Guys, this story is shaping up to 19 chapters, and I'm currently working on Chapter 19! I'm almost done! : D
Disclaimer: I only own Gracie and Devin, nothing elseā¦
"Eww, Gazzy!" Nudge shrieked, holding her nose. The Gasman cackled and high-fived Iggy. I groaned as I dumped my bowl and silverware in the sink, then picked up another plate, loaded with food.
"I'm going to give this to Devin," I told Fang.
Devin was carrying out his punishment for the incident earlier that day, which meant he was to stay in his room until he was ready to apologize to Gracie. It was ironic I was teaching my kids manners like saying "I'm sorry," which was something I almost never did. But I'd decided I was going to raise them as normal as possible, so I was going back to the basics.
Already, though, Fang had stopped me from going to check on Devin three times. I just wanted to be sure he was still there, that the whitecoats hadn't come and stolen him away while nobody was watching him. But every time I headed in that direction, Fang grabbed my arm and said, "Max. If you don't trust him, he won't trust you."
So I'd waited until after dinner. My stomach fluttered as Fang and I walked down the hallway. What if Devin had been taken? What if he had pried open the window and escaped?
"Would you calm down?" Fang muttered as we stood outside the twins' room. "I'm sure he's fine."
"Only one way to find out," I sighed, and pushed the door open.
Inside, Devin was sitting on the bed, and relief washed over me. When he saw me and Fang, he immediately pouted and crossed her arms over his chest. I crossed the room silently and placed the plate beside him on the bed. "Hungry?"
He hesitantly picked up one of the biscuits and chewed slowly. Over his head, Fang and I locked eyes, nodded slightly, then lowered ourselves to sit on either side of Devin as he continued to eat.
"Listen, Devin," I said, trying to be gentle but firm. That was what toddlers responded to, right? "We understand that you thought Gracie was trying to hurt you. "Most of the time, we'll allow you to defend yourself if somebody tries to do that. Okay?"
I waited for acknowledgement before I went on. Devin wasn't giving it to me, but I stayed strong, holding his gaze for a long time. Finally, he nodded slowly, and I kept going. "However, there are people who would never hurt you, so you never hurt them. These are the people you can trust. Those people are Gracie, me, Daddy, Angel, Nudge, Gazzy, Iggy, Grandma and Aunt Ella. Never hit one of them. Got it?"
Reaching for a fish stick, Devin appeared to be mulling over what I had said. Fang and I met eyes over his head and barely nodded, then watched him. I really hoped he said he got it, because I didn't know where to go from here if he didn't.
"Okay," he finally said, and I breathed out heavily. Part one down. Get part two done, and I was home free.
"You need to apologize to Gracie," Fang said, surprising me. I thought he was there to go through the motions, just so the kids would get used to seeing us as Mommy and Daddy. It had never really occurred to me that he'd take any action. "Are you ready to do that after you eat?"
Devin didn't even hesitate this time, nodding as he stuffed another fish stick in his mouth.
"Good," Fang said, standing up. I quickly followed. "When you're done eating there, come on downstairs and say sorry to Gracie. Okay?"
"Okay, Daddy," said Devin, nonchalantly continuing with his meal. Fang and I hadn't missed the big word, though: Daddy. It was the first time it had come out of Devin's mouth, even though he'd trusted Fang almost since the very beginning.
Fang's eyes were sparkling.
We left our son to his dinner and went out into the hallway. As I eased the door shut behind us, our eyes met, and they stayed that way when we were alone in the hallway, no sound but the flock's laughter from the kitchen.
"You handled that well," Fang said, the corner of his mouth quirking up.
"Thanks," I said, smiling back. "So did you."
"We just punished our kid for the first time," he said quietly. My heart leapt at that word our. It seemed that it was applying to us more and more, and I was finding that I sort of liked it.
"Yeah. How does that feel?" I asked, taking a step closer.
Fang shrugged, and a full-fledged grin broke across his face. "He called me Daddy."
Alright, sorry it's short-ish, but the next chapter's the longest one yet!
Reviews are ALWAYS appreciated!
