When they're finally able to see Asher, it's nearly nine o'clock.
They had moved from the cafeteria and into the waiting chairs by the front because they had padding and were a little more comfortable than the chairs in the cafeteria.
Ezekiel still hadn't let go of Cailen, making Cailen carry him from the cafeteria to the front, but again, he didn't mind.
He felt bad about this, he felt like this was somehow his fault that Ezekiel had cried and he was willing to do anything to make him feel better. Of course he knew it wasn't his fault but it was hard to push that feeling aside.
They were sitting by the front, watching people coming and going with Ezekiel propped in his lap so he could rest his head on Cailen's shoulder.
Cailen thinks he's dozed off a couple times between Noah and William trying to get him to converse with them.
William had even offered his phone with the Batman game on it but that had only made him cry again and William stopped trying after that, probably figuring he'd only make it worse.
Cailen wanted to tell him that it was okay, that he appreciated the attempts but William wouldn't even look at him at the moment so he wasn't able to.
Eventually, Dr. Landon came down to inform them that Asher had been moved to his own hospital room and that they could check on him before they went home.
Cailen failed to inform the doctor that he hadn't planned on going home, mostly because he was positive the doctor wouldn't allow it.
Dr. Landon led them up to the room Asher was being held in and waited for them to enter before leaving them by themselves.
Cailen was the first to enter with Ezekiel still in his arms, only now his neck was craned so he could see as Cailen walked in.
William, Matthew and Noah all followed in after them and they all fell into a shocked silence as they took in the sight before them.
Asher was lying there, unconscious of course, and Cailen had a sudden thought that maybe he shouldn't have brought Ezekiel in here with him. He probably should have come in first to see if it was okay for him to see Asher like this because certainly, this would panic the boy.
Asher's head was positioned straight forward with a cut near his eyebrow, but that was the least of Cailen's concerns.
He couldn't see the bottom half of his husband because it was hidden under a blanket but he could imagine his left leg and hip were all bandaged up much like his left arm was.
He also figured his torso was bandaged as well for his fractured rib but the hospital gown covered that as well.
It wasn't that it was a gruesome sight or anything that had him worried for Ezekiel. It was all the tubes and wires sticking in and out of Asher that had him concerned.
There were ones for monitoring his heart rate, another feeding him water, another feeding him what was probably morphine or some kind of pain killing agent in case he woke up, another bigger tube that was hooked up to a mask at his mouth to help him breathe and more disappearing under the blanket.
There was the little beeping of the heart monitor but that's pretty much all you could hear in that room until Ezekiel started squirming out of Cailen's grip so he could thump down onto the ground and step towards the bed.
Cailen reached out to stop him but the boy was fast and continued until he was standing beside the bed, staring at the motionless body lying on it.
"Is he sleeping?" Ezekiel asked in a small voice.
"Y-yeah." Cailen croaked out, suddenly overwhelmed with the sight of his husband and all the tubes sticking out of him.
There were so many.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and then another on his arm and another on his back but none of them were giving him the comfort he needed right now.
He needed Asher's hand on his shoulder, arm, or his back, telling him it'd be okay, but he couldn't do that right now.
"When will he wake up?" Ezekiel asked, looking back at Cailen with wide eyes.
"I don't know, love." Cailen said honestly. "He's going to need a lot of rest to get better, it's best to just let him sleep, okay?" Cailen said softly, stepping towards his son.
He didn't want Ezekiel to start calling out for Asher to wake up.
"Okay." Ezekiel agreed quietly, reaching out to touch Asher's hand.
Cailen gave him a moment but he knew they all had to leave soon.
"Zeke, William is going to take you home, okay?" Cailen said, kneeling down beside him and pointedly not looking at Asher.
He was sure if he did, he'd start crying and he couldn't do that infront of Ezekiel.
There were just so many tubes.
"He's going to watch you tonight and take you to school in the morning and then he'll bring you here after school, okay?"
"Where will you be?" Ezekiel asked turning to him in a panic.
"Here, I'll be here waiting for you." Cailen assured, reaching out to push Ezekiel’s hair from his face.
"You're sleeping here?" Ezekiel asked.
"Yeah, I'm going to sleep here, but you'll be okay with William, right?" Cailen asked.
He could feel his three friends watching them and had to fight not to look back at them.
"No, I want to stay here." Ezekiel said stubbornly.
"No, love, you can't." Cailen said sadly, he, himself wasn't even supposed to stay here.
"No. I'm not leaving." Ezekiel said, his voice shaking.
"Zeke-"
"No! I'm staying here with you." Ezekiel nearly shouted, his eyes filling with tears again and if there was ever an acceptable time to give in to Ezekiel, he supposed now would be a good one.
"I don't want to leave, I don't want to, Cailen. I want to be here with you. I want to stay."
"Okay, okay." Cailen whispered, pulling Ezekiel into him and holding him close. "Alright, we'll both stay here." Cailen said, looking back over his shoulder at his friends.
They all sent him a weak smile, understanding that they really weren't supposed to be here anymore.
Visiting hours were long over and they were only supposed to take a look and go home. They silently backed up out of the room, William waving quickly before shutting the door behind them, leaving Cailen with an upset little boy in his arms.
Eventually, Ezekiel calmed down and Cailen told him that they had to go to sleep.
He knew he was exhausted and he could only assume Ezekiel was as well with how droopy his eyes were getting.
Cailen was contemplating how they were going to do this, debating on whether or not he could pull two chairs together and make a half-assed bed for Ezekiel, but when he looked over his shoulder, he found he didn't need to.
Ezekiel had climbed up onto the bed beside Asher and fitted himself along the side.
The boy was smart at least, and didn't touch Asher at all, staying near his legs and waist, thankfully on his right side.
"You're going to sleep there?" Cailen asked quietly.
Ezekiel nodded his head, curling himself in the small space he had.
"Okay, you have to be careful not to touch him, okay?" Cailen said.
The last thing he needed was for Ezekiel to pull on a tube or lean on Asher's chest by mistake.
Ezekiel nodded again but because Cailen worried too much, he gently maneuvered all the tubes that were near Ezekiel over and out of the way so it wasn't a threat anymore, then he took a seat in a chair beside the bed, pulling another one over to prop his feet up on, and willed his mind to shut off.
He needed rest, he could think about everything tomorrow when he had a somewhat clearer mind.
"Dad?" Came a small voice when Cailen had just shut his eyes.
Cailen didn't even think about it before answering.
"Yes, love?" Cailen asked, opening his eyes and lifting his head up to see Ezekiel looking at him in almost amusement and curiosity…
And then it hit him.
Ezekiel had just called him 'Dad'.