Bill W

Castaway Hotel
Next Generation, Book 2

August 2014

Chapter 1
Changes In Our Lives

It's been a couple of years since you last heard from us, and I'm still trying to come to grips with the idea that Brandon and I are finally alone and on our own. Well not exactly alone, since there are others living in the house as well, including our younger son, Noah. However, our older son, Elliot, left a few days ago to attend Yale University. Even though we'd let him use some of the money his father left him to buy a BMW shortly after he turned 18, we were apprehensive about allowing him to drive there by himself, but we eventually gave in. After he'd loaded the car with the things he was taking with him, we had a little heart-to-heart chat.

"Elliot, drive carefully and take your time," I urged him. "You don't have to speed and please don't talk on your cell phone or text while you're behind the wheel. We love you and want you to arrive safely, and please don't forget to call us when you get to campus."

"I know, Dad Danny, and you don't have to worry. I'll be really careful."

"And when it starts to get dark find a nice motel and get a room for the night. You should take two days to make the trip so you don't get tired and fall asleep behind the wheel," Brandon added.

"I will, Dad Brandon, so don't worry. I love you both and want to get back here to be with you and Noah for Christmas."

Shortly after we finished our conversation, Elliot left on his trip. He called from the motel that night to let us know where he was and that he was safe, which made us feel a lot better. He also called after he arrived at Yale, but warned us that he wouldn't be calling quite as often from now on. He said he just did it this time because he knew how worried we'd be if we didn't hear from him, so I guess he really understood us after all.

Elliot's boyfriend, Ian, who had spent a great deal of time at the house with Elliot over the summer, left a day later, so he wasn't around either. Our youngest brother, Jesse, is no longer living here, after deciding to move in with a couple of his friends in early June.

Jesse said he was doing it because living at home was ruining his love life. He claimed there were always too many people around to get any privacy and the younger kids, primarily Noah and Joshie, were nosy and always seemed to be spying on him. For those reasons, he didn't feel he could bring a date home and get any quality time alone, so he felt moving out was his best option. Even though Jesse had messed around with Elliot and some of his brothers throughout the years, he's now dating a girl. We've all known he was bi for quite some time, so this didn't come as a complete surprise. He merely says he wants to see which sex he prefers and then he'll decide what will be best for him in the long run.

Dion, Trey, and their two sons are living here at the house with us as well. Joshie is Dion's biological son, but Trey adopted him later so he'd have parental rights too. Then, they both adopted Wyatt, who came to our attention through a professional friend of mine. Dion and Trey allow both mothers to be part of their sons' lives, and Joshie visits his maternal grandparents from time to time as well. Wyatt's maternal grandparents, however, want nothing to do with him, since he's half Afro-American. Since Dion is Afro-American and Joshie is bi-racial too, it has all worked out quite well. In fact, Wyatt and Joshie bear a strong resemblance to each other and could easily pass as biological siblings.

Dad (Josh) and Pop (Jake) aren't at home right now either and are currently in Georgia. It all happened quite unexpectedly when they received an emergency call from Nick. "Shannon's been in a terrible car accident and was taken to the hospital."

"What happened and how bad is it?" Jake demanded, extremely worried about his biological son.

"He was badly injured and it wasn't even his fault. From what the police told me, Shannon was driving down the street when another car t-boned his vehicle. The cops said the driver of the other car had been an active participant in a drive-by shooting that injured several people and was fleeing the scene. When the 911 call came in, a police cruiser that was close to the area gave chase and that's when things got out of hand.

"The cops said that while they were pursuing the suspect, the jerk blew through a red light and slammed into the driver's door, where Shannon was seating. They also advised me that the EMTs told them Shannon was in critical condition and he's been transported to the Emergency Room at Northside Hospital. I'm just heading out the door to go there now, so I'll call you when I find out more."

"Ok, I'll call my boss and take some time off from work so I can fly down there to be with both of you. I'll let you know when I'll arrive, just as soon as I make the arrangements."

"Great. I'll see you then, but please be careful. We don't need another accident."

"Thanks, and you too."

Nick called back about an hour later and filled Pop in about what he'd discovered. "The doctors told me that Shannon was barely clinging to life when he arrived at the hospital. They rushed him into surgery and dealt with the most serious injuries first, which was to stop the internal hemorrhaging and to patch the various injuries to his organs. They told me that Shannon had sustained numerous broken bones too, so they called in an orthopedist as well. As soon as the internal injuries had been dealt with and Shannon had been stitched up and stabilized, the orthopedist took over. He set Shannon's broken bones and placed him in traction, so he's going to be in the hospital for quite a while."

After Pop contacted his boss and told him what had happened, he was cleared to take an emergency leave of absence. He then hopped online and booked a flight to Atlanta, and Dad offered to go with him too. He wasn't only worried about Shannon, but he was also concerned about Jake and didn't want him to go alone. Before they left, Dad checked with Dion, Trey, Brandon, and me first, to make sure we could handle things while they were gone. After we assured him we could, he thanked us for our help and said he felt better about going. We told him to give Shannon our best and to let him know we wished him a speedy recovery.

When they arrived in Atlanta and had an opportunity to talk to Shannon's doctors, they learned even more. "We had to repair several of his organs, including one of his kidneys, a lung, his spleen, and part of his intestinal tract. We also had to suture or graft several damaged blood vessels to stop the hemorrhaging, which means he'll have to remain in the hospital for several days. When he's released, it could take several months for him to recuperate fully, but it will also take a great deal of effort on your part, along with his."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean," Jake responded, since he was so upset after seeing Shannon that he wasn't thinking clearly.

"In addition to what we've done for him, and will continue to do for him, Shannon will require around the clock care at home, because he won't be able to do anything for himself. Then, once his broken bones have mended, Shannon will need rigorous physical therapy to strengthen the muscles that have atrophied from non-use while he's been laid up."

"Ok, I understand now," Jake followed. "Thank you for your help, Doctor."

When they realized how long Shannon was going to be unable to take care of himself, Dad called and asked if we'd be able to handle things for a while longer than we'd first planned. He explained that he wanted to stay and take care of Shannon until he was able to take care of himself, to eliminate having to hire others to do it.

Dad then went on to explain that Nick couldn't take the time off from work to do it without jeopardizing his job, and neither could Jake. He wouldn't be able to stay away from work for longer than the month he'd been given to handle the situation without being terminated as well. Since he didn't feel he could afford to lose his job, and he certainly wasn't old enough to retire yet, he wouldn't be able to stay with Shannon for as long as he wanted. Therefore, Dad offered to stay and take care of Shannon instead, so Pop would be able to return home after his time was up.

It has been difficult not having Dad around, seeing he fixed most of the meals, did nearly all of the laundry, and kept the main parts of the house clean. This left a lot for us to do after working all day, and without our older son, Elliot, and our youngest brother, Jesse, around to help, it has been a challenge. We're coping fairly well on our own, but it helps that Dion and Trey are here to give us a hand. They're both teachers, so their hours align with the boys' schedules, with the exception of Wyatt who is only two, so they help us keep an eye on Noah, both at school and at home. Trey has also offered to fix most of the meals, seeing he enjoys cooking and had occasionally helped Dad, while Dion has taken over the dishes and keeping the kitchen clean. That's important, since Trey makes quite a mess when he's fixing meals.

Now that Dad's not here to watch Wyatt during the day, they've temporarily had to place him in daycare, so I arranged for him to be enrolled in the daycare at the health center. Brandon and I transport Wyatt back and forth to help out, but we also take care of Wyatt and Joshie when Dion and Trey have something else going on, such as a school function. We also handle all of the boys medical and dental needs, but Brandon and I are doing our share of the duties. He's keeping the downstairs clean and often helps Trey with the meals, and I'm taking care of the laundry. All in all, I'd say we've pretty much got things covered.

Since I've mentioned the health center, this might be the perfect time to mention that we've also made a few changes there as well. It still goes by its official name, the 'South-Central PA Regional Children's Health Center' for legal purposes, but we've renamed the building and it's now known as the 'Cody Currie Children's Health Center'. Seeing we also allow the community to use the gym and athletic fields, they've been collectively designated as the 'Brent Currie Athletic Facilities'. We did this to honor our two brothers who died far too young, but the signs for both places tie in nicely with Kevin's 'Currie Pharmacy', which is right next door. It means that most of the block now has the Currie name attached to it.

As you might recall, our youngest brother, Jesse, was working in the radiology lab at the health center, but now he's basically running it. He has two assistants that work part-time when he needs the extra help and business is booming.

As I stated earlier, Elliot left a few days ago to attend Yale University. We were quite pleased that his grades were good enough for him to be accepted, although he still took advantage of his 'Heritage' status, since both of his parents had graduated from Yale. He's planning on majoring in History and Political Science, because his goal is to become a lawyer. We'll see him again when we go for Family Weekend, which will be in a month.

Elliot's boyfriend, Ian, had been accepted to Stanford, another very prestigious university, and he plans on enrolling in pre-med. He wants to become a doctor like his father, possibly even following in his father's footsteps and becoming a cardiologist. Since California is so far away, he decided to fly there and pre-shipped most of the things he wanted to take with him.

Noah has just begun his freshman year in high school and will be turning fifteen in November. Joshie is going to turn nine in a couple of weeks, and he's just started fourth grade, while Wyatt will be turning three in October. Not much has changed over the past couple years, except that Brandon and I have formally adopted Noah too. We also agreed to honor his wishes to do the same as Elliot had done when he dropped his middle name and used his former surname as his middle name to honor his parents. Then, Noah elected to use the hyphenated surname O'Hara-Currie, as Elliot had done as well.

We struggled to become a family, because it took awhile for Brandon and me to adjust to being parents. Not only were we starting our careers at the same time, but we'd become the parents of teenagers and hadn't had an opportunity to learn from our mistakes as the boys grew up. Then there was another issue; Brandon and I had just turned thirty and our sons were eighteen (Elliot) and soon to turn fifteen (Noah). I don't know of any other people our age that have sons as old as ours, but we were very fortunate to have Dad around to give us advice and guidance when we needed it.

In a way, it's been good that we've had the past two years to adapt to being parents, but it also gave us a chance to get our practices established, so that they now pretty much run on their own. That doesn't mean we don't do anything, because we're still important, but we both rely on our experienced staffs and loyal patients to make it work. It has also given us a steady income, so life is good.

We'd spent most of August helping Elliot get ready to leave for college and making sure Noah had everything he needed for the new school year, so we were happy to see the month coming to an end. We had just finished eating dinner and Brandon and I were relaxing in the living room, sipping our coffee, and chatting about our day at work. Noah had gone to his room so he could work on a school assignment and the house was quiet until the phone rang. I knew it wasn't work trying to contact me, because they would've dialed my cell phone instead. I assumed the call would be for Noah, Dion, or Trey, but I eavesdropped anyway when Dion picked up the receiver.

"Hello."

"Oh, hi Frankie. No, Dad and Pop are still with Shannon in Georgia."

"Shannon's doing better, but I've been told he'll have a lengthy recovery ahead."

"Yeah, sure. I'll call him. Danny, it's Frankie and he wants to speak with you."

That news surprised me. Frankie and I got along fairly well, but I didn't think we were close enough for him to be calling me out of the blue, especially after first asking for Dad. It made me very curious about what he wanted.

"Hi, Frankie. What's up?"

"Danny, I actually called to speak with Dad, but since he's not there, I take it that you're running the show."

"We're all filling in for him, but no one is actually in charge while he's gone."

"But you're pretty much taking care of the Hotel now, right?"

"Well, I guess in a way, but Dion and Trey do a lot too. Does this mean you're calling about another youngster?"

"Yes, and it's a difficult case, so I felt you guys were probably the best equipped to handle it. I wish Dad was there to help out too, but since he's not, I'm sure you and Brandon will be more than able to deal with this poor boy."

"Why? What makes this situation so bad?"

"Ok, let me tell you the story about how we discovered the boy, because then you'll understand why I thought of you. A call came in to the dispatcher about a suspected case of animal abuse, so I and another trooper responded to the call. When we reached the address, the neighbor who'd called in came out to meet us and explained what had prompted her to call."

"I hope it wasn't too horrible."

"Trust me, it was, but maybe not in the way you're thinking. The woman said at first she thought her neighbors were abusing an animal, because of the growling sounds and banging noises that were coming from a plastic animal kennel they kept on the porch. When we went to investigate, we found a large, portable kennel, but we definitely weren't expecting what we discovered inside. The door to the kennel had been secured with a padlock because they were keeping a ten-year-old boy locked inside."

"What? They were keeping a child in a portable cage for animals?"

"Yes, but that's not the worst of it. We thought maybe they had merely put him in there to teach him a lesson, hopefully just a one-time punishment, but we soon discovered the boy spent hours on end in there. It turned out that the boy was the product of a brief romance between his mother and biological father, but the father took off as soon as he was born. For years, his mother has told the boy that the only reason she had him was because she thought his father would marry her and they'd become a family. She's also told him repeatedly that if she knew his father was going to abandon them, she would have had an abortion instead, because she didn't want to be tied down with a snot-nosed brat."

"My God, that's awful. Not only has she treated him like an animal, but she's also repeatedly let him know that he wasn't wanted and is a burden to her."

"I know. It's bad enough that the boy has been physically neglected and emotionally abused, but he was also forced to eat all of his less than adequate meals in that damn device as well. The only time he was let out of the cage was to sleep, bathe, go to school, and occasionally to use the toilet, but he often was forced to relieve himself in there too. That's why if you guys agree to take him, then I'll call Aunt Sally and arrange for her to have his case transferred to her agency. She's still running the local D.S.S., isn't she?"

"Yes, she hasn't retired yet because she wants to groom Little Ricky to replace her first, but we've been told it will be a while before he's ready to do that."

"I'm glad she's doing it that way, because it means we'll still have a powerful contact at D.S.S."

"I agree, but why didn't this boy tell anyone at school about how he was being treated?"

"Apparently he was afraid to. I think he'd been threatened that something awful would happen to him if he ever told anyone about anything that happened at home."

"That's horrible. So where is this boy now?"

"He's been placed in a temporary foster home while they look for something more permanent. The thing is, he's going to need a great deal of love and understanding to make up for the years of abuse and neglect, so that's why I thought of you guys. I just wish Dad was there to help out with him too."

"I know, but he's with Shannon and he might be there for quite a while. Jake was allowed a month of emergency leave, but I think he'll be returning to work at the end of that time. He's too young to retire, since he's only in his late 40s, and I don't think he's ready to quit working yet. I imagine Dad will remain with Shannon until he's able to do things on his own. Nick's there at night, but he has to work too and is currently using all of his vacation time to be with Shannon, so someone will need to be there to help out and do things for him during the day, as well as getting him to numerous therapy sessions and doctor's appointments."

"I'm sure you and Brandon will be able to handle this on your own, if you're willing."

"Let me talk this over with Brandon first, and then I'll call you back."

"When will that be?"

"Probably sometime tomorrow night. I'm sure Brandon and I will be able to make up our minds by then."

"Ok, and I hope you decide to do this. I can't imagine anyone who would be better for this kid than you guys."

I went to ask Dion and Trey to join us in the living room where I'd left Brandon, so we could discuss this together. I wanted the other two involved in this as well, because we're all living in the same house and they're going to be around the boy too, if we decide to do this. After I'd finished relaying all of the information that Frankie had given me, Brandon said he'd like to meet the boy in person first. Dion and Trey agreed they wouldn't have a problem with us taking the boy in, if that's what we chose to do. Seeing we were all pretty much in agreement, I called Frankie back to advise him what we'd agreed to do.

"Frankie, Brandon would like to meet the boy in person first. This weekend would work fine for us, if you can arrange it."

"Ok, I'll see what I can set up and then I'll get back to you."

"We might bring Noah with us if you don't mind, since this will affect him too."

"Sure, it will be nice to see him again. By the way, how's he doing?"

"He's been doing quite well. He just started high school and is playing on the J.V. soccer team, which is why I'm not sure if he'll be able to join us, although I hope he can."

"I understand and I really appreciate that you guys are open to doing this. My heart broke when I saw what this kid was going through."

"I'm sure it did. You may be a tough guy as a cop and good at your job, but we all know what a big softie you are when it comes to kids."

"Yeah, I guess I am, but that's because of what I've heard from the rest of you about what you'd gone through before you came to live with Dad."

"Yes. I guess being around those things tended to make us all more empathetic and willing to help others."

"Yep, you're right about that. Hey, I'll call you back if I can set something up for this weekend. Thanks again."

Once I got off the phone, I realized that I hadn't even asked the boy's name. I knew he was ten and a little of what he'd gone through, but I didn't know his name. I guess I'll find that out soon enough, but I just thought it was a little strange that I hadn't bothered to ask.

We didn't get a call from Frankie until the following evening, and he told us to meet him at his apartment Saturday afternoon. He said he would drive us over to where the boy was staying and we'd get a chance to talk to him. As soon as that was settled, I went to find Noah, to see if he wanted to join us.

"I don't think I'll be able to go," Noah responded. I could tell he was disappointed that he might not be able to join us. "I have a feeling the coach will have us practice Saturday morning, cuz we've got a big game on Tuesday, and doubt we'll be done by the time you'll have to leave."

"That's ok, and you'll meet the boy soon enough if we decide to do this. I'll just ask one of your uncles to pick you up after your practice."

"Thanks, and I hope the kid comes to live here. I know he's only ten, but I think he really needs us. From what you told me, he's had it worse than I did, but I know being here will be just as good for him as it was for me."

"Thanks, Noah, and I'm glad you feel that way."

"I do, because this place and you guys have been really great. I didn't know what was going to happen to me when my mom died, but you and Dad Brandon have been great, and so has Grandpa Josh. I liked having Elliot for my brother too, but I like being around Joshie and Wyatt as well. It's been fun being able to help Joshie practice different sports, but I also like watching Wyatt when Uncle Dion and Uncle Trey need me to babysit."

"Yes, you've been great for us too, and I'm sure the new boy will feel the same way about you."

After I spoke with Noah, I went in to ask Dion and Trey if they'd be willing to help out with him while Brandon and I were away. They said it wouldn't be a problem and they'd be happy to do it. Joshie was in the room while I was talking to his daddy and poppy, but I didn't think he'd been paying attention to what we were discussing. That's why I was so surprised when he asked a question.

"Can I go with you and Uncle Brandon? That way I can tell the boy what it's like here and help him see that he'd be happy with us." He was right, because he had a child's perspective on what it was like living here. He and the boy were also close to the same age, much closer than the rest of us, so maybe he would be able to help.

"Dion, Trey, what do you think about Joshie going with us?"

"If you don't mind, then I don't see why you can't take him with you," Trey answered. "We'll keep an eye on Noah while you're gone and pick him up from practice."

