How Green Becomes Wood

"We are coping. I took the boys to the doctor yesterday to have them checked out, Xander is out of school for the week, and I am allowing Alec to stay home with him, at least for today. Probably for tomorrow, as well." Dark answered, forcing himself to sound casual and unbothered.
 
There was a bit of a pause. "I feel like there's a lot to unpack there," Lance finally remarked. "Is there something you want to talk about?" He sounded concerned, not upset in any way. Still professional, but concerned.
 
"I only mean to say this is not an enjoyable or pleasant experience by any means, but if I were to place it on the scale it is not the most destructive moment in my life." Dark replied. In a few years, the fight would be an interesting footnote. So although it was bothering him now, he knew he would be fine, and therefore he was fine.
 
"Stress is still stress, pain is still pain," Lance remarked, "but I won't push you. If you need anything, you know how to reach me. Thanks for having the docs' send me the files. Take care and rest up."
 
"I am confident in what I can handle but I appreciate the concern." Dark told him, not trying to be rude but also firmly establishing his boundary. "I am also taking some few days off of work, just like my boys are." Then, Dark took a breath, and just like he had told Ciara the day before, "I am sure we will speak soon, in the meantime, if you need anything else and are struggling to get ahold of me, please remember you are also able to call Daizi and speak with her."
 
"Do you want me to change your name to hers as the primary contact?" Lance asked. He paused to grumble at someone who'd gotten louder, and then the noise moved away, like he was walking away from them.
 
"It does not particularly matter one way or the other to me," He answered simply, although honestly, "I do know people often neglect calling her in a serious situation." He also knew that during that particular week, he was damn tired of rehashing everything.
 
"We normally have the mother down as the primary contact, but considering certain circumstances at the time, you got put down instead," Lance said. "I'll make a note that she's to be the primary contact, then. Need anything else changed while I'm looking at the file?"
 
"If that is what you think is best. And no, I do not believe there is anything else that needs to be changed, none of our other circumstances have been altered when last we spoke--and really, the contact does not matter in any significant way." Dark assured him, wondering now if perhaps he had overcomplicated things.
 
"Alrighty, then," Lance said cheerfully. "We do need one of you to be like a first person we call, but seeing as, at least right now, you work and Daizi doesn't, it makes more sense for her to be our primary contact, and then we'd call you next. It just takes a second to change, but I had you dialed into my phone so long I forgot to check with you if you wanted to change that. You have a good day now."
 
"Have a good day." Dark replied before hanging up and rubbing his face, again forgetting about the bruise on his jaw until it was too late. Swearing in frustration, he got up, cleaned up his area, and went outside to his shed, leaving his phone inside, to have some peace and quiet.
 
Sometime later and wearing a pair of Daizi's glasses - they'd been the first ones to hand and he hadn't looked at them closely - Xander came slowly walking out to the shed and tapped lightly on the door, leaning on the frame. Everything felt so sluggish! And bright. And loud. And too feeling, but he was sick of staying in his room and wanted to share something with Dark. Alec was inside reading a book and hadn't fully appreciated his discovery.
 
"I'm not sure where mine are. I'll put these ones back when I go in," Xander promised. He held up his phone, which was playing a video clip. "Have you seen these before?"

The clip showed a woman taking apart old saddles using what looked like a specialized sewing machine to make leather purses.
 
He watched it, choosing to refrain from pointing out Xander shouldn't have been browsing the internet in his condition, and truly did focus on it before saying, "No, I've never seen anything like that."
 
"Yeah, me neither," Xander said, looking at it briefly before closing the app and stuffing his phone in his pocket. "Now I gotta figure out how much one costs and see if I can get it. It'd really save on time and make my stitches look a heck of a lot neater."
 
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