Metamorphosis

Copyright © 2012 - 2015 by MultiMapper

and The Revolutions Universe Partnership

All Rights Reserved

Chapter 1: The Writing on the Wall

"What the fuck are you looking at?" The young man snapped.

Two sets of eyes went large in fear and both boys seemed to be poised to run for their lives, but the taller of the two somehow worked up the courage to ask, "Um... I Um... Can you spare some of that food?"

The young man looked down at the two shopping bags that he was carrying, then at the boys, who might not even 'officially' be teenagers. Finally, in a more gentle voice, he said, "No. I'm going to need all of this. But if you two are hungry, you could have dinner at my house, tonight."

The smaller boy looked at his companion urgently, begging with his eyes.

The larger boy seemed to be conflicted, knowing that the decision was his.

"Listen. I don't have time to fuck around. Fucking teachers think I got nothin better to do than listen to their bullshit after the final bell rings. So I'm running late and I need to get dinner started. You guys can follow me or not, it's up to you." The young man said firmly, then started walking.

After a few seconds, there was a sound of scrambling feet behind him. In less than a minute, the pair of boys fell into step at his side.

* * * * *

"I'm Bax and this is Ro." The shorter of the boys said nervously.

"What're you guys doing out on your own? Did you run away from home?" The young man asked as he kept walking at a steady pace.

"No. Me and Bax met in a group home. But when the home filled up, they kicked us out." Ro said quietly.

"We didn't do nothin' wrong." Bax interjected, in a pleading tone.

"Don't worry, I believe you. You're not the first kids that they've dumped on the streets. In fact, I think it's happening just about every day now." The young man said regretfully.

Conversation stopped as they reached the corner and had to wait for the crosswalk light to change before they could go.

Once they reached the other side, the young man turned right and led the way away from the shops and toward a more residential area.

As the bright sunlight started to be broken by the cover of trees lining the street, Bax hesitantly asked, "What's your name?"

"Bug." The young man responded seriously.

"Bug?" Bax asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I was called that because my initials are V. W., after that it just kind of stuck with me." The young man said, then paused to look for traffic before crossing the street at the next corner.

"How old are you, Bug?" Bax asked curiously.

"I just turned seventeen." Bug said casually, then glanced at the younger of the two boys and asked, "How old are you?"

"I'm twelve." Bax said with a smile.

Bug noticed the glare that Bax got from his companion.

They walked in silence for a moment, then Bax quietly said, "Well, almost. In a few months."

Bug reluctantly smiled, then said, "A few months is nothing. I'll consider you twelve. What about you, Ro?"

"I'm twelve." He said, then glanced at Bax before adding, "I'm 'really' twelve."

"This is my house." Bug said as he turned and walked on stepping stones to a modest little home. It wasn't as big or as nice as some of the other homes in the neighborhood, but it was well maintained and far from being an eyesore.

"Do you live here alone?" Bax asked hesitantly as he stood away from Bug on the porch.

"Hardly." Bug chuckled as he unlocked the front door.

Ro and Bax shared a concerned look before reluctantly following Bug into the house.

"Would you guys put the food in the kitchen? It's right through there. I need to check on my Oma before I start on supper." Bug asked as he held out the bags to them and nodded his head toward the kitchen.

"Sure!" Bax said with a smile, happy that Bug was asking him to help.

Bug returned the smile, then hurried off to a hallway on the right.

* * * * *

Ro and Bax walked into the kitchen to find that while everything looked old and well worn, it was spotlessly clean.

"Should we try to put stuff away?" Bax asked cautiously.

"No. He said he was gonna make supper, so he'll probably need it out here." Ro said as he carefully placed the shopping bag he was carrying on the counter by the stove.

"Look." Bax whispered as he pointed to a collection of crayon drawings on the refrigerator.

After a moment of looking, Ro quietly said, "Maybe Bug has a little brother or sister.."

"You guys doing okay?" Bug asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah."

"Fine." The boys said as they turned to face Bug, feeling as though they had been caught snooping.

"Spaghetti okay with you guys?" Bug asked as he started to take his groceries out of the bags.

"God! Yes!" Ro exclaimed.

Bug turned at the unexpected response and quietly asked, "How long has it been since you guys have eaten anything?"

"Well, a lady gave us each an apple this morning, but no one gave us anything yesterday so..."

"I get it." Bug said simply, then walked to the cupboard above the refrigerator and took down a folded closed bag of potato chips.

"It's going to take a little while for me to get this ready, so you guys can munch on these if you want."

"Thanks!" Ro said as he quickly took the bag from Bug's hand.

"Remember to share." Bug said seriously, then turned back to the groceries.

* * * * *

Bug easily lost himself in the familiar task of cooking dinner until he was finally interrupted by a voice.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Bax asked from his place at the table where he and Ro were sliding the bag of chips back and forth between them, alternating taking handfuls.

"If you want, you guys could put the leaf in the table and drag the chair in from the study." Bug said as he worked on combining ingredients in a saucepan on the stove.

"Um, I don't know how to do the leaf thing." Ro said timidly.

Bug turned to see the confused look on Bax's face and was reasonably sure he didn't have a clue as to what a 'leaf' was.

"One of you guys get on each end of the table and pull. When it slides apart enough, you can put the leaf in. The leaf is between the side of the refrigerator and the cabinet." Bug said seriously with a vague gesture toward the refrigerator, then turned his attention back to his cooking.

Bug heard a few grunts and finally the low groan of the table as it separated.

"That's kewl! I never knew it could do that!" Bax said with a chuckle.

"My dads used to..." Ro began to say, then fell silent.

Bug turned when the silence seemed to have gone on too long, and found Ro being held and comforted by his younger friend.

Although his first instinct was to stay out of what he knew was none of his business, Bug finally asked, "Did they take you away from your fathers just because they're a gay couple?"

After a long moment, Ro finally looked Bug in the eyes and slowly nodded.

"There's a phone over there on the wall if you want to call your dads to let them know that you're alright." Bug said gently.

"The CPS lady said that I'm not allowed to call them or go see them, that if I do that, my dads will get into all kinds of trouble and maybe even go to jail because of it." Ro said in a trembling voice.

"CPS can kiss my skinny white ass! Left, right and smack dab in the middle!" Bug said, then walked to the phone and asked, "What's their number?."

After a moment of hesitation, Ro slowly recited the number from memory.

Bug dialed in the number, then motioned for Ro to come to him.

"Hello?" Bug said into the phone.

"Listen. You don't know me, but a friend of yours named Ro is here, if you'd like to talk to him..."

"What?"

"Yes, I get what you're saying..."

"No, no. I've got it."

"Yes, I understand." Bug said seriously, then hung up the phone.

There was a moment of silence, then Ro hesitantly asked, "He didn't want to talk to me?"

Bug realized what the conversation must have sounded like to Ro and quickly said, "No. I'm pretty sure that he wants to talk to you so bad it's killing him. But he was hinting that his phone calls are being monitored, so I'm guessing that what you said before was right. Being caught talking to you might be enough to get him thrown in jail. He told me where and when you two can meet up in a chat room on the Internet."

"Can't we do it now?" Ro asked hopefully.

"Although he didn't say so, I think the plan is for either one or both of your fathers to go somewhere that they can access the Internet without it likely being traced. And considering how things are, I think that we're probably going to do the same thing, rather than use the Internet connection here at the house." Bug said frankly.

"I can't believe we have to go through all this just so I can talk to my dads." Ro said with a shake of his head.

"Yeah, thank President Asshat for that. The dickwad made love an act of terrorism." Bug growled as he went back to the stove.

"Are you gay?" Bax asked curiously.

"That's something you don't ask people, especially now." Bug said as he stirred the pan of sauce.

"Sorry." Bax said quietly.

"Don't worry about it." Bug said casually, then added, "Why don't you guys get the table finished so you can set it?"

"Oh! Yeah! Right!" Ro stammered as he came back from his distant thoughts, then walked to get the leaf from beside the refrigerator.

* * * * *

"Can I use your bathroom?" Bax asked timidly.

"Sure, it's at the end of the hall. The lock in the door knob doesn't work, so make sure you slide the slide bolt or Oma might walk in on you." Bug said seriously.

Bax shyly nodded, then dashed out of the room.

There was a long silence that followed, then Ro quietly said, "Thank you for feeding us. I was really starting to get worried."

Bug put down his wooden spoon, then turned and said, "There are still good people in the world, it's just gotten a lot more difficult for us to do the right thing."

"I don't know what we're going to do next." Ro said as tears started welling in his eyes.

"I don't know either. Maybe your fathers will have some ideas." Bug said gently.

A slight nod was Ro's only response.

"After dinner, I could use your help getting the hide-a-bed out of the garage. We can set it up in the study so you and Bax can have your own room." Bug said as he walked to the cabinet and took down two cans of creamed corn.

There was a long silence, then Ro hesitantly asked, "You're going to let us stay here?"

"Unless I missed something, I figure you two don't have anyplace else to go. So, until you and your fathers can come up with something better, I don't see any reason why not." Bug said frankly.

"But... CPS..." Ro said reluctantly.

"Believe me when I tell you that I know how the CPS system works. For most of the last ten years they've been fucking with me, and I've beaten them at every turn. And I tell you what, next summer when I finally turn eighteen, I'm gonna tell that shriveled up cunt, Carolyn Rind, to go fuck herself." Bug said firmly.

"Why were they after you?" Ro asked hesitantly.

"It's a really long story. But, basically, my parents died when I was nine. The cops notified my Oma Shoupe, my mom's mom, and she came here to take care of me. But that cocksucking bitch, Carolyn Rind, thought that because Oma was over seventy years old that I'd be better off in her 'State Facility'." Bug said as he made little air quotes.

"It shouldn't be like this." Ro said in a lost voice.

"You're right. But, the way I see it, it's not going to change unless WE change it." Bug said simply, then opened the cans of creamed corn with the electric can opener.

"But what can we do?" Ro asked helplessly.

"Be kind to each other. Help out when you can. And maybe, if you see some hungry kids when you're leaving the grocery store, you help them out instead of walking away..." Bug finished with a shrug.

Ro slowly nodded as he thought about the words.

"But for now, why don't you go check on Bax? From as long as he's been in there, he might have fallen in." Bug asked with a grin.

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

* * * * *

"Where's the toilet paper?" Ro asked as he walked into the kitchen, barely restraining his giggles.

"In the bottom of the little closet right outside the bathroom door. Tell Bax that I'm sorry." Bug said as he placed a large handful of spaghetti noodles into a pot of boiling water.

"Yeah." Ro chuckled as he left the kitchen.

Bug turned down the burner under the spaghetti noodles, then heard the front door opening and closing.

He stepped away from the stove enough to see through the living room, then called out, "I'm in the kitchen!"

Bug quickly stirred the spaghetti sauce and the creamed corn and was just putting down the spoon when a young man and woman walked into the kitchen.

"Thank you for bringing him home, Amber. Would you like to stay for supper? We have plenty." Bug offered with a smile.

"It smells great, but my mom is expecting me. I've got to go." Amber said regretfully.

"Then maybe next time." Bug said with a warm smile at her.

"Yeah. Real soon." Amber said quietly, then turned to her companion and said, "I'll see you at work tomorrow, Lawrence."

"Yeah. It was fun today. See you tomorrow." Lawrence said with an ear to ear grin.

Amber smiled gently at Lawrence, then leaned in and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye!" Lawrence said happily as he watched her leave.

Bug checked to see that everything on the stove was okay, then turned to Lawrence and asked, "So you had a good day at work?"

"Yeah! Mr. Mann said I did a real good job today and everyone was real nice to me." Lawrence said happily.

"I'm glad you had a good day." Bug said sincerely, then cautiously asked, "Did you remember to take your medicine?"

Lawrence thought for a moment, then opened his lunch box and retrieved his pill bottle from inside.

When Bug heard the rattle of the pills, he quietly said, "You've got to remember to take your medicine."

Lawrence seemed to have a strange look on his face. When Bug turned to follow his gaze, he found Ro standing in the doorway, looking in cautiously.

"Ro, this is my brother, Lawrence. Lor, this is a new friend of mine, his name is Ro."

"Wow!" Ro whispered as he looked at Lawrence in awe. The man was gorgeous with blond hair, light blue eyes and on top of that, he was cute as can be.

Lawrence smiled at Ro's reaction and his eyes seemed to sparkle with delight.

Bug rolled his eyes, then walked to the sink and drew a glass of water.

"Take your pills before you have a stroke." Bug said as he approached his brother.

Lawrence turned his attention away from Ro, then looked at Bug curiously.

"Take your pills." Bug said as he offered the glass.

Lawrence accepted the water and took the pills before quietly saying, "I'm sorry I forgot."

"I'm not mad at you, Lor. I'm worried for you." Bug said gently, then added, "I know that every time you miss your meds, that you're risking a seizure or a stroke."

"I hate that I can't remember stuff." Lawrence said as he pulled his brother into his arms.

"Sorry about that." Bax said as he walked into the kitchen, then stopped at the sight of Lawrence.

"Bax, this is my brother Lawrence." Bug said pleasantly, then turned to his brother and said, "Lawrence, this is our other guest. His name is Bax."

"Hi." Lawrence said with a grand smile at the younger boy.

Bax looked from Lawrence to Bug, trying to see them as brothers. Lawrence was blond haired and blue eyed, while Bug had brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and eyes that were almost the same dark color. The difference was drastic, but when Bax looked at their eyes and the shape of their faces, he could see a family resemblance.

"Hey, Lawrence, would you go into the study and get the chair from the desk?" Bug asked as he carefully picked up the boiling pot of water and carried it to the sink.

"Do you want me to tell Oma that it's time for supper?" Lawrence asked as he walked to the door.

"Yeah. Tell her that the news will still be waiting on her when she's done eating." Bug said as he dumped the cooked spaghetti noodles into a colander in the sink.

"What's wrong with your brother?" Ro asked in a whisper.

"He was beaten, nearly to death, and ended up with permanent brain damage." Bug said regretfully.

Ro stared in horror and disbelief at the kitchen door that Lawrence had walked through.

"Someone beat him up?" Bax asked hesitantly.

"Yes. That, and more. I suppose that if there's anything good about what happened to him it's that he doesn't remember any of it." Bug said as he fought to keep his tears at bay.

"It's because he's gay, isn't it?" Ro asked quietly.

Before Bug could answer, Lawrence walked into the kitchen, carrying a chair that matched the chairs already around the table.

"Is Oma ready to eat?" Bug asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll get her." Lawrence said after putting down the chair.

Bug nodded and watched as Lawrence left the room.

"He got beat up and is like this now, just because he's gay, right?" Bax asked as he looked at Bug seriously.

After a moment, Bug reluctantly said, "The thing that gets me most is that the cops acted like it wasn't even a crime. They acted like he got what he deserved."

Before Bug could say more, Lawrence slowly walked into the room with an extremely elderly woman at his side.

"Who is this? You should have told me that we have company! And here I am, coming to dinner in my nightgown." the old woman said as Bug hurried to her other side.

Bax and Ro watched as Bug and Lawrence each held one of the woman's arms to steady her as she carefully lowered herself to sit on the chair.

"Oma Shoupe, these guys are Bax and Ro. I met them when I was leaving the store and invited them to have dinner with us." Bug said gently.

The woman looked at the younger of the two boys, then asked, "What's your name, young man?"

"I'm Bax." the boy responded timidly.

Oma Shoupe held her gaze on the boy, causing him to squirm.

Finally, he said, "My real name is Baxter, Baxter Reynolds."

Oma Shoupe smiled at the boy, then turned her curious gaze to Ro.

"I'm Ronan O'Connor." he said timidly.

"It's very nice to meet both of you. Please excuse me for not being better dressed. My grandsons didn't warn me that we had company." Oma Shoupe said gently.

"You looked like you were really interested in your TV, I didn't want to interrupt." Bug said frankly, as he placed a plate of spaghetti noodles in front of Oma Shoupe.

"Have you seen the news, today?" Oma Shoupe asked as she looked at her grandson.

"I have better things to do than watch that election stuff all day." Bug said as he carefully put butter on top of his grandmother's spaghetti noodles.

"Then you haven't heard about what happened to President Bryce this morning?" Oma Shoupe asked in surprise.

"No." Bug said automatically, then seemed to suddenly realize that it wasn't a casual question and muttered, "Oh shit! Don't tell me that President Bryce had an 'accident'."

Oma Shoupe looked her grandson in the eyes and slowly nodded.

Silence fell over the room until Bug finally found the courage to ask, "Is he dead?"

"No." Oma Shoupe said simply, then carefully added, "From the sound of it, he probably should be. Him and his family were attacked in the middle of the night with enough firepower to take down a small country. But somehow, him and his family were able to escape."

Bug let out a sigh of relief, then walked to the stove to start carrying food to the table as he said, "You scared me. If President Bryce had died... as far as I can tell, he's the only hope we've got."

As Bug placed the food in the center of the table, he said, "You guys dig in and help yourselves. I made plenty."

Lawrence was the first one to make it to the pan of spaghetti noodles, but rather than serve himself, he placed a large pile of noodles on Bax's plate.

"Is that enough?" Lawrence asked when he was finished.

"Yeah. It's great. Thanks." Bax said with a huge smile.

"The sauce is right there. Help yourself." Bug said as he watched Lawrence put a large serving of noodles on Ro's plate.

"You should know, Mrs. Bryce and one of their sons, Chris, were shot while trying to get to safety." Oma Shoupe said as she watched for Bug's reaction.

"Oh no! How are they? I mean, are they dead?" Bug asked with concern.

"No. At least, not yet. President Bryce said that Chris is going to recover. However, his wife and her unborn baby... we'll just have to wait and see." Oma Shoupe said gently.

Bug sat, as his mind raced over what his Oma had told him and other things, secret things, that he knew about the political climate in the country.

"Eat something, Bug. You starving yourself won't help that woman or her baby." Oma Shoupe said seriously.

After a moment, Bug finally seemed to come back to himself, then said, "Guys, as soon as we're done with supper, we need to head out. There's some things I need to check on."

"Didn't you want to get the hide-a-bed from the garage?" Ro asked curiously.

"We can do that when we get back. We need to do this first." Bug said, then noticed his Oma's glare.

"But for now, we'll eat." Bug said with a smile at her, then stood to get some food for his plate.

* * * * *

"Leave the dishes. We'll get them when we get back." Bug said as soon as he got back from helping Oma Shoupe to her room.

"You never leave dirty dishes for later." Lawrence said as he looked at his brother cautiously.

"Yeah, well, today I do." Bug said, then continued, "Lawrence, will you take the guys out to the car. I just need to get my laptop and I'll be right there.

"You never take the car. You say gas costs too much." Lawrence said slowly.

"Please, Lor, just take the guys out." Bug said, then handed Lawrence his keys and dashed away, not waiting for a response.

* * * * *

As Bug walked into his bedroom, he disconnected his almost seven year old laptop from it's charger. When he picked it up, he slid his hand underneath to the patch of duct tape that held the battery in place. He carefully turned it over and placed the laptop in a brightly colored cloth tote bag that his mom had once used for her knitting.

After that, he grabbed a collection of thumb drives and cords and cables and dropped them into the bag

As he was about to leave, he seemed to think better of it, then walked to his bed and reached underneath, searching blindly with his hand.

Bug took the shoebox and placed it on the bed, then opened it.

He hesitated for a moment, then took the gun into his hand and slid the clip into place.

With a sigh, he placed the gun and two more clips of ammo into the tote with his laptop, before leaving.

* * * * *

"Wow, this car is really old." Ro said as Lawrence led the way.

"Yeah. Oma says that it's older than I am." Lawrence said happily.

"Should we get in?" Bax asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Bug gave me the keys." Lawrence said as he stepped forward to unlock the door.

"I think Bug's really freaked out about President Bryce." Ro said frankly.

"I think President Bryce is nice. I think he's a really good dad." Lawrence said as he reached inside the car to open the lock on the back door.

"Yeah. I think you're right." Bax said with a smile at Lawrence.

"Keys?" Bug called out as he walked away from the house.

Lawrence held them out, offering them to Bug.

"Get in. Gotta go." Bug said as he walked quickly around the front of the car.

Lawrence and the boys rushed to get in, fully expecting Bug to leave without them if they weren't quick enough.

* * * * *

"What's wrong, Bug? Why are you in such a hurry?" Ro asked cautiously.

"I don't like people who say stuff without knowing what they're talking about. They piss me right the fuck off." Bug said as he pulled out of the driveway a little bit quicker than necessary.

Ro fumbled for his seatbelt and noticed that Bax was doing the same.

"There's some stuff I need to check out. As soon as I'm sure that I know what I'm talking about, I'll tell you as much as I can." Bug said as he quickly navigated the maze of residential streets.

"Are we in danger?" Bax asked cautiously.

"As soon as I know, I'll tell you." Bug said firmly as he pulled the car down an alley, then swung into a parking lot.

Bax and Ro looked at each other with concern.

* * * * *

"Bug! Thank God! What's going on?" The barista asked as Bug entered from the back parking lot.

"You tell me, Junie. What's going on?" Bug asked in return.

"I don't know. There's this weird vibe going around tonight. It's starting to freak me out." Junie said frankly.

"Listen. The reason I'm here is to see if I can find out. Do you have a banger that I can borrow for a little bit?" Bug asked seriously.

"Sure. Take a seat at the bar and I'll get it for you. Do you need any coffee?" Junie asked cautiously.

"Yeah, my usual with a double shot. These guys are with me, could you run a tab? I'm gonna be really busy and I don't want to have to fuck around with paying out every five minutes." Bug said seriously.

"You know the new owner doesn't want me running tabs." Junie said firmly, then broke into a smile as she added, "But since it's you, I'll do it for a kiss."

Bug was surprised by her request but before he could react, he noticed that she was smiling shyly at Lawrence.

"Hey Lawrence, it's time to take one for the team." Bug said as he walked to Lawrence's side, managing to catch his brother's attention.

"What?" Lawrence asked in confusion.

"Junie wants you to give her one of your 'big boy' kisses." Bug said quietly.

"But she's a girl." Lawrence said with an uneasy look.

"I know. But she's a good friend and she really likes you. I think it'll be okay to give her a taste of what she can never have." Bug said with a playful smile.

"Huh?" Lawrence asked in confusion.

"Just give Junie a good kiss. Remember how nice she's always been to you and let her feel how much you like her." Bug said as he looked into his brother's eyes.

Lawrence looked to Junie and found her waiting expectantly for him.

Hesitantly, he stepped forward.

Junie smiled with anticipation.

Lawrence closed the distance between them, then pulled Junie into his arms and began to kiss her deeply and passionately.

"Whoah! Your brother sure can kiss." Ro said in astonishment at the scene.

"Yeah. He's like sex on legs. Unfortunately, he can't tell when someone just wants to use him. Every single time he goes in all innocent and loving with all his heart, and every single time, he comes back to me broken and hurting." Bug said quietly.

"Why don't you try to stop him?" Ro asked curiously.

"What happens to Lawrence if something happens to me? Oma can't take care of him. Oma can't even take care of herself. I'm hoping that someday Lawrence will find the guy who completes him." Bug said as he watched Lawrence and Junie end their kiss.

"What about you?" Ro asked gently.

"I don't matter." Bug said as he noticed the befuddled look on Junie's face.

* * * * *

As he walked up to the barista, Bug asked, "So, can I run a tab?"

"First rounds on me." Junie said breathlessly.

"Ro, come on over here and I'll get you set up for your chat." Bug said as he motioned for Ro to walk with him to the long coffee bar that spanned the entire length of the room.

"Can I play a game?" Lawrence asked his brother hopefully, but seemed to be poised for disappointment.

"Yeah. Why don't you and Bax play together?" Bug asked as he took out his wallet, then said to his brother, "This is for both of you."

Lawrence looked at the twenty dollar bill in Bug's hand, then rushed forward to hug his brother before taking the money and dashing away to the game room.

"We're going to be right here, Bax. You go and have fun. Lawrence has your game money." Bug said with a smile, then noticed Ro's curious gaze.

"I figured you wouldn't want them underfoot while you were talking to your fathers." Bug said with a shrug.

Ro nodded as Junie carried a capped cup of coffee to Bug.

"Can I get you anything?" Junie asked Ro pleasantly.

"What do you have?" Ro asked cautiously.

Junie smiled at him and pointed up.

It took a second for Ro to figure out what she meant, but finally he looked upward to find a menu board that spanned the entire length of the room.

After briefly looking over the foods, desserts and drinks available, Ro finally asked, "Can I have a Coke?"

"Oh. One of those nights!" Junie said as she walked away.

"What about that banger?" Bug called out to her.

Junie glanced at him and nodded as she continued on her way.

"What's a banger?" Ro asked hesitantly.

"This place is as much an Internet Cafe as it is a Coffee House. They have a few old laptops that they keep as loaners, just to help out regulars like me or someone in an emergency." Bug said casually before taking a sip of his drink.

Ro turned when he saw Junie walking toward them, on the other side of the bar.

"Will you plug me in, Junie?" Bug asked as he held out one end of a CAT-5 cable.

"I think you're probably the last person in this state who doesn't have wireless." Junie said frankly as she placed Ro's Coke and the 'banger' laptop on the bar.

"I have a wireless dongle, I just don't trust my information being broadcast on an open frequency." Bug said frankly.

Junie plugged in the cable, then said, "As paranoid as that sounds, I kind of agree with you."

"This one, too." Bug said as he handed her another CAT-5.

At her questioning look, Bug explained, "For the banger."

"Will there be anything else?" Junie asked as she playfully cocked her head to one side and thrust her hip out.

"Well, since you asked..." Bug said with a grin.

Junie rolled her eyes and seemed to be bracing herself.

"Will you keep an eye on Lawrence and Bax while we're doing our stuff? We're probably going to be focused on other things and I wouldn't want them to get into trouble."

"I'll come and get you if they seem to be having any problems. Besides, it looks like it's going to be a slow night. Quite a few of the regulars haven't come in." Junie said as she looked around.

"Ro, can you untangle this?" Bug asked as he handed him a headphone mic with a spaghetti tangle of cord.

Junie realized that Bug had receded into his own little world and smiled as she walked away to check on her other customers.

* * * * *

Ro watched as Bug booted up the 'banger' quickly and efficiently.

"What do I have to do?" Ro asked as he looked at the screen in front of him.

"Right now, just watch the screen for someone who looks familiar. Your dad said he'd be in this chat and he knows that you're going to be here. So he'll probably let you know he's here by saying something personal that only you and he would know."

"What do I do then?" Ro asked cautiously.

"Just talk to him for a minute or two and make one hundred percent sure that it's really your dad. Once you're sure, let me know and I'll get you two into a private chat where you can talk." Bug said seriously.

Ro nodded that he understood.

* * * * *

Bug searched through his collection of thumb drives before finding the one that he wanted.

After plugging the drive into the USB port, Bug booted his battered laptop and braced himself for what he was about to do.

Without thought, he keyed his instructions into his own, custom tailored version of Linux.

As text quickly flew across the screen, Bug became lost in the experience as his mind absorbed the blur of words flying by at lightning speed.

He was horrified by some of what he saw. By what he saw in the news feeds and open chat, the situation was far worse than he had imagined in his worst 'worst case' scenario.

Once he felt confident that he had browsed the majority of the new information topics, Bug set off in search of someone who would know the secret story of what was going on underneath it all. Bug knew better than to ask any questions of a sensitive nature in an open chat, so he started searching around for someone he trusted.

Bug had encountered many people in his travels of the Internet, but there were only a select few that he would count as his 'friends'. Strangely enough, the one thing all of them seemed to have in common was an almost fanatical need to protect their privacy.

Someone called 'Strangelove69' tried to lure him into a private chat.

"Fucking perv." Bug muttered as he rejected the request, then switched to another layer of the room where he might have better success at finding someone he knew.

In the open chat, Bug wrote, "OllieFriend? You lurking here tonight?"

Bug waited for a moment, but when no response was forthcoming, he typed, "Gooseburger, where UB?"

Again there was no reply.

Bug was about to switch to another channel when he saw a message appear, "Buggie? Dat BU?"

When Bug saw the screen name, he smiled at his good luck.

Although he didn't count 'StudMffn" as one of his friends, it was mostly because Bug had always felt out of his (or her) league. StudMffn was something of a legend.

"You got a minute, Stud?" Bug typed hopefully.

"Prblm?" StudMffn immediately responded.

"Maybe. Private?" Bug asked anxiously, not knowing if StudMffn would take the time to talk to him.

Before he could wonder anymore, a private chat request scrolled up the screen.

Bug quickly keyed in the command to switch to the private chat.

* * * * *

"Wt up?" StudMffn asked as soon as they were both in the room.

"I think I may need help. Bryce/Ashwood situation stirring things up here. Could get real bad." Bug typed and felt a twinge at putting his fears into words.

"Where RU?"

"Orlando. Fla."

"Shit."

"Yeah. U know any1 who can help?"

"Help how?"

"Don't know. Need to get out. Brother=Gay AND Brain Damaged. Grandmother=Old, old. 2 kids, maybe gay and possibly their two gay fathers."

"U don't ask much."

"You don't get if you don't ask. Am I overreacting? Is it not as bad as it sounds?"

"Prbly worse."

"Ashwood rules here. We need out before we're stuck."

"Need 2 minutes to check on things. BRB"

"K"

* * * * *

"Has your dad shown up yet?" Bug asked as he moved to look over Ro's shoulder.

"I think that's him, but I'm scared to say anything in case it isn't." Ro said cautiously.

"Let me at that thing." Bug said as he scooted the laptop slightly so he could easily reach the keyboard.

He already had his hands on the keys when he realized what he was doing and muttered, "Fucking GUI."

"What's that?" Ro asked curiously.

"It's the training wheels on your computer. The 'Graphical User Interface'." Bug said as he used the mouse pad to move the cursor on the screen.

"There." Bug said, then asked, "Did your dads adopt you, or is one of them your real dad?"

"They adopted me, but as far as I'm concerned, they're both my real dads." Ro said firmly.

"You know what I mean." Bug said with a roll of his eyes, then asked, "When did they adopt you, what was the date?"

"April 10th, 2005." Ro said slowly, not knowing why Bug was asking.

In the message window on the screen, Bug typed, "04??2005"

Immediately, the number "10" appeared in the window.

"Good. Where's that headset that I asked you to untangle?" Bug asked as he sent a brief private message, then switched to another window.

"Oh, it's right here." Ro said as he scrambled to get it.

"Plug it in, make sure you watch for which is mic and which is ear. Once it's in, you should be able to talk to your dad." Bug said as he initiated the voice chat. "This is encrypted, so you guys shouldn't have anything to worry about."

"Thanks, Bug! You're awesome!" Ro said with the beginnings of tears in his eyes.

"Maybe. We're about to find out." Bug said as he climbed back onto the stool in front of his own computer.

* * * * *

When Bug went back to his laptop, he found that StudMffn hadn't returned yet. So, while he had a moment, he took a sip of his coffee, which had gone cold, then walked to the doorway of the game room to check on his brother.

Bug smiled as he saw Lawrence and Bax playing against each other on a video game and laughing like they were having the time of their lives.

Slowly, Bug withdrew from the doorway with a smile on his face.

* * * * *

"Buggie, U there?"

"Yeah. U find help?"

"Airfield, Bent Willies, South of Orlando. Pickup @ 10pm. Can U make it?"

"We'll be there. Who am I meeting?"

"Don't know. Someone will be there. Codeword: Silverchair."

"Thanks, StudMffn. IOU."

"Got calls 2 make. Keep safe."

"U2"

"CU L8R."

"L8RZ"

* * * * *

"Ro, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to talk to your fathers as soon as you can spare them for a minute." Bug said gently.

"Dad? The guy I was telling you about, his name is Bug, he wants to talk to you." Ro said quickly into the headset.

"Yeah, I love you, too. Tell Pop that I love him and miss him, too." Ro rushed to say as tears trailed down his cheeks.

After a moment, Ro took the headset off and offered it to Bug.

It took a moment for Bug to get the headset on and the microphone in the right place, but as soon as he was ready, he put an arm around Ro and quietly said, "This is Bug."

"My name is Walter Mason. Thank you so much for helping Ronan. I don't have words to express how much we appreciate you taking in Ronan and keeping him safe."

"That's fine. Listen. I don't know if you're aware of what's going on right now, but unless something really big happens to change things, Orlando's about to become a really unfriendly place to be."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know how bad it's going to get, but everyone who is anyone in power in this state is for Ashwood. After the thing that happened with President Bryce this morning, I'm betting that they're going to start clamping down and I mean tight. When that happens, the poor, the weak, and the 'undesirables' will be the first to suffer. I'm planning to get us out of here and to somewhere outside of Ashwood country before that happens. If you want, you can come with us. I just hope it's not already too late." Bug said frankly.

"I'm sure that if we just keep our heads down and wait it out, everything will be fine." Walter said slowly, obviously not fully believing his own words.

"That's your choice. I don't have time to fuck around, here. I can't make you do anything. There's an airfield South of Orlando called 'Bent Willies'. A plane will be landing at ten o'clock to pick us up. If you want to go with us, meet us there. If not, I promise that Ro will call you as often as he can before Ashwood's goons cut civilian communications." Bug said seriously.

"You really think that they'll go that far?" Walter asked cautiously.

"They tried to assassinate President Bryce this morning. They shot his fucking kid and his eight month pregnant wife. So, yeah, I think they'll do that and a whole lot worse. Trust me, this is just the beginning. The gloves are about to come off." Bug said in a low, dangerous voice.

"We can't just give up everything we've worked so hard for. I can't believe..."

"I got no fucking time. Be there or not. It's up to you." Bug said, then ended the voice chat.

"I wanted to talk to him some more." Ro said with wide eyes filling with tears.

"Yeah, I want that too, Ro. Maybe at ten o'clock you'll get the chance, face to face." Bug said as he quickly started to unhook the laptops.

"Are you leaving already?" Junie asked with confusion.

"Yeah. Listen, from the way it looks, things are about to get real bad in Orlando... all of Florida, probably. I'm getting my family out of here. We're leaving right now." Bug said as he carefully put his laptop into his tote bag.

"You mean, right this minute?" Junie asked with surprise.

"That's exactly what I mean. You can come if you want, but only if you come with us right now." Bug said seriously.

"I can't." Junie said as she looked around the Coffee Shop.

"If you can't leave now, then get out as quick as you can. If you're gonna stay, then stock up on food, water and stuff that you can barter. And don't forget to get a gun." Bug said firmly as he walked to the game room door.

"You've got to be wrong." Junie said with a trembling voice.

"I hope so, Junie. But I really don't think I am." Bug said, then called into the game room, "Lor! Bax! We're leaving!"

"But we're not done." Lawrence whined.

"Bitch at me about it in the car. Let's get moving!" Bug said forcefully.

Ro looked Bax in the eyes and quietly said, "We need to go right now. It's important."

Bax looked at Ro with concern, then left the game without a second thought.

Lawrence gave the video game one last regretful look, then slowly walked to Bug's side.

As Bug led his group toward the back door, he heard Junie loudly saying, "Sorry folks, we're closing early! Drink'em up!"

* * * * *

"When we get to the house, could you guys help me out?" Bug asked as he pulled the car out of it's parking place.

"What can we do?" Ro asked without hesitation.

"Inside the garage, just inside the door is a rack with four backpacks. I was wondering if you could carry those to the car while I get Oma ready to leave."

"Leave where?" Bax asked suddenly.

"Away from here, Bax. And with any luck, my dads are going to go with us." Ro said as he looked his friend in the eyes.

"But where are we going?" Bax asked with concern.

"Anywhere but here." Bug answered before Ro could think of what to say.

"I'm trusting a friend of mine to get us someplace safe. I promise, that's all I know." Bug said as he glanced at Bax's worried gaze in the mirror.

Reluctantly, Bax nodded that he understood.

"If anyone needs to use the bathroom or get a drink, you'd better do it while we're here. There won't be anymore stops before the airport." Bug said as he pulled the car into the driveway.

"I don't need to pee." Lawrence said seriously.

"Do me a favor and try anyway, will you?" Bug asked gently as he walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk.

"Okay, Bug. I love you." Lawrence said as he walked to his younger brother and pulled him into a hug.

"I love you too, but we'll have all the time in the world for stuff like this once we've made it to the airport." Bug said as he briefly enjoyed the security of being held in his big brother's arms.

* * * * *

"Oma, I need for you to get dressed. We need to go somewhere." Bug said gently from her doorway.

"Have they declared martial law yet?" She asked, as she looked up from her place, sitting in the chair by her bed.

"No. I don't think so, but it won't be long." Bug said frankly.

"You boys go on. I'll just slow you down." Oma Shoupe said in a slightly quivering voice.

"Oma, when mom and dad died, you came and took care of me. You gave up everything you worked your whole life to build up, for me and Lawrence. You kept us a family when it seemed like the entire world was trying to tear us apart. It's my turn to take care of you." Bug said as he looked into her eyes.

Bug waited for a moment, then quietly said, "All you have to do is pull on a housedress and put on your shoes. That's it. I've taken care of everything else."

After a moment of hesitation, Oma Shoupe slowly stood from her chair, then walked to the closet.

* * * * *

Bug ran to the kitchen and before anything else, he collected all of Lawrence's and his Oma's medications. Once that was done, he went through the refrigerator and the cabinets to gather some short term supplies, just in case they were needed.

"Do you need any help?" Ro asked as he leaned in the kitchen doorway.

"Did you guys get all the backpacks into the car?" Bug asked quickly.

"Bax and Lawrence are putting the last two in now." Ro said seriously.

"Did everyone use the bathroom?" Bug asked as he looked around the kitchen one last time.

"Everyone but you." Ro said frankly, then held out his hands and said, "I'll take those if you want to take care of that."

"I don't need to..." Bug began to say.

"Will you do me a favor and try anyway?" Ro asked, with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah. Okay. But if Oma is ready to go before I'm done, will you help her? She gets unsteady if she has to walk very far." Bug asked hopefully.

"We'll be fine for the twenty seconds that you're gone." Ro said with a chuckle.

Bug looked at him uncertainly, but finally handed him the shopping bags.

* * * * *

As Bug left the bathroom, he remembered something and walked into his brother's bedroom.

After looking around briefly, Bug got down on the floor and reached under the bed.

He came back with a small box and peeked inside before closing it and walking purposefully to the door.

* * * * *

"Don't worry, Oma. We won't let you fall." Ro said as he gently held one of Oma Shoupe's arms.

Lawrence was on her other side, holding her hand.

Bax was walking ahead of them, and when he reached the door, he held it open for all three of them and waited for them to pass.

As Bug approached, he motioned for Bax to go ahead as he said, "Go on. I'll lock up the house."

After one look back at the house where he had been raised and lived every day of his life, so far, Bug firmly closed the door and locked it.

* * * * *

"Are we there yet?" Bax called from the back seat.

"Not yet." Bug said with a smile.

"I'm thirsty." Ro said as he fought down a chuckle.

"You should have thought about that before we left." Bug said with a grin.

"I've got to pee." Lawrence whined, then broke into a fit of giggles.

Everyone in the car quickly joined into the infectious laughter.

Once everyone had quieted, Oma Shoupe cautiously asked, "Where are we going?"

"To a small airstrip South of town. A plane is supposed to meet us there at ten o'clock." Bug said seriously.

"But where is the plane going to take us?" Oma Shoupe asked with concern.

"I really don't know. I guess when I was trying to get us out of here, it didn't really matter. I just wanted to be sure that all of us were going to be safe, so I trusted a friend of mine when he said that he could get us out of here." Bug said frankly.

"What's your friend like?" Oma Shoupe asked curiously.

"I don't know. I've never met him in person, or even spoken to him. I've only ever talked to him in text on the computer." Bug said frankly, then timidly admitted, "I can't even be sure that he's really a 'he'. All I know about him is what he's told me online."

"You're placing a lot of trust in someone you've never met." Oma Shoupe said cautiously.

"I know. And if I had any other choice, I would have taken it. But the way I see it, this is the only chance we've got of getting out of here before the whole thing comes crashing down on top of us." Bug said frankly.

"I hope that your friend is as dependable as you think he is." Oma Shoupe said quietly.

"The way I see it, we could either do something or do nothing. I don't know what anyone else thinks about it, but I think that good people doing nothing is what's caused most of the problems that we're facing today." Bug said honestly.

* * * * *

"Do you think my dads will go with us?" Ro asked quietly as he leaned forward so Bug could hear him.

"I think that there's a chance. I wish it could be more, but that's all that I was able to give you." Bug said regretfully.

"Thanks for everything you did today, Bug. I know you tried." Ro said as he reached forward to place a hand on Bug's shoulder.

"It may still work out. Just hang in there." Bug said as he reached up and patted the hand.

* * * * *

"Bug, no kidding, now I really am thirsty. Is there any way we could stop and get something to drink?" Bax asked hopefully.

Bug glanced away from the road for an instant, then picked up one of the shopping bags from beside him as he turned his attention back to the road.

"Here you go, just don't be filling up on drinks. I don't know when we'll be seeing our next bathroom." Bug said frankly.

"Thanks, Bug. You're the best." Bax said as he happily took a bottle of juice from the bag.

"Would you like anything, Oma?" Bug asked gently.

"No, dear. I'm just fine. I suppose I was just thinking of your Opa and what he would have thought of all this." Oma Shoupe said with a distant smile.

"What would he have thought?" Bug asked curiously.

"He would have said that we were stepping into an adventure in a brave new world." Oma Shoupe said distantly.

"I'm sorry he died. I know it's gotta hurt you." Bug said gently.

"Not as much now. He died nearly fifteen years ago. There were a few times when I longed to go with him, but the good Lord had other plans for me. Who knows? Maybe this, what's ahead, is what he's been saving up for me all along." Oma Shoupe said slowly.

"I really hope it turns out good, Oma. You deserve only the best." Bug said with a smile.

"As long as I've got you boys with me, then I've already got the best." Oma Shoupe said as she reached over and gently patted Bug on the knee.

* * * * *

As Bug pulled the car into the parking area, he spotted two other cars. One was parked away from the building and the other had three people standing and waiting outside of it.

Well, two of them were standing. The third was sitting slumped in a wheelchair.

Bug pulled up close to the other car. Near enough that they could talk, but not so close as to crowd them.

"Are you here for the ten o'clock flight, too?" A man asked as he approached the car.

Bug got out of his car and was surprised to find that he stood about eight inches taller than the man.

"Yeah. What can you tell me about what's going on?" Bug asked cautiously.

"Not much. I heard a few things at work that really concerned me, then, when I got home, my son told me that an online friend of his said that if we wanted to get away before everything blew up, that we should be here before ten." The man said nervously.

"Yeah. That's about as much as I know about it, too. I'm guessing that your son and I have the same online friend." Bug said anxiously.

"I'm Marcus Teeter. This is my wife, Doris and our son, Roris." Marcus said as he offered his hand.

"It's nice to meet you Marcus." Bug said as he shook the man's hand, then turned to his family and said, "It's nice to meet all of you, I'm Bug."

"Bug?" Marcus asked cautiously.

"Yeah. That's what everyone's called me, ever since I was a kid." Bug said dismissively.

"Hi, I'm Lawrence." A voice said from behind Bug.

"Everyone, this is my brother." Bug said with a smile.

Marcus and Doris stared at Lawrence for a moment, then Doris absently said, "It's nice to meet you."

Bug looked at his brother to find him staring at the young red headed man in the wheelchair.

"Don't stare. It's rude." Bug whispered to his brother.

The young man, Roris, made a sound and motioned with his twisted hand.

Lawrence stepped closer, then knelt down so he could hear what Roris was saying.

"I'm sorry. My brother doesn't always understand about boundaries and personal space." Bug said shyly.

Roris looked up at Bug, then said something else, close to Lawrence's ear.

Bug watched carefully, to be sure that Lawrence didn't do anything to hurt or upset the young man.

Lawrence, still kneeling, straightened and looked at Bug before saying, "Roris told me to tell you, 'Fuck you. I can look at him if I want'."

Roris' parents and Bug stared at Lawrence with surprise for a moment before Bug responded, "Fair enough. If Roris isn't bothered, then I've got no problem."

Lawrence bent down and turned his attention back to Roris and Bug waited to see if any more messages were coming his way. After a moment he realized that Roris and Lawrence were engaged in a conversation and seemed to be oblivious to the rest of the world.

The sound of the car doors slamming drew Bug's attention, and he turned in time to see Ro and Bax rushing away from the car.

"Oma Shoupe farted!" Bax said as he walked away from the car backward, seemingly afraid that the smell was going to sneak up and attack him from behind..

"It was really gross." Ro said with a pained look on his face.

"Marcus and Doris, I'd like you to meet Bax and Ro." Bug said with a chuckle.

"What handsome young men, are they your brothers, too?" Doris asked curiously.

Bug considered for a moment, then said, "Not officially. But as good as."

Both boys looked at Bug with surprise, then ran to give him simultaneous hugs.

The sound of a plane drew everyone's attention and they all started searching the sky to see if they could spot where it was coming from.

"Guys, I think that's our plane. Come on and help me get our stuff out of the car." Bug said quickly, then turned back and said, "Come on Lawrence, I promise that you'll be able to talk to Roris later."

"Doris, will you help me?" Marcus asked as he walked to the back of his own car.

* * * * *

"I know these backpacks are kind of heavy, but we shouldn't have to carry them long. Ro and Bax, if you'll get the bags and stuff from the front seat, Lawrence and I will help Oma Shoupe out of the car." Bug said as he handed out the backpacks.

"What is all of this?" Ro asked as he struggled to put the backpack on.

"These are our emergency packs. We've got first aid stuff, food, water and other stuff that we might need if there's a disaster. I figured we might need them for a hurricane or something like that someday, but I never thought about anything like this." Bug said honestly.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched as the plane touched down at the far end of the runway.

"I don't know how long we'll have. Grab the rest of the stuff and we'll get Oma." Bug said in a rush.

* * * * *

By the time Lawrence and Bug were able to get Oma Shoupe on her feet and walking on her own, the plane had finally come to a complete stop.

The door popped open and stairs were quickly lowered.

"Everyone! We've got another group like yours waiting for pickup at another location. Please, leave your luggage by the stairs and we'll get it stowed as soon as you're aboard." A man in a dark navy suit said urgently.

"Don't worry, Oma. We've got you." Bug said gently as he helped her maintain her footing.

"Yeah, Oma. We won't let nothin happen to you." Bax said as he followed along closely.

Bug flashed him an appreciative smile, then, in the distance, he saw a car driving quickly toward them.

"Ro. Drop your pack right there and I'll come back for it." Bug said seriously.

"What? Why?" Ro asked with surprise.

"Do I look like I'm fucking kidding around here? Please, just do what I said." Bug said firmly.

Ro put down the shopping bags he was carrying, then slowly took off the backpack.

"Ronan!" A voice called on the wind.

Ro turned with wide eyes and screamed, "DAD!"

"You're not as gruff as you pretend you are." Oma Shoupe chuckled.

"I just didn't want him running off with our emergency supplies." Bug said in his defense.

"Ma'am. If you'll allow me, I'll help you aboard." The man in the suit said gently.

"Yes. Thank you." Oma Shoupe said as she took hold of the man's elbow.

Bug and Lawrence stood and watched as Ro alternated between hugging one man, and then the other.

"Bax, you can drop your pack." Bug said quietly.

After a moment, Bax slowly took off the backpack he had been wearing.

Bug could tell by the look in his eyes that the boy's heart was breaking as he watched his closest and probably only friend drifting away, back to his old life.

"BAX! Come here! My dads want to meet you!" Ro called joyfully.

There was a moment of surprise, then a grand smile on Bax's face before he took off running at full speed.

"Gentlemen, would you please get aboard? Our time is very limited." the man in the suit said urgently.

"Would you like us to stay out here so we can help you with Roris and his wheelchair?" Bug asked cautiously.

"No need. I'm experienced with such things. Please, go aboard." The man finished firmly.

Bug picked up his tote bag, the bag with the medications and the brown cardboard box that had come from Lawrence's room before getting on the plane.

* * * * *

"I want to sit next to Roris." Lawrence said firmly.

"I think we'll have to sit where they tell us to." Bug said gently.

"But I want to sit next to Roris!" Lawrence demanded.

"Sometimes we don't get what we want." Bug said seriously.

As Lawrence's sky blue eyes began to fill with tears, Bug felt his heart breaking.

"I tell you what. I'll try. If there's any way we can manage it, I'll get you the seat next to Roris. How's that?" Bug asked gently.

A tear slid down Lawrence's cheek, then he slowly nodded.

Bug looked up at a movement and saw the man in the suit carrying Roris in his arms.

"Would it be okay if he sat here, next to Lawrence?" Bug asked as he quickly stood and motioned to his vacated seat.

"Is that okay with you?" the man asked Roris gently.

Apparently Roris agreed, because the man settled Roris into the seat beside Lawrence.

Bug took the seat across the aisle and one back and watched as Lawrence bent down and put his ear close to Roris' mouth so that they could easily talk.

"Would you mind if I took this seat?" A man asked as he walked up to Bug.

It took a moment for Bug to realize that the man wanted the seat beside him.

"Yeah. No problem." Bug said as he stood a little so the man could get to the seat by the window.

"You must be Bug." the man said as he took his seat.

"Yes. I am." Bug said cautiously.

"Ro told us all about you. I'm Reginald." The man said pleasantly.

"It's nice to meet you. I know you've got to be proud of Ro. He's a great kid." Bug said with a smile.

"Yes. We're very proud. But from the way Ro described you, I thought you'd be older. You're barely more than a kid yourself."

"I haven't been a kid since I was nine years old." Bug said frankly.

"Well, as much as I regret saying it, from the way things are looking, a lot of kids are probably going to be growing up way too soon in the very near future." Reginald said regretfully.

"We'll help to get them through it." Bug said with calm assurance.

Reginald looked at him curiously, then slowly nodded his agreement.

Chapter 2: Blood and Devotion

Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, a car pulled off the road at a crossroads.

A young man stopped the engine, then took out a map to verify that he was in the right place. After a look around, he checked his watch to see that it was nearly the right time.

As he looked at the map again, trying to see if there were any way he could have misinterpreted the instructions, a rapping on the window nearly made him jump out of his skin.

While he was lowering his window, he looked ahead and behind, trying to see where the stranger might have come from.

"Are you Brian?" The dark haired young man asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, officially, that's me. But in real life, everyone calls me Ben. Are you Zane?" He cautiously ventured.

The dark haired man gave a quick nod, then asked, "Can we go? It's really not safe for me here."

"Oh, sure. Get in." Ben said quickly.

Zane walked around the car and put a backpack onto the floorboard before climbing into his seat.

"You can put that in the back seat, if you want." Ben said as he started the car and pulled onto the road.

Zane seemed to consider for a moment, then slowly, almost reluctantly, relocated the backpack to the back seat.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person. You don't look anything like what I imagined." Ben said frankly.

Zane stared at Ben with dark, nearly black eyes, but didn't make any kind of a response.

After a moment, Ben reluctantly said, "I'm guessing from what you said back there, that our grandfather isn't going to be too happy when he finds out that you're gone."

"No." Zane said quietly, then added, "I doubt that he'll be overly bothered by it. But he sees me as his property, and he's very possessive. So he'll probably tell one of his associates to 'deal' with it."

"'Deal with it', how?" Ben asked cautiously.

"I don't know. There are a lot of different things that they could do. But what I do know is that if they catch me, no one will ever see me or hear from me again." Zane said frankly.

"From what my mom told me, Grandpa is a rich and powerful man who is always trying to find ways to be even more rich and more powerful. And she said that it's gone to his head and that he feels entitled to have anything that he wants, no matter what it costs or who it hurts." Ben said as he concentrated on his driving.

"He's a monster." Zane whispered.

"Kennon told me a little about the camp Grandpa sent you to, but did he do worse than that?" Ben asked hesitantly, not sure that he really wanted to know.

"It wasn't a camp, it was a prison, a torture chamber. They did things... I don't think I'll ever be able to forget what they did to me, but I'm determined to spend the rest of my life trying." Zane said in a low voice.

"I just don't get why grandpa would send you there." Ben said quietly.

After a long silent moment, Zane said in a cold, emotionless voice, "He called me an abomination. He said that giving birth to a vile bastard like me is what caused God to punish my mother with the disease that killed her."

"That's just nuts! Kennon told me that she died from the same thing that he had. It was genetic, so if anyone's to blame for her death, it's probably your grandfather for passing along his crap genes." Ben said firmly.

Zane looked at Ben with surprise, then his gaze became distant as he seemed to be considering Ben's words.

* * * * *

"There is something else that you should know." Zane said, startling Ben, since they had been riding in silence for so long.

"What's that?" Ben asked cautiously.

"While I was at...that place... grandfather stopped in to check on my 'progress' a few times. During one of his visits, he had me sedated, and when I woke up, I found an incision on my chest." Zane said quietly.

"What?... Why would he do that?" Ben asked in confusion.

Zane was quiet for a moment and seemed to be gathering his courage. Finally, he quietly said, "It took some time, but I was finally able to find out what was done to me. I was implanted with a transmitter so that if I ever tried to escape, Grandfather could find me without having to go to too much trouble."

"So, you mean, he might be after us already?" Ben asked as he looked into the rearview mirror.

"No. I just wanted you to be aware, so you would understand when you saw this." Zane said, then lifted up the bottom of his hoodie to reveal what looked something like a remote control hanging on Zane's belt."

"Okay. What is it?" Ben asked slowly.

"Simply put, this is a battery powered signal jammer. I am wearing a wire mesh vest that generates a low power frequency that can block any signal inside it from escaping." Zane said carefully.

"So, while you're wearing that vest, they'll have to look for you the old fashioned way." Ben said speculatively.

"Yes. Although, they probably won't be aware that I am missing until dinner time tonight. It is common for me to avoid seeing grandfather all day, but he insists that all members of the household attend the evening meal." Zane said frankly.

"So we've got a few hours to put as much distance as we can between them and us." Ben said firmly.

"Yes. Although, if we are returning to your house, I suspect that he might know to look there." Zane said hesitantly.

"Nope. Look at the sky. We're heading West, away from my home." Ben said happily.

"Where are we going?" Zane asked cautiously.

Ben turned to smile at his cousin and saw the wary gaze fixed on him.

"I was going to surprise you with this, but I guess, now that I think about it, you've had more than enough surprises in your life." Ben said gently.

Zane's apprehension seemed to have eased somewhat, but he was still waiting expectantly for Ben to tell of their destination.

"Well, I remember you telling me about how you never knew your dad and all of that. So I talked to my mom and she was able to tell me a few things. After that, I did some checking around, you know, public records and stuff like that and I'm pretty sure that I found him." Ben said happily.

"You found my father?" Zane asked in astonishment.

"Yeah, I'm about ninety-five percent sure that it's him." Ben said frankly.

"Does he know that we're coming?" Zane asked cautiously.

"No. I kinda thought that this might be one of those things that should be done face-to-face. It'll be a lot harder for him to deny you if you're standing there, looking him in the eye." Ben said seriously.

"But... what if he doesn't want me." Zane asked in a whisper.

"If that happens, then it's his problem." Ben said honestly, then continued, "You're twenty years old. It's time for you to be out on your own. I'm not taking you to meet him so you can move in with him and have him take care of you. I just thought we could go on up, and if all goes well, we could have a nice visit for a couple days, or even a couple weeks. We can get to know your dad, and then, when the time is right... we'll see where the road takes us next."

* * * * *

After a long stretch of silence, Ben finally felt the need to ask, "How are your batteries?"

"Sufficient." Zane said distantly.

"Come on, Mr. Spock. What kind of an answer is that? I need to know if we're going to need to stop so you can buy new batteries."

"These are rechargeable. I think that we can make it to midnight, if we need to."

"I'd rather not need to. We'll probably start looking for a place to stop at around ten."

"Thank you for coming to get me, Ben. I know that we don't know each other that well and I really appreciate that you offered to help."

"You're my cousin, Zane. Since Kennon's death, you and I are all that's left of our generation."

"I miss him. He was a good friend." Zane said quietly.

"I'm sorry that I never got to meet him face to face. From the way he seemed online, he was a great guy."

"He was the best."

* * * * *

They rode in silence for a few minutes before Zane quietly asked, "Did he blame me?"

"For his condition? Of course not! It was genetic. It had nothing to do with you." Ben said immediately.

"No. For not being there." Zane said in a whisper.

"No, Zane. He knew that you had no choice. I know that he wished you had been there with him, but he understood that you didn't choose to be sent to that place. He even told me that your grandfather... our grandfather... was working with those 're-education camp' people. Kennon was all upset one night when he overheard our grandfather talking about some new drug cocktail he came up with and how he wanted to see what it did to you." Ben finished with disgust.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." Zane said in a quaking voice.

"Then we won't." Ben said simply.

Zane slightly nodded to indicate that he had heard.

"But, if you ever do want to talk, I'll be here to listen." Ben said quietly as he kept his eyes focused on the road.

Zane turned his head slightly to look out the window as the miles passed by.

* * * * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Zane asked, breaking nearly an hour of silence between them.

"You'll have to be a little bit more specific. Is what a good idea?" Ben asked frankly.

When Zane didn't respond, Ben quietly said, "If you're asking if taking you away from that evil bastard of a grandfather of ours is a good idea, then the answer is 'yes', without a doubt."

"If you're asking if taking a road trip halfway across the country is a good idea, then I guess I'd have to say 'yes' to that one, too."

"But as much as I appreciate you doing this, it isn't fair to you. You have your own life. What about your girlfriend?" Zane asked cautiously.

"Her family suddenly wanted for all of them to go on this big European vacation. I mean, it was kind of freaky because the first that Melissa or I heard about it was yesterday morning and they left last night. Since I don't have a passport, I couldn't have gone along, even if I wanted to, which I didn't. Her folks are a little bit too snooty for me." Ben said frankly.

When Ben glanced away from the road for an instant, he found Zane's dark, almost black eyes staring at him intently.

"What?" Ben asked cautiously.

"What aren't you saying? There's more that you're not telling me." Zane said slowly.

Ben thought for a moment, then said, "Yeah, but I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you for nothing. It's just rumors and stuff."

When Zane made no response, Ben felt compelled to continue, "Yesterday, Cam and Jack invited me and my family up to the cabin."

"What's so strange about that? I remember you telling me in the chat room that your family and Jack's family have become really close and that you go up to the cabin several times a year." Zane asked curiously.

"Okay, the thing is, Cam and his dad, Grandpa Dave, and my Grandpa Andy have been really worried about some stuff for a while now. They think that some really bad things are coming and that it might be a really good idea to be up at the cabin where no one can find them until it all blows over." Ben said slowly.

"But since you had already committed yourself to coming to get me, you told them you couldn't go with them?" Zane asked cautiously.

"No. Actually, I told them that since everyone was going to be gone at once, that this would be the perfect time for me to come get you. That's when I got online and waited for you to join the chat to ask you if you were ready to get out of there." Ben said with a smile.

"You should have gone with your family." Zane said as his gaze drifted to his feet.

"You are my family, Zane. Besides, no one was upset by it. Cam, Jack and my dad each gave me some money for the trip. How much more proof do you need that they're alright with this?" Ben asked frankly.

"I just don't know what I'm doing or why." Zane said helplessly as he turned to face Ben.

"What we're doing is going on a roadtrip to find your biological father. And why? How about because the old bastard who raised you after your mom died sent you off to some freaked out 'Jesus Camp' torture chamber and kept you there for almost two years? How about because you've been living as a prisoner in your own home and pretending to be his obedient slave until someone, namely me, gave you a way out?" Ben asked with barely restrained anger.

"I still don't want to talk about that. But... I guess you're right." Zane said reluctantly.

"How's your battery?" Ben asked cautiously.

After a moment to check the indicator on his belt, Zane said, "It still looks like I'll be fine until we can stop and I can recharge."

"I can't believe that sick fucker actually cut you open and put a TRACKING DEVICE inside you!" Ben growled without warning.

Zane shrank back a little in fear at the angry tone of Ben's voice.

When Ben noticed, he calmed himself and said, "I'm not mad at you, Zane. I'm mad at what was done to you."

Zane looked away, but Ben could tell that he was still listening.

"I guess now that we're alone and I know that no one can overhear us, I should be completely honest with you." Ben said in prelude.

When Zane didn't react, he continued, "I know a little more about what happened to you than I've told you. I talked to Kennon about it after you were taken away. With Kennon's condition being like it was, your grandfather and his flunkies would ignore him, like he was a piece of furniture and sometimes they would say things in front of him that they probably wouldn't if it were anyone else."

Zane cautiously turned and looked at Ben with thinly disguised interest.

"It seems that our grandfather, the renowned Dr. Werner, was working with some group, developing and refining different brainwashing techniques. Kennon thought that the plan was to lay low until they had a few successes, then get someone high up in the government to give his 'treatment for troubled youth' an official endorsement. After that, they would start opening 'clinics' or 'camps' all over the country and judges could sentence any kid who even looked like they might think about getting into trouble to 'treatment'." Ben said as he fought to keep the majority of his attention on his driving.

"Oh God, no. They can't... No one should ever..." Zane trailed off with a shake of his head, then went silent as he turned his gaze out the window.

"Anyway, that was the plan back then. I'd be willing to bet that President Assbag would probably sign off on the plan personally. If that happens, then the old man will make lots and lots of money, and the nutjobs who thought this crap up will have an army of mindless little drones willing to follow their every order." Ben said seriously.

Zane thought about what Ben had said, then quietly asked, "Shouldn't we tell someone?"

"Yeah." Ben snorted, then asked, "Who'd believe us?"

"Perhaps we could find a news reporter..." Zane speculated.

Ben shook his head and said, "From what Cam and his dad have been saying, any actual reporter is scared for their life right now. Remember what happened to Lily Manning? She asked a question that pissed someone off and they tried to kill her and her kids! She's not the only one, she's just one of the few that lived to tell about it. All the real reporters are keeping their mouths shut. The rest, all they're doing is spouting the propaganda that they're being told to."

"Are you saying that you want to let this happen without trying to stop it?" Zane asked cautiously.

"No. Of course not. I'm just not sure what to do, yet. I mean, maybe we could get it out on the Internet. But, I'm afraid that it'll be stopped before anyone can see it and then, the next minute, there'll be Federal Agents breaking down our door." Ben said anxiously.

"I may know someone..." Zane said slowly.

Ben glanced away from his driving for a moment to give Zane a questioning look.

"As you know, for the past few years I haven't been able to leave the estate. So I spent much of my time online. While I was there, I lurked in chat rooms quite a bit and I found someone who seemed to be very knowledgeable on several subjects. After a while, I took a chance and talked directly to him." Zane said quietly.

"What did he tell you?" Ben asked curiously.

"At first, I just talked to him about ways to evade parental lockouts and to avoid being eavesdropped on while I was online. But later, I started talking to him, in a strictly theoretical sense, about how to mask the signal of a tracking device." Zane said carefully.

"So this guy was able to help you come up with the signal blocker?" Ben asked with surprise.

"Yes. He came up with most of the design in just a day or two. Unfortunately, it took me nearly a year to find all the components that I needed to make it work." Zane said regretfully.

"And I was all impressed because I thought you came up with it all on your own." Ben chuckled.

"No. I didn't know enough about electronics at the time to do it myself. Now, with all that I've learned while building this, I might be able to build something else, all on my own." Zane said frankly.

"I'm just glad that you've found a way to get around what the old bastard did to you."

"Ben." Zane said hesitantly.

"What?" Ben asked curiously.

"I don't know if you've thought about this, but it's possible that they might have... programmed me. It's possible that somewhere in all the conditioning that they gave me, they might have done something to make me betray you." Zane said fearfully.

There was a long moment of silence, then Ben quietly said, "I knew that."

Zane looked at Ben with surprise.

"That's the main reason I'm not taking you to the cabin." Ben said honestly.

"You..." Zane started to say, then stopped, not knowing what he wanted to ask.

"Before I came to get you, I knew some of what you'd been through. I didn't know about the tracking device, but I realized that it was possible that you might have been given a mission of some sort and been allowed to escape." Ben said frankly.

"Then... why are you here with me?" Zane asked cautiously.

"Because you're my cousin." Ben said simply.

Zane stared at him uncertainly.

"I want you to be happy, Zane. I want for you to have a life of your own. I'm willing to take a risk if there's any way we can make up for some of what that old bastard did to you." Ben said sincerely.

After a moment, Zane whispered, "Thank you."

Ben nodded, then worked up the courage to say, "I know that you don't want to talk about what was done to you at 'that place'. But there's one thing that I'd really like to know, if you wouldn't mind telling me."

Zane looked at Ben cautiously and waited for his question.

"I guess what I want to know is why they let you go. Did grandfather get you out or did you do something?" Ben asked cautiously.

Zane was silent for a moment, then quietly said, "What I did was give in to them. No matter what disgusting perverted thing they asked of me, I did it without hesitation or question. There was no way to judge the passage of time in there, but after what I thought was about two months of being completely compliant, they drugged me and I woke up in my room at Grandfather's house."

Ben could see how much telling the brief story had cost Zane and resisted the urge to question him further.

* * * * *

The conversation between them was sparse and on general 'safe' topics after that. The pair stopped for a surprisingly good meal at a truck stop before continuing on to find a motel for the night.

"All that driving wiped me out. It sure will feel good to get a shower and then crawl into bed." Ben said as he opened the door to their motel room.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help. I never learned how to drive." Zane said quietly.

Ben smiled, then said, "It's not like it was going to happen anyway. I won't even let Melissa drive my car."

Zane actually seemed to be a little bit relieved by the admission.

"Do you need the bathroom before I start my shower?" Ben asked as he flopped his suitcase onto the nearest bed.

"Yes. Thank you. I'll only be a minute." Zane said quietly as he walked toward the bathroom door.

Ben nodded, then took out some blue sweatpants and a plain white t shirt to change into after his shower.

* * * * *

When Zane walked out of the bathroom, Ben got his first look at the wire mesh vest that Zane had been wearing under his hoodie all day.

"Is that thing uncomfortable?" Ben asked cautiously.

"A little. But I'm getting used to it." Zane said as he walked to the second bed and sat down to take off his shoes.

"From the look of your backpack, you didn't bring many clothes. Would you like to borrow something of mine so you can get a shower when I'm done?" Ben asked cautiously.

"I won't be able to remove the vest to take a shower. I'll be fine for tonight and I'll clean up in the morning. I have fresh clothes for tomorrow, but if you have some loose fitting shorts or sweatpants for me to sleep in, I'd appreciate it." Zane said timidly.

"Yeah. No problem." Ben said with a smile, then took a pair of gym shorts out of his suitcase.

"I'll say goodnight now, in case I'm asleep before you're finished." Zane said as he looked into Ben's eyes.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Zane." Ben said warmly, then picked up his clean clothes and contact lens supplies before walking into the bathroom.

Zane changed into the gym shorts, then took a power cord out of his hoodie pocket and plugged it into the box on his belt. He carefully laid back on the bed and checked one last time to see that his powerpack was charging before closing his eyes.

Ben walked into the bedroom and found Zane seemingly asleep. His body was arranged very precisely and he was still as a corpse.

He tried to put the uneasy thoughts of torture camps and their grandfather out of his head and focus on the adventure that lay ahead.

* * * * *

Several hours later, Ben awoke to the sound of vigorous lovemaking in the next room. The bumps against the wall and wails of ecstasy caused Ben to come fully awake.

He absently stroked himself through his sweatpants as he thought of his girlfriend... fiancée... Melissa.

As things started heating up, Ben remembered that he wasn't alone in the room. Feeling that he was past the point where it could be ignored, Ben walked to the bathroom to 'take matters in hand'.

When he turned on the bathroom light, Ben turned to be sure that Zane wasn't aware of his activities.

What he saw froze him in place.

Zane was still lying, in exactly the same position as when they had gone to bed. Ben would be willing to swear that he hadn't moved a muscle the entire night.

Seeing Zane in that state disturbed Ben and all thoughts of a sexual nature were now banished from his mind. After a moment more of watching Zane, Ben went in to relieve his bladder before returning to bed to try and get some more sleep.

* * * * *

"Ben. You need to see this." Zane said quietly.

"Jack?" Ben asked groggily.

"No. It's Zane. You need to see the news." Zane said urgently.

Ben finally opened his eyes and saw the look of concern on Zane's face.

"What is it?" Ben asked cautiously.

"President Bryce has been killed." Zane whispered, then dashed back to the television where President Ashwood was making an announcement.

Ben scrambled out of bed as he said, "Turn it up."

Just as Zane increased the volume, President Ashwood turned and left the room.

"What did he say? What happened?" Ben asked as his mind whirled.

"He said that President Bryce and his entire family..." Zane started to say, then stopped when he saw what was on the screen.

"My fellow Americans, as you've just seen, I'm supposedly dead. At approximately 2:15am President Ashwood launched a medium scale covert attack with U.S. Military forces against another U.S. Military Base in which I, Mike and our families had taken refuge, due to the threats against us..."

"This is what they were worried about." Ben muttered to himself.

"That President Ashwood would try to kill President Bryce?" Zane asked cautiously.

"Not that exactly, but more about what is going to happen because of it." Ben said distantly as he absently noticed the blood covered clothing that President Bryce was wearing.

"I don't understand what you mean." Zane said thoughtfully.

"Look at him, Zane. Up to now this has all been politics. Some of it dirty, but still there were certain rules that everyone understood. Now, it's personal."

As if in response to Ben's words, President Bryce paused for a moment to collect his emotions, then said, "What his attack on our families did accomplish was...was the shooting of my nine year old son, Chris, and the shooting of my eight month pregnant wife Linda."

"Oh Jesus!" Ben gasped.

"What?" Zane asked cautiously.

"Zane, this is going to get bad. Really, really bad." Ben said as he walked to his side of the room and took out some clothes to change into.

"I don't understand why you're worried. Of course I'm worried for President Bryce and his family, but I don't see what that has to do with us." Zane said carefully.

"Listen, Zane. Ashwood is an insecure douchebag who loves making people hate each other and fight for his amusement. Bryce seems to be a basically good man who is sincere in his convictions. The two were going to fight, no matter what. But what just happened took it to a whole other level. Ashwood's going to switch from his usual dickishness to being an out and out asshole. And Bryce is going to stand firm for what he believes, and now he's fighting to protect or avenge his family. Trust me. We need to get moving." Ben said while quickly skinning out of his sweats and pulling on some jeans and a t shirt.

Zane seemed to suddenly realize what he was doing and started to change.

"I have to put my contacts in. So we have time for you to clean up, if you need to." Ben said as he zipped his suitcase closed.

"I attended to that earlier, while you were sleeping. We can leave as soon as you're ready." Zane said quietly.

"Are your batteries good?" Ben asked as he walked into the bathroom.

"Yes. Although we may need to stop earlier tonight if we're going to drive through the entire day." Zane said frankly.

"No. We've got about six or seven hours of driving left, depending on traffic." Ben said loudly from the bathroom.

"Where are we going?" Zane asked cautiously.

"Chicago."

* * * * *

As soon as they were out on the road, Ben tuned the radio to a news station that was replaying both President Ashwood and President Bryce's announcement.

"At least President Bryce's wife and son aren't dead." Zane finally said.

"No. But I don't think, from the sound of it, that they're completely out of the woods yet." Ben said darkly, then muttered, "I wish I could call Jack."

"What would he do?" Zane asked curiously.'

Ben looked at Zane with surprise, then realized that he had spoken his internal thought aloud.

Finally, Ben said, "Jack would just calm me down and help me to make sense of things. He's really good at that. Whenever I get stressed out about something, he helps me through it."

"If I knew how, I would try to do that for you." Zane said apologetically.

"That's alright, Zane. I don't want you to be him. Just be you. That's all I need for you to be right now." Ben said frankly.

"But, I don't remember how to be me... I'm not sure I've ever been me." Zane said thoughtfully.

"There was a time when I was like that. In fact, that's when I met Jack. He's the one who helped me through it." Ben finished with a smile.

"What did he do? How did he help you?" Zane asked cautiously.

"I guess the most important thing was that he talked to me. And he listened. He paid attention to me when no one else in my life really did." Ben said distantly.

"Like what you're doing for me now?" Zane asked uncertainly.

"I guess, in a way. I'll be here to help you however you need me. No strings. No conditions. If you want to talk, I'll listen. If you have questions, I'll answer them as well as I can. If you need more than that... well, I'll do that, too." Ben finished hesitantly.

"I don't know what you mean." Zane said uneasily.

"Well, when Jack and I met, I had some problems with shyness and how I saw myself. One of the things that Jack did for me, was to make me face my fears. He got naked in front of me and convinced me to get naked in front of him." Ben said distantly.

"What did he make you do?" Zane asked slowly.

"Nothing. In fact, I think that's what really did me the most good. When I found out that I could get naked with him and that he wouldn't do or say anything to hurt me, I realized that I had someone who I could really trust."

"So you just took off your clothes and everything was okay?" Zane asked suspiciously.

Ben chuckled, then said, "No. We did other stuff, like hiking and running. We just did the naked stuff until I got to the point where it didn't bother me anymore. My anxiety and shyness had been holding me back in other things in my life and Jack helped me get past it."

"When you said that you'd do more, what did that mean?" Zane asked seriously.

"Sorry if that creeped you out. I was just meaning that if you needed some type of physical comfort, that I'd be okay with that, too."

"For example..."

"I don't know. Maybe something like a hug or a kiss. I don't really want to put it into words because that's like me putting limits on it, and I want you to know that you can ask me for anything." Ben said frankly.

"You'll do anything I ask?"

"No. You can ask for anything that you want. It may be something that I'm not willing to do, but I won't be angry or tease you because you asked it."

Zane thought for a moment, then slowly nodded his comprehension.

"I'll just say one more thing, then we can let the subject drop for a while." Ben said gently, then continued more firmly, "I'm not a mindreader. I don't know you well enough to guess at what's going on inside your head. If you want something, if you want to know something, if you're just not happy for some reason, tell me. I can't help if you won't share with me what the problem is."

"But what if I don't know." Zane asked helplessly.

"Then share what you do know, then maybe we can figure it out together."

Zane's look became distant as he thought about the words.

"But for now, I think I could use some help navigating. There's a map and some printouts in the glove compartment. Would you get them out?" Ben asked hopefully.

Zane's posture visibly eased as he leaned forward to open the glove box.

* * * * *

After over an hour of driving on unfamiliar streets, Zane finally said, "Yes! Turn right at the next intersection and it should be the first building past the corner on the right."

"Good! I was beginning to feel like we were never going to get here. What a rat maze!" Ben said as he took the turn.

Zane and Ben stared in astonishment when they saw the building.

"Are you sure you read it right?" Ben asked as he pulled to the curb and stopped the engine.

"Yes. The number is over the door." Zane said as he pointed.

Ben was quiet for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry, Zane. I should have checked more closely and found out what your father was like before we made this trip. All I did was get his most recent address."

"Well, we're here, we might as well go in." Zane said quietly and some of the nervousness he was feeling came out in his voice.

Ben nodded his agreement, then watched for oncoming traffic before quickly getting out of the car.

With matching expressions of apprehension, the two cousins walked toward the rundown inner city shelter for the homeless.

* * * * *

When they walked up to the door, they were surprised to find it locked.

Ben walked to the barred window a few feet away and peeked inside.

Although the light was such that he couldn't make out any details, he definitely saw movement.

Ben walked back to Zane's side and said, "Someone's in there. You need to knock."

Zane seemed hesitant, but finally raised his hand and rapped gently on the door.

It took a minute, but finally a young man, about their same age, opened the door a crack and said, "The mission's been closed. Go down to eighth, or fourteenth if they're full."

"We're not here for that. We're looking for someone and maybe you know him." Ben said quickly.

"No one's here. Fuck off." The young man said, then started to close the door.

"Please, we've driven halfway across the country." Ben rushed to say before the door was closed.

When the young man stopped, Ben quickly continued, "Can you just tell us if you know where we can find Brian Doherty. This is his son."

The young man looked at Zane for a moment, then seemed to be considering. He whispered something to someone behind him, then finally said, "You should come inside. You two are gonna get your asses kicked coming here, looking like that."

"Looking like what?" Ben asked cautiously.

"Like you got more than two pennies to rub together. Anyone thinks you got money, you'll be stripped bare and left to bleed-out in the gutter." The young man said as he ushered them inside and firmly closed the door behind them.

"Do you know where Brian Doherty is?" Ben asked hopefully as he looked around. He was sure that he had seen the young man whisper to someone else, but there was no one else in the room.

"I never heard him called Brian, but Father Doherty is in back, packing stuff up." The young man said as he led the way.

As they walked, Ben noticed that the young man's hands seemed to be trembling uncontrollably.

* * * * *

"Father. You have some visitors." The young man said as he stopped just inside the room.

"Visitors? How nice!" The priest said with delight, then said to the young man, "Brother Jacques, it's nearly dinner time. Why don't you gather everyone into the dining hall and we'll meet you there."

"Yes, Father." The young man, Brother Jacques, said gently, then withdrew from the room.

"Since the mission has been closed, I'm interested to know what brings you here." The priest said as he gestured for them to follow him out of the room.

"Well, my cousin Zane grew up never knowing his father..." Ben began to say, but was interrupted.

"Yes. It's a tragic state that this country has fallen into. Promiscuity followed by the abdication of responsibility. It's rampant. The men who sow their seed and walk away from their progeny should be ashamed, no, reviled and cast out of decent society!" The priest said passionately.

"Yeah. Well... Um, you see." Ben stammered.

"I'm sorry my boy. I've seen so much in the years that I've been at this mission. I can't help but speak out, even though no one listens." Father Doherty said regretfully as he slowly walked through the meandering hallways filled with countless doorless rooms.

"I'm your son." Zane said, seemingly out of nowhere.

The priest stopped in the hallway and looked at Zane with surprise, then gave a smile and slightly shook his head.

"His mother's name was Mariah Elaine Werner." Ben said simply.

The priest's eyes went wide as he gasped, "Mariah?"

"I was born January 2nd, 1992." Zane said carefully.

The priest seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then he cautiously said, "Yes, that would be about the time..."

Their conversation was interrupted by two children, a boy and a girl, running down the hall at breakneck speed.

"Jamiah! Loquicia!" Father Doherty barked.

Both children froze in their tracks and turned to look at the priest with a spark of fear in their eyes.

"What have I told you about running in the halls?" Father Doherty asked firmly.

"Not to." The boy, Jamiah, said timidly.

"That's right. Now go on into the dining hall. Dinner should be ready in just a minute." Father Doherty said more gently.

"Thank you, Father." Both children said before briskly walking away.

Father Doherty looked Zane over very carefully for a moment, then seemed to come to a decision. "What was your name, again?"

"Zane, Zane Edwin Werner."

"Come and have dinner with us, Zane. And you, you said you were cousins, but I didn't catch your name." Father Doherty said as he motioned for them to follow.

"I didn't throw it." Ben said quietly with a grin at Zane, then said more loudly, "My real name is Brian Weston, but everyone calls me Ben."

"So, does that mean that you're Annette's son?" Father Doherty asked curiously.

"Yes. That's right." Ben said with a smile.

"So, you really are my father?" Zane asked cautiously.

"Looking at you is like looking at a picture of my younger self. Your mother and I were very close for a time, until a serpent arrived in our perfect garden and destroyed our paradise." Father Doherty said distantly.

"Let me guess. Grandpa Werner didn't welcome you into the family." Ben said simply.

"That would be putting it mildly. I've always thought that that man was some of Lucifer's most masterful handiwork." Father Doherty said as he looked at Ben.

"Yeah. The more I get to know about him, the more I think you're right." Ben said frankly.

Father Doherty turned to look at Zane and quietly asked, "How is Mariah doing?"

"She died a long time ago, when I was three years old." Zane said sadly.

Father Doherty nodded regretfully.

There was a long moment of silence, then Father Doherty quietly said, "Come. Have dinner with us."

* * * * *

There was a group of people gathered around the single table in the massive, empty room.

"Everyone, may I have your attention?" Father Doherty asked as he walked up to the table.

All the people turned their attention to the priest except for a young man with long brown hair that was tied into a long braid down his back. His attention was turned toward something off to the side.

Ben followed his gaze in time to see an identical young man with the same long braid poke his head out of a doorway.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to my son, his name is Zane. And this other young man is my nephew, Zane's cousin, Ben." Father Doherty said to the group.

There was a long silence, then a boy who seemed to be around fifteen years old said, "It looks like the Father is a father. I thought you guys couldn't do that."

"I wasn't a priest, then." Father Doherty said simply, then turned to Zane and Ben and said, "This young man is Dax. He's a wonderful boy, although a bit hot headed at times."

Ben couldn't place what it was, about the young man, but something about his manner of speech or his posture caused Ben's seldom used 'gaydar' to bury the needle.

"You've somewhat met Jamiah and Loquicia. They are brother and sister." Father Doherty said with a smile at the older looking boy and younger looking girl from the hallway earlier.

The boy gave a dainty wave and a shy smile. And for the second time that day, Ben's gaydar reacted vigorously.

As Ben automatically looked to the next person at the table, he had to blink to be sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. The eleven or twelve year old boy's brown hair seemed to have turned mostly gray.

"Next we have Ty. And before he has the chance to offend you, he's a contrary one. If he talks back to you, it's just because he likes you." Father Doherty said with a warm smile at the boy.

"I don't do that!" Ty grumbled.

Father Doherty smiled at the response, then said, "You've already met Brother Jacques, the other two are his companions, Ken and Kev.

Before Ben could say anything, the twin beside Brother Jacques got up and walked to join his brother in the doorway.

"Since the church closed this mission, we're all that's left." Father Doherty said in a weary voice, then motioned for Ben and Zane to take seats at the table.

"Why did they close the mission?" Zane asked his father curiously.

"The fundamentalist faction of the church were finally able to convince the cardinal that we shouldn't be providing succor to those that they find undesirable. As a consequence, those services that the church provides to the homeless and needy will no longer be offered to homosexuals or others that the church has deemed deviant." Father Doherty said regretfully.

"What he means is that they expect these gay kids to just go somewhere and quietly die!" Brother Jacques said with disgust.

"The church has called for us to encourage such people to repent." Father Doherty said half-heartedly.

"As if anyone would believe me if I said I was straight!" Dax said with a slight lisp.

Father Doherty appeared to ignore the comment as he continued, "To my eternal shame, I've told our people, many of them children, to hide their orientation... essentially, to lie, so that they can receive food and shelter until they can find a way to provide for themselves."

"But what about the rest of you? What are you going to do?" Zane asked as he looked around.

"Father Doherty has been reassigned. He'll be working at another rescue mission. The rest of us... we're still working on that." Brother Jacques said with a nervous look at Father Doherty.

"Not to worry. We're going to be sending them on their way to a new place where they'll be accepted for who they are... just as soon as we can find out where that might be." Father Doherty said as he revealed some of the worry that he was feeling.

Before anyone could say more, the twins walked into the room each carrying a large pan of food.

"Guys, can you get us some plates and silverware?" Brother Jacques asked as he looked at the younger people around the table.

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than all the kids got up and ran for the kitchen.

"It doesn't make sense to set up the serving line for this few people." Father Doherty explained to Ben and Zane.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Ben asked as he looked around.

"Not unless you have a place where seven people can be safe and accepted for who they are." Father Doherty said frankly.

"I was actually talking about helping with dinner." Ben said quietly, then regretfully added, "We don't even know where we're going next. We just came here to find you."

"I know. I suppose it was too much to ask that the Lord might have sent you in answer to my prayers." Father Doherty said quietly.

"How bad is it?" Zane asked in a whisper.

"We have to be out of here by the end of the night. The workmen will be here tomorrow to board up this place." Father Doherty said darkly.

"But if there's so many homeless people, I don't get why they're closing this place down." Ben said thoughtfully.

"There are only so many priests that the church trusts to carry out their orders without regard to their own personal feelings on the matter. In short, this mission is being closed because they believe, and rightly so, that I wouldn't refuse aid to any homeless or hungry person on a cold and snowy Chicago night."

"Then why aren't you coming with us?" Brother Jacques asked in an anguished voice.

"Because, even with the constraints that they will put upon me, there will still be much good that I can do and many people that I can help. I firmly believe that I will be able to do much more good from within the church than on the outside." Father Doherty replied regretfully.

Ben looked up as a plate was handed to him.

A moment later, he was handed silverware and then a glass of water.

After the clatter of silverware and dishes had subsided, everyone went silent and waited for Father Doherty to bless their food.

"Bless us O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive, through Christ's bounty, And once again, I pray that you provide a place where these, your children, will be allowed to grow in safety and love. Amen."

"Amen." Ben whispered, feeling unusually moved by the brief prayer. He had never been a religious person, but he felt the sincerity behind the priest's words.

"Did you get their car in?" Brother Jacques asked the twin to his right.

The twin to his left answered, "Yeah. Another minute or two and it would have been stolen or stripped."

Ben looked up and asked, "Are you talking about my car?"

"Don't worry. I brought it inside." One of the twins said quietly.

Ben took out his car keys to prove to himself that he still had them, then looked at the young man with question.

The smirk and snort of laughter he received in return told him that he didn't need to give his question voice.

After a moment to consider, Ben looked at the twin and quietly said, "Thanks. I didn't even think that my car might not be safe.

"Jake's the one who told me to bring it in." The twin said dismissively.

"Jake?" Ben asked as he looked at Brother Jacques curiously.

"Only the twins are allowed to call me that. It's from my old life." Brother Jacques said grimly as he reached one of his trembling hands toward the dish of food in the middle of the table.

"And so are we." One of the twins said seriously.

"I got it." The other twin whispered to Brother Jacques and quickly dished some beef and noodle casserole onto his plate.

Ben realized by watching the three of them together that the twins weren't just in love with Brother Jacques, they were absolutely devoted to him.

"Do you two have everything that you're going to need, to leave tonight?" Father Doherty asked with concern, mostly directing his question toward Zane.

"I think we have everything we need, except a destination." Zane said slowly, then looked at Ben with question.

"That's right. We were kind of hoping to stay here with you... well, I don't mean with you. We'd stay in a hotel or something. But we were hoping to stay in Chicago for a while so we could figure out where to go next. Until things settle down from the attack on President Bryce, I don't think it'd be a good idea to go back home." Ben said thoughtfully.

"Wait! What attack?" Brother Jacques asked quickly.

"This morning, I don't know, it was around 3am President Ashwood sent forces to attack the military base where President Bryce and his family were hiding out. One of President Bryce's kids and his wife were shot." Ben said quickly.

"Holy shit!" Brother Jacques gasped.

"Brother." Father Doherty said in a slightly scolding tone.

"I'm sorry, Father." Brother Jacques said immediately, then turned to Ben and asked, "What did President Asswipe do next?"

"Nothing. At least, he hadn't done anything when we got here. I think he was kinda... totally shocked that they survived."

"Father. We've got to go right now." Brother Jacques said firmly.

"Where?" Father Doherty asked simply.

"I can take the van and drive West until we run out of gas. After that... God will provide. Please, we've got to get the kids out of here before he thinks up something even more horrible to do to them." Brother Jacques said desperately.

"I'd help if I could, but everyone I know who might have a way to help is already in hiding..." Ben trailed off sadly.

"Is there any way I can get access to the Internet? I might know someone who can help." Zane said thoughtfully.

"The guy who helped you with the jammer?" Ben asked curiously.

"Yes. From what I've seen, he knows a lot of people. He might know someone who can shelter these guys. Even if it's only for a few days, it would be better than them driving until they run out of gas." Zane said seriously.

"I have my phone, if that will help." Ben said as he took it out of his back pocket.

"It might be possible, but I wouldn't know how to do it." Zane said honestly.

"I have a computer in my office. It isn't much, but it does have Internet access." Father Doherty said as he stood from his place.

Everyone else followed his lead, but when the Father noticed, he said, "Brother Jacques? Would you show our guests the way? The rest of us will stay and enjoy this wonderful meal."

As everyone else was settling back into their places, one of the twins urgently said, "Father?"

After a moment of consideration, Father Doherty gave a single nod and the twin stood and rushed to Brother Jacques' side.

"Come on." Brother Jacques said as he hurried to the door.

* * * * *

"If you look in the accessories submenu, you might find what you're looking for." The twin at Brother Jacques' side said quietly.

Zane opened the shortcut to the accessories folder and found a surprising number of the programs that he used at home.

"Are you a hacker?" Zane asked curiously as he opened the program that he needed.

"No. Not really. I'm more of a gamer than anything else."

"I'm sorry for asking, but which twin are you?" Zane asked as he looked through a long menu of available chat rooms.

"Don't feel bad, Zane. I sleep with these guys every night and there's times even I can't tell them apart. But I know for sure that this one is Ken, because Kev doesn't have any interest in computers at all." Brother Jacques said as he put an arm around Ken and hugged him gently.

Ben looked from Brother Jacques to Ken and could once again see the absolute devotion. He couldn't be sure what their relationship was, but it was beyond anything he had witnessed before.

As Ben was watching, Ken gently took one of Brother Jacques' constantly trembling hands and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently.

"I found him!" Zane said from in front of the computer.

Ben, Ken and Brother Jacques crowded behind Zane's chair so they could read as he typed.

BlueVulcan: Studmffn, pvt?

Studmffn: imprtnt?

BlueVulcan: Y

A private chat request came up on the screen, which Zane immediately accepted.

Studmffn: Wt up?

BlueVulcan: In Chicago. Help or 4 kidz wl B on street 2nite. Need 2 get them 2 A safe place.

Studmffn: U know some1 named Y2Kbug?

BlueVulcan: Seen name. Don't know him. Y?

Studmffn: never mind. airstrip south of town called FBM company landing strip in University Park. about an hour South of Chicago.

BlueVulcan: We'll find it.

Studmffn: how many in ur group?

BlueVulcan: 7 to 10. That too many?

Studmffn: fine. just making sure.

BlueVulcan: What time?

Studmffn: plane picking U up just left 2 get other group. B @ airstrip B4 12:30. earlier=better

BlueVulcan: Thanx

"There's a problem in the dining hall. We need to get in there." Ken said urgently.

Ben turned to look at him in time to see him and Brother Jacques running for the door.

"We'd better go and see what's up." Ben said to Zane quietly.

"I'll need a minute to get the directions to the airstrip." Zane said as he opened another window on the screen.

* * * * *

When Ben and Zane walked into the dining hall, they found the twins, Ken and Kev, holding a crying boy between them.

"What happened?" Ben asked as he walked up to Brother Jacques.

"Oleksandr was one of the kids who used to live here. Child and Family Services placed him in a home. His foster father beat and raped him last night and Oleksandr has been roaming the streets since then, trying to find his way back here." Brother Jacques said quietly.

"Shouldn't we call the police?" Ben asked slowly.

"No. That would be the worst thing we could do. Child and Family would label Oleksandr as a troublemaker or a juvenile sexual predator, then he'd be sent someplace worse than you could imagine. We're taking him with us." Brother Jacques said firmly.

Ben looked at the crying boy and any desire to question the decision further, left him.

* * * * *

"Does he need to see a doctor?" Zane asked as he watched the twins holding Oleksandr, who had finally cried himself into an exhausted sleep.

"It would be the same as calling the cops. Homeless kids know that if they go to a doctor that they'll end up someplace worse than the streets." Brother Jacques said quietly.

"But I'm not sure that he'll be better off with us. We don't even know where we're going." Ben said frankly.

"We'll see that he'll have food in his belly and a roof over his head. He'll have someone who cares about what he's feeling and he'll have a bed where he can sleep securely, knowing that no one is going to try to hurt him or rape him in the middle of the night." Brother Jacques said softly.

"I've had that all my life and never realized that other people didn't." Ben said sadly as he turned his gaze to Oleksandr and the twins.

"If you and your cousin are going to leave, you should probably leave soon." Brother Jacques said quietly.

"We're going with you." Ben said in confusion.

"This isn't your problem, Ben. You come from a world where meals are served at regular intervals. In your world, if you get hurt, you go to a doctor. If someone hurts you, you call the police. You and your cousin can get in your car and drive away from all this and go back to the life that you understand."

Ben was ashamed to admit to himself that he was tempted.

"You did your good deed. You found us a place to go. You two are already our heroes, you don't have to do anything else for us. Okay?" Brother Jacques said gently.

"A really good friend of mine once told me that 'Many times, the right thing isn't the popular thing and it's certainly not the easy thing. But you know, deep down inside, that it needs to be done.' That's what this is. Deep down, I know that the right thing for us to do is to go with you." Ben said seriously.

Brother Jacques seemed to consider for a moment, then asked, "Do you need to get anything out of your car?"

"This place is getting boarded up in the morning, so I'm driving my car to the airfield. I'll park it out of the way and take my chances with leaving it there." Ben said frankly.

* * * * *

Father Doherty stood on the front stoop of the mission as Brother Jacques pulled the van up to the curb.

"I'm sorry I have to leave you so soon after meeting you." Zane said as he walked up to his father and gave him a firm hug.

"This is a time of endings and beginnings. Considering that we've only just met today, I'll count this as the beginning of the rest of my life, which now includes my son."

"I never thought it would be possible to ever meet you. I'm so proud of what you do. I'm proud to be your son." Zane said as he finally released his father.

After a moment to wipe the tears from his eyes, Ben held out his hand and said, "I didn't know what Zane's father would be like when we went in search of him. Now, I can't imagine anyone better."

"Thank you, Ben. It was an honor to meet you as well." Father Doherty said as he shook Ben's hand.

"Are we going, or what?" Brother Jacques called from the van.

"Yes. There's no time to waste." Father Doherty said as concern filled his eyes.

Ben and Zane turned in unison at the sound of a car speeding up the street. There was a screech of tires as Ben's car skidded to a stop about four inches from the back bumper of the van.

One of the twins got out of the driver's side and the other out of the passenger side, both grinning like Cheshire cats.

Ben took the keys out of his pocket and chuckled as he passed the twins on the way to his car.

Brother Jacques pulled away first, waving to Father Doherty as he went.

Ben pulled out next, also waving at the kind, gentle man who was standing alone on the front step, dimly lit by streetlights, in front of what used to be a haven for the helpless.

* * * * *

"Ready to go?" Ben asked as he got back into the car at the gas station.

Brother Jacques waved with a smile as he pulled out in front of them.

"It was good of you to buy them gas." Zane said quietly.

"We're all in this together. And it wouldn't make sense for us to do all of this, and then run out of gas on the way to the airport." Ben said frankly.

"It was still nice to see the looks on their faces. It's like they can't believe that anyone would be nice to them." Zane said distantly.

Ben nodded, then thought to ask, "How are we doing for time?"

"According to the maps that I looked up, we should have about an hour to wait before the plane will arrive." Zane said frankly.

"How about your batteries?" Ben asked cautiously.

Zane held up two packs of Energizer batteries.

Ben smiled as he said, "I can't wait to see if you sprout pink ears and cymbals when you put those in."

"I don't care what else they do, just as long as they keep the jammer working." Zane said with a restrained smile.

"Do you mind that I volunteered us to go with them?" Ben asked cautiously.

"No. Every minute that I'm away from Grandfather is a gift. A gift that you gave me. I have a feeling that something bigger than us is at work here. After all these years, we showed up exactly when they were needing to find a safe place for the kids... It just seems to be too much to be coincidence." Zane said speculatively.

"Now that you know your father is a priest, you're all theosophical, huh?" Ben asked with a grin.

"Well, I don't think I'll be following in dad's footsteps. But, I suppose that after meeting you and him, I have less of a problem believing in a benevolent almighty being." Zane said thoughtfully.

"Rather than argue, I'll just accept that as the compliment that it is." Ben said with a smile.

"Of course, by the same token, Grandfather's existence would seem to be proof that Satan is also an active force in this world." Zane said frankly.

"I can't disagree with that, either." Ben said with a chuckle.

"Here. Once we get on this onramp, you need to pull ahead of them, since I have the directions to the airfield." Zane said quickly.

"Got it."

* * * * *

"How are you guys doing?" Ben asked as he got out of his car that was pulled close to an old dilapidated outbuilding by the airfield.

The buildings were in disrepair and the grass was overgrown. The site might be unusable except that the runway itself seemed to be clear and the power was on, providing adequate light.

"Are you sure that this is the right place? It looks like this place has been abandoned." Brother Jacques said as he looked around.

"That's probably why he chose this place. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves." Zane said frankly.

"Yeah. If what Jack and Cam were telling me is right, they're probably already watching the major airports, so that they can stop certain people from getting away." Ben said with a nod.

Brother Jacques seemed to think about it for a moment, then said, "And a plane full of fags would be the kind of thing that they could play with for hours, maybe days."

"I don't even want to imagine what they'd do." Ben said frankly.

"Me either. And after all I've seen and done, that's kind of impressive." Brother Jacques said frankly.

Ben put an arm around Brother Jacque's shoulders and said, "I don't know what you've been through, but if it made you the person you are today, I think it was all worth it."

Brother Jacque's eyes went wide with surprise at the statement, then he quietly said, "Thank you, no one, not even the twins, ever said anything like that to me."

"All you have to do is look in their eyes to know that they believe it, even if they never found a way to put it into words. Father Doherty, too. That man loves and respects you." Ben said frankly.

"Um, Ben. You might want to let go of the Brother and slowly back away. I see a set of twins who have noticed you touching him." Zane said cautiously as he looked at the van.

"Don't worry about Ken and Kev, they're just making sure that you're not hurting me. They're very protective." Brother Jacques said without concern.

"So, they wouldn't freak out if you two kissed or something like that?" Zane asked curiously.

"Not as long as it's consensual. We love and protect each other. In that way, we're closer than brothers. But if I fell in love with someone else, they'd be happy for me... well, as long as they knew he wouldn't hurt me." Brother Jacques said consideringly.

"And what if the twins found another, um, set of twins or something. Would you really be okay with that?" Zane asked curiously.

"Sure. As long as I knew they were with someone who would care for them and treat them right, I'd be completely fine with it." Brother Jacques said with a smile.

"I don't know, I guess I thought you guys were romantically involved." Ben said honestly.

"We sleep together. But that's more about protecting each other and being able to feel safe while we're sleeping than anything else. We fool around a little bit, now and then, but it's just fun among friends. Since I'm HIV positive, I have to be really careful about that kind of stuff, anyway." Brother Jacques said frankly.

Zane seemed to be stunned by the revelation, but Ben wasn't at all phased by it and asked, "Is that what causes the tremble in your hands?"

"No. That's from long term drug abuse. I'm clean now, but I still have the tremor to remind me of how stupid I used to be." Brother Jacques said casually.

"What about the HIV? Do you have any problems with that?" Ben asked curiously.

Zane looked like he wanted to throw Ben on the ground and strangle him for asking Jacques such personal questions.

"No. The standard medications have been doing their jobs and I haven't had any problems at all. Other than having to pop some pills a few times a day, it really isn't bad." Brother Jacques said honestly.

"Well, I really don't know much about it, but you'll let me know if there's anything you need or can't do or whatever, right?" Ben asked hopefully.

"Sure. Now that I know that you're cool about it, I won't feel funny asking if something comes up." Brother Jacques said happily, then glanced at Zane and said, "Him, I'd probably feel uncomfortable asking for help."

"Give Zane a break. He's been held captive at his grandfather's house all his life. He's been really sheltered in some ways." Ben said simply.

Brother Jacques looked at Zane, then said, "I'm sorry you were locked away from the world. If there's anything I can do to help you discover what life is like outside, be sure to let me know."

"I... I... will... thank you." Zane stammered.

Ben looked at Zane curiously, not understanding his sudden nervousness, then he looked at Brother Jacques and the pieces fell into place.

"I think I'll go wait with the van for a while. I'm sure the twins need some help with all the kids by now." Ben said as he walked away.

As he looked back, he could see that Brother Jacques and Zane weren't aware that he had left... or that he had ever been there at all.

* * * * *

The sound of a plane caused everyone to look to the sky.

"Everyone, grab your things. Anything we leave here is probably gone forever." Brother Jacques said as he rushed to the van.

Loquicia burst out into tears as Kev gave Brother Jacques a stern look.

Ken walked to Brother Jacques and said, "We just got her calmed down when she realized that we were leaving and Father Doherty wasn't going with us."

"Sorry." Brother Jacques said with a wince at his mistake.

Ken looked past Brother Jacques at Zane slowly approaching.

"You hurt Jake in any way, and we're gonna rip your nuts off. Got it?" Ken said firmly.

Zane slowly nodded.

"Fine. Just so we're clear on that." Ken said before walking back to the van.

"Here." Ben said as he handed Zane his backpack, then quietly added, "Check your batteries."

Zane quickly looked at the battery indicator, then wilted with relief.

"They're still good. I'll change them when we get on the plane." Zane said assuringly.

Just then, the plane taxied down the runway and came to a stop just a few feet away from the group of young adults and children.

The door of the plane opened and a set of stairs folded down into place.

As soon as the stairs were on the ground, a man in a dark navy suit stepped out of the plane and said, "Everyone, if I may have your attention. Please leave your luggage by the stairway and we'll get it stowed as soon as everyone's aboard. Now please, come aboard and take your seats."

"Is there a problem? Is someone after us?" Ben asked cautiously.

"Not that I'm aware of, but let's be honest. You wouldn't be here if you weren't aware of the very real possibility. Let's not tempt fate, shall we?" The man asked urgently.

"Right." Ben said decisively, then called back to the group and said, "Whoever has the cutest butt needs to get on first, then next cutest and so on, after that."

There was a moment of hesitation, then a mad scramble to be one of the first onboard.

The man in the dark navy suit looked at Ben and smiled before saying, "You certainly seem to know how to motivate them."

Ben shrugged, then said, "Know your audience."

The man watched as Ben got aboard, then went about the business of evenly distributing the small amount of luggage that they had brought into the cargo holds.

Chapter 3: Dizzy

Carson sighed in frustration as he took the headset off and looked at his father. "Sorry, Dad.... the calibration's still not right. I'm off by at least a half degree with the right hand, and a third of a degree with the left."

"It's okay, Car." Ryan Brown said as he reached over and ruffled his thirteen year old son's hair. "You're real close, just a little while longer, and I'm sure we'll get this figured out."

"I know, Dad, it's just so frustrating being this close, but still not being able to make it work." Carson said in annoyance. He was working on a 3-D rendering of a keyboard that would be able to be used in a virtual reality environment, but even more so, he was trying to make it so that the keyboard would move with the hands, so the hands did not have to be in one area to use it.

Ryan stood up from the side of Carson's bed, where he'd been sitting, and laughed. "You do realize you've only been working on this for a few months, and you're already further than I ever dreamed possible. Now come on, let's get you dressed so we can get dinner. You know how your mother gets when we're not down in time for dinner."

"Fine!" Carson grumbled, but allowed his father to help him out of bed, and gently set him in the wheelchair, next to the bed. He hissed in pain as his creaking bones protested to the movement.

"You okay?" Ryan asked with concern.

"Yeah... it just fucking hurts." Carson said as his eyes were squeezed shut, a single tear leaking out the corner of one.

Normally, Ryan would have said something about his son's language, but in this case, he really couldn't bring himself to. Once Carson was set in the chair, his father grabbed the back of it, and pushed him into the en suite bathroom to help him clean up. "You've been overdoing it again." Ryan said peacefully. "You remember what happened the last time you pushed this hard. You ended up not being able to move for a week."

"Yeah, I know." Carson said miserably. "I just hate being this close, but not being able to figure out why it's glitching so bad."

"Well... I will only offer one bit of advice. You have a lot of other projects in the works... move to one of them for a bit, and see if things become clearer after giving this one a break for a bit." Carson's father responded again, with a very peaceful tone.

Once Carson was in the bathroom, he looked at his dad, and the unspoken message was passed. 'I got this.' His father, nodded and smiled, then left the room, closing the door behind him.

When the door was shut, Ryan sighed as he leaned against the wall and looked around his son's bedroom. It had been a rough three years for the Brown family, and truth be known, even rougher on Ryan. Even though everyone said it wasn't his fault, Ryan still blamed himself for the accident that crushed Carson's legs, from mid thigh down.

It was Carson's tenth birthday, and Ryan was supposed to take him to the local soccer field, where all his friends were waiting to play a few games, and then have cake and ice cream. Earlier in the day, Ryan and his team of researchers had a major breakthrough on their project.

Ryan, being the owner, broke out several old bottles of champagne, and they had passed the bottles around all afternoon, being as there were eight other people in his team, they each only had like two glasses each. He knew he wasn't drunk, but he always thought that maybe he could have avoided the truck, had he not been drinking.

They were lucky on one front, they had money... They had a lot of money, not to mention that the accident was blamed on the driver of the Shell Oil truck. Of course, since Ryan's company was one of the main Research and Development contractors for Shell, and the upper management wanted to do everything in their power to keep Ryan happy, they had paid out a LOT of money for the accident. What Carson had done since then, though, was nothing short of miraculous.

Carson had spent just over three weeks in the hospital, and then the rehab facility. When he got out, and back to the house, Carson was a different boy. He was withdrawn, sullen, and angry. Not to mention the fact that he was in constant pain that seemed to get better and worse with no rhyme or reason. The family rallied around him, and slowly they were able to bring him out of it, at least mostly. They had a lot of help from doctors and psychologists, but it really was the family coming together to help, even Carson's brothers had a big part in it.

Tommy, who was only twelve at the time of the accident, was very insistent that he learn what was needed to help Carson out. Everything that his parents were taught at the hospital, to care for Carson, and his legs, he learned. As Tommy has said. "I know I wouldn't want 'Mommy' or 'Daddy' to have to help me in the bathtub, and I know Carson wouldn't want it either." So, from day one, Tommy was right there helping Carson any way he needed it.

Mikey was eight at the time, he couldn't really help the same way Tommy did, but he was always right there to help push Carson's wheelchair, or run to grab something for his brother. Probably the biggest thing that the brothers did to help Carson was to simply accept Carson's biggest worry... the way his legs looked now. He was worried people would think they were as disgusting as he did. But his brothers never said a word about it, never shied away from having to touch or move them for Carson, Mikey even kissed his legs one time, telling Carson that 'Mom always kisses my boo boos to make them feel better.' That simple act drew the two boys closer than anything the parents could have tried to make happen.

That did a lot to help Carson to come out of his depression, but the biggest thing happened about a month before he turned eleven. Ryan had seen that Carson was slipping back into his depression. He still wasn't able to go to school, and was on a bad spell for the pain. Ryan was getting ready to go to the lab, so he decided to take Carson with him. He was the boss, so he could do that. So he loaded Carson up into the van, and pulled out of the garage. Instead of going down the driveway towards the road, he drove around the house, and down the small lane that led to the back part of their property. The Brown family owned a huge parcel of land, which is where Ryan had built his facilities. In the back, over the rise, were several large buildings, one, even bigger one, that was in the middle of being built, and even several 'housing units' for those people that worked for Ryan, and their families. The building they were headed to, housed the main offices and laboratory for 'Brown Consulting'.

Carson had been here a few times before the accident, but never went into the lab. Today, he would, and what happened that day would change all of their lives forever.

Ryan was interrupted from his thoughts by his wife calling everyone for dinner. He pushed off the wall he had been leaning against and wiped away the tears that had been falling. He never wanted Carson to see him cry, at least not sad tears.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Carson sighed as he rolled himself over to the sink, and washed his hands and face. He backed his chair up slightly, and reached into the medicine cabinet below it, and pulled out his bottle of painkillers. He sighed as he looked at it. Hydrocodone... 10-325. He knew these things were bad, but he also knew he needed them, especially when the pain was real bad.

He took out a pill, and the filled a cup with water, before swallowing it down. He put the cup down and tilted his head back and just sat there. He tried to drown out the pain that radiated from his mid thigh down, doing everything he had been taught in the hospital about mentally controlling pain. Thinking back on it, he still couldn't help but chuckle over the fact that nothing the doctors tried for him there would work. None of the mental tricks they tried to teach him helped at all.

It wasn't till an old man, one of the hospital volunteers, came by to chat with him, that he found something that actually worked. The man taught him how to meditate, how to center himself, and push the pain away. At first, it was hard to do, but after some practice, he found the pain lessening quicker. He could never drive it all away, but he could make it bearable.

"Yo! Cars!" A younger voice shouted through the closed door. "Dinner's just about ready. You need any help?"

"Nah... I'll be right out." Carson called out to his youngest brother Mikey. He smiled slightly to himself as he turned his chair, and wheeled himself over to the door. He turned the handle and pushed it open, only to see his eleven year old brother waiting there with a smile.

"Come on, let's go. Mom made chicken tonight!" The boy said excitedly as he jumped behind the chair, and started to push Carson to the dining room. "So, d'you get your computer thing figured out?" Mikey asked as they went through the living room, heading towards the kitchen.

"No, we're still off, and it's really bugging me." Carson said, sighing out in frustration, one more time. When they got into the dining room, Mikey pushed Carson to where he normally sat, and then took his own seat next to him.

After they all sat down, and had their prayer, Tommy, Carson's fifteen year old brother, looked at Carson and asked. "Any luck?"

"No... not yet." Carson sighed miserably.

"Don't worry about it, Man, it'll come to ya." Tommy said

"Yeah, I know.. it's just.. we're soo close." Carson almost whined.

"Well, just don't stay up all night working on it again." Debra, Carson's mom, said softly. "You have school tomorrow, and you don't wanna fall asleep in class again."

"That only happened once!" Carson whined out. "And it was the night I brought Dizzy online for the first time. It just wasn't working right, and I had to do it then or I would have lost a bunch of work!"

Mom just gave him one of her 'looks', although the slight smile on her face said even more. "That's fine, hun, just don't do it again tonight, okay?"

Tommy saw that Carson was really uncomfortable, and like any really good older brother, changed the topic. "So, Carson, what the heck happened earlier? I heard most of Texas was without power for a long time."

"Yeah... it was some massive hacker attack." Carson said, trying not to say too much.

It was his mother that surprised everyone though. "You should see some of the information that has been put out there since it happened. Some of the things that President Ashwood has done, and tried to cover up, is nothing short of criminal!" The vehemence in her voice was something that the boys hadn't heard many times before.

Ryan figured he'd better lighten the mood, and change the subject, the Brown adults rarely talked about politics in front of the kids, they just weren't old enough to understand it... so they thought. He looked at Carson who was slack jawed, staring at his mother. "What's the matter, Carson... did you forget your mother knows how to surf the net, as well?"

Carson blushed, and his brothers just laughed. Thinking he'd picked on Carson enough, he looked to his eldest son and asked. "Tommy, how's soccer looking for this session."

Carson tuned out the rest of the conversation, preferring to concentrate on the food, his mothers odd behavior, and his own mental schematics, rather than listen to his family talk about sports.

Before the accident, all three brothers were very big into playing soccer. They played every chance they got, and loved every minute of it. Now, though, it was just another reminder of what he couldn't do, but more so, a reason to push what he was doing.

When dinner was over, Carson made his way back to his room. He was starting to really feel the effects of the drug, and was happy that the pain was pushed even further into the background. He stopped when he rolled into his room, and looked around. This was his domain, and he loved it. Of course, since he had helped design it, he should love it.

The room was huge, mostly open, with a large queen sized bed against one wall. He had a few posters of soccer players, the normal dresser, desk and closet. But the main thing was his computer area. It was a work of art, costing a whole lot of money, and even more work to make it the way Carson wanted it.

Carson was what a lot of people would call a geek, and since the accident he'd grown even more geeky. When he was only six, his father had brought home a computer to fix, and found Carson playing around with it. Ryan decided to take the time to explain to Carson what he was doing. To Ryan's surprise, Carson picked things up a lot quicker than he would have expected. From that point forward, Carson was playing with computers as often as he could. When he wasn't outside playing, of course.

When the accident happened, Carson was ten, and was already well past the high school computer programming books. After spending three weeks in the hospital, Carson spent the first four months home, sleeping in the dining room which had been converted for his use. During that time, his parents had his addition made. He thought it was kinda cool that they made sure that he was as involved with it as they were. When he drew up the plans for how he wanted his computer 'desk' to be, at first, his mother balked. His father, though, thought it looked really cool, and convinced his mom to let them build it. Of course, he tweaked a few things, but mostly it was all Carson's brain child.

It was called 'the alcove', and Carson loved it. It truly was made just for him. He smiled as he pushed himself over to, and into it. He hoped that the net wasn't still acting funny, as he reached down, and locked his chair onto the rollers in the floor, sitting back up, he grabbed a little joy stick that was sitting on the desk, and attached it to his right chair handle. He reached forward again, and this time, pulled the keyboard plate toward him.

This activated a system which moved four monitors around him, two on the right, two on the left, leaving two in front of him. Next he grabbed the 'hat'. This was a wireless piece of equipment meant to help him navigate the 6 different monitors he now had around him. Instead of having to use either different mice for each monitor, or having to move the mouse from each individual screen, the 'hat' made it so that what ever monitor he was looking at, the mouse appeared there, and he was able to use the pointer normally.

Another feature of the hat was that it would move the track he was sitting on so that he was actually facing that screen. All in all, it was a very sweet set up that his father and he had developed, and Carson was currently waiting on his first patent for.

"Dizzy... wake up, please." Carson said somewhat softly, and all of a sudden, all six monitors came to life. Behind the desk, two Mac Pros, both with two 3.06 GHz 6 core Intel Xeon processors, giving each of them 12 cores, along with each having 64 GB of Ram, and each with specially designed 8GB ATI Video cards, came to life. Moments later, the 12 Mac Minis that were spread around, spun up out of sleep mode.

A digitized face of a boy his age was displayed on the main monitor in front of him, appeared to look around, until it's eyes 'focused' on Carson. "Hey, Carson. How are you doing this evening?"

"I'm good, how are you?" Carson asked back.

The face seemed to consider for a moment before a smile spread on it's face. "I'm good, thanks. Everything is running at peak performance."

"That's good. Is there anything new going on?" Carson asked as different windows started to pop up. On the main window was a system performance display. Next to that, on the other main screen, his email client came up. On the two right side screens, two different technical news sites came up. That way, he could keep up with the different advancements. The two left ones stayed blank. They would only come up if Carson asked for something else.

"Well," Dizzy answered, even though his 'face' was gone. "Out of the thirty seven emails you got, only three of them weren't trying to sell you something, or some other sort of spam. One is from Mrs. Cartwright, reminding you of the test tomorrow in class. One is from Katie, she's wondering if you're going to the dance next Friday. And the last one is from Doug. He wants to know if you can come over sometime and fix his... well, I had better not repeat the words he said, as your mother would not like them. He would like you to fix his computer."

Carson couldn't help but grin. Dizzy was coming along very well. He still had a long ways to go with him, but he was starting to act more and more like an actual person. Out of the 8 terabytes that his two machines held, one full 2 terabyte drive was dedicated to just the code to give Dizzy a personality.

"Oh, by the way..." Dizzy continued. "You can tell Mikey that Arsenal won 5-2 against Fulham, Tommy will not want to hear that Everton beat Manchester United, and you, my young friend, will be happy to know that Manchester City killed Newcastle, 4 to nothing."

"YES!" Carson cried out while pumping his fist. "HAH! I knew they would do it."

"Would you like me to put together the youtube videos of the key plays?" Dizzy asked, and Carson nodded enthusiastically. It's not like Dizzy actually saw the nod, but the 'hat' he wore, transmitted the motion, and Dizzy was able to interpret it as an affirmative.

The left front screen suddenly came to life, and Carson looked that way. Automatically, his chair began to slowly turn so that he was facing the screen full on. Carson sat back with a grin on his face as he watched his favorite football (soccer for those Americans who aren't cool enough to call it by it's real name) team devastated their opponent.

After the videos were done, Carson sighed again... this time in contentment. Yeah, the accident sucked, being in a wheelchair sucked. But life was good, in most ways. He was still getting used to the changes. Most people would say that two years is more than enough time to get used to something, but when you're talking about not being able to walk, and having to live life with constant pain, well... he was still getting used to it.

He glanced at the clock and saw it was only eight thirty, plenty of time to get a little bit more coding in. Smiling broadly, he spoke out. "Okay, Dizzy... Let's go to code mode."

"You got it, boss man." Dizzy responded, and the configuration around Carson changed again. The two monitors in the front dropped down a few inches. The front monitors on both the right and left side lifted up and moved to sit right on top of the monitors in the front. The right and left back monitors moved back to their docking positions, leaving just the four monitors up front. They then moved into large screen mode, meaning that the four monitors now worked as one large one. "What do you wish to work on?" Dizzy asked, the monitors now blank.

"Let's look at the VR Calibrations. I still wanna try and figure out why you're glitching on the VR keyboard." Code filled the large screen. In no time at all, Carson was lost in his own little world.

* * * * *

Carson had no idea how long he was buried in the code, but he was brought out of it by Dizzy's voice. "Carson. Sorry to bother you, but I knew you would want to know when Roris came online."

Carson sat back, and shook his head, trying to pull his mind out of the code he was in, and back into the real world. After a moment, he sighed and spoke. "Yeah.. thanks Dizzy. Can you pull up the conversation for me? Also, please compress the program I finished up last night for him, and get it ready to send."

Dizzy didn't answer, but the monitors moved back to their 'normal work mode' and a window opened up, displaying a text conversation. Carson reached forward and started typing on the keyboard. "Hey Roris. How are you tonight?"

It took a while, but he finally got a response. "I'm fine, how are you?"

Carson grinned evilly. This was a moment he'd been waiting for, for a while. "I'm great. I made a major breakthrough, last night, and I think I got the program ready for it's first real test. You ready to try?"

Again it took longer than it should have, but finally the single word 'YES!' appears on the screen.

"Okay. Open up the remote access program, and I will install it, and let you know when we're ready to test it." Carson waited a few moments, then spoke. "Okay Dizzy, go ahead and connect to Roris's computer. Download and install the patches, and let me know when it's done."

Carson knew it would take several minutes for Dizzy to complete it, so he leaned back in his chair, and thought back over the last several months working with Roris, and how everything had started for him.

"Okay, Boss... You're all set." Dizzy said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Cool!" Carson said, as he leaned forward again to type. "Cross your fingers, Dizzy. If this works..." He said that out loud, while typing to Roris.

"Okay. Please connect the headset to the computer, and when you are ready, press the 'start' button on the screen. Then... just start talking normally." Carson got his head set on, and made sure it was connected, then waited.

He knew Roris had a neuromuscular disorder that made it very difficult for him to move, let alone talk in a way that was easily understood. That's why it took longer for him to type a reply back to Carson. If this worked, though, Roris would be talking up a storm in a few minutes.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" A computerized voice came across the speakers, and Carson almost jumped for joy.

"Yes I can!" He replied excitedly. Carson had heard Roris speak several times, as the twenty two year old had read paragraph after paragraph of text that Carson had sent him, meant to capture his voice, how he spoke, and all the different sounds that he made while speaking. It was the same stuff that voice programmers used, but Carson came up with the idea of using it to program a system that would take how Roris normally spoke, and translate it to something much more easily understood.

"Oh my God!" Roris cried over the speakers, even though Carson couldn't hear any emotion in the computer voice, he could just imagine the tears running down Roris's face. The next thing he heard was the computerized voice come through his speakers again. "Mom, Dad, you gotta come here."

Carson reached over to the mouse, and used it to turn the volume up on his speakers, so that he could hear what was going on. He heard a door slam open, and a man's voice say, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! I can speak! Normally!" The computer voice said, and Carson knew the next phase of the project was figuring out how to give the voice emotional inflection.

"Oh my!" He heard a woman's voice cry out. "How..."

"Carson finally figured it out. He's on voice with me." Roris said and Carson perked up.

"Carson?" He heard the man, Roris's father ask.

Suddenly Carson was self conscious. This would be the first people outside his family to know who he was. He took a deep breath and spoke. Of course, this was when his voice decided to break slightly. "Yes, Sir."

There was silence for several moments, and Carson was getting more and more nervous. "Are you Carson Ryan Brown?" The man asked again, his voice more guarded this time.

"Yes sir, I am." He said a bit more sheepishly.

"How old are you?" Marcus, Roris's father, asked.

"I'm thirteen, sir."

"Thirteen?!" He said followed up by, "and you are the one who's been working with Rory for the last year?"

"Yes, sir." Carson replied, trying to keep the quivering out of his voice.

After a few more awkward moments, Marcus spoke again. "Son, I don't care how old you are. Seeing my son and his mother this happy... well, I just don't care." Carson breathed a sigh of relief, that was short lived. "But, well, I am wondering... 'Carson Medical Research'... all the contracts we signed, all the equipment that was sent to us. How is that possible."

This time it was Carson who was quiet for a few moments, trying to decide how much to say. He'd 'spoken' at length with both Marcus and Roris, but that had always been in text chat. All calls had been handled by Mr. Cronin, Carson's business manager. Finally he came to a decision, he'd asked Roris a whole lot of personal questions, mostly dealing with his disorder, but... well fair is fair.

"Sir, that is a long and involved story..." Carson said hesitantly.

"Son... after seeing my son speaking clearly, even if it is through a computer speaker, I'll sit here all night long if I have to. However, it is your story to tell if you want to. While I am very interested, just seeing my son like this is more than enough for me. I don't care if you're thirteen or three hundred."

"Yeah, I thought you were like my dad's age." Rory said, and Carson couldn't help but laugh, thankfully he was joined by both Marcus and his wife.

That was the icebreaker that Carson needed. He sat back in his chair and sighed. "To understand all of this, you need to know who my father is. His name is Ryan Brown..."

After several moments of silence, Roris's voice came over the speakers. "Oh, come on, Dad, you don't know Ryan Brown? He was one of the founders of Intel. Now he owns Brown Consulting. The leader in Virtual Intelligence, and Virtual Reality hardware." Even though his voice was simply computerized, Carson could almost tell just how excited he was, simply by how fast he spoke.

Normally Roris had to speak slowly, and really work and forming his words so they could be understood. But the program that Carson wrote, took his normal speech, which would have been almost completely unrecognizable, and converted it into speech that was just like everyone else's. They had worked on it for over a year, and were pretty close. Then last night, Carson figured out why it was glitching every two or three words. Now, Roris was talking up a storm, and it would probably be a while to get him to shut up.

"Exactly. Well... a little over three years ago, my father and I were in an accident. My legs got crushed, from mid thigh down..." He heard all three of them gasp in shock. Before any of them could say they were sorry or whatever else people say when they hear what happened, Carson pushed on.

"I was in the hospital for a while, and when I got out, things were real bad. I mean my family is great, and they helped me out a lot, but here I was, suddenly not able to do the things I loved." Carson paused as he tried to stop his voice from breaking.

He wiped away a few stray tears, and sighed. Before he could speak, Roris did. "I know what that's like. It really sucks."

"Yeah, it does." Carson agreed. "Well, one day, my father decided to take me to the lab with him. I've always loved computers, and started playing with them when I was six." He chuckled. "My first real computer was one I hand built... when I was seven.

Anyways, so there I was, sitting in my wheelchair, being pushed by my dad, into his robotics lab. I was feeling really bad about myself, and in a lot of pain. My father was working on this huge, hulking, man-like machine that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. He explained that it was meant to house a person, and allow that person to be at the bottom of the ocean and do whatever was needed to repair an oil pipeline. It stood about fifteen feet tall, the bottom half looked like a mini sub, while the top half looked like a person. He was trying to make it so that the top half would do what the person inside did, but give the person a lot more strength, while keeping him as dexterous as possible."

"You mean like an exoskeleton." Roris cut in.

"Yes... that's exactly what it is. Meant to help people do things that they normally couldn't do." Carson said, starting to get into what they were talking about, but also remembering that there were people listening who he couldn't get all geeky on.

"Well, after about an hour of hanging around, I was starting to feel really bad. One of the doctors working with dad offered to let me lay down on the couch she had in her office. I took her up on the offer, and she wheeled me into her office. I told her I could get on the couch myself, and she left the room. I sat there looking around the office, and saw a poster. A poster that really changed my life." By this point, Carson was openly crying, but he didn't even notice.

"It looked like a kid's finger painted heart. Under the heart were the words, 'Remember to play after every storm'. It was signed by Mattie J.T. Stepanek." He paused for a moment, but neither Roris, Marcus, or Roris's mom said anything, all three of them were caught up in Carson's story. What he didn't know, was that both his own mother and father were standing in the doorway listening. Carson hadn't shared this story with them, and they were both listening raptly.

"I had no idea who that was, but the words... well they really touched me. Instead of laying down, I wheeled myself over to her computer, and looked up Mattie. What I found made me realize that, yeah, what I am going through is bad, it's nothing compared to some others. Mattie was the youngest of four children. Each of them inherited a rare and fatal neuromuscular disease called Dysautonomic Mitochondrial Myopathy. His mother, Jeni, didn't know she carried the gene. She was diagnosed as an adult, after all four of the children were born. Mattie's siblings, Katie, Stevie, and Jamie all died before age four." He choked up as he told the story he'd read about, maybe millions of times.

When Mattie was three, he wrote his first poem, trying to cope with the death of his brother. By the time he died, a few weeks before he turned fourteen, he'd written six books of poetry, and one of essays. All of them reaching the new york times bestseller list. All of them were about peace, and life. About what it means to live, and how to be the best person you can be. All of the books talked about the 'Heartsong.' He said that a Heartsong is a person's special gift to be shared with others, or their reason for being.

So, there I was, ten years old, almost eleven, and reading these poems by a kid my age... a kid who knew he was going to die. That watched his brother die, and two sisters, who he never got to know, but he knew they died. His mother was suffering from the same thing. He spent most of the time in a hospital. I mean his life had to be terrible. Yet, though all of it, he was writing poems about love, about life, peace, and happiness." Carson laughed a bitter laugh, as he wiped away more tears. "Kinda made what I was going through not really all that bad, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, it does." Roris agreed.

A moment later, Marcus spoke, although his voice was thick with emotion. "Carson, that was beautiful. Thank you for sharing that with us. I can't speak for Roris, but I plan on looking for those books."

"I really suggest it. Any time I am feeling bad about what I'm going through, all I have to do is pick one of them up, and... well, things don't seem so bad anymore. His words are just so full of inspiration and love."

Carson paused for a few moments, before he continued his story. "Well after a bit of time, I got this idea. Instead of wallowing in self pity, I was gonna try and be like Mattie." He laughed as he spoke. "Now I ain't no poet, but I do know computers, and I got a dad who is a genius. I started going to the lab with him every day, and an idea started to form. Why not take what dad is working on, and figure out how to use it to help people with disabilities. People like me, and Mattie."

"Wow." Marcus said. "That's a pretty lofty goal."

Carson again laughed out loud. "No sir. Thats not a lofty goal. This is. When I finally decided to do this. My goal was, and still is, to make it so that someone who has no arms, no legs, can't talk, can't move on their own, can live a normal life just like anyone else. Roris is just the first step in that."

It was several moments while everyone digested what he had just said. Finally Marcus spoke again. "That still doesn't explain how you got everything you did for Roris. I mean a top of the line computer, the headset, the insurance, and everything else."

Carson sat back and laughed. "Well, that was the easy part. At least for me. See, my mom's a lawyer. When I started working on stuff, she had me talk to her old boss, Mr. Cronin. When I outlined what I wanted to do, he 'retired' from the practice he was a partner in, and came over to work for me as my 'business manager'. Part of the settlement with the company who's truck hit me, was they had to fund medical research. Well, Mr. Cronin contacted them, after setting up Carson Medical Research, and pressured them to give us money. My father gave me part of his lab to work in. Mr. Cronin handles all the business stuff, and all I have to do is let him know what I need to make what I am doing work."

"Okay, that makes sense." Marcus said. "But... well, I need to know. Everything you've done for us. That wasn't some sort of charity was it?"

"Marcus!" His wife gasped out.

"No.. it's okay." Carson said. "I've heard from Roris how you feel about charity, and I fully understand. However, let me explain a few things." Carson was sitting forward in his chair, now fully into what he was talking about. "I needed Roris to help me on this part of the project. And I still need him. We've gotten this far, but as you hear, there's no emotion to the voice. By the time I consider this finished, it will not only be able to mimic his emotional inflections, but also sound like his own voice. However, in order to do that, I need him to have a computer that can handle the software, a microphone that can pick up his normal speech patterns, while cutting out the background noise.

Even more than that, though, I needed him in a home. I mean what good is all the equipment if you guys lose your home due to paying all his medical expenses. I needed him focused on this project, rather than worrying about all that other stuff. So yes, everything we have done for you guys has been related to the project in some way. But also, think about this. Just with what we have done so far, how much do you think we're gonna make?"

It was silent for a few seconds, before Roris spoke up. "What do you mean we?"

Carson got an evil smile on his face. "Let me guess, you never read the contract fully, did you?" He was also typing on the computer, asking Dizzy to pull up that section of the contract.

"No..."

Reading of the screen in front of him, Carson spoke while smiling broadly. "Page 16, section 49, paragraph 4, subsection F. 'In the event that this project bears a commercially profitable product, 'project participants'... that would be you, Roris, as well as a few others... will receive an equal share of 35% of the profits."

* * * * *

Carson sat back in his chair, and looked at the clock. It was almost midnight, and he was tired, although it was a good tired. After he got done talking to Roris and his parents about the business side of things, he had Roris put the new program through it's paces. Both he and Rory were really happy with it. Instead of the glitch every couple words, this one hadn't glitched till over fifteen hundred words.

However, Roris wasn't used to talking that much, and pretty soon, his throat started to ache. After assuring him that he was going to start working on a mini version of it, one where he wouldn't need to be connected to the computer to use it, they signed off, both intent on bed.

Carson wheeled himself into the bathroom, intent on washing up. It was way too late for him to get a bath, even though he would really like one. Even though they had the equipment so he could do it himself, he rarely used it. Tommy was always there whenever he wanted to take a bath, and it was a time for the two of them to spend together. At first, Carson was embarrassed about it, but Tommy made it very clear that there was nothing to be embarrassed about. They had some long conversations during the baths, and Carson cherished those times.

Most of the time, Tommy would strip right down and get into the bath with him. It was a time of close bonding that Carson would always cherish. It didn't hurt that Tommy was more than willing to talk to Carson about puberty, and the changes that would happen. He might not be able to walk, but certain things were not affected by the accident, and it was Tommy who first showed him that the thing hanging between his legs could be used for more than just peeing.

Smiling while thinking of those baths, he went over to the cabinet, and washed his face and hands. He then reached under it, and grabbed his bottle of pain pills. He wasn't in a lot of pain right then, but he knew if he didn't take one now, he might wake up in the middle of the night. That and he really did like the way it made him not care about the pain, or anything else that he was worried about at the time.

After popping one in his mouth, we washed it down, then moved back into his room, and over to his bed. He eased himself into the bed, with more then a bit of popping on his lower legs, and sighed as he finally stopped moving and just lay there. He looked over to the alcove, and spoke softly. "Good night, Dizzy."

"Good night, Carson. Sleep well." The computer responded to him. Then all the screens retracted to their 'resting place' and all but one turned off. One of the center screens changed to a fireplace scene, bathing the room in gentle fire light.

Dizzy was quickly becoming more than just a program he came up with. He was becoming a real friend. That was part of what Carson was looking for. Dizzy wasn't just something that made life easier for Carson, he was a prototype VI that would be part of his dream project. He would be someone that a kid could become friends with, someone who could help with whatever the kid needed, help to explain what was going on, and what the device would be doing. He was meant to help and guide someone through getting their 'device' and maybe help them emotionally as well.

When he fell asleep, he dreamed of a day when he might be able to use his own projects to help him kick a soccer ball again.

* * * * *

Carson woke to the sound of an alert klaxon going off in his room. "Okay, Dizzy...." He mumbled out, and the klaxon immediately stopped. He lay there for a moment, trying desperately to shake the effects of the painkiller. He knew that if Dizzy set off that alarm, something major was going on.

He finally got his wits about him enough to scoot over and into his chair. Dizzy had already turned his 'alcove' into what he called 'war mode'. There were now eight screens lit up, the normal two in front, but now, two above them. Plus the two to the left and two to the right of where he parks his chair. "What's going on, Dizzy?" He asked as he pushed into the alcove, and reached down to lock his chair in place.

"There's a military strike underway, in Texas." Dizzy said, as the screens started to light up. When Dizzy first came online, Carson had set him up to monitor as many things as Carson could figure out how to monitor. He then set up specific protocols on how to deal with what Dizzy 'found'. For Dizzy to have woken him up like this, meant that Dizzy found something on the 'oh shit' list. And topping the list was a military strike on US soil.

"The Mexicans?" Carson asked, as he started to look at the incoming info. "They don't have the capabilities..." He said more to himself than to Dizzy.

"No, this in an American strike on an American base!" Dizzy said excitedly.

"What?" Carson exclaimed as he frantically started to take in the information coming on the screen.

"Okay, Dizzy, get me eyes in the area. Initiate project 'Take Over' if you need to." While Dizzy was doing that, Carson was busy securing his connection, and uploading his pass keys to get into a section of the internet that not many people knew about. It took him nearly three minutes to get everything in place, before he opened his secure browser.

When he was done, though, the four side monitors lit up with life, showing him many different chat rooms. He scanned them all, and found out that shit was happening fast. "I've got it!" Dizzy said triumphantly. The four monitors in front changed to a satellite view of the area. For almost a minute, Carson just sat there in shock. There was a huge air battle going on underneath his view. Dizzy was busy loading profiles of the different planes into the bottom of the screen, they were all fighter planes, and troop transports.

"Carson... I was able to crack the communications encryption. It sounds like they found where President Jackson Bryce was hiding, and they're trying to take him out." Dizzy said and Carson cursed under his breath.

He moved himself over to the chat rooms, and started talking to the people he knew. This was not something that could be swept under the rug, although he knew people were gonna try.

"Is that his plane?" Carson asked as he saw a large black plane take off, like it's tail was on fire, and suddenly, everything revolved around that plane. The attackers focused on getting to the plane, while the defenders were trying to stop them.

"I don't know... I can't find anything that matches it. It's gotta be a top secret plane of some sort. I'd say your guess is a good one." Dizzy said through the speakers.

"Okay, make sure your recording this, and stay with that plane!" Carson said, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he was logging everything he was seeing on the 'underground net'.

Carson was well known on the underground net, since he spent a lot of time there, and often tried to help people out, there. It was a collection of chat rooms, databases, and other sites dedicated to making sure that information, no matter what it was, was accessible to people. Lately, they had been in a bit of a war with the Ashwood administration as it tried to block certain information from getting out.

The 'underground net' was created about ten years ago, as far as Carson knew, and was, amusingly, set up much like a medieval kingdom. Unlike a kingdom, though, there really wasn't one person in charge, although the person everyone called 'Queen B', would be as close to a leader as they would come. Carson assumed by the name 'Queen' that Queen B was a woman, but on the net, you can never be too sure.

Saying that the 'underground net' was created, is a bit misleading. There were always hackers and others lurking around, but Queen B was able to get them to come together, and work towards a common goal. It wasn't easy, but, by the time Carson got involved, there was a very clear group of people that were working together.

Carson had risen in the ranks rather quickly. When he found his first chat room, and heard about certain things going on in the country, he was rather vocally adamant about what he thought. Some people were quick to pull him off to the side and explain to him that this was not a secure room, and he had to be careful about what he said. And more importantly, how he said it.

After a bit, he was given access to some of the more secure servers, and in short order, people found out just how good he was at hacking, and programming. He found a security hole on one of the servers, and fixed it. He even went so far as to set up a network, using already existing servers, taking over only a bit of them, so as to be unnoticed, and opened up a lot more area for the 'Kingdom'.

Within a year of being part of the underground net, Carson found himself named a Duke. He was responsible for the security of a large area of the country. Security of the servers, that is. He had a list of contacts, and quickly got a reputation of someone who 'can get things done'.

Which led him to where he was right now. Dizzy had alerted him as to what was going on, since he had set it up so Dizzy monitored a whole lot of different areas, one of them being military actions in the US. When one of the triggers happened, Dizzy knew to do whatever it took to get Carson's attention, even if it meant calling him on his cell phone, or texting him. Whatever it took. He'd never had to do it before, and bluntly, Cason was scared as hell, but doing what he thought he had to.

Now, he was taking the information as fast as he could get it, and putting it out there to the 'Kingdom'. Only part of him was watching the plane as it ducked and weaved, trying to get away. Carson had to really push down the thoughts of how many people he was watching, that were getting hurt and killed. All because of an insane wannabe dictator. After some of the things he'd seen dropped onto the net earlier, and what had really happened to try and shut it down, Carson was scared shitless of what a country run by Ashwood, would be like.

The thought of that many people dieing trying to either kill President Bryce, or trying to protect him, almost made Carson physically ill. He wasn't opposed to violence, really. But the thought of people killing and being killed, just so one person could stay in power... This was the United States, not some third world nation.... this shit shouldn't be happening here!

Carson knew a lot more than most, about the man in office, and most of it he kinda wished he didn't know. He knew a lot about the former president as well. Obviously there were things that Bryce did that he didn't like, but overall, he thought Bryce was a good man. Much more than he could say for Ashwood.

What he knew that very few other people did is that Ashwood was responsible for the deaths of a whole lot of people. Most of whom were people who tried to disagree with him. In some cases, Ashwood had entire families 'wiped out', including kids. Of course, it always looked like an accident, but Carson knew better. And with the dump of information earlier... hopefully a lot of other people knew it. He really wanted to know who did it, and how. He'd been trying to do something like that for a long time, and couldn't even figure out how to start. Whoever did it was good, and had to have a whole lot of help.

Another thing that he did know, was that the man in the plane, former President Bryce, was the only chance they had to get rid of Ashwood, and right now, that man was fighting for his life. There wasn't much Carson could do, except one big thing.

If Ashwood succeeded, and Jack was killed, he would try and say this never happened, or that it was something else. Carson had been working long and hard on a secret project, that he hoped would never have to be used. He was almost positive he would be able to get out any information he wanted, to most of the country.

The downside was really bad, though. Doing it would probably lead Ashwood's people right to him. He'd seen some pictures of what Ashwood's men had done to others that defied his will. It wasn't pretty, and he didn't want to end up like that. He didn't want his family to end up like that. Most of the kids he'd heard about either were killed outright, or had just disappeared. Carson really had to wonder which would be better. He almost thought getting killed would be better.

Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that, but if President Bryce were to get killed, and Ashwood won another term in office, Carson would have to really think about breaking down all the walls. He was sure that Ashwood would collapse the entire internet to stop it. That would be the end of the Kingdom. The end to a lot of things, but maybe.. just maybe, it would be worth it.

"They're HIT!" Dizzy called out, and Carson gasped as he focused on the screen, and the battle raging on it. It wasn't much of a battle anymore... a few bad guys, but only the one plane left, and it just got hit. There was no one left to protect the former president, and Carson felt a big knot form in his stomach.

"A helicopter just showed up out of nowhere!" Dizzy said suddenly, "He's heading right for the battle!" Dizzy paused for a few seconds. "The helicopter is radioing the jets!" Before Carson could say anything, Dizzy began playing the transmission.

"Pursuing fighters, this is General Casey, back off and retreat, or WE WILL take you out." A man's voice said, and Carson couldn't help but gasp. There was no way a single helicopter could fight off that many jet fighters.

"Unidentified Aircraft," a voice replied. "This is United States Airspace; we are attempting to apprehend a wanted fugitive. Disengage immediately, or we will be forced to fire upon you."

"I warned you..." The General replied, and before Carson could take a breath, one of the fighters blipped off the screen.

"He's got one, and just flew right by the President's plane, heading right into the bad guys!" Dizzy excitedly cried out. Carson quickly glanced over to one of the other screens, and saw that more than five hundred people were tuned into the video feed he had set up. 'At least others will be able to see what's going on.' Carson thought to himself.

"Another helicopter just showed up... out of nowhere!" Dizzy called out, just as Carson was going over the info on the first helicopter. It was a Hind-D Gunship. One of the most heavily armed and armored attack helicopters in the Russian military. What it was doing here though, and being flown by someone who had a very distinct American accent was something that Carson would love to know.

"It's heading right towards where the plane just crashed." Dizzy reported, and Carson was again shocked when he saw that this helicopter was a US made Chinook transport helicopter, although this one had a fair amount of modifications, based on the amount of guns on the thing.

Dizzy split the screen in two so that Carson could watch both areas, although where the plane crashed, Carson couldn't see much, since the plane crashed in a canyon, but he did see the helicopter fly in, turn so its back was close to the downed plane, and some people rush out of it.

He focused on the air battle that was going on, and was just amazed at the helicopter pilot. The battle raged on for only a few minutes, but it was such an intense few minutes, that Carson thought it had taken hours. Carson knew nothing about planes and helicopters, or air battles or anything like that, but what he was watching was something that was so intense, he couldn't tear his eyes off of it. What he could see, though, was that the helicopter was doing everything it could to keep the planes from getting to the crash site. One slipped by real early, but Carson saw it taken out by a missile. The other five, though, the helicopter was somehow managing to keep them away, and even was able to take a few of them out, although Carson saw it was getting hit by gunfire as well.

"The other helicopter is taking off." Dizzy said, and Carson looked just in time to see the helicopter flying real fast out of the canyon and away from where the dog fight was wrapping up. Somehow, the helicopter had taken out all but one of the jets, and that one was leaving the area.

Carson stopped himself just before he gave a loud shout of victory. He didn't want to wake anyone else up in the house, so he was trying to be as quiet as possible. He did, however, pump his fist a few times. "Take that, Ashwood!" he cried out as quietly as he could.

He was just about to go back to updating the chat room when Dizzy cried out over the speakers. "The helicopters... They're gone! The just vanished!"

"Were they shot down?" Carson asked, worried that it might have all been in vane.

"I don't think so..." Dizzy said, as Carson saw the screen scanning the area. "They literally just disappeared... I.. I don't know how. I can't see them anywhere."

They spent the next twenty minutes trying to find any trace of the helicopters, but they couldn't find anything. On the plus side, they didn't see any debris anywhere near by, so they were probably not shot down, but they simply disappeared.

"Well, hell. The only thing I can think of is some type of stealth or jammers." Carson said finally as he sat back, and rolled his shoulders, trying to relieve a bit of tension.

"It would have to be, but if it is, it's nothing I have ever even heard of before, and you programmed me to keep track of all that stuff." Dizzy sounded apologetic, and Carson was forced to try and reassure his computer.

"It's okay, Dizzy. We're good, but there's still stuff out there better then us. Not much, but I think we just found something that was. I've already put out a request to see if anyone's ever heard of something like this, and so far, no one has. Just think about it, we may have been the first ones to discover some new super top secret military stuff."

"That would be neat!" Dizzy said, now sounding excited.

"Okay, do me a favor," Carson started, and he reached down and unlocked his chair. "Can you start compiling all the data we were able to find out. How many planes, how many attackers, defenders, how many went down, how many we think are dead, all that sort of stuff. I wanna try and get it out to the Kingdom as quick as we can."

"Sure thing, boss. That'll take me a while though." Dizzy said, already starting to process things.

"No problem. I have to go take care of something in the bathroom for a bit, then I got a lot of work to do. I don't think either of us will get any sleep, tonight." Carson said all that while wheeling himself over to the bathroom. He stopped before going in, and looked over his shoulder. "Also, try and find out who that 'General Casey' is."

Once he was in the large bathroom, he transferred himself over onto the toilet, without much difficulty, he was really beginning to learn how to deal with the pain. It was there, all right, but between the effects of the pain killers and his own mental training it was becoming easier to deal with.

While he sat there, he was thinking about Dizzy. It was so hard to forget that Dizzy really was only a really good computer program. Most of the time, Carson really just thought of him as his friend. But then again, that's what Carson wanted, and why he first decided to create Dizzy.

Yes, Dizzy had become a very big part of his work with handicapped people, but at first, Dizzy was a dream for him. He couldn't get out much, and honestly, he didn't want his old friends seeing what his legs looked like now, see the fact that he can't even walk, can't even bathe himself. He also didn't think that his friends would still want to be friends with a cripple.

Of course, it didn't take long for all his friends to correct his thoughts on that, but by then, Dizzy had already become an obsession of his. He kept going on it, spending days and weeks simply obsessing with it. His parents and family tolerated it, since they were still not really sure how to deal with the changes, and what was going on inside Carson's head, but whatever he was working on was keeping him happy, if a bit withdrawn.

However, there were times when Carson thought that he may have actually done too good of a job. When he could forget so easily that Dizzy wasn't actually alive, and was simply a computer program, well he wondered if he should be worried.

But then again, no matter what, Dizzy had become his friend, his companion, and his helper in a lot of things. He's developed a personality, and one that Carson really liked. Dizzy was very much like an active puppy, trying very hard to please everyone. Honestly, Carson couldn't be happier about things.

He finished up what he needed to do, then went back into the bedroom, rolling close to his bed. "Dizzy, I gotta get back to sleep, mom'll kill me if I fall asleep in class again. Let me know if you come up with anything in the morning, okay?"

"You got it, boss." Dizzy said as the computer screens retracted, and the fireplace scene came back up on the screen. "However, I did find something out that you may be interested in. The Chinook helicopter that helped to rescue Bryce, was also seen the yesterday in an attack in Las Vegas."

"Okay.. get me all the information you can about that." Carson said his mind already starting to spin a bit. Dizzy dimmed the lights with out responding, all while Carson moved himself over onto the bed. Minutes later, he was sound asleep again. Had it not been for the pill that was still coursing through him, he might not have been able to sleep. But once the adrenaline stopped flowing, the pill took back over, and Carson was dead to the world before he knew it.

* * * * *

When he woke up, Carson was surprised to see the sun was already out. He had to get up earlier than most, because it took him awhile to get ready for school. So most days he was up a good hour before his brothers. This time of year, that meant he got up while it was still dark out. Now, though, the sun was shining brightly through the window. "Dizzy?" Carson called out groggily. "What time is it?"

"It's currently 11:47 in the morning." Dizzy answered.

"HOLY SHIT!" Carson exclaimed as he quickly shuffled to the side of his bed, pulling his legs after him, and almost throwing himself into his chair. "I can't believe I overslept! Mom's gonna kill me!"

"I wouldn't worry about that..." Dizzy said, causing Carson to stop trying to put his legs in the leg rests, and look towards the computer.

"Why not?" He asked suspiciously.

"You're mother left you a message..." Came Dizzy's voice from the speakers surrounding the computer.

"Oh hell..." Carson muttered. "Well, I guess you'd better play it."

Instead of Dizzy's voice playing, it was his mother's. "Carson, I know my son well enough to know that you were up most of the night, first dealing with Roris, and then with the attack on President Bryce's plane. Don't let it become a habit, but I'm giving you today off. Your father has already informed your staff that you won't be at the lab today. Your mother is ordering you to have a day of rest. Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling you're going to be a very busy boy over the next few days." Carson sat there with his jaw on the floor. He just couldn't believe that his mother knew what he was doing, and how late he was up.

"Also, when you do finally wake up..." The recording continued. "Feel free to come on out to the kitchen, I made up some sandwiches, and thought you might like them for brunch. Also, it will give us time to have a bit of a... chat." His mother's voice faded out with a giggle, and Carson couldn't help but feel a bit of dread creep into his soul at the tone of her voice.

Carson went into the bathroom and washed up as best he could, then back out into the main room. Dressing himself was one of the hardest things he had to learn how to do, since he was stuck in the chair. It had gotten easier and faster, but it still took him a bit to change his boxers, put on his 'running' pants, and slide a T-shirt on. He ran a brush through his hair, brushed his teeth, then took a deep breath, and began to wheel himself out into the kitchen.

"Hi, honey." His mother said in a rather sweet voice as he wheeled into the kitchen. Instantly his guard was up. Something was certainly wrong with her, acting like this. "Grab your spot at the table, I'll bring you some sandwiches."

She turned right around, and he stared at her back in terror. 'Who are you, and what have you done with my mother?' He thought to himself as he moved over and took his place at the table.

She brought over a tray of sandwiches, then went back, opened the refrigerator, pulled out a large jug of homemade lemonade, grabbed two glasses, and took them over to the table. She poured two glasses, and set one in front of Carson, before she sat down across the table from him, and watched as he ate his first sandwich.

"So... what did you find out last night?" She asked, and Carson almost choked on his sandwich.

* * * * *

It was almost 3:30 before Carson made it back to his room. His father just got home, with his brothers, and it forced the conversation with his mother to stop. His mind was going in a thousand different directions. After the discussion with his mother, Carson really had no idea what to think. He learned a lot of different things, but he had no real clue what to make of it all.

He did what he always did when he had a lot on his mind... he woke Dizzy up, and started to surf the web. The internet was absolutely a buzz with everything that was going on. The election was going poorly for Ashwood, even though he had somehow managed to keep the east coast from being able to learn a lot of what was brought out the day before in the Texas Hack Massacre. That was the unofficial name it had been given on the underground net. The Massacre part was in reference to what those hackers did to the government hardware, firewalls, and all the other security measures, they seemed to just blow right through.

Carson was really trying to decide if he should get involved. Part of him thought he should, but another part of him thought that the damage was already done, and him getting involved would only increase the risk that he would get found out.

He spent twenty minutes watching everything that was going on, seriously thinking about going into full 'war mode', when Dizzy's voice came through the speakers. "Carson. There is someone looking for olliefriend, and gooseburger..." Those were two members of the underground that Carson knew well.... well, at least as well as he knew anyone.

"Put it on the main screen, please." A second later, one of the chatrooms that he lurked in came up on his main screen, the four screens linked together in front of him. He saw the name of the person that was looking for others, and got concerned.

"Switch to vocal shorthand mode..." Carson said out loud, and got a single beep instead of a response. The mode he just activated would take what he said vocally, and Dizzy would turn that into shorthand text. "Buggie, is that you?" On the screen though, he saw 'Buggie? Dat B U?'

A few seconds later, he got his response. 'You got a minute, Stud?' Carson couldn't help but smile. When he first joined this room, he used a name he thought was rather funny... StudMffn. That was last year, and the name kinda stuck to him.

"Is there a problem?" Carson asked, and saw Dizzy translate that to, 'Prblm?'

'Maybe. Private?" Buggie asked, and Carson sat back. The only time someone asked to go private was when they needed to chat about something important, that they did not want anyone else to know about.

"Dizzy... High encryption protocols." Carson said, and a moment later, the screen blinked. He was now as secure as he could make himself. "Open up a private window with Buggie, and ask 'what's up'."

A moment later, a new screen appeared, with the words, 'Wt up?'

'I think I may need help. Bryce/Ashwood situation stirring things up here. Could get real bad.' Carson saw, and immediately cursed under his breath.

'Where RU?'

'Orlando. Fla.'

'Shit.'

'Yeah. U know any1 who can help?'

'Help how?'

'Don't know. Need to get out. Brother=Gay AND Brain Damaged. Grandmother=Old, old. 2 kids, maybe gay and possibly their two gay fathers.'

'U don't ask much.'

'You don't get, if you don't ask. Am I overreacting? Is it not as bad as it sounds?'

'Prbly worse.'

'Ashwood rules here. We need out before we're stuck.'

'Need 2 minutes to check on things. BRB'

'K'

Carson sat back, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. While he was talking to Buggie, he'd been really looking at Florida, and things were quickly moving from bad to worse, there. What very few people knew was that certain elements of the military had been called up, and major preparations were underway for... something. Polls were getting ready to close, and Ashwood had lost, badly. Of course, most news outlets were saying that the race was way too close to call at this point, but in reality they were stalling... for some reason. Carson had a few ideas about why, but he was hoping THAT would never happen.

He unlocked himself, and quickly wheeled himself out to the kitchen where his mother and father were working. Mom was working on some legal files, and his father was cooking. When ever his father was cooking, it meant he was trying to let some crazy idea seep into something workable in his head. Of course, his father was a damned good cook, anyways, so Carson was happy to see his father cooking.

His mother looked up and was starting to smile, until she saw the worried look on his face. "Carson... what's wrong?" That got Ryan to turn around, and look at Carson. When Ryan saw the look, he immediately went around the little island stove they had, and walked close.

Carson looked over at his father, then to his mother. "It's started." Was all he said, and she put her pen down with a long sigh.

"That was quick." She said as she started to put her papers away.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked, as he looked back and forth between his wife and his son.

Ignoring Ryan for the moment, although she did glance his way, with a look that said 'I will explain in a minute'... she asked Carson. "How many?"

"Seven so far... but probably more." Carson said quietly, and looked down with a fearful look on his face.

"Okay..." Debra Brown said with a sigh. "You go get your brothers, and wait in the living room until I call you in. Your father and I need to talk."

Carson didn't say a word, he simply turned his chair around, and wheeled himself out of the room.

When he was in the living room, he saw Tommy was on the phone, and Mikey was watching TV, before he did his homework. That was the normal routine that always happened as soon as they got home.

"Hey, guys... we have an issue we need to talk about... a family meeting." He said, which caused both brothers to look up in surprise. A family meeting was something that did not happen often, but when it did, it was important.

"Hey Beth... I'm gonna have to call you back." Tommy said into the phone, while Mikey shut off the TV, looking at Carson with a worried look on his face.

"Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow in school." Tommy said into the phone, then hung it up, and turned towards Carson. "What's going on?"

Carson moved his chair into the normal spot he would be at when the family was watching TV together. Both Tommy and Mikey moved to their spots, both of them looking intently at Carson. Carson sighed and thought about how to explain what was going on.

He ran a hand through his hair, and sighed. "You remember back before the accident, how I started playing around with computers?"

"Yeah.." They both said.

"Well, after the accident, I really got into computers, and hanging out on the net.. as you guys know." They both nodded, and Carson sighed before continuing. "Well, one of the things I found was something called the 'Underground Net'. It's a place for hackers and the like to chat about things..."

"Wait. You're a hacker?" Tommy exclaimed, a big smile on his face. "Can you get into the school's computers and change my English grade... I don't want mom killing me for getting a 'C'!"

Mikey broke out laughing, and Carson couldn't help but join in. That was Tommy, though... always trying to bring the tension down, and usually knowing how to do it rather well.

When they all finished laughing, Carson started again. "The UN... Underground Net, really focuses on getting information out to people, trying to stop the government from blocking all sorts of things, and generally do what we can to make information open to everyone."

"Okay, so are the feds coming or something?" Mikey asked looking a little scared. However, just the thought of that made Carson shudder hard.

"No... they don't know about me, yet, and hopefully they never will. However, there's a lot of bad shit going on today, and the government's starting to do some really bad stuff. I don't know if you heard, but Jack Bryce was attacked this morning, and almost killed. The military actually attacked a base in Texas where Bryce was hiding. They shot down his plane, but some other people, no one knows who they are, rescued them."

"Yeah, I heard some of the teachers talking about it. Mrs. Hernandez doesn't really like Bryce, because of the Mexican war, but she said that she couldn't even imagine voting for someone like Ashwood." Tommy said, then kept going. "But Mr. Gregs said he couldn't believe that any president would actually try to attack and kill another Candidate."

"Well, he should, and I got the proof... well a lot of other people have it now." Carson said vehemently.

"Proof?" Tommy exclaimed. "How?"

"I watched it happen... I watched the planes both attacking and defending Bryce's plane. I watched as a bunch of people got killed all because Ashwood wanted to kill off Bryce. I HEARD them on the radios as they were talking to each other." Carson said, the more he thought about the whole situation, the more upset he got.

"Oh shit..." Tommy said, and then Mikey asked his first question.

"So, what does this have to do with us? Why the meeting?"

Carson sighed as he calmed down some. "There someone I know, that lives in Orlando. He's asking for help to get out of there as soon as he can. He just doesn't have any way of getting out. I told mom and dad about it, and mom said to wait with you guys out here till they could talk about it, and then we would all discuss it."

"There's nothing to discuss..." Tommy said, leaning forward in his chair. "If there's someone that needs help, we gotta help 'em. I mean isn't that what Dad always tells us?"

"You're exactly right." Ryan's voice came from the doorway to the kitchen. All three boys looked over to see Ryan and Deb watching them. "Unless any of you boys can think of a reason that we shouldn't help them, we will."

All three boys shook their heads negatively, without saying a word. "Okay.. then we have a lot of work to do. Thankfully, I hadn't gotten to far into my cooking, cause we're gonna order in some pizzas. Carson, go contact your friend and tell him to be at the Bent Willies Airfield south of Orlando at 10pm local time. I've already sent word to the pilots in KC, and they're fueling up as we speak. I told them this is an emergency."

Carson got a big smile on his face and started to wheel away, when Deb stopped him. "Hold on, Carson. You may want to think about calling Roris and getting his family out of there as well. While it hasn't started yet, I've heard that they are getting ready to start rounding up the 'undesirables' soon."

"Oh sh...oot" Carson said, as he nodded rapidly, and quickly went back into his room. Before he got in there, he heard his mother talking to the other boys. "While he's doing that, we need to get the guest house ready, as well as the spare bedrooms cleaned and ready. They may not get here till late tonight, or maybe even sometime tomorrow, but I think we got a lot of work to do."

Chapter 4: Émigré

"Before we take off, I was instructed to request a codeword, to ensure that we have picked up the right people." The man in the dark navy blue suit said from the front of the cabin.

Everyone was looking around nervously, obviously not knowing what the man was talking about.

"Silverchair." Bug called out self consciously.

"Thank you. If everyone will please fasten your seatbelts, we will be taking off as soon as the pilot has finished his final checklist. My name is Lucas. If you have any questions or concerns during this flight, please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate you."

"Where are we going?" Oma Shoupe asked in a serious voice.

"Some of the plans haven't been finalized. But, so far as I know at this point, we're going to Kansas City, Missouri. When we land, you'll be taken to a hotel where you can relax and get a good night of sleep. In the morning, either I or one of my colleagues will give you the details about your final destination."

"Why can't you tell us now?" Doris Teeter asked cautiously.

"Because I don't know." Lucas said honestly. "This all happened rather suddenly. When all the plans have been made and confirmed, I'll pass that information on to all of you."

Judging by the overall mood going around the cabin, everyone seemed to accept Lucas' explanation.

"Now, if you'll check to see that your seat belts are securely fastened, I'll let the pilot know that we're ready. And once we're in the air, your flight attendant, Jeremy, will be serving drinks and snacks for you to enjoy." Lucas said pleasantly.

* * * * *

Bug watched as Lucas walked forward to the cockpit, then turned to Reginald at his side and asked, "What do you think about all of this?"

"Part of me says that this is all a gross overreaction. But a larger part is very relieved to be right here, right now." Reginald said frankly.

Bug slowly nodded as his mind wandered over all that had happened.

"What about you?" Reginald asked curiously.

"I think that what's been happening up to now is kind of like that thing with the frog in the boiling water." Bug said absently.

"What's that?" Reginald asked with interest.

"You know, when you drop a frog into boiling water, he'll jump out. But if you put a frog into room temperature water and raise the heat, slowly, over time, he'll sit there until he boils." Bug said seriously.

"That's a rather morbid thought." Reginald said warily.

Bug smiled, then said, "We're the frogs and what the government's been doing is the water heating up. I mean, would you ever think about living in some shit hole third world dictatorship where you knew the government was listening to your calls and tracking your movements? Where you knew that they could break into your goddamned house whenever the fuck they wanted and search for whatever they could find to charge you with? Where they could take your fucking kids away from you just because their religion says that you're unfit to be a parent?"

"But it isn't like that..." Reginald feebly protested.

"No? Then why the fuck can't you talk to Ro on the phone? Huh?" Bug asked seriously.

"Well, that's different."

"Bullshit!" Bug exclaimed as he looked Reginald in the eyes, then asked, "How the fuck do you think that they would know if Ro were visiting you?"

"Perhaps, but... but they've never broken into our house." Reginald hurried to say..

"Be thankful for that much. Actually, that's what happened to me. The motherfucking CPS gestapo showed up out of fucking nowhere, banging on the goddamned door and demanding to be let in to inspect our fucking house, looking for anything, a plate left in the sink, a crumb left on the kitchen counter, to prove that the place wasn't fit for a child of my tender years." Bug finished with a withering look, then added, "And get this, I'm not even a fucking foster kid. It's none of their goddamned business what the fuck goes on in our house."

"Have you ever been evaluated for Tourettes Syndrome?" Reginald asked cautiously.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Bug asked at the abrupt change in subject.

"Nothing. Never mind... I'm just trying to figure out how things got to be like this." Reginald said with a shake of his head.

"With one fucking compromise at a time. I hope you weren't attached to those Civil Liberties. Because, if someone decides to call you a terrorist, you suddenly become a non-person, a non-citizen. You have NO rights. No lawyer, no trial, no charges. Welcome to the New America." Bug said darkly, then added, "And, on behalf of my generation, I'd just like to say, 'Thanks a fucking lot'."

"But I'm not a terrorist." Reginald stammered.

"No? You're gay. That's the same fucking thing as being a terrorist these days, depending on who you ask. And since no one ever has to prove anything... you're a terrorist the second that they say you are. You don't have to do anything or say anything to 'deserve' it. Your supposed rights don't mean ANYTHING to them." Bug said frankly.

"Hey, Bug! What'cha doin?" Ro asked as his head popped up over the back of the seat in front of Reginald.

Bug thought for a moment, then smiled as he said, "I'm making your Pop depressed."

Ro looked to Reginald and stage whispered, "Don't listen to him, Pop. He's a big old grumpy butt."

"Sit down and get your seat belt on." Bug growled playfully.

Ro stuck his tongue out at Bug, then quickly ducked down behind the seat.

Reginald and Bug were smiling at the boy's antics, but their smiles slowly faded as the conversation from before filled their minds.

After a moment, Reginald and Bug exchanged a look. Even though nothing was said, it was clear that they were feeling the same thing.

* * * * *

"Attention, everyone. The pilot has just signaled that we're ready for takeoff. There's one last thing that I was instructed to do that I forgot to mention earlier." Lucas said from his place at the front of the cabin.

"I have been told to ask all of you who have cellphones to please remove the batteries before we take off." Lucas said as he looked around the cabin.

A few incredulous looks passed around the cabin, and it was finally Bug who asked, "Why?"

"I'm following my orders, so I'll tell you what I was told to say if anyone asked that question." Lucas said in prelude, then looked Bug in the eyes as he said, "The GPS doesn't just tell you where you are."

After a moment, Bug hesitantly said, "I don't have a phone. I was just curious."

Lucas smiled at him, then took his seat as an attractive younger man in a uniform started walking slowly through the cabin to make sure everyone was securely belted in.

Bug turned and saw that Reginald was taking the battery out of his phone.

"I have a feeling that wherever we're going, it's going to be better." Bug offered quietly.

"I'm only just realizing what it is that we're leaving behind. I think you may be right... at least, I hope you are."

* * * * *

The takeoff was uneventful. Bug was a little bit unsettled by the sensation, but considering that he had never flown before, his reaction wasn't bad.

After the plane had finished climbing and leveled out, Lucas walked to the front of the cabin and said, "You can release your seat belts and move around the cabin if you would like. Jeremy is preparing your snacks, as we speak, and will be out with them in just a moment."

Bug got up from his seat and walked forward.

"Oma Shoupe? How are you doing?" Bug asked gently.

"I'm fine, dear. I've been having the most delightful conversation with Doris, here."

Bug smiled at the woman, then said to his grandmother, "I've got your medication, whenever you're ready for it. I'm just three seats back if you need me for anything."

"I'm fine, Bug. I'll take my medicine when we get to the hotel." Oma Shoupe said as she reached out and took one of his hands.

Bug smiled warmly as Oma Shoupe held his hand against her cheek for a moment.

"I love you, Oma." Bug whispered.

"I love you, too, Bug." She said, then released his hand.

* * * * *

When Bug walked back down the aisle, he found just what he expected.

Lawrence was leaning over, listening and talking with Roris like they were long lost friends.

Although he didn't want to interrupt his brother, he felt that it was necessary.

Gently, Bug put his hand on Lawrence's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.

Lawrence looked up with surprise, apparently only just realizing that he and Roris weren't the only two people who existed in the universe.

"I just wanted to check and see if you guys need anything." Bug said gently.

"I'm gonna need some rubbers." Lawrence said frankly.

Bug's eyes went wide and he noticed that Roris seemed to be blushing over every inch of exposed skin.

"Roris said that he's never had sex with anybody before, ever. And I remembered what you said, always, always, always use a rubber. So can you get me some?" Lawrence asked hopefully.

Bug thought for a moment, then said, "I tell you what. Why don't you go and talk to Oma Shoupe for a few minutes? She hasn't seen you except at dinner since you got home from work. I need to talk to Roris for a minute."

Lawrence thought about it for a moment, then said, "But then you'll get me the rubbers?"

"I don't think I can get any until we get off the plane, but then, I'll see what I can do." Bug said with a smile.

"I love you." Lawrence said as he enveloped his younger brother in a hug.

"I love you, too, Lor. Now go talk to Oma Shoupe." Bug chuckled.

Lawrence kissed Bug on the side of the head, then cheerfully walked away.

Bug looked down at Roris and had to force himself to get involved in what was clearly none of his business.

Once Bug was seated in the chair that Lawrence had vacated, Bug leaned over, assuming that it was the best way for Roris to communicate.

"I'm sorry for doing this Roris. Lawrence doesn't always understand what people tell him and sometimes makes some pretty big leaps in reasoning." Bug said gently.

"He's not a baby." Roris said firmly.

Bug could tell by the strain in Roris' voice that it was taking a lot of effort and concentration for Roris to speak clearly.

"I'm not saying that he is. But he's also not capable of making all his own decisions. His brain damage prevents him from grasping complicated concepts." Bug said seriously.

"So you're not going to let us..." Roris trailed off shyly.

"No. That's not what I'm saying. I just wanted to be sure that this is what you want. If it isn't, then I'll tell Lawrence that he misunderstood what you were saying." Bug hurried to say.

"So, it's okay?" Roris asked cautiously.

"Sure. Lawrence has been sexually active for years. I just try to make sure that he doesn't accidentally force himself on someone because he misunderstood their flirting or casual conversation as being something more. As long as you guys both want this, you've got my full support." Bug said frankly.

"I've never done this before. I'm kinda scared." Roris admitted shyly.

"Don't worry. Lawrence is a good lover... or, so I've been told. If he does something you like, tell him. If he does something you don't like, tell him. I think as long as you do that, it should be fine." Bug said honestly.

"Thanks. Maybe you aren't an asshole, after all." Roris said with a chuckle.

"Oh, yes, I am. But if you make Lawrence happy, I'll turn it off when you're around." Bug said with a smile.

"Deal." Roris said happily.

Bug pulled back from Roris a little and looked around to find Lawrence waiting anxiously.

"I'll try to get you some rubbers as soon as we land." Bug said as he stood.

"You're the best brother in the world!" Lawrence said as he pulled Bug into a crushing hug.

Bug chuckled and quietly said, "No. That would be you."

* * * * *

When Bug turned to go back to his seat, he saw Reginald and Walter sitting side by side. Ro was sitting on Walter's lap, hugging him like crazy and Bax was sitting on Reginald's lap, gently holding on to him like he was something precious.

Walter looked up at Bug and said, "We should have done this as soon as anyone suggested that they might try to take Ro from us."

"You're here now. Don't worry about what already happened, it's today that counts." Bug said frankly.

Walter nodded, then reconfirmed his hug on Ro and whispered, "I'm never going to let you go."

Bug smiled at the statement, then casually walked back to his seat.

* * * * *

"Would you like a snack?" the flight attendant, Jeremy, asked pleasantly.

Bug was going to refuse, but the little finger sandwiches actually looked really tasty.

"Yeah. Thanks." Bug said as he took a napkin from the tray, then selected one of the sandwiches.

"Could I get you something to drink?" Jeremy asked gently.

Something in the tone of his voice caused Bug to look up into Jeremy's bright hazel eyes.

"Do you have any root beer?" Bug asked as he realized that Jeremy was interested in him.

"Yeah. The good kind, in the glass bottles." Jeremy said with a bright smile.

"Would you be allowed to sit down and drink some with me?" Bug asked as he felt his nervousness rising.

Jeremy looked at his watch, then said, "We'll be landing before very long, but I think we'll have time to split a bottle, if you'd like."

"Yeah." Bug said quickly.

"I'll check with Lucas to be sure that it's okay, but I don't think he'll mind as long as everyone's kept happy." Jeremy said as he looked deeply into Bug's eyes.

"Yeah. Okay." Bug whispered, then nearly collapsed when Jeremy turned and rushed to the front of the cabin.

* * * * *

"So, why don't you tell me a little bit about you. I mean, you know my name is Jeremy, but all I know about you is that you're the cutest guy on the plane." Jeremy said frankly.

Bug blushed like a schoolgirl at the compliment, but finally said, "Thank you for saying that, but my brother, over there, is way cuter than I am."

"Not my type." Jeremy said with a shrug.

"What is your type?" Bug asked, then took a sip of his root beer.

"Someone who is real, someone who makes up his own mind... and someone cute. Gotta be cute." Jeremy finished with a smile, then quietly asked, "What about you? What kind of guy are you looking for?"

Bug thought for a moment, then said, "I don't know. I've never really looked for anyone. I've been taking care of my grandmother and my brother and there's never really been time for me to even think about dating or anything."

"So you're the kind of guy who would put his own life on hold to take care of his family. I really admire that." Jeremy said gently.

"I don't know. If I already had this great life and decided to drop everything to take care of them, I suppose that would be something to admire. But the way things worked out, I was the only one they had to depend on. I didn't do anything special, I just did what needed to be done." Bug said thoughtfully.

"Humble, too. You're just getting one check after another on my list of most desirable qualities." Jeremy said with a grin.

Bug chuckled, then asked, "What about you? You're a nice guy and you're hot looking. I bet you don't have to look very hard to find guys who are interested."

Jeremy shrugged, then said, "I won't deny it. When I was in college, I went through a phase when I was just looking for a good time with the cutest guy in the room. But after a while that got to be a very empty life. Now, I date occasionally, but so far I haven't met anyone who I could talk to and... I don't know... enjoy doing things with him outside the bedroom."

"So, you're looking for someone to be a friend AND a lover... that's a pretty tall order." Bug said with a smile.

"When I started looking, I didn't think it was too much to ask. Now... it seems like I'm trying to catch a unicorn." Jeremy finished with a chuckle.

"You'll find him." Bug said in a resigned tone.

"What makes you think I haven't, already?" Jeremy asked curiously at the strange change in the mood between them.

"Two words." Bug said regretfully.

Jeremy thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "You're straight?"

Bug shook his head and whispered, "I'm seventeen."

Jeremy's eyes went wide at the admission.

"So, no matter how cute you think I am, or how hot I think you are, no matter how well we can talk together outside the bedroom. The fact is, for the moment, I'm jail bait." Bug said regretfully.

Jeremy's look was distant and his mind seemed to be racing.

Bug smiled at the reaction, knowing that Jeremy was trying to think of some way they could make it work.

"Lying and hiding wouldn't be good for me, and I really don't think you'd enjoy it either." Bug said frankly.

"No. I guess not." Jeremy said regretfully.

"I'll make you a deal. If we're both still looking at this time next year, let's give it a try." Bug said with a gentle smile.

Jeremy considered for a moment, then said, "It's always nice to have a plan B."

Bug chuckled, then said, "Yeah. I like that."

Jeremy looked at his watch, then regretfully said, "I need to start picking up empties and getting everyone settled for landing."

"Before you do that, how would you feel about giving your 'Plan B' a kiss?" Bug asked hopefully.

Jeremy smiled, then leaned in and gave Bug the first real kiss he had ever experienced.

Bug felt the tingle of excitement wash through his body.

When the kiss finally ended, Jeremy whispered, "I'm kind of hoping that the year passes quickly."

Bug nodded and said, "July Seventh."

"What?" Jeremy asked cautiously.

"My birthday is on July Seventh... I already know what you can get me." Bug finished with a grin.

"Do you want a big red bow on it?" Jeremy chuckled.

"However you want to give it to me will be fine." Bug said and waggled his eyebrows.

Jeremy laughed, then said, "I really have to get back to work."

"Okay. But just so you know, I think I'm going to need help with my seat belt." Bug said playfully.

"You are wicked. That's what you are." Jeremy said before hurrying up the aisle to the front of the plane.

"Bug's got a boyfriend!" Bax said in a sing-song voice as his head poked up over the back of the seat in front of him.

"Almost. But not quite." Bug said regretfully.

Bax looked at him strangely for a moment, then his head suddenly ducked down.

A moment later, Bax walked up to Bug's side, then promptly climbed into his lap.

"What are you doing?" Bug asked cautiously.

"I'm sorry he's not your boyfriend. You should have a boyfriend." Bax said as he gave Bug a firm hug.

"Maybe, someday." Bug said regretfully.

"I could be your boyfriend!" Bax said suddenly.

Bug smiled, then said, "I bet you'd be a great boyfriend, but I think it may be a few years before you're ready to take that step. If you still feel that way about me when you're eighteen, maybe we can give it a try."

Bax seemed to consider for a moment, then happily said, "Yeah, okay."

Bug returned the boy's hug as he sighed, "One's too young and the other's too old. Being seventeen sucks."

* * * * *

"Excuse me, but is your Internet ID Y2Kbug?" Lucas asked Bug quietly.

"Bax, I need to talk to this guy for a minute. Why don't you go find Ro?" Bug asked cautiously.

"But he's no fun right now. All he wants to do is hug his dad and his pop." Bax groused.

"Then why don't you go visit with Oma Shoupe? I know that if you gave her a chance, she'd treat you just like she was your own grandmother." Bug said seriously.

Bax thought about it for a moment, then gave Bug a kiss on the cheek before getting down off his lap.

Lucas watched Bax leave with a tender smile, then turned his attention back to Bug.

"I'm guessing that you have some important questions for me, so why don't you sit down so we can talk?" Bug asked seriously as he shifted to the seat by the window.

"Thank you." Lucas said as he took Bug's vacated seat, then added, "This shouldn't take long."

Bug nodded and waited to find out what Lucas wanted to know.

"When I was sent to get you and the Teeters, I was told to see to your comfort, and provide anything that you might need. I just finished talking to Marcus and Doris, and they've assured me that they have everything they need, for now. So, next, I'd like to see if there's anything I can do for you and your group to make it a little bit easier to endure all the chaos of uprooting yourselves and traveling across the country." Lucas said seriously.

Bug thought for a moment, then quietly said, "I met the two boys, Bax and Ro, when I was leaving the grocery store this afternoon. They were homeless and begging for food."

Lucas gasped in surprise.

"I'm telling you this because, when I met them, they weren't carrying anything with them. They only had the clothes that they're wearing right now. So, this may not be what you were asking, but if you really want to help us, maybe you could find a way to get us a ride to the Goodwill or the nearest WalMart to our hotel, so I can get them some more clothes before we leave for wherever we're going to be going." Bug said hopefully.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did the boys come to be with you?" Lucas asked gently, and it was clear that the question was personal and not professional.

"They were begging for food outside the supermarket, so I invited them to my house for dinner. One thing led to another, and here we are." Bug finished with a dismissive shrug.

Lucas smiled at Bug, then quietly said, "Even though what you did may seem like a little thing to you, if everyone would do that much, just that little bit, it would completely change the world."

"Yeah, and if a frog had wings it wouldn't bump it's ass when it hopped. That's the big problem with 'if'." Bug said frankly.

Lucas chuckled, then said, "I really like the way that you think. What's your name?"

"Everyone calls me Bug."

Lucas considered for a moment, then said, "I don't know why, but it suits you. It's a pleasure to meet you, Bug."

"Thank you." Bug said, taken aback by the man's sincere admiration.

"And please don't worry about getting clothes for the boys. It would be my honor to see that it's taken care of." Lucas said with a smile.

"You don't have to do that! I've got some money and Ro's dads might chip in, too, if we asked." Bug hurried to say.

"There's no need. I was told to see to the comfort of our guests, this is part of what I'm being paid to do. Please, just let me take care of this for you, so you don't have to worry about it. Before you leave tomorrow, I'll see to it that the boys are outfitted with everything that they need."

"I don't know. I feel funny about it." Bug said hesitantly.

"That just tells me that you're a man of good character. But please don't think of this as charity, it's hospitality." Lucas said frankly.

Bug struggled with the decision for a moment, but finally nodded his agreement.

"Thank you for allowing me to do this, Bug. Although I love my job, I don't often get the chance to do something that really matters." Lucas said honestly.

"I think we're all going to get more and more chances, real soon." Bug said frankly.

Lucas thought about the words for a moment, then grimly nodded his agreement.

"Oh, yeah. There's one other thing I might need... um, if you, you know, want to..." Bug stammered.

Lucas looked at Bug with interest.

"Well, you see... I, um, I'm gonna need some condoms and, you know, lube and stuff. Is there any way you could, um, help me get somewhere to get some?" Bug asked nervously.

Lucas' eyes went wide, then he quickly looked up the aisle toward Jeremy.

Bug followed his gaze, then hurried to say, "No, not for me. For my brother."

Lucas slowly turned his gaze back to Bug and, after a moment, a smile crossed his face. "I don't think that will be any problem. If you'll excuse me, I need to make a few calls right now."

"So you're going to get them?" Bug asked cautiously.

"Yes. I'll see that your brother has what he needs before he retires for the evening." Lucas said as he got up from his seat.

"Thank you, Lucas. I didn't know what I was getting my family into when I talked them into doing this. You being nice and trying to help us and stuff is really making me feel like I might not have made a big mistake." Bug said frankly as he looked up at Lucas.

Lucas smiled, then said, "Now that you are our guests, every precaution is being taken to safeguard you and your family. I know that all of you have questions about what's going to happen next, but the situation seems to be changing minute by minute. So, rather than tell you about the plans that are being made, that may change a dozen times before we settle on one, I'm just asking that you trust us for just a little bit longer. Hopefully, in the morning, I'll be able to tell you exactly what's going to happen and answer any questions that you might have."

"Thank you. I'll do my best to try not to worry." Bug said quietly.

Lucas smiled, then quietly said, "I can see that worrying for your family is something that you're accustomed to doing. I promise that as soon as I know anything, I'll pass it on to you. I won't make you wait any longer than is absolutely necessary."

Bug nodded, then watched as Lucas slowly walked up the aisle, stopping to talk with Oma Shoupe and Doris Teeter for a moment, before going to the front of the cabin, then on into the cockpit.

* * * * *

"We're on approach to land in Kansas City. Do you need any help with your seat belt?" Jeremy asked with a playful grin.

"You know it." Bug said as he spread his legs slightly and leaned back in his seat.

"You are wicked.." Jeremy said with a grin as he slowly and carefully buckled the seat belt for Bug.

Bug held his breath, enjoying the sensation.

"That isn't too tight is it?" Jeremy asked as he put his hand under the seat belt and brushed against Bug's groin with the back of his fingers.

"Getting tighter all the time." Bug rasped.

"We really are about to land, so I've got to go." Jeremy said regretfully, then leaned in and gave Bug a quick, firm kiss.

When the kiss ended, Jeremy pulled back to look deeply into Bug's eyes.

"I've never wanted anyone as bad as I want you." Bug whispered.

Jeremy smiled at the words, then whispered, "I'm sorry that I have to leave you wanting for more, but please believe me. I want you, too."

Bug tried to hold his emotions in check as he watched Jeremy walk up the aisle to the next row of seats, where Walter and Reginald were sitting.

A moment later, Ro walked back to Bug and quietly asked, "Is it okay if I sit with you? Daddy wants to sit next to Pop for a while."

"Sure. If you want to. I just don't know if Bax might want to sit here, too." Bug said frankly.

Ro shook his head and said, "He's sitting with Oma Shoupe, and she's hugging him right now. I don't think he wants to move."

"That's good. It's been a long time since Oma Shoupe's had a little boy to hold. I'm sure that it's going to make her happy." Bug said warmly.

"She's got two of us, now, so I guess she's gonna be really happy." Ro said cheerfully.

"I think you're right." Bug said with a bittersweet smile.

"Are you okay, Bug?" Ro asked with concern.

"Yeah. I've just got lots of stuff to think about. But none of it is anything that you need to worry about." Bug said as he tried to put on a happy face for Ro.

"Are you worried about what's going to happen to us?" Ro asked seriously.

Bug shrugged, then admitted, "A little."

"Are you afraid that we made a mistake by leaving Orlando?" Ro asked curiously.

"No. I'm pretty sure that that was the right choice. I think things in Orlando are going to get really bad. But there's a chance that things still might be pretty tough, no matter where we go next." Bug said honestly.

Ro thought for a moment, then confidently said, "As long as I've got you and my dads and Bax, everything else doesn't matter. I've got everything that's important."

Bug smiled at the words, then slowly said, "Thank you, Ro. You're right. That's what I need to focus on. We're here. We're safe. And as long as we've got each other, we'll be fine."

* * * * *

It turned out that Bug liked the sensation of landing even less than the sensation of taking off.

He kept a calm facade for Ro's benefit, but felt himself quaking inside.

"Everyone, if I may have your attention for just a moment." Lucas said as he stood at the front of the cabin.

Those few who had undone their seat belts and stood, slowly sat back down and quieted.

"When you exit the plane, I'm going to introduce you to Gordon. As I've said, there is another group waiting for this plane. So I'm going to leave you in Gordon's care. He's taking care of your transportation and your hotel accommodations. If you have any questions or concerns, he will do whatever he can to help you." Lucas said seriously.

When no one seemed to have any questions or concerns, Lucas continued, "If everyone will be patient for just another minute or two, I'm going to help our guests with mobility issues, off the plane first. There's no need to rush, it will take a few minutes for your luggage to be unloaded from the plane and into your cars."

"Bug! Look!" Ro said as he pointed out the window.

When Bug looked, he saw two stretch limousines coming to a stop on the tarmac.

"Are we going to get to ride in those?" Ro asked with excitement.

"It looks that way." Bug said slowly.

"Wow. Your friend must have lots and lots of money!" Ro said as he kept his gaze on the cars.

"I don't know about that. I asked for help, but I don't know if it's him, or if he asked someone else to help us, as a favor to him." Bug said thoughtfully.

"It really bugs you, not knowing all of what's going on. Doesn't it?" Ro asked curiously.

"Yeah. I'm used to being in control of things, I guess. It's tough for me to let someone else do things and trust them to take care of it all." Bug responded slowly.

"Is that what it means to grow up?" Ro asked curiously.

"Yeah... No. I don't know. I guess that's what it means for me. But maybe it also means having people around that you trust so that you can let them take care of things, too." Bug said thoughtfully.

Ro thought about the answer for a moment, as Bug saw Lucas carrying Roris out of the plane, to one of the waiting limousines.

In a quiet voice, Ro finally said, "I think you can trust my dads. They're good dads."

"I haven't had much of a chance to talk to them, but from everything that I've seen, they're good people." Bug said gently to the boy at his side, then asked, "Would you mind carrying a few things for me when we get off the plane?"

"Yeah. No problem." Ro said happily.

Bug reached under the seat that Ro was sitting on and took out the brown cardboard box and the plastic shopping bag and handed them to Ro.

As they were getting out of their seats, Bax rushed up to them and asked, "Did you see those big cars? Do you think we can go look at them?"

"That's how we're getting to the hotel, Bax." Bug said frankly.

Bax stared at Bug with wide eyes, then said, "Nuh uh."

"Yuh huh." Bug said with a grin.

"Look. There goes Oma Shoupe." Ro said as he pointed out the window.

Bax scrambled forward to see, then, after a moment, he started to bounce with excitement.

"Are you guys coming?" Walter asked from ahead of them in the aisle.

"Bax looks like he is." Bug said with a smirk.

Ro looked at Bug curiously.

"Let's go and check out those cars." Bug said as he put a hand on Ro's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

* * * * *

As Bug and the boys were getting off the plane, Lucas approached and said, "If you'll follow me, I'll introduce you to Gordon. He'll be taking care of you for the rest of the evening."

The chill in the air was noticeable and Bug found himself wishing that he had thought to bring a jacket with him. He looked at the boys with concern, noticing that they were just wearing jeans and t shirts, but neither of them seemed to be aware of the difference in temperature.

Bug guided the boys to walk with him, and noticed that Ro's dads were now with their group.

"Gordon, I'd like for you to meet Bug. These gentlemen are Walter and Reginald, and the boys are Bax and Ro, although I haven't got to know them well enough to tell you which is which." Lucas said to the very professional looking man in a charcoal gray suit.

"I'm Bax!" the boy said cheerfully.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bax." Gordon said as he offered his hand.

Bax seemed to be surprised by the gesture, but finally stood forward and accepted the offered hand and shook it firmly.

When Gordon released his handshake, he took a moment to look carefully at Bax.

After a moment, Gordon offered his hand to Ro and said, "So, by process of elimination, that must mean that you are Ro."

"Yes, sir." Ro said timidly as he also shook the offered hand.

Gordon chuckled, then said, "You don't have to call me 'sir'. My name is Gordon and the only reason I'm here is to see that you and the rest of your group have everything you need, to be comfortable tonight."

Ro seemed to be conflicted, then looked at his fathers with question.

"It's alright to call him Gordon, since he offered." Walter said quietly.

Ro turned his attention back to the man before him and said, "It's nice to meet you, Gordon."

"Thank you. The pleasure is all mine." Gordon said delightedly, then looked Ro over as he had done Bax.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to see that everything is in order by the time the plane is fueled up so we're ready to go." Lucas said as a concerned look fell across his face.

"Go on. We're going to be fine." Gordon assured him, then turned his attention back to Bug's group.

As Lucas hurried away, Gordon turned to one of the dads and asked, "Walter?"

"Yes. Walter Mason."

"Then you would be Reginald." Gordon said as he turned his attention to the other man.

"Reginald..." the man said, then hesitated before continuing in a whisper, "...Ashwood."

Gordon and Bug's eyes both went wide at the revelation.

"No relation." Reginald hurried to say.

It took a moment, but Gordon finally was able to get his mind back on the tasks needing to be completed.

"Please remember that if you're needing anything, all you have to do is ask. I'm here to see to your comfort." Gordon said professionally, then added, "I need to speak to Bug for just a moment, but if the rest of you would like to get in the cars, we'll be leaving as soon as your luggage is loaded."

Walter and Reginald subtly guided the boys toward the car as Bug looked at Gordon with question.

"Lucas called me from the plane, and I picked something up for you on the way to the airport." Gordon said as he gestured for Bug to follow him to the front passenger side door of the first limousine.

Bug was a little bit hesitant, but did his best to hide his nervousness.

"Lucas couldn't give me any details about your needs, so I took the liberty of gathering the supplies that I thought you might need. I hope you won't think me too forward for doing so." Gordon said quietly.

Bug accepted a small plastic shopping bag from Gordon and looked inside and was surprised at what he found. Not only was there a supply of condoms and lubrication, but also two disposable enemas.

"Thanks! I wouldn't have thought... this is great. Thanks, really!" Bug chattered nervously.

Gordon smiled at Bug's nervousness, then said, "You're very welcome. I'm here to help you and your group be comfortable. Please let me know if there's anything else that I can do."

Bug nodded and quietly said, "I will. And this isn't for me, it's for my brother..."

"None of my business. Just let me know if there's anything more I can do for you." Gordon said as he walked to the rear passenger side door and opened it for Bug.

"Okay." Bug said shyly, then hurried into the car as Gordon took out his cell phone.

* * * * *

"Are you alright, Bug? You're sweating." Oma Shoupe asked with concern.

"I'm fine." Bug said a little bit too quickly, then thought to ask, "How are you?"

"Oh, I've half convinced myself that this is all a dream. Taking an unexpected flight, making new friends, and now being treated like some kind of royalty, being picked up in a limousine..." Oma Shoupe said with a distant smile.

Bug smiled at her answer, then gently said, "Just enjoy it, Oma. I'm betting from the way these guys are picking us up from the airport that the hotel we're going to is probably going to be awesome."

Gordon got into the front passenger's side door and turned to the group to say, "As soon as they've finished with the luggage, we'll be ready to go. When we arrive at the hotel, it would be helpful if you would point out which luggage belongs to which people before we go inside. That way we'll be able to see that your luggage is delivered to your rooms."

"We don't have anything for Ro. They took all his things when they took him away from us." Reginald said with concern to his partner.

"Not to worry. That's already being taken care of." Gordon said from the front seat.

Walter and Reginald looked at Gordon with surprise.

"Just wait and see what we've come up with, and if we've forgotten anything, let me know and I'll see to it." Gordon said simply.

Walter and Reginald shared an uncertain look at each other, but didn't question further.

"Bug, do you know where your brother is?" Oma Shoupe asked curiously.

"I saw him get into the other car with Roris and his family. I'm sure that he's fine." Bug said assuringly.

"Doris seemed happy that the boys are becoming friends. I'm just concerned, knowing of Lawrence's... leanings... I wouldn't want him to encourage that boy to do something that he's not comfortable with." Oma Shoupe said slowly.

"I already talked to Roris about it. Don't worry, Oma, he's an adult and he's decided what he wants." Bug said seriously.

Walter and Reginald looked from Oma Shoupe to Bug curiously, not quite following the conversation.

Bug reached into the tote bag where he had placed the shopping bag, then pulled out the box of condoms with one hand and the bottle of lube with the other.

Both Walter and Reginald's eyes went wide in comprehension. It was Walter who finally said, "You certainly do know how to pack for a flight."

"You've gotta be ready for those layovers." Bug said with a grin, then noticed Gordon chuckling in the front seat.

* * * * *

Bug was as taken aback as any of them by the mystical sensation of riding through town in the back of a stretch limousine.

Not a word was spoken by anyone, but after a few minutes of riding, Bug felt a small arm come around his side.

He glanced over to see Bax staring out the window in awe, and obviously not realizing that he was holding on to Bug.

Gently, Bug guided Bax onto his lap so the boy could get a better view out the window.

As Bax leaned in slightly, Bug put an arm around him.

Bug glanced over and saw that Ro was being held securely between both his fathers and all three of them had their full attention focused outside the window.

* * * * *

"So, does this thing turn into a pumpkin at midnight?" Bug asked playfully as he got out of the limousine.

Gordon laughed, then said, "No. I assure you that it will still be here in the morning, to take you to the airport."

"Do you know when that will be?" Bug asked seriously.

"Not with any certainty. The plane is leaving to get another group, as we speak. We'll be bringing them here to the hotel as soon as they get in. We'd like to give all of you adequate time to rest before starting the next leg of your journey. However, things being as they are, all plans are subject to change at a moment's notice." Gordon said frankly.

"My Oma expects President Assgrab to declare martial law at any moment." Bug said frankly.

"He could." Gordon said simply.

Bug nodded, then asked, "What do we need to do next?"

"As soon as Roris is in his wheelchair, I'd appreciate it if you could help me get the others to claim their luggage, so it all gets delivered to the right rooms." Gordon said slowly.

"Sure." Bug said with a smile, feeling better once he had something to do.

* * * * *

"Are you okay, Oma?" Bug asked as he guided her off the elevator.

"I'll be fine, Dear." Oma Shoupe said confidently, and seemed not to be having any problem with weakness at the moment.

"Before we go any further, I just wanted to let everyone know that we've reserved the private dining room for ten o'clock in the morning. That should give everyone time to get adequate rest. Lucas will be here with the most up-to-date information about what's going to happen next. And, of course, breakfast will be served at that time." Gordon said, then paused to see if anyone had any questions.

"We've reserved this entire floor of the hotel, so you can choose any rooms that you want. Just be sure to let me know which rooms are occupied so we won't disturb you when the next group arrives." Gordon said seriously as he turned left down the hallway.

"Would you like the room by the elevator, Oma? That way you won't have to walk too far when it's time to leave." Bug asked gently.

"Yes, Bug. If no one else wants it, that will be fine." Oma Shoupe said quietly.

Gordon stepped forward and found the appropriate cardkey, then opened the door and stood aside.

Bug slowly ushered his Oma into the room and to a chair in what seemed to be a small living room.

"There must be a mistake, this looks like a presidential suite. This is far too nice for someone like me." Oma Shoupe said in wonder as she stared at the opulent luxury of the large hotel room.

"No, ma'am. This room is, indeed, all for you. We'll leave you to freshen up after your trip. If you would care for a refreshment, please feel free to call room service. If there is anything else that we can do for you, just call the front desk and they will either take care of it or call me." Gordon said gently as he handed her the cardkey.

"Thank you. That's so very kind." Oma Shoupe said in astonishment.

"You're our guests, we just want to be sure that you'll be able to relax and be comfortable." Gordon said with a tender smile at her.

"I'm sure that won't be a problem." Oma Shoupe said frankly.

"I'm going to show the others to their rooms, there will probably be a knock on your door in about ten or fifteen minutes. That will be one of the hotel staff with your luggage." Gordon said seriously as he made to leave.

"I didn't have the chance to pack anything." Oma Shoupe said with sudden concern.

"Don't worry about it, Oma. I took care of that. I have plenty of things for all of us." Bug said as he moved in to give her a gentle hug around the shoulders.

"Such a good boy." Oma Shoupe said as her eyes misted over with unformed tears.

"Do you need help with anything before I leave?" Bug asked quietly.

"No. Go on. I'll be fine." Oma Shoupe said as she patted him on the arm.

Bug leaned down and kissed her on top of the head, then quietly said, "I'll be back with your clothes and your medications in just a few minutes."

Oma Shoupe nodded that she had heard, then watched as everyone funneled out of the room. She took a deep breath to collect herself, then slowly looked around the incredible room in disbelief.

* * * * *

"If no one minds, I'd like the room next to Oma Shoupe, in case she needs anything." Bug said as they walked down the hall.

"Let me be sure that this keycard works." Gordon said, then opened the door to Bug's room.

Bug stepped forward to peek inside, then accepted the keycard from Gordon.

"Here." Ro said as he handed the bag he had been carrying to Bug.

Bax saw what he was doing and quickly handed Bug the cardboard box.

Bug dropped everything just inside the door, then seemed to think better of it and took a shopping bag out of the tote bag he had been carrying.

Once he had the door shut, he looked at Gordon, signaling that he was ready.

"Can Roris and I have a room together?" Lawrence asked hopefully as they walked to the next room.

Gordon opened the door and waited to see if anyone were going to answer.

"Is that okay with you, honey?" Doris asked her son gently.

Roris said something that was too low for Bug to hear, but a moment later, Doris tenderly said, "You're a grown man, now. If that's what you really want."

"Lawrence, I got these for you." Bug said as he handed the plastic shopping bag to his brother.

After a curious look at Bug, Lawrence accepted the bag, then looked inside.

"Thank you! And you got the good kind! Come on, Roris! You're gonna love this!" Lawrence said as he took hold of the back of Roris' wheelchair and hurried into the room.

"Don't forget your keycard!" Gordon called out as the door closed in his face.

A moment later, the door opened again and Lawrence snatched the keycard from Gordon's hand as he quickly said, "Thanks!", then closed the door again.

* * * * *

"Would anyone like to volunteer to be next?" Gordon asked with a smile at the remainder of the group.

"I think Doris would feel better if we were close to Roris, just in case he needs us." Marcus said with a tender smile at his wife.

"Yes. I think that's a very good idea." Gordon said to Marcus as he handed him a keycard.

* * * * *

"I suppose we're next." Walter said as they arrived at the next room.

"Would you boys like to bunk in with us tonight?" Reginald asked gently.

Before Bax could even consider, Ro said, "You've always said that you and Dad love me and want to spend time with me, but at night you need your private time together. Me and Bax can stay in the next room."

"Are you okay with that?" Walter asked Gordon hesitantly.

"Of course. Here you go. A keycard for you, and one for the boys." Gordon said as he handed them out.

Bax took the keycard and held it like it was the key to adulthood.

"Cool. We got our own room." Ro whispered.

"If you would like to get settled in, I should be back in just a minute with your luggage." Gordon said with a tender smile at the boys.

"If you guys need me for anything, you remember where my room is, right?" Bug asked seriously.

"It's the second one from the elevator. I remember." Ro said confidently.

"Have fun." Bug said with a chuckle, then walked with Gordon back toward the elevator.

* * * * *

"Do you need my help with anything?" Bug asked as they walked.

"No. The hotel staff will bring up the luggage and I'll tell them which rooms to deliver it to. I think that since you'll be getting the luggage for your family, that you'll have plenty to do." Gordon said casually.

Bug shrugged, then said, "I have one pack for each of us, plus one with emergency supplies. It really isn't that much to sort out."

"For as young as you are, you seem to be incredibly focused. I think that your family is very fortunate to have you." Gordon said as he stopped at Bug's room door.

"It's me that's lucky. My Oma and my brother are the best family that anyone could ever ask for. They're both already better people than I'll ever be. I just do whatever I can to protect them from the things that might diminish the joy that they bring into this world." Bug said introspectively.

Gordon looked at Bug with surprise at the statement.

Bug noticed, then realized what he had said. "Fuck! It must be way past my bedtime if I started saying sappy shit like that."

Gordon chuckled, then said, "I'll be back with your bags in just a minute."

Bug watched him go, then turned to walk into his room.

* * * * *

As Bug looked around his room, he noticed that the desk area had ample outlets and an Internet connection. He went to the doorway and picked up his totebag then, as an afterthought, he picked up the bag that contained the medications.

It took a few minutes for Bug to get everything connected to his liking, but eventually he was online and sailing through the Internet, getting updates on dozens of seemingly minor developments around the country.

Although the big picture' was still eluding him, he could see enough in the developments to know that an unprecedented storm was brewing. Unless something very big and very unexpected happened very, very soon, things had the potential to spiral completely out of control.

Along with all the bad news, there was also some good. And Bug had to fight the urge to go to the dark areas to possibly get more detailed information. Although he had some formidable hacking skills, even he couldn't make a hotel Internet connection secure.

A knock on the door jolted Bug out of his thoughts.

He hurried to answer it, expecting it to be Gordon. It turned out to be one of the hotel staff, delivering his luggage.

"Where would you like these?" The young man asked respectfully.

"How about over there, by that couch?" Bug asked as he took out his wallet.

The young man moved the luggage trolley into the room and offloaded the four backpacks and two shopping bags.

"Thanks." Bug said as he held out a ten dollar bill.

"Thank you, but we've been instructed not to accept any gratuities from your party. We've been told that we will be generously compensated if you, our guests, are treated well and kept happy." The young man said seriously.

"I don't know who it is that's paying for all of this, but they sure are pulling out all the stops." Bug said frankly.

"If you don't mind me saying. I think that if you want to show your appreciation for their generosity, the best way might be to accept and enjoy it."

"Yeah. Thanks..." Bug paused as he read the young man's name badge, then continued, "Thanks, Hank, I'll keep that in mind."

Hank smiled at the sincere words, then wheeled his luggage trolley out of the room.

* * * * *

It only took a few minutes for Bug to get Oma Shoupe's medications together. After that, he grabbed the pack that held her emergency supplies and double checked to see that he had his keycard before he walked out his door and down the hall.

Bug knocked, then tried the door handle.

"Oma Shoupe, it's Bug. I've got your clothes and stuff."

"Give me just a minute. I'm not as young and spry as I used to be." Oma Shoupe called from inside the room.

Bug smiled, not bothered in the least at having to wait.

* * * * *

When the door finally opened, Oma Shoupe said, "I should probably just give you this card. I don't see myself leaving the room before it's time for us to check out."

"Actually, I think I'll just ask Gordon if he can get me an extra card for your room. That way, you won't have to get up to answer the door. You can just tell me to come in." Bug said as he walked slowly into the room with her.

"Isn't this place lovely? Even when your Opa Shoupe and I went to Niagara Falls for our honeymoon, the hotel wasn't as nice as this."

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. Remember that if you get hungry or thirsty or need anything at all, you can call room service or the front desk.

"I wouldn't want to take advantage." Oma Shoupe said slowly.

"I know. I feel the same way. But I think from everything we've seen so far, whoever is doing all this for us isn't worried about how much any of this is costing. They're just trying to be good hosts and see that we're being taken care of. I'm not going to order lobster and steak or anything, but if I'm hungry, I'll go ahead and ask for a ham sandwich or something. We'd be bad guests if we refused to accept their hospitality." Bug said frankly.

"I suppose you're right." Oma Shoupe said uncertainly.

"If you'll sit down, I'll go get you some water so you can take your pills." Bug said gently as he helped her to the chair in the little living room area of the suite.

"You're such a good boy, Bug. I only wish your mother could have lived to see the wonderful young man that you've become." Oma Shoupe said as she settled into the chair.

"I know that she's watching." Bug said gently.

Oma Shoupe smiled and nodded as she watched Bug hurry to the en suite bathroom to get a glass of water.

* * * * *

After a stop at his room to get Lawrence's medication, Bug walked the other way down the hall and knocked on his brother's door.

He was curious about the amount of time it took for the door to be answered, but as the door opened, he heard Lawrence saying, "It's okay. It's just my brother."

"I brought your..." Bug started to say, then stopped when he realized that Lawrence was standing before him stark naked and fully erect.

"Roris and I were just about to get started." Lawrence said happily.

Bug glanced across the room to find Roris also stark naked, and lying spread eagle on his belly on the bed.

"I brought your clothes and your medicine." Bug said as he fought to look his brother in the eyes.

"Oh. Okay." Lawrence said happily.

As Bug was about to hand the pills to his brother, he noticed the slimy goo coating his fingers.

"How about I get your water and give them to you?" Bug asked cautiously.

Lawrence looked at Bug with confusion, then down at his slimy hand.

"Oh. Yeah. That would be good." Lawrence said with a smile.

Bug dropped the pack of clothes, then walked to the bathroom to get a glass of water.

* * * * *

"Open up." Bug said as he approached.

Lawrence opened his mouth without hesitation and allowed Bug to place the pills on his tongue.

Next, Bug held the glass of water to Lawrence's lips and slowly tipped it as he drank.

"I'll stop by to wake you up at nine in the morning. You guys have fun." Bug said as he sat the empty glass aside.

"Okay. I love you, Bug." Lawrence said as he gave his younger brother a kiss on the cheek.

Bug smiled, then said, "I love you, too, Lor. Don't stay up too late."

"Okay." Lawrence said happily as he walked back to the bed.

Bug chuckled as he walked to the door and quietly left the room.

* * * * *

A knock on the door startled Bug out of his Internet surfing. He hadn't found any new information that was significant, but all of it still pointed to something very big and very bad looming on the horizon.

When he opened the door, he found Gordon carrying a plastic shopping bag.

"You asked for an extra keycard to your grandmother's room?" Gordon asked as he held the keycard out to him.

"Thanks. How is everything? Any news?" Bug asked as he accepted the keycard.

"No. But with any luck, the Chicago group is probably on their way by now." Gordon said frankly.

"Are you about done for the night?" Bug asked curiously.

"Yes. I'm just going to drop these pajamas off to the boys, then I'm on my way home. I'm going to owe the babysitter about five hours of double-time pay by the time I get there." Gordon chuckled.

"How many kids do you have?" Bug asked curiously.

"Three. Age eight, ten and thirteen." Gordon said with a weary look.

"Wow. Three? I bet they keep you busy." Bug smiled.

"Yes. I'm constantly amazed at how they can be little angels one minute and absolute demons the next." Gordon said with a wistful smile.

"I can take those to the boys, if you want to get home to your kids." Bug offered gently.

Gordon was surprised by the offer, but finally said, "Thank you, Bug. I really appreciate that."

"After everything you've done for us, it's the least I can do." Bug said honestly.

Gordon handed Bug the shopping bag, then said, "If you wouldn't mind, would you let the boys know that I'll be stopping by between nine and nine-thirty with some new clothes for them."

"Yeah. I'll tell them."

* * * * *

Bug knocked on the door and the door opened before he had even pulled his hand away.

Bax poked his head out the door and looked up and down the hallway before turning his attention to Bug.

"Gordon wanted me to give you guys these pajamas for tonight." Bug said as he held out the bag to Bax.

"I thought you was the room service guy. We ordered a pizza." Bax said happily.

Bug smiled, then said, "Well, just be sure not to make a mess. And Gordon wanted me to tell you that he was going to stop by between nine and nine-thirty in the morning with some new clothes for you for tomorrow."

"He's gonna buy us clothes?" Bax asked happily.

"Yeah. I told him that you didn't bring any clothes with you, so he wanted to get you some." Bug said honestly.

"Gordon and Lucas are both really nice." Bax said seriously.

"Yeah." Bug said with a smile.

"Is that the pizza?" Ro called from inside the room.

"No. It's Bug." Bax responded.

"You guys just remember to call me or come to my room if you need anything." Bug said quietly to Bax.

"Yeah. We're fine. Ro is finding us a good movie that we can watch when the pizza gets here." Bax said happily, then seemed to be struck with inspiration and suddenly asked, "Do you want to have pizza with us?"

Before Bug could answer, Bax called into the room, "Is it okay if Bug watches movies and has pizza with us?"

"Yeah. Bug's cool." Ro called in return.

"Come on. It'll be fun." Bax begged.

Bug thought for a moment and finally said, "Yeah. Okay."

Chapter 5: Want and Need

As Ben stepped aboard the plane, he was stopped in his tracks.

"I want to sit with you!" Loquicia whined like only a child can.

"Quicia, you're going to sit with your brother." Brother Jacques said firmly.

"But I wanna sit with you!" Loquicia whined even louder.

"I want to sit with you, too... when you're behaving like a good girl. But when you're like this, I want to sit as far away from you as possible." Brother Jacques said frankly.

Loquicia looked up at Jacques with surprise.

"Go and sit by your brother. And if you show me that you can behave yourself, then you and I can sit down together for a while, later." Brother Jacques said gently.

There were tears welled in Loquicia's eyes as she quietly said, "Thank you, Brother Jacques."

"I still love you, Quicia. I'll talk to you later." Brother Jacques said gently.

Ben smiled, feeling a great deal of respect for Brother Jacques, since he knew that he probably wouldn't have handled the situation as well.

"Ty and Dax, would you mind sitting across the aisle from Loquicia and Jamiah?" Brother Jacques asked as he looked at the boys.

"Do we have to?" Dax asked darkly.

"No. If there's somewhere else you'd rather sit, you can tell me and I'll consider it. But if it doesn't matter to you, then I'd like you to sit by Loquicia and Jamiah and keep an eye on things for me." Brother Jacques said reasonably.

After a moment of consideration, Dax let out a sigh and said, "I guess."

"What about Oleksandr?" One of the twins asked, holding the boy in his arms.

Brother Jacques looked at the sleeping boy and Ben could tell that he didn't know what was the best thing to do for him.

"He should probably sit with me..." Brother Jacques said slowly.

"I think it would make more sense if he sat with me." Ben said frankly.

Brother Jacques looked at Ben with surprise at the statement.

"You're kind of in charge of all the kids, so you don't need to be pinned down with one of them. I could take care of him and call you if there's a problem. But, this way, if one of the other kids needs you, then you'll be free to go and take care of them." Ben said frankly.

"You wouldn't mind?" Brother Jacques asked cautiously.

"Honestly, I'll just be happy to be able to do something to help."

Brother Jacques looked around to see if anyone had any other ideas, then he finally said, "I really appreciate you being willing to help. Father Doherty usually handles big stuff like this."

"I think you're doing great." Ben said as he put his arms out to accept the sleeping boy.

"Sit down by the window, then I'll put him in the seat next to you." One of the twins said gently.

Ben saw the sense in the suggestion and went to take his seat.

The twin gently placed Oleksandr on the seat beside Ben, then waited for a moment to be sure that the boy didn't fall.

Ben held his breath when Oleksandr started to stir, but all the little boy did was pat around with his hand for a moment, until he found Ben's bicep, then he snuggled against it and fell back to sleep.

Ben looked up and found both twins watching the scene with warm smiles.

Movement from the front of the cabin caused Ben to look up.

"Please, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Lucas, and I'm here to do my best to make your trip as enjoyable as possible. The luggage has been stowed and the pilot is going through his checklist as we speak. Before we take off, I need to ask any of you with cellphones to please remove the batteries." The man in the dark navy blue suit said seriously.

Ben fought to make his voice loud enough to be heard without being so loud that it woke the sleeping boy at his side. "My phone is sealed. I can't take the battery out."

Lucas seemed to consider for a moment, then said, "For your safety and the safety of the other passengers, I can't allow you to bring an active cellphone with us. I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you to leave your phone here."

"What are you worried about?" Ben asked curiously.

"I called my boss for clarification about this issue, to be sure of the need. And, before I tell you this, let me say that I know how paranoid it sounds." Lucas said as he looked around the cabin.

After a moment, he continued, "It is believed that the GPS tracking can be used to determine your location and track your movements, even if the phone is supposedly turned off. If two or more people that were already being tracked were to start traveling together, it would be reasonable to assume that some increased interest might be shown. We would prefer not to draw the interest of the type of people who would choose to exploit that technology." Lucas said carefully.

"I could put your phone in my vest. That would block the signal." Zane said cautiously.

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Zane's vest is a signal jammer. He has a tracking device surgically implanted inside him." Ben said frankly.

Lucas cautiously asked, "Do I want to know why?"

"Let's just say that our grandfather is very possessive and doesn't want anyone else playing with his toys." Ben said coldly.

Brother Jacques looked at Zane with wide eyes of concern.

Ben noticed and smiled slightly before saying, "If you can give me a minute, I could just put it in my car."

"Let me." One of the twins said as he held out his hand, then he quietly added, "Oleksandr needs his sleep."

Ben awkwardly shifted and pulled the phone out of his back pocket, then handed it over.

As the twin walked away, Ben thought to ask, "Do you need..."

He looked at the other twin and asked, "He doesn't need my keys, does he?"

"What fun would that be?" The twin responded with a grin.

Ben chuckled, then suddenly remembered something.

"Zane, check your batteries." Ben called out.

"Yes. Thank you, Ben." Zane responded quickly.

After watching Zane for a moment, Ben turned his attention to the sleeping child at his side.

The little boy was holding onto his arm, not tightly, but comfortably. And it seemed to Ben that the child just wanted to know that someone was there to protect him.

* * * * *

At the front of the cabin, Lucas slowly said, "Once we're in the air, you'll be able to release your seat belts and move around the cabin. At that time, our flight attendant, Jeremy, will have some snacks and drinks for you."

"Where are we going?" Brother Jacques asked cautiously, then watched as a twin walked past him and took the seat next to his brother, across the aisle from Ben.

"Our immediate destination is Kansas City, Missouri. When we land, you'll be taken to a hotel where you'll be able to get some rest and relax before we continue on to our final destination. Last I heard, those arrangements were still being made, so I'll give you more details in the morning at the hotel, before we leave for the airport." Lucas said seriously.

"You know we ain't got much money, right?" Brother Jacques asked apprehensively.

"All of you are our guests. You won't have to pay for anything. And if there's anything that any of you need, please let me know." Lucas said as he looked Brother Jacques in the eyes.

There was a low buzzing sound and Lucas looked toward the cockpit.

"Give me just a moment. I think that may be the pilot signaling that we're ready for takeoff." Lucas said as he walked to the front of the plane.

"Is everyone okay?" Brother Jacques asked as he looked around.

"I'm thirsty." Jamiah said tiredly.

"Just as soon as we're in the air, we'll get you a drink. It shouldn't be long." Brother Jacques assured.

Ben leaned a little to see what Lucas was doing and realized that he was closing the door of the aircraft.

"If everyone will please fasten your seat belts, we'll be ready for takeoff in just a moment." Lucas said as he looked around the cabin.

Ben was able to get hold of his seat belt with his one free hand, but hadn't quite worked out how to fasten it while one of his arms was being held captive.

"Can I help you with that?" A handsome young man in his mid twenties asked pleasantly.

The uniform that the young man was wearing identified him as being the flight attendant.

"Yes. If you wouldn't mind." Ben said shyly.

"That's what I'm here for. By the way, I'm Jeremy. If you need anything during the flight, just ask and I'll do my best to get it for you." The flight attendant said as he quickly and efficiently buckled Ben's lap belt.

"Thanks. I know that one of the kids is thirsty, but so far, I think I'm okay." Ben said honestly.

Jeremy took a moment to gently fasten Oleksandr's seat belt around him, then said, "As soon as we've leveled off after takeoff, I'll see to the drinks."

"Thanks." Ben said gratefully, then watched as Jeremy turned to check on the twins, across the aisle.

He overheard one of the twins say, "You're cute."

"So are you, both of you." Jeremy said pleasantly.

"Do you have some big bad boyfriend waiting for you when you get off work tonight?" One of the twins asked with undisguised interest.

"No. I thought I might have found someone, but it ended up not working out." Jeremy said regretfully.

"Well, if you're not doing anything after work, maybe we could hang out..." One of the twins said in a leading tone.

"Sorry guys. Even if I didn't have to get up early for work in the morning, I think I may need a little time. Even a small heartbreak needs time to heal." Jeremy said regretfully, then moved on to the row of seats behind them.

Ben looked across the aisle at the twins, who were wearing matching expressions of disappointment.

Although his first thought had been to assume that the twins were just being flirtatious, he started to realize that there was something more to their behavior.

"What's up, guys?" Ben asked quietly.

They both turned to look at Ben with question.

Ben cocked his head toward where the flight attendant had gone, then asked, "What was that all about?"

After a moment, one of the twins hesitantly said, "It looks like Jake is interested in your cousin. So, there's a good chance that they're going to be spending the night together."

The other twin continued the thought, "We usually sleep with Jake. And with everything going on, I guess we just don't want to be alone."

Ben almost pointed out that since there were two of them, they wouldn't actually be alone if they were together. But the concern in their eyes told him that what they were feeling was very real and troubling to them.

"Well, I'm not into guys, so don't expect anything to happen. But if you're just lonely, I wouldn't mind some company, tonight." Ben said frankly.

The twins shared a look, then one of them said, "Thanks. That sounds really nice."

Just then, the sound of the plane's engines filled their ears. A moment later, there was a sensation of movement.

Ben automatically brought his free hand to Oleksandr's head and gently held him as the plane picked up speed and eventually lifted into the air.

It seemed that the takeoff hadn't disturbed the boy at all, so as soon as they were in level flight, Ben carefully withdrew his hand.

"That was awesome!" One of the kids called out from behind him.

Although he couldn't be sure, he guessed from the sound of the voice that it was probably Ty.

Ben looked around to see that everything was okay, and he noticed that Brother Jacques and Zane had ended up sitting together. He couldn't see much from his vantage point, but surmised that they were engaged in a rather serious conversation.

* * * * *

"Would you care for a snack?" Jeremy asked as he walked up with a tray of sandwiches.

Ben hadn't been able to finish his dinner at the mission and was actually quite hungry.

"Yes... but I'm not sure how." Ben said as he looked down at the boy who was still holding on to his arm.

"If you can manage to unlatch your tray table, I think I can handle the rest." Jeremy suggested helpfully.

Ben was easily able to release the tray table with his free hand. Jeremy then placed a napkin and one of each of the three varieties of finger sandwiches on the napkin for him.

"Thanks." Ben said gratefully.

"Could I get you something to drink?" Jeremy asked gently.

"If you have something without caffeine, that would be great. I don't think I want to take the chance of being wide awake later." Ben said frankly.

"Do you think the boy might be ready for a drink?" Jeremy asked softly.

Ben considered for a moment, then said, "Even though I hate to wake him up, it would probably be best for him."

"I'll bring you two glasses." Jeremy said quietly, then turned to ask the twins what they would like.

* * * * *

"Do you want to wake up for just a minute?" Ben asked as he gently shook the little boy's shoulder.

It took a moment, but Oleksandr finally opened his big blue eyes.

"Hey, sleepyhead. I thought you might be ready for something to eat or a drink." Ben said gently.

Oleksandr blinked a few times, then quietly asked, "Where am I?"

"Brother Jacques wanted to take you someplace safe. So right now we're on a plane, going to Kansas City." Ben said carefully, hoping that the boy wasn't going to freak out on him.

There was a long moment of silence, then the boy quietly asked, "I don't have to go back to those people? To that man?"

Ben could see the hope in the boy's eyes, and gently whispered, "No. You don't have to go back there ever again."

"Who are you?" Oleksandr asked cautiously.

"My name is Ben. But Brother Jacques is right over there and the twins are just across the aisle. You know that they wouldn't let anything bad happen to you if they can help it." Ben said gently.

As Oleksandr was considering Ben's words, Jeremy arrived with a tray of drinks.

"Are you thirsty?" Ben asked as he accepted one of the plastic cups.

Oleksandr considered for a moment, then tentatively took one of his hands away from Ben's bicep just enough to take the cup of soda.

Ben accepted the other cup of soda from Jeremy, then smiled at him with appreciation.

Oleksandr drank down the soda in one continuous drink.

"Slow down. There's plenty." Ben whispered.

"I was really thirsty." Oleksandr explained.

"Would you like something to eat? We've got some little tiny sandwiches here if you're hungry." Ben asked quietly as he sat his cup of soda on the tray table.

Oleksandr reached for one of the sandwiches, but still had the empty cup in his hand and hadn't released Ben's arm with the other.

"Let me help you." Ben said as he took the empty glass from Oleksandr's hand and replaced it with one of the sandwiches.

The boy wolfed down the sandwich like he hadn't eaten in days, and from what little Ben knew about the boy, it was actually quite possible that he hadn't.

Ben looked around quickly and was happy to find Jeremy looking back in his general direction.

He motioned to the flight attendant, beckoning him to come.

"Is there any way we could have a few more of these?" Ben asked as he looked down to the tray table where now there was only a napkin and an empty cup.

Jeremy smiled, then quietly said, "Of course. I'll be right back."

Ben looked down to find Oleksandr, washing down the sandwiches with the second glass of soda.

"Better?" Ben asked gently.

Oleksandr considered for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Jeremy is going to bring us more if you're still hungry." Ben said with a smile.

Without hesitation, Oleksandr nodded again.

Ben chuckled as he noticed that Oleksandr still hadn't released his bicep.

* * * * *

"Loquicia's asleep." Jamiah said as he walked up the aisle to Brother Jacques.

"That's good. I thought with as whiny as she was being that she might need to get some rest." Brother Jacques said simply.

"You're not mad at her, are you?" Jamiah asked cautiously.

Brother Jacques chuckled and pulled the boy into a one armed hug before saying, "No. I'm not mad at anyone. But, you might want to let your sister know that whining and throwing a fit won't work with me. I'm responsible for all of you now, so when I make a decision, I need for you to listen to me. If you disagree with me, you can just tell me and there's a chance that I'll reconsider."

Jamiah thought about the words for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"You know that I love you, right?" Brother Jacques asked quietly.

Jamiah seemed uncertain, but finally nodded again.

Ben smiled at the sight of the 13 or 14 year old boy being held and comforted.

Just then, the flight attendant, Jeremy, returned with another tray of finger sandwiches and two more glasses of soda.

"You still hungry?" Ben gently asked the boy at his side.

Oleksandr looked up at him with his bright blue eyes and nodded vigorously.

"If you'll sit back, I'll lay this out for you." Jeremy suggested gently.

"Yeah. Thanks." Ben said gratefully.

Jeremy quickly placed the two drinks and several small sandwiches on a fresh napkin on the tray table.

Oleksandr immediately grabbed one of the sandwiches and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Slow down. If you eat too fast, you'll make yourself sick." Ben said gently.

Oleksandr stopped all movement, then looked up at Ben cautiously.

Ben noticed and quietly said, "I'm not mad at you. I'm just saying that if you keep eating that fast, you might give yourself a tummy ache."

Oleksandr watched Ben for a moment longer before he started slowly chewing his food.

"You guys let me know if you need anything else, alright?" Jeremy asked gently.

"I think we're good for now. Thanks." Ben said gratefully.

"We'll be landing before very long, so I'll be back in a few minutes to pick up anything that's left." Jeremy said pleasantly before withdrawing.

* * * * *

"How is he?"

Ben startled at the sound and looked up into the concerned eyes of the fifteen year old boy, Dax.

"Okay. I think. Once he had something to eat and drink, he fell right back to sleep." Ben said as he glanced at the little boy, holding onto his bicep like it was his teddy bear.

"Yeah, well, sometimes it works that way at first, but then you remember." Dax said distantly.

Ben looked at the boy curiously, feeling that Dax was on the verge of divulging something very personal.

After a long thoughtful moment, Dax finally continued, "Don't give up on him, okay? If he screams or cries or says that he hates you, don't give up. It's not you that he's mad at."

Ben slowly nodded.

"But, if he's having trouble and he needs to talk to someone who understands... you know, I'm here." Dax said uncomfortably.

Ben got the sense that Dax didn't want to discuss 'why' he understood and that it was only his concern for Oleksandr that let him reveal as much as he had.

"Thanks, Dax. I may take you up on that." Ben said quietly, then gently added, "I've never been through anything like what he has. I've never even known anyone who went through it. I'll be willing to hold and comfort him for as long as he needs me, but I don't think that I'll ever really 'understand'."

A single tear escape Dax's eye before the boy quickly turned and dashed down the aisle.

Ben didn't know if he had said something wrong or if Dax had just reached his emotional limit. But he had the feeling that if Oleksandr started having problems dealing with what had been done to him, that Dax could be instrumental in helping him through it. And, in the process, the experience might end up being of benefit to Dax, as well.

* * * * *

"Attention, everyone." Lucas said from the front of the cabin.

Ben turned his attention forward as he felt Oleksandr stirring at his side.

"The pilot has just informed me that in a few minutes we'll begin our approach into Kansas City. If you'll please find your seats and fasten your seat belts, Jeremy will be making a quick round of the cabin to help any of you who may need it." Lucas said seriously.

There was a little rustling as people put their seats upright, but no one replied to Lucas otherwise.

After a moment for everyone to settle, Lucas continued, "I realize that all of this is rather sudden, and that most, if not all, of you weren't planning to take a trip on such short notice. That being the case, please feel free to ask for anything that you might need to make you or the other members of your party comfortable."

"There was something I was kind of wondering about." Brother Jacques said hesitantly.

Lucas turned his attention to Brother Jacques and asked, "What might that be?"

"Well, when we got on the plane, it was at an abandoned airfield, so there weren't any metal detectors or anything, but... well, is that something we're going to have to worry about?"

"No. This plane, and the one we will be using tomorrow are privately owned and operated. You will be taken to and from the planes and won't have to go through the regular airport security." Lucas said seriously, then cautiously asked, "May I ask why?"

"Zane's vest. It'd probably trip the metal detector real good, and then the rent-a-cop wannabes at security would make him take it off, and probably wreck his jammer at the same time. Then he'd be screwed." Brother Jacques said frankly.

Lucas nodded his understanding, then said, "Please trust me, I'll personally see to it that you don't have to worry about security."

* * * * *

Oleksandr was awake, and clutching tightly to Ben's arm through the entire landing procedure. Although Ben didn't think that the boy was necessarily scared, he got the sense that Oleksandr needed the feeling of 'connection' for a variety of reasons.

When the plane had finally come to a complete stop, Ben quietly asked, "Would you like to walk on your own or would you like for me to carry you?"

"It hurts when I walk." Oleksandr whispered.

"Then I'll carry you for as long as you need me to." Ben said gently.

Oleksandr tried to climb out of his seat and into Ben's lap, but Ben stopped him.

"I'll need to stand up before I can pick you up." Ben said carefully.

Oleksandr's mind seemed to be racing, not knowing whether to accept it or panic.

"You can hold my hand until I'm standing, if that makes it easier." Ben gently offered.

That compromise seemed to be enough for Oleksandr, and he reluctantly let loose of his hold on Ben's bicep and slid his hand down until he was holding Ben's hand.

It took a little effort for Ben to get up and around Oleksandr while holding onto his hand, but he was finally able to make it to the aisle.

"Come on up. I'm ready." Ben said with a smile at the boy.

Oleksandr didn't need to be told twice.

A lamprey eel couldn't have found a more secure grip.

"You, too?" A voice asked from behind Ben.

He turned to find Brother Jacques tenderly holding Loquicia, who was fast asleep, and one of the twins was carrying Ty.

"Yeah. Except my little buddy did all his sleeping already. He just doesn't feel like walking." Ben said honestly.

Brother Jacques' expression dimmed a little as he said, "I imagine that he wouldn't."

"It's fine. I don't mind carrying him." Ben said casually.

Brother Jacques seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then said to one of the twins, "I think one of you should help Oleksandr get cleaned up before he goes to bed."

"I don't mind helping him." Ben said with surprise at the suggestion.

"I know." Brother Jacques said quietly, then added, "But he probably has some... damage, down there. It may be more than you can deal with."

Although Ben didn't want to admit it, he knew that Brother Jacques might very well be right.

As he was about to agree, he noticed Dax watching their conversation with thinly disguised interest.

"Would it be okay if Dax helped me?" Ben asked cautiously, then hurried to explain, "He's closer to Oleksandr's age, and then if there's a problem, one of us can stay with Oleksandr while the other calls you or the twins."

"If you're sure..." Brother Jacques said uncertainly, then looked at Dax with question.

"Yeah. I'll help." Dax said reluctantly, obviously not wanting to, but at the same time feeling that he should.

"It looks like Lucas is waiting for us." Zane said quietly.

"And Ty is getting heavy." One of the twins said uncomfortably.

"Let's go." Ben said decisively as he started to walk forward.

* * * * *

"No way!" One of the twins gasped when he saw the two limousines waiting for them.

Lucas chuckled at the reaction, then said, "Trust me, this is all for you guys."

"You don't get somethin for nothin. What are you going to want from us?" Brother Jacques asked as he slowed his steps.

Lucas was surprised by the question and the suspicious look on his face.

"If it was just me, it'd be different. But I got these kids to look out for." Brother Jacques explained.

"I don't know what you're asking." Lucas said cautiously.

"All I want to know is, when we get where we're going, what's going to happen to the kids?" Brother Jacques asked seriously.

Lucas thought for a moment, then slowly said, "Our ultimate goal is to make them as safe and secure as they can possibly be. They weren't safe in Chicago, or you would still be there. Although they're safe here, we can't guarantee that it will stay that way. So we want to take you to the safest place that we can find, with the least chances of the children being targeted or in some way hurt."

"Why?" Brother Jacques asked cautiously, and seemed to be teetering on the edge of accepting Lucas' assurances.

"Short answer, you asked for help, so we tried to give it to you. If we could help everyone, we would, but of course that's not possible. So, for now, we're helping those who ask, to the best of our ability."

After a moment of thought, Brother Jacques said, "Alright. Let's get in the cars, it's getting cold out here."

* * * * *

Ben looked at the two limousines.

Brother Jacques carried Loquicia toward the first limousine with Jamiah tagging along beside him.

Zane and one of the twins followed along next.

Ben didn't know how many people could fit in a stretch limo, but thought that it would make sense for him to get into the second one.

He carried Oleksandr and noticed that Dax was at his side.

The second twin followed him, carrying Ty.

As Ben was getting into the car, he noticed Lucas approaching.

"Would you mind if I ride along? I'd like to ask you about something." Lucas asked quietly.

"Sure, no problem." Ben said simply as he awkwardly climbed into the limousine, being careful not to jostle Oleksandr too much.

* * * * *

Once everyone was seated, Lucas quietly said, "Please forgive me for asking, but I've noticed that the boy seems to be in pain. Is there anything I can do?"

Ben looked at the twin uncertainly, not knowing how much he should reveal.

"Yeah. He got hurt, but it's no worse than what's happened to other homeless kids. We'll get him through it." The twin said frankly.

Ben was a bit shocked that the twin spoke of a little boy being beaten and raped so casually, but unfortunately, it probably wasn't all that uncommon among the homeless in the streets of Chicago.

"Does he need a doctor?" Lucas asked cautiously.

Ben decided that, for whatever reason, he trusted Lucas, at least enough to clue him in on what was really going on. "Listen. If you're asking if he might benefit from some medical attention, then the answer is 'yes'. Me and Dax and maybe whichever twin this is will take care of that as best we can. But if you're asking if Oleksandr needs to see a doctor, then the answer is 'no', because a doctor would be required, by law, to report what he found and then, no matter how that went, it's likely that none of us would be leaving Kansas City anytime soon."

"If there's anything I can do to help, any medical supplies..." Lucas trailed off quietly.

"If anything comes up, we'll be sure to let you know." Ben said as he sadly smiled at the boy who was clutching his arm.

Lucas watched the scene as his mind drifted to those near and dear to him.

Suddenly, they were pulling up in front of the hotel. Lucas was surprised that he had been unaware of the passage of time as they rode.

* * * * *

After a brief stop at the front desk, Lucas led their little group to the nearest elevator.

"If you'll come this way, we'll get all of you into your rooms." Lucas said as he stepped off the elevator and walked to the right.

"What about our stuff?" One of the twins asked cautiously.

"The bellboy will be up with all your things in just a moment. I suppose it would be best if we waited on him to get here." Lucas said consideringly.

"Hey, Lucas!" A voice called from down the hall.

Everyone turned and looked at the skinny, older teenager as he approached.

"Bug, come over here. I'd like for you to meet the group from Chicago." Lucas said happily.

"Bug?" Ben asked incredulously.

"Everyone, this is one of the members of the Orlando group, his name is Bug." Lucas said, ignoring Ben's comment completely.

It took a moment for Bug to catch up to them, but he finally said, "Isn't this place great? We couldn't believe it when we got here."

"Yeah. It's a little hard to believe." Brother Jacques said frankly.

"I'm surprised to see you. I expected all of you to be asleep by now." Lucas said honestly.

"When I went to give the boys their pajamas, they invited me to stay and eat pizza and watch a movie with them." Bug said with a slight smile.

"Oh? What movie did you watch?" Lucas asked curiously.

"I don't know what it was called. It had all kinds of CGI explosions and stuff, and this guy was running around, mostly trying to get this skinny girl's attention, but she treated him like shit. Finally, after he saves her boney ass about a hundred or so times, she finally gives in and gives him a kiss, right at the end of the movie... it kind of made me ashamed to be a guy." Bug said frankly.

"Are the boys asleep?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Yeah. They were both asleep by the second explosion." Bug chuckled, then added, "I don't know why I kept watching it. I guess I was hoping that it would get better. But it never really did."

The sound of the elevator opening caused everyone to turn and look.

"Good. Now that we have the luggage, I suppose we can begin." Lucas said with a smile, then indicated for Hank to pull the luggage cart over to the first door.

Bug smiled at Hank and fell into step at his side.

"Who wants to be first?" Lucas asked as he looked around.

"How about I take this room and we put Loquicia and Jamiah in the next room, so I can put her down?" Brother Jacques asked hopefully.

"We can do that." Lucas said happily, then walked to the second door and opened it for Jacques.

"Jamiah, would you get you and your sister's bags?" Brother Jacques asked as he walked past Lucas to put Loquicia in her bed.

"Can Ty have the next room? I'm gonna drop him if I don't put him down soon." One of the twins said in an exhausted voice.

Lucas chuckled as he hurried to the next room to unlock the door.

As soon as the door was open, the twin rushed past Lucas and ran to the bed.

"I'll leave him a note to let him know that I'm in the next room, in case he wakes up and gets scared." Dax said as he walked past Lucas.

"Good idea, Dax." The twin said admiringly as he waited for Dax to finish his note on the hotel stationary.

"So that means that you're next?" Lucas asked as he held out a keycard.

"Yeah." Dax said quietly as he accepted the card from Lucas.

* * * * *

"Zane, I'd really like to continue the conversation from the plane. Would you like to share a room with me?" Brother Jacques asked hesitantly.

After a moment to get over the surprise, Zane slightly smiled and nodded his agreement.

Ben noticed a crestfallen look fall over first one twin's face, then the other.

Oleksandr shifted in his arms and he suddenly realized that he might have a problem.

As he tried to think of what he could do, he noticed Bug, helping the bellboy retrieve Dax's luggage.

"Bug?" Ben asked cautiously, trying to draw his attention without alerting everyone in the hallway.

"Yeah?" Bug asked as he walked to Ben's side.

Before Ben could say anything, Bug looked at Oleksandr and said, "Hey, guy. What're you doing up so late?"

Oleksandr giggled at the attention and squirmed in Ben's arms.

"I'm Ben. I know it's strange to ask this, but is there any way you could think about doing me a huge favor?" Ben asked slowly, not knowing why he was asking anything of a complete stranger.

"What's up?" Bug asked curiously.

"Do you see the twins over there..." Ben started to ask but was interrupted.

"Are you kidding, they'd be kind of hard to miss." Bug said as he turned and gave them a long look.

"Listen. From what I gather, the twins are used to spending the night with Brother Jacques. It's the only way that they feel safe. But it looks like Brother Jacques is interested in my cousin, Zane. So, now the twins are kind of left on their own." Ben said quietly.

"Yeah?" Bug asked as he picked up on Ben's concern.

"I volunteered to let them stay with me, but that was before I started taking care of Oleksandr. There's no way that Oleksandr is going to want to be left alone tonight." Ben said, even more slowly.

"So you want me to spend the night with two identical, gorgeous guys. Is that what you're asking?" Bug asked with a smile.

"Of course, it's only if the twins want to. But I thought, maybe, you could let them know that it would be okay if they spent the night in your room." Ben finished hesitantly.

"Introduce me to them." Bug said simply.

"You'll do it?" Ben asked with surprise.

"Hey. I'm willing to give it a shot... maybe two." Bug finished with a grin.

"This isn't about getting laid. I'm just saying that the guys really don't want to be alone. Will you treat them right?" Ben asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Don't worry. I'm not really an asshole, I just act like one sometimes." Bug said quietly.

Ben smiled at the answer, then guided Bug over to the twins and said, "Bug, these guys are Ken and Kev, but don't ask me to tell you which is which."

"Don't worry about it. We're pretty much interchangeable." One of the twins said with a smile.

"Ben told me that you guys really don't want to be alone tonight." Bug said frankly.

Both twins looked at Ben with expressions of hurt and betrayal.

"Sorry." Ben said quietly, wanting to slink away under their combined glares.

"Listen, guys. I have my own room. Right over there. If you guys want to stay with me, it's fine. And if not, that's fine, too." Bug said simply.

The twins shared a look of uncertainty.

"Look at me. There's no way I could force one of you to do anything you didn't want to, much less two of you. So you don't have to worry about me doing anything you don't want. We can talk or sleep or whatever you want." Bug said frankly.

The twins seemed to be conflicted, but on the verge of agreeing.

"To tell you the truth, I don't feel like being alone tonight anymore than you two do. I think being alone would give me too much time to think about someone." Bug finished quietly.

"You have a boyfriend?" One of the twins asked cautiously.

"No. We never hooked up. But I wanted to, really bad. It couldn't have worked, but I really liked him." Bug said sadly.

"Even a small heartbreak needs time to heal." One of the twins said frankly.

Bug looked at him with surprise, then firmly said, "Fuck time! I'm right here, right now, and I don't want to be alone."

First one twin, then the other began to smile. Finally, one of them said, "You won't have to be."

"Goodnight, Ben." One of the twins said as he walked to Bug's right side.

"Thanks." The other said as he walked to Bug's left.

"I'm glad I could help." Ben said with amusement bubbling up within him.

"Do you guys need to get your luggage?" Bug asked curiously.

"Yeah." Both twins answered in unison.

"Do you guys want separate rooms, or will you be sharing one?" Lucas asked as he walked up to the twins at the luggage trolley.

"We're staying with Bug." One of the twins said happily.

Lucas turned and looked at Bug with surprise.

Bug shrugged, but couldn't restrain his smile.

"You guys have fun." Lucas chuckled.

"If you insist." One of the twins said as he picked up his backpack.

"You are the host." The other twin said with a smile.

"We wouldn't want to be rude." Bug said sweetly.

Lucas couldn't restrain a laugh and nodded at them.

Once the twins had each retrieved a backpack, Bug smiled as he led them to his room.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught an expression of something like surprise or disappointment on Hank's face.

* * * * *

"Do you know what we need to do?" Ben asked Dax cautiously.

After a moment of consideration, Dax quietly asked, "Oleksandr, do you remember me?"

The boy held a little bit tighter to Ben, then quietly said, "I remember that you were at the mission, back when I was there, before."

"That's right. My name is Dax."

Oleksandr cautiously nodded.

"I heard what you told the twins at the mission. I know you were hurt." Dax said gently, watching carefully for Oleksandr's reaction.

When the boy only slightly nodded, Dax continued, "You need to get a bath, and Ben and I need to see how bad you're hurt."

Oleksandr clutched Ben a little more tightly and buried his face in Ben's shoulder.

"We won't do anything unless you say it's okay, and we promise not to hurt you. But it's important for us to see how bad you're hurt, so we'll know how to make you get better faster." Dax said gently.

Ben tightened his grip on the boy in his arms and whispered, "If you want, you can hold onto me the whole time. I won't let you go."

Oleksandr pulled away enough to look into Ben's eyes hopefully.

Ben slightly smiled, and said, "Okay. It looks like we have a deal."

* * * * *

"You can put your backpacks over there with mine, if you want." Bug said as he led the way into his room.

Both twins deposited their backpacks by Bugs in the living room area of the suite.

"Do you guys want to shower or eat or... what?" Bug asked uncertainly.

"Right now, what I want to do most is sleep." One of the twins said frankly.

"We can shower in the morning. It's been a really long day." The other twin agreed.

"I think I'm running on adrenaline right now. When my head hits the pillow, I'll probably be out like a light." Bug admitted.

The twins nodded in perfect unison.

"Do you guys sleep, um... naked?" Bug asked cautiously, not knowing which answer he was hoping for.

"Sometimes. But usually it's underwear and maybe a t shirt." One of the twins said simply.

"Oh. Me too." Bug said shyly.

"You don't mind if we go right to bed, do you? I mean, you're not, like, disappointed, are you?" One of the twins asked quietly.

"No. I don't have my heart set on anything, I'm just... I don't usually do stuff like this." Bug mumbled.

"We're only used to sleeping with Jake." The other twin said gently, trying to put Bug at ease.

Without warning, Bug toed off his shoes, then started taking off his pants.

It took a moment, but soon the twins were following his lead.

In less than a minute, the three of them were standing in a rough triangle, wearing only their socks, t shirts and underwear.

"Do you need to do anything before you go to bed?" One of the twins asked.

Bug thought for a moment, then reached back to pull the hair tie and release his ponytail.

One of the twins turned to face away as the other twin walked up behind him and took off the hair tie that was keeping his braid in place.

Bug automatically walked behind the second twin and did the same.

Although Bug hadn't noticed before, the braid actually had six hair ties, spaced evenly down the length of the braid.

He found the sensation of unbraiding the hair and setting it free kind of relaxing and surprisingly intimate.

When he was finished unbraiding the hair before him, the twin turned around and Bug's breath caught in his throat.

The twins were as cute as they could be when their hair was braided, but now, with it let down, their hair flowed in long gentle waves. They were both stunning to behold.

From the look in the twins' eyes, they appeared to be thinking the same thing about him.

"Let's get to bed." One of the twins whispered.

"Yeah." Bug agreed as he forced himself to take a step.

Suddenly, he realized something that puzzled him.

The twins were gorgeous. He found that from the little time that they had spent together, that he really liked them, but for some reason, he wasn't the slightest bit aroused.

He followed along and was guided to take the center position in the bed, with a twin on each side.

"I hope you don't mind a little spooning." One of the twins said quietly.

"I suppose there's no better time to find out." Bug said as he turned onto his side.

* * * * *

Ben was so thankful for Dax that he didn't have enough words to express it adequately.

From his point of view, all he did was hold on to Oleksandr and try to keep him calm while Dax slowly undressed the boy.

"Are you okay, Buddy?" Ben asked gently.

"You're not going to..." Oleksandr choked on the word.

"No. All I'm going to do is stay right here and hold you. And all Dax is going to do is wash you and make sure that you're not hurt too bad." Ben said as he fought to hold back his tears.

"Ben?" Dax said cautiously.

The sound sent a chill up Ben's spine, but he forced himself to look at Dax to find out what was wrong.

"The stuff on his back and legs, that'll heal up just fine, but back here... there's some tearing and it's bruised pretty bad." Dax said queasily.

"Let me go for a second, Oleksandr, I need to look." Ben said gently.

Oleksandr held tighter and shook his head.

Ben thought for a moment, then quietly asked, "Is there anything we can do to help him?"

"I don't know. I'm sure the doctors would give him some shots and pills and stuff for pain and to keep it from getting infected. But we don't have any of that stuff." Dax said helplessly.

"Wait. If you'll go in the other room and get the brown leather pouch out of my suitcase, I've got my bathroom stuff. I have some antibiotic ointment and some Tylenol in there. That should work, shouldn't it?" Ben asked hopefully.

"I don't see why it wouldn't. Hang on. I'll get it." Dax said quickly, then dashed out of the room.

"We're going to make you all better, Oleksandr." Ben said as he held the boy firmly.

* * * * *

"I've never slept with anyone before." Bug whispered.

"Are you saying that you're a virgin?" The twin in front of him asked.

"No. I fucked a few times, I've just never 'slept' with anyone before." Bug said honestly.

"Well, I hope it doesn't bother you." The twin behind him said gently.

"It's nice so far." Bug said with a smile.

"Thanks for doing this, Bug. With so much going on, I just don't know if we could have handled being alone right now." The twin behind him admitted shyly.

"I've never really been alone. I've always had someone, my Oma or my brother. But I think one of the things that I'm most afraid of is that someday they'll be gone, then... I don't know what I'll do. They've been my whole life." Bug said distantly.

"Ken grew up with our dad. I grew up with our mom, the bitch. When dad died, Ken came to live with me in Chicago, but the bitch packed her shit and skipped town before she even got to meet him." Kev said quietly.

"Kev accepted me, even though I didn't know anything about how to survive in a place like Chicago. When some pimps and drug dealers got into a big fight, Jake came and got us and... well, we barely got out of there alive. But we survived and that's when we found the mission." Ken finished in a contented voice.

"Father Doherty took us in. He helped Jake get into a good rehab. He gave us a place to live where we didn't have to worry about selling drugs or being whored out. He must have saved our lives a hundred different ways." Kev said in wonder.

"Me and the father even taught Kev how to read and helped him so that before long, we were able to get the same grades in school and eventually graduate together." Ken said warmly.

"It sounds like you guys have been through a lot." Bug said thoughtfully.

"It's nothing compared to what Jake's been through. His dad killed his mom, then got sent to prison. Jake started running drugs and whoring, because there was no other way for him to survive. Later, he started using drugs, and we're talking the hardcore stuff." Kev said frankly.

"But while he was in rehab, he found out about his HIV. I don't think he ever cared about himself, if it killed him, but he wouldn't ever want to pass it on to someone else. He never whored himself again after that." Ken said quietly.

"But right after he got out, he was wanting to use so bad it was almost killing him. Me and Ken were really worried about him, so we stayed with him one night, just to try to keep him from using. That's when he told us that being alone is kind of a trigger for him. Since that night, he's never been alone." Kev finished seriously.

Bug couldn't think of anything to say. His mind didn't even seem to be able to accept all of what Jake and the twins had been through.

* * * * *

The application of the antiseptic salve was a little bit traumatic for Oleksandr (and Dax, too, for that matter). But the boy got through it with Ben's help. And finally, clean and dressed in one of Ben's t shirts, Oleksandr was ready for bed.

"Do you think he can have a whole one of these or should I cut it in half?" Ben asked cautiously as he looked at the Tylenol bottle.

"I'd say a whole one. But those things really mess with my stomach. You might want to give it to him with some food." Dax said cautiously.

"Well, since 'someone' ate every single sandwich the flight attendant brought to us, I'm about starved. So I think we should call room service and order up a good meal for three." Ben said as he tenderly held Oleksandr close to his side.

"I should probably go back to my room." Dax said uncertainly.

"You can if you want, but aren't you hungry, too?" Ben asked curiously.

"I am." Dax reluctantly admitted.

"Well, before it gets any later, I'm calling room service. If you want anything, just tell me." Ben said as he picked up the small menu from beside the phone, then dialed the room service number.

After establishing which room it was for, Ben said, "I'd like two deluxe bacon cheeseburgers."

"Me too." Oleksandr said hopefully.

"Make it three." Ben said into the phone, then looked at Dax with question.

After a moment of hesitation, Dax slowly nodded.

"Make it five." Ben said into the phone, then smiled at Dax's look of surprise.

"Do you want fries with that?" Ben asked as he turned his attention to Oleksandr.

The boy nodded vigorously.

"Three orders of fries." Ben said seriously, then smiled and added, "And three orders of onion rings."

Oleksandr's smile was luminous and Dax was even starting to grin.

"I think three large cokes and three large milkshakes should just about do it." Ben finished with a smile, then put the mouthpiece of the phone against his shoulder as he quietly asked, "Do you want dessert?"

"I don't think there's any way we're going to be able to eat all of what you just ordered." Dax said frankly.

Ben nodded soberly, then said into the phone, "Three slices of apple pie."

Dax's mouth fell open in shock.

"Great! Thanks!" Ben said happily, then hung up the phone.

"There's no way on earth that we're going to be able to eat all that food." Dax said seriously.

"No. But from the looks of it, I'm betting that neither one of you two has known what a full belly feels like for quite a while. And, honestly, I can't remember the last time I was this hungry. So, tonight, I'm pigging out. And y'all are invited." Ben said with a grin.

Dax considered for a moment, then broke into a smile.

"I'm betting that this place probably has a few movie channels on the TV. Would you like to do the honors?" Ben asked as he rested back onto the couch, carrying Oleksandr with him.

"What do you want to watch?" Dax asked cautiously.

"I don't know, see if you can find that movie Bug was talking about with all the CGI explosions and the boney assed girl." Ben said as he cuddled Oleksandr to his side.

"But he said it wasn't very good." Dax said cautiously.

"Hey, with explosions and a boney assed girl, how bad can it be?" Ben chuckled.

"I'm afraid we're going to find out. This is probably it, the next pay-per-view starts in ten minutes. Are you sure you want to watch it?" Dax asked uncertainly.

"You've got ten minutes to find something better." Ben said with a smile.

* * * * *

"Are you asleep?" Bug whispered.

"Not yet." Ken said softly.

"There's something, it's none of my business, and you can tell me so if you want, but I was kind of wondering... you two are so sexy and hot. Did you ever... I mean, living on the streets, there must have been people who wanted you." Bug stammered.

"Are you asking if we ever did it for money?" Ken asked gently.

"Yeah. And if you did, that's okay. I'm just having trouble seeing how as drop-dead gorgeous as you two are, you could 'not' do it." Bug said honestly.

"Well, the simple answer is, 'no' we haven't. For a long time, Kev had a big problem with the idea. He saw several people in his life go from being perfectly normal one day and transform into sweating, shaking drug addicted wrecks the next. He always told me that it was the whoring that started them down that path." Ken said softly.

"But I know people must have wanted you..." Bug said insistently.

"Sure they did. But it was mostly Jake that kept them off of us. When he got out of the rehab and really committed himself to staying clean, we made him a deal. We'd protect him in the night, if he'd protect us in the day." Ken said distantly.

"So, between Jake and Father Doherty, you two were able to keep away from whoring and drugs, plus you were able to finish high school?" Bug asked curiously.

"Yeah. Even though I might not have felt like it at the time, looking back, I was really lucky." Ken said contentedly.

"By the way, how old are you guys?" Bug asked cautiously.

"Eighteen. We'll be nineteen next month." Ken said frankly, then asked, "What about you?"

"I'm seventeen until next summer." Bug said reluctantly.

"Don't worry, there's no rush. I'll tell you a little secret. Eighteen's kind of a letdown. When the day finally comes, it turns out that it's really no big deal." Ken said softly, then whispered, "Go to sleep."

"Yeah. Goodnight, Ken." Bug whispered in return, then brushed some hair out of the way before kissing Ken on the ear.

* * * * *

"Oh my God! These hamburgers are AWESOME!" Ben said between bites.

"French fries!" Oleksandr crowed as he dipped three more in a puddle of catsup before stuffing the entire dripping mess into his mouth.

"Seriously, guys. Have you ever had onion rings this good before in your LIFE? These are to DIE FOR!" Dax exclaimed in flamboyant glee.

"I know what it is. You're probably used to the factory made ones that most places have, what you have in front of you right now is homemade handmade onion rings. My friend Danny's mom makes them, and... calling those other things onion rings is just wrong. They're crap. Real is the best." Ben said seriously.

"I don't care! They're WONDERFUL!" Dax said happily.

"French fries!" Oleksandr called out before stuffing his face with yet another dripping handful of fries.

"Hey, look! Boney-ass is gonna get crushed!" Ben said as he pointed at the TV.

"Don't worry. Gym-bunny's got his unlimited ammo gun, so she's got nothing to worry about." Dax said as he turned a little of his attention toward the screen.

"How's that going to help against a car?" Ben asked, then his eyes went wide as his question was answered.

"Seriously?! He blew up that car with a fucking gun?" Dax asked in astonishment

"And what was that car carrying? C-4 cubes in vats of gasoline? " Ben asked as he watched the phenomenal CGI explosion.

"Oh look. The explosion was so bad that Gym-bunny got a smudge on his face." Dax said with a girlish giggle.

"I bet that Boney-ass doesn't even wipe it off for him." Ben said frankly.

All three of them watched and waited until 'Boney-ass' declared what a strong and self-reliant woman she was and walked away.

"Bitch!" Dax said to the screen, then glanced at Ben and said, "Sorry."

"Don't be. You called it right." Ben said before taking another bite of his hamburger.

Dax looked at Ben curiously for a moment, then quietly said, "Thanks."

"For what?" Ben asked around a mouthful of food.

"I don't know. For letting me be me. There's not many people I can be myself around." Dax said shyly.

Ben thought about it for a moment, then said, "I like you like this, being open and free. But I kind of like the gloomy sarcastic you, too. So just be whoever you want to be and I'm fine with it."

"If I could find a guy like you..." Dax began to say, but was interrupted.

"Look! Boney-ass is about to get herself in trouble again!" Ben said as he pointed at the screen.

"Don't go in there you stupid bitch!" Dax called at her.

After a few seconds, Dax shook his head in exasperation and said, "I told her not to go in there."

"Don't worry, I have faith! Gym-bunny will come to her rescue!" Ben said dramatically.

A long moment of silence was broken by Oleksandr calling out, "French fries!"

Chapter 6: A New Dawn Closes

The ringing of a phone jarred Bug out of a deep sleep.

When it rang again, Bug finally realized that it wouldn't stop until he answered it.

He was struck with the sudden realization that he wasn't alone in his bed when he tried to reach for the source of the ringing and encountered a shoulder in his path.

"Do you want me to get it?" Ken muttered in a barely coherent voice.

"Could you hand it to me?" Bug asked hopefully.

Ken grunted, then lifted the handset and passed it to Bug.

"Hello?" Bug asked in a low rough voice.

"Bug. There's something that you need to see." A female voice said seriously.

"Oma Shoupe?" Bug asked blearily.

"Can you come to my room? You really need to see this." Oma Shoupe said firmly.

"Yeah. Is it an emergency, or do I have time to get dressed?" Bug asked cautiously as he came more awake.

"Take all the time that you need." Oma Shoupe said more softly.

"Alright. I'll be over in a few minutes." Bug said slowly, then tried to reach across Ken to hang up the phone.

"I've got it." Ken muttered, then took the phone from Bug's hand.

"Thanks." Bug said as he sat up and tried to will himself to be more awake.

"Is it a big problem?" Ken asked groggily.

"I'm pretty sure that my grandmother just saw something on the news that freaked her out a little. I'd tell her to tell me about it later, but I don't think she would have called me unless it was something kinda big." Bug said thoughtfully.

"Do you want us to stay here, or should we leave, in case she wants to come to your room for some reason?" Ken asked cautiously.

"No. You can stay. In fact, you can even go with me, if you want. Oma Shoupe knows that I like guys sometimes, and she's never had any problem with it." Bug said frankly.

"Sometimes?" Ken asked curiously.

"Yeah. I like some girls, but let's face it, guys are easier. You can tell them exactly what you want and most times, they're overjoyed to give it to you. The girls I know are all into drama and bullshit games... I hate to break it to 'em, but pussy ain't so great that it's worth putting up with their shit."

Ken chuckled and nodded his understanding.

"Anyway, let me out, so I can get dressed. If you want to come along, it's okay." Bug said seriously.

Ken quickly got out of the bed, then said, "I'll wake up Kev. He'd kill me if I left him out."

"You know him best." Bug said simply as he pulled on his clothes from just a few hours before.

As he was pulling up his pants, he noticed that Ken was also dressing, and not making any move to wake his twin.

Suddenly, Kev's eyes opened and he looked at Ken and Bug with question.

"We're going to meet Bug's grandmother." Ken said simply.

Kev nodded and went immediately to the task of dressing himself.

"Bug, would you like your hair braided?" Ken asked as he walked to one of the backpacks in the living room area.

"I don't know if it's really long enough." Bug said hesitantly.

"Sure it is. I bet we can get a nice little braid off of it." Ken said with a smile.

"Yeah. If you want to, sure." Bug said as he pulled on his shoes.

"Let me brush it out, first." Ken said quietly.

Bug couldn't remember the last time anyone had brushed his hair. He thought it might have been his mother when he was a small child.

It felt like such an intimate act for being something so commonplace.

As he was having his hair brushed, Kev walked past him and behind Ken.

Bug couldn't see what he was doing, but imagined that Kev was brushing Ken's hair.

"You've got really nice hair." Ken said as he started sectioning Bug's hair to make a braid.

"Thanks, I guess. All I really do is wash it." Bug said frankly.

Ken chuckled, then said, "I just mean that it's not dry or oily and there's no split ends. Hair like this is easy to work with."

Since Bug was used to the tension of his ponytail, the braid being tightened didn't bother him. It actually felt kind of nice.

"I think you're going to like this." Ken said with a smile sounding in his voice.

"You're going to have to teach me how to braid, so I can help you guys." Bug said frankly.

"Yeah." Ken said happily, then added, "I'm done. See what you think."

Bug walked to the bathroom and turned so he could somewhat see the braid that ended just about level with the tops of his shoulder blades.

As Bug walked back into the room, he saw that Ken was now braiding Kev's hair.

"I like it. It's longer than I thought it would be." Bug said as he walked to their sides.

"It looks good on you." Kev said with a smile.

"How would you guys feel about getting some breakfast after we talk to Oma Shoupe? I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." Bug said honestly.

"I don't know. I didn't get anywhere near enough sleep, so I'm still feeling a little bit jittery. But I think that once my stomach has a chance to wake up, that I'll probably be as hungry as you are." Ken said frankly.

"I think I'm ready to go, if you guys are." Kev said as he looked himself over.

"Yeah. Just give me a second to get Oma's meds." Bug said quickly.

Ken and Kev were waiting by the door when Bug returned.

"If this takes very long, I may need to call room service for some coffee. My body doesn't function well on, like, 3 hours of sleep." Bug said frankly.

"Get enough for three." Kev said simply.

* * * * *

Bug knocked on the door to his grandmother's room and waited for her answer before sliding the card key and opening the door.

"Oma Shoupe, I brought some friends with me. I hope you don't mind." Bug said as he led the way into the room.

"Oh, Bug! I'm in my nightgown!" Oma Shoupe said in frustration.

"You look fine, Oma." Bug chuckled, then said, "Oma Shoupe, I'd like for you to meet Ken and Kev."

"Which is which?" Oma Shoupe asked as she looked at the identically dressed twins.

"They're interchangeable." Bug said with a grin.

"I'm Ken." One of the twins said shyly.

"Which is short for..." Oma Shoupe asked in a leading tone.

"Kenny... um, Kenneth Waite." Ken said shyly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kenneth." Oma Shoupe said gently, then turned her inquiring gaze on Kev.

"I'm Kevin Harris, ma'am." Kev said in an equally shy tone.

"It's a pleasure, Kevin." Oma Shoupe said with a warm smile at him, then a curious look came over her face.

Bug glanced to see how the twins were holding up to his grandmother's inspection of them.

"How is it that two identical twin brothers happen to have different last names?" Oma Shoupe asked curiously.

"Our parents divorced when we were babies. Kev's mom went back to using her maiden name and changed his name at the same time." Ken said frankly.

Oma Shoupe slowly nodded, then her inquisitive gaze shifted to Bug.

Rather than play dumb and make her ask, Bug simply said, "They slept in my room with me, last night."

Oma Shoupe looked at Bug with surprise for a moment, then smiled as she said, "You never were one to do things halfway."

Bug smiled at her easy acceptance, then asked, "So, what was it that you needed me to see?"

Oma Shoupe pointed to the television, which had the news playing quietly as she said, "I've always said that you should only believe about half of what you see on the news. But what I'm seeing here is saying that the news back home was nearly all lies. Things are much, MUCH worse than we've been led to believe."

"I know." Bug said quietly.

At her look of surprise, Bug continued, "For a while now, I've been following things on a sort of underground Internet. It's like a collection of hackers who work to keep the information flowing, even though the government and media corporations have been trying to keep it quiet."

"How bad is it, really?" Oma Shoupe asked with concern.

"It's been getting worse and worse, a little at a time, for quite a while now. But after that thing with President Bryce... now it's suddenly bad enough that I asked someone I didn't really know for help to get us out of Florida." Bug said frankly.

Oma Shoupe thought about the words for a moment, then quietly said, "I pieced together enough facts to realize that there was more going on than we were being told. I thought, at worst, that President Assworm might declare martial law, but that isn't the worst of it, is it?"

Both twins smiled at Oma Shoupe's name for the president.

