CHAPTER FIFTEEN

After a long day in the backyard, Theodore and Justine brought the boys back into the mansion. Once again they bathe the boys together, Justine took charge of the little boys while Theodore took care of little Caiden.

After bath, dinner was served and they all ate in silence apart from Maverick’s happy chatting as he tell them stories of his grade school adventures and how excited he was to be coming back to school in a few days. Justine listened intently and even shared a few of his own grade school adventures when he was young while Theodore just sat there admiring his husband and how happy he looked while talking to the kids, at the same time feeding Caiden which he insisted he wanted to try and Theodore just lets him.

Just by watching his husband interact with the boys, Theodore knew he would make a great father to their own future kids.

Dinner passed and the boys were then tucked into their bed. While Caiden was laid in a crib that Theodore didn't know Justine bought until it arrived some time in the afternoon through delivery. It turns out Justine ordered it online, along with other baby items, and paid an exclusive amount just to have it delivered to them as soon as possible.

If Justine can and would do that for Little Caiden, then there’s no doubt he’ll do so much more for their own kids in the future. He would be that type of parent to spoil their kids, Theodore could already tell but he doesn't mind. They didn't have billions and billions of money just to hide them in a vault, so might as well spend their money on their kids in the future.

Theodore just tucked Little Caiden in his crib when he heard the front gate slide open and a car driving into their driveway. He peeked through the window and saw that it was one of their family cars that arrived. It was the car he lend Ezra and Luca to use to go back and forth to their houses and to the hospital. the caar being driven by a family driver as neither teen had yet to earn their own licenses.

Quietly closing the door behind him, Theodore quietly walked the hallway then down one of the grand staircase at the same time the front door opens and the two teens walks in.

"Good Evening Mr. Xu" Luca greeted with a bow and a smile that the Chinese man returned.

"You're home early. How's everything there?" Justine smiled, emerging from the dining hall. The smile on Luca’s face instantly faded while Ezra looked dazed.

That made both Chinese to frown in concern and Justine was about to open his mouth to ask what's wrong when someone cleared their throat and Justine turned his head to see one of the younger butlers in the household has joined them. Worry ghosting over his features.

"Pardon me for the intrusion Master Wen and Master Xu." The butler apologized with a small bow.

"It's fine. What did you need Nathan?" Justine asked.

"We can't seem to find young master Sebastian anywhere." Nathan answered and his words made Ezra snap out of his thoughts, and stared at the butler with worry painted all over his face.

"What do you mean you can't find him anywhere?" Ezra had butted in before either Chinese male could. The butler couldn't utter word as he pass glances between his masters and the small male.

"Nathan answer him." Justine commanded at the butler who looked lost. Nathan nodded his head then turned to the small male, and gave a small bow before answering.

"Young master Sebastian's last known location was at the library an hour ago. He didn't join the masters for dinner so a maid brought him a meal there. He ate his meal and the maid left him in the library. When it was time for bedtime, the same maid went to get him but when she got there, the child wasn't there anymore. I have a handful of maids searching the mansion now. So far we haven't seen any sign of the child anywhere and I was asked to report to you the incident." Nathan explained.

Upon taking in the butler’s explanation, Justine takes his phone out of his pocket and pressed a couple of buttons. For a moment it was silent then suddenly an alarm sounded and echoed through the mansion.

"What was that?" Luca asked, startled by the loud alarm.

"It's my security system. I activated it and by the sound of the alarm, it means the system already knows where Sebastian is." Justine explained as he started tapping on his phone again, the sound of the alarm getting quieter as if it was moving away from them.

"Nathan, follow the alarm. It will lead you to Sebastian. When you find the child, bring him to the guestroom." Justine commanded, finally looking up from his phone. Nathan bowed at the couple before practically running to the direction where the alarm was coming from.

Justine then turns to looks at the teens. Ezra still looked worried while Luca looked plainly amazed.

"You made your own security system? I thought you were a pharmacist. Didn't think you'd be a techno genius too." Luca babbled, the amazement still evident in his eyes.

"Don't worry Ezra, Little Sebastian is fine, Nathan will bring him back safely." Jun assured as he noticed the small male still frowning in worry, then he turned to the still amazed Luca, "and yes, to answer your questions Luca, I'm a pharmacist but I also have a degree in computer technology. I make not only security systems but also games and apps. But it's more of a hobby than an actual job really."

"Wow, you're so cool. Your security system, what's it called and how did it find Sebastian that fast?" Luca continued to fawn to which Justine finds amusing as he never seen someone look so excited, let alone excited, about his work.

"Well I haven't really named it yet but I can tell you a few of its features. To answer your question. The system used a combination of a motion and thermal sensors that are instantly triggered by a person or a pet when they enter a room. Their motion and thermal signature gets recorded mainly for identification." Justine explained, showing a sample of said combination from the app monitor that he also created.