"Thanks, guys. That will help out a lot."

Now that those issues had been settled, Brandon and I started making plans for the trip. We spent a lot of time going over the things we wanted to say to the boy, along with the questions we wanted to ask him. We were hoping we'd be ready to make a final decision about him before we returned home, and if we agreed to do this, then we'd just have to wait until the wheels of bureaucracy were able to arrange for him to come live with us. This should prove to be a very interesting trip.

Chapter 2
Making Plans

On Saturday, Joshie, Brandon, and I hopped into Brandon's car and set off to meet up with Frankie. The banter during the trip helped to highlight our nervousness about meeting the boy, as we wondered what he'd be like. Since he'd been abused and neglected, we wondered if he'd be angry, hostile, or anti-social, or would he merely be a kid craving the love and attention he'd longed for but had never received. That question would likely be answered before too much longer.

After a fairly lengthy drive with no stops along the way, we arrived at Frankie's apartment. I think the first thing we all wanted to do was to use his toilet, but we let Joshie go first, since he was the youngest and had a smaller bladder. By the time we'd all relieved ourselves, we sat down with Frankie and had a cup of coffee, while Joshie had a soda, and listened to what Frankie had to tell us.

It seemed that the foster family was agreeable about allowing us to meet with the boy, but they'd only permit it to happen at their house. They were unwilling to let us take him anywhere or to spend time with him alone.

"I can appreciate that they're trying to protect the boy," Brandon responded, "but it's somewhat unsettling to think they don't trust a State Trooper or two certified foster parents to be alone with him."

"I agree," Frankie countered, "but he's living with them and is their responsibility for now, so we have to abide by their rules."

"I just hope the boy doesn't feel inhibited about sharing information with us if his current foster parents insist on being there while we're meeting with him," I pointed out, slightly concerned.

"Will they let me see him too?" Joshie wondered after hearing about the restrictions.

"We'll insist and tell them that you live in the house and will be affected by our decision if we agree to allow the boy to come live with us," I assured him.

As it neared the time for our appointment, we all hopped into Frankie's SUV and he drove over to the boy's current foster home. When we pulled up in front, the foster parents came out to meet us, but they didn't appear happy and definitely weren't smiling. We didn't let that deter us, though, as we got out of the vehicle and started walking toward the house. After climbing the steps to the porch, I reached out my hand to shake with the other man, but he scowled and refused to reciprocate. Then, he snarled out a greeting.

"I'm going to be upfront with you. I don't believe homos should be foster parents and we're leery about letting you meet with the boy."

"That's not your choice, because this visit has been approved and arranged by your local D.S.S. They have legal custody and responsibility for the boy and you're just his current caretakers," Frankie replied. "I'm a member of the State Police and was raised in the same foster home as this gentleman. He and his partner are both certified foster parents and good men. They've had two foster sons so far, whom they have since adopted."

"I suppose those boys must be queer too then."

"One is, but the other isn't," I stated, annoyed by his haughty attitude and ready for a fight.

"And we all grew up in a similar home with two fathers and we're all very successful now," Frankie added. "There were seventeen of us in total and many of them are heterosexuals, like me, while some happened to be gay. The sexual orientation of a child is not determined by the people raising him, because Brandon," he said while pointing to Brandon, "was raised by his mother and father and turned out to be gay. He's also a dentist and Danny is a Pediatrician, but our other brothers have ended up being successful as well. Just to give you an idea of how well we all did after being raised in a similar foster home, one of my brothers is a pharmacist, another an electrical engineer, and there's also a radiologist, a sales rep, a business owner, an IT coordinator, an accountant, and several teachers in the mix. I think we did pretty well after being raised in a foster home headed by gay partners."

"I still think boys raised by queers end up becoming queer themselves," the man added. "Seeing I can't stop you from seeing the boy, I can limit where you do it and what you say to him."

"Let me warn you there will be major repercussions if you try to interfere," Frankie replied. "If you step out of line in any way or try to impose any arbitrary restrictions on us, then I'll voice my complaint to the proper authorities. I'll also do everything in my power to make sure your status as foster parents comes under intense scrutiny, while also recommending your standing as foster parents be revoked." The man glared menacingly at Frankie for several seconds before giving up and leading us inside.

We followed him into the dining room and were told to take seats on one side of the table, while the boy sat in a chair at the head. The man and his wife then took seats on the opposite side so they were facing us and could observe everything.

"Do you have other children?" I asked for a couple of reasons. First of all, I thought it might relieve some of the tension by starting with something other than the reason for our visit. Second, I wanted to see if the boy had others closer to his age to interact with while staying here or if he was stuck with only these two.

"We don't have any other foster children at the moment, but we have two children of our own," his wife answered.

"We told them to either stay in their rooms or go outside and play until we finished, because we didn't want to be disturbed. We told them not to bother us for any reason, because we felt it was important that we sit in on this."

His answer merely confirmed our feeling that they didn't trust us and only heightened the uneasiness in the room. It also made Brandon and me wonder if we should ask all of the questions we had originally prepared to ask the boy, or if it might be better to shorten the list.

When we were introduced to the boy, we discovered his name was Benjamin Alan Devaney Jr. "Would you like us to call you Benjamin or would you prefer Ben?" I asked, trying to establish a rapport.

He looked nervous and glanced at the other couple before responding. "You can call me Benny. Everybody else does."

"Thank you, Benny," I followed. "Since you're a junior, I take it you must have been name after your father." Again he looked nervous and glanced over at the other couple first. This time I saw the man give a slight nod before the boys answered.

"My mom said she named me after my dad and that's what's on my birth 'tificate, but I never saw him. Mom said he left right after I was born and I think that's why she hates me. Cuz I got the same name as him, when she calls me she 'members that he didn't want to be with us." Even though he'd filled us in about what we wanted to know, he barely spoke above a whisper and said everything without showing much emotion.

"Did your mom always keep you in that cage we found you in?" Frankie asked next, since he hadn't taken time to ask that question when he'd rescued the boy. After seeing the horrible way the mother had treated the boy, Frankie felt it would be best if he simply got the boy out of there and took him to the hospital, so a doctor could examine him.

This time the boy looked down at the table and fidgeted for a few seconds first, rather than glancing at his current foster parents before he spoke. "I was four or five when she first made me go in that cage. When she left and went in the house so I didn't see her no longer, I slid the thing back that kept the door closed and got out. That made her really mad, so she put a lock on it so I couldn't do that again."

"But didn't she let you out to go to school?" Brandon followed, since he was slightly confused.

"She tried to keep me home, but some people from the school told her they'd put her in jail if she didn't send me."

"So she would let you out to go to school and then put you back in there when you got home?" I wondered aloud.

"Yeah, my mom would let me out to wash up and change first, and then I'd spend the day at school. I really liked it when I was there, cuz I could move around some, and I got more to eat too." Hearing his answer was disheartening, especially after we realized the school lunch was his best meal of the day, possibly the only one he was given.

"Do you play sports?" Joshie followed, changing the subject. I was actually glad he had, because the current discussion was depressing the rest of us, but this was something that was important to Joshie, so he wanted to know.

"I was never 'lowed do nuttin like that. I only did that stuff at school, but not a lot. I liked it though and wanted to do it more, but I never could."

"I like sports, so if you come to live with us then I'll teach you some things."

"Yeah, I'd like that." After saying this, it was the first time he'd displayed any emotion and I thought I'd even noticed a brief sparkle in his eyes. "So are there other kids there too?"

"Yep, there are," Joshie answered. "Elliot just went away to college, but Noah is there. He's fourteen, and then there's my little brother, Wyatt. He's only two, but I like doing stuff with him too. Oh, and my name's Joshie."

"Thanks, Joshie, and I think I'd like to come live with you too." For the first time we saw Benny crack a slight smile. Leave it to another kid to help the boy feel at ease and get him to make up his mind.

The foster parents never said another word during our visit, but they made a lot of faces that let us know they didn't approve of our conversation. We didn't let that stop us, though, and we chatted with the boy for over an hour. By the time we were ready to leave, Benny was ready to get his things and go with us right away, but we explained that we'd have to get it approved first. He was disappointed when we told him this, so we attempted to reassure him.

"I'll get things started as soon as I get back to my place," Frankie assured him. "I have some connections that are pretty high up, so I'm going to call in some favors to move this along. As soon as I hear it's been approved, I'll even drive you to their house myself."

"Thanks. I can't wait," the boy said gleefully, although the foster parents were frowning and giving the boy threatening looks. When Frankie saw that, he issued a final warning.

"I certainly hope you aren't planning on doing anything to the boy because of his eagerness to do this. If we find out anything like that happened after we leave, then you might be getting a visit from some of my fellow State Police Officers, not merely someone from D.S.S." Hopefully, that would make them think twice before doing anything.

We left right after each of us had a chance to say goodbye to Benny, and once we were in the car Frankie made another announcement. "I'm going to report those foster parents to the Commissioner of D.S.S., because after hearing the things they said I don't think they're fit to raise children. They could do more harm than good for any kid placed in their care."

"I agree," I responded. "Maybe that's why they're only given emergency cases.

Although the others didn't know this until we got in the car, as we were leaving I heard Benny whisper to Joshie that the other kids didn't do much with him. That's why he was so anxious to come live with us. When I informed everyone else, Joshie looked astonished.

"How did you know that?"

"Benny may have whispered it to you, but I still heard him. I'm not sure if his foster parents did, though. I certainly hope not."

"It's a shame that he's been pretty much isolated," Brandon said. "I hope there aren't many kids that have had to live there and listen to the crap that couple spews." We were all thinking about Brandon's comment when Joshie made us suddenly switch gears.

"He was older than me, but I was taller," he pointed out. Joshie currently stood four feet four inches [1.32 m] tall and Benny was a couple of inches shorter.

"Yes, I noticed that too," I concurred, "but you're tall for your age. His small size probably has something to do with being kept in that cage for such a long time or it might be the result of the poor nutrition he's received. We don't know how often he was fed or what he was given, but that will change when he comes to live with us."

"Yeah, and I hope he does," Joshie agreed.

"He looked a lot better today than when I first encountered him," Frankie stated. "He's actually not bad looking, now that he's been cleaned up. When I first saw him you couldn't tell if his hair was naturally brown or if it was just filthy."

"His eyes are brown too, just like mine, but he's really skinny," Joshie chimed in.

"I'm sure we'll be able to fatten him up once he's living with us," Brandon added with a grin.

"We'll stuff him like a Thanksgiving turkey," I added, making Joshie laugh.

When we got back to Frankie's apartment, Brandon and I talked it over and decided we should probably eat before we hit the road again. We invited Frankie to join us, our treat, and he told us our options. We then decided where we wanted to go and he had us get back into his SUV, so he could drive us there.

During our time at the restaurant, we not only enjoyed a good meal, but we also talked a little more about Benny. "He's actually more friendly than I'd expected," Brandon stated.

"Yes, I was afraid he might be lacking in social skills, maybe even refusing to speak, like Jesse had when he first came to live with us," I added.

"Well Jesse had seen his father killed, and although Benny has been mistreated, I don't believe he's suffered through anything as traumatic as that," Frankie pointed out.

"Maybe not, but you never know what a person will be like when they've been abused, neglected, and isolated for such a long time," I added. "He might have been a lot different if he hadn't gone to school and I think that's what changed things for him."

"Yeah, you might be right about that," Brandon agreed.

"I like him and I'm gonna teach him how to play baseball and basketball," Joshie offered while flashing us a huge grin. "Noah can teach him about soccer."

"I know you played baseball this summer, but where did you learn how to play basketball?" I teased. I'd seen him shooting baskets on the portable backboard at home, but I just wanted to see how he'd respond.

"From watching TV," Joshie quickly quipped. "I like basketball best and shoot hoops a lot. I did it with Papa sometimes and made lots of baskets."

"Then I'm sure you two will hit it off and I'm glad you're willing to help us make Benny feel comfortable," I said, as my way of thanking him.

"I just hope we can arrange for him to come live with us," Brandon chipped in, since he wasn't so sure.

"Don't worry. I'll call Aunt Sally at home after we get back and ask her to start working on this," Frankie assured us after witnessing Brandon's concern.

"Thanks. I just hope those foster parents don't try to mess things up for us," Brandon offered, still not convinced.

"If anything, I'll be making trouble for them," Frankie added, hoping that might make Brandon feel better.

As soon as we finished eating, we returned to Frankie's place and waited while he phoned Aunt Sally. She told him she'd be happy to take care of everything and told us not to worry, saying she'd have it all worked out by the middle of the week. When the call ended, we thanked Frankie again and the three of us loaded into my car again and headed home.

"I hope Benny is able to come to our house soon so we can play together," Joshie stated during the ride. "We're almost the same age, so we'll be good friends."

"I hope so too," Brandon agreed. "You can help us out a lot, and I know you've been hoping we would get someone a little closer to your age."

"Yep. It will be fun."

When we arrived at the house, Joshie raced ahead of us so he could fill his fathers in about Benny. He was going on and on, with his arms flying about as he spoke, and Dion and Trey were getting a kick out of his antics.

"I'm glad we let him go with you," Dion stated when Joshie finally finished.

"We were too," Brandon replied. "I think Joshie was the one who convinced Benny that he'd like it here."

"I'm just glad he'll have someone closer to his age at home," Trey added. "It's true that he spends time with kids his age at school, but he doesn't have anyone at home to hang out with. Noah's six years older and Wyatt's six years younger, so he's kind of stuck in the middle by himself."

"Sometimes we don't think about that, because Joshie acts so much older than he actually is," I pointed out, "but that's probably because he lives with so many older guys. I'm glad this will give him a playmate and it will be good for both of them too."

"Do you think they might even start fooling around?" Trey wondered, as he looked at Dion first, before glancing over at Brandon and me.

"I think they might be a bit too young for that," Brandon answered.

"Maybe not, but do any of you have a problem with it if we catch them doing anything like that?" I asked, so I'd know how to react if we saw them doing anything.

"Nah, we all fooled around when we were younger too and it might even be good for them," Dion confirmed. "We all know kids do things like that at some point, so let them explore a little, as long as neither is getting hurt or taking advantage of the other one." We all agreed with Dion, so there was one less thing to worry about.

"I'll give Benny a physical as soon as he arrives, to make sure he doesn't have any health problems," I mentioned, thinking it was important.

"That's a good idea," Brandon concurred. "We'll probably have to take him shopping too. I doubt he will have much, especially clothes that are in good shape, since he spent most of his time in a fucking dog kennel."

"You're probably right and I never thought about that," I agreed. "We'll have to enroll him in school too, although we can take a day or two before doing that. We'll want to make sure he has the proper clothes first and we'll get his school records to see what grade he's in, although he'll probably be able to tell us that."

"Who's going to stay with him if he doesn't start school right away?" Brandon wondered. "Did you forget that Dad's not here to look after him for us while we're at work?"

"Oh yeah, I guess I did forget about that. Since he's been gone I think we've all begun to realize just how much we count on him and how much he does. I mean, we knew it before, but it's just become even more obvious now that he's not here."

"I guess we do kind of take him for granted sometimes," Dion said, pointing out something else we hadn't considered. "He does a great deal with Joshie and Wyatt for us and we've had to struggle to cover since he left for Georgia."

"Maybe we should do something special for him when he comes home, so he'll know how much we appreciate him," Trey suggested.

"That's a great idea," I agreed. "We'll have to plan something when we find out when he's going to return."

Brandon and I then went to fill Noah in about Benny, since he'd just returned home a short time ago. Dion and Trey had given him permission to spend the afternoon with his friends, so we wanted to let him know what was happening. We didn't want him to be left out or feel unimportant by not telling him about the new boy.

"I know he's younger than me, but I'll make him feel welcome too and show him around a bit."

"Thanks, Noah. I really appreciate that," I stated.

"Hey, Elliot did it for me and I was three and a half years younger than him," Noah pointed out. "Benny's only four and a half years younger than me, so it's nearly the same thing."

"You're a good son, Noah. Thank you and we're very proud of you," Brandon told him.

"And Joshie wants to spend time with him too, so this won't fall entirely on your shoulders," I added. "Joshie's planning on working with him on baseball and basketball, but says you can teach Benny about soccer." Noah laughed before responding.

"Does Joshie even know if Benny wants to do that stuff?" he followed, looking concerned.

"Yes. Joshie went with us and mentioned it to Benny after we met him. Benny seemed to like the idea too and said he was eager to do it," I answered.

"That's good. Then maybe I can help both of them at the same time, because I'm used to doing those things with Joshie," Noah confirmed. "I did it with him and Grandpa Josh before, but I've even done it with him after Grandpa Josh went to be with Uncle Shannon."

"That's great, and I think Benny is going to like living here," Brandon chimed in as a huge smile spread across his lips. Noah and I both nodded and smiled back.

It was nice to know we had Noah's support, because it would take a little more pressure off of Brandon and me. The rest of the night went fairly uneventful, as Brandon and I thought about what we could do to make Benny feel at home once he got here.

Brandon and I spent Sunday catching up on the things we usually did on Saturday, but were unable to accomplish because of the trip. After rushing around and getting everything done, we were both exhausted by bedtime, so we turned in a little earlier than normal.

Brandon and I had set the alarm to get up for work on Monday, but when I went to wake up Noah he reminded me that today was Labor Day. That fact had totally slipped our minds, because of everything else going on, but we quickly recovered and still managed to have a cookout to mark the end of the summer. It wasn't a big family affair like we'd had in the past, primarily due to the fact that Dad wasn't here. After we ate, we mainly took it easy and enjoyed the additional day of rest.

Tuesday morning we all went back to work and school, falling into our normal routines again. As soon as we were done at the office that evening, Brandon and I raced to the high school so we could watch at least some of Noah's soccer match. When we arrived they were already in the second half, with Noah's team leading 2-1.

One of the other parents we knew told us that Noah had been playing well and doing a good job at his midfield position. We had only been there a few minutes when our team was awarded a corner kick, and Noah lined up at the edge of the penalty box, even with the far post of the goal. The ball was then put in play and ricocheted off a player on the opposing team, and with the ball still above the ground, Noah drove his foot into it. The ball sailed through the air toward the goal, just out of the keeper's reach, and landed in the upper corner of the net for a score.

Noah was immediately swarmed by his teammates as they celebrated his accomplishment. It turned out to be the final goal of the day and Noah's team won 3-1, so we gave him some space to celebrate with his teammates a little longer, this time for winning the match. It was several minutes before Noah finally spotted us, so he hurried over to ask how long we'd been there and if we had seen him score. We confirmed we had and that seemed to please him, but it made us feel good too, and then we told him to get his things together so we could head home.