Bug shook his head and said, "Think about it. The president called for a military strike against another military base on American soil. He was trying to kill his political opponent in the election. If he's willing to do that much openly, just imagine what dirty things he's got going on, behind the scenes."

"Like what?" Kev asked cautiously.

"People disappearing in the middle of the night without a trace. Whole families being wiped out in mass executions. Secret prisons of 'domestic terrorists' being held without any charges or trials. And that's just the stuff that I've run across. I'm not really heavy into the underground. There's probably a lot more that I haven't heard about." Bug said frankly.

"Look at what we've become." Oma Shoupe whispered sadly.

"It's not all bad news. There are good people fighting against him. I saw on the Internet last night that a group of hackers took down a bunch of government servers and were giving President Asswart a major headache."

"Some of your friends?" Oma Shoupe asked cautiously, obviously worried that Bug might be involved in something that would be dangerous for him.

"I don't know for sure, but I don't think so. My friends tend to work in the shadows. Whoever did this... they were on a whole different level." Bug said seriously.

"Does anyone mind if I order some coffee? I'm in serious need, here." One of the twins asked hopefully.

Bug saw the hopeful look and felt an involuntary smile cross his face.

"Are you hungry, Oma Shoupe? If you are, we could order breakfast for all of us." Bug asked gently.

"We're going to be having breakfast at ten o'clock." Oma Shoupe said carefully.

"Yeah. But that's, like, three hours from now. I know that me and the guys aren't going to be able to wait that long." Bug said frankly.

Oma Shoupe smiled, then said, "Just get me something light. I think waiting until ten might be a bit of a stretch for me as well."

"Everybody like eggs and toast?" Bug asked as he walked to the phone.

"Scrambled." The twins said in unison.

Bug chuckled, then picked up the phone.

* * * * *

After a pleasant breakfast, during which Oma Shoupe seemed determined to learn everything there was to know about the twins, Bug finally explained that they needed to go wake up Lawrence and get their showers taken before the 10am breakfast meeting.

"Do you guys want to go get your showers while I see that my brother's awake?" Bug asked as they walked away from Oma Shoupe's room.

"Why? Don't you want us to meet him?" Kev asked cautiously.

"Guys, we just sat down and had breakfast with my grandmother. That wouldn't have happened if I was ashamed of you." Bug said frankly.

The twins shared a look, but still seemed wary.

Bug stopped outside Lawrence's door and turned to face them.

"Okay. I need for you guys to hang back for, like, one minute. There's a very good chance that my brother and his... I guess he's officially his boyfriend... they're probably naked and might even be... you know... at it." Bug said slowly.

"And what are you afraid is going to happen if we see?" Ken asked with a mischievous grin.

"One minute, okay?" Bug asked hopefully.

"You're no fun." Kev said with a roll of his eyes.

Bug chuckled, then knocked on the door.

* * * * *

A knocking on the door jolted Ben out of an absolutely hideous dream where he was chasing after a boney-assed girl while she was repeatedly rejecting him and putting him down.

Even louder knocking forced him to open his eyes and realize where he was.

"Didn't know you could get a hangover from hamburgers." Ben muttered as he got up and walked to the door.

Another bout of knocking had started before he reached the door and opened it.

"What happened, Ben? Did Oleksandr have trouble last night?" Brother Jacques asked with concern.

"What? No. Why?" Ben asked in sleep fogged confusion.

"Man, you look like shit!" Brother Jacques said honestly.

"What time is it?" Ben asked blearily.

"A few minutes after nine. I figured I'd make the rounds and see that everyone's up, so they'll have time to get ready." Brother Jacques said with a smile.

"We were up kind of late." Ben said weakly.

"No kidding. I've seen roadkill that looks better than you." Brother Jacques chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm awake now. By the way, Dax is here, so you don't have to worry about waking him." Ben said as he realized that he could 'feel' the bags under his eyes.

"He was going to be my next stop. Thanks for letting me know."

"Yeah. Thanks for the wakeup call. No matter how I look, I really do appreciate you waking me up." Ben said as he tried to force a smile.

Brother Jacques nodded, then something seemed to occur to him.

Ben was surprised when Brother Jacques stepped closer and leaned in.

"If I ever get the chance to meet your grandfather, I'm going to kill that man." Brother Jacques said in an icy, firm voice.

Ben nodded then said, "Don't expect me to try and stop you."

* * * * *

When Lawrence opened the door, Bug was relieved to find him at least wearing his boxer shorts.

"I just wanted to stop by to make sure that you and Roris woke up on time. We have to be at breakfast in less than an hour." Bug explained carefully.

"Oh. Thanks, Bug. I forgot all about that." Lawrence said happily.

"Did everything go okay last night?" Bug asked cautiously.

"Yeah! The best!" Lawrence said with unbridled joy.

Bug smiled at his brother's happiness, then remembered the guys in the hall.

"Lawrence, after you went to bed last night, I kind of met some guys." Bug said shyly.

"Did you go out?" Lawrence asked curiously.

"No. I met them here. They're some of the guys who came here from Chicago." Bug hurried to explain.

"Are they nice?" Lawrence asked curiously.

"Yeah. I really think they are." Bug said slowly.

Lawrence smiled cheerfully, happy that Bug had made some new friends.

"Well, the thing is... they're in the hall. They'd like to meet you." Bug said nervously.

"Why?" Lawrence asked curiously.

"Because you're my brother, I guess." Bug said frankly.

"Oh. Okay." Lawrence said without concern.

"Is Roris... covered?" Bug asked hesitantly.

Lawrence thought for a moment, then took a few steps into the room so he could see the bed.

"If you'll make sure he's presentable, I'll tell the guys that they can come in." Bug said gently.

"Thanks for thinking of that, Bug. Roris was real embarrassed when you saw him last night. I bet he'd be even more embarrassed if it was someone I didn't even know." Lawrence said honestly.

Bug smiled as he nodded, then turned to get the guys.

* * * * *

Ben was about to wake Oleksandr, but realized that, while he had a 'kid free' moment, that there were a few things that he'd like to take care of.

So, after a quick shower and a few minutes to tidy up the room, all that was left was to wake the boys.

He knelt on the floor where Dax had fallen asleep and gently shook his shoulder.

"Don't make me go. Everyone hates me." Dax whined in his sleep.

Ben's eyes immediately filled with tears at the words as he flashed back on some of the darker days of his own childhood.

He sat back on his heels and tried to contain his emotions before attempting to wake Dax again.

After a few deep breaths, Ben leaned forward again and gently shook Dax's shoulder as he said, "Wake up, Dax. It's Ben. It's a new day and we're starting a wonderful adventure."

"Huh?" Dax said blearily as he opened his eyes.

"We're in Kansas City, remember?" Ben said gently.

"Oh. Yeah." Dax said as he slowly rolled onto his side, then pushed himself into a sitting position.

"How are you feeling?" Ben asked softly.

"Like a piece of chewed up bubble gum." Dax said in a raspy voice.

Ben chuckled, then said, "I'm right there with you, Dax. But we need to get up. In less than an hour we'll be finding out where we're going and what's going to happen next."

Dax slowly blinked his eyes, then asked, "What time is it?"

"A little after nine." Ben said gently.

Dax looked over at the couch, where Oleksandr was fast asleep.

"I'll wake him in a few minutes. I wanted to talk to you about something, first." Ben said quietly.

Dax looked at Ben curiously.

"I just wanted you to know that you're not alone in all of this."

Dax didn't seem to be getting what Ben was trying to say.

"I just wanted you to know that I've got your back. I know that you're old enough that you don't need someone to watch over you like Oleksandr does, but... I guess what I'm saying is that, if you want to, we can kind of stick together." Ben said cautiously.

"Like how?" Dax asked warily.

"We don't know where we'll be going or what we'll be doing next. I just thought that instead of both of us trying to figure stuff out by ourselves, we could kind of team up and face it together." Ben said hopefully.

"But aren't you going to be embarrassed to be seen with a sissy fag?" Dax asked in a whisper.

Ben fought to contain his emotions as he said, "I don't know about that, but I know that I won't be embarrassed to be seen with my friend, Dax."

There was a long moment of silence as Dax considered the words. Finally, he quietly said, "Father Doherty was right when he called me hot headed. Sometimes I get angry, I get mean, even to the people I like."

"Well, I guess if that happens, that I'll just have to put you in a headlock and keep you that way until you calm down." Ben said thoughtfully.

Dax looked at Ben with surprise at the suggestion.

"Of course, if you're feeling angry, you could choose to sit down with me and vent. Then, when you've got it all out of your system, I'll probably say something stupid like, 'everything will be fine', and then maybe we can go out for hamburgers or something." Ben said with a smile.

Dax thought it over for a few seconds, then quietly said, "That sounds nice."

"Yeah. Just as long as you don't expect me to come up with anything brilliant to say to make you feel better. I really suck at stuff like that." Ben said frankly.

"I don't know. You seem to be doing pretty good right now." Dax said with a smile.

"Yeah. I'm great now, when no one's scared or mad or anything. But when the tears are flowing, I'm an idiot." Ben said ruefully.

Dax chuckled, then said, "Then I'll forgive you in advance."

"Thanks, Dax. I'll forgive you in advance, too." Ben said warmly.

Dax looked at Ben with surprise, then nodded his agreement.

* * * * *

As Bug ushered the twins into the room, he noticed that Lawrence was sitting on the edge of the bed, talking quietly to Roris.

"The blond is my brother, Lawrence. The redhead is his boyfriend, Roris." Bug said simply.

"Wow. Your brother's a total hunk." Kev said with surprise.

"So I've been told." Bug said as he watched Kev cautiously.

"Actually, I think Roris looks kinda cute." Ken said frankly.

After a few long, silent moments, waiting for Lawrence and Roris to finish their talk, Bug hesitantly asked, "Should I leave you guys alone with them?"

Both twins looked at Bug with surprise.

"Are you jealous?" Kev asked hesitantly.

"Well, this happens every fucking time I find someone I like! I introduce them to Lawrence and they forget that I ever fucking existed." Bug growled as he fought back his tears.

"Bug. I know that we like you, but no one has said anything about us being, like, 'boyfriends' or 'exclusive' or anything." Ken said frankly.

"I introduced you to my grandmother and told her that I slept with you. Doesn't that count for anything?" Bug asked seriously.

Ken and Kev shared a look, then both faced Bug with matching smiles.

"Yeah. It counts." Kev finally whispered.

"We just met last night... technically, this morning. Aren't you worried about jumping into this?" Ken asked slowly.

"I jump into everything. All you got is right now. You gotta grab it, do it, make it happen, right now. Otherwise, you're always waiting around for tomorrow and nothing ever gets done." Bug said frankly.

Kev looked at his twin and said, "I'm in."

"Me, too." Ken said with a grin.

"Good. Then let's get out of here. You can talk to Lawrence and Roris when they've got some clothes on." Bug said firmly.

The twins looked over and found that Roris and Lawrence were kissing passionately, and seemed to be totally unaware that anyone else was in the room.

"Come on. We've got showers to take." Bug said as he walked between the twins and put his arms around them.

Roris and Lawrence didn't seem to take any notice as the trio walked out of the room.

* * * * *

"Time to wake up." Ben said gently as he sat beside Oleksandr and pulled him into a gentle hug.

"Huh?" Oleksandr asked without opening his eyes.

"We've got to wake up and get cleaned up for breakfast." Ben said softly as he smoothed Oleksandr's sleep rumpled hair.

Ben was concerned for a moment when something caught his eye, but then broke into an involuntary grin as he asked, "How did you get catsup in your ear?"

Oleksandr looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes and gave a slight shrug.

"I think 'someone' needs a good bath." Ben said frankly.

"I gotta pee." Oleksandr said suddenly.

"Go on, and when you're finished, I'll help you with your bath." Ben said gently.

Oleksandr seemed not to hear Ben's words and pulled insistently on his hand, urging him to go along.

"Okay. I'll go with you this time, but pretty soon, we're going to have to work on you being able to go by yourself." Ben said as he got up off the couch.

"You might want to wait on that." Dax said seriously.

"Why's that?" Ben asked as he was led away by the young boy.

"The next time he has to poop, he's going to need you to be there." Dax said firmly.

Before Ben could ask for an explanation, Oleksandr had pulled him into the bathroom.

* * * * *

As Bug was going through his clothes to decide what to wear after his shower, a knock on the door startled him.

"Do you want me to get it?" Ken asked casually as he looked up from his backpack.

"Nah, I got it." Bug said as he dropped what he was doing and walked to the door.

"Gordon! Good morning!" Bug said happily.

"Good morning, Bug. Would you mind if we came in?" Gordon asked pleasantly.

Bug looked out in the hallway and found Hank standing with a luggage trolley filled with boxes and bags.

"Sure, the twins and I were just about to get cleaned up before breakfast." Bug explained as he ushered Gordon and Hank into the room.

The twins stopped what they were doing and looked at Gordon and Hank with matching expressions of surprise.

"Hank, do you work all the time?" Bug asked curiously.

"I volunteered to stay late to help your group. I figured that, this way, I might get a bigger share of the gratuity and some overtime." Hank said shyly.

"Yeah. I bet you don't get too many chances to make extra money. You gotta grab it when it comes." Bug said with a smile.

Hank nodded, then quietly said, "I still haven't paid my rent this month, and I'm hoping that this'll be enough to get me caught up."

Bug looked at Hank with sympathy, knowing from his own experience how it felt not to have enough money to cover all the 'necessities'.

"Gentlemen, I did a little shopping this morning, and thought that I'd bring you a few things that I purchased for you." Gordon said, mostly to the twins.

"You bought stuff for us? Why?" Kev asked cautiously.

"Lucas told me about you. While I was shopping, I saw a few things that I thought you might like." Gordon said frankly, then picked up one of the boxes off the luggage trolley.

Kev accepted the box, and before he could open it, another box was being handed to Ken.

The twins shared a look, then opened the boxes at the same time.

"Wow!" They exclaimed in perfect unison at the sight of the charcoal gray peacoats.

"You like?" Gordon asked with a smile.

"They're awesome!" Ken said happily.

Gordon saw the smile on Bug's face, and handed a box to him.

"You got something for me, too?" Bug asked curiously.

Gordon gave a single nod.

Bug opened the box and took out another peacoat, but his was pure black.

"Nice!" Ken said happily.

Bug looked at him and broke into a wide smile.

"I started here, because I thought you might like to take care of delivering the next two items." Gordon said as he picked up a bag and a large flat box.

Before Bug could ask, Gordon continued, "These are coats for your grandmother and your brother. I thought that rather than forcing your grandmother to answer the door, you might like to deliver these when you next visit."

"Yeah! Sure." Bug said happily.

"Then, Hank, our next stop will be two rooms down." Gordon said to his companion.

"Wait." Bug said firmly.

Gordon turned to look at Bug curiously.

"Something's wrong." Bug said slowly.

"What do you mean?" Gordon asked in confusion.

"Something's got you worried, what is it?" Bug asked slowly.

"It's nothing." Gordon said dismissively, but Bug noticed that Gordon wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Bullshit. Something's got you freaked. Normally, I wouldn't give a shit, but right now, you're a very important part of getting my family to a safe place. So whether it's my business or not, I'm making it my business." Bug said firmly.

Gordon saw that the twins had moved to either side of Bug and were waiting for a sign to tell them what to do.

"You're right, Bug. This morning I got a phone call from my boss... actually, my boss's boss. She told me that the climate has changed and that me and my family should... evacuate." Gordon said slowly.

"You mean, Kansas City isn't safe?" Bug asked as he thought over what little he knew about the local political climate.

"I don't know. She was passing on what she'd been told. People who are in areas considered to be unstable and potentially volatile are being given as much warning as possible. At approximately six fifteen this morning, we got that warning call." Gordon said seriously.

"What are you going to do?" Bug asked quietly.

"Let's just say, the flight today is going to have a few more passengers than we had originally planned." Gordon said frankly.

"Wait! What are you guys talking about?" Hank asked hesitantly.

All attention turned to Gordon, awaiting his reply.

"I suppose that there's no delicate way to put this. Sometime soon, maybe within weeks, maybe within days... conceivably within hours, it's believed that an operation will begin that is meant to 'control' the disruptive influences of the people the current administration feels are terrorists, dissidents, disruptive influences... or... undesirables." Gordon said slowly.

Bug got an aggravated look, then said, "They're probably gonna start by rounding up all the fags, the retarded, the homeless, and maybe even the old people, and they're gonna say it's because we're a drain on society."

"I'd prefer it if you'd say 'mentally disabled'." Gordon said quietly.

"Yeah, well I'd prefer it if this shit wasn't happening at all." Bug said frankly.

Gordon slowly nodded, then quietly said, "As to what Bug was saying, it is believed that certain groups will be disproportionately targeted when the government launches it's operation. So we are doing our best to get such people out of harm's way."

Hank looked around the room, then quietly said, "So, you guys are all here, trying to get to someplace safe?"

"Yeah. I'm from Orlando and the twins are from Chicago. Both those places are worse than it is here, but if Gordon is right, then Kansas City may be going bad real soon." Bug said honestly.

It was clear to see that Hank's mind was racing and there were tears forming in his eyes.

"Hank. Do you have a place where you can go? Maybe some family, someplace safe, that you can stay with?" Bug asked quietly.

After a moment for the words to register, Hank slowly shook his head and said, "Last May, I turned eighteen. On the day of my birthday, I came home from school and found everything I owned in boxes on the front porch of my parents' house. They even changed the locks... since then, I've just been trying to survive. I've got nothing and no one."

"You do now." Gordon said gently.

Hank looked at Gordon with surprise.

After a moment to get over the shock, Hank hesitantly asked, "You'll take me with you?"

Gordon smiled and gave a single nod.

"Do I have time to get my stuff?" Hank asked hopefully.

"We'll be leaving from here at eleven thirty this morning. Will that be enough time?" Gordon asked cautiously.

"Yeah. More than enough. I don't have much stuff and I don't live very far away. I'll be right back." Hank said quickly.

"We've reserved the dining room for 10am, you can join us in there when you get back." Gordon said with a smile.

"Oh! I.. um... you need my help." Hank said as he looked at the luggage trolley.

"Don't worry about it. We got this; you go on." Bug said reassuringly.

Hank gave a quick nod, then hurried away.

After a long moment to collect himself, Bug quietly said, "I'll help you deliver this stuff."

"Thanks Bug." Gordon said as he walked toward the door.

"If you want, we can shower, now. When we're done, we can take over doing this for you, so you can get a shower." Ken hurried to say.

"Sounds good." Bug said as he started pushing the luggage trolley toward the door.

* * * * *

"Bug!" a voice called from far down the hall.

Although Bug had seen the boy the night before, he couldn't remember his name.

After a moment, the boy finally caught up to Gordon and Bug in the hallway.

"Ben sent me to find you. He remembered you saying last night that there were two kids with your group. He was wondering if either of them is seven or eight years old?" The boy asked hopefully as he tried to catch his breath.

"First, who are you?" Bug asked cautiously.

"I'm Dax."

"It's nice to meet you, Dax. And to answer your question, Bax is the youngest and he's eleven. Why?" Bug said slowly.

"The clothes that Oleksandr wore yesterday have blood stains and are torn... there's just no way he can wear them again." Dax said quickly.

"If you'll lead the way to your room, I think we may be able to help." Gordon said frankly.

"How?" Dax asked in confusion.

"My name is Gordon. Lucas told me about the members of your party and I bought new clothes for all the children. That's what's on this cart. I was just starting on this end, since I met the members of the Orlando group last night." Gordon said as he walked down the hallway, followed by Bug pulling the luggage trolley.

As they passed the elevator, all of them heard Brother Jacques' voice coming from the open door of the first room. "Jamiah, you are NOT to dress your little sister like a streetwalker. Wash off the makeup, she can have one bracelet and one necklace. Now get her cleaned up before breakfast."

A moment later, the trio in the hall saw Jamiah and Loquicia walk into the hallway.

"Some people have no sense of style!" Jamiah grumbled as he led his sister to the next room.

Gordon smiled at Dax and Bug, then continued on until Dax stopped at a door and opened it with a keycard.

* * * * *

Once inside the room, Gordon smiled at the sight of Ben holding a freshly bathed eight year old boy wearing a t shirt that was obviously Ben's.

"Hey Bug! Did Dax ask you about the clothes?" Ben asked hopefully.

"Yeah. And Gordon is here with clothes for all the kids, so it worked out just fine." Bug said happily.

"Good! I didn't know what I was going to do." Ben said with relief.

"Let's see, what do I have here for an eight year old blond boy with big beautiful blue eyes?" Gordon asked as he rummaged through the bags and boxes.

"I'll go get cleaned up while you're getting Oleksandr dressed." Dax said quietly as he walked toward the door.

"Hold up. I also have stuff here for a skinny fifteen year old with brown hair, brown eyes and a brown attitude... whatever that was supposed to mean." Gordon said as he pulled a few of the bags and boxes off the cart.

Ben and Dax exchanged a look at the strange comment.

"Here you go, Dax. Lucas said that you had some stuff with you, so I just bought you a few fill-in items. A coat, some sweaters, a hoodie and a new suitcase to carry all of it." Gordon said as he was once again digging in his cart of goodies.

"What did you get?" Ben asked with interest.

Dax took out a dark navy peacoat, then cautiously tried it on.

"Wow, that fits perfectly." Ben said with surprise.

"A skinny fifteen year old is easy to estimate, it's the fat ones who have a range of sizes that you have to worry about."

"Look at this sweater! I love this!" Dax said happily, then held the sweater to his face to feel the softness of it against his cheek.

"I like that color, I don't know what it is, but I like it." Ben said frankly.

"It's cornflower. The color is perfect!" Dax said joyfully.

"I'm glad you like it. You just made my day." Gordon said happily.

"Thank you, Gordon. And you can tell Lucas next time you see him that the 'brown attitude' is just for him. You get cornflower blue." Dax said with a sincere smile.

"I hope Oleksandr likes his clothes as much as Dax does." Ben said with a grin.

"He's happy in your t shirt. I don't think he's gonna care one way or another." Dax said frankly.

"Here we go. I wish that I had known that he didn't have anything. But I'm glad that I took the precaution of buying extra for the younger ones." Gordon said before calling out what each bag contained as he moved it toward Ben.

"A pair of nice pants, some plain colored t shirts, a nice button up shirt, some sweaters, a coat and, of course, another suitcase." Gordon finished with a smile..

"Wow. You really went all out." Ben said in an impressed voice.

"I'm not done yet." Gordon said as he handed Ben a large box.

"What's this?" Ben asked cautiously.

"Lucas suggested that I try to find you a bomber jacket. He thought it would suit you." Gordon said frankly.

Ben took the coat out of the box and was obviously happy with the style.

"As I was saying before, if I had known that the boy didn't have anything, I would have bought him much more. But, hopefully this will get you by for now." Gordon said with a weak smile at Ben.

"This is wonderful. At least this way, I won't have to worry about how to take Oleksandr out of the room." Ben chuckled.

"Well, we have other stops to make, and it's getting close to time for breakfast." Gordon said as he motioned to Bug to get ready to leave.

"Thanks again, Gordon." Ben said with a smile.

"Yeah. Thanks." Dax said with a genuine smile that warmed Gordon's heart.

* * * * *

"Shower's free." One of the twins said as he walked up to Bug in the hall.

"Okay, thanks for doing this." Bug said then, on impulse, gave the twin a quick kiss before hurrying away.

"And you two only just met this morning?" Gordon asked with surprise.

"Yeah. I know. But it feels right."

"By the way, I'm Gordon. I don't think we were ever officially introduced." Gordon said to the twin.

"I'm Kev. It's nice to meet you, Gordon."

"If I understood the room assignments correctly, our next stop is here. A twelve year old with gray hair?" Gordon said to Kev uncertainly.

"That's Ty. Just try not to be offended by him." Kev said simply.

Gordon glanced at Kev for a moment, then knocked on the door.

"I already told you! I'm awake! God!" The boy screamed as he opened the door.

"Good morning, Ty. Gordon, here, bought you some new clothes." Kev said seriously.

"Sorr-rry." Ty said in a bored obligatory tone as he rolled his eyes.

"Sure you are." Kev said flatly, then looked at Gordon with question.

"I bought you a few shirts, a few sweaters, a new coat and a suitcase to carry it all." Gordon said as he handed the packages stacked on top of the suitcase to Ty.

After a moment, Kev quietly asked, "And what do you say?"

Ty released his grip enough to flip one finger up in Kev's general direction, then turned and went back into his room.

"You warned me." Gordon said simply.

"I keep hoping that we'll find a way to get through to him." Kev said frankly.

"I don't know what I'd do if my son ever behaved like that. I hope I never find out." Gordon said honestly.

"How old is your son?" Kev asked curiously.

"He's thirteen. I never thought that any kid could be so proud to 'officially' be a teenager." Gordon chuckled.

"It sounds like you have a good relationship with him." Kev said thoughtfully as he stopped the luggage trolley outside the next room.

"Yeah. He's one of the best things in my life." Gordon said frankly.

"I'm guessing that our next stop is Loquicia and Jamiah's room." Kev said as he looked at the door.

"Any warnings?" Gordon asked cautiously.

"No. There's nothing that I can say to prepare you for Jamiah." Kev chuckled.

* * * * *

Bug walked into the room to find Ken waiting for him.

"Are you ready for your shower?" Ken asked with a smile.

"Yeah. But I kinda figured that you and Kev..." Bug stopped when Ken shook his head.

"Kev is a little bit shy about the sex stuff. He knows that I really want to be with you, so he said that it's okay if we fool around a little. Later on, when he's gotten more comfortable, he might want to join in or have you to himself now and then. We'll just have to see how it goes." Ken said as he walked up to Bug and put his arms around him.

"We don't have much time." Bug said regretfully.

"I know. I figured that, if it's okay with you, we could just shower together. If one or both of us ends up getting off, that's fine, but if not, that's fine, too." Ken said with a smile.

"No pressure. I like that." Bug said as he looked deeply into Ken's eyes.

"Come on. We only have about twenty minutes before we're supposed to be at breakfast." Ken said as he took Bug by the hand and led him toward the bathroom.

A minute later, Ken's voice could be heard saying, "Wow. It's a good thing you're dating twins, because it's going to take two of us to tame that!"

"Don't worry, it doesn't take much to make it happy."

* * * * *

Gordon knocked on the door and was surprised when it opened right away.

"Oh. I thought you'd be Brother Jacques, telling me something else I can't do." Jamiah said honestly.

"Jamiah, this is Gordon. He bought you and Loquicia some new clothes." Kev said with a smile.

"Seriously?! Oh! Thank you! You wouldn't believe what I've had to work with! Come in! Come in!" Jamiah said quickly.

Gordon and Kev shared a look before following Jamiah into the hotel room.

"Lolo! We've got company!" Jamiah called into the bathroom.

"Who's here?" A small voice called in return.

"One of the twins and... some guy. He bought us clothes!" Jamiah finished happily.

Loquicia hurried out of the bathroom wearing a plain white dress.

"See?" Jamiah said with exasperation.

"My name is Gordon. Lucas told me about you and your sister, so I did some shopping this morning. Let me show you what I've bought for you." Gordon said as he went through the diminishing supply of boxes and bags.

"What did you get me?" Loquicia asked hopefully.

"Tell me what you think of this." Gordon said as he handed her a shopping bag.

Loquicia opened it quickly and pulled out a dress with a bright pattern of butterflies on a white background.

"This would go great with your butterfly hair band. A solid sweater to set it off, maybe a belt... Even Brother Jacques couldn't find anything to complain about with that." Jamiah said happily.

"I also got you a few sweaters." Gordon said as he took them out to show them off.

"Oh, I like those. They'll look better on her when she has boobs, but I think we can make it work." Jamiah said consideringly.

"This is pretty. Can I put it on?" Loquicia asked as she held up the butterfly dress.

"Yes. Then bring me your hair band. I think you'll look great." Jamiah said happily.

"While your sister's changing, would you like to see what I got for you?" Gordon asked gently.

"You can put my stuff over there. I'll look at it later." Jamiah said without looking away from the collection of sweaters.

"I also bought your sister a new coat." Gordon said hesitantly, watching for Jamiah's reaction.

The boy looked up suddenly and was immediately paying Gordon his full attention.

"I had to go on what Lucas told me about sizes, but I think this should fit her just fine." Gordon said as he pulled a thigh length light blue coat out of a box. The neck and wrists were trimmed in white faux fur.

"Oh. My. God! That is so cute! Loquicia is going to look wonderful in that! And if Brother Jacques will let me, I think some sky blue eyeglitter would just set off the whole look." Jamiah said as he took the coat from Gordon and held it out at arm's length.

"I'm ready." Loquicia said as she hurried into the room, carrying a black hairband with a gold butterfly attached to it.

"Hold still." Jamiah said as he brought the hairband over her head, then with well-practiced ease, he swept the hair away from her face and adjusted the butterfly so it was resting on one side of her head.

"What do you think?" Jamiah asked as he backed away.

"Absolutely beautiful." Gordon said softly.

"I still have a few finishing touches, but I think, if I'm careful not to use too much, I can sneak a little eyeliner and a faint eyeshadow past you-know-who." Jamiah said as he looked at his sister critically.

"I have a suitcase for each of you and a few other small items." Gordon said as he took a few more items from the cart.

"Thank you. I think you saved my sanity." Jamiah said gratefully.

"We'll leave you to it. We still have a few things left to deliver." Gordon said as he looked at Kev to see if he was ready to go.

Kev smiled and pushed the rapidly emptying cart out of the room.

* * * * *

"I've never felt like this before." Bug said as he held Ken close, under the shower's spray.

"Wet?" Ken asked with a grin.

"I've wanted guys before, and I've even been with some of them. But this, what I feel for you, it's not like that. It's like I want to hold you in my arms, but also in my heart." Bug said quietly.

"I know what you mean, Bug. I'm just a little bit scared. I don't think I'm as strong as you are." Ken said thoughtfully.

"I think, right now, sex would be the easy way out. It would probably be really fun and really good, but then it would be over, and that would be all that we really had. For the first time, I want more than that." Bug said as he looked into Ken's eyes.

"Kev and I, we've lost everything, over and over again. I don't know if I'm brave enough... if we're brave enough for what you're talking about." Ken whispered.

"I know. That's why we're going to take it slow. Showering together, sleeping together, that's all part of getting to know each other, getting to trust each other. And later, when we're all ready for it, we'll take the next step. Don't worry, Ken. Live in 'now'. When the time is right, we'll do what's best for all of us." Bug said gently.

"Thanks, Bug. When I decided to do this, I thought we'd just end up tossing off in the shower together. I guess I didn't have enough faith in you." Ken said quietly.

"We're still learning. We'll get there." Bug said, then moved in for a kiss.

A moment later, he whispered against Ken's lips, "But, for now, we need to finish showering. Breakfast will be starting soon."

* * * * *

"We're running out of time. If you want to take the cart to the last room, you can deliver the clothes to the boys. I'll take the coats to the adults while you're doing that." Gordon said seriously.

"Okay." Kev said as he pushed the luggage trolley more quickly.

When he got to the last room, he knocked on the door.

A young boy opened the door and looked at Kev with surprise.

"I've got new clothes for you. Gordon sent me." Kev said quickly.

"Oh. Good. Bug said that we were going to get new clothes. Ro's dad came over to make sure we were awake, but he didn't know anything about it, so we put on our old clothes from yesterday."

"If you'll let me in, we can unload this in your room. Then you can choose whatever you want to wear." Kev said with a smile.

"Yeah. Come on."

Kev walked into the room and found a slightly older boy sitting in the living room area, watching TV.

"The new clothes are here." The younger boy said happily.

"Who are you?" The older boy asked curiously.

"My name is Kev."

"I'm Ro. He's Bax."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm helping Gordon deliver the new clothes he bought. I hope you guys like what he picked." Kev said with a smile.

"Whatever it is, it's gotta be better than nothing, and that's what we've got now." Ro said frankly.

Kev nodded his agreement.

"Hey! Look! I bet this one's for you." Bax said as he held up a football jersey.

"I like that." Ro said with a spark of excitement.

"If I understood what Gordon was saying, all of this is for you two." Kev said as he unloaded boxes and bags.

"There's underwear and socks and shoes and... and... everything!" Bax said joyfully.

"He even bought you some new suitcases to carry all your new stuff in." Kev said with a smile.

"Bax! Look at this!" Ro called out from one of the boxes.

Kev watched for a moment as the boys explored their new clothes, then quietly wheeled the empty cart out into the hallway.

* * * * *

As Bug opened the door, he found Kev waiting just outside.

"You could have knocked. We weren't doing anything." Bug said cautiously.

"It's okay. I just needed a minute." Kev said quietly.

"That, I understand." Bug said gently, then added, "We didn't do anything but kiss."

"You could have done more." Kev said seriously.

"I know. But I don't want to screw this up by going too fast. I think you must feel that way, too, or you wouldn't be waiting outside in the hallway." Bug said quietly.

"I've seen a lot of people fall in and out of love. I don't want to make their mistakes." Kev said frankly.

"I can't make any promises except that I'll try not to hurt you. I hope that's enough." Bug said gently.

"I'll try not to hurt you, too, Bug. I'm really starting to like you. I think that I'd rather not ever have you than hurt you." Kev said honestly.

"Thank you, Kev. That's probably the nicest thing that anyone's ever said to me." Bug said with a sad smile.

"I need to help Ken with his braid." Kev said as he pushed away from the wall.

Bug smiled and followed him into the room.

Chapter 7: The Great Egress

Bug had been surprised to receive a call from his Oma Shoupe, announcing that she was going to go down to breakfast with Marcus and Doris Teeter.

As Bug and the twins walked into the reserved dining room, they automatically walked up to Gordon.

"We seem to be running a little bit behind. If you'd like to take a seat, you can order breakfast whenever you'd like." Gordon said as he kept watch on the door.

Although Bug was curious, he followed Gordon's instructions and looked around for a place to sit.

"Bug!" Hank called from the doorway, where he had two suitcases and a backpack.

"Hey, Hank. Did you get everything?" Bug asked as he walked over to greet his new friend.

"Yeah. But could you do me a favor and watch my stuff? I need to talk to my boss and tell him that I'm quitting. I owe him that much." Hank said honestly.

"Yeah. Sure. But what are you going to tell him about 'why' you're quitting?" Bug asked curiously.

"The truth. I'm just going to tell him that I'm gay and that I've heard that Kansas City is about to become very unfriendly toward people like me." Hank said seriously.

"That should do it." Ken said with a nod.

Kev nodded his agreement.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Hank said with a tinge of nervousness under his words.

"We'll save a seat for you." Bug said with a smile.

As Bug and the twins were walking back to the tables, Kev quietly asked, "Is he the one?"

"What?" Bug asked in confusion.

"Last night... this morning, you said that there was someone you wanted, but you knew it couldn't work. Was he the one?" Kev asked seriously.

"No. He just delivered my bags to my room and tripped my gaydar. That's it." Bug said honestly.

The twins shared an unreadable look.

After a moment, Bug smiled and asked, "Jealous?"

"No. But if he was the one, I was going to make damned sure that he knew you weren't available." Kev said with a smile.

Bug thought for a moment, then said, "That's right. I'm only yours."

Kev and Ken beamed identical smiles at the declaration.

* * * * *

"Lawrence, take your pills." Bug said, as soon as he found his brother sitting at a table with Roris.

"Oh, thanks." Lawrence said as he accepted the pills from Bug.

Once Bug had seen him take the pills, he quietly said, "Gordon left a new coat for you in my room. Make sure you get it from me before we leave."

Lawrence leaned down and whispered something to Roris, then sat up and said, "Roris said that he'll remind me."

The twins were both surprised to see Roris in a wheelchair. When they had briefly seen him in Lawrence's room, there hadn't been any indication that he had any sort of disability.

"How are you guys?" Bug asked his brother gently.

Roris let out an involuntary giggle, and that was all that Bug needed to know.

"I've never felt like this before. I can't stop smiling." Lawrence said joyfully.

"I'm happy for you, Lor. This is what I've always wanted for you." Bug said quietly.

"It's what I wanted for you, too." Lawrence said frankly.

Bug looked at one twin on his right, then the other on his left, before saying, "I'm getting there."

"Are these your boyfriends?" Lawrence asked in wonder.

"Yeah, I brought them to meet you, don't you remember?" Bug asked playfully.

"I got busy with something else and kinda forgot. I'm sorry." Lawrence said quietly.

"It's okay, Lor. I'm just glad to see you happy. We're going to find seats, now. Just come and get me if you need anything." Bug said before leaning in to give his big brother a kiss on the cheek.

Although it was the kind of thing a seventeen year old wouldn't normally do, especially in public, Bug knew how happy it made Lawrence to know that he was loved. That overrode Bug's usual shyness about such things.

* * * * *

Bug and the twins found a table and began to look at the menus when a young voice asked, "Can I sit with you?"

Bug closed his menu and found Bax looking at him hopefully.

"Sure. But I figured that you'd want to sit with Ro and his dads." Bug said honestly.

Bax shrugged one shoulder and his gaze went to the floor.

"What's up, Bax?" Bug asked curiously.

"It's just... he's their kid and I'm not." Bax mumbled.

Bug nodded, then quietly asked, "Would you like to be their kid, too?"

"No." Bax said immediately.

Bug looked at him curiously.

Bax thought for a moment before slowly saying, "Ro is their kid and they love him. But I'm not part of it. Oh, they treat me alright and everything, but, I'm like a puzzle piece that doesn't fit."

"Would you like to be my kid?" Bug asked casually.

Ken, Kev and Bax all looked at Bug with matching expressions of surprise.

"No judge in his right mind would let me adopt you, I'm only seventeen. But, if you wanted, I think you'd fit into my family, right along with Lawrence and Oma Shoupe." Bug said frankly.

"You really mean it?" Bax asked hopefully.

"Sure. The only reason I didn't say anything about it before was because I wanted you to have a chance to get to know Ro's dads. If that would have worked out, I would have been happy for you, but since it didn't, I think it'd be great to have you around." Bug said frankly.

"Cool!" Bax said with a grand smile.

"That means that Oma Shoupe is your grandmother, now, so you'll need to be sure to spend time with her, and let her know that she's loved." Bug said seriously.

"Yeah. She's nice, so that'll be easy." Bax said happily.

"This also means that you're Lawrence's little brother. That means that you'll need to be nice to him, too, and listen when he tells you things. And, sometimes, you may need to help him with the things that he can't do for himself." Bug explained carefully.

"Lawrence is probably one of the nicest people I ever met, so that'll be easy, too." Bax said confidently.

"Well, I guess before we call it settled, you should also know that I have some new boyfriends." Bug said as he motioned to the twins.

Bax's eyes went wide as he looked at one twin, then the other.

"Wow, Kev. There's two of you!" Bax said as he seemed to be having trouble believing his eyes.

"I'm Kev, that's Ken." Kev said with a tender smile at the boy.

Bax finally turned to look at Bug and said, "You didn't have any boyfriends at all last night, and now you got two?"

"Yeah. We're still getting used to it." Bug said with a chuckle at the boy's reaction.

"I didn't know you could have two boyfriends! I bet that's awesome!" Bax said happily.

After a glance at one twin, then the other, Bug smiled as he said, "I think it might be. I can't wait to find out."

* * * * *

Everyone had been seated and most people had ordered. A few people were just starting to receive their food when Lucas hurried into the room.

"Tell me what happened!" Gordon called, as he rushed to the door.

Bug immediately stood. With his (ever growing) family's well-being at stake, he wasn't going to stand by without at least trying to be informed as to their situation.

Apparently, Bug wasn't the only one who felt that way, because Ben (carrying Oleksandr), Marcus Teeter, and Walter also got up from their seats and walked across the room to be in on the conversation.

"It's nothing bad. I promise, I just got held up at the hospital..."

"Hospital!?" Gordon shrieked.

"What's going on? Is there anything we can do to help?" Marcus asked seriously.

"No, no. You see, when Gordon and I received the call this morning telling us to evacuate, we decided that he would be able to handle our duties for all of you, while I packed our belongings and made arrangements with Social Services Child Division to take the kids out of state." Lucas said quickly.

At Marcus' questioning look, Gordon explained, "We're foster parents. We can't legally take the kids out of state without permission."

"Oh. I see." Marcus said with a nod.

"Well, all was going as expected, until I talked with Miss Winer in the Child Division."

"Did she deny you?" Gordon asked with a sinking feeling.

"Oh no, not even close. She thought it was an excellent idea. In fact, she said that since we were leaving, she wanted us to take two more kids with us. She says that with the way things have been going lately, that she's concerned for their safety." Lucas explained.

First Gordon, then the rest of the men turned to find five children standing just inside the dining room door.

After a moment for the relief to kick in, Gordon asked, "So, what's this about a hospital?"

"The boy; his name is Jay, was assaulted and was at the hospital awaiting someone from Child Division to pick him up. This isn't the first time that it's happened to him, and Miss Winer's afraid for his life, if he stays in Kansas City." Lucas said quietly.

"We don't have any experience with abused children. I don't know if we can handle it." Gordon said quietly.

"That's not the half of it." Lucas said frankly. "The abuse wasn't just physical, it was emotional and sexual as well. And to top it off, it's at least two different family members that have been doing it. He's been placed in three different foster homes in the past three years, and somehow, they keep finding him."

"I don't know how, but we'll help him." Gordon said with a nod.

"We also got Maxine. She's a happy, healthy little ten year old girl." Lucas said carefully.

"Then why does Miss Winer want to send her with us?" Gordon asked carefully.

"Maxine, she likes to be called Max, by the way, has some rather... masculine tendencies. Miss Winer is afraid that Max might be seriously and permanently damaged if someone tried to force her to adapt to their preconceived notion of gender roles." Lucas said carefully.

"So she's a ten year old bull-dyke?" Bug asked cautiously.

"I'd say she's a 'tomboy'." Lucas carefully corrected, then continued, "From what Miss Winer has observed, Max hasn't shown any sexual interest in either boys or girls, so this isn't a matter of orientation. It's all about her gender identity. Miss Winer was hopeful that Max might be able to avoid any serious trauma if we were to help her as she discovers her way in life."

"Brother Jacques knows a lot about working with kids. I bet if you have a problem with either of them, that he could probably give you some good advice." Ben said seriously.

"The twins, too. They're really great with kids." Bug added quickly.

"I've raised two children that I'm quite proud of. So, if there's anything I can do, I'd be happy to help." Marcus said frankly.

"We don't have any more experience than you do, but if you need a sympathetic ear sometime, Reginald and I would always be glad to help." Walter offered sincerely.

Lucas and Gordon looked at the four men with surprise at the offers, and Gordon finally said, "Thank you. We really appreciate your support."

"If you'll get the kids seated, I'd better get this meeting started before there's an uprising." Lucas said with a smile.

On that note, the four men went to their respective tables as Lucas walked to the front of the room.

* * * * *

"Thank you, everyone, for your patience this morning. As I've told many of you, expect things to change at a moment's notice. I know that many of you have questions and I'll answer as many of them as I am able, if you'll just raise your hand." Lucas said as he looked over the people in the private dining room.

"Yes, Brother Jacques, what did you want to know?"

"Who's paying for all of this?" Brother Jacques asked seriously.

"Well, that's kind of complicated. You see, there's a group of companies in Washington..."

"Those are the motherfuckers we're trying to get away from!" Bug said suddenly as he stood, then realized that he was speaking in front of a room full of people, including several children and his grandmother.

"Please tell us that you mean Washington STATE." Brother Jacques asked hopefully.

"Yes. Of course. I work for a company called KF Transport. It's owned by a consortium of companies in Kettle Falls, Washington. I don't know who it is, or from which of the companies that comprise it, that has instructed us to come and get you. I only know what my direct supervisor has told me about the situation. When you've asked me questions, I've done my best to get answers, but I don't have any avenue to get answers directly. I have to ask him; he asks someone above him, and who knows how many others, before the answer finally comes back to me by the same channel."

"Do you really think that they just want to help us, and don't expect anything in return?" Brother Jacques asked cautiously.

"Yes. I really do. I say that because the company I work for has been incredibly generous and accommodating. As the saying goes, 'talk is cheap', but I've seen from their actions that they care a great deal for their employees. In the situation that Gordon and I are in, the company has been flexible in our schedules so we can spend as much time with the kids as possible. Of course, things are out of the ordinary, right now, but normally, one of us would be at home anytime the kids aren't in school."

"So they want to help us, just because we need it?" Brother Jacques asked slowly.

"Yes. And another important point, from what I understand, it's because you asked. You contacted someone high up in the company, and he or she instructed us to come and get you."

Marcus stood up and walked to Lucas' side. The contrast in their heights was immediately noticeable. Marcus' head was just about level with Lucas' shoulder.

"Excuse me, Lucas. But my son works directly for the person who is helping us. Out of respect for our benefactor, I'm not going to reveal any details about him. I'm sure he will introduce himself in due time. But I will say this. When he became aware of the situation in Orlando, he called my family and told us that he was arranging transportation to get some people out of Florida. He said that he feared for our safety and urged us to go." Marcus said seriously.

"Do you know where we're going?" Bug asked cautiously.

"No. I don't know any more than you do. I just know who it is that is arranging all of this. And I want to assure you that he is a kind and generous person." Marcus said seriously.

"Actually. I know where you're going." Lucas said quickly.

Everyone looked at Lucas hopefully.

"You're going to be taken to Kettle Falls, Washington. Unfortunately, I don't have any details to share with you beyond that, but I have been assured that all the arrangements have been made. Suitable housing and provisions for your comfort have already been arranged." Lucas said as he looked around.

"What are we going to do when we get there? I mean, we've left our jobs, our homes..." Walter asked in a diminishing voice.

"I don't have an answer for that, either, but I believe that you will be meeting the person who does, before the end of the day." Lucas said frankly.

* * * * *

"What did I miss?" Hank asked as he slid into an open seat at Bug's table.

"We're going to a place called Kettle Falls, Washington." Bug said frankly.

"That's it?" Hank asked cautiously.

Bug and the twins nodded in unison.

"I'm Bax." The boy in the seat next to Hank said cheerfully.

"Hi Bax, I'm Hank."

"Are you gonna come with us?" Bax asked curiously.

"Yes. You see those bags by the door? That's my stuff." Hank said honestly.

"You look nervous." Bax observed.

"Yeah. I don't know what to do next." Hank said weakly.

"Just stick with Bug and you'll be fine. He really knows his shit." Bax said firmly.

First Hank, then the twins looked at Bug to see how he was going to react to Bax's swearing.

"He's with a group of guys, he can say what he wants." Bug said to the others, then looked at Bax and said, "But when there's girls around, and especially in front of Oma Shoupe, you need to keep a lid on it."

"Well, DUH!" Bax said with a roll of his eyes.

"Yep. You're part of my family." Bug said with a grin.

* * * * *

After a few minutes to answer questions one-on-one with a few different people, Lucas stood back from the tables a little and raised his voice to get everyone's attention. "For those of you who haven't heard, the company that I work for has started recalling it's people from the areas of the country that are considered to be potentially dangerous. I received that call at six-fifteen this morning and was advised to evacuate my family as soon as realistically possible. My family and I will be accompanying you to Kettle Falls this afternoon, and it's possible that some of my coworkers may also choose to join us."

Looks of concern went around the room at the announcement.

"I don't want to startle anyone, but I thought that I should give you advance notice that there might be some people beyond those gathered here who may be going with us." Lucas said frankly.

Just then, an older man walked into the room and stood just inside the door.

"Walt, did you bring everything?" Lucas asked slowly.

"Everything that's important. You said I should bring the big truck, right?" Walt asked cautiously.

"Yes, we're going to need it for carrying some luggage. But don't worry about that right now, just sit and relax for a bit." Lucas said to the man in a friendly tone.

Gordon stood and ushered the older man to join him at the table with the five children.

Once Walt was seated, Lucas said, "Walt is semi-retired and does odd jobs for our various offices in the area. He'll be joining us on the flight this afternoon. Please introduce yourselves when you get the chance."

After a moment to think, Lucas said, "Gordon and I are both going to be with you all the rest of the way, so if any of you have questions or concerns, please get with one of us and we'll do our best to help you. For right now, just enjoy your meals, and relax for a bit. When breakfast is finished, I suggest that you go to your rooms and pack your belongings. Remember to keep your coats out, the temperature in Kettle Falls may or may not get over fifty degrees today."

"Do you have a coat, Hank?" Bug asked curiously.

"Yeah. It's not much to look at, but it should keep me warm enough." Hank said frankly.

"That's what's important." Bug said with a smile.

* * * * *

When various groups finished with their meals, they left to go pack.

Somehow, and Ben couldn't seem to determine how it happened, he ended up supervising not only his and Oleksandr's packing, but also checking up behind Dax and Ty.

Brother Jacques and Zane had their hands full trying to help Jamiah and Loquicia, who didn't want to be helped.

Bug and the twins finally gave up trying to help everyone together and ended up going separate directions. Kev helped Bax, Ken helped Oma Shoupe, and Bug helped Lawrence. It wasn't that Bug didn't trust the twins with Lawrence, but he had never been one to tempt fate unnecessarily.

Walter and Reginald went to help Ro and were surprised to find Kev already helping him.

When Bax had everything packed, he pulled Ro aside and said, "Go spend some time with your dads. I know you need some time with them, with me not around. I'll be with Bug and Oma Shoupe."

After a nod from Ro, Bax left with Kev to join the rest of his family.

* * * * *

The three limousines were nearly filled to capacity. If it hadn't been for Walt following behind in the truck, carrying a large share of the luggage, there wouldn't have been room for everyone as well as their belongings.

Bug could tell that Bax was somewhat fragile at the moment and made an effort to pay special attention to him. The twins watched with matching smiles at the tender way Bug gently talked to the boy and kept an arm around his shoulders. Bug's other hand rested on his tote bag which contained his laptop, his family's medications and his 'protection', just in case it was needed.

Brother Jacques and Zane were able to spend a few quiet moments together while Loquicia and Jamiah enjoyed the scenery as it passed by outside the window. One odd thing interrupted their tranquility. Every now and then, for no particular reason, Roris would seem to break out into uncontrollable giggles.

Ben had come to the conclusion that 'contrary' was a priest's way of nicely saying 'asshole'. With little more than dirty looks and attitude, Ty had pissed off just about everyone in their limo before they reached the airport. Dax seemed to be the only one that Ty wasn't openly hostile toward, but saying that he was 'nice' to Dax would be a bit of an overstatement.

* * * * *

"Hi Bug! Welcome aboard!" Jeremy said happily.

"Hey, Jeremy. It's good to see you again." Bug said, taken aback by being welcomed so warmly.

Within a heartbeat, Kev and Ken were at Bug's sides, warning Jeremy away with dangerous looks.

"Oh, I see that you guys have met." Jeremy said, a little less enthusiastically.

"Is he the one?" Ken asked quietly.

Bug turned to glance at Kev and slightly nodded.

"Am I what?" Jeremy asked cautiously.

"The one that got away." Kev answered simply.

"The guy that Bug almost fell in love with before he met us." Ken clarified.

"Oh!" Jeremy said in realization.

"Bug's taken. He's ours. Got it?" Kev asked firmly.

"Yeah." Jeremy said as he looked from Ken to Kev.

"We're blocking traffic." Bug muttered shyly.

"Can we sit anywhere?" Ken asked simply.

"Come on, guys. The best seats are over here." Jeremy said as he motioned for them to follow.

The twins shared an uncertain look, then followed Bug up the aisle.

"You guys sure told him." Bax giggled from behind them.

Ken turned and gave the boy a quick smile.

* * * * *

Ben felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders when he saw that the seats were grouped in threes. Ben took the center seat and placed Oleksandr beside him. Without hesitation, Dax took the seat on his other side.

A disinterested glance was Ty's only reaction as he walked down the aisle to find somewhere else to sit.

* * * * *

"Listen. Here's the deal. I want you two to stay here in this cabin. You can sit wherever you like, but when the flight crew tells you to sit down and buckle your seat belts, you do it." Brother Jacques said firmly to Loquicia and Jamiah.

"Dad, can we do that, too?" A boy close to Jamiah's age asked hopefully from behind them.

"Yes. I think that sounds reasonable. But Lazlo, I'd like for you to stick with Jay. He just got out of the hospital, and I'd rather he wasn't left alone." Gordon said frankly.

"Yeah. I was wanting to talk to him anyway. We're brothers now, so I wanted to let him know what things are like at home." Lazlo said cheerfully.

"Can we go, too?" A younger girl asked hopefully.

"Will you two stay together?" Gordon asked gently.

Both girls nodded immediately.

"Remember to sit down and put on your seatbelt when Daddy tells you, and stay sitting until he says it's alright for you to get up." Gordon said seriously.

He received another set of nods in response.

"You wanna sit with us?" One of the girls asked Loquicia, who had been watching from the row ahead.

Loquicia slowly nodded.

"I'm Annie and this is my sister, Misti." The older of the two girls said cheerfully.

"I'm Loquicia."

"Your dress is really pretty, Loquicia. I love butterflies." Annie enthused.

"Me, too!" Loquicia said happily.

"You three go find a place to sit together." Brother Jacques said with a chuckle.

Gordon smiled as he watched the three young girls hurry away to find a place where they could talk.

* * * * *

Ken walked through the aisles, making sure that all the kids from the mission were accounted for and behaving themselves.

Of course, Dax was sitting with Ben and Oleksandr. From the look of them, Ken estimated that the three of them would probably be fast asleep before the plane left the ground.

Ty had ended up sitting with Jamiah and they seemed to be having a heated discussion about Rihanna.

Farther back in the cabin, Ken happened upon Bug's newly adopted brother, Bax.

"How are you doing, Bax?" Ken asked gently.

"I'm great!" Bax said happily then looked at Ken for a moment before cautiously asking, "Which one are you?"

"I'm Ken."

Bax smiled, then quickly said, "This is my best friend, Ro. And this is our new friend, Max. We just talked to that waiter guy and he said that once we're up in the air, they're gonna show a movie and it's the same one we tried to watch last night, but we fell asleep."

Ken chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm, then said, "We're up at the front of the cabin, if you need us for anything."

"He's got a twin brother named Kev and they look totally exactly alike." Bax explained to Max.

Max's expression seemed dubious.

"You can come up front and see for yourself if you'd like." Ken said simply.

"Maybe after the movie." Bax answered for her, then asked, "Do you think there's any way we could have some popcorn while we watch the movie?"

"I don't know. I guess I could ask Jeremy." Ken said thoughtfully.

At Bax's look of confusion, Ken clarified, "The waiter guy."

Bax smiled in comprehension.

Ken started walking forward to find Jeremy when he spotted Hank, sitting by himself in a row of seats.

"How are you doing, Hank?" Ken asked as he approached.

"I just quit my job and lost my apartment. I'm jobless and homeless, traveling to somewhere I've never been before... I guess I'm scared." Hank said distantly.

"I don't know if you've thought about it, but just about everyone on this plane is in close to your same situation. We've left our homes and jobs and everything that's familiar to us for nothing more than a promise of safety." Ken said honestly.

Hank nodded that he had heard, but Ken wasn't sure that he really had.

Ken left Hank to his own thoughts and encountered Jeremy in the aisle a few rows ahead.

"The boys back there wanted to know if you have any popcorn for when the movie starts." Ken said cautiously.

"Yeah. Believe it or not, they're not the first ones to think of that. In fact, we have a whole 'movie experience' selection that we keep, just in case someone requests it. I'll be sure to offer it to them." Jeremy said with a smile.

Ken looked at his friendly expression, then quietly said, "I'm sorry if we were rude to you before. If Bug likes you, then we know you're not a bad guy. We just didn't want there to be any question about where we stand with Bug."

"Don't worry. I got it. And, honestly, I think Bug's probably a little bit too bold for me to be able to handle for any length of time. Being with Bug would probably have been like being on a roller coaster. It might be fun for a while, but who wants to live on a roller coaster, long term?" Jeremy said thoughtfully.

"He's not like that with us. But, I suppose that's the difference. It's not him, it's the combination of you and him." Ken said frankly.

Jeremy nodded, then quietly said, "I still like him... you know, as a friend."

"He still likes you, too. Just remember, he's ours." Ken said with a smile.

"Yeah. I got it. I promise." Jeremy said shyly.

"I'd better get to my seat before the flight attendant has a reason to be mad at me." Ken said with a smile, to break the mood.

"Yeah. You wouldn't want that." Jeremy chuckled.

As Ken walked away, he could understand how Bug could have been attracted to Jeremy. There was a lot more to the man than his stunning good looks.

* * * * *

"Is everyone doing alright?" Bug asked in a lazy voice. It was obvious that the lack of sleep was catching up with him.

"All the kids are fine. Bax and Ro have a new friend named Max, and they're sitting there, all excited about watching the in-flight movie." Ken said with a smile.

"Max? Oh yeah, the little bull dyke." Bug said with a nod.

"Max is a girl?" Ken asked with surprise.

"Yeah. I mean, technically." Bug said frankly.

"I don't think the boys know." Ken said speculatively.

"Well, unless they're planning to have a pissing contest, I can't think of any reason why it would matter." Bug said frankly.

"I guess not." Ken said with a shrug, then thought to mention, "Hank seems to be really depressed. You know, thinking he made a big mistake."

"Yeah. That sucks, but I guess we're all probably feeling some of that right now." Bug said honestly.

"He's such a nice guy. I hate to see him sitting there, all alone..." Ken trailed off in thought.

Bug waited for a moment, then quietly asked, "What are you cooking up with those supernatural twin powers of yours?"

Ken chuckled, then quietly said, "I was just thinking that, well, Hank's all alone, he's a nice guy, hard working..."

Bug nodded that he was following so far.

"Well, Jeremy was kinda heartbroken about things not working out between you two, so he's probably feeling especially lonely right now..."

"So you think that we should play matchmaker?" Bug asked cautiously.

Before Ken could answer, Kev spoke up, "I think that either one of them would throw you down and fuck you stupid if they had the chance. Maybe that's enough in common to get them started."

"And, before you ask, they're not going to get the chance." Ken said firmly.

"I think that I could have had either of them if I really wanted them. But I want you. Both of you." Bug finished softly.

"You've got us." Ken said gently.

After a long quiet moment of reflection, Kev softly asked, "So what are we going to do about them?"

"I'll talk to Hank and you can talk to Jeremy." Ken said to his brother.

"Why can't I talk to one of them?" Bug asked cautiously.

"For the same reason you wouldn't let either of us help Lawrence to pack." Kev said frankly.

Bug considered for a moment, then said, "Tell Jeremy something for me. It might help."

"What should I tell him?" Kev asked cautiously.

"Tell him that I think I spotted a unicorn for him." Bug said with a smile.

After a moment of consideration, Kev said, "Okay. But don't expect me to be passing messages to your exes all the time."

"Jeremy isn't an ex, he's a 'might have been' that never was. Just tell him what I said, and he might be more likely to give Hank a second look." Bug said frankly.

Ken and Kev shared a momentary glance before getting up to go their separate ways.

* * * * *

"I've got a message for you." Kev said as he walked up to Jeremy.

Jeremy looked up from the clipboard he was holding with question.

"Bug said that he might have spotted a unicorn for you." Kev said frankly.

Jeremy got a curious look, then hesitantly asked, "You're not the one I was talking to before, are you?"

"No. I'm the evil twin." Kev said with a grin.

Jeremy chuckled, then asked, "Did he tell you where I could find the unicorn, or am I just going to have to be on the lookout?"

"He's sitting alone, scared shitless about giving up everything that he has, to move someplace he's never been before." Kev said frankly.

"I think I know who you're talking about." Jeremy said as he looked past Kev toward the back of the plane.

"Well, evil twins don't make any predictions about love. But Bug seems to think that if you guys talked, maybe you could find something special. If not, it'd still be nice if Hank didn't feel so alone right now." Kev said sincerely.

"It looks like I've got a couple minutes before the pilot is going to be ready. Maybe I'll stop by and see if he needs any help with his seatbelt." Jeremy said with a smile.

Kev rolled his eyes and asked, "How many guys have you got with that one?"

Jeremy smirked as he gave Kev a knowing look.

"Oh!" Kev said in realization, then continued, "I'm going to get back to Bug, now. I'm beginning to think it's not safe to leave him unattended."

"You've got nothing to fear from me. But if you look around at the other passengers... I'm thinking that the heterosexuals are in the minority on this flight." Jeremy said frankly.

"Right." Kev said as he turned to leave.

"Thanks." Jeremy said quickly.

Kev nodded as he hurried back to Bug.

* * * * *

"Do you mind if I sit here for a second?" Ken asked from the aisle of Hank's row.

"No. That's fine." Hank said cautiously.

"We were talking with Bug and he thought that maybe you could help us with something." Ken said slowly.

"What's that?" Hank asked with interest.

"There's this guy who was interested in Bug. Nothing happened, but the guy's kind of feeling the loss of 'what might have been'." Ken said frankly.

"Yeah. I know how that feels." Hank said with a sigh.

"We thought, if you wouldn't mind, maybe you could talk to him and take his mind off of it for a little bit. There's really nothing that we can do ourselves because we ended up with Bug. Anything we could say would probably only hurt him more." Ken said quietly.

"Yeah. Talk about twisting the knife." Hank said with a wince.

"Right. So, maybe you could just... I don't know, give him a chance. Who knows, you two might end up getting along?" Ken finished with a smile.

After a moment to consider, Hank finally said, "I guess it'd be better than sitting by myself."

Ken nodded his agreement.

"I won't know what to say." Hank said thoughtfully.

"How about, 'Hi'?" Ken said with a smile.

Hank looked at Ken curiously.

"It'll come to you. Say 'hi', then see what happens next." Ken said confidently.

"Where is he? Maybe you could introduce us?" Hank asked as he looked around.

"Actually, he's probably already introduced himself to you. His name is Jeremy, he's the flight attendant." Ken said with a smile.

"That hunk! He's way way out of my league." Hank said with a shake of his head.

"I think that's probably why he's alone. Nice people like you see him and think he's out of their league. The people who actually see themselves as 'worthy' of him are most likely a bunch of self-centered jerks. I talked to Jeremy for a few minutes, and I think there's a really good guy hiding behind those perfect cheekbones. He might enjoy someone who treated him like a person." Ken said honestly.

"His cheekbones are perfect, aren't they?" Hank asked with a smile.

"I would kill for them." Ken said simply.

After a moment, Hank nodded his agreement.

"Here he comes. I'm outta here." Ken whispered, then hurried away.

* * * * *

Jeremy looked at the young man, sitting by himself and looking scared half to death.

He hadn't failed to notice the twin who darted away at his approach.

"I get the feeling that we're being set up." Jeremy said frankly.

A look of relief filled Hank's expression and he responded, "I'm glad you already know that, because I didn't have a clue of what to say to you."

"You're Hank, right?" Jeremy asked cautiously.

"Yeah. And you're Jeremy." Hank said nervously.

"The twins told me that you're feeling a little bit overwhelmed by everything that's going on. Is there anything I can do to help?" Jeremy asked simply.

"Not unless there's a spare job and place to live that you know about. I don't think that anything's going to make me feel better until I can get back on my feet." Hank said hesitantly.

"I can understand that. Actually, I'm going to have to find an apartment, too. I've been living here in Kansas City, but when I got the warning, I decided that I didn't want to push my luck." Jeremy said quietly.

Hank nodded his understanding.

"We're scheduled to take off in a few minutes, so I'm going to be busy for a little..." Jeremy trailed off as he looked toward a movement at the front of the cabin, then muttered, "Oh, shit."

"What's wrong?" Hank asked as he followed Jeremy's gaze.

"Do you see those two people who just came aboard?" Jeremy asked absently as his mind seemed to be racing.

Hank looked to the entry door and saw an Asian man and a spinsterish pinch faced woman talking to Lucas.

"Yeah. What about them?" Hank asked cautiously.

"Those are two of the most demanding passengers I've ever met." Jeremy said seriously, then looked into Hank's eyes and asked, "Were you serious about wanting a job?"

"Yes. Why?" Hank asked cautiously.

"Because, with those two here, my job just became about ten times harder. As soon as they're done talking to Lucas, I'll ask him if there's any way that you could help me. That is, if you're willing." Jeremy said seriously.

"Sure. I guess. I don't know how to be a flight attendant, but I've been a bellboy, a waiter and a busboy." Hank said quickly.

Jeremy chuckled, then said, "You're practically over-qualified."

Before Hank could respond, Jeremy said, "There they go. Stay here for a second and I'll see if Lucas will hire you."

Hank nodded slowly as Jeremy raced away.

It took a moment for what had just happened to sink in, but finally, Hank broke into a smile.

* * * * *

"Lucas, I think I've got a problem." Jeremy said as he approached.

"What is it?" Lucas asked immediately.

"Mr. Nguyen and Mrs. Peil." Jeremy said seriously.

"You don't have to worry about them, they said that they're going to be working in the conference room for the entire flight." Lucas said carefully.

"Those are two of the most demanding people I've ever flown with." Jeremy said frankly.

"They have nothing but nice things to say about you. In fact, I seem to recall that they always request to have you as their flight attendant when they have to travel." Lucas said seriously.

"I'm not complaining about them, really. It's just that taking care of them is a full time job. There's no way that I'm going to be able to help the rest of your guests at the same time." Jeremy explained carefully.

"This has blown all out of proportion since we started. I had thought about requesting a second flight attendant to help with the two groups, but I felt sure that you could handle it." Lucas said thoughtfully.

"And I could have. But those two being here changes everything..." Jeremy looked up as a buzzer sounded.

He stepped to the nearest phone and picked it up.

"Yes. Right away." Jeremy said quickly into the phone, then looked at Lucas with aggravation.

"Mrs. Peil needs her pencil sharpened." Jeremy said frankly.

"I suppose that Gordon and I could try to help out..." Lucas offered weakly.

"There's a passenger named Hank who is really upset that he had to give up his job to come on this flight. I told him that I'd talk to you about hiring him..." Jeremy trailed off when the phone buzzed again.

He quickly answered it, then said, "Yes, sir. I'll have your coffee right away."

"I know who you're talking about. I'll go talk to him, now." Lucas said decisively.

"I can talk him through it. I just don't have time to do everything myself." Jeremy explained.

"If you say that you can handle it with Hank's help, then I'll consider it done." Lucas said confidently.

"Thanks, Lucas. I really appreciate your faith in me." Jeremy said with a smile.

The smile fell when the buzzer on the phone sounded again.

* * * * *

"Hello, Hank. It's nice to see you again." Lucas said as he approached.

"Yes. Thanks for bringing me along with you. I really appreciate it." Hank hurried to say as he stood.

"Jeremy mentioned that you might be interested in helping him take care of the passengers this afternoon." Lucas said seriously.

"Yes. I've never been a flight attendant, but I've been a bellboy and a waiter and a busboy, so I should be able to do most of what needs to be done to keep your passengers happy." Hank said quickly.

Lucas smiled at Hank's enthusiasm, then said, "I think we can consider this interview over. You're hired. Go get with Jeremy and he'll tell you what needs to be done."

"Thank you! I'll do a good job! I promise." Hank said joyfully.

"Just remember that your job isn't about being fast or perfect, it's about keeping our guests happy. Talk to them, make them feel welcome. If you can do that, you'll have a job with us for a very long time." Lucas said with a smile.

"Yes, sir. I'll do that." Hank said with a bright and sunny smile on his face.

"Then I'll let you get to it." Lucas said as he offered his hand.

Hank shook the offered hand, then dashed away to find Jeremy.

* * * * *

After a brief conversation with Jeremy about his duties, Hank made a round of the main cabin to introduce himself to the passengers and let them know that he was going to be taking care of them.

He smiled when he approached the row of seats where Bug and the twins were sitting.

"Hey, guys. Guess what happened." Hank said with a grin.

Ken looked to Bug and said, "And I thought you moved fast."

Hank heard the comment and laughed before saying, "Jeremy got me a job. I'm going to be your flight attendant."

"Well, it's not as good as getting laid, but I guess it works." Bug said frankly.

"We're happy for you, Hank. Maybe with you and Jeremy working together... who knows?" Ken said as he waggled his eyebrows.

"Yeah. Who knows?" Hank said with a smile, then continued, "Anyway, if you guys need anything at all, just make sure to call me. After everything you've done for me, I'm going to do my very best to keep you guys happy."

"I think we're good." Bug said with a smile.

"Oh yeah, you guys should probably belt up. I'd offer to help you, but Jeremy told me not to go there." Hank said with a grin.

"You got that right!" Kev said with a chuckle.

Hank beamed a smile at them before walking back to the next row of seats.

* * * * *

As he was talking to another group of passengers, Hank noticed an older man walking down the aisle of the main cabin.

"Walt, right?" Hank asked as he approached.

"Yes. Lucas said that I could come along. If you'll just show me to some out of the way place, you won't need to worry about me." Walt said slowly.

"I know exactly where you should sit, and it's not someplace off to yourself. Come with me." Hank said seriously.

Walt seemed uncertain, but followed Hank up the aisle.

Hank led him to sit in a row of seats that was facing backward, making a conversation area.

"Ladies, I brought you some company, you probably remember him from the breakfast." Hank said as he waited for Walt to be seated.

"Thank you." Walt mumbled shyly.

"Excuse me, ladies. But I don't think I caught your names." Hank said to the women gently.

"I'm Geraldine Shoupe." Oma Shoupe said as she looked at Walt appraisingly.

"I'm Doris Teeter." Doris said with a smile at Hank.

"Geraldine and Doris, may I present Walt. I can't really tell you any more about him than what you heard at breakfast, but I thought you might enjoy getting to know each other." Hank said pleasantly.

"Because we're old?" Oma Shoupe asked as she looked askance at him.

"Because you've probably been through a lot of the same things and seen how the world has changed over the years." Hank said seriously.

Oma Shoupe considered for a moment, then said, "I like you, young man. You've got some grit, like my grandson, Bug."

"Thank you. I know your grandson, and being compared to him is a wonderful compliment. I need to check on the other passengers, but if you need anything at all, just call me and I'll do my best to get it for you." Hank said with a smile.

Oma Shoupe returned the smile and watched as Hank hurried away.

* * * * *

Once everyone was belted in, Hank and Jeremy had a few minutes together to talk while the plane was taking off.

Jeremy complemented Hank on his choice to seat Walt with Oma Shoupe and Doris Teeter, saying that he probably made all their flights a lot more enjoyable by doing that.

As soon as the 'fasten seatbelts' sign had been turned off, Jeremy instructed Hank on how to prepare the in-flight meals, and gave him a crash course on the crash procedures, and then on how to do the 'movie food' for the kids.

* * * * *

About half an hour into the flight, Jeremy was finally able to get away from Mrs. Peil and Mr. Nguyen for a few minutes.

As he walked through the cabin, he stopped at the row of children who were happily watching the in-flight movie and munching popcorn, hotdogs and nachos, as if they hadn't had food in weeks.

"How's the movie?" Jeremy asked with a smile.

"You shoulda seen it! That guy just blew up a car with ONE SHOT! It was AWESOME!" Bax said joyfully, while reaching for another handful of popcorn.

Jeremy smiled and said, "I'll have to take your word for it. Maybe I'll get to see it for myself next flight."

All the kids had their full attention back on the screen as the soundtrack heralded some more explosive action about to happen.

* * * * *

"Are you guys doing okay?" Jeremy asked the two boys sitting together.

"Beyonce is a knock-kneed skank ho, right?" The gray haired boy asked seriously.

Before Jeremy could answer, the boy next to him said, "Like I care what she looks like! She's just a clothes hanger that can sing! LOOK at what she's wearing. That's what I'm saying is awesome!"

The gray haired boy looked at the magazine the other was holding, then said, "I'd lose the belt, but, yeah, the rest of it works."

Jeremy chuckled to himself as he walked up the aisle to check on his other passengers.

* * * * *

"How are you three ladies doing today?" Jeremy asked as he stopped at the young girls' row and squatted down to be closer to their level.

The middle tray table was lowered and had a coffee carafe and three cups on it.

"We're having a tea party." The youngest of the girls, the one in the butterfly dress, said happily.

"Well, then, I'll leave you ladies to it." Jeremy smiled as he stood.

The girls went back to playing, not giving his momentary intrusion a second thought.

* * * * *

"What's up, guys?" Jeremy asked the two young teenagers when he approached.

"Lazlo was just telling me all about his dads."

"Our dads." Lazlo corrected.

"I hope he's telling you nice things." Jeremy said as he eased into the third seat in their row.

"Yeah. Some of it's so nice that I can't even believe it." the boy said frankly.

"Jay's old family sucks pond water. I know he'll be a lot happier with us." Lazlo said seriously.

"Just don't be upset if Jay isn't comfortable right away. Sometimes it can take a while to get settled in." Jeremy warned gently.

"I know. But it's gonna be great! I finally got a brother! I mean, sisters are alright and everything, but there's a lot of stuff I don't get to do because they don't want to do guy stuff." Lazlo said imploringly.

Jeremy chuckled as he said, "Okay, I believe you. It's going to be great."

* * * * *

When Jeremy arrived at the next row, he found Walter and Reginald on one side of the aisle and Marcus Teeter and Gordon on the other. The four of them were discussing their kids and parenting strategies, and didn't even notice as Jeremy walked between them.

When he arrived at the next row, he found Brother Jacques and Zane talking quietly and very seriously. He knew better than to interrupt a conversation like that and moved on.

Ahead, Jeremy found Hank standing and looking into one of the rows.

The first row he passed had a sleeping blond and redhead.

The second had a young man, a teenager and a young blond boy, also asleep.

Finally, Jeremy walked to Hank's side and found that he was looking at Bug and the twins, who were cuddled together and, of course, dead to the world.

"I want to do something nice for them." Hank whispered.

"For as gruff as they act, I think all three of them have hearts of gold." Jeremy said frankly.

Hank chuckled and nodded his agreement.

"I came up to help you with dinner. It's just about that time." Jeremy said quietly.

"I've already got the first load in the warming oven. And the cart's stocked." Hank said absently.

"The last few times I've had to train someone to work with me, I ended up asking to work alone because I felt like I was doing double the work with their so-called 'help'. You're really doing great and I feel like I can leave things in your hands if I need to, without worrying." Jeremy said with a smile.

"Well, I've still got a lot to learn. So don't go leaving me with it, yet. But since you walked me through everything, I feel like I can handle it." Hank said seriously.

"I think you can, too." Jeremy said with an encouraging smile.

* * * * *

"I'm sorry to bother you, but you need to wake up and put your seatbelts on. It's nearly time to land." Hank said to Bug and the twins in a gentle voice.

"What? Already?" Bug asked groggily.

Hank chuckled as he said, "You've been asleep for nearly three hours."

"Ow. My neck." One of the twins said as he slowly sat up.

"My head. I've got a headache." The other twin said miserably.

"I need coffee." Bug said as he tried to force his eyes to fully open.

"I'll be right back with coffee for three and some aspirin." Hank said gently.

Bug looked at him with surprise, then said, "Thanks."

Hank smiled, then rushed away.

* * * * *

"Excuse me." Hank said as he gently prodded the shoulder of the young man in the middle seat.

Slowly, Ben slightly opened one eye.

"It's nearing time to land. You'll need to wake the boys and get their seatbelts on." Hank said softly.

"Never took'em off." Ben said before yawning and closing his eye again.

Hank looked down to find that he was right.

All three of them were still belted in from takeoff. It was just the way that both boys were leaning in and holding Ben that made it look like they were sitting in one seat.

* * * * *

In the next row, Hank found the blond and the redhead cuddled together. He had to lean in to be sure, but he found that, they too, had never released their seatbelts after takeoff, so there was no reason for him to disturb their sleep.

As he was about to walk away, he heard the redhead let out a quick, joyful giggle in his sleep.

Hank couldn't help but smile as he walked on, to the next row.

* * * * *

"Guys, we're going to be landing soon." Hank said hesitantly. He had tried waiting for a break in Brother Jacques and Zane's conversation, but there didn't seem to be one.

"Oh. I guess we need to go make sure all the kids are belted in." Brother Jacques said absently.

Before Hank could say any more, Brother Jacques slowly stood.

"Crap! How long have I been sitting there?" Brother Jacques asked as he stretched, trying to get the kinks out.

"It's been over three hours." Zane said with surprise.

"Check your batteries." Brother Jacques said as he stood upright.

After checking the box on his belt, Zane nodded that they were fine.

* * * * *

Whimpering woke Ben out of another horrible dream where a boney-assed girl was leading him into one disaster after another then blaming him for all their misfortunes.

It took a moment for Ben to realize where he was and what was happening, but finally he quietly said, "Wake up, Oleksandr. You're having a bad dream."

"It hurts." Oleksandr said in a pained whisper.

"What hurts?" Ben asked cautiously.

"My butt. It hurts really bad." Oleksandr said as tears started gliding down his cheeks.

Ben didn't know what to do and quickly shook Dax's shoulder to wake him.

"What is it?" Dax asked blearily.

"Oleksandr is hurting and I don't know what to do. Should I call Brother Jacques?" Ben asked quietly.

"Hold on." Dax said as he came more awake, then turned to Oleksandr and asked, "Do you feel like you have to go poo?"

Oleksandr nodded slightly, then said, "But it hurts."

"I know. But if you go to the bathroom, it'll stop hurting, I promise." Dax said gently.

"Is that what's wrong?" Ben asked cautiously.

"He got tore up back there. It's not completely healed yet, so it's causing him pain. Just go in there and help him through it. You'll need to clean him up afterward and put some more salve on him, but then he should be fine. He might need some more Tylenol, but that should be about it." Dax said seriously.

"Can't you help me?" Ben asked cautiously.

"No room. You'll be doing good to get the two of you into an airplane toilet. There's no way three of us will fit in there." Dax said frankly.

"The ointment and Tylenol are in my luggage." Ben said with sudden realization.

"No they're not. I've got them here in my pocket. I knew this was going to happen sooner or later." Dax said regretfully.

Ben couldn't help himself, he put an arm around Dax and gave him a firm, one-armed hug.

"Thank you, Dax. When I asked you to team up with me, I thought I'd be watching out for you, but it's turning out that you're the one taking care of me." Ben chuckled.

"We take care of each other, isn't that the deal?" Dax asked seriously.

"That's right. I guess you're just doing a better job of it than I am, so far." Ben said with a smile.

"Don't worry. I'm not keeping score. Now, you'd better take Oleksandr to the bathroom before you have a whole different set of problems to worry about." Dax said frankly.

"Right." Ben said seriously, then turned to Oleksandr and said, "Hold my hand until I'm standing up. Then I'll take you to the bathroom."

Oleksandr slowly nodded as his tears continued to fall.

As soon as Ben was standing, Oleksandr clung to his side.

Dax held out the tube of ointment and Tylenol bottle as soon as Ben had his grip.

"Thanks." Ben whispered, then carried the boy forward to the bathroom.

* * * * *

Oleksandr cried openly when he finally loosed his bowels, but very soon after that, his cries receded to a slight whimper.

"I know you don't want me to look, but I have to clean you up and put on more ointment. This is to make it so you'll heal up and stop hurting." Ben explained.

It took a few tries, but Ben was finally able to convince Oleksandr that holding onto him wasn't absolutely necessary, just maintaining some kind of physical contact was enough. Oleksandr finally released him enough to let him work.

Ben nearly threw up when he saw a trickle of blood on the boy's inner thighs.

It took him a while, but he finally was able to get the area clean, and the bleeding seemed to have stopped on it's own.

Once the boy was clean, Ben carefully applied the antiseptic salve. He wasn't sure if he was doing it exactly right, the way Dax had done, but finally determined that it would have to be good enough.

Ben got Oleksandr dressed, then washed his hands thoroughly. Once he was done, he guided Oleksandr to wash his hands as well, if for no other reason than it was a good lesson for the boy to learn.

Finally, business done, Ben picked Oleksandr up and held him close, then exited the lavatory.

* * * * *

The landing went without incident.

All the children stayed in their seats and seemed to enjoy the experience.

All the adults seemed to be relieved that the traveling was nearly over.

The plane seemed to take an inordinate amount of time to finally come to a complete stop, but either no one was bothered by it, or they were all too tired to complain.

"Everyone, may I have your attention." Lucas said from the front of the cabin.

"We have just landed in Kettle Falls, Washington. The local time is now one-twelve in the afternoon. You may want to adjust your watches accordingly. The current temperature is fifty two degrees Fahrenheit, so I hope you remembered when I suggested that you keep your coats with you." Lucas said with a smile.

In a slightly softer voice he continued, "Transporting you from your various origins to bring you here was our job, and it was also our pleasure. But getting to know you, learning about your lives, getting to know your families... that was a privilege. Should you ever need to contact Gordon, Jeremy... or Hank, just contact our offices at KF Transport. They'll put you in touch with us."

Sad looks went around the cabin as people realized that Lucas was saying 'goodbye'.

"If the groups from Orlando and Chicago will please gather your carry-on items, I believe that the people outside the plane are waiting for you." Lucas said with a bittersweet smile.

"I want to stay with Misti and Annie!" Loquicia cried out.

"Daddy! Please!" The two young girls begged as they ran up to Lucas.

"Shhh. I'll see what I can do, I promise." He said gently to his daughters.

"We want Max to go with us." Bax said firmly.

"You just got him today, you won't miss him!" Ro said reasonably.

Lucas looked around the group, then asked, "Do you think we might be able to make some arrangement for the children to be able to visit together?"

"None of us know what's going to happen when we step off this plane, so it's kind of hard to promise anything. But if we can manage it, I'm on board." Bug said seriously.

"That goes for us, as well." Walter said with a nod.

"Yeah. I don't think Loquicia's going to let me forget that she has two new best friends." Brother Jacques chuckled.

"Contact me as soon as you're settled in, and we'll make play date arrangements for as soon as possible." Lucas said with a smile.

"The sooner, the better." Brother Jacques said as he looked at the grumpy little girl in the butterfly dress.

"If everyone will be patient for a moment, we'll allow those with limited mobility to precede us off the plane." Lucas said seriously.

"If you'll allow me, Geraldine." Walt said as he stood and offered his arm to Oma Shoupe.

"Thank you. That's very kind of you, Walt." Oma Shoupe said as she slowly stood.

Bug noticed movement out the window, close to the plane, and could see that someone had already taken Roris' wheelchair out and it was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Everyone watched as Oma Shoupe and Walt slowly walked up the aisle and out the door of the plane.

A moment later, Lucas walked up to the row where Roris and Lawrence were sitting and talked to them quietly for a moment.

Finally, Lucas backed away from the row of seats. A moment later, Lawrence emerged, carrying Roris in his arms.

Bug smiled as he stood aside to let them pass.

For a moment, it looked as though the children might stage a rebellion and refuse to be separated. But with the combined efforts and assurances of the adults, the children were finally sorted, each into their own family, or what served them as such.

* * * * *

Bug walked forward to be with his Oma Shoupe. She was still holding Walt's arm for support and seemed to be perfectly content doing so.

Bax was standing in front of Bug, being gently held from behind. Bug had a twin at each shoulder, almost close enough that they were touching.

Ro stood with his fathers, each of them with an arm around the boy, keeping him securely between them.

Brother Jacques had his left arm draped around Jamiah's shoulders, while Zane had his right arm around Loquicia's. Brother Jacques and Zane were standing side by side. They weren't physically touching, but anyone looking at them would swear that they were.

Ben had Oleksandr clung tenaciously to his right side and had his left hand on Dax's shoulder, squeezing it encouragingly.

Ty stood by Dax, just out of reach, but also acutely aware of his proximity.

"Hello everyone. My name is Ryan Brown." A handsome gentleman said as he walked forward from the small group of people.

"Are you Studmuffin?" Bug asked cautiously.

"My wife's always thought so, but you're the first guy who's noticed." Ryan said with a grin.

"Daaaad!" A voice said from behind the man.

A moment later, a boy in a wheelchair rolled forward.

The boy was younger than Bug, even younger than Dax.

"My name is Carson, and I'm Studmffn."

Chapter 8: The Icing

It had only been an hour since Carson made his announcement to his brothers, and Tommy was lost in his own little world. Carson and their father were off in Ryan's study, going over flight plans, and things like that, while Mikey and Deb were in the guest house, getting things ready over there. Tommy was working in his room, and Mikey's room, bringing out the other beds, and setting Mikey's bunk beds back up. Mom said that some of the new people might be staying in the main house, while others may stay in the guest houses.

Already, Mr. Crante, the 'butler', that lived in the other part of the house, was busy getting that section ready. When Tommy was finished in the Main house, he would move over to the 'big house'. Ever since Tommy turned thirteen, his parents had given him the job of maintaining the 'big house'. It was what he did for money, and he learned a lot, doing it. All the staff reported to him, when there was staff there. Most of the staff only had to come in when someone was staying there. During the week, they didn't need to be there much.

Taking a break, Tommy wandered over to Carson's room, and stood there looking at the computer system that Carson had built. It was truly amazing, what Tommy had seen Carson doing in here, when they were both in the room, especially when Carson wanted to show off something he'd designed.

"Dizzy?" Tommy timidly asked. He'd interacted with Carson's computer before, but it had always felt kind of strange to him, doing so.

"Well, hello, Tommy." Dizzy's voice came from the speakers. "How are you doing this evening?"

"I'm fine." Tommy said.. then chuckled. "Well, actually I'm confused as hell!" Tommy said as he started pacing. "All the stuff that's going on, I just don't get it. I mean, how bad could it really be?"

Dizzy did a quick check of his permissions set, and found that Carson had given Tommy full clearance for almost everything that Carson had. With that clearance established, Dizzy undocked the monitors and opened up the normal six monitor setup, that Carson preferred. "Tommy, If you will bring Carson's spare wheelchair over, and have a seat, I will show you whatever you want to see. However, Carson believes that it really is bad."

Tommy grabbed the wheelchair, and locked it in place, before taking a seat. "Okay, Dizzy... what can you show me?" Tommy asked, waiting for the screens to light up.

"Please be more specific, I can show you many things, but you need to let me know what you want to see." Dizzy said, and Tommy had to sigh in frustration. Carson had kept reminding him that Dizzy was nothing more than a crude V. I., no matter how fancy he looked, or even acted. Dizzy couldn't make decisions, or do anything else like that. So Tommy had to be specific when talking to him.

"Okay, let's start out with why Carson thinks that things are bad enough that they had to rescue people from Orlando." Tommy said, and finally the screens started to light up.

For the next forty-five minutes, Tommy quizzed Dizzy on many things, several of which, Carson had never even looked at. What he was starting to see was a truly disturbing picture, even to a fifteen year old. One thing was very clear, though. The information that Tommy was putting together, meant that it was probably even worse than what Carson was thinking.

"Wait a minute!" Tommy said, as he looked over a report of military movements on the east coast. "Go back to what you showed me about Orlando Florida, please." Dizzy brought the text data back up, and Tommy started to re-read it. "Now, please bring up a map of the Orlando metro area, overlaying the coordinates that the orders gave with a red 'X'." He said, and a moment later, his mouth dropped open. "There's only one reason they would be doing that...." He muttered to himself.

He shook his head, and spoke again. "Now, please do the same thing with the Baltimore Metro area, and the orders given for there." Starting to put things together, he asked for Dizzy to do the same with a few other large Eastern Cities... They were all the same. He thought about calling Carson, or his dad and telling them what he had found. But before he could do that, he reasoned that he hadn't actually found anything. What he had was a hunch, a guess. His brother and his father were busy dealing with real things that were definitely happening and didn't need to be distracted by Tommy's speculations. He would leave them to attend to what is and, as much as he could, he would prepare for what might be. That decided, Tommy thought about the cell phone that he had sitting in his bedroom, and almost ran to go get it, but then thought better of it. "Dizzy, you can place phone calls, right?"

"Yes, I can." Dizzy said simply.

"Kewl, do you have Jared's number?" Tommy asked, thinking of his best friend, but more importantly, his best friend's dad.

"Yes. Would you like me to call him for you?" Dizzy asked, and Tommy smiled.

"Yes, please, and put it on speaker, please." Tommy said. Even though he knew, Dizzy was just a computer program, his parents had always taught him to be polite to everyone, so it was habit.

A moment later, Jared's voice came over the speaker. "Hello?"

"Hey Jared... It's Tommy."

"Oh, hey, Tommy. Sorry, I didn't recognize the number." His friend said.

"It's kewl, I'm using Carson's computer to call you." Tommy said by way of explanation.

"What?" Jared exclaimed, and Tommy couldn't help but giggle. "You mean the little freak let you use his computer?" Had it been almost anyone other than Jared who called Carson, that, Tommy would have probably hurt them, but Jared was almost like a brother to all three of them, so he was allowed. Not to mention that Carson would probably have called Jared something along the lines of a muscle bound freak. Jared's favorite hobby was weight lifting, and now that he was fourteen, his body was really filling out with muscles. Hell, he could already bench press more then most of the senior football players, unfortunately for them, Jared didn't like football.

"Yeah, well.... Things are a little bit crazy over here. Which leads me to why I called. Is your dad home?"

"Yeah..." Jared answered suspiciously.

"Okay... is there any way you and your dad could come over here?" Tommy asked, knowing that asking that question would be enough to make Jared really curious.

"Dude... we just got done with dinner..." Jared answered.

"I know, Jared... but, you know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't really important." Tommy responded imploringly.

Jared sighed deeply, then Tommy heard him put the phone down. Less than two minutes later, he came back to the phone. "We'll be there in about ten minutes... this had better be good, though, Tommy. We were just about to sit down and watch '300'."

Tommy couldn't help but laugh. "Geez, Dude! How many times have you seen that movie!"

"It don't matter!" Jared replied with a laugh. "Those guys are so damned hot, it's just not right!" That was the other thing about Jared; He was gay. Most people didn't know it, and no one would ever guess, since he's got better muscles than most well toned adults. Tommy and his family knew, as did Jared's dad and little brother. No one had a problem with it, and, hell, he and Tommy had messed around a little bit.

"I'll make it up to you... but really, this is important." Tommy said, and heard Jared sigh again.

"Fine.. I'll see you in a little bit." Jared responded before Tommy heard the phone go dead.

Tommy chuckled as he sat back in the chair a bit, and started to think. "Dizzy, could you please pull up the floor plans of the house, both sections, as well as what we have in the attic. I wanna make sure we have enough stuff."

On the main screen, a picture of the entire house came up instantly. On the other screen, a list of extra supplies they had on hand came up. They often had to host different executives from all over the country, and even some from overseas, that wanted to get updates on Dad's work, but since they lived in an area well known for hiking and camping, those executives often brought their families with them, using the opportunity to have a working vacation.

The house was actually split into two sections, the main house, was where the Brown family lived. Then there was the 'big house'. It was attached to the main house, but functioned almost as a 'bed and breakfast' style home.

It was actually one huge house that they had remodeled into two houses. The side they lived in was a nice sized house, with four large bedrooms and a master bedroom, on the second floor, and a fully finished attic that they used as a game room. The first floor had Carson's room, a spare room, mainly for when their grandparents came to visit, a dinning room, which could be repurposed as a conference room, a living room, and kitchen as well as offices for both Mom and Dad.

The 'big house' was the impressive part, though. Each floor was set up like a, not so, mini home. Each of three floors had a kitchen, dining room, and living room. The first floor had three large 'master bedroom suites, each with their own large bathroom attached.

The second and third floor each had six large sized bedrooms, meant to house two, or maybe even three families. When Tommy's dad first told them about how he wanted to remodel everything, everyone thought he was nuts, wanting to make that many rooms, and that huge of a place. It came in handy a few times, though, as the operation grew.

They also had two individual guest houses close by, that they sometimes used when people wanted more privacy. They could easily fit all the people that Carson had on the way, however, there wouldn't be anywhere near enough room for what Tommy was now convinced was coming. That's where Jared's dad came into the picture.

In January, 'Brown Consulting' was opening a huge factory, to start mass producing some of the things that his dad had created. Tommy had seen the plans, and his dad had brought the entire family up to speed on what was going to happen. They were planning on bringing in close to a thousand employees, and their families, starting in January. They already had a thousand-home community, built on a very large section of land that the family owned. Jared's father was the main 'caretaker' of the entire community, at least until people started to move in. On top of that, Jared's father had another job that factored into Tommy's wanting to talk to him.

Almost directly across the Columbia River from their home, was Camp Trebier, or Camp Tree Beard, as most people called it. It was the second largest Boy Scout, High Adventure camp in the United States, covering just shy of 22 square miles. Of course, most of that was wilderness, but the camp, when full, housed over three thousand scouts, at one time. Jared's father was the Land Services Manager, in charge of, among other things, the campgrounds.

Tommy spent the next few minutes going over what they had in storage, and coming up with a comprehensive plan on how to set up all the rooms. When the doorbell went off, Tommy was up and out of his chair like a shot, and quickly ran to the front door. When he opened the door, he saw not only Jared and his dad, but also Seth, Jared's eleven year old little brother.

Tommy opened the door wide and with a grin bumped fists with both Jared and Seth, and actually hugged Jared's dad, Karl. The two families were just that close. "Thanks for coming, guys." Tommy said as he turned and walked toward the living room. When they got to the door, Tommy opened it, and motioned for Jared and Seth to go in, but put up a hand to hold up Karl. "Go on in, guys, I wanna talk to Uncle Karl for a minute."

When the other boys headed into the living room, Karl turned and looked at Tommy with a critical eye. "Okay, Kid, what's going on?" Karl was a huge man, standing well over six feet tall, and weighing probably around three hundred pounds. He could intimidate almost anyone. Well, at least anyone that didn't know him as well as Tommy did. Tommy knew that the man's heart was just as big, if not bigger than the man himself.

Tommy sighed while looking around. When he focused back on his mentor, he frowned deeply. "Have you been watching the news?"

"Yes..." Karl answered slowly.

"So, you know what's going on with the presidential stuff, right?" Tommy asked softly.

"A bit.... but what's that got to do with you." The man asked.

"Well... it all started a few hours ago." Tommy began. "See, well, I guess you should know. There's a bunch of people coming here from the East Coast, because of how bad things are getting, back there." Tommy started out in a rush, and barely breathed before he continued. "But here's the thing. I started looking at things online, and well. I think it's gonna be a lot worse than just rescuing a few people who want to get out of Dodge."

"Okay, and what do you think we can do about it?" Karl asked gently.

"We've got lots of room, here, lots of empty houses that Dad had built for when the factory opens up. We got ALL the campgrounds, including yours, we got room for lots of people here, people that are gonna need a place to go. We got everything we need here to bring in lots of supplies, food and stuff, so they can eat. I mean, it's just like you taught me for my Citizenship Merit Badge... you need to make sure you do everything you can, to help your neighbor, cause someday, it might be you needing the help. Plus, it's the American thing to do." He threw that last line in there, knowing full well, it was a low blow, but he really needed this man's help.

"Okay, Tommy, so far, you have me intrigued. Now, we need to get down to business. Let me see all this important information that has you so convinced that we will need to do something as big as you are thinking, and then we'll go from there, okay?"

Tommy led the man into Carson's room, and had Dizzy show Karl what he had come up with. While Karl was going through all the information, Tommy got Jared and Seth and asked them to help him start getting all the rooms set up.

It was almost thirty minutes later when Karl found the boys hard at work in the 'Big House' getting one of the master rooms on the first floor fixed up. The look on Karl's face immediately told Tommy that the man believed him. "Boys, I agree with Tommy, we definitely need to sit down and talk." He said as he walked into the room.

* * * * *

Almost an hour later, the four of them split up. Jared, Seth and Karl were going to start bringing in more furniture for the rooms. Tommy was going off to call in the staff that worked in the 'Big House'. It was late, but once Karl was convinced of what Tommy was saying, it gave Tommy the courage to really go into overdrive. All Tommy told the staff was that they were about to have a bunch of very important people coming into town, who could be arriving anytime between tonight to tomorrow. They all said they would be there as soon as they could. Of course, it didn't hurt that Tommy cut them each a good sized bonus check, for doing it.

Once those calls were made, Tommy sat down at his desk, and pulled up his 'business' files. Only a few people knew that Tommy was actually a businessman, even though he was only fifteen. When he was thirteen, his parents had given him the job of looking after the 'Big House', but even more so, looking after the guests that stayed there.

Tommy thought it would be a lot of fun, and would make him some good money, so he agreed. Of course, he really didn't understand what his parents had in mind. A few days later, Tommy went with his parents to their corporate lawyer's office, and signed a whole bunch of papers. By the end of it, Tommy was the CEO and owner of 'Kettle Falls Hospitality, LLC'.

What really blew him away, though, was when his parents actually signed over the 'Big House' to K.F.H., and gave him start up funding. Of course, they would always be there to help him if he asked, but one thing about the Brown family is that, both Ryan and Deb allowed the boys to do what they wanted to do, and only got involved if the boys asked for help, or if they saw that something really bad was going to happen.

Of course, it made Tommy grow up in certain areas, and take a lot more responsibility onto himself than he normally would have.

At first, he went to his parents about everything, but after a short while, he started to get a bit more confident with his decisions. One of the things they made Tommy do, though, was to sit down with the accountant, so he could learn how to go over the books, and make sure that everything was paid. It had been a lot of fun for Tommy, but also a lot of hard work. But he didn't mind the work.

But now wasn't the time to think about the past, now it was time to start working on the future... a future where life may be very much different than what he was used to.

When Karl walked into the room, Tommy glanced at the clock and was shocked to see it was after midnight. "How's it coming?" Karl asked as he sat down on Tommy's bed.

Tommy grabbed his notebook and looked it over. "I've contacted every campground, bed and breakfast, RV park, and hotel. I reserved everything they had, and basically put the fire under them, that we'd have people coming in for a 'conference', starting within two or three days. I also contacted the main warehouse in Spokane, and got the ball rolling on bringing up all the foodstuffs that we have in storage. Beyond that, I can't think of anything else to do, until the shit hits the fan, so to say."

Karl chuckled at the turn of phrase. "Okay, kiddo. It's time for you to get some sleep. Jared and Seth both crashed about an hour ago, in the room next door, and I am going to take the room across the hall. Mikey and Carson are both already asleep, and your parents are heading there shortly. We're gonna have a long day tomorrow, so you need to get some sleep."

Of course, the moment that sleep was mentioned, Tommy let out a huge yawn. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He said as he put the notebook down, and stood up. He moved over to the big man who also stood, and gave him a big hug. "Thanks for believing in me."

"Once you showed me the information you found, there was no other conclusion possible. Although, it scares the shit out of me, to be honest." Karl said.

Tommy just nodded. "Me, too. C'ya in the morning." He said as he walked to the bathroom to get ready for bed. When his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light. His sleep wasn't great, though, as his mind just wouldn't let go of what he knew was coming.

* * * * *

The next morning, everyone was up and working, early. They still had a lot to do, and the information coming in from the flight crew about their guests was being updated on an almost constant basis. By the time Fred and Madelyn Murten showed up, the number of guests was up to around 30, and the plane was just about to take off. Tommy had been told that the flight time would be about three hours, and that just made him shift into overdrive. His goal was to try and take the information that they were given, and assign the rooms in the big house.

Mikey had to make things difficult, by insisting that he have someone staying with him. He thought it would be cool to have another kid sharing his room. Tommy told him he would see what could be worked out, but it would also be up to the kids who were coming, if any of them wanted to room with someone they didn't know. "It's not like we don't have the room, here." That comment made Mikey pout for a moment before he nodded in agreement.

They went in search of Fred, their grandfather, and found him sitting behind the desk in Deb's office, working away on the computer. Even though the man didn't like to use computers, he did know how to, and he could type as fast as anyone Tommy had ever known. Fred was a semi retired doctor, who had spent time in both Chicago and the Military, before coming out to Kettle Falls. He was an old time doctor that actually still believed in house calls, instead of clinics. He was a big man who got his start on the streets of Chicago, then entered the military. He never lost the gruff exterior, he acquired in the Military, but everyone that knew him, knew he was a big softy inside.

He looked up when the boys walked in, and smiled at them. "I got the first draft of the room assignments figured out. However, with all the information coming in, I'm sure we'll have to rearrange some things."

Tommy smiled and took the list, and looked it over. "Thanks, Papa." Tommy said, as he went over and gave the man a big hug. "You're the greatest."

"I know I am." The man said with a grin. "Now, get out there, get a treat from your nanny, and then get back to work, pronto."

Both boys grinned and ran out of the room. Nanny's treats were always good. And she had been cooking up a storm since she got there. Madelyn had retired four years ago from being the county judge. She still had her law license, but only helped out if something big came up, or if she needed to fill in for someone's vacation. After she retired, she devoted herself to helping to build up the small towns of Kettle Falls and Colville. Her main focus was working for the kids. She would often substitute at the local school, and was actually the one who funded, and had, the local skate park built.

While she might have been some sort of hero to some kids, she was still Nanny to Tommy and Mikey. Nanny that always had treats ready for them, and this time, it was no different. She frowned when they walked in, but it was all for show, and the boys knew it. She didn't say a word, just pointed towards a covered dish on the table. The boys ran to it, and when they opened it up, they saw huge freshly baked chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. They each took one, and only one, under Madelyn's careful watch, then ran from the room, intent on getting back to work. "Well, it was nice to talk to you boys..." Madelyn said as she watched their retreating backs. Of course, they probably couldn't say anything, since their mouths were stuffed full of cookie... but.

"Okay, guys!" Ryan called over the house wide intercom system. "The plane should be landing in about 30 minutes, it's time to get moving!"

"Shit!" Tommy said, as he looked at his watch, just after 12:30 in the afternoon. "SHIT!" He said, a bit louder. It was as if time flew by, over the last three hours. He looked down at the clipboard that he held, on it was papa's list. He made sure all the names had checkmarks next to them, and that everyone had room assignments. He was sure that things would change, but everything was set up as best he could, for now.

He tucked the clipboard under his arm and ran to the front of the main house. It took him a little longer than normal, since he was on the third floor of the big house, but he made it there just as Carson, Nanny and Papa made it there.

Sitting in front of the house were several of the All Terrain Vehicles that were the staple of the new community. When the plans for the new community were revealed, a large part of it was the fact that, for the most part, normal vehicles were not allowed to drive in the community. Instead, they had purchased several thousand ATV's of varying types and sizes, so those were used to travel from the several large parking lots at the edge of the peninsula, and the people would grab whatever type of ATV they needed, and drive those to their houses. It was something that Ryan thought would help to set them apart from the rest of the country, and help attract some of the best and brightest.

They also installed a monorail system that would allow people to ride to certain points spread out throughout the community and still allow kids to be safe to play anywhere.

When they loaded up, they had a somewhat long drive to get to where the airstrip was located. The land that the family owned was actually a peninsula about a mile or so from the town of Kettle Falls. Route 25 split the town's land from theirs. The peninsula was about 2.5 miles wide, and almost 4 long. Their house was on the southern part of it, near where Ryan's lab was located. The air strip, though, was near the top part. Of course it wasn't the main airstrip for the town, it was used for the small jets carrying people, instead of cargo.

As they drove through the community, Tommy couldn't help but marvel at the houses they used. When Dad had first brought up the idea, Tommy had imagined a bunch of 'Leave it to Beaver' style cookie cutter houses, all over the place. Instead, when Ryan showed him what they were actually putting up, he thought it was really cool.

As the ATV drove down the winding lanes, between the homes, Tommy enjoyed the light reflecting off the multi-paned windows, accented by rock and timber surfaces, rooting the buildings into the land; farm style two-story wood homes with deep porches; modest, cozy planked cabins and larger log cabins and then, the occasional large three story homes, with underneath storage areas, still decorated for Halloween. All had the steep roof lines necessary for the winter climate and the energy-efficiency elements had been disguised into traditional architecture.

There was no overhead wiring of any kind.

All of it had been buried in underground raceways, with access points every couple hundred feet, to allow for additional connectivity at any time. High Power AC, and low voltage DC, lines, as well as communications lines, both copper and fiber, were completely separated, to avoid interference from either direction.

When the place was still in the planning stage, every possible precaution was taken to insure the entire campus could be powered on its own, and would be isolated from any major spikes, even those from lightning, even if the main power grid failed, as often happened in rural areas.

Carson made sure, that he had access to satellite feeds, so he could keep in contact, even if they lost their hard wired connections.

Tommy could imagine what this place would look like, full of people, when the 'phase 2' houses were also occupied. As it was, small children were playing in the mini-playgrounds near each grouping of homes, sharing the space over ten or so families and couples. Some older folks were at the covered community pool, having been working out at the gym and now relaxing in the hot tub. Tommy noticed some of the parents in the community center, working through the glass-paned doors. Music could be heard drifting out.

Tommy noticed that one of the kids was being pulled behind a rather large, strong boxer dog, aimed at the pup relief patch; unless the dog was more interested in the ducks in the stream that wound through the community, along the walking/bike path.

No house had a similar design and lined up in rows. It was winding, nestled with groups that shared space but no one was too close or in direct alignment with another. Each home had a maximum of privacy.

Nothing could be further from cookie-cutter, tract housing. It was so cool the way it was designed, and Tommy couldn't wait to see the entire community full of people. Of course, if what he thought was going to come, does.... it's gonna be full a long time before anyone was thinking.

* * * * *

The large group stood there watching as the plane came in low, and then did a perfect landing. These guys were some of the best pilots that they had. Ryan was sure they could have landed on a dime if needed, hell one of them got their start landing on aircraft carriers, so he probably has landed on a dime before.

They watched as the large aircraft taxied to where they were all waiting. As soon as it stopped, the ground crew that was there went to work, and the first thing they did was pull out a wheelchair, and set it up at the bottom of the steps.

Tommy looked over at Carson, and noticed that he was really nervous. It made sense; he had set all this up, and no one knew who he was, now they would know, and who knows how they would take it.

It took a few minutes before the door was opened, and the steps extended for the people to get off. The first two off were an older middle-aged man and an elderly woman. The woman was holding onto the man's arm for support, as they slowly made their way down the steps.

The next to deplane was a young man, in his early 20s, carrying someone else. When they reached the bottom of the steps, the young man put the one he was carrying into the wheelchair. Tommy knew that had to be Rorris, the guy that Carson was working with. When the young man stood up, though, Tommy couldn't help but grin as he thought about what Jared would have thought about the man. He was certainly a hunk.

Next came a man and a woman. As they walked down, Carson softly whispered. "Those are Rory's parents." Everyone around him nodded in understanding.

After the adults came down, a large group of kids, with a few adults interspersed for good measure, came down, and started to mill around at the bottom of the steps. Once everyone was off the plane, Tommy watched as his father stepped forward a bit. "Hello, everyone. My name is Ryan Brown."

One of the older teens looked around, then at Ryan. He hesitated for only a moment before he cautiously asked. "Are you Studmffn?"

"My wife's always thought so, but you're the first guy who's noticed." Ryan said with a grin.

"Daaaad!" Carson cried out in horror. Tommy couldn't help but break down laughing, so did Mikey.

Carson maneuvered his chair till he was next to Ryan and said, somewhat hesitantly. "My name is Carson, and I'm Studmffn."

* * * * *

There was a long, awkward silence as the travelers realized that the boy in the wheelchair was the person responsible for all of them being there.

Finally, the silence was broken by Marcus Teeter saying, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

"Yeah. It's nice to meet you, too." Carson said shyly.

The group watched as Tommy walked up to his younger brother, then leaned in to whisper.

When the boys were done talking, Carson looked around at the people in front of him. Finally he looked at Bug and asked, "Where are the rest of you? We were expecting about thirty people. We seem to be quite a few short."

Bug looked to his right and left to confirm that everyone was there, then said, "I think this is all of us. Did you have people coming from somewhere besides Orlando and Chicago?"

After a moment to confer with his older brother, Carson asked, "Where are the Kansas City people?"

"They're still on the plane. Do you want them out here, too?" Bug asked uncertainly.

"Yes. They need to know what's going on." Carson answered immediately.

"Bax." Bug said, as he released the boy he had been holding, "Go."

After a quick grin at Bug, Bax dashed away, back toward the plane.

"While we're waiting, which of you is Y2Kbug?" Carson asked curiously, and seemed to be looking for a reaction from Walter or Reginald.

"That would be me." Bug said as he raised his hand slightly.

Carson looked at him with surprise, then broke into a smile.

Bug noticed the reaction and said, "Yeah. You don't look like what I expected, either."

"Where is Blue Vulcan?" Carson asked, as he looked around.

Zane hesitantly raised his hand from Loquicia's shoulder.

Lucas and Bax, approaching from the plane, drew everyone's attention.

Carson looked from Bug to Zane and quickly said, "I'd like to have a talk with you guys and Roris, later, when we get to the house."

Bug and Zane both nodded that they had heard.

"Bax said that you wanted us out here?" Lucas asked uncertainly.

"Yes. You and your family are just as displaced as everyone else, here. So we made sure to include you in our plans. That includes the flight crew, too."

"I thought we'd just stay at a hotel..." Lucas began to say, but was interrupted.

"...With three kids? You guys can do what you want, of course. But I'll bet that all of you will be a lot happier if you stay with us for a few days, until things settle down." Carson said frankly.

After a moment to consider, Lucas finally said, "I suppose that it would be nice if we could take some time to look at our options before we make any definite plans."

"Yeah. If you'll go get your family and the flight crew, I can tell everyone what's going to happen."

Lucas nodded, then dashed away.

Ryan leaned down and said something to Carson. After a shy nod, Carson looked around the group and his gaze stopped on a fifty or sixty year old man, supporting an elderly woman at his side.

"I've just been reminded of a few things. I guess not everyone brought their own chair, like I did. We've got some carts here for anyone who can't walk very far. I was also reminded that it's kinda chilly out here today and that some of you are from Florida." Carson said timidly.

"We can get everyone together and talk, when we get to the house." Ryan said from his son's side.

Lucas approached with his family following closely behind.

"Is this everyone?" Ryan asked, directing his question to Lucas.

"Yes. This is my family, and those two young men are Jeremy and Hank, our flight attendants. Our pilots live locally, so they won't need accommodations. Mrs. Peil and Mr. Nguyen have already made other arrangements.

"Well, I suppose we'd better get going, then. Everyone, as I said before, my name is Ryan Brown, beside me is my wife, Debra, and these are our sons, Tommy, Carson and... Mikey's around here somewhere." Ryan said as he looked around curiously.

"Here!" Mikey said from where he was seated behind the wheel of one of the bigger ATVs. This was a 6 passenger 'Gator', set up to be able to handle wheelchairs as well. In other words, it was huge. He started it, and slowly drove it down to where the group was waiting.

"Anyone who has difficulty walking can hop on. Debra and I will take you to the house. The luggage will be brought separately, when the plane is unloaded, so we can leave whenever you're ready. Everyone else can follow Tommy. He'll take you to the lot where you can pick up a Gator..." Ryan said before he was interrupted.

"Alligators!?" Ty squealed in terror.

Ryan, Carson and Tommy all broke into laughter at the reaction, but quickly quieted under Debra's disapproving glare. "No. A Gator is an all terrain vehicle. Just like the one Mikey was driving."

"This is a newly developed community, where cars don't go. Everyone that lives here will be using the gators, or the monorail to get around." Ryan said with a smile at the group.

"So, we can drive them, even if we're not old enough to drive a car?" Dax asked with increasing excitement.

"Yes. That is, if the adults approve. If your parent or guardian says it's okay, then I won't have any objection." Ryan said as he looked around the group.

"Dad! Can I?" Lazlo begged his father shamelessly.

"Wait until we get there, and I can see what we're talking about. I just hope they're smaller than that one." Lucas said seriously.

Bax looked up at Bug with a pleading expression.

"Let's wait until we see how big they are and if you can handle it." Bug said frankly.

"But if I'm big enough, then I can?" Bax asked hopefully.

"Sure, Bax." Bug grinned, then glanced over his shoulder to find that Ken and Kev were wearing matching smiles.

* * * * *

"It's not, too, far. This is what we do for most people who visit. Since cars aren't allowed, we make sure everyone has one to get around with. You just pick it up here, or in one of the car parking lots, use it while you're staying with us, then bring it back when you leave." Tommy said as he led the group of people away from the airfield.

"Do you have a lot of out of town visitors?" Zane asked curiously.

"Yeah. But not usually around this time of year. Most people come to visit during the summer, so they can visit the campgrounds and parks and stuff. Right now, it's too cold to do anything fun." Tommy said frankly, then pointed past an airplane hangar and said, "That's where we're going."

As they were walking, Tommy kept up the monologue. "Last month, the last of the community was certified finished, and ready for people to move in. Dad's gonna put up a huge factory for some of the things he's created, and the people that work for him will live here. There's just over a thousand new homes that were built, and everything's ready to go, starting January first."

Lucas and Gordon's girls didn't seem to be the least bit interested. Jay and Max followed along, not really knowing what to think about what was happening. But Lazlo was more than excited enough for all of them.

"Everyone, this is Lansing Durante. He's in charge of a lot of things around here, including the Gators." Tommy said, as he indicated a man around forty years old.

"Lance, these guys are going to be staying at our place for a while. Can you help me get them set up?" Tommy asked hopefully.

"We're all gassed up and ready to roll. We have two seat, four seat, six seat, and a few of the ten seat Gators, so just let me know what you'll be needing. Once you have your vehicle, Tommy can give you some basic instruction on how to operate it safely, then you can take it for a spin on the track, right over there, to get a feel for it." Lance said cheerfully as he motioned toward a well worn path in the grass.

"Right, and when everyone is ready, I'll lead the way to the house." Tommy said happily.

"Who's first?" Lance asked as he looked at the group that had gathered before him.

"I guess that's us." A thin young man said uncertainly.

The dark skinned boy at his side timidly asked, "Can I drive one?"

"You can try it out. But if it's too much for you to handle, I'll drive it for you." The young man said gently.

"Do you need a two or four seater?" Lance asked patiently.

"I don't know how to drive." A young man said timidly as he held a younger girl in a butterfly dress at his side.

"Four."

Lance motioned for the group of four to follow, then gestured to a vehicle with four seats.

"What's your name?" Tommy asked the boy who wanted to drive.

"I'm Jamiah." He said shyly.

"Is it okay if I call you Jamie?" Tommy asked hopefully.

Jamiah smiled at the question and quietly said, "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Well, Jamie, get your passengers loaded, then I'll show you what to do." Tommy said with a grin at the shy boy.

"Who's next?" Lance asked as he looked back at the group.

"I guess that's us." A young man holding a blond boy on his hip said uncertainly.

"Two or four seats?" Lance asked with a smile.

"Four, I think. Oleksandr may want to sit on his own... someday."

"Can I drive?" The teenager at his side asked hopefully.

"Of course. I don't know if I would be able to drive with my little buddy, here, clinging to me." The young man said with a smile.

Conversation stopped as Jamiah started the first Gator.

Everyone watched as Tommy explained the basic controls.

After a moment, the Gator slowly inched out of it's parking place, then picked up speed as it made it's way to the track.

Tommy ran to Lance's side and asked, "Who's next?"

Lance gestured to the teenager before him.

"What's your name?" Tommy asked pleasantly.

"Dax."

"Is that it, or is it short for something?" Tommy asked curiously.

"It's short for Dakota." Dax said with a slight wince at saying his real name.

"I like Dakota. Can I call you that?" Tommy asked curiously.

"I'd really rather that you didn't. When people hear my real name they always think of a certain actress, and... I just don't want to be called that." Dax said honestly.

"Okay, Dax. You got it." Tommy said cheerfully, then looked at Lance with question.

"I finished my stuff and Mrs. Klemptor let me out early so I could help. Do you need me to do anything?" An older teenager asked as he ran up to Lance's side.

"Sure, Hobie. Why don't you take Dax, here, and get him into a four seater." Lance said cheerfully.

"Who's next?" Tommy asked as Hobie walked Dax's group to the lot.

"Is Bax too young to drive one?" An older teenager asked with a boy at his side.

"That depends. Are you going to be riding along, or will he be on his own?" Tommy asked curiously.

"I'll ride along this first time, just to be sure that he can handle it."

"Then he should be fine. Would you be wanting a two seater or a four seater?" Tommy asked. He had noticed that the twins behind the young man were obviously part of the same group.

"Two, I think. I get the feeling that the twins would enjoy having their own." Bug said with a glance behind him.

"We can do that, come on." Tommy said as he gestured for Bax to follow.

"Two seater?" Lance asked as he looked at the first twin.

"Yes. We'd each like one, if that's not a problem." The first twin said uncertainly.

"This time of year, it's no problem at all. We've got plenty." Lance said with a smile, then motioned toward the lot and said, "You can take those two. If you have any questions, just give a yell and I'll help you."

Once the twins had walked away, Lance noticed that the next person in line was a young teenage boy with mostly gray hair and blue/gray eyes. He seemed to be alone, which in itself wasn't all that strange, but something about the boy's expression or posture made Lance feel that 'alone' was something of an understatement when it came to this boy.

"Can I drive one, too?" The boy asked hopefully, but seemed to be poised for disappointment.

"I think we can do that." Lance said with a smile at the boy, then he looked over at the lot to see who was free.

He noticed that Hobie was watching how Dax was doing, driving around the track.

"Hobie. Are you ready for the next one?" Lance called out to get his attention.

"Sure." Hobie said suddenly, as he looked up at the sound of his name.

"What's your name, son?" Lance asked the boy gently.

"Ty."

"Is that short for something?" Lance asked curiously.

"Tyrell."

"That's a pretty good name. It's not common, but it's not too strange, either." Lance said as he watched Hobie approach.

"It's just the name some social worker gave me. No one knows my real name, or even if my mom cared enough about me to give me one, before she dropped me in the garbage, outside the 7-Eleven." Ty said bitterly.

"Wow, that sucks." Hobie said frankly, then added, "I bet driving one of these things will make you feel better."

Ty looked at Hobie with surprise for a moment. He obviously hadn't known that the boy was listening, but finally he said, "It won't hurt to try."

"That's the spirit." Lance said and pointed to a two seat Gator in the lot.

"Dad! C'mon. Can I PLEASE!" A boy begged as he approached with two men.

"No, Ronan. You may not. Once we get settled in, one of us will go with you and teach you how to drive." One of the men said firmly.

"But all the other kids are allowed to." Ro whined as he pointed to the track where the Gators were driving around and around at varying speeds.

"If other parents want to let their kids take the chance of breaking their necks, I suppose that's their prerogative, but you won't be allowed to drive until we're both certain that you can do so safely."

"I'm guessing that you guys will be needing a four seater." Lance said quietly, not wanting to get drawn into their discussion.

"Yes. If you wouldn't mind." The other adult said quietly.

"Right over there. If you can drive a car, you shouldn't have any problem. But if you have any questions, my son, Hobie, or I will be happy to help you." Lance said courteously.

"Thank you." The man said quietly, and Lance noticed that the young teenage boy had tears running down his cheeks.

"Can I, Dad? Please?" Another young teenage boy was asking as an entire family approached.

"Is it really safe for someone his age to drive one of these things?" The boy's father asked cautiously.

When Lance looked at him, he was surprised to find that he knew him.

"Lucas? What are you doing here?" Lance asked happily.

"That's kind of a long story." Lucas said honestly.

"Gordon, it's good to see you again." Lance said to the other adult, then looked around at the children and said, "I didn't know you guys had a family... and so many!"

"Yes. Well, we've been foster parents for quite a while, now, but as to the size of our family, that's a more recent development." Lucas said hesitantly.

"We'll have to get together so you can tell me all about it. But for right now, we should get your family outfitted with vehicles so you can be on your way." Lance said cheerfully.

"Would it be safe for Lazlo to drive one of these?" Lucas asked cautiously.

"Oh, sure. As long as he follows the instructions, I'm sure he'll be fine." Lance said assuringly.

Lucas and Gordon exchanged an uncertain look. Finally Lucas said, "Yes, Lazlo. You may drive one, as long as you promise to behave responsibly."

"I will, Dad. I promise! Can Jay come with me?" Lazlo asked hopefully.

"That depends on whether he would like to drive one for himself." Lucas said frankly.

"No. That's okay. I'd rather just ride." Jay said quietly.

Lucas looked at the other kids to see if any of them were interested in driving when he noticed the 'left out' look that Max was wearing.

"So, will that be a two seater for the boys?" Lance asked cautiously.

"No. A four seater. That way Max can go along, too." Lucas said decisively.

"And what about you two? Will you be wanting two two seaters or one four seater?" Lance asked as he looked at Lucas curiously.

"One four seater, I think. If Gordon and I end up having to go separate directions, we can just borrow the boys' vehicle." Lucas said thoughtfully.

"You can always drive back here and pick up another one, if you need to." Lance said with a smile, then noticed that both Tommy and Hobie were standing by the track, carefully watching how the drivers were handling their vehicles.

"Hobie, would you give Lazlo and his brothers a quick driving lesson?" Lance asked, just loudly enough to gain his son's attention.

"Um, yeah. Sure." Hobie said absently, then gestured for the boys to follow.

"You and Gordon can take the next one in line." Lance said with a gesture at the lot.

"Come on, girls." Gordon said and drew the girls toward the parking lot.

"Jeremy. I'm surprised to see you here. Every time you fly in here you usually turn around and fly right back out." Lance said somewhat playfully.

"Yeah. Well, that's because I'm usually anxious to get back home. We're here today because we've been warned to evacuate Kansas City." Jeremy said frankly.

"Evacuate? What's going on?" Lance asked with concern.

"I've only heard bits and pieces of it, but it was enough to let me know to take it seriously when I got a call from the office telling me that I should think about getting out of KC."

"I need to get with Ryan and see what's up. All Tommy told me was that we were going to be having visitors and that they'd be needing vehicles." Lance said thoughtfully.

"I don't know much more than what I just told you. But if the people in charge are this worried about it, then I think it's worth taking seriously."

"I suppose you're right. Well, here you go. Did you want one or two?" Lance finally thought to ask.

Jeremy looked to the young man at his side with question.

"I guess that since we're going the same place, that we could take one." The man said timidly.

"Lance, this is Hank. Lucas just hired him to work with me." Jeremy said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you. I work for KF transport, too, so if you ever need anything, feel free to ask. We're all on the same team." Lance said as he met Hank's surprised gaze.

"Thanks. I will." Hank said with the beginning of a grin.

"You should probably go on. It looks like Tommy is anxious to get you on your way." Lance said as he looked at the boy staring back at him impatiently.

"Maybe we can get together and talk some other time." Jeremy said hopefully.

"Yes. I'll get with you once you're settled in and you two can come over for dinner or something." Lance said as Jeremy and Hank climbed into a two seat Gator.

"Yeah. Sounds good." Jeremy said before starting the engine.

Lance backed out of the way, then watched as Jeremy pulled the Gator out to the edge of the track.

* * * * *

Once Tommy got his own Gator going, he led the pack of vehicles down a slightly overgrown path, off into what seemed to be the deep woods.

For possibly the first time in his life, Jamiah felt like he was really part of a family. He was driving the Gator with Brother Jacques at his side. Zane and Loquicia were riding in the back seat. Jamiah was, in essence, taking his family, to their new home.

Bug was having almost as much fun watching Bax as he was enjoying the ride, itself. He was sure that no one had ever enjoyed driving as much as Bax was at that moment.

Dax was surprised to realize that he couldn't seem to wipe the smile off his face. Beside him, he had Ben, a person who cared for him and whom he could depend on. And Ben was holding Oleksandr, a person Dax cared for and who could depend on him. The fact that he was driving for the first time was just icing on the cake.

Ty was internally kicking himself for revealing so much of his past to a complete stranger. He knew without a doubt that no one cared about him. He had spent enough time on the streets to know that you don't give away parts of yourself like that without getting something in return. When the times get tough, what you are is all you got. And Ty was very aware that he didn't have much.

Walter and Reginald were nearly as heartbroken as Ro, who sat hunched in the back seat, embarrassed that he was the only one in his peer group who was being 'driven' by his fathers.

Lazlo was incredibly happy. He had the brother that he'd always wanted at his side. And in the back seat he sort of had the younger brother that he'd always wanted. Jay and Max were also enjoying the ride, but seemed more guarded, constantly afraid that the dream was about to become a nightmare.

Lucas and Gordon followed closely behind, always keeping Lazlo's vehicle in sight, but were careful not to crowd him. Misti and Annie were in the back seats, looking around curiously, but not especially excited about what was going on.

Jeremy and Hank followed behind, sharing both a sense of excitement as well as a sense of apprehension about the events of the day.

Following the pack was Hobie, making sure that no one stalled their vehicle or got stuck.

* * * * *

As they approached the large house, everyone could see that the other gators had already arrived.

Tommy led the way around the side of the house, then pulled his Gator to a stop.

When the next Gator approached, he gestured to show the next driver where to park. When it was all done, he had established a crude parking lot where everyone could easily get to their vehicle and pull it out when they needed to.

"The door's over here. I'm sure Mom and Dad are waiting on us." Tommy said as he led the way.

"Did you see me?" Bax asked Ro excitedly.

"Yeah. It looked like fun." Ro said miserably.

"Bug said that I drove so good that I can go by myself next time." Bax said joyfully.

"Yeah. Great." Ro choked out as he turned away to hide his tears.

Bax suddenly noticed that Ro was upset and let his steps lag until he was at Bug's side.

"What's wrong, Bax?" Bug asked curiously.

"I don't know. Ro's mad or something." Bax said slowly.

"That's tough. I know that you've kind of learned to depend on Ro since you left the group home." Bug said gently as he walked through the doorway into the house.

"No. It wasn't like that." Bax said frankly.

"How was it?" Bug asked curiously as they walked down a hallway.

"I took care of him. I'd already been in the group home for about a month when he showed up. I knew as soon as I saw him that Ro was a first timer, and he was scared to death, so I helped him." Bax said frankly as they came to a stop in a cavernous living room.

Bug smiled as he said, "That was the right thing to do. I'm very proud of you."

Bax was surprised by the words, but finally broke into a smile and whispered, "Thanks."

* * * * *

When the last of the guests had filed into the room, Ryan said, "Now that we're all here, I'd like to start by welcoming you into my home. Before anyone can become concerned, let me assure you that this is no inconvenience. We're in the habit of inviting several guests throughout the year and have everything that you'll need to be comfortable."

Debra stepped to her husband's side and said, "You'll see, when we show you to your rooms, that we're set up for this. There's plenty of room."

"I suppose with that said, that we should take all of you to your rooms so you can see where you'll be staying. That way, if you start feeling tired after your long trip, you'll know where you can go to take a nap." Ryan said frankly.

"But once you've seen your rooms, I'd like for the children to come to the kitchen, it's right over there." Debra said with a gesture to an archway. "I'm going to have a special surprise for all of you."

"Would you like me to stay behind to help with the luggage?" Lucas asked carefully.

"No. Please go with your family. We'll get the luggage situation sorted out later." Ryan said with a smile.

"Well, if he doesn't need you to do anything, you could help me." Tommy said, as he walked to his father's side.

Lucas was surprised, but quickly got over it and asked, "What can I do for you, Tommy?"

"I'm the one who was getting rooms ready for everyone. I've been using the list of people that you sent us. But there's more people here than I was expecting, I don't know who some of the names are and I'm totally lost by some of these descriptions." Tommy said honestly.

"I could show people to their rooms, if you want." Lucas offered carefully.

"Do you know where the rooms are?" Tommy asked challengingly.

"Oh. Well, then. I suppose it would make sense if I helped you conduct people to their rooms." Lucas said frankly.

Tommy gave Lucas one of those looks that only a teenager can give, then handed him the clipboard.

"Right. Well, this seems very well thought out." Lucas said as he looked it over.

"I take care of things whenever we have guests. I think we should start with the main floor." Tommy said seriously. Before Lucas could say anything, Tommy turned to the group and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. " Mr. Crante, the live in butler, is out right now, but he, and the rest of the staff will be here in the morning, and they will help see to your needs while you are here. I will show everyone how to use the phone system we have set up here, when we show you your rooms. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them. As my father said, we are used to accommodating high level executives, so I am sure anything you guys could come up with will be easy to deal with." He saw a few people chuckle, and the rest nod. He then turned to Lucas, "You ready?"

"Yes." Lucas agreed, then turned to the guests and said, "If everyone will follow me, it looks as though we have accommodations for all of you."

Those who were sitting stood and waited.

It took a moment for Oma Shoupe to get herself on her feet, but as soon as she was ready, Walt walked with her and waited for Lucas expectantly.

"The 'big house' is this way." Tommy said as he walked to a door at the side of the room.

"Come along, then. The first room appears to be yours, Mrs. Shoupe." Lucas said to her quietly as he walked.

The group moved slowly, matching Oma Shoupe's pace.

"There's an elevator over here, for anyone who wants to use it. But I know how Carson hates the things, so, in case any of you are the same way, I made sure to put anyone in a wheelchair or who has trouble with stairs on the first floor, so you shouldn't need it." Tommy said as they walked.

"This is beautiful." Doris Teeter said as she looked around, her gaze stopping at the far end of the huge open room where there were floor to ceiling windows.

"Yeah. Over there is the big kitchen, it's like this so everyone in the big house can get together and eat down here at once if they want. There are smaller kitchens on the other floors. I'm sure that by the end of the day, Mr. Crante will have all the kitchens stocked with just about anything that you could want."

"The dining room is over there. Of course, this one is bigger than the upstairs ones, but all of them are wired with outlets and drop-down screens so you can use them as conference rooms, in case any of you need something like that. The rest of this is kind of a great big lounge where you can gather or just hang out and relax, if you like. The weather isn't always great here, so it's nice to have a big open place where you can do stuff." Tommy explained, then stopped at the first room.

"Mrs. Shoupe, this room should be yours." Lucas said as he opened the door.

"I don't know who it is that you think I am, to be treating me so nicely, but I certainly do appreciate it." Oma Shoupe said sincerely.

"That's easy. You're our guest. If you want to go in and relax for a while after your trip, we can call you when it's time for dinner. Of course, if you want to follow along to see where everyone else is staying, you can do that, too." Tommy said with a smile at the elderly woman.

"I think some rest would be lovely right now. Thank you." Oma Shoupe said gratefully, then walked into the room with Walt's help. Tommy followed them into the room and walked over to where there was a phone on a stand, as well as a long printed out list of numbers. "This phone is not only able to call out like a normal phone, but it can also be used to call any room in the house. Tomorrow, when the maids come to tidy up the room, they will also have updated room lists, so you will know who is staying in what room. If you need anything at all, you can figure out who to call from this list. If you have any problems, simply dial zero, and it will ring to my cell phone. Also, please do not hesitate to call if you need anything, okay?"

Oma Shoupe was almost overwhelmed by everything. "Thank you." She said sincerely. "Thank you for everything."

"Think nothing of it. Consider this to be an all expenses paid resort for you and your family." Tommy said as he left her to look around the large master suite.

"Next, we have Bug, the twins and Bax." Lucas said to the group as soon as Tommy re-joined them.

"Wait, this room only has two beds. A king size and a twin." Tommy said hesitantly.

"Sounds perfect." Bug said with a grin.

"C'mon. Let's go check it out!" Bax said happily and pulled Bug into the room by his hand.

Ken and Kev wore identical smiles as they followed. Tommy stopped them and leaned into whisper with a smile. "If you would prefer for your young friend to spend the night elsewhere, my brother has a few spare beds in his room, and has already said he would like to meet some of the new guys. Even if it's only for a sleep over, sometime." Ken and Kev looked at each other then back to Tommy, and nodded.

"The phone..."

"We all heard you telling Oma Shoupe." Ken interrupted.

Tommy smiled and nodded.

"The last room on this level belongs to Roris and Lawrence." Lucas said as he looked around.

Lawrence had been leaning down, listening to Roris, but looked up when his name was called.

"This room is yours." Lucas said more quietly.

"Thank you." Lawrence said timidly.

Lucas watched as Roris moved his electric wheelchair to the door and Lawrence opened it for him.

"The next stop is on the second floor. The elevator is back there and the stairs are right here." Tommy said, then started climbing the stairs.

Marcus and Doris Teeter walked back toward the elevator, but everyone else followed Tommy.

* * * * *

As everyone made their way up the stairs, Tommy stood by the stairway door and waited for the last of them.

"I see a problem, here." Lucas said as he looked at the clipboard carefully.

"What did I miss?" Tommy asked curiously.

"It isn't you. I neglected to tell you that I received two more foster children this morning. We'll need to find beds for Jay and Max." Lucas said quietly as he indicated the children beside him.

"Give me a second. There's plenty of room..." Tommy said slowly as he scratched out and rewrote things on his clipboard.

"Jay and Max could stay in my room if you want. I wouldn't mind at all." Lazlo quickly offered.

"No need. Like I said, there's plenty of room." Tommy said as he finally looked up from his clipboard.

"Tell me if this sounds right..." Tommy said in prelude, then looked around to see that he had everyone's attention.

Lucas and Gordon seemed to be most interested in what he had to say, so he directed his comment toward them.

"If I'm understanding you right, then this level can be entirely for your family. There are six rooms, five for the kids and one for the parents." Tommy said with accomplishment.

"If it's not going to put anyone out..." Gordon began to hesitantly say when he was cut off.

"Like I said, plenty of room." Tommy said with a smile, then looked at the rest of the people and said, "Next stop, third floor."

"Thank you." Lucas said past his surprise.

"Go help Tommy and I'll get the kids settled in." Gordon said quietly.

Lucas nodded, then walked to Tommy's side with an admiring smile at him.

Tommy grinned at his sincere gratitude before hurrying up the stairs.

* * * * *

"First off, we have a room for Jeremy." Tommy said with a smile at the flight attendant.

"Did Lucas tell you about Hank?" Jeremy asked cautiously.

"No. Who's Hank?" Tommy asked slowly.

"I am." Hank said, as he raised his hand.

"Oh. I, um... Give me a minute and I'll find you a place." Tommy said as he studied his clipboard.

"Hank can stay with me. I just wanted you to know that he was here." Jeremy said quickly.

Tommy seemed to be about to say that it wasn't a problem, but when he saw the look in Jeremy's eyes, he asked, "Will you be needing a second bed?"

"No. I don't think that will be necessary." Jeremy said with a smile at Hank.

Tommy nodded, then made another note on his clipboard.

"The next room belongs to... Brother Jacques?" Tommy asked cautiously as he looked up.

"Yes. Brother Jacques and Zane." Lucas said with a smile.

Tommy looked at Brother Jacques curiously for a moment, then seemed to get his train of thought back on track.

"I got that the next rooms are supposed to be for their kids, but I couldn't make any sense of these descriptions. Can you point them out?" Tommy asked Lucas as he handed him the clipboard.

Lucas motioned to Loquicia, Jamiah and Ty.

"Oh. There's three of you." Tommy said with a grim look.

"Is there a problem?" Lucas asked with concern.

"No... I can make it work. But for now we may need for two of the kids to share one room." Tommy said with a look of apology at the three children that were looking at him.

"Jamiah and Ty." Brother Jacques said simply.

"Seriously?" Ty grumbled.

"You don't want to room with him?" Tommy asked cautiously.

"Would you?" Ty countered.

Tommy looked at Ty for a moment, then smiled. "I got an idea... stay with me till we get everyone else set, and I'll show you the other option, then you can decide. That work?"

As soon as Ty nodded, Tommy took the clipboard from Lucas and made another note on it.

"Who do we have next?" Lucas asked as he looked over Tommy's shoulder.

"You tell me. I'm not sure who you're talking about from these descriptions." Tommy said frankly.

Lucas looked around, then spotted Ben. "The next room is for you and Oleksandr. The room after that will be for..."

"...The boy with the 'brown' attitude?" Dax interrupted in a flat tone.

"I'm sorry about that. I couldn't think of another way to describe you to Gordon." Lucas said hesitantly.

"Well, I can think of a few ways to describe you, right now." Dax said in a low voice.

"Do you need a headlock?" Ben asked Dax with a teasing grin.

Dax looked up at Ben with surprise for a moment, then broke into a smile before saying, "No. I'm good."

"And the last room goes to Walt." Tommy said as he looked around.

"I think he stayed downstairs with Oma Shoupe." Ro said frankly.

"If he doesn't want his room, I'll take it!" Ty said quickly.

"Let's wait and see what he has to say about it, first." Tommy said with a grin, then noticed that two groups of people were looking at him anxiously.

"We have two guest houses out behind the house. You can see them from the window, right over there." Tommy said as he pointed.

"The first one is for the Teeters and the second one is for Walter, Reginald and Ro." Tommy said seriously.

"Can't I stay in the house with everyone else?" Ro asked as his eyes filled with tears.

"Sure. If you want to. Just give me some time to work it out." Tommy said as he looked over his clipboard.

"Ronan, we want you to stay with us." Walter said firmly.

"But Daaaaad!" Ro whined.

Walter gave Ro a firm, no nonsense, look, then slowly repeated, "We want you to stay with us."

"Since when? If you wanted me so bad, why did you let CPS take me away? You could have tried to hide me or you could have taken me somewhere else, but, NO, you just let them come and get me. You just stood there and watched. You didn't do anything to try and stop them." Ro said as his tears fell.

"Ronan, we'll talk about this later." Walter said seriously.

"Yeah. I just bet! You'll talk and talk and talk, but you won't do anything! Bug's more of a dad to me than either one of you! At least I know that he would've done something!" Ro said before running for the stairs.

Walter and Reginald were about to follow when Lucas held up his hand, indicating for them to stop.

"Give him some time to cool down. You know that he's probably tired from the trip and feeling a little bit raw from being uprooted and moved across the country." Lucas said gently.

"But he's right. We didn't fight for him. We did let the CPS take him away." Walter said as a tear fell down his cheek.

"That's all in the past, now. Help your son put it behind him and try to focus on the future." Lucas said gently.

"I suppose that you're right." Walter said quietly.

"I found a place in the house for him to stay." Tommy said as he looked Walter in the eyes. "Maybe it would help if he felt like he had a little freedom."

"He's changed so much since they took him away. It's like he's not our little boy anymore." Reginald said softly.

"He probably isn't. I don't know anything about it, except what you just said, but it sounds like he was probably forced to do some growing up. He's not like he was before, and trying to make him be like he was before is only going to cause more problems." Tommy said thoughtfully.

Lucas nodded, then said, "Maybe you could try to get to know the person that your son is now, instead of mourning the loss of who he used to be."

"I wouldn't know where to begin." Walter said with a helpless glance at Reginald.

"Try treating him like a teenager. Give him chances to earn your trust and make you proud. I bet that if you do that, it'll make all of you feel a lot better." Tommy said slowly, then looked at Lucas with question.

"And don't be surprised if your little boy still shows up from time to time. As he's struggling to grow up, he's also going to have times when he's afraid and will need to be reassured." Lucas said quietly.

"I suppose, while we have the chance, we should go look at our house... the second one, right?" Walter asked as he tried to get control of his emotions.

"Yes. You can go out the door at the bottom of the stairs." Tommy said quickly.

"Doris and I will go down with you. We never really had any issues with Roris, but our daughter, Corina, was a bit of a handful." Marcus said frankly.

"We could write a book." Doris interjected.

"But we survived her teenage years and lived to tell the tale. Maybe it would help if we shared some of our coping strategies with you." Marcus said with a smile.

"At this point, any help at all would be gratefully accepted." Reginald said, then walked with Walter and the Teeters down the stairs.

* * * * *

"What do you think, Bax? Is this going to be alright with you?" Bug asked with a smile, knowing that Bax was awestruck with the opulent luxury of the master suite.

"Night before last, me and Ro slept behind some bushes in the park. It was cold and some old drunk guy almost peed on us." Bax said frankly, then looked around the room one time before saying, "Yeah. I think I can stand it here."

Bug, Ken and Kev laughed at the answer, then turned in unison at the sound of a heavy handed knock on their door.

Before any of them could react, Bax dashed to the door and opened it.

Bax squeaked with surprise when he was immediately enveloped in a desperate hug.

It took a moment for him to process what was going on, but he quickly returned Ro's hug and gently asked, "What's wrong?"

Great heaving sobs were Ro's only answer, as he held Bax even more tightly.

Kev and Ken started toward the door, but Bug held them back and quietly said, "Let Bax handle it. He knows what he's doing."

Chapter 9: Paper Lace

As he settled into the cab and it pulled away, Father Brian Doherty looked back one last time with an ache in his heart. The mission had not only been home to him for many years, but it had also been the center of his life, the focus of his every waking moment. Now, to see it disappearing in the distance, left Father Doherty feeling empty and without purpose.

As suddenly as the melancholy mood had come, it dissipated as a brief smile crossed his face. The half forgotten dream from his younger days, the secret wish that he couldn't give voice in his own prayers had been granted. He had a son. And what a son. Zane was a strong, fit young man, but more importantly, he was a good man. Father Doherty desperately wished he could have spent more time with his son and gotten to know him better, but circumstances were such that other priorities took precedence.

Those other priorities filled his mind, the kids, his kids, traveling to God only knows where, searching for a place to live where they'll be safe. He knew that his faith was being tested. He fought down the worry and reassured himself that the children, his children, along with his own son, were now in God's hands and that all would proceed according to His will.

As the cab pulled to the curb, Father Doherty looked around curiously. He didn't know the area well, but he knew enough to tell that he wasn't in the right place.

"I have taken you as far as I can go, Father. At this time of night, no cab will go any farther than this." The cabbie said with a truly remorseful look in his eyes.

After a moment to consider, Father Doherty paid his cab fare, then carried his suitcase out of the cab.

"May your God be with you and protect you, Father." The cabbie said respectfully.

Father Doherty was somewhat surprised, because the cabbie was not only obviously of middle eastern descent, but from his clothing, also appeared to hold closely to his traditional beliefs.

"May your God be with you and protect you as well, my son. Thank you." Father Doherty said sincerely, then watched as the cab pulled away.

* * * * *

"Father D?" A voice called, jarring Father Doherty out of his thoughts of his son and the children as he carried his luggage down the sidewalk.

Before the Father could identify the young man who was approaching him, the man continued, "What the fuck are you doing out here at this time of night? Are you lookin' ta get yer ass killed?"

"Whatever happens will be as God wills. It's good to see you again, Darnell. Since I haven't seen you at the mission recently, can I assume that you're doing well?" Father Doherty asked with a gentle smile for the young man at his side.

"What? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, Father. Where are you going? You really need to get off the street before you get hurt." Darnell said with concern as he looked around nervously.

"I'm going to my new mission." Father Doherty said pleasantly as he started to walk again.

"Lady of the Angels is way the fuck over that way." Darnell said as he motioned up the street.

"No, no. Saint Barnabas." Father Doherty said frankly, then quickly crossed the street.

"Is that place even still open?" Darnell asked uncertainly, as he followed along.

"I'm told that it is. But recently they seem to be having trouble keeping staff..."

"I'm guessing from the neighborhood that they're in, that their problem ain't with your staff quitting." Darnell said frankly.

"Why do you say that?" Father Doherty asked curiously.

"The people in the ghetto, they look at that neighborhood and say 'Damn, what a hellhole!'. I'm betting that the reason you ain't got no help at the mission is because they're bein' carried outta there, tits up." Darnell said frankly.

Father Doherty stopped to consider for a moment, then looked Darnell in the eyes and quietly said, "I've been called to a life of service, and the church has assigned me to this mission. There is little I can do but have faith and trust that God has a plan in mind for me."

"Yeah, there's something else you can do. You can get your ass off the street! It's not safe out here. There are people out here who will KILL YOU." Darnell said urgently.

"I appreciate your concern, but I cannot allow myself to be diverted." Father Doherty said frankly, then started walking again.

"Give me that." Darnell said as he snatched the suitcase from Father Doherty's hand.

"I don't mind..." Father Doherty began to say.

"Come on! You need to move like the devil himself is at your heels, because... it ain't far from bein' the truth!" Darnell said as he sped up his pace and urged the priest to keep up with him.

Father Doherty began to hurry, not out of fear, but just to placate Darnell, who seemed so concerned.

* * * * *

As they finally reached the modern style mission building, Father Doherty gazed sadly at the decrepit condition of the fifteen year old structure in the poor orange light of the street lights, and sighed heavily.

"Darnell, I can't believe how battered this place looks." Father Doherty said sadly.

"You think it looks bad now, hell, wait till you see it in daylight." Darnell replied. "Okay, you've been outside too long. Get your sorry ass inside, before you end up in the fuckin' morgue."

Father Doherty stepped forward and knocked on one of the large, wooden doors.

Without waiting for an answer, Darnell reached around from behind, pulled the door open, and gently but firmly pushed the priest inside.

"Father, you should be okay, now, but I really gotta get my ass out of here. I's sposed to be with my boo, Tonesha, an hour ago. She was fixin' collard greens and BBQ ribs, and she was even gonna try to make some fried green tomatoes, if she could find us some."

"Thanks, Darnell, for helping me out. I know you don't believe me, but I know down deep, you are a good man, even if you don't always act like it."

"Yeah, right. If you only knew half of the shit that I've done, you wouldn't think I'm anything close to good."

"I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. Just, please, always remember, regardless of anything, I'll always look on you as a good person and a friend. I will always welcome you into my home."

"Thanks, Father, that really means a lot to me."

Darnell then knocked firmly on one of the heavy steel inner doors of the alcove, then backed out the doorway and headed back the way they had come.

Father Doherty looked up and smiled to himself. "Thank you, God, for sending him to help me. Please protect him and his loved ones in the days ahead."

Just then, a young man in a priest's robe and an apron cautiously opened one of the doors

"How may I help you, Father?" the young priest asked, obviously surprised by Father Doherty's presence.

"Actually, I think I'm supposed to help you. I was sent here by the Archdiocese. Monsignor Driscol said that you were short handed, and to make matters worse, that Father Haslip was not working out. What do you need me to do, Son?"

"We were just starting to get the evening meal ready, I wasn't sure that I really heard someone knocking out here, but I thought I'd come and check, just in case."

"You're cooking dinner at this late hour?" Father Doherty asked with surprise.

"Yes. But we only have six people staying here, right now, and it has been a while since any of them have had a meal. Things have been very hectic here lately, and we are quite short handed. We serve a modest lunch every day to anyone who is here at noon, and we usually provide a substantial supper for those who are here in the evening. However, today, things have conspired to keep us from getting started with supper, and I find that time has slipped by a lot quicker than I thought." The young priest said before needing to stop to take a breath.

Father Doherty was impressed by the younger priest. Although the dark circles under his eyes and the 'too thin' gauntness of his cheeks spoke of a bone-weary man, the young priest's enthusiasm seemed unencumbered by the demands of his physical body.

"I'm Father Franklin, by the way, and Father Kinsey is still in the kitchen working on the meal. Would you like to see your office, or your room?" Father Franklin asked in a gentle tone.

"Can't see much reason for me to see either when there are hungry people needing to be fed. There's nothing in this suitcase worth stealing, so I can just leave it over in the corner until I am ready to go to bed. I'm sure I can do more good helping get supper ready than anything I could do in the office right now. Oh yes, I almost forgot. I'm Father Doherty."

"You're Father Doherty? I thought you were running the Gay Outreach Shelter."

"No, Son, it was not a gay outreach shelter. The Church would never sanction such as that. Mine was simply a mission shelter for the homeless, not unlike yours. But, be that as it may, they closed it down, and re-assigned me to this one. There was no decline in need, so I am sure it was something political, but I am God's servant, and I plan to serve him in any capacity I can." He reached out and shook hands with the young priest.

"I understand that it couldn't be recognized by the Church as being a mission reaching out to gays. But I can assure you, whenever we encountered a troubled gay youth we were told by just about everyone, that your mission would be the absolute best place to send such a child." Father Franklin said with conviction.

"I simply did God's will to the best of my meager ability. But for now, let's get in that kitchen where I can do some good. I'm a pretty darn good cook, if I do say so myself." Father Doherty said warmly. In just a few minutes he had come to admire and respect the younger priest.

"So is Father Kinsey. He was studying to be a chef after he finished seminary, then they assigned him here." Father Franklin said as he closed and set the deadbolt firmly into place, then led Father Doherty away from the substantial, hopefully burglar resistant, door.

"There were four priests working here until last week when Father Rodrigos was shot to death, just down the street. He was coming back here with the groceries. He only had about twenty dollars on him when he left, and he was carrying two bags of groceries back, so there couldn't have been much money left. They must have been upset, because he didn't have enough money to suit them, so they just blew him away."

"We heard some gunshots, not that that's unusual around here. But we started to get worried when he had been gone longer than usual. When he was found, his wallet was missing, and the groceries were strewn all around him."

"The thing is, we hear gunshots almost every night, so we usually don't think that much about them. Isn't it sad when it seems perfectly normal to hear people shooting at one another?" Father Franklin asked as he stopped in the hallway to wipe his eyes.

"Did they catch the killer?" Father Doherty asked as he started to tear up. He could see how deeply the recent events were troubling the younger priest.

"That was never a possibility, not in this neighborhood. No one saw a thing. Not one witness came forward. The gangs around here are pretty much in control, so no one will even think of reporting what they might have seen."

"What about the police, didn't they show up and try to apprehend the killer?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"Not for at least another half hour after we heard the gunshots. That's standard procedure, with the cops around here. I guess they don't think the people who live around here are important enough for any of them to risk getting shot at. They wait until they think the criminals have left the scene before they come racing in, sirens blaring, making a big show about coming to SAVE THE DAY."

"Just like Mighty Mouse." Father Doherty remarked, flatly.

"Mighty Mouse?" asked the younger man.

"Just an old cartoon character from when I was a kid." Father Doherty answered. "The mouse was just an ordinary mouse most of the time, but whenever there was some sort of danger, or someone was in trouble, the little guy would transform into a little super hero and start to sing, 'Here I come to save the day, that means that Mighty Mouse is on the way!' Then he would jump up in the air, just like Superman did, and go rescue the cute little girly mouse, who acted like some poor little frightened kid." Father Doherty sighed again. "The darn mouse was so full of himself, that he had to brag about how he was going to go save the day; buncha crap, as far as I'm concerned."

The young priest's eyes opened wide, for just a second. "Wow, you said crap. That's the first time I have ever heard that word used by a priest."

"Well, you'd better get used to hearing things like that, or worse, because I don't pull any punches. I say just what I mean. In fact, I would probably have used the word shit, if I had known you a little better." He patted the younger man on the shoulder and encouraged him to start walking again.

"We'd better get out to the kitchen and give Father Kinsey a hand. This is going to end up being more of a midnight snack than a dinner, as it is. But with all the chaos of Father Haslip leaving, and rescuing another gunshot victim, we've only just been able to think about food."

* * * * *

The pair of priests walked past a large, empty table and over to a decent sized industrial kitchen.

"Father Doherty, this is Father Kinsey. Father Kinsey, this is Father Doherty."

"Nice to meet you, young man. I believe that we should have plenty of time to get to know each other when there aren't people with empty bellies waiting on us." Father Doherty said frankly, then added, "I would be glad to help in any way I can. Father Franklin said you had the cooking situation in hand, and that you are a budding chef. I am pretty handy in the kitchen, myself, so if you need me to do anything, just let me know, and I will do whatever you need me to do."

Father Kinsey looked at Father Doherty with surprise for a brief moment, then turned his attention back to his cooking.

"That includes serving food, and any cleanup needed, once everyone has been served." Father Doherty said loudly enough so that Father Kinsey could hear him over the sizzling food in his skillet.

"Thank you, Father. I can see already that you are going to be a lot easier to get along with than our last boss." Father Kinsey said without looking up from his work.

"He was a lazy old goat who hardly ever left his office, let alone doing any work himself, and just screamed out orders left and right, with no thought as to what any of us were doing. He was pulled out of here the day after Father Rodrigos was killed. I don't know if he asked to be transferred, or if the higher ups decided that that was the last straw and moved him before he could make things any worse. I guess we will never really know, but honestly, I don't care. I am glad you came." Father Franklin reached out and took Father Doherty's hand and gave it a friendly shake.

The three priests got down to the business of getting supper ready for their six hungry guests.

Father Doherty pulled the freshly baked bread out of the oven. It smelled heavenly.

"I just remembered, you said you had four priests here, and that one of them was killed, but now there are just two of you. What happened to the other priest?"

"Well, you said yourself that Father Haslip wasn't working out. He was the fourth priest here." Father Franklin explained. "And, now that you are here, we number three."

"Honestly, for all practical purposes, there were only three of us working here, even while Father Haslip was here, since he never did any work himself. I suppose he would be referred to as someone who delegates the work to others, but he was more of a slave driver than a real boss. He never spoke a civil word when he spoke. He just blurted out orders, and we were expected to obey them without any questions asked."

Father Doherty slowly nodded, he had heard from others that Father Haslip was more worried about currying the favor of his superiors than doing anything that might actually help others.

"I must admit that I do feel a little guilty," Father Franklin blushed, "since my thoughts sometimes run to wishing it had been Father Haslip who had gone to the store that night, but that, of course, would never have happened. He simply would never have stooped to doing any actual work. He was THE BOSS, and that was that."

Father Doherty smiled. "Believe me when I tell you that over the years, I have also had supervisors who acted that way, and almost every one of them have eventually been moved to places where they will do as little harm as possible."

"Rest assured, Father Haslip will not be doing much bossing in the job where he is currently assigned. He is going to be pushing papers in the downtown office, and is likely to remain there for the foreseeable future, according to Monsignor Driscol." Father Doherty said as he sliced the freshly baked bread and plated it for service.

"I remember when the Monsignor visited here, a month or so ago. He was surprised to find that Father Haslip was not participating in any of the day to day activities here. I don't know what he said to Father Haslip, but I think he might have told him he was being transferred, because he mostly stayed in his office with the door shut, and only yelled at us if he wanted his meals sent in. He never ate with the residents. I think he was afraid he might catch some germs from one of them."

"Well, let's forget about your former boss, and think about getting supper on the table. Where do you keep the dinnerware?" Father Doherty asked as he looked around.

"The plates, cups, bowls etc. are in the cupboard over there." Father Franklin pointed, and Father Doherty retrieved a stack of plates and began to set the table.

Father Franklin opened a drawer, grabbed the silverware he needed, and began to place them on the table.

Father Kinsey brought a large bowl of salad to the table, and asked Father Doherty to bring in the roast beef and bread that he had helped prepare.

The bowl of mashed potatoes was already in the middle of the table along with a steaming bowl of seasoned green beans with bacon.

Father Franklin went into the sitting room and called the residents into the dining area. Four of the men came in quickly, but the other two came in much more slowly. One of them was using crutches, and the other man had his shoulder bandaged and seemed to be in considerable pain.

"Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Father Doherty. He is replacing Father Haslip, and I am sure you are going to like him."

"I don't know that I could step into Father Haslip's shoes, but I have been sent here to help, however I can." Father Doherty said humbly.

Father Franklin and Father Kinsey exchanged an amused smile as they helped those that needed it to be seated.

As the men sat down, Father Doherty and Father Kinsey walked around the table while Father Franklin started the introductions.

The first one they came to was the wounded man. "This is Ahmid Harrish. He just came to us yesterday. We tended his wound, and called for the Doctor to come check him out, but Doctor Radcliff was not available. He is the only Doctor we have found who will even come see our people, and unfortunately, we are not very high on his list. His nurse said he would come as soon as he could, since Ahmid's injury was not life threatening. God willing, he will come by sometime tomorrow afternoon."

"It's nice to meet you, Ahmid. I am sorry you are hurt. Can you feed yourself, or would you like some help?" Father Doherty asked with concern.

Ahmid's mouth fell open, and he mumbled, in a slight accent which Father Doherty couldn't quite place. "I can feed myself, Thank you, Father, I am right handed, so I don't have to use my left one, too much."

"Okay, if you would like any help, just let me know. What would you like to drink? We have coffee, hot or iced tea, milk, and I believe I saw some pop in the fridge. I'll be glad to get you whatever you would like." Father Doherty offered.

"Thank you, Father, I think I would like a cup of tea, if it wouldn't be too much trouble." Ahmid answered, still totally in awe of the new Father.

"Coming right up." Father Doherty replied, as he made his way to the urn and prepared a cup of tea, which he brought to Ahmid.

"Here you go, young man. I left the tea bag in the cup so you can make it whatever strength you prefer. Do you want sugar or cream for the tea?"

"One spoonful of sugar, please." Ahmid replied. Father Doherty added the sugar and handed Ahmid the spoon. "Enjoy, and let me know if there is anything else I can do to help you."

"You are very kind, Father. I have not had much contact with priests in the past, but those I have talked to before I came here were not at all friendly to me. I suspect it is because I look to be Muslim.

"My family is Muslim, but I am not part of any religion, right now. I have, however, studied many different faiths. If more of the people who claim to be Christians acted the way your Jesus taught, I would find Christianity to be the most promising of all the faiths. Sadly, most Christians tend to shy away from me, or ignore me completely."

"We're all God's children, regardless of which name we choose to use when we call upon him. I promise you that you will not be ignored while you are here with us." Father Franklin assured the young man. "From the moment we took you inside, you became our responsibility, and you now have our protection, and our friendship, if you will accept it. In any case, you are welcome to stay with us, as long as you like. You have my word."

"You have mine as well." Father Doherty echoed.

Father Kinsey started dishing up plates for some of the other men, and after they finished helping Ahmid get his food dished up, they started helping the other men sitting near him.

"Father Doherty, this is Arthur Pratte." Father Franklin introduced the man.

"Nice to meet you, Father, I am happy to say that I am not injured. I am, at the moment, without a job and I completely exhausted my savings. I wasn't eligible for unemployment, since I actually quit my job. If you think Father Haslip was uncaring toward his employees, compared to my old boss, he was a saint." Arthur sighed.

"Mrs. Gorgan was a total nut case. There was no way any of the employees could please her. I am pretty sure she actually wanted the turnover, since that way she could keep hiring new people so she wouldn't have to worry about anyone having any seniority."

The two priests continued dishing up food, passing the plate from one to the other, as they added the food from various serving platters and bowls.

"What would you like to drink, Arthur?" Father Doherty asked.

"I realize it might sound strange, but I would really like a glass of cold milk. It kinda settles my stomach." Arthur replied.

"Coming right up!" said Father Kinsey, as he made his way to the fridge, grabbed the jug of milk, and filled a good sized glass for Arthur.

As he set the glass in front of Arthur, he said, "If you want more of anything, just let one of us know and you can have it, at least until we run out. However, I am not going anywhere at this time of night."

"It looks as if everyone now has food in front of them, if we could just pause for a short prayer, then I think we can begin eating." Father Doherty said, and noticed that some of the men around the table seemed to be bracing themselves for an unpleasant chore.

"Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive, through Christ's bounty. Amen." Father Doherty said reverently.

As he looked up from his prayer, he noticed that everyone around the table seemed to be at a loss, waiting for more. With a smile, Father Doherty timidly explained, "My calling was to a life of service, not preaching. If you want a sermon, I'm sure something can be arranged. But for now, let's eat."

As they ate the delicious meal, Father Franklin introduced Father Doherty to the remaining residents.

"Father, this is Harry Walters." Father Franklin said, as he stood next to the man who had a pair of crutches on the floor to either side of his chair.

"Harry has a bit of a problem with his back, so he needs the crutches to help him keep his balance when he is on his feet."

"It's nice to meet you, Harry. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you. Just so everyone knows, any or all of you are welcome to come see me, wherever I am, and no matter what I might be doing. My job, as I see it, is to be there for each and every one of you, however you need me. I can give spiritual guidance, lend a helping hand, or just provide a shoulder, when the situation calls for it. Even if you just need someone to talk to, to help you sort through your thoughts, I'll always have time. I can even play a decent game of chess, if I put my mind to it."

The beginnings of smiles could be seen from all the men around the table at the sincere offer.

"I am not nearly as good at card games, although, I have been known to hold my own with a few people, over the years, except that Brother Jacques could always see right through me. Almost everyone else had a bit of a hard time figuring out what kind of a hand I was holding." Father Doherty chuckled.

"Brother Jacques?" Father Franklin asked curiously. "Was he a monk, or priest, or something? I didn't realize we had any monks in our order."

"No. Father, Brother Jacques wasn't any sort of priest, although, if he had been called to that duty, I have no doubt that he would have been outstanding. Let me see... it must have been nearly eight years ago, now, when a rail thin boy came into my mission and sought me out. I was absorbed in some duty or another, I can't recall what, now, when this young snip of a boy asked to speak with me privately."

"Of course, I didn't think anything of it at the time, and believed that the boy might be wanting me to give him absolution for some unpardonable crime like breaking a window, or some such a thing. But I stopped whatever it was that I was doing and made time for him. As soon as we were alone, the boy... to put it bluntly, he propositioned me."

Looks of surprise flashed on the faces of all the men around the table.

"In essence, he offered me the use of his body in exchange for food and shelter for two younger boys that he was trying to protect." Father Doherty said, as his eyes began to glisten with unformed tears.

"Make no mistake, he knew exactly what he was offering. In the fullness of time, I found out that he had been prostituting himself for years. But near the same time, when his pimp was killed, he found himself in the company of the two boys, twin brothers. Their mother had abandoned them. Brother Jacques took it upon himself to watch over them and to see that they didn't have to face the same choices that he had."

"When I declined his proposition, I could see him losing hope. So, in an effort to keep him from making the same proposition to someone else, I offered to allow him and his young companions to stay at the shelter, in exchange for their help."

"All three of them were grateful and willing to do almost anything to earn their keep. But it didn't take long for me to notice that Brother Jacques had a problem. When I confronted him about it, he admitted that he was heavily addicted to drugs. He seemed sure that I was going to throw him and his young friends into the street when I found out."

"I'm not in the habit of making promises that I can't keep. But that day I very nearly did. I promised Brother Jacques that I would find a way to get him some help with his addiction. I had, of course, had some contact with the treatment facilities, and I knew some people to talk to. But what I discovered, in my efforts to find him help, was that the overwhelming majority of those places are simply profit seeking ventures, disguising themselves as hospitals."

"The only way I could find to get Brother Jacques any sort of help was to bribe an administrator at a so called 'non-profit' treatment center. I gave him two thousand dollars and he somehow found an immediate opening."

"During the time when Brother Jacques was in treatment, I kept a close eye on the twins and got to know them very well, as I 'took them under my wing'. I could see what it was that Brother Jacques wanted to protect. They were both innocent, and although they had witnessed some of the worst examples of man's inhumanity to man, they still hadn't lost hope."

"When Brother Jacques completed his treatment, let's just say, I had my doubts. The boy was so jittery and desperate, I was afraid that he might run off at any moment. But, somehow, the twins and I were able to get him to stay clean. It was about that time that I started calling him 'Brother'. It was my way of announcing to everyone in the shelter that Brother Jacques had a position at the shelter and was under my protection, for what it was worth."

"It was my hope that, by doing that, maybe some of the drug dealers and the boy's former clients might be less inclined to seek him out. The twins and I did our best to protect him, especially in the early days. And, by the grace of God, Brother Jacques has remained clean and sober from that day until this."

"He sounds like quite a fine young man." Father Franklin said, with his own eyes beginning to tear up. "Why didn't he come with you?"

"He and the two brothers I spoke of, are taking some of the more vulnerable children we were caring for at the old mission, as far away from here as they possibly can. We have received word that the current administration is not interested in anyone who is not completely self sufficient, so to speak, or who doesn't meet the standard idea of proper beliefs, and we have no idea what they have planned for those people who don't meet their standards. I will just say that we had reason to believe that several of the children we were caring for would not fall into the category of 'normal' youngsters, and we feared for their futures. So we made some discreet inquiries, and were assured that they would be safely moved to a more tolerant atmosphere, somewhere farther west from here."

"That sounds like a very good idea. I can imagine what you meant by not considered normal children, knowing the reputation of the shelter you were operating." Father Franklin said knowingly.

Father Doherty acknowledged his statement with a nod, then turned his attention to the man next to him at the table. He didn't want to bring up the topic of sexuality and the politics of same, in the company of these men when it would serve no purpose.

The next man to meet Father Doherty looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. Father Doherty was not sure as to what the man's racial heritage might be. He seemed to possess some distinct facial features of a black man, but he had what looked like soft light brown hair, which he wore tied in the back in a loosely bound ponytail. His complexion was more like chocolate milk, than anything else, so Father Doherty knew he was of mixed race, but for the life of him, he couldn't tell what those were.

"Father, this is Jim Borders. He, too, has joined us in the last few days." Father Franklin introduced the young man.

"It's nice to meet you, Jim. Would you like to tell me a bit about yourself?" Father Doherty asked.

"I recently returned from the Middle East, I was a civilian employee of the U.S. government. I was assigned to install and maintain various computers and other technical equipment, over there."

Father Doherty nodded with interest and waited for him to continue.

"I started losing some of my vision and checked with the local Doctors, and they couldn't find anything wrong. So I was sent back here to the states, and apparently, I acquired some sort of eye infection, which has been taken care of. But since my medical reports from the Doctor overseas said there was nothing wrong with me, my Government provided insurance refused to pay for any of my treatments, and the bills have continued to pile up. I had no money for rent and my landlord kicked me out. He also took possession of all my stuff, saying he would count it against what I still owed him. I left there with what I had on my back, and a few things I was able to carry, as I left."

"Don't worry, Jim, I am sure you will do fine, once you can get back to working, and you certainly are welcome to stay with us, as long as you like." Father Franklin said with a caring smile.

"Thank you, Father, I am sure I will be able to find some things I can do to help out."

Father Franklin patted the next man on the back and said, "This young man is Gregory Farnsworth. He has a bit of a hearing problem, from being too close to a bomb while fighting in Afghanistan. But he has become very good at lip reading, and when he uses his hearing aid, he can pick up most conversations; unless there is a lot of background noise, then he has a bit of trouble, distinguishing things."

Father Doherty smiled. and looked directly at the young black man. "It is nice to meet you, Gregory," he said, as precisely as he could. "I have had several deaf people in my care, over the years. So I have picked up a bit of American Sign Language, as well as the manual alphabet, and, of course, I do try to keep my head turned toward people who read lips."

"Please, Father, call me Greg, my dad was Gregory, and whenever I hear that name, I look around, trying to find him. Of course, I won't ever find him, now, since he has been dead for nearly five years. He was killed by a guy who was texting while driving a semi, and not watching the road. Dad had the right of way, and he didn't see the truck 'till it was too late to get out of his way. The guy ran right through the red light and plowed into dad's Triumph, smack into the driver's side door. Dad was killed instantly. The trucker hardly got a scratch out of it, and somehow, he was found to be blameless. I guess he had one hell of a good lawyer." A tear ran down his cheek, as he went on. "I was on my way to Afghanistan, when it happened."

"When I got hurt, I was in the hospital for almost a year, what with all the physical therapy and skin grafts, etc. I was lucky, considering how close I was to the bomb. I still don't know how I came out of it alive. The most annoying thing, now, though, is that no one wants to hire a man with all my problems. I mean, I've pretty much recovered my physical functionality, but I still have flashbacks, and I tend to black out, or loose myself in the flashbacks."

"They have been coming less frequently as of late, and they are less severe, now, too. But, I am still not employable, as far as most people are concerned." He sighed deeply. "The V. A. payed for my initial hospitalization and treatments at the Heinz V. A. hospital facilities, in Mt. Prospect. But once I was physically capable of getting around they released me, and pretty much washed their hands of me. I have completely depleted my savings, and no longer have my house, after the bank foreclosed on the mortgage."

Father Doherty paled, as the young man continued his story. "My 'loving' wife took my eight year old son and went to live with her mother."

"I found this place totally by accident. I had just gotten off the bus, when I realized I was at the wrong street. I looked off to my left and I saw the sign above the door. I had just made it inside when I started having one of my spells. Luckily, one or both of these guys caught me before I fell and hit my head on something. Finding my way here was the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time. God must have been watching out for me."

"I am glad you came out of it without further injury. Now that you are here, we can most likely find something you can do to earn some money, and you, too, can feel free to remain in our care, as long as you wish." Father Doherty replied.

The last man to be introduced looked to be in his late sixties. He had a full head of hair, which was mostly red, with a few streaks of grey throughout, but his mustache was completely white. He was still quite fit looking, with no obvious signs of flab showing. Father Doherty had the impression that this man was taking very good care of himself.

There was something about the man's eyes that made Father Doherty look at them for a long moment. He couldn't figure out what it was that was so intriguing about those eyes. They were so intense, and when he looked at you, you felt as if he could see right into your soul. Father Doherty thought, "This man is very special, and I am going to find out what he is made of, if it's the last thing I do."

"Hello, Father, I'm Artimus Stout."

"It's nice to meet you, Artimus. I'm sure you already know who I am, but I'd really like to get to know you better."

"Well, for starters, let's just say that you and I have a lot more in common than anyone might think." Artimus said, grinning broadly. "You see, I was once a priest, in the Catholic Church. I lived in St Louis. Somehow, though, my faith, or what passed for faith at the time, was severely shaken when my brother was stricken with Cancer."

"Somehow, I managed to try to blame God for not saving Josh. He was only thirty years old at the time, and had a wonderful family. His wife, Kathy stayed by his bedside, as much as possible. I took on the task of caring for his son Ray, who was only six at the time, and he practically worshiped his dad. I prayed and prayed for God to let him live, but the cancer had already spread through his entire body. There was nothing that could be done for him. Apparently, he'd had it for quite a long time before anyone caught it. By the time they figured out what was wrong with him, it had practically taken over every cell in his body. He was in a great deal of pain at the end, and I must say, my faith was severely shaken, and I retired from the priesthood."

"After the funeral, and several weeks of finishing up all the things that had to be taken care of, I decided I needed a change of scenery, so I packed up and headed for Chicago. I had a friend, here, and I was staying with him, until he lost his job and had to move in with his brother. They both offered to let me stay there, with them, but I knew that I would just be a burden on them. So, I decided to look for lodging elsewhere, and I found this place, so here I am."

Father Franklin spoke up. "I didn't know you were a priest."

"Well, I'm not a priest, anymore. But I do whatever I can to help... mostly at lunch. This place has been understaffed for some time, now. Especially during the day. There are just a few of us, six at the moment, plus the priests, who stay here, in the evenings, but during the daylight hours, we serve lunch for somewhere between sixty to as many as two hundred people. So we use the large dining hall, and we set up the serving line. We have a steam table and a cold table for salads and desserts. Not everyone who comes in here for lunch is homeless, of course. Some of them are simply hungry. Most of them have places to stay at night, and believe me when I say, no one will venture out at night in this neighborhood, unless someone is chasing them." Artimus said seriously.

Father Kinsey nodded, and added, "Anyone who finds themselves still here after sunset, will usually stay here for the night, rather than try to survive long enough to get back to their place. There are no buses running in this area after sunset, and no cab will venture in here after dark."

"Yes, I'm afraid that I found that out the hard way. My cab driver stopped about six blocks from here, told me I would have to walk the rest of the way, and that no cabs would come into this neighborhood after dark." Father Doherty lamented.

Everyone had finished their meal and most of the residents headed for the community room, or to their own rooms to get some sleep. The priests and Artimus began to clear the table, put the leftover food in the fridge, and started washing the dishes.

Father Doherty chuckled to himself, and of course the others all looked at him, wondering what he was thinking about.

"Sorry, I just had a silly thought. Artimus, you and Arthur could both be addressed as Art, so, it seems to me that we now find ourselves to be patrons of the Arts."

"Well, hearing you say that, is kinda funny, but truthfully, No one has called me Art or even worse, Artie, in ages. I don't really like being called Art. I used to get teased when I was a kid. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, since kids seem to love to tease each other. They called me Artsy Fartsy, Art Attack, and any number of other things, which usually made me mad, and of course, I would get into a fight over it. The funny thing was, that we kids usually got over the fighting pretty quickly, but those darn old Nuns would always step in to 'calm us down' and of course, that just made things worse. And when we wouldn't calm down, they would paddle us all. No matter who started the fight, we were all punished. And those old biddies actually seemed to enjoy giving pain." He suddenly frowned, as he remembered something else.

"Sister Ambrosia was the worst of the bunch. She was a pinch faced ugly old crone. I can see her face as clearly as if she were standing right there." He pointed to the corner. "She handed out punishment for the most minor infractions of the rules. She had a wooden ruler, that had a strip of metal on one edge, and when she hit you on the back of your hand it hurt like blazes. It actually left a mark for several days." He pointed to the corner. "I think we all hated her. At least I know I did. Funny, even now, I can feel my blood pressure rise when I think about her."

Father Doherty smiled and nodded at the man, whom he realized that he genuinely liked.

"In any case, I'd really appreciate your not calling me 'Art'."

"I have no problem with that. I pretty much go with the flow." Father Doherty answered, smiling. "I don't know about anyone else, but I have had a pretty stressful, and very long, day today. I was up at the crack of dawn, getting everything ready to close down my old mission, and then I had to make sure that everyone was safely sent on their way. It was not an easy day for me, under any circumstances. Thank the Lord, a wonderful loving man came to the rescue, and along with Brother Jacques, put everything together and allowed all of my flock to find their way to safety. At least that is what I fervently hope and pray ended up happening." Father Doherty sighed. "I always put everything into the hands of the Lord, and he has never failed me, yet. After hearing about what has been happening in this neighborhood, I know that the Lord sent Darnell to make sure I got here safely."

"Darnell brought you here?" Father Kinsey asked. "I guess that explains your getting here in one piece, coming here this late at night. That guy is amazing. He is one rough tough customer. I once saw him disarm two men who were fighting each other with knives. He just walked right up to the two of them, bold as brass, and took their weapons right out of their hands, fast as lightning. I have no idea how he did it, but he was sure quick, and he didn't take any nonsense from either one of them. I don't know how long he talked to them, but by the time he left, they were both having a reasonable conversation. They both had their weapons, but were no longer trying to kill each other. I have never seen the like in my whole life."

"Darnell and I go way back. He used to hang around by the old shelter, at times, and he did a pretty good job of handling himself, considering he was a user and a dealer. He never gave me any trouble, though. We had, and still have, a mutual respect for one another. I see something in him, something that he, himself doesn't know. He thinks of himself as completely self sufficient, and in control, and he doesn't have a good opinion of himself, at all. I know, however, he is not as hard nosed as he thinks he is." Father Doherty sighed. "I only hope that he can somehow escape this life he is leading, and come to an understanding of himself as the worthwhile person I know he is."

Father Doherty yawned. "I seem to recall I was thinking of going to bed. I really think I need to get some sleep. I guess I need to see my room now."

"Yeah, that makes sense. We kind of got carried away, there, and time just flew by. If you will follow me, I'll show you where it is." Father Franklin opened the door to the hallway.

"Let me just grab my bag. I'll be right there." Father Doherty answered.

He grabbed his bag and followed the younger man down to the end of the hall and to a set of outsized ornately trimmed double doors. It almost looked as if he were about to enter a sanctuary. Father Franklin opened the doors and reached for the light switch.

Once Father Doherty walked into the room, and looked around, he was struck by the absolute absurdity of the decor. They were standing in a richly appointed sitting room, complete with a huge, very expensive, leather sofa, and two matching recliner chairs all facing a wall sized flat screen TV. There were floor to ceiling shelf units, that were filled to capacity with various brik a brak, some of which was obviously modern and some was older looking, perhaps antique, but all extremely ugly. The best word to use to describe the scene in front of him would probably be 'tacky'. Not one of the pieces of 'art' could be considered anything but showy and exaggerated.

One wall was painted a bright orange and had a huge fake fireplace right in the center, which was complete with a simulated log with a flickering light inside. The large mantle was covered with a series of Fabergé eggs, depicting the life of Jesus. Father Doherty couldn't help but notice that some of the eggs depicted Jesus as being blond, while others had his hair in various colors from red to black.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" Father Doherty exclaimed in wonder.

"Oh yeah, that one's right over there, on the far left; see the little baby in the diamond encrusted golden manger?" Father Franklin said as he pointed.

Father Doherty shook his head, then wearily asked, "Where is the bed?"

"I think it's down the hall and around the corner. I seem to remember seeing him come out of there, once. Let's go find it. I've never really been farther in than this room. I'm sure it will be interesting."

After Father Franklin switched on the wall sconces, the two men started down the ornately decorated hallway. There were still more gaudy representations of Christ in different settings, each one framed in simulated gold. "How in the world could he stand to look at this junk, day after day?" Father Doherty puzzled.

As they made their way along the hall, they finally came to a large door. Father Doherty grabbed the shiny looking door handle and opened the door to find, rather than a bedroom, it appeared to be a huge bathroom. In the middle of the room was an enormous Jacuzzi sunken tub. The floor was tiled in brightly colored splendor. In fact, everything in the room was shiny and bright. The walls were actually chartreuse, and not just any old plain chartreuse, but day-glow chartreuse.

There were decanters arranged along one end of the tub containing various scented soaps, creams and oils, all to try to help smooth out the vain, old priest's wrinkles. There was Queen Bee Jelly, a bottle of Rogaine and, it seemed, for emergencies, a can of spray on hair.

"I take it all this is as much a surprise to you as it is to me?" asked Father Doherty.

"Oh, definitely. I have never been in any room other than the sitting room we entered first. When Father Rodrigos was here, he spent some time working for Father Haslip, in here, and in his office. Father Haslip never interacted with us while he was here. He took all his meals in his rooms and during business hours he would spend some time in his office. He never even saw our guests, and as far as I know, none of them ever saw him."

"I must admit, this room and its contents have aroused my curiosity about the rest of his territory. I'd like to see the bedroom, for instance."

"I suppose that door over there might lead into the bedroom." Father Franklin answered. "We might as well try it."

Both men headed toward the door, which looked as though it would lead to the bedroom. This was a rather large door, with what looked like carvings all over it, but if you looked closely you could tell that they were merely glued on the cheap hollow core door. The whole door, carvings and all, was very light weight.

When they opened the door they found that the bedroom was at least as full of brik a brak as the sitting room was, and also sported a fake fireplace. But this time, the mantle was adorned with various small figurines of various shapes, sizes and materials. As the two men gazed at the room, they both frowned. Father Franklin spoke first. "I don't believe it, but I have to say this, that man had no sense of beauty, whatsoever. Everything in this place is butt ugly."

Father Doherty nodded. "Yes, ugly, gaudy and tacky. Not one piece of genuine beauty in the whole mess. I have never seen so many outlandish color combinations in my life. It's like walking into the land of OZ from that movie with Judy Garland. Everything is in technicolor. I have seen better art on the walls of a kindergarten classroom. And that is an insult to the kids in kindergarten. Look at that monstrous bed! I don't think for a minute that I could actually sleep in here. Is there another room I could use? Please tell me I don't have to try to sleep here."

"The only other staff room was Father Rodrigos' room. I can show it to you if you'd like. It isn't anything like this one."

"Thank God for that! I honestly can't imagine how anyone could stand to be in this room for more than a few minutes, without getting a headache from all the wild colors in here." Father Doherty actually shuddered as he thought of spending time in the room. "I fervently hope that I will never have to set foot into any part of this hideous place for as long as I live."

As they made their way out of the preposterously opulent suite of rooms, Father Doherty mused. "For all the parish's money he must have spent fitting this place out the way it is, we could have done a much better service to the people in this neighborhood, who should have benefited from it."

"The funny thing is, that he never seemed happy. With all this pompous garbage that he seemed to crave, I don't think I ever actually saw him crack a smile. He's just a bitter selfish man, no more, no less." Father Franklin added. "Let's get you settled in a nice comfortable bed, small, admittedly, but comfortable."

They entered Father Rodrigos' room to find it plain and cozy. The walls were a soft shade of tan, and there were a couple of nice looking watercolor paintings of nature scenes. There was a light brown bedspread on the twin bed along one wall, with a nightstand to one side. The dresser sat along the opposite wall, and had a good sized mirror attached to it. There was a modest closet next to the door that led to the bathroom he shared with Father Kinsey.

Father Franklin opened the door to the bathroom, turned on the light, and showed Father Doherty the double sink, the nicely sized shower bathtub combination, and the smaller room containing the toilet, which had a door for privacy, in case both people needed to use the room. The double sinks were far enough apart that two men could easily clean up at the same time.

This room was a far cry from the hideous spectacle that passed for the residence of Father Haslip, but that suited Father Doherty just fine, thank you, God!

Father Doherty finally got to sleep, but it did take him longer than he had hoped it would. He had a lot on his mind. He was still worried about the children, and about his newly discovered son. All things considered, though, he was pretty sure that Ben had a really good head on his shoulders, and that with Brother Jacques and the twins, they would take good care of the youngsters. Zane and the children would be safe. He finally fell asleep, after asking God to watch over all of them.

* * * * *

Father Franklin and Father Kinsey were seated at the table the next morning, discussing the events of the previous few days.

The subject of Father Doherty came up, and both men agreed that his joining their mission might actually be the best thing that could happen to the area, not just the mission, but the entire neighborhood.

"He is certainly a positive force, and I must say, although it sounds like a cliche, I truly believe he is, in fact, a Godsend." Father Franklin said seriously.

"I just wonder what God has in store for us that he would send Father Doherty here." Father Kinsey responded quietly.

"My ears are burning. Was someone talking about me a minute ago? Wait, before that, is there any coffee to be had?" Father Doherty asked as he walked to the kitchen area.

Father Kinsey stood up, reached for the freshly brewed coffee, and poured a cup for Father Doherty, then held up the pot as he looked at Father Franklin.

"Yes, please, I could certainly use another cup, and maybe still another one after that."

All three of them sat around for a while, discussing plans to revive the mission, and, in turn, improve the neighborhood.

Father Kinsey then walked to the stove with a dishtowel and picked up something before returning to the table.

"You remember that I was telling you that Father Kinsey was a culinary student?" Father Franklin asked, then broke into a smile and accepted a large donut on a napkin from Father Kinsey.

"Wait, is that what I think it is?" Father Doherty asked with a smile breaking onto his face.

"That's right. Handmade, homemade donuts." Father Franklin said happily.

"I can't even remember the last time I had one of these...they smell wonderful." Father Doherty said with a grin, then looked at Father Kinsey with surprise as he said, "It's still warm."

"That's the best way." Father Kinsey said before taking a sip from his cup of coffee.

After taking a bite, Father Doherty said, "I can't think of any particular verse that says that this is sinful, but I'm sure that anything that I enjoy as much as this, must be."

"As long as you don't overindulge, there shouldn't be a problem." Father Franklin said with a smile at Father Doherty's enjoyment, then added, "Besides, you wouldn't want to spoil your breakfast."

* * * * *

"I think I hear the sounds of men waking up." Father Doherty said over his coffee cup as the unmistakable noises of feet trodding on the wooden floor could easily be heard.

The six men who were the permanent guests of the mission made their way into the dining area of the kitchen. This room was always used for meals that didn't involve the crowds of hungry people who came to rely on a healthy hot meal around noon, each day.

"What would you gentlemen like for breakfast?" Father Doherty asked, as he glanced in the fridge. "I see we have eggs, bacon, bread for toast, or maybe French Toast. There is milk, which you can have plain or with chocolate, I can heat some up and make cocoa. This looks like orange juice," he said, as he held up a jug that did indeed look like orange juice. "Of course, we have several kinds of cereal. There is also plenty of coffee."

"Can I do anything to help?" Artimus asked slowly.

"You can help us at lunch. Right now, just sit back and enjoy." Father Franklin said with a smile at the man.

After a little hesitation, the men cautiously placed their orders, then watched as the priests made them breakfast.

During the first daylight hours of the morning, there were only a few people going about their business. Most of the neighborhood consisted of an abundance of bars and 'clubs'. Occasionally, there was a small storefront that appeared to be a convenience store, but the majority of what they 'conveniently' sold, no law abiding citizen would be interested in buying. The only 'market' in the neighborhood was more of a liquor store than a grocery store, but they did keep some food in stock, for those rare few who didn't feed themselves exclusively with drive-thru cuisine.

All kinds of people showed up at the mission during any given day. Some came in search of a meal, others wanted clothing, which the mission gave to anyone who requested it, no questions asked.

"I expect we will start having people showing up around ten or eleven, wanting our help. In the six years I have been here, we have never turned anyone away." Father Franklin explained as he started placing food on the table. "The Church has given us a budget, and we are free to serve people who ask us for help, in any way we see fit. At least that is the way it used to be."

"I'm familiar with the process, from my time at my last mission." Father Doherty said simply.

"Yes. Of course you would be." Father Franklin chuckled.

"Do you think you could take a look at the books for us? Neither Father Franklin or myself are well versed in accounting..." Father Kinsey said timidly.

"Plus, we've been too busy keeping things running to give it much thought. But I'm sure that there are bills needing to be paid and things like that that have been neglected since Father Haslip left us." Father Franklin said urgently.

"Or before." Father Kinsey added.

"If you can do without my help for a few minutes, I could take a look at things as soon as we're finished eating." Father Doherty said simply.

"I'll help them clean up." Artimus said seriously. "You go do what you need to do to keep this place open. It's too important to too many people."

Father Doherty smiled at Artimus, then nodded his agreement.

* * * * *

It only took about three minutes of looking at the books to find that the state of the accounts was far worse than he could have ever imagined.

Somehow, Father Haslip had been able to secure various loans to 'renovate' the mission over the past few years, but had neglected to ever pay a single cent of the money back to the bank.

From the jumble of paperwork that he was trying to sort through, it appeared that whenever Father Haslip ran short of money, he would simply take out another loan. The mission building was mortgaged to the hilt, even though Father Doherty knew that Father Haslip had no legal right to use Church property as collateral.

The phone ringing snapped Father Doherty out of his thoughts, for which he was grateful.

"Saint Barnabas." Father Doherty said cheerfully.

"To whom am I speaking?" A cold voice asked on the phone.

"This is Father Doherty, how may I help you?" Father Doherty asked, trying to keep his voice somewhat pleasant.

"Let me speak to Father Guzman." The man said sharply.

"I'm sorry, but there's no one here by that name." Father Doherty said slowly.

"Jesus Fucking Christ! He was supposed to be there last night!" The man growled.

"I'll be happy to give him a message if he shows up." Father Doherty said slowly.

"As soon as he walks in the door, tell him to call Father Haslip. He has the number." The man said, then hung up the phone abruptly.

"I've got your number, too." Father Doherty said slowly as he hung up the phone.

"Father! You'd better come out here! It's the police!" Father Franklin said breathlessly from the office doorway.

"I'll be right there." Father Doherty said as he closed the folder on the desk and turned off the computer monitor.

Chapter 10: War Mode

"How old are you?" Ty asked as Tommy led him down the stairs.

"Fifteen." Tommy said simply, then asked, "How about you?"

"Twelve." Ty answered in an obligatory tone.

"So, do you not want to share a room with that other guy because you don't like him or because you don't want to share a room?" Tommy asked curiously.

"Jamiah's okay, I guess. I just hate it when me and Jamiah and Dax are automatically thrown together just because we're all sissies." Ty said frankly.

"How's that?" Tommy asked with surprise.

"You know, we're... girly. Don't tell me that you haven't noticed it!" Ty said irritably.

"Not really, but I haven't been around you guys that much. I guess I noticed it about Jamie when I first met him, but I try not to let what I think about people be set in stone by my first impressions of them." Tommy said consideringly.

"Yeah? Then what do you think about me?" Ty asked in a somewhat belligerent tone.

"I get the feeling that you're angry and really defensive, looking for a reason to be offended so you can attack." Tommy said thoughtfully.

"The priest at the mission I was staying at called me 'contrary'." Ty said cautiously.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Tommy motioned toward the side door before saying, "I told you that I had another option for you, for where you can sleep. My brother, Mikey, really wants to have someone share his room with him. He's close to your age and maybe you two could get along together."

"Is he a sissy, too?" Ty asked cautiously.

Tommy laughed, then said, "No. Mikey isn't a sissy. He's just a regular guy."

"And you're not worried that I'm going to mess around with him or make him a sissy if I stay with him?" Ty asked cautiously.

"No. Mikey won't do anything he doesn't want to do, and as far as making him a sissy, it's not like it's contagious." Tommy said as he barely restrained a chuckle.

Ty thought about the words, as they walked into the main house and Tommy led him directly to the stairs.

"Mikey's room is up here. We already put bunk beds in, just in case anyone wanted to stay with him or maybe have a sleepover." Tommy said seriously.

"I won't do anything to him." Ty said quietly.

"I didn't think you would." Tommy said honestly as they crested the stairs.

"Most people think that because I'm like this, that I'll... you know... do stuff." Ty said cautiously.

"I know that Mikey won't do anything he doesn't want to do." Tommy said again, then opened the door to his youngest brother's room.

Ty walked past Tommy to look around.

He was surprised by how large the room was. Even with the two sets of bunk beds, the room didn't feel the least bit crowded.

"I'm only doing this as a favor to Mikey, because he wanted someone to share his room. If you and Mikey don't get along for some reason, all you'll have to do is get with me and I'll find you another place." Tommy said seriously.

"People don't like me." Ty said as he turned to look Tommy in the eyes.

After a moment to consider, Tommy smiled as he said, "And I bet that you don't like them, right back."

Ty broke into a reluctant smile and nodded.

"Give it a try, and if it doesn't work out, just give me a yell and we'll come up with something else." Tommy said frankly.

Ty looked around the bedroom again, then slowly nodded.

"But for now, I think we'd better get down to the kitchen. From the sound of it, my mom and my nanny probably have some awesome treats waiting for us down there." Tommy said with a grin.

Ty looked at Tommy with surprise, then broke into a smile.

"Come on." Tommy said cheerfully as he led the way out of the room.

* * * * *

"Does everyone like their room?" Lucas asked as he met up with Gordon and the kids in the 'lounge' area of the second floor.

"I can't believe this place. If I were planning on us taking a vacation with the kids, I'd want for us to stay someplace just like this." Gordon said frankly.

"This place is awesome, Dad. The rooms are big and nice and I get my own bathroom, and with this room out here, it's like this is our own house, but even better." Lazlo said joyfully.

"Jay? How are you doing?" Lucas asked with concern.

"It's really nice. I never had my own room before." Jay said shyly.

Lucas smiled warmly at the boy, then asked, "Max?"

"It's nice." Max said simply.

Misti and Annie were whispering to each other and Lucas didn't want to interrupt their conversation. They were obviously happy, and that's all he wanted to know.

"Well, Mrs. Brown said that all the kids need to go downstairs to the kitchen for a surprise, so I guess we'd better do that next." Lucas said to the group in general.

"What kind of surprise do you think it is?" Lazlo asked excitedly.

"Well, being that it's in the kitchen, I imagine that it'll probably be some kind of food. Let's go find out." Lucas said as he put a hand around Lazlo's shoulders to give him a quick, casual hug.

Gordon had to get the girls' attention, but finally they got the whole group herded to the stairs.

* * * * *

"Is everything alright?" Ben asked as he walked out of his room and noticed that Brother Jacques and Zane were standing together outside the rooms.

"Yes. We're just waiting on Loquicia and Jamiah to finish looking at their rooms before we take them downstairs." Brother Jacques said seriously.

"I think I need to see if Carson is ready to talk to us. I really don't know what he could want to talk to us about." Zane said nervously.

"Since he called you by your Internet name, I'm guessing that he's going to ask you about the people you brought with you. At least, that makes the most sense to me." Brother Jacques said frankly.

Zane slowly nodded, then looked up as someone approached.

"I met Dr. Murten downstairs and he said that I had a room up here. Do you know where it is?" Walt asked quietly.

"Yeah. It's the room by the elevator, over there." Ben said as he pointed with the hand that wasn't holding Oleksandr.

"Thanks." Walt said, then walked directly to his room.

"My room is soooo pretty! I love it!" Loquicia said as she ran to Brother Jacques and hugged him.

"I'm glad you like it, Quicia." Brother Jacques said as he put an arm around her.

"It's like a dream." Jamiah said as he joined the rest of the group in the hall.

"Allof this is like a dream to me." Zane said frankly.

Ben walked away from the group and gently knocked on a bedroom door before saying, "We're about to go down to the kitchen, if you want to join us."

A moment later, Dax opened his door and said, "Yeah. Thanks, Ben. I was just spacing out."

"It looks like you'll have plenty of time for spacing out, later. Right now, all the kids are expected in the kitchen, and I don't want Oleksandr to miss out on getting a treat." Ben said with a smile at the boy in his arms.

Oleksandr didn't seem to be the least bit interested in what Ben was saying. The expression on his face said clearly, that he was just enjoying holding Ben and being held.

* * * * *

"What is it, Ro? What's wrong?" Bax gently prodded.

"It's my dads... They... they won't let me do anything. It's like they're trying to control everything I do, or even think about doing, and they won't let me do anything that I want." Ro whispered, as tears still trickled down his cheeks. "I love them and I don't want to be mad at them but it's not fair."

Bax thought for a moment, then looked at Bug and the twins helplessly. He was obviously in over his head.

"Why don't you take Ro to the kitchen, and see what surprises they have for you there? I've got to meet with Studmuffin right now, but after that, maybe I can have a talk with Ro's dads and see if I can get them to lighten up a little." Bug said frankly.

Ro looked up at Bug with tear filled eyes and quietly said, "Thanks, Bug. I knew you'd do something. I'm so glad we found you."

"Well, duh! You're part of my family, now. Taking care of each other is what we do." Bug said with a grin.

Ro returned the smile, then looked down into Bax's eyes and whispered, "Thanks, Bax."

"I've always got your back. You know that." Bax said with a grin.

After a moment to consider, Ro responded, "Yeah. I do know that."

"Come on, guys. We've got things to do." Bug said suddenly, breaking the spell.

Reluctantly, Ro released his grip on Bax and seemed to be about to step away, but, instead, leaned in and gave Bax a quick kiss on the cheek.

Bax looked up at Ro with surprise at the action.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that." Ro stammered.

"Don't be sorry. But next time, my mouth is over here. I can't kiss you back with my cheek." Bax said frankly as he pointed at his mouth.

Ro looked at Bax with surprise for a moment, then giggled as he said, "I'll remember that."

"We'll take the guys to the kitchen, if you want to go find Studmuffin." Ken said frankly.

"Thanks, guys." Bug said, then gave each of the twins a quick but firm kiss, before leaving the room.

* * * * *

As Bug walked out of the room, the sound of Roris' electric wheelchair immediately caught his attention.

"I was just going to find Studmuffin. Is that where you're headed?" Bug asked casually.

Roris said something that Bug didn't understand. Lawrence was right beside him and immediately said, "His name is Carson."

"Right. Is that where you guys are going?" Bug asked as he waited.

"Yes. Roris wants me to go along, so I can talk for him. He said that it'll be a big help." Lawrence said proudly.

"I bet that it will." Bug said with a smile at his brother, then added, "Let's look in the living room, first."

Ken and Kev walked out of Bug's room, followed by Ro and Bax.

"Hi, Lawrence. Hi Roris. Isn't this place great?" Bax asked cheerfully.

"Yeah. Nice." Roris said, loudly and clearly enough to be understood without Lawrence's help.

"I love it. I've never been someplace so nice before." Lawrence said happily.

"Let's go." Bug said as he started toward the doorway that connected the big house to the main house.

* * * * *

Once they were in the living room, Ken and Kev led the boys on through the archway and into the kitchen.

"I don't know where we should start looking for him." Bug said as he looked around the huge, empty living room.

"If you're looking for Carson, he's probably in his room." Tommy said as he and Ty walked down a staircase heading toward the kitchen.

"Where's that?" Bug asked curiously.

"Over there." Tommy pointed, before guiding Ty through the archway.

As Bug, Lawrence and Roris were starting to go that way, a large group of mostly kids walked into the room.

"Well, it looks like Blue Vulcan is here, so all that's left is to find Carson." Bug said frankly.

"We'll be in the kitchen if you need us." Brother Jacques whispered and seemed to be about to lean in and give Zane a kiss. Then a look of regret crossed his face as he looked around, then backed away.

"Tommy said that Carson's room is over here. Let's see if he's there." Bug said, trying to draw attention away from the timid couple.

It took a moment, but finally Bug, Zane, Roris and Lawrence were walking across the large living room to find out what it was that Carson wanted to talk to them about.

* * * * *

"Everyone! You need to wash your hands and then find a place at the table or the breakfast bar." An older woman said firmly.

"You can wash your hands over here." Mikey said quickly as he hurried to the kitchen sink.

Within seconds, a long line of children queued up behind Mikey to take their turns at handwashing.

As soon as Ty was finished washing his hands, Tommy led him over to Mikey and said, "Hey, Bro, I found someone who wants to stay in your room."

"Really!?" Mikey asked happily.

"Yeah. This is Ty. He's from Chicago." Tommy said in the same tone he used to introduce the executives who would visit them, then he continued, "Ty, this is my brother, Mikey."

"Wow. You got gray hair!" Mikey said suddenly.

Ty seemed to be fighting to keep from responding to Mikey.

"Yeah, and you got a big mouth." Tommy said to his brother.

Mikey looked at Tommy with surprise, then noticed Ty's angry glare directed at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like it was something bad. But I never met anyone our age with gray hair before. It's kinda weird... in a good way." Mikey stammered.

"Let's find seats, so Nanny will feed us." Tommy said with an exasperated look at his younger brother.

"Yeah! Come on!" Mikey said happily as he hurried away to the breakfast bar.

"He's really okay. He doesn't always think before he says stuff." Tommy said to Ty carefully.

"I guess that's better than someone who whispers behind your back." Ty said as he slowly followed Mikey.

"I'm saving this spot for Ty!" Mikey said seriously to Dax.

Dax looked at Ty approaching with surprise, then smiled as he stepped out of the way.

"Us old guys can sit over here." Tommy said and led Dax to the other end of the breakfast bar.

"Is everyone ready?" An older woman asked cheerfully.

A collective cheer went up from all the kids assembled.

She picked up a tray of desserts and carried them to the table as Deb, Carson's mother, carried another tray to the breakfast bar.

When the dessert was placed in front of Ty, he stared at it in horror.

It took a moment for him to get over the shock, then he looked around to find that everyone had the same thing as him.

He noticed Dax's bewildered expression at the other end of the breakfast bar, then turned and saw Loquicia and Jamiah staring at their desserts with wide, tear filled eyes.

"What's wrong? Don't you like ice cream sundaes?" The woman, Carson's grandmother, asked cautiously at the unusual reactions.

"But there's mouse poop on it!" Jamiah whined and sounded like he was about to burst into tears.

There was a brief moment of silence, then the sound of Jay choking.

Deb ran to Jay's side to see that he was going to be okay.

"That isn't mouse poop. Those are chocolate sprinkles." Carson's grandmother said, as she tried to restrain her chuckles.

Ty, Dax, Jamiah and Loquicia all seemed dubious.

Carson's grandmother walked to the countertop beside her and picked up a container, then walked to Ty, who was closest to her and held it out to him.

He read the label, then looked through the side of the plastic container.

"Open it up and smell it. It's chocolate, I promise." The woman said gently.

Ty cautiously opened the top and took a tentative sniff.

"Chocolate, right?" She asked softly.

Ty nodded, then handed the container back to her.

"Does anyone else want to see for themselves that this really is chocolate?" She asked as she looked around the kitchen.

Strangely enough, all the kids, even those who had already eaten more than half their sundae, felt the need to smell the container of chocolate sprinkles.

Finally, Ty took his first bite of the dessert. It never occurred to him that one ice cream might be different from another, but the creaminess and quality of the ingredients of the sundae made it far better than anything he had ever tasted before.

* * * * *

"Can we come in?" Bug asked hesitantly from Carson's door.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I was going to meet you in the living room, but there's some stuff going on that's got me worried." Carson said as he glanced back at the six monitors.

"We can come back later, if you want us to." Zane offered quietly.

"No. That's not necessary. Hopefully this won't turn out to be anything." Carson said distractedly, then released his chair from its operations center, locked mode, and backed away from the computer alcove, so he could face his guests.

"I guess we should start off by introducing ourselves. I only know you by your Internet names. I'm Carson Brown, also known as Studmuffn."

Bug smiled at the unlikely name for the young teenager in the wheelchair, then said, "My name is Bug."

"Really?" Carson asked with surprise.

"Well, not quite; his name is really Vincent, but no one calls him that, ever." Lawrence said frankly.

"It's nice to meet you, Bug." Carson said with a big smile, then looked to the next person in line.

"I'm Zane."

"Zane, that's easy to remember." Carson said with a smile.

"You already know Roris, and I'm Lawrence. I'm Bug's brother and Roris's boyfriend." Lawrence said happily.

"I didn't know that you had a boyfriend, Roris." Carson said to Roris with a smile.

Roris mumbled something that Carson couldn't make out, but Lawrence looked at Carson and cheerfully said, "He didn't, until he met me."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Carson said, as he wheeled his way down to the end of his work table. "I built this while I was working with you on the project. It was gonna be the next stage. When I knew you were coming, I updated the software on it, so it should work fine." Carson said as he grabbed a smallish box, a small microphone, and put them on his lap, before wheeling over to where Roris was.

He handed the box to Lawrence, smiled and said. "Can you please attach that to the arm of the chair?" As soon as Lawrence was finished, Carson reached forward, and attached the small lapel mic to Roris's shirt, and then hooked the other end into the small box. "Okay Roris. This is just like the one we did the other night. You should be able to speak normally now."

"Thank you, Carson." An obviously computerized voice said loudly and clearly from the box.

Carson smiled with triumph at how well his creation worked on the first try.

After a moment, Roris looked up at Lawrence and asked, "What do you think?"

Lawrence tried to fight down his giggles, but didn't do a very good job of it as he said, "You sound funny!"

Roris's expression fell at the declaration.

Lawrence didn't seem to notice as he continued, "I think it's nice that you can talk to everyone easier now, but when it's just you and me, I'd much rather talk to the real you."

There was a moment when Roris wasn't sure if Lawrence was sincere in his words, until he realized that one of Lawrence's most endearing qualities was that he was always sincere. Lawrence didn't have it in him to lie or deceive.

Finally, Roris looked Lawrence in the eyes and said, "It's a deal."

Carson smiled warmly at Lawrence and Roris, sensing the 'rightness' of them being together. Then he turned to the group and said, "The reason that I wanted to talk to all of you is that there's some bad stuff going on in the country. You guys already saw the signs, and knew that something was coming, just like I did, so I'd like it if you could kind of help me keep an eye on things, and maybe together we can spot other problems on the horizon and find ways that we can help people."

"I didn't figure out what was going on, at all. My cousin Ben did. I just knew how to get in touch with you." Zane said honestly, with a slight blush.

"Could you go get your cousin and ask him to come join us? If he had the foresight to see what's coming, I'd really like to have him on the team." Carson said frankly.

Zane nodded and hurried out of the room.

Roris was talking to Lawrence. Carson and Bug noticed and waited to see what Roris was thinking. Apparently, Roris had turned off his translator. It seemed that Roris wanted to talk to Lawrence privately for a moment.

"Roris says that he didn't see what was coming, either." Lawrence said, as he looked at Carson.

"I know. That wasn't the reason I wanted Roris here. From all the time that Roris and I have worked together, I've come to respect and value his opinions and his problem solving skills. I wanted Bug and Zane, and, now, I guess, Ben, to help me in predicting what's coming. I was hoping that Roris would help me in figuring out what to do about it." Carson said honestly.

"Zane said that you wanted to see me." Ben said, as he walked into the room carrying a blond boy, sporting a whipped cream moustache and beard.

Zane walked in next, looking to be uncertain of his welcome.

Carson had to fight down a chuckle as he went to his dresser and pulled a few tissues free from their box.

He rolled over to Ben and handed him the tissues before saying, "Yes, Zane said that you were the one who realized what was coming and decided to take action and get out of Chicago."

"Yeah... I guess so. I mean, I talked it over with everyone before we did anything, but I guess I was the first one to see what was going on." Ben said thoughtfully as he wiped the whipped cream off Oleksandr's face.

"Then, if you don't mind, I could really use your help in watching what's going on now, and trying to predict what's going to happen next. Things are heating..."

"Carson. Please pardon my interruption, but the situation appears to be escalating much more rapidly than we predicted." A young sounding voice said clearly, from Carson's computer alcove.

* * * * *

After a moment to see that all the children were enjoying their ice cream sundaes, Brother Jacques slowly walked the few steps to join the twins so he could speak to them privately.

"I'm sorry, guys. I don't know what happened. I got to talking with Zane and sort of got lost in myself. I didn't mean to hurt you and leave you alone." Brother Jacques said quietly.

"We weren't alone, Jake. We spent the night with that guy from last night, his name is Bug." Ken said frankly.

Jake looked at the twins with concern at the announcement.

"It's fine. Bug's a really good guy." Ken quietly assured him.

"I really like him." Kev added as he looked into Brother Jacques' eyes.

"You slept with a guy that you just met last night?" Brother Jacques confirmed.

"Yes. But all we did was sleep." Kev said seriously.

"That's none of my business." Brother Jacques said frankly.

"Sure it is." Ken said immediately. "You love us. That gives you the right to worry and care and stuff. I mean, you can't tell us what to do, but you're an important part of our lives and you deserve to be included."

"Me and Zane just slept, too." Brother Jacques said quietly.

"I figured." Kev said with a smile.

"So, this guy, Bug, he's really okay?" Brother Jacques asked cautiously.

"Yeah. He's strong, like you. He makes us feel safe." Kev said seriously.

Ken nodded and continued the thought, "Once Bug cares about you, you know that he'll move heaven and earth to protect you. There's no half-way with him."

"He sounds intense." Brother Jacques said hesitantly.

"Yeah. That's a good word for it." Ken said with a smile.

"If I had to describe Bug in just one word, that would be it." Kev chuckled.

Brother Jacques and the twins turned at a movement and saw Zane walk directly to Ben and speak to him seriously.

A moment later, Ben got up, with Oleksandr in his arms, then followed Zane out of the room.

"I wonder what's up with that." Brother Jacques said slowly.

"Whatever it is, I have a feeling that it isn't good." Ken said as he stared at the doorway.

* * * * *

"I'm Debra, and this is my mother, Madelyn. I'm sorry for interrupting, but we were curious about the young man carrying the boy. We got the sense that there's something wrong there and wanted to know if it's anything that we can help with." Debra said to Brother Jacques and the twins.

Looks flashed between Brother Jacques and the twins, but none of them knew how much they should reveal to their hosts.

Gordon and Lucas were close enough to overhear the question and moved closer, so that they could be included in the conversation.

Finally, Brother Jacques hesitantly said, "Oleksandr, that's the boy's name, stayed at our mission shelter for a while. I don't know much about it except that his adoptive parents fell onto hard times, and somehow he ended up with us."

"At first, they kept Oleksandr with them all the time. But over the course of a few weeks, we saw less and less of the parents and were left to care for Oleksandr most of the time. Before any of us knew what had happened, the parents were gone. We still don't know what happened to them." Ken said quietly.

"That was a few months ago. We notified Child and Family Services, and they took Oleksandr away. He was young enough, and white and blond and cute, so we figured that he'd probably end up getting put in a decent home."

Debra and Madelyn looked at Kev with surprise at the statement. Brother Jacques noticed and explained, "I know it's not fair, and it's not how it should be. But sadly, that's how it is. Kids that aren't white, usually don't get adopted. In fact, if Oleksandr hadn't been white, the Child and Family people probably would have just left him with us, since they wouldn't have much hope of placing him. I guess it makes them look bad if they have a kid that they can't place, so whenever they can, they just kind of look the other way when a non-white kid needs their help."

"Yeah. That's why we've had Ty, Loquicia and Jamiah for so long. Dax is white, but he's too old for anyone to want him." Ken said frankly.

Before Debra and Madelyn could respond to that, Brother Jacques continued, "Anyway, last night, Oleksandr showed up on the doorstep of our mission. He was in shock and, actually, I'm surprised he was able to find the mission, in the state that he was in."

"He couldn't tell us very much, except that his new foster father had beaten and raped him..." Kev said before he was interrupted by his twin.

"Of course, he didn't use those words, but that's what we were able to put together from what he told us."

"Oleksandr showed up at the same time that we were making plans to come here, so there wasn't much more that we could do but take him with us." Brother Jacques said frankly.

"If we'd taken him to a doctor, or called the cops, then none of us would have been able to get out of Chicago." Kev added seriously.

"So he hasn't seen a doctor, yet?" Madelyn asked with concern.

"No. We thought that it was more important to get him to a safe place, first." Brother Jacques said as he met her concerned gaze.

"When we got on the plane to leave Chicago, Ben volunteered to take care of Oleksandr, so we'd be free to take care of the rest of the kids." Ken interjected, hoping to keep the story moving.

"Yeah. And when Oleksandr woke up, I guess he felt safe, or something. After everything that had happened to him, he desperately needed to feel safe, so he's been clinging to Ben's side ever since." Kev finished with a smile.

"Ben doesn't seem to mind it at all. If I didn't know better, I'd be ready to swear that Oleksandr had been his son all along." Brother Jacques said frankly.

"From what I've seen of them since they arrived in Kansas City, Ben has focused nearly all his attention on the task of caring for the boy. I get the feeling that no matter how bad the boy was hurt physically, that the emotional trauma was far more severe. Ben seems to be just what Oleksandr needs to learn to feel safe again." Lucas said in a low tone.

Deb noticed that all the children seemed to have finished their desserts and were chatting, mostly quietly, amongst themselves.

"Tommy, Mikey, why don't you take the kids outside and show them the backyard? I'm betting that after being on the plane all morning, that they've got a good bit of energy to burn off." Debra said to her children.

"It's this way, come on!" Tommy said, and motioned for everyone to follow.

* * * * *

"What's going on?" Carson asked as he moved his wheelchair back into it's 'docking' position.

"A shot has been fired." Dizzy said simply.

"What are we looking at?" Bug asked curiously as he walked up behind Carson. He was immediately in awe of the highly advanced computer system.

"A school in Breckenridge, Texas. Some bullshit about a viral outbreak and all the kids in the area needing to go to this one high school, supposedly for 'testing'. It seemed weird, so we were keeping an eye on it..." Carson's voice faded away as what seemed like a hail of arms fire erupted. Parents were being shot at by the federal agents. Some of the parents, the ones who had firearms, started to return fire.

Seconds later, the front doors of the school burst open, and several older children could be seen rushing the federal agents, trying to get them to stop shooting their parents.

"They're shooting the kids!" Zane gasped, as the federal agents, spun and started to fire on the children.

"Lawrence." The computerized voice from Roris' wheelchair said in a flat tone.

After a moment, Lawrence turned his horrified gaze toward Roris.

"Don't look at it, Lawrence. Just hold me, please." Roris' computerized voice said tonelessly.

Ben held Oleksandr tightly to his chest as he witnessed the bloodbath on the screen.

"Dizzy! War mode! Push the live feed out to the kingdom! I don't want there to be any chance that they don't see this." Carson said as he started typing furiously on his keyboard.

Everyone watched in wonder as the monitors slightly retracted, then reorganized themselves into a pattern of eight displays in front of Carson.

"Bring up a replay of the first shot on monitor one. I want to see who started it." Carson said firmly.

"This game is stupid." Oleksandr said quietly, then cuddled into Ben's chest.

"Yes. It is." Ben whispered as he smoothed Oleksandr's slightly curly blond hair.

"What the fuck!? This is a setup!" Bug exclaimed. Dizzy had triangulated where the shot came from, and by the time they could see anything, all there saw a female agent, with a rifle slung over her shoulder, climbing down from her perch.

"Dizzy, clean that clip up as much as you can, then push it out to the kingdom, too."

"The fucking feds set it all up! Those motherfuckers got all the kids together, then had someone fire a shot from behind them, hitting the federal agent that was trying to keep the peace!" Bug ranted.

"Dizzy, would you go back ten minutes and show Bug what happened before. Put it on monitor five." Carson said, then pointed at the monitor, so Bug would know where to look.

Action on one of the other screens drew everyone's attention.

"Holy Jesus! Is that what I think it is? Troop transports, tanks... Wait! Are those helicopters fighting each other!?" Ben exclaimed in horror, drawing everyone's attention. All eyes were on the screen just in time to watch as one of the Osprey aircraft, maneuvered into position, then opened up on the front of the school, ripping through the concrete just as easily as the bullets ripped through the children who were still trying to protect their parents.

Just then, one of the helicopters went spiraling out of control, and fell directly into the school.

Everyone stared in silence at the horrific scene.

Finally, the silence was broken by Carson asking, "Dizzy! What is that?"

"Which 'that' are you talking about?" Dizzy asked in what seemed to be a hesitant voice.

"Upper left quadrant of screen four! That helicopter! Isn't that one of the ones that helped rescue President Bryce?" Carson asked.

A brief moment passed before Dizzy replied. "Yes, I think..." Dizzy started to reply before his voice rose an octave, simulating shock. "ROCKET FIRE!" He called out, just as the lead helicopter, a Huey, unleashed several rockets, a mere moment later, the Osprey that was firing on the front of the school blew up into a huge ball of fire. Federal Agents and parents alike had to jump for cover as the flaming debris started to rain down over the area.

Before the last of the debris hit the ground, the Huey was in the middle of fighting two Apache helicopters and two other Osprey. The Chinook came in low and fast, buzzing over the school at just over a hundred miles an hour, and no more than fifty feet off the ground. As the back of the Chinook came into sight, they watched in disbelief as a huge, fully armored figure, standing on the back of the lowered ramp, took two running steps and jumped out of the back of the helicopter, followed closely by a very young red headed boy. Just then the monitors went dead. "What happened to the feed?"

"We've been denied access to the video channel." Dizzy said, sounding to be as puzzled as Carson at the development.

"Oh no you didn't!" Carson said as he started typing furiously.

"Give me a second. Maybe I can help." Bug said before dashing out of the room.

"How you doin, buddy?" Ben asked Oleksandr, gently.

"I gotta pee." Oleksandr responded quietly.

"Carson, where's your bathroom?" Ben asked cautiously, regretting that he needed to interrupt.

"Over there." Carson pointed for only an instant before going back to typing. "Dizzy! I need you to reconfirm that satellite link while I establish the protocol."

"I'm on it, Carson." Dizzy said immediately.

"I feel like I should be doing something." Zane said in a small timid voice to Roris.

"Watch. Listen. Study what's happened and try to make sense of it." The computerized voice said from the box on Roris' wheelchair.

Lawrence was sitting on Roris' lap, holding him gently, but Roris had his full attention on the replay on the monitors.

Zane followed his gaze and began to watch the scene carefully, trying to find any glimmer of reason in the atrocity that they had just witnessed.

* * * * *

"How are you doing, Ty?" Tommy asked, interrupting something that his brother was saying.

"Does he ever shut up?" Ty asked Tommy curiously.

Mikey didn't seem to notice that neither of them were paying him the least little bit of attention.

"Yeah. Eventually. He's just excited right now. If you want to shut him up sooner, you can play some soccer or something with him. Once he's burned off his extra energy, he should be fine."

"I've never played soccer." Ty admitted shyly.

"Seriously!?" Tommy asked in wonder.

"The only ball game I ever been around is b-ball, and I'm too small to be any good at it." Ty said frankly.

"Being little and fast is just as good as being big and strong when it comes to soccer. It can be tough, but if you work hard, you CAN be good at it." Tommy said seriously.

"I wouldn't know what to do." Ty said cautiously.

"Mikey. Zip it for two seconds." Tommy said sternly to his brother.

It took a moment for Mikey to process the words, but finally he stopped talking.

"Ty doesn't know how to play soccer. I'm betting that some of the others don't either. What would you think about getting everyone together and teaching them the basics?" Tommy asked as he watched for his younger brother's reaction.

"Yeah! That'd be awesome! I can tell them what to do and you can show them how, since you're better at stuff than I am." Mikey said quickly.

"I've got some things that I need to do right now. But you're good enough to show them what they need to know. Get Ty to help you get enough balls out for everyone, so that they can get used to handling them." Tommy said seriously.

"Yeah! I can do that." Mikey said happily, then dashed away.

Ty looked up at Tommy with an uncertain grin before he heard, "Ty, come on! The balls are over here!"

"Have fun." Tommy chuckled as he watched Ty leave to follow Mikey, at a moderate speed.

* * * * *

"What'd I miss?" Bug asked as he hurried into Carson's bedroom, carrying his tote bag.

"I still can't get access. I just can't figure out why." Carson said as he studied his computer screens.

"Is there someplace where I can jack into your network?" Bug asked as he took out his laptop.

Carson glanced at Bug and was about to answer, but the ability to speak left him when he saw the ancient laptop with a duct tape battery cover.

Finally, Carson stammered, "Um, I, uh, yeah. But you can use that computer over past the closet if you want. It's already hooked up to the network and it's probably got a little more processing power."

"What OS are you running?" Bug asked hesitantly.

"All the computers here are multi-boot. You can select the OS that you want when you turn it on. If you don't select one, then it defaults to Apple." Carson said seriously, then started to turn his attention back to the monitors.

"Great. Thanks." Bug said happily as he began to sort through a collection of thumb drives on the computer desk.

"Is that a gun?" Zane asked cautiously.

Bug glanced at the gun in his tote bag, then nodded.

"Is it loaded?" Zane asked, even more slowly.

"Be kinda useless if it wasn't." Bug said simply.

"Why do you have a gun?" Zane asked carefully.

"To shoot anyone who tries to hurt my family." Bug said as he stopped to look Zane in the eyes.

Zane thought about it for a moment, then quietly said, "That's probably the only answer to that question that would make me feel okay with it."

Bug hit the button to start the computer as he said, "Being against guns is real easy when there's no one trying to hurt you or steal your shit. Unless I'm totally reading things wrong, a whole lot of people are about to gain a new appreciation for the second amendment."

Ben walked into the room, carrying Oleksandr, and looked around curiously before walking up to Zane's side.

"How's it going?" Ben asked in a whisper.

"Carson's trying to regain the video feed. Bug is getting on that other computer to try and help." Zane said frankly.

"Have you figured out what just happened, or why?" Ben asked quietly.

"No. None of it makes any sense to me right now. But I think Bug was right. From what little bit I do understand, this was a set-up."

"Damnit!" Carson screamed in frustration.

"What's wrong?" Ben asked immediately.

"Everywhere I turn, I'm hitting dead ends. It shouldn't be possible! No one's that good!" Carson growled.

"Yeah. Well you just keep banging on the front door like that, and I'm sure they're going to pop it open and let you right in." Bug said in a teasing tone.

Carson turned in his chair enough to give Bug a scathing glare.

"I just sent Studmffn a link that he might want to check out." Bug said with a grin.

Carson immediately turned and saw the link displayed on one of his screens.

"What the... how did you?..." Carson said in wonder as he stared at the renewed video feed.

The scene before him was horrific. Billowing clouds of smoke and streaks of flame were rising up from where the helicopter had crashed into the school. Dead mangled bodies, many of them children, were splayed out on the front steps of the school building. A small number of federal agents were firing at someone, but their opponent wasn't immediately identifiable as being from any particular military organization.

As suddenly as it had started, the feed stopped.

"No!" Bug said firmly, "No way!"

"Whoever is blocking us is good." Carson said as he went back to work trying to establish a video connection.

"I bounced that motherfucking signal about six times around the earth before it got to us. There's no fucking way that they could have traced it that fast. According to the laws of physics, it's NOT FUCKING POSSIBLE!" Bug bellowed.

"So, that means that they didn't trace it." Zane said simply.

Carson and Bug looked at Zane with matching expressions of question.

"They found you out some other way." Zane said as a statement of simple fact.

"Son-of-a-bitch! He's right!" Bug said as he started typing up a storm.

"Not good... not good..." Carson muttered as he worked his keyboard furiously.

As Bug and Carson both typed as fast as humanly possible, suddenly the video feed started back up, seemingly all on it's own.

"What happened, Dizzy?" Carson asked suddenly.

"All the video channels that I was trying to access suddenly became available." Dizzy said frankly.

Everyone stared at the screens in silent horror.

Fire.

Smoke.

Bodies.

Lots and lots of bodies.

Carson was the first to break out of his astonishment, and he quickly looked at the video for any traces of the Chinook helicopter or the other fighters. As he zoomed in as best he was able, he could only find innocents and federal agents. From the look of what was before him, the opposing force had either taken their dead and wounded with them... or they hadn't had any casualties, at all.

From the skill and ruthless efficiency displayed by the unknown organization, Carson was inclined to believe it was the latter.

* * * * *

"Damn! You guys are good." A young voice said over the intercom in the room.

Everyone, even Carson stopped and looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Dizzy?" Carson asked softly.

"The voice is coming from the intercom..." Dizzy replied.

"Yes... yes it is." The young voice said with a slight giggle. "We actually had to figure out where you guys were at, then try to hack into your system. We dropped that idea when we saw the security systems you have in place. Then I came up with the idea of figuring out your address, and cross referencing that with local security agencies. Once we figured out that your home was protected by KF Securities, we hacked their systems. It took a few minutes to break the admin passcode for all their accounts, but once we had that, we saw what you guys had installed in the house, then got both video and audio connections. I gotta say, it was some of the most fun I've had in a LONG time."

"I told you that they didn't trace you." Zane said smugly.

"Who are you?" Carson asked cautiously.

"And are the feds going to be showing up on our doorstep any minute?" Bug asked seriously.

"Maybe, but they'd have to get their heads outta their asses long enough to notice." The voice said with a bit of a giggle. "However, we ain't callin them."

"If they pulled their heads outta their asses, they wouldn't be feds anymore. It's a requirement of the job." Bug said frankly, then asked, "Who are you and who do you work for?"

"Well... the easy answer is... My name is Alvin." The boy said seriously. "Who I work for is not something I can really get into yet... not without knowing a lot more about you." He paused for a brief moment, and just as Bug was about to say something, he jumped in. "Which should only take about another 45 seconds."

"You don't seem to be lacking in confidence, but if what we've seen just now is any indication of what you can do, I guess you have good reason to believe in yourself." Bug said seriously.

"Yes, I do, Vincent Thomas Winters, age seventeen, nicknamed 'Bug'... By the way, I like that nickname... it shows character." Alvin said, then rushed on. "Carson, if you would be so good as to accept the incoming video link on port 342, I have been authorized to do a direct video feed."

"Dizzy? You got that?" Carson asked cautiously, feeling almost like he was in a dream.

"Got it, boss." Dizzy answered immediately.

The second screen lit up with the picture of a sandy blond haired boy. Even though everyone knew he would be young from the sound of his voice, they were still surprised at how young he actually was.

The camera was focused on him alone, not revealing anything behind him in the shot, but they could see that the boy was dressed in some kind of military fatigues, and seemed to be perfectly comfortable and at ease in them.

"He's pretty!" Oleksandr said as he pointed at the screen.

Ben smiled at the words and cuddled the boy quietly as he said, "Yes, he is."

"I think you mean that he's handsome." Carson said as he tried to restrain a grin.

"Nuh uh! He's pretty. Him and Lawrence and Bug are pretty. You and Zane and Ben are handsome." Oleksandr said with absolute certainty.

"What about Roris?" Lawrence asked from his place on Roris' lap.

"He's pretty, too." Oleksandr said frankly.

"Thank you, Oleksandr." Alvin said seriously. "That was very nice of you to say."

Oleksandr buried his face into Ben's shoulder.

"He's a shy guy, sometimes, but I'm sure he appreciates it." Ben said with a warm smile at the boy on the monitor.

"That's no problem, I have a lot of family members that can be that shy." Alvin said softly. Then turned more serious. "I'm sorry about cutting your access to the satellite earlier, but, at that point we didn't know who you were, and couldn't risk the operation by allowing others to see it. I hope you understand."

"We just wanted to get the news about what the feds were doing, out to the public, so they could understand what's happening right under their noses." Carson said with an urging look at the screen.

"Yeah. It's not like the news is doing anything but being Assweasle's hand puppets, these days." Bug said sourly.

"You do realize you guys are painting a pretty big target on your backs by doing that, right?" Alvin said seriously.

"If we just sit back and do nothing, then we deserve whatever happens to us." Carson said as he looked the boy in the eyes.

Bug nodded his wholehearted agreement.

Alvin smiled gently, while he nodded. "That is one of the few answers I would have believed." He looked off to his left for a moment before he nodded. Turning back to face the camera, he spoke again. "We have verified that no one on the planet could actually hack the connection we have right now. However, before I go any further, I need to ask you all a very serious question. Right now, you all know that there's some serious shit going down. And I'm sure you think it's pretty bad. But I want you to know that it's much worse than you are currently thinking. So, with that in mind... how much are you all willing to get involved. How far are you willing to go to fight what Ashwood is doing?"

"I don't know about anyone else, but my family comes first. The only reason that I'm here at all is to protect them. Now, if there's something else that I can do to make things better for everyone else, I'll step up. But only as long as I know that my family is safe." Bug said firmly.

"Before yesterday, I would have given you a totally different answer. But now I have Oleksandr and Dax who depend on me. So, I'm like Bug. I'll be willing to do whatever I can to help everyone else, but before anything, I have to be sure that Oleksandr and Dax are safe." Ben said seriously.

Without giving an indication as to what he was thinking, Alvin turned and looked at Carson. "Carson?"

Carson sighed as he took a few moments to think. Finally he nodded to himself, raised his eyes and met Alvin's. "My parents always tried to tell me to follow what I think is right. Deep down I know this is right, but. Well... I got a family to worry about, too. I mean, I'm only thirteen, but... hell, I don't want anyone else hurt."

Alvin nodded then looked over at Roris and Lawrence. "What about you two?"

"Lawrence and I have always had our families to protect us, and I don't think that either of us has ever seen ourselves as having anything of value to give to others." Roris paused for a moment for his computerized voice to catch up, then continued, "We want to help and protect those that helped and protected us."

Lawrence looked at Alvin from his place on Roris' lap and nodded his agreement with the words.

"Those who think they are the least important often show themselves to be invaluable, if by doing nothing else than reminding those that are fighting, WHY they are fighting so hard." Alvin said sagely, then took a few moments to consider.

"I've never had anyone who really helped or protected me until this week. Not just Ben, but all of you have become like the family that I always wished that I had had. I would do anything to protect you." Zane said firmly.

Ben smiled, then pulled Zane into a hug with the arm that wasn't holding Oleksandr.

Alvin nodded, and allowed himself to smile broadly. "You all just passed the first test, with flying colors. There is NOTHING more important than your family. NOTHING!"

"If you are all willing, we would like to bring you up to speed fully with what is going on, offer what protection we can, and work with you as much as you would like. What you do with the information that we give you, though, is up to you." Alvin said carefully.

Carson looked around at everyone, then said, "When I put my mind to it, I'm pretty good at getting things done. But this is something that I'm not going to be able to do by myself. I asked you all to come in here and talk to me so we could figure out some ways to help people... I guess it worked out that way, after all."

"What I'm trying to say is that this is what I wanted from the beginning, but I need help. That's not always easy for me to say, but I'm saying it now. I'm in, but only if you guys are with me."

"Fuck. Why not?" Bug said with a grin.

Ben looked at Zane with question.

"Yeah." Zane whispered.

"We're in... Oleksandr, too." Ben finished with a smile.

"Whatever we can do, we will do." The computerized voice said from the box on Roris' wheelchair.

"Okay." Alvin said with a large childlike grin. "Then I believe it is time to introduce you to some people."

The view widened and standing next to Alvin was an older boy, who looked to be in his early teens. Jet black hair and intense grey eyes. He was wearing a dress military uniform complete with a side arm, and four silver stars on his shoulders. "This is General Adam Casey, commanding officer of the U.N.I.T. He is in charge of all the military operations out of our base. I am sure you have seen us... twice so far." Alvin said with a smile.

"We haven't..." Carson started to say, then asked, "You're the ones with the helicopters?"

"Very good." Adam said with a smile. "We're the ones with the helicopters."

"Should I call you General or Sir or what?" Carson asked hesitantly.

Adam smiled warmly. "Only if you decide to join up. If not, just call me Adam."

"Oh, um, sure. Hi, Adam. I'm Carson and... wait. Do you already know who everyone is?" Carson asked cautiously.

"Yeah... I do." Adam said with a smile. "But it's nice to meet you all. The one thing I will say is this. What you all just said about family coming first, is the one thing I wanted to hear. As Alvin said, there really is nothing more important than family. Now... we don't have a lot of resources at the moment, but we will do what we can to help, and protect you guys. What do you guys need?"

"I guess the first thing is to know what just happened in Texas. I know as well as I know anything that the government is going to try to sweep the whole thing under the rug. Sending the video files to the underground net was a start, but I still don't know why it happened. Without some reason to explain 'why' so many people lost their lives, it'll be easy for people to believe that it's all some kind of hoax." Carson said thoughtfully.

Adam shook his head sadly. "The why is still an unknown, however I do have my suspicions. Unfortunately, some of my guys got a little overzealous when they got involved. From what I understand there were no survivors left to question. However, I am pretty sure that you all saw the same thing that we did. One of the federal agents took the first shot on her own forces, then high tailed it out of there to a waiting aircraft, and escaped before my guys got there. In other words, I doubt that the agents that got killed had any clue about what was really happening."

Adam paused as he gave a feral grin. "However, we have an ally that will help make sure that it's not swept under the rug." Adam held his arm out, and another face entered the screen. This was a face that almost all of them immediately recognized.

"Holy shit!" Bug gasped as he straightened his posture.

"President Bryce!" Carson said with amazement.

Zane, Ben and Roris all stared like deer caught in the headlights.

"Please, boys... It's okay, and call me Jack. I have a feeling we are going to be working closely in the future. What I have learned so far about what you boys have been able to do is nothing short of amazing. Each and every one of you, as well as those that are with you, but not in the room, have done a tremendous job so far." He laughed slightly, "You know, only a few days ago, I would never have guessed that people as young as you guys are, could do some of the things you have done. All of you have opened my eyes to what the younger generation can really do. Now, if you are going to help, thank you, but your first priority needs to be your family."

"Thank you, Sir." Bug said respectfully, then quietly added, "It would be an honor to work with you."

Zane and Ben looked at Bug with matching expressions of surprise. It was one of the few times that a family resemblance could be seen between the cousins.

"Bug! You didn't say 'fuck' at all!" Lawrence said in wonder.

Carson was the first to give in to the laughter, but one by one, the others followed suit.

When President Bryce could stop laughing, he got very serious. "Listen, boys, I want you guys to stay as safe as you can. I am going to ask Alvin here to send you some information that you might find useful; in that information will be some contact information. One of the numbers will connect you guys directly with me, or my staff. I will also make sure you have the number for the base commander of Fairchild Air Force Base, just down the road from you guys. If you get into any trouble, I want you to call him. WIthin 20 minutes, he will know about you guys, and know that you are a priority if you call. Do NOT hesitate to call him if you need anything at all, okay?"

As soon as Carson and Bug nodded, Adam jumped in. "Alvin will also be sending you some of the information that we have gathered. Carson, with the contacts you have, you might be able to figure some of it out better then we have been able to. See what you can find out. Right now, the big thing we need information on is something called Operation Starshine."

"Yes, Sir. We'll do anything that we can to help." Bug said seriously.

"And we'll gather as much information as we can. I know a few people with connections who can look deeper into things than I can." Carson added helpfully.

"Okay. You guys take care of yourselves, and do not hesitate to call." The President said, before the call terminated.

There was a long moment of silence before Bug cautiously said, "That was really the President."

"We got to talk to the President." Carson giggled.

"What information did we get? If we're supposed to be helping, shouldn't we get started?" Ben asked as he looked around.

After a moment to compose himself, Carson said, "Yeah. Let's do it."

* * * * *

"Carson, are you guys really busy, or do you have a minute?" Tommy asked as he walked into Carson's room.

"We've just got a lot of stuff to go through right now, what did you need?" Carson asked as he kept the majority of his attention on the screens before him.

"Well, I was in here, I wasn't snooping in your stuff or anything, but there was some stuff I didn't understand, so I asked Dizzy to help me." Tommy said in a rush.

"That's okay. Things are a little bit crazy right now. I hope Dizzy was able to help." Carson said as he devoted a little more of his attention to his older brother.

"Well, you see, it's like this. I kind of looked at some stuff and it really looks like some bad things are about to happen. So I kind of got the ball rolling, just so we'll be prepared if things go really, really bad." Tommy said nervously.

"What are you talking about?" Carson asked as he turned to face Tommy.

"There's this thing that I found when I was looking, this plan called 'Starshine'..."

"Hold on! What? Did you just say Starshine?" Carson asked cautiously.

"Yeah, um... Dizzy, can you show Carson that stuff that you showed me about Starshine?" Tommy asked hopefully.

"Of course, Tommy. It's on monitor seven." Dizzy said in a friendly tone.

After a moment of reading, Bug said, "This isn't the same as what they sent us."

"No. It's another piece of the puzzle." Carson said as he scanned through the information quickly.

"You really need to look at it on the city maps; it makes a whole lot more sense when you see it that way." Tommy said as he looked around the group.

"Dizzy, will you show me the maps, please?" Carson asked absently.

"Yes. Would you like them on all monitors?" Dizzy asked in his young teenage voice.

"Yeah. That would be good."

All eight monitors changed, each showing a different city map.

"No fucking way." Bug whispered.

"This is way bad." Carson said, as he looked from one monitor to the next.

"I figured that if they went ahead and did what they were planning, that there'd be a lot of people trying to get to someplace safe." Tommy said anxiously.

"I don't know if there is going to be someplace safe." Ben said as he held Oleksandr a little bit tighter to his side.

"I talked to Uncle Karl last night and he's been working on getting everything ready for the campgrounds." Tommy said hesitantly.

"Good thinking." Carson muttered absently as he studied the maps.

"Look at Chicago." Zane whispered.

"We need to find some way to get in touch with your dad." Ben said quietly, then added, "Maybe Brother Jacques or the twins know where he was going."

"Yeah. I need to talk to them anyway. There might be someone that they want to warn." Zane said as he looked at Ben with concern.

"Does anyone mind if I call a few people back home to warn them?" Bug asked as he pulled his headset out of his tote bag.

"Do what you need to do, Bug. Save as many as you can." Carson said as he finally tore his gaze away from the monitors.

Bug nodded as he keyed a phone number in on his ten-key.

Everyone watched and waited to hear what Bug was going to say.

"Something's not right." Bug said as he started typing on the keyboard.

"Your people aren't home?" Ben asked as he walked to stand behind Bug.

After a moment of listening, Bug shook his head and quietly said, "Orlando's not home."

"Maybe your VOIP is down. Try the land line." Carson said as he looked on with concern.

Bug reluctantly picked up the handset of the cordless phone from it's charging station by the monitor, then began to dial.

Everyone, even Lawrence and Roris were watching silently, waiting for Bug to make contact.

Finally, Bug looked around the room and quietly said, "All lines are down. Try again later."

"Let me try." Carson said, then started typing on his keyboard at lightning speed.

Bug put the phone back on it's charger, then walked up behind Carson to watch.

Long minutes passed as Bug's hopes fell lower and lower.

Finally, Carson turned and said, "There's nothing. No Internet, no phone... Orlando's completely blacked out."

"Guys, I think we need to tell everyone else about what's going on." Ben said slowly.

Everyone turned to look at him curiously.

"Up to now, we've all had an idea that something was going to happen. We've done what we can to prepare, but I think everyone here deserves to be kept up to date on what's really going on. They can't do anything to deal with it if they don't know." Ben said frankly.

"And it could be like what just happened with Tommy. One of them might have an important piece of the puzzle that we're looking for and not even know that we need it." Bug said as he looked around.

"You're right. They need to know." Carson said, but didn't sound happy.

"Does one of us need to stay in here to keep an eye on things?" Zane asked cautiously.

"No. There is no need to stay here; Dizzy will call me if anything comes up." Carson said with a smile at his computer, then seriously added, "Dizzy, please send all Tommy's Starshine information to Alvin, including the maps."

Chapter 11: 25 or 6 to 4

Father Doherty walked into the entry hall to find two uniformed police officers accompanying two men in dark suits who, from the look of them, were also police officers. Funny thing, how plain clothes officers are just about as obviously policemen as are their so called unmarked cars.

"Good morning, Officers, I am Father Doherty, how may I help you this morning?" Father Doherty asked pleasantly. During his time at his former mission, he'd had more dealings with the police than he cared to remember, and along the way he had actually become rather comfortable talking with them.

"We asked to speak with the person in charge, that's supposed to be..." One of the men in suits faltered, then took out a notepad before continuing, "...a Father Amil Guzman."

"I only just arrived here last night." Father Doherty said, and looked to his right, then slightly back over his shoulder to find Father Franklin more or less hiding behind him. "Have you heard anything about a Father Guzman?"

"No. I mean, I've heard the name before. But I don't think I ever met him." Father Franklin said timidly, while his face became visibly pale.

After a moment, the man in the suit who had spoken before said, "Our fraud division has been working on a case for a few months now, and we've turned up some rather serious 'irregularities'. We came down here to talk to Father Guzman, to hopefully clear some of this up."

"Gentlemen, could I, perhaps, interest you in some coffee? Please, come into the kitchen where we can sit down and be more comfortable. This sounds as though it might take a while." Father Doherty said graciously.

The uniformed officers looked hopeful, but silently waited for one of the men in suits to make the decision.

"I suppose that this could take a while." Their spokesman in the suit finally said, then turned to the uniformed officers and continued, "It looks like there's not going to be any action here. We'll call if anything comes up."

The uniformed officers looked a little bit put out, at being dismissed before the coffee was served, but they both exited through the front doors as the rest of the group walked down the hallway, toward the kitchen.

* * * * *

"Would both of you like coffee? We also have tea, juice and a number of other beverages, if there is something you would like better..." Father Doherty asked as he gestured for them to take seats at the table.

"Coffee's fine." The man in charge said dismissively, speaking for both of them.

"I'll get it." Father Franklin muttered before dashing away.

Just then, Father Kinsey walked into the room, carrying a large sack of potatoes.

Both of the 'suits' looked at him appraisingly.

"This is Father Kinsey, he's the third and final priest working at this mission. From what I gather, he and Father Franklin have both been here for a while, so they might be able to answer, at least, some of your questions." Father Doherty said pleasantly.

Father Kinsey set down his sack of potatoes, then walked to the table, looking uncertain of his welcome.

"Father Kinsey, I'm Detective Roberts, and this is Detective Fuller." The man introduced himself and his partner, as he brushed some lint off his colleague's sleeve. We'd like to ask you a few questions about Father Amil Guzman." Roberts said firmly.

"Would you like some donuts with the coffee?" Father Franklin asked as he placed cups of coffee in front of each man at the table.

Both detectives looked at him darkly at the question.

"I'll get them." Father Kinsey said before anyone could answer.

Father Doherty motioned for Father Franklin to take a seat.

"What can any of you tell me about Father Guzman?" Detective Roberts asked loudly enough for Father Kinsey to hear him at the stove.

"If he's the same Father Guzman who works at the diocese office, then I might have spoken to him a time or two about business matters, but I couldn't for the life of me tell you when that was, or even what we talked about." Father Doherty said frankly. "I certainly haven't spoken to him at all, in at least a year."

"If we assume for the moment that that's him, do you know what office he worked in?" Detective Roberts asked with interest.

"I don't know what his title was, or if, in fact, he had one. But he was one of the people I had to talk to when any major renovations or expenditures needed to be approved for my old mission." Father Doherty said carefully.

The detectives glanced at each other with surprise.

"I just made these fresh this morning. I hope you like them." Father Kinsey said as he placed a basket, lined with a tea towel, on the table before the two detectives. He pulled back the towel just enough to reveal the donuts within.

"I really shouldn't." Detective Fuller said in a wavering tone, as he reached for a donut.

Father Franklin scooted the napkin holder over to him, so it was within easy reach.

"So, all of you are saying that Father Guzman is not now, nor has he ever been at this location. Is that correct?" Detective Roberts asked seriously, then looked askance at the basket of donuts, obviously wanting one.

"Dick, you've really got to try one of these!" Detective Fuller said past a mouthful of donut.

Detective Roberts ignored his partner's words and looked at the three priests expectantly.

"I've never met or heard of anyone called Father Guzman." Father Kinsey said simply.

"I think I heard the name once or twice, but that's about it." Father Franklin said honestly.

"As I've told you, I've spoken to a Father Guzman, I can't be sure it's the same one you're asking about, but, even so, I had no professional or personal relationship with the man." Father Doherty said seriously, then added, "But I think that you should know that not more than five minutes before you arrived, I had a phone call from someone, asking to speak to Father Guzman, and his tone of voice sounded rather urgent."

"Damn it. I knew we had a leak!" Detective Fuller growled.

"Do you know who it was that called?" Detective Roberts asked quickly.

"Although he didn't identify himself, I have reason to believe that it was Father Haslip. He asked that Father Guzman call him immediately when he arrives. He seemed to have expected Father Guzman to have arrived here last night." Father Doherty said thoughtfully, trying to remember anything else about the brief phone call that might be significant to the detectives.

"Last night? In this neighborhood?" Detective Fuller asked with surprise.

Detective Roberts nodded thoughtfully as he took one of the donuts from the basket in front of him, seemingly without thinking.

"We should probably check the hospitals and, for that matter, the morgue before we do anything else. If he tried to make his way here after dark... Let's just say, I wouldn't come into this neighborhood after dark with a tank and full body armor." Detective Fuller said frankly.

"I bet they'd have the tank stripped to the frame before you could get it stopped." Detective Roberts chuckled, then seemed to realize where he was.

"Sorry, Fathers. I suppose that we have enough to investigate right now, without taking up any more of your time." Detective Roberts said as he stood.

"Yes. You've been very helpful. If you can think of anything else that might be of significance, please don't hesitate to give us a call." Detective Fuller said as he offered Father Doherty a business card.

"Actually, when you arrived, I was looking at the books for the mission here, and, although I haven't had time to look at them in detail, at first glance, there seem to be quite a few... irregularities. I don't know if that has anything to do with what you're investigating, but I thought that you'd want to know." Father Doherty said honestly.

* * * * *

"So they make the fake loans, funnel the money through the mission and it somehow comes out clean?" Detective Fuller asked cautiously.

"I'm betting that the Church's tax exempt status comes into play somehow. We'll have to look at the books to see exactly what they did. If you can call the hospitals and the morgue, I'll get to work on getting a court order for the records." Detective Roberts said seriously.

"Excuse me, Detective Roberts, but you won't need a court order, to look at the mission records." Father Franklin said, much to Father Doherty's surprise. "You may come in right now, and look at whatever you wish, with our permission and our blessing."

"That includes Father Haslip's room." Father Doherty said quickly, before they had a chance to move on to another subject.

"His room? What about it?" Detective Roberts asked curiously.

"I'm afraid I don't have adequate words to describe what I've seen. But since it is so far out of the ordinary, there is a good chance that it's relevant to your investigation. I know Father Kinsey and Father Franklin need to prepare for the lunch recipients, so, please allow me to show you to the office." Father Doherty said as he stood.

"Thank you, Father. You've been very kind." Detective Roberts said with a note of surprise in his voice.

"That's my job description." Father Doherty said with a dismissive smile, then led the detectives out of the room.

* * * * *

As they entered the office, there were scattered papers, and several folders strewn haphazardly on the desk. It looked to the two detectives as though the person who had been reading them had simply left the room, without putting anything away.

"Please excuse the mess, Gentlemen, but I was informed that I was needed at the door, to speak to some police officers, so I simply dropped what I had been doing, and went to see if I could help." Father Doherty said, as the two officers surveyed the unkempt marked up folders, some of which were still open, and certainly in disarray.

"Trust me, we've seen worse." Detective Roberts said frankly.

"I can imagine." Father Doherty chuckled, then continued, "I only arrived here last night, and this morning, one of the fathers suggested that I might want to look at the books, since Father Haslip had left quite abruptly; I suppose that someone should be attending to things."

"Do you mind if we look at these papers?" Detective Roberts asked cautiously.

"No. Not at all. Please feel free to look at anything you want." Father Doherty said quickly.

"Thank you, Father." Detective Roberts said with mild surprise.

"I can honestly tell you that my experience administering a mission similar to this one, leads me to say that some very unorthodox accounting techniques were being used here. The person in charge here, up until he was asked to relocate to the downtown offices, was, in fact, Father Haslip."

"Please tell me he's not going to work in their accounting department." Detective Fuller said as he looked up from a folder of papers.

"That, I couldn't tell you. Since the death of another of our priests, Father Rodrigos, there were only two priests actually taking care of our guests and residents. It is my understanding that both of them have been so overwhelmed with their responsibilities, that neither have attempted to do anything in regards to the accounts. I would feel that I'm overstepping my bounds by doing so now, but... bills need to be paid, deliveries need to be scheduled, those things don't just happen."

"Look at this, Dick." Detective Fuller said as he held out a folder.

"Father Franklin told me that Father Haslip left in quite a hurry. It's only speculation on my part, but it seems possible that our superiors might have had a sense that Father Haslip was up to, shall we say, some extracurricular activities, to have relocated him so abruptly."

Detective Roberts looked up from the folder, then asked, "Have you had a chance to look at the computer?"

"Yes, for a moment, but I'm afraid there's very little there to see. The email and spreadsheets are both completely blank. I'm sure you're drawing the same conclusion that I am from that."

"Would you mind if I take a look?" Detective Roberts asked hopefully.

"Considering that anything even remotely useful to me has already been removed, you can feel free to take the entire computer with you, if you like."

"Are you serious? You wouldn't mind?" Detective Roberts asked with surprise.

"No. Not at all. Please just return it when you're finished. At some point, someone is going to have to get this all sorted out, and it's beginning to look as likely as not that it's going to be me doing the sorting."

Upon hearing that they could simply take possession of the computer, Detective Roberts reached for the off button, then thought better of it, and clicked on the "show the desktop" icon. Then he opened the recycle bin, and laughed. "I would say that Father Haslip was either in a bigger hurry than we thought, or he just doesn't know what happens to files that are deleted."

He highlighted all the deleted files and folders, in the recycle bin, then right clicked on the batch of highlighted items, and selected restore.

He then closed the recycle bin, and opened the email program.

"Well, there are now quite a few emails here. Oh, look, the spreadsheets are here as well." Detective Roberts pointed to the screen.

"I see there is a printer connected to the computer, so I will just print out all the items you will need, to take care of your Mission's daily business transactions." He quickly went through the folders and printed out everything that seemed important to running the mission, and in a few minutes there was a huge stack of printouts in the printer's tray.

As the printer continued to spew out documents, Detective Roberts pulled out his radio and called the two uniformed officers who had been with him and Fuller. "Joe, you and Steve need to get back here, NOW! I need you to take custody of the Mission's computer equipment. I believe there are sufficient grounds to hold it for evidence. I want this thing well protected. This little old Dell could easily contain the evidence we need to clear up a good bit of nasty goings on."

As he released the talk button, there was a short crackle of static, then, "Roger that, Sir. We'll be there in ten or less. Out."

"Would you please excuse me for just a moment?" Father Doherty asked Detective Fuller in nearly a whisper. After a nod from the detective, Father Doherty slipped out of the room.

Less than a minute later, Father Doherty walked back in to find both detectives reading intently as the paperwork continued to spill out of the printer.

"It's nearly done, Father." Detective Fuller said when he noticed that the priest had returned.

Before Father Doherty could respond, the torrent of paper ceased. Reluctantly, he pulled the printouts from the paper tray, and sighed. "Thanks, I think. No offense, gentlemen, but I mean, I really have some mixed feelings about all this stuff. On the one hand, I can now take care of the bill paying and ordering, but, now, I will have to go through all this mess, and see just what damage was done, instead of assuming there was nothing I could do about it. So, while I am glad I can pay our bills, I'm a bit overwhelmed at the staggering amount of paperwork in this stack alone."

* * * * *

In the kitchen, Father Kinsey, poured coffee into two large insulated paper cups, put lids on them, then got out a paper bag and put half a dozen freshly made donuts in it, and closed the bag.

He carried the cups and bag to the front room and set them on a table near the door.

Just then, the two uniformed officers returned, and Father Kinsey greeted them warmly. "Gentlemen, Father Doherty noticed that you didn't get any refreshments when you were here before, so he asked that I make you some special snacks, and here are two coffees. There are packets of creamer and sugar in the bag, if you need them. I suggest that one of you take this out to your vehicle, while the other one goes back to the office to let them know that you are here."

The taller officer smiled. "Thank you, Father. We have been so busy, today, that neither one of us has had a chance to take even a short break."

He carefully opened the bag and saw the donuts. "Wow! These look really good."

"I made these from scratch, just this morning."

"Thanks, these'll really hit the spot, after the day we've been having so far. I'll just go and put this stuff in the cruiser."

"Good, and there's no need to say anything about this to your grey suited friend back there."

"Thanks again, and I'll be right back."

The other young cop headed back toward the office to help get the computer secured.

When he got to the office, Detective Roberts was removing all the connecting cables from the CPU tower. "Oh, there you are. I can't seem to get this damned video cable loose. I hate these little tiny thingies that screw the connector to the computer. You can't get a decent grip on them, and I guess my fingers are just too damn fat. Can you get it loose?"

"I'll give it a try." Steve replied, as he grabbed the damn little knurled thingy, and tried to get it loose. He, too, scraped skin off his fingers, trying to free the screw. They heard the snap, as the connector finally gave way and fell to the desk. "Damn, that thing was on there tight." Steve complained, as he sucked on his bruised finger and thumb.

Just then Joe came in, and asked what he needed to do.

"I think we're about through here." Detective Roberts answered. "We only need the tower. No sense pulling out all the other stuff. We have plenty of monitors and such at the station, so all we need is the 'puter itself." Steve picked up the old Dell and started toward the door. "You guys can take that over to the station and mark it for evidence. I'll write up the receipt for Father Doherty, so he will have it for his records." Father Doherty nodded in agreement.

"Once the investigation is finished, we will return the computer to the mission. When I get the paperwork all taken care of, we'll get out of your way, and let you do whatever it is that you do here."

The two uniformed officers headed toward the exit, Steve carried the computer and Joe tagged behind him. When they reached their cruiser, Joe opened the trunk lid, spread the furniture pad on the floor of the trunk, and stepped aside to let Steve carefully place the computer on its side. Then he wrapped it with the protective heavy blanket and closed the lid.

* * * * *

Back in the office...

Father Doherty opened the top drawer of the desk and dropped the stack of printouts in it.

"Detective Roberts, before you leave, I really do think you two need to see something. I mentioned a bit about it earlier, but we kind of got busy, and then it slipped my mind, but, I am sure you will want to see it."

"Well, if you think it's that important, I guess it won't hurt to have a look. I must admit, you have piqued my curiosity." Detective Roberts admitted.

Father Doherty led the two officers to the end of the hall.

"Gentlemen, I don't know exactly how I can prepare you for what you are about to see, but I am almost certain you have never before seen anything close to what you will find on the other side of these doors."

"That's quite a build up." Detective Fuller remarked.

"Yeah, this had better be good, after all the hoopla you're going through." Detective Roberts, answered.

Father Doherty stepped up to the double doors and spread them wide open.

Both officers gasped, at the sight that greeted them.

"Holy mother of God!" Detective Fuller exclaimed.

"Yeah, that, too." Roberts gasped. "That is, by far, the ugliest room I have ever seen in my life."

"This is the suite of rooms formerly occupied by Father Haslip. From what the other priests who worked under him have told me, the man spent almost every minute of every day in here, and mostly by himself."

Father Doherty pointed to the mantel. "See that fireplace, and the mantel, over there? Have a look at the depictions of Christ's life, portrayed there, in miniature, inside those God Awful looking eggs."

Father Doherty indicated the ugly little things displayed on equally unsightly little stands all the way across the even uglier fake mantelpiece.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Roberts asked.

"I thought it might have been one, when I first walked in here, but, as far as any of us can tell, it isn't a joke, unless this entire monstrosity of an apartment is a joke, but looking at the whole ugly thing, you get the sense that Haslip actually enjoyed this hideous garbage, though how anyone could even tolerate this horrible mess is totally beyond my comprehension."

The two detectives looked at one another, then at Father Doherty, then, at the rest of the room, and then, back at the disgusting fake fireplace. "Did you say that man spent most of his time in this grotesque monstrosity?"

"Yes, Sir, from what Fathers Franklin and Kinsey told me, Father Haslip never even saw any of the people who were served by the mission. When he wanted something, he would shout to the other priests, at the top of his lungs, demanding whatever it was that he wanted."

"You mean, he didn't even come out for his meals?"

"No, not as I understand it, Sir. He ate all his meals in here, and the others never set foot any farther than the door of this room. I imagine that he took his meals at that table in the corner..." Father Doherty pointed. "...the one with the plastic lace tablecloth and the catsup and mustard stains. That seems to have been his dining table." Father Doherty explained.

"I toured the whole suite when Father Franklin thought I would want to stay here. By the time I had been in here five minutes, I was almost overcome with nausea. I actually had to sit down and rest, for a few minutes. I told Father Franklin that I simply couldn't sleep in a place like this, and asked if he had any other rooms available, and he told me that the only other room for staff would be the one used by Father Rodrigos."

"I accepted that room, with pleasure. It is a lot smaller, of course. It is simply a bedroom, not a suite, and not the least bit ostentatious, therefore much more suited to my needs." Father Doherty sighed.

"I would almost say that I have seen enough, or more accurately, too much, but, damn it, there is something nagging at me, something important, I'm sure, but it is still not coming to the surface. This just simply doesn't add up. I keep thinking that I am missing something. I haven't yet been able to put my finger on the troubling feeling, and that alone bothers the hell out of me. Oh, sorry for the cursing, Father." Detective Roberts gulped.

"I know what you mean." Father Doherty replied. "Don't worry about the cussing, believe me, I have heard much worse. But the heavy handed attitude which I'm told oozed from Father Haslip, when he called, leaves no doubt in my mind that he was up to no good."

Strangely, Detective Fuller remained silent, as his eyes slowly scanned the huge sitting room. Finally, he spoke.

"Ok, Guys, I think I've got it. It seems to me that this room is supposed to look as though it is filled with priceless art objects, but as anyone who knows the least bit about real art can tell, there is absolutely nothing in this place that has the slightest semblance of beauty to it. In fact, if I had to come up with a way to describe this horrible place, the only words I can think of to describe it would be, butt ugly, or perhaps, hideous. The terribly gaudy obnoxious colors alone make me wonder if the man who lived here might be deficient in his ability to see colors properly."

"I am not saying that it is all fake, but what I am saying is that it is so outrageous, that it makes you want to stop looking at it. I think that is exactly what he wanted anyone who came in here to do. He has what seems to be some expensive items here, but even the most expensive things, namely those disgusting eggs, are not the least bit pleasing to look at."

"They are supposedly telling the story of the life of Christ, yet they are all created by different artists, with varying degrees of talent; and the objects don't follow any logical sequence. They are all of different sizes, shapes, styles, and they differ significantly as to the way they portray Jesus. The first one, for example, the one with the baby Jesus in the manger, is obviously way out of place. the baby has long flowing blond hair, and blue eyes, and the Manger is actually covered in gold inlay, for Christ's sake. I mean, Jesus was supposed to be born in a stable, not the Ritz Carlton."

"The one at the other end, showing him on the cross, is little bit closer to the way they usually picture Christ, having darker skin and dark hair, but does anyone here remember Jesus being hung on a gold cross? It was supposed to be made of a tree, and he had to carry the thing, himself."

"All in all, I think Father Haslip was doing his best to make people think he spent a lot of money, decorating this place, and if you don't look, too, closely, I suppose you could believe that. I think he chose ugly things to make people stop looking, before they realized that this stuff is mostly cheap junk, in more ways than one."

Father Doherty cleared his throat. "You still haven't seen the most disgusting part, yet. Prepare yourselves for a shock. If you will follow me, I'll show you the actual bedroom, which is down this hall and around the corner to the right." Father Doherty explained, as he led the way down the long hall to the Master Bedroom. He pointed at a very fancy looking door, which they went past. "That was the ensuite bathroom." he told them. "Here is his bedroom. Feast your eyes on this." He pushed the door open, revealing another gaudy unsightly painted room.

However, no one actually noticed the day-glo painted walls. They were all fixated on the huge velvet portrait hanging on the wall above the headboard of the huge bed.

There, in all his simulated glory, dressed in his black leather suit, from his 1968 TV special, was the young, trim looking ELVIS! He stood there, holding his mike, with his mouth open in song. The hideous thing stood nearly ten feet tall, and, again, was simply UGLY as sin.

Father Doherty, looked away, and lifted his head toward the ceiling. He noticed the huge mirror mounted directly above the bed. It was slightly curved to distort the image it displayed. Anyone lying in bed could easily see their body seemingly half as tall as it really was.

Father Doherty turned his head and looked at the corner. He noticed a small box, mounted there. As he looked around the room, he noticed several more just like it; one in each corner, and several others placed at different angles around the room.

"What's with the motion sensors, mounted all over the place in here?" Father Doherty asked and pointed to several of them.

The two police officers glanced around, taking in the sight.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken, Father, those are not motion sensors; at least not in the way you meant; those are actually surveillance cameras; High quality, full motion, color, cameras. Our department has used similar cameras to watch people that we suspect are doing things they shouldn't be doing. They are manufactured in Germany and are very sensitive. They work in very low light, with little to no loss of quality... I wonder..."

Detective Roberts walked over to what looked to be a walk in closet. He opened the door, and saw a large array of high quality flat panel monitors, each showing a different viewing angle, but mainly concentrated on the bed. The center monitor looked to be at least 50 inches wide. Other screens were clustered around the main one.

On the desk below the main monitor, there was a large control console, with all sorts of sliders, switches and knobs. Many of the controls had labels which were carefully printed with the numbers corresponding to each of the cameras in the room, except that there were a lot more labels than there were cameras.

