If you don't agree with guys being in love with guys, then you need to find someplace else to spend time.

Okay, these characters are not meant to resemble any living or dead persons.

I make no apology to anyone who is offended by anything in this story.

Let me know what you think of the story by emailing me at

Hnstskr4@aol.com

Copyright 2008 -2016, by Chuck B. ( CB Abraham )

 

Jason and Shaun – Dads For A Day

Chapter – 23

 

Tom arrives in Lake View, Indiana for two job interviews. Adam is in the car with him, so that he can spend time with his uncles instead of being watched by friends back home or by his grandparents. They are delighted to keep an eye on their nephew, because they love spoiling him. They have not seen him since they were married and he has been wanting to visit them. Adam's favorite things about being with his uncles are Uncle Jason's cooking and being goofy with them. The guys have been busy getting ready for his arrival. They have bought kid-friendly foods, fixed up the guest bedroom, and pulled out the toy box that they put together for him. That was Shaun's idea but Jason decided to go along with his hubby's suggestion. They are keeping the toys in the living room because they do not want Adam to use bedroom for anything other than sleeping. Shaun is expecting the toy box will be kept around for when they decide to have kids of their own. After all the running around the guys are now home relaxing while they wait for Tom and Adam to arrive. An hour or two later, there is a knock on the front door, and instantly there is some excitement in the air. Even though Shaun is only related by marriage, he loves having Adam over and has since the first time they met. Jason opens the door and instantly, Adam runs for this Uncle Jason and hugs him.

"Wow, did you miss me?"

Jason says as he happily accepts the embrace from his nephew.

"Yeah."

Tom strolls into Jason and Shaun's residence and he approaches Shaun.

"How is my hunky brother in law? I've missed you guys."

"I'm doing good and for the record, we've missed you too."

Tom and Shaun exchange an embrace and then he sits down to relax for just a few minutes before he has to run out for the interview. Jason reveals the toy box to Adam and he watches the little guy's face light up.

"Daddy, look toys. Uncle Jason has toys for me."

Tom's face lights up too as he sees his son's face light up with excitement as he starts to play with the toys.

"Awesome buddy, did you tell them thank you?"

Adam gazes up at his dad and then glances over at his Uncle Jason and Uncle Shaun.

"Thank you!"

Before Adam sits down to have fun, he empties the toy box onto the floor. Shaun and Jason love watching him enjoy the toys.

"Jason, Shaun, the house looks really nice. I want to see more of it, when I get back from the interview."

Jason smiles as he looks at his brother.

"Good luck man, I hope you get the job."

"I hope you get it too."

Shaun says as he moves down to the floor so he can play with Adam.

"Thank guys, Adam and I needed a fresh start."

Tom gets up and heads towards the front door. Jason stands up and escorts his brother to the front door.

"I have classes today, but I should be back before you and Adam leave."

"Adam's going to be disappointed that Uncle Jason won't be spending the whole day with him. He already knows that Uncle Jason and Uncle Shaun spoil him, and yet as his dad, I totally endorse him being spoiled by you guys."

Jason laughs and looks at Shaun and Adam playing trains together on the floor and then he looks back at Tom.

"Yeah, he's spoiled for sure. Hey bro, you had better get going before you're late."

"Bye Tiger." Tom says as he waves to the little boy who barely even notices his dad is walking out the door. Shaun taps his nephew's shoulder and points to his brother-in-law. Getting up the boy rushes over to his dad, gives him a kiss, and then runs back to his toys.

***

There wasn't time for breakfast at Tom's house, so the guys need to feed their nephew so he has the energy to face the day.

"I'm going to start making breakfast, so you guys keep playing until it's ready okay?"

The big kid stares up at his husband and smiles letting him know that he's good with Jason making breakfast so he can spend time with Adam. Even with the mention of food, Adam is still distracted with toys and Uncle Shaun to even look up at Uncle Jason. Jason disappears into the kitchen so he can get all the food ready and cooked for breakfast. Thirty minutes later, he pops back into the living room and announces it's time to eat. Shaun stops playing and puts down the car in his hands, and then turns towards Adam before he speaks.

"Adam, we need to stop playing, and wash our hands so we can eat."

