Warning: This story does not contain any sex. None of the characters are based on real people nor are they meant to resemble any living or dead people.
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Blake's Saga
Book IV – Chapter 8
Blake's Saga – Fire at School
Blake and Ian are enjoying an average day at school. Ian has been enjoying the banter of his students. Blake has been kept busy with his classes, and Ian has kept his classes busy. Ian has given two hours of notes over the same chapter. Blake has had a test and an hour of busywork in his second hour. As second hour is going on, an unhappy person is doing something illegal in room 300. Room 300 is used for storage right now, but they are getting ready to use it for a classroom. It's something that will affect the school family. The bell marking the end of second hour is going off, and students are emptying their classrooms. Some kids and some staff think they smell smoke, and but just when someone is coming to investigate, smoke fills the room. A teacher goes to enter the room, and he can see the flames burning in the back of the room. Knowing where the fire extinguisher is, he enters the room and grabs it, but as he does, something in the room explodes. It catches him by surprise. He finds himself having some problems breathing. Someone from outside the classroom pulls the fire alarm. A teacher from across the hall who is on prep this hour sees the teacher in the room struggling and calls the office to tell them that there is someone in the place where the fire is located. The chemistry teacher grabs his fire blanket and a pair of thick gloves. Entering the room, he manages to grab the teacher as a couple of firefighters enter the room. Another fireman holds the door as the teacher who entered exits, and the two firemen get the injured teacher out of the room. Luckily, he is the only one that was in the building at this point other than Blake. All the kids are escorted out of the school by their teachers. Any teachers not on duty are checking restrooms to make sure that all the kids are out of the room.
***
At the beginning of third hour, Blake is sitting in his dad's room listening to his dad's lecture. Suddenly, the need to pee becomes too strong for him to ignore. Quietly, he raises his hand so he can ask Ian for permission to leave the room. His dad allows him to leave the room. As he is doing his business, the teacher in room 300 experienced the explosion head-on. Blake heard what he thought was an explosion, and he does his best to hurry out of the restroom. Suddenly, the fire alarm goes off, but Blake is still using the bathroom. If he leaves now, he'll end up making his pants wet. He pushes the worry out of his mind and finishes. Knowing he can always sanitizer his hands later, Blake hurries out of the room. Heading for the exit that his 3rd-hour class uses, he is directed by another teacher to stand in an area away from his dad's class. Fearing trouble if he doesn't obey, he stays where he is hopefully his dad doesn't worry too much. We need to go back in time just a little bit.
***
When the alarm first went off, it alerted dispatch, and that got it out on the police radio and the fire radio. Once it hit the radio, Trace was alerted to the fire, which instantly made him worry.
"Ian, are you okay? Where is Blake? Are the two of you okay?"
It took Ian a second to respond to his husband.
"I'm okay. Blake asked me to use the restroom just
before the fire alarm went off, but he's been gone long enough, so I'm going to
assume that he is safe."
Assumptions aren't exactly what Trace wants to be hearing. Hearing that Ian is okay does take a little
of the stress away; however, Blake is still unaccounted for, and it is causing
some concern in is dads' mind.
"Is there someone you can check with to see if he is safe?"
Ian messages Mr. DeSoto to see if he knows anything about his son.
"Trace, I just messaged Mr. DeSoto to see if he knows anything about Blake's location."
They'll have to wait to hear from Mr. DeSoto before their nerves running a mile a minute. Mr. DeSoto quickly contacts the teacher who was standing at the door that Blake would have exited to see if they saw Blake. Once he got confirmation, Mr. DeSoto texts Ian to let him know that everything is okay.
"Trace, Blake was moved to another teacher's line for safety sake. He is safe."
A couple more fire engines can be heard approaching the school.
***
The trucks stop, and the firemen leave their vehicles and head inside the building. After a little while, the all-clear is given, but the kids are told to get their belongings. It was decided to dismiss early today due to the fire. Blake and Ian head inside and grab their belongings and then wait till Ian can officially head home. Smoke can be smelled in the hallways. At this point, no one knows how the fire started, but luckily a search of the cameras will lead to who started the fire. Ten minutes after the buses leave the building, Ian and Blake leave the building to head home.
"Hey Babe, they called school for the day. Blake and I are headed home."
Trace can't respond, and he doesn't message back till he is done with the call that he is currently on, but he does get back to Ian as soon as the call is done.
