CHAPTER XXXV

Cael and Nate arrived at Antoine's and Cyrus' mansion by 8 a.m. The kids were still sleeping. Antoine got some water boiling for coffee as they waited for Cyrus to get the kids up. They could see the bags under Antoine's eyes.

"It must have been hard", Nate asked. "With the twins and... the twins".

"Yeah". he said. "I barely got an hour of sleep last night". He smiled, embarrassedly. "It's so great that you're taking Collin and Killian today. My mom is also coming for Shea and Theo later. Me and Dev will finally get some time for ourselves - which means we will sleep almost the whole day". He laughed awkwardly again.

As he said that, he heard the kettle whistle.

"I'll go get it", An said and went to get the water. He came back three minutes later with three cups of coffee. "Here".

"Thank you", Nate and Cael said.

"Ah...", An vacillated a little, thinking if he should ask or not. "Nate told us you went to meet your mother yesterday".

"Yeah, I told him to". Cael said, sipping his coffee. "I met my brother too".

"How did it go?"

"Hm... Well. He told me his side of the story. What they did to him. It was horrible, but it made me understand him a little. A lot. See that he was just another victim, and he suffered a lot because of Patricia and Geralt". He paused and put the coffee cup on the table. He didn't realize he was crying. Nate cleaned his tears and looked at him, telling him he didn't need to continue if he didn't want to. But it had a cathartic effect to tell it to someone else. "Patricia... She is my father. She raped my mother when he was fifteen years old and made him sell me after threatening to hurt his loved ones. And she made him do it again to conceive my brother, and discarded him when he was not what she expected". He cried again, but he dried his tears. "Everytime I learn a new thing about them, I get even madder about it".

"That's okay", Antoine said, "You have the right to be mad when someone hurts you and the people you love. In fact I think you should be madder". He dropped his head. "Not only at them, but at me".

"Why?"

"Well, I hid your kids for three years, robbed you of essential moments of their lives. I know I always told you that I didn't regret it, but every day that I look at Shea and Theo, imagining losing these moments somehow, I feel sad. And seeing you being strong like that, and seeking the truth and to help people around you I imagine how good a father you would have been and how much you'd have enjoyed these moments with Collin and Killian. I'm sorry. You have the right to be mad at me. You have the right to be mad at the world for being unfair to you. But you're not, not really. Because you're someone sweet and gentle. Someone who puts other people first and tries to help everyone. Thank you for being that person.".

"Thank you. Although I don't think..."

"Just take the compliment", Nate interrupted.

"Okay", Cael laughed, although his eyes were still swollen with tears.

"But, I guess, what's important right now is what do you wanna do about it?" An asked. "Whatever you decide, you'll have my support, in any way needed".

"I want to help him pay his debts, and get clean from gambling addiction". He said, assured. "And I want to find a way to reconnect with my brother and my biological mother. I don't know if I want to keep them in my life, or have a close relationship with them, but I want to figure that out myself".

"I can give you the money to pay for his debts and get a good rehabilitation clinic".

"I was thinking about lending the money to him, and have him pay it as he can, no interest attached. So it doesn't seem so much like a favor, as if we pity him, and more like a loan. A good one", he laughed, "One that he can really pay".

"Okay. I can help with that". An said, laughing too.

"I will try to talk with him again".

"Okay", An got his card. "Give him my card. Tell him I can lend him the money to pay his debts, and, after he goes through rehabilitation, he can get him a job in my company".

"Really?", Cael said, excited. According to the investigations, his mother was having a hard time getting a job, as few people employed omegas at his age.

"Yeah... You forget, but me and Nate are omegas too. My company was all based on the idea of creating a space for omegas to work, where they could be proud of themselves and not afraid of their alpha co-workers".

"Yeah", Cael smiled and looked at Nate. "You omegas are amazing". He kissed his partner's hand, and the next moment he heard some childish voices coming in his direction.

"Dad!" Collin and Killian called.

"Collin! Killian!". He said, hugging his sons.

"Dad! Grandma and grandpa took us to a bakery. We ate lots of sweets!", Collin said, all smiles.

"Yeah! It was so tashy", Killian said, still half-asleep.

"Well, we will go meet grandma Abe and grandpa Finnian today. Remember them? You talked through video once".

"Yeah", they nodded.

"Grandpa Finnian cooks really well and he is going to make so much tasty stuff for you".

"Weally?", The two said.

"Really". Cael answered, getting the two up.

"We'll take them to the car", said Nate, and left with Dev and the kid's bags. Cael was left behind.

"Cael, I know you asked for a night with the kids...", Antoine started.

"If it's too much...", Cael said, sad.

"No, no. That's not it. I talked with Dev and we decided it was a good idea, for us and for you, if you accept it, to give you two nights with the twins. What do you think?"

"Seriously? I'd love it". Cael said, happily.

"Yeah, we decided we should let you have more time with the kids. And that helps us too, as we are overloaded with Theo and Shea. So, thank you".

"Any time". The man smiled.

"Now go!" He said, gently and teasingly. "The kids are waiting for you".

"I'm going", he laughed.

***

"What do you wanna listen to?", Nate asked as they got out of Cyrus and Antoine's garage.

"The Puppy Heroes!", Collin and Killian screamed together.

"OK", Nate answered, and played The Puppy Heroes soundtrack.