"That's strange." Detective Roberts mumbled, as he began flipping some of the switches that corresponded to something other than the cameras they had already seen.

The first change happened, as one of the smaller monitors changed to a different view. It was showing a bathtub.

"Would one of you try the bathroom door, and see if you see a camera hidden in there?"

Father Doherty walked into the bathroom and started searching for the camera. A second or so later, the screen in the control room showed Father Doherty standing near the tub.

Detective Roberts walked in, a moment later, and looked around curiously.

"I wonder, could it be hidden inside that hideous gold gargoyle thingy?" Father Doherty asked as he pointed out the object.

"I think that's a cherub, Father." Detective Roberts said slowly.

"Ok, whatever you say, but it's so ugly, It still looks like a gargoyle to me. I never saw anything that ugly being called a cherub."

"What with the bug eyes and distended belly, I suppose it could go either way. I guess it doesn't matter. By the way, I think I've found the camera."

"You mean the fat ugly little guy actually does have the camera?"

"I can't be sure, but I think that there's a pinhole camera in his navel." Detective Roberts said as he noticed something strange about the gargoyle/cherub. Experimentally, he tapped on the cherub, to receive a hollow sound in return. "It's styrofoam!"

"Now that is just so wrong. I mean, a gold painted styrofoam gargoyle, for heaven's sake. Who ever came up with that?"

"I'm pretty sure Detective Fuller is right, that if you chip away at the gaudy polish and veneer of this whole place, that you'll end up finding out that it's mostly cheap theatrics."

"Father Haslip was actually playing a role. I don't know who he was trying to impress, and I don't know what he was doing with all the money he was spending, to "renovate the mission", but it sure wasn't going into a real art collection. I am positive that most, if not all, of this ugly stuff is just cheap gaudy junk." Father Doherty sighed.

"The one thing that still puzzles me, though, is why he had all the cameras set up. I mean, according to the other Fathers, Haslip never let anybody come into his apartment, at least not any farther than the sitting room, so why all the surveillance gear?"

Detective Fuller called from the control room, "I think I might have the answer to that question. I found an external, 3 terabyte hard drive, which was 'password protected'. I took a guess at the password, typed in "password" and it let me in. There are hundreds of videos stored on it. they all have strange filenames. Most of them are just number and letter combinations, but I found one called, "My Little Pony".

"Since we're here, and we have permission, I suppose we should at least take a quick look at some of them, just to see if we can figure out what he was up to."

"You don't think he actually had a horse in here, do you?" Father Doherty asked, in horror.

"I have no idea, and frankly, I'm almost afraid to find out." Detective Fuller answered, his voice quaking a bit as he spoke.

"Ok, you two, I, for one, am curious as I can be to see, "My Little Pony." Detective Roberts chuckled.

"Ok, let me load it into the player." As he loaded the file, he chuckled. "I don't see any FBI warning, so it looks as though he hasn't Illegally copied a commercial disk."

All three men gulped, and groaned softly, as some very strange, if not grotesque images appeared on the 50 inch screen, on the wall in front of them. "That's his little pony, all right. I have never seen one quite that small before. It really is a little one." Roberts snorted.

"I think you're supposed to have the head mounted on a stick or a broom handle, not the way he has it mounted." Detective fuller laughed.

"Ok, now I see the handle. Look what he has it sticking into. It's sitting in a bucket of concrete." Father Doherty gasped. "Is that part of one of those heavy duty rubber gloves? Oh my heavens, why would he even think about doing that? That man is actually amazing."

"I couldn't have done that when I was a teenager, not that it ever would have occurred to me." Detective Roberts moaned. "And I spent years working out like a Gym bunny."

"I'm still baffled as to how he was able to put that there... Not only that, but he actually wiggled it."

"Okay. I've seen a lot, and I've never seen anyone do that with their belly button, before. That's disgusting to watch, but also somewhat impressive."

"Oh, I forgot to mention something I found in the closet, when I thought there might be some DVD's here. Take a look at these." Detective Fuller grinned and pulled out a fuzzy bra, a pair of matching panties, and what could only be described as a Santa Claus Hat, and placed them on the desk.

Father Doherty looked back and forth between the two officers, then back to the 'costume'. "Ok, I can almost picture someone having something like that, and maybe it could be worn at some sort of party, around Christmas time, except for the fact that everything is in day-glo GREEN!" he gasped.

"But that's not the weirdest part." Detective Fuller answered.

He then reached under the console, and pulled out a pair of knee length sparkling bright, stiletto heeled boots, in the same shade of green as the other items, except for the fact that the boots actually shimmered like a bowling ball or a fancy sports car.

"Do you think he actually wore those hideous things?" asked Father Doherty.

"Not sure." Detective Fuller answered, "but there is a file with the word BOOTS among a bunch of numbers, so maybe we should take a look at it."

They all watched as a rather wrinkled, fat man paraded around in the items Detective Fuller had found, but no one had anything to say other than the groans they made periodically, when the man did a few strange, and seemingly impossible moves.

"I still can't believe he is that limber. I honestly don't think I have ever seen anyone who was able to bend that far. Not even 'professional' strippers." Detective Roberts whispered. He didn't even notice that everyone else was nodding in agreement.

"Has anyone else noticed the strangest part about all this?" Father Doherty asked.

"Do you mean the fact that the only person in any of the pictures seems to be Father Haslip?" Detective Roberts asked.

"Yep!" both of the others answered together.

"If the costume were red, then I would say this was some sort of Santa Claus 'suit' but It is GREEN! That just doesn't make sense." Detective Fuller puzzled.

"I don't know who it was that did it to him, but I am sure they are laughing their butts off, right now." Father Doherty chuckled. "Haslip is obviously colorblind. Think about it. Many colorblind males are unable to tell the difference between red and green, so someone who knows Haslip well, got him this stuff in the most awful gaudy green possible, and the self absorbed prick never knew he was being mocked for all he was worth."

"Here's the thing, though." Detective Roberts growled, "I can't think of anything we've seen in this stuff that could be seen as illegal. Pitiful, maybe, and downright grotesque, absolutely, but I can't think of any law forbidding him to do it."

"This hard drive is almost completely filled with video files. I, personally, have no desire whatsoever to see any more of them." Detective Fuller groused. "As far as I am concerned, the matter involving his narcissistic behavior is not within our purview. I suggest we leave it here, with some sort of note, for the Diocese's officials to peruse and enjoy as they wish."

"I do have a theory, though." Father Doherty remarked. "I'd be willing to bet Father Haslip was somehow laundering money, through the mission, here. I suspect he received money from various sources, and he would then spend some of it on this horrible junk, then he would write up his purchases as if he were buying truly priceless art treasures. Then he and his accomplices would split the excess money between them, at whatever percentage they agreed upon." Father Doherty suggested.

"That little scheme, if that is truly what he was doing, IS against the law, in fact, several laws." Detective Roberts answered. "That could get him a pretty stiff sentence, if he is tried and convicted. Sadly, the word IF is really the operative word here." he complained.

"Unfortunately, I have found it very difficult to prosecute members of the Catholic clergy. It seems that somehow, they almost always find ways to get transferred to some country where there is no extradition treaty in place."

Silence fell as everyone pondered the situation, trying to think of a way they could make Father Haslip pay for his actions, along with whoever it was he was working with.

The tinny sound of a muzak version of 'Onward Christian Soldiers' erupted from somewhere, and it became obvious that a phone call was coming in. Detective Fuller was the one who spotted the Little Buddha, on the desk, with his red eyes flashing. "Over here, Father. There's a number being displayed in its tummy.

"That's the same number Father Haslip called from." Father Doherty mused.

"There is no handset on this thing, so I bet it is just a speakerphone."

On a hunch, he reached out and gently pushed the belly of the Buddha, and the music stopped.

"Father Doherty, speaking; how may I help you?"

"Listen, you idiot! This is Father Haslip, and I don't have much time, so I have to make this quick. I need to speak to Father Franklin. Now, before the shit hits the fan. Get him on the fuckin' phone, NOW! You got me?"

"I got you. Hold on, and I'll get him for you." Father Doherty pressed the belly button again and grinned. "Oh, I got him all right. This should be interesting. I just hope I put him on hold, and didn't hang up on him."

He punched the intercom button, and a loud clicking sound could be heard all over the building. He spoke calmly. "Father Franklin, There is a call for you, from Father Haslip. He ordered me to get you on the phone. I suggest you take it here, in Haslip's apartment, since there is a speakerphone in this room, and there are several people who would really like to hear what he has to say."

It only took Father Franklin a couple of minutes to reach the room. "I can't imagine what he wants with me, since he hardly ever spoke to me, when he was here. Shouted, yes, spoke, not so much."

Father Doherty pushed the Buddha's belly button again, and pointed to Father Franklin, who politely answered. "This is Father Franklin; how may I help you?

"You can get your sorry dumb ass into MY office and clean out my fucking desk. Make sure you shred every last fucking document you find there. I just got word that the cops are going to be snooping around, and I can't afford to have them find the shit I left there. Thank God I deleted all the fucking files from that Goddamned excuse for a computer, or there would be even more evidence against me and Goozman. It looks like that asshole ran out on me."

Father Franklin looked around at the other men in the room with surprise.

"Oh, and if you think you can just ignore me, you've got another thing coming. Let me tell you that I have the goods on you, Faggot. I have the reports saying that you have HOMOSEXUAL tendencies, and I know just who to spill it to. If you don't do what I tell you, down to the last fucking detail, your ass is grass. I'll have you fired AND excommunicated. Understand, Tinkerbell?"

Father Franklin grinned. "Yes. I understand, Father. I'll make sure everything is taken care of. Don't worry, I'll be sure to get rid of all the papers.."

He pushed the button to end the call. "Now I'm rather glad that he never talked to me. I never heard such as that from a priest before. Regardless, let him think about what I said. He is definitely not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. I assume he will rat me out, no matter what I do, so let me just say that I haven't hidden my sexual orientation from my immediate superiors. Although, I have never acted on my feelings, I know that I am gay, and I know that God made me in his image, and he can't make mistakes, so I know I didn't choose to be gay."

Detective Roberts looked at Father Franklin, and smiled. "I know that you had no choice, and neither do I. I am straight, and am married to a wonderful woman, and I have a wonderful son who happens to be gay. I love him with all my heart, and it doesn't matter to me, one bit, who he sleeps with. In fact, my wife and I think of his partner, James, as a second son."

Father Doherty spoke up. "Excuse me, Father Franklin. You don't need to worry about me, either. It pleases me to know that you have kept your vow of celibacy. I see no sin in desire. The bible tells us that even Jesus, our Lord, was tempted, so there's no way that thoughts, urges or desires can possibly be sinful."

"I thought from the rumors that I heard about your old mission, that you might be... um, might understand." Father Franklin said quietly.

Father Doherty smiled, trying to put Father Franklin at ease, then said, "I try to understand as much as I can. But in all my life, I have loved only once. Ironically, I only just found out yesterday that the woman that I had loved got pregnant with our son and never told me. Of course, that was before I became a priest. Had I known, I never would have entered the priesthood. Looking back, I'm sure that's why she chose not to tell me."

Father Franklin slightly smiled as he nodded that he understood.

"My son, Zane, is a fine young man, and I hope he is doing well. He and several others are on their way away from here, and hopefully they are safe and sound, I'm assuming somewhere West, although I don't know that for sure. He, along with his cousin, and my former volunteer staff members, have taken on the responsibility of taking care of several youngsters, who would not be safe here any longer. I have a strange feeling, that something really bad is about to happen."

Detective Roberts and Detective Fuller shared a concerned look, and seemed to be thinking the same thoughts.

"Fathers, I'd like to thank you both for all the time you've taken for us and for the extraordinary level of cooperation. If we are able to gather enough evidence to make a case, it will most likely be due to all the help you've given us." Detective Roberts said as he straightened his posture and seemed to be about to leave.

"One thing." Detective Fuller said quickly, and Detective Roberts flashed him a warning look.

"Be careful, okay?" Detective Fuller said hesitantly, obviously fighting to keep from saying much more.

"Yes. Of course." Father Doherty said slowly.

Detective Fuller quickly shook his head, then said, "Things are about to get... complicated..."

"Paul! Our orders!" Detective Roberts said harshly.

"Yeah." Detective Fuller said to his partner, then looked Father Doherty in the eyes and said, "Your son had the right idea. Be careful."

Father Doherty slowly nodded, then watched as Detective Roberts urged his partner to leave the room.

* * * * *

"I'm so sorry that we were gone for so long. Is there anything we can do to help?" Father Franklin asked as he rushed into the kitchen.

"No. Actually, we opened the doors about fifteen minutes ago, and we have yet to receive our first visitor." Father Kinsey said in a puzzled voice.

"Really? We usually have twenty or so people by now." Father Franklin said as he turned and walked briskly out of the room.

Father Doherty followed right on his heels.

* * * * *

When the two priests stepped through the front doors of the church, the sight that greeted them was enough to make their blood run cold.

The sun was high in the sky, approaching its midday zenith. Slight sounds of traffic could be heard in the distance, but otherwise, it was silent.

There was no one on the street.

Not one person.

Not one car.

No dogs or cats or even the odd scavenging bird were to be seen.

An abrupt sound in the distance caused both priests to turn in unison and they saw a car racing at full speed up the street.

They stood and watched as the car sped past as though the hounds of hell were chasing him, but there was no one in pursuit.

Without a word, Father Doherty turned and put a hand on Father Franklin's shoulder, urging him to go inside.

* * * * *

"What does this mean?" Father Franklin whispered as they walked down the hallway, toward the kitchen.

"Give me a minute. I'm trying to remember what it was that my son and Ben were talking about." Father Doherty said slowly.

"What's wrong? You look as if you've both seen ghosts." Artimus said as he approached the priests walking into the kitchen.

"I'm beginning to think that maybe we have." Father Kinsey said as he was led to take a seat in one of the chairs at the table.

"Are we in danger?" Arthur asked as he studied Father Doherty's expression closely.

"Perhaps..." Father Doherty said absently.

An extremely loud knocking caused everyone in the room to jump.

Father Doherty looked around, trying to determine where the sound was coming from.

"That's the delivery door. We're not expecting anything, are we?" Father Kinsey asked in a whisper.

"No. Not that I know of, and certainly not at lunchtime." Father Franklin said nervously.

Father Doherty shook his head dismissively, then quietly said, "It could be someone needing our help."

As Father Doherty started walking toward the door, Father Kinsey, Father Franklin and Artimus walked with him.

Just as Father Doherty reached the door, there was another loud bout of knocking.

"Yes, yes. I'm coming." Father Doherty said as he unlocked the heavy steel door.

Artimus stood with his back to the wall just inside the door, and waited for Father Doherty to pull the door open.

"It took you fucking long enough!" Darnell bellowed as he ushered two battered and bruised teenage boys inside.

Father Doherty didn't give a response as he looked at the two boys with concern.

He squatted down and beckoned the two boys to come closer. The two boys looked at one another and made a decision. They both rushed toward Father Doherty. He pulled both boys into a hug, being careful not to hug them too tightly, since he couldn't be sure how seriously they were injured. From what he could tell, they both had the knees of their pants shredded, and their knees were scraped pretty badly.

Darnell saw the boys grab Father Doherty and hold on for dear life.

"I think maybe they like you, Father, but then you've always had good luck with them young'uns."

"Well, you seemed to have taken good care of them, and I assume you were not responsible for their current state of disarray."

"These here white boys ended up in the wrong part of town and nearly got their asses killed for it." Darnell said frankly.

"He rescued us." One of the boys said. "At first we were both pretty scared, till I looked in his eyes, then, I'm not sure why, but for some reason, I just knew he wouldn't hurt us."

The boy's prominent British accent was a bit of a surprise, but Father Doherty put that out of his mind as he gently said, "You're in a safe place now. No one will hurt you here."

"Father D, I don't mean to be tellin you your business, but there's some shit 'bout to go down and you should be thinkin bout packin up your shit and gettin tha fuck outta Dodge." Darnell said frankly.

"What's happening? When we looked outside, the street was nearly deserted." Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"Shit ain't right out there. I don't know what's brewin, but some bad shit's about to come down."

"Are you sure?" Artimus asked in shock.

"I lived with enough shit goin' down to know it when I see it. When whatever it is happens, people's goin' ta be goin' bat shit insane out there! From what I seen, the cops and military are gettin' their shit together. It looks like they're itchin' for it, just waitin' for an excuse to go all Rodney King on someone."

Artimus put his hand on Father Doherty's shoulder and quietly said, "Forgive me for saying so Father, but I think you should seriously consider what he's saying."

"I can't abandon the people who depend on this mission." Father Doherty said as he held the two boys a little more tightly.

"You're not gettin it, D. It's MILITARY! They ain't gone be no more mission. They's no more rules, no more laws. As soon as someone gives the word, those fuckers in uniforms'll do whatever the fuck they want to whoever they want. All they's waitin' on is that first spark, then every sick fuckin' thing they ever wanted to do to another human bein' is all gonna come spillin' out on whoever's in front of 'em." Darnell said imploringly.

"Thank you, Darnell. I promise you that I'll consider what you've said very seriously. But right this minute, I have these two young men who look as though they might benefit from some care and attention." Father Doherty said as he released the boys and looked Darnell in the eyes.

"I said what needed said, you listened. Ain't nothin' else I can do." Darnell said with resignation as he turned to leave.

"Keep yourself safe, Darnell." Father Doherty said quietly.

"Evrythin's changed, now. Remember that, Father D. If you don't care about yourself, think about all the people who depend on you and make the right choice for them." Darnell said before quickly ducking out the door, into the back alley.

"Boys, come with me and I'll get you some clean clothes and show you where you can get cleaned up. Then I'll bring you back here so you can have a good meal." Father Franklin said gently.

"Father?" Artimus asked as he watched the boys follow Father Franklin out of the room.

"In most circumstances, I have a sense of what I need to do. It's not always clear what's right and wrong, but I generally have a sense of what needs to be done, even if I don't necessarily want to do it." Father Doherty said quietly.

"But this time there's no right answer." Artimus said simply, finishing the thought.

The phone ringing broke Father Doherty away from his train of thought.

"I'll get it." Father Doherty said quickly.

He picked up the phone, and quietly said, "Saint Barnabas. Father Doherty speaking."

"Let me speak to Father Guzman." An unfamiliar voice said abruptly.

"I'm sorry, there is not now, nor has there ever been a priest at this mission by that name. Is there any way that I can help you?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"It's Father Harden. We've been ordered to shut down all the churches, missions and outreaches in the low income neighborhoods of the Chicago area."

"We can't do that. These people depend on us..." Father Doherty began to say, but was interrupted.

"I don't have the time to discuss this with you. Listen to me. It's really simple. Turn off the stoves. Tell everyone to leave. Then lock the doors behind them."

"We can't..."

"If the police find anyone who isn't a verifiable church employee on church property, they will take them into custody and charge them with trespassing."

"How can you..."

"This isn't a debate, it's a notification. We've been assured that as long as our priests do as they're told and cooperate, they will not be taken into custody. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have several more calls to make."

"I'm sorry, Father, but I can't accept what you've just said. I will pass your message on to Father Franklin and Father Kinsey but, as far as myself, from now on you can call me Mister Doherty. I cannot in good conscience abandon those in need. It is in direct opposition to the values that our Lord, Jesus, taught."

"I don't have time to get into a discussion of semantics with you. If this is your final decision, then you need to get off of church property and quickly find yourself a safe place to stay."

"You've allied yourself with the devil."

"They didn't have to allow us even this much. The soldiers and police could have just taken whoever and whatever they wanted. Isn't it better to save some, than none?"

"And what have you really won if you gain the world but lose your soul?"

"Good luck, Mr. Doherty. May God be with you."

"May God be with you as well, Father Harden." Father Doherty said before hanging up the phone.

* * * * *

"Did I hear you right, just now? Did you just quit?" Artimus asked cautiously.

"Yes. If you'll get all the residents into the kitchen, I'd like to tell all of you about what I just learned." Father Doherty said seriously.

"Yes, Father." Artimus said as he turned to leave.

"You can call me Brian." Father Doherty said quietly.

"I could no more do that than I could have called my own father by his first name. It's not about a title, it's about respect."

* * * * *

"What is it? We're in the middle of serving lunch." Jim asked as he walked into the kitchen, wearing an apron.

"This will only take a minute." Father Doherty said as he looked at the six men around the table and the two priests standing nearby.

"I just received a call from the diocese instructing me to tell everyone to leave the property immediately, then lock the door behind them. I refused and resigned."

"You can't be serious." Father Franklin said in astonishment.

"It doesn't get more serious than this."

"You renounced your Vows?" Arthur asked cautiously.

"If you mean I resigned my commission as a Catholic Priest, then yes, I did. However, I will continue to serve our Lord the best I can. I will not turn my back on the people who are relying on me. Politics and Church authority be damned! These people deserve our protection. They came here in good faith, believing that we would protect and care for them. We can't turn our backs on them, just when they need us most. At least, I can't. I wouldn't be here now, if I hadn't taken my vows seriously. I was told by my superior to lock up my old mission and come here. I made sure that all the people who had relied on that mission had been safely provided for, and then, I did as I was ordered to do."

"How sure are you that there is an actual threat?" Ahmid asked slowly and carefully.

"Yesterday I received my first warning. The group that left with the children that we were sheltering were convinced that they were doing the only thing possible to keep the children safe. Then, just this morning, the police officers who visited us gave me another warning, being very careful not to reveal too much. Just now, Darnell basically told me the same thing. So that makes three very credible warnings, from three unrelated sources, all saying that the best thing we can do is try to get away from here, and to someplace safe."

"So, what are we going to do?" Harry asked anxiously.

"I'm sure that if we pray, God will provide." Father Kinsey said in a voice that didn't sound completely certain.

"God helps those who help themselves. He's given us fair warning, but I think that it's time for us to take action. Does anyone have any ideas about how we can obtain transportation for all of us?" Father Doherty asked as he looked around.

"I think that if we all pooled our resources, we might be able to come up with enough for a cup of coffee. And I mean regular, not that stuff you get from a barista." Artimus said slowly.

"Actually. I might know of someone." Father Franklin said distantly.

All attention turned to Father Franklin.

"Are we all agreed that we need to do this? Because once I make this call, I'll be committed to this course of action." Father Franklin asked as he looked around.

"You and Father Kinsey can choose to stay here and follow the church's directive. You don't have any obligation to do anything more." Father Doherty said seriously.

"I have an obligation to what I believe is right, just as you do. To my way of thinking, my vows were made to God, not a bureaucratic organization. I take my vows very seriously. We're here to help people in need." Father Franklin said, sounding to be quite a bit more sure of himself.

"Me too." Father Kinsey said quickly.

Everyone looked at him with question.

"What they said." He explained timidly.

"I suppose that there are some calls I need to make." Father Franklin said anxiously as he walked to the phone.

"You can go into the office if you would like to do this privately."

"No. I'm proud of my decision, I don't feel like hiding what I'm doing." Father Franklin said as he dialed.

"While he's doing that, I'd like to see what supplies we have to work with. If we're leaving, we're going to need some things." Artimus said as he looked around.

"I'll help you." Gregory said as he stood from the table.

* * * * *

As the two men walked out of the kitchen, the boys hesitantly walked into the room.

"Please sit down and I'll get you something to eat." Father Kinsey said quickly, then dashed away.

"How are you boys doing, now that you've had a chance to get cleaned up?" Father Doherty asked gently.

"Much better. Thank you." The taller of the boys said quietly.

"Do any of your injuries need medical attention?" Father Doherty asked.

"No. I don't think so. But I'm afraid that we're going to be sore for a few days."

"I'm just glad that you weren't more seriously injured." Father Doherty said gently.

"My name is Ahmid and this is Father Doherty."

"My name is Arthur, and this is my friend, Euan." The taller of the boys said carefully.

"May we call you Art or Artie? We already have an Arthur and an Artimus among us." Ahmid asked cautiously.

"Art is fine."

"What happened to you Art?" Ahmid asked gently.

"Got beat up. What happened to you?" Art asked in a voice that sounded slightly defensive.

"Got shot." Ahmid said frankly, then quietly added, "If, sometime later, you want to tell us about what happened, we'll do our best to help you with it."

Everyone turned at the sound of the phone being hung up.

"That's done. It was easier than I expected." Father Franklin said simply.

"Were you talking to the diocese?" Father Kinsey asked cautiously.

"Yes. I don't know why I expected wailing and gnashing of teeth, but what I got was 'I'll pass it on'." Father Franklin said in a voice that sounded to be on the verge of nervous laughter.

Art and Euan looked around curiously.

"Father Franklin just left the priesthood. I suppose he's Mister Franklin, now." Father Doherty explained gently.

"You can call me Eustis, if you want." Father Franklin said with a smile at the boys.

"No... Father is just fine." Art said in a valiant attempt to be inoffensive.

"I know. Not having to use my first name was one of the benefits of being a priest. Now I'm going to get us a bus... God willing." Father Franklin said as he turned back to the phone.

"A bus?" Art asked suddenly.

"Yes. We have it on good authority that some very bad things are going to be happening very, very soon. So we're making plans to get as far away from Chicago as we possibly can." Father Kinsey timidly explained to the boys.

"I'm sure that we'll be able to find a place where you'll be safe, if you'd like to stay in Chicago. But if you'd like to come with us, we'd be happy to have you along." Father Doherty explained gently.

"Where will we be going?" Euan asked cautiously.

"West. Hopefully God will provide us direction when we need it." Father Doherty said with an assuring smile.

All conversation stopped as Father Franklin spoke loudly on the phone.

"Hi Emmogene. How are you doing?"

"It's me, Eustis."

"Yes, really! Can't I call my baby sister every now and then..."

"Okay. I was wrong about that. You're not going to hell."

"Yeah. I was wrong about that, too."

"No. Priests don't put curses on people. I promise, whatever happened to Keith didn't have anything to do with me."

"Seriously, Emmogene, I've missed you and I'm sorry that I was being so stupid and self-righteous. What you and Keith do is your choice and it's not for me to judge."

"Yes. It really is me."

"Is Keith there? I'd really like to talk to him, if I could."

"I promise that I won't call him a sinner or tell him that he's going to hell. In fact, I'll even tell him that I'm sorry that I ever said things like that to him in the first place."

Father Franklin smiled as he waited.

"Keith? First off, I'm sorry. I said stuff that I shouldn't have to you. I was upset that you and my sister were together without being married, but that gave me no right to say those awful things to you."

"Thank you. Can Emmogene hear what I'm saying?"

"No. Actually, I don't. You know all that conspiracy theory stuff that you've talked to me about? Well, I'm sorry that I didn't take you more seriously. From what I've just heard, the stuff that you were worried about... it's happening."

"No. I'm most certainly not... fucking... with you. We've had three different people come to us and warn us to get out of town. And I was just wondering if you still had that bus of yours, out behind the house."

"Yes. That's what I'm saying. And I'm asking if there's any way we could use your bus to get about ten or eleven of us out of Chicago?"

"What? Yes."

Father Franklin looked over to the others and said, "Keith heard that there's some major troop movement in his neck of the woods. Him and his neighbors are already packing up."

"I don't know if you'd believe any one of my sources, but three different people, completely unrelated to each other, told us the same thing. Can you help us or not? If not, we're going to have to come up with something else, very quickly."

After a moment of waiting, Father Franklin broke into a smile.

"Thanks, Keith. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you for this."

Father Franklin's eyes went wide, then he quickly said, "Of course I'll be willing to shake your hand. For what you're going to do, I'd go so far as to kiss you on the mouth."

After a chuckle, Father Franklin hung up the phone, then said to everyone that was listening, "He said that a handshake will be fine."

* * * * *

"Do you boys have anyone that you need to call?" Father Doherty asked the two young teenagers with concern.

"I think we'll make our call when we get to wherever we're going." Art said for both of them.

"It seems we are all about to embark toward an unknown future." Father Franklin said as he looked around the room.

"The Lord works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. I have always trusted that He will give us what we are capable of, and willing to accept." Father Doherty said, as he pulled the two youngsters into another warm hug.

Chapter 12: Pupae

"Wait, can I talk to you for a minute before you talk to everyone else?" Zane asked cautiously.

Carson stopped his wheelchair and looked up at Zane curiously, then said to the others, "Go into the living room and we'll be there in just a minute."

Zane looked around and waited until everyone but Ben had left the room before beginning to speak. "I just thought it was important that you know some things before we go any further."

"Is it something I really need to know right this minute?" Carson asked hesitantly.

"I think it is." Zane said nervously, then continued, "You remember when you and I used to talk about the signal jammer?"

"Yeah. You came up with some really good questions. I actually had to get my dad's help on one or two things. But what does that have to do with what's going on now?"

It took a moment for Zane to work up his courage, but finally he said, "The reason I asked you about the signal jammer was because my grandfather had a tracking device surgically implanted into my chest. The only way I would ever have any chance of escaping from him is if I were able to block the signal."

Carson's eyes went wide with astonishment and he didn't seem to have any words.

Zane lifted up the edge of his hoodie and revealed the modified remote control device clipped on his belt.

"Is that... you made it? You actually got the signal jammer to work?" Carson asked as he stared at the device.

"Yes. This is the only reason that I can be here. But if something happens to my jammer, it could endanger everyone here. I thought you should know..."

Carson realized how serious Zane was and quietly said, "Thank you for telling me. I don't think that there's any way that your grandfather can get to you here, but we'll do our best to see that your jammer is protected until we can come up with a more permanent solution.

There was a moment of silence as Ben gave Zane an urging look.

As Carson seemed to be about to leave, Ben quickly said, "There's one more thing."

Carson stopped and turned his wheelchair to face Ben.

"Our grandfather had Zane drugged and taken to some hidden base or camp or... I don't know, prison or something. He was gone for over two years. He hasn't told me what was done to him there, and I'll never ask him to. But it's important that you know that there is a very real possibility that Zane has been brainwashed and that somewhere down the line, his programming is going to wake up and he could... betray us." Ben said reluctantly, choking on the last few words.

Carson looked at Zane with question.

After a long, hesitant moment, Zane slowly nodded and quietly said, "I know that I'd never try to hurt any of you, but it's possible that there's something inside me that's beyond my control. I'm really ashamed about it and I don't want to believe that it's true. But Ben's right, you need to know this about me so you don't accidentally trust me too much or with something that's too important."

Carson nodded, then looked at Oleksandr clinging to Ben's side and said, "I can smell something good cooking, so we should get into the living room and get this meeting started. The sooner it's over, the sooner we can eat dinner."

Oleksandr buried his face in Ben's shoulder.

Carson smiled at the action, then motioned for the others to follow him as he rolled toward the door.

Ben and Zane shared a glance at Carson's lack of reaction before following him out of the room.

* * * * *

"Excuse me," Lucas said, drawing the attention of the other adults.

Everyone turned to find Tommy waiting impatiently at Lucas' side.

"The luggage just arrived and Tommy would like for me to help." Lucas quietly explained.

"Everything's fine. I'll be here, keeping an eye on the kids, when you're finished." Gordon said assuringly.

Lucas gave a quick smile, then rushed away.

* * * * *

"I've got some soccer balls here! Who wants to play?" Mikey called out as he walked away from the 'pool house' where various toys, pool related and otherwise, were kept.

Ty grudgingly followed along, trying to carry three soccer balls without dropping them.

Ro, Bax and Max were the first to run up to Mikey, seeming to be excited about the prospect of playing soccer.

"Have any of you guys played soccer before?" Mikey asked as he handed Max one of the balls.

"I have, some." Ro said cautiously.

Bax and Max both shook their heads in the negative.

"Good. Then why don't you show these guys how to handle the ball while I see if anyone else wants to play?" Mikey asked as he handed Ro another ball.

"Yeah! Okay!" Ro said happily.

"C'mon. It'll be fun." Lazlo encouraged as Mikey and Ty walked up.

"I really don't want to." Jay said quietly.

"If you give it a try, it might be fun." Mikey said to Jay slowly.

An angry look crossed Jay's face.

"I just got out of the hospital this morning. My dad and my uncle found me last night and took turns..." Jay glanced at Lazlo at his side, then obviously changed what he was about to say, "...hurting me. The cops didn't even knock this time, they just kicked in the door."

There was a long moment of silence, then Lazlo quietly said, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you feeling sorry for me. You were so happy that I was here and... you wanted me and stuff. I guess I just didn't want to do anything to change that."

"Are you okay now? Do you need to sit down?" Mikey asked with concern.

"I'll be okay. It always hurts for a few days." Jay said quietly, then added, "But I just don't feel like running or kicking a ball or anything like that."

Ty looked Jay in the eyes and a silent message passed between them. No one else caught on to it, but Jay knew without a doubt that Ty had been through a similar situation himself.

A slight nod from Ty silently assured Jay that he wasn't alone, then Ty looked at Mikey with question.

"My grandpa is a doctor, I bet he could give you something for the pain." Mikey said seriously.

"It'll be okay. It always is." Jay said frankly.

"Here's a soccer ball for you guys. You don't have to do anything, but you've got it if you want to bounce it back and forth, or something like that." Mikey said as he handed a ball to Lazlo.

"Do any of you girls want to learn to play soccer?" Ty asked as he offered a soccer ball to the three girls standing in a rough circle.

Loquicia accepted the ball from Ty and looked at it as if Ty had just handed her an alien head.

"Mikey's going to show us how to play soccer. When he shows us what to do, you can use that ball to do what he does." Ty said simply, then turned and walked away, knowing that none of the girls were the least bit interested.

* * * * *

"Do you want to play?" Kev asked Dax as they stood, side by side, propped against the side of the house, just outside the back door.

"Not in the mood." Dax said simply.

"Want to talk about it?" Kev asked casually.

"Nothin to talk about. I just don't feel like running around, kicking a ball." Dax said honestly.

"It does seem kind of pointless, when you look at it that way." Kev chuckled.

"If you take the time to think about it, most things are." Dax said as he turned his head slightly to look at Kev.

"Wow! You're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Kev laughed.

Dax gave a reluctant smile as he shrugged.

* * * * *

Mikey noticed one of the kids looking at him cautiously and walked over to him.

"Here." He said as he presented the soccer ball. "I'm Mikey."

"I'm Jamiah, but your brother calls me Jamie."

"What do you want to be called?" Mikey asked, still holding the ball out.

"Jamie, I guess. No one ever gave me a nickname before... well not a nice one. I kinda like it."

"Go on, take it." Mikey said as he moved the ball a little closer.

"What do you expect me to do with this, decorate it?" Jamiah asked as he stared at the ball held out before him.

Ty, who had been watching the whole thing let his ever present stony facade break for a moment as he smiled at the question, then he said, "Mikey wants to teach us how to play soccer. He said you don't have to be big or strong or good at it, but it might be good if we know how to play some of the games that they play here."

Jamiah accepted the ball and turned it around in his hands a few times before saying, "I think I'd rather just decorate it."

"Do what makes you happy, Jamie." Mikey said from Ty's side.

Jamiah looked at Mikey with surprise.

"This isn't gym class. I'm not going to make you do anything. Tommy thought that this might be something fun for everyone, but if you don't want to play, then don't. No one's going to be mad at you or anything like that." Mikey explained simply.

"Oh." Jamiah said with surprise, then quietly added, "I suppose that I could try it. I guess that if I don't like it, I could still just decorate the thing."

Mikey chuckled, then said, "I tell you what, Jamie. If you want to decorate it, you can get with my mom. She has some scrapbooking supplies that would probably be real good for that."

Jamiah's eyes went wide at the suggestion.

Mikey noticed and conspiratorially said, "I bet that if you talk to her after dinner, she'd be happy to show you her scrapbook stuff. And if you enjoy doing things like that, I know she'd love to have some help."

"No one would mind if I did something girly like that?" Jamiah asked cautiously.

"Mind? My mom's been trying to get one of us guys interested in doing that stuff with her for as long as I can remember. Trust me, Jamie. You offer to help her do her scrapbooking and you'll be the son that she always wanted." Mikey finished in what seemed to be a serious voice.

Jamiah's gaze fell to the ball in his hands as he thought about what Mikey had said.

* * * * *

Brother Jacques, Ken, and Gordon were standing and more or less watching what the kids were up to.

They weren't really talking to each other, but all of them seemed to be on guard, ready to intervene if any of the kids started having a problem.

All attention turned to Mikey as his voice rose and he started telling the other kids the basics of passing the ball back and forth, using only their feet. He then had Ty stand a few feet away and demonstrated what he was talking about.

Ty did a decent job of returning the kick, much to his, and everyone's, surprise.

Mikey smiled proudly at him, then encouraged the others to form into groups and practice passing the ball to each other.

Misti, Annie and Loquicia had the ball sitting on the ground as they chatted amongst themselves.

Bax and Max were soon kicking the ball back and forth and seemed to be having a great time doing it.

Ro had some experience handling a soccer ball and didn't need much practice, but Lazlo seemed to have two left feet... possibly three.

It didn't matter though, because Lazlo had Jay standing a few feet away, and whenever he made a kick that came within twenty feet of Ro, Jay was telling him what a good job he was doing.

When Jamiah walked up to Ty and Mikey, seeming to be uncertain of what to do, Mikey asked Ty to work with him while he helped out the others.

All the adults on the sidelines were smiling at the way the kids were getting along and were pleased that they seemed to be happy.

Suddenly, Carson's voice came over a speaker from under the eaves of the pool house.

"Everyone, can I please have your attention. I really need for everyone to come to the living room in the main house, like, right now. We've just learned some things that I think all of you will want to know... and some of it's pretty bad. Can everyone please just come to the living room right now?"

* * * * *

"What's going on?" Ryan asked his son as he walked into the living room.

"Would you turn on the TV for me and hand me the remote? There's some stuff I want to show everyone." Carson asked hopefully as he turned on the laptop sitting on his lap.

Ryan picked up the remote and turned on the TV, then looked at his son curiously.

"Let me tell everyone at once. Then, when it's all done, I'll tell you whatever else you want to know. You'll probably want to pass some of this information on to the community, so they can prepare." Carson said gravely.

"Can you at least tell me what this is all about?" Ryan asked cautiously.

"Let's trust him to do it his own way." Deb said as she took her husband's arm.

"Tommy?" Carson asked as he looked around.

"Yeah." Tommy said as he stepped away from Lucas.

"You said that you did some stuff to prepare, just in case. When I'm done telling my part, do you want to tell everyone about that?" Carson asked seriously.

"If you can give me a minute or two, I'd like to call Uncle Karl and make sure of what's done before I start telling people about it." Tommy said honestly.

"Yeah. This could take a few minutes, especially if people have questions," Carson said frankly.

Tommy nodded, then hurried out of the room to make his call.

* * * * *

"Ro? Where's Bax?" Bug asked as he saw Ro walking into the room alone.

"Bax and Max went to see if Oma Shoupe needs help. I think the twins went with them, too." Ro said as he glanced behind him.

"Have you talked to your dads yet?" Bug asked gently.

"No. I haven't seen them." Ro quietly replied.

Bug looked around and spotted Reginald and Walter walking into the room.

"Hang with Lawrence and Roris for a minute. Let me see what I can do for you." Bug said as he looked Ro in the eyes.

"Thanks, Bug. I hope you'll be able to get them to let me do stuff, but even if you don't, thanks for trying." Ro said sincerely.

"It's what we do." Bug said with a grin, then walked away.

* * * * *

"Excuse me, I know we haven't been introduced, but I'm Madelyn Murten."

Ben looked at the woman and said, "Yes. I saw you in the kitchen. I'm Ben and this is Oleksandr."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, both of you." Madelyn said with a smile at the boy, then continued, "I know that this may be none of my business but, well, that's never stopped me before. I noticed that Oleksandr seemed to be unusually 'attached' to you and asked a few questions... what I'm trying to say is that my husband is a doctor. I've already talked to him and he'd like very much to examine Oleksandr to be sure that he isn't in need of some further medical attention."

"Thank you. I suppose that now that we're done traveling, that getting Oleksandr some help is the next thing I should be thinking about." Ben said thoughtfully.

"As I understand it, Oleksandr isn't related to you by blood or in any formal legal arrangement, is that right?" Madelyn asked carefully.

"Yes. But he doesn't have anyone else." Ben said frankly.

Madelyn nodded thoughtfully, then slowly asked, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I gathered, you were sort of thrust into this 'fatherhood role' rather suddenly and without much time to really think it through."

Ben nodded his agreement to her accurate assessment.

"Now that you've arrived here, there is time to explore other options, if that's something that you're interested in." Madelyn said carefully.

"How do you mean?" Ben asked slowly as he held Oleksandr a little bit tighter.

"I'm just saying that you helped out Oleksandr when he needed help and when there was no other choice. Now, you can decide what it is that you want to do next. You don't have to automatically take care of the boy, just because you arrived with him." Madelyn said simply.

"I've never felt like I had to. Brother Jacques and the twins were always there and would have taken over for me in a heartbeat if I had even hinted that I didn't want to take care of Oleksandr. There hasn't been one second that Oleksandr's been with me that I wished that he wasn't." Ben said seriously.

"Is there a problem?" Dax asked as he approached.

"No, Dax. This is Madelyn, her husband is a doctor and she was saying that we should let him look at Oleksandr, to be sure that he's going to be alright."

"Yeah. That's probably a good idea. If the wrong thing gets torn up back there, it can lead to blood poisoning or other stuff that can kill you." Dax said frankly.

Ben paled at the words.

Dax noticed and quickly said, "If Oleksandr had something like that, he'd be sick with, like, fever and stuff. Don't worry. I'm sure he's okay."

"Thanks, Dax." Ben said, then let out a sigh of relief.

"Dax?" Madelyn asked cautiously.

"Yes, Ma'am." Dax said as he turned his attention to her.

"Please excuse me if it sounds like I'm being nosy, I'm just trying to understand who the people are that are related to Oleksandr." Madelyn said cautiously.

Dax thought for a moment, then carefully said, "Well, at first, we were just two people who were living at the same homeless shelter. Then Olex got put in a foster home. Now, I guess he's like my little brother. I've been through a lot of what he's been through and when he needs me, I can help him deal with things... it can be a tough thing to get through."

Madelyn looked at Ben inquiringly and received a regretful nod of confirmation.

"Although I wanted to do what's best for Oleksandr, I wouldn't have done a very good job if it weren't for Dax. He not only understands what Oleksandr is feeling, but also what kind of help he actually needs." Ben said with a smile of respect for the teenager at his side.

"As soon as Carson is done with his little production, whatever it is, we'll take Oleksandr to see my husband to make sure that this little angel has nothing to worry about." Madelyn said as she smiled at the boy perched on Ben's hip.

Oleksandr, as expected, hid his face in Ben's chest when he noticed her attention focused on him.

* * * * *

"We need to talk." Bug said as he walked up to Walter and Reginald.

"How is Ronan?" Reginald asked quickly.

"Right now, he's feeling pretty shitty. It's fucking with his head to feel like he loves you and hates you at the same time." Bug said frankly.

"He hates us?" Reginald whimpered.

"Well, DUH! You treat him like a five-year-old and embarrass him in front of all the other kids, fuck yeah he hates you." Bug finished with a roll of his eyes.

Walter and Reginald were speechless.

"Guys, he doesn't want to hate you. He doesn't want to be mad at you. I don't have all the answers, but... shit! Cut the guy some slack! I know that you can't turn him loose to do whatever he wants, I think he's already got some of them-there, 'abandonment issues' you're always hearing about, so the last thing he needs is to feel like you've given up on him. But he needs a little bit of freedom. All kids his age need to get a feel for what it's like to be their own person."

"What do you recommend that we do?" Reginald asked anxiously.

"It looks like Bax and Ro and Max have become good friends. So let's let them have some fun together. If it starts to get too out of control, either you or I can handle it." Bug said simply.

Reginald looked at Walter with anticipation.

Finally Walter said, "I think we need to have a little talk with our son to let him know that we still love him..."

"...and trust him..." Reginald interrupted.

Bug slowly nodded and waited for more.

"...and that, in future, we will try to give him more freedoms and treat him like a young man, rather than a child." Reginald continued as he watched for Bug's reaction.

Bug gave a slight smile and nodded his approval.

"We will also let him know that, if he misbehaves while he's with you, you will have our complete support in whatever corrective action you decide needs to take place." Walter finished seriously.

"That works." Bug said simply, then smiled as he saw Oma Shoupe walking into the room with Walt on her arm and Bax, Max, Ken and Kev following her like her own personal entourage.

* * * * *

When Carson saw the older man standing just inside the living room door and looking on with a questioning look on his face, he quickly said, "Mr. Crante, will you please ask Lydia and Marie to come in here, too? Everyone needs to be in on this."

Mr. Crante nodded once and quickly left the room.

"How long is this going to take? We left some things cooking on the stove and we can't leave them for very long." Deb asked her son quietly.

"What I've got to say won't take very long, but what follows could take some time." Carson said frankly.

"I'll go turn off the stove, but remember that most of the people here are from different time zones and that they're probably getting awfully hungry by now." Deb said frankly.

"I'll remember." Carson said with one last look into his mother's eyes before she hurried out of the room.

"I guess we'd better get this started." Carson said to his father as he moved his wheelchair so that he was sitting near the big screen TV, but not obstructing anyone's view.

The muttering voices of people quietly talking amongst themselves didn't dissipate.

"Can I have your attention!?" Ryan called out and clapped his hands a few times over his head.

Carson looked at all the people gathered before him and tried to hide the nervousness that he was feeling.

"Any of you who know me have noticed that I'm interested in computers..." Carson began.

"And the Pacific is wet." A voice said loudly.

Carson followed the sound of the voice to find that Tommy had returned and was walking to join him at the front.

"Okay. Yeah. I'm more than a little bit interested in computers. What this has to do with all of you is, well, I'm pretty sure that all of you have heard what happened to President Bryce and his family yesterday."

Carson paused and noticed that everyone seemed to be paying attention and that quite a few people were nodding in response to his statement.

"I think that to explain what happened today, you need to see this." Carson said, then hit enter on his laptop.

Immediately, a movie file started playing on the enormous wide screen TV.

"Is this... President Bryce?" Doris Teeter asked hesitantly.

"That's right. I was on my computer watching as it happened." Carson said, then looked at his laptop so he could keep up with what everyone else was seeing on the big screen.

There were gasps and even a few sobs as those gathered watched the unedited video of what had transpired the day before.

When the helicopters finally disappeared from view, Carson stopped the video and waited for a moment for everyone to collect themselves.

"I've been watching the news ever since I arrived, and none of what I have just seen was reported. All that they've been talking about is what Ashwood's and Bryce's people have 'claimed' happened." Oma Shoupe said seriously.

"I sent the video out to some other people on the Internet, so the truth could get out. But the national media isn't interested in the truth, they're interested in 'spin' and in keeping their corporate masters happy." Carson said frankly.

"I wish I could say that you're just being cynical, but after what I've just seen..." Walter trailed off helplessly.

"Okay. The reason that I wanted to show you what 'really' happened yesterday, is so that you'd know that I have access to things that not everyone else does. What you're about to see just happened, I mean, like, just... within the hour." Carson said and was about to start the video when he thought better of it.

"Parents, you might not want the younger kids seeing this." Carson said, then paused before quietly continuing, "I'm probably going to have nightmares from what I've seen today. A lot of you probably will, too. But I'm asking you not to close your eyes. Look at it. Look at what's being done to us!"

Looks of concern traveled around the room at Carson's words.

Without further prelude, Carson started the video.

Once again, what he showed them was completely unedited.

The room was filled with silent shock as everyone watched the video in horror.

When the screen went dark, Carson finally spoke, "We lost the signal for a few minutes. I haven't cleaned up this video yet. Like I said before, this only happened a short time ago. Just hang on and the video will come back on."

"Where did this happen?" Carson's father, Ryan, asked as he wiped tears away from his eyes.

"Breckenridge, Texas." Carson said simply.

"How... I mean, why..." Oma Shoupe asked as she held two children, Ro and Max, in her arms, comforting them. Bug was beside her, holding onto Bax.

"I don't know. All we've been able to put together is that it was a setup. Everyone was brought together under false pretenses, tempers were riled up, then someone fired the first shot. Beyond that, you know as much as I do about the whole thing." Carson said honestly.

"It was either Bryce or Ashwood, wasn't it?" Walt asked firmly from Oma Shoupe's side.

"Ashwood. If you look really close..." Carson was saying when the video came back on.

The room was silent as everyone watched the brief seconds of fighting on the screen before the video signal was lost again.

"Is that all of it?" Gordon asked as he held Misti, Annie and Loquicia close to him. Lucas was right beside him holding Lazlo and Jay firmly.

"No, it'll be back in a few seconds." Carson said and had to fight not to close his eyes at what he knew was coming next.

Before anyone could respond to that, the video began again, only this time there was not one living thing in the scene before them. Only the fire and smoke coming from the school building proved that it wasn't a frozen, still-image.

Carson pointed the remote behind him and turned off the television.

"Why?" Doris Teeter asked as she held her husband desperately.

"No one that I've talked to has any answer for that. But there are some other things that you should be aware of." Carson said reluctantly.

The looks of dread directed at Carson made him inwardly curse because he knew that none of them had the slightest idea of how bad things really were.

"We've gained access to some plans. They're supposed to be used to remove the 'undesirables' and control the masses. We don't have all the details of what they're going to do, but we know where they're going to strike." Carson said gravely.

"I tried calling my work, to explain why I didn't come in today and I couldn't get through." Marcus Teeter said cautiously.

"We couldn't get through either. The operator said all the lines were busy and to try again later." Reginald said as he looked around.

"Orlando has been taken. There's no land line, cell phone, Internet... From the look of it, Asswipe's goons have even taken over the local news and radio stations, because there aren't even any satellite links available." Bug said as he continued to hold Bax close to him.

"What about Chicago!?" Dax asked in panic from Ben's side.

"I don't know, Orlando is the only place we tried to call. But you should know that Chicago is on the list of targeted cities for whatever Ashwood's plans are." Ben said regretfully.

"What about Kansas City?" Jeremy asked, breaking a moment of silence that had fallen over the room.

"It's on the list. That's all I know." Carson said regretfully.

"Where can I make a phone call? I need to warn some people." Lucas asked quickly.

"Each of your bedrooms has its own line." Ryan said loudly enough to be heard over the escalating voices.

As small groups of people began to file out of the room, Carson noticed Mr. Crante and the maids standing just inside the door.

"If you need to make some calls or if you need to leave, I'll understand." Carson said simply.

"I think that keeping busy will be the best thing for us right now." Mr. Crante said in an introspective tone.

"I know that you're going to be busy taking care of everyone else. But be sure to take care of yourselves, too. Let me know if there's anything that any of you need." Carson said seriously.

Mr. Crante nodded once, then left the room, immediately followed by the two maids, Lydia and Marie.

* * * * *

"This is why you had to leave while we were eating ice cream, isn't it?" Dax asked Ben seriously.

"Not exactly. What you just saw hadn't happened yet. I was called into Carson's room because he wanted to get everyone together who figured out that some bad stuff was coming, so we could help him predict what might be coming next." Ben said honestly.

"Okay. But Carson said that he knew some of what Ashweenie was planning to do to the cities on his list." Dax said slowly.

"Yes. It's this thing called 'Operation Starshine'. We don't know all the details of it, but we've been able to figure out a few things." Ben said as he shifted Oleksandr on his hip for a better grip.

After a long moment of silence, Dax looked Ben in the eyes and said, "I know that you're probably not supposed to talk about that stuff, but I really need to know everything you know."

"I trust you, Dax, but why?" Ben asked cautiously.

Dax looked around and was surprised to realize that while they were walking, Ben had automatically led them back to their rooms on the third floor.

Dax went into his room and motioned for Ben and Oleksandr to follow.

* * * * *

Ben sat down on the bed and placed Oleksandr beside him as he watched Dax pace the room.

"I can't tell you everything. Okay?" Dax started out.

"Okay." Ben said softly.

Dax nodded, then continued, "The reason I need to know that stuff is because my father is someone kind of important in Chicago..." Dax trailed off, then amended, "Really important."

Ben nodded that he understood.

Dax was lost in thought for a moment, then seemed to come to a decision.

"My mom and dad were never married. I know that's no big deal, but to my dad's family, I guess it kinda is. They're like Shiite Catholic, or something. Anyway, so my dad wasn't ever around and I guess that's a bad thing, but the whole time I was growing up he was calling me all the time and he always told me that he loved me and... from what I've heard, there's plenty of guys who grow up with their dads in the same house with them and never hear it at all."

Ben nodded his agreement to the statement.

"So, you know, shit happens, my mom starts blowing all her money on drugs and stuff and making herself sicker and weaker and, well, she died." Dax finished simply.

Ben could see that although it hurt Dax to talk about it, that he wasn't anywhere near losing emotional control.

"Okay, so when she died, I went to live with my dad. I'd never lived with him before. I'd never even been to his apartment before. I told you before that he's important. He's got some money. It isn't in-your-face obvious, but that apartment was NICE."

Ben smiled at the statement.

Dax's mood darkened as he continued, "About two weeks after I moved in with Dad, he was at work... he has to work a lot. Anyway, he was working and I was watching TV or surfing the Internet.. I don't even know, now. But the next thing I know, someone is grabbing me."

Ben looked at Dax with surprise. He didn't have any idea that the story was about to take a turn like this.

"The guy, he took me, tied me up, threw me in his trunk, and drove me to some little rat-infested dump across town. He had me for about two days. He was trying to get my dad to pay ransom for me, but he fucked up. He untied me when he wanted to turn me over or something when he was fucking me. He thought I was unconscious. So, while he was asleep, I went into the kitchen and got the biggest knife I could find. I went into the bedroom and started cutting that fucker's throat as hard as I could, I wanted to cut his head completely off."

Ben's eyes went wide with shock. He glanced down to see how Oleksandr was doing and found that the little boy had fallen asleep, sitting up, clutching his bicep.

"The guy woke up and when I saw the look in his eyes, I figured that I was probably dead. He yanked the knife out of my hands and was about to stab me with it when his eyes rolled up and... that's it. He was dead."

"Good." Ben whispered.

Dax nodded, then his voice became distant as he said, "I put on some clothes... I don't think they were mine. Somehow, and I don't even know how, I was with it enough to take the knife with me. I made sure it was really clean, and then I dropped it into a dumpster outside a restaurant. After that I kinda wandered. I think I was roaming around for two days, but I'm not sure. I was just reliving everything that sick fucker had done to me, over and over again in my head, until I found myself at Father Doherty's rescue mission."

"Father Doherty took me in without a single question. He took me to a room and made sure that I was 'with it' enough to bathe myself. He came to check on me later and made sure that I had a good meal before he even asked me my name. I didn't want to give out too much information, and Father Doherty never pushed me about it."

"It took me three days before I was able to bring myself to call my father. But my dad was great about everything. I told him everything that happened and he said that everything was under control and that I wouldn't be getting into any trouble over any of it."

"Your dad's that powerful?" Ben asked cautiously.

Dax nodded seriously, then continued, "After I told him everything, my dad wanted to send someone to pick me up. I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest as soon as he said the words. I think my reaction scared him a little, because he sounded really worried when I had calmed down enough to talk to him again."

"Panic attack?" Ben asked cautiously.

Dax nodded, then said, "I told my dad that I loved him and trusted him and didn't blame him for a single thing that happened to me, but that I felt safe with Father Doherty at the mission. I told him that I needed time to sort through the junk in my head and that as soon as I could manage it, that I'd move back in with him and that we could be a family."

Ben nodded that he understood.

"I know that my dad loves me, but I always got the sense that he was kinda ashamed of me for being a sissy. Everyone my dad knows is big and tough and... well. I just don't fit in there. So I stayed at the mission where I felt like I fit in and I was around people that understood me." Dax ended with a shrug.

"I can understand that." Ben said softly.

"But I still love my dad, and if I can tell him what's going on, maybe it'll make a difference and he can... I don't know, do something." Dax said as he looked into Ben's eyes.

"Thanks for telling me all of that, Dax. It sounds like your dad is a really good man. And if he's as rich and powerful as you say, then maybe he can do something. How about I tell you everything that I know, and then I'll leave you so you can talk to your dad while I find the doctor to look at Oleksandr." Ben said gently.

Dax thought for a moment, then quietly asked, "Would you mind staying with me? My dad might need some kind of details or something. And besides, I want to go with you when Oleksandr sees the doctor. Just because some asshole has an M.D. after his name doesn't mean that he's a decent person. No one's going to hurt Olex as long as I can help it."

"How about this? I see a computer over there. So while you're making your phone call, I'll check my email. I've probably got about three tons of spam built up." Ben asked with a smile.

"Ben, I love you." Dax said sincerely.

Ben's eyes went wide at the statement.

Dax giggled, then said, "Don't worry. I know you're not into guys. You're probably one of the straightest, straight guys I've ever met. Besides, I love you the other way. You make me feel safe, like Father Doherty does. You take care of Oleksandr and even your cousin, Zane. I feel like I can be myself around you and that you'd never hit me, or hit on me or... even act ashamed of me. There's not too many people I know like that, I could probably count them on one hand."

"I love you, too, Dax." Ben said gently, then held out the arm that wasn't currently being held captive by Oleksandr, to invite Dax into a hug.

Dax happily sat at Ben's side and allowed himself to be hugged firmly.

Ben then slightly guided Dax to face him and leaned in to give him a firm, but gentle kiss.

The kiss was chaste, but not the least bit uncertain.

Finally, Dax pulled away and looked at Ben inquiringly.

"When I was a little bit younger than you, I discovered the difference between 'love' and 'in love'. That kiss, that was 'love'. There wasn't anything sexual behind it, but it was the next step beyond a hug. I thought that with what you just said, that I should share that with you. If you ever want to be hugged or held or if you feel like you need a kiss, all you have to do is let me know." Ben said as he held Dax's gaze.

Tears welled in Dax's eyes as he said, "All this time, I thought that I was looking for someone to love me, and until this minute, I didn't know what it was that I was asking for."

Ben chuckled as he responded, "I know, Dax. I know exactly how that feels."

* * * * *

"What's up?" Bug asked at the worried look on Zane's face.

"I need to call my dad in Chicago to warn him about what's going on." Zane said as he tried to break himself out of his shock.

"Studmffn's father said that there's a phone in each room. You can call from there." Bug said frankly.

"I don't have the number. I only just met my father for the first time yesterday, and he was getting ready to leave at the same time we were leaving to come here." Zane said anxiously.

"Does anyone know where he was going?" Bug asked curiously as he held Bax a little bit tighter.

"Jake and the twins probably do." Zane said as he looked around.

"Do you know where they went?" Bug asked cautiously.

"No. But Jamiah was with them, he's right over there, so he might know where they are." Zane said frankly.

Bug released Bax from the hug and turned him, "Are you going to be alright if I go talk to Brother Jacques and the twins for a few minutes?"

"I'm not a baby." Bax said frankly.

Bug smiled and said, "I know that you're not, Bax. But even the adults were shaken up by what we just saw. It was really fucked up and horrible and it's nothing to be ashamed of if you don't want to be alone after seeing something like that."

"I'll be okay." Bax said as he looked Bug in the eyes.

Bug smiled, then gently said, "Alright. But if you're not okay for some reason, you just come and find me. Deal?"

Bax nodded confidently.

Bug patted Bax on the shoulder, then walked to join Zane where he was talking to Jamiah.

* * * * *

"They said that they went to your room to try and call Chicago." Zane said frankly.

"Okay. If we hurry, they might already be talking to your dad." Bug said hopefully.

Bug and Zane rushed out of the living room and through the doorway that led to the 'Big House'.

* * * * *

"Ben?" Dax asked from his place on the bed, with his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone.

"Hmmm?" Ben responded as he turned his attention away from the computer.

"What's your last name?" Dax asked casually.

"Weston. Why do you want to know?" Ben asked curiously.

"My dad wanted to know. I think it makes him feel better when he knows where I am and who I'm with. I'm not sure why... but I guess it kinda makes me feel better, too."

"Well, my full name is Brian Keith Weston and I'm from Orlando. If he's trying to do a background check on me, he's not going to find much. I'm a pretty average guy." Ben said before turning his attention back to his computer.

"You're not average. Not at all." Dax said with a smile, then went back to his phone call.

It had taken Ben nearly fifteen minutes to sort through and delete all the spam that had accumulated in his email account.

He was used to his email application doing that for him and was astounded at the volume of spam that it had been automatically sorting out for him.

Once he was finally done, he opened the email that he had been waiting for.

There were actually three emails from his fiancée, Melissa, but rather than read them in order, he decided to read the most recent one first.

Since he knew that Melissa was outside the U.S., she was probably insulated from most of the chaos of the past two days.

After a few seconds of reading, Ben went back to read the oldest email, to make sense of what he was seeing.

* * * * *

"What's wrong?" Oleksandr asked as he reached up and wiped a tear away from Ben's eye.

"It's a grown-up thing. Nothing to worry about." Ben said as he tried to fight down his tears.

Oleksandr looked up at Ben uncertainly for a moment, then shifted around on his lap and put his arms around Ben to hug him firmly.

"Thank you." Ben whispered as he returned the hug.

"What's wrong?" Dax asked as he walked to Ben's side.

Ben found that he couldn't make his voice work, so he pointed to the computer's monitor.

After a long moment of reading, Dax quietly asked, "Did your girlfriend just break up with you by email?"

"Fianc´e. Yeah." Ben choked out.

"What a bitch!" Dax said as he continued to read.

"She said that me not having a passport is just another example of how I can't keep up with her and her family." Ben muttered as he continued to hold Oleksandr tightly.

"Talk is cheap and so is she. If she hasn't got the class to tell you face-to-face, or at least tell you on the phone, then you don't need her. You deserve someone better." Dax said firmly.

"Her family has nothing but money. Ever since we were in high school together, they've always looked down on me because my dad has to work for a living." Ben said regretfully.

"Fuck them! Fuck her! Seriously, I'd have more respect for a skanky trailer trash Beyonce wannabe who'd break up with you face-to-face than I do for your rich-bitch and her fancy fucked up parents."

"Don't hold back. What do you really think?" Ben chuckled.

"I love you, Ben. That's what I really think." Dax said frankly.

Ben swallowed the lump in his throat, then quietly said, "Melissa and I have been together since high school. I know that she told me that she loved me before, but I don't think she ever said it so I believed it as much as I do when you say it."

"You deserve better, Ben. You deserve someone who really loves you. Now you've got that with me, so I know that you'll be okay. I guess what we'll have to work on next is finding someone who really loves you and has a pussy."

"Yeah. That's what we need to do." Ben laughed past his tears.

"But until then, we'll be alright." Dax assured him.

"You're right, Dax. Thanks."

"I love you, too." Oleksandr said, then to prove his point, he gave Ben a big sloppy kiss on his cheek.

"I've got two people who love me. So I've got no reason to be sitting here, feeling sorry for myself." Ben said with a watery smile, then gave Oleksandr a kiss on the cheek in return.

* * * * *

"Fuck!" Bug said as he approached his room in time to see Brother Jacques, Ken and Kev walking out.

"We were just making a phone call, Bug. Nothing happened." Ken said quickly.

Bug blinked with confusion for a moment, then said, "That's okay, Ken. I trust you guys with Brother Jacques. I just said that because we were trying to get here before you hung up. Zane wanted to talk to his dad."

"We couldn't get through. All the lines are down." Kev said regretfully.

"Just like Orlando." Bug said with a look of concern at the others.

"Add Kansas City to that list." Jeremy said as he and Hank walked down the stairs.

"Shit." Bug whispered.

"Let's go to the living room and see if anyone else was able to get through." Zane said cautiously.

"Yeah. And besides, I don't want to leave the boys on their own for too long." Bug said as he turned.

* * * * *

"Has anyone been able to get through to anyone on the phone?" Bug asked loudly as he walked into the living room, which still had a dozen people, mostly children, talking quietly.

"Doris and I were able to get through to our daughter and son-in-law in Portland, Oregon. But we haven't been able to get in touch with anyone back in Florida." Marcus said as he watched Doris talking with Roris and Lawrence.

"Well, I guess that's something." Bug said absently.

"What about the Internet? Has anyone tried that?" Zane asked as he looked around.

"I know it's blocked in Florida, but it might still work in other parts of the country." Bug said frankly.

"Do you think Carson would mind if I used his extra computer to try? I really need to get in touch with my dad to let him know what's going on." Zane said urgently.

Bug looked around. When he didn't spot Carson, he said, "He's probably already back in his room, trying to make sense of all this."

"Ben! Were you able to get through to anyone?" Zane asked quickly when he spotted Ben carrying Oleksandr into the room, followed closely by Dax.

"I didn't try, but Dax was able to get through to his dad in Chicago." Ben said frankly.

"You did? Just now?" Zane asked with surprise, then dashed away, toward Carson's room.

"What's up?" Ben asked curiously as he approached Bug, Brother Jacques and the twins.

"No one's been able to get through to Chicago, Kansas City or Orlando except for you guys." Bug said frankly.

"Oh. Well, Dax didn't have any trouble, did you, Dax?" Ben asked the boy at his side.

"Actually, I did." Dax admitted shyly.

Ben looked at Dax with surprise.

"When I tried to call my dad at work, I couldn't get through. There was a recording saying something about the phones all being down. So when that didn't work, I called my dad on his Sat-Phone." Dax said shyly.

"Your dad has a satellite phone?" Bug asked in an impressed voice.

"Yeah. He carries it all the time, but only four or five people have the number. It's supposed to be for emergencies only." Dax said cautiously.

"Do you remember what we just saw on the TV? I think this qualifies." Bug said frankly.

"Maybe you could call your dad and ask him to pass along a message. Would you do that?" Ben asked gently.

Dax thought for a moment, then reluctantly nodded.

"Come on, then." Bug said as he started walking to Carson's room.

* * * * *

Bug stopped suddenly.

Zane was just inside the door, waiting silently as Tommy was talking to Carson, Deb and Ryan.

"We can come back later." Bug said, not wanting to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"No. This concerns everyone." Ryan said as he gestured for the group to come fully into the room.

"To recap, Tommy saw what was coming and started making preparations. He has people getting all the vacant housing, campgrounds and local lodgings ready for occupancy." Ryan said seriously.

"We might not need it, but with what we just saw on the TV..." Tommy trailed off.

"You should know that no one has been able to reach Chicago or Kansas City by phone." Bug said seriously.

Carson looked at Bug with surprise, then quickly turned his wheelchair and docked it.

"Except Dax. His dad has a satellite phone." Brother Jacques interjected.

"Satellite, yeah. I didn't think about that." Carson said absently as he kept the majority of his attention on the computer before him.

Everyone watched and waited to see what Carson came up with.

"I've got it." Carson said suddenly, causing most of the people in his bedroom to jump.

"What is it, son?" Ryan asked with concern.

"Well, the problem with Orlando is different. It is completely blacked out. If what I'm seeing is right, the people within Chicago can still talk to each other, but we can't call them and they can't call us. I'm not sure if Chicago can talk to Kansas City. I really can't get a lot of information from here." Carson said as he focused his attention on his screens.

"Okay, but how about getting in touch with my dad? Is there any way you can do that?" Zane asked hopefully.

"Probably, but it could take some time. You might be better off talking to Dax's dad if you're wanting to get through to your dad right away. I'm not exactly sure how to get around the blockade, yet. I'll get there, but until I do, I think that the satellite phone is your best bet." Carson explained slowly.

"Do you think your dad will mind?" Zane asked Dax hesitantly.

Dax thought for a moment, then said, "If you want me to give my dad a message to pass on to your dad, I don't think he'd have a problem with that. But I really don't think he'd like me giving out his number."

"Yeah. If it's only for emergencies, I can see that. But it'd be great if he'd help us." Zane finished hopefully.

Bug handed Dax the cordless phone from beside the computer with an expression of sympathy.

"Thanks." Dax whispered, then dialed the phone.

Ben moved close to Dax's side to support him.

"Dad? I'm sorry to call again so soon, but we just found out that we can't get through on the phone to anyone in Chicago. Some of my new friends here are wanting to get a message to Father Doherty... do you remember him?" Dax asked slowly.

"Yeah. He's a really good man." Dax smiled, then became more serious as he continued, "All of us from the mission are worried about him."

Dax listened for a moment then turned to Brother Jacques and asked, "Do you know where Father Doherty was going next?"

"Saint Barney's" Brother Jacques said simply.

Dax repeated the words to his father, then slowly nodded as he listened.

"Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate you doing that." Dax said with a tender smile.

Everyone watched with surprise as Dax hung up the cordless phone.

"Did he say no?" Zane asked in confusion.

Dax smiled as he said, "He said that he's going to send someone over to Saint Barney's with a sat-phone, so that you can talk to your dad directly. He's going to have your dad call you at this number, as soon as he gets the phone."

There was a long moment of silence, then Bug finally said, "Dax, your dad is awesome."

Dax smiled and nodded his agreement.

"Well, if you guys will excuse me, I need to take Oleksandr to see the doctor now." Ben said as he cuddled the boy at his side.

"He's probably in my office, I can take you." Ryan offered gently.

"Thanks." Ben said, then looked to see that Dax was following.

"This makes no sense..." Carson muttered, mostly to himself.

"What's that?" Ryan asked as he turned and looked back at his son. Ben and Dax stopped and waited to find out what Carson had found.

Carson looked up with surprise, obviously not realizing that he had been speaking aloud. But with all the expectant gazes on him, he finally said, "There's no rhyme or reason to any of this. I can get through to places like Portland, Maine and Little Rock, Arkansas without any resistance at all. But Chicago, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh have all had their phone systems cut off. Then there's Orlando... well, and now Newark, New Jersey, they're completely impenetrable. I can't find any way to get any information at all to or from either of them."

"What does it mean?" Ryan asked slowly.

"I have no idea. It seems so... random. But if it's intentional, I can't figure out why anyone would go to so much trouble..." Carson said in frustration.

"I'm going to take these guys to see your grandpa. Call us if you figure anything out." Ryan said warmly to his son.

"Yeah." Carson said with a quick smile at his father, then turned his full attention back to the computer screens in front of him.

After one last look at his son, Ryan led Ben and Dax out of the room.

* * * * *

"I thought that I'd find you here." Ryan said as he walked into his office.

"I hope you don't mind that I've made myself at home?" Dr. Murten said with a grin that expressed that he already knew the answer.

"No. You're free to use my office at any time. However, your grandson, Tommy, has been making quite a few arrangements on behalf of the company and it wouldn't surprise me if I started getting some calls to approve a few of his expenditures."

"I'll page you if anything comes in that needs your attention." Dr. Murten said congenially.

"Boys, this is Doctor Fred Murten. I'm not sure I know all your names, so I'll let you introduce yourselves." Ryan said as he backed away slightly.

"I'm Ben Weston, beside me is my friend Dax and in my arms is Oleksandr. He's the one that you wanted to take a look at." Ben said simply.

"Well, Ryan, why don't you step out of here so we can begin. I've already brought in the things that I might need for an examination." Dr. Murten said in a friendly, yet firm tone.

"Call if you need me for anything." Ryan said immediately, then withdrew from the room.

"Oleksandr, before we begin, I need for you to know that I'm not going to hurt you and that I'll do whatever I can to make this as comfortable as possible for you. However, some of what I may have to do might be a little bit scary for you, so who would you like to have in here with you to keep you safe?"

"I want Ben and Dax." Oleksandr said firmly.

"Okay. I just wanted to be sure that you wanted to have both of them here." Dr. Murten said simply.

"Dax knows what I feel before I know. And Ben loves me." Oleksandr explained.

Dr. Murten chuckled, then said, "My job would be so much easier if everyone had people like that accompanying them."

Oleksandr smiled happily as he hugged Ben a little bit tighter.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Dax asked cautiously.

"Only in very general terms. And knowing my wife, I'm sure that she made a few assumptions along the way." Dr. Murten said frankly.

"Olex was raped and beaten by his foster father." Dax said simply.

"Can I assume that the man isn't here, with you?" Dr. Murten asked cautiously.

"He's back in Chicago, as far as we know. Oleksandr ran away and found his way to the homeless shelter where we were just before we left Chicago." Ben said seriously.

"I see. It's good to know that he's out of the picture. That will simplify things for us." Dr. Murten said as he looked at Ben.

Ben nodded his agreement.

"I suppose that we'd better get down to it. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can all get to lunch... or dinner. I'm not sure what meal it is that they're making, but it sure smells good." Dr. Murten said with a smile.

Ben and Dax both slowly nodded; apprehensive about what was coming next.

"Relax. We're going to do this as slowly and easily as possible to keep from causing Oleksandr any unnecessary trauma. We'll take as long as we need to... but knowing that there's food waiting might motivate all of us to move a bit faster."

Ben chuckled his agreement.

"Before anything else, let's do the basics." Dr. Murten said as he put his stethoscope in his ears.

* * * * *

"Did you hear the doctor? You did exactly the right thing for Oleksandr." Ben said warmly as he carried Oleksandr out of the office as Dax walked at his side.

"Yeah. I would'a felt really bad if he said that I'd done something wrong." Dax mumbled.

"You were perfect. And he said that Oleksandr is healing up just fine. That's thanks to you." Ben said seriously.

"Thanks, Ben. No one ever really trusted me before. If it wasn't for you believing in me, I wouldn't have been able to help him." Dax said honestly.

"I'm hungry." Oleksandr said suddenly.

"Let's head to the kitchen to see what we can do about that. I think from the smell, that there must be something really good just about ready to eat." Ben said cheerfully.

"Dax!" Oleksandr said as he held out his arm to be held.

After a moment of hesitation, Dax walked to Ben's side and was pulled into a firm hug.

"Thank you." Oleksandr said as he hugged Dax firmly, still maintaining his ever-present grip on Ben.

"Glad to help." Dax said as he gently returned the hug and tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall.

* * * * *

"Is my grandpa still in there?" Mikey asked as he approached Ben.

Mikey was leading a pair of boys a little bit older than he was and there was a trio of boys, closer to his own age, following them.

"Yes, but I think he was wanting to get something to eat." Ben said thoughtfully.

"We won't take long." Mikey said seriously, then looked behind him and said, "Come on guys."

"Is anything wrong?" Ben asked with concern.

"Lots. But we've got it covered." Mikey said frankly.

"We don't have to do this. I'm fine." Jay said firmly to Mikey.

"You're hurting... and you don't have to be. I don't know what your dad and your uncle did to you. I don't care. All I know is that my grandpa can make you stop hurting and it'll just take a few minutes." Mikey said impatiently.

"Did they hurt you in your butt?" Oleksandr asked quietly.

Everyone froze at the innocent question.

Jay looked Oleksandr in the eyes and recognized the understanding.

Slowly, Jay nodded.

Oleksandr released his grip on Ben and held both his arms out to Jay.

Half out of instinct, to keep the boy from falling, Jay reached out and accepted Oleksandr into his arms.

"It happened to him, too." Ben whispered as he watched Oleksandr hug Jay earnestly.

"Is he okay?" Jay asked in a whisper.

"He will be." Ben said simply.

Jay could see that Ben was a tower of strength and no trace of pity could be found in his eyes. He looked at Dax and found that he was looking into the eyes of a kindred spirit, a survivor.

Finally, he pulled out of the hug enough to look at the young boy who had been hugging him.

"Don't be scared. Ben won't let no one hurt you." Oleksandr said seriously.

Without thinking, Jay looked over at Ben.

Ben smiled weakly, then said, "I'll do my best, anyway."

"Come on. Before Grandpa leaves." Mikey urged, breaking the spell.

Ben watched as Mikey, Lazlo and Jay walked down the hall and entered the office that they had just left. Immediately following them were Ro, Bax and Max.

* * * * *

"Well, this is a surprise! What can I do for you boys?" Dr. Murten asked pleasantly as he settled back behind the desk.

"Jay got hurt... erm, well..." Mikey faltered and looked at Jay helplessly.

"You just helped that blond kid, right?" Jay asked simply.

"Yes. That was Oleksandr." Dr. Murten said slowly, beginning to get an idea that something might be wrong.

"I get the feeling that the same thing's wrong with me that was wrong with him." Jay said frankly.

"Oh. I see." Dr. Murten said gravely, then looked at the five boys behind Jay before asking, "Do you have any family here with you?"

"No. My family did this to me." Jay muttered in a voice of barely restrained rage.

"Is there someone, an adult, who can be in here with you. I'd really feel a lot better about doing this with an adult present." Dr. Murten said frankly.

"I can go get one of my dads. They're your dads too, now, so I know that they'll want to help." Lazlo said quickly.

"No!" Jay said immediately.

Lazlo froze in his tracks at the command.

"I overheard your dads talking about me. They don't know if they can handle an abused kid. I heard them say it. They're the last ones I'd want in here with me." Jay said firmly.

"Wait here. I know just who you need." Bax said, then, before anyone could question what he was doing, Bax hurried out of the room.

"He's getting Bug. You won't have to worry about him, he can handle anything." Ro said with absolute certainty.

"You don't need to do that. It doesn't hurt that bad." Jay said with obvious frustration.

"Grandpa, tell him." Mikey implored.

"You don't have to hurt... what was your name?" Dr. Murten asked gently.

"My name is Jayson Kale, but I'd rather be called Jay."

"That's fine Jay. And I won't examine you if you don't want me to. I'm here to help you, but only if you want me to." Dr. Murten said simply.

Jay took a moment to focus on his breathing and calm down before he quietly said, "As long as I'm here, I wouldn't mind if you gave me something for the pain. But I'd really rather not talk about what happened last night."

"If you can give me the basics in fifty words or less, then I'll only ask about the things that I need to know." Dr. Murten said honestly.

Jay looked around at the other boys, then at Dr. Murten with frustration.

"Let's just wait..." Dr. Murten began to say when the door flew open.

"Bax! What the fuck is up with you?" Bug asked as Bax dragged him into the room.

"Jay needs someone to stay with him that won't lose their shit if things get too real." Bax said seriously

Bug looked around the room and finally asked, "Which one is Jay?"

Jay raised his hand as the others looked at him.

"Okay. I know that you don't know me, but Bax says that you need someone like me, so I'm here." Bug said simply.

"If that's alright with you, Jay." Dr. Murten said as he watched for Jay's reaction.

"Yeah. I never wanted any fuss. Can we just get this over with?" Jay asked hopefully.

Dr. Murten nodded once, then looked at the group of boys and said, "The rest of you, please wait outside. This shouldn't take very long."

Uncertain looks passed around the group before the boys finally funneled out of the room.

* * * * *

"Fifty words or less, huh?" Jay asked cautiously.

"Just tell me what I need to know to give you the help you need." Dr. Murten said frankly.

"My dad and my uncle got me this time. They took turns fucking me. The cops busted in the door and took me to the hospital. Child Division got me and gave me to the guys who brought me here." Jay said simply.

"No one here's giving you any trouble, are they?" Bug asked firmly.

"No. Everyone's been really nice since I got here." Jay said quickly.

"Anyone messes with you, tell me. I'll take care of it." Bug said seriously.

"Um, yeah. Okay." Jay said with surprise.

"Come here." Bug said and pulled Jay into a firm hug.

Jay was surprised that the skinny young man had such a strong grip.

"I can't promise that you'll never be hurt again. All I can promise is that I'll try to keep it from happening as much as I can." Bug said as he continued to hold the boy.

"I think I believe you." Jay said with surprise at his own words.

"Good... Doc. You ready?" Bug asked firmly.

"Yes. I suppose that I am." Dr. Murten said with a smile at Bug's commanding presence.

Bug released Jay from the hug as he said, "Let's get this done so we can all get something to eat."

Chapter 13: All That Jazz

The week before the national election the meeting of C.I.Y.O. Congress of International Youth Organizations was hosted by the Boy Scouts of America at Philmont Scout Ranch. Also for any interested attending groups a five day trail experience was offered. Only a few groups chose to extend their stays and take advantage of this.

After returning from the trail Tuesday afternoon the boys and adults enjoyed hot showers and hot meals provided by the mess hall. It was election day but there was very little discussion of politics. Before taps each unit had their laundry collected and it would be returned to the camps in the morning.

After breakfast Wednesday morning those attending, both youth and adult, made their way to the Trading Post. Everyone purchased a Philmont leather belt and a Philmont Tooth of Time belt buckle. The Scouts all purchased patches to collect and to trade and of course there were T-shirts, hats and other souvenirs. As usual the Trading Post was doing well in separating boys from their money, and everyone was perfectly happy.

The leader of a Boys' Brigade unit was in the office wearing his dress uniform, since after the trek it was the only clothing he had that was not in the laundry. The staff member behind the counter greeted him, "I hope your trek was enjoyable, we are not usually open at this time of year."

"Aye, It WAS wonderful. I think this is a great time of year ta be here. Not terribly hoot durin' the day, but a wee bit of chill at night. I'm glad we all had cold weather gear. The lads had a fantastic time. I'll be a bet'n they will want to return in the summer."

"I'm glad to hear that. But we have some bad news. It started after you were on the trail. Mr. Bryce was attacked Monday, but escaped and has won the election. Someone has hacked into the internet and the material released is terrifying. Children are disappearing and Gays are being targeted in particular, it seems. This morning Florida has gone silent, no news or phone service. There has been a power grid failure in Texas and Southern New Mexico and Arizona. We are getting conflicting reports and travel right now is risky.

The adult leader next in line sighed, "A little crazy doesn't begin to cover it."

"God help us," one of the adults with him murmured worriedly.

"Aye, Laddie, God Help us all." The Boys' Brigade leader said beside them. "I be Scott Montgomery, the leader of the Boys' Brigade from Edinburgh, Scotland."

One of the adults behind the Scout leader said, "The kilt was a clue."

"Aye, laddie, you got ta have the legs for it. We are well and truly stranded. Our flight has been cancelled, so we canna' get home. Me wee ones and staff are truly stranded and I canna' beam us up."

The American leader asked, "So have you made any plans?"

"Thought of heading to Mexico but that looks pretty risky. So the other choice is head for Canada. It's a long way, especially without transportation, but at least they speak English. As part of the United Kingdom, we should be able ta get home from there." Mr. Montgomery said.

The American leader asked, "How many in your group?"

"Seven lads, myself, and two other adults, so ten of us all total."

"We might be able to help you."

"I'll be here, canna' go anywhere else."

* * * * *

Minutes later, back in the Scout's camp one of the leaders took out his satellite phone and dialed.

"Eric? They have you answering the phones?"

"Bugging out? Is it that bad?"

"Okay, let me check on a destination. Go ahead and keep working. Keeping those kids safe is the number one priority."

"Yeah, You, too. Give my love to everybody. I'll get back to you."

He disconnected the call and went to talk to the other leaders. This looked bad.

* * * * *

"There's only about ten people in the dining room. Do you want me to ask them to leave?" Jim asked cautiously.

"No. But please let them know that we've been ordered to close the mission. If any of them need a box of food, clothing, or anything such as that, make sure that you give them as much as they can carry before they leave." Father Doherty said slowly.

"We have food boxes already made up that we give out to the needy, we'll be sure to offer those to anyone who is here." Father Kinsey said quietly.

Father Doherty nodded his agreement to the plan.

"I don't know who did the ordering for this place, but I'd sure like to shake his hand." Artimus said as he walked into the kitchen, followed closely by Gregory.

"That would be Father Kinsey." Father Franklin said with a smile.

Artimus walked to Father Kinsey and shook his hand firmly before saying, "Excellent job filling that pantry, Father. It's hard to believe that you didn't know something was coming, with the stockpile that you've got in there."

"Father Haslip was sometimes a bit... let's just say, negligent, when it came to paying our bills. I thought it best to keep a good supply of non-perishable foodstuffs on hand for the times when we were waiting for our 'billing problems' to be cleared up." Father Kinsey said shyly.

"So, food isn't going to be an issue?" Father Doherty asked hopefully.

"No. I think that I can safely say that we've got that covered." Artimus said happily.

"What else will we need to do before the bus arrives?" Jim asked as he looked around.

"I suppose that now would be a good time for everyone to gather their personal things." Father Franklin said hesitantly, then he looked around to see if anyone else had a better idea.

"Jim, why don't you and Father Franklin help our guests in the dining room. The rest of us can get our personal things together, then whoever is finished first can relieve you so you can have a chance to gather your own things." Father Doherty said decisively.

Everyone seemed to be in agreement and left the room.

Father Doherty looked at the two boys who were still sitting quietly at the table and smiled.

"Now I'm sure that the two of you could do with a good meal."

"We can wait, if you have other things you need to be attending," Art said cautiously.

"No. Not a thing." Father Doherty said as he walked out of the kitchen with a smile.

The boys sat silently, not knowing if they were supposed to be doing something.

Before either of them could think of what to do next, Father Doherty walked back into the room with two plates full of food.

"What would you like to drink?" Father Doherty asked as he placed the plates on the table.

"Anything will be fine." Art answered quickly.

"Is milk okay?" Father Doherty asked, as he paused at the refrigerator door.

Both boys nodded hesitantly.

Father Doherty took the milk from the refrigerator, then grabbed two large glasses from the cupboard as he walked back to the table. "Since we will be leaving soon, and the place is going to be closed, I thought it would be best to use up as much of the perishable things as possible. I know we are going to have the use of a bus, but I don't have any idea whether there will be any coolers or a refrigerator there. So go ahead and drink as much as you want."

After he poured the two glasses of milk, Father Doherty took a seat at the table and watched the two boys as they ate.

It took a few minutes before Euan noticed the priest watching them and looked at him inquiringly.

"I'm just trying to get a sense of what kind of help you boys are needing." Father Doherty said thoughtfully.

"The food and the shower is really enough." Euan said frankly.

Father Doherty looked at the boys for a moment longer, then nodded before standing.

"If you would like second helpings of anything, you may help yourselves. The serving line is just through that door. I'm just going to go and fetch my things. I only arrived last night, and haven't unpacked, so it should only take me a minute." Father Doherty said as he walked toward the door.

Neither boy said anything as they watched him leave.

* * * * *

Father Doherty smiled as he walked back into the kitchen and found that the boys had helped themselves to second helpings of lunch.

He set his luggage just inside the door as he said, "I just had a thought. I'm sure that we must have some sort of a clothes closet here. Since you didn't have anything with you when you arrived, why don't we go through what's on offer and pick you each out a few nice outfits, and you're going to need some good winter coats."

Both boys looked surprised by the suggestion.

"Before you can worry yourselves, this is a mission. What we give, we give freely and without any expectation of payment." Father Doherty said as he looked carefully at each boy, wanting to be sure that they understood.

"Thank you, Father." Art said as he met his gaze.

"I really should have thought to change clothes while I was back there. I'm not a priest anymore..."

"I realize that. But it has nothing to do with your official title, it's a token of our esteem. So long as you allow it, we will call you and the other former priests 'Father' to show our respect for all you." Art said seriously.

"For as long as you're willing to honor me with the title, I will proudly wear it." Father Doherty said reverently, then smiled as he added, "And it's good to see that although you're a bit bruised and battered, that your will has not been broken."

"If I'm understanding things correctly, I don't think that any of us has the luxury of being able to think that our fates are safe in someone else's hands. I will be strong because I have to be. The alternative is unacceptable." Art said frankly.

Father Doherty slowly nodded, then quietly said, "Still, I regret that you two can't have the opportunity to be carefree boys for just a while longer."

"Art was never carefree." Euan said playfully.

"Which is why I choose to share company with you. You counterbalance me." Art said to the boy at his side.

Father Doherty chuckled, he could tell that what he was seeing was part of an ongoing argument that the boys must have been teasingly fighting for years.

"If you're done eating, why don't we go exploring and see if we can find the clothes closet." Father Doherty said warmly.

"It's just down the hall. That's where we got these clothes." Euan said quickly.

"Why don't you show me?" Father Doherty said with a smile.

"What about these dishes?" Art asked as he stood.

"You can drop them in the bus tub in the window. That's where the dirty plates from the dining room will go, as well." Father Doherty said casually.

After the boys had dropped off their dishes, Father Doherty followed them out of the room to find them some more clothes.

* * * * *

"What's that knocking?" Father Doherty asked as he looked up from the wash sink.

"Probably someone at the front door. We locked it after the last of our lunch people left." Jim Borders said casually.

"We'd better go and see if it's someone needing our help." Father Doherty said as he quickly dried his hands on a dishtowel.

Art and Euan automatically got up from their place at the table and followed Father Doherty out of the room.

Father Doherty noticed, but didn't make any comment about it.

* * * * *

"Hello?" Father Doherty said as he carefully opened the inner door.

"I thought this was a mission! Why's the door locked? Is Eustis here?" A woman asked belligerently.

"Yes, he's here. Just a moment." Father Doherty said as he stood back and held the door open wide.

The woman stepped into the entry hall with a small boy holding her hand.

"I'm Father Doherty, I'm guessing that you must be Emmogene." He said pleasantly.

She looked at Father Doherty, then the two boys beside him before saying, "Yeah. If you and your boyfriends aren't too busy, could you take me to my brother?"

Before Art or Euan could react, Father Doherty gave a single nod and ushered her down the hallway, toward the kitchen.

As they walked, the little boy at Emmogene's side looked up at Father Doherty with wide eyes.

* * * * *

"There you are! Do you know what it's like out there? I swear to god, it's like all hell's gonna break loose any minute. You can cut the tension with a knife." Emmogene said as she ran to her brother.

"I'm glad you're here, Em." Father Franklin said as he held his sister tightly, then he noticed the child clinging to her leg and asked, "Who is this that you have with you?"

"Gunner." Emmogene said as she released the hug.

Father Franklin squatted down and smiled at the little boy as he said, "Hello, Gunner. I'm your Uncle Eustis."

The boy ducked behind his mother's leg to hide.

"So, Euey, what's the story?" Emmogene asked as she looked her brother in the eyes.

"All that stuff that Keith has been going on about since... at least as long as I've known him... it's true. It's happening... Now." Father Franklin said seriously.

"And you think that just because you said that you're sorry that me and my boyfriend are going to save you and your boys' club?" Emmogene asked frankly.

Father Franklin closed his eyes for a moment and might have been silently counting to ten, trying to compose himself. Whatever he did, it must have worked, because when he opened his eyes, he seemed to be completely calm and unruffled.

"There are three priests, including myself, six residents who have been staying here for various reasons, and these two young men, who have only just joined us this afternoon. If you and Keith would be willing to allow us to use your bus to travel to safety, we would be grateful. But if part of the price of your help is having to put up with your innuendo and disrespect, then I believe that I will have to decline." Father Franklin said carefully.

Emmogene stared at her brother for a moment, then broke into laughter.

"I've never been told to 'fuck off' so nice in all my life! God, Eustis! You grew a pair of balls! I never woulda bet on that happenin!" Emmogene chuckled.

Father Franklin's only response was to slightly blush as he waited for his sister to calm down.

"You knew before you joined up that I thought all priests were just a bunch of sanctimonious baby-rapers. Nothin's happened since then to make me think any different." Emmogene said frankly.

"We're people, Em. There are very bad people, just as bad as you imagine them. But there are good people, too. I promise." Father Franklin said gently.

Emmogene looked around the group before saying, "Whatever. But any of you lay a finger, or anything else, on Gunner, and I'll shoot your dicks off."

"You've mellowed with age." Father Franklin said with a smile at his sister.

"It's motherhood. It's made me all soft." she said with a shrug.

There was a long moment of silence before Jim finally asked, "So, are we going?"

"Sure. Everything's fine. Let's go out and see the bus so we can get to work." Father Franklin said happily.

* * * * *

Father Doherty had a boy under each arm as he stared up at the side of the bus in astonishment.

Artimus and Father Kinsey were side by side, and both seemed to be trying to speak, although no words were coming out.

"What does it mean, 'Lesbian Gravy'?" Ahmid finally asked hesitantly.

"That was the name of Keith's band. They broke up, but Keith got to keep the tour bus." Father Franklin said happily.

"And you want us to ride in it?" Jim slowly asked from Ahmid's side.

"That's the plan." Father Franklin said as he turned to look at the men with a slightly mischievous smile on his face.

"You want a group of priests to drive across the country in a bus that says 'Lesbian Gravy' on the side?" Jim asked even more slowly.

"It's a bus." Father Franklin said simply.

"This is what the good Lord has provided us. Let's be grateful for what we've been given and load it up!" Father Doherty said firmly.

Uncertain looks went around the group, but finally the men started to move into action.

"Boys, is there any way you could do me a big favor?" Father Doherty asked Art and Euan, who were at his sides.

"What can we do for you, Father?" Art asked immediately.

"As you know, Ahmid has a gunshot wound. Although he's in pain, he's still trying to do his part. Could you two sort of keep an eye on him and maybe encourage him to take breaks with you and keep him from overdoing it?" Father Doherty asked hopefully.

"Yes. It's good that you're respectful of his feelings. It would hurt his pride to be excluded from helping." Art said frankly.

"Exactly. Thank you, guys. I really appreciate this." Father Doherty said gratefully, then hurried away.

* * * * *

"Father, since the bus is so big and has so much cargo area, I was thinking that we can probably take most of the dry food with us. Of course, it'll take us a little extra time to load it, doing it this way, but at least we won't have to worry about leaving a bunch of food behind for no good reason." Artimus said frankly.

"Yes. Since the Lord provided all of this for us, we should make the best use of his gifts." Father Doherty said thoughtfully.

"If we're going to do this, we need to get started." Artimus said as he looked Father Doherty in the eyes.

"Then let's do it."

* * * * *

"Please get in and sit down, Father. You must be tired." Ahmid said, as Father Doherty slowly walked onto the bus.

"I think that's all of it." Father Doherty said as he walked to the nearest seat and collapsed. He was drenched in sweat and seemed to be nearly worn out.

"Did you get your own personal stuff, too?" Euan asked quietly.

"Yes. But could you go around and ask everyone else? I don't want to take the chance of anyone leaving their things behind." Father Doherty asked hopefully.

"Don't worry, Father. I'll take care of it." Euan said gently, then hurried off the bus.

Art sat down beside Father Doherty and quietly said, "Euan and I made sure that Ahmid didn't do too much. Harry was hurting, too. His back. He wouldn't stop working, but we talked him into cooking dinner, then got him on the bus."

"Thank you, Art. I know it may not seem like it to you, but you've been a tremendous help to me." Father Doherty said as he turned his head slightly and smiled at the boy.

"You're right. I don't see that I did much of anything, at least, not compared to you." Art said frankly.

"Because you were watching out for Ahmid and Harry, I was free to concern myself with other things and do what needed to be done. If it weren't for you, I would have had to divide my attention so that neither of them would overdo it and take the chance of further injuring themselves." Father Doherty said frankly.

"If we were any help at all, then I'm glad." Art said honestly.

"That's everything. I think we're done." Father Franklin said as he fell into the seat across the aisle from Father Doherty.

"Did you get all your personal things?" Art asked him gently.

"Yes. Euan just asked me about that a moment ago. All my things are in the boxes outside the lavatory at the end of the aisle."

"So, when are you guys planning on heading out?" Keith asked as he climbed onto the bus. The man had long hair in the back, something beyond the typical mullet and was dressed in dark jeans and a t shirt.

"As much as I would like to stop and rest for a while, we need to be going as soon as possible. You don't want to be in this neighborhood after dark." Father Franklin said honestly.

"Do you know who's gonna drive?" Keith asked seriously.

"I thought we'd take turns." Father Franklin said slowly.

"Can you even drive a car?" Keith asked with a laugh.

"Sure. I have a license." Father Franklin answered immediately.

"That's not what I asked. How long has it been since you've actually driven?" Keith asked seriously.

"Not since I got the license. I've never owned a car." Father Franklin said somewhat shyly.

"Yeah. Um, I don't want you driving this big ass thing through the city on MY insurance." Keith said honestly.

"Excuse me, but if you're talking about driving, you should know that as part of my military training, I learned to drive heavy equipment." Greg said as he sat forward, obviously not quite certain that he was following the conversation correctly.

Keith looked him over, then said, "I tell you what. I'll drive us out of Chicago and get us to the rendezvous point where everyone's meeting up. From there on, it's open road and I'll let you drive it."

"May God bless you, Keith." Father Doherty said warmly.

"Don't start with me!" Keith said firmly, then added, "I'm gonna let Emmogene know what's going on, then we can hit the road."

"I like him." Father Doherty said with a smile at Father Franklin.

* * * * *

"Hello? Excuse me?" an unfamiliar voice called from the front of the bus.

Father Doherty forced himself to stand and hurried forward.

"Yes. How may I help you?" Father Doherty cautiously asked the unfamiliar man.

"The mission over there is all locked up. I'm supposed to deliver something to one of the priests, there." the young man said seriously.

"I'm sorry, but the Church has closed the mission. Everyone from the mission is here on the bus. We're all just relaxing for a moment before we leave." Father Doherty said pleasantly.

"Wait. Are you Father Doherty?" the young man asked suddenly.

"Yes. I am." Father Doherty said cautiously, certain that he'd never met the man before.

"You're the one I'm supposed to deliver this to." the young man said as he took what looked like a cell phone with an enormous antenna out of his pocket and handed it to the father. Father Doherty absently noted that the phone seemed to be brand new and that there was a charger, bundled at it's side.

"What? From who?" Father Doherty asked with surprise.

"There's one number saved in the phone. Call it." The young man said simply.

"Wait! Who sent you?" Father Doherty asked quickly.

"When you make your call, make sure you tell Dax that Tony said 'Hi'." the young man said with a smile before turning and walking away.

Father Doherty watched for a moment as the young man walked down the block, then got into a very nice sports car and quickly drove off.

* * * * *

Alex Cappo sat alone in a very nice Italian Restaurant located on Chicago's North side. This restaurant only catered to those who had enough money, or power, to warrant their access to such an establishment. The fact that Alex Cappo, or Cappy as he was mostly called, owned the place, made it so that he could do as he pleased. Ordering the place closed so he could hold a meeting was one such privilege of ownership.

He lived a comfortable life, although it was actually two lives. He always liked to say that he was a real life superhero, he had his day life, or his Clark Kent life. But when that was over, he became Superman! Although few thought he was all that super.

His official life had him as the Chief of the Special Operations/Gang Unit. A job that he thoroughly enjoyed. The reason he liked it so much, was it played so well into his 'night life'. That of the head of the only remaining mob family left in Chicago. He took up where his great grandfather left off, and destroyed all the other families in the City.

But he didn't just stop at taking out the rest of the mob families. When he was done with that, he looked at what else was going on in Chicago, and targeted the street gangs; groups of thugs that simply liked to hurt people and enjoyed doing whatever they could to gain; whatever they could grab for themselves. When he moved into his position in the CPD Gangs Unit, there were over a hundred separate gangs. A number which Cappy knew was simply too large to be manageable. He started to use the police to target certain gangs, while using his 'other' assets to aid some of the others. Now, there were only nine gangs, and they all reported directly to him. Yes, Alex Cappo did what his great grandfather, the legendary Al Capone, could not. He truly made the city of Chicago his.

He smiled as he saw the first man enter the room. A smallish oriental man in his early thirties. He ran the North West side of the city, and ran it with an iron fist. He would be trouble for Alex, if Alex didn't have some very damaging information about the man. Information that they both agreed would be better off to keep quiet. "Mr. Cappo." The man said with a traditional bow as he stopped a few feet away from Cappy.

"Lin... Thank you for coming. Please have a seat, the rest should be arriving shortly."

"Yes sir." Lin said as he took a seat. "I saw Derrick outside; however, your security was taking their time making sure he had no weapons."

"I see." Cappy said with disapproval. It was not good form to bring a weapon to any meeting with Cappy, and Derrick knew it. He would have to reconsider who ran the South Side. Especially when the large man finally sauntered into the room, with his baggy jeans hanging below his hips. Cappy had a dress code, and they all knew it. For this man to break the dress code was the final nail in his coffin.

He didn't say anything right away, though, he waited as the rest of the leaders entered the room, all of them dressed more appropriately, before he began to get things underway. Most people would have thought bringing these eight men, and one woman into the same room would have created a bloodbath, but few people realized how things really worked. The gangs were there to do the grunt work, and to keep the citizens in place, not to mention keeping eyes off of what Cappy was doing. It worked brilliantly, especially when a gang war would erupt, or some drive by shooting happened.

In truth, though, the gangs often worked together, even though most of the gang members didn't know it. These people in the room knew to work together, and who to take their orders from. Each of them owed their lives and success to Cappy, and they knew it. Each of them controlled a section of the city, and made sure that what Cappy wanted to happen, happened.

Finally, he stood up and walked out from behind the head of the table. "Thank you all for coming, especially on such short notice." He started out. He chose to ignore Derrick's quiet comment about not really having a choice. "I am sure some of you have seen the news, and know what is happening in Washington DC. You also know by now that things are spiraling out of control. The information I have says that President Ashwood is not going to give up power, and will do whatever it takes to keep the office. I did not have any specifics of what he was planning, until I got a call from my son."

"And just what could that bastard boy whore of yours have to say..." Derrick snidely said, then looked around to see who would support him. No one did. When he looked back at Cappy, his face paled, as he was looking down the barrel of Cappy's silenced 9mm pistol. Cappy didn't say a word, and Derrick never got a chance. As soon as their eyes met, Cappy pulled the trigger, putting a bullet right between the man's eyes.

The two large men that were standing by the door, quietly moved over and pulled the body out of its seat, and dragged it out of the room. Two more men came in, and looked at Cappy. "Please ask Booker to join us. He is now running the South Side. Also, it would probably be nice to bring him up to speed on what his new role will entail."

One of the men silently left the room, as Cappy looked around at the people sitting at the table. "Does anyone else wish to insult my family?"

No one said a word, many of them simply shaking their heads in the negative. "Good. While we wait for Booker to get here, why don't we have some refreshments." On the cue, several waiters hurried into the room as Cappy retook his seat, and drinks were quickly brought for everyone.

Right as the main course was being served, another large black man walked into the room. He looked a little shaken up, and Cappy had to stop himself from smiling. He pointed to the seat next to the one that Derrick had been in, and Cappy saw Booker wince when he saw the blood spill on the seat. "Thank you for coming..." Cappy said with a small smile. "Would you like something to drink to go with your dinner?"

Not surprisingly, the man had little appetite, but did drink more than one drink, before dinner was over. Once the last plate was cleared, Cappy again rose, and started to pace while he spoke. "As I said before we were so rudely interrupted, it has come to my attention that President Ashwood has no intention of peacefully giving up the presidency, even though he soundly lost the election. My son has made his way to safety on the West Coast. It wasn't until he called me this afternoon, that I knew any details. The information that he has, says that President Ashwood has set up situations that will cause much death and suffering to happen all over the country, including our fine city. Personally, I don't care what he does in DC, but the moment that his actions cause issues to happen in MY city, I take exception to that. The information I have is that tomorrow there will be many engineered riots happening across the city, that will all turn violent, giving the President reason to send in military troops to quell the rioting. He then plans on not having the military leave, keeping the city completely under his control." He paused as he met eyes with everyone in the room. "That is NOT going to happen."

Silence reigned as Cappy took his seat again. "This is what I want you all to do. I want you to break out every weapon you have, I will open my stores as well, and make sure that everyone has everything they need. When the riots start to get violent, I want them shut down HARD and FAST. You'll be working with the cops on this one, so make sure your guys know that. If the Military starts to roll into your areas, I want you to call for help from the others, and take them out. Take as much equipment as you can, and if you have to, hit and run, then hit them again. This is our city, and NO ONE, not even the President of the United States is going to take it without one hell of a fight."

That got rousing agreement from everyone in the room, and once the noise quieted down, Cappy continued. "I also know that every one of you will want to try and get some people out of town. I am arranging for several buses to head to an evacuation point on the West Coast. I need several volunteers to go with them and help protect them. Let them know that when they get there, they are to follow my son's orders, just as if they came from me. If they do not, I will make sure they answer for it... personally."

As soon as everyone nodded, Cappy ended the meeting, and got back to work setting everything up that was needed. This was going to be a busy couple of days, and he had a lot to do to prepare.

* * * * *

"Everyone ready?" Keith called out as he climbed onto the bus and walked directly to the driver's seat.

"May God bestow His blessings and bounty upon you for the wonderful things that you are doing and have done for us, my son." Father Doherty said warmly.

"Would you cut the Christian voodoo thing? You're creeping me out." Keith said uncomfortably as he closed the door of the bus.

"As you like. Then I'll just say 'Thank you'." Father Doherty finished with a smile.

Keith looked at him uncertainly for a moment, then started the bus.

Father Doherty took a long moment to look at the phone still in his hand, then cautiously turned it on.

He glanced around to see that everyone was looking out the windows, back at the abandoned mission, and remembered his feelings from just the night before.

A smile crossed his face as he thought about the angry, defensive boy that had been in his care for months as he pressed the button to dial the only number stored in the phone.

After two rings, a voice answered, "Brown residence. Carson speaking."

Father Doherty was surprised by the young voice, and wasn't quite sure what to say. His uncertainty was obvious as he finally managed to stammer, "Hello. My name is Father Doherty. I was told that if I called this number, that I could speak to a young man named Dax."

"He's expecting your call. Just a minute." Carson said quickly, then the line went silent as he was put on hold.

"Is everything okay?" Art asked Father Doherty quietly from the seat behind.

"Yes. I think it is... or it will be." Father Doherty said with an assuring smile, then turned his attention back to the phone when he heard a voice.

"Father Doherty?" Dax asked hopefully.

"Dax? It's wonderful to hear your voice. How are you doing? Is everyone alright?" Father Doherty asked quickly.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Everyone's fine. There's just some big stuff going on and you really need to get out of Chicago." Dax said urgently.

"I am currently on a bus with all the priests and residents of my new mission, heading out of town." Father Doherty said calmly.

"That's good, but... you need to be careful. We've heard some stuff. The cops are stopping people on the main roads. And if any of you are on Ashwood's list, they'll arrest you." Dax said seriously.

"A list? What kind of list? Why would anyone want to arrest us?" Father Doherty asked with concern.

"The list has all kinds of people on it. Liberals, gays, people who contributed to Bryce's campaign... anyone they think will put up a fight. They're trying to take them out of action before they can organize and do anything." Dax said anxiously.

"There are only so many ways out of Chicago. I believe our only choice will be to trust that the good Lord will watch over us and provide for our needs." Father Doherty said with a note of concern under his words.

"You said that you're leaving. Do you know where you're going?" Dax asked quickly and seemed to be trying to change the subject.

"West. We're counting on the Lord to provide us a destination." Father Doherty said honestly.

"Kettle Falls, Washington. That's where we are... hold on. Zane looks like he's about to wet himself. Here, talk to him before he explodes." Dax said before there was a rustling on the phone.

"Dad? Is that really you?" Zane asked hopefully.

"Yes, son. You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear your voice and to know that you're safe." Father Doherty said warmly as his vision blurred with unformed tears.

"I love you, Dad. I don't remember if I said it before I left. I love you." Zane said urgently.

"I love you as well, my one and only son." Father Doherty said in nearly a whisper, then continued more strongly, "Tell me, how is everyone doing? Is Brother Jacques having any trouble? How are Jamiah and Loquicia? Is Ty getting along well?"

"Everyone here is fine. But we're all worried about you. You need to get out of Chicago. Bad things are about to happen, I mean, really bad. The phones were cut off between here and Chicago and the only way we could talk to you was because of Dax's dad." Zane said quickly.

"I had no idea..." Father Doherty said slowly as he began to realize the severity of their situation.

"We're in Kettle Falls, Washington. Please Dad, everyone is going to be worried about you until you're here with us." Zane said urgently.

"I don't know if our driver has other plans for our destination. We've only been concerned about getting out of Chicago and haven't discussed where we're going besides that. All I can promise at this point is that I'll try..." Father Doherty trailed off as he heard a police siren in very close proximity to the bus.

"What's wrong?" Zane asked quickly.

"I don't know. I think we're being pulled over. I'll have to call you back." Father Doherty said as he hurried to look around.

The looks of puzzlement and fear around the bus did nothing to reassure him.

"I love you, Zane. Now and always." Father Doherty whispered into the phone, then reluctantly turned it off.

* * * * *

"What's the problem, officer?" Keith asked as he opened the door of the bus.

"We're under orders to stop exiting traffic and detain suspected terrorists. If everyone will have your identification ready, we can have you on your way in just a few minutes." The officer said in a voice that held more than a little impatience.

"Yes... sir. We'll be happy to cooperate." Keith quickly said as he fumbled for his wallet.

As he waited, the officer stepped onto the bus and looked around curiously.

When his gaze stopped on Father Kinsey, the officer said, "It's you!"

As soon as Father Kinsey recognized the officer, he shyly asked, "Did you and your partner enjoy the coffee and donuts this morning?"

"They were great! Actually, they were the high point of a pretty awful day." The officer said frankly, then cautiously asked, "Where are you guys going?"

"The church instructed us to close the mission and turn all of our charges out into the street. We could not, in good conscience, do that. So we are setting off to the West, in hopes of finding a place where everyone can be cared for." Father Kinsey said carefully.

The officer stepped back off the bus and called to the squad car, "Steve! Bring Emo up here!"

Cautious looks flashed around the bus, but no one dared to speak.

The officer stepped back onto the bus and said in a low, firm voice, "Listen, guys. What's going on... it's bad. I don't know what happens to the people on that list when we turn them in, but I think it's safe to assume that it's not something good."

Everyone seemed to be frozen in place as they listened to the uniformed officer speak.

The uniformed officer from the car walked up the side of the bus, leading a black haired boy in cuffs.

"Steve's little brother, Emo, is on the list. We've been keeping him with us, hoping to find a way to keep him safe, but things are getting worse and worse. I hate to ask this of you, but could you take him with you?" The uniformed officer, Joe, asked hopefully.

"Yes. We would never turn our backs on a person in need." Father Doherty said immediately.

"What are you doing?" The boy, Emo, asked as he was led onto the bus.

"Give me your hands. You're going with them." Joe said as he took out his handcuff keys.

Emo looked around, then back at Joe with disbelief. "You said that I'm in all this trouble for being gay. Do you honestly think that sticking me on a bus full of Catholic priests is going to help with that?"

"I think that these are some good people." Joe said seriously.

"We can't keep you safe." Steve said from the first step of the bus. "This may be the only shot we've got at getting you out of here. You may be a moody little pain in the ass, but you're my brother and I'll do anything to protect you. Please, go with them."

"I'm sorry." The boy whispered.

"Don't be sorry. Be proud, be yourself, just like you've always been. But for right now just... be safe." Steve said seriously, then stepped back off the bus.

"You guys need to hurry and get out of here. Even though we haven't heard anything official, from the way things are looking, it won't be very long before ALL outgoing traffic will be stopped." Joe said seriously.

"Come here, young man, and take a seat." Father Doherty said as he gestured for Emo to come to him.

"Thanks." Joe said with obvious anxiety as he also left the bus.

"We good?" Keith asked as he looked into his mirror and was relieved to see Emmogene and Gunner in the truck behind them, waiting.

"Let's get out of here." Father Kinsey said solidly.

Keith nodded, then pulled them into traffic.

* * * * *

It had been less than twenty minutes since the traffic stop, and everyone had remained silent.

Too much was going on and emotions were running too high for anyone to feel much like talking.

Emo took the opportunity to look around and found that no one seemed to be paying him the least little bit of attention.

Even the priest next to him seemed to be lost in his own little world.

A honking horn caused nearly everyone in the bus to jump half out of their seats.

"Oh FUCK!" Keith gasped as he slowed the bus.

Everyone on the driver's side of the bus looked out and froze with fear when they saw the shotgun pointing out of the window of the car beside them. The person in the back of the car was gesturing for Keith to pull over.

Keith tried to keep his composure as he watched Emmogene drive past them in the fast lane.

"Guys! We're screwed." Jim said as he felt the bus coming to a stop.

"Trust in God. All will go according to his plan." Father Doherty called out, trying to reassure the others.

"Do you think his plan includes us having our brains splattered up and down the inside of this bus?" Keith asked as he opened the door to the man with the shotgun.

"Who's Father Doherty?" The pot-bellied man asked in a low voice.

After a moment to work up his courage, Father Doherty finally said, "I am."

"Jingo, Trav." The man said as he stepped back from the doorway.

A younger man and woman got on the bus. From the way that they were dressed, they were both obviously gang-bangers.

"You ain't gonna get much farther on your own, Father. Shit's gettin too bad out there. These two's been sent to ride along with you." The pot-bellied man said firmly, then walked away, back to the car.

"Get this thing moving!" The young woman said as she walked three rows back on the bus and dropped into the first available seat.

"Whatever you say." Keith said with astonishment.

"Don't be worried if, in a few minutes, you see a helicopter or two. There's a bad spot with the state police up ahead, and we're just kinda bein proof that you got a free pass outta here." The young man said as he remained standing, right beside Keith.

"We do?" Keith asked hesitantly.

"Don't ask me who, but you's got someone way high up watchin out fer yas. We's here ta prove that you's the ones not ta be fucked with." The young man said frankly.

"The Lord works in mysterious ways..." Father Franklin said uncertainly as he looked across the aisle at Father Doherty.

"Even so, this seems to be a bit of a stretch, even for him." Father Doherty responded slowly.

* * * * *

"I get the feeling that we're in a hurry. But I'm going to have to stop at that truck stop ahead, to fill up." Keith said to the man who hadn't left his side in the past half hour.

The man looked at the sign, then smiled as he said, "That's one of ours. No problem."

Keith glanced at him with surprise, but made no delay in taking the off ramp to take them to the truck stop.

* * * * *

"Oh God! Are you alright?" Emmogene cried as she ran to Keith and hugged him desperately.

"Everything's fine. It wasn't as bad as it looked." Keith whispered, then noticed that Gunner was hugging his legs.

"Come on up here, little man. How's my buddy doin?" Keith asked as he picked up his son.

"Mama was cryin." Gunner said with tears in his eyes.

"I know. Ain't nothin I can do 'bout that. But everythin's fine now." Keith assured his son and his girlfriend quietly.

"The truck's filled up, and I got you something to eat. Just in case... you survived." Emmogene finished in a whisper as her eyes filled with tears again.

"As bad as it looks, the truth is, these guys are helping us get out. From the looks of things, all the major throughways are being shut off, one by one. The guys who stopped us said that they can get us past some shit that's comin' up." Keith said honestly.

"Did they have to pull a shotgun on you?" Emmogene asked, switching immediately from fear to anger.

"I can't think of any way that I would have pulled over and let them on the bus if they hadn't done that." Keith said honestly.

"Problem." Jim called out from the side of the bus.

"What now?" Keith asked as he turned his attention to the man.

"I guess when we were making our plans, we didn't figure on the amount of weight we'd be carrying and how much it'd cost to fill up a bus..." Jim said reluctantly.

"How short are you?" Keith asked hesitantly.

"About a hundred bucks." Jim said regretfully.

"It's covered!" The young man, Trav, said as he walked up to the side of the bus.

"What? How?" Jim asked suddenly.

"It's all been paid for. Put your money away. Now get everyone loaded up. We ain't hit that road block yet, and I DO know it's gonna get worse 'fore it gets better." Trav said before walking to the front of the bus.

"Do you want for Greg to drive for a while? He said that he knew how." Jim asked Keith cautiously.

"No. There's too much crazy shit goin' on. I'd feel better if I was the one driving for now. Once we meet up with our people, then someone else can take a turn at driving." Keith said seriously.

"Do you mind if I drive ahead?" Emmogene asked her boyfriend quietly.

"From the sound of it, there's gonna be a roadblock before too long. It might be best if you stuck with us until then, so whatever help these guys can give us can help you out, too." Keith said seriously.

"Fine. Just... no more shotguns or police cars, okay?" Emmogene asked hopefully.

"I'll do my best." Keith said before giving her a kiss.

After a cuddle and a kiss for Gunner, Keith made his way back to the front of the bus to start the next leg of their journey.

* * * * *

"Holy shit!" Keith gasped as two helicopters flew over the bus, frighteningly close.

"How are you doing, Emo?" Father Doherty asked the silent boy at his side.

"What the FUCK is going on!?" Emo asked as he scrunched down in the seat to see the helicopters above them.

"I'm trusting that God has a plan, because everything seems to be going more and more out of my control." Father Doherty said frankly.

"Where are you taking me?" Emo asked as he finally turned his attention away from the helicopters.

"Kettle Falls, Washington... at least, that's where I'm hoping to go. As I said before, all of this is in God's hands right now." Father Doherty said honestly.

"Um, yeah. Whatever helps you sleep at night." Emo said before looking out the window again.

* * * * *

"Everyone, you might want to brace yourselves." Keith called out as he slowed the bus.

Those that had allowed themselves to relax suddenly became fully awake and looked ahead at the flashing police lights and the sea of stopped cars ahead.

"Pull into the fast lane." The young woman, Jingo, said as she moved to the front of the bus.

"Are you sure?" Keith said slowly as he saw that the police were guiding people to the right side of the road.

"Do it!" She snapped impatiently.

Keith, being conditioned to respond to Emmogene's voice, immediately did exactly as he was told.

As he began to slowly pull forward in the fast lane, he noticed that one of the helicopters was now nearly riding on top of the bus.

He quickly checked his rear view mirror to find that the second helicopter was directly above Emmogene, and she seemed to have a terrified look on her face.

A police officer that was standing in the fast lane before the bus, quickly moved to the side of the road, then started motioning for them to continue on.

The traffic jam that went on for over half a mile passed by outside the bus as they continued to travel toward the blockade at a slow, steady speed.

"You're going to need to stop up ahead." Jingo said seriously.

"Whatever you say." Keith said as he glanced in his rear view mirror again to check on Emmogene and Gunner.

After a few minutes of slow driving, Jingo finally said, "Stop."

Keith brought the bus to a full stop about fifteen feet from a collection of police cruisers blocking the interstate highway.

"Let me off." Jingo said as she walked toward the door.

Keith leaned over and opened the door for her, immediately.

Everyone on the bus watched as the young woman confidently walked to a small group of police officers who were gathered ahead of them.

Keith couldn't begin to guess at what she was saying to them when he was startled by the sound of a voice close to his ear.

"Get ready to go." Trav said firmly.

Keith put his foot on the brake and slipped into first gear.

Suddenly, Jingo ran back toward the bus and as soon as she was inside, she said, "Go!"

Keith began to inch the bus forward as the state police cars started backing out of the way.

Within a few seconds, the path was cleared out in front of them and Keith was guiding the bus through the tight channel of police vehicles.

In the rear view mirror, Keith could see that Emmogene was following, nearly on his bumper.

Just as soon as Emmogene was past the first of the cars, they began to move back into place, reinstating the barricade.

"They're not letting anyone else through, are they?" Keith asked in surprise as he looked at the vast blackness before him.

"Just you. And I suggest that you give it some gas before they change their minds." Jingo said seriously, then added, "They weren't very happy about receiving an exception to their very strict and straightforward orders."

Keith confirmed that Emmogene was still following closely behind before taking them up to regular highway speed.

A few minutes later, the helicopters gradually started gaining altitude and eventually they flew off to attend to other things.

* * * * *

"Well, that's it for our part." Trav said from his usual place, standing beside Keith.

"How do you mean?" Keith asked hesitantly.

"We was sent along to get yous guys past that roadblock. They's still a chance that somethin else'll come up soes we can help yas, but that's all we was told 'bout." Trav said frankly.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Father Doherty asked from behind Trav.

After turning to face him, Trav said, "You's not the only'uns wanting ta git outa Chicago. You's jes the first. We's supposed'ta ride along wit yous an when we gits ta where we's goin, we're s'posed ta make a place for our people. Jes 'cause we's leaving Chicago, don't mean that we stopped takin care of our own."

"Do you know where we're going?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"The plan is to go to a place called Kettle Falls, Washington. We were told that there's already someone there and that when we arrive, he'll tell us what to do next." Jingo said as she walked to Trav's side.

"I was also planning to go to Kettle Falls, that's where my son is." Father Doherty said thoughtfully.

"Son?" Emo asked from Father Doherty's side.

"Long story." Father Doherty said with a smile at the young man.

"Priests!" Emo said with a roll of his eyes, then looked out the window at the dark empty road ahead of them.

* * * * *

"I'm supposed to turn off up here, so we can meet up with the people from back home. Does anyone have a problem with that?" Keith asked as he looked mainly at Trav and Jingo.

"Do what you need to do. Just don't think about doing anything to keep us from getting to Washington." Jingo said firmly.

"No. There's just a group of us from back home, all the people who saw that something bad was coming. We decided to meet up here because there's strength in numbers." Keith hurried to explain.

"Yeah. Sounds good." Jingo said in a disinterested tone as she walked back down the aisle to take a seat.

"When we stop, Harry's made up a good dinner for everyone. He just didn't want to serve it while we were on the road." Art said loudly.

"That sounds like a very good idea. I'm quite hungry." Father Doherty said with a smile of appreciation at Harry, who was a few seats back, across the aisle.

"I hated the thought of leaving so much perishable food back at the mission, so the boys carried most of it onto the bus. While I cooked as much as I could to make a good meal for when we were ready to stop." Harry quickly explained.

"I'm sure everyone will enjoy it." Father Doherty said with a smile as he turned to face forward.

"Father." Trav said as he moved down the aisle to stand beside him.

"Yes?" Father Doherty asked curiously.

"'Fore I ferget, I was told ta tell yas that when we git ta Kettle Falls, you's s'posed to give the phone ta Dax." Trav said quietly.

Father Doherty looked up at Trav with confusion at the strange instruction.

"That's all I was told. I figured you'd know what they was talkin 'bout." Trav said honestly.

"Yes. I do... I just don't understand why." Father Doherty said frankly.

"It's not fer us ta understand. It's our job to do." Trav said simply before walking further down the aisle to find a seat.

* * * * *

"What the hell?" Keith said as he pulled off the road at a large rest area that was filled to beyond overflowing.

"Is something wrong?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"Only that there's about three times as many people here as there should be." Keith said as he surveyed the area cautiously.

A knocking on the door of the bus caused everyone to jump.

Keith looked carefully in the meager light, then smiled when he recognized the person.

As he opened the door of the bus he said, "Dougie, what's going on here? What the hell happened?"

"Did you hear about that big roadblock on the Interstate?" Dougie asked as he climbed aboard.

"Yeah. We just came from there." Keith said cautiously.

"Really? They're not letting anyone through. While we were trying to get out, we met up with lots of other people who were doing the same. Finally, we found a way to drive cross-country and avoid all the roadblocks." Dougie said excitedly, then asked, "How'd the old bus run. Did she give you any trouble?"

"She didn't miss a tick the whole way." Keith said happily, then noticed that everyone else on the bus was watching them.

"Guys, this is Doug. He used to be in the band with me."

"Hey." Doug said as he gave a slight wave, then turned to Keith and urgently said, "No one knows what we should do next. We can't stay here, with this many people, we'll run out of food in just a few days. Most of these people weren't prepared for anything like this. Some of them didn't bring any food at all."

"These guys have been told that there's a place for them in Kettle Falls, Washington. I know it's not much of a plan, but it's all we've got at the moment. If we get everyone on the road and head that way, we can check it out. If it's not doable, then we can stop there and figure out something else." Keith said frankly.

"It's better than anything else that we've come up with. I'd feel a whole lot better if we were on the move. We're still a little bit too close to Chicago for my comfort." Doug said frankly.

"I'm with you. We need to stop for a few minutes to have something to eat and to switch drivers, but we'll be ready to go before too long." Keith said seriously.

"I'll spread the word that we have someplace to go. By the time you're ready to leave, everyone else should be good to go. We're telling anyone with a CB to turn it to channel 14." Doug said frankly.

"Alright. Let's do it!"

* * * * *

When Keith had finished the meal that Emmogene had bought for him at the truck stop, he went back to the bus to confirm their travel plans. They were just starting to eat and Keith was surprised to discover that no one present had the slightest idea where Kettle Falls, Washington was, much less how to get there.

After a few minutes in his truck, he returned with an obviously well used road atlas. He was able to find Kettle Falls relatively easily, but the remainder of the meal was spent discussing which routes to take and which to avoid. There was also a brief discussion about driving straight through, but when Father Kinsey suggested that some of those in their caravan might have only one driver, no one pressed the matter any further.

After the meal was consumed and everyone had had a chance to walk around and get their circulation back, it was finally agreed that they were ready to hit the road again.

Keith walked Greg through the directions that they had decided on and made sure that he was comfortable before leaving to join Emmogene and Gunner in the truck.

"Are we ready to do this?" Father Doherty asked as he looked back into the bus of people. He felt that all of them were his responsibility, and yet, it was hard for him to accept that he hadn't known any of them for more than a day.

The looks of trust and anticipation that Father Doherty received as a response caused him to smile.

"I don't know what we're going to find ahead of us. But with trust in God and a reliance on each other, we will face what's ahead and strive to do His will." Father Doherty said peacefully.

A wave of calm assurance from those gathered made him certain that they were ready to get back on the open road.

* * * * *

As Greg pulled the bus away from the large rest area, he saw a string of vehicles, vans, trucks, buses and even some cars, streaming out of the lot, following behind him.

The road ahead was open to him and he felt nothing but peace as he led the way to, what he hoped would be, their promised land.

Chapter 14: Awakening

Once Ryan had led Ben and Dax out of Carson's bedroom, Deb immediately said, "There's a few things that I need to take care of right away. If anyone asks for me, let them know that I won't be long, but that I'm not to be disturbed."

Before Carson or Tommy could respond, Deb hurried out of the room.

"I've never seen anything freak Mom out before." Tommy muttered absently.

"That's not Mom freaked, that's Mom with the wheels turning. I bet that whatever she's doing that she says is so important... really is." Carson said as he looked at his brother.

After a moment to consider, Tommy nodded and said, "Yeah. I should've known better. Mom can handle just about anything."

Carson couldn't help but nod his agreement to his brother's statement.

* * * * *

After getting Oleksandr checked by the doctor, Ben made his way into the living room. He didn't really talk much to anyone. For the most part, he stood around, holding Oleksandr on his hip. But the feeling was somehow satisfying. Even without any interaction, he felt a part of everything that was going on.

When he saw Jay, Bug, and all the kids that had been with them come back into the living room, he felt a twinge of relief. None of them seemed to be nervous or upset, so the visit with Dr. Murten must not have gone too badly for them. He couldn't say that he was especially 'worried', but having an idea of what Jay's problem was made him feel a little sympathy for the boy and he was pleased to see that Jay was okay.

"Seeing as my daughter has seen fit to vanish, I suppose it's left to me to get everyone into the dining room. I'm sure you're all hungry by now. If you'll all make your way into the dining room, just over there, we can get started." Madelyn Murten said to the people in the living room.

Ben was one of the first to enter the dining room. He stopped just inside the door when he saw the size of the enormous room.

It took a moment for him to realize what he was seeing. At the far end of the room, he could see the doors of the bedrooms on the first floor of the big house.

Apparently, the wall between the dining room in the main house and the big house had been removed or folded away, or something, causing the two, already large, rooms to be combined into one incredibly massive room. And a third enormous table had been brought in to provide ample seating for everyone.

"Where do you want to sit, buddy?" Ben whispered to the boy in his arms.

Oleksandr considered for a moment, then released his grip with one hand and pointed to a place about halfway down the distance of the cavernous room.

"Sounds good to me." Ben said as he started to walk.

Dax was only a few steps behind, and also seemed to be in awe of the enormous space.

"Is this one alright?" Ben asked as he selected a chair at the center table.

"Yeah." Oleksandr whispered.

Ben pulled out the chair and automatically shifted Oleksandr around to sit on his lap.

Dax immediately followed and started to sit in the chair next to him when Oleksandr quietly asked, "Dax, would you sit there?"

Dax saw that Oleksandr was pointing to the next chair in the line and hesitantly said, "Sure, Olex. Whatever you want."

Once Dax was seated, Oleksandr slowly and carefully let go of Ben, then climbed down off his lap.

Ben held his breath as he watched Oleksandr climb onto the chair between him and Dax.

He didn't want to make a big deal of the action, but was fighting down tears as he realized that Oleksandr's choice to sit by himself was a very real indication that he was healing.

Oleksandr turned to Ben and quietly asked, "Don't leave me, okay?"

"I'll be right here for as long as you need me." Ben promised as one of the tears he had been fighting let loose down his cheek.

"Way to go, Olex." Dax said happily as he leaned over and gave Oleksandr a hug.

* * * * *

Just as he was leaving his office, the phone started ringing.

"Brown Residence. Ryan speaking."

After a moment of listening, Ryan quietly asked, "So what is happening there?"

"Oh, Yeah, really?"

"Think you could make it to Kettle Falls?"

"The sooner you can get here the better. I'll be sure to have everything set up for you."

"Hey, what are friends for? What about the others?"

"Tell them to come here, too."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing you again, too."

As Ryan hung up the phone, he paused for a moment to take a deep breath and try to clear his mind.

Once he felt a little bit more stable, he hurried out of his office to join the family meal which was probably already in progress.

* * * * *

"Well, it seems that my daughter isn't the only one to have abdicated their responsibility today. My son-in-law has also seen fit to be absent while his guests sit down to their first meal together." Dr. Murten said to the people who were finding their seats.

"For those who haven't met me, my name is Fred Murten. Madelyn and I are Debra's parents, and it appears that we're your hosts, somewhat by default. Just so you know, I am a doctor, a general practitioner. Helping people gives me a purpose. Don't worry about feeling you're inconveniencing me at any time, this is what I do. So, please, come and see me if you have any medical concern, no matter how minor."

Ben was surprised to feel a hand on his arm.

He turned to see Oleksandr looking at him anxiously.

"How you doing, Buddy?" Ben asked gently.

"Okay. I just... I needed to feel that you were there." Oleksandr said timidly.

"That's fine. I'm going to stay right here until we're both ready to leave." Ben assured him.

Oleksandr nervously smiled as he continued to hold on to Ben's forearm.

* * * * *

"Do you want for me to go get Carson and remind him to eat?" Mikey asked his grandfather in a teasing tone.

Before Dr. Murten could answer, Deb strode into the room at a deliberate pace and emphatically said, "He's in the middle of something. I'm sure he'll come in on his own in a few minutes."

Max looked up at the sound of her voice and watched Deb carefully.

Mikey looked strangely at his mother and she noticed. "Sorry, I guess Carson's little production got to me more than I realized. I'm sure he will be in as soon as he's finished what he's working on."

She then turned her attention to the rest of the room and said, "As soon as everyone's seated, dinner will be served."

Those few who were still standing took that as their cue to move to the nearest unoccupied seat and claim it, looking to be something like an elaborate game of musical chairs.

"You didn't start without us did you?" A voice called from the doorway.

"I didn't know you were coming, but with as much food as we're about to set on the table, I should have known. Please come in, there's plenty of room." Deb said cheerfully, then said to the rest of the room, "Everyone, this is Karl. My boys call him Uncle Karl. And the young men with him are Jared and Seth."

Dax's eyes went wide as his mouth went dry at the sight of Jared. He had never, in all his life, seen such a vision of male perfection in the flesh.

Karl led his boys into the room and they filled in, where there were available seats.

"Sorry about that. I had to make some calls." Ryan said as he rushed into the room.

"It's fine. We haven't started yet." Deb assured her husband.

Ryan looked up and down the massive room for a moment, then quietly said, "I think we're all here, but with this many people, it would be easy to miss someone. Would you all please look around and see if anyone's been forgotten?"

"Karl, I'm glad you made it. We're going to have some things to talk about after dinner." Ryan said pleasantly.

After a few minutes to see if anyone had been forgotten, Ryan stood and said, "Before we begin, there's just one thing I want to be sure to let all of you know. You're welcome here. You are our guests. If there's anything you need to be more comfortable, please let me or one of my family know and we'll do our best to provide it for you."

Once he had seen that the message had been received, he continued, "It's our tradition that when we have guests, that we all have dinner together. Those of you in the big house and in the guest houses, all your kitchens have been fully stocked with food, so you can prepare breakfast and lunch for yourselves and spend time with your own families. But each night we will have prepared a meal for everyone, and you're all invited."

Mr. Crante and the maids each walked into the room pushing carts heavily laden with food.

Each one went to a different table and began to place the platters and bowls in the center.

"Go ahead and help yourselves. We don't stand on ceremony around here." Ryan said to the group, then suited actions to words as he took two slices of roast beef from the platter before him.

When Mr. Crante and the maids had finished unloading their carts of food, they left the dining room, and returned with even more.

All the guests were amazed by the amount of food being placed before them.

"How you doing?" Ben asked Oleksandr gently.

"Can I have some of that?" Oleksandr asked as he pointed to a large bowl of green beans that was well out of his reach.

"Sure, I'll get it for you." Ben said as he automatically stood and picked up Oleksandr's plate.

After he had put a decent sized portion of green beans on the plate, he turned back to find Oleksandr looking at him adoringly.

Ben was taken aback by the expression. The look in Oleksandr's eyes wasn't gratitude for helping him. It was, as if, by the simple act of putting food on Oleksandr's plate, Ben had just proved to Oleksandr that he loved him.

Without thought, Ben leaned in and gave Oleksandr a hug to express the emotions he didn't have words for.

When Ben finally released the boy, he sat and saw that Dax was watching him. The expression that Dax wore told Ben that the young teenager understood exactly what he was feeling.

* * * * *

Carson rolled into the room and around the tables, automatically going to the place where his family was already seated.

There was a place already set for him that didn't have a chair.

"Is everything alright?" Bug asked as he watched Carson carefully.

After a moment to consider, Carson looked around the room and said, "I was on the underground Net just now and, I heard an announcement about the stuff that's going on. It's nothing we don't already know except for one thing."

Carson paused and looked around at all the people in the dining room before continuing, "Basically, what it said is that people need to fight what's happening, but they also need to protect themselves. If it turns out that they're in a position where they can't fight... then they should go to Kettle Falls, Washington."

"Holy Shit!" Bug exclaimed.

"Seriously? They're telling people to come here?" Ken asked as he looked around.

"Tommy, I know that you've been making plans to take care of... refugees... I guess. What do you think?" Ryan asked as his mind seemed to be racing.

"I don't know... I've got a lot of stuff going on, and so far, there haven't been any problems. But... I don't know... I mean, how many people are we talking about?" Tommy asked in a small voice as he looked around.

"Thousands... at least." Karl said absently.

"Yes. But not all at once." Deb interjected. "Tommy's done a great job of preparing for the first wave, but all of us need to commit to doing all that we can to help these people, or this could easily end up being a nightmare of disease and starvation."

Everyone around the table was silent in shock at the blunt prediction, but also knew that as harsh as it seemed, it could very well come to fruition.

"So, Tommy, tell us again about what you've been doing, so everyone knows what's going on." Ryan encouraged his son.

"Um, yeah. Okay... I did some checking on Carson's computer and accidentally found some stuff that told me that things might get really really bad. So, just to be on the safe side, I called Uncle Karl and showed him what I found, and he said that he'd get the campground ready for full occupancy. I called, well, pretty much anyplace in Kettle Falls or Colville that rented rooms and told them that we were going to have a conference and to be ready for all their rooms to be rented out, and that all of them should be treated as our special guests. That doesn't mean that they'll stay for free, but if anyone has any problems, the management will contact us instead of kicking them out or calling the cops or whatever." Tommy said in a rush.

Karl jumped in as Tommy took a breath. "I also made a few calls about the new community development and, it took some doing, and it's not going to be cheap, but by this time Friday, every one of those 1,200 vacant homes will have all the utilities turned on and be ready for occupancy."

Tommy nodded, then said, "Which leaves us with the problem of feeding so many people."

Everyone around the tables had been looking from Tommy to Karl as they spoke and couldn't think of a thing to add to their conversation.

"We've contracted with a food distributor out of Idaho to deliver several truckloads of food to the factory warehouse. Since the factory hasn't started production, it's an ideal space, except for the fact that there's no refrigeration. So far, we've only ordered dry goods. We figure that when the trucks start arriving... probably tomorrow morning, that we'll unload them and store as much as we can as quickly as possible. When the warehouse is full, then we'll have the truckers drop their trailers." Karl said seriously.

"And I've got an order in with a produce supplier in Oregon. He's waiting for my call, and as soon as Monday, he can have a truckload of fresh produce on the way to us, and another arriving every other day. I figure that since we don't have a place to store it, that we'll do something like a farmer's market and let everyone take it home as soon as it arrives." Tommy said as he looked around.

"Why can't you get the produce locally?" Ryan asked curiously.

"Because it's cheaper this way. I did some checking and it would have been the same produce, but just with the local supplier's costs tacked on the top." Tommy said honestly.

"Who's paying for all of this?" Reginald asked cautiously.

"Right now, I am." Ryan said frankly. "I'm financing this initial outlay of cash to prepare for something that we believe is coming. If I'm wrong, well, it looks like me and my children... and maybe even my grandchildren, won't have to go shopping for dry goods for the rest of our lives."

There was a little chuckle at the statement.

After a moment, Ryan continued, "If what we anticipate does happen, and it's looking more and more likely that it will, then a few of my business partners and I are going to establish a charitable trust to handle the finances. Accounting isn't my forte, but I have business associates who can make sure that every dollar donated will be put to good use."

"If you've got all these campgrounds and houses and rooms to rent... why are we staying here with you?" Bug asked curiously.

"Honestly, because no one had even considered anything about the campgrounds or the vacant housing before you contacted Carson." Ryan said frankly.

"And because you guys saw it coming, we need you here where the plans are being made." Carson took up where his father left off, in almost exactly the same tone of voice. There was no doubt in that moment that they were father and son and in tune with each other.

There was a lull in the conversation, so Deb looked around and asked, "Does anyone have any questions for us?"

"Yes." Doris Teeter said nervously, then seemed to regret having spoken.

Deb smiled at her and nodded her encouragement.

Doris responded with a nervous smile, then quietly said, "Marcus and I talked to our daughter on the phone, just after we arrived. I didn't realize the scale of what was going on, I thought it was just something to do with Orlando... anyway, I didn't think it would be a problem to invite them to visit..."

"I don't see any reason why it would be a problem. In fact, I'm sure we could even find a place for them if they'd like to stay for the weekend." Deb said pleasantly.

"The Teeters are staying in a guest house, so they would probably have enough room for their family to stay with them, if that's what they wanted." Tommy said seriously.

"Oh, that works out perfectly." Deb said with a smile, then looked back at Doris and continued, "When you talk to your daughter, you be sure to tell her that she's invited to visit here as often, and for as long as she wants."

"Thank you. I will." Doris said in wide eyed surprise.

Deb smiled at the reaction, then went back to enjoying her dinner.

* * * * *

"Dad, I was thinking about it and, since Carson's accident, none of us has really used the playroom. Would you mind if we put some beds up there?" Tommy asked his father more or less casually.

"Why? Are we running short of space? Is someone doing without a room?" Ryan asked with concern.

"Sort of. Mikey wanted to have someone share his room, so I put Ty in with him. But I was thinking that, if Ty ends up wanting his own room, you know, to have some privacy, he could have the playroom." Tommy explained.

"What about Carson's old room?" Ryan asked slowly.

Tommy immediately shook his head, then said, "No. That's Carson's."

"All my stuff is in my new room. It's stupid to have a big empty bedroom upstairs when there's someone needing a place to sleep." Carson said frankly.

"I've got a place to sleep." Ty spoke up. "Tommy showed me the bunk bed in Mikey's room. It's probably as nice as any bed I've slept in my whole life."

Tommy looked down the table and smiled at Ty, then said, "I promised you that if you weren't comfortable staying with Mikey for any reason, that I'd find you another place. That's all this is."

Ty nodded that he accepted the answer, then turned his attention to the last of the food on his plate.

* * * * *

As Carson was eating, his cell phone suddenly started ringing. He normally would have turned his phone off during dinner, but with the way things were going, he didn't want to take that chance.

It took him two rings to get the thing out of his pocket and opened. Finally he said, "Brown residence. Carson speaking."

People all around the dining room were watching as Carson listened.

"He's expecting your call. Just a minute." Carson said, then hit the 'flash' button on the phone.

"Would you hand that down to Dax?" Carson asked as he leaned forward and scooted his open phone across the table to Hank.

Hank looked up and down the table until he spotted Dax, at the next table over.

The phone was passed from person to person until it finally ended up in Dax's hand.

"Push 'flash'" Carson said when he saw Dax's look of confusion.

Dax pushed the button, then put the phone to his ear.

There was a spark of excitement in his eyes, then he quickly said, "Father Doherty?"

Zane, who hadn't really been paying attention, looked up suddenly.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Everyone's fine. There's just some big stuff going on and you really need to get out of Chicago." Dax said quickly.

Zane got up and hurried around the table to be at Dax's side.

"That's good, but... you need to be careful. We've heard some stuff. The cops are stopping people on the main roads. And if any of you are on Ashwood's list, they'll arrest you." Dax said seriously.

Zane tried to wait patiently, but couldn't help bouncing a little with anticipation.

"The list has all kinds of people on it. Liberals, gays, people who contributed to Bryce's campaign... anyone they think will put up a fight. They're trying to take them out of action before they can organize and do anything." Dax explained, trying to convey the urgency in his voice.

Unable to wait any longer, Zane put a hand on Dax's shoulder, to let him know that he was there.

Dax brushed the hand away as he said, "You said that you're leaving. Do you know where you're going?"

Zane was bouncing again, and was contemplating just snatching the phone out of Dax's hand.

"Kettle Falls, Washington. That's where we are... hold on. Zane looks like he's about to wet himself. Here, talk to him before he explodes." Dax was able to say before Zane took the phone.

"Dad? Is that really you?" Zane asked quickly, and Dax could see the tears already sliding down his cheeks.

Zane turned and started walking for the door as he said, "I love you, Dad. I don't remember if I said it before we left. I love you."

Silence filled the room as Zane walked into the hallway to complete his call in private.

* * * * *

When the silence seemed to have stretched on too long, Deb decided to try and spark up conversation by talking to the person across from her.

"I'm sorry that I haven't had the chance to get to know everyone, yet. Things have been sort of crazy, as you've seen. I'm Debra Brown."

"That's quite alright. My name is Geraldine Shoupe, although my grandsons Bug and Lawrence have most people calling me Oma."

Deb smiled warmly at the woman and asked, "Who are your grandsons?"

"My grandson Lawrence is here next to me with his boyfriend, Roris. My other grandson, Bug, is at the end of the table between his boyfriends, the twins, Ken and Kev."

Deb looked at Lawrence and was surprised at how handsome the young man was, then she looked down the table at Bug. Finally, she said, "You have some very handsome grandchildren, you must be very proud."

"They're the joy of my life." Oma Shoupe said tenderly.

"I'm sure we're going to get along well. With you being able to accept your grandsons' sexual orientations, it shows me that you're a person of admirable character." Deb said with a smile at the elderly woman.

"I came to my understanding later in life. I was never really unaccepting of gays, but you have to understand that when I was your age, if someone had thought that I endorsed homosexuality, I would have been dragged to the town square and burned as a witch." Oma Shoupe said frankly.

"How old are you?" Walter asked from Reginald's side.

"Not that old, but I was raised in Ohio... they can be a little backward." Oma Shoupe said as she looked at the man.

"I've been to Ohio, briefly... I understand." Walter said with a sympathetic smile.

The maids walked into the room and started clearing away the empty dinner plates as Mr. Crante pushed a cart of already plated desserts into the room.

"It looks like it's time for dessert. We should have something for everyone. Just take what you like." Deb said to the room.

Once the maids had cleared the plates away, they returned with a cart of desserts each.

* * * * *

While people were making their dessert selections, Zane walked back into the room and directly to Carson.

"Thank you." Zane said quietly as he handed Carson his phone.

"How is Father Doherty?" Brother Jacques asked anxiously.

Zane turned to him and gave a reluctant smile before answering, "He said that he's fine and that he's already on his way out of Chicago. He wasn't sure where the bus was supposed to be going, but he's going to try to get here."

"That's good news. So what's got you so worried?" Brother Jacques asked cautiously.

"When I was talking to him, I heard a siren. He said that the bus was being pulled over." Zane said as he took his seat, next to Brother Jacques.

Silence fell over the gathering except for the sounds of desserts being handed out.

* * * * *

"Forgive me for asking, but who is Father Doherty?" Ryan asked cautiously.

"My father." Zane answered immediately.

Ryan looked at Zane with confusion.

Ben smiled at the expression, and decided that he should explain.

"Father Doherty is a priest who worked at a rescue mission in Chicago. As far as we can tell, a long time ago, before he joined the priesthood, he was in love with Zane's mom. They never married and she never told him that she was pregnant, so eventually he became a priest and has been working to help people ever since. When everything started going crazy in Orlando and all my family were heading for the hills... literally... I decided that it was the perfect time to go get Zane and try to find his father." Ben said pleasantly, then stopped to marvel at the fact that it had only been two days since he and Zane had met each other face to face.

Brother Jacques noticed Ben's distraction and decided to take up the narrative. "These guys showed up at our rescue mission looking for Father Doherty, just when we were trying to figure out where we were going to go, since the mission was being closed. Father Doherty was reassigned, but all the kids that we've been taking care of were just supposed to be thrown out into the street."

"Officially, we were supposed to take them to Child and Family services, but it ends up being the same thing." Ken interjected.

Brother Jacques nodded, then continued, "We knew we had to take care of the kids, but we didn't have any idea of where to go. I mean, there's a lot of sick people out there that get their jollies out of hurting people. All they need is an excuse, to give them permission. A kid being too swishy or gentle or who's obviously attracted to the wrong gender, that's all they need."

Brother Jacques seemed to be getting choked up, so Kev continued on for him, "When Ben and Zane showed up. We told them all of this and, like magic, Zane says he knows someone who can probably help."

Zane smiled, he honestly hadn't seen his contribution being that important.

"I guess you know the rest. Zane contacted Studmffn... and here we are!" Ben finished with a smile.

"I'm so glad that Carson was able to help. I think that he did a very good thing in bringing you here." Ryan said as he looked from Ben to Zane.

"Well, we're really happy to be away from Chicago, but from what Carson's said, there might actually be stuff that we can do to help. If there's really any way we can help you, to help people, then we're glad that he brought us here, too." Ben finished with a smile at Carson.

"I remember Carson telling us that there were two groups. How did the other one come to be with us?" Deb asked as she looked around the room.

"Bug is the one who needs to tell you." Oma Shoupe said as she looked down the table at her grandson.

All those who knew Bug, looked at him expectantly.

Bug looked around, then down at his empty dessert plate without saying a word.

Bax got up from his chair and walked to Bug's side and whispered to him.

Bug shook his head, but Bax kept on prodding until Bug finally whispered something in return.

Bax looked around and said, "Bug doesn't want to say it in front of everybody, because he's afraid he'll say it wrong... and because he says 'fuck' a lot."

Bug heard a few chuckles and decided that, as much as he didn't want to, that he should go ahead and tell their hosts why he and his family were there.

"I guess it started when I was walking home from school. I had to stop at the store to get something for dinner, because we were out of pretty much everything. When I came out of the store, two young guys..." Bug paused, then pointed at Bax and Ro before continuing, "These two. They stopped me outside the store and asked me if I would give them some food."

Curious looks went around the table, but no one spoke.

"I would have, but I didn't really have anything they could eat without cooking it. I was in a pretty bad mood from school and, well, I guess I wasn't too nice to them, but still, I invited the guys to come to my place and have dinner with me and my family." Bug said thoughtfully.

"The way he swore and with his long hair, I didn't know if we went to his house, if anyone was ever gonna see us alive again." Bax added seriously.

Before Bug could respond, Ro added, "But we hadn't had any real food since the CPS kicked us out of the group home. We were so hungry... there wasn't anything else we could do."

Reginald was sitting next to Ro and put an arm around him to comfort him.

"Yeah. So, I made us dinner, then Oma Shoupe told us what had happened to President Bryce. That got me to thinking about what else might happen and I decided to check on some things... I guess I can talk about it here. I wanted to check on the underground Net to see how bad things really were." Bug said distantly.

"Yeah. And he was also gonna fix it so Ro could talk to his dads." Bax interjected.

Bug smiled at Bax and reached an arm out, pulling him into a hug before continuing, "When I realized what was going on around the country, I got worried. But when I saw what was going on around Orlando, I got scared. I'd heard about the government having lists of people and there was no way that me and my whole family weren't on those lists. When the shit hit the fan... um, sorry... when things went bad, I figured they'd be on our doorstep first thing, day one."

Everyone was riveted to Bug's telling of the story.

"That's when I called Studmffn and asked for help. I didn't really know if there was anything he could do, but I was out of other options. I hoped that he might at least be able to put me in touch with someone who could do something to get us out of there." Bug said honestly.

"I'm glad you called. From the little time that we've worked together, I can already tell that you're going to be a great help... in fact, you already have been. You need to show me how you were able to re-establish that video feed when everything was blocked." Carson finished with a smile.

"Fuck! That was nothing." Bug chuckled, then realized what he'd said and sighed, "Shit! I almost made it without saying it."

Several laughs sounded around the room, then Ryan said, "If we're all done with dinner, might I suggest that we adjourn to the living room. I think with all the traveling and dramatic events of the day that all of us could do with a relaxing evening."

"Of course, we have the great outdoors available for the younger ones who might like to go out and play, and if you're needing some time to be alone and process all of what you've been through today, you all have rooms where you can go and relax, if you'd rather." Deb added as she looked around at her guests.

"If we go in there, will there be coffee?" Jeremy asked playfully, with Hank at his side.

"I think that can be arranged." Ryan said with a chuckle.

"That's all I'm needing." Jeremy said as he stood, then offered his hand to help Hank to stand.

Everyone watched the couple walk out of the room, then others slowly started to rise.

* * * * *

"You got a problem?" Bug asked when he noticed that Bax was watching him.

"No. Do you?" Bax asked in return.

"What do you mean?" Bug asked cautiously.

"Are you alright? I know you didn't want to talk and stuff, but out of everyone from Orlando, you were the one who knew what was going on." Bax said frankly.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks for giving me a push. It was the right thing to do." Bug slowly admitted.

"So, we're okay?" Bax asked hopefully.

"We're good. Why don't you go hang out with Ro and Max and have some fun?" Bug suggested with a grin.

Bax gave Bug a long, considering look, then said, "Okay. Just remember, I got your back, Bug."

"I'll remember." Bug said as he fought to maintain a serious expression.

* * * * *

"We had a talk with Bug, earlier." Reginald said gently.

Ro looked up at him uncertainly. He couldn't begin to imagine what Bug might have said to them or how they'd react.

"He pointed out to us that you're growing up." Walter said softly.

Ro hesitantly nodded in agreement.

"We love you, Ronan. Please, don't ever doubt that. We weren't ever trying to embarrass you or keep you from joining in with your friends, we were just trying to protect you... well, at least the you that you were before you left." Reginald said gently.

"It's okay, Pop. I still love both of you. You just pissed me off." Ro said frankly.

"Although I think your friend Bug is a very wise young man, that doesn't mean that it's acceptable to talk like him." Walter said sternly.

Ro seemed to be about to respond, then really thought about what he was going to say.

Both his parents watched and waited.

"If you really REALLY think it's that big of a deal, I'll try not to use that language. But I'd really like it if, when it's just us, if I could say what I'm feeling." Ro said with a little frustration under his words.

"How so?" Walter asked curiously.

"I'd like to be able to tell you about the bitch at the CPS who threw us out on the street and kept all our stuff. I'd like to be able to complain to you about the asshole in the White House who makes it so I can't live with my dads. I don't want to talk that way all the time, but sometimes those are the words that say what I mean." Ro said with tears of frustration welling in his eyes at his inability to articulate what was burning inside him.

Reginald and Walter shared a long look. It was Reginald who gave a slight nod, signaling for Walter to make the decision.

"Very well, Ronan. Although I don't normally approve of such language, I won't scold you if you should occasionally use it in our company, when you're trying to express yourself. But if I find out that you're swearing around other people, I will be very disappointed." Walter finished sternly.

Ro thought about it, then asked, "How about if I don't swear louder or more than the people who are around me? Would that be okay?"

Reginald and Walter shared another look before Walter said, "I think that sounds fair."

"Thanks. I love you. Both of you." Ro said as he rushed forward and pulled both his fathers into tight hugs.

"Bug said that if we wanted to hang out, now would probably be a good time." Bax said hesitantly as he approached.

"Is that okay?" Ro asked his parents hopefully.

"Yes. But if you're going to be leaving this part of the house, let us know where you're going to be." Walter said seriously.

"I will. I promise." Ro said happily before rushing away to join Bax.

"We just gave him permission to swear in front of us." Reginald said with a sideways look at his partner.

"We either did something very good, or very bad, just now. I suppose that only time will tell." Walter said in resignation, then put an arm around Reginald's shoulders to hold him in a loose hug.

* * * * *

When Ro and Bax finally found Max, they felt immediate sympathy for her.

She was with Lucas and Gordon, and obviously bored half out of her mind.

"Would it be okay if Max hung out with us for a while?" Bax asked as he approached.

"What will you be doing?" Lucas asked cautiously.

"Hanging out." Bax responded immediately.

Lucas seemed to consider for a moment before breaking into a smile.

"Would you like to go with your friends and have a good time?" Lucas asked her in a slow, steady voice.

Max slowly nodded.

"Then come here." Lucas said as he leaned down and pulled her into a quick hug.

"We'll be right here if you need us for anything." Lucas whispered to her, then released the hug as he stood.

"Have fun." Gordon said as he also hugged the young girl.

"Great! Come on! I want to check this place out!" Bax said as he dashed away.

Ro and Max followed along with huge smiles on their faces.

* * * * *

As Bug and the twins were walking around the living room, Oma Shoupe called out, "Bug! Could you come over here for a moment?"

Bug turned and saw Oma Shoupe and Dr. Murten sitting in some comfortable chairs.

"Fred and I got onto the topic of medications and I was wondering if you would be able to tell him what medications I've been taking. You've been taking care of it for so long that I've honestly lost track of what all of it is." Oma Shoupe said frankly.

"I don't think I could remember it all, either. But I've got it all written down. Give me a second and I'll get it for you." Bug said before hurrying away. Ken and Kev were only a step behind as they followed him.

"He's such a good boy. I'm so blessed to have him watching after me in my twilight years." Oma Shoupe said in an adoring voice.

"Geraldine, you wouldn't believe some of what I've seen as a doctor. You're right, you've been incredibly blessed." Dr. Murten said frankly, then his expression turned curious as he looked away.

Oma Shoupe followed his gaze and found him watching a thin young man with hands that were trembling uncontrollably.

"I don't recall seeing anyone his age with a condition like that before. What causes that?" Oma Shoupe asked curiously.

"I can think of a few things..." Dr. Murten said thoughtfully.

"Such as?" Oma Shoupe encouraged.

"I would very much like to examine him to find out. From the way he's dressed, I'd feel safe in saying that he probably hasn't received any but the most rudimentary medical care. There's a better than average possibility that I might be able to do something to help him." Dr. Murten said speculatively.

"I don't know if it's within your area of expertise, but my grandson Lawrence..." Oma Shoupe began before she was cut off.

"Here you go. I made copies of all of Oma Shoupe's prescriptions, not that you can really read the doctor's handwriting. There's also a list that I made that tells you which medications she needs to take at which time." Bug said as he handed over a large zip-lock bag.

Dr. Murten opened the bag and was impressed at Bug's foresight and organization.

He looked over the list carefully, then began to go through the bag and look at the copies of all the different prescriptions.

Finally, he looked up from the paperwork and said, "This is an insane amount of medication for any one person to be taking. Geraldine, if you would allow me, I would like very much to give you an examination and draw some blood so that we can determine how many of these drugs you can do without."

"That's very generous of you Fred, but with being moved all the way across the country and being in an unfamiliar place... there's so much that's going on that's out of my control, I can't promise that I'd be able to keep an appointment." Oma Shoupe said regretfully.

"Then why don't we do it now? I have everything I need in Ryan's office." Dr. Murten said as he stood.

"Now? Right this minute?" Oma Shoupe asked with surprise.

"Yes. That's the now I was thinking of. I promise, it won't take more than a few minutes." Dr. Murten said with a smile.

"Yes. Well... alright then." Oma Shoupe said in an overwhelmed voice, then held on to Dr. Murten's arm as he led her out of the room.

* * * * *

"Want to hang out here for a while?" Ken asked as he looked around at all the activity in the living room.

"Yeah. I think so. Have you noticed that no one seems to mind that the three of us are a couple?" Bug asked curiously.

"The kind of people who would have a problem with it, are the same kind of people who would freak out on us being gay." Kev said frankly.

"I guess that's right." Bug said as he sat down on the middle cushion of a couch.

As he expected, Ken and Kev sat next to him on opposite sides.

He didn't know what it was about the feeling of being surrounded by them that made him feel so good, but he found that he couldn't get enough of it.

"Bug! Me and Ro and Max want to have a sleepover tonight! Is that okay?" Bax asked as he rushed up to the couch.

Bug looked at Ken, who had a slightly disappointed look on his face, then he turned to look at Kev who had a look of indecision.

Even so, Bug was about to give his permission when a stray thought popped up in his mind.

He recalled that while they were touring the big house, Tommy had mentioned that he could find another place for the boys if Bug and the twins wanted some privacy.

"I have an idea, but I need to check on something. Come on." Bug said, then got up off the couch and hurried away with three kids in tow.

* * * * *

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lazlo asked Jay hesitantly, not entirely sure if he wanted to talk about it himself.

"No. Talking about it doesn't do any good." Jay said honestly.

"I just... I don't know what to do to make it better." Lazlo said quietly.

"I don't know either. Maybe there isn't anything you can do." Jay said frankly.

"I never... I mean, no one ever hurt me... not like they hurt you." Lazlo muttered and couldn't seem to meet Jay's eyes.

"I'm glad to hear that." Jay said gently.

"But I want to understand, so that way maybe I'd know what you need." Lazlo said in frustration.

"No, Lazlo. I don't want you to understand. I want you to be carefree and happy and seeing the world as a wonderful place of safety and security, where nothing bad could ever happen to you." Jay said seriously.

"But they stuck their dicks in your butt! You shouldn't have to remember that alone. You should have someone to help you, who knows what it's like. You should be able to forget. I mean, now you're here where it's safe and you don't have to worry about anything like that ever happening to you again." Lazlo urged him to understand.

"It probably is going to happen again. Hopefully, not the hurting part. But probably the rest. I'm gay." Jay said frankly.

Lazlo's eyes went wide at the admission and he couldn't think of anything to say.

Jay watched Lazlo's reaction and his heart fell.

Finally, he quietly said, "I see. You wanted a brother and a friend. Not a GAY brother or a GAY friend."

Lazlo couldn't think of any response as Jay hurried past some people and out of his sight.

It took a few seconds for everything to sink in, but when it finally did, Lazlo started walking to the other side of the room, searching for his fathers.

* * * * *

"Tommy!" Bug said as he finally found who he was looking for.

"Bug. How is everything?" Tommy asked as he looked up from his tablet computer.

"Pretty good, but do you remember when you said that you could find a place for Bax if we needed?" Bug asked hopefully.

"Yeah. In fact, I cleared that with my dad at dinner. How about I take you guys up to the game room and see what you think about that?" Tommy asked cheerfully.

"That sounds pretty good to me. Do you guys want to go check it out?" Bug asked the children surrounding him.

Bax, Ro and Max all seemed to be excited by the idea and happily followed along as Tommy led them up to the second floor, then on up to the third.

"This place is HUGE!" Bug said loudly, mostly to see if the sound of it echoed.

It did, slightly.

"You got Foosball!" Ro said as he ran to the foosball table.

"And air hockey, too!" Bax said with glee.

"Guys! Check out these video games! I think they got ALL of em!" Max said as she ran to the video game system.

Tommy chuckled and said, "What we have up here are the games that Mikey and I haven't taken down to our rooms to play. There are still plenty of them here, but if there's one you want to play and you can't find it, check with either me or Mikey and we'll probably have it.

"You got ping pong, pool, and even a basketball hoop! You guys must almost live up here!" Bax said in amazement.

"We used to. But after Carson's accident, we didn't want to be up here without him. Ever since then, Mikey and I have kind of stuck to our rooms, or done stuff downstairs where Carson could join in, or even just watch if he wasn't feeling up to it." Tommy said quietly.

"Well, this is still a great place. What do you guys think? Would you like to sleep up here tonight?" Bug asked with a smile.

"Yeah! That sounds AWESOME!" Bax crowed.

"It'll be like camping out at an amusement park." Max chuckled.

"Then I'd say it's settled. If you guys want, you can come with me and I'll get you some sleeping bags and pillows." Tommy said cheerfully.

Bug smiled as he watched the energetic children happily follow Tommy to the stairway.

* * * * *

"It looks like we're going to have a 'kid-free' night tonight." Bug said as he approached the couch with a leer.

Ken chuckled as Bug retook the spot on the couch between them.

"What's funny?" Bug asked with an affectionate smile at Ken.

"Just the way you said 'kid-free', it sounds like we're an old married couple." Ken laughed.

Bug smiled at the words, then quietly said, "You know, that sounds nice. I think I might like to grow old with you guys."

Ken was surprised by the words, but also incredibly moved by them.

"I'd like that, too." Kev said as he draped himself over Bug's right side and started to nuzzle his ear.

"Yeah." Ken said as he moved to Bug's left.

* * * * *

Since dinner, Carson had stayed mostly to himself. His legs were starting to ache and he knew that he should probably take some pain medication and go to bed, but getting to spend time with all these new, wildly different people, kept him sitting there, people watching, enjoying all their life and energy.

A sound caught his attention and off to his left, almost out of his range of vision, he could barely see a boy close to his own age, sitting against the wall, crying.

He didn't know who the boy was, although he recalled seeing him at various times through the day.

Regardless, Carson couldn't sit idly by and allow the boy to suffer without at least trying to help.

"You wanna talk about it?" Carson asked as he wheeled close to the boy's side.

"No. I said too much already." The boy whimpered.

"Okay. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I'm Carson, by the way." Carson said gently.

"Yeah. I know." The boy said as he looked up at Carson with watery blue eyes.

The boy had slightly shaggy wheat blond hair and a smattering of freckles across his nose. Carson was shocked to realize that this unknown boy was nothing short of adorable.

"Oh! Sorry... I'm Jay." The boy finally said, jarring Carson out of his mental wandering.

"Is that an initial or short for something?" Carson asked curiously.

"Short for Jayson, Jayson Kale." Jay said simply.

"If you tell me what's wrong, Jay, maybe I can do something to help." Carson said gently.

"I doubt it." Jay said in a defeated tone, then continued, "I just came out to the only person who's been really nice to me since I've been here and he... well, I think maybe he hates me now."

"If he hates you for being gay, then he'd better find himself a new place to live. My parents won't put up with that in our house." Carson said seriously.

"No! Don't do that. Lazlo's a really great, really sweet guy. He's had a beautiful life and never been hurt or used or betrayed by anyone. It's not his fault that he doesn't know how to deal with someone who's as messed up as me." Jay said urgently.

Carson was silent for a moment, then quietly said, "I won't say anything to anyone about it. That's all I can promise."

"Thank you. He's a really good guy, I swear." Jay said earnestly.

"Sitting on the floor can't be comfortable for you. My room is right over there. If you want, we can go in and sit down and talk about whatever you want... and not talk about whatever you don't want." Carson finished with a smile.

Jay looked up at the boy in the wheelchair and finally said, "Yeah. Okay."

* * * * *

As soon as Bug saw Oma Shoupe and Dr. Murten walking into the room, he was off the couch and running to her side.

"How are you? Is everything alright?" Bug asked quickly.

"Everything's fine. In fact, Fred's already decided to take me off of two of my medications." Oma Shoupe said happily.

"They were completely redundant with the other medications that she was taking. And considering the possible side effects, they might very well be the reason that Geraldine has such a problem with weakness." Dr. Murten said as he and Bug helped Oma Shoupe settle into a well cushioned chair.

"As soon as I get her blood work back, I'm going to see about taking her off a few more of those medications and adjusting the dosages of the remaining ones. I'm frankly surprised that she's been able to be up and functioning normally with such a variety of potent drugs in her system." Dr. Murten said frankly.

"I did my best to take care of her." Bug said as he felt his heart sinking, knowing that he had failed to take proper care of his Oma.

"For some doctors, it's a calling. They want to make you well. For others, it's a business. They want to make you sick. Because, if you're not sick, they don't make money. And the drug companies like to 'encourage' such doctors to use their products, in other words, to prescribe unnecessary medications to suffering people to relieve them and their insurance companies of large amounts of money." Dr. Murten said bitterly.

"I don't know what else I could have done." Bug said quietly.

"Not a thing. You made the best choices you could with the information that was available to you." Dr. Murten said gently, then his attention seemed to wander to someone at the next set of chairs.

Bug looked from Dr. Murten to Brother Jacques and wondered what was up with that.

* * * * *

"Sir, may I speak with you for a moment?" Walt asked as he approached Ryan.

"Certainly. What can I do for you?" Ryan asked cautiously, taken aback by the man's forceful demeanor.

"I've been thinking about it since your son showed us that video. If you wouldn't have any objection, I'd like to take a look at the security around here." Walt said seriously.

"May I ask why?" Ryan asked slowly.

"If people all over the country are going to be coming here hoping to find a safe place to stay, it hangs a target on us. Where do you think Ashwood's going to send his goons to hurt us where it hurts most? Right here." Walt said firmly.

"Well, our security is handled by KF Security, and I've been impressed with their work thus far. But I understand your concern. All our security equipment is in the small room under the stairs. The paperwork explaining it all is in there, too, if you'd like to see it." Ryan said as he gestured toward the staircase.

"Yes. I'd sleep a lot better if I had some idea of the precautions that are being taken." Walt said frankly.

"I take it that you've had some experience with such things." Ryan said as he opened the door to the small room.

Walt tried to restrain a grin as he answered, "Some."

* * * * *

Mr. Montgomery saw the Americans approaching and greeted them. "Well, hello. I be a bit surprized ta see you so soon."

The Scoutmaster said "We have enough room to carry all of you. We are traveling North to a place called Kettle Falls. It's in Washington State, so much nearer to Canada. I'm not exactly sure where it is, but I do know there is a large Boy Scout Camp there that would be able to support our camping there. Our biggest problem is carrying your equipment."

"Well, laddie, we don' have much. Each of us has a wee pack that we used on the trail, but the tents and the rest were supplied by the camp." Mr. Montgomery explained.

The leaders shook hands. "Okay, that sounds good then. Okay, we are leaving as soon as we eat lunch. We'll see if the kitchen here can get us food for our trip. It'd be nice to know we have a good start on our journey. The plan is to drive straight through. The bus might make it on its gas, but we will try to gas-up about half way if we can."

"Aye that sounds good. I can help with the drivin'. I run the train from Edinburgh ta London so I can stay alert for the drive." Mr. Montgomery said peacefully.

* * * * *

"He looks happy. I don't want to bother him." Bug said as Oma Shoupe urged him on.

"Given the way things are, we may not have a chance like this again. I trust Dr. Murten and I think that if there is anything that can be done to help Lawrence, he'll be able to tell us what it is." Oma Shoupe said seriously.

"You're right. It's just that after waiting all this time for him to finally find someone to make him happy, I don't want to do anything to take away one minute from him." Bug relented as he walked to stand beside the couch where Lawrence and Roris were snuggled together in front of the enormous big screen TV. Although a movie was playing in front of them, it was obvious that neither of them were paying it the slightest bit of attention.

"Guys, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Oma Shoupe has just seen a doctor that seems like he's really going to be able to help her a lot. She was thinking that it would be really good if he had a look at Lawrence, and maybe Roris, too, if he wanted." Bug said uncertainly.

Roris muttered something to Lawrence that Bug couldn't begin to understand, then Lawrence looked up and asked, "Do we have to do it right now?"

"No. But you don't want to put it off for too long. There's no way we can know how long we're going to be here or what other things are going to happen. You really need to grab a chance like this when it comes along because you don't know when, or if, you'll have another one." Bug said urgently.

Lawrence listened to Roris for a moment, then said, "I don't like doctors, but Roris says that it sounds like a really good idea. I'll go and see your doctor, as long as he doesn't mind if Roris comes with me. He understands stuff that I don't and if I have to decide anything, I want Roris to be there to help me."

"That sounds fair, Lor. We'll talk to the doctor and let you know when he has time to see you." Bug said with a tender smile at his brother.

Bug could tell that all that Lawrence wanted to do at that moment was devote his full attention to Roris, so he guided Oma Shoupe and the twins to walk away.

* * * * *

"Excuse me. I really don't mean to pry into your private affairs, but as I said at dinner, I'm a doctor. I couldn't help but notice your condition and wondered if there's anything I can do to be of help." Dr. Murten said to Brother Jacques cautiously.

Zane held a little more closely to Brother Jacques' side, either to comfort or protect him.

"I don't know if there's anything you can do for me." Brother Jacques said regretfully, then continued, "I used to use drugs, the hard kind. When I went into rehab, the tremor started and I've had it ever since. The doctor at the rehab said that it might get better on its own, but it never did. It just got worse."

"Have you seen a doctor about it since?" Dr. Murten asked cautiously.

"No. Someone like me can't see a doctor unless it's a matter of life and death... sometimes not even then." Brother Jacques said honestly.

"Well, then. I can't make any promises, but I can't see that there'd be any harm in me examining you. It's possible that I might be able to find some way to reduce the tremors." Dr. Murten said frankly.

"That'd be great." Brother Jacques said with a smile, then the smile fell away as he cautiously added, "But you should know, before you do anything, that I'm HIV positive."

"I've had nearly twenty years of experience with HIV cases and I'm up-to-date on the latest treatments. I'd like to draw some blood when I examine you to get an idea of where you stand, but otherwise, I don't see it being an issue."

Brother Jacques smiled at the doctor's casual reaction and said, "I hope it's as easy as you're making it sound. Just let me know when you want to see me."

"How about right now? I've already got some blood work that I need to have sent in. If I can collect yours right away, I can send it off in the morning." Dr. Murten said pleasantly.

"Okay. Let's do it." Brother Jacques said with a smile as he urged Zane to walk with him and follow the doctor out of the room.

* * * * *

Ben was sitting in front of the big screen TV in the living room, not even knowing what movie he was supposedly watching. All his attention was on the little boy at his side, sitting less than a foot away.

Oleksandr had once again chosen to sit by himself, but was also constantly looking back to make sure that Ben was there, within arm's reach.

As if on cue, Oleksandr turned and looked at Ben, verifying his presence.

Ben just smiled at him and watched as Oleksandr turned his attention back to the movie in front of him.

* * * * *

The twins had gotten the idea that they wanted to check on the mission kids, just to make sure that everyone was alright.

Bug thought that was a good idea and followed along as they roamed around the room.

They finally spotted Jamiah, sitting by himself, watching the big TV.

"How are you doing, Jamiah?" Ken asked the boy curiously.

"Fine." Jamiah said in a non-committal tone.

"There's quite a few other kids your age around here. Would you like for us to introduce you so that they might invite you to join in with what they're doing?" Kev asked gently.

"No. I think I just want to sit here for a while. I've never seen this movie before." Jamiah said frankly, and from the tone of his voice, it seemed that he was being sincere.

"Okay. We'll leave you alone. We just wanted to be sure that you weren't feeling left out." Ken said with concern.

"Nope. Just chillin'." Jamiah said with a small grin.

"Got it." Ken chuckled, then thought to ask, "Do you know where Loquicia is, right now?"

"Over there with the girls." Jamiah said as he pointed without looking.

It didn't escape anyone's notice that Jamiah didn't even have to think about it. He knew EXACTLY where his sister was, and who she was with.

"Thanks. Enjoy your movie." Ken said before walking away.

* * * * *

Ben noticed that Dax seemed to be distracted and finally caught him following Jared with his eyes.

"Go talk to him." Ben encouraged.

"I couldn't do that. Just look at him!"

"I'm not saying that you should hit on him, but... it wouldn't hurt to introduce yourself so he'll know that you exist." Ben said seriously.

"I couldn't..." Dax muttered, then turned his attention to the TV.

* * * * *

"I think I screwed up, bad." Lazlo said as he approached his fathers, then nearly tackled them as he broke into tears.

"What's wrong?" Gordon asked as he held his son firmly.

"I was talking to Jay, and... and... I don't know what happened. We were talking and everything was okay, and then Jay told me he was gay and... I don't know what I did, but now he thinks I hate him." Lazlo blurted out before breaking into sobs again.

"I'm sure that Jay doesn't think that." Lucas told his son soothingly.

"I don't know why I was so stupid. I mean, I got two gay dads! I don't care if he's gay, I really don't! But when he told me, I just... froze." Lazlo said despondently.

"Lazlo, you were surprised. There's absolutely nothing in the world wrong with that." Lucas said as he rubbed small circles on Lazlo's back, trying to soothe him.

"Where is Jay now?" Gordon asked as he looked around.

"I don't know. He ran off when I acted like such a big dork." Lazlo said sadly.

"I'm sure that after he has a few minutes to stop and think about it, that he'll realize that he just blindsided you and that your reaction wasn't disapproval." Gordon said gently.

"He hates me, now." Lazlo said before burying his face in Lucas' shoulder.

"I bet he doesn't." Gordon said with a grin.

Lazlo remained in Lucas' embrace and didn't give any reaction.

"I bet you a package of Twizzlers that Jay isn't mad at you at all." Gordon persisted.

"Cherry ones? Not those black kind?" Lazlo asked as he peeked one eye out to look at Gordon.

"I'll give you one pack of cherry Twizzlers if I'm wrong." Gordon said with a smile.

Lazlo thought about it for a moment, then said, "He must not be mad at me, because I never win when I bet with you."

"There you go." Gordon laughed as he ruffled Lazlo's hair.

* * * * *

Bug, Ken and Kev walked to where Jamiah had pointed and found Loquicia, Misti and Annie surrounding Madelyn Murten.

All the girls seemed to be enthralled by the grandmotherly woman who was paying attention just to them.

Bug and the twins didn't have any desire to intrude on their conversation and only watched for a moment before moving on.

* * * * *

Carson and Jay had been talking quietly about fairly general things since going into Carson's room.

Jay had told about his school and about the different families that he'd been placed with the past few years, but never said a word about his own family.

For his part, Carson had told Jay, in very general terms, about the accident and how he ended up in a wheelchair, but he made sure to leave out the part about the pain and about how the doctors still weren't sure if he would ever be able to walk again.

Suddenly, a teenage voice sounded, it seemed, from nowhere. "Carson. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I've just received a report... hold on... updating..."

Carson backed his wheelchair away from the bed where Jay was sitting and made his way to the computer alcove.

"Carson, according to my reports seventy-three... eighty... by all reports, one hundred percent of the country east of the Mississippi river has been blacked out." Dizzy said seriously.

"Wait! What?" Carson asked as he locked his wheelchair into place.

"All electricity and communications have ceased east of the Mississippi." Dizzy said firmly.

"War mode." Carson said firmly, then added, "Show me."

Jay stood from the bed and walked up behind Carson, in awe of the technological display he was seeing.

"This was NOT a cascading failure. It was an intentional shutdown." Dizzy said as all eight screens in front of Carson filled with information.

"Can you still get a message to Alvin?" Carson asked absently as he studied the screens.

"Yes. Their location seems to be unaffected." Dizzy immediately replied.

"Compress everything and send it to them. They probably already know about all this, but it won't hurt to pass on what we know." Carson said seriously.

"All files have been sent." Dizzy said a moment later.

Carson slowly looked over the screens, then quietly said, "It seems like that's it, at least, for now. I'd better let everyone know what's going on. But, Dizzy, you call me on my cell phone if anything new happens."

"You got it, boss." Dizzy answered immediately.

Carson undocked his chair from the computer alcove and noticed Jay watching him in awe.

"You're amazing." Jay whispered in wonder.

Carson felt a tingle run down his spine and settle in his groin.

He felt a blush in his cheeks as he shyly responded, "Thanks."

* * * * *

As Carson wheeled his way into the living room, he noticed that Jay was hanging back, almost hiding in his bedroom doorway.

He looked around and realized that most, if not all, of the people that had attended dinner were talking in small groups around the living room or watching the movie on the TV.

He slowly made his way to his previous place, beside the television, then called out, "Everyone! Can I have your attention for just a minute?"

The looks of anxiety directed at him told him that everyone was expecting something really bad.

"Listen, I don't have a lot of information to share, but I thought you'd like to be kept up-to-date on what's going on." Carson said as he felt a wave of nervousness from speaking in front of so many people.

"What is it? What happened now?" Ben asked anxiously.

"Like I said, I don't have a lot of details. But according to everything that I've seen on the Internet, about half the country just went dark. First reports are that it's a massive blackout, but the strange thing is that it's not only electricity, it's also all the land lines, which work on a completely different system." Carson said seriously.

"How 'massive' is massive?" Bug asked cautiously.

"I can't be sure yet, but right now it looks like everything east of the Mississippi." Carson said frankly.

"I bet this is why we couldn't get through to Chicago." Ken said speculatively.

"They were fixing it so that ALL the communications would be down." Kev continued the thought.

"I told you all that I know. There's still a chance that all of this is something natural or accidental." Carson hurried to explain.

"Roris says 'Fat chance'." Lawrence said from his place, cuddled at Roris' side.

"I need to get back to my room in case anything else happens. I just thought everyone would want to know." Carson said regretfully, wishing that he had more information to give them.

When he got back to his bedroom, he noticed that Jay was still standing there, looking at him uncertainly.

"Would you like to keep me company?" Carson asked him and was surprised to feel his heart beating a mile a minute.

Jay broke into a radiant smile and his eyes sparkled with delight at the offer.

Seeing that light come on in Jay's eyes made Carson feel ten feet tall. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was someone's 'special' person.

* * * * *

Ro, Max and Bax rushed into the living room from the hallway and immediately went to the group of girls surrounding Madelyn.

Bug was curious and watched from a distance for a moment, then decided to go over to investigate.

"What's up, guys?" Bug asked casually.

"There's so much great stuff upstairs, we thought we'd let everyone else know it's up there. It's stupid for people to be hanging around down here when we've got stuff that we can do." Bax said frankly.

Bug smiled at the logic and couldn't help but agree.

"You make sure that everyone lets their parents know where they'll be before they go up." Bug said in a warning tone.

"Oh. Yeah. I didn't think of that." Bax said slowly, then immediately cheered up and happily said, "Okay!"

"Go have fun." Bug chuckled as he went back to the couch where the twins were waiting for him.

* * * * *

"I can't even imagine Chicago being blacked out. It must be insane there." Dax said quietly to Ben.

"There's a good chance that you can still get through to your dad on his sat-phone, if you want to check on him." Ben said honestly.

Dax shook his head and said, "I'd rather not call him until I have something to say... I mean, like new stuff, that he doesn't already know."

"I'm sure that your dad won't mind getting a call from you, just to see how he's doing." Ben said honestly.

"I don't know. Maybe not, but I want my dad to know that he can count on me. That I won't freak out about every little thing. I've never really done anything to make him proud, the last thing I need is for him to see me as some sniveling little fairy who calls his daddy over every little thing."

Ben pulled Dax into a hug and quietly said, "You do whatever you feel is right. But just realize that you can talk to me about anything and I won't judge you like that."

Dax chuckled as he returned the hug and quietly said, "Yeah, I already figured that out."

* * * * *

Ryan and Walt walked into Carson's room to find him ensconced in, what looked like, a very close and personal conversation with a boy that Ryan hadn't met.

When Carson noticed, he pulled back from the boy and a scarlet blush rose up his cheeks.

"I just wanted to let you know that the last of the KF Transport planes has safely landed and that all their people are accounted for. None of them were in the eastern United States when the blackout happened." Ryan said slowly.

"Thanks. I've been keeping an eye on the KF planes, but I kind of got distracted by other things." Carson said shyly.

Ryan arched an eyebrow, then looked at the boy sitting on Carson's bed curiously.

"I mean, like the thing in Texas and the blackout." Carson hurried to explain.

"Of course." Ryan said with a slight, knowing smile.

"Dad, this is Jay. He's from Kansas City." Carson said formally, hoping to divert his father's train of thought.

"It's nice to meet you, Jay. Boys, this man's name is Walt. He works for KF Transport and also seems to be quite knowledgeable about security." Ryan said, matching his son's formal tone.

"I was about to..." Carson began to say when a stab of pain in his right thigh hit him so hard that it knocked the breath out of him.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked as he hurried to his son's side.

It took a moment for Carson to fight past the pain, but he finally said through gritted teeth, "I've been sitting too long, and my legs don't like it."

"Let me get your pain pills, then you're going to bed." Ryan said firmly.

There were about a thousand different things that Carson wanted to do, but at that moment he didn't have the will to argue with his father.

A touch on his hand made Carson look up and he found that Jay was holding his hand, trying to comfort him.

"Thanks." Carson said gratefully, although he could feel tears running down his cheeks.

"Is there anything I can do?" Jay asked in a whisper.

Before Carson could answer, his father walked into the room and said, "I thought you had more pain pills than this, we need to refill your prescription, you wouldn't want to have to do without."

Rather than reply, Carson just took the pills that his father handed him, then washed them down with the provided glass of water.

"Do you need my help getting ready for bed?" Ryan asked as he looked into Carson's eyes.

"No. I can do it." Carson assured him.

"Call me if it gets too bad." Ryan told his son gently, then leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Carson watched as his father and Walt walked out of the room, then looked over at Jay who was watching him uncertainly.

"Do you want me to go, too?" Jay asked hesitantly.

"No." Carson answered immediately, then continued more slowly, "If you wouldn't mind, I think it'd be really great if you'd stay with me until the medication kicks in."

"Okay. You just tell me when I need to leave." Jay said softly.

"I'm going to change now. I'll only be gone a minute." Carson said and waited for Jay's nod before going to the bathroom.

* * * * *

"If you all will excuse us, I think Doris and I are going to call it an early night." Marcus said as he stood.

"It's barely past seven o'clock." Madelyn protested. She had been enjoying their company since the girls had gone upstairs to play.

"Yes. In this time zone." Marcus agreed.

"Besides, we want to call our daughter before it's too late and invite them to visit for the weekend." Doris added with a shy smile.

"Your granddaughter sounds like an angel. Be sure that you track me down and introduce me when she arrives." Madelyn said warmly.

"She'll love you. I know she will." Doris said happily, then waved at everyone else before following her husband out of the room.

"Here I was thinking it was my age catching up with me, but it is getting late, isn't it?" Oma Shoupe asked as she looked at Bug.

Before Bug could react, Lawrence was at her side, offering to help her to stand.

"I need to get their meds." Bug whispered to his couch mates before also standing.

* * * * *

Gordon was holding Lazlo gently, and the boy was drifting in a place that was not quite awake when Lucas saw Jay step out of a room and quietly close the door behind him.

Lucas carefully got up without alerting Lazlo and hurried to talk to Jay.

"How are you doing?" Lucas asked as he approached.

"Fine." Jay said cautiously.

"Lazlo came to us and was really worried that you were upset with him." Lucas said frankly.

"Oh, no. I'm not mad. I just told him something and... it didn't go well." Jay said uncomfortably.

"Then, will you talk to him? He's going to be a wreck for as long as he thinks that he's upset you." Lucas said honestly.

"Yeah." Jay said, although it was obvious that he'd rather not.

"Jay's here." Gordon said as he saw Lucas and Jay approaching.

Lazlo sprang to full wakefulness in an instant.

"Gordon was right. He's not mad at you." Lucas said simply.

"Are you really not?" Lazlo asked Jay hopefully.

"No. I'm not mad." Jay confirmed.

"Good, because I don't care that you're gay. I've got two gay fathers, so why would I care about that? I was just surprised, but I still want you to be my brother and my friend." Lazlo said with certainty.

Jay couldn't help but chuckle before responding, "No doubt about it. We're going to be great brothers."

"It looks like the gathering is breaking up, so what would you guys think about heading up to our rooms?" Lucas asked cheerfully.

"Yeah. You wanna come to my room?" Lazlo asked happily.

"I'll go get the girls." Gordon said with a loving smile at Lucas.

Jay gave one last concerned look at Carson's door before following Lucas and Lazlo out of the room.

* * * * *

As the evening progressed, more and more people left the gathering and returned to their rooms.

As Ty crawled into the bunk bed in Mikey's room, he realized that he didn't feel the least bit sleepy.

"Can I ask you something?" Mikey asked quietly.

"Sure. I guess so." Ty responded warily.

"The way you are, you know, all... swishy and femmy... is that something you do? Or is that something that just happens and you can't help it?"

Ty was surprised by the blunt question, but did his best to answer honestly and without offense.

"Mostly, it happens by itself. Sometimes I can tone it down or ramp it up if I want to. But if I don't think about it, it's just the way I am."

"I can't imagine being that way. But I think that if I was, I'd probably hate myself."

"I do, sometimes." Ty said honestly.

"I didn't say that right. I don't hate you." Mikey hurried to explain.

"Don't worry about it, Mikey." Ty said seriously, then gave a weary sigh before adding, "Trust me, I know what hate sounds like."

"Is that why you're so angry all the time?" Mikey asked curiously.

"Maybe. There's other stuff, too." Ty said reluctantly.

After a long contemplative silence, Mikey quietly said, "I don't hate you."

Ty smiled as he responded, "I didn't think you did."

"I just thought it was important that I tell you. I don't really understand about being gay and... you know, like you are. I can't imagine what it feels like to be you. But I don't hate you for being you." Mikey said with difficulty.

"Thanks Mikey." Ty said in a choked up whisper.

"Goodnight, Ty." Mikey said softly.

"Goodnight." Ty responded, then turned on his side.

Ty wasn't sure how he felt about everything that had happened the past few days or about the place that he found himself in. But he had a feeling that he had made as close to a friend as he ever had.

* * * * *

Bax, Max and Ro were in their sleeping bags in the enormous playroom, settling in for sleep.

When they had been quiet for a few minutes, Max cautiously asked, "Did you notice anything weird about that lady, Debra?"

"Is she the one that all the girls were hanging around?" Ro asked curiously.

"No, that's Mrs. Murten. Debra is Tommy and Mikey's mother." Max said seriously.

"Oh, yeah. I know who you're talking about. But I didn't notice anything weird about her." Bax said thoughtfully.

"I was watching her at dinner, when she said that thing about being bothered by the stuff that Carson showed us... she was lying." Max said slowly.

"How do you know?" Ro asked curiously.

"I just do. I watched her at dinner and she was watching everyone. It was like she was memorizing every little detail about all of us." Max said firmly.

"Yeah, so? It's her house. Maybe she's just wanting to be sure that everyone's happy." Ro said casually.

"No. It's something else." Max said with certainty.

"Like what?" Bax asked curiously.

"Well, I've been thinking about it since dinner, about what she could really be up to and there's only one thing that makes sense."

"What's that?" Ro asked cautiously.

"She's a ninja."

Chapter 15: In the Park

The Scouts were packed and ready to go before they left camp for breakfast. The two units met and ate breakfast together. It is amazing how quickly boys can make friends even with such differences in culture. When they finished eating they went back to their camps and the bus was there waiting in the scout's camp.

The driver had the bus prepared for loading, the cargo doors up on both sides.. By the time all the Scouts' gear was stowed below and each boy had his daypack with him to take on the bus, the Boys' Brigade arrived and likewise stowed their gear below in the bus cargo bays and had daypacks. When everything was loaded, the boys boarded and found seats.

Before the bus driver had closed the cargo doors, a staff member arrived in a loaded pickup truck. "We have MREs, dehydrated trail food, a camp kitchen and some large tarps with poles. We are trying to help those going home, or to safety."

The leaders helped get the equipment stored and thanked the staff for all the help. It was just after two o'clock local time when the bus pulled out of Philmont and began the trip north.

It wasn't long before the American boys had taught the Scots 'A Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall.' By the fourth verse it had become 'A Hundred Bottles of Ale on the Wall.' When that was finally over, one of the Scout leaders taught them 'Pink Pajamas.' Things then quieted down and the boys talked amongst themselves.

* * * * *

Conversation on the bus with the Chicago refugees was sparse when they were back on the open road.

It seemed that too many changes in too short a time had resulted in everyone being emotionally numb and somewhat exhausted.

Without warning, there was a jarring thump of the bus hitting a rather large pothole, and Ahmid cried out in pain.

"I swear to you, if there were any way that I could think of to help you, I would." Father Doherty said regretfully to the man behind him.

"What's his problem?" Jingo asked from a few seats back.

"Ahmid was shot, and still hasn't been able to see a doctor." Father Kinsey answered as he looked sympathetically at the suffering man.

"Did the bullet pass through, or is it still in there?" Jingo asked cautiously.

"It is still inside." Ahmid answered in a pained voice.

"We need to get that outta there. You guys have a first aid kit anywhere around here?"

"Yes. I know right where it is." Father Kinsey said quickly, then rushed to the back of the bus.

"Can I see?" Jingo asked as she walked to Ahmid's side.

After a moment of hesitation, Ahmid turned in his seat and opened his shirt to reveal the bloody gauze pad on his shoulder.

Jingo slowly removed the pad then, after a moment of examination, she spoke without looking up, "Trav, you bring your skittles?"

"Yeah, but I ain't got much. I'm savin 'em." Trav whined.

"Bust 'em out, Trav. 'Sides, I only need one or two to help this guy deal with the pain. I promise that I'll leave your boner pills alone." She said impatiently as she looked away from the wound and held out her hand.

Reluctantly, Trav pulled a zip-lock bag out of his pocket that was over half full with over a dozen different types of pills.

"He needs somethin for pain. What'cha got?" Jingo asked impatiently.

Trav carefully selected two pills and handed them to Jingo.

"Here. Take these." She said as she handed the pills to Ahmid.

Before he could protest, she continued, "We gotta get that bullet out. This is gonna hurt like a son-of-a-bitch. These'll take the edge off."

Ahmid looked at the pills for a long moment, then when he seemed to have worked up his courage, he took the pills and washed them down with a drink of water from the bottle at his side.

"Where's that first aid kit?" Jingo asked as she looked toward the back of the bus impatiently.

"I almost have it. There were other things stored on top of it." Father Kinsey called in return as he tried to extract the case from a cabinet in the bus's 'kitchenette'.

"I'm gonna need a few of you guys to hold him down. You let him move around too much and it's just gonna take me that much longer." Jingo said frankly.

Arthur, Jim and Artimus got up from their seats and moved around so that they were surrounding Ahmid.

"Here you go. Is there anything else I can get you?" Father Kinsey asked hopefully as he presented her the first aid kit.

"Yeah. Keep hold of that. First thing I'll need is alcohol swabs. Next, see what kind of antibiotic cream or spray you have, I'm gonna need all of it. Once you got that, I'm gonna need gauze pads and bandages." Jingo said seriously.

"I'll help you." Father Franklin said as he moved to Father Kinsey's side.

"Here's the alcohol swabs." Father Kinsey said as he held out the packages to her.

"Would you open things before you hand them to me? If I wasn't gonna use 'em, I wouldn't have asked for 'em." Jingo said as she accepted the alcohol swabs and tore two of the packages open.

"Yes. Of course." Father Kinsey said nervously as he fumbled to open a plastic tube of antiseptic ointment.

With a few quick flips of her wrist, Jingo opened a very dangerous looking butterfly knife.

"It's okay, she's a friend." Father Doherty whispered to Art and Euan as he noticed that they were on either side of him.

Jingo wiped her hands with the first alcohol swab, then moved the next one several times up and down the blade of her knife to sterilize it.

Ahmid's eyes went wide and he seemed to lose all color when she turned to face him and he saw the knife.

"Hold him." Jingo said firmly, then moved into action.

Father Doherty felt a body press into him from each side and glanced down to find that Art and Euan had instinctively moved close to him. As he turned his full attention forward, he put an arm around each boy and held tightly on to them as he watched Jingo go to work.

From their vantage point, he couldn't see much more than her back. But Ahmid's sudden scream of pain was more than enough to let him know what she was doing.

"Keep hold! I almost got it." She called out over his howls of pain. A moment later, Ahmid suddenly fell silent.

"Is he alright?" Father Franklin asked in panic.

"Yeah, he either passed out from the pain or Trav's pills. Those coulda been horse tranquilizers, knowing Trav." Jingo said as she kept her attention on what she was doing.

"That's got it." She said as she turned and unceremoniously dropped the spent bullet on the open lid of the first aid kit.

"Give me the antiseptic." Jingo said firmly.

Father Kinsey handed her the open package without hesitation.

She worked on Ahmid's shoulder for a moment, then leaned back and asked, "What about a gauze pad?"

"Here you go." Father Kinsey said as he handed it to her.

"I'll let one of you guys bandage. I want to get this blood cleaned off me." Jingo said as she pressed the gauze pad into place.

"I'll do it." Father Franklin said as he stepped forward.

"Thank you." Father Kinsey said with relief as he handed Father Franklin the roll of gauze.

"Are you boys alright?" Father Doherty asked in a whisper.

"I've never seen anything like that before." Art said as he continued to stare at Ahmid disbelievingly.

"Nor have I, son." Father Doherty said quietly.

"I've been so sheltered." Art said distantly.

"Just because you ain't seen a bullet bein dug outta some guys shoulder before don't mean that you been sheltered." Emo said frankly, then added, "I'm pretty sure that you don't get to see stuff like that in most of your better neighborhoods."

"I think Emo's right. That's a good way of looking at it." Father Doherty said with a smile back at the older teenager.

"Is everything alright now?" Greg asked from the driver's seat.

"Yes. Jingo removed the bullet from Ahmid's shoulder and he's resting now. Everything's fine." Father Doherty said loudly, hoping that Greg could understand him.

"Next time, give me a little warning, okay? When I heard him scream, I thought I was going to have a heart attack." Greg said frankly.

"If there is a next time, I promise." Father Doherty said with a smile.

* * * * *

They had been driving for a while, now. Father Doherty hadn't been paying much attention to their surroundings, choosing to focus more on the people he found himself traveling with.

Art and Euan had been disturbed by Jingo's makeshift surgery, but seemed to be doing alright now.

Even though Emo had joined into their conversation earlier, Father Doherty still got the sense that the older teenager was probably the most solitary person of all of them.

"Everyone! Look at this!" Greg called out from the front of the bus.

Without thought, Father Doherty hurried forward, followed by Jingo and Artimus.

"That is strange." Father Doherty said as he looked at the small town ahead of them without a single light on. There were no street lights or traffic lights, just a few lonely cars lighting the streets of the otherwise desolate town.

"A blackout?" Artimus ventured cautiously.

"That seems the most likely explanation." Father Doherty said honestly.

"You need to get on the radio and see if anyone knows anything 'bout this." Jingo said frankly.

"Can one of you guys take care of the radio?" Greg asked hopefully, then added, "I can only make out a little of what you're saying, I probably won't be able to make any sense at all of the talk on the radio."

"There's enough of us that one of us can stay up here by you and take care of it. You're already doing us a great service by driving." Father Doherty said with a smile at their driver.

"If you'll show me what to do, I'll help." Euan said quickly and Father Doherty could hear the hope in his voice.

"Yes, Euan. Come on up here and make yourself comfortable, then we'll show you what to do." Father Doherty said warmly.

"I'm an old hand at talking on the CB. It might be best if I took care of the radio." Artimus said frankly.

"I believe you would receive a greater blessing if you shared your experience with Euan." Father Doherty said as he looked Artimus in the eyes.

The expression on Artimus' face changed from serious to tender, then he gently smiled and said, "Thank you, Father. You're right. I suppose I've gotten out of the habit of looking for blessings."

"I'll return to my seat. Please let me know if you and Euan find out anything about the town ahead." Father Doherty said before slowly walking back to his seat.

* * * * *

"Well, I'll tell you what they told me." Artimus said as he walked down the aisle.

Everyone turned their full attention to Artimus and waited expectantly.

"No one knows how big the blackout is, but it's BIG. According to the truckers that we talked to, no one... not one single truck anywhere in range of our radio, has found a single town with power. But the good news is that about an hour from here, they said that there's a truck stop that has its own generator. I'm thinking that until we know what's going on, we'd be smart to head to that place where everyone can refuel." Artimus said frankly.

"Yes. Make sure that Greg knows where you're talking about, then have Euan switch over to channel 14 and spread the word about the change in plan." Father Doherty said seriously.

"Yeah. And there's one other thing that they were talking about. If anyone has an AM radio, you should still be able to tune in Chicago. From the sound of it, that's going to be our best shot at getting any news." Artimus said seriously.

"Which station?" Father Doherty asked quickly.

"The only one that's still broadcasting." Artimus said frankly before walking forward again.

* * * * *

"I found my radio, but we're going to have to stop somewhere for batteries." Jim said as he carried a smaller version of a boom box up the aisle.

"No. I noticed when we were putting things in here today that this bus is outfitted with electrical outlets. There must be an inverter set up somewhere." Arthur said seriously.

"Then find a plug and plug it in! We need to know what's going on!" Harry said nervously.

"Got it!" Jim said as he quickly plugged in his radio.

"It's almost eight o'clock, so we should get the headlines, first thing." Arthur said quickly.

"I hope this works." Jim said as he set it to AM, then started slowly turning the dial.

The sense of isolation became more intense as the radio went on and on, searching for an active station.

Finally, everyone was relieved to hear a voice crackle to life amid the static.

"...details are sketchy right now, but we're still here. I know it's scary, and it may be cold. But remember that you're not alone. We're all in this together. Check on your neighbors, check on the old folks down the street. It's the top of the hour, so for anyone who just joined us, we'll be right back with a summary of what little we know." The male broadcaster said before a recorded jingle played, announcing the stations call letters.

"So I guess that means that Chicago is blacked out, too." Arthur said slowly.

"It seems..." Father Doherty began to say, when a different voice came over the radio.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

"I am Roland Bennett and this is the news." The announcer said in a bold voice. "Of course, first and foremost on everyone's minds right now is the blackout. How long will it last? How far does it extend? To be honest, we don't know. But what we can tell you is that along with losing electricity, we've also suffered the loss of all communications. That being cell phone, internet, land line... it's all gone. But, we are not without resources. A high ranking member of the local police department made a point of bringing by three satellite phones, so if anyone has phone service and has any news to share, they can contact us. We'll be giving out those numbers at the end of the program."

Father Doherty reached into his pocket and took out the satellite phone that had been given to him just hours before.

"We also have staff monitoring citizens band radio, also known as CB's. If you have access to a CB radio and have any news to report, you can try to get a message relayed from wherever you are. We will be monitoring channel 8 for messages directed to us."

Father Doherty leaned out in the aisle slightly and saw Euan sitting on the floor, holding the microphone of the CB radio in his hand.

"For those that have access to ham radio, we also have staff monitoring those frequencies. So, as you might have guessed, we don't know very much about what's going on right now, but as soon as anyone finds out anything, we'll pass it on to you."

"I'm sure that you can tell from my informal delivery that we're more or less flying by the seat of our pants here. The majority of our programming is provided by the network and what little we provide at the local level has been closely monitored. We've been repeatedly warned against 'inciting' the citizenry with un-American discourse. Basically, over the course of time, it means I let them take my freedom of speech, we, at this station, let them take our freedom of the press. Now, here I am, in the middle of a blackened city, ready to make all of you a promise. I don't know how long it will take for the government agents to shut me up, but until that happens, I promise to give you the pure, unvarnished truth about everything we learn."

"Oh my God! Is it really that bad?" Harry asked in wonder.

"Probably worse." Jingo said frankly.

"Father, can you come up here?" Euan asked loudly.

"Yes. What is it?" Father Doherty asked as he hurried up the aisle.

"I just heard from some of the people at the back of the... what is this? A convoy?" Euan asked slowly.

Father Doherty chuckled as he remembered a silly song, then nodded for Euan to continue.

"There's at least one car near the back that's having trouble. The guy I talked to said it looked like his radiator was about to blow." Euan said gravely.

"Tell the person with the radio that we'll be stopping at a truck stop in about half an hour. There's no way we can stop the entire 'convoy' for one car, but once we reach that truck stop, we can wait for them to catch up, or dispatch a tow truck from there, if need be." Father Doherty said thoughtfully.

"Thank you, Father. I didn't know what to tell him." Euan said with relief.

"No. Thank you, Euan. You are providing a very important service by doing this." Father Doherty said honestly.

"Would you mind if I showed Art how to use the radio, too? That way he can take over for me if I need to use the bathroom or something." Euan asked hopefully.

"Yes. That sounds like a very good idea." Father Doherty said warmly.

* * * * *

"What did I miss?" Father Doherty asked as he returned to his seat.

"A massacre..." Jim said in a disbelieving voice.

"What? Where?" Father Doherty asked quickly.

"Earlier today, in Texas... the announcer, he said that the feds... they just... killed... everyone." Harry said in astonishment.

"Kids. They killed kids." Arthur said firmly.

"Yeah, at a school. They got all the kids together, and according to the announcer, it was a setup, they got everyone in one place, then... they started shooting." Harry said slowly.

"Why did you turn the radio off?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"I think all of us needed a few minutes to process what we just heard. Besides, they said that they're going to do five minutes of announcements about local emergency shelters and stuff before they get back to the news." Jim said simply.

Father Doherty nodded that he had heard. He couldn't think of anything more to say to contribute to the conversation.

As he turned, he spotted Emo, watching him.

As soon as Emo saw that he had the priest's attention, he said, "This is what my brother was worried about, wasn't it?"

After a moment to consider, Father Doherty slowly shook his head, then said, "As much as I hate to say so, I think that whatever this is, is just beginning. I believe that your brother saw what was going on around him and realized how bad things might get and he knew that there was no way he could protect you from what he saw coming."

"Like what?" Emo asked cautiously.

"Honestly, I don't know. But look at what's happened already today. Don't think of them as unrelated events, but as parts of someone's master plan. The list that you're on, the roadblock, the murder of those children in Texas, this blackout... I can't see the big picture yet, but I feel safe in saying that whatever is happening, has only just begun." Father Doherty said honestly.

"Okay. If you were trying to freak me out, it worked." Emo said nervously.

"No, Emo. I'm not trying to freak you out. I'm just trying to get across to you that your brother wasn't disrespecting you or trying to get rid of you. He was truly and honestly trying to protect you as best he could."

Emo looked around cautiously, then moved out of his seat and moved around Father Doherty to sit next to him, in the seat by the window.

Father Doherty waited, sensing that Emo wanted to tell him something very personal.

"If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone else?" Emo whispered.

"Yes. That's part of my job as a priest." Father Doherty said with a smile.

"I don't know that much about priests. My mom says that we're Methodists, but I don't think I've ever been inside a church." Emo said frankly.

"I promise, Emo. Anything you tell me will stay between you and me and God." Father Doherty said warmly.

After a moment to consider, Emo hesitantly said, "I just... my name is really Marsden... Marsden Parker. People started calling me Emo because of how I act and how I dress."

"What would you like for me to call you?" Father Doherty asked gently.

"Around everyone else, you can call me Emo. But... you know, with things being like they are, I just wanted for someone to know the 'real' me." Emo said slowly.

"I'm honored that you would trust me like that. Especially since you haven't known me that long." Father Doherty said honestly.

"You don't look down on me. You talk to me like I'm like everyone else. When I said something, you listened and said I was right... I can't remember the last time anyone told me that I was right about anything." Emo explained.

Father Doherty heard the volume on the radio go up a few seats behind him, but was content to remain where he was.

"I'm here for you, Marsden. If you ever need to talk to someone, or just to have someone listen, I can do that for you. I've even been known to give a pretty good hug, when there's a need." Father Doherty finished with a smile.

"You don't rape little kids, do you?" Emo asked as he backed away slightly.

"No. I won't lie to you. There are priests that do. Just the same as there are teachers and scout leaders and all kinds of people in the world who do those horrible things. But I'm not one of them." Father Doherty said as he looked Emo in the eyes.

Emo stared at Father Doherty for a long moment, then finally said, "After the day I've had, a hug sounds really good. But if you grab my nuts, I swear to God that I'll beat the shit out of you."

Father Doherty tried not to chuckle, but couldn't help it. Finally, he said, "That sounds fair to me."

After a moment, Emo shifted in his seat a little and moved fractionally closer.

Father Doherty very slowly and carefully raised one arm and draped it around Emo's shoulders.

They sat for a long, silent moment until Father Doherty quietly said, "Just yesterday I was surprised to find that I have a son."

Father Doherty felt a movement on his shoulder and supposed that it was Emo's nod.

"He's a grown man, and I'm very proud of him. But I never got to experience a moment of his childhood. I never got to hold him or give him advice or be there when he needed me. Since I met him, I've been feeling regret for missing all those things that might have been. I suppose what I'm really saying is that being here like this with you, it makes that hurt less." Father Doherty said distantly.

"I never had a dad. Don't know who he is, even. Steve's only a few years older than me, but he tried. When he went away to college, I felt like he abandoned me... that's when Emo was born. My mom's a lazy cow who wouldn't lift her fat ass off the couch if the house was on fire. For my whole life, Steve did everything for me, then all of a sudden, he wasn't there."

"From the sound of it, he probably had very limited options. He was probably trying to do the best thing that he could to take care of you." Father Doherty said softly.

"Yeah, but while he was gone... he changed. I mean, yeah, when he came back he had a ton of college loans to pay back and he was the newest cop on the force and he had me and mom just being dead weight, holding him back... I get that. But, I don't know, something else. It's like he wasn't my Steve anymore."

After a moment to be sure that Emo didn't have more to say, Father Doherty quietly said, "I'm sure that your Steve is still there, but it sounds like his plate is pretty full with all kinds of adult stresses and worries. I think that when things calm down, it might be a really good thing if you and your brother could spend some time just being together. It sounds like after his time away, that you need to reconnect."

Emo slowly nodded, then said, "That sounds nice. We used to sit like this. I mean, on the couch, in front of the TV. Not talking or anything, just... being together."

"Well, Marsden, that I could do for you. When we find ourselves somewhere with a couch and a TV, I think I would like it very much if we could spend some time that way." Father Doherty said with a smile.

"But it probably wouldn't be the same. I mean, you're not my brother." Emo said in a conflicted tone.

"No. I'm not your brother, but I'm a father, in both senses of the word. It might not be exactly the same, but maybe it will make it hurt less." Father Doherty said speculatively.

"Yeah. Okay." Emo said softly.

"And no raping, I promise." Father Doherty added with a chuckle.

"I'll hold you to that." Emo said with a grin.

* * * * *

The Scout bus pulled into a crowded rest stop. The boys and adults made use of the facilities to save those on the bus. The leaders decided that saving time was most important now and gave each boy an MRE as they returned to the bus. When all of them were back, the trip resumed. With full bellies (after a second MRE for the boys) they settled down, and sleep soon claimed them.

Mr. Montgomery had taken over driving. He was heard mumbling something about Americans driving on the wrong side of the road.

* * * * *

"Jesus Christ!" Greg exclaimed from the driver's seat, then thought to add, "Sorry, Fathers."

"What's the problem?" Father Doherty asked as he hurried forward with Emo at his side.

"I hope you weren't in a hurry to get anywhere, because it looks like we're going to have a two or three hour wait for gas." Greg said as he slowed the bus to a stop at the back of a line of cars.

"If it's the only functioning gas station in this part of the state, I suppose there's nothing to be done about it." Father Doherty said frankly.

Some squawking on the CB drew Father Doherty's attention.

Art looked up at Father Doherty and relayed the message, "They said that the fellow with the bad radiator made it. Everyone is here."

"Good. We'll have to be sure to see that his vehicle will be fit to travel tomorrow." Father Doherty said frankly, then turned back into the bus and asked, "Are any of you experienced with auto mechanics?"

There were several negative responses, but Artimus stood and walked forward.

"I can usually figure out what's wrong if it's something minor, but I'm by no means a mechanic." Artimus said reluctantly.

"Art, would you get on the CB and ask around, see if there's anyone who would be willing to help our friend with the radiator problem." Father Doherty asked hopefully.

"Yes, Father." Art said immediately, then began calling on the radio.

A knocking on the door of the bus surprised everyone.

Greg quickly opened the door.

"Is everyone alright up here?" Keith asked as he climbed aboard.

"Yes. This vehicle is quite comfortable. I don't know how we'll ever be able to thank you for allowing us to use it." Father Doherty said honestly.

"I would have planned to drive it myself, but there's no way I could've afforded to pay for the fuel for this big assed thing." Keith said frankly.

"Yes. That's likely going to be a concern for us as well." Father Doherty said seriously.

"Got'cha covered." Trav said as he stepped forward.

"You're going to pay?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"Yeah. As long as it's one a ours." Trav said simply.

"Which means...?" Keith prompted.

Trav reached into his pocket, which, considering the way he wore his pants, was halfway to his knee.

When he pulled out the charge card, all the men stared at it in surprise.

"I didn't know gas companies even issued a black card." Keith said in wonder.

"Don't just ev'body git one dese." Trav said with a cocky grin.

"And we're just supposed to use it to see that you get there. No extra charges." Jingo said firmly to her companion.

"We can jess tell tha boss that the Fathers NEEDED a big ass pile a nachos and some malt liquor or they won't gunna make it." Trav said as he looked askance at Jingo.

"Just remember who that card belongs to. Do you want to piss him off?" Jingo asked frankly.

Trav seemed to think about it for a moment, then quietly said, "We jes be gittin tha gas."

Jingo nodded, then walked back to her seat.

* * * * *

The bus had moved a few car lengths forward when Art said, "Father Doherty, there is someone on the radio who needs to speak with you."

The priest was surprised to be singled out, but hurried forward and squatted to be by Art's side.

"Big Noise, this is Monarch, the Father is here, go ahead." Art said firmly into the microphone.

Father Doherty smiled at the sound of Art's aristocratic British accent as he talked on the radio. When Art noticed, he shyly said, "Euan picked that name for me."

"It suits you." Father Doherty said fondly, then listened to the trucker speaking on the CB radio. "This is Big Noise out of Abilene. I happened upon your convoy a few miles back and heard some of Monarch's radio chatter and got to thinking that if y'all need a place to stop for the night that there's a campground just over half an hour up the road, about mile marker 142. They don't have electricity, but even so, I hear that they're still in pretty good shape. They have public toilets and running water. I doubt that you'll find much better anywhere 'round these parts."

Father Doherty thought quickly and decided that it sounded like a very good idea.

"Art, please tell him 'thank you' for me. Then, if you would, start spreading the word to the others in our 'convoy'." Father Doherty asked hopefully.

"Yes, Father." Art said quickly, then started talking on the CB.

* * * * *

The starting and stopping crawl to the truck stop felt like it took forever. Euan had joined Art at the front and they were talking quietly on the CB, letting everyone know what the plan was.

When the bus finally stopped at the fueling station by the truck stop, Jingo spoke up, "While you're getting the bus gassed up, I need to get some more bandages and things for that hurt guy."

Father Doherty thought that it sounded like a good idea and decided that he should also go along, in case he could see anything else that they might need.

"Give me the card." Jingo said as she looked at Trav.

"But you said..." Trav began to say when she cut him off.

"If the boss sees that we bought bandages, I don't think he'll have a problem. Give it!"

Trav handed over the credit card without further protest.

"Does anyone need anything?" Father Doherty asked as he stood.

No one answered, so he followed Jingo off the bus.

* * * * *

The restaurant at the truck stop was a bustle of activity. It looked like every available seat was filled and there was a line of about thirty people waiting to be seated.

Jingo and Father Doherty walked into the convenience store area and up to the counter where several people seemed to be waiting, but weren't standing in line.

"You need to pay first, then we'll start your pump. We'll call you up for your change when the pump has stopped." A clerk behind the counter called loudly enough for all to hear.

"Diesel pump seven." Jingo called out as she held up her card.

The clerk took the card and looked at it with a little surprise, but ended up placing the card on the countertop in a line with several others before saying, "Your pump is started for a fill up. I'll call you when it's ready."

Jingo gave a single nod, then walked away to look at the merchandise in the store.

Father Doherty looked around and was impressed with the efficiency of the truck stop's workers.

They had everything running smoothly and even though the store was packed, no one seemed to be upset about having to wait.

As he wandered around the store, he found himself on the candy aisle. When he spotted a small package of gummy bears, he smiled as he thought of Emo. He picked up the package, then walked to the next aisle where the cookies were kept and selected two small sleeves of cookies.

* * * * *

"Diesel pump seven!" The attendant at the counter called.

Father Doherty walked to the counter in time to see Jingo emerge from one of the aisles with her arms loaded with several packages of gauze and other medical supplies.

He got behind her in line and watched as the attendant took the black card and put it into an old fashioned credit card imprint machine.

"I haven't seen one of those things in ages!" Father Doherty exclaimed with a smile.

"Me either. It took the boss nearly half an hour to dig this thing out of the store room when we lost the connection to the home office." The clerk said honestly.

"It's good that you're still able to process credit transactions. You're helping a lot of people by doing this." Father Doherty said honestly as he placed his purchases on the counter.

"The boss said that we'll make a whole lot more than we'll lose since we're probably the only working gas station in the state. Gotta make the most out of the opportunity." The clerk said cheerfully, then asked, "Do you want those added to the credit card?"

"No. I'll pay cash for these." Father Doherty said as he took out his wallet.

"It's okay. I'll pay for them." Jingo said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

"No need. I just wanted to get some treats for the boys. They've been very cooperative and helpful." Father Doherty responded with a smile, then waited for the clerk to ring up his purchases.

* * * * *

When Father Doherty took his seat on the bus, everyone seemed to be nervous as they silently looked out the windows at the incredible sight of all the bustling activity surrounding the truck stop. The only sound on the bus was the AM radio playing at a low volume, too low for him to really hear it.

Father Doherty reached into his shopping bag and extracted the package of gummy bears, then handed them to Emo, who was still sitting in the chair next to his.

"Thanks!" Emo said with surprise, then added, "I love these things!"

Father Doherty smiled at the sincere appreciation then rested back, internally readying himself for the next leg of their journey.

* * * * *

"Okay, Doc. I think we can do this. I'm going to have to fly this thing like an F-16 and without tilt wings and afterburners that will be a challenge. Get everyone packed and we'll load up tonight and I want to be airborne an hour after dark. Radar is enough of a problem but I want us clear of hostile airspace before they can see us." Major Murdoc (USAF Ret), the private pilot said.

"I'll get everyone here that is evacuating and they can come to the hangar. Almost everyone is coming. There will be a small crew staying to keep everything running. The company power grid is still up and completely isolated. We will be cutting the other location off so it won't attract attention." The doctor remarked seriously.

* * * * *

The pilot had done his preflight carefully as he knew how precious his cargo was. His boss would not be happy if anything went wrong. Finally everything and everyone was loaded aboard the custom 767-300ER. He was still amazed that this was a private field with camouflaged hangars and runway. He entered the code to open the hangar doors and clear the runway. The previous owner was one paranoid SOB, but everyone was grateful, now, that he was.

A short taxi and it was 'showtime.' Throttles full, brakes off, and the large aircraft was gaining speed. Lifting into the air the pilot leveled out at 800 feet above tree tops. He left the throttles at full. The idea being to stay below radar and get out as fast as possible. He took a heading of 270 degrees. Well into Ohio air space, he banked to the right and took a heading of 020 degrees to head toward Toronto.

Once over Lake Erie the plane gained altitude. "Toronto Tower, this is HE-001 requesting landing clearance."

"HE-001 we do not have a flight plan or transponder."

"One moment." The copilot entered a code into the keypad.

"Roger HE-001. We are routing all private traffic to CYOO Oshaw Airport."

"Ah, negative, Toronto, We are a 767-300ER."

"General Aviation? Not many of those, eh?"

"Roger that."

"Clearance granted. Vectors to come. Welcome to Canada."

* * * * *

The Chicago group traveled for over half an hour in inky blackness on the unfamiliar road. When the bus reached the sign at the entrance of the park, Father Doherty felt a little relief that they had found it without any problem.

"It looks like this place is set up for RVs and campers. I'm guessing that will work well for this bus since it's almost like a mobile home." Artimus said as the bus meandered down small roads before stopping near the front of what seemed to be an enormous camping area.

"They have electricity!" Jim said with surprise.

Father Doherty realized that what he was looking at was, indeed, a well lit tourist center just thirty feet away.

"Don't get your hopes up. It's solar." Father Franklin said seriously.

The yellow tinge of the lighting was indicative of low power bulbs and none of the lights seemed to be overly bright. But still, it was light.

As Father Doherty looked around, he also noticed that all of the paths in the major areas seemed to be lined with small lights along the sidewalks, providing a safe walking path to and from the facilities.

The air brakes hissed as they finally came to a complete stop, and a moment later, the sound of the engine stopped.

Movement outside the bus caused Father Doherty to look up and he saw two people in park ranger uniforms approaching.

Before anyone else could react, he moved to the front of the bus and gently placed a hand on Greg's shoulder, then indicated the door.

As soon as Greg had opened the door, Father Doherty stepped outside and greeted the park rangers.

"Good evening. How can I help you?" Father Doherty asked pleasantly.

"Good evening. We just wanted to let you know that since the power is out, we won't be able to provide the full range of services that we normally offer. The restrooms and tourist areas are still available, but there's no hot water for the showers and, of course, there's no electricity. For that reason, we're discounting our usual camping fee to five dollars per vehicle per night." The first ranger said, as the second moved away toward Keith and Emmogene's truck that had just pulled in behind them.

"That's more than fair." Father Doherty said as he pulled out his wallet, then thought to add, "Please be aware that there may be as many as two hundred vehicles arriving over the next hour or so. We're all traveling together, so if any of them are unable to pay, please call on me so we can try and work something out."

The ranger looked at the side of the bus, then hesitantly asked, "Lesbian Gravy?"

Father Doherty chuckled, then explained, "The members of that band were kind enough to allow us to use their tour bus."

"Oh. I just wondered... I used to love their music. I hated to hear that they had broken up." The ranger said honestly.

"Oh! Well, then, you may be interested to know that the man in the truck over there was a member of the band. I have to admit that I don't know anything about them, but I'm sure that he'd be happy to speak with an admiring fan."

"Really? Thanks!" The ranger said happily, then rushed away.

Father Doherty smiled, then turned and climbed back onto the bus.

* * * * *

"I didn't think about it when we packed the bus, but we've got food boxes packed into every nook and cranny at the back. I would have hated to leave them behind, but now we need that space." Artimus said frankly.

Father Doherty looked out the windows at the seemingly endless caravan of cars arriving in the campground.

"Earlier, someone mentioned that there were people traveling with us who didn't have time to gather food to bring with them. I think it might be a good thing if we circulated amongst the other travelers and found out if any of them would have need of a box of food." Father Doherty said slowly.

"That sounds like a great idea! If you can give away a few of these boxes, I'll be able to get the beds freed up for tonight." Artimus said happily.

"There are also some extra blankets and clothes stored in the cargo area underneath the bus. We should get those, too. Just in case they're needed." Father Franklin said thoughtfully.

"Yes. If you'll do that, I'll take the boys with me to talk to people." Father Doherty said decisively.

Everyone seemed to be in agreement, so Father Doherty walked toward the front of the bus as he said, "Emo, would you and the boys like to help me with something?"

Emo looked up with surprise at being asked, but quickly nodded.

"Art and Euan, do you boys feel up to walking around for a bit, helping me see that there isn't anyone doing without food?" Father Doherty asked with a smile.

"Yes, Father, we would be happy to help." Art answered for both of them.

* * * * *

As they walked from one campsite to the next, following Father Doherty, Art was amazed at how good he felt.

He was helping people. Not in an abstract, distant way, like making a donation. He and Euan were walking with a priest, going from vehicle to vehicle asking people if they had enough food and were going to be warm enough.

The looks on their faces and the gratitude in their voices was nearly overwhelming to him. He felt so blessed for being given the opportunity to truly help people that were in need. When Father Doherty found that someone was in need, he would ask one of the boys walking with him to hurry back to the bus to get what was needed.

The sound of a woman's crying drew Art out of his introspection.

"Please, Margaret, don't distress. Just tell me what's wrong and I'll do whatever I can to help." Father Doherty said gently.

"My son... he's been missing for three weeks and... and the police don't have any leads and now... I got scared for my other kids and I left. But he won't know how to find me! What if he comes back and can't find me?" The woman said before breaking into fresh sobs.

"I believe that you did what was best, Margaret. I know it's of little comfort, but this is something out of your control. Offer it up to God and trust that all will go according to his will." Father Doherty said gently.

"Yes... you're right. I need to be strong. My babies need me." She said as she tried to control herself.

"Just now, we're checking to see that no one has to go to bed tonight with an empty belly. But as soon as we're finished, I'd like to come back here to speak with you for a while and pray with you. Would that be alright?" Father Doherty asked gently.

"Yes. Thank you, Father. I would like that." Margaret said as she dabbed at her eyes.

"We'll speak again soon." Father Doherty said softly, then stepped away from the SUV.

Blurring vision caused Art to wipe his own eyes and Father Doherty noticed. "Is something wrong?"

"You have a satellite phone, don't you?" Art asked as he fought to compose himself.

"Yes." Father Doherty answered slowly.

"I think... I know my mother has to be worried about me. I should have called her before we left Chicago. Do you think I could borrow your phone to call her now?" Art asked hopefully.

"Yes. Of course." Father Doherty said as he took the phone from his pocket and handed it to Art.

"I'll only be a minute." Art said as he started to dial.

"Take as long as you need." Father Doherty said as he led Emo and Euan away.

After a moment, Art scowled that his call was being sent to voice mail. But when the tone for him to speak finally sounded, he calmly said, "Mother, I'm sorry that I didn't call sooner. Euan and I ran into some trouble. We weren't seriously injured, but... well, I'll explain when we're able to talk in person. I just wanted to let you know that Euan and I are safe. We aren't being held against our will and, in fact, are doing something quite important. I won't go into it now, but I'm certain that you would approve. This is much like those dreadful things you have me do that are supposed to 'build character'. I will call again soon and we will talk. I love you."

* * * * *

"There are still people coming in. How are we going to get to all of them?" Euan asked as he looked at the lights of arriving vehicles entering the campground.

"I think that we've spoken to enough people that if there's someone who is in need, that they will be directed to us." Father Doherty said honestly as they walked.

"Where's the bus?" Emo asked as he came to a sudden stop.

Father Doherty looked around, then spotted the bus at the other side of the camping area, pulled off at the side of the road.

"It's over there." He said as he pointed.

* * * * *

As they approached the bus, Father Doherty noticed that it was parked beside a large, grassy field that gradually sloped up and away from the side of the road. Jim and Arthur were securing clamp-on lights to an awning that extended from the side of the bus as Keith sat on a folding chair, tuning an acoustic guitar.

There was a low humming rumble that Father Doherty couldn't quite place, but then he realized that it was the sound of a generator.

Suddenly, what he was seeing made sense to him. What they were doing was setting up a stage, and the grassy field that they were beside was a natural amphitheater.

"Boys, why don't you go and get some blankets or mats or something so you can sit in the grass. It looks like the band is going to put on a show."

* * * * *

Eventually, Keith was joined by four other men about his same age. When the music started, it turned out to be just about the complete opposite of what Father Doherty expected. The band started off by playing a fairly good rendition of Don McLean's "Vincent" also known as "Starry, Starry, Night".

The sound of the music playing started drawing people from all the cars and campers around the campground.

The next song was Terry Jack's, "Seasons in the Sun.", which Father Doherty thought was an odd choice, but everyone seemed to be enjoying it as more and more people arrived in the grassy field.

"Margaret. How are you doing? Please, come sit with us." Father Doherty said as he gestured to the blankets arranged on the ground.

"Thank you, Father. That's very kind." Margaret said shyly as she and her kids joined Emo, Art and Euan on the blanket.

* * * * *

After an exceptionally good rendition of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper", Emo turned to Father Doherty and said, "I never thought that a band named 'Lesbian Gravy' would be singing songs like these."

Father Doherty chuckled, then said, "I assume that they're adapting to their audience and trying to make everyone comfortable."

"They're doing a good job of that." Art said from Father Doherty's other side before turning his full attention back to the performers.

* * * * *

Father Doherty was surprised to realize that he had lost track of time, along with everything else.

As the band played on, they sang familiar songs and encouraged everyone to participate by singing along. It was odd to hear nearly two hundred people singing the chorus of "American Pie" in the otherwise still night.

When he had realized what Keith and his band were planning on doing, he never imagined how an open air concert could help everyone to let go of their problems for a little while and experience the feeling of community that had formed out of nearly nothing.

As he looked around in the dim light at all the faces of people caught up in the music, he knew within himself that this, all of this, was nothing less than a miracle.

* * * * *

"How are you doing, Margaret?" Father Doherty asked as he helped her to stand.

"Better, I think. I'm still worried about Brody, but I'm going to try to do what you said and leave it in God's hands and trust that everything will go according to His plan. Hopefully, His plan will include Brody coming home to us... but we'll just have to wait and see." Margaret said bravely.

"There are two other priests staying on the tour bus with me. If you need anything, even if it's just to talk, please feel free to come to us." Father Doherty said sincerely.

"Thank you, Father." Margaret said, then gathered her children to usher them back to the SUV.

* * * * *

Father Doherty and the boys watched as the makeshift stage was broken down and the bus was moved back to its original place, so it could be reconnected to the utilities, such as they had.

The open air had been chilly and exhilarating, but Father Doherty felt as though he was chilled to the core.

"Where are we going to sleep?" Emo asked as he followed Father Doherty onto the bus.

"I noticed that the seats recline, so I suppose that most of us will sleep that way." Father Doherty said frankly.

"The bunk beds in the back are free now, who gets to sleep there?" Artimus asked curiously.

"I think that Ahmid should get one of the beds. After all he's been through, it's the least we can do for him." Father Doherty said honestly.

"Let me check on his shoulder, then we can either wake him up or carry him back there." Jingo said as she stood and moved to Ahmid's side.

"What about the other bed?" Artimus asked curiously.

"I think, for all that he's done to help everyone here, Father Doherty should get the other bunk." Father Franklin said seriously.

Everyone present seemed to be in agreement.

"No. Thank you for the thought, but that goes contrary to everything that I believe in. There's no way that I could sleep comfortably knowing that I was doing so at the expense of others." Father Doherty said firmly.

Everyone could hear the conviction in his voice and, although many thought that he deserved the more comfortable bed, none had the will to defy him.

"Who gets it then?" Artimus asked simply.

After a moment to consider, Father Doherty smiled and said, "I think it should be Greg."

The man seemed to be about to refuse when Father Doherty said, "He's going to be doing most, if not all, of the driving tomorrow. If anyone needs a good night of sleep, it's him."

Everyone seemed to agree with that answer and Greg finally accepted it without protest.

"Art and Euan? Would you mind helping me?" Father Kinsey asked from the small kitchenette area.

The boys were surprised to be called upon, but hurried back to see what Father Kinsey wanted.

Father Doherty's eyes lit up a moment later when he saw what the boys were carrying.

"Would you like some hot chocolate, Father?" Art offered as he held forward one of the two cups that he carried.

"Yes. Thank you, Art. And please thank Father Kinsey for me." Father Doherty said with a smile.

"Mmmm." Father Doherty purred after taking a sip.

"Want some, Emo?" Art asked as he offered the other cup to him.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks." Emo said hesitantly.

"Art, when you're done handing those out, would you and Euan come and see me?" Father Doherty asked with a smile.

"Yes. We'll be there in a moment." Art said with a curious look on his face.

"Oh! That's good!" Emo said appreciatively.

"Let's sit so we can take our time and enjoy this." Father Doherty said as he gestured to the seats they had been using on the trip.

* * * * *

"You asked to see us?" Art asked cautiously as he and Euan stood at Father Doherty's side, each holding a cup of hot chocolate.

"Oh, yes. I bought these for you at the truck stop and forgot to give them to you at the time." Father Doherty said as he handed them each a small package of cookies.

"Thank you, Father!" Art said with surprise.

"Yes. Thank you. We didn't expect to get anything special." Euan said timidly.

"I just wanted to thank both of you for being so helpful. Please, enjoy them." Father Doherty said with a tender smile.

"Thank you, again." Art said before hurrying away with Euan at his side.

"That was nice of you." Emo said in a considering tone.

"Being nice comes with the job." Father Doherty said dismissively.

"I'm beginning to see that." Emo muttered absently, then seemed to drift off into his own thoughts.

* * * * *

"If I counted right, we should have plenty of blankets for everyone, but we might be a pillow or two short." Artimus said from the front of the bus.

"The way these seats are shaped, I don't think I'll need one." Father Doherty said honestly.

A few of the others made sounds of agreement with him.

"Then we might have enough. What do you say? Are we ready to call it a night?" Artimus asked as he looked around.

No one said anything, so their silence was taken as acceptance.

After a moment, Artimus asked, "Who wants to help me with Ahmid?"

"You should probably wake him up and get him to use the bathroom and maybe drink something before you put him back to bed." Jim said seriously.

"You wanna help me? I'm betting that he'll be too out of it to find the bathroom on his own." Artimus said seriously.

Jim got up from his chair and, together, they were able to coax him awake, at least a little bit, and get him to more or less stand.

* * * * *

Although he didn't think about it, when Father Doherty finally sat down in his seat with a blanket to cover him, he found that Emo was sitting in the seat next to his.

The look in Emo's eyes spoke of uncertainty, but he didn't say anything.

Deciding to take a chance, Father Doherty leaned in and gave the skittish teenager a quick hug as he whispered, "Good night, Marsden. Sweet dreams."

"Thanks. You, too." Emo said shyly.

Father Doherty unfolded his blanket and reclined his seat when a movement beside him caught his attention.

Emo's hand was nonchalantly perched on the armrest, right beside Father Doherty. With a smile, Father Doherty placed his hand over Emo's and gave it a gentle squeeze before closing his eyes for sleep.

Chapter 16: Apocalypse

When Bug awoke, he immediately smiled at the sensation of being snuggled between the twins.

As much as he knew that he would enjoy staying where he was, he also knew that his family depended on him, and he wouldn't allow them to suffer just because he had found someone to love.

Slowly and carefully, he tried to extricate himself from his place between the twins without waking them, but to no avail.

"Go back to sleep." Ken whispered, barely coherently.

"If you want to have breakfast this morning, then someone needs to get up." Bug said tenderly.

After a moment, one of Ken's eyes slowly opened, then he asked, "Will there be bacon?"

Bug smiled at the question, then whispered, "I didn't look before we went to bed. But I promise, if there's any bacon in the kitchen, I'll cook some just for you."

"Can I sleep until it's ready?" Ken asked as his eye slid closed again.

"I'll come and get you as soon as it's on the table." Bug said tenderly.

"Love you forever..." Ken muttered as he drifted back to sleep.

Bug actually chuckled, and gave Ken a quick kiss on the forehead before climbing off the foot of the bed.

Once Bug was on his feet, he walked around the side of the bed and gave Kev a quick, gentle kiss before going to get dressed.

* * * * *

"Good morning, guys. How are you doing today?" Bug asked as he tended the cooking bacon on the built-in griddle on the stove.

"We're really good, but I'm gonna need more rubbers pretty soon." Lawrence said cheerfully.

Bug glanced over long enough to see Roris' scarlet blush, which he expected, then casually said, "I'm pretty sure that with those gator things, that we can run down to the store and get some whenever you want. Just let me know when you guys feel like driving into town."

"That bacon smells good. Is breakfast almost ready?" Lawrence asked hopefully.

"Yeah. Not too long now. Would you like to help me? I could use some help making toast." Bug asked with a smile.

"Sure! I'll help!" Lawrence said as he jumped up from the chair beside Roris.

As Bug was turning the bacon for the final time, he heard a computerized voice say, "Please, don't bother making any food for me."

"I'm cooking anyway. It's no bother." Bug said honestly.

"There's a lot of food that I can't eat. My mother already called and she's going to bring me a plate." Roris said via the computer voice, and Bug could see the sad look in his eyes.

As Bug started pulling the bacon off the griddle and moving it to a paper towel to drain, he said, "If you or your mom will tell me what kind of food you can or can't have, I can make sure to have what you can eat when I make a meal."

"You don't have to do that." Roris' computerized voice said tonelessly.

"No fuckin' duh!" Bug said with a grin and a roll of his eyes, then continued, "You make Lawrence happy, so I want to do nice stuff for you. It's that simple."

"Thank you. I'll ask my mother to talk with you about it. She knows a lot more about it than I do." Roris said through the computer.

"Yeah. Whenever she has time. In fact, once I know what you can eat, maybe I could invite your parents over to have lunch with us." Bug said as he walked to the refrigerator and took out a carton of eggs.

"I think my parents would enjoy being invited. They were never very social, and it would be special for them." Roris said in his emotionless, robotic voice.

"I'll be sure to do that, then. I want to be sure to stay on good terms with the in-laws." Bug said with a grin.

"How much toast do you need?" Lawrence asked as he took one load of toast out of the four slice toaster, then loaded it again.

"I think we'll need another two loads after that one. Remember, we've still got the boys up in the game room to feed." Bug said as he started cracking eggs into a large bowl.

"Do you want me to go and wake them up?" Lawrence asked with a smile.

"Sure. You can do that now if you want. I'll keep an eye on your toast for you." Bug said with a smile at his older brother.

Without a second thought, Lawrence dashed away.

"I like the way that you treat your brother. Despite his limitations, you constantly find ways to empower him." Roris said with his computerized voice.

"So do you." Bug said with a glance at Roris.

After a moment of consideration, Roris responded, "But when I ask Lawrence for help, it's usually because I need it. Something I cannot do for myself."

"Helping you or me or anyone, makes Lawrence happy. If you think about it, him helping you, someone who can't do it himself is a lot better than him helping me, who just doesn't like to stand around waiting for the toaster to pop." Bug said before getting a little water on his fingers, then flicking some onto the hot skillet.

After watching the sizzle, Bug adjusted the temperature down, just a little, then put a splash of oil in the pan.

"You don't feel like I'm using him, do you?" Roris asked.

"I think that you can use his help, as much as he can use yours. You guys are great together. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks. As long as you two are happy, then who else matters?" Bug asked frankly, then poured the egg mixture into the hot skillet.

"Bug! You didn't take the toast out!" Lawrence said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Sorry, Lor. I got to talking to Roris and forgot." Bug said as he stirred the egg mixture.

After Lawrence emptied and reloaded the toaster, Bug finally asked, "Did you wake up the boys?"

"Yeah. They'll be down in a couple minutes." Lawrence said happily.

"Great. Then I think that everything should be ready just about the time that they get down here." Bug said with a smile at his brother.

"Rory, can you have toast? I forget." Lawrence asked as he looked back.

"No. I'm sorry." Roris responded.

"Don't be sorry. I'm the one who can't remember." Lawrence said simply as he finished buttering the next batch of toast.

"Knock knock!" Doris called out cheerfully as she walked in through the outside door.

"Come on in. Would you like some coffee or anything?" Bug asked her.

"Thank you, no. I just came to drop off a plate for Roris. Marcus is waiting for me to get back." Doris said as she hurried to the dining room table and placed the plate before Roris.

"Roris and I were talking and, when you have time, I'd like to find out what Roris can and can't eat." Bug said as he started taking the scrambled eggs out of the skillet.

"Yes. We'll have to do that sometime soon." Doris said happily, then quickly added, "I've got to go."

"Have a good morning." Bug chuckled.

"Thank you, Mom." said Roris.

Doris stopped at the door, then ran back to her son and gave him a quick, firm hug before dashing away.

* * * * *

"Breakfast is ready. I brought you coffee." Bug said as he nudged Ken's shoulder.

Ken slowly opened his eyes, then broke into a smile before accepting the steaming hot mug.

"Scrambled eggs and bacon are waiting for you on the table, just as soon as you're ready." Bug said warmly, then moved around the bed to Kev.

Bug leaned in and gave Kev a gentle kiss.

As the kiss continued, Kev slowly opened his eyes.

"Good morning." Bug said against Kev's lips.

"Yeah. Real good." Kev responded, before moving back in to continue the kiss.

"I brought you coffee, and there's eggs and bacon waiting for you on the table." Bug said when he came up for air.

"Did you make me breakfast?" Kev asked with a smile.

"Yeah. And I'd better get out there. I let Lawrence wake up Oma Shoupe and he might need my help." Bug said regretfully as he backed away.

"Thanks for the good 'wake up'." Kev said tenderly.

"My pleasure." Bug said with a grin, then hurried away.

* * * * *

"Wow Bug! This is really great!" Bax said enthusiastically.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it." Bug said with a smile.

"No. Seriously, Bug, your food is awesome!" Max said earnestly.

"I tell you what. If any of you guys would like to learn how to cook, just let me know." Bug said between bites of food.

Bax, Ro and Max exchanged looks, but no one said anything.

"Do you remember which pills I don't have to take." Oma Shoupe asked as she looked at Bug.

"Yeah. I wrote it down on the list, so if I'm not around for some reason, you'll have it all spelled out for you." Bug said gently.

"Are you my grandma, now?" Max asked Oma Shoupe curiously.

"No." Oma Shoupe said gently, then continued, "Madelyn is your grandma, I'm your Oma."

Max considered for a moment, then seemed to accept it.

"So, do you guys have any plans today?" Ken asked curiously.

Max, Bax and Ro again exchanged looks, but didn't answer.

"I tell you what. It's cold outside. So as long as you guys stay in the house and stay out of trouble, I don't need to know what you're doing." Bug said simply.

"Thanks, Bug! You're awesome." Bax said with a grand smile.

* * * * *

"Carson, this is your sixteenth wake-up call. I currently have three messages flagged as high priority alerts. Please wake up." Dizzy said in his young teenage voice.

After a moment for the fog to clear from his mind, Carson reluctantly said, "I'm awake, Dizzy. Tell me what the alerts are."

"At two-thirty this morning, which is five-thirty, eastern standard time, President Ashwood declared the election null and void, and made it known that he had no intention, whatsoever, of surrendering the office of president. Further, he declared martial law. At that time, he ordered that all civilian airports be closed and that all citizens were to be in their homes within thirty minutes of the announcement, and remain in their homes until martial law is rescinded."

After a moment to process the information, Carson asked, "Is that everything?"

"No. That was the first of three high priority alerts." Dizzy responded in a tone of voice that seemed a little bit too cheerful for so early in the morning. Carson made a mental note to himself to write a subroutine that reduced Dizzy's enthusiasm in the early hours of the day.

"At approximately five-thirty this morning, landline communications were cut to all points outside the United States." Dizzy said frankly.

"Well, that's not good, but I guess it could be worse. What else've you got?" Carson asked with a bit of dread under his words.

"Just now, I received an announcement that Texas has officially seceded from the United States and they have declared war on the Ashwood administration, which they don't recognize as being the duly elected government of the people of the United States." Dizzy said as simply as possible.

Carson remained still for a moment, thinking about all that he had been told, then thought to ask, "Where did you get all that information with half the country being blacked out?"

"There is an AM radio station in Chicago that is still broadcasting. Several people are blogging and chatting about things being said there. The AM broadcast is being streamed by a Canadian blogger, if you would like to hear it." Dizzy offered helpfully.

"Um, yeah. I'll listen to it while I'm getting ready... by the way, what time is it?" Carson asked blearily.

"The time is now, eight thirty-seven." Dizzy said, and once again his voice seemed to be just a bit too cheerful.

Carson was surprised that he had slept so late, but he also knew that when he was in as much pain as he was the previous night, that it tended to make him feel exhausted for days afterward.

"...not kidding. It's bad. The high ranking member of the police department who gave us the satellite phones has been helping us out through the night. He told us to let you know that what's going on today. We've been set up. People from outside Chicago, some of them from outside the United States, are trying to stir things up and start a riot. The military's in on it, and even some of the police. He just wanted you to know... don't fall for it. Don't take their bait." The announcer said gravely.

Carson realized that he had stopped with the pain pills in his hand, halfway to his mouth. He quickly took the pills, then hurried to get dressed.

"Listen, it's getting serious and you guys need to know who it is that's helping you. He's been going out of his way to stay out of the spotlight, but... now you need to know. The high ranking police official who has been helping us since all of this began is Alexander Cappo. When it came to light what the president and his cronies were doing, Mr. Cappo stepped up and did what needed to be done. He took the mayor and many others who were working against the interests and well-being of the citizens of Chicago, and had them arrested. Mr. Cappo then took on the great challenge of acting as mayor, to give all of us the best chance he could at survival. In a few minutes, I'll play you a recording of the speech Mayor Cappo gave this morning. Before you make any judgments, remember. He stood with us when all those we put into power were trying to sell us out."

Carson had dressed himself automatically, and when he had finished, he went to Dizzy to dock his chair.

"Let me tell you, if it wasn't for Alex Cappo, we'd be lost right now. I'm not talking about this station, I'm talking about Chicago. Thanks to him, we can find out what's going on and pass that information on to you. We can let you know what's happening and how to prepare. We can tell you the TRUTH, that we've been prevented from telling you thanks to the 'Ashwood Regime', as the Texans have taken to calling it. I'm asking anyone who can hear my voice to stand with Mayor Cappo and do what he says. He's already proven by his actions that he's on the side of truth and right. Let's give him everything he needs to keep Chicago free and safe!"

"For anyone who just joined us, I'll repeat, there are people from outside Chicago trying to incite riots in our city. Don't take their bait. Help each other. Check on your neighbors. Remember that this is Chicago! Our HOME! That self-proclaimed dictator in the White House doesn't pull our strings! Now, stay tuned for a speech from Mayor Cappo that tells us, in his own words, what is going on and what we can do to help."

Carson absently took his phone off its charger, then said, "I need to go to breakfast. Call me if there are any more priority alerts."

The radio muted, then Dizzy responded, "You got it, Boss."

Carson smiled at the response, then slowly left the room.

* * * * *

"You really slept late this morning. I was just about to go wake you up. How are you feeling?" Carson's mother asked with concern as he entered the kitchen.

"It was bad, last night. I was so out of it that I missed some of what was going on." Carson said as he made his way to his usual place at the table.

"The world can get by on its own for a while, so that you can sleep." His grandmother, Madelyn, said as she placed a plate of food before him.

Carson noticed a boy at the table that he didn't remember meeting the previous day and said, "I'm Carson."

"Ty." The boy responded before finishing the last few bites of food on his plate.

"Ty's sharing my room." Mikey explained.

Carson nodded, then started to cut up his fried eggs, making sure to break all the yolks as he did so.

"I heard about the president declaring martial law. Although that's going to be a problem for some, I doubt that it will cause us too many problems here." Deb said frankly as she sat down across from Carson with a cup of coffee.

"Yeah. But since they cut communications outside the United States, Dad might have some trouble with his business connections." Carson said frankly.

"He'll make do. I'm sure that everyone understands that we're doing our best, under the circumstances. In fact, he was going to work on getting in contact with Mr. Prater, down in Australia, to see if he could get some extra help with the relief efforts. He may have to jump through a few hoops to get the message through, but I have faith in your father." Deb said casually.

"Did you hear about Texas?" Carson asked as he paused to look at his mother.

"No. What happened in Texas?" Deb asked cautiously.

"They seceded. They said that since Ashwood declared the election null and void, that he doesn't represent the duly elected government of the people." Carson said seriously.

Deb slowly nodded, then said, "I suppose that you could look at it that way."

"They've declared war." Carson added in a whisper.

"War?" Madelyn asked in surprise.

"That's all I know about it. I don't know how bad it really is." Carson said honestly.

Deb nodded again, but didn't respond otherwise.

After a few minutes of silence, Tommy quietly said, "Mikey, do you think that you could help me take care of the guests, today? I've got a lot to do with getting ready for when people start showing up, and I don't want anyone going without stuff, just because I wasn't around to notice."

"Sure. Ty and I will take care of everyone." Mikey said cheerfully.

"If anything comes up that you don't know how to handle, just let me know." Tommy said with a smile at his brother.

Just then, Carson's cell phone started ringing in his pocket.

"Can't you turn that thing off at the breakfast table?" Madelyn asked irritably.

"Dizzy wouldn't call me unless it was important." Carson said as he opened his phone.

After a minute of listening, he quietly said, "Thanks, Dizzy." then ended the call.

"Is something wrong?" Deb asked with concern.

"Yeah. Way wrong." Carson muttered as his mind raced.

Everyone around the table waited anxiously for Carson to reveal what was going on.

"Okay. Dizzy only got the one report, and I'll have to check for myself to see if it's true. But according to him, Kansas City just got... um... from what he said, 'bombed' is kind of an understatement. It sounds like it was mostly blown off the face of the earth." Carson said weakly.

"How can this be happening?" Madelyn asked in astonishment, then saw her husband walking into the room and ran to him.

"Like I said, I'll have to go and check it out to be sure. If what Dizzy told me is true, I'll be able to tell pretty easily from a satellite image." Carson said frankly.

"Thank God we got all of our people out of Kansas City last night." Deb said distantly.

"Yeah, but what about their friends? Maybe even families?" Tommy asked quietly.

"We did as much as we could. I know that won't bring back anyone that they lost, but..." Deb finished with a defeated shrug, obviously out of words.

Carson went back to slowly eating his food, mostly automatically, not really tasting anything that he was eating.

Silence fell over the kitchen.

In the light of such a monumental tragedy, no one knew what to say.

* * * * *

As Carson was mopping up the last of his egg yolk from the plate with his last piece of toast, his cell phone rang again.

Everyone stopped and looked at Carson anxiously.

Reluctantly, Carson looked at the caller ID and saw, to his regret, that it was Dizzy.

"Yes?" Carson asked as he answered the phone.

His hand started to slightly shake and a tear escaped his eye as he took the phone away from his ear, then pressed the button to end the call.

No one present dared ask the question. They all just waited for whatever had caused such a reaction.

"According to a radio station in Chicago, bombs... missiles, just went off in Austin, Texas." Carson said in an emotionless voice as he stared past everyone, looking into a distant place that only he could see.

"Oh my God." Deb gasped.

"I... I really need to go and see what's happened. Maybe it's not..." Carson trailed off, then shook his head before hurrying out of the room.

* * * * *

When Carson arrived in his room, it only took a few minutes for him to realize that not only were the reports true, but that the situation was far worse than he could have imagined.

"I'm sorry for bothering everyone, but there's some news and... I really think everyone should come to the living room, so I can bring you up-to-date." Carson said reluctantly into the intercom.

As he undocked his chair in preparation to go to the living room, Dizzy said, "Carson, there is a high priority alert."

"Reset the alert status. Don't trigger new alerts for keywords used in combination with Kansas City or Austin." Carson said quickly.

"I did that. This alert is regarding an explosion in downtown Oklahoma City." Dizzy said simply.

Carson froze for a moment, then rushed back to the computer alcove to dock again.

"Dizzy, please start playing the audio stream from the Chicago radio station." Carson said absently as he tried to gain access to a satellite feed.

"Details are sketchy, but we've received two separate reports that an explosion has gone off in downtown Oklahoma City. Wait, I'm getting something handed to me... it's from a shortwave operator in the area. Oh my God... if he's right, whatever caused the explosion, or whatever it blew up, was radioactive. Please understand, we're getting these reports and announcing what we're told as soon as we get it. None of this has been confirmed. But if you're anywhere near Oklahoma City, you should get away from there as quickly as humanly possible. If you can't get away, stay inside. Go to a basement or storm cellar or something and wait there for as long as you can. We don't know how bad this is, yet. But you really need to assume the worst and do whatever you can to protect yourselves."

As he was listening, Carson could see the damage caused by the initial explosion on the satellite image.

"Turn the radio stream off." Carson choked out as he was racked with sobs.

Carson leaned forward and put his head down as he gave up control and began to cry in earnest.

A pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, then a soft voice barely whispered into his ear, "It's okay. I've got you."

Carson didn't know who it was that was holding him, but he felt that it was just what he needed at that moment.

"Whatever it is, I'll help you deal with it. You don't have to face it alone."

Suddenly, Carson realized who it was that was holding him and he felt a warmth rise inside him at the incredibly caring action.

"Thanks, Jay." Carson whispered as he hugged the arms that were wrapped around him.

* * * * *

"Do you want to be over by the TV, like before?" Jay asked as he pushed Carson's wheelchair into the living room.

"Thanks for pushing me. You really don't have to, but I appreciate it." Carson said as he worked on his laptop, queuing up the files that he wanted to display.

Jay gave a slight, dismissive chuckle, then said, "With all you're doing to help everyone else, it's nice that someone can do something to help you."

"I usually refuse to let people help me. There's so many things that I can't do on my own, that I won't let anyone help me with the things that I'm able to do for myself." Carson said honestly.

"I won't do it if you don't want me to." Jay said hesitantly.

Carson shook his head and quietly said, "You're the exception. I'll let you help me, if you want. But that means that, someday, when you need it, that you're going to have to let me help you, too."

Jay looked deeply into Carson's eyes and could see the seriousness smoldering within.

Finally, he whispered, "Deal."

* * * * *

Ryan walked into the living room and directly to Carson's side.

"I have an important call waiting for me. I already heard about the US cutting communications with the rest of the world and about the president declaring martial law. If that's all this is, then I need to get back to my office." Ryan said seriously.

"Dad, take a seat." Carson said gravely, then asked, "Would you turn the TV on and set it to the aux input?"

Ryan picked up the remote and turned the enormous TV to the requested channel.

Everyone was quiet and waiting anxiously for what Carson was about to say.

"This morning, the president announced that the elections were null and void, then declared martial law." Carson said simply.

"I'm surprised it took him this long." Oma Shoupe said frankly.

"All landline communications have been cut outside the US. After that, Texas seceded from the union and declared war." Carson said as he looked around for people's reactions.

There were several stunned looks, but no one seemed to be surprised beyond that.

"Then, just a while ago, different cities started being attacked. With all the electric and communications being blacked out over half the country, we can't be sure of everything that's going on, but I've done my best to verify what I can before telling you." Carson said, then brought up the first, and by far, the most horrific image that he had in his queue.

He waited for everyone to get a good look at it before finally saying, "That's what's left of Kansas City."

Everyone was silent for a few seconds, then Hank ran forward and stared closely at the satellite image, obviously looking for something.

"After we're done, I can get you a more detailed image." Carson offered quietly.

"No. You don't have to... they're gone." Hank said in a whisper before he was engulfed in Jeremy's arms.

Carson felt it in his heart when one of Hank's anguished sobs escaped.

"What about Taryn and Michelle?" Lucas asked suddenly.

"Everyone from KF Transport was evacuated from Kansas City last night. They all made it safely to the West before the blackout." Deb said firmly.

Max, Bax and Ro were surrounding Bug, both holding and being held by him. But all of their attention was focused on Deb.

"That's not all of it." Carson said regretfully, then hit enter on his keyboard to bring up the next image.

"Austin, Texas." Carson called out, and his voice sounded hollow to his own ears.

Everyone looked at the screen, and Walt finally said, "It doesn't look like too much damage... a downed aircraft, maybe."

"The explosion wasn't the problem. I did as much checking as I could before coming in here and... I don't really know too much about how nerve gas behaves... but from what I did understand, it looks like over half the population of Austin is either dead or dying right now... maybe as high as three quarters." Carson finished regretfully.

"Nerve gas?" Walt asked, wanting confirmation.

"That's what just about everyone is saying. They sound pretty sure. The word on what's left of the Net is that it's Sarin. But there's no way for me to verify that. It would probably take hours for me to sort through everything posted in the chat rooms about it right now." Carson said quietly.

"Kansas City AND Austin?" Oma Shoupe said in disbelief.

Carson hit the enter key on his computer, and the image on the TV changed again.

"And Oklahoma City. I don't know what it was, but they're reading extremely high radiation in the blast area."

"But why? I mean, I can understand Austin being a target since Texas seceded. But why would anyone target Kansas City or Oklahoma City?" Reginald asked distantly as he clutched his partner to his side.

"To instill a sense of fear in you. To terrorize you. To make the population so numb with horror that they'll do whatever they're told." Walt said frankly.

When most of the attention in the room was turned on him, he continued, "They've just proven that your lives mean nothing to them. They will kill civilians without a second thought. In many parts of the world, that's not a new concept, but in the United States, it's relatively unknown. I don't know what to tell you except that this shows me that these people aren't going to 'play nice'. These people have no code of honor. There is NOTHING that they won't do, and they don't care who gets hurt as long as they get what they want."

"And what they want is control... of everything." Ben said flatly, holding Oleksandr on his hip.

"...and everyone." Bug added.

After a moment to be sure that Walt was finished, Ryan slowly turned to Carson and hopefully asked, "Is that it?"

As Carson was about to answer, his phone rang.

Max, Bax and Ro all noticed the tension that immediately filled Deb's expression at the sound.

Carson reluctantly put the phone to his ear and listened for a moment.

When he finally disconnected, as expected, he saw that everyone in the room was looking at him expectantly.

"I've just received instructions for how to deal with a 'blister agent'. It seems that some people started coming down sick in Boulder, Colorado, and someone just figured out what caused it and passed on how to treat it." Carson said absently, then quietly added, "Dizzy also told me that according to a radio station in Chicago, there are foreign military fighters that have shown up in cities all over the country. Chicago is fighting back, but most of the other Eastern cities aren't doing as well."

Without warning, a pair of arms encircled Carson and he melted into the touch.

A part of him realized that he was in front of a room full of people, openly being held by another boy, and that he should probably pull away. But it felt too good. The hug was exactly what he needed at that moment.

Carson slowly placed his hand on top of Jay's then whispered, "Thank you."

* * * * *

Carson lost track of time. He didn't know how long they had been in the living room, essentially holding hands. Finally, he realized what he was doing and looked around.

All the various people were gathered into groups and comforting each other.

As much as he would have liked to stay and hold Jay's hand for a while longer, his sense of duty drove him to say, "I need to get back to my room and keep up with what's going on."

"Okay." Jay whispered, then began pushing Carson's chair back to his bedroom.

It was strange for him to be pushed in the wheelchair. He was used to doing it himself, always being in control. But, somehow, knowing that it was Jay made it alright.

* * * * *

"Should I leave?" Jay asked quietly.

"No. It'd be better if you stayed. I could use your help." Carson said honestly.

"There's not much I can do." Jay said softly.

"You can keep me company. And if the news gets too bad, then maybe you could hold me again." Carson said hopefully.

"Actually, bad news isn't required for that." Jay said with a grin.

Carson returned the smile, then said, "Dizzy, please play the Chicago radio stream."

Jay looked at him curiously.

"Maybe, if you wanted, you could hold me while we listen to the radio... you know, just in case of bad news." Carson finished shyly.

"Sounds good." Jay responded as he walked up behind Carson and began to hug him from behind.

"...after what the police are calling 'intensive questioning', Mayor Cappo has announced that the foreign fighters were brought here for the express purpose of inciting riots, then helping to contain and control the populations of the cities."

"The recent events have sparked an exodus of people, fleeing to the West. The government has instituted roadblocks to prevent people from leaving, claiming that any civilians on the road are in violation of martial law. There have been numerous reports of soldiers gunning down civilians with little or no provocation."

"This is a nightmare." Jay whispered into Carson's ear.

"I almost wish I didn't know about what was going on. It's almost too much to handle." Carson responded quietly.

"You don't have to handle it alone. I've got you." Jay said soothingly, then they both heard as well as felt a low rumble.

"Was that thunder?" Jay asked curiously.

"Maybe." Carson said as he quickly brought up the local weather radar.

The radar image showed the sky to be clear over the Kettle Falls area, and the 'thunder' didn't repeat.

"We've just received a report that a group from Michigan, making their way West, encountered a government roadblock and were able to overrun it with minimal casualties. According to what we just heard on the CB radio, our friends from Michigan also assisted another group of nearly one hundred women and children to get to safety. Way to go, guys! You're our heroes!"

"At least there's some good news." Jay purred into Carson's ear.

"Hold on! We're getting swamped here with all kinds of new information. It looks like... maybe a nuclear bomb? I don't know. Don't quote me on that. Something big... really big, just happened in California. There's too much coming in right now and no one knows what really happened."

As Carson sat forward, Jay released him and watched him work.

"If it's a nuclear bomb, I should be able to pick it up on satellite." Carson muttered as his fingers flew across the keyboard.

All six monitors were showing different images when Carson suddenly stopped all movement.

"What? Did you find something?" Jay asked, unable to decipher what he was seeing.

"San Francisco, it's... gone." Carson whispered.

"Was it a bomb?" Jay asked as he looked from one screen to another, trying to make any sense of it.

"I don't think it matters what it was. It looks like everything for... it looks like hundreds of miles, is completely destroyed. And... oh my God! That's what that 'thunder' was! The blast was so big that we felt it all the way up here in Washington!" Carson finished in amazement.

"No place is safe, is it?" Jay asked in a whisper.

"No. But we can't let that stop us. That's what they're counting on. That's why they're doing all of this, to demoralize us and make us feel helpless. They want to make everyone a 'victim', so that they can control us." Carson said as he continued to pull up different images on his screens.

After a long silence, Jay quietly said, "That's what my family did, too. They wanted me to be the victim, their victim. It wasn't about me or anything I did or even what I looked like. They just wanted me to be afraid of them. It wasn't about love or hate or... even sex. It was control that they craved. All this time I never realized, them making me afraid was the only power they ever had over me."

"Was your family in Kansas City?" Carson asked quietly.

"Yeah." Jay whispered.

After a few seconds for the significance of that to sink in, Carson said, "Good."

Jay solemnly nodded his agreement.

* * * * *

"We have more news." Carson said as he moved into the living room, to his spot by the television.

The majority of people were still in the living room from the meeting earlier.

