LOGINShare
Chapter 56 - A Way Back Home
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56"Do you need to step outside?" came Asher's voice, soft and concerned, right next to Cailen's ear.
Cailen was about to nod his head yes because he felt like he was on the edge. But then, his eyes locked on a little brown eyed boy sitting in the corner with his knees pulled up to his chest.
It was the boy from the hall.
He was a bit older than the rest, probably about seven or eight, with shaggy brown hair that nearly hid his brown eyes.
Cailen shook his head and jerked it towards the little boy then looked at Asher. He could tell Asher understood what he wanted when he looked over at the boy then back to him, his eyebrows raising.
"Really? The foot-stomper?" Asher chuckled as Cailen nodded his head. "Okay, but I'm keeping my feet away from him."
Cailen snorted as they made their way over to the little boy, Cailen trying to not pay too much attention to the disappointed looks of
Related chapters
A Place To Call Home Chapter 57 - How To Build A Family
A few weeks later…"Again, really?" Cailenasked as he walked into the office of Ezekiel's school.The halls had been empty, all the children still in their classes…All the children except for his.His child was sitting in a hard looking metal chair that didn't let his short legs reach the ground, his hands folded in his lap, his head hung as he waited patiently for someone to address him.When Cailenentered the office, asking his question without a greeting, his head shot up, his brown eyes wide and scared for a brief moment before concealing themselves into a relaxed sort of resolve.It was very brief, and had it not been for Cailen'sown childhood, he may have missed it but Cailenknew this game well and it didn't fool him for a second."Mr. Hale," came a voice,pulling his attention fromhis little boy to a rather plumplooking man in a dress shirt&n
A Place To Call Home Chapter 58 - Being A Parent
Of course becoming aparent required a big lifechange and added manycomplications, one of whichbeing ditching work to gobail the little squirt out ofjail.The worst part aboutbeing a parent is the lackof sleep.Cailenthought thatmaybe since they weren'tdealing with an infant,that they wouldn't have asmany long nights as mostparents complained aboutwhen they had a newbornbaby.Boy was he wrong.Maybe it wasn't as bad,he wouldn't really know,but it was certainly tiring.The first challenge wasactually getting Ezekiel to goto bed. Either of them wasreally good at being thestrict, 'no fun' parent thatthey sometimes needed tobe, though CailenthoughtAsherwas worse at it.Sure,he was good at pointingout what they should bedoing,but when it cameto ac
A Place To Call Home Chapter 59 - What He’s Afraid Of
While waiting for Asher to get home from work, Cailenbusied himself withcleaning up the kitchen,putting away the dishesAsherhad washed and leftout to dry this morning,sweeping the floor, andother mindless tasks thatkept him busy while tryingnot to think too hard aboutwhy he had been the oneto go and get Ezekieland notAsher.Usually they wouldcall Asherfirst and if Asher couldn't, then they calledCailen.He tried not to thinkabout why they had tocall him, about why Asher couldn't go and get Ezekiel because that usually endedwith an anxiety attack ofsome sort and worrying tono end until Asherwalkedthrough the door, safeand uninjured.Thankfullyit wasn't too long beforehe heard the jiggling ofthe doorknob and thesound of the door openingand closing, followedby a series
A Place To Call Home Chapter 60 - The First Step
"Okay, you guys have a nice day," Cailenheard as he led Ezekiel-their son,their officially adopted son-out of the adoption agency, Asherfollowing behind and mumbling out a 'you too'.When they emerged from the darkness of the building and into the bright morning sunlight, Cailensquinted up into the sky, a beaming smile on his face because it was official.They had a son. Cailenand Asherwere fathers.It was exciting, frightening and wonderful all at the same time."Okay," Came Asher's voice from behind Cailen, an arm snaking its way around Cailen'swaist.Cailengrinned over his shoulder at the man, meeting his eyes and seeing everything he felt reflected in the brown of his eyes; happiness, excitement, and a little bit of uncertainty but Cailenleaned in to place a quick kiss on his cheek, chasing it away.After sharing a smile with his husband, Cailenglanced
A Place To Call Home Chapter 61 - Unexpected Guests
"Uninvited company!" Cailencalled out into the flat, knowing they were in here somewhere.Sure enough, they heard a loud cackle of laughter that was now as familiar as his own.It was coming from the living room so Asherand Cailenboth headed in that direction, their knees being attacked immediately when they turned the corner after Loki finally realized they were home.Cailengave the dog a quick pat, greeting him briefly whereas Ashergot right down and allowed the dog to lick him all over.Cailenliked dogs, he wouldn't have allowed Asherto have Loki if he didn't, but that didn't mean he enjoyed getting a face wash by him.Cailenwas busy anyway, glaring at the four people making themselves at home in their living room.They were all grinning innocently as if they hadn't just technically broken into their home.Cailenwasn't panicked because he knew these four people, th
A Place To Call Home Chapter 62 - The Best Charmer
