Part 5

(Jeff)

I woke up. There was a small ball of warmth lying next to me. I immediately remembered it was Smile's youngest son, Li-Wei or Lili for short. I had to admit that his name suited the child greatly. He was beautiful, even more so than me. He was cute and seemed to be very fragile. But if I've learned anything, it's that every rose has its thorns. I suddenly felt an overwhelming feeling of overprotectiveness and possessiveness of him. I didn't know why I felt this way but I did and I accepted it, knowing that I could never ignore these feelings. I looked at the small child after taking off my sleeping mask. I felt a warmth spread through my chest as I watched his tiny chest rise and fall gently in rhythm to his soft breathing.

I watched him sleep, but not in the way I usually do. I couldn't bring myself to even think of scaring him, though he doesn't seem to be afraid of me. When I looked into his eyes, I saw no fear. I rested my head in my hand, propped up by my elbow that was resting on one of the soft pillows. I gently ran my fingers through Lili's star filled black hair. He snuggled closer as soon as I did this.

His hair touched his ankles. I'll have to find him a ribbon to keep it tied back and out of his face. His white skin matched mine in color. His lips a pale red color. I continued to run my fingers through his feather soft hair when I felt him cuddle up on my chest, closer than he had been earlier. I smiled softly and chuckled. He was awake, he just didn't want to get up yet.

I got up and put on my jeans, tossing my sleeping mask onto the bed. I picked up Lili, who was now rubbing the sleep out of his pretty almond shaped cat like eyes seemed to change color according to his mood and emotions. His thin, tiny arms wrapped around my neck, clinging to my shirt. He nuzzled his face against my chest. I felt oddly happy holding him in my arms as that warm feeling began to spread through my chest once again.

I carried him out of my room and into the kitchen. I saw Slender cooking as I walked in. He turned and seemingly 'smiled' when he saw the sleepy Lili.

"Are you two hungry?" he asked.

"I'm not," I said, "What about you Lili? Are you hungry?"

"Kinda," he mumbled into my shirt before we all heard a loud growling sound, "okay maybe a lot."

"What would you like to eat?" Slender asked chuckling.

"Do you have any raw vegetables and fruits?" Lili asked.

"Yes we do," Slender said, "don't you want meat though?"

"Not unless it is fish or chicken," Lili explains, "I don't like red meats. They make me sick every time I eat it."

"I can coo you come baked red fish," Slender said, "I'll put some fresh vegetables and fruits on the side."

"Thank you," Lili yipped.

"You are quite welcome," Slender said, "your father came over looking for you. He was very worried that something bad had happened to you. You need to apologize to him when he gets back."

"I will Slendyman," Lili said cutely, "I promise."

That earned a chuckled from both Slender and me. I sat down in a chair with Lili on my lap. We watched Slender cook. Lili had gotten bored and was now cuddling against me, snuggling against my chest. He was too cute for his own good.

Slender finished cooking and had just set the plates down in front of Lili when we all heard barking, signaling Smile's return. Slender left the kitchen to open the door and let the large husky in. Smile came in with four large pups following him, all of them looked like Smile except they didn't have manes. Lili hopped off my lap and ran over to his father, hugging him around his neck tightly and burying his face in Smile's furry chest.

"I'm sorry for making you worry Daddy," Lili cried into his chest, "I'm sorry for running off when I knew I shouldn't have. But you seemed so sad so I came here to tell them that you were alright and that you might come to visit them soon. I'm sorry."

"You knew better than to do that Lili," Smile growled softly yet strictly, "You could have gotten hurt or taken or even worse killed. What would I do if that had happened?! Lili you must understand that you are the smallest and most vulnerable. If you were to run into Rake you wouldn't stand a chance. He would have killed you on the spot."

"I'm sorry," Lili whimpered after changing into his little wolfy form. He cowered under Smile's stern glare. His tail tucked between his short legs and his small ears flat against his head.

"You know the consequences for breaking the rules Lili," Smile said, "You will be punished but I will deal with that later. And no hiding or running away. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Lili whimpered," I really am sorry."

"I know Lili," Smile sighed, "And I think it's nice of you to try and cheer me up but don't ever do that again. I was worried sick when I couldn't find you. From now on you are to tell me if you want to go somewhere and where that place is. Understand?"

"Yes Daddy," Lili chirped cutely.

"Smile chuckled and licked the top of his youngest son's head. I felt a little left out and empty inside. A cold feeling took over the warmth that had been there not long ago. That was until Lili came running back over to me, now in his human form, and jumped onto my lap. My smile widened even more as I watched Lili cuddle up on me, the warm feeling returning and dissipating the cold emptiness. I wrapped my arms around him loosely but tight enough to make sure he couldn't escape. I then grabbed Lili by the waist and turned him to face forward so he could start eating.

I watched as Lili ate everything he was given. He must have been really hungry from all that running he did earlier. Once he was done, Slender picked up this plates and Lili turned back into his little wolfy for. To be honest he looked more like a wolf than a husky. He was so small. He leapt down from my lap and ran to his siblings like a bat out of hell, tackling them to the floor by surprise.

They started wrestling so as to not crush their much smaller brother of the litter. I chuckled as Lili suddenly pounced onto Smile's shoulders, pinning the much much larger male onto the ground. Smile chuckled at his youngest son's silliness, allowing the tiny male to climb on him. Lili accidentally pulled on his father's ear a little too hard. Smile growled and suddenly stood up, causing tiny Lili to fall onto the floor and land with a loud thump. Lili whimpered in pain and Smile was by his side instantly, guilt and worry filling his eyes.

Smile nudged his youngest, trying to get him to stand up. Lili tried to get up but as soon as he tried to put pressure on his left front leg he yelped in pain and collapsed onto the floor.

I was up and by him in a second. I scooped Lili into my arms, being careful about his leg. I started petting him, trying to distract him from the pain and calm him down.

"E.J.!" I yelled up to the second floor, "Get your ass down here! We need your help! And bring your medical kit."

We all heard a thump as if someone had fallen out of bed and onto the floor from being startled awake. It didn't take long for us to see E.J. rushing down the stairs in a pain of black cargo shorts and a midnight blue muscle shirt. He was carrying his medical kit. He hadn't bothered to put his mask on in the rush to get downstairs, his face full with worry.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Can you check Lili's leg?" I asked, "I think it might be either broken or fractured."

E.J. nodded and carefully took the injured pup into his arms. He sat on the floor and gently took a grip on Lili's injured leg. Lili whimpered.

"It's alright Lili," I cooed, "He's just checking your leg to find where it hurts the most. He's gonna help you get better. Don't be afraid. I'm right here. I won't go anywhere. I promise."

Lili nodded and let E.J. examine his leg. After gently putting pressure on the entire leg in different places, E.J. moved down towards Lili's paw. When Jack touched the joint that connected Lili's leg and paw, Lili let out a pain filled yelp and whimpered, trembling like a leaf in the wind. He must have been in a lot of pain. I felt something stabbing me in my chest when I heard that yelp. I put a hand on his back to comfort him.

"Well it's definitely broken," Jack said, "the joint connecting his leg and paw is completely shattered. I'm going to have to do surgery on it to make sure it heals correctly. He's going to need and metal plate and screws put into his arm. But I need him to be in his human form so it can be done easier. I'll make sure that the metal I use is shifter friendly. He will be able to walk and run again but he will have a slight limp and it will leave a scar. It would be worth it though."

"Can you do that Lili?" I cooed gently, "Can you change into your human form? For me?"

Lili nodded and slowly changed back into his human form. He started crying because of the pain he was in. I took him into my arms and held him against my chest, rubbing his soft, tiny back to comfort him. He snuggled farther into my chest, being extremely careful with his left wrist.

"It's okay," I whispered soothingly, "I'm not going anywhere you don't want me to."