Johnny Breeze & Me - 22. Daniel Comes Home

I don’t think I have ever slept as well as I had last night. Johnny’s sweet and aggressive lovemaking left me completely at peace. It was pretty early in the morning when I started to wake up slowly. Johnny’s strong arms were around me, and I scooted back towards him to tighten our spoon. Something was just a little off—I couldn’t place it, so I slowly opened one eye. Staring back at me was a smiling beautiful blond boy with his hair going in all directions.

He whispered, “I knew if I just stared hard enough at you long enough, my magic powers would wake you up! Good morning, Daddy! Let’s go get my big brother!”

He kissed me on the lips and asked if he should use his magic powers on his Papa. I looked over at the alarm clock and saw that it was 6:13 a.m. I whispered, “little man—we still have three hours before we go get Daniel. Why don’t you go back to sleep for a little bit more?”

“I’m too excited to sleep, Daddy!”

From behind me, another voice whispered, “I think Cade needs to get his excited little butt back to his nice big room and try to fall asleep again.”

“But Papa!”

“No buts, Cade—if you don’t let your Dad and I get some more sleep, we’ll be grumpy all day and probably take it out on you.”

“Okay, Papa.” A dejected Cade climbed out of our bed and made his way back to his room.

I flipped around and looked at my lover. “I’m too excited to sleep, too! We bring Daniel home in just a few hours!”

Johnny smiled at me with those sexy dimples melting my heart. “I know. Me too, baby. But really, I can’t believe you’re awake after last night!”

“My God, Johnny! You were incredible last night! For a man who never liked to do it before, you have become one amazing top! I will never forget the sight of you above me last night!”

“Yeah, it was an amazing night, and if you ever want a repeat, you’ll put your pretty head on my chest and go back to sleep.”

Of course, I obliged and lay my head on Johnny’s hard pecs. The sound of his heart beating quickly lulled me back to sleep, and in just a couple of hours, the alarm went off. I was still snuggled up to Johnny, and he reached over to turn off the alarm. From outside the bedroom, we heard, “I’m coming in, Dads!”

And there he was, our adorable son carrying a tray with two cups of coffee, a glass of milk, and three toasted bagels. “I made breakfast for us. I wanted us to have a special breakfast since it’s our last time before our family grows!” Cade placed the tray on the bed, climbed up, and joined us for our breakfast.

Johnny took a sip of his coffee and looked up at Cade. “Son, are you sure you’re okay with Daniel joining our family?”

“Heck yeah, Papa! This is just a special day, and I wanted it to start off special.”

“Well, it’s wonderful, little man!” I took another sip of my coffee and then leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “What are you going to wear today? We’ll be doing quite a bit of shopping after we get Daniel. We need to get you some clothes for school, as well. You get to wear a uniform now! “

“I’ll just wear my cargo shorts and a polo shirt.”

“Well, after breakfast, we’ll all get changed. Your Papa and I have to shower, but we’ll make it fast, okay?”

“Daddy, no sex stuff, we don’t have time!” I just shook my head and laughed as, yet again, our son became the sex police for Johnny and me.

Within the hour, we were on our way for one last trip to the children’s hospital. I had picked up some cargos and a polo, fresh underwear, and tennis shoes for Daniel. I don’t know who was the most excited. Cade was talking about all the things he and his new big brother were going to do. Johnny was talking about how cool it will be to go and cheer him on at his swim meets. I was talking about how well his recovery had been going.

By the time Johnny pulled into the hospital's parking lot, we had all calmed down a bit. Cade carried the overnight bag with Daniel’s clothes—and room for everything he had with him—and led the way into the hospital. When we walked in, we were met by Mary, the social worker with Child Protective Services.

“Good morning, gentlemen! Daniel told me you would be arriving about now, and I wanted to meet you and personally thank you for taking him in. He has had a near-miraculous recovery since he found out he would be living with you!”

I walked up to Mary and shook her hand. “What a nice surprise. We didn’t expect to see you today!”

“Well, since he has been here as a ward of the state, I’m here to check Daniel out and complete the necessary paperwork so the state will take care of his hospital bills.”

