But he couldn’t argue that the birthmark was there. He couldn’t argue that the name Allister had revealed suited the baby to a T. How would a four year old think to name a baby Aleksander, complete with that spelling? And giving him Atticus as a middle name? An older child–a teen maybe–might have the forethought to give him Atticus as a middle name to thank him for getting Cricket through the birth, but…a four year old?
Theo sat a little apart, as he always did.
Not withdrawn. Just… separate. Content to observe. He leaned against a low shelf with a stuffed dinosaur balanced on his knee, blue eyes flicking between Thomas and the baby, taking it all in silently.
Aiden watched all of it.
Watched Thomas breathe.
Watched him exist like this, surrounded by children who loved him, trusted him, adored him in a way that had nothing to do with fear or awe or obligation.
God, he’d wanted this for him for so long.
“All right,” Thomas said softly, his voice pitched low and calm, like he was addressing a room full of skittish animals instead of children. “You all know what you have to do. Right?”
“Protect him,” Ara and Adi said at the same time, gaze locked on the baby’s sleeping form.
“Teach him the code,” Jagger said.
“You guys are all so smart,” Thomas said, beaming. “That’s right. You’re going to keep him safe and happy and make him feel loved and–when he’s old enough–you’ll help teach him the code.”
Ara’s nose wrinkled. “He’s… very small,” she marveled again.
“He’s supposed to be,” Thomas said with a faint smile.
Adi leaned closer. “Do you think he’ll be smarter than us?”
Thomas chuckled softly. “We won’t know that for a while. But intelligence isn’t everything. Each of you has their own strength and you’re all very smart, very gifted. Perfect.”
Jagger popped up on Thomas’s other side. “Can he fight?”
“No,” Thomas said, his amusement obvious.
Jagger frowned. “Why not?”
“Because he’s three hours old.”
“Uncle Adam and Uncle Avi are gonna be bummed,” Jett said. “They said they were excited to have another contender for the Friday Night Fights.”
Thomas snorted. “They’ll get over it.”
“Okay. Buteventually,” Jagger said. “Right?”
Thomas huffed a quiet laugh. “We’ll see.”
Jett finally lost the battle with his self-control. “Can I hold him?”
Aiden watched Thomas’s spine go a fraction straighter, not tense, exactly, but aware.
“We’re going to wait on that,” Thomas said gently. “He’s very new.”
“I held Theo when he was new,” Jett protested.
“You were supervised,” Thomas said.
“I amalwayssupervised,” Jett said indignantly.
“That’s because we’re amenace,” Jagger added proudly, clearly repeating something one of the adults had told him.