Carson looked around, then quietly said, "No one knows what caused it, yet. But from what little I've found out, San Francisco and its surrounding communities are gone. It was a nuclear bomb or a massive earthquake or something big like that. I guess it doesn't matter at this point."

"How sure are you?" Walt asked cautiously.

"I can show you the satellite image if you want. Everything else that I know is from what other people are saying, so I don't know how much of it's true." Carson said seriously.

"Excuse me." Deb said, then rushed out of the room and down the hallway.

Within a second, Max, Bax and Ro were following.

Everyone in the living room was numb with shock and unable to even find the words to say to express what they were feeling.

"What about Anaheim? I have some friends that were supposed to be there this week!" Ben asked in a panic.

"I haven't heard anything, but I'll see what I can find out for you." Carson said quietly as he felt his wheelchair start to move. Jay didn't say a word as he wheeled Carson back into the bedroom.

* * * * *

"Dizzy, please try to establish the satellite feed for Southern California. I need to get an image of Anaheim for Ben." Carson said seriously.

"I'm sorry, Carson. The satellite feed is unavailable at this time." Dizzy said in a regretful tone.

Carson thought for a moment, then said, "Do a search and see what news you can find out about Anaheim, then. There's not a lot I can do to help anyone right now, the least I can do is try to find out if Ben's people had a chance of surviving."

"I'm searching now." Dizzy said seriously.

"Dizzy, please compress all the files of every high priority alert today and send them to Alvin." Carson said as Jay pushed him toward the computer alcove.

"All files sent." Dizzy said a moment later.

"Switch to rest mode, but let me know if any priority alerts come in." Carson said and watched as the monitors retracted and reconfigured themselves.

"You're really incredible." Jay said as he watched the spectacle.

Before Carson could answer, Dizzy said, "Carson, you have an incoming call from Alvin. He said that it was important."

"Do you want me to go?" Jay asked quietly.

"No. You can stay if you want. This probably won't take long." Carson said hopefully.

* * * * *

"Are you sure she's still in there?" Bax whispered to his companions.

"Yeah. I think she's typing." Max quietly replied.

All of a sudden, the sound of a phone ringing caused all three of the children to jump.

"Yes, this is Debra Brown." They strained to hear through the door.

After what seemed like a very long time, they barely heard Deb quietly say, "I understand. We'd be honored to help you."

"Yes, yes sir. I'll let my husband know." Deb said in a firm voice.

Sensing that her conversation was coming to an end, Max, Bax and Ro hurried down the hall and dashed around the corner just a millisecond before Deb hurried out of her office.

The three of them exchanged looks before Max finally said, "She's got a mission."

* * * * *

As predicted, the talk with Alvin didn't take long, but by the time it was done, Carson was exhausted. "Would you mind... I'd like to lay down for a minute."

Without a word, Jay turned the wheelchair and moved it beside the bed.

"Would you lay down with me?" Carson asked hopefully before working to get himself out of the wheelchair.

After a moment to see that Carson didn't need any help, Jay shyly said, "Sure. I think I'd like that."

"I just need some... I don't know, downtime, I guess. There's too much going on. It's all too big. I need to take a step back." Carson fought to explain.

"No problem. Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help you." Jay said as he sat on the bed next to Carson.

"Just knowing that you're here, and that you want to help is all I need right now." Carson said quietly.

* * * * *

"Carson, I'm sorry for interrupting. But I've had multiple hits on a medium priority alert." Dizzy said quietly.

Carson had been drifting, not quite awake or asleep when he remembered Jay at his side.

He moved his hand slightly and encountered Jay's, right beside his.

He took gentle hold of Jay's hand and heard him whisper, "I'm still here."

"Good." Carson said with a smile, then said more loudly, "Dizzy, will you tell me what the alert was?"

"The Chicago radio station reports that Government troops have started either blockading or collapsing bridges in an effort to stem the tide of refugees headed to the West." Dizzy said frankly.

"This is going to get ugly." Carson muttered absently.

"Uglier than it already is?" Jay asked cautiously.

"I'm afraid so. This isn't like bombs or gas, it's not one person pushing a button and a lot of people dying. This is people standing against people, on the street level." Carson said quietly.

"Civil war." Jay whispered.

Carson regretfully nodded his agreement.

* * * * *

The sound of a ringing phone jolted Carson out of a light doze.

He felt the movement of Jay at his side and felt reassured that he wasn't alone.

When he looked at the caller ID on the phone, no number was displayed.

Reluctantly, he answered, "Brown Residence, Carson speaking."

"Good afternoon, I hope I'm not bothering you, but is there any way I could speak to my son, Zane?" The man on the phone asked hopefully.

"It's no trouble at all. It will just take me a minute to find him." Carson said, then hit the 'flash' button on his phone to put it on hold.

"Can I help?" Jay asked quietly from Carson's side.

"Yes. It would be a big help if you could hit the 'all call' on the intercom, right there beside the bed, and ask Zane to come to my room." Carson said hopefully.

Jay sat up and moved to the nightstand. It took him a second to identify the 'all call' button, but then he said in a clear voice, "Zane, could you please come to Carson's room? You have a phone call."

Once Jay released the button, Carson quietly said, "Thank you."

Jay smiled at Carson's gratitude.

"I think I've been resting enough. I really need to check online and see what else is going on. Dizzy is great at searching the Net for news, but it isn't possible for me to make a list of every keyword to search for. I'm sure there are things he hasn't picked up." Carson said as he pulled himself to the edge of the bed, to get into his wheelchair.

"Can I help you?" Jay asked timidly.

"I'm so used to doing this myself, that anyone helping me would probably take twice as long." Carson said as he maneuvered himself into the chair.

Jay walked around the bed to Carson's side, when Zane quickly rushed into the room, out of breath.

"Here. Hit 'flash'. It's your dad." Carson said as he retrieved the phone from the bed and handed it to Zane.

"Thanks." Zane said quickly, then hurried out of the room.

After a long moment of silence, Carson quietly said, "I bet I'd be the same way if my dad wasn't right here, with me."

Jay didn't respond other than to look at Carson regretfully.

* * * * *

When Zane walked into the bedroom, he looked like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Good news?" Carson ventured.

Zane smiled, then said, "My dad is safe and he's on his way here."

"That's fantastic news. I'll make sure that Tommy has a room ready for him when he arrives." Carson said warmly.

"Oh, um... I don't know. He said that he's on a bus with about a dozen other people. He might feel like he needs to stay with them." Zane said uncertainly.

Carson chuckled, then said, "Don't worry. With all that Tommy has prepared, I don't think we'll have any trouble finding a place for twelve people."

"Well, um... you see, that's the thing. My dad said that after they left Chicago, their bus met up with a group from Wisconsin. And since then, they've been gaining people all along the way." Zane said nervously.

"Did he say how many?" Carson asked curiously.

"He wasn't sure, but he estimated that with the fifty or so truckers that joined them today, that he's looking at about three hundred fifty vehicles. He doesn't have any idea of how many people, though. They've got a lot of SUVs, vans and even a few buses with them." Zane said carefully.

"Did your dad say when he expects to be here?" Carson asked as he thought about what he was being told.

"He said that it's possible that they could get here tomorrow night, but that it's more likely that it will be Saturday morning." Zane said as he watched carefully for Carson's reaction.

"You need to find Tommy and let him know everything that you just told me. He'll make sure that when your dad and his group arrive, that everything will be ready." Carson said seriously.

"Do you have any idea of where I would start looking for him? This is a really big place." Zane asked cautiously.

"Actually, there's some stuff I should cover with Tommy, too. Jay, would you mind paging for Tommy to come here?" Carson asked as he looked back over his shoulder.

"No problem." Jay said, then went to the intercom on the nightstand and made the announcement.

* * * * *

Dr. Murten looked over his clipboard one more time, then raised his hand to knock on the closed bedroom door.

"Just a second." A voice called out.

Dr. Murten made sure that he was holding the clipboard at his side and did his best to look professional as the door opened.

"Doctor? I didn't expect to see you here. Is something wrong?" Brother Jacques asked, then gestured for Dr. Murten to enter the room.

"Yes. There's something wrong, but I very seriously doubt that it has anything to do with you." Dr. Murten said carefully.

Brother Jacques looked at Dr. Murten quizzically at the unusual comment.

"I sent off your blood work, first thing this morning and I've just received the results. There were some abnormalities and I was hoping that you wouldn't mind if I took another sample." Dr. Murten said slowly.

"What's wrong?" Brother Jacques asked as he paled.

"Nothing more than a problem at the lab, I'm certain of it. But it would be unethical and irresponsible of me to discuss this with you before completing a second test." Dr. Murten said as he held Brother Jacques' gaze.

"It's the AIDS, isn't it? I've gone full-blown." Brother Jacques asked as his eyes filled with tears.

"No!" Dr. Murten said firmly, then continued more gently, "I can't discuss this with you until I've had your blood retested. I wish I could say more, but anything I could tell you right now would simply be what I hope is the truth, and not based on any facts. I know this is hard and that there's no way not to worry, but I'm begging you not to assume the worst. Please allow me a few hours to have the new test done and then I'll tell you everything."

"Okay." Brother Jacques whispered.

"Let me see your arm. As soon as I've got your sample, I'm going to drive it over to the hospital myself and wait for the test results." Dr. Murten said seriously.

"Thank you, Doctor. I promise that I'll try not to believe the worst." Brother Jacques said bravely, although his eyes were still welled with tears.

"I seem to recall that most times when I've seen you, there's a young man at your side." Dr. Murten said as he swabbed the crook of Brother Jacques' arm.

"Yeah. That's Zane." Brother Jacques whispered.

Dr. Murten carefully inserted the needle, then said, "I think, that while I'm having your blood tested, that it might be a very good idea if you spent some time with him."

"He was called downstairs for something, probably a call from his father." Brother Jacques said as he fought to keep his tremors from pulling the needle loose.

"Go to him. Unless I miss my guess, you'll both be glad that you did." Dr. Murten said as he withdrew the needle, then pressed a cotton ball in the crook of Brother Jacques' arm.

"Yeah. I was wanting to ask..." Brother Jacques said nervously as he fought his tremors.

"Yes? What's that?" Dr. Murten asked curiously.

"I know that this is gonna sound weird but... um... okay. If someone had a thing, like a tracking device, put inside their body, how hard would it be to get it out?" Brother Jacques asked carefully.

"I suppose that would depend on where it is." Dr. Murten said frankly.

"In his chest." Brother Jacques said immediately.

"Wait. Are you telling me that you know someone who actually has a tracking device implanted?" Dr. Murten asked with surprise.

"Yes. And he has a vest that keeps the tracking signal from getting out, but I was wondering how much trouble it would be to go in there and take the thing out." Brother Jacques said cautiously.

Dr. Murten thought for a moment, then carefully said, "Let's see. If he's wearing a vest to prevent the signal from being transmitted, then there wouldn't be any practical way to gain access and remove it."

"I think Carson is the one who came up with the jammer vest in the first place, so maybe he could come up with something to let you do the surgery without transmitting Zane's location." Brother Jacques said thoughtfully.

"I seem to recall my son-in-law mentioning something about an RF clean room at his lab. I can't be sure, but we could talk to Ryan and see if that might serve the same purpose as the vest. If it does, then we could have the equipment that I'll need transported there and... well, I'm getting ahead of myself. First thing, I'll need to talk to your friend, Zane, and I'd like to do as much of an examination as possible, without disturbing his vest." Dr. Murten finished confidently.

"He's probably down in Carson's room if you want to see him now." Brother Jacques said hopefully.

"Yes. Then we'll need to talk to Ryan for a moment, to be sure that his lab is available. Then I'll take your blood to be tested at the hospital and I can arrange for the equipment that I'll need to be brought to the lab at the same time." Dr. Murten said, then gestured to the door, indicating that he was ready to leave.

"I can see where Carson gets some of his skills." Brother Jacques said before preceding Dr. Murten out of the room.

* * * * *

"Bug, Ben and Roris, could you please come to my room? This is Carson, by the way, and it's not an emergency, we just need to talk." Carson hurried to say before he released the 'all-call' button.

"Do you want me to leave, so you guys can have your meeting in private?" Jay asked quietly.

"Thank you for being so considerate, but you don't have to keep asking that. I can't think of anything that I could tell them about that I wouldn't want you to know. But I promise that if, for some reason, I need for you to step out, I'll let you know." Carson finished with a smile.

"Zane, can we talk to you for a minute?" Brother Jacques asked from the doorway.

"I think Carson was wanting to have a meeting." Zane said in a conflicted voice.

"We can be done in a matter of minutes, I just have a few questions to ask you." Dr. Murten said seriously.

"Go on. We're just waiting on the others." Carson called out.

Zane nodded, then followed Brother Jacques and Dr. Murten out of the room.

* * * * *

"How is everyone doing today?" Carson asked as he looked around.

"Hanging in there." Bug said as he sat on Carson's bed between the twins.

"I think we're okay." Ben said from his place on the floor with Oleksandr sitting on his lap.

Carson turned his gaze toward Roris and Lawrence, who were deeply involved in a kiss, and decided that they were doing fine, too.

"Is it okay if Jake joins us?" Zane asked as he walked back into the room.

"Sure. The more the merrier." Carson said with a weary smile.

"Is this going to take very long? I need to make lunch for Oma Shoupe pretty soon." Bug asked cautiously.

"Not long. I really just wanted us to have a chance to go over what's already happened and talk for a little bit so we're all on the same page as far as what's happening right now." Carson said frankly.

"There's not much to say. A lot of cities got bombed, gassed, nuked and a whole bunch of other shit. No one likes it, but there ain't much we can do about it." Bug said seriously.

"That about says it." Ben said, nodding.

"Well, Zane was telling me that his dad has about three hundred and fifty friends coming to visit us, possibly as soon as tomorrow night." Carson said with a smile at Zane.

"From what Tommy said, he's got that covered, easy." Ken said simply.

"Yes. But this is just the first wave. The first drop in the bucket." Carson said frankly.

"You're afraid that the bucket's gonna fill up pretty damn quick." Bug responded.

"Maybe if there wasn't that announcement on the Internet, we might have enough places for everyone, but... I've got a feeling that Kettle Falls is going to be busting at the seams before the weekend's over." Carson said with concern.

"They're all coming here because they want to be safe, right? Where else can they go to be safe?" Lawrence asked as he looked around.

There was a long moment of silence, until the voice box on Roris's wheelchair said, "We were told that if we needed help, there was an Air Force Base that would be waiting for our call."

"But an Air Force Base probably has less room than we do." Kev said in confusion.

"Yeah, but we might be able to use their help..." Bug said thoughtfully.

"What've you got, Bug?" Ken asked gently.

"Has anyone heard what Canada's doing lately?" Bug asked suddenly.

"No. I don't think I've come across anything about them, today." Carson said honestly.

"Look at where we are, Washington is pretty much doing a 69 with British Columbia. I don't know how much it would take to do it, but what if we got the people needing help to Kettle Falls, made sure that they're okay to travel further, before we passed them on up to Canada. Then, maybe once they're up in Canada, they could go different places so no one's stuck taking care of hundreds of thousands of people, and so that there's not one huge target waiting for Asswoodie to push the button." Bug said seriously.

"Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. We could kind of be like a travelers MASH unit. We could see if they have any medical or mechanical needs, and when they're fit to travel, we can move them on and help the next person." Carson said slowly.

"Yeah. But that all kind of assumes that Canada will be okay with hundreds of thousands of refugee Americans flooding their country." Zane said cautiously.

"I think that we have some friends we can call on to make those arrangements for us." Carson said with a knowing smile.

"Do you really think they would?" Ben asked in a low voice.

"I've already talked to Alvin once today. So, yes. I know without a doubt that they'll try if we ask them." Carson said with conviction.

"Okay, it sounds like we've got the beginning of a plan, but I think we should do some checking around to make sure we can do our part before we call in the big guns." Ken said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. Everyone can think on it for a little bit while I do some checking. After lunch, we can get back together and see what everyone's come up with." Carson said seriously.

"Yeah. I need to start making lunch. Oma Shoupe and Lawrence need to take their meds on time and we've been off schedule for the last two days." Bug said as he stood.

"Okay. I'll do a little checking and make an announcement in a few hours when I have a better idea of whether we can make this work or not." Carson said decisively.

Everyone seemed to be in agreement as they got up to leave.

* * * * *

When they were finally alone, Jay quietly said, "Hundreds of thousands of people?"

Carson looked at him and slowly nodded.

"You're like a superhero." Jay said with a slight smile.

"Not me. I couldn't do this alone. It's all of us." Carson said frankly.

"But I can't do anything." Jay said weakly.

"I don't know if you noticed, but there's a lot more going on than I've been telling everyone." Carson said quietly.

"Why?" Jay asked in surprise.

"I just told them the facts. I didn't mention about what Bryce and Ashwood are saying about each other and all the really nasty things that are being said. It's almost too much for me to deal with and I don't want to put everyone else through that. But if I'm going to keep an eye on everything, I'm going to need you. If I'm a superhero, like you said, it's only because you keep me strong." Carson said as he looked deeply into Jay's eyes.

Jay thought about it for a moment, then quietly said, "If that's what I can do to help hundreds of thousands of people, then you can count on me."

Carson smiled at the answer, then put out an arm to invite Jay into a hug.

* * * * *

"We've tried calling about a hundred times and we can't get through." Doris said as she clutched a teacup tightly in both hands.

"I'm sure with the state of things right now, that the phone system is probably overloaded." Madelyn said sympathetically.

"Yes. That's what Marcus said, too. But I just can't help but worry." Doris said nervously.

"Of course. You're a mother." Madelyn said gently.

"What's that sound?" Doris asked as she looked around.

"I don't hear anything." Madelyn said as she looked at Doris with concern.

"It's coming from outside." Doris said as she set the teacup on a side table and rushed to the window.

"I hear it now... what is that?" Madelyn asked as she slowly stood.

"Oh my God! Marcus!" Doris called out as every bit of color drained out of her face.

Madelyn hurried to the window and froze at the sight of two helicopters on the front lawn.

Chapter 17: Meanwhile

As Father Doherty was emerging into consciousness, a realization came upon him of what a remarkable and incomprehensible thing he was doing. After years of meekly providing food and barely adequate shelter for those poor souls who found their way to him in desperate need, all of a sudden he was thrust into taking an action he would never have thought himself capable of. But deep in his heart, in the depths of his soul, he felt settled. What he was doing was right.

Slowly, he got up from his chair, careful not to wake the teenager at his side. Emo, as he introduced himself to others, seemed to be a solitary soul, not expecting, or even wanting anyone's attention or approval. By all appearances, he just wanted to be left alone. But the young man inside, Marsden, seemed to have an insatiable craving to be wanted and needed for something.

Father Doherty knew that giving the boy the attention he needed without triggering his defences might be a bit of a challenge. But fortunately, he had had months of dealing with a contrary little boy that would have most people throwing their hands up in frustration. His months with Ty had shown him that it was possible, just with acceptance and tolerance, to gain such a person's trust. In fact, after months with Ty, spending time with Emo was actually something of a pleasure.

After putting away his blanket, Father Doherty caught sight of the satellite phone. He made a mental note to himself that once they were on the road again, to plug it into its charger so that it would be at full power when it was needed. He didn't actually know when he would be needing it, but the way things had been going the past few days, he felt that it was a prudent precaution.

At the back of the bus, it took a few minutes for Father Doherty to find his luggage, stored in a heap with many other suitcases. Once he had his things, he quietly made his way off the bus and to the public facilities to 'freshen up'.

* * * * *

When Father Doherty returned to the bus, he found that most everyone was in the process of waking up. He smiled when he saw the two young men who had joined them the day before. He didn't know what their story was, and years of helping those in need had trained him not to speculate. They would tell him if and when they were ready. But what he could tell, just by observing them, is that they were the best of friends. The comfortable and playful way they interacted with each other refreshed his soul. The recent trauma that they had been through didn't seem to have diminished their ability to trust, or to see the world as a beautiful place, full of wonders.

When he saw Art and Euan looking at him, he approached and quietly said, "Boys, I know things here are a bit primitive, what with there being no hot water. But I found that if you just dampen your washcloth under the cold water and not get into the shower's spray, it isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. It's going to be a long day, and I think it might look just a little bit better to you if you take the opportunity to wash up."

As he turned, Father Doherty noticed that Emo had been listening. Father Doherty walked to him and asked, "Emo, I'm sorry for asking a favor of you first thing in the morning, but would you mind going with the guys to kind of keep an eye out? I'd feel a lot better if they weren't left on their own."

"Sure, Father." Emo said in an obligatory tone that sounded like he wasn't entirely happy with the chore, but Father Doherty caught a hint of something in Emo's expression that told him that the boy wasn't as put out as he acted.

As he seemed to be about to walk away, Emo stopped and quietly said, "I don't have any clothes with me. I only have what I'm wearing."

"Don't worry. I saw where they put the spare clothes." Euan said cheerfully, then drew the older teenager to the back of the bus.

When Art, Euan and Emo had all gathered towels and fresh clothes, they made their way to the front of the bus. As they passed Father Doherty's chair, Emo paused long enough to whisper, "Thank you for trusting me."

* * * * *

After a few minutes of reading his Bible, Father Doherty was surprised to realize that it had actually been a few days since he had had time to do so. Such a simple thing as a quiet, unbothered moment had become quite elusive, recently. He smiled to himself as he went back to reading, promising himself that he was going to enjoy the quiet time, no matter how short-lived it turned out to be.

Father Doherty looked up, wondering about the sound of laughter approaching from outside the bus.

As the boys climbed onto the bus, he could tell that something was wrong with Art; something had upset him. Emo's expression was definitely unhappy, but somehow different from Art's. Euan, on the other hand, was nothing short of giddy.

"Is something wrong?" Father Doherty asked as Art passed his chair.

Art didn't respond, and seemed to move a little faster, trying to get away.

Emo kept pace with Art and avoided Father Doherty's gaze.

"What happened?" Father Doherty asked Euan with concern.

"When we were in there washing up, there were some other guys in there, too. Me and Art and Emo kind of kept to ourselves, and everything was going fine. Then this guy walked up to Art. This guy was really old; I mean, like, thirty! Anyway, he walks up to Art and says, 'I got a real nice piece of meat you can have if you want it, Kid'. And then he kind of reached for Art to... well, I don't know what he was going to do. But then it hit me, this old guy was hitting on Art, I mean ART, in a public shower room! I mean... I couldn't help it. All I could do was laugh. I think that surprised the guy because he kind of got this hurt look and ran off after that."

"Well, I'm glad that nothing worse happened." Father Doherty said quietly.

"Yeah. Me too." Euan said in a small voice, then Father Doherty noticed that the boy was obviously fighting to contain his laughter.

Father Doherty raised his hand and faked a cough, trying to hide his smile.

Recognizing the gesture for what it was, was all the encouragement that Euan needed to break into fresh gales of laughter.

* * * * *

After a few minutes, Emo came back to the front of the bus and stepped around Father Doherty to take the seat beside him again.

Father Doherty glanced at him, but Emo seemed to have all his attention focused outside the window.

"I'm sorry." Emo said under his breath as he continued to stare, off into the distance.

"Why would that be?" Father Doherty asked quietly.

"You trusted me and I didn't do anything to help. In fact, I don't know what came over me. I just sort of froze." Emo said and Father Doherty could barely see a tear glistening on his cheek.

"I forgive you." Father Doherty said gently. As far as he was concerned, Emo hadn't done anything wrong, but his years as a priest had shown him that sometimes people just needed to hear those words.

"Thank you, Father." Emo whispered, then placed his hand over Father Doherty's on the armrest and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Father Doherty decided to take a chance. He lifted his hand from Emo's, then placed his arm around Emo's shoulders to draw him into a hug. "Marsden, if what happened bothers you, then you might consider thinking of what else you could have done. As it is, there was no harm done, and you are all back here, safe and sound. So, I would suggest that you use this as a lesson so that you will be prepared if, in future, you find yourself in a similar situation."

"I will. Thank you, Father." Emo said as he snuggled into the hug.

"There is one thing that puzzles me. You were there, perhaps you can tell me. Why was what happened funny?"

"I don't know, Father. But Euan really saved the day when he started laughing like that. Maybe I'll ask him about it later."

* * * * *

The smell of breakfast cooking had everyone anxiously waiting for it to be served. The sun was up and peeking out from behind a fluffy white cloud, but otherwise the sky was blue.

A heavy-handed knock on the door caused nearly everyone on the bus to jump out of their seats.

"Come in!" Father Kinsey practically yodeled.

"I have no idea how anyone can be that cheerful in the MORNING." Father Franklin grumbled as he folded his blanket and put it in the overhead compartment. "I can't even begin to function before I have at least two cups of coffee, let alone be so full of joy... and you're happily working away at making breakfast."

The smiling figure of Keith came in, "I figured I'd come over and rearrange the seats, so you can have a little bit more room to move around." he said casually, then walked to the first two seats and flipped up a few tabs on the floor. Within a few seconds, he had those seats fastened back to the floor, with the backs against the wall, leaving the floor space before them open.

"I had no idea..." Father Doherty remarked in wonder as he watched Keith work on the next row.

"Yeah. It's nice to be able to switch it up now and then, especially when you spend a lot of time on this thing." Keith said frankly.

"I can imagine." Father Doherty said with a nod.

"I can't believe how good that breakfast smells. Let me help you set up the tables, so you can eat without holding stuff on your laps." He pulled out several folding tables, and the others helped him set them up.

"Keith, why don't you and your family join us for breakfast. There is plenty here to feed us all. I figured there might be some extra hungry people this morning." Father Kinsey beamed.

"Thanks. I noticed the wonderful smell when I walked by. Made my mouth water. Emmogene was talking about opening a can of something for us for our breakfast. I'd better hurry and tell her before she does that. No use wastin' that food. We'll be right back. Thanks again. You have no idea how much this means to me. I hate them damn little sausage things. I don't think Gunner likes 'um much either." Keith said before he disappeared out the door.

"Sausage things?" Father Kinsey asked with a grin.

"Probably Vienna Sausages. Emmogene always seemed to think that they were nature's perfect food." Father Franklin said with a thoughtful smile.

* * * * *

Father Doherty noticed that Art seemed to be deep in thought, so he quietly settled into the chair beside him and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Art was obviously startled and it took a moment for him to say, "I've never been in a situation like that before. I don't know what I'm feeling right now."

"I think that's natural." Father Doherty said gently.

Art turned and looked at him for a moment before asking, "Might I have done something to make that man believe that I would welcome such a proposition?"

"No." Father Doherty said simply, then explained, "I think what you encountered was a predator. And I'm sure that it was his hope that you would react like prey. You didn't do anything to deserve it, and you have nothing to feel ashamed of."

"Perhaps. However, in future, I believe I will be taking my showers in a more private setting." Art said seriously.

"You can do that if you like, but all you'll really accomplish by doing that is limiting yourself. I think a better way to deal with it is through strength, not weakness." Father Doherty said carefully.

"How do you mean?" Art asked cautiously.

"Rather than running from the possibility of another such confrontation, maybe you should prepare for it. Think about it. What could you have done differently so that that man wouldn't have approached you?" Father Doherty asked in a leading tone.

Art thought for a moment, but finally shook his head in defeat.

"Do you think that if you took one or two of the adults with you, that the man would have dared to approach you?" Father Doherty asked with a smile.

"No. I doubt it." Art said slowly.

"That way you won't be limiting yourself and hiding from the possibility of it happening; you'll be facing it with strength."

"Thank you, Father. I will consider what you've said." Art said with a slow nod.

"But it probably wouldn't be a good idea to ask any of the priests to go with you to shower... there are people who might have issues with that." Father Doherty said jokingly.

"Yes. So I've noticed." Art said as a smile found its way onto his face.

* * * * *

Several people looked up as the door opened.

Emmogene poked her head through the door, followed by Gunner and Keith.

"Damn, Keith, you're right, it does smell like heaven in here." Emmogene gushed. "Kinda makes me sorry I was so damn rude earlier... kinda."

As they made their way farther onto the bus, Gunner stopped and stared at the boys.

"Hi... I'm Gunner." The little boy said as he tried to sound confident, but he didn't quite pull it off.

Art and Euan both smiled at him and introduced themselves.

"It's nice to meet you, Gunner. My name is Arthur, but you may call me Art." He said, as he put out his hand for Gunner to shake. Gunner tentatively shook Art's hand as he continued to stare at him.

Finally, Gunner said, "You talk funny."

"I come from a different country. I'm from England. Everyone there talks like I do. To me, it sounds like you talk funny." Art said gently.

"Nuh uh! Mama says I talk real good!" Gunner said defensively.

Art and Euan laughed at the little boy's reaction, then Art gently said, "You're mama's right, Gunner. You don't talk funny at all."

"My name is Euan." He said as he also offered his hand to the little boy.

"Yoon?" Gunner asked slowly.

"U. N., Euan!" He said with a smile.

"You don't talk funny, like Art does." Gunner said frankly.

"No. I'm from Canada. That's not too far away from here, so I sound more like you do." Euan explained gently.

"Daddy says we're gonna go to Canada and shoot us a moose!" Gunner said seriously.

"I've told him that when he's older, we're going up north to do some hunting." Keith explained with a smile at his son.

"Oh", said Euan.

"You're not a bunch of tree hugging animal rights nut jobs, are you?" Emmogene asked as she looked around.

"That depends. If you kill a moose, are you going to eat it?" Euan asked as he looked her in the eyes.

"Every last little bit, and we'll use the hide, too." Emmogene said firmly.

"Then I've got no problem." Euan said simply.

"We'd better get over to the table and get breakfast before it gets cold." Father Franklin said as he led the way toward the huge breakfast which was now drawing everyone's attention.

Emmogene smiled at Art and Euan. "Thanks for being nice to Gunner. He doesn't have many friends his age, and it is nice to find young'uns who are polite, and kind. Most kids nowadays seem to be kinda standoffish."

"I like him, Ma'am. He is very polite and his curiosity about our speech is really refreshing." Art answered.

"Would you like some bacon?" Emo asked, as he passed the platter toward Gunner.

"Yes, please." Gunner answered, and it was obvious that he was surprised by being asked.

"I always fix his plate for him." Emmogene explained casually.

As breakfast continued, plates of food were passed around, and everyone made sure to hand them to Gunner, who seemed totally awed by being included just like everyone else at the table.

Trav took another helping of eggs, smiled, and said, "Malcolm is a really good cook."

"Malcolm?" Emo asked casually, and Trav gestured at Father Kinsey.

"Emmogene, you certainly have done a good job with Gunner. He's a very bright and polite young man. I'm very proud of you and Keith. I really wish I hadn't been such a prude. I hope I can make up for it, from now on." Father Franklin admitted.

"I guess I might have been a bit hasty, judging you and your friends. The boys all seem to like you, and I have to admit that kids usually can tell what kind of person you are, and they don't cotton to bad folks. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad you called. I've missed you."

* * * * *

Once the breakfast was finished, Keith showed the boys how to fold down the tables and store them in a narrow cabinet that was made exclusively for that purpose.

"I think we need to start figuring out where we're going to go next, where the best places to stop and rest are, and so forth," Father Doherty said, wanting to get everyone on track for the coming day.

"It seems as though we have been elected to chart our way out of this mess, so maybe we need to find out what our best course of action might be. I know we have to be heading west, but we need to know the safest and maybe easiest route to take. Art and Euan, you two have been talking to the truckers; do you suppose you could find out if any of them know what our best bet is, on getting through to the West without being stopped?"

The boys seemed to glow with pride, having their contribution acknowledged, then Art said, "We would be happy to help."

Father Doherty smiled at the pair, then turned to Greg and said, "Do you think you'll feel up to driving until lunch?"

"I was planning on driving the whole day." Greg said honestly.

Father Doherty shook his head and said, "There are enough of us that there's no need for you to do that. I just wanted to be sure that you weren't too tired from driving all that way last night."

"I'll be fine, Father." Greg said with an appreciative smile.

Father Doherty paused for a moment then thought to ask, "Has anyone checked on Ahmid, this morning?"

"I checked on him when I first got up." Father Kinsey answered. "But, honestly, I haven't thought about him since I started making breakfast. Could somebody go check on him, and find out if he is hungry, and if so what he would like for breakfast?" Father Kinsey asked.

"I'll go." Emo offered and headed back to the little sleeping area.

* * * * *

"Ahmid, are you awake?"

The man slowly opened his eyes.

"Ah... to be honest, I really don't know. Everything looks so weird. There's just one of you, right?" Ahmid asked blearily.

"Well, you had a bullet removed, then you had some kind of sedative. You've been sleeping for quite a while." Emo explained. "I can bring you some food if you'll tell me what you would like, and I'll get you whatever you want to drink."

"Thank you, young man. I'm starting to feel more awake, now, and I am feeling hungry. Something smells really good. Is that bacon I smell? God, I love bacon. And I wouldn't mind some eggs."

"I'll be right back with breakfast."

* * * * *

Emo went back to the kitchen and asked Father Kinsey to help him get Ahmid into a sitting position.

Once they had Ahmid sitting up, he seemed to be a bit more coherent. "Thank you... both of you. I am feeling much better. I think I could eat now... and, could I have some coffee?"

"Of course you can. Here, these eggs are scrambled. Since we didn't have any fresh ones, these are powdered ones, but they tasted pretty good. But the bacon's real!" Emo enthused, "What do you want in your coffee?"

"Black will be fine." Ahmid answered, and Emo went to get the coffee.

Father Kinsey smiled. "He's come a long way since he got here. I don't know how Father Doherty does it, but he seems to connect with kids in a way that makes them trust him almost instantly."

"I must say that I am very surprised and pleased to find so many fine people gathered together in one group. I have never encountered so much pure kindness from anyone before, and what I have found since coming to the mission has given me hope... something that I have been sadly lacking for many years, now."

Emo came back carrying a tray with a mug of coffee and a cup of juice. "Here's your coffee. Would you like some orange juice? I brought it, just in case."

Father Kinsey smiled. "I think you should drink the juice, if you can. You haven't had any liquid since we brought you in here, after the bullet came out. You need to rehydrate. Orange juice is better for doing that than coffee is. Since coffee has so much caffeine in it, it will most likely pass right through you."

"Yes, that sounds good. I do like orange juice. I will drink it, but first, I NEED my coffee."

He held the mug in both hands which seemed to get steadier as he sipped the strong black liquid.

"I need to thank that young lady who took out the bullet. I'm afraid I wasn't very brave. In fact, I was scared half to death when she started, but, now that it is over, I feel so much better."

"We'll send her back here to talk to you, after you eat. What else would you like besides the eggs and bacon?" Father Kinsey asked.

"I think I would like some toast... and, could I have some peanut butter on it?

"Of course you can. Emo, do you know how to make toast in the oven? Or would you rather that I do it?"

"I'll go. If you'll tell me how, I'll do it. Sometimes I feel like I'm a waste, so when there is something I CAN do, I'd really like to do it."

* * * * *

After a brief explanation of what to do, Father Kinsey and Ahmid watched as Emo hurried away to make the toast.

After a few minutes, Emo came back with Jingo and the toast.

"Hey, man. You feelin' better? You look better. I w's 'fraid you'us gunna get yurself some o' that Gang green shit."

"Thank you, young lady. I think you might be right. It was getting worse every minute. I don't think I could have taken it for much longer. I must admit that when I saw the knife, I almost lost it. But, when I saw your eyes, I knew you were just going to help me, and from then on, I simply put my trust in you. It means a lot to me that you cared enough to want to help me. Thank you again."

Jingo blushed. "You're welcome... Ahmid. I had my orders... get everyone safely out of danger. To me, that meant doing whatever was necessary to keep everyone alive. I was pretty sure you wouldn't have made it much farther with that damn bullet in you, and nobody else could do it. I'd done the same thing so many times before. I can't even remember how many it was. When you have to survive on the streets of Chicago, you learn how to do what needs doin' and you just fuckin' do it." When she saw Ahmid smile, she grinned. "I'm real glad you're feelin' better."

Ahmid finished his two slices of toast and yawned. "Could someone please help me lay down again. I still feel tired."

Emo took the tray back to the kitchen, then Jingo and Father Kinsey gently slid Ahmid back down onto the bed, covered him with the light blanket, and headed back to the main area of the bus.

* * * * *

Once they were back on the road, Art and Euan took turns on the CB radio and worked as a team to try and find the safest way for them to travel west.

Jim was monitoring the AM broadcast radio band, picking up bits and pieces of information about what had been happening while they were sleeping, which was being broadcast from one of the major 50,000 watt stations in Chicago. Unlike the night before, Jim listened to the radio with headphones so that he could hear it more clearly.

"It looks as though Ashwood has been pretty busy. He voided the election, claiming that he wouldn't surrender power to someone he called a terrorist. He declared Martial Law, closed all the airports, and ordered citizens to stay in their homes. He ordered anyone who is driving to either go home or park their vehicle and find somewhere to stay. It sounds like he's trying to stop people, who may be planning to fight back, from communicating with each other."

A few minutes went by, while Jim listened to the continuing newscast, which repeated a lot of information and occasionally added a few new items.

"They just reported that as of 8:30 eastern, 7:30, here, all communications have been cut, to everywhere outside the US. They said that there's been no explanation as to why that was done."

When Jim finished his announcement, some conversations started up again, with everyone speculating as to what the sitting president had in mind, and the general conclusion was that he was just plain nuts, not to mention power hungry.

"Holy Shit." Jim yelled. "They just said that the Governor of Texas announced that Texas has seceded from the United States, and declared war on Ashwood's Government."

It only took a few minutes before another interruption made him stop and listen.

"The radio station just got word from the new Mayor of Chicago that things are getting kinda messy in Chicago, and apparently protests which are occurring in many other cities are becoming violent, so he is announcing what he would like the citizens to do, in very specific detail."

Euan walked down the aisle and got everyone's attention. "There are some major roadblocks ahead and Big Noise says we need to turn off of the highway at the next dirt road we see, off to our right. It runs through some farmer's land, but it is a clear path and not too badly rutted, and he thinks we can all get through there, and avoid all the cops and soldiers or whatever they are."

"Well, he hasn't steered us wrong yet. I suppose that we should follow his suggestion." Father Doherty said simply.

When they got to the road, it looked pretty ratty, but given the alternative, it did seem to be the best way to go.

* * * * *

They followed the trail which had apparently been made by some harvesting machinery, till they passed the major buildings of the farm or ranch, or whatever they call it. Several people had come out of the various structures and seemed pretty surprised to see some three hundred odd vehicles making their way past them, and back onto the highway.

"Wow! That was quite a ride." Emo gasped, happy to get back on blacktop, and looked at Father Doherty.

"Yeah. Kinda reminded me of one of the coasters at Six Flags." Father Doherty answered.

"Big Noise says we should be good for a hundred miles or so, if we stay on this road." Art told them.

* * * * *

"I can't believe this!" Jim shouted. "They just bombed Kansas City. The Chicago station got the report from some Ham Radio operator, and he said the entire downtown is gone, blown to smithereens, whatever they are. The blast area was something like two miles or more in diameter, and there is major damage to roads and buildings for miles in all directions of the city."

"Do you think we should stop, or even turn back? I mean, it sounds like the people in Chicago are fighting and winning. Maybe we should just go back." Emo asked hesitantly.

"I don't think that would be a very good idea, Emo. We are already pretty far away, now, and it wasn't easy getting this far. If we were to go back, we might actually be killed trying to get past the roadblocks we got through coming this way. Besides, we have a destination now, and at least the hope of a safe place to stay, so I think we should press on." Father Doherty answered, then quietly added, "And I promised your brother that I would bring you to a safe place."

Out of nowhere, Artimus suddenly asked, "Is there any way we could go to St. Louis and check on my family?"

"Well, that would be as bad as trying to go back to Chicago, or maybe worse, since it is totally out of our way, and certainly just as dangerous, in terms of roadblocks and the military. Our chances of making it there are slim to none, I'm afraid." Father Doherty replied, sadly.

"I have an idea." Art answered. "We've been talking to Big Noise, and some other truckers along the way. Maybe we can use the CBs to pass the word along to find your family and let them know where you are and tell them where they need to head, to be safe."

* * * * *

After Art had contacted Big Noise, the call went out with all the information that Artimus had, on his family, including their full names and address. Things slacked off for a little while.

Then Art got the word that Artimus' family was safe and that they were considering getting out, too.

Big Noise said they were told that Artimus was fine and on his way to Kettle Falls, and they were invited to head that way, too.

"Big Noise says he wants to join our convoy." Art announced. "He says he has a truck full of frozen meat, and since Kansas City is not really ready to receive his payload, that he now owns it, and would like to get it to a place where it can feed people, instead of rotting and being thrown in some landfill."

"Tell him he's welcome to join us. We'd be more than glad to have him with us." Father Doherty answered.

* * * * *

"I'm not sure what's coming up, but they just said to stand by for a very important announcement. And they didn't sound one bit happy. I'm going to turn up the radio, so we can all hear it, so I won't have to repeat it." Jim called out suddenly.

He unplugged the headphones he had been using, and turned up the radio.

"This is Chicago's news and information station, WGN Chicago. I'm Angelica Sumner and this is the news. We have been receiving reports, from multiple sources, that Austin, Texas has been attacked, by our own military. Details are sketchy at best, but we have at least three different reports from reliable sources, that missiles were fired from one or more United States military ships which targeted the city of Austin Texas, and that those missiles were loaded with some sort of nerve gas. It is unknown at this time how many people lost their lives, and what, if any, steps have been taken to help those who have survived. We do not know if the Governor and members of the State Legislature survived or were among the large number of fatalities. There has not been any word from Texas state officials thus far."

Father Doherty slumped forward putting his head in his hands. "Dear God." he said, "I never thought anyone could stoop to such a vicious thing as this, to kill uncounted numbers of people in cold blood, solely to further his own agenda and power trip. Lord, please watch over those who survived this needless tragedy, and give them strength to overcome the horror of this day."

Everyone else was silent, except for the occasional sniffles and sobs, as everyone took in the situation, and tried to fathom how anyone could have conceived such a horrible thing.

"Please give us the strength and guidance we will need, to not only survive this day, but to be able to help others in their time of despair and agony. Amen."

Everyone joined in on the Amen.

They had just finished the prayer when Jim cried out again. "No! He couldn't have. He unplugged the headphones again, and everyone heard.

"Reports confirm that Oklahoma City has been bombed. The physical damage is less than that of Kansas City, but early reports are saying that this one is, what is called, a dirty bomb, which in plain language means that there is radiation involved. How much radiation, has not been reported, as yet, but evacuation is in progress, and panic is in full swing."

"That man is totally insane. That's all there is to it. I don't know how he thinks he can get away with killing so many people." Father Kinsey blurted out.

Emo practically blanked out, except for the fact that he clung on to Father Doherty with almost a death grip. "Son, can you loosen your hold on me just a little, I don't seem to have any feeling in my arm, where you are squeezing it." Father Doherty gently asked. Emo came round and looked into the man's eyes.

"I don't understand." Emo whispered. "I just don't understand it at all."

"Neither do I, son." Father Doherty answered just as softly. "The only thing I can tell you, right now, is that I know that you are loved, not only by me and the others here with us, but by your brother, who made sure that you would have a chance to make your way to safety. Try to keep that in mind, that he loves you enough to allow you to get out of harm's way."

"Thank you, Father, I can't tell you how glad I am that my brother found you, and that you have been there for me."

* * * * *

"If no one minds, I'm going to leave the radio playing. I don't want to be the only person hearing these reports."

Jim turned the radio up a bit and they heard the announcer say, "We have just learned that a doctor has given instructions for how to deal with a 'Blister Agent' that has been released in Boulder Colorado."

Everyone was pretty much numb by this point. Art and Euan were both working the CB radio to keep people focused on the task of reaching their destination, but they finally felt that the despair was beginning to overwhelm some of their convoy.

Finally, Art came to a decision and walked back from his place at the front. "Father Doherty, could you please take over the radio and give us some kind of inspirational speech to keep everyone going?"

Although Father Doherty had always said that his calling wasn't to a life of preaching, he did the best he could, under the circumstances, and received thanks from several people over the CB radio.

The station had been fading in and out, but Jim had been able to adjust it to keep it playing. This time, however, the signal faded to nothing and he was left listening to static.

"Maybe it'll come back on in a few minutes." Artimus suggested weakly.

"Or maybe it won't." Jim responded before trying to find another station within range.

Within a few seconds, he happened upon another signal and was surprised to find that it was another radio station, but they were rebroadcasting the news from the Chicago station.

The rebroadcast of WGN began talking about the foreign military fighters showing up in many cities. Chicago was dealing with them swiftly and neatly, but other, more Eastern cities, were falling to the invasion.

They further reported that, upon interrogation, captured foreign fighters revealed that they were supposed to incite riots, then help in securing the general populations of the cities.

There was also a report of a mass exodus to the West, but they said government troops were aware of it and trying to stop the flood, sometimes violently. They then announced exactly where the roadblocks were, so people trying to flee West would hopefully be able to avoid them.

* * * * *

"Hold on! We're getting swamped here with all kinds of new information. It looks like... maybe a nuclear bomb? I don't know. Don't quote me on that. Something big... really big, just happened in California. There's too much coming in right now and no one knows what really happened." A familiar voice said. It was the male broadcaster from the night before.

Everyone sat silently, not knowing what to say as the radio announcer went on to recap the events of the day. The litany of destruction seemed to go on and on as everyone listened in numb horror.

When the recap finished, the announcer seemed to have a little more information.

"There has been a catastrophic earthquake centered in San Francisco, California. The city as we knew it is now completely gone. There is nothing left but burning rubble, as is the case in many of the smaller, surrounding cities. The devastation goes on for many hundreds of miles, in several directions, and there is no way to even estimate the number of casualties." The announcer continued bemoaning the loss of life and property.

"Why do I suspect that someone was able to trigger that quake?" Trav remarked, with no trace of his usual clipped gang speak, which caused Father Franklin to look at him for a moment, to make sure it really was Trav.

* * * * *

Meanwhile...

'A new town.'

'A new life.'

'A new nightmare...'

The young man walked the unfamiliar street with no particular destination in mind.

The morning was bright and beautiful, but the despair that the man carried with him left him feeling nothing but an empty ache.

For two months he had been giving everything he had, trying to get a job. Every day his hope for the future dimmed just a little more. Every night he would count his diminishing savings and try to come up with any conceivable way that he would be able to have anything resembling a normal life with two strikes already against him.

The previous night it had finally happened. He was now officially broke. He might be able to stretch his few remaining dollars to make more than one meal, but there was no way that he was going to be able to keep his cheap, dirty little motel room.

'Too afraid to live, too scared to die.'

He wasn't afraid of work. He wasn't afraid of risk. But the great dark nothingness that was his future terrified him. He wanted to die. After all this time, he couldn't find any reason to hope.

Those few rare employers who were even willing to accept an application from him became stony and silent the moment that they saw his disgrace, the black mark on his soul, the felony.

He had thought that nothing in his life would ever be worse than the two years that he spent in prison.

He was a small man; not particularly effeminate, but shorter than average height and naturally thin.

What had been done to him during those two years haunted every moment of his life.

The rape of his body was almost a footnote. It was the systematic destruction of his soul that he didn't think could ever be healed.

The physical actions were just to reinforce the humiliation and degradation that were heaped upon him day after day.

But throughout the torture, he had hope.

There was a light at the end of the tunnel.

He endured everything for the promise that someday he would be free.

Now he was free... and destitute.

He saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and turned.

There was a filthy, unshaven man, sitting on the sidewalk, with a cardboard sign and holding out a cup, begging passersby for their spare change.

'Tomorrow, that's me.'

As he watched, a group of four men, walking along the sidewalk, approached the man.

Three of the four ignored the vagrant, but the largest of them stopped to fish in his pockets, then deposited his spare change into the homeless man's cup.

A lump formed in his throat as tears welled in his eyes.

'This is my future.'

Not thinking, he changed his direction and followed the four men at a distance, keeping his focus on the large man.

He didn't really have a reason to follow them, but by the same token, he didn't have a reason not to.

One of the men must have said something funny, because the group stopped and erupted into good natured laughter.

As he watched, it seemed so strange, so unfamiliar. The laughter was carefree and joyous. There was no malice. No sarcasm. No joy in someone else's pain.

He wanted that. He wanted to feel that. He wanted to be a part of it.

Suddenly, without warning, the ground began to shift under his feet as a rumbling sound filled his ears.

Fighting for balance, he ran for the doorway of the nearest building. That's what he'd always been told, 'In an earthquake, stand in a doorway'.

The sound of screeching tires, honking horns and breaking glass began to accompany the rumbling as it increased.

A sudden bright flash of pain erupted in his head...

* * * * *

"We need to get him to a hospital."

"For fuck's sake, Danny! Look around! EVERYBODY needs to get to a hospital!"

It took a moment for his addled mind to register the fact that someone was holding him.

With effort, he cracked open one eye to try and make sense of what was happening.

"He's waking up!" A low voice said very near to him.

"Hey, buddy. Are you alright?" A young man asked as he knelt down.

Alright? Not for a very long time... if ever.

"Can you hear me? Do you speak English?" The young man asked in a concerned voice, free of the demanding or condescending tone that usually accompanied that question when people noticed his Puerto Rican features.

He wasn't up to talking just yet, but he was able to manage a slight nod.

Unfortunately, when he moved his head, the pain was so intense that he nearly blacked out again.

"Listen. We've got to get out of here. If there's an aftershock, this whole building could come down."

Bracing himself for the pain, he gave as much of a nod as he was able, to show that he understood.

"Can you walk?"

That was a good question.

His thoughts were so jumbled at the moment, that he didn't actually have an answer.

"I'll carry him." The man who was holding him said in a low voice.

Suddenly, he remembered following the four men down the sidewalk. The man who was holding him was the large man who had stopped to give the homeless man his spare change.

The sensation of being lifted broke him out of his thoughts.

"Hurry, this place is a death trap." The smallest of the four men said as he urged the others to follow.

"It's okay. I'll take good care of you." The large man whispered to him.

He turned his head slightly to look at the man and was shocked. His facial features left no doubt; the man had Down's Syndrome.

"What's your name?" The man asked softly.

"Apollo." He said with effort.

"I'm Jarritt." The man said gently, not exhibiting the slightest effort from carrying a full grown man in his arms.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Jarritt." Apollo said as he rested his head on Jarritt's shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Figures. No cell service." One of the men said from ahead of them. Apollo didn't bother to open his eyes again, but listened carefully.

"I wouldn't bet on landlines either."

"FUCK!"

"What?"

"The whole fucking hotel's caved in!"

"Shit!"

"What the fuck are we gonna do now?"

"Let's see if we can get to the car. If we can, then we can head back to San Diego."

"I bet they're going to close the roads until they can check to see if the earthquake caused any damage."

"Well, I'm open to other suggestions."

"Let's check first to see if the car survived. Once we know that, we can make plans from there."

"Jarritt, how's your friend?"

"He's fine. I think he's asleep. His name's Paul-o." Jarritt said cheerily.

"Do you need any help carrying him?"

"No. He's not heavy at all."

* * * * *

Apollo realized that at some point he must have actually fallen asleep.

It wasn't until he felt his weight being shifted that his eyes automatically opened.

"Sorry. I didn't want to wake you up, but we're here." Jarritt said softly.

Apollo noticed that Jarritt had placed him in the rear seat of an SUV.

"It's better than nothing, but not by much." One of the men grumbled.

"Well, it looks to me like our choices are to stay here, or to start driving... does anyone have any other ideas?"

"No. Stay or go are about our only options."

"What about you, Paul-o? Do you need for us to take you anywhere?"

Apollo shook his head slightly, still very aware of the ache in his head.

"Do you live in Anaheim?"

Apollo shook his head again.

"Look. Gerry and Myron live in San Diego, so that's where we're trying to go. If you don't want to go with us, you'd better tell us right now."

Apollo thought for a moment. These people didn't know him, and if they did, they probably wouldn't want anything to do with him. But, it felt so good to be included, to be treated like he was... normal. Not like something tainted and tarnished beyond redemption.

"If you go with us, I'll take care of you." Jarritt said softly, so that only Apollo could hear.

Apollo looked at Jarritt and saw the honest concern that the young man had for him.

"Okay." Apollo whispered and gave Jarritt a brief smile.

"He said that he'll go." Jarritt announced to his friends happily.

Apollo could see that the other three were a little bit surprised by the announcement, but none of them did more than shrug before climbing into the SUV.

* * * * *

Jarritt's large framed body took up most of the back seat, but that suited Apollo just fine.

His much smaller body seemed to fit just right, in the remaining space, and being so close to Jarritt was like being surrounded, protected, almost... loved.

"Son-of-a-bitch!" Gerry screamed then made a sudden right turn.

"What's up?" Danny asked with concern.

"Motherfucking road's closed. We're never gonna get out of this fucking town!" Gerry screamed.

"If we keep driving around like this, all we're going to accomplish is running out of gas, then where will we be?" Myron asked reasonably.

"What do you want me to do?" Gerry asked in obvious frustration.

"Let's stop for a few minutes and calm down, then maybe we can come up with some ideas of what else we can do." Myron said calmly.

"I'm sorry I'm being such a bitch. You know I love you, right?" Gerry asked in a much softer voice.

"I know. And I don't even mind you being a bitch when the situation calls for it. Just, right now, it's not helping." Myron said with a smile.

Apollo looked around where they had stopped.

It was a really nice neighborhood.

He had only been in a neighborhood like it once before.

As he sat in the SUV, the memory flooded over him. Sitting in the car, waiting on his 'friends' to finish getting their things... or so he had stupidly believed.

Looking back, it was so obvious that they were going to rob the house, but the thought had never crossed Apollo's mind. He just believed whatever his 'friends' told him. Of course, when the police showed up, he was counted amongst them, no better, no worse.

And what had his willful ignorance gotten him? Two years in a federal prison as an accomplice to 'breaking and entering' and burglary.

As he stared off, replaying distant memories in his mind's eye, movement outside the car caught his attention.

"Y'all see that?" Apollo asked suddenly as he pointed.

Everyone looked at him, then turned in unison to follow his pointing finger.

"That ain't right. Them punks don't belong in a neighborhood like this, and they're about to be startin' some shit!" Apollo said firmly.

It took a second for his words to register, but when they did, all the guys opened their doors to pursue the thugs that were walking up to one of the houses.

As Apollo tried to get up, Jarritt pushed him back down and said, "You're hurt. You stay here and we'll take care of it."

"I'm not staying in the car. Not this time." Apollo said firmly.

Jarritt seemed to be uncertain, but finally said, "Okay, but stay with me. If anyone tries to hurt you, I'll stop them."

Apollo had to fight down his welling tears as he exited the car behind Jarritt.

Although it sounded like a tired cliche, those actually were some of the sweetest words that anyone had ever said to him.

The sound of breaking glass caused all five of them to start running toward the house.

"What do you want? Get back!" A woman screamed from inside.

Danny was the first inside. As soon as he spotted one of the thugs, he kicked into 'football mode' and performed one of the most spirited tackles of his life.

Myron and Gerry were next. Although neither of the men seemed to be exceptionally big, both obviously knew how to fight.

Jarritt and Apollo brought up the rear.

There was one man left and Jarritt went right for him.

"Check on them. Make sure they're not hurt." Jarritt said to Apollo as he grabbed the man by the throat and started to lift him off the floor.

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" Apollo asked as he hurried to the older man and woman, cowering against the far wall.

"What do you want from us?" The woman asked in a trembling voice.

"Nothing. We saw these guys breaking into your house so we came up here to help you." Apollo said in a soothing tone.

Apollo heard a sickening ::SMACK:: and glanced over his shoulder to see Jarritt releasing his opponent into a heap on the floor. From the look of it, the man had a broken nose, cheekbone, jaw... basically, his face was broken.

"You're not going to hurt us?" The woman asked in a more steady voice.

"No. We were just driving by and saw these guys, who looked like they were up to no good." Apollo said gently.

"Thank you." The woman said before breaking down into relieved tears.

"Mother! Fucker! Stay! Down!" Gerry screamed, accenting each word with another punch to his opponent's face.

"FREEZE!" A loud, commanding voice called, exactly the same as you hear it in just about every police show.

Apollo immediately raised his hands above his head and froze in position.

The others were slower to react, but finally did stop moving.

"Lana, Kurt, are you alright?" A voice asked from behind Apollo.

When the man walked around him, Apollo was surprised to see that instead of a police officer, it was a man in an impeccable suit.

"Yes. Thanks to these young men, we are." The woman, Lana, said with nervous relief.

The man turned to look at Apollo for a moment, then said, "You can put your hands down."

Apollo slowly lowered his hands, but kept cautious watch on the man.

The man turned and said to his men, "Get this trash out of here."

Apollo flinched at the harsh tone of his voice and expected to feel rough hands dragging him away at any moment. Instead, a large hand gently cupped his shoulder and a low, gentle voice whispered, "Are you okay?"

Apollo turned to see Jarritt looking at him with worry.

"No one got near me. I'm fine." Apollo said with a smile that showed just how grateful he was for Jarritt's concern.

"Mr. and Mrs. Reed, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but it isn't safe for you here anymore." The man in the suit said to the older couple gravely.

"We just need to fix the window on the door and everything will be fine." Lana said as she clutched her husband at her side.

"No, Ma'am, it won't be. I don't even need to interrogate these guys to know that this wasn't a random home invasion. You were specifically targeted. Just because this attempt failed doesn't mean that you're out of danger."

"We knew it might come to this." Kurt said gently to his wife.

"Do we have time to pack a few things?" Lana asked as a tear slid down her cheek.

"Yes. Of course. Jack, will you help Mrs. Reed gather some things?"

"I can do it myself." Lana answered in a frustrated tone.

"Ma'am, please try to understand, you are a target. Their goal will be to capture and/or KILL you. Someone will need to be with you at all times."

"So are we going to have to live as prisoners from now on?" Lana asked between sobs.

"No. We just need to be extra careful until we can get you to a secure location. Then you'll be able to live normally." The man said compassionately.

"Sir, we've got a problem." Another man in a suit said as he approached.

"They didn't hurt you, did they?" Jarritt asked Kurt and Lana with concern.

"No, honey. Thanks to you and your friends, they didn't hurt us at all." Lana said as she smiled for his benefit.

"You're nice... Like my mom... I miss her." Jarritt said softly and it appeared to Apollo that he was about to cry.

"Oh, you poor, brave boy." Lana said as she stepped away from her husband enough to hug Jarritt.

Apollo was about to step out of the way but was too slow.

Then he realized that being caught in a loving embrace wasn't a bad thing. It was completely foreign to him, but he couldn't deny that it was the sort of thing that he would very much like to get used to.

"I'm sorry that you miss your mother. Has she passed?" Lana asked gently as she released her hug.

"She died. Danny says that God put her in this world to do a bunch of things, and that when she was done, He took her to heaven where she could be with my dad and wouldn't miss him anymore." Jarritt said bravely as he fought back his tears.

"That's right." Danny said as he walked to Jarritt's side. "She got to see you grow up to be big and strong, and she knew that you'd be alright when she had to go."

"I still miss her." Jarritt muttered as he fought desperately to keep from crying.

"It's okay to miss her, Jarritt. Crying is just telling her how you feel." Myron said as he approached.

"Your mom was the best. If anyone deserves to be honored with tears, it's her." Gerry said as he walked up to Myron and put an arm around him.

"Excuse me, but we need to be moving. Our position may already be compromised." The leader said as he approached again.

"Yes. Then get your man to go with me. I still need to get our things." Lana said as she tried to compose herself after the emotional scene.

"I'll go with you." Another of the men said and gestured for her to lead the way.

"You guys should be going. If word gets out about what happened here, there could be a price on your heads." The leader said seriously as he looked at the gathering of young men.

"Sure. If you can tell us a way to get away from here, you'll never have to see us again. The only reason we stopped here in this neighborhood is to try and figure out what to do next. We've been having trouble finding roads that are clear so that we can get back to San Diego." Danny said frankly.

"From what I've heard about the earthquake damage, San Diego probably isn't going to be accessible for quite some time. But even if you could get through, there are reports of riots and fighting in the streets there. Your best bet would probably be somewhere closer and more rural." The man said cautiously.

"Do you know anyone we could stay with around here, Ger?" Danny asked hopefully.

"I've got some friends that moved to San Francisco about a year ago. I know we could stay with them. But I can't think of anyone anywhere around here." Gerry said slowly.

"Oh. You haven't heard." The man said darkly.

"Heard what?" Danny and Myron asked in unison.

"The epicenter of the quake was in San Francisco."

"How bad is it?" Danny whispered, fearing the answer.

The man shook his head slightly, then said, "It's too soon to know any details. All we know is that it's really bad."

"Then I don't know..." Danny said quietly as he looked at his friends with a lost expression.

"You're coming with us." Kurt said simply.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." The leader said cautiously.

"Steven, I appreciate the position that you're in and I don't want to cause you any trouble. I didn't fight you when you told us that we couldn't go see our daughter and our grandson who were..." Kurt looked at the younger men in the room, then continued, "...injured. You said it would put them at risk if we went to them, so we stayed here like the good little kids you think we are. But this is different. These boys saw what was happening, charged in here and saved our lives, and you said yourself that they might be targeted because of it. I'll make this really simple for you, so you don't have to waste your breath arguing. They are coming with us. Now make it happen! Do I make myself clear?"

Steven held Kurt's gaze for a moment, then finally said, "Yes, sir. Allow me a moment to make some arrangements."

Everyone watched as Steven keyed a small microphone on his lapel and started speaking in a low voice as he stepped away.

"I'm sorry about that, boys. I know I should have asked, but I really do get the sense that we're running out of time." Kurt said apologetically.

"That's fine. Jarritt and I are on vacation here, so we don't have any special place that we need to be." Danny said honestly.

"Myron and I have jobs, but if San Diego is a war zone... well, I think they'll understand." Gerry said simply.

"What about you, Paul-o? Do you want to come with us?" Jarritt asked gently.

Apollo only just realized that he was still being held by Jarritt. The feeling was so comfortable and seemed so natural that he hadn't even noticed.

Before Apollo could formulate an answer to Jarritt's question, Steven rushed back into the room and called out, "Bug out! We're moving!"

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked in panic.

"No time! Everyone, get in the cars! NOW!" Steven said as he took firm hold of Kurt's arm and guided him toward the door.

As they rushed out the front door, they saw three black vans further up the street approaching quickly.

"Hurry!" Steven said as he urged Kurt toward the first of the two silver/gray hummers.

"Kurt!" Lana called out as she was nearly being carried by two of the men in suits.

Apollo felt himself being lifted off the ground and carried as Jarritt muttered, "I'll keep you safe."

* * * * *

Just as Jarritt ducked inside the open car door, Apollo heard the unmistakable sound of gunshots.

"Move! Move!" Steven screamed before slamming the car door and running away.

Apollo pulled loose from Jarritt's arms enough to look out the back window in time to see Steven jump into the hummer that was behind them.

Lana was trembling and crying in Kurt's arms.

"Are you okay, buddy?" Danny asked Jarritt quietly.

"Yeah. And Paul-o's okay, too. I kept him safe." Jarritt said proudly.

"You did real good, Jarritt." Danny said with a warm smile.

"What about Gerry and Myron? Are they going to be alright?" Jarritt asked with concern.

"Yeah. I saw them get into the other car. They're fine." Danny said in, what seemed to be, a relaxed voice.

"Folks! You might want to put your seat belts on!" The driver called out as he raced down the quiet residential street.

Before Apollo could react, he was being scooted off Jarritt's lap and into the seat next to him.

"Thank you for helping me." Apollo said with a smile, then was surprised when Jarritt reached around him and put the seatbelt on him.

"I could have done that." Apollo said quietly.

"Sometimes, when I'm hurt or scared or just feeling really bad, Danny will do stuff for me. It feels nice to know that someone wants to help you. It makes you feel better." Jarritt explained seriously.

"Yeah. It does." Apollo agreed.

"Hang in there. We're getting reinforcements any minute now, then we'll be able to shake these guys." The driver called out anxiously.

Apollo sat forward to look around Jarritt, and quietly asked, "How are you doing, Mr. and Mrs. Reed?"

"Oh, we're fine. This is just a little more excitement than we're used to." Lana said as she tried to compose herself.

"And please, call us Lana and Kurt. After what you and your friends have done today, you've certainly earned the right." Kurt said in a warm tone, but kept the majority of his attention out the window.

"That's it! We're clear!" The driver called out in triumph.

Apollo turned to look behind them and saw three hummers, the silver/gray one from the house before, and two black ones.

"Do you know where we're going?" Kurt asked the driver cautiously.

"Yes. We've been given directions to an open parking area not too far from here. Some helicopters are going to meet us there." The driver said seriously.

"Where will we be going from there?" Kurt asked slowly.

"I don't know. Honestly, no one may know yet. With all the chaos that's happened today.. Listen, the people calling the shots have a lot better view of the big picture. We need to trust them to find the best and safest way to get you to someplace safe, wherever that may be."

"Maybe, rather than taking the mystery helicopter ride, it would be best if Jarritt and I started heading back toward Orlando." Danny said cautiously.

"I don't think you'd be much better off." Kurt said frankly.

"Why's that? As we go East, there should be less and less Earthquake damage." Danny said cautiously.

"Last night, everything East of the Mississippi went dark." Kurt said quietly.

"Yeah. I heard about that, but surely, they've got the power back up by now." Danny said thoughtfully.

"No, they don't. And don't call me Shirley." Kurt finished with a smile.

"So, I'll just rent a car and drive us there." Danny said as he fought down a grin at the terrible, old joke.

"How much do you know about what happened today?" Kurt asked curiously.

"You mean about the earthquake? Only what I saw when it was happening and what that Steven guy told us." Danny said with a shrug.

"No, son. The earthquake was only the most recent tragedy. Kansas City, Austin, Oklahoma City and God only knows where else have been attacked today. If you and your friends decide to go off on your own, of course, we won't stop you. But please think about it carefully. You've got a chance to go someplace safe. Right this minute there are hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of people, who would do anything to get what you're being offered." Kurt said seriously.

After a moment to think about all that he had just been told, Danny finally said, "Please don't think that I'm ungrateful, but I'm not just deciding for myself. It's really important for me to make the right decision here."

"Take the time to think it through." Kurt encouraged.

"How can I know that where we're going is really going to be a safer place than we're leaving?" Danny asked cautiously.

"I think that, at this point, all we can do is trust that these security professionals know what they're talking about." Kurt said honestly.

Danny thought for a moment, then hesitantly asked, "Who are you? Why is it so important that you be protected and taken to someplace safe?"

Kurt looked at his wife for a long moment with question.

When she slightly nodded at him, he quietly said, "Because, two days ago, my son-in-law, Jack, was elected to be the next President of the United States."

* * * * *

Meanwhile...

Sammy and the other kids were sharing the Xbox and enjoying one of the racing games when Sammy dropped the controller. His eyes lost focus and he just sat there, completely motionless. The other kids saw Sammy's expression and knew that something was definitely wrong, or soon would be.

He looked around for a brief moment, then jumped to his feet. He was just starting to move across the room when everything around them began to shake. Max, the boy that General Adams had saved from the Salt Lake City mall, had been standing near the back of the room just watching what was going on, still a bit nervous about joining in, now looked frightened, as Sammy ran at him.

"MOVE!" Sammy said, but Max just stood there with a scared look on his face as things all around the room started to shake and fall. Sammy lowered his shoulder, and slammed into the older boy. Max let out a loud 'OOPH' as he was thrown backwards. He hit the ground, and rolled back to his feet just as he had learned on the streets. Before being thrown from his feet again by the shaking of the room, he noticed a large crate fall off a top shelf. It came crashing down at the very place where he had been standing, just a moment ago. Unfortunately for Sammy, he wasn't able to move out of the way quick enough after pushing Max away.

The shaking continued for an eternity, or so it seemed. All around the room, things came crashing down, and kids were screaming. It sounded like a freight train was running on its tracks right next to them. Max couldn't even hear himself as he was screaming.

He was flat on the floor, his arms covering the back of his head, trying not to get hurt as things from all over the room were raining down. He felt something hard and heavy fall on his back, and it knocked the breath from him. He must have blacked out for a moment, because when he opened his eyes next, the room was still, again. He could hear some of the other kids crying, and others moaning in pain.

The door to the room flew open and Eric made his way in. He had to scramble to get around all the scattered debris that had dropped off shelving and onto the floor. Some of the kids were scraped and scratched, but both Sammy and Max were hurt more severely. Max must have hit his head as he fell, and Sammy was just coming back from being unconscious.

Eric's training kicked in, after the shock of seeing all the kids hurt had registered. He looked at Max first, since he was closest, and looked to be conscious. Apparently whatever had fallen on him had only hit him with a glancing blow and had fallen to the side.

"What happened, Uncle Eric?" Max groaned. At any other time, Eric would have been delighted that this boy, who he'd known less than a day, was already calling him uncle, but at the moment, Eric could only think of one thing; his boys were hurt.

Eric was wild-eyed, but his training forced him to stay calm as he kept the boy from moving while he checked him over. Once he was sure that the boy's worst injuries were cuts and scrapes, he helped the boy to his feet, then moved over towards Sammy.

"It was Sammy that saved me. He pushed me out of the way. I was so scared from all the shaking, I couldn't move." Max was actively crying now, as he tried to climb over the debris to where Sammy lay. "Sammy shoved me just in time, or that thing would have fallen right on my head. Look! It actually cracked the floor."

"Don't touch him!" Eric said as he climbed over to get to Sammy. Brian, one of Sammy's brothers, had just gotten to the boy's side, and was reaching out toward him, when he stopped at Eric's words. He looked up at his father with tears in his eyes as he dropped his hand, just as Eric got to his side.

"Is he..." The boy sobbed, while Eric knelt down beside Sammy, and gently touched his back.

Eric looked over at Brian and shook his head. "No. He's alive... he's breathing." Eric heard Brian let out a sob of relief, as he started to gently feel Sammy's back, looking for injuries. He almost jumped when he heard the boy beneath him let out a moan of pain.

"It's okay, Sammy, Papa's here. Don't try to move." Eric said softly. Fate chose that moment to make everything shake again. The kids started to scream, as Eric threw himself over top of Sammy. He had just gotten his arms in place, when he felt something hit him on the back. Whatever it was though, wasn't heavy enough to force him to the ground, possibly crushing Sammy more, but it was enough to make him grunt in pain.

Once the shaking stopped again, Eric pushed himself up and off Sammy, then looked around. Now, there was debris piled in front of the door to the room. He looked around to make sure all the kids were safe, and sent a silent 'thank you God' when he saw everyone struggling to get back to their feet. "Boys! I need you to move everything away from the door. We need to get out of here before something else happens!"

Max and the Trinity immediately moved as quick as they could toward the door. Brian stayed on his knees next to Sammy and Eric. "Sammy, can you hear me?" Eric asked gently.

Sammy moaned softly, but did move his head to look up at Eric, tear streaks marked his dirty cheeks. "Don't move too much. Where do you hurt?"

"My... My arm." Sammy said in a soft sob.

Eric looked; Sammy's right arm was next to Eric's knees, and appeared fine. Eric looked on Sammy's left side, but his left arm was hidden underneath the boy. "Okay, Sammy, do you hurt anywhere else? Your back, your neck, anything like that?"

"No... Just my arm... and my head." Eric looked, and could see the boy had a good-sized gash on his forehead, matting his hair. Eric nodded to himself, then backed up a little bit. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do." He looked up and caught Brian's eyes. "I need your help, Brian, okay?"

The boy nodded, and wiped the tears away from his eyes. When Eric looked again, he saw the strength there that he always saw. This boy was a survivor, and knew how to handle bad things. "We need to roll him towards me." Eric said as he reached across and put his hands on Sammy's side and hip. "As soon as you see his arm, I need you to grab it and hold it as still as you can. If it's broken, any movement will hurt him a lot. Can you do that?"

Brian nodded as he took a deep breath. When he was ready, Eric looked down at Sammy. "Okay, Sammy, we're gonna roll you. I know it's gonna hurt, but we need to do it. Are you ready?"

Sammy nodded, and set his jaw. As soon as Eric knew the boy was ready, he gently, but quickly rolled the boy onto his back. Sammy couldn't help it. As soon as Brian grabbed his arm, and he rolled, he screamed in pain. It didn't take a doctor to see that Sammy's arm was indeed broken. Probably in multiple places. Thankfully, nothing had broken through the skin, but his forearm was swollen, and bruising quickly. There was also a bruise forming on his upper arm, almost right in the middle.

Eric cursed silently to himself as he looked around. "Brian, do not let his arm move." Brian nodded, and Eric looked back down at Sammy. He noticed the boy's eyes were closed, but not closed tight. He'd blacked out again, probably from the pain. That would make his job a bit easier, he thought.

He looked around, and saw that the boys had cleared most of the junk from in front of the door, and had it open. Outside, he could hear people screaming, and other people running past the door, going in both directions. They were only on the second level down, so it wouldn't be too hard to get out, as long as nothing caved in.

"Max!" Eric commanded, and the boy's eyes instantly shot towards his. "I need you to find me two straight boards, or something like that. I need to splint Sammy's arm before we try and move him." Max's eyes were darting around the room before Eric had even finished speaking.

After a brief moment, Max started to scramble over the fallen debris toward the far side of the room, where they kept the Xbox and its games. Eric immediately saw what the boy was after, and nodded to himself. The wooden shelving would work perfectly. It only took Max a moment to break a few of the small boards, and bring them over to Eric.

As soon as Max reached Eric, and handed over the boards, Eric shot him a smile in thanks. Before Eric could say anything else though, Max tore off his shirt, and started to rip it into strips. His eyes met Eric's and he smiled. "Done this before. It's amazing what you pick up on the streets."

Eric just nodded, and then gently moved Sammy's arm to straighten it out. He cringed when he heard the bones crunch, but thankfully still nothing had pierced the skin. He took a moment and secured the boards around Sammy's arm, with the torn strips from Max's shirt. Once he was sure everything was as firm as he could make it, he tore off his own shirt, and ripped it into strips as well. Then he lifted Sammy up slightly to allow Brian and Max to use those strips to secure his arm to his body. Eric was going to have to carry Sammy out, and he didn't want that arm to move at all, if possible.

Once he was satisfied, as much as he could be, he picked Sammy up in his arms, and started to move toward the door. "Make a path for us, guys... we need to get outside now!"

The other boys ran out into the hallway, and stopped traffic as Eric came out of the room moving as fast as he could. "We gotta take the stairs!" Max called out. "The elevator's not working. I just heard one of the soldiers say that." The Trinity nodded as one, and the three brothers ran toward the stairs, Eric hot on their heels, leaving Brian, Scotty, and Max to bring up the rear.

It took them almost ten minutes to make it outside. However, what Eric saw out there didn't make him feel much better. There had been over three hundred people in the bunker, and from the looks of it, almost half of them were out here. Many of them injured. "I NEED A MEDIC!" Eric hollered loud enough to be heard over everyone else.

"SIR!" He heard someone shout. "Over here!" Eric looked and saw a man in a uniform waving him over. Eric nodded and ran over to where the man was. He saw the red cross on the man's arm. "Lay him down."

Eric laid Sammy down on the ground next to another man, an older soldier who was moaning in pain. It only took a look from Eric to know what was wrong; the man's hip and left leg were at a weird angle from his body. The medic looked at the cut on Sammy's head, and poured some saline from a bottle over it, to clean the cut. He made sure it was clean before he ripped open a gauze pad and put it on Sammy's head. He looked up at Max who was standing right behind Eric. "Son, can you hold this there, and put a little pressure on it. I don't think it needs stitches, but we need to try and stop the bleeding." Before the man could even finish his instructions, Max was on his knees and holding the gauze pad.

The medic nodded and smiled. Eric caught how tired he was. He spent a moment checking Sammy over, then sighed as he sat back on his knees. "You did as good a job as anything else right now. Until we can get him to a hospital, I don't want to do anything more."

Eric sighed and nodded, stood up and started looking around, looking for Mike. He hadn't spotted him when he heard the medic speak up. "Sir. Do you think you can help me?"

"What do you need?" Eric asked as he looked back down. The medic was now looking over the man that was here before Sammy was. "This man's hip is out of its socket. I can't find anything else wrong with him, but it's causing him a great deal of pain. Do you think you could help hold his hips, while I attempt put the hip back in place."

Eric looked around one last time before he nodded and knelt down next to the man. He had seen this done before, but had never been a part of it. He put his hands on the man's hips, and held tight. The medic stood up, and took the man's leg, ignoring the man's cry of pain. The medic nodded once to Eric, who pushed down as hard as he could on the man's hip, while the medic pulled the leg up and over. The man's scream couldn't drown out the scrape of bone on bone, then the 'pop' as the hip was forced back into place. The man's scream stopped abruptly, and Eric looked down to see the man had passed out. It was probably for the best.

"Thank you." The medic said as he stood up. Eric did the same, and again looked around. The medic's voice brought him back to the present.

"Sir, as soon as I can get some medication, I am going to give your boy some, just enough to keep him out till we can get him to a hospital. I know you want to stay here, but we really need someone directing the people out here. If you could try and get everyone that is able to walk, to head over toward that clearing, it will help us figure out who needs to be treated right now, and who can wait. I just heard that we got a whole lot of help coming in, even from Canada, but it will be at least ten minutes before anything can get here. If we can have some semblance of order out here, it will make things a lot easier. I know you're not really in the service anymore, but I know you still know how to give orders." The man smiled, which allowed Eric to relax.

"Okay." He gave the medic a small smile, then turned toward the boys. "Okay, guys, I am going to need your help here. You with me?"

"Uhh.. do you know where Dad is?" Scotty asked as he hung onto Brian.

"Not yet, but I'm sure he's fine. He'll meet up with us as soon as he can." Eric said, as he pulled both boys close to him. The other boys quickly joined in, all except Max who was still holding the bandage to Sammy's head. He did join in though once the medic put a piece of tape over it and said it was ok to go. Eric was hoping that his own doubts didn't betray the confidence he tried to put into his voice.

* * * * *

It was close to two hours after the earthquake had hit â€“ yes they had confirmed it was an earthquake â€“ and not an attack like they had first thought it might have been. Eric had quickly jumped in, and started to help out the military officers. Even though most of the bunker's population had been civilian, there was still a sizeable military contingent. The one thing the military did well was organize.

While Eric was no longer active duty military; his former rank, as well as his position as Mike's husband, was well known and well respected. He quickly found himself doing most of the directing, and ordering people on what and how to set up the relief efforts.

He was thankful when, less than twenty minutes after the earthquake had hit, several fighter aircraft flew overhead. He was quickly told that Canada had sent down a squadron of fighters to set up a one hundred mile, no fly zone over the area.

Only a few minutes after that, the first helicopter landed, bringing much-needed medical supplies, as well as transporting patients that could not wait. Due to how many people were injured all over the country, there were not many spare supplies, but what could be was dropped off.

The thing that worried Eric and his sons the most was that Mike had yet to emerge from the damaged bunker. Eric had heard from others that Mike would not come out until everyone else was out. Eric also knew that Mike was injured in some way, but didn't know how. That bit of information he kept from the boys.

The boys had been just as busy as everyone else. At the moment they were running 'gopher' errands for some of the medics. 'Go for this, and go for that.' It was something that kept them busy, and really made them feel needed.

Eric was starting to get worried about Mike, but was told over and over that, although Mike had been injured, he refused to leave the bunker till everyone else was out. Eric had to smile, even though he wanted to kill Mike. That was just like the man that he loved, 'never leave a fallen comrade behind... ever.' That was something that Mike had drilled into his men while he had been the head of a special forces unit. He was damned proud of his man, even if he did want to tear a strip off of him for staying down there.

Eric had moved over to the tent that had been put up, and looked down at Sammy who was lying on one of the cots. The doctors there had made the decision to sedate as many people as they could until they could be moved to get treatment. In Sammy's case, the boy's only real injury was his arm, but that would take a surgeon to fix. Since his injury wasn't life threatening, the decision was made to keep him sedated, and thus out of pain.

Eric stood there looking down at their oldest son, and fought back the urge to cry. Sammy had been through so much pain and suffering in his short life, and here he was, once again, hurt. Although, once again, it was because Sammy had taken the pain for someone else. That strength and dedication to family was an inspiration for Eric, and something that made him love the boy even more. He hadn't been a part of the family for all that long, but he quickly won the hearts of everyone.

"He looks so peaceful, doesn't he?" A voice said, from next to Eric, causing him to jump and spin around. Mike was standing there with a small smile on his face, and Eric couldn't help but throw his arms around the man he loved.

"Easy..." Mike grunted softly, although he returned the hug as much as he could. Eric jumped back, and looked Mike over.

"You look like shit." He managed through his tears of relief. The remains of Mike's suit coat were tattered and ripped, while also stained with dirt and blood. He had a bandage tied tightly around his leg, one around his upper right arm, another bandage wrapped around his head, and his left arm was in a sling. "Are you okay?"

Mike sighed and nodded. "Nothing that a few stitches won't heal." Eric looked at him critically before Mike sighed again. "I'll probably need an X-ray on my shoulder. A medic was able to put it back into place after I dislocated it, but, other than being sore, it's working fine."

Less than a minute later, they both turned when they heard the cries of "DADDY!" Even though the boys were trying to be careful, Eric could still see the pain on his face as the boys all tried to hug their daddy. They all needed the same thing, to be able to touch and hold their daddy to know he was alright.

"It's okay, guys, I'm fine." They all pulled back and looked at him through tear-filled eyes. "Really, guys, I know it looks bad, but I'm really gonna be okay." Mike looked up and saw Max hanging back a bit, even though he looked just as worried. Mike held up his good arm to him, and the boy didn't need any other encouragement. Soon he was in his own hug, and soaking up the love that Mike had for him.

As soon as Max broke from the hug, General Richard Adams, the man that helped save Max from the situation he was in at the mall, came over, and also pulled Mike into a hug, although a much gentler one. "I'm glad you're doing okay, Mike." He said, his own voice thick with emotion.

No sooner had they split apart, than two more helicopters came rumbling in. Everyone in their little group knew those helicopters. Mike looked over at Eric with a question, who simply shrugged.

Chapter 18: Dukes and Dauphins

"Prisoner transfer." The uniformed man said in a bored tone as he approached. He had a nametag that said 'T. Clements' on the right side of his chest, opposite the shiny silver badge on the left. His companion remained silent and had a nametag that said 'W. Hale'.

One of the guards behind the desk looked up and growled, "'Bout fuckin' time!"

"I'm comin' off a double as soon as I dump this load. Can I just have these prisoners so I can get some sleep before I have to be back?" Officer Clements asked wearily as he handed over a piece of paper.

"Yeah. We're all tired..." the officer behind the desk began, then suddenly stopped as he read the paper in his hands. "We got thirty or forty of 'em processed and ready to go... This says you're only takin' TWO?"

"Yeah. I guess so. If that's what it says. I just go where they tell me, pick up what they tell me and deliver it wherever the fuck they want it. Can I have my prisoners now, PLEASE?"

"These orders say that you're taking them to the 'camp' in Orlando. Since you're heading that way anyway, why not take a full load?"

"Yeah. I guess. But look. We only got a van. So we can take six..."

"Ten."

"No way! I'd have to stack 'em on top of each other to get ten into that van."

"Most of 'em's fuckin' faggots. They'd probably like that."

"Listen. I get where you're comin' from. Eight's the most I can do. Even then, it's gonna be a bitch of a ride with that many in the van."

"So? You thump 'em enough times and they eventually shut up." The man behind the desk said as he quickly gathered some papers, then stood and said, "Eight. Oh well, it's better'n nothin', I s'pose."

"Just make sure I get the two that I was sent for. The drive to Orlando is a killer. I don't want to have to make another trip up here." Officer Clements said wearily.

"That's up to you... Like I can tell 'em apart." the guard snorted, then opened the door to the cell block.

Officer Clements followed and did his best to keep his eyes forward and not look at any of the prisoners in the cells they were passing.

Every cell was packed far beyond capacity, some of them with barely enough room for everyone to stand. The smell was horrendous as they walked deeper into the county jail.

* * * * *

"They should be in this one. It's up to you to figure out which ones they are." The guard said frankly.

"The one's I'm needing are a doctor and a historian. I guess someone up top needs 'em for somethin'." Officer Clements said slowly as he looked around at the men in the tightly packed cell. He could only see the ones in front and knew that none of them were the ones that he was looking for.

"I'm a doctor." A man said as he pushed his way between two other prisoners and pressed himself against the bars to be seen.

"Name?" The duty officer asked coldly.

"Doctor Jerry Parish." The man said in a rush.

"Wrong answer." Officer Clements said coldly, then asked, "Do we have any other doctors in here?"

After a moment, a man slowly walked forward, supporting another man at his side, more or less carrying him. In contrast to the way Doctor Parish had to fight his way to the front, the other prisoners in the cell seemed to part and clear the way for these two.

"Name?" The duty officer asked shortly and seemed to be annoyed.

"Doctor Clifton Grant." The man said quietly.

"Who's that you're carrying?" Officer Clements asked as he glanced at the duty officer.

"Benjamin Stone." Dr. Grant slowly answered.

"Yup. They're the ones we're here for." Officer Clements said simply.

"What about the others?"

"Give me that Parish guy and whichever other ones you want to. I can't see that it matters."

The guard unlocked the door as he looked at Jerry Parish and said, "You prolly should'a kept your faggot mouth shut. Where you're goin', don't no one come back."

"Hurry 'em up. But I ain't takin' 'em if they can't walk. I don't have all fuckin' day." Officer Clements said as he ushered the doctor and the historian out of the cell.

"Come on. We need to get you signed out and ready to travel. And if any of you are thinkin' 'bout causin' trouble...Bring it on. Just give me a reason." The guard finished with a predatory smile as he laid a hand on his baton.

* * * * *

As soon as the side door of the county jail opened, two uniformed officers got out of the waiting van and hurried to Officer Clements and Officer Hale.

"We got stuck with a few extras." Officer Clements said irritably.

"Better to have too many than too few." One of the men said, then helped to usher their handcuffed and shackled prisoners into the van.

* * * * *

As soon as the door of the van was closed, Officer Clements let out a huge gust of breath in relief.

"How you guys doing, back there?" Officer Hale asked into the back as he fought to get comfortable, trying to share a single bucket seat with Officer Clements.

"Oh my God, Wil! I can't believe it's you! Thank you!" Dr. Grant said past his tears of relief.

"We're not anywhere near out of this yet, guys. There's still about a thousand ways it could still go wrong. You all had better hang on." The driver of the van said nervously.

"Wait. You guys aren't really cops?" Doctor Parish asked cautiously.

"Nope. Welcome to our jailbreak." Officer Clements said with a grin.

"I'm Wil and this is Todd." Officer Hale said as he looked into the back, then continued, "Our driver, here, is Marc and the 'guard' back there with you is Galen.

"Where are the boys?" The man at Dr. Grant's side asked in a pained voice.

"Don't worry, Ben. On their way to safety." Galen said quietly, then regretfully amended, "We hope."

"They're not here?" Dr. Grant asked in panic.

"Cliff, think about what we just did. We broke you out of jail. There were about a dozen different things that could have gone wrong with that and any of them would have gotten all of us executed." Marc said as he tried to keep his focus on his driving.

"It still might." Galen added quietly.

All the men jammed into the van were listening to the conversation with rapt attention.

"Think about it. With the danger of what we were planning to do, it wouldn't have been safe for the boys to stay and wait for us. Right now, all six of the boys are on their way to Allen's house, in Kettle Falls, Washington." Marc said in an urging tone, willing Cliff to understand their decision.

"Where are we going?" Doctor Parish asked cautiously.

"We're going to be driving for about half an hour or so. I know it's going to be uncomfortable, but we're going to need to leave you in the shackles for now, in case we get stopped. We've got the paperwork to prove that we're supposed to be transporting prisoners, so we have to look like that's what we're doing." Galen said seriously.

"I think Ben has a few cracked ribs, I need to get him something for the pain." Cliff said in an anguished tone.

"I'm sorry, Cliff. There's no way that we can chance stopping, right now. If anyone realizes that you guys are missing, or that we're not who we say we are, then they'll be looking for us. We need to get where we're going and ditch this van as quickly as possible." Marc said regretfully.

"When we get where we're going, what's going to happen to the rest of us?" Jerry asked cautiously and seemed to be afraid of the answer.

"I can't give you too many details, mostly because I don't know exactly what's going to happen. But we're going to be stopping to see a friend. She's expecting us. Todd and Wil used to work for her, and she promised that she could help. I suppose that when we get there, that you'll have to decide where you want to go and what you want to do next." Galen said frankly.

"So, you're going to let us go?" Jerry asked to be sure.

"Yeah. We'd pull over and let you go right now except that it would jeopardize the rest of us if one of you got recaptured. But we're going to turn all of you loose as soon as we're on our way out of town." Galen said as he looked around at all the nervous faces.

"Is there someone that you're worried about and need to check on?" Cliff asked gently as he held Ben close to his side.

"No. I've got no one. I never found Mr. Right." Jerry said weakly.

"Me either." Todd said as he looked back at the man with sympathy.

"Hang in there, guys. I know it's miserable being crammed in this van, but just keep telling yourselves that in less than an hour, you'll be 'free'." Marc said seriously.

* * * * *

"What happened to the boys?" Ben asked in a pained voice as he held tightly to Cliff's side.

"JD told us that you two pushed them out the back door and told them to run while you kept the cops busy. The boys were able to make it ten or so blocks, you know, cutting through yards and ducking behind bushes, when they saw us driving down the road. We were on our way to get you when they ran out into the street and stopped us." Galen said distantly.

"Once we got the story from them and calmed them down, we took a few minutes to decide what we needed to do. It was hard to convince the boys, but somehow we got them to see reason. Since Jorry was following us in his car, we decided that it would be best if the boys went on ahead while we went back to try and rescue you. That way, no matter what happened to us, we would at least know that they were safe." Marc said wearily.

"That was night before last. It took us all this time to come up with a plan and get all the fake ID's and uniforms and stuff." Galen added, then smiled as he continued, "Todd and Wil were even able to get us this van."

"You shouldn't have... I mean, I'm grateful that you came for us, but you should've gone with the boys." Ben said as tears ran down his cheeks and he fought the urge to break into full sobbing.

"You've got to stop thinking of them as helpless little boys. Collin, Christian and Jorry are all legally adults. They're completely devoted to the younger boys and will do anything to protect them. Besides, it's out of our hands, now. We just have to trust them. We have no other choice."

* * * * *

"We're supposed to go to the back door." Marc said as they pulled into the alley, then added, "I should probably go alone. I'm the one who arranged this with her."

"No chance. What happens to you, happens to me." Galen said firmly.

A protest seemed to be perched on Marc's lips, but finally he nodded and got out of the van.

Marc had to open the door and help Galen out, but finally they made their way to the nondescript metal door.

Marc knocked, then stood back so that he could clearly be seen through the peephole.

The sound of rattling chains drew their attention, then the door slowly opened.

"Marc? Is that you?" A woman's voice asked from the darkness.

"Yes, Ma'am. And this is my husband, Galen." Marc said quickly.

"I'm glad you made it. I was just about to leave. We can't stay here. I think I've been spotted. We need to move. RIGHT NOW!" She said firmly as she hurried out the door and slammed it behind her.

Galen took a step back when he saw how tall the woman was.

He wasn't especially tall, but still, it was unusual for him to stand eye-to-eye with a woman. So, naturally, it surprised him when he found himself looking this woman directly in the chin.

"I don't think we have room for you. The van is packed." Marc said quickly.

"Don't worry about it. My hog is right over there. You guys follow me. The cops could be here any second." The woman said before she dashed away.

"Let's hurry." Marc said as he bolted for the van.

* * * * *

By the time both Marc and Galen were in the van, the woman had the motorcycle started and was pulling away.

Marc did his best to keep up with her as she wound down backstreets and alleys through an impoverished part of town. The city had been in chaos since the blackout started, and the military had been cracking down hard on anyone they found on the streets.

However, it seemed that they hadn't been paying too much attention to the low-income areas so far. The consensus amongst Marc, Galen, Todd and Wil was that they were 'sweeping' across the city. Anyone trying to escape was being pushed ahead of them and eventually, the military would close in and capture all the 'undesirables' in one last offensive.

"Can you slow down? All these bumps are hurting Ben." Cliff asked as he cradled his lover in his arms.

"I wish I could, but Mona's driving like a bat outta hell. It's all I can do to keep up with her." Marc said frankly, completely lost in the maze of alleyways, trusting that Mona knew where she was leading them.

Suddenly, they pulled onto a gravel road that wound it's way through dense underbrush and low scraggly trees. The place they were driving wasn't but a few minutes outside the city, but seemed to be complete wilderness. When they finally emerged from the dense foliage, they were pulling into an enormous, apparently abandoned, junkyard.

"Why do I feel like our situation just got worse?" Galen asked cautiously as he looked around at the eerie sight of crushed cars and discarded appliances with weeds and small trees growing wildly amongst them.

"I trust Mona. She won't steer us wrong." Marc said in a mostly confident voice.

* * * * *

"Guys, I hate to do this, but until we know what we're doing and where we're going, we can't have any of you wandering off and maybe tipping off the police. I'm going to talk to Mona right now, and as soon as we know what's going on, I'll be back to release you." Galen said regretfully.

"We'll stay here with them. You go and make plans." Todd said with a smile at Galen.

"I'll be as quick as I can." Galen said before leaving the van.

* * * * *

"Okay, guys. I know when you first talked to me, that you were planning to go to Allen's place, in Washington. Is that still your plan?" Mona asked urgently.

"Yes. We sent the boys ahead, and that's where they're planning to meet up with us." Marc said seriously.

"Well, that's where I'm headed, too. I was going to try to help people get out, you know, like an underground railroad, but now I'm pretty sure that the cops are on to me. I know about a place in Alabama where we can stay for a while, that is, if we can make it there. But it ain't gonna be easy. The roads are pretty much closed."

"We'll walk, if we have to." Galen said firmly.

"Listen, I know the state and county roads between here and there pretty well, so I might be able to get us through. But you gotta realize that this could be really dangerous. You might have a better chance of survival if you stayed here and laid low until the worst of this blows over." Mona said frankly.

"The boys need us." Marc said simply, and no further discussion on the point was needed.

"What about the guys in the van? I know that they're probably not going to want to go with us. What do we do about them?" Galen asked cautiously. He didn't know Mona that well. He knew that Wil and Todd spoke highly of her and that Marc trusted her, but he was still afraid of her answer.

"Since they don't know where we're going, I think we can just leave them here to find their own way." Marc said with a questioning look at Mona.

"I've got a friend not too far from here; his name is Morris. If they show up at his place and mention my name, he'll see that they get to someplace safe... well, as safe as anyplace is, these days." She said frankly.

"I'm worried about taking the van. We just used it to break the guys out of jail..." Marc started, but was interrupted.

"...and it's stolen." Galen finished.

Mona looked from one man to the other, then said, "You two aren't nearly as yuppie as you look, are you?"

"We'll do anything to protect our boys." Marc said seriously.

"That I understand." Mona said with a nod.

"Do you know where we can get another vehicle?" Galen asked anxiously.

Mona grinned, then motioned for the men to follow.

* * * * *

"How the FUCK did you end up with a new... make that two new cars?" Wil asked as he relaxed into the comfortable seat.

"You can thank your old boss, Mona, for that. When we told her that we needed a car, she took us back to the 'shop' at the middle of the junkyard... Although, I think the proper term for a place like that would be 'chop-shop'." Marc said with a quick grin into the rearview mirror at Wil.

"I'd better watch out, hanging around you two. I think that maybe you guys are being a bad influence on me." Wil chuckled.

Marc smiled at the words, then cautiously said, "Actually, I am surprised that you wanted to ride with us. I mean, Todd's your best friend. I always thought that road-trips were something that you guys really enjoyed doing together."

"Yeah. But I'd just be in the way. I could tell by the look in Todd's eyes, that he wants to get into Doctor Jerry's pants." Wil said frankly.

"What about you, Wil? When are you going to find someone else?" Marc asked with concern.

"I'm not." Wil said simply.

Marc glanced away from the road long enough to look at Wil in the mirror with concern.

"Zeb and I aren't finished. He just went away to college. I promised him that I would be here waiting for him when he got back." Wil said seriously.

"When was the last time you heard from him?" Marc asked gently.

"I got a letter about two weeks ago. He mostly talked about how tough his classes are. And he still can't get over being in an entirely different country. I wish I could have gone with him, but what would I do in Hong Kong? But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for him, there's no way I'd do anything to stand in his way." Wil said with a tender smile at the thought of his lover.

"Something's going on up ahead." Galen warned.

Marc watched carefully, then slowed as the motorcycle pulled onto a dirt road.

He was sure that the little Honda he was driving wasn't really designed with dirt roads in mind, but it handled well enough.

"Do you think there's trouble?" Wil asked as he looked behind them, watching to see if they were being followed.

"You'd have to ask Mona. All we can do right now is follow her." Marc said anxiously.

"I hope these rough roads aren't hurting Ben too badly." Galen said as he held the dashboard firmly.

"Cliff was able to improvise a bandage to wrap his chest, that seemed to help. But I suppose that even if he's in pain right now, it's still better than being a captive." Marc said quietly.

"I can't believe that the guards did that to him just for telling them that they were violating his civil rights." Galen said with a shake of his head.

"You ever wonder what happened to the bullies from high school? They end up in jobs like that. From what I saw of them, those knuckle draggers were just itching to beat on someone. If it hadn't been Ben, it would've been someone else." Wil said frankly.

"I'll never be able to thank you and Todd enough for going in there and doing that. I would have done it myself..."

"You don't look the part. It's that simple. Todd and I could pull it off, you and Marc couldn't. I'm just glad that there was something that I could do to help."

"You saved their lives." Marc said simply.

"You're being a little bit dramatic there, aren't you Uncle Marc?" Wil asked playfully.

"No. I really don't think I am." Marc said frankly, then turned his full attention to driving as Mona started leading them across an open field.

* * * * *

As the motorcycle and two cars pulled around the back of a warehouse, they were stopped by a man with a rifle who suddenly appeared from the shadow at the side of the building.

Marc felt his heart skip a beat at the sight, but was relieved when he saw Mona pulling ahead and the man with the rifle motioning for them to pull in.

"Pull the cars in! Park them inside!" An elderly man barked as he glanced nervously at the sky. A younger man was struggling to manually roll up the heavy steel door at the back of the building.

As soon as the door was open enough, Mona pulled under it, ducking her head as she went.

Marc followed immediately behind, sure that there couldn't be more than a couple inches of clearance above the top of the car. He gritted his teeth, expecting to hear a scraping sound any moment.

A second later, Todd pulled the other Honda in behind him.

Before Todd's car had completely cleared the doorway, the door was being lowered.

"Shit! Mona, I'm sorry as hell to see you here." The elderly man said as he walked up to her and pulled her into a firm hug.

"Me, too. Tallahassee is theirs, now, unfortunately. I hung on as long as I could, but it was just a matter of time." Mona said as she returned the hug.

"What about R.E.? Did you stop by there on your way up? Is he comin'?"

"I'm sorry. I got word yesterday that R.E.'s dead. From what I hear, he was resisting arrest... from about thirty feet away, with his back turned, at a full run." Mona said frankly.

"Sons-a-bitches! R.E. never hurt no one! He was a good boy!" The man said as angry tears started to fall.

Mona nodded regretfully, then quietly said, "Jefferson, these guys came to me for help, just before it all went to shit. This here's Marc, he's a friend of my son's. Those two by the blue Accord are Todd and Wil, they used to work for me. Everyone else is friends and relations of theirs, near as I can tell."

Marc smiled at the introduction, then said, "It's nice to meet you, Jefferson. I'm Marc..."

"No time. Gas up and git movin'." Jefferson interrupted sternly.

"Do you think you've been spotted?" Mona asked cautiously.

"Not that I know of, but ain't nothin' good can come from you guys stayin'. Keep movin' west. Veer north as much as you can. I've been hearin' 'bout bridges bein' taken down, but most of what I've heard was in the south. It sounds like, up north there's still some you can get across."

"When did the bridges start coming down?" Galen asked quickly.

"Our boys, they left a day ahead of us. Do you think they had a chance?" Marc asked anxiously.

"The first I heard about them guv'ment sons-a-bitches blowin' up bridges was today, probly after noon. If your boys took out yesterday, then they's a good chance that they got across in time." Jefferson said seriously.

"I think he's right. We need to get going." Galen said firmly to Marc.

"We rigged up a hand pump for the gas. Y'all fill up so's you can get on your way." Jefferson said as he pointed to where the gas pump was located.

"What are we doing?" Todd asked as he approached.

"Gassing up and leaving." Marc said frankly.

"We really need to find some aspirin or something for Ben, for the pain. Cliff says that he's going to be alright, but it's hurting him to ride on these back roads." Todd said with concern.

"What's a matter with 'im?" Jefferson asked curiously.

"The cops in Tallahassee did a number on him, Cliff thinks they cracked a few ribs." Todd said as he looked at the man hopefully.

"Get to gassin' up. I can spare one or two of my back pills to help out someone who got away from them sons-a-bitches." Jefferson said as he tottered away.

Todd immediately hopped into the green Honda and drove up beside the pump.

* * * * *

"I hope we don't need to go too much further. Driving these back roads in the dark is making me a nervous wreck." Marc said as he maintained a white knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

"As soon as Mona stops, I can switch places with you, if you want." Galen offered gently.

"Yeah. Let's do that. My arms are starting to cramp up from sitting like this for so long." Marc said tensely.

"I know of something that might relax you." Galen said seductively as he gently placed a hand on Marc's thigh.

"As nice as that feels, I'm pretty sure that it would distract me from driving." Marc said in a low voice, filled with desire.

"Trust me. I've figured out how to push your buttons by now. I know just what you need to relieve your tension." Galen said as he moved his hand up to Marc's fly.

"Excuse me, guys! Did you forget that I was back here?" Wil called out suddenly.

"Yes, I... um... did, for just a minute." Galen said with a blush as he scooted back to his own seat.

* * * * *

Eventually, they ended up on some paved roads. They were so smooth and even that they were making it increasingly difficult for Marc to keep his eyes open. Suddenly, Mona turned her motorcycle off the paved road and down a lane that looked to be the drive to someone's house.

"Guys, I think we're here." Marc said loudly.

Galen snorted awake, then said, "I'm sorry. I must have drifted off."

"That's okay. It's nearly three in the morning. We should all be asleep right now." Marc said as he carefully followed Mona down the long drive.

"Where are we?" Galen asked as he looked around.

"Alabama, maybe. I really haven't been able to keep track with all the twists and turns on these back roads." Marc said honestly.

Before Galen could think of anything to say to respond, Mona pulled up to the front of a very large house, or what some might call a mansion.

Marc pulled up behind Mona and brought the car to a stop.

"Wil. You need to get up." Galen said gently into the back seat.

"I don't have to work today." Wil said groggily.

Galen chuckled, then said, "No. You don't, Wil. But you still need to get up."

"But I don't want to." Wil whined as he opened his eyes, then looked around curiously.

"I don't know where Mona led us, but wherever it is, we're here." Marc said as he opened his door.

* * * * *

"Mona! I'm so glad that you made it." A woman said as she pulled on a housecoat while she ran out the front door.

"I'm so sorry to wake you at this time of night, Suzette." Mona said as she pulled the woman into a hug.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Hon. We'll all have plenty of time to sleep when we're dead. Right now there are things that need to be done. I'm just glad that you made it here safely. Come inside..." She said, then seemed to notice the men getting out of the cars. "You and all your friends, please come in."

"Where are we?" Ben asked groggily, from his seat through the open car door.

"Honey, you're just outside Wetumpka, Alabama. Now y'all come on inside and get somethin' to eat." Suzette said cheerfully.

"You guys go on. I'm comfortable right now, I really don't want to move." Ben said, then closed his eyes.

The men exchanged looks, but Mona seemed to have made the decision for the rest of them when she followed Suzette inside.

* * * * *

As they walked into the house, the first thing that was obvious was that there was no power. Suzette carried a kerosene lantern as she led the way down the hallway. Everyone was surprised to see that there were people asleep in every room that Suzette peeked into as they continued on the way to the kitchen.

"How many people do you have here, Suzette?" Mona asked cautiously.

"Just now, about fifty. I'm doing my best to find places for all of them." Suzette said as she walked to the sink and started filling an old fashioned percolator coffee pot from a plastic jug of water.

"Are they all heading west?" Galen asked cautiously.

"Most of them are just looking for someplace safe." Suzette replied softly, then added, "Since the attacks... it's hard to feel safe anywhere."

"Wait. What are you talking about?" Marc asked quickly.

"Haven't you heard? No, of course you haven't. The only reason I know is from what people have told me when they arrived." Suzette said as she set up a series of coffee cups.

"Please, tell us." Galen said softly.

"I hardly know where to begin..." Suzette said as she carried her lantern to the cabinet, then searched through the cans that were there, one-handed, as she held the light with the other.

"Well, you know about the blackout, of course. But what you may not know is that it covers half the country. Everything from the East Coast to the Mississippi went black." Suzette said thoughtfully.

"Do you know what caused it?" Galen asked cautiously.

Suzette shook her head, then said, "From what I heard, Ashwood is blaming Bryce, Bryce is blaming Ashwood... I don't really know that it matters. But what no one seems to be arguing about is that it was intentional. While they're sitting up in their mansions, playing their political games, regular people are suffering and dying. It sickens me."

After a minute or so for her to get some cans opened and emptied into a saucepan, Suzette walked to the large kitchen table and took a seat.

"Let's see, I don't know for sure what order things happened in, and I don't know that it matters, but from what I heard, early this morning... I suppose it would be yesterday morning, now, President Ashwood declared the election null and void. He claimed that Bryce cheated... I don't claim to be the best judge of character. Look at any of my ex-husbands, and you'll see what I mean. But still, Bryce doesn't strike me as the type that would stoop to cheating. He's a politician, so I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. But I still have the feeling that, down deep, he has some honor." Suzette said thoughtfully, then seemed to realize that she was rambling.

"Excuse me, it's been a long day." She sighed, then continued, "Texas seceded and declared war on the United States."

"War?" Galen asked in shock.

"I don't know how much of a war it's going to be. The US fired missiles on Austin, nerve gas, from what I hear. The war might already be over. That's all I've heard about it."

"Oh my God." Marc whispered in amazement.

"That's not the worst of it." Suzette said regretfully.

Everyone around the table looked at her anxiously, waiting for what was coming next.

"Again, I'm just passing on what I was told by the people who have been showing up all day. It's possible that some of them misunderstood what they were hearing or got it wrong somehow. But, I've heard the same thing from more than one person, so I'm beginning to believe it's true.

"What is it, Suze?" Mona asked as she placed a hand over Suzette's.

Suzette looked down at the hand and smiled briefly before continuing, "From what I hear, Kansas City is mostly gone. Blown off the face of the Earth."

"No. It couldn't be." Doctor Parish gasped.

"I'm just passing on what I was told." Suzette said to him sympathetically, then looked around the table before continuing, "Oklahoma City was also bombed, but it wasn't nearly as bad... at least in blast damage. In a way, it may be worse. There's talk of radiation at the site."

"Dear God, how could we let this happen?" Marc asked as he shook his head.

"San Francisco... I'm still not sure. Some say it was a nuclear bomb, others are saying that it's the biggest earthquake that San Francisco has ever seen..." Suzette trailed off as she stood and walked to the stove where the percolator was perking vigorously.

"How bad is San Francisco?" Galen asked cautiously.

"From what I hear, there is no more San Francisco." Suzette said as she placed the first two steaming cups of coffee on the table.

Everyone was stunned into silence as Suzette busied herself, serving coffee to her unexpected guests.

"Is that all?" Marc finally asked.

"There's more, but it's all just bits and pieces. Most of it don't make sense to me." Suzette said frankly.

"Like what?" Galen asked cautiously.

"A few of the people have told me that they've heard about riots in the streets in the major cities." Suzette said quietly.

"How are the boys going to handle all of this? We need to be with them. They need us." Marc said anxiously.

"We've got to trust them..." Galen said gently.

"I do trust them. But the rest of the world has gone completely insane! They NEED us. NOW." Marc said as he looked around the room.

Galen slowly nodded, then looked at Marc and said, "You're right. Sitting here, sipping coffee, isn't helping our boys."

"But what about Ben? He's in pain. He should probably rest for a day or two." Wil said as he looked around the table.

"Cliff and Ben are big boys. They'll need to make their own decision, and we'll support them no matter what they decide. But Marc is right, we need to be going." Galen said seriously.

"Do you want me to go out to the car and ask them?" Todd asked cautiously.

"We'll all go." Galen said decisively.

"Before you go, we have a few tanks of gas in the lawn shed, for the groundskeepers. If you're going to be leaving this morning, you need to fill up. With the blackout, I can't predict when you'll come across the next working gas station." Suzette said quietly.

"Thank you. I don't have words enough to express how much we appreciate you doing this for us." Galen said gratefully.

"Go and talk to your friends. It sounds like you need to be on your way." Suzette said as she stood, then added, "I had planned on feeding you, but if you'll stop by before you leave, I'll have some food packed for you to take with you."

"Thank you, again. There's no way we can repay you for your kindness." Marc said as he looked Suzette in the eyes.

"Don't worry about thanking me. Go to your boys. That's what's most important right now." Suzette said firmly.

Looks traveled around the kitchen, and everyone seemed united in their resolve.

* * * * *

"How's he doing?" Galen asked with concern as he stood by the open door of the blue Honda. He could barely see Cliff and Ben in the light from the kerosene lantern.

"He seems to be resting comfortably. Those back pills seem to have done the trick." Cliff said gently.

"We've been talking, and we've decided that we need to get back on the road right away." Galen said regretfully.

"Yes. The boys need us." Cliff said in nearly a whisper.

"Cliff, we know that Ben's in pain. If you want, the rest of us can go on ahead and when we find the boys, we'll let them know that you're safe and we'll protect them the same as if they were our own." Galen said firmly.

"No." Ben whispered as he fought to open his eyes.

"You've been hurt. You need your rest." Marc gently said to his cousin.

"We're going. Period." Ben said as he matched Marc's gaze.

After a moment, Marc said, "I guess that settles it."

"Wil, would you mind getting the food while the rest of us work on gassing up the vehicles?" Galen asked hopefully.

"Yeah. Let's get moving." Wil said as he started walking back toward the house slowly, barely able to see in the meager moonlight.

Galen and Marc walked around the side of the house to a small building, which in other circumstances might be thought of as a house of it's own. But guided by the light of the kerosene lantern, they were able to find the lawn equipment and several cans of gasoline.

* * * * *

"Before we go, all of you should know that I'm not as familiar with the roads north of here. I still have an idea of where we need to go and how to get us there, but I'm not as sure as I was bringing you here." Mona said to the men.

"Do your best, Mona. You're all we've got." Todd said seriously.

After a long moment of silence, Dr. Parish quietly asked, "You guys don't mind me going with you, do you?"

"We don't mind at all, Jerry. As long as you want to go, we're happy to have you." Wil said with a smile.

"I can't say that I really want to go as much as I feel like it's what I need to do. I feel like I belong with you guys... well, as long as you don't mind me being here." Dr. Parish said nervously.

"You belong." Todd said quietly as he placed a hand on Jerry's shoulder.

* * * * *

Although the preparations seemed to have taken a long time, it was actually just over an hour since their arrival before the group was back on the road.

"This could go wrong so many ways. What happens if we get separated?" Marc asked as he strained to see anything in the light of the headlights.

"It's just the same as with the boys. If Mona or the other car end up getting diverted, we'll all meet up at Allen's house in Kettle Falls. I know it's not much of a plan, but it's all we've got." Galen said as he focused on driving.

"I'm just so worried. I wish there was something more that we could do to protect everyone." Marc said helplessly.

"We all want that, Marc. But what we really need to do right now is focus on what's most important." Galen said, a lot more calmly.

"We need to focus on reaching the boys. This is all for them. Ben is enduring his pain, Cliff is watching his lover suffer, we're trying to get across a country that's under martial law, all to get to our boys so we can protect them. Nothing is more important than that." Marc said assuredly.

"When either of us have doubts, all we need to do is refocus on our single objective. None of the rest matters." Galen smiled peacefully.

* * * * *

"How does Mona find these roads? We were almost on it before I could see any indication that there was even a path." Jerry said as he carefully followed Mona's lead.

Galen and Marc's car followed closely behind.

"How are you guys doing back there?" Todd asked into the back seat.

"Ben's resting. I think that he's able to relax now that he knows that we're not stopping. I know that, medically, he'll be able to heal without problems. But emotionally, I think it means the world to him that everyone respected his decision to continue on."

"We all love the boys and we'd do anything in the world for them." Todd said frankly.

"I can't wait to meet them. They sound amazing." Jerry said as he focused on driving.

"You have no idea." Todd chuckled.

"Then tell me." Jerry said, with a smile at Todd, beside him.

"You'd better be sure about that, Jerry. When you get Cliff and Ben talking about their kids, it can go on for hours." Todd said with a warm smile directed at the men in the back seat.

"Like I told you before, I've got no one. When I hear you guys talking about your boys, I can feel the love you have for them, and for each other. It gives me hope to know that love like that exists. It means that there's still hope for me." Jerry said honestly.

"Well, you can't say that you haven't been warned." Todd chuckled.

"Bring it on!" Jerry said as he flashed a warm smile at Todd.

"I guess it all started when Ben and I decided that we wanted to become foster parents. We had been fighting and struggling with the system that seemed built to deny us when one day, we finally got called in for an interview. That must have been about... almost ten years ago now." Cliff said distantly.

Todd snuggled down into his seat and looked over at Jerry, who was driving, to see him soaking in every detail of Cliff and Ben's story.

* * * * *

Mona motioned for the men who were following her to pull off to the side of the road. Since they were on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, none of them could imagine what Mona could suddenly be wanting.

Todd and Jerry both got out of the first car. Galen got out of the second and walked forward to talk to Mona.

"I want you guys to stay here while I scout ahead. I have a friend that lives up ahead, he might be able to let me know how things are in Memphis and if we need to change our course." Mona said seriously.

"Okay. We'll wait right here for you." Todd said immediately.

"No. If I'm not back in one hour, you guys need to move on and avoid Memphis." Mona said firmly.

"No. Mona, please don't do this." Wil said as tears filled his eyes.

"I'm just doing what needs to be done." Mona said dismissively, then looked back and said, "One hour."

Todd nodded and watched as she pulled away on her motorcycle.

* * * * *

The men were nervous and said very little during the next fifty minutes.

Wil was the first to look up, but the others soon followed his lead as they heard a motorcycle approaching.

All of them waited impatiently as Mona approached the cars.

She brought the bike to a complete stop, but left it running.

"It's worse than I expected." Mona said as the men ran up to her.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Galen asked as he approached.

"I was trying to find out if there's any way for us to go through Memphis, but the government has the city locked down. If we go anywhere near Memphis, we'll be arrested before we know what hit us." Mona said frankly.

"So what are we going to do?" Marc asked anxiously.

"Well, Memphis was my first choice, Little Rock was my second... unfortunately, it's completely sealed. But the good news is that my contact knew a way around the roadblocks on the backroads. The bad news... gas might end up being a concern. We might have enough to get us to the Missouri state line... we might not. But we're going to need to do something before the gas runs completely out."

"Something, like what?" Jerry asked as he looked around.

"I'm talking about stealing, honey." Mona said sweetly.

"You don't think that anyone would sell us gas?" Galen asked cautiously.

"For barter, maybe. That is, if we had anything that they'd be interested in having. For cash... I wouldn't count on it. I don't know how much value people are placing in those little slips of paper these days." Mona said honestly.

"So, if we find gas, we're going to take it." Jerry confirmed as he looked around.

"Yes. I'm afraid that's our only option, right now." Marc said regretfully.

"I bet that last week, you couldn't have imagined how dramatically your life could change in such a short time." Todd said with a teasing smile at Jerry.

"Actually, just last week, I made the mistake of saying that my life was boring and I wished that something exciting would happen." Jerry said with barely restrained nervous laughter.

"Happy to help." Mona chuckled, then said to the group, "Let's move out. Sitting here ain't getting us any closer to your boys."

"Right." Galen said, then put his arm around Marc to walk with him back to their car.

* * * * *

"Marc, I'm just wondering, who is this 'Allen' guy that's going to take all of us in, and why haven't I heard about him before?" Wil asked casually.

"I'm sure that you probably have heard about him, just not from me. Allen used to be my boss, about ten years ago. But he's also Mona's son." Marc said with a smile.

"Mona has a son?" Wil asked with surprise.

"Yes. But from what I've seen of Allen, they have a different sort of mother-son relationship than most. I've only ever heard him refer to his mother as 'Mona', and that was on the one or two occasions over the past ten years that he's spoken of her at all." Marc said as he kept the majority of his attention on Mona's tail light ahead of him in the darkness.

"Do they not get along?" Wil asked curiously.

"I can't really say. But from the affectionate way that he says her name, I'd guess that they get along fine, their relationship just isn't... typical. Allen's a very private person. I worked with him ten years and I doubt that we spoke ten words to each other during that time that weren't strictly business related. I don't mean for it to sound like he was strict or rude or anything like that. He's got to be one of the nicest people I've ever worked with. But when it came to his private life, it was like there was an impenetrable barrier." Marc said thoughtfully as he drove.

"I guess Mona's sort of the same way. I mean, I worked for her for over five years and didn't even know she had a kid." Wil said frankly.

"So now I know where he gets it." Marc chuckled. He spoke more quietly when he continued, "Nine or ten years ago, Allen's partner, Carl, died of AIDS. I don't know all of what he went through, he's never talked about it. All I know is that he went through it by himself. He never reached out to any of us at work, and so far as I know, he didn't have anyone in his personal life to help him either. I can't imagine what he went through."

"That sucks." Wil said with downcast eyes.

Marc nodded, then said, "We had been working together for nearly ten years when we got the official news that our project was nearly complete. Everyone started getting really depressed and... I'm sure you can imagine."

Wil nodded.

"I suppose we did what anyone would do in that situation. We got all nostalgic about things and promised each other that we'd keep in touch. I had just about everyone else's personal contact information, but didn't get Allen's until just a few weeks before our project team was disbanded. I never would have guessed that of all the people that I'd worked with, I'd end up talking to Allen the most." Marc chuckled.

"I can see how that could happen." Wil said consideringly.

"It wasn't too long before Allen told me that he had found a new job at a lab in Washington state. He was going to work directly for Ryan Brown." Marc said in an impressed voice.

"Who's that?" Wil asked cautiously, feeling that from Marc's intonation, he should already know.

"If you were into computers, you wouldn't have to ask. Of all the big dogs in computing, he's one of the biggest." Marc said frankly.

Wil didn't have anything to say to that. He could honestly say that he'd never heard the man's name before in his life.

"So Allen got the dream job, moved to Washington, and we've been good friends all these years." Marc finished with a smile.

"And you never talked about him because..." Wil said in a leading tone.

"I guess the subject never came up." Marc said simply.

Wil considered for a moment, then said, "Yeah. I can see that. But how did we end up getting invited up to his place?"

"Before the blackout, I was chatting with him online, telling him how bad things were getting. He told me that Mona had called him and said pretty much the same thing and was talking about heading west. He suggested that I call Mona, pack up the family, and hit the road. Of course, I couldn't do that without Galen's support, so I talked to him and it took us about an hour to think it through and decide to do it."

"Wow. Ben called me and Todd and said, 'Pack your stuff. We're heading to Washington.' So we did." Wil chuckled.

Marc smiled, then said, "When we told the boys about what we were planning, they insisted on calling Jorry and Nick. I guess their dad, my brother Nolan, started drinking again, and the boys were already talking about taking off."

"I thought he had that under control." Wil said with concern.

"He does, then he doesn't. Since the divorce, he's been falling off the wagon about once a year. It lasts about four to six weeks, then he's regretful and swearing that he'll never do it again. Jorry and Nick have been through it enough times to know what to expect. But I guess that since Jorry's an adult now, he feels like he doesn't have to put up with it anymore." Marc said honestly.

"I know how it is to have to give up on your parents. It hurts like nothing else." Wil said sadly.

"Yeah. It sucks."

* * * * *

Mona turned onto a small dirt road that appeared to lead to nowhere.

As soon as they were away from the road enough not to be seen, she stopped her motorcycle and motioned for the cars to stop.

"What's wrong?" Marc asked as he and wil ran up to her.

"Unless I miss my guess, you guys are going to be running out of gas soon." Mona said frankly.

Marc had been carefully monitoring his gas gauge and nodded his agreement.

When Jerry and Todd had joined them, Mona continued, "I had hoped that something would have come up before now, but it's getting to the point where we're going to need to take action. You guys stay here and try to get some rest. I'm going to scout ahead and see what I can find for us. Besides, it's too dangerous for us to be travelling during the day. Get some sleep, and if I'm not back before dark, make your way to the west and find gas anyway that you can."

"I hate this, Mona. You shouldn't have to risk yourself for us." Wil said as he looked at her with watery eyes.

A tender smile crossed Mona's face for an instant, then it fell away as she quietly said, "Just listen to what I've said. If I'm not back by sundown, get out of here. I'll be at peace with whatever happens if I know that you and your friends are on your way to safety."

"We will. I promise." Wil said as he sniffed back his tears.

"Get lots of sleep. If I can find us gas, we're going to be driving all night." Mona said before starting her motorcycle again.

All the men watched as Mona turned the motorcycle and headed back the way they had come.

* * * * *

What sleep they got was restless.

None of the men could shake the feeling of apprehension and underlying sorrow, knowing that they might be forced to continue on without Mona.

Just after noon, Wil woke to the familiar sound of Mona's motorcycle.

He scrambled out of the car, waking Marc and Galen as he did so.

"How are you? Did you have any trouble?" Wil asked as he ran up to her.

Mona smiled at his concern and said, "I'm fine."

Marc and Galen arrived a moment later and waited to hear what she had found.

"Wil, go get the guys from the other car. I'm going to need the doctors." Mona said seriously.

Marc and Galen exchanged looks and watched as Wil rushed away.

* * * * *

"Wil said that you needed us." Cliff said as he walked up to Mona.

"There's a town up ahead. I was doing a little scouting on the outskirts, hoping to find an unattended gas tank in a warehouse or something like that, when a van came racing up the road. I watched it careen off one side of the road, then turn and cross to the other. Before I knew what happened, the thing ran smack dab into a utility pole." Mona said as she looked at the group of men.

"I was undercover and didn't really want to go out and take the chance of being seen, when I saw a man come out of a house and run to the van. I stayed hidden until I saw him pull someone out of the van... it was a kid. As soon as I saw that, I helped him. There were four kids in the van. They were all in handcuffs and had their mouths taped shut." Mona said darkly.

"Were they hurt?" Cliff asked with immediate concern.

"As near as I could tell, one of the boys has a broken arm and wrist and a pretty big bump on his head. I think the girl has a broken leg and all the kids are pretty banged up. We really need a doctor to look at them to see if it's anything more serious." Mona said as she looked Cliff in the eyes.

"Yes. Of course. Anything I can do." Cliff said in a rush.

"The guy who helped the kids, he said that he should be able to get us some gas. The only problem is that we'll need to take the cars into town, and they seem to be taking martial law pretty seriously." Mona said darkly.

"We'll worry about the gas later. The kids are more important." Cliff said firmly.

"I thought you'd feel that way." Mona said with a satisfied smile, then added, "We're not helping those kids by standing around here."

All the men scrambled back to their cars as Mona started her motorcycle.

* * * * *

"What a hellhole." Galen whispered as he followed Mona down a street that ran parallel to some railroad tracks.

"Not the most scenic neighborhood." Marc said weakly as he looked around.

Ahead of them, Mona turned and went half a block before darting down a dirt alley.

Galen followed carefully and watched his rearview mirror to see that Todd was still with them.

* * * * *

"How are they doing?" Mona asked as they were met in the backyard by a woman in her mid-twenties.

"The little girl seems to be coming to her senses. The boys are mostly just crying."

"Guys, this is Kara. Her husband is the one who rescued the kids." Mona said as they followed Kara into the house.

* * * * *

"Is one of you a doctor?" A young man, holding two crying boys, asked desperately.

"Two of us are. Who needs us first?" Cliff asked as he stepped forward.

"This boy. He hasn't woken up yet. I think his arm is broken in at least two places. I did my best to make a splint... I hope that's okay." The man said with tears running down his cheeks as he looked at the boy lying on the floor.

Cliff looked over the splint for a moment, then said, "Given what you have to work with, I think you did a fine job."

"Who else needs a doctor?" Jerry asked timidly as he moved forward from behind the other men.

"This little girl, her name is Lisa. She's being very brave, right now, but I think she has a broken leg." Kara said as she knelt at the girl's side.

Jerry noticed that the girl was also wearing a splint that had been crudely made from slats from a wooden packing crate. As he looked around, he could see the remains of the packing crate as well as a collection of scattered CDs on the living room floor. Apparently, the crate had been used as sort of a bookcase or as storage.

"You. I need you to hold him still while I remove the splint." Cliff said firmly as he looked at the young man.

"I'm Marlon." The young man said as he released the two crying boys in his arms and guided them to hold on to each other.

As soon as he was free, he knelt on the floor and held the boy's shoulders.

"It's nice to meet you, Marlon. I'm Cliff, and regardless of how primitive this seems, you don't need to worry. I'm a pediatrician." Cliff said as he untied the slats of wood and let the arm loose.

The boy on the floor began to whimper and thrash at the pain.

"Hold him." Cliff said as he gently probed the arm to assess the injury.

"Yeeeeeeahhh!" The boy cried out when Cliff gently pressed on his wrist with his thumb.

"I'm sorry for hurting you. I just have to see what's wrong so I'll know how to help you." Cliff said in a soothing voice to the youngster as he carefully tied the splint back in place.

"How bad is it?" Marlon asked in a terrified whisper.

"A fracture in his forearm. At least one, possibly more fractures in his wrist and It wouldn't surprise me to find that he has one or two broken bones in his hand." Cliff said frankly.

"When I found him, he was wearing handcuffs and had the chain wrapped around the driver's neck." Marlon said frankly.

"What happened to the driver?" Marc asked suddenly.

"The driver and the adult passenger both died in the wreck. I can't say that I'm sorry, considering that they were transporting bound and gagged children." Marlon finished angrily.

"Well, I'm glad you were able to get the handcuffs off. I would have hated to have to work around them." Cliff said as he lifted the boy's bangs to examine the bump on his forehead.

"Actually, Mona did that." Marlon said with a glance across the room at her.

"Cliff, would you mind looking at this? I'm a dermatologist and I don't get much of a chance to set broken bones." Jerry asked hopefully.

After a moment to look over Jerry's work, Cliff smiled as he said, "Considering that we don't have access to an x-ray or any real medical supplies, I think you've done as well as anyone could."

"He's waking up." Marlon said as he pointed at the little boy, whose eyes were fluttering open.

"Can you hear me?" Cliff gently asked as he sat at the boy's side.

"It hurts." The boy whispered in return.

"I know. I wish I had something to give you for that." Cliff said frankly as he took the boy's good hand and held it in both of his.

A tear slid down the boy's cheek, then he quietly asked, "Are you the guys that those men were going to sell us to?"

"What? No. We're good guys, I promise." Cliff said as he started smoothing down the boy's unruly hair, then thought to ask, "By the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Brody."

Cliff could see that the boy was in terrible pain, and quietly said, "I'm sorry that I don't have anything to give you to make it stop hurting."

"It's all my fault. So I probably should be hurting." Brody said as tears started to fall.

"What's your fault?" Cliff asked gently as he wiped the tears away with his fingertips.

"Doesn't matter. It hurts, but I promise that I won't whine about it." Brody said bravely as he fought down his tears.

Cliff looked around at the other adults and settled on Marlon. "I really need to get him something for the pain. Do you know of anywhere that we might be able to get something like that?"

"Look, man. This martial law stuff, it's real bad. They're shooting people if they catch them on the streets. And yesterday, I saw some Army guys come and get one of my neighbors. They dragged him and his whole family out of their house, kicking and screaming. I don't know where there's anyone who can help, and if I did, I'd tell you not to risk it." Marlon said frankly.

"Maybe we should just leave." Marc said cautiously.

Cliff looked around the little house with an appraising eye. It was neat, he'd give them that. But everything around him spoke of desperate poverty. "If we leave, are you going to have enough food for yourselves and these kids, too?"

Kara and Marlon exchanged a look and it was finally Kara who answered, "We ain't got much. But that's not the big problem. This whole place is electric. Without the electricity, we've got no light, heat, hot water, refrigerator... there's no way for me to cook the little bit of food that we've got."

"I see..." Cliff said with a downcast look.

"Can't we take them with us?" Wil asked hopefully.

Cliff seemed to be about to answer, then shook his head. "It's bad enough that Ben's had to travel in his condition. There's no way that I'd do that to Brody and Lisa, too."

"You mean, because they're in pain?" Marlon asked slowly.

"Yes. It's going to be a nightmare for Brody as it is. There's no way I want him to be jostled and jarred on the back roads with his injuries." Cliff said firmly.

Marlon nodded and seemed to be lost in thought.

"What you thinkin', baby?" Kara asked as she walked up to him and put an arm around him.

"We need to get out of here. If we stay, we're just marking time until it's our turn for the Army or police or whoever to come and take us away." Marlon said softly.

"But we haven't done anything wrong." Kara whispered.

"You know as well as I do that Jesse and Lola are good people. But they still got dragged out of their house in broad daylight. We're no better than them, not one bit." Marlon said frankly.

Kara nodded as her tears started to fall.

"That doesn't change the fact that two of these kids can't travel. It would be nothing less than torture." Cliff said seriously.

"Yeah. I think I can help with that. That is, if you guys can help me with something, too." Marlon said as he returned Kara's hug.

"What do you need help with?" Cliff asked cautiously.

"Mona told us that you guys needed some gas. Well, I can get that for you. But, if you guys help me, I might be able to get you something even better." Marlon said with the beginning of a smile.

Everyone waited expectantly for him to reveal what he had come up with.

"I work in the city school's bus barn. Not only can I get gas, I can get us a BUS. I was thinking that if you guys would help me with a little paint job, we might be able to drive out of here without anyone even trying to stop us." Marlon said with a grin.

"Do you think you could do that?" Wil asked excitedly.

"Yeah. I know where the paint is. I know where the keys are. All I need is a little help to get it done."

"That doesn't help with Brody's pain. He's still in no condition to travel." Cliff said with an anguished look at the suffering boy.

"If you guys can help me, Kara can deal with the pain." Marlon said with certainty.

Kara looked at Marlon strangely, then a smile of understanding lit up her face.

Marlon gave Kara a quick kiss, then looked around and asked, "Who's helping me?"

"I'm in." Wil said immediately.

"Me too." Todd said with a smile.

"If I'm not needed here, I can go." Jerry said uncertainly.

"Do you think a couple old men will be able to help you?" Marc asked with a grin.

Galen flashed him a disapproving glare.

"If I see any, I'll let you know. Come on. I'd like to get this done before dark." Marlon said as he motioned for the men to follow.

* * * * *

As soon as they were alone, Cliff quietly asked, "What do you propose we do to deal with Brody's pain?"

"I'm pretty sure that this is what Marlon had in mind." Kara said as she opened the door under one of the end tables and took out a blue tin of butter cookies.

"Cookies?" Cliff asked incredulously.

Kara giggled, then opened the tin.

"Oh... And this would be..."

"Dr. Cliff, may I introduce Miss Mary Jane."

"Oh, Miss Mary Jane and I became well acquainted many, many years ago, although I haven't visited with her in quite a while."

"Do you think that this might make it easier for Brody to travel?" Kara asked with a smile.

"Depending on how good it is, he might be able to fly there on his own." Cliff chuckled.

"If that's what I think it is, how about passing some over this way?" Ben asked from his place on the couch.

"I thought you were asleep. How are you feeling?" Cliff asked with concern.

"I'd be feeling a lot better if you'd pass that over here." Ben said honestly.

Cliff smiled at him, then turned to Kara and said, "I think this may work."

Chapter 19: Blackhawks

"There have been reports coming into our newsroom, of members of the military and other government agents collapsing bridges, attempting to cut off access to those wishing to travel from East to West."

Sudden looks of surprise flashed around the occupants of the bus.

"Art, did you just hear that?" Father Doherty asked as he walked forward.

"Yes. Big Noise is talking to the truckers on other channels to find out the best way for us to proceed." Art said seriously.

Father Doherty was surprised by the response, but felt assured that Art had the situation well in hand.

"Father, the truckers seem to think that we should change our route to a more southern track, so we can cross the Missouri sooner, just in case those bridges are in danger." Art said over his shoulder.

"Yes. That sounds like a prudent precaution. Will you let the others know?" Father Doherty asked thoughtfully.

"Big Noise told me on channel 14, so anyone with a radio heard what he told me." Art answered frankly.

"That's good. But be sure to listen carefully for any news we should be aware of." Father Doherty said with concern.

"Yes, Father." Art said before turning his full attention back to the radio.

* * * * *

"Father, it appears that we may have some trouble ahead." Art said as he walked back to stand beside Father Doherty's seat.

Father Doherty looked past him to see that Euan was still sitting by the radio, keeping abreast of the latest developments.

"What seems to be the matter?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"Big Noise just told us that there are several vehicles blocking the bridge that we were planning to cross." Art said in a low voice.

"Does he have another bridge that he can recommend?" Father Doherty asked slowly.

"No. He says that we'll be taking this one. There are some truckers that are going to clear the roadblock for us. Big Noise told me to tell you that he just got word through the grapevine, 'from here on, the Teamsters will be seeing us through'."

Father Doherty was stunned into speechlessness by the announcement.

* * * * *

Ernie sat in his seat with a big grin on his face. He had just gotten word that a convoy of passenger vehicles were only a few miles behind him, heading their way. In front of him, about 2 miles up ahead, he knew there were a bunch of Bears sitting and waiting. This was gonna be fun.

"Breaker 1 9... Big Noise... . you got them folks heading this way yet?"

"10-4! They're all right behind me."

"Roger that... . looks like it's time to start a Bear hunt!" Ernie grinned as he waited. He loved this truck, especially after getting it all decked out. He had glasspacks on the exhaust pipes, blowing black smoke from the stacks. Lights were all over the truck cab, but his favorite thing was the 3½ in brush guard that he had bolted to the front of his truck. He'd always dreamed of using it to knock out some Bears, and now... he would get his wish.

He pulled the chain attached to his air horn as the first of the convoy passed underneath him and the rest of his 'boys'. Ernie howled in laughter as he saw the bus that was leading. There was no way anyone would ever mistake that bus for anything else. He grabbed his mic that was hanging from the ceiling, and spoke with a huge grin plastered on his face. "Let's hit it, boys. I got the front door, the rest you sneak in the convoy wherever you can. Don't let them little tonka toys fall behind!"

He let go of the mic, dropped his eighteen speed transmission into third gear, and gently let off the clutch. His big ole Pete belched out black smoke as he started to rumble down the on ramp he'd been waiting on.

* * * * *

"Breaker Breaker... Monarch, you got your ears on?" Big Noise said over the radio, causing Art to bend down and pick up the mic.

"10-4, Good Buddy!" He said with a bit of excitement.

Big Noise's laughter over the mic boomed from the speaker. "Piece of advice there Monarch, don't be calling no truckers a 'good buddy.' Roger that?"

Art looked at Euan who just shrugged. "Uhhh, Roger."

"Good boy. I'll explain it later. Listen, I got some friends that are gonna jump ahead of ya. Ask your driver to drop down into the granny lane, and do 'bout 40, 'till the first three trucks pass ya, then you better stick that nose of yours to the back bumper of the truck in front of ya. Make sure everyone knows not to slow down no matter what happens. You got that."

"Uhh.. Roger that." Art said confused, thankfully Euan didn't ask questions, he moved up right next to Greg.

"Greg, need you to stay in the right lane and drop down to like 40 okay?" He said speaking up a little bit since Greg was hard of hearing.

Greg gave him a weird look, but did as he was told.

What seemed like an hour later, but was really only about 10 minutes, Greg saw the sign saying that the bridge 5 miles ahead was closed, and for all traffic to exit. He started to get worried until he looked in his mirror. Behind him, and coming up fast in the left lane was a huge truck, with two more behind it. Remembering what Euan had said, Greg started to accelerate a bit. The lead truck was blaring his air horn as he went by, and slipped in front of the bus. Two other trucks slipped in, right as they were coming up to the exit ramp that was supposed to ship all traffic off. Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic on the road, and what there was, had either taken the exit, or had stopped.

The lead truck never let up as he came to the two cop cars that were sitting across the road, directing traffic. He slammed right into both of them, spinning them off to the side.

Art and Euan both looked back to try and see what had happened to the police cars, but couldn't see any details as they sped by.

Greg looked down and saw they were doing about eighty miles an hour, the most he figured the bus could safely do, but the trucks in front of them were slowly pulling away. Up ahead of them he saw another curve. When the bus took the curve, Greg saw that the bridge was blocked by military vehicles, he almost started to let off the accelerator when he saw the first truck was speeding up.

"Holy shit!" He cried as the truck rammed the hummers that the military had stationed in front of the bridge. The two other trucks went to either side of the road, and slammed into the already spinning vehicles causing one of them to flip over the rail and plunge into the river below!

"Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..." Father Doherty muttered nervously as he watched the carnage erupt before him.

Art and Euan stared in disbelief at the spectacle. Although it was only a matter of seconds that flashed before them, time seemed to have slowed and etched every detail into their minds. Neither knew if they were excited or horrified at what they had just seen, they only knew that they would never forget it.

When Jingo and Trav saw what was ahead, they were understandably concerned. But as soon as the lead truck hit the vehicles blocking the road, both of them started to cheer like the Cubs had just won the World Series.

Greg floored it, and began rumbling across the bridge, hoping that none of the broken glass or debris would cut down one of the tires. "Make sure everyone knows to keep going!" Greg shouted to Art who was already talking on the radio telling everyone just that.

They were less than a mile past the bridge when Big Noise came back over the radio. "Some fun there, Monarch! Tell you what. There's a truck stop about an hour up the road. Ernie's gonna keep the front door open for ya, you just sail on through and stop there. We'll get you all something to eat, and see about some of your vehicles. Sound good?"

* * * * *

During the course of their duties, attending to the CB radio, Art and Euan also kept an eye on the road.

Ahead of them, Art could see an SUV pulled off to the side of the road with its hood up and some people standing around the front of the vehicle.

"Breaker, Breaker. Monarch here." Art announced. "Could someone drop back and check on a stranded vehicle that we just passed? There are about five people standing there with the bonnet up, from what I could see. They appear to be in trouble. If they need help, would you offer them a ride, if you can? We shan't be too much longer on the road, so we can try to work out something for them once we get to the next rest area. That way stopping to check on them won't slow the convoy, but they won't have to go without help."

"Got'cha Monarch. This is Shoe Fly. Me an' my boy, Blue, will stop and if they need help, we should have room for 'em." A voice responded.

"Thank you, Shoe Fly. Keep us posted." Art said with a smile.

* * * * *

About five minutes later, a voice called on the radio, "Breaker, breaker. Monarch, you there?"

Euan quickly handed Art the microphone and stood aside.

"This is Monarch." Art answered seriously.

"We got them people you was worried 'bout. Tween me an' my boy, we got plenty of room for 'em, an' they's wantin' ta go ta that place we's goin' anyways."

"Thank you for picking them up. We will see what more we can do for them when we stop at the truck stop." Art said thoughtfully.

"'Fore we do that, they got a problem. Their daughter, she's about nine, she needs insulin. They was gonna drive to the pharmacy, then head west. But then they had car troubles and they've been stuck for the last three hours." Shoe Fly said with concern.

"Does the child need a doctor?" Art asked as his mind raced, trying to decide what he would do if the answer was 'yes'.

"No. She'll be good for a little while. But she's gonna need that insulin before the day's over." Shoe Fly said frankly.

Euan took the microphone from Art's hand and asked, "Where's the town with the pharmacy?"

"'Bout thirty, thirty-five miles north of here." Shoe Fly said after a quick consideration.

"I can already tell you, it's closed." Another voice said on the radio.

"Who is that?" Euan asked cautiously.

"Sweet Sister Mary out of Missoula, and I know where you're talkin' about. Looks like the whole damned town's been shut down. Ain't not one store or gas station open in the whole god forsaken thing."

"Thank you, Sister." Euan said slowly, then Art took the microphone from his hand.

"Give us a few minutes to see what we can do. I'll get back to you as soon as we have an answer." Art said thoughtfully.

* * * * *

"Father Doherty." Art began formally as he approached.

"What is it, Art?" Father Doherty asked as he sat straighter in the chair, sensing the seriousness.

"There was a stranded vehicle that we passed. I asked someone to check on them and it turns out that they have a child who is diabetic. They were trying to get to a town where they could buy some insulin, but we heard on the CB that the pharmacy is closed." Art said with concern.

"I suppose that we can look ahead and see what towns we'll be passing through. Hopefully, one of them will have an open pharmacy." Father Doherty said slowly.

"I wouldn't bet on it." A voice called from behind him.

When Art and Father Doherty turned, Jingo continued, "Between the blackout and martial law, I wouldn't bet on anyplace bein' open."

"I hadn't thought of that." Father Doherty said slowly, then looked at Art and said, "She may very well be right."

"We need to find that little girl some insulin." Art said firmly.

"Perhaps your friend, Big Noise, will have some suggestions of where we could find some." Father Doherty offered half-heartedly.

"Hold up on that." Jingo said slowly.

Father Doherty and Art looked at her curiously.

"When we get to the truck stop, I'm going to need to borrow a car." Jingo said as she looked Father Doherty in the eyes.

"That won't be necessary..." Father Doherty began to say, but was interrupted.

"If this don't go right, you can still call your trucker friend and find another way to get the kid her medicine. No matter what, I know you ain't lettin' that kid do without. But if I go now, I may be able to get her medicine without no one havin' to make a special trip or stop or anything." Jingo said reasonably.

"Jingo, you've become very important to us, and I'm afraid that what you're planning will have risks that we would rather that you didn't take." Father Doherty said gently.

"If you think you can stop me, you're welcome to try. But if you can't, I'm doin' this." Jingo said frankly.

"Doin' what?" Trav asked as he walked up the aisle.

"Skittle run." Jingo said simply.

"Count me in!" Trav said excitedly.

Jingo rolled her eyes, then said, "Like I'd do it without you."

* * * * *

"I just thought... I need to call Zane. He's probably getting worried, after hearing about all the horrible things going on. I should have called him earlier. Some father I am. I just find out I have a son, then I forget all about him."

Once he took the phone off the charger, he quickly dialed Carson's number... actually it was the only number stored in the phone... he didn't pay any attention to what the number actually was.

Carson answered. It took a few minutes to get Zane, but he finally got on the phone and they were able to have a good talk.

* * * * *

Art was working the CB when a call came in from Big Noise.

"Howdy, guys! There's gonna be a big ole truck stop about fifteen miles ahead. There'll be a huge sign you'll be able to see as soon as you round the next bend. Don't worry about the cost, it's already been taken care of. Tell everyone to fill their tanks, grab whatever snacks they want, and have them wait there. We'll be distributing CB radios to as many people as we can. We'll make sure everyone knows how to use them."

"This next thing is very important. Everyone who has a cell phone needs to remove the batteries from them. Them guv-mint freaks can use the GPS functions to trace the location to within a few yards. That goes for the older ones, too. If the phone doesn't have GPS, they can still triangulate using the existing Cell towers. Besides, the cell towers will be useless to make calls on, with all the emergency traffic going on, and people calling their long lost relatives, there won't be enough frequencies available to get any calls through. But the GPS and tower tracking use a different set of frequencies, so that stuff WILL work, no matter what... unless, of course, the whole cell system crashes, which is also a strong possibility."

* * * * *

It didn't take all that long to reach the truck stop, and like Big Noise had said, they saw the huge sign for it as soon as they rounded the bend. The sign was on what must have been a forty foot platform, and the thing was gigantic. It was bigger than most drive-in theater screens, and proclaimed the emblem of the truck stop, along with showing huge platters of food and all sorts of impulse items.

They pulled the bus up next to the fuel pumps, the area was full of trucks. When Greg pulled the air brake knob, and set the brakes, he opened the door, and Father Doherty was the first out and standing on solid ground. He couldn't help but take a deep breath and let it out. They had made it a long ways already, but they still had a long way to go.

He took a moment to look around as all the other vehicles pulled in behind them, and tried to find parking spots. Thankfully, the place didn't look all that busy, and there were only a few cars, and about fifty trucks, even though this place could easily hold three times that number.

He noticed that the truck they had stopped behind had some damage to the side of the trailer. He got a curious look on his face, and took a few steps to the side, and that's when he realized that this was one of the trucks that blew through the roadblock, and opened everything up for them.

Art, Euan and a few others had just made it to Father Doherty's side when two men started towards them. When they were still several feet away, one of them, a huge monster of a man, with a big bushy beard, was the first one to speak up. "So, which one of you guys be Monarch?"

Art hesitantly held up his hand and the man's face lit up and he stuck his hand out. "I'm Big Noise... Nice to finally put a face to the name!" When Art got up the courage to take the man's hand, he couldn't help but notice that his hand felt dwarfed.

"Jeez, He's Fuckin' HUGE!"

"Trav, please watch your language." Father Doherty said disapprovingly as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Wasn't me!" Trav defended.

"Sorry, Father." Father Kinsey muttered shyly.

"Not to worry, Father... ." Big Noise said with a grin. "I's used to it. Now, let me introduce you to your new best friend." He reached over and slapped the man with him on the shoulder. The other man, who was big in his own right, still looked small compared to Big Noise. "This here be Ernie, but you can call him Wubber Ducky."

Several people started to smile, and the man did, too. "Now, before you go making fun of my handle, you should know the reason I have it, is 'cause my nephew called me that. It was the last time I was able to talk to him before he died, so I kept it that way, in his honor."

"Oh, I am so sorry." Father Doherty said as the grin fell from his face. Ernie's smile, though, did not fade.

"No worries about it, Padre... It was quite a while ago, and I know it sounds funny the first time."

There was a slight, uncomfortable pause in the conversation, that was finally broken, but not by one of the people there. They all saw a car come in that was hissing badly from under the hood, and smoke and steam were coming out in billows. The car stopped a little ways away from them, and it finally gave up the fight. A loud, jarring 'thunk' sounded from under the hood and the engine was suddenly silent, but for the hissing of steam. The front doors, and one of the back ones opened up, and three people stumbled out, steam billowing out of the passenger compartment as well. All three of them were coughing, but smiling. "I didn't think she would last, but she got us here!"

Father Doherty watched as the man walked over to the group. The man walked right up to him and stuck out his hand.

"Name's Amos Collins. These be my boys Cory and Chris, or as I like to call them, 'Double Trouble'." Father Doherty held out his hand for the two boys, obviously twins, to shake. They were identical, both with longish brown hair, and a long 'rat tail' that went down almost to their butts, and they each had a face full of freckles. They both grinned, showing mouths full of braces as they shook the Father's hand.

Father Doherty chuckled as he made a show of rubbing his eyes. "Yup, I must be seeing double."

They giggled at Father Doherty's small joke and the left one said, grinning, "You're not seeing double, we're twins! I'm Cory and that's my baby brother, Chris."

Chris gave his twin a withering look and said, "Will you stop calling me that? You're only five minutes older than I am!"

Once the introductions were made, Amos dropped his voice as he leaned close to Father Doherty. "Uhhh, hate to have to ask this, but you think there's some way we's could hitch a ride with someone else. I's don't think da old car's gonna go any further."

Father Doherty started to think about it when Ernie spoke up, "You see them mobile parking lots over there?" he pointed to several car carriers. "Head on over, tell them Ernie sent ya, and that you need a new car."

"You mean they'll just give us one of those cars?" Chris spoke up in awe.

"Yes, sir!" Ernie said with a grin. "I don't know if anyone's told ya yet, but you guys got some big time people wantin' to make sure this convoy gets to where it's going. I got word from the big man himself, saying that I was to make damn sure that y'all had everything you need. The Teamsters are gonna make sure you make it. We got trucks here that's got everythin' y'all need, to get there. And we's gonna make sure you make it there, safe and sound. I'm leadin', the rest of you, follow. We'll have the trucks in with all you little guys, making sure that nothin' happens."

He chuckled at the shocked looks from everyone, then finally reached forward and put a hand on each of the twins' shoulders. "Tell you what. I want twin number one... . that'd be you, boy," he said as he gently shook Chris's shoulder, "to go around and find out who ain't gotta car that'll make it. Lead them on over to the Parking Lots over there, and make sure they get one that'll make it. If we need more, we got another couple of 'em that are about three hours away comin' in, so we should have enough."

He grinned as he gently shook Cory's shoulder. "And twin number two, you see that truck over there that's got his back doors open? He's got a load full of CB radios. I want you to go over there, get a crash course in how to set 'em up, and then make sure that every vehicle gets one of 'em, and gets them hooked up right. Think you guys can do that?"

"I should be twin number one, I'm older!" Cory objected.

Ernie glared at Cory, who instantly clamped his mouth shut.

"Well?" Ernie prompted.

The twins looked at each other with huge eyes. They both just nodded, not able to say much. "Well then, why's you standing here... get going!" Ernie said as he gave them a gentle shove before they ran off towards their trucks.

The sound of a squeal of tires drew Father Doherty's attention and he barely caught sight of Jingo and Trav tearing out of the parking lot in a sporty vehicle at an insane rate of speed. As much as Father Doherty intellectually knew that what they were planning to do was dangerous and illegal, his heart had already accepted that this was their irreverent and unorthodox way of helping.

"Hey! Did anyone just see a gold Jaguar go by here?!" A paunchy middle aged man called as he ran toward the gathering of men.

Father Doherty was surprised to find that everyone seemed to be looking at him to answer.

After a moment of consideration, Father Doherty looked the man in the eyes and said, "No, my son. I didn't see a thing."

* * * * *

"Hello, Father. My name is BIG Noyes. I know... you already know that's my handle, sort of, but I think it might be easier if you knew how I got that name. My family came over here, afore there was a United States. They was Pioneers, or somethin' like that. They didn't spell the name N.O.Y.E.S originally, I couldn't tell you how it was spelled back then. My Granddaddy had a wicked sense of humor, though, and since my daddy never shut his cryin' mouth when he was born, Granddaddy named him LOUD. My mama, she had a very rough time carryin' me. When I was born, I weighed in at over sixteen pounds. When Papa first saw me, the first thing he said to Mama was, "Damnation, Bertha, he's fuckin' huge! We gotta call him 'Big'!"

Father Doherty laughed.

"Seriously, I ain't kiddin' ya, it's on my license."

Father Doherty grinned. "I've heard some unusual names, before, and usually the people who have them seldom even let their friends know. You, on the other hand, have used your name as a badge. I can tell you enjoy it. It is something very special to you. Isn't it?"

"Yep. It sure is... When we moved to a Chicago suburb called Winnetka," He grinned. "As soon as the kids at school found out my name, they started giggling, and I kinda wondered why. Finally George Benson, one of the older kids told me there was a song called 'Big Noise From Winnetka.' The song was by some guy named Bob Crosby; a bandleader and Bing's brother. Later, it was a hit by Bette Midler. I've proudly carried the name for all these years, and I have a bunch of versions of the song in my iPod.

"My Mama died shortly after she gave birth to my younger sister. Sis' birth weight was only three pounds. My daddy named her, too. 'Well, I guess that evens things out, some,' he told Mama. "She's so tiny, we'll just call her Little.

"Daddy 'n me raised 'Little' together. Now she's all growed up and has kids of her own. She married a guy named Short; Carey Short, who's almost as big as I am. So now she's Little Short. I couldn't believe she'd pick someone named Short, but she did. They gots two wonderful kids, a boy and a girl. Larry and Laurie. Laurie's the large economy size, and Larry's just about normal size for his age. I'd better shut up and let you guys get back to more important stuff." He patted Father Doherty on the head, as if the Priest was a little boy, and headed back to his truck.

* * * * *

Eventually, people made their way inside the huge truck stop. The place was jam packed with everything a trucker might find useful. There were high capacity power inverters, and generators, able to provide as much power as needed.

There were high power stereo systems, and all the camping equipment you could imagine. They even had air mattresses with built in vibrators. Father Doherty had been walking around for a few minutes when a surprising realization set in. The truck stop had electricity.

Apparently, Father Doherty exuded the impression that he was just the person you could tell your troubles to, because when he walked up to the counter to pay for some candy he had picked up for the boys, the owner began to explain the various problems he was having. "Father, my name's Ferguson." (He didn't say whether it was his first or last name.) Ferguson was worried sick about his family. He had a son, his wife and their two boys. Ferguson desperately wanted them to go with the convoy, feeling they would be much safer somewhere farther west.

"Hell, I've lived here most all my life. My dad bought this place in the early 1950's, along with about twenty acres of land that surrounded it, and just kept adding on, year after year, until it looked like a total monstrosity. This building you're in now was built about ten years ago, just before Dad passed away. The old buildings were torn down shortly after this one was finished. We built the new store with all new tanks and other equipment, and we moved in here, then took out the old stuff, and didn't lose any business while construction and destruction took place.

"Dad got a low interest loan, and we got it built in less than three months. We had tons of people helping get it done. Everybody loved Dad. They wouldn't take a dime from us to do the work. Even some of his trucker customers brought stuff in and gave their own time to pitch in and work.

"We had to hold Dad's funeral at the American Legion Hall, so we could have room for all the guests. Even then, we had to set up some seating and loudspeakers in the parking lot, cause there were still too many people even for that big hall." He paused to take a deep breath before continuing.

"I told you all that, to tell you this; I know the shit is gonna hit the fan, and I don't think it's gonna be too long before it does, and I wanna make sure that my son and his family get settled somewhere safe.

"Don't even think about tellin' me that I need to go, too. I've already had the argument, in spades, with my son and his wife, and it just ain't gonna happen. As he so often tells me, I'm a stubborn old fart, and I ain't about to change anytime soon." he laughed.

"I know exactly what my dad would've done, and I aim to do things just like he would've.

"I still have lots of friends; well, most of them were Dad's friends, but they all respect me and they are all going to need this place, here. So, as long as I can manage to keep it going. I'm not just going to pull up stakes and leave this place. It just plain ain't gonna happen. That's final!

"I love the people around here way too much and so does Martha, that's my wife and the best short order cook this side of heaven. I thought it would be best if she left with you guys, too, but she wouldn't even listen to my arguments. She stood right there and told me that we're partners for life, and that's the way it's gonna stay. So she and I will hold out here, for as long as we can, and hopefully we can weather the storm, so to speak, and once all this crap is finished, my family can come back here, and we'll still be right here, then we'll go on from there.

"I know the Teamsters have promised to take care of the bill you guys ring up, but I don't want their money, or yours either. So, put that stuff in the bag and take it out to those kids I saw you with earlier. I want to show my appreciation for what you've done so far, and what I hope you will do for me and my family, namely getting my kids and grandkids out of here and to a safe place."

* * * * *

While Father Doherty was in the truck stop, Emo was waiting on the bus.

Most times, Emo was perfectly content to be left to his own thoughts. In fact, he preferred it. This time, however, he felt something gnawing at him.

Greg, the guy who could barely hear, had been driving all day long. Although Emo didn't know from personal experience how tiring that was, he understood that it was a sacrifice and that the others appreciated it and respected Greg for what he was doing.

Art and Euan had been working as a team on the CB radio, and had sort of taken on the responsibility of keeping track of the entire, ever expanding, convoy and relaying important messages from anyone in trouble to Father Doherty.

Emo absently shook his head in wonder at the amazing man that he had found himself with, by pure chance. Everyone on the bus, everyone in the convoy, looked to Father Doherty for his guidance. No one had ever trusted Emo to do a single thing, and he couldn't imagine how strong of a person Father Doherty was to be able to make decisions for HUNDREDS of people and remain calm and collected. He, however, felt ashamed that he wasn't doing anything.

The sound of the AM radio intruded on his thoughts and Emo turned, and saw Jim listening carefully for any details that Father Doherty or the rest of the convoy might need to know. In essence, he was keeping watch on the outside world and staying alert so that the rest of them wouldn't have to sort through the unimportant details.

He saw Father Kinsey and Father Franklin step onto the bus and hurry to the back. He didn't need to look, to know what they were doing. He was sure that the two priests were gathering something or other to help another of their convoy, whether it be food or warm clothes.

Even the two punks, Jingo and Trav, had proven to be incredibly useful. They had gotten the bus past the state police roadblock, then had even performed emergency surgery on Ahmid to get the bullet out of his shoulder. And just as they arrived, they had volunteered to go and get medicine for a sick little girl.

Looking around at all the people he was traveling with, Emo felt that he should be doing something... doing more to contribute. How could he remain sitting, waiting to be served lunch, waiting to be taken to their next stop, just waiting... on the off chance that someone might ask him for his help to do... something, anything?

Without really thinking about it, Emo got up from his seat and walked forward, then got off the bus.

* * * * *

The air outside still had a bit of a chill, but it wasn't so bad that he needed to go back for his jacket. The afternoon sunshine made up for it.

He heard the sound of a fussy baby not too far away, but didn't give it much thought. He looked around the truck stop, flooded to beyond overflowing with every type of vehicle imaginable, and tried to think of something he could do. Some way that he could help someone, that might contribute to the well being of the convoy.

The cry of the baby escalated into a full fledged shriek, and drew his attention.

When he was younger, he had spent some time with one of his distant cousins who had a baby, and he was able to recognize that the baby's cry wasn't a typical one.

He walked around the front of the bus to investigate and found a woman holding a baby and leaning against a car, parked just on the other side. If he had thought to look out his window while he was on the bus, he could have easily seen her.

As he walked up to the car, the first thing that he noticed was that the woman holding the baby was young... too young. Despite the red eyes framed by dark circles, he would be willing to bet that the young woman wasn't even eighteen.

"It sounds really unhappy." Emo said quietly as he approached.

"I'm beginning to think that that's just his nature." The young woman said in a rough voice. She sounded like she had been crying. Now that he was closer, he could tell that she was exhausted.

Suddenly, the baby let out a demonic little growl, followed by an ear piercing shriek that stopped Emo in his tracks.

"Come on, baby. You need to calm down or we're going to lose our ride." The young woman said in a soothing voice as she started gently bouncing him.

The baby started the low, demonic growl again, which combined with the bouncing, resulted in an interesting engine-like sound.

"I used to take care of my little cousin, and he always seemed to like it. If you want, I could try holding him for a while." Emo offered cautiously.

"Sure. I don't seem to be having any luck." The young woman said with resignation. "He's been crying for over an hour, now, on and off. Every time I think I'm getting him settled down, he seems to gather more energy and starts crying louder. He was a little bit quieter while we were on the road. But when we stopped here, he started his air raid siren again. Honestly, I'm at my wit's end. I don't know why, but, somehow, I get the feeling you really want to help, so let's see what he does if you hold him. Do you know how to hold an infant?"

"Yeah. I helped my second cousin, Jasmine, take care of her little Anthony; well, I helped a little, anyway." Emo finished shyly.

"Wow, I'm talking to you as if I've known you all my life, and I don't even know your name." She giggled. "I'm Angela Baxter, what's your name?"

"I hate my real name, so I never use it anymore. Most people just call me Emo." he told her.

"My mom always used to say that knowing a person's name gives you some sort of power over them, so I can sort of understand you not wanting to give it out freely. Emo certainly fits you, though. I like it."

Emo smiled at the compliment and took it to heart.

She walked over to Emo and gently put the little baby in Emo's arms. As soon as he got comfortable holding the little guy, the baby looked right into Emo's eyes, and calmed right down. He wiggled a little, to get more comfortable, and closed his eyes.

"You're really cute, little guy." Emo whispered.

The baby cooed and Emo giggled.

"Seriously!?" Angela gasped. "I'm his mother and he hasn't been that contented with me for weeks. I had him eight weeks ago, and after the first couple of weeks, he hasn't been quiet for more than a couple of hours at a time, and then, only after I've fed him."

"Where's his Daddy? He should be helping you. It's his baby, too."

"Well, he's out of the picture for good. He walked off the night I told him I was pregnant, and I haven't seen him since. I can't say that that bothers me all that much. I mean, he told me to get an abortion. He didn't offer to pay for it, though. I couldn't have gone through with an abortion, anyway. I just couldn't. I kept telling myself that I would give him up for adoption, and he'd get some loving parents and have a wonderful life, but once I saw him, I couldn't just hand him over to the Social Services Child Division. I've seen what they do with kids."

"Don't I know it." Emo whispered, trying not to wake up the sleeping beauty.

"I still can't believe how comfortable he seems to be in your arms. I got out of the car to let Justine get a break from his crying. She was kind enough to give me a ride, and I am really grateful for that, but she doesn't have much patience with babies. She said she never wanted kids of her own, but she didn't mind watching them occasionally for someone else. But Colton has been so fussy that I'm getting worried that she might not let us keep going with her."

"Well, if your friend needs a break, why don't you and Colton ride with us for the next leg of the trip? There's still one or two empty seats left on the bus and I know that no one would mind." Emo said honestly.

"But what if he starts crying again? It's bad enough that Justine and I had to listen to it for hours on end, I'd hate to put a bus full of people through that." Angela said slowly, obviously conflicted about the decision.

"There are three priests on our bus. I don't think anyone's going to get too nasty if Colton gets fussy." Emo said softly as he looked at the adorable baby in his arms.

After a long silent moment, Angela finally said, "Okay. You talked me into it. Just give me a few minutes to get his diaper bag and to tell Justine what's going on."

"Take all the time you need. I'm just going to take him on the bus, where it's a little warmer." Emo said with a smile at the sleeping baby.

* * * * *

Angela stepped onto the bus and cautiously looked around. She smiled when she saw Emo sitting in a chair with Colton sleeping on his chest.

"Emo, would you mind watching Colt for a few minutes while I go into the truck stop? I'd like to take the chance to freshen up and I'd also like to buy a few things." Angela asked hopefully.

"No problem. You take as long as you need. Us guys are doing just fine." Emo said with a smile at the baby in his arms.

Angela watched Emo holding the baby for a moment, then silently turned and left the bus.

* * * * *

"Emo... where did you get that?" Euan asked as he and Art walked onto the bus.

"Hi guys. This is Colton. You don't think Father Doherty will mind that I invited him and his mom to ride with us, do you?" Emo asked anxiously.

"No. Probably not. Knowing him." Euan said honestly.

"Isn't he cute?" Emo asked as he looked at the baby adoringly.

Art and Euan moved closer to get a better look at the baby and couldn't help but agree.

* * * * *

"Has Father Kinsey made it back, yet?" Father Doherty asked as he got onto the bus.

"No. Last we saw, he and Father Franklin were giving extra clothing and blankets to some of those that just joined our convoy." Euan said slowly.

"I met him in the truck stop while I was talking to the owner. I got the impression that he wanted to tell me something, but was reluctant to say it back there." Father Doherty said as he walked further onto the bus, then stopped in his tracks when he saw Emo holding a baby in his arms.

"Look at what I got." Emo said with a grin.

Father Doherty's eyes went wide and he was obviously speechless.

"You don't mind, do you?" Emo asked as his smile faded.

"What did you do, Emo?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"I just invited Colt, here, and his mom to ride with us until we stop for the night." Emo said plaintively.

"Where is his mother?" Father Doherty asked slowly.

"She's in the truck stop, getting cleaned up." Emo said in a rush.

"After some discussion with Big Noise and some others, we've decided to remain here for the night; then start fresh in the morning, after everyone's had a good night of sleep." Father Doherty said softly.

Emo thought for a moment, then said, "Yeah. I bet Angela is gonna be happy about that. She looks dead tired."

"Tired people tend to make mistakes. Big Noise and the others are professional truckers and I trust their judgment when they say that we will actually save more time than we'll lose if we take a night off so that everyone can rest up and be at their best." Father Doherty said frankly.

"Makes sense." Emo said gently as he looked at the baby sleeping in his arms.

"Another reason to stop is so that we can be sure that everyone is ready for the drive tomorrow. We'll check out the vehicles, make sure that everyone has a CB radio and do whatever else we can to make sure the entire convoy has everything they need, to make a long distance run tomorrow."

"If we're not leaving tonight, then what should we be doing now?" Euan asked slowly.

"Since you're our communications experts, I think it would be good if you got the word out to everyone else that we're staying the night here." Father Doherty said with a smile.

Art and Euan exchanged surprised looks, then Art hesitantly asked, "You're trusting us to tell EVERYONE?"

"You're our communications guys, aren't you? Who else would I trust to do it?" Father Doherty asked with a grin.

"But what if we can't find everyone to tell them?" Euan asked in a small voice.

"Be sure to tell everyone to pass on the message. Even if you don't tell them directly, you can be reasonably sure that at some point they'll be told."

"We'll do it." Art said decisively.

"If anyone is having a problem, be sure to send them to me." Father Doherty said as he finally took his usual seat, beside Emo.

"Yes, Father." Art said warmly, then led the way off the bus.

"What was the baby's name, again?" Father Doherty asked as he looked at the baby tenderly.

"Colton."

"Absolutely beautiful."

* * * * *

Emo and Father Doherty looked up at the sound of someone getting on the bus.

"Father Doherty, this is Angela Baxter. She's Colton's mom." Emo said quietly, so as not to disturb the baby.

"You have a beautiful baby, Miss Baxter." Father Doherty said warmly.

"Oh, please, call me Angela." She said nervously.

Father Doherty looked at her for a long moment, then said, "Of course, Angela. And before I forget to mention it, I just wanted you to know that until yesterday, I worked at a rescue mission in inner city Chicago. So I have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to taking care of babies. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to come to me at any time."

"That's good. Up until now, Emo's about the most experienced person that I've been around." Angela said weakly.

"What about your parents, dear?" Father Doherty asked gently.

"My mom died when I was little. When I told my dad that I was pregnant, he called me a whore and threw me out of his house." Angela said as tears welled in her eyes.

Father Doherty slowly nodded, then quietly said, "It happens all too often that way. Girls, who are barely more than children themselves, are forced to face a world of hate and cruelty for being the most natural thing in the world, a mother."

Angela's tears fell as she nodded her agreement.

"Over the years, I've taken in several young mothers and helped them as much as I could until they were able to provide for themselves and their children." Father Doherty said quietly, then looked her in the eyes as he continued, "And there have been times when a mother who wasn't prepared and couldn't deal with the responsibility, chose to leave her child with me, knowing that I would do my best to provide the child the best possible home and future."

Emo looked at Father Doherty with surprise at the words.

"You didn't call the cops on them?" Angela asked hesitantly.

"Many times I didn't need to. It wasn't like they up and left in the middle of the night. With a few legal documents and a notary, I was given guardianship. That allowed me the time and the freedom to find the best possible home for the child. The mother was free to get on with her own life, secure in the knowledge that her child was being provided for."

"You must... wow." Angela stammered.

"Yeah." Emo said hesitantly.

"But for now, it appears that we're going to be taking the rest of the day off from traveling. You would be welcome to stay here with us and have dinner if you would like." Father Doherty said pleasantly.

"What? We're not driving anymore today?" Angela asked with surprise.

"No. When we arrived here, I talked with some professional truckers and they told me that some of my drivers seriously needed some down time. Once we've got everyone rested, then we're going to make a really long drive tomorrow."

"I need to tell Justine. I bet she's gonna be SO happy!" Angela smiled. She turned and seemed to be about to leave when she looked back at Emo, holding Colton.

"He's fine. If he wakes up, I can come and get you." Emo said frankly.

Angela thought about it for a moment, then quietly said, "Thanks, Emo."

He smiled at her and nodded, then watched as she left the bus.

* * * * *

As soon as Angela was gone, Emo turned to Father Doherty and asked, "What was that all about?"

"What do you mean?" Father Doherty asked curiously.

"Sometimes they choose to leave their babies with me." Emo said in a poor imitation of Father Doherty's voice, then looked at him curiously.

"She was thinking about it, Emo. I'm certain of it. I've seen too many new mothers with that same look." Father Doherty said frankly.

"Thinking about what?" Emo asked cautiously, although he already knew.

"She was thinking about leaving, and not taking her baby with her." Father Doherty said as he looked Emo in the eyes.

"No. She wouldn't..." Emo began to say, but faltered as he realized that even he didn't believe what he was saying.

"I don't know that she would." Father Doherty conceded, then added, "But she was thinking about it."

"So you just let her know that you'd be willing to take Colt, so that he'd be safe?" Emo asked slowly.

"No. I just told her a way that she can escape this burden of responsibility without destroying her life or the life of her son." Father Doherty said gently.

Emo looked down at the little boy in his arms and wanted to hold him a little tighter, to protect him.

"I sincerely hope that she decides to keep the baby. But if she chooses not to, we can see that he has the best possible future." Father Doherty said softly as he looked at the sleeping little boy.

"We?" Emo asked uncertainly.

"Yes, Marsden. We."

* * * * *

"Oh, I need to sit down." Harry said as he walked onto the bus in obvious pain.

"Have you been overdoing it?" Father Doherty asked with concern.

Once Harry settled into his seat, he said, "A little. But it was worth it. Word is spreading that we're stopping here for the night and... I don't even know how to describe it. Everyone is weary and worried but still... so full of hope. It's amazing to be part of something like this. It's kind of like a dream."

"I suppose it is." Father Doherty said distantly.

"Have you seen where I put my crutches? So far, I've been feeling well enough not to need them. But I'm betting that I'll need to use them for the next few days, if I'm able to stand up at all." Harry said as he looked around as best he could without getting up from his chair.

"I saw your crutches in the back, standing just outside the lavatory door. I believe they were placed there when Keith reconfigured the seating." Father Doherty said as he stood and started toward the back.

Harry leaned forward and looked at Emo curiously for a moment before asking, "You didn't have that with you the whole time, did you?"

"No." Emo chuckled, then added, "I've just been taking care of Colton since we stopped here."

Harry nodded, then said, "Good. I know that I've been kind of absorbed in everything that's going on, but I didn't think I was that out of it."

"Here you go, Harry. And if you need anything else, please let me know." Father Doherty said as he handed over the crutches.

"I will, Father. Thank you." Harry said as he accepted the crutches and placed them beside his chair.

* * * * *

The sound of more people entering the bus drew everyone's attention.

"Is everything alright?" Father Doherty immediately asked when he saw Jingo and Trav.

"Fine. We got everything we needed. Seeing the looks on those people's faces when we gave them the insulin made the whole trip worth it." Jingo said happily.

Trav looked as giddy as a kid at Christmas as he followed.

"Trav, Harry has been having some serious back pain. I was wondering if you might be able to spare something so that he can have a good night of sleep, tonight." Father Doherty asked hesitantly.

"Hell yeah! I gots skittles for days!" Trav giggled, then took a ziplock bag from his pocket and started to sort through it.

"Here ya go, man. These is the BEST!" Trav said as he handed Harry two pills.

Harry looked at Father Doherty uncertainly.

"I think Trav is as close to an expert on pain management as we've got." Father Doherty said frankly.

"Don't you be worryin' 'bout nothin'. We's s'posed ta gets all a yous ta Washin'ton. This shit'll just shut the pain off. That's it." Trav said firmly.

"And if you take too many, you'll have to go into rehab to get off of 'em." Jingo added seriously.

Trav made a little 'pfft' sound in her direction as he rolled his eyes, then looked at Harry questioningly.

"I'll get you something to wash them down." Father Doherty said as he stood.

"You really think I should take them?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"I really think that the pain that you've been in has been slowly closing in on you, preventing you from enjoying more and more of your life. I wouldn't recommend that you take these drugs regularly, but I think that you're overdue for a night off." Father Doherty said as he handed a glass of water to Harry.

After another moment to consider, Harry slowly put the pills into his mouth, then washed them down with a long drink of water.

"Hold on! Wait! Don't take those!" Trav said as he looked into his bag full of pills.

Harry looked at Trav with wide eyes filled with panic.

"I'm jus' fuckin' wit' ya." Trav giggled, then fell back into his chair, roaring with laughter.

Harry wilted with relief as Father Doherty fought to keep from laughing openly.

* * * * *

"Is he awake, yet?" Angela asked as she climbed onto the bus.

"No. He's slept the whole time." Emo said, then looked down and noticed that Colton's eyes were wide open and alert.

"He must've heard his mama. I bet he knows what time it is." She said as she walked to Emo.

Colton started making sucking sounds as he began to wiggle in Emo's arms.

"Come to mama. It's your dinner time." Angela said as she gently took the baby from Emo.

"Wait, you gots a baby?" Trav asked in confusion.

"Yeah. Ever since Chicago. Didn't you notice?" Emo asked as he watched Angela drape a towel over Colton before reaching underneath to bare a nipple.

Emo turned in time to see Trav looking at Jingo to tell him if he really was that out of it.

"I'm just fuckin' with you." Emo finally said with a wink, then looked over to see Harry grinning at the whole exchange.

* * * * *

Angela sighed deeply. "His nursing me is a double edged sword. It feels so nice when he's drinking like this, but then when he's finished, he throws about half of it up, when I burp him."

Once Colton finished his meal, Angela held him against her shoulder and started gently patting his back.

"He may not like being patted." Emo said with concern.

When she looked at him, he continued. "He doesn't like that. It hurts his stomach. You didn't see his face when you did that. If you always do that, it's no wonder he throws up." Emo gently took Colton from her and cuddled him for a moment. Then he laid Colton across his lap on a towel as he started rubbing his back and mumbling softly as he did so. In a few seconds, Colton let loose with a huge loud burp, with no sign of him throwing up, causing a huge burst of applause to erupt from everyone on the bus.

"That was Awesome!" Emo said with a smile, "I couldn't have done better myself."

Which garnered quite a bit of giggling and other assorted laughter from most everyone.

* * * * *

"Is anybody hungry?" Artimus asked as he climbed onto the bus, carrying two large plastic bags, one on each arm.

"Did you BUY lunch for everyone?" Father Doherty asked with surprise.

"No. Your good friend, Ferguson, insisted on providing lunch for our entire group. He wouldn't take no for an answer." Artimus said happily as he carried the food farther onto the bus.

Father Kinsey climbed onto the bus next with two more bags and timidly said, "I felt funny accepting his hospitality, but I couldn't seem to be able to find a way to refuse. I wanted to talk to you about it, but you were otherwise occupied at the time."

"No disrespect to Father Kinsey, I love everything he cooks and have never had any complaints. But from the smell... I think most everything here is DEEP FRIED! I can't even tell you how much I've missed that." Father Franklin said as he brought up the rear with even more bags of food.

"It looks like the three of you have brought enough food to feed an army." Father Doherty said with surprise.

"Yes. It DOES look that way." Father Franklin agreed.

"Can someone help me get the tables set up, so I can start laying this out? I don't know about anyone else, but I'm really quite hungry." Father Kinsey said hopefully.

"Got it." Artimus said as he started pulling the tables out of their little cabinet.

"Are you sure you don't mind me staying?" Angela asked quietly.

"Of course we don't mind. Honestly, I think we're going to need all the help we can get to eat all this food." Father Doherty said with a chuckle.

"But before we do that... I think this little guy might need a fresh diaper." Emo said reluctantly.

"I should probably take him to the car to do that. I swear, every time I try to change him, it's like he's marking his territory. He's like a fire hose!" Angela said as she picked up the diaper bag.

"Perhaps it might be a good idea to do it here, so I can offer some helpful hints." Father Doherty suggested gently.

"Yeah. I changed Anthony a few times. I think I remember what to do." Emo said quickly.

After a moment to consider, Angela started taking the needed supplies out of the diaper bag.

"If you'll let me in there for a moment, then you'll have a table to change him on." Father Franklin said as he started unfolding the legs.

"Yeah. That'll work." Emo said as he held Colton against his chest and sat back.

A moment later, the table was set up in front of Emo.

"I'll put down a towel... I hope one's enough." Angela said nervously.

"I'm sure it will be fine." Father Doherty said soothingly.

"Don't worry, little guy. This'll just take a minute." Emo said to the baby with a smile, then carefully placed him on the towel. As soon as the baby was settled, he turned to Angela and asked, "Do you have the new diaper ready?"

"Here." She said cautiously, since he hadn't even made a move to take off the dirty diaper yet.

"I'm ready for it." Emo said as he stopped and waited.

Angela handed it to him and noticed that he unfolded the diaper and placed it beside the baby before he even made a move to remove the soiled diaper.

"This is the tricky part." Emo said as he released the little sticky tabs.

In one swift move, he lowered the front of the diaper and simultaneously moved the new diaper into place.

"You thought you had me there, didn't you." Emo said gently to Colton. "I could see it in your beady little eyes."

The baby giggled and started kicking his feet.

"Yeah. Your mama warned me about you." Emo said as he efficiently removed the soiled diaper, then asked Angela, "Do you have any baby wipes?"

"Yes. Here you go." Angela said in a rush, then held the open box out to him.

"Gotta clean up your poopy little mess..." Emo said soothingly to Colton as he wiped his little bottom.

"Do you use any kind of lotion?" Emo asked as he glanced at Angela.

"I did when he had diaper rash, but I haven't since it cleared up." Angela answered quickly, then asked, "Should I?"

"My cousin used it all the time. I don't know if that's right or wrong. I just thought I should ask." Emo said casually as he brought the new diaper up under Colton and fastened it closed.

"There we go." Emo said happily, then looked at Father Doherty and asked, "Did I miss anything?"

"No. Not a thing." Father Doherty said with a satisfied smile.

"I'll get rid of this smelly thing." Angela said as she took the soiled diaper and moved to the front of the bus.

"It's really okay that I invited them, isn't it?" Emo asked with concern.

"Yes, Marsden. Not only is it okay, I believe that it is as it was meant to be." Father Doherty said slowly.

Emo looked at him curiously, but Angela approaching prevented him from asking what the Father meant by that.

* * * * *

"These fried mushrooms are HEAVENLY!" Father Franklin said dramatically.

A few smiles went around the gathering, but no one made any comment, mostly because their mouths were too full.

"Boys, do you think that you were able to get the message out to the rest of the convoy that we're stopping for the night?" Father Doherty asked between bites.

"Yeah. We made a big circle and talked to lots of people. We did like you said and told everyone to pass the message along." Euan said happily.

"Very good." Father Doherty said with a smile, then thought to ask, "Has anyone thought about what they'd like to do, since we have a night off from traveling?"

"I heard some talk, and I think that Lesbian Gravy is going to put on a show in the lot behind the truck stop." Arthur said seriously.

"Do you think that they'll need the bus?" Father Doherty asked with concern.

"Have you been behind the truck stop?" Arthur asked in return.

"No. I don't think I had reason to go back there." Father Doherty said slowly.

"There's already a platform out there. I bet that there's some kind of biker rallies or some other kind of event that's held here. It's just too perfect of a stage to be sitting out there for no reason." Arthur said honestly.

"Well then, if they're going to put on a show, I think that we should all go, to show our support." Father Doherty said decisively.

"Yeah. And besides, I really enjoyed their show last night." Artimus said honestly.

"Lesbian Gravy put on a show last night?" Angela asked quietly.

"Yes. At the rest stop where we stayed. They played a lot of really old songs that everybody knew and everyone was singing along... it was really nice." Emo said frankly.

"I think I'd like to see that." Angela said with the beginning of a smile.

"We'll just need to be sure to bundle Colton up so he doesn't get too cold." Emo said thoughtfully.

"I've got some extra things in the diaper bag. It should be enough." Angela said confidently.

Father Doherty smiled at the exchange, then quietly said, "I think that before the show, I would very much like to take a walk around and talk with some of the people we're traveling with. I got to meet some of them last night, and I'd like to check on them to see how they're doing."

"Can we go with you?" Art asked hopefully.

"Of course. Anyone who wishes to, may accompany me. I doubt that we'll encounter as many people in need as we did last night, but still... I feel drawn to walk among the people and try to understand who all of them are and where they're coming from. I think that will be the only way that we can REALLY help them." Father Doherty said, as if to himself.

"Do you want to go with us?" Emo asked Angela gently.

"Not really. If I could, I'd really like to take a nap, except that I'm afraid that I'll miss Lesbian Gravy's show." Angela said frankly.

"Why don't I take Colton on the walk with me, and we'll come back and wake you up when the show's about to start?" Emo asked with a smile.

"You'd do that?" Angela asked with surprise.

"Sure. You go and have a good rest. Us guys are just going to go and meet the neighbors." Emo said with a smile.

"Thank you, Emo. You don't know how bad I need this." Angela said and seemed to be about to break into tears.

"We'll see you in a few hours." Emo said with a smile, then watched as Angela hurried off the bus.

* * * * *

"Harry, are you sure that you're up to walking around with us?" Father Doherty asked with concern as they stepped off the bus.

"Honestly, I feel like I could do anything right now. I don't know what it was that Trav gave me, but it's far and away better than anything my doctor has ever given me for pain. If I'm only going to feel like this for one night, I'm going to make the most of it." Harry said seriously.

Father Doherty smiled and nodded, then turned to his other side and asked, "Do you think that Colton's going to be warm enough?"

Emo looked down at the baby, dressed in a miniature hoodie and said, "He's got his jacket and he's wrapped in a blanket. I think the fresh air will be good for him. But if it starts getting colder, I'll just take him back to the bus."

"Just keep a careful eye on him. If you notice him acting like he's cold, be sure to get him warm immediately." Father Doherty warned.

Emo nodded his agreement, but was gratified beyond words that Father Doherty was trusting him with such an important task.

* * * * *

"Are you Monarch?" A man asked cautiously as he approached with a woman at his side.

"Yes, although you may call me Art when we are not on the radio." Art said pleasantly.

"We heard you earlier on the CB, saying that if anyone needed food or warm clothing..." The man trailed off, looking to be ashamed for asking for charity.

"Please, realize that all of us were caught unawares by the events of the past days. Our best hope rests in helping each other. If you have need of something, please ask." Art said calmly.

"If you could spare some food... we don't eat very much." The woman asked timidly.

"I'll get it." Euan said quietly before dashing away, back to the bus.

"Euan will bring you some food. Is there anything else that you'll be needing?" Art asked cautiously.

"No. We have everything we need in the car, we just didn't think to take any food with us." The woman said shyly.

"As I said, we were all caught unawares." Art said sympathetically.

"You look as though you've been in a fight. Are you okay?" The man asked Art with concern.

Art chuckled, then said, "I am well. This is nothing more than some scrapes and bruises from an incident that happened before everything else in the world went crazy."

"But are you alright?" The woman asked as she looked Art in the eyes.

"I thank you for your concern, but rest assured that I am doing quite well." Art said gently.

"Here. This should be enough for a couple days." Euan said as he walked up carrying a cardboard box.

"Thank you, but this is way too much." The woman said with surprise.

"If you have excess, then share with someone in need. I have a feeling that there will be no shortage of need in the coming days." Art said gravely.

"We'll do that. And if either one of you need anything, we're Holly and Ryan. We always have the radio on, so call us if you need anything at all." The woman said seriously.

"The best hope for all of us to get through this crisis is to help each other. So, I promise you that if we find ourselves in need, we will call upon you." Art said in a calm, respectful voice.

"Thank you, not only for the food, but for treating us... decently. Being without food..."

"We were all caught unawares." Art interrupted.

Ryan nodded, then turned with the box of food in his arms.

"Thanks again." Holly said quickly before turning to catch up to Ryan.

* * * * *

Father Doherty and his group walked from one vehicle to the next, introducing themselves or visiting with people they had met the previous night. Father Doherty received an unexpectedly warm welcome from Margaret, then she noticed Colton and spent several minutes gushing over what a beautiful baby he was.

"Do you know how to play soccer?" A boy asked as he walked up to Euan.

"Yes, both Art and I play at our school." Euan answered pleasantly.

"If we can find a couple more kids, maybe we could play, some." The boy said hopefully.

"Father, would you mind if Art and I played soccer with these guys?" Euan asked cautiously.

"I think that's a wonderful idea. The reason we're stopping tonight is so that everyone has a chance to relax, so you should go and enjoy yourselves." Father Doherty said warmly.

"Can we, Mom?" the boy asked as he looked up into his mother's eyes.

"Sure. Just stay where I can see you." Margaret said warmly.

"C'mon, Jody. Mom said 'yes'," the boy said toward the SUV.

A moment later, a slightly younger boy hopped out the open door, carrying a soccer ball.

"Cody! Jody! You stay where I can see you. Do you hear me?" Margaret called after them.

"We'll be right here." The older of the two, Cody, called back.

"Since Brody went missing, I've been so scared for them." Margaret muttered as she watched them run away.

"Understandable." Father Doherty said gently, at her side.

* * * * *

Although everyone else had moved on to visit with other people in the convoy, Father Doherty and Emo remained with Margaret. They weren't in any hurry and were able to enjoy a comfortable visit.

When they had been talking for awhile, Father Franklin approached the gathering, leading two men, one older and one younger.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, Father. But these gentlemen would like very much to speak with you." Father Franklin said quietly.

"That's quite alright. Gentlemen, the young man is Emo and the baby in his arms is Colton. And this lovely young woman at my side is Margaret. Please feel free to join us." Father Doherty said pleasantly.

"Thank you. If you're sure that we won't be interrupting." The older man said uncertainly.

"There's nothing to interrupt. We're just chatting about everything and nothing while we watch the children play." Father Doherty said as he gestured toward the field where about ten children were now playing soccer.

"My name is Joshua Taggert and this is my son Jeremiah. It's our pleasure to meet you." The man said respectfully.

"Artimus and Harry are waiting for me. Please, excuse me." Father Franklin said in a rush before withdrawing.

Father Doherty watched him leave, then looked at the father and son curiously.

"We joined up with this rather amazing collection of people this morning. And everyone that we've talked to since has told us that you're the person in charge, and that it was you that decided that we're going to Kettle Falls." Joshua said seriously.

After a moment to consider, Father Doherty quietly said, "Although there might be some truth to what you've been told, I should probably tell you that all of this happened on its own. There was never a point when anyone ever asked me if I wanted to be in charge, and I most certainly never asked for it."

"I suppose that I can see that." Joshua said slowly, then thought to ask, "But still, I'm very interested to know how you came to the decision to travel to Kettle Falls."

"Actually, it's quite simple. That's where my son is." Father Doherty said simply.

Joshua and Jeremiah stared at Father Doherty uncertainly, but it was Margaret who finally asked, "You have a son?"

"Yes. That's actually quite a long story. But suffice it to say that I met my son for the first time a few short days ago. The people at my mission were in a bit of a quandary about how to protect the children in our charge. When my son and his cousin arrived, they were able to make arrangements to get the children to safety. I'm not quite sure how or why, but they ended up in Kettle Falls, Washington."

After a moment to consider, Joshua slowly asked, "So you don't know anyone who's a member of the kingdom?"

"STOP!" A voice called out.

Everyone looked toward the field of children playing to find that a young child had wandered into the midst of the soccer game.

No one said anything and only watched as one of the kids ran around and seemed to be talking to everyone.

"What are they up to?" Jeremiah asked curiously.

Before anyone could answer, the game play started up again.

It took a moment before Emo understood what was going on.

"I think Art just told everyone to include Gunner." Emo said with a smile.

"Look at that." Jeremiah said with a laugh as he pointed.

The kids who were playing had kicked the ball to Gunner, and all of them were waiting and encouraging him to kick it.

Finally, Gunner gave it a good kick and everyone on both their loosely formed teams cheered for him.

"Those are some good kids you got there." Margaret said admiringly.

Father Doherty smiled as he nodded.

"Are you guys going to the Lesbian Gravy concert tonight?" Emo asked Jeremiah curiously.

"Dad wants to catch up on his sleep, but I was thinking about it. How about you?" Jeremiah asked hopefully.

"Yeah. As long as it's not too cold for Colton." Emo said as he cuddled the baby in his arms.

"Is that your son?" Jeremiah asked as he moved closer to see the baby.

"No." Emo said regretfully, and it was obvious that he didn't want to go into detail.

* * * * *

"Those are some good boys." Emmogene said distantly as she watched the children play.

"I've honestly not spent much time with children before this week. Of course, I've worked to help any of the children who have been at our mission, but I've always kept my distance..." Father Franklin said as he smiled at the children playing.

"Having Gunner is one of the greatest joys of my life. It makes me sad to think that you may never have that chance." Emmogene said as she turned to look at her brother.

"Things are very much up in the air with me right now. Before we left Chicago, we were ordered by the church to close our mission and turn all our residents out into the street. When we refused to do so, all of us chose to leave the priesthood. While we're on this journey, it seems that all of us are continuing to behave as priests, that being the best way for us to help the most people. But once we arrive at our destination, I suppose that some decisions will have to be made." Father Franklin said as he turned his attention back to the children.

"Are you thinking about leaving the priesthood permanently so that you can start a family?" Emmogene asked softly.

"No. I haven't really been thinking about it. But this little bit of time that I've spent with the boys has been so pleasant... Let's just say that I'm not as opposed to the idea as I once was." Father Franklin finished with a smile.

"You should really think about it, Eustis. Maybe there's a way that you can continue to help people and still have a life that's your own." Emmogene said imploringly.

"I'll think about it, Em." Father Franklin said to his sister with a smile.

* * * * *

When the sun finally set, the preparations for the concert were completed.

Emo made sure that Colton was dressed warmly and brought an extra blanket with him, just in case.

As much as he didn't want to, he reluctantly walked to the car that was parked beside the bus and tapped on the window.

It took two more bouts of tapping before Angela realized who it was that was knocking.

"I'm sorry to wake you up, but you wanted to see the concert and Colton needs his dinner."

"No problem. If I wait too long to feed him, the milk builds up and it hurts. I need this as much as he does." She said as she opened her blouse and bared a breast.

Emo handed the baby to her, then looked away.

* * * * *

When the feeding was done, Angela excused herself to go to the ladies room at the truck stop and told Emo that she'd catch up with him later.

Although Emo had expected Angela to join him at the concert, he wasn't particularly bothered by her choice. So, once she had walked away, he walked the short distance to where Jeremiah and his dad were parked.

As he approached the panel van, Jeremiah spotted him and happily got out of the van and hurried to join Emo and Colton.

"I talked to some people, and I think that this is gonna be great." Jeremiah said with a grand smile.

"If it's anything like last night, then it'll be almost magical. Just having everyone gathered around and singing together... It's awesome. I've never felt anything like it." Emo said happily as he led the way toward the back of the truck stop.

* * * * *

At the beginning of the concert, Keith asked Emmogene to bring Gunner up to the stage. When Emo looked around, he could tell that no one else knew what was going on either. But Emo broke into a wide grin when he saw Keith give Gunner a microphone.

With some backup from the band, Gunner gave a rather rocking rendition of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. When the applause finally died down (and it took some time), Keith led Gunner back to Emmogene and gave him a kiss goodnight before sending him on his way.

After that, the concert seemed to take on a life of its own. There were some of the old songs from the night before but also a lot of newer songs as well as a few of Lesbian Gravy's original works.

Colton was awake through most of the concert. He seemed to be aware of what was going on and enjoying all the odd new sounds occurring around him. Emo kept close watch on him, but the baby seemed to be perfectly happy.

"œThis is going to be our last song tonight. We hope we helped to take your minds off your troubles for a while. Just remember, folks, we're all in this together." Keith said before nodding to his band mates. When the music started, everyone was surprised to hear the band performing an instrumental version of the National Anthem.

To the band's credit, they didn't try to jazz it up. It was a straightforward rendition, done as true to the original score as could be done on the instruments they used.

Those that knew the words, sang along. Those that didn't, simply held their right hands to their hearts and listened. There were more than a few damp eyes as the final notes of the song faded away into the night.

Emo didn't have words to describe what he was feeling, he just knew that it was something incredibly special.

As the crowd began to disperse, Emo walked with Jeremiah back to his van. They didn't talk, but the silence between them was contemplative, not uncomfortable. Once Jeremiah was safely in his father's car, Emo headed back toward the bus, with Colton in his arms.

* * * * *

"Would you think about doing me a big favor?" Angela asked as he met her outside the bus.

"Of course. What can I do for you?" Emo asked immediately.

"Listen. I'm dead tired. It was great to have a nap, but what I'm really needing is a full night of sleep. I was just wondering, since he seems so quiet and happy with you, if there's any way you could keep Colton for the whole night?" Angela asked hopefully, begging with her eyes.

"Yeah. I'd love that, but isn't he going to need to eat during the middle of the night?" Emo asked thoughtfully.

"Don't worry about that. I'll express some milk, then I'll show you how to warm it up when he's hungry. If you run into any problems during the night, I'll be sleeping in the car, right next door." Angela said happily.

"Oh, I didn't know... You can do that?" Emo asked with surprise.

"When my dad kicked me out, I went to this shelter. Since I was pregnant they sent me to some prenatal classes. Along with teaching me which end to diaper, they also gave me a breast pump and taught me how to use it." Angela said simply.

"I didn't know... Um... Sure. I'd be happy to watch Colton tonight." Emo stammered.

"Thanks. You're sweet. If you don't mind, I'd like to use the bathroom on the bus for a few minutes while I'm using the breast pump. And when I'm done, I'll show you how to heat up the bottle." Angela said with a smile.

"Yeah. Let's go!" Emo said happily then turned to climb onto the bus.

* * * * *

By the time Angela was done with her instructions, just about everyone was getting settled in for sleep.

"What do you think, little guy? Do you think us guys will be alright for one night?" Emo asked as he rested back and settled Colton on his chest.

Colton wiggled a little, then seemed to find the perfect spot, before falling fast asleep.

Chapter 20: Flutterbye

Both women watched as the larger of the two helicopters turned, revealing two big machine guns pointing out the doors. The helicopter then turned its back towards them revealing another, even larger, machine gun sitting inside the back hatch of the aircraft.

A sudden sound made both of them jump, and all the noise that you would expect a helicopter to make was suddenly assaulting them, all at once.

Marcus ran into the room and pulled Doris close to him as he looked out the window, in time to see the second helicopter land.

"Wicked COOL!" Bax called out as soon as he raced into the room and saw the first helicopter.

Within a minute, just about everyone in the house was drawn to the living room by the sound.

The noise had gotten louder as everyone gathered by the big bay windows looking out over the front of the house. A sharp, high pitched whistle got everyone's attention, and they turned to see Deb and Ryan standing there, Deb was just lowering her hand from her mouth. "It's okay everyone. We knew they were coming. Please wait in here, and we'll explain everything in a few minutes." She then looked over at Tommy and Mikey. "Is the third floor ready?"

"Yeah, we just got done. You finally gonna tell us why we did it?" Mikey asked his mother hopefully.

"In a moment." She said as she and Ryan made their way through the crowd, and strode out the front door. They kept walking toward the helicopters, while everyone else filed out onto the front porch. Even Carson, accompanied by Jay, and Roris, with Lawrence by his side, cautiously ventured out to witness the surreal spectacle.

Several men in military uniforms and black suits came down the ramp of the big helicopter, all of them with rifles in hand. They looked around, then spread themselves out around the back of the helicopter. Just as Deb and Ryan approached, they saw a man, his arm in a sling, a bandage on his head, come walking down the ramp. The man's suit was badly rumpled, and dirty with mud, soot, and even some blood stains.

The man accompanying him wasn't nearly as disheveled, but it was also clear that they had both been through difficult times. The first man stuck his hand out towards Ryan. "Mr. Brown?" When Ryan nodded, the man continued. "Thank you for doing this for us."

"It's our pleasure Mr. Vice President...elect?" Ryan couldn't help but chuckle. "Not sure exactly what to call you."

"Why not just call me Mike?" He said with a smile, he then turned to the man next to him. "And this is my partner, Eric Carlson."

Ryan extended his hand and shook with Eric who also smiled. "We really appreciate this. I hope it's not too much trouble."

"Of course not." Deb said, speaking up for the first time. "As Ryan said, it's our pleasure. We have a lot of people coming this way, and you're not the first."

"I really would like to spend some time getting to know you guys better, but before that, I need to ask... I know there is a Trauma Center close by. Do you know of any way of getting in touch with them?" Eric asked distractedly as he looked back into the helicopter they were standing behind. "Both Mike and our son Sammy need to get to a hospital as soon as possible. Sammy's got a badly broken arm, and we've kept him sedated so he's not in a lot of pain, and while Mike probably wouldn't admit it, he's hurting as well, and needs to be seen by a doctor."

Before he had even finished, Deb had pulled out her cell phone and was placing a call. Eric looked a bit confused, as most cell phones didn't work right now, until Ryan spoke up. "We're actually close enough to Canada to catch their signals. We'll probably have a hell of a bill, but then again, we may not." He laughed, causing both men to laugh as well, until Mike cringed in pain.

Deb spoke for a few moments before she snapped her phone closed and rejoined the group. "I just spoke to my father, who happens to be at the hospital right now. He's going to get everything ready for you, and will meet you and your son when you get there. I am assuming you are going to use that helicopter?" She said nodding towards the Huey which was currently unloading their passengers, which happened to be twelve children.

Mike nodded, turned and spoke to a few of the men who were standing behind them. "Okay, get Sammy over to the Huey, and we'll airlift him and myself to the hospital. I want the security to be as minimal as possible. I don't want to disrupt the hospital any more than absolutely necessary."

"Yes sir!" One of the men in a suit said as he turned and jogged back into the back of the helicopter.

"Let's move over to the side, shall we?" Eric said, and they all moved a bit away from the back of the helicopter. By this time the twelve children had reached them.

* * * * *

Ben was watching the scene before him unfold, not knowing what to think about what he was seeing.

"Alvin!" Oleksandr said suddenly and started to wiggle in Ben's arms.

Afraid that he would drop the squirming boy, Ben quickly placed him on the porch.

As soon as Oleksandr's feet hit the floor, he was off like a shot.

The surprise on Ben's face melted into a smile as he realized that the time had finally come, Oleksandr had reached a point where he felt safe.

* * * * *

"You came! You're here!" Oleksandr said as he ran up to Alvin with a delighted grin on his face.

"Yeah. It's nice to see you, too." Alvin said with a smile, not used to being welcomed so warmly.

"Want to introduce me to your friend?"

Oleksandr looked at the new arrival, then back at Alvin with confusion. The two boys were as identical as any two people could possibly be.

"Oleksandr, this is my brother, Simon." Alvin said with a grin, knowing that Oleksandr was shocked.

"There's two of you..." Oleksandr said slowly.

Alvin laughed and said, "No. There's just one of me. I promise you, Simon is a completely different person."

Oleksandr looked from Simon to Alvin and back before finally saying to Alvin, "I think I like you best."

"Most people do..." Alvin said with a grin.

* * * * *

Less than five minutes later, the smaller helicopter took off again, and seconds later, the area was eerily quiet compared to the noise level that had announced their arrival. Eric looked over the group of people and then toward the porch. "Well what say we get the introductions out of the way, and let you folks get back to what you were doing."

As they moved over to the porch, Eric softly spoke to Deb and Ryan. "I mean no offense, but how much would you like everyone to know?"

"Unless there is something of a sensitive nature, everyone here, even though some have only been here for a day or two, have made themselves invaluable to the rescue effort: not to mention all of them are living in the house: so I would imagine they have a right to know as much as you feel comfortable sharing." Ryan said as diplomatically as he possibly could. Eric nodded with a small smile as the group stopped in front of the porch.

Deb raised her voice so she could be heard by everyone. "Okay everyone, this is our next group of guests. Although this one is a bit more complicated. For those that may not know who these people are, the man that got on the other helicopter with the young boy is Mike Reynolds, the Vice President Elect. Next to me is his partner Eric Carlson, and I will step aside and let him introduce the rest of his family, and those that have come with them."

Eric took a step forward and spoke in a deep clear voice. "As Deb was so kind to say, my name is Eric Carlson. My husband Mike Reynolds, the Vice President Elect just left with our oldest son, Sammy. They both had to go to the hospital due to Sammy's injuries. We were in a bunker just outside of Redding California when the earthquake hit. The bunker was severely damaged, requiring us to find a new place to live. Deb and Ryan graciously agreed to allow us to move up here." He gave a big smile toward Deb and Ryan then stepped back, pulled a boy in front of him, then placed his hands on two other boys' shoulders.

"Now for the Rat Pack." He said with a grin. "These two, are Randy and Kevin Carlson, our nine year old twins. They and their younger brother Danny Carlson, who's eight, are collectively known to everyone as the Unholy Trinity!" He said with a laugh.

Danny looked up from his position in front of Eric with mock outrage on his face. "Hey! That's not fair!"

"Of course it is. We need to warn them, don't we?" Eric said, causing everyone to laugh.

"Humph!" Danny said as he crossed his arms in front of him and fake pouted.

"Anyway..." Eric said with the grin still plastered on his face. "Next we have Brian and Scotty Reynolds. Brian is ten and Scotty is nine. Sammy, who as you know is going to the hospital, is eleven, and the leader of the Rat Pack." Brian and Scotty beamed as they were introduced, but when Eric mentioned Sammy, all five boys got worried looks on their faces.

Sensing this, Deb stepped over, and squatted down to face all the boys. "Don't worry about Sammy or your dad. They'll be fine. The best doctor around is waiting for them. He's my dad, and he will take really good care of them." The boys all put on a brave face and tried to smile. The adults that surrounded them could all see that the boys relaxed slightly, but were still worried.

"Thanks, Deb." Eric said with a worried smile on his own face. He quickly changed to a more convincing grin, as he looked over at a man in a military uniform that was standing there with them. "Next we have General Richard Adams. He is like family to us, and all the boy's call him Uncle Rich. I'll let him introduce himself and the young man with him."

"Thanks, Eric." Rich said with a smile as he pulled the boy next to him, in front, and placed both hands on the boy's shoulders. "As Eric said, my name is Richard Adams. I am an Army General, and acting as an adviser to Mike. The young man in front of me is Max, he's thirteen, and I am hoping that he will accept my offer to become my son."

Max looked up at Richard and smiled, while nodding. Even though it was easy to tell that they were not related, with Richard's light skin, and Max's rather dark skin, there was no denying the bond that they two already had.

"Thanks, Rich." Eric said with a smile. "Now we have the final group, and I will let them introduce themselves."

Alvin took that as his cue and stepped forward, Oleksandr still attached to his side. "Thanks, Mr. Carlson." He said as he looked over the group, his eyes found one of the older boys, and his smile started to slip before he quickly put it back in place, and started to talk, hoping no one had noticed. "First off, I am sure you all know the boy next to me." Alvin said as he threw his arm over Oleksandr's shoulder. That got a lot of chuckles from the assembled people, and made Oleksandr blush but smile brightly.

"My name is Alvin Casey, and the guy that looks a lot like me is Simon. And yes, before you guys ask, we're two of a set of triplets, and our other brother's name is actually Theodore." That got a lot of laughs from most of the people there, although a few didn't seem to understand the joke.

"The two fly boys with us..." Alvin said as he pointed to the two boys who were wearing flight suits and had joined the group after shutting the Chinook down. "Are my brother Will Casey, and his partner Billy Tompkins. Yes, before you ask, they were the ones flying. We'll explain that later."

"We also brought some of the kids that were at the Bunker, these guys all volunteered to help out up here. First we have the twins, Courtney and Trevor. Then we also have Freddy, Victor, Jamey, Lee, Kyle, Christina, Bryan and Bruce." Each kid raised their hand slightly when Alvin said their names.

Seeing that everyone had been introduced, except for the Secret Service and military men who were all still surrounding them, Deb stepped forward, this time in front of the porch, and looked toward the new group. "Thanks, guys. I'll introduce my family, and then we'll let each group introduce themselves. For any of you that haven't heard, my name is Debra Brown, but I hope all of you call me Deb. Beside me is my husband, Ryan. Next to him are our sons, Tommy and Mikey. Our middle son, Carson, is over there sitting in the chair. Last, but not least, is my mother Madelyn Murten, standing at the edge of the porch." Deb said, as she pointed to each person who raised their hand when Deb said their names.

* * * * *

When the helicopter landed on a small helipad at the very modern looking hospital, Mike and the Secret Service agents were out as soon as the skids touched down. He was about to turn back to help get the stretcher the copter carried, when two men pushed past him, and carefully started to pull Sammy out. Mike backed up, and felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning quickly, he saw an older gentleman standing there wearing a doctor's lab coat. The man quickly pulled him back, and away from the helicopter as the nurses, and Secret Service pulled Sammy out, and rushed him inside.

"Come on, let's go with your son." The man said as he escorted Mike through the same doors Sammy had just gone through. They all crowded into a large elevator, and started to descend. The doctor turned to Mike and held out his hand. "Mr. Vice President. I am Doctor Fred Murten, Chief of Pediatric Surgery. Well, actually chief of a lot of things, since this is a rather small hospital. However, don't let that worry you since we have all of the latest equipment here, and thanks to my son-in-law's business, some equipment that is not available to other hospitals, yet."

Mike nodded as the doors opened. He followed Sammy in, and was still walking next to the doctor as they hurried down the hall. "Thank you Doctor, just please do everything you can for Sammy. He's had such a rough life already."

"I know some of the details. My wife and I followed your family, as well as the President's family, very closely. I am honored that I'm going to get to help you, in my own way." Fred put his hand on Mike's shoulder, again stopping him from walking, as Sammy was pushed through a set of doors. "I am sorry, sir, however, this is where you need to let us work. I will have another doctor come out and take a look at your shoulder. Sammy's in good hands, and I will personally come out and talk to you as soon as he is in recovery." Mike nodded, although he wanted to be with Sammy through it all. Doctor Murten followed Sammy through the doors, and Mike found himself with just his security team. One of them came up and guided him over to a chair, and gently pushed him down into it.

Mike really didn't know what happened after that, he was running strictly on autopilot. His mind wrapped up with everything that had happened so far, and Sammy, his Sammy, being in surgery. The rest of the time in the hospital flew by, and Mike didn't even really know what happened.

* * * * *

"I guess we should do this by locations, huh? Well, my group is from Orlando, Florida. My name is Vincent Winters, but everyone calls me Bug. I came here with my Oma, Geraldine Shoupe and my brother Lawrence Winters." Bug said as he pointed to them, then continued, "We brought two younger guys with us, but I'm not sure where they ran off to." Bug said as he looked around.

When he finally spotted the inseparable trio standing with Ro's dads, he said, "Introduce yourselves, boys."

"I'm a Reynolds like Mike. But my name is Bax. Well, Baxter, actually." Bax said happily.

"I'm Ro. That's short for Ronan O'Connor. And these are my dads, Walter Mason and Reginald..."

"Please, just call me Reginald. It's a pleasure to meet you." Reg said as he put a hand over Ro's mouth.

"When we were about to leave Orlando, we met Marcus, Doris and Roris Teeter." Bug said, as he gestured toward the family that was gathered together, along with Lawrence.

"I think that's it for us. I guess Ben can tell you about the Chicago group." Bug said as he glanced at Ben.

"Um, yeah. My name is Brian Weston, but everyone calls me Ben. Over here's my cousin Zane. The guy he's standing with is Brother Jacques. The twins beside Bug are Kev and Ken. Someone else will have to tell you the kids' names. I don't know all of them yet." Ben finished shyly.

Not missing a beat, Brother Jacques said, "First we have Dax."

Dax looked around at all the expectant faces and reluctantly said, "My real name's Dakota Wentworth, but I go by Dax."

Brother Jacques looked at Ty and waited.

"Tyrell Oldman. And before any of you says it, yeah... it's real funny... old man ... and I've got gray hair, some social worker somewhere must be real proud of that one." Ty said venomously.

"It'll be hard to follow Ty's ray of sunshine, but why don't you give it a try, Jamiah?" Brother Jacques said with a smile.

"I'm Jamiah Kamal-Jennings. And this is my sister, Loquicia Kamal-Hooten." Jamiah said simply, then gave a slight perky smile at the end.

"That just leaves Oleksandr, I know he's around here somewhere." Ben said as he looked around. He had lost sight of the boy for a moment, but easily found him at Alvin's side.

"Don't worry." Alvin said with a grin, "We've met."

It warmed Ben's heart to see that Oleksandr was happy and that Alvin was accepting him.

"I suppose it falls to me to introduce the Kansas City people." Lucas said as he stepped forward.

"I'm Lucas DeLong and this is my life partner, Gordon Frank. These are our kids Lazlo Orion, Annette Salas, and Michelle Green, known as Lazlo, Annie and Misti." Lucas said cheerfully.

"We also received two more kids, just as we were leaving Kansas City. Jay? Max?" Gordon said, then spotted Max with Ro and Bax. After another moment of searching, he found Jay with Carson.

"My name is Jeremy Winters." Jeremy said simply then smiled at the man at his side.

"My name is Henry Gibbons, but I go by Hank."

"Walter Kane." Walt said next.

"That might be everyone." Bug said as he looked around uncertainly.

Deb smiled when everyone was introduced. "Okay, Eric, why don't we show you and your boys where you'll be staying. Carson, I know you probably want to talk to Alvin, so why don't you take them to your room, and get your chat out of the way."

* * * * *

"I told you." Max said firmly as the trio walked into the living room.

"What?" Ro asked as he looked at her curiously.

"Why else would the Vice President be here? Mrs. Brown must be a ninja. They're here so she can keep him and his family safe." Max said with certainty.

"But they've got all those guys in suits to protect them." Bax said slowly.

Max rolled her eyes, then said, "They're just for show. But a ninja could get past them without even trying. They gotta be here so Mrs. Brown can keep any bad ninjas from getting to them."

Bax and Ro couldn't seem to find any flaw in her reasoning. Finally, Bax hesitantly asked, "What should we do?"

"We'll help her. We'll keep watch and if anything suspicious happens, we'll tell her." Max said seriously.

"Yeah. It'd be great if we could really help a ninja." Bax said with a smile.

Ro and Max both grinned as they entered the big house.

None of them had noticed the boy that had been following them, nor did they notice when he slipped away to return to the main house.

* * * * *

"Walt, would you mind joining us?" Ryan asked as he peeled away from the Vice President Elect's group.

"Of course I wouldn't mind, but I don't know why you would want to include me." Walt said cautiously.

"You obviously have a lot more knowledge of security procedures than I do. If you'd be willing, I'd really appreciate it if you could work with the Secret Service and represent our interests in the decision making." Ryan said seriously.

"I'm not sure I understand how you mean." Walt said slowly, but with obvious interest.

"Their job is to keep the Vice President and his family safe. Of course, I completely support that. But I just want to be sure that in our effort to keep them safe that we aren't ignoring the needs of our other guests. It's likely that I won't have the time to keep up with all the details of what they're planning, and even if I did have the free time, I probably wouldn't understand all of it. If you'd be willing, I think that it would be of benefit if you'd work with their security team and be our liaison." Ryan said hopefully.

After a moment to consider, Walt nodded as he said, "If nothing else, it'll be good to know what's really being done to protect us."

"Once things settle down, I'll get with you and we'll talk about a job title and pay and the like." Ryan said as he ushered Walt to start walking with him.

"You're going to pay me? You could've just said that upfront!" Walt said with a grin.

"I could have, but then I wouldn't know that you were doing this for the right reason." Ryan said with a smile as they approached the stairs.

* * * * *

"Okay, now that we're all here." Carson said with Jay at his side. He looked around his crowded bedroom. Not only was there the group of kids who just showed up, but Carson also invited Bug, Ben, Zane, Roris and Lawrence. Of course, Oleksandr was there, but this time not at Ben's side. Tommy and Mikey were also there, just inside the door, looking uncertain of their welcome.

When Carson's gaze fell on Zane, it reminded him he needed to talk to Alvin about him. He jumped slightly when Alvin's voice sounded inside his mind. 'I know you want to talk about Zane, and we will, but we can do that later. For now, know that he is not a threat. However, I already have my older brother looking for that bastard of a grandfather of his.'

Carson nodded hesitantly. Sensing his problem, Alvin stood up from where he sat on one of the chairs that had been brought into the room. He looked around at everyone who was seated, either in chairs, or on the big bed. A few of them, mostly the Genesis kids, chose to remain standing. After he had scanned all the people's minds in the room, he decided that there was no one there who would be a security risk, and with what was going to happen, they all needed to know several things.

"Okay, everyone, I believe it would be best to lay all of our cards on the table. There's a lot of things about us that you all need to know, to make sure everything goes as planned. A lot of what I am about to tell you will probably seem like it came straight out of a bad Sci-Fi movie, but believe me, it's entirely true. If you feel you need proof, we would be more than happy to give it to you."

"First off, everyone that came with us is a member of what we call the U.N.I.T. That stands for the Universal Next Generation Infiltration Team. Most of us have been genetically engineered to be what you would call super soldiers. The problem was, the people who created us, well, bluntly, they did their jobs too well, and we didn't take too kindly to some of the shit they wanted us to do. So we told them to go to hell and went out on our own."

Seeing that he had not lost anyone yet, even though some of them were starting to look a little disbelieving, he moved on. "Other than my brothers, and Billy, the rest will be staying here to act as security. I'll let you guys work out how that will work, and what you will do to stay under cover, later on. For now, there is one more thing that all of you must know."

He paused for a moment to make sure he had all of their attention. Finally he spoke again. "All of us, with varying degrees of strength and ability, are telepathic." He waited a moment to see how people reacted, and the only one who really started to freak out was Zane. Alvin, seeing this, spoke directly to Zane's mind. 'Don't worry, Zane, I know what you're concerned about, and you are NOT a security risk. Okay?'

Zane spoke in a relieved but somewhat spooked voice. "Okay..." while looking at Alvin. Alvin smiled and nodded to him. Everyone realized that something must have been passed between the two boys.

"Okay," said Alvin, "Now that the fun stuff is out of the way, let's get down to business. First off, Carson, I want to thank you and Dizzy for sending us everything you have. It really helped us to see what others were hearing and seeing. Please keep it up, especially when the refugees start filtering in, anything they say about their trip may help others."

"Gotcha." Carson said with a relieved smile. He had wondered if he was sending stuff he didn't need to, but now knew he wasn't.

"Also, we want to set up a logging program, so we know who's here..." Alvin began, but Tommy actually jumped in.

"Where they're from, if they have family they're looking for, things like that. Carson's already been writing the programs..."

Carson continued seamlessly. "The programs are gonna grab 17 different fields of interest, correlate them in a database, and Dizzy is gonna keep watch over them to flag matches in the system. What we're hoping to have happen is Dizzy will alert a user if a name match happens."

Alvin smiled and looked at Simon. "I told you he was good."

Simon laughed and nodded. "Okay, in that case, we'll talk geek later. How about we give you the real introductions to your security team?" Simon then motioned for a blond haired girl to stand up. "This is First Lieutenant Courtney Hughes. She's the Commander of the Strike Team Firebirds. I will let her take over for a bit."

Courtney smiled then went around the room, shaking hands with all the non-unit members, making sure she had their names right. Finally she ended with Jay and Carson, then addressed everyone in the room. "First off, I want to make sure you all understand that we are not to be known about. The greatest advantage we have is no one thinking that us kids can really do anything." She got a grin on her face, "We love to prove them wrong, but not before it's needed."

There were a few laughs in the room, and she smiled again at everyone. "It's bound to come out at some point, so I'll get it out of the way, now." She then looked over at Mikey and her grin grew big. "Yes, technically, you could say we are aliens. In the sense that we are not native to this Earth. We still have no idea how it happened, but a little less than a week ago, we suddenly found ourselves in a base; very much like the one we had, but on a very different Earth. The main reason I bring this up is twofold. First, we need to establish a great deal of trust between our two groups, and the second reason is, we don't know this world. We still don't know just how different things are, although I can tell you we've found a GREAT many differences so far. Just to give you an idea. In our world, we knew both Jack and Mike very well. But in our world, Jack was not President, and never had been. He was simply a very capable military commander, and he ended up joining our group. Mike was not the Vice President, but a friend to our group, that we ended up having to rescue; a rescue that cost us over seventy members of our family."

She paused again since the pain of that event was very real and apparent on all the U.N.I.T. members' faces. Even the usually smiling Will was somber right then. Though she and her team hadn't known anyone that died that day, they were still family, and that event haunted all of them. Finally though, she pushed on.

"As I said, we will be needing your help as much as you will need ours. The Secret Service and Military forces are here to protect Mike and his family. They know about us, but won't say anything. We ask that you don't mention this to any people outside of this room unless you clear it with me first. Also, as I said, the Secret Service will protect Mike and his family. Our job is to protect you guys."

"Why?" Jay asked, fear evident in his voice.

Courtney got a sad look on her face as she looked around the room, seeing that Jay had voiced a question that most of them had, although she knew a few of them understood. She reached into her pocket and pulled something out. "When I got my command, General Chang Casey, one of my instructors, gave me a patch. It's the same patch that we all wear, but this one... he said it was meant for one of the ones who died. He gave it to me to always remember what could happen." She handed the patch to Jay who took it reverently, looked at it, and then back to Courtney; when their eyes met, Courtney spoke again. "What does the patch say?"

The room was deathly quiet as Jay looked back down and started to read. "It says, 'MOURN THE LOSS OF CHILDHOOD.' Then underneath it says, 'GIVE EM HELL, KID'." He looked up and again met her eyes.

She looked into his eyes still seeing his confusion and sighed. "You really don't understand what you are doing here, do you?" Jay shook his head. Courtney glanced down at Carson, and knew immediately he knew what she meant, but was letting her explain it to the others.

"You are all doing things that others have not. You kids are doing everything you can to help people. People who are trying to get away from the fighting. You all have a good idea of what happened today, all the attacks?" She looked around, and saw them nodding. "Good. Those attacks were aimed at doing one thing; scaring people. Asswood is targeting areas with a large amount of mostly defenseless people to try and scare everyone else into falling into line. He's hoping they will feel totally helpless, and powerless. You guys are busting your asses to help people he is trying to hurt. That, alone, makes you a target." She paused a second then continued. "We're here to make sure NOTHING happens to you guys."

Bug met Courtney's eyes and sighed. "I knew something was up. I was seeing reports that scared the shit out of me. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but I was convinced the shit was going to hit the fan, and it was going to do it damn soon. I knew if there was any chance of keeping my family safe, we had to get the fuck out of Dodge, and do it quick."

Ben spoke up next. "When Zane and I got to Chicago, we were looking for his father. We found him running a mission there, and everyone there was freaking out because their bosses had decided to close the mission and dump everyone out. Knowing as much as I did about what was going on, I got the feeling that something was terribly wrong. What was happening with the mission had to be directly tied to what was going on politically. The only thing I could think to do to make any difference was to get the kids to somewhere safe. The only problem was, I didn't have a clue where that would be, or how we would get there. But Zane came to the rescue. He contacted Studmffn... I mean Carson. Carson set things up, and we just followed his instructions."

"You're right, and you did the right thing. I don't want any of you guys freaking out. We're not gonna let anything happen to you, but you need to know all of this, so you can help us do our jobs." Replied Courtney.

"If any of us tell you to do something, please do it, then ask questions later. Remember, we're all telepathic, we can and will be scanning the minds of everyone around us looking for trouble. So we may tell you to do something, and you'll have no idea why. Please, just do it, and we will explain later. Now, let me introduce the rest of the team, and tell you what they do. First off, this is my brother Trevor. He's also the second in command. If any of you need something, and you can't find me, he's your go to guy."

Trevor had stood up while Courtney was introducing him, and everyone could easily tell that they were, in fact, twins. If it weren't for the fact that Courtney was a girl and Trevor a boy, they could have been identical. "Next is Freddy. He's our intel geek. He will shortly know more about you, and everything that goes on around you, than you do." That got a round of laughs, including a quip from Trevor about him just being a nosy bastard.

"Next are the two medics, Jamey and Victor." A girl and boy both stood up and nodded to everyone around. "Now, a quick note about our medics. They are actually trained well enough to be doctors, by most people's standards. They also have a few devices that got brought over from our home, so if you see anything strange, please ignore it."

That got nods from everyone as Jamey and Vic sat down, and Courtney continued. "Next is one of the guys we try not to claim as one of our own." She said it with a grin, making sure everyone knew she was joking. "Lee's the oldest of us, at fifteen, and easily the biggest. He's also our heavy weapons officer, and demolitions expert. In other words, he likes to make things blow up. Either close by, or from a distance." The just over six foot tall boy stood up, grinned and waved to everyone before sitting back down.

"Next, we have our sniper team, Kyle and Christina." The two fourteen year olds stood up and waved to people. "Just so everyone knows, those two are a couple, not to mention one of the best sniper teams in the U.N.I.T.. The only person who always beats them is Juan and he cheats." That line caused every U.N.I.T. member to burst out laughing, with the rest politely chuckling at the inside joke.

"And rounding out the team, we have the runts, Bruce who's twelve, and Bryan who's eleven. They're the recon scouts. Don't let their innocent looks fool you. They would rather sneak up behind someone and slit their throats than actually say boo to the enemy. They've also been known to climb around in air ducts and run through treetops. In other words, you won't know they're around, unless they want you to know it. Trust me, don't play hide and go seek with them, you'll lose." Again, all the U.N.I.T. kids laughed, this time though, everyone else joined in when the two boys in question put on hurt, innocent faces. Of course, the evil grin those innocent looks melted into made everyone know just how much Courtney was right.

"Now, the last bit of information you need to know about us. As I said some of us are genetically engineered, while others are not. Freddy, Jamey, Victor, Bruce and Bryan are all Genesis Augments. Meaning they are genetically enhanced." Courtney looked at Bryan and nodded. The boy nodded, looked around the room, then walked over to Carson.

'Sir, would you mind helping me with a little demonstration?" Carson looked a little nervous, but nodded. "How much do you weigh? Roughly."

"Uhh... about 110 pounds." Carson responded.

"Okay, and your chair?" Bryan asked as he looked down at Carson's motorized chair.

"I don't know, like 200 I guess." He said slightly confused.

Bryan grinned. "No problem, then." He said as he squatted down, put his hands under the chair, and lifted the entire thing, Carson, chair and all, up in the air. He held it there for a few seconds, then gently set it back down on the floor.

"Holy Shit..." Bug breathed out.

Bryan sat back down and Courtney continued speaking. "Now, the main reason we showed you that, was so you all had an idea of what we can do. Bryan is not the strongest of the augments, by any stretch. Will, over there, has been known to pick up the seven or eight hundred pound bombs for his helicopter, by himself." They all looked over at Will who struck a strong man pose, which caused everyone to die laughing, especially since he could easily be called a string bean. "So just be ready for it."

"Lastly, what we thought we would do here. First off," She looked at Carson, "I think you should try to convince your parents that, because of the Earthquake, we would all rather sleep in the tents we found. We would like to camp out right where the helicopters are, so we can keep an eye on the entire house, and keep unknown people from entering. We'll be as unobtrusive as possible, of course, and mostly the tents would be where we store our gear. We will always be armed, but unless something happens, I'm positive no one will know. All our big guns will be kept in the tents, and someone will always be there."

She saw everyone in the U.N.I.T. nodding in agreement. She then looked around for a moment, and nodded to herself. "Okay, guys. Get out there and grab the tents, start setting them up. I want the big one in the middle and then the other 10 spread around it. Make sure you don't unpack any of the weapons till you're inside the big tent."

She then looked at Trevor and continued. "Set up a rotation, I want all of us to become familiar with the grounds, but I also want no less than two people outside the big tent at all times, and awake, day and night." She looked at Carson again. "Do you guys have any picnic tables, chairs and the like we can have?"

"Sure, there's a bunch over by the rec center. They're all lined up and ready to be put out." Carson said, not really sure why they needed them.

"Good." She said as she looked back at Trevor. "I want no less than five of them, put them in a slalom in front of the big tent, making it harder for people to get to it, with the last one not more than five feet in front of the opening. I don't want anyone to be able to get in there by accident. I also want the laptop set up and communicating on the network here, ASAP. Freddy, that's your first job once the tents are set up... she paused for a second, thinking something over, then nodded again to herself. "Any questions?"

"No, ma'am." They all said in unison, and for the first time, everyone could see that they really were a military unit, as most of the U.N.I.T. members filed out of the room with nothing else being said.

* * * * *

"What'd I miss?" Ryan asked when he caught up to his wife.

"I was just showing them Carson's old room. They're going to use it as sort of a Secret Service Command Center and barracks. Being here on the second floor, it gives them a convenient way to guard the only access point to the upstairs." Deb said seriously.

Ryan noticed Walt nodding his head in approval.

"Well, I'm glad it worked out that way." Ryan said with a smile.

Deb returned the smile, then turned to Eric and asked, "So, are you ready to see your new rooms?"

"I don't know..." Eric said slowly as he watched for the reactions of all the kids.

As expected, all the boys looked like they were one step away from dragging the adults upstairs to get on with it.

Finally, when he had kept them waiting long enough, he said, "Yes. I think that we'd all like to see the rooms."

Deb started walking as she said, "Actually, at the moment it's one big room. We designed it to be a play area for the boys for when the weather is too bad for them to go outside. But all you'll need to do is snap some wall panels into place, wherever you want them, and you'll have as many or as few rooms as you like, whatever size you need them to be."

"That sounds perfectly suited to our needs." Eric said as he walked alongside Deb up the stairs.

"We wanted to be able to adapt the space to other uses without time consuming renovations." Deb said as they crested the stairs.

Deb waited as Eric looked around the huge empty space.

"This is AWESOME!" Randy and Kevin crowed in unison. Their voices slightly echoed back to them in the vast empty space.

"What's in there?" Danny asked as he pointed at one of two doors on the far wall.

"The one on the right is the bathroom, the one on the left is the storage room. That's where we have the wall partitions to make this big room into several smaller rooms." Deb said with a smile at the boy.

"I like it big!" Danny said immediately.

"You might not think so when your Daddy and I have to be working late at night and you're trying to sleep." Eric said as he looked askance at the boy.

"That's all there is to show you. We have a store room out back with some extra furniture. All the rest of the rooms are already set up, so feel free to help yourselves to anything you like from there... including the games." Deb finished with a grin at the boys.

As she expected, all the boys perked up at the sound of the word games.

"Be sure to ask your father, first." Deb said to the boys as she looked from one boy to the next.

"Yes, Ma'am." The boys said in unison.

Deb nodded with approval, then turned to leave.

* * * * *

"Where are we gonna stay? I mean, do I get to stay with you?" Max asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Of course you're going to be staying with me. But since we seem to be building our rooms to our liking, I suppose the only question is, would you rather we share one room with two beds, or would you like a room of your very own?" General Adams asked the boy that he was holding around the shoulders.

"I could have a room of my own, like real kids do?"

"I suppose that's settled. Let's go grab a wall partition. I think that between the two of us, we should be able to manage to make a nice place for ourselves."

* * * * *

Ryan stepped forward and said, "Eric, before I forget, I wanted to introduce you to Walt and let you know that he's going to be in charge of my security. If you or any of your Secret Service people have any questions or concerns along those lines, you can get with Walt."

"It's nice to meet you, Walt." Eric said as he shook the man's hand, then added, "I'm not sure of all the precautions the Secret Service is going to have to take, but I think it will work a lot more smoothly for everyone having someone we can coordinate with."

"That being said, I think that I'll go check on my other guests, now. If you need anything at all, please feel free to ask." Ryan said pleasantly.

"Thank you, again. This day has seen such catastrophic tragedy..." Eric trailed off as he fought to regain control of his emotions. Finally, in a lower voice he continued, "Your hospitality and generosity has kept us from falling into despair. I thank you for me and Mike, but most especially for our boys. Not just for taking us in, but for showing them that there are still good people in the world. After the events of today, I could see why they might have reason to doubt it."

"All I did was provide a roof. If you really want to see some amazing examples of humanity, get to know some of the other people staying here. I probably don't know a tenth of what they've been through, but the little bit that I do know has blown me away. Their strength makes me feel humble and inspires me to want to do more." Ryan said frankly.

A noise drew their attention and they turned in unison to see the twins, Randy and Kevin, carrying a wall partition out of the store room.

"What do you guys think you're doing?" Eric chuckled.

"We're making our bedroom." Randy said simply, without slowing his pace.

"I'd better help, or at least supervise." Eric smiled.

"If you need anything at all, just ask." Ryan said seriously.

Eric nodded once in agreement before rushing over to the boys.

Ryan watched for a moment as the wall the boys were carrying was seated into place, before leaving.

* * * * *

Walt and two of the Secret Service agents headed to the front of the house. Ryan followed curiously. Walt told him, "Strange bus arriving."

The bus came to a stop, the doors opened and the driver, a man in a kilt, a white shirt and tie, stepped off onto the ground. He was quickly followed by a bunch of boys, some in black pants and blue shirts and the others in Boy Scout uniforms. Several adults followed them off the bus. One of the adults looking around spotted Ryan coming out of the house to meet them.

"Tom, I'm glad you made it safely." Ryan said as he approached and shook hands with one of the Boy Scout leaders.

"We drove straight through. This is Mr. Scott Montgomery from the Boy's Brigade in Scotland. He is heading to Canada and hopefully from there to home."

"Ach, 'Tis good ta be seein' ye. 'Tis a long drive we've been havin'. All these Yanks be drivin' on the wrong side of the road 'n all."

More hand shaking. "You've missed lunch but we could probably pull something together," Ryan added.

"I'm Mike Little, the Scoutmaster. We ate on the bus before arriving so we're good."

"Jeez, Mr. Little, he was gonna give us food." One of the Scouts whined.

Tom scowled, "Manners, Neal. You are the one that pushed us to eat another MRE on the bus and not wait 'til we got here."

"Jeez, Dad..."

"Ryan, any word on Haven-1? Murdoc should have arrived by now," Tom asked.

"We'll check with Carson and see if Dizzy can get us an update." Ryan replied.

Tom and Ryan left the group and went into the house.

Tom returned a few minutes later. There was a game of capture the flag going on around the house with the Scouts vs Boy's Brigade. Tom approached the other adults who were all stretching their legs. "We're going to need to get to the Airport. The plane will be arriving in about twenty minutes. Then we'll head over to the Scout camp and set up a more permanent camp."

Mr. Little suggested, "Let's let the boys run off a bit more steam. Then we'll load up and head out."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Tom agreed.

Oliver asked, "Will Dr. T be on the plane."

"Pity the fool, if he ain't!" Tom said.

Soon the bus was loaded again and set off for the airport.

Tom told Mr. Little and Eddie that there was a huge caravan coming from Chicago that would be needing to set up at the camp also.

"Well, our boys are all Order of the Arrow, so helping set up tents won't be a problem, if the camp ranger will let us into wherever they are stored."

"Ryan said he would let him know we were coming."

* * * * *

Once the majority of the Strike Team had left, Courtney looked over at Alvin, then back to Carson. "Well, I know you guys are gonna be talking about the refugees you got coming in, and by the way, if I didn't make it clear before, I think what all you guys are doing is great. I can tell most of you don't think of it that way; but by the time you're done, you will each be responsible for helping hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of people. Each and every one of them could easily have ended up severely injured or worse, dead, if it wasn't for what you men are doing right here and now. I know that some of you still see yourselves as boys, but regardless of your age, the moment each of you stepped up to help, you threw off the mantle of being a child."

She pulled the patch out of her pocket again, and handed it to Jay, who hesitantly took it. "I will personally be asking General Adam Casey, the commanding officer of the U.N.I.T. to issue all of you that patch, but for now, Jay, I would like you to take mine. 'Mourn the loss of childhood', is not just referring to those who have been abused, but also recognizing those that gave their childhood away so that they could step up and do what's needed. That's what each of you are doing, and for that, you have my respect, admiration, and protection. You guys help the people, and we will make sure you guys stay safe. Sound good?"

Carson looked at Courtney and nodded. "I'm glad we could help. None of us could just sit back and let people suffer if there was any way we could stop it. It's also nice to know we aren't going to have to do it alone."

Once Courtney sat back down, Alvin stepped up and started talking to the group. "Okay, I expect you guys are pretty overwhelmed with everything you just found out. Being that we live it, we sometimes forget about how much it is for people who don't know us to accept it. Just keep in mind that we are as new to this world, as you guys are new to us." Seeing many nodding heads, Alvin decided to get to the last part of the meeting. "So why don't we start talking about the plans that you guys have made, and see where we can possibly help you."

That started a long conversation where just about everyone was, throwing ideas back and forth, and explaining what they had already come up with. The remaining U.N.I.T. members were rather impressed with everything that this group had done so far, and only really offered a few minor suggestions, until it came time to talk about the programming of the computers to keep track of everything.

Things were starting to get a bit heated between Carson, Alvin and Simon, as they were discussing which operating system to base the programs in. Carson wanted to use Dizzy, while Alvin and Simon wanted to use the U.N.I.T. based ones. Finally, Carson spoke up, trying not to get too upset. "Guys, I created my own operating system already, I mean, hell, that's what Dizzy really is. A very complicated operating system that is somewhat intelligent! Have you guys done that?"

Alvin and Simon looked at each other and then almost burst out laughing. They looked back at Carson who was beginning to look offended when Alvin was finally able to speak. "Dude, we're not laughing at you. There's something about us that you don't know, yet. Do you know what a positronic Matrix is?"

Carson looked really confused, but then answered. "Well, as far as I know, it's the type of brain that Data, in the 'Star Trek, The Next Generation' episodes had. He was an android that had a computer for a brain, they called it a positronic matrix.... why?"

"WELLLLLLL." Alvin said with a grin. "Both Simon and I have them..."

Carson sat there stunned for a moment before he cried out. "CAN I HAVE ONE!?"

Immediately both Simon and Alvin backed up a few steps with looks of horror on their faces. They both crouched down ready to fight off anyone that came near them.

It took a second for Oleksandr to realize what was going on. In fact, he really didn't have a clue what a positroni-whoosis-whatsis was at all. But what he did recognize was fear. Since Alvin and Simon had backed away, that left Oleksandr standing on his own. In a split second, he made a decision and reconfirmed his footing and crossed his arms across his chest. With that subtle movement, he had drawn a line.

Carson was baffled for a brief moment as he looked at the two boys, with wild fear filled eyes. Then it dawned on him... "NO!!!!! I wasn't meaning one of yours! I just meant I would like to have one... a spare one... that no one's using..." He was speaking so fast his words were almost a jumble, but it was enough to make Alvin and Simon relax... a bit.

"You're not going after our brother's, either..." Simon said defensively.

"No... I wouldn't ever think of something like that. I was just wondering if I could get one for myself." Carson said a bit more slowly, wondering why they had that sort of reaction.

"It's rather easy...." Will said as he came over and put his hands on Simon and Alvin's shoulders. "You see, you're not the first one to ask for one; the last time, though, the people who wanted one were quite willing to just take Alvin's brain... forcefully."

Gasps were heard throughout the room, as people finally understood the reaction the boys had.

"And before you ask... No, Alvin, Simon, and their brother, Theodore, are not exactly androids in the same way that Data was on Star Trek." Will paused as everyone processed what he just said.

"Okay. I'll ask it. What, exactly, do you mean?" Carson asked in a voice that clearly showed he was not sure he wanted to really know the answer.

"Well, they were originally 100% flesh and blood boys. Their minds, personalities, basically their self-awareness and individualities were sucked out of their brains and put into the Positronic Matrix, then the matrix was placed in their bodies, with a few reinforcements and other additions." Will was scanning the room with his mind for reactions as he said all this. Carson was horrified, but it did not seem to change his underlying feelings regarding the Chipmunks. Will had been pretty sure of this reaction from the start, but was gratified to see he was right.

Alvin finally relaxed enough to reach out and pull Oleksandr into a hug. "Thanks for trying to protect us. It feels real good knowing people care about us."

"Come here." Oleksandr said as he put a hand on Alvin's shoulder. "You, too, Simon. Come over here."

Everyone watched as Oleksandr guided the two boys to walk with him across the room to where Ben was standing.

"I'm not big, so I can't protect you too much. But if you're ever scared, Ben will keep you safe. He won't hurt you or do stuff to you or make you do things or nothin. He'll just hold you and keep you safe for as long as you need him to." Oleksandr declared confidently.

Alvin smiled up at Ben before looking to Oleksandr and saying, "Thanks Oleksandr. We were really only scared for a minute, but I appreciate that you're willing to share Ben with us."

"Your other brother, too. If he's here and he's scared, you tell him to come to Ben and he'll be safe." Oleksandr said seriously.

"We'll tell him." Simon said with a warm smile at Oleksandr.

"If you ever do need me, I promise that I'll do anything in my power to keep you safe." Ben said as he looked Alvin in the eyes.

"Thank you. I can see that Oleksandr's faith in you is well placed." Alvin said sincerely.

* * * * *

"If you'll bring up a map of the area, I'd like to cover access points to you and get your opinion on coverage." Alvin said as he stood behind Carson's chair with Oleksandr right by his side.

"You got that, Dizzy?" Carson asked as he typed on his keyboard.

"Got it, Boss." Dizzy responded, then maps started filling all the screens.

"Nice." Alvin said with a smile at Carson and Dizzy's efficiency.

"Excuse me." One of the younger teenagers in the room said cautiously.

"What's up, Bryan?" Alvin asked curiously.

The boy turned to look at Zane and anxiously said, "Brother Jacques really needs you. Like, right now."

Zane turned without hesitation and ran for the door.

Alvin looked at Bryan curiously, then looked away, toward the door.

It only took him a second to come back to himself and say, "You, too, Bug. Your twins need you."

"What's wrong?" Bug asked with immediate concern.

"You can talk or you can do. What's it going to be?" Alvin asked him seriously.

"Can you read my mind right now?" Bug asked as he got up from Carson's spare computer to leave.

"Yeah." Alvin said with a wince as he watched Bug leave, then said to the others still in the room, "I think I need to wash my positronic matrix out with soap, now."

* * * * *

When Zane arrived at his room, he found Brother Jacques, Ken and Kev all holding each other and crying.

"What's wrong?" Zane asked with tears already forming in his eyes.

"I don't want to die. Life's just starting to get good." Brother Jacques said past his tears.

Ken and Kev automatically shifted out of the way so that Brother Jacques could pull Zane into a much needed hug.

The twins felt despair setting in on them when Bug rushed into the room.

When he saw them, with their faces wet and their eyes red from crying, Bug realized that it didn't matter what was going on. As Alvin had said, his twins needed him. That's all he needed to know.

"Let me in there." Bug whispered and was immediately pulled into their hug.

"Jake's afraid that he's gone full-blown. The doctor tested him, then came back and said that he needed to do the test again. They only do that when they're wanting to be sure that you're ripe." Kev explained in a whisper.

Bug held both the twins tightly for a long moment before quietly asking, "So the doctor hasn't called you back with the results, yet?"

"No. When you're ripe, they always tell you to your face." Kev said frankly.

"So all the doctor really told you is that he needed to do the test again, is that right?" Bug confirmed.

"Yeah. But that's how it works. If you're ripe, they do a second test, then they take you in a room and sit you down and tell you that... that..." Further words were prevented by Kev's sobs.

"Where's the doctor?" Bug asked as he turned to look at Ken, who had tears flowing down both cheeks.

"At the hospital, doing the blood test." Ken whispered.

Bug pulled Ken close and gave him a quick but firm kiss, then turned and did the same to Kev.

"If the doctor's at the hospital, then that's where we need to be." Bug said loudly enough for Brother Jacques and Zane to hear him.

"But... he said..." Brother Jacques tried to say past his sobs.

"Like I give a rat's ass what he said! That's where the doctor is. That's where the answer is. Sitting and waiting and being quiet, that ain't me. Fuck that! Going there may not make the news any better, but at least we'll be getting it on our own terms." Bug said angrily.

"Yeah!" Ken said as he stood a little straighter.

Kev nodded his agreement and stood tall at Bug's other side.

"It beats sitting here." Brother Jacques said in a trembling voice as he held Zane close at his side.

"Okay! Let's do this!" Bug said confidently, then thought to ask, "Hey, does anyone know where the hospital is?"

* * * * *

"We need to find Tommy. He's coordinating where everyone's going and staying, so he'll know the best way to get us there." Bug said as he led the group down the stairs.

"Where should we look for him?" Ken asked cautiously.

"I don't know. He was in Carson's room when the meeting started, but he might have left before I did." Bug said uncertainly.

"I don't remember if he was still there when I left." Zane said frankly.

"Come on. If he's not there, then we'll check that office where the doctor was, then maybe the kitchen. If we run into his mom, we'll ask her. Mom's always know where their kids are." Bug said as he finally reached the bottom of the stairs and hurried toward the Main house, almost at a run.

* * * * *

"Is Tommy here?" Bug asked as he barged into Carson's room.

"No, he probably has a million things to take care of right now. I don't know where he is." Carson said frankly.

"Well, maybe you can help. How do we get to the hospital?" Bug asked quickly.

"There's a few ways. You can drive a gator over there. It'll probably take you about... an hour, maybe. If you don't want to wait that long, I guess you could take a gator down to the monorail station, that's about five minutes from here, then you could ride the monorail to the hospital. That'd be... I don't know, probably about twenty minutes." Carson said after a moment's consideration.

"Yeah. Let's do that. How much does it cost?" Kev asked urgently.

"Nothing. All public transportation is free, here." Carson said frankly.

"Great! We can afford that." Bug said with a weary chuckle, then asked, "Where's the station? How do we get there?"

"That's kind of hard to explain. It'd really be better if we got someone to go with you who knows the way." Carson said honestly.

"For fuck's sake! How fucking hard can it be?! We just want to go to the fucking hospital!" Bug ranted.

Carson rolled his eyes, then reached over to the intercom by his keyboard and said, "Mikey, could you come to my room?"

"Can't you just tell us?" Bug growled.

"I guess you could go out front and get on the road, but that's kind of the long way around. It'll be a lot faster if Mikey takes you cross country." Carson said honestly.

"Why does every goddamned motherfucking thing in the world stand in your way when you just want to get one simple fucking thing done?" Bug asked in exasperation.

"Because life's a mean bitch with a bad sense of humor?" One of the younger kids, Bruce, asked with a smile.

"Yeah, well, I guess if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off of it." Bug chuckled.

"Did you need me for something?" Mikey asked as he hurried into Carson's room.

"Yes. These guys need to get to the hospital. I thought that if you took them cross country on the gators to the monorail station, you could shave a few minutes off their trip." Carson said honestly.

"Would you mind if I tag along? I'd like to get familiar with the area. Plus riding a gator sounds like fun." Bruce asked with a grin.

"Yeah. If you're ready to go right now." Bug said as he encouraged Mikey to lead the way.

"Sure. Let's go." Bruce said with a happy-go-lucky smile.

* * * * *

Mikey led the way through the house, toward the outside door that led to the gators as Bug followed closely behind. In fact, Bug was half tempted to just pick Mikey up and carry him outside so that they could be on their way.

"What's the big rush, anyway?" Bruce asked as he followed at a casual pace.

"These guys have been waiting on the results from a blood test. Rather than wait for the doctor to come all the way back here, we're going there to wait for the results. Besides, if we're there, they might get the results a little bit faster, just to get rid of us." Bug said as he walked to the nearest gator and climbed on.

"So, you don't actually need to go to the hospital, you just need to talk to the doctor, right?" Bruce asked slowly.

"Yeah. Get on a fucking gator so we can get moving!" Bug said as he started the gator's engine.

"Okay. But if you go out front, the doctor's helicopter is going to be landing in about twenty seconds." Bruce said as he pointed toward the approaching helicopter that was just becoming visible over the tree line.

Bug stared as the helicopter flew over their heads, then set down, just on the other side of the house.

"The doctor's on that helicopter?" Bug asked to be certain.

"Yeah." Bruce confirmed.

"Did you know he was coming?" Bug asked as he turned off the gator's engine.

"Yeah."

"Then why the fuck didn't you tell us that before?" Bug asked in a bewildered tone.

"You didn't ask."

Chapter 21: Tilt-a-Whirl

Bug took off at a run and was immediately followed by the rest of the group from the gator parking lot.

By the time they reached the front of the house, the door of the helicopter was just opening.

"Is the doctor with you?" Bug demanded as he ran up to the door.

"Yes. Is there an emergency?" The security man asked cautiously as he surveyed the area.

"Yeah! Brother Jacques needs his blood test results!" Bug demanded.

Dr. Murten was the next to step out of the helicopter, and had heard Bug's words.

"If you boys will go to Ryan's office and wait for me, I need a few minutes to get my patient settled, then I'll be right with you." Dr. Murten said calmly.

"Can't you just tell us? Brother Jacques is going nuts here!" Bug implored.

"Young man. Go to the office and wait." Dr. Murten said in a no-nonsense firm voice.

Bug held the doctor's gaze for a moment, then reluctantly said, "Yes, sir."

"I won't be any longer than necessary." Dr. Murten said more gently, then turned his attention back to those inside the helicopter.

"Come on." Bug growled as he started back toward the house.

After witnessing Bug's exchange with the doctor, none of the rest were willing to push any further than Bug had already done. They followed Bug, all feeling anxious, but also assured that an answer was forthcoming.

* * * * *

"Sammy's bed is over here!" Randy and Kevin said in unison as Sammy was carried onto the third floor.

"We made him his own room, right next to ours, but it has a wall that we can take out if he wants us to." Danny added hopefully.

"Our room is on the other side, and we can take that wall out, too." Scotty said quietly as he fought down tears at the sight of his injured brother.

"How is he?" Brian asked his dad cautiously.

"Sammy's going to be just fine. Doctor Murten said that the surgery was a complete success, and that Sammy will be as good as new when he finishes healing." Mike assured all the boys.

As soon as the security man had placed Sammy on the bed, Doctor Murten moved in and began checking him over.

You could have heard a pin drop as everyone watched his examination.

"The anesthetic should be wearing off within the next half hour. I've already given him medication for the pain, so he might be a little bit spacey when he wakes up. He's going to need lots of sleep, so try to limit your visits with him to about five minutes at a time until he's had a chance to gain strength." Doctor Murten said to the crowd at the foot of Sammy's bed.

"But he's going to be okay?" Max asked from his place, held at General Adams' side.

"Yes. He's bumped and bruised and has a few broken bones, but everything has been set back in place and will heal just fine." Doctor Murten assured the boy.

"I'd be dead right now if he hadn't pushed me outta the way. He saved my life." Max said as tears welled in his eyes.

"Then I'm sure that he has no regrets about what happened." Doctor Murten said with a smile at Max, then said to everyone, "Sammy needs his rest, now. If he's in pain when he wakes up, or if anything happens that concerns you, call me on the house intercom."

"I can't thank you enough for all your help, Doctor Murten." Mike said gratefully.

"I'll have all the thanks I need when I see Sammy up and feeling well." Doctor Murten said as he looked at the boy on the bed.

Mike and Eric followed his gaze and all of them spent a long moment saying silent prayers of well-being for Sammy.

Finally, Doctor Murten quietly said, "I suppose I need to get down to Ryan's office before that group of boys come up here to find me."

"They looked really worried. Is it anything I can help with?" Mike asked cautiously.

Doctor Murten slowly shook his head, then quietly said, "I've been doing this for a lot of years. I've seen reactions all across the spectrum, and I've reached a point where very little surprises me. I usually have a sense of how people are going to react and can prepare for it. However, today, I don't know what to expect."

Everyone watched as Doctor Murten walked down the hall to the stairway.

* * * * *

"We've just got word from station B3 that a group of people, approximately thirty-five of them, are approaching from Seattle. Their homes were damaged in the earthquake and they said that they received the tip-off from the Kingdom that Kettle Falls was a safe place for those seeking refuge." Dizzy said in a serious tone.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Carson muttered absently.

"I thought you would want to know, since the person who received the tip-off is known to you as 'Cheshire'." Dizzy added more quietly.

Carson looked up with surprise, then said, "Send a note to whoever receives them to tell Cheshire that Studmuffn welcomes him, and that if he needs anything, that all he needs to do is ask."

"The note will be waiting for him when he checks in." Dizzy said efficiently.

"Carson? Can I come in?" A voice asked from the doorway.

After a glance to verify who it was, Carson turned his attention back to his computer screens as he said, "Sure, Hobie. From the way things are looking, things are about to get real interesting around here."

Hobie cautiously walked into the room, then looked around uncertainly.

"As I started setting things up, I realized that this is going to spiral out of control if we're not really careful. So I asked your dad if you could come over here and help me out." Carson said without looking away from his screens.

"Sure, I'll be happy to help... but what can I do?" Hobie asked as he stared at all the different monitors.

"Basically, what I need for you to do is to help me coordinate things with your dad in regards to transportation and parking. We're about to get a zillion people flooding in here and the last thing we need is a big traffic jam. At first, I thought that I could just pass the information on to your dad and let him handle it, but I'm probably going to have too much going on at once for that to work for very long." Carson said slowly as the majority of his attention seemed to be focused on what was in front of him.

"Okay. Sure. But what do you want me to do?" Hobie asked helplessly.

"Help me set up a table over by the door, and we'll hook up a laptop for you to work on." Jay said as he approached.

"Thanks, Jay. Once you've got him set up, I'll give him access to the database. Then he should have everything he needs to coordinate things with his dad." Carson said absently.

"Did you need me?" Another voice asked from the doorway.

"Hey Seth. Yeah. Um, I've got something going on here. Talk with Hobie and Jay, they'll get you set up." Carson said before breaking into a bout of furious typing.

"If you'll help us get Hobie set up, we'll do you next." Jay said quietly.

"Sure... but why are you setting this up over here when you have a desktop over there that's not being used?" Hobie asked cautiously.

Before Jay could answer, Carson said, "That's for Bug. He has some serious skills, so I want him to have a computer that can keep up with him."

Alvin glanced at his brother, and it wasn't clear if they were communicating telepathically or just thinking the same thing at the same time.

"Carson. I think we may have something else for Bug, that will be more suited to his talents." Alvin said seriously.

"He's the only backup plan that I've got, if I get stuck on anything. So whatever tools we can give him will be greatly appreciated." Carson said before becoming engrossed in his screens again.

"Would you like to go for a walk with me, Oleksandr?" Alvin asked the boy at his side.

Oleksandr looked at Ben and seemed to be struggling with the decision.

"We're just going to go out to the tents and get a new laptop for Bug. We'll be back in just a minute." Alvin told him gently.

Oleksandr looked into Alvin's eyes to find kindness and assurance.

"Okay." Oleksandr whispered, then glanced to Ben with concern.

"I'll be right here when you get back." Ben said gently.

Oleksandr nervously smiled at Ben, then walked with Alvin out of the room.

* * * * *

"Thanks, Bug." Brother Jacques said, breaking the silence that had settled over the group in the office.

"For what?" Bug asked in puzzlement.

"For trying to help. Even though we didn't go to the hospital or get the answer any faster, it really helped to take my mind off of things for a few minutes and it was nice to know that someone wanted to do something to help." Brother Jacques explained.

"We all wanted to help." Ken said frankly.

Brother Jacques smiled warmly at him and quietly said, "I know, Ken. Thanks for that. I just meant that Bug, sort of, took action. Even though it didn't change anything, we were doing something. It helped."

"I was just surprised when that big cuddly grandpa of a doctor suddenly turned into a Marine on me." Bug chuckled.

Brother Jacques smiled, then quietly asked, "Bug, would there be any way that I could ask you for a favor?"

"Sure. I'll do what I can. But you've got three guys here who'd do just about anything in the world for you." Bug said as he looked at Zane, Ken and Kev.

"I know." Brother Jacques said as he looked at the three people who loved him most, then at Bug and the two others, Mikey and Bruce, who were standing just inside the door.

"What can I do for you, Jacques?" Bug asked earnestly, clearly wanting to do whatever he could to help.

"Well, I was just wondering. I mean, I know you don't even think about it while you're doing it. I get that. But if you could..."

"Is this about my swearing?" Bug interrupted, hoping to get Brother Jacques to the point.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not asking you not to swear. I just... could you not take the Lord's name in vain when you swear around me? It really bothers me when I hear it." Brother Jacques asked timidly.

Bug thought for a moment, then said, "I don't always know when I'm doing it. It's just that I've kinda used the swearing as a mechanism to get rid of some of the tension that builds up, sometimes, so I can't promise that I won't ever say that in front of you again, but I can promise to try. "

"That's all I'm asking. Thanks." Brother Jacques said with relief.

"Even though we call you Brother Jacques, I didn't get the feeling that you were religious." Bug said honestly.

"For the past eight years, Father Doherty has been teaching me things as I need to know them, to help me deal with what's been going on in my life. I really respect Father Doherty and believe the things that he's told me. But I don't do the churches and prayers and candles and ceremonies. I think the best way to say it is that I have faith, but I'm not religious." Brother Jacques said thoughtfully.

"I always figured that going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. Having faith sounds like a good way to go." Bug said frankly

"It's been working for me, so far." Brother Jacques said with a weary smile.

A sound from the doorway caused everyone to turn at once.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Dr. Murten said as he entered.

* * * * *

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Oleksandr asked as he walked through the house with Alvin.

"No. Do you?" Alvin asked with a smile, already knowing the answer, but enjoying the conversation.

"No." Oleksandr responded, then looked at Alvin hopefully as he added, "Not yet."

Alvin was actually surprised. His telepathy had let him know about Oleksandr's feelings from the beginning, but he honestly didn't think that Oleksandr would have the courage to acknowledge the feelings, much less, act on them.

"Oleksandr..." Alvin began to say.

"You can call me Olex, if you want to." Oleksandr said gently.

Alvin smiled, then said more quietly, "Olex, I'm not ready to have a boyfriend."

Oleksandr looked at Alvin strangely.

"I'm a telepath. I see people differently than you do. Some people grow up fast and are ready early, some people take more time. When I look at myself, I know that I'm not ready for something like that." Alvin said as he looked deeply into Oleksandr's eyes.

"Can we be friends?" Oleksandr asked hopefully.

"We already are, Olex." Alvin said with a smile.

"Best friends?" Oleksandr asked as he watched carefully for Alvin's reaction.

Alvin laughed, then said, "Okay. As long as you understand that a person can have more than one best friend."

Oleksandr thought about it for a moment, then asked, "But when you're ready to look for a boyfriend..."

"You'll be the first to know." Alvin assured him.

"Even if we're not boyfriends, I still love you." Oleksandr said quietly.

"I know. I can feel it. I think some people call what you're feeling 'Puppy Love'." Alvin said as he put an arm around Oleksandr and guided him to start walking again.

"What does that mean?" Oleksandr asked curiously.

"It's a kind of love that you feel when you're young. It can feel very real, but it can also go away, just as suddenly as it appeared." Alvin said softly as they walked out the front door.

"So, I could just all of a sudden, not love you?" Oleksandr asked curiously.

"I'm not sure how it works, really. I just know that people who think that it's real love sometimes get really hurt because of it. I wouldn't want to take the chance of hurting you like that. I'd rather love you as a friend... a best friend. Then, later, when we're both ready to find someone to love for real... who knows? Maybe we'll find each other." Alvin finished with a smile as they approached the first tent.

One of the older boys stepped out of the tent, carrying a messenger bag and handed it to Alvin.

"Thanks, Lee." Alvin said with a smile.

The boy smiled back, then retreated back into the tent.

"Do best friends kiss?" Oleksandr asked as they turned to go back to the house.

"Only on the cheek, usually when they're saying goodbye." Alvin said gently, then added, "But best friends can hug a lot."

Oleksandr firmly hugged Alvin to his side with one arm, then said, "I've never been a best friend before. Maybe that's what I really wanted, anyway. I just didn't know about it."

"I think maybe you're right." Alvin said as he returned the hug.

* * * * *

"Would you like to have this discussion privately?" Doctor Murten asked as he looked at the group of boys in the office.

"No. These guys are here to support me. Please don't ask me to face this alone." Brother Jacques said nervously.

Doctor Murten noticed that Brother Jacques' ever present tremors were noticeably worse in his frazzled state.

"Let me begin by saying that I've personally checked and double checked these results. There is no margin for error." Doctor Murten said seriously.

"For fucks sake! Would you just spit it out already!" Bug nearly screamed.

The twins pulled Bug in between them and enveloped him in a hug.

"Brother Jacques, according to the blood tests that I've done, there is no doubt whatsoever. You do not now have, nor have you ever had, the virus commonly known as HIV." Doctor Murten said slowly and clearly.

"I.... what?" Brother Jacques asked in confusion.

"All that I can think is that your first test must have been a false positive. But there is absolutely no doubt, not only do you not have the active virus, you also do not have the antibodies that would be present if you had ever had the virus." Doctor Murten said seriously.

"You mean, for eight years, I've been taking all that medication for nothing?" Brother Jacques asked quietly.

"It appears so." Doctor Murten said cautiously.

"Those medications, Father Doherty used funds from the mission, he even used his own money... think of how many people could have been helped; people who needed medication and couldn't afford it. How many people have suffered? How many people have died... to treat a disease that I didn't even have!" Brother Jacques said as his tears fell.

Zane was immediately at Brother Jacques' side, holding him firmly.

Bug urged the twins to release him, then pushed them toward Brother Jacques.

The twins surrounded Zane and Jacques in their embrace, trying to convey their caring through touch.

"Thank you, Doctor. I'm sorry I was so pushy before." Bug said quietly as he watched the group of four hugging and sharing comfort.

"Don't worry about it. I know how frustrating it is. But there was no way I could have given you news like this out in front of the house." Doctor Murten said frankly.