Later that evening, sometime around eight o'clock, the phone rang. I went to answer it, since everyone else appeared to be busy.

"Hello."

"Danny, it's Aunt Sally." She'd obviously recognized my voice. "I just wanted to let you know that earlier I arranged to have the boy Frankie called me about transferred to our department. I called Frankie to let him know too, and he asked me to tell you that he will drive the boy here on Thursday, which is his next day off."

"That's great, although I wish we could get Benny here sooner. Unfortunately, Brandon and I both work and it would be difficult to make that long trip at the end of the day. I hate the idea of leaving him longer with the foster parents we met, but I guess a couple more days won't make that much of a difference."

"I want you to know that I heard all about them too and have alerted my counterpart about that situation. He has agreed to send a social worker to the house tomorrow for an unannounced inspection, but he's also assured me that he'll only use them in emergency situations from now on. In fact, he said he would drop the couple completely when he gets a few more people certified, but at the moment he doesn't have enough temporary homes to place kids in an emergency situation so he has to keep them. He told me he's had other complaints about them before this, and that's why he only uses them for temporary, short-term placements, but only when he has no other options. I can empathize with his predicament."

"I'm sure, but it's good to know that he knows about it and wants to drop them, however, I hate to see any kid subjected to that sort of poisonous garbage, even if it is for just a short time."

"I agree and my counterpart will do whatever he can to avoid using them in the future. It's just too bad that he can't remove their biological children too, but I'm certain they've probably already brainwashed their kids to their way of thinking. We can only hope that those kids don't grow up to be just like their parents."

"Yes, I'm sure they've been taught to hate the same people that their parents hate. It's a vicious cycle. Thank you for your help, though, and I can't wait for you to meet Benny. He and Joshie have already hit it off, and Noah has agreed to spend some time with him too, so I have a feeling this will work out fine."

"I'm not surprised by the fact that Brandon and you are doing the same great job that Josh used to do for me too."

After I hung up with Aunt Sally, I gave Frankie a quick call to get an idea about what time to expect him on Thursday. He said he was planning to pick Benny up right after Benny got out of school and then they'd leave after packing up his belongings and loading everything into his vehicle. I thanked him for the information and said we'd have dinner waiting for him, because I insisted that he have dinner with us before he headed back. He said he'd like that and then we ended the call.

As soon as I got off the phone with Frankie, I went to tell Dion and Trey what we'd discussed. I also asked Trey if he wanted me to pick up some take out on my way home that night, but he declined my offer and said he'd fix something special instead. Joshie was in the room while we were talking and immediately began whooping it up and dancing around, pleased that Benny would be here in a few more days.

"Can you put Benny in the bedroom next to mine?"

"We can suggest it to him, Joshie, but you know we normally let each boy choose his room," I answered.

"Don't worry, though," Brandon offered. "I'm sure that as soon as he hears you want him next to you that he'll like the idea too."

"Maybe he can even sleep with me the first night," Joshie suggested looking hopeful. "It would make it so he isn't as scared about being in a strange house."

"We'll think about it, but maybe not the first night because you'll have school the next day. We don't want you boys staying up all night talking and not getting your rest," I replied. "Maybe Friday night, though, if Benny wants to do it."

"Yeah, that would be great!"

Once we left them, Brandon and I had something else to discuss. "We don't have to worry about Thursday, because we should be home before they get here, but what are we going to do with Benny on Friday?" Brandon pointed out.

"I have a couple of ideas about that, but I'd like to run them by Benny first, to see which he'd prefer."

"What are you thinking?"

"Well, I figured we could always leave him in daycare with Wyatt for the day, or I could let him spend the day in my waiting room and ask the receptionist to keep an eye on him for me. There are plenty of toys that my patients play with, along with books that they can read, and of course they'll be other children coming in and out too so he won't be alone. I want to give him the choice, though."

"Ok, I'm sure either will work, although I have a feeling he might prefer your waiting room."

"Yeah, me too." I then made a mental note to check with my receptionist the next day to see if she'd mind doing that.

"We can check out the things he brings with him before we go to bed Thursday night, and then we can take him shopping after work on Friday. I'll just mention it to Trey and Dion because we will have Wyatt with us too, but I also want to see if one of them is willing to pick Noah up after his practice. It will also let them know we'll be getting home a little later than usual."

"Do you want to check with them or should I?"

"I'll do it. I figure Dion will be the one who will pick Noah up for us, because Trey will be busy fixing dinner."

"You're probably right, so I hope they don't mind."

"I'm sure Joshie will make sure they don't have a problem with it, seeing we'll be doing this for Benny," Brandon teased. I merely chuckled at his observation.

Chapter 3
Welcoming Benny

I think Brandon and I were both a bundle of nerves while we were at work on Thursday, as we mentally prepared for Benny to arrive and become part of our family. I prayed this would work out all right, and although I felt it would, you can never be sure about these things. I just hoped the boys would all get along with each other.

We had only been home a short time, when Frankie pulled into the driveway. As soon as he saw Frankie's vehicle, Joshie went tearing out of the house to greet Benny and nearly tackled the poor kid as he was getting out of the SUV. No harm was done, however, because both boys were smiling as they walked toward the house, with an arm draped over each other's shoulders.

"That's quite a picture," Dion mused when he saw his son and our newest family member.

"Yes, they hit it off almost immediately and I think they'll be good for each other," I commented just before both boys entered the house, followed closely by Frankie.

I think having Frankie drive him to the house made Benny feel more at ease, since Frankie was one of the two State Troopers who saved him from the horrible situation he'd been in. It also didn't hurt that Benny had taken an instant liking to Joshie.

"This is my brother, Wyatt," Joshie announced as Wyatt waddled toward them.

"Who he?" Wyatt asked as he looked up at Benny.

"He's Uncle Danny and Uncle Brandon's new son. His name is Benny," Joshie explained.

"Ben-ee," Wyatt repeated as he looked up at Benny. Benny then bent down so Wyatt could see him better.

"Frankie, thanks for going out of your way to bring Benny here," Brandon told him, sincerely grateful.

"It was my pleasure. I think Benny was more than a little nervous as we made our way here, because he hardly said a word the entire time. I think he became even more concerned about what he was getting into when he saw this big ol' place, although I'd tried to tell him about it while we were traveling. It can still be quite a sight and even a little intimidating when you first see it, but he'll get used to it quickly. I think Joshie took care of most of Benny's fears with his enthusiastic greeting, because it looks as if Benny feels right at home now."

"Yes, he's been a big help. In fact, I'm not sure what we would have done without Joshie, because he broke the ice for us when we first met Benny," I added as I smiled at the pair in front of me. At nearly the same instant I saw Noah out of the corner of my eye.

"Noah, come here please. Benny, this is one of our sons, Noah," I explained as I urged Noah to shake hands with Benny. "You two are going to be brothers now."

"So I'll have another brother?" Benny asked as he glanced over at Joshie.

"Joshie and Wyatt are technically your cousins, but we all live in the same house so you'll be just like brothers," Dion clarified.

"Oh, ok," Benny sighed, although he appeared slightly disappointed.

Then, he began to look around the interior for the first time and noticed how many people were standing in the foyer waiting to greet him. I think this sight was quite intimidating for Benny, so Brandon decided to draw Benny's attention back to Joshie.

"Don't worry. You and Joshie will be just as close as if you were brothers," he assured him. "We're all just one big happy family here."

"That's right," Dion chimed in. "The guy working in the kitchen and I are Joshie's parents. You can call him Uncle Trey and I'm Uncle Dion."

"So we all got two dads and no mom," Benny said as he was slowly starting to piece things together.

"That's right. I hope it's not a problem for you."

"No, but is that why my other foster dad called you guys queers and homos?" Benny asked innocently.

"Yes, he said that because he knew we'd rather be with another man than with a woman," I replied. "Some people don't like it when two guys are together and call them mean names, like your foster dad did. I hope you don't have a problem with it?"

"Nah. I never had a dad before, so I think it will be neat to have two dads now. Before, it was just me and my mom, but she didn't really like me and wasn't very nice, so this will be a lot better."

"Yes, we all have two dads, even those of us who are dads too. That's how it works around here. Uncle Dion and Uncle Trey are Joshie and Wyatt's two dads, but we have two dads too. They'll be your grandpas and you'll have a whole bunch of uncles too, including Uncle Frankie, but you'll meet the rest of them later." Benny merely smiled in response.

"Dinner will be ready in a just few minutes and I'll be calling you out to the table," Trey announced as he stepped out of the kitchen.

"I hope you didn't go to any trouble on my account," Frankie stated when Trey finished speaking.

"Not at all. I was mainly worried about making something I thought Benny might like, so I ended up fixing spaghetti and meatballs. I figured all kids like that, so I just hope you're all ok with my choice."

"Yeah, I like sketti," Benny confirmed as a huge smile broke across his face. "It was my fave-rit when I had it at school."

"I'm glad to hear that, because I didn't want you to go hungry," Trey confirmed.

"You mean you made it just for me?" Benny followed, staring at Trey.

"Yep, because I felt you might like it better than anything else, but I made a tossed salad and some garlic bread too," Trey added, before leaving to check on the food.

"While we're waiting to eat, I'll run out to get Benny's things and bring them inside so I don't forget later," Frankie announced as he headed for the door.

"Ok, I'll go with you and help," I said as I followed Frankie.

"He really doesn't have very much and I can manage it by myself," Frankie announced once we were outside.

"I was afraid of that, but at least now I know. I just wasn't sure."

We carried the items inside and set them down next to the staircase leading to the second floor. I planned on taking them up later, once Benny decided which bedroom he wanted to use. For now, I merely followed Frankie into the living room where the others were chatting, except for Trey who was putting the finishing touches on the meal.

I was pleased to see that Noah was sitting next to Benny too, happily chatting with him. Joshie was on Benny's other side and was continually making comments to clarify some of the things Noah was saying. I suspect he must have said something about Brandon and me, because Benny glanced over to where we were sitting and stared at us for a few seconds.

"Hey, what should I call you guys?" Benny finally shouted, his eyes wide in anticipation.

"Elliot, our other son who's away at college, and Noah call us Dad Danny and Dad Brandon, which is fine with us. Joshie calls his fathers Daddy and Poppy, and that would be alright with us too, so we'll let you choose which you'd prefer. I have no doubt we'll respond either way."

"How about I call you Dad D and Dad B?" Benny offered, and then he waited for our response. His choice, however, made me chuckle.

"That's fine, although at first I thought you were calling me daddy, like Joshie calls your Uncle Dion. I realized my mistake when you called Brandon Dad B, but that's fine with us." For a moment Benny looked confused and I was about to explain my comment when his face suddenly lit up.

"Oh, I get it now," he confirmed with a toothy grin. "Dad D sounds like daddy." I merely nodded and smiled back.

"Dinner's ready, so you'd better get washed up and in here if you want to eat," Trey announced. Joshie immediately grabbed Benny's hand and led him toward the downstairs bathroom, while Noah picked up Wyatt so he could help him.

Once we'd all made our way to the dining room, Joshie said he wanted Benny to sit next to him. Since Brandon and I felt one of us might need to help Benny fill his plate, as Dion usually did for Joshie, we placed the boys in between us. It's a good thing we have a large oval table, or otherwise this might have been a problem. Instead, Brandon and I sat to the right of Benny with Noah sitting next to me, while Dion and Trey sat on Joshie's left with Wyatt sitting on his booster seat on the other side of Trey.

Once we were all situated, Brandon helped Benny take what he wanted, and Dion and Trey did the same for Joshie and Wyatt. As soon as those three were set, we started passing the dishes around the table for everyone else to take their share.

"This is really good," Benny squealed as he shoveled the food into his mouth.

"Thank you," Trey responded politely. "I'm glad you like it."

"Just take your time and enjoy the meal," Brandon advised Benny. "There's plenty of food and you can have as much as you want, so slow down and chew everything carefully. I don't want you to choke or overdo it."

"K," was all Benny answered.

Benny slowed down, but that didn't stop him from trying to stuff himself. I was afraid he was going to burst before he finished.

"Hey, you'd better save some room for dessert," Trey advised him. "I made a chocolate cake with fudge icing in your honor."

"You made a cake for me?" Benny shot back, totally amazed.

"Yes, I made it for you, but we're all going to have some. It's for all of us share, but I made it to welcome you to the family." At that moment Benny's chest swelled out even further than his belly.

"K, I'll save room then," he relented.

After we'd all finished eating, Trey carried the chocolate cake into the dining room with three lighted candles on top. As he set it down in front of Benny, we could see that Trey had written a message on top too. It read, "Welcome Home Benny."

"What do you say, Benny?" Brandon prompted after a few seconds. As I glanced at Benny I could see tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Nobody's ever made a cake for me before," he choked out, deeply moved.

"Not even for your birthday?" Joshie gasped, horrified.

"Nope. Some of my teachers gave me a cupcake at school with a candle on top when it was my birfday, but that was it."

"Damn! I can't imagine a parent not celebrating his kid's birthday," Noah added. "That will change now, because we make a big deal out of birthdays."

"By the way, when is your birthday?" I asked, so I could mark the date on the calendar so we wouldn't forget.

"The last day of April, I think," Benny responded.

"You're not sure?" Joshie gasped again.

"I think that's when it is, because that's what my teachers told me, but my mom never did nothin' at home, so I'm not sure," Benny answered honestly.

"I'll make certain I find out then. I'll ask someone I trust to check your records and then we'll know for sure."

"K."

"Blow out the candles now, Benny," Brandon urged. "We can't cut the cake until you do that."

"K, but how come there are three candles? I'm not three."

"I used three candles because you're Danny and Brandon's third son," Trey explained. "There's Elliot, Noah, and you."

"I get it and that's nice," Benny replied before blowing them out.

Trey then cut the cake into slices and put a rather healthy one on a small plate that he set down in front of Benny. The kid tore into that piece of cake like he'd never had cake before, and possibly he hadn't. It was great watching him enjoying every bite, before he started scraping up the crumbs so they didn't go to waste either.

"That was really good. Thank you," he said as he looked over at Trey and then glanced around at the rest of us. We all smiled in return to let him know we were pleased he was with us.

Now that dinner was over, Frankie excused himself and let us know he had to get back home. "It's been fun, but I've got to scoot. I'm working tomorrow."

"Well, thanks for making this road trip and bringing us a very special present," I responded. I wondered if Benny had caught on to what I meant, but I knew the answer to that question the second he looked up at me and grinned.

"You mean me, doncha?"

"Yes, that's what I meant."

"Well, it was my pleasure to do it for you and I'll return to check up on my new nephew from time to time."

"We look forward to having you," Brandon responded. "Benny, go over and say goodbye to Uncle Frankie and thank him for bringing you here." Benny got up and shuffled over to where Frankie was standing.

"Thanks, Uncle Frankie. I hope I get to see you again soon."

"You will. You don't have to worry about that," Frankie replied. Then, the rest of us followed Frankie out to his SUV, told him to have a safe trip, and waved as he drove off.

"I guess it's time for Benny to choose the bedroom he wants to use," I said once we were all inside again.

"Pick the one next to mine!" Joshie immediately shouted.

"You mean I get to have a room all by myself?"

"You mean you didn't have your own room before?" Joshie asked.

"No. I slept on the couch or in the cage when I was with my mom, and then I had to share a room at the foster home."

"Well, you won't have to do that here, because you'll have your own bedroom," Brandon assured him.

"And I get to pick it out too?" Benny followed.

"You sure do. This is a big place and there's lots of empty bedrooms right now," I added. "There were a whole bunch of us living here at different times, about 18 because Dad B stayed here with us too, so we needed to have a lot of bedrooms."

"Wow! Are we going to have that many here now?" Benny wondered.

"Who knows? Dion and Trey have two sons and you make our third son," I replied. "That means there's five boys here and six adults that will be living here, so we're getting close."

"I don't see that many people?" Benny observed.

"That's true. Your brother, Elliot, is at college and you haven't met your Grandpa Josh or Grandpa Jake yet. Your grandpas live here as well, but they're in Georgia right now helping to take care of one of your other uncles. Grandpa Jake will be back the day after tomorrow, though, because he's got to go back to work."

"I hope I can 'member who they all are," Benny said looking concerned.

"Don't worry about it. If you forget, we'll just remind you, but I'm sure it won't take very long before you figure it all out," Dion told him.

"K."

We then headed upstairs to show Benny some of the rooms he had to choose from. However, as soon as he saw the jungle room, he didn't want to go farther. "Can I pick this one?" he asked as he stared at the animals on the wallpaper.

"Sure, if you want," I confirmed.

"This one is really neat! I've never stayed in a room as nice as this one before."

"Well, it's your room now and we'll prove it by unpacking everything you brought with you and putting it in the dresser and closet for you," Brandon advised him.

The two of us then walked downstairs to fetch his belongings and carried the items up to his room. We soon discovered the clothes he'd brought with him were all of questionable value, even the ones he probably wore to school. This meant we'd definitely have to take him shopping after work tomorrow to pick up some other items for him. We'd only buy the basics at that time, and then we'd do more shopping over the weekend, at least until he had everything he needed. Since we had no other option, we quickly picked out the best outfit we could find among the items he'd brought with him, because he had to wear something tomorrow. All of his clothes needed to be laundered, though, and eventually we'd only use these clothes for him to play in.

"Now that you are pretty much settled in, why don't I give you a bath?" Brandon suggested.

"I can wash myself," Benny stated indignantly.

"Ok, you can do it after today, but I want to give you a bath this time to make sure you're squeaky clean for tomorrow. You're going to have to go to work with us, so I want you to look really nice."

"You mean I've got to work and not go to school?"

"No, you'll be going to school on Monday, but tomorrow you'll go in to work with us," Brandon clarified. "We're doing it so Dad D can give you a complete physical, because he'll be your pediatrician too."

"What's that?"

"It's a doctor who only has kids for patients," I informed him. "I want to give you a physical so I can make sure everything is in good working order." Benny was cocking his head as he analyzed this news.

"You don't have to spend the entire day with him, though, but you can if you want to," Brandon added. "He has a lot of toys, books, and other things in the waiting room for the other kids to use when they come for an appointment, so there will be plenty for you to do. After your physical, you can stay there and have fun if you want, or you can go over and be with Wyatt at the daycare center."

"Daycare is for little kids, so I'll stay with Dad D. K?"

"Sure, that works for us," Brandon agreed.

"And while Dad B is giving you a bath, I'll take some of your clothes downstairs and throw them in the washing machine," I explained. Before I left, however, Joshie came streaking down the hallway, totally naked.

"Can I take a bath with Benny?"

"Hey, you don't got no clothes on," Benny observed, his mouth hanging open after he finished speaking.