"I want to play. I want to play."

"We need to get up and get to the table."

This time, he put down his toy and followed his uncle into the bathroom. Shaun helps him reach the sink and watches as the little guy washes his hands. Setting him down, Shaun washes his hands, and then dries his hands and Adam's tiny little hands. Together, they head to the dining room for breakfast. Jason made a bowl of mixed fruit with orange juice mixed with it, pancakes, syrup, and bacon. He makes sure their guest is served first. The food is passed to Shaun for him to load up his plate and then Jason fills his plate. Everyone eats their food and he loves it. When they are done, they take their turns in the bathroom brushing their teeth and then making sure that Adam's teeth are brushed as well.

***

After breakfast, Jason goes to his office and calls Mr. Bowman to see if they could bring Adam over to see the animals. It does not take long for Jason to win over Mr. Bowman to the idea of hosting Shaun and Adam, and then Jason ends his call with his boss. He walks back into the living room to see his nephew and his husband holding hands.

"Hey Buddy, do you want to see some animals?"

Adam gazes up at his uncle with a silly expression on his face. "Yeah!" Of course, he wants to see animals. He thinks Jason asked a silly question, and he's letting his uncles know that he finds it funny.

"Are we going to the zoo?"

Jason answers his husband and lets his nephew know that they are not going to a zoo. Shaun takes his nephew's hand, walks him out to the car, and then opening the driver's back car door he then helps Adam up into the booster seat, walks around and gets into the vehicle. The ride to the Bowman Company is filled with questions from the little boy. Adam's excitement builds even more when they pull up to the building. Uncle Jason gets Adam out of the booster seat as Shaun gets out of the car. They enter the building as Shaun watches Adam's happiness bubble over.

"Can we see animals now? Can we see them?"

"I have to let my boss know that we're here and then we can go see the animals."

Jason leaves Adam and Shaun, and heads towards the office to check in with his boss. Shaun can feel the excitement raging in his nephew's body spilling over into him. Jason takes no time in getting back to his family after seeing his boss.

"Are you ready Adam?"

"Yes!" Adam announces as he claps his hands in response to Jason's question. No doubt about it, he is ready to see some animals.

"Okay, Adam let's go."

They walk through a door that says "North America" above it and inside of the room, there are all manners of tanks and even a few cages. They check out several species of tarantula and even a few scorpions, but it is the corn snake and the garter snake that seem to be holding Adam's attention. "Snake." It is what he says every time; he sees a snake in the room but even the praying mantis does not hold his attention all that much, but the reptiles are capturing his interest. In South America, there are more tarantulas and other stuff for them to see. In this room, it is again the snakes that hold Adam's attention, but the larger species of tarantula are now stealing the show. He spent four minutes glued to their tank, and enjoyed every second of it.

`I love this guy.'

From South America, they jump to Africa, and it is still the reptiles that are holding Adam's interest. The scorpions and the spiders seem to be wasted on Adam, but he does love the African Gray Parrot. He managed to get a few "Hellos" from the parrot whose name is Abby. A couple times, Jason had to remind him to keep his fingers away from Abby. Next on their journey, they stop in at a room called Asia and Australia. Here, Adam visits with a cockatoo named Fred. Fred gladly accepts some food from the hands of the visitors, and for that, he is a favorite of audiences and visitors. There is more to see here other than the cockatoo, they get to see some amazing fish, and of course, there are scorpions and tarantulas in this room. The visit to the Bowman Company needs to end so that the guys can go have lunch.

***

The guys head out to lunch at one of their favorite pizza places, Golden Moon Pizza. They ordered their favorite pizza from this place, a bbq chicken pizza. At first, Adam is very unsure of this pizza but he takes a test bite after being encouraged to take a small bite by Uncle Shaun. As often happens, Adam decides that he actually likes the pizza.

"Looks like we've got someone else liking this pizza."

Jason laughs as he rustles Adam's hair, and then he looks over at his uncle with a face that shows his annoyance with Jason. Shaun has a smile on his face as he watches his husband interacting with their nephew. As the meal winds down, the guys box up the pizza and then head out so they can do whatever else the day has in store for them. The guys hunger satisfied and they're enjoying the feel of having a full tummy. After a short drive, they arrive at a park that provides a mile long track and a nice playground. There are other people here with their own kids and, Shaun and Jason seem to be attracting a few stares. Shaun is feeling a little anxious over the stares, but for Jason, it's the muted talking that bothers him the most.

