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“Dad! Odie won’t let me play!”
“What? It was your rules! You lose, I play. I lose, you play.”
“Dad!” her daughter shrieked and Sebastian had to smile apologetically at the same time look threateningly at patrons turning to glare at his green eyed energetic ball of a daughter.
“Odin, give it back to your sister. It’s not her fault you left yours at home.” Sebastian said as he turned to face his kids who were hauling a backpack full of stuffs for their weekend with their aunt. “Mox, if you scream one more time you will lose Wi-Fi privileges for two weeks when we get back home. I’m not kidding.”
“Ugh!” his son groaned and Sebastian could only smile as he watched him rolling his bright blue eyes as he gave the switch back to his smirking sister.
They walk to the lobby of Ritz Los Angeles and Sebastian could only sigh in melancholy and close his eyes for a little and he could almost see his husband turning and smiling at him, saying something along the lines of their kids inheriting every one of their diva attitudes on their surrogate mother.
“Odin. Keep an eye on Mox. Your aunt will be here soon.”
“These conferences really get old once you’re out of the talks, huh.”
“Yes. Just a sea of desperation.” Sebastian frowned as he sat a little straighter on the sofa on this fancy hotel lounge. “Sales reps trying to unload their equipment before it become obsolete or banned.”
“Wow. Really sounds like your scene.” Quinn chuckled at his fairly new colleague and friend. “If you hate it so much why did you come?”
“Well I’m the new guy.” Sebastian shrugged. “And Holiday asked me to come represent peds. Didn’t seem like an invitation I should turn down and the kids get to see their aunt, so…”
“Which is your sister or…” Quinn asked conversationally.
“Sort of a sister-in-law.”
“Mm.” Quinn smiled as he took a sip of her rum.
“Good evening, doctors.” A blonde guy greeted them with a lanyard on his neck Sebastian recognizes even before he introduced himself. “Adam Crawford. I’m with West and Young.”
“Quinn Fabray. Mt. Sinai in New York.” Quinn smiled as she shook his hand.
Sebastian didn’t know how long he’s been staring at him. Pale, elegantly dressed, with bright eyes and an upturned nose; smiling at the men and women coming in the bar and offering them pens. He’s pretty sure his sad attempt at avoiding his gaze as the man catches him staring is not as subtle as he thinks judging by the small smile and the flushed cheeks he sees when he opt to watch the other man again.
“You look like a man in need of something.”
“Do I?” Sebastian smiled as he turned to him, and there he is and his eyes are blue. “What might that be?”
The man slid the pen on the bar with a small smile.
“Hmm.” Sebastian stared, reading the brand on the said pen and chuckling a little. “Not quite sure what to make of this.”
“Well, you, uh…” the man took the pen from the bar again. “You click the little part at the back, and you write with the front.” he said as he demonstrates.
“Mm.” Sebastian smirked.
“It’s called a pen.” Blue eyed quipped with an eyebrow arched.
“Courtesy of Thriveall.” Sebastian drawled. “Who makes erectile dysfunction medication.”
The other man laughed and Sebastian is enamored at that point. “They do?” he asked in disbelief.
“You don’t even know what your own company makes?”
“My best friend said a company at a convention was paying 600 bucks and all I had to do was hand out pens and smile.” the man chuckled with an eye roll. “That might not sound like much to a doctor but to a starving artist, that’s rent.” the man sighed a little without dropping the close lipped smile. “No wonder no guys want these pens.”
Sebastian chuckled, turning on his seat to face the man who was standing on his side fully.
“What kind of artist?” he asked. “Apart from starving?”
“Mixed media.” the man said proudly. “A lot of textured photo collage and instant film transfers.”
“Oh wow.”
The man laughed. “That doesn’t make any sense to you, does it?”
“No, the individual words do ― just not when you put them together.”
The man laughed and the sound made Sebastian smile.
“So, what are you drinking?” he asked after a beat gesturing to his own gin.
“I’d like to but these are not going to hand themselves out.” the man pouted a little before gesturing to the small bag with the pens on his hand.
Sebastian nodded thoughtfully before taking the red purse with the pens and laying it on the table.
“I go through a lot of pens.” he explained at the surprised expression on the man’s face.
