Saving....Gabriel?

It seemed like they had been sitting in Sharon's office for hours, waiting for Gabriel's aunt and uncle to walk in but, each time Remy looked at the clock on the wall, to his left, it was still inside the hour they had shown up. He sighed to himself and lightly squeezed Logan's wrist, as he sat with Gabriel to his left and Logan to his right. Both he and Logan wore freshly pressed suits while Gabriel wore a clean pair of Sunday pants and a white button up shirt.

Gabriel sat there, staring at the back of Sharon's brown oak desk, wanting this to be over. They had explained to him what was happening on the way to her office but, in his mind, he felt that Logan and Remy didn't want him. Gabriel had met his aunt and uncle a few years before and his mother had been little impressed with them, in regards to taking care of him. From what he remembered, they were strict and didn't allow their own children to enjoy childhood, as children should. A shudder rolled over Gabriel as a hand gently touched his shoulder, and Logan was kneeling down beside him.

"They're here. Just down the hall. Remember what we talked about, right?" Logan's voice was soft and calming. He looked up into Gabriel's eyes as they met, and smiled reassuringly. "Whatever you want to do, you just tell her," nodding to Sharon, "and she'll understand, okay?"

Gabriel nodded and glanced up at Sharon before the door opened and in stepped his aunt and uncle. He didn't turn around until another hand was placed on his shoulder, this time it was his aunt's. Tossing a frightened look over to Remy, and swallowing as Remy nodded for him to stand up and greet her, he did.

"Good morning!" Sharon smiled brightly as she stood up and shook hands with Gabriel's aunt and uncle. "Was the drive okay?" Sharon sat back down as she guided them to empty chair, to the left of Gabriel. She sat in one of her fine suits and brushed away a few wrinkles from her overjacket as she sat back down.

Simone, Gabriel's aunt, smiled and nodded back to the woman before glancing at the two gentlemen who had been sitting across from them, quietly. "The drive was fine. We don't get out this way much but, there wasn't too much traffic." Both she and her husband had been dressed in nice enough clothes, and held themselves in the best demeanour but, neither were able to win Gabriel's attention away from Remy and Logan.

Returning to his seat, Gabriel glanced over at Remy, who smiled kindly and patted his hand as it rest on his knee. Looking to Sharon, Gabriel stiffened as a shudder rolled down his back.

Sharon folded her hands on the desk and looked at Gabriel, speaking only to him for the time being. "Gabriel, do you understand what we're all doing here?" Her voice was calm and soft as she spoke, occasionally glancing at the other peolple in the room.

He nodded.

"Your aunt and uncle are here because they want you to live with them."

Gabriel blinked but didn't say anything right away. Turning to look back at Remy, something passed in the man's eye that made Gabriel cold. He sighed and turned to look back over to his aunt, who was looking back at him. Staying silent, Gabriel lost all forms of words that he had wanted to say, and was only able to listen and think about what to do.

