“I’m not sure. He started crying for me and when I ran into his room he was laying there in a ball before throwing up all over the floor. He hasn’t stopped. I think he’s running a fever too he’s burning up,” I rubbed Arlo’s back as he cried in my arms.

“Alright,” the receptionist nodded, picking up her phone and making a call over the intercom, “pediatric nurse needed to room 1 as soon as possible. Pediatrics to room 1,” she hung up and lead me to a room down the hallway.

I laid Arlo on the bed and she took the bag from him, giving him a different one.

“Hi, kiddo. My name is Jenna. Can you tell me your name?”

“Arlo,” he whimpered, trying to stop crying.

“It’s nice to meet you, Arlo. A nurse will be right in to help you okay?”

He nodded and reached for me and I sat down on the bed, holding his hand, trying my best not to panic.

The room door opened and I stared in shock when I realized it was Wesley.

“Eli?” Wesley looked at me surprised before looking at Arlo, “Arlo? What happened?”

I explained what had happened and he had Arlo lay flat on his back and pull up his pajama shirt as Wesley put on gloves.

“Alright, where does it hurt?”

Arlo pointed to his right side and Wesley nodded, looking at me.

“I’m going to press on his stomach. I’m not a doctor, I can’t diagnose but based on what you’re both saying, it sounds like it’s his appendix. It’s going to really hurt if it is, so I’m sorry now,” Wesley pressed on Arlo’s right side and he cried out, squeezing my hand as tight as his little hand could.

Wesley sighed softly and spoke into the walkie-talkie clipped to his scrubs, “Dr. Jackson. Room 1 as soon as you can,” he started moving around the room, and grabbed a medical gown, handing it to me, “go ahead and change him into this. Nothing underneath. Dr. Jackson should be here in a minute to confirm. I’m going to grab some Tylenol and take his vitals in just a minute.”

“Th… thank you, Wesley,” I wiped my nose and helped Arlo sit up, undressing him quickly and putting the gown on him, before laying him back and handing him his blanket to hold.

“Daddy it still hurts,” Arlo cried again and I ran my fingers through his hair.

“I know. The doctor is coming. Just take deep breaths, Lo. Do you want daddy to sing to you?”

Arlo nodded and I started to sing his favorite song, trying to use it to fight down my fear, my heart racing as I watched my son lay there, clearly in pain. Wesley was moving around the room, taking Arlo’s vitals and giving him some Tylenol and the doctor finally came in, talking to Wesley for a moment before coming over to us.

“Hi, Arlo. I’m Dr. Jackson. My favorite nurse Wes told me that your tummy hurts really bad on the right side. Can I touch it really quick?” she smiled at him and he nodded, looking terrified.

“It’ll be okay, I’m here baby,” I kissed his forehead, and Dr. Jackson once again pressed on his side, gentler than Wesley, and Arlo started to cry, thrashing on the bed.

“Wes, go ahead and call the OR. See if anyone is available STAT.”

“Right,” Wesley nodded and looked at me, worry clear in his eyes before he walked out of the room.

“W… what’s going on?” I took a shaky breath, still running my fingers through Arlo’s hair.

“His appendix has either ruptured or is incredibly close. We need to remove it. It’s a simple procedure, he’ll only need to miss 2 days of school, but he won’t be able to participate in sports or anything truly physical until the stitches dissolve. It’s just 3 little ones. No big deal. No baths until they dissolve on their own either. He’s going to be fine. He’ll need to stay until tonight, but he’ll be up and walking by tomorrow morning just fine. Just make sure to give him ibuprofen every 6 hours.”

“Right okay,” I nodded.

“Alright Arlo, a special nurse is going to come in here in just a bit and take you to a special room. You’re simply going to go to sleep and you’ll feel so much better when you wake up okay?”

Arlo nodded, tears in his eyes and he looked at me terrified.

“Daddy will be there when you wake up. Don’t be afraid. You’re super brave.”

“Okay daddy,” he sniffled.

The operating room nurse came by a few minutes later and after I gathered Arlo’s things up, I was taken to a special waiting area, my heart racing as he was taken in for surgery.

Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I called my mother Mina, mentally apologizing for waking her at 2 in the morning.

“Eli?” she yawned as she answered, “what happened?”

“Arlo’s appendix ruptured. We’re at the hospital now. They just wheeled him back for surgery. I… I won’t be at work for 2 days so…”

“I’m not worried about work! Is he okay?”

“Scared. In a lot of pain. He woke me up crying. Threw up everywhere. He was burning up. I’m… I know he’s safe but mom I’m scared,” I started to cry, clutching his blanket to my chest.

“I’ll find a replacement for your class. Call your brother or Holly they’ll come and sit with you while you wait. Before I got into the school, I’ll stop by your house and clean up Arlo’s room. He’s going to be okay. You got yours out at the same age remember? It was all okay. So just breathe, Elijah. Get some coffee or food. You’ll see him sooner than you think.”