They kept listening to many kids' shows on the thirty minute route until Finnian and Abe's house. When they arrived, Finnian and Abe were waiting in front of the house with gifts. Cael went to get the kids. Killian was half-asleep, but Collin was excited to meet his new grandpa and grandma.

"We awived?", Killian asked, waking up.

"Yes, baby", said Cael, taking him from his seat and holding him in his arms. Killian put his hand around his father's neck and laid on his shoulder. Collin was already on the ground and running in the direction of his grandparents that patiently waited.

"Hi, I'm Collin", the boy said. "Are you my grandparents?". With his merry attitude and his blond hair under the scorching sun, it looked like the boy was shining.

Finnian got down on one knee, followed by Abe.

"I'm grandpa Finnian, and this is your grandma Abraham", the man smiled.

"Grandpa", the boy shouted and hugged the older man. "Grandma", he shouted again and hugged Abe.

After that interaction, Cael approached holding Killian.

"Killian, these are your grandparents". The man said. Killian took a quick look at the men next to him, then buried his face again on Cael's chest. "Sorry, he is still a little asleep from the car trip", And he is not good with strangers, he complemented in his head.

"Sure, sure", Finnian smiled, "Let's go inside. I'll help you with the baggage". He gave the gifts to Abe and took the two bags from Nate and Cael and took them inside. Cael tried to make Killian lie on the sofa, but the boy wouldn't let go of him. Whilst, Collin opened the gifts sitting on the floor. Only when Lydia arrived with cake did Killian relax a little and sat down to eat.

"This is your aunt Lydia", Cael introduced her. "She is eight years older than you only, so she is still a kid like you".

Lydia was going to say she was almost a teenager, but she saw the twins' bright eyes and decided that it wasn't that bad to be a kid sometimes.

"Do you want to play with aunt Lydia?", she asked the two little kids.

"Can I?", Killian looked at Cael, his eyes pleading.

"Sure", Cael answered, then looked at Lydia, "But if you go to the kitchen, call one of the adults".

"Okay", Lydia smiled. "Let's go", she took them away to play.

"They are really cute kids", Finnian expressed as soon as they left. "Killian looks so much like you when you were his age".

"Yeah". Cael said. "But he has his mother's brain. He is so smart".

"And Collin... He is like an angel. Always smiling, it makes us happy just being in the same room". Finnian complemented.

"That's him". Cael smiled, "Our little sunshine".

"So, what did their mother say about them sleeping here tonight?", Abe asked. "Did he say yes?"

"Better. He gave us two days and two nights with the kids". Cael said, happily.

"That's great", Abe said, happily. "We could take them to the park and go shopping with them".

"Or we could take them to the studio! The guy's have been working on a children's animation. The kids would love to see the process of making an animation", Finnian said, excited about sharing his work.

"Yeah, maybe", Abe said, sulking.

"You're just mad that your job is not as cool as mine", Finnian said, arrogantly.

"My job is cool", he said, still sulking, "It's just that the experiments are not safe for children".

Abe was a university physics professor and researcher. He was the chief researcher in the lab, responsible for supervising many experiments. But, although pretty cool, the lab was definitely not a place for children.

"Maybe you could show the kids some simple experiment", Cael said, containing his laughter at his mother sulking.

"Yeah. Maybe", Abe said, a bit of light shining through his eyes. The gears started working in his brain and he excused himself to go look for some materials.

"I'll call the guys in Mint Studio to arrange to take the kids tomorrow. And go make lunch".

"May I help you?", Cael got up. He has been learning to cook since the chicken and risotto fiasco.

"Sure", Finnian said, a little surprised.

"I'll go see if your mom needs help with the experiment". Nate got up, not wanting to be sitting alone while everyone was doing something.

Abe was in the garage, gathering all sorts of strange and, presumably, random objects.

"Hi, Mr. Scott, do you need any help?"

Abe got his head up from the box he was looking at. He adjusted his glasses and looked at Nate.

"Mr. Scott? Seriously? Just call me mom, or Abe if you don't feel comfortable. Just, please, don't call me Mr. Scott. It sounds so... cold". He laughed.

"Sure, m-mom, do you need any help?"

"I guess another pair of hands would be good". He grabbed all the things he collected and put them on the table. "Have you ever seen one of those chain reaction experiments?"

"I believe I've seen some videos".

"Let's see what we could do in the short time, until this afternoon. I believe the kids are gonna like it".

"Yeah. They will".

***

Lunch time was... eventful. Collin had a little accident with the pasta and threw it all over himself and his brother, and Cael had to give them a bath. Killian cried when his brother tossed food on him, and he got really fussy after. Cael thought that they should take the kids to sleep a little, but Abe convinced him otherwise. He took them to the garage and showed him his masterpiece of random objects. The kids got mesmerized by it. Then, he showed them how to activate it, and the kids loved it and enjoyed it as the pieces moved.

"Did you like it kids?", Abe asked.

"Yeah", they said in unison. "Again".

"It will take a while if we want to see it again, but Nate filmed it", He said, pointing to Nate's phone.

"Can I shee?", Killian asked.

"Sure", Nate showed him the video.

"Cool", the boy smiled.

The kids were enjoying their time with their grandparents, Lydia, Cael and Nate. And those two days went by quickly and joyfully.