Chansung

Chansung had been numb while he'd been frog-marched out of the hospital and placed in the backseat of the cop's squad car. He was in his right mind enough to know that he'd crossed the line by shouting and threatening Jea. His first priority should have been his son and instead it had been himself.

When they'd gotten to the police station, the cop had left Chansung in a hard plastic seat near the entrance to the building, with his hands still cuffed behind his back. The officer had gone behind the main desk and was talking quietly with another cop who was wearing more insignia on his uniform. Chansung assumed this man was the cop's boss.

"Chansung, thank Christ." Jongup swept into the police station, with his briefcase clutched in his left hand, looking like a man on a mission "Did they formally charge you? Book you or fingerprint you?"

"No, not yet. The officer told me to sit here and he'd be with me in a minute." this was definitely the lowest point of Chansung's life, cuffed in front of his family, unable to be there for his son. 

Jongup nodded before carding his hand through his hair.

"How is Jay?" all Chansung could think about now was his son. After seeing the pictures the cop showed him of the marks on Jay's back and bum, all he could think was how much pain Jay must have been in last night. How in the hell had he missed his son's verbal and non-verbal cues about his injury?

"He's with Junho and your parents. I guess they're waiting for some blood work to come back and then Jay needs to see the doctor. The nurse told me he's going to be able to go home soon."

"With Jea?" Chansung half-shouted before thinking better of it. All of the cops nearby turned to stare at him. Finally reaching his emotional limit, Chansung started crying. 

Jongup set a hand on Chanung's shoulder "No, Jay is not going home with Jea. Until we figure out who did this to Jay, he's not going to be able to stay with either of you. He's going home with your parents and Junho tonight."

"Junho?" Chansung hadn't really given his lover much of a thought since he'd been taken out of the hospital. While the cop had stood there accusing him of hurting Jay, Junho had stood silently by without offering a single word of support.

"I've named Lee Junho as Guardian ad Litem. He'll be in charge of representing Jay's legal interests. I gave him all the paperwork and after he signs it tonight, I'll file it with the court in the morning."

"I don't want Junho anywhere near my son. He stood by and watched the cops accuse me of hurting my Jay. He didn't say one word to defend me." Chansung had no fight left in him. He was pissed at Junho, but more than that, he was brokenhearted. The man who claimed to love him hadn't stood up for him. 

Jongup shook his head "He couldn't, Chansung. You were so far out of control that no one could have calmed you down. Junho shut his mouth because he didn't want to end up locked in the cell next to yours."

"Bull." Chansung didn't believe that for a second. Junho could have told the cops what he knew about the kind of relationship he had with his son, but he didn't say a ing word. 

"Jay was screaming for Junho when Minjun-hyung sent him back to class. The nurses at the hospital told me that he'd been crying for Junho since the ambulance picked him up."

"He wanted Junho and not me?" Chansung's heart was broken so badly, he didn't think it was possible to ever put all the pieces back together again. 

"Jay was very emotional. He's also refusing to say who hurt him. Not only did someone beat him, Chansung, they've scared him so badly he wouldn't tell you, Junho, or the hospital staff who hurt him." the lawyer shook his head. 

"Hwang-ssi?" the cop who had brought him in was walking toward them.

"Yes, sir." Chansung in a deep breath and tried to pull himself together. Whatever happened next, he needed to be in control of himself and his emotions. He moved to wipe away his tears, forgetting his hands were still cuffed behind his back.

"Stand up and turn around." the cop's tone brought no argument. 

Chansung did as he was asked and the cop uncuffed him. He rubbed the spot on both wrists where the cuffs had chafed his skin. 

"There's a men's room down the hall to your right. Clean yourself up and meet me in room five. I need to take your statement."

Jongup leaned closer to the cop "Are you arresting him, Officer Choi?" 

"Not for what happened at the hospital. We need to get to the bottom of who hurt Jay. Your client needs to cooperate with us." Officer Choi rubbed a hand against the back of his neck.

The cop's gesture reminded him of his and Junho's symbol for I love you. He didn't think it was possible, but his heart broke a little more. He didn't know how much more pain he could take before it killed him.

Junho

Junho's stomach was churning as he walked down the hall toward Jay's room. He didn't know what to expect when he saw the little boy. He was never at ease in hospitals, but he would do whatever he needed to do to make sure Jay knew he was loved.