"Of course. You don't take a bath with your clothes on," Joshie pointed out.

"But it will be up to Benny if he wants to take a bath with you," Brandon offered. "Maybe he doesn't want you to see him naked yet."

"It's ok. I've seen Joshie's thingy now, so I guess he can see mine too, but mine looks different." We weren't sure if he meant his penis wasn't as long as Joshie's, since Joshie was hung like his father, or if his comment meant he was uncircumcised. I guess we'd soon find out.

While that was going through our minds, Brandon glanced in my direction so he could silently ask if I thought he should allow them to bathe together, so I nodded. "I'll just let Dion and Trey know what's going on when I get downstairs."

"What's a thingy?" Joshie eventually asked, slightly confused.

"He means your penis," Brandon informed him.

"Oh. A lot of people will see you like that, cuz we don't wear clothes here sometimes. We go swimming like this too." Benny made a face, but I wasn't sure if it was about others seeing him naked or about the swimming.

"Benny, can you swim?" I asked to sort it out right away. If he couldn't swim, I thought it was something we should know.

"I'm not sure. I've never tried."

"That's alright. We'll teach you then," I advised him. "Joshie, that means you can't take Benny in the pool unless Uncle Brandon, I, or your daddies are there to watch and help teach him."

"Yeah, ok."

"You have a swimmin' pool?" Benny followed.

"Yep, outback," Joshie confirmed.

"Is it a small one that you fill with a hose?" Benny followed, letting us know he was thinking of a kiddie pool. It seemed he didn't think a family would have a regular size pool.

"No, it's much larger than that. It's an above ground pool and we'll show it to you this weekend," Brandon clarified. "We use it a lot when it's warm out, but unfortunately we won't have much longer to do that this year. Come on, let's get you boys in the tub."

Brandon then went in to draw the bathwater while Benny was getting undressed. Before long, the boys came strolling into the bathroom together.

"Benny's penis is like Poppy's, that's all," Joshie announced. That seemed to clear everything up for now.

After the boys were in the tub, Brandon explained to Benny about the difference in their penises and instructed him how to retract the foreskin. They soon discovered, however, that Benny's penis wasn't ready to do that just yet, so they would wait and try again another time.

"How come Joshie's thin... pee-nus is bigger than mine?"

"It's pee-nis, not pee-nus," Joshie corrected.

"It just works that way," Brandon answered, hoping Joshie hadn't made Benny feel badly. "Joshie's daddy has a bigger penis than the rest of us too, because size varies from person to person. It's in the genes you inherit from your parents, so not everyone's penis is the same size." Brandon wasn't sure if Benny understood, but he didn't pursue the matter further, so Brandon let the subject drop.

When Brandon finished bathing both boys he had them put on a fresh pair of underwear to sleep in. I intentionally didn't say 'clean' underwear, because it didn't appear that anything Benny brought with him was clean, so I was currently trying to correct that situation in the laundry room. Once both boys were ready, Brandon told them they could go downstairs for a little while longer if they wanted, since it was still early.

"Wow! Benny looks a lot different now," Trey observed as they came down the steps.

"Very nice," Dion added. "And thanks for washing Joshie too."

"No problem, but he wasn't giving me much of a choice." Dion and Trey chuckled when they heard that.

"Yes, I'm sure he was quite insistent. He likes to check others out and see how they're hung," Dion admitted. "It's much the same as we did at one time."

"Yes, kids tend to be curious about such things and we were too," Brandon agreed.

While I was still running the first load of Benny's clothes through the washer, Benny and Joshie went in to watch TV for a while. After I moved that load over to the dryer, I called Benny to tell him it was time to go to bed. Both boys came running out of the family room together, so I told Trey and Dion that I'd tuck Joshie in too, after I finished with Benny. They thanked me and then kissed Joshie goodnight before we took off.

When we reached the top of the stairs, Noah was walking down the hallway, totally naked, but Benny wasn't expecting anything like this either.

"Hey, he's got no clothes on and he's got a really big thing... penis," he observed, correctly saying the word this time. "It's way bigger than mine and Joshie's, and it's all hairy too."

"Those are things that will happen to you when you get older," I clarified, hoping he wouldn't want to get into this right now. However, he was too busy gawking at Noah instead, so nothing more was said.

Noah stopped and allowed Benny to visually inspect his equipment, much to Benny's delight. When he'd seen it for a sufficient amount of time, Benny headed for his new bedroom and Noah went to his room as well.

"So everybody walks around here with no clothes on?" Benny asked as he was getting into bed.

"Basically. It's only us guys here, so we don't worry too much about the others seeing us without anything on. If you'd been here during the summer you would have gotten an eyeful."

"You mean all of you took your clothes off?"

"Not only us, but all of your uncles too, when they came to visit. It was hot out, so everyone felt better with nothing on, but there was a lot of skinny-dipping going on as well."

"What's skinny-dicking?"

"It's skinny-DIPping, and that just means swimming naked."

"Oh."

"Benny, if you need anything during the night my bedroom's right over there," I informed him, so he'd know where to go. "The night light is always on in the bathroom during the night, so you'll be able to find your way around without bumping into anything, but do you want me to leave the lamp on in your room too?"

"Ummm, I guess not. I never did that before."

"Ok, but you can always change your mind if you want me to do that later."

Joshie had gone to his room while Benny was gawking at Noah, so I tucked Benny in quickly, kissed him goodnight, and wished him sweet dreams. Then I gathered up the rest of his clothing to wash before going over to tuck Joshie in.

"Thanks for everything you did for Benny tonight," I told him. "That really helped a lot."

"I didn't do nothing."

"Maybe you didn't realize it, but you did. It started when you ran out to greet Benny when he first got here, and then when you wanted him to sit next to you at the dinner table. It was also nice when you told him you wanted him to take the bedroom next to yours. I'm sure Benny appreciated you telling him all that stuff about the family too, and then taking a bath with him."

"I didn't do it just for him. I wanted to do that stuff too."

"I know, but it still helped out and made Benny feel comfortable, so thank you very much." I then kissed Joshie on the cheek and wished him pleasant dreams.

When I went downstairs again, I filled Brandon, Trey, and Dion in about what had happened when I put the boys to bed. I thought they should know everything so we'd all be on the same page in the future. Then I went to take the last load of the night out of the dryer and folded those items before carrying them upstairs and putting them away. Benny was already sleeping when I got to his room, so I placed everything in his dresser, content that Benny had felt comfortable enough to fall asleep.

Once that was taken care of, Brandon and I decided to turn in as well, since tomorrow looked as if it was going to be another long day. We were off to a decent start, so I prayed our good fortune would continue.

Chapter 4
New Beginnings

Sometime during the night I thought I heard someone moving around, so I got up to investigate. I was worried that Benny might accidentally fall down the stairs on his way to the toilet, since the door to the bathroom and the top of the staircase were fairly close to each other. When I got to his room, Benny wasn't in bed, so I checked the bathroom but he wasn't there either. I then went to see if he'd gone over to be with Joshie, but he wasn't there either. While I heading back to his room, I saw Benny coming up the stairs. He didn't see me, but I noticed he was carrying a box of crackers, a jar of peanut butter, and a butter knife.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, totally startling him.

"Ummm... not really."

"Then why do you have those things?" It didn't appear as if he wanted to answer my question, but I waited until he did.

"For later?" he admitted, but it sounded more like a question.

"Benny, you don't have to hoard food in your bedroom. We'll make sure you have plenty to eat and you won't go hungry again. If you want something, just ask, but you don't have to hide food in your bedroom. Besides, it might attract bugs." His face turned slightly red and he looked as if he felt he might be punished for what he did. "Do you want me to take it back?"

"Either you can do that or I can do it for you. It's not a big deal," I added to relieve his concerns.

"I'll do it, and I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry, because I understand why you did it," I assured him as I gave him a hug. "We won't ever treat you like your mother did, so you don't have to worry." After saying this, I felt him hug me back.

"Thank you," he said as he finally relaxed his arms from around my waist.

"We're glad to have you here and we're going to make sure you feel loved." After I said this, he threw his arms around my waist again and gave me another squeeze.

I waited as he returned those items to the pantry, not because I didn't trust him, but so I could tuck him in again. When he came up the stairs he looked at me oddly, possibly still worried that I might be mad at him, so I told him the same thing. "I just waited so I could tuck you in."

His face slowly broke into a smile as I followed him into his room and he climbed into bed. I tucked him in again, just like I'd done earlier. The only difference was that after I wished him sweet dreams, I added a little extra. "Dad B and I want you to know that we both love you and we're going to take good care of you. I promise." Benny smiled and thanked me again before he closed his eyes, content that he was wanted here.

Brandon was asleep when I crawled into bed beside him, so I figured I'd just tell him about this in the morning. No sense waking him now.

I awoke the minute our alarm went off, but Brandon was a little slower waking up and getting out of bed, although I wasn't sure why. As soon as he was coherent, I advised him about what had transpired the previous night, which caused him to make a pouty face before speaking.

"It makes me feel awful that Benny thought we might not give him enough to eat. I hoped that after we'd allowed him to stuff himself at dinner that it would ease his concerns."

"I guess he was worried that we'd only let him do it last night and it was just a one-time thing. I think he was afraid we weren't going to allow him to eat as well after Frankie left."

"You're probably right about that, but I hope he knows better now."

"I think he does, but if not, we'll just have to prove it to him. We'll feed him well this morning and the rest of the day too."

"Yeah, because I'll fix a nice breakfast and we'll take him to have lunch at the snack bar at work, and then we'll have dinner at home."

"Eventually he'll figure out that we mean what we say and we're not about to let him go hungry."

After Brandon and I got ready for work, I went to wake Benny and Noah, but I also made sure Benny was getting dressed while Brandon went down to fix breakfast. After Benny was ready, I took him downstairs, followed by Noah, and we were surprised to see that Brandon had made French toast.

"I hope you like this," Brandon said as he set a plate down in front of Benny and added some syrup to the two slices. While he was doing that, I poured both boys a small glass of orange juice and a larger glass of milk.

"This is good," I heard Benny say as I brought the drinks into the dining room.

"I'm glad you like it," Brandon replied as he and I sat down next to the boys to consume our share.

Benny and Noah finished off what was on their plates, so Brandon asked if they wanted more. They both said they did, so Brandon went out to fix a couple more slices and that seemed to fill Benny up. Dion had Wyatt ready by the time we'd finished, so the four of us went out to the car and I drove over to the health center.

"Isn't that your last name?" Benny asked as he pointed at the sign when we pulled in.

"Yes. This is our health center and we named it after one of our brothers who died?"

"Awww, I'm sorry about that, but it was nice you did this for him."

"Thank you, but I'm actually a little surprised that you even knew our last name," I stated.

"I kinda 'membered hearin' it when you came to see me where I was livin' before, but Joshie told me too."

"Someday I hope you'll have that name as well," Brandon chimed in, causing Benny to smile.

"Me too!"

Benny looked around the daycare center when we dropped Wyatt off, and then he followed me to my office. We both said goodbye to Brandon when he left to go to his office, which caused Benny to look up at me strangely.

"Dad B is a dentist and that's where he works. Have you ever been to a dentist before?"

"I don't think so."

"Then I'll mention that to Dad B when we have lunch together and maybe he can examine your teeth later. But first, I'm going to give you a physical."

When we entered the reception area, I introduced Benny to my staff. The receptionist was going to keep an eye on him for me after I finished the examination, but I also introduced him to the billing clerk and two nurses as well. They all made a big fuss over him, which embarrassed Benny slightly, although he was grinning the entire time.

"Ok, champ. Follow me."

I led him into one of the examination rooms and asked him to get undressed. While he was doing that, I took out a few items I was going to need. As soon as he was naked, I put him on the scale to check his weight and height, and then I took his blood pressure before beginning the physical. I found nothing seriously wrong with him, but I spotted a few minor issues, such as his being quite small for his age, slightly malnourished, and I was worried about the condition his bones and teeth might be in. Without the proper nourishment they could be unusually brittle, but I'd take care of those things over time by making sure he took a daily vitamin and drank plenty of milk. I didn't have time to do more today, because I had a full patient schedule and didn't want to fall behind early.

After Benny got dressed, I took him out to the waiting room and showed him where everything was. I told him he could play with and use anything there, but I also asked him to be nice to the other kids for me. I then told him that if he needed anything the receptionist would help him out, and if she couldn't do what he needed then she'd have someone get me. He seemed satisfied with my answer, so I left him to play while I got ready for the rest of the day.

Benny must have done fairly well, because no one came to get me or had anything negative to say when the office closed down at lunchtime. I took Benny over to get Brandon and then we headed to the snack bar together.

"What would you like for lunch?" I asked Benny after we'd sat down at a table.

"I don't know."

"Well, look at the menu and see what you'd like. There's plenty to choose from, so just make up your mind and order what you want."

"Can I have a cheeseburger?"

"Not your best choice, but that's fine if it's what you want. How about I have them add some potato salad and a glass of milk to go with it?"

"K."

I ordered his meal, along with mine, and Brandon ordered what he wanted. While we waited for the food to be delivered, I decided to mention something to Brandon.

"Hun, do you have any openings in your schedule today? Benny told me he didn't think he'd ever been to see a dentist, so I thought you might want to examine his teeth. He passed his physical with flying colors."

"I'm not sure, but if we finish eating quickly enough then I can squeeze him in before my other patients arrive."

"That will work."

We then told Benny to eat and not waste any time, but we didn't exactly want him to rush. We merely wanted to make sure he didn't dawdle, so Brandon would have time to check the condition of his teeth without throwing off his schedule.

When we returned to Brandon's office, he quickly discovered his dental hygienist didn't have anyone scheduled right away. She wasn't back yet, but as soon as she returned, he asked her to clean Benny's teeth and take the standard x-rays. Then, he would check the x-rays before quickly examining Benny's teeth. Brandon advised me that after he was done he would have someone bring Benny over to my waiting room, and then he'd fill me in later about what he discovered.

When I finished for the day, I found Benny playing in the waiting room and asked him put everything away. When he finished, I locked up the office and we walked over to meet Brandon. He had already closed up shop and gone down to pick up Wyatt, so we walked down to the daycare to meet them. Once we were in the car, he filled me in about Benny's oral hygiene.

"I discovered that due to his poor treatment at home and lack of proper nutrition, as well as limited sweets, Benny has retained his deciduous teeth far longer than normal."

"I take it you mean his baby teeth."

"Yes, that's the layman's term for them. Fortunately, it means that many of his permanent teeth, primarily his canines and molars, haven't come in yet, but that's not a problem. There are a few other problems, though, but I'll take care of those as soon as I can work him into my schedule, because I'll need my dental assistant when I do it. Then, I'll teach him how to take care of his teeth properly from now on, so we won't have future issues."

I nodded and thought that sounded good. Then, I drove over to Kevin's pharmacy next.

"Why are we stopping here," Brandon wondered.

"I want to pick up some vitamins for Benny to start taking. He has some catching up to do if I'm going to help him get back on track, and I want you all to come in with me while I'm getting those things."

As we were getting out of the car, Benny noticed something else. "Hey, this place says Currie too."

"Yes, it does, because your Uncle Kevin owns it," I confirmed. "That's why I want you to come inside with me, so you can meet him."

After going inside, I led Benny back to the pharmacy so I could have him meet his uncle. Kevin spotted us before we reached the counter and stepped out to greet us.

"Hey, Danny and Brandon, nice to see you again. What brings you here today?"

"We had a few things to pick up and we wanted you to meet someone special. Kevin, this is Benny, our newest son." Kevin looked down at Benny, smiled, and reached out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Benny, and welcome to the family." He also said hello to Wyatt.

"Thanks. I can't believe you guys own all these places."

"Yes, we were lucky to have a great dad too and he helped us all get a good start in life. If you do what your new dads tell you, then you'll get a good start in life too."

Benny smiled, nodded his head, and then Kevin pulled him into a hug. Benny happily joined in and hugged Kevin back, showing he was already beginning to feel like part of the family.

After we picked up the items we needed and paid the bill, we got back in the car again. A short time later I was pulling into the parking lot of the department store Brandon and I had agreed to visit today.

"How come we're stopping here now?" Benny asked as he looked out the window.

"We're going to do a little shopping and pick up a few things for you before going home," I answered. "We'll only get the items you'll need the most today, and then we'll get the rest of the things tomorrow, when we'll have more time."

"So you're gonna buy stuff for me?"

"We certainly are," I agreed. I could see the puzzled expression on his face as I looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror, so I thought I'd better explain. "You didn't bring a great deal with you, and what you have isn't in good shape, so you're going to need some new things for school and around the house."

After I found a parking space, I unfastened Wyatt from his car seat and carried him to the store while Brandon looked after Benny. We were a little apprehensive that he might not be aware of his surroundings and would walk in front of a car, since he'd never been taken many places and lacked experience in these situations. Once we were inside, I set Wyatt down and let him walk, although I held his hand, and we followed Brandon as he led Benny to the boy's department. Once we were there, he helped Benny pick out a couple of outfits first, and then they selected underwear, socks, and a pair of athletic shoes too. Benny looked amazed by how much we were getting him, and this was merely our first outing.

When we got home Joshie wanted Benny to show him what he'd got, but Benny seemed hesitant to do it. Finally, he spoke and we immediately understood why. "You're not gonna be mad cuz they didn't buy you stuff too, are yuh?"

"Heck, no! Daddy and Poppy have bought me lots of things, so I don't need nothin' more right now, but you do."

After receiving Joshie's confirmation that he wouldn't be upset, Benny happily pulled out both outfits, along with the other items in the bags. "I never got stuff like this before. Mommy got my clothes from other people and I never got nuttin new."

"That won't happen here," Joshie replied. "When we get too big to wear our clothes, we give them to a place that gives them to other people who need them."

"Like where Mommy got stuff for me," Benny groaned. He looked slightly depressed after admitting this, but then he perked up after realizing it was now a thing of the past.

Brandon took Benny up to his room after the two boys finished their show-and-tell and helped him put everything away. "Can I wear some of the new clothes now?"

"You can put on new underwear after your bath and you can wear one of your new outfits tomorrow. We're going to do some more shopping for you then, but we also want you to look nice when you meet Grandpa Jake. He supposed to be coming home tomorrow night."

"You mean you're gonna buy me even more stuff?"

"Yes, because you're going to need it. You'll be starting school on Monday... by the way, what grade were you in at your old school?"

Benny made a face before he answered. "I was in fourth grade, but I'm 'posed to be in fifth."

"Was that because your mother didn't let you go to school for a while?"

"Yeah, I didn't go to kinnygarten until I was six."

"That's too bad, but it means you'll be attending the elementary school. That's where Joshie goes, and you'll be in the same grade too, maybe even in the same class."

