Carolina Wren

A Report #4

Sean hadn't wanted to leave Wren at all. Keegan was calm for the time being, but Dylan wasn't wanting to do his writing homework, so he was fighting her over it and Juni had been crying. He felt like if someone told him he'd have to stay at home alone with that madness, on top of a sick toddler, he'd probably be crying right along with her. Meanwhile, Wren was standing in the middle of the kitchen like some sort of goddess, seamlessly beginning dinner prep while gently but firmly directing Dylan through his stubbornness and reaching out to take the fussing baby from Sean's arms.

He wanted to be in the middle of it. He wanted to help shoulder the burden he could see she was carrying, no matter how well she balanced it. She shouldn't be handling it all on her own. Wren was sixteen, she shouldn't be so used to juggling meltdowns, fussy babies, and homework that it didn't even phase her anymore. It should terrify him, but all he wanted was to be in the middle of all of it. Owen always accused him of jumping in feet first, but he liked to think that he just knew what he wanted. What he wanted was to be what Wren needed. What those three little souls needed.

The faster he and his brothers hashed this out and cleared the air, the faster he could get back to Wren.

The short trip to Nate's was made shorter by having to drive the suburban back to park in his garage. The car seats in the back only taunted him--had they taken them to the park? The aquarium? Besides the hurt from the secret they had kept and the anger at what could have happened if Wren hadn't trusted them enough to be honest instead of just sneaking out of school, he was envious.

His brothers had been able to meet Keegan and Juni when they were well. Happy. Their introduction hadn't been through the haze of fever or while a stranger poked and prodded at them. Keegan wouldn't have memories of them forcing medicine down his throat while he shrieked against the indignity of it all.

They got to have that sort of friendship with Wren that allowed them to outfit a car with car seats. They got to form a bond with her that allowed them to form a bond with her siblings outside of their health needs.

Sean wanted it and he could only hope that now that all of them knew, after this meeting was over, he'd be able to start the process of building that sort of friendship with Wren. Eventually, maybe even more. Maybe even with all of them by his side.

The tense air was obvious the moment he stepped through the door into the laundry room. He could feel Owen's anger, the boys' guilt and nervousness. Their concern for Wren and the babies. It was that concern that softened him. Their actions may have been misguided, but at the core of it was their desire to do what was best for Wren.

Still needing to hear what they had to say, he could feel himself forgiving them already. The problem wasn't in their lack of trust with Sean and Owen. If they didn't trust him with Wren and the kids, nothing would have stopped North from crashing through the front door like a tornado on a mission. Sean's phone would have been going wild with texts demanding to know how everyone was. Mistakes had been made, but they were only human. All nine of them were still young.

Nothing was so broken it couldn't be fixed.

First on the agenda had been Sean's report on how the doctor's appointment had gone. The boys, particularly North and Gabriel, were vocal in their concern for Keegan and Juni's wellbeing, demanding answers for Keegan's illness and how long Juni would be uncomfortable if it was teething. Even as he was having to explain the common nature of sleep regressions to them, he could feel his heart softening.

These weren't boys being nice to the siblings of the girl they liked purely so they could spend more time with her. It wasn't even just them doing what the Academy taught them to do. All seven of them cared about those three little kids.