I did my best to reel in my reaction at Josiah’s words. This… was his room. There wasn’t anything wrong with the little apartment. It was rundown, yes, but very clean and organized. If Dusty hadn’t asked, I never would have realized that this was where Josiah slept. I walked over and pushed against the cushions of the couch. I could feel the springs underneath the worn foam.

No. This would not do. Our omega had been through the day from hell, and he expected us to just let him sleep with springs sticking into his back all night? Correction, attempt to sleep. I couldn’t imagine he got much sleep on that thing on a good night.

I turned around to see Josiah’s flushed face. His cheeks were too bright on his wan face. He had nothing to be embarrassed about, though.

“Dusty?” My voice was tight and controlled. “Can we speak outside for a moment?”

Dusty pulled Josiah in for a hug and murmured something to him then followed me outside.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Dusty whispered, “We can’t let him stay here!”

I nodded. “My thoughts exactly.” It was hard to find two people more different than Dusty and I, but when the rubber hit the road, we drew closer and had each other’s backs.

“How are we going to convince him, though?”

I snorted. “There is no convincing Josiah. We just have to tell him like it is. Don’t give him any room for argument.”

Dusty rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay, caveman. We’ll just knock the omega over the head and drag him back to our lair. Not.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay, then. What’s your plan?”

“We appeal to his weak spot. Sam. What if something goes wrong and he gets worse, and doesn’t have the time to call anyone? Between the two of us, we have one person to take care of Sam, and one person to take care of him. I don’t mind driving Sam into school tomorrow.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You realize that not only will you have to wake up before noon, you’ll have to wake up before eight in the morning.”

Dusty’s jaw tightened. “I can do it.”

I could see the same determination on his face that was in me. I wasn’t certain he would be the one taking Sam to school in the morning, but one of us would. And the other would be coherent enough to attend to Josiah.

“Okay. You try your talking. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll do things my way.” I mimed bashing Dusty over the head.

“My way will work,” Dusty said confidently and knocked on Josiah’s door. Josiah’s response was quiet enough that I couldn’t hear what he said, but Dusty opened the door anyway.

Josiah was sitting in a threadbare armchair and his eyes fluttered open as we came in. He was beat. The sooner we got him into a nice, comfortable bed, the better.

Dusty walked over and sat on the footstool in front of him. “We have a proposal for you. I know we said we didn’t want to shake up Sam’s schedule, but we’re still worried about you.”

“I don’t want your charity,” Josiah grumbled. “I can take care of Sam and myself. I’ve done it for years.”

Dusty reached out and placed his hand on Josiah’s and I tensed, waiting for Josiah to jerk his hand back. He didn’t, though, and I relaxed slightly. I was worried about both of them. If Josiah fought us, that would hurt Dusty, who had one of the most open and giving souls I’d ever met. And Josiah needed us, whether he acknowledged it or not.

“You’ve done an amazing job as both a parent and a brother, Josiah. I could tell that the first time I met you, and meeting Sam and seeing your home has only proven it further. But it would just kill us both if something happened tonight. If you developed complications. What if you couldn’t reach the phone in time? What if something happened, and Sam found you and had to deal with that?”

A slight shudder wracked Josiah’s body, but still he protested. “I can ask Mrs. Jones to come over.”

“Not to be rude, Josiah, but where will she stay? Will she sit up all night? We have several lovely spare bedrooms that haven’t seen enough use. Not to mention you’re in this position because of us. It’s the least we can do for you.”

I could see the choices warring on Josiah’s face. The young man was exhausted, not just from this recent ordeal, but from life. He’d been doing the best job he could on his limited resources. He was the kind of person who deserved help but wouldn’t take it. He deserved so much more than working himself to the bone just to sleep on an uncomfortable couch while he was unwell.

“Josiah.” My voice rumbled deep in my chest. “Please. Come home with us. Let us take care of you, even if it’s just for the night. We’ll make sure Sam gets to school. We’ll stuff you full of chicken broth. And we’ll be right by your side if there’s an emergency. And if you don’t say yes, Dusty won’t sleep a wink tonight, which means I won’t sleep tonight.” I managed a half-hearted smile and stepped forward to place my hand on the top of his head, ruffling his hair a little. “It’s been a long time since you let anyone take care of you. You deserve at least one night.”

We could convince him to stay longer once he knew how comfortable our spare beds were.

“But Sam’s already asleep...” was Josiah’s last protest.

“Let me check on her.” Dusty knocked on Sam’s door and peeked in. I continued to rub Josiah’s head and he leaned into my touch. “Sam? You asleep yet?”

We all heard her bright voice answering in the negative.

“I know it’s late, but your brother said we can have a sleepover party at our house tonight. Would you like that? Richard will even make waffles in the morning.”

I snorted. It was just like Dusty to make promises for me, but that was certainly one I didn’t mind, if it would bring this duo under our wing.

“Blueberry?” Sam asked suspiciously.

Josiah huffed a weak laugh. “It’s her favorite,” he murmured.

I nodded to Dusty.

“Definitely,” Dusty answered her.

“Okay, then!”

Dusty disappeared into her room to help her pack a small bag.

“Where are your clothes, Josiah?”

He started to get up, but I pushed him back into the chair. “No, let me. You rest.”

He flopped back. “That end table covered by the shawl? If you lift the fabric up, there’s drawers.”

It was one of those plastic three-drawer deals you could get for college. Did it contain all his clothes? I set that question aside for another time and did my best to pull out at least three outfits and something that could be used for pajamas. If it wasn’t enough, we’d go shopping or come back.

Sam bopped out of her room as I finished up and leaned against her brother’s chair. “Siah,” she whispered. “I’ve never had a sleepover!”

Her words stopped me, and I had to swallow back a lump of emotion at her words combined with the picture of a lonely girl Josiah had drawn for us when we had first met. Josiah said she’s doing much better, I reminded myself. She has friends now.

Well, this little girl had just gained two more friends, and more than that, protectors. Dusty wiggled out of the bedroom, and I smiled when I saw that not only was he carrying a small bag that was presumably full of clothes, but also about five stuffed animals.

“Everyone ready?”

Josiah started to stand, and I scooped him up again. This time he didn’t protest, and a possessive warmth stole through my heart. If he learned nothing else from Dusty and me, I wanted him to learn he deserved to be taken care of.

* * *

We put Josiah in the spare room closest to ours, and Sam in the one just past him. Dusty focused on getting her settled in while I helped Josiah. He hadn’t fought me when I carried him into the house, up the stairs, and deposited him gently on the bed, though Sam had followed us with giggles.

I pulled out the shirt and loose pants I’d grabbed for pajamas from his bag and set them next to him on the bed. “Is this okay?”

Josiah looked around the room with wide eyes, and I wondered what was going through his mind. “Thank you,” he said.

I waved off his thanks. “Like I said before, it’s nothing you don’t deserve, and it’s the least we can do. Can I get you anything?” Josiah shook his head. “I’ll let you get changed, then.”

I went downstairs to fill up a glass of water and piddled about in the kitchen until I figured he’d had enough time to get changed. I knocked on his door and entered at his “Come in.”

“I brought you some water,” I said. “Do you need any pain medication?”

Josiah shook his head. “I think... the doctor might have given me a prescription for something, but I don’t know where it is. And there’s one of the over-the-counter painkillers that I’m not supposed to take, but I don’t remember which one.”

I added that to my mental checklist for tomorrow. Josiah had clearly been too out of it at the hospital to keep track of these things. I was honestly surprised they had let him go.

His cheeks looked flush again, but I didn’t think it was from embarrassment this time. I leaned forward and pressed my wrist to his temple. Maybe he was a little warm, but if so, it was just a low-grade fever.

“We’re going to leave our door open tonight, so we can hear if you need help.”

Josiah nodded.

I stood to leave, but before I did, I looked down at Josiah’s small, exhausted frame. I felt the need to say something more.

“Josiah, you’re more than just a surrogate to us. And I think this incident has crossed the line from friendship to family. Even after you go home, even if you choose not to be our surrogate anymore, you’re family. We’re not going to let you deal with life on your own anymore.”

Josiah’s eyes were large and sparkling with unshed tears. I cleared my throat and left the room before I lost it.

Dusty met me in the hallway, and together we turned to look at our omega. After a moment, I pulled the door mostly shut behind us, leaving it cracked in case he called out at night.

When we reached our room, I pulled Dusty into my arms and held him tight. His shoulders shook in silent sobs. I whispered comforting words as I rubbed his back, letting him unleash the sorrow, fear, and stress of the evening. Strangely, after tonight, I felt more solid in the idea of building a family with Dusty than ever before. Maybe it was because I had started imagining what a life with the child Josiah had been carrying would look like, and only when it was ripped away did I realize how excited I had been. Maybe it was just taking care of someone other than ourselves, and realizing how fulfilling that felt.

I undressed myself and Dusty and turned back the covers of the bed, pulling my husband into the safe space of my arms. He cried himself to sleep. Our words would wait for another day when we’d had time to process, but for now I would hold Dusty in my arms and the two other members of our family in my heart.

I woke without an alarm. Something had disturbed me, but it took me a moment to figure out what. Then I heard the soft rise and fall of voices down the hall. I slid out from under the covers and padded down the hall to peek into Josiah’s room.

The door was wide open now, and I could see the little blonde head of Sam’s hair glowing in the lamplight next to Josiah.

“Are you okay, Siah?”

“I’m fine, baby girl. What’s wrong? Couldn’t you sleep?”

“I had a nightmare.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

Sam was quiet for a moment. “I dreamed you died. Like Mommy and Daddy. And I was all alone.”

Josiah turned over and I nearly stepped into the room at his small grunt of pain, but he managed fine and pulled his little sister in for a hug. “I’m alive. I’m here. And I will never leave you all alone, you hear?”

Sam nodded.

He lifted the blanket and gestured her close. “Come on, Sammy girl, I’ll protect you.”

With that, I crept back to my room as quietly as I could and slid in beside Dusty again, thoughts spinning through my mind. I knew what I wanted.

I wanted Josiah to stay here. I wanted him to stop working two jobs. I wanted him to be able to spend time with his sister without worrying about losing money from not working. I wanted him to never have to fucking worry about money again.

I wanted all of that, and I would be shocked if Dusty didn’t want it, too. But what would Dusty think about inviting them to live with us long-term? It was a little sudden, sure, but we’d come to know Josiah over the last few months of the fertility therapy and the implantation and the waiting. We fit well enough as friends, and I suspected we would fit just as well as housemates. But he would probably resist the idea.

Dusty shifted in his sleep and I wrapped my arms around him again. Tomorrow, we’d have to talk over the idea, and if Dusty was willing, how we would make that idea a reality. In the meantime, I had better get back to sleep. One of us needed to take Sam to school tomorrow, and I sincerely doubted it would be Dusty.