Benny lit up after he heard what Brandon had said. "I hope so, cuz I'd like that."

"And don't be surprised if you discover our family is quite well known at the school, because we have a considerable reputation in the district. Your Grandpa Josh was once the middle school principal, and then he became the superintendent and was put in charge of all the schools until he retired. Your Uncle Dion teaches at the middle school, which is where you and Joshie will be going to next year, and Uncle Trey is a teacher at the high school, where Noah goes."

"I didn't know that."

"Well, you do now, so that should make it a lot easier for you."

"Yep, I think it will be fun. Ummm... can Joshie take a bath with me again later?"

"We can ask him if he wants to and check with his fathers to make sure it's alright with them. If they don't have a problem with it, then I don't either, but it means I'll be giving you a bath again."

"Yeah, that's ok. I'd never seen anyone nekkid before and it was fun doing it with Joshie. That's why I want to do it again."

"Yes, it's not unusual for someone your age to get a kick out of doing that and I'm sure Joshie enjoys doing it with you too."

When Brandon and Benny came downstairs, Trey announced dinner was ready. I think he'd been holding it until they were done because he didn't want to rush them. We all sat down at the table, and while Brandon was filling Benny's plate, Benny decided to get right to the point and not waste any time.

"Joshie, do you want to take a bath with me again later?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Is that ok with you, Dion and Trey?" Brandon asked, and they both replied by nodding in agreement.

"Can Benny sleep with me tonight?" Joshie followed, so Benny looked over at Brandon and me, eagerly awaiting our reply.

"Sure. It's not a school night, so I don't have a problem with it if your fathers don't." Once again Trey and Dion signaled it was fine with them and the two boys began whooping it up and celebrating in their seats.

"Ok, calm down and finish your meals or we might change our minds," I warned, which brought an instant end to their joyous antics, although they both continued to squirm in their seats.

After we finished eating, we let the boys watch TV in the family room while the rest of us talked. We explained to Dion and Trey that we planned to do some more shopping for Benny the next day and said we expected Joshie might want to tag along with us. They didn't have a problem if he wanted to join us, as long as we didn't mind, and we said we didn't.

"He might be able to show Benny the types of things the other kids wear, so he won't feel out of place at school," Brandon added, to show there was some reasoning behind our thinking.

Dion then told us he might not be home when we got back, because he'd agreed to pick Pop up at the Philadelphia airport when his plane landed. Since that was a long trip to make alone, we told him we'd take Wyatt with us too, so Trey could go with him. I wasn't sure if they might have planned on taking Wyatt with them too, but this way they wouldn't have to worry about Wyatt getting cranky on such a long trip. They thanked us for offering to do this for them, so it meant we'd pretty much cleared up all of the issues we needed to take care of.

When Brandon went into the living room to get Benny and Joshie for their bath, he was surprised to see Noah and Wyatt in there with them. They were all watching Nickelodeon, and even though it wasn't unusual for Wyatt to do that, we thought Noah had moved beyond Nickelodeon. Since Noah seemed to be enjoying himself, Brandon looked at him oddly and Noah must have felt the need to respond.

"I was only spending some time with them and we were talkin' during the commercials. I wasn't really watchin' the show, but it was kinda funny."

"It doesn't matter to us and Wyatt seems to like having you in here with them too." Brandon added that last bit because Wyatt was sitting on Noah's lap with his head resting against Noah's chest.

"Yeah, he likes me to hold him when he watches TV, since his fathers hardly ever come in here with him to watch these shows."

"That's really sweet of you," Brandon responded, which caused Noah to make a face.

Noah didn't say anything about the comment, so Brandon was slightly confused. He thought Noah would have been pleased by the compliment, but his facial expression told him otherwise. Brandon concluded that Noah was either reacting to the way he'd phrased it or possibly it was an attempt to keep Brandon from discovering he was flattered by what he'd said.

Brandon told me later that as soon as he got the younger pair upstairs they both began taking their clothes off faster than a bridegroom on his wedding night. Then, they stood checking each other out again until Brandon told them to hop in the tub. He let Benny wash himself this time and merely watched how he did on his own. He admitted that Benny did a fairly decent job and he'd only had to offer him a few suggestions about how he could have done better. Joshie washed himself at the same time and cleaned the exact same part of his body that Benny was washing at the time. Brandon claimed it was monkey see, monkey do the entire time they were in the tub.

Once they were both finished, Brandon dried them off and had them put on clean underwear. Once they were ready, he asked the next important question.

"So which room are you two planning to sleep in?"

"Let's sleep in my room," Benny suggested. "I like being in there and think it's really neat."

"So the animals on the wall don't scare you?" Joshie wondered.

"Nah, they're just paper, but it kinda s'prised me when I got up this mornin', cuz I forgot they were there." He giggled after admitting this.

Brandon then had both boys slide under the covers so he could tuck them in. He also kissed each one on the cheek and wished them goodnight. "I don't want you boys fooling around and staying up too late, especially if you want to do this again."

"K," they responded in unison, and then Brandon wished them sweet dreams and told them he loved them. When he came downstairs he was still smiling.

"They are so cute together," he announced. "I get such a kick out of watching them, because you can see they really enjoy being together. I have no doubt that they'll be lifelong BFFs."

"Good, that will make things easier for us," I agreed. "I think Joshie's been kind of lonely not having someone his own age around to do things with. Oh, I know he likes hanging around Wyatt and Noah too, but there's just such a large age difference that they really don't have a lot in common. Joshie adapts with each of them, but I think he's really happy that he finally has someone closer to his age around that he can truly relate to."

"I agree and was shocked when he asked me to give him a bath last night too. He's usually so independent."

"He might have thought it was the only way he could take a bath with Benny and see him naked."

"That's true, so maybe you're right. Still, I'm glad they have each other now."

"Me too."

Brandon and I stayed up for a couple more hours, and then we checked in on the boys before going to our room. The sight that greeted us was precious. They were lying on their sides facing each other with one arm draped over the other one's side.

"I've got to take a picture of this," I said as I grabbed my phone out of my pocket. "I want to show everyone else later, because it's just too cute for words." I then snapped a couple of photos to show the others.

After we got in bed and before we fell asleep, Brandon and I agreed on one thing. We were grateful that Frankie had called to tell us about Benny, because it appeared he was going to work out just fine. All of the concerns I'd harbored that he might be an angry, aggressive, or non-verbal kid due to the way he had been treated by his mother turned out not to be the case. He'd been hesitant at first, but Joshie quickly broke the ice for us and now Benny was truly part of the family. Problems still might arise in the future, but we'd handle them as they came up. No matter what happened, though, I didn't think we'd ever regret taking Benny in to live with us.

Chapter 5
Fitting In

As Brandon and I got ready to leave for work Saturday morning, we decided to let the boys sleep in. Brandon and I only had a half-day scheduled to provide appointment times for the parents who couldn't afford to take time off from work during the week to bring their kids in. Sometimes we even had to stay a little longer if there was a huge demand, but we only allowed parents who had no other option to use these time slots, unless there was an emergency. It helped that we had Dion and Trey to give us a hand, because they watched the boys until we got home.

As soon as we arrived at the house after work, we called the boys together for lunch, but we also let them know what was going to happen after we finished. "Noah, Benny, Joshie, and Wyatt, you're all going to be spending the day with Brandon and me. We're going to go shopping for the rest of the things Benny needs and we've decided to take you with us. Joshie and Wyatt's daddies are going to be driving to Philadelphia to pick up Grandpa Jake from the airport, but we'll see them all at home later. Any questions?"

"Daddy and Poppy, do you want me to go with you?" Joshie asked.

"No, you stay here and have a good time with Benny and your brother," Dion replied. "It's not going to be much fun because we'll be stuck in the car for a long time, so I think you'll be better off staying here with your uncles." That seemed to suffice, so Joshie went back to eating.

We were all leaving around the same time, so Dion and Trey helped to get Wyatt and Joshie ready while Brandon supervised what Benny was putting on. Noah was able to take care of himself, so we just asked him to choose something appropriate to wear for the day.

"Where are we going?" Noah wanted to know. I didn't think it was to help him select an outfit, so I felt he had something else in mind.

"We're going to the mall."

"Do I have to stay with you the whole time?" I wondered what he was thinking.

"I suppose not, but that would depend on what you want to do instead."

"Well, it's the weekend, so I'll bet some of my friends will be at the mall too. I thought maybe I could walk around and see if I could find any of them." I considered this briefly before responding.

"Ok. Just make sure you have your phone with you in case we change our minds and decide to go somewhere else. I'll call and let you know when you should meet us."

"Ok, and thanks for not making me stay with you all day."

"I'll give you some leeway, as long as you don't get into any trouble."

"I thought you knew me better than that, Dad."

"I do and it's why I said it." Noah made a face before heading to his room to get ready.

The boys all looked quite handsome when we met up again a short time later, but then again I might be a little biased. We left the house just before Dion and Trey had to leave, so they kissed their sons goodbye and told them to behave. I'd never had any problems with either of the boys and thought their fathers' warning was unnecessary. However, I'd just done the same thing with Noah, even though it was tongue-in-cheek, so who was I to judge?

As soon as we entered the mall, Noah raced off to find his friends. "Thanks, Dad, and I'll see you later," he hollered before he'd gone very far.

"Where's he going and what was that all about?" Brandon asked as we watched Noah heading in the other direction.

"You know how kids are. They don't like to be stuck shopping with their parents, especially if they aren't the ones being shopped for, so I gave him permission to go off on his own. He thought some of his friends might be here, so he's gone to see if he can find any of them."

"How's he going to know when we're ready to leave?"

"I made sure he had his phone with him, because I told him I'd call when we were ready to go."

Seeing that had been explained, we decided on which store we wanted to visit first. We felt Benny would need a suit and some clothes that would be appropriate for when he had to dress up, so we went to take care of that now. Benny didn't seem to be very comfortable trying on suits, since he'd most likely never worn one before, but I figured he'd get used to it. I made sure it was slightly big on him now, so he'd have room to grow. I felt that was called for after seeing how much he ate and knowing that all kids his age have growth spurts. Before we left the store, however, we also picked out some dress shirts, slacks, and a tie for him, along with a nice pair of dress shoes.

After we finished up there, we decided to get him some more clothes for school, along with a swimsuit for home. There might not be a lot of time left this year that he'd be able to use it, but if it stayed warm a little while longer then we could start teaching him to swim. I know we'd explained to him that we did a lot of skinny-dipping, but there were other times when swimsuits were required.

When we finished up there, I had Brandon wait with the kids while I took our purchases out to the SUV. I'd bought this particular vehicle quite a while before Elliot graduated from high school because we often had his boyfriend, or some of Elliot and Noah's other friends with us when we went anywhere. Most of the time we'd just use Brandon's car, though, especially when traveling to and from work, but we took the SUV when we needed more room.

I hadn't gone very far when my phone rang and I saw the call was from Noah. "What's up, champ?" I answered as I made my way to the vehicle.

"My friends are talking about seeing a movie at the cinema complex, so will you give me some money so I can go with them?" he asked as I was placing the bags inside the SUV.

"What time does the movie let out?" I followed, so he checked and told me. "Ok, but if you want me to give you money you'll have to come get it."

He agreed, so I told him where I'd left the others. He said he'd meet us there, so I closed up the SUV and made sure it was locked. When he showed up I played it cool so the other kids wouldn't know I was letting Noah go to a movie, because I didn't want them teasing to see one too. We had a lot to accomplish before we were ready to leave and couldn't afford spending time sitting in a theater.

"Have you been having a good time with your friends?" I asked, just to give him an opportunity to fill me in on what he'd done.

"Yeah, I found a few of the guys and we've been checking out some of the stores that carry stuff we like."

"As long as you're staying out of trouble, and here's a few bucks in case you need anything." He looked at me strangely at first, but then he caught on to what I was doing. "Just be ready to go when we're done." And then I added in a whisper, "Call me when the movie is over." He nodded and then took off again.

I had to tactfully let Brandon know what was going on as we headed toward our next destination. Before we got there, however, Brandon saw a new store he wanted to check out and we followed him around for a half-hour as he looked at the merchandise. He didn't buy anything, but he thought the store might offer some possibilities for Christmas shopping, so we'd keep it in mind. Now, we took off for our original destination.

Seeing we were planning on buying Benny some pajamas for when the weather turned colder, along with a pair of slippers and some sweats and a few more clothes for school, we decided to get them where they wouldn't cost quite as much. We'd agreed the best place to do this was at one of the retail stores and we'd save a little money on those things while still getting him the items he needed.

After we put everything in the cart, we took a walk through the toy department next, because I wanted to get an idea about the types of things Benny liked. I thought it would give us some ideas about what to get him for Christmas, even though it was still a couple of months away. I just wanted to do it now before he suspected what we were up to.

While we were there, I decided to let Benny, Joshie, and Wyatt each pick out one thing they'd like us to buy for them. I was doing this because they had all been so good, but I also wanted to get something for Joshie and Wyatt too, since we'd bought so much for Benny. I know they aren't our sons, but I didn't want them to go home empty handed.

While they were selecting something, Noah called to let me know the movie had ended, so I told him to meet us out in front of this store while we were paying for our purchases. By the time the boys had chosen what they wanted and we'd checked out, we found Noah waiting for us in front of the store. I quickly announced we were done for the day and we carried everything out to the SUV and loaded the shopping bags inside.

It didn't take long for us to get home and the boys helped to take everything inside. They carried most of the bags up to Benny's room, and Brandon went with them so he could help put everything away. Benny was totally blown away when he finally saw how much we'd purchased for him after it was all spread out on the bed. Up until that moment he hadn't fully realized how much we'd actually picked up, since we'd done it a little here and a little there throughout the day.

"I've never had this many clothes before," he gushed as he looked at the clothing spread out on the mattress.

"It's not really that much, but you'll need all of it," Brandon assured him.

"When am I 'posed to wear that?" he asked while pointing at the suit that Brandon was placing on a hanger before putting it in the closet.

"That's for special events. You'll wear it if you're in the holiday concert at school, or when you graduate from fourth grade, but you'll also wear it on special occasions for church or certain celebrations with the family."

"We don't wear suits a lot, but mostly when we go to the fancy restaurant to eat or for special days at church," Joshie added.

"When do you go to the res'rant?" Benny wanted to know.

"We've gone there sometimes for special birthdays, as well as other special celebrations," Brandon explained. "We don't go there often, but when we do, we dress up."

"We went there to celebrate after they adopted Elliot and me," Noah chimed in. "It was really nice."

"Oh," Benny responded as the wheels in his head began to spin

After they all came downstairs again, Brandon decided to start fixing dinner because it was getting late and we weren't sure what time Dion and Trey would be back. The boys would need to eat, and Brandon said he'd also make enough for Dion, Trey, and Pop too, since we weren't sure if they'd stop to eat before returning home.

While he was doing that, I told the boys we could go out and use the swimming pool until dinner was ready, if they wanted. It was a nice day, plus I thought it would be a great chance for me to see how Benny would handle being in the water. I was going to have the boys put on their swimsuits, but Joshie beat me to the punch and made the decision for us. "Noah, take your clothes off and we'll swim with nothin' on."

"Won't someone see us?" Benny shot back.

"Only the people living here," Noah stated, as he also began to undress. While the boys were getting ready, I went to grab a bunch of towels first and then disrobed as the boys were heading back to the rec room to go out the backdoor.

"Is that your pool?" Benny asked when he spotted it as we walked outdoors.

"Yep, that's it," Joshie agreed.

When Benny looked over at me, his mouth dropped open. "Dad D you're nekkid too and you gots more hair than Noah."

"Yes, and you might get this hairy too when you're older."

While we were in the pool, I kept my eye on Wyatt and Benny, although Noah soon took over with Wyatt. Since Noah was doing that and I knew Joshie was like a fish in water, I worked with Benny. However, I quickly discovered that Joshie wanted to teach him instead.

I watched Benny for a while as Joshie demonstrated what he wanted him to do. Benny was having some problems at first, so I held my hands under his chest and stomach to help support him temporarily until he became more comfortable duplicating Joshie's movements. Benny wasn't doing badly, so I let him try on his own for awhile and was impressed with how quickly he was catching on, as well as his lack of fear. I planned on warning him not to become overconfident or careless in the pool, as well as letting him know that he shouldn't use it unless one of the adults supervised. We continued working with Benny until we heard Brandon yell out that dinner was just about ready, so I had the boys exit the pool, grab a towel, and dry off.

"That was fun, but I'm not very good at it," Benny observed.

"I thought you did quite well for your first time," I replied.

"Yeah, you did great," Joshie added.

"We'll work with you some more if the weather stays warm, but I have a feeling you'll be almost as good as Joshie by the end of next summer, but I want to talk more about that later." Benny was beaming after I finished telling him this, which made me feel good.

Brandon had whipped up a meatloaf, some macaroni and cheese, corn, and a green salad for dinner. Once again, Benny seemed to enjoy this simple fair and ate heartily. The good thing was that he no longer appeared to be stuffing himself because he was afraid that he might not get another meal for awhile.

About an hour after we'd finished eating and had put everything away, Dion's car pulled in the driveway. Pop's plane must have been held up for some reason, because I'd expected them home before this. When they walked through the door, we all went over to welcome him home.

"Grandpa Jake, I'd like to introduce you to our newest son," I announced once the excitement had died down a bit. "This is Benny and we met him after Frankie called to tell us about him." I then gave Jake a look that let him know I'd fill him in about it all later, although I suspected Dion and Trey probably had told him about some of it during the ride back.

"Hi, Benny, I'm Grandpa Jake and I'm very glad to meet you. Do you like it here so far?"

"Yeah, I do. Joshie and me are really good friends and Uncle Trey made sketti and a special cake for me when I firss got here. Dad D and Dad B just bought me a whole bunch of new clothes and other stuff, so I like it here a lot."

"I'm really glad to hear that." Jake chuckled after watching Benny's antics as he spoke.

"Are you hungry, because I can heat up what the rest of us had for dinner?" Brandon asked after we'd finished the preliminaries.

"No, because I made Dion stop at a diner just before we left Philly," Jake replied. "I was starving by the time the plane landed because I'd been stuck at the boarding gate for quite some time. I'm not sure what the problem was, but we couldn't go anywhere and ended up waiting for over an hour before boarding. Add that to the driving time to the airport, getting through security, and the flight, it had been quite some time since I'd last eaten."

"Then let's go sit down and chat. Would you like a cup of coffee or something else to drink first?" Brandon followed.

"Coffee sounds good," Jake replied.

"Do you want to sit at the dining room table or in the living room instead?" I followed.