He stared at Sebastian for a while before smiling.
“So how about a drink?” Sebastian said as he patted the seat next to him.
Sebastian saw his husband in a hospital gown, slowly walking out of the restroom to the bed while rolling his IV drip with him with a frown before smiling weakly as he spotted him.
“Just a couple more minutes.” Sebastian said as he helped his husband get on the bed.
“Okay.” he sighed deeply. “This is happening. Are you sure we don’t need to wait a few more time, like, years?”
“Babe this is ―”
“A stage two colon cancer surgery on a 34 years old. They’re removing parts of my large intestine inside of me. And if you say ‘not a big deal’ again I am going to strangle you in front of our beautiful kids and it will be your fault.” he said as he glanced on the sofa by his bedside where two kids ― a boy and a girl, ages 7 and 4 respectively are busily watching a movie on their father’s laptop.
“I was going to say ‘routine’ but…” Sebastian took his husband’s hand, rubbing them for some warmth. “The surgeon we found she’s done more of these than I can even count. It’s minimally invasive, fast recovery time, low post operation complication. You’re in amazing hands. She’s great, really.”
“Or I’ll bleed out or she’ll cut into my small intestine and I’ll get a horrible infection and die.”
“Well, in that case, me and the kids will move on.” Sebastian smirked, trying to lighten the mood even though he too is panicking a little on the inside. “Don’t get me wrong it’ll be a really tough couple of days. Then single men will start showing up with casseroles.” his husband dropped his hand with a glare and a smirk. “I mean, I won’t even have to try. They’ll feel so bad for me.”
“Ohhh.” his husband smiled a little and there. That is Sebastian’s lifeline.
“I mean… surgeon.” Sebastian smirked, popping the lapel of his white coat a bit to annoy his husband.
He chuckled, fixing Sebastian’s lapel with a little push on his shoulder.
“Sexy widower, single dad. I mean I’ll be batting them away, honestly.”
“Uh huh. Right.”
“Hmmm.” Sebastian nodded.
“I hate you.”
“I love you.” he whispered reverently as he cupped his husband’s face gently before kissing him right in front of their kids.
“Mrs. Karen at school had skin cancer and she’s fine now.” Sebastian heard his son Odin says as he cuddled close to his husband’s side on his hospital bed.
“That’s a different kind of cancer, baby.” his husband said with a weak chuckle.
“Oh.”
“But that’s really nice to hear, honey.” his husband tried to say a little loudly, hugging his son and his daughter close to his side and smiling at Sebastian when Sebastian turned and walked to them. “Hey can you guys go find Papa a ginger ale? It will make me feel lots better.”
Sebastian watched his kids cheer up a bit, relieved and excited by the prospect of making their Papa feel a little bit better. Sebastian watched them as they left the room hand in hand, meeting the eye of his husband’s trusted private nurse who smiled at him sadly before following the kids.
“Mrs. Karen is the one who accused him of writing swear words on his desk.” Sebastian said as he rounded his husband’s bed, sitting on the side once occupied by his son. “She’s a monster.”
He watched as his husband smile a little at him before looking so tired again. “I need you to listen to me.”
“The nurse should be here by now.” Sebastian said, avoiding his husband’s eyes and glancing at the door.
“If this doesn’t work…”
“It has to work.” he said a little too forcefully.
“It’s the second clinical trial we’ve tried in three years. We’re at the end of this. I’m not going to be okay.”
Sebastian shook his head with a frown. “I’ve seen people bounce back from far worse than this. You’re forgetting that I’m the doctor in this equation.”
His husband looked at him seriously and Sebastian knows he is ignoring another occupation jibe that is Sebastian’s go to rebuttal on every argument about his husband’s health. “You’re going to be doing this alone soon so I need you to listen.”
“No.” he shook his head stubbornly. “I’m not and I won’t.”
“Make sure that Odin and Mox knows that it’s okay to cry, to feel everything. I don’t want them locking this up and letting it eat away at them.” Sebastian took on of his husband’s hand and clutched it to face as he felt tears stream down his face. “Don’t be strong. Let them know that it’s okay to fall apart.”
“Please don’t do this.” he whispered brokenly.