`Is this what it will be like when we bring our kids to the park?'

Shaun does not want their kids to feel like they have done something wrong just because of they have two dads instead of mother and father. They cannot control the looks that the other park patrons are giving them nor can they stop the talking that is going on behind their backs. They enjoy watching Adam playing on the slides. Jason even gets to spend some time pushing Adam on the swing as Shaun videos the action. Leaving the park, nephew and his uncles head for the home.

***

At home, Jason is preparing to leave for class, which does not go unnoticed by their nephew.

"Uncle Jason, where are you going?"

Jason can see some anxiety on his nephew's face, and he can hear it in Adam's voice as well. He does not understand why there should be any anxiety since he knows and trusts Uncle Shaun.

"I have to go to school. I have classes."

Jason is pleading with Shaun to remain home from class so he can spend it with Shaun and Adam. Shaun's response shoots down his husband's silent question, because he knows Jason needs to be in school. Adam is trying to wrap his head around the fact that Jason is going to school, and then he remembers that his daddy went to classes.

"Can I go?"

Jason frowns at his nephew's question because he knows that Adam would be bored in his classroom.

"You wouldn't have any fun. It's a bunch of people sitting around listening and talking."

"Adam, do you want to help me feed the cats?"

Shaun hopes he can distract Adam and then maybe Jason can get out the door and sure enough, the mere mention of "cats" is enough to get the little guy's attention. Adam follows his uncle into the kitchen to grab the cat food so they can feed Sasha and Nyx. Shaun opens the containers of cat chow and then takes a couple of spoons out of a drawer.

"Here tap the spoon on the bowls."

As Adam bumps the spoons on the bowls, Sasha and Nyx came running when he used the trick Uncle Shaun told him about earlier. The little guy escapes into the living room to tell Jason that he feed the cats. Adam notices that Uncle Jason is not in the living room, and he quietly goes back into the kitchen.

"Uncle Jason is gone?"

There is a hint of sadness to the little guy's voice, which Shaun immediately notices and needs to try to comfort his nephew.

"Uncle Jason is gone. Remember, he has classes today, so you and I get to spend time together."

Adam thinks about what Uncle Shaun said for a few seconds and then he smiles. "Okay." Shaun is just glad that he did not start crying when he discovered that Jason had taken off for college. When he's done talking about Jason, Adam quietly walks back into the kitchen. Adam sits on the floor and watches the cats eat, and when they are done eating and Nyx cannot be bothered by Adam, wanting to play, but Sasha on the other hand is in a mood to play. Shaun is actually surprised that Sasha is allowing the little guy to pet her. Sasha just keeps head bunting Adam's hand telling him to "Pet me or else" and he listens. Shaun sits in the dining room reading while observing Adam playing with the cat. Nyx comes out of the hiding, and rubs along Shaun's leg who bends down to stroke the cat's fur and, Sasha was having none of this though, and she came over seeking some attention from Shaun too. With the cats seeking attention from Shaun, Adam needed something else to hold his attention. Shaun determines that some fresh air would not hurt, so he plans to take Adam outside.

"Adam want to go for a walk?"

Adam's face lights up.

"Yeah." The guys head out into the warm, fall air.

***

Shaun walks out of the house with Adam's hand in his hand, but Shaun's 5'6" frame seems gigantic next to Adam's. He is keenly aware of the size difference, and he wonders what it would be like to walk with someone younger than Adam. Maybe someday Shaun will find out what it is like to walk with someone younger and smaller than his nephew. Shaun points out some airplanes flying overhead, and they pause long enough to watch them disappear. Together, they see birds, squirrels, and even a cottontail. Seeing the cottontail sparks a memory of a time, when Jason and Shaun were still living in the apartment. Jason and Shaun decided to drive out to a county park near them, where Shaun points out a rabbit to Jason that was chewing on some plants. Jason smiled and corrected his boyfriend calling the rabbit, a cottontail. Since that time, Shaun has made sure to correctly call them by the right name. Shaun and Adam continue enjoying their walk. Shaun loves the fact that Adam is enjoying discovering things that Shaun has seen a thousand times at least in his lifetime. For Adam, it's having Uncle Shaun all to himself and just enjoying their walk.