***
Collin spent part of the day with Jared, Caden's boyfriend, and now his dad is there to pick him up.
"Did you have fun with Jared?"
"Yeah, but sometimes I had to play by myself because he had to work."
Trace smiled at Jared because he has friends who also work from home and have kids. It can be rough.
"It's okay, and it was good training for the day when Caden and I have kids."
Trace wonders if, if they've had that conversation or if Jared is doing some wishful thinking.
"Hey, kiddo, grab your stuff. I want to head out for home."
As those words leave his mouth, Trace looks at his son and gets an idea.
`Would Collin like to go to the park?'
Trace doesn't ask Collin if he wants too; instead, he heads for the park anyway. Collin looks at his dad, wondering where they are going. Unlike his dad, Collin can't hold in the words that are on the tip of his tongue.
"Daddy, where are we going?"
As the question comes out of his mouth, Trace pulls into the park's parking lot. He gets out and opens the door for Collin, who smiles and takes his dad's hand. Together they walk into the park where Collin heads straight for the slides. This would have been a rare treat for Collin in his other life. Trace sits down on a bench near the slides and watches his son go up and down the slide. He feels kind of funny sitting here in his uniform, but what's important here is that Collin is having fun. Time gets away from Trace, and soon Ian is texting him.
"Trace, I called Caden's house to check if you had picked up Collin, and you have so, where are you?"
Not wanting to worry his husband, Trace promptly texts him right back.
"Sorry, I took Collin to the park to play for a little bit. Sorry that I didn't let you know. I'll grab him, and we'll be right there."
It doesn't take long for Ian to reply to his husband's text
"Can't wait to see you and Collin?"
Trace calls for Collin, who quickly meets his dad at the bottom of the slide. The guys walk to the squad car, get in, and head home. The park is halfway between their home and Caden's home, so it doesn't take long to get home.
***
After coming home from school, Blake went up to his room to do homework. As he is working a layout for Mrs. Curtis's class, his phone rings. It's Ben, but Blake wants to get this part of the assignment done first. Still, he can't ignore the phone call.
"Hey Ben, what's up, buddy?"
Ben is quiet for a second before he replies.
"Have you heard what caused the fire?"
Blake doesn't have a clue about what caused the fire.
"Ben, I have no idea what caused the fire. I'm not sure that my dad would tell me anyway."
Ben is kind of disappointed that there isn't any news. Ben is so different from Blake when it comes to school. Apart from the bullying, Blake loves school, while Ben doesn't really like school, but he knows it's a means to an end.
"I was just hoping to hear what caused the fire. What are you up to now?"
Ben asks his boyfriend.
"I am working on my photo layout for Mrs. Curtis' class."
Blake glances down at his layout and sort of hopes that Ben will end the call so that he can get back to it.
"Oh, cool."
He isn't working on any homework. Ben and Blake end their phone call, and Blake gets back to his homework. While Ben is talking with Blake, Ian receives a phone call.
***
Ian gets a phone call from Mr. DeSoto. They have found some information out about the fire. It was started by someone upset at the school. They were caught on camera entering the room and leaving the room. The powers to be were able to identify the person and sent the police to their home. While he had him on the phone, he decided to let him know that they were looking at not having school tomorrow. Everyone was told to hold off telling anyone that school would be canceled in the morning until they receive a phone call from the school system. This works perfectly because he doesn't want Blake to have any reason to skip out on homework. After the phone call, Ian goes downstairs to see what Trace is doing for dinner. Tomorrow might be an exciting day.
***
The next day, the phone rings around 5:30 in the morning. It's an all-call from the school system, letting Ian know that school has been canceled tomorrow. Ian already knows that Blake won't be happy. Around 6:00 a.m., Blake's alarm goes off, and Ian is right outside his door.
"Hey Blake,
I have bad news, dude."
Blake gives his dad a look that screams, "Are you crazy, man?".
"I heard the phone call, so can I assume that school is canceled?"
Ian frowns because he would love to be at work just as much as Blake would like to be at school.
"You're correct. You can go back to bed, or we can plan a hike with Collin."
Blake considers what he wants to do, but he chooses the hiking. Ian has one more thing to do before making breakfast. He needs to call Jared. In a flash, he grabs his phone and gets the call going
"Hey, Ian, is everything okay?"