"He thought you were going to tell him that he was about to die." Bug said in a small voice.

"I know. I've had to deliver that unfortunate news more times than I care to remember. I'm sincerely grateful that I didn't have to do it this time." Doctor Murten said introspectively.

"You're sure? Like, one hundred percent, sure?" Brother Jacques suddenly asked.

"Yes. That's why I took the second blood sample." Doctor Murten said with a smile at the question.

"I've got stuff that I need to be doing. I'm glad that things turned out good for you." Mikey said hesitantly.

"Thanks for helping us." Brother Jacques said quickly.

"I've got to go, too." Bruce said with a grin.

Bug saw the grin and hesitantly asked, "You knew, didn't you?"

The grin broke into a full smile before Bruce quickly followed Mikey out the door.

"Before you leave, I also wanted to let you know that I have everything arranged for tomorrow in the RF clean room at Ryan's lab. So, Zane, if you'd meet me after breakfast in the morning, I'll go with you and we can get your situation resolved in short order."

"I'll be going, too." Brother Jacques said simply.

"I had assumed as much." Dr. Murten said with a smile, then thought to add, "Perhaps you could bring me a list of your medications so I can go through them with you and decide which you can stop taking and which, if any, you may need to be weaned off of."

"We're going, too." Bug said immediately.

Zane looked at Bug with surprise at the declaration.

"Brother Jacques is going to need someone to help him while you're in surgery. My twins need to be there for him." Bug said seriously, then quietly added, "And I need to be there for them."

"So it's settled." Dr. Murten said as he stood from behind his desk, then asked, "Does anyone have anymore questions?"

Rather than ask a question, Brother Jacques quietly said, "Thank you, Doctor."

"It's what I do."

* * * * *

"Attention everyone. Dinner will be served in the dining room in five minutes." Sounded over the public address system.

"We need a single level with a ramp for a family of nine." Hobie called out from his workstation.

"Why a single?" Seth called in return.

"The grandmother has a scooter."

"What's the name?"

"Barker, from Oregon." Hobie said quickly.

"Dad will be ready for them. By the time they hit the registration desk, they'll have a place." Seth said seriously.

"Dizzy. Interrupt the radio stream and tell Ben that dinner will be ready in five minutes." Carson said absently.

"How are we going to do dinner? We can't leave this." Hobie asked cautiously.

"Actually, we've got that covered." Alvin said from his place at the laptop that he had brought in for Bug.

"How's that?" Carson asked curiously.

"If you'll give Courtney access to the network, the guys out front can keep it together long enough for you to eat. Of course, they'll save anything that can wait, for you to deal with when you get back, so you'll have to play a little catch-up. But if something comes up that requires an immediate decision, they can do that, or contact you telepathically, if necessary." Alvin explained.

* * * * *

"What's that sound?" Ben asked as he looked around curiously.

"We have company!" Alvin said with surprise, then added, "It's not very often that someone can sneak up on me."

"Who is it?" Carson asked cautiously.

Alvin closed his eyes and seemed to be extremely focused for a long, silent moment. When he finally opened his eyes, he smiled and asked, "Some more guests. Ben, would you go out to the front lawn to welcome them?"

"Do you want to go with me?" Ben asked Oleksandr as he stood.

Oleksandr looked to Alvin with indecision and received a nod of encouragement.

"Okay." Oleksandr said shyly, then Ben picked him up and carried him out of the room.

"So, who is it?" Carson asked as he looked at Alvin curiously.

"Some unlikely heroes." Alvin said with a mischievous smile.

* * * * *

"I don't know... what do I do now?" Brother Jacques asked as his tears finally subsided.

"Sounds to me like, anything you want." Bug said with a smile.

"Oh, forgive me. I nearly forgot. There was one other thing that I was hoping to talk to you about, before you started your celebration." Doctor Murten hurried to say as he stopped beside the desk.

"What's that?" Brother Jacques asked distractedly.

"I did a little research and I found an experimental treatment that's had some promising results in treating essential tremors, like yours." Doctor Murten said as he took a pill bottle out of his pocket.

"What is it?" Brother Jacques asked cautiously.

"Something to try. Unlike most treatments, this beta-blocker is very specifically targeted and has very few side effects. Basically, it will work, or it won't. If it doesn't work, we'll try something else. The worst that will happen is that you might have difficulty sleeping tonight." Doctor Murten said as he offered the pill bottle to Brother Jacques.

The single pill rattled in the bottle as Brother Jacques held it in his shaking hand.

"Just one?" Brother Jacques asked him cautiously.

"As I said, It will work, or it won't. We should know within an hour if the treatment will help you." Doctor Murten said frankly.

"Attention everyone. Dinner will be served in the dining room in five minutes." Sounded over the public address system.

"Perfect timing." Doctor Murten smiled, then looked to Brother Jacques and added, "You should take that on a full stomach."

"I will. Thank you." Brother Jacques said as he continued to look at the single pill rattling in the bottle.

* * * * *

The helicopter on the lawn wasn't one of those that had landed earlier.

The rush of wind from the helicopter was whipping Ben's hair and he held tighter to Oleksandr, feeling like, if he didn't, the small boy might be blown away.

"Excuse me, you need to go inside. We need to secure the area." A dark suited man said in a no-nonsense tone.

"He needs to be here." Trevor said as he walked directly toward the man.

"You don't understand..." The man began to say.

"No. you don't understand." Trevor interrupted, then continued in a firm voice, "You need to secure this location, but this man has been cleared by us. If you can't get that through your head, then get an agent out here who understands who we are and just where we reside in the chain of command."

"Yes..." The agent started, but seemed to choke on the, "...Sir."

"Well, go on! They won't open the door until you give the all clear." Trevor said impatiently.

Ben held Oleksandr close, not knowing what to think.

When the door of the helicopter finally opened, Ben stood back and watched as two agents stepped off and looked around cautiously.

Suddenly, every muscle in Ben's body tensed as he heard a familiar voice call out, "Hey! Princess!"

Trevor broke into laughter at his side as Ben reluctantly said, "Gerry?"

"Saying that it's a small world doesn't even begin to cover it, man. I can't believe that we ran into you here... wherever here is... where are we?" Gerry asked as he looked around.

As Ben watched, Myron, Danny, Jarritt and a small latino man that he didn't know walked up to him.

"You're in Kettle Falls, Washington. As far as I can tell, this is the first, and biggest, evacuation site in the country." Ben said honestly.

Gerry looked around, then quietly said, "There's not much to it."

Ben chuckled as he said, "The actual evacuation site is pretty much all of Kettle Falls and Colville, plus everything in between. Where we are now is the nerve center of the whole operation."

"So, what are you doing here?" Gerry asked cautiously.

"I've been asking myself that very same thing." Ben said honestly.

"Hi. Who are you?" Myron asked the boy that Ben was holding.

Oleksandr hid his face in Ben's chest.

"This is Oleksandr, and he can be a little bit shy, sometimes." Ben said tenderly as his hold on the boy became more of a soothing hug.

"Is he... I mean, you got a kid?" Gerry asked cautiously.

"I guess I do." Ben said with a smile, then thought to ask, "Are you guys hungry? I think they were just about to serve dinner."

"I'm starved! Those Secret Service and Army guys were real good about zig-zagging us around so no one could follow and switching us from one helicopter to another and up and down and back and forth, but did they feed us? Nooooo." Gerry complained.

"Do you think anyone would mind if we joined them?" Myron asked cautiously.

"Honestly, there's so many people here already that I doubt that they'll notice." Ben laughed as he motioned for everyone to follow.

"We need to wait for Mr. and Mrs. Reed." Jarritt said seriously.

"Who's that?" Ben asked curiously.

"You got a new kid, we got new parents." Gerry said with a playful grin.

Ben didn't see any need to question further and waited with the group.

Two elderly men, one who looked to be somewhere around ninety years old, slowly got off the helicopter, followed by a man and woman who appeared to be in their early to mid fifties.

"We waited for you!" Jarritt announced as he walked with the small latino man toward the couple.

"Who's the new guy?" Ben asked Danny quietly.

"Paul-o." Danny responded.

"But who is he?" Ben asked as he watched Jarritt hug the woman, and talk with the couple comfortably for a moment.

"Honestly, I don't know. When the earthquake hit, we turned around and he was knocked out cold in a doorway. Jarritt picked him up, because it wasn't safe there and... he's kinda been with us since." Danny said honestly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Reed said that they're hungry, too." Jarritt said as he walked with the smaller man, Paul-o, held at his side.

"Then let's get to the dining room." Ben said as he started to lead the way.

* * * * *

When the PA announced that dinner would be served in five minutes, Mike, Eric and the boys all looked at one another. Eric sighed. "I'll stay up here with Sam Sam. You go down with the boys and act all Vice Presidential."

"You can let them know to save me a plate of food, and maybe a cup or two of coffee. When you finish eating and mingling, you can come back up here, then I'll go down and eat. Maybe by then, Sam Sam will be awake, and if I know him, he'll be ready for something, too. I can't actually remember a time when any of the guys were awake and weren't ready to inhale a full meal."

"I can't leave him here; if he wakes up, and I'm not here, he's gonna freak. I need to be here, so he'll know I'm all right."

"Nonsense! Your place is down there in the dining room, looking as if you are taking responsibility, and being there for the boys. You know that if you don't go down there, they won't either, and they're growing boys who need nourishment. You wouldn't want them to waste away, and starve to death, would you?"

"All right, I'll go, but if Sam Sam wakes up before I get back, I'm going to ditch that meal in a New York second, and get back here in a hurry. Capish?"

Mike and the boys headed toward the stairs, none of them looking particularly happy.

* * * * *

"Carson, I'll have to be leaving before very long. But if you'd like, I can take over for you here while you have dinner." Alvin said seriously.

"I can cover for you guys." Simon said as he walked to the side-by-side tables, by the door.

"Both of us?" Hobie asked cautiously.

"Don't worry, I can handle it." Simon said with a grin.

"Have Dizzy call me if you need anything." Carson said as he undocked his wheelchair.

"Either that, or I'll call you telepathically, if it's just a simple question." Alvin said with a smile as he grabbed the extra wheelchair.

"I'm never going to get used to that." Carson chuckled.

"It's easier than you think." Alvin smiled as he docked the wheelchair and sat down.

* * * * *

As the group walked toward the dining room, Mr. and Mrs Reed were intercepted by their Secret Service agent, Steven, and led toward the stairs.

"Just find a seat anywhere. The food should be ready any minute." Ben said as he carried Oleksandr to the middle table.

Ben had noticed that there were several men, all dressed in identical uniforms, working at a series of portable steam tables and chiller tables against the wall.

"I was looking for you." Dax said as he rushed up to Ben.

"Sorry. I was out front greeting some new arrivals who turned out to be friends of mine." Ben said then turned to his friends and said, "Everyone, this is my friend, Dax."

All the guys except Paul-o gave an obligatory greeting.

"I went to school with these guys. It's really freaky seeing them this far from home." Ben chuckled, then motioned for everyone to take seats at the table.

"Excuse us." An older man said as he brushed past Ben carrying one end of a table.

Ben watched as the table was fitted perfectly between the first and second table, making them into one huge, continuous table.

"How many people have you got here?" Danny asked as he noticed people entering the room from both ends.

"I've completely lost track. Maybe a hundred." Ben said uncertainly.

"Where are you staying? Do you have a place in town?" Danny asked curiously.

"No. I'm staying here. Look down the table, where the room lets out down there, that's the house I'm staying in." Ben said frankly.

"Oh. Well, I guess that we're probably going to need a place to stay." Danny said anxiously.

"Let me take care of that. That's part of what I'm doing here." Ben said happily.

Oleksandr giggled and Ben felt himself smiling. "What's so funny?"

"I was just missing Alvin, then I heard him talking to me in my head." Oleksandr said happily.

"As soon as we're done eating, I'll take you back in to see him." Ben said warmly.

"I heard about you and Melissa. I'm sorry, man." Danny said to Ben sincerely.

"Thanks." Ben said quietly, then looked up with question and asked, "Wait. How did you hear?"

"From Kendra." Danny said simply.

"You two broke up a while back. Do you still talk to her?" Ben asked curiously.

Danny laughed, then said, "No. Not at all. But, for some reason, I'm still on her twitter feed and Facebook and all that stuff. So I get to see every random thought that crosses her mind, day and night. I don't think it has ever occurred to her to 'unfriend' me or block me. I'm sure she doesn't even think about me anymore. It may sound kind of creepy, but it's really helped me a lot to know what's going on in her head. That way I'm reminded every single day how lucky I am, not to be hooked up with her anymore."

"Sick!" Ben laughed, then asked, "So what did she have to say about me and Melissa?"

"I guess Melissa's been thinking about dumping you for the past month or so. I think the phrase that Kendra used was, that she felt like she was ready to 'trade up'." Danny said frankly.

"She could have just told me, back then." Ben said quietly.

"She could have done that. But I get the feeling that she wanted to tell everyone else about it, first."

"I guess so. You know, it took me a about half an hour to accept it when I got her email, but after that, I really wasn't that broken up about it." Ben said honestly.

"Did she tell you about the guy her parents set her up with?" Danny asked with a grin.

"No! You mean she's already got someone else?" Ben asked with surprise.

"Yeah. But I don't know many details, or should I say, Kendra doesn't. All I've heard is that his name is Fernando. And I guess he comes from 'old money'. He's from Spain, don't you know." Danny said with a grin.

Ben thought about it for a moment, then said, "Nope. I just checked to see if I was feeling any jealousy or disappointment or anything, but honestly, good for them. I hope her and her parents' money and him and his parents' money are very happy together."

"That's very mature of you." Danny said diplomatically.

"And... I hope they have twelve of the ugliest, pimply faced, most disobedient children that were ever born." Ben added in the same serene tone.

"That's more like the Ben I grew up with." Danny laughed.

"So you guys really grew up together?" Dax asked with a smile.

"Oh yeah. Ever since first grade, I think." Danny said with an uncertain look at Ben.

"That's right. Jarritt and Myron came along later, but Danny and Gerry and I have known each other for as long as I can remember." Ben said happily.

"And we've got ALL KINDS of embarrassing stories to tell you about Ben." Gerry giggled.

"You've got nothing on me. I've had a perfect life." Ben said as he fought down a grin and managed to stifle a giggle.

"Whatever you say, Princess." Gerry laughed.

"Princess?" Dax asked as he looked at Ben inquiringly.

"We don't need to be telling that story at the dinner table." Ben hurried to say, then pointed and said, "Hey, it looks like the food's ready! Let's eat!"

Ben hurried to lead the way to the serving line that the caterers had just finished setting up.

As Paul-o was starting to stand, he felt a large hand gently holding him back.

"Here." Jarritt said as he presented a paper flower made out of his dinner napkin.

"Thanks." Paul-o said with surprise as he accepted the gift, then looked to Jarritt and said, "It's beautiful."

Jarritt beamed with pride at the compliment as he stood to walk with Paul-o to the serving line.

* * * * *

"Have you seen Oma Shoupe?" Bug asked as he rushed into the dining room.

Several people turned and found that he was directing his question to Bax.

"No. I haven't seen her since lunch." Bax said honestly.

The butler, Mr. Crante, walked up to Bug and quietly said, "Young Sir. Please do not be concerned. Your grandmother is in the kitchen, helping to oversee the dinner preparations with Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Murten."

"Thanks. I went to her room and she wasn't there. It's time for her and Lawrence to get their medication and I couldn't find her." Bug said as he wilted with relief.

"No need to worry; all three ladies seemed to be enjoying each other's company." Mr. Crante said with a smile at Bug's display of concern.

"Thanks again. I'll just take her meds to her, now." Bug said before hurrying away toward the kitchen.

* * * * *

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" A voice whispered close to Paul-o's ear, causing him to jump a little.

He turned and saw a teenage boy with a deadly serious look in his eyes. Hesitantly, Apollo asked, "Who are you?"

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that I know who you are, Apollo Isaacs."

"How do you know my name?" Apollo asked in a whisper.

"I know a lot more than that, like where you've been for the past two years. Would you like to talk to me now?" The teenager asked in a deadly serious voice.

Apollo saw that Jarritt had his full attention on the serving line ahead of them. Without a word, he set his empty plate down and followed the teenager out of the room.

* * * * *

They walked away from the dining room and through the living room before coming to a stop in a secluded space in the hall, by the stairs.

"What do you want from me?" Apollo asked as he looked around nervously to be sure that no one could hear them.

"I thought we might be able to help each other out. Maybe you could do some jobs for me, deliver some packages... maybe entertain a few friends of mine." The boy said with a sly smile.

"And if I don't?"

"Then your new friends will learn all about your stay at Club Fed." The boy said frankly.

"No." Apollo said in a voice that was little more than a whisper.

"Are you sure? Look at this place. Are you sure you want to take a chance of giving all this up?" The boy asked as he gestured back toward the living room.

"I've got nothing, so I've got nothing to lose... except myself. You can tell these people whatever you want about me. It doesn't matter. I won't be here." Apollo said, sounding more self assured than he felt. Then he looked at the paper flower that he was still holding and realized that to one person, it would matter, and that if he left, he would have one regret.

"So you're just going to leave?" The boy asked derisively.

"Yes. But I'll be sure to tell someone, probably Danny, about your offer before I go. These are good people and they need to know that there's someone like you running around. If I can warn them about you, then what happens to me doesn't matter." Apollo said firmly as he fought to steer his mind away from Jarritt and his probable reaction to him leaving.

"Is that your final answer?" The boy asked slowly.

"It is." Apollo said, feeling confident in his decision. It wasn't what he wanted to do and he knew that he would be miserable if he did it. But he couldn't deny that it was the right thing.

"There's only one thing that I can say to that." The boy said with a sideways glance at Apollo.

"Which is?" Apollo asked cautiously, on guard for an attack from the teenager, should it be coming. Apollo was too small to be much of a fighter. But the teenager wasn't that much bigger than he was and he felt that if it came down to it, he should be able to hold his own.

"Congratulations. You passed." The boy smiled.

"What?"

"I'm sorry I put you through that. But... let me back up. My name is Trevor. I'm part of a group whose sole purpose for being here is to protect these people. Most of the new arrivals are known quantities, but you, my new friend, are a wild card. The only way I could know if it would be safe to have you around here was to test you like this." Trevor said seriously.

"What if I'd failed?" Apollo asked hesitantly.

"Then you would have been considered too dangerous to be allowed to stay here and would have been removed."

"Removed?"

"I think you know what I mean." Trevor said with a cold look that sent a chill up Apollo's spine.

"So, since I passed... you're not going to tell anybody about me?" Apollo asked cautiously.

"No. Well, the members of my team already know, but they won't spread it around. I can promise you that none of us will tell anyone anything about you without your permission."

"Thanks, I think. Well, if that's it, I'd better get back..." Apollo began to say, wanting to be out of the very uncomfortable situation that he had found himself in.

"Hang on for a second, you need to meet these guys." Trevor said as he gestured upward.

Apollo followed his pointing finger, not knowing what Trevor meant. But a moment later, he heard the thundering of several feet on the stairs, and watched as a small herd of kids raced down.

"Hello, Trevor. That's right, isn't it?" One of the men that followed the children asked pleasantly.

"Yes, sir. Thank you for remembering. I'd like to introduce one of the new arrivals to you. This is Apollo Isaacs. He arrived in the helicopter with the Reeds." Trevor said in a surprisingly formal tone.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Apollo. Kurt and Lana told me about what you and your friends did today. My boys consider them as another set of grandparents. I don't have words enough to thank you for helping them." The man said as he offered his hand to shake.

"I'm just glad that I was there to help." Apollo said shyly as he shook the offered hand.

"I'm terrible at this introduction thing. Apollo, I'd like to introduce you to General Richard Adams and Mr. Mike Reynolds, the newly elected Vice President of the United States." Trevor said as he indicated each in turn.

Apollo's eyes went wide, then he looked down at his hand as he whispered, "Oh... my God..."

Trevor laughed, then looked to Mike and asked, "How's that for a reaction?"

"I've seen worse." Mike said with a warm smile.

"It looks like you have a whole squad of boys who are ready for some chow. Maybe Apollo would be kind enough to show you into the dining room." Trevor said pleasantly, then flashed Apollo an encouraging smile.

"Won't you be eating with us?" General Adams asked curiously.

"Not right now. I have a job to do. I'll get something later. Enjoy your meal." Trevor said happily, then turned to leave.

"Thank you, Trevor." Apollo called after him.

Trevor smiled and waved as he continued toward the front door.

"Can we eat now?" One of the boys asked hopefully.

"Boys, this is one of the people that your grandparents were telling us about. He helped to save their lives. I'd really like it if you could be patient for a minute and show him some respect." Mike said to the group of energetic children.

"Respect can be tough on an empty stomach. Why don't I show you to the dining room before we worry about that." Apollo asked as he gestured for everyone to follow him.

All the boys perked up with that suggestion.

"Thanks for saving Grandpa Kurt and Grandma Lana. They're really nice." The smallest of the boys said earnestly.

"How are they doing?" Apollo asked curiously, directing his question mostly toward Mike.

"I can tell that they were pretty shaken up. They just wanted to take a few minutes to collect themselves and freshen up before they came down to dinner." Mike said seriously.

"We made a room for Grandpa Kurt and Grandma Lana. They have walls up there that you can use to make rooms any size or shape that you want." One of the boys said as they walked through the living room.

"As soon as we're done eating, we're going to go out to the store room and get them a bed, too." Another boy quickly chimed in.

"Why don't you tell me about it over dinner? The dining room is right through here." Apollo asked as he gestured to the doorway they were approaching.

At that announcement, the conversation was officially over. Only one thing was on the boys' minds, and talking wasn't it.

* * * * *

Eric was a total wreck watching his son lying fast asleep, with his arm in a cast and all bandaged up. His eyes filled with tears as he sat in the chair next to Sammy's bed. He sniffed, and grabbed a tissue from the box on the nightstand.

"Why does he always have to get hurt, when he helps someone else?" He mumbled. He blew his nose and nearly jumped straight up when Sammy spoke.

"Pops, Don't cry, I just couldn't let someone else be hurt, if I could do something to stop it. You would've done the same thing. I know you would've." Sammy smiled. "I'm not stupid, and I really do try not to get hurt, but if I hadn't pushed him, that thing would have fallen right on his head."

Sammy took a deep breath, and Eric could see the pain flicker across his face. "I couldn't let that happen... I just couldn't. Besides, it happened so fast, that I guess I really did it without thinking, anyway. When I try to think about it, now, it's all sort of a blur."

"How long have you been awake, Son?" Eric asked, as he leaned over and kissed Sammy's forehead.

"I'm not sure, but I heard you sniff, and then you asked that question, and I couldn't help but answer you. Where's Dad?"

"He's downstairs, trying to let everyone think he's doing fine, but inside, he's wishing he were up here looking after you. Are you in pain? Do you need anything?"

"My arm hurts a little, but not real bad or anything. Things seem a bit weird, like, I feel a bit fuzzy, if you know what I mean. My senses are all a bit fuzzy. I guess it was the medicine the Doctor gave me, but I'm starting to feel more awake, now. I am hungry, though. Do you think it would be alright if I ate something?"

Eric grinned, and chuckled. "I guess you're getting better. I was a little worried, there, when I saw you were awake and you hadn't asked for food. Now I know you're going to be fine. Let me go see what I can do about getting you something to fill that tummy of yours. I'll be right back."

"Thanks, Pops, I love you."

"Love you, too, son. I always will."

* * * * *

"How's my adopted grandson doing?" Kurt asked when Eric walked into the hall.

"He must be doing better, because he says that he's hungry. It's just killing me to see him like this." Eric said in a weary voice.

"Eric, listen to me. These things happen. It wouldn't matter if you were a farmer in Wisconsin, life would still throw trials and tribulations into your path. Don't let it drag you down. You've chosen an admirable path. Don't start regretting it because bad things happened." Kurt said firmly.

"Thank you, Kurt. It's just hard. I feel responsible." Eric whispered.

"Of course you do. You're a father." Kurt smiled.

"I'm ready." Lana said as she walked to Kurt's side, then gently asked, "How is Sammy doing?"

"Better. He's awake, if you'd like to pop in and visit with him for a minute." Eric said as he tried to get his emotions under control.

"Yes. I'd like to see for myself that he's on the mend." Lana said tenderly.

"While you're doing that, I'll get the agents to let Mike know that Sammy's awake and hungry. He'll want to bring Sammy some food." Eric said decisively.

"We'll be going downstairs in a minute, anyway. Why don't you let us tell Mike, after we've had some time to visit with our grandson?" Kurt asked reasonably.

"Yes. Thank you, Kurt. I don't want to leave Sammy, even for a minute." Eric said as he motioned for the couple to follow him back into Sammy's room.

* * * * *

What little conversation there was among the boys at the serving line was centered on the choices of food before them.

Once the first few had their plates loaded, they started looking around trying to find a place to eat.

The dining room was less than half filled, with people still entering from both ends of the room. People were congregated in small groups up and down the massive, continuous table, leaving several open chairs in-between.

As soon as Apollo was done filling a plate for himself, he walked to the family and said, "My friends are sitting right over here. You can sit with us if you like."

* * * * *

"As soon as we're done eating, I'll ask Tommy to find you a place. Don't worry I promise that it'll be someplace nice." Ben was saying as Apollo approached.

"Do you mind if we join you?" Mike asked cautiously. Although Apollo had invited him and his family, he didn't want to barge in.

"Are you kidding? You're the Vice President, you can sit anywhere you want!" Apollo said as he automatically took the seat beside Jarritt.

He was immediately pulled into a firm hug as Jarritt quietly said, "I couldn't find you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Apollo said as he briefly returned the hug.

"Please sit with us, Mr. Vice President, sir. There's plenty of room." Ben said quickly, then added in a more controlled voice, "I'd like for you to meet, Danny, Gerry, Myron and Jarritt. And you seem to have already met, Paul-o."

"Thank you. It's nice to meet all of you. But please don't let us interrupt. Go on with what you were saying." Mike said as he took the seat next to Ben, then indicated for the boys to sit down.

"Yeah. Um... I was just telling the guys that when we're done here that I'd find them a place to stay." Ben said as he fought to regain the thread of their conversation.

All the adults watched curiously as the boys put their plates on the table by Mike's, then ducked down and crawled under the table. Once they were on the other side of the table, they lined up and started reaching toward their food..

"They should stay with us. They saved Grandpa Kurt and Grandma Lana." Eric's son, Danny said as he strained to take hold of the edge of his plate.

"Maybe they wouldn't be comfortable with that." Mike said with a smile as he picked up Danny's plate and handed it to him.

"Why not? We don't bite or smell bad or make lots of noise or anything." Randy, or possibly Kevin, said seriously.

"What do you say, guys? You saved our grandparents. Wouldn't you like to stay upstairs with the Vice President?" Brian asked in a wheedling tone.

"I don't know..." Myron said in a conflicted voice.

"Say yes." Scotty stage whispered as he accepted his plate of food from Mike.

"Do you want to?" Myron asked Gerry cautiously.

"Duh!" Gerry said with a roll of his eyes.

The boys on the other side of the table broke into giggles at the response.

"Are you sure you're going to have enough room?" Ben asked cautiously.

"We'll make your rooms where we were going to put the game room." Brian (maybe Scotty) said simply, as though it were settled.

"They must really want you if they're willing to put you before their games." Mike said with a tender smile at the boys.

"Is everyone OK with that?" Ben asked as he looked around the group that had traveled from Anaheim.

"Again. Duh!" Gerry said with exasperation before taking another bite of food.

"I guess that's settled." Mike chuckled as he started to eat his own meal.

* * * * *

"Can we sit over there?" Max asked General Adams quietly.

"Sure. Whatever you want." General Adams said slowly, not knowing why the boy would suddenly not want to sit with Mike and his family.

"Can we sit here?" Max asked as he walked up to the table where some children were already sitting.

A young caramel skinned boy looked up with surprise at the question, then quickly said, "Yeah. Sure."

"I'm Max." the boy said as he sat down, General Adams automatically taking the seat next to him.

"I'm Jamiah, this is my sister Loquicia." Jamiah said pleasantly.

"Is it okay here?" Max asked as he looked around the dining room nervously.

"Yeah. I guess... what do you mean?" Jamiah asked cautiously.

"Is it okay to be black? I mean, around all these white people? Is there anyone I need to watch out for?" Max asked seriously.

"No." Jamiah chuckled, "There's no one here like that. And from what I've seen, if there was, they'd be tossed out on their butts so fast they wouldn't know what hit 'em."

"So they're for real?" Max asked to be sure.

"Yeah. I don't think anyone here would have treated me or my sister or Ty any different if we were as white as snowflakes." Jamiah said frankly.

"Okay. Until today, I never knew there was white people like this." Max said honestly.

"There's some. Back in Chicago, Father Doherty and Brother Jacques and the twins never treated us like we were less important than anyone else. But there were plenty of people there who looked at us like we were something dirty, or just tried to ignore us and pretend that we didn't exist."

"Yeah. I know those types." Max said darkly.

Jamiah looked past Max, at the man who was accompanying him.

When Max finally noticed, he quietly said, "That's General Adams. He said that he'd be my dad. I just wanted to be sure that if we did that, that no one would treat him bad because of it."

"No. These are the kind of people who will be happy for you and think it's the greatest thing ever that you found a new dad." Jamiah said frankly.

"Thanks... you're gay, aren't you?" Max asked cautiously.

"Yes. Not only that, I also have too much style for just one gender." Jamiah said flamboyantly.

Max was surprised by the response, but found himself smiling before he considered how he should be reacting.

A hand on his shoulder startled Max.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but you need to eat so that we can get back upstairs. Mike and I are going to have quite a bit of work to do before we can call it a night." General Adams said gently.

"Okay, Dad." Max said as he turned his attention to his untouched plate of food.

"It's likely that I won't be able to spend much time with you when we go back upstairs, so you can invite your new friend to come up and visit, if you would like."

"Really!? Thanks!"

* * * * *

When Kurt and Lana entered the room, Sammy was sitting up and looking around.

"Hi Sammy." Kurt said, smiling broadly. "It's good to see you awake. Are you in pain?"

"Nuh Uh. Just a little headache, but it's going away." Sammy replied. "How did you guys get here? I thought you were in Anaheim. Were you hurt in the Earthquake, too?"

"Well, not really. A lot of stuff got rattled around and a few things were broken.

The house isn't really safe to be in right now, but that had less to do with the earthquake and more to do with those goons who were trying to kill us."

"Someone tried to hurt you? Are you okay?" Sammy asked with sudden worry.

"We're fine, thanks to some really brave young men, that we've now adopted. Some young men, punks, broke into our house and were trying to get us to go with them. And we knew that if we did go with them, no one would probably ever see us alive again."

"Just when it seemed that all hope was lost, another group of young men broke in and started kicking the doo-doo out of the bad guys." Lana said with a blush at using such language.

"After that, thanks to a few of Jack's 'Suits' or 'MIB's with copters, the creeps didn't get the job done." Kurt chuckled.

"In fact, I suspect that none of them will be doing any more killing; our secret service man seemed to be a bit miffed with them. But I really don't even want to think about that anymore. It might spoil my appetite." Lana finished warmly.

"If you're going to eat, can you get me some?" Sammy asked quickly.

"We're going to tell your father that you're awake and hungry, just as soon as we get downstairs. In fact, we should get going now, so you won't have to wait." Kurt said with a smile.

* * * * *

"Well, it looks like we have two Danny's here, so why don't we call my Danny, Little Danny, and you Big Danny?" Mike asked, then glanced at his son who was busily eating.

"No. Please don't do that." Ben's friend, Danny, said quickly.

"Why is that?" Mike asked curiously.

"I'm actually a 'Junior', my father's name was also Daniel. I don't know how to explain it, except that I always hated being called 'Little Danny'. All I know is that it made me angry and resentful. Please feel free to call me Dan or Daniel or even Junior if you like, but please don't call your son 'Little', I would feel like I'm perpetuating something that should be lost and forgotten."

"I understand, Daniel." Mike said with an assuring smile, then looked to his son and asked, "Does that work for you, Danny?"

"What?" Danny asked obliviously then, seeing that he had his father's attention, hurried to ask, "Can I have seconds?"

"I suppose that since it's a buffet, you can help yourself to more if you like." Mike said with a smile at the boy.

Before he knew what had happened, several plates were thrust at him, all at the same time.

Then, all the boys ducked down, nearly in unison, and emerged from under the table a second later.

All the adults at the table could do was smile as they watched the boys collect their plates and rush over to the serving line.

* * * * *

Although Carson had learned to manage doing things by himself when they had a buffet, it was always something of a balancing act. And no matter how careful he was, from time to time, things happened.

Without offering or being asked, Jay automatically assumed the role of being an extra pair of hands for Carson. When something was out of reach, all he had to do was make a move for it, or quietly say what it was, and Jay would get a portion for him. Many times he resented it when people helped him, but for some reason, it was different with Jay. He didn't have the sense that Jay felt pity for him or was helping out of some sense of obligation. It seemed to Carson that Jay would just step in, just for a minute, to help when it was needed, then step back to allow Carson to do the majority on his own.

Once they were away from the serving line, Carson led the way down the enormous table and spotted a familiar face.

"Bug, do you mind if we join you?" Carson asked as he and Jay approached.

"Yeah, sure. Roll on over here." Bug said as he scooted the chair beside him out of the way.

"I just wanted to let you know, before I forgot, that Alvin brought in a new laptop for you to use. From the way he acted, it's state-of-the-art." Carson said as he pulled in.

Jay sat Carson's plate before him, then automatically took the seat beside him.

"Did we miss anything?" Bug asked as he glanced over to see if Zane were paying attention.

He wasn't.

All Zane's attention was entirely focused on Brother Jacques at that moment.

And, as far as Bug was concerned, that was fine.

"We've started getting calls from the different checkpoints. The first little trickle of refugees are starting to arrive. They're mostly from the West Coast, trying to get away from the chaos of the Earthquake." Carson said frankly.

"I had an idea, but I don't know if it's worth the trouble." Bug said thoughtfully.

"Lay it on me." Carson said between bites of food.

"I was just thinking that we might make people a lot more comfortable if we housed them according to where in the country they came from." Bug said slowly.

"Why?" Carson asked curiously.

"Because that way the people who are grouped together will be more likely to have things in common. They can work together to find out about what's going on back at their home and they'd be more likely to end up in the same place if they're looking for someone." Bug said slowly, seemingly working it out as he spoke.

"So far as I know, the only refugees we've received from the East are fairly local. So if we were going to do something like that, now would be the time to institute it." Carson said as his mind ran through the dynamics of such a move.

"I just thought that if we had a place where the 'Florida' people or the 'Orlando' people could all be housed together, that they might be able to form some sort of a community." Bug said as he waited for Carson's reaction.

"I like it. If you want to do it, then as soon as we're done with dinner, you can get to work on the housing plan. You can let Hobie and Seth know what you're doing so they can coordinate things with their dads, but as far as I know, I think everyone is going to be following our plan, so if you make the change in the computer, everything else will automatically fall into line." Carson said seriously.

"I was also thinking that if we do this, that I'd like to keep a special eye on the Orlando people. It's not just to see if there's anyone that I know, but also to let them know that they have someone on the 'inside' who cares especially about them." Bug said before taking a bite of food.

"Don't you think it will cause problems with the others if we treat one group differently from another?" Carson asked cautiously.

"It's not like we're going to be giving them silk sheets and maid service. All I was wanting to do is talk with them, now and then, to be sure that everything's going okay. Maybe we could get someone like Brother Jacques to do the same for the Chicago people, and Lucas or Jeremy to do that for Kansas City."

"I think it would help me a lot to know that there was one person I could go to if I had a problem, and that that person was especially concerned about my situation." Jay said seriously.

Carson nodded, then said, "You're right. A lot of people are going to be feeling helpless and powerless. This is one small thing that we'll be able to do to hopefully make them feel like they have some sort of control."

As Carson was about to take another bite of his food, he noticed his father walking out of the room with a cell phone pressed firmly to his ear.

* * * * *

"Excuse me."

Mike turned suddenly, then smiled when he saw Kurt and Lana standing behind him. "I'm glad to see you both looking much more relaxed. Please, join us."

"We will in a moment. I was given a very important message to pass on to you, so I have to do that first thing." Kurt said gravely.

"Oh no. What now?" Mike asked with a sinking feeling.

"There is a young man upstairs who is awake and has a very empty belly. It was suggested that you would like to be the one to remedy that situation." Kurt said with a playful smile.

"There is nothing that would please me more." Mike said emphatically.

"I thought so. While you're doing that, Lana and I would like to take this opportunity to visit with our grandkids for a few minutes." Kurt said with a smile at the boys, who seemed unaware that Kurt and Lana were present.

As Mike looked around the table, he quietly said, "Send the boys upstairs when they notice that I'm gone. I'm sure that Sammy will want to visit with them... once his belly is full."

"Go to your son. Your other boys will be fine." Kurt assured him.

Chapter 22: Twilight's Last Gleaming

"How are the preparations coming?" Deb asked her son gently.

"Everything is fine, so far. But I'm just worried that we might miss something, and the people that we invited here might end up suffering because of it." Carson said anxiously.

"Son, when this is all over and you look back at today, I have no doubt that you will spot some things that you should have thought to do, and other things that you'll wish that you'd done differently. And I feel safe in saying that some people will suffer because of those decisions." Deb said regretfully.

After a moment of stunned silence, Carson was finally able to say, "Way to give a pep talk, Mom!"

Deb sadly smiled, then said, "Just keep in mind that those things will likely happen, no matter what you do. You need to accept that, and resolve yourself to not giving up. There's nothing wrong with trying to save everyone, except when you let isolated unfortunate incidents frustrate your efforts."

"So, you're saying no matter how hard I try, some people are probably still going to suffer?" Carson asked rhetorically.

"Yes, unfortunately. And some may even die, not as a result of your actions or decisions, but just because in an operation of this scale, things naturally happen. You have to not let that stop you from helping all the others." Deb said imploringly.

"I see what you're trying to say, and I won't quit." Carson said firmly.

"I didn't really think that you would. But I wanted to tell you this now, before things get even more frantic. So you would be prepared if something were to go wrong. You've taken on a tremendous responsibility, and your father and I are very proud of you. Do your best and don't be afraid to ask for help." Deb said honestly.

"Got it. Thanks, Mom." Carson said quietly and reached over to squeeze his mother's hand.

* * * * *

Carson was distracted as he pondered his mother's words. As he ate his dinner, his mind continually flashing back to the masses of people approaching Kettle Falls from all directions.

After finishing his meal, with only a glance at Jay to relay his intention, Carson and Jay returned to Carson's room without a word spoken between them.

As Carson and Jay entered the room, they saw Alvin and Simon working diligently to maintain as much of a watch as possible on the approaching groups.

"There's nothing new going on. Dizzy's been taking care of things for the most part." Alvin said as he undocked Carson's spare wheelchair.

"Thanks for watching it." Carson said as he automatically moved to take Alvin's place.

"No problem. But right now, I need to have that talk with Zane that I've been putting off." Alvin said grimly.

"Are you sure that he's really not a security risk?" Carson asked as he turned to look at Alvin with concern.

"No more than anyone else. But considering what he remembers about his time in the 'camp', I can see why he would think that he is." Alvin said thoughtfully.

Carson looked at Alvin curiously, silently asking for more of an explanation.

"He can tell you, if he wants you to know. It's not for me to tell." Alvin said seriously.

"I get that, but... Camp?" Carson asked hesitantly.

After a moment of staring at Carson, Alvin quietly said, "You have an idea of what I'm talking about, but what he remembers of it is about twelve times worse than what you're imagining."

Carson nodded, knowing that Alvin wasn't going to reveal any more.

Before he could ask another question, Seth and Hobie walked into the room together.

"No one has decided exactly when we'll be leaving, so we have to be prepared to go at a moment's notice. If we have time, we'll stop in again with you before we go." Simon said as he got up from the laptop by the door.

"I can't thank you guys enough for everything you're doing to help us." Carson said sincerely.

"I think we could say the same to you." Alvin said with a quick grin.

At Carson's confused look, he continued, "With everything going on, of course we'd want to do whatever we could to help the general population through this nightmare. But the fact is that we have limited manpower and resources. You're doing what we wish that we could do ourselves. Knowing that you're taking care of people allows us the freedom to focus on the bigger picture so that, hopefully, we'll be able to find some way to bring an end to this before even more people have to suffer."

"Just let us know if there's anything that any of us can do to help you." Carson said seriously.

"We will if you will." Simon said with a playful smirk.

"It's a deal." Carson responded quietly.

After one final look at the people in Carson's room, Alvin and Simon hurried away with purpose.

* * * * *

"Alvin!" Oleksandr crowed excitedly as he hopped up from his place at Ben's side at the enormous dinner table.

"It's good to see you, too, Olex." Alvin said tenderly as he returned a heartfelt hug.

"Would you like to join us? We still have a few empty seats." Ben asked Alvin hopefully.

"I'd really like to. But I actually have some business that I need to take care of right now." Alvin said regretfully.

"Why don't you spend some time with Olex and his family? I can handle it." Simon said quietly to his brother.

Alvin looked at Simon with surprise.

"Remember what we're fighting for, bro."

Alvin looked torn with indecision.

Finally, with an irritating smirk, Simon looked into his brother's eyes and firmly said, "Simon says."

Alvin chuckled and nodded.

Realizing that it had been settled, Oleksandr took firm hold of Alvin's arm and guided him to the serving line.

Simon smiled at the scene before him, then turned his attention toward his intended target. His smile fell away as he focused on Zane.

* * * * *

After standing and quietly waiting for a break in their conversation, Simon realized that there probably wasn't going to be one. Finally, he quietly said, "Excuse me, may I talk to Zane for a few minutes?"

"What's wrong?" Brother Jacques asked anxiously.

"I have some information that he needs to know. I promise that it won't take very long." Simon said to Brother Jacques, then looked at Zane with an urging expression.

"Can Brother Jacques come with me?" Zane asked hesitantly.

"What I have to tell you is very personal. Please let me tell you in private, then you can share as much as you want with Brother Jacques when it's all done." Simon said imploringly.

After a moment of contemplation, Zane reluctantly stood.

"I'll be right here." Brother Jacques said warmly as he took firm hold of Zane's hand and gave it a squeeze.

Zane took the trembling hand to his lips and gave it a kiss before saying, "Take your pill. I'll be right back."

"Okay." Brother Jacques said quietly and reluctantly released Zane's hand.

* * * * *

The large, cavernous living room was empty when they entered. Simon led Zane to the far side of the room so they could sit comfortably while they had their conversation.

"Are you sure that I'm not going to betray them?" Zane asked as he was sitting down.

"No. But I'm sure that you haven't been programmed to betray them." Simon answered honestly.

Zane looked at Simon warily at receiving an answer other than the one he wanted.

"You're a person with your own free will. I can't make any promises to you about what actions you'll take in the future. I can only tell you what we've been able to discover about what has been done to you." Simon said frankly.

Zane slowly nodded, then quietly said, "I know that I was in there for over two years, but I hardly remember anything."

Simon let out a long sigh of frustration, then slowly said, "That's not the worst of it."

Zane looked at Simon with fresh apprehension.

"The memories that you do have from that time are mostly false." Simon said regretfully as he looked into Zane's eyes.

"What?" Zane asked in confusion.

"Your grandfather has been pioneering techniques in behavior modification and mind control. As part of his experimentation, he suppressed your memories of what actually happened to you, and suggested new memories to your subconscious mind. Based on those suggestions, your conscious mind created very detailed and realistic memories that were completely false." Simon said sadly.

"So all that stuff that I remember never really happened?" Zane asked cautiously.

"That's right, Zane. The rape and torture that you remember being ordered to commit, never happened. You never hurt anyone." Simon assured him.

Tears of relief were sliding down Zane's cheeks at the announcement.

"Your grandfather filled your mind with all those memories of sadism and torture so that he could watch your reaction. He wanted to see just how much horror a person could believe he had committed before he would give up and resign himself to the fact that he was powerless to disobey. It was just one step in a more lengthy process of perfecting his mind control." Simon said seriously.

"So, what really happened to me?" Zane asked in a trembling voice.

"At the 'camp', not much, really. You were given different drug treatments and behavioral tests, for the most part, but your every move and reaction was recorded and studied. Although the confinement was unpleasant, it's nothing like the torture chamber that you remember." Simon said hesitantly.

Zane slowly nodded, trying to accept the new information.

"But when you got back to your grandfather's house, where there were no other researchers or cameras recording what was being done to you... let's just say that that's the part that I didn't want Brother Jacques here for." Simon said reluctantly.

Zane silently thought for a moment, then finally looked at Simon with question.

"Your grandfather is one sick puppy. By this time he had already perfected the method to put you into a hypnotic state and control what you did and didn't remember. Although I have the ability to restore those memories to you, I wouldn't be doing you any favors if I did that. Just accept that the old man had you all to himself in his home, and used you to live out every sick, perverted fantasy that he ever had in his entire pathetic waste of a life."

Zane slowly nodded, but was surprised to find that he didn't have any fresh tears for this revelation.

"That's it. Although your grandfather had the means to make you into a mole agent or an assassin, all he did was use you to live out some creepy sexual fantasies. So, as horrible as that is, it's nowhere near as bad as it could be. Your future can be whatever you make of it. Nothing from the past has to hold you back." Simon said frankly.

Zane felt a moment of relief, then cautiously asked, "What about the others... The kids that I remember from that place?"

"I don't know, Zane. So many of your memories are false or drastically altered, that it's hard to know how many of them actually ever existed. I promise, we'll keep looking and let you know as soon as we find out anything about any of them." Simon said firmly.

"Thanks. Whether they're real or not, in my memories of them, they all existed and were suffering. It would help me a lot to know for sure what happened to them." Zane said seriously.

"I keep my promises. Now, you'd better get back to Brother Jacques before he worries himself sick about you." Simon said as he stood.

As Zane got up, he noticed that there were now a few other people in the living room with them, although they were on the other side of the room.

* * * * *

"Roris. I have a message for you." Hobie said quietly, over his shoulder.

"Is there a problem?" Roris asked, using the computerized voice box on his wheelchair.

"I guess that depends on whether or not you want to visit with some people named Corina and Davis."

"That's my sister and her husband. Are they on their way here?" Roris asked hopefully, although his computer voice sounded less than thrilled.

"They crossed through the highway 20 checkpoint while we were eating. They should probably be here within the hour." Hobie said cautiously, not sure if Roris was happy or not about the announcement.

"Thank you, Hobie. I need to find my parents and let them know that they're coming." Roris said as he turned his chair to leave.

Hobie watched Roris and Lawrence as they left the living room, and still didn't know if he had given Roris good or bad news.

* * * * *

Bug had watched as Zane and Brother Jacques talked quietly for a few minutes before ending up held firmly together in a cuddle.

Reluctantly, Bug finally said, "I think I need to check with Carson to see if there's anything I can do to help out."

Ken and Kev both looked at Bug regretfully, but said nothing.

"I don't want to go, but they've only asked us for one thing for all the help they're giving us..." Bug said reluctantly.

"Go ahead. And before you start worrying about it, we'll keep an eye on Oma Shoupe and the boys." Ken said with a loving smile.

"And we'll come and get you if anyone needs anything at all." Kev assured him.

Bug stepped forward and pulled both twins into a tight hug.

Ken and Kev shared a smile at each other as they enjoyed the feeling of being held so lovingly.

When he finally released the twins, he gave first Ken, then Kev a firm kiss.

The twins watched silently as Bug reluctantly walked away.

* * * * *

"How's it going, Carson? Do you have anything for me to do?" Bug asked as he walked to Carson's side.

"Right now, I think the best thing you could do is get up-to-date on all the groups that are headed this way, so you can put your plan into action." Carson said seriously.

Bug saw that Seth was using Carson's spare computer and quietly said, "Just let me get my laptop, then I'll be ready."

"Remember that Alvin brought in a laptop for you to use? He seemed to think that it would be a better fit for you than my spare computer." Carson said with distraction as he watched his screens carefully.

Bug looked around, then asked, "The one on your work table?"

Carson glanced over and said, "Yeah. That's it. He left it there for you."

Bug pulled a chair over to the work table and looked at the closed laptop for a moment before moving to open it. The laptop looked common enough, although he couldn't identify the model or generation. In fact, it didn't have any logo to identify what type of laptop it was at all.

'Excuse me, Bug. But there are some things you need to know about this laptop before you start, otherwise it might self destruct before you get a chance to use it.' Alvin's voice said inside his head.

Bug slowly withdrew his hand, then felt a strange sensation wash over him as a large amount of detailed information flooded his mind.

"Whoah." Bug gasped as he sat wide eyed, frozen in place.

"Something wrong?" Seth asked as he looked up from his computer.

"No. But now I know how a computer feels when a flash drive is plugged in." Bug said as he felt the new information falling into place in his head.

Cautiously, Bug reached forward again and opened the lid of the laptop.

Less than a second after pressing the power button, the screen came alive and a pleasant female voice said, "Identification process beginning. Physical biometric identification... within parameters. Authorized user. Biometrics complete. Retinal pattern identification... complete. Proceed with voice wave verification... please state your name."

After an uncertain moment, he quietly said, "Bug."

"User... Bug... Accepted. Keyboard and voice commands are available to complete initial setup, Bug. Proceed with customization." The voice said pleasantly.

Bug knew from the information that had been fed into his mind that the next step was to set the default mode of operation, display properties and outputs so the computer would look and 'behave' as he expected.

After a moment to consider his options, Bug carefully said, "I want to use my own operating system. It's on this flash drive."

Bug fished the thumb drive from his pocket and plugged it in. He only had to wait a moment before the computer voice said, "Bug-Zapper installed. All functions available. Specify preferred screen output display."

Bug smiled as he said, "Set output to Commodore 64 with G.E.O.S. functionality available, but not default enabled."

The screen immediately changed to a blue on blue text-only screen.

Bug smiled at the display, then leaned forward and began to type.

One by one, the others in the room looked up from what they were doing and watched Bug typing on the keyboard faster than any of them had thought possible.

After about two minutes of staring at Bug, the others went back to their own tasks, accepting that Bug was completely absorbed in what he was doing and probably wouldn't be interacting with them again anytime soon.

* * * * *

"Where's Dad?" Mike and Eric's Danny asked suddenly, drawing all the other boys' attention.

"He took some food upstairs to your brother." Kurt said softly.

Glances zinged from brother to brother to brother, then, as if the floor had suddenly given way, all the boys ducked under the table at once and emerged from the other side in a dead run.

"I would say something, but..." Kurt trailed off.

"I know. The single thought in their minds right this minute is their concern for their brother. Nothing else matters." Lana said tenderly.

Kurt looked at where the boys had gone and smiled, grateful for the fact that the brother they loved so much was upstairs and expected to make a full recovery.

* * * * *

"How are you guys doing?" Ken asked casually as he approached the inseparable trio with Kev at his side.

"I can't believe all the food they have here! And it's all great! I wish I woulda come here a long time ago. I haven't had food like this since... ever!" Bax said enthusiastically.

"Was the food bad, back at your home?" Ken asked cautiously.

"No... Not bad. It just wasn't as good as this." Bax said with considerably less energy.

Kev sat down on the living room floor with the boys, then quietly said, "When I was growing up, I hardly had any food at all. My mom..."

"...She didn't feed him. He was nothing but skin and bones when I first met him." Ken said as he also took a seat.

"But you're twins... you didn't grow up together?" Max asked curiously.

"Our parents divorced when we were babies. Mom got Kev, Dad got me. I was twelve when my Dad died. That's when I went to Chicago and met Kev for the first time." Ken said distantly.

"I didn't even know I had a brother until the day that Kenny showed up. Mom never told me about him." Kev said with a smile at his brother.

"It's funny. To this day, I've never seen my mom in person. The day I arrived, she skipped town and abandoned us." Ken said darkly.

"Some scary stuff was happening then, too. A turf war. If it wasn't for Jake, me and Ken would both be dead right now." Kev said frankly.

Ken nodded his agreement, then looked at three pairs of eyes, wide with wonder, hanging on their every word.

"The three of us were homeless after that. It was too dangerous for us to try to go back to Kev's apartment." Ken said quietly.

"There wasn't nothin for us there anyway... never was." Kev said sadly.

"It was October, and it was getting dark. It was really getting cold out and we didn't know what we were going to do, when Jake remembered hearing about a homeless shelter with a priest running it. Places like that get full really fast when it's cold, and once they're full, that's it, they don't let you in. But Jake had heard that this one priest was different, and that if he didn't have a place, that he'd try to find you one. So, even though it wasn't the closest shelter, we took a chance and hurried over there as fast as we could." Ken said distantly.

"Jake made us wait for him outside while he went in to talk to the priest. I think he was also checking it out, to make sure it was safe for us." Kev said frankly.

"The priest said he could find a room for us, if we wouldn't mind the three of us sharing a bed. I wouldn't have admitted it back then, but I was so scared, I don't think I could have slept by myself if I had to." Ken finished with a chuckle.

"I think all three of us were asleep before our heads hit the pillow." Kev said with a smile.

"Later on, we realized that the bed that Father Doherty gave us that night was his. I don't know where he slept that night, or if he slept. But he let the three of us use his bed so we wouldn't be out in the cold." Ken said softly.

"We stayed there, at that mission, ever since. The day that they closed the mission, we left to come here." Kev said honestly.

"Wow." Bax said in amazement.

"So you lived there since you were twelve?" Ro asked in wonder.

"Yes. And Father Doherty fixed it so we could go to school, and he helped Jake with... some problems he was having. And it was as good as any home that you could wish for." Ken said seriously.

"Even though it wasn't a mansion with great food, like this place, it was a place where we felt loved and wanted and needed. I'm going to miss it." Kev said frankly.

"It sounds nice." Bax said in a small voice.

"What was your home like, Bax?" Ken asked gently.

"Just normal, I guess." Bax said evasively.

"If it was normal, then why aren't you still there?" Kev asked quietly.

"Cause my parents left me and never came back." Bax said as his eyes started to fill with tears.

"What happened?" Ken asked as he scooted closer to Bax to put an arm around him.

"My mom set it up so I stayed over at this guy's house. He was a few years younger than me and we weren't friends or anything. But sometimes her and my dad would have to go out and do stuff and they'd have me stay over at someone's house. But when I got home from school the next day, no one was there." Bax said as his tears started to fall.

"Was that the last time you saw your parents?" Kev asked gently.

"Yeah. After a few days, I started getting scared. I went to school like I was supposed to, and I guess I started telling people that my parents didn't come home and I didn't know what to do. So one day the CPS finally got me out of class and asked me a lot of questions. Then they stuck me in the group home." Bax finished angrily.

"How bad was it?" Kev asked cautiously.

"It was scary. The first day, a couple of the bigger guys tried to back me into a corner. I didn't know if they was gonna beat me up or rape me or what, so I started punching and biting and kicking and whatever else I could do to get them off me. They tried it a couple more times, but I guess they didn't try too hard. I stayed outta their way and they mostly left me alone. There was plenty of other guys... and girls, who'd just roll over and let them do whatever they wanted to them, so I guess messing with me was too much trouble." Bax said frankly.

"When I got there, Bax told me who to watch out for and made sure no one messed with me." Ro said with a grateful smile at Bax.

"Even though that place was horrible, at least it had a roof and beds and food on the table... as lousy as it was. They kept getting more and more kids and the place was getting full, so one day they just threw us out. They didn't even let us get our clothes and stuff, they just tossed us out the door and locked it behind us." Bax said angrily.

"We wandered around, looking for someplace to stay the night, but we couldn't find anyplace. We ended up sleeping in the park." Ro said distantly.

"And we got so hungry, that we started hanging around outside a grocery store and begging people for food as they were leaving." Bax added quietly.

"The second day of doing that is when we met Bug." Ro said as he looked into Kev's eyes.

There was a long silence, then Max quietly said, "I got taken away from my parents because they used to hit me. One time, they did it where some other people could see it and someone called the cops. After that, I went from one foster home to another. I never stayed anywhere too long. There was this one, they'd be reading the bible all the time and they always sounded really angry. That was the worst. No matter what I'd do or say around them, they'd always call me a sinner and tell me I'm going to hell and read those damned bible verses at me. They were mean to all us kids, but they really hated me. I don't know why. I never did anything to them. I didn't even hate them, at least, not back then."

"It's better here, though, isn't it?" Bax asked cautiously.

"Besides the bible beaters, I've had creepy, touchy-feely foster parents. I've had fat, lazy, mean foster parents, and I've had a welfare mom foster parent, complete with the six inch professionally done fingernails. Gordon and Lucas give me a little hug now and then and ask me how I'm doing and if I need anything, then they leave me be. I know it sounds funny, but they're the best foster parents that I've ever had." Max said with conviction, then thoughtfully added, "They're a lot better than my real parents, even if you don't count the hitting."

"I'm glad to hear it." Ken said with a smile at her.

"Let's stay at your place tonight." Bax said with a smile at Max.

"How about we stay out in the living room, where those really big windows are?" Max asked happily.

"Yeah, but tomorrow night, we need to stay at my dads' house. I don't want them to feel left out." Ro said seriously.

"Okay. In fact, you can ask them while you're asking if we can stay at Max's tonight. That way they'll know that you still want to spend time with them, just not tonight." Bax said quickly.

"Guys. Bug's probably going to be busy helping Carson for a while. So if any of you need anything, just come to us." Kev said seriously.

Bax quickly gave Ken a kiss on the cheek, then scurried over to Kev and did the same before saying, "You guys are awesome!"

Max went to Kev to give him a quick hug as she said, "You really are."

At the same time, Ro went to Ken and hugged him as he said, "I think so, too."

Ken and Kev were smiling as they watched the three bundles of energy launch themselves toward the hallway to the Big House.

* * * * *

"So, from the sound of it, Danny and the guys are going to be rooming upstairs with the Vice President." Ben said to Mr. Reed, but kept a close watch on Danny for his reaction to the statement.

"We may be as well." Kurt said frankly.

"Do you need a room?" Ben asked with concern.

"No, no. The boys already made us a room. But we're going to be moving on at some point, but no one seems to know when that will be. For the moment we're planning on spending the night, but we'll have to be ready to leave at a moment's notice." Kurt said unenthusiastically.

"To visit your daughter and your grandkids?" Danny asked quietly.

Lana locked eyes with him and sadly nodded.

Ben knew that he was missing something, but also knew that Danny would fill him in if he needed to know.

"A lot of things seem to be up in the air right now for all of us." Ben said, trying to steer the conversation onto more comfortable ground.

"Considering what's going on in the country right now, I can't even imagine how many people are feeling the same way, and worse." Kurt said honestly.

After a moment to consider the words, Ben quietly said, "I should really be helping Carson right now."

"Who's that?" Gerry asked curiously.

"He lives here. He's the little kid in the wheelchair. Roris is the redheaded guy in a wheelchair. Anyway, Carson's got a few of us helping him. He said that because we saw what was about to happen, that he wanted us to help him help the people who are trying to get to someplace safe." Ben said thoughtfully.

"Do you think that's why Eric and Mike decided to stay here?" Kurt asked curiously.

"It's possible. A message went out on the underground net telling people that Kettle Falls was a safe place. They might have got the message and decided that they could do more good here than hiding in a hole somewhere." Ben said thoughtfully.

"So people from all over the country are going to be coming here?" Myron asked cautiously.

"Yeah. And from what I've seen so far, they've done a pretty good job of preparing for it. I know we've already got a few people showing up in town, but sometime tomorrow it's probably going to start getting totally crazy around here." Ben said honestly.

"And you're in it? I mean, you're one of the leaders?" Danny asked cautiously.

"I've been called the leader of the Chicago group." Ben said with a smile.

"But you're from Orlando." Myron said hesitantly.

"Yeah. But I came here with the Chicago group." Ben said happily.

"Ben's a really good person. I think that that's all the qualification he needs." Dax said softly, speaking for the first time.

"I hope so, Dax." Ben said as he draped an arm around Dax and gave him a reassuring hug.

"Paul-o's a good person, too. But I don't think he believes me when I say it." Jarritt said to the group.

"Don't worry, honey. With all of us telling him, he'll eventually believe it." Lana said tenderly as she looked at Jarritt with Paul-o held close to his side.

Danny's first impulse was to 'rescue' Paul-o from Jarritt's attention. But one look at Paul-o's contented smile told him that the mysterious young man that they had brought with them was soaking in every bit of Jarritt's affection, and happy to do so.

* * * * *

As Carson was pointing out to Jay what he needed to watch for Seth and Hobie, Lawrence walked into the room with Roris at his side and said, "Roris wants to know if there's anything we can do to help."

"I think we've got everything covered at the moment. But, if you'd like, you can look things over and get yourselves up-to-date on what everyone's doing and the most recent information on the incoming refugees. Then, when your family arrives, you can be free to go and spend time with them." Carson said pleasantly, and finished with a smile at the pair.

"If you're really sure you don't need us." Roris' computerized voice said slowly.

"From the way things are looking, I think I can safely promise that soon I'm going to need your help. And I'm going to need it more and more, as people start flooding in. But we can spare you right now, so feel free to spend some time with your family." Carson said honestly.

"Thank you. By the way, before I start seeing what everyone is doing, it would help if I knew what my job was going to be." Roris droned in a monotone.

"Didn't I tell you already?" Carson asked with surprise, then after a moment to think about it, he confirmed, "No, I guess I didn't. I'm counting on you and Lawrence to be our quality control experts. While the rest of us are trying to get large groups of people settled as quickly and efficiently as possible, your jobs will be to watch and listen for signs that individuals are being overlooked. Some of that may involve people with special needs, which you obviously know something about. You'll also get any text messages or emails from people who need someone on the inside of the decision making process to help them out."

"We get to help people!? That's the best kind of job to have!" Lawrence said happily.

"I think you two will be great at it. If you'll come over here and look at monitor six, I'll have Dizzy give you an overview of what's happened so far. That way, you'll be caught up to this point whenever the tidal wave of people washes in and we need for you to get to work." Carson said, then pointed at the lower right monitor.

Roris nodded as he looked where Carson was pointing.

"After that, Jay can walk you around and tell you who is doing what, so you'll know who to go to when someone needs help." Carson said with a loving smile at Jay, who was currently beside Seth, talking to him quietly.

"Sit with me." Roris' computer voice said flatly.

Roris then reached over with his twisted hand and turned off the switch on the computer voice box while Lawrence climbed onto his lap.

* * * * *

"Sonofabitch!" Bug crowed suddenly, causing everyone in the room to jump.

"What? Is something wrong?" Carson asked anxiously.

"This laptop is abso-FUCKING-lutely awesome!" Bug said with boyish excitement.

Carson smiled, then said, "Alvin seemed certain that it would be a good fit for you."

"I just sent you the file. Check it out. I just wrote the location matrix with an ODBC interface that will automatically plug in all the information into your database." Bug said as he rushed to Carson's side, then looked over his shoulder at Dizzy's screens.

Carson looked at the coding job that Bug had done and was frankly impressed. "Nice. This is tight." He said absently as he tried to follow along with what the code was trying to do.

"I can't stand sloppy code. It pisses me right the fuck off." Bug said as he read through his code carefully, to be sure that he hadn't missed anything.

"Is this right? It looks funny." Carson asked as he pointed at one of the lines of code.

Bug followed his finger, then chuckled as he said, "Yeah, it works. That's just kind of a shorthand notation that not many people use. The question mark acts like an 'if', the first comma is a then, the second comma is an else. Doing it that way, I crammed about a paragraph of code into that one sentence."

"I think I've heard of that, but I don't think I ever used it before." Carson said slowly, then his finger dropped to another line of code that he was reading slowly as he absently muttered, "What..."

"Bitwise operators... so I can query just a single bit, rather than work with an entire field of data." Bug offered helpfully as he answered the unvoiced question, then absently added, "It's more efficient."

Carson shook his head in wonder and said, "I've come across bitwise operators being mentioned one time, in a footnote in a textbook, just mentioning that they exist. I've never seen anyone use them."

"Well, to be honest, I usually don't use them much either. But, this time, it was the right tool to use to get the job done." Bug said happily.

"Dizzy, can you put Bug's program into 'test mode' and verify it's output?" Carson asked as he continued to read through the code.

"You got it, Boss." Dizzy said immediately.

Bug's attention went to another screen where a table of data appeared, then a corresponding empty table for output results.

Bug watched with concern as the result totals appeared one at a time.

"Why is it running so slow? Did I get a Cartesian product in one of my queries?" Bug asked in puzzlement.

"No. I have the output set to run slowly so I can take the time to read the results." Carson said frankly, then said into the air, "Dizzy, run the test again with real time output."

"Here you go, Carson." Dizzy responded verbally, then the first table appeared on the screen again. Almost as soon as the second table appeared, it was filled with numerical values.

"That's more like it." Bug said happily.

"Smooth." Carson said with a smile and a nod.

"I'm just getting warmed up, here. You should see what I can do with COBOL." Bug said with a grin as he walked back to his laptop.

* * * * *

"Roris, I just got a text message from town. Your family should be arriving at the monorail station in a few minutes. They've been given instructions on how to get here from the station, so they should be pulling in, up front, in about ten minutes or so." Carson said over his shoulder.

Lawrence put his ear close to Roris' mouth and listened for a moment before saying, "We'd better go, now. We're going to go get his mom and dad, so they can be out front to meet Corina when she gets here."

"Just let me know if there's anything we can do to make your family feel welcome here." Carson said with a smile at Roris.

"Rory never told them that he's gay. So he's afraid that they're gonna be mad at him and maybe not let him spend time with his niece." Lawrence said frankly.

Carson noticed the pained look on Roris' face and gently said, "I think that's one of those things that Roris told you, but didn't want for you to repeat."

"Oh? Sorry, Rory." Lawrence said sheepishly as he leaned in to give Roris a kiss.

"I'll never tell anyone about it, so no harm done. You guys go on. We've got this covered." Carson said with a smile at the couple

* * * * *

"Are you sure he said that we should wait out here? We should have gone to meet them. They'll never find us." Doris Teeter fretted.

"I've seen the map of the area. There is only one road near the monorail station. It leads here, then on to a lab facility. The only wrong turn they could possibly make would take them back to town, where they started." Roris said reasonably, his computer voice sounding appropriately confident.

Just then, the sound of a gator approaching caused everyone to stop talking and look to the road.

Roris discretely patted Lawrence's leg until he looked down, then held out his hand, hopefully.

Lawrence took Roris' hand into both of his and held it like it was something precious.

As the sound of the gator got louder, Doris excitedly said, "There they are."

The gator drove up the lane and pulled right up beside them before stopping.

"I'm so glad you're here! I was so worried! I tried to call, but the phone lines were down and then I couldn't get an answer." Doris said as she hugged her daughter furiously.

As Doris was doing that, her son-in-law got out of the driver's seat, then helped a young girl out of the back.

"Ganpa!" The girl exclaimed as soon as she saw Marcus.

"How's my little Cheyenne?" Marcus asked as he squatted and held open his arms to her, welcoming her into a hug.

"Lawrence, this is my brother-in-law, Davis." Roris said, exceptionally robotically.

"You can talk now? Nice toy you got there. I like it." Davis said with a smile at Roris.

"Thanks. Davis, this is my boyfriend, Lawrence." Roris' computerized voice said as he looked at Davis anxiously.

Davis slowly looked Lawrence over from head to toe and back before saying, "Ever since I've known you, you've always been so competitive with Corina, always trying to prove that you're smarter and better than her. Now you have to go and find a guy cuter than hers, just to show her up."

Lawrence looked on in confusion as Roris broke into a smile.

"It's nice to meet you Lawrence. I'm glad Rory's finally found him someone." Davis said as he offered his hand.

Lawrence broke into a warm, friendly smile as he shook hands with Davis.

"Oh Lord! A guy that cute could make me think about switching teams." Davis said with playful delight.

"You've lost more weight." Roris said, his computer voice sounding flat.

"About ten pounds since the last time I saw you." Davis quietly admitted.

"Have the doctors come up with anything to help you? Roris asked with concern showing in his eyes, if not his voice.

"No. But I personally think that all I need is some of your mom's home cooking." Davis finished with a smile.

Before Roris could respond, Doris walked up with Corina held tightly to her side and said, "I'm sure you must need to freshen up after your long drive."

"Should we have brought a tent with us?" Davis asked as he looked at the series of tents and picnic tables in the front yard.

"Those belong to some kids who were caught in the earthquake. They're a little nervous about staying inside a building." Roris explained seriously.

"We have a nice little cottage behind the house. We have plenty of room for you." Doris said happily.

"Oh, well then, would someone mind helping me with the luggage?" Davis asked cautiously.

"Sure, I'll help." Lawrence said immediately.

"You can stack some luggage on my lap. I don't mind helping." Roris offered quickly, although the voice was as slow as ever.

"Or, you guys could walk to the cottage while Cheyenne and her grandpa drive the luggage over." Marcus said with a smile as he carried his granddaughter to the gator.

Davis looked at Roris and said, "Now I see where you get it."

* * * * *

"Hi. I'm Courtney." A teenaged girl said as she approached the group of people walking toward the house.

"Courtney, I'd like for you to meet my sister Corina and her husband, Davis." Roris said as he stopped his wheelchair.

"It's nice to meet you. Welcome to Kettle Falls." Courtney said happily as her gaze lingered on Davis for an extra moment.

"Rory told us that some of you were caught in the earthquake. I hope that no one was hurt." Davis said slowly.

"Quite a few people were hurt where we were, but none of us kids were hurt badly. It's mostly just jangled nerves." Courtney said assuringly.

"Oh, I'm glad to hear that. Let us know if there's anything we can do." Davis offered weakly.

"Actually, there is one thing you might be able to do to help us out. If you think about it, could you come back out here when you're done getting settled in and talk with me about it?" Courtney asked hopefully.

"Sure. I guess." Davis said hesitantly at the odd request, then quickly added, "I'll talk to you later."

Courtney smiled and nodded before going back into the tent she was standing in front of.

* * * * *

"Doris! This has to be the daughter you've been telling us about." Madelyn Murten said as she walked up to the group entering the house with her husband in tow .

"Madelyn and Fred Murten, I'd like for you to meet our daughter, Corina, and her husband, Davis." Doris said with delight.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, but where is that wonderful granddaughter of yours that you were telling me about?" Madelyn asked with a smile.

"Helping her grandfather drive the luggage around to the guest house. We were just taking a shortcut through the house to meet them there. Would you care to join us?" Doris asked hopefully.

Madelyn glanced to her husband and found him looking at Davis with concern.

"We'd love to." Madelyn said for both of them.

* * * * *

"My name is Fred Murten, and I'm a doctor."

"I know what you're going to ask." Davis said wearily, then continued, "I know that I look like I'm anorexic, but really I just have food allergies... to almost everything."

"Have you seen a doctor about it?" Dr. Murten asked sympathetically.

"All of them. I've had so many scratch tests that I could probably perform the tests myself." Davis said wearily.

"Have they said anything about a treatment?" Dr. Murten asked cautiously.

"Everything's been tried. I've been in every clinical trial that might even have half a chance of helping. No medication that I've tried has had any positive effect. My diet has been strictly vegan for years, but I've recently started having trouble with fruits and some vegetables. Just about anything that comes from a flower. Certain leaves bother me now, but I can still eat most stalks and roots... that's about all I've got left." Davis said soberly.

"If times were different, I'd be asking your permission to consult with your primary physician about your case, but things being as they are, I don't know what I can do but offer to help however I can." Dr. Murten said regretfully.

Davis pulled a necklace out of his shirt and held up the pendant for Dr. Murten to see. "This has my complete medical history on it. That way, if I have an allergic reaction to something and get knocked unconscious, the doctor will have some clue about what he's dealing with."

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd really like to have a look at that. I can't promise that I'll be able to help, but it wouldn't hurt for you to have a doctor close at hand who's familiar with your case history." Dr. Murten said frankly.

"Sure. Once I see that Corina and Cheyenne are settled in, I'll get with you." Davis said pleasantly.

Dr. Murten nodded as he tried to recall all that he'd ever learned about allergies during his years of medical practice.

* * * * *

"Ben, I hate to bother you, but I've kinda got a problem."

"What's up, Dax?"

"I just noticed that I'm starting to get... um, a pimple. I didn't think about it before, but I didn't bring any pimple stuff. I mean, I ran out, and didn't have a chance to get more."

"I'll see what I can do about finding out where the nearest store is, then I'll get you and we can go."

"Thanks, Ben."

"Anytime, Dax." Ben said to the boy at his side, then looked to Danny and said, "I need to check in with Carson right now and let him know what's going on."

"The kid in the wheelchair?" Gerry asked to confirm.

"Right. He's kind of running the whole 'rescue effort' deal. I'm helping him, so I need to see if he can spare me for a little bit. From what he was saying earlier, I don't think it'll be a problem." Ben said honestly.

"Would you mind if I went with you? I'd kinda like to meet the person behind all of this." Danny asked hopefully.

"Sure. Come on." Ben said with a smile, then looked at the rest of his friends and said, "We should be back in a few minutes, then I'll give you the grand tour."

* * * * *

"Look!" A voice called from the doorway.

Everyone in Carson's room looked up simultaneously at the sound.

"They're busy. We shouldn't interrupt them." Brother Jacques said shyly.

"What is it, Zane?" Bug asked curiously as he looked up from his laptop for an instant.

"Show them!" Zane said as he urged Brother Jacques to walk into the room.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Carson asked anxiously.

"He stopped shaking." Zane said joyfully.

All eyes turned to Brother Jacques and found him standing perfectly still without a hint of a tremor.

"Dr. Murten gave Jake a pill and it made him better!" Zane said with an ebullient smile.

"That's great! I'm really happy for you, Jacques." Bug said sincerely.

"Thanks. It's like a dream." Brother Jacques whispered in an awestruck voice.

"Hey guys! I'd like for all of you to meet Danny. He's a friend of mine from back home." Ben said as he walked into the room with Danny at his side.

Carson was about to offer a greeting when a movement on one of his screens drew his attention.

"I've just got confirmation, the first major group from Seattle just arrived in Colville." Carson said seriously.

"Is everything set up for them?" Bug asked as he turned.

"I think so... I wish one of us could be there to supervise so we could see if there was anything more we could do for them." Carson said anxiously.

"We can go." Brother Jacques said quickly.

"No. You have a group of kids that you're responsible for. We'll figure something out." Carson said regretfully.

"Why don't you ask the twins to watch them for you? The kids already know and trust them and I bet that they'd love to do something to help." Bug said reasonably.

Brother Jacques smiled at Bug and said, "Thank you for being so cool about us, Bug. Considering our history, I'd really understand it if you were worried about me being around them. And I think it means the world to them to know that you trust them."

"I figure that if something was gonna happen with you guys, it would've already happened by now. So I'm not worried." Bug said frankly.

"Let's go find the twins, so we can get going." Brother Jacques said enthusiastically.

"Come over here and I'll show you where you need to go." Carson said quickly.

Ben watched for a moment, then suddenly said, "If you're going into town, could you pick up some acne medicine for Dax? He's getting a pimple and said that he ran out."

"I don't know how much that stuff really helps, but I'll be glad to pick it up for him." Brother Jacques said with a smile.

"If you're going to the store anyway, could you pick up some condoms for Lawrence? He said that he's nearly out." Bug asked hopefully.

"I guess." Brother Jacques said, less enthusiastically.

"I can go get them if you feel funny about it. I just thought that since you were already..."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." Brother Jacques assured him.

"Let me give you some money." Ben hurried to say.

"Save your money, Ben." Carson said as he undocked his wheelchair. "Brother Jacques, let me give you a credit card so that you can put it on the household account."

"Carson, I was wanting to ask if you could spare me for a little bit so I can introduce Danny and the guys around before I dig in and get back to work." Ben asked hopefully.

"Yeah. We've got this. I'll page for you if things start picking up." Carson said as he handed a credit card to Brother Jacques.

"Is anyone going to have a problem with me using this?" Brother Jacques asked curiously.

"It's on the household account, so I doubt that anyone will think twice about it, but if they have a problem, they can call me and I'll approve it." Carson said casually.

"Thanks." Brother Jacques said uncertainly.

"Come on, Danny. Let's get the guys and I'll give you the grand tour." Ben said to his friend.

Danny looked around the room one last time before following Ben out of the room.

* * * * *

"This will be your room, and Cheyenne's room will be next to ours." Doris said happily to her daughter, then smiled at Madelyn who was holding Cheyenne in an adoring hug.

"Where's your room, Rory?" Corina asked curiously.

"Lawrence and I have a room in the big house." Roris said in his robotic voice.

"It's really nice and pretty." Lawrence added enthusiastically.

"Oh, really? So, how is it being away from Mom and Dad for the first time?" Corina asked her brother with a knowing smile.

Roris looked at his parents, then said, "It's perfect. I can be alone with Lawrence, but I know that Mom and Dad are right here if I need them."

Dr. Murten had been silently watching, but finally said, "Roris, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to examine you when you have some free time. That way, if anything happens, I'll know what's normal for you."

"Oma Shoupe said that I should get you to examine me, too." Lawrence interjected cheerfully.

"Yes. Geraldine mentioned that you were severely beaten several years ago, and that you've been taking medication to prevent seizures since that time. She's concerned that you are being overmedicated, as she has been." Dr. Murten said carefully.

Lawrence shrugged, then said, "I just take my meds when Bug tells me to. That's all I know about it."

"Let us know when it's convenient for you and we'll both come in for exams." Roris said robotically with a loving glance at Lawrence.

"Make that all three of us." Davis said with a tender smile at the couple, then added, "Dr. Murten wants to examine me, too."

"I have something scheduled for the morning, but I'll try to set something up for tomorrow afternoon." Dr. Murten said to the three young men before him.

"Davis, you look like you could do with a good meal. Why don't you get settled in while I fix you something?" Doris asked gently.

"That's okay, Mama Doris. I've been snacking since we left Portland. I'll be fine." Davis said shyly.

"Nonsense. You need a good solid meal and that's all there is to it." Doris said firmly.

"Thanks, Mama Doris, that sounds great. I've really missed your cooking."

* * * * *

"How is everything going in here?" Alvin asked as he walked into the room with Oleksandr at his side.

"I can see everyone heading this way, and we're doing our best to prepare. But I still feel like there's more that we should be doing." Carson said frankly.

"We're all making it up as we go along. I think we're all in uncharted territory with the events of the past few days." Alvin said frankly.

"There was one other thing we were thinking of, but it might not be possible..." Carson trailed off uncertainly.

"What were you thinking?" Alvin asked curiously.

"Well, we were thinking that, once people start arriving, it might be good if we had a place for them to move on to from here. Otherwise, we're going to fill up and run out of resources before we've even begun to start helping people." Carson said seriously.

"Yes, that's occurred to some of us, too." Alvin said thoughtfully.

"Bug suggested that you might be able to talk to the Canadian government about allowing our refugees to cross into Canada and on to places where they might be more likely to be safe."

"It could take some time to arrange that, but it sounds doable. We'll get right on it." Alvin said confidently, then slowly added, "Considering all the housing and facilities that you have here, you might also think about recruiting people who can help you in your efforts to aid the refugees."

"You mean, like, doctors and mechanics and people like that?" Carson asked curiously.

"Yeah. You could even make a list of people you need, then recruit them as they check in." Alvin said slowly.

"I'll get Bug on that. I think he should be able to work it into his distribution program." Carson said decisively.

"What about me?" Bug asked as he looked up from his laptop.

"We were just thinking that we could check for people like doctors and mechanics in the incoming refugees and ask them to stay and help incoming people. Do you think you could work that into your program?" Carson asked hopefully.

Bug thought for a moment, then started typing furiously.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Carson said with a grin.

"Would you mind if I go check in with Gordon and Lucas? I don't want them getting the idea that I'm off sulking somewhere." Jay asked hesitantly.

"That's fine. In fact, if you wouldn't mind, would you ask one of them to come and talk with me when they have time? I think it would be great if they would help out making our guests comfortable. I bet they'd have all kinds of good ideas about how to make people feel more relaxed and secure." Carson said thoughtfully.

"What about Jeremy and Hank? They're both really friendly and might be able to help." Ben asked suddenly.

After a moment of thought, Carson shook his head and said, "If you could have seen the look in Hank's eyes when he heard about Kansas City, you'd know that he's going to need some time to deal with things."

"I didn't think of that." Ben muttered quietly.

"When they're ready, we'll ask them for help. Just, right now, I think it''s too soon." Carson said regretfully.

"I'll be right back." Jay said quietly, then left the room.

"It looks like you two are getting close." Ben said to Carson gently.

"Yeah. And to tell you the truth, it scares the hell out of me." Carson said frankly.

"Love'll do that." Bug said simply, never looking up from his laptop.

Carson smiled at the response and said, "Yeah. I guess so."

* * * * *

When Jay crested the stairs, he saw that Lucas and Gordon were sitting together on a couch in the living area, watching television.

"What's going on?" Jay asked as he approached.

"Nothing new. In fact, the news people are still trying to put things together. We know a lot more about what's going on than they do." Lucas said frankly.

"How are you doing, Jay?" Gordon asked with concern.

"I'm fine. I just thought I'd check in with you and let you know that I'm doing alright." Jay said honestly.

"Thanks for that. I'm sorry that we haven't spent time with you. I know that you must be feeling adrift in this new place around nothing but strangers. But you seemed to be content in Carson's company." Gordon said gently.

"Yeah. Helping Carson has kept my mind off of everything else. I'm really doing fine." Jay said frankly.

"I noticed how you were holding him in the living room. You two seem to be getting close." Gordon said cautiously.

"It's weird. He's so smart and so strong, but at the same time, he seems so fragile. All I really do is hold him and tell him that it'll be okay. But I feel like if I didn't do that, he'd fall apart." Jay said quietly.

"I can't even imagine what he's going through, seeing the first reports of all this tragedy, then working to make a safe place for people to go." Lucas said thoughtfully.

"He's got lots of help, not only here, but in the community. But I think the thing that's scaring him is that everyone is listening to him and expecting him to tell them what to do." Jay said with a pained look at Lucas.

"Then it's good that he has someone to turn to when it seems to be too much." Gordon said with a smile at Jay.

Jay gratefully returned the smile, then thought to say, "Carson asked me to ask if one of you would talk to him. He thinks that you might have some good ideas about how to keep people from being too freaked out when they arrive."

"You go. I want to be available in case the kids need anything." Gordon said quietly.

As Lucas nodded, Jay asked, "Where is everyone?"

"The girls are downstairs playing with Loquicia. Last we heard, Max was going with the other two musketeers to talk with Ro's dads. I'm sure that by now they're off somewhere having another adventure." Lucas said with a smile.

"And Lazlo is in his room... resting, I suppose." Gordon said as he glanced toward Lazlo's closed bedroom door.

"Do you think it'd be okay if I interrupted him?" Jay asked cautiously.

Lucas chuckled, then said, "Lazlo is so happy to finally have a brother that I doubt that there's anything that you could possibly do that would upset him."

Jay was surprised by the response, but took a moment to consider before doing anything. Finally he said, "I've been a foster brother lots of times. But I don't remember anyone ever being happy about it before."

As Lucas and Gordon watched, Jay walked over and quietly knocked on the closed bedroom door.

* * * * *

"Can I come in?" Jay asked quietly after knocking.

It took a moment, but Lazlo finally opened the door to reveal the fresh tears in his eyes.

Jay stepped forward and pulled Lazlo into a hug as he whispered, "It's going to be alright."

"I know." Lazlo quietly responded, then explained, "I was just thinking about the people back home. Everyone I ever knew. They're all dead... all of them."

"I'm sorry, Lazlo. I wish there was something I could do to make it better." Jay said as his eyes filled with tears.

"Yeah. But there's nothing we can do but wait for what happens next." Lazlo said regretfully.

"Actually, there is something more that we can do." Jay said gently.

"What?" Lazlo asked hopefully as he pulled away enough to look Jay in the eyes.

"I've been helping Carson make plans to help the people who need a safe place to stay. There's nothing we can do to help the people who were killed, but we can do our best to help the survivors." Jay said seriously.

"Like what? Are you making food boxes or something?" Lazlo asked cautiously.

"Something like that. Do you want to help me?" Jay asked with an encouraging smile.

"Could I really?" Lazlo asked hopefully.

"Sure. People are just starting to arrive. As more and more show up, we're going to need all kinds of help to make sure that everyone is being taken care of." Jay said frankly.

"That sounds great! If you'll tell me what I need to do, I'll do it!" Lazlo said with a grand smile.

Jay was about to accept what Lazlo had said, but stopped as he really thought about the words.

"There are lots of people who can follow orders. What we really need are people who can give orders. If you really want to help, I think that that's the best help you could give."

"I don't know if I can." Lazlo said uncertainly.

"I'll help you get started." Jay assured him as he put an arm around his foster brother.

* * * * *

"Here you go, Davis. Make sure you save room for dessert. I'll have a nice sweet potato pudding ready before you're finished with that." Doris said delightedly as she placed a plate of food before Davis.

"Mom, you don't have to do that! You're going to spoil him!" Corina chuckled to her mother.

"You get to spoil Davis all the time. I haven't had a chance to spoil him since you moved to Oregon. Let me have my fun." Doris said warmly.

"Okay. But only if you'll show me how you do it. I've been following your recipes exactly, and even though Davis would never say it, I know that my cooking doesn't compare to yours." Corina said honestly.

"I'd always hoped that someday you'd want to join me in the kitchen. But I'll let you in on a little secret. The recipe is only to set the stage. It's after that when the cooking really begins."

* * * * *

A knock on the door caused everyone to look up in surprise.

"Who in the world could that be?" Marcus asked as he got up from the table, where Davis was still eating.

Roris looked at the door with concern, not able to imagine any possible way that it could be good news.

"Good evening, can I help you with something?" Marcus asked cautiously.

"Good evening. I know that we haven't been introduced, but my name is Courtney. Please excuse me for visiting this late, but I spoke to Davis earlier tonight, and had planned to talk with him sometime later. Unfortunately, it's turned out that I'm going to need his help sooner than expected. Is there any way I could talk to him for a few minutes?"

"Yes. Please, come in. Davis is in the kitchen, right over there." Marcus said as he ushered the teenage girl into the house.

As soon as Courtney saw Davis, she quickly said, "I'm so sorry for interrupting you while you're eating. But if you're the same Davis Gray who used to work for the Boise-Pearl company, I have an important favor to ask you."

Davis was stunned by the statement, but hurried to respond, "I don't know how you know who I am, but I did used to work for Boise-Pearl."

"I don't know if you're aware of it, but the Brown family, particularly Carson, are working very hard to help a large number of people find safety."

"Although I'm sure we don't know everything, my family and I are only here thanks to Carson and his family." Marcus said seriously.

Courtney nodded, then continued, "In an effort to help Carson, some of us volunteered to help him when he needs it, so he can have a meal or get some rest without having to worry about missing something important. When we receive word that someone is coming here, to the house, we find out some basic information about them, to see if they might have some valuable skills."

"But I'm nobody. I mean, I used to be a warehouse manager but now I can't even do that." Davis said cautiously.

Courtney looked him directly in the eyes and said, "There are truckloads of food on their way here as we speak. And, in a very short time, there are going to be thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, of hungry people arriving in the area. Mr. Brown has a great big, brand new, completely empty warehouse, but no one staffing it yet, since his company hasn't started production. We spotted the problem just before you arrived, and that's when I told you that I'd want to talk to you later. Since then, we've done some more checking and begun to realize what an enormous mess this could turn into if we don't have an organizing force in that warehouse from the beginning."

"But my last job let me go because of my health. I mean, look at me." Davis said regretfully.

"If you want to take this job, Corina and I will make sure that you will have the meals that you'll need to keep you strong and healthy." Doris said with conviction.

"If you'll have me, I'd like to consider myself your personal physician. And, to that end, I'd be keeping a close watch on your health, so we can be aware of any potential problems before they manifest." Dr. Murten said seriously.

"You'll be helping us to help tens of thousands of people." Roris interjected.

Davis' eyes began to fill with tears as he looked to Courtney and asked, "Are you serious? You really need me?"

Courtney nodded.

Davis worked to gain emotional control of himself as he quietly asked, "What do I need to do?"

"Come with me right now and we'll have a little talk with Ryan Brown and his son, Tommy."

* * * * *

Ryan and Tommy were both surprised when Courtney pointed out the flaw in their plans. Fortunately, they were equally grateful when she, just as quickly, offered them a solution to the problem.

Davis was hired on the spot and given directions where to report and who would be meeting him the next morning for his first day of work.

Lazlo went to Carson's room with Jay, and quietly watched what everyone was doing. The few times that he spoke, he asked relevant questions to verify his understanding. Carson was mostly oblivious to all of this, but Jay couldn't have been more proud of his newly adopted foster brother.

Brother Jacques and Zane returned and told about everything they saw from the 'street level' about how the new guests had been received. After some discussion amongst all of them, a few modifications were decided upon to make the process more inviting to the newcomers.

As the night progressed, different guests began drifting back to their rooms to turn in for the night.

Although Carson was reluctant to do so, he took an extra pain pill because he knew that he had stayed sitting up too long and wouldn't be able to sleep due to the resulting pain.

He was somewhat anxious about all the people who were due to converge on them the following day, but felt some sense of relief that Courtney and her group were keeping an eye on things while he slept.

After Seth and Hobie had gone home, Jay and Lazlo stayed behind. Once Carson had finished getting ready for bed, Jay curled up next to him, on top of the covers, and waited until Carson was fully asleep.

Lazlo tried to look like he wasn't paying attention to them by watching the laptop which was giving updates about the different approaching groups of people. As soon as Jay was sure that Carson was sleeping soundly, he walked to Lazlo's side and silently indicated for them to leave.

Once they were well away from Carson's room, Lazlo timidly asked Jay if they could have a sleepover in his room.

After a moment of hesitation, Jay finally agreed. The smile he received from Lazlo warmed his heart in a way that he hadn't known was possible.

When they arrived on the second floor, they were surprised to find Max, Bax and Ro asleep in the living area of the common room. They quickly went to Lazlo's room and quietly closed the door, so as not to disturb the sleeping children.

* * * * *

A knocking on the door woke Bug and the twins from a much needed and well deserved sleep.

"Who the fuck could that be? It's afterafter motherfucking idnightmidnight!" Bug snarled.

"I'll get it." Ken said gently and hurried to answer the door, dressed in only his underwear.

Bug had almost fallen back asleep when the sound of Roris' electric wheelchair entering the room caught his attention and caused him to sit up suddenly.

"Is something wrong with Lawrence?" Bug asked in panic.

"Yes. But I don't know what it is. He won't talk to me." Roris said, looking far more concerned than his computerized voice sounded.

"What's he doing?" Bug asked as he got out of the bed and hurried to the dresser.

"I think he's depressed... but I really don't know about what. I've tried talking to him and holding him, but he shrugs me off. He wouldn't even help me out of my wheelchair to get ready for bed." Roris said robotically, but his eyes were welled with tears.

Bug stopped in mid motion as he was pulling on a t shirt. Then started taking it back off.

Roris had a glimmer of hope as he could see that Bug seemed to know what was going on.

"I'm sorry, Roris. I should have warned you that this might happen. Sometimes Lawrence gets like this. It's nothing you did. He's not mad at you or anything like that. Every now and then he gets one of these dark moods and there's nothing you can do but wait till it passes." Bug said as he walked to where a collection of empty backpacks were located and picked up a battered cardboard box.

Roris smiled with relief that Lawrence wasn't having a serious problem.

Bug opened the box and took out a very old and obviously well-loved teddy bear.

"This is Mr. Thornton. Give him to Lawrence and give him a few minutes." Bug said as he placed the teddy bear in Roris' lap.

"Thank you, Bug. I was really worried. I hatrack seeing him so depressed." Roris said earnestly, then looked up in surprise.

"Hatrack?" Ken asked with a barely suppressed grin.

"I think my computer voice needs to get some sleep, too." Roris said with a reluctant smile.

"Come back and get me if you need any more help with Lawrence." Bug said sincerely.

"I will. Thank you, Bug. Good night." Roris said before leaving the room.

Ken, Kev and Bug looked at each other. Now all feeling completely awake and unsure of what to do next.

"Wanna fuck?" Bug asked as he looked from one twin to the other.

Ken and Kev shared a look, then broke into identical smiles.

* * * * *

Vivid images assaulted his mind as invisible hands restrained him.

He struggled and fought as much as he could, but knew within himself that his attackers would eventually overpower him, just like they always did.

Even so, he continued to fight. The only thread of dignity that he had left to hold on to was that he didn't give in.

As his struggle intensified and the sense of violation rose within him, a soft low voice whispered into his ear.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you."

Apollo felt his bed shift as someone climbed in behind him. Then, large arms closed around him, completely surrounding him.

Where the same sensation might have caused him to erupt with panic the day before, the sound of Jarritt's voice and the feeling of his protective embrace gave Apollo such a sense of safety and security that he was able to drift into a relaxing and dreamless sleep.

Chapter 23: Red Glare

"Where's Jody!?" A voice abruptly asked into the otherwise silent car.

"JD, either shut up, or I'll rip your heart out and stuff it in your big mouth." A gruff voice muttered from the seat in front of his.

"Jorry, wake up! Nick's gone, too!" JD said in panic.

Jorry's eyes snapped open at the declaration as an expression of terror overtook his features.

"Oh shit! My dads are gonna kill me if I lost Jody." JD said as he looked out the windows of the SUV at the cars surrounding them, hoping to catch a glimpse of his younger brother.

"Go back to sleep, guys. They're fine. Jody and Nick said that they're hiking up to the truck stop to get some... chips or something, I don't know. I was half asleep when they told me." A sleepy voice said from the front seat.

"And you just let them go!? Christian, we're a quarter of a mile from that truck stop. A lot of bad things could happen to them between here and there." Jorry said anxiously.

"And my dads are counting on me to take care of Jody." JD interjected as his tears threatened to fall.

"Think about it, guys. Jody and Nick were sleeping the whole night while we were up driving and trying to keep each other awake, so we could catch up to this monster convoy. They woke up this morning and the rest of us were asleep. I'm sure they were bored out of their minds and wanted to walk up to the truck stop to get away from this smell, or maybe just for something to do. You've got to face it, they're not little kids anymore. Nick's fifteen and even Jody's officially a teenager now. You've got to give them a little freedom."

After a moment, JD quietly said, "I guess you're right, Collin. It's just that, after everything he's been through, Jody deserves to be protected."

"You do protect him, JD. He knows that if he's ever in trouble that he can go to you and that you'll take care of it... without a doubt. But you've got to give him a little room to take care of things for himself, sometimes. It's part of growing up." Christian said seriously.

"Nick hasn't been right since... well, you know. He never went back to being himself. He needs me." Jorry said urgently.

"I think Collin and Christian are right. Jody and Nick need to know that we're there for them and that if they ever need us for anything at all, we'll help them. But when they choose to go off and do something like this, on their own, it's a good thing. I think it means that they're healing and getting more secure." JD said reasonably, then gently added, "Remember, I know how you feel."

"No, JD, you don't." Jorry said firmly, "Everything that happened to Jody, happened to him before you ever met him. There's no way you could have protected him from it. What happened to Nick was because I let down my guard around my asshole-bitch mother. I could have stopped it. If I'd just paid closer attention to what was going on around me, she never would've been able to send him to that fucking place."

"But, as soon as you found out, you got your dad to get a lawyer and a court order, and you not only got him out of that 'conversion camp' but you also fixed it so your dad had permanent custody. If your mom hadn't pulled her shit, Nick would still have to spend half his time with her." Collin tried to reason.

"Nicky got hurt and I could've stopped it. That's all that matters. I still don't know what they did to him at that place, but whatever it was, was bad enough to change him. He was always so open with me about everything before. Now, he barely talks to me." Jorry said regretfully.

A knock on their window caused all of them to look up suddenly.

Jorry cautiously rolled down the window, just a little, and asked, "Do you need something?"

"We're just getting with everyone who joined us during the night to make sure that you have a CB radio." A young man said seriously.

"Yeah. We've been using it to keep track of where there's trouble ahead." Jorry said slowly.

"Good. If you turn it to channel 14, that's where we're making announcements to the whole convoy." The young man said, then before anyone in the car could respond, he hurried to the car that was parked behind them.

Jorry turned the volume of the radio up and switched to channel 14.

"I don't think it'd be such a bad thing if you wanted to hike up to the truck stop. You know, just to buy some snacks or something." Christian said into the ensuing silence.

Jorry and JD shared a look and it was finally Jorry who said, "No. We've got to start trusting them sometime."

"But, if they're not back in, let's say, twenty minutes or so, then maybe we could go and get some last minute munchies for the road." JD said cautiously.

Jorry slowly nodded his agreement to the arrangement.

* * * * *

Father Doherty woke up a little earlier than was usual for him. He quietly gathered his things and went to the public restrooms to clean up.

When he got there, he found that there were a few other people awake and doing the same, and he chatted with them as he went about his business.

Upon returning to the bus, he found that most everyone was awake and just beginning to start preparing for what promised to be a long day. Father Kinsey and Emo were at the small, gas stove, and seemed to be preparing breakfast for everyone, including Colton.

Father Doherty silently watched them for a moment, then glanced out the window at the car parked just beside them. Colton's mother was in that car, just a few feet away. But Father Doherty had the sense that the distance was far greater... and increasing all the time.

Although he didn't want to think the worst of Angela, his years of helping teenage mothers just like her had taught him to be prepared.

As Father Doherty approached the stove, he quietly asked, "Do you think I'd have enough time to pick up a few things at the truck stop, before breakfast is ready?"

"Yes. You'll have plenty of time. Since I don't have enough burners to cook everything at once, I'm just getting the first few things started." Father Kinsey said frankly.

"How are you doing this morning, Emo?" Father Doherty asked gently.

"Colton was such a good baby last night. He only woke up once, and even then, all he did was fuss a little until I changed him and got him a bottle, then he went right back to sleep." Emo said lovingly.

Father Doherty smiled at the baby who was awake and alert in Emo's arms and seemed to be soaking in every bit of attention that Emo was heaping on him.

"I'm going to the truck stop to pick up a few things. Can you think of anything you need?" Father Doherty asked with a smile.

"No. I think we're fine. As long as Colton's got a pacifier and someone to hold him, I think his world is pretty much complete." Emo said softly.

Father Doherty gave one last look at Emo and Colton before quietly making his way off the bus.

* * * * *

"Are you sure we got enough money?"

"Don't worry, Jody. Jorry gave me plenty of money the last time we stopped, I think, so I'd stop bugging him." Nick said seriously.

"I know that Collin and Christian's dads gave JD a bunch of money before we left, but I get the feeling that he's trying to save it, in case we need it later." Jody said anxiously.

"Well, I'm not gonna blow the money on nothing but junk. But I'll go crazy if I have to ride two more days in that car, with that smell, and without anything to distract me." Nick said honestly.

"Twizzlers. We NEED twizzlers." Jody said as he walked to the shelf and picked up two packages.

"You should get a couple more. We're not gonna get this just for us. We need to get enough for the rest of the guys." Nick said frankly.

Jody picked up three more packages, then looked up as someone walked onto the aisle with them.

As soon as Jody saw the priest's robes, he turned to see how Nick was doing, only to find him gone.

Jody walked three aisles down and found Nick ducked down in an aisle of hygiene products.

"It's okay, Nick. He's not going to hurt you." Jody whispered as he approached.

"I'm not going back there." Nick said in a trembling voice.

"That place is a thousand miles away from here. You never have to go back there again." Jody gently whispered as he finally chanced putting a hand on Nick's shoulder.

"Don't touch me! He might see!" Nick hissed as he flinched away.

Jody regretfully pulled his hand away, then glanced over the top of the shelves to see where the priest was in the store.

"Nick, walk to the end of the aisle and turn right when I tell you. He's coming this way, but if you go now, he won't see you." Jody said calmly.

Still in his crouched position, Nick duck-walked to the end of the aisle and waited nervously.

"Go now." Jody whispered in a rush, then casually walked to the end of the aisle and followed Nick back to the candy aisle, where they had started.

"Are you okay?" Jody asked gently.

"Where is he now?" Nick asked nervously as he remained in his crouched position.

"He's over on that aisle with soaps and baby stuff. He looks like he's looking for something, so he might be there for a little bit." Jody said carefully.

Nick slowly stood enough so that he could see over the top of the shelf, then seemed to wilt with relief when the priest was right where Jody had said that he was and seemed to be involved in his shopping.

"It's going to be alright, Nick. I won't let anything happen to you." Jody said soothingly.

Nick glanced at the priest again, then back at Jody with obvious anxiety.

"I know that you can't believe me, right now, but it's true. I won't let anyone hurt you. You know how JD used to be scared to death of women? Me and my dads helped him and kept him safe, and now he can even be in the same room with women... he still doesn't like it, but he can do it." Nick said softly.

"They hurt me, Jody. And every time I see anyone wearing a cross or dressed like a priest... I'd rather die than go back there." Nick said as tears started falling down his cheeks.

Jody couldn't hold himself back anymore and pulled Nick into his arms and hugged him firmly.

"Don't! He might see!" Nick gasped.

"Think, Nick. This guy isn't one of them that hurt you. He wasn't anywhere near there when it happened." Jody said reasonably.

"But he's like them!" Nick struggled to make Jody understand.

"Do you want for us to leave?" Jody asked gently.

"No... I can do this..." Nick said, then stopped to take a long, slow breath.

"If you get scared, just hold on to me. You can close your eyes if you need to. You can trust that I won't let anything happen to you." Jody said quietly.

"Do you do that for JD?" Nick asked as he chanced a look into Jody's eyes.

"Not for a while, but I have, when it was just the two of us and we were around a woman." Jody said honestly.

After a moment to consider, Nick finally hesitantly nodded.

"Let's finish our shopping. JD's gonna have a cow if I'm not back before he wakes up." Jody said with a smile.

Nick nodded as he quietly said, "Jorry, too. He's been as protective as JD since..."

"Then let's hurry and get back to them." Jody said in a determined voice.

"Wait, here he comes again." Nick said as panic filled his eyes.

"Hold on to me." Jody said as he gathered Nick into his arms and held him firmly.

The priest walked by their aisle, carrying an armload of various baby supplies and didn't even seem to notice the boys as he passed.

As Jody was about to let go of Nick, he saw the priest returning, with his purchases now in a handbasket.

"Stay still. Everything's fine." Jody whispered as he placed his hand on the back of Nick's head to keep him from pulling away.

The priest stopped at the end of the aisle for a moment, staring at the two boys, then went about his business.

"He just went to get a basket. Now he's shopping again. We're okay." Jody said gently as he released Nick from his arms.

"Thanks." Nick said timidly as he looked Jody in the eyes, then quietly added, "You're pretty strong."

"I'm as strong as I need to be." Jody said simply, then smiled as he leaned forward to whisper, "I think I can be as strong as you need me to be, too."

Nick shyly nodded, then averted his gaze.

* * * * *

"Pardon me for asking, Father, but did someone give birth since last night?" Mrs. Ferguson asked with a chuckle as she bagged up the various baby supplies that Father Doherty had selected.

"No. There's just a young woman traveling with us who has a newborn baby, and I'm not sure how many supplies she brought with her. Add to that, the fact that a young man on our bus seems to be taking on the role of surrogate father..."

"FATHER! Are you still in here?" Ferguson called as he scrambled into the store.

"Right here, is there a problem?" Father Doherty asked with concern.

One of the two boys who were in the store shopping, stepped forward to listen.

"Father! I just heard on the radio! There's rockets! Missiles! They're headed this way! There's no telling if we're the target or not, but they're headed this way! You need to get out of here! Get your people moving!" Ferguson screamed in panic.

"Does this place have a public address system?" Father Doherty asked as his mind raced.

"Yes. For the pumps." Ferguson said quickly.

"Before anything else, would you make an announcement on the CB, on channel fourteen? Then, if you would, please make the announcement over the public address speakers." Father Doherty said, then stopped with indecision as he looked at the baby supplies on the counter.

"Go on and take them." Mrs. Ferguson said firmly to Father Doherty, then noticed the wide-eyed skinny boy at the end of one of the aisles. "You need to get on back to your parents, so you all can leave."

"We got here at around five this morning. We're parked about a quarter mile away from here." Jody said as he started to tremble.

Father Doherty gathered up his bags, then said, "Whatever you're going to do, you need to start doing it."

"Nick, come on. We've got to go." Jody said as he held his hand out and urged his friend to take it.

Father Doherty watched as the obviously older boy, timidly took the younger boy's hand.

"Does your family have a CB radio in their car?" Father Doherty asked as he motioned for the boys to follow him out.

"Yeah. That's how they know if there's trouble up ahead of us." Jody said seriously.

"Listen, I think things are about to go crazy for a little while. If you want, you can call your family from our bus and we can make arrangements from there to..." Father Doherty said, then was interrupted by the public address speakers.

"ATTENTION! THERE ARE RADIO REPORTS OF MISSILES HEADED THIS WAY! YOU NEED TO MOVE OUT! TUNE TO CHANNEL FOURTEEN FOR UPDATES! ATTENTION! THERE ARE RADIO REPORTS OF MISSILES HEADED THIS WAY! GET MOVING!"

"Our bus is right there." Father Doherty said as he gestured in front of him.

Both boys scrambled ahead of him to the perceived safety of the bus.

* * * * *

"Father! They're saying that there are missiles coming this way!" Artimus said in a panic as Father Doherty stepped onto the bus.

"Yes. Let's get moving!" Father Doherty said as he rushed past the two boys who were frozen in place, just inside the door.

Artimus jumped into the driver's seat and pulled the door closed.

"We need to wait for Angela!" Emo called out as he scrambled back to his seat with Colton in his arms.

Father Doherty glanced out the window, then said, "Actually, it looks like we'll need to catch her."

Emo looked out the window and said, "She left without Colton?"

"Why aren't we moving? As long as we're sitting here, we're a target." Father Doherty said as he dumped the shopping bags onto the seat beside Emo.

"Here we go!" Artimus called in return, then the bus lurched as he let off the clutch a little too quickly.

Everyone fought to keep their balance as Artimus tried to get the bus onto the road and up to full speed.

Several of the other vehicles were racing past them, full blast.

"Art! Euan! You need to get on the radio! Our best chance for survival is going to be to know what's going on." Father Doherty said decisively.

Both boys were frozen until Father Doherty addressed them. As soon as they heard his words, they scrambled forward to take their places at the CB radio.

* * * * *

After a few tense minutes, listening to the engine race, Father Doherty finally calmed enough to notice that the two boys from the truck stop were still frozen, just inside the door of the bus.

He took a long, slow breath to calm himself, then walked forward to talk to the obviously frightened boys.

"Back off!" The younger boy growled as he moved to shield the older boy behind him.

"You boys are safe here. No one's going to hurt you. Please come back and have a seat and calm yourselves." Father Doherty said gently.

The older boy seemed to be having difficulty breathing, and Father Doherty recognized his condition as possibly being a panic attack.

"We'll sit down if you'll back off. Nick was hurt by some religious nutjobs and he'll totally freak out if you get anywhere near him." Jody said firmly.

Father Doherty looked beside him and quietly asked, "Trav, would you mind moving back a few seats so the boys can have the front seat?"

"Yeah. No probs." Trav said simply, then picked up his jacket and relocated two seats further back.

Father Doherty backed down the aisle a few seats, then said, "There you go. You can have the front seats all to yourselves and I'll stay back here."

The younger boy seemed to survey the bus, looking for threats, before he took his companion by the arm and led him to take the first seat by the window.

"What are your names?" Father Doherty asked gently.

"I'm Jody, he's Nick." The boy said cautiously, then asked, "Can we call our brothers on the radio and let them know that we're okay?"

"Yes. Of course. Euan, would you make an announcement that we have Jody and Nick on our bus and that they are safe?" Father Doherty asked hopefully.

"Yes, Father." Euan answered immediately.

The boy by the window, Nick, seemed to be huddled into himself and not entirely aware of his surroundings. But, in contrast, Jody seemed to be aware of every single thing that was going on around him.

Jody had his attention focused on Euan at the radio as he spoke, then he glanced at the boy beside Euan.

A spark of recognition lit up in Jody's eyes, and he suddenly said, "Hey! I know you!"

Art and Euan flashed Jody matching warning glares.

"Aren't you..." Jody trailed off when Art nodded his head.

Jody quickly looked around the bus to see if anyone else was following along with their conversation. Father Doherty had obviously been listening, but didn't seem to understand.

Jody turned his attention back to Art and mimed zipping his mouth shut.

Art flashed him a relieved smile, then turned his attention back to the radio.

Jody watched Art and Euan at the radio anxiously, then was relieved when Art motioned for him to move forward.

"Calm down. Here he is." Euan said into the microphone, then handed it to Jody.

"JD? Is that you?" Jody asked hopefully.

"Yeah. It's me. I'm glad you're alright. I thought the dads were gonna kill me cause I lost you." JD said with relief.

"Nick and I are fine. We're on the Lesbian Gravy tour bus." Jody said seriously.

"We're all fine back here, too. Well, at least we're fine now that we know you two are okay." JD said happily.

Jody could easily picture the expression on his brother's face as he said the words.

"Can I talk to Nick?" Another voice asked hopefully.

"Um, there's some, um, priests on this bus. Nick's kinda in his own world right now. In fact, I should get back to him before he freaks out." Jody said honestly.

"If it gets too bad, get them to let you off and let us know where you're going to be and we'll pick you up." Jorry said seriously.

"It's okay, Jorry. I'll keep him safe. I promise." Jody said earnestly.

"Thanks, Jody." Jorry said sincerely.

Jody handed the microphone back to Euan, then walked back and took the seat beside Nick.

* * * * *

"I don't know how hungry anyone is at this point, but since it looks like we won't be stopping for breakfast, I took the liberty of finishing the meal." Father Kinsey said into the silence that had fallen over the bus.

"Thank you. I'm sure that we'll all enjoy it." Father Doherty said gently.

"Father! Look!" Jim called out as he pointed out the window.

Father Doherty turned and felt his blood run cold as he saw two rockets streak by, overhead.

"Dear God, please, protect those who you've given into my charge. Amen." Father Doherty muttered as he tried to will his hands to stop shaking.

"Cover. Need to find cover. Enemy forces advancing..." A panicked voice was muttering.

Father Doherty turned to find that Harry was sweating profusely and had a wild look in his eyes.

After a moment to consider, Father Doherty moved back to stand in the aisle beside Harry's chair and quietly said, "Come back to us, Harry. You're not there anymore."

Harry grabbed Father Doherty forcefully by one shoulder and pulled him down as he hissed, "Stay down or they'll blow your fucking head off!"

"Harry. Listen to me. You're safe. What you're seeing happened a long time ago. Right now you're on a bus in Wyoming... and you're safe." Father Doherty said urgently.

Harry had a puzzled look in his eyes, then, as he looked at Father Doherty, there was a spark of recognition.

"You're not there anymore. You survived." Father Doherty assured him.

After a long, silent moment, Harry's eyes focused on his hand on Father Doherty's shoulder. As soon as what he was seeing registered, Harry quickly snatched his hand away and said, "I'm sorry, Father. Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean..."

"Shhh. You did nothing wrong." Father Doherty soothed.

"So sorry... I'm so sorry..." Harry said as he curled into himself.

The people surrounding them looked on as Father Doherty and Harry began a very intense whispered conversation.

Everyone did their best to look like they weren't paying attention.

When the hushed conversation was finally finished, Father Doherty stood and made the sign of the cross.

Father Doherty went quickly through a prayer of absolution before ending in latin, "...ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris et filii et spiritus sancti. Amen."

"Thank you, Father." Harry said in a voice that was equal parts wonder and relief.

Father Doherty smiled and gave Harry a comforting hand on his shoulder before returning to his seat.

* * * * *

"Where's Jingo?" Arthur asked suddenly.

Father Doherty looked around to confirm that she wasn't with them, then looked at Trav with question.

"Last time I saw her, she had her tits all hoisted up an spillin outta her top and she was wearin her 'Gonna get laid' perfume. I don't know where she's at, but I'm bettin she's doin alright." Trav said frankly.

"So you and Jingo aren't a romantic couple?" Father Kinsey asked cautiously.

Trav smiled at the question as he looked back at the priest, then quietly said, "Naw. She ain't got what I'm lookin for."

Father Doherty tried to restrain his smile as he nodded.

"Speakin of perfume, does anyone else smell that?" Trav asked as he looked around.

"I smell the breakfast cooking." Arthur said seriously.

"No, somethin else. Somethin that don't belong." Trav said cautiously.

"Yes, I smell it now. It smells like French Fries." Jim said confusedly.

Father Doherty sniffed the air, and could definitely detect what the others were smelling.

"I smell it, too. What is that?" He asked as he looked around.

After a moment, Jody turned in his seat and timidly said, "It's us, me and Nick. Jorry's car is bio-diesel powered and we've been using whatever we can get our hands on as fuel... including used deep fryer grease."

"It's okay, guys. It's not a bad smell, we were just curious as to where it was coming from." Father Doherty explained.

"Well, speaking of smells... I think someone just made a poopie." Emo said reluctantly.

"Do you need any help with that?" Father Doherty asked as he moved forward.

"If you can just put the diaper bag in your seat, I should be able to get it." Emo said seriously, then thought to ask, "What is all this stuff, anyway?"

"A few baby supplies." Father Doherty said simply as he got the diaper bag out and positioned it on top of the shopping bags from the truck stop.

"Father, Ferguson just called to tell you that everyone in the convoy has left the truck stop and is on the way. He also wanted to thank you again for taking his family with you." Art said from the radio.

"Please extend to him my best wishes for him and his wife in the days ahead." Father Doherty said solemnly as he watched Emo changing Colton's diaper, ready to jump in and offer assistance when it might be needed.

"Oh my God." Jim gasped and seemed to go pale.

"What is it, Jim?" Father Franklin asked cautiously.

"The missiles we saw, they hit Billings." Jim said numbly as he shifted the headphones off his ears.

Father Franklin walked forward and took the microphone out of Euan's hand.

As everyone else in the bus listened, Father Franklin called to be sure that Keith, Emmogene and Gunner were safe.

* * * * *

"Boys. Father Kinsey asked me to bring these to you." Greg said as he handed plates of food to Jody and Nick.

"Thank you, and tell him thanks for us." Jody said timidly as he accepted the food.

"Don't worry about it. He understands." Greg said with a smile, then hurried back down the aisle.

* * * * *

"Is there anything we can do to put your friend at ease?" Art asked Jody quietly.

"Nick doesn't do 'at ease' very well. At least, not anymore." Jody said regretfully.

"What happened to him, if I may ask?" Art asked gently.

"His mom found out that he's gay, so she sent him away to some religious guys who said that they could 'fix' him." Jody said as he glanced at Nick with concern.

"What did they do to him?" Art asked as he followed Jody's gaze.

"I don't know. He won't talk about it. I mean, we know that they starved him and wouldn't let him sleep, but I'm sure they did worse than that." Jody said frankly.

Art slowly nodded, then gently said, "Let me know if there is anything that I can do for him."

"If I think of anything, I'll let you know." Jody responded, then turned his worried gaze back to his friend.

* * * * *

"Floor it, Collin. We need to catch up to them." Jorry implored.

"It's your car, Jorry. So if you want me to pull over and let you drive, just say the word." Collin said with uncharacteristic annoyance.

"No. That'll just throw us farther behind, and with the way this convoy is moving, it's going to take everything we've got to keep up." Christian said from Collin's side.

"Do you think they're really alright, I mean on a tour bus for a band called 'Lesbian Gravy'?" JD asked anxiously.

"With priests." Jorry added in a bewildered tone, temporarily broken out of his escalating panic.

"Haven't you been paying attention to the CB?" Christian asked into the back seat.

"Yeah... well, no. Not really." Jorry finally admitted.

"The 'Lesbian Gravy' tour bus is running this whole thing. That's who's deciding where we're all going." Christian said frankly.

After a moment, JD hesitantly asked, "That English kid on the radio is the leader?"

"No. He's the radio guy on their bus. From what I've been able to piece together in the radio chatter, there's a priest on that bus who's calling the shots for the whole convoy." Collin answered as he kept most of his focus on driving.

"Yeah. And I heard last night, before we joined up with them, that whenever the convoy stops, the priest walks around handing out food and warm clothes to anyone who needs it." Christian said into the back seat.

"There were also people saying that he got some people new cars and others CB radios, so that no one would be left behind." Collin said seriously.

"And that's who Jody's with right now?" JD asked cautiously.

"Yes. And from the sound of it, they're probably in the safest, best place that they could possibly be." Christian said with a reassuring smile into the back seat.

"I hope Jody's not scared." JD said in a small, worried voice.

Christian chuckled, then said, "Think about what you just heard on the radio, JD. Jody's not thinking about being scared right now, he's got all his attention focused on protecting Nick."

JD slowly nodded as he replayed his conversation with his brother over in his mind.

"Hang on!" Collin called out, then jumped into an opening in the next lane, barely big enough for their SUV to fit into.

As Jorry pulled himself back into his seat, he asked, "What was that all about?"

"You wanted us to catch up to the lead bus, so I'm doing what I can to make that happen." Collin said unrepentantly.

"Yeah. Just because we probably won't be able to do it, doesn't mean that we're going to stop trying." Christian said with a reassuring smile at his distant cousin.

"Thanks, guys." Jorry said sincerely.

"Yeah. Thanks." JD offered, but still seemed to be carrying a heavy burden of worry.

* * * * *

"Things seem to have calmed down, for a bit. Is there anything you need to be more comfortable?" Art asked Jody quietly.

"Nick's a basket case right now. I'm not sure he even knows where he is." Jody said frankly.

"Just give him time to work things out in his head. You're both in a safe place." Art said gently.

Jody and Art were both surprised to see Nick turn his head away from the window and look Art in the eyes.

"Nick, listen to me. I have been traveling on this bus, with these people, for two days now. They've not done a single thing to harm me in any way. They've given me food and shelter and even protection when I didn't feel safe." Art said slowly, trying to see any sign that Nick was understanding his words.

Finally, Nick nodded slightly.

Art smiled at the action, then continued, "Jody tells me that you were harmed by some religious people. I don't know if it will help you to know this, but I hope that it will. The priests we have on the bus with us aren't really priests anymore. They resigned from the priesthood when they were ordered to throw the people they protect, out of their mission and lock the doors behind them. Instead, they arranged for a bus to take us someplace where we could be safe. We call them 'father' out of respect, but they are just men... good men, who gave up everything they had to protect people less fortunate than themselves."

"They're not priests anymore?" Nick asked cautiously.

"No. They still dress that way, I suppose because it's expected of them... or maybe they don't have any other clothes with them. I don't really know. But I was there when it happened. They've resigned and are doing all of this for our sake." Art said gently.

"Do they preach at you?" Nick asked thoughtfully.

"No. Never. The most any of them has done is to say a prayer, and even then, it was only for a moment." Art said seriously.

Nick seemed to be lost in thought, then got a curious look as he started smacking his lips.

"Did I just eat something?" Nick asked curiously, directing his question mostly at Jody.

"Yeah. They gave us some food and you ate it while you were all zombied out." Jody said with a smile at his friend.

Nick had a puzzled look on his face as he looked around.

"You were out of it for a few minutes, but it's okay. You're safe." Jody assured him.

"What happened?" Nick asked in confusion.

"We heard that some missiles were spotted, headed our way. Do you remember that?" Jody asked cautiously.

"Sort of." Nick said thoughtfully.

"Well, we were so far away from the SUV, and you were so freaked, that I just dragged you onto this bus, so we could get out of there. I figured that once we were safe, we could worry about what to do next." Jody said frankly.

"Where's Jorry? Is he alright? He's gonna have a cow!" Nick said anxiously.

"Jorry's fine. I talked to him on the CB radio, and he knows that you're safe." Jody said gently.

Nick stared at nothing for a moment, lost in his thoughts, then looked at Jody and quietly said, "I'm sorry. I'm older. I should be the one taking care of you."

Jody chuckled, then said, "No. Taking care of me is JD's job, just like taking care of you is Jorry's job. But you and me, we take care of each other."

Nick seemed to be pondering that for a moment, until he finally nodded his agreement.

"Now that you're more alert, is there anything that you would like? Food or a drink, maybe?" Art asked with a smile.

"Who are you?" Nick asked cautiously.

"I am Art, and my friend, Euan, is over there, at the CB radio." Art said pleasantly.

"Friend?" Nick asked slowly.

"Friend." Art said simply.

Nick nodded, then thought for a moment before timidly asking, "If it's not too much trouble, and if you've got it to spare, could I have some more food? I know that I ate something not too long ago, but I don't remember eating it, and I'm still feeling hungry.

Art looked toward the back of the bus, then smiled as he said, "That won't be any problem. Father Kinsey is still in the kitchen area, so I'm sure that he'll be happy to fix you something."

"Thank you." Nick said with surprise at Art's friendly demeanor.

"Are you really okay, now?" Jody asked gently.

"Yeah. I think so. Although my therapist would probably have a joygasm if she found out about this." Nick said with a weary chuckle.

"Why is that?" Jody asked curiously.

"She always gets real excited when I'm having problems, she's all like 'Oh boy! I've finally got something to do!'." Nick said with a roll of his eyes.

"So she'd be depressed if you got better?" Jody asked cautiously.

Nick thought about it for a moment, then said, "Yeah. I guess so. Maybe knowing that will give me the motivation to really try."

Jody giggled, then said, "You're just like Jorry."

Nick looked at Jody with surprise, then quietly said, "Thank you. No one's said that about me since..."

"You're getting better." Jody said simply.

"How can you say that after I just went all catatonic for who knows how long?" Nick asked desperately.

"Nick. Remember what JD and I have been through. This is what my dads call a 'bump' on the road to recovery. It doesn't always look like it, but it means that you're getting better." Jody said firmly.

Nick nodded slowly, then thought to ask, "How are you doing?"

Jody chuckled, then said, "I'm fine. Now that you're doing better and I know that JD isn't worrying about me. I'm really okay."

"Except for the rocket attack." Nick said in nearly a whisper.

"I overheard them say that the rockets we saw ended up hitting Billings, Montana." Jody said quietly.

"You actually saw the rockets?" Nick asked cautiously.

"Yeah, they flew right over us. Everyone saw them." Jody said simply.

"Aren't you freaked out?" Nick asked somewhat hysterically.

"Yeah. But what more can we do?" Jody asked as a little of the concern that he was feeling could be seen in his eyes.

Nick noticed that the bus seemed to be travelling at an unusually high speed.

As he looked outside, he could see other vehicles jockeying for position... basically, fleeing for their lives.

"It'll be okay. We're with good people and our brothers are just a radio call away." Jody said comfortingly.

"But what if we get attacked? What if whoever is shooting those missiles points one at us?" Nick asked in a trembling voice.

"Then, we deal with it... unless we die. Then we don't." Jody said frankly.

"How can you be so calm about this?" Nick asked disbelievingly, but was strangely reassured by Jody's calm facade.

"Trust me, I'm just as freaked as you are. I guess I'm this way because of what JD taught me about being afraid." Jody said introspectively.

"What's that?" Nick asked anxiously.

"To face it." Jody said simply.

Nick looked down as he realized that he had done just the opposite.

"No. I'm not saying that that's what you should have done. I'm saying that ever since I can remember, JD's been telling me to face my problems head on. Now, it's a habit. It's not something I decide, it's just become part of who I am." Jody said frankly.

"I think JD taught you something really good." Nick said quietly.

"I could teach it to you, too." Jody said with an encouraging smile.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked cautiously.

"Well, you're afraid of priests. We're on a bus with priests... what do you say?" Jody asked hopefully.

"I don't think I'm ready." Nick said anxiously.

"Well, DUH! That's the whole point. You can't only do things when they feel safe or wait until you feel like you're ready. You just put on your big boy pants and make yourself get up and do it. Will you be afraid? Yes. Will you freak out and go all catatonic on me again? Maybe. But if you want to get better, you've got to get used to taking some risks." Jody said firmly.

"I'm sorry, Jody. I can't." Nick said in defeat.

"Maybe after you eat. It's easier to be brave on a full stomach." Jody said seriously.

"It is?" Nick asked curiously.

"It is for me." Jody said with a shrug, then smiled as Art walked up beside them and handed Nick a plate.

* * * * *

Father Doherty sat next to Jim and motioned for him to take off his headphones.

"How bad is it, Jim?" Father Doherty asked quietly.

"Cheyenne, Wyoming was hit first, then Billings, Montana. That's all I've heard about so far, but that doesn't mean much. We're lucky to have gotten as much news as we have." Jim said honestly.

"Thank you for keeping track of the news for us. I wanted to be sure that I told you before I got distracted with something else, how much I appreciate your contribution to this massive undertaking." Father Doherty said quietly.

"Thank you, Father." Jim said in surprise, then quickly recovered and added, "And I saw what you did for Harry. I don't think any of us will ever be able to thank you enough for all that you do. I don't want to imagine what we'd be going through right now if it weren't for you."

Father Doherty timidly smiled, then quietly admitted, "All that I've done is God's will, to the best of my understanding. It is no different from being in my mission and comforting a grieving mother or counselling a distraught youth. I simply look at each thing as it's presented to me and do my best to react in a way that is consistent with the Holy teachings."

"It sounds so simple when you put it that way." Jim said thoughtfully.

"Yes. It is usually simple, but it's not always easy. I think that's the part that trips people up." Father Doherty said with a smile.

Jim chuckled, then said, "You're probably right."

"I'll let you get back to it. Thank you, again." Father Doherty said as he stood.

"Thank you, too, Father."

* * * * *

Colton seemed to be unusually agitated. As much as Emo tried to soothe him, nothing seemed to be working.

Finally, Colton let out a lusty cry that didn't show any sign of letting up soon.

"Shh. Your mama will be back soon. You're okay. It's safe here and I'll take care of you." Emo crooned.

Colton was having none of it. If anything, his cries became even louder and more agitated.

Father Doherty was about to move forward, but suddenly stopped.

"She's hungry."

Emo looked up suddenly and saw the older of the two boys from the truck stop, standing beside him.

Father Doherty watched the timid boy beside Emo, then noticed that the younger boy was watching the development with as much interest as he was. After another moment, Father Doherty got up from his seat and walked to the back of the bus.

"I used to take care of my little sister a lot. That's a hungry cry." Nick said frankly.

"But I fed him not too long ago." Emo said as he looked at Colton with concern.

"Babies get hungry on their schedule, not yours." Nick said frankly, then put out his hands, offering to take the baby.

"I guess I didn't give him a full bottle. That was just all I had left. Now, we're all out of milk and his mother is in a car, probably somewhere up ahead of us." Emo said anxiously, then carefully transferred Colton into Nick's waiting arms.

"I bet that if we look around, we can probably come up with something to get him by." Nick said assuringly.

Emo watched as Nick slightly bounced the fussing baby and made shushing sounds.

It took a moment for Colton to decide whether he liked that or not. But, finally, he stopped his crying, although he didn't look to be entirely happy.

"You're really good with him." Emo said gently.

"I got a lot of practice." Nick said with a distant smile.

"Father Kinsey is the one doing most of the cooking. If you tell him what you need, he should be able to tell you if we've got it." Emo said seriously.

"Um..." Nick said nervously as he looked to the back of the bus, where he could see two of the three priests sitting. One was talking to a black man who, from all appearances, seemed to be a street punk. The other was sitting quietly and looking out the window, and seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

Emo waited, not understanding Nick's hesitance.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Emo turned and did a classic double take when he saw Father Doherty, dressed in blue jeans and a navy blue plaid button up shirt.

Nick seemed to be frozen in place, so Emo answered for him. "Colton's hungry and we're all out of milk. This guy was just saying that we could probably come up with something if we looked through the stuff in the kitchen."

A hand placed on Nick's shoulder nearly made him jump out of his skin.

"I'm here. Just remember what I told you." Jody said gently.

Nick closed his eyes and took in a long, slow breath before saying, "I need to face it."

"Right." Jody whispered.

When Father Doherty could see that Nick had calmed down a little, he quietly said, "While I was at the truck stop, this morning, I picked up a few baby supplies for Colton, just in case they were needed. One of the things that I bought was some infant formula. I can't be sure that Colton will accept it, but it's the brand that most of the new mothers who stayed at our mission used."

As Father Doherty stepped forward, Nick automatically took a step away.

Father Doherty looked Nick in the eyes and quietly said, "We haven't been formally introduced. I've heard that your name is Nick. My name is Brian Doherty, you may call me Brian."

Nick couldn't seem to find his voice, so he dumbly nodded.

Father Doherty smiled at the reaction, then reached down to the bags that were still in the seat beside Emo and started going through them.

"Here we go. I hope that Colton will like this." Father Doherty said with a smile as he took a can of powdered formula from one of the bags.

"Are we going to need milk for that?" Emo asked with concern.

"No, you mix it with water." Nick answered nervously.

"That's right. And if you're ever in doubt, there are step by step instructions on the side of the can." Father Doherty added with a smile.

"If you want to take him, I can fix the formula." Nick offered cautiously.

"Give me just a moment to talk to Father Kinsey and Father Franklin. I want to let them know not to approach you." Father Doherty said before hurrying back.

"Thanks." Nick muttered nervously, then realized that Emo was waiting to take Colton back from him.

Nick glanced back in the bus to find Father Doherty talking quietly with one of the other priests before gently transferring the baby into Emo's waiting arms.

Colton cooed, then blew a raspberry.

"I missed you, too." Emo chuckled.

Colton started making sucking sounds as his look became serious.

"I know you're hungry. Hang on for just a few more minutes." Emo said gently.

"Come on, Nick. Tell me what to do and I'll help you." Jody whispered, and gently guided Nick to walk further back into the bus.

As Nick nervously walked, he noticed that Father Kinsey and Father Franklin were purposefully avoiding making eye contact with him as he walked by.

"You're doing great, Nick." Jody said when they arrived in the kitchen area.

"Thanks. I never would have thought that I could do even this much." Nick said honestly.

"You're doing fine. And if anything happens, I'm right here. I've got your back." Jody assured him.

"I know. That's the only reason I can do this." Nick quietly admitted.

"Don't go pinning your success on me. I may be helping, but you're the one who made yourself do it, even though you were afraid." Jody said seriously.

"I couldn't have done it without you." Nick said as he met Jody's serious gaze.

"If you keep telling yourself that, you'll begin to believe it. But that's enough talk. There's a hungry baby waiting on you." Jody said, finishing with a smile.

"Right."

* * * * *

"Father, Shoe Fly just contacted us. He and his son have stopped to help some motorists who began having car trouble. He seems to think that he can repair their vehicle in short order and said that regardless, they will catch up to us later." Art said seriously.

"Thank you, Art. Please help me to remember to check back with him. If they don't catch up, we'll be sure to send someone back." Father Doherty said thoughtfully, then glanced back to the kitchen area and quietly said, "That young man, Nick, is obviously terrified by priests, that's why I'm dressed like this. Would you please address me as Brian when we're in his presence? It looks like it's taking every last bit of his self control for him to be within five feet of me. I'd rather not give him another reminder to make him fear me."

"Yes. I'll be sure to tell Euan, as well." Art said with an understanding smile.

"Thank you, Art. I don't remember if I've told you, but I appreciate everything you and Euan are doing. You're playing a pivotal role in helping hundreds of people. Many times, people look back on things like this and have regrets, wishing they'd done more. You two are going to be able to look back on this and be very proud of what you've done." Father Doherty said sincerely.

"Thank you, Father." Art said warmly, then walked back to the front.

* * * * *

"This should be just right." Nick said as he handed the prepared bottle to Emo.

Colton nearly lunged for the nipple.

"He knows what that's for." Emo chuckled.

"Watch out, he's gulping. You need to burp him, then let him have more." Nick said carefully.

Emo turned Colton onto his belly, then started to rub his back as he slowly said, "He just got a little excited. He's a good baby, he'll figure it out."

"Yes. He is a really good baby. If you would've taken the bottle away from my sister like that, she would have screamed and howled and had a full-out tantrum." Nick said frankly.

"Is that where you learned how to take care of babies?" Father Doherty asked gently.

Nick jolted at the sound of his voice and looked to see that Jody was close by before responding, "Yeah. She was the loudest, fussiest, most pig headed baby anyone ever saw. For the first three years of her life, I think all Palin ever did was cry."

"Palin? That's an odd name." Emo said with a wince, then immediately looked at Nick apologetically, instantly regretting his words.

"Yeah. Palin Ayn. It could be worse, my first name is really Nixon." Nick said with a weary look.

"Ouch! Are your parents assholes, or what?" Emo asked as he sat Colton up and gave him his bottle again.

"Yeah. Pretty much." Nick said simply.

"They really are." Jody interjected.

"It's kinda funny. Jorry and I used to hate being stuck taking care of her. Of course, our mom would dump her on us anytime she wanted, which was most of the time. Now, I'm finally away from there, and I miss her... Palin, that is. Not my mom. She can go straight to hell." Nick said frankly, then paled when he remembered who he was talking to.

"It's fine." Father Doherty said gently, and remained very still, so as not to spook the nervous boy.

"Nick's mom has forbidden him to have any contact with his sister. Jorry, too. She cut them off completely." Jody said quietly, trying to draw the focus from Nick's anxious state.

"How could any mother do that?" Emo asked rhetorically.

"She thinks that I'll corrupt Palin." Nick said regretfully.

"What's going on?"

Everyone turned to see Ahmid walking up from the back of the bus.

"How are you feeling, Ahmid?" Father Franklin asked as he quickly stood and walked to his side.

"I'm feeling so much better, I can't even tell you." Ahmid said with a smile.

"I bet you're hungry. I'll have something ready for you in just a minute." Father Kinsey said as he hurried to the kitchen area.

"I'll help you." Trav volunteered.

"Do you think it'd be alright if I sat out here? I'm feeling a lot better and I'm tired of laying down." Ahmid said honestly.

"Yes. But if you start feeling tired, be sure that you go back to bed right away. We don't want you overdoing it." Father Franklin said as he guided Ahmid to sit in a chair near the kitchen area.

"What happened to him?" Jody asked Father Doherty curiously.

"That's Ahmid. He was shot, back in Chicago. But he's only just had the bullet removed since he's been here, on the bus with us." Father Doherty said honestly.

Nick looked around at all the people, then quietly said, "I'm sorry. All I've been doing is thinking about myself and being afraid. I'm sure that there's a lot more important stuff that you need to be dealing with."

"Everything that can be done, is already being done. You haven't caused anyone any trouble at all." Father Doherty assured him.

Nick appeared to be fighting within himself to accept Father Doherty's words.

"Artimus is driving. Art and Euan are keeping track of the convoy on the CB radio. Jim is keeping track of the outside world on the AM-FM radio. Emo is taking care of Colton. Father Kinsey is cooking. And everyone else is doing their best to help and reassure each other. You haven't caused a problem for anyone. In fact, you helped us out by preparing the formula for Colton." Father Doherty said seriously.

Emo once again had Colton turned on his stomach and was gently rubbing his back.

Nick watched for a moment, then his eyebrows went up when Colton let out a lusty burp, worthy of a baby twice his size.

"That means, 'Thank You'." Emo said with a smile at Nick.

"Just let me know when he's hungry again and I'll make him some more." Nick said before turning to go back to his seat.

"Thank you, again, for helping." Father Doherty said as Nick and Jody returned to their seats.

* * * * *

"I'm so proud of you." Jody said with a grand smile.

"There were a few times that I thought I was going to lose it." Nick admitted reluctantly.

"But you didn't lose it. You faced it. And now you're stronger for it." Jody said seriously.

"I still feel afraid and I don't want to be around priests or anyone religious." Nick said warily.

"Well, neither do I." Jody said honestly, then added, "But now you know that you can. Mr. Cooper used to talk to me and JD a lot about stuff like this. One of the things he used to say is that fear isn't a bad thing. It helps to protect you from dangerous stuff. It's when your fears are unreasonable, that they become a problem. When I was little, I was afraid of just about everything. I would've been happy to stay in a cardboard box and never ever come out of it. But JD helped me to start facing my fears. And Mr. Cooper made me stop and look at my fears and decide which ones were reasonable and which ones I should try to overcome."

"Jorry and I have been going to therapists for years, and it was all just blah, blah, blah. The only good thing we ever got out of it was that it was nice to have someone to talk to about things, sometimes." Nick said quietly.

"Well, I'm your therapist now and I'm telling you that you just took a really big step in the right direction. Now that you've done that, you can sit back, feel good about it, and let it sink in that you really talked to a priest without freaking out." Jody said proudly.

"Thanks, Jody. I won't say that I couldn't have done it without you, cause that'll piss you off. But I know that it was a lot easier and went a lot smoother because you were with me." Nick said sincerely.

"I'm glad I could help." Jody said shyly, then stopped fighting the urge to hug his older friend.

* * * * *

"Do you mind if I talk with you for a minute?" Emo asked cautiously, holding Colton cradled in his arms.

"Sure. No problem." Jody said easily.

"I just wanted to say thanks for fixing Colton's food." Emo said quietly.

"It was nice to be able to help." Nick said with a smile.

"I was thinking, that since you know what you're doing, that maybe you could give me some ideas of what to do for Colt. I mean, maybe I won't need it, his mom might come back... but... well, when everything happened and we all took off, Angela took off without Colton." Emo said anxiously.

"His mother left without him?" Jody asked with surprise.

"Yeah. I can't believe she did that. Doesn't she know that Colton needs her?" Emo said sadly.

"If you ever met my mom, you'd know that a mother leaving isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes it's what's best." Nick said quietly.

"Yeah. I don't know if anything would've been different at all if my mom had left us. My brother was the only thing like a parent that I ever really had." Emo said thoughtfully.

"So you know how it is. What Colton needs is someone who loves him and someone who will put his needs first. It sounds like his mother isn't the person who'll do that for him. I think maybe you are." Nick said frankly.

"I don't know. I mean, if she doesn't come back and get him, of course I'll take care of him. But doesn't he need his mother?" Emo asked, at war within himself.

"I don't know about that. Me and my brother and sister would've been a whole lot better off if our mother wasn't ever a part of our lives. She's never done anything positive for us." Nick said darkly.

"I don't remember my mother. So I can't really say anything about that. But what I do know is that since I started living with my dads and my brother, that my life has been great. I've never wanted or needed a mom. I think that whether Colton's mom comes back or not, you'll see that he's going to be fine." Jody said thoughtfully.

"But I don't know what to do for him." Emo said anxiously.

"You'll have help. Everyone needs help with a new baby." Nick said seriously.

"Yeah. Nick'll be all kinds of help, since he knows stuff. And I can help too, if you'll tell me what I need to do." Jody said happily.

"We'll have to see what happens with Angela. But if Colton ends up needing me, full-time. I think I'll do it." Emo said as he smiled at the sleeping baby in his arms.

"We'll be there for you as much as we can. I don't know what's going to happen when we get where we're going, but we'll find a way to keep in touch with you and help you out." Jody said seriously.

"Yeah. When things settle down, I'd really like to do like I used to do with Palin and just sit and read to Colton... I'll read him the Benny Bear books." Nick said with a distant smile.

Jody flashed a frown at his older friend.

Emo looked back and forth between them, then cautiously said, "That sounds nice."

Nick was looking at Jody expectantly.

Emo followed his gaze and waited for whatever Nick was wanting him to say.

"Have you ever heard of the Benny Bear books?" Jody reluctantly asked.

"Yeah. I haven't read them or anything, but I've heard of them." Emo said cautiously.

"I wrote them." Jody said simply.

"Seriously?" Emo asked with surprise.

"He not only wrote the books, but he drew the pictures and designed the cover art." Nick said with a grand smile.

"But aren't there like a dozen of those books? You really wrote them all?" Emo asked in wonder.

"I've written twelve, but only ten have been published. I have one coming out in a few weeks, in time for Christmas. The next one after that is scheduled for a late spring release." Jody said seriously.

"I can't believe that someone your age could do something like that." Emo smiled.

"My dad and my brother are both writers, so it wasn't that much." Jody said shyly.

"Except that your books have sold more than your dad's and your brother's combined." Nick said proudly.

"They're just kids books. The stuff that my dad and JD write is serious. Mine's just fun." Jody said timidly.

"Kids all over the world read your books. How many languages are your books in, now?" Nick asked with a grin.

"Ten, I think." Jody said shyly.

"Weren't the religious nutjobs all upset about your books a couple of years ago?" Emo asked curiously.

"Yeah. At the end of my fourth book, Benny Bear said something about going home to his dads. It was just one sentence, but you'd think from the way people reacted to it that I'd written a book about how to have gay sex, complete with diagrams." Jody said with a reluctant smile.

"Yeah. The video preachers were getting all purple in the face over it." Nick said with a nod.

"My publisher wanted me to change that line, but I refused. My dad made sure that I'd have final say about any edits. If they didn't do what I said, I'd be able to cancel my contract and go to another publisher." Jody said seriously.

"The funny thing is, that Jody's books started selling like crazy after that." Nick said warmly.

"They said that my book sales more than doubled." Jody said frankly, then quietly added, "Maybe it was the nutjobs buying my books so they could burn them."

"The reason your books sold so much is because people love them. Just about every library and daycare in the country has one or more complete sets of your books. And just about any parent with a kid under the age of six probably has at least one of them." Nick said firmly.

"I guess. It's just that I know how hard my brother and my dad work on their books. They'll sometimes work for months on a book, and when it's finally done and it gets published, that's it. No one's telling them how good they did. The most they'll get is someone asking when the next book is coming out." Jody said quietly, then looked Emo in the eyes and said, "All I do is tell a little story, the kind of story that I'd like for someone to tell to me. I just write something that makes me feel good."

"You make other people feel good, too. Palin would make me read them over and over to her, because they made her happy. That's why people buy your books and share them with their kids." Nick said sincerely.

"I think, when Colton's ready, it'd be great if we could share some of your stories with him." Emo said gently.

"I think Colton's ready, now. Even if he can't understand the words, I'm sure that he'll appreciate someone talking to him and paying attention to him." Jody said with a smile at the baby.

"Do you want to, now?" Emo asked cautiously.

Jody smiled and said, "Sure."

* * * * *

"Father! I mean Brian. I mean... Just, come here! You're needed on the radio!" Euan said excitedly.

"Why? Is there a problem? Is something wrong?" Father Doherty asked as he hurried to stand.

"It's the first checkpoint for Kettle Falls! They want to talk to you! We're almost there!" Euan said joyfully.

Father Doherty hurried up the aisle, his spirits feeling substantially raised.

Chapter 24: Dukes & Kings

"Where's your backpack?"

"By the front door." The delicate eight year old girl answered hesitantly.

"No, not your school backpack; the one you always take when we go to the park." Her twelve year old brother said in a rush as he hurried past her.

"It's in my closet." She said, even more slowly, concerned by his panicked movements.

"Get it!" He snapped as he reached under her bed.

"Are we going to the park?"

"Yeah. Something like that. Go get your backpack." He said as he pulled a suitcase from under the bed, then hurried to her dresser.

"What are you doing with my clothes? Are we going somewhere?" She asked fearfully, just beginning to understand that something was wrong.

"Yeah. Listen, Vina, you know how we weren't allowed to go to school today because it wasn't safe?" Her brother asked as he stopped to look her in the eyes.

"Yes..."

"Some people Reuben knows are worried that if we stay here, it might not keep on being safe for us. Reuben's friends, they got us a way out. But we have to get our stuff packed and be ready to go. The buses ain't gonna wait on us." He said firmly, but his confidence somehow reassured her.

"What about momma?" She timidly asked.

"Reuben talked to her before the phones went down, and she knows that we're all safe. She's safe, too. Those rich people she works for aren't going to let anything happen to her. Now we need to stop talking and finish packing. The bus is going to be here any time." Her brother said before returning to packing.

"What about Reuben? Where is he?"

"He said he'll be here. But if he's not, we're supposed to go without him. He'll meet us when we get there." He said as he rushed to her closet.

"Get where? Where are we going?"

"To some place I've never heard of before. He said it's called Kettle Falls." the boy said as he stuffed hanging clothes into the suitcase.

"It sounds like it'll be noisy there." Vina said seriously.

"Why do you think that?"

"You know how noisy it is when a kettle falls."

"Grab your backpack and let's go."

* * * * *

"Name?" The young man asked firmly.

"Cristal. (kree-STAHL)" The woman said haughtily.

"Sure it is." The young man said flatly, then continued, "Listen, tell me your fuckin name or git yer ass outta here. I ain't got time ta be fuckin wit'cha.'

"Theresa Jones." The woman reluctantly admitted.

After a moment to look at the paper in his hand, he finally said, "Yeah. You're on the list. You got a gun?"

"No." She answered, obviously surprised by the question.

"Girl, what's wrong wit'chew? Ain't nobody should be out here witout a gun."

"I don't believe in them." She said in a somewhat belligerent tone.

"Git yer ass on the bus, you stupid bitch. I already had enough of you."

"You can't talk to me like that!"

"You ain't got a gun and I do. So I can talk to you however I want. Now git yer ass on the bus. Who's next?" The man asked as he looked past her.

"I'm Richard Vasquez and this is my sister Edovina." The hispanic boy said in a clear, firm voice.

"Yeah, you're on the list. I'm guessin' you ain't got a gun, neither." The man said as he looked up from his paper.

"I got my brother's 9mm." The boy said frankly.

"You know how to shoot it?" The man asked with a grin.

"Talk to my sister like you just talked to that woman and you'll find out." Richard said seriously as he looked the man in the eyes.

The man smiled with delight, then asked, "Vasquez? You related to Reuben?"

"I'm his brother." Richard said confidently.

"You sure are! " the man laughed, then said, "Git on tha bus, an' stick close to tha front. Some a these folks don't know how ta act right. Maybe you can help me show 'em what's expected before we gets to where we's goin'."

"Come on, Vina." Richard said to his sister, then hurried onto the bus.

The man watched the kids get on the bus, then turned to the next person in line and said,"Next!"

* * * * *

"Richard, listen up. When we stop, we's gonna be takin' on some folks tha boss wants ta go wit us. Don't know why he wants us bringin' some rich bitches from tha snooty part 'a town, but that's his call. Anyways, while we's stopped, I'm gonna be countin' on you ta watch my back. You got it?" The man asked as he took his seat.

"Are you expecting these guys to try something?" Richard asked with concern.

"Not tha guys tha boss sent us for. But if they's others... it could get ugly. This trap's already been sprung, but most'a these people's just startin' ta figure out that they's stuck in it."

"I got you covered... what's your name?" Richard thought to ask.

"Name's Ysidro, but my buds calls me EZ."

"You can count on me, EZ."

* * * * *

The large passenger bus slowly made it's way across town, sometimes zigzagging through side streets, sometimes driving down narrow alleys, almost too narrow to fit through. Everyone was quiet, listening to the driver talk on the radio, to try and get them across town safely.

"All-a yous look out tha window. Ya needs ta see this." EZ called back into the bus.

No one knew what they were supposed to be looking at, but as they entered an intersection, no one could look away.

There were dozens of fighters in the street, clouds of smoke or gas billowing from several different directions and a full scale battle going on in the brief instant that the bus crossed through the intersection.

"Them peoples out there, they's keepin them guv'mint and state police assholes busy, so's we can get through here. Remember that! You's here and safe on this bus 'cause them people thought you was worth it. They put thur lives on the line to give you a way out. If yous ever wants ta bitch and moan, think 'bout what you juss saw, first. You's here cause a them and what they gave up for yas."

Richard could tell that Vina didn't understand what was going on, but he knew. He fought back tears as he realized that people like his brother were sacrificing their own safety and well-being to give the people on the bus, people like him and Vina, a way out.

* * * * *

Finally, the bus came to a stop in a very nice part of town. EZ walked forward and looked around carefully before motioning for the driver to open the door.

"Name?" EZ asked the man who nervously approached the bus.

"Councilman Becker." The man said anxiously as he looked around.

"Right. You's the one we's here fer. You got's some kids or sumthin'?" EZ asked as he looked at his list again.

Councilman Becker motioned to the house behind him. A woman and two children rushed out of the house, slamming the door closed behind them, carrying luggage, all of it matching.

"Who's dis wit'cha?"

"My wife, Susan and our children, Johnny and Wendy."

The woman and children looked as though they might have stepped out of a 1950's TV show.

"Damn! In my whole life, I ain't never met no white people, white as y'all. Never mind that now. Git on tha bus. Boss says that we needs ta be waitin' fer a signal ta leave. We's gonna have plenty a time ta talk once we git on tha road."

The bus already had over thirty people on it and was nearly full. The family hurried onto the bus, taking the row of seats just behind Vina and Richard.

* * * * *

"Hi! I'm Vina. What's your name?" She asked as she knelt on her seat, talking to the boy behind her.

"Johnny." The boy answered timidly.

"Ricardo, can Johnny sit up here with me, so we can play?" Vina asked her brother hopefully.

"Sure. As long as his folks don't mind." Richard said as he kept the majority of his attention focused outside the bus, watching for trouble.

"Can Johnny sit with me so we can play?" Vina asked hopefully to the people in the seat behind hers.

"I suppose. Just don't be too loud." Councilman Becker said cautiously as he looked over Vina and her brother appraisingly.

"Move over, Ricardo!" Vina commanded.

Richard immediately got up and moved across the aisle as Johnny timidly stepped forward and took his vacated seat.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Richard asked the young man by the window.

"That's fine. Go ahead." The young man said distractedly.

"I'm Richard."

"Gino."

The young man seemed nice enough, but appeared to have a lot on his mind, so Richard took his seat and left him to his thoughts.

* * * * *

Richard looked around and felt the anxiety rising up within him, keeping him alert and ready to react at a moment's notice.

Occasionally, he would glance at his sister to see that she and Johnny were playing quietly with the dolls that Vina carried in her backpack.

Suddenly, Ysidro called from the front, "Richard, come on up here."

Although he was startled to be called, Richard hurried to stand beside the driver with Ysidro.

"I just got a call. Your brother, Reuben, was checkin' ta see that yous made it and wanted y'all ta know that he's on another bus. He said he'll git wit'cha once we's outta tha city and we can stop." Ysidro said seriously.

"Thanks. I was worried about him." Richard said in a gust of relief.

"Three-five, Six-two. Run four. Go!" A voice called over the radio.

"That's us. Get in your seat, and have your gun ready." Ysidro said as he dropped back to the seat directly behind the driver.

Richard hurried back to his seat as the bus seemed to be pushing for maximum acceleration. He took the handgun out of the front pouch of his backpack and quickly inspected it to be sure that it was ready to use.

The sound of the bus's engine prevented Richard from hearing what was being said on the radio, but he could hear the commanding voice calling out some sort of instructions.

"Y'all, hang on!" Ysidro called in a panicked voice.

Richard looked ahead and could see several cars and some two or three hundred people rushing a barricade.

Without thinking, Richard tucked his gun back into the backpack and moved across the aisle. Without a word, he quickly draped himself across Vina and Johnny, much to their surprise.

"What's wrong?" Vina asked as she looked around.

"Just hang on. I don't want you to get knocked out of your seat." Richard said as he made sure that he had a firm hold on the seat back.

If Richard hadn't been prepared for it, the sudden jolt of them running over something (or someone) could have easily pitched Vina and Johnny out of their seats. But since he was holding on to them, they stayed mostly in place.

Suddenly, Richard felt a weight land on his back.

Without releasing his hold, he looked back to find that Wendy had been ejected from her seat and had landed on top of him.

"Are you alright?" Richard asked with some concern.

"I'm scared." Wendy said in a whisper. Richard couldn't tell if Wendy was speaking quietly because she was frightened or if she'd had the wind knocked out of her.

Without really thinking about it, Richard released one hand from the seat back and reached back to take hold of Wendy. With a little effort, he guided her to lay across Johnny and Vina's laps, beneath him.

"Just stay right there and hold on to me. We'll be fine." Richard assured her, then felt it as another sudden jolt shook the bus and made him feel almost weightless before dropping him heavily back on top of Wendy.

Richard felt Wendy's arms go around him and hold on firmly.

The sounds of gunshots were distant at first, but suddenly, one of the windows broke, and Richard was aware of another threat to their safety. Just as suddenly as the fear came upon him, so did the realization that there was nothing more that he could do. He was shielding three children with his own body.

He renewed his grip on the seat back and held on tight as the bus suddenly turned sideways.

The sound of people screaming and their possessions crashing further back in the bus made Richard worry for all of them, but he was relieved to know that the most important person was safe.

"We's almost out! Hang on!" Ysidro called from the front of the bus, where he was hanging onto the rail by the driver, with both hands.

Suddenly, a flurry of gunshots rang out and several windows on the other side of the bus shattered in succession..

"Stay down!" Ysidro screamed as he squatted by the driver, still holding onto the rail.

"You're okay. You're safe." Richard said soothingly to his sister.

Suddenly, he felt a stab of pain in his back.

He wanted to cry out, but was somehow able to hold himself back.

His primary concern was Vina. If she knew that he was hurt, she'd be scared and he didn't want that.

So he held on as best he could and tried to ignore the burning pain in his shoulder and mid-back.

"That's it! We's out!" Ysidro called triumphantly.

Although it was a declaration worthy of cheers, everyone was so shaken and disoriented, that silence was the only response.

"Everyone, look 'round and see if anyone's hurt." EZ said anxiously.

"Wendy! Johnny! Where are you?" Susan called in panic.

"They're here. They're safe." Richard said as he forced himself to release his hold on the seat back.

"Oh, my God!" Susan gasped.

Richard looked at her and realized that she was staring at his back.

"Is there a doctor on the bus?" Councilman Becker called out as he put his arm protectively around his wife.

"Why? What's wrong?" Ysidro asked as he scrambled back, away from the driver.

"This little boy's been shot." Councilman Becker said gravely.

"There's another one, over here." A young woman said in a shaky voice.

"See if he's breathin'." EZ said to the woman farther back, then turned to Richard and quietly said, "Stay still. Le'me see."

When Richard saw the frightened look in his sister's eyes, he quietly said, "It's not bad, Vina. I'm okay." As he tried to stand.

"I said 'stay still'!" Ysidro barked, then ripped open the back of Richard's shirt with one yank.

"Wendy, are you alright?" Councilman Becker asked his daughter as he watched Ysidro's examination.

"He saved my life, Daddy." Wendy said in a quaking voice. "When I fell, he pulled me under him so I'd be safe."

"He did a very brave thing." Councilman Becker said as he turned his attention back to Richard, then added, "Thank you, young man."

"Breathe for me, Richard. A deep breath." EZ said in concentration.

Even though it hurt, Richard did as he was told.

"The blood ain't frothy. That's good." EZ said in a relieved voice.

Richard didn't understand, but trusted that EZ knew what he was talking about.

"This guy doesn't look too good." A woman's voice said from nearby.

"Stay still. I'll be right back." EZ said gently to Richard, then stepped away.

Just a moment later, EZ returned and said, "Well, I got good news and bad, Ricky."

"Richard, or Ricardo... not Ricky. I hate that." Richard said as firmly as he was able in his current state.

"Whatevah you say, Richard. Le'me just tell you, that you been shot. I guess you prolly knew that already. Tha good news is that it ain't in too deep and it don't look like it hit nothin' that important. Tha bad news is that we'll need a doctor ta git the bullet out. I'll git on the radio and see if one a tha other buses gots a doctor." Ysidro explained calmly.

"Okay. It hurts, but it's not real bad. I can wait if I need to." Richard said as a wave of dizziness washed over him.

"Anyone here know first aid? This hero a'ours needs ta be bandaged. And I need ta git on tha radio ta see if I can find a doctor fer 'im."

"If we can find some bandages, I can do it." Susan said primly, from her husband's side.

"There's a first aid kit right behin' the driver." Ysidro said as he turned to walk forward.

"What about this guy?" A woman's tearful voice asked hesitantly.

"He's already dead. He jus' don't know it, yet." EZ said over his shoulder.

"It's cold in here." Theresa whined petulantly as she wrapped her arms around her scantily clad self.

"Then get up 'n' help cover some a these broke windahs. Stop bein useless." Ysidro snarled as he squatted down to retrieve the first aid kit.

"You can't talk to me like that! Do you know who my father is?!" Theresa asked indignantly.

"Bitch! I don't even know who MY father is. Now either find sumpin' ta cover the broken windahs, or sit ya ass back down and shut up! Piss me off one more time, and I'm throwin yer skank ass off the fuckin bus." Ysidro said as he handed the first aid kit to Susan.

Councilman Becker turned to face Theresa and said, "I'll help you cover the bullet holes in the windows, if you'd like."

Theresa was surprised by the offer and quietly said, "Yes. Thank you."

* * * * *

"You saved me." Wendy said as she looked into Richard's eyes.

"It's okay." Richard said as he fought to keep from wincing at the pain as Susan worked on his back. Then he quietly asked, "Are you alright? I mean, am I too heavy on top of you?"

"No. You're fine." Wendy said gently, then leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.

"Ewww!" Vina said at the sight, as Johnny giggled at his sister.

Richard looked up at Edovina and gave her an embarrassed smile.

"You can try to get up now, if you like." Susan said gently as she gripped Richard's shoulder to help him stand.

"Thanks." Richard said, then his breath hitched at a stab of pain.

"I wish that there was something I could give you for the pain." Susan said remorsefully.

"I'll be fine." Richard said bravely as he made his way to standing, then, with Susan's help, walked across the aisle to his seat.

When Richard looked over at Gino, he was surprised to see a small gunshot wound on his temple, still leaking blood.

"Gino, can you hear me?" Richard asked shakily, but the glassy, vacant look in Gino's eyes didn't change.

It took a moment for everything to sink in, but Richard finally remembered EZ's words and knew that it had been Gino that he had been talking about.

"You're not alone." Richard said as he took hold of Gino's hand and grasped it firmly.

A moment later, he heard Susan quietly ask, "Are you alright, baby?"

"I'm fine. Richard kept me safe." Wendy said with a loving smile in his direction.

"How about you two?" Susan asked Johnny and Vina.

"Wendy kissed Richard. It was gross!" Johnny giggled.

Susan was surprised, but quickly got over it and said, "I'm sure that she was just thanking him for saving her life. You two should be grateful, too."

"I'm NOT gonna kiss him!" Johnny said indignantly.

Vina broke into uncontrollable laughter at his reaction.

"How about you just thank him for protecting you." Susan said with a tender smile at her son.

"But I don't have to kiss him. Right?" Johnny asked to be sure.

"No. Just a 'thank you'." Susan chuckled.

Johnny looked across the aisle at Richard with the bandage on his back and suddenly realized what his mother meant. Somehow, in all the confusion, his mind hadn't put together what was really happening. All of a sudden, he understood what Richard had done.

"Thank you for protecting us, Richard. I'm sorry you got hurt. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you." Johnny said sincerely.

"Just be nice to Vina." Richard said as he looked Johnny in the eyes.

Johnny nodded his promise, then turned his attention back to Vina.

"Can I get you anything, dear?" Susan asked as she squatted by Richard's side.

As Richard continued to hold Gino's hand, he quietly answered, "Yeah. If you can find something to cover me up, my back is cold."

"They're working on covering the broken windows, now. How about you cover up with this until they're done?" Susan said as she took off her coat and draped it over Richard's back.

Although he wanted to protest her sacrifice, the immediate warmth on his chilled skin felt so nice that all he ended up saying was, "Thank you."

* * * * *

"Richard, wake up." Ysidro said quietly.

"What?" Richard asked blearily as he sat up. He glanced to his side and realized that, while he had been sleeping, Gino had silently passed away.

EZ noticed Richard's shocked and regretful look and quietly said, "There was nothin' you coulda done for 'im. But you was there, holdin' his hand as he crossed over. Maybe that'll give him some kind of peace."

"Yeah." Richard muttered as he slowly released Gino's hand.

"We're comin' to a road block and I thought you'd wanna be awake." Ysidro said seriously.

"Are they gonna shoot at us again?" Richard asked cautiously.

"I don't know. They might. I wanted you to be awake in case you needed tah react. I need to get back upfront. We's almost there." EZ said with one last regretful look at Gino.

"Thanks." Richard said, then looked across the aisle at Vina, to find that she was asleep, as was Johnny, beside her.

* * * * *

"It's just up ahead." Ysidro announced anxiously.

Richard sat up a little straighter and winced at a pulling sensation on his wound. It was aching almost constantly, but one wrong move made the pain flare.

As he leaned out into the aisle slightly, he had a mostly unobstructed view of what was ahead.

The first thing he saw was the smoke.

The haze of smoke obscured his vision, so he had to strain to see that the source was several burned out cars smoldering along the side of the road.

As they got closer, the bus slowed slightly.

Richard's anxiety increased at the deceleration, but all thoughts regarding their speed left his mind when he saw the first body.

It was a uniformed police officer, although Richard wasn't familiar with the police enough to know what jurisdiction he came from.

As he tore his gaze away from the fallen man, he spotted another, then another.

There were easily dozens of uniformed men and women, scattered around the area, not all of them were wearing the same uniforms, but all of them were dead.

Richard felt the bus speeding up and realized that they were past the worst of the smoke.

Ahead of them, there was debris scattered along the side of the road. It looked as though several vehicles had been crushed and moved out of the way, opening the road for use.

"Let's get the fuck outta here." Ysidro said anxiously.

The bus sped up even more, but Richard couldn't seem to get himself to relax.

* * * * *

"Hey, Richard. I just talked to your brother and let him know that you was hurt." EZ said as he stopped at Richard's side.

"You shouldn't have done that. Now he'll just worry about me and probably blame himself for not being here." Richard said honestly.

"I don't think so. He didn't sound worried. He sounded nothin' but proud." EZ said with a smile.

Richard thought about that for a moment, then quietly said, "When our dad left, my oldest brother, Manny, stepped up and took care of Reuben and protected him and made sure that he was alright. Later, when Manny was killed, Reuben started taking care of me and protecting me like that. Nobody ever asked him or told him he had to do it, he just did it. Even though I knew about all that, I never saw me being anything like them. I was always a kid that needed to be protected. But today, since Reuben wasn't here, I had to step up and take care of Vina. So, if he's proud of me, I think it's because I showed that I'm like him and Manny."

"So you ain't his lil bro, he has to worry bout, no more. Now yous his bro he can count on." EZ said with a smile.

Richard considered for a moment then returned the smile as he said, "Yeah."

"That roadblock was the last big thing we was warned about. Now that we's past it, how about I gits back to findin' you a doctor." EZ said with admiration sparkling in his eyes.

"Thanks."

* * * * *

"How are you feeling?"

Richard opened his eyes and was surprised to see his brother looking at him with concern.

"It hurts, but I'm okay." Richard said steadily.

"EZ said that you took good care of Vina." Reuben said seriously.

"Probably the same that you would have, if you'd been here." Richard said frankly.

"You did good." Reuben said gently, then turned as EZ walked down the aisle.

"Your brother was real brave." EZ said seriously, then quietly continued, "Richard, you need to get up so we can get this body outta here."

Richard's sleep fogged mind finally grasped the fact that the bus had stopped moving.

Slowly, he got up, with his brother's help, and turned away so he wouldn't have to see Gino's body being carried away.

"How are you doing, Vina?" Reuben asked gently as he guided Richard to walk with him.

"I'm scared." Edovina said in a small voice.

"We all are, Vina. But Ricardo and I are here to keep you safe. We'll all be fine." Reuben said softly.

"When it got real scary, Ricardo climbed on top of us and kept us safe." Edovina said seriously.

"I heard about that. He was really brave." Reuben said proudly.

Edovina nodded her agreement.

"You can sit down now, if you need to. We're about to get movin again." EZ said quietly.

"Who do you want to sit with you, Vina?" Reuben asked gently.

"Johnny's sitting here. He just went to talk to his mama while we were stopped." Edovina said seriously.

"You can sit with me." Richard said to his brother, then quietly added, "But you may need to clean up some blood first."

Reuben took a moment to clean up a small amount of blood, then took the seat by the crudely taped broken window.

* * * * *

"Breaker one-four. We's on tha road, headin' West, and lookin fer a doctor. We's part of a group and can't stop, but if they's a doctor who'd like a ride West, we'd be real happy to take yous wit us."

"Who is this? How can we know that this isn't a trap?"

"Ain't nothin I can say ta prove it. But we gots some people that's been hurt real bad. We needs ta get 'em some help. Our only doctor was one 'a them that was killed. I can't waste time talkin. If you's not a doctor, then I needs ta switch channels soes I can keep lookin'."

"I'm not a doctor, but we've got two doctors on our bus. The only problem is that we're almost out of gas and nothing's open."

"Where ya at? We'll see if we can meet up."

"We're about a half hour from Columbus, Nebraska, just past Schuyler, but I don't know if we'll be able to make it. We're running on fumes."

"Listen, it sounds like we're about twenty minutes from you. You runnin diesel or gas?"

"Diesel.""

"Good. Our whole fleet is running diesel and we brought a few spare cans in case of emergency."

"Thanks. I was really getting worried. I didn't know what we were going to do."

"You swear to god that you got a doctor, right?"

"Yeah. Two of 'em!"

"Then you got something that we need. And it sounds like we got something that you need. You stay there, and we'll see you in a little bit. How will we know you?"

"We're in a camouflage painted school bus."

* * * * *

"Wake up. You need to get up and go to the other bus, while we're stopped." Reuben said gently to his younger brother.

"Why?" Richard asked cautiously.

"Because it's a bus full of doctors, but they've got other patients that they can't leave, so they said that anyone who's hurt needs to get on their bus. Don't worry about Vina, she can go with me." Reuben said seriously.

"No. I mean, if you don't have something real important that you're doing on the other bus, could you maybe stay here with her. Playing with Johnny's keeping her from being afraid."

"Yeah. Good idea. You need to go and get taken care of." Reuben said as he let a little of his concern show through.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Richard said, then picked up his backpack and stood.

When he felt the coat shift on his back, he slid it off. He turned to Susan, who was loosely wrapped in a blanket in the seat behind Vina, and quietly said, "Thank you for letting me use your coat."

"Thank you for protecting my children." Susan said sincerely as she accepted the coat from him.

As Richard turned to leave, Wendy walked up to him and said, "You're really brave. Thank you."

He wasn't as surprised by the kiss as he had been before, and he realized that it was actually kind of nice.

"Wendy!" Her father said in a stern voice.

"Sorry, Daddy." She said with a timid smile as she pulled away.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but you need to get on the other bus, right now." Reuben said as he fought down a smile.

"I'll talk to you later, Wendy. I've got to go." Richard said regretfully.

"It's a little too cold for you to go out like that." Reuben said as he took off his jacket and draped it around Richard's shoulders.

"Thanks."

* * * * *

"I can get that for you." Reuben said as he held out a hand for Richard's backpack.

"No. I've got it." Richard said quietly as he clutched it to his chest.

"I'm sorry you were hurt. I meant to be home before it was time to leave." Reuben gently explained.

"Listen. If it wasn't for you running with the Kings, we wouldn't be going to someplace safe. You were busy doing something important for them, so you told me what I needed to do, and I did it. Me getting hurt wasn't anybody's fault."

"Yeah. I guess that's right." Reuben reluctantly agreed.

"If something happens to me, will you tell Mama something for me?"

"You're going to be alright."

"Yeah. But just in case, would you tell Mama that I understand about her needing to work all the time and that I don't blame her for not being there? I know it bothers her, but we've all got to do what needs done to keep us all going." Richard said as they passed some men with multiple gas cans, beside the school bus.

"I'll tell her. I promise."

"Is this where I'm going?" Richard asked as he looked at the camouflage painted bus.

"Yeah. This is where the doctors are." Reuben said quietly.

"I'll be fine now. Take care of Vina and let her know that I'll be okay." Richard said as he looked up into his brother's eyes.

"I'm proud of you, Ricardo. If you need anything, just have your bus driver call me." Reuben said seriously.

"Don't worry about me. I can handle this. Go." Richard said firmly.

* * * * *

As Richard climbed onto the bus, he heard a man call out, "We're going to need more bandages."

"If they don't have to be sterile, I can start ripping up some of the spare clothes." Another man called back.

"It'll have to be good enough. I'm using what little sterile gauze that I have left directly on the wounds. We can use the non-sterile bandages for wrapping."

As Richard cautiously walked further into the bus, he realized just how weak he felt. Each step was an increasing effort for him.

"Can I help you?" A man in a police uniform asked when he noticed Richard walking onto the bus.

Richard noticed the familiar smell of marijuana as he looked around the decades old school bus.

"I was told to come here. I think you're supposed to help me or something." Richard said uncertainly.

"If you were sent here you must have been injured. How are you hurt?" An older man asked as he stepped forward.

Although the man was wearing an orange jumpsuit, Richard was immediately put at ease when he saw the man's kind eyes. Just then, the driver started the bus's engine.

"Yeah. I was shot in the back." Richard said as he carefully shrugged Reuben's coat off his shoulders to expose his bandaged wound.

"Oh my God! Why are you up, walking around? Come over here and lay down." The man said as he rushed to Richard's side. Since the bus had started moving, Richard didn't mind help walking down the aisle.

"It doesn't hurt that bad, only when I move certain ways." Richard explained as he followed the man and finally came to rest on one of the bench seats.

"I'm sorry that we don't have a real bed for you, this is the best we can do."

"That's okay. Just do what you need to do, so I can get back to my family." Richard said as he lay down, as he was directed, chest down on the green vinyl school bus seat.

"My name is Clifton Grant, and, despite appearances, I really am a doctor. You can call me Doctor Cliff, if that's more comfortable for you."

"Doctor Grant, I'm twelve years old. You don't need to treat me like a little kid. Just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it." Richard said seriously.

"Let me get this gauze pad off your back, then I'll see what we're working with."

"That hurts." Richard grunted past clenched teeth as he felt the gauze pad being pulled away from his wound.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to be as gentle as I can with you." Dr. Grant said as he carefully looked at the wound, then muttered, "It looks like the bullet is lodged under his shoulderblade."

"What are our options?" Another man asked anxiously.

"We have to get the bullet out. We really don't have a choice." Dr. Grant said frankly.

"How? We don't have anything to work with."

"I'm going to be counting on either Wil or Todd to get our patient sufficiently anesthetized. After that, I'll do my best to get this bullet out with a minimum of pain. Doctor Parish, I could really use your help." Dr. Grant said as he looked to another man, who also appeared to be wearing a prison jumpsuit.

"Give me two minutes to immobilize this arm, then I'll be right with you." The 'prisoner' said with single-mindedness.

"Listen up! Has everyone been seen by a doctor? If a doctor hasn't talked to you yet, you need to speak up now." Dr. Grant called out as he gently cleaned the wound on Richard's back.

"I think we've got everyone." A young woman responded from farther back on the bus.

"Thanks, Kara. Will you keep an eye on everyone and come and get one of us if anyone is having problems? Jerry and I are going to have our hands full for a few minutes." Dr. Grant asked hopefully.

"I've got this. I'll yell if anyone needs help." Kara said confidently.

"Where do you need me, Cliff?" A young man asked from beside Richard and he turned to see that he was also wearing a uniform.

"Go ahead and start getting him relaxed while we prep for surgery." Doctor Grant said anxiously.

* * * * *

"Take a deep inhale." Wil said as he held a small pipe to Richard's lips.

"You're gonna get me stoned?" Richard asked cautiously.

"That's right. It's all we've got to give you for the pain. Now, inhale." Wil said gently.

As Richard drew on the pipe, Wil held a lit lighter to the bowl.

"Fight the urge to cough and take it in." Doctor Parish said soothingly from beside them.

Richard did his best to hold the smoke, although the urge to cough was strong.

"Let it out. Nice and slow." Wil said in a relaxed tone.

Richard slowly released his breath and could already feel a 'swimmy' sensation coursing through him.

"One more, I think." Doctor Parish said as he watched.

Wil put the pipe to Richard's lips again.

Richard's mind was spinning as he drew in more of the smoke.

"Good. You're doing fine." Doctor Parish said with approval.

Wil nodded his agreement as he took the pipe away.

Richard slowly released the smoke, then began to giggle. After a moment, Richard slurred, "I got a boner."

"Yeah. I think he's ready." Doctor Parish said with a grin.

"Hold him still." Doctor Grant said seriously.

"I met this girl. Her name is Wendy. I think she really likes me." Richard said to no one in particular.

A few seconds later, Richard exclaimed, "Hey! Stop it! That hurts!"

"I know. But that's the worst of it. Now I just have to get the bullet out."

Richard winced with pain a few times, but didn't cry out again,

"I'm glad it wasn't any deeper. I just barely got it." Doctor Grant said when he finally stopped.

"How bad is it?" Doctor Parish asked as he leaned in to see.

"I've seen worse." Cliff said noncommittally, then said under his breath, "What I wouldn't give for a needle and thread right now. But I suppose these butterfly bandages will have to do."

"Is he going to be alright?" Wil asked as he looked over Cliff's shoulder.

"Yes. I think so. Our young friend, here, was incredibly lucky. If that bullet had gone a fraction of an inch in any direction, it would have done serious damage and might well have killed him. Our next concern is going to have to be to watch for infection." Cliff said seriously.

"My boner won't stop." Richard whined as he pushed a hand into his pants.

"Hold him still while I do my best to close this up." Cliff said as he tried to restrain a smile.

Cliff worked to carefully apply the butterfly bandages, using them in a way that they were never intended.

As he was finishing, he noticed Richard's butt slowly moving up and down.

"You know, when he comes down, he's probably going to regret this." Wil said as he watched with a barely restrained grin.

"I think I'm done for now. Let's leave him to finish." Cliff said as he draped Reuben's coat over the freshly bandaged wound on Richard's back.

* * * * *

"We're stopping." The driver called from the front of the bus as he slowed down.

The statement caught Richard's attention and he managed to pull himself to a sitting position.

He was still groggy and feeling like he was floating on a cloud.

"Is something wrong?" One of the men asked.

"I think we're stopping for gas. But this station looks abandoned."

Just as he said that, six men poured out of the gas station and each of them were carrying machine guns.

Richard froze in fear at the sight. It took a few seconds for him to realize that the men were working purposefully to get the buses ahead of them fueled.

"I don't know who we've gotten tangled up with, but it looks like they've got some serious firepower on their side." Wil said as he stared.

"I just hope that when we get where we're going that they'll let us go without a problem." Cliff said anxiously.

"Look! There's Mona!" Todd called out.

Richard looked around and saw one of the men talking to a woman on a motorcycle.

"It looks like they're not going to give her any gas." Wil said cautiously.

"Let me use the radio." Cliff said as he hurried to the front of the bus.

"This is Doctor Grant on the medical bus. That woman on the motorcycle is with us. She was scouting ahead for gas for us. Can you please help her?"

Richard watched carefully as someone from one of the other buses ran up to the motorcycle.

After a moment, the woman got off the motorcycle and walked toward their bus.

* * * * *

"Thank God! I thought we'd lost you!" Wil said as he ran to Mona and hugged her furiously.

Mona chuckled as she returned the hug, then said, "I don't know how you boys did it, but it looks like you made some friends who might be able to get us through."

"It didn't have much to do with us. I guess their doctor was killed, and they had some injured people who needed help, so they were willing to let us tag along with them."

Richard felt self conscious as Mona's attention turned to him. Only then did he realize that he had his hand down his pants. He slowly pulled his hand free, doing his best to make the action look casual.

"What's your name, young man?" Mona asked him gently.

"Richard Vasquez."

"From the looks of you, you've had quite a day. How are you feeling? Are the doctors taking good care of you?" Mona asked in a warm, grandmotherly voice.

"Yes, Ma'am. It hurt for a little bit, but it's okay now." Richard said as he fought the swimmy feeling.

"How did you get hurt, honey?"

"Some guys were shooting at our bus, so I got on top of some younger kids to protect them, and I got shot in the back."

"That was a very brave thing for you to do." Cliff said admiringly.

Richard gave a one shouldered shrug and winced, then asked, "Can I go back to my family now?"

"Not yet. Considering the situation we're in, we need to be extra careful to watch for signs of infection." Doctor Grant said seriously.

"Yeah. Even if we were in a hospital, we'd have to be careful of that. But in a situation like this..." Doctor Parish trailed off with a shake of his head.

"But you said that I'm going to be okay." Richard asked to confirm.

"You'll probably have a pretty good scar on your back when this is all done. But if we can keep your incision from getting infected, you should be just fine." Doctor Grant finished with a smile.

"So, what's the plan? Where are these guys going? And are we still going to be able to get to Alan's?" Mona asked seriously.

"I don't know. But considering the warzone that we've already been through, I think this is going to be our best shot at getting to someplace safe. Once we're there, we can worry about the next step." Cliff said seriously.

"The buses are going to Kettle Falls, Washington." Richard said carefully.

Everyone stopped to look at him with surprise.

"What?" Richard asked self consciously, then looked down at his crotch to see if anything was out of place.

"Kettle Falls is where my son lives. That's where we were going. Why are your buses going there?" Mona asked cautiously.

"There's supposed to be someone already there making a safe place for all of us. If you want to know more than that, you'll need to ask my brother. That's all he told me." Richard said honestly.

"No. I don't want to go looking for trouble. Let's just take what's being offered and be grateful." Cliff said seriously.

The bus started to pull forward, then the sound of people outside could be heard.

Richard looked around and saw that the men from the station were working to gas up the bus.

"Is it my turn to drive?" A sleepy looking man asked groggily.

"What do you say, Marlon? Are you ready for a break?" Cliff called to the driver.

"Sure thing. A bathroom break would be pretty good, too." Marlon said as he stiffly stood from the driver's seat.

"Good idea. Kara, would you mind waking up the kids and see that they all get a potty break?" Cliff asked hopefully.

"Sure thing." Kara said as she walked to the back of the bus.

Richard watched her for a moment, then was surprised to see one kid, then another, sit up as they were awakened.

"What about you, Richard? Do you need to go to the bathroom?" Cliff asked gently.

"Yeah. And I really need something to drink. I don't know when I've ever been this thirsty." Richard said honestly.

"We should also look around for supplies. We need to get any pain relievers and antiseptics that we can lay our hands on." Cliff said thoughtfully.

"We'd better hurry before the rest of the fleet is ready to hit the road again." Cliff said decisively.

Richard slowly started to stand and felt a hand take his arm, helping him.

"How about I stick with you until you're feeling a little stronger?" Doctor Parish asked gently.

As much as Richard wanted to be independent, he still felt swimmy headed and weak. So he let Doctor Parish guide him up the aisle and off the bus.

* * * * *

"I'm Antony, and this is Tyner." One of two boys said as they hurried to catch up.

"I'm Richard."

"What happened to you? You look like you got hurt." Antony said seriously.

"Yeah. I was shot. What about you? You look like you got beat up pretty bad." Richard asked in return.

"Yeah. We got kidnapped. Those guys beat us up and threw us in a van. But then the van wrecked and we got banged up some more because of that." Antony said frankly.

"Are you alright?" Richard asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Doctor Cliff says that we're probably going to be tired and stuff for a few days while we're healing up. But it don't hurt a lot. Well, except for Brody. He's got a lot of broken bones. And besides that, he's really sad, too." Antony said frankly.

As they walked around the corner of the gas station, they saw quite a few people standing in line.

"It looks like we're going to have to wait a few minutes. There's two busloads of people ahead of us." Doctor Parish said as he motioned for the boys to follow.

"Brody! We're over here." Antony called back toward the bus.

Before Richard knew what had happened, Antony rushed away, leaving him standing at the back of the line with Doctor Parish and Tyner.

"Are you okay?" Richard asked Tyner quietly.

The boy nodded, but wouldn't meet his eyes.

Richard didn't see any point in trying to talk with the silent boy, so he turned his attention forward and waited.

* * * * *

"Were the doctors able to help you?" Reuben asked as he approached his brother.

"Back of the line!" Someone behind them growled.

"I'm just here to talk to my brother. We're on different buses." Reuben said sternly, then watched the man's reaction to see if they were going to have a problem.

"The doctor got the bullet out, but he said that I need to stay on the bus with them so that they can watch for infection." Richard explained carefully.

"That's right. A school bus seat isn't the most sterile environment to be performing surgery. But we do the best we can with what we've got." Doctor Parish said simply.

"Is he going to be alright?" Reuben asked Doctor Parish cautiously.

"Yes. Doctor Grant seemed to think that Richard shouldn't have anything worse than a scar on his back when this is all done." The doctor said assuringly.

"Reuben, could you do something for me?" Richard asked hesitantly.

"What's that?" Reuben asked his brother with concern.

"I really, seriously, need a drink. I don't care if it's just water. But I'm dying of thirst." Richard said in a pleading voice.

"I'll be right back." Reuben said with a smile before dashing away.

"Is your back hurting very badly?" Doctor Parish asked gently.

"It's starting to hurt worse. But I'll be okay." Richard said quietly.

* * * * *

"Here you go. How are you doing?" Reuben asked as he handed his brother a can of soda.

Richard couldn't answer as he desperately drank the soda.

"Is that better?" Reuben asked with a smile.

"Yeah. Thanks!" Richard gasped.

"Ricardo! Reuben!"

Both turned to find Edovina waving at them from the line for the ladies room. Richard noticed that she was standing with Wendy and her mother.

"See that girl with Vina? That's Wendy. I think she likes me." Richard said with a silly grin.

Reuben looked curiously at his brother, then to Doctor Parish and said, "He isn't acting like himself. Did you give him something?"

"Yes. For the pain. Unfortunately, we didn't have anything to give him except, um, marijuana."

Reuben looked at his brother critically for a moment, then said, "I'll get you another drink and some munchies. I think you're going to need them."

"I'll keep an eye on Vina while you're gone." Richard said simply.

"That woman said she'd watch after her while we're stopped. You just concentrate on feeling better."

"Okay." Richard said with a silly grin.

* * * * *

After a much needed visit to the bathroom, Richard saw Reuben and Ysidro talking by one of the buses.

Doctor Parish and Tyner followed as Richard walked over to them.

"We got word from the boss. He still thinks we can get through, but if it gets too bad, we're supposed to head for Canada." Reuben said seriously.

"Wha da fuck? Whadn't that all figured out already?" EZ asked anxiously.

"I don't know about that. I just know that we're supposed to keep moving, no matter what. There's gonna be a safe place set up just for us."

"I hope so. Cause dis looks like it could get real ugly."

"It already is."

"What's going on?" Richard asked curiously.

"Nothing new. You'd better get on your bus. We're about to go." Reuben said seriously, then remembered the shopping bags he was carrying and handed them to Doctor Parish.

Ysidro looked to Doctor Parish and said, "You be real sure to listen to tha radio and do exactly what you're told."

"I'll tell Galen. He'll be driving the next leg."

* * * * *

"I got us some medical supplies. It's not much, but it's better than nothing." Todd said as he climbed onto the bus with his arms loaded with plastic shopping bags.

"What about pain relievers?" Dr. Grant asked immediately.

"Strictly OTC. Sorry. I was doing good to get this much. Everyone was raiding the shelves, grabbing anything they could." Todd said frankly.

"I wish we'd thought to do that. We didn't have enough food to start with, and now we've got all the injured people with us that we're responsible for." Wil said anxiously.

"Here we go!" The driver, Galen, called out as he started the bus.

Everyone on the bus was silent as the convoy of buses raced down empty streets.

Mona, on her motorcycle, kept pace with the medical bus, never moving out of view.

The men from the gas station had joined them, using what looked to be a military vehicle.

* * * * *

When Richard had gotten back on the bus, he had walked to the back, where the other kids were.

"Are you okay?" Antony asked quietly.

Richard snapped himself out of his thoughts enough to look at the boy who was staring at him with concern.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." Richard said distractedly.

"Are you hurting?" Antony asked gently.

Richard smiled at the boy's concern and said, "A little, but it's not too bad."

"Brody, are you doing okay?" Antony asked the boy who was mostly propped in the corner of the back seat.

"Yeah. I found a comfortable spot. I'm good." Brody said in a tightly controlled voice.

Richard was willing to bet that the boy was in serious pain, but he could respect that the boy wanted to deal with it in his own way and not have other people fussing over him.

"Ow! Fuck!" A man's voice growled from nearby.

Richard looked at the man who was propped up in the seat ahead of him. From the look on the man's face, he was in serious pain. There was no doubt from looking at the man that he had just woken up.

"Ben, do you need Doctor Cliff?" Antony asked in a quiet, gentle voice.

"Yeah. And tell him to bring Miss Mary Jane with him." Ben grunted.

After a moment, the man seemed to notice Richard and quietly said, "You're new, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I got on the bus not too long ago." Richard said quietly.

"I'm Ben."

"Richard."

"What happened to you, Richard?" Ben asked as concern filled his expression.

"I got shot. What happened to you?" Richard asked in return.

"I was thrown in jail and beaten up by some guards." Ben said wearily.

Richard nodded, then absently said, "Yeah. I've heard that they'll do that."

"How are you doing, my sweet? Now that you've had a good, long sleep?" Doctor Grant asked gently.

"I think I slept soundly, but I'm hurting worse now than before we got on the bus." Ben said honestly.

"Everything's had a chance to relax and swell. I know it's uncomfortable, but it's all part of the healing process. Tell me, you don't have any 'new' aches or pains, do you?"

"No. It's really just my ribs that are hurting. I hardly notice anything else." Ben said with a weary smile.

"Let's go ahead and give you something for the pain. And, since we have all our patients in one place, I can get all of you done at one time." Doctor Grant said as he looked at Richard and Brody.

"Are you ready for me?" Wil asked as he walked to the back of the bus, carrying a blue butter cookie tin.

"Ben's awake, and I think Brody and Richard are both beginning to feel their pain." Doctor Grant said seriously.

"Marlon, we're about to spark it up. You in?" Wil called casually.

"Yeah!" Marlon said immediately, then gave Kara a kiss before hurrying down the aisle to join them.

"Of all the skills that I learned in high school, I can't believe that this is the one I can use to help people." Wil said with a smile as he packed the bowl of the little pipe.

Richard looked curiously at Marlon and finally asked, "Are you hurt, too?"

"He's not hurt, but it's his weed that we're smoking. It seems only right that he be invited when we're about to smoke a bowl." Wil said frankly.

Not much was said as the little pipe was passed from person to person.

Richard didn't know how anyone else was feeling, but his pain felt almost like it was just a memory. He could feel it, but it was so distant that he felt separated from it.

"Do you guys get boners from smoking this stuff?" Richard asked in a voice that sounded a little too slow to his own ears.

"Richard's had enough." Marlon giggled as he passed the pipe to Ben.

"I just wanted to know. I never smoked any pot before, so I don't know how it works. I just noticed that I keep getting boners and I don't know if it's just me or if it happens to you guys too or if it happens to everyone, everywhere or if it... wait... what was I talking about?"

Brody and Ben were both trying to fight down their laughter, because it aggravated their injuries.

"It depends on the weed and the person." Marlon said to Richard with a smile, then added, "Just relax and enjoy it."

"How can you relax when you got a boner?" Richard asked indignantly.

"Think about something else." Marlon said simply.

"Like what?" Richard asked as he put his hand down his pants to try and get his boner into a more comfortable position.

"Remember what your brother brought for you?" Dr. Parish asked as he approached with five plastic shopping bags.

"What's that?" Brody asked hesitantly.

"Munchies." Richard said with a smile as he accepted the bags from Doctor Parish and opened the first one.

"Does anyone want some Cool Ranch Doritos?" Richard asked as he held the bag up.

It was snatched out of his hand so fast that he couldn't tell who got it.

"Oh, man!" Richard gasped when he saw what was next in the bag.

"What've you got?" Ben asked as he sat up, trying to see into the seat behind him.

"Spray cheese and Ritz crackers!" Richard said as he fought to get the cap off the aerosol cheese can.

"I'll open the crackers." Brody offered as he took the box from Richard with his one good hand.

Once Richard had the cap off the cheese, he looked over to find that Brody had the box of crackers clamped between his legs, while he worked with his good hand to get the top open.

Marlon and Ben had their full attention (such as it was) devoted to the sight of Brody opening the box. As soon as the Ritz crackers were free from their confinement, Brody and Richard worked as a team to carefully spray the cheesey goo on top of a cracker.

When Richard saw the others watching, he passed the first cracker to Ben. The next went to Marlon. Brody was holding the crackers as Richard sprayed the cheese on them. When the next one was ready, Richard said, "You have it, Brody. I'll get the next one."

Brody smiled, then popped the cracker into his mouth.

"Try this with your cracker." Marlon said as he held forward the Cool Ranch Doritos for Brody to take one.

Richard watched as Brody added a few chips to his mouthful of cracker and saw his eyes light up.

"This is the best food ever." Ben said around his half a mouthful of food.

"I should've got something to drink when we stopped." Marlon said with a chuckle.

Richard set his spray cheese aside, then reached into another bag and came up with a 2 liter bottle of soda.

"Oh my God! Can I have some?" Brody asked around his mouthful of chips and cracker.

Richard opened the bottle of Pepsi as he said, "Hey, it's still cold."

Even though he knew that Brody desperately wanted the drink, Richard took a long drink first, to slake his own thirst before passing it on.

Unbeknownst to any of the four of them, that day, a bond was being formed. It was something different from family or friendship. It was a feeling of camaraderie amongst the four very different people. What they had was a special bond forged from spray cheese, Ritz crackers, Cool Ranch Doritos and Pepsi. Such bonds have been known to last a lifetime.

Chapter 25: Proof Through the Night

"Why do I have to do this, again?" Eric asked as he fussed with his hair, trying to get it into something vaguely resembling presentable.

"This is going to be recorded as proof for the citizenry that the proper forms are being followed in the succession of power. Although everything was official as soon as the federal judges made their ruling, in the minds of many of the people, I won't officially be Vice President until they've been able to witness the ceremony." Mike said as he took off the towel he had worn from the shower so he could begin dressing.

Eric smiled for a moment, enjoying the sight, before responding, "Actually, it was a rhetorical question."

"Of course..." Mike said as he turned with a grin, but the expression fell away and he continued, "You're not wearing that... are you?"

"Seriously? We barely survived today and you're worried about what suit I'm wearing?" Eric asked incredulously.

"We have to appear to be confident and in control. You looking like an out-of-work dinner waiter won't help with that." Mike said frankly.

"It's not that bad." Eric said with slight irritation.

"I take it you haven't looked in a mirror." Mike said as he gestured toward the mirror in invitation.

Eric rolled his eyes, but finally crossed the room to stand beside his mate and look at himself. "Oh... I see what you mean."

"Where did you get that, anyway?" Mike asked curiously.

"I borrowed it from one of the Secret Service guys." Eric said as he tried readjusting the suit jacket to somehow make the fit look better.

"When this is all said and done, we need to make sure he gets a raise so he can afford better clothes. But, for now, we need to find you something better to wear for the ceremony." Mike said honestly.

"I don't think any of the other Secret Service guys are close to my size. If this is really as important as you say, do you think, maybe, I should borrow something from Mr. Brown?" Eric asked hesitantly.

"Yes. In fact, when you ask him, you might also invite him and his wife to witness the ceremony. Since they're our hosts, it seems the least we can do for them." Mike said immediately.

"Yes. That sounds like a good idea. Plus, being invited to the ceremony might help to make up for me waking them up in the wee hours of the morning." Eric said with an uncertain look toward his husband.

"And while you're doing that, I'll finish getting ready, then go check on the boys. We need to get this done so we can get to work. Who knows how much has been happening out there while we've been getting settled in." Mike said anxiously.

"I don't think three hours of sleep interrupted by a formal ceremony qualifies as being lazy." Eric said flatly.

"I'm betting that there are a lot of people going through a whole lot worse right now. And they're counting on us." Mike said as he stepped to the mirror to check his own appearance.

"Right. I'll go talk to Mr. Brown... Can I have a kiss before I go?" Eric finished with a smile.

"Anything for you. You know that."

* * * * *

"What's wrong buddy? Are you hurting?" Ben asked as he heard Oleksandr's muffled sobs.

"I heard Alvin in my head, he said that he's leaving." Oleksandr mumbled sadly.

"You knew that he was going to. He has people depending on him." Ben whispered as he pulled the boy into a gentle hug.

"I know. I just wanted him to stay. I love him." Oleksandr said as he pulled back and looked up into Ben's eyes.

"He loves you, too, Oleksandr. And I'm sure that you'll see him again very soon." Ben reassured him.

"You're not going to leave me, too, are you?" Oleksandr asked cautiously.

"Never ever. Not in a million million years. The only way you'll ever be rid of me is if you choose to leave me." Ben said lovingly.

"I want to stay with you forever. You make me feel safe." Oleksandr said as he rested his head against Ben's chest and cuddled tighter.

"Someday you might want to make someone else feel safe, like what you did for Alvin today with Carson." Ben said gently as he slowly stroked Oleksandr's back.

"Carson wouldn't hurt anyone." Oleksandr muttered sleepily.

"That's true. But right in that moment, Alvin didn't know that. All he knew was that he was afraid and he saw you step forward to defend him." Ben said with a smile that could be heard in his voice.

"I didn't think. I just did it." Oleksandr said honestly.

"I know. And I'm very proud of you." Ben said gently, then whispered, "Go back to sleep. It's going to be a busy day."

"I love you, Ben." Oleksandr said in a barely heard whisper.

"I love you, too, Oleksandr."

* * * * *

"You're up awfully early this morning. How are you doing?" Deb asked as Carson entered the kitchen.

"Some missiles were launched around six this morning. That's when Dizzy woke me up. I was tied up with that for a while. But once we figured out that the targets were further East, Theodore and Lee told me to let them deal with it and focus on all the people headed this way. It's hard to tell because the reports are spotty, but it looks like a convoy of about five hundred vehicles is heading this way and will probably arrive tomorrow about midday. I need to get with Tommy about the state of the new houses. I know he said that they're going to have heat and power, but I don't know what he plans to do about furniture and clothes and stuff..." Carson said as he took his place at the table.

"Actually, I was asking how you're doing." Deb said frankly.

"Oh. Um, okay, I guess." Carson said uneasily at his mother's expectant gaze.

"Your father mentioned last night that you're nearly out of pain medication." Deb said as she maintained eye contact with her son.

"Yeah. I've only got about five or six pills left. I'm going to need some more." Carson said as he squirmed in his chair. And, considering his mobility issues, squirming took quite a bit of effort. Nonetheless, he squirmed.

"We've discussed this before. Although I hate to do this, with everything else going on right now, I think it's best for your safety and well-being if I take over administering your pain medication." Deb said firmly.

"But MOM!" Carson called in a typical young-teenager fashion.

"It's not forever, just until things settle down and you can focus more of your attention on taking care of yourself." Deb calmly explained.

"But I've made a promise to take care of all these people who are coming here. How am I going to be able to help them if I can't think past the pain?" Carson asked in a begging tone.

"How are you going to help them if you're dead from an accidental overdose?" Deb countered reasonably.

"Please! I NEED those pills so I can keep going!" Carson exclaimed.

Deb was momentarily shocked by his words, but quickly calmed herself and quietly said, "If I wasn't sure about my decision before, I am now. You've become dependant on that pain medication. Here are your choices. Either you can come to me when it's time for your medication to receive your prescribed dose, or you can go to your grandfather to discuss what else you might be able to do for your pain management."

"I can't believe you're doing this now, when everyone's counting on me!" Carson raged.

"I want you to be alive and not in a drug addled state so everyone can count on you. But if you feel that it's too much for you, let me or your dad know and we'll relieve you of some of the responsibility that you've taken on." Deb said simply.

"No. You don't have to. I'll do it... I just won't like it." Carson reluctantly grumbled.

"Sometimes, that's what it means to grow up." Deb said sympathetically.

"Yeah, well, it sucks." Carson groused.

"Sometimes it does. Did your friends ever determine where the missiles are going to hit?" Deb asked out of curiosity.

"They couldn't be one hundred percent sure when I was talking to them, but it looks like maybe Billings, Montana and Cheyenne, Wyoming. I wish there was something I could do to try and warn people, but Theodore is already doing a lot more than I could think of to try and get people to safety." Carson said as he slipped into a more professional state of mind.

"Drink some juice and your breakfast will be ready in just a minute." Deb said, then walked to him and placed a quick peck of a kiss on the top of his head before continuing out of the room.

"Thanks, Mom." Carson called after her with a reluctant smile.

* * * * *

"...motherfucking bitch..."

"Huh?" Ken asked as he sat up to turn on the bedside lamp.

"What is it?" Kev asked sleepily.

"I think Bug is having a bad dream." Ken said uncertainly.

"...asshole cunt..." Bug mumbled.

"He doesn't sound like he's mad or afraid or anything. Maybe that's just the way he sleeps." Kev said with a loving smile at Bug's sleeping face.

"It wouldn't surprise me. God, Kev, how'd I fall in love with him so fast?" Ken asked as he followed his twin's gaze at their sleeping bedmate.

"I don't know, but I feel the same way." Kev quietly admitted.

"Do you think it's going to be a problem? I mean, is one of us going to be left out?" Ken asked with concern.

"If you would've asked me before we met Bug if something like this could work, I would've said 'no, not in a million years'. But I love him, too. And I think that he really loves both of us. And it's weird, it's not like he just loves you and me. He loves us. It's like he looks at us together and wraps his arms around us both and loves the combination of you and me... I don't know if that makes any sense." Kev said introspectively.

"I don't know either. But I feel the same thing and I couldn't have come up with a better way to describe it. It was different with Jake. Maybe that's because he knew you a long time before he ever met me. I don't mean to say it like he ever treated me like 'the other one' or anything like that. You know that I love Jake more than anyone in the world except you... and maybe Bug." Ken slowly explained.

"...cocksucking douchebag..." Bug muttered, then made a sound halfway between a snort and a snore before settling down again.

"What do you think about us making breakfast for everyone this morning? We can let Bug sleep in." Kev asked with a silly grin at Bug.

"I don't know if we'll be able to make as good a breakfast as Bug can, but I'm willing to try." Ken said with an identical grin.

"...duckshit motherfucker..."

* * * * *

"Come on, boys. I'm making breakfast. It's time for you to get up."

"Um, yeah. Thanks Mr., um, Gordon."

"Will you see that Ro and Max get up? I need to get back to making breakfast."

"Yeah. I'll take care of it."

* * * * *

Apollo woke to the sensation of being wrapped in warmth and being gently held in strong arms, as though he were something precious. He was less surprised than he had been earlier at the feeling, which, in itself was surprising. Even if his conscious mind couldn't seem to grasp the concept, deep inside... he felt safe.

Before he could open his eyes, he felt a mouth against his, kissing him ever so gently.

As his eyes opened, he found Jarritt looking at him hopefully.

"That's okay, isn't it?" Jarritt asked cautiously.

"Yes. It's fine. Just..." Apollo trailed off.

"Just what?" Jarritt asked hesitantly.

"I'm not ready for more, okay?" Apollo asked gently, really not wanting to hurt the man who was being so loving toward him.

"Yeah. Danny said that someday, when I love someone, that things will need to be right and we'll both need to be ready before we do new things together. He said that I'll need to be really extra sure that we're both sure and we both really want to, because once you do that stuff, you can't undo it." Jarritt said seriously.

"I think Danny taught you some really important things about life. You're lucky to have him." Apollo said tenderly.

"Yeah. I am. I love him... the other way." Jarritt said earnestly.

"The other way?" Apollo asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. The way that guys can love each other without doing sex and stuff." Jarritt said frankly.

"But that's not how you love me?" Apollo asked cautiously.

Jarritt firmly shook his head before saying, "I love you like forever."

Even though Apollo had a good idea of how Jarritt felt toward him, hearing the words, spoken so sincerely to him, caused tears to well in his eyes and a lump to form in his throat.

"That's alright, isn't it?" Jarritt asked cautiously.

"Yes. Of course. I'm just... We met yesterday. How can you be so sure?" Apollo stammered.

"I know how I feel. I only said it to one person before you, and that was Danny. But that's when he told me about all the sex stuff and how to do it by myself until I found someone who I wanted to do it with."

Apollo thought for a moment, then looked into Jarritt's hopeful eyes and quietly said, "I think that since your friend Danny is such a smart person, that I should probably talk to him a little bit and get some advice before we do anything more than kiss."

"That's okay. I just wanna kiss right now, anyway." Jarritt said happily.

"Okay. We can kiss for a few minutes. Later I'll talk with Danny so I can be sure what's the right thing to do, before I make any promises." Apollo said seriously.

"Alright!"

* * * * *

"Hello?" A fairly young red-headed woman said hesitantly from the doorway that led to the outside.

"Hi..." Ken said cautiously at the arrival of the stranger.

"I'm Corina, I'm Rory's sister. Mom asked me to bring a plate of food over for him." The young woman said uncertainly.

"Oh! The red hair should have tipped me off. Please come in. I'm Kev and this is my brother Ken. I don't know if Roris is awake yet, but breakfast is almost ready, so we'll be waking everyone up in a few minutes anyway." Ken hurried to explain.

"Oh, good! I'll just sit this over here on the table, then." Corina said as she walked toward the kitchen where the twins were working.

"Who's this young lady you have helping you?" Kev asked with a smile at the three or four year old girl following close behind her mother.

"This is my daughter, Cheyenne." Corina said with a smile back at her daughter.

The little girl's stark red curls bounced as she turned her head from side to side looking first at one twin, then the other.

"I think she's confused at seeing two of you." Corina chuckled fondly.

"Yeah. We get that a lot." Kev laughed.

"It was nice to meet you. But I've got to get back. My husband, Davis, is about to leave for work." Corina said as she took her daughter's hand and guided her toward the door.

"Okay. We'll see that Roris gets the food. Bye bye, Cheyenne." Kev called after them.

"BYE BYE!" Cheyenne called back in a disproportionately large voice that made Kev grin even wider.

* * * * *

"Bug, it's time to wake up." Ken said gently as he placed a hand on Bug's shoulder.

"Why? What time is it?" Bug mumbled.

"Nearly eight." Kev said frankly.

"Holy shit! I overslept! Why the fuck didn't you guys wake me up?" Bug gasped as he sat bolt upright in bed.

"We wanted you to be able to sleep in. Don't worry, we went upstairs and checked on the boys and even made breakfast. Everything's fine." Ken said gently.

"You made breakfast?" Bug asked with surprise.

"Yep. It'll be ready in just a minute." Kev said with accomplishment.

"Here, have some juice. We thought you'd want to be the one to wake up Oma Shoupe and Lawrence, so we haven't done that yet. But I think everything else is taken care of." Ken said assuringly.

"Need coffee." Bug said as he looked at the glass of juice dubiously.

"Of course. I should have thought of that. Just wait right there and I'll get it for you." Kev said quickly as he walked out of the room, carrying the glass of juice.

"I bet Oma Shoupe's been up for about three hours by now. I'll let her know that breakfast is ready when I've had some coffee." Bug said as he blinked his eyes, trying to be more awake.

"Roris' sister stopped by to bring him some food for breakfast and she had her daughter with her. Cutest freckled little red head you've ever seen." Ken said as he sat on the edge of the bed at Bug's feet.

"Gingers freak me the fuck out." Bug said as he seemed to give up and closed his eyes as he flopped back onto his pillow.

"Really?" Ken asked with surprise.

"Yeah." Bug said as he opened his eyes and looked at Ken.

"What about Roris?" Ken asked curiously.

"No. He doesn't bother me at all. I'm not sure why. But just the thought of a ginger kid running around here gives me the creeps." Bug said frankly.

"I love you, Bug." Ken said warmly.

"For reals?" Bug asked with a smile.

"Really, for reals." Ken said earnestly.

"Here's your coffee." Kev said as he walked into the room, this time carrying a steaming mug.

"Thank you! Fuck! I need this!" Bug said as he sat up again.

The twins watched with matching tender expressions as Bug nursed his coffee and was finally able to get his eyes fully opened.

* * * * *

"They're still out there." Madelyn said as she approached the table.

"I realize that." Dr. Murten said flatly between bites of his breakfast.

"I feel bad for them." Madelyn said to her husband as she took her seat.

"So do I, but I'll be of no use to them if I can't focus on my work due to being hungry or with indigestion from eating too fast. I won't keep them waiting any longer than necessary. But it looks as though I'm likely to have a very long day and I need to start it off properly." Dr. Murten said honestly.

"Is this likely to be one of those days that you don't have an opportunity to stop and eat until after sundown?" Deb asked her father cautiously.

"Yes. It certainly has that potential." Dr. Murten said resignedly.

"Please let us know if there's anything we can do to help. If you'll just let us know when you need it, we'll see that a meal is delivered to you." Ryan said seriously.

"That isn't the problem. It won't even occur to him that he needs to stop and eat until he's worked himself past the point where it would do any good. And even if we did track him down and bring him food, it's more likely than not that he'd be involved in something that he couldn't put down to take a break." Madelyn explained with a sympathetic look at her husband.

"It comes with the M.D." Dr. Murten said with a nod.

"Well, I'll be with you, at least for the first part of the day. Maybe I'll pull you aside for a meal at the lab before you leave for the hospital." Ryan said pleasantly.

Madelyn chuckled, then said to her husband, "He still hasn't got a clue about what it is that you do, does he?"

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked curiously.

"When you're a doctor, nothing goes to plan... ever."

* * * * *

Gordon and Lucas smiled as they watched Max, Bax and Ro dash away from the breakfast table as soon as they were finished.

Somehow, and they weren't quite sure how, Loquicia and Jamiah ended up having breakfast with them. The children were well mannered and a pleasure to be around, so neither man had any problem with it.

Jay had remained silent through the meal, presumably intent on finishing quickly so he could go to be with his new friend, Carson. As Jay got up to leave, Gordon tentatively asked, "Jay, before you run off to be with Carson, do you have a few minutes to speak with us?"

"Sure, I guess. What'd you need?" Jay asked cautiously.

Gordon and Lucas walked with Jay to the stairway for privacy, a respectable distance from the dining table.

"So far, it seems that every time we've spoken with you it's been because there's some problem that needs sorting out. I just thought that maybe we could take a few minutes to sort of get to know each other and..." Gordon began to say, but was interrupted.

"You don't have to bother, I get what's going on. You two wanted to get your kids out of Kansas City and when you talked to Mrs. Winer about it, she stuck you with me and Max. You brought us here with your family where we'd be safe. Thank you for that, by the way, I know you didn't have to be nice about it, but you were. Anyway, I can't talk for Max, I don't know her. But you don't have to go to any trouble for me, I can take care of myself and I'll stay out of your way and I won't cause any trouble for you." Jay said frankly.

"You don't have to do that. Lucas and I might not have expected to get two more children, but that doesn't mean that you aren't wanted. We understand that you've been through some difficult times recently, and if you ever want to talk to us about that, we'll always have time for you." Gordon said gently.

Jay looked at him warily, but remained silent.

"You seem to be very direct and straight to the point, so how about I tell you in no uncertain terms how we feel about the situation." Lucas said seriously.

Jay was surprised and somewhat relieved at the offer, and hesitantly nodded his acceptance.

"What we would like to eventually happen is for you and Max to become part of our family. We realize that it might take some time before you're comfortable with that. In fact, the truth is, you may never be comfortable with it. We'll be here when you need us, however you need us, and as much as you are willing to let us in. But we're not going to push you to do more than you're ready for. You'll always be invited to participate with the family, but you'll also always be free to decline." Lucas said seriously.

Jay slowly nodded, then thoughtfully said, "Yeah. Okay. I think I need some time to wrap my head around that, but I heard you."

* * * * *

"Are Oma Shoupe and Lawrence up yet?" Ken asked as he noticed Bug leaving Lawrence's room.

"Yeah. The guys will be out in a minute and, just like I expected, Oma Shoupe's been up for hours. She just wants to change clothes before she comes out." Bug said as he crossed the room.

"Go ahead and sit down. We're just about ready to put it on the table." Kev said as he opened the refrigerator.

"It sure does smell good. What'd you guys make?" Bug asked as he took a seat at the table.

"Just an old-fashioned Chicago shelter breakfast." Kev said with a grin.

"Why does that scare me?" Bug asked playfully.

"Come off it, Bug. Nothing scares you." Ken chuckled, then turned at a movement across the room.

"Good morning, guys. Did you have a good sleep?" Kev asked cheerfully.

"No... I mean, yeah. We slept good, just not a lot." Lawrence said as he walked beside Roris, into the room.

Bug smirked at the answer, but knew better than to ask what had kept them awake.

In an attempt to change the subject, Bug turned to the twins and asked, "Have you heard anything from Brother Jacques or Zane this morning? I kinda figured that they'd be the first ones up."

"They came down just after we got up. But they didn't seem to be in much of a mood for food. Actually, I think they're waiting for Dr. Murten to finish his breakfast..." Ken was saying when he was interrupted by his twin.

"...Or maybe to start his breakfast, since they were up so early. I don't think either of them would admit it, but they're both really worried about what's going to happen." Kev said frankly.

"I guess I can understand that. I've only known you guys a few days and I think I'd be freaked out, too, if one of you were going in for surgery. Even if it was only for something simple." Bug said honestly.

"Thanks, Bug." Ken and Kev said in unison with identical loving smiles.

"You didn't start without us, did you?" Bax asked as he ran down the stairs.

"Are we too late?" Max asked from behind him.

"When I checked upstairs a while ago, Lucas said that you'd be eating breakfast with them." Ken said as he watched the inseparable trio hurry to the table.

"Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean we want to miss out on Bug's food. We didn't eat a lot so we'd still have room." Bax said seriously.

"Bug didn't fix breakfast this morning, we did. I hope you three will decide to try some anyway." Kev said as he watched the three to see their reactions as he picked up a large bowl of biscuits.

After a moment to consider, Bax finally said, "We'll give it a try. But it'll have to be really, really good, to be as good as Bug's."

"Well, I don't think our cooking compares to Bug's, but you can give it a try since you saved room and everything." Ken said as he carried a large steaming pan of gravy to the table.

"Do you have enough food made for three hungry boys?" Bug asked with concern.

Kev laughed before saying, "No problem. That's the best thing about Chicago shelter cooking, there's always plenty for everyone."

Bug smiled at the answer, then turned to the boys and said, "The next cook might not be as prepared as the twins are. You guys are always invited to eat with us, but next time it might be nice to give us a little warning."

"Yeah. Sorry, Bug. I guess it'd suck if we showed up and someone had to do without because of feeding us." Bax said slowly.

"Why aren't we eating?" Ro asked as he looked at the table full of food before them.

"We're waiting for Oma Shoupe." Bug answered simply.

"Do you want me to go and help her?" Lawrence asked as he looked toward her room with concern.

"Let's give her another minute. When I offered to wait for her she said she was feeling stronger today and that she wanted to do it on her own." Bug said simply.

"Oh. Okay." Lawrence said easily.

"Are you going to Carson's room after breakfast?" Roris asked via his electronic voice.

"No. The doctor needs to do something with Zane, so we're going with him and Brother Jacques, in case they need someone to help them through it." Bug said as he turned his attention to Roris, then thought to add, "Would you and Lawrence mind being here for the boys while we're gone?"

"We don't need a babysitter!" Bax barked indignantly.

"Fuck! Chill out, Bax! I'm not asking them to babysit you. Just check in with them every so often and if you run into any trouble, you've got someone who knows what's going on to help you out." Bug explained patiently.

Before Bax could think of a response, Oma Shoupe walked out of her room, looking to be quite a bit more energetic than the day before.

"Do you need any help, Oma?" Lawrence asked as he stood.

"No. I'm feeling as fit and spry as a seventy year old, this morning. It seems that Dr. Murten was right about my medications." Oma Shoupe said as she walked to a seat at the table and sat down without any assistance.

"You look like you're feeling better." Lawrence said happily.

"Not only that, but for the first time in years, I actually have an appetite. Are we waiting on someone to pray over this or can we start eating?" Oma Shoupe asked seriously.

"Dig in. The twins made breakfast this morning, and they said that there's plenty." Bug said with a grand smile at his Oma's improved condition.

Oma Shoupe looked from one twin to the other, then said, "If this tastes half as good as it smells, I'm adopting both of you."

Everyone started serving themselves and passing bowls and plates around the table.

After the first few bites of his food, Bax turned to Ken and said, "It's not better than Bug's, but I think it might be just as good."

"It is." Ro agreed.

"Biscuits." Max said past a mouthful as she reached for the bowl.

Oma Shoupe handed it to her, then turned to Kev and said, "That settles it. You're adopted."

Ken and Kev had matching, beaming smiles at the declaration.

* * * * *

"Carson, fuck, I hate to interrupt, but do you have a minute?" Bug asked as he poked his head into the bedroom.

"Yes. I think I'm due for a few minutes away from these monitors, anyway. What can I do for you, Bug?" Carson asked curiously.

"Fuck. There's some shit going on with Zane, and me and the twins kinda need to be there. I fuckin hate to bail on you like this, I really feel like a shit for doing it, but I'll be back as soon as it's over." Bug said regretfully as he stood just inside the bedroom door.

"Yeah. I heard a little bit about that. You're going to the clean room in the lab, right?" Carson asked as he undocked from his alcove.

"Right. Fuck. I know I promised to help you out with your shit, and now on my first day I have to leave you fucking hanging, but I can't explain it except to tell you that the twins need for me to be there." Bug said in frustration.

"Don't worry about that. Remember what Alvin, Adam and the President all said, your family comes first." Carson said seriously.

"Yeah. I guess. I'm just sorry as fuck that I won't be able to help you set up that motherfucking program today. I fuckin worked out this really fuckin kick-ass system flow while I was sleeping last night. It makes that horseshit I showed you yesterday look like goddamned Basic." Bug said irritably.

"Well, if you want, and this is only if you have time, you could still work on the program from the lab. That laptop that Alvin gave you is already on the network. You can access Dizzy from there, so you'll be able to work from there as easily as you do here. I do it all the time when I'm working on my robotics projects." Carson said frankly.

"Fuck! Really? Fuck yeah I want to!" Bug said happily.

"Bug? Dr. Murten said he'll be ready to leave in a minute." Ken said as he rushed into the room.

"I need to go back to the room and get my laptop, then I'll be ready to go." Bug said with a smile at Carson before hurrying away.

Carson looked across the room to see Hobie and Seth staring at the door that Bug had just walked through.

"What?" Carson asked curiously.

After a moment, Hobie quietly said, "Fuck."

Seth broke into laughter, followed by Carson and finally Hobie.

* * * * *

"Please wait here in the conference room. I have to check to be sure that everything that I need has been brought over and correctly installed in the clean room." Dr. Murten said before hurrying away.

Everyone filed into the room and settled in around the large table. After a few uncomfortable, silent minutes, Ken finally asked, "Did you find someone to watch the kids while we're all here?"

"Lucas and Gordon are going to watch after Loquicia and Jamiah. Ty and Mikey seem to be hitting it off, so I asked Mrs. Brown if she'd keep an eye on them. And, of course, Dax and Oleksandr are with Ben. I didn't really think about asking him to watch them, it's kind of a given that he will." Brother Jacques said honestly.

"Yeah. But I'm kind of worried about Dax... you know how he can be." Ken said cautiously.

"I get the feeling that Ben is the best person to get Dax past whatever it is that causes him to be that way. You know, I haven't seen him go into a rage one single time since he's met Ben." Brother Jacques said frankly.

"I guess you're right." Ken said slowly.

"Take a good look at Dax when we get back. I think that whatever is going on with him and Ben is causing him to do some much needed growing up." Brother Jacques said thoughtfully.

"Jake... your hand!" Kev said suddenly.

Brother Jacques looked down at his hand, then back at Kev inquiringly.

"The tremors... they've completely stopped?" Kev asked in wonder.

"Yeah, at least, so far they have. It's the freakiest thing. Dr. Murten gave me one little pill to take after dinner last night and within an hour, my hands had almost stopped shaking completely. This morning, they weren't shaking at all." Brother Jacques said as he held out his hand to demonstrate.

"Zane, considering what this doctor has done for Oma Shoupe and Brother Jacques, I don't think you're going to have anything to worry about." Ken said to Zane who was sitting silently at Brother Jacques' side.

A flurry of typing caused everyone to turn and look at Bug, who had a laptop open on the table.

Everyone was silent as they watched him type.

It took a few minutes before he finally noticed that the others had stopped talking, but when he finally looked up he saw that everyone was looking at him.

Looking mostly at the twins, Bug quietly said, "Sorry, guys. I'm really here for you. But while we're just sitting and waiting around, there's some stuff I'd really like to get done."

As if a switch was thrown Ken and Kev looked at each other for a moment. Ken finally said, "It means everything to us that you're here."

Kev immediately added, "And we know that when we need you, that you'll step up."

"Yeah. Thanks, guys." Bug said with a loving smile, then turned his attention back to the laptop.

* * * * *

"I'm sorry that I'm so late. Lucas and Gordon wanted to talk to me about some stuff." Jay said as he hurried into Carson's room.

"I hope that wasn't too awful." Carson said sympathetically.

"I'm not sure, yet. I'm still thinking about it. I think that maybe it went alright." Jay said honestly.

"Well, why don't you grab my spare wheelchair over there and roll on over here beside me. I think you're going to need to be sitting down to see what's happened so far today." Carson said with a pained look over his shoulder at Jay.

"Oh, no. What now?" Jay asked cautiously as he did as Carson had suggested.

"Dizzy, would you play the news summaries on screen six, starting from midnight?" Carson asked into the air.

"Coming right up, Boss." Dizzy responded immediately.

"I keep forgetting to adjust his cheerfulness to a lower setting in the a.m. hours." Carson said wearily, then reached out a hand so that Jay could take it.

"How bad is this going to be?" Jay asked cautiously.

"Compared to yesterday, not that bad. Compared to just about any other day in the past twenty years... bad." Carson said regretfully.

* * * * *

"We're gonna go outside for a few minutes. Is that okay?" Bax asked in a rush as he hurried up to Lawrence and Roris.

"Yes. If you'll hold on for a minute, we'll go out with you. I wanted to visit with my parents for a few minutes before we start helping Carson." Roris said with a smile.

"I'll get our coats." Lawrence said quickly and dashed away, not waiting for a response.

"Are you guys going to be warm enough?" Roris asked, noticing that Max, Bax and Ro were all wearing their new coats.

"Yeah. It looks a little bit frosty, but not real bad. But if it gets too cold, we'll just go inside." Bax said happily.

"I got our coats. Let me help you." Lawrence said cheerfully as he hurried back to Roris' side.

Roris was surprised that Lawrence was able to put the coat on him, seemingly without any effort whatsoever.

* * * * *

"Wait. Let me get this straight. The President of the United States was impeached last night?" Jay asked disbelievingly.

"Yes. There's a whole lot to how they were able to make that happen with all the chaos that's going on, but they finally pulled it all together and formalized it early this morning." Carson said casually.

"I don't get this next part about the Vice President." Jay said slowly as he tried to make sense of the somewhat convoluted description.

"Come back and read it later, you need to get to the next part about the inauguration, there's a video clip that you're going to want to see." Carson said as he tried to restrain a smile.

"Inauguration? Do you mean that President Bryce is officially president again?" Jay asked quickly.

"Yes. But that's not the best part. Just watch." Carson said as his smile broke through.

* * * * *

"What are you guys doing out here?" Bax asked the two men standing behind the house.

"Jarritt wanted to go outside and see where we are. We never really got a good look at it yesterday."

"Yeah. The only time I ever left Florida before was to go with Ben and Danny up to the cabin in the hills. That was fun!" Jarritt said happily.

"I'm Bax, this is Max and Ro. Those guys are Roris and Lawrence." Bax said before stopping to take in a long slow inhale of the cold morning air.

"My name is Apollo and this is Jarritt." Apollo said with a smile at the gregarious youth.

"It's nice to meet you. We're going to that house over there where Roris' parents live. Do you want to come with us?" Bax asked cheerfully.

Apollo looked at Jarritt to see how he felt and found him staring at Lawrence. "I guess... Do you want to go meet some new people?"

"He's pretty!" Jarritt said as he kept his gaze on Lawrence.

Apollo blushed as he said, "Please excuse Jarritt if he says something that seems impolite. He has a habit of saying whatever's on his mind."

"So does Lawrence. Don't worry about it." Roris said as he looked at Apollo and Jarritt with an appraising eye.

Apollo looked at Lawrence curiously. The young man was stunning to behold, his light blond hair nearly glistening in the morning sunlight. However, the expression the young man wore was that of complete innocence.

"So, are we going or what?" Bax asked as he looked around at the young adults.

"His name is Bax, but we'll understand if you call him Bug Jr." Roris said with a playful smile.

Bax shrugged and said, "I been called worse."

"Guys, my dads' place is right there. Let's go see if breakfast is ready!" Ro said suddenly.

"Yeah!"

"Okay!"

Roris, Lawrence, Apollo and Jarritt watched as the trio of walking stomachs scurried away.

* * * * *

"Woah! Hold on! That's Mike, the guy upstairs!" Jay exclaimed.

"Not only that, look behind him, to his left." Carson giggled.

"Is that your dad and mom?" Jay asked in wonder.

"That's right. And that room that they're standing in, it's upstairs." Carson said with a grin.

"Holy crap! The Vice President was inaugurated here in this house?" Jay asked disbelievingly.

"Just a few hours ago." Carson confirmed.

"I thought you said that the stuff that happened was bad! This is incredible!" Jay said with a glorious smile at Carson.

"Yeah, well, the bad stuff is coming next." Carson said regretfully.

* * * * *

"Good morning, Rory! I wasn't expecting you to stop by this morning. Please, all of you, come in!" Doris said cheerfully.

"Thanks, Mom." Roris said as he led the way into the living room.

"How are you doing this morning, Lawrence?" Doris asked pleasantly.

"I feel good. I like it here." Lawrence said with a heart-stopping smile.

"Mom, I'd like for you to meet Apollo and Jarritt." Roris said formally. And, for once, his computerized voice conveyed the proper emotion.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Please have a seat. Have you had breakfast? Can I get you anything?" Doris asked as she gestured for them to take seats in the living room.

"Do you have any coffee?" Lawrence asked as he took a seat.

"No, dear. But I have a variety of herbal teas. Would you like something like that?" Doris asked pleasantly.

"Sure. And I like lots of milk and sugar in mine." Lawrence said cheerfully.

"I don't use actual milk or sugar, but I think I can come up with something that you'll enjoy. Would anyone else like some?" Doris asked as she looked around.

"Yeah. I'd like to try it. Do you want some, Paul-o?" Jarritt asked with a smile.

"No, but thanks for asking." Apollo said hesitantly.

"You guys, make yourselves comfortable, I'll be right back." Doris said as she rushed away.

Apollo looked around for a moment, then said, "This place is really nice. Cozy."

"Yes. This is one of the guest houses. I can't believe that anyone could have a place as nice as the Browns'." Roris said honestly.

"Someday, I'd like for us to have a house like this." Jarritt said to Apollo as he put an arm around him.

"Me and Roris, too." Lawrence said happily as he got up from his place on the couch and climbed onto Roris' lap.

"Unca Rory!" A small voice crowed.

All the young men turned to see Cheyenne rush into the room and immediately to Roris' side.

"Good morning. How's my favorite niece this morning?" Roris asked with a smile.

"You sound just like my bouncy game!" Cheyenne giggled.

"What is that?" Roris asked with a smile.

"The bouncy game is one of the preschooler games that she has on her tablet. It has a computerized voice something like yours." A red-headed woman said from the kitchen doorway.

"Everyone, this is my sinister, Corina." Roris said with a smile, then a look of surprise took it's place.

"Sinister?" Corina chuckled.

"The voice box still has a few bugs to work out." Roris hurried to explain.

"Actually, I don't mind being thought of as your 'sinister Corina'. It kind of fits." Corina said with a grin.

"You've got a point."

* * * * *

"Oh my God! Where the missiles are going... isn't that where that big convoy is supposed to be?" Jay asked in panic.

"Yes. But from the bits and pieces of information I've been able to gather, it looks like our refugees weren't targeted." Carson said with a weary gaze at the screen before him.

"Then what're the targets?" Jay asked anxiously.

"You'll have to get with Theodore to get the list. I only know a few of them. The last time I talked to him, he made me realize that me focusing on all this stuff that's out of my control is taking me away from preparing for all the people who are coming here and isn't helping anyone. I'm still keeping an eye on things, but I'm not digging to find the details unless there's a reason. There's too much for me to do right here, right now." Carson said in a pained voice.

"Is that all?" Jay asked hopefully.

"No, there's one more thing. A little good news to take the edge off the bad." Carson said with a smile that was a little bit forced.

"I could use some good news." Jay said honestly.

"You see that? Japan and Australia have dispatched ships to our West Coast to aid in the relief efforts." Carson said as he pointed at the screen.

"But won't it take weeks for them to get here?" Jay asked cautiously.

"No. They had some ships on maneuvers somewhere around the Bering Strait. I know that everyone wishes that they were closer, but they'll still be able to save a lot of lives." Carson said frankly.

"I guess that's something." Jay reluctantly admitted.

"Now, if you're up to it, I think it's time for us to get to work." Carson said as he turned more fully to look at Jay.

"What do you need for me to do?" Jay asked quietly.

"Help to keep me sane in an insane world." Carson said as he looked deeply into Jay's eyes.

"You can count on me." Jay said confidently.

"If you guys are done over there, I've got sixteen cars from Seaside, Oregon, set to arrive in about forty five minutes. HoboCree wants to let Studmffn know that he's coming." Hobie called out from across the room.

"Sixteen families, got it." Seth said quickly.

"Really? I talked to him, like, once, maybe two years ago." Carson said uncertainly.

"I guess that makes you a close personal friend to him when he's going to someplace he's never been before." Hobie said playfully.

"Yeah. You're practically besties." Seth chuckled.

A ringing sound caused Carson to turn his attention back to Dizzy.

"What's up, Tommy?" Carson asked seriously.

"I think I'm going to need some help here. This is going to get out of control if we don't do something quick." Tommy said anxiously.

"Tell me what you need and I'll try to get it for you." Carson quickly replied.

"First of all, I love the updates that you're doing on the organization plan. You're making things a lot easier for everyone as far as placement." Tommy said earnestly.

"That's more Bug than me. I've been keeping track of the changes he's been making, but frankly, some of what he's doing is beyond me. It's so bare bones and basic that I can't even follow... you know what? Nevermind, what was it that you were needing?" Carson asked distractedly.

"Well, what I need most is some people to help organize the volunteers so that we can help the most people possible. Right now, everyone is doing whatever they can to help out, and they're doing great, but we have about eight different people watching after kids in eight different places while the parents are being seen at the hospital or other serious stuff that the kids don't need to see. We've got it working for the moment, but when we start getting flooded, we're going to need to have this organized to handle large groups."

"We could talk to Mrs. Tedesco about using the school as a central location for childcare. And I bet that if you asked her, she'd be willing to ask a few of the teachers to come in and help out." Carson said thoughtfully.

"No. I mean, yeah, that's a good idea, and I'll get right on that. But what I'm saying is that when the tidal wave of people comes crashing down on us, there's probably going to be a million and one things that are going to pop up and need someone to handle them. I need a group of leaders and organizers that I can trust to make decisions without me watching over them." Tommy said seriously.

"Think of all the people like Uncle Karl and Mr. Kristoffson who you know can handle a huge organizational structure, and delegate a chunk of what you're doing to them. After that, look at the people who've arrived in the past few days and give them more specialized jobs that are suited to their knowledge and abilities." Carson said as he divided his attention to watch what was happening on his other screens.

"But I've barely met any of them. I have no idea what any of them can do and I don't have time to find out." Tommy said irritably.

"Well, I've had a chance to get to know some of them, but I'm really tied down here. But if you wanted, you could ask Nanny, Mom, Dad or Mikey to check people out. Then they could get back to you and help to see who fits best where. Once that's done, it should free you up to focus on other things." Carson said reasonably.

"I think I'll ask Mikey, first. He's been kinda chasing around after me, asking for something to do." Tommy said in a slow, considering voice.

"While I've got you, any word on the food deliveries? None of this is going to matter if we can't feed these people." Carson said frankly.

"I've got six trucks at the factory warehouse and... maybe six more on the way. The distributor I've been using is down to a skeleton crew, so the next shipment might be slow in coming, but he's promised me that he'll keep the dry goods coming for as long as he can." Tommy said seriously.

"That's good to hear. Up until the earthquake, I thought we had the supply problems handled, but with the way things are, it wouldn't take very much at all for the whole supply chain to come crashing down." Carson said gravely.

"Do you think I should get with Dad and use some of his contacts to try and get a supply line established from Canada?" Tommy asked thoughtfully.

"Yes. In fact, you should do that right now. I've got to get back with Alvin to find out if we have a place for our refugees to go once they've been fed and their cars are fit for travel."

"I got that text you sent asking about the fuel but I didn't get to work on it, yet. Did you already have someone in mind for me to talk to about that?" Tommy asked suddenly.

"Oh, right! I've already got that covered. You can just forget about it." Carson said absently as he typed.

"So it's completely done? I don't need to do anything?" Tommy asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I just got the confirmation a few minutes ago and I forgot to text you. As soon as I get a timetable for the expected arrival, I'll put it up on the network and send you a link." Carson said absently.

"Okay. Sounds good. Then I guess I need to talk to Dad, then track down Mikey and see if he wants to help me out." Tommy said slowly.

"That kid, Ty, is probably still with him. Make sure that you ask him to help you, too. I know he's feeling like he's just a tag-along, right now. I bet if you could find a way to give him a special job to do that it'd probably mean a lot to him." Carson said as he paused for a moment.

"I don't know him that well, but I'll see what I can do." Tommy said seriously.

"Give me a yell if you need any help with anything." Carson said as he turned back to his monitors.

"You're the one with the plan. I'm just trying to make it happen." Tommy said with a chuckle.

"Thanks, Tommy. I don't think we'd have any chance of pulling this off if you hadn't decided to take action when you did. However this ends up turning out, you're an important part of helping a lot of people." Carson said seriously.

"And so are you and everyone who's helping us. No matter how it goes, we're all in this together." Tommy said frankly.

* * * * *

"I thought you would be doing gory things in my 'clean room' by now. What are you guys doing?" Ryan Brown asked as he walked into the conference room where everyone was more or less watching Bug type.

"Dr. Murten said that he had to check on a few things before he could start." Brother Jacques said as he looked at Zane sympathetically.

Mr. Brown's attention was drawn by Bug's incessant typing.

"Are you working on a project, there?" He asked curiously as he made his way around the table.

"Yeah. I'm doing some mods on the refugee database." Bug said absently as he continued typing at a blinding speed.

When Mr. Brown got close enough, he was astonished to see that Bug's computer screen was like an old Commodore computer and that he was working entirely in text.

"Actually, from the amount of work he's been doing on it, he might be rewriting the whole thing." Zane said distractedly.

"Nah. I left one or two of Carson's things alone. But I have been able to integrate a whole new series of search capabilities. When I'm done, if you need a mechanic or a nurse or something, you can find who and where they are, so you can ask them if they want to stay here and help out." Bug said comfortably, showing no signs of slowing down in his typing.

"Is that C++?" Ryan asked cautiously.

"Sort of. But I built in a few shortcuts, mostly having to do with the object oriented stuff. It always feels like I'm taking the long way around when I use straight C++." Bug said absently.

"You rewrote C++?" Ryan asked in astonishment.

"Just a little. It compiles the same, so it's no big deal." Bug said frankly.

"I'm sorry that took so long." Dr. Murten said from the doorway.

"Is everything ready?" Brother Jacques asked anxiously.

"Well, I think I can safely say that, from a medical standpoint, we're as prepared as we're going to get. I'll have to leave it to my son-in-law to determine if the technology is working so that we can begin." Dr. Murten said with a smirk at Ryan.

"I suppose that I'd better go check on that." Ryan said with a smile at his father-in-law, then hurried out of the room.

Bug typed a few final commands, then closed his laptop and stood.

"You can stay in here and work on your stuff if you want to." Ken said quietly.

"No. This is what I came for. This is when you're probably going to need me." Bug said with a smile.

"Are you okay?" Brother Jacques asked Zane gently.

"I know this isn't any big deal, but I've been worrying about this for so long... I can't explain it. I guess I'm just scared." Zane said honestly.

"You have every right to be scared. But try to remember that I'm here if you need me." Brother Jacques said seriously.

"It shouldn't take Ryan very long to get his gizmos up and running. We can go in, now, if you like." Dr. Murten said with a smile.

* * * * *

"Since this is a relatively minor procedure, being done with a local anesthetic, I can allow you to be in here to reassure the patient, as long as all of you will stand back out of the surgical area." Dr. Murten said as they entered the RF Clean Room.

"Okay, Doctor, this officially creeps me out." Brother Jacques said as he looked around the room that looked like a handyman's garage with a surgical bed and two trays set up in the middle.

"It does remind me of those slasher movies the youngsters are so fond of today." Dr. Murten said with a considering look around.

"Not helping." Brother Jacques said as he held Zane a little bit tighter to his side.

"If you guys will hold on for just another few minutes, we're doing a few final tests to be one hundred percent sure that no signals can get out of this room." Ryan said as he rushed in.

"Do what you need to do. But realize that the longer you take, the bigger the lunch you're going to have to buy me when we leave." Dr. Murten said playfully.

"Oh, so that's how it works?" Ryan asked in mock surprise.

"Ready test one, ready test one." A voice said from an overhead speaker.

Ryan walked to one of the work benches and turned on a piece of equipment, then called out, "Test one, activate."

After a moment, the voice on the intercom said, "Ready test two, ready test two."

Ryan punched a few buttons, then said, "Test two, activate."

"This is what they pay you ungodly amounts of money to do?" Dr. Murten asked his son-in-law with a chuckle.

"Actually, I don't usually do this much. But we're running with a skeleton crew today because most everyone is at home, glued to their televisions and wouldn't be able to work productively anyway." Ryan said frankly.

The door opened and a man in a lab coat walked in. "It's confirmed. All the tests show no leakage. You're okay to proceed."

"Thanks, Allen." Ryan said as he reached over to turn off the equipment.

Bug felt a hand grab his arm, followed by a sudden weight pulling into his side.

"What's wrong, Ken?" Bug whispered.

In a barely audible voice, Ken gasped, "That's my Pop."

Chapter 26: Still There

"Dax, you don't know how lucky you really are. Most people, the vast majority, will only see the world through a gauzy veil of what's considered 'normal and natural'. You've been given a tremendous gift. You can see a world of possibilities that they can never conceive, much less consider." Ben said to me in an earnest tone.

"Are you saying that being a sissy is some kind of gift?" I asked hesitantly, not sure if that was what he really meant.

"Only you can decide if it's a gift or a curse, but what I'm telling you is that the reason people hate and fear you is that they can't understand you. The world is a big scary place and they've made a list of rules that govern how it operates so that they can navigate it safely. You, by your very existence, break those rules." Ben said seriously.

"So does that mean that even though I'm a guy, I don't have to act a certain way?" I asked cautiously, beginning to understand his meaning.

"That's part of it. Gay, straight, butch, fem, male, female... none of them are absolute; there are degrees. I can see you struggling to find who you are and I want to help you." Ben said sincerely.

I slowly nodded that I was following what he said.

"Find what makes you feel beautiful and joyful, then present that to the world without apology. Whatever you choose, I'm sure that before long a special someone will see it and think that you're the most perfect thing ever. They'll love and accept you for who you are."

"You said 'choose'. But being gay isn't a choice. Is it?" I asked hesitantly.

"No, but how you present yourself to the world is a choice. And whatever you choose is the right choice for you... as long as it's what you really want."

I thought about that for a moment, then cautiously asked, "So if I wanted to wear a dress or something, that'd be okay?"

"If it makes you feel comfortable in your own skin, why not?" Ben responded with a smile.

I nodded as I considered his answer.

"Do you want to dress as a girl?" Ben asked in a low, cautious voice.

"What?" I asked with surprise, then my brain caught up to his question and I said, "No. I've never really wanted to do that."

"Okay. Then don't. Just dress and act the way that feels natural and right to you. Be 'Dax'. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks about your choices. That way they can accept you or reject you for who you really are."

"But what if I want to be a butch, all-male guy, like you?" I asked uncertainly.

After a moment, he responded, "I suppose if that were your choice, you could start lifting weights and working out and practicing the 'straight' mannerisms that define that type of person. Do you think that if you were buff and well-muscled that you'd be happy with yourself? Or would you be living a lie?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm just used to being ashamed of who I am."

"Stand up." Ben said as he also stood.

Reluctantly, I got to my feet and looked at Ben uncertainly.

"What do you think you could do right now to feel sexy and attractive?" Ben asked seriously.

My mind was drawing a complete blank, so I honestly said, "I don't know. I've never felt that way."

Ben looked me up and down, one time, then said, "Take off your shirt."

That surprised me.

It took me a second, but I finally stammered, "What?"

"Just do it. Trust me. I have a reason for asking." Ben said with a smile that encouraged me.

I still felt a little bit awkward about it, but I managed to pull the shirt off over my head without too much difficulty.

It wasn't until the shirt was off that I noticed that I was about half-hard in my sweat pants, and that without my shirt hanging down, Ben could see it.

"There's a mirror over the dresser. Take a look and tell me what you see." Ben told me as he gestured across the room.

I walked over to the dresser and had to fight not to look away when I saw my own image.

Ben seemed to be waiting for me to say something, so I quietly said, "I'm too skinny and I'm way too pale."

"You're beautiful." Ben said firmly, and I saw him looking at my reflection in the mirror.

"There are people who would give everything they have in this world to look like you do. You're trim and toned with almost no body fat. Hold on, let me show you something." Ben said, then started taking off his shirt.

I couldn't help but stare as his firm, hairy, well-muscled chest came into view.

Ben moved to my side and said, "Tell me what you see now."

"God, Ben! You're beautiful!" I gasped without thinking.

"So are you." Ben said with a smile, then quietly added, "Look at us. Really look and tell me what you see."

It took some effort for me to focus on myself, but with Ben beside me, I was able to do it.

"Even though I'm skinny and pale, beside you, I look kinda good." I said nervously.

"We contrast each other. You're smooth, I'm hairy. You're slender and I'm muscled... at least, a little. My darker skin tone complements your lighter tone. There is absolutely nothing wrong with how you look. I couldn't imagine how you could be one bit more attractive than you are already."

I don't know if it was Ben's words, or seeing him shirtless like that, but for whatever reason, I suddenly had the biggest raging hard-on boner ever.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked me with concern.

I was afraid to move or say anything for fear that he might notice. But he was expecting me to answer, so I stammered, "I'm... just..."

To my horror, I saw Ben's gaze shift down in the mirror to focus on the tent in my sweat pants.

"You know I'm straight, right?" Ben asked me in a gentle tone.

"I know." I said as the impossibility of my forbidden desires was exposed.

"You probably already know this, but straight guys sometimes do things together." Ben said in a cautious tone.

HOLD ON! WHAT!?

I tried to make my voice not shake as I answered, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Ben said quietly, then continued, "I don't know if it's guys just testing the water to confirm where their interests really lie, or maybe it's just overriding their natural inclinations for an opportunity to get off."

"Have you ever done that?" I asked in a breathy whisper that did nothing to hide my escalating desire.

"Yes. I did it for a couple years, actually." Ben said as a slight blush colored his cheeks.

It was hard for me to tell, because Ben was wearing blue jeans, but I was about ninety percent sure that I could see a bulge forming in his pants.

Hoping to encourage him down the path I thought we were taking, I hesitantly asked, "What do straight guys do together?"

"Well, I can't speak for all straight guys. But what I did was mostly mutual jack-offs. I tried a few other things along the way, but I think that was mostly experimenting."

"So, you'd jack off with another straight guy?" I asked as I watched carefully for his reaction.

There was no doubt about it, Ben was definitely sporting some major wood.

"Yeah. Sometimes we'd do each other. But that's about it." Ben said slowly, but I could hear a slight tremble in his voice.

"That sounds amazing." I said... I'm not sure where that came from, but it was honest.

Ben let out a long sigh, then bent down and picked up his shirt. He gave me a look in the mirror that seemed to be tinged with regret as he said, "It's part of growing up. At least, it was for me. There's no way I can guess what's going to happen to you, but what I want you to keep in mind is that whatever you do with another person, as long as it's consensual, is okay and the right thing and nothing to be ashamed of."

We were so close and now Ben seemed to be backing away.

"Do you want to..." I began to say, but couldn't give voice to my desire.

Ben met my gaze in the mirror as he said, "Honestly? There's a part of me that would enjoy that. But I want you to be able to trust me and to feel safe. I know that if you and I did anything like that, that we'd run the risk of ruining everything else that we have."

What he said made perfect sense, but at the same time, my body was screaming out to me that it wanted release.

"Why don't you go to your room and take care of that? You'll be able to think a lot more clearly about things if you don't have a boner distracting you." Ben said to me gently.

I don't know where it came from, but before I could even think about what was the 'right thing' to do, I moved forward and pulled Ben into a full, deep kiss.

I half expected Ben to push me away, but instead, I felt his arms wrap around me and his bare chest against mine.

One of his hands slid down to rest on my butt and he gripped me, just a little.

I ground against him and felt my erection come into alignment with his.

Then, to my surprise and delight, I felt one of his hands slide down my belly and past the waistband into my sweat pants.

My breath caught when Ben's hand enclosed around my erection.

Ben pulled away, and in a raspy whisper he said, "I love you, Dax."

As his thumb grazed the head of my erection, the seed that had been boiling within me erupted with an intensity that I'd never felt before.

Dax jolted awake as another spasm of release washed over him.

It took a moment for him to realize where he was and what was happening to him.

After a moment to catch his breath and sort out his swirling thoughts and emotions, he finally said to himself, "I guess you'll only ever be the man of my dreams."

A glance at the bedside clock told him that he'd overslept, so he got out of bed to go clean up the mess in his sweat pants and start his day.

* * * * *

"Doctor, are you ready for me?" A woman asked as she walked into the room.

"Yes. We're just about ready to begin. Everyone, this is Nurse Nakahara, she's going to be helping me today." Dr. Murten said happily.

"Kev, would you keep an eye on things here and let us know if Brother Jacques or Zane need anything?" Bug asked quietly.

"Yeah." Kev said with a look of concern at his twin.

"Pop?" Ken said to Allen, oblivious to everything else that was going on around him.

After a moment, Allen hesitantly said, "Cute stuff?"

"Let's step outside and let the doctor work." Bug said as he wrapped an arm around Ken and led him to the door.

"Cute stuff? Is that really you?" Allen asked as tears welled in his eyes.

"Come outside with us so you two can talk." Bug said as he continued to guide Ken to walk with him.

Finally, Allen seemed to realize what Bug was saying and started walking toward the door.

* * * * *

A spirited bout of knocking on the door caused everyone to look up.

"I've got it!" A man's voice called from another part of the house.

Everyone in the living room heard the front door open, then the clamor of little feet as the young trio scrambled through the entry hall and into the room.

"We didn't know if you'd still be here! Did we miss anything?" Max asked, a little bit out of breath.

"No. We were just visiting. You guys can take off your coats and join us, if you'd like." Roris said.

There was a silent moment as looks flashed from one to another, then at some unspoken cue, all three started to take their coats off.

"Would you boys like some breakfast? I have everything I need to make Ezekiel flour pancakes with a fig and soy milk syrup. How about it?" Doris asked cheerfully.

Another silent conference was conducted with facial expressions and eye movements before Bax finally said, "No, thank you, Ma'am. We just had breakfast."

Apollo turned when someone else walked into the room. The man had red hair which was slightly graying and kept in a business cut. Although the clothes he wore would technically be classified as casual, they were of such quality that they projected a facade of professionalism. But in Apollo's eyes, all of that was of secondary importance when he saw the man's height... or lack thereof.

"Everyone, I'd like for you to meet my husband, Marcus. Maybe Rory could introduce you to his friends." Doris said as she walked to her husband's side.

Apollo noticed that Doris stood about four inches taller than her husband.

"Dad, I'd like for you to meet Apollo and Jarritt. And the boys are Max, Bax and Ro." Roris said carefully.

"It's very nice to meet you. As my wife said, I'm Marcus. Corina and Roris are my children and Cheyenne is my granddaughter." Marcus said pleasantly.

Apollo took note of the man's dignified and self-confident tone. The few times he had encountered people of his own height, they tended to fall into two categories. They were either as timid and withdrawn as he tended to be, or they were excessively loud and forceful, trying to compensate for what they lacked in height with abrasiveness and tenacity.

"Do you want to play a game?" Cheyenne asked Bax hopefully.

"Sure. I guess." Bax said casually, then looked at his companions to see if they agreed.

Max and Ro gave identical disinterested shrugs, then followed as Cheyenne led them out of the room.

A tea kettle whistling caused Doris to hurry away.

Marcus looked around, then asked, "Can you believe all that's happened the past two days?"

"It's like something out of a late night disaster movie." Corina said frankly.

"Worse." Roris said with a glance at his sister.

"Carson is working really hard to make a safe place for people to go. Me and Rory are helping him." Lawrence said proudly.

Apollo pried his gaze away from Marcus to pay attention to the stunning young man.

"Lawrence is right. Somehow, Carson's been able to get the local communities to open their arms to refugees from all over the country. He's coordinating things so there will be food and shelter for everyone who needs it." Roris said seriously.

There was a long, silent moment, then Marcus said, "I hadn't considered that after facilitating our rescue, that he would be extending his efforts to reach out to the rest of the country."

"Yeah. And he's letting us help people who need special help, like if they're in wheelchairs or blind or brain damaged, like me." Lawrence said frankly.

"That's right. The placement program will be used to direct the general population to where they need to go to receive help. But Lawrence and I will help the people who need things that Bug's program doesn't cover." Roris said reasonably.

"It's fantastic that you're able to do something to help." Corina said admiringly.

"You could help, too." Jarritt said frankly.

Corina turned and looked at him curiously.

"I don't know who Carson is, but if he's helping so many people, I bet that he'd like it if people wanted to help him to help them." Jarritt continued.

"He's right. If you wanted, I could ask Carson if there's anything you can do to help when I get back to the main house." Roris offered helpfully.

"Sure. As long as Mom doesn't mind watching Cheyenne, I'd be happy to help." Corina said happily.

"I'll call you back as soon as I've talked to Carson." Roris said with an appreciative smile at his sister.

As Roris and Corina were talking, Apollo let his focus shift back to Marcus, who was casually half-sitting, leaning on the arm of the couch.

* * * * *

"Kenny?" Allen asked as tears began to fall down his cheeks.

"Pop?" Ken said as he ran to the man and pulled him into a firm hug.

Bug watched the tearful reunion for a moment before saying, "I'm guessing that you guys know each other."

"This is my Pop... my dad's boyfriend before he died." Ken sobbed.

"Well... fuck." Bug said absently, at a loss for what else to say.

"Pop, this is Bug, he's our boyfriend." Ken said as he continued to hold the man close.

"Our?" Allen asked cautiously.

"Yeah. I'm dating the twins. You got a problem with that?" Bug asked in a tone of voice that was more curious than belligerent.

Allen held Ken for a long, silent moment before responding, "I'm not sure. I'll have to get back to you on that."

Bug considered the response, then said, "Works for me."

"What happened to you? When I tried to call you, there wasn't any answer." Ken asked as he pulled away enough to look Allen in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry about that. I took some sleeping pills and my exhaustion caught up to me. In fact, it was thanks to you calling your friend, Tiffany, that Wallace came over and found me passed out and took me to the hospital. I got your message and tried to call you back when I got out, but I couldn't reach you." Allen said before he pulled Ken in for another hug.

"Yeah. My phone died and by the time I could charge it up again, the service was turned off. Things were kinda crazy back then." Ken said into Allen's chest.

"How are you? How did things turn out with your mother?" Allen asked gently.

"She skipped town before I got the chance to meet her. But... I don't know, things worked out. Looking back, I was really lucky and met some fantastic, remarkable people. I think that losing touch with you was probably one of my only regrets."

"I'm so sorry, Kenny. I was such a wreck when your father died... there's so much more that I should have done." Allen said despairingly.

Ken thought for a moment, then quietly said, "As far as I'm concerned, everything that you did honored my dad's memory. You have nothing to be sorry for."

A chiming sound from the laptop that Bug was carrying caused Ken and Allen to turn their heads in unison.

"Sorry. I didn't know it would do that." Bug said as he opened the lid of the laptop and supported it with one hand.

"User... Bug... Accepted." Sounded from the computer's speakers as the screen came to life.

Allen immediately looked at the laptop with interest.

"Did I just get a message or something?" Bug asked as he looked at the screen.

"A text message was sent by Carson. Would you like the message to be read aloud?" the computer asked courteously.

"No. Just show me." Bug said seriously.

Allen guided Ken to walk with him as he tried to get a better look at the laptop Bug was holding.

"Shit. Carson needs me to set up another table." Bug muttered absently.

"I'm in charge of this facility. Just let me know what you need and I'll be happy to help you." Allen said as he puzzled over the antiquated display on the, obviously, advanced computer in Bug's hands.

"Ken, would you mind too much if I went back to that conference room for a little bit? You can come and get me if you need me for anything at all." Bug asked hopefully.

"I appreciate that you came here to be with us, Bug. Go and do whatever you need to do to help Carson. I promise that if anything happens that I'll come and get you." Ken said warmly.

Bug walked up to Ken and gave him a firm kiss before hurrying away.

"I get the feeling that your boyfriend is an amazing person." Allen said

as he turned his attention back to Ken.

"We've only been together a few days, but, yeah. I think he is." Ken said with a tender smile.

"Come on, we can talk more comfortably in my office." Allen said warmly as he started to lead the way.

* * * * *

Courtney walked into Carson's room and looked at Hobie, Seth and Jay, all hard at work, before focusing on Carson, docked in his alcove.

"Is something wrong?" Carson asked cautiously when he noticed her serious expression.

"No. Not wrong... but, let's just say that things are about to get interesting." Courtney said with a pained look at Carson.

"I'm juggling about a dozen things right now. Can you just tell me?" Carson asked as he glanced back to his screens.

"I suggest that you get your juggling settled as much as you can because when Juan gets here, any balls that are still in the air are probably going to be dropped." Courtney said gravely.

"Yeah. Okay. But what should I expect? Who is Juan?" Carson asked irritably.

"There's not really anything I can tell you to prepare you. Juan just has an... 'abundant' personality. I can't begin to guess at what he might say or do. But whatever it is, it'll probably be over the top." Courtney said cautiously.

"O-kay." Carson said slowly.

"I guess there's one thing that I can tell you, now." Courtney said thoughtfully.

"What's that?"

"You're probably going to ask yourself this later, so I'll save you the trouble of asking and answer you now..."

Carson nodded for her to continue.

"The answer is, 'Yes. He is that good'."

* * * * *

"Carson, you have an incoming call from the warehouse at the new factory." Dizzy said as Carson was trying to get everything settled in preparation for Juan's impending visit.

"This is Carson. Go ahead." Carson said absently.

"I was trying to reach whoever is in charge of the food deliveries." A man's voice said uncertainly.

"You got him. Who is this?" Carson asked as he devoted more of his attention to the incoming call.

"My name is Davis Gray. Mr. Brown hired me to manage the warehouse for him. I've got a problem here and I'm not sure what to do about it." Davis said anxiously.

"What's the problem. I'll see what I can do." Carson said simply.

"The computer system has a listing of all the expected deliveries and I've got everything set up to stage them for easy access to whatever's needed. But I keep getting trucks in that aren't on the list. The drivers have been telling me that they either can't deliver their loads because they won't be able to reach their destinations or that they've been redirected to aid in the relief effort. The problem is, we're not going to have the space to offload the unexpected trucks if they keep coming." Davis said seriously.

"Are we talking about anything perishable or is it all dry goods?" Carson asked as he stopped working on his other screens.

"It's everything. But anything that requires freezing or refrigeration is being rerouted to the local grocery stores. We don't have the facilities for that."

"Okay. For right now, do your best to keep track of what's on each truck and have them park or drop their trailers, if they need to. I'll need to check on a few things and I'll get back to you in the next hour or so. If you don't hear from me in the next two hours, call me back." Carson said firmly.

"I've already had a few drivers drop their trailers, I'm just worried that we're going to run out of space before very long." Davis said frankly.

"Got it. Give me time to work and I'll get back to you when I have a solution." Carson said seriously.

"Thanks. I'll keep things going here until you have a plan." Davis said, sounding much relieved.

"Besides the unexpected deliveries, how are things going there?" Carson thought to ask.

"We're a little short-handed, but we're managing." Davis said honestly.

"As people arrive, I'll be sending anyone with warehouse experience your way. Be sure to call and let me know when to stop sending them."

"Thanks. Will do." Davis said happily.

"And be sure and call me if you need anything else." Carson said as he started typing.

"I will. Thanks."

"Bye."

Carson looked at his screens, then shook his head as he started composing a text message to Bug.

* * * * *

"Ryan, would you come over here?" Dr. Murten asked seriously.

"Didn't you need for me to stay away?" Ryan asked cautiously.

"Don't do what I said, do what I'm saying. Come over here." Dr. Murten said firmly.

"Okay." Ryan said hesitantly as he walked close to his father-in-law's side.

"Ryan, this looks as though it's going to be quite a bit more involved than I had originally planned. Do you think you could get the others out of here without raising too much of a fuss?" Dr. Murten asked seriously.

"Sure, but what's wrong?" Ryan asked with concern.

"I'll explain, later. Please just get everyone out of here so I can get to work." Dr. Murten said urgently.

Ryan nodded, then hurried back across the room, to start talking to people.

* * * * *

"What's all this?" Ben asked as he saw people from the tents in the front yard, as well as a few military men, carrying boxes into the house and up the stairs.

"Just some tech that they're needing upstairs." One of the kids said as he passed.

"Should we help them?" Dax asked cautiously from Ben's side.

"We need to check in with Carson, first. He's probably been expecting us for two or three hours." Ben said frankly.

"If he needed us, he would've called us. He's like that." Oleksandr said simply.

Ben smiled at the boy clung to his side and said, "You're right, Olex. Thanks."

Oleksandr smiled and tightened his hug on Ben, just a little.

* * * * *

"Sorry I'm so late, Carson. I don't know if it's jet lag or the time change or what, but all three of us slept late this morning." Ben said as he walked into the room.

"Not a problem. Did you have breakfast?" Carson asked as he glanced back at them over his shoulder.

"Yeah. Just now."

"Good. If you want to sign in on the laptop by Jay, you'll find a news summary on the main page. That'll get you caught up on what's happened since you went to sleep. Once that's done, I need for you to dig into the current political situation and news reports to see if you can notice any trends that we need to be worried about." Carson said seriously.

"I'm on it." Ben said confidently as he walked to the work table and took a seat, careful not to drop Oleksandr as he did so.

"Is there anything I can do?" Dax asked as he looked around.

"I don't have anything at the moment. Tommy would probably be the best one to talk to about that." Carson said as he turned his attention back to his monitors.

"You can help me, if you want." Ben said with a smile.

"What can I do?" Dax asked as he stepped to Ben's side.

"The guys kind of put me in charge of the Chicago refugees. While I'm reading the news summaries, you could look over what we have planned and see if you can spot anything that we might have overlooked." Ben said seriously.

"Okay." Dax said, pleasantly surprised, as Jay carried a folding chair over to him.

"Thanks." Dax said to Jay, then sat down beside Ben, close enough to touch, and began to share the laptop with him.

* * * * *

"You guys need any help?" Danny asked as he walked with Gerry and Myron into the large bustling central room.

The protection detail, made up of two men in suits, seemed to tense, but relaxed when Mike shook his head at them. "I don't think there's much you can do in here. But Eric and I are likely to be very busy now that our equipment has arrived. You might check with the boys and see what they're up to."

"That sounds good. Do you know where they are?" Danny asked curiously.

"Someone told us breakfast was being served in the dining room a while ago and that's the last I saw of them. You might try Sammy's room before you go downstairs looking for them." Mike said uncertainly.

"Yeah. We just came from the dining room and they weren't down there." Gerry said.

"Sammy's room is one door down, across the hall." Mike said as he pointed out the direction to go.

"We'll check with them and see if they might want to do something fun." Danny said with a smile.

Mike returned the smile and watched the three men go.

* * * * *

To Carson's surprise, the house phone beside his work station started to ring.

"Brown residence. Carson speaking." Carson said professionally.

"Good morning, Carson. Would it be possible for you to get in touch with my son, Dax? If he's available, I'd like to speak with him for a moment." A man asked in a very professional manner.

"Yes. In fact, he's right here. Just a second." Carson said quickly, then turned and said, "Dax, it's your dad."

"Really?" Dax squeaked in surprise.

"Yeah. Here, take it." Carson said as he held out the cordless phone.

Dax was in such a rush to grab the phone that he didn't get his footing quite right and ended up stumbling like a newborn colt across the room.

"Thanks." Dax said as he snatched the phone from Carson's hand.

"Dad? Is anything wrong?" Dax asked as he hurried out of the room.

Ben and Carson exchanged a look, silently exchanging their mutual concern for what might prompt such a call.

* * * * *

"Excuse me, Mr. Brown?" Nurse Nakahara asked as she walked into the hallway.

"He's right here." Kev said from Brother Jacques' side.

"Dr. Murten needs to speak to you. It's rather urgent." Nurse Nakahara said quietly.

"Yes. Of course." Ryan said immediately.

When Nurse Nakahara didn't make a move to go back into the RF Clean Room, he said, "I'm ready whenever you are."