“Th… thank you, mom. I love you.”

“I love you too, babe. I’ll stop by tonight to bring him something special.”

“Okay.”

We hung up and I wiped my face on my sweater, holding Arlo’s blanket tight to my chest.

“Coffee?” a familiar voice asked and I looked over to find Wesley with his backpack on, holding a cup of coffee out to me.

“Oh. Thank you,” I nodded, laying Arlo’s blanket in my lap and taking it from him, “I was surprised to see you. I thought you worked when Rory was at school.”

“She’s with my dad,” he sighed, sitting next to me, “I work from 3 pm to 3 am, sleep for 2 hours, get Rory ready and go back to sleep until she gets out of school, then take her to my dads and do it all over again.”

“That sounds exhausting. How do you do it?”

“Don’t have a choice. I wanted so badly to be a father that I decided to use a surrogate to have her as soon as I left the marine corp. I was in a long-term relationship at that time and as soon as she was born… my fiance left me for his ex. So it’s just been me and Aurora since the day she was born.”

“I can relate. It’s been me and Arlo since he was 2. His mom lives in New York now,” I sniffled, “I don’t… I don’t like this.”

“Dr. Oslo is working on him. He’s the best surgeon we have. He’ll be awake in 3 hours. Just breathe. I promise he’ll be fine,” Wesley rubbed my back.

“Don’t you need to get home to Rory?”

“Are you going to be at the school tomorrow?”

“No,” I shook my head, “not for 2 days.”

“She’s not going to want to go if you’re not there. I talked to Mrs. Cruz, oh I guess that’d be your mom then, and we agreed that if there were days that Rory was uncomfortable or too scared to go to school, it wouldn’t count against her attendance. It’s best if she’s not pushed into situations she can’t handle. You being there one day and then suddenly gone is going to be too much for her. So I’ll just keep her home with me. It’s fine. She’s used to me sleeping. She can just lay with me and watch her tablet or read.”

“I can email you the work she’d need to do for those two days if you want.”

“I’d appreciate that. Thank you,” he smiled, still rubbing my back.

“Eli!”

I turned to my left and Jeremiah and Holly came running over and I jumped up, wrapping my arms around my brother.

“Hey guys,” I sniffled and hugged Holly.

“Is he in surgery?” she pushed my hair behind my ear, her bright green eyes filled with concern and I nodded, chewing my lip.

“Wes?” Jeremiah looked over me, his eyes growing wide.

“Ah. Hey Jerry,” Wesley waved, getting to his feet and shaking Jeremiah’s hand, “I was the first one to see Arlo and I knew that Eli would be a wreck so I came to check on him. Didn’t realize you knew each other.”

“He’s my little brother,” Jeremiah smiled, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and Wesley looked incredibly confused, trying to process how giant ginger Jeremiah and tiny brunette me could be related.

“I’m adopted,” I raised my hand, “I could see the mental gymnastics of trying to work that out. Oh and I don’t know if you know, but this is Holly, Jerry’s fiance.”

“Hello,” Wesley smiled and shook her hand.

“How do you know my Eli?” she narrowed her eyes.

“He’s my daughter's teacher,” he gulped staring at her.

Holly was tiny, a few inches shorter than me, but she was fierce and protective, never allowing anyone too close until she knew she could trust them. This extended to both Jeremiah and me, ensuring we were safe.

“Oh! That’s fine then,” she laughed, “I just have to keep my little brother safe.”

“I’m 26. This is getting insulting at this point,” I huffed, crossing my arms across my chest.

“Yeah well we’re 30 so you’re our little baby always,” Jeremiah pinched my cheeks and I smacked him.

“We have more important things to worry about. Arlo is having surgery and I’m scared and…”

“They’re trying to distract you from that,” Wesley whispered in my ear, sending tingles down my spine, “they know you’re scared. They’re doing the one thing they know will distract you and that’s to annoy you.”

“Oh…”

“Also I didn’t realize you were only 26,” he laughed.

“Rude. How old are you then?”

“32.”

“Wes. You’re old,” Jeremiah laughed.

“Shut up! Ass. I am not.”

“Whatever,” he shrugged, “do you want us to stay with you, Eli?”

“I… no. No Holly needs her rest, and you have to work tomorrow. I’ll be okay. I’ll sleep when Arlo does today. Just go home, I’ll text you when he wakes up and let you know how it goes. Thank you, both of you, for flying over here though. I love you,” I smiled and they both wrapped me in a hug.

“We love you too,” Holly kissed my cheek and then looked at Wesley, “it was nice to meet you.”

“Oh. Yes, you too, Holly,” he nodded.

“Wes, I’ll text you later. We still need to go golfing tell me when you’re free,” Jeremiah waved and took Holly’s hand and they left, cuddling together.

Taking a seat, I hung my head between my legs, taking a deep breath and Wesley sat with me, once again rubbing my back.