Johnny stepped forward and shook her hand as well. “I’m guessing that is a lot of paperwork and probably the least favorite part of your job!”

“Honestly, the thing I like least about my job is when I’m not able to place a child in a good home. On the other hand, when I can find a wonderful home for a child, I would be happy to fill out mountains of paperwork to make it happen!”

We were soon on our way to Daniel’s room. When we arrived, I did my now customary knock on the door. We walked in to see a beaming teenager. Cade ran in ahead of Johnny and me. “Hey, little bro! Did you come to spring me out of this joint?”

Cade gave Daniel a light kiss on the lips and said, “You bet! We’re tired of hospitals in this family!” We all exchanged hugs and kisses when Cade reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

“Daniel, my Mama used to write me a letter whenever something big was going to happen. Soooo, I thought I would write you one since this is a big day for you.”

“Wow, should I read it now?”

“Sure!”

Daniel started to read:

Dear Daniel,

My whole life, I had always wished for a big brother. I always thought that was impossible. One day my Dads told me that you were going to come live with us. My dream came true! I’m glad you like having a little brother, too.

Let me tell you something about our Dads. Even though they didn’t even know who you were before, they will love you and take care of you just like you are their own kid. I promise I will love you just like you are my real big brother, too. Even though real sad things brought both of us to our Dads, they will make you feel better real soon.

Welcome to our family, Daniel. You will like it very much.

Love, Cade

Daniel had tears in his eyes. “Cade, that’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever given me!” He gave Cade a huge hug. “Thank you. I’m keeping this letter for the rest of my life!”

Johnny and I were both wiping tears from our eyes as Daniel’s doctor walked into the room. “Hi folks, I hear there’s a young man who wants to get out of here today!” He grabbed Daniel’s chart and flipped through the pages. He scribbled on it and put it back.

“Well, everything looks good here. I’ll have a nurse bring you instructions on Daniel’s follow-up care, and you all can be on your way.” We all thanked the doctor for taking such good care of Daniel and left the room.

Daniel took his change of clothes into the bathroom, and we began packing up his belongings. Daniel came out of the bathroom, looking like a normal teenage boy just as we finished packing his things. He put his pajamas in the bag just as the nurse walked into the room with a wheelchair. “A wheelchair? I can walk!”

“I know Daniel, but those are the rules. You get to ride out of here, and once you’re out the door, you can walk all you want!”

In no time at all, we were all heading out of the hospital one last time! I was in love with the new dynamic of our family. Johnny was pushing the chair, I was carrying Daniel’s bag, and an excited Cade was leading the way. Once we were out the door, Daniel leaped out of the wheelchair and did a little happy dance. “I’m free! I’m free!”

We piled into the SUV and told Daniel we were heading to the mall to do some school shopping. As we headed to the south end of the city, we decided to have lunch first. Daniel chose Olive Garden since he could easily eat pasta. We had a wonderful lunch. It took a little longer since Daniel had to eat slowly, but he was thrilled to eat something other than hospital food.

To save time, we split up at the mall. I took Cade shopping for his new clothes and the uniform he needed for his school. Johnny decided he wanted to take Daniel so he could have some quality time with our boy. About two hours later, we were finished and had one more stop to make. We wanted to get the boys on our Sprint family plan and get them each a new iPhone. Johnny was reluctant to get Cade a phone at first but agreed when I told him that with both of our jobs and the boys going to different schools, I would feel better if they had a way to get in touch with us in an emergency.

We didn’t tell the boys what we had planned to do. Life can never have enough fun surprises. We all met at the food court and then had the boys follow us as we led them to the Sprint Store. We stopped outside the front of the store, and I sat down with the boys on a bench. “Guys, we’re here because we want each of you to have a good cellphone so you can reach us in case of an emergency.”

Cade’s eyes widened almost as much as his smile. Daniel told me he already had a cell phone. “Daniel, your phone is a pay-as-you-go phone. We want you on our family plan. Besides—you have a flip phone. Not cool at all!” Daniel blushed. “So you boys are getting the iPhones. We’ll also get cases in different colors so you can tell whose phone is who’s.”