"The living room. I'd prefer a nice comfortable chair so I can relax," Jake answered. When Brandon retuned with a mug of coffee, we all headed to the living room.

"How's Uncle Shannon?" Noah asked as soon as everyone was seated.

"He's doing better, but it's going to be a long process until he's back on his feet again."

"When will Papa be coming home?" Joshie wanted to know.

"Nick's parents are going to Atlanta to spend a little time with him and Shannon between Christmas and New Year, so they said they'd help out so Josh can come home to be with us."

"Will he be staying or going back?" Trey followed.

"He'll be going back, because Shannon's not nearly ready to be left on his own."

"When do you think that will happen?" Brandon asked.

"I'm not certain, but worse case scenario would be next summer, or possibly not until fall. Hopefully it won't take that long."

"That's really a long time from now," Benny chirped.

"Yes, it is," Jake agreed, "but I'm afraid there isn't anything we can do to speed up Shannon's recovery so Josh can come back sooner."

When it came time to give Benny his bath and getting him ready for bed, Joshie had a different idea. "Can we take a shower together instead? Daddy and Poppy promised they'd let me do that sometime."

Brandon looked over at Dion and Trey to get their response before he answered him. "He's been bugging us about letting him take a shower, but we were just worried about him slipping and falling in the tub," Dion confirmed. "With two of them in there together it will just make it twice as likely something like that might happen."

"Maybe not. There's an extra bath mat in the linen closet," Brandon responded, "and adding It would give each boy a mat to stand on and there would be very little tub to slip on."

"Can we, Daddy?" Joshie pleaded, looking at Dion. "Please."

"Ok, but only if Uncle Brandon plans on supervising so you two don't start fooling around," Dion relented.

"I can do that," Brandon agreed. "So do you both want to shower instead?"

"Yeah, and we can help wash each other," Joshie shouted as he began jumping around.

"Benny, do you want to do that too?" Brandon asked, because Benny looked confused.

"I guess, but I've never done that before. I don't know nuttin bout showers." We all cringed inwardly, since this punctuated how sheltered and deprived he'd been.

"Well, I'll take you upstairs and show you what it is. Then, you can tell me if you want to try it or if you want me to give you a bath instead."

"K," was his simple reply.

When Brandon took the boys up to their bedrooms to undress, I filled Jake in about how Frankie had called to tell us about Benny and asked if we'd take him in. I also told him everything we knew about what Benny had been through, and Jake was just as shocked and moved as we had been.

"Dion and Trey told me some of that on the way here, so I'm surprised the kid seems so friendly and happy after going through those things," Jake stated while shaking his head. He still found it hard to believe that a mother would treat her son that way.

"We didn't know what to expect when he arrived, so we were quite surprised by how he acted too. So far he seems to be working out just fine, and as you've seen Joshie had an awful lot to do with his transition. I'm sure the adjustment wouldn't have gone nearly as well if those two hadn't hit it off so quickly."

"Yes, they appear as if they've been buddies since birth," Jake joked.

"I know and that has made a huge difference," I agreed. "I have no idea what might have happened or what Benny would have been like if we hadn't taken Joshie with us when we first went to meet him. His foster parents were another story, though, and in a way they might have been just as bad, maybe even worse for Benny than his mother."

When Brandon came downstairs again he filled us in on what had happened. "After I showed Benny how the shower worked he seemed eager to try it. He said it would be like washing in the rain. Since he wanted to do it, I put both shower mats in the tub and they were fine. They even washed each other and both of them sprouted erections from the intimate contact, so I had to explain to Benny why it had happened. Benny was also amazed at how big Joshie's penis got when it was erect and they were giggling hysterically, but they had a good time. I'm pretty sure they'll want to take showers from now on, so I hope you don't mind." Brandon directed his last comment at Dion and Trey.

"Not if you don't mind watching them while they're in there," Trey agreed. "I'm afraid we'd be too nervous, since we weren't ready for him to do this yet."

"Sure. Not a problem."

Now that the kids were in bed, we pressed Jake for more details about Shannon. "He's doing better," Jake agreed, "but he's a long way from doing very much for himself. He has casts on his left arm and leg, but he also has busted ribs, a fractured skull, and his jaw is wired shut. The doctor says if things go well he might be able to unwire Shannon's jaw and take the casts off in time for Thanksgiving, but if not he says they'll definitely be off by Christmas."

"That's good," I replied. "It sounds like he might be able to enjoy the special meals on those days after all."

"I hope so, because he's looking forward to that too. Right now he's on a liquid diet."

"Damn, that must be awful," Brandon chimed in. "How does anyone survive like that?"

"It's not easy and he's lost some weight, but he does what he has to do. There's just no alternative."

"True, but it still has to be awful," Brandon responded.

Jake was tired from the trip and ready to turn in. The rest of us agreed it was a good idea, so we decided to go to bed too. We checked on Benny and Joshie before heading to our room and found they were cuddled together just like the previous night. They looked so damn cute that way, just like two little angels clinging to each other.

Sunday morning we got up and had a rather late, but nice, family breakfast together. We'd always done this, but recently we'd been taking turns fixing the meal, after Dad left to take care of Shannon. Most days we usually just took care of our own family or the boys took care of themselves, but Sundays were different. As it turned out, this weekend was Brandon's and my turn to do the honors. Seeing we still weren't sure of everything Benny liked, we opted to make pancakes and grilled up some sausages to go with them. We felt those were pretty safe choices, and if he wasn't happy with that then he could have cereal instead. That didn't happen, though, because he liked everything we'd prepared.

"You guys sure fix a lot good stuff to eat," he chirped after taking his first couple of bites.

"We're glad you enjoy it," Brandon replied, pleased by the compliment.

After we finished eating, Dion, Trey, Brandon, and I sat down to talk for awhile. "Joshie's birthday is almost here, so what do you guys have planned? I hope you're doing something big so we can show Benny how we handle birthdays and make them special."

"We planned on having Joshie's party next Saturday, even though his birthday isn't until Sunday," Dion answered. "I dropped invitations off for his classmates and his teacher passed them out when Joshie was out of the room. She also told the other kids not to tell Joshie that they knew about his party, because it was a surprise. We've been able to keep it a secret from him so far too, and we've received a few replies already, so I think most of the kids in his room will be coming."

"What do you have planned for while they're here?" Brandon wondered.

"We'll have cake and ice cream for everyone," Trey replied, "but we put on the invitation that the kids could go swimming in the pool if the weather was nice. We suggested they wear their swimsuits under their clothes if their parents were willing to let them swim, but we'll play games if the weather turns cooler."

We talked about a few other things and then decided on what we wanted to do for the rest of the day. Dion suggested we ask the boys if they wanted to see a movie, and Benny and Joshie were very excited and eager to do it. Once this was settled, Dion helped them check the listings to see what was playing. After looking at their choices, Benny and Joshie agreed that they wanted to see "Dolphin Tale 2". Joshie had seen the original and even had the DVD, so we figured he had most likely talked Benny into choosing it too. It was a good choice, though, because Wyatt would enjoy it as well, so now all we needed to do was ask Noah.

"Nah, I don't want to see that movie, but can I go to the mall with you and do like I did yesterday?"

"No, I'm not going to let you start doing that every time we go to the mall. After you've had a chance to roam around there on your own a few times, the novelty will begin to wear off. That's when guys your age start looking for something else to do and it's what gets them into trouble," I answered.

"I promise I won't do nothin' like that if you let me do this. Please?" I looked at Brandon to see what he thought.

"As far as we know he didn't get in any trouble yesterday, so let's give him another chance. If he screws up and does something we don't approve of, then we won't give him a chance to do anything else on his own again until he graduates. Do you understand, Noah?"

"Yeah, I got the message, but thanks for letting me do this."

After we'd finished our chat with Noah, Dion came over to tell us something else. "Trey's going to stay here, because he has a lot of papers to correct before tomorrow."

"I think I'll stay home too," I added. "I'm way behind on the laundry again, so I think I'll take advantage of having a fairly empty house and no interruptions."

"Yeah, ok. I'm sure Dion and I can handle the kids," Brandon agreed.

Once they took off, the rest of us got busy. Jake decided to go outside and mow the lawn so it would be ready for the party the next weekend. Trey had all of his things spread out across the dining room table and was busy correcting papers, but that didn't bother me. I merely started a load of laundry and then did a quick sweep of the floor downstairs. By the time I finished doing that, the first load had finished in the washer, so I moved those things to the dryer and tossed a second load into the washing machine. Now that they were both going, I decided to vacuum the carpets in the living room and family room next.

If you're wondering why I was doing all of this, I'll explain: I usually took care of the laundry and Brandon cleaned the downstairs while Dad was gone, so I was just covering for Brandon and helping out. Trey was taking care of most of the cooking, except for breakfast on Sunday, when we took turns, and Dion was handling the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. It was all working quite well so far, and I'm sure we'll be giving Dad more help when he gets back. Until we'd started covering for him, we didn't fully appreciate how much he'd been doing to help us out.

When I was done vacuuming, the washer and dryer had both stopped, so I tossed the clothes from the dryer into the laundry basket to fold them in a few minutes, and then I switched the clothes from the washer to the dryer, and put another load in the washing machine. After I folded the clothes from the laundry basket, I carried them up to the appropriate rooms and put them away. I continued doing this until Brandon, Dion, and the kids arrived home, and then I took a break.

After Brandon finished filling me in on how the kids had behaved, including Noah, I decided to ask the boys if they wanted to go for a swim again. I felt it was important for Benny to be comfortable in the pool, especially after Dion and Trey explained the kids might be swimming at Joshie's birthday party. Joshie and Benny were excited about doing this, but Noah opted out and Trey was going to put Wyatt down for a nap. Seeing there would only be the three of us, I grabbed towels, we all stripped down, and then we headed out the backdoor.

Actually, this was even better for Benny, because there was more room and he didn't have to navigate around so many bodies. I just hoped it wouldn't be a problem at the party with all of the other kids in the pool too. Once we got there, Benny actually jumped into the pool, feet first, following Joshie's lead, and I held my breath until he bobbed to the surface on his own. Seeing this made me realize that teaching him to swim might be easier than I first thought.

"I'm surprised you're doing so well," I told him after I'd worked with him for a brief time.

"I used to practice floating in the bathtub when my mommy left me alone. I'd lay back and float on top of the bathwater and this isn't so different, 'cept now I do it like I was standing up, but I can float on my belly too."

"I would never have thought that using the bathtub might be a way to prepare yourself for swimming," I mused, amazed by his explanation.

"It was fun, but I like this better."

Joshie and I worked with Benny for over an hour and he was able to get around doing a doggy paddle, so I felt he would be able to hold his own at the party. I hoped we could do this at least once more before then, but if not this would have to do.

After we dried off and got dressed again, Dion put in the DVD for the first "Dolphin Tale" for the boys. Since Benny hadn't seen it before, he was excited about watching it now. It also kept them occupied while we did other things.

The rest of the day was fairly quiet and uneventful. The entire family had dinner together, including Grandpa Jake, and later Brandon took Benny and Joshie up to shower together again before we all went up to help tuck them in bed. When we came downstairs afterward, we sat down to talk about the following day.

"My staff has agreed to cover for me in the morning, so I can take Benny to school and get him enrolled. You'll have to drive to work by yourself this time and then I'll meet you there after I finish up with Benny," I told him.

"Ok, that will work and I'll take Wyatt with me."

"I'll take Joshie with me too, because it will save Dion from having to drop him off at the elementary school before going to his own school."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

I then went to check with Noah to make sure he had all of his homework done. With Benny being here and having so many other things on my mind, I'd completely forgotten to ask Noah about this earlier. Luckily, Noah said everything was done, so I didn't feel so bad about not thinking of it until now. I thanked him for being responsible without prompting and told him how proud we are of him.

When Brandon and I went to bed, I double-checked to make sure the alarm was set for the correct time, because I wanted to give Benny plenty of time to get ready. It was going to be tight taking care of that before heading to the office, because I didn't want to completely mess up the day's schedule by being late.

Chapter 6
A Fresh Start

When the alarm went off on Monday morning, I raced around to get myself ready first before waking Noah and Benny. Then, I helped Benny select a nice outfit to wear, while Brandon fixed breakfast. The food was on our plates and waiting for us when we got downstairs, and today we were having Brandon's version of an Egg McMuffin, along with some home fries.

As soon as we'd finished eating, I had Benny and Joshie slide into the middle seat of the SUV and buckle in so we could head to the elementary school. When we arrived, I had Joshie come with us to the office, while I took care of enrolling Benny.

"Oh, my, it looks like we have another Currie," the secretary said when she saw us enter.

"His name isn't Currie yet, but it will be one day. I'd like to get him enrolled and find out who his teacher will be."

She gave me the required paperwork to fill out and sign, and once they learned what grade Benny was in, the principal decided which classroom he'd be assigned to. I was very pleased with his choice, since I knew the teacher well and she was very good at her job. As soon as everything was set, the principal turned to Joshie and Benny next.

"Joshie, I'm thinking about putting Benny in the same class with you, but only if you'll both promise that you won't fool around or cause any trouble." Both boys were thrilled by this news and responded almost immediately.

"I promise," Joshie agreed.

"Me too," Benny concurred.

"Ok, then. Joshie will you show Benny to your classroom and introduce him to Mrs. Argentine? I'd appreciate your help with this, because I have other duties to see too."

"Yeah, sure," Joshie answered, looking as proud as a peacock.

"Now that you boys are taken care of, I'll see you later because I have to get to work," I chimed in. "Have a good day and stay out of trouble."

"Sure, Uncle Danny, we can do that. Come on, Benny, and I'll show you where to go."

I smiled as I watched Joshie grab Benny's hand and gently drag him down the hallway on the way to their classroom. I knew the principal and secretary would take good care of things and I was grateful that he'd put them together. This would make it much easier for Benny to adjust to being at a new school and Joshie could help him make a few friends before the party. Now, I went out to my vehicle and set off for the health center.

The day progressed fairly normally after that, and when I met up with Brandon for lunch I filled him in about what happened when I enrolled Benny. He was glad the two boys were together too, and we were fortunate Benny's arrival had happened just after the school year started so he wouldn't have any catching up to do.

When we got home later, Benny and Joshie raced out to greet us. "It's warm out, so can we go swimming again?" they shouted nearly in unison.

"Sure, I don't see why not, but let me ask a question before we do that. Benny, how was your first day at school?"

"It was good and the teacher even let me sit next to Joshie."

"Well, that was nice of her. So did you boys keep out of trouble?"

"Yep, and we even did our homework already too."

"Well that's great, so just give me a couple of minutes and I'll take you boys out to the pool for a while. Hun, do you want to join us?"

"Sure, that sounds like fun. Just let me take Wyatt inside and see what his fathers have to say. Maybe they'll let him join us as well."

"Are we gonna swim without nuttin on?" Benny asked.

"Sure. No one else is here, so why not?"

After we got undressed and headed outside, Benny made an observation. It was the first time he'd seen Brandon naked, so he had something he wanted to know. "How come all your thingies look like Joshie's and not like mine?"

"Our penises were all like yours when we were born, but our parents had this done to us before we left the hospital. It's just that your mom didn't do that," Brandon explained.

"Uncle Trey's penis is like yours, though, and some of your other uncles are like you too. It's just that you haven't seen them yet," I added.

Knowing there were others like him too seemed to make Benny feel a little better and not quite so out of place. I'd have to ask Trey to join us the next time we went swimming so Benny could see he wasn't the only one who's uncircumcised.

It was obvious that Benny was improving with every outing in the pool. "He's doing a lot better than I was expecting," Brandon observed.

"Yes, he's catching on quite quickly and Joshie has become his primary instructor," I added. "He only let me work with Benny the first day, and then only part of the time." Brandon giggled after I'd pointed this out.

When we got out of the pool later and dried off, we went inside and got dressed again before having dinner. Brandon and I kept an eye on Benny during the meal and watched how he interacted with everyone. He seemed right at home now, so we were very pleased with how well he was fitting in. Benny was extremely eager to please and very appreciative of everything we did for him, which made it even harder to understand why his mother had treated him like she had.

I know Benny said his mother acted that way because he'd been named after his father before the man ran out on them. For that reason, even saying Benny's name seemed to become an irritant that would rouse her ire and she subconsciously took her hatred for his father out on him. I didn't know if that was the case for certain, but it was a definite possibility.

Supposedly it was the reason she'd kept him locked out of sight in the large, dog kennel, and that was what eventually got him removed from the home. I think we all agreed that getting him taken away from her was probably the best thing that could have happened to Benny during his short life. It brought him to live with us and we'd do our very best to turn this into a positive for him.

We'd all been slowly getting used to each other, but Benny also had to adapt to his new school and classmates. That's why we were so pleased that he and Joshie were together, because it seemed to be making his adjustment a little easier. All of that suddenly changed on Thursday, however, when his teacher called Brandon and me at home.

"Has Benny said anything to you about what's been happening at school the past couple of days?" she wanted to know.

"No," I answered. "Is there a problem."

"Yes. Benny is being picked on by a handful of boys. Some are in my class and the rest from the other fourth grade classes. We're attempting to deal with the problem, but I wanted to make sure you knew what was going on."

I relaxed slightly, but only because Benny wasn't the one causing the problem, and now I instinctively wanted to protect my son. "What do you mean? What are they doing to him?"

"They've been barking like dogs and saying mean things to him, although they did their best to hide what they were doing from the other teachers and me. At first I didn't understand why they were doing this, so I had a chat with Benny and he explained about how he'd been treated before he came to live with you. I'm not sure how the other boys found out about it, but the principal, the other teachers, and I are going to contact each of the offender's parents and attempt to nip this thing in the bud."

"Thank you, and we'll do what we can to help Benny on this end," Brandon said, since I'd put the call on speaker.

We had a fairly good idea that either Benny or Joshie had slipped and mentioned this fact to someone, although we didn't know the particulars. We felt it was most likely unintentional, and that person must have either told others or someone else overheard what had been said too. Now, we were planning on taking Benny aside to see how bad the situation was and why he hadn't mentioned it.

When Brandon took Benny and Joshie up to shower together later, I waited until they were done and Brandon had tucked Joshie in bed first, before I joined them. Then, we asked Benny to come to our bedroom so we could speak with him alone.

"Benny, Mrs. Argentine called earlier and told us what's been happening at school," I began, and suddenly the color drained from his face.

"She... she told you?" He seemed dumbfounded.

"Yes, she did, but what we're wondering is why you or Joshie never said anything about this to us. We'd also like to know how those other boys found out about what had happened to you."

Benny sat on our bed totally stunned and visibly shaken. His jaw kept opening and closing, but nothing came out. We weren't sure if he thought he was going to be in trouble, so we decided to clarify that point and attempted to put him at ease.

