Is he alright? Where did you take him?" Owen did not sit down, instead the questions flew out of his mouth in the speed of light as he could feel the worry winning him over.

“Owen you need to relax first. Sammy is fine, okay? He’s fine. So please, relax.” Joshua spoke in the gentlest way, his voice soft and calming, and effective as Owen started relaxing again.

"Thank the heavens," Owen breathed out, putting a hand to his chest, and closing his eyes for a second. His emotions were nearly going haywire, good thing he had people like Joshua and Damian to pull him out and keep him levelheaded. What did he do to deserve such good friends, or in Damian’s case. Potential partner.

As if he could sense that the blonde was thinking about him, Damian put an arm around Owen and kissed the side of his head. A cute little blush found its way on Owen‘s tear stained cheeks. Damian on the other hand, and in all honesty was also relieved to hear that the kid was okay. Although he had been trying to stay positive, and telling himself that the little boy was okay, a part of him actually feared for the worst. If a stranger would look at him right, they could easily mistake him as Sammy’s actual father for how much he worries for the kid.

"He's stable now, so you don't have to worry." Joshua said.

"Okay." Owen breathed out.

"Come sit and I'll explain exactly what's happening." Joshua sat down on the bed and patted the space next to him.

This time Owen complied and sat down beside his best friend while Damian stood closely behind him. Staying true to his word about not leaving his side.

"Are you okay with Damian knowing everything?" Joshua asked as he warily eyed the older brunette male.

"Yes," Owen said, then looked at Damian who gave him a smile, placing a reassuring hand on the blonde male's shoulder. "Of course."

Joshua sighed and peeked at his clipboard before meeting his best friend’s worry filled eyes and went straight to the point. "Sammy had an infection."

Owen just nodded, to show that he was listening, even though deep inside his heart was hammering. Joshua continued. "Nurse Kristian came in to check on him, and he found him unresponsive, so I immediately was paged; Sammy had a high fever, and he was having a bit of trouble breathing."

"But he was fine when we left. He was sleeping peacefully" Damian pointed out though he knew better than to interfere, he just had to say that.

"These things sometimes happen very fast to people with a weak immune system, like Sammy." Explained Joshua, actually impressed by seeing the brunette’s genuine concern for a family that wasn’t even his own.

"What kind of infection does he have?" Owen questioned, having Damian by his side was helping a lot keeping him calm, "and where is he right now?"

"He's having tests done to determine what it is, but I'm almost certain that he has pneumonia." Joshua was really not wasting time beating around the bush.

"Pneumonia!?" Owen’s eyes grew wide in shock and disbelief.

"It's the most common infection in patients who had undergone chemotherapy." Joshua explained calmly.

"So what does that mean? Will it be bad? What's going to happen now?" Damian, once again, cuts in. By now he had went full on parent mode, listening intently to every word the doctor says and giving his own input for Owen’s sake.

"We're going to treat the infection with a new set of antibiotics." Joshua eyed the brunette, nodding his head appreciatively, "But he's going to have to stay in the ICU for a while."

"Why there?" Owen had panic evident all over him. "Is it that bad?"

Damian gave the blonde's shoulder a light squeeze. Just hearing the word ICU was already rough and brought back unwanted memories that the older male would prefer not to revisit at the moment.

"Sunshine's will be fine, Owen." Joshua said softly, using the nickname that the child loves so much, "but Sunshine requires constant and close monitoring, and that's what the ICU provides."

"Can I see him there?" Owen mumbled.

"Once he's done with the tests and he's settled, you can see him, but you won't be able to stay in his room overnight just like before, It’s a hospital protocol and also to prevent contamination. I’m sorry" Joshua reached for one of the blonde’s hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"I figured," Owen nodded, understanding the situation full well, "its fine, I'll just stay in the waiting room."

"How long is Sammy going to be there?" Damian wondered. Not only was he was worried for the child but also for Owen now too. The blonde has been through so much already.

"At least a week." Joshua replied.

"Do I have to vacate everything in this room now?" Owen asked looking around the room with a saddened look on his face.

"No, you don’t have to. This room is registered to my name for the time being since the Hospital won't allow having two rooms under Sammy's name. You can rest here whenever you need to. I’ll as Kristian to assist you, should you need anything else. Kristian is assigned to Sammy, so that works. Are you okay with that so far?"

