With a week left before the Malta trip, the dads were getting everything done before taking two weeks of vacation. Nico and Stefan were watching all the kids running around and swimming. Stefan knew Nico was in love with Tanner; he always had been.

“What’s wrong?” Stefan asked.

“I just feel as if Tanner should spend time with kids his own age.”

“He loves you, Nico. He wants to spend all his time with you.”

 

Colin had been looking everywhere for Nikolai and couldn’t find him. A sudden, loud cracking noise from above caught his attention. Nikolai was in the tree house.

“Nikolai! Get out of there now!” Colin yelled, as calmly as he could. “It’s not strong anymore and the boards are rotten!”

“I thought they fixed it?” Nikolai felt a board give way and tried to hang on to anything he could find. “Colin!” he screamed

“Oh, God!” Colin watched as the board cracked further. “Get out of there!”

Nikolai was trying to crawl out the window of the treehouse and Colin was beneath it, arms outstretched.

“I’m scared, Colin!”

“I’ll catch you, I promise!” Colin positioned himself.

All the kids had turned around at the sound of the shouting. Jordan came flying out of the house with Vince; they watched in horror as the tree house gave way and landed on Colin and Nikolai.

“Fuck!” Vince ran and tried to find the boys.

“Get out here, guys!” Jordan shouted.

All the kids ran over and started pulling boards off. They found Nikolai first; there was a large gash in his forehead and his leg was obviously broken. He had landed right on top of Colin, who had taken most of the brunt of his fall.

“Oh, God!” Andrei sobbed.

“Hang on, please,” Paul begged his son as he stroked Colin’s hair.

“Oh, God, Paul.” Mark held Phoebe against his chest.

“My brother!” Conner was trying to get more wood off of Colin and they were finally able to get him out. He was unconscious and bleeding, badly.

“Hospital, now!” Jordan shouted just as someone pulled the SUV around. They all rushed to the hospital.

Stefan was pacing and Jordan took his hand, stopping him.

“I should have fixed it.” Stefan raised red-rimmed eyes to Jordan. “Why didn’t I?”

“They didn’t played in it anymore. It wasn’t a high priority, Stefan.”

“I should have fixed it!” Stefan shouted.

“Dad.” Paul took his hand. “Stop it.”

“I’m so sorry, Paul.” Stefan sobbed and Paul held him.

“Don’t do this.”

“Mr. Greystone?”

Paul turned to the doctor. “Yes?”

“Your son is going to be fine. We thought he had some internal injuries but the surgery revealed nothing. He obviously has contusions and cuts and he’s going to be in pain for a while; he’s sedated now but you can see him.”

“Thank you.” Paul looked at Stefan. “See?”

“It could have been worse,” Stefan countered, still crying.

The doctor was talking to Andrei since the guys had restrained Vince ever since he went ballistic when no one would come out and talk to them within two minutes of laying their eyes on Nikolai.

Andrei nodded and then told the whole group, “He is all right; they have set his leg, and he is sleeping.”

“Good, can I fucking see my son now?” Vince growled at the doctor.

“Mr. Markov  —”

Vince jumped at him and he took off down the hallway. Andrei took Vince’s hand and they entered Nikolai’s room. The group split in half; some went to Colin’s and the others to Nikolai’s rooms. They switched out every half hour.

 

Colin woke up slowly, and immediately focused on his parents. They both had red eyes and he knew they had been crying.

“Where’s Nikolai?” Colin sat straight up in bed and let out a loud cry.

“Don’t move.” Mark eased him back down. “Nik’s next door.”

“Is he okay?” Colin demanded. “Please, tell me he’s okay!”

“His leg is broken and he has some other minor injuries but he’s all right.” Paul smoothed back his hair.

“I want to see him right now.” Colin moved again and winced.

“Let me see what I can do okay?” Paul told him. “You saved his life. If he had hit the hard ground, there’s no telling what would have happened. You caught him and broke his fall.”