"But how did the system found Sebbie?" Ezra asked, now also interested while Theodore excused himself to take a phone call.

"Simple. I just opened the house map from my monitor app, chose Sebbie’s last know location which was the library. I then amplified his thermal and motion signature, the sensors picks up the heightened signal and when the device finds the same signature recently recorded, it will ring its alarm and then all you have to do is follow it." Justine made a hand gesture and suddenly the alarms were gone, the hall became quiet and the two teens shared confused looks.

"The alarm stopped." Ezra pointed out.

"That means they have found Sebbie." Justine smiled proudly as he slips his phone back in his pocket at the same time Theodore rejoins them.

"You two must be hungry. Come, I'll have the maids prepare something and while we wait, you can tell us everything." And Theodore already started pulling the two teens to the direction of the kitchen, leaving his husband alone at the staircase.

Chuckling to himself, Justine turned to walk up the stairs when Nathan suddenly appeared from the end of the hallway and was walking towards Justine. A familiar chubby cheeked child sleeping peacefully in his arms.

Justine waited at the stairs until Nathan stops in front of him, did a small bow, being extra careful with the sleeping child before smiling a tired dimpled smile.

"Where did you find him?" Justine asked as he softly patted Sebastian’s hair making the child whine at the warm touch but luckily wasn't awakened. He just nuzzles his head deeper in the butler's neck.

"We found him at Master Xu's Wine Cellar, peacefully asleep at one of the velvet couches. I know you told us that the cellar was a prohibited place to us staffs but the signal led us there and–" Nathan’s nervous babbling was cut off by Justine’s chuckle.

"It's okay Nate, you just did what you had to do. Now, hand me that little munchkin." Justine cooed in a baby voice as he carefully lifts the child from Nathan’s arms.

Nathan complied and carefully transferred the child until he was safe and settled in his Master's arms. And Nathan was about to leave when Justine called him again.

"Yes, Master Wen? Is there anything else I can do for you?" The dimpled butler asked.

"Nothing. Just please tell my husband that I already brought Sebastian to bed and that I myself will be retiring in our bedroom. That's all. Thank you Nathan." Jun smiled one last time before started going up the stairs.

Nathan gave a bow before leaving to where he saw the other Chinese man went with the two teens.

****

Theodore sat at the head chair at one of their smaller dining table with the two teens both sitting at his right side. Ample amount of foods was served and Luca was definitely enjoying himself. He was currently munching on a fist size seaweed roll and Theodore could only watch him amusement.

Ezra, however, was silent, only pushing his food around the plate with his fork. Theodore shot the smaller teen with a concerned look on his face.

"Ezra, did you not like the food? If not, I could ask the chef to cook something else for you." Theodore asked and the small teen only shook his head no while Luca suddenly stops eating and stared at his friend with the same concern.

"Ezzie are you alright?" Luca asked.

"No, not really," the small teen admitted, shrugging his shoulders and slumping on his seat.

"Tell me, did something happened at the hospital earlier?" Theodore asked, eyes holding both worry and concern.

"Sammy..." Ezra began, tears began to glisten his eyes, "He....He wasn't......He wasn't waking up."

Luca drops his third seaweed roll, wipes his hands on the table napkin then without hesitation, wraps his arms the small teen who only leaned into his touch as he continues to sniffle. A few tears falling as what happened earlier finally sinks in on him.

"Oh, that's terrible. What happened? Is he okay now?" Theodore asked, his heart wrenching.

Ezra sniffled a couple of times, subconsciously nuzzling his head closer to the blue haired teen's neck. Luca tried to hold himself back from blushing as he knew it wasn’t the time for that.

"I don't know, Uncle hasn't called me but I'm really worried. I can't stand the thought of the something bad happening to Sammy." Ezra continues to sniffle as Luca rubbed circles on his back to comfort him.

Ezra has always been a tough cookie. Rarely expressive of his feelings and would either bury his emotions deep or hide it behind a mask. But there’s only so much one can handle before they finally breakdown. Ezra reached his limit sooner than he thought.

"I'm sure Doctor Hudson will do everything he can to save Sammy. We just need to believe and stay positive. He'll make it through." Theodore could feel his heart ache at the thought of how painful it must've felt to go through what the child was going through and the pain it gives his parent to see him in that situation.

"But Uncle barely recovered from the bills last time Sammy was hospitalized." Ezra sighed sadly. He didn’t want to see his uncle overwork his self to the bone again just to pay bills. He felt useless not being able to help his uncle before and even now.

"Bills? Nonsense!" Theodore suddenly stood up and took his phone out. He started typing furiously.

"W-What are you doing?" The small male sat up properly and stared at the man in confusion.

Theodore placed the phone on his ears. "I'm calling the hospital to tell them to put Samuel’s bills under my name."

