[Sam260]

"He didn't forget to tell me. I thought you were joking... Or, you know - had the night gone badly, I wanted to lend my support... You know Silas wouldn't have." Sidney said and then huffed loudly "Silas is stressed. That's all there is to it, really..." Sidney paused for a few minutes, silence reigning over the line "The triplets are only getting about two hours of sleep at night, and he's just panicking and fretting over everything. You know him, he tries to carry the world when the world is too heavy for him to carry alone; and he never asks for help."

Gio snuggled closer to Sirius and yawned into the other mans broad chest, eyes drooping lazily every few seconds. His finger lazily tracing part of Sirius' tattoo sleeve that extended up to his shoulder area "Is Gio there *now*?!" Sidney squeaked on the other end of the line, probably having heard Gio yawning.

[hockeypreg2]

"Yes he is here now. This wasn't our first date," Sirius said, smoothing his hand down Gio's back gently. "He's been at my apartment quite a bit. In fact he's going to take care of Misha when I'm out of town this week so that's one less thing you need to worry about this week."

Sirius yawned widely. "Why is he coming into work? He doesn't need to. He should stay home and try to relax a little. Or is he trying to get away from the babies?"

[Sam260]

Sidney sighed miserably and rubbed his forehead "He's trying to get away from them, and I let him... I can't have him having panic attacks every five minutes when the babies start crying. He is so far off his rocker right now, Sirius, that he's just... He's struggling right now, and I can't get through to him... We hired a second nanny to help me and Maria out, and its definitely working in the evenings when she's here and he isn't... It's just a rough time, right now - that's all." Sidney unloaded everything and by the end of his speech he sounded exhausted and a lot less burdened by just having someone - an adult who wasn't his husband - to talk to about everything going on in his life.

Gio frowned and slipped one leg over Sirius' legs, humming softly as Sirius rubbed up and down his back. Those fingers kept getting teasingly closer to his ass and he smirked, nipping at Sirius' chest lightly "Behave, you're on the phone!" Gio chastised in a very hushed whisper.

[hockeypreg2]

"Sidney," Sirius sighed softly. "Why didn't you tell me this was going on? I would have been over more. I don't know how much I can help with Silas but I can help with the older three kids. Or I can hold the infants. I'm here. Just because I'm dating Gio - which you didn't even know about before today - doesn't mean I'm not here to help my family."

Sirius kept his hand away from Gio's ass, his brow furrowed and his expression serious. He put a finger to his lips, silently hushing Gio.

[Sam260]

Sidney huffed in annoyance "Because he told me not to tell you. I think what he needs is a vacation... Just the two of us - we haven't been truly alone in such a long time... I don't even remember the last time we had a vacation together." Sidney sighed and closed his eyes "We need to plan it out, you and me - for a time when you can help watch the kids. I'll have my mom and dad, and if I can convince her, Taylor as well... I'll have everyone help out during the week we're gone... But I really just need to get him out of here." Sidney said quietly.

Gio remained silent, but that didn't stop him from tracing the contours of Sirius' muscles on his stomach, watching as the abdominal muscles twitched and moved with each stroke of his index finger across those firm bulges of muscle.

[hockeypreg2]

"Of course I'll help you plan it. Gio and I will help watch the kids along with your parents. Is it okay for you guys to leave the triplets when they're this young? Are they nursing or taking bottles? I know Alex isn't nursing at all but the girls were," Sirius pressed a kiss to Gio's head, very glad he had no kids to plan around.

[Sam260]

Sidney frowned again. Something he had been doing a lot of lately "None of them are feeding off of Silas anymore. After we got Maia and Megan home, they started rejecting Silas' milk - another reason he's stressed, he's in pain and you know he won't let anyone help him relieve *that* pain since they'd have to do something medically." Sidney huffed and brushed his hair out of his face "So, they're all on formula now. Alex is taking a small blend of oatmeal in his milk to help him gain weight - he may have been the first born, but he's now officially four ounces smaller than Maia and Megan, who were born smaller than he was..."

Sidney took a deep breath and released it slowly "I was thinking of taking him back to Greece... but he's had so many bad memories there, that I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not - What do you think about it?"

[hockeypreg2]

Sirius pressed his lips together, looking up at the ceiling. "I ... no. I don't think Greece is a good idea for him. I don't think you need to add that particular stress on top of everything else." He closed his eyes. "Take him somewhere you can just rest. No where you need to do anything."

"No one has suggested any home remedies to dry up his milk? Cold compresses help and so do cabbage leaves. You just put them against your chest. That's what I did."

[Sam260]

Sidney laughed and shook his head "Yeah, I don't think he'll go for the cabbage leaves... but we'll try the cold compresses... Can you seriously see your brother trying to wear cabbage leaves on his chest? He'd be pissed for wasting food like that." Sidney shook his head and sighed softly "Maybe we'll go to Hawaii... He used to always talk about wanting to go to Hawaii and just enjoy the warm sun, the waves, and Hawaiian cuisine..."

Gio tilted his head back slightly, eyes still half-drawn as he half-listened to the conversation that Sirius and Sidney were having "He still mentions Hawaii occasionally." Gio whispered against Sirius chest "Says he's going to pack his bags and just run away there... but I don't think you should mention *that* particular part to Sidney." Gio said -- his voice was so low that it would have only carried to Sirius and not the man on the phone with him.