"He asked me to wait out here." Nurse Nakahara said simply.

* * * * *

"Mrs. Brown, I'd like to introduce Juan and Adrian. They're... kind of important... in our organization. They're here to assess the security." Courtney said awkwardly, wanting to relate their significance without getting into their 'rank'.

"Nice place. Secluded. Defensible." Juan said as he looked around the interior appraisingly.

"Yes. But when we were house hunting, I drew the line at a moat." Deb said with a smile.

"Piranha." Juan said with a grin at Adrian.

Deb rolled her eyes, then said, "My husband recently hired someone to oversee the security of the house and grounds. Unless I miss my guess, we'll find Walt back here in the room under the stairs."

Juan looked at Deb curiously for a moment, then quietly asked, "You know a lot more than you're letting on, don't you?"

Deb gave Juan a secretive smile, then gestured ahead of them, toward the stairs.

* * * * *

"How are you doing, Dax? Are they treating you well?" Alex asked his son gently.

"I'm fine, Dad. Everyone's been really nice. How are things there?" Dax asked as he fought down his tears of joy.

"Actually, things aren't going quite as well as I would have liked, but I think the benefit is still outweighing the cost." Alex said cryptically, then quietly added, "Dax, there's a lot that I haven't told you. I wish I didn't have to tell you now. There are some things that I never wanted you to know."

"What is it, Dad? What's wrong?" Dax asked with concern.

"I suppose the best way to do this is just spit it out, so I don't have to dance around the subject... my grandfather, your great-grandfather was the legendary Al Capone." Alex said quietly.

"Al Capone... THE Al Capone?" Dax sputtered.

"The one and only. My father had his name altered, for obvious reasons, and my family name wasn't passed on to you for the same reason. I never intended for you to know about this. I wanted for you to be free from the legacy." Alex said in a pained voice.

"Okay. I guess I can understand that. And I can even see why you didn't tell me when I was little. But I'm glad that you told me now." Dax said gratefully.

"That's not all." Alex said reluctantly.

"Oh. Okay." Dax said cautiously.

"Dax. What I told you about my job at the police department was only half true. I mean, I do that job, just like I told you, but outside of work, I've been carrying on with the 'family business'."

"You can't mean that you're a mob..." Dax began to say, but was interrupted.

"It's best not to say certain things over the phone. But yes, I can mean that." Alex said frankly.

"Oh... Okay, I guess." Dax said reluctantly.

"Good. Because that leads me to why I needed to talk to you today." Alex said at his son's reactions.

"Um, okay." Dax said nervously, sensing that something big was coming.

"You already know about some of the horrible things that have happened and the struggles that regular people everywhere are facing today. There are certain people who are pivotal in a community. They carry the heart and soul, the hopes and dreams of everyone they encounter. What I've tried to do is identify as many of those people as possible and get them to safety." Alex said carefully.

"Wow." Dax said in astonishment.

"Yes. Wow, indeed." Alex chuckled, then calmed as he quietly added, "Dax, what I'm trying to say is that I'm sending buses with our most precious loved ones to Kettle Falls, Washington, and I'm asking you to take care of them for me."

"Wait! What!?" Dax asked in astonishment.

"The buses are already on the road. I've used all my connections, both ways, to deliver them safely to you. I'm entrusting you with the heart and soul of Chicago." Alex said earnestly.

"I'm only fifteen! I can't lead people!" Dax squeaked.

"You're a Capone. It's in your blood." Alex said gently.

"But I'm gay! No one will follow me!" Dax hurried to say.

"You're my son... my only son. If anyone can do this, it's you." Alex said in a tone that was almost pleading.

"I... don't..." Dax began to stammer.

"Dax... Dakota... Think about it. I mean, really REALLY think about it. You don't need to tell me your answer. When the bus carrying your priest friend arrives, two of my people will be riding with him. They're going to contact you first thing when they get there. At that time, you'll either help our people, or you'll step back and let them do it." Alex said seriously.

"I don't know..." Dax hurried to explain to his father.

"Think about it. I have to go now. I love you, Dakota." Alex said softly.

"I love you, too, Dad."

* * * * *

"Way to go, Mikey!" Carson said as he looked at the search results.

"What's up?" Ben asked as he carried Oleksandr with him to stand at Carson's side.

"The guy at the warehouse was asking for some help and as luck would have it, Mikey found someone while he was talking to people who can probably help us out with it... that is, if he's willing." Carson said as he reached for the handset of the house phone, which wasn't there.

"Did you need for me to go get your phone back?" Ben asked when he noticed the aborted movement.

"That's okay. Dizzy can do it." Carson said as he keyed his instructions in on his keyboard.

"Hello?" A man's voice answered uncertainly.

"May I speak to Walter Mason? This is Carson Brown." Carson asked professionally.

"This is Walter, how can I help you?"

"I received a call from one of our people needing some help and I was wondering if you'd be willing to help him." Carson said as he looked around the room to find that everyone else had stopped what they were doing and were looking at him.

"What sort of help did you have in mind?" Walter asked cautiously.

"Well, we're currently using a warehouse to stockpile large amounts of food to help the displaced people who are just starting to arrive. But our man at the warehouse has run into a problem with several unexpected trucks full of various non-food goods that are being donated. I was just wondering if you'd like to help us sort that out, so that the donated goods can be distributed as efficiently as possible?" Carson asked hopefully.

"Actually, I have some experience with softlines distribution. I think that there might be something... wait a minute. Those kids that stopped by earlier, they were asking about what jobs I'd held. They told you about me, didn't they?" Walter asked accusingly.

"That's right. They're trying to find out what skills the people around here have, so that we can make the most out of what we've got to work with." Carson said honestly.

After a moment, Walter slowly said, "I'm unaccustomed to working for people with reasoning skills and common sense, that may take some adjustment. But, yes, I'd be happy to help you out."

"I have someone working on a new distribution program to make the whole thing go as smoothly as possible, as soon as that's in place, I'll call and let you know what's going on." Carson said with a smile.

"I'll be waiting for your call." Walter said happily.

As soon as the call disconnected, Carson looked over his shoulder at Hobie and said, "I need an empty warehouse."

"How close?" Hobie asked cautiously.

"Doesn't matter. They're dry goods. We need warehouse space more than convenience." Carson said frankly.

"Give me a few minutes. I'll get Dad on it." Hobie said seriously, then began to type.

"Mikey? You on?" Carson asked into the air.

"Carson? You know you freak me out when you suddenly start talking outta my tablet, right?" Mikey asked indignantly.

"Of course. That's why I do it." Carson chuckled.

"Did you need something, or did you just want to make me jump?"

"Who says I can't do both?" Carson asked with a grin.

"What do you want?" Mikey asked slowly.

"Just to thank you and Ty for helping us out by interviewing people. Your work is already paying off." Carson said with a smile.

"Already? We've only done, like, four people." Mikey said in surprise.

"Yeah. Well, one of those four will be going to work for us in probably less than an hour." Carson said happily.

"I'm glad it's working. Did you hear that, Ty? They already hired one of our guys." Mikey asked cheerfully.

"Let's go do some more." Ty said in the background.

"Good work, guys! Carson out!" Carson said, then cut the link.

* * * * *

"And this is where all the fun happens." Courtney said as she walked into the room with a small hispanic boy walking right behind her. Everyone turned and looked at the newcomer as Courtney walked up to where Carson was sitting. "Carson, I would like you to meet Juan."

"Hi, Juan. Courtney's told me... well, actually, nothing about you. Except, maybe, to be afraid." Carson said as he watched for the boy's reaction.

Juan couldn't help but grin. "That sounds about right." Juan started to look around, and then spotted Oleksandr sitting next to Ben. Juan got a soft smile on his face, pulled off his backpack, opened it up, and then pulled something out. "You know, you're cuter than Alvin said." He said as he walked across the room. Oleksandr responded by tucking his face into Ben's side to hide.

Juan smiled again, then held out the picture frame. It took a moment, but finally the smaller boy reached out and took it, turned it over, and grinned. "Thanks..." He said shyly as he hugged it to his chest.

"Alvin asked if you could send him one of you and your brothers." Oleksandr smiled and nodded, then looked back at the picture. Juan, meanwhile, looked around the room and spoke to everyone at once. "Just so you all know, I have a few reasons to be here, but the main one is to make sure that you guys have the security setup that you need. So far I've been pretty happy with what I see. The one main thing I want to change is your mine field."

"We... don't have a mine field... I don't think." Carson said in a bewildered tone.

"SEE! You get it! I mean how can you have proper security without a mine field!" Juan said as he threw his arms up in the air. "It's just not right! I mean I can get around not having a real fence with razor wire, but no mines?!"

"You'll have to get it okayed by Mom, but I've got no problem with it. If you ask Dad, he'll probably tell you to put them in the rhododendrons... he hates those things." Carson finished with a smile.

"Oh, I already got plans for those. They would make a great place to hide the gun emplacements." Juan grinned.

"If you keep the rhododendrons, you're gonna lose Dad's vote." Carson said frankly.

Juan giggled gleefully. "Alvin said you guys were fun! I'll see what I can do to get rid of them, but one thing I learned a while ago... it's always best to keep Mom happy if possible."

"You got that right!" Carson agreed.

Juan's smile faded as he looked squarely at Carson. "Alvin also told me about some issues that you are having. Not all of this..." He motioned to everything in the room, "But with the pain you endure..." Juan trailed off to see how Carson would react.

"Yeah. It sucks, but we've done everything we can do. I've just got to put up with it." Carson said regretfully.

"You may have done everything you can do, but we haven't, yet." Juan said seriously. "I don't know what Mom or Chang might be able to do, but I know what I can do." Juan walked up and stood in front of Carson looking him in the eyes. "Alvin told you all about some of the mental stuff we can do." Carson nodded with a look of hope in his eyes. "It'll take some work, and one of the others working with you every day, but if you'll let me, I can either take all the pain away, or at least a large bit of it. You interested?"

"What do I have to do?" Carson asked immediately.

"Well. First thing is not much. Really, the first thing you'll need to do is to make sure that as soon as the pain starts to get bad again, you have to get to one of the Unit guys. They don't have the ability to start this, but they can keep it going. However, if you let it slip away, there's only about five of us that can set this up. So you HAVE to make sure that you get with someone as soon as you start to feel the pain get worse."

"Can we do it now?" Carson asked hopefully.

"Sure, but other than just us sitting there, there's not gonna be much to see." Juan said as he found a chair to sit in. "Just close your eyes and let me do the work."

For the next ten minutes or more, neither Juan nor Carson moved a muscle.

* * * * *

"How are you doing, Cute Stuff? I mean, are you getting by?" Allen asked with concern.

Ken chuckled and said, "Somehow, and I can't tell you exactly how it happened, we ended up staying at Mr. Brown's house. I can't even dream of a nicer place."

"Yes. I've been over there a few times to talk business with Carson when he wasn't able to come to the lab. The house is incredible. I'm glad that you're not having to struggle to get by." Allen said warmly, then quietly asked, "I know how nervous you were about meeting your brother, when you left. How did that turn out?"

"It's a long, long story. But from the moment we met... I don't even have words to explain it. I've never felt a connection like that with anyone before or since. We're closer than friends or brothers. He's part of me." Ken said with a tender smile at the thought of his brother.

"You can tell me if it's none of my business, but why are you here today?" Allen asked cautiously.

"I guess to explain that, I'll have to tell you about Jake. He's the tall skinny guy in there. Right after I got to Chicago, some really bad stuff started heating up. Jake was kind of keeping an eye on Kev, so when things looked like they were going to get dangerous, Jake found a way to get us out." Ken said distantly.

Allen silently absorbed the words as Ken collected his thoughts for a moment.

"We ended up at a mission for the homeless run by a Catholic priest. Even though it would seem to be about as low as a person could go, to some people, it ended up being the luckiest thing that could have happened to us." Ken said frankly.

"I wish I had known. I would have had a place for you and your brother whenever you needed me." Allen said quietly.

"I know, Pop. But things worked out for the best. Jake had a problem with drugs. The priest helped him. Kev couldn't read or write properly. I was able to get him up to speed and both of us were able to finish high school. Even though there were times I thought we were going to be stabbed or shot or maybe even starve to death, I think that all of it must have happened for a reason, because I'm so proud of Kev and Jake... and even myself, for getting through all of it and still being decent people." Ken finished with a smile.

"I can't even imagine. But how did you end up coming here, of all places?" Allen asked curiously.

"That's actually one of those things that makes you think that there must be some Supreme Being planning everything, because I can't think of any other reason that Ben and Zane showed up at exactly the same time that the mission was being closed and all the chaos in the country was about to erupt." Ken said honestly.

Allen nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Some of the priests, high up in the church, you know, the kind who don't actually have to deal with 'common' people, they decided that since being gay is such a horrible sin, that they wouldn't let their priests provide any assistance to them, even if they're gay, homeless kids." Ken said as a note of anger found it's way into his voice.

"I hadn't heard anything about that." Allen said quietly.

"I don't think they advertised it." Ken said with a smirk, then continued, "So Father Doherty, Jake, Kev and me were trying to figure out how to get a group of kids we'd been taking care of to a safe place where they wouldn't be abused or exploited for being gay. Then, out of nowhere, Ben and Zane show up. As soon as we told them what was going on, 'boop', quick as that, they knew just what to do."

"And they knew to come here?" Allen concluded.

"Zane knew Carson and asked for his help and... here we are." Ken finished with a smile, then asked, "How did you end up here?"

"After Carl... your dad..." Allen choked on the words.

Ken nodded for him to continue.

"Looking back, it's obvious to me that I was suffering from serious depression. At the time, I was trying to get through each day, just to get it over with. I can't even tell you how long I went on like that. Every day was exactly the same. Empty. Meaningless." Allen said as he vacantly looked into the distant past.

Ken was shocked into silence at Allen's words.

"I guess the first thing I can really remember with any clarity as I was finally coming out of it, was reading a message from one of the people who used to work for me. His name is Marc. Through all the darkness and despair, he was always there, keeping me connected with the world. Up to that point, everything in my life was focused on my work. I had nothing else. I didn't want anything else. But Marc kept in contact with me and refused to let me back away." Allen said thoughtfully.

"So are you guys... you know... more than friends?" Ken asked with a grin.

"Oh, no. Our relationship is nothing like that. He's happily married to a wonderful man who is perfect for him. But I think I can safely say that Marc is, without a doubt, the best friend that I've ever had." Allen finished with a smile, then quietly added, "I've always had trouble letting people into my life. I guess change is frightening for me."

"Where is he now?" Ken asked cautiously.

"I wish I knew." Allen said as his expression fell.

Ken nodded that he understood what Allen meant.

"I talked to him and also to my mother, Mona, about coming here where it's safer. But I haven't had any contact with either of them since the blackout." Allen said quietly.

"If you can get me their full names, I'll talk to Bug about keeping an eye out for them. He's writing the program that keeps track of all the people who are arriving." Ken said with pride for his boyfriend.

"When he has some free time, I'd like to sit down with him and see what skills he has. I get the feeling that he might be someone Mr. Brown could put to productive use." Allen said carefully.

"I think Mr. Brown Jr. beat you to it. Carson's been keeping Bug busy ever since they first met. In fact, I get the feeling that Carson is depending on Bug to make his entire refugee effort work." Ken said seriously.

Allen looked at Ken for a moment, then said, "Let's go check on your boyfriend, then go and see how your brother is doing."

Ken smiled at the suggestion, then pulled Allen into a quick hug before leaving the office.

* * * * *

"Sorry, Carson." Dax said as he walked into the bedroom, carrying the handset of the phone.

"He's kinda in a trance. So I don't think he's worried about it." Hobie said honestly.

Dax looked at Juan and Carson, frozen in place like statues, then cautiously walked beside Carson and replaced the handset in it's base.

"How are things with your dad?" Ben asked quietly, so as not to disturb Carson and Juan.

"Okay, I think..." Dax said distractedly as he took a seat on the folding chair beside Ben.

"Are you alright?" Ben asked cautiously.

"Yeah. My dad just told me some stuff and... I guess I've got kind of a lot to sort through." Dax said somewhat distantly.

"Do you still want to help me take care of the Chicago refugees?" Ben asked carefully, then quickly added, "I can do it if you're not up to it."

Dax stared at the computer monitor for a moment, then turned to Ben and quietly said, "If you don't mind helping me, if I need it, then I think I can do it."

Ben smiled as he said, "You don't even have to worry about that. I'm right here if you need me. As soon as Carson has a free minute, we'll get you a computer all to yourself and you can work right here next to me."

"Maybe it'd be best if I worked on the computer in my bedroom." Dax said cautiously.

"I guess if you need to work on something really intense and you don't want any distraction, that it might be a good idea. But I think it'd really be best if you worked down here with the rest of us." Ben said frankly.

"Why?" Dax asked curiously.

"There are a couple of reasons, actually. First of all, if you're down here in the 'nerve center' you can stay aware of what's going on and know about things as soon as they happen. Second, there's the whole 'brainstorming' thing. If you get stuck on something, you've got people with a lot of knowledge to rely on. And finally, the inspirational energy of working with so many brilliant people can't help but drive you to do your best work." Ben finished with a grin.

"Inspirational energy?" Dax asked dubiously.

"So thick, you can cut it with a knife." Ben chuckled.

Dax nodded absently as he considered Ben's words.

"Besides, I'll be worried about you if you're working all alone up in your room. You know how I told you that I enjoy your company... that hasn't changed." Ben finished with a shrug.

"And I'll miss you if you're not here." Oleksandr said seriously.

"Okay, Olex. You win. I guess I'm just not used to people wanting me around." Dax said with a smile at the boy sitting at Ben's side.

"Alvin gave me a picture of him and his brothers." Oleksandr said as he held out the picture for Dax.

Dax took the picture and smiled warmly as he looked at the three identical smiling boys.

"Alvin's the one on the left." Oleksandr said as he waited for Dax to give the picture back.

"It's a nice picture." Dax said quietly as he handed the picture to Oleksandr.

"Alvin said that he wants a picture of us, too." Oleksandr said seriously.

"'Us' who?" Dax asked carefully.

"He said he wanted a picture of me and my brothers, so that means you and me and Ben." Oleksandr said seriously.

Dax looked at Ben inquiringly.

"I'm not going to argue with it." Ben said simply.

Dax smiled at the statement, then nodded his agreement to Oleksandr.

* * * * *

Both Juan and Carson started to stir at the same time. Neither boy said anything for a few moments. Carson was busy looking at his legs, while Juan was busy staring at Carson. "The pain... It's gone." Carson whispered, but still loud enough for everyone in the now quiet room to hear. "I... I can't believe it."

Juan hated to take the smile off Carson's face, but he knew he had to. There was something else that they needed to discuss. However, and maybe it was Juan growing soft, but he let Carson sit there in amazement for a few extra seconds before he spoke up. "Carson..." Juan said softly and waited for the older teen to look up before he said anything else. "We have one other thing we need to deal with before we can move on."

"What's that?" Carson said with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Your addiction." Juan said simply.

"What are you talking about?" Carson said in complete denial. "I'm not addicted to anything. Besides, I've got too much work to do to deal with anything else right now."

"BULLSHIT!" Juan almost exploded, causing everyone in the room to jump in surprise, well everyone but Courtney, who was standing unobtrusively, just inside the door. "You've got way too damned many people counting on you to not deal with this shit right now. You're feeling better now, yes, but in a few hours, even when you're not having any pain, you're gonna want that pill. It's gonna fucking call to you, and NOTHING that you do will make it shut up. I don't give a shit what you might fucking think, you're addicted! Until you accept it and deal with it, you're gonna be no better than horse shit around here." Juan's eyes bored directly into Carson's wide eyes as he softly spoke the last part. "Do you want to live with the fact that people got hurt, or worse, because your addiction made it so you weren't sharp?"

Carson had tears in his eyes and he looked away from Juan. "Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. I suggest that you choose the easy way because the hard way involves levels of pain that impress even me." Juan said even softer.

"What do I have to do?" Carson whispered out.

"Go with me now to talk with your mom about it."

"How much pain are we talking about, again?" Carson asked, only half smiling, half joking.

* * * * *

The talk with Deb went better than expected. Carson had Jay at his side, holding on to him, the entire time as Juan clearly outlined the problem and his proposed solution. Deb agreed with his plans and told them that Ryan and her father were both at the lab, attending to another matter.

After a moment to gather a few things, Juan was ready for them to hit the road.

Carson and Jay were holding on to each other, less out of emotional need and more out of survival instinct as Juan drove the gator at top speed toward the lab.

It took a moment for Jay and Carson to get Carson's wheelchair set up, but once he was good to go, they entered the lab to find it seemingly abandoned and a flashing red light in the corridor.

"The clean room's down this way." Carson said, but Juan was already moving that direction.

The sense of apprehension grew as they went deeper into the building.

"You need to get out of here. We've got a situation." Allen said when they turned the corner.

"What's going on?" Carson asked with concern.

"The tracking device, it was booby trapped." Allen said grimly.

"It was bad enough that the thing was buried in the bone in Zane's chest, but when they tried to remove it, they found that it was connected to something deeper, which Dr. Murten assumes is an explosive." Kev said anxiously as he held Brother Jacques close to his side.

"Yeah. That was about twenty minutes ago. That's when the doctor threw us all out." Ken interjected from Brother Jacques' other side.

"He said that he was going to try and figure out exactly what it was that he was dealing with, then he'd know who he needed to call." Kev said quietly.

"I got this." Juan said as he walked past all the people in the hallway.

"It's too dangerous. You can't go in there." Allen hurried to explain.

Juan stopped suddenly and looked Allen in the eyes as he said, "If you think you can stop me, go ahead and try. It won't slow me down." He said simply, as he took out a disposable surgical suit, extra small, and put it on.

Allen, fortunately, decided to step aside and allow Juan to continue.

"Where's Bug?" Carson asked as he looked around.

"Some mean boss gave him a whole lot of high level computer work to do. So he's in the conference room working on it instead of being here with us, helping us deal." Ken said with an accusing glare at Carson.

"I just asked him to add a new table to the reception program. I didn't expect him to rewrite the whole thing." Carson explained.

"This is Bug we're talking about. I'm not a programmer, and even I know that if you ask him to improve something that he'll take that to mean 'rebuild it from the ground up'." Kev said frankly.

"I guess Juan's probably going to be busy for a few minutes. I'll go talk to Bug." Carson said quietly.

* * * * *

"You can't be in here." Dr. Murten said when he saw the boy walk into the clean room.

"I already am." Juan said simply. "Plus I heard you got a bit of a situation in here. I can help." Juan grinned widely as he walked up next to the young man on the surgical bed, and looked into his open chest. "Ohhhh... nice!" Juan said as he put his hands behind his back, and peered in, much like a kid looking in a cookie bowl.

"Nice? It's grotesque!"

"Not really." Juan said as he kept looking in at the small bit of explosive sitting in the hollowed out notch in Zane's sternum. "Whoever made this was a true artist. Minimal but effective design. Perfect shaping so that it would only kill the patient, but not kill him quickly. If you notice, the bulk of the explosive goes straight back, and to the right, meaning that it would not affect the heart at all. It would be a somewhat slow death and remarkably painful, but with no way to really save the patient, even if he were in a hospital." Juan looked up from admiring the explosive, and met Dr. Murten's gaze. "Personally, I would like to meet the person who designed this, and shake their hand. Of course that's before I rip their fucking head off, but what the hell!"

Juan looked down again, hands still clasped behind his back, then looked up again. "So you gonna take it out?"

"From your analysis, I will accept that you know what you're talking about. So I'll tell you, the reason that I haven't removed the explosive package is due to the probability that it is booby trapped to go off if tampered with. If you'll notice the way the wires are placed, it seems very likely that if the explosive is dislodged, an alternate triggering device will be activated." Dr. Murten said gravely.

"Probably," Juan said seriously. "Give me a minute to scrub in, then I'll take a peaky."

"There's a portable scrub station just inside the door. Are you going to need any equipment other than what we have at hand?" Dr. Murten asked professionally.

"Nope, this should be good." Juan said as he scrubbed his arms and hands clean, then disinfected them thoroughly. He got a proper surgical gown on, then gloved up. Next he walked back over to the table with his hands held up in front of him, just to make sure that nothing could get on them. "Okay, can you hand me a probe please." Juan said. His earlier joking completely gone now, as he had his game face on.

Dr. Murten moved to the spot usually reserved for the nurse that would be assisting the surgeon, and handed Juan a single use probe. "Thank you. Also, I assume that this is being recorded, right?"

"Yes..." Dr. Murten said slowly. "Why do you ask?"

Juan was gently probing the area around the explosive charge as he spoke. "Well Mom always likes to see what we do, so she can critique it later on. Not to mention that she wanted me to do at least five more surgeries before she signed off on me being a full doc." Juan paused as he looked at the tools. "Can you hand me that mirror?"

Dr. Murten handed it over, and Juan used it so he could look at the underside of the charge as he gently lifted a corner up. "Son of a bitch..." He breathed out as he gently lowered it back down. "They wired it right to his sternum. Whoever put this in never intended for it to be removed... at least not while the patient was alive."

"I can't even conceive of what kind of an evil mind a person would have to possess to be able to imagine such a thing, much less do it." Dr. Murten muttered quietly.

"Trust me doc... This is tame. At least this thing would have killed the patient, there is a LOT worse than death... I gotta say though... His grandfather must have been rather.... possessive." Juan said as his mind raced trying to figure out how to handle this. Finally he sighed. "Well... He's gonna set off metal detectors anytime he goes somewhere, but I guess that's better than being dead."

"What do you mean?" Dr. Murten asked softly.

"It means I'm gonna have to cut out a good chunk of his sternum, and then carefully remove the entire piece." Juan looked up at the doctor and grinned. "I assume you got some metal plates around here to hold his ribcage together? We won't know for sure till we start cutting if we're not just gonna hafta cut out the entire sternum. If we do, I hope you can make a replacement."

"I'll have to make a few calls, but... Arrangements can be made. When will you know? It'll take time for a messenger to deliver it. And I'd rather not keep this young man under anesthesia longer than necessary." Dr. Murten said as he looked into the wound with concern.

Juan nodded as he let his mind feel around Zane's sternum. He was just standing there with his eyes closed for several seconds, before he opened them and looked at Dr. Murten with a small smile. "Well the good news is, it's anchored into the sternum, but not all the way through. The way I see it, we got two choices. First, you make the call and get us a replacement sent in, or, we start some micro cutting and just remove the chunk it's anchored into.The first way would be the easiest, but, well you know how some people prefer to keep themselves as intact as possible. Anyways, I'll leave it up to you to decide."

"And, I assume, the second choice is more time consuming but less invasive. Quite the trade off. I think my first priority is to get that thing out of him. Although it may cause his recovery time to be somewhat extended, he will be alive. Add to that, we're not operating in the most favorable conditions. Were I in a hospital, my decision might be otherwise." Dr. Murten said, apparently justifying his decision to himself as much as to Juan.

"Sounds good to me." Juan said. "Go make your call, I'll start cutting."

Chapter 27: Mountain Fall

Over an hour later, Dr. Murten emerged from the surgery, looking as though he'd aged ten years.

"How is he?" Brother Jacques asked quickly.

"Zane is going to be just fine. The surgery ended up being quite a bit more involved than we had initially anticipated. As a result, his recovery is going to be somewhat extended. But he will recover." Dr. Murten finished with a weary smile, then turned to his nurse who had been waiting outside the room and said, "Would you go in and stay with him while I talk with the family?"

The nurse nodded as she cautiously walked into the makeshift surgical theater.

Before the door could close, Juan walked out, carrying the ammo canister that he had requested early on in the surgery. Everyone present jumped when a sudden ::boom:: sounded from inside the canister and it jumped about an inch in Juan's hand.

"Looks like Zane was right to wear that signal jamming vest." Juan said simply, then continued on, carrying the canister.

"Can I see him?" Brother Jacques asked Dr. Murten as the tears he had been holding back began to fall.

"Yes. He's still asleep. Try not to move him any more than necessary. I'm going to call for an ambulance to transport him to the hospital, where he's going to need to stay the night." Dr. Murten said quietly.

"Why? You said you got it out, didn't you?" Brother Jacques asked anxiously.

"Due to the extent of the surgery, he needs to be in observation tonight. It's nothing to be concerned about. It's simply a precaution." Dr. Murten said in an assuring voice.

"Trust me." Juan said as he walked back in. "He's gonna be a hurtin unit for a while, but he'll be fine. I'm just pissed that the thing blew up. I wanted to put it on my shelf with all the others, and then when I met Zane's grandfather, perform a transplant."

"Although it's fortuitous that you arrived when you did, I never thought to ask why you came to visit us at the lab today. You didn't know in advance about the explosive, did you?" Dr. Murten asked curiously.

Juan grinned, but shook his head. "I'm good, but I ain't that good." The grin faded, being replaced by a very serious look. "No, actually I brought Carson over cause we need to have a chat with you and his father."

"Last I knew, Ryan and Allen were in Ryan's office seeing to the evacuation of the building. Is there something wrong?" Dr. Murten asked with concern.

"Yes and no." Juan answered cryptically. "Why don't you go get Ryan, and we'll meet in the conference room where Carson and Bug are working." Juan began to turn around, then turned and looked at Brother Jacques. "Would you please join us. I think Carson can use your.... unique perspective."

"Can I have a minute to check on Zane? I know that he won't even know I'm there. But I need to see him." Brother Jacques asked hopefully.

"I'll stay with Jake and we'll catch up to you guys in a few minutes." Kev said decisively.

"Yeah. I never was good at that whole sympathy thing." Juan muttered as he started walking away.

* * * * *

"Can I ask you something?" Bax asked quietly, startling Roris, who had been paying attention to what his mother was saying.

"Yes. Of course. What can I do for you?" Roris asked as he turned to look at the boy.

"I know that Bug had to do some stuff before he goes to help Carson. But I was wondering if, when you go back to the house, if we could go with you. We've gotta ask Bug something, but if he's not there, we don't want to wait around with people we don't know." Bax asked timidly.

"Sure. In fact, Lawrence and I should be going. Why don't you get your coats on and we can leave now?" Roris asked pleasantly, although his computerized voice sounded less than thrilled.

"Okay. Thanks! We'll be ready in just a minute." Bax said quickly and was running away before the last words were out of his mouth.

"I'm glad we've had time to visit. But Carson is depending on Lawrence and me to do an important job." Roris said seriously. And this time his voice conveyed his actual emotion.

"Just so you know, if you don't stop back by here to have lunch, one of us will be over to bring you a plate." Doris said firmly.

"I'll try to break away long enough to eat, but in case I don't, I'll thank you in advance."

"I'll be sure to bring enough for two." Doris said with a smile at Lawrence.

"Aren't you ready, yet?" Bax asked as he and his compatriots were standing by the door, waiting for him.

"We'd better be going, too." Apollo said reluctantly, then turned to see if Jarritt had been paying attention.

"Please feel free to stop by anytime. And just so there's no misunderstanding, you don't have to wait for Rory to visit to have an excuse to stop by. We'd be delighted to have you visit us any time." Marcus said pleasantly.

"Oh... Okay. We'll do that." Apollo said in astonishment, then turned with surprise when Jarritt handed Apollo his coat.

"Come on!" Bax implored from the doorway.

"It was nice meeting you. Good bye." Apollo said as he pulled on his coat.

* * * * *

"Wait! Wait! You can't do that!" Carson said in frustration.

"Excuse me? I just did." Bug said with a roll of his eyes.

"You can't... It doesn't work like that..." Carson struggled to explain.

"Chill the fuck out, already, would'ja? I got this." Bug said as his flurry of typing seemed to kick into overdrive.

"How are you guys doing in here?" Ken asked as he walked into the conference room.

After a long, silent moment, except for the typing, Jay finally said, "It's like they're trying to out-nerd each other. I can't even figure out what they're talking about. I lost any concept of what they were saying about three words in."

"He's doing it wrong." Carson said petulantly, not looking away from the laptop screen for an instant.

"And yet it's working. So how fucking wrong do you think it really is?" Bug asked as he kept the majority of his concentration on his work.

"No matter what universe you're in, you continue to impress." Juan said with a fond smile at Vincent.

"Huh?" Ken asked from Bug's side.

"Doesn't matter. What'cha workin on, there, guys?" Juan asked as he walked to where he could look over Bug's shoulder.

"Bug thinks he can rewrite the entire structure of the relocation program from memory AND without ever taking it offline." Carson said dubiously.

"And Carson wants me to puss out and work out a design and do flow charts and multi-level process analysis before I ever even sit down to work on the fucking code. I mean, all that shit's great if you got nothing but time and no one cares how long it takes. But, fuck! There's people out on the streets right fucking now using this program. They don't need us to be fucking around. They need us fucking fixing it to work the best that we can." Bug said firmly.

"It won't help anyone if it doesn't work." Carson said flatly.

"Yeah. Well, when one of my programs doesn't work, I'll fucking yell it from the rooftop that you were right and I was wrong. Until then, how about you let me do my fucking work?" Bug asked irritably.

Juan, ever the diplomat, jumped in. "Carson, why don't we let Bug work. We need to have a serious conversation."

Just then Dr. Murten and Ryan Brown walked in the room. Juan turned and looked at them with a smile. "Doc Brown. Good to see you. By the way... Have you gotten to the 1.21 gigawatts lately?"

"Oh, how clever. I never heard that one before." Ryan said dryly.

"Wow. We're mining never before used depths of sarcasm today, aren't we?" Juan asked with a grin, before turning serious. "Anyways. It's time we got to business." He turned and looked at Carson. "Here in front of everyone else, or privately?"

"I know what you said before, but I don't really have a problem. So can we just get this over with?" Carson asked as he finally turned his attention away from the laptop screen.

"Okay, if you wanna go that route." Juan said as he shook his head at Carson, then turned to Ryan and Dr. Murten. "What these guys know that you don't is this, and if you need proof, just think about what you've seen us do already. My group and I are not from this Earth, but a different one. We can get into all the fancy details later, but there is more important things to worry about right now. One of the things about us is that we are all telepaths. Just before we came here, I spent some time with Carson going into the nerves of his legs, and shutting them off. This is something that will have to be kept up once a day, but any of the UNIT members here can do it. So, as of now, Carson is not in any pain, which is good. But... it brings up another problem." Juan said, giving one last look to Carson who stared defiantly back at him.

The younger boy sighed, and turned back to Ryan and Dr. Murten. "Unfortunately, during the last few years, he grew addicted to his painkillers..." Juan let what he said drift off, and just stood there to see what would happen.

"What did we miss?" Kev asked as he hurried into the room, leading Brother Jacques.

"Bug's kind of a jerk when you criticize him, Carson's a little bit too controlling, and Juan is some kind of an alien." Ken said distractedly. He looked past Kev and Brother Jacques and was disappointed to see that Allen hadn't returned.

"Brother Jacques, the reason I asked you here is simple. You know what it's like to be addicted to something. Carson's hooked on his painkillers, of course, he's denying it, but that's normal." Juan said simply, bringing Brother Jacques and Kev up to speed.

"You know what? If you really believe that. I'll just stop taking them. Okay? You fixed it so that my legs aren't hurting, so I don't need them anyway. Happy now?" Carson snapped.

Brother Jacques shook his head before he spoke. "You might not take those things anymore, but trust me, you WILL find something else to take."

"You're talking like I'm some kind of junkie. I just took what I needed to stop the pain." Carson tried to explain.

"But the pain never seemed to go away, so you took more. Then it got to the point when you couldn't remember if you had taken it, so you took more. Then you started to realize that you couldn't really think straight without them... Or maybe it was so you could 'think through the pain', so you took more. There was always a reason for you to take more than you should... And it was always a good reason, right?" Brother Jacques asked softly.

"You don't understand! Both my legs were broken, I mean, really, REALLY broken. The little bit of pain medication that Grandpa gave me barely scratched the surface of the pain. I just kept trying things until I found what worked." Carson reasoned.

Carson's father and grandfather shared a look, silently asking each other if they should intervene, but finally Ryan slightly shook his head, wanting to see how things worked out naturally.

"And now we have a problem." Juan said softly. Everyone looked at him, Carson with hatred smoldering in his eyes. Juan just shook his head. "Be pissed off at me if you want, I really don't care. What I care about is having the guy in charge be mentally 'with it' enough to help all the fucking people that are coming here. You're not in pain now, which is great, you don't need those pills... But here's the problem. Addicted or not, you can not just stop taking them. It could really fuck you up if you do."

Brother Jacques moved over and knelt in front of Carson. "He's right. First off, no one is blaming you, or saying anything bad about you. Getting addicted to painkillers is kinda expected with what you've been through. There's just no way around it. The problem is, right now, with you not needing them anymore, we need to deal with the fact that your body is gonna be craving it. And if you can't get your painkillers, you'll go after something else.... Anything else. You need to accept that fact, and know that you have people here you can count on to help you. Trust me, you will need it. Sometime soon, might be tonight, maybe tomorrow, but soon, you are going to be wanting nothing more than to take a pill, or something else. No matter what you are doing, it will be there, in the back of your mind, telling you that you need one. That you aren't functioning as well as you could be, and a pill will make you better. When that happens, you need to talk to someone. You need someone to hold you and help you past that point. The first few days are gonna be the worst, but with all of us, you can do it."

Carson involuntarily glanced at Jay, then looked away as quickly as he could when he saw that Jay had noticed.

"I'll do it, Carson." Jay said quietly.

"I couldn't ask you to." Carson said as he turned toward Jay, but refused to meet his eyes.

"You didn't. I volunteered. Remember when you told me that I make you strong..." Jay trailed off with a smile.

"Yeah. I remember that." Carson said reluctantly.

"Well thank fucking god! I thought I was gonna have to beat some sense into you. And while I usually enjoy that, when I beat up a kid in a wheelchair, people look at me funny." Juan said with a mischievous grin. "Now that the shitty stuff is over with." Juan said looking at Carson, grin still on his face. "You mind if I borrow your boyfriend? I got something I want to show all you guys, that's gonna blow your fucking minds."

"What are you going to do to me?" Jay asked cautiously.

"What?" Juan asked with a look of hurt on his face. "You don't trust me?"

Jay looked Juan in the eyes and no telepathy was needed to understand his answer.

"Okay, I'll give you that one. But what I'm talking about for you is almost not dangerous at all." Juan said innocently.

"Almost..." Jay said slowly, prompting for more.

"All I'm gonna do is get you to put on a special suit. You might catch your dick in the zipper. That's about as dangerous as it gets." Juan said with a note of exasperation.

"Fine..." Jay said softly, before following Juan out of the room.

* * * * *

Everyone was looking around, wondering what they were supposed to do, when a flurry of Bug's typing drew their attention.

"I thought you were almost done with that." Carson said as he moved his wheelchair to where he could see Bug's screen.

"Finishing touches." Bug said as he took his hands off the keyboard.

"So, how did it turn out?" Carson asked curiously.

"Give me a second." Bug said as he quickly typed something, then turned the computer where Carson could see it.

"What am I looking at?" Carson asked curiously.

"The opening screen. This is what everyone will see when they first boot the program." Bug said seriously.

"So you've got ten levels of users?"

"Twelve. You gotta learn to count." Bug said with a grin.

"So, what do I do?" Carson asked curiously.

"Select the type of user that you are." Bug said in a patronizing tone.

Carson selected 'Admin' and immediately saw the screen that he was familiar with, complete with the login prompt.

"If you selected 'Healthcare', then you'd have a different menu. If you selected 'Transportation', you'd have another. Each menu mines the database for the information that they're most likely to need. You need help in your field, it'll link you to personnel. If you need 'Supplies', it'll link you to the person in charge of that, which, by the way, we don't have." Bug added with a raised eyebrow.

"I hired him today." Carson said frankly.

"Well, once he's signed in, he'll have all the tools he needs to keep track of his shit and he'll also be able to request qualified help and supplies." Bug said seriously.

"It looks like I've got some calls to make." Carson said as he took out his cell phone.

"You'd better make 'em quick. Your boyfriend's gonna wanna show off for you." Bug said with a noxious grin.

"Fuck you." Carson said without any anger behind the words.

"Oh, no! My ears are burning! Bad words! Bad words!" Bug shrieked as he covered his ears.

Carson couldn't finish dialing his phone for laughing at Bug.

* * * * *

"Have you had any word from Carson?" Roris asked as he led the way into Carson's bedroom.

"Or Bug?" Bax asked quickly from behind him.

"No. No one's checked in, yet. But if you sign on, I think you've got two or three messages waiting. It's nothing urgent, but I think they're needing some decisions made." Hobie said absently.

"Lee's been handling Carson's stuff. From the sound of it, there's nothing too bad." Ben said as he turned in his chair.

"Thanks, Ben." Roris said as he maneuvered to sit in front of Carson's work computer.

"When you sign in, you'll want to look at the news summary before you get going. But some of the best news isn't on there." Ben said with a smile.

"What news is that?" Roris asked cautiously.

"That Dax has agreed to take over for me, watching out for the people from Chicago." Ben said happily.

Roris looked at Ben, then at Dax by his side, before saying, "I think he'll do a great job."

"That's not fair! Dax gets to do a job and we don't." Bax said grumpily.

"I tell you what, Bax. Why don't you go to the kitchen and see if they have anything for you guys to snack on for a few minutes? I bet by the time you're done with that, Carson will probably be back and he can find something for you to do." Ben said with a smile.

"Okay. But if Carson comes back before we do, be sure and tell him that we want to talk to him." Bax said sternly.

"I will. I promise." Ben said tenderly.

"You guys heard him. He promised." Bax said as he looked at Hobie, Seth, Roris and Lawrence.

"We'll see to it." Seth said with a grin.

Bax nodded once, then led his trio out of the room.

"Lawrence, would you turn off my voice box, then type what I tell you on the computer?" Roris asked hopefully.

"Sure. Just tell me what to do." Lawrence said happily as he flipped the switch on the voice box.

* * * * *

Juan walked back into the room, Jay noticeably missing. "Okay, would you guys like to join us outside?" Without waiting for an answer, Juan turned, and walked back through the lab till he was outside.

It didn't take long for everyone to file outside, and look at Juan curiously. When Juan was sure that everyone was there, he spoke. "What I brought here was one of the few spare suits of body armor that we have. This is the basic armor, we have other armor that is much more advanced, but rarely used. What I was hoping was that you guys..." Looking right at Ryan, and then Carson, "Might be able to recreate a lot of what we did with the armor. Before I leave I will give you guys full schematics of the armor, and the base programing we used for the computers. If you guys can do this, I am positive it will give you both a huge boost in what you have been working on."

"How do you mean?" Ryan asked, obviously intrigued.

"Well first, why don't I give you a bit of a demonstration." Juan said then turned towards the corner of the building. "OKAY JAY!" He shouted, and all eyes went to where he was looking. A moment later a figure, obviously Jay, outfitted in black, futuristic looking body armor came walking around the side of the building towards them. "Now, normally, when we would show what the armor could do, it would include shooting the person in the chest... just to show that it can really stop a bullet. BUT... I figure you guys probably wouldn't like that." Juan said with a grin.

"Ummm... no." Carson said without a hint of a smile.

"I knew it. You guys are no fun. Oh well, I have some other things to show you." Juan paused as Jay came up to them.

"This thing is AWESOME!" Jay said excitedly, causing Juan to grin.

"Okay, let's go over the basics, then we'll get into the really fun stuff. At the moment, this suit is unlocked, meaning that anyone can use it. When someone gets issued a suit, the first thing we do is lock it to their bio signature, as well as their voice print. We won't be doing that now, since the only way to unlock it after it's been locked, is to wipe it clean, and re-upload all the programing."

"Fucking sweet." Bug said with a grin.

"Yeah, keeps people from stealing your shit that way." Juan made a quick mental decision NOT to tell them about the scuttle charges in the armor.

"Now, to get into some of what this can do." Juan said with a grin, then took an exaggerated deep breath and began to speak. "The helmet has Infrared, thermal imaging, ten times zoom, with a reticule for sniper support, active friend and foe telemetry, enhanced communications suite with sub vocal enhancements. Not to mention a maximum of twenty-seven minutes of recycled air, in case of underwater activity. AND... If you are qualified for it, it has an integrated glide suit." Juan giggled at the expressions on their faces.

"Now, that was the passive stuff. Let's get into the really cool. These suits are designed to be power assist." He directed that to Carson who suddenly sat up in his seat, almost salivating. "While it will not allow for someone who has no use of their legs to walk, it will 'assist' someone who does." Juan turned to Jay and smiled. "Do me a favor. I want you to jump straight up, as high as you can."

Jay cocked his head to the side. "Okay...." He said slowly, then squatted down a bit and jumped straight up into the air.

"Holy shit!" Bug exclaimed as Jay easily jumped six feet straight up. Being caught off guard at how high he jumped, Jay almost fell on his ass when he landed, except Juan was right there to steady him.

When Juan stopped laughing, he looked at the group. "Now, I could demonstrate this next part, but I figure you'll just have to trust me on this. Even the youngest and smallest of the squishes can run miles with this suit, complete with a 250 pound pack."

"Sweet Jesus." This time it was Ryan that breathed that out.

Juan grinned while looking at Ryan, then his grin got wider. "Mr. Brown, how much do you weigh?"

"Ummm... about 190, I guess." Ryan said some what uncomfortably.

That'll work." Juan said then looked at Jay. "Jay... Go over and pick Mr. Brown up."

Jay hesitated for a moment, then went over and stood in front of Ryan. When the man nodded, Jay grabbed him around the waist and lifted, not really expecting to be able to lift the man. When he easily lifted him off the ground, Jay couldn't help but laugh, almost dropping the man in the process.

"Okay, now I am officially impressed." Carson said with a mile wide grin, the tension from the earlier conversation completely forgotten. "So, why are you showing this to us?" He asked.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Juan said gleefully. "See, we don't have the manufacturing capabilities to make more of these, and frankly, we ain't got the time. So... It was my hope that you guys would be able to reverse engineer this suit, and then make more of them." Before anyone could say anything, Juan hurried to continue. "Of course, in order to do that, you guys will have to face a few obstacles."

"Like what?" Ryan asked, the scientist in him coming out.

"Well first off, the materials we used, most of them can't be recreated. You'll have to figure out what you can use. The other thing is, you're gonna have to learn a few new things." Juan said, then paused, grinning, and waiting for someone to respond.

"Okay, I'll bite..." Ryan said with a matching grin. "What are we going to have to learn?"

"Well the first thing will be how to program in trinary."

"Holy fucking shit of Jesus!" Bug gasped.

The others who had been so focused on the impressive abilities of the suit were now trying to fight down their laughter.

Carson and his father, however, were every bit as stupefied as Bug at the announcement.

Juan was laughing himself, but finally managed to spit out. "And don't worry Bug, as a safety measure, we never created a GUI for it. Which means you really gotta LEARN it!"

"I took the training wheels off my computer five years ago. Bring it on." Bug said happily.

"Sweet!" Juan said, then turned serious and looked at Ryan. "So, Mr. Brown, you up to the challenge?" Juan reached into the box that had the armor and picked up both a laptop and a rather large book. "This laptop will help teach you guys the trinary, as well as show you how to program the suits. It's like Bug's laptop, only stripped down, since it doesn't do anything other than the armor. The book holds all the schematics and instructions for the suits." He held it out to Ryan, and waited to see if the man would take it.

"When can I start?" Bug interrupted.

* * * * *

"When all the crazy things settle down, maybe we can talk your dads into letting Ben take you up to the cabin for a weekend, sometime. It's like a whole other world, up there." Danny said as the boys sat around Sammy's bed with rapt attention. Gerry and Myron were sitting back, every bit as enthralled as the boys.

"It sounds like lots of fun. But our dad's the Vice President. I don't know if we'll ever be allowed to do something like that." Danny's younger namesake said regretfully.

"Tell us another story about the cabin. It sounds like a lot of fun." Sammy said hopefully from his place in the bed.

"I've got a hundred stories, but when I run out, we'll get Ben up here. He probably has at least a thousand." Danny said before launching into another adventurous tale.

* * * * *

"How are you doing this morning, Geraldine?" Walt asked as he walked into the living room of the main house.

"I feel ever so much better. Dr. Murten is a miracle worker." Oma Shoupe said happily.

"Geraldine, I'd like for you to meet Adrian. He's reviewing the security that we have in place." Walt said warmly to her.

"You know, before I met my late husband, I had a beau named Adrian. He was a fit young man like you. Reminded me a bit of Elvis. He was a Catholic, so my father wouldn't hear of it... Probably for the best... Regardless, it's a pleasure to meet you." Oma Shoupe said with a distant look, and finished with a tender smile.

"If you'll excuse us, I'm going to take Adrian up to talk with the Secret Service for a moment, then we're going to check in with the Vice President." Walt said softly.

"Good Lord, living in the same house as the Vice President. I swear, it's everything I can do to believe that I haven't slipped away into a dream." Oma Shoupe chuckled as she shook her head in disbelief.

"There's quite a bit about the past few days that seems surreal to all of us. I'm just happy to know that you're feeling better. Have a good day, Geraldine."

"You, too, Walt. And it was a pleasure to meet you Adrian." Oma Shoupe said warmly, then watched as the two men walked to the stairs.

* * * * *

"Roris wants to know if we have anyone who can help a blind man find his way around for a few days. The guy came here with a group, who's passing through here to stay with one of their families..." Lawrence was saying when he was interrupted.

"Go under your 'Requested Personnel' tab and ask for someone who can help. It'll probably take less than a minute before Dizzy finds a match. I mean, all they have to do is be able to see... Right?" Ben asked seriously.

After a moment to listen to what Roris was saying, Lawrence responded, "We'll try that."

* * * * *

"What is it, love?" Reginald asked with concern.

"You know that I was telling you about them asking me to help out? They've put me in charge of the non-foods warehousing and distribution for the entire refugee effort." Walter said in amazement.

"If it's more than you can handle, just tell them and I'm sure that they'll find someone else." Reginald said frankly.

"No. I was just looking over the relocation program that they're going to be using... I can do this. This is exactly the kind of thing that I've been looking for the past few years. There just weren't any job opportunities in the field." Walter said happily, then looked at Reginald and added, "And considering your career as a clothing buyer, I'm sure that I could put your skills to good use."

"I don't know. I mean, yes, I would like that, but shouldn't I keep myself free to watch after Ronan?" Reginald asked in a conflicted voice.

"That boy, Bug, was right. Ronan is getting older and needs to know what it feels like to be independent and trusted. We'll be sure that he can contact us if he needs to, then trust him to make good decisions. And if he screws up, which he probably will, we'll impose whatever punishment seems appropriate, then we'll trust him again... We just have to face it, he has to grow up." Walter finished with a slight shrug.

"It's hard not to think of him as a little boy, but you're right. Did you see him with his friends at breakfast?" Reginald said with a small smile.

"I know that Ronan had friends before, but these are the type of friends that every boy should have... close friends... best friends." Walter said with a smile at his partner.

"But what happens if things start to move beyond friendship? He is just about at that age." Reginald asked cautiously.

"He'll survive it, just like we did." Walter assured him.

"But when we were that age, there weren't sexually transmitted diseases that could kill you." Reginald said seriously.

"True." Walter conceded, then, after a moment to consider, he continued, "I think maybe it's time we had that talk with him, before he has the chance to make any mistakes with lifelong consequences."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think you're right." Reginald reluctantly agreed.

"Next time he stops by... Probably at mealtime..." Walter chuckled, "Let's pull him aside for a few minutes."

"You know I'm dreading this, don't you?" Reginald asked cautiously.

"I know. So am I." Walter said honestly.

* * * * *

"That officious twit!" Mike huffed as he backed away from the computer monitor he had been reading.

"What's wrong?" Eric asked as he walked to his husband's side.

"There are about a thousand and one different operations in progress to help the general population escape the horror of the past two days, and everyone has been doing whatever they can to make it easier on everyone..."

"...Until now." Eric supplied.

"Some Canadian bureaucrat has thrown a monkey wrench into what would otherwise be a smooth process." Mike huffed.

"Maybe, if you can get in touch with him, you can discuss your concerns and get him to understand how important his cooperation can be." Eric gently suggested.

"Make no mistake about it. He know's that he's being an ass. He's deliberately stonewalling us and delaying the approval for our refugees to move into Canada. There's nothing I need to discuss with him, he knows exactly what he's doing and how many people he's making suffer in the process." Mike said in a low angry voice.

"Then, I suppose you should go over his head." Eric said simply.

After a moment to consider, Mike finally said, "He's a cabinet minister. I'm not quite sure who's next in their chain of command. But I suppose that it's about time that I find out."

Eric nodded, then went back to his own duties, helping to support the massive relief effort in anyway that he could.

* * * * *

"Ben, there's something here that I don't understand." Dax said quietly from his side.

"What's that?" Ben asked as he turned his attention to Dax's screen.

"All this stuff about distributing one job class and concentrating another, it doesn't make sense to me." Dax said honestly.

After a moment of reading, Ben quietly said, "I think you need to look at what you're actually deciding with this program."

"What am I deciding?" Dax asked cautiously.

"You're deciding where people are going to live. Pull up the detail on one of those job classes and you'll get a better idea of what I mean." Ben said as he shifted to see Dax's screen more easily.

"Emergency Services." Dax said slowly.

"Right, so we want for police, firemen and EMTs to be as evenly distributed as possible through the community, not only for the convenience of having them close by, if needed, but also to foster a sense of community, so they'll be more invested in helping 'their' people. Other jobs, like doctors and nurses, we'd want as close as possible to the hospital, and we'd want them grouped together so they can more easily support each other." Ben said seriously.

"I don't know if I'm smart enough for this. I never would have thought of that." Dax said honestly.

Ben leaned close to whisper, "I didn't think of it, either. Bug or Carson did. If the only people helping out are the ones who are smart enough to understand it all, then Carson and Bug are going to have to do everything themselves."

After a moment, Dax reluctantly said, "I guess. But, kinda keep an eye on me, would you? I have the feeling that if I make one wrong move, that the people who are depending on me for help are going to end up suffering."

"I promise that I'll do everything in my power to keep that from happening. And I'll be right here to help you if you have any questions at all." Ben said warmly.

"How's your thing going?" Dax asked quietly.

"You're asking about my thing?" Ben playfully chuckled.

Dax blushed, then stammered to explain, "I don't really know what you're doing, and I just wanted to know if it's going okay."

"What I'm doing is finding out as much as I can about what's going on in the country, then trying to get a sense of what might happen next and how it might impact us, so we can be prepared for it. That's why Carson asked me to help him, because I got a sense of the danger before it actually happened." Ben slowly explained.

"Yeah. I remember that, at dinner, at the mission." Dax said thoughtfully.

"But for right now, we need to get back to work. Your Chicago people should be here tomorrow, and you want to have everything ready for them." Ben said frankly.

Dax nodded, then turned his attention back to his computer.

* * * * *

"Did it work?" Zane asked as he fought to open his eyes.

"Yes. The tracking device is gone. You're going to be fine." Brother Jacques whispered as he held Zane's hand firmly.

"What went wrong? I sort of remember the doctor saying that it was in really deep, then I fell asleep." Zane said in confusion.

"It seems that your grandfather booby trapped the tracker so that if anyone tried to remove it, that it'd kill you, and probably the doctor, too." Brother Jacques said regretfully.

"Is everyone alright? Did anyone get hurt?" Zane asked with concern.

"Everyone's fine. As soon as the doctor realized what he was looking at, he told Mr. Brown and the building was evacuated." Brother Jacques said gently.

"Where are we?" Zane asked as he turned his head slightly.

"We're in the hospital in Kettle Falls. The doctor says that you're going to need to stay here tonight, but that's just to be sure that you don't have any complications from the surgery. Don't worry, I'm going to be right here by your side until you're released." Brother Jacques said with an encouraging smile.

"What about the kids? They're your responsibility. Don't you need to be there for them?" Zane asked with concern.

After a moment to consider, Brother Jacques slowly said, "Let me make a phone call and see what I can do. If I can work it out so that I can stay with you, I will. But I promise that I'll only do that if I'm one hundred percent sure that the kids are being taken care of."

"Okay." Zane whispered as his eyes closed.

Brother Jacques leaned in to give Zane a gentle kiss, then quietly left the room.

* * * * *

"How did everything go?" Hobie asked as Ken walked into Carson's bedroom.

"Okay, I guess. Jake and Zane are at the hospital, but Zane's going to be fine." Ken said with a worried expression.

"I didn't get what was going on. Why is he at the hospital?" Seth asked curiously.

Ken looked at Ben with question, not sure if he should say.

"Zane had a tracking device implanted in his chest, so our grandfather could get him back if he ever tried to run away." Ben said frankly.

Both Seth and Hobie's eyes went wide with surprise.

"It turned out that it was worse than that. The tracking device was booby trapped to explode if anyone tried to remove it." Ken said darkly.

"You're missing the best part." Juan said as he sauntered into the room.

Ken turned and looked at him curiously.

"That thing wasn't just a transmitter, it was a receiver, too. When the old son-of-a-bitch realized that Zane was gone, he sent the 'kill' command to detonate it. I tell you what, there's a lot of uses for a heartless motherfucker like that. Just never turn your back on 'em."

"But you said that Zane's fine, right?" Ben asked with concern.

"Yeah. Although, if he has to go through any metal detectors, he's gonna have a fun time explaining things." Juan chuckled, then glanced at the doorway as Carson entered.

"Why is that?" Ben asked cautiously.

"When the tracking device was implanted, there was an explosives package embedded even deeper in the bone and rigged to detonate if anyone tampered with it. Because of that, I had to take a big chunk of his breastbone out, to keep from setting the thing off. I put the metal plate in to support the structure of his ribcage. It'll hurt for a while, but he'll be okay." Juan finished with a shrug.

"I need to go..." Ben began to say, then looked back at his computer with regret.

"Just tell me what you need me to do, and I'll cover for you while you check on your cousin." Dax said quietly.

"Fuck that. Just go. I've got you covered." Bug said as he walked into the room, carrying his laptop.

"Are you sure, Bug?" Ben asked cautiously.

"I wouldn't've fuckin said it, if I didn't fuckin mean it." Bug said as he dropped into his chair and opened the laptop on the table.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Ben said anxiously as he stood, then looked back at Dax with concern.

"Everything's fine. If I need anything, I'll ask Bug." Dax assured him, then noticed that Bug was completely engrossed in something on his computer.

With one last look at the people in Carson's room, Ben hurried away, with Oleksandr in his arms.

* * * * *

"I ain't done with my presents yet!" Juan said gleefully. Carson didn't know whether to groan or grin, Bug though acted like a child at Christmas as he looked up from his laptop for an instant. Ever since Juan had told them about trinary, Bug had been buried in his laptop, trying to learn the new and very complex computer language. "Don't worry, while this ain't as cool as the last one, I think you guys will find this VERY useful."

"Okay, what is it?" Carson finally asked.

Juan went over to Carson's bed and laid down the long large case that he was carrying. "One thing you guys may not have thought about yet, since it hasn't come up, and you've never done anything like this before, is communications." He popped open the case, opened the lid, and then pulled out a two foot long rectangular box. He reached back down, and pulled out a few cables, and then went over to Carson. "This will act like a relay center for all the communications devices, not only what's in the case, but also anything else that can catch the signal. With what I have heard about Dizzy, he'll be able to interface with this easily, and control everything." Juan handed the box to Carson, as well as the cables. He then went back to the case, and lifted the top part off, and pulled out a small box about the size of a cigarette box, then a long thin wire. "You got two choices, and I'll leave it up to you as to who gets what. You have a total of two hundred voice communications devices here. One hundred fifty of them are like this." He said holding up the cord and box. "You put the receiver on your waistband, or belt, plug the wire in, run it up under your shirt, and plug the ear bud in. These are a lot like what the Secret Service use, except they don't have cuff mics. The mic will hang down right by your throat, and you transmit by gently squeezing the mic." He paused to hand the receiver and wire to Kev, who was standing closest to him. "Pass that around if you would." Kev looked at it for a moment, then passed it to Ken.

"Now, we get into the fun ones." Juan said as he picked up a small piece of what looked like paper. "These are called subvocals." He took the top piece of paper off, and showed them a flesh colored thin strip, and another flesh colored button. "The strip goes against your throat, and the button behind your ear. All you need to do is touch the strip and speak to transmit. You don't need to speak higher then a very faint whisper to transmit, and the little button will send the sound waves directly to your eardrum. They are much higher tech, with more functions, but also a bit more fragile."

"If you'll excuse us, we need to go and check on the kids. Call if you need us for anything." Ken said quietly, obviously not wanting to disrupt Juan's presentation.

Bug nodded at Ken that he had heard, then turned his full attention back to Juan.

"Okay, what's the range on these things?" Carson asked as he finally got a look at the sub vocal.

"The standard ones are about twenty miles. The subvocals are closer to fifty. Of course terrain and other factors affect it, but..." Juan answered.

"Sweet." Bug said looking at the receivers, then looked up at Juan. "So, any more toys for us?"

"Well, that all depends on if you want to play with the guns and explosives I brought with me." Juan said with a grin.

* * * * *

"Do you have a job for us, yet?" Bax asked as he rushed into the room and ran directly to the alcove where Carson was finishing patching in the communications box.

"What?" Carson asked with confusion.

Bax looked around the room, then accusingly said, "You promised that you'd tell him."

"Actually, Ben promised, and he had to leave suddenly." Seth said with a smile.

"What are we talking about?" Carson asked with confusion.

Juan looked at the young trio, then at Carson with a smile before saying, "I think I know what they want, and this could work out really well for everyone involved."

"What?" Carson asked in confusion.

"These guys want to help out. And from what I know of your grand scheme, I think I can see a way that they can." Juan said with a grin.

"This doesn't involve those explosives that you were talking about, does it?" Carson asked cautiously.

"No. Let's see. How's the best way to do this?" Juan asked as he made a show of looking up and down and all around, then finally his gaze settled on the communication devices on the bed.

"Come here, guys. You'll each need one of these." Juan said as he picked up one of the comm devices.

"Are those like radios?" Bax asked as he accepted one.

"Got it in one." Juan said as he continued to hand them out.

"What do we do with these?" Max asked curiously.

"Go out and get a gator, and we'll radio with your instructions." Juan said with a grin.

As soon as all three had their comms in place, they rushed out of the room to find out what was going to happen next.

"Bug, do you think you could add a number thirteen option to your program?" Juan casually asked, already knowing the answer.

"Sure. What does it need to do?" Bug asked as he looked up from his laptop briefly.

"You guys have done a great job of getting professionals and supplies where they need to be, but there's gonna be times when you need a piece of equipment or something like that, and you don't want to have to stop what you're doing to go and get it." Juan explained, although no one seemed to be following what he was saying.

"So, what?" Bug finally asked.

Juan rolled his eyes, then said, "The new class is gonna be called 'Gophers'. When you realize you need something, you sign in and ask a gopher to go and pick it up for you."

"Gopher... Go for." Carson said with a nod.

"Duh!" Juan rolled his eyes again, then turned to Carson and said, "I need for you to requisition three tablet computers. Then tell Dizzy to tell the 'Gophers' where they need to go to pick them up."

"I have plenty of tablets." Carson said even though he was already bringing up the supply requisition form on one of his screens.

Juan nudged Seth out of the way to quickly key in some instructions. "Good, the Gopher comms are now logged in. When you have their pick up instructions, just have Dizzy relay the information to them and they'll be on their way."

"What did you need the tablets for?" Carson asked slowly.

"That way the Gophers will be able to access maps or detailed information, when they need to." Juan said simply.

"I'm done with the mod, do you want to check this out?" Bug asked Juan quickly.

"God damn! You're fast!" Juan chuckled as he walked to Bug's side.

"I type five or six hours a day." Bug muttered absently as he reviewed his work.

"Not that. I mean the way you process information. If we slipped your mind into a positronic matrix, you'd probably be up and running inside of an hour." Juan said as he also read through Bug's code.

"Thanks... I think." Bug said uncertainly.

Juan rolled his eyes, then said, "It just means that your mind is well organized. Don't worry about it. We don't have any unused positronic brains laying around, anyway."

"Good to know." Bug said cautiously, then asked, "How is it?"

"Looks like it'll work. With that global patch you worked in, anyone in the program will be able to request a Gopher from any location." Juan said with a nod.

"Isn't that going to be a lot for them to handle?" Dax asked with concern.

"Yeah. Once people know it's there, it'll be way too much for the three of them. But they're the first. When they need help, they'll recruit the people they need when they need them. And the best part is, they'll be in charge of the whole thing, so they'll be discovering and learning some important things at the same time they're helping us out." Juan said in an uncharacteristic serious voice.

"I remember how it was when my parents started trusting me to do stuff on my own. It'll be good to pass that feeling on to a new generation." Carson said introspectively.

"Right. Now, you old folks need to stop reminiscing and get your asses back to work. I need to track down Adrian and finish the job that I was sent here to do." Juan said decisively.

"What about these other radios?" Carson hurried to ask.

"Give them to the people you put in charge. Since you have a limited supply, you probably don't want to give one to people who are stationed behind their computers. But anyone that's mobile, should have a way that they can immediately request help or receive instructions. The subvocals would probably be best for your key people who will be needing the most flexibility.

"Like my dad." Hobie interjected. "He's always on the move and it's a real pain for him to be tied to a computer to get updates from me."

"Exactly. Think of it as brain and brawn. The brains, that's you guys, are behind the computers, while the brawns are out doing the stuff that needs done. But they're counting on the brains to tell them what needs to be done. Because, down in the middle of it, they can't see where they're needed most." Juan said seriously.

Carson slowly nodded his understanding.

"Bug, how do I change this?" Dax whispered.

"I'll leave you guys to it. I'll probably check in again before I go." Juan said and hurried out of the room before anyone could respond.

"What's that, Dax?" Bug asked as he approached.

"I want to set this up so it's kinda like a little model of Chicago. When the first people show up, we ask what their address was, and then I was wanting to use that to put people in close to the same neighborhoods." Dax explained.

"Give me a second..." Bug said as he stared at Dax's screen vacantly for a moment.

Dax watched curiously as Bug seemed to be frozen in place.

Then, before he could react, Bug moved back to his laptop and started typing at lightning speed.

"I think that means that he's figured it out." Carson chuckled, then turned his attention back to his screens.

* * * * *

"Carson, you have a call. It's Jacques Samuelson." Dizzy said simply.

"Brother Jacques, what can I do for you?" Carson asked pleasantly.

"I was figuring that calling you would be the best way that I could get in touch with Ben or the twins. I need to ask them a favor." Brother Jacques said anxiously.

"I'm afraid that they aren't here. I think Ben is on his way to the hospital to visit his cousin, and the twins said that they would be checking on the kids." Carson said seriously.

"Well, I guess that's good. I was wanting to ask them if they'd keep an eye on the kids for me. I'd really like to stay here with Zane until he's feeling a little better." Brother Jacques said honestly.

Dax got up from the table and walked to stand behind Carson, then said, "This is Dax. If you want, I can get the twins for you or give them a message, I can even help with the kids."

There was a long moment of silence, then Brother Jacques quietly said, "Thank you, Dax. I think that if you'll let the twins know what's going on, they can contact me here at the hospital if they need me for anything."

"I'll let them know." Dax said confidently.

"And if you're serious about helping with the kids, make sure to let them know that, too. I'm sure they'll be happy to have someone else to help them." Brother Jacques said peacefully.

"Ben asked me to help to make a place for the Chicago people, when they get here. But I think I've done as much as I can until they start arriving. So I can help the twins if they need me." Dax said seriously.

"What happened to the closed off, angry boy that we brought with us from Chicago?" Brother Jacques asked in wonder.

"I guess he took a chance and let someone in." Dax said shyly.

"Whatever happened, I'm glad it did. Please let the twins know what's up and be sure to call me if you need me to come back there." Brother Jacques said calmly.

"Don't worry about us. We'll take care of everything here." Dax said reassuringly.

"Thanks." Brother Jacques said before the link fell silent.

"I'll be right back." Dax said quietly before hurrying out of the room.

"What do you think that was all about?" Carson asked as he looked around.

"Roris thinks that being here has caused Dax to do some growing up." Lawrence said frankly.

* * * * *

"Excuse me, Carson. But do you have a minute?" Lucas asked as he walked into Carson's room.

"I've got lots of them. What's up?" Carson asked as he looked away from his screens.

"You asked me for my thoughts about things we can do to make our guests comfortable when they arrive." Lucas said slowly.

"Right. Did you come up with anything?" Carson asked curiously.

"Perhaps." Lucas said slowly. "I discussed it with Gordon and we thought that it might be good to offer our guests the opportunity to divert their attention for a short time and relieve some stress."

"Sounds good so far." Carson said slowly.

"As I understand your plans, portable kitchens are going to be employed to feed large numbers of people who will be arriving until they either move on, or get set up in a home of some sort and can cook for themselves."

"Yes. I think Lance has that all arranged. In fact, he may already have the first of the kitchens in operation by now." Carson said seriously.

"The first has been running all morning. Dad has the second one prepping right now and it should be open for lunch." Hobie said from in front of his laptop.

"Good." Carson said with a smile in his direction, then looked at Lucas curiously.

"Well, we were thinking that since we already have those preparations made, we might add a few minor distractions to help take people's minds off their troubles." Lucas said hesitantly.

"Oh my fucking God! Will you just spit it out already!? What the fuck are you planning?" Bug exploded.

"Something like a street carnival or festival. We would encourage anyone with musical talent to play their instruments. In other areas we might set up a crude dance floor and ask a DJ to lend his services. Maybe we could get people to tell stories to entertain children or any number of things to allow people a chance to catch their breath and relax before taking on their next challenge, whatever it may be." Lucas said as he looked around the room to gauge people's reactions.

Carson considered for a moment, then said, "I like it. Not a lot of preparation and it could give people a chance to stop and collect themselves before starting on the next thing that they need to tackle."

"Group fourteen, 'Entertainers'." Bug said, then started typing.

"What's that?" Lucas asked cautiously.

"I think that means that Bug is modifying his program to spot people who might be instrumental in your plan." Carson said with a smile at Bug.

"When you decide you want to do a 'festival', all you gotta do is open the menu, do a search, and send them a request. If they say yes, tell'em where and when." Bug said simply.

"Me?" Lucas asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Who the fuck else?" Bug said before going back to his typing.

"Well, I suppose I could..." Lucas said slowly.

"Listen. I put a tattletale in there so whenever you schedule something in someone's area, it puts up a notice. That way, it's available for anyone who wants to join in and you don't have to fuck with emails and shit." Bug said as he turned his attention back to his laptop.

"That sounds very convenient." Lucas said cautiously.

"Is Lazlo doing something? I thought he'd be down here by now." Jay asked Lucas curiously.

"He was watching the news when I saw him upstairs. He seemed to be caught up in it." Lucas said thoughtfully, then asked, "Do you need him?"

"No. He's taking things really hard. He needs to deal with them in his own way. But if you think he needs a distraction, later, you can send him down here and we'll put him to work." Jay finished with a smile.

"How are you doing?" Lucas asked gently.

"I'm good. I'm right where I need to be, right now." Jay said simply.

Lucas nodded, then turned for the door.

"Before you go, you need to take a radio." Bug said suddenly, then added, "That way if you're out setting up a festival or something, you can call and get in touch with us if you need to."

"Good thinking, Bug." Carson said with a smile in his direction.

"Yeah, well, we gotta give these fucking things away or you won't have anyplace to sleep." Bug said as he handed a radio to Lucas.

Carson smiled as he watched Bug go back to his laptop.

* * * * *

"Here. We got 'em. Just like you wanted." Bax said as he ran into Carson's room, followed by Max and Ro, all of them looking windswept and excited.

"Good. Thank you." Carson said with a smile.

"Bring those over here. I need to set them up." Bug said seriously.

"And while Bug's doing that, I can tell you about the job we have for you." Carson said with a smile.

Bug accepted the three boxes and started opening the first one.

"Juan came up with a pretty good idea for you. If you guys are willing, I think you could help a lot of people when things start getting really crazy." Carson said as he undocked his wheelchair, so he could turn and face them fully.

"What do you want us to do?" Max asked hopefully.

"Well, the idea is that when someone like me or Bug is really busy, that sometimes we need things, like, maybe those tablets. Instead of having to drop what we're doing and go get it ourselves, we can call on the 'Gophers' to go and get what we need and bring it to us." Carson explained slowly.

"Gophers?" Ro asked cautiously.

"Yes. You 'go for' things for whoever needs it. You'll be kind of like a messenger service." Carson said frankly.

"So we'd get to ride gators and take people the stuff they need?" Bax asked to verify his understanding.

"That's right. But, the more people we have using our system, the more you'll have to do. It probably won't be very long before you'll need more people to help you, so you'll have to recruit new gophers. If you need any help with that, you can come to me, Bug, Ben or Roris and we'll be happy to help you." Carson said seriously.

Roris turned on his voice box then turned his chair as he said, "And you'll need to be sure that the people who are working for you are doing what they're supposed to and delivering the packages quickly. We're not going to be following behind everyone to see that they're doing their jobs. If we notice a problem, we'll let you know what it is and let you handle it."

"So, we're in charge?" Bax asked cautiously.

"That's right. And I think the first thing the Gophers need to do is to talk to the parents to be sure that they're all on board with you riding gators and going into town. If they say no, it's off. But if you can get them to go along with it, you'll have a way to help people all over the area." Bug said honestly.

Bax ran to Bug and pulled him into a quick hug as he said, "I thought you was gonna give us something like housework or some stupid job like that."

"Well, I'm sure I would've come up with something for you. But it was Juan who came up with this idea. Make sure that you thank him if you see him before he leaves." Bug said with a smile.

"We will." Bax promised.

"Before you go. I need to give you these tablets. I just finished loading a new app on them, so Dizzy'll be able to help you out with maps and directions and stuff." Bug said as he reached back to his table and picked up the first tablet.

"Are these for us? Do we get to keep 'em?" Bax asked hopefully.

"You get to keep them for as long as you're gophers. If you decide to quit, you've got to give 'em to the gophers who take your places." Carson said seriously.

"Wow. This is really nice. I mean, it's not a cheap little 'no name' thing that doesn't work right." Bax said as he looked the tablet over carefully.

"Here you go, Ro. Yours is ready." Bug said as he handed the next tablet over. "Yours will be ready in just a second, Max." Bug said as he connected the tablet to his laptop and initiated the upload.

"Wow. Look at this. It can do games and movies and music and books..." Ro chattered happily.

"And work." Carson interjected.

"We'll do our jobs. You don't have to worry." Bax said solemnly.

"Here you go, Max. You're all set up." Bug said with a smile.

"Thanks!" Max said happily.

"Now, go and ask your parents. Remember to have them call down here if they have any questions." Carson said seriously.

"Bug! Can I be a Gopher?" Bax asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, you may." Bug said very precisely.

Bax giggled at the response, then turned to Max and Ro and said, "I got mine done. Who's next?"

The three new 'Gophers' were out the door before Max or Ro could answer.

* * * * *

"Danny, do you have a minute?" Apollo asked cautiously from the doorway to Sammy's room.

"Sure, come on in. I was just telling the guys about some of the stuff we used to get up to, back in Florida, when we were their age." Danny said happily.

"Um, could I talk to you out here, in the hall?" Apollo asked anxiously.

"Sure. I guess." Danny said hesitantly.

"Go on. This'll give me and Myron a chance to tell some of the stories you were too shy to tell." Gerry said with a mischievous grin.

"Great." Danny said with a withering look, then walked toward the door.

* * * * *

After leading Apollo into the room that had been used by the Reeds, so they could speak privately, Danny quietly asked, "What did you need to talk about?"

"It's about Jarritt." Apollo said nervously.

Danny waited, but Apollo didn't seem inclined to continue. Finally, he asked, "What about him?"

"Well, I, um... He wants to..." Apollo stammered.

"He told you that he loves you?" Danny guessed.

"Yeah. That." Apollo whispered.

"How do you feel about him?" Danny asked simply.

"I don't know. I mean, I only just met him. I like him, of course. But he's... you know..." Apollo trailed off in anguish.

"Jarritt has Down Syndrome. Because of that, he has some limitations. But that doesn't make him any less of a person, or any less of a man. I can't tell you what to do, because I don't know how you feel about him. But please don't let the fact that he's different be the cause for rejecting his feelings toward you. If you don't love him or if you don't want to pursue a sexual relationship with him, that's fine. I know that it might hurt him in the short term to hear that, but he'll bounce back from it, in time. But I will tell you this. When Jarritt loves someone, he loves them with all his heart. If you're up to it, I think it could be a wonderful relationship." Danny said carefully.

"I was afraid that if we did that, people would think I was taking advantage of him." Apollo said nervously.

"Some of them might. But those are probably the same people who look at Jarritt and see an overgrown child. I've been watching after Jarritt since his mother passed away and I can tell you, he's an adult, complete with adult feelings and adult desires. Of course, he has limits. But in all the ways that matter, he's just a man that loves you. Now, all that you have to do is decide if you can handle it." Danny said frankly.

"Is that all?" Apollo asked weakly.

"There's no rush to decide this now. Take the time you need to sort through your feelings. Get to know Jarritt a little better and see if you can envision a future with him. If you decide to go for it, you're going to have to be strong. There are going to be some hard times, probably having to deal with other people's attitudes toward him, and toward you for being with him. I don't know you that well, but I have the feeling that if you decide to go through with it, that you'll find the strength." Danny said seriously.

"If I... If we... did. Then you'd be okay with it?" Apollo asked to be sure.

"Actually, I plan on being the best man at your wedding."

* * * * *

"What did they say?" Max asked anxiously as Ro walked out of the guest house where his parents were living.

"Are they going to let you?" Bax asked hopefully.

"Yeah. They said I can be a Gopher." Ro said distractedly.

"Then, what's wrong?" Bax asked with concern.

"They started talking to me about all this stuff about penises and 'birds and bees' and... it was really confusing and made me feel weird." Ro said quietly.

"Oh? Did they talk about how babies are made?" Max asked suddenly.

"Yeah. They mentioned that, but then they started talking about flowers and dick diseases and using condoms... it didn't make any sense at all." Ro finished with a helpless look at his friends.

"I think they were just trying to tell you about how sex works." Max said honestly.

"No. I already know about that. This was something else. I'm just not sure what. All I know is, I'm glad I don't know what they do when they're alone in bed. Because from the stuff they were telling me, I think they've got it all wrong." Ro said thoughtfully.

"Well, they said you can be a Gopher. Let's not worry about the rest. Max still needs to talk to Lucas and Gordon, so we can get started." Bax said firmly.

"Yeah. Okay." Ro said as he started to walk away with them.

After a moment of walking, he quietly asked, "Do you guys know what a 'herpes' is?"

* * * * *

"Bug, why don't you call it a night? I don't think there's much more you can do, right now. And maybe you can spend a few minutes with your family before bedtime." Carson said as he backed his wheelchair out of the alcove.

"I've just got a couple more tweaks that I want to do before I stop for the night. Besides, I had lunch and dinner with Oma Shoupe and she knows what I'm doing. She's just happy that I've found a way to help." Bug said honestly.

"Okay, then, how about you just get out of my room so I can go to sleep? I'm tired and I can barely keep my eyes open." Carson said frankly.

"Well, if that's how it is, then I guess I can finish this in my room." Bug said with a shrug.

"Good idea." Carson said with a grin, then quietly added, "Thanks for everything you did today. Without your help, there's no way we would have been prepared."

"It was a team effort..." Bug said, then looked around and asked, "When did everyone else leave?"

"An hour or so ago. I thought you'd get the hint, but obviously, you didn't." Carson said with a grin.

"Yeah. I don't do subtlety very fucking good. I guess it's good that I got other skills." Bug said with an answering smile.

"Carson. You asked to be notified when the bus from Chicago reached the first checkpoint." Dizzy said informatively.

"Wait! What?" Carson said as he looked up with surprise.

"They weren't supposed to arrive until tomorrow morning." Bug said as he followed Carson to the alcove.

"The checkpoint has requested communication. Would you like to join the channel?" Dizzy asked pleasantly.

"Yes! Connect us!" Carson said immediately as he locked his wheelchair into position.

"Hello? This is Father Brian Doherty..."

Chapter 28: The Best Laid Plans

"Hello? This is Father Brian Doherty." He said cautiously.

"Welcome, Father. As I told the young man, earlier, this is the first checkpoint on this route to Kettle Falls. There is some basic information that we would like to pass on to you so that we can streamline the registration process and get your group settled as quickly as possible." A man's voice said professionally.

Before Father Doherty could respond, another voice came over the radio."Father Doherty, my name is Carson Brown. I believe I answered the phone when you called to speak to your son."

"How is Zane? Is he there? Can I talk to him?" Father Doherty asked anxiously.

"He isn't here right now. Something came up... he's in the hospital right now... but he's fine." Carson stumbled to explain.

"In the hospital? What's wrong?" Father Doherty asked in panic.

"Like I said, he's fine. He had to have a minor surgery, but it's all taken care of. He can explain everything to you when you get here." Carson said slowly.

"Way to freak the guy out, Carson. You're talking about his fuckin kid, remember?" A voice said in the background.

"Excuse me. But you need to hear this before you arrive at the checkpoint." The man at the checkpoint interjected. "We need for your lead vehicle to stop and take on one of our volunteers so that while you're driving, he can gather as much information as possible before you arrive at Kettle Falls. The more information we can collect, the faster and easier it will be to get your people settled."

"Yes. We'll do that." Father Doherty said quickly, then glanced at Artimus to be sure that he had heard the message.

A nod from Artimus assured him that he wouldn't have to explain.

"Father Doherty, this is Carson, again. I'm sorry I couldn't find a better way to tell you about Zane, but I promise, he's really going to be fine."

"Quite alright. I was just taken a bit off guard." Father Doherty said, quite a bit more calmly.

"Hey, Father. My name's Bug. If you'll hang on for just a minute. I'm gonna go get the guy who's gonna be in charge of all the Chicago people. That way you and him can make plans for when you arrive." A voice, that sounded to be in the background, said quickly.

"Yes. I'll do that. Thank you, Bug." Father Doherty said cautiously.

"He's already gone. Bug's like that." Carson said fondly.

"How are Brother Jacques and the children?" Father Doherty asked anxiously.

"Brother Jacques is at the hospital with Zane. Dax and the twins have been watching out for the kids, and as far as I know, they're all doing fine." Carson said frankly.

"Did you say that Dax is helping?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Hang on, he just walked in. You can talk to him about it, yourself." Carson said quickly.

"Father Doherty? Where are you? Are you still coming here?" Dax asked quickly.

"Yes, Dax. In fact, I'm talking to you now because we've just reached the first checkpoint for Kettle Falls. By our estimates, we should be arriving in three to four hours." Father Doherty said with a smile, then thought to ask, "How is everyone getting along there?"

"Well, Brother Jacques is making sure that Zane isn't worried or stuff. Me and the twins have been checking on the kids, and all of them are doing fine. I think all the kids have made new friends since they've been here. They're too busy having fun to be worried about anything." Dax said with consideration to how Father Doherty must be feeling.

"I can't wait to hear all about it, when we arrive." Father Doherty said happily, then added, "But I suppose that I need to attend to business matters, just now. I'm supposed to talk to the person in charge of receiving the Chicago group, so that we can make arrangements."

There was a giggle on the radio that took Father Doherty by surprise, then Dax said, "Actually, I'm the one that you need to talk to. When you reach the checkpoint, a volunteer should get on your lead vehicle and gather information about your group while you're travelling to Kettle Falls. He or she will enter all the information into a program that will let us set up housing and whatever else you need when you get here." Dax said professionally.

"One of our people, his name is Ahmid, was shot before we left Chicago and only just recently had the bullet removed. He needs to see a doctor." Father Doherty said anxiously.

"Is he going to need an ambulance? We can have one standing by when you arrive." Dax asked cautiously.

"No. He's doing much better. I just wanted to be sure that he could be seen by a doctor as soon as possible." Father Doherty explained.

"I've made a note. As soon as you arrive and check in, someone will be there to escort Ahmid to the hospital." Dax said seriously.

"Thank you, Dax. How is it that you were given this responsibility?" Father Doherty asked curiously.

"It was Ben's job, at first. But he thought I could help a lot of people by doing this. He promised to help me if I needed it, so I said 'yes'." Dax said happily.

"You seem to be doing a fine job." Father Doherty said pleasantly, then quickly said, "There's a man with a flashlight ahead, motioning for us to stop. I'll talk to you again when we arrive, if not before."

"Just call on the radio if you need anything. If you ask for me, Dizzy will call me, wherever I am." Dax said in a rush.

"Who is Dizzy?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. You'll just have to see when you get here."

* * * * *

"You can start driving again. I'll introduce myself once we're on our way." A thirtyish man said as he climbed aboard.

A nod from Father Doherty was all it took for Artimus to close the door and get them moving again.

"My name is Alton, and if you'll be willing to tolerate a few questions, I'll get the information we need to get everyone settled as quickly as possible."

"It's nice to meet you, Alton. My name is Father Brian Doherty, you may call me Father or Brian, whichever is most comfortable for you." Father Doherty said pleasantly as he ushered the man back through the bus and offered him a seat.

"Thank you, Father. I already saw the note about one of your people needing to see a doctor. Are there any other immediate needs that I need to be aware of?" Alton asked seriously.

"No. Not that I can think of." Father Doherty said thoughtfully.

"Good. Then we can start with the number of people in your group."

"I have no idea."

"Do you know about how many vehicles?"

"The last estimate I heard was about five hundred, but I don't know how accurate that is." Father Doherty said honestly.

"I can work with that." Alton said as he typed on his touch screen.

Father Doherty watched silently.

"Can you estimate how many vehicles are from the Chicago area?"

"No. There were only two of us who made it out our way. I suppose that there might be others that have joined us who were from Chicago."

"Are you aware of any other significant groups that have joined you on your journey?"

"I believe that groups from Wisconsin and Michigan have joined with us, but I have no idea how many."

"Not to worry, as soon as we're done here, we're going to get on the radio to ask if anyone from those groups has any idea."

"Good. I was beginning to feel that you weren't going to get any useful information at all from me."

"From what I've seen of this program, it can take very little information and somehow discover information on it's own. It's really remarkable."

"Thank you. That makes me feel a lot better."

"I'm glad. Now, if you're ready, we can start into the next part."

* * * * *

"Anything I need to know?" Ben asked as he carried Oleksandr into the room.

"The Chicago convoy is somehow about half a day early. Besides that, you're up to date." Carson said distractedly.

"You okay, Dax?" Ben asked as he took his seat and booted his computer.

"Yeah. I think." Dax said as he read over what he had been working on earlier.

"I've put the alert out to all our volunteers. Unless they turned off their computers, they'll know that we'll need everyone on their jobs." Carson said seriously.

"I need to be in town. I'm not going to be any good for them here." Dax said anxiously.

"They need someone to coordinate things." Ben offered quietly.

"Can't one of you handle dispatch for me? I need to be there, seeing what's going on. I won't know what needs to be done unless I can see it." Dax asked as he looked at the others in the room.

"I got your back, Dax. Put on a subvocal and get going." Bug said seriously

"Can you help me with that? I don't get how to use it." Dax said timidly.

"Come here. We'll get you signed in so you can go." Bug said with a smile.

"I think Oleksandr and I should go with you." Ben said seriously.

"I don't need for you to babysit me! I can do this!" Dax said indignantly.

"Headlock?" Ben asked simply.

Dax's anger immediately faded and he broke into a reluctant smile before he shook his head.

"Last I heard, there are HUNDREDS of vehicles in that convoy. I think you're right that you need to be there to oversee things. But I also think that it might be more than one person can handle. I don't want to babysit you, Dax. I want to help you." Ben said firmly.

"Shut up and put these on. We need to get them logged in to Dizzy so you can stay in touch with us." Bug said as he approached.

"Can you help me?" Dax asked timidly.

Bug looked at Oleksandr in Ben's arms and asked, "Can I put this on you to show these two how it's done?"

"Okay." Oleksandr said shyly.

Bug couldn't help but smile at the boy's timid response.

"You peel it off, the strip goes on the throat and the button goes behind the ear. Gently tap it to key it." Bug said as he stuck the two flesh colored tags on Oleksandr's skin.

"Oleksandr, would you tap the strip on your throat and say 'Hi' to Dizzy, so he knows which subvocal you're using?" Bug asked simply.

"Hi Dizzy. This is Oleksandr, can you hear me?" Oleksandr asked happily.

"Yes, Oleksandr. I can hear you very well. If you ever want to talk to someone else wearing a subvocal or a radio, just tap the strip on your neck and say their name, and I'll be sure that they can hear your message." Dizzy said pleasantly through the subvocal earpiece, so only Oleksandr could hear it.

"Okay! Ben, hurry up and put yours on so I can talk to you!" Oleksandr said excitedly.

"You're with me every minute of the day. I don't think we need radios to talk to each other." Ben chuckled.

"Come on! Dax, make him do it!" Oleksandr whined.

"We'll both do it. Come on, Dax, so we can get going." Ben said with a fond smile at the boy at his side.

"Dizzy, this is Dax."

"Through the use of the subvocal unit, you will be able to stay in contact with me, to request information, or contact any person carrying a radio or subvocal device. Should the need arise, I can also patch you into the phone system." Dizzy said courteously.

"Thank you, Dizzy." Dax said in surprise.

"Dizzy, it's me, Ben."

"Hello, Ben. The subvocal and radio units are both patched through me, so I can connect you when you begin your transmission by naming who you want to speak with. I can also answer questions or retrieve any information that you might need." Dizzy said professionally.

"Hey, that's really great. I could hear you like you were standing right next to me." Ben said happily.

"Is that everything we need? Because I'd like to get into Kettle Falls and check things out before they arrive." Dax asked anxiously.

"Yeah. That's all we need here. You guys be sure to call if you need anything. We'll be right here if you need us." Carson said confidently.

"Will do. All we need to do is stop by our rooms and get our coats, then we'll be ready to go." Ben said energetically.

When the trio had finally left the room, Bug turned to Carson and asked, "How can anyone be so fucking upbeat all the time?"

"I wouldn't know." Carson said honestly, then went back to look at his screens to see if he could find any detail in their preparations that they might have missed.

* * * * *

"Hey guys. Hang on." Courtney said as Ben, Dax and Oleksandr hurried out the side door of the 'Big House', that opened nearest the gators.

"Hey. What's up?" Ben asked as he stopped.

"Are you guys planning on going into town?" Courtney asked casually.

"She's telepathic, like Alvin, so she already knows where we're going." Oleksandr said seriously.

Ben looked at Oleksandr at his side, then at Courtney and said, "Olex made a good point. Did you need something?"

"Yes. He's right. I know where you're going and what you're planning to do. The reason I'm out here is to let you know that I'm sending one of my guys to accompany you, as security." Courtney said seriously, letting her casual facade fall away.

"Um, okay. You guys have any problem with that?" Ben asked as he looked from Dax to Oleksandr.

"As long as it doesn't slow us down, it's fine with me." Dax said simply.

"How long is this going to take?" Ben asked seriously.

"Bruce, you can come out of hiding. They're willing to take you along." Courtney called into the dark.

"I still think I should'a tailed 'em without 'em knowing. I would've kept 'em safe." Bruce said grumpily as he slowly approached the gators.

"These guys are on our side. We need to show a little trust and respect. Besides, we're probably going to have lots of chances to do covert ops before this is all over. So just go and enjoy an easy escort job, for once." Courtney said to the young boy.

"Enjoy. Yeah. I'm sure that's what I'll do." Bruce said as he walked to the nearest gator and flopped himself into the back seat.

"You'll probably see some of our other people there. We're going to be doing telepathic scans on the incoming people to be sure that we aren't getting a lot of mole agents or covert operatives coming in with the refugees." Courtney said seriously.

"None of that's going to change what we're doing, is it?" Dax asked curiously.

"No. You go do your thing, and we'll do ours. I just didn't want you to think that we're spying on everybody if you saw some of us in town." Courtney said pleasantly.

"But you are." Oleksandr said simply.

Courtney gave a slight shrug, then started to walk away.

"Is that it? Can we go?" Dax asked impatiently.

"Sure. Do you want to drive?" Ben asked with a smile.

Dax's impatience gave way to excitement at the thought of getting to drive the gator again.

"I can drive." Bruce called out from the back seat.

"Maybe on the way back." Ben said with a smile as he sat down with Oleksandr held close to his side.

* * * * *

"What do we need to do?" Lawrence asked from Roris' side as they hurried into Carson's room.

"I haven't had any special needs requests since you guys left, so I really don't know what you can do to help right now. But we wanted to call everyone in because the convoy from Chicago just hit the first checkpoint and we need everyone ready to help them get settled." Carson said seriously.

"It's too soon. We're not ready." Roris said with concern.

"What else do you need to do?" Carson asked curiously.

"I wanted to go through the whole arrival process in my wheelchair, so I could figure out what might cause trouble for people with mobility issues." Roris carefully explained.

"Well, there's still about three and a half or four hours before they're scheduled to arrive. You could probably go and do that now, if you wanted to." Carson said uncertainly.

"I already asked my dad to take me in the morning. I don't want to wake him and Mom up, if they're already asleep." Roris said anxiously.

"Let me get Mikey. He can drive you over. No problem." Carson said quickly as he typed.

"No. Please don't bother him. It's late and he may already be asleep." Roris said with some concern.

"Too late. I've already sent him a text." Carson said with a grin.

Roris gave him a dangerous, warning look.

"I've got two brothers, a younger one and an older one. Save your dirty looks, I'm immune." Carson said with a chuckle in his voice.

"Did you guys get radios, when you were in here before?" Bug asked without looking up from his laptop.

"No. I didn't think we'd need them." Roris responded.

"If you're going into town, I think it would be best if you had radios. But, unfortunately, I don't see any quick and easy way to make your voice box work with the radio system. So, what we can do for now, if you guys want, is give you both subvocals, then I can instruct Dizzy to transmit Lawrence's receiver signal to both devices. Then, if you don't mind, Lawrence can speak for both of you. As soon as I have a spare thirty or forty minutes, I'll rig up the voice box so it can interface with the radios." Carson said seriously.

"That will be fine." Roris said simply.

While Carson was making sure that Lawrence and Roris' subvocals were working properly, Mikey rushed into the room and quickly asked, "What did you need me to do?"

"Roris needs a ride into town. You're used to driving the chair-lift gator, so I figured you'd be best to help him." Carson said in a serious, professional tone.

"Okay, sure." Mikey responded immediately, then turned as Ty rushed into the room behind him.

"Do you both have your subvocals on?" Carson asked to be sure.

Mikey glared at his brother for a moment before rolling his eyes and saying, "Yes, Mom."

Carson turned to Roris and asked, "Do you see what I mean."

Roris gave him an unwilling smile as he crossed the room to join Mikey and Ty at the door.

* * * * *

"Father Doherty said that you might be willing to help me talk with the other vehicles in the convoy so we can gather as much information as possible before we arrive in Kettle Falls." Alton said as he stopped at the front of the bus.

"Yes. We would be happy to assist you." Art said pleasantly.

"Good. Before we start on that, I just need a little information about you two." Alton said as he turned his attention to the tablet in his hands.

"My name is Art and my companion is Euan. That is all the information that I am prepared to disclose." Art said simply, but firmly enough that there was no doubt that he wouldn't be swayed.

"As you like..." Alton said as he typed in their first names.

"If you will let us know the information you require from the convoy, we will probably know who to ask." Euan supplied helpfully.

"Yes. Just a moment..." Alton said as he looked curiously at his tablet.

Art and Euan waited as they watched Alton's eyes go wide.

"Um... Okay... You don't have to say anything. But would you just look at this?" Alton asked as he held out the tablet to them.

Art hesitantly accepted the tablet, fairly certain about what he would find.

Euan moved close so he could see from Art's side.

"There's an option to make the information unsearchable. The way I understand it, that way you're in the system so that we can provide you food and shelter, but no one will be able to query where you are or even if you've checked in." Alton said cautiously.

"Please do so, for both of us." Art said shortly as he handed the tablet back to Alton.

"Then, that's you?" Alton asked to be sure.

"What information did you need to collect from the other vehicles? There are quite a few people traveling with us. We should begin." Art said calmly.

Alton was dumbstruck and stared at Art for a long moment before he finally snapped out of it. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to start with the Michigan group."

Art nodded once, then picked up the CB microphone and said, "Wolverine Bard, this is Monarch, you got your ears on? Come back."

* * * * *

"This should be it." Ben said as Dax drove the gator up the unfamiliar road.

"It's a lot closer to Carson's house than I thought it would be." Dax said as he looked around as best he could in the yellow illumination from the LED streetlights.

"That was Bug's idea, I think. He wanted to station the people we were most worried about closeby so we can go and check on them if we want. I know it sounds kinda selfish, doing it that way. But they all have to go somewhere, and I can't think of any better way of doing it." Ben said frankly.

"I'm just glad that he set it up so that people from the same place can stay together. I know a lot of people are going to feel completely uprooted and this might give them another way of dealing with that." Dax said thoughtfully.

"Do you think my old foster dad is going to come here?" Oleksandr asked quietly.

"I don't know, Olex. But you don't need to worry. You're safe with me. If he shows up, I'll protect you, just like you protected Alvin." Ben said gently.

He felt Oleksandr snuggle a little bit closer into his side.

Dax tapped the subvocal to activate it, then asked, "Dizzy, how much longer until the convoy arrives?"

"Given their current rate of travel, their arrival is expected in three hours and twelve minutes." Dizzy said pleasantly.

"Thank you, Dizzy." Dax said thoughtfully, then turned to Ben and said, "It looks like we have plenty of time. I'd like to go into one of the houses to look around so we have an idea of what they'll already have waiting for them and what they'll need."

"Is that okay with you, Bruce?" Ben asked into the back of the gator.

"Yeah. Fine." Bruce said gruffly, then glanced at Oleksandr before saying, "But if his foster father shows up, you won't have to worry about him. It would be my pleasure to deal with him."

Ben felt Oleksandr clinging to his side and saw the fierce determination in Bruce's eyes. Finally, he said, "Go for it."

* * * * *

"How's it going, Bug? You're being awfully quiet over there." Carson said seriously.

"I'm just watching the status as more and more users sign on. So far, everything's stable." Bug said cautiously.

"It looks like everyone's been doing what they need to do as far as the supply situation goes. In fact, that guy, Davis, somehow he's managed to enter the invoices of just about every truck that's come anywhere near the warehouse. So if what the truck is carrying is refrigerated food, the entire invoice is already logged into the system before it reaches the grocery store where they're storing it." Carson said in an impressed voice.

"I guess that means that you got the right guy for the job." Bug said without looking away from his laptop screen.

"Not me. Tommy and my dad are the ones who hired Davis. But from what I'm seeing here, I wish that I could claim him as 'my' find." Carson said frankly.

"How's that other guy doing, Ro's dad?" Bug asked curiously.

"Oh, Walter? He's great. I think that because of what Davis has taken on as far as logging everything into the system, it's allowed Walter to devote more attention to the warehousing aspect of the dry goods so that they'll be staged for allocation." Carson said seriously.

"Dizzy, would you remind me of something, later?" Bug asked into the air.

"Yes, Bug, what would you like for me to remind you?" Dizzy asked pleasantly.

"Tomorrow morning, around eight o'clock, would you remind me that we need to tell Davis and Walter what a good job they're doing?" Bug asked with a smile.

"Yes, Bug. I will do so."

"Why don't you just tell them, now?" Carson asked curiously.

"Because if they're not working right now, I wouldn't want them to think that there's an important message while they're trying to rest. And if they are working, I wouldn't want to interrupt them." Bug said honestly.

"That's very considerate of you." Carson said with a grin.

"Yeah. I'm just that kind of a guy." Bug said a little bit timidly as he continued to watch his laptop screen.

* * * * *

"No. You don't need to back into this one. Just drive on and then you can turn your wheelchair and face forward while I'm driving." Mikey said quickly.

"Hey, guys. Do you have room for another passenger?" A young teenage boy asked as he approached.

"Yeah. But you can grab another gator for yourself, if you want. There's plenty." Mikey said pleasantly.

"I'm supposed to ride along with you guys in case there's any kind of trouble." The boy said frankly.

"Do you think there's going to be a problem?" Roris asked as he maneuvered his wheelchair into place.

"I don't know if there will be. But the folks in charge think that it's best to be prepared, just in case."

"I'm Lawrence. I help Rory." Lawrence said happily.

Mikey quickly secured Roris' wheelchair, then said, "We got enough room, so come on."

The boy smiled at the casual invitation, then said as he climbed onto the gator, "By the way, my name is Victor."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Mikey, this is Ty. Lawrence is the cutie and Roris is on wheels." Mikey said to Victor as he moved to the front, then called out to everyone, "Hang on!"

Before anyone could respond, Mikey started up the gator and they were on their way.

* * * * *

"I received a message on my terminal. Did you need for me to do anything to help?" Lucas asked cautiously as he walked into Carson's room.

"Bug, I'm kind of tied up, here. Can you help him?" Carson asked as he tried to maintain his focus on what he was typing.

"Got it." Bug said as he dragged his attention away from his laptop screen.

Lucas tried not to let his attention be drawn to the multiple monitors displaying various types of information in Carson's alcove.

"The convoy that we were expecting to arrive tomorrow will be here in a few hours. I don't know what you were planning to do for them, but you've got, maybe, three hours to do it, now." Bug said seriously.

"I need to go into town and check on the portable kitchens to be sure that they are fully manned and prepped for a large influx of people." Lucas said anxiously.

"Fine. Here, we were given some radios. You need to take this one so we can call you if something comes up, or in case you need anything."

Lucas accepted the radio from Bug and clipped it on his belt, then put the earpiece into his ear.

"Key the mic and say your name, so Carson's computer can log the radio in for you. If you need to talk to any of us, just key the mic and say our names and the call will be directed to us." Bug said seriously.

After keying the mic, Lucas said, "This is Lucas DeLong."

"I have your radio logged in, under your name. If you should need any information, I will be happy to assist you, my name is Dizzy." A young teenage voice said pleasantly.

"Who was that?" Lucas asked as he looked around.

"Carson's computer, Dizzy. He can answer most questions about the incoming people or about the supplies, since he has access to those databases. If he can't answer a question for you, then you can ask for me or Carson." Bug said seriously.

"This technology is astounding." Lucas said as he looked at Carson's alcove, again.

"It don't mean shit if we don't put it to good use." Bug said, then walked back to his laptop.

"Lucas?" A teenage boy asked from the doorway.

"Yes?" Lucas said cautiously to the unfamiliar boy.

"My name is Bryan. I'm supposed to be your escort if you're going into town." Bryan said seriously.

"I don't need an escort..." Lucas said hesitantly.

"The people in charge think you do." Bryan said simply.

"Remember who's living upstairs." Carson said over his shoulder.

After a moment, Lucas looked to Bryan and nodded his acceptance.

"I'm ready to go when you are." Bryan said simply.

"Then, I suppose that we'd better go. For each minute that we delay, there are probably one or two things that we won't be able to do to make our guests more comfortable." Lucas said frankly, then walked for the door.

After he had left, Bug quietly said, "He takes the whole 'hospitality' thing really seriously, doesn't he?"

"That's why we hired him." Carson said with a slight shrug.

* * * * *

"What do you think?" Ben asked as he looked around downtown Kettle Falls.

"We need to go over to the stadium, that's where the primary receiving is going to be done." Dax said seriously.

"How about we loop around to where they're going to come into town, then drive the route they're going to be taking, so we can see what they're going to see?" Ben asked thoughtfully.

"I don't know if we have time." Dax said slowly.

"If we run out of time to do stuff, I can help you, Dax." Oleksandr said quickly.

Dax smiled at the boy, then said, "Thanks, Olex. I know with you guys helping, everything's going to be fine."

* * * * *

"What's wrong?" Bug asked with concern.

"What do you mean?" Carson asked distractedly.

"I mean, what's wrong? You've been sitting there for five minutes, staring at those screens. Do you need to get some sleep? Because I can cover for you if you do." Bug said seriously.

"No. It's not that. I just..." Carson trailed off.

"Will you spit it the fuck out?! I'm not a motherfuckin mind reader! Do I need to go out to the tents and drag one of them in here to tell me what the fuck your problem is? 'Cause, I will. I'm not too fuckin shy to do it." Bug ranted.

"They were right about me. Just now... well really, for the last half hour... I've been wanting a pill." Carson admitted as he fought down his tears of humiliation at admitting it.

"Dizzy, enact code four." Bug said into the air.

"Code four?" Carson asked cautiously as he started typing.

"You'll never fucking find it. So don't even try." Bug said smugly.

"What does it do?" Carson asked as he looked at Bug with aggravation.

"Jesus fuck! What the fuck do you think it does? Seriously! You can at least try to figure it out before you ask me stupid fucking questions!" Bug ranted.

"I suppose you made an automated call to let my mom know that I'm craving a pill." Carson said grudgingly.

"That's code one." Bug said with an irritating grin.

"Oh, God." Carson said as he looked down.

"No, I didn't have a way of reaching him. But if I did, he'd be code five." Bug said playfully.

"My dad?" Carson asked cautiously.

"Code two." Bug said with a nod.

After a moment to consider, Carson cautiously asked, "My grandfather?"

"Code three." Bug said with a grin.

"So, who's code four?" Carson asked anxiously.

"Dizzy called me and said that you needed me. How bad is it?" Jay asked as he walked into Carson's room, looking to still be half asleep.

Carson looked at Jay with surprise for a moment, then glanced over at Bug and quietly said, "You asshole."

Bug shrugged without concern, then turned his attention back to his work.

* * * * *

"I didn't miss it, did I?" Juan asked as he sauntered up to where Roris, Lawrence, Ben and Oleksandr, Dax, and Lucas were waiting impatiently.

"No. But they should be here any minute." Ben said seriously.

"Just keep watch for a bus with priests on it." Dax added quickly.

"From what I gathered, the lead bus has 'Lesbian Gravy' written across the side of it." Roris added helpfully.

Juan looked at Roris with a completely serious expression. "Wait a minute, I think I've heard this one before. 'There are these three priests on the Lesbian Gravy tour bus..."

Before he could finish the thought, a set of approaching headlights heralded the arrival they had all been waiting for.

All the men present, plus many volunteers waited anxiously as the bus approached them and finally came to a stop.

"Father Doherty!" Dax exclaimed as he ran to the bus and hugged the man who was just emerging.

"Dax, it's so good to see you. No matter how many times I talked to you, I still couldn't really believe it until I could see you with my own two eyes." Father Doherty said quietly as he held the boy.

"I'm sorry, Father. I'm sorry how I was before." Dax hurried to explain.

"I know, Dax. And you have nothing at all to be sorry about. The only thing you were guilty of is being a teenager." Father Doherty said with a gentle smile.

"I'm so glad you're here. So much has happened. Brother Jacques has taken really good care of everyone." Dax rushed to say.

"Before I forget, I was told to give you this." Father Doherty said as he took the satellite phone, complete with charger, out of his pocket and handed it to Dax.

"Thank you, Father." Dax whispered.

"Is that Dax?" A man, dressed like a street punk asked as he stepped up to Dax and Father Doherty.

"Yes. Dax, this is Trav. He came with us from Chicago and has been a tremendous help to us." Father Doherty said with a smile at the man.

"Just doin like tha boss tole me. An now that we's here. I s'pose it's time fer me ta be doin tha next part'a my job. We needs ta talk, but first we needs ta find Jingo." Trav said seriously.

"Dax, I'm going to be busy for a few minutes, making sure that everyone is being cared for. Then, I need to accompany one of our people, who is injured, to the hospital. From what I understand, I should be able to get back in touch with you simply by asking any of the volunteers." Father Doherty said slowly.

"Yeah. Anyone with a 'volunteer' sash on or pretty much anyone who's telling people what to do will be able to get in touch with me, no matter where I am." Dax reassured him.

"Perhaps you would know, I have a young man on the bus who is taking care of an infant. The infant's mother is in another vehicle, but it sounds as though it could be some time before she checks in. Are there facilities where he could wait comfortably? I'm concerned about the baby being out in this cold." Father Doherty explained quietly.

Dax looked around and Roris caught his eye.

"You see that guy in the wheelchair over there? His name is Roris and he's in charge of special accommodations. If you'll tell him what you need, he'll do whatever he can to take care of it for you." Dax said confidently.

"Yes. I'll tell Emo to talk to him. I also have two boys who were separated from their brothers, who are in a vehicle at the back of the convoy. Should I have them speak to the man in the wheelchair, too?" Father Doherty asked uncertainly.

"Get Ben. He's over there waitin for somethin ta do." Juan interjected.

Dax glanced over to where Ben was standing, holding Oleksandr, looking at people passing him by as they walked into the stadium.

Rather than scream across the parking lot, Dax keyed the sub-vocal and quietly said, "Ben, would you come over to the bus to help out some kids who got separated from their families?"

"Sure. Be right there." Ben responded immediately.

Dax looked back at Father Doherty and said, "Ben will be right over to help the boys. Do you have anyone else that needs help?"

"Just Ahmid. But let me talk with the other priests for a moment to let them know where I'm going." Father Doherty said quickly.

As a boy stepped off the bus and looked around, Juan seemed to be surprised. Then he walked directly to him and said, "There you are!"

"I'm afraid you must have mistaken me for someone else." Art said carefully.

"Nope. You're him. The one everyone's lookin for." Juan said simply.

"Please, there's too much for me to do here. There are too many people depending on my help. Can't you just pretend that you never saw me?" Art asked hopefully.

Juan stared at Art for a moment, then carefully said, "There is no way that I'm leaving you here. None. But, I tell you what I'll do for you. The whole rescue effort is being coordinated from a secure location. If you want, I can take you there. I won't tell anyone who you are. As far as anyone will know, you're just there to help out. So, if you want to keep on helping people, you can still do it."

"How can I know that you aren't someone who has been sent to abduct me?" Art asked cautiously.

Juan seemed to consider the question for a moment, before he said, "I guess there's nothin I can tell you to prove it. And it's a little too public for me to show you. My people want to keep our presence quiet."

"Your people?" Art asked hesitantly.

Juan nodded, then moved in closer to quietly say, "Some government assholes thought it'd be really neat to get some psycho scientists together and pay them to do a huge cut and paste job on human genetics. Me and my people are the result. It's a whole long story, but all you need to know right now is that all the government and scientist creeps that cooked this shit up have been dealt with. Me and my team have decided to throw our lot in on the side of the angels, meaning that we help the kind of people who'd never consider doing the things like those other guys have done."

"I had no idea the Americans had such a program in place." Art said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. We don't like to advertise. But since I'm working with the good guys, it's part of my job to keep important people safe. That means you." Juan said firmly.

"But you said that you won't tell." Art said to confirm.

"Nope. Not unless there's a reason that I absolutely have to." Juan said seriously.

"What's going on?" Euan asked Art cautiously as he stepped to his side.

"It looks like we're going to have to go with him." Art said regretfully.

"But Father Doherty needs for us to stay here." Euan said anxiously.

"You can do a lot more good from the command center." Juan said seriously.

"We need to gather a few things, before we can go." Art said as he looked back toward the bus.

"I'll get someone to take care of that..." Juan trailed off as he suddenly looked away, then smiled, "It looks like we got some people needin a ride to where we're heading, so let's get goin. We don't want the baby to get cold."

Without further explanation, Juan started walking away.

Art and Euan exchanged an anxious look, then reluctantly followed.

* * * * *

"_If you'll go inside and wait for a few minutes, I'm going to call someone so that they can drive you somewhere that you can take care of the baby''.*" Roris said carefully.

"You don't need to do that. We're heading up to the house, so we can take 'em." Juan hurried to say.

"Emo, this is Juan. Since he's going back to the house anyway, you can ride along with him, if you want." Roris said seriously.

"Sure. I don't want Colton to be out in the cold for too long. Would you guys help me get his things?" Emo asked as he looked at Art and Euan.

"Yes. We need to gather our own things, as well. We would be happy to help." Art said quickly, then hurried away with Euan at his side.

"Thank you, Juan." Roris said gratefully.

"I just wanted to be here so I could see the security layout for the new arrivals. Everything seems to be right, so it's time for me to leave. I don't mind taking these guys with me, that's where I parked." Juan said dismissively.

"Excuse me, but I was trying to help these young men, and I'm not sure what we can do for them." Lucas said as he led two boys to join Juan, Roris and Lawrence.

"It's simple. Get on that radio on your belt, there. Then tell Dizzy that we've got these two guys, then tell him who they're looking for. When your guys show up, Dizzy will let you know and you can get them back together." Juan said seriously, then noticed that Art, Euan and Emo were all approaching with their arms loaded.

"Looks like we're going. Good luck finding your brothers, guys." Juan said before stepping away to join the others.

* * * * *

A tractor trailer came driving up the street as Dax and Trav watched.

"Your friend, Jingo, should be on that one." Bruce said as he approached.

"How'd you know we was lookin fer Jingo?" Trav asked suspiciously.

"He's with me, Trav. You don't need to worry about him. He's alright." Dax assured him.

"Sorry, I overheard you talking, so I called in to the command center and they told me where your friend was. I was only trying to help." Bruce said in his most timid, nonthreatening voice.

Dax had been present when Courtney had explained that the members of her team were all telepathic, but he didn't see any reason why he should share that information with Trav. It made him feel better to know that Bruce was aware of what was going on with him and hadn't warned him away from Trav.

"Thanks for the ride, Big Guy." Jingo said as she climbed down from the passenger side of the rig.

"Big Noise." The driver corrected with a smile.

"It was a hell of a ride, anyway. Thanks." Jingo giggled, then spotted Trav waiting for her.

"What'd I miss?" Jingo asked with a smile as she approached.

"Git yer pipes cleaned?" Trav asked with a mischievous grin.

"I'm gonna be walkin funny for a week. But it was damned well worth it." Jingo said with a shrug, then looked at Dax and asked, "This him?"

"Yeah. Dax, this is Jingo. We's here ta help ya set up a place fer tha Chicago people that the boss is gonna be sendin here." Trav said seriously.

"Is everything okay?" Ben asked as he approached with Oleksandr walking at his side, holding his hand.

"Yeah. Jingo and Trav just need to talk to me for a few minutes. Did you need me inside for something?" Dax asked slowly.

"No. Everything's running smoothly, right now. I just wanted you to know that Oleksandr and I are going inside to the Chicago check-in, just in case anyone needs anything." Ben said seriously.

"I'll be in when we're done talking. Don't worry, Ben. Everything's fine." Dax finished with a smile.

Ben reluctantly nodded, then slowly walked away, leading Oleksandr by the hand.

* * * * *

"Are you gentlemen Father Doherty and Ahmid Harrish?" The nurse behind the reception desk asked pleasantly as they approached.

"Why, yes. I was told that you would be expecting us. But I didn't expect this." Father Doherty said hesitantly.

The woman smiled, then said, "The doctor has been awaiting your arrival. If you'll follow me, I'll take you right in to the examination room."

"Are you sure we aren't still asleep on the bus? I've never been in any hospital that operated such as this." Ahmid asked cautiously.

"When you have a spare moment, I have a few forms that you'll need to fill out." The nurse said as she walked them into the examination room.

"Ah, that's more familiar." Father Doherty said as he accepted a clipboard from her.

* * * * *

"Do you think it's too cold for Colton?" Emo asked anxiously as he held the bundled baby tight to his chest.

"Naw. He's fine. You got him wrapped up enough and we're almost there."

"Why do we have to go here? Shouldn't we have stayed in town, so Angela could find us easier?" Emo asked as he cuddled Colton a little bit tighter.

"That kid you're holdin is gonna need ta be changed and fed and stuff. There's no way you could'a taken good care of that kid at the arrival post in the stadium. When we get to the Brown house, there's probably gonna be people lined up to help you take care of that little guy." Juan said absently as he maintained the majority of his focus on the road ahead.

"Art and I will be there to help you, as well, should you need us." Euan offered gently.

Emo smiled and said, "Thanks, guys. I felt alone for so long, sometimes I don't even think that someone might want to help me with things."

"I have a feeling that no matter what twists and turns lie ahead, that Colton is going to be well taken care of." Art said with a smile at Emo holding Colton so tenderly.

* * * * *

"So, I guess tha first thing is gonna be findin a place fer our people, soes they can be together." Trav said slowly.

"I've already got that covered. When the people from Chicago show up, they'll check in and the program will automatically put them in an area that we've set aside specifically for them. As much as we can, we're going to try to put people from the same neighborhoods together." Dax said seriously.

"Good. That'll be real good." Trav said thoughtfully.

"Your dad also wanted for us to see that you're going to be the one in charge. How hard is it going to be to arrange that, do you think?" Jingo asked slowly.

"Already done. As far as anyone around here is concerned, I'm the one they go to if anyone from Chicago needs anything." Dax said as he turned his attention to her.

"Okay. Sounds like you been busy. What about food and stuff like that?" Trav asked in an impressed tone.

"From what the others have told me, that's handled. I haven't looked into it too much, I've just trusted what they've told me. But if you want to check into the details, all I'll need to do is get to a computer and I should be able to find out whatever you want to know."

"Are you ready to take this on? From what your dad was telling us, this is all kind of hitting you out of the blue." Jingo asked cautiously.

"Honestly, I don't know if I can do it. My dad said that being a leader is in my blood. But... I just don't know." Dax said quietly.

"I don't think you'll have to worry 'bout that, none. You got 'em food and houses. I don't think they's gonna have no problem listenin ta what you gotta say." Trav said frankly.

"He's right. And if anyone gets out of line and needs their heads knocked, we'll take care of that part for you." Jingo said firmly.

From the dangerous look in her eyes, Dax had no problem believing her.

"Sides, all tha gang bangers is bein told ta listen to ya. If they knows whats good fer 'em, they best do as they's told." Trav said with a nod.

"I don't know much about all of that. I mean, yeah, I grew up in Chicago, so I know about the gangs. But I've never been a part of anything like that or known anyone who was really into it." Dax said nervously.

"That's why you got us. You handle keepin our peeps housed and fed and we'll make sure they's kept in line." Trav said seriously.

"Dax. Ben is really worried about you being with those strangers. Are you really okay?" Oleksandr asked over the subvocal.

"Excuse me." Dax said to Jingo and Trav timidly, then turned away as he keyed his subvocal mic. "Ben and Oleksandr, I'm fine. These guys were sent here by my dad and they're just seeing that I'm alright."

"Dax. I was just worried because I didn't know them. Please, let us know if you need us for anything." Ben said quietly.

"I will. Thanks for worrying. I probably won't be too much longer." Dax said, then turned back to find Jingo and Trav looking at him cautiously.

"My friends, Ben and Olex, were worried about me and just checking to see that I'm alright." Dax timidly explained.

"Do you have a radio?" Trav asked cautiously.

"Yeah. It's an ultra high tech thing that I really don't understand. When I get back to the house, I'll get one for each of you. I'd like it if we were able to get in touch, no matter where we are." Dax said seriously.

"From the looks of it, you got things under control here. Ain't gone be much fer us ta do." Trav said with a questioning look at Jingo.

"Fine with me. I wouldn't mind taking another ride on that big rig, tonight." Jingo said with a smile.

Trav rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"And there's a certain priest that you might be able to trip into bed, if you play your cards right." Jingo said with an unrepentant smile.

"Malcom ain't like that." Trav immediately defended.

"Trust me, Trav. Fix it so you two are alone and he's gonna have your pants around your ankles before you know what happened." Jingo giggled.

"If there's nothing else you two need me for, I'm going to get back to making sure that the people who are arriving in this convoy are all getting everything they need." Dax said with a smile.

"You gonna be here if we need you?" Jingo asked as she looked at the stadium.

"Yes. But if I'm not, you can ask anyone wearing one of these 'volunteer' sashes and they'll be able to get in touch with me, no matter where I am." Dax said seriously.

"Got it. You go let yer friends know that you's safe and that tha nasty gang bangers didn't do nothin to yas." Trav said fondly.

Dax nodded, then hurried back to the stadium, where he knew that Ben and Oleksandr were waiting for him.

* * * * *

"Hello? May I come in?" Father Doherty asked from the doorway.

"Father! How are you?" Brother Jacques asked as he ran from Zane's bedside to pull Father Doherty into a firm hug.

"I'm doing very well. How is my son?" Father Doherty asked with concern.

"He's going to be fine. He's asleep right now, but he should be able to leave the hospital in a few days." Brother Jacques said quietly.

"How about the children? Where are they?" Father Doherty asked anxiously.

"They're at the Brown residence. I've been checking in with the twins and they're taking good care of them." Brother Jacques said assuringly.

"And how are you, Jake?" Father Doherty asked gently.

Brother Jacques smiled, then pulled out of the hug and presented his steady, unshaking hands.

"The tremors have stopped!?" Father Doherty said in astonishment.

"That's only the beginning of it. Dr. Murten did a blood test on me and figured out that the AIDS test that I took back in Chicago gave a false positive result. All these years we've been treating a disease that I didn't even have." Brother Jacques said happily.

"This is so wonderful. I'm so happy for you." Father Doherty said as he moved in to hug Brother Jacques again.

After a moment, a quiet voice asked, "Is your son well?"

"Yes Ahmid. Brother Jacques, this is Ahmid. He's one of the people from my new mission." Father Doherty said quietly.

"It's nice to meet you, Ahmid." Brother Jacques said, as he released Father Doherty from the hug.

"And according to what Brother Jacques has told me, after some time to recuperate, Zane is going to be just fine." Father Doherty said peacefully.

"I am glad to hear that." Ahmid said quietly.

"How about you, Ahmid? What did the doctor say?" Father Doherty asked with concern.

"The doctor seems to think that I am healing well. Although he still wants to perform many blood tests." Ahmid said in a low voice.

"Yeah. They always do that. I guess if they didn't, they wouldn't have anything to put on your bill." Brother Jacques said with a shrug.

"When do you think Zane will be awake again, so that I may visit with him?" Father Doherty asked as he looked at his son in the bed.

"He only stayed awake for a few minutes at a time today, but I think that mostly had to do with the anesthetic that they used. I bet that he'll be able to talk to you for a long time, tomorrow." Brother Jacques said seriously.

"Then I'd like to go and check on the children... If I can find where they are and how to get there." Father Doherty said as he continued to stare at Zane.

Brother Jacques walked to the phone at Zane's bedside and quickly dialed a number.

Father Doherty watched him curiously.

"Hi, Kev. It's me. Father Doherty is here with me at the hospital. Do you think you could find someone to come over here and pick him up? He needs to see for himself that the kids are alright." Brother Jacques said and glanced at Father Doherty with a smile.

"Good, we'll see you in a little bit, then. Bye." Brother Jacques said before hanging up the phone.

"Is Kev on his way over to pick me up?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"No. He wants to stay there for the kids. He's going to send a Gopher for you."

* * * * *

"Come on. This is the shortcut." Juan said as he led the way into the Big House.

Art, Euan and Emo were hesitant when they seemed to be walking into what appeared to be someone's living room.

"How's it goin, guys?" Juan asked when he noticed Bax, Max and Ro gathered at the dining room table.

"From what Dizzy said, the Chicago people are here. So we're just waiting for someone to need us to do something." Bax said seriously.

"From the look of what I saw down there, it shouldn't take long. It's going to take a few hours, at least, to get everyone checked in and tucked in for the night." Juan said seriously, then smiled as he turned to his companions and said, "These guys are the gophers. If you ever need anything from the store or something like that, just let 'em know and they'll go and get it for you."

Before anyone could respond to that, Juan continued, "Gophers, I'd like for you to meet Art and Euan, the communications guys from the lead Chicago bus. They're gonna be working with Carson, so you'll probably be hearing a lot from them. This other guy is Emo, and the bundle in his arms is Colton. I imagine that you'll be making a few trips into town for baby supplies for the little guy."

"Just let us know what you need and we'll be happy to go and get it for you." Bax said with a smile at the bundle in Emo's arms.

"Yeah. Don't worry about asking us. It's our job." Max said seriously.

"Okay. If Colt needs anything, I'll be sure to call you." Emo said timidly.

"Come on, guys. Let's get you set up in the main house." Juan said as he started to walk.

Art, Euan and Emo followed immediately behind.

* * * * *

"Excuse me if we're interrupting. I was just looking for a good place where Emo could settle in and take care of his baby." Juan said as he restrained his smile. He knew what reaction was coming, but was trying to play it cool.

"You have a baby? Can I see?" Misti asked as she ran up to Emo.

Annie and Loquicia joined her as she tried to get a look into the bundle.

"Where can we put these things?" Art asked as he indicated the diaper bag that he was carrying.

"Just put the baby things over here, by me. My name is Madelyn Murten. I don't believe we've met before." She said uncertainly.

"The guy with the baby is Emo. I'm gonna leave him here with you, if you wouldn't mind helping him with the baby." Juan said mostly seriously, then broke into a smile as he looked at Misti, Annie and Loquicia vying for Colton's attention, "It looks like you'll have plenty of help."

"Yes. Of course I'd be happy to supervise." Madelyn said with a tender smile at the girls.

"These other two are Art and Euan. They're going to be helping Carson." Juan said simply.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. If you're going to be working with Carson, I'm sure that I'll be seeing you around. Should you find that you're needing anything, please just seek me out and let me know." Madelyn said kindly.

Art and Euan gave identical nods of confirmation.

"Come on, guys. Next stop is the refugee command center." Juan said as he started walking toward the door.

Art and Euan each gathered up the few possessions they had collected since meeting Father Doherty and followed Juan out of the living room.

* * * * *

"Carson! I've got some new volunteers for you." Juan said as he led the way into Carson's bedroom.

"It's great that you've found people who want to help, but this is my bedroom, I'm not sure there's enough room for anyone else." Carson said honestly.

Juan shrugged dismissively, then said, "Maybe these guys can be the second shift and take over when Seth and Hobie have gone home... like now."

"I'm never going to get to sleep again, am I?" Carson whimpered.

Jay chuckled at the words and leaned in to give Carson a much needed hug.

"So, is that a 'yes', you got room for 'em?" Juan asked to be sure.

"Yes, of course. You guys can set up over there by the door.

"Where might we be able to place our belongings?" Art asked cautiously.

"Wait! You're Monarch!" Bug said with delight.

Art cautiously nodded.

"He's the guy who was taking care of, like, the entire convoy. I mean, there were about five hundred vehicles, and he kept them all together and made sure that everyone was doing okay." Bug hurried to explain.

"How did you know about that?" Euan asked cautiously.

"We've been keeping tabs on your convoy all the way across the country. Carson's computer has been keeping track of news reports and stuff, telling us all about what you've been doing. You guys are awesome." Bug said admiringly.

"Yeah. Hold that thought. I just wanted to introduce these guys to you. I'm gonna take 'em upstairs, now, and find 'em a place to sleep." Juan said seriously.

"Whenever you're ready to work, just jump on those computers and I'll help you however I can." Bug said quickly.

"Looks like you guys have a fan club." Juan smirked as he led Art and Euan out of the room.

* * * * *

"Father Doherty, your ride is here." The nurse from the front desk said as she poked her head into the room.

"I'm half afraid to go out there. I've been told that a 'gopher' is going to be driving me." Father Doherty said to the nurse, then looked back at Brother Jacques inquiringly.

"It could be." Brother Jacques said with a mischievous grin.

"Would you like to come along, Ahmid? Remember, there is strength in numbers." Father Doherty asked the man at his side.

"I will go. However, I hope that this will not take a long time. I am quite tired." Ahmid responded.

"Just tell your Gopher that you want to go home and they'll take you there." Brother Jacques said quickly.

"I will ask you once again, what is a 'gopher'?" Father Doherty asked seriously.

"Only one way to find out." Brother Jacques chuckled.

* * * * *

"Were you guys needing a ride?" The child asked when Father Doherty and Ahmid approached.

"Are you the 'gopher'?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"Yeah. My name is Max. I'm parked out front if you're ready to go." She said cheerfully.

Father Doherty shared a look with Ahmid, then followed Max out through the front door.

* * * * *

"Brother Jacques said that if I asked you to take me home, you would do so. However, I don't know what arrangements, if any, have been made for me." Ahmid said cautiously.

"What's your name?" Max asked as she climbed into the driver's seat of the gator.

"I am Ahmid Harrish."

"Dizzy, I have Ahmid Harrish, here. Where is he going to be staying tonight?" Max asked into the mic on her radio cord.

After a moment, Max responded, "Okay. Could you give me a map? I haven't been there before."

Father Doherty and Ahmid watched as Max held up a tablet and looked at it as a map filled the screen.

"Thanks, Dizzy. I've got it." Max said, then started the gator.

"If it's going to be too much trouble, I can go with Father Doherty." Ahmid quietly explained.

"Don't worry. It's on our way." Max said as she started driving the gator away from the hospital.

* * * * *

As they pulled up to the front of the house, they saw the Lesbian Gravy tour bus parked in the driveway.

"This is where I will be staying?" Ahmid asked in surprise when he saw the respectable upper-middle class style house.

"Yep. You wanna go in and see it before we take off?" Max asked pleasantly.

"If you wouldn't mind, I would like to go in and see how everyone is doing." Father Doherty said cautiously.

"Yeah. No problem. But can I come in, too? It's a little chilly out here." Max asked hopefully.

"Of course." Father Doherty said with a smile, then led the way to the front door.

* * * * *

"Excuse me." Juan said as he knocked on the doorframe of an open door.

Everyone looked up at the interruption.

Art and Euan looked with concern at the collection of boys and young adults surrounding a bed with an injured boy sleeping in it.

Art was startled for a moment when he realized that he knew the injured boy.

"These guys need a place to stay, and I was thinking that you have that room where Mr. and Mrs. Reed were staying." Juan said quietly, so as not to disturb Sammy.

"Yeah. There's only one bed in there. Is that gonna be okay?" Danny, the younger, asked seriously.

"That will be fine. After sleeping on the bus, having a real bed to sleep in will be akin to extravagance." Art said frankly.

"Are you English or something?" Max asked curiously.

"Yes. Something like that." Art said with an indulgent smile at the boy.

"These guys are going to be working with Carson, downstairs. I just wanted to be sure that it'd be okay if they used the Reeds' room so they could stow their gear." Juan said with a grin.

"Yes. That's fine. And if you guys need anything at all, please feel free to ask. Most likely, you'll find us in here." Danny, the elder, said warmly.

"Thank you. We will do that." Art confirmed before following Juan out of the room.

* * * * *

"Okay. I think you guys are pretty well set up, now. You've got those guys across the hall to help you if you need anything up here, and you've got Carson and Bug downstairs to help you with whatever you need to do to help the convoy. Be sure that you stay clear of the main room at the end of the hall. You've got a few people in there who will know you by sight." Juan said seriously.

"Thank you for helping us." Art said sincerely.

"We're all on the same team here, guys. Now, keep yourselves safe. I have to go talk to Mike about some business, then I have to go. There's gonna be a guy named Adrian hanging around here, overseeing security. If you're ever in any trouble, or if you need to get in contact with me for some reason, he's your 'go to' guy."

"We'll keep that in mind." Art said quietly, then glanced at Euan to find him nodding his agreement.

"You guys, stay safe." Juan said before quickly leaving the room.

* * * * *

"He's such an adorable baby." Madelyn said as she looked into the bundle in Emo's arms.

"Yes. I fell in love with Colton at first sight." Emo whispered.

"Can I hold him?" Misti begged.

"Okay. But you have to be very careful. Go and sit down on the couch and I'll place him in your arms." Emo said gently.

Misti immediately hurried over to the couch and sat down.

It took Emo a minute to get Colton settled and to be sure that his head was being properly supported, but finally he left Colton alone in Misti's arms.

"You're very good with him. Is he your son?" Madelyn asked gently as Emo took a seat in the chair next to hers.

"No. I wish he was. I met his mom on the trip here and Colton seemed to take a liking to me. I was happy to take care of him and his mom... Angela was around less and less until, this morning, when we were warned that there were missiles coming... she left without him." Emo said regretfully.

"Do you know where his mother is now?" Madelyn asked curiously.

"Not exactly. I know she's in one of the cars in the convoy, but I don't know how long it'll be before she checks in. A guy at the check-in place said that when she does, that someone will bring her here." Emo said regretfully.

"Are you afraid that she's going to take him away?" Madelyn asked quietly.

Emo nodded as his gaze was fixed on the baby in Misti's arms.

"The twins fell asleep." Jamiah said as he walked into the living room.

"You must have worn them out." Madelyn said warmly to the young teenager.

"Lookit! Misti's got a baby!" Loquicia told her brother excitedly.

"Shhhh. You don't want to startle the baby and make him fuss." Madelyn gently scolded.

"Where'd the baby come from?" Jamiah asked cautiously as he looked at the bundle in Misti's arms.

"Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very very much..." Madelyn began to say in a playful tone.

Jamiah rolled his eyes, and though he fought it, he slightly chuckled, before saying, "Who does the baby belong to?"

"Emo is taking care of Colton while his mother is... otherwise occupied." Madelyn said delicately.

Jamiah nodded knowingly, then said, "She skipped out, huh?"

Emo was about to correct Jamiah's assumption, then thought better of it and said, "Mostly, yeah."

"And it's not your kid?" Jamiah asked slowly.

"No. I met Angela on the trip out here." Emo quietly explained.

Jamiah nodded again, then said, "Brother Jacques and the twins did that for me and Quicia when our mom skipped out on us."

"I'm so glad to know that they were there when you needed them." Madelyn said gently.

"That's what Father Doherty and Brother Jacques do. They step up and take care of kids, when the people who're supposed to love them, end up dumping them." Jamiah said frankly.

"It's tragic that such things sometimes happen, but it's also good to know that there are still decent, caring people in the world." Madelyn said with a smile at Jamiah, then turned a considering look on Emo.

"So, what's going to happen when the baby's mother comes back, Brother Emo?" Jamiah asked frankly.

Emo looked curiously at Jamiah's name for him, but finally answered, "That's really going to be up to Angela. Father Doherty already talked to her a little bit about it, he said that if she can't handle being a mom, that he could take care of Colton for her... well, him and me."

"Why don't you adopt him?" Jamiah asked seriously.

"Because I'm fifteen." Emo answered simply.

"Yeah. But fifteen year old guys are dads, sometimes." Jamiah countered.

"I'd really like to take care of Colton, and be like a dad to him. But there's no way I could get a job and provide a good future for him... I probably won't be able to provide a good future for myself. But, if Angela and Father Doherty are willing to let me, then I'd like to take care of Colton and be there to help him while he's growing up." Emo said quietly.

"Brother Emo? Can I hold Colton, next?" Annie asked hopefully.

Emo was a little bit surprised that Jamiah's name for him was catching on. But at the same time, he understood that it was a title of respect that Jamiah was conferring upon him. He didn't know if he was worthy of it, but he was determined to do his best.

"Sure. Get comfortable and I'll move Colton into your arms." Emo said gently.

* * * * *

Father Doherty knocked on the door and only had to wait a moment before it was answered.

"Hello, Jim. How is everyone doing?" Father Doherty asked warmly.

"We're all doing fine... except, um... we sort of lost Art and Euan." Jim said nervously.

"Excuse me? What do you mean you lost them?" Father Doherty asked in surprise.

"I don't know what happened. No one knows where they went." Jim said and seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Dizzy, I'm looking for two guys named Art and Euan, can you see if they're checked in?" Max asked into her radio.

Jim shook his head as he said, "We've already tried that."

"Okay, let me talk to Bug." Max said firmly.

Father Doherty, Ahmid, Jim and Greg, who had just joined them, all stood and listened to her side of the conversation.

"Bug, I'm here with Father Doherty and we're looking for two of his people, named Art and Euan. They're missing and no one can find..."

Max listened for a moment, then turned to Father Doherty and said, "They're at the Brown house, where we were going, anyway. If you want to check on them, we can go whenever you're ready."

"Yes. I think I would like that." Father Doherty said with relief, then looked to Jim and asked, "Is everyone here doing alright?"

"Yes. Emo was taken somewhere so that the baby could be watched after. Those other two boys were waiting with a volunteer until their brothers arrive. I think everything's fine here." Jim said seriously.

"I will be back once I've checked on the children. Thank you for keeping an eye on things for me..." Father Doherty trailed off, then thought to ask, "Where are Father Franklin and Father Kinsey?"

Jim chuckled, then said, "Where do you think? As soon as they got their things unpacked, they were off to volunteer to help in the kitchens, back in town."

"I hope they're having a good time." Father Doherty said with a smile, then turned to Max and said, "Whenever you're ready."

Max gave a single nod, then led the way back to the door.

* * * * *

"Who did you want to see first?" Max asked casually as she drove.

"I don't know. I suppose that I would like to check on the children from the mission, first. I imagine that they've been somewhat traumatized by being uprooted from their usual lives and so abruptly transplanted here." Father Doherty said distantly.

"Okay, would that be Ty and Jamiah and them?" Max asked cautiously.

"Yes. How are they doing?" Father Doherty asked quickly.

"I think they were a little freaked out at first. We all were. I joined up with them when they passed through Kansas City." Max said seriously.

"Oh. I didn't realize. I assumed from how comfortable you were with driving, that you lived here." Father Doherty explained.

"Nah, but anyway, I think all us kids were freaked out a little bit when we got here, but as far as I know, everyone's made new friends and they're all getting along great now." Max said happily.

"Well, that's good to hear." Father Doherty said softly.

"I've heard them talk about you. They think you're great." Max said with a smile.

"I think the world of them, as well." Father Doherty said gently.

"See that, up there. That's where we're living, now." Max said as the Brown house came into view.

Chapter 29: Reason Sleeps

"Where's Ro?" Max asked as she led Father Doherty into the living area of the Big House.

"He got called out. I thought we'd be busier by now." Bax said honestly.

"Father Doherty, this is Bax. He's another one of the Gophers." Max said proudly.

"Brother Jacques called you gophers back at the hospital, but I don't know what he meant." Father Doherty said hesitantly.

"We 'go fer' things... and people, I guess." Max happily explained.

"Oh. Of course." Father Doherty said with a warm smile at them.

"Come on. Let's see who's in the living room, first." Max said as she led the way out of the room.

* * * * *

"Father Doherty!" Jamiah called out happily and ran across the room.

A moment later, Loquicia was running to join her brother.

"It's good to see you, too. How have you been?" Father Doherty asked warmly as he hugged the children.

"I was so worried about you! We left and you weren't here when we got here and I was afraid that you'd been killed." Loquicia cried as she held tightly to him.

"I'm perfectly fine, Loquicia. But I've missed you both terribly." Father Doherty said gently.

"Let me take him for you." Emo whispered as he approached Annie, who was still holding Colton.

Annie held perfectly still as she waited for Emo to take Colton from her arms.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Emo. How is Colton doing, this evening?" Father Doherty asked as he continued to hold Loquicia and Jamiah.

"When I got off the bus, some guy in a wheelchair thought it'd be best if I brought Colt here where he'd be warm and I could take better care of him." Emo explained with a smile at the baby in his arms.

"Brother Emo let us hold the baby." Loquicia said into Father Doherty's chest.

"Brother Emo?" Father Doherty asked with a delighted smile.

"Yeah. The kids came up with that." Emo said shyly.

"He's a brother, just like Brother Jacques. He takes care of kids that ain't even his own and treats them like they was." Jamiah said firmly.

Father Doherty considered for a moment, then looked to Emo and said, "Since the children feel so strongly about it, would you object to it if we referred to you that way?"

Emo was stunned for a moment, then he chuckled before shaking his head and saying, "Brother Emo?"

"I agree with Jamiah's reasoning. I'd be proud to include you with Brother Jacques and the twins as my most trusted helpers." Father Doherty said seriously.

Emo blinked in astonishment at the words, then finally said, "Steve's never gonna believe this."

"Is that a 'yes'?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"It's a 'yes'." Brother Emo said with a gentle, contented smile.

* * * * *

"I thought we'd be busier." Ben said honestly.

"I know. But Trav said that him and Jingo were sent ahead to help me make a place for our people. There are going to be other buses coming, later." Dax said frankly.

"I can tell that you trust them, but... they make me nervous." Ben quietly admitted.

"Me, too, a little. But my dad sent them here to help me with the things that I can't do." Dax said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked curiously.

"Well, you've seen them. I think you can guess where and how they grew up. I think that they're here to keep the kind of people who wouldn't listen to someone like me, in line." Dax said carefully.

"So, does this mean that when your Chicago people show up, that they won't be moving on?" Ben asked cautiously.

"No. This will be their home until it's safe for them to go back to Chicago. My dad wants them to be kept together and kept safe. It's what he's counting on me to do." Dax said with a little of the fear he was feeling beginning to show in his voice.

"All the plans we've been making so far was with the assumption that the people who were arriving would be moving on." Ben said carefully.

"Do you think this is going to cause a big problem?" Dax asked cautiously.

"No. I can't see any reason why it would, but we should probably make sure that Carson and Bug know about this as soon as possible so that they can make any adjustments that are necessary to the master plan." Ben said consideringly.

"Carson and Bug, this is Oleksandr. Ben and Dax want you to know that the people coming from Chicago aren't gonna be leaving. They're gonna stay here until it's safe for them to go back home." Oleksandr said seriously.

Ben and Dax were both surprised that Oleksandr had taken it upon himself to make the announcement. But Dax finally decided that it needed to be done, and moved to Oleksandr's side to give him a quick hug as he said, "Thanks, Olex."

* * * * *

"According to the computer information, your brothers should be arriving any minute. We should probably go outside." Roris said seriously.

"Thanks for waiting with us. It might've been scary if we were alone here." Jody said frankly.

"It's okay. You guys are fun." Lawrence said with a radiant grin.

Nick shyly glanced at Lawrence, then looked away with a slight blush.

Jody noticed and rolled his eyes before saying in a tone of long suffering, "Let's get out there and face this. They're probably going to hug us half to death."

"Be glad that you have people who love you that much." Roris said as he followed the boys out of the stadium.

"Yeah. I am. But sometimes it's not fun being the one everyone's worried about." Jody said honestly.

"Believe me. I know that feeling." Roris said frankly.

Jody looked back at Roris, and considered for a moment before saying, "Yeah. You win."

Roris smiled at the reaction. It was unusual for someone as young as Jody to be able to talk comfortably with him. Most were intimidated by the wheelchair and couldn't see past it enough to get to know the person driving it.

"There they are!" Nick said suddenly as he pointed.

"You're going to like my brother. He's really awesome." Jody said to Roris with a smile.

Roris watched as Jody rushed to the curb and thought about how much he had come to admire the young man in the short time that he had known him.

* * * * *

"How are yu doin? Is everythin alright with yu?" JD asked in an unusually thick Irish accent which he only tended to use when he was extremely upset.

"I'm fine. We're both okay." Jody said as he was enveloped in JD's hug.

"You little monster. Don't you EVER run off like that without telling me again." Jorry said in a voice that was nearly sobbing as he held Nick tightly.

As Roris and Lawrence were watching the reunion, the two other boys from the car walked over to them.

"Did you watch after Jody and Nick for us, until we got here?" A young man asked cautiously, obviously afraid that he was making the wrong assumption.

"Yeah. Jody and Nick are great. I like them." Lawrence said happily.

Roris smiled at Lawrence's answer, then said, "I don't know how much we watched after them. But they hung out at the Florida check-in desk with us until we got word that you were about to arrive."

"Well, whatever you did, thank you. We've all been worried sick about them since we got separated." The other young man said honestly.

"My name is Roris and this is Lawrence." He said as he looked at Lawrence by his side.

"Oh. Yeah. I'm Collin and this is Christian." The less assertive of the two said quickly.

"It's nice to meet you. Jody told us about you, I just didn't know who was who." Roris said with a smile.

"We're supposed to be going to some guy's house. His name is Allen Thompson. Do you know where he lives?" Collin asked curiously.

"No. I don't know him. But we can find out for you." Roris said simply.

Lawrence keyed his subvocal and said, "Bug? Can you hear me?"

"I'm right here, Lawrence. How are you doing?" Bug answered immediately.

Due to the way that Carson had set up their sub-vocals, Roris also heard the response.

"I'm fine. This is lots of fun. We've been hanging out, helping at the Florida check-in." Lawrence said happily.

"I'm glad to hear that. I'm still here in Carson's room, making sure that all the computer stuff is working alright." Bug said warmly.

"I bet you're having fun. You like doing that stuff." Lawrence said with a smile.

"Yeah. It's all good times, around here." Bug answered and sounded as if he were smiling, too.

"We've got some guys here and they're supposed to stay with someone... What was his name again?" Lawrence asked as he turned to Roris.

"Allen Thompson." Roris responded immediately.

"Yeah. That's right. These guys are supposed to be staying with someone named Allen Thompson, but they don't know where he lives. Can you tell me so I can tell them?" Lawrence asked hopefully.

"Actually, I know who that is. I met him today. How about you give me a minute to arrange things and I'll have someone go there and show your new friends how to get to Allen's house?" Bug asked pleasantly.

"Yeah! That'd be great. I bet the guys'd really like that." Lawrence said enthusiastically.

"Okay, Lor. You tell the guys that someone's on their way and I'll get things taken care of here." Bug said warmly.

"I love you, Bug. Tell Oma Shoupe that I love her, too." Lawrence said quickly.

"I love you, too, Lor. Make sure you come home when you start getting tired." Bug said cautiously.

"Roris will make sure that I don't stay out too long." Lawrence said as he looked at Roris lovingly.

"Good. Make sure you stop in and see me before you go to bed, okay?" Bug asked quietly.

"Yeah. I will. I promise. I love you. Bye." Lawrence said quickly, then tapped the sub-vocal mic to turn it off.

When Lawrence looked up, he saw that all the boys were standing in front of him and Roris, waiting expectantly.

"We've got someone on the way to show you how to get to Mr. Thompson's house." Roris said seriously.

"Wow. You guys sure do give good service. I thought we'd be standing in lines and waiting for hours to do stuff when we got here." Jorry said frankly.

"We've done our best to make it as easy as possible. Since it will probably be a few minutes before your escort gets here, you have a chance to get something to eat, if you're hungry. If you'll let us know where you'll be, we'll tell your escort when they arrive." Roris said calmly.

"Yeah. They've got some really good food over at that one. We ate there when we first got here. You'll really like it." Jody said as he pointed across the parking lot.

"Don't worry. When they get here, I'll come get you." Lawrence said quickly.

"Thank you, Lawrence." Nick said shyly as a slight blush crept up his cheeks.

Jody noticed and gave an eyeroll before leading the way toward the portable kitchen.

* * * * *

As he was getting his plate filled, Trav looked up and was surprised to see that Father Kinsey was the one serving him.

"How you doin, Malcolm?" Trav asked with a smile.

"I'm very well. You said earlier that you had some things that you had to do, did everything go well?" Father Kinsey asked pleasantly.

"Yeah. The guy we came to talk to already had everything under control. I thought we was gonna have a lot more to do." Trav said happily.

The man behind Trav cleared his throat, reminding them that they were holding up the serving line.

"We have plenty of help here, tonight. Why don't you take a seat and enjoy your food. I should be able to join you before you're finished." Father Kinsey said hopefully.

"Yeah. I'll be waitin for you." Trav said quietly, then hurried away.

Father Franklin had witnessed the whole thing and fought to restrain a smile.

* * * * *

"My husband and I have volunteered at homeless shelters many times over the years, although, with him being a doctor, I don't recall him ever having the opportunity to prepare or serve food." Madelyn said thoughtfully.

"There have been many times when I have wished that we would have a doctor volunteer his services for us. So many people could have been helped with just a little preventative medicine. But, unfortunately, the majority of them ended up putting off their ills until they could no longer be ignored. By the time they reached that point, there was no quick or easy way to resolve their problems." Father Doherty said regretfully.

"I'm curious to know about the children. So far as I know, the child welfare system wouldn't ever sanction the removal of children from the state without their approval." Madelyn said carefully.

"Officially, I suppose that's true. But, you see, these children are the ones that the system likes to conveniently overlook. Whether they be non-white, openly gay, somehow disabled or whatever the reason, be it real or perceived, these children are ignored. Generally, when plans are made, they are made without them in mind. When statistics are gathered, it is without their information being taken into account. They are the phantoms in the system. Once they've been left somewhere, they are ignored, as if they never existed." Father Doherty said gravely.

"I wasn't aware that such practices were in place." Madelyn said with concern.

"I suppose that because of the overwhelming need, that it's natural for some children to fall through the cracks in the system. Places like my mission ended up being a dumping ground for those who couldn't be placed quickly and permanently." Father Doherty said quietly.

"Father Doherty's was the best place for us to be. I was afraid that they were gonna split me and Loquicia up and I'd never see her again. But when we first got there, Father Doherty promised me that we'd be able to stay together, and he's always kept his promise." Jamiah said seriously.

"Father Doherty?" Art asked in surprise as he walked down the stairs.

"Art? Oh, they told me you were here, I'm so glad to see you!" Father Doherty said happily as he quickly got up.

Art and Euan met him halfway across the room and exchanged quick hugs.

"Jim was afraid that he'd lost you. He didn't know where you had gone." Father Doherty quietly explained.

"We were recruited to go to work here, to continue our work, helping the convoy." Euan explained.

"I'm just glad to know that you're safe." Father Doherty said warmly.

"Thank you, Father." Euan said with a smile.

"As much as I would like to stay here with you, we are needed elsewhere." Art said regretfully.

"I understand. I think we all have things that we need to be doing. In fact, right now I should be checking on the rest of the children." Father Doherty said gently.

Art and Euan hurried away, into Carson's room, as Father Doherty turned to Madelyn and asked, "Do you happen to know where Ty might be?"

"All I can tell you is that if you can find my grandson, Mikey, you'll find Ty a moment later." Madelyn said fondly.

"I don't know where they are, but I can help you find them." Jamiah said quickly.

Father Doherty smiled at the boy, then held out his arm, inviting him into a hug.

* * * * *

"Hey, guys! Ken's here, he's gonna take you where you want to go." Lawrence said as he ran up to the group of boys sitting around a picnic table.

"We're just about finished. Which one is he?" Jorry asked as he looked over to the stadium.

"He's the cute guy with the ponytail. He's one of my brother's boyfriends." Lawrence said happily.

"One of?" Jorry asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Bug's boyfriends with Ken and his brother Kev. But I got to be boyfriends with Roris, first." Lawrence said proudly.

"That's great, Lawrence." Jody said with a smile.

"Yeah. I think so, too." Lawrence agreed, then waited for everyone to be finished eating.

Knowing that Lawrence was standing there, waiting on them, caused the group to finish their meal quite a bit faster than they might have otherwise.

"Come on. Ken's great. You're really gonna like him." Lawrence said as he raced ahead of them.

Nick seemed to be in a daze as he absently followed along, never losing sight of Lawrence for an instant.

* * * * *

"This is Ken. He's my brother's boyfriend." Lawrence said proudly.

"You don't have to tell everyone. Not everybody thinks it's as wonderful as you do." Ken said gently.

"You don't have to worry about us." Christian said firmly, then added, "This is my boyfriend, Collin."

"Good. Bug told me that you guys were wanting to go to Allen Thompson's house, is that right?" Ken asked to be sure.

"Yeah. He's friends with our Dads." Christian said with a smile.

"Alright, then. If you guys will get in your car, I'll be on that gator, right over there, when you're ready." Ken said as he pointed.

"Okay. We're ready when you are." Christian said happily and led the group of boys toward their SUV.

* * * * *

"Well, crap." Jamiah said as they walked out of Mikey's bedroom.

"I'm sure we'll be able to track them down." Father Doherty said without concern.

"Yeah. I know. I just thought they'd be up in Mikey's room." Jamiah said sourly.

"Do you have any idea of where else we can look?" Father Doherty asked casually.

"Well, yeah. I mean, if you want to come to my room, I can get on the computer there and we can ask Dizzy where he is." Jamiah said seriously.

"Who is Dizzy?" Father Doherty asked cautiously, remembering that Dax had told him much the same thing.

"That's the computer that's keeping track of all the stuff that's going on, right now. All the computers in the house are hooked up so we can ask him stuff if we want to." Jamiah said simply as he led the way to the bottom of the stairs.

"That sounds like something out of a science fiction movie." Father Doherty said honestly.

"Yeah. I guess. But I don't think Dizzy's gonna go crazy and try to take over the world... well, at least I hope not. I'd better be sure and be nice to him." Jamiah said slowly as he walked Father Doherty down the hall and to an elevator in the room where he had first entered the house.

"You don't want to take the stairs, do you?" Jamiah asked cautiously as he pushed the call button.

"No. Thank you." Father Doherty said with a smile.

* * * * *

"According to the directions I was given, this is the place." Ken said as he walked up to the SUV.

"So, you haven't been here before, either?" Christian asked curiously.

"No. But I know Allen. That's why Bug wanted for me to be the one to drive you up here." Ken said honestly.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Christian said as he walked with Ken up to the front door.

Within a second of knocking, the door was quickly opened.

"Cute stuff! Bug called and said that you were on your way. Come in!" Allen said happily.

Ken felt a little bit strange, being singled out while the others were completely ignored.

His first step into the entry hall sent a chill up his spine.

It was almost as if he'd walked eight years into the past.

Hanging on the wall, just inside the door were dozens of pictures of him and his late father.

Collin, Christian and Jorry walked past him as JD, Jody and Nick stopped to see what Ken was looking at.

"What's wrong, Ken?" Jody finally asked.

"These pictures. They're of me." Ken whispered as he was transfixed by the sight.

All three boys started looking at the pictures with him.

"Who's that with Allen?" Nick asked quietly.

"That's my Dad. He was Allen's boyfriend when I was a kid." Ken said absently.

"You mean that even after they broke up, Allen kept all this stuff?" JD asked cautiously.

"No. They didn't break up. My Dad died." Ken said quietly.

"Come on in, guys. Make yourselves comfortable." Allen called happily from the living room.

"What are the chances of that happening?" JD asked Ken in a whisper.

Ken nodded in agreement as he was finally able to force himself to stop looking at the images from his past.

* * * * *

"Dizzy says that they're in Kettle Falls. He can call Ty for you if you really need to talk to him." Jamiah said seriously.

"No. That's quite alright. I'm sure that I will get to speak with him before the night is over." Father Doherty said gently.

"Yeah. We should probably go back to the living room. I want to make sure that Loquicia's okay." Jamiah said as he looked up to meet Father Doherty's eyes.

"Yes. That seems to be the most central location. Perhaps, if we stay there, we might catch Ty or Oleksandr as they're passing through." Father Doherty said with a smile as he started to walk.

* * * * *

"Stop and have a good meal before you check in at the stadium. They'll tell you where your house will be and that should be all there is to it. All your information is already entered, so you'll just have to identify yourself. If you have any further questions or need any kind of help at all, just tell them at the check-in and someone will take care of it for you." Euan said seriously.

Art smiled at Euan's professionalism, then turned suddenly when Carson exclaimed, "Crap!"

"What?" Bug asked as he looked up from his laptop.

"They still haven't got approval from Canada." Carson said in frustration.

"Is there a problem?" Art asked with concern.

"You could say that. The Vice President's working on getting clearance from the Canadian government, but it still hasn't gone through. The only way this whole thing is going to work is if we get people fed, fueled up, rested, and back on the road. If they don't have anywhere to go, we're stuck with them. We're probably going to fill up within a day, at this rate." Carson said anxiously.

"Don't stress about it, Carson. The Vice President knows how important this is, he'll come through for us." Bug said with certainty.

Euan and Art exchanged a look, but nothing was said between them before the tone of an incoming message forced them to get back to work.

* * * * *

After the entry hall, Ken didn't think that anything could creep him out more... he was wrong.

Although the living room wasn't exactly the same as the one in the house where he had grown up, it was close enough to send another shiver up his spine.

He couldn't tell if Allen had bought identical furniture throughout the years or if he had reupholstered the furniture that he had brought from Florida. Regardless, it looked nearly identical, although in somewhat better condition than he remembered.

As Ken walked more fully into the room, he saw a vase that he remembered from his childhood. Draped over the back of the couch was the same crocheted afghan that had always been there.

"I don't know if you guys know this, but I've been Kenny's Pop since he was younger than any of you." Allen said as he walked to Ken and pulled him into a hug.

Ken wanted to pull away... actually, he wanted to run away. But everyone was watching, and he didn't want to hurt the feelings of the man who had loved his father so much.

With a casual arm still around Ken, Allen asked the group, "Do any of you know when Marc and Galen are expected?"

"Um..." JD started nervously and had to force himself to continue, as was common for him, his Irish accent became much more pronounced when he was anxious, "When we were all plannin to come here, there was a problem. Our dads pushed me and Jody out tha back door an told us to run while they kept the police busy."

Christian looked at JD sympathetically, knowing that he was reliving the experience in the retelling of it. Quietly, he picked up the narrative. "Our dads decided to stay in Tallahassee to try and save JD and Jody's dads, and they sent us ahead to where it would be safe... with you."

"I see." Allen said quietly, then glanced at Ken before saying, "It's late and I bet that all of you could use a good night of sleep. The guest rooms are all made up and I think there should be room for everyone."

All the boys seemed to be happy with the idea.

"And I've got something special for you, Cute Stuff." Allen said with a delighted smile.

Ken froze in place, not even wanting to imagine what it might be.

"I have your old bedroom, just like you left it, recreated in every detail." Allen said happily.

"I've got to get back to Bug and Kev." Ken hurried to explain.

"You can invite them over here, if you like. I wouldn't mind at all." Allen said frankly.

"No. Bug works at the Brown house. He really needs to be there. But we can stop by some other time, so we can visit." Ken said cautiously.

"Well, the lab's going to be closed until Monday, at least. So all of you can feel free to stop by anytime you like." Allen said warmly.

"Okay, Pop." Ken said reluctantly, and gave the man another hug before exiting the house and jumping on the gator as fast as his legs could carry him.

He left a notable cloud of dust in the driveway as he sped away.

* * * * *

"Excuse me. When I tried to check in, they sent me over here." A young woman said uncertainly.

"What was your name?" Ben asked casually.

"Angela Baxter." She said hesitantly.

Ben looked at the screen on his computer for a moment, then keyed his subvocal and said, "Roris, I have a note here from you about Angela Baxter. She's here at my station."

"Rory says that a guy named Emo and her baby are up at the house, waiting for her." Lawrence said quickly.

"Which house would that be?" Ben asked cautiously.

"The house where we sleep." Lawrence said simply.

"Thank you, Lawrence. Thank you, too, Roris." Ben said, then keyed the mic to disconnect.

Angela was looking at Ben cautiously.

"I was told that Emo and your baby are up at the Brown's house, waiting for you to arrive." Ben told her with a smile.

Angela seemed not to know how to feel about the announcement.

Ben turned to Dax and asked, "Do you think you'll be alright on your own for a while?"

"Sure. I can handle this." Dax said confidently.

"Then Oleksandr and I are going to drive Angela up to the house. We'll be back in a little bit." Ben said seriously.

"Okay." Dax said happily, glad that Ben was going to trust him to handle things by himself.

* * * * *

"Well, look at all of you in here." Deb said in surprise as she walked into the living room.

"I can't imagine what kind of work you have to be doing on a Friday night, while all this is going on." Madelyn said frankly to her daughter.

"That's right, Mom. You can't imagine." Deb said simply, then turned her attention to the new arrivals.

"Deb, I'd like for you to meet Father Doherty, he's from a rescue mission in Chicago. The young man is Brother Emo and the infant he's holding is Colton." Madelyn said pleasantly.

"Oh, I haven't held a baby in years. May I?" Deb asked as she looked down at Colton.

"Sure. If you don't mind holding him for a few minutes, I need to get his formula ready, he's a little overdue for a feeding." Emo asked timidly.

"I would absolutely love to." Deb said with delight as she accepted the baby into her arms.

Emo went to the bags beside Madelyn's chair and selected the things that he would need.

"The kitchen's through there. Feel free to ask if you need any help." Madelyn said as she pointed.

"No. I've got this. But thanks." Emo said quietly before hurrying out of the room.

"So, you ran a rescue mission? How did you come to be here?" Deb asked as she held Colton gently.

"That's a rather long story, I'm afraid. But, suffice it to say, I was ordered to put out all the people we were caring for and lock the doors behind them. So, rather than do that, we made arrangements to bring all those in our care to someplace safe, which happened to be here." Father Doherty said honestly.

"I'm so glad that we were able to provide a safe place for you. I hope that we'll be able to do as well for all the others that are headed this way." Deb said honestly.

"Yes. I was curious about that. I got the impression that the rescue effort was being coordinated from here, yet, I've seen no evidence of it." Father Doherty said carefully.

"I take it that you haven't been in Carson's room, yet." Deb said with a smile.

"No. I can't say that I have. But I've talked to him on the phone, then again, on the radio. If he's here, I suppose it would only be right for me to stop in and say hello." Father Doherty said thoughtfully.

"His room is right over there. No telling how many people are in there at the moment. Carson is the one in the wheelchair." Deb said simply.

Father Doherty was surprised by her speaking about a disability so casually, but decided that in living with it day after day, it had simply become a part of life.

As he stood, he found that Jamiah was immediately at his side.

Father Doherty smiled and put an arm around the boy's shoulders, then led him across the room to Carson's door.

* * * * *

Angela looked from Ben to Oleksandr a few times before timidly asking, "Is he your son?"

"No." Ben chuckled lightly, then added, "But close enough."

"What happened?" Angela asked quietly.

"I don't know his whole story, only that he ended up at a homeless shelter in Chicago. That's where I met him. When we were on our way to come here, I volunteered to take care of him and... well, it looks like it's on it's way to becoming a permanent arrangement. At least, I hope it is." Ben said frankly.

"So, you don't feel any resentment toward whoever left him there?" Angela asked cautiously.

"Well, I feel something more than resentment toward the foster parent who abused him. I'd like five minutes alone with that creep. But as far as his birth parents... I have no idea about their situation, so I can't really say." Ben said honestly.

"My parents were really poor. They put me up for adoption hoping that someone in the United States would adopt me and give me a better life than they had." Oleksandr said quietly.

"Oh? Where are you from?" Ben asked curiously.

"The Ukraine. That's one of the Russian states." Oleksandr said as he looked at Ben cautiously.

"Yes. I've heard of it. So, what happened after you came to the United States?" Ben asked gently.

"My American parents were really nice to me and loved me a lot. But... then my dad lost his job and my mom left him." Oleksandr said sadly.

"How did you end up at the shelter?" Ben asked softly.

Oleksandr shrugged one shoulder, then quietly said, "My American dad didn't have anyplace to live. So we went to the shelter. He left me there sometimes so he could look for work. One time, he never came back."

Ben held Oleksandr close to his side, as best he could and also drive the gator.

After what seemed to be a long time, but was actually about a minute, Angela finally asked Oleksandr, "Are you angry at your birth parents for giving you up for adoption?"

Oleksandr thought about it for a moment, then quietly said, "Sometimes, a little. But mostly I just think they were trying to give me a chance to have a good life. I think maybe I've got one, now."

"You will if I have anything to say about it." Ben said lovingly.

Angela didn't say anything the rest of the trip to the house.

* * * * *

"Hello, Father. It looks like you found us." Euan said happily.

"Yes. It appears that I have." Father Doherty said cautiously as he slowly walked into the room that looked like a cross between a teenager's bedroom and the bridge of the Enterprise.

"Is this Father Doherty?" Bug asked from across the room.

"Yes. Father Brian Doherty." Art confirmed.

Bug stood and walked across the room, then extended his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Father Doherty. You've done an incredible thing." Bug said seriously.

"Thank you." Father Doherty said as he shook the offered hand.

"This is Bug. He's sort of been following what we've been doing almost since we left Chicago." Euan said with a smile.

"Brother Jacques and the twins told me about you, too. If you need anything at all, please feel free to ask. It would be an honor to help you." Bug said sincerely.

"I believe I have everything I need, at the moment. But thank you for the offer, Bug." Father Doherty said gently.

"Those two, over there, are Carson and Jay. They're keeping track of everything that's going on... sort of everywhere, all at once." Euan said haltingly.

"Carson's actually keeping track of everything. I'm just keeping track of Carson." Jay said shyly.

"Whatever you're doing, please continue. You're helping an uncountable number of people with your efforts." Father Doherty said quietly.

"Just like you would do, in our place." Bug said frankly.

Father Doherty smiled at Bug, then quietly left the room.

* * * * *

"Unless I read the message totally wrong, there should be someone named Emo here with a baby named Colton." Ben said as he led the way into the living room.

"Brother Emo." Loquicia quickly corrected.

Ben turned to Loquicia and looked at her with question.

"Over there, feeding the baby." Loquicia said as she pointed.

Angela was frozen in place, standing in the living room doorway.

"Everyone, this is Angela." Ben said as he looked around.

"Colton's mother." Emo said, in case anyone hadn't already figured that out.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Angela. My name is Deb. Welcome to my home." Deb said pleasantly, as she stood.

"Thank you." Angela said timidly.

Emo stood and walked to Angela without a word, then offered Colton to her.

"How has he been?" Angela asked as she accepted the baby.

"Fine. He's a good baby." Emo said in almost a whisper.

"Angela, it's good to see you again." Father Doherty said as he walked into the room with Jamiah still at his side.

"Yeah." Angela whispered as she looked at her son.

"Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable." Father Doherty said gently.

"Here, you can sit over here. All Colt's stuff is beside the chair." Emo said quickly.

"Thank you." Angela said softly as she took the offered seat.

Silence fell over the room as everyone watched Angela holding the baby, motionlessly.

Finally, Angela slowly turned to Father Doherty and hesitantly asked, "Were you serious about taking care of Colton, if I can't?"

"Yes, Angela. As I told you, there have been others who came to me, who either weren't ready or weren't in a circumstance where they could properly care for an infant. In those situations, I've been willing to accept guardianship and I've done my best to provide the best possible homes for the children." Father Doherty said carefully.

"But... I don't want him to hate me." Angela said as tears filled her eyes.

"We'll make sure that Colton knows that his mom loves him so much that she wants to give him the best chance at life that she can." Emo said seriously.

"Yes. And if you choose to do this, you don't have to be absent from your son's life. You can visit with him, if that's what you want. Or, if you feel it would be better for him, we could send you pictures and frequent updates about how he is doing." Father Doherty said gently.

"And I promise that I'll take good care of him. Father Doherty already said that he'd help me, and I've met lots of other people who've been willing to help." Emo said earnestly.

"Angela, I know this is difficult, but if you do this, you can be as much or as little a part of Colton's life as you want." Father Doherty quietly explained.

"Gentlemen, perhaps you could give the young woman a little time to think this through. There's no reason that this needs to be decided tonight." Madelyn said frankly.

"No. I had all day to think about it. I had an entire day without my baby in my arms, needing me, feeding off of me. After an entire day of being without him, I feel... free. For the first time in so long that I can hardly remember, I feel like me again. There's no way I would have ever abandoned my baby and risked hurting him. But, I can see how much you love him, Emo. I know that you'll take good care of him. If we do this, maybe Colton and I both can have better futures."

Emo looked at Father Doherty and quietly asked, "What do we do now?"

"I'm not quite sure. I know all the steps that need to be taken in Illinois, but I suppose we'll need to consult a lawyer who is familiar with Washington family law." Father Doherty said thoughtfully.

"I happen to know a contract lawyer who knows enough about family law to draw up a petition for the court." Madelyn said seriously.

"Oh, if you could put us in touch as soon as possible, then..." Father Doherty began to say.

"Deb, you got that?" Madelyn asked to her daughter.

"I can have it ready in under an hour." Deb said firmly.

"Thank you." Father Doherty said in surprise.

"Just so you know, your case is going to be heard in the court of the Honorable, Madelyn Murten, Superior Court Justice of Stevens County, Washington, Semi-retired." Deb said with a grin at her mother.

"And in one hour, court will be in session." Madelyn said firmly, then turned to her daughter and continued, "You'd better not make me wait."

"If you all will excuse me, I believe I have some paperwork that needs my immediate attention. Please stay close by, I'm going to need some personal information." Deb said with a smile before hurrying out of the room.

* * * * *

"Do you want to stop and listen?" Mikey asked as they approached a makeshift stage where a band was playing to an audience of about thirty people.

"We don't have time, do we? I mean, people are still arriving." Ty asked uncertainly.

"Everything is running smoothly. I know it seems like we've been doing a lot, but from everything I've seen so far, they don't really need us here." Mikey said frankly.

"Yeah, we can stop and listen for a little bit, if you want to." Ty said cautiously.

"We can do that, or just go back to the house, if you're tired. It's after one in the morning." Mikey said honestly.

"I'm not really..." Ty started to say, when they briefly heard something that might be a man's scream, coming from behind the row of porta potties, at the edge of the parking lot.

Mikey and Ty took off running at the same time, to investigate.

When they rushed around the first porta potty, they were greeted by a surreal sight.

There was a young boy, certainly not any older than they were, and he was in the process of flipping a full grown man face first onto the ground. In the time it took them to approach, the boy had his booted foot firmly planted on the man's neck, while he was holding one of the man's arms, twisted behind his back in an unnatural and obviously painful position.

"What's going on here?" Mikey asked, stopping far enough away that he could run, if he needed to.

"This asshole grabbed my junk! That's what happened!" The boy seethed, then twisted the man's arm even further to emphasize his rage.

Mikey noticed that the man's nose was bleeding profusely and quietly said, "I think he needs a doctor."

"He's gonna need a mortician before I'm through with him. You guys, take off. Leave this to me." The boy growled.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. My name is Mikey, and one of my jobs is to help the people who are coming here to be safe." Mikey said seriously.

The boy stared at Mikey and Ty for an instant, then seemed to come to a decision.

Before either of them knew what had happened, a horrendous litany of unspeakable horrors began to play out in their minds.

They witnessed the abduction and violation of one child after another. Many of the children were left naked and bleeding, severely injured or dead when the man was finished satisfying his lusts.

"What the fuck was that?" Ty gasped as he snapped out of the trance.

Mikey stared for a moment, trying to get his bearings. Finally, the pieces seemed to fit together in his mind and he quietly said, "That was telepathy."

"Did that guy do all those things?" Ty asked as he stared at the struggling and bleeding man on the ground.

"That, and a lot more. He's been doing this for years." The boy said as he twisted the man's arm until he heard a satisfying ::crack:: and the man let out a muffled scream.

"Mikey, let's go. He's got this." Ty said darkly.

"We can't. Someone like him needs to be in jail." Mikey said quickly.

"Jail won't make him better. There's only one cure for someone like this. If you'll just leave, he's gonna get it." The boy said seriously.

"No. That's for a court to decide, not us." Mikey said in a voice that didn't sound at all certain.

"Haven't you heard? There's no justice for kids in this world. They're not even treated like people, they're more like property. Sometimes, if we want justice, we gotta take it." The boy said firmly.

"He's right, Mikey. What he's saying is right. What he's doing is right. I know what it feels like when someone like that gets hold of you... And he's right that there is no justice." Ty finished quietly.

"Okay." Mikey finally relented.

"I know this bothers you. But if I was gonna kill this fucker, I woulda done it already. I got rules that I gotta follow, too."

"Let's go." Ty urged.

"Yeah." Mikey said reluctantly and started to walk.

"Don't leave me!" The anguished man called out.

"Shut the fuck up!" The boy screamed.

Ty and Mikey were walking around the porta potties when they heard the man groan again.

"Trust me. This is right. This is the way it should be." Ty said quietly, wanting his new friend to understand.

"He's right. Sick fuckers like this don't need to be living for a few years in prison, then put back out on the streets. They need to be put down, for the good of everyone." Sounded in their minds.

"Who are you?" Mikey hesitantly called out in his own mind.

"My name's Bruce. And I'm here to protect you." Bruce responded, then the link fell silent.

* * * * *

"Is it okay if I come in?" Lazlo asked from Carson's bedroom doorway.

"Of course. How are you doing?" Jay asked gently.

"I'm sorry I didn't come down here and help you today. I don't know what happened. I just couldn't make myself do it." Lazlo said timidly.

"It's okay, Lazlo. I know that you're trying to deal with all that's been going on. There's nothing wrong with that. Just remember that I'm here if you want to talk about anything." Jay said with an encouraging smile.

It took a moment for the words to sink in, but as soon as Lazlo was certain within himself that Jay wasn't mad at him, he ran into the room and pulled Jay into a full hug.

Jay chuckled as he returned the hug, then glanced over at Carson to find him watching, with a tender smile.

After a moment more of hugging, Jay quietly said, "Lazlo, I'd like for you to meet Art and Euan. They're from the lead bus of that big convoy that's been heading this way."

Lazlo glanced at the two boys timidly, but didn't say anything.

Jay turned slightly, so that he was facing the boys and said, "Guys, this is my new foster brother, his name is Lazlo."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lazlo." Art said serenely.

"Yeah. Me, too." Lazlo timidly responded, then pulled out of the hug and looked at Jay earnestly as he said, "I fell asleep for a little bit, and when I woke up, Gordon was in the living room and he said that everyone else was doing stuff to help."

"I know that Max is helping out by running deliveries for people who need things. I don't know how much help the rest of us are being." Jay said frankly.

"You're being a big help to me. I couldn't keep on going without you." Carson said honestly.

"Is there something I can do?" Lazlo asked hopefully.

"I don't think there's anything at the moment. So far, everything seems to be running smoothly. We're just keeping a watch on things in case anything happens that we need to deal with." Jay said softly.

"We're getting a surge of 'guest' users in the program. Roris and Lawrence need to be ready, because if anyone needs any kind of special help, the requests are going to be routed to them." Bug said seriously.

"Roris knows that he can ask for help if he needs it. From the looks of the rest of this, just about everyone will be free to help if they're needed." Carson said honestly, then thought to add, "Maybe we should put the Gophers on standby. I know that they'd love to help out."

"It's almost two in the morning. It's time for the Gophers to call it a night." Bug said seriously.

Carson looked at him with surprise.

When Bug noticed, he innocently asked, "What?"

Carson smiled and said, "Nothing. I'll call them in."

Bug nodded, then went back to watching his laptop screen.

"Should I help that Roris guy, if he needs it?" Lazlo asked cautiously.

"You can if you want to." Jay said with a smile.

"I want to do something to help. I feel really bad that I just sat in front of the television all day." Lazlo said frankly.

"You did what you needed to do to deal with things. There's nothing wrong with that, and no one blames you at all. We're all dealing with things in our own way." Jay said honestly.

Lazlo slowly nodded.

"Come over here. I'm going to put a subvocal on you, so that if you go to help Roris, you'll be able to call in." Jay said seriously.

"Subvocal?" Lazlo asked cautiously.

"It's like a walkie talkie that you can wear." Bug said without looking away from his screen.

"Yeah. But it's got really good range, so no matter where you go, you'll always be able to get in touch with us." Jay said as he carefully peeled the subvocal mic off a slip of paper.

Lazlo held still as Jay gently placed the mic on his throat.

"And this one goes behind your ear." Jay said quietly.

Again, Lazlo stayed frozen in place as Jay put the subvocal speaker on him.

"Good. Now, if you'll tap the strip on your throat and say your name, Dizzy will log your subvocal in." Jay said as he stepped back.

Lazlo looked at Jay uncertainly for a moment, but finally did as he was told. "I'm Lazlo Orion."

"Hello, Lazlo. I'm Dizzy. If you ever want to talk to someone else wearing a subvocal or a radio, just tap the strip on your neck and say their name, and I'll be sure that they can hear your message." Dizzy said pleasantly.

"Wow. I heard that like he was saying it inside my head." Lazlo said in astonishment.

"I'm not sure how it works. But now that you have a subvocal, you can call us if you ever need any help of any kind." Jay said seriously.

"Thanks." Lazlo said with a timid smile at his new foster brother.

"Did you need something?" Bax asked as he led the Gophers into Carson's bedroom.

"Yeah. It looks like things are under control for the moment. So I thought you guys should get some sleep while you've got the chance." Bug said as he turned away from his laptop.

"What if somebody needs something?" Max asked with concern.

"Then we'll find someone to get it for them. You guys get some sleep. It looks like you're going to be kept really busy tomorrow." Bug said frankly.

Max, Bax and Ro shared considering looks for a moment, then Bax finally said, "Okay."

"Are you gonna make us breakfast in the morning?" Max asked curiously.

"Yeah. Sure. Where are you going to sleep tonight, so I'll be able to find you to wake you up for breakfast?" Bug asked with a smile.

Once again, the three communicated with facial expressions and eye movements, before Ro said, "We promised my dads that we'd stay there tonight."

"Okay. You guys get some sleep and I'll see you at breakfast." Bug said warmly.

"Thanks, Bug. Thanks for letting us really help." Max said sincerely.

"Yeah." Bug acknowledged shyly.

At that, Max, Bax and Ro turned as one and rushed out of the room.

"What about the rest of us? Isn't it about bedtime?" Carson asked the group.

"There are still people who need our help." Art said anxiously.

"We have a backup crew who covers for us while we sleep. They're the people camped out on the front lawn. I think it's time to turn things over to them, I can hardly keep my eyes open." Carson said seriously.

"We should sleep, too." Euan reluctantly admitted.

"Before you go, you need to put on subvocals." Bug said as he closed his laptop.

All of them, including Carson, looked at Bug with question.

"There's too many people and too much going on to trust that the guys on the lawn will be able to do everything without us. If something important comes up, we need to be able to get in touch with you." Bug said firmly.

Carson thought about it for a moment, then slowly started nodding his head.

"Yes. I believe I will sleep better knowing that if there's a problem, that I will be contacted immediately." Art said decisively.

That seemed to be all that was needed, and the others, except Carson, proceeded to put on subvocals.

* * * * *

"Did yous git a place fer tanite?" Trav asked with a smile.

Father Kinsey looked at him for a moment, then quietly asked, "Would you drop the act, while it's just the two of us?"

Trav looked at Father Kinsey with surprise at the request, but finally nodded and said, "Okay, Malcolm, did you get a room for tonight?"

Father Kinsey smiled at Trav's natural language and quietly responded, "Yes. I have a room with Father Franklin. We're sharing the house with the other men from our mission."

"I was given a room to myself. The only other person in the house is Jingo, and I happen to know that she's going to be out all night. Would you like to come over to my place?" Trav asked gently.

"I'm not sure if I should." Father Kinsey said in a trembling voice.

"We can just sit and talk for a while, if you like. I'd really like the chance to get to know you better." Trav said honestly.

Father Kinsey chuckled slightly, mostly out of nervousness, then said, "You're such a blend of contradictions, I don't think one night would be nearly enough for me to get to know you."

"Then we'd better get started. What do you say?" Trav asked with a glowing smile.

"Let me tell the volunteers that I'm going to be leaving. I'll be right back." Father Kinsey said quickly.

Trav smiled as he watched the timid man rush away.

* * * * *

"Do you think we should tell someone?" Mikey asked cautiously.

It had been nearly twenty minutes since they'd spoken, but Ty didn't have to ask what he was talking about.

"I get the feeling that Bruce is part of something... you know, the way he was talking about having rules to follow. Whatever he's a part of, it's probably not something that you should go around talking about." Ty said consideringly.

"Yeah. I know something about that." Mikey said reluctantly.

Ty stopped and looked at Mikey with question.

"I don't know much. But since Bruce kind of let you know part of it, I guess I can tell you what I do know." Mikey said cautiously, then paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.

Ty waited with anticipation.

"They came here with the Vice President. They're military, but I can't tell you anything more than that..." Mikey trailed off, then hurried to add, "Not because I'm not allowed to tell you, I just don't know. I don't think they ever said."

Ty nodded that he understood.

After another moment to think about how to put it, Mikey continued, "They're all telepathic, and some of them are really, I mean, super-freaky strong. I saw one of them lift up Carson AND his wheelchair like it was light as a feather."

"So that's how that kid could beat up a full grown man." Ty said quietly.

"Well, maybe. Since they're all military, I'm guessing that they know all kinds of martial arts and stuff like that. But anyway, they came with the Vice President so that they could protect him AND us." Mikey said frankly.

"Why us?" Ty asked cautiously, remembering that Bruce had made a point of mentioning that.

"Because we're helping all the people who are trying to get to someplace safe. They think that makes us a target, so they want to protect us." Mikey said honestly.

Ty thought about it for a moment, then slowly nodded that he understood.

"That's it. Most of the rest of the stuff they talked about was techie stuff that I didn't understand. But that's who they are and why they're here." Mikey said simply.

"If that's all true, then we shouldn't talk to anyone about what we just saw. It could cause them trouble. And if they're here to keep us safe, the least we can do is keep them safe by not telling everyone what we know." Ty said slowly.

"Okay. Yeah. I just feel funny about what Bruce did. I mean, isn't that what cops and judges are for?" Mikey asked quietly.

"Yeah. But if Bruce is part of some military thing, then they have their own thing that works like cops and judges. Remember, he said that he had rules to follow? I think that's what he meant." Ty said thoughtfully.

Mikey thought about it for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"I don't think we're doing anyone any good here, right now. Everything's running fine. Why don't we go back to your house?" Ty asked hopefully.

"Our house." Mikey said with a smile.

"No. I'm just visiting. It's your house." Ty said regretfully.

"Do you have someplace else to go?" Mike asked seriously.

"No." Ty whispered.

"Until you do, it's your house, too." Mikey said firmly.

Ty smiled at his new friend, then said, "Yeah. Okay."

* * * * *

"Are you getting sleepy?" Roris asked when he noticed Lawrence yawning.

"I'm okay. Don't send me home." Lawrence said quickly.

"Actually, you guys can go whenever you're ready. Courtney just called and said that they're taking over for the command center." Victor said as he approached.

"Then I guess that we should go back to the house." Roris said thoughtfully.

"I can drive you, when you're ready." Victor said helpfully.

"Can we have sex when we get home?" Lawrence asked hopefully.

Roris looked at him in shock for a second, then shyly glanced at Victor and said, "Let's go."

* * * * *

"I'm so sorry for leaving the children with you for so long, Mrs. Murten. I was looking up some things for Lucas and lost track of time." Gordon said as he walked into the living room.

"That's quite alright. The girls have been perfect little angels." Madelyn said warmly.

"It's really late. It's long past time for you three to be going to bed." Gordon said seriously.

"But Poppa! Can't we stay up just a little bit more? Brother Emo's going to adopt Colton." Annie begged in a cranky tired whine.

Gordon looked around the room to see if anyone could explain.

"This is Colton." Angela said as she looked at the baby in her arms.

"I'm Emo." He said as he held up his hand.

"Brother Emo." Oleksandr corrected.

Emo smiled and said, "Yeah, I forgot."

"Here, you should be holding him." Angela said as she walked to Emo and handed Colton to him.

"Thank you." Emo whispered with a smile, then got a curious look.

"If he's going to be yours, that includes when his diaper needs changed." Angela said with a slight smile, which seemed to be holding back tears.

"Yeah. Okay." Emo said with a small smile in return, then got up from the chair.

"There's a bathroom right through there, if that's what you're needing." Madelyn said as she pointed.

"Yeah. Thanks. Make sure Deb knows where I went if she needs to ask me any more questions." Emo said as he picked up the diaper bag.

"Don't worry, Emo. I'll come and get you if you're needed." Angela assured him.

Once Emo and Colton were out of the room, Madelyn quietly asked, "Are you really sure about this, dear?"

"Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I've been buried under one thing after another that I had to do or was supposed to do. I haven't done anything I wanted to do in so long I'd almost forgotten what it feels like. I love Colton. I really do. But I can't be what he needs me to be and I want to have something more than just him in my life." Angela explained urgently.

Madelyn sat quietly for a moment, thinking about her words, then quietly said, "My circumstances were very different from yours. I can't imagine any way that I would ever let go of my children..."

"Is that why you're still living with your daughter?" Ben asked before Madelyn could continue.

Madelyn was startled by the question, but after a moment to consider, she chuckled as she said, "No. That's actually a more recent thing, since Fred and I started winding down our careers so we can eventually retire."

"That's something else that I can't give Colton, a family." Angela said regretfully.

"Well, if I'm understanding what's going on here, I think that it's Colton who's giving you a family." Ben said thoughtfully.

"How do you mean?" Madelyn asked curiously.

"Well, didn't they say that she can come and visit Colton whenever she wants and that they'll send her pictures and tell her how he's doing? So, it looks to me like Colton's going to have parents just like half the other kids in this country. Except that instead of his parents getting divorced, they just never were married or even a couple to begin with." Ben said seriously.

Angela thought about his words, then slowly started to smile.

"That's a very interesting interpretation of the situation." Madelyn said carefully, sounding to be impressed.

"Thank you. I mean, really." Angela said as she accepted what she was doing in new terms.

"Here he is, in a nice fresh diaper." Emo said happily as he walked back into the living room.

Angela ran up to Emo and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?" Emo asked cautiously.

"For being such a great guy and taking good care of Colton. I just realized that everything's going to be alright." Angela said joyfully.

"Oh... good." Emo said hesitantly, then looked around at the others in the room to see if they would fill him in on what was going on.

As Mikey and Ty walked into the living room, Father Doherty exclaimed, "There you are!"

Both of them froze with equally guilty expressions on their faces.

"How are you, Ty? Is everything going alright?" Father Doherty asked with concern.

"Yeah." Ty said hesitantly, not sure why Father Doherty was asking, then in a more self assured voice he continued, "Mikey and I have been helping people. It's been great!"

"I'm so glad to hear that." Father Doherty said peacefully.

After a moment, Mikey hesitantly asked, "What's everyone doing?"

"We're just waiting on your mother." Madelyn said with a smile at her grandson.

"She's not mad or anything about us being out so late?" Mikey asked cautiously.

"No. I think she understands." Madelyn said gently, then said to the room, "For those who haven't met him, this is my Grandson, Mikey, and his helper, Ty."

"Hi." Mikey said as he looked around the room, then asked his grandmother, "What's going on?"

"Sorry that took so long, but I've still..." Deb said as she was walking into the room, but was stopped when Tommy rushed into the room from the other door.

"It worked!" Tommy said triumphantly.

"What worked?" Deb asked her son, cautiously.

"Everything! Carson's program, the volunteers, all of it!" Tommy said happily.

"Do you think I could have those papers that you're carrying before you get into an indepth discussion?" Madelyn asked hopefully.

Deb handed the paperwork to her mother, then walked to Tommy to give him a firm hug.

"Is there a problem?" Roris asked as he entered the room with Lawrence at his side.

"No, Roris. I think everything's good." Ben said assuringly.

"What do we need to do now?" Emo asked cautiously.

"Give me a moment to read this over." Madelyn said slowly as she read through the papers.

Colton blew a raspberry, which drew everyone's attention and caused a few people to chuckle.

"She said just a minute. You need to learn how to be patient." Emo said to the baby in his arms.

He thought about getting one of the girls to hold him, but when he looked at the couch, Misti, Annie and Loquicia were all fast asleep.

"Yes. Very well done." Madelyn finally said as she awkwardly placed the papers on the arm of the cushioned chair that she was sitting in, and proceeded to sign them.

Emo watched and waited anxiously.

Madelyn rifled through her purse for a moment, then came up with her phone.

Everyone watched and waited to see what she was going to do.

"No. I do not want to update Facebook." Madelyn growled in exasperation.

After another moment, Madelyn smiled and said, "Dizzy, please function as court reporter."

"Encryption enabled. Secure recording of court proceedings beginning now." Dizzy responded pleasantly.

"Thank you." Madelyn said with amusement, then noticed Emo's expectant gaze fixed on her.

"As soon as this is filed with the court, it will be official. The child, Colton Baxter is remanded to the custody of Father Brian Doherty."

"What does that mean for Emo?" Angela asked cautiously.

"Well, since Brother Emo is a minor, it would be highly irregular to grant him custody. So Father Doherty has been given custody. As Colton's legal guardian, Father Doherty will be within his rights to allow a person of his choosing to see to the needs and daily care of Colton, under his supervision, of course." Madelyn said carefully.

"So Emo... I mean, Brother Emo won't be adopting Colton, but he'll still get to take care of him?" Angela asked carefully.

"Yes. And when Brother Emo reaches the age of eighteen, if he chooses to pursue adoption, the court would look upon such a petition favorably." Madelyn finished with a smile.

"That's great!" Emo said happily, then looked down at the baby and said, "We're going to give this thing a good road test, to see how it works. And if you still love me as much as I love you in three years, then I'm gonna be your daddy."

"That's not fair!" Oleksandr called out indignantly.

"What is that?" Madelyn asked as she turned her attention to the eight year old.

"That baby gets a new daddy and he didn't even ask for one! I don't have no daddy or mommy at all! If anyone should get a new daddy it's me! It's not fair!" Oleksandr said angrily as his tears fell.

Ben picked up the angry boy and cuddled the boy to his side as he quietly said, "It's late. His emotions are a little raw."

"He doesn't have any parents?" Madelyn asked gently.

"No. I don't know his whole story, but from what I understand, his birth parents put him up for adoption, in hopes that he could have a better life. His adoptive parents fell on hard times and he was abandoned at Father Doherty's shelter. Then the CPS had custody of him and placed him with the man who beat and molested him." Ben said quietly.

"I think this one might be a bit trickier, but we should still be able to manage." Madelyn said thoughtfully, then turned to her daughter and asked, "Are you up for another one?"

"Two, actually. Look at this while I start on the next one. Ben, would you bring Oleksandr to my office. I'm going to need a few details." Deb asked pleasantly.

"Is that okay with you, Buddy?" Ben asked Oleksandr gently.

"What's she gonna do?" Oleksandr asked in nearly a whisper.

Deb leaned in and quietly said, "If I can, I'm going to fix it so that Ben's your daddy."

"Really?" Oleksandr asked hopefully.

"I have to ask you both a few questions, and depending on those answers, yes, really." Deb said with a smile.

"Let's go!" Oleksandr said happily.

* * * * *

"Ty, could I speak with you for a moment, while my daughter prepares Oleksandr's paperwork?" Madelyn asked hopefully.

It took him a moment to work up his courage, but finally Ty forced himself to step forward.

He was somewhat relieved to find that Mikey was at his side.

"It appears that while Deb was drawing up the paperwork to make it so Emo could continue to care for Colton, that she also drew up a document requesting that she and Ryan be given guardianship of you. How would you feel about that?" Madelyn asked cautiously.

"Mrs. Brown wants to adopt me?" Ty asked uncertainly.

"Well, not exactly. Adoption takes a lot longer and is quite an involved process. What Debra is proposing is that she and Ryan be given custody of you. You would live here, in this house, essentially the same as one of her children." Madelyn said carefully.

"So, what's the difference between this and being adopted?" Ty asked slowly.

"About six pounds of paperwork." Madelyn said frankly, then continued, "Also, it's a lot easier to undo the guardianship arrangement. If any of you feel that the arrangement isn't working out, the court can dismiss the arrangement and you will become a ward of the state."

"Oh." Ty said with disappointment.

"Do you want to know a little secret?" Madelyn asked quietly as she leaned in closer.

Ty hesitantly nodded.

"I haven't talked to her about this yet, so I can't be sure. But taking this step and becoming your guardian is exactly what she would do if she were wanting to adopt you. It's the first step in the process." Madelyn confided seriously.

Ty was frozen in place as he tried to process the information.

"What do you think?" Madelyn prompted.

"Can you ask her one thing for me?" Ty asked cautiously.

"What do you want to know?" Madelyn asked gently.

"If her and Mr. Brown really want me, I mean, like, forever." Ty said in a small voice.

Madelyn thought about the boy's words, but didn't know how to respond.

"When I was a baby, I was found in a dumpster. I've been in about a dozen different foster homes, and none of them wanted me, either. Father Doherty is the only one who ever kept me and didn't ask them to take me back." Ty said seriously.

"I'll ask her." Madelyn promised.

"Them. I want to be sure that both of them want me. I need to know before we do anything else." Ty implored her to understand.

"I can see how important this is, and I agree with you. Ryan needs to be in on this discussion." Madelyn said to Ty quietly, then turned to Mikey and asked, "Do you think that you could find your father? I need to speak to him."

"Yeah. I'll be right back." Mikey said happily, then ran to Tommy and whispered to him for a few seconds before the pair of them hurried out of the room.

"One way or another, we'll have this settled for you before you go to bed tonight." Madelyn said in the tone of a vow.

* * * * *

"If we keep this up, I'm going to need to hire a paralegal." Deb said as she walked into the living room carrying another stack of papers.

Ben and Oleksandr followed immediately behind her, and both were wearing grand smiles.

"I take it things went well." Madelyn said with a smile at her daughter.

"Yes. You could say that." Deb said with a grin as she handed the papers to her mother.

"Now. Let's see what we've got here." Madelyn said as she perched her reading glasses on the end of her nose and started to read.

Everyone was silent, except for Misti, who had started snoring.

While they were waiting, Mikey and Tommy returned with Ryan and Carson following close behind. Next came Jay, Bug, Art and Euan.

"Yes. This is very good. I see no reason to draw this out. As soon as this is filed with the court, it will be official. The child, Oleksandr Rodchenko is remanded to the custody of Brian Weston. If, in ninety days, Mr. Weston wishes to petition this court to adopt said minor, the court would be inclined to look upon the petition favorably." Madelyn said professionally.

"That's it, Buddy! You're my kid!" Ben said as he hugged Oleksandr firmly.

A quiet cheer rose up around the room, in deference to the sleeping girls on the couch.

Once it was quiet again, Mikey cautiously asked, "What about Ty?"

"Oh, yes. Debra and Ryan, I think Tyrell has brought up a very good point. Court is still in session, so remember that you are required to tell the whole truth. Please don't make me go to the trouble of swearing you in." Madelyn said firmly.

"Us, too." Mikey said to his grandmother.

"What was that, Mikey?" Madelyn asked curiously.

"If you might make Ty part of our family, then we should have something to say about it, too." Mikey said reasonably.

Madelyn tilted her head as she considered for a moment, then said, "Alright. All of you, step forward."

Deb, Ryan, Tommy, Carson and Mikey formed a line in front of Madelyn.

"When Ty was told that you wanted to seek custody of him, he wanted to know your intentions. I think that's a very reasonable concern. So, keeping in mind that court is in session, and that you're addressing a judge, please tell the court, and Ty, what you intend to do if I grant your petition for guardianship." Madelyn said seriously.

"I want him to be my brother." Mikey said simply.

"He's been hanging with Mikey and doing a good job on stuff. I think it'd be great if he stayed around." Tommy said frankly.

"Yeah. I've been watching things from command all day. Ty and Mikey are a great team. If he could be our brother, I think all of us would be happy with it." Carson said honestly.

"What about you, Ryan?" Madelyn asked carefully.

Ryan turned to Ty and asked, "Do you know anything about computers?"

"I can usually make them do what I need them to." Ty answered cautiously.

Ryan nodded, then asked, "What about robots?"

Ty smiled as he said, "I think robots are cool."

"That's all I needed to know. If Ty wants to be our son, I'll promise to teach him as much as he ever wants to know about robotics." Ryan said with a smile

Deb rolled her eyes at her husband, then looked Ty in the eyes before saying, "When you started hanging around with Mikey, I wanted to be sure what kind of person he was spending time with. The more I got to know about you, the more it seemed that you would be a perfect addition to our family. So, if you would agree to it, what I would eventually like to happen is for us to adopt you and make you our son."

"Then could I change my name to yours so I'd really be part of your family?" Ty asked hopefully.

"Yes. If that's what you want, we'd be proud to count you as one of the Browns." Deb said warmly.

Ty looked at Ryan, Tommy, Carson and Mikey to find them all nodding in agreement.

"What do you think, Ty? Did that answer your question?" Madelyn asked gently.

"Yes. Can we do it?" Ty asked hopefully.

"Consider it done." Madelyn said happily as she draped the papers over the arm of her chair and started to sign them.

Ty smiled at the action.

"Deb, I'm going to need one more thing from you." Madelyn said as she looked up from the paperwork.

"What did I miss?" Deb asked with concern.

"A petition to change Ty's name. The child, Tyrell Oldman is remanded to the custody of Debra and Ryan Brown. Additionally, it is the order of this court that Tyrell Oldman shall henceforth be named Tyrell Brown. The court orders that the appropriate paperwork be filed with this court before the close of business, tomorrow." Madelyn said firmly.

"I'll do it before I go to bed." Deb said with a smile at her mother.

"Then, if there is no other business, this court is adjourned. Dizzy, end the recording. Now, for God's sake, all of you, go to bed!"

Chapter 30: It Begins

"Carson, it is seven o'clock in the morning. You asked for me to wake you at this time." Dizzy said calmly.

It was surprising to Carson that as he opened his eyes, he actually felt awake. He was accustomed to feeling bleary and foggy for the first half hour or so after waking.

"Thank you, Dizzy. I'm awake." Carson said, as he automatically moved himself into his wheelchair.

"Would you like the overview of events that transpired while you were sleeping?" Dizzy asked in a voice that was just a tad too cheerful.

"Unless there's anything that's a priority alert, how about you give me a few minutes to shower before you do that." Carson said as he went to his bathroom.

"Nope. No priority alerts." Dizzy said pleasantly.

Carson slowly went into the bathroom, automatically reaching for his pain medication... which wasn't there.

A hitch of something that felt like fear or anxiety assaulted him at the realization.

The adrenaline rush that Carson was feeling very nearly escalated into a full blown panic attack, but after a few deep breaths, he forced himself to start his shower routine.

Carson could barely keep himself together enough to complete his shower and dress himself. The sense of panic consumed his every thought and several times he very nearly called out to Dizzy that he needed to enact 'Code 4'.

With no thought to the rescue effort or anything but the gnawing need that seemed intent on consuming him, he left his room to join his family for breakfast.

* * * * *

"Good morning." Brother Jacques said gently when he saw Zane's eyes flutter open.

"What time is it?" Zane asked slowly, in sleep fogged confusion.

Before Brother Jacques could answer, Zane added, "What day is it?"

"Saturday. And it's a little after seven in the morning." Brother Jacques said gently.

Zane was silent for a long moment as he processed the response, then he quietly asked, "What happened? It's all a blur."

"Do you remember what I told you yesterday?" Brother Jacques asked softly.

"No. I think I remember waking up and you telling me something, but I don't remember what it was."

"You remember that we went to Mr. Brown's lab so that they could remove the tracking device, right?"

"Yeah. I remember that." Zane said slowly.

"Well, I guess the doctor was thinking he could just open you up, pop the thing out, then sew you back up and it'd be done. But when he got in there, it was a whole lot worse than he expected."

"Worse, how?" Zane asked as he seemed to come more awake.

"The doctor will be able to tell you a whole lot more than I can, but the way I understood it, when they put the tracking device inside you, they kinda carved a notch out of your breastbone and stuck the tracking device down in there, so it'd be really hard to get to it and take it out." Brother Jacques said seriously.

"So that's why he knocked me out, instead of doing it under a local anesthetic?" Zane asked curiously.

"I think so. Like I said, you'll have to talk to Dr. Murten if you really need to be sure about this stuff. This is just what I figured out while it was going on."

"Okay. I think I've got that."

"Well, the next thing was, when he finally got the tracking device dug out, he realized that it was booby trapped. I think that's when he stopped everything and made us all leave." Brother Jacques said seriously.

"Booby trapped?" Zane asked cautiously.

"When your grandfather put the tracking device inside you, he wanted to be sure that no one could ever take it out. And, if they tried, that it would kill you and probably the doctor trying to help you."

"Yeah. That sounds like him." Zane said regretfully as he let his eyes fall closed again.

"I wasn't there for the rest of it. I was waiting outside, in the hall. But I guess it goes something like this. There was this guy, a little kid, his name was Juan. I know it sounds unbelievable, but he really knew what he was doing. He showed up and knew how to get the booby trap out of you without killing you or setting it off." Brother Jacques said excitedly.

"A kid..." Zane said slowly.

"Yeah. I think he's with those kids in the tents on the front lawn. I really don't know anything about that. But anyway, he goes in and a little while later he comes out of the surgery carrying an ammo box. Within, like, five seconds of him stepping out of the clean room door, there's an explosion inside the box. I think it means that not only was your transmitter booby trapped, but also that your grandfather had it rigged so that he could push a button somewhere and that it would explode inside you." Brother Jacques said frankly.

"Was anyone hurt?" Zane asked hesitantly.

"No. The ammo box just jumped in his hand a little bit. No one was hurt at all." Brother Jacques reassured him.

"Good. So, that's it?" Zane asked hopefully.

"Yeah. I don't know what all they had to do to patch the hole in your breastbone, but I think whatever it was, is why you're feeling this way."

"It's not too bad." Zane said with a slight, unconvincing smile.

"Don't worry. From what I've seen, they're going to take really good care of you, here. You're going to be just fine." Brother Jacques said as he carefully took one of Zane's hands to hold.

"Have your tremors started back up, again?" Zane asked as he looked down in concern.

"Yeah. Just a little. They were this way when I woke up this morning. Don't worry about it. Just concentrate on feeling better."

* * * * *

As his eyes opened, for just a moment he couldn't remember where he was.

The room was unfamiliar.

He was certain that he'd never been here before.

It was plain. There were no decorations or pictures on the walls, but it seemed to be a nice place.

As he shifted, he noticed a weight on his chest and looked down to find Colton fast asleep.

That's when the memories all came flooding back to him.

Last night, Father Doherty had been given custody of Colton and the judge said that when he turned eighteen, he could adopt Colton as his son.

Emo smiled at the thought as he remembered the surreal drama of getting custody, then riding through the night with the baby in his arms.

He was surprised that Colton had slept through the night, but supposed that since it was so late when they arrived, that it worked out just about right.

It wouldn't be long before Colton would be awake and hungry.

When he had made Colton's formula the night before, he noticed that there wasn't a lot left. He would have to get more.

Emo's mind started racing as he thought about all the other things that Colton needed.

Formula and diapers were just the beginning.

All he had was what was in the diaper bag.

The baby would need clothes, a crib, a stroller, a car seat and... the list was too vast to contemplate. His own experience with babies was extremely limited. And Colton had absolutely NOTHING.

* * * * *

"Cocksucking douchebag motherfucker." Bug muttered in his sleep.

"That was a good one." Kev chuckled as he wrote it down.

"I wonder what he's dreaming while he's saying that." Ken said warmly.

"I'm sure it's all rainbows and fluffy bunnies." Kev said with a grin.

"Yeah. Right." Ken laughed.

"This is the way I want to wake up every morning." Bug said as he opened his eyes.

"Sounds like a plan." Ken said warmly.

"I'm sorry we didn't stay up to wait for you last night." Kev said quietly.

"I got in after two in the morning. I didn't expect for you to wait up." Bug said frankly.

"Here. I think it's still hot." Ken said as he handed a mug of coffee to Bug.

"Thanks." Bug said gratefully.

After a sip of coffee, Bug quietly asked, "Did you guys make breakfast, again?"

"We were going to if you didn't wake up pretty soon. But, so far, all we've done is made coffee." Kev said warmly.

"God. You guys are gorgeous." Bug said, sounding to be amazed.

"Look who's talking." Ken said with a grand smile.

"How'd things go with that Allen guy, last night. Did you guys have a good visit?" Bug asked curiously before taking a long slow sip of his coffee.

"It was probably the creepiest thing I've ever seen." Ken said frankly.

"Really? He seemed nice." Bug said curiously.

"I walked into his house and he had pictures of me from when I was, like, twelve years old. His house had the same style and furniture that was in my dad's house when I was growing up. And then he said that he'd recreated my bedroom... I had to get out of there." Ken said with a shiver at the memory.

"To me, it sounds like Allen wasn't ever able to let go of you or your dad when he lost you." Kev said frankly.

"Our dad." Ken gently corrected.

Kev nodded, although it seemed more likely that he wasn't in the mood to debate the point, rather than that he agreed.

"Was he nice to you?" Bug asked curiously.

"Yeah. In a creepy, clingy way. He kept putting his arm around me and calling me 'Cute Stuff'. When I got home, all I wanted to do was take a shower." Ken said frankly.

"Well, after doing all my computer stuff most of the night, I got to see some adoptions before I went to bed." Bug said with a grin.

"Adoptions?" Kev asked cautiously.

"Yep. Two of yours and a baby from the Lesbian Gravy bus... I really like that name, by the way. I need to download some of their music and check it out." Bug finished with a smile.

"What do you mean 'two of ours'?" Ken asked cautiously.

"Yeah, that pissed off little asshole... what's his name? The one with the grey hair?" Bug asked uncertainly.

"Ty." Kev said hesitantly.

"Yeah. The Browns adopted him, he even got his name changed. His name is Tyrone Brown, now." Bug said seriously.

"Tyrell Brown." Ken corrected gently.

"What the fuck ever." Bug said with a grin at Ken, then continued, "Anyway, Ben adopted that Ollie kid that he's been carrying around for the past few days."

"Oleksandr?" Kev asked with a smile.

"Sounds right." Bug confirmed.

"So Ben adopted Oleksandr and Mr. and Mrs. Brown adopted Ty?" Ken asked to confirm his understanding.

"Yeah. It was Zane's dad, I guess he's the Lesbian Gravy priest. Him and some little teenage goth punk kid adopted this little, like a few weeks old, baby." Bug said seriously.

Kev fought to keep from laughing as he said, "Well, that sounds perfectly reasonable."

Bug smiled at him and responded, "I guess you just had to be there."

"I know you've probably got a lot of stuff going on, today. But is there anything we can do to help?" Ken asked seriously.

"Yeah. Actually, there are two things." Bug said as his mood turned serious.

Both twins waited to see what they could do.

"First, be sure to check on the mission kids. As far as I know, Brother Jacques is still at the hospital. He needs to know that he can count on you." Bug said seriously.

"Yeah. Last night, when Ken left for Allen's house, I kind of checked around to see that they were all doing okay. All the kids seemed to be alright and none of the adults seemed to mind that they were hanging around." Kev said honestly.

"Well, since two of them got adopted, I guess not." Bug said with a grin.

Kev smiled at the response as Ken asked, "What's the other thing we can do?"

"Figure out how to work things out with that Allen guy." Bug said frankly.

"How about he stay over there and we stay over here and just call it good?" Ken asked hopefully.

"Listen, I could be totally wrong about this, I'll admit that upfront. But from the way it looks to me, this Allen guy, you called him your 'Pop', he got his heart broke real bad when your dad died and you had to leave. From what you just told me, it may have hurt him so bad that he never got over it. After all these years, he still hasn't even started to heal." Bug said seriously.

"I guess." Ken reluctantly admitted.

"Okay. I get that it's creepy. But you've got the chance to take something that's gone horribly fucking wrong and help him change it into something healthy." Bug said honestly.

"Why does this matter so much to you?" Kev asked curiously.

"I guess because of how I lost my parents, I can sort of sympathize with someone who can't let go and move on." Bug said frankly.

Both twins moved in to hug him at the same time.

"Coffee!" Bug warned as he held out his cup and fought not to let it spill.

Ken released Bug for a moment and relocated the coffee to the bedside stand before moving in to show Bug just how much he was loved.

* * * * *

"Good morning, Love."

"Is it time to get up already? I didn't even feel it when you came to bed."

"I haven't been to bed, yet." Mike quietly admitted.

Eric sat up and asked, "That operation you were worried about?"

"Yes. But please don't worry about it. Everything worked out. We accomplished our goals at a minimal cost." Mike said with a weary smile.

"You look dead tired. Why don't you crawl in here with me for a while?" Eric asked hopefully.

"I'd really love to, but if the boys aren't awake already, they're sure to be any minute." Mike said regretfully.

"I meant to talk to you about the guys who saved Kurt and Lana. I didn't get to spend much time around them, yesterday. But when I saw them with the boys they seemed to be interacting almost like older brothers to them." Eric said thoughtfully.

"I noticed that, too. I haven't tried to put it into words, but I agree with you." Mike said with a considering nod.

"I know that they've been cleared by security, but... I just wanted to be sure that you approve of them before we let the boys get too attached." Eric said seriously.

"I think you're probably in a better position to decide something like this. Why don't you take a little time to get to know them and then decide if they're positive role models for the boys to have in their lives." Mike said seriously.

"Yeah. That sounds good to me. I just wanted to be sure that we were both on the same page." Eric said honestly.

"You decide and I'll back you up." Mike assured him.

"What about the other two?" Eric asked curiously.

"What other two?"

"One of the agents pulled me aside and told me that two more people would be staying up here. I was sure that he must have cleared it with you, first." Eric said with concern.

"Are you talking about the young teenagers?" Mike asked cautiously.

"I suppose so. I haven't really heard anything about them." Eric said honestly.

"All I was really told is that they were cleared by security and that the two of them were instrumental in organizing and maintaining a convoy of over five hundred vehicles halfway across the United States. Apparently, they're going to be working downstairs in Carson's command center, so we might not even see them." Mike said seriously.

"They sound interesting. I hope we can get a chance to talk." Eric said with a smile.

* * * * *

"Oh my God! It can't be morning already! Come back to bed." Lucas begged.

"Regardless of what time you went to sleep, the morning has come and there are certain things that must be done. Feeding our children, for instance." Gordon said cheerfully.

"Oh my God. You're perky. How in the world can you be perky this morning in the early... um... you know what I mean." Lucas grunted.

Gordon laughed delightedly.

"What do we have to do?" Lucas asked resignedly.

"Well, I was thinking that this would be a perfect opportunity to have a nice family breakfast, you know, with everybody sitting down at once, at the same table, at the same time." Gordon said cheerfully.

"If I remember right, Max spent the night at Walter and Reginald's." Lucas said slowly.

"Totally off the subject, but are you worried about that?" Gordon asked curiously.

"Maybe I should be worried, but I'm not. I feel confident that Bax and Ro will watch out for her. If there were any problem at all, I feel certain that they'll let us know." Lucas said honestly.

"Just to confirm, you're also not worried about her hanging around with two boys?" Gordon asked cautiously.

"Maybe I'll worry a little more about that when they realize that she's a girl." Lucas finished with a laugh.

"Right. Back to the topic at hand. Even if Max isn't able to attend, I'd still like to have a sit-down breakfast for everyone at once."

"You'd better be sure and catch Jay before he can run off to be with Carson." Lucas said frankly.

"I don't know that it'll make a difference. Even when he's in the same room with us, it's like he's a million miles away. I haven't felt that with any of the other kids. Even with Max, I feel certain that we'll eventually get to a point where we'll all accept that she's part of our family. But with Jay, I feel like there's an insurmountable distance between us." Gordon said quietly.

"At the moment, I think there is. But I think that all we can do right now is be there for him and, hopefully, when he's ready, he'll come to us." Lucas said assuringly.

"Of course. It's only been a few days. We need to really give it a chance." Gordon said as his smile returned.

"Don't forget to make enough food for Loquicia and Jamiah." Lucas added with a grin.

"The girls really like spending time with Loquicia." Gordon said happily.

"What about Jamiah?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Well, he's no trouble at all. But when Loquicia and the girls are playing, he just kind of fades into the background and you kind of forget that he's there. But the moment Loquicia wants or needs anything, he's right there at her side." Gordon said seriously.

"I guess I haven't spent as much time around them as you have. But now that you've pointed it out, I can see what you're saying." Lucas said thoughtfully.

"Ready to help me make breakfast?" Gordon asked with an irritating amount of cheer.

"I suppose."

* * * * *

As Father Doherty opened his eyes, the image of Margaret's face, filled with concern for her children, faded from his mind's eye.

There were so many things that needed to be done, that it was overwhelming, but first and foremost in his mind at that moment was to seek out Margaret and find out how she and her children were doing.

The next thought to cross his mind was of Zane, lying in the hospital. He felt a small sense of reassurance that Zane wasn't alone, wondering if anyone cared about him. But still, there was no doubt that he would find a way to work it into his schedule to visit Zane in the hospital. There were so many people counting on him, literally hundreds, and now that they had arrived in Kettle Falls, he didn't have the slightest clue of what he could do for them.

Of everything that was going on, the only consolation that he could find was that the children he had been taking care of for so long had ended up in a place where they were well cared for.

Witnessing the adoptions of Ty, Oleksandr and Colton the previous night had injected some much needed hope into his weary soul.

* * * * *

A vague, distant memory of warmth, of holding and being held at a time in his life when he was afraid made him smile as he slipped into consciousness.

As the dream faded, the warmth did not.

Jody slowly opened his eyes and realized that he and Nick had cuddled together in their sleep.

Although he had never really thought about Nick in those terms, he had to admit that it was kind of nice.

He had always been aware of Nick having sort of a crush on JD. None of them ever mentioned it, but it was always there, in the background.

"What happened?" Nick asked as he opened his eyes.

"We arrived in Kettle Falls. We're at Allen's house." Jody said gently, not wanting to startle Nick and possibly send him into a panic about sleeping with another boy.

"Yeah. I remember that." Nick said slowly.

"I know that Allen brought us in here and said this would be our room, but since we're still dressed, I think that when we stopped moving for a few minutes we kinda fell asleep." Jody said honestly.

"Is that okay?" Nick asked as Jody could see the anxiety building in his eyes.

"It's fine." Jody said honestly.

"I'm so screwed up." Nick said as his eyes filled with tears.

"Welcome to my world." Jody said with an understanding smile.

Nick considered that for a moment, then quietly said, "I think that If I woke up with anyone but you, I would've freaked."

"Yesterday, you took some really big steps. I think this might be another one. Just be happy about it and I'll help you when you have to face the next one." Jody said gently.

"Thanks, Jody. I just wish there was something I could do for you to make up for all that you're doing for me." Nick said sincerely.

"Someone helped me when I needed it. Now I'm doing that for you. So, just help the next person who needs it and it's all good."

* * * * *

Dax had never really understood the phrase "the weight of the world" before.

Now, he knew exactly what it meant.

His father trusting him to oversee the refugees from the Chicago area and ensure their safety, was a burden far beyond anything he had ever experienced.

On the surface, Jingo and Trav were the type of people that he would avoid having anything to do with. But knowing that his father had sent them made all the difference.

With his father's faith in him and having him only a phone call away gave him a certain amount of assurance. Having Jingo and Trav to help him with all the people gave him some more. But the thing that brought it all together was having Ben and Oleksandr, the one who cared for him and the one for whom he cared. Without them, he wouldn't be able to deal with the rest.

With that thought firmly in mind, Dax felt that the first thing he should do is seek out Ben and Oleksandr. He would be able to face everything else in his day if he started by spending time with his 'family', making that his foundation.

* * * * *

As Carson entered the family dining room, he was relieved to see that the food wasn't on the table yet.

He hated arriving late for breakfast, because he knew that someone had set food aside for him earlier and had to do extra work later just because he couldn't be on time.

"Good morning. How are you doing this morning?" Deb asked as she walked into the room and automatically dropped a kiss on the top of his head.

"Fine." Carson said in an obligatory tone.

Deb stopped and looked at him for a moment, then gently asked, "Are you in pain?"

"No. But I want one of my pills really, REALLY bad, right now." Carson reluctantly admitted.

"Well, it's just about that time, I'll be right back with it." Deb said simply and didn't wait for a response before leaving the room.

Carson was astonished, but also felt a swell of relief that the gnawing need was going to be satisfied any minute now.

"Oh, I'm glad you came in here first. I meant to tell you that we'd be having family meals in here so the Vice President's party could use the formal dining room." Ryan said as he walked into the room and directly to his chair at the head of the table.

"I wasn't sure with all the guests, so I checked in here first." Carson said as he watched the door anxiously, waiting for his mother to return.

"Have you had a chance to look at the body armor at all?" Ryan asked his son curiously.

"No. That swell of people last night pretty much took all my time and attention." Carson said without looking away from the doorway.

"Well, I didn't have a lot of time, either, but I've decided that I'm going to take this weekend to break it down to its component parts, then categorize which parts we can purchase, which ones we can replicate and which ones we'll have to do some improvisation on." Ryan said thoughtfully.

"Um, yeah." Carson said absently, then felt his heart leap with joy when he saw his mother walking into the room with a glass of water.

"Here you go. I'll bring you your next dose when it's time." Deb said as she waited for Carson to take the pill.

"Thanks, Mom." Carson said as he nearly snatched the pill from her hand, then rushed to wash it down with the water.

"If I can get my work done this weekend, then Monday we'll start converting the factory to mass produce as much as we can." Ryan said seriously.

"Really? That seems kind of quick." Carson said as he tried to get his mind to focus on their conversation.

"Well, that's what I'm saying at this point in the planning phase. Reality may have other plans for us." Ryan said frankly.

"Yeah. Okay. I get that. So, you'll buy what you can, you'll make what you can't. But what are you going to do about the 'improvised' parts?" Carson asked curiously.

"Actually, if an answer doesn't immediately present itself, I'll pass it on to Allen so he can delegate it to one of the project teams at the lab and see what they can come up with." Ryan said frankly.

Carson nodded, then said, "Yeah. What's the point of hiring a ton of brilliant people if you don't ask them to use their brains now and then?"

"Exactly. And, as they overcome each obstacle, we'll find a way to mass produce the workaround and add it to the overall body armor." Ryan said seriously.

"That sounds right." Carson nodded.

"Which leaves us with one last, rather large, obstacle." Ryan said gravely.

"The programming?" Carson guessed.

"I looked at the 'trinary' last night. I think that with two or three years of uninterrupted study time and twelve tons or so of coffee, I might be able to learn it, but short of that... I'm a little concerned." Ryan said seriously.

"Let's give Bug a few days to see what he can do with it. In the past few days, I've seen him write entire programs right off the top of his head. I think he's probably going to be able to make sense of it." Carson said frankly, then smiled as he felt a tingle start to run through his body, relieving the screaming need.

"If what I saw him doing yesterday is any indication, then you may very well be right. He really impressed me." Ryan said honestly.

"I think that I could have done everything that Bug did the past two days, except that it would've taken me about, maybe, three weeks and the code would've been about half again as long." Carson said honestly.

"When things settle down, I'd like to take a closer look at his code." Ryan said decisively.

"Yeah. And when this is all over, I think he'd be great at the lab. I mean, we've already got some really good programmers, but it looks like Bug is self taught and just... get's it." Carson said with irritation at not finding a better way to explain to his father.

"I suppose so, but we'll also need to make allowances for his colorful language. That kid's got a foul mouth."

* * * * *

"Is anyone in here ready for breakfast?" A nurse in her mid-to-late fifties asked as she pushed a cart into the room.

"I don't know." Zane said honestly.

"Well, Sweetie, the doctor seems to think that you need to have your breakfast through a straw for a while. But I brought a full breakfast for your moral support." She said with a tender smile at Brother Jacques, then leaned close and whispered, "And I brought you some extra toast, you look like you can use it."

"Thank you." Brother Jacques said with a smile, unable to resist her warm, friendly nature.

"Now, before you start your breakfast..." The nurse said as she turned to Zane. "I've got something very special for you, and it's going to end up being your best friend."

Zane stared at her incredulously as she held up a small pillow.

"This is your 'Bobo', if you feel the urge to cough, or if your moral support, here, starts getting rambunctious and gets you to laughing, you take your Bobo and clutch it to your chest and hold it as tight as you can. Holding Bobo will take a whole lot of the pain away." The nurse said seriously.

Zane cautiously nodded that he understood.

"Should I go somewhere else to eat this? It seems wrong to eat solid food in front of him." Brother Jacques asked hesitantly.

"No. He'll be doing good to finish his juice and gelatin. By the way, Sweetie, would you like some coffee or tea?"

"Coffee, please." Zane said hopefully.

"Would you like some, too?" The nurse asked as she poured a cup for Zane.

"Yeah. Thanks." Brother Jacques said gratefully.

The nurse obviously noticed, but didn't say anything when she saw Brother Jacques' trembling hand.

"You go ahead and start eating while I help your friend with his breakfast, but you keep a close eye on what I'm doing, because next time it may be your turn to help him." The nurse said as she raised the head of Zane's bed.

"I can't believe how nice everyone's being, letting me stay here overnight with Zane and now you're even bringing me food." Brother Jacques said gratefully.

"Honey, I think everyone here either knows what it feels like to be sick in the hospital, or to have someone you care about down sick. We all understand what it's like. You being here makes you feel better, it makes Zane here feel better... Hell, it makes me feel better to see y'all taking care of each other. It's like it should be." The nurse said firmly.

Brother Jacques looked at the nurse's name tag, then said, "Thank you, Tammy. My name is Jacques. Please pass our thanks on to everyone else. If there's any way we can be of help to you, please let us know."

"Jacques? Really?" Tammy asked with delight.

Brother Jacques nodded hesitantly.

"I just always thought that name was so romantic. I always imagined that someday I'd meet a man named Jacques and that he'd kiss my hand and pamper me and say sweet things to me in French, then when that weekend was over, he'd be gone and I'd have that memory to carry with me." Tammy said with a distant gaze.

"Um, well..." Brother Jacques stammered as he tried to think of what to say.

Tammy gave a delighted laugh, then said, "Don't worry, Honey. All I was trying to say is that I love your name."

Brother Jacques gently took her hand to his lips and gave a gentle kiss before saying, "Merci."

Tammy made a show of slightly swooning before getting back to work.

"Go ahead, Sweetie. I'm not going to feed you. But I'm here to help you if you run into trouble. I bet you'll be able to manage that gelatin all by yourself." Tammy said seriously to Zane, then turned to Brother Jacques and said, "You'll need to open anything for him that requires pulling or twisting."

Brother Jacques watched as Tammy opened the cup of fruit juice for Zane.

"When he gets on solids, you'll probably need to cut up his food for him." Tammy added as she watched Zane carefully.

When a little bit of the gelatin missed it's mark, Tammy quickly brought up a napkin to dab it clean, then said, "Spills are going to happen. Accept it. Live with it."

Brother Jacques smiled at the advice.

"You're doing just fine, Zane. In fact, you're doing so well that I think you probably won't need me watching over you, next time. Just remember that if you or Jacques have any problems or questions, you call me right away. I can't make it all better if I don't know about it." Tammy finished with a smile.

"Since you asked, there is one thing that you might be able to do to help me." Zane said cautiously.

Brother Jacques looked on with concern, since he had no idea what Zane might need.

"What might that be?" Tammy asked curiously.

"Would you ask Dr. Murten to come and see me as soon as he gets here? I have something kind of important that I'd like to ask him about." Zane said seriously.

"You never know, it might be something that I can help you with." Tammy said with concern.

"Dr. Murten gave Jacques a pill and his tremors went away. Now they're back." Zane said anxiously.

"I'll let him know that you need to see him, just as soon as he arrives." Tammy assured him.

"Thank you." Zane said in relief.

"I think you guys have got this under control. I'll just be a call button away if you need me for anything." Tammy said as she looked at each man to be sure that they were alright.

"Yes. Thank you again, Tammy." Brother Jacques said sincerely.

"My pleasure, Jacques." Tammy said with a delighted smile before withdrawing from the room.

"You know, you didn't have to do that." Brother Jacques said as he looked deeply into Zane's eyes.

"And you didn't have to do any of what you've done for me the past two days." Zane said frankly.

Brother Jacques finally gave up fighting the urge and leaned in to give Zane a gentle kiss.

* * * * *

"I'm surprised to see that they stocked our refrigerator. I thought that we'd have to go and get breakfast at one of those tents this morning." Father Doherty said absently as he worked on preparing breakfast.

"I'm amazed at how we were welcomed, last night. All we had to do was tell them who we were and they had everything lined up. They even gave us a map to tell us how to get to the house." Artimus said in an impressed voice.

"And this house is amazing. I can't remember the last time I slept in such a comfortable bed." Harry added happily.

"Good morning." Ahmid said as he walked slowly into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Ahmid. How are you feeling this morning?" Father Doherty asked with concern.

"I'm feeling much better. I slept very well." Ahmid said as he took a seat at the large table in the dining room area, across the breakfast bar from the kitchen.

"I'm glad to hear that. I was thinking that, later in the morning, I could go with you to the hospital so that they can look at your wound." Father Doherty said as he kept most of his attention on the potatoes that he was frying.

"I wouldn't mind taking him. I'm sure that you have a million other things that you also need to be doing." Artimus said frankly.

"Honestly, I'm so overwhelmed that I actually don't have a clue about how many things I need to do, or where to start." Father Doherty said with a chuckle.

"I'm so sorry. I can't believe I slept so late." Father Franklin said as he rushed into the kitchen.

"Not to worry. Everything's under control." Father Doherty said pleasantly.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Father Franklin asked as he looked around.

"Set the table. I'll have breakfast ready in just a minute or two." Father Doherty said warmly.

Father Franklin went immediately to the cupboards and began searching for plates as he said, "In all the confusion, I didn't get to see that Keith and Emmogene got settled in."

"I'm sure that they're fine. But if you like, you can ask any of the volunteers to find out where they are." Father Doherty said as he took his skillet off the stove.

"I tried calling my ex-wife last night and couldn't get through." Greg said anxiously.

"And how will I know if my family makes it here? How will they find me?" Artimus asked anxiously.

"Harry, would you do something for me?" Father Doherty asked as he tried to focus on the pan of scrambled eggs in front of him.

"Of course. What can I do?" Harry asked immediately.

"Get something to write on and make a list of all the friends and family that any of you would like for me to check on. I honestly don't know what I can do for you, but I believe that I know the people who can answer all our questions." Father Doherty said seriously.

"Yes. I should have thought of that. I'm just so worried about them." Greg said quietly.

"We all have people that we're worried about, as do many of the people who arrived with us. Perhaps we could use this understanding to help people deal with their fears and possibly find a way to help them reconnect with their loved ones." Father Doherty said thoughtfully.

"How would we do that?" Jim asked curiously.

Father Doherty stepped back from the stove to peer into the dining room, then chuckled, "Jim, I didn't see you there."

"I blend in." Jim said timidly.

Father Doherty laughed, then said, "To answer your question, if it were just you and me, offering to help, I think I would walk up to any volunteer and just ask them what I can do. But, if all of you are interested in helping people, I think it might be most effective if I asked the people who are coordinating the whole thing, so they could look upon us as an organized group, able to accomplish specific goals."

"Yes. If we approach them as a group, the organizers of all this could probably utilize us most effectively." Father Franklin said thoughtfully.

Father Doherty nodded as he carried a large bowl of scrambled eggs to the table, then thought to ask, "Where is Father Kinsey, this morning? Is he already helping out at the kitchens?"

"Possibly." Father Franklin said hesitantly, then cautiously added, "But I think maybe not. The last time I saw him, he was talking rather seriously with Trav."

Father Doherty stopped, halfway back to the kitchen as he thought about that, finally he walked to the stove as he said, "That's good. I believe Father Kinsey and Trav fit together very well. Each has something the other needs."

A few of the men around the table were obviously fighting not to reveal their dirty thoughts, but to their credit, none of them voiced their thoughts or even laughed aloud.

* * * * *

"Do you want to start on the toast?" Ken asked as he carefully stirred a deep skillet of gravy.

"No, I think I'll go wake Lawrence and ask him if he wants to help us. He always loves it when he can contribute to the meal." Bug said as he washed various pieces of fruit to make a simple fruit salad.

"That sounds good." Kev said with a smile.

A strange chiming started sounding from the dining area.

"Carson must want something. Give me a second." Bug said as he quickly dried his hands.

"If he wants you to make another table, tell him 'after breakfast'." Ken said firmly.

"Got it." Bug agreed with a chuckle.

Both twins watched as Bug opened the laptop and waited for it to recognize him.

"Don't worry. It's just a reminder that I need to tell Lucas and Davis what a good job they're doing. I can do that later." Bug said pleasantly.

"Good morning!" Corina said as she walked into the room, followed by Davis and Cheyenne.

"Good morning, Corina." Ken said with a smile.

"Everyone, this is my husband, Davis." Corina said as she walked to the dining room table, carrying a plate of food.

Ken and Kev both noticed when Bug's gaze fixed on Cheyenne. Although he was obviously trying to look casual, his quick retreat from the dining room very nearly made both of them laugh.

Bug only took a few steps, but his new position behind the kitchen island strategically put a physical barrier between him and the sweet, innocent four year old girl.

"It's nice to meet you, Davis. I'm Ken and this is my brother, Kev. And I'd like to introduce you to our boyfriend, Bug." Ken said warmly.

"So you're Bug. I've heard some amazing things about you." Corina said frankly.

"Yeah. It's nice to meet you." Bug said, trying to mask his nervousness, then he quickly added, "Davis, good job on the warehouse thing. You're making everyone's lives a lot easier."

"Thanks. I'm surprised that you know who I am." Davis said with a smile.

"You're the guy who saved all our butts. Without you, we'd have thousands of people heading this way and no way to feed them." Bug said frankly.

Cheyenne finally worked up enough courage to wander away from her mother's side and started toward the kitchen.

Of course, Bug noticed, and immediately said, "Excuse me. I have to go wake up Lawrence and Roris."

"Is something wrong?" Corina asked curiously.

"No. It's just Bug being Bug." Ken said with a tender smile.

"Well, we've got to go. Davis has to get to work." Corina said, seemingly accepting the explanation.

"Have a good day." Ken said with a smile.

"Bye bye, Cheyenne." Kev said happily to the little girl.

Like the day before, Cheyenne bellowed, "BYE BYE!"

Ken and Kev both chuckled as they watched her leave.

A moment later, Bug's head peeked out of Lawrence's room and he quietly asked, "Are they gone?"

"Yes. Davis had to leave for work." Kev said with a loving smile.

Bug looked around carefully, then cautiously walked out of the bedroom.

"Good morning!" Jeremy said, causing Bug to jump about a foot in the air.

Ken and Kev couldn't restrain their laughter at the reaction.

"Hi. Sorry, you scared the shit out of me." Bug said as he tried to calm himself.

"Sorry about that. We just decided that we've spent enough time in seclusion and decided to see what's going on." Jeremy said as he glanced back at Hank to see how he was doing.

"That could take a minute to tell. Have you two had breakfast yet?" Bug asked as he started walking back toward the kitchen area.

"No, I thought we could grab a bagel or something later." Jeremy said cautiously.

"Come on in. Sit down. There's plenty!" Bug said with a smile.

Jeremy looked at Hank with question and received a shrug in response.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you. Is there anything we can do to help?" Jeremy asked as they walked to the large dining room table.

"Nope. We got it covered. Would you like some coffee? They got really good coffee here." Bug asked as he went back to work on his fruit salad.

"Do you still need for me to do the toast?" Lawrence asked as he walked out of his room.

"Sure. I'll get the bread out for you." Bug said as he quickly dried his hands again.

"Where's Roris?" Ken asked curiously.

"He said he'd be out in a minute. I left the door open, didn't I?" Lawrence suddenly asked as he turned to look.

Everyone looked to see that Lawrence and Roris' bedroom door was propped open.

"He told me, but I forget stuff." Lawrence said with relief as he joined his brother at the toaster.

"There you go, Lor. Just toast all that and we should have enough for everyone." Bug said, then gave his older brother a hug.

"Okay." Lawrence said happily.

Bug went back to the sink, then looked toward the dining room table and said, "Well, let's see. I think you got most of the big big news already. The only really new stuff is that President Asswart tried to say that the election wasn't fair... because he lost. So, because of that, he said that the election didn't count. A whole bunch of political shit went down because of that, you can ask my Oma Shoupe about that when she gets out here. She's into that stuff. But what's important is that after a bunch of shit, the president was impeached, and President Bryce was inaugurated."

"Oh, that's all..." Jeremy said disbelievingly.

"Well, I guess since we've got the Vice President staying in the main house, yeah, it's kind of a big deal." Bug said with a shrug.

"Wait! What?" Hank said in confusion.

"Yeah. You know, Mike Reynolds, gay guy, kinda hunky, has a whole shitload of kids?" Bug asked with a grin.

"I know who he is, I was there when he arrived. I guess everything seemed so surreal, that it didn't register." Hank said irritably, then quietly asked, "You mean he's still here? In this house?"

"Yeah. For all I know, he might be eating breakfast on the other side of that wall, there." Bug said as he pointed at the temporary wall that separated the two dining rooms.

"Bug, do you want me to go get Oma Shoupe?" Lawrence asked as he walked to Bug's side.

"Just tell her that breakfast is almost ready." Bug said absently, then looked to Jeremy and said, "I think that's all the big stuff that happened. But Oma Shoupe can probably tell you what they're talking about on the news right now. She's kind of a news junkie."

* * * * *

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Eric asked gently.

"I don't know. I'd still be in there, helping to coordinate things, but I think I've reached my physical limit." Mike reluctantly admitted.

"Just tell me what I need to focus on, and I'll do my best to hold things together until you wake up." Eric said gently.

"I think Adams has everything in hand. The only thing I can think of is, if you would, please try to find a way to get those Canadian bureaucrats to stop stalling. We've got an amazing plan in place. All the pieces are there and everything is working beyond our expectations. The only thing gumming up the works is people being stalled at the border." Mike said wearily.

"I'll work on it. I promise." Eric said soothingly.

"Make sure they keep it a priority. Everyone seems to want to put it on the back burner and forget about it. They don't understand that if we don't clear that blockage soon, people are going to be stalled at each and every point along the rescue route, and before any of them knows it, we're going to be dealing with hundreds of thousands of starving people." Mike implored him to understand.

"I'll keep it a priority. I promise." Eric said as he tried to soothe his husband to sleep.

"I can't sleep yet." Mike said as he started to sit up.

"You have to trust us. Lay back down. We can handle things." Eric implored him to understand.

"I know. But I need to say good morning to the boys. I refuse to let everything else prevent me from being a part of my children's lives. They need to know that their dad still exists and loves them." Mike said firmly as he stood.

"Okay. I happen to agree with you on that, so let's go."

* * * * *

As they walked into Sammy's room, they immediately noticed that the walls had been removed on either side, to make it one enormous bedroom with six beds.

Just as they expected, all the boys were there. The only thing that seemed unusual was that everyone wasn't gathered around Sammy's bed this morning.

The young man, Danny, was sitting on the edge of Sammy's bed with his younger namesake, apparently telling them a rather involved story about a cabin in the woods.

Randy and Kevin were having their own conversation and appeared to be telling their older friends, Myron and Gerry, what it was like to be famous and have security following them around all the time.

On the other side of the room Apollo, Scotty and Brian were silently watching as Jarritt was making an incredibly intricate paper falcon.

"How is everybody doing this morning?" Mike asked from the doorway.

All the boys turned at the sound, and all but Sammy rushed to him to give him enthusiastic hugs.

"Is anyone hungry?" Mike asked as he gave hugs and kisses all around.

If anyone had been asleep, the resulting roar of affirmation would have been sure to wake them.

The young men around the periphery of the room watched with tender smiles, as the fathers and sons, openly expressed their love for each other.

"How about I take the boys down and come right back with plates for you and Sammy?" Eric asked gently.

"That sounds wonderful." Mike said gratefully.

Danny, the elder, leaned down to whisper to Sammy that he would bring something extra when he came back, in case Eric didn't bring him enough.

Sammy happily agreed.

"Would you guys mind staying with the boys while I take Mike and Sammy their food?" Eric asked as he herded the boys out of the room.

"No problem. We'd love to." Gerry said frankly.

"Yeah. The guys are great." Danny agreed as he approached the door.

Once the last of them were out, Mike turned to Sammy and quietly asked him, "How are you doing?"

"I'm always falling asleep, but besides that, I'm not bad." Sammy said seriously.

"Do you need anything? I mean besides breakfast, that's on the way." Mike asked curiously.

"No. I'm really fine. Danny... I mean, old Danny, he's been telling us all kinds of stories about this cabin in the woods that doesn't have any electric or water or even a real toilet. I guess he's been there a bunch of times. When I'm listening to him, I don't hurt and I'm not bored, just laying here." Sammy said honestly.

"Well, that's good. I hope he has lots of stories to keep you entertained until you're feeling better." Mike said warmly.

"He says that if he runs out, he's got this friend named Ben, who has a whole lot more stories about the cabin." Sammy said happily.

* * * * *

As Eric and his group started walking toward the stairway, he heard someone behind him.

"Pardon, but we only just arrived last evening. Would you happen to know where one would go for breakfast?" A young teenager with a British accent asked cautiously.

"We're going down to breakfast right now, you can join us if you like. My name is Eric."

"I am called Art. My companion is Euan." Art said as he gestured toward another boy of his same age.

The boy, Art, looked somewhat familiar to Eric and it teased at the back of his mind. But as he looked closer at the boy, with obvious signs of a recent fight and dressed in secondhand, possibly thirdhand clothes, he dismissed the thought as extremely unlikely.

"Come on. I'm sure it's probably already on the table." Eric said as he led the way.

* * * * *

"Cooking breakfast for my family, like this, I feel just like Donna Reed." Gordon said happily.

"Seriously?" Lucas said as he gave his partner a withering look.

"Come on, Mr. Grumpy-pants. You don't want our kids to see their daddy being such a sad sack on a beautiful morning like this." Gordon said as his cheerfulness seemed to escalate to a new level.

Lucas stopped all movement and looked at Gordon disbelievingly.

"Okay. Okay. I'm too cheerful, but I can't help it. Watching those Chicago kids get adopted last night just... it was so wonderful! I really want for us to be able to do that for our kids." Gordon finished in an earnest tone.

"You said that the judge last night gave custody of a baby to a priest and a teenage boy, right?" Lucas asked cautiously.

"I think that, technically, she gave the priest guardianship, but that's basically right." Gordon confirmed.

"So this judge sounds like someone who might possibly be willing to allow us to adopt." Lucas said thoughtfully.

"Sure. From what I saw last night, she just wanted to be sure that the kids were getting good homes and being taken care of." Gordon said with a smile of anticipation.

"Then maybe we should talk to her about adopting Misti, Annie and Lazlo." Lucas said simply.

"What about Max and Jay?" Gordon asked with concern.

"Of course, I'd like to adopt them, too... eventually. But we've only had them a few days and it's too soon." Lucas said seriously.

Gordon thought about it for a moment, then quietly said, "It would be wrong for us to adopt only some of the children. I can only imagine how Max and Jay would feel. Forcing them to watch the other foster children being adopted just seems cruel to me."

"Good morning." Jamiah said as he approached from the stairs with Loquicia at his side.

"Good morning, Jamiah. How are you doing this morning?" Gordon asked happily.

"Are Misti and Annie up, yet?" Loquicia asked hopefully.

"I haven't seen them. But since it's almost time for breakfast, why don't you go and find out?" Gordon asked with a smile.

Loquicia didn't need any further prompting. She scurried away to Misti's bedroom door.

"I suppose we should wake Jay and Lazlo. It's almost ready." Gordon said as he returned to his cooking.

"I can do that, if you want." Jamiah said quickly.

"Yes. Thank you, Jamiah. That would be very helpful." Gordon said happily.

"What about them?" Lucas asked once Jamiah was well away.

"What about what?" Gordon asked in confusion.

"While we're adopting... what's two more?" Lucas asked curiously.

Gordon considered for a moment, then said, "I hadn't really thought about it, but they do seem to fit in."

"Let's give it a few days and see how things shake out. Right now we've got three 'for sures' and four 'maybes'." Lucas said seriously.

"I suppose so. It's just, after last night, I feel so ready to take that final step." Gordon said urgently.

"I know. We'll get there." Lucas quietly assured him.

* * * * *

"How are you doing this morning, Jay?" Lucas asked when he saw Jay approaching.

Misti and Loquicia had only popped out of Misti's room long enough to go to Annie's.

"I'm fine. I think I'm going to be really busy today." Jay said frankly as he took a seat at the dining room table.

Lazlo walked to the table and took the seat beside Jay before asking, "Can I still help you today?"

"You don't mind him helping, do you, Jay?" Gordon asked, as he placed glasses of juice on the table.

"No. We can use all the help we can get. I bet Lazlo is going to be able to help a lot of people." Jay said with a smile at his foster brother.

"I just wanted to be sure that having Lazlo around wouldn't be 'cramping your style', you know, with Carson." Gordon said warmly.

Jay chuckled, then said, "No. That's no problem. Carson and I don't do anything that we'd be ashamed of."

"Yeah. I got to watch when Carson was feeling bad and Jay laid on the bed with him. It was nice. I hope that someday I'll find a girl... or maybe a guy, to do that with." Lazlo said honestly.

"Well, there's no rush for that." Gordon said before walking away from the table.

"I guess not. But now that I've seen it, at least I'll know what I'm looking for." Lazlo said cheerfully.

Jay smiled at Lazlo, thinking what a special person he was.

"Can we go down and see Grandma Murten after breakfast?" Misti asked suddenly as she led the trio of girls to the table.

As Lucas approached, he noticed that all the children were seated, although he couldn't remember seeing Jamiah return from Jay's room, much less, take a seat at the table.

"I think that Mrs. Murten might need some time to finish her own breakfast. And if what I saw last night is any indication, she may be busy attending to matters of the court." Gordon said as he carried plates with Eggs Benedict and sides of cantaloupe and fresh berries, to the table.

"We got to hold the baby last night. That was fun." Misti said happily.

"Yeah. Brother Emo said we did a good job holding him." Annie added.

"Did you enjoy that?" Gordon asked curiously as he placed more plates.

"Yeah! And Colton was really cute and warm." Misti said joyfully.

Gordon turned to Lucas and asked, "Do you think they might be needing any help down at the school with the babies?"

"They might. I'll be sure to check when I start work today." Lucas said as he took his place.

* * * * *

As they walked down the stairs, lagging behind the group a little, Euan quietly asked, "Is this really what we should be doing?"

"Eating breakfast?" Art asked, acting like he didn't know what Euan was really asking.

"Staying here, in this house, with these people... basically hiding out." Euan said seriously.

"I believe that this is a worthy undertaking. I fully realize that things cannot continue this way indefinitely. But I believe that at this point in time we are where we need to be, doing what we need to do." Art said decisively.

"Okay. I just thought it was important to ask." Euan said as they walked through the living room and toward the dining room.

* * * * *

"Is everybody up?" Allen asked cheerfully as he busily worked in the kitchen.

"Yeah. Whatever you're making smells good." Nick said appreciatively.

"Just some old fashioned waffles. And a little bacon and eggs to go with it." Allen said happily.

"Wow. I never smelled bacon that smelled that good before." Nick said honestly.

"It's local." Allen said simply.

"Is it okay that JD is using his laptop at the table? Some people don't like it when you do that." Jody asked from Nick's side in the doorway.

"That's no problem, as long as he puts it away when he's eating." Allen said casually, then thought to ask, "Is he a programmer?"

"No. He's a writer. He woke up early this morning with a new idea for a book and he's been working on it ever since." Jody said seriously.

"A writer? I remember doing some writing when I was his age... Although, mine wasn't very good. I suppose that's why I went into programming." Allen said with a smile, then asked, "Would you mind carrying this into the dining room for me?"

"Sure. We'd love to help." Nick said immediately.

Allen handed each of them a platter, then followed carrying one of his own.

* * * * *

"I'm sorry. I'll put this away." JD said when he saw that the food was being carried in.

"No need to apologise. Even as a programmer, I sometimes get a sudden inspiration that I need to explore before I lose it." Allen said pleasantly as he placed a platter of waffles on the table, then took the platter of eggs and bacon from Jody and Nick and presented them to his hungry guests.

* * * * *

"Good morning, Walt. Will you join us for breakfast?" Ben asked when he saw Walt exiting his room.

"You don't need to bother. I can fix something for myself." Walt said slowly.

"Come on, I've got everything set up and already hot. Just take a seat at the table and I'll have it ready in a minute." Ben said with a smile.

"Well, if it's not any trouble." Walt said hesitantly.

"No trouble at all. Olex, do you want to get Walt some coffee?" Ben asked as he started breaking eggs into a skillet.

"Do you like stuff in your coffee?" Oleksandr asked as he got up from the table.

"Stuff? No. But thank you. Black is fine." Walt said with an involuntary smile.

"Ben adopted me last night. He's my daddy now." Oleksandr said proudly as he carefully poured the coffee from the carafe.

"Really? I hadn't heard about that." Walt said, sounding to be interested.

"Yeah. When Mrs. Murten... I guess I should call her Judge Murten, now. When she found out that Olex didn't have a family, she asked her daughter, Deb, who happens to be a lawyer, to draw up the papers to make me Oleksandr's legal guardian. She said that after ninety days, that we can go back and make it an official adoption." Ben said happily as he walked to the table and put a plate in front of Walt.

"I can't believe that I missed it. I really wish I would have been there." Dax said frankly.

"It happened so fast, that if I had called you just as soon as she asked me, it would have been over before you would have gotten here." Ben said honestly, then added, "But you're going to be there for the official adoption. There's no way we're doing it without you."

"Thanks." Dax said quietly, then when Ben placed a plate of food in front of him, he quickly said, "Thanks." again.

"Dax, I was meaning to ask, how did things go after we left last night. Did you have any problems?"

"No. Everything worked great. I can't believe that program. It's like I can see the communities developing out of almost nothing."

"I'll be sure to tell Bug and Carson that it's working." Ben said as he put his and Oleksandr's plates on the table, then took his seat.

Chapter 31: Breakfast of Champions

"Good morning, guys. How are you doing?" Ryan asked when he noticed Ty and Mikey walking into the room.

"Everything went so well last night, I can't wait to get started again." Mikey said happily.

Ryan noticed the beaming smile on Ty's face and quietly asked, "How are you doing this morning, Ty?"

"I'm good." Ty shyly said as he fought to restrain his smile.

"He's all excited about being adopted." Mikey supplied with a grin at his newest brother.

Ty gave a sudden, offended look at Mikey, but it only lasted a moment before the smile took over his face again.

"Are we too late?" Tommy asked as he hurried into the room with Jared trailing a few steps behind.

"You're just in time. How are you doing this morning, Jared?" Ryan asked pleasantly.

"Great! Tommy's been telling me about all the stuff everyone's been doing." Jared said quickly, then turned to face Ty and said, "You're the one that got adopted, right?"

"Yeah." Ty said timidly.

"That's awesome. Tommy told me about how you and Mikey have been doing some amazing stuff." Jared said frankly.

"All we did was make sure that things were going the way they were supposed to go. It was really all the volunteers that did all the work." Mikey said honestly.

Jared then turned to Carson and said, "And everyone's talking about how you're running this whole show. But I can't believe you asked Seth to help you instead of me. Aren't we best buds anymore?"

Carson recognized his best friend's teasing tone and said, "There's no heavy lifting jobs in the command center. If you were working with me, all your pretty muscles would go to waste."

Jared made a show of considering that for a moment, then said, "Yeah. I guess it would be a shame for me to be shut inside. And being out there helping Dad is kinda cool."

"Both of you boys are doing a great job." Karl said proudly.

Carson turned and saw that Karl and Seth had also joined them.

"Please, Karl, you and the boys have a seat. Breakfast should be on it's way any minute." Ryan said happily.

"If you're sure we're not going to be intruding." Karl said cautiously.

"You're family!" Ryan chuckled.

As Deb walked into the dining room, she smiled and said, "Okay, now that you're here, all we're waiting on is Dad."

"Thanks, Deb." Karl said with a tender smile at her before gesturing for his sons to take seats at the table.

"We adopted Ty to be our brother last night." Mikey happily announced.

"You did?" Karl asked in surprise, looking to Ryan for confirmation.

Before Ryan could answer, his father-in-law walked into the room and took a seat at the table.

Madelyn walked into the room a moment later, carrying plates of food, placing one before her husband and the other at the place next to his, which was Ty's.

"Thank you, Mrs. Murten." Ty said respectfully.

"You're my grandson, now. So I expect you to call me Nanny, just like all my other grandchildren do." Madelyn said warmly, then leaned in to give Ty a quick cuddle and a kiss before rushing back to the kitchen.

Before anyone could say anything, Deb hurried into the room with plates of food, and before she was done placing them on the table, Madelyn was back, carrying more.

"Is Mr. Crante off today?" Tommy asked his mother curiously.

"With all the guests, he has quite a bit more work than usual. I told him that we'd take care of breakfast this morning so he would be free to attend to the Vice President's party." Deb said before disappearing through the doorway.

"What kind of day do you think you'll be having, Fred?" Ryan asked curiously before taking a sip of coffee.

"I checked in with the hospital before I came to breakfast. Although there has been a significant influx of patients with the arrival of all those people last night, they've assured me that they're not overwhelmed. So, after making my rounds, it is my intention to seek out a number of people that I've promised to examine in the past few days. I'm sure that some of them think that I've forgotten them." Dr. Murten said seriously.

"From what I've heard, everyone thinks that you're some kind of miracle worker after what you did for Brother Jacques." Carson said frankly.

"Perhaps. But I simply tried a likely treatment and received good results." Dr. Murten said regretfully.

"Oh. I didn't know that. Do you think he's going to get better?" Carson asked quietly.

"I have reason to be optimistic." Dr. Murten said seriously.

"Good. I like Brother Jacques. I'm glad you're able to help him." Carson said with a smile, then looked up when his mother placed a plate of food before him.

"I think that's everyone. Dig in." Deb said as she took her seat.

Conversation lagged as everyone started enjoying their meal.

* * * * *

"There's so many other things that you need to be doing. You shouldn't be spending all your time with me." Zane said regretfully, then took a sip of his fruit juice.

"I'm being selfish right now, doing what I want to instead of what I'm supposed to. There's nothing I want more than to be right here while you're recovering." Brother Jacques said seriously between bites of scrambled eggs.

"I just feel like the kids are being neglected because of me." Zane said quietly as he carefully sat his juice cup back on the tray table.

"The kids are fine. The twins and Dax have been doing a great job taking care of them. And besides, your dad's here now. So if they need something, they'll probably call him first." Brother Jacques said confidently, then took a quick bite of toast.

"My dad's here, in Kettle Falls?" Zane asked cautiously.

"Yes. He stopped by here to visit you first thing when he got here. But I guess you were pretty out of it at that point." Brother Jacques said honestly.

"I thought I dreamed it." Zane said weakly, then carefully took a bite of his gelatin.

"If it will make you feel better, I can call the house and make sure the kids are alright." Brother Jacques offered with a smile.

Once Zane had swallowed his gelatin, he quietly said, "Yeah. That'd make me feel better."

Brother Jacques moved his tray table aside and walked to the phone.

He dialed the, now familiar, number and waited for it to be answered.

"Carson's command center. Lee speaking." A teenage boy's voice answered professionally.

Brother Jacques puzzled over that, trying to remember if he'd met anyone named Lee. Finally he cautiously asked, "May I speak to Carson, please?"

"Carson's having breakfast right now, is it something important? Or can you call him back in a few minutes?"

"No. It's not important. I can call back." Brother Jacques hurried to assure him, then quietly asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Lee. I'm one of the guys camping out on the front lawn. We're kind of the night shift. We take care of things for Carson, so he can sleep and eat without worrying that someone who needs him is going without help."

"Oh. That sounds like a really good idea. I can call back later. I just wanted to be sure that the kids are doing alright." Brother Jacques hurried to explain.

"Everyone here is fine. People are just waking up and having breakfast." Lee assured him.

"Thanks." Brother Jacques said gratefully.

"No problem." Lee responded, then disconnected.

* * * * *

Emo walked into the kitchen to find everyone just starting on their breakfast.

"How are you doing this morning?" Father Doherty asked pleasantly.

"Colton slept all night. He's a really good baby." Emo said as he looked down at the baby in his arms.

"Considering that you fed him when we got in this morning, I imagine that he should be just about due for a feeding." Father Doherty said consideringly.

"Yeah. Would you mind holding him while I make his formula?" Emo asked hopefully.

"Of course. Let me sit down and I'll be happy to hold him for as long as you want." Father Doherty said as he walked to the table.

"Thanks." Emo said as he transferred Colton into Father Doherty's waiting arms.

Colton seemed to be aware that someone else was holding him, and got an indecisive look, like he wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

As Emo walked back toward the kitchen, he quietly said, "I'm going to need to get some more formula and diapers for Colton today."

"Yes. We've been very lucky on that account, so far." Father Doherty agreed.

"Colt's also going to need a lot of other stuff." Emo said anxiously as he carefully measured the formula powder.

"I suppose that he will." Father Doherty said thoughtfully.

"I mean, he needs a crib and a car seat and... I can think of about a hundred things and I know that there's a lot more that I haven't thought about." Emo said as he shook the bottle to mix the formula.

Father Doherty could tell that Emo was on the verge of being overwhelmed and gently said, "I can't honestly say that I know either. But I happen to know where there are some experienced mothers who've already proven that they care very much for Colton. I'm sure that if I ask Mrs. Brown or Mrs. Murten, that they'll be able to direct me to someone who will be willing to help."

Emo considered that for a moment, then carried the prepared bottle to the dining room table.

"Do you want me to feed him?" Emo asked as he stopped at Father Doherty's side.

"No. Why don't you sit down and eat. I think that I would enjoy feeding Colton." Father Doherty said warmly.

Once Emo had taken his seat at the table, Father Doherty looked around and asked, "Does anyone have anything that they need to accomplish today?"

Looks flashed around the table, then Artimus said, "I think that if you can find out about our families, like you were talking about, that all of us would like to do the volunteer work. The more I think about it, the better it sounds to me."

"As soon as we're done with breakfast, I think Emo and I will go to the Brown's house. Once I've talked with them, we should be able to begin." Father Doherty said frankly.

"While you're doing that, I think that I'll take Ahmid and Harry to the hospital to be checked out. Hopefully, we'll be done with that and back by the time you know what we're doing." Artimus said seriously.

"I don't need to go to the hospital." Harry said quickly.

"You need to let them check out your back and see if there's anything they can give you for your pain. They may not be able to do anything to help you. But it won't hurt anything to try." Artimus said reasonably.

Harry seemed to be about to argue, but finally gave in and nodded his acceptance.

"Emo, would you get me a towel? I think Colton has just about finished." Father Doherty asked as he watched Colton finish the last of his formula.

"Right. I should have thought of that." Emo said as he got up from the table and dashed away.

"Your Daddy Emo is going to take really good care of you." Father Doherty said gently as he placed the empty bottle on the table.

"I'll burp him. You need to eat your breakfast." Emo said as he stopped at Father Doherty's side with a towel draped over his shoulder.

"Thank you, Emo." Father Doherty said as he carefully handed the baby over.

* * * * *

"What's the occasion? Why are you all dressed up?" Bug asked as he watched Oma Shoupe walk from her room.

"I just felt like dressing up this morning." Oma Shoupe said as she walked to her place at the table and sat down without any sign of weakness.

"You look really pretty." Lawrence said honestly.

"Thank you." Oma Shoupe said timidly, then added, "Your brother did an amazing job of packing an emergency bag for me. I had everything I needed."

"I'm just glad that everything fits. I packed almost a year ago, so we'd have stuff if there was a hurricane or something." Bug said honestly.

Oma Shoupe looked around the table and said, "This breakfast looks wonderful. You've put on quite a production here."

"The twins and I decided to combine our skills and see what we come up with." Bug said with a grin.

"Pass me some of that fruit salad, it looks lovely." Oma Shoupe said with a smile.

As Lawrence passed it to her, Bug said, "I don't know if you remember Jeremy and Hank. They were part of the flight crew that brought us here."

Oma Shoupe looked at the two men and smiled before saying, "Yes. Of course I remember them. I'm glad we're getting the chance to share a meal with you after the wonderful hospitality you've shown us."

"Thank you, Ma'am." Jeremy said warmly.

"Are we too late?" Ro asked as he rushed into the room, followed by Max and Bax.

"Almost. You're cutting it awfully close." Bug said as he watched them rush to take their places at the table.

"Ro's dads never shut up. They just talked and talked and we couldn't get out of there any faster." Bax explained seriously.

"You weren't rude to them when you left, were you?" Bug asked cautiously.

After a moment to consider, Bax finally said, "I don't think so."

"Everything's ready. Dig in." Bug said with a chuckle.

At that, a flurry of motion overtook the table.

"Just so you guys know, when you're done with breakfast and ready to start working, just get on your radios and let Dizzy know, and he'll give you your first assignments." Bug said casually.

"Okay. I wasn't really sure that all of that really happened last night. It was so awesome that I thought it might have been a dream." Bax said enthusiastically.

Bug noticed that Hank and Jeremy were looking at him with question, so he quietly said, "The guys are helping out the volunteers by going and getting things for them when they need it."

"Yeah. We're called the 'Gophers'." Max said proudly.

Jeremy smiled at the announcement and said, "I can imagine that you're helping a lot of people by doing that."

Bax and Max both nodded earnestly at the statement, as Ro had all his attention focused on his eating.

"Just remember, guys, that things might get crazy today. Don't be afraid to get on your radios and ask for help if you need it. And if you find anyone that might make a good Gopher, go ahead and recruit them. Before long you're going to need all the help you can get." Bug said seriously.

"Yeah. We remember." Bax said, equally as serious.

Bug saw his own expression looking back at him in Bax's eyes and, for the first time, felt what he imagined what it must be like to be a proud father.

* * * * *

"So, I heard that you guys managed a group of people halfway across the country." Eric said as he took his seat at a massive dining room table.

Euan looked to Art to see if he wanted to respond. When he didn't, Euan quietly said, "Father Doherty, a priest from a mission in Chicago, was the one who actually managed everything. Art and I just used the CB radio to make sure that everyone was staying together and we tried to keep people calm after they saw the missiles overhead."

"You actually saw missiles fly over you?" Scotty asked in wonder.

Euan looked around and saw that all the boys, and most of the young adults were awaiting his answer with rapt attention.

