Fiona came home, smiling at Sam and Mike as they had paper plates, napkins, and drinks already sitting out. She sat down the pizzas, and they immediately enveloped her in a warm, tight embrace. Sam wrapped his arms around her shoulders, while Mike squeezed her from the side, both of them pulling her into a group hug. Sam planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, and Mike pressed a soft kiss on her cheek.
"Where's Charlie?"
"Cleaning his room, told him if he did we would watch a movie after dinner." Sam said.
Fi rolled her eyes,
"Of course you did, like Michael can't tell him no."
Mike went to protest, but Sam gave him a look. He smiled and shrugged, saying,
"I'll get him." As he made his way to Charlie's room.
He knocked on the door and then opened it. Charlie had cleaned his room, save for a few photograph books he was looking at as he lay on the floor. Glancing at the pictures, Mike saw he was looking at the photo album from his mom's house. Charlie flipped the page, revealing a picture of Nate, Ruth, and a baby Charlie sitting beside his mom. Mike stepped into the room, his voice gentle.
"Hey, Charlie. Dinner's ready. Want to come down and join us?"
Charlie looked up, his eyes reflecting a mix of emotions. Although he didn't remember his own parents, the photos of them brought a vague sense of smiled, understanding the sentiment.
"I know you miss them, even if you don't remember much." Charlie nodded, closing the album and standing up.
He took Mike's hand, and they walked down to the table. As they reached the dining room, the comforting aroma of pizza filled the air.
"Ah, there you two are," Fi said with a warm smile.
As they ate Fi watched Sam and Michael interact throughout dinner. She was surprised they'd manage'd to keep their feelings other than friendship from each other and her. The way that both lit up as they handed slices to the other, she smiled at the way they both were with Charlie talking to him, making him laugh. After dinner was put away, they settled on the couch with Fi and Michael settled on either side of Sam, leaning into him for warmth and comfort. Sam's arm draped around Fi and Michael, creating a protective, affectionate embrace. Their bodies pressed together naturally, forming a cozy, relaxed pile of family and friends. Charlie, snuggled between Sam and Michael, with a smile on his face as they started the movie. Sam smiled watching the three of them as the movie went on, he thought he would never have a family. He wiped his eyes with a hand, hoping no one would notice he kissed each of them on the head. Fi and Michael looked up, both of them kissing him at the same time. Once the movie ended, Sam looked down realizing all three had fallen asleep. He gently ran his hand through Michael's hair,
"Hmm, feels good." He whispered, waking up looking up at Sam.
Sam chuckled quietly.
"Help me get them to bed, my backs killing me."
Michael gently got up,
"Want me to take Charlie?" He whispered.
Sam nodded. Michael got Charlie carried him to bed, gently laying him down and covering him up. He bent down kissing his forehead.
"Night buddy."
Michael returned to the living room, Sam hadn't moved.
Need help?"
Sam sighed and nodded. Michael came over gently picking up Fi, as he did he brushed a kiss to Sam's forehead.
"I'll be back to help after I lay her in bed."
Sam sighed,
"Yeah." He whispered.
Michael carried her to the bedroom, laid her down and pulled the covers over her and pulled back the other side. As he made his way back, he stopped watching Sam, who was asleep on the couch, his back clearly uncomfortable from the way he was slouched. He walked up to him.
"Sam."
Sam stirred awake, blinking groggily as he looked up at Michael. Michael smiled and bent down to kiss him softly, feeling a surge of protectiveness.
"Can you get up? Or am I going to have to carry you?"
"Honestly can't say, help me."
Michael gently took hold of Sam's hands, pulling him up while trying to be mindful of his back. He steadied him as he found his footing.
"You good?"
Sam winced slightly as he took a step but nodded. Michael wrapped an arm around him, offering support as they made their way to the bedroom. Fi was already asleep, her soft breaths filling the room with a sense of calm. Michael helped Sam sit on the edge of the bed and then pulled back the covers. Sam lay down carefully beside Fi, who stirred slightly but remained asleep. Michael watched as Sam gently brushed a strand of hair from Fi's face, a small smile playing on his lips. Michael climbed into bed behind Sam, who turned onto his stomach, trying to find a position that alleviated the pain in his back. Michael placed a gentle hand on Sam's back, feeling the tension in his muscles. He started working on each knot one by one.
