seven
Aldric and Cal sit on their grey living room couch, cuddled together with their feet up on the old wooden coffee table, heads almost touching. Callum has a tablet in hand, a stylus flicking through his fingers as he reads the notes from the doctor on the screen, Aldric reading them as well.
Milton is still asleep, now with an additional two blankets on top of him to keep him warm. They'd already asked their neighbour if she had a hot water bottle they could borrow, and now their packmates were on the hunt for wheat bags and hot water bottles they could lend to the couple in need.
While they waited, Marcy had sent over new prescriptions along with a set of notes describing in detail what she believed all of Milton's ailments were and how best to look after them. It was good to finally have all the information, despite how heartbreaking it was.
Callum was highlighting all the important things, the digital set of notes now decorated in various yellow highlights and little purple stars while Al had a little notepad resting on his knee, pen in hand as the shopping list grew longer.
"We're going to have to get that formula for him." Callum mumbles.
Aldric hums in agreement as he adds it the list. "Yeah, do you think we have enough bottles?"
"Add that to the list too. We should probably buy some rather than keep asking the pack."
Aldric squeezes his mate closer at his words.
He knew his little husband felt like a burden to the pack.
It was why they spent so much time just the two of them.
After everything that happened in the past year, his love had become withdrawn, apologising for any little thing he deemed he did wrong.
If he asked for help, he apologised. If he borrowed something he needed, he apologised.
He didn't like being a burden, even when he wasn't.
At first, Al thought it was something he'd done to make Cal so.
.. remorseful, but after a long conversation and a visit to one of the pack's go-to counsellors, he realised it wasn't something he had done.
It wasn't something anyone had done to his sweet mate.
They'd been through a lot; Callum had been through a lot.
"Should we get some of those human baby food pouches?"
Aldric snorts. "They smell disgusting. I don't know how humans can eat them."
Callum laughs. "I don't think their children have a good sense of taste or smell."
"Well Milton isn't a baby. I'm sure he'll hate them as much as I do."
Callum rubs a hand on his husband's chest, patting him gently. "We can just make our own."
Aldric nods, pressing a kiss to his love's curls.
"You got the step stools right? And the extra cushions for when he sits at the table?"
Aldric nods. "I put the cushions away in the spare closet and the step stools will be here today or tomorrow."
Their list seemed to be getting longer the more they sat and stared at the notes before them.
Not only had Marcy given them her current diagnosis, but she'd given them information about what to expect in the future.
Links to particular articles on brain damage, trauma, PTSD, and mobility issues.
She'd listed it all out with suggestions as to how the couple could accommodate the boy long term.
Some of it was... a lot. Callum was struggling with the language, pointing out specific words to his husband in hopes of the slightly older man knowing what they mean, but Aldric only snorts. "I think we need a medical degree to know what some of these words mean."
Callum hums, "I'll google them later."
Aldric turns his head at the distant sound of covers rustling, heightened hearing picking up on the tiniest of whimpers. Both wolves launch themselves from the couch, Callum tripping on his husband's foot before they both manage to right themselves and head to the spare bedroom down the hallway.
Callum enters first, knocking gently on the wood door before stepping into the light room. Milton lays in the single bed, looking uncomfortable in a slouched position, the children's car themed quilt bunched up at his shoulders.
"Hey, are you okay sweetie?" Cal asks, stepping closer with Aldric at his heels.
Milton blinks at them, eyes swimming in unshed tears.
He was not okay. He had tried to scooch himself up in the bed, but in doing so he'd strained his shoulder, a fierce pain burning through the joint as he moved.
The crumpled position now put pressure on his hip, a pinching pain bringing the tears to his eyes.
He shakes his head, hiccupping like a child as he tries once again to move himself into a more upright position.
Aldric jumps forward, scaring Milton and causing both men to freeze. "It's okay, Milton. I'm sorry for moving too fast. I just didn't want you to hurt yourself." Aldric's deep voice rumbling.
Callum steps up to his husband, resting a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. We're just going to help you sit up, okay?"
Slowly the pair reach out to Milton, Al leaning to lift him up in the pillows as Callum readjusts his blankets, re-tucking the fluffy tan and blue blankets over the quilt that had fallen down.
"Are you in pain? Does your shoulder hurt?"
Milton nods, eyes blurry as someone reaches out and thumbs away a tear. His heart is beating too fast. He felt fuzzy and scared and tired, and he was in pain. Oh, how he wished the pain would just go away.
Another hand pats down his hair, the soft touches immediately calming the thrumming in his chest. He blinks again, eyes meeting the two concerned faces of the strangers.
"Honey, go get his pain medicine. The liquid one."
The hand on his head shifts away, but Callum is quick to replace it with his own, brushing through the dark strands of hair. Another hand rests on the side of the boy's face, thumb caressing his cheek.
"You're okay. We're going to get some pain medicine into you, and you'll be feeling much better. Okay?"