"Yes. We were on the bus. The previous night we had stopped early to give our drivers a chance to rest up and get everything they needed together before a long drive. I think that one of the priests on our bus was making breakfast..." Euan trailed off as he looked to Art for confirmation.

Art nodded.

"So, all of a sudden, there was a call on the CB radio screaming about how there were missiles headed our way and that we needed to get moving. I think we were all frozen for a few minutes, or maybe it only felt like that long. But what snapped us out of it was the same announcement being made over the public address speakers at the truck stop we were at." Euan said distantly.

"And Father Doherty wasn't on the bus. He was in the truck stop." Art added quietly.

"That's right. Then, right after the announcement, Father Doherty had these two boys with him, running toward the bus. As soon as they were on, we took off as fast as we could go. It was a few minutes later, when we were out on the open road, that we saw the missiles streak by overhead." Euan said seriously.

"Everyone must have been terrified." Eric said thoughtfully.

"Everyone was. But we talked to people on the radio, telling people that the missiles were pointed to someplace behind us, where we'd already been. And we reminded people that we need to focus on taking care of each other and making sure that no one got left behind." Euan said frankly.

Eric nodded slowly, then said, "I believe that you did a lot more than you realize. You not only helped all those people find safety, but you also inspired them to be their best. I can imagine that in such an atmosphere of fear and confusion, that the worst traits of people might come forward. But you encouraged them to be strong and to behave admirably."

Euan considered Eric's words for a moment, then noticed a man standing about three feet away.

"Good morning. I am Mr. Crante. Pardon me if I interrupted your conversation, but breakfast will be served in just a moment. Coffee and juice are available on the sideboard if you would care to make your selections."

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Crante." Eric said in surprise.

The man bowed slightly, then withdrew.

"He's, like, a butler, isn't he?" Kevin asked as he watched the man walk away.

"I believe so." Eric said uncertainly as he got up from his chair and walked toward the sideboard, which was stocked with coffee, hot water and a variety of hot tea selections, and various juices.

Within a minute of everyone making their selections and returning to their seats, Mr. Crante and two maids walked into the formal dining room with carts, laden with prepared plates of food.

"We need to get a setup like this when we get home." Randy told his dad frankly as he watched them starting to serve.

"Don't I take good care of you?" Eric asked playfully.

"Yeah. But this is way cool!" Randy said honestly.

Eric smiled at his son and said, "I suppose it is."

"Thank you." Randy said with a broad smile as his food was placed before him.

"Could you possibly bring me two plates to take up to my son and my husband? I'd like to serve them first, before having my own breakfast." Eric asked Mr. Crante hopefully as he approached.

"Of course, sir. I'll have that for you in just a moment, and I'll serve your plate when you return." Mr. Crante said efficiently as he bypassed Eric and placed the next plate of food before Scotty, who was sitting beside him.

"Boys, remember your manners." Eric cautioned as his little eating machines dug into their plates.

"But no one's watching." Brian said in his defense.

"No. But we're being served in a formal setting, so it's appropriate to behave in a civilized manner." Eric said calmly.

"Okay. Let's not do this when we get home." Randy said decisively.

Eric smiled at the response, and was pleased when the boys slowed down and began to behave more formally.

Mr. Crante walked into the dining room, carrying a serving tray with two plates covered with silver cloches. Beside them were silverware sets, contained in folded linen napkins.

"You may wish to make drink selections before you go." Mr. Crante quietly suggested as he waited for Eric to take the tray from him.

"Thank you. I really appreciate your efforts." Eric said sincerely, then carried the tray to the sideboard so he could get Mike and Sammy something to drink with their meals.

* * * * *

"Are we too late?" Max asked as he walked into the room with General Adams following close behind.

"No. We just started. Grab yourselves some drinks from that side-thingy over there and I'm pretty sure that butler guy will be in with your food in just a minute. He's really on top of things." Gerry said casually.

"Thanks." Max said shyly as he followed his father to the sideboard.

Art looked at Euan anxiously, but fought to keep his expression neutral when General Adams approached, carrying a cup of coffee.

Max took the seat beside Apollo, the other side from Jarritt, and caught Apollo's attention.

He couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was that caused him to notice, but somewhere, deep inside, he felt that he knew what the boy was feeling.

"Don't I know you?" General Adams asked as he looked at Art curiously.

"I don't believe so." Art responded quietly, and avoided meeting the man's eyes.

General Adams considered for a moment as he looked carefully at Art, then seemed to dismiss it.

"Good morning, gentlemen. I am Mr. Crante. I see that you've already made your drink selections, so I will return with your meals in just a moment. If you have need of anything further, please let me know." Mr. Crante said simply, then withdrew from the room.

"He called me a gentleman." Max giggled quietly to General Adams at his other side.

"Then, I suppose, you should do your best to live up to that title." General Adams said affectionately.

"How are you doing, Max?" Apollo asked carefully.

Max was startled by being asked, but quickly responded, "I'm fine."

Apollo very nearly left it at that, but felt compelled to carry on.

"If you'll look at everyone else here, you'll notice that I don't look like them." Apollo said quietly.

Max slowly nodded.

"If you ever feel that way, like you're different from everyone else around you, just remember that I know how it feels. I can help, if you ever need it." Apollo offered in almost a whisper.

Max considered for a moment, then said, "I'm just not used to everyone being so nice. I don't know how to act."

Apollo smiled at the response and said, "If you figure it out, let me know. Because I'm right there with you on that one."

Max was surprised by the answer, but was also, somehow, reassured. Apollo might not be able to answer his question, but at least he seemed to understand the question.

"Did I miss too much?" Eric asked as he returned to the dining room.

"Just some incredible food." Danny, the elder, said with a grin.

"I heard the same thing upstairs." Eric chuckled as he took his seat.

Just then, Mr. Crante walked into the room, pushing a cart with three plates.

As he placed the full plates of breakfast before Eric, General Adams and Max, he casually said, "It was suggested that some of our younger guests might appreciate some cinnamon rolls, following their breakfast."

All the boys around the table fought to maintain their formal decorum.

"Yes. I think they might enjoy that." Eric said with a smile of pride at his boys.

Mr. Crante gave a slight bow toward Eric, then from under the cart he picked up a tray of already plated cinnamon rolls, drenched in icing.

All the boys were nearly bouncing with anticipation as the sweet treats were handed out.

* * * * *

"This is really, REALLY good." Misti said happily.

"I'm glad you like it. I was in a mood to do something special this morning." Gordon said with a smile at his daughter.

"Could you show me how to make this? I've never had it before and Loquicia and I both really like it." Jamiah asked hopefully.

"I'd be happy to show you. Do you cook?" Gordon asked with interest.

"I used to cook a lot, before our mom left. She didn't really cook much." Jamiah said quietly.

"Or eat." Loquicia added, not noticing her brother's pensive mood.

At Gordon's inquisitive expression, Jamiah carefully added, "She used to take a lot of stuff that made her not care about things like eating or taking care of herself. Finally, she took so much that she stopped caring about us, too."

"Sometimes people make bad decisions. That doesn't mean that they're bad people." Gordon quietly explained.

Jamiah slowly nodded his agreement, then quietly said, "She wasn't mean to us, like, she didn't beat us or anything, like some kids' moms do. She just kind of stopped caring about us and ended up forgetting all about us."

"She left us at Father Doherty's mission and never came back for us." Loquicia said simply, and didn't seem to be the least bit bothered by the fact.

"Well, I suppose that might mean that she cared enough to find you a good place where she knew that you'd be taken care of." Gordon said gently.

"I guess so." Jamiah said noncommittally.

"I wish my folks would have done that." Jay said frankly.

Gordon glanced at Jay, but didn't want to get too deeply into that topic in front of the other children.

"My parents did some bad stuff and got sent to jail. They were always nice to me, but since they were in jail, there wasn't anyone else to take care of me, so the Social Services Child Division sent me to live with Gordon and Lucas." Lazlo said frankly.

"Me too." Misti said simply.

At Jamiah's curious look, Gordon explained, "Misti came to be with us under basically the same circumstances as Lazlo."

"They're really lucky that they got good foster parents on the first try. I've never had any foster parents that I wanted to stay with." Jay said darkly.

"Until now." Lazlo interjected.

Jay thought about it for a moment, then smiled at Lazlo as he quietly said, "Yeah. Until now."

"What is this that we're eating, anyway?" Jamiah asked as he looked at his last bite of food.

"Eggs Benedict." Gordon said with a smile at the boy.

"Well, I love it." Jamiah said before eating the last piece.

* * * * *

"Can I get you boys anything?" Allen asked as he looked around the table.

"No. This is great. Sit down and eat with us." Jorry said between bites of food.

Allen smiled at the response and took his seat at the table.

"What would you guys like to do today? Do you have any plans?" Allen asked curiously as he started to fill his plate from the diminishing supply in the middle of the table.

"If there's a way to do it, I'd like to find out where Emo and Colton are. They may need our help." Jody said honestly.

"Oh? Who is that? If you don't mind me asking." Allen asked curiously.

"Well, yesterday things got really crazy all of a sudden and we ended up on this bus with this guy named Emo, who had a baby who was just a few weeks old. From what he said, the baby's mother took off, and he looked like he was really lost. Since Nick used to take care of his sister a lot, he knew how to do some stuff to help." Jody said frankly.

"It's good that you were there to help out." Allen said with a smile.

"But Emo's, like, fifteen. I'd really like to be sure that they're doing okay." Jody said anxiously.

"Wow. Fifteen and taking care of a newborn. That can't be easy." Allen said sympathetically.

"Yeah. But he loves that kid so much it's crazy." Jody said frankly.

"Well, from what I know of Carson's program, we should be able to find them fairly easily. I don't know if it will be able to search for a nickname like Emo, but we should be able to find Colton without any problem." Allen said confidently.

"Could you really do that?" Jody asked hopefully.

"Sure. In fact, if you'll give me just a second, I'll grab my laptop and do it right now." Allen said as he got up from the table.

"It can wait until you've had your breakfast." Jody rushed to tell him.

"Nonsense. This will just take me a minute, then we'll all be able to relax while we finish our breakfast." Allen said before leaving the room.

* * * * *

"Christian, your dad's friend is awesome." Jody said frankly.

"Yeah. He is." Christian agreed.

"I thought that since Allen works for Ryan Brown, that he'd have a huge mansion or something like that. But this place is like... actually, it's kinda like Grandma Nora's house. But it's really comfortable. He lives like real people, not some stuck up snobby rich person." Collin said seriously.

"Ryan Brown? Who's that?" JD asked curiously.

"He was one of the big guys in computers about a thousand years ago, when it was all new. I guess he made tons of money on that. Now, he's all about robotics. I don't know much about that, except that he's pretty much the top guy when it comes to that stuff." Christian said seriously.

Allen hurried back into the dining room with his laptop already open.

"Do you think you can use that thing to check on our dads?" Jody asked cautiously.

"They're already flagged in the system. As soon as they check in, I'll be notified that they're on their way." Allen said as he quickly typed on his computer.

"Oh, good. With as many people as we saw coming through here yesterday, I wasn't sure they'd be able to find us." Jody said honestly.

"They'll be able to find you just as easily as you found me." Allen assured him, then a look of concern crossed his face.

"Is something wrong?" Christian asked cautiously.

"No. It's from Mr. Brown. He sent me some schematics that he wants me to look over. I'll look at that after breakfast."

Jody waited anxiously as Allen typed on the computer.

"There we go! I found Colton and his guardian, a Father Brian Doherty." Allen said happily.

"Yeah. Father Doherty is the one who took us onto the bus. He was helping Emo take care of Colton." Jody said quickly.

"Well, I have an address for them and a phone number, if you'd like to call." Allen said simply.

"Should we?" Jody asked Nick uncertainly.

"I think Emo and Colton are going to need us." Nick said quietly.

"Yeah. I'll call them." Jody said decisively.

* * * * *

"Hello?"

"Father Doherty? Is that you?"

"Yes. To whom am I speaking?"

"It's Jody, from the bus, yesterday."

"Oh, yes. It's wonderful to hear from you. How is Nick doing? Did you find your brothers?"

"Yeah. Nick's fine, JD's fine. Everything's great."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that."

"I just called because I wanted to know how Emo and Colton are doing."

"They're both doing very well."

"Okay. Yesterday it seemed like Emo might need some help and me and Nick wanted to be sure that Emo wasn't, like, stuck or something."

"Well, as a matter of fact, some things got settled last night and it was decided that Colton is going to continue to stay with us. So, this morning, Emo was rather concerned that he only has the contents of Colton's diaper bag to care for him."

"Yeah. I guess you need a lot of stuff to take care of babies."

"We were planning to go over to the Brown's house after breakfast to ask if they might be willing to assist us in finding the supplies that Emo and Colton will be needing."

"We could help you with that, if you want. I know that Nick would want to help."

"If you would like to meet us over there, we'll get whatever advice that they have to offer, then you could accompany us."

"Yeah! That sounds great. The guy we're staying with works for Mr. Brown, so he'll know just where we need to go!"

"We'll be sure to wait there for you, if we arrive before you."

"Thanks for letting us help, Father Doherty."

"Thank you for offering to help."

"Goodbye."

* * * * *

"It's seemed like you've been busy since you got here. What do you do?" Ben asked Walt curiously.

"Security." Walt said simply, letting it be known with his curt response that he didn't want to elaborate.

Ben nodded, then said, "I've been helping Carson, down in his command center."

"I'm curious to know what you're doing in there. It seems inconceivable that a group of children and young adults could actually be coordinating such a massive relief effort." Walt said cautiously.

Ben chuckled as he said, "Yeah. I know. And even though I'm one of the oldest ones in there, I feel like I'm probably the most inept one in the group."

"You're there because Carson trusts your instincts. You belong there." Dax said firmly.

"Thanks, Dax. I guess you're right. It just seems that with Carson and Bug being so brilliant when it comes to the computer stuff, that I'm kind of a dim bulb." Ben said honestly.

"Your smarts don't come from knowing how to make a computer do stuff. You look at things and predict what's going to happen next. Then you prepare for it." Dax said seriously.

"You're right, Dax. My job is important, too." Ben said with an appreciative smile at him.

Walt had been quietly listening to the exchange, but he finally said, "You may be the guy that I need to talk to about something that's been bothering me."

"What's that? I'll help however I can." Ben said as he turned his full attention to Walt.

"Well, I've just been looking at things, trying to see just how many ways things could go wrong. While I was doing that, it occurred to me that we might have one, fairly obvious, weak point." Walt said slowly.

"Actually, we've got a few. But so far as I know, we have everything covered or contingency plans if something goes wrong." Ben said seriously.

"Just think about it. All the food for the entire refugee effort is being coordinated through one warehouse. If someone really wanted to throw a wrench into our works, that'd be a really tempting target." Walt said thoughtfully.

"Are you talking about sabotage?" Ben asked slowly.

Walt nodded grimly.

After a moment of thought, Ben carefully said, "Even though we've got volunteers to spare, I think that something like this should be handled by the professionals."

Walt soberly nodded his agreement.

"I don't know if you know this, but not too long ago we were contacted directly by President Bryce. He told us that if we needed some help, that we could ask the Fairchild Air Force Base. I think maybe it's time we took him up on his offer." Ben said thoughtfully.

"Some of their Security Police could probably do the job fairly well. They're good." Walt agreed.

"Yeah. And I'll let the other people in the command center know what's going on." Ben said seriously.

"Right. But keep it to your inner circle. The less people know, the more effective the security measures." Walt said professionally.

"The only other person who might need to know would be Davis Gray, he's the warehouse supervisor." Ben said as he looked at Walt, seeking his confirmation.

"He's Roris' brother-in-law, too." Oleksandr interjected.

"That's right, Olex." Ben said with a smile at the boy.

Walt chuckled, then said, "When it crossed my mind that the warehouse might be vulnerable, I didn't know what kind of hoops I'd have to jump through to resolve the issue. Who would have thought that all I'd have to do is sit down to breakfast."

"Well, if anything else comes up, just let me know. If I can't fix it for you, I happen to know some absolutely brilliant people who probably can." Ben said seriously, then turned to Dax and Oleksandr and said, "Yes. I'm talking about you two."

Both boys smiled as Walt broke into chuckles again.

* * * * *

"Dad, I don't know if you've thought about this, but if things keep going the way they look like they're going, pretty soon United States currency might not be worth the paper it's printed on." Carson said seriously.

"Well, I don't think we're quite to that point, yet. But if it helps you to know, I haven't had my money in United States currency since before you were born." Ryan said seriously.

"Offshore accounts?" Carson guessed.

"No. Most of it's invested. Money that's sitting there, doing nothing, has no real value. Unfortunately, the most promising investments are international. Although, there have been some recent advances here in the states that might make me consider bringing some of my money back home." Ryan said frankly.

"Well, that's really good to know. But the real reason that I was asking was because that if the dollar crashes, the people who are coming to us for help are going to be destitute... all of them. It's bad enough that they're going to be fleeing their homes. But when they find out that their life savings have been wiped out, I don't know how we're going to handle it." Carson said honestly.

"I have some friends that are working on that. I can't really say more at this point except to ask you to trust me. When anyone arrives in Kettle Falls with United States currency, we'll continue to honor it." Ryan said seriously.

"But how? If the dollar becomes worthless, how can we do that?" Carson asked curiously.

"The dollar only has any value because it's guaranteed by the United States government. Locally, the dollar will be guaranteed by me... well, me and a few of my business partners." Ryan said honestly.

"If you'll all excuse me, I have to get to the hospital." Dr. Murten said as he stood, breaking the contemplative mood that had fallen over the room.

"Of course, have a good day, Dad." Deb said as she walked to her father and gave him a quick hug.

"A long day is more like it." Dr. Murten said as he returned his daughter's hug.

"If you're going to the hospital, can we go with you? We need to get into town and get to work." Tommy asked quickly.

"Sure. Grab a gator and you guys can follow me." Dr. Murten said as he walked to his wife and also gave her a kiss.

"Come on, Jared. Do you still want to help me before you and your dad get to work?" Tommy asked quickly.

"Yeah." Jared said as he stood, then he turned and said, "I'll see you later, Car."

"Ryan, if you've got a few minutes, there are a few things that I'd like to discuss with you before I head into town." Karl said seriously.

"Yes. I'll be finished here in a minute or two." Ryan agreed.

"Good, then I'll have time for another cup of coffee." Karl said with a smile.

* * * * *

"You guys remember Hank and Jeremy from the plane don't you?" Bug asked Max, Bax and Ro as they started eating.

Bax glanced up from his food for a moment before going back to eating.

"Were you the pilots or something?" Max asked between bites of food.

Jeremy turned to Bug and chuckled as he said, "It's no fair asking them questions while they're eating."

"I guess not." Bug said with a smile, then turned to the hungry trio and said, "These are the guys who brought you your popcorn and hot dogs on the plane."

"You guys are awesome." Ro said quickly.

Ken and Kev both smiled at the reaction.

"Works for me." Jeremy said fondly.

"So, have you guys thought about what you'd like to do?" Bug asked Hank and Jeremy curiously.

"Like how?" Hank asked in confusion.

"Well, we've got thousands of people coming to Kettle Falls, scared and hungry, not knowing what to do next. People all over the place are helping out. I just thought you guys might want to join in." Bug said frankly.

"I don't know what we could do." Jeremy said thoughtfully.

"I know what you mean. As nice as it is here, I can't help but feel that while everyone else is working hard, I'm not doing anything to contribute. This morning I was thinking about what I might be able to do to help out." Oma Shoupe said seriously.

"That's wonderful, Oma! I saw how you've been with the kids. What would you think about helping out at the school? That's where we're telling people that they can take their kids while they're doing other stuff." Bug explained happily.

"Yes. Being around the children..." Oma Shoupe started, then smiled at the Gophers before she continued, "...has reminded me how much I've been missing in the past few years. As far as I'm concerned, this is settled. I suppose that all I'm going to need is a ride into town."

"We can drive you into town! You can go with us!" Max said happily.

"Is that alright with you, Oma?" Bug asked cautiously.

"If they'll agree to slow down and be careful with me. Although I'm feeling much better, I don't know if I'm up to trekking across the wilderness at high speeds." Oma Shoupe said frankly.

"We'll go slow. I promise." Bax said earnestly as he hopped up out of his chair.

"Are you done with your breakfast already? I thought you were hungry." Bug said quickly, trying to keep a straight face.

All three Gophers were out of their chairs by the time Bug's words had registered.

As one, they turned and hurried back to their seats.

"Jeremy, if you would like, I have a suggestion of how you might be able to help out." Roris said helpfully.

"Sure. We'd really like to help, I just don't know what we can do." Jeremy said frankly.

"I don't know either. But I'm thinking that Lucas might. He's in charge of keeping people from wallowing in their troubles. I think that if you get with him, he might be able to use your help." Roris said frankly.

"Lucas is great. I didn't know he was helping out, too." Jeremy said happily.

"Yes. And since he only just started helping yesterday, he'll probably be glad to put you to work." Roris said honestly.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get my purse and my coat." Oma Shoupe said as she got up from the table.

All three Gophers hurried to wolf down their last few bites of food.

"Bax, before you go, could I talk to you for a minute?" Bug asked as he stood.

"Did I do something wrong?" Bax asked suddenly.

Bug smiled at the question and responded, "No. Just come with me."

* * * * *

Bax's enthusiasm was clearly a thing of the past by the time he meandered to join Bug in the bedroom.

"Am I in trouble?" Bax asked cautiously.

"No. You're not in trouble at all." Bug said as he stepped forward and pulled Bax into a hug.

Bax accepted the hug, but didn't seem to be sure.

"I just wanted to take a minute to see how you're doing." Bug said gently.

"I'm fine." Bax said automatically.

"That's good." Bug said quietly, then continued, "If you ever need me for anything, you know you can call me, right?"

"Yeah. You gave us radios." Bax answered as he continued the hug.

"That's not what I mean. I just wanted to be sure that you know that if you need me, I'll have time. I mean, yeah, I'm busy with stuff. But I don't want you to feel like I'm too busy to listen if you need to talk or anything." Bug said sincerely.

"I don't think anybody ever said that to me before. I mean, that they had time for me." Bax said quietly.

"Yeah. Well, some people just ain't got their shit straight." Bug said frankly.

"I love you, Bug." Bax said as he tightened his hug.

"Yeah. I love you, too, Bax." Bug said warmly, then added, "Now you'd better get out there before the other Gophers take off without you."

"Okay." Bax said as he released his hug and tried to discreetly wipe the tears from his eyes.

"And you be sure to go nice and slow with Oma Shoupe." Bug warned.

"I promise that we won't scare her." Bax said earnestly.

"You'd better not. She may be a sweet little old grandmother, but if you piss her off, she'll rip you a new asshole." Bug warned seriously.

Bax looked at Bug with wide eyes of surprise for a moment, then quietly said, "I'll remember that."

* * * * *

As the boys were finishing their larger than average cinnamon rolls, Danny, the younger, asked, "Would you guys like to go upstairs and hang out with us?"

It took a moment for Art and Euan to realize that Danny was talking to them. It was Euan who finally said, "Thank you for inviting us, but we have a lot of people depending on us to help them."

"What are you doing?" Danny asked curiously.

Euan could see that all the boys (and most of the adults) were interested in his answer. "Art and I were at a rescue mission in Chicago. The priest who ran the mission received a warning that some danger was coming and that he and his people should relocate to someplace safe. He gathered those of us who were at the mission and we started travelling west. As we travelled, more and more people started joining us. When that happened, Father Doherty asked Art and me if we would help him by talking to the others on the CB radio. By the time we arrived here, there were around five hundred vehicles in our convoy. Since Art and I were in contact with so many people on the trip here, it seems only right that we continue to help those people until we're sure that they've all found food and shelter and whatever else they might need."

"Wow. Who would have thought that a couple shelter kids from Chicago could do something like that?" Danny, the elder, said in honest amazement.

"All it takes is being willing to help out." Euan said simply.

"I think that if you have been sharing that philosophy with the members of your convoy, I can understand why they would want for you to continue your work." Eric said with an admiring smile at the boys.

"If you'll excuse us, I believe that it is time for us to return to our work." Art interjected.

"Yes. If you will all please excuse us, there are people depending on us." Euan said as he stood.

"Please let us know if there's any way we can be of help to you." Eric said quickly, as the boys walked away.

"We will. Thank you." Euan said before going through the door.

* * * * *

Seth and Carson were approaching the bedroom door just as Art and Euan arrived.

"Good morning. Did you two sleep well?" Carson asked pleasantly as he led the way.

"Yes. After sleeping on the bus, it was nice to sleep in a real bed again." Euan answered happily.

"Good. Well, I don't remember if I told you last night, but the people camped out on the front lawn have been watching over things for us while we've been sleeping. So when you sign on, you should get a report about anything that came up and how they handled it. If it was something that could be put off, then they would have left it for you to decide what is best to do." Carson said as he went directly to his computer alcove and docked his chair.

"Thank you. I felt a bit neglectful, leaving last night before everyone had been settled." Art admitted quietly as he took a seat in front of the computer he was using.

"Yeah. Me too. But we can't be everywhere at once and we can't do it all ourselves. It's tough, but that's the way it is." Carson explained as his screens all came to life.

"Good morning, guys... why don't we ever have any girls in here, anyway?" Ben asked playfully as he walked into the room with Oleksandr on his hip and Dax following a step behind.

"As soon as a girl shows up with the skills we need, we'll make her part of the team. I promise." Carson said absently as he read through his screens.

"If one shows up, I'm going to remind you of that." Ben said as he let Oleksandr down, then took his seat.

"After I've looked over stuff here and got caught up, I really need to get into town." Dax said quietly.

"I'll split the screen, just like yesterday. Just let me know when you need to 'page'." Ben said as he opened another window.

"And I'm going to need to get some of those subvocal things for the people my father sent." Dax said in nearly a whisper.

"Good idea. If they're here to help you, they need to be able to contact you." Ben said cheerily, then turned toward Carson and asked, "Where'd you put the radios last night?"

"They're over by the bathroom door. Help yourself." Carson said without looking away from his screens.

"Carson! I got adopted last night!" Oleksandr exclaimed happily, without warning.

"I know, I was there. I saw you." Carson said as he glanced away from his monitors for an instant.

"How does it feel, having a new dad?" Seth asked with a smile at the boy.

"It's the best. None of the other parents that I had wanted to keep me. But Ben does. I know he does." Oleksandr said with certainty.

"Hold on, Oleksandr. Come over here. It looks like I've got something here that might interest you." Carson said with a smile.

Oleksandr momentarily left Ben's side to see what Carson had found.

"Hello, Olex. I didn't expect to see you this morning." Alvin said from one of Carson's screens.

"You asked me to call you, and since Oleksandr was here, I thought you two might enjoy the chance to talk." Carson said with a grand smile.

"I got adopted last night. Ben adopted me!" Oleksandr said joyfully.

"That's great news! Fantastic!" Alvin said happily.

"I wish you coulda been here. But Ben says that we're going to have the 'real' adoption when the judge says that we can. Maybe you can be here for that?" Oleksandr asked hopefully.

"Just let me know where and when and I'll move heaven and earth to be there." Alvin said warmly.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to send you a picture, like you wanted. But I got yours. It's really great!" Oleksandr finished with a grin.

"Is Ben there with you?" Alvin asked curiously.

"Yeah. He's over at his computer." Oleksandr said as he looked to be sure that Ben was still there.

"Then why don't you get him to stand beside you, then I can do a screen cap and have the picture that I wanted?" Alvin asked hopefully.

"Yeah! Ben! Come over here!" Oleksandr called out, then hurriedly added, "You, too, Dax!"

Dax had been watching and listening. It warmed his heart beyond words that Oleksandr had thought to include him.

"Okay, guys. Just hold still for a second. I don't want this to be blurry." Alvin said in concentration, then smiled as he continued, "I got it. The perfect picture."

"Thanks, Alvin. I wish you was here." Oleksandr said honestly.

"I know, Olex. I wish that, too. But I'm needed here, just like you're needed there. We'll be together again as soon as we can. I promise, I'm not going to pass up any chance to visit Kettle Falls." Alvin said frankly.

"He spends half his time trying to figure out if there's something you guys absolutely need, so he can be the one to bring it to you." Simon said as he poked his head into view on the screen.

"I do not." Alvin said to his brother.

"It's true! I swear!" Simon exclaimed before Alvin playfully pushed him off the screen.

"I'm sorry, Olex, but I need to talk to Carson for a few minutes. It's geek stuff." Alvin said apologetically.

"That's okay. I need to help Ben, anyway." Oleksandr said, as he fought to keep a smile on his face.

"Yeah. We'd better get back to work." Ben said as he put an arm around Oleksandr's shoulder and guided him to walk away.

"I'd better be going. I got the subvocals." Dax said as he started walking toward the door.

"Have a good day, and remember to call us if you need anything at all." Ben said seriously.

"Yeah. I will. Thanks, Ben." Dax said with a smile before withdrawing from the room.

* * * * *

"Good morning. I was told that you were asking for me." Dr. Murten said as he entered the hospital room.

"Jake's hands started trembling again. Can you give him another one of those pills?" Zane asked him hopefully.

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I can. Now that we know how long a single dose of the beta blocker is effective on you, I can give you a prescription so that you can take one every morning. After a week, I'll adjust the dosage and we'll see how that goes." Dr. Murten said frankly.

"That sounds great. I already feel better than I have in years. All those AIDS drugs really messed with me."

"You're very fortunate. Many people would be going through withdrawal, having been on so many medications. It was just good luck that none of the drugs that you were taking were addictive." Dr. Murten said honestly.

"Yeah. I feel great!" Brother Jacques said happily, but his smile fell away when he focused on Zane, laying in the bed.

"Zane's going to be fine. In fact, it's very likely that I may be sending him home today. That is, if you'll promise to help him." Dr. Murten said with a restrained smile.

"Of course! I'll do anything. Just tell me what I can do." Brother Jacques hurried to say.

"Let me explain. With all the refugees showing up in Kettle Falls, the hospital is becoming quite busy. If it weren't for that, I'd probably keep Zane here for another day or two. But if you'd be willing to stay with Zane and take care of him, I think I could release him to home care. That will free a bed here for someone who needs it. At the same time, I believe that both you and Zane will be more comfortable at home." Dr. Murten said with a smile.

"That sounds great! When can we do it?" Brother Jacques asked hopefully.

"Give me some time to get Carson's old hospital bed moved into your room and for me to arrange for one of the nurses to stop by and check on you. Once that's all settled, I'll arrange for an ambulance to transport you to the house. Zane still isn't in any condition to be riding a gator." Dr. Murten finished with a grin.

"Thank you, Doctor. Thank you for everything." Brother Jacques said sincerely.

"You're very welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment, I'm going to get your prescription so you can start on your treatment." Dr. Murten said before hurrying out of the room.

"I'll take good care of you. I promise." Brother Jacques said quietly as he took hold of Zane's hand.

"I don't know why you love me." Zane said as he squeezed the hand in his.

Brother Jacques laughed, then said, "I don't know either. But I do. I really do."

"Me too."

* * * * *

"I'm sorry we're late. Lucas and Gordon did this really big, fancy breakfast and we couldn't get away any faster." Jay hurried to explain as he and Lazlo rushed into the bedroom.

"We've only been here a few minutes. It's fine." Carson said warmly.

Jay moved automatically to Carson's side and gave him a firm hug.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Lazlo asked as he looked around.

"Sure. I know that Lucas has some stuff going on if you'd like to work with him. You could also check with Roris and Lawrence when they get here, I bet they could use another pair of hands. And if you can catch up to him, you might even be able to help Dax." Carson said pleasantly as he returned Jay's hug with one arm.

"Yeah. If you want me to. I just thought from what Jay was saying that maybe there's something I could do... you know, to really help people." Lazlo said cautiously.

"Did you have something in mind?" Carson asked as he looked up at Jay.

"Sort of. I was thinking that if Lazlo was in town, that he could tell us what he's seeing. That way we could make adjustments and figure out what kind of things people are needing that we didn't think of." Jay said timidly.

"I don't know why I didn't think of that. That's a great idea." Carson said happily.

"You want me to go... all by myself?" Lazlo asked cautiously.

"No. Not by yourself. I found out last night that anyone from the command center that goes into town is going to have an escort. It's a security thing. All I have to do is call Courtney and she'll send someone in to go with you." Carson said with a smile, then moved away from Jay enough to type something quickly on his keyboard.

"And you want me to walk around and tell you what I see?" Lazlo asked to verify.

"Walk around and talk to people, find out how they're doing and if they need anything. Do you still have your subvocal?" Carson asked curiously.

"Yeah. I put it back on, first thing this morning." Lazlo said happily.

"Then, you talk to people and if you find out that they need help, you can call and tell us and we'll tell you how to help them. And if you end up finding something that we haven't thought of, we'll all brainstorm and find a way to help your people." Carson said frankly.

"Did someone need an escort into town?" A girl asked as she walked into the room.

"Yes. I'm sorry, I don't remember your name." Carson said timidly.

"I'm Christina. I didn't expect you to remember." She said with a smile.

"That's good." Carson laughed, then continued, "Christina, this is Lazlo. He's going into town to do some reconnaissance for us. Do you have time to go with him?"

"That's what I'm here to do." Christina responded with a smile.

"Thank you." Lazlo said timidly, then looked to Jay and Carson inquisitively.

"All that's left is for you to grab your coat and go. Call us if you need anything." Carson said happily.

Jay stepped forward and pulled Lazlo into a hug as he quietly said, "I know that you're going to help lots and lots of people. Remember that you can call me if you need anything at all."

"Yeah. Thanks." Lazlo said as he returned the hug.

* * * * *

The air was cold and Father Doherty was concerned that it might be too cold for Colton, until he looked over and saw the way that Emo had Colton bundled and held close to his chest.

When he turned his attention forward again, he very nearly wrecked the gator when he saw another gator approaching from the side and coming straight for them.

"Father Doherty!" The front seat passenger called out as he waved.

Although he didn't know the driver, the passenger was a welcome sight. "Jody!"

"This is Nick's brother, Jorry!" Jody called out as they pulled alongside him and matched his speed.

"Nice to meet you!" Father Doherty called in return, then he noticed Nick sitting in the back seat.

"How far is it?!" Jody screamed to be heard.

"Just up ahead!" Father Doherty replied just as the Brown's house came into view.

Chapter 32: Dancing in the Streets

"There's a door right there. Why do we have to walk around?" Jorry asked curiously.

"Because we're uninvited guests and we're coming here to ask them a favor. There's no way to know which customs and courtesies the Browns recognize as most important, so we need to be on our best behavior." Father Doherty explained calmly as they walked.

"Yeah. I guess." Jorry grudgingly agreed.

"How's Colton?" Jody asked Emo quietly.

"He's happy as he can be, all curled up in his blankets." Emo said with a tender smile.

"Well, if he's not happy for some reason, you let me or Nick know. That's why we're here, to help you." Jody said firmly.

"Thanks, guys. I really appreciate that." Emo said sincerely.

* * * * *

As he approached a lit up sign, he saw the message change to say, "Approaching driver, change to CB channel 17 or dial 1117."

"I am addressing the vehicle approaching Washington mile marker number seven, this is the first checkpoint on this route to Kettle Falls. There is some basic information that we would like to pass on to you so that we can streamline the registration process. Would you please identify your driver and vehicle?" A man's voice said over the CB radio.

"I'm Martel Fleming and I'm in a 1973 Bluebird. I mean, Pontiac Firebird that's blue." Martel said anxiously.

"It's nice to meet you, Martel, my name's Justin. Wow. That sounds like a sweet ride! I can't wait to see it! Now tell me, how many passengers do you have?" Justin asked pleasantly

"None. It's just me." Martel said nervously.

"Do you have any medical issues or anything that we can help you with?" Justin asked professionally.

"No. I'm fine. Just looking for a place to stay." Martel said honestly.

"Oh, well, let me tell you upfront that we're asking most people who are arriving alone to park their cars here and bus in to Kettle Falls. But since you've got such a sweet ride, let me see if I can clear you to drive all the way in." Justin said cheerfully.

"If I have to leave the Bluebird, is she going to be okay?" Martel asked cautiously.

"Sure. We've got monster parking lots all over the place... well, actually they're fields, but they work the same. There's security wandering around, checking on all the cars, so no one's going to mess with her." Justin said seriously.

"Thanks, Justin. And you can call me Marty if you want. This car is just about all I've got left. I guess that I should just be grateful. I'm lucky to still be alive."

"Where are you from, Marty?"

"Kansas City. It was my day off and I took the Bluebird to the shop for an oil change when we heard everything blow up." Marty said darkly, then quietly added, "My home, my work, everything is gone."

"If you end up leaving the Bluebird with us, we'll keep a close eye on her and when you're ready to move on, you can bus back down and pick her up. But if we let everyone who drove in here take their vehicles with them, Kettle Falls would be a traffic nightmare." Justin said frankly.

"I guess I'll do it... If I have to." Marty said in a conflicted tone.

"It says here that you used to work as a security officer in Mesa, Arizona. Is that right?" Justin asked curiously.

"Yeah. For a couple years. How did you know that?"

"We've got access to a monster database that helps us to register people. I tell you what, if you really don't want to leave the Bluebird with us, how about you consider stopping in at the checkpoint and helping us out with security? Since you obviously know that a car can be a whole lot more than a means of transportation, maybe you could help us keep other people's cars safe." Justin suggested carefully.

"I don't have much money. I'd have to find a place to live and be able to buy food." Marty said hesitantly.

"You won't have to worry about that. We're pretty much a barter economy around here, now. If you perform an important job, you get paid with room and board. I guess if you want something like a new computer, for your own personal use, then you might have to come up with some cash. But as far as the necessities of life, we'll see that you're taken care of." Justin said seriously.

"Well, if you really have a job for me, then 'yes'. I'd like to stay." Marty said excitedly.

"We have plenty of jobs. And keep in mind that this is all volunteer. If you have some family or friends show up and you need to move on, it won't be a problem." Justin assured him.

"No. I really don't have anybody." Marty reluctantly admitted.

"Then stop at the checkpoint and we'll make you part of the family."

* * * * *

"Shit!" Carson exclaimed as he slammed his hands on his keyboard tray.

"What's wrong?" Jay asked immediately.

"All this time I always thought Canadians were such nice people. But these guys are total dicks!" Carson ranted.

"Not all of us are that way." Euan said from across the room.

"Oh, you're Canadian?" Carson asked cautiously.

Euan nodded.

"Well, I guess it's Canadian politicians that are dicks." Carson said carefully.

"I can accept that." Euan said with a smile, then turned back to his computer.

Carson grudgingly typed a command on his computer, then waited.

Although it took only a few seconds for the video to connect, Carson felt his irritation rising during that time.

"Young Mr. Brown. How can we be of service to you today?" General Adams asked diplomatically.

"I need to speak to the Vice President." Carson said firmly.

"I'm afraid he's otherwise occupied at the moment. Maybe it's something I can help with." General Adams said simply.

Carson despised the insincere courtesy that General Adams was using and felt his temper rise another notch.

"I just got a report that the negotiations to open the Canadian border have been put on hold. I don't know if you understand just how important this is. I've got tens of thousands of people heading this way. Kettle Falls and Colville are filling up. My food supplier has just informed me that he's stopped receiving any shipments. All I need to make all of this work is one simple thing, and that's for us to have a place for all these people to go." Carson said in an escalating voice that ended in nearly a scream.

"This is a sensitive political matter that must be handled very delicately..." General Adams began to say, but was interrupted.

"Sensitive? Let's see how sensitive you are when we have people starving and dying, packed in so tight that they don't have room to fall over dead! Tens of thousands of people... are coming here... right now... what part of that aren't you getting?" Carson exploded.

"What's the problem?" A voice said from behind General Adams, then Eric walked into view.

"Eric, I need Mike to get the Canadian border open. We're running out of time." Carson implored him to understand.

"Hang on for just a second. I'll go wake him up." Eric said seriously.

As Carson stared at General Adams, who was staring right back at him, he began to feel bad about losing his temper.

Finally, Carson grudgingly said, "All these people are counting on me. They're trusting me to coordinate this whole mess and keep them safe. I know it isn't your fault, but the bottleneck at the Canadian border could really cause this entire thing to fail."

"We're doing our best." General Adams said simply.

"What is it, Carson?" Mike asked as he hurried into view.

His disheveled clothes and mussed hair gave evidence that he had indeed been sleeping.

"They suspended negotiations on opening the Canadian border. So basically, we're screwed." Carson said frankly.

"I don't know if it will help, but I can call Jack and see if he has any strings that he hasn't pulled yet." Mike said thoughtfully.

"I don't believe that will be necessary." Art said as he walked up behind Carson.

"Arthur?" Mike asked in wide-eyed wonder.

"Yes. He's one of the boys who arrived with that convoy from Chicago." Eric said quietly.

Mike stared at Art's image on the screen for a moment, then broke into laughter.

"What is it?" Eric asked in confusion.

General Adams was silent, but seemed no less confused.

"Gentlemen, may I introduce, His Royal Highness, King Arthur James George Edward Windsor, King of the British Commonwealth." Mike said very properly.

"Thank you, Mr. Vice President." Art said formally.

"It's my pleasure, Your Highness." Mike said sincerely.

"Do you think it might be possible for me to join you upstairs, so that we may speak to those who have been frustrating Carson's efforts?" Art asked calmly.

"It would be my absolute pleasure to set up a video conference for you." Mike said with a delighted smile.

Art smiled as he gave a single nod of affirmation.

When the video stream stopped, Art turned to find everyone in the command center staring at him.

"Um... yeah. He's the King of England. Did we forget to mention that?" Euan asked quietly, trying to minimize the impact.

"Fuck! I'm glad I was nice to him." Bug said frankly.

Art turned to Bug and smiled before saying, "My title demands a certain level of respect, but you gave me respect for the person I am. Rest assured, I will always remember you, Bug."

"Would you like to borrow some nicer clothes before you go upstairs?" Carson asked cautiously.

Art considered for a moment, then said, "I believe that presenting myself as I am, will lend to the veracity of the story of how I came to be here. But, if your offer remains open, I may choose to change after my conference."

"Well, Mr. Crante keeps us stocked up on tons of formal clothes that we hardly ever get to wear. So you should have lots to choose from, and if mine don't fit you, I bet Tommy's will." Carson said seriously.

"I fear that now that I have revealed who I am, that I may not be able to return. That being the case, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for accepting and including me in your efforts to help the refugees." Art said as he looked around the room.

"If you ever need us, you know where to find us." Ben said frankly.

"Thank you, Ben. And if you and Oleksandr ever find yourselves in England, do be sure to stop in for a bit." Art said with a smile at them.

"Yeah. Next time we're there we'll look you up. I promise." Ben said with a smile.

Art then looked to Euan inquiringly and received a nod that he was ready to go.

"Goodbye, my friends." Art said before exiting the room.

* * * * *

"Good morning, gentlemen. Please excuse me for not coming out and meeting you, but I have some work that requires my immediate attention." Deb said from behind her desk.

"That's quite alright. We'll try not to take up too much of your time. In short, we came to ask if you could direct us to someone who might be able to help us in gathering baby supplies for Colton. We only have the contents of his diaper bag to try and care for him." Father Doherty said simply.

"I can't believe that I didn't think of that. There's one person that I can think of who would be uniquely suited to help you, give me a moment to see if she's available." Deb said as she picked up her phone.

"Thank you. We wouldn't ask if it weren't an immediate need." Father Doherty said quietly.

Deb nodded that she had heard, then said into the phone, "Shar? It's Deb. We've had some people arrive with a newborn and they don't have any baby supplies at all. Would you have time to help them?"

Everyone watched and waited for Deb to receive the answer.

"Of course she can come along! The baby is here with his own personal entourage. I'm sure she'll fit right in with them." Deb said happily, then looked at Father Doherty and gave a thumbs up.

"They'll be waiting for you to arrive. And Hobie's in Carson's room if you'd like to stop in to say 'hi' to him." Deb said pleasantly.

"I'll see you then. Goodbye." Deb said with a smile, then looked to Father Doherty and said, "Sharlette will be right over. She'll be bringing her daughter, Laticia."

"Thank you." Father Doherty said sincerely.

"Have you had breakfast?" Deb asked curiously.

"Yes. At least Emo and I have." Father Doherty said, then looked at Jorry, Jody and Nick.

"Yes. We had a really good breakfast at Mr. Thompson's house." Jody said for all of them.

"Allen Thompson?" Deb asked with a smile.

"Yes. We're staying with him until our dads arrive." Jody answered.

"I think that's great! I really like Allen. He seems like a genuinely good person." Deb said warmly.

"Yeah. He's great." Jody agreed.

"Would I have time to stop in and visit with the children while I'm here?" Father Doherty asked hopefully.

"Yes. You should have at least ten minutes before Sharlette arrives." Deb said pleasantly.

"Thank you again for your time and for your help." Father Doherty said gratefully before leading the boys out of her office.

* * * * *

As she approached a lit up sign, she saw the message change to say, "Approaching driver, change to CB channel 20 or dial 1120."

She quickly dialed her cell phone and listened as a female voice said, "Hello? I'm talking to the vehicle approaching Washington mile marker number one twenty four, this is checkpoint seventeen and it's the first checkpoint to Kettle Falls on this route. There is some information that we would like to pass on to you so that we can streamline the registration process. Would you please identify your driver and vehicle?"

"I'm Sarah Strong and I'm driving a mustard yellow 1987 Yugo." She said quietly.

"Thank you, Sarah. Give me just a moment."

Sarah continued to drive, hoping to find safety and security ahead.

"Thank you for waiting, Sarah. Tell me, are you from Marysville, California?"

"Yes, what's left of it. How did you know that?" Sarah asked in surprise.

"Computers. Do you have any passengers with you?"

"Just my dogs, Rufus and Ichabod."

"Thank you. I'd like to verify my information. Are you an LVN, specialized in elder care?"

"Yes. I'm amazed that you know so much about me." Sarah said honestly.

"It's all part of trying to help people as quickly and efficiently as possible. Tell me, are you interested in stopping in Kettle Falls, or do you have plans to move on from there?"

"Actually, I don't have any plans at all. I'm just trying to find someplace where there's food and a house that isn't going to crumble to dust if I slam the front door." Sarah said honestly.

"As you can imagine with all that's going on, we're in need of medical professionals in Kettle Falls. If you'd be willing to help out, you'll be provided with food and shelter in exchange for helping out at our local hospital."

"That sounds great! I didn't have any idea how I was going to survive with only the few things I was able to scavenge from what was left of my house. I guess I should just be grateful that I thought to let the dogs out before I went to work."

"When you get to the checkpoint, just tell them your name. Of course, you can stop for gas or food if you need to, but you won't need to wait at the roadblock. You're already cleared in the system. As soon as you arrive in Kettle Falls, you can ask anyone wearing a volunteer sash and they'll be able to direct you to where you'll be living. They can also direct you to the hospital as soon as you're ready to start helping out."

"So, there won't be any problem with my dogs?" Sarah asked to be sure.

"No. In fact, I made sure to schedule you for a house that's close to a dog park, so you can take Rufus and Ichabod for walks whenever they need it."

"That sounds wonderful!" Sarah said happily.

"I'm glad you think so. But I should warn you, that since you're going to be housed in an actual house, you may be asked to share your house with someone else. We're expecting the living spaces to be filling up, so we have to utilize them as effectively as possible."

"That shouldn't be a problem, as long as they don't mind Rufus and Ichabod." Sarah said seriously.

"Must love dogs. Got it. And we'll do our best to see that your roomed with another medical professional. It helps to share a space with someone who's sympathetic to what you're going through."

"That really sounds great. I can hardly wait." Sarah said with a smile.

"Then I guess all that's left is to officially welcome you to Kettle Falls. I hope that everything works out for you."

"Thank you. I was really nervous about all this, but now I'm looking forward to it." Sarah said peacefully.

"Things are likely to get tough, but with all of us pulling together, I think we'll get through it just fine."

* * * * *

"Hey, Dad. Is this a good time?" Dax asked cautiously.

"Yes. I'm between meetings right now, so it's a perfect time. How are you doing, Dax?" Alex asked his son gently.

"I'm great. I just wanted to let you know that the people you sent are here. Well, not at the moment, but they met with me last night and asked me if I really wanted to do this. I wanted to call and tell you that I'm going to do it." Dax said seriously.

"I thought you would. I'm proud of you, Dax." Alex said happily.

"Yeah. Well, if it was just me, I'd say I couldn't do it. But as long as I've got you, Ben and Olex there to help me, I think I'll be okay." Dax said contentedly.

"Olex? Who's that?" Alex asked curiously.

Dax smiled at the question, then said, "Oleksandr was at the mission shelter when I first arrived there. After that, he was sent to a foster home. Right before we left to come here, Oleksandr showed up at the mission. His new foster father had beaten and raped him, and somehow he found his way back to us."

"Did you call the police?" Alex asked carefully.

"No. Things were really crazy right then. We were afraid that if we didn't leave right away, we might not have been able to get out at all." Dax said frankly.

"That probably would have gotten sticky. Good thinking, Dax." Alex said honestly.

"Yeah. But don't worry about Olex, between me and Ben, we're taking really good care of him. It's funny, I always wondered what it would be like to have brothers. I imagine that this is what it must be like." Dax said earnestly.

"It sounds like you've found some good people to claim as your family. Just keep in mind that if any of you needs anything, you can contact me. There may not be much I can do at this distance, but I'm not completely without means." Alex said honestly.

"Yeah. I'll remember." Dax said quietly, then quickly added, "I see Jingo, so I'd better get to work."

"I'm right here if you have any questions or if I can help you somehow." Alex said gently.

"I know, Dad. And I'm right here, ready to help, if there's anything I can do for you." Dax said sincerely.

"Jingo and Trav will help get things settled in regards to our people. And I have someone else on the way to help you with the day to day operations." Alex said frankly.

"Who?" Dax asked curiously.

"His name is Reuben, I don't think you've met him. He'll explain his role in things when he gets there." Alex said simply, then quietly added, "I have to go, I have a meeting about to start."

"Yeah. I've got to talk to Jingo so we can get started." Dax said regretfully, then quietly added, "Bye."

"I love you, Dakota. Goodbye."

* * * * *

The automated road sign lit up with the message, "Approaching driver, change to CB channel 1 or dial 1101."

"Does anyone have a phone?"

"Yeah. Hang on. Mine's in my messenger bag."

"Anyone else? We'll be there before Arlan can dig it out of his purse."

"Yeah. I've got it, what was the number?"

"1101."

"I am addressing the vehicle approaching Washington mile marker number two, this is the first checkpoint on this route to Kettle Falls. There is some basic information that we would like to pass on to you so that we can streamline the registration process. Would you please identify your driver and vehicle?" A man's voice asked calmly.

"Yeah. Um... our driver is named Steven Long and we're in a silver Tundra... do you need to know the license plate number or something?"

"I don't know yet. Let me see if I can find any information by matching the driver's name and vehicle."

"Steven's just driving. The truck's in my name, that's Donald Marcus."

"Thank you, Donald. That should make things easier."

"Please call me Mal. Everyone does."

"Sure thing, Mal. Tell me, how many people are with you today?"

"There's four of us." Mal answered.

"Do you or anyone in your vehicle need any medical care or have any urgent problems?"

"No. We're all fine."

"Good. Good. Just a few more questions and your registration will be done. Kettle Falls is acting as a way station to help people rest, refuel and attend to whatever medical or mechanical needs they have before they move on."

"Move on to where?" Mal asked cautiously.

"Canada. I'm sorry I can't be more specific, but a lot of things are still being worked out."

"There are two of us who really can't leave the United States. Is that going to be a problem?"

"No, and just so you know, I'm a volunteer, we all are. We don't work for the Federal or state government. I don't know if this applies to you, but there's a way that I can sort of mask your identities in the computer. We'll get you registered and reserve a place for you, but if anyone searches for your names, they won't find a match."

"Yeah. It'd be great if you'd do that. Thank you." Mal said sincerely.

"Okay, that's done. Before I go on, are you planning to stay in Kettle Falls?"

"We don't have any real plans. All we really want is to find a place where we can lead normal lives." Mal said honestly.

"Well, then you may need to think about moving on. Kettle Falls doesn't need settlers, it needs workers to help a whole lot of scared people."

"I don't know what we could do to help anyone." Mal said regretfully.

"Listen, according to what I'm seeing here, your truck was registered in Orlando, is that right?"

"Yeah." Mal said cautiously.

"Then the first thing you need to do when you get to Kettle Falls is ask any volunteer to put you in touch with a guy named Bug. He's one of the organizers of all of this. But he's also from Orlando and asked that if anyone from Orlando needs help of any kind, that they should talk to him."

"What should we tell him?" Mal asked uncertainly.

"Tell him that you want to help. He'll probably know better than anyone what kind of help they're needing."

"Okay. Thanks. We'll do that." Mal said with the beginning of a smile.

"Okay, you're cleared. When you approach the roadblock, just have Steven tell them his name and they'll let you go on through."

"Thanks for going out of your way to help us." Mal said sincerely.

"Yeah. Well, my name's Devon and this is checkpoint four. You call me if you need help with anything."

"Thank you, Devon. I'll do that." Mal said sincerely.

* * * * *

"I can't thank you enough for helping us, Your Highness." Mike said gratefully.

"I'm simply glad that we were able to get the situation resolved." Art said quietly.

"You don't seem glad." Mike observed.

Art looked around to verify that only Eric an Euan could hear before he quietly said, "In revealing my true identity, I have essentially forsaken the people who I have been watching over since we left Chicago."

"How do you mean?" Mike asked curiously.

Art looked at Euan imploringly, silently asking him to explain.

"During our trip here, Art has been known to the convoy as 'Monarch'. People have come to depend on him to help and guide them." Euan carefully explained.

"But didn't you do all of that on the radio? You could still do that from here." Eric said hopefully.

Art slowly shook his head and said, "Now that my identity has been revealed, there is no way that I can devote my full concentration to the needs of the people. They deserve better than what I can possibly give."

"Do you think you might have the time to instruct someone to do it for you?" Eric asked thoughtfully.

"Did you have someone in mind?" Mike asked curiously at Eric's expression.

"What about the boys? I know they've got to be on the verge of cabin fever by now." Eric said honestly.

Art shook his head and said, "No disrespect intended, but I don't think a group of children could do what needs to be done."

"Maybe not, but we've also got a group of young men, heroes, from Anaheim, who've been spending a lot of time with the boys. I bet that if you asked, they'd be happy to help you out." Eric said seriously.

"Heroes, you say?" Art asked curiously.

"Yes. They saved the lives of the president's in-laws." Eric confirmed.

Art considered for a moment, then looked to Euan with question.

"Any help is better than no help." Euan offered simply.

"Very well. Now that my presence is known, my time here is no doubt short. We should begin." Art said decisively.

"If you'll come with me, Your Highness, the boys are right back here." Eric said respectfully.

Mike watched them go and enjoyed the feeling of relief that at least some things seemed to be working out.

* * * * *

"I need to speak to someone in charge." A scruffy looking man in his forties said as he walked into the checkpoint station.

"Please have a seat and we'll get to you as quickly as we can." A plump young woman said tiredly.

"Listen, I've got some important information that I've got to get to someone in charge." The man insisted loudly.

"Is there a problem, Mazzie?" An older woman asked as she stepped out of a hallway at the back.

"This gentleman needs to speak to someone in charge." Mazzie said simply, then turned her attention back to the person in front of her.

"How may I help you today?" The woman asked professionally.

"I need to talk to someone high up in charge." The man said urgently.

The woman guided him to an office, just a few feet away, then quietly said, "I'm Mrs. Wendt and I'm the highest authority you're going to find at this checkpoint."

"Okay, I'm really sorry to be so pushy, but this is important." The man said, then when he could tell that she was honestly paying attention, he continued, "I've been in prison for the past ten years. A couple days ago, they let me out and told me that I was supposed to come here and get a job, then figure out some way to make things go really wrong for you people."

"I can see why you're so intent on speaking to someone, Mr...?"

"Samuelson. I'm Keil Samuelson. Can you put me in touch with someone in charge so they'll know to be on the lookout for more people like me?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes. Come over here, behind the desk and I'll set up a video conference for you." Mrs. Wendt said as she took a seat.

"Thank you. I wasn't sure if you were going to take me seriously, since... you know." Keil finished in a mutter.

"It sounds to me like we're on the same side of things. As far as the other, you made a mistake, you paid the price. I'm willing to leave it at that." Mrs. Wendt said as she typed on the keyboard.

"Thank you, Ma'am. I really appreciate that." Keil said sincerely.

"You said you got something important?" A young man asked impatiently from the computer monitor.

"Yes. This is Mr. Samuelson and he believes that he has some important information for you." Mrs. Wendt said, then motioned for Keil to move in closer.

"I ain't got all fucking day. What you got?"

"I've been in prison for the past ten years. A few days ago, they let me out and told me to come here, well, to Kettle Falls, and to join up and start doing things to cause it to all fall apart." Keil said seriously.

"Yeah. We figured they'd be sending someone our way before long. Who's in charge there?"

"This is Mrs. Wendt." Keil said as he motioned to her.

"Get this guy on the next plane, train, helicopter, bus... whatever the fuck you got. We need to get him here to Kettle Falls so he can talk to our security guys."

"I have a medevac chopper on standby waiting to be needed. Is this important enough to use that?" Mrs. Wendt asked cautiously.

"Yeah. It could be. If anyone gives you any shit, tell 'em Bug told you to." The young man said firmly.

"Bug? You're Bug?" Mrs. Wendt asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Listen, Lady. I got a fuck of a lot of work here. Get Mr. Samuelson here as quick as you can. I'm out." Bug said, then the video link ended.

"Well. You asked to speak to someone in charge. That was Bug, he's one of the people who organized this whole thing." Mrs. Wendt said in amazement.

"Somehow I thought the person in charge would be slightly older and a little more... professional." Keil said honestly.

"He may have a potty mouth, but there's no denying that he's helping a lot of people." Mrs. Wendt said as she quickly typed on her keyboard.

Mr. Samuelson smiled, then said, "I'm not complaining. I think I'd feel a lot more at ease with him than some stuffed suit."

"Your helicopter will be here in about five minutes. I'll take you out back where you can wait." Mrs. Wendt said as she stood.

"Thank you, Ma'am. I appreciate all your help."

* * * * *

As Deb walked into the living room, she couldn't help but smile at the sight of all the young girls gathered around Emo and Colton.

Father Doherty was standing nearby with Ken and Kev on either side of him.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce Sharlette Blevins. She's not only a good friend of mine, but she's also an amazing interior designer. The reason I asked her over is because she has more experience than anyone I know at stocking a nursery." Deb said with a smile.

"Momma, can I see the baby?" Laticia asked from her mother's side.

"Go ahead." Sharlette said, then watched with a smile as her daughter joined the other girls.

"I was thinking that with it being just above freezing out, you might not want to take the baby outside more than necessary. What would you think about leaving him here while you're shopping?" Deb asked curiously.

"I don't know." Emo said anxiously.

Ken stepped to where Emo could see him easily and said, "I promise, we'll stay with him the whole time you're gone."

Kev stood beside his brother and said, "Colton needs his baby things but he doesn't need to be out in the cold. Please let us help you."

"Nick and I will stay here with Colton. You know we'll take good care of him." Jody said assuringly.

Emo smiled before saying, "You win, guys."

"If you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to stop in and see Hobie. Then we can leave." Sharlette said before walking toward Carson's bedroom.

"That reminds me, I need to talk to Carson about a few things." Father Doherty said as he followed.

* * * * *

There was a knock on the door that echoed through the sparsely furnished little apartment.

"Who is it?" A woman timidly asked.

"Chicago police. We need to speak to a Mr. William Foster regarding the foster child, Oleksandr Rodchenko." One of two uniformed police officers said coldly.

After looking through the peephole and verifying who was there, the woman timidly opened the door.

"Have you found Oleksandr? We've been so worried about him." The woman said as a tear glided down her cheek.

"Not worried enough to file a missing persons report, it seems." The officer said coldly.

The woman looked down, but didn't respond otherwise.

"May we speak with Mr. Foster, ma'am?" The police officer asked firmly.

"Yes, he's right in there." The woman said as she pointed.

The officer that had spoken gave his partner a serious look, then walked alone into the living room.

"Do you have any other children in the house?" The second officer asked in a voice that seemed quite a bit less forceful than his partner's.

"No. Olivia and Diana are at a friend's house." The woman said nervously.

"Where might that be? We may need to talk to them." The officer asked.

"I don't know where it is, but I've got the number." The woman said as she rushed to the refrigerator and pulled a slip of paper from under a magnet.

The officer accepted the piece of paper from her and looked at it. He didn't react when a loud 'pop' sounded from the living room.

The woman froze in place as every bit of color washed out of her face.

"Don't worry. The girls will be taken care of." The officer said as he drew his pistol.

"No. Please. He did it. I didn't do anything." The woman whimpered.

"Maybe you should have done something." The officer said, then pulled the trigger.

* * * * *

"Carson, do you have a minute? I would like to ask you about something." Father Doherty asked quietly.

"Yeah, although I can't promise a full minute. I'll give you what I can." Carson said as he looked away from his monitors.

"Then I will keep this brief." Father Doherty said in prelude. "There is a group of people who would like very much to help out. They've worked together well in the past and I would like for us to work together to help you, if that is at all possible."

Carson glanced at his monitors before saying, "Yeah. Okay."

"Many of them are concerned about their friends and family members who may or may not be on their way here. So, I suppose my request of you is twofold. First, I would like to find the answers for them about their loved ones, so that they might be more at ease. Then, if it's possible, I'd like to know if there's any way that they could do the same for others, so that we could circulate amongst the arriving people and do our best to help them." Father Doherty said honestly.

Carson quickly looked at his monitors again, then called out, "Oleksandr? Would you mind helping me for a minute?"

"What can I do, Carson?" Oleksandr asked as he hurried across the room.

"Would you find out how many radios Father Doherty needs, then get him set up with Dizzy?" Carson asked distractedly.

"Do they do the same as the subvocals?" Oleksandr asked curiously.

"Yeah. The setup is exactly the same. But if you have trouble, I'm right here." Carson said with a quick smile at the boy.

"Hi, Father Doherty. I'm glad you're here." Oleksandr said happily.

"It's good to see you, too, Oleksandr. You seem to be doing well." Father Doherty said warmly.

"Yeah. Ben's my daddy, now." Oleksandr said happily.

"Yes. I know. Isn't it wonderful?" Father Doherty asked with a tender smile.

"Come on Father Doherty. You need radios. They're right over here." Oleksandr said as he took Father Doherty's hand and drew him away.

"Can you help me find out about the friends and families?" Father Doherty asked over his shoulder, toward Carson.

"Once you're set up with Dizzy, you can ask him. If he can't answer a question, he'll route the request to me or Bug." Carson answered seriously.

"Here, put this on." Oleksandr said as he handed a radio to Father Doherty.

"Okay. What now?" Father Doherty asked as he fitted the earpiece in his ear.

"Push the microphone, then tell Dizzy your name." Oleksandr said seriously.

"Hello, Dizzy. This is Father Doherty."

"Hello, Father Doherty. I'm Dizzy. If you ever want to talk to someone else wearing a subvocal or a radio, just key the mic and say their name, and I'll be sure that they can hear your message." Dizzy said pleasantly.

"Well, thank you. Yes. That would be very helpful." Father Doherty said in astonishment.

"How many radios are you going to need?" Oleksandr asked curiously.

"Nine, I think." Father Doherty said uncertainly.

"If you need more, we've got plenty." Oleksandr said as he gathered up nine radios.

"Thank you, Oleksandr. You've been very helpful." Father Doherty said warmly.

"Give him an extra one for Zane. That way he can call if he needs something." Ben said quickly.

"Yes. That's a good idea. Thank you, Ben." Father Doherty said as Oleksandr handed him one more radio.

"Are you ready?" Sharlette asked from beside Hobie.

"Yes. Thank you for waiting." Father Doherty said appreciatively, then on impulse he leaned in to give Oleksandr a quick hug.

* * * * *

As she approached a lit up sign, she saw the message change to say, "Approaching driver, change to CB channel 4 or dial 1104."

She shifted her weight onto one hip as she tried to snag the phone in her pocket. Once she had finally retrieved it, she hurriedly dialed.

"Vehicle approaching Washington mile marker number seven, this is the first checkpoint to Kettle Falls. There is some basic information that we would like to pass on to you so that we can streamline the registration process. Would you please identify your driver and vehicle?" A calm male voice said professionally.

"I'm Amber Pyle and I'm in a 2008 blue-green Civic." She answered carefully.

"Welcome to the first checkpoint, Amber. I'm Sid. Would you mind telling me how many passengers you have?" Sid asked.

"Yeah. Just one. His name is Jonathan Mann and he's hurt." Amber said regretfully.

"Okay, Amber, if you can, will you tell me what kind of injury that he has, we'll do our best to help him." Sid said seriously.

"I don't know what they did to him. When we were in a town in Mississippi, we were both out trying to find food and something happened to him. When I found him, his ears were bleeding and he was in some kind of shock. I've done my best to help him, but he's still not right." Amber said slowly and sounded to be on the verge of tears.

"Okay, Amber. I've heard something similar from a few of the other new arrivals. From what they've described, it sounds like your friend might have been blasted with some sort of sonic cannon, like they've been using for crowd control." Sid carefully explained.

"Can you help him? I don't know what to do for him." Amber quickly asked.

"They've got a really good hospital in Kettle Falls. I tell you what, Amber. You should be reaching the checkpoint here in about five minutes or so. When you get here, gather whatever things you want to take with you, then tell anyone wearing a volunteer sash who you are. They'll take you and your friend to a waiting helicopter and you'll be taken directly to the hospital." Sid told her carefully.

"Is Mr. Mann going to be alright?" Amber asked hopefully.

"Only a doctor would be able to tell you that. But we're going to do everything we can to make sure that he has every chance for a full recovery." Sid told her calmly.

"Thank you. I didn't know what to do except just keep driving." Amber quietly admitted.

"You protected and cared for your friend. Considering what's going on these days, I think you've done an amazing thing." Sid told her, then suddenly asked, "Would you mind telling me the last four of your social security number?"

"Three three five four." Amber said cautiously.

"Good. Let me verify, are you from Orlando, Florida?"

"Yes. That's right." Amber confirmed.

"Then there's one more thing you need to know. I've got a contact person for you. When you get to Kettle Falls, if you find yourself needing something, all you'll need to do is ask any volunteer to send a message to 'Bug'. Even though all the volunteers will do whatever they can to help you, Bug is dedicated to helping the people from your area."

"Wait, is there any chance you're talking about Bug Winters?" Amber asked cautiously.

"I don't know. I've never heard anyone use his last name. But from the stories I've been hearing, he's one of the people who orchestrated the whole refugee effort." Sid said honestly.

"If it's him, I work with his brother." Amber said in wonder.

"Then make sure you contact him as soon as you get in. I bet he'll be happy to hear from you. All of us need whatever happiness we can find, these days."

"Thank you. I just saw the sign saying that the checkpoint is in one mile." Amber said slowly, sounding to be relieved.

"Remember, when you get there, gather your personal belongings, then find a volunteer and tell them who you are. From there, everything else will be taken care of for you."

"Thank you, Sid. I was scared half to death about what we were going to find when we got here. I feel a lot better now."

"I'm glad to hear it. You take care of yourself, Amber. And if there's anything I can help you with, you can also ask any volunteer to contact Sid at checkpoint six." Sid told her gently.

"Thank you again, Sid. I'll remember that."

* * * * *

"Dizzy." Deb said in a loud, motherly tone as she entered Carson's room.

"How can I help you, Mrs. Brown?" Dizzy responded immediately.

Everyone in the room, including Carson, stopped what they were doing and waited to see what Deb wanted.

"Carson, didn't you tell me you were going to fix that? Every time he says Mrs. Brown, I expect to see your grandmother walking into the room." Deb said with playful aggravation.

"Sorry, Mom, I've been kind of busy." Carson said to his mother with a reluctant smile.

"Priorities, Carson." Deb teased, then looked past Carson to the alcove and said, "Dizzy, I need for you to find me a paralegal."

"Please restate the request in another format. I don't understand what you mean." Dizzy said seriously.

"Actually, I can probably do that for you Mrs...um, Deb." Bug said hesitantly, then added, "I've already got the program set up to search for people to recruit, so it would take me, like a minute, to pop a module in there to find a paralegal for you."

"That's very sweet of you, Bug. I had really just intended for Dizzy to search the local yellow pages and want ads." Deb said happily.

"Fuck! Anyone you find that way probably doesn't have a job for a really good reason. The people who are arriving here had to leave their regular lives and jobs behind. I bet we can find some really good ones for you doing it this way." Bug said sincerely.

When she flashed a glare at Bug, the others in the room slightly flinched back, waiting for the stern 'talking to' that Bug was about to get. When Bug didn't seem to notice, Deb quietly muttered to herself, "I must be losing my touch."

Bug looked at her curiously, waiting for her decision.

"I agree with your reasoning, Bug." She said slowly, then seemed to come to a decision. "Now, only do this if you have time. But if you can work it in, could you find me three to five paralegals to interview?"

"Is an hour alright?" Bug asked as he turned most of his attention back to his laptop screen.

"Whenever you have time to do it will be fine." Deb assured him.

"I mean, will you have time to interview the first one in about an hour?" Bug asked seriously.

"Oh. Yes. Thank you." Deb said in surprise.

Bug was typing up a storm on his keyboard and it took a moment before Deb realized that no response would be forthcoming.

"He's just really focused on what you asked him to do." Carson explained quietly.

"I can see that." Deb said with a smile at her son, to reassure him that she wasn't offended by Bug's behavior.

"I've been kind of focused on what's been going on in town. Is there anything going on around here that I need to be aware of?" Carson asked in a not too subtle attempt to change the subject.

"You may already know this, but your grandfather called a little bit ago so that we could arrange for your old hospital bed to be put into the room assigned to Zane and Brother Jacques." Deb said thoughtfully.

"No. I didn't know about that. From what little I know of Zane's condition, I'm surprised that he'll be coming home so soon after the surgery." Carson said seriously.

"From the way Dad explained it, the only thing that's really going to help Zane to recover is time. Normally, he would spend most of that time at the hospital so that they could keep an eye on him. But with things being as they are, Dad feels that if we care for Zane here, that he will recover just as well and that there will be one more bed free at the hospital for someone who needs it." Deb explained carefully.

"I guess that makes sense." Carson said thoughtfully.

"Will you let us know when he gets here? I'm his family. I should be spending a lot more time with him." Ben said regretfully.

"From what you said last night, when you did go to visit him, he didn't even know you were there." Bug said seriously.

"Yeah. He was all zonked out and could barely keep his eyes open." Ben reluctantly admitted.

"So you could'a stood there all night with your thumb up your ass, doin' nothin to help anyone. Or you could be here, keeping track of what's going on outside of Washington, so the rest of us can keep working on what's happening right in front of us." Bug said firmly.

Ben chuckled, then said, "Yeah. I guess so. But when Zane gets here, I'll need to leave for a little bit to check in with him."

"I can take care of it while you're gone." Oleksandr said confidently.

Ben looked at Oleksandr with surprise, which morphed into indecision.

"I'm eight-years-old. I'm not a baby." Oleksandr informed him sternly.

"And remember we'll all be here to help him and that he can call you on the subvocal if he needs anything." Bug interjected on Oleksandr's behalf.

Ben smiled at Bug, then turned his attention to Oleksandr as he said, "Okay. I'll let you take over for me. But if we're going to do that, I need to show you what we're doing."

"You guys call, if you need anything." Deb said as she turned to leave.

"You can count on it." Carson said with a smile at his mother.

* * * * *

"Hey. What's going on?" Lazlo asked as he approached a group of about ten kids, close to his own age.

"Nothin. Just hangin." One of the kids, a boy of about twelve said in a bored voice.

"I've heard that there's stuff we can do at the school." Lazlo said honestly.

"Busy work. That's just what I want to do when school's out." An older girl said sarcastically.

As Lazlo thought about what they were saying, he noticed that two more kids were approaching them, apparently looking for something to do.

"Give me a minute. Maybe I can come up with something." Lazlo said thoughtfully, then keyed the mic of his subvocal, "Jay, I've just met up with some kids in town and they don't have anything to do. Have you got any ideas?"

"Any kids that aren't with their parents should be at the school." Jay answered seriously.

"If school was out and you were away from home, would you want to sit in a classroom and do busy work all day?" Lazlo asked frankly.

"I guess not. I remember seeing some boy scouts, or something like that, here yesterday. Maybe I can get in touch with them. That could be fun." Jay said in a considering voice.

"When I tried to join a group like that, they wouldn't take me because my dads are gay. I'd rather sit in a classroom and stare at the wall all day, than hang around with someone like that." Lazlo said firmly.

"I don't know what to tell you, Lazlo. Let me think on it and I'll call you back when I have an idea." Jay said reluctantly.

"Thanks, Jay. I know what I'm going to do now. I'll call you back if I need help with it." Lazlo said happily.

"What are you going to do?" Jay asked curiously.

"I'll tell you tonight. These guys are looking at me like I'm crazy." Lazlo quickly answered, then the link fell silent.

* * * * *

As soon as the helicopter touched down and the door had opened, a man in a black suit approached and asked, "Mr. Samuelson?"

"Yes. That's right." Keil said cautiously.

"I'm Agent Cole. Please grab your things and come with me."

Keil hefted his backpack and walked hunched over until they were well away from the helicopter.

As soon as they were able to stand again, Agent Cole quietly said, "When we received notice that you were arriving, we did as much of a background check as we could. There are a few things that we would like to verify before we go any further."

"Yeah. I'm ashamed of a lot of what I've done, but I've decided that this is a lot more important than me." Keil said seriously.

"To put it bluntly, you were convicted of murdering your wife. Had all of this not happened, you would have been eligible for parole next year. Is that correct?" Agent Cole asked as he guided Keil to walk across the lawn.

"I would have been eligible in May of 2014." Keil answered evenly.

"What would you like to see happen when all of these security matters are concluded?" Agent Cole asked as he stopped to wait for an answer.

"I don't know. I've thought about going somewhere, probably up into the mountains, and lose myself there, just pretend that none of this ever happened. Sort of start out with a clean slate. But before I can close the door on my old life, I have to try and find out what happened to my son. If he's still alive... and if he'll even talk to me, I have to do whatever I can to see that he's going to be alright. I owe him that much." Keil said regretfully.

Agent Cole seemed to consider his answer for a moment, then quietly said, "Your son is alive."

"He is? How is he? Where is he? Is there any way I can talk to him?" Keil asked in a rush.

"I tell you what, let's go inside and you can tell us what you know about the prisoner release. After that, I'll talk to you about your son." Agent Cole said quietly.

"Okay. Yeah. But you're sure, you're really sure that Jake's alive?" Keil asked to confirm.

"Yes, Mr. Samuelson. I promise you that he's alive." Agent Cole said assuringly, then added more firmly, "Let's go inside."

* * * * *

At the sound of silence, Allen slowly looked up from his laptop at the dining room table.

"Where'd everybody go?" JD asked curiously as he looked around.

Allen chuckled, then said, "Some of them are in the living room, watching the local news about what's been happening the past few days."

"Last thing I remember, I was finishing breakfast." JD said as he slowly stood.

"You've been typing up a storm since then. I hope you got some good work done. You seemed to be really into it." Allen said pleasantly.

JD slowly stretched. As he did so, his turtleneck shirt rode up enough to expose his slender, tattooed belly.

When JD finished his stretch, he noticed Allen's curious gaze and said, "Yeah. I've got lots of tattoos. It's something that I really don't like talking about."

"Fair enough. But I guess that explains why you're wearing the turtleneck shirt and gloves. You've got to be roasting alive." Allen said with concern.

"I'm kinda used to it. But if it's not going to make you uncomfortable around me, I would like to change into something a little cooler." JD said honestly.

"Don't worry about me. Although I don't have any tattoos myself, it doesn't mean that I disapprove of them. I've just never been inspired to do that." Allen said frankly.

"Good. I've learned that lots of people react in lots of different ways when they find out. I didn't want to take that chance with you." JD said frankly.

"What puts me off are people who are uncaring, callus or just plain mean. Not much else really bothers me." Allen said frankly.

"Are you going to be in here for a while? I mean, did you have some more work to do?" JD asked curiously.

"Mr. Brown sent me some schematics to look over. I don't really have to do anything, he just wanted for me to look them over so that I'd be familiar with them before Monday." Allen said honestly.

"Okay. I guess I'll hit the bathroom and change into something cooler, then after I've checked in with Jody, I'll be back out here with you." JD said as he started walking toward the door.

"Sounds good, except that Jody isn't here right now. He went to the Brown's house to help out with a baby." Allen said quickly, so JD would hear before he left the room.

"You let Jody leave by himself?" JD asked as he stopped in his tracks.

"No. He left with Jorry and Nick. Don't worry. He's fine." Allen assured him.

"My dads are trusting me to take care of him." JD said firmly.

"He's at Ryan Brown's house. There's probably not a safer place for him to be in all of Kettle Falls." Allen said calmly.

"I guess if he's with Jorry, he'll be alright. But I'd feel a lot better if I was with him." JD said reluctantly.

"I know. How about you go and change, then I'll keep you company while you write?" Allen asked gently.

After a moment to consider, JD finally said, "Yeah. I guess so. Thanks, Allen."

* * * * *

"You got a radio or somethin?" The twelve-year-old asked cautiously.

"Yeah. My foster brother is working at the command center where they're running everything. He gave me a radio so I could call him if I need something." Lazlo said honestly.

"You mean at Tommy and Carson's house?" One of the kids asked curiously.

"Yeah. That's where we're staying. My brother, Jay, is working with Carson right now." Lazlo answered with a smile.

"We all knew that Carson was really smart with his robots and stuff, but no one ever thought he could do anything like this." The older girl said quietly.

"From what Jay's told me, Carson never thought he could do something like this, either. But when he noticed that things had started going wrong, he tried to find ways to make them go right. Then, before he knew what happened... all of this." Lazlo said seriously.

"I wish I was smart enough and rich enough to do stuff like that." One of the younger kids, a boy, said longingly.

"That's how I was feeling yesterday. But today, I've got an important job to do." Lazlo said with the beginning of a smile.

"What kind of job do you have?" The older girl asked cautiously.

"What Jay asked me to do is walk around and talk to people to find out what they need that we don't already have for them." Lazlo said frankly.

"Yeah. I guess that's good." The twelve-year-old boy said consideringly.

"What I found out, is that lots of us are out of school with nothing to do and no way to help out." Lazlo said slowly.

"Yeah." The older girl said with anticipation.

"One of my dads is running the kitchens and concerts and stuff that they're doing all over the place. I was thinking that maybe we could get with him and set up with something like maybe a big bonfire, lots of hot dogs and games, and maybe some music. Hanging around the school sounds really boring, but if you guys will help me, maybe we could come up with something really fun that all of us would like to do." Lazlo implored them to understand.

"Can we do it where we can have skateboarding?" An older boy asked hopefully.

"Do you know of a place where we can do that? I'm not from here." Lazlo said honestly.

"Yeah. There's a few places... if they'll let us."

"If you can find a place, I'll talk to my brother and my dad about permission and stuff." Lazlo said confidently.

"And you want us to help you set this up?" The boy asked incredulously.

"Sure. This is going to be whatever we make it. I want a bonfire, and you want skateboarding. Anyone else?" Lazlo asked as he looked around the growing group of children and young teens.

"I'm Vikki. And if I can help with the music, you can count me in." The older girl said confidently.

"You got it, Vikki. I'm Lazlo." Lazlo said happily, then looked around and asked, "Anyone else?

"I'm Dalton, and if you want, I can talk to some of my friends and we can set up some BMX runs that are really awesome." The twelve-year-old boy said as he looked cautiously around the group to see if anyone were going to say he was too young.

"That sounds great, Dalton. Remember that if you get stuck on anything, the rest of us will be here to help you." Lazlo said as he held Dalton's gaze.

"Yeah. Okay." Dalton said with a relieved smile.

"Come on, everyone. The more great ideas we have for things to do, the better this is going to be." Lazlo said as he looked around and realized that their group had already grown to over twenty-five.

Lazlo's bodyguard, Christina, stood back and watched the whole thing develop with a tender smile of pride for the shy boy she had arrived with.

Chapter 33: What Was Lost

"Hello, they told me at the checkpoint that when I got here I was supposed to meet with someone named Roris." The young man said uncertainly.

"Are you David Ott?"

"Yes."

"They told us you were coming. I'm Lawrence, Roris is over there, in the arena, checking people in." Lawrence said cheerfully.

"I hate to be a pain, but it's quite a job to get all these guys out of the bus and I can't leave them. Unless it's really important for us to go in, is there any way that Roris could come out here?" David asked hopefully.

"I think he's busy with someone else right now, so it might take a minute, but I don't think he'll mind." Lawrence said pleasantly, then gently pressed on his throat and said, "Roris, David's here and he wanted to know if you can come out and talk to him here. He can't leave his people and it takes a long time to get them off the bus."

David looked at Lawrence curiously. Although he didn't see any evidence of a radio or even a wireless bluetooth device, he recognized that Lawrence was communicating with someone.

"We haven't got it fixed for Roris to be able to talk back to me, but I know that he'll be out as soon as he's done with whoever he's helping right now." Lawrence said with a smile.

"Well, if it's going to be a minute, I need to get back on the bus. Everyone's a little bit nervous about coming here. I don't want for them to go into a panic." David said cautiously.

"Can I go too? I'd like to meet everyone." Lawrence asked hopefully.

"Sure. I think they'd be happy to meet you." David said with surprise. In his experience, most people went out of their way to avoid meeting people with disabilities.

* * * * *

As Lawrence stepped onto the bus, he immediately walked to the person nearest the door and said, "Hi. I'm Lawrence."

The woman was sitting slumped in an electric wheelchair and looking at him curiously.

When she made a few barely intelligible noises, David quietly said, "This is Bonnie."

"I thought she said Bonnita." Lawrence said to David, then turned back to the woman and asked, "Do you like to be called Bonnie or Bonnita?"

She quickly responded and seemed to be filled with renewed energy.

"Since you don't care, I think I'll call you Bonnita. I think it sounds pretty." Lawrence said with a heart-stopping smile.

Bonnita quickly said something that David couldn't begin to decypher.

Lawrence blushed, then said, "Thank you, Bonnita. My boyfriend says that, too."

Bonnita looked at him with surprise for a moment, then broke into laughter.

Lawrence smiled at her again, then moved on to the next person.

"Hi. I'm Lawrence."

"I'm Joe." The young man said in slow difficult speech. He sounded like his nose was stopped up.

"It's nice to meet you, Joe. It shouldn't be long before Rory is here to get you all checked in and stuff. You don't need to be worried or anything. You're here now and everything is going to be fine." Lawrence said happily.

"I can't hear. And you said that too fast for me to understand you." Joe said slowly. His voice had a droning quality and some of his words slurred together.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Lawrence said quickly, then realized what he was doing and slowly said, "My boyfriend, Rory, will be here soon. So you won't have to wait too long."

"Thank you, Lawrence. I don't mind waiting. I can't do anything since my accident. That's how I went deaf. And now I have trouble walking and doing things, because of the brain damage." Joe said regretfully as he glanced toward his folded up walker.

"I've got brain damage, too." Lawrence said quickly, then remembered that he needed to talk slowly for Joe to understand. "There's stuff I can't do because of my brain damage, but my brother and my boyfriend help me when I need it. But there's other stuff that I can do, like coming out here to talk to you. If you want, I bet me and Rory can find all kinds of things that you'll be able to do."

"But I can't do anything." Joe said regretfully.

"It sounds like your brain damage makes it hard for you to do things. My brain damage makes me dumb. My brother won't ever let me say that, but it's true. I'm so dumb that I can't take care of myself. But my brother and my boyfriend don't care about that. They love me and they help me do the things I have trouble with, but they find stuff that I can do, too." Lawrence said earnestly.

Lawrence jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his butt.

He turned and saw Bonnita looking at him urgently.

"Can we do things too?" She asked him in a guttural slur.

Lawrence looked around the bus and realized that David and all six of his passengers had been listening to his conversations.

"I'm not smart, so I don't know how we'll do it. But my boyfriend and my brother will help me find a way that all of you can help out and really do stuff." Lawrence finished confidently.

The sound of a knocking on the door of the bus broke the spell of wonder and anticipation.

David walked to the front of the bus and opened the door.

"Lawrence asked that I come out to talk to you. Is he here?" Roris asked cautiously.

"Yes. He's on the bus. Come in..." David said before he realized what he was saying.

Roris smiled and waited for David to continue.

"If you'll go down to the double doors at the side, I'll let down the lift, then you can come aboard and meet everyone."

"Thank you. I'd like that." Roris said with an ingenuous smile.

* * * * *

"Everyone! This is my boyfriend, Roris! Isn't he the cutest guy you've ever seen?" Lawrence asked as he ran to Roris to hug him.

The stunned people around the bus slowly nodded their agreement in varying states of surprise.

"I was just telling everyone that just because they're in wheelchairs and stuff that they can still do stuff to help us." Lawrence said happily.

Roris looked around the bus at all the hopeful faces, most notably David's, as he waited for Roris' reply.

After a moment of thought, Roris carefully asked, "Are you planning on staying in Kettle Falls, or are you going to move on once you've had a chance to rest?"

Roris noticed that David was carefully hand-signing what he had said, then continued to sign as he responded, "We don't really have any plans. We're really just looking for a place where we'll be safe. From the way things were looking back in Ohio... I don't want to think about it."

Roris looked around the bus again, feeling the weight of responsibility as all the expectant gazes were focused on him.

Finally, he seemed to come to a decision and started slowly typing on the laptop on his lap. As computer arrangements go, it wasn't the most elegant setup, but he was able to make it work. Given his physical condition, that was quite an achievement in itself.

As he was typing, he heard a quiet voice in his subvocal, "Rory, I love you."

Roris stopped his typing and looked toward Lawrence, who was at the back of the bus, looking back with a beatific smile.

Finally, Roris was finished with his typing and took a moment to study his results before saying, "These are your options, as I can see them. First, you could stop here, rest and relax and make sure that your bus is fit for extended travel, then when you're all ready, you could move on into Canada, where I'm sure that someone will find you a comfortable place where you'll be safe."

He stopped talking for a moment and waited for David to catch up with his signing. Once David looked toward him with question, Roris continued, "You could also choose to move somewhere within the United States. Most places that haven't been attacked are still being overwhelmed by people seeking refuge, but I can help you find someplace that will take you."

"But can't they stay here with us? Just because they've got stuff that's wrong doesn't mean that they can't help." Lawrence asked plaintively.

Roris smiled at Lawrence, then looked around the rest of the occupants of the bus before saying, "Another option would be for all of you to stay here, in Kettle Falls. If you decide to stay, it won't be a free ride. To start, you'll be working here, at the arena to help register and accommodate differently abled people. Later, there may be other jobs that you'll be asked to help with. If you decide to stay, you'll be provided food and shelter, and any medical care that you might need."

"This is a big decision. I think we'll need to discuss it, first." David said and signed anxiously.

"You can go to Canada if you want. I want to stay here and help." Joe said firmly.

Lawrence hurried past Roris to Joe. He made sure to stand in front of him, before he slowly said, "You're going to like it here. We'll make sure you're in a good place and if you need anything at all, we'll help you."

"Thank you." Joe said with a slight smile as he fought down his tears.

While Lawrence and Joe had been talking, David walked from person to person to ask them what they wanted to do.

When he was done, he waved a hand in Joe's direction to gain his attention, then began to sign as he spoke, "If there's really a way we can help out, I think all of us would like to stay here with you."

"That's great!" Lawrence exploded happily, then hurried to Roris to give him an enthusiastic hug.

Everyone watched Lawrence's joyful celebration with tender looks and smiles. Finally, Roris was able to say, "We need to get this registration complete, so you can get moved into your new home. I wish I could give you all day to get settled in, but I've had two calls since I've been out here with you. Other people with special needs are having to wait because I'm here."

When David had finished signing what Roris had said, Joe turned to look at Roris and slowly said, "I don't have many things. If David will put my stuff away, I can go and help you now."

Roris smiled at the offer and responded, "Thank you. I can use all the help I can get."

Joe broke into a huge smile when David signed Roris' response to him.

"Before we can do that, I'm going to need a little information to get everyone registered." Roris said seriously.

"Roris, this is David and he helps everyone." Lawrence said cheerfully.

"It's nice to meet you, David. If you'll tell me your full name and where you're from, it shouldn't take too long to get this done." Roris said with a contented smile.

* * * * *

"Bug, Rory's gonna need three more of those voice boxes like what Rory has. Can you get them for us?" Lawrence asked hopefully.

Bug was startled out of his work by the request.

"Why didn't you just ask Carson?" Bug automatically asked, before he could think about how it might sound to his brother.

"Because we need them as quick as we can get them. If you ask him, he'll do it now. If I ask him, he'll do it when he has time." Lawrence said reasonably.

Bug began to laugh, drawing the attention of the others in the command center, then he said, "I think you've got him all figured out."

When Bug noticed that even Carson had stopped what he was doing and was listening to his side of the conversation, Bug mischievously said, "I'll get to work on Carson and I won't let up until he's got you everything you need."

Carson's eyes went wide in surprise at the announcement.

"Thanks, Bug. I've got to get back to work. Rory needs me. We're really busy here." Lawrence responded happily.

"Be sure to remind Roris to remind you to take your pills." Bug said with a tender smile.

"I will. I love you, Bug." Lawrence said quickly.

"I love you, too." Bug said peacefully before ending the connection.

* * * * *

"What are you going to get on me about?" Carson asked cautiously.

"Lawrence said that they need three more of those voice boxes, like the one you made for Roris." Bug said simply.

"That one was a prototype. I don't have any more." Carson cautiously responded.

"Yeah. That's what I thought. But since you got the first one working, you've got all the specs to make more, don't you?" Bug asked curiously.

"Yeah. The design specs are all up to date. There's not really that much to the hardware, it's the programming that was the challenge." Carson explained.

"Good. Then we need to get someone on the job to make some more. Roris and Lawrence need three of them right now. I bet that they're probably going to need even more before long." Bug said seriously.

"I guess I could call Allen and see if he'd be able to call in a crew to throw them together... but it'd really be better if we could do this on Monday when we've got people already scheduled to work." Carson finished honestly.

"Too fucking bad. We don't need this done Monday. We need it now, in fact, yesterday probably would have been better. Call him up and see if he can get something going. Lawrence and Roris are waiting." Bug said firmly.

"Yeah. Okay, I'll call him." Carson said decisively.

Bug smiled to himself, thinking just how smart his brother could be sometimes.

* * * * *

"I don't know what to do." Joe said slowly, hoping that Lawrence and Roris could understand him. He hadn't realized before just how much he had come to depend on David interpreting for him.

Roris began typing on his laptop.

Joe looked from Roris to Lawrence to see if either of them were going to respond.

Finally, Lawrence waved his hand to gain Joe's attention, then pointed to the monitor on the desk in front of him.

There was an instant message text box on the screen, which said, "What I need for you to do is sit down at this computer and keep track of the people with special needs who are coming to us for help. The information from the checkpoints will let us know who is coming. I'll show you what to do on the first few cases, it's not hard. You should have all that you'll need to know to schedule houses or apartments or even an appointment at the hospital. Once you've done all that, we wait for them to arrive. When they check in, we make sure we got them what they need, and then we finalize the arrangements and send them off to get moved in."

"Excuse me!" an angry middle aged man said from the desk.

"Yes. How can I help you?" Roris asked as he turned his attention forward.

The man looked at Roris uncertainly for a moment, then turned his attention to Lawrence and said, "They told me to check in with you because my daughter has Down syndrome and a heart condition."

"What is your name?" Roris asked calmly, although his robotic voice sounded somewhat impatient.

"Phillip Morgan." The man said gruffly.

As Roris was carefully typing on his laptop, it began to slowly slide off of his lap.

Before he could even react, Lawrence was there, moving it securely back into place for him.

"Thank you, Lawrence." Roris said gratefully, then continued to type.

Mr. Morgan's temper seemed to be rising as he waited for someone to tell him what to do next.

Joe saw another instant message come up on his screen. "This is Mr. Morgan. He's an asshole. His daughter has down syndrome and a heart condition. Go ahead and see if you can pull up their information. When you've found them, verify that the accommodations we've made are going to be sufficient for them. If everything is good, then print the directions for them. If you have any problems, I'll be right here to help you."

Even though he'd never used the program before, the controls were intuitive enough that he was easily able to bring up Mr. Morgan's information.

He quickly read through it, then carefully said, "We have a single level house reserved for you. No stairs. It's two blocks from the hospital. Will that be alright?"

"Yeah... why are you talking funny?" Mr. Morgan asked cautiously.

"I'm deaf. But I can read your lips." Joe said slowly, but clearly, then continued, "How long do you plan to be staying in Kettle Falls?"

"I don't know. I'm worried about the Jeep. I don't know how much longer..." Mr. Morgan then turned his head and Joe couldn't see what else he said.

Rather than ask, he clicked a tab on his screen that he had noticed before and was happy to find that it did what he expected. After checking a few boxes and clicking a button, a window popped up with the information he wanted.

"Mr. Morgan, I've just scheduled an appointment for you with Ralph at Big Bubba's Auto for ten tomorrow morning. He can look at your Jeep and make sure that it's fit for travel. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Joe asked as he fought down a smile.

The realization was just beginning to hit him that he was doing a job. He was helping someone. For the first time in longer than he could remember, he was being useful.

"No. If we've got a place to stay and someone to look at the Jeep, I think that's all we'll need." Mr. Morgan said with surprise.

"I'm going to put your expected departure date to be next Saturday. Please let us know if you need to stay longer." Joe said professionally.

"Yeah. I was worried about Shirley travelling so much. But she should be rested up and ready to go again by then." Mr. Morgan said thoughtfully.

Joe clicked the button on his screen, then looked over to see that the printer was working.

He took the two pages from the printer, then held up the first as he said, "This is a map to your house. The other is a map to the auto shop with your schedule details."

"Thank you. That'll help a lot." Mr. Morgan said as he accepted the papers.

Before Joe could acknowledge the next person in line, he saw another instant message pop up on his screen. "That was perfect. I don't think you need me here watching over you. If you have questions or need help, just ask. I'll be right here."

Joe looked toward Roris and saw that he and Lawrence were already helping another customer.

Joe smiled, then motioned for the next person in line to come forward.

* * * * *

"Isn't this place beautiful?" David asked as he led the way into the large home.

No one responded to his question as the rest of the occupants of the bus entered the room in either wheelchairs or walkers.

"According to this, it says that we're going to be sharing bedrooms, two to a room, so you guys go explore and figure out who you want to room with while I see what we've got in the kitchen to make a meal." David said as he looked up from his sheet of paper.

"When can we work?" A young woman, Juanita, asked hopefully.

"I thought that we could get you all unpacked and fed, then I'd drive you back to the arena and we'd see what kind of work they have for us." David explained as he peeked into cupboards.

"We can unpack after we work." Juanita said seriously.

David was about to answer, when he noticed that everyone else was gathered around, all waiting for his decision.

"Alright, but you guys need to eat first. How about I get our things unloaded from the bus, then I'll drive us to one of those tent kitchens that we passed on the way here. Once everyone has had a chance to eat, we'll go back to the arena and start working." David asked as he watched carefully for their reactions.

"Do you really think they can find us jobs?" Juanita asked hopefully.

The laugh that David let loose was a surprise, even to him. He quickly gathered himself, then said, "Considering who it is that's arranging the jobs, I think it's pretty safe to say that they will."

"Can we go now?" Bonnita asked urgently.

David could see that everyone was as impatient as Bonnita and Juanita.

"Head back to the bus. We'll unload and unpack when you guys get off work."

* * * * *

"What's wrong?" JD asked with concern.

"Carson, my boss's son, he needs some work done, and from the look of this message, it's kind of urgent." Allen said thoughtfully.

"Can your boss's son call you in to work on your day off? That's messed up." JD said frankly.

"Carson's not just my boss's son, he's a brilliant programmer and hardware designer in his own right. Apparently, he's developed some kind of translator or interpreter for people with speech problems. He's requested that I call a few people to the lab to build some of these devices to help some people who have arrived and are having difficulty communicating." Allen said carefully as he read through Carson's email.

"If you have to leave, I think we'll be okay." JD said honestly.

"Actually, I may just need to make a few calls. If the people I want are available, I won't even need to go to the lab. They have the skills to do a project like this themselves without me hovering over them." Allen said frankly.

"Oh. Okay. But if you need to go, we won't cause any trouble or tear up the place or anything like that. I promise." JD said earnestly.

Allen smiled at the assurance and said, "I never even considered it. But I've been receiving all these notices about concerts and pop up kitchens in town and I thought you guys might like to go see that... I know I would."

"Yeah. It's been nice to just sit and relax for a while, but it'd be nice to go out and do stuff, too." JD said honestly, then quickly added, "But we need to wait for Jody and the guys to get back before we can leave."

"We can wait for them, or we can probably find a way to contact them and possibly meet them in town, if it comes to that." Allen said pleasantly, then started to type on his laptop.

JD waited for a moment, and just as he was about to get back to his own laptop, a knock sounded at the door.

"Do you want me to get that?" JD asked as he stood.

"Yeah. If you wouldn't mind. I want to get this email off to the team for Carson's project." Allen said as he continued to type.

JD smiled at the look of concentration as Allen lost himself in the task.

* * * * *

"Hello? Oh, hi Ken!" JD said happily.

"Hi JD..." Ken started to say, then was overcome by the sight of all the tattoos on JD's neck and arms.

"Nice ink!" Kev said as he stepped forward.

JD looked in confusion from Ken to Kev and back.

"Yeah. The egg split." Kev said flatly at JD's look of confusion.

After another moment of stunned silence, JD broke into a laugh, then said, "Come on in guys."

"Is Allen here?" Ken asked cautiously.

"Yeah. He's in the dining room, working on his laptop." JD said pleasantly, then conspiratorially whispered, "From the way you ran out of here, last night, I really didn't think you'd be back."

"Bug and Kev kinda made me stop and think about it. Allen really loved my dad a lot. It'd be wrong if I stayed away just because the guy creeps me out." Ken said honestly.

"Give him a chance, Ken. I've had some time to sit and talk with him. He seems like a really great guy." JD said honestly.

"I know. It's just weird... when my dad died and I got shipped off to Chicago, everything changed for me, like, in one day. It was kind of a clean break with no reminders or anything. Now, having all this, bringing it all back. I don't know. It's just hard." Ken tried to explain.

"Trust me, I know how it is to have to deal with painful memories." JD said frankly, then motioned for the twins to start walking again.

* * * * *

"Hey, Cute Stuff! I'm glad you're here!" Allen said joyfully.

"Hey, Pop." Ken said with a reluctant smile.

After a moment of hugging, Allen looked up and smiled as he said, "I'm glad both of you are here."

Kev shyly smiled and said a quiet, "Thanks."

"How's Bug doing, today?" Allen asked as he finally released the hug.

"He's fine. I got the feeling that he's going to be up to his eyeballs in work with all the new refugees coming in." Ken said honestly.

"I feel a little bit guilty about not doing more to help out, but considering what I've been receiving in my email the past two days, maybe the best thing I can do is hang back and be available when they need me." Allen said frankly.

Ken glanced over at the open laptops on the table, then quietly said, "Well, we didn't have any reason for coming over today. I just wanted to stop in and see how you're doing and make sure that the guys are getting settled in okay."

"I think everyone's doing fine. Jody, Nick and one of the other boys went over to Mr. Brown's house to help out with a baby. The rest are here, just relaxing after their long trip." Allen said warmly.

"Yeah. We saw Jorry, Jody and Nick over at the house before we left. I think they said that they'll be staying there with the baby, until Father Doherty and Brother Emo get back from their baby shopping." Ken said seriously.

"Father Doherty and Brother Emo? Nick's not going to like that." JD said apprehensively.

"Yeah. Nick seemed a little bit antsy when he first got there, but when Father Doherty and Brother Emo left, all he seemed to be paying attention to was the baby." Ken said thoughtfully.

After a moment to consider, JD finally said, "As long as Jorry's there with him, I'm sure he'll be fine."

"From what I saw, it was Jody who was helping him hold it together." Kev said frankly.

JD nodded, then quietly said, "Jody's good at that."

* * * * *

"Hello?" Sarah called out as she walked into the unfamiliar house.

"Yeah! Who's that?" A voice responded.

"My name is Sarah. I'm supposed to be moving in... I think. Am I in the right place?"

"I wont sure neither until I checked the letterbox out front. It got the full address printed on it."

Sarah walked outside and checked the address on the letterbox against the one on the map she'd been given.

"I guess I'm in the right place." Sarah said as she walked back in.

"Name's Nelda, but peoples calls me Georgia, you know, like Sweet Georgia Brown." The robust woman said with a chuckle as she walked into the room.

"It's nice to meet you Georgia, did they warn you about my dogs?" Sarah asked uncertainly.

"Honey, don't worry none bout dat. I had me lotsa dogs over the years. Me an dogs gets along fine." Georgia said with a chuckle, then added, "Course, you should know that if I get bit, I bite back."

"Fair enough." Sarah said with relief.

"You got a lot of stuff to carry in?" Georgia asked curiously.

"No. Most of my stuff was lost when my house collapsed. All I have is an old afghan filled with what I could grab from the rubble." Sarah said quietly, then added, "But at least Rufus and Ichabod weren't hurt."

"Rufus? You got a dog named Rufus? Girl, you and me is gonna get along fine. Why don't we go out and you introduce me to your friends?" Georgia asked cheerfully.

"That sounds great, Georgia."

* * * * *

After a few minutes to get the dogs out of the car and to get them comfortable with Georgia, Sarah went about the business of gathering the few things she had been able to salvage.

"Looks like ya's seen some pretty rough travel gettin here." Georgia said as she looked over Sarah's car.

"Yeah. I did a little... a lot of cross country driving. The roads were pretty much out most of the way. I took a lot of little back roads and goat paths and when I couldn't find a road to where I wanted to go, I made my own." Sarah said frankly.

"Here I thought you was all timid like a little mouse, but girl, you're a survivor. We gonna get along fine." Georgia declared.

"I don't know about being a survivor, but I'll admit to being a crazy driver." Sarah chuckled.

Both women turned at the sound of a gator racing up the street.

It took a moment for them to see the child racing toward them.

"I swear, if that was one'a mine, I'd snatch 'em bald-headed if they took off on one of them things." Georgia said with a shake of her head.

Before Sarah could respond, the child slowed the gator to a stop in front of their house.

"Hey! Is one of you Sarah?" The child called toward them.

"Yes. That's me." Sarah said quickly.

"I'm Ro. I got a thing here from a lady at a checkpoint that said that Sarah was going to need some dog food. If you show me where you want it, I'll put it up for you." Ro said quickly.

"That's very nice of you. Right over there, just inside the door will be fine." Sarah said in astonishment.

"You got it." Ro said, then hefted the first of four bags of dry dog food.

* * * * *

An incoming video link appeared on one of Carson's screens and he automatically opened it. "What's up, Dad?"

"I know you've probably got about a hundred things going on right now, but when you can spare a minute, I'd like for you to look over some specs on the body armor. I've done the groundwork myself, but since you oversaw the programming of the robotics in the factory, I'd like for you to look it over. If I'm thinking right, we might be able to start production of the first components as early as Monday afternoon." Ryan said seriously.

"Yeah. Things seem to be stable for the moment, I can look it over. Can you push it to me?" Carson asked as he glanced at another screen.

After pressing a few keys, Ryan said, "You should have it."

Carson looked to see that he had the file, then said, "Got it. I'll shoot it back to you when I'm done."

"Lucas just told me that Jeremy and Hank should be there any minute. Just tell your guys that they're alright and it should be fine." Jay said into his subvocal as he walked up behind Carson.

Ryan noticed and smiled before saying, "It looks like you're busy, so I'll let you go."

Carson was about to respond when his father suddenly seemed to think of something.

Ryan quickly asked, "Do you happen to know what Ty is doing?"

"I think he's still here at the house, helping Mikey organize things." Carson said uncertainly.

"Could you check in with him, and see if Mikey can spare him? If so, could you find someone there to bring him out here to the lab? Since he's said that he's interested in robotics, he might enjoy seeing the steps for reconfiguring the bots in the factory." Ryan said thoughtfully.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do when you start production, since the warehouse is in use?" Carson asked curiously.

"Lance is already working on that. He's got some prefab huts he's going to set up. The only thing we're still working on is a location for the final assembly, once we've got all the parts fabricated." Ryan said seriously.

"Yeah. It'll have to be big, and you're going to need a huge workforce for that." Carson agreed.

"I think we can recruit the workforce from the people passing through. As far as the location, I'll leave that to Lance. I know he'll come up with something." Ryan said assuringly.

"I'll send Ty your way as soon as he's free." Carson said as he glanced at another of his screens.

"Let me know when he's coming. I want him to see everything we're doing from the very beginning so he can witness the entire process." Ryan finished with a smile.

It warmed Carson's heart to know that his father was taking such an interest in Ty. He remembered how special it made him feel when his father had done the same with him, many years before.

"I'll let you know when I've talked to him." Carson said with a note of tenderness under his words.

"Call if you need anything." Ryan responded quietly.

"Yeah. You, too. Bye." Carson said before disconnecting the video link.

"Carson, you've got some visitors." Jay said quietly.

Carson turned and was surprised to see two girls standing in the doorway to his room.

"Hi Courtney. What's going on?" Carson asked curiously.

"I just wanted to introduce you to Jamey, she's the medic who's going to be doing your treatment today." Courtney said simply.

"Hi." Carson said cautiously, then he asked, "Is it going to take long? I've really got a lot of stuff to do."

"Not long. And it has to be done. Deal with it." Courtney said firmly.

Jamey giggled at the surprised look on Carson's face.

"Okay. I guess now's as good a time as any. What do you need me to do?" Carson asked as he undocked his wheelchair and turned to face them.

"Just relax for a minute and let Jamey reinforce Juan's treatment." Courtney said professionally.

"Relax. Yeah. Um, that might take me a few minutes." Carson said apologetically.

Courtney rolled her eyes, then said, "How about you sit there and be quiet for about two minutes? Can you handle that?"

"I can try." Carson said with a slight shrug.

"It'll have to do." Courtney said in exasperation, then glanced at Jamey and gave her a nod.

For a moment, the only sound in the command center was Bug's furious typing as everyone else watched Jamey and Carson, seemingly lost in a trance.

"Is that one?" Oleksandr asked suddenly as he pointed at his computer screen.

Ben read for a moment, then said, "Yes. That was a good catch. Go ahead and log it in like I showed you, then ask Dizzy to enter that into troop movements and to update the map."

Oleksandr smiled as he keyed in the instructions.

"When Zane gets here, you're going to be just fine." Ben said proudly.

"How do you feel?" Courtney asked when she saw that Jamey was finished.

"I didn't even know that I was starting to feel pain again, but I realize now it's all gone." Carson said in surprise.

"Good. That's what we're doing here. Expect Jamey or Victor to be in here every day about this time. But remember, if you start feeling pain earlier, you need to call one of us right away. If you let it go, there's no one here who can do what Juan did for you." Courtney warned.

"I'll remember." Carson promised.

* * * * *

Max had been hanging back, not really participating as Art and Euan explained what they had been doing on the radios.

It wasn't that he didn't want to do his part to help out, but so much had happened in such a short time, that he felt he needed some time alone to process events.

As he walked into the hall, he noticed three Secret Service agents waiting nearby.

Max wasn't as much surprised as he was irritated when he started to walk toward the stairs and one of the agents began to follow.

"Do you have to follow me everywhere I go?" Max asked when he reached the top of the stairs.

"Yes. It's my job to protect you." The agent said simply.

Max let out a sigh, then slowly said, "I really need to be alone for a little bit."

"I can leave you alone, as long as I know that you're somewhere safe. But I can't allow you to wander away, unaccompanied." The agent explained slowly.

"You don't understand." Max said in a defeated tone.

The agent thought for a moment, then quietly said, "Come with me."

"What?" Max asked cautiously.

The agent walked past him and went down a few steps, then motioned for Max to follow.

* * * * *

"Hey, is one of you guys Ty?" Bax asked as he walked into the storage building behind the Brown's house.

"Yeah. I am." Ty said reluctantly.

"I remember you from the plane. I just didn't know your name. Anyway, my name is Bax, and Dizzy told me that I'm supposed to take you to the lab." Bax said quickly.

"Yeah. Carson already told us. I just didn't think you'd be here so soon." Ty said honestly.

"We try to be fast. You ready to go?" Bax asked hopefully.

"Yeah. I guess so." Ty said with an uncertain look at Mikey.

"Dad's great. Don't worry." Mikey assured him.

Ty reluctantly nodded, then walked to join Bax at the door.

* * * * *

"What do you have planned to do today, Jamiah?" Gordon asked curiously.

"I watch after Loquicia. There's nothing else to do." Jamiah said frankly.

"Is there something you'd like to do?" Gordon asked with a smile.

"Not really." Jamiah said warily.

"Come on. You must enjoy doing something." Gordon prodded.

"No. I just do what I've got to do. That's it." Jamiah insisted.

"I can't believe that! A boy your age must have lots of things that he likes to do." Gordon said playfully.

"I'm not gonna suck your dick." Jamiah said flatly.

Gordon's eyes went wide with surprise at the suggestion.

"I mean, thanks for being nice to me and Loquicia, but no matter how nice you are, I'm still not gonna suck your dick." Jamiah said firmly.

"I wasn't going to ask you to." Gordon tried to assure him.

"Right." Jamiah said suspiciously.

"I was just trying to get to know you. Lucas and I had talked about us maybe adopt..." Gordon clamped his mouth shut, but it was already too late.

"You want to adopt us?" Jamiah asked cautiously.

It took a moment for Gordon to resign himself to the fact that he had let the cat out of the bag. But finally he was able to say, "We talked about it."

"Quicia needs a dad. She's never had one. I've done as much as I can for her, but I'm not enough. She needs a real dad, who wants her." Jamiah said firmly.

"What about you? What do you need?" Gordon asked with concern.

"I need to take care of Quicia." Jamiah said frankly.

"But, hypothetically, if we adopted you both, then it would be our job to take care of Loquicia. What would you do then?" Gordon asked cautiously.

Jamiah thought about it for a moment, then quietly said, "I don't know?"

Gordon considered the answer, then smiled as he asked, "Would you like to find out?"

Jamiah returned the smile for a moment, then turned serious as he said, "But I'm still not gonna suck your dick."

"Fair enough."

* * * * *

"They didn't tell me, but if you want, you can take one of the gators and follow me. That way you can drive back if you need to." Bax said as they walked.

"I didn't think about that. Yeah." Ty said with a smile.

"Are you in trouble or something?" Bax asked cautiously.

"No. From what Carson said, Mr. Brown wants to show me some stuff about setting up the robots at his factory."

"That sounds really cool! You'll have to tell me all about it next time you see me." Bax said cheerfully, then gestured toward the parking lot of gators.

"Yeah. I guess. I'm just... Mr. Brown said last night that he wants to be my dad, and that's great and stuff. I just don't know what it's like. I never had one before and I don't want to screw it up." Ty said frankly.

"Yeah. I guess I get that.." Bax said as he stopped. "I'm real lucky because I've got Bug. He's not really like a dad, but he's not really like my brother, either. I don't know what it is, but I know that if I'm ever in trouble or need to talk to someone, I can go to him with it and he'll deal with it. Maybe you could do something like that with Mr. Brown. Don't worry about what it should be and just let it be what it is."

"Yeah. And besides, he may decide that he doesn't want a fruity little fairy as a son and change his mind." Ty said frankly.

"I don't know Mr. Brown, but if he was like that, he wouldn't be nice to half the people here and probably wouldn't let them live in his house. I think you found a good guy to be your dad." Bax said with certainty, then motioned for Ty to pick a gator.

Bax got on his own gator and waited until Ty had backed out.

"Just follow me." Bax called out before heading out toward the lab.

* * * * *

"How are we doing for time? Do we need to do this fast or do it right?" Sharlette asked as she led Father Doherty and Emo down the sidewalk.

"I'm not aware of any time constraints, however, if it's going to take very long, I may need to stop by the house for a minute, before we continue on." Father Doherty said cautiously.

"That's no problem. I was just asking because, if you were in a hurry, there are two stores that we could visit to get you the majority of what you need. But if we have time, I'd like to take you to a few other places where they have less selection, but better quality merchandise. It's the difference between having a bargain basement hunk of slapped together fiberboard or a hardwood piece of sturdy furniture that will last for generations." Sharlette said seriously.

"I know my opinion on such things, but I really think it should be Emo's decision." Father Doherty said with a look at his young companion.

"I get the feeling that Colton doesn't have a lot of things in his life that are going to last. I want to give him the chance to pass his baby things down to his kids, someday." Emo said quietly.

"Your grandchildren." Father Doherty said with a tender smile.

Emo was stunned at the words for a moment, then noticed the concerned gaze that had fallen over Father Doherty's face.

He followed the father's worried gaze to a woman who was standing outside a shop with two boys and crying.

Sharlette and Emo followed silently as Father Doherty approached.

"Margaret, what's wrong?" Father Doherty asked gently.

"When we checked in, they said that we're going to have to leave again in about a week. I don't know where we're going to go and I'm almost out of money. So, even though I never thought I'd ever do it, I decided to pawn my wedding ring... and they only offered me ten dollars for it." She said, then burst into tears as she fell into Father Doherty's arms.

"Shhh. Don't worry. I happen to have made some very important acquaintances since we've arrived. Give me a moment to do some checking and there may be something that I can do to ease your worries." Father Doherty said soothingly as he returned her hug.

"How are you guys?" Emo quietly asked the boys who were standing frozen, beside their mother.

"I'm scared." The younger boy said honestly.

"You don't need to be. Father Doherty is really good at fixing things. Give him a chance and I bet that he'll be able to work something out." Emo said encouragingly.

Once Margaret seemed to have settled, Father Doherty keyed the microphone of his radio and said, "Carson? Would you have a moment to help me with something?"

After a moment, Father Doherty smiled, and said, "I have a young woman here, her name is Margaret..."

Emo looked up at the pause.

"What was your last name, Margaret?" Father Doherty asked curiously.

"Childress." Margaret said in a voice that was hoarse from her tears.

"I have a Margaret Childress here and she's been told that she's going to have to move on, soon. Finances are a concern for her and I was hoping that you might know of something we can do to help her." Father Doherty said slowly.

After a moment of listening, Father Doherty smiled, then said, "Thank you, Carson. I'll do that. May I call you back if that doesn't yield any results?"

Margaret pulled away from Father Doherty and looked at him expectantly.

"Thank you, Carson. You've done so many amazing things. May God's blessings and bounty be bestowed upon you." Father Doherty said warmly.

He gave a chuckle, then noticed Margaret's inquiring gaze on him.

"Give me just a moment. Carson just told me about something that might be able to help you." Father Doherty said quietly, then keyed his mic again.

"Dizzy? I have a Margaret Childress here who would like very much to stay in Kettle Falls. Carson suggested that you might be able to help me." Father Doherty said carefully.

After a moment, Father Doherty looked to Margaret and asked, "Is it true that you've worked as a manager of a cleaning crew?"

"Yes. Back before my husband died, he would work days and be home with the boys at night while I worked." Margaret said quickly.

"As it turns out, they are in need of someone to oversee the crews that clean and restock the houses between occupancy. If you're interested, I can make those arrangements for you and you'll be able to stay here for as long as you like." Father Doherty said as he watched carefully for her reaction.

"Yes! That would be wonderful... except, who'll watch out for the boys?" Margaret asked as her hopes seemed to fall.

"Dizzy? Margaret is concerned that she doesn't have anyone to care for her children while she is working. Is there any sort of day care available, that you know of?" Father Doherty asked hopefully.

He broke into a smile, then told Margaret, "The local school is being used as a childcare facility. We can check with them about the particulars and perhaps they'll be able to watch after the boys for you. And if that doesn't work out for some reason, I can promise you that between Brother Emo and myself, we'll find someone to watch after them."

"Thank you, Father. I'd really like to stay here. I mean, if Brody is looking for me, how's he going to find me if I have to keep moving?" Margaret asked as her eyes began to tear up again.

"Dizzy. Margaret would like to accept the cleaning supervisor job. Will you tell me what she has to do?" Father Doherty asked as he pulled Margaret into another hug.

"He says that you'll need to talk to a gentleman named Lansing Durante to get the details. He's not available at the moment, but will meet you at the arena at four this afternoon, if you're interested." Father Doherty said with a smile.

Sharlette looked up with surprise when Lansing's name was mentioned, but didn't react otherwise.

Margaret gave Father Doherty a sudden kiss on the cheek, then quickly said, "Thank you. Thank you so much, Father."

Father Doherty returned her enthusiastic hug, then quietly said, "Please Margaret, call me Brian."

* * * * *

Once the emotional scene was finished, and Margaret had collected herself, she seemed to notice Sharlette and Emo.

"We're out on a shopping expedition to buy some baby supplies. You remember Colton, don't you?" Father Doherty asked gently.

"Oh, yes. Of course. How is he?" Margaret asked with concern.

"Colton is doing just fine. But we've realized that he's going to need quite a few things if we're going to be staying here." Father Doherty said honestly.

"So, you're staying too?" Margaret asked with a smile.

"Yes. I feel that there is much good we can do in Kettle Falls." Father Doherty confirmed, then thought to ask, "Would you and the boys like to join us? I would value your opinion on our selections."

Margaret seemed to consider for a moment, then smiled as she nodded her agreement.

* * * * *

"Where do you want us?" David asked as he led his group to the check-in desk where Roris, Lawrence and Joe were working.

"Things have slowed down. I think Joe can handle it on his own for a little bit." Roris said as he backed his wheelchair away from the desk.

"Thank you for doing this. Everyone's really excited about having the chance to really help people." David said honestly.

"Believe me, I know how it is." Roris said as he moved to be more or less at the center of the gathering.

"Yes. I think that's something else that they're excited about. You can understand them in a way that I never can." David said regretfully.

"But you can help them in ways that I can't. I have limits that you don't. Don't be sorry. It is what it is." Roris said, then noticed everyone around them, listening to their every word.

"The first thing you're going to need to know is how to navigate a computer program called 'Dizzy'."

* * * * *

By the time they reached the third shop, the two boys were bored beyond words.

They stood together, at the front of the shop, and looked longingly out at the bustle of activity, that seemed so near and yet so far out of their reach.

"Mom! Can I go to the skate park?" A boy called out as he ran into the shop.

"Frankie! I'm with a customer!" The sales lady scolded.

Cody and Jody looked on with interest as the boy squirmed, waiting to be heard.

"I think we'd like to look at the bassinets for a few minutes." Sharlette said to the sales lady, then glanced at the boy with a smile.

Cody and Jody moved closer to hear what the boy was going to ask.

"So what is it that's gotten you so fired up?" The sales lady asked indulgently.

"They've got a bunch of people setting up a thing at the skate park, and it's just for kids my age! They're going to have food and music and skateboarding and... can I go? Please!" Frankie begged.

"You know how I feel about that place. It's just a broken arm waiting to happen."

"But Mom! All the other guys are gonna get to go!" Frankie whined.

"If your dad hadn't been called in to work at the lab, he'd be able to take you." She said irritably, then seemed to mellow slightly before continuing, "I tell you what, when Marie gets here at two, I'll walk over there with you."

"But that's hours and hours!" Frankie whined.

Margaret felt sympathy for the boy, then noticed her two sons watching, but not even daring to hope that they might be able to go.

"Excuse me." Margaret said, drawing the sales lady's attention.

"We'll talk later." The sales lady hissed to her son, then smiled and asked Margaret, "May I help you?"

"I overheard your son talking about some sort of event taking place and it sounds as though it might be something that my sons would enjoy. Can you tell me where it is?" Margaret asked carefully.

"Yes. Out the door and about three blocks down, on your right." The sales lady said hesitantly, like she was about to say more, but was holding it back.

"I don't mean to intrude, but if you're concerned about your son not having adult supervision, he could come with us." Margaret said carefully.

The sales lady seemed to be considering the offer.

"My name is Margaret. I know we only just met, but I understand the position you're in. I worry myself half to death over my children." Margaret said quietly.

"Thank you, Margaret. I'm Melanie, by the way. And if you really don't mind watching after Frankie for a few hours, I'll be able to join you when my relief arrives at two." Melanie said with a smile.

"Yes. That should work out fine. I have an interview at four. I've heard that the school is operating as a daycare, do you know anything about how that works? I'm going to need to leave my sons with them while I'm interviewing." Margaret said thoughtfully, then glanced back at her sons, who were looking, longingly out the front window again.

"Nonsense! If you're going to keep an eye on Frankie, the least I can do is return the favor and watch after yours while you're in the interview." Melanie said with a smile.

"Thank you. That will help so much! It's been years since I've had an interview and I'm scared half to death!" Margaret said honestly.

"You'll be fine." Melanie said with a smile.

"Boys? Will you come over here?" Margaret called to her sons.

"You, too, Frankie." Melanie said to her son.

As the boys drew near, Margaret nodded to Melanie that she could tell them all.

"Margaret has volunteered to go to the skate park with you until I can get off work. Now, you remember to listen to her. If I hear that you've misbehaved, you'll be answering for it for a very long time." Melanie told her son firmly.

"I'll be good." Frankie promised.

"We can really go?!" Jody asked in amazement.

"Yes. You really can." Margaret told her son happily.

"And when I get off work, I'm going to watch after you guys for a while." Melanie said to Margaret's boys.

Margaret noticed Father Doherty watching the proceedings with a tender smile.

"Thank you for everything, Father... I mean, thank you, Brian." Margaret said timidly.

"Remember, if you or the boys need anything at all, be sure that you call me." Father Doherty said sincerely.

"I will." Margaret said with a smile, then stepped forward and pulled Father Doherty into a quick hug, before walking to the front door where the three boys were anxiously waiting.

* * * * *

"May I help you?" The woman behind the counter asked pleasantly.

"Yeah. I think so. My name is Amber Pyle. They told me at the hospital that I needed to come here to get signed in so I'll have a place to live." Amber said nervously.

"It's nice to meet you, Amber. My name is Rhodesia. Welcome to Kettle Falls. I have your records right here. This shows that you're..." The woman at the desk was saying, but a low droning voice drew their attention to a group of people a few counters down.

"I'm sorry, that's the special needs check in. As I was saying, everything's been arranged for you. I have you down for a two bedroom apartment, here in town. You'll be sharing the apartment with a Jonathan Mann, I'm guessing that's someone you already know." Rhodesia said speculatively.

"Yes. He's in the hospital right now. They told me to come down here to check in so he'll have a place to go when he's released." Amber said seriously, then looked down the line at the special needs desk.

"Good. Then it looks like we have everything in order. We have you set up for a prospective departure in fourteen days, to give your friend a chance to heal before you leave. Just come back here and let us know if you're leaving sooner or later than that." Rhodesia said professionally.

Another droning sound drew Amber's attention, and she quickly said, "Please excuse me. I think that woman needs help."

"That's fine. Here's your address and all the particulars. And, like I said before, just let us know if you're departure date changes, so we can have the apartment ready for the next person." Rhodesia said quickly as she handed Amber some printouts.

"I'll do that. Thank you." Amber said as she picked up her luggage and hurried toward the 'Special Needs' check-in desk.

* * * * *

"Excuse me." Amber said as she approached.

"We'll be with you in just a moment." Joe said slowly and carefully, then glanced back to see what was happening with Bonnita.

She looked around and finally spotted David, squatting by a woman's side, carefully listening to her.

"Excuse me, can I help?" She asked, concerned by the woman's agitated state.

David looked up at her, and considered before saying, "Maybe you can. Bonnita needs some help, going to the restroom. I would normally help her, but there are too many people here for me to be able to do that."

"That's no problem. If you'll watch after my things, I wouldn't mind helping her." Amber said as she placed her luggage at the side of the counter.

"It can be a little tricky if you've never helped anyone..." David began to explain.

"It's okay. This is what I do. I work with special needs people." Amber said pleasantly to David, then turned to Bonnita and said, "I'm ready when you are."

* * * * *

The sudden silence caught both JD and Allen's attention.

By some odd happenstance, they had both stopped typing at exactly the same moment.

Both of them started laughing at the ridiculous happening.

"How's it going?" Allen asked JD with a smile.

"Good. I didn't get to do much writing while we were on the road. So now it's kinda like I'm making up for lost time."

"I don't doubt that it will be a great success with as much thought and hard work as you put into it." Allen said confidently.

"My books don't sell that great. I mean, I've got kind of a loyal following, but my stuff goes over most people's heads. My dad really helped me with that. His books don't sell that great either. He made me see that as long as I'm happy with my work and it says what I wanted it to say, that that's enough." JD said honestly.

"I think that's some really good advice." Allen said warmly.

"Of course, then there's Jody, whose books sell like crazy." JD said in a mock grumble.

Allen laughed, then said, "I know you've got to be proud of him."

"Yeah. I mean, if he were a success at anything, I'd be proud. But for him to be a success at writing is incredible. Even though I know it's his accomplishment, I can't help but feel like I had a part in it." JD said with a distant smile.

"I can only imagine. But I'm happy for you." Allen said sincerely.

"Well, with the country being turned upside down, who knows if or when any of us are going to have a chance to publish any more books." JD said frankly.

"Things will eventually settle down. I can't say that they'll go back to just like they were before, but things will settle and life will go on." Allen said sagely.

JD considered Allen's words and slowly began to nod.

"Ready to go again?" Allen asked with a smile.

"Yeah." JD said with a grin.

After a long silent moment, both of them started furiously typing.

* * * * *

As Amber and Bonnita returned from the restroom, David asked, "Is everything alright?"

"No problems." Amber said happily.

"Thank you so much. I didn't know what I was going to do." David laughed with relief.

"I'm happy to help. Is there anything I can do to help you process people in? It looks like you've got quite a backlog here." Amber said as she looked around.

"Thank you, but there's no need. You see, all these people work here." David said with a smile.

Amber looked around with surprise, then quickly said, "That's great! Are you needing any help?"

"I really can't say, mainly because I'm not the person in charge. If you're looking for a job, you'll need to talk to Roris." David said seriously.

"Yeah. When can I meet him? I'd really like to work here." Amber said happily.

"Roris? What do you think?" David asked the young, red headed man in a wheelchair.

"I think she'll fit in with us just fine." Roris said with a smile at David.

"Rory, this is Mr. Flescher. I told him we'd help him next." Lawrence said as he led a man with a walker toward the desk.

"Lawrence?" Amber asked in astonishment.

"Oh, hi Amber." Lawrence said cheerfully before turning his attention back to helping Mr. Flescher.

* * * * *

"What?" Max asked defiantly.

"You said that you needed to figure some things out. Well, here's your chance to ask some questions." The agent said simply.

"There ain't nothin I want to talk to you about, white boy." Max snarled.

"Good. Then I'll talk. I was born on a farm in Oklahoma in 1974..." The agent began.

"I don't wanna hear this shit!" Max exclaimed.

"Then talk. You can ask me whatever you want. I'm not your dad. I'm not your friend. I'm just some guy who got the idea that you've got a lot of hard questions and no one you can really talk to about them."

After a moment, Max quietly asked, "You won't tell no one?"

"Nope. Keeping secrets is part of my job."

"What's your name?" Max asked cautiously.

"Owen Billings."

"Really? That's one of the whitest, white people names I ever heard." Max said with a grin.

"Thank you?" Agent Billings said with a look of confusion, then broke into a smile.

"Okay, Owen, what do you think it is that I need to hear?" Max asked frankly.

"Mainly that all that stuff about race doesn't really matter anymore. Wait. Let me amend that. The stuff about race doesn't matter to decent, reasonable people, anymore. There are still places where it matters very much. But get to know these people and you'll see that they don't even seem to notice race." Agent Billings said reasonably.

"Yeah. I guess." Max said grudgingly.

"It looks to me like your race played a very prominent role in who and what you are. Now, all of a sudden, what used to be the biggest, most defining thing about you is suddenly not seen as important."

"Yeah. All of a sudden, it's like I'm nothing." Max confided.

"You're a general's son. That's something." Agent Billings said simply.

"Adopted." Max said grudgingly.

"It still counts." Agent Billings countered, then he leaned close and said, "And you got 'chosen'. The other generals got stuck with whatever horrible thing their wives squeezed out. Like the luck of the draw."

Max chuckled at the statement.

"Come on. You've got to have more questions than that. When are you going to have another chance to ask an adult questions without having to worry about it being held against you?" Agent Billings coaxed.

"Okay. I want a straight answer. What's up with people hating on gays? I mean, some guys are into guys, some are into girls. Why does anyone care?" Max asked seriously.

"Good question. And the best answer that I can give you is that some people read some books of bronze age mythology from nomadic desert dwellers and believed it. In those books they were told to hate gays, and not eat shrimp, and I think there were some things about unicorns and dragons in there, too. It's all just a bunch of silly, made up nonsense. But there are still people who take it seriously... or so they would have you believe. They go through and pick the things they agree with and try to make other people do as they say. Then they say that the stuff they don't like is all metaphorical or no longer applies for some mysterious reason." Agent Billings said thoughtfully.

Max thought for a moment, then carefully said, "So they tell people to hate the gays so it'll make it 'us' against 'them', even though there isn't any real difference?"

"Yes. But don't forget about the money. Screaming about the evil gays will make people afraid and bring them in, but then you have to get them to empty their wallets. There's no point to ginning up the hate unless you're getting rich in the process."

"That's sick." Max said disgustedly.

"I've always thought so."

"What's the real reason you wanted to talk to me?" Max asked curiously.

"You looked like you were struggling with how to deal with things and I wanted to help you out." Agent Billings said frankly.

"Thanks for noticing, Owen. I feel a lot better." Max said sincerely.

"If you ever need to talk, I'll be around." Agent Billings said with a smile.

Max chuckled, then said, "Yeah. Every time I look up, there you are."

"Do you feel like getting out of the house for a while? You could walk around the grounds." Agent Billings suggested.

"I should probably be helping the others, doing that stuff for the king." Max said regretfully.

"You can if you want. But if you'd like to take a nice quiet walk in the fresh country air, I don't think anyone would mind too much."

"You wanna come with me?" Max asked quietly.

"That's my job."

Chapter 34: What We've Gained

"Just a heads up." Courtney said from the doorway, announcing her presence.

Everyone turned to pay her their full attention.

"I've been doing some checking, and it looks like you forgot to lay in any feminine hygiene supplies when you were stocking up. You'd better get on it or this could get messy." Courtney said from the doorway, then dashed away.

There was a long moment of silence.

"What's she talking about?" Seth finally asked.

"Riding the cotton pony." Bug said seriously.

When he only saw vacant stares of non-comprehension, he tried again, "You know, putting out the welcome mat for Aunt Flo."

Again, he received only vacant stares.

"She's talking about them needing stuff for being on the rag!" Bug finally spat with irritation.

Jay leaned down and whispered something, then Carson said with a grimace, "Oh, eww."

"I don't get it." Seth said honestly.

"Yeah, well shit... Fuck. Um, you all know where babies come from, right?" Bug asked nervously.

"Well, duh!" Seth said, sounding somewhat offended by the question.

"Even I know that." Oleksandr proclaimed.

"Good, well, the thing is, every month, a woman's body gets ready to have a baby, making a good place for a baby to grow. But if she drops her egg and don't get pregnant, then all that shit ain't good for nothin no more, so she's gotta get rid of it and start fresh." Bug said with difficulty.

"Huh?" Seth asked in confusion.

"Basically, over a couple days, the whole inside of her cooter just kinda sludges out." Bug explained.

Seth and Hobie looked uncomfortable, but Carson looked green.

"Yeah, so, then there's like all this blood and goo and shit that's leaking out for, like, days. When the cat's got a nosebleed, ya gotta do something to sop that shit up." Bug said frankly.

"What about a cat?" Oleksandr asked in complete confusion.

"Pussy cat... never mind. When the shit starts coming out, they need, like, plugs and pads and shit like that. Lots of people are really grossed out or ashamed about that stuff, so they don't talk about it. But from what Courtney was saying, we ain't got the shit that women need to deal with it. So, like it or not, we gotta do somethin about it." Bug said seriously.

"What do they need?" Hobie asked cautiously, pretty sure he didn't want to know.

"I don't really know a lot about it, but I know that there's a ton of that shit, they got all kinds of tampons and pads from wee little sizes for if they're only doing a little drop at a time, to things that can suck up a half a gallon of catsup in one go." Bug said frankly.

"Can't we just get a whole bunch of the biggest ones and tell them all to use it?" Seth asked curiously.

"Yeah. I know it sounds like that should work, but there's two things wrong with it. First, you wouldn't want to walk around one week a month with a pillow stuffed up between your legs. They probably don't want that either. And second is, you gotta respect the bitch maker. I'm talking about PMS. I guess when a cooter starts yacking that shit out, it don't feel too nice. Then there's, like, hormones and shit that goes all crazy and... it's bad. No matter what you do, it's wrong. No matter what you say, she don't want to hear it. She'll get all sad or mad at stupid shit that she wouldn't care about any other time. Trust me, we need to get them every size, every style, fresh scented, with wings, without wings, even the goddamned things that breathe. Also, while we're at it, we need to be sure that we've got lots of Midols and shit like that. Get the president to air drop them in if you have to." Bug said firmly.

"Is that why my mom..." Carson began to ask.

"Douche!" Bug said suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Carson said cautiously.

"Whatever you do, don't forget to order douche. Lots of it." Bug said urgently.

"What... never mind. I don't want to know. I'll just order it." Carson said weakly.

"I don't understand." Oleksandr said in a small voice. Ben hugged the boy, then said, "What Bug is saying is that a few days each month, women have what's called a period. At that time, they need special things to keep clean and tidy. None of us thought to order those things for all the women who will be coming to Kettle Falls, so that's what we're going to do now."

"Right. I'll see if I can get a rush order in from any of our suppliers. Hopefully, one of them's got a bunch of that stuff in one of their warehouses. If not, then I'll start trying Canadian suppliers." Carson said in a rush as he began to type furiously.

As everyone was getting back to work, Ben suddenly announced, "I just got a message that Zane's on his way here. I need to go."

"Then go. We've got this covered." Bug said simply.

Ben looked at Oleksandr with concern and indecision.

"I can call you if I need something." Oleksandr said seriously.

"I'll be back as soon as I'm sure that Zane's alright. Call me if you need anything at all." Ben said gently as he stood.

Oleksandr gave him a quick hug, then took the chair Ben had vacated, so that he could watch the incoming news reports.

* * * * *

"What's wrong?" JD asked when Allen had stopped typing for what seemed like a moment too long.

It took a moment for Allen to draw his attention away from his screen, but he finally said, "The more I look at these schematics, the more I'm convinced that this isn't real."

"Do you mean that someone's playing a joke on you?" JD asked curiously.

"No. Not unless it's a joke by a genius who's well versed in theoretical physics as well as at least a dozen cutting edge technologies. What I'm seeing here is so far beyond our capabilities that it can't possibly be real." Allen said helplessly.

"Do you mean that it doesn't work?" JD asked slowly.

"From what Ryan said in his email, it works. But at our current level of technology, there's no possible way that something like this could have been created." Allen said in confusion.

"And a bumblebee can't fly." JD said simply.

"What?"

"I read this thing a while back that from the size and shape of a bumblebee and how big it's wings are and stuff, that it's impossible for a bumblebee to fly." JD said seriously.

"I think I remember reading that, too. Years later, they finally figured it out." Allen said thoughtfully.

"Right, but the important thing is that for a while, they were stuck with 'what is' conflicting with 'what should be'. It sounds like you have something like that in front of you." JD said seriously.

After a moment to consider, Allen carefully said, "So, the most productive way to proceed is to disregard the fact that it can't possibly exist and accept that it does. Then get to work on cataloging the parts and trying to duplicate their functions with our current level of technology."

"Um, yeah. That's just what I was saying." JD said with a smile.

"Thanks, JD..." Allen began to say when a ringing phone interrupted him.

"Thompson residence." Allen said as he answered the phone.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he's right here. Hold on." Allen said pleasantly, then turned to JD and said, "It's your brother."

JD accepted the phone from Allen and quickly said, "How you doin, Squid?"

Allen looked at JD with surprise, but the expression turned into a tender smile when he saw the contentment in JD's eyes.

"Good. Thanks for calling to let me know that you're doing okay." JD said warmly.

After another moment of listening, JD quietly said, "Allen was talking about all of us going into town to check out the pop-up restaurants and shows. Why don't you talk to Jorry and Nick about that and see if they're interested?"

"No, we'll be staying right here until you're done babysitting. But if it isn't too much trouble, maybe you can call us when you're done there so we can stop by and get you, or maybe you can meet us in town?" JD asked hopefully.

"Yeah. We'll figure it out, then. Love you, Squid." JD finished with a tender smile.

He gave a laugh, then turned off the phone.

"Jody's at that age where he gets embarrassed when I tell him that I love him." JD said as he placed the handset of the phone by Allen's laptop.

"Even so, he probably still needs to hear it." Allen said warmly.

"Yeah. Especially with us being worried about our dads." JD said softly.

"Try not to worry. They'll be fine." Allen said gently as he cautiously put an arm around the boy.

JD resisted for a moment, but finally returned the hug.

* * * * *

"Yeah?"

"Bug?"

"Got it in one. Who the fuck is this?"

"It is you! Bug, it's Amber!"

"Amber? You're here?"

"Yeah, I just got in. I'm here with Lawrence at the special needs check-in."

"How are you doing? Do you have everything you need?"

"I'm fine, but Mr. Mann's in the hospital, right now. They're still checking him out, but they told me to get checked in so that he'd have a place to go when he's released."

"Listen, I got a fuck of a lot of work to do here. But if you or Mr. Mann need anything at all, you be sure and call me."

"They told me at the checkpoint that you're the one who's running this whole refugee center thing."

"No. But I'm helping out the guy who's running it. I hate like fuck to do this, but I've got to go. Call if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks for what you're doing."

"Yeah. Bye."

* * * * *

When the door opened, Keil walked out and noticed Agent Cole waiting for him, just outside.

"Can you tell me about my son, now?" Keil asked hopefully.

"Yes. But not here. Follow me and we'll go where we can talk more privately." Agent Cole said seriously as he began to walk.

The agent who had accompanied Keil to the door gave a slight nod to Agent Cole, then withdrew into the room that was serving as a security office/barracks.

"Is it something bad?" Keil asked anxiously as he followed.

"No. Not at all. But from what I understand, your son has some emotionally charged things happening in his life at the moment. It's not my place to discuss his situation with you, but I'm going to ask for you to trust in my judgement for a short time." Agent Cole said carefully as they walked down the stairs.

"How long are we talking about?" Keil asked anxiously.

Agent Cole gestured toward the front door, where they had entered.

Keil saw a group of mostly children surrounding a boy holding a tiny baby. For just a moment, he flashed back to a memory of when his son was that age, and how much joy he had felt while holding him.

Once they were outside, Agent Cole quietly said, "When the events in your son's life have had a chance to settle a bit, I'll work with you to initiate contact with him."

"So he's going through something right now?" Keil asked with concern as he noticed the tents in the front yard.

"Aren't we all?" Agent Cole asked frankly.

Keil gave a reluctant smile, then said, "I guess we are."

"It won't be any longer than necessary, I promise." Agent Cole said earnestly.

Before Keil could respond, he turned at a sound and they watched as an ambulance approached.

Neither said anything as they watched the ambulance turn into the driveway, then veer off and continue on around the side of the house.

Keil looked at Agent Cole and found that he had one hand on his earpiece and seemed to be listening intently to something.

When Agent Cole noticed, he quietly asked, "Are we agreed?"

"Yeah. It sounds like you're doing what's best for Jake, so I'll follow your lead." Keil reluctantly said.

"Then remain quiet and follow me." Agent Cole said as he started to walk around the house, where the ambulance had gone.

"What's up?" Keil asked with concern.

"Just keep quiet and watch." Agent Cole said quietly as he reached the corner of the house, then peeked around it quickly.

"What's going on?" Keil asked anxiously.

"Look over there, at the ambulance. Just watch." Agent Cole said as he urged Keil to step forward.

As Keil looked around the corner, he could see one of the ambulance workers securing the doors.

"Wait for it." Agent Cole whispered.

Keil continued to watch as a thin young man with 'dirty blond' hair and dressed in nearly all black, stepped out of the ambulance and waited.

A few seconds later, he saw the ambulance workers pulling a bed out of the ambulance with someone on it.

Keil felt a twinge of sympathy as he saw the thin young man immediately take the hand of the man on the ambulance bed and hold it tenderly.

Keil and Agent Cole watched in silence until the ambulance workers had guided the bed inside.

"That's a little of what your son is dealing with right now." Agent Cole finally said.

"My son?" Keil gasped.

"He's the one dressed in black." Agent Cole said softly.

Keil had to fight the urge to run to the house and find his son, but finally, his thinking mind seemed to take over and he quietly said, "I thought he'd be back in Chicago."

"I know. And I hope that seeing him has helped to ease your mind a bit." Agent Cole said as he motioned for Keil to follow him back around to the front of the house.

"There's so many things that I want to know..." Keil said quietly.

"And I'd like to be able to tell you what I know about him, but I feel that it's best that your son tell you in his own time and his own way." Agent Cole said as he came to a stop.

"Thank you. I'm sure you're right." Keil said regretfully.

"What I can tell you is that your son is known to most people around here as 'Brother Jacques'." Agent Cole said carefully.

"He's a priest?" Keil asked in shock.

"No. I don't think so. I can't really say that I understand how that works, but I thought that you should know that if someone mentions 'Brother Jacques' that they're talking about your son." Agent Cole said seriously.

"Brother Jacques." Keil said with the beginning of a smile, then continued, "Over the past ten years I've imagined about a million different ways that his life might have turned out. Never once, did I ever imagine something like this."

"Just give him some time to adjust to what's going on. When things seem to have calmed down, I'll take you to talk to him." Agent Cole promised.

"What should I do until then?" Keil asked cautiously.

"Why don't I take you inside so that we can have an early lunch? Once we've eaten, we can reevaluate and make our decision from there?" Agent Cole suggested with a smile.

"Yeah. Thanks." Keil said sincerely, then quietly asked, "Do you mind if I ask you your first name?"

"Damion." Agent Cole said simply.

"Thank you, Damion. I really appreciate the fact that you've gone out of your way to help me and my son." Keil said honestly.

"You realize that I'm also keeping you under surveillance while you're in a high security area." Agent Cole said cautiously.

"Yeah. I get that. But you didn't have to be nice about it. I appreciate that you are."

* * * * *

As soon as Zane was off the elevator, Brother Jacques was again at his side, holding his hand.

"Is the moving around hurting you too much?" Brother Jacques asked anxiously.

"It hurts, but it's okay." Zane said as he squeezed Jacques' hand in assurance.

"Well, just as soon as we get you into your bed, you won't have to move around any more." Brother Jacques said softly.

"That will be nice." Zane said with a weak smile.

As they walked into their bedroom, Brother Jacques was surprised to see Ben waiting for them.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to the hospital today to visit with you." Ben said as he stood aside, so the ambulance workers could pull the wheeled bed along side the hospital bed in the room.

"I'm glad you're here, Ben." Zane said honestly.

"Do you have your pillow? We're about to move you, just like before." One of the ambulance workers said seriously.

Brother Jacques released Zane's hand and got the small beanbag pillow for him.

Zane clutched the pillow to his chest, then nodded that he was ready.

As gently as possible, they shifted Zane onto the hospital bed.

From the expression on Zane's face, being moved was painful for him, but not so much that it made him cry out.

"Good. You look like you're going to be fine. There should be a nurse visiting in the next hour or so to check on you. If you need anything before then, be sure to call the hospital right away." The ambulance worker said professionally.

"Thank you. I will." Zane said tiredly.

"Do you need anything right now?" Ben asked quietly.

"I just need to close my eyes for a few minutes. Thanks for being here, Ben." Zane said as his eyes drifted shut.

At Ben's look of concern, Brother Jacques said, "The doctor gave him something to help him deal with the pain he was going to feel on the trip. He said that Zane might be sleepy for a while."

"Okay. Do you need to do anything, while I'm here?" Ben asked gently.

"I'm fine." Brother Jacques said automatically.

"Jacques, you've been with Zane every minute since the surgery. I can stay here with him while he's asleep so you can get a shower or a bite to eat if you need it." Ben said seriously.

Brother Jacques fought within himself over the decision for a moment, but finally said, "Thank you, Ben. If you don't mind, I'm going to go check on the kids, then get a shower."

"I'll be right here." Ben assured him.

* * * * *

As soon as Brother Jacques left the room, Ben was surprised to hear Zane quietly say, "Thank you for doing that, Ben."

"It's no problem. I'm right here whenever you guys need me." Ben said as he moved closer to Zane's bedside.

"I've never been in love before. I didn't think it would be this scary." Zane said softly.

"What has you scared?" Ben asked curiously.

"It's like I'm his whole world. I'm not good enough for someone to feel that way about me." Zane said as he tiredly looked up at Ben with concern.

Ben smiled at the comment, then whispered, "You don't have to be good enough. He loves you just the way you are."

"I don't know what to do to make him happy." Zane said anxiously.

"You don't have to do anything, just let him share in your life. That's what makes him happy." Ben said with a smile.

"I don't know how." Zane said seriously.

"You're over thinking it. Just let it happen and deal with each new thing together." Ben said gently.

"Okay. Thanks Ben." Zane whispered as he finally gave in to the sleep trying to overtake him.

* * * * *

As Brother Jacques walked down the stairs to the first floor, he saw the twins walking in from outside.

"How's Zane?" Ken asked immediately.

"He's resting. He's up in our room. Ben's staying with him right now, so I can check on the kids." Brother Jacques said as he joined them.

"We had to go out for a few minutes, so we can check on them with you." Kev said as he gave Brother Jacques a quick hug.

"Thanks for watching after the kids the past few days. I'm sorry I laid that on you." Brother Jacques said honestly as he switched from hugging one twin to the other.

"It really hasn't been any problem. All the kids have made new friends and have been accepted by the families here. All we've really done is kept an eye on things in case we were needed for something." Ken said frankly.

Once the hugging was finished, the trio walked through the first floor common area toward the main house.

* * * * *

"Excuse me." Mr. Crante said as he intercepted Brother Jacques, Ken and Kev on their way to the living room.

"Yes?" Brother Jacques asked cautiously.

"It has come to my attention that the children you brought with you have very little in the way of clothing. I hope you don't think it too forward of me to ask, but would you consider permitting me to buy a few things to round out their wardrobes?" Mr. Crante asked carefully.

"I hadn't thought about that." Brother Jacques said with concern, then noticed that Mr. Crante was waiting for his answer. "Yeah. I don't know if Father Doherty has planned to do anything about that, but if you want to, I think that would be great."

"Very well. I will see to it." Mr. Crante said respectfully, then withdrew.

Brother Jacques and the twins watched him go, then proceeded to the living room to begin their search for the kids.

* * * * *

As Brother Jacques and the twins entered the living room, they noticed that everyone seemed to have their attention focused on Colton, being held by Nick.

"Oh, thank goodness that you're back." Gordon said when he spotted the twins.

"Is there a problem?" Ken asked with immediate concern.

"No. There haven't been any problems at all, but Lucas called and he wants for me to bring the girls to the school so that they can help with taking care of the younger children. He feels that it could end up being a significant experience for them, allowing them to contribute to the overall refugee effort." Gordon said quickly.

"That sounds like a good idea." Brother Jacques said frankly, then smiled when he saw Jamiah walking toward them.

"So you wouldn't mind if Loquicia went with us?" Gordon asked to be sure.

Before Brother Jacques could answer, he was pulled into a hug from Jamiah.

"Is everything okay?" Jamiah asked as he held on tight.

"Everything's fine. I'm sorry I wasn't here to take care of you and Loquicia." Brother Jacques said gently.

"We're alright. We just missed you." Jamiah said quietly, and it was evident that the boy was fighting back his tears.

After holding Jamiah for a minute to give him time to collect himself, Brother Jacques quietly asked, "Do you think that Loquicia would like to go into town with Gordon to help take care of some babies?"

"Yeah. I think she'd like that." Jamiah said softly.

"While she's gone, you could stay here with me, if you want." Brother Jacques said gently.

"No. Quicia might need me. But if I go... will you still be here when we get back?" Jamiah asked hopefully.

"Yes. Zane's out of the hospital now, so I'll be right here." Brother Jacques said with a smile.

"Okay. I'll go then." Jamiah said decisively.

"Are you going to be staying around here, today?" Gordon asked cautiously, directing his question mostly toward the twins.

"Yeah. As far as I know. We just had the one errand that we wanted to do while it was still early." Ken answered cautiously.

"Then, would you mind keeping an ear open for our boys. Lazlo's in town doing something for Carson right now, but he might turn up later. Both Jay and Lazlo have been very self sufficient, but I'd feel a lot better about leaving if I knew that there were an adult nearby."

"Yeah. We'll be here if they need anything." Ken said seriously.

"In fact, I'll let Jay know that he can come to us, just in case something comes up." Kev said casually, then broke into a smile as he continued, "I assume that he's in with Carson."

"I wouldn't expect to find him anywhere else." Gordon said with a grin, then turned to Jamiah and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

Jamiah looked up at Gordon and quietly said, "Yeah."

* * * * *

"Good afternoon." Mr. Crante said as he answered the front door.

"Hi. When I was checking in, they asked if I were interested in a paralegal job. I'm supposed to ask for Debra Brown." A young woman said nervously.

"May I tell her who is calling?" Mr. Crante asked slowly.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. I haven't interviewed for a job for a few years, I've been staying home, taking care of my family. My name is Janet Hayes."

Mr. Crante gestured toward the living room as he said, "If you would care to come in, I will inform Mrs. Brown that you have arrived."

"Um, yeah. Do you think she'll mind if we have some company in the interview?" Janet asked cautiously as she looked down and behind her at her two young children.

"I will inquire of Mrs. Brown when I announce you. Please, do come in." Mr. Crante said as he held the door open for her to enter.

"Thank you."

* * * * *

When Brother Jacques walked into Carson's room, he was surprised to see Oleksandr, sitting at a computer, by himself, apparently diligently working on something.

"How are you doing, Oleksandr?" He asked quietly.

"Brother Jacques!" Oleksandr said happily as he ran across the room to pull Brother Jacques into a hug.

"Are you doing alright?" Brother Jacques asked as he returned the hug.

"Yeah. I got adopted." Oleksandr said happily.

"The twins told me about that. I'm really happy for you Oleksandr." Brother Jacques said sincerely.

"I gotta watch the computer for Ben right now, but if you want to know where Ty or Dax are, you can ask Carson and he can find them or call them for you." Oleksandr said as he moved back to his chair in front of the computer.

"It looks like you're really busy, here." Brother Jacques said as he walked behind Oleksandr to see the computer screen.

"Yeah. It's Ben's job to watch the news and stuff, so we'll know what's going on. But since he's with Zane, I'm getting to watch it for him." Oleksandr said seriously.

"It looks like you're doing a great job. I'll leave you to it." Brother Jacques said with a smile.

* * * * *

Mr. Crante led Janet and her children into the living room, then excused himself before leaving the room.

"Baby!" One of her children said happily as she tottered toward the collection of boys.

"Destiny, come back here!" Janet whispered harshly as she tried to catch the little girl.

While she was doing that, her three year old boy was wandering off in a different direction, looking around at the new surroundings.

Kev watched the happenings curiously for a moment, but when the boy started toward the hallway, he hurried over to get him.

"No you don't, little guy." Kev said as he approached.

The little boy giggled and took off like a shot in a different direction.

"Destiny!" Janet said as the little girl scampered over and tried to climb into the chair where Nick was holding Colton.

"She's fine. She's not hurting anything." Ken said warmly.

"I'm gonna get you!" Kev said as he chased the little boy back into the living room.

The boy giggled again as he changed directions and ducked behind the couch.

"Aiden Benjamin!" Janet said sternly, but it was no use. The little boy was so caught up in the fun of 'catch me if you can' that he didn't even hear.

Janet looked back to her daughter and couldn't restrain her smile.

Destiny was snuggled in beside Nick, quietly cooing to the baby in his arms.

"Gotcha!" Kev said from behind the couch and emerged with a squirming and giggling boy.

"Thank you." Janet said in relief.

"Janet?" Deb asked from the living room doorway.

"Oh, yes. Are you Mrs. Brown?" Janet asked quickly.

"That's right, please call me Deb."

"I don't know if that man asked you, but is it okay if I bring my kids in while we talk?" Janet asked hopefully.

"Guys, do you think you could keep an eye on the kids for a few minutes while we do an interview?" Deb asked seriously.

"We're going to want hazard pay." Ken said playfully.

"How about extra dessert tonight at dinner?" Deb asked with a smile.

"We have a deal." Ken said happily.

Deb turned to Janet and asked, "Will that be alright with you?"

"Sure. I guess. I don't want to be a problem." Janet said uncertainly.

"The guys are in here with the baby anyway, so it's no inconvenience." Deb said warmly, then gestured for Janet to follow.

* * * * *

After getting a quick update from Carson about what Ty and Dax were doing, Brother Jacques quietly said, "I'd better get back to Zane."

"Hang on a second and I'll go with you." Bug said as he stood from his computer.

At Brother Jacques' curious look, Bug continued, "I've been sitting all morning. Things are quiet at the moment, so I need to get up and move around while I have the chance."

"Do you have your subvocal on?" Carson asked seriously.

"Yes, mom." Bug said in a sing song voice as he walked to Brother Jacques' side.

Everyone watched as Bug and Brother Jacques left the room.

* * * * *

"...although he had been told to stay behind, Benny Bear had to know where his new friend had gone. He was careful to hide, so he wouldn't frighten anyone. He hunched down behind hedges and fences, creeping closer and closer, until he found the great big building. It was filled with lots and lots of people. There were no bears, like him, but they were all young like he was and like his friend Elijah." Jody said slowly to the children gathered around him.

"Was it a school?" Aiden asked in wonder.

"That's right! Benny Bear had found the preschool where his new friend Elijah had gone." Jody said happily.

Ken had the little boy cuddled between him and Jody. Kev was on the other side of Nick and Colton, holding the boy's younger sister. Jorry was sitting away from the others, but seemed to be as caught up in the storytelling as any of them.

"Benny Bear wanted to go into the school, to find Elijah, but he knew if he did, people would be afraid. So he waited outside and watched the building, waiting for Elijah to come out so that they could play." Jody continued dramatically.

Ken glanced toward the door and noticed that Bug and Brother Jacques were standing there, watching. He quickly extricated himself from the couch and hurried to Bug's side to give him a hug.

As he was hugging, Bug leaned close to Ken's ear and whispered, "We need to have kids."

Ken was stunned by the pronouncement and released Bug so he could step back and see his face.

"You mean 'someday', right?" Ken cautiously asked.

"I don't believe in someday." Bug responded seriously.

Ken was stunned and didn't have a clue of what to say to that.

"I can see what you're feeling when you're with the kids, and I want for you to be able to feel that every day." Bug said gently.

"But..." Ken stammered.

"We've never talked about it and I thought you should know how I feel. Talk with Kev and we'll discuss it later." Bug said seriously.

"I love you." Ken chuckled, then moved in to give Bug a firm kiss.

* * * * *

Brother Jacques watched the scene unfold before him with a tender smile.

When it appeared that Ken and Bug had everything settled, he quietly started to back away to return to his room.

"Hang on, Jacques. I want to see how Zane's doing before I get back to work." Bug said quickly.

"I need to stay here with the kids." Ken said quietly.

"Yeah." Bug said with a smile, then added, "Remember what I said."

Ken chuckled and said, "I probably won't be able to think of much else."

Bug flashed him a quick grin, then left the room with Brother Jacques at his side.

* * * * *

"How's he doing?" Brother Jacques asked with concern as he entered the room.

"He's been sleeping most of the time that you've been gone. Are the kids alright?" Ben asked curiously.

"They're all good. I saw Oleksandr down there working on a computer, just like an old pro." Brother Jacques chuckled.

"I should get back to him." Ben said regretfully as he looked at his cousin.

"Stay for a minute." Zane said as he slowly opened his eyes.

"You're awake. Did you sleep well?" Ben asked gently.

"Yeah. Nice nap." Zane said with a weak smile, then looked at Bug and Brother Jacques gathered around his bed.

"What are you doing here, Bug?" Zane asked curiously.

"I was needing to take a break, so I decided to come up here and see how you're doing." Bug said simply.

"Thanks." Zane said sincerely. Given the isolated life that he'd lived so far, it amazed him that he had so many people, virtual strangers, who were concerned about him.

A knock on the door drew their attention and Bug quickly said, "I'll get it."

Zane couldn't imagine who it could be, but somehow he felt like a kid on Christmas morning, having one wonderful, glorious surprise heaped on top of another.

* * * * *

"Excuse me if this is a bad time, we were wondering if Brother Jacques is available to talk with us for a few minutes." A man in a nondescript suit said professionally.

"It's the Feds, ditch the stash." Bug called into the room, then with a grin he told the strangers at the door, "Come on in."

Everyone in the room watched silently as the strangers entered.

"Please forgive us for intruding. I'm Agent Cole..."

"Just spit it out. What do you need?" Bug said in a bored tone.

Brother Jacques stepped away from Zane's side as he stared at the man standing silently at Agent Cole's side.

"Brother Jacques, there's no easy way for me to say this..."

"But you're going to take half the day to do it anyway. For fuck's sake, just say it!" Bug said irritably.

Agent Cole spared a glance of annoyance at Bug, then continued, "Brother Jacques, this is your father."

"Dad?" Brother Jacques asked hesitantly.

"Hi, Jake." Keil said quietly.

"When did you get out? I thought you were in for another year?" Brother Jacques asked cautiously.

"They released me a few days ago. It's a long story." Keil said carefully, then hesitantly asked, "How are you doing?"

"Right this minute... I don't know." Brother Jacques said honestly.

"Hold up. What the fuck is going on?" Bug asked sternly.

Brother Jacques broke out of his racing thoughts at the question and he absently responded, "My dad's been in prison for the last ten years. Now he's here."

Bug looked from Brother Jacques to Keil for a moment, then asked, "Is that a good thing?"

Brother Jacques looked past the tears welled in his eyes at his father and quietly responded, "Yeah."

"Then get the fuck over here and let him know it. God!" Bug said with a roll of his eyes.

Brother Jacques walked on shaking legs across the room and pulled his father into a tight, desperate hug.

After watching for a moment, Bug turned to Ben and said, "I gotta get back to work. You keep an eye on them?"

"Yeah. I've got it." Ben said with a smile.

"Keil, I'll be right outside." Agent Cole said as he fell into step beside Bug.

"Thanks, Damion." Keil responded as he continued to hug his son.

"Secret Service?" Bug asked curiously.

"Yeah." Agent Cole said shortly.

"I never thought you guys'd do something like reuniting a guy with his dad, like that." Bug said honestly.

"We're not known for our good deeds, but that doesn't mean that we don't do them." Agent Cole said frankly as he stopped outside the door.

"Can I call you Damion?" Bug asked as he also stopped.

"Sure, I guess." Agent Cole said cautiously.

"Okay. I gotta get back to work, Damion. I'll see you around." Bug said with a grin before turning to leave.

"Yeah. See you around." Agent Cole responded automatically.

As he waited outside the door, he had time to consider just what his interaction with Bug actually meant.

* * * * *

"I'm sorry, Jake. I'm so sorry things worked out the way they did." Keil said as he held his son close.

"It's okay, Dad. I always knew you loved me and that you didn't mean for things to happen that way." Brother Jacques said reassuringly.

"I didn't mean..." Keil began to say, but was interrupted.

"I know, Dad. You don't have to explain. You lost it. I get that." Brother Jacques said gently.

"For the past ten years, I've been trying to figure out how I was going to explain it to you when I didn't even understand it myself." Keil said frankly.

"She pushed you too far and you snapped. That doesn't make it right but I understand that you didn't mean for things to turn out the way they did." Brother Jacques said softly.

"While I was in there, I got help." Keil said seriously.

"Good." Brother Jacques said as he pulled back enough to look his father in the eyes, then continued, "Dad, there's someone that I'd like for you to meet."

Keil smiled, simply at the fact that his son wanted to include him in his life.

"Dad, this is my boyfriend, Zane." Brother Jacques said as he turned, keeping one arm around his father.

"It's nice to meet you, Zane. You can call me Keil, if you like."

"Thank you, Keil. It's a pleasure to meet you." Zane said warmly.

"I can see that you've been hurt, are you going to be alright?" Keil asked cautiously.

"He's going to be fine. According to the doctor, all he needs now is lots of sleep. Everything else will take care of itself, given enough time." Brother Jacques said confidently.

"Guys, I need to get back to work, too. I just wanted to be sure that you had everything you needed." Ben said quickly, before the conversation took off on another tangent.

"Thanks, Ben. I'm glad you were here." Zane said sincerely.

Ben smiled at his cousin for a moment, then quietly made his way out of the room.

* * * * *

"So, Dad, how long have you been here?" Brother Jacques asked cautiously.

"Just a few hours." Keil answered honestly, not knowing how much he 'should' say about his reason for coming.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Zane asked curiously.

"Are you going to stay?" Brother Jacques asked before Keil could answer.

"No. I don't know. Things are kind of up in the air for me at the moment." Keil said cautiously.

"Are you in trouble? Is that why you've got an agent waiting outside the door for you?" Brother Jacques asked with concern that could be seen in his eyes.

"It's complicated. I really don't have any plans yet." Keil said frankly.

"My dad can help." Zane said suddenly.

Brother Jacques looked at Zane with surprise at the suggestion, then broke into a smile as he said, "Yeah. Between him and Bug and Ben, I bet we can get everything worked out for you."

"I don't want to be any trouble." Keil said quietly.

"Don't worry about that. These guys take care of things like this all day long. None of them will even think twice about helping and it'll make them happy to be able to do something." Brother Jacques said confidently.

"Let me see how things work out with the Secret Service before I start making plans." Keil said thoughtfully.

"Secret Service? What are you into, Dad?" Brother Jacques asked anxiously.

"Don't worry, Jake. I'm doing what's right. That doesn't mean that things will necessarily turn out right for me, but I have the peace of mind of knowing, going into it, that no matter what happens, that I'm going to be helping people." Keil said sincerely.

"That wasn't anything like an answer, was it? What are you into, Dad?" Brother Jacques asked again.

"There are things that I can't discuss, and other things that I don't care to. Please let me get things sorted out, then I'll talk to you about what I'm doing here." Keil said frankly.

"Okay, Dad. But just remember that Zane and I have some really important friends. If you find yourself in trouble, just let one of us know. We'll be able to help." Brother Jacques said seriously.

"I feel like right this minute that I have everything that I need, everything that I've been dreaming of for the past ten years." Keil said with a watery smile.

"Yeah, well that won't keep you warm at night or put food in your belly. When you're ready, come to us and we'll get everything worked out for you." Brother Jacques said seriously.

"Okay. I'll do that. I promise. But right now, I need to get back to Agent Cole, so I can see what I need to do next." Keil said regretfully.

"We'll be right here whenever you need us." Brother Jacques said as a vow.

"I love you, Jake. I'm sorry about everything." Keil said as his tears welled again.

"I know. I'm sorry, too. But I love you, too, Dad."

After a long minute of hugging, Keil reluctantly pulled away, so that he could see what Agent Cole had in store for him next.

* * * * *

"I don't know if you thought about this, but we probably need to be thinking about setting this up to be more like the 1940's." Jingo said frankly.

"Like how?" Dax asked curiously as they walked down a quiet avenue.

"Milkmen, bakeries, tailors, shoemakers, butchers... things like that. If things keep going the way they are, the twenty-first century may be going away for a while. But if we already have a bakery set up when the factories stop producing, we'll be a lot better off." Jingo said frankly.

"I see what you mean. I need to talk to Bug and Carson about that." Dax said thoughtfully.

"If we can get all this set up before we need it, then our people who are staying will be able to help the people who are passing through." Jingo said seriously.

"And until they're needed, we'd still have our community here where people can go to shop and get fresh bread or freshly butchered meat." Dax said with a nod.

"We're going to need help building the shops and storefronts. With all the construction that's been going on around here, it shouldn't take too much to arrange that. But after that we're going to need tools, equipment, and raw materials. Then we may need to think about spinning wheels and looms, and stuff like that, just in case it comes to that." Jingo added.

"Well, I think I overheard that either Hobie or Seth's father was in charge of the new construction. I can ask around about that and see what we can do about the store fronts and shops. As far as the rest, I don't know. I'll see what I can do." Dax said seriously.

"Excuse me, do you know what's going on around here?" A woman asked as she approached.

"Did you need some help with something?" Dax asked curiously.

"I don't know. I drove in here this morning and when the people at the check in found out that I was from Chicago, they said that I didn't have to move on. They said that I could stay here, if I wanted to. What's up with that?" She asked seriously.

"When all of this started, the mayor of Chicago set this up. He wanted for his people to have a safe place where they could go. He has buses of people from Chicago heading this way, right now, so we're trying to get things ready for them." Dax said carefully.

Jingo looked at Dax for a moment, to see if he were going to say more. When it was obvious that he was finished, she turned to the woman and said, "This is Dax, he's Mayor Cappo's son. He's the one who's set things up on this end. If you need anything, he's the guy who can make it happen."

Dax looked at Jingo with surprise, then said, "I wasn't going to tell anyone."

"It'll help people to know that their mayor is still taking care of them, and that his son is in charge here." Jingo said seriously.

"You're Mayor Cappo's son?" The woman asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Up to now, it wasn't something that I told people. I didn't want to sound like I was bragging." Dax said shyly, then thought to ask, "What was your name?"

"Connie Lorenta." She said cautiously.

"Did they give you some directions to where you'll be staying?" Dax asked professionally.

"Yeah. I've got a map and street directions." Connie said as she took the folded papers out of her purse.

"Great. When you get to your house, you should already have food and the basic furniture that you'll be needing. If you need something that you don't have, you can ask anyone wearing a volunteer sash and they'll help you. If they can't help you, then call me." Dax said seriously.

"You really are in charge here, aren't you?" Connie asked in realization.

"For better or worse." Dax said with a weary chuckle.

"And you really are Mayor Cappo's son?" Connie asked to be sure.

"For better or worse." Dax said with a soft smile.

"You and your father are going to make this work. You're good people, more than that you're Chicagoans. We know how to get things done." Connie said proudly.

With a smile, Dax said, "Yes we do."

* * * * *

"Come on, honey. We're almost done." The woman said as she tried to coax her four year old off the bus. He wasn't cooperating, but at least he was being quiet.

"Did you need some help?" A woman wearing a volunteer sash asked as she approached.

"Yes. Please."

"My name is Erika. What can I do to help you?" She asked pleasantly.

"Hi Erika, my name's Hope. And, if you wouldn't mind, could you hold on to Roman for a few minutes? I need to get our things off the bus."

"Of course. Give him here." Erika said with a chuckle.

Once Hope had transferred Roman into Erika's arms, she began walking down the side of the bus, where the luggage was being unloaded.

"They said something on the bus about childcare, do you happen to know anything about that?" Hope asked as she searched for her bags.

"Yes. It's right over there, almost across the street." Erika said simply.

"Do you know how much it costs?" Hope asked with a look of dread.

"It's free. As much as we can, we're trying to make the services free for the people who are passing through." Erika said as she cuddled the boy to her side.

"Yeah. They told us that after a stop here, we'd be moving on to Canada." Hope said anxiously.

"Is that a problem?" Erika asked curiously.

Hope finally spotted her luggage and hurried to pick it up.

When she returned to Erika's side, she said, "My husband, Ian, was in Saudi when everything went crazy. I don't know how he's going to find me if I stay here, much less if I keep on moving."

"All you'll need to do is tell them your husband's name when you check in and you'll be in the database. If he's looking for you, we'll be able to tell him where you are, right away." Erika said pleasantly.

"Oh, that's wonderful. I didn't know how he would be able to find me, half a world away." Hope said with a relieved smile.

"From what I've seen, they've done an amazing job setting all this up on such short notice." Erika said frankly.

"If you'll give Roman to me..." Hope trailed off as she realized that she didn't have nearly enough hands to do what she wanted to.

"I'll walk over with you, if you're ready for the child care." Erika said with a smile.

"Thanks. You're a lifesaver." Hope said as she started walking around the back of the bus, then stopped to look for traffic.

* * * * *

"I think that Roman will do very well in here." An older woman said as she led the women and child to the doorway. Once Hope and Roman were in the room, she quietly left.

"I won't be gone long. I just want to get checked in and get our things put away." Hope said quickly to the elderly woman surrounded by children of various ages.

"Just take as long as you need. We've been having a wonderful time reading the Benny Bear books." Oma Shoupe said warmly.

"Benny Bear?" Roman asked with interest.

"He loves those books." Hope said as she watched her son race across the room to join several other children.

"Mindy, Mandy, stop that." A woman hissed as she herded her twin daughters into the room.

"I'm sure your daughters will have a good time in here, Mrs. Evans.." Another volunteer said as she followed.

"Thank you, Mrs. Rand. But I don't remember what I'm supposed to do next." The woman said as she started swaying unsteadily.

"Why don't you come over here and have a seat?" Erika asked as she hurried to the woman's side.

"I don't have time... theresh shtoo mush to do..." Mrs. Evans said as she more collapsed than sat.

"Call an ambulance." Oma Shoupe said as she scooted a child off her lap.

"Let's just get her some water and give her a minute. I'm sure she'll be fine." Mrs. Rand said nervously.

"Shut the fuck up and call this woman a goddamned ambulance! RIGHT NOW! She looks like she's having a stroke!" Oma Shoupe barked as she approached.

Mrs. Rand stopped in shock for a moment, then ran out of the room.

"Would you mind taking the children into the other room for a moment? I wouldn't want for them to get in the way, and things might get a bit exciting in here." Oma Shoupe asked Hope and Erika hopefully.

"Yes, of course." Erika said immediately, then looked around.

She spotted a teenage boy, sitting quietly across the room and asked, "Would you come over here and help me?"

"Yeah. What do you need?" He asked as he ran across the room.

"I need for you to take one or two of the younger kids into the next room with you and stay with them while we get the rest." Erika said calmly.

"Quicia, Misti, Annie, each of you grab a kid and let's go." Jamiah said firmly.

Erika and Hope were surprised when three of the older children each took a younger one and started guiding them to the door at the back of the room.

"Come on everyone. We need to go to the next room." Hope said in her best imitation of a cheerful voice.

"We'll read some more to you in there." Erika promised as she tried to herd the children as quickly as possible.

"It's alright dear. I hear the ambulance. Just try to stay calm." Oma Shoupe said as she held Mrs. Evans' hand.

"My girlssss." Mrs. Evans slurred anxiously.

"Don't you worry about them one little bit. I'll see to it that they're taken care of." Oma Shoupe said gently, then looked up when she heard feet scurrying up the hallway.

"In here." Mrs. Rand said as she ushered the EMTs into the room.

"She seemed to be confused, then she lost her balance and started slurring her speech." Oma Shoupe said firmly as the EMTs moved Mrs. Evans onto the bed and started checking her vital signs.

"If there's nothing else, I'm going to go into the next room and see to the children." Oma Shoupe said calmly.

"Thank you, Mrs. Shoupe." Mrs. Rand said to her sincerely.

"I'll do my best to watch my language in front of the children for the remainder of the evening." Oma Shoupe said with a slight blush before slowly walking toward the back of the room.

* * * * *

"Bug, have you had a chance to look at the trinary yet?" Carson asked into the otherwise quiet room.

"Yeah. I've been going over it in between things here. It's confusing as fuck, but I think I'm starting to get it." Bug said as he kept the majority of his attention on his laptop screen.

"I just got a message from the Canadian border, things are running smooth there. Us prepping the people before they leave here is speeding things up for them." Carson said quickly.

"Good. Anyone who leaves here should have everything they'll need all ready to go when they hit the border." Bug said as he divided his attention between his conversation with Carson and what was going on on his screen.

"What about..." Carson began to say, when Bug interrupted.

"Hold on, I've got a call." Bug said quickly, then typed a quick command before saying, "Yeah."

"I'm trying to get in touch with someone named Bug."

"You got 'im. What's up?"

"The guy at the checkpoint said that since we're from Orlando, that we should check with you about maybe getting jobs so we can stay here."

"What's your names?"

"I'm Donald Marcus. We've also got Steven Long, Arlan Cavanaugh and Ron Szabo."

"Hang on a second, Donald."

"Please, call me Mal."

After some typing, Bug quietly asked, "Malchijah?"

"That was a long time ago. I don't do that anymore." Mal finished in a mutter.

"So what do you do now?" Bug asked as he started typing quickly.

"I did modeling for a while, but then I moved on to working as a bartender and DJ at a nightclub." Mal said cautiously.

"That'll work. Who've we got next?"

"Ron's a bartender, too. Arlan's been in college and working in the tutoring center for... ever. He's really smart, but he's never had an actual job. And Steven..."

"Hold up, what's Arlan been going to college for? I'm trying to find you guys jobs." Bug said quickly.

"Engineering." Mal responded.

"Okay, I've got that, what about Steven?" Bug asked seriously.

"Well, you see, Steven's got some problems. He hasn't been able to work for quite a while." Mal said uncomfortably.

"Like what kind of problem? I need to know so I can get things set up for you."

"He's really phobic about certain things, the biggest one is that he can't stand for anyone to touch him. It freaks him out." Mal said quietly.

"Okay. Does he have any skills, like on the computer maybe?" Bug asked without pausing.

"Yeah. I guess he knows some stuff. In fact, that's how we knew to come to Kettle Falls." Mal said frankly.

"Hang on." Bug said, then called over his shoulder and said, "Carson, I've got one of yours."

"Who is it?" Carson asked curiously.

"Would you ask Steven what his name is in the kingdom?"

"Cherrybomb."

"Really? Wow. Yeah, we've definitely got a place for him. Tell him that Y2K-Bug, Studmffn and Blue Vulcan welcome him to Kettle Falls and look forward to meeting him."

After a moment, Mal said, "Steven says 'Thanks'."

"Now, down to business. Mal and Ron, if you want to stay here in Kettle Falls, I can get you jobs with a guy named Lucas. He's in charge of lots of pop-up restaurants and bands and stuff like that. I bet he'll be able to find good jobs for you both." Bug said seriously.

"Before we get our hopes up too much, you should know that I'm gay and Ron's transgendered. There have been times when people have suddenly not had any openings when we've applied for jobs." Mal said reluctantly.

"Not a problem, and if it is, you call ME and I'll take care of it." Bug said simply, then continued, "I'd like for Arlan to meet with a man named Allen Thompson, on Monday. I can't promise him a job, but Allen's a good guy and he's in charge of a lot of brilliant people. I bet he'll figure out what to do with him."

"What about Steven?" Mal asked cautiously.

"That's easy. I want him to work for us, as part of our team." Bug said happily.

"I don't know how that will work. His condition is kind of... debilitating." Mal said regretfully.

"What the fuck ever. He can come here and work, he can go to the lab and work or we can get him set up to work from home. It doesn't matter where he does it, but Cherrybomb has some mad computer skills that we can put to good use." Bug said seriously.

"Steven says that he's looking forward to meeting you." Mal said happily.

"I can hear a lot of noise in the background, are you at the stadium?" Bug asked curiously.

"Yeah. We figured we'd talk to you before we tried to check in." Mal said seriously.

"I got you all set up in the system. Just tell 'em your names and they'll give you an address and a map and directions about where to go and who to talk to for jobs. If you need anything else, you can just ask a volunteer or call me and we'll get you all squared away." Bug said pleasantly.

"Thanks, Bug! I was really worried about us coming here, but... Wow! Thanks!"

"That's what we're doing here. Bye." Bug said, then disconnected the call.

"Who was it?" Carson asked curiously.

"Cherrybomb." Bug said with a smile.

"I thought she was from Maine." Carson said cautiously.

"Nope. It appears that he's from Orlando." Bug said with a grin.

* * * * *

"Lazlo?" Bax called toward a group of young teenagers as he got off his gator.

"He's back there." A boy close to his own age said as he pointed.

Bax picked up the large, heavy envelope he was supposed to deliver and hurried toward the small park building.

"Lazlo?" Bax called again.

"That's me." Lazlo said as he peeked around the corner.

"I've got a delivery for you." Bax said as he held out the package.

"You're one of Max's friends, aren't you?" Lazlo asked curiously.

"Yeah. I'm Bax, from Florida." Bax said with a grin.

"Right." Lazlo said as he fought to open the envelope.

"Do you need some help with that?" Bax asked as he watched.

"No. I've got it." Lazlo said as he finally got the flap peeled away.

Bax watched and was surprised to find that Lazlo had received a tablet, much like his own.

"Do you know how to work one of these things?" Lazlo asked as he looked it over, apparently trying to figure out how to turn it on.

"Yeah. I use one for my job. Give it here and I'll show you." Bax said seriously.

Lazlo watched as Bax turned on the tablet, then he asked, "How do I make it do things?"

"What kind of things?" Bax asked cautiously.

"Well, Dad told me to get a tablet so he could send me lists of supplies that he was going to be sending over. So I need to figure out how to make it do that." Lazlo said carefully.

"Do you know how he was going to send the list?" Bax asked slowly.

"No. I don't think he said." Lazlo said weakly.

Bax keyed his microphone and said, "Dizzy, I've got a tablet computer here for Lazlo. Is there any way I can set it up to connect to you from here?"

After a moment of listening, Bax began to tap and drag one screen after another as Lazlo watched.

"Yeah. Thanks." Bax finally said, then released the microphone button.

"Did you get it to work?" Lazlo asked hopefully.

"Yeah. Well, at least it will be in a few minutes. Dizzy's access program is downloading now. Once it's done, you can just ask Dizzy for whatever you want and he can bring it up on your tablet." Bax said seriously.

"Thanks..." Lazlo began to say when a girl ran up to him.

"Vikki wants to know if you've got a better sound system coming."

"Bax, this is Rhonda." Lazlo said quickly, then turned to Rhonda and said, "Tell Vikki that it should be here in less than half an hour. But I talked to my dad and he said that we should have a live band showing up at around six."

"I'll tell her. Thanks, Lazlo." Rhonda said with a timid smile, then hurried away.

Bax glanced at Lazlo and realized that he was completely oblivious.

"She likes you." Bax said simply.

"What?" Lazlo asked in confusion.

"That girl, Rhonda, she likes you." Bax said again.

"Really?" Lazlo asked as he looked where she had gone.

"Yeah. Really." Bax said, then looked down to find that the tablet had almost finished the download.

"When this finishes up, just say your name and then it will show you whatever you need it to. I've got to get going we're really busy..."

"Hey, Laz. Did you get it cleared for us to use the walking path?" A boy asked as he approached.

"Yeah. Dalton, this is Bax. Dad said that you can use it, but you gotta put up orange cones at every entrance. If you want to get a couple of the guys to help you, the cones are inside here." Lazlo said as he motioned to the building.

"Thanks, Laz. This is gonna be awesome!" Dalton said before dashing away.

"Are you in charge?" Bax asked curiously.

"Yeah. I guess I am." Lazlo said shyly.

"Do you think you could help me out with something?" Bax asked hopefully.

"Sure. What can I do?" Lazlo asked immediately.

"The Gophers are needing some more help. We've been out delivering stuff all over the place and we haven't been able to talk to people and find anyone else to help us. Do you think you could find a few people who might want to help out?" Bax asked hopefully.

"Sure. I have people coming up to me every few minutes asking for something to do. You guys get to ride gators all over the place, right?" Lazlo asked curiously.

"Yeah. It's great!" Bax said with a smile.

"When I've got you some volunteers, where do you want me to send them?" Lazlo asked simply.

"Just tell Dizzy that you need a Gopher for an interview and he'll get whoever's closest to come and talk to them." Bax said happily.

"Okay. And if I don't get too many people before six, I'll have the band ask from the stage. I bet anyone under regular driving age will jump at the chance to get a job where they can ride the gators." Lazlo finished with a smile.

"Thanks, Lazlo. That'll help a lot." Bax said gratefully, then quickly added, "I've got to go. I've got people waiting to have stuff delivered."

Bax handed the tablet to Lazlo, then hurried back to his gator.

* * * * *

"Hey, Bug." Hobie said into a silence that had fallen over the command center.

"What you were talking about before, you know, that thing with the lady parts, where'd you learn all that stuff?" Hobie asked curiously.

"My grandmother told me." Bug said simply.

"Really?" Hobie asked in surprise.

"Yeah. She said that when I got old enough to start thinking about girls, that I should know how the equipment works. I guess from what she said, that there's nothing worse than a guy getting down there and not knowing what the hell he's doing." Bug said frankly.

"I guess that makes sense." Hobie said distantly.

"They taught us stuff in health class. They had this picture that kinda looked like a drawing of a deformed moose and said that it was a woman's privates. I never really understood what they were talking about." Seth reluctantly admitted.

"There's a whole lotta shit you need to know because, if you can get in there and do it right... let me tell you, word gets around. You won't ever have to worry about getting a date."

"Will you teach us?" Hobie asked hopefully.

"I'm kinda busy right now, guys." Bug began to say, then saw both boys expressions as their hopes started to fall.

"Fuck. Okay. I can't do it right now, but remind me later and I'll teach you some basics." Bug said with a reluctant smile.

"Thanks!" Hobie said gratefully.

"Yeah. You're awesome!" Seth added happily.

Chapter 35: Snapshot

It's impossible to know what to expect. We've just left the checkpoint and are now on a bus, on our way to the refugee station in a place called Kettle Falls. If first impressions mean anything, this appears to be a well organized effort to help people escape the ravages of war.

Before anyone can say it, I'll concede that news reports are spotty at best and I don't know if there has been any official declaration. But since before I began working as a journalist, I've been all over the world chasing disaster and devastation. I've seen the results of war in more countries than I can name. Regardless of whether anyone has made the official declaration or not, I promise you, I know it when I see it.

Returning to the matter at hand, as we approached the checkpoint station, there was a lighted sign telling us to tune our CB radio to a particular channel or to dial a number on our cell phone. We called the number and were asked a minimal number of questions to identify us, determine our plans and make arrangements for any medical or mechanical needs that we might have.

Since there are only two of us, we were asked to leave our vehicle and proceed into Kettle Falls by bus. We also had the option of checking in and proceeding directly to the Canadian border, but like most others who have been fleeing for their lives, the lure of this oasis in the endless desert of despair is too attractive to pass up. We desperately need to stop and rest before we can go any further.

I never would have thought that the sight of cars, parked in a field, would cause me any sort of emotional reaction. But the miles upon miles of fields filled with cars, neatly slotted into perfect rows, made me realize that each car represented a person or a family that just a week before, had felt safe and secure in their own home and never could have imagined that they would have to flee for their lives.

When we spotted the parked bus, we knew that we had reached our lot. There was a security officer present to direct us where to park. His courtesy and professionalism were impressive, considering that we were standing in what had obviously been a farmer's field a week before.

Marty, as he introduced himself, told us that he was a 'refugee' like we were and that when he had arrived at the checkpoint, they had offered him a job protecting the vehicles of other 'refugees' and that he is being paid room and board in exchange for his service.

When this is all said and done, I believe that we'll be able to look back and see many heroes who have emerged from the chaos. But I think it's worth remembering that there are also people like Marty who are working to provide a sense of safety and security for people who have lost nearly everything.

As I write this, I don't know what to expect. We've been promised a safe place to stop and rest. That may not sound like much on the face of it, but you have to realize that this whole thing was set up and running in a matter of DAYS. Tragedy and horror can sometimes make it seem as though time has frozen, but it hasn't. On Tuesday, no one could have imagined the nightmare that was to come, but as I write this, it's Saturday and beyond all reasoning, I am feeling hope.

* * * * *

As we got off the bus in front of the high school stadium in Kettle Falls, I was dreading the prospect of checking in. There were so many people, I was certain that it would be a long and drawn out process that would take hours. Although there were literally hundreds of people in the stadium, the process itself turned out to be incredibly fast and easy. The check-in stations were divided into regions of the country, and the information that we had given by cell phone before we boarded the bus had been relayed to them, so that when we gave our names, all the preparations had already been made. They simply printed out a map to show where we would be housed and gave us a list of available activities that we could choose to join in.

While the entire experience impressed me, I suppose that one of the things that stood out most to me was the attitude of respect. I've seen refugee camps before. Typically, callus disregard is the 'best' you could hope for. Open hatred and abuse are not uncommon in such situations. Don't get me wrong, it's always possible that you might happen upon 'an angel of mercy', struggling to ease the suffering of the displaced people. But by and large, most of what you will encounter is weary people who are so jaded by the experience that they no longer see people in front of them. They see animals, with less value than cattle, who simply need to be dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible.

However, in Kettle Falls, a volunteer named Katie actually looked me in the eyes and asked me with concern if I needed any type of help beyond what was already being offered. Once she had given me the printouts, she welcomed me to Kettle Falls and wished me well before moving on to the next person. Yes, I said person, not refugee. She saw me as a person and treated me as such. If you haven't been in a situation like that before, you may not see the significance and I don't know if I can effectively relate it to you. Suffice it to say, I walked away from that check-in desk feeling like a hopeful displaced person, not a cowering helpless refugee.

Although I suppose that we could have gone directly to the apartment that we had been assigned, I was curious to know if our experience were typical. So we walked around the stadium to look at some of the other check-ins and found that, indeed, everyone was being treated as well as we had been.

After that, we went outside and began walking to the room that we had been assigned. Since there were two of us, we were given a one bedroom apartment with two beds. Considering that I had been anticipating a tent and a blanket, at best, I was pleasantly surprised.

One of the printouts that we had been given at the check-in showed the locations of several restaurants that were providing free meals to 'guests' in Kettle Falls. Apparently, from what I've observed, there are two classes of people in Kettle Falls; 'Guests' and 'Volunteers'. Not that there's any type of stigma connected with being thought of as a 'guest', but there are a few assumptions being made. First, 'guests' will not be staying on. Second, 'guests' have been displaced from their homes and cannot provide for themselves. Third, 'guests' have been through hell getting here and need to be treated with compassion. I suppose that when dealing with so many people that it's necessary to paint with a broad brush, but I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

Before we left the apartment, I noticed that the cupboards and refrigerator had been stocked with staple pantry items, so that we would have what we needed to cook for ourselves if we felt like it. Neither of us cook, so that wasn't a concern. But I suppose I can see how some people might be able to find solace in a 'home cooked' meal.

Although we were both hungry, we didn't go for the nearest restaurant on the map. The investigative reporter in me wanted to know more about what was happening at the center of town.

As we walked, we passed one of the restaurants and it seemed to be fairly popular. According to the printout, it was a 'full service' restaurant, which I took to mean that they would serve us free food, but they were also serving their regular menu, for those who wished to pay. They weren't 'swamped' with people, but since it was nearing lunchtime they were respectably busy.

The closer to the center of town we got, the more people we saw milling around, going about their business.

When we finally reached the restaurant we had chosen, we were surprised to find that it was a tent kitchen set up in an open grassy area. In other circumstances, it might have been called a 'park' except that there seemed to be such areas every few buildings throughout the town.

There were several people already in line when we arrived, and we briefly discussed going elsewhere. I suppose that I simply thought that all the people were there for a free meal. It didn't occur to me that they might have come to the 'pop up' restaurant because it had exceptionally good food.

When we finally made it to the front of the line, I was surprised to find that we were being served by what looked to be a street punk and a Catholic priest, working side by side. It was such an odd combination, that my reporter's instincts failed me and I didn't ask them any questions about who they were and how they came to be there.

When we moved to one of the many folding tables that had been set up and took our seats, we were treated to the next surprise. The stew that we had been served was the absolute epitome of what a stew should be. I'm not a food critic, by any means, but I've had the good fortune to be able to enjoy a variety of cuisines from around the world. The beef stew served to me by a priest and a thug ranked right up there with any of them. The biscuits that they served were good, but the stew was great.

Once we had finished our meals, we walked further into town. Typically, when I go to a new place, I like to get a sense of the atmosphere before I start conducting interviews. That way I'm more likely to know if what my interviewees are telling me is representative of the experience or something unique to them.

We eventually came upon what really was a park. It wasn't simply a green area. There were play facilities for children and picnic tables for families as well as a variety of other family entertainments. I could see that another pop-up restaurant was in the process of being set up, and it appeared that the entire staff of the restaurant were leather clad bikers.

As interesting as it might have been to talk to them and find out their story, what caught my attention was the group of young teenagers in another part of the park, away from the road. Their flurry of activity intrigued me and I suppose it was my journalistic instincts that drove me to find out what a group of teenagers were doing to occupy themselves during these troubling times. Something told me that that's where I would find my story.

I took a moment to stand and watch what was going on. As much as I enjoy jumping into things feet first and damning the consequences, there are times when quietly observing what is going on yields better results.

All the young teens and pre-teens seemed to be working with purpose, although I couldn't quite determine what that purpose was. I could see some girls going through what looked to be hundreds of CDs. There were also some boys carrying orange warning cones down a walking path. Another group of boys were gathered and talking seriously at the edge of a fairly nice skateboard run.

Every now and then, someone from one of the groups would break away and dash behind a small park building for a few minutes. That intrigued me. Once I noticed that pattern, I paid more attention to the expressions of the people walking toward the building. They were worried or anxious as they approached, but looked to be relieved and assured when they returned. It seemed as though I had discovered the location of the person organizing whatever was about to happen. After one more look around to be sure that I wasn't missing anything, I started walking toward the park building.

As I walked around the corner of the building, I expected to find a group coordinating whatever massive effort was being undertaken. Instead, I found a young teenage boy standing alone, working on a tablet computer.

I could see from his expression of frustration, that he was struggling to understand how to do something. But before I could offer to help him, he seemed to figure it out on his own. As I was about to approach him and ask about what was going on, I saw two older boys emerge from the other side of the park building and run to him.

I watched as they excitedly asked him a question and were immediately given a response. Based on this observation, I decided that I had found the mastermind behind whatever project was being undertaken.

* * * * *

"Excuse me, would you have a minute to talk with me?" I asked as I approached.

"Yeah. I guess. What do you need?" The boy asked curiously.

During our travels around the world, I've interviewed hundreds of people. I've never needed to follow a script or keep note cards with 'talking points' to remind me about what to ask. I was there to get a story, so I would ask about that, then move on.

Somehow, just by looking at me, this young teenage boy completely derailed my train of thought. For just a moment I didn't know what I wanted to ask of him, or for that matter, why I was even there. The boy was just so 'innocent', that expression of guileless anticipation threw me for a loop.

"Hey Laz, Nene said that she thought the dance area is going to be over there, right beside the BMX run. That's not right, is it?" A boy asked with concern as he approached.

"No. We need to keep that area open so that they'll have a place to set up the stage. Have her set up beside the first picnic table. That way, when the band starts playing, they'll still have their dance area. But make sure she checks with Vikki before she does anything, so she won't put anything in her way." The apparent leader, Laz, said seriously.

"Thanks, Laz." The boy said quickly, then dashed away.

Laz did something on his tablet for a moment, then looked at me with question.

"You're in charge?" I asked stupidly. I mean, it was so obvious that I can't believe I asked such a stupid question.

"Yeah." The boy said simply, then looked past me with a smile.

"How's it going, Lazlo?" A man asked as he walked around me and pulled Lazlo into a hug.

"I think everything's going alright." Lazlo said as he hugged the man firmly.

"I brought Jeremy and Hank to help you out. You just tell them what you need done and they'll see that it's taken care of." The man said quietly.

"That's great. This is all getting to be so big that I can use some help." Lazlo admitted shyly.

"You're doing something wonderful and I'm incredibly proud of you. Why don't you show me around and tell me what you've got planned before I have to get back to work?"

"Yeah. I want to introduce you to all my new friends." Lazlo said happily, then stopped and looked at me uncertainly before asking, "Did you need anything else?"

"No. Thank you." I said quietly.

Lazlo apparently took me at my word and started leading the three men away.

Without thought or reason, I followed along.

* * * * *

When it was all done, I pieced together that Lazlo had come up with the idea of having a special teen and tween event in the park. Along with the skateboard feature that was already there, he had set up a BMX bicycle run on the walking paths through the park. He also somehow arranged for a live band to arrive later in the day and the pop-up restaurant. Music had already started playing and kids were starting to gather.

Meeting Lazlo and witnessing his accomplishments thus far had diverted me from my task of investigating what was really going on in Kettle Falls. A part of me wanted to stay. I wanted to see Lazlo achieve his goals. But the investigative reporter within me urged me to move on and find out what lay beneath the facade of warmth and compassion that I had witnessed so far.

* * * * *

As we walked, we somehow found ourselves returning to the stadium, where we had first arrived. I felt a new determination to discover the truth, so I walked up to the first desk that didn't have anyone waiting to be served and abruptly asked, "Who's in charge here?"

I'm not really a jerk, but sometimes I act like one, just to get my job done.

For the second time that day I was stunned into speechlessness. The man behind the desk had light blond hair and sky blue eyes. There was no doubt that he was a beauty to behold, but that's not what stopped me dead in my tracks. Just as it had been with Lazlo, the expression of complete innocence on the man's face threw all other thoughts out of my mind.

"I'll get Rory for you." The young man said cheerfully before walking away. He apparently hadn't noticed my rudeness toward him. Even so, that didn't keep me from feeling bad for it.

"How can I help you?" A young redheaded man in a wheelchair asked in a computer generated voice.

It was only then that I realized that I had gone to the 'Special Needs' counter. Walking up here and taking up this man's time seemed akin to parking in a handicapped parking space. However, since I was already there and had his attention, I decided to plod on with my task.

"I'm a reporter and I was wanting to speak to someone in charge. I have a few questions." I said simply. Straightforward and to the point seemed to be the best way to go. If he didn't have time or didn't want to talk to me, then he could simply tell me so.

"You can ask me whatever you want. If I can't answer your questions, I'll probably know who can." The young man said seriously... or, at least his computerized voice sounded serious. It didn't seem to convey any other emotion.

The blond haired young man that I had spoken to initially had joined us and was waiting for my question.

"I just arrived here and I was curious to know who's coordinating all of this." I said as professionally as I could manage.

"If you want to know about one specific operation, I can tell you about that. But if you're asking about who is coordinating all the different operations, then I suppose the answer would be either Carson or Bug." The young man said seriously, then glanced away from me for a moment to look at the computer in his lap.

I thought about his answer for a moment, then reluctantly admitted, "I don't know who those people are. Should I know them?"

"Have you ever heard of Ryan Brown?" He asked as he looked me in the eyes.

I had to think about it for a moment. I knew that I'd heard the name before, but who he was didn't spring immediately to mind. Suddenly, I remembered something from years before and cautiously said, "I think so. I've done some research about the pioneers of personal computing. Is that the Ryan Brown that you're talking about?"

"Yes. Ryan is Carson's father. Carson is running things, but I think Ryan is financing a lot of it. Don't quote me on that. I really don't know too much about that side of things." He said frankly. The intensity in Roris' eyes told me more than his words that he really knew what he was talking about.

"So Ryan Brown's son is coordinating the entire refugee relocation effort?" I asked to confirm.

"Yes and no. Carson started it, and he's a big part of keeping it going, but he has a group of people that he has recruited to help him oversee everything." He said carefully. I could see that he was being cautious to not say the wrong thing so as not to misrepresent what he was trying to say.

"I hate to ask, but do you think it might be possible for me to meet Carson?" I asked hopefully. I knew before I said it that it was a long shot. But, then again, the chances of me ever meeting him would be a whole lot worse if I didn't ask at all.

"Carson's always really busy and is usually juggling dozens of different things at once. It might be difficult to arrange that." He said with an apologetic expression as he slowly typed on the laptop resting in his lap.

"Well, do you think that maybe you could fix it so I could meet one of those people he recruited? I want to understand what's really going on here." I asked cautiously, not wanting to ask too much of him.

"That's no problem." He said, much to my surprise. Before I could respond, he continued, "In fact, you're talking to one of the people he recruited, right now."

I looked at the young man with question.

"My name is Roris Teeter. I was recruited directly by Carson Brown to help him with problem solving in the overall effort. I'm here, at this check-in desk, so that I can be sure that people with special needs are being accommodated. Since I've been here I've been able to recruit a number of good people who will be able to continue my work here, so I'll be able to get back to my other job, helping Carson solve whatever problems arise." He said seriously.

"You're really part of the inner circle?" I asked in astonishment.

"Why are you so surprised? Do you think that someone in a wheelchair isn't worthy of that level of trust? Or do you think that because I can't walk, that I'm also incompetent and unable to do anything meaningful?" Roris asked with anger and hurt vying for control of his expression.

"No! The reason I'm surprised is because you're here, down on the street level, actually helping people. Usually, someone in charge of a rescue or refugee effort like this is sitting up in a hotel room with some advisors, sipping bottled water that has been chilled, just so. The only time they deign to step out among the 'common' people is when there's a news crew nearby to witness it." I hurried to explain.

"Give me just a minute." Roris said abruptly, then moved his wheelchair back a few feet to where a group of people were talking amongst themselves.

"Can I get you guys some water or anything?" The blond man asked us with a smile as we waited for Roris to return.

"Yes. Some water would be nice." I said past a suddenly dry throat. The man was heartstoppingly gorgeous.

He shot me a smile that I felt in my groin, then dashed away.

"This is Joe. He's going to be taking over for me while I take you to meet some people." Roris said as he slowly returned.

"It's nice to meet you Joe. I'm..." I began to say, then trailed off when I noticed that Joe was using sign language with a man that was walking beside him, which would mean that he couldn't hear me.

"If you're ready, we can go now." Roris said as he looked up at me seriously.

"Where are we going?" I asked cautiously.

"You want to see the operation from the inside, don't you?" Roris asked frankly.

"Yes." I said immediately.

"Here you go." The blond said as he returned with bottles of water for each of us.

"Thank you." I muttered as I accepted a bottle of water from him.

He gave me another one of those heartstopping smiles, then hurried behind Roris' wheelchair, ready to push.

"Lawrence, do you see Victor around? We're going to need a ride." Roris asked seriously.

I didn't know who they were talking about, but as I looked around the stadium I saw a young teenager waving at us.

"There he is!" Lawrence said as he pointed.

* * * * *

As we were walking out of the stadium, the flashing lights of a fire truck and an ambulance drew our attention across the street.

"We need to see what's going on." Roris said decisively.

Lawrence immediately changed direction and we were soon crossing the street.

"If you don't need me, I'll go get the gator while you're checking on things." Victor said as we walked.

"Yes. They probably have things under control here. I just want to check to be sure." Roris told him confidently.

* * * * *

Just as we cleared the ramp to enter the front door of the school, the door opened and two paramedics emerged with a woman on a wheeled bed.

We had to shuffle around a little bit, but we didn't seem to be too much in their way.

A fireman walked through the door next and Roris asked, "What happened?"

The fireman looked at Roris with an expression that clearly asked, 'Who the hell are you?'

"I have a direct link to Carson Brown. I just need to know if this is something that he should know about." Roris explained seriously.

After a moment to consider, the fireman said, "Possible stroke. You really got a direct line to Carson?"

"Yes. I was just asking because if she were suffering from some sort of communicable disease or food poisoning, it might be something that Carson should be aware of." Roris explained calmly.

"Tell Carson that Pete Garrett says 'hi'. I don't think this is anything that he needs to worry about. But I'll keep an eye out and let him know if we get called for anything that might affect you guys." The fireman said pleasantly.

"I'll tell him. Thank you. That would be helpful." Roris said seriously.

The fireman noticed that the other firemen were waiting for him to join them back on the truck and hurried away.

"Let's make sure that everyone is doing alright here before we move on." Roris said as he looked at me.

It was amazing to me that the skinny little disabled redheaded guy in the wheelchair had such a commanding presence. Before it occurred to me to do otherwise, we were already following along behind Roris and Lawrence.

* * * * *

"Can I help you?" A middle aged woman asked from a desk in the foyer. She was obviously flustered, but trying to regain her self control.

"We just saw the ambulance and wanted to be sure that everything's alright here." Roris said seriously.

"I think I heard about you. You're one of the people working with Carson, aren't you?" The woman asked curiously.

"Yes. That's right. I'm Roris. If you're needing anything, you can tell me and I'll let Carson know." Roris said frankly.

"I'm Mrs. Rand, I'm one of Carson's teachers. The only thing that I can think of that we might be needing is another volunteer to help with the children. We've had children trickling in a few at a time so far, but I'm concerned that we might be about due for a flood." Mrs. Rand said with concern.

"If you need help, I wouldn't mind volunteering." A younger woman said from the hallway.

"Thank you Mrs. Kellar. If you're sure that you'd like to stay and help out, I'll go ahead and change your status in the computer." Mrs. Rand said happily.

"Please, call me Hope." Mrs. Kellar said timidly, then continued, "From what I've just seen, I think that this would be a good place for us to stay and wait until my husband can find us."

"It looks like you've got things well in hand here, Mrs. Rand. I'll let Carson know that I spoke with you. Remember that if you need anything, you can contact us with your computer and we'll be happy to help." Roris said professionally.

The more time I spent around Roris, the easier it was to believe that he was one of the architects of the entire relief effort.

* * * * *

When we left the school, I was surprised to see a large all terrain vehicle that seemed to be specially equipped for some reason. It wasn't until I actually saw Roris being loaded into the thing that I realized what it was for.

We all got aboard, then the young teen, Victor, drove the ATV through town, and then out into the countryside.

"Where are you taking us?" I asked loudly to be heard over the sound of the wind rushing by our ears.

"We have some things that we need to do. I thought that since you wanted to see behind the scenes, you could tag along." Roris said frankly.

"Rory needs to eat and I need to take my meds." Lawrence explained.

I couldn't think of anything to say to that, so I just watched the scenery passing us by as we rode past houses and through wooded areas travelling to some unknown location.

* * * * *

When we arrived at the huge house in the middle of nowhere, I wasn't sure how I felt about what I was looking at. I suppose it goes back to some of the third world dictatorships that we've visited over the years. Seeing a secluded mansion strategically placed in a defensible location automatically sets off alarms within me.

Victor pulled us up to one of the small houses behind the massive, main house. As soon as we were all out of the large ATV, Victor drove the vehicle to what seemed to be a parking lot for ATVs at the side of the big house.

Even though we felt out of place being there, the visit with Roris' parents was nice. Mr. Teeter sat and talked with us while Roris and Lawrence had their lunch. Mrs. Teeter seemed determined to feed us, but after multiple assurances that we had just enjoyed a good meal in town, she finally relented.

As we were leaving the Teeters' house, we heard more ATVs racing through the wooded area that we had arrived from. By the time we reached the back of the big house, two ATVs were in view and seemed to each be filled with children.

"Hi Lawrence, I thought you guys would be in town!" One of the boys called out as he ran to Lawrence to give him an enthusiastic hug.

"Rory hired a bunch of people to take care of things in town. We're going to get back to work with Carson now." Lawrence explained as he hugged the boy.

"Guys! This is Lawrence. He's one of my new brothers. The guy in the wheelchair is Roris. He's Lawrence's boyfriend." The boy said happily.

All the children waved or shyly said 'hi'. I suppose it's a sign of the changing times that none of the children seemed to be the least bit bothered that Lawrence and Roris are gay. From all appearances, to them a person's sexual orientation is no more significant than their eye color.

"Are you going to see Bug now?" The boy asked when the hug was finished.

Before Lawrence could answer, Roris said, "Yes. And we're taking these guys to meet Carson. What are you doing here? I thought you would be out making deliveries." Roris asked seriously.

"Lazlo got these guys to help us. I'm just here to get them radios and stuff and I wanted for Bug to meet them while we're here." The boy said quickly.

"Then we should get inside, so you can get back to work. We wouldn't want for people to have to wait." Roris said, sounding as serious as ever, but I could see tenderness in his expression.

That being said, Roris and Lawrence led the way through a side door into the enormous building.

The place where we entered was something like a hotel or possibly a resort. There was a huge, open concept living area, flanked by a large dining table and chairs. At the far end of the room was a kitchen area that would be suitable for a master chef.

"Come on, Guys. The living room's through here." The boy said energetically to his companions as he led the way across the large room.

"That was Bax." Roris said simply.

"My brother, Bug, kind of adopted him as our little brother." Lawrence explained as we followed the way the boys had gone, but much more slowly.

I was sure that there was probably quite a story behind that, but it wasn't the story I was looking for. I wasn't in a position to know what was going on around the country and what was being done to protect average citizens. But in our effort to flee from the hellish nightmare of a countryside being bombed into submission, we happened upon what seems to be a haven for the common man.

When everything is said and done, I feel that this is something that people will want to know about. By all I've seen so far, what I've stumbled into is an example of the best of humanity. Using them as inspiration could help people rebuild their lives into something better than they were before.

* * * * *

"Hang on! There's Ken and Kev!" Lawrence said as soon as we stepped out of the hallway.

I noticed a look of amusement on Roris' face as he was suddenly diverted from our projected course.

We couldn't do much more than follow Lawrence and Roris into the enormous living room.

There were several children gathered together on some couches and low chairs. Lawrence hurried over to them and as he approached, a young man with long braided hair stood to greet him.

As soon as they were done hugging, Lawrence turned and hugged another young man who was virtually identical to the first.

"Ken and Kev are Bug's boyfriends." Roris explained to us as we watched them hug.

"Is everyone here gay?" I asked before I could think of how inappropriate it was.

"No. Not everyone." Roris said simply.

Due to the unemotional tone of his computerized voice, I couldn't tell if I had offended him or not.

"Sorry. We've just been all over the world and have traveled to places where being gay was reason enough for a person to be executed. I guess it's just surprising for us to be around people who are so open." I hurriedly tried to explain.

"Zane's home! We need to go see him!" Lawrence said suddenly, interrupting our conversation.

Although I was a little bit relieved for the break in our conversation, I looked to Roris with question, hoping he would explain.

"Zane had surgery yesterday and we've been worried about him." Roris said to me, then turned to look at Lawrence and asked, "Do you remember where Brother Jacques and Zane's room is?"

Lawrence appeared to be thinking about it seriously before quietly admitting, "No."

"Come on, Lawrence. I'll show you." One of the twins said warmly.

* * * * *

We ended up going back the way we had come.

Once we were back in the part of the house that looked like a resort, we got onto an elevator that I hadn't noticed as we walked through before.

We got off on the third floor and the twin led us down the length of the large common area to a bedroom door.

"Let me see if he's awake." The twin said quietly, then gently knocked.

A moment later a thin young man dressed in mostly black opened the door.

"Lawrence was wanting to see that Zane's alright." The twin explained.

"Zane will be glad that you came to visit. Please just keep in mind that he needs his rest. You won't be able to stay too long." The young man said seriously.

I could tell just by looking at him that the young man was on the threshold of complete exhaustion.

"We won't stay long. Lawrence was just worried about Zane when he heard that he was in the hospital." Roris said frankly.

It was at that exact moment that what I had been seeing since I met Roris and Lawrence in the stadium all began to make sense. It might have been obvious to someone else, I don't know. But right then it hit me that Roris and Lawrence who were both damaged and disabled in their own ways, functioned together at or above the level of a fully able person.

As we walked into the bedroom, I was once again reminded of a resort. It was spacious and comfortable. It was odd to see a hospital bed in the otherwise luxurious setting, but the sight of the pale young man in the bed left no doubt as to the necessity of it.

"Zane. You have more visitors." The thin young man said as he walked to Zane's bedside and placed a hand on his head.

Zane slowly opened his eyes and smiled when he spotted Lawrence.

"Rory said that you were in the hospital. Are you going to be okay?" Lawrence asked with concern.

"Yes. The doctor says that I'm going to be just fine. I'm just going to have to stay in bed for a while." Zane said quietly.

"Do you want for me to ask Bug if I can bring you stuff to do? There's lots and lots of people coming to Kettle Falls and we need everyone to help them." Lawrence said honestly.

Zane smiled at the question, then answered, "Maybe in a day or two. I don't think I'm up to helping out, just yet."

"As soon as he's ready, I'll let you know, then you can ask Bug for us." The thin young man said gently to Lawrence.

"Rory says that since we've got good people working at the stadium now, that we can spend more time here at the house. So you can find me whenever you want." Lawrence said cheerfully.

"That's good, because I don't know what's been going on the past two days. I'm going to need some help getting caught up, so I'll be ready to work when I'm feeling better." Zane said slowly to Lawrence.

"You look like you could use some sleep. We'll stop by again later." Roris said in his computerized voice. Although I'm sure that it doesn't convey any sort of emotion, I guess that I'm getting used to hearing it enough that I'm starting to assign emotional qualities to it. Because that almost sounded gentle to me.

Lawrence stepped closer to the bed and leaned in to give Zane a kiss on the cheek before saying, "Get better."

"I will. Thank you." Zane said gratefully and seemed to be fighting back tears.

As Lawrence pushed Roris' wheelchair toward the door, the rest of us filed out of the room.

I don't know what type of surgery Zane had, but there was no doubt that he was surrounded by people who loved and cared for him. Everyone should be so lucky.

* * * * *

"Brother Jacques looks really tired." Lawrence said with concern as we walked back toward the elevator.

"Now that Zane's home, I'm sure that he'll be able to rest a lot better." The twin said frankly.

"That's right. From what I've seen since we met him, Brother Jacques has a tremendous heart. When he knows that someone is suffering, he suffers right along with them." Roris confirmed.

"Is he a priest or a monk or something?" I asked slowly. Brother Jacques seemed to be awfully young, but I supposed that it was possible that he might be in training.

"No. At least, not in any official way. But considering the way he cares about everyone around him, I suppose that he is just about like a priest in all the ways that really count." The twin said thoughtfully as we stepped onto the elevator.

* * * * *

As we walked back through the living room, the twins fell away from our group and went back to join his brother with the children.

"I know it doesn't look like it, but we're about to enter a high security area. When we go in, it's possible that you might see or hear things that could cause great harm if they were reported. I'm bringing you here to meet the people who are orchestrating the overall refugee effort, but please don't report on any specifics of what you see." Roris said firmly and I got the sense that his computerized voice wasn't doing it justice.

"Yeah. I got that." I said carefully. I mean, it's not the first time I've been in a situation like this. but usually the speech comes with an implied threat, if not an overt one.

"Also, your photographer will not be able to take any pictures once we're inside." Roris said as he looked past me.

I glanced over my shoulder to see that we were in agreement before nodding to Roris to say that we accepted his terms.

* * * * *

"It took you fucking long enough!" An older teenage boy with his hair in a single short braid said belligerently as we walked into the room.

"Not in front of the kids." A younger teenager in a wheelchair said in a pained voice.

"What the fuck ever. Like these guys ain't never heard no one say 'fuck' before." The older teenager said with a roll of his eyes.

I glanced at the children that we had met outside to see them fighting to restrain their chuckles. I noticed that each of them now seemed to be wearing a radio earpiece on their right ear.

"Give us just a moment, we'll be right with you." The boy in the wheelchair said to us, sounding to be embarrassed by his friend's behavior.

"Say it back to me, Bax. What are you gonna do?" The older teenager with the braid asked firmly.

"I'm going to get all these guys tablets and get them signed on to Dizzy." Bax responded in a sing-song tone.

"And..." The older teenager prompted.

Bax thought for a moment, then looked at his companions to see if any of them knew what else he was supposed to do.

"You need to take Oma Shoupe her meds and give her a radio so that she can call us if she needs help." The older teen said firmly.

"Yeah. I'll do that, first thing." Bax said solemnly.

"Go on, then. You've got about a dozen people already waiting to have deliveries picked up."

The entire group of children, led by Bax, funneled out of the room, looking to be fired up and ready for work.

"Welcome to the command center, I'm Carson." The young teenager in the wheelchair said to us.

"You're Carson Brown?" I asked in surprise.

I had naturally assumed that the person running the refugee aid operation would be an adult.

Carson gave a weary sigh, then said, "Yeah. Last time I checked."

"These guys wanted to meet the people who were organizing everything. I hope you don't mind that I brought them." Roris said into the silence that followed.

"Well, I don't want to get into the habit of giving guided tours, but it's okay this time." Carson said frankly to Roris, then looked to us and said, "As I told you, I'm Carson and beside me is Jay. I'm in charge of the overall effort and Jay helps me. The potty mouth at the laptop is Bug. He's in charge of operations and keeping things streamlined. Over at the work table are Ben and Oleksandr. They keep tabs on what's going on in the outside world and warn us about what might be coming our way. The guys at the folding table by the door are Seth and Hobie. Seth is in charge of coordinating things between us and his dad. That means pretty much anything to do with housing and accommodations. Hobie does the same with his dad in regards to allocating and staging the resources we need before we need them."

As far as I could tell, the only person in the group who was actually an adult was Ben. The rest were teenagers. In fact, from the look of Oleksandr, he probably wasn't even a teenager yet.

"You're running the whole thing from here?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yep. And if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to running it." Carson said frankly.

We watched as Carson turned his wheelchair and inserted it into a massive computer alcove.

There were six computer monitors active, all displaying different types of information.

Out of nowhere, a teenage voice suddenly said, "Carson, I've received a report of suspicious activity approaching the front of the house. We have been advised to stay indoors until the situation has been resolved."

"War mode." Carson barked.

The six monitors withdrew slightly then reconfigured their arrangement and eight monitors moved forward to take their place.

"What is it?" Ben asked suddenly.

We stepped closer, standing just behind Carson so we could get a better view of the screens.

I saw a movement in one of the wooded areas as Carson said, "Someone's trying to sneak up on us."

Carson quickly pressed a button, then I could hear his voice on an intercom. "Attention everyone. Please stay away from the windows at the front of the house for a few minutes. We seem to have some uninvited guests."

"Do you need us to do anything?" Ben asked with concern.

"No. Whoever these people are, they've already made a fatal mistake." Carson said frankly.

"Yeah. The dumb motherfuckers approached from the front. They're gonna get their fucking asses kicked." Bug said as he stepped up beside me to watch the impending confrontation.

"Dizzy, increase surveillance of the perimeter. This is so blatantly stupid that it might be a distraction to allow someone to infiltrate from the rear." Carson said firmly.

"Got it, Boss." The mysterious teenage voice said from above us.

"Bax, how are you guys doing?" Bug said suddenly.

I looked at him curiously and noticed that he had a finger on his throat, like he was keying a microphone.

"Good. We've got a situation here at the house. You guys keep on going, just make sure to watch for trouble." Bug said, apparently in response to whatever Bax had said.

"No. Keep going. We'll have this all mopped up before you could get back here anyway. There won't be any gory bits left for you to see." Bug said with a smile.

After a moment, he chuckled, then said, "I tell you what. If anything interesting happens, I'll have Dizzy save the video for you so you can watch it when you get home."

"They're making their move." Carson said in a warning tone.

I turned my attention back to the video screens in time to see about a dozen armed men emerge from a wooded area.

The room was silent as everyone crowded around behind Carson to watch the scene unfold.

I saw one of the men fall to the ground and almost missed the fact that someone much smaller had jumped on the man's back.

Another of the men went down... then another.

There wasn't any sound with the video, so I couldn't be sure if the men made any sound or not. But from the lack of a reaction from the others approaching the front of the house, I would guess that each of them were taken down silently.

"Why are they letting them get so close?" Ben asked in almost a whisper.

"I'm sure they've got a good reason." Carson said carefully.

A movement on another screen drew my attention and I watched as a teenage girl, carrying a machine gun, stepped out of a tent. At first I thought it was an M-5, but it was too big for that. Then I recognized it as being an M-4 with an underbarrel grenade launcher.

"Command center. Situation under control." A young man's voice said into the room.

"Thanks, Lee. Can you tell us what's going on?" Carson asked as we watched the few remaining upright people drop their weapons and raise their hands in surrender.

"Consider it a congratulatory gift from President Ashwood for the fine job you've been doing. Don't worry, we've been expecting this. We've got it covered." Lee said confidently.

"Are there going to be more of them?" Carson asked curiously.

"Probably. But let's see what information we can wring out of this bunch before we start making plans. Expect a detailed report in the next few hours." Lee said seriously.

"Got it. Thanks, Lee." Carson said, sounding to be much relieved.

The video screens once again drew my attention. The prisoners were being secured and taken into custody. The thing that astonished me was that all of the people doing the securing appeared to be children and young teenagers.

"Show's over. Time to get back to work." Carson said as he pushed a few keys on his keyboard. All the monitors dropped back slightly, then reordered themselves back into their configuration of six. Carson then pressed another button and said into the intercom, "All clear."

"I need a break." Hobie said honestly.

"Yeah. We missed lunch." Seth agreed.

"We can cover while you're gone. Go ahead." Carson said seriously.

"What about you guys? Are you hungry?" Hobie asked us as he stopped by the door.

"No, but thank you. We ate before we came here." I answered absently. My brain seemed to still be processing much of what I'd just seen.

"Do you want to go with Hobie and Seth?" Ben asked Oleksandr quietly.

The little boy seemed to be uncertain as Ben continued, "Then, when you get back, you can watch things while I have something to eat."

"Yeah. Okay!" Oleksandr said happily, then gave Ben a firm hug before hurrying to the door.

* * * * *

As soon as the three younger boys were out of the room, Bug turned his intense gaze on us and said, "Now, for the real reason you're here."

Carson undocked from his computer alcove and turned his wheelchair to face us.

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously.

"You're not going to hurt them, are you? They're nice." Lawrence asked suddenly.

"No. We're not going to hurt them. We need their help." Roris said, then urged Lawrence to sit on his lap.

"Actually, all of this was my idea." Ben said as he got up from his computer.

"What was your idea?" I asked as I tried to understand what they might intend for us.

"It's been my job to watch news reports and blog posts to try and figure out what's been going on that hasn't been reported. From there I've been trying to identify problems and opportunities, so that we can be as prepared as possible for what might come next." Ben explained carefully.

Since we'd entered the room, there hadn't been any indication that Ben was anything other than someone helping out Carson. But I could see now that he was as much a part of their team as any of the others.

"Ben has realized that as the shock of the past few days events wears off, that people will be searching for answers about what has been happening." Roris said seriously.

"If you two decide to help us, your jobs would essentially be two-fold. First, you will be our public relations staff. If anyone wants to contact us for an interview, their inquiry will be routed to you. Also, if we need to make a statement, it will be up to you guys to contact whatever media outlets are still functioning." Carson said firmly.

"Second, we'd appreciate your insights into helping us help the refugees who are coming to us. You've got something important that none of the rest of us have. You have experience." Ben said frankly.

"Do you know who we are?" I asked cautiously. As far as I recalled, I hadn't introduced myself to anyone since we had arrived.

"What the fuck do you think? That we just invite every fucking person who wanders by to come into our command center?" Bug asked with a roll of his eyes, then added, "Duh!"

"Ben alerted us as soon as you checked in at the first checkpoint." Roris said with a grin in Bug's direction.

"We were going to give you a chance to get settled in before approaching you, but then you came to us." Carson explained calmly.

"Why didn't you tell me that you knew who we were?" I asked Roris in confusion.

"I was curious to see how you conducted yourselves." Roris said simply.

"How'd we do?" I asked cautiously.

"So-so." Roris said with a smile, then explained, "I expected you to ask a lot more questions about me and the people we encountered."

"Yeah. Well, I guess all the missiles and fleeing for my life has thrown me off my game." I said grudgingly.

"I'm sure it has." Ben conceded, then continued, "We've seen plenty of examples of your journalistic ability, so we don't have any doubt that you can be a big help to us, that is, if you decide to join us."

"Both of us?" I asked to be sure.

"Of course. You guys are a team. We'd never try to get in the middle of that. The job is for both of you and you guys can work out who does what." Carson said seriously then glanced back at his monitors for a moment.

"What the fuck, guys? We got shit to do. Just flip a coin or whatever the fuck it is that you do to decide shit and let us know what you're doing." Bug said irritably.

I looked over my shoulder and quietly asked, "What do you think, Billy?"

"I think that we can do a lot of good here. But honestly, it's whatever you decide."

Yeah. No pressure. I just get to decide what we're going to be doing with our lives for the foreseeable future.

"We'll do it." I finally said, hoping that I wasn't going to regret it.

"Well, thank fucking god for that! From the way you were agonizing about it, you'd think we were asking you to eat dogshit or something." Bug grumbled as he went back to his laptop.

"Welcome aboard, guys. I figure that you'll probably work best from home. When you sign on to the public wifi in town, be sure to contact one of us and we'll get you set up on Dizzy." Carson said as he moved his wheelchair back into it's alcove to dock it.

"Dizzy? What's that?" I asked cautiously. I had heard them say the name before but didn't understand who or what it was.

"Dizzy, introduce yourself to the new guys." Carson said into the air, then turned his full attention to his screens.

"Hello. My name is Dizzy. If you guys need any kind of computer help with anything, you can ask me and I'll be happy to help you." The young teenage voice from before said from above us.

"You're a computer?" I asked into the air.

"Yes. Sorry. I thought you knew." Dizzy said in a voice that sounded timid and apologetic.

"Dizzy's an AI?" I asked in shock.

"VI, actually, but we'll get him there." Bug responded.

"Dizzy does an amazing job of helping us coordinate things." Ben added seriously.

"And Dizzy is one of the things you can't tell people about." Carson added without looking away from his computer screens.

"Yeah. That'd hang a big fucking target on Dizzy, and if they got to him, everything we built so far would be totally fucked." Bug said frankly.

"I have a little problem about keeping secrets." I said cautiously, then hurried to explain, "Not that I can't or won't keep a secret. I'm just saying that as a journalist, I feel ethically bound to report what I see and experience."

"I can accept that. But how would it be if you held off on reporting certain things until after everything else settles down?" Ben asked carefully.

I thought about that for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Do you think that when this is all over, I could write about what you've done here?"

"No." Ben said firmly. That surprised me, because, even though he was the oldest, Ben seemed to be the most laid back person in the bunch.

"But you could write about what we've done here." Ben said with a smile.

"We... right." I said cautiously, then explained, "Billy and I have been working on our own for a long long time. It might be tough for us to think of ourselves as part of a team."

"We'll keep that in mind. And most of the time you'll be free to go and do whatever you want on your own timetable. Just, every now and then, we might need for you to make an announcement for us or something. Beyond that, the most that you'll be getting from us are occasional suggestions for things to check out." Ben said seriously.

"Okay. I think I can handle that." I said as my mind continued to race over what I was agreeing to.

"What about...?" Bug asked as he pointed upward.

"Oh..." Ben responded anxiously.

"What?" I asked as I looked from one to the other.

"If we don't tell him, he's probably going to figure it out for himself." Bug said simply. He was obviously worried about something.

Before I could ask what they were talking about, Ben looked me in the eyes and said, "We've got another kind of big secret that we're going to need for you to keep."

"How big?" I asked cautiously.

"Carson, should we introduce the new guys to him?" Ben asked hesitantly.

"Let's see if he's still awake." Carson said seriously as he worked on his keyboard.

Bug and Ben guided us over to stand behind Carson's wheelchair.

One of the screens came alive with a streaming video chat.

"Hi Carson. Is everything working better at the Canadian border now?" A man asked Carson hopefully.

Seeing him completely out of context, it took a moment for me to recognize who the man was.

I gasped as I realized that Carson was talking to Eric Carlson, the husband of the new vice president.

"It's too early to tell for sure, but everything looks good so far." Carson said seriously, then asked, "Is Mike still awake? We've got some new team members that I'd like to introduce to you guys."

"Just a second." Eric said before dashing away.

"You're in direct contact with the Vice President?" I asked in amazement.

"You could say that." Ben said with a secretive smile.

"Who do you have for me to meet, Carson?" Mike asked as he came into view.

"Mr. Vice President, I'd like for you to meet Deacon Pierce, an award winning freelance journalist and William Pierce, his brother and an accomplished photographer and photojournalist." Carson said formally.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm familiar with your work, Deacon. You've done an amazing job of putting a human face on the consequences of political decisions. And William, or may I call you Billy? Let's just say that I recognize you, and that Eric and I are familiar with your work from before you turned to photojournalism." Mike said with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Thank you, Sir... I think." Billy said uncertainly.

"Carson, how are the arrangements working?" Someone asked with a British accent as he walked into view.

"So far, everything seems to be working perfectly, Your Highness. Thank you again for your help." Carson said reverently.

It was Arthur, the King of the British Commonwealth. He was right there, with the Vice President of the United States... talking to us!

"Thank you for all that you are doing." King Arthur responded before backing out of the frame.

"Deacon, if something comes up and we need a press secretary for a few minutes, would you consider filling in?" Mike asked me seriously.

"Yes, Mr. Vice President, I would be honored." I tried to say without sounding like a babbling idiot.

"Good. It's nice to meet you both. Welcome to the team." Mike said before signing off.

I stood there, staring at the blank screen for a moment, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Finally I was broken out of my thoughts by Carson asking, "What was that he was saying about Billy's work?"

Before Billy or I could answer, Bug said, "Just search the Net for Billy Pierce... And make sure the 'family filter' is turned off.

"I'm never going to live that down." I heard Billy mutter from behind me.

Chapter 36: Attributes of Zero

"Does anyone care to tell me about what's going on? What was that announcement all about?" Deb asked sternly as she walked into the living room.

"No one's told us anything. We've just been sitting here with the kids." Kev said frankly.

"So everyone's alright?" Deb asked to be sure.

"Yeah. As far as I know." Kev said simply, then turned his attention back to Jody, who was quietly telling a story to Destiny and Aiden, who seemed to be enthralled.

Deb and Janet silently watched and listened for a few minutes before Janet cautiously asked, "What story is he telling them?"

"One of the Benny Bear stories." Ken said simply.

"I've heard all the Benny Bear stories, more times than I could possibly count, and I've never heard that one before." Janet said cautiously.

"This one's from a book that hasn't been released yet. I think this one's supposed to come out in time for Christmas." Nick said quietly, so as not to disturb Jody's story telling.

Before Janet could question any further, the front door opened and a young teenage girl walked in.

"How did the interview go?" The girl asked expectantly.

Deb and Janet looked at her curiously, not knowing to whom her question was directed. Before either could answer, the girl continued, "My name is Jamey. If Mrs. Brown doesn't hire you, come and find me and we'll find a good place for you."

"Thank you." Janet said uncertainly.

"Good luck." Jamey said quietly, with a barely restrained smile before hurrying away, back to the front door.

The two women watched her go and were eventually drawn back into listening to Jody's dramatic storytelling.

* * * * *

"What should we do now?" Deacon asked cautiously as he looked around the command center.

"Right this minute, go home. Take a little time to settle in and get your feet under you. Once you've done that and you're ready to work, come back here and we'll show you what we've done and what we're doing so you can tell us what looks like it will work and what we might try to do differently." Carson said seriously.

"We could do that now." Deacon said slowly.

"You arrived in town this afternoon and you've been on the go ever since. Take this chance to stop and catch your breath. You might not get another." Carson said frankly.

"Would you just get the fuck outta here, already? Here in a week or so you'll probably be whining like a little bitch because you don't have two free minutes to stop and catch your breath." Bug said sourly.

"We'll go." Billy said decisively, then faltered and asked, "How do we get back to town?"

"You can take one of the gators out back or I can get someone to drive you." Carson said frankly.

"If you take a gator, you can take the road out front to the monorail station. The monorail will take you into town. You can walk to your place from there." Ben said seriously.

"Just leave the gator at the station?" Billy asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Then the next person who gets off at that stop will have it so they can take it wherever they need to go." Carson said simply.

"Um. Okay. Thanks, guys." Deacon said uncertainly.

"Enjoy your rest." Carson said seriously.

Deacon nodded, then followed Billy out of the room.

* * * * *

General Adams was finally able to tear himself away from his video monitor where he had been pouring over the replays of the incident on the front lawn.

Although nothing had happened, he still felt the need to talk to his newly adopted son, if only for a moment, to assure himself that Max was safe and well.

After stepping through the open door into what appeared to be the boys' collective bedroom, he looked around with escalating panic when he didn't see his son.

"Where is Max?" He finally asked, to no one in particular.

Several of the boys and young adults looked at each other with question, but no one seemed to have an answer.

"Excuse me, General." A man in a nondescript suit said quietly.

General Adams turned and looked at him with anxiety filling his expression.

"Your son is being accompanied by an agent and is perfectly safe."

"Where is he? I want to see him NOW!" General Adams barked.

The agent waited for a moment to be sure that the General was done, then quietly said, "Your son and his agent are waiting inside a building on the grounds until the U.N.I.T. has completed its sweep of the surrounding area and reported that it is safe for them to go outside again."

"But he's alright? He hasn't been hurt?" General Adams asked to confirm.

"As soon as the alert was called, Agent Billings led your son into a building where they could wait until the 'All Clear' was sounded. While the U.N.I.T. has confirmed that the immediate threat has passed, we are waiting on their reconnaissance team to finish sweeping the area before proceeding." The agent said very precisely.

"Can he get in touch with us if he needs help?" General Adams asked carefully, sounding much calmer.

"Yes, sir. We have constant radio contact with Agent Billings."

"Please see to it that, when it is safe to do so, Max be brought back here. I need to see for myself that he's safe." General Adams said professionally.

"Yes, General. Your son will be returned here as soon as it is safe to do so." The agent assured him.

General Adams gave a single nod, then turned with purpose and walked back to the Vice Presidential control room.

* * * * *

"Are you sure he's alright?" Keil asked as he walked with Agent Cole out of the Secret Service office and barracks.

"I know that it must have been confusing in there with all that going on and everybody listening to their earphones and barely speaking. But the fact of the matter is that the people who approached the house never gained entry. They never even came close. Your son was never in any danger at all." Agent Cole said firmly.

"I still need to see him." Keil said honestly.

"I know. That's where we're going."

* * * * *

"I'm worried about Mr. Mann. Amber said that he was hurt real bad." Lawrence said seriously.

"I've just logged into the hospital computer and they're showing that Mr. Mann is going to be just fine. It is going to take a while for him to get better. Right now they're working to repair some damage to his ears, but after that, the only thing that's going to make him get better is lots and lots of rest." Bug said honestly.

"Do you think Amber's okay? I know she's really worried about him, too." Lawrence asked anxiously.

"I tell you what, I'll go ahead and call her to make sure that she has everything she needs. I'll make sure that Amber and Mr. Mann are taken care of." Bug assured Lawrence quietly.

"Okay. Thanks, Bug. I'm really glad that Amber's here where it's safe. She's really nice." Lawrence said sincerely.

"I'm glad, too." Bug said with a smile at his brother.

* * * * *

When Bug tried to initiate voice contact, he instead received a text message that said, "Special needs desk. This is Joe. How may I help you?"

"Hello, Joe. My name is Bug. I was trying to get in touch with Amber. Is she available to speak with me?" Bug typed in response.

"She's helping Bonnita with a customer right now, so it may be a few minutes. May I have her call you back when she's free?"

"Yes, that will be fine. She knows how to reach me." Bug typed back.

* * * * *

"Good afternoon. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. There was quite a lot for us to do." Father Doherty said as he led the way into the house.

"Did you find out about our families?" Artimus asked hopefully.

"No. But Carson gave me access to whatever information he has. Let me give you this radio and get you signed in, then you can get the most up to date information about anyone that you're interested in checking on." Father Doherty said seriously.

"Do you need some help, Emo?" Greg asked as he saw the boy carrying an armload of various baby supplies.

"Yeah. There's a lot more stuff in the back of the gator. The rest is going to be delivered later." Emo said before walking toward his bedroom.

Greg and Arthur both got up and went outside to help carry in the baby items.

As Artimus turned to walk toward the door, Father Doherty said, "Please wait a moment so that I can get you signed in. Once you see how this works, perhaps you could hand out the rest of the radios for me."

Artimus noticed the urgency behind Father Doherty's words and asked, "What has you worried, Father?"

"We stopped by the hospital to check on my son and it seems that he's been released. If you would be kind enough to help me, I'd like to get back to Mr. Brown's house, where we left Colton. It appears that that is where my son was taken."

"Of course. Just tell me what I have to do." Artimus said with an understanding smile.

"Just turn it on, then key the microphone and introduce yourself." Father Doherty said gratefully.

"Hello? This is Artimus Stout." Artimus said uncertainly.

"Hello, Artimus. I'm Dizzy. If you ever want to talk to someone else wearing a subvocal or a radio, just press the microphone button and say their name, and I'll be sure that they can hear your message."

"Thank you." Artimus said in surprise.

"Now that you're signed in, you can ask Dizzy about whatever you want to know." Father Doherty said seriously, then added, "But before you do that, would you hand out the rest of the radios and help the others sign in? I would like for us to be on our way as soon as possible."

* * * * *

After a moment of surveying the area, a man walked up to Hank and Lazlo and said, "These kids can't be playing here. We're going to need all this space to set up our relief shelter."

"Who are you?" Hank asked cautiously.

"Charles Champion, Director of Operations from the Spokane office of the Red Cross." The man said firmly, as if that should mean something to them.

"If you want to help out, I can put you in touch with the people in charge. They'd be happy to have some more volunteers." Hank said slowly, immediately intimidated by the man's forceful nature.

"Listen. It's nice that you think you're helping people, but now that we're here, you can leave everything to us. We're used to dealing with people in need." Charles said with a condescending sneer.

Lazlo took a few steps away from Hank's side, then keyed his subvocal and said, "Dizzy, could you get my dad to come back here? I think we're going to need him."

After a moment, Lucas responded, "What's wrong, Lazlo? Is there a problem?"

"There's some guy here trying to take over. He's really being a jerk." Lazlo said frankly.

"Jeremy and I will be right there." Lucas said immediately.

"Thanks, Dad."

* * * * *

"This is nicer than our apartment back home." Ron said in wonder as he slowly walked into the living room.

"And it's not an apartment. It's a house." Mal added in amazement.

"That guy you talked to, Bug, said we could really stay here and that he'd get us jobs?" Arlan asked cautiously.

"Yeah. It was freaky because when I told him about us, I expected him to suddenly change his mind because of... lots of reasons. But instead, he seemed to want to help us that much more." Mal said as he opened a cupboard door and was surprised to find food.

A knock on the open door caused all four young men to jump.

As soon as the delivery driver saw that he had their attention, he said, "I've got a delivery here for... Cherrybomb?"

"What kind of a delivery?" Mal asked cautiously as Steven seemed to be trying to blend into the background.

"We got a rush order from Carson Brown telling us that we needed to deliver a top of the line computer setup to someone at this address... Is this the right place?" The driver finished uncertainly.

"I think so. At least, Steven is here. He's Cherrybomb." Mal finally said.

"Alright, then. Where do you want this set up?" The driver asked pleasantly.

"Do you want it in your bedroom?" Mal asked Steven cautiously.

"How about over here? It looks like this end of the dining room is already wired for a computer setup. It has a cable outlet, an Internet hookup and phone lines plus a ton of outlets." Arlan said frankly.

"Hold on." Ron said as he dashed out of the room. Everyone stood around, looking at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Actually, it looks like just about every room in the house is wired for computers, even the kitchen." Ron said frankly as he hurried back into the dining room.

"So, where do you want it?" The driver asked expectantly.

"Does anyone mind if I take over the dining room?" Steven asked cautiously.

"Go for it." Mal said without concern.

After a moment to see that no one else was going to voice an objection, the driver hurried out the front door to begin his work.

"What do you think we've gotten ourselves into?" Arlan asked cautiously.

"Something very good or very bad." Steven said frankly.

* * * * *

When the Benny Bear story was finally finished, Janet quietly said, "I need to go so we can get settled into our apartment."

"We'd really like it if you got the job." One of the younger U.N.I.T. kids, a barely teenage boy, said sincerely.

Deb looked at him curiously, but didn't say anything.

"Thank you. I think I'd like that, too. What's your name?" Janet asked with a smile.

"My name is Victor. If you get the job, me and my brothers and sisters could take care of Destiny and Aiden for you while you're working. We wouldn't mind at all." Victor said frankly.

"That's very nice of you. I was planning to find daycare for them, but if I get the job, I'll remember your offer." Janet said warmly.

Victor's hopeful look at Deb prompted her to say, "You and the children would be welcome to have dinner with us tonight, if you'd like."

"Well, I need to get the apartment..." Janet began to say, but was interrupted.

"We can watch Destiny and Aiden while you do your moving. That way you won't have to worry about them. It'll be a lot faster and easier." Victor said quickly.

Janet seemed uncertain and looked to Deb for guidance.

"It does sound like it will be easier on you, not to have to keep track of the children on top of everything else. If you'd like to leave them with us for a while, I'll see to it that your children are kept safe. And when you're finished with your unpacking, you can come back here and have a nice meal." Deb said frankly.

"If you're sure it wouldn't be any trouble..." Janet said, feeling that she might be on the verge of making a horrible mistake.

"We want to help. It's no trouble at all." Victor said seriously, then quickly added, "And if you need help moving, one of us can help you."

Janet saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and saw two other young teenagers nodding their agreement.

"Thank you." Janet finally relented. "I'll be able to get it myself, but thank you for offering."

"We'll see you at dinner, then. And you can contact me at any time if you're concerned about your kids." Deb said pleasantly.

"Yes. Thank you. I'll see you later." Janet said with a smile, then went to her children to say goodbye.

As Victor was walking away, Deb firmly said, "Hold it right there, young man."

* * * * *

As Max and Agent Billings crested the top of the stairs, Max was surprised to find General Adams waiting for him.

"How are you?" Richard asked as he immediately pulled the boy into a hug.

"I'm fine. When we found out there was trouble, Owen took me into the storage shed and locked the door." Max said into his adoptive father's chest.

"I'm glad he was taking good care of you." General Adams said as he glanced at Owen and gave a quick smile.

"You don't have to worry. Owen won't let anything bad happen to me." Max said with conviction.

"I'll keep that in mind."

* * * * *

"Bug?"

"Hi Amber. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting you. Do you have time to talk for a minute?" Bug asked hopefully.

"Yes. We're in a lull at the moment. But until we can get some more of those talkboxes, David and I are needed to facilitate communication. So I could be called away at any moment." Amber said seriously.

"Give me a second." Bug said as he typed in a quick inquiry.

"How are you doing, Bug?" Amber asked with concern.

"I'm busy as fuck, to tell you the truth." Bug said honestly, then continued, "I just asked about the 'talkboxes' and the guys at the lab said that they just now finished them. They're waiting on someone to pick them up and bring them here so Carson can do some kind of fine tuning thing."

"Is there someone there who can help you?" Amber asked softly.

"I'll make sure Carson gets to work on them as soon as they get here." Bug said seriously.

"No. I'm not talking about that. What I'm asking is if there's someone there who can help you and take some of the workload off of you."

"I'm juggling about a dozen fucking crazy high-level things at once. I really don't know anyone else who could keep up with it." Bug said frankly.

"What if you were only juggling eight of those things, or even ten?" Amber asked seriously.

Bug thought for a moment, then reluctantly said, "Well, fuck! There I go again, trying to be the fucking center of every fucking thing. Yeah, I mean, it's still some seriously high-level shit. But I know a few people who could probably take care of part of it. Fuck, as far as I know, every one of them is sitting around with their thumb up their ass, waiting to be asked to help out in some way."

"Well, then. What are you doing, wasting time sitting here talking to me? You need to put those people to work so people don't get the idea that you're not willing to share the fun." Amber teased.

"Thanks, Amber. I really appreciate it." Bug said sincerely.

"It looks like we've got a rush of people coming in. Before I forget, congratulations on finding your twin boyfriends. Lawrence told me that they're gorgeous."

"Thanks. They are." Bug chuckled.

"Gotta go. Bye." Amber said quickly before disconnecting the audio stream.

After a moment of thought, Bug looked toward Carson and asked, "Do you mind if I borrow a few members of the kingdom?"

* * * * *

"What was that all about?" Deb asked firmly.

"We like her." Victor said honestly.

"And?" Deb asked suspiciously.

"That's it. We like her and her kids. We want them to stay." Victor said sincerely.

"I still have two more interviews before I make a decision, so don't get too attached." Deb said seriously.

"Okay. I have to go now. Courtney needs me." Victor said as he looked up into her eyes.

Deb nodded and watched him hurry away.

* * * * *

"Well, that should about do it. Would one of you guys like to come over here and road test this thing to make sure that it has everything you need?" The deliveryman asked hopefully.

"Steven, you should do it. You're the whole reason we're getting an awesome computer setup." Ron said frankly.

Steven looked around anxiously, but didn't seem willing to respond.

"What's your name?" Mal asked the deliveryman curiously.

"Huck." He responded.

"No way!" Mal chuckled.

"Short for Huxley." The man continued timidly.

After a cringe, Mal quietly said, "I hope you got even with your parents for that."

"I did. Every single day of my childhood."

"Huck, I hate to ask this, but Steven gets really freaked out when people get too close to him. Would you mind stepping into the kitchen so he doesn't feel crowded?" Mal asked hopefully.

Huck flashed Steven a sympathetic smile and started walking as he said, "What freaks me out is the dark. I know it's not the same but... well, you're not alone. Okay?"

Steven was stunned by the statement, then stammered a sincere, "Thank you." Before settling in at the dining room/computer table.

Everyone watched silently as Steven booted the computer, then started to put it through it's paces. Huck was smiling and nodding with approval as he watched.

Finally, Steven turned and said, "This is great! Everything seems to be working right."

"Call the store if you have any problems or questions. The number's on the invoice." Huck said casually, then asked, "Do you want to save your boxes?"

After a moment to consider, Mal said, "No. When we have to move, we'll get some more."

"Okay. I'll just gather these up, then. And I'll leave all the manuals and stuff on the breakfast bar."

"Thank you, Huck. We really appreciate all your help." Mal said sincerely.

"No problem." Huck said as he continued to work.

"Do you think we'd be in your way if we started moving our stuff in from the car?"

"That's fine. I'll be out of here in just a minute or two."

Ron, Mal and Arlo walked out to start hauling things in, leaving Steven working on the new computer setup.

As Huck was dutifully working on breaking down the boxes and gathering the packing material into bags, he heard Steven quietly say, "Really, thanks."

"If you ever want to talk... online, I mean, my name in the kingdom is Thumper." Huck said without stopping to look at Steven.

A slight smile crossed Steven's face as he recognized the name. "I've seen you. You're funny." Steven said as he turned in his chair to look at Huck.

"I've seen you, too. I was actually a little bit nervous about meeting 'Cherrybomb'. You're kinda brilliant." Huck said frankly.

"I'm a mess." Steven said regretfully.

"Most of us are, to some degree. That's why we fit so well into the kingdom. If we were all normal and well adjusted, we'd be out having real lives." Huck said frankly as he stopped all motion.

"The kingdom gives me a community that I can be a part of when in the rest of my life, I can barely endure being around people." Steven said regretfully.

"You seem to be alright with your friends." Huck quietly observed.

"They're the only reason that I could leave my apartment and come here. They bend over backward and tie themselves into knots to include me in things while respecting my boundaries. I don't think I'd have the patience to deal with someone as messed up as me." Steven regretfully admitted.

"We do it because we're your friends." Mal said from the kitchen doorway.

"I'd better get out of here. I'm betting this isn't going to be my last installation job of the day." Huck said as he quickly gathered his broken cardboard and packing materials.

"I'll talk to you online." Steven promised.

"Yeah. See you then." Huck said with a quick smile at Steven, then hurried out of the room.

"It looks like you made a new friend. He really seems nice." Mal said with a grin as he stopped at the kitchen counter.

"Yeah. I guess I did." Steven said in amazement.

"He's cute." Arlan said noncommittally as he carried an armload of boxes into the kitchen.

"He is, isn't he?" Steven said thoughtfully.

"I'd fuck him." Ron said simply as he passed through the dining room.

Mal rolled his eyes and tried to restrain a grin as he followed with another load of boxes.

* * * * *

A knock on the door brought conversation to a stop.

"I'll get it." Agent Cole said before anyone else could react.

"Have you decided about what you're going to do next?" Brother Jacques asked his father quietly.

"No. I really haven't had much time to think about it." Keil said honestly.

"How is he doing?" Father Doherty asked as he walked into the room and immediately to Zane's bedside. The young man accompanying him stood just inside the door with Agent Cole.

"He's been sleeping on and off since we got here." Brother Jacques said softly.

After a long silent moment, Brother Jacques quietly continued, "Father Doherty, I'd like for you to meet my father, Keil Samuelson."

Father Doherty looked up with surprise at the announcement then, more or less automatically responded, "A pleasure to meet you."

"Jake's told me about how you took him in and helped him get clean. There's nothing I can ever do to repay you for everything you've done." Keil said honestly.

Father Doherty glanced at Brother Jacques with a gentle smile, then said, "Your son is amazing. His courage and loyalty have inspired me to be a better person than I would have been otherwise."

A movement from the other end of the room caught Father Doherty's attention and he could see that Emo was squirming anxiously, wanting to get back to Colton.

"Brother Emo, would you care to join us for a moment? Then I promise that we'll go downstairs and see how Colton is doing." Father Doherty asked hopefully.

"'Brother' Emo?" Brother Jacques asked cautiously.

"The children came up with that. They felt that Brother Emo exhibited the same instinct to care for children in need that you do." Father Doherty said frankly, then added, "Once they brought it to my attention, I have to say that I agree with them."

"So, are they like priests or something?" Keil asked cautiously.

Father Doherty smiled at the question, then responded, "No. I initially bestowed the title of 'brother' on Jacques to offer what little protection I could for him, when he was first staying with me. However, he took the title that I had given him and with years of tireless good work, redefined it to mean someone who is responsible, trustworthy and willing to accept those who have been rejected or abandoned."

Keil couldn't resist the urge to walk to his son and give him a firm hug.

"Can I go down and check on Colton, now? You can stay up here with your son if you want to. I just need to see how Colt's doing." Brother Emo asked anxiously.

"That's not necessary. I'll go with you now and stop back by later, hopefully when Zane's awake." Father Doherty said gently.

* * * * *

A chill went up her spine as she walked past the tents on the front lawn, to get to the front door.

The frozen angry looks on the children's faces reminded her of scenes from decades old horror movies.

She schooled her expression as she knocked, fighting not to look back to see if the children were watching her.

"Good afternoon." An older gentleman asked very properly.

"I'm Kim Wyatt. I was told to come here for an interview with Debra Brown. Am I at the right place?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes. Please, come in and I will announce you to Mrs. Brown." The man said as he backed away from the door to usher her inside.

Mostly against her will, Kim glanced back over her shoulder as she entered and her breath caught when she saw a half dozen children glaring back at her.

* * * * *

"If you'll wait here for just a moment, I will announce you." The man said, then walked away.

She glanced into the living room, to her left and found that there were a group of children and young adults gathered, taking no notice of her.

As her nerves were just beginning to settle, a young teenage girl's voice whispered from behind her, "Get out."

She turned suddenly to find that no one was there.

"Are you alright?" A young man with a long braid asked as he approached from the living room.

"Fine. Fine. Really... fine." She said nervously.

"Would you like some water or anything?" Another young man, exactly identical to the first, asked with concern.

"No. Thank you. I'm..." She trailed off as her eyes darted around, searching for any sign that she was in danger.

"Mrs. Brown will see you now. If you'll come this way." Mr. Crante said professionally.

"Thank you." Kim said nervously as she began to follow.

* * * * *

As they walked through the living room, Kim noticed a thin young teenager standing stock straight and looking at her with the same angry stare as the children out front.

Just as they were about to pass him, the slightest hint of a predatory smile began to cross his lips.

Kim wanted to rush past the old man, but she didn't know where they were going.

As they were leaving the living room, she heard a boy's voice softly whisper, "Say 'yes'. We'll keep you forever."

Kim turned with a jerk and looked behind her and found all the children and young adults looking back.

"Hello, I'm Mrs. Brown. You can call me Deb."

Kim looked at Deb with panic, then stammered, "I can't... I can't do this."

Deb watched the woman, who was nearly in tears, run across the living room and out the front door.

"Was it something I said?" Deb asked in confusion.

Jamey walked to her side and quietly said, "I don't think she likes kids."

* * * * *

"It seems to have settled down for a little bit, if you would like to go and attend to things for a few minutes." Oma Shoupe said quietly.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Hope asked cautiously.

"Not to worry, I have Jamiah and the girls here to help me out. And if it comes to it, I can always call on Mrs. Rand at the desk." Oma Shoupe said confidently.

"I'm just going to make sure that Hope has everything in order, then I'll be right back to help you." Erika promised.

"Take all the time that you need. I think the children and I will enjoy another story while you're taking care of the practical matters." Oma Shoupe said warmly.

"Would you like for me to bring you back something to eat?" Erika asked quietly.

"If you'll be stopping for something for yourself, I wouldn't mind if you also picked something up for me. Now, go on and do what you need to do before it gets any later." Oma Shoupe said, then made a shooing motion.

"Mama's going to go and put our things into our new house. Are you going to be alright here for a little while?" Hope asked her son gently.

Roman glanced at Oma Shoupe, then nodded.

"Good. I'll be back in a little bit, then we'll go out for something to eat." Hope said warmly.

"French fries?" Roman asked hopefully.

"Yes. Just as soon as I get back." Hope said before giving her son a warm hug.

* * * * *

"What's wrong, Lazlo?" Lucas asked as he and Jeremy approached.

"That dick wants to shut everything down so he can open his own relief center here in this park." Lazlo said as he fought to contain his tears of frustration.

As they took a step closer, Hank saw them and quickly said, "Lucas, this is Mr. Champion. He says that he's in charge here."

"That's news to me." Lucas said honestly.

Jeremy discretely guided Hank to step away as he whispered, "Watch the master at work."

"I am operating with the authority granted me by the governor of the state of Washington." Mr. Champion said firmly.

"Excuse me, but you work for a private charity organization and have no authority whatsoever. If you really want to play the game of who has the most important and influential friends, I believe I could obliterate you with just who is on my speed dial. However, I really don't have time for that... or you, for that matter. If you really want to help, go about fifty miles or so to the north and set up along the roadside to provide travelers a place to stop and rest on their way to Canada. If not... then fuck off. We don't need you." Lucas said frankly.

Lazlo's eyes went wide as he listened to his father's words.

"The governor is going to hear about this! I promise you that!" Mr. Champion huffed.

"Tell her and her lovely wife, Cynthia, that I said 'hi'. My name is Lucas DeLong, but she will no doubt remember me as Lucas from KF Transport." Lucas said without displaying the slightest hint of worry about Mr. Champion's threat.

Lazlo could see that his dad's calm facade was taking it's toll on Mr. Champion.

"We're a humanitarian organization. We're here to help the people." Mr. Champion urged Lucas to understand.

"Oh. Well, we'd be happy to have your volunteers and supplies here in Kettle Falls. They could help innumerable people in their most desperate time of need. But I suspect that that's not what we're talking about. I think you have your grubby little heart set on taking over, then taking credit for everything that's been accomplished here. Of course, once the photographers and reporters have left the scene, so will you, leaving nothing but devastation in your wake." Lucas said pleasantly.

"How dare you..." Mr. Champion began to say, but was immediately interrupted.

"Oh. Did I hit a nerve? Is the big bad bully man going to cry now? Maybe you're going to run off and cry to the governor." Lucas said in a mocking tone.

Mr. Champion turned on his heel and stalked angrily back to his car.

Lazlo stared at his father with wide eyes and his mouth hanging slightly open.

Lucas smiled at his son and gently said, "There's time enough for you to learn how to deal with bullies like him. Try not to worry about it now."

"How did you know he was like that?" Lazlo asked in amazement.

"Think about what I've been doing for a living the past eighteen years. I've been working with powerful and influential people day in and day out. I've learned what drives certain types of people, and in the case of someone like Mr. Champion, what behaviors they use to mask their insecurities. It's remarkable that someone as callous and self-absorbed as he is could rise to such a position of power in a humanitarian aid organization." Lucas said seriously.

"What you just did, how you handled him, that was wonderful." Hank said with a grand smile as he approached.

"Stick with KF Transport for a few years and I'm sure you'll pick up the skills for dealing with self-important little tyrants like Mr. Champion." Lucas said frankly, then looked around to see that no one else was listening before quietly saying, "And I bet he's got an itty-bitty little penis that he's trying to compensate for."

"You can tell that just by the way he acts?" Lazlo asked with surprise.

"The bigger the bully, the smaller the penis." Lucas said with a nod.

* * * * *

"You're a bitch!" Mindy said angrily.

"No. You're a bitch!" Mandy snapped back.

"You're both bitches. Now shut up so we can listen to another story." Jamiah said tiredly.

"You're not the boss of me! I can do whatever I want!" Mandy retorted.

"No, child. You can't." Oma Shoupe said firmly.

The twin girls looked up at Oma Shoupe with identical wide-eyed stares.

"Sit and be quiet, now. I'm going to tell you another story."

"What if..." Mandy began to say, but was cut off.

"Believe me, child. You don't want to find out." Oma Shoupe said coldly.

After a long moment of silence, Oma Shoupe opened a children's book and began to read aloud.

* * * * *

"What's it like here when there's not a thousand people passing through town?" Hope asked Erika as they left the classroom.

"I don't know. As soon as my brother heard that they were going to set up a relief station here, he called me and we drove out here so that we could help out." Erika said simply.

"Oh, I thought you were from here."

"No. But we had a little time to get to know the place before everything went completely crazy." Erika said with a smile, then looked both ways before crossing the street.

"Where is your brother, now?"

"He's on the other side of the river at the Boy Scout camp. He's an Eagle Scout." Erika said proudly.

"Oh? Is he younger than you?"

"Yes. By about twelve minutes." Erika chuckled, then explained, "He's been in scouts since he was in first grade. He first came to the Pacific Northwest on one of his scouting trips and he fell in love with the area. When we graduated college, he talked me into moving up here with him."

"You must be really close."

"He's my best friend." Erika said simply, then gestured for Hope to lead the way into the stadium.

* * * * *

"Hang on, guys. We're waiting on one more to join us." Bug said as he watched his screen.

"I'm not a guy." A feminine voice said firmly.

"I didn't know that, okay?" Bug said petulantly, then added, "And I'll be really surprised if that's the only thing that I say to piss you off before this is all over."

"I just didn't want you to think that you only had guys in this room and then find out that there was a lady present, listening to your 'guys only' chatter."

"Yeah. 'Cause all we talk about is tits and shit like that when we think there's no girls listening." Bug said dryly.

"Sorry. I got your message on my phone and I had to get back to the house." A man's voice said quickly.

"No problem. Thanks for dropping everything to be here. I'll try not to keep you too long." Bug said seriously, then continued, "All of you know me as Y2KBug, you can call me Bug if you want. If you want to introduce yourselves to us by whatever name you want to be called, we'll get this thing started. You want to start us off, Cheshire? Y'know, ladies first."

"You're such a gentleman." She said sarcastically, then continued, "Online I'm Cheshire, but since we're all here, in the same place, and will probably be meeting up at some point, I guess you guys can call me Yolanda or Lonnie."

"Thanks, Lonnie. I hope you'll decide to work with me because there's a shitload of people who need our help." Bug said seriously, then continued, "How about you Geoduck?"

"You may call me Harold. I'm the oldest one here, aren't I?" He asked cautiously.

"Yeah, probably. But you're also the only person around who knows enough about 'old school' programming to be of any help to me. I've got some down and dirty coding that I'm going to need done and you're the guy."

"Well, it was cutting edge when I learned it, but I think I've done fairly well at keeping my skills up to date." Harold responded professionally.

"Good to know. That leaves you, Cherrybomb." Bug said firmly.

"I'm Steven."

"It's okay if you're quiet, Steven. I know that you can hack like a motherfucker. If you're up to it, I'm gonna use the fuck out of your talents." Bug said seriously.

"Do you think you could cut back on the swearing?" Yolanda asked hopefully.

"No. Next question." Bug said simply.

"I've heard that you're one of the guys in charge of the whole 'Kettle Falls' relief effort, but what do you want with us?" Harold asked carefully.

"Here's the deal, guys... and Lonnie. Ever since Studmffn started this whole thing and I joined up with him, we've been getting more and more shit piled on us to deal with. It's finally getting to be too big. If you guys agree to it, you're going to be my team. I'll still do what I can, but there's some stuff that I'll hand off to you because I know that you've got the skills to handle it. The reason I wanted us to meet like this is so that you'll know who each other are and that you can go to each other for help if I'm not around or something." Bug said seriously.

"Is Studmffn there with you?" Lonnie asked curiously.

"Hey, Lonnie! Can't talk. Kinda busy." Carson called from across the room.

"When he's ready to accept some help, Studmffn's probably going to gather his own team." Bug said frankly.

"But you're here in Kettle Falls, like we are, right?" Harold asked cautiously.

"Yeah. We're at Studmffn's house. We'll invite all of you up to dinner sometime when things have calmed down. What do you say guys?... And Lonnie?" Bug finished with a smile.

"So what you're really asking is for a commitment from us. You want to know that if you ask us to do something that we're going to follow through and do it?" Harold asked to confirm.

"Yeah. If we do this right, thousands of people are going to be helped. And if one of you bails out, thousands of people could suffer because of it. It's that fucking serious." Bug said firmly.

