Chapter 3: Panic and Ethiopia

He panicked. Sebastian couldn't believe he panicked. Now he was pulling into the parking garage of his building, his head spinning as he tried to regulate his reaction, hands shaking slightly. Pulling his Mustang into its spot, he sat starring out the windshield at the grey concrete walls. When Blaine had issued the command to take a seat on the porch and wait for their return, Sebastian had intended to do just that; at least until he gazed around the yard once more, taking in the identifiers which said children, a lot of children, lived in the home.

Panic had set in then as he realized that these men were expecting him to become a good influence on the boys in their care and Sebastian had realized that there was no way he could live up to those expectations. Sebastian was not a good influence; he drank too much, had a terrible temper, had tried recreational drugs once or twice, was arrogant, spoilt, and always got what he wanted. There was no way that he would be able to translate those traits into something to pass along to children.

Sighing, Sebastian refrained from banging his head into the steering wheel. You can add coward to the list, he thought darkly, wondering if Judge Anderson would rethink his sentencing, maybe letting him to do his time in lock-up on the weekends. Shaking his head and knowing the consequences of him running off would not be favorable, he climbed from the car and trekked into the building, pushing the button to his condo's floor glumly. Knowing he was expected into the office this afternoon to work on his current case, Sebastian pulled the knot of his tie loose, and waited for the elevator to make its way to his floor, happy for once that he didn't share and wouldn't have to worry about running into anyone.

Rolling his shoulders to try to loosen the tension, he used his key to open the door. Making his way into the kitchen, Sebastian figured he would make himself a cup of coffee before heading back to the office. Settling against the counter after preparing the Keurig, he wondered darkly how he was going to face Blaine Anderson again because he knew that there was no way they wouldn't be running into each other, especially since their families ran in the same circles. With cup of coffee in hand, Sebastian wandered into his living room and collapsed on his couch, trying to work out how he was going to get himself out of this predicament and not lose any dignity. He didn't even want to think about what Blaine would now think of him; not even realizing that this was one of the first times he actually cared what someone else thought.

"And – he didn't stay," Blaine sighed as he and Sam made their way up the stairs to Haven's porch after dropping all the boys off at their respective schools.

"Surprise, surprise," Sam snorted, pausing to pick up a toy before someone tripped on it.

"Sam," Blaine admonished gently but firmly. Anyone would have reacted in the same way given the circumstances. Blaine was aware that his uncle had not given Sebastian any indication about what his punishment would entail, only telling him to show up at Haven's boys home at 7:30 am on a Monday. Blaine couldn't judge the man's reaction to pulling up to the chaos that Haven projected that morning; he hadn't been anticipating Santana being called into work early because of a multi-car accident on the I278, leaving them slightly short-handed while trying to prepare the boys for school. Tina wasn't due into work until mid-afternoon although Blaine had promised one of them would pick her up and take her grocery shopping at some point in the day. The house fridge was looking a little bare.

"Sorry," the blond replied, shrugging his shoulders. Blaine was aware of what he thought about the entire situation regarding Sebastian's court-ordered community service. He had been very vocal in his objections to having a convicted felon anywhere near the boys (or Blaine), but Judge Thomas had stood firm in saying that the boys as well as Sebastian would benefit from the experience.

Blaine sighed again, heading forward and opening the front door. "We'll just try again tomorrow," he stated with a tiny shrug. "The Judge gave me Sebastian's number so I'll give him a call and arrange for him to come back. I also need to organize a trip to AA with him since I told the Judge I'd work as his sponsor as well." Sam followed him in and down the hall to the 'office', settling on the couch shoved into one corner as Blaine settled behind the dark oak desk.

Drawing in a short, sharp breath, Sam stopped and stared at his friend. "Blaine – ."

Glancing over, Blaine presented a wan smile. "It's time, Sam," he offered quietly. "Time to take back my life. I can't keep running from the past. Also, Aunt Abby was besides herself when you called from Ethiopia to tell her about the – um – accident."

"Being knifed in the gut wasn't an accident, Blaine," Sam responded sharply, anger coursing through him at the memories. "They almost killed you!"

He still beat himself up about letting Blaine out of his sight that day. The other man had only stated he was running quickly to the local market, something about wanting a souvenir for his Aunt before they left the country the next morning on an early flight. Blaine had been accosted on the way back by a group of men wanting his wallet. One of them had knifed the man in the stomach, leaving him in an alleyway. Sam had found Blaine barely conscious when he had gone looking for him, realizing that Blaine had been gone too long. That had been the longest forty-eight hours of his life as Blaine was rushed into a local hospital to be stitched up. Abigail had freaked when he had called to tell her about her nephew; she had even threatened to be on the next plane out before Sam and Thomas had managed to talk her down. When they had finally returned to the States, she had put her foot down about them gallivanting around the world, telling them there were plenty of charitable causes she funded State-side and for them to pick one. Together they had poured over the portfolio, finally settling on Haven.

The boys home was in dire straits, the last director pulling money from the charity to fund his elaborate lifestyle while leaving the home in disrepair and the boys on their own. Blaine had swept in, hiring new staff, beginning to sort out the accounts and trying to bring Haven back from the brink. Sam was happy to help his friend as much as he could; he couldn't think of a better way to spend his life but working and hanging out with his best friend doing something good for others.

"It's okay, Sam," Blaine's voice pulled him back from his thoughts and he grinned sheepishly as he realized his fingers were white-knuckled as he remembered. "I'm alive because of you. We're here and we've got a group of boys counting on us."

"True," Sam replied, climbing to his feet. "By the way, I need to head out to the hardware store. That gate needs to be fixed, the third bathroom has a leaking faucet and the back deck needs a full overhaul, it's a disaster just waiting to happen."

"Okay," Blaine agreed. "You'll take my card and make sure to charge it."

"Blaine."

"Sam, we're not having this argument right now. The funds for Haven are running low and it's not like my trust fund is going to be crying over being a few hundred dollars emptier. Get what you need." He reached into his wallet and handed over a credit card. "Oh! And can you pick up Tina? I promised one of us would take her shopping for the groceries we're going to need for the week."

"Sure, no problem." Sam responded before heading towards the back of the house. Moments later he pulled the massive van that Blaine had purchased last week from its parking spot in front of the garage and headed on his way.