The grown ups talked for awhile about Gabriel's well-being, and even asked Gabriel how he liked living with Logan and Remy. Gabriel had liked it very much, and had smiled up at Remy and patted his hand. As the talk went on, and things became more serious, Sharon had noticed a change in Gabriel that made her stop, and have one of her assistants escort him across the hall to the toy room.

~~~~~~~~

As another half hour slowly unwound, Gabriel had just sat in the room, and stared at Sharon's closed door. Getting up from the floor, Gabriel came to stand in the doorway of the toy room, and lean against the frame. Hands in his pockets, he tried to listen to what was being said, across the hall, but was unable to hear anything.

Sharon's assistant stood up from her small pile of paperwork, that sat around her on the plush green vinyl sofa, and came to kneel at Gabriel's right side. "Don't worry, sweetie. It'll all be over in a few minutes." She smiled and placed a gentle hand on his right shoulder, trying to comfort him. "How about we sit back down and I'll turn the tv on, and we can see what cartoons we can find, huh?"

Gabriel didn't answer, only shrugged the hand away and continued to stare at the closed door.

Ten minutes went by with more silence, and then the door finally opened. Gabriel's face lit up when he saw Remy and Logan step out of the room. Hurrying across the small gap, Gabriel ran into Logan's arms and hugged him. Catching Remy's eye, as the slender man knelt down to his level, he took a breath and moved to hug Remy, slowly.

"Petit, you're gonna have ta be a big boy, now," Remy started, carefully. "Yer aunt and uncle are gonna take you to deir house, ta live. Dey have two nice children, just about your age, an' you'll be wit' your family, 'stead o' strangers." Glancing up at Logan, he nodded and the man behind Gabriel walked down the hall to retrieve a bag of things, from the trunk. "I know we didn't get to know you a bit longer but, you can keep what we gave you, okay?"

Gabriel nodded.

As Logan returned, the bag was in his left, and the teddybear they had given Gabriel, was in his right. Handing the bear to Gabriel, Logan patted his back and smiled down at the child, who now hugged the toy tightly. "This is all the clothes we bought for him. His personal items and a few toys he grew attached to." Logan handed the bag over to Sharon, who stood in the doorway to her office, and patted Remy's shoulder.

As Remy said his goodbyes, Logan knelt down and let Gabriel give him a big, warm hug as he whispered a few things into his ear. "Be good, okay? This doesn't mean we don't want ya. We just think you need to be with your family. You'll be alright. I promise. Yer a good kid, Gabe. Never forget that." Logan stood up and rubbed Gabriel's back, as Gabriel hung on a little bit longer. "We have to go, kiddo. You take care."

"Bye, petit."

Gabriel stood in the middle of the hall and watched them leave. "Bye, Remy," he whispered in a small scratchy voice. He waved to Logan and Remy's backs before being escorted back into Sharon's office to be explained the details.

~~~~~~~

The drive home, Remy sat in the passengar seat and stared out the window. His elbow on the windowledge, and his index finger idly stroking his soft lips, he just stared, wondering what happened. "Ya think he be okay?"

"I think he'll be fine. At least they have kids his age, that he can play with, and the family connection." Logan glanced over and noted Remy's sombre expression. "That was the last chance, Rem. Stop this foolishness. You don't work for them, anymore. Everytime you let yourself be dragged into their game, they only end up hurtin you, and I'm tired of pickin' up the pieces. No more, okay?"

"Okay."

As they pulled into the driveway, and then the garage, Logan turned off the car and got out. When Remy didn't do the same, he bent down and stared at the younger man through the open door. "You comin'?"

Remy hadn't moved to look at Logan, nor had he cared to know where he was. "In a minute."

Sighing, Logan stood up and shut the door. "Fine. You just sit there, as long as you want," Logan huffed and went inside to fix lunch and watch the news, since he had taken the day off from work. He had made sandwiches and had put Remy's in the fridge for him, whenever he decided to get out of the car and come inside.

It was awhile before Remy finally got out of the car and came into the house. His appetite had failed considerably, and he became less energetic by the minute. Sighing at the empty house, he shrugged a statement that sounded along the lines of him going up to bed. Kissing the top of Logan's head, as he passed the man sitting on the sofa, Remy headed straight up to the boy's empty room and stood there a minute before turning back to his bedroom.

Lying on his back, Remy stared at the ceiling and just listened to the silence of the house. He fell asleep for a short while before a nudge at his arm, and Logan sitting on the bed beside him, woke him.

"Hungry yet?"

Remy shook his head and rolled away, onto his left side, from Logan.

"Ya have ta eat, sooner or later, Rem. The kid's gone, yes, but he didn't die. He's safe, and with his family. You knew they'd never let us keep him." Patting Remy's shoulder and adjusting himself to lay down beside him, Logan wrapped his arms around Remy and held him against his chest.

Remy closed his eyes and placed a hand over Logan's. "Wort' a shot. Somet'in about de uncle dat just didn't strike me fair, ya know?"

"If yer referrin to the part where he called us 'fairies', I think I got that part, too. But, Rem, they're his family. Family has say over strangers, case closed. They aren't takin' our rights away from havin' a kid of our own. We can still do that. I just wish you wouldn't get your hopes up everytime they toss you scraps. Fair enough?" Logan raised his head to look over Remy's shoulder to see his lover comprehend what he was saying.

Remy nodded and held Logan's hand tighter as he felt a soft kiss on his right temple.


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