eighteen
Milton sits on a folded pink blanket on the floor, sideways between Callum's legs. His own legs are being propped up by one of Callum's, the man's other leg giving him some stability behind him as he tries his best to hold himself up.
Dr Perin is on his knees in front of him, a pair of thin glasses perched on his nose as he gently holds Milton's arm and guides it through a series of stretches. It was a bit of an odd position to be in, but Dr Perin wanted Milton to try and practice sitting up to use more of his muscles.
"Your mobility is much better than I predicted it would be." Dr Perin hums, guiding Milton's arm out in front of him.
Cal smiles. "That's good to hear."
Dr Perin offers a small smile to the wolf before turning his attention back to Milton as he goes through the stretches once again.
The pulling at his muscles was a little painful, but the doctor and Callum were being very gentle as they guided his body through a series of stretches.
"It will be a while before you're walking again, but if we keep up with these exercises, it'll make the process a lot easier."
Milton smiles at the man, toes wriggling happily in his socks.
He quite liked the doctor. He was small, like him.
Well, obviously not as small as Milton, but he was definitely shorter than both Callum and Aldric, his frame a lot slimmer too.
It was nice to know he wasn't the only one able to fit in his caregivers' laps – not that Dr Perin would ever do that.
"How many times should I be doing these with him?"
Dr Perin hums, lowering Milton's arm and moving into his legs where he softly asks for him to lift his good foot with a gentle tap to his heel. "I'd say we start with once a day for now. In a week's time I can drop by, and we can look at increasing it to twice a day."
He begins to stretch out Milton's leg, the boy wobbling on the blanket as he tries to keep his balance, Cal's hand coming to rest on his back for a little extra stability. His stomach muscles begin to burn from having to use them, but he pushes past the feeling with a little huff.
He wanted to get better. He wanted to be able to walk again and use his hands and arms properly. He wanted to be able to lift his own body weight and stand on his own two feet.
Cal smiles to himself as he watches the boy concentrate on keeping himself upright, Dr Perin gently lowering Milton's leg as he tilts his foot this way and that to prompt the stiff ankle muscles to move.
"T-thanks for coming in to guide me through all this." Callum hums, smiling at the older human.
Dr Perin glances from the wolf to the boy. "It's no problem."
Cal's brow creases a fraction. Supposedly Dr Perin was very busy man. Being the only human doctor in town, and one competent enough to treat all kinds of supernatural, his little doctor's office was almost always booked out. So... was it really 'no problem'?
As Cal open his mouth to poke a little, Aldric walks in the room with his phone to his ear, a deep frown etched on his face.
Cal tilts his head at his husband and the man is quick to pull the phone away from his ear. "It's Henry. He's... calling to ask if he can come by?"
Callum scoffs, frowning back at his love. "Why?"
"He says he has something important to tell us."
Cal's frown deepens. "But we're busy with Milton's exercises."
Aldric lifts a shoulder, not sure what to say. He would be quite happy to tell the Alpha to leave them alone, but the man had sounded stressed.
His little husband lets out an annoyed huff. "He's not coming over. Put him on speaker."
Aldric does as he's told, their Alpha's voice coming through with a deep sigh. "You do realise I could hear you the entire time?"
"Just tell us what you want." Aldric grumbles into the phone, taking a step closer to the group settled on the floor.
Alpha Henry sighs again, the noise making Dr Perin tense a little – the subtle motion not unnoticed by Callum.
"The council will be visiting a little earlier than expected."
Dr Perin puts Milton's leg down, face draining of colour as he listens in to the conversation while trying to maintain some sort of polite demeanour.
Callum pulls Milton so his back is against his chest, holding the boy close to him. "What? You said they wouldn't be here for another month, o-or longer."
Aldric takes a seat on the floor in front of his husband, holding the phone between them. "Why are they coming earlier? We agreed it would be better to wait until Milton was in better condition."
Milton frowns at this, fingers curling around the sleeve of Callum's cardigan that's wrapped around his waist.
