Sam
“Morning, Ollie.”
“You’ve got me.”
“Yep. You’ll definitely be big and strong like alpha one day, though.”
Vaughn had his eyes closed, but he was smiling softly at Ollie who babbled at him about every little detail of what had happened since the moment he opened his eyes.
Since it wasn’t even seven, Sam went to forage for a snack for Ollie. Nana normally showed up at seven thirty to start making breakfast, but Ollie wouldn’t manage to wait that long. He quickly sliced an apple, grabbed a few slices of cheddar cheese, and filled a cup with water.
Back in the bedroom, Vaughn was telling Ollie about his night at the clinic and the patient he’d helped, and they were making exciting plans for the day.
Ollie desperately wanted to shift again, and Vaughn had arranged for the afternoon away from the clinic so they could all shift and have a big pack bonding experience ending in a giant cookout with as many pack members as could make it.
From the amount of food Nana had been stockpiling, there were going to be a ton of them.
Ollie made grabby hands for the food the moment he noticed Sam, but Vaughn held him and let Sam climb back onto the bed before he released his hold on the squirmy little boy. Ollie crawled over to Sam and looked at the food hungrily.
“I like cheese and apples,” Ollie said with a grin.
“I know you do,” Sam said. “Remember the rule?”
Ollie nodded, his hair flopping into his face. “Go slow and chew chew chew.”
Sam held out the plate and Ollie took one of the apple slices and a piece of cheese. He made a stack of them and took a bite before climbing into Sam’s lap and cuddling close.
Vaughn took the opportunity to slip into the bathroom while Ollie munched happily. Before he got back, a grumpy-looking Jack came into the room and climbed into bed beside Sam.
“What’s wrong, buddy?”
“Nothing.”
Sam rubbed his back as he curled in close. “You sure?”
“Henry said his tummy hurt.”
“Yeah. He’s okay now, though. Alpha and I helped him last night until he felt better.”
Jack looked up at him. “You did?”
“Yep. We stayed up extra late until he was able to go back to sleep.”
“Hmm.” Jack tucked his face back against Sam and began slowly rubbing his arm. Vaughn came back and sent Sam a questioning look. He shook his head so Vaughn crawled back up onto the bed and curled against Sam’s other side.
“Morning, Jack.”
“Morning, Alpha.”
“Did you sleep okay?”
Jack shrugged.
“Want to come over here and sit with me?”
It only took him a second to decide. He crawled over Sam’s lap and squished himself into the space between them.
“Want some apple, Jack?” Ollie held out a piece of the fruit for the other boy who shook his head.
“You worried about Henry?” Vaughn asked quietly.
“Mrs. Foote gets mad when Henry doesn’t feel good.”
“No more stinky Foote,” Ollie bellowed, spitting chunks of apple everywhere.
“Ollie.”
“Sorry, Sam.” He picked up one of the larger pieces and stuck it back in his mouth.
Vaughn was having to hold back a laugh, the jerk.
He wasn’t the one coated in secondhand apple.
“Sam and I aren’t mad,” Vaughn said. “We’re mostly sad that he wasn’t feeling well, but happy now that he’s feeling better and resting.
And when Nana comes she’ll make him her special feel-better-breakfast and then he’ll be all better. ”
That promise got both Jack and Ollie’s attention. “Special feel-better-breakfast?”
“Yep. I can’t say anything more. Top secret.” Vaughn mimed zipping his mouth closed. Ollie giggled and climbed off Sam’s lap and onto Vaughn’s. He poked at Vaughn’s lips until Vaughn nipped at his fingers.
“You can tell us, Alpha.”
Sam heard the front door open, and he knew Vaughn must have as well. The boys were both focused on him and didn’t seem aware.
“No way! Nana will get me! I’ll never tell! Feel-better-breakfasts are top secret!”
“Who’s giving away my secrets?” Nana said from the doorway.
Ollie leapt about a foot in the air then scrambled off the bed and ran to her. “Henry has a tummy ache, and Alpha said you’ll make us feel-better-breakfast! But he won’t tell us what it is!”
“That’s because it’s super secret, but it always made your alpha feel better when he didn’t feel well.” She glanced up at Vaughn while holding Ollie close to her side. “He okay?”
“Yeah. Just got into some ice cream and his lactose intolerance let him know just how bad an idea it was.”
“Oh my. Rough night then.”
Vaughn nodded as Sam let out a jaw-cracking yawn. “Late night,” he grumbled and leaned into Vaughn’s side.
Jack cuddled between them, content to be a little more squished as he wrapped an arm around Sam’s.
“Come along, muffin. You can help me make breakfast.”
“Okay!” Ollie skipped happily after her, leaving Sam and Vaughn alone with Jack.