Jared asks because he usually doesn't get phone calls from either Ian or Trace, so this is unexpected.
"I'm sure you have already heard the message from the school, right?"
"Yeah, I've got Riley over here super excited about a day off school. Are you keeping Collin home?"
Ian is keeping him for the day.
"Yeah, we are keeping him home with us. We are going hiking."
Jared thinks that is awesome and amazing. It's going to be the first time that Collin has gone hiking in his life.
"Cool, man have a great day. I need to get breakfast going for Riley and me."
Once Collin is up, the crew has breakfast, and then it's time for everyone to go hiking. Ian sees his little son soaking up nature. Collin's eyes get huge, with every single little discovery along the trail. It was a fantastic couple of hours. Usually, Ian and Blake would go out for four hours, but two hours worked just fine. After the hike, they had lunch at a restaurant near the park where they hiked.
***
They have been home for an hour when Blake gets a phone call. He looks at the screen on the phone, and it's Seth.
"Seth, what's up, dude?"
Seth is excited because it's been a while since he has spoken with the guy. It's been a little while since they have spoken last.
"Not much struggling a bit with loneliness, just thought I call you and see how school and life is going?"
Blake tries to come up with stuff to tell Seth. There is certainly stuff to say to him. Somethings that maybe, he shouldn't tell him to keep him from worrying.
"Overall, life is pretty is good. I have a new little brother. ..."
The news wows Blake's friend. Recently, he had a chance to see Ryan via his laptop, which was awesome.
"That is so cool, I love my little brother, but you know that already. How old is your brother?"
Seth just thinks that it's incredible that Blake has a little brother. Now, Blake will know what it's like to have a brother who always wants to be with him.
"He is four years. He was found at a store with no parents around. They left him there. Police cannot find his mother or his father, so of course, my dads couldn't' resist giving him a home. Oh, we had a big fire at school today. They sent us home."
Collin's story hits Seth just a little bit. It makes him wonder what his brother is like; maybe someday he'll find out. Perhaps, he needs to plan a trip to visit.
"Oh my gosh, was anyone hurt? How long are you out of school? Well, Ryan wants me to come home because there was a puppy at the house, and he wants me to see it."
Blake would love to have a cat or a dog. He just doesn't know if his dads would be okay with that.
"A teacher was hurt, but I don't know how bad. I honestly don't know how long we will be out. What about you what's new?"
Blake asks, hoping to hear a bunch of cool stuff from his friend.
"Not a bunch, I am getting ready to say goodbye to family here in a few days, going to be weird to not be in high school anymore. Mason and I have talked a lot about not being around each other as much when we go off to college. Not sure I like it, but it is what it is. Thanks for coming to our party!"
Seth says with a build-up of emotion behind it, his voice. He doesn't like to talk about the time he has left. It will be hard to be without his family for close to four months. At least, he'll be able to come home between semesters and during the holidays. Seth is sitting here quietly, thinking of what his immediate future is going to be like, and he hopes it's good things..
"You're welcome, my friend. It was a lot of fun."
Blake hopes everything in his life and the lives of his friends. He knows it won't be, but he can wish.
"I hate to cut this short Blake, but I need to run. My little brother has been a little clingy since he found out that I was going off to college. I think he's trying to spend as much time with me as he can. It's kind of annoying but super cute. I don't mind spending time with him, though, so I'm going to let you go and read this book with him."
Blake understands about little brothers; he has one in Idaho and one here in Indiana.
***
While Blake is in his room talking to Seth, Collin is downstairs with Trace. Collin enjoyed going hiking with Blake and Ian, but he does miss going over to Jared's house. He knows that the reason things are different today is because of Blake being home. He walks over to Trace and his dad in the face and says:
"Can I go to Jared's house?"
Trace doesn't get why Collin would want to go over there when; everyone is home. Trace and Ian always try to answer all the questions that Collin asks if they are information seeking and not challenging in any way.
"Why do you want to go to Jared's house? Everyone is home today."
Collin gets a serious look on his face. He promptly looks at his dad and just lets the words out:
"Blake is home."
Trace doesn't get it. He doesn't think that Blake is mean to Collin, so what is up with this comment.
"Is Blake being mean to you?"
Collin shakes his head no. He just doesn't get it.
"So, why do you want to go see Jared?"