"He's right in there." the nurse pointed to the door "Don't try to get him to tell you who did this to him. Just cuddle and love him, if he'll let you."

"Is he in any pain? Would he at least tell you about that?" Junho kept his voice low.

The nurse nodded "We gave him some children's Tylenol. I would suggest having some of that on hand for him at home and at school. Jay said it stings like the sunburn he got at Water Country last year."

"Damn Jea." Kwanghee muttered under his breath.

That explained how a five year old knew what sunburn felt like. Who the hell doesn't put sun block on their child? Hwang Jea, that's who.

"Thank you for taking such good care of Jay." Junho held out his hand to shake with the nurse.

"You're welcome. He's a sweet little boy." 

"Yes, he is." Junho turned back to Kwanghee and Narsha "Ready?" Junho peeked into the hospital room and saw Jay curled on his side wearing a little johnny patterned with dinosaurs. Another nurse was sitting at his bedside "Hey, buddy!" Junho pasted on a smile for Jay's benefit.

"Lee-sunsengnim!" Jay rolled over to sit up, wincing a bit.

Slipping his shoes off, Junho crawled up on the hospital bed with Jay "When we're not at school, you can call me Junho, okay?"

Jay nodded and crawled into Junho's lap, resting his head on Junho's shoulder "I love you, Junho."

Wrapping his arms around the injured boy as tightly as he dared, Junho pressed a kiss to his black head "I love you too, buddy." he could feel tears starting in the back of his eyes, but he wasn't going to cry in front of Jay. He'd do that later when he was alone.

"Is my Daddy safe?" Jay asked quietly, his face buried in the crook of Junho's neck.

Junho exchanged an uneasy look with Narsha and Kwanghee. Why on Earth would Jay not think his father was safe? "Of course your Daddy is safe. You are too."

Seemingly satisfied with Junho's answer, Jay rested his head back down on his shoulder. 

"I got a needle in my arm." Jay held up his arm to show Junho.

"I like the Superman band-aid." Junho couldn't help but wonder why they would need to draw Jay's blood. 

"I wanna go home, Junho." Jay's voice was barely above a whisper.

Jay's tiny voice broke Junho's heart. He wanted the old boisterous Jay back, the one who told fart jokes and bounced around the room like a hummingbird on speed "Soon, buddy. We're gonna spend the night with Grams and Pop-Pop, okay?"

"With my Daddy?" Jay pulled his head up off of Junho's shoulder. His tired black eyes wore a hopeful look. 

How could Junho tell Jay he wasn't allowed to see his father? How could he make Jay understand a thing like that?

"Not tonight, little man." Narsha sat on the side of the bed and pressed a kiss to Jay's head "We're gonna have a slumber party. Just you and me and Junho and Pop-Pop."

"Who's gonna keep Daddy safe?" Jay's eyes never left Junho's.

"Hey there Jay!" a happy voice called from inside the door.

"Hi, Doctor Khunnie." Jay rested his head against Junho's shoulder again, wrapping his arms around Junho's neck. 

"Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul." the doctor held out a hand to Junho. He was wearing a scrub top patterned with toy trucks and was carrying a small laptop like textbook.

"Lee Junho." the doctor had a firm grip and gorgeous dark eyes, and surprisingly those thick eyebrows suited his handsome face and made him look extra friendly.

"Ahh, so you're the amazing Lee-sunsengnim I've heard so much about. I'm Jay's pediatrician. He told me all about your classroom lizards." the doctor leaned in a bit closer "We thought it would be easier on him if he had a familiar face here..."

Junho nodded. Thank God for people who looked out for kids like Doctor Horvejkul.

"All of Jay's blood tests came back perfect. Of course they did because Jay is awesome!" the doctor rifled a hand through Jay's hair. 

Junho grinned at the doctor "When can we take him home?"

"You've been named as Jay's Guardian ad Litem, yeah?"

"Yes." Junho hadn't signed the papers yet, but he wasn't about to tell the doctor that.

"Buddy, why don't you go change back into your clothes okay?" Doctor Horvejkul offered Jay a big smile. 

"Okay, Doctor Khunnie." Jay didn't make a move to let go of Junho, instead holding him tighter. 

"I'm safe here with Doctor Khunnie. I promise." Junho rubbed a hand against Jay's upper back. 

Jay nodded and sat back up. He nibbled his top lip nervously, staring up at Junho. 