"Does that help?" Michael whispered, his voice filled with concern.
Sam sucked in a breath, letting it out slowly. He nodded his head,
"Yea. Don't go." Sam looked at him, moving his head closer to his.
Michael met him forehead to forehead and continued rubbing his back Michael pulled back brushing a kiss on his shoulder.
"You don't have to worry about that. I'm not going anywhere." He said, his voice reassuring, until Sam's breathing leveled out.
Michael smiled gently. With a small, contented sigh, Sam closed his eyes, feeling the comfort of Michael's presence.
"I love you." He whispered, the words barely audible as he drifted into sleep.
Mike didn't say anything, just watched the two people he loved the most in the world sleep before sleep took him under. The next morning Sam woke up, looking to his left Fi had her head laying on his shoulder. He looked to his right and he saw the same with Mike.
"What did you do to deserve this?" He asked himself.
About that time, Charlie came running in, climbing up between his and Mike's legs.
"Daddy!"
And what did he do to deserve to be called that by one, soon to be two people.
"Shh buddy, mom and Mikey are asleep."
About that time, Michael jumped up, wrapped his arms around Charlie, quickly dragging him down between him and Sam. Fi ran her nails over Sam's chest.
"We're awake," Fi whispered, looking up at him.
Sam turned toward her and brushed a kiss to her forehead. Michael tickled Charlie again, making him giggle and try to get away to his mom. He climbed over Sam and settled against Fi. Michael rested his chin over Sam's shoulder, watching them with a smile. Charlie nestled into Fi's side, still giggling.
"Mom, help! Michael's tickling me!" He said, his laughter infectious.
Fi chuckled and held him close.
"You're safe now," she said softly, kissing the top of his head.
Michael grinned, wrapping his arms around Sam.
"Looks like I lost my tickle partner," he said playfully.
Sam smiled, leaning into him. A phone started buzzing on the bedside table, interrupting the tender moment. Fi glanced seeing it was Sam's and saw the social worker's name. Her heart sank as she handed it to him. Sam noticed the number also, this couldn't be good news.
"Hello?" Sam answered, his voice tentative.
"Hi, Sam. It's Nora, the social worker. I'm afraid I have some difficult news. Charlie's friend, Avery, his parents, passed away 2 days ago and he has no one else. Avery just got here to the hospital because his nanny wouldn't take care of him if she wasn't getting paid."
Sam's breath caught in his throat. He glanced at Fi, who was now looking at him with concern.
"Oh no. How is Avery? Is he okay?"
"He's shaken up, as you can imagine. He needs someone familiar right now, and I thought of you. Can you come to the hospital?"
"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can." Sam replied, trying to keep his voice steady.
As he hung up, Fi looked at him, worry etched on her face.
"What happened?"
"Avery's guardians passed away 2 days ago he has no one else. He's at the hospital, and Nora wants me to come get him." Sam explained, his voice wavering.
Fi's expression softened with empathy.
"Poor Avery."
Sam got up, Michael was confused as to why Fi wasn't getting up. Sam looked at Charlie,
"Want to go with, son?"
Charlie nodded, getting up and went to change.
"How are we going to make this work, Sam?" Fi asked, concern evident in her voice.
"Time and patience." Sam replied.
Sam and Charlie left for the hospital. Fi got up and went to Charlie's room, setting up the extra bed they kept for emergencies. As she worked, she heard footsteps behind her.
"Why didn't you go?" Fi turned toward the door and saw Michael standing there.
Fi sighed, pausing her task.
"Someone needed to get things ready here. Avery's going to need a space that feels safe and welcoming. Besides, Charlie might feel better knowing I'm here when they get back. Sam knew him and his parents a lot better. For a while after your mom died… Sam wouldn't do any jobs Jesse and I would try to find one that wasn't high risk and do them while Sam played stay at home dad."