"Yes, thank you." Owen never felt more grateful for having a kind best friend like Joshua.

"Don't mention it." Joshua chuckled.

"I'm going to stay at the ICU waiting room for the night though," Owen later on declared, "I want to be as near to him as possible."

"It's your choice Owen," Joshua allowed, "Why don't you gather your stuffs, I'll walk you there, alright?"

"Okay, "Owen nodded and stood up. “Sammy can't have his own blankets there, right?”

"No, just hospital bed linen, I'm afraid." Joshua sighed as he wished he could change that one rule. Sammy needs other forms of comfort that a lousy linen can’t provide. Any children for that matter, not just Sammy. Especially when they have to stay in big scary unfamiliar room alone.

Owen picked up a blanket that was on the back of a recliner, his lamb duffel coat, his phone charger and Sammy's sunflower plush pillow.

"I think that's it." Owen said as Damian took the blanket and duffel coat to carry for him. He thanked the brunette with a small smile.

"Okay, let’s go, Follow me." Joshua said as he made his way to the door but stopped, remembering that his own son was still in the room. The two teens stayed quiet the whole time, listening to the adults talk.

"Ezzie, take Luca and go back to the Xu-Wen's. Check on the boys and whatever you do, don't tell the boys what is happening here. But if either Mr. Xu or Mr. Wen asks, tell them to call me and I'll them myself. Am I clear Ezzie?"

Rolling his eyes from the stupid nickname, Ezra nodded his head as he and Luca started gathering their coats. Joshua watched as his son and his..........friend put on their coats, the taller blue haired teen wrapping his scarf around Ezra's neck then placed his beret on Ezra' head before cooing loudly at how the small male looked so adorable with the add ons on his outfit.

Ezra just playful glared at the blue haired teen, his cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink. He adorably huffed behind the scarf and turned to his father who has been waiting for his answer. His father who an amused look on his face.

"Yes dad, I will. I promise." Ezra lightly glared at his father as he could see the man itching to tease the life out of him. Ezra wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Joshua smiled, still finding the scene amusing and there was no way he was going to let his son live that down. One of these days he’s going to corner him and tease the life out of him. For now, he only grinned at his son before walking out of the room with Owen and Damian following closely behind him. Ezra only rolled his eyes and pulled a smiling Luca with him out of the room, and started making their way to the exit.

The three male walked down the hallway and then passed the pediatric nurse station where they saw Nurse Kristian.

Nurse Kristian smiled at them as he left the station and joined them. He and Owen began talking to each other while Joshua and Damian lets the two walk ahead of them giving the older brunette to ask the doctor a few questions of his.

"Is he really going to be alright?" Damian asked in a low voice so that neither of the two male in front of them could hear.

"With the right treatment and care, he will be." Joshua answered, though not yet fully acquainted with brunette, felt like he could trust him enough based on how genuine he was, not only for Sammy, but also with Owen.

"So does that mean things could still go bad?" Damian felt a heavy feeling came to him as the thought crossed his mind.

"Don't think like that" Joshua replied though he himself has the same fear as Owen and the other man has.

"He's a great kid, Josh, You need to make sure he's going to be okay" Damian whispered with a soft plea. "Please"

"He's my godson but it’s not up to me at this point. The best I can do is to make sure he gets the best care possible." And Joshua couldn’t be more straightforward but it was the truth no less.

Damian nodded in understanding as they finally reached the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), as the sign at the entrance said.

"You have to turn off your phones." Joshua said as he opens the sliding door with his ID badge, "the signal can interfere with some of the machines they use here."

The two male nodded in compliance and took out their phones to do that. They headed to the waiting area, which was a lot different than the other waiting areas Damian had seen in the hospital. There were armchairs and even a couple of sofas that looked comfortable enough, there’s a table with chairs in the corner, a vending machine, a coffee machine, a microwave and even a mini fridge. It looked like a hotel lounge if not for the slightly overwhelming smell of medicines and alcohol.

"Who's in-charge of this place?" Owen asks as he and Damian sat on one of the sofas together.

"Dr. Milo Winchester. He’s handled cases like Sammy before, but I'm not a 100% sure if he's going to be able to oversee Sammy’s case, he’s currently busy with another case and it also depends on what Sammy has." Joshua explained.

"Is he good?" Owen wondered.

"The best.” Joshua smiled and something about his smile meant something else. A small smirk formed on Owen’s lips.