That left Ezra in shock as he stared at the Chinese man who they only met a couple of days ago, they were practically strangers to one another but here he was doing something you won't expect a stranger to do. Ezra found new admiration for the man and his generosity was truly inspiring.

Theodore lets out an angry huff and began furiously typing on his phone again. “They’re not answering." He grumbled under his breath as tried calling the hospital again but the call only went to the voicemail.

"You know what—Fine! I'll go there myself!" And the Chinese man already began walking towards the exit leaving the two teens still in shock before they too scrambled out of their seats and followed where the man left to.

They found him already at the driveway, getting ready to enter the car.

"Mr. Xu, wait!" Luca called as he and Ezra walked faster to keep up with the man.

Theodore paused for a moment and waited until the two teens reached him.

"We want to come too," Luca said.

"No, Luca stay here with my husband. Ezra and I will go handle this." Theodore then gestured Ezra to the passenger seat to which the small teen complied and got on the said seat.

"But—" Luca wanted to come too mainly because he didn’t want to leave Ezra alone. He was still sad and he wanted to continue comforting him but the man only blocked his path.

"Luca, your little brothers missed you. They've been asking for you. Especially Diego, he woke up from his nap, crying because you weren't there." Theodore said, remembering the sad look on the child's face that made his heart ache.

Theodore’s words seemed to have snap something in Luca that he stops trying to get past the man and instead bid the man a goodnight before practically rushing back inside the mansion.

Theodore chuckled to himself and got on the driver's seat. The car soon roared to life and it drove off in a blink of an eye.

And like the sports car that it was, they arrived at the hospital in a record time and not wasting more as they went straight to a nurse station and asked for direction of the billing office.

A nurse came and led them to the said office and Theodore straightaway did his business. Talking to one of the cashier in-charge and then he signed a lot of papers before handing the cashier his card.

The paper passed briefly in front of Ezra but his eyes widen in shock as he saw the amount of money Theodore paid. His mouth almost dropped as he couldn't believe the level of generosity the man has.

Theodore bid everyone in the office a goodbye before exiting and started making their way to the PICU where they were told their patient was. Sammy.

"You paid for everything." Ezra gaped, still in shock. "Even my uncle's debts."

Theodore hummed and nodded his head, "I did what I think is right and since I'm capable of paying for practically anything, I said why not? It's my way of helping."

Ezra didn't say more as his amazement was then morphed into one of sadness as they finally arrived at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Another nurse approached them and asked where they were going, Ezra told him Sammy’s name and the nurse was more than willing to guide them to the room.

When they got there, they were greeted by a rather unexpected sight.

******

Owen hasn't let go of his son's hand nor have moved an inch away from him. His eyes remained on the child, afraid that if he looks away for a second, something bad will happen. He was afraid to lose Sammy.

Like Owen, Damian hasn't left the blonde's side at all. He stayed near and whenever Owen needed something, he goes out of his way to provide it for him. It just shows how serious and determined Damian was to do anything to make sure Owen won’t feel so alone anymore, that he has someone to count on who will never leave his side.

He may not admit it out loud, but Owen feels very grateful to have the brunette staying by his side. It gives him a sense of comfort, something he didn't have when Seokmin had leukemia years ago.

Other than comfort, he also felt a little bit of guilt. Damian was not connected with their family in any way but a mere stranger with a good heart who also has a family of his own. Instead of spending time with his own family, his kids, here he was spending time with a family that he wasn't even a part of. The man was just too kind for his own good.

Damian may have his reasons and Owen want to know why because it was getting harder to the stand the guilt of knowing he was taking a man's time away from his own family. To add to his guilt was the fact that he didn't want Damian to leave his side at all.

Owen knew he was being selfish but—

"What are you thinking about?" Damian's warm voice snapped the blonde male out of his thoughts.

Owen turned his head and saw the older brunette leaning against the wall, his phone on his hand and a worried look on his face.

"You're going to stress yourself out. So don't think too much. Everything's going to be fine. Okay?"

Owen didn't know when it happened but the next thing he knew Damian was already standing infront of him, leaning down until they were eye to eye, face to face and Owen felt his face redden at how their faces were only inches away from each other.

"Y-Yeah. You're......You're right." Owen felt his face warmed up which meant he was blushing darker than he already was.

Damian, though, mistook his red face for something else.

"Oh my, you're turning red. Are you okay? Are you feeling feverish?" Then without warning, Seungcheol placed a hand on Owen's forehead and neck to check his temperature. His actions only made the blonde to blush even darker, if that was even possible.

Then suddenly Owen started leaning closer as the older brunette continues to worry about him looking all flushed red.

"You're a bit warm. We'll need to check your temperature to make sure if you're running a fever or not. But then if you have a fever then that means you can't be in the same room as Sammy. Ah....I need to get Nurse Kristian. Wait here for me and I'll—" But Damian wasn't able to finish what he was saying as he was cut off by a pair of soft lips pressed on his own.