Dr Perin sits back, eyes flicking between the two, hands clenched in his lap. Callum's eyes dart to the man before he focuses back on their Alpha on the phone, heart beginning to race at the implications of the council's visit.
"W-when are they coming?"
"Two weeks."
Cal's throat squeezes closed for a moment, panic dancing down his spine. Dr Perin's breath hitches at the news as well, causing him to shakily rise from his spot on the floor and move towards the kitchen where he's left his doctor's bag on one of the stools.
"Do we know who's been assigned?" Al asks.
Alpha Henry clicks a pen on his side of the phone. "No. I'll be receiving their details within the week along with their flight number. We're expected to pick them up from the airport."
Aldric scoffs. "You mean you're expected to pick them up. Cal and I will be waiting for their arrival here."
There's a pause on the phone, as if Henry is contemplating whether to argue with him but decides against it with another few audible clicks of a pen. "Fine. I'll escort them to your apartment."
"Please update us so we can prepare beforehand."
Alpha Henry agrees, and the two men hang up with grumbled 'goodbyes'.
Callum sucks in a deep breath, breathing out slowly, the puff of air ruffling the hair of the little human sitting in his lap.
"Two weeks is not a lot of time." Cal mumbles, reaching up to fix Milton's hair, fingers combing through the fluffy brown strands.
Two weeks was not enough time to have Milton talking and walking. It wasn't even enough time to get him understanding sign language at a reasonable level. What did the council think Milton could tell them?
Dr Perin quietly clears his throat, both wolves turning their attention to the small man standing by their kitchen, the strap of his leather bag being wrung in his hands.
"Oh, s-sorry." Callum offers him a smile. "I didn't mean for you be caught in the middle of...that."
Dr Perin shakes his head, still looking rather pale as he lifts a shaky hand to wave the apology off. "Oh, no. It's fine. I should- I should probably go though. I've left the rest of the instructions for Milton's exercises on the bench for you."
Cal tilts his head, unsure what would have spooked the human so much. Was it Alpha Henry? Was simply hearing their boss's voice enough trigger some kind of anxiousness?
"Thank you, Dr Perin. We- I appreciate you coming down to go through everything with me."
Aldric nods as well, stepping closer with a hand outstretched for a handshake. "We can't express just how much we appreciate your help."
Dr Perin takes his hand for a quick shake, his fingers clammy as he quickly goes back to the death grip on his bag, moving towards the door with Aldric following.
"If you have any concern, please give me a call." He rocks on his toes as Aldric opens the door, jumping a little as the hinges squeak.
He looks back at Callum and Milton, hesitantly smiling at the two. "See you later, Milton."
And then he's gone.
Aldric closes and locks the door, leaning back against the white painted wood with arms crossed and a pensive expression.
"Any idea what that was about?"
Cal frowns, shaking his head as he plays with Milton's soft shirt. "No. I don't know. Maybe Henry scares him?"
His husband shakes his head, pushing off the door to go sit down beside the two on the floor. "Nah, he's met the Al- uh, he's met Henry in person before. Seemed fine then."
So, what was it? What made Dr Perin literally run away?
Milton huffs, tapping Callum's arm still wrapped around his waist. He wants to get off the floor. His muscles tired from the exercise and a mid-day nap was beginning to sound really good.
"You feeling okay?" Cal asks, tipping his head down to look at the boy.
Milton nods, relaxing back into the man.
Callum smiles. "Wanna nap?"
Milton nods again, letting the man easily lift him up into his arms as he stays limp, allowing Cal to effortlessly carry him down the hallway to his bed. He hums in appreciation, Callum chuckling as he pulls back the car-themed quilt and tucks him beneath the multitude of blankets.
"Hey," Cal whispers, brushing Milton's hair from his face. "You don't have anything to worry about when it comes to the council, okay? They just want to check that you're doing okay. Al and I will be there the whole time."
Milton nods, eyes turning sleepy as he lifts the corner of his mouth in a tiny smile.
He wasn't worried.Cal would make sure he had nothing to worry about.