“You like him don’t you?”

And almost instantly, the raven haired doctor’s cheeks turned red. He awkwardly cleared his throat and avoided eye contact with his best friend. “I do not.”

"Anyways, I'm going to check on Sammy and see if he’s allowed visitors now. Just wait here please." Joshua added before his best friend could tease him any further. His cheeks turning a darker shade of red as he practically rushed out of the room.

"Well well." Owen chuckled at his best friend’s retreating form. Then he sighed and glanced at the man sitting next to him. Another smile forming on his lips as he remembered how supportive the brunette had been and he really felt grateful for him.

"Damian, if you need to leave, just go ahead, I'll be fine here. Your boys must be missing you already." Owen said startling the brunette.

"I'm not going anywhere." Damian smiled down at the blonde. True, he does miss you boys and the boys must be wondering where he was. But just one look at the angelic blonde and Damian knew he had to stay.

"No?" Owen wondered, his hazel eyes softening.

"I'll stay here with you." And he will, Damian is a man of his words.

Owen smiled appreciatively, and scooted closer to the brunette. Almost automatically, Damian wrapped an arm around the blonde shoulder, pulling him closer until Owen was comfortably snuggled into his side. This moment would’ve been perfect had the circumstances were different. But Damian wouldn’t change a thing, what they have now is perfect.

Later Joshua finally came back, he reclaimed his seat and gave them each a visitor’s badge.

“We have to wait a little longer," Joshua started. "But Dr. Milo is there and he said he’s going to come by to talk to you later after everything's settled."

"Okay...." Owen nodded.

"I'm going to---" Joshua was saying was cut off by his pager ringing, and he looked at it. "Ah, I'm sorry, I have another patient coming in. I have to go meet them."

"Uh...yeah.....okay. We’ll be here." Owen hummed.

"I'll be back as soon as I can" Joshua gave an apologetic smile before leaving the room in a hurry.

"I hope there isn't another kid having a rough day." Owen commented, breaking the silence between them. "I don't wish for another parent to go through the same ordeal as I am."

"I know." Damian sighed as the same thought ran through his mind.

Owen hugged Sammy's sunflower pillow to his, almost burying his head in it.

"This pillow smells like Sammy." Owen’s voice came out muffled but Damian still understood him. "I miss him so much."

"It’s alright Owen. You're going to see him soon." Damian couldn’t help but coo, rubbing his hand up and down the blonde’s arm.

Owen turned sideways and buried his nose in Damian's neck and hummed in delight. The two stayed like that, basking at each other’s warmth as they patiently waited for news about Sammy.

Soon a man in his early thirties walked into the waiting room. Under his white lab coat, he wore a maroon dress shirt tucked in a black slacks. His shoes are polished to perfection as his black hair was sleeked and his eyes sharp. The sense of intimidation would’ve been successful if it weren't for his cat printed neck tie.

"I'm looking for an Owen Hayes." The doctor without looking up from the clipboard in his hands.

"That's me." Owen said as he got up in a flash and went over to him.

Damian followed suit and joined them, he needed to know what was happening to ease his own worries.

"I'm Dr. Milo Winchester and I will be overseeing your son’s case here. Nice to meet you Mr. Hayes." The doctor smiled as he offered his hand to Owen who shook it, he then turned to Damian. "And you are...?"

"Damian Charleston, Sir, nice to meet you." Damian shook hands with the doctor.

"How's my son?" Owen said, just cutting to the chase.

Dr. Milo sighed again, flipping a page on his clipboard. He looked really tired with the bags under his eyes and how pale he was. Owen could smell coffee on him, but despite all that, the doctor was still attractive. Owen could see why Joshua likes this guy. Milo clearing his throat snapped Owen from staring. Owen apologized for spacing out, to which the doctor just dismissed. The air turning serious when Milo started explaining Sammy’s case.

"Samuel Hayes has pneumonia, but just a mild case at that. He's stable for now. We've administered a new set of antibiotics, and to help keep his breathing regulated, we’ve temporarily connected him to an oxygen tube." Dr. Milo flipped another page, “He’ll only be allowed two visitors at a time, in full gear at that. I’m sure Joshua has already explained to you the importance of wearing protective gears.”

The two men nodded.

"Is he awake?" Owen wondered.

