The room remained silent, but the silence was accompanied by a hand slipping into his and squeezing ever so slightly.When Cailen looked over to his hand, he recognized William's long fingers and looked up to meet his emerald green eyes, slightly shining but mostly just happy."It's okay," William said quietly, smiling at him through shiny eyes. "We love you no matter what," he repeated Noah's words and he could tell he meant every one of them.Cailen made a noise at that- a noise that was partly a laugh and partly a sob as William pulled him into a hug. He really couldn't stop the tears that were soaked up by William's shirt and he thinks that he is not allowed to cry for at least a year after this.He just felt so relieved and happy that it was finally out there and he didn't have to worry about losing anyone.Soon, he felt another body press against his side and two more arms wrap a

 7 Years LaterAsher : Hurry home ;)Cailen smiled down at his phone before slipping it into the pocket of his winter jacket.He was just getting off his shift at the hospital, having spent the day wrapping up sprained ankles and tending to sore backs from slipping on the icy sidewalks.He was looking forward to going home and spending the night wrapped up in a blanket by the fire with Asher to snuggle up to. Of course it'll be a fake fire, one of those gas powered heater ones with the fake flames because they lived in a flat and not a house but it'll be just as nice.Even though they had moved into the flat several years ago, Cailen still found himself smiling at the thought of it being their flat once in a while. He just couldn't believe this was how his life had turned out.He remembers when he thought he'd be living his life alone and miserable with a not-so-d

 The orphanage was not as Cailen remembered.The outside still looked tall and intimidating, at least to Cailen, but the inside had changed completely.Where there used to be dull beige walls, there were light blue walls, decorated in the children's paintings.There were also large photo displays along the main hall that lead down to the playroom and then the bedrooms.In the displays, there were photos of many different children, all with bright smiling faces, some playing in what he recognized as the playroom, some playing outside on the structure he remembered well, and some sat down to eat the food the orphanage made.The inside no longer looked rundown. It looked like a nice place, a happy place, but he knew better.He knew all too well that the smiles on those kids' faces were only a glimpse of brief moments.He knew that not even half an hour later of these picture being taken, those kids probably di

 A few weeks later…"Again, really?" Cailen asked as he walked into the office of Ezekiel's school.The halls had been empty, all the children still in their classes…All the children except for his.His child was sitting in a hard looking metal chair that didn't let his short legs reach the ground, his hands folded in his lap, his head hung as he waited patiently for someone to address him.When Cailen entered the office, asking his question without a greeting, his head shot up, his brown eyes wide and scared for a brief moment before concealing themselves into a relaxed sort of resolve.It was very brief, and had it not been for Cailen's own childhood, he may have missed it but Cailen knew this game well and it didn't fool him for a second."Mr. Hale," came a voice, pulling his attention from his little boy to a rather plump looking man in a dress shirt&n

 While waiting for Asher to get home from work, Cailen busied himself with cleaning up the kitchen, putting away the dishes Asher had washed and left out to dry this morning, sweeping the floor, and other mindless tasks that kept him busy while trying not to think too hard about why he had been the one to go and get Ezekiel and not Asher.Usually they would call Asher first and if Asher couldn't, then they called Cailen.He tried not to think about why they had to call him, about why Asher couldn't go and get Ezekiel because that usually ended with an anxiety attack of some sort and worrying to no end until Asher walked through the door, safe and uninjured.Thankfully it wasn't too long before he heard the jiggling of the doorknob and the sound of the door opening and closing, followed by a series