Too Young to Wander

With Braeden and Jocelyn now attending college, things change in a way for Ethan that he didn't expect. Too often he, Gabrielle, and their cousins turned to the two of them, but now he was the one being turned to. Since they'd all gone to school together for so long, his friends didn't give a second look seeing him or his siblings with their cousins. Yet one day Ethan got the shock of his life when he was sitting outside between classes and one of his friends tugged on his arm. "What is it?" Ethan asked as he turned towards Gwen. By this moment Gwen was already getting up and Ethan shot up the instant his saw Juliette walking towards him.

The fact that the youngest of member of the family was blocks away from where she should've been in her kindergarten class scared Ethan who was soon kneeling before her. When she looked up at him, her brown eyes all red from crying, so he opened his arms to her and she immediately went to him. As his friends looked on, Ethan did what he could to calm her as she'd begun crying once again. "Shhhhsh, I've got you." Ethan said softly to her as he picked her up as he knew he needed to calm her before he'd find out what was going on. Gwen was quick to go into her bag and pull out a tissue as Juliette was sniffling. All of them couldn't believe she'd made it to Ethan and no one stopped her. "What's wrong Juliette?" Ethan asked once she started to calm down.

Yet the only response he got was quite broken, but with the help of Gwen they realized that some boy had been teasing her badly and the teacher had done nothing to stop it. Having watched Juliette more than a few times, Ethan knew that when she gets upset she tends to run and hide. "Your Uncles are going to be livid." Gwen said quietly as she carefully pulled Juliette's hair back.

"My Uncles, my parents….hell, I'm pissed!"

"Can I…stay with you Ethan?" Juliette asked while sniffling as she rested her head on her cousin's shoulder, holding him tight. "Don't…wanna…go back. He…mean."

"Yea, you can stay with me." Ethan told her; still amazed that she was able to find him.

"Do you want me to call your Uncles?" Gwen asked as one of their friends handed them some water for Juliette. "My Uncle even, since he's her Godfather incase Sebastian is in court or Blaine is with a patient."

"Guys, her teacher is done for since the school hasn't been shut down yet." Kyle said to them. "They haven't realized she's missing."

"My Uncles are going to go ballistic! Seriously, they're going to be looking at a lawsuit that the school has never seen." Just as the words were leaving Ethan's mouth, the bell rang so they were all about to head inside.

"Where…we going?" Juliette asked as he headed up the steps with her still in his arms as his friends gathered his things.

"Inside, as…" Before he could finish speaking one of his teachers came walking out and was surprised by what he was seeing.

"Care to explain what's going on Mr. Anderson?"

"Why don't you ask the kindergarten teacher if she's missing anyone?"

"Mr. Anderson."

"Sir, this is my cousin who attends school here as well." Ethan stated.

"The kindergarteners are blocks away."

"Trust me, I know!" Ethan blurted out. "Now if you don't mind, I need to call my Uncles so they know their daughter is safe." Ethan was still speaking when an alarm went off inside the building. "I guess they finally noticed she was gone."

"Come with me Mr. Anderson." Ethan looked over at Gwen and the rest of their friends who carefully handed him his things while he shifted Juliette to one side.

"Call me later." Gwen stated and Ethan nodded before following the teacher to the office as security appeared at the doorways.

Once they made their way into the office, Ethan's thoughts were confirmed as they'd finally noticed Juliette was missing. "We can take her back Mr. Anderson." One of the deans said to him.

"Not going to happen." Ethan told him. "You think after what happened I'm going to hand her back to you without permission from my Uncles, you're crazy."

"Mr. Anderson."

"Not happening!"

"And what do you believe is going to happen."

"I'm signing out and taking Juliette home where I have no doubt her Dads will promptly be joining us." While he spoke, the other dean was on the phone with the elementary building letting them know they had Juliette. Needless to say, they were relieved but they knew this wasn't going to end well. Even at his age, Sebastian had already developed quite the reputation as a lawyer one didn't want to mess with. So for one of his children to go missing and no one notice, it wasn't going to be pretty. "Would you please have someone gather her things so I can get them before going home?"

"We can't let you take her Ethan."