After a bit of discussion, Vince and Andrei moved Nikolai’s bed into Colin’s room. After making sure Colin was calm now, everyone cleared out to go get food, assuring him they would be back very soon. Colin somehow climbed out of his bed and into Nikolai’s and draped an arm over him. The younger boy was still unconscious and Colin kissed his cheek softly.

“Nothing can ever happen to you,” Colin whispered. “I love you.”

When the dads came back, they found Nikolai glued against Colin. Vince held Andrei’s hand and said to Mark and Paul, “Things could have been so much worse.”

“But they weren’t,” Mark pointed out. “Thank God.”

Colin began to feel better over the next few days. He spent all his time with Nikolai, playing games with him. When Nikolai had finally woken up, Colin had cried for an hour straight as Nikolai cried with him, repeatedly saying how sorry he was. Paul was watching his son thread his fingers through Nikolai’s hair. He felt Mark come up beside him.

“I think it’s safe to assume he likes him as more than a friend,” Mark said.

“And we’ll help him along, but he has to come to us first.”

“I agree.”

Nikolai looked up at Colin and smiled; he kissed his cheek and held him close.

“I love you, Colin.”

“I love you too.”

After the delay for Colin and Nikolai to feel better, the much-needed trip to Malta was finally under way. The kids were watching a movie on the jet and the parents were talking in the dining area. Nikolai’s cast was due to come off soon. Colin had spent every waking minute with him. Tanner was sitting in Nico’s lap and Nico was absentmindedly running his thumb up and down his cheek. Jensen nudged Hunter and they both smiled.

Phoebe sat with Stefan and he played with her curls; he kissed her neck and smiled when Phoebe leaned closer into him. They had gotten a lot closer lately and although the kisses had been longer, they were still chaste. To say he was frustrated was an understatement. His father had to remind him that it was his choice to be with Phoebe and, like it or not, she was younger and he had to have patience.

Evan had fallen asleep on Ryan’s shoulder and Ryan smiled and stroked his cheek; he became very aware of Joshua and Landon smiling at him and he stuck his tongue out at them. Damon had taken Lily’s hand in his. He was a big flirt, but she couldn’t help but like him and it hurt her when he flirted with other girls. Young Jordan was spending the last two weeks with all of them before his parents whisked the family off again to their dad’s next military assignment. He reached over and took Viktoriya’s hand.

“I don’t want you to wait for me all the time.”

“What do you mean?”

“You should be having fun, not sitting around on the phone with me all the time.”

“But I want to,” Viktoriya told him.

“Someday you won’t.”

Stefan and Jordan watched all their kids — older and young — during the flight. This was their family and as big as it already was, Stefan couldn’t wait to see what the next generation would bring. He felt Jordan touch his face and turned toward his husband.

“Look how lucky we are, Stefan. We started with four kids and got so many more.” Jordan smiled.

Stefan took time to look around the plane, enjoying the extra time with everyone. Time truly did seem to be flying. His eyes lit on Mark. Damon’s little playmate Mark Andrews had grown up and married tough guy Paul Greystone. The boy who had been Damon’s first boyfriend had come a long way, and now had kids of his own.

Stefan eyed all the kids he and Jordan had ‘adopted’ over the years; they were sons to him.

Losing Tanner McKinley still hurt, but they had gone on to have more kids join their lives and bring their own children along for the ride. Stefan smiled at Dante and Kyle kissing. Unlike his brother, Kyle Farrelli had been terrified to come out of the closet — now he was married to the man whose internal and external scars he had soothed. The pair couldn’t be happier together.

Jake Greco and Parker Townsend Greco had been at each other’s throats from the moment they met. Jake had fallen in love despite his best efforts to resist the other man; Parker had claimed his heart and Jake, in return, had become a rock-steady partner. They watched their young daughter with Joshua Reynolds and Parker kissed Jake’s hand. Stefan smiled at how loving they were with each other; there was such deep respect between them.

Jordan was also loving having so many of ‘their’ kids with them. He studied Justin and Brandon Maddox. Brandon was in Justin’s lap, playing with his husband’s hair. Justin looked completely love-struck. Brandon, the man who couldn’t stand blood or needles, had once shot a man twice to protect Justin. He had come a long way and Justin had finally opened up his heart to someone and gotten love in return.

