The three of us walk through the glass door to find all our guests have arrived. There were hugs and cheery holiday greetings. I pull Callen tight to me and whisper for him and Jase to meet me in the den in five minutes.
I have them sit, as I pace back and forth in front of them. I have to tell them what happened with Cory this morning and I'm nervous that I fucked it up. My stomach is churning I don't want a bad atmosphere today. I wring my hands together and keep looking at them as I pace.
"Trace, Bud, are you okay? What's happened?" Callen says affectionately.
I turn and face them. I take a deep breath and spout, "Okay, don't be mad at me. I think I've fucked up royally with Cory."
"What? Why? Is he okay? What happened?" Jase is starting to panic.
"Just tell us Bud."
I lay out the events of the morning concerning Cory and his parents leaving out the relationship between him and Shane. I promised at the table I wouldn't tell and I meant it. I add some of my own thoughts before I let them speak.
"I get the feeling he thinks he is betraying you both when this happens. He loves you both so much and I think... he thinks; you will assume he doesn't if he still misses his parents. I did ask if he wanted to call you and he begged me not to say anything. This isn't really something I feel I should keep from you. I didn't know how else to handle it at six in the morning, he was inconsolable at the time. Please tell me you aren't mad with me."
Callen got up from his seat, come over to me and hug me tight. When he pulls back from the hug he kisses my forehead, then looks me in the eye. "You did what you thought was right at the time. Caring about our son; your nephew by the way and doing something thoughtful to help, even if it doesn't still warms my heart Trace. You're a good Uncle. Cory looked fine to me when you came in the back door. We'll all keep an eye on him today, see how it goes. Jase and I will have a chat with him in the morning. Just to make sure he's okay and that he knows missing them is right and normal and doesn't diminish his love for us. Okay?"
What a relief, I let out a phew. I shake my hands to try and rid my body of the tension and anxiety I'm feeling. As we are walking back to the kitchen area, Jase takes my hand, squeezes it and kisses my cheek. He whispers a thank you in my ear. I smile at him and squeeze back. Wow that's a load off. It's like shit storm overload this morning.
It's time to get the food ready; I double check the table the two young ones set. Only had to fix a couple of things - they did a great job. I walk over behind the couch.
"Benny, Hayley, come here for a sec my munchkins."
They both come running around the couch. I get on my knees and put my arms out and fold them into me and kiss the side of each head.
"I just looked at the dining room table for dinner and you both did such a great job. I didn't have to fix any of it, so I'm thinking an extra scoop of ice cream for dessert as a reward. What do you think?"
"Yay!!" They scream in my ear and run to the big boys telling them about their good job and reward. The boys make a fuss over them. They love the big boys making a fuss of them it's so cool to watch. I'm standing here with a huge smile on my face watching them as Alex put his arms around me while kissing my neck.
"You... are the world's best Dad, you know that?" Alex says softly in my ear.
"Huh? I'm not a Dad!"
"The second you took Benny in your arms at the hospital, you became the other parent to him. He certainly thinks you are. So do I. We are raising him together. You are a Dad. The world's best Dad. Happy Thankgiving Poppy, you are the heart of this family. You and Benny are my heart, my world you're both everything I ever wanted."
There is no place safer and more loving than in the arms of my big strong love. I turn around in his embrace and kiss him with all the love I have in me. I wonder if Benny really does think I'm his parent. How cool will that be? God I love that little boy. And Alex, no one will ever come close to how much I love him. Never will I let anything or anyone come between us. I run my fingers softly down his lips.
"Thank you, I love you Bubby," I say lovingly.
"I mean every word my Love."
I threw Beth and Maria out of the kitchen; they're supposed to be taking it easy. I have Dom help me get all the food to the table, while Alex fixes drinks for the crew. We have Cory say grace for the table. We don't usually as we aren't religious people, but we did it for the sake of the Vasquez family. Alex then stood at the head of the table and carves the turkey; I say carves when I really mean hacks. Everyone else chats and passes the food around the table. Dom thought instead of the whip around the table for thanks, we should tell all what we are proud to have achieved this year.
It is a great idea, so I thought. We have had such a shit storm of happenings this year. We are pretty much all thankful we had made it through. Alex is first, he's proud of his family which includes Beth, and that I can cook a turkey. Dom is next. He received a promotion to Captain. The entire table went up with hooray's and congratulations. Maria announces they are having baby number three. Shane and Hayley hurry to their Mum to congratulate her; they really show excitement to the news. It gives Beth and me the weepies.
Shane is next, he stands up and looks at his parents and then at Cory. All I can think is don't do it right now. My heart starts racing, it's one thing to have gay friends and entirely another to have a gay son. I have no idea how Dom and Maria are going to take this. I hold my breath for poor Shane.
"Mum, Dad, I hope you will still love me after I tell you this. I am proud of what I'm about to tell you, I'm not sure if you will see it the same way," Shane looks over to Cory and keeps his head held high, but a tear falls down his cheek. He quickly wipes it away. "I don't know if I'm gay or not, but I know I love Cory. We are in a relationship, we are boyfriends."
Dom quickly stood from his chair and move toward Shane swiftly. I go to stand from my chair in case this goes badly and Shane took a step backwards. Dom envelopes Shane in a hug and kisses the top of his head.
"We know son, it's okay. You should always be proud of who you are. I know me and your Mother are proud of you. I love you son." He took Shanes face in his hands and kisses him again. Maria looks on with a smile on her face and a tears running down her face. Thank fuck I can breathe again. I think I heard Shane say I love you to his Dad. "If you don't want to get caught kissing, don't do it where you can be seen." Shane and Cory both have fiercely red faces. The rest of us try not to laugh, it's hard enough being fifteen.
Dom then put his hands on Cory's shoulders and leant forward and lay a kiss atop his head. "You take care of my boy, you hear me." He ruffles Cory's hair and sits back down. Cory couldn't have been more proud of Shane; it shows all over his face. I saw him mouth the words 'I love you' to him.
Geez, fifteen year old boys can be fearless sometimes. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut to the boys earlier. Anyway Cory's up next. He proudly declares his love back to Shane and then adds he has been chosen for the hockey team to play the rest of the season. We all congratulate him and make a fuss. Moving on, Beth tells the table, she is also pregnant. She is no longer afraid to do this by herself, because of the unconditional support she has been given by her family and thanks us.