"Cai, any tips for getting this thing out of me?" Hazelasked, half joking, half serious.Cailensmirked at her, offering her a hand as she tried to put on her shoes."Well, sex is the most recommended method, or at least sexual arousal. Gets the oxytocin flowing... Or acupuncture, aromatherapy... or just simple relaxation, but nothing has been fully established in any of their effectiveness," Cailenexplained.He's been kind of coaching Hazelthrough this whole thing, even setting her up with the best doctor at the hospital he worked at."So I would just stick with the fun one," Cailensuggested, sending her a wink that she snorted at."So the acupuncture?" she teased, looking to Matthewwho gave her an unimpressed look."Exactly," Cailenagreed, grinning at Matthewwho reached out to flick him in the nose.Cailenchuckled, swatting his hand away then pulling both him and Noa
A Place To Call Home Chapter 63 - His Husband’s Voice
"I'm sorry,Mom, but we just wanted to get settled before we spring everyone on him," Cailenspoke into the phone that was squished between his ear and shoulder as he finished wrapping up Ezekiel's sandwich that he had made to pack with him for lunch.It was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that was making a right mess of his fingers but it was Ezekiel's favorite so Cailenfigured it was worth it.Ezekielwas in his room, hopefully getting ready for school, but Cailensuspected he was playing with his toys. It was alright though, they were ahead of schedule anyway."I know, I'm just excited is all. I'm a grandmother!" Cailenheard his mother's voice say through the phone, obviously excited.Cailensmiled as he put the sandwich into the Batman lunch container. Honestly,this kid loved batman too much for his own good, but his smile faded as what Edensaid sunk in."Uh, yeah... Mom, you mig
A Place To Call Home Chapter 64 - One Plus One
"Zeke, you're supposed to be getting ready for school. We're going to be late," Cailensaid even though they really weren't.Ezekielgrumbled something out, something Cailencouldn't make out but it didn't matter. It was probably something along the lines of 'I don't want to go to school'."Come on, up,up!" Cailensaid, slipping his hands under the boy's armpitsto lift him to his feet."But, Cailen-" Ezekielbegan to protest."No, come on, we're going to be late and I've got to go to work," Cailenreminded him.Ezekielhuffed and stomped over to his bed where an outfit was laid out for him. Asherthought it wasn't necessary to pick out an outfit for the boy but Asherhad never tried to get him dressed for school.Cailenlet Ezekielpick once and Ezekielhad come out butt naked, much like he is now, and that was the end of that.Cailenstayed as
Latest chapter
A Place To Call Home Epilogue - A Place To Call Home
"Hey, hey, it's the superstar, finally making an appearance!" Matthewcalled out when they entered the kitchen.Cailengrinned at this while Williamlooked a bit sheepish. He knew he was never around much and constantly apologized for it, but they all understood and were all proud of their friend."Shut up, I've been busy!" Williamdefended just as the two girls at the counter turned in their stools and gasped.They each climbed their way down from the stools, Aariyahalmost taking a tumble but she caught herself and then they were each latched onto one of William's legs, the older man chuckling."Uncle William!" Maddisonsquealed, squeezing William's leg tight.Williamawkwardly bent down as far as he could without hurting or squishing the small girls, reaching out to rest a hand on each of them."How are two of my favorite girls?" he asked.It was truly adorable how much they each loved
A Place To Call Home Chapter 119 - Growing Up And The Grown Ups
Cailenonly had to look over the boy's shoulder to see his brother saunter in, but Ezekieland Ellianahad to turn around and Cailencouldn't say he was exactly surprised by the reaction.Ellianagasped in surprise while Ezekieldarted forward and threw himself at his uncle.Williamchuckled and wrapped Ezekielup in a tight hug, rocking him back and forth slightly before letting go."Uncle William, you made it!" Ezekielsaid happily.It had been a while since Ezekieland Maddisonlast saw him."Papasaid he didn't know if you were coming," Ezekielexplained.William mockscoffed."Of course I will! I wouldn't miss my favorite nephew turning fifteen!" Williamexclaimed.Cailentook a peek over at Ellianato see a look of confusion mixed with awe and nearly lost it. He would never understandthe effect Williamhad on teen
A Place To Call Home Chapter 118 - Their Daughters
Both Matthewand Cailenlooked over to where the girls were sitting.It was instinctive now, whether it was your own child saying it or not, when you heard 'Daddy'or ‘Papa’, you look.Maddisonwas standing from her spot and making her way over to where Cailenand Matthewsat, a sheet of paper in her hands."Look, isn't my flower pretty?" she asked holding up the paper to Cailenwhere he saw a simple flower drawn on it.It was pink with big petals and a small green stem and looked like every other flower drawing she'd ever done but Cailenstill nodded along, smiling at his daughter."Yes, it's beautiful, love," Cailensmiled, his arms still bouncing Mishaup and down on his knee."But- But isn't mine beautiful-er?" Aariyahstood in a hurry, rushing over to them and nearly tripping as she held up her own drawing of an almost identical flower.Cailens
A Place To Call Home Chapter 117 - The Trio
