22. Home

~Leo

I watched the tree getting closer - or rather, us getting closer to the tree. It was approaching too quickly, and Jackson wasn't able to steer the car around it. Then came the impact and I jerked awake, gasping for breath.

Just a dream, I thought to myself, feeling the sheets beneath me. Thank god.

But then I became aware of the pain in my chest a the constant beeping coming from somewhere in the room. I wasn't at home.

Sitting up - slowly, because I was seriously hurting probably because of a broken rib or two - I finally looked around the room.

I was definitely in a hospital room, hooked up to a heart monitor that sat to my left. At the foot of the bed, Kyle and Josh were both sitting in chairs, looking at me with soft smiles on their faces. Josh's face was streaked with dried tears.

"Where's Jay?" I asked.

Was he okay? Why wouldn't they be with him? What happened to him? I started panicking. Something bad happened. No. He had to be around here somewhere. I needed to find him.

Sliding my feet over the side of the bed, I gasped out in pain. Josh was standing in front of me in an instant, preventing me from getting up.

"Leo," he said, putting his hands on my shoulders. "Stay."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. But just tell me where Jackson is. Is he okay?"

He didn't have to say anything. In the next second, the door to the adjacent bathroom opened and out walked Jay, looking perfectly fine, except for a small bandage on the side of his head.

I let out a sigh of relief, which sent a slight pain through my chest. "You're okay."

He smiled. "Of course I'm okay. You're the one we were worried about."

~Josh

It was a miracle they were both alive. The fact that they were barely injured - aside from Leo's broken ribs and Jackson's slight concussion - was even more of a miracle.

I stepped back, letting the two of them check each other over. I watched as Jackson gently caressed Leo's cheek, where a small bruise had formed. It was during this small interaction that I saw it: yes, they loved each other, but that didn't mean they didn't also love me and Kyle. My thoughts from earlier just felt extremely petty. I needed to apologize to them, so much.

I had already told Jackson that I was wrong, but that was before all this happened. I needed a way to make it up to both of them, but definitely not here, not while they were hurt. Instead, I let them have this moment to themselves, heading for the door and motioning Kyle to follow me.

Out in the hallway, I leaned up against the wall, suddenly feeling extremely exhausted. We've only been here for about an hour, but it still felt like a really long day.

"Are you okay, Josh?" Kyle asked softly, making me slowly turn my head to look up at him. He was looking at me with such concern in his eyes, and I almost forgot that he wasn't his normal self again for a moment.

I nodded. "Yeah, just tired." I paused for a second. "You know, you don't have to stay here with us if you want to go back to your dad's. I can drop you off. It might still be a bit before the doctor releases them."

"Josh," he sighed, a small smile on his face. "I'm not leaving you. I'll never leave you. I'll even come home tonight, if that's alright?"

I smiled. "I love you, Kyle. I know you don't remember much, but I remember you. I can't ever forget you. I'm glad you're willing to try with us. I promise, it'll be worth it in the end."

Kyle chuckled lightly, a sound I didn't realize how much I missed until just now. "I know, because I do remember now. And I never want to forget again."

Before I could even register his words, his lips were on mine. With one kiss, I felt like I fell in love with him all over again. Today was just full of miracles, wasn't it?

~Kyle

"Yup, they're still up," Jackson sighed as I pulled the car into the driveway of our house. It was late, much later than the kids should be awake, and yet their bedroom light was still on, and very visible from the driveway.

I turned around to check on Leo and Josh in the backseat, considering I didn't hear anything from back there to indicate that they knew we were home. Leo was fast asleep - which wasn't a surprise with all the pain meds he had been given - and Josh was just about there too. It was a good thing I offered to drive home instead of him.

I nudged Josh's knee. "Hey, babe." He let out a small groan and slowly opened his eyes to look at me. "We're home."

He nodded his head, then unbuckled his seat belt. While he was getting out of the car, I went around to try to wake Leo up, considering I knew I wouldn't carry him into the house, not wanting to hurt him further, which meant he was going to have to walk.

"Leo," I said, gently shaking his shoulder. "It's time to go inside. Come on, you gotta get up for me."

It took him probably a full minute to finally wake up enough for me to help him out of the car. Josh and Jackson had disappeared, most likely inside, but I didn't blame them for going right in. I was physically capable of carrying Leo if I had to, even though I had enough faith in Leo to know he'd make it the short distance to the door.