“Wes… you can go too.”

“My dad will understand if I’m a little late picking up Rory. I’d rather know you and Arlo were going to be okay.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Well… your brother talks about you a lot. How I didn’t put two and two together when we met I will never understand. I was incredibly curious. You’re exactly what he described,” he laughed, “hey… this might be inappropriate because you’re Rory’s teacher, but can I have your phone number? I’d like to be able to check in on Arlo and stuff.”

“Oh… sure,” I nodded, smiling.

Wesley handed me his phone and after I typed my number in, he called me, a bright smile on his face.

“Thank you. Feel free to text me whenever. I can always use a friend.”

“Yeah… me too. Plus Arlo and Rory seem to really like each other. Arlo is friendly but it’s rare that he clicks with someone. He tends to play by himself.”

“Rory too. Most kids avoid her at the playground because she won’t interact with them.”

“That doesn’t bother Arlo. He’s just happy to sit next to someone that isn’t me honestly,” laughing, I leaned my head back against the wall and turned to look at him, “go ahead and go home, Wesley. I can text you when he wakes up. Tell Rory that I said hi and I’ll see her on Thursday okay?”

“If you’re sure,” he squeezed my leg, warmth shooting through my entire body at his touch and I nodded, hoping that I wasn’t blushing.

“I am. Get some rest okay? You more than deserve it.”

“Sure. Can I text you when I get home?”

“I don’t see why not,” I shrugged.

“Alright. Talk soon then. Bye Eli,” he smiled brightly and got to his feet, walking down the hallway.

“Bye Wes,” I whispered, watching him go.

Wesley is really attractive.

Beyond attractive.

Beautiful.

Kind.

Caring.

Single apparently.

Can I ask a student's parent out on a date?

Is that inappropriate?

Stop it, Elijah.

I doubt he’s interested in you.

Groaning, I laid my head against the wall and closed my eyes, the coffee that Wesley had brought me long forgotten as I waited to hear about Arlo.

My phone went off 20 minutes later and I pulled it from my pocket, smiling when I read the message from Wesley.

-W: I’m home. Rory woke up as soon as I picked her up and I told her that Arlo is really sick and won’t be at school for two days. She wanted to know if she could make him a get well soon card.

-E: Of course, she can! He’d really appreciate it. Oh, I should let Arlo’s teacher know. Meh. My mom will. I guess the perks of being the principal's son.

-W: Any news?

-E: You just left, silly. Of course not. I’m just… a nervous wreck.

-W: I meant to tell you when we were sitting there. If you need me to pick anything up for you or Arlo while he’s healing the next two days please feel free to ask. I’m taking time off and happy to help if you need it.

-E: Really?

-W: Of course. Rory is going to be driving me crazy about getting to see him. He’s all she talked about when we got home. She thinks it’s cute that he looks like mini you. I agree.

-E: Wes… you’re embarrassing me.

-W: No regrets! Anyway. I need to shower and get what sleep I can before Rory wakes me up for breakfast. Let me know how things go with Arlo. Is that how you spell it?

-E: Yes lol 😂 Arlo Levi Cruz. We have the same middle name.

-W: It’s nice. I like it.

-E: Oh… thank you, Wes. Get some sleep. I’ll let you know how he is. I appreciate you worrying.

-W: Well I know we met yesterday, but I do care about you and Arlo. I’m sorry this happened. I didn’t mean to seem so rushed in the room when I first saw you both. It scared me.

-E: I just… appreciate you being here. It was helpful.

-W: I’m glad. Goodnight. Or morning or whatever. We’ll talk later.

-E: Okay. Sleep well.

I set my phone back into the pocket of my sweater, realizing that it was now around 4 in the morning and the doctor came from a private area, smiling at me.

“Are you Arlo’s father?”

“I am,” I nodded, jumping up.

“He’s out of surgery. He did totally fine. Do you want to sit with him while he wakes up?”

“Oh. Oh please absolutely.”

The doctor led me to the room that Arlo was resting in and I sat in a chair in the room, watching him sleep, the small oxygen mask on his face causing my anxiety to peak.

“Why is he wearing the mask?”

“Some people need time to adjust when coming out of anesthesia. That’s all. I’ve had younger patients forget to breathe. It’s just a precaution.”

“Will he be able to come home today?”

“Absolutely. But no sports, no running around, nothing until the stitches dissolve. The one on his lower stomach needs to stay covered as well. He can go to school on Thursday but make sure to let them know he can’t go out during recess and run around. It’s not safe for him. He’ll probably be too tired or sore regardless.”

“I teach at his school so he can just sit in my classroom during breaks. Can I get a note for him?”

“Of course,” she patted my shoulder and left the room and I continued to watch Arlo sleep, simply waiting for him to wake up.

He opened his eyes, blinking a few times and I went over to his bed, holding his hand.

“Daddy?” He whispered.