"Dude, she'll be here soon," Trippsaid, leaning across the island in the kitchen to reach for the bowl of crisps that Cailenhad put out. "Calm down or you'll start getting sweat stains," he added, scrunching up his nose in distaste.Tripp, if possible, had grown up to be even bigger than Ezekiel, though that wasn't much of a surprise with how much taller he's always been than Ezekiel. He still had his blonde hair,though it wasn't quite so golden anymore-more of a dirty blonde, and has acquired glasses over the years.Cailenremembers the first day he had come over with them on, the boy had been mortified but he's grown to love them, claiming the girls were really into the 'nerdy' look these days."And no girl likes sweat stains," Aireneadded from her spot at the island.Airenehad grown up to be quite the beautiful girl, her hair still a fiery red and her green eyes bright and enchanting.Ezekie
A Place To Call Home Chapter 116 - Their Son’s Parents
Cailenstopped a ways back, pulling his coat tighter around him as the fall breeze blew and made him shiver.He was always surprised sometimes when he really looked at Ezekieland saw how much he's grown.Up until last year,it seemed as though he had missed the puberty bus until one day,Cailenreally looked at him and noticed he had grown about a foot and was stealing his cologne to wear.It was a bit of a shock that he quickly got over and went out to buy Ezekielhis own cologne along with some shaving supplies since he had noticed the boy had also started growing some scruff.It was something he never had a problem with in the first place because until now, he never had a single hair grow on his face, well aside from his eyebrows and his head, of course.Cailenknew he was going to be one of those teenagers that looked way olderthan they really were just because puberty decided to randomly
A Place To Call Home Chapter 115 - Missing Birthday Boy
Maddison rushed over to them, throwing herself into Asher's legs hard enough that her feet left the ground and she was able to crawl into Asher's lap, with his help of course."What do you mean ‘Zekeleft’?" Asherquestioned as he wrapped his arms around his daughterso she wouldn't fall off.She had nestled herself nicely in his lap so her legs dangled over the edge but she was able to look up at them both with her big blue eyes.They adopted Maddison out of the orphanage when she was six years old, soon after Ezekielhad come up to them one day and asked if they were ever going to adopt another child.It was completely random and out oftheblue and had taken them both by surprise so much that they didn't know what to say.They honestly hadn't thought about adopting again, but when Ezekielexplained that he was only wondering because he thought it might be nice to have someone to play w
A Place To Call Home Chapter 114 - Their House
Seven years later…"Alright," Cailenheard come from down the hall.It was only a couple steps further so he made the small venture to poke his head around the corner and into the hall to see Asherjust coming up from the basement."The basement isofficially 'Teen-Proof'," Asher said around an exhausted sigh.Cailenfully stepped into the entrance of the hallway, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for his husband to meet him at the end of the hall and proceeding to follow him into the kitchen.Cailenstill cringed slightly whenever he walked into the kitchen, more so when he had company following him.They were in the middle of renovating the kitchen, the last of the house's renovation, thankfully.When they purchased the house four years ago, they had gotten it pretty cheap because it needed so much work done to it. They just hadn't realized how much work it ne
A Place To Call Home Chapter 113 - Leaving
"Yeah, I love you too," Cailensaid with a small smile before hanging up his phone and slipping it into his pocket.He went to turn around but paused as a man in a suit rushed by him, obviously in a hurry.They were at the airport saying goodbye to Noahbefore he got on a flight to Scotlandand apparently,he was not the only one planning a trip that weekend.You could barely move without bumping into someone and Cailenhad to step away into a corner in order to answer his phone because it was so loud.Once the man had passed,Cailencontinued back towards the small group that was gathering outside the gate Noahwas to go through to get to his flight.They were all there, Matthew, Hazel, and of course Aariyah, William, Asherand Ezekiel, all hugging Noahgoodbye before his departure.He had been in the middle of saying goodbye when his phone rang and he excused himself to answer
A Place To Call Home Chapter 112 - Family Night
Cailen is startled from his sleep by a sudden weight crashing into him and then a wet nose sniffing at his face.He knows who it is instantly and groans, not caring if he wakes Asher up at this point.It's his dog, if Loki is waking Cailen up, then Asher can get woken up as well.Cailen brought his arms up, having to untangle himself from Asher's grasp in order to do so, and shielded his face from the intruding nose.It's not like this has never happened before, but it didn't happen often.Loki was usually pretty good at just sleeping at the foot of their bed, but recently, he's been cuddling up to Ezekiel in his so it was a bit strange.Either way, Loki was waking Cailen up so he started to sit up, just remembering to be gentle in case Asher's arm or leg was in the right position to get squished."Loki, down," Cailen mumbled, his tone firm.Cailen heard a groan come from behind him and knew Asher was now awake.