Sam closed his eyes and leaned back against the headboard, tempted to try to doze off for a few more minutes. But of course, the pitter-patter of little feet brought Natasha and Emily into the room. They crawled up into bed with them, Natasha sitting on Vaughn’s lap and Emily on Sam’s.
“We should probably get up,” Vaughn said quietly.
“Five more minutes,” Sam mumbled into Emily’s hair.
It ended up being more like half an hour before Nana came back to get them. Ben and Henry were both still asleep so Vaughn and Sam had Nana’s special oatmeal with the rest of the kids.
It was a little over an hour before Ben and Henry came stumbling downstairs, neither of them looking particularly well-rested.
Ben moved immediately to Vaughn and leaned his head down onto Vaughn’s shoulder.
Something had definitely changed during their talk the night before, a bond built between them that was very strong.
Vaughn mumbled into Ben’s ear as he tucked the boy into a hug.
Ben grinned through a yawn then released Vaughn and went to sit down at the table.
Henry, on the other hand, walked straight to Sam and leaned into him. “Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?”
Henry shrugged and let out a sigh.
“That bad, huh?”
“Just kind of yuck,” Henry muttered.
“Okay. Nana made you some special feel-better-breakfast. You up for eating?”
Henry shrugged again. Sam would have to work on breaking him of the habit, but it wouldn’t be today.
He rubbed Henry’s back gently and waited for him to settle.
Nana came over to them and, with a wink at Sam, pulled Henry out of Sam’s arms and into hers.
He snuggled up and let out a sigh. “Come on and eat, pumpkin.”
“Okay, Nana.”
She got him settled beside Ben with a bowl of oatmeal and he ate tentatively.
Vaughn crossed the room to Sam with a worried frown. “He’s not looking so hot.”
“Yeah. You think he’s okay?”
Vaughn looked him over quickly then turned back to Sam. “I think he’s tired and probably a little dehydrated. Maybe we should reschedule our trip.”
Sam frowned. The kids were really looking forward to it. They’d loved shifting together last time, and it had really bonded them with Vaughn quite a bit. “Henry and I could stay here, and you could take the others. It’s not like we can shift anyway, and they’re really excited.”
It was Vaughn’s turn to frown. “I don’t care that you can’t shift. Either of you.”
Sam snagged Vaughn’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“I know that. Henry knows, too. But, just this once, you think it would be a good idea? He’s really pale and is barely eating his breakfast. We can hang out here, and he can help me pick out the homeschooling stuff we’ll do next week.
Besides, Nana might need a hand getting stuff ready for the big cook out. ”
Vaughn scoffed and Sam couldn’t help but snicker. They both knew she had it all well in hand. She always had everything well in hand.
“Let me call Meshaq and see if he can spare an extra guard for us. He really wanted us to have a hellhound with us at all times.”
“That sounds like a plan. If he can’t spare someone else, then we’ll all stay here. If he can, you guys go.”
Vaughn went into the bedroom to make the call so Sam returned his attention to the kids.
A mini dump truck full of building blocks had magically appeared in the corner of the living room courtesy of one of their pack members, and it currently held Ollie and Jack’s full attention.
Natasha had her nose in one of the picture books of animals while Emily had a coloring book and a set of colored pencils spread out on the coffee table.
Vaughn came back a few minutes later and nodded.
Sam smiled at him, their easy communication giving him a little tingle of pleasure he didn’t want to spend too much time thinking about. He had no idea why knowing Vaughn could read him like a book was so sexy, but it really tripped a trigger in Sam he didn’t know he had.
“Okay, boys,” Nana said. “I’ve got tuna and egg salad mixed up to take on your picnic. There’s fruit and water in the fridge and snacks already packed in the backpack cooler on the counter. I need to head back to the house and check on the slow cookers for tonight’s dinner.”
“Nana,” Vaughn said as he swooped her into a hug and planted a kiss on her forehead, “you are a goddess.”
She scoffed and smacked his arm. “Just for that, I’m going to make you some apple crumble tonight, too.”
He grinned at her and wiggled his eyebrows. “Best Nana ever.”
“Go on. Get the kids ready.”
“Henry and I are going to hang out here,” Sam said. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
She frowned a little at the news and glanced at Henry, who was still sitting with Ben at the kitchen table. “Well, I have broccoli salad in the fridge. If you could give it good stir every hour or so that would be great.”
“I can do that. And don’t frown at me. We’ll be fine on our own for a few hours. Meshaq’s sending us a second guard and the property is warded.”
She made another of her noises. She had a variety of them. This one said he was an idiot. “Not worried about that. Don’t like it when one of mine isn’t well.”