Just as he finishes talking, Aldric walks back in, medicine and spoon in hand. "I thought the dose we gave him this morning would have lasted longer."
Callum makes a sound in the back of his throat. "We gave him the little tablet version this morning instead of the liquid."
The tablets were made for humans, supposedly enough for a grown adult, but perhaps the wolf medication they were using before had a better effect on Milton.
Aldric uncaps the brown glass bottle, tipping the required amount onto the spoon before very carefully leaning over Milton.
Milton obediently opens his mouth at the offered spoon, the pink-ish liquid swirling precariously on the spoon before he manages to swallow it down.
"Did you want something to eat?"
Milton doesn't really respond, blinking at Callum's knitted beige top as he tries to focus his thoughts.
He felt like there were too many things happening at once for his brain to really process it.
The touch of Callum's soothing hands, the pain in his shoulder, the blankets beneath his sore fingertips.
Aldric rests a hand on his love's back. "I think he's feeling a bit overwhelmed, my love. Let the pain medication kick in first."
Callum drops his hands reluctantly from the boy.
His instincts yelling for him to cuddle the boy to his chest, to swaddle him in blankets and surround him with his scent.
But he knew he couldn't. Milton still saw them as strangers.
It was clear by the way he flinched when either wolf moved too fast or the slightly bitter scent of fear that clung to the back of their tongues whenever they entered the room.
Callum bites his lip, watching as Milton's eyes begin to droop and his body sink into the pillows. "I – I don't know what to do." Cal whispers, eyed glued to the small boy in the bed.
Aldric guides him off the bed and into his arms, turning so his mate's face is tucked under his chin.
"Nothing, my love. We're doing everything we can, Milton just needs some time to adjust."
Cal nods against his chest, taking a moment to breath in his mate's scent. He felt as if he should be doing more, but both wolves were already doing as much as they could.
"I'll – I'll got get him some soup, maybe that will help."
Aldric sighs through his nose, letting his mate leave his arms and dart out the room.
He walks over to the kid bed, taking a seat by Milton's feet.
He could see the boy is still struggling, his hands twitching amongst the blankets as he stares off into space, body slouched into the bed.
It was hard to see such a young thing struggling so much, but they all needed to get used the new situation.
It was the only way ay of them could continue to move forward – Milton in particular.
"I know this is all overwhelming, Mil." Aldirc begins in a soft voice, noticing how the boy tries to focus on his large frame sitting at the end of the bed before his eyes dart away.
"We're not going to hurt you. I know we tell you this all the time, but... I think it may be important for you to hear it again. Maybe it'll help you understand."
Milton only listens, big eyes blinking at the soft blankets across his lap.
Aldric continues. "You know, we actually live on a rehabilitation reserve. Sort of. Most of the people who live here look after the wildlife that are sick or injured and reintroduce them back into a safe environment. That includes the community too."
Milton sniffs, a little frown appearing between his brows. "We look after animals like, uh, wolves, wild cats, the occasional bear that tumbles in, but we also look after people who have had it rough.
"There's a whole centre dedicated to helping out families in tricky situations that need a place to stay. Cal actually worked as a schoolteacher there. He was in charge of all the little tikes running around." Aldric smiles to himself, his mate was such a giver.
Milton watches with interest, taking in the low, soft rumble of the man as he speaks slowly and carefully, making sure Milton has time to grasp every word. So these people... helped others. As their job. Milton supposed that made sense. They were both very caring individuals.
"I know you don't quite trust us yet, kiddo, but I promise we're doing everything we can to make sure you get better. Maybe one day soon we can introduce you to some of the others that live in our building? Get to know some of the community? You may even get to see some of the animals we take in."
It was... mostly the truth. Sure, their pack did deal with a lot of the wildlife in the area and were often seen as the 'experts' on how to rehabilitate wolves in particular, but they mostly dealt with shifters.
Shifters who had been caught by humans, hunted by other supernatural, trapped, or simply didn't have a territory to call their own and needed a hand to get themselves established somewhere.
Milton wouldn't be meeting any of the wildlife anytime soon, but he would bump into a wolf or two at some point.
Some wolves that lived on pack grounds preferred to stay in their furry form, wandering in the forests around the territory or pack house, content with a simple life void of any actual human communication or rules.
Cal walks back into the room with the usual bed tray, a bowl of steaming soup sitting on top along with a cup with a twirly straw.
"I'm back." He smiles, setting the tray on the little wooden beside table before taking a seat beside his husband, hand settling on hi leg. "Would you like to have a little food? It'll help warm you up."
Milton's eyes dart from Aldric to Cal, thinking on everything that they had done for him and the little bits of information the tall one shared. He didn't trust the completely, no, but he wanted to and the only way to do that was to let them in.
Nodding, Milton relaxes in the bed, hands releasing the blankets and brows unfurrowing. He knew he needed their help, it was just a matter of accepting it.