Pt 20

Finally, they were home.

Albeit, it was with more medications than before and the knowledge that Spencer was going to need more help than ever while he relearned everything all over again, but for Dave and Aaron, the relief to have their family under one roof again outweighed anything else.

Having gotten Spencer settled on the couch again, Dave turned towards to his oldest daughter as she walked into the room eating a sandwich.

"Can you keep an eye on your brother for a minute?" he asked.

"Yeah, course," Emily said thickly through a mouthful of food. Dave chuckled; where she put all the food she ate, he would never know. Hollow legs, possibly.

Leaving the lounge room, he entered the kitchen, where Aaron was starting dinner.

Walking into SPENCER's room with his evening doses ready to go, Dave found his son lying half awake in his bed. His feed pump was whirring away quietly beside his. Even in his exhausted state, the moment Dave reached for his central line, SPENCER made to push his away.

"I need to give you your medicine, Spence," Dave said gently. SPENCER shook his head, pulling the blankets up higher towards his chin and avoiding his father's gaze.

"Do you want to get better?" Dave asked. Extended silence followed, with SPENCER not making any move to answer the question.

Setting the cup holding the prepared syringes down on the bedside table, Dave reached out and placed a soft hand against his son's cheek. He was relieved to find that SPENCER didn't feel warm; his behaviour was similar to whenever he was running a fever, but Dave knew that the recent trauma meant his behavioural signs had probably altered.

"I'm sorry," SPENCER whispered, his cheeks burning red against ashen skin as he fixed his gaze on a spot across the room.

"For what?" Dave asked.

"I had an accident," SPENCER admitted, his voice barely above a whisper as he struggled to push the covers down.

Taking the upper hem of the blankets, Dave pulled them down to find that SPENCER's pyjama bottoms and the sheet below his were soaked through. His heart broke for his son. Here he was, five years old, losing control of his body because of the disease wreaking havoc in his little brain. It made Dave loathe the cancer even more; he couldn't fathom the embarrassment SPENCER was feeling.

"It's alright. I'll give you your meds and then we'll change your sheets," Dave said lightly, stripping the covers all the way off. He made quick work of the meds, before helping SPENCER change into fresh clothes and helping his into the window seat.

Once the bed was remade with fresh sheets from the chair in the corner, Dave joined SPENCER in the window, wrapping his arms around his son and holding his against his chest as they sat looking out at the fading evening light.

"We're going to get you through this," he whispered, kissing the top of SPENCER's head. "No matter what happens... your health and your happiness is still one of our number one priorities"

Saying nothing, SPENCER turned, cuddling into his mother's arms, yet still avoiding his gaze.