"Uncle Shaun, I need a drink."

"Okay buddy, we are heading back home."

They reversed their direction and headed straight home and if Adam wants a drink, then it's Shaun's job to see that he gets a drink. Something about being with Adam is fun and relaxing, he is loving this time with his nephew. Maybe, he is feeling a part of his daddy gene coming alive inside of him. He wishes that Jason were here walking with them, because he would know ways to make the trip even more exciting for their nephew. Maybe, he might have suggested a different route or pointed out different animals while out on the walk. In the house, Adam follows Uncle Shaun to the kitchen to grab a drink of water. Shaun gets a cup out of the cupboard, and turns on the faucet filling up the cup for his nephew. He fills the cup with water and then holds it out to Adam, and his little hands take the up from his uncle's hands.

"What do you say big guy?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Adam."

They play inside for just a little bit while Shaun tries to figure out where to go next to insure that Adam is having fun. It's time to spoil his favorite little guy before Tom comes back from his interview.

***

It takes at least fifteen minutes before a good idea comes across Shaun's mind. Immediately, he makes sure that his wallet is still in his back pocket. Walking into the living room, Shaun finds his visitor coloring in one of their coloring books, that they bought for Adam.

"Adam, do you want to get some ice cream?"

"Yeah, I want I cream."

They walk out of the house together, and then head towards Shaun's favorite ice cream parlor. This place serves up plenty of different flavors of ice cream, and it has the best variety in the city. They rotate the flavors, so they do not always have the same flavors all the time but the flavors that are for sale are homemade. All Shaun can think about is getting his favorite flavor of ice cream, tropical fruit; a mix of mango, banana, and pineapple, and this ice cream reminds him of the tropics and it is so good. As they pull up to the parlor, Adam is already talking about getting some chocolate ice cream. Stopping the car, Shaun helps Adam get out of the car, and together they walk into the parlor. As they approach the counter, the little guy's eyes grow huge as he takes in all the different flavors in front of him. Shaun is a little disappointed that they are out of his ice cream, so he looks over the flavors and decides on something that stops him dead in his tracks. Prickly pear ice cream, it is a rich purplish-red color and it looks great He has had the fruit but never had it made into ice cream even better the ice cream is missing the fruit's abundant black seeds, which should makes this dessert even better than the fresh fruit.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah can I get two scoops of the prickly pear ice cream with the large cone and for the little guy can I get 1 scoop of the chocolate ice cream in a kid's cone."

"It's $8.56 please."

Shaun pays for the ice cream, as a young man is busy fixing their cones, and the whole time Adam's mouth is watering. The young man hands Shaun their cones and quiet "Thank you" comes out of Shaun's nephew's mouth to which the young man smiles and says, "You're welcome". Carrying the cones, Shaun leads Adam outside to one of the outside tables so they can eat their cones.

"Can I have I cream please?"

"Thanks for asking Adam, you are so polite."

Shaun hands him the ice cream cone, and he immediately begins to lick the ice cream. Shaun begins to lick his ice cream, as he takes a taste, he can see two eyes staring at his cone.

"You want some of my ice cream?"

Shaun leans his cone towards Adam's face, and Adam's tongue takes a lick across his uncle's ice cream. "Yum!" Adam says, as he tastes it.

"I like it."

His smile says it all, and it even makes Shaun smile and he wonders if this is a how Jason feels when he introduces new flavors to Shaun. At any rate, he has spoiled his nephew and that is all that matters right now. When the ice cream cones are done, Shaun wipes down Adam's hands and face, and then they make their way back to the car. As they pull up into the driveway, Jason also pulls up behind them but he only has an hour before he has to head back up for another class. Normally, he would stay on campus but with Adam visiting, he wants to be home to spend some time with him.

