Thicker Than Water - 53. Chapter 53

“Mi pobre bebe,” Diego said, as tears fell down his cheeks, as he softly stroked Caleb's hair. Caleb was asleep and had been since before Diego arrived. His was bruised and swollen, which only broke Diego's heart further. Diego had concerns about Caleb's concussion, but the doctor said he should be fine for the time being. They were just waiting for a CT scan to make sure everything was alright before sending him home.

Nobody at the school would tell Steve anything except there was an altercation between Caleb and several students. Trevor also tried but had no luck. Bryan was beyond furious and refused to leave Caleb's side. Kenny sat next to his boyfriend, holding hands.

A cop had told Diego that Caleb had been in a fight with several boys during recess. The best he could figure out was one of the boys, Christopher Martin, had been harassing Caleb for quite a long time for having a gay father. Somehow, the boys found out that Diego and Steve were engaged, so the boys doubled down on the harassment and bullying. The teacher had reported it several times to the administration but nothing was done beyond giving the boys warnings.

During recess, Christopher had four boys hold Caleb down, while Christopher poured water over Caleb's face trying to “exercise the gay” from him. Several bottles of water were used. Once they finished waterboarding him, Caleb tried to fight back but the five other boys attacked him.

“What the fuck was the playground monitor doing?” Diego demanded.

“We're still reviewing the camera footage, Mr. Padilla, but from the looks of things, she was on her phone the entire time. The incident took place at the far end of the ball field, and her view was partially obscured by the playground equipment. At this point, she's not a person of interest.”

It was about that time that Billy and Charlie arrived. Billy looked just as panicked as Diego felt. He talked to both Diego and the officer, but mostly the officer, while Charlie went into the room to speak with Trevor. Diego was glad that Billy had arrived when he did, because Diego lost his temper when he found out that Christopher Martin wasn't arrested.

“Diego,” Billy said, as calmly as he could, “The kids aren't old enough to be arrested, but I will talk to the District Attorney about criminal charges; however, I wouldn't hold out hope given their ages.” He turned to the cop and said, “Thank you, officer. I'll be in touch.” To Diego, he said, “I'm so sorry. I will cover any expenses your insurance won't.”

“I appreciate it, Billy. I know you have a lot going on with the custody case and...other clients...but what can be done about this?”

“I'll take care of that part. In the meantime, you need to take care of your son. Don't worry about coming into court tomorrow. I already got you excused with Judge Arthur. The rest of Calvin's ex-girlfriends are still pissed off enough to stick around. So, you stay with your son and take care of him. Trevor and I will take Bryan with us, so you and Steve can focus on Caleb. I think Caleb needs his dads, don't you?”

Diego wrapped his arms around Billy and cried. Billy hugged him back and held Diego until Steve came out to see how things were going.

Diego laid on the bed with his son, while Steve sat in a chair nearby. Caleb looked so small to Steve, even smaller than usual. He was furious that nothing was being done about the kids who attacked his little boy, and had to remind himself that Caleb getting better was his priority.

“Did Caleb ever talk to you about being bullied?” Steve asked. He had never heard of it himself, so the whole affair had thrown him for a loop.

“No. I mean, there was some a few years ago, but I never heard anything since. His teachers never said a word about it, and Caleb has a bad habit of keeping things to himself.” Diego kissed Caleb on the forehead and added, “He doesn't want to upset me, even over the smallest things.”

“Why, though? Did you used to yell at him all the time?”

Diego shook his head. “His therapist said that Caleb was worried that if he upset me...I'd abandon him like his birth parents did.” A tear fell down his cheek. “The thought would never cross my mind in a million years. I love him and his brother so much.”

“I know, Baby,” Steve said, as he moved to Diego's side. He took his soon-to-be husband's hand and squeezed it. “Sometimes kids just get things stuck in their heads. It doesn't make since, but it happens.”

“Daddy,” Caleb mumbled.

“We're right here, Mijo,” Diego said, gently stroking Caleb's hair.

“My face hurts,” Caleb groaned.

“I know, Baby. I'll see if a nurse can bring you something.”

“Daddy.”

“Yes, Mijo?”