[hockeypreg2]

Sirius nodded at that, smiling down at Gio. "Hawaii sounds good. Gio said he talks about going there. Look, I'll call you tomorrow and we'll figure out all of this. And hire a night nanny. Even if it's not for every night do it for some nights. Get some real sleep. Now let me go so I can cuddle Gio and go to sleep."

[Sam260]

Sidney seemed reluctant to lose his connection to the real world - no diapers, spit up, crying, or any of that, but he had no choice. One of the three triplets started crying "Alright - I got to go also..." and then the line went dead as Sidney hung up. The screen of Sirius' cellphone went white and then black signaling the end of the call.

Gio huffed and shook his head "I think the both of them are in over their heads... If I ever have kids in the future... I want one, *maybe* two..." Gio said quietly and looked up at Sirius with a mostly serious expression.

[hockeypreg2]

"I think I'm going to have to spend more time over there," Sirius admitted softly. He reached over to turn out the light, pulling Gio close. "Sidney sounds like he's going crazy without adult contact beyond Silas and their nannies. I have a feeling I'm going to be putting a baby in your arms every time we're over there."

He kissed Gio lightly. "One would be fine. I'm hoping I don't end up having twins. They kind of run in the family."

[Sam260]

Gio nodded and kissed Sirius back softly, reaching up to trace the older man's jaw lightly "So I've noticed... You and your brother; Theo and Titan... All of the men in your family for as far back as one can remember..." Gio said and smiled as he laid his head back down against Sirius chest.

"Just think - if we spend more time over there... It'll be perfect practice for me, who has hardly any real knowledge of caring for a child... and for both of us, to see if we're actually compatible to raise a child together, even if its technically not our child we'll be helping raise."

[hockeypreg2]

"It'll be fun to see," Sirius admitted, closing his eyes. He could admit to himself privately that he liked the idea of Gio with a baby - even if it was Silas and Sidney's baby. "Get ready for the insanity that is their house. It's going to be so nice to come home where it's quiet and we only have Misha to take care of."

[Sam260]

Gio chuckled softly and wiggled around until he found the ultimate comfortable positon - laying half on top of Sirius. He pulled the silk sheets up over their bodies completely and yawned once again "I'm sure it won't be that bad, Si... They are good kids - its just the triplets I'm most worried about... And maybe Calla, she doesn't seem to like me too much - she bit me once, you know? After that, I haven't tried helping her eat..." Gio shuddered and closed his eyes, exhaustion sweeping over him rather quickly.

He placed a lazy kiss against Sirius' pert nipple and then snuggled down "Night Sirius." he murmured, just seconds before he was out cold.

[hockeypreg2]

Sirius was completely smitten. Over the next four months, he and Gio just got more serious. They were practically living at Sirius's together; Gio went to his apartment about once a week to collect mail and get more clothes. His roommates joked that they were going to sublet his room. They also stopped using condoms when they both sat down and decided that they were going to be monogamous. On the rare occasions that Gio fucked Silas, he pulled out just in case.

They did end up spending a lot of time helping out Silas and Sidney. It came with some perils. Calla still wasn't super fond of Gio so he ended up hanging out with the twins more than her. The triplets had gained enough weight that they were sleeping for longer periods of time and both Silas and Sidney were less manic. They had taken Sirius's advice and hired a night nurse for the nights that Silas worked.

The other peril was that when the kids got sick, they tended to get sick as well. Sirius had been trying to shake a stomach flu for the last week. Titan and Theo got it, but thankfully Calla and the triplets were spared. Sidney, Silas, and Gio were all spared as well but Sirius had gotten hit hard. He had been throwing up for days and sleeping whenever he wasn't throwing up.

Sirius was crashed on the couch, Misha curled up by his chin. He didn't even hear Gio come in as he dozed.

[Sam260]

Gio set his keys quietly on the hook by the door and smiled as he heard Sirius snoring on the couch. He slipped off his sneakers and quietly walked into the kitchen, he could see straight through to where Sirius was sleeping, and the picture of the man on the couch, curled up with Misha like that was adorable.

Gio grabbed the thermometer from the cabinet and then walked over to his boyfriend. Gio sat down on the coffee table and reached out, lightly stroking Sirius' face and wiping away a bit of sweat that was on the older man's forehead "Sirius, honey. I'm home, how are you feeling?" Gio asked softly, watching the man's eyes flutter with each gentle touch that Gio delivered to Sirius's face.

[hockeypreg2]

Sirius opened his eyes just a bit, focusing on Gio's face. He yawned widely and stretched his legs before settling back into position on the couch. He just wanted to sleep more even though he had slept most of the day. He hadn't written a word in a week and barely cared. He was too tired and sick.

"Sleepy," he yawned again, bringing up a hand to pet Misha gently. She was licking at Gio's fingers, her little puff of a tail wagging happily. "Thirsty too. Would you get me some water?"

[Sam260]

Gio nodded and held up the digital thermometer "Only if you agree to let me take your temperature. It's a fair trade-off, I think." Gio said and handed the thermometer to Sirius before he stood up.

Gio walked into the kitchen, giving Sirius enough time to take his temperature; he filled a cup with a sealable lid up with ice water - not a lot of ice - and slipped a straw into it before coming back out to Sirius, taking up his seat on the coffee table again "What'd it read?"

[hockeypreg2]

"Normal. 98.7," Sirius handed it back to him. "Still no fever. It's just a stomach bug I guess. A neverending stomach bug." He sipped the water slowly, rubbing his stomach. He didn't want to get sick drinking water - again. That hadn't been fun. "Are you still feeling okay?"