***

As they are entering the house, Tom pulls into the driveway and an excited kid is standing in the doorway waiting for Daddy to walk up the sidewalk. Shaun and Jason are sitting in the living room talking about time spent with Adam and classes. Tom approaches the door and scoops up his son when he is within range, kisses are exchanged as well as a few hugs. Tom sits down and gets the hellos out of the way then smiles at this brother and brother in law before the conversation turns to life.

"Well, how did the interview number one go?"

Jason asks hoping that his brother nailed the interview.

"I got told that I made it past the first interview and I will be getting a call to do a phone interview for round two which is awesome. I have another interview with another company later today."

"Daddy, I'm tired."

Jason looks at his brother and then back to his nephew and it appears that Adam needs a nap.

"Do you want him to have a nap?"

Tom looks Adam and notices that his son is holding back some yawns in an effort to be around his daddy and uncles.

"Has he had a nap today?"

"No Daddy, no nap."

Tom messes with his son's hair before he looks at his son and smile before turning back to his brother.

"Go to your bedroom and take a nap."

"Maybe, I should take a him to the bedroom."

Shaun suggests so that Adam does not end up in his bedroom where he might find stuff that a little guy should not find i.e. the toy collection or the dvd collection.

"Come on big guy, I'll take you to the guest bedroom."

Shaun walks beside Adam and leads him to the bedroom, when they get to the room Shaun turns on the light. Adam climbs up on the bed and lays down on top of the bed, and then Shaun helps him take off his shoes and then he carefully hands him a blanket. Adam does not wait to get comfortable in the bed, and curling up inside the blanket.

"I'll see you when you wake up buddy."

A tired face smiles up at his uncle.

"Okay Uncle Shaun."

Shaun knows that he had better be here when his favorite little guy wakes up or things will get ugly.

***

Leaving the bedroom, Shaun returns to the living room and then he sits right next to his husband. His brother in law is sitting in there talking with Jason about something that caused Jason to blush.

"Looks like I've missed something juicy."

Tom laughs at Shaun's comment, but he is not giving any clues as to what caused Jason's face to turn beet-red. He does not like not knowing what's up, but knowing his husband he will hear about it later tonight once Tom and Adam have headed home.

***

Tom sits around the house waiting for the time to come that he can head out for the interview. While, he is sitting around waiting, his son wakes up and comes out of the bedroom. A half hour later, Adam comes running out of the room with a smile on his face and Uncle Shaun immediately gets lunch started. While he is in the kitchen, Tom is reading to Adam, and Jason is doing some homework in the office. Lunch is nothing fancy, just some grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. Walking into the living room, Shaun calls everyone to lunch. Lunch goes by quickly but at the end of the meal, it's time for Tom to leave for the next job interview, and it's time for Jason to head out for his next class.

***

An hour and a half later, Jason comes home from his class to find Shaun and Adam playing catch in the backyard. Adam sees his uncle coming into the backyard and he comes running for him. "Uncle Jason!"

"Hey Sport, what's going on?"

It's clear to see what is going on, they're playing and having fun and it makes Jason so happy.

"Uncle Shaun is playing with me. Do you want to play?"

"I need to do some homework, okay?"

Even Shaun can see that Adam's heart is just a little bit broken and all Adam wants is for Jason to join in the game. Shaun is a little surprised by the actions of husband and somehow he needs to fix this problem and now. He walks up to Jason who is now almost in the house and he stops him in his tracks, because Jason needs to see what he did to Adam.

"Jason, I think you need to take a look at our nephew."

Jason stops in his tracks and looks at his little nephew and what he sees troubles him, Adam is just standing looking at him with a frown on his face. In that instant, Jason stops what he's doing and walks back to his nephew's side and he takes the ball from his hand and smiles at him.

"Do you want to play or not?"

Adam hands Jason the ball, and you can see the grin take over Adam's face. It doesn't take long for Jason to get caught up in a game of catch with the little guy, fifteen minutes later and the game that they've been playing is over for now. The guys are sitting in the living room where Jason and Adam are reading a book together while Uncle Shaun sits back listening to Jason read. As they are listening to the book, Tom comes into the house.

***

He walks over to the couch where everyone else is sitting and sits on the arm of the couch. "Daddy!" Adam says as he realizes that his father has entered the house and is sitting nearby.