“I'm sorry I got into a fight.”

A flurry of emotions nearly consumed Diego. He kissed Caleb's forehead once more and said, “I don't care that you got into a fight, Caleb. I only care that you're okay.”

“Am I grounded?”

“Fuck no, you're not grounded! You did nothing wrong.”

“Okay,” Caleb said, casually, “I love you.”

“We love you, Buddy,” Steve said, gently squeezing Caleb's leg.

“Oh, hey, Daddy,” Caleb said, with the slightest of smiles. “When did you get here?”

Diego and Steve gave each other odd looks. “I'll get a nurse,” Steve said and left the room.

“Are you feeling okay, Mijo?” Diego asked.

“No. My face hurts. Am I grounded?”

The conversation remained circular when Steve and a nurse arrived. The nurse looked at Caleb's chart and chuckled. “It looks like they gave him some pain meds earlier, so he's probably reacting to that,” he said. “Some people are just a hair too sensitive. I'll make a note, so we can adjust the next dose or whatever is prescribed. In the meantime, just treat him like he's drunk, and he'll be fine.”

Caleb looked at the nurse and said, “You're not drunk, I am.” The seriousness in his tone made everyone laugh, except Caleb. “I mean, you're not drunk, I am,” he repeated bitterly.

“We know, Mijo,” Diego said, finally crying happy tears and thanked the nurse.

*     *     *

Steve carried Caleb into the house. Caleb was still high from the pain meds, while also having a sprained ankle from the fight. Without even asking, Steve took Caleb to his and Diego's room and put Caleb to bed there. He figured if Bryan needed his dads while dealing with depression, then Caleb needed them to get through his pain and trauma.

“You're a big ol' softy, Mr. Jensen,” Diego said, kissing his soulmate.

“It seemed only fair,” Steve replied. “Besides, it's not like it'll be an every night thing, and Caleb will need to be looked after throughout the night. It just made sense.”

“Of course.” Diego sent Bryan a quick text, letting him know what the latest update was. He also sent Trevor a text, asking him to bring Bryan home instead of school, so he could look after Caleb, while Steve was at work and he was at court. Despite Billy's assurances, Diego didn't trust the judge to not use Caleb's condition against him. Calvin was already looking for every excuse to have an upper hand in the case, so the last thing he needed was to miss another date.

Steve and Diego sat on the couch, holding each other, as they watched the news. Thankfully, there was nothing about the protesters outside of the courthouse nor anything about what happened to Caleb. Diego had been wondering if the two were directly related. It seemed too much of a coincidence for them not to be.

Eventually, the two went to bed. Caleb was still sound asleep as they got in on either side of him. The second Steve settled in, Caleb rolled over and cuddled up to the big man. Steve couldn't help but smile. Diego pulled out his camera and took a pic, making an effort to not capture Caleb's bruises.

“What do you think of having another?” Steve asked.

“Another child?” Diego responded, unable to hide his shock.

“Yeah. We could adopt.”

“I love you, but that's just baby fever talking. Trust me. Once you get over being a new parent, you probably won't want another one. Besides, we're already in our 40s, and unless you're talking about adopting a teenager, we'd be really old by the time a baby was graduating college. At this point, once we jump through all the hoops, Bryan will be old enough to have his own kids. You're just getting used to the idea of being a dad. Have you even given thought to being a grandfather yet?”

Steve hadn't. In fact, he never really thought about his age. Some part of him always acknowledged he was 45, but he just never felt that old. In his own mind, he still saw himself in his early 30s.

“Fuck,” Steve said, gently stroking Caleb's hair. “You're right. It never occurred to me to do the math and everything.”

“I'm not trying to be a buzz-kill, Babe,” Diego said, “but I've had more time with this, and the want for more children will pass. It's just how we're wired as a species. So, take that desire to have another kid and pour it into the two we've got. Even try to make up for 'lost time' if you have to...just don't spoil them too much. The last thing we need are spoiled, moody teenagers.”

Steve chuckled. He made sure he wasn't going to squish Caleb before leaning over and kissing Diego.

“Get a room,” Caleb mumbled, causing his dads to laugh.