"One more question. If we agree to do this, you're going to see that we and our families are provided with food and shelter for the duration of this operation?" Harold asked carefully.

"That's the plan." Bug responded immediately.

"Count me in." Lonnie said seriously.

"Yes. I can't imagine any way that I could make a more significant contribution to the effort." Harold said thoughtfully.

After a moment, Bug quietly asked, "What about you, Steven?"

"Oh, sorry. Yes. I tend to communicate in text. I'm not really used to voicing with people. I guess you couldn't hear me nodding." Steven said in an embarrassed voice.

Bug laughed, then said, "Just as long as you're on board, that's all I care about. Thanks guys... and Lonnie. I'm going to start digging through my shit here and as soon as I find things that I can pass on to you, I'm going to send it. That means that you might just get one or two little things to start with or a whole shit-ton all at once. I don't know yet."

"Bug, if it really means that much to you, you can count me as one of the guys." Lonnie said grudgingly.

"Thanks Lonnie. But if I'm ever saying anything that sounds like I'm disrespecting you, let me know. I'm oblivious as fuck about shit like that." Bug said frankly.

"Okay. I get that." Lonnie assured him.

"Good. Now, you guys go and get something to eat if you need to. Rest while you can. Sleep when you can, because shit's about to get real." Bug said firmly.

"We'll be here when you need us." Harold promised.

"I'll hold you to that." Bug said seriously, then ended the conference call.

* * * * *

A gentle knock on the door caused all conversation to stop.

"I've got it." Agent Cole said as he walked to the door.

"Thank you." Keil said sincerely.

When the door opened, there was a long moment of silence.

"Damion?" The woman outside asked in surprise.

"Sarah? What are you doing here?" Agent Cole asked cautiously.

"The earthquake... my house collapsed..." Sarah stammered.

"Are you alright?" Agent Cole asked with concern.

"The jury's still out on that one. I wasn't hurt, but I've lost nearly everything." Sarah said frankly, then quickly asked, "Is Steven here, too?"

"No. But I saw him last night. He's perfectly fine, well, except for being worried about you." Agent Cole said frankly.

"Can you get a message to him and let him know that I'm alright?" Sarah asked hopefully.

"Yes. With things being as they are, I can't be sure when he'll get it, but I'm confident that he eventually will." Agent Cole said assuringly.

"Thank you. I didn't know of any way to try to get in touch with him." Sarah said with relief.

"I promise, he's fine." Agent Cole said gently, then asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh. When I checked in, they asked if I could stay in Kettle Falls and help out at the hospital. When I stopped in to report for work, they asked me to drive out here and check on a patient who apparently still needs a high level of nursing care."

Agent Cole escorted her further into the room and said, "This is Sarah Strong, she's a nurse who's been sent to care for Zane."

"Thank you for coming, Nurse Strong. My name is Keil and this is my son, Brother Jacques. The young man in the bed is Zane, the person you were sent to check on."

"Please, call me Sarah." She said timidly, then quietly said, "I can see from his chart that he's had a rather invasive surgery. Has he been having excessive pain, or any symptoms that are concerning you?"

"Zane's been sleeping most of the time since we arrived here. But the doctor told us that that might happen." Brother Jacques said honestly.

Sarah read through some printouts for a moment before saying, "From what I'm seeing here, all I need to do is get his vitals and see that he's resting comfortably... which he obviously is. According to this, his attending physician will be stopping by later in the day to perform a more detailed examination."

"Dr. Murten lives here." Brother Jacques explained.

"That makes a lot more sense. I was wondering when doctors started making house calls again." Sarah said with a smile.

"From the way I understood it, Dr. Murten wanted Zane to come home where we could watch after him because he's afraid that the hospital is going to fill up and they're going to need every bed." Brother Jacques said frankly.

"From what I saw when I was at the hospital, he might be right about that." Sarah said as she gently took Zane's temperature.

Agent Cole got a curious look, then put a hand to his ear so he could hear his earpiece more clearly.

Keil noticed the movement with concern and waited anxiously for whatever was next.

After another moment of listening, Agent Cole turned to Keil and said, "I've just received word that the preliminary investigation has been concluded. Although we may have additional questions for you later, there's no need for us to keep you in custody. In other words, you're free to go."

It took a moment for the words to sink in, but once they finally did, Keil quietly asked, "Go where?"

"Don't worry about it, Dad. We've got that covered." Brother Jacques said confidently.

* * * * *

"Hello?" A young voice said uncertainly from the doorway.

Carson and Jay looked over from the alcove, but didn't respond otherwise.

Roris and Lawrence were absorbed in their own conversation and didn't seem to hear.

Seth and Hobie glanced up from their work for a moment, but when they didn't recognize the boy, they returned to their jobs.

Oleksandr didn't even glance away from his computer screen and seemed to take no notice of the sound.

When no one else reacted, Bug finally said, "You're one of the new gophers, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I'm Bobby. I've got some... things, that I think I'm supposed to deliver here." The boy said uncertainly.

"Yeah. Good. We've been waiting on them." Bug said seriously, then asked, "Seth, Hobie, do you think you could help Bobby carry in the 'talkboxes' so Carson can get them programmed?"

"Who?" Seth asked in confusion.

"The guy standing next to you. Would you help him carry shit in?" Bug asked hopefully.

"Oh, um, yeah. Give me a second." Seth said as he hurried to finish what he had been working on.

"What are we doing?" Hobie asked as he turned in his chair.

"Follow him, he'll tell you." Bug said as he pointed at the young gopher.

"Oh, sure."

* * * * *

When Bobby handed Carson the first 'talkbox', he was surprised at Carson's single-minded focus on his task.

After a visual inspection of the unit, Carson hooked up some computer cables as he called out, "Dizzy, code mode."

Bobby was shocked to see the collection of six computer monitors withdraw and reconfigure themselves into a pattern of four screens, butted up against each other to provide the effect of one enormous screen.

"Dizzy, enact project three one three software installation." Carson called into the air.

"Would you like for me to detect and install drivers?" A young teenage voice asked from above them.

Bobby looked around in wonder at the surreal happenings.

"Yes. Then give me a report on which drivers have been installed when each one is done." Carson said seriously.

"You got it, Boss." Dizzy responded.

Nothing seemed to be happening for several minutes except incomprehensible nonsense scrolling up the computer screens. Finally, Bobby was able to turn his attention elsewhere and he noticed that there was a younger boy, sitting at a computer, all by himself.

He quietly walked across the room to the boy's side and quietly asked, "What's going on here?"

"We're watching what's going on so we can tell people where they can go and what they can do to help each other."

Bobby thought about that, then quietly asked, "How do you get to be a part of something like that?"

"You already are. You're a gopher."

"I just deliver stuff." Bobby said uncertainly.

"You take stuff that people need to the people who need it."

"What do you do?" Bobby asked curiously.

"I watch the news and the online stuff in case something happens that we need to know about."

"Wow. That's really important. What's your name?"

"Oleksandr." He answered simply.

"I'm Bobby. If you ever need something brought to you, you can ask me and I'll get it for you." Bobby said seriously.

"Yeah. If I need something, I'll call you." Oleksandr said with a smile, then noticed something on his screen that caught his attention.

"I've got to work now." Oleksandr said seriously as he focused on the incoming news report.

"Yeah." Bobby said as he stood and watched Oleksandr work.

* * * * *

"Seth! Hobie! I'm getting things set up here so that I can step away and we can have that talk. While I'm doing this, I need for you guys to get a few things."

"What do you need?" Hobie asked excitedly.

"Three grilled cheese sandwiches and some jelly beans. Let me know when you've got them, because we're going to need to go to the kitchen or bathroom or something. This is going to be messy." Bug said seriously.

"We'll go and get them right now!" Seth said immediately, then urged Hobie to hurry and sign off his computer.

As soon as the boys were gone, Carson cautiously asked, "Grilled cheese sandwiches and jellybeans?"

Bug was already typing at full speed and didn't acknowledge the question.

* * * * *

"Where's Ben?" Dax asked as he walked into Carson's Command Center.

"Having lunch or maybe visiting Zane again. Oleksandr's covering for him." Carson said absently as he kept the majority of his attention on the 'talkboxes' in front of him.

"What'd you need, Dax?" Bug asked curiously.

"Well, I got to talking with Jingo about the Chicago people and we got to thinking that it'd be really good if we could set up some store fronts and, maybe, something like bakeries and butchers and tailor shops and stuff like that. I don't know how much trouble it would be to do something like that, but... well, if things get much worse..." Dax trailed off in frustration, not knowing how to convey his point.

Bug's rapid typing didn't do anything to let him know if Bug had the first clue about what he was trying to say.

"Fuck. Okay. Shit, this would have been a lot better yesterday, but I think it should still work today." Bug muttered, mostly to himself.

Dax glanced around and noticed a boy that he hadn't met before.

"I'm Dax."

"I'm Bobby. I'm a gopher. What do you do?"

"I'm taking care of everyone who's from Chicago." Dax said with a little anxiety showing through his voice.

"Okay. I hit all the craft and artisan classifications I could think of, but if I find more, I'll add them." Bug suddenly said.

"What does that mean?" Dax asked curiously.

"It means that if someone knows how to make quilts, we'll recruit them to you and do our best to get them whatever supplies they need. Same with bakers and butchers and tailors and... well, you got the idea." Bug said frankly.

"But what about sewing machines and mixers and... giant freezers and all the other special stuff that people need to do stuff like that?" Dax asked anxiously.

"I'll do what I can to get what I can. I can't promise that I'll be able to find every single thing that you need, but I'll find as much as I can and your people will have to do their best." Bug said honestly.

After a moment to calm himself, Dax carefully asked, "Okay. What about the storefronts and stuff?"

"That's going to take time, workers and materials. I'll get you what I can as quick as I can, but for now, people may have to use their living rooms as showrooms for whatever it is that they're selling." Bug said seriously.

"Okay. Yeah." Dax said as his mind raced over everything that needed to be done, then something else occurred to him, "Jingo said that if things go really bad, we might even need to think about getting spinning wheels and looms and that kind of stuff."

Bug froze in thought for a moment, then broke into a furious bout of typing.

"You really are in charge of the Chicago people, aren't you?" Bobby asked in wonder.

"Yeah. They're my people, so it's my job to take care of them." Dax said frankly.

"I wish I could do something to help people like that." Bobby said in wonder.

"You're a gopher. You're already helping people like that. It's because of what you do that I'm free to do what I do." Dax said seriously.

"Okay. It's done. You'd better let your people know what's coming because just as soon as the people or supplies show up, they're going to be routed to you." Bug said frankly.

"Thanks, Bug. I'll get right on it." Dax said happily.

"Dax, the Chicago buses are almost here." Oleksandr said seriously.

"Do you know how long it will be before they get here?" Dax asked as he moved to stand behind Oleksandr at the computer.

"I don't know..." Oleksandr said thoughtfully, then asked into the air, "Dizzy, do you know how long it will be before the Chicago buses get here?"

"The Chicago fleet should reach the first checkpoint in about three hours. They should arrive in Kettle Falls in about five hours." Dizzy responded professionally.

"I'm done." Carson announced as he was disconnecting the wires from the last 'talkbox'.

Bobby walked to Carson and asked, "Do I need to take them to the stadium in town, now?"

"Yes. And tell them to call me as soon as you get there. I'm going to have to talk them through hooking them up and initializing the system." Carson said seriously.

"Yeah. I'll be sure and tell them." Bobby promised.

"Do you need some help carrying those out?" Dax asked as he walked to Bobby's side.

"Yeah. Thanks." Bobby said with a smile up at him.

"I'll help, too." Lawrence said cheerfully.

"I'm parked out front." Bobby said as he picked up the first box.

When they had left, Bug stood and said, "I'll be back in a few minutes, I've got to go have 'The Talk' with Seth and Hobie."

Carson and Jay both seemed to be poised to ask questions, but ended up remaining silent as Bug left the room.

* * * * *

"Good afternoon, how may I help you?"

"I was told that there is someone in need of a paralegal at this address."

"Yes. May I tell Mrs. Brown who is calling?"

"I am Olufemi Okpara."

"Please, come inside and I will announce you."

"Thank you."

* * * * *

"Excuse me, Mr. Okpara. I'm Debra Brown. I have something that I need to attend to just this minute, but I promise that I'll be right back with you." Deb said, then walked past him out the front door.

* * * * *

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Brown?" Courtney asked as she stepped out of her tent.

"I don't know what you kids did to Miss Wyatt, or why, but I thought it might be best if we came to an agreement before I attempt to interview Mr. Okpara." Deb said frankly.

"Mrs. Brown, your first interview was with a woman named Janet Hayes. Several of my people were adopted by a woman named Janet Hayes and have taken her last name. Others look at her as their surrogate mother. It's that simple." Courtney gently explained.

"So, you did something to Miss Wyatt to make her leave so that I'd hire the woman who reminds them of their mother?" Deb asked to confirm.

"Yes. And there was also the fact that Miss Wyatt wasn't a suitable candidate to work for you. She copied her classwork and cheated on tests to get her degree. She's lazy, unimaginative, doesn't like children and cheats at Sudoku." Courtney said seriously.

Deb was about to inquire about how Courtney knew all that, but decided that she didn't want to know.

"What about Mr. Okpara?" Deb asked cautiously.

"He's a good, hardworking man. If you decide to hire him, I believe he will do a good job for you." Courtney said grudgingly.

"Thank you, Courtney. Would you please see that no one tries to scare Mr. Okpara away? I would really like to make my own decision." Deb said frankly.

"I'll see that no one interferes with your interview." Courtney promised.

* * * * *

"Oh man! Can you believe all of that?" Seth said in amazement.

"I feel kind of sorry for Bug." Hobie said honestly.

"Why would you feel sorry for Bug? He's awesome!"

"All those girls he was telling us about. They didn't love him. I don't even know if they liked him. They just wanted to be with him because he could give them lots of orgasms."

"Yeah. I guess it doesn't really matter if you know how to work a cooter if the girl doesn't care about you."

"Do you think that maybe that's why Bug went gay?"

"No. I don't think it had anything to do with guys and girls. He found someone, actually, two someones, that cared for him and that he could love. If the twins had been girls, he probably would've done exactly the same thing."

"Do you think you could do that?"

"Do you mean, fall in love with a guy?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know. I never really thought about guys like that. But I guess if I get old like Bug and I still haven't found any girls that work out, then maybe I'll start looking at guys."

"Yeah. Me too."

"Maybe, if neither one of us can find a girl, we'll end up with each other."

"Yeah. At least that way I'd know that you weren't only with me for the really great sex."

"Do you think we should have asked him about that?"

"About what?"

"He told us all about what to do to give girls really great orgasms, but maybe we should ask him about guys, too."

"I think that if we end up together, we'll be able to figure that out."

"Yeah."

* * * * *

"I'm supposed to ask for someone named Joe." Bobby said as he walked around the side of the special needs counter, where other people were currently being helped.

"He's with a customer right now. My name is David. Is there something I can do to help you?" David asked hopefully.

"Yes. I've got three... I guess they're calling them 'talkboxes', out in my gator for you." Bobby said cautiously.

"Oh! Great! You say they're outside? Let's go get them." David said happily.

There was a low droning sound and David turned to see three wheelchairs lined up and the occupants looking at him expectantly.

"Or... Bonnita, Juanita and Adrian could go out with you to collect the 'talkboxes' for themselves." David said cautiously.

"Okay. But I was supposed to tell you that Carson wants to talk to you as soon as you've got them so he can talk you through how to set them up." Bobby said seriously.

"Okay. If you'll take the gang out to get the talkboxes, I'll call Carson." David said decisively.

Bobby looked at the three people in wheelchairs and said, "They're out here. Come with me."

* * * * *

David, Amber and Bobby helped to install the talkboxes. Once all the units were secured and everyone was wearing their microphones, it was time to initialize the systems.

"Hold down the blue button for about ten seconds, then let it go. That'll let the system know that it's starting to learn a new person. Remember, you're going to need to train your talkboxes. If you say something and it translates it wrong, you need to push the red button to let it know. The more you train it, the better it should work for you." Carson said seriously.

"Can they start?" David asked hopefully.

"Yes. As soon as the talkboxes are initialized, you can start the training. I'm going to sign off now, but if you have any problems at all, you can either call me or Roris and we'll help you however we can." Carson promised.

"I doughnut what tushie." Bonnita said, then broke into laughter as she pressed the red button.

"Whale sound like Roris." Adrian said seriously, then he also broke into laughter.

Other people in the stadium started noticing the nonsensical chatter as well as the laughter coming from the 'special needs' counter.

As much as Bobby wanted to stay and watch for a while longer, he knew that he had an important job to do. People like Carson and Dax were counting on him to make deliveries so that they would be free to help all the people who needed it.

* * * * *

"Thank you, Olufemi. I promise that I will let you know as soon as I've made a decision." Deb said as she walked out of her office.

In the hallway, there were four young teenagers standing and waiting.

"We didn't do anything." Victor said defensively.

Deb couldn't help but smile at the immediate reaction and responded, "Thank you."

All the expectant looks focused on her forced Deb to continue, "Mr. Okpara has an impressive resume and a stable work history. I'd be a fool not to hire him."

The expressions of all the young teenagers fell at the announcement.

"I'm also going to hire Mrs. Hayes. If things go the way I'm expecting, I think that I'll have enough work to keep both of them busy." Deb announced, then waited for the reaction.

All four of the young teenagers went from despondent to joyous in an instant.

Chapter 37: Monumental Ambitions

Since Zane had awakened, they had enjoyed a pleasant conversation. But Ben could tell that Keil's anxiety about his own situation was becoming an increasing worry for him.

"I tell you what, I need to get back downstairs and get back to work. I'll check on a few things about a job and housing and call you in a few minutes." Ben said frankly.

"You don't need to go to a lot of trouble for me." Keil said quietly.

As Ben walked toward the door, he laughed, then said, "Don't worry about it. This is what I do."

* * * * *

"Hey Jingo, I know I'm a little late... sorry." Trav said repentantly, as he walked up to her, with Father Kinsey following a step behind.

"A little late? It's after noon." Jingo said bluntly.

"I ain't been sleepin. Me an Malcolm's been workin since this s'mornin, cookin an servin food." Trav hurried to explain.

"That ain't what the boss sent us here to do. The only reason we're not back in Chicago, fightin our asses off is 'cause of Dax. He needs us." Jingo said firmly.

Trav looked around quickly, then quietly asked, "Is he here?"

"No. He went back to their home base to get supplies and shit set up for us. But we've got us a hell of a lot of work to do before those supplies gets here." Jingo said seriously.

"What've we gotta do?" Trav asked, then glanced at Father Kinsey, at his side.

"We need to get anyone with the skills to make homemade shit and let them know we need their help to make their shit and to teach other people what they know. We also gotta find out what kind of supplies and equipment and shit they need to do their stuff and like that." Jingo said thoughtfully.

"Why are we doin' all that?" Trav asked slowly.

Jingo stopped and considered for a moment before saying, "Here's the deal. Pretty soon, the stores are gonna get empty. With Marshall Law and bombs and shit, the factories ain't gonna be making the stuff to fill the stores back up. Even if we can get stuff brought in from other countries, the roads ain't gonna be safe much longer. We've gotta remember how to make shit and do for ourselves. We need to find bakers and butchers and quilters and dressmakers and get them fired up to do their shit. Here. Dax gave us these ultra high tech radios you can use to call it in."

Trav looked at the slip of paper she was handing him with confusion.

"Put the squarish one on your throat and the round one behind your ear. When you're ready, tap the one on your throat and say your name and Dax's computer will do the rest." Jingo said carefully, but it was clear that the thread of her patience was wearing thin.

"Yeah. Okay." Trav said as he carefully peeled the throat piece off the paper, then cautiously asked, "Can Malcolm help?"

"I don't know, can he?" Jingo asked as she looked at Father Kinsey appraisingly.

Feeling the weight of Jingo and Trav's combined attention directed at him, Father Kinsey quietly said, "It's possible that some of the people we encounter may be frightened or in need of some sort of consolation. I might be of help in that regard."

Jingo shrugged, then said, "Give it a try. I'm gonna be scouting locations for shops. The way they have these houses dotted around with spaces between 'em, I'm thinking we can set up, like, roadside stands right next to the houses where the people live who make the stuff."

"Where do you want us to start?" Trav asked cautiously.

"How the fuck should I know? Walk around, talk to people. Hell, knock on doors if you want to. Just, whoever you talk to, make sure you tell 'em to pass it on and spread the word. I got the feelin' that we're runnin outta time." Jingo said gravely.

"Then we should begin." Father Kinsey said decisively, then started walking to where some people were carrying boxes, apparently moving into their new home.

As Trav was about to follow, Jingo quietly asked, "You're not getting in too deep, are you?"

"I found me someone I like that's good, and he likes me back. I'm not just in too deep, if things work out, I'm plannin on going 'all in'." Trav said seriously, then started to peel the earpiece of his subvocal off the paper as he walked away to join Father Kinsey.

Jingo looked after him with surprise, then remembered that she had a lot of people depending on her.

* * * * *

"I'm so sorry that I'm late! I was with a customer. Is everything alright?" Melanie asked as she rushed up to Margaret's side.

"Everything's fine. The boys are right over there, skateboarding." Margaret said as she pointed to the bowl shaped skateboard run.

"How's Frankie? I'm always afraid that he's going to fall down when he's here." Melanie said anxiously as she finally spotted her son.

"He's probably fallen down at least a dozen times. I'm sure he's going to have quite a few scrapes and bruises before it's all over. But just look at him, he's having a wonderful time." Margaret said with a smile.

"He's going to break his neck!" Melanie exclaimed.

Margaret laughed, then said, "I made sure that all the boys are wearing their protective gear and I made them promise not to horse around. They know that I'm watching, so they'll behave. As long as they follow the rules, the worst that will happen are some bumps and bruises."

Melanie stopped and watched for a long anxious moment as her son rode his skateboard down a valley and right up to the edge of the other side before changing direction to do the same in reverse.

"It's okay. He's doing fine." Margaret assured her.

As soon as Frankie had arrived at the lip of the ramp and stepped off his skateboard, he spotted his mother watching and called out, "Did you see?! Did you see what I just did?!"

When Melanie heard her son's pride in his accomplishment, the fear she had been feeling finally disbursed and gave way to an equal amount of pride for him.

"Yes. I saw it! That was incredible!" Melanie said happily.

Frankie beamed a glorious smile at his mother, then turned to watch as Cody made an attempt at the same run.

* * * * *

Although Colton needed a lot of attention, Father Doherty found himself standing in the living room doorway with the twins, just watching.

Nick, Jody, and Jorry were all helping in their own ways as Emo went through the process of changing Colton's diaper and fixing a bottle.

Colton didn't seem to mind all the attention that was being focused on him, but Father Doherty got the feeling that Colton was most content when he was being held in Emo's arms.

Finally, when it seemed that all the baby care needs had been attended to, Father Doherty quietly said, "We need to think about going back to the house now."

"My brother said that he wanted for all of us to go into town and check out the restaurants and stuff. Do you guys wanna do that, first?" Jody asked quickly.

"Although that does sound tempting, I'm afraid that it's too cold for Colton to be out for any length of time." Father Doherty said regretfully.

"That's okay. JD said that if I call, they could come over here to get us and we can all go together." Jody said frankly.

"Good. From what I saw while I was in town, there are a number of things going on, and I've even heard tell that there is an event scheduled at a skatepark later today that you might find interesting." Father Doherty said with a smile.

"Skatepark?" Jorry asked with sudden interest.

"I'll call JD." Jody said with a chuckle.

* * * * *

"This is Roris. Are David or Joe available?" Roris typed onto his laptop.

After a moment, a response came, "This is Joe, what can I do for you, Roris?"

"I just wanted to check in to see how things are going. Are you having any problems?" Roris asked curiously.

"Everything is great! Bonnita, Juanita and Adrian are training their talkboxes and everyone's really excited about them being able to talk like normal people again." Joe responded.

"How are things going at the desk? Have you had any trouble helping the customers?" Roris asked seriously.

"No big problems. There were a few times I couldn't understand someone, but David and Amber helped me and everyone was taken care of, they all left happy."

"Good. Remember that if any of you have any problems, you can contact me at any time. I'm taking care of a lot of other things, but only for as long as you don't need me there. We're responsible for the most vulnerable of all the people who are coming to Kettle Falls for help." Roris slowly typed.

"I promise that our customers will get the best service of anyone here. We're all really happy to have real jobs that are important. We won't let you down." Joe responded sincerely.

"Let everyone know that we've got a report that there are going to be several busses arriving in a few hours. I don't know how many 'special needs' people will be with them, but we need to be prepared."

"I'll tell everyone. We'll be ready." Joe promised.

As Roris closed down his instant message window, he felt that he had been very fortunate to encounter such enthusiastic and capable people.

* * * * *

"How's that computer setup working for you?" Mal asked as he stopped in the dining room.

"While you were unpacking, I had a conference call with Bug. He's gathering a team to help him coordinate things for the refugee effort." Steven said without looking away from his screens.

"It looks like you're going to be the breadwinner for the family." Mal said with a smile.

Steven stopped and turned in his chair to look at Mal curiously.

"What?" Mal asked at Steven's reaction.

"You called us a family." Steven said in wonder.

Mal thought about his words, then slowly explained, "I guess we are. There've been about a hundred times that each of us has had a reason to go out on his own, but we've always stuck together. When one of us loses his job or something else goes wrong, the rest of us kept him going until things got better and he could get back on his feet. That's a family, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't know." Steven said as he turned back to face his computer screens.

"Yeah. Well, I wouldn't either. We're all just making this up as we go along." Mal said frankly.

"I'm afraid, Mal. I'm afraid that I'll let Bug down and that people will suffer because of me." Steven said frankly.

"Just remember, we've got your back." Mal said reassuringly.

"I know I'm pathetic, sometimes. I try not to be." Steven mumbled.

"Snap out of it! Did you look at all those cars we passed on the way here? You've got the chance to help thousands of people! You! You're the guy! None of the rest of us can do what you do on the computer. Not even Arlan, and he's brilliant." Mal implored him to understand.

Steven reluctantly nodded.

"Listen, I know you're not used to feeling good about yourself. I get that. But out of all of us, you're the one that has a real job, that matters. Try to let that sink in." Mal said firmly.

"Yeah. Okay... thanks." Steven said quietly, then turned suddenly at the sound of a knock on the door.

"If it's the Mormon's, I'm kicking some ass." Mal said as he walked toward the front door.

"Who's here?" Ron asked as he stepped out of the bedroom, where he had been unpacking.

"I don't know." Steven said as he raised up off his chair a little to see over the breakfast bar and through the kitchen.

After a moment, Steven was surprised to see Mal leading an extremely handsome young man into the house.

"Guys, this is Jeremy. He's here to interview us... well, me and Ron, anyway." Mal said cheerfully.

"You're going to interview us now?" Ron asked incredulously, then looked down at his grubby jeans and sweatshirt.

"Yeah. But don't worry. You get extra points because I showed up without warning. Actually, I was in the neighborhood and Lucas suggested that I stop by." Jeremy said casually.

"Jeremy, the guy at the computer is Steven and this is Ron. Arlan is around here somewhere, probably in his bedroom, setting up his computer." Mal said frankly.

"Well, here's the deal. We've got an event that's going to be happening this afternoon... actually, some of it has already started, but the part that we need help with will be coming later. Since Bug referred you to us, Lucas wanted me to see if you'd be interested in starting to work right away." Jeremy said frankly.

"What kind of job?" Mal asked cautiously.

"It's sort of a teen and tween party that they're having at the skatepark. We've arranged for a live band to show up later and thought that it would be good to have someone on hand to act as a DJ or master of ceremonies." Jeremy said seriously.

"I'm a bartender, what would I be doing there?" Ron asked cautiously.

"Just making sure that everyone is having a good time. You guys can work it out." Jeremy said simply, then asked, "Interested?"

"Let me see if I understand how this works. Me and Ron are going to be doing jobs like this for you in exchange for a place to live and food?" Mal asked cautiously.

"Yes. At least, for now. When the situation stabilizes a little more and we know what currency we'll be using and how much it buys, then we'll probably start issuing paychecks and stuff like that. But for now, the people who work for us are paid with room and board." Jeremy confirmed.

"I don't know how much help I'll be around a bunch of kids, but I'm willing to try." Ron said uncertainly.

"Yeah. A job's a job. We'll do it." Mal agreed.

"Good. That's what I'd hoped." Jeremy said happily, then continued, "The skatepark is on the main street in town, you can't miss it. If you could, just try to show up sometime before six. That's when the band is scheduled to start playing. If you could get there earlier, it would be better and help you survey the situation and ease into it. Right now they're playing some CDs that some of the girls brought from home."

"And you just want us to be sure that everyone is having a good time." Mal cautiously confirmed.

"That's it!" Jeremy said with a smile.

"We'll be there." Ron said firmly.

* * * * *

"Hello?" Brother Jacques answered hesitantly.

"Jacques? It's Ben. Can I talk to your dad for a minute? I've got some questions to ask him." Ben asked hopefully.

"Did you find something for him?" Brother Jacques asked hopefully.

"Maybe. I'll need to ask him a few things before I know for sure." Ben said seriously.

"Dad, it's Ben. It sounds like he's got something." Brother Jacques said happily as he handed the phone to his father.

Keil hesitantly took the phone and cautiously said, "Hello?"

"Keil. I just needed to confirm a few things before I finalize them. You want to stay in Kettle Falls, don't you?" Ben asked seriously.

After a glance at his son, Keil quietly answered, "Yeah. I really do."

"Good. I didn't want to assume anything. Okay, next thing. You used to be a sanitation engineer, didn't you?" Ben asked carefully.

"You mean a garbage man?" Keil asked to confirm.

Ben chuckled, then said, "Yeah. That's what I mean. I'm just used to being politically correct... I'm overcompensating for Bug, I suppose. Anyway, are you interested in working for the Kettle Falls Public Works? With all the people pouring through here, they need help, and I'm pretty sure that since you have experience, you'll probably do well there."

"Do you really think you could arrange that?" Keil asked in wonder.

"Arrange it? They're practically begging for experienced help. But first, would you have any objection to living in an apartment? If you don't want to live alone, we can set you up with a roommate in a two bedroom house." Ben asked seriously.

"An apartment would be fine. Actually, it would be like a dream come true." Keil said frankly.

"Okay. That's confirmed. Make sure that before you leave the house that you have the map to your apartment. Along with that, you'll have all the details about your new job. You'll start on Monday." Ben said professionally.

"I don't have any clothes except what I'm wearing." Keil said cautiously.

"Give me a few minutes to find out all that you're going to need for the job. Once I've got that, I'll print it out for you and you can take it to the stadium in town, whenever you're ready. They'll be able to direct you where to go to get everything you need." Ben said confidently.

"I don't have any money." Keil said hesitantly.

"You won't need it. That's why you'll be going to the stadium instead of just going directly to the stores. They'll give you vouchers for whatever you need." Ben said seriously.

"I don't know how to thank you for everything you're doing for me, Ben. I never expected anyone to even care if I live or die, much less try to help me." Keil said honestly.

After a long moment of silence, Ben quietly asked, "Would you be interested in taking on kind of a part-time job, besides the job at Public Works?"

"What kind of job?" Keil asked cautiously at the sudden change in mood.

"Give me a little time to talk to Roris about it. I think that with what he's already got going on, maybe he'd be the best one to set something like this up. But if we can find a way to do it, maybe we could fix it so that people like ex-cons, who have extra challenges because of their pasts, could have someone on the inside to help them get good, honest work." Ben said thoughtfully.

"If there's something I can do to help people, of course, I'd want to. But I don't know what I'd do for them." Keil said frankly.

"You'd be honest with them. You'd talk to them as a person who knows what they're going through and what their needs are. Like I said, I'll have to talk to Roris and get things set up, but I think that if we do this right, we might be able to give some people some second chances." Ben said frankly.

"Yeah. Count me in." Keil said seriously.

"I've got to get to work. Remember to get your map and things before you leave." Ben said happily.

"I will. Thanks."

* * * * *

"Is everything alright?" Artimus asked as Father Doherty walked in the door and held it open for Emo to pass.

"Yes. Everything is fine. I'm sorry that took so long." Father Doherty said as he closed the door.

"That's no problem. As soon as Jim signed onto his radio, he was recruited to work for a local computer shop. He's there now." Artimus said quickly.

"That's good to hear. I'm sure that after the time that he spent at the shelter in Chicago, he'll be happy to go back to work." Father Doherty said as he walked into the living room.

"He couldn't stop smiling." Artimus said with a grin.

"Did you find out anything about what the rest of us can do?" Arthur asked cautiously.

"No. I was occupied with other things. But I believe that we should have all that we need to help innumerable people, just using these radios." Father Doherty said frankly.

"I was able to get in touch with my sister-in-law and found out that they're all alright. Well, except that, from what she said, St Louis isn't a really good place to be at the moment. I told them that, if they want, they can come here. I said that if they can let me know that they're coming, I'll get a place set up for them." Artimus said carefully.

"I found out that my ex-wife and my son are safe in Boise." Greg interjected.

"I'm glad everyone received good news." Father Doherty said warmly.

"Not everyone." Father Franklin said timidly.

"Oh? What happened?" Father Doherty asked with immediate concern.

"Nothing. At least, not yet. But I spoke with Emmogene and she said that they're talking about continuing on to Canada." Father Franklin said quietly.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are you considering going with them?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"The thought has crossed my mind." Father Franklin reluctantly admitted.

"Please keep in mind that you're under no obligation to remain here with us. You've more than fulfilled any promise that you might have made by following through and getting everyone in your charge to safety. Of course, if you choose to stay, we'll be appreciative. But if you decide to go, it will be with our blessings and best wishes." Father Doherty said sincerely.

"They haven't decided anything, yet. So far, Keith is being kept busy with Lesbian Gravy performances. They're just concerned that when the demand for live performers dwindles, that they may need to make other arrangements." Father Franklin explained.

"Colton's asleep." Emo said as he walked into the living room.

"Do you think you have everything you need to take care of him for a little while?" Father Doherty asked seriously.

"Yeah. I've got diapers, formula and all the diaper bag stuff. We should be good." Emo said thoughtfully.

"I'm itching to get into town and start helping people. Who wants to go with me?" Father Doherty asked assertively.

"Do you know what we're doing, yet?" Greg asked cautiously.

"I've been thinking about it and decided that the best course of action might be for us to go to the stadium and offer to help. As we help people, we can get an idea of what needs the people have and the resources at our disposal. And, thanks to having these radios, if one of us runs into a situation they don't know how to handle, we'll be able to work collectively to find an answer." Father Doherty said seriously.

"I know that I won't be able to go out and walk in the cold. But is there something that I'll be able to do from here?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Yes. You and Ahmid can work as our 'home base', so to speak. If one of us needs something researched, or something that involves using the phone, you could handle that from here." Father Doherty said with a smile.

"Yes. And it would be good for us to be here for Emo and the baby. They don't need to be left alone." Ahmid interjected.

"Good idea." Father Doherty agreed, then thought to ask, "Has anyone heard anything from Father Kinsey?"

"I went out to get lunch for everyone and found him with Trav at one of the pop-up kitchens. He seems to be... content." Father Franklin said slowly.

Father Doherty considered for a moment, then quietly said, "Give him some time. When the 'new' wears off, he may come back. Just, don't make it too hard on him if he does."

"I'm just worried about him." Father Franklin said honestly.

"Trav won't let anything happen to him." Father Doherty said with certainty.

"I'm afraid that Trav is the one who's going to hurt him." Father Franklin said seriously.

"No. From what I've seen of them, it's Trav who's running the greater risk of being hurt." Father Doherty said regretfully.

* * * * *

"Bug, what would you think if we had a meeting of all the people from 'The Kingdom'?" Carson asked seriously.

Bug looked up from his laptop with surprise.

They had been sitting in silence for quite a while, except for the occasional chatter of clicking keyboards.

"Do you mean, like, a conference call, like what I did?" Bug asked slowly.

"No. Like in the dining room. We could get everyone together so that they can all meet face to face." Carson said seriously.

"I think that as bad ideas go, that's probably right up there with one of the fucking worst ever, like, of all time." Bug said simply.

Carson looked at Bug with surprise.

"Why did you become a hacker?" Bug asked seriously.

"I don't know. I guess because after the accident, there wasn't much I could do but sit in front of a computer." Carson said cautiously.

"Now, think about the rest of them, what reasons do you think they might have for being hackers." Bug said in a leading tone.

"I don't see what you're getting at." Carson said slowly.

"There was an Internet cafe close to my house, so I got to see it a few times. Hackers, I mean, the real, hardcore hackers, are usually selfish, awkward, defensive or just oblivious as fuck. They don't have social skills and the last fucking thing you ever want to have is a group of those assholes together in one place." Bug said seriously.

Carson looked at Bug uncertainly, not sure of his reasoning.

"You want to get them together? Open an 'invitation only' chat room. Trust me, you don't want to meet a bunch of them in person, all at once." Bug said firmly.

"Okay. Since you seem so sure, I won't invite them over." Carson said cautiously, then smiled when Jay swooped in to give him an unexpected cuddle.

Bug smiled, then said, "I've just sent a shitload of work off to my team. Do you think you could cover things for a little bit? There's some shit I need to do."

"It'd help if I had a clue about what you've been working on over there. How long do you think you'll be gone?" Carson asked cautiously.

"I don't know, but I'll be back before the Chicago busses get here. I've got my subvocal on, if you need me for something before that." Bug said as he closed his laptop.

"Go on. I've got you covered." Carson said confidently.

"Do you plan on going anywhere near the stadium?" Roris asked hopefully.

"Yeah. I'll probably go by there. Did you need something?" Bug asked curiously.

"If you could just go to the special needs desk... you don't need to stop and talk to them or anything, just look and see that they're doing okay." Roris said anxiously.

"Yeah. I was going to stop by and check on Amber, so that won't be any problem." Bug said casually.

"I need rubbers." Lawrence said seriously.

Bug smiled at his brother, then said, "I'll be sure to stop by and pick some up for you."

Lawrence walked to Bug and gave him a firm hug.

"How about you Ben? Do you or Oleksandr need anything?" Bug asked as he returned his brother's hug.

Ben seemed to be considering when Oleksandr said, "French fries!"

"They'll probably be all cold and gross before I can get them back here, but I'll see what I can do." Bug said as Lawrence finally released him.

"How about you guys?" Bug asked as he looked at Seth and Hobie.

"If you're already getting condoms..." Seth trailed off with a blush rising up his face.

"What size?" Bug asked simply.

"They have sizes?" Seth asked in astonishment.

Bug nodded and waited expectantly.

Seth and Hobie looked nervously at each other with matching blazing blushes.

"I ain't got all fucking day. I'll pick something out. It'll work or it won't." Bug said seriously. When he looked away, he saw Ben fighting to restrain his laughter. Bug flashed him a grin and a wink before leaving the room.

* * * * *

Allen led the procession of boys into the house from the gator parking lot at the side.

"Is this a hotel or something?" Christian asked in a whisper as they walked through the common area on the first floor of the 'Big House'.

"Mr. Brown has visitors from all over the world. He had this house built so they'd have a comfortable place to stay. The family residence is down that hallway."

One of the bedroom doors opened and all the boys stopped, as though they'd been caught doing something that they weren't supposed to.

"Hello, Bug. How are you doing today?" Allen asked cheerfully.

"I'm good. I was just getting my coat. What're you guys doing here?" Bug asked curiously.

"Some of the boys were here to help watch after the baby. Now that the baby's gone home, we're all going into town to check out the restaurants and bands that we've been hearing about on the Internet." Allen said frankly.

"I'm going into town, too. Do you mind if I tag along?" Bug asked cautiously.

"Sure. If you don't mind waiting for just a minute so we can get Jody, Nick and Jorry." Allen said cheerfully.

"They're in the living room, this way." Bug said as he started down the hallway.

* * * * *

As they were walking toward the living room, a door opened and Deb stepped out of her office.

"Hello, Allen. How are you doing today?" Deb asked happily.

"Just fine. Deb, I'd like to introduce you to Collin, Christian and JD. These are three of the guys staying at my house for a while, until things settle down." Allen said with a smile.

"Are you here looking for the other boys?" Deb asked curiously.

"That's right." Allen confirmed.

"They're right through here." Deb said as she led the way.

* * * * *

When they walked into the living room, all the teens and young adults seemed to have their attention focused on two young children.

"Bug? I thought you were still in Carson's room." Kev said as he got up from one of the couches and hurried to his side.

"I had to get out of there for a few minutes. I was getting cabin fever." Bug said frankly.

Kev gave Bug a firm hug, then said, "If you need something to take your mind off things, I bet Ken and I could think of something."

Bug laughed, then said, "I bet you could."

"How are you doing, Kevin?" Allen asked with a tender smile.

"I'm great, Pop." Kev said cheerfully, then thought to ask, "It's okay if I call you Pop, isn't it?"

"I can't think of anything I'd like more." Allen said warmly, then noticed Ken approaching.

"I was thinking about going into town for a little bit. Would you guys like to go with me?" Bug asked loudly enough so that he was sure that Ken could hear.

Ken's happy smile faded as he said, "That'd be really great, but we kinda promised to stay here and watch the kids."

"No you didn't." Jamey said as she approached.

Ken looked at her uncertainly.

"You said you'd watch the baby. We said that we'd watch after Destiny and Aiden." She said firmly.

"She's right." Deb said simply.

"Are you sure?" Ken asked her cautiously.

"Don't worry. You earned your extra desserts. Go have fun." Deb said with a smile.

"Come on, let's get your coats." Bug said to the twins, then turned to Allen and continued, "We'll meet you out at the gators."

"Sounds good." Allen said, then watched as Bug and the twins headed back toward the 'Big House'.

* * * * *

Even though Allen had to wait on Jody, Nick and Jorry to locate where their coats had been stored, they still ended up arriving at the gators before Bug and the twins.

"I just thought of something. Before we go, I wanted to ask you about it." Bug said to Allen seriously as he left the house.

"What was that?" Allen asked curiously.

"I've got this guy who just arrived and he looks like someone that you could use at the lab." Bug said frankly.

"Send me his information and I'll look it over on Monday, when I get to work." Allen said simply.

"I've already sent it to you. But, one of the things I was wanting to do while I was out was to check on one of my hacker guys. Arlan is his roommate, so I thought that you might want to go with me." Bug said frankly.

After a moment to consider, Allen finally said, "Sure, I guess. The guys are old enough that they don't need me watching after them."

"I'm your escort." A young teenage voice said from beside Bug.

"Who the fuck are you?" Bug asked sourly.

"Your escort." The boy said flatly.

"You got a name? Or am I just supposed to call you 'Escort'?" Bug asked irritably.

"I'm First Sergeant Kyle Lapp. I drew the short straw, so I'm here. Let's not get all gooey and sentimental about it." The young teenager said seriously.

"I'll try not to get too attached." Bug said before turning his attention back to the others.

"So, what do you say we go into town and see what exciting things are going on, then Bug and I can go run some errands while the rest of you are enjoying that?" Allen asked pleasantly.

Bug looked at the twins and received nods of agreement before saying, "Sounds like a plan."

* * * * *

"Apollo! What a surprise to see you! And Jarrett, how are you two doing today?" Marcus asked delightedly, then hurried to add, "Come in out of the cold."

"We're fine. I hope that you don't mind that we came to visit. Jarrett wanted to stop by and, honestly, I don't like being cooped up inside all day. It makes me nervous." Apollo said weakly.

"I know what you mean. Doris and Corina have been back and forth to town, getting ingredients and cooking up a storm while I've been left here with nothing to do." Marcus said frankly.

"Do you want to do something with us? We've heard that there's all kinds of stuff to do in town!" Jarrett said excitedly.

"I feel as if there's some reason that I shouldn't... although, for the life of me, I can't think of what it is." Marcus said thoughtfully.

"It'll be fun! Come on!" Jarrett said with a grand smile.

Marcus smiled at him, then said, "Yes. I wouldn't want to get into the habit of being antisocial, just because we've found ourselves in a new place. Give me a minute to talk with Doris and Corina, then we can be on our way."

Jarrett hugged Apollo excitedly.

Apollo glanced at Marcus uncertainly and received a smile of acceptance.

* * * * *

"Are you guys having a good time?"

"Yeah! This is great!"

"Can you think of anything else that we need to make it better?"

"No way! We've got skateboarding, BMX, great music and awesome food!"

"There's a place for dancing, too, if you guys like that."

The three boys looked at each other, obviously not knowing how to respond to that.

"You don't have to. I was just saying that it's there if you want to. My name's Lazlo. If you guys think of anything else that we can do to make this party better, just let me know."

"Are you the one who set this up?"

"Yeah. Well, I had a lot of help, but it was my idea." Lazlo said frankly.

"You're awesome! This is great! I wish I could do something like this!"

"If you guys want, you can help me." Lazlo said slowly.

"What can we do?"

"I've been watching you for a few minutes. I can tell that you know what you're doing. If you wanted, maybe you could get some of the people who are watching and help them learn how to skateboard the right way." Lazlo said seriously.

One boy looked at the other two for a moment, then cautiously said, "We're not really that good."

"Yeah. But, like I said, I've been watching. Maybe you can't do all the flashy tricks and stunts, but you're all wearing your protective gear and you're out here, doing things the right way. If you can show other people how to do that, I bet a lot more people will be able to have fun." Lazlo said simply.

"Yeah. But we'll have to ask my mom."

"I can go with you to ask, if you want. That way if she has any questions about what you'll be doing, I can explain it." Lazlo said seriously.

"Okay. She's right over there."

"By the way, what are your names?" Lazlo asked cautiously.

"Oh, I'm Frankie and these are my friends, Cody and Jody."

"It's nice to meet you. Let's go talk to your mom." Lazlo said with a smile.

* * * * *

"How's he doing?"

Christina whirled at the sound and automatically threw a punch.

Lee easily deflected it and smiled at her reaction.

"Asshole." Christina muttered, glad to know that it was another U.N.I.T. member that had been able to sneak up on her and not just a civilian.

"I'm here to relieve you. How's he doing?" Lee asked with an irritating grin.

"I showed up here following an insecure little kid and in just a few hours I've watched him develop into a confident young man. It's been amazing." Christina said frankly.

"We had some excitement at the house. Some ex-cons tried to storm the place." Lee said seriously.

"Were there any casualties?" Christina asked with concern.

Lee chuckled, then said, "There weren't even any shots fired. We took them down in about a minute, flat."

"Why didn't you call me?" Christina asked cautiously.

"We would have if the situation had called for it." Lee said frankly.

Christina seemed to want to ask something, but was fighting to hold it back.

"He's fine. He's just been dispatched for escort duty." Lee said as he answered her unasked question.

"So they're calling me in when they're sending him out?" Christina asked cautiously.

"He's only expected to be out for a few hours. Trust me, it's not personal. Kyle was just the next one up on the rotation." Lee said seriously.

"I can't help but worry. It's what I do." Christina said with a sigh.

Lee grinned at her response, then said, "I can take over, if you're ready to go."

"I need to introduce you, first. He knows that I'm here if he runs into trouble. I don't want for him to think that I abandoned him." Christina said frankly.

"This guy's really gotten to you, hasn't he?" Lee asked curiously.

"Talk to me about it later, when you've had a chance to watch him for a while." Christina said knowingly.

* * * * *

"Mrs. Brown, a call for you." Mr. Crante said as he offered her the cordless phone handset.

"Thank you." Deb said sincerely, then unmuted the phone before saying, "Hello, this is Debra Brown."

"Mrs. Brown, this is Alvin Casey. I was at your house yesterday, with the helicopters."

"Yes. I remember you. What can I do for you, Alvin?"

"Okay. Do you remember Juan?"

"Yes. He'd be difficult to forget."

"He'll be happy to hear that. Anyway, he asked me to call you to set things up. He wants to have a video conference with you and your husband and your father. It's about Carson." Alvin said seriously.

"What about Carson? Is there a problem?" Deb asked with concern.

"No. It's nothing like that. All I know about it is that when Juan got back here, he did some checking and figured out that there might be a way that they can maybe help Carson with his legs." Alvin said seriously.

"We've already tried everything. What else can be done?" Deb asked in wonder.

"You'll have to talk to them about that. I'm just calling to set up the meeting. Do you know when you'll all be available for a video conference?" Alvin asked seriously.

"I really don't know. Ryan's at the lab and Dad's at the hospital. The best I can do is call them and see when they'll be free. Is there a number where I can call you back?" Deb asked hopefully.

"I'll send it to you in an email, along with the link for the video conference. Get back with us as soon as possible, so we'll have everyone we need on hand at the same time." Alvin said professionally.

"Yes. It should just take me a few minutes to contact them. You asked for Ryan and my dad. Do you want for Carson to be there, too?" Deb asked cautiously.

"No. You need to hear us out and decide what's best for Carson, first. Then, depending on how that goes, you guys can talk to him about what choices he has." Alvin said slowly.

Deb thought for a moment, then answered, "That's probably the best way to proceed. I'd hate to give him false hope if it turns out to be something too risky."

"Good. I'll let everyone know that you'll be calling back." Alvin said pleasantly.

"Thank you for trying to help Carson." Deb said sincerely.

"Well, you're welcome, but I just made the call. If I could do more, I would. But this is all I can do to help him."

"I understand, Alvin. And thank you for doing your part." Deb said gratefully.

* * * * *

"How are you doing, Oma Shoupe? Did you get your meds?" Bug asked quietly as he walked into the classroom where most of the younger children were lying on mats, asleep. The older children were sitting quietly, with Jamiah reading to them in a low voice.

"Yes. Baxter brought them to me. He's such a little gentleman. And I'm doing just fine. But I'm glad that you're here. I've gotten myself into something of a situation and I was hoping that you could help me determine what's the right thing to do." Oma Shoupe said seriously.

When Bug noticed her looking past him, he quickly said, "This is Allen, he works for Mr. Brown. He's going with me while I do some errands. What did you need help with?"

Oma Shoupe leaned forward in her chair a little and quietly said, "The twin girls over there with Jamiah, their mother was taken to the hospital with what looked to me to be a stroke. I promised the mother that I'd care for them, and I will. But I'm not sure how to manage watching after the children and all the things that I'm going to need to do if they end up staying with me."

"Don't worry about it, Oma. I should be able to take care of everything." Bug said reassuringly, then thought to ask, "Do you happen to know the mother's name?"

"Mrs. Evans. I don't think she ever told us her first name. You can probably get it from Mrs. Rand at the desk, if you need to." Oma Shoupe said thoughtfully.

"That should be enough. I'll check in with the hospital and see what I can find out, and if Mrs. Evans won't be released tonight, I'll make arrangements for the girls to stay with you at the house." Bug said confidently.

"Let me know what the hospital says. Mrs. Evans didn't look very good when they took her out of here." Oma Shoupe said with concern.

"I don't know how much they'll tell me, but I have other ways of getting information if they don't want to talk." Bug finished with a smile.

"You certainly do know how to work those inter-webs, don't you." Oma Shoupe chuckled.

"I know a few tricks." Bug said with a smile, then started walking toward the door.

At Allen's uncertain look, Bug gave a tilt of his head, inviting him to come along.

* * * * *

As soon as they were in the hallway, outside the classroom, Bug tapped his throat and said, "Dizzy, I need to find the condition of Mrs. Evans in the local hospital."

Allen looked strangely at Bug. He could tell that Bug had some sort of communication device, but could see no evidence of it.

"Oh, crap." Bug said gravely and Allen immediately forgot about his wonder at whatever technology Bug was using.

"Yeah, okay. Can I speak to Tommy, please?" Bug asked thoughtfully.

Bug tapped his throat again, then quietly said, "According to Dizzy, Mrs. Evans' condition is listed as 'critical'. A specialist is being flown in from Spokane."

"What are you..." Allen began to say when Bug held up his hand in a 'stop' motion. As soon as Allen had stopped, Bug quickly tapped his throat.

"Tommy, this is Bug. My Oma is going to be taking care of two little girls whose mother had to go to the hospital. Is there any way you could set something up in my Oma's room so they'll have places to sleep?" Bug asked hopefully.

After a moment, Bug smiled, then gave Allen a 'thumbs up'.

"Thanks. I owe you one... actually, I owe you a whole bunch for all you've done for us." Bug said frankly.

He chuckled, then tapped his throat again.

"So, they'll have a place to sleep." Bug said thoughtfully, then looked to Allen and said, "One more thing."

Allen watched as Bug tapped his throat yet again, then said, "Dizzy. Would you put a note in Mrs. Evans' hospital records that her daughters are being taken care of by Geraldine Shoupe? Also, if they need to get in contact, they should call Ryan Brown's house."

After a moment, Bug nodded, then said, "Thank you, Dizzy."

Allen waited a moment to be sure that Bug was done talking then quietly asked, "What type of communication device are you using?"

"It's called a subvocal. You'll really need to talk to Carson if you want to know more than that. I'm more into the programming than the electronics of technology." Bug said frankly.

"Whatever it is, it's amazing." Allen said frankly.

"Yeah. It's about the sixth most amazing thing I've seen since I've been here." Bug said with a grin.

"Sixth?"

Bug nodded, then led the way back into the classroom.

* * * * *

"What were you able to find out?" Oma Shoupe asked quietly as Bug and Allen returned.

"Not as much as I wanted. All I could get about Mrs. Evans' medical condition is that she's listed as being 'critical' and that they're waiting on a specialist to look at her. I went ahead and set things up so that the girls will be able to stay in your room, they'll have beds or something." Bug said seriously.

"Maybe we should find out where Mrs. Evans is staying so that we can get the girls their clothes and some personal things." Oma Shoupe said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. Um, let's wait on that until we know how their mom's doing. I'd feel funny about going through their stuff. Give me a few minutes and I'll get someone to help you get them some pajamas and clothes for tomorrow." Bug said thoughtfully.

"I can do that." Jamiah said quietly.

All the adults turned and looked at Jamiah with question.

"I help Loquicia with stuff like that all the time. I'd really like to help, if I can." Jamiah said hopefully.

Oma Shoupe smiled at him, then gently said, "Thank you very much, Jamiah. I think that would be very helpful."

"I'm about to go across the street to the stadium. If you want to come with me, I'll get you the vouchers you'll need to get whatever you want for the girls." Bug offered casually.

"Will you be okay here with Oma Shoupe?" Jamiah asked his sister quietly.

"Yeah. We'll help Oma take care of the kids when they wake up." Loquicia said confidently.

"I won't be gone long." Jamiah assured her, then walked to join Bug and Allen by the door.

* * * * *

"How old are you, Jamiah?" Allen asked curiously.

"Fourteen." Jamiah answered simply.

"I think it's wonderful that you're helping out at the school. That's very responsible of you." Allen said with a smile.

"Loquicia and the girls wanted to help out, I just wanted to make sure that Loquicia was okay." Jamiah said seriously, then waited for traffic to clear before crossing the street.

* * * * *

"Here you go, Jamiah. You can go to the different stores and get what you need for the girls. You should have enough vouchers here to get them three outfits each, of course, one of those should be pajamas." Bug said as he handed the freshly printed papers to Jamiah.

"Do you need for us to go with you?" Allen asked with concern.

Jamiah had to fight down a chuckle before saying, "I'm black, gay, fourteen and I've been living in one of the bad parts of Chicago. After all of that, I'm still alive. I think I can handle this."

"Well, if you have any trouble, just ask any volunteer or anyone working with a computer to contact 'Bug'. I'll be right there if you need me." Bug said earnestly.

Jamiah seemed to be surprised by the offer and it took a moment for him to respond, "Yeah. Thanks."

As Jamiah was walking away, Allen slowly shook his head in wonder.

"There's Amber. C'mon. This won't take long." Bug said as he started walking.

* * * * *

Bug was only able to talk to Amber for a minute, but left the stadium feeling assured that she was doing well.

As Allen and Bug were walking back toward the skatepark, Bug got a call on his subvocal.

He casually tapped on his throat and said, "This is Bug."

Allen stopped and looked at Bug with question, then realized that he was talking to someone else.

"Yeah. Give me a minute. I'll call you right back." Bug said before tapping his throat again.

"Is there a problem?" Allen asked quietly.

"No. Mr. Brown wants to have a conference call with a few of us. Why don't you go on ahead? I'm going to find a place to sit down so I can concentrate on what we'll be talking about." Bug said frankly.

"I'll let the twins know what's going on." Allen said with a nod.

"Thanks." Bug said with a smile, then spotted a pop-up restaurant across the street, where he'd be able to sit in reasonable quiet.

* * * * *

"This is Bug, I'm here."

"We're waiting on one more, thank you, everyone, for being here. I'll try to keep this brief."

"Hello? Mr. Brown?"

"Is that you, Allen?"

"Yes. Sorry, I had to find a quiet place."

"That's fine. Everyone's here now, so we can begin. Just so everyone is aware, this meeting is being recorded. When I call on you, please state your name and position for the record, then we'll get started. I'm Ryan Brown, head of Brown Industries. Allen?"

"I'm Allen Thompson, senior project manager."

"Carson?"

"Carson Brown, project manager."

"Bug?"

"I don't know what to say. Do I have a title or some shit like that?"

"Let the record show that that was Bug, and for the purposes of this meeting, he's a software engineer." Ryan said seriously, then continued, "The reason I called us together is so we can develop a strategy on how to replicate the power assist body armor that Juan brought us. Allen, have you had a chance to look over the schematics that I sent you?"

"Yes. At least I've had a chance to skim through them. Frankly, it was all I could do to tell myself that it wasn't some sort of a joke."

"No joke. I have the fully functioning model in my office. My question for you is, do you think that we'll be able to replicate the technology?"

"In short, no. There is no conceivable way we can duplicate the tech or exactly mimic the functions. But, I think that using the schematics as a framework, we can do our best to do a pretty good estimation of the most important functions." Allen said carefully.

"Which functions are you thinking that we'll lose?" Ryan asked cautiously.

"I don't see any practical way of duplicating the glide suit capability. The jury's still out on the underwater functions... we can probably get that to work. As far as the helmet functions, I think we can duplicate the hardware for most of that, it's the programming that's going to be the issue." Allen said carefully.

"We'll get to that." Ryan assured him, then continued, "Carson? What can you tell me about the power assist? Can we do it?"

"Well... yes and no. I'll tell you right off, the final product isn't going to look anywhere near as nice and smooth as the one in your office. But I've been looking at the specs and I think that we can mimic the functions using kevlar and some of our mini-robotic multi-joints. My guess is that we're going to end up adding about... forty or fifty pounds to the overall suit." Carson said thoughtfully.

"Does that take into account the advanced computer hardware?" Ryan asked cautiously.

"Yes, at least, my best guess at it. But that's assuming that we'll be able to replicate the chips... and that's a pretty big 'if'." Carson said frankly.

"I've got that covered. I practically had to promise Isaac my first born to get him to agree to shut down one of his production lines for me, but he said as soon as we've committed to the project, that he'll do it." Ryan said seriously.

"Tommy's gonna be pissed." Carson chuckled.

"Isaac's a good dad. Tommy'll be fine." Ryan said jokingly, then got more serious as he continued, "So that only leaves us with the elephant in the room. Even if we can duplicate everything else, none of it's going to matter if the power assist can't react properly. Bug, how are you doing with the trinary?"

"Well, I gotta tell you upfront that it's not as fucking easy as it looks." Bug said frankly.

"Actually, it didn't look easy at all, but go on." Ryan said cautiously.

"Well, here's the deal. If you're talking about writing a whole goddamned new control system, it's outta the fucking question. Ain't gonna happen. But, if you're talking about taking the motherfucking program that they already use and modifying that little cocksucker to work with our parts, I'm pretty sure I can do it." Bug said seriously.

"With all the modifications that will be required, are we going to have a problem with spaghetti code?" Ryan asked hesitantly.

"With trinary you don't get spaghetti, you get fucking spiderweb, but... yeah. That could happen. I'm usually pretty fucking tight with my code, so as long as I have the time to do it right, I should be able to keep it together."

"I really don't like putting all my eggs in one basket, do you think there's any possibility that you'll be able to teach one or two other people at least the basics of how to work with trinary?" Ryan asked hopefully.

"One. Maybe. I know an old-school programmer who could probably wrap his head around it. But I wouldn't want to try to teach it to anyone who doesn't know what the fuck the zeros and ones are for. 'Cause when you throw in the minus ones, it's a total mind fuck." Bug said frankly.

"Okay. It sounds like we've got more than a few 'ifs' and 'maybes' at work here, but I'm willing to press on. Is everyone on board?" Ryan asked hopefully.

"I'd really like to have a few more engineers on this project for the robotic aspects." Allen said frankly.

"As soon as we're done with this fucking meeting, I'll take you over to talk to one." Bug said simply.

"Right. I forgot." Allen muttered.

"I think, on that note, we'll call this to an end. I'm due in a video conference in a few minutes. Remember, Allen's going to be coordinating the overall project, so if any of you have any questions or concerns, be sure to talk to him." Ryan said professionally.

"Allen, where the fuck are you? I'm almost to the fucking skatepark and I can't see you!" Bug asked belligerently.

At the feeling of a hand on his shoulder, Bug jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"What the sweet pulsating fuck are you doing, sneaking up behind me like that?!"

Both Bug and Allen heard Ryan and Carson's laughter before the connection terminated.

* * * * *

"Yeah?" A young man asked as he opened the door slightly.

"Are you Mal?" Bug asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Who are you?" Mal asked suspiciously.

"Bug. You called me when you first got to town." Bug said frankly.

"Oh, right. Um, I didn't expect you to stop by. Please, come in." Mal said as he opened the door fully.

"Thanks, this is Allen. He's here to talk to Arlan, if he's available." Bug said politely.

"Yeah. I think so, he's in his room. I'll go get him." Mal said quickly.

As Bug and Allen walked slowly past the kitchen, Bug saw someone working on a computer in the dining room.

"Are you Steven?" Bug asked cautiously.

The blond young man turned in his seat and looked at Bug with more than a little fear in his big blue eyes.

"I'm Bug. If you've got a few minutes, I'd like to talk to you about a few things." Bug said honestly and made a point of keeping his distance.

"I was just looking at all the stuff you sent me. I've never even heard of some of these hacks and I can't believe how many backdoors you have." Steven said seriously.

"I just wanted to give you the tools to do the job that I'm going to be asking of you." Bug said honestly.

"What are you going to have me do?" Steven asked cautiously.

"Allen and Bug, this is Arlan." Mal said as he led a thin young man into the room.

"You're Bug? But... from what they said at the stadium, you're running this whole thing." Arlan said in amazement.

"I do a job. If you talk to Allen for a minute or two, you might be doing a job, too." Bug said frankly.

"Is there someplace where we can talk without disturbing Bug and Steven?" Allen asked cautiously.

"Yeah. We can go back to my room. I was just getting my plotter set up." Arlan said seriously.

"Plotter? Well, that's a good sign." Allen said as he followed Arlan down the hallway.

Bug expected Mal to go back to whatever he had been doing before their arrival, but soon realized that Mal was going to remain in the room with him and Steven, presumably so that Steven would feel safe.

"Okay. You know about all the shit that's going on, all over the country. It's some pretty fucking gruesome shit. What I want for you to do is use the tools I gave you to try and find whatever you can that might help us to help people. I've got connections with someone who can put the information to good use." Bug said frankly.

After a moment to consider, Steven quietly asked, "With the tools you gave me, you could do all of this by yourself. Why do you need me?"

"Just because I've got the tools doesn't mean I used them that much. Up until this week, I only used them when I needed to get into something that was inaccessible. Besides that, I ain't got the fucking time to do it myself, or I would. What I need is someone who's working on this and nothing else." Bug said seriously.

Steven glanced at Mal, then cautiously said, "My life on the computer is pretty much the only life that I have. At least this way, I'd be doing something to help someone else."

"How dangerous is this going to be for him?" Mal asked firmly.

Bug looked at him and was less than a second from unleashing a verbal barrage when he realized that Mal was simply doing his best to protect his vulnerable friend.

Finally, Bug calmly answered, "I guess it depends on how you look at it. I checked you out when you called me. All four of you are on Ashwood's list. So, that means that if Ashwood's goons get you, you're dead. It's possible that while Steven's working for me, that Ashwood's goons might figure out who he is and what he's doing. But, the way I see it, they're not going to make him any more dead than they would have before."

"That doesn't make me feel a whole lot better." Mal said honestly.

"Like my Grandma Winters used to say, 'You're fucked if you do and you're fucked if you don't.'" Bug said with a shrug.

"Still not helping." Mal said weakly.

Bug smiled, then said, "The only winning move in this game is the one where Ashwood loses and is thrown completely out of power. Steven working with us might help accomplish that. I'm sorry. I wish it could be more, but that's all I've got."

"I'll do it." Steven said quietly.

"Good. You know how to get in touch with me if you need anything. And remember, that includes your friends, too." Bug finished as he looked at Mal to confirm that he understood what he was saying.

"We've been on the road for most of the past four days. How bad are things, really?" Mal asked cautiously.

"If you're asking about the whole country... pretty fucking bad. If you're asking about here in Kettle Falls... we're determined to get through this and help as many people as possible while we do. I think we're alright." Bug said seriously.

* * * * *

"Come in." Deb said as she looked up from her monitor, at her office door.

When she recognized the girl, she cautiously asked, "Jamey, isn't it?"

"Yes ma'am." Jamey said as she came into the room, then gently shut the door.

"Please, call me Deb." She said with a smile, then continued, "I have a conference call in just a minute, so I don't have long. But what can I do for you?"

"Actually, I was asked by our Chief Medical Officer to attend the conference with you so I can answer any questions if you have them later." Jamey said timidly.

"Oh? Well then, I suppose that I'd better get this started." Deb said as she clicked on the link in her email to connect to the video conference.

As Deb waited for the call to connect, she quietly asked, "Do you know what it is that they're thinking of doing for Carson?"

"No ma'am, I don't. But since they're talking to you by video conference, I think it's probably something good." Jamey said honestly.

Deb looked strangely at the screen when it asked for a security code.

"May I?" Jamey asked.

When Deb scooted the keyboard over to her, Jamey typed in the twenty-four digit code.

As Jamey stepped back from the computer, she quietly said, "Dr. Hayes will be on in just a moment."

"My husband and my father won't have any way of knowing what code to enter." Deb said with concern.

"It's been taken care of." Jamey assured her.

A moment later, Deb saw her husband and her father in separate windows of the video conference. Each of them had a young teenager standing over their shoulder. Deb looked back over her shoulder to find that Jamey was in position, just like the others.

"Hey there Aunt Deb!" Juan said cheerfully as he waved dramatically.

Deb couldn't help but smile at the gesture.

"Doc Brown, you got a spare flux capacitor I can borrow?" Juan asked with a big grin.

Ryan lowered his head and shook it in amusement.

"Doctor M, find any more bombs in people? You know, my brother Jory was kinda pissed... He's the bomb guy, and I was the one that got to play with the one you found! He's never found a bomb inside someone before!" Juan said excitedly.

Rather than play along, Dr. Murten seriously answered, "I am sure your brother will get his chance, as I am sure the... person, for lack of a better term... who implanted that in Zane probably did it to others."

Juan's eyes went wide as he grinned and said, "I hadn't thought about that! I'll have to let him know!"

"I'm sure he will be happy to hear that." Janet said with a deep sigh, then continued, "However, let's try and focus on what this conference is about."

"Yes, Alvin implied that there might be something you can do to help Carson." Deb said in a rush.

"I am sure you have figured out by now that our technology is slightly advanced from what is currently available."

Both Fred and Deb nodded while Ryan remained still and wore an expression of astonishment at the understatement.

"We are not going to be using our advanced tech outside of our group much, since I am sure you know the dangers that could come from that. However, Juan has explained to me what is going on in Kettle Falls and the critical part that Carson plays in it. He has also explained the injuries that Carson suffered. He also did a full medical scan on Carson while he was there."

"He did?" Fred asked in surprise. "I didn't know that."

"You wouldn't." Janet said softly as she reached into her desk and pulled out a small handheld scanner. "This tricorder is all he needed, and Juan, as a fully certified doctor, carries one." She then looked at Victor and spoke. "Victor, would you be so kind?"

"Of course, Dr. Hayes." The boy standing by Dr. Murten's shoulder said formally as he reached into his pocket and pulled out another handheld scanner.

"Dr. Murten, if you would just sit still for a moment." He said as he opened it up, pressed a few keys, and then 'scanned' Dr. Murten with it. After a few seconds he smiled. "For a man of your age, you are in remarkable health. Although I would strongly suggest you address your raised triglyceride levels. Also, there is a 14% weakening of the abdominal aorta that you may wish to have looked at." He turned the scanner around and held it out to Dr. Murten. Fred took it and looked it over with a critical eye.

"This is... amazing." Fred said in a quiet tone, but otherwise there was no outward reaction.

"Dr. Murten, I have authorized Victor to allow you to have that one, as well as spend the time to make sure you know how to work it properly. It will not be able to do much as far as healing people, but it will make your diagnostic skills much better." Janet said with a smile.

"Thank you." Fred said in amazement.

"Now, let's focus on Carson." Janet said smiling as she leaned forward. "Victor if you would please show Dr. Murten how to pull up the scan that Juan did of Carson, he will be able to see the same thing that we saw."

"Of course, Dr. Hayes." Victor said then leaned over and began to explain how to pull up other scans. After a moment, Dr. Murten was looking at the scan.

"I am sure most of this you already knew, but to make sure we are all on the same page, as you can see Carson's femurs were crushed, 12.2 centimeters below the Intertrochanteric line for the left one, and 13.6 on the right. Above those points, the femur is pretty much intact. Also, even though the doctors have done a tremendous job of repairing what they could, as you can see the vasculature of the legs was damaged greatly. The area of concern for me is the right posterior tibial artery. From the scans you can see that there is a 76% chance that a clot would end up forming there, even with the thinners that he is currently on."

Dr. Murten was nodding as Janet spoke.

"That was something that I was worried about." He said then looked up. "Are you saying you have a solution to these problems? The only option we had, and this was something that I hadn't even talked to Deb about yet, but I was sure that at some point in the future we would need to amputate to make sure that nothing further happened."

Ryan's eyes went wider and wider and he seemed to pale at the last statement.

Deb, however, remained impassive through all of this, following along as the medical people spoke. She didn't even react when Fred spoke about the amputation, other than to raise an eyebrow.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Janet said with a grin. "As I said before, our technology is rather advanced from what is currently available. While we do not have the ability to heal his legs in the conventional sense, what we can do is grow replacement limbs; from the femoral head down, including the bones below, the vasculature, and most of the damaged muscles."

"When you say grow..." Fred asked as he struggled to make his mind cope with what he was hearing. "Do you mean transplant? We don't do that since the chance of rejection is so great."

"Yes Dr. Murten, we would grow the limbs and then transplant them into place. However, there would be no risk of rejection, since we would be using Carson's DNA to clone matches. This would also give us the advantage of allowing the new limbs to grow properly. They would, for all intents and purposes be as if they were his original."

"How long would this take? The growing and the procedure to replace them?" Deb asked after a moment of thought. Jamey was grinning in the background, and couldn't help but send a message off to Juan.

'Do not ever play poker with this lady. She's got no clue what's actually being discussed, but she is DAMNED good at hiding the fact.' Jamey sent, and got back a chuckle and a 'sweet' from Juan.

"The growth of the limbs would only take about two or three days, the procedure itself, that would take me about five to six hours per leg. Of course I would ask you, Dr. Murten, to assist, since you will be handling most of the post op and the rest of the recovery yourself."

"Thank you, yes. I would very much like to see how this would work." Dr. Murten nodded with a smile, as he went back to looking at things on the scanner.

"I think the next step would be for you to discuss it as a family, and decide if you want to do it. Carson's recovery from this would be rather quick, in comparison to other procedures, but he will still have to re-learn how to walk, as well as exercise the muscles. There will be some pain involved. I have been briefed on what Juan was able to do to help Carson's pain level. However, that would have to be undone for the surgery, and for at least several days after, so we can see if there are any complications."

"I understand." Deb said after a moment. "I assume I can speak to Jamey and she can get word back to you when a decision has been made."

"Of course." Janet said with a smile.

"Thank you very much Dr. Hayes. We will discuss what you've said and let you know what has been decided. No matter what happens, I would like to thank you for offering to help."

"It's my pleasure Mrs. Brown. Carson, and your entire family has impressed my kids, which is not something easily done."

"Thank you again." Deb said with a smile.

When the video conference had disconnected, Jamey quietly said, "That was our mom, Dr. Janet Hayes."

"She's why you wanted me to hire Mrs. Hayes, Destiny and Aiden's mom." Deb said speculatively.

"I know it seems silly, but it also seems right, somehow. At least, it makes us feel better to help her." Jamey said honestly.

"I'm sure Dr. Hayes is very proud of you." Deb said sincerely.

Chapter 38: Justifying the Sacrifice

Deb spent a few minutes alone in her office, mulling over what she had been told.

On the surface, what Dr. Hayes and Juan were offering was nothing short of a miracle. But realistically speaking, what they were proposing was an incredibly dangerous and involved surgery.

Deb wasn't one to back away from challenges. She was in the habit of taking calculated risks in both her professional and personal life on a more or less regular basis, and she had a pretty good track record of having her risks pay off.

But now she was thinking about taking such a risk with the well-being of one of her children.

It took a few minutes for her to realize that the decision had already been made. As soon as they said that they could restore Carson's legs, Deb knew that they were going to go ahead with the procedure. What she was doing was trying to justify her decision.

Deb glanced at the time and, although it was time for her to get into the kitchen to begin supervising the massive dinner effort that was already underway, she decided to call her father. She knew that he was busy, and she didn't want to take him away from his work. But before she could proceed, she needed his reassurance. Ryan would, no doubt, accept whatever decisions she made. Her father, however, would tell her without prelude, just what he thought of what they were proposing.

* * * * *

"So, how was Arlan?" Bug asked as he and Allen left the house.

Allen gave a slight laugh, then said, "That boy has all the qualities that we're looking for. Even if we weren't embarking on a new project, I'd hire him in a heartbeat. He has so much untapped potential and is just waiting for someone to guide him in a productive direction."

"Thought so." Bug said with a grin.

"But I'm going to need more help. The 'body armor' project is of a much larger scale than anything we're currently working on. Even if I pulled the entire staff to work on it, we'd need more people to work on all the different modules." Allen said frankly.

"I'm guessing that you know how to ask Dizzy for help." Bug said in a leading tone.

"Of course. But I'm reluctant to take such a 'grab bag' approach. You don't just do a 'cattle call' when you're hiring for engineering positions." Allen said frankly.

"You and Deb must get along really well. You think alike." Bug said honestly.

"Thank you, I think." Allen said uncertainly.

"That wasn't a compliment." Bug informed him, then continued, "When you use Dizzy to find people, he's looking at the refugees who have the skills that you need. These aren't people who no one else would hire, they're people who probably had really good jobs and felt safe and secure just a few days ago. Now, they're fleeing for their lives. You're not sorting through the unemployable dregs to find one who's just barely good enough. You're selecting from a cross-section of the entire population, which includes the best and the worst."

"Good point." Allen conceded.

"Then what the fuck are you doing just 'pondering' the possibilities. Ask Dizzy to start looking for people you can use! Every minute you waste is time when the people you're looking for are deciding to move on to Canada, where they're of no fucking use to us." Bug said firmly.

"Has anyone ever mentioned that you have a foul mouth?" Allen asked Bug with a grin.

Bug feigned a look of surprise, then quietly said, "No one's ever said anything. Do you really think so?"

Allen laughed aloud at Bug's completely believable look of wide eyed innocence.

As they walked into the skatepark, further conversation became impossible due to the clamor of people and the cacophony of music.

* * * * *

"How are things going, here?" Bug asked as they approached the twins.

"Everything's great, except that we feel like a couple of old farts being around all these kids." Ken chuckled as he pulled Bug into a hug.

Allen walked to the nearby pop-up restaurant as Bug and the twins began to wander, seeing what all the different groups of kids were up to.

"If you guys don't mind, I need to go check on Oma. She's got some stuff going on and I just want to be sure that it all worked out, then I need to get back to the house." Bug said regretfully.

"We could go with you, if you don't mind." Kev said cautiously.

"Are you sure? You could stay here and enjoy the party." Bug asked seriously.

"It was nice to stop here and check the place out, but I think we've had enough." Ken said frankly.

"Besides, all these kids with their energy and excitement, is making me feel old." Kev said with a grin.

Bug laughed, then put an arm around each of the twins and started walking.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his escort, Kyle, watching them as he started walking to follow.

* * * * *

"Bug! Look at this!" Oma Shoupe said when she saw Bug and the twins enter the classroom.

"What is it, Oma?" Bug asked with concern as he broke away from the twins.

"Look at what Jamiah picked out for the girls." Oma Shoupe said happily.

"They didn't have a lot for me to choose from, but I thought that I could make this work." Jamiah said timidly.

Bug and the twins looked at the twin girls who were now outfitted in new dresses and had their hair done in a much more mature style.

"Quicia has a few things, you know, like bracelets and stuff, that I think would go really well with these outfits. Oma says that we're going back to the house when we're done here, so I'll try it out, then." Jamiah said as he looked the girls over critically.

"Jamie said that we're really older than the way we dress." One of the twin girls interjected. She was obviously happy with the transformation.

Jamiah shrugged, then explained, "Just because the clothes made in their size are for little kids doesn't mean that they have to 'look' like little kids. All it takes is a little accessory here and there and a more mature hairstyle to make someone look a little more grown up."

"You've always had a talent for clothing design, but I think you've outdone yourself, this time." Ken said frankly as he looked over the girls.

Bug seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then he looked Jamiah in the eyes and seriously asked, "What would you think about having a job?"

"I've already got a job. I watch out for Loquicia." Jamiah said frankly.

"Yeah. But if you knew that Loquicia was someplace safe, what would you think about having another job that could help people?" Bug persisted.

"What kind of a job?" Jamiah asked cautiously.

"A lot of people coming through here are stressed out, feeling like their world is falling apart around them. I was thinking that, if you wanted to, we could let the clerks at the different shops know that if they have someone feeling really down, maybe they could call you to help them with a makeover." Bug said honestly.

"How would that help?" Jamiah asked cautiously.

"Someone feeling all beaten down, like the world's out to get them, might start to feel better if they felt like they caught a break and things were turning around for them." Bug said carefully.

After a moment to consider, Jamiah shook his head and said, "I need to be here for Loquicia."

"It's not like you'd be doing makeovers all day. You could stay with Loquicia and when someone needs you, you could go off and help them, and then come back." Bug said seriously.

"Do you really think it would help?" Jamiah asked in a wavering tone.

"I think that you working your magic on one or two people who really need it will brighten their days and, I don't know, I guess that if they're happier, then the people around them might be happier, too. So... I honestly don't know how much help it will be to the overall effort, but until you've got a better idea, it's something to do to help someone." Bug said honestly.

"What do I need to do?" Jamiah asked cautiously.

"Just stay here with your sister, for right now. I'm going to have to get back to the house to put this plan into action. But don't be surprised when a gopher shows up with a radio for you. Once you're on staff, we'll need to be able to get in touch with you." Bug said seriously.

Jamiah thought about it for a moment, then looked Bug in the eyes and quietly said, "Thanks."

* * * * *

"Mrs. Brown?" Jamey asked from Deb's office doorway.

"I'm on a call." Deb said firmly.

"I know, but this is important." Jamey said regretfully.

When she was sure that she had Deb's undivided attention, she continued, "We're going to need to use your living room for a little while. We've got someone inbound who sounds like he's in pretty bad shape."

"Excuse me, Dad." Deb said to her computer before looking at Jamey and asking, "What kind of bad shape?"

"Incoherent, shell shocked, grieving... we'll know more when he gets here. I just wanted to let you know what was coming our way, so you wouldn't be surprised if you walked into the living room and saw a kid freaking out." Jamey said frankly.

"A kid?" Deb asked with concern.

"We'll see that he's taken care of. It's just, at this point, we don't know what he needs, yet." Jamey said honestly.

Deb took a moment to process the information, then quietly said, "Thanks for the warning."

"Tell Dr. Murten I said 'Hi'." Jamey said with a smile before leaving the room.

It took Deb a moment to get her thoughts back on track, but finally she unmuted the video chat and said, "Sorry about that, Dad. You were saying?"

* * * * *

When the boy was escorted into the living room, there were already several people in attendance. Some were Secret Service, some were military, and a few were the members of the UNIT who didn't currently have other duties, demanding their attention.

A large man guided the boy to sit on the couch. A moment later, Bryan silently slipped into the seat next to him. Jamey looked at Bryan curiously. The last she knew, Bryan had been on escort duty in town. But she was aware that some of the escorts were being relieved and called back to the house and supposed that that's what had happened.

Jamey tried to use her telepathy to get a sense of what was going on, but the boy's mind was too active, replaying the same horrific scene, over and over again.

You could have heard a pin drop in the room as Bryan took out his sidearm and pressed it into the boy's hands.

"So, who do you want to kill?" Bryan asked in a cold, emotionless voice.

The boy started saying something quietly. No one tried to stop him, or question him at that point. All of them knew that he needed to process what he was feeling through words. Later, there would be time to ask questions and attempt to make sense of things.

For now, it was more important that the boy be allowed to talk.

When the verbal flood seemed to have reached it's end, Bryan quietly said, "Tell me more about your brother. Why were you guys running?"

What followed was the boy's life story.

It was a tragic tale about uncaring and abusive parents, desperate poverty, and a brother who sacrificed so much to protect the boy.

"Then those... the military guys found us. Why the hell did they have to try and get us. We weren't doing anything wrong! Brett never hurt no one! Why'd he have to die?" The boy cried out in a pleading tone that tore at Jamey's heart.

Amongst his swirling thoughts, she had been able to pick up that the boy's name was Kevin. A few people approached to attempt to console the boy, but they were warned away with a glance from Bryan. In the few instances when that didn't work, he pointed at the gun in Kevin's hand and they backed off.

"Why'd he have to die?" Kevin screamed out, demanding a satisfactory answer.

Bryan calmly said, "Because he had to make sure you were safe."

When those words seemed to sink in, Bryan continued, "It's something that all good big brothers are willing to do for their little brothers."

Kevin's look into Bryan's eyes seemed to be the meeting of kindred spirits.

"Your brother sacrificed himself so that you could escape, so that you could survive, but mostly, I think, so that you could fulfill all those dreams that the two of you had." Bryan said softly.

Where, before, Kevin seemed to have been lost within himself, now he appeared to be soaking in Bryan's every word.

"I never was one that believed in God, at least not until recently. I still believe that the worst crimes in history were perpetrated because of religion, but some of the things that are said, do make sense. The book of John, chapter 15, verse 13, 'Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.' Brett laid down his life so that you could live. The choice you have to make now, the hardest choice you have had to face so far, and may be the hardest choice you will ever face: Do you betray his sacrifice by allowing your life to be over, or do you honor what he did by living your life the best that you can, and doing whatever it is that you can to pay back the sons of bitches that took your brother from you. Do you roll over and let his death mean nothing, or do you pick yourself up by the balls, put one foot in front of the other, and make those assholes pay for what they stole from you?"

The weak, forced smile that Kevin responded with tore at Jamey's heart.

"Weep not for those who have gone before, weep for those that remain behind." Kevin said distantly, then continued, "Brett said that to me when my dog died. I was eight. I have no idea why, but it always stuck with me."

Jamey discreetly reached up to wipe a tear off her cheek.

"Now I think I know what he meant. I'm not really crying for him, but for me." Kevin continued.

"He's gone, and there's nothing I can do to change that. But now it's up to me to keep going like I know he would want, or... let his death stop me from living. He wouldn't want that. He always told me we had to push through when things got rough. If we stop then we fail. But if we keep pushing, no matter how bad it is, the only choice is winning." Kevin said in a rambling metre that indicated that he was sorting it all out in his mind as he spoke.

"Wise words." Bryan said softly, then asked, "So have you decided what you are going to do?"

Kevin seemed to be frozen in thought for a moment.

When he finally snapped out of it, he had a determined look in his eyes. In a voice filled with determination, Kevin firmly said, "First thing I need to do is find Diego."

"I'm right here."

Kevin looked up in surprise and blushed when he noticed all the other people filling the room.

He looked down at himself self consciously and noticed the gun in his hand.

He absently handed the gun to Bryan as he walked across the room to stand before Diego.

"I don't know you, Diego. But Brett seemed to. If you had something important... Something that Brett died for, something that he wanted to get here, um, who would you see? Who do you trust here?"

Diego glanced around the room uncertainly when Kevin continued, "What should I do with this?"

Diego's eyes went wide as he saw the disk in Kevin's hand.

"Is that..." Diego began to ask, but was interrupted.

"I don't know what's on it. But Brett... he gave it to me... in case anything happened."

Everyone in attendance noticed Kevin's quivering lip and could see that he was fighting to hold back his tears. But they also respected that he was fighting past his pain to carry on.

Diego made a move to take the disk, but Kevin pulled it back.

"No. Brett told me to make sure it got to someone in charge. I... I have to do this." Kevin said firmly.

Diego glanced away, toward a man in a suit.

Kevin could tell by Diego's expression that the man was the person whom he trusted.

On shaky legs, Kevin walked to the man and said, "Sir, I don't know what's on this, but... well, my brother died to make sure it got to someone in charge. I... I assume you're someone in charge?"

The man soberly nodded and quietly said, "My name is Mike Reynolds. I'm the Vice President of the United States."

Kevin had to fight down the surge of unnamed emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him and was finally able to say, "Sir. Please see what's on this disk and use it however you can. Brett... Brett said that you'd know what to do with it."

As soon as Mike had taken the disk, Kevin collapsed in heart wrenching sobs. Mike's thoughts of his own kids filled his mind as he tried to comfort the boy who had crossed the country and suffered such a devastating loss to deliver the information he now held.

Although the information might well be important, he didn't know if it could ever justify what Kevin had lost.

* * * * *

"What are we doing, now?" Kev asked as they walked out of the school.

"Unless you guys wanted to do something else while we're here, I was planning to go back to the house." Bug said frankly.

"Do you think that, maybe, later, you could break away for a little while? I think it'd be really nice to spend some time with you." Ken said frankly.

"Well, we've got a monster convoy coming in from Chicago, in a few hours. I'll need to be there for that. But if everything goes right, I should be able to take some time off after that." Bug said warmly.

"That sounds great. I think we're going to check around with the mission kids to make sure that no one is feeling left out or sorry for themselves." Kev said thoughtfully.

"Before we go back, I need to stop and get rubbers and french fries." Bug said suddenly.

After a moment, Ken cautiously asked, "Do I even want to know what you're planning?"

"You'll just have to wait to find out." Bug said with a grin.

* * * * *

Deb walked into the living room and stopped when she saw Mike comforting a crying boy.

A moment later, Jamey noticed her and quietly said, "I think everything's going to be alright, now. He's past the worst of it."

"I'm glad. Let me know if there's anything that I can do to help." Deb offered sincerely.

"We will, as long as you realize how much you've helped us already. You're allowing us to live in your home." Jamey said seriously.

"Actually, you're living on my front lawn." Deb said with a smile.

"You know what I mean. Thanks to your hospitality, we're free to do what we need to do. So please don't ever think that you're not doing enough to help. You've already done more than we would have asked." Jamey said honestly.

"Okay. I'll try to keep that in mind." Deb said quietly, then continued, "But I need to talk to you. We've decided that we want to proceed with Carson's surgery. I was hoping that you might have a free minute to talk to Carson with me, in case he has questions."

"Do we need to wait for your husband and your father?" Jamey asked curiously.

"No, although they would both drop what they're doing in a heartbeat if Carson needed them to be there. The fact of the matter is that I can handle this and leave them to handle the things that they're already doing." Deb said seriously.

Jamey nodded her understanding.

"Do you have time, right now?" Deb asked hopefully.

Jamey nodded, then followed.

* * * * *

"Okay. This isn't working." Dax said as he looked over Ben's shoulder at the computer screen.

"You've got to give it some time. You've got a good idea, but the skills that you're looking for are fairly obscure." Ben said gently.

"Maybe we need to look at finding just a few people with those skills, then getting a whole bunch of people to learn from them." Dax said thoughtfully.

"There's a community center not far from your Chicago people. Maybe you could use that as a place for the teachers to hold their classes." Ben suggested thoughtfully.

"And if you had a shed, you could put the stuff everyone will need in it, so they can get more stuff whenever they need it." Oleksandr suggested.

"That's a really good idea, Olex." Dax said with surprise, then turned and asked, "Seth, do you think your dad could set up some kind of a shed or garage near the 'Little Chicago' rec center?"

"They've already got a store room. Do you need more space than that?" Seth asked cautiously.

"Yeah. If this goes like we're planning, we'll probably be able to fill up a store room pretty quick." Dax said frankly.

"You don't need heat or light or anything like that, do you? Just the building?" Seth asked to be sure.

"A building is fine. We're just going to use it for storing big stuff." Dax assured him.

"Let me look." Seth said quickly, then started typing on the laptop he was using.

"We have two more hits on quilters." Ben said suddenly.

"Well, I don't know if we'll have enough clothes or shoes or food, but we'll have plenty of blankets." Dax said unenthusiastically.

"From what I've heard, quilts take forever to make. It takes a lot of time and a lot of work just to make even one. I bet that if we get every single person who wants to work on quilting everything they need, we still won't have enough quilts for everyone." Ben said seriously.

"I don't know anything about that stuff. But if it really takes that long, then we should probably get them started. Is there any word on the supplies?" Dax asked anxiously.

"Every sewing machine from every store in Kettle Falls has been requisitioned. I don't know how long it's going to take to get them there, but they're on their way." Ben assured him.

"There's a million and one things I want to get done before the Chicago people get here and I feel like everything's going in slow motion." Dax growled, on the brink of exploding in frustration.

"Headlock?" Ben asked as he looked away from his computer.

That broke Dax out of his mood and he smiled before saying, "Maybe just a little one."

Ben walked to Dax and pulled him into what was more of a hug than a headlock.

"Better?" Ben asked as he held Dax close.

"Yeah. A lot better." Dax confirmed.

On impulse, Ben kissed the side of Dax's head, then went back to his computer.

"I need a headlock, too." Oleksandr said frankly.

"You got it." Ben said as he moved in to hug the boy.

Dax watched for a moment, then said, "I need to get back to work. They'll be here soon."

"If we're lucky, they'll be able to put up your storage building before the end of the night. It's not going to have a foundation or anything, but they'll anchor it so it won't blow away the next time there's a stiff breeze." Seth said quickly.

"Thanks Seth. That sounds like just what we need." Dax said gratefully.

"I'm routing the craft supplies to your rec center." Carson said without looking away from his screens.

"Thanks, Carson." Dax said with a glance toward him, then he tapped his subvocal and asked, "Dizzy, could you please call the number for Connie Lorenta?"

"Yes. Right away." Dizzy said efficiently.

"If she doesn't answer, just keep trying, like, every five minutes, and let me know when she picks up." Dax said as he walked behind Ben to look at his computer screen.

"Who's that?" Oleksandr asked curiously.

"Connie's a woman I met this morning while I was walking with Jingo. She seems like she's smart and strong, so if she's willing to help, maybe she can go to the rec center to oversee things for me." Dax said simply.

"You're going to ask some lady you just met to help to be in charge of stuff for you?" Oleksandr asked cautiously.

Dax laughed, then said, "Yes. That's what all of us are doing about a hundred times a day."

Oleksandr thought about it for a moment, then seemed to accept Dax's words.

"I have Miss Lorenta for you, Dax." Dizzy said professionally.

"Thank you, Dizzy. Go ahead." Dax said seriously.

"Hello?" Connie asked hesitantly.

"Hello, Connie. This is Dax, we talked earlier." Dax said carefully, trying to sound business-like.

"Oh, yes. What can I do for you, Dax?" Connie asked pleasantly.

"I was thinking that, if you don't have anything else to do, how would you like to take care of the local rec center for me? If everything goes right we're going to have lots of supplies going in and out of there and lots of classes going on. I haven't been there, yet. There's probably already people who work there, but I'd like to have one of my people there so we can make sure that we have the things we need for our people." Dax said honestly.

"You want me to do that?" Connie asked cautiously, then continued, "Why me?"

"Because, you're a proud Chicagoan." Dax said simply.

"I'll go down there right now and check it out." Connie said decisively.

"I'll see to it that you get a radio, so you can call me directly, but until then, you can get on any computer in Kettle Falls and sign on to Dizzy, then ask for Dax and he'll get a message to me." Dax said seriously.

"Yeah. Thanks, Dax." Connie said happily.

"We're all in this together." Dax said before disconnecting the call.

"It looks like you've got this under control. Way to go, Dax." Ben said proudly.

"Thanks, Ben." Dax said timidly, then added, "I think I've done everything that I need to here, for now. I need to get back to checking that everything is done before the Chicago fleet arrives."

"Call if you need us. We'll be right here." Ben said warmly.

"Carson, do you have a minute?" Deb asked as she walked into the room, followed by Jamey.

* * * * *

When Kevin had finally regained some measure of his emotional control, he realized that he was crying into the chest of the Vice President of the United States.

"Come on." A voice said close to his ear and he saw Bryan looking at him expectantly.

"What am I going to do now?" Kevin asked quietly, and felt another wave of tears threatening to overwhelm him.

"You're going to learn to fight back and make them pay." Bryan said firmly.

"He looks like he needs his rest." Mike said with concern.

"He needs this worse." Bryan said frankly.

"He's right." Kevin reluctantly agreed, then looked up at the Vice President and quietly said, "Thank you."

"I'm staying upstairs. If you need me, you know where to find me." Mike said gently.

"Thank you, Sir." Kevin said respectfully, then allowed Bryan to guide him away.

* * * * *

When they had set off down the street, intending to talk to people about what special skills they might have to contribute to the effort, Trav assumed that he would be doing the majority of the talking.

It turned out that, when people saw a priest, that they were hungry for guidance and reassurance.

Once Father Kinsey was able to comfort the distraught people, he would guide the conversation to what they might be able to do to help others. That's when Trav would jump in and find out what skills they might have, then he would get on his subvocal and catalogue their information so that they could be called upon when needed.

Father Kinsey made a point of telling every person they came into contact with, how they could be contacted and to call if they were in any need of help, anytime, day or night.

When they had first met, Trav had been attracted to Malcolm's gentle, unassuming nature. Trav was aware that his own personality was rather... assertive. So, it seemed to reason, that Malcolm was the perfect counterbalance for him.

What Trav never seemed to notice was that whenever he hooked up with someone who seemed to be 'just right' for him, the barely-there relationship would inevitably disintegrate, revealing two self-deluding people who never had any business being together in the first place.

But as Trav watched Malcolm talking to yet another group of displaced people who were in desperate need of comfort and some peace of mind, he realized just how strong and self-assured Malcolm was.

On the surface, Malcolm might be quiet and timid, but underneath, where it really counts, he was firmly rooted on a foundation of unshakable strength. It occurred to Trav that, this once, he might not only have gotten what he wanted, but also what he needed.

* * * * *

"Hey guys!" Bug said as he walked to the checkout counter with a selection of three different varieties of condoms and various other related items.

"Good afternoon, Bug. I'm surprised to see you away from the house." Marcus said frankly.

"Yeah. Needed supplies." Bug said as he held up his purchases.

Although Ken and Kev were standing right there with him, they were doing their best to look as though they didn't know the young man with the short braid and the boxes of condoms.

"Where did you find those?" Apollo asked nervously.

"Aisle five, between the batteries and the tampons... don't ask me why." Bug finished thoughtfully, as though he were determined to reveal the logic behind the store's organization.

Apollo and Jarrett hurried away, leaving Marcus standing in the checkout line.

"Jarrett and Apollo felt the need to be away from the house for a time, and I have to admit, that I was feeling a little confined, as well." Marcus said honestly.

"Yeah. Same here. We walked around to check things out and, you know, get the blood circulating and do something different for a little bit. But now we have to get back to work. We have people depending on us." Bug finished in a resigned tone.

"Be sure to let me know if there's anything I can do to be of help. I don't know how much use you'd have for a corporate accountant, but I'd like to help, if possible." Marcus said sincerely.

"I don't know. If you're really wanting to use your skills, Mr. Brown might need someone to help keep track of all the money he's spending. I really don't know much about stuff like that, but it wouldn't hurt to ask him. But if you're heart's not set on doing the whole 'accounting' thing, then I think you could talk to Roris about how you can help him with his 'special needs' things." Bug said frankly.

"I wouldn't want to intrude on Roris' business." Marcus said honestly.

"Listen. You had a kid with just about every reason in the world to give up on himself, but somehow you raised him to be someone who can take charge and get things done. I got a fuck of a lot of respect for you for that. And I think that if you worked with Roris, maybe you could take what you learned raising him and use it to help other people. Not just people with disabilities, but their families, too. You could give them ideas of how to 'deal'. Believe me, there's been times with Lawrence that I didn't have a clue what was the right thing to do for him." Bug said honestly.

Before Marcus could respond, it was Bug's turn at the cash register.

* * * * *

The constant influx of people was exhilarating for Father Doherty and his group. In actuality, all they did was circulate amongst the people outside the high school stadium and offer to help anyone who appeared to be lost or in some sort of distress. But, even so, they felt such a sense of fulfillment in being able to help.

"Excuse me." An older woman said as she walked up to Father Doherty with a look of determination in her eyes.

"Yes. How may I help you?" Father Doherty asked cautiously.

"I noticed that you're a priest, so I thought that I'd welcome you to Kettle Falls. My name is Ella Wallace, I'm the head minister at the local Unitarian church." She said firmly, then added in an almost challenging tone, "Sometimes called the GAY church."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Reverend Wallace. I'm Father Brian Doherty. We're circulating amongst the new arrivals, offering what help we can. Would you care to join us?"

"What?! No fire and brimstone condemnation? Somehow, I expected more from a priest." Reverend Wallace said frankly.

"In truth of fact, my fellow priests and I resigned our positions within the Catholic Church just before embarking on the journey to come here. But, be that as it may, I have always held the personal belief that strict adherence to one of the Levitical teachings requires strict adherence to all of them. Otherwise, one is nothing more than a bully and a hypocrite."

After a moment to get over her surprise, Reverend Wallace quietly said, "I'm relieved to hear that. In the midst of everything else, I really didn't want to have to deal with some mackerel snapper spewing their papist venom at me."

Father Doherty laughed at the statement, then said, "You have no need to worry about us. We're simply here to help people in need. Care to join us?"

"Yes, thank you, Father. I think I will. And while we're doing that, I'm interested to know how you can reconcile your personal beliefs with the misogynistic, homophobic doctrine of the Vatican."

* * * * *

"I'm actually kind of busy right now, we've got a convoy of buses coming this way from Chicago and we're trying to get ready for them." Carson said as he glanced away from his screens, at his mother, for only an instant.

"I've just had a video conference with a few people, one of them being Juan." Deb said as she tried to keep her impatience from showing through.

"What did he say?" Carson asked as he started typing on his keyboard.

"He said that he checked a few things when he got home and he thinks that they can fix your legs." Deb said simply, then turned to walk out of the room.

"Wait! What?!" Carson called after her.

"Oh, you're busy right now. But be sure to come and talk to me about it when you find the time." Deb said before quickly slipping out the door.

Jamey took note of Carson's shocked expression as she followed.

* * * * *

"Hey there, are you ready to go back to the house?" Bug asked as he and the twins walked away from the pop-up restaurant.

"I'm your escort. I'm ready for anything." Kyle said frankly.

Bug's eyes went wide in surprise at the declaration, then they narrowed as he appeared to take it as a challenge.

Kyle maintained a cold, neutral expression as he did a complete evaluation of Bug's potential as a threat, in an instant.

The twins watched anxiously, not knowing what to expect from either of them.

All of a sudden, Kyle got a sour look on his face before exclaiming, "GROSS!"

"You weren't ready for that." Bug said with a self-satisfied grin.

"Man! You're just nasty! How did you... that's not even physically possible." Kyle stammered.

"Isn't that what photoshop is for?" Bug asked as he looked for oncoming traffic before crossing the street.

"What did you do?" Ken asked curiously as he hurried to keep up.

"Rule number one. Know your opponent. This guy could probably kick my ass nine different ways before I ever knew he hit me. But I know that he's a telepath, so I kind of just put a mental image out there for him to find, to get at him that way." Bug said with a grin, as he led the way into the gator parking lot.

"You're sick!" Kyle grumbled as he followed.

"Maybe. But you weren't ready for that. So I won." Bug said happily.

"Yeah. I guess." Kyle grudgingly conceded.

"I tell you what. If doing this is really that bad for you, I'll just ask Courtney not to have you escort me again." Bug said honestly.

"No. It's okay." Kyle quietly admitted, then added, "Besides, I liked the one about the 'sweet pulsating fuck', you actually made me laugh. That doesn't happen, much."

* * * * *

"Here you are! What about my legs?!" Carson demanded as Jay pushed him into the kitchen.

"That's alright, I need to see to dinner, anyway. We can discuss it later, if you're too busy." Deb said as she stirred a pan of sauce on the stove.

"Mom. I'm sorry I said I was too busy. Will you please tell me what they said about fixing my legs?" Carson asked hopefully.

"I suppose so." Deb said as she set her stirring spoon aside and turned to face her son.

There was a long moment of silence, as Deb continued to look at him until Carson finally said, "Mom?"

"Hold your hand out."

"What?"

"Just do it." Deb said seriously.

Carson held his hand out toward his mother and was surprised to find that it was slightly trembling.

Deb looked at the time, then quietly said, "It's a little past time for your medication."

"I took my pills at lunch, like I always do." Carson said as he put his hand down.

"No, I mean your pain medication that we're trying to wean you off of."

"I've been so busy I didn't even think about wanting it." Carson said honestly.

Deb stepped away long enough to draw Carson a glass of water, then quietly asked, "Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"I probably looked this morning, why? What's wrong?" Carson asked with concern, then accepted the pill that his mother offered him and washed it down.

"Carson, you don't look well. You look drawn and stressed out." Deb said frankly.

"There's too much for me to do to worry about that, now. Can you just tell me what they said about my legs?" Carson asked hopefully.

"Since you're so busy, I'll just give you the basics. When you have time to sit and talk with me, I can fill you in on the details that I know, or you can ask Jamey, she was at the meeting and heard everything that they told me."

"Can you just tell me?" Carson begged.

"If we agree to go through with it, they're going to try to surgically replace your legs. They seem confident that they'll be able to do it." Deb said frankly.

"Really? Just like that?" Carson asked in wonder.

"There's more, but it would be time consuming to tell you and some of it's pretty unbelievable. But that's the essence of it." Deb said honestly.

"Tell them 'yes'." Carson said firmly.

"I already did." Deb said simply.

"Thanks, Mom." Carson said quietly, then regretfully added, "I need to get back to work. Who knows how many people are having to do without things because I'm in here."

"Can't Bug take care of things for you for a little while?" Deb asked cautiously.

"He's not here right now. He said that he had to go into town to take care of some stuff." Carson said seriously.

"Bug got a group of hackers together to help him with his work so he was able to get away from the computer for a little bit." Jay said quietly.

Carson turned in his chair and looked at Jay with a wounded expression.

"You could do that, too, Carson. I know that there's stuff that only you can do, but you could get someone to help you so that you'd be able to eat a full meal or take a break to talk to your mom about something that could change your whole life." Jay tried to explain.

"Carson. Do it." Deb said firmly.

"It's not that simple." Carson said as he reluctantly turned to face his mother again.

"I realize that, but what you're doing isn't healthy. Either get help or I'm pulling the plug." Deb said seriously.

"You can't! Everyone is counting on me! The VICE PRESIDENT is counting on me!" Carson urged her to understand.

"I realize that. But you're my son and I'm not going to stand idly by and watch you make yourself sick. Due to your injuries and your medications, you weren't in peak health to begin with. Now, with all this stress and the long hours, you're a ticking time bomb. That's the reality of it. If you want to help everyone who's counting on you, if you want to help the Vice President, find a way to do it without working yourself into an early grave. You've got this one chance to do things your own way. If you don't handle it, I will. And I'm pretty sure you're not going to like my way of dealing with it." Deb said calmly and with finality.

There was a long moment of silence, then Carson quietly said, "I need to get back."

Deb looked at Jay and silently confirmed that he would watch over Carson.

"I love you, Carson. That's why I'm doing this." Deb said quietly to her son.

"I know." Carson said regretfully as Jay started pushing him out of the kitchen.

* * * * *

"How long was I asleep?" Zane asked in almost a whisper.

"Just a few hours. How are you feeling?" Brother Jacques asked gently.

"A lot better. I slept really well." Zane said with a slight smile.

"I'm glad. Your dad stopped by to visit while you were sleeping. He left something for you." Brother Jacques said as he reached to the bedside stand.

"A walkie talkie?" Zane asked blearily, in sleep fogged confusion.

"Yeah. You put the earpiece on your ear and you can talk to your dad whenever you want." Brother Jacques said with a smile.

"Oh, I guess that is a pretty good present, then." Zane said as his eyes started to fall shut again.

"You look like you're about to fall back to sleep. Do you need a drink or to go to the bathroom or anything?" Brother Jacques asked cautiously.

"I have everything I need." Zane whispered as he drifted back to sleep.

Brother Jacques glanced at his father with concern and received a smile in response assuring him that all was well.

* * * * *

After pushing Carson back into his bedroom and directly to the computer alcove, Jay quietly asked, "Do you want me to leave?"

"No. But next time, remember whose side you're on." Carson said as he looked over what was displayed on all the screens.

"I'm on your side. If I wasn't, I'd only tell you what you want to hear." Jay said seriously.

"You don't realize..."

"Come here. You need to see something." Jay said firmly.

"I don't..."

"Do I ever ask you to do anything? Come here." Jay demanded.

Carson undocked his wheelchair and noticed that Ben and Oleksandr were studiously watching their computer screen, appearing not to have heard. Likewise, Seth and Hobie were hard at work and might possibly have been too busy to have noticed. However, Lawrence and Roris were both watching curiously, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

"What do you want me to see?" Carson asked challengingly.

"Come on. Follow me." Jay said as he walked across the room and into Carson's bathroom.

"I've kind of got used to you pushing me." Carson said as he moved slowly across the room.

"Maybe you've gotten used to too many things." Jay said from the doorway, then backed away as Carson entered the bathroom.

The 'click' of the bathroom door closing seemed to almost echo as everyone in the room listened, whether they 'appeared' to be paying attention, or not.

There was a long moment of silence in the bedroom, before Seth quietly asked, "Does anyone want to guess at what they're doing in there?"

Ben glanced toward the bathroom door, then said, "It's none of our business."

* * * * *

"JD, are you alright? Do we need to go?" Jody asked cautiously.

"No. I'm fine. I just decided that I'd like to hang around here in the skateboard part for a while." JD said assuringly.

"Where there's no girls." Jody added knowingly.

"It's not bad, Squid. I promise. Some days are just better than others. Remember what Mr. Cooper always said, everyone, even the normalest normal people, have bad days, and times when they don't feel like doing certain things." JD said frankly.

"I'm pretty sure Mr. Cooper never said 'normalest'. " Jody said with a grin.

"He might have. He's a funny guy, sometimes." JD said with a smile of fond remembrance.

After a long silent moment, Jody quietly said, "I hope he's alright."

"Me, too. But he's in charge of the home, now, ever since Mrs. Usher retired. So he has to be there to take care of all the kids." JD quietly explained.

"I know. But I still wish he was here, safe with us." Jody said honestly.

"How would you feel about doing your big brother a really big favor, right now?" JD asked as he forced a smile onto his face.

"What do you need?" Jody asked cautiously. Yes, he loved his big brother, but he wasn't going to immediately say 'yes' and essentially give him a blank check.

"How would you feel about swimming through that sea of girls to get me something to eat at that tent kitchen over there? Whatever they're cooking smells great!" JD asked hopefully.

"Yeah. Okay. I'll be right back." Jody said easily.

JD watched his little brother go and fought to keep his mind from returning to worrying about their fathers.

* * * * *

"What did you want to show me? If it's what I'm thinking, you didn't need to be all pushy about it." Carson asked with a smile.

"I don't want you to look at me, I want you to look at you." Jay said as he pointed to the mirror.

"I got the point, okay? I'll do like you and Mom said and I'll try to get someone to help me." Carson said grudgingly.

"Look." Jay said firmly as he pointed again.

"When did you grow a backbone?" Carson grumbled as he maneuvered his wheelchair to stop in front of the sink which was specially placed to be convenient for his wheelchair.

"I've always had one, but I only show it when I have to. It would have been just fine with me if you never saw it. But nooooo, you had to go and be a butthead." Jay said frankly.

"Okay. I'm here. Now what?" Carson asked as he looked up at Jay.

"Look in the mirror and tell me what you see." Jay said simply.

"I really don't have time for this..." Carson began to say.

"You can't do it, can you? You can't look at your own reflection." Jay said firmly.

Just to prove a point, Carson turned toward the mirror over the sink and opened his eyes wide.

The image looking back at him from the mirror was almost that of a stranger. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin looked to be a little bit too pale. The face was thinner than he remembered it being and there was no doubt that he had recently lost weight.

"That's why I did it, Carson. That's why I told your mom about you needing help. I've only known you a couple days and you've already changed this much. If you try to keep going, what are you going to look like next week? You're running yourself into the ground. Everyone wants to help you, all you have to do is let them know what you need them to do." Jay said honestly.

"Okay. I will." Carson promised.

"Good. And while we've got a minute with just the two of us, there's something that I've been wanting to do for a while." Jay said with a grin.

"You know, there's stuff that I really need to be doing right now." Carson said cautiously.

"Too bad." Jay said, then swooped in to give Carson a full, deep kiss.

* * * * *

The ebb and flow of people checking in at the arena had been something of a blessing. The lulls gave the workers a chance to catch their breath and the rushes made the time fly by.

"Can I speak to someone in charge?" A man in a volunteer sash asked as he walked around the 'Special Needs' desk.

"Joe's running things at the moment. I'll get him for you." David said before dashing away.

"Is something wrong? Would you like a bottle of water?" Amber asked as she approached the man.

"No... wait, I mean, yes. Thank you. That actually sounds like a very good idea."

"Hello. My name is Joe. How can I help you?" Joe asked courteously as he slowly approached, maintaining a death grip on his walker.

"Hello, Joe. My name is Ted. I've been trying to coordinate things in the arena and keep them running smoothly..."

"Excuse me, Ted. But I'm deaf and you're speaking a little bit too quickly for me to read your lips. Could you please slow down just a little bit?" Joe asked hopefully.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know..." Ted began to say when he was interrupted.

"Here. A sip of water and a deep breath might help." Amber said with a friendly smile as she offered him the bottle of water.

"Thanks." Ted whispered to her, then followed her advice before continuing, "I guess I'll get straight to the point. There are several buses of people inbound from Chicago. We've just learned that they have an entire bus of injured people who are going to be taken directly to the hospital. I was wondering if you could possibly spare one or two of your people to process them into the system at the hospital and evaluate their special need accommodations." Ted asked hopefully.

"When will you need us there?" Joe asked seriously.

"They're still a few hours away. But I just wanted to be sure that we'd have someone at the hospital who knows what kinds of accommodations are available." Ted explained.

"We'll have someone waiting when they arrive." Joe assured him.

"Thank you so much. We have no shortage of volunteers, but we really need someone at the hospital who knows what they're doing." Ted said honestly, then took another drink of his water.

As Joe was about to reply, Ted quickly said, "I've got about a thousand other things that need to be in place before they get here. Thank you again, and thanks for the water."

Joe smiled as he watched Ted hurry away.

* * * * *

"Hey, do you guys want to go on a BMX run?" Collin asked as he approached.

"I hadn't really been planning on it. Why?" JD asked hesitantly as he set his empty fast food container aside.

"They have a really nice run set up and they've even got bikes that we can borrow. I just checked and they have enough for all of us, if we go right now." Collin said excitedly.

"Aren't you guys too old to be doing stuff like that?" Jody asked cautiously.

"We're twenty!" Collin exclaimed.

"Yeah." Jody said, as if Collin had just proved his point for him.

"We haven't done anything active since we've been here. Come on, it might be fun." Collin urged.

"You know, it might be nice to do something." JD said thoughtfully.

"Where are Jorry and Nick?" Jody asked as he looked around.

"Holding the bikes for us. Let's go!"

* * * * *

"Hey guys! Did I miss anything?" Bug asked as he walked into Carson's bedroom and automatically set a box of condoms on the table that Seth and Hobie were using, to his right.

As he walked across the room, he diverted to his left enough to hand a box of condoms to Lawrence before walking to where Oleksandr was sitting to hand him a bag of french fries..

Bug then looked around and noticed that Carson and Jay seemed to be steadfastly focused on Dizzy's screens, everyone else was silent and the tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife.

"What the fuck, guys? Do you mean that I can't leave here for a few minutes without everything getting fucking weird?" Bug asked as he settled into his chair and opened his laptop.

"Looks that way." Ben said under his breath as he smiled at Oleksandr happily munching away.

"I can't do this shit right if I don't know all of what's going on." Bug explained, then looked at his laptop screen and said, "Recognize Bug."

"Jay and Carson appear to have taken their relationship to a new level." Roris said frankly.

"Um, okay. Congratulations, guys. So, what's the big deal?" Bug asked as he paused to look around.

"Things just got tense for a few minutes." Roris explained.

"What the fuck ever. Just so I know what's going on. That's all I care about." Bug said frankly.

"There's some other stuff going on, and you're right. You probably should know about it." Carson reluctantly said.

"Okay, what? I ain't got all fucking day." Bug said irritably.

"Um, excuse me, but as far as I can see, you do have all fucking day." Roris interjected.

Bug rolled his eyes, then looked at Carson expectantly.

"My mom said that Juan may have figured out a way that they can restore my legs." Carson said quietly.

"Really?! That's great!" Bug said with surprise, then thoughtfully asked, "When did they say they're going to do it?"

"Mom didn't give me any details. She was kind of in a pissy mood right then." Carson reluctantly admitted.

"Carson's mother noticed that Carson's been losing weight and working himself too hard." Jay said as he moved to gently hug Carson from behind.

Bug seemed to be about to say something, but ended up restraining himself.

"Mom thinks that I need to do like you did, Bug, and get a team together to take care of some of this stuff." Carson reluctantly admitted as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the hug for a moment.

"Well, DUH!" Bug said with an eyeroll, then added, "I've even seen it, and I'm oblivious as fuck!"

"I just don't know how I can make it work." Carson said quietly.

"You figure out the jobs that need to be done, then you find people to do those jobs." Bug said frankly.

"But how can I do that? What if they miss something?" Carson asked in a pleading voice.

"They will. And when that happens, you'll deal with it. But at least you won't be dealing with everything, all the time." Ben said frankly.

"Guys. Before we start on that, I think we need to set up some rules." Bug said as he got up from his chair and started pacing the room, apparently working out a million and one things in his head as he did so.

"Rules?" Seth asked cautiously, not liking the sound of whatever Bug was intending for them.

"We've been here in Carson's room for days, so it's no wonder that he hasn't been able to break away from his work when he needs to." Bug said thoughtfully.

"Are you saying that we need to find another command center?" Seth asked slowly.

"No. Dizzy's here. I think we still need to be here. It makes the most sense." Bug absently responded.

"You're not kicking me out! This is my room!" Carson said firmly.

"Chill the fuck out, Carson. I'm not saying that, either." Bug said with an annoyed glance in his direction.

"Well, what are you saying, then?" Ben asked seriously.

"Rule number one. Carson's command center is open from nine to five. Period. After that, everyone goes home." Bug said firmly.

"There's no way that's going to work. We can't keep up with everything..." Carson began to say when he was interrupted.

"Carson, chill!" Bug barked, then continued, "At five o'clock each day, or let's just say after dinner, we'll all pack up our shit and move to our own rooms or wherever the fuck we want, and work on our stuff from there. We can use subvocals or video conference or what the fuck ever to contact each other when we need to. But that way Carson doesn't have us... doesn't have me monopolizing his room when he needs to stop and rest."

There was a long moment of silence, then Ben quietly said, "You know, I think that might be a good idea. Dax, Olex and I can set up our own little command center up on the third floor and I think we'll be able to get a lot accomplished without the distraction of everything else going on around us."

"Yeah. And we'll still meet in here every day so that we can brainstorm and shit, but we don't have to be together every fucking minute of every fucking day." Bug said honestly.

"But that doesn't really cut down on the things that Carson still has to do. He's going to have just as much work as ever." Jay said thoughtfully.

"That's up to him. Us being here ain't the problem, but always being here ain't helping, either. But if we're out of the way, then Carson's probably going to be able to get his shit together a lot easier than if we're always here, dividing his attention." Bug said seriously.

"When do we want to start this? I mean, the Chicago fleet of buses is going to be here in a few hours." Ben asked anxiously.

Bug stopped to think for a moment, then decisively said, "Let's get everything done that we need to right now so that when dinner's called, we can all pack up our shit and go. After dinner, we'll all go and get set up wherever we're going to be working and make sure that we've got everything we need before the 'fleet' gets here."

"Do you think the computer in my bedroom is going to be good enough to keep up with everything that we're doing?" Ben asked cautiously.

"Fuck that! We're going to get you and Oleksandr each laptops, so you're not locked into just one location." Bug said firmly as he went back to his computer.

"Seth and Hobie, are you guys going to be alright working on your own, like this?" Jay asked the young teens cautiously.

"Yeah. We can work from my house. No problem." Hobie said confidently.

"Roris and Lawrence? How about you?" Carson asked with concern.

"I wanted to be back at the stadium before the buses arrived, anyway. So this works well for me." Roris said seriously.

"Ben, a gopher should be delivering some laptops to you in the next half hour or so." Bug said as he looked up from his laptop.

"Thanks, Bug." Ben said with a smile at him.

"So, I guess all that's left is for Carson to get his tired ass in gear and put together a team so that they can take on some of his work." Bug said frankly.

"Yeah. That's not as easy as it sounds." Carson grumped.

"Fuck! Stop and take a look at all we've done the past few days. None of it was easy. It had to be done, so we did it. Now, all we have to do is get it through your thick fucking head that this needs to be done." Bug said firmly.

"Yeah, Bug. I got it." Carson assured him.

"Well, thank fucking God for that!" Bug said before turning his attention back to his computer.

Jay leaned in so that his lips were nearly touching Carson's ear before he whispered, "You're doing the right thing."

"Thanks for not giving up on me." Carson said quietly, then forced himself to kick into high gear as he went in search of highly skilled individuals to take on part of his workload.

Chapter 39: Interminable Optimism

"Carson, I'll be announcing dinner in just a few minutes. I expect to see you there." Deb's voice called over the intercom.

"Got it, Mom." Carson said with resignation.

"Max, Bax and Ro, we're about to have dinner here, so pack it in and take a break. If you want to invite any of your new gopher friends along, that'd be okay." Bug said seriously into his subvocal.

"It's good that you're watching out for them. I can imagine that they've probably been so busy and focused on their work that they might forget to take care of themselves." Roris said frankly.

"Yeah. Some people are like that." Bug said with a significant look at Carson.

When Carson noticed, he took his hands off his keyboard long enough to flip Bug off.

Bug laughed at the action, then turned his attention back to his laptop, trying to get as much accomplished as possible before dinner was officially announced.

* * * * *

"How are you doing, Max? I haven't seen you all day." Gordon asked when she approached the table.

"I'm fine. I ate lunch while I was in town. Gordon, this is Matt and Pat, they're new gophers. They're twins... but not like Bug's twins, they're the other kind." Max hurried to explain, then turned to her companions and quickly added, "This is Gordon, he's one of my dads."

Gordon was surprised by the introduction. It warmed his heart to hear Max claim him as a parent. Once he could talk past the lump in his throat, Gordon quietly said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, boys. Please, have a seat. It appears that they have nearly all the food put out on the steam tables, so we should be able to eat very soon."

"Thank you, Sir." Matt said respectfully.

Gordon's attention was drawn by another group of children walking into the room.

* * * * *

"Guys, I'd like for you to meet my dads, Reginald and Walter. Dads, these guys are two of the new gophers, they're Bobby and Zak." Ro said as he led them to take seats at the table, next in line after Max, Matt and Pat.

"It's very nice to meet you. How are you enjoying being gophers?" Reginald asked warmly.

"It's great! We were down at the skatepark, watching them set up things for the party and wanting to help out and be a part of it and when we asked Lazlo if there was anything we could do, he told us about the gophers. He made a call and a few minutes later, Bax was there, asking us if we were for real." Bobby said happily.

"How are things going at the skatepark?" Gordon asked from further down the table.

"That's one of Lazlo's dads." Ro quietly confided to his two friends.

"Oh, um. Everything's great there. There's all kinds of people stopping in and having fun for a little while, before they move on. There's good food and good music. It's really amazing." Bobby said frankly.

"Yeah. Nothin but a good time. People need that." Zak quietly agreed.

"I wish I could see it, but I need to be here..." Gordon trailed off with obvious worry.

Noticing the change in mood, Reginald quietly asked, "So, are you boys from the local area?"

"I lived here forever." Zak said simply.

"I moved here last year. My mom got a job working for Mr. Brown, but she doesn't talk about what she does. She's a scientist or something boring like that." Bobby said frankly.

"Scientists have changed the world in ways that you may not realize. Without them, we'd be living in a very different world." Gordon said slowly.

"Um, Pop, I don't think you really want to hang the world we're living in right now on the scientists. I don't think it's their fault." Ro said cautiously.

Gordon was surprised by the words, but finally nodded and said, "You may be right, Ronan."

Bobby and Zak smiled at Ro's true name.

* * * * *

"Do we have to do this? I wanna stay with Sammy." Brian urged his father to understand.

"Sammy's asleep and we need to eat. Eric's with him and as soon as he wakes up, someone will come down to get him some food." Mike assured his son.

"Do you smell that?" Scotty asked cautiously.

"No. What do you smell?" Mike asked curiously.

"Spaghetti! I thought they was going to be feeding us some more of that snooty rich people food, but they're having spaghetti! It smells great!" Scotty said happily.

"It appears that everything is in order for us to serve ourselves, so let's get into the serving line." Mike said with a smile, happy that such a simple thing as a spaghetti dinner was enough to lift his sons' spirits.

The boys didn't need to be told twice. As soon as the words were out of their father's mouth, they hurried to take their place in the serving line.

"Your highness, if you would rather not stand in line, we could have your food brought to you." Mike said reverently.

"No, thank you, Mr. Vice President. I appreciate your respect for my position, but it pleases me to be able to stand in a queue and serve myself alongside all those who are working so hard to minimize the tragedy of the past few days." Art said solemnly.

"I understand and expected as much. However, propriety dictates that I must at least make the offer." Mike said honestly.

"Yes. I am, unfortunately, quite familiar with the dictates of propriety."

* * * * *

"Mrs. Shoupe, how are you doing?" Gordon asked as he got up from the table and hurried to Oma Shoupe's side, to help her to a chair.

"I'm fine. But, truth be told, I do feel myself winding down a bit. It's been a long day." Oma Shoupe said frankly.

"I'm sorry that I didn't think to tell you to call me when the girls were ready to come home. It just didn't occur to me." Gordon said seriously.

"The girls were a tremendous help, no bother at all. And it was no more difficult to make arrangements to bring them here than it was for myself." Oma Shoupe said honestly, then started toward the chair at the Brown family table where she had sat the previous evening.

After being seated, she thought to add, "Baxter, bless his heart, came when I called for him and was the perfect little gentleman as he escorted me out to the all terrain vehicle. And while Baxter was attending to me and the twin girls, Jamiah took it upon himself to see to your girls and Loquicia."

"Please, just let me know if there's anything that you need." Gordon said with concern.

"Well, since you asked, there is one thing." Oma Shoupe said frankly.

"What can I do?" Gordon asked cautiously.

"As much of a joy as it's been to care for the children today, is there any way that you could watch after them for a while? They've been absolutely perfect little angels, but even so, I feel that I desperately need some quiet time." Oma Shoupe asked hopefully.

"Of course, Mrs. Shoupe. In fact, I'll see to them for the rest of the evening. From what Lucas has told me, you spent the entire day watching after children, including my children. You've more than earned a rest." Gordon told her honestly.

"You may, if you like, but I only need a wee bit of time to relax after a long day. If, later in the evening, the children would like to spend some time with me, I wouldn't object at all." Oma Shoupe said frankly.

"Very well, Mrs. Shoupe. Thank you again for watching after the girls." Gordon said sincerely.

"Just so you know, the two younger girls, Mindy and Mandy, are going to be staying with me, tonight. Their mother was taken to the hospital." Oma Shoupe said as she glanced toward the doorway where the girls had gathered into a tight little group.

"Nothing too serious, I hope." Gordon said cautiously.

"The last report that I heard said that she was in critical condition. I'll check back again later." Oma Shoupe said quietly.

"Would you like for me to get you something from the buffet line, Mrs. Shoupe?" Gordon asked gently.

"No. Thank you. I think I'd like to sit here for a few minutes and collect myself before I start thinking about dinner." Oma Shoupe said honestly.

"I'll just be down at the next table if you need anything." Gordon said uncertainly.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

* * * * *

Ryan and Ty walked into the dining room, looking as though they had been father and son all along.

Out of nowhere, Mikey appeared and gave his newest brother a joyful hug, which ended up scaring Ty half to death, since he had no indication that it was coming.

"How was it? Did you have a good time?" Mikey asked him quickly.

"Yeah. It was great. Mr... um, Dad, showed me exactly what he was planning to do, to get the factory ready to make the new parts. Then he took me down to the control room and showed me how to set the robots to do what they were supposed to do. He even let me help. It was wild!" Ty said happily.

As he was talking, Tommy walked up and gave him a quick hug that didn't scare him half as much as Mikey's sneak attack had.

"Last, but not least..." Ryan said with a chuckle as Carson approached the gathering, with Jay pushing his wheelchair.

"How's it going, Ty? Did you have fun?" Carson asked with a sincere smile.

"Yeah. It was great." Ty said timidly, feeling everyone's attention focused on him.

"Hold up, Car. What happened? Are you getting sick?" Tommy asked firmly.

"No. I'm just tired. It's nothing to worry about." Carson assured him.

"You don't get to decide what I worry about." Tommy said firmly, then continued, "You need to take a break."

"I know. Mom's already talked to me about it. I'm handling it." Carson said, a bit more sternly.

"Let us know if there's anything we can do to help." Ryan said as he looked Carson in the eyes.

"I will, Dad." Carson said sincerely.

"I suppose we'd better get to eating before all the good stuff is taken." Ryan said with a smile at 'his' boys.

Taking that as his cue, Jay moved Carson to his customary place at the table, the one without a chair, then he quietly asked, "Would you like for me to go ahead and get a plate for you?"

Carson thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yeah, if you want. Since it's spaghetti, there's nothing to pick and choose."

"How hungry are you?" Jay asked to be sure.

"If you take too long, I might just gnaw the leg off the table." Carson said with a grin.

Jay leaned in and gave Carson a brief, but meaningful kiss, before leaving for the serving line.

"It looks like things are going well for you, at least in one regard." Ryan observed.

"Yeah. Today, Jay let me know that he's not going to let me get away with being a stupid jerk. I think I needed to know that." Carson said frankly.

"That's good, Carson. Take it from one who knows. 'Yes men' are a dime a dozen. But when you find someone who'll look you in the eye and call you on your bullshit, you keep him close." Ryan said frankly.

"Yeah. I just figured that out." Carson said quietly.

"I'll be right back. I want to get to the garlic bread before the end pieces are gone. Those are my favorite." Ryan said with a smile at his son before hurrying away.

* * * * *

"Ben! Sit over here with us!" Danny (the elder) said when he saw Ben and Oleksandr leaving the serving line.

When Ben realized that it was the Vice President's table, he cautiously asked, "Are you sure it's okay?"

"If it weren't, the Secret Service would have stopped you before you got even this close." Mike said frankly, then gestured toward the open seats, just past General Adams and Max.

"Thanks." Ben said timidly as he sat down, then took Oleksandr's plate from him and set it on the table, allowing Oleksandr to get into his seat.

"Is this the Ben you were telling us about?" Danny (the younger) asked quietly.

"Yes. This is the legendary Ben who's been so prominently featured in the stories I've been telling you." Danny said happily.

"You've been telling stories about me?" Ben asked cautiously.

"Yeah. But mostly stories about up at the cabin." Danny assured him, then added, "Gerry and Myron have been telling the stories about when we were in high school."

"So, how are things going upstairs?" Ben asked in a not too subtle attempt to change the subject.

"Really good. Art and Euan walked us through everything we need to know to help all the people from that monster convoy that came in yesterday. It's been crazy, but things are starting to settle down, now." Danny said seriously.

"What are you going to do when everyone from the convoy is settled in?" Ben asked cautiously.

"I don't know. I guess our job will be done, then." Danny said honestly.

"What would you think about, maybe, doing the same thing for the Chicago 'fleet' that you've been doing for the 'convoy'?" Ben asked thoughtfully.

"How do you mean?" Danny asked cautiously.

"I don't know if you know this or not, but you guys helping out the Chicago 'convoy' has taken a lot of pressure off of us in the command center, so that we've been able to help everyone else. Maybe you guys could keep on doing what you're doing and focus on helping the massive groups when they arrive so that we don't lose track of the people who are still trickling in." Ben said seriously.

"That's kind of what Bug and Dax are doing with the Florida and Chicago people." Oleksandr added between bites of spaghetti.

"He's right. Having people to take care of specific groups has helped us be more available to the new arrivals." Ben said as he smiled down at Oleksandr at his side.

Danny turned to his side and asked, "What do you say, guys?"

"What do we say about what?" Brian asked cautiously.

"Do you want to tell them?" Danny asked his younger namesake, at his side.

"Ben was saying that we could help people, like we're doing now, but a whole new group of them." Danny (the younger) said to his brothers.

One by one, the boys turned their attention to Art, to see his reaction.

"It would be a shame for us to allow all that we've accomplished to go to waste once the people we arrived with are all settled in." Art said thoughtfully.

"To be honest, I don't know exactly what it is that you guys are doing to help people. I just know that it works. So, if you really want to take on the Chicago 'fleet', you should probably get in contact with Dax and tell him how you can make things easier for him." Ben said seriously.

"Thank you, once again, Ben. It pleases me to know that the work that we started will continue on to help others in their time of need." Art said sincerely.

* * * * *

Since arriving with Oma Shoupe, Bax had taken his customary place at the table with Mr. and Mrs. Brown. He didn't have any food in front of him and was turned in his seat, anxiously watching the door that led into the main house.

He jumped when a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind.

As soon as he could extricate himself from the surprise hug, he turned to find Bug and the twins looking at him with three matching smiles. They must have entered the dining room from the 'Big House' entrance.

"How are you doing, Bax?" Bug asked warmly.

"Everything's great. With all the new gophers, we were able to keep up with all the deliveries and everyone's been real happy with what we've been doing." Bax said in a rush, then added, "I was afraid, for a minute, that you wouldn't be able to get away from your work and have dinner with everyone else."

"Things started getting kind of crazy, so I decided that I needed more help. Now that I have my team on the job, I can do things like go to the bathroom and eat a meal whenever I need to." Bug said frankly, then looked across the table at Oma Shoupe and asked, "How was your day at the school?"

"It was more excitement than I'd usually have in a month of Sundays, but it was good excitement, for the most part. I really felt that I was able to do something to help people in need." Oma Shoupe said with a smile.

"So, are you done for the day?" Bug asked as he casually put an arm around Bax's shoulders and hugged him slightly.

"Yes. Although it was a remarkable day, I have to admit that I was relieved when a group of volunteers arrived to take over."

"I bet." Bug said with a grin, then asked, "How are the girls doing?"

"Thanks to Jamiah's efforts and encouragement, they've been included in doing things with the older girls. So far, they've been kept too busy to worry about their mother." Oma Shoupe said frankly.

"Where are the girls, now?" Bug asked as he looked around.

"When we came in, all the girls automatically took places at the table with Gordon and his family. Gordon's already said that he'll keep an eye on them to allow me some time to rest up after my long day."

"That's good. But just remember that if you need some help, all you have to do is ask." Bug said honestly, then broke into a smile as he added, "I do have some experience with twins."

"I doubt that the type of experience that you have is what the girls are needing." Oma Shoupe chuckled, then continued, "But I'll remember to ask if I need something."

"And we'll kind of keep an eye on things, from the background, in case Gordon gets overwhelmed by taking care of all the kids." Ken volunteered.

"Thank you. With this kind of support, I have no doubt that the girls will be well taken care of." Oma Shoupe said with a contented smile.

"We're going to get our food now. Would you like for me to make you a plate?" Bug asked casually.

"Yes. Thank you, Bug." Oma Shoupe said lovingly.

* * * * *

"Nice choice of food, Mom. Everyone seems to be loving it." Tommy said as he set his plate on the table.

"While I always want to do something special for guests, I feel that in a situation such as this, that people might be more comforted with things that are familiar, when so much in their lives has changed so drastically." Deb said seriously.

"I was just saying that it's a good day for spaghetti." Tommy said hesitantly.

"That, too." Deb said with a smile.

"Mom, can you tell me a little bit more about what they want to do with my legs?" Carson asked hopefully.

"I don't think that the dinner table is the appropriate setting to be discussing medical procedures. Ask me about it later, when you have time." Deb said with extra emphasis on the last words.

"You're not going to let me live that down, are you?" Carson asked in a pained voice.

"Not a chance." Deb said simply, then casually asked, "How are things going in regards to finding you help?"

"I'm still working on sorting out all the different things that I need for people to do. But as soon as I'm done with that part, finding people to do those things should be pretty easy, thanks to Bug."

Deb nodded with approval, then thought to ask, "Have you talked with Mr. Cronin lately?"

"No. I've been too busy with other things. I figured that if something came up that I needed to know about, that he'd contact me. I mean, that's why I have a business manager, isn't it?" Carson said honestly.

Deb gave him 'the look', then, in an overly patient, motherly voice, explained, "Mr. Cronin might not feel comfortable interrupting you when you have so many other things going on. But remember, if you're going to start accepting help, that you also need to keep up with the help that you already have."

"Yeah. It's easier to 'do it' than to follow behind other people and 'see that it's done'." Carson said frankly.

"It's a different skill. But once you become comfortable with it, it's not so bad." Deb said with a smile.

"I need to talk to him anyway. I've been thinking about starting a new business venture." Carson said seriously.

"Now?" Deb asked in surprise.

"Do you remember about that translator box that I've been working on, the one that Roris has been using?" Carson asked cautiously.

"Yes. Of course."

"I was thinking that, if we can find all the fabrication tools and the components that we need, that we might start into limited production." Carson said frankly.

"With the economy being as unstable as it is, are you planning on 'giving' them away?" Deb asked thoughtfully.

"For right now, yes. It's just the right thing to do. Later, after the economy stabilizes and things have returned to something like normal, then we'll start selling them." Carson said seriously.

"So, what are you going to need to get started?" Deb asked cautiously.

"I'll provide the seed investment, so all that I'm really going to need is one of Dad's lab techs." Carson said frankly.

"Which one?" Ryan asked immediately from Deb's other side, betraying the fact that he'd been listening in.

"Steven Mitchell. He managed a rush job for me today and I was impressed by the professional job that he did." Carson said seriously.

"You know, you could just take over a little corner of the lab and make them from there." Ryan told his son honestly.

"Once the power assist armor goes into production, you're going to need everyone you've got, working on that and nothing else. Besides, you're already going to get a percentage of the profits for allowing me to use your facilities and equipment for the R&D. I'm not going to pay you rent on top of that." Carson chuckled.

Ryan shrugged, then said, "A guy's gotta make a living."

* * * * *

"Excuse me, where are my children?"

Deb looked up with surprise into the worried eyes of Janet Hayes, the paralegal that she had interviewed earlier in the day.

Reluctant to admit that she actually didn't know, and that she had lost track of them after the incident with Kevin, she stood as her mind raced to come up with something to say that wouldn't make her sound like a completely irresponsible person.

"See? Here's mommy!" Jamey said as she walked into the room with Destiny perched on her hip and Aiden walking at her side, holding her hand.

"Oh, thank you. I can't believe how much I've missed them in just a few hours." Janet said with relief.

Deb noticed that, following Jamey were Kevin and the U.N.I.T. member, Bryan.

"Thank you so much for taking care of them." Janet told Jamey gratefully.

"It was our pleasure to watch after them." Jamey said sincerely, then added, "Remember, you can leave them with us anytime you want."

"Thank you, that's incredibly kind of you." Janet said with surprise.

"I have some chores that I need to do, right now. But remember to stop at the tents out front and ask if you need anything at all." Jamey said, then hurried away before Janet could respond.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Deb asked casually.

"No. I just finished unpacking our things a few minutes ago and came right back here." Janet said quickly.

"Do you need some help getting plates for the kids?" Bryan asked as he approached, with Kevin following a step behind.

"Excuse me?" Janet asked cautiously.

"With two kids, it just seems that it would be easier to do the whole buffet line thing if Kevin and I helped you." Bryan explained seriously.

"Yes. Thank you. That would be incredibly helpful." Janet said happily.

"It looks like you're in good hands. Enjoy your dinner." Deb said with a smile.

"There is something you could do to help, too." Bryan said before Deb could walk away.

"Oh? What's that?" Deb asked curiously.

"You could tell her about your decision..." Bryan said quietly, in a leading tone.

"I suppose that might make her meal just that little bit more enjoyable." Deb said quietly, with a grin at the younger boy.

"Am I missing something?" Janet asked anxiously.

"No. I am. It seems that in all the confusion of... well, several things going on at once around here... the paralegal job is yours if you want it." Deb finally blurted out.

"Really?! Thank you!" Janet said happily.

"Now, why don't we get those little angels of yours fed. I think they're going to enjoy what we're having for dinner." Deb said with a fond smile at the two and three year old children.

* * * * *

Once Janet had made all of her selections, Bryan and Kevin took the children's plates to the far end of Deb's table and left the family there to enjoy their meal.

When Deb noticed Janet sitting there, looking out of place, she walked down the length of the table and said, "Doris, I didn't see you come in. I'd like to introduce you to Janet Hayes. I just hired her to work as a paralegal for me."

"Oh! Isn't that wonderful." Doris said happily, then asked, "So, Janet, where are you from?"

"We're from Denver." Janet answered while carefully watching to see that her children weren't making too big of a mess.

Deb smiled and quietly withdrew, assured that Doris would make Janet feel welcomed.

"I haven't heard anything about Denver, is it very bad there?" Doris asked with concern.

"People are really nervous, as you can imagine, but there hasn't been anything catastrophic, like some cities." Janet said frankly.

"So did you just come here to be on the safe side?" Doris asked curiously.

"My wife works in emergency services in Denver county. She said that all it would take is one good wind from Boulder and the whole city could be hit with a blister agent that's been released there, so she wanted me to take the kids to safety." Janet said seriously.

"So, how are you getting settled in?" Doris asked curiously.

"Thanks to the people here, I've been able to get all our things moved in and put away. Honestly, I never could have imagined that when I came here I'd find such nice people." Janet said honestly.

"I know what you mean. My son works for Carson Brown, and as soon as there was an indication that there might be a problem, Carson arranged for all of us to be brought here where it would be safe. I can't even express how grateful we are for all the help we've received."

"Oh, is this your son?" Janet asked as she looked across the table.

Doris smiled at the question, then said, "Oh, no. Where are my manners? I should have thought to introduce you. My daughter Corina and her husband Davis are sitting next to you."

Janet looked at the red haired woman and the incredibly thin young man at her side, then smiled at them.

"On this side of the table, we have my husband, Marcus and our granddaughter, Cheyenne. Next to them are Apollo and Jarrett, some wonderful young men that we've met since we've been here." Doris finished with a loving smile at the pair.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you." Janet said as she looked at the group, then hesitantly asked, "You didn't have a son in there anywhere, did you?"

"Oh, no." Doris giggled, then quickly said, "Our son, Roris is in the first chair at the next table. He's sitting across from his boyfriend, Lawrence."

Due to his red hair, Janet was easily able to deduce that the young man in the wheelchair was Doris's son. She was pleasantly surprised by Doris's easy acknowledgement of their sexuality. But what she couldn't seem to get past was that both young men were strikingly handsome.

"So, you said that your wife works in emergency services. What does she do?" Doris asked curiously.

"In calmer times, Daelynn's job is some bureaucratic mess having to do with maintaining the federal standards of the local emergency services. But now, she's part of the team that's instituting Denver County's emergency plan and coordinating with the state government and the surrounding counties." Janet said proudly.

"I know it's got to make her job easier to know that you're away from there." Doris said gently.

"Yes. I was able to get a good signal at the house and was able to send her a text message. She doesn't know that I've got a job, yet. But she knows that we made it here and that we're safe." Janet said happily.

"Do you know, is she planning on joining you, here?" Doris asked curiously.

"It really depends on how things go. If this is all over in a matter of days, then she'll wait for us to come back to Denver. All it's going to take is one good rain to eliminate the blister agent threat. But if there's a major incident in Denver, or if it seems like the chaos is going to drag on, then she'll head this way and join up with us here." Janet said anxiously.

"Well, with things being like that, I guess it's good that you've been able to find a job and a place to stay. That way, no matter how it goes, your wife will have the peace of mind of knowing that you're safe and not too far away." Doris said warmly.

"Yes. We've been incredibly lucky." Janet slowly admitted.

"And your children might enjoy playing with Cheyenne. As I recall, when Roris and Corina were young, there were times that I felt the need to hear another adult voice, especially an adult who understood what I was going through. If you ever find yourself feeling like that, just come and find me. We can let the children play while we enjoy some 'grown up' conversation." Doris said gently.

"Thank you, Doris. I'll do that." Janet said with an honest smile.

* * * * *

"How are you doing, Kevin?" Mike asked down the table, across from him.

"Huh?" His son, at the opposite end of the table, asked as he looked up from his food.

"The other Kevin." Mike told his son with a smile.

When Mike turned his attention back toward the other end of the table, he saw Kevin looking at him like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Are you feeling any better?" Mike asked gently.

"My brother's dead. So, no. I'm not." Kevin said frankly.

Mike slowly nodded, then quietly said, "I'm sorry for your loss, Kevin. And I'm going to do my best to use the information your brother died for to help as many people as possible."

"So, was it something that will help you to make the fighting stop?" Kevin asked cautiously.

"My people are still going through what you brought us, but on the surface, it looks as though there might be things contained on that disk that will allow us to bring the fighting to a stop a lot sooner than we would have been able to, otherwise." Mike said carefully.

"So, it was worth it?" Kevin asked as tears started sliding down his cheeks.

"No, Kevin. No matter how much good we're able to do with the information you brought us, it will never be worth it. The price was too high. But all we can do at this point is do the most good we can with what we've got in front of us." Mike said seriously.

"Thank you, Sir." Kevin said as he tried to get himself back under emotional control.

* * * * *

When Bryan noticed that Kevin was looking across the table at a boy close to his own age, he quietly said, "That's Max. He's new here, just like you are."

At hearing his name, Max looked back at Kevin and Bryan and said, "Yeah. I know how it is to feel like an outsider here. If you're having any trouble, you can ask me and I'll try to help."

"Hi, Max. I'm Kevin."

"Hi. You don't need to be afraid, here. I was, at first, especially of all the military guys and Secret Service agents. But then something happened when I was walking around outside. There was some trouble, and a Secret Service agent pulled me into a little storage shed and... he protected me like I was someone special. I guess it's because my new dad's a general." Max said with a little pride showing through his voice.

Kevin glanced at General Adams at Max's side and nodded slightly.

"I guess, that's when I realized, I don't need to be afraid of the agents and stuff. Anyone who wants to hurt me or cause trouble needs to be afraid of them. They're on my side." Max said expressively. He was obviously still wound up about his experience.

Bryan nodded, then quietly said, "Remember what I showed you outside, Kevin. You don't need to be afraid of anyone. And by the time we're finished, 'anyone' will need to be afraid of you."

Kevin slowly nodded, beginning to feel that what Bryan was intending for him might actually make things better for him. The next time he was threatened, anyone who stood against him or tried to hurt the people he loved would have to be afraid.

A sudden, random thought crossed his mind and he looked up and down the dining room at all the people. Finally, he leaned close to Bryan and quietly asked, "What happened to Diego?"

"Don't worry about him. The Vice President's Secret Service guys had a long talk with him. I can't tell you about what he's going to be doing, but I can promise you that he's being put into place where he can help a lot of people." Bryan assured him.

"That's what I'm going to be doing, too, isn't it? I mean, when I'm trained." Kevin asked cautiously.

"When your training is done, you're going to have some choices. That's one of the possibilities." Bryan said honestly.

* * * * *

"I think most everyone is here now. If I may, could I have your attention for just a moment?" Deb asked as she stood by the serving line, roughly in the middle of the room, away from the dining table.

It took a moment, but people quieted and turned their attention to her.

"When we have guests, we do our best to have a dinner for everyone so that we can have a chance to enjoy each other's company. Thank you for being here." Deb said sincerely as she looked up and down the massive room.

"Let me take a moment to say that if anyone has dietary concerns and can't enjoy the pasta bar that we've set up, please let me know and we'll be happy to fix an alternative meal for you." Deb said, then looked around again.

"Also, Mr. Crante wanted me to let you know that he and the maids have made some purchases today, and I know that he's already spoken to some of you about it. Many of our younger guests arrived with little or no clothing besides what they were wearing. So, when you go back to your rooms, don't be surprised if you find some new clothes. It's not a mistake. It's a gift." Deb said frankly.

"That's it. Enjoy your meals." Deb said before walking back across the room to her place at the first table.

* * * * *

"I'm sorry we're so late. How is everything going here?" Lucas asked as he walked to Gordon's place at the table, with Jeremy and Hank following behind.

"Fine. With all the children away, I've been able to attend to all the little projects you've been throwing my way." Gordon said frankly as he stood to give his husband a hug.

"You have no idea how much help you've been. Things have been absolutely crazy and it's made all the difference to know that when I passed something on to you that I could be assured that it would be handled." Lucas said as he gave his beloved partner an extra squeeze to emphasize how much he appreciated him.

"Where's Lazlo?" Jay asked as he approached.

"He's still in town, at the skatepark." Lucas said as he finally released the hug.

At Jay's look of concern, Lucas continued, "He wanted to stay and watch over things. I felt a little strange about leaving him there, but then I realized that he doesn't need me hovering over him. He needs to know that I trust him."

"But what if he gets hungry? What if something happens to him?" Jay asked anxiously.

Lucas smiled in understanding, then quietly said, "There's a restaurant right there, so as soon as he realizes that he's hungry, he can get something to eat. Also, he's got a U.N.I.T. escort, standing off to the side, making sure that no one even tries to cause him any harm. On top of that, your brother has about fifty loyal teens and pre-teens who would absolutely destroy anyone who tried to harm him. Honestly, I can't think of anyplace that he could possibly be safer."

"Okay. I just hadn't heard anything from him in a while and I was starting to get worried, is all." Jay said repentantly.

"It's good that you worry for your brother. Thank you for that." Lucas said as he looked Jay in the eyes, then he quietly added, "But you'd better be ready for when he finally does get back home, because I have a feeling that he's going to want to tell you ALL about his experiences today."

Jay's uncertain look prompted Lucas to continue, "If there's one person in the world he'd want to share this with, it's his brother. If there's anyone that he's wanting to impress and receive approval from, it's you. So you'd better prepare yourself for when he gets home. Pack a snack if you need to because I have a feeling that it's going to be a long conversation."

Jay thought about that for a moment, then broke into a smile and said, "I can't wait."

"How are you doing, Jay?" Lucas asked quietly.

"I'm fine. I still feel like I'm not doing enough, or at least, I'm not doing as much as some other people." Jay said honestly.

"We're all going where we're needed and doing what needs to be done. That's the long and short of it." Lucas said honestly.

"Yeah. Thanks." Jay said sincerely, then moved forward and gave Lucas a very brief, but heartfelt hug.

* * * * *

"What's got you worried, Ben?" Danny asked cautiously.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. I was just a little bit concerned about how Dax is doing. I mean, I know he's got a good head on his shoulders and that he's doing his best, but all of this is just so BIG."

"He knows that he can call you if he needs you, right?" Danny asked calmly.

"Yeah." Ben reluctantly agreed.

"Do you think it would mess him up if you showed up and offered to help him?" Danny asked cautiously.

"I bet Dax would like it if Ben helped him. I bet he knows everything that needs done now and probably needs help doing it." Oleksandr interjected.

After a moment to consider, Ben finally said, "He's probably right."

"Well, since I've been working with the King on helping the 'convoy', I know what kinds of things we can do to help. Maybe, if I wouldn't be in the way, I could go with you to help you." Danny said cautiously.

"I'll get you a subvocal so you can call... what do you call your command center?" Oleksandr asked suddenly.

"I don't know." Danny said honestly, then turned to the younger Danny at his side and asked, "What should we call our command center?"

"I guess, since we know that Art and Euan are going to have to leave, soon, that it'd be good to name it after them, somehow. I mean, since they started it, and everything. How about we call it 'Monarch' or something like that?" Danny (the younger) said thoughtfully.

"Monarch Control, it is." Danny (the elder) said happily, then turned to Ben and continued, "So, if you want, I can go with you, representing Monarch Control so I can tell your friend, Dax, just what it is that we'll be able to do to help him."

"That sounds great. But before I can go, I'm going to need to see if the U.N.I.T. can cover monitoring the news for me, while I'm gone." Ben said thoughtfully.

"You're covered. Go." Bryan said from his seat, nearly across from Ben.

"What?" Ben asked, not certain that they were talking about the same thing.

"Courtney says that she's got you covered. Go and do what you need to do and anything that happens in the news will be catalogued for you to review when you get back." Bryan said seriously.

"Oh, um. Thanks." Ben said with surprise.

"Ben, do you have a minute?" Keil asked in nearly a whisper as he approached the table.

"Sure, there's an open chair, here. Sit down." Ben said quickly, then added, "These guys are Danny and Danny and... I'm sorry guys, I don't remember your names."

"This is Kevin and I'm Bryan."

"Hey! I'm a Brian, too. I just go by Ben."

"Why?" Bryan asked curiously.

"When I was a little bit older than you, I went through some major changes in my life, like an awakening, I guess. I have this friend, his real name is Jason, but he goes by Jack. He explained that changing your name can be like closing one chapter in your life and starting a new one. Looking back, I think he was right." Ben explained carefully.

"So it's not just because there's so many Brian's running around?" Danny (the younger) asked curiously.

"No. That didn't have anything to do with it." Ben said with a grin.

"I just wondered because his name is Brian, too." Danny said as he pointed to the boy in the chair past the older Danny, then added, "And there's another Kevin at the other end of this table."

"Well, we've got duplicate Brians, Dannys and Kevins, but there's only one Oleksandr." Ben said as he gave the boy beside him a quick cuddle.

"I never met anyone else with my name." Oleksandr said frankly, obviously enjoying Ben's attention.

All the Dannys, Brians, and Kevins watched with smiles at the scene before them.

"So, Keil, did you get a chance to pick up your printouts, yet?" Ben asked as he turned his attention back to his dinner.

"No. When dinner was called, Jake asked me to go ahead and have mine so that I could stay with Zane while he had his." Keil quietly explained.

"Well, just remember that you can call on me anytime that you need to. With everything else going on, I don't get to spend as much time with Zane as I want." Ben said honestly.

"I can tell that Zane is nearly overwhelmed with how everyone is stopping by to visit with him. He's got this idea in his head that he's not important and that no one cares about him. I guess that one of the good things about him having to go through this is that he's being forced to realize that he's not alone in the world." Keil said frankly.

"Given the way he grew up, that's a pretty big lesson for him to learn." Ben added regretfully, then seemed to snap out of his thoughts and quickly added, "When you're done with dinner, come with me and I'll get you all the information about your apartment and your job."

"Thank you, Ben. I guess that I'm like Zane, in that it's hard for me to believe that people can really care for me." Keil said timidly.

"We'll do our best to get you used to it." Ben said with a grin at the man he was quickly coming to admire.

* * * * *

"Bug, Carson, while I've got you both in the same place at the same time, I wanted to let you know that, with Ty's help, we should be ready to start production on fabricating the first power assist parts in the morning." Ryan said seriously.

"What's taking so long?" Carson asked playfully.

"I'm waiting on raw materials." Ryan said honestly.

"I was kidding, Dad." Carson said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh. Right. Anyway, I've already got orders in for everything that we can buy prefabricated. I had to compromise security a little bit and let it slip that what we're working on is going to aid our troops. But once they knew that, they promised to put on extra shifts and get us the components ahead of schedule." Ryan said seriously.

"With all the different parts that we're going to have to fabricate, are we going to be able to keep up with them?" Carson asked cautiously.

"We talked to Zed about it and he said that we're going to be fine." Ty interjected.

"You talked to Zed?" Carson asked hesitantly.

"Of course he did. You don't think I'd take him to the factory without introducing him to Zed, do you?" Ryan asked incredulously.

"I thought you'd introduce him, but I didn't think you'd let him interact with him, not on his first day." Carson explained.

When he couldn't stand it any longer, Bug finally asked, "Who the fuck is Zed?"

"He's the VI that manages the robotics at the factory." Carson said simply.

"So, he's like Dizzy?" Bug asked cautiously.

"In terms of hardware, they're similar. But their programming is completely different." Ryan explained.

"Yeah. Zed is essentially a controller program for the robotics in the factory. He has some rudimentary decision making skills, and a basic verbal user interface. He doesn't really have any personality or anything like that. We just tell him what the factory needs to do and he sees that it's done." Carson said seriously.

"You guys have VIs running out of your ears around here." Bug said in astonishment.

"If you think about it, it makes sense. What's the point of having advanced robotics in a factory if you need a team of technicians to be there, constantly manning the equipment? Zed can watch over the whole thing and the one or two technicians on duty can resolve the issues that come up that Zed isn't programmed to deal with." Ryan said frankly.

"I guess I'm glad that I'm into the programming side of things. All the robots and stuff kind of creep me out a little." Bug said honestly.

"Speaking of the programming, how are things going in regards to the trinary operating system?" Ryan asked curiously.

"As soon as we've got the Chicago 'fleet' all settled in, I should have plenty of time to get down and dirty with it." Bug said easily.

"What are you going to need besides time?" Ryan asked cautiously.

"Sometime in the next day or two, I'm going to need the specs on the final designs with the new robotic components we'll be using, so I can make sure that all the motors and sensors and everything can be coordinated." Bug said thoughtfully.

"I can get you preliminary specifications, but when we actually put the parts together, things are likely going to change." Ryan said reluctantly.

Bug rolled his eyes and said, "That's what variables are for. I haven't hard coded values since I was in the third grade, and even then, I was called a dumbass for doing it."

"Ah! So that's where you gained your colorful vocabulary." Ryan said with a teasing smile.

"Yeah. Blame it on the schools." Bug said with a grin.

* * * * *

"Carson, do you have a minute?" Roris asked as he approached.

"Sure, what's up?" Carson asked pleasantly.

"I hate to bother you when you have so much else going on, and I know that you need to get your rest. But is there some way that you can fix my 'talkbox' so that it can communicate by radio or subvocal? I'd like to go back into town before the Chicago 'fleet' arrives, but I'd feel better if I were able to contact Dizzy or call for help, should the need arise." Roris said honestly.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. I've got it all worked out in my head. It should only take me a few minutes. I can knock it out when we're done with dinner, before I take control back from Courtney."

"Thank you. I hate to ask, but if Lawrence and I were separated for some reason, or even worse, if something were to happen to him, I'd be completely helpless." Roris explained.

"Don't worry about it. I've got you covered." Carson said confidently, then quickly added, "I was telling Mom a little bit ago that I'm going to set up a little company to put the 'talkboxes' into production."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. I can't wait to get back to town and see how the people are doing at the 'special needs' check-in since receiving theirs." Roris said with a smile of anticipation.

"You see, I was thinking, with me trying to delegate my responsibilities and all of that, I really can't take on another project. This needs to be done, but I don't think I'm the one who can do it." Carson finished regretfully, then quietly asked, "Interested?"

"In what?" Roris asked cautiously.

"If I can arrange things, would you oversee the company for me? Once everything's going, I'm going to back away and it'll be all yours." Carson asked seriously.

"You're giving me a company?" Roris asked disbelievingly.

"I'll be making an investment. When the company becomes profitable, I'll get my investment back. And, of course, I'm going to want shares in the company which will continue to pay dividends. So this isn't just out of the goodness of my heart. I'll be making money, too." Carson said honestly.

"And the company would just make 'talkboxes'?" Roris asked to confirm.

"For now, yeah. If we come up with some other wonderful thing to help people, you may decide to branch out." Carson said frankly.

"Yes. Thank you, Carson. I think that sounds like a wonderful idea." Roris said excitedly, even though his computerized voice seemed to be less than thrilled.

"Let me finish my dinner, then I'll get to work on the modification for your 'talkbox'." Carson said with a smile at his friend.

"Take all the time you need." Roris said happily before heading back to the table where Lawrence was waiting for him.

* * * * *

"Mom! I was just about to come looking for you!" Deb said when she spotted Mrs. Murten walking into the room.

"From the way it's looking, I'm going to have to rethink my semi-retirement. There's far too much that needs to be done in regards to the people who are passing through here. My docket has been completely filled and I'm even going to break with tradition and hold court sessions tomorrow." Madelyn said as she walked to the nearest open chair and took a seat.

"Let me know if there's anything I can do to help." Deb said with concern.

Madelyn laughed, then said, "Well, since you asked, I have about a hundred filings that are going to need to be proofed and categorized before court goes into session, tomorrow."

Deb looked down the table at Janet, then said, "That shouldn't be a problem."

"This is our grandma Murten." Annie said as she coaxed the twin girls to come closer.

"Who is this we have here?" Madelyn asked with delight.

"Mindy and Mandy. They're going to stay here with us until their mama gets better. She's sick." Annie said seriously.

"Unless I miss my guess, it looks like the two of you have been enjoying a spaghetti dinner." Madelyn said warmly.

The girls looked at each other for an instant, then looked back to Madelyn and nodded in unison.

Madelyn laughed with delight at the action, then said, "After we've all finished with our dinner, how about we go into the living room and you can tell me all about your day."

Deb smiled at her mother's ability to switch from 'Judge Murten' to 'Grandma' with such ease.

* * * * *

"Judge Murten, it's good to see you again. When you have a moment, there was something that I was wanting to discuss with you." Gordon said hesitantly, not wanting to interrupt her time with the girls.

"Once I've gotten a plate of that spaghetti, we can discuss whatever you'd like. I'm ravenous!" Madelyn said frankly.

"I can get that for you, if you like." Jeremy said quickly.

Madelyn looked at him curiously.

"It appears that you've had a long day. Spaghetti, bread and a salad?" Jeremy asked pleasantly.

"Yes. Thank you." Madelyn said with surprise.

"What dressing do you like?" Jeremy asked as he stood.

"Ranch will be fine." Madelyn said, then watched him go.

"After witnessing the adoptions that you did here last night, I was wondering what we would have to go through to officially adopt our foster children." Gordon said anxiously.

"We, as in, you and Lucas, I assume?" Madelyn asked to clarify.

"Yes, Ma'am." Gordon answered nervously.

"Every case stands on its own merits. I can't predict how much time or effort would have to go into it. But, I suppose that my first suggestion would be to talk to my daughter about it. She'll be able to walk you through all the paperwork and help you past any sticking points before the case is brought before me." Madelyn explained seriously.

"Yes. I'll do that." Gordon assured her.

"I notice that you have quite a few children here. Which of them were you planning on adopting?" Madelyn asked as she looked around.

"That's another matter that I'm uncertain of. If it were up to me, I'd be adopting all seven of them, but what they want needs to be considered, as well." Gordon said honestly.

"Which seven?" Madelyn asked, then smiled when Jeremy placed a plate of spaghetti and garlic bread before her and a bowl of salad to the side.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Jeremy asked quietly.

"Oh, yes. Water. Thank you." Madelyn said with surprise.

"You already know Misti, Annie and Loquicia. And, of course, I'm sure you remember Jamiah." Gordon said as he glanced to the next chair past Lucas at Jamiah, who was listening, intently.

"Yes. I admire how he is so diligent in watching after his sister." Madelyn said with a smile at the boy.

"Then there's Max, who's sitting right next to you, Jay, who's currently sitting across from Carson, and then there's Lazlo, who isn't here at the moment." Gordon said frankly.

Madelyn turned to the girl at her side and quietly asked, "Would you like to be adopted by Lucas and Gordon?"

"I don't know. No one ever wanted to adopt me before. They mostly wanted to get rid of me." Max said honestly.

"Well, you don't need to decide anything right now. What I really wanted to know is if you can think of any reason, right now, that you wouldn't want for them to adopt you." Madelyn asked curiously.

"Well, they're nice and don't hit or yell or anything. So I like that about them. And if I need something, I know that they'll, you know, care and listen and stuff like that. And they let me hang around with my friends and don't freak out if we go and do stuff. So it's like they trust me or something. That's nice. I guess as long as they stayed being like that, it'd be okay if they adopted me." Max said thoughtfully.

"But you don't love them?" Madelyn asked to be sure.

"No. Not yet. Maybe someday." Max said frankly.

"Well, this isn't something that you'll have to worry about right away. Just think about it, and if everything goes well, then maybe we'll be having this discussion again one day in my courtroom, then I can ask you again." Madelyn said frankly.

"If you ever need anything delivered for your courtroom, you can call me and I'll take it wherever you need it to go. I'm one of the gophers." Max said proudly.

"Oh, my. Isn't that wonderful? If I should need anything delivered, I'll remember to call and ask for you specifically." Madelyn said warmly.

Max smiled happily at Madelyn's words.

* * * * *

"How are you doing, Davis?" Tommy asked curiously as he looked down the table.

"Good food." Davis said happily.

"That's not what I mean. I wanted to know how things are going at the warehouse. I haven't heard anything from you all day." Tommy explained.

"Oh, I've been working like crazy. The amount of trucks we've had coming and going is insane. But we're keeping up." Davis said frankly.

"How is the security working out?" Walt asked curiously.

"Who are you?" Davis asked cautiously.

"This is Walt. I hired him to oversee the security for my properties." Ryan said simply.

"Oh, okay. Um, okay. I mean, they told me what they were going to do and then got set up, but I haven't really noticed them besides that. I've just been too busy to really worry about what they're doing." Davis said honestly.

"Well, if you have any problems with them, let me know. I can't fix it if I don't know about it." Walt said frankly.

* * * * *

"Excuse me." Deb said quietly as she approached the Vice President's table. She stopped at Bryan's side and quietly said, "I know that you kids have made your own arrangements for food. But I thought that since we're having a spaghetti dinner, and we appear to have plenty, if you and your friends would care to have some, they can either come in or we can send it out to them."

"That's very nice of you, Mrs. Brown. But..." Bryan began to say, but stopped suddenly.

Deb looked on with concern and waited for him to come back to himself.

Finally, Bryan looked up at Deb and slightly smiled before saying, "What I meant to say was that, on behalf of Courtney and the rest of the U.N.I.T. members, I would like to accept your offer and give you our sincere thanks."

Deb looked at him cautiously for a moment, then quietly asked, "Did Courtney just tell you to say that?"

"No. She told me that if I screwed this up for them, that they would hunt me down." Bryan said frankly.

* * * * *

As Deb looked around to see that everyone was nearly finished with their meals, she noticed Mr. Crante walking into the room, pushing the first of three carts, heavily laden with plated desserts.

Deb discreetly motioned toward the table where she had been seated. Mr. Crante gave a slight nod that he had seen her signal, then changed his direction.

"I hope that everyone has enjoyed their meal. If you will please wait for just another moment, Mr. Crante and the maids are serving the desserts." Deb called out to the assembled crowd.

As Mr. Crante made his way down the table, Deb watched in anticipation of the coming reaction.

Everyone seemed to be pleased with the desserts they were receiving, although Mr. Crante seemed to be moving unusually slowly.

One of the maids, Marie, was on the other side of the table, and she seemed to be moving a little bit faster.

At almost the same moment, Mr. Crante reached Ken and Marie reached Kev. They presented their desserts at the same time.

The chocolate turtle cake, drizzled with salted caramel was enough of a treat to begin with, but Ken and Kev's portions were enormous, requiring a larger plate than the dessert plates that others were receiving.

There was a moment of silence at the table, until Bug finally said, "I remember her saying that you earned extra desserts, but what the fuck did you two do?"

Chapter 40: A Promise Spoken

"Having grown up poor in Chicago, I have known what it's like to be hungry, and yet, I have never felt it to this degree before. My mother would be ashamed and horrified at what I've allowed to happen. She's entrusted me with her babies, and I've let them starve. Even so, I wish that she were here. I don't know what she could do that I haven't already done. But still, I know that she would have found a way to make it all better."

"Every little town and truck stop that we've encountered on our journey has been looted. I'm not the only one worried. I've talked with the leaders on the other buses and none of us has been able to come up with a plan except to continue on, as fast as we can, to try and reach the 'promised land' where there will be food and shelter and freedom from the constant worry of attack."

"Jus got word. They's cleared tha medical bus ta go straight on through. They ain't gonna have'ta stop all the way to tha hospital." EZ said as he walked toward me.

"Any word on food?" Reuben asked hopefully.

"They's a restaurant back at the check point, but we's tole our people ta keep on movin. Them cars that joined up with us along tha way's prolly gonna stop there. That'll make it better fer us when we gets in." EZ said frankly.

"We should have stopped. Vina and Johnny need to eat." Reuben said honestly.

"They's can hang on fer a little bit more. We's been tole that when we gets to Kettle Falls, that they has restaurants commin outta their ears, and you ain't gotta pay for nothin." EZ said seriously.

"Yeah. If we all stopped at one restaurant at the check point, we'd probably be there half the day trying to get everyone fed." Reuben reluctantly agreed.

"It's less than an hour before we'll be there. All's we gotta do is keep hangin on fer that long." EZ said sympathetically.

"Any word from the medical bus?" Reuben asked cautiously.

"No. They's gots their hands full wit all the people's we been pickin up along tha way. That truckstop owner and his wife... I can't imagine, what all they went through, okay? But them doctors is doin their part and savin lives. Parta that's takin care 'a Ricardo. He's gonna be fine." EZ finished in an assuring tone.

"I guess you're right. Thanks EZ. Not having Ricardo here, where I can see for myself how he's doing, is making me worry that much more." Reuben said frankly.

"Jus hang on. It's almost over." EZ said confidently, then backed away, toward the front of the bus as he raised his voice to gain everyone's attention, "We's less than an hour away, now. When we gets there, we's gonna stop tha buses at tha place where we needs ta check in. But before we do that, they's bout a dozen or so restaurants spread all round tha place. You go and gets yerselves somthin ta eat. They ain't gonna charge you fer tha food, you just go up there and they's gonna give it to yas. When you's done eatin, go back to that there football stadium where we's parked and get yerselves checked in, then yous can git yer stuff off tha bus an go to where you'll be stayin or yous can wait on tha bus an we'll drive ya's over there when everyone's done. If yas miss tha bus, don't worry. We's gonna be comin back two or three times ta get everyone."

"Oh, thank goodness." Mrs. Becker said with relief, "I didn't know how much longer the children were going to be able to go without food."

"The people in charge of all of this are doing their best." Councilman Becker said to his wife, "From what I've seen, they've had to make some difficult decisions about what's best for all of us, and I think that they've done a fine job."

* * * * *

"Come on. We're here." Reuben said to his sister.

"Are we going to get to eat, now?" Edovina asked hopefully and he could tell that she had been silently crying.

"That's right. But since we're one of the later buses, we may need to walk down the block a little to find a place that isn't swamped." Reuben said as he saw the stampede toward the pop-up restaurant on the grassy knoll outside the stadium.

"Can Johnny and Wendy come with us?" Edovina asked hopefully.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask their parents what they're going to do?" Reuben asked his sister with a smile.

Edovina crinkled her nose at her older brother, having expected him to do it for her, then dutifully turned and asked, "Can Johnny and Wendy go with us to a restaurant?"

"I heard what your brother said, and I believe that he is correct. We'll all go with you." Councilman Becker said warmly.

When the rush of panicked, starving people had finally passed, Reuben calmly stood and walked with Edovina toward the front of the bus.

"EZ, aren't you hungry?" Reuben asked when he noticed him standing by the bus driver.

"I was juss makin sure alla tha buses was where they's supposed ta be. I'll be goin now." EZ assured him.

"Do you want to come with us? We're going to walk down the street a little and try to find a place that's not swamped." Reuben asked seriously.

"Yeah. Juss a sec." EZ said with a smile, then called loudly toward the back of the bus, "Theresa, girl! You comin or not?!"

"I'm coming! I was just helping Mrs. Johnson out of her seat." Theresa (formerly known as Cristal) called back as she helped an elderly woman up the aisle.

"We's ready." EZ said with a smile.

* * * * *

"That's weird." Reuben said as he led the way toward a pop-up kitchen nearly two blocks from the stadium.

"What's that?" EZ asked curiously.

"It looks like this place is run by a bunch of bikers. I kind of expected all the restaurants to be... the same. You know, all handing out the same cheese sandwiches and watered down chicken soup." Reuben said honestly.

"Take a good deep smell, Reuben. That ain't cheese sandwiches. That's barbeque!" EZ said before taking Theresa by the hand and leading her more quickly toward the restaurant.

After another step or two, Reuben caught the scent and did nearly the same thing with Edovina, practically dragging her to the source of the intoxicating, mouth-watering aroma.

"What's that?" Edovina asked as they waited their turn in line.

Reuben had been so focused on the scent of the food that he had blocked everything else out of his awareness. He looked where Edovina was pointing and saw a crude stage with a band. They weren't playing at the moment, but it looked like they were getting ready to play their next set.

"I guess we're going to get to listen to some music while we eat." Reuben said frankly, then guided Edovina to step forward in the line.

"That food smells amazing." Mrs. Becker said from behind them.

"I can't wait." Reuben agreed with a smile.

* * * * *

The line wasn't terribly long, and soon all of their group were making their selections from some of the most amazing choices any of them could have imagined.

Once everyone had their food, they walked closer to the stage and there was enough open ground that they could all sit, picnic style, and enjoy their food.

"I have never had barbeque this good before in all my life." Councilman Becker said in amazement.

"It's the best." Reuben was able to mutter between bites.

"How are you guys doing, today?" A young man asked as he approached the group.

"This food is amazing!" EZ said simply.

"Yes. It's remarkable, isn't it?" The young man said happily, then continued, "My name is Ron. The band is just about to finish their break and I was wanting to take a few minutes while it's quiet to walk around and see how everyone is doing."

"We just arrived from Chicago and, to be honest, I don't think I've ever been so hungry before in my life." Councilman Becker said frankly.

"We're getting more and more of that. But you don't need to worry now. We've got plenty of food here. Just sit and enjoy... It sounds like they're about to start again. Come and find me if you need anything." Ron said before hurrying back toward the stage.

"Hey! Everyone! Good news! It turns out that the BMX run is still operating, we didn't know about the automatic lighting along the path, so if you're up for some adventure, you might want to give that a try. Of course, there is also a skateboard run behind us, for any of those who want to give that a try. We also have the dance floor off to our left, so you can get out there and shake it, once the band starts playing. And, of course, there is the amazing barbeque being served, all night long." The announcer said cheerfully.

There was a pause, then the announcer's tone became a bit more serious.

"It's tough out there. We're all tired and afraid. Tonight, we're going to do our best to help you have a good time and take your minds off of that, so that tomorrow you'll be able to start fresh and do what needs to be done next. I guess what I'm saying is that you've made it. You can relax. You have permission. Now, let's enjoy some awesome music. Please join me in welcoming Lesbian Gravy!!!"

* * * * *

Councilman Becker's family, Reuben and Edovina, and EZ and Theresa all sat on the grass and enjoyed their food. In fact, most of the people in attendance went back for second portions.

But finally, when everyone had finished and were enjoying the music, Reuben decided that he had too much to do to be sitting in the grass eating amazing barbeque.

"Come on, Vina, let's go get our stuff so we can go see Ricardo." Reuben told his sister.

When the rest of their group saw what Reuben was doing, they reluctantly decided that, despite how nice it was in the park, they needed to be doing the same.

"Do you think the bus is still going to be there?" Reuben asked EZ with concern.

"Yeah. But if it's gone, it'll be right back. From what they was telling us on the radio, all a us is gonna be living in tha same neighborhood. I think someone called it 'Little Chicago'." EZ said frankly.

"Hopefully we'll be close together. I have a feeling that there won't be any peace in my house if Johnny can't visit with Edovina." Councilman Becker said honestly.

"We'll find a way for them to get together." Reuben said with a smile as they rounded a corner and the high school stadium came into view.

"Yeah. It looks like most'a the buses is still there." EZ said seriously.

"So, we just get on the bus and it takes us to our neighborhood? Then what? How do we know where we're supposed to go next?" Reuben asked cautiously.

"No. You go into tha stadium and they tells ya where you's gonna be livin, then you git on the bus and it takes yous there. And when you git offa the bus, remember to take your shit wit ya, so you'll have it in your... apartment or house or whatever." EZ said as he wrapped an arm around Theresa as much to show his affection as to try and keep her warm in her minimally dressed state.

Reuben put a hand on Edovina's shoulder and checked for oncoming traffic before crossing the street.

* * * * *

As the group walked into the stadium, a young man walked up to them and asked, "Are you from the Chicago buses?"

"Yeah." EZ answered for all of them.

"Since there's such a large group of you, we've opened all the check-ins for you. So you can disregard the signs at the desks and just go to whatever one has the least number of people in line." The young man said cheerfully.

"Thanks." EZ said in apparent surprise.

Most of the check-in desks had a few people waiting, but there was one that didn't have anyone.

As Reuben walked up to the desk, he noticed that the sign above it said 'Special Needs'.

"Is it okay for us to check in here?" Reuben asked uncertainly.

"Yes. We don't have any other customers, so you're fine. Please, step forward. We have enough people to help all of you." A man who sounded to have a stuffed up nose, said pleasantly.

"Thank you." Reuben said as he urged Edovina to walk up to the desk with him.

As he did, EZ and Theresa stood forward to be helped by a young woman in a wheelchair and Councilman Becker took a place at the desk to be helped by an older woman, using a walker.

"What were your names?" The young man, wearing a sticky name tag with 'Joe' written on it, asked pleasantly.

"I'm Reuben and this is my sister, Edovina. But I probably need to get my brother checked in, his name is Ricardo, and he's on the medical bus that went to the hospital." Reuben said seriously.

Joe smiled, then quietly said, "I'm deaf. I couldn't catch what you were saying. If you could speak just a little more slowly and face me while you're talking, I'll do my best to help you."

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't know." Reuben stammered in surprise.

"That's fine. What were your names, again?"

"I'm Reuben Vasquez and this is my sister, Edovina Vasquez." Reuben said carefully.

"Just a moment. This is showing that you have a niece named Edovina Juanita Vasquez, if you'll tell me which is correct, I'll get it fixed in the system." Joe said seriously.

"Oh. Well, Edovina is technically my niece, but we've always thought of each other as brother and sister." Reuben explained.

"Okay. Sorry, just wanting to make sure I had the right people. Were you saying something about a brother?" Joe asked curiously.

"Yes. His name is Ricardo... I mean, I guess he goes by his real name, now. His name is Richard Benjamin Vasquez." Reuben said carefully.

"He's already checked in at the hospital. I'll just link your check-in to his... and that should just about do it. What I have for you is the address of a house for you and your family. It's a two bedroom with three beds. You'll have a working telephone, and a list of numbers that you can call for whatever you might need. Also, there will be some basic groceries stocked in your cupboards and refrigerator, so that you won't have to leave the house for every meal. If there's nothing else that I can get for you, I'll finalize these arrangements, then go ahead and print out the address and directions to your house." Joe said, then waited for a response.

"No. I can't think of anything else, right now." Reuben said in astonishment. He had expected the check-in process to be time consuming and complicated.

Joe smiled at the response, then hit a key on his computer. A moment later, the printer spat out a few pieces of paper which Joe glanced at before handing them to Reuben.

"Thank you." Reuben said, still overwhelmed by how fast and easy the whole experience had been.

"Is Johnny going to live close to us?" Edovina asked her brother hopefully.

"I don't know. Let's go find out." Reuben said with a smile at his sister. After looking at the address on his paperwork, he approached Councilman Becker, who had also just finished the incredibly easy check-in process.

"Vina and Johnny have gotten kind of close. Do you think we can arrange for them to visit?" Reuben asked cautiously. When they were all on the bus together, it made sense for Vina and Johnny to share company, but now that they had arrived at their destination, Reuben wasn't sure if Councilman Becker would want to continue to encourage their relationship.

"We should be able to manage it. They gave me a map. Let's see how close we are." Councilman Becker said without hesitation.

The more Reuben got to know the man, the more he could understand why he had been chosen to leave Chicago with them. He and his family were genuinely good people.

Reuben held his map beside Councilman Becker's and was surprised to find that they were going to be living on the same block. They weren't next door to each other, but they were easily within a comfortable walking distance.

"It looks like we shouldn't have any problem keeping them together." Councilman Becker said happily.

"I'd love to go with you to check out the new house, but I really need to get to the hospital to check on Ricardo." Reuben said frankly.

"I understand that you want to get to your brother as soon as possible, but wouldn't it make more sense to get your things put in your new house, then go and see your brother?" Councilman Becker asked seriously.

Reuben thought about it for a moment, then reluctantly admitted, "Yeah, I guess that does make more sense. Who knows where our stuff is going to end up if we leave now."

"Let's go and see if tha bus is 'bout ready to leave." EZ interjected.

"Right." Reuben said with a smile at him, then noticed that Vina and Johnny were excitedly talking together.

* * * * *

As they walked out to the bus, Mrs. Becker quietly said, "You can leave Edovina with us while you go to the hospital to check on your brother, if you like."

"Let's see how things go with the moving in, first. She'll probably want to go with me, because she's worried about him." Reuben said frankly.

Mrs. Becker nodded her head in agreement.

* * * * *

"Where are we going?" Edovina asked as she struggled a little bit with the weight of the suitcase she was carrying, as well as the backpack on her back.

"We're going to the house we'll be living in. It's just up ahead." Reuben said as he fought to carry all of his and Ricardo's luggage. Truth be told, it wasn't really all that heavy, but it was bulky and angular enough to be difficult to carry.

"That pretty one?!" Edovina asked hopefully.

Reuben made sure to confirm the number on the curb before saying, "Yes. That's our house."

Edovina momentarily forgot about the awkward suitcase and raced ahead to see her new house.

Reuben was taken aback by the neighborhood where they would be living. In all his life, he had never set foot in a neighborhood as nice as this one and certainly never imagined living in such a place.

Every house seemed to be unique and each one was on a large lot, with lots of open space completely surrounding the home.

"Can we go inside?" Edovina asked as she repeatedly pulled on the doorknob.

"Just give me a second." Reuben chuckled as he slowly made his way up the walk.

"I wanna see it!" Edovina whined.

"I know. So do I." Reuben said with a smile, then took the folded paper out of his pocket, to verify where the key to the house could be found.

He walked to the small, nondescript letterbox by the door and felt inside.

Taped to the inside front of the box was an envelope.

He carefully broke the envelope away from the tape, then opened it to find a pair of identical keys.

"Ready?" Reuben asked with a smile.

Edovina was bouncing with excitement.

Reuben smiled at her, then carefully opened the door.

* * * * *

"It's really pretty!" Edovina exclaimed when they walked inside.

"It's nice." Reuben agreed. The house was sparsely furnished, but it had everything that a family might need. The furnishings themselves, were tasteful and Reuben was amazed that the house was essentially being given to them, no questions asked.

"Where's my room?" Edovina suddenly asked, then started running across the living room.

Reuben set down the luggage, then followed, a little more slowly.

* * * * *

"This is my room!" Edovina declared happily.

"Let me see what the rooms are like before we decide who gets what." Reuben said as he glanced around the decently sized bedroom with a queen sized bed.

Once the words registered, Edovina ran past him to the next bedroom to see what it was like.

Reuben followed more slowly and found his sister running from one twin bed to the other, sitting and slightly bouncing on them to check them out.

As he looked around the room, he realized that it was basically the same size as the first one, it just appeared to be a little smaller because it held more furniture.

"Okay. I think you're right. You get the big bedroom and Ricardo and I will take this one." Reuben finally said.

"Really?!" Edovina asked with surprise.

"Yeah. A girl needs her privacy, after all." Reuben said with a smile at Edovina's happiness.

Upon hearing his confirmation, Edovina hurried back to the master bedroom at a run.

"Go ahead and put your suitcase in your room, then we're going to go to the hospital to see Ricardo." Reuben said as he walked back to the front door where he had left the luggage.

* * * * *

As Reuben was putting his and Ricardo's suitcases on their beds, he realized that it had become quiet... too quiet, and turned to see Edovina standing in his doorway.

"I can take you over to Johnny's house and you can stay with them while I go to the hospital, if you want." Reuben said simply.

Edovina slowly shook her head and seemed to be fighting not to say what was on her mind.

Reuben recognized the expression and waited for her to speak.

"I forgot about Ricardo, for a little bit." Edovina said as her eyes welled with tears.

"That's okay. There's a lot going on, right now." Reuben said as he walked to her and gave her a gentle hug.

After a moment, he quietly asked, "Do you want to go to the hospital or stay at Johnny's house?"

"I wanna go see Ricardo." Edovina said as she continued to hold her older brother tightly.

"Then that's what we'll do." Reuben said simply.

* * * * *

Reuben took the map out of his pocket and found that the hospital wasn't marked on it. He wasn't sure about what he should do when Joe's words, from when they checked in, came back to him.

He walked into the kitchen and, just as Joe had said, there was a list of important numbers located right beside the phone. After looking them over, he was pleased to find that one of them was simply listed as 'Information'.

Reuben dialed the number and was happily surprised when it was answered almost immediately.

His happiness was short lived when he realized that the phone had been answered by a computer.

Edovina was at his side, watching and waiting.

"It's a computer. I hate talking to these things." Reuben said frankly.

"We hate talking to you, too." The computer on the phone responded.

"What?" Reuben asked in surprise.

"I'm just kidding." The computer said, then continued, "Please, if you'll just tell me what you're trying to find out, I'll do my best to help you. If I don't know the answer to your question, then I'll connect you with who does."

"Oh, um, I, um, was wanting to go to the hospital to see my brother." Reuben said uncertainly. Now he wasn't sure if he were talking to a computer or not.

"May I verify who I am speaking to?"

"Reuben Vasquez." Reuben said cautiously.

"Thank you, Reuben. I've just verified that your brother, Richard, is currently at the Kettle Falls Hospital. There is a monorail stop two blocks north of your current location, that's station seventeen, you'll need to remember that for when you return. When you go out your front door, turn left, go to the end of the block, turn right, then walk two blocks."

"Okay, I got that. So, what stop do we get off the monorail to go to the hospital and where do we go from there?" Reuben asked carefully.

"The monorail stop is within the hospital."

"Oh, okay. That'll work." Reuben said with surprise.

"The monorail runs on the quarter hour until nine pm. It runs on the half hour until midnight and on the hour until six am. There is no charge to ride the local monorail system."

"Thank you." Reuben said sincerely.

"Is there anything else that I can help you with today?"

"No. I think that's everything."

"Please call back if you find that you have questions. Have a good evening."

"Yeah." Reuben said in astonishment as he absently hung up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Edovina asked curiously.

"I don't know if I just talked to a person or a computer." Reuben said honestly.

"Did they tell you where Ricardo is?" Edovina asked hopefully.

"Yeah. Get your coat on. We're going to have to walk a couple blocks." Reuben said as he went to his room to do the same.

* * * * *

When they stepped off the monorail at the hospital station, they could immediately see that it was a madhouse. Reuben had no idea where he needed to go or where to begin to find his brother.

As he looked around, he spotted two people wearing the familiar 'volunteer' sashes. Although he was hesitant to take up their time, especially since they were in wheelchairs, he didn't see any more promising prospects for help in finding his brother.

* * * * *

"How can I help you?" The woman in the wheelchair asked in a computerized voice. Reuben noticed that she wore a handwritten name tag, like Joe's, that said 'Juanita'.

"My brother's supposed to be here. His name is Richard Vasquez. Do you know who I should talk to to find out where he is?" Reuben asked cautiously.

"Give me just a moment to look it up." Juanita said professionally, then began to slowly type on a laptop computer that was sitting on a built-in tray, attached to the wheelchair.

"She's got a name like mine!" Edovina said happily as she pointed.

Juanita looked up from her computer curiously.

"Her middle name is Juanita." Reuben explained.

"Yes. I see it here. Edovina Juanita, that's a beautiful name." Juanita said with a smile, then continued, "Richard is checked in, but I don't have a current status on him. I've just put in an inquiry, that will take a minute. You should know that if his condition doesn't require him to be admitted, that he'll probably be released immediately. If he does need to be admitted, then he'll probably be transferred to the hospital in Colville."

"When will we know?" Reuben asked cautiously.

"One of the attending nurses will probably be updating his file any moment. They'll either tell me where he's been assigned or that he's still being examined. Either way, I'll be able to tell you where to go to find him." Juanita assured him.

"Thank you. I'm really glad that you're here. I didn't know where else to go to ask." Reuben said honestly.

"Adrian and I were sent here to help check in the people who arrived on the medical bus from Chicago. But once they were all checked in, we realized that there weren't any volunteers here, so we decided to stay." Juanita said frankly, then began to type something on her laptop.

Reuben waited to see if it had anything to do with Ricardo.

"Your brother has been examined and is in the second floor waiting area. When you get off the elevator, it should be on your right." Juanita said professionally.

"Thank you, Juanita. I really appreciate all your help." Reuben said honestly.

"That's what I'm here for." Juanita said with an honest smile.

* * * * *

"How are you doing?" Reuben asked as he walked into the small waiting room, across from the second floor nurse's station.

"The doctor says that I'm okay, but I'm really REALLY hungry." Ricardo said honestly.

"Yeah. Well, I know of some good places to eat, so if you're ready to go..." Reuben began to say, but was interrupted.

"We're waiting for Brody." Ricardo said quickly, then continued more slowly, "Ben, I don't remember if you got to meet them before, this is my brother, Reuben and my sister Edovina."

"No. Not that I recall. It's nice to meet you." The man at Ricardo's side said sincerely. It was clear to see that the man, wearing what appeared to be an orange prison jumpsuit, had been injured in some way and was also a patient.

"Reuben, Vina, this is Dr. Ben Stone. He was on the bus with me." Ricardo said as he continued the introduction.

"Please don't call me doctor, especially, not when we're in a hospital." Ben said shyly.

Ricardo laughed, then explained, "Ben's a doctor because he's got PhDs and stuff. He's a doctor of theomogogy, or something."

"Theology and history." Ben chuckled, then winced in pain.

"Are you planning to be here for a while?" Reuben asked cautiously.

"No. Brody's being examined, right now. We just want to see how he's doing and make sure that he has someplace to stay, then I can go." Ricardo said frankly.

"He'll have a place to stay. Don't even worry about that." A man said from beside them.

"This is Marlon. He was on the bus with us, too." Ricardo explained.

"Yeah. My wife, Kara, and I will see that all the kids have a place to stay. We just need to know if Brody's going to have to stay in the hospital or not before we make any plans." Marlon explained.

"Kara's with Lisa, another kid that was hurt." Ricardo added.

Conversation stopped as a frantic looking woman and a priest rushed off the elevator and directly to the nurse's station.

The nurse at the desk talked to them calmly for a moment, then pointed toward the waiting room.

"Are you here waiting for Brody Childress?" The woman asked as she rushed over to them.

"Yes. At least, we're waiting for a Brody. I don't think I ever asked him his last name." Ben said cautiously.

"Is he alright? How is he?" She asked as tears slid down her cheeks.

The priest walked over to them more slowly and said, "I'm Father Doherty and this is Margaret Childress, she's Brody's mother."

"Brody was in a car accident a few days ago and has a few broken bones in his arm and hand, as far as we can tell. But other than that, I think he's fine." Ben assured her.

"Did he say why he ran away? Was it something I did?" Margaret asked suddenly.

"Shhh, Margaret. Don't worry yourself about that now." Father Doherty said to her quietly as he drew her into a hug of comfort.

"He never really told us all of what happened, but when Marlon found him, he and three other children were handcuffed and had their mouths taped shut. So I don't think he ran away. He was probably abducted." Ben said carefully.

"We can worry about that once you've been able to see for yourself that he's safe." Father Doherty said soothingly.

"There they are!" Ricardo said as he pointed to the hallway, past the nurse's station.

"How is he?" Ben asked as he slowly stood.

"Mom?!" Brody said in surprise as he froze in his tracks.

"How are you doing, Brody?" Margaret asked cautiously as her tears continued to fall.

Rather than answer, Brody took off in a dead run to pull his mother into a hug.

"Everyone, this is Dr. Murten. He's kind of in charge around here and he examined Brody personally."

"How is he, Cliff?" Ben asked as he walked to the doctor and gave him a firm hug.

"We had to take a lot of X-rays so that we'd be sure, but it looks as though Brody's going to be fine. He's going to be in a cast for a while, but from everything we could see, his bones should be able to heal without complication." Cliff said seriously.

"Yes. And I think I should mention that that's due, in large part, to the excellent medical care that he received. Thanks to you splinting his injury the way you did, it allowed the bones to fall into line, which means that we won't have to rebreak them to set them properly." Dr. Murten said professionally.

"Is he going to be released?" Ben asked cautiously.

"Yes. Even if we weren't on the verge of being overcrowded, I can't see any medical reason that Brody would need to be admitted. Just be sure to bring him back here next week so that we can take another look at him." Dr. Murten said with a smile, then added, "Speaking of being overcrowded, please excuse me, I have quite a few other patients needing my attention."

"Thank you, Doctor." Margaret called after him.

"I'm going to need to go, too. They need me." Cliff told Ben regretfully.

"Make sure you eat something." Ben said firmly.

"I will. You go on to Allen's and check on the boys and I'll be there as soon as I can." Cliff said honestly.

"I love you." Ben said, then moved in to give him a kiss that proved the strength of his feelings.

"I guess we'd better go get you some food. Are you ready?" Reuben asked Ricardo quietly.

"Do you need us to stay here for anything?" Ricardo asked the other people as he looked around the waiting room.

"Kara and I will see that Lisa, Antony and Tyner are taken care of." Marlon said seriously.

"Just remember to call me if you need anything at all, Richard. We're a team, right?" Ben asked with a smile at him.

"Right." Ricardo confirmed, then looked up at Reuben and said, "I'm supposed to stop at the nurse's desk downstairs and get some medicine before I leave."

"We'll do that on the way out." Reuben said as he guided Ricardo and Edovina toward the elevator.

* * * * *

"We're going to make one quick stop to pick you up some food, then I've got a job to do." Reuben told Ricardo and Edovina as they walked toward the monorail station within the hospital.

"Do you have to?" Edovina whined.

"Yes, Vina. The only reason that we're here and not still in Chicago is because I was needed to do a job." Reuben said frankly.

"A job for the Kings?" Ricardo asked cautiously.

"Higher up than that." Reuben said vaguely, then motioned for them to walk forward, as soon as the monorail doors had opened.

* * * * *

"This isn't our stop." Edovina said in confusion as they stepped off the monorail.

"I know, but there aren't any restaurants between our house and the monorail station. Let's stop and get Ricardo something to eat, then we'll go back to the house." Reuben said firmly.

"Whose house?" Ricardo asked cautiously.

"It's a house just for us." Reuben said honestly.

At the same time, Edovina said, "It's a really pretty house. You're going to like it."

"Is barbeque okay?" Reuben thought to ask as they continued to walk.

"Anything! I'd eat ANYTHING right now." Ricardo said honestly.

"Well, you'd better get ready. Because this is some of the best barbeque that I've ever tasted."

* * * * *

Reuben actually wasn't sure where he was going.

After he had left Edovina and Ricardo at the house with instructions to call the Beckers if they needed any help, he headed out, on foot, toward what appeared to be the center of 'Little Chicago'.

He felt bad for not going sooner, but couldn't honestly think of anything he might have done differently to speed up the process.

As he was walking, he noticed a pair of men approaching on the other side of the street. One of them seemed familiar, and he took a second look to be sure, before calling out, "Trav? Is that you?"

"Reuben? I didn't know you was here! What you doin?" Trav answered as he and his companion hurried across the street.

It was only then that he noticed that Trav's companion was a priest.

He honestly didn't know where to begin to ask about that, and finally decided to not go there.

"What you doin, man?" Trav asked as he approached.

"I just got here on the buses. I'm supposed to find someone named Dax." Reuben said honestly.

Trav put a finger to his throat and said, "Yo! Dizzy, my man! I gots a guy here named Reuben Vasquez who's lookin fer Dax. Can you hook a brother up?"

Reuben looked at Trav curiously at the strange behavior.

"You alright, Dizzy! You alright." Trav chuckled, then looked at Reuben and said, "Dax's juss a few blocks down here. C'mon."

Reuben looked at the priest with question, but didn't receive any explanation. Instead, they both started following Trav as he took off in another direction.

* * * * *

"Jingo! I found me an old bud, from back in the hood!" Trav called out suddenly.

Reuben smiled when he saw her.

"How you doin, Reuben?" Jingo asked as she joined them.

"You already met?" Trav asked with surprise.

"We go way back." Jingo responded, then turned to Reuben and asked, "How are Ricardo and Edovina?"

"Ricardo got shot on the way here, but he's been to the hospital and he's going to be fine. Him and Vina are back at the house, waiting for me." Reuben said frankly.

"Reuben needs to talk to Dax. He's s'posed ta be 'round here, somewheres." Trav said seriously.

"Yeah. He's at the community center, right there." Jingo said, then started leading the way.

* * * * *

As they walked into the community center, the cacophony of voices was somewhat disturbing.

"Dax! I gots someone fer yas ta meet!" Trav called out, to be heard over the clamoring voices.

"Connie, you got this. You decide what needs to be done and I'll back you up." Dax said, then stepped away from the crowd.

Reuben was surprised when he caught his first glimpse of Dax. He knew that Dax was Alex Cappo's son, so he had expected to find a young 'Italian Stallion', full of machismo and bravado.

What he found instead was what looked to be a sweet boy, close to his own age. His first impulse was to whisk the boy away from the loud and demanding people and hide him away, protecting him from the ugliness of the world.

"Who have you got, Trav?" Dax asked casually, as he approached.

"Dax, this here's Reuben Vasquez. He was told to meet wit yas when he got here." Trav said seriously.

"My father told me that you'd be coming. But he didn't tell me what you'd be doing here except helping me." Dax said frankly.

Reuben looked around, then quietly said, "I should probably talk to you about this somewhere more private."

Dax nodded, then looked to Jingo and asked, "How are things going, getting the new people settled in?"

"Good, so far. Having them stop at the stadium and eat, first, helped us so we didn't have all of 'em coming in at once." Jingo said frankly.

"Well, this could still spin out of control. We need to stay on top of it. Call me if you have any problems. Remember, these are our people, so it's up to us to see that they're treated right." Dax said firmly.

"Got it, Boss." Jingo said seriously, then motioned for Trav and his priestly companion to leave with her.

Dax started walking and Reuben hurried along, at his side.

"So, why did my father send you?" Dax asked curiously.

"Your dad called me to his office and told me a lot of stuff, about who he is and who you are. Then he said that I needed to come here to help you because I'm one of the few people who's been on good terms with just about every gang in Chicago." Reuben said frankly.

"How is that?" Dax asked slowly, not disputing his claim, but curious as to how it was so.

"Since I was little, I've been running for the Kings. I've carried messages and sometimes packages for them and I guess because I was so young or something, and because I never treated anyone disrespectfully, that all the other gangs knew who I was and didn't have any problem with me. Your dad said that I was probably one of the few people who could walk into any neighborhood in Chicago without having to worry about being shot." Reuben said frankly.

"So he sent you with a carrot and Jingo and Trav with a stick." Dax said thoughtfully.

"How's that?" Reuben asked in confusion.

"Jingo and Trav can bark and order to get things done, but sometimes that doesn't work. At times like that, you can ask and accomplish more than they can." Dax explained.

"Dax, are you out here?" A voice called on the wind.

"Wanna run?" Reuben asked cautiously.

"It's tempting. But no, that's Ben." Dax said quietly, then said more loudly, "I'm over here."

Two men and a boy walked around the side of the community center and approached when they spotted Dax.

"Reuben, I'd like you to meet Ben, Oleksandr and Danny. If it wasn't for them, I don't think I'd be able to do this." Dax said frankly.

"It's nice to meet you." Reuben said pleasantly, then looked at the little boy and asked, "Are you Danny?"

"Noooo." The boy giggled, then pointed up and said, "He's Danny. I'm Oleksandr."

Reuben smiled at the reaction, then looked at Dax inquisitively.

"I guess I need to work on my introductions." Dax said with a smile, then continued, "Ben and Oleksandr work in Carson's Command Center. They're part of the team that's running the entire refugee program in Kettle Falls."

Reuben looked at them with surprise, then cautiously asked, "So, the check-ins, the volunteers, the restaurants, the... everything? That was you?"

"That was our team. Yes." Ben confirmed.

"Danny works in Monarch Command, they jump into action helping people in large groups, like yours, to see that everyone, in the whole group, is being taken care of. And then they follow up to be sure that no one got left behind. That leaves the base Kettle Falls group to continue their focus on incoming people instead of being bogged down." Dax said seriously.

"Wow." Reuben said as he began to understand just how much work was going on behind the scenes to organize everything.

"If Reuben's going to be helping me, he's going to need a subvocal." Dax said thoughtfully.

"What's that?" Reuben asked cautiously.

"It's like a radio and a band-aid had a child." Dax said as he pointed to a barely visible patch on his throat.

Reuben remembered how Trav had been able to call for Dax's whereabouts and nodded that he understood.

"Or you can have a radio, if you'd rather." Dax added as an afterthought.

"No, but... My little brother and sister are at home and, is there any way I can get something so that they can get in touch with me if they need to?" Reuben asked cautiously.

"Well, they could call Dizzy on the phone and he could get a message to you. But I think it'd be better if we just got them a radio that they could take with them. That way you won't have to worry if they're away from the house." Dax said thoughtfully.

"Dizzy. Dax needs a radio and a subvocal. Can you get someone to bring them?" Oleksandr asked seriously.

Reuben looked down at the boy and found that he had a finger on his neck, as Trav had, earlier.

"Thanks, Dizzy." Oleksandr said with a smile, then looked at Dax and said, "Dizzy says that they'll be here in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Olex." Dax said warmly, then looked at Reuben and continued, "Right now, we're getting people into their new homes and asking anyone with craft and artisan skills if they'll be willing to help out."

"That's the first I'm hearing about it." Reuben said honestly.

"We're not making any announcements about it. We're telling people after they've gotten settled in. I mean, it's not like we're going to kick someone out if they don't contribute. But if someone knows how to make quilts or... wooden toys or something, then we're getting them the stuff they need so that they can do their craft and maybe even teach people." Dax said seriously.

"Why?" Reuben asked cautiously.

"Today, right now, maybe to give people something to do to keep their minds off their problems. But if this war, or whatever they're calling it, keeps on going, how long is it going to be before we start running out of things like food and clothes? If the factories aren't producing and the roads aren't safe, how long can we last?" Dax asked seriously.

"I never thought of that." Reuben said as he suddenly realized the scale of the things they were planning.

"But if we can get things set up right now so that we have butchers, bakers, shoemakers, tailors and a million and one other things, all ready to go when they're needed, we're going to have a lot better chance of getting all of us through this." Ben explained.

"Except, that we seem to have forgotten one little thing." Dax added as he looked at Ben knowingly.

Reuben looked back and forth between them, not knowing enough of what was going on to even guess.

"My dad sent Reuben, Jingo and Trav to help me with the gangs, but we don't have anyone to go to when we need to organize the regular people." Dax said honestly.

"So, you need someone that you can tell what needs to be done and he'll see to it?" Reuben asked cautiously.

"Yeah. But it needs to be someone that the people already trust. We can't just prop someone up there and expect everyone to follow him. In fact, if we did that, they'd probably not follow him, just to prove a point. I mean, we are talking about Chicagoans." Dax said frankly.

"I think I know someone." Reuben said thoughtfully.

"Who is that?" Dax asked with interest.

"Him and his family came here on the bus with us. His name is Councilman Becker. When I first met him I was kind of put off because him and his family seem freakishly good. I mean, like black & white TV family, squeaky clean good." Reuben tried to explain.

"Do you think he'd help us?" Dax asked cautiously.

"Yeah. If there's a way that he can help, I know that he'll want to." Reuben said confidently.

"Reuben! I didn't expect to see you here!" A voice called from the front of the community center.

When he turned, Reuben saw EZ and Theresa walking up the sidewalk, arm in arm.

"Hey, EZ. How are you doing?" Reuben asked pleasantly.

"We's juss lookin 'round the new hood. Wonderin what's up." EZ said frankly.

"Guys, this is EZ. He was in charge of our bus on the way here. He took really good care of us." Reuben said simply.

"EZ, Theresa, I'd like for you to meet Ben, Oleksandr, Danny and Dax." Reuben said reasonably formally, then added in a stage whisper, "Dax is Mayor Cappo's son."

"I didn't think Mayor Cappo's kid would be... a kid!" EZ said in astonishment.

"Look around, EZ. Dax got all this set up for us." Reuben said frankly.

After a long silent moment, EZ finally said, "You done good, Dax. If you need any help, jus let me know."

"If you really want to help, the best thing to do right now is to help the people just arriving find their homes and make sure that they have everything they need." Dax said frankly.

"We're on it." EZ said confidently and seemed to be about to walk away, but changed his mind.

"How's Ricardo?" EZ asked Reuben quietly.

"He's fine. He's at home with Vina, resting." Reuben assured him.

"Let me know if he needs anything at all. He'll have it." EZ said before walking away with Theresa at his side.

"What was that?" Dax asked curiously.

"My brother, Ricardo. When the buses were trying to get out of Chicago, they met with some resistance. I was on another bus when it happened, but from what I heard, when the gunshots started, my brother climbed on top of some other kids and shielded them with his own body. He ended up being shot in the back." Reuben said frankly.

"How old is he?" Ben asked in wonder.

"Twelve." Reuben responded quietly.

"And you say he's alright?" Dax asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Well, as alright as anyone is these days. He's in some pain, but the doctors gave him some pills for that. They didn't seem too worried about his injury, except for the possibility of infection." Reuben said honestly.

"Hang on." Oleksandr said, then touched his throat before saying, "Go ahead."

Everyone stopped and listened to Oleksandr's side of the conversation.

"Yeah. that's right. But we're not inside. Walk around the side to the new shed, we're there." Oleksandr said firmly.

"Yeah. In a minute." Oleksandr said, then tapped his throat again.

At all the curious looks, Oleksandr explained, "The gopher's here with the subvocal and radio for Reuben."

"You wanted the radio for Ricardo, didn't you?" Dax asked to confirm.

"Yes. I'm a little worried about leaving him and Vina at the house by themselves. I'd feel better if they could call me if they have a problem." Reuben said honestly.

"There you are! I got turned around and walked around the wrong side, at first." The young boy said with a chuckle.

"Hi Bobby. I didn't know it was you!" Oleksandr said happily.

"Wow! Here you are, just like you said." Bobby said as he looked at the collection of people, then asked, "Who needed these things?"

"That's me." Reuben said as he stepped forward.

"Do you guys mind if I run these over to Ricardo and Vina? It's just a few blocks from here, I'll be right back." Reuben asked as he accepted the subvocal and radio from Bobby.

"Or, I could drive you. That'd be even faster." Bobby interjected.

"Actually, after hearing what a wonderful thing your brother did, I think I'd really like to meet him, if you wouldn't mind." Dax said honestly.

"I wouldn't mind at all." Reuben said with surprise.

"Can you guys keep an eye on things for a few minutes. We'll be right back." Dax asked Ben, Oleksandr and Danny hopefully.

"We've got you covered." Ben assured him.

"Just call if you need anything." Dax said as he walked with Reuben and Bobby back toward the street.

* * * * *

When the gator stopped at Reuben's house, he got out as he said, "Okay. That's really awesome."

"Let me know when you've got time and I can take you to the gator lot so you can pick one up. They don't cost anything." Bobby said cheerfully.

"Yeah. Okay." Reuben said with a smile.

"Do you guys want me to wait?" Bobby asked, to be sure.

"Yeah. You can come in, if you want. We should only be a minute." Reuben said simply.

Bobby glanced at Dax, to be sure that he didn't object, then got out of the gator and followed.

* * * * *

"I'm back! Did you miss me?!" Reuben bellowed as he walked in the front door.

Vina came barrelling out of the back hallway and Ricardo followed much more slowly.

"How are you doing?" Reuben asked as he hugged his younger sister.

"There's nothing to do here! It sucks!" Edovina announced sternly.

Reuben smiled at the answer, then looked to his younger brother and asked, "How are you doing?"

"The pain stuff the doctor gave me is working. I'm okay." Ricardo said honestly.

"Edovina, Ricardo, I'd like for you to meet Dax and Bobby. Dax is kind of running things here in 'Little Chicago' and Bobby... what do you do? Deliver stuff?" Reuben asked uncertainly.

"I'm a gopher. That means that I go and pick stuff up and take it to where people need it." Bobby said proudly.

"You got a job? How old are you?" Ricardo asked in surprise.

"I'm ten." Bobby said with a grin.

"I'm twelve! Is there a way I can get a job, too?" Ricardo asked hopefully, directing his question mostly to his older brother.

"You need to heal up from your injury, first. Then we'll see what jobs there are." Reuben said seriously.

Ricardo regretfully nodded.

"If they're bored, I could go off duty and take them to the skatepark so they could eat and watch the band and stuff and not be bored." Bobby said honestly.

"Ricardo's recovering from an injury. He can't be up moving around a lot." Reuben said regretfully.

"I could drive them over and as soon as Ricardo's tired or hurting, I can drive them right back." Bobby urged.

After a moment to think about it, Reuben looked at Ricardo and quietly said, "It's possible that this might open up your wound so it'll take longer for you to heal. But it's your choice."

Ricardo considered for a moment, then said, "Yeah. I think I want to go."

"Can Johnny and Wendy go, too?" Edovina asked hopefully.

"No. Not without adult supervision." Reuben said seriously, then added, "But if you call them and let them know that you're going, their parents might decide to take them to the skatepark, too." Reuben said honestly.

"Do you know their number?" Edovina asked as she hurried to the phone.

"No. But if you dial the number for information and ask, the smart-assed computer will probably tell you." Reuben said with a smile at his sister.

"Speaking of Dizzy, you should get your subvocal set up so that you can keep in touch." Dax said frankly.

"What? Oh, right. Ricardo, I brought this for you." Reuben said as he handed him the walkie talkie.

"Cool! I've got one, too! If you've got a radio, you can call and ask for me and talk to me anytime you want. Even if you can't be a gopher, I can tell you about where I am and what I'm doing." Bobby said excitedly.

"Reuben, the round one goes behind your ear and the squarish one on your throat. Once you've got them on, just tap the one on your throat and say your name. After that, your subvocal will be logged in to you and anyone with access to Dizzy can contact you." Dax said seriously.

"I'll show you how." Bobby said as he helped Ricardo with his walkie talkie.

Reuben peeled the pieces of the subvocal off the little slip of paper, then did as he was told and tapped his throat. "I'm Reuben Vasquez."

"Hello, Reuben. I'm Dizzy. If you ever want to talk to someone else wearing a subvocal or a radio, just key the mic and say their name, and I'll be sure that they can hear your message."

"Are you the same computer that I talked to on the phone?" Reuben asked cautiously.

"Yes. But I was just kidding about not wanting to talk to you." Dizzy said cheerfully.

"Um, yeah. Okay. I'm going to go, now." Reuben said slowly.

"Tap the one on your throat one more time to turn it off." Dax said quietly.

Reuben did so, then quietly said, "That was weird."

"You'll get used to it." Dax said with a smile.

"Have you got your radio working?" Reuben asked his younger brother and received a nod in response.

"Good. Then you call me right away if you need me. Alright?" Reuben asked to verify.

"Yeah. I promise." Ricardo said solemnly.

"Vina, I'm trusting you to watch after your sick brother. Don't let him get too tired." Reuben said firmly.

"I'll take good care of him."

* * * * *

"You don't mind walking, do you?" Dax asked as they walked at a casual pace down the suburban street.

"No. But I should be asking you, since you gave up your ride back for my brother and sister." Reuben said honestly.

"It's no problem. I promise." Dax said with a smile, then continued, "Actually, it's nice to be somewhere quiet for a few minutes and not be in a hurry."

"Is it bad for you?" Reuben asked with concern.

"No. I'm glad that my dad asked me to help him and I love the people I'm working with. It's just, now and then, it's like it's a little too much. That's all." Dax said honestly.

"Let me know when it's getting to be too much and maybe we can break away and go for a walk or something, if you want to." Reuben suggested.

"Yeah. I think I'd like that."

* * * * *

"Did I miss anything?" Dax asked as he led the way into the community center.

"No. If there were anything important, I would have called you." Ben assured him.

"I was gonna call you, but Ben told me not to." Oleksandr said seriously.

"Oh? What did you want to call me for?" Dax asked curiously.

"There's some guys here, they're named Deacon and Billy. Deacon's a reporter and he wants to talk to you." Oleksandr said firmly.

"Is that alright?" Dax asked as he looked at Ben cautiously.

"They've already talked to Carson and Bug and we've sort of hired them to help us, sometimes, but the rest of the time they're free to chase down whatever stories catch their interest." Ben said frankly.

"And I caught their interest?" Dax asked incredulously.

"Yes. Or at least the stories about you, did." Ben said simply.

"Will you keep an eye on things while I do this?" Dax asked to confirm.

"I'll call you right away if anything comes up." Ben promised him.

Dax turned to Reuben and asked, "Do you want to go with me?"

"What do you want me to do?" Reuben asked cautiously.

"Just listen and maybe, when it's over, you can tell me how I might do better next time." Dax said honestly.

Reuben could see Dax's nervousness, but also his determination to press on. He nodded, then followed as Dax walked into the next room.

* * * * *

"Did you need the room for something? We're just waiting here for someone named Dax." The younger of two men said quickly.

"I'm Dax."

"Oh. Wow. No one mentioned your age. I just assumed..." Deacon trailed off in embarrassment.

"It's okay. I can only give you a few minutes. Come on. Let's walk." Dax said, then led the way out of the little meeting room, not looking back to see if they were going to follow.

* * * * *

It took a moment for Deacon to match Dax's pace, but he was finally able to ask, "I guess my first question is, are you really Alex Cappo's son?"

"Yeah. My parents never married, so I didn't get my dad's name, but he'd stop by all the time when I was little. It's not like he ever said that he wasn't my dad." Dax said simply.

"Why didn't they get married?" Deacon asked curiously.

"Well, if you ask my dad, he'll say it's because his family is really super ultra-Catholic, and since my mom was an atheist, there's no way that they'd accept her. But I think the real reason is that they weren't in love. They had a thing, it was nice for a while, and then it was over. If they would've gotten married, it probably would have been a big miserable screaming mess." Dax said frankly.

Deacon thought about it for a moment, then finally said, "When you put it like that, it makes a lot of sense."

"Later on, my mom got hooked on drugs. It killed her a little bit at a time over a lot of years. But as she was getting sicker and weaker and being less and less of a person, I was growing up and learning how to take care of myself. The drugs finally ended up killing her, but she was mostly dead for quite a while before she finally stopped breathing." Dax said as he looked down the little neighborhood street, illuminated by yellowish street lights.

"That had to be tough. Couldn't your dad help?" Deacon asked with concern.

"I don't know. Maybe he could have if I'd ever asked. But Mom's condition was something that I was used to not talking about. There was a certain point when my dad would want to go and do something with me and I told him that I'd meet him there, or at the corner, or something like that. I don't know if he knew about how bad Mom really was, I just know that we never talked about it." Dax said frankly.

"Okay. Let's move on to what's going on now. How did that happen?" Deacon asked curiously.

"When things started looking like they were going to go bad, I left Chicago with a group of people and came here." Dax said simply.

"How did you choose Kettle Falls?"

"I didn't. The people who I was traveling with did. One of them knew Carson Brown and asked him for help. Carson arranged for us to fly out here and... here I am." Dax finished with a shrug.

"I take it, from what you just told me, that your father didn't arrange for you to come here." Deacon said speculatively.

"No. I got in touch with him and let him know where I was after I arrived." Dax verified.

"And then your father started making plans to evacuate people from Chicago and bring them to Kettle Falls where they would be safe." Deacon said in a leading tone.

"Yeah. He called them our precious people. He knew that some really tough and dangerous things were coming, so he did as much as he could to help save the people who were the heart of Chicago. That way, not only would everyone know that their most precious people were safe, but also, the people back home would know what they were fighting for." Dax said passionately.

"And your father entrusted Chicago's most precious people to your care." Deacon said with a smile.

"He asked me. If I didn't think I could help them, my dad's got people who are strong and capable who could have done the job for him. I could have said 'no' and the people would still have been taken care of." Dax said seriously.

"But you said 'yes'." Deacon said in a leading tone.

"I may be Alex Cappo's son, but I'm also a son of Chicago. These are my people. I think that any 'real' Chicagoan would have done the same thing, if they'd had the chance. We're like that." Dax said firmly.

"How old are you, Dax?" Deacon asked curiously.

"I'm fifteen." Dax said proudly.

"Thanks, Dax. I think that's all I need for now." Deacon said as he turned off his recorder, then thought to ask, "Where are we?"

Dax laughed, then said, "We just made the block. The rec center is up ahead."

* * * * *

Once Billy and Deacon had gone their own way, Dax spent a few minutes with Ben, Oleksandr and Danny to see how things were going.

When he was finally able to break away, he quietly asked Reuben, "So, what did you think of the interview?"

"I think you said some things that people needed to hear, especially the people of Chicago." Reuben said honestly.

"I was just trying to be myself. Did I come off as too... fruity?" Dax asked cautiously.

"No. You were perfect."

Chapter 41: Bifrost, the Clangor of Heralds

Carson's eyes snapped open.

He was drenched in sweat and felt as though his heart were trying to beat its way out of his chest.

"Dizzy." He fought to say, but found that he was having difficulty breathing.

"Good morning, Carson. Would you like the overview of events that transpired while you were sleeping?" Dizzy asked courteously.

Carson fought to calm himself, finally recognizing that what he was feeling was a panic attack. He used the meditation training that he had received in his pain management to begin to slow his erratic breathing and rapid heartbeat.

When he was finally to a point where he felt that he could form more than one coherent word, Carson finally said, "Dizzy. Enact 'Code four'."

* * * * *

Time seemed to stand still as Carson continued to fight against his own mind, trying not to be overcome by the effects of adrenaline coursing through him.

"Carson? What's wrong?" Jay asked in a panic as he rushed into Carson's room.

"I just woke up like this. Will you hold me?" Carson asked hopefully.

"You're all sweaty. You need a bath." Jay said as he sat on the edge of the bed and brushed Carson's sweat damp hair aside.

"I can do that later." Carson said as he felt his anxiety rising again. "Right now, please just hold me."

Jay could see the fragile state that Carson was in and scooted onto the bed and pulled Carson into his arms.

"What's wrong?" Jay asked gently as he held Carson close and could feel that he was trembling.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm needing one of my pain pills." Carson said as he held Jay tightly.

"Are you in pain?" Jay asked with concern.

"No. But I feel like I'm going to die if I don't get a pill." Carson reluctantly admitted.

"Do you want me to call your grandfather?" Jay asked softly.

"No. Not yet. Just hold me right now. If you can help me get through this, I should be alright." Carson said quietly.

"I'll be here for as long as you need me." Jay gently soothed.

"I'm always going to need you." Carson said softly.

Jay smiled at the words, then quietly responded, "Always is a very long time. I think that it's a lot longer than either of us can promise."

"I've never felt as close to anyone as I feel to you." Carson said as he shifted slightly so that his head was resting on Jay's shoulder.

"It's the same for me, Carson." Jay quietly admitted, then continued, "But we're thirteen years old. Let's not worry about forever and just focus on right now."

Carson thought about it for a moment, then finally said, "Okay. Right now's pretty good. But it'd be even better if you'd kiss me."

Even though they were tangled in sweat soaked sheets and the atmosphere was something less than romantic, the kiss that followed was epic.

* * * * *

"Carson, it is seven o'clock in the morning. You asked for me to wake you at this time." Dizzy said calmly.

It was unusual for Carson to wake with a smile on his face.

But he could still feel Jay in his arms, snuggled tight against him.

"Does he do that every morning?" Jay asked groggily.

"Only when I ask him to." Carson responded as he took a moment to appreciate Jay's beauty.

"Why do you need to be up at seven in the morning on a Sunday? Don't you ever get a chance to sleep in?" Jay asked curiously.

"Yeah. Before the world turned upside down I'd only ask Dizzy to wake me up when I had to get ready for school. But since everything happened, it feels like the whole time I'm laying around, doing nothing, that there are people suffering and doing without stuff because of it." Carson said seriously.

"Then, does that mean that you need to get to work right now?" Jay asked cautiously.

"No. Unless there's something that I need to deal with right away, I'll wake up, shower, get dressed and have breakfast before I start working."

"I'd better go back up to my room. I'm still in my pajamas." Jay said quietly.

"Why don't you go up and get the clothes you'll be wearing today, then come back down here and we can shower together?" Carson asked with a grin.

"I can't even imagine how you can shower yourself, I mean, with the wheelchair." Jay said honestly.

"It's a little tricky, but it's not too bad once you get used to it." Carson said honestly, then tried to conceal a smile as he said, "But there's something that I'd like your help with."

"Yeah. I'll go upstairs and get my clothes." Jay said immediately.

As he was about to walk away, Carson stopped him with a touch on his arm and said, "And while you're helping me with mine, I can help you with yours, too. That is, if you want to."

Jay's eyes went wide in realization and a trace of fear found its way into his expression.

"Seriously. It's only if you want to." Carson reiterated.

"I may not be able to. Alright?" Jay said as he looked deeply into Carson's eyes.

"Alright." Carson whispered.

"I want to try. But just in case I can't... I don't want you to be mad or... disappointed or... anything." Jay tried to explain.

"We'll only do as much as you're comfortable with." Carson assured him.

"I'll be right back." Jay whispered, then leaned in to give Carson a quick kiss.

* * * * *

After a long and very satisfying shower for both Carson and Jay, they got dressed and slowly made their way into breakfast.

As Jay was pushing Carson's wheelchair into place at the table, Carson said, "Mom? You look like you've been up all night."

"I can always count on my sons to say such sweet things." Deb muttered as she kept the majority of her attention focused on a tablet computer in her hand.

"Seriously, Mom, did you sleep at all?" Carson asked quietly.

"I got a few hours, but I couldn't sleep because there was too much needing to be done to prepare for court this morning." Deb said absently as she continued to read.

"Yeah." Carson said distantly as he thought about all the things that he needed to get done.

"How are things going with reducing your workload?" Deb asked as she glanced away from her tablet.

"I put together a list last night. I'll start talking to people today to get my team together." Carson said seriously.

"Good. You need to get that going. I don't like seeing you like this." Deb said frankly.

"I don't like seeing you like this, either." Carson countered.

Deb paused for a moment, then said, "Point taken. But things are going to ease up as soon as Mom and I can get a few more people hired on to help us."

"How are your paralegals working out?" Carson asked as Lydia walked into the room and sat plates of food down in front of Deb, Jay and Carson.

"Janet helped me a lot last night. Both Olufemi and Janet should be here within the hour, so I need to get these briefs reviewed before they get here." Deb said anxiously.

"Where is everyone else?" Carson asked as he looked around the dining room.

"Your father's been gone for hours. But since it's Sunday morning, I'm letting everyone else sleep in as much as they can." Deb said simply.

Carson nodded as he absently started to eat his breakfast.

"What's got you worried, Carson?" Jay asked quietly from his side.

"I've just got the feeling that I'm missing something important." Carson said frankly.

"Your pills!" Deb said suddenly, then raced out of the room.

"Was that it?" Jay asked curiously.

"No... It's something to do with the refugee effort. I'm missing something." Carson said thoughtfully.

"Maybe if you stop thinking about it while you eat, it'll come to you." Jay suggested carefully.

"Yeah. Maybe." Carson said distantly.

When Jay could tell that Carson was more focused on his thoughts than his food, he quietly asked, "Do you know what it has to do with?"

"No." Carson said absently, then added, "Maybe it's just the whole thing. With everyone taking care of different things, I think that I'm starting to lose sight of the big picture."

"Shouldn't Dizzy be able to fill you in on what everyone's doing?" Jay asked seriously.

"Yeah. That's what I've been doing up to now. But I feel like maybe there are things that I'm not being told because I've never thought to ask." Carson said frankly.

"Well, if you don't know what to ask, how do you plan on getting those answers?" Jay asked curiously.

"Good question." Carson muttered thoughtfully.

"Here you go, Carson." Deb said as she hurried back into the dining room with a glass of water and a handful of pills.

"Thanks, Mom." Carson said as he automatically took the pills from her.

Jay watched as Carson took the pills and washed them down.

"Maybe you need to do something like what you do in the command center." Jay said slowly.

"How do you mean?" Carson asked curiously.

"Well, you know how it is with everyone there at once, if one of us has a problem or wants to know something, we can bounce ideas off each other and sometimes we come up with things that none of us would have thought of on our own." Jay said carefully.

"Yeah." Carson said hesitantly.

Jay smiled, realizing that he had been able to capture Carson's interest. Then he continued, "Well, what if we got all the major players together in one big massive meeting? That way everyone can find out what everyone else is doing..."

"...And all of us could brainstorm about what we're going to do next. It would be like a chance to get everyone on the same page and pointed in the same direction." Carson said with escalating excitement.

"Yeah. And it would also help to get the people who just joined us up-to-date on what's going on with everything, not just their little part." Jay added with a smile.

"That's a fantastic idea." Carson said happily, then his smile faded as he asked, "But when can we do it?"

"Now." Jay said simply.

"Now?" Carson asked cautiously.

"Well, after you've finished breakfast." Jay said with a smile, then continued, "But then you figure out how long it's going to take to get everyone here and schedule the meeting for that time."

"That could work..." Carson trailed off in thought.

"And there's probably a few people who won't be able to make it, so you could set up laptops with the video streaming program so they could sit in on the meeting from their remote locations." Jay said seriously.

"The dining room has a big, drop-down screen with a webcam. We can hook it up to a laptop and have as many remote attendees as we need." Carson said informatively.

"Great! Then what else do we need to do?" Jay asked before taking another bite of his briefly forgotten breakfast.

"Just invite people..." Carson said simply, then looked to his mother and asked, "Can you attend a meeting at ten o'clock?"

"I'm going to be in court with your Nanny. If you can record the meeting, I'll watch it later." Deb said seriously as she kept most of her focus on the tablet in her hand.

"Okay. You got it, Mom." Carson said with an indulgent smile at her.

"Are you ready to get started?" Jay asked with a grin.

Carson looked down at his plate and was surprised to find that he had eaten all of his food. He quickly gulped down the last of his juice, then turned to Jay and said, "Yeah. Let's get started."

* * * * *

"Tommy? You weren't at breakfast. Where are you?" Carson asked curiously.

"We're in town. I had to check to be sure that they didn't leave a huge mess after the party at the skatepark, yesterday." Tommy said honestly.

"How was it?" Carson asked cautiously.

"Not bad. I'm not sure who it was, but it looks like someone went out of their way to clean up." Tommy said appreciatively.

"Do you think that you could come to the house for a meeting at ten o'clock this morning?" Carson asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Sure. Do you want Jared there, too?" Tommy asked casually.

"If he has the time." Carson said simply.

"What's the meeting about?" Tommy asked curiously.

"I'm just wanting to get everyone together so we can tell about what we've been doing and what we plan to do next... you know. Stuff like that." Carson said frankly.

"I'll start thinking about what we need to say. We'll see you at ten." Tommy said, then the audio stream ended.

"Bye." Carson chuckled before initiating the next call.

* * * * *

"Hello?"

"Mikey? Did I wake you up?" Carson asked cautiously.

"Yeah. What time is it?... Oh crap! We missed breakfast!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Mom said that she was letting us sleep in this morning. Sorry I woke you up. Do you think that you'd be able to come to a meeting at ten o'clock this morning in the dining room?"

"Oh, um... yeah. I guess. Ty, too?"

"Yes. Unless he's got something more important to do."

"No. I think breakfast is the only plan that we've got right now." Mikey said frankly.

"Go ahead and get yourselves awake and I'll see you at ten."

"Yeah. Ten." Mikey said, then the audio stream ended.

"I've really got to talk to my brothers about the courteous way to end a call." Carson said over his shoulder to Jay before moving on to his next call.

* * * * *

"Dad?"

"What? Yes. Oh, Carson, what do you need?" Ryan asked distractedly.

"I was wanting to have a strategy meeting with all the key people at ten this morning in the dining room. Can you be there?" Carson asked curiously.

After a moment, Ryan answered, "Yes. That will work out. I've been studying these schematics since about five this morning and kind of got lost in them."

"The body armor?" Carson guessed.

"The engineering is incredible. Once this is all over, we should be able to apply some of these principles to the oceanic suits and increase their function and cut their weight nearly in half." Ryan said frankly.

"I haven't looked at it as much as you have, but from what I've seen, I can believe it." Carson said with a smile at his dad's excitement.

"Meeting at ten. I'll be there." Ryan said, then the audio stream ended.

Carson heard Jay's laugh from behind him and turned to look at him, wondering what was so amusing.

"Now I see where your brothers get it."

* * * * *

As Carson was about to initiate the next call, Bug, Ben and Oleksandr walked into the room as a group.

"Hey guys. How are things going this morning?" Carson asked casually.

"Kids are cute and shit. And for a minute there I thought that I wanted some of my own..." Bug trailed off with a shake of his head.

"Something wrong?" Carson asked curiously.

"Oma Shoupe is taking care of six year old twin girls. By the time I was done making breakfast I was so fucking ready to get out of there that I was ready to strangle someone." Bug said as he opened his laptop.

"Were they acting up?" Carson asked as he noticed Roris and Lawrence entering the room.

"They didn't shut their fucking mouths for two seconds from the minute that they woke up. When one would stop to take a bite of food, the other one would jump in and take over. I don't think that Max, Bax and Ro even got to say a single word the entire morning." Bug said frankly.

"Well, you're here now. Sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet." Carson said with a smile at Bug.

"Fuckin' A." Bug said before signing into his laptop.

"Guys, before we..." Carson began to say when Seth and Hobie walked into the room.

"Before we get too deeply into our work, I was thinking that we should have a meeting." Carson said seriously.

"Okay. Go ahead." Bug said as he turned to look at Carson.

"No. I mean a mass meeting of all the key people. I'd like to have it in the dining room at ten o'clock." Carson said frankly.

There was a long moment of silence which was broken by Bug saying, "Good idea."

Carson smiled at his reaction.

"Have you already decided who you're going to invite?" Bug asked thoughtfully.

"I had some ideas, but I'm sure that each of you can think of people who should be there." Carson said honestly.

"Is this going to be like a brainstorming thing?" Ben asked cautiously.

"Yes. Where we are and where we're going." Carson confirmed.

"Zane should be there." Lawrence said seriously.

"I'd like it if he could be there, but he's been hurt and can't get out of bed." Roris gently explained.

"But I know what it feels like to be in a bed for a long long time. If he keeps laying there not doing anything, he's going to start feeling like he can't help people. He needs to know that he can do stuff." Lawrence implored Roris to understand.

"Actually, it might be a good thing for him, and for Jacques, too." Ben said thoughtfully.

"If you can get a laptop or a tablet up to them, they could attend by video conference. I was already expecting that a few people wouldn't be able to attend in person." Carson said frankly.

"That sounds good. Thanks." Ben said with a smile.

* * * * *

"Good morning, everyone. I hope that you all slept well. I know that this was probably a lot of trouble for most of you, but I thought that it was important for us to all get together and discuss what we've been doing and what we're going to do next." Carson said loudly, so his voice would carry to the people at the far end of the dining room.

"Do you think you could hang on for just a minute? The video feed's being a bitch." Bug asked seriously as he typed on his laptop.

"I thought you had that taken care of." Carson said cautiously.

"I did. Now I don't. Just chill." Bug said irritably.

"Since you're going to be talking, do you need a drink or anything?" Jay asked quietly.

Carson smiled, then answered, "Yeah. Some juice, if you wouldn't mind."

Jay hurried to the sideboard to get drinks for them both.

"Dizzy, can you get this motherfucker going?" Bug asked in frustration.

"To which 'motherfucker' are you referring, Bug?" Dizzy asked in return.

"The Vice President's video feed, I can't get it to integrate with the other video inputs, it keeps kicking them out." Bug said frankly.

"The encryption protocol requires that all concurrent video signals be likewise encrypted." Dizzy said simply.

"You coulda just told me that to begin with." Bug said indignantly.

"You did not ask." Dizzy said, somewhat primly.

"Asshole." Bug muttered as he typed.

"Douchebag." Dizzy responded simply.

"Okay guys, you're going to lose the video link for a few seconds while we switch protocols, then we should be good to go." Bug said seriously.

"Just tell me what I have to do." Zane's voice said from Bug's laptop.

"You don't have to do anything. I just didn't want you to think that you lost us." Bug said simply.

A moment later, the large drop down screen in the dining room came alive to display four separate video windows.

"Okay, Carson. We're ready." Bug said seriously.

"Thank you, Bug." Carson said with a smile, then addressed the rest of the people in the dining room, "Like I was saying, the reason I called all of you is so that we can take stock of what we've done and decide what we're going to do next. I know that some of this isn't going to apply to everyone, but it was either do this or have a dozen meetings with smaller groups of you."

"Some of us got shit to do. Can you just get to it?" Bug asked hopefully.

Carson looked toward his father and asked, "Is this what you have to put up with in board meetings?"

"Not usually." Ryan said with a smile.

"Anyway..." Carson said with a huff, "Mr. Crante has set out drinks and pastries on the side board. If you want to help yourselves to that, I'm going to ask Tommy to start us off."

"For those of you who don't know, I'm Tommy Brown, Carson's brother. Jared and I have been working on a lot of 'Big Picture' things, doing our best to see that all the hotels and motels and the campground have all the supplies that they need to stay in business and that the new homes are ready and waiting for people when they need them." Tommy said seriously.

"Any problems?" Carson asked carefully.

Tommy and Jared looked at Carson with matching expressions of disbelief before Jared quietly asked, "You haven't been out there, have you?"

"Obviously." Carson said flatly.

"Maybe you should." Tommy said seriously.

"What are you saying?" Carson asked cautiously.

"There are THOUSANDS of people flowing into town. Everything is filling up. Even though some people are passing through, a lot of them are staying, even if it's only for a few days. We're burning through the food and other essential supplies faster than I thought was possible." Tommy said honestly.

"What are we running out of?" Carson asked seriously.

"Like I said, I'm looking mostly at the big picture and letting everyone else handle their own things. I only hear about it when there's a big problem. From what I can see, everyone's got most of what they need, or they're figuring out how to work around it. What I'm saying is that the scale of this thing is incredible. It's so big and it's moving so fast that if one little thing goes wrong, we could lose it all." Tommy said anxiously.

Carson nodded that he understood.

"Dizzy's been a big help coordinating things so that we can spread people out between Kettle Falls, Colville and Camp Trebier, so that no one's completely overloaded." Tommy said seriously.

"So, what do you need from me?" Carson asked calmly.

"For this to be over." Tommy said simply.

"Not my department." Carson said with a smile at his older brother, then looked to the video screen and asked, "Mr. Vice President? Any word on if or when this will be coming to an end?"

Mike flashed Carson a regretful look, then quietly said, "I can't tell you anything officially. But if I were you, I wouldn't hold my breath."

Carson nodded that he understood, then asked, "Mikey? How are things going for you?"

"Actually, from the sound of it, just about like with Tommy." Mikey said as he stood, then thought to add, "Everyone, in case you haven't met us, I'm Mikey Brown and this is my new brother, Ty."

Carson smiled at the pride and enthusiasm with which Mikey introduced their newest brother.

"But, like I was saying, this thing is big. Mr. Crante, Marie and Lydia have been working their butts off trying to keep up with things, but it's too much for them. Having the caterers come in every day has been a big help, but we can't do that all the time. Me and Ty have been helping where we can. Mom and Nanny have been helping out a lot, too. But now they're getting swamped with their legal stuff." Mikey said seriously, then added, "Mr. Crante needs more help. I told him to hire as many people as he needs."

"Good idea." Carson said with a nod, then continued, "I know that you were doing some things in town, too. What about that?"

"We were just helping Tommy where we could when someone got bogged down with too much. Everything's fine." Mikey said simply.

"Good. Let us know if you get stuck on anything." Carson said seriously.

Mikey nodded that he would as he and Ty took their seats.

"What about you, Dad?"

Ryan stood and looked around the room, stopping with his focus on the large video screen. "I'm Ryan Brown. And, for the most part, I've been focused on the body armor project."

"For those of you who don't know, we've been presented with a suit of body armor and the specifications for how to make more. Dad's been doing his best to replicate the body armor using the supplies that we can gather." Carson said seriously, then looked to his father and asked, "How's it going?"

"I suppose that it could be worse." Ryan said in prelude, then continued, "We've placed orders and received firm commitments from a number of suppliers for the things that we can buy prefabricated. That's not to say that everything will come in, but it's as much as we can do at this point."

Carson slowly nodded his understanding.

"The things that we can't buy, we're going to have to fabricate ourselves. As soon as the raw materials arrive for each component, we'll start production on it. Once we've been able to fabricate and purchase all the components, then we're going to need a skilled workforce to assemble the parts to produce the final product. Along with that, we're going to need a facility tailored for the production."

"What about the new factory? I know it isn't completely ready, but it shouldn't take too much to get a few crews in there to finish it off." Carson asked thoughtfully.

"That was my first thought, too. The facility could probably be adapted for the production of additional components, if we needed them. But for assembly, it would be completely inadequate. We'd basically have to demolish the existing structure and rebuild it to new specifications before we could consider using that site. It would actually be faster and easier to build a new assembly facility than try to repurpose the factory." Ryan said frankly.

"How long are we talking about until you need it?" Karl asked cautiously.

"A week at the earliest." Ryan said as he turned and looked at his longtime friend.

"Seth, do you have any more big projects on the horizon for me?" Karl asked his son.

"We have about a thousand little storefronts for 'Little Chicago', but nothing big that I can think of." Seth said thoughtfully.

"I should be able to hire on enough people to get the job done for you. If you can get me the specs and help me find the building materials, I should be able to get you set up in time." Karl said seriously.

"Just let me know what you need and you'll have it." Ryan said gratefully.

"So, if all goes to plan, when do you think you'll have completed body armor, ready for use?" Mike asked cautiously from the video screen.

"There's still a lot up in the air, but I think the earliest that we could conceivably have the finished product coming off the assembly line would be... two weeks. We might have a few prototypes ready for you to test in as little as a week and a half. But, again, that's assuming that everything goes as planned." Ryan said cautiously.

Mike glanced at General Adams before saying, "Keep us posted. And be sure to let us know if there's anything you're needing to move things along faster."

"The only other thing that might hold us up is the programming. Without the power assist, the body armor is going to be more of a hinderance than a help." Ryan said frankly, then turned to Bug and continued, "But we've got one of our best people on that."

"Yeah. No pressure." Bug muttered under his breath.

"It's not just you, Bug. Allen, how are your project teams shaping up?" Carson asked as he turned to look at the video screens again.

"I have some good people already committed to the project. On top of that, I've taken Bug's advice and been able to recruit some promising people from the refugees passing through. And I was even able to find one 'diamond in the rough' working at one of the checkpoints." Allen said pleasantly.

"That sounds good. Is there anything you're going to need?" Carson asked carefully.

"Time to do our work. I think we've got everything else." Allen said seriously.

Carson nodded, then said, "Another reason that I wanted to call this meeting is to let all of you know that I'm going to be taking a step back from coordinating things."

Looks of uncertainty and indecision flashed around the room at the announcement.

"If I do this right, this isn't going to change how things are already working. The only real difference might be that when you have a question or need something, you might end up talking to a member of my team instead of to me." Carson said frankly.

"Have you got your team together, yet?" Bug asked cautiously.

"I've got a list of candidates to contact. I'll be doing that right after this meeting." Carson said seriously, then looked around to see if anyone had any questions before he continued, "Bug? How are things going with you?"

"I've already got my team organized. As soon as we're done here, I'm going to talk to them for a few minutes to let them know that they're going to be handling things for a while, then I'm going to dig into the trinary and see if I can make sense of it." Bug said honestly.

Carson nodded, then looked down the table and asked, "Roris and Lawrence, how are your things going?"

"Being in charge of 'Special Needs' is a bigger job than it sounds. Things have worked out well at the check-in at the stadium. I've got a great crew. Also, it turns out that no one thought to station any volunteers at the hospital to help the new arrivals. My people stepped up to help out there and I've already told them to go ahead and recruit more help if they find someone who looks like they'll work out." Roris said seriously.

"Juanita and Adrian helped all the people at the hospital, all by themselves." Lawrence interjected.

Roris smiled at Lawrence, then continued, "As far as the other 'Special Needs' concerns, so far we've been able to accommodate everyone as well as we can within reason. But there are some things that we're going to need and I don't know if we'll be able to get them." Roris said with concern.

"What things?" Ben asked with interest.

"Bed shakers, strobing doorbells, brailers and other specialty products to help people with special needs to function and be productive." Roris said seriously.

"We can try to get you those things, but I don't know how much luck we'll have." Bug said thoughtfully.

"Well, here's a thought..." Carson said slowly, "...Once we get things set up to start mass production of the 'talk-boxes', maybe you could look at making the items that you can't buy."

"Do you think that we could do that?" Roris asked in surprise.

"I think it's worth looking into. Let's see what Bug can come up with, first. Then we'll do the best we can with what's left." Carson said seriously, then looked across the table from Roris and asked, "Ben? How are things going in the news-gathering department?"

"Besides being depressing, I think we're doing alright." Ben said frankly.

"I haven't been able to look at much more than the summaries. What's got you worried?" Carson asked carefully.

"Last night, Olex, Danny and I went to 'Little Chicago' to help Dax with the new arrivals. We got to talk to some people and it sounds like things are getting really bad on the way here. I know that we're already doing what we need to be doing, but I wish that there were more that we could do to help the people who haven't made it to our checkpoints, yet. It sounds like it's a post-apocalyptic nightmare out there." Ben said frankly.

"Tommy was right. This thing is already so big and moving so fast, that it's going to take everything that we can do to keep it from spiraling out of control. We can't spread ourselves any thinner." Carson said seriously.

Ben nodded regretfully, knowing that what Carson was saying was true.

"But still, if any of you can come up with a way to help the incoming people... just do what you can." Carson finished with a helpless shrug.

Ben was surprised when an arm wrapped around him and gave him a firm hug.

"Thanks, Olex." Ben whispered with appreciation.

"Hobie, can you think of anything that you or your dad might need for everyone to know?" Carson asked simply as he shifted his gaze back across the table, just past Roris.

"No. I think everything's alright." Hobie said slowly, then quietly added, "But after working with Seth at my house last night... do you really need us to be in the command center?"

"Well, having you guys there, coordinating with your dads, made us able to help everyone as quickly as they were flooding in. But now that everything's been set up, I can't think of any reason you need to be in the same room with us." Carson said thoughtfully, then looked at Bug and Ben for their confirmation.

"We can conference with you through Dizzy, so we'll still kinda be there with you, just not there with you." Seth explained.

"Yeah. But you guys remember that whether you're showing up every day or not, that you're still part of the team. Right? No thinking that you aren't wanted or needed or some shit like that." Bug said firmly.

"Yeah. We got it, Bug. And if you need us at the command center, we'll be right there for you. But we figured out last night that we can do everything that we need to, just the same from Hobie's house as we can from Carson's room, but we can also listen to music or pop popcorn if we want to..." Seth finished with a shrug.

"Just let us know if you need anything." Carson said with a smile at the boys, then he looked across the table from Hobie and asked, "Dax, how are things going in 'Little Chicago'?"

Dax shyly stood and looked around nervously before saying, "Well, with everyone flooding in all at once, it was tight for a little bit, but it looks like we pulled it off. The thing is, that was the easy part. The big scary thing that we've got to face is what's going to happen next."

A glance around the room told him more than words that everyone in attendance knew what he was talking about.

"I talked about this with some people last night and we figured out a few things. I'm sure most of you already know this, but it seems like such a big thing that I want to say it, in case I missed something." Dax said seriously.

He glanced at Ben and saw an expression of pride directed at him.

"People need certain things, and we're trying to give them what they need. First off, we're giving everyone who shows up here food, clean drinking water, clothes, shelter and medical care. Along with all those things, we're also giving them a place where they can feel safe." Dax said seriously.

Everyone seemed to be following along, so he continued.

"Right this minute, that's exactly what we need to be doing, but with the Chicago people staying, I have to keep in mind what they're going to need next. What we've come up with is helping to give our people a sense of community, belonging and hope for the future. I guess, whether I want to or not, I've kind of been made a symbol, showing them that their mayor is watching over them and keeping them safe. So not only are we getting things set up so that we can produce the things that we might need, but we're also giving our people a chance to actually do something to help out and make a difference." Dax said passionately.

"That sounds like a great idea, Dax. But it also sounds like quite a bit to take on." Carson said honestly.

"Yeah." Dax chuckled at the understatement, then continued more seriously, "If it was just me, there's no way I could make it work. But thankfully, my dad sent me some help. While I'm here, doing this, Reuben is taking care of things and making decisions for me. Jingo and Trav are working with certain groups of people and making sure that they're working with each other, so that they're on target to accomplish our goals. And we've recruited Councilman Becker to act as our go-between with the regular people. He's going to be their voice in our decision making and he's also going to keep everyone working together."

"It sounds like something that the rest of us should be doing." Ben said frankly.

Dax smiled at him, then responded, "You're already sort of doing that. Except that what your people are working on is hospitality and humanitarian aid. What my people are working on is preparing for what's coming next."

"What do you need from us to make this work?" Carson asked seriously.

"Mainly, we're going to need ingredients, raw materials and some hardware. No matter how hard we work or how much we prepare, it's not going to matter a bit if we don't have what we need to start making the things that people are going to need." Dax said frankly.

"I'll do what I can for you, but... supplies are kind of hit and miss, right now." Carson said honestly.

"Get us a list of the essential supplies that you need and we'll talk to a few of our foreign allies about getting them shipped here as quickly as possible." Mike said from the video screen.

"Thank you, Mr. Vice President." Dax said timidly, yet respectfully.

Carson smiled at Dax's expression, then decided to let him off the hook. "Father Doherty, did you have anything that you'd like to say, while we've got everyone here?"

After flashing a look of pride and admiration at Dax, Father Doherty stood and said, "Yes. Thank you, Carson. Yesterday I was able to speak at some length with Reverend Wallace, from the local Unitarian church. I'm not entirely sure of what I'm asking, but it seems as though the people passing through aren't being given the opportunity to receive spiritual support. Only those in the most desperate need have taken the time and effort to seek us out. I was hoping that there might be a way that we could make the offer at some point during the arrival process so that all who wish to, may speak with a member of the clergy."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I think that we could just flash a message to all the check-ins and checkpoints and ask them to notify people that spiritual support is available on request." Carson said thoughtfully.

"Father Doherty." Dax said timidly to gain his attention, "Jingo and I were talking last night and we were wondering if there would be any way that we could have our own church in the 'Little Chicago' area."

"Others would know better than I, but it seems that at this point in time, the resources might be needed for other ventures." Father Doherty said cautiously.

"If everyone agrees, we're going to set it up at the community center in 'Little Chicago'. Later on, if people feel like they need it, they can build an actual church building. But I just wanted to be sure that it wouldn't cause a problem if we decided to do it." Dax said seriously.

"I can't see any problem, except possibly in securing a pastor to oversee it." Father Doherty said thoughtfully.

"Actually, we were thinking of asking Father Kinsey... that is, if it's not going to cause a problem with anyone else. I've noticed that a lot of religious people get bent out of shape about the littlest things." Dax said frankly.

"Present company excepted." Ben added with a smile.

Dax realized what he had said and quickly confirmed, "Yeah."

"If Father Kinsey is interested, I believe that it would be an amazing experience for him. Please go ahead with your plans and if Father Kinsey decides to proceed, I'll let Reverend Wallace know what's going on." Father Doherty said warmly.

"Thanks." Dax said shyly.

"Danny, right?" Carson asked as he looked at the young man beside Dax and Ben.

"One of them, yeah." Danny said as he stood, then encouraged the boy at his side to stand with him.

"Can you fill us in on what's happening in Monarch Command?" Carson asked carefully.

"Sure. I'm Danny MacAlistair and this is Danny Carlson." Danny said with a smile.

"Can you tell us what you're doing and what you're planning as we go forward?" Carson prompted.

"Yeah. Monarch Command has been working to help the large groups that have been coming to us, mainly those from Chicago. Just like Carson's Command Center, we're working on seeing that everyone has everything that they need. But we also work to make sure that families and communities are being kept together and we're doing our best to make sure that no one gets overlooked in the flood." Danny said seriously.

The younger Danny then said, "But unless you guys have heard about another group heading this way, all we've got to do right now is try and help the people who are already here. Once they're all taken care of, it looks like our job might be done."

The elder Danny nodded his agreement to the assessment.

"Well, if your work runs out, you could always jump in and help us with our news gathering." Ben said seriously.

"Do you need help?" Danny, the elder, asked curiously.

"Olexandr and I have been keeping up pretty well, but we've been depending on the Canadian bloggers and the Chicago radio station a little too much and we haven't had the time to really dig in and verify all the reports that we've been receiving." Ben said frankly.

"Actually, that could work out well for us, too." Mike said thoughtfully from the screen.

"How can we help you, Mr... um, Mike?" Danny, the elder, asked curiously.

"Although we have a fine intelligence team, who have access to classified intel, we have also been keeping track of the news provided by Carson's Command Center, so that we have an idea of what the populace can deduce from the publically available intel. That way we know if we're tipping our hand or even if some strategy is being employed against us that we haven't recognized. Helping the Command Center team will also be helping us in our work." Mike said seriously.

"We'll do it!" Danny, the younger, proclaimed.

"Just let us know what you need for us to do, Ben. We'll be happy to help." Danny, the elder, said with a smile.

As Carson was about to call on the next person, he saw Brother Jacques and Zane talking to each other in another window of the large video screen.

"Brother Jacques, is Zane having pain? Do you guys need to drop out?" Carson asked with concern.

"No. It's nothing like that. We were just kind of wondering why you invited us. We aren't doing anything to help anyone." Brother Jacques said frankly.

"Actually, you can thank Lawrence for that." Carson said with a smile in his direction.

"What did I do?" Lawrence asked as he looked around in puzzlement.

"You asked me if there was any way that Zane could help us, so he wouldn't be bored while he's recovering." Carson said to Lawrence, then turned toward the screen and continued, "Believe me, I know what it's like to be flat on your back with nothing to do. I was hoping that, if you wouldn't mind, you guys could kind of keep an eye on things from a distance to see how they're going."

"I don't get it." Brother Jacques said honestly.

"I'm just saying that you can sit in on the meetings, like this, and get an idea of what we're planning to do. Then, once we've done it, you could kind of see if things turned out the way we were planning and if we helped the people that we were trying to help, and stuff like that." Carson said a little disjointedly.

"So, you're worried that it's going to be like back home, when they'd sometimes announce some big thing that's supposed to help the poor or the homeless or something and it ends up not helping anyone?" Brother Jacques asked speculatively.

"That's right. There's just too much going on at once for us to be able to follow up on every single thing. If you can just kind of keep an eye on how things are going and let us know if you notice any unintended consequences, we'd really appreciate it." Carson said frankly.

After a moment to consider, Zane quietly said, "Yeah. I think we can do that."

"Good. Then you're our quality control team." Carson said happily, then looked down the table and said, "Deacon and Billy, I know that you haven't even been here a full day, yet. But have you noticed anything that we're doing that we shouldn't or that we're not doing and should be?"

"There's so much, I don't think we've really wrapped our minds around all of it." Deacon said frankly.

"We've been to a lot of refugee camps, all over the world, and I don't think I've ever seen one organized this well." Billy added.

"Good. But still, keep your eyes open and let us know. We can't take steps to make things right if we don't know that there's a problem." Carson said firmly.

"We'll tell you right away if we spot anything." Deacon promised.

"I had an email from Lucas waiting for me when I woke up this morning. I'll wait until he's had a chance to speak, but if you guys think that you'll have the time, there might be something else that you can do to help out." Carson said honestly.

"Just let us know what we can do." Deacon volunteered immediately.

"Bax, can you fill us in on how things are going with the Gophers?" Carson asked as he leaned slightly to see around the Dannys.

It took a moment for him to get to his feet, but Bax was finally standing and said, "We've got about twenty Gophers, now. Thanks to Dizzy, we've been doing good. I made a few runs to Camp Tree Beard yesterday and they got a few of their guys to be Gophers for them. The thing is, me and Max and Ro were talking, and I think that they're going to need Gophers in Colville, too. Is there any way we can set something up for them?"

"That's a good idea, Bax. Do you think you can handle it? Or would you like for me to get someone else to take care of it?" Carson asked seriously.

"I think I can do it if you can get someone to take me there. It's too far for me to go on a gator." Bax said frankly.

"True. And besides, you aren't allowed to ride the gators on the public highways." Ryan said seriously.

"Tommy, do you think you can get someone to drive him over?" Carson asked hopefully.

"I'll have him on his way, right after the meeting." Tommy assured him.

"Let us know if you need any help setting up the Colville Gophers." Carson said to Bax seriously.

"As long as we can still use Dizzy there, that should be all I'll need." Bax said thoughtfully.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Carson said simply, then looked across the table and asked, "Walt? I know that we haven't really had a chance to talk before, but Ben has told me about you. Do you have any security concerns to discuss with us?"

"Yes. As most of you are aware, the house was recently targeted by some felons who were released by President Ashwood and given instructions to come here, specifically to Kettle Falls, and find ways to wreak havoc. The Secret Service, the U.N.I.T., the Security Police from Fairchild and the local law enforcement from Kettle Falls, Colville and Camp Trebier have all been notified. Sixteen individuals have been detained thus far." Walt said seriously.

"Sixteen? I hadn't heard anything about anyone being detained!" Carson said in surprise.

"We don't like to advertise." Walt said with a grin in his direction, then continued, "Our interviews with the detainees haven't revealed any pertinent information, but the one thing we can be sure of is that these aren't the only people who are working to infiltrate and cause chaos. If they thought to send their released felons our way, the covert ops can't be far behind. We need to remain vigilant."

"Just tell us if there's anything else you can think of that we need to be doing." Carson said somberly, then looked to the video screen and asked, "Davis, do you have anything to add?"

"What? Oh, sorry. I've got a million things going on right now. All the manifests have been loaded into Dizzy, so you should have easy access to everything that's available. The only problem that I'm having right now is that I have hundreds of trucks parked here. Even after they're unloaded or have dropped their trailers, most of them don't have anyplace else to go. The drivers are living in their trucks. Don't get me wrong, the truckers are great and have bent over backwards not to get in our way. But we're not set up for this. They need better access to food, fresh water and restroom facilities." Davis said frankly.

"Seth? Do you think your dad's got a place for that many at Camp Trebier?" Carson asked thoughtfully.

"Hundreds? Maybe last week he could, but not now." Seth said frankly.

"Honestly, if you could just hook into our utilities and set something up for them, I wouldn't have a problem with that. But when you have hundreds of truckers and six toilets..." Davis trailed off with a pained look.

"I'll have a crew out there later today. I can't promise anything fancy, but we'll fix your truckers up a nice rest area with toilets, showers and laundry facilities." Karl said seriously.

"These truckers are really good people. If you'll just send someone out who knows what needs to be done, I bet that you'll have dozens of volunteers to help you." Davis said quickly.

"Even better. I'll look through the designs that we have on hand and come up with something that will work." Karl said with a smile.

"If, while you're at it, you could make accommodations, I could arrange for a pop up restaurant to set up by your new facility." Lucas said quickly.

"I'll be sure that they have water and electricity available." Karl assured him.

"Let me know if you need anything from us." Carson interjected.

"I think I've got this." Karl said with a grin in his direction.

"Good." Carson said happily, then looked at Lucas and asked, "How are things going with 'hospitality'?"

"Very well. In fact, the gathering that Lazlo instigated last night was a resounding success." Lucas said proudly, then continued, "As a whole, it seems that we've been able to make our guests feel welcome and give them some relief from their worries, as well as a sense of security. Although the entertainments might seem frivolous on the surface, I believe that the people coming to us needed very much to be able to release in a positive way the tensions that they've been storing."

"What do you think that you're going to need, going forward?" Carson asked seriously.

"It's still early days. Although I'd like to scale back on the 'festive' atmosphere that we've been promoting, I believe that we should give it a few more days, perhaps a week." Lucas said thoughtfully.

"What about the other thing... that you emailed me about?" Carson asked as he glanced at Billy and Deacon.

"Oh, yes. It seems that there was a group of celebrities in Oregon at the time of the San Francisco earthquake. They found their way here and have asked if there's something that they can do to contribute." Lucas said carefully.

"Is it anyone we've heard of?" Danny, the younger, asked with interest.

"No." Lucas said frankly, then quietly added, "In fact, I've honestly never heard of any of them. From what I gathered, they're a group of D list reality TV stars from some years back who were in Oregon to do a new reality TV show, in hopes of rebooting their careers."

"If they're wanting to help, can't they just go to the stadium and volunteer?" Ben asked carefully.

"They seem to have the idea that they should be using their 'celebrity status' to help people in these troubling times." Lucas said with a mostly straight face.

"That's just what we need." Danny, the elder, said with an eyeroll.

"Go ahead, Lucas. Tell Billy and Deacon your plan." Carson said with a barely concealed grin.

Lucas looked at them regretfully, then slowly said, "I know this might be an imposition for you, but I honestly believe that it might work out."

"What do you want from us?" Deacon asked darkly.

"Well, considering that you're a reporter and a photographer, I thought that you might take our celebrities along with you as you visit with people in the hospital or talk with new arrivals. As I see it, one of two things is likely to happen. Either our 'reality' stars might get a dose of actual reality. Or, I suppose it's theoretically possible that someone might recognize them and their celebrity status might actually be able to do someone some good." Lucas said seriously.

"Why don't you just send them to the stadium and let them get real fucking jobs?" Bug asked seriously.

"It's hard to explain. They're so... deluded. They're so convinced that they're special. And they're really not. I just can't bring myself to break it to them." Lucas said honestly.

"Give me five minutes with them..." Bug said with a predatory grin.

"No. It's okay. We'll do it." Deacon said quietly.

"What about three minutes? I just won't enjoy it as much." Bug said quickly.

"They may be deluded, pseudo-celebrities, but it sounds like they're trying to do the right thing. I'll give them a chance." Deacon said thoughtfully, then smiled at Bug and added, "But if it doesn't work out, I'll bring them to have a talk with you."

"Good. I have a few words that I've been wanting to try out." Bug said with a grin.

Carson smiled, then said, "Well, if no one has anything else, I guess that's it."

The End

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Writing on the Wall

Chapter 2: Blood and Devotion

Chapter 3: Dizzy

Chapter 4: Émigré

Chapter 5: Want and Need

Chapter 6: A New Dawn Closes

Chapter 7: The Great Egress

Chapter 8: The Icing

Chapter 9: Paper Lace

Chapter 10: War Mode

Chapter 11: 25 or 6 to 4

Chapter 12: Pupae

Chapter 13: All That Jazz

Chapter 14: Awakening

Chapter 15: In the Park

Chapter 16: Apocalypse

Chapter 17: Meanwhile

Chapter 18: Dukes and Dauphins

Chapter 19: Blackhawks

Chapter 20: Flutterbye

Chapter 21: Tilt-a-Whirl

Chapter 22: Twilight's Last Gleaming

Chapter 23: Red Glare

Chapter 24: Dukes & Kings

Chapter 25: Proof Through the Night

Chapter 26: Still There

Chapter 27: Mountain Fall

Chapter 28: The Best Laid Plans

Chapter 29: Reason Sleeps

Chapter 30: It Begins

Chapter 31: Breakfast of Champions

Chapter 32: Dancing in the Streets

Chapter 33: What Was Lost

Chapter 34: What We've Gained

Chapter 35: Snapshot

Chapter 36: Attributes of Zero

Chapter 37: Monumental Ambitions

Chapter 38: Justifying the Sacrifice

Chapter 39: Interminable Optimism

Chapter 40: A Promise Spoken

Chapter 41: Bifrost, the Clangor of Heralds