"Not at the moment, No. Between the state of his immune system, and the fever that he's running, he's extremely weak right now. So he’ll need rest more than ever." Dr. Milo explained.

"Can I still see him?" Owen asked, his eyes pleading.

"Yes, of course. I don’t see why not." Dr. Milo offered a kind smile.

"May I go too?" Damian asked hesitantly.

"You're his other father, right? Because it's strictly family ONLY." Dr. Milo warned, looking between the two male intently.

"Oh...uhm..." Damian mentally cursed at that. He didn’t want to leave Owen alone so he needed to think of something to not let that happen. But what could he do? Lie to the doctor? Before Damian could think more, Owen already beat him to it.

"He is. He's Sammy’s other dad. We’re married." Owen lied with a convincing smile. He wasn’t about to lose his emotional support just because of some stupid rules. Damian already had an arm wrapped around his waist and he needed to do was rest his head on the brunette’s shoulder to sell the act.

Dr. Milo nodded his head, looking convinced and Owen mentally cheered at that, nuzzling his head on Damian’s shoulder. On the other hand, Damian was speechless, keeping his face straight to hide his surprise. He felt Owen blindly searching for his hand, until he laced their fingers together, and he squeezed his hand. Damian felt himself blushing at the small gesture and returned the squeeze.

"Did you turn off your phones?" Dr. Milo asked, and they both nodded, "Okay, I'm going to need you to wash your hands before you go in, and I'm assuming none of you is feeling sickly, right?"

"We're not." Damian replied, and glanced down at the blonde male for reassurance.

"I'm fine." Owen confirmed.

"Then follow me." Dr. Milo turned around and started walking to the direction of a large hallway and the couple followed suit.

Damian had never been in an ICU before, so he had no idea if they were all alike; there were hand sanitizers everywhere, as well as sinks for people to wash their hands into, there was a row of rooms, but none of them had real walls, they had big glass panels, and he could see the sick kids in the rooms, most of them hooked up to a bunch of machines, and there was a nurse almost in every single room. Damian felt his heart ached at the amount of children he saw. So many little warriors heading early into battles of their own.

They stopped at one point, and all of them washed their hands.

"Samuel is hooked up to some machines, and the sight might scare you, but none of the machines are causing him any pain or harm, okay?" Dr. Milo said.

"Yeah," Owen nodded, secretly preparing himself mentally for the said sight.

"Okay, it’s this room over here." Dr. Milo led the way.

They walked a few steps further, and they haven't even gone in yet, but Damian could already see him, because the room, like all of the others, had those glass panels and thin curtains.

"Sunshine," Owen whimpered as tears immediately filled his eyes.

Sammy looked so tiny in the bed, and he looked paler than Damian had ever seen him before; he had an IV in his arm, one of those breathing tubes in his nose, and he was wired to a bunch of machines; and there was a nurse in the room with him, checking on the machines.

"This is Nurse Kristian, I’m sure you’ve already met him. He’s assigned to look after Sammy while he's here." Dr. Milo explained once they entered the room.

"Hello Mr. Hayes. Mr. Charleston. And Dr. Milo.” Kristian greets them.

Owen went to his son's bedside, but he didn't touch him, he was afraid to do so, Damian could tell that he was. Sammy look so fragile, like glass. Damian would also want to be careful and cautious around the little child.

"I'm going to leave you with him, if you have any questions, Kristian can answer and he’ll know where to find me, should there be an emergency." Dr. Milo said.

"Of course" Kristian agreed. "I'm here to help in any way I can."

"Thank you." Damian smiled appreciatively before leaving to take his place next to Owen and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him closer.

Then Milo finally excused himself out of the room. Damian watched at the sleeping child and he couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed seeing the child with all those beeping machines around him, they made him more fragile. Damian averted his gaze and saw a chair against the wall. He silently asked the nurse if it was okay to put it next to the bed, to which he nodded to, and Damian went and offered it to Owen.

"Have a seat, Angel." And the pet name already slipped before Damian could stop himself and he could only blush as Owen smiled a small smile before taking a seat and thanked the brunette.

"Can I touch him?" Owen then asked the nurse.

"Yes, you just have to be careful not to touch any of the wires." Kristian said with a soft smile.

Owen nodded and carefully held one of Sammy’s hands into both of his.

"Hi little sunshine." Owen in a soft voice, "I miss you so much."

“Wake up soon, okay?”