"Finish listening to the story. It looks like you're really enjoying it."

"I am."

Jason goes back to reading the book and everyone else listens to the story being read. When Jason finishes the book, Tom kicks back for a second and then he smiles up at Jason.

"What is going on with you?"

Jason says looking over at his brother.

"Nothing, I just didn't know you could read, but I'm just joking that was amazing. You really held his attention."

Tom's face says it all, he truly believes what he just said and everyone knows it. Adam's and Tom's visit is almost over and Shaun is feeling is a little lost. Shaun is trying to ignore the heartache that is beginning to grow inside of him.

"Did you have fun with Uncle Shaun and Uncle Jason?"

"Yeah, Uncle Shaun is fun."

Hearing that makes Shaun's heart jump just a bit and his heart is torn between happiness and sadness, he does not want to say goodbye.

`Maybe, this is what being a dad is like on the good days. On the bad days, Jason and me can pair up and handle it.'

Shaun is beginning to think, that he can really do this whole "Dad" thing of course, Jason has to be in on this parent thing too. The guys aren't exactly saying goodbye just yet, but Shaun does not want to see Adam leave.

"I think we need to get you packed up buddy."

Jason walks with Tom and Adam to gather up their stuff from the guest bedroom. It did not take very long for Tom to help Adam get ready to head out for home. Shaun watches with a heavy heart as his brother in law and his nephew head for the front door as Jason comes up beside him.

"Adam go up and give your uncles hugs."

Adam walks up to Jason and then gives him a hug.

"Bye buddy, be good for Daddy."

"Bye!" Letting go of Uncle Jason, he moves to Uncle Shaun. Shaun picks up his nephew who wraps his arms around gives him a squeeze.

"Bye Sport, You be good."

"Love you." Those words hit Shaun's heart.

"Time to go buddy."

Shaun puts the little guy down and Adam walks to Tom.

"Bye guys, I need to get this guy to bed. You guys keep me in your thoughts. We really need a job."

"We got you covered."

Jason says as he smiles at his brother. Emotions are building in Shaun's gut. He does not want anyone to see that he is upset. Jason might question it, but otherwise he is good at hiding how he feels.

"Bye Uncle Shaun! Bye Uncle Jason!"

Tom says as he waves to the guys. "Bye!" A quieter voice says goodbye to Jason and Shaun.

`Why does saying goodbye to Adam hurt?'

Shaun knows that this should not hurt but it does; just a little bit. It's the kind of pain that eats at you enough to keep him from feeling one hundred percent okay. Tom opens up the car and then helps his son get into the car and into his booster seat. He gives one final wave goodbye before getting into the car and taking off for home. Alone again, the guys retire back into their house.

***

It seems that when Adam is missing that house takes on a different feel.

"Babe, do you ever feel like the house is extremely quiet after Adam leaves?"

Shaun asks his husband trying to discern Jason's feelings on the subject.

"Yeah, it's quiet. Adam isn't running around like a wild person, and he's not constantly talking."

Shaun doesn't think that Adam runs around like he's crazy. He's an amazing little guy who likes to be around people who love him.

"Shaun, I was joking. The house does feel a little empty when they leave, but it will return to normal pretty soon."

He is right, things will return to normal, at least until the next time that they get a visit from their nephew. It is the absence of a little person in the house that Shaun misses.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Jason leans in and kissed him on the lips. It is clear that he misses their nephew, and it's not even been ten minutes.

"They'll be okay. Tom knows he has to call us to let us know that they're home."

`Jason doesn't get it.'

Shaun wants the house to have more life in it. It needs a little kid running around in it, exploring around it, and living in it. The only problem is that Jason isn't ready for kid(s). Shaun didn't think he was ready but deep inside of him, this feeling has been building. He wants a child.

"I think, I am going to find something to snack on before dinner."

Shaun gets up and heads towards the kitchen to check out the panty. He finds some banana chips and sits in the dining room to enjoy his snacks. He leaves Jason to do whatever he wants to do with his time. Right now, Shaun just wants to wallow in his sadness. Jason is right, it will pass and his husband will feel better for it.