Michael nodded slowly, understanding.
"It's going to be a big change for everyone."
Fi smiled gently.
"We'll make it work. Just like Sam said, with time and patience. And love. Lots of love."
Michael stepped into the room, offering to help. Together, they finished preparing the space, ensuring everything was perfect for Avery's arrival. When Sam and Charlie arrived, they found Nora waiting for them in the lobby. Her expression was somber but she looked relieved to see them.
"Thank you for coming so quickly," she said, leading them to a private room where Avery was sitting with a nurse. The boy looked small and lost, his eyes red from crying.
"Avery!" Charlie exclaimed, running over to his friend and hugging him tightly.
Avery clung to him, fresh tears streaming down his face. Sam knelt in front of them, his heart aching for the little boy. Charlie got up and leaned against Sam.
"Hi, kiddo. We're here now. We're going to take care of you."
Avery nodded, wrapping his arms around Sam's neck. Sam hugged him tightly, before pulling back. He looked back at Nora and she pointed outside,
"Okay kiddos, why don't you two watch tv while I talk to Ms. Nora for a minute then we can do whatever you two want to deal?"
They both nodded, and started watching whatever was on. Sam walked out of the lobby into the hall.
"How is he doing and what happened to Jared and Kristen?"
"Drunk driver, he was at home with the nanny. It was their anniversary so they went out, on the way home a drunk driver hit them head on. Jared was killed instantly and Kristen died in surgery about fifteen minutes before I called you. I told him, and he started crying begging for you and Charlie. I didn't know you knew each other."
"Charlie and Avery met at the park about 3 weeks after Charlie's grandmother and guardian passed away. Every other week we met at the park so the boys could play. And to be honest I thought Jared and Kristen were his biological parents. They never said anything different."
"Jared was, Kristen was in the process of adopting him like you and Fiona with Charlie."
"We are officially his parents now, we found a will written from Charlie's grandmother saying we got custody if something were to happen to her."
"I'm glad, but I thought he had an uncle too?"
"He does… our relationship is… complicated."
Nora saw that look in his eye, when Sam said complicated.
"I completely understand…. I've got two partners at home with 3 year old twins that are half siblings."
Sam felt relief run through his body.
"Would…" She trailed.
"Mikey.. Michael."
"Is Michael interested in adopting both of them also?"
"We've made arrangements for Charlie. If Michael wants to adopt him, all he needs to do is sign the forms. As for Avery, I'm not sure yet. Fi is pregnant."
"Well take them to get ice cream and to the park if you want and go home and talk to Fi and Michael and I'll stop by in the morning to discuss everything again."
"As long as there are no surprises with other family."
"I personally looked for any of Jared's family for two days, he was the only child, no uncles or aunts. Mom also only child and grandparents on her side are also dead."
Sam nodded, and looked toward the boys. They left the hospital, as they got to the park and the boys went to sit by the basketball court Sam called Fi and Mike.
"How is he, Sam?" Fi whispered.
"Quiet but he's talking to us. There's no one else, Nora wants us to talk and she will come tomorrow if we decide to do this and sign papers."
"Okay, we will have to talk to Michael."
"Where's Mikey?"
"With Jesse, he needed help on a job."
"I told her about Maddie's will."
"I meant to call and tell her, but forgot with everything going on."
"She also mentioned Mike adopting him too."
"How did she know about the three of us?"
"She asked about Charlie's uncle, and I told her he came back and we have Charlie's adoption set up the way it is. And I guess the way I said our relationship with Mikey is complicated… Well she's in a similar relationship so she understood. I told her about the baby too."
"Did you tell her about our sex life too?" She said, smirking.
Sam chuckled.
"No, I left that part out. We focused on what was relevant. She's just trying to understand our family dynamic to make sure we can provide the best environment for Avery."
"I know. I trust you, Sam. It's just...a lot to take in."
"I know, we will be home in about an hour. Love you."
"I love you too."