“And promise me that you’re going to let the kids see Santana. I know she’s crazy but she’s not a bad person. Don’t forget the fact that she made me go to that stupid medical conference where I met your stubborn ass and she carried our beautiful babies. She loves them.” his husband said earnestly. “And whenever you have trouble with the kids, just call your mother.” Sebastian chuckled with a watery eye roll. “You are proof that she knows what she’s doing.” his husband whispered quietly as he smiled up at him and Sebastian could only cry harder as he planted kisses on his husband’s palm. “And it’s okay if Moxie quits violin.”
“Yeah.”
His husband smiled as he nodded, tearing up a little. “I told her that she’ll get better if she keeps practicing, but I think it’s hopeless and your well into that dream of having a YouTuber for a kid. She’s so much like you and if we know better she’s not getting better because she doesn’t like to.” they chuckled through their tears. “And ― and keep an eye on Odin’s temper. ‘Cause I think he gets it from me, and we’ve both seen the mess that can cause. My tough but really sensitive baby.”
Sebastian cradled his husband’s face carefully with booth his hands as he gently leaned their foreheads together.
“And it’s okay to fall in love again. You have my permission.”
“I don’t want that.”
“Which is why you need to hear me say that it is okay.” his husband said fiercely. “You don’t need to beat yourself up or feel guilty. You deserve to be happy. Bright side, you won’t have to work for it. Sexy widower, surgeon, single dad. You’ll be batting them away.”
“Okay lads. That’s everything.” Sebastian said as he folded Kurt’s scarves and blanket that smells so much like him on a box.
“Can we stay a little longer?” his daughter cried from the bed, voice breaking and it’s enough to break Sebastian’s heart all over again.
“What? That’s creepy.” he heard his son say near the door, facing away from them.
Moxie sobbed.
“Oh, no, Mox. Here.” Sebastian said as he sat beside his daughter, taking her on his lap and hugging her close as she sobbed. “We can stay as long as you want.” he promises.
“I want Papa.”
Sebastian cleared his throat before hugging his daughter tighter, looking out at the window, and whispering. “Me too.”
He heard Odin sniffle from behind them and Sebastian turned to his son’s watery blue eyes that are so like his late father’s and opened his other arm; Odin ran to him clinging for dear life.
“Mm. Did you order these?” Quinn asked as a waiter dropped an order of scotch on the rocks on their table.
“Guilty.” Adam smiled walking to them again and sitting on the sofa on the far end where Quinn sat.
“Do you always sell this hard to everyone here?”
“Well not anyone works in Mt. Sinai.”
“Maybe you should take up your business right there then.” Sebastian said, leaning with his elbows on his knees close to the table.
“Listen this is a really exciting opportunity.” Adam continued, unperturbed. “West and Young is looking to expand R and D beyond our laboratories. We want to partner with the right hospital and develop side by side with you.”
Quinn hummed. “That actually could sound―”
“I know all about your devices.” Sebastian said. “Do you know about m258, Adam?”
“Of course. It’s one of our most popular devices.”
“I bet you’ll say it is magic.” Sebastian said, glaring at the guy.
“What does it do?” Quinn said, watching Sebastian thoughtfully.
“It’s a device used for early stage colon cancer patients. It’s foolproof 99% safe.”
“Yes but there’s a problem.” Sebastian glared. “What started out as nicely contained, easily removable tumor has now spread countless cancer cells all throughout the patient’s body. Cancer that metastasizes and grows and can’t be stopped.”
“Less than 1% of benign tumor turns into sarcomas.” Adam said with a smile Quinn’s way.
“My husband was one of that 1%. His name was Kurt. Your device took him. It took one of my kid’s fathers. And you still sell the thing, even though you know it can kill, and you pay to suppress the proof. So no.” Sebastian dropped the glass with the rum on the table with a clank making Quinn and Adam jump a little at the loud sound. “I don’t want your drink. And you’re lucky I haven’t already put that pen through your throat.” he spat bitterly as he glared at Adam.
“O-Okay.” Adam stood up, flustered, before walking away from them.
Sebastian followed him with his eyes as he walked out before turning to Quinn who was looking at him carefully with her gray eyes.
“Apologies, Dr. Fabray.” he smiled a little before standing up and walking to his room and glancing at the very spot he first saw his glorious late husband and one true love.