***

Jason walks into the dining room ten minutes later with dinner on his mind. He sets out to make some chicken curry. Soon the room and the house will be filled with the smell of his cooking. It didn't take long for him to lure Shaun out of the office. "Curry tonight?" There is no doubt what dinner is going to be tonight. It's something that Jason and Shaun happened upon in one of their cookbooks, and decided to try it. Not only did they try it, but they loved it.

"It's been awhile since I made it and I had a taste for it. Hope you don't mind."

"Sounds perfect dude."

It does not take long for Shaun to fix up the table for dinner. The conversation at dinner was focused on what the calendar looked like for the next couple days. It also turned to Tom who still had not called to say that they were home. It bothers both guys that he hasn't checked in yet, but they also know that he'll call once they make it home. The worry doesn't get pushed out of their minds but it does get placed to the side.

"I hope Tom gets one of those jobs."

Shaun says looking at his husband.

"Yeah me too, it would be awesome to see him and Adam a little bit more often."

Shaun especially thinks it would be great to have them close by.

`I wonder if I could convince my brother in law to stay with us, that way I could spend time with Tom and with Adam. It would give the house a life at times when they visit.'

Jason stares at his husband trying to figure out what is on his mind. He can't though, not this time. It troubles him a little that Shaun seems to be closing off his emotion to him. Eventually, those locked up feelings come out and it's not always pretty.

"Shaun, I have some homework that I need to get done before I head to bed. I'll get it done and be in bed before it gets too late okay?"

After spending all day with Adam, and then having Jason off at school, Shaun could use some adult time with his hubby. It's not going to happen now, not without getting in the way of things. What will happen when they do add kids to the family? Will Shaun still need that hubby time at the end of the day?

***

Shaun is feeling a little down as he retires to their bedroom. Jason has been doing homework for almost an hour now. It's not that Shaun is lonely or that their relationship is having issues. They just need a chance to just talk, to just sit back, and relax together. Shaun cannot wait for Jason to be done with his schooling. Sometimes when Jason is at home doing homework, he feels left out because Jason will lock himself away and do the work until he is done. There are nights when it's 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning before he will come to bed. These times are few and far between but they still stink. Now to make matters worse, his mind is on adopting a kid. They have talked about it. There may or may not have been a disagreement but they then promise to wait. Now it is surfacing again, and Shaun is feeling the effects of it. None of this really hurts; it just places some sadness in his life. Shaun sometimes retreats from Jason even at this point in their relationship, and tonight he feels like retreating to keep Jason from figuring out what is going on in his hubby's head.

***

Jason appears in the room an hour after Shaun has gone to sleep. Not wanting to wake him up, Jason grabs his journal and goes into the living room. Stopping by the office, he grabs a pen and decides against going all the way into the living room. He sits down and opens the journal up.

`Dear Journal,

Today has been crazy. Even though Shaun and I spent some time together, I feel we have not talked at all today. Our day has been spent with Adam for a good part of the day, and then I had classes, which took me away from the house. Poor Shaun! I miss him when I am at class or doing labs. On the subject of my husband, I think he is keeping something from me. He has been a little quiet since Adam left. I wonder if he's missing the little guy already. Wait, I really don't even know if it has anything to with that, so the ball I guess is in his court. He needs to be the one to tell me what's going on in his mind.'

He closes his journal and then heads off to bed. Not once did he consider taking the journal with him, or even putting it up, which might have been a mistake and would be a mistake if Jason were married to any other guy in the on the earth. He's trusting Shaun won't pick up the journal and read it.

***
For you Facebook users, come join us in the Blake's Saga group and share your thoughts on what you would like to see happen in future chapters. Discuss the latest chapters, and mention any other stories of Chuck's that you have read and would like to see him return to. We're only a small group now and would like have more readers become members.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/BlakeSagaandMore

In order to keep Nifty free and available to all of us to read, PLEASE donate to Nifty. Keep Jason and Shaun free.

If you don't want to join Facebook, there is now a Yahoo group that is run by one of my readers.

http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ThestoriesofChuckB/info

If you liked the story let me know at Hnstskr4@aol.com make sure to put Jason and Shaun in the subject or your email might end up being moved to my spam folder.