When we finally made it inside, Josh was rushing around like he wasn't almost asleep in the car. He ran straight up to us, holding onto a small pile of clothes.

"He's not going upstairs tonight," Josh told me. "Guest bedroom. I got some clothes for him."

"I can make it upstairs," Leo protested. "I'm fine, guys. Honestly."

I scoffed, unable to help myself. "Oh yeah? Walk to the end of the hallway without using me as support."

He rolled his eyes. "Kyle, love, I may have missed you like hell, but I did not miss that attitude."

Before I had a chance to respond, I heard the unmistakable sound of children running down the stairs. I had one guess as to where they could be headed. In the next second, I was proved right, as they both rounded the corner and stopped just in front of us - mouths open as they stared at me.

I smiled. "Hey guys," I said, trying to break them out of the trance they seemed to be in. "I'm home."

"Dad?" Logan asked hesitantly. It threw me off for a second, not yet used to being called Dad instead of Daddy. "Do you remember us?"

Leo put his hand on my shoulder and I glanced over at him. He had shifted most of his weight onto the wall, motioning me over to the kids. So I walked over, kneeling in front of them.

"Of course I remember you. And I missed you both so much."

Suddenly the two of them were in my arms, hugging me tightly. I breathed in their scents, feeling like it's been forever since I held them. I never wanted to let go of them again.

But eventually, I had to. I stayed kneeling, though, and looked at them. That's when I noticed something. "Did you get taller, Ash? I think you might finally be taller than Logan!"

She smiled widely and started jumping up and down. "I did! I did! I did!"

Logan looked a bit glum, however. "Hey, bud," I said to him. "Don't worry. You'll be taller than her again soon."

"Will I be as tall as Daddy?"

I laughed, even though I knew he probably wouldn't be as tall as Leo, considering his genetics. "You can be as tall as you want to be, bud," I said, not wanting to crush his dreams.

"I wanna be taller than Daddy one day!"

I laughed again, glancing behind me to see if Leo heard, only to realize that he was no longer in the hallway. I turned back to my kids.

"Do you want to know a secret?" I asked. They both nodded. "You grow the most when you're sleeping. And do want to know what time it is?"

"If you say bedtime, I'll be mad," Ashley said, very sternly for a six year old. "I don't care if I never grow anymore. You just got here. I don't wanna go to bed."

"Sorry, Ash, but it's late. I'll be around all day tomorrow, though, okay? You can tell me everything that's been going on since I've been gone."

That got them to agree, thankfully. They ran off down the hallway towards the stairs, but not before almost running into Alyssa and Josh.

"Are you leaving, Auntie Lyssa?" Ashley asked.

Alyssa nodded. "Yeah. It's past my bedtime. I can't imagine how tired you guys must be."

"You can sleep here!"

She chuckled. "No, I can't. I think your daddies have enough to deal with tonight without me being in the way." She looked over at me and smiled. "So give me a hug, alright? I'll see you soon."

While Alyssa was giving the kids their hugs, Josh pointed down at the three of them and mouthed to me I need to tell you something about them.

It worried me slightly. I didn't know what had been going on the last couple of weeks around here. Did the kids know Alyssa was their mother? Did something else happen?

My questions were answered, however, when the kids finally went upstairs.

"So, Kyle," Alyssa started. "I'm so glad you're alright and back here. And since you're here again, I need to tell you too. Earlier today, I was asked why they didn't have a mom."

"And this is what I was going to tell you later," Josh interrupted.

Alyssa nodded. "Yeah, I told him and Jackson upstairs. But I didn't tell the kids who I really am to them, I just said some excuse of them not needing a mom because they have four amazing dads and most kids only get one dad. I figured you all would want to be around when they found out the truth."

"Thanks, Alyssa," I said sincerely. That was going to be one hell of a conversation to have with them, but obviously one that needs to happen soon. We can't keep the truth from them forever. They have a right to know.

She left a few minutes later, and Josh and I then got Leo situated for bed. He wasn't happy about having to sleep in the guest room, but didn't seem to mind after Josh said he'd stay with him. I knew it was to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't hurt himself further, just like I went upstairs to keep an eye on Jackson for the night.

While all four of us wouldn't be sleeping in the same bed tonight, it was still really good to be home.