Trace asks again.
"I just want it too."
He can't just ignore the request and seeing how there is time for him to visit over there. But first, he needs to see if Ian is okay with him visiting over there.
"Let me talk to Daddy, and then we have to talk to Jared or Caden and see what they say. Okay?"
Trace hates giving in like this, but it has been a weird day. The little guy smiles, takes his hand, and off they go to find Ian. Ian is in the pet room, seeing to the animals. Trace and Collin enter the room, and Ian stops what he is doing to see what they want.
"Hi, this is a pleasant surprise."
Ian says as he looks at his husband and youngest son. Looking down at Collin, Trace smiles.
"Is there something you want to ask Daddy?"
Their son's mouth opens, and the question spills out to Ian.
"Can I go to Jared's?"
Ian looks at their son and gets all serious.
"Does Jared want you over there?"
Can anyone guess what the answer is going to be? A very serious little voice replies to his dad's question.
"You have to call."
Not the answer, they thought was going to come out of his mouth. Ian looks at his cell phone, then at Trace, who nods his head, and then Ian picks up his cell phone. Maybe it's best to keep his routine the same as much as possible.
"Hey, Ian, what's up?"
Collin is a bit anxious, but he's hopeful that Jared will say yes.
"Well, I have a little guy over here..."
"I'm not a little guy! I'm a big guy."
"Excuse me; I have a big guy over here who wants to know if he can come over to visit?"
Jared already has Riley home with him, but Caden is due home at any minute, so it won't be too bad.
"Is he not dealing with his change of routine very well?"
Ian smiles and nods his head before answering.
"Yeah, I think he's bit out of sorts."
"Sure, he can come over. How about we keep him for a couple of hours? Maybe, he can have dinner with us, and then we'll bring him back or when we can bring him back when he looks like he's ready to go home, whichever comes first."
Collin is standing on pins and needles. He can't wait for an answer. Ian has said goodbye to Jared, and looks at Trace and nods his head. Trace goes and gets Collin's travel bag that is packed with a coloring book, colored pencils, a book or two, and a car. By the time Trace is back, Collin is standing by the door with the car keys in his hand.
"Well, I guess we can go."
Trace opens the front door, and together, they head out the door. Collin pauses as he looks at the cars in the driveway. He wants to ride in the police car.
"Can we ride in the police car?"
Trace doesn't like driving the car around, but the city allows him to drive it when off duty, and it's the easiest one to drive now, so Collin gets his wish.
"If we take it, are you allowed to touch anything in daddy's car?"
Collin knows that he's not allowed to touch anything in the squad car. Trace allows him to hear the radio in his car. Collin thinks it's cool to listen to the communications between the dispatch and the individual police officers. It's not a long drive, so he only gets to hear a little bit of the radio. When they pull into the driveway, Trace turns off the car and then undoes the seat belt for his son. He gets out of the car and then comes around and opens the door for his son. When Collin is out of the vehicle, Trace closed the door and then clicked "lock" on his remote. Together, father and son walk up the door. Collin knocks on the door, and in a heartbeat, Riley answers the door.
"Come...inside."
Father and son enter the house. Riley's eyes are on the squad car in the driveway as he closes the door.
"You...you drove the squad car?"
He asks the Trace with big eyes.
"Yeah, he wanted to ride in my squad car."
Jared comes out of the backroom and greets Collin and Trace.
"Hey, big guy, why don't you set your bag over by Smoke's chair."
Smoke has this lounge chair that he loves to sit in, and right now, it has Collin's day pack on it. Trace looks at Collin and smiles.
"You are going to be good, right? I don't want to a bad report from Jared."
Collin gives Trace a big thumbs up. Trace bends down and gives his son a hug and a kiss. When Smoke enters the room, Collin's attention immediately goes to him. Trace is instantly forgotten. It's okay, though, because it gives Trace a chance to speak with Jared.
"If he decides that he's ready to come home, feel free to give us a call. Otherwise, you can bring him home after you have dinner."
Jared chuckles. He knows that the little boy who is currently playing with Smoke won't want to leave for a while yet.
"Don't worry; he'll be good. He's finally gotten over Riley, so between Riley and Smoke, he'll be fine."
Trace wants to get home as quickly as he can.
"Collin, come here real quick."
Collin is a little hesitant to come to his dad, so Trace calls to him again. Trace isn't mad, though; he's happy that his son is having fun. This time, Collin comes right over to him.
"Yes, Daddy."
Collin is quietly waiting for his dad to say speak.
"I'm going to go home. Be good."
Collin hesitates for a second because he wants to play with Smoke, but he stops Trace as he gets ready to walk out the door.
"Daddy, I want a hug."
He doesn't ask for a kiss, so Trace reaches out and picks up his son and gives him a big old bear hug. Collin laughs and wiggles a bit, so Trace puts his down, and as soon as that kid touches the floor, he returns to the dog.
"Bye, Collin. Thanks, Jared, Thanks, Riley."
Riley and Jared wave goodbye to Trace, who turns around and opens the front door and walks out the door.
***
As Trace is headed home, he gets a text from Ian.
"Taking Blake to get his permit."
He doesn't reply to the text until he gets home. No sense in getting in trouble by another officer or his boss or even getting into an accident. Can you imagine what that would look like on the news? When he pulls into the driveway, Trace picks up his phone and enters his text.
"Tell Blake, if he passes, we are having pizza. Well, we might have pizza even if he doesn't pass."
It would be a while before Trace would hear from his husband. In the meantime, he sends good vibes to his son.
***
Blake and Ian pull up to the D.M.V so that he can take his test. They park, leave the car, and head into the building. Blake takes his number along with a bunch of papers needed to prove that Blake is, in fact, a residence of the state and the city. He also has documents that prove that Ian and Trace are his adopted dads. Ian told Blake that he should grab a book or something to help pass the time until his number is called. Ian walks up with Blake to get his number, and then they sit down and wait for their number to be called. Twenty minutes later, Blake's number is called, and then the teen and Ian walk up to the first open chair. When all the red tape is taken care of, the person on the other side of the counter starts the test. It takes him several minutes to finish the test, and then the worker takes it and looks over it. Three minutes late, Blake is sweating bullets. The lady smiles and gives him the good news that he passed the test. It's then time to take his picture. In no time, Blake is handed a paper copy of his permit. Blake is told to grab his dad and come back up to the counter.
"Dad, they want to talk to you."
Ian gets up, and together they walk up to the counter. Blake is trying so hard to keep a straight face.
`Trace is going to be so happy.'
Blake thinks to himself. The woman behind the counter smiles at Ian. She starts telling them all the rules surrounding the permit. Trace will see to it that all the rules are followed. No cheating with that man around, which is a good thing. Ian pays for the permit, and then they head out. When they get inside the car, Ian looks at Blake and speaks:
"Text your dad and tell him that you passed."
Blake is super excited. He takes a picture of his permit and then opens a text window. He then sends it to Trace. It takes 30 seconds for Blake to get a response back from his dad.
"No way, dude, we are celebrating. I know you want to tell all your friends, but let's celebrate first, okay?"
A smile breaks out on the teen's face when he sees his dad's response.
"Okay, I can deal with that."
Trace gets Collin to clean up, and tells him they are going out for pizza as soon Daddy gets home. The youngest guy in the family stops what he is doing to get ready to head out for food. Ten minutes later, Ian and Blake arrive at the house. Ian takes a few minutes to use the bathroom, which kind of frustrates Collin, who wants to eat now.
"Collin, you got to be patient. Dad had to go pee."
Collin rolls his eyes at this brother's words. As soon as Ian is out of the bathroom, the family heads out of the house to use head out for pizza. Finally, they arrive, and Collin takes Blake's hand, and together they head for the entrance. An older person is approaching the doors, and Collin is quick to remind Blake that he needs to hold the door open, so that is what Blake does. Trace and Ian smile at how polite their boys are, and then they keep the doors open for their sons. Two hours later, they are heading back home.
***
After arriving at home, Blake heads up to his room and calls his parents in Idaho. He can't wait to tell them about his permit. Hopefully, they're excited for him. His mom answered the phone.
"Hi Blake, what's going on?"
He likes how his mom sounds excited when he calls lately. It's better than what he was getting at the beginning of the year from her.
"I passed my permit test, so Ian and Trace are going to start teaching me to drive."
His mom remembers when Simon took his test for the first time, he failed, and it took him two more tries. The signs gave him headaches.
"How many times did you take the test?"
"Only once, I was shocked."
He can hear calling someone to phone.
"Blake, how many times did you take your permit test?"
He wonders who she pulled to hear the answer to this question, though he thinks it's Simon.
"I only took the test once."
Then it becomes clear; it is Simon.
"I always knew my bro was smarter than me."
Blake is shocked to hear his brother talk about himself that way.
"Mom, can Simon still hear me?"
"He sure can."
His mom says.
"Dude, don't knock yourself. You are plenty smart."
Blake loves his family and doesn't want anyone feeling bad about themselves or feeling lousy period.
"Thanks, Blake. Oh, and congrats on your permit. Which of your dads is taking you out for driving?"
Simon tells his brother. His mom still isn't entirely used to hearing Ian and Trace being called Blake's dads. She knows what she did, what her husband did, but things have changed. Still, they agreed Blake is better off in Indiana.
"It's going to be both of them taking turns, I think."
Simon chuckles a bit.
"Do you have health insurance?"
The minute that Simon asked the question, you can hear their mother telling him to be kind to his brother.
"Yes, Simon, they have insurance."
"Okay, everyone, I need to run. I love everyone. Bye, Mom, bye, Simon."
His family tells him that they love him, and then say their goodbyes. The call is ended only to find Blake bringing up his text menu.
***
Blake decides that sending out a group text might be the quickest way to send out a message to all his friends.
"Hey guys, so excited I passed my permit test. Soon, I'll be driving."
Immediately after the text is sent, Ian shows up at the door to his bedroom.
"Sorry to interrupt whatever you were doing, but I wanted to let you know that I am taking Collin out for daddy son time.
"Okay, I hope you have fun."
Ian smiles and walks away. A few minutes later, Blake starts receiving congratulations from all his friends except for Ben. Ben's message comes through a little bit later.
"Dude, I have to retest. I flunked it my first time. You are so lucky."
It's a little weird that Ben didn't give him any congratulations or anything. A couple of minutes later, he gets another text from Ben.
"Congrats Blake!"
It feels a lot better to see that then to see the other message.
"Thanks, Ben."
Blake thought Ben would have more to say at least but no not even a "You're welcome," but it doesn't come. Ben has been strange at times lately. After texting, Blake decides to color in his mandala coloring books.
***
About a half-hour later, Ian and Collin come back home from the store. Collin is super excited about something. He can hear him talking to Trace, and the words just seem to be coming out of his mouth so fast. Next thing Blake knows, his younger brother is standing in his room.
"Come see what Daddy bought me?"
Blake is still busily coloring one very detailed mandala, and he doesn't like being interrupted when he's coloring. When is a kid, is this excited, what do you do? Well, this older brother stops what he is doing and goes to see what Daddy got him. Blake puts his coloring book and colored pencils down, so he goes to see whatever it is that Ian got for Collin.
"Okay, dude, let's go see it."
Collin takes off and heads into his room with Blake right behind him. When Blake enters the room, there is a huge plush black panther on Collin's bed. It looks like it's protecting the bed. Collin is smiling ear to ear.
"Wow, that is one big guard dog."
Blake says to be funny.
"It's not a dog. It's a lion."
Blake can't let that slip go even Ian would correct him.
"Collin, that is a black panther. He's big, though."
Collin runs over and hugs his panther. Collin looks at Blake, and his expression is a bit serious.
"Can I name him?"
Collin asks his big brother.
"You can give him any name you want."
The little looks at the panther, and he spends time just thinking about a name. Suddenly he smiles like he just came up with a great name.
"What should I name him?
Blake shrugs his shoulders. How is he supposed to name Collin's stuffed animal?
"Name him."
Collin's simple request to his big brother catches Blake off guard. The first couple names he thinks of just don't fit. They are goddess who happen to be goddesses of the night, Nyx and Selene. However, the next one he comes up with is the one he chooses.
"How about Midnight?
Collin looks at the toy cat and considers the name. He then whispers into the animal's ear.
Collin says with a massive smile on his face and then comes up to Blake and hugs him. Blake doesn't know what the whispering in the cat's ear was about, but he's glad that his little brother likes them. Collin breaks off the hug and then turns to play with his toys. Instead of going back to his room, Blake seeks out his dads. They are sitting on their bed watching television. He knocks on the door to their bedroom.
"Come in, Blake."
Trace knows it was Blake because he figures that Collin would have just ran into the room.
"What's up kiddo?"
Ian looks at Trace like he just started world war III. Blake ignores the comment.
"Something cool happened just now. Collin came into my room and interrupted my coloring. He told me that he wanted to show me something. I went with him, and he showed me the stuffed animal that he was bought."
Ian interrupts him for a second.
"I wouldn't have got it for him, but he looked at then he walked away and looked around some more, but then I asked him if he wanted to get anything. He told me, no, and that was about 20 minutes into the search for something. I told him that he didn't need to get anything. We could just window shop, and he asked what that was, so I explained it. He looked at some car toys, but then he saw some kid walk by with a teddy bear in the cart. He took my hand, and literally, we did a three-sixty and walked back to the stuffed animals. He looked at me and asked for the panther. What could I say? We almost didn't go inside. He was so frightened, but he was super brave. I felt like he earned that panther. So, does he like it?"
Blake just stares at his dad.
"Duh! You know what he did when I asked what its name was?"
His dads looked at him and shook their heads no.
"The silly goose turned it around on me and asked me to name it. So, I did, I called it Midnight, which he approved. He did something a little strange though, he whispered it into the toy's ear and then smiled. He came over to me, hugged me, and told me that "He likes it. Thank you!"."
Trace was the first to speak up.
"I wouldn't worry, Blake. He's not the first little kid to speak to a stuffed animal before. I see it a lot with kids that I have been around in my work. I don't if your dad over here has experienced it or not, but my guess is he was excited to have something like that and to have a big brother willing to stop what he was doing to just spend a little bit of time with him. Thanks, Blake!"
Ian smiles at his son. He's proud of him. He wasn't entirely sure how their son would treat Collin, but so far, things have been great.
"Blake, that was huge. Letting him show you that toy may not have seemed like a big deal, but I can promise you that for him it was, so thanks, buddy."
Blake is thankful for ending up in a home where he feels supported, accepted, and loved. Collin is going to be great.
"You're welcome. Honestly, it wasn't a big deal."
Blake leaves the room and returns to his room. Thoughts are running through Ian's head, and now that Blake is out of the room, he can share them.
***
Trace and Ian are cuddling in their place after Blake left when Ian looks at Trace and starts to talk.
"You know, we've said this before, but we are so lucky to have a kid like Blake in our family.
Trace agrees with him.
"Babe, I have seen him when he thinks that we aren't looking and you are right, he is a great kid."
What Trace is saying is that Blake acts pretty much the same, even when his dads aren't around. They are amazed by him. His mom and dad would be proud of him.
"I know how much attention Blake puts into his coloring, and I'm a little surprised that he just up and left his room. I'm glad he did, though."
Trace gets up, turns off the light as Ian turns off the television. It's time for some extra cuddles and then sleep.
***
It's sometime in the early morning hours, and Collin is in the middle of a nightmare. A monster in a human body has entered his bedroom and woken the little boy up. It's approaching the bed and carrying a belt in its right hand. Collin gets scared and starts to cry. The minute the cries start, something stirs on his bed. Midnight comes to life and jumps off the bed chasing the bad guy away. Even with the dream coming to an end, Collin doesn't stay asleep and can't fall back to sleep. He does make sure that he thanks Midnight for chasing away the monster. He is still crying as he leaves his room and goes to Blake's room.
"Bl...ake, Blake,"
He calls out from the side of the bed and then crawls into the bed. The tears don't stop. He cuddles up next to Blake, who wakes up.
"What are you doing, buddy?"
Blake can see the tears on his brother's face.
"Did you have a bad dream?'
Blake hugs his brother, and then sits up and gets something off his table. It's Duke, his teddy bear from Idaho. It was given to him by his dad when he was two. Blake gets back into the bed. He gives Duke to his little brother.
"Be nice to him, that is my teddy bear from my dad who lives in a different state. Do you want to tell me about your dream?"
Collin doesn't say a thing. He hugs Duke and then cuddles up next to Blake and falls asleep. Blake will have to tell his dads about this when he wakes up in the morning. What he doesn't know is that Trace already knows. Trace woke up because he heard the sobbing and expected to see Collin enter their bedroom, but when he didn't come, Trace went to what was up. He saw him in Blake's bed and watched as Blake gave him Duke, that is when he returned to his bedroom knowing that Collin was okay.
***
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