Jordan glanced at Jason and Josh Reynolds. Even though Jordan thought the world of Jeremy Reynolds, Josh and Jay’s father, he felt like a surrogate father at times, loving Josh like a son. It had almost killed him when Josh’s fiancé, Tanner McKinley, died. Tanner’s brother, Jason, had come along to help Josh during his darkest hours. They had fallen in love by accident and stayed together through everything.

Stefan watched his youngest son with his husband, Tyler. The high school sweethearts had stayed together; Stefan knew Damon loved Tyler with his whole body and soul. The two of them had a connection no one could ever break. Heath was smiling at him and Stefan blew his oldest son a kiss. At sixteen, Heath had fallen head over heels for Caleb Vaughn. He pursued the older man relentlessly, and Caleb loved Heath with every fiber of his being. He was an extraordinary man who went above and beyond for the people he loved, and Stefan knew he would take a life if anyone ever threatened his family. In fact, he already had.

Jordan watched as Lorenzo stroked Reece’s face. The gentle giant and the soft-spoken doctor had fallen in love in Malta. It was almost an anniversary trip for them. Lorenzo had changed since he had met Reece. He went from a no-nonsense, nothing-but-business guard who never spoke and didn’t believe in romance to a loving man who had fallen hard for the mild-mannered doctor. Each had endured physical abuse in their lives and now they had each other, as well as a little girl they would both die — or kill — for.

Jordan almost laughed as he thought about Roman Trevino and Brett McConnel Trevino’s first encounter. Brett had been kidnapped in a plot by Simon Peters — Brett’s boyfriend who was actually a drug- and human-trafficking kingpin. When Roman arrived to rescue Brett, the doctor had shot him in his protective vest. Hence Brett’s nickname, Trigger. Roman had been assigned to protect Brett as Simon and his goons sought revenge for his escape and the destruction of their empire. Going on the run and hiding out had brought them together, while Roman had helped Brett through the heroin withdrawals he endured courtesy of the drugs forced on him by his captors. Brett had done something no one else had done for Roman — he helped him fall in love.

Dylan Cannon was in husband, Alex’s, lap, laughing at their son, Ryan, with Chris and Dimitri’s son, Evan. Alex had come a long way, as well. An older teen had raped and beaten him when he was younger, and he shied away from ever getting close to anyone. Until he fell for Dylan McAllister, who, as a fifteen-year-old, had saved little Stefan’s life with a stem cell bone marrow donation. Alex and Dylan had gone through a bump in the road and made it over to the other side.

Jordan smiled at the biggest surprise couple: Vince Markov and Andrei Panchenko. Seeking revenge for his own family’s brutal deaths at the elder Panchenko’s hands, Vince had killed Andrei’s evil father right in front of his son — but spared Andrei’s and his mother’s lives. Twelve years later, they met again, only to fall in love and have children of their own.

Chris was watching his and Dimitri’s son playing. The Russian mercenary and the happy-go-lucky college friend of Josh’s had fallen in love in Malta as well. Chris had almost walked away in the beginning but love had won out and they had become very strong together.

Stefan’s eyes landed on Jay and Greg, another high school love story that had stood the test of time. Little Jay Reynolds had gone from Munchkin to Superman. Greg had been there to see him through everything. Their brief time apart had made their bond even stronger when they had finally found their way back to each other.

Stefan checked his phone and saw he had texts from James and Tomas as well as Antonio and Marco, all saying they couldn’t wait to see them in Malta. Dominic and Mason and Theo and Leo would finally be joining them for the summer and Stefan couldn’t wait to have his whole family back in the same house. It would also be good to see his father again. Damon Sr. had become quite important to him late in Stefan’s life; he had changed his shady life for his own son. Stefan intended to make sure the summer was spent making sure his dad got a good dose of all the kids.

“They’ve grown up so much.” Stefan began to tear up and Jordan took his face in his hands.

“I love you, Stefan Santorno.”

“I love you too. Do you think they will all be all right?”

“The kids are all right, babe. They are all right.”