"Benny we only want to know so we can help you," Brandon told him. "You're not in trouble and we're not mad at you."

"Absolutely not! You've done nothing wrong, but we need to know what's going on so we can help stop it," I added.

Benny still hesitated and didn't respond for a few seconds, but then he finally gave in. "But I d-don't want you t-to be mad at J-Joshie," he stammered in response.

"Why would we be mad at him?" I wanted to know.

"He d-didn't mean to do it. It j-just slipped out."

"He didn't mean to do what?" Brandon pressed.

"P-promise you won't be m-mad at him or tell his d-daddies." I guess that explained why he'd never told us, since he thought it might get Joshie in trouble.

"We won't. We promise. We just want you to tell us what has been happening," Brandon confirmed, and then we could see Benny visibly relax.

"One of the teachers put some stuff about the S.P.C.A. on the bulletin board in the hall There were all kinds of pictures with animals in different kinds of cages, and one day before school Joshie asked me which cage looked like the one my mom put me in. I just pointed at it to let him know."

"And someone else either saw or heard what you two were talking about?" I followed.

"I guess they must've," he muttered, looking down at the floor.

"I'm sorry the boys have been doing those things to you," I said gently, while putting my arm around him. "We're going to work with your teacher and the principal to stop it, but neither you nor Joshie is in trouble."

Benny looked very relieved, so both Brandon and I walked him over to his room and tucked him in. We each gave him a kiss and wished him sweet dreams, and then we told him we'd see him in the morning. He gave us a weak smile before we left the room.

"I know Joshie didn't do it on purpose or mean any harm, but I feel badly that the other kids found out and Benny has had to deal with this abuse on top of what he's already suffered," Brandon said. "He's been treated badly enough without having to deal with this crap too."

"I agree, but what I'm more worried about is if they'll tell other kids and the problem will spread, or possibly even follow him to the middle school when he goes there next year," I added.

"I certainly hope not and we'll do everything we can to end this completely," Brandon replied. We went to bed thinking about how we were going to do that.

Brandon and I took Benny and Joshie to school Friday morning so we could chat briefly with Mrs. Argentine. "If you wouldn't mind, we'd like you to give us the names of the boys in your room that have been picking on Benny," I told her.

She looked shocked that I'd just asked for this information. "We're handling the problem on this end, so you won't need the other boys' names."

"We just want to know who they are so we can keep an eye on them if they come to Joshie's birthday party tomorrow," Brandon pointed out. This caused her expression and body language to change dramatically.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot about the party." Eventually, she gave us the information we'd requested, but only after we promised that we wouldn't do anything more than talk to the boys if a situation arose.

Brandon and I then headed to work, wondering if the boys would have enough guts to show up at our house for the party. After analyzing the situation briefly, we concluded the party was for Joshie, so they might come because they were friends with him without realizing Benny lived there too. Since Benny was still using the surname Devaney, the boys may have thought that Joshie and Benny were merely friends, not that Benny was part of the family.

It was a fairly normal day at work, and when Brandon and I had lunch I advised him that I was going to take the boys out to the pool again later. The weather had remained unseasonably warm and I hoped it would stay that way for the party tomorrow, so I wanted to give Benny a chance to practice some more. Brandon thought it was a good idea too and was going to join us.

When we arrived home, I was planning to ask Trey to swim with us, but I discovered he was in the middle of preparing dinner, so I opted to do something else instead. In fact, what I did next caused the boys to look at me strangely.

"How would you boys like to go swimming again?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure," they both agreed.

"Ok, but this time I want us all to wear our swimsuits."

"Why?" Joshie wanted to know.

"I want to make sure Benny feels comfortable in his new swimsuit and it doesn't affect how he swims."

"But I liked doing it the other way," Benny complained.

"I know, but sometimes we can't do it like that and I want to make sure you're ok in the water when you have your swimsuit on too."

"K, but it would be more fun the other way," Benny added before he, Joshie, Brandon, and I went upstairs to get ready.

I intentionally hadn't mentioned that I'd suggested this so he'd be prepared for Joshie's party, because I didn't want either of them to know about it. I was keeping it a secret since Dion and Trey had planned it as a surprise.

Once we got in the pool, the boys basically forgot they had their swimsuits on and frolicked and swam just like they usually did. Even though I'd be keeping my eye on Benny tomorrow, I was no longer worried about how he'd do, even with the other kids around.

After we finished up and went inside, Trey notified us that dinner would be ready soon. I told the boys to go upstairs, get out of their swimsuits, and put on something else. They came down a few minutes later, headed straight for the table, and eagerly sat down. I guess our time in the pool had caused them to work up an appetite.

When we finished dinner Benny, Joshie, and Wyatt went in to watch "Dolphin Tale" again, while Noah asked if he could go visit one of his friends who didn't live very far from us. After we gave him permission, Brandon and I sat down with Dion and Trey, because there was something we wanted to ask them.

"Here are the names of the three boys in Joshie's class who have been teasing Benny. We just want to know if any of them have notified you that they're coming tomorrow," I stated.

Dion got up and grabbed the list of those that had advised him they'd be attending. "Two of the three are, but I never heard from the other kid. Why? What are you planning to do?"

"I think I'm going to take them aside after they arrive and let them know that if they start pulling that crap while they're here then one of us will be driving them home immediately."

"Ok, that sounds fair," Trey chimed in.

"And if they aren't happy after the warning, then I'll ask if they'd prefer I take them home immediately," Brandon added. "I just want Benny to have a good time and get a chance to see what our birthday parties are like. I have a feeling he's never been to one before, let alone had one of his own."

"It's a shame, but I suppose your right," Dion agreed.

Once that had been settled, we went to check on the boys before we switched gears and started doing other things. Once we saw the boys were enjoying themselves, Dion and Trey turned their attention to making sure everything was ready for the party and checked to see if they had everything they would need. First, they made certain there were enough drinks and ice cream to go around, and then they looked to see if there was a sufficient quantity of disposable cups, bowls, plates, and plastic spoons. Finally, Dion asked Trey if he'd remembered to order the cake, which Trey assured him he had.

While they were doing that, Brandon and I helped get the house in shape for visitors. It wasn't too bad before we started, so there wasn't very much that had to be done. As soon we felt all of the bases had been covered, we went to the family room to spend time with the boys.

I decided to give Brandon a break tonight and offered to take Benny and Joshie upstairs for their shower when the time came. I don't think the boys cared who went with them, because they basically washed each other and we were merely there to make sure they didn't start horsing around and get hurt. While I was heading off with them, Dion indicated that he was going to give Wyatt his bath at the same time, but in the downstairs bathroom.

From what I'd heard from Brandon about their previous showers, this one was pretty much the same. The boys washed each other and both sprouted wood, and then they giggled and fondled each other briefly before finishing up. They didn't masturbate one another and merely groped each other's genitals playfully, but that was more than enough for them. It was also harmless, so I didn't plan on saying anything to anyone else about it.

After the boys put on their underwear, I tucked them in bed together, since it wasn't a school night. However, this time Benny was willing to sleep in Joshie's room so he could see what it was like. Before I left, I suggested that he needed to remember where he was in case he got up to use the toilet later, because I didn't want him to accidentally tumble down the stairs.

Once that had been taken care of, I kissed them goodnight, wished them pleasant dreams, and then headed downstairs to find Brandon. He was sipping a cup of coffee and making plans for us to visit Elliot for Family Weekend at Yale, which was in two weeks. He wanted to make sure we didn't forget anything when we headed out to ensure the trip was as uneventful as possible.

When we went to bed, I kissed him and thanked him for being so detailed oriented, because I was the kind who mostly flew by the seat of his pants. Unlike Dad, I didn't plan out every step of our trips and figured I'd just take things as they came, but Brandon more than made up for my lack of advance preparation. Then, I cuddled with him and we fell asleep.

Saturday morning Brandon and I got up and headed off to work. Dion and Trey had told us they planned to have Joshie and Benny do what they normally did most Saturday mornings so they wouldn't suspect anything. The boys carried on like they typically would and watched their shows on TV. When Brandon and I got home later, we asked the boys to go upstairs and put on something a little nicer, because we had something planned for after we ate. They hounded us and tried to find out what it was, but we wouldn't give in, so they eventually grew tired of trying and went upstairs to do as we'd asked. However, they were getting slightly more frustrated as we sat down at the table and voiced their displeasure.

"Can't you tell us what we're gonna do?" Joshie demanded.

"No, you'll find out soon enough," Dion replied. Joshie wasn't happy, and neither was Benny, but they merely glared at us while we ate.

As soon as we got up from the table, Noah pulled Brandon and me aside because he wanted to ask a question. "I don't want to be here with a bunch of little kids, so do you mind if I go visit my friend, Adam, until later."

"Is that the friend you visited before?"

"Yeah. He's on my soccer team."

"Well, it will be kind of rude for you to leave, but I understand why you don't want to be around so many younger kids," I replied. "I'm sure Joshie will be too busy to notice you're not here, so I suppose it will be alright, but when you get back I want you to wish Joshie a Happy Birthday and spend a little time with him."

"I will and thanks," he confirmed before he went to get the things he wanted to take with him and headed out the door.

At two o'clock the doorbell rang and the first of the guests arrived. When Joshie and Benny saw who it was, they wanted to know why they were here.

"That's simple, they've come to help us celebrate Joshie's birthday," Trey announced.

This caused Joshie to roll his eyes and grin, which let me know he was actually surprised that his fathers had pulled this off without him finding out. Benny, on the other hand, wasn't so easily placated. "I didn't know it was Joshie's birfday," he whispered to me.

"Actually, his birthday is tomorrow, but we're having his party today."

"Was I s'posed to get him a present? I know that's what you do for birfdays, cuz Joshie told me I'd get all kinds of presents on my birfday."

"We took care of that and bought him a present that will be from our family, which means it's from you, Noah, Elliot, Dad B, and me."

"Is it nice?"

"I think it is, but we'll see what Joshie thinks when he opens it."

Once the last of the guests arrived, there were sixteen children in all, including Joshie and Benny. Since I knew there were twenty-one kids in his class including our pair, it meant five of his classmates hadn't come. Dion said that parents of four of the children had sent their regrets because their families had made previous plans, while the other person merely hadn't responded. That turned out to be the remaining boy who'd been teasing Benny, so I decided it was time to act and located the other two. As soon as I found out where they were, I asked them to join me for a little chat.

They looked very apprehensive when I told them what I wanted, but they followed me anyway and we moved outside, away from the others. "I'm not sure if you know who I am, but I recently became Benny's dad and I understand you boys have been teasing him."

They both looked petrified after they heard this, but I didn't want to drag it out and leave them wondering if I was going to beat the crap out of them. "I understand you've somehow found out that Benny's mother made him stay in a dog kennel at times." They both nodded their heads in response.

"Look, I know you think that's funny, but how would you have liked it if your parents had done it to you?" They quickly glanced at each other but didn't reply. "It's not that Benny wanted to do it, but he had no choice. Would either of you be able to keep from doing it if your mom and dad had put you in one of those things?" They both shook their heads to indicate they'd have no choice either.

"Benny hated having to go in there, and now you're barking at him and reminding him about how badly his mother had treated him. Do you think that's nice?" They both shook their heads to let me know they didn't.

"Then please stop being mean to him. I think if you spend some time with him today you'll discover he's a nice kid who was just treated very badly at home. I hope you'll no longer do those things and you'll tell your other friends about what we've talked about. Ok?"

"Yeah, and we're sorry we did that. We only knew that he spent time in one of those things and thought it was funny. We didn't know he was made to go in it and I know he must have hated it. I would have," the first boy said, with the other nodding his head in agreement.

"He did, and I appreciate you telling me this, but I think you need to tell Benny you're sorry, not me."

"Ok, we will," they both agreed, so I felt I'd made my point and allowed them to return with the others.

When we got back we discovered the other kids had taken off their clothes and were just in their swimsuits. Joshie and Benny had hurried upstairs to change, and then we all went out to the pool. This was a coed group, with seven girls and nine boys, but they all seemed eager to get in the water. I was glad we had a large above-ground pool, because Dad had purchased the biggest one they had at the time so all of us boys would fit in it.

I stayed dressed but went out with them to act as a lifeguard. I was prepared to jump in fully clothed if the need arose, but I'd prefer to stay dry today, if at all possible. After the kids grew tired of being in the pool, which they were probably doing for the last time this year with the possible exception of using an indoor facility, we went inside for cake and ice cream. First, Trey lit the candles on the cake and we sang 'Happy Birthday' to Joshie before he made a wish and blew out the candles.

"Do they always do that?" Benny whispered to me.

"Yes. You make a wish, but you're not supposed to tell anyone what your wish is, and then you blow out the candles. If you can blow them all out in one breath then your wish will come true."

"I think mine already did," he replied as he threw his arms around my neck and gave me a hug.

As soon as the last of the kids had finished their cake and ice cream and the disposable items had been discarded, Joshie was allowed to open his presents. Although we didn't know it until one of the kids explained it to us, Mrs. Argentine had suggested they form groups to split the cost of buying a gift. That way the presents would be nicer than what they could buy on their own and it wouldn't cost them any more. I know Dion and Trey were planning to thank her for doing that later.

Since Joshie's entire class knew he really liked sports, the gifts they bought all fell along those lines. One group bought him a football, another a soccer ball, and the final group gave him a bocce set. Joshie thanked each group after he opened their present and then his fathers gave him their gift next. After Joshie opened it, he turned to his daddy and poppy and smiled broadly.

"We figured you'd like it," Dion said after seeing his son's reaction.

"And we got it for you because we were tired of listening to you whine about your old PlayStation not working," Trey added. That's because they'd given him a new PS4.

"What is it?" Benny whispered to me next. I thought every kid knew what a PS4 was, but obviously Benny hadn't been exposed to video games either.

"Joshie will show you later. It's a kind of game that he'll teach you how to play."

"K."

Now that he had his new PS4, I had Benny hand Joshie our gift, which was three games for his PS4. Brandon and I had done some research online, as well as asking around to see what games other boys his age liked to play. What we came up with was 'Child of Light', 'LEGO the Hobbit', and 'Knack'. I'm sure we'd find out soon enough what Joshie thought of them, and probably Benny too.

"Thanks for the presents, everyone," Joshie offered, although he'd already thanked each group individually after he'd opened their gift.

At this point, Trey and Dion directed the kids outside to play some games. They had a couple of things planned, so Brandon and I went out to watch. First, Dion led the kids in a hilarious game of Simon Says. I say hilarious because of some of the antics he pulled to get the kids to mess up.

At the beginning of the game he told the kids to spread out, and when they did he told everyone but the one person who stayed in his original spot that they were all out. "Hey, that's not fair," one of the kids complained.

"Well, I didn't say Simon Says to spread out, so you lose." Then he laughed maniacally before he told them they would play the game again.

Another time in the middle of a string of Simon commands Dion yelled sing, and then he started singing a song the kids all knew. About half of the group joined in and then groaned when they had to sit out. Later, during another round, Dion was in the middle of a long string of commands when he suddenly glanced up in the air. Then, he yelled "Look Out!", and fell face-down on the ground. Nearly all of the kids did the same because they thought something was coming at them, only to discover they'd once again been fooled. Even though the kids groaned and complained about some of Dion's antics, I think they all enjoyed playing.

When that game ended, Trey came out of the house carrying a carton of eggs. He had the kids choose up partners, so Joshie and Benny quickly teamed up. Once everyone was paired up, Trey had them stand in lines two yards apart and explained they were going to do an egg toss. A couple of the girls didn't want to play because they thought it would be messy, but Trey insisted they had to try it at least once. They reluctantly agreed and Trey went around handing an egg to each person in one of the lines.

On his command they tossed the egg for their partner to catch. Although there were some near drops, everyone managed to hang on to their egg, so now it was time for the person receiving it to toss it back. This time one of the kids failed to hang onto the egg and it fell to the ground. We all thought it would break open, but the egg was picked up in one piece. It appeared as if the shell had thin cracks in it, but it hadn't broken open. Trey then had the receiving line take a giant-step backward before the next toss.

This time a couple more eggs were dropped, but once again they didn't break open. After those kids inspected their eggs, we discovered why. "Hey, this egg is hard boiled," one of the girls yelled. Trey merely smiled and nodded, knowing he'd pulled one over on them.

The kids played that game a little longer, since no one was afraid of getting their clothes messed up now, and by the time the game ended the first of the parents were arriving to pick up their child.

Most of the parents got out to speak with Dion and Trey briefly as their son or daughter was getting ready to leave, and each of them thanked Joshie's fathers for the invitation. In return, Dion and Trey thanked the other parents for Joshie's presents and let them know that everyone seemed to have a good time and there were no problems. As soon as the last of the guests had departed, we went inside to clean up.

"That was fun," Benny announced. "I hope my party is like this one."

"We'll do our best to make your party just as much fun," I assured him and he smiled in response.

Dion then helped Joshie hook up his PS4, and a few minutes later I heard Joshie explaining to Benny what it was and how to play. Joshie demonstrated how it worked first, so Benny could see what he was talking about, and then he let Benny try. Since Benny was a complete novice at this, he didn't have a great deal of success, but Joshie urged him to keep trying and told him he'd get better the more he did it. Benny didn't argue and kept plodding along under his mentor's tutelage.

Chapter 7
Many Plans

After breakfast together on Sunday, Joshie and Benny took Wyatt to the family room to watch Nickelodeon. They did that for a couple of hours and then came out to ask if they could go swimming again. Since it was another nice day and the weather report I'd heard the previous evening said the temperature was going to drop sharply during the week and we'd be an enduring a cold spell, I agreed. Noah quickly let us know he had another idea about what he wanted to do.

"Can I go down to visit my friend, Adam, again?"

"Why don't you wait until after lunch to do it, since we don't know if his family goes to church or if they might like to sleep in."

"Can I call and find out?"

"That might wake his parents if they like to sleep in," I mused as I glanced over at the clock. "Ok, it's almost 10:30, so go ahead. I think they've had enough time if they wanted to get a little extra shuteye this morning."

Before long Noah came back to tell us that Adam said his family didn't go to church so he could come down if he wanted. We gave him our blessing and he took off.

As soon as he was gone, the rest of us stripped down, including Trey and Dion because they'd agreed to join us this time. As we were walking to the pool, Benny looked around and made a couple of observations. "Hey, you're just like me!" he said while pointing at Trey's penis.

"Yep, I'm uncircumcised too, and you have a few other uncles that are as well."

We could see that this pleased Benny immensely, but then he was distracted by something else. "Wow! Yours is really big!" he announced, while pointing at Dion's penis.