"Call my Uncles back as I'm sure they were called the instant she went missing." Ethan said in response. "Trust me; they'll let me bring her home. Actually, I'm certain they'll want her brought home!" During this conversation, the dean of the primary school came rushing into the office.

"How did she get here?" She asked as she looked at Juliette.

"She walked." Ethan stated. "She's made the walk enough with her siblings, that she must've remembered where to find me and Gabrielle. Is that how you knew Juliette?" He asked as he turned his head towards her and she nodded. "Luckily, I was out front with my friends between classes."

"Are you ready to go back to class Juliette?"

"No!" She practically shouted before curling in more on Ethan.

"She needs to go back to class."

"Why don't you let her Dads decide that?" Ethan replied. "Have you even called them back?"

"They know that she's been found." The dean told him and Ethan wasn't pleased with the answer so he took his own phone out to call his Uncles. "What are you doing Mr. Anderson?"

"Calling my Uncle Blaine to let him know I'm bringing their daughter home!" Not surprisingly, when he called Blaine's office, his receptionist informed him that Blaine was already on his way to the school so he should call his cell. From that call, Ethan did just that and Blaine had no issue with him bringing Juliette home, he preferred it actually. So Ethan handed his phone off to the dean for Blaine to give his permission. With that taken care of, Ethan was about to sign himself out when his own dean stopped him. "What?"

"Make sure you call your parents Mr. Anderson."

"I will." After Ethan responded he signed himself out and then looked at Juliette. "I'm taking you home." He was about to turn, when he looked back at the deans. "You might want call the school's lawyers as my Uncle Sebastian isn't someone to mess with."

"Are you implying he's going to be more upset than your Uncle Blaine?"

"No, but my Uncle Blaine is a psychologist…my Uncle Sebastian, is a lawyer. So, you tell me who you believe is going to be more level headed about all this of the two of them." Ethan stated with a smirk that was so very Sebastian. "We'll be going now."

The two had probably been gone for twenty minutes when Sebastian came storming into the school's office. After being greeted, it wasn't long till his temper rose to the surface once again. "Someone please tell me how the hell a five year old goes missing and no one notices?" He demanded as he slammed his hand on the desk.

"We're so sorry Mr. Anderson-Smythe; security is speaking with Juliette's teacher to find out how this happened."

"Do you realize how long she was gone? Do you?" Sebastian began with the questions. "With as little as she is, it took her at least ten minutes to walk to the other building. Let's not even get into how long she was with her cousin before she'd been reported missing! How school security didn't even notice a little girl walk out of the building unsupervised or outside alone when they're supposed to be patrolling the perimeter?"

"You…you know she was with your nephew?"

"Yes, my husband told me after speaking with Ethan as you failed to inform us that's where you found her." Sebastian replied. "I'm looking forward to getting the complete story from him once I get home." Sebastian stated. "Now, I'd like to know what you plan on doing."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean, is I want to know how the teacher is going to be punished before my husband and I consider legal action. Not to mention, how you plan on seeing to it that nothing of this nature happens again?"

Coinciding with this conversation, Blaine was making his way into their home and to his little girl who was sitting on the couch watching cartoons with her cousin. "Daddy!" Juliette exclaimed as she got up onto her feet and extended her arms for Blaine to pick her up. The moment she was in his arms, Blaine kissed her over and over again as she attempted to wrap her little legs around him.

"Are you alright angel?"

"Better…now." She said softly as Blaine held her even closer.

"Thank you." Blaine said to Ethan who was sitting on the couch. "I…I…can't…"

"It's okay Uncle Blaine."

"No, it's not." Blaine said as he tried to hold back his tears. "If you weren't outside, lord knows what might've happened to her. Why'd you leave class Juliette?" Blaine asked her as he got settled on the couch. "I thought you were enjoying kindergarten." With his question, she began to curl up more in his lap. "Juliette, what happened?"

"A boy...was being…mean." Juliette told him as she begun sniffling again. "Calling me…names…and…pulling…my hair." It was in that moment; Blaine noticed her hair wasn't done the same way it was when she left that morning. "Told…teacher…he…didn't…stop." The more she spoke; it wasn't long till she was crying again. Once she did, Ethan reached over for her bunny for her to hold once again which calmed her down after they got home.

"Is this what she told you?" Blaine asked Ethan as he began to rock back and forth on the couch to soothe her.

"It's the same thing Gwen and I got when I asked, though it was hard at first because of how badly she was crying." The instant Blaine heard Gwen's name, he shook his head. With Gwen being there with him, he knew her parents as well as Thad were going to find out.

"Do you know how her hair got like this?"

"Gwen pulled it back as it was a bit of a mess when she got to me." Ethan then gazed down. "I'm sorry I didn't call you right away Uncle Blaine, I should've."

"While I wish you had, you had your hands full with her." Blaine then pressed a kiss to the top of her head as she'd stopped crying. "Please tell me Lexi knows you're here."

"Mom knows. I called her on our way here. She asked me to tell you, if you want her to keep Ainsley and Devon a little longer tonight, it wouldn't be a problem." Ethan told him. "She assumes you and Uncle Bas will have a lot to talk about."

"You told her what happened?"

"I did, and she's livid. She's just thankful that she made it to me."

"Trust me, the moment I got the call that she was missing, every worst case scenario played out in my head." Blaine told him. "I didn't even get a chance to call Bas as he already was calling me as I'd started to panic." Blaine then adjusted Juliette on his lap. "You should probably get heading home as once Bas gets home he and I are going to have a little talk with this one."

"Alright, do you want Mom to keep Ainsley and Devon longer?"

"Let me talk it over with Bas. Tell her we'll give her a call." Ethan nodded as he got up off the couch. "Thank you again Ethan."

"You don't have to thank me Uncle Blaine, I'm just happy I was outside."

"Me too, me too."

Ethan had probably been gone for thirty minutes when Sebastian finally made his way home. "Blaine!" He called out as he headed down the hallway and soon sighed in relief upon laying eyes on a set of curls. Sebastian was about to call out again, when Blaine turned his head and raised a finger to his lips. When Sebastian rounded the corner, he saw Juliette asleep in Blaine's lap. "How is she?" Sebastian asked as he sat down beside them before caressing Juliette's cheek.

"Exhausted." Blaine replied before Sebastian kissed him. "I can't recall a time recently when she's cried so much. That's not even factoring in what happened while she was with Ethan. Did you find out what happened?"

"Besides the fact that the teacher is a freaking idiot!" Sebastian stated rather firmly, yet quietly so as not to wake her. "She wasn't even the one that noticed Juliette was gone, one of her friends did. Also, the little boy that was being mean to her was transferred in from another class as he was quite the little terror in there as well."

"Juliette said she told the teacher what was happening and she didn't do anything to stop him."

"Oh, he was supposedly told to leave her alone as what he was doing wasn't nice." Sebastian then tilted his head. "Why isn't her hair braided anymore B?"

"That little terror as you put it pulled it out." Blaine said in response. "Gwen pulled her hair back while Ethan was trying to calm her down as her hair was all over according to him."

"And here I thought I couldn't get angrier." Sebastian told him. "The school was essentially pleading their case to me after I called them out on all the miscues that occurred. They have no idea how something like this could've happen, and they're launching an investigation into the matter."

"That's not enough Bas, I…" Sebastian proceeded to slip his arm around them both as Blaine's voice cracked. "We trust them to look after our kids, and this happened. Do you realize what could've happened to her during that walk?"

"Unfortunately, I do as every scenario played out in my head on my way there." Blaine then rested his head on Sebastian's shoulder.

"You do realize we need to have a talk with Juliette as well. She can't run off like she did Bas."

"I know."

"Also, Lexi told Ethan she'd keep Ainsley and Devon a bit longer if we want. But I think we need them here after school so we can talk with all three of them. I don't know if I could handle getting another call of this nature Bas."

"You're not the only one B; you're not the only one."

After they sat there quietly for a while, Sebastian called his sister to ask her if she'd drop Ainsley and Devon off at home once they were done. Not surprisingly, Lexi didn't have the slightest problem with the request. When she arrived at the school, there was a noticeable difference of visible security out front. She also took notice of the fact that a teacher was escorting Ainsley and Devon from the building. "Aunt Lexi, what's going on?" Ainsley asked as she looked up at her.

"What do you mean Ainsley?"

"Where is Juliette? She wasn't in her classroom when I went to get her like I do every day."

"She's at home with your Dad and Papa."

"Why are Dad and Papa home?" Devon asked as he looked at his Aunt.

"Is she sick?" Ainsley asked in addition.

"I think its best that your Dad and Papa tell you what's going on." Just as Lexi finished speaking, Gabrielle came walking up to them. And being every bit her Dad at times, Gabrielle spoke what was on her mind without taking in her surroundings completely.

"Mom, is it true that Juliette was the one missing?"

"Wait…that was Juliette?" Ainsley questioned as she looked between her Aunt and cousin. "Aunt Lexi!" Lexi sighed rather loudly before nodding her head. "What happened?"

"I don't know the whole story, that's up to your Dad and Papa to tell you." Lexi said as she took Devon's hand.

"Does this mean we're going home and not to your house?" Devon asked as they headed towards the subway.

"Yes." They were about to head down the steps when Gwen came running up to them as she'd been calling out since she spotted Lexi. "Something I can do for you Gwen?"

"I wanted to know if you knew how Juliette is, I haven't stopped thinking about her since she came looking for Ethan."

"She's with her Dads, so that's a start. Once I see her, I'll let Ethan know as he's worried about her too and I'll have him call you."

"Thanks!" After she spoke, Gwen headed back to her friends and Ainsley looked up at her Aunt. All Lexi could do at that moment was give a half-hearted smile as this was a time she was really at a loss for words.

When they finally arrived at the Anderson-Smythe home, Gabrielle took notice of her Uncles posture near the windows as they spoke with one another. Considering that they didn't know what they were going to be walking into, Lexi had asked them all to be quiet coming in. Once they reached the end of the hall Lexi spoke up and Blaine and Sebastian looked over towards them and smiled albeit faintly. "Ainsley, Devon, go put your things in your room then come back out here." Sebastian said rather quietly and Lexi could tell from his voice how hard this had been on them both. Gabrielle followed Ainsley to her room without being asked knowing her Mom would want to speak with her Uncles. "Thank you for bringing them home."

"Don't mention it." Lexi replied before giving them each a big hug. "How's Juliette?"

"Better, but it's pretty clear this is going to stop any progress she'd been making about not being so shy." Blaine told her. "Once we got the whole story from her, it took everything we had not to go back to the school."

"But we have an appointment for tomorrow morning." Sebastian added. "I really wish Ainsley and Devon's kindergarten teacher didn't retire."

"She was pretty incredible." Lexi said to them. "She taught all four of my kids. How did she not know Juliette was gone?"

"We've asked ourselves that question over and over again."

"Where is Juliette?"

"Playing in her room." Blaine replied. "But, we'll be getting her soon as we're going to sit all three of them down. We already spoke with Juliette that she can't run off like that, but we feel we need to speak with all of them again."

"It had to be bad if she ran off like that."

"Remember that pretty braid she had this morning, that you teased me about doing?" Sebastian said to Lexi causing her to nod. "The little terror pulled it out!" When Sebastian's voice rose again, Blaine began rubbing his back as the last thing either needed in that moment was losing their tempers with the kids at home. Though, he knew they were both going to have to blow off steam at some point.

"Also, if either set of Grandparents call you tonight, don't say anything as we haven't called them." Blaine told her.

"I won't say a word. Know if there is anything Cooper or I can do, just ask."

"We appreciate that." Sebastian then slid his arm around Blaine. "You should probably get going, as I'm sure you have things to do."

"Sebastian, we're family, you guys come before anything else." The fact that she called him by his full name, had Sebastian reach out and take her hand. "I meant it; you know there isn't anything we wouldn't do for you, all of you."

"We know." Sebastian told her. "Right now though, this is something we need to deal with ourselves." He then turned his head and placed a kiss on top of Blaine's head. "But should we need you, we'll call." Lexi nodded before giving them each a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for bringing them home."

"You're welcome."

After saying her good-bye to them, Lexi was about to get Gabrielle but just then she rounded the corner with Ainsley and Devon. Lexi then knelt down and gave them each a hug and a kiss before heading home with Gabrielle. While Blaine asked them both to take a seat on the couch, Sebastian went to go and get Juliette from her room. "What happened today Dad?" Ainsley asked once they were seated as they waited for Sebastian to return with Juliette.

"A little boy in your sister's class picked on her so badly; that she felt running was the only way for it to stop."

"Where'd she run to?" Devon asked as Sebastian came walking into the room, carrying Juliette.

"To Ethan." Blaine replied before looking at Sebastian who was setting Juliette down on the couch next to Ainsley. "She felt her big cousin could make the boy stop."

"Why didn't the teacher stop him?" Ainsley asked.

"That's what we'd like to know." Sebastian told her. "There are plenty of questions Dad and I still need answered."

"And while we understand why Juliette did what she did, we told her that it can't happen again." Blaine said to them. "She should've gone to her teacher again when it didn't stop. Running off like that created a lot of problems, plus scared Papa and me to death."

"I'm sorry Daddy." Juliette said as she clutched her bunny tightly.

"We know angel. This is one of the reasons why we tell you all that you always need to stay where you're told. So, when you're in school…"

"We stay at school." Devon said as he looked at his Dad.

"Exactly. Preferably, in your classroom since technically Juliette was, at school since she was still on the grounds."

"Or with Aunt Lexi is she's watching us." Ainsley added.

"Yes. Or whomever is watching you if it's not Dad or me." Sebastian told them. "It's why we don't want you running off alone."

"Cause someone could take us." Juliette said.

"Precisely." Sebastian said as Blaine nodded. "You three mean the world to not only your Dad and me, but to so many people. And the thought of someone taking you from us, is more than we can bear to even think of."

"Is Juliette going back to school tomorrow?" Ainsley asked her Dads.

"Yes, she's going back to school tomorrow." Blaine told her. "We hope you all know there isn't anything you can't tell Papa and me."

"We know." Devon replied.

"That's good, but we figured a little reminder now and then isn't a bad thing." Sebastian added. "Now, since you're usually with your Aunt right now, what would you be doing?"

"Homework." Ainsley muttered. "Or practicing piano."

"Well, even though Dad and I are home, those things still need to happen." When Ainsley and Devon both sighed, Sebastian couldn't help but smile a bit. "But, the sooner you get done…maybe, just maybe we'll all do something." With those words, Blaine cocked an eyebrow at his husband. "So, go get your stuff." Ainsley and Devon were quick to go and get their bags to get to work as Juliette sat quietly on the couch. "The same goes for you young lady." When Blaine chuckled, Sebastian tilted his head. "What?"

"Her bag is next to you." Blaine replied.

"Oh. Do you need help?" Sebastian asked and Juliette nodded. "Okay, let me go change out of my suit and I'll help you, would you like that?"

"Yes Papa." Sebastian then proceeded to get up, as did Blaine.

"What do you want to do since you told them we'd do something?"

"How about we make pizza, as they love when we do that from scratch?"

"Not a problem just let me see if we have everything, otherwise I'll run out while you're on homework duty." Blaine then stretched to kiss Sebastian on the cheek which made Juliette giggle. "Make sure you call the office though so they know you'll be in late in the morning."

"Same for you." Sebastian then kissed him in return. "And then later tonight, we can talk about this more. Right now, I want to keep the focus on the kids."

"You won't get an argument from me. Now go change."

"Wish you can join me."

"Later." With that said, Sebastian headed off to change and Blaine got Juliette to let go of her bunny long enough to get her things out of her bag. So when Sebastian returned in jeans and a t-shirt, all of the kids were in the living room working. Once Sebastian got settled, Blaine headed for the kitchen to see if they had what they needed. Yet the moment he rounded the corner, he leaned against the wall and ran his fingers through his hair. With as quickly as everything had happened, he'd yet to have time to truly come to terms with what had happened and was pretty certain Sebastian hadn't either. Though having all three of them, and Sebastian in the next room, helped ease his heart as he never wanted to feel this way again.