"Come on, little man. Let's get you back into your favorite shirt." Narsha was holding the clothes Jay wore to school. 

It seemed like a lifetime had passed since Junho saw Jay wearing his Rex Rules shirt. Narsha plucked Jay off his lap and hauled him away.

When Jay was in the bathroom with his grandparents, the doctor turned back to Junho "I know Chansung could never do anything like this to Jay, but without proof, all I can do is state the facts in my report to the police and child services."

"I understand." it was nice to know others didn't think Chansung could do this to Jay either. Junho's thoughts turned back to Chansung. He didn't want to think about the man that he loved being locked up in jail for being a concerned parent, albeit one who threatened to kill his ex-wife if she'd been the one to harm Jay. 

"Jay keeps asking if his father is safe and based on your conversation with him just now, he seems worried about you too." the doctor's dark eyes conveyed genuine concern.

"I noticed the same thing. In the month or so that I've known Jay, he's never been worried about anyone's safety. Or about anything in general." Jay was probably the most easygoing kid in his class this year.

"It makes me think whoever did this to him is using Chansung and maybe even you as a way of keeping him quiet." 

Junho nodded. He'd wondered the same thing "He didn't give you any clue about who did this to him?"

Doctor Horvejkul shook his head sadly "He didn't say a word, but his body spoke for him."

Junho frowned "What do you mean?"

The doctor opened the laptop he carried and turned it around to show Junho "These are the photographs we took of Jay's injuries. Notice the handprint on his lower back."

"Oh my God." Junho gasped, his hand fluttering to his heart. Clear as day in Jay's skin was a partial handprint. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. Now wasn't the time to cry, but Jesus Christ, someone did this to Jay.

"I know it's awful to look at, but the picture tells us a lot." the doctor held up his right hand to the mark "You can tell it was a right hand and that the fingers are smaller than mine."

With a shaking hand, Junho reached out to touch the screen. The handprint was smaller than his own "Chansung's hands are bigger than mine."

"I know." Nichkhun said with a wistful look.

"You know?" had Nichkhun been one of Chansung's lovers?

"I've had a crush on Chansung for years. I'm a hand man, what can I say?" Nichkhun blushed and flipped to the next picture.

Junho was totally taken aback by what the doctor had just said to him, but now wasn't the time to ask questions. 

Doctor Horvejkul cleared his throat "What the pictures don't tell us is who hurt Jay. From what I understand, he was with you and Chansung for a while on Friday night and then with his mother and step-father-to-be until Sunday night when he was dropped back off with his father. Is that right?"

"Yeah." Junho shivered, wrapping his arms around himself.

"What is it?"

"I was just remembering the way Jea shouted when she came to get Jay on Friday night. She was yelling awful things at me and Chansung and had scared Jay to death. He flew into my lap and held on for dear life."

"So it's possible the mother hurt him. I've never gotten a very motherly vibe from her, although I only met her once. After that, it was Chansung who brought Jay in for his shots and when he was sick."

"That sounds like Jea. I've never gotten a motherly vibe from her either. It wouldn't surprise me if she or the boyfriend hurt Jay. I mean what man wants to be burdened with someone else's child?"

Nichkhun laughed "You do, Junho. I can see how much you and Jay love each other."

Junho nodded "He's a special kid and it kills me that someone could hurt him physically and then scare him into keeping quiet."

"The key to all of this is Jay telling someone what happened to him. The most likely person he'd tell is you. He's going to need a lot of support and cuddles over the next few days. Give him all he needs and then some. Don't ask him directly who hurt him. Try to find a way around asking that question."

"Okay. I'm thinking of taking a few personal days so I can be with him when Chansung can't be."

"I think that's a great idea." Nichkhun got up from the bed "Here's my card." he flipped it over and scribbled something on the back "This is my personal cell number. Call me if you need anything, day or night."

"I will. I can't thank you enough for taking care of Jay today."

"I love my little patients like they're my own kids. I'd do anything to help them." Nichkhun's smile was warm "If Jay does manage to open up about who did this, you might want to talk to Jongup about letting him testify at the temporary custody hearing. The age of reason in Seoul is seven years old, but Jay is mature and well-spoken enough for his testimony to be heard in open court. Hearing from Jay could be the nail in the coffin that takes him away from his mother permanently."

Junho found his first smile in what felt like hours. He'd do everything in his power to make sure the only way Hwang Jea saw her son again was through pictures.