The rest of us just smiled but didn't say anything. Dion's penis had been a topic of discussion ever since he first came to live with us, and by the looks of things it appeared as if Joshie was going to follow in his father's footsteps.

"Wyatt's got a little one, but he's still a baby," Benny added next, satisfied that his was bigger than at least one other person.

Now that those things had been cleared up, we enjoyed the rest of the morning lounging about in the water. We played Marco Polo with the boys, another new activity for Benny, and he seemed tickled with everything we did.

We stayed in the pool until noon and then came inside to have lunch. Noah came home shortly after we sat down to eat, but he wasn't in a very good mood. It seemed that he and his friend had an argument, but he wouldn't tell us what it was about. We opted not to pry, but told him we were available if he decided he wanted to talk about it later.

After we finished eating, the boys went to the family room to play video games and Noah ended up joining them as well. He'd been asking Joshie about the PS4 and wanted to know what games he got for it, so Joshie and Benny told him he could play too. After a while, Brandon and I asked Noah and Benny to sit with us for a few minutes so we could explain something to them, while Joshie kept playing video games.

"Not next weekend, but the one after that we'll be going to visit Elliot at college."

"Will it be for the whole weekend?" Noah immediately asked, and we could tell he was hoping that wouldn't be the case.

"Pretty much. We'll be driving there on Friday night and won't be coming back until Sunday," I answered.

Noah made a face to show he wasn't exactly pleased and then he spoke. "Hang on and I'll be right back." He then got up and rushed out of the room, but a minute later he returned carrying a piece of paper.

"I can't go because we have a soccer match that Saturday, and we'll probably have a practice Friday after school too."

Brandon and I looked at each other momentarily and attempted to communicate nonverbally. "That IS a problem," Brandon finally added.

"We wanted all of us to go, but we know your team is counting on you being there for them too," I replied. "Give us a chance to talk this over and we'll get back to you. We wanted the entire family there for a number of reasons, but it will also be the first time Elliot will get to meet Benny."

"Oh, yeah. I kinda forgot about that."

"Are we going far away?" Benny wanted to know.

"Yes, we'll have to drive several hours to get there," I replied. "We've already made reservations for a place to stay while we're there that will put us close to his campus. We will stay there Friday night and then we'll drive the rest of the way the following morning to meet up with Elliot."

"Can I go with you?" Joshie suddenly asked. He'd been playing on the PS4 while we'd been talking, but we didn't think he'd been paying attention to our conversation.

"That would be up to your fathers, because they may have other plans for you."

Without missing a beat, Joshie jumped up and raced out of the room. A short time later he came flying back, with Dion arriving a few seconds after Joshie burst into the room.

"Do you really want him to go with you?" Dion wondered as he looked at Brandon and me.

"That's up to you, but it won't create any problems for us if he tags along. In fact, he might make the long trip a little easier for Benny, and we could use your help too, because we'll need a favor from you in return." Dion seemed to ignore that last part.

"What about the sleeping arrangements?"

"We've already reserved a room with two beds, but Noah just told us he has a soccer match that weekend and wants to stay here. If you and Trey will cart him around and keep an eye on him for us, then we'll take Joshie with us. He can sleep in the other bed with Benny, since Noah's not going."

Noah looked hopeful as Dion considered what I'd said. "Let me talk this over with Trey and I'll let you know." He then left the room, with Joshie and Benny close on his heels.

"What if they won't do this?" Noah basically whined after they'd disappeared.

"Let's see what he says first, before we start thinking about our other options."

Dion and Trey returned a few minutes later, ready to give us an answer.

"It's alright with us, as long as you don't think Joshie will be a burden," Trey replied. "We know he'd probably be miserable if we made him stay here, and we won't be doing anything special while you're gone so we can help out with Noah too." After he finished speaking, all three boys began to cheer and jump around.

"This should work out fine then. Thank you very much," Brandon stated, and the boys went back to playing on the PS4.

Seeing the boys were entertaining themselves, Brandon and I called Elliot to find out about Family Weekend.

"Who's coming?" Elliot wanted to know.

"Brandon and I will be there, but the rest will be a surprise."

"What kind of surprise?"

"I'd rather you wait and find out."

"I knew you were going to say that," Elliot grumbled. "Is Noah coming?"

"No, he has a soccer match that weekend and wants to stay home," Brandon replied, and Elliot didn't seem thrilled about this news either. "So what exactly will be happening on Family Weekend?"

"There's a bunch of stuff going on. There'll be tours, the drama department is going to put on a play, the football team has a game, and there will be a concert featuring the Yale Symphony Orchestra, the Yale Concert Band, and the Yale Glee Club. I'm not exactly sure what type of music they'll be playing, but I'm sure there will be some classical stuff."

"What about meals?"

"The University will provide a continental breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, and they'll serve lunch and dinner on Saturday, both buffet style, and a buffet lunch on Sunday too."

"Did you want to show us around the area as well as the campus?"

"Nah, I think you'd be better off staying here. It's kinda rough once you get away from campus."

"Ok, so what types of things do you suggest we do?"

"You two might like the play and the concert, but since I don't know who else is coming I'm not sure what else to tell you. I'm not big on football, but if you want to go I can buy tickets for you."

"No, that's ok. I wouldn't mind, but that's not Brandon's thing either, so we'll just skip it. Do you have to get tickets in advance for the play and concert?"

"I think those will be easier to get, but I'll check and find out. If I have to get them in advance I'll call back and you can tell me how many tickets to buy."

"Ok, that sounds like a plan."

"I'll also take you guys around to see the parts of the campus I think you'll be interested in, because there are many fascinating buildings and other things to see."

"Ok, sounds good, and we look forward to spending some time with you."

We hadn't seen much of the campus when we took him for his visit, because it was at the end of winter and a storm hit while we were there. Seeing it was cold and snowy that day, we didn't do a lot of walking around outside.

When we got off the phone, Brandon and I talked a little while longer until we heard screaming coming from the family room. Since we didn't know what was going on, we went running to see what had caused the commotion.

"What's all the screaming about?" I asked as we entered the room.

"We let Noah have a turn, but now he's hogging it," Joshie explained, looking very annoyed.

"It's just that I'm better than they are and I'm getting through more levels, so my turn lasts longer," Noah explained. "I let them each have two turns before I took mine to try to even it out, but I've just been really lucky this time so my turn is lasting even longer."

Noah continued playing while he was telling us this, so we told Joshie and Benny to let Noah keep going until he finished this turn and then he wouldn't play any more today. That seemed to placate them, so another crisis had been averted.

The rest of the day went without incident as I attacked the laundry and Brandon cleaned the downstairs. When it was time to get ready for bed, I offered to take the boys up for their shower again, since Brandon was involved with something else. It wasn't a big deal and I didn't mind, and obviously the boys didn't care either, so I merely sat on the toilet lid and kept an eye on them until they'd finished. Then, I helped them dry off, made sure they put on clean underwear, and tucked them into their own beds.

After that had been taken care of, Brandon and I sat down with Noah for a few minutes. "Ok, since you won't be going with us to visit Elliot, this will be a trial run of sorts."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if this works out and you don't give Dion and Trey any trouble, then we might let you do this again. If not, next time you'll have to miss whatever you have scheduled and go with the family."

"That's not gonna happen, because this is going to work out."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Once we finished our conversation, Brandon and I relaxed for a while before we went to bed. Although this hadn't worked out quite the way we'd planned, it was acceptable and Elliot would still get to meet his new brother.

The following week proved to be fairly uneventful for us and passed by quite quickly. Brandon and I talked to Benny each night before he went to bed so we could ask if any of the other kids had hassled him that day. Each time he told us they hadn't, so I began to think the problem must have been taken care of. By the end of the week we received another call from Mrs. Argentine, but this time it was so she could give us some good news.

"I don't know if you've been checking with Benny about the problem he'd been having, but as far as we can tell there has been no reoccurrences."

"Yes, Brandon and I have talked to Benny about it each night and he's assured us that nothing more has happened."

"We contacted the parents of each child involved and informed them of our concerns and they promised they would speak with their sons about the problem. By the way, I heard you also had a brief conversation with a couple of the boys."

"Yes, when they came to Joshie's party I took them aside and explained what Benny had been through and that he had no choice in the matter. I also asked if they'd have been able to refuse if their parents made them to do it, and that's when I think they began to understand how Benny felt."

"That must have worked, because I overheard that pair talking to the boy who hadn't attended the party. They had stayed behind when I took the class to lunch, and when I realized they were missing I went back to the room to see what they were up to. I overheard some of their conversation when I first arrived, but I didn't say anything to them about it. From what they were saying, you seemed to have made an indelible impression on them and most definitely got your point across."

"Growing up with so many brothers, Brandon and I kind of became aware of the best way to get our messages heard. That skill helps us now when we're dealing with other youngsters, and I believe it had a lot to do with our choice of professions too. I know it was part of the reason I became a pediatrician and I'm sure Brandon would agree that it had something to do with him specializing in pediatric dentistry."

"You've certainly scored points in my book and Benny should be glad he has you two in his corner."

We thanked her for her kind words and help, while also agreeing that we hoped this would be the last we'd have to discuss this issue.

Seeing Brandon and I both worked a half-day on Saturday, he thought it would be a great time to take care of Benny's teeth. Brandon is set up for typical dental procedures and has the usual drills and other apparatus he would need to do that, but unlike many other dentists he also offered a laser option. When he was in college he was taught about laser dentistry and learned the use of lasers had some definite benefits. It also came with one major caveat: that the patient couldn't have anything in his mouth that might reflect the laser beam, such as metal fillings or braces, or the laser couldn't be used.

The advantages of lasers, however, were that there was no need to use anesthesia for many of the minor procedures. Lasers also minimize bleeding seeing the high-intensity beam aided the clotting process, but lasers also reduced the chance of infection because it simultaneously sterilized the area. Those were precisely the reasons why Brandon planned to use this method on Benny, seeing there were several different areas that needed attention.

Understanding that we'd be at work, Trey agreed to drop Benny off at the health center when Brandon was ready for him, and they arrived just before Brandon's last patient left. His dental assistant had agreed to stay behind and assist him after he'd assured her the procedure shouldn't take very long. Almost as soon as Benny arrived, Brandon got started and he was completely done about twenty minutes later.

"That wasn't bad," Benny said as we were heading home. "When I told other kids that you were going to fix my teeth they told me I'd have to get a shot in my mouth and it would hurt."

"That's the old way of doing things, and I sometimes still have to do that, but there are ways to make it less painful," Brandon told him. "When the problem isn't too bad and the patient doesn't have any metallic fillings or braces, I can get away with doing it like I did for you."

"I'm glad, cuz that didn't hurt at all."

When we got to the house, Benny told everyone else about his appointment and then he had them look in his mouth to see if they could tell what had been done. Brandon and I got a big kick out of how he was reacting to his first dental visit.

Since the weather had definitely turned cooler, Brandon and I went out to drain the pool and then put the tarp over it for the winter. It was a lengthy process and kept both of us quite busy, as well as using up the remaining daylight. When we finished, we were slightly depressed, because this meant the summer and warm weather had officially come to an end.

When we went into the house after we finished, we looked around for Benny and couldn't find him, so we asked Trey and Dion if they knew where he was.

"Yes, he's with Joshie and they're shooting hoops out in the driveway," Dion informed us. That's when we realized it might be too cool to swim, but it definitely wasn't too cold to shoot hoops.

After hearing this, Brandon and I went to the family room and looked out the picture window so we could watch the boys. It was obvious that Joshie was giving Benny tips on how to shoot baskets, as well as on how to dribble, and we stayed there to watch them for a few minutes. Joshie was a very patient coach as he tried to help Benny learn the basics of another activity that he adored.

They both had rosy cheeks when they came inside later, but that was due to the exertion, rather than from the temperature. When he spotted us, Benny had to explain what he and Joshie had just done, since he hadn't noticed we'd been watching them. He was so excited about this that I knew he would be as hooked on the sport as Joshie already was.

After dinner, Dion, Trey, Brandon, and I all spent time watching TV with the boys until it was time to get them ready for bed. The boys liked when we watched TV with them, because they got to sit beside us or on our laps, which seemed to be very important to them. It was special for the rest of us too, since we liked having this chance to spend a little quality quiet time with our sons.

On Sunday, Brandon and I worked on our chores and finished up early, because we planned on using part of the day packing our bags for the following weekend. We didn't want to leave it until the last minute and then possibly forget to pack something. We were usually too tired to do things like this after we got home from work, and the weekdays were often too hectic with Noah's sports, the kids' homework, and other things going on. We packed one bag for ourselves, and another for Benny, and then Dion brought Joshie's things so we could put them in Benny's bag too. The only items we had to remember at the last moment was to pack up our toiletries, but that wasn't a big deal. If we forgot some of those things then we could easily pick them up when we reached our destination without it costing us an arm and a leg.

As soon as those things had been taken care of, Brandon and I went in to watch Joshie and Benny play video games for two reasons. First, we wanted to see how Benny was doing and if he was catching on, but we also wanted to find out if Joshie liked the games we'd given him for his birthday.

"Who's winning?" Brandon asked as we sat down near them.

"Joshie is, but I'm getting better," Benny answered.

"He is too," Joshie confirmed. "When he started, his turns didn't last very long, but now they last almost as long as mine."

"Nah, not that long, but I'm doin' better," Benny countered.

"So do you like these games?" I followed, to see what Joshie said.

"Yeah, they're a lot of fun. Some of the boys in my class have them too, so they told me a few of the things I needed to watch for."

"Those other guys said these were some of the best games," Benny added. I guess that answered our question.

After dinner, Brandon and I pulled Dion and Trey aside because we had something to ask them. "Wyatt's birthday is in a couple of weeks and we wanted to know if you're planning on having a party for him?"

"Yes, but just a family party on the weekend," Dion answered.

"There aren't a lot of kids that we could ask to come, so we thought we'd just send a treat with him to daycare on his birthday so he could celebrate there too," Trey added. "We've already checked with the staff and they said that would be fine, even though some of the kids are probably too young to know what's going on."

"So what kind of party will you have here?" I followed.

"It won't be very elaborate. Primarily just cake and ice cream, but we'll probably have party hats and noise makers too, as well as letting him open his presents."

"That's fine. We just wanted to know," Brandon explained.

"And which day will you be having it?" I added.

"His birthday is on a Tuesday, so we'll probably have his party the Sunday before, since it will just be us," Trey answered. "We'll send the treats to daycare on his actual birthday, so he'll get to celebrate both times."

"Ok, then we'll plan accordingly."

At dinner, Noah made an announcement while we were eating. "I have a soccer match on Tuesday, so will you come watch me play, since you won't be able to be at my game on Saturday?"

"Of course we will, and we'll get there just as soon as our last appointments are done," I replied. "We may not see all of the match, but we'll get there for as much of it as we can. I hope that's all right."

"Yeah, cuz I know how hard it is for you to get away. Some of my friends' parents either can't get to the matches or only one of them can, so I understand."

"It's not easy when you have a job, but we'll do the best we can," Brandon added.

"I'm going to take Joshie and Benny to watch it too," Dion added. "Trey's not into sports, so he's going to stay here so you can drop off Wyatt first, if you want."

"Thanks, Uncle Dion. I appreciate that you're coming too and bringing Joshie and my brother." Noah's acknowledgement made Benny smile and his chest swelled out slightly when Noah referred to him as his brother, but Noah also seemed pleased that so many of us would be there.

Sunday night, one of the Harry Potter movies was showing on TV, so the boys wanted to watch it. We sat down with them and spent some quiet time as a family, and we got a kick out of how the younger ones we're getting into the movie.

"I wish I could go to Hogwarts," Benny announced during a commercial. "It would be a lot more fun than our school and I could learn to do neat magic stuff."

"And we could ride on brooms and fly around in the sky," Joshie chimed in. "We could learn to play Quidditch too."

"And our daddies could have flying cars so they could take us to catch the Hogwarts train in London," Benny added.

"Is there a spell to keep them from talking so much?" Noah teased as he grinned at the other pair evilly.

"Maybe we'll turn you into a rat, like Peter Pettigrew, but you wouldn't be able to change back like he does," Joshie challenged defiantly.

"Ok, let's just watch the movie," Brandon suggested before the boys got carried away.

When the movie ended, Brandon took Benny and Joshie up for their shower, so I pulled Noah aside. "I'm going to leave some money with your uncles before we go away this weekend, and you can ask them if you need money for anything. It better be a good reason, though, because I'm sure they're not going to part with it easily."

"Ok, but it's nice to know they'll have it in case something comes up," he agreed. "If we win on Saturday the team may go out to celebrate and maybe get pizza, so this way I know there's money for me to use so I can join them."

When Brandon finished up with Joshie and Benny, Noah went to take his shower. I went up to help tuck the boys in bed and kissed them goodnight, and then Brandon and I turned in too. It had been a long weekend and we were exhausted, so we wanted to get enough sleep so we'd be ready to start the workday.

On Monday, Brandon and I checked with our staffs to see if they would close up for us the following day, so we could leave as early as possible to watch Noah play. They agreed that they'd be happy to do it for us, so Brandon and I planned to find a way to thank them for doing this later. Maybe we could throw a special party for them over the holidays, or we could put a little something extra in their Christmas bonuses. Whatever we do, they'll have earned it.

As it turned out, we were able to get to the school before the half ended, so Noah got to see us before he went off with the coach for the halftime strategy session. We found Dion and the boys in the stands, so they filled us in on what we'd missed, which wasn't much since neither team had scored yet.

A couple of minutes into the second half, Noah intercepted a pass, dribbled a short distance, and then made a pass to one of his teammates. The boy was able to take the ball without breaking stride and sidestepped one defender before taking a shot on goal. He drilled the ball and the keeper had trouble handling it, as the ball ricocheted off his hands. Another of Noah's teammates was able to get to the ball before any of the other defenders and directed it into the goal before the keeper was able to recover. It was the first score of the game.

Noah and his teammates celebrated, while the parents and other fans cheered to show their appreciation. It seemed to give the team a new sense of confidence and they started playing even better than they had before. Noah had been marking his man very closely, which was frustrating the other boy, so when Noah stole the ball from him the kid took him down hard from behind. It got the boy a red card, so he had to leave the pitch, and Noah came up limping. He was attempting to walk the injury off, but it was apparent his leg was hurting.

When I saw this, I stood up and started walking toward the bench to see if they needed assistance, since I'm a doctor. When Noah saw me, he signaled that he was ok and indicated I should go back to my seat, but he was still limping so I doubted he was being honest. Even if he didn't want me to check on him here, I would definitely do it at home to make certain he hadn't suffered a serious injury.

Noah didn't come off the field until near the end of regular time, so he only missed the last couple of minutes, as well as the two minutