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Trevor blushed and waved off their thanks. He moved to get everything set up then wheeled the tray tables over. Ethan woke up shortly after and we all sat around Theo’s bed, eating and just being together.
After we ate, Shae tried to find out about Cat. The nurse agreed that they could go visit but specified that no Alphas were allowed on that floor of the hospital. They opted to call her room and see her as soon as we could work out how to get Miles into that area with Shae, since he wasn’t willing to leave their side. The nurse came back in a little later and told us that a doctor would come around in the afternoon to let us know whether Shae and Theo could go home. The rest of the day went by relatively quickly with everyone catching their families up on what had happened. Trevor and I were kept busy calling in to Drake House for updates. But by the time the late afternoon rolled around, we were all restless, waiting to see who was going home. Thankfully, the doctor from that morning, Dr. Lambert, came back in.
“Shae is free to go and the nurse will be in shortly to discharge them. Focus on resting, staying hydrated, and follow up with your primary care doctor forty-eight hours from now. Theo, however, needs to stay another night for observation.”
My hackles rose at the thought of separating again and Ethan let out a soft whimper.
“It’s alright. I don’t mind staying another night if that’s all it will be. Just one more night, right, Doc?”
Theo’s tone was intended to reassure Ethan, but it also told the doctor that Theo would leave tomorrow, with or without his blessing. Trevor cleared his throat, getting our attention.
“I can stay with Theo. You all go get some rest and I’ll bring him home tomorrow.”
Ethan’s shoulders slumped minutely, and I thought of what he’d said earlier about trying to curb his Omega-ness. I resolved myself to make sure that he got what he needed tonight, too. I turned to Trevor.
“Alright, but call if anything changes?”
Trevor nodded before settling into the bed that Shae had vacated. The rest of us said our goodbyes to Theo, with Ethan and I lingering longer than the others. I still needed to talk to Theo about the bond but when I started to say something, he just shook his head and mouthed “later”.
The ride home was somber and tense. Miles could barely take his eyes off Shae where they sat in the backseat together. Ethan was in the passenger seat with the side of his head leaning against the window, lost in thought. And then, through my remaining bonds, I could feel the mix of worry, relief, fear, and frustration coming from Trevor and Shae. Beyond that, I was trying but failing to ignore the way that not sensing Theo was like a chasm in my soul.
I pulled into the detached garage at the back of our property and took a minute to revel in the joy Shae felt at being home. We’d done it; we’d brought them home. We needed to have a meeting about everyone’s safety but I was trying to push that all to the side until after Theo was home. The police were looking into the people from the warehouse and soon we’d all be back at Drake to unravel this fucking mess. I still couldn’t understand how we’d managed to find Ethan in under twenty-four hours, but it had taken us five days to find Shae. Something about that was digging into my mind and I couldn’t let it go. Now that my Alpha instincts weren’t riding me, I needed to debrief with Trevor about everything.
Though we’d all crashed in the hospital and napped throughout the day, none of us were fully recovered, least of all Shae. We all needed food and real rest. When we entered the kitchen from the back of the house, I stopped everyone.
“Why don’t we all go and get cleaned up, first, and then eat dinner together?”
Shae turned to me, the lack of sleep still so apparent in the purple shadows beneath their eyes.
“Do we have everything for Tuscan chicken? Because that would be amazing.”
“If we’re missing anything then I’ll order a grocery delivery to get dropped off while we shower.”
And if the service was fully booked, I’d call my assistant and pay them whatever they wanted to bring me groceries. Shae nodded and began to move toward the stairs with Miles.
“Could we—could we all sleep in my nest tonight?”
Ethan spoke softly and kept his gaze on the ground, like he was bracing himself for rejection. I hated that. Before I could respond, Shae moved to him and wrapped him in their arms. They melted into each other and Shae tipped his chin towards them before taking his lips in a sweet, mostly chaste kiss.
“Is that what you need, baby? To have all of us in your nest?”
“Not if you need to be in your room. It’s okay, really, I’ll?—”
“We’ll stay in the nest tonight, Ethan.”
At Miles' declaration, Ethan’s eyes widened, almost comically, before he tried to cover his reaction by ducking his face into Shae’s neck. He wasn’t fast enough to hide the darkening of his cheeks or the way his perfume had spiked slightly. I hid my grin by turning away and checking through the pantry. Ethan had been Miles' rock the whole time Shae was gone. I knew that he understood what it meant that Miles was demi and respected him, and that he’d never push, but Ethan was also an Omega, and Miles was one of his Alphas. Maintaining those boundaries was a unique battle for Ethan. Confident that we had enough supplies to make dinner, I walked back to the others. Miles was watching our Omega and Beta with a look of confusion that made me want to laugh.
“Alright everyone, go shower and then come back here whenever you’re done.”
We all started up the stairs at the same time and I watched Ethan pause in front of Theo’s door, trailing his fingers across it before he walked up to the next floor behind Shae and Miles. I slipped into my room and rushed through my shower as much as I could considering I hadn’t got to really wash the evidence of our rescue from my skin in the hospital. Luckily, most of the blood had been on my hands and clothes.
Once finished, I popped across the hall to Theo’s room and snagged a hoodie from the chair in the corner. I pressed the sweatshirt to my nose and inhaled deeply as I walked down to the kitchen. Having his scent in the nest would calm our Omega, even if Theo wasn’t there himself, and I’d have been lying if I said I wasn’t craving it, too.
As I came into the kitchen, Shae and Ethan were cuddled up on the couch in the adjoining family room, with Miles sitting to the side, rubbing Shae’s feet in his lap. We’d had almost everything we needed to make the dinner Shae wanted, and for the few things we didn’t, I could substitute something else. Bless Miles' mom for making sure the kitchen was stocked that morning. We had a full pantry and multiple meals stocked in the freezer from her panic-cooking while Shae had been… gone. Ethan’s head popped over the back of the couch as he heard me come in and his smile made my steps stutter. I was completely gone for that sweet Omega.
He whispered something in Shae’s ear and bounded into the kitchen with the same kind of golden retriever puppy energy that our Sunshine usually radiated. Those two together would be able to get the rest of us to do absolutely anything they wanted. We were all completely wrapped around their fingers, and they didn’t even realize it.
“Can I help?”