“Thanks, Daddy! I love you!”

“Thanks, Dad—” Daniel whispered in my ear, “I love you both so much!”

We got the phones and transferred Daniel’s address book over from his old phone. Daniel picked a green case, and Cade, of course, chose purple. We finally headed home. Cade asked if he could give Daniel the tour of the house when we got there. We agreed that would be great.

It wasn’t long before we pulled up in the circular drive. Daniel’s eyes widened, and he let out an audible gasp when he saw his new home for the first time. “This is a joke, right?”

Cade looked at him and said, “No big bro, this is where you live now!”

“Whoa!”

“Boys, the first thing you do is take your new clothes up to your rooms. Take everything out and lay them on your beds. I’ll wash everything before you wear them.” I couldn’t believe I was already starting to sound like my mother!

I opened the front door, and as soon as Daniel walked in, he looked at the great room and out the back to the pool and back patio area. He dropped his bags to the floor and started weeping. Johnny went over to him and held him, rubbing his fingers through his hair. “Shhhh. It’s okay, Daniel. This is your home, too.”

“No—I’m just so happy I started to cry. I think I have to be the luckiest boy. Mama told me in my dreams that everything was going to be alright. Now I know she is right.”

Johnny smiled down at Daniel. “You know, always trust what your Mama tells you in your dreams. I have my Papa and my Grandmother tell me things all the time.”

Daniel looked up at Johnny and smiled as his new Pop kissed him on the forehead.

I grabbed some of Daniel’s bags and led him to his new room. Apparently, JJ and Zach had been there while we were out. There was a massive banner over the bed that said “Welcome Home Daniel!” and they had hung up his posters of Tom Dailey and One Direction. They also placed his medals and trophies around the room.

“Oh wow! This is amazing! This room is twice the size of my old one!” He then saw the 60” flat screen hanging on the wall. “That’s the biggest television I’ve ever seen!” We placed his desk directly underneath the television, so it would be difficult for him to watch it while doing his homework.

I showed him the large walk-in closet and then helped him unpack his bags from the shopping trip and the hospital. He looked over at the nightstand and saw that JJ had framed the picture of his mother we found at the old house. “That’s my favorite picture of Mama. Thank you for getting it for me!”

I was expecting tears and was prepared to do some comforting, but he just looked at it and smiled. Once we finished unpacking, I told him we would hook his computer up to the internet a little later as Cade walked in through the shared bathroom. “Are you ready for the big tour?”

“Sure thing, little bro!”

“Cool! This is your room!”

I decided to let Cade take over the tour duties and went to my office to check in at work. I called my voicemail and checked for messages. One was from Nick Lee’s manager verifying the terms of his contract and telling me that he was sending the signed copies via FedEx. They should be arriving at the theatre this afternoon. Sure enough, two messages later, Margaret told me the contracts had arrived, and she placed the package on my desk.

I checked my email, and there was one from Nick. He was quite excited to be coming to Austin and was looking forward to a change of pace. He was happy to get away for a while. He was glad that his rehearsals were scheduled to begin while his friend Kenny was performing. He couldn’t wait to meet us since Kenny had so much to say about Johnny and me. That brought a smile to my face and a little movement to my cock as I wondered just what Kenny said that had him so excited to meet us!

My phone rang, and it was Zach. He and JJ wanted to take the four of us out to dinner to celebrate Daniel’s arrival. They had made reservations at Vince Young’s Steakhouse downtown for 6:30. I checked my watch, and it was 3:15. I thanked Zach and decided to tell the boys they needed to shower and change for dinner out.

I headed downstairs and out back as the boys were walking out of the pool house. Alex had just arrived to work on the pool. He was skimming the leaves out of the water when I saw it happen. Daniel and Alex looked at each other, and both boys smiled and gasped lightly. I saw it in their eyes. I knew what had just happened. It was just over a year ago when I had that look in my eyes as a certain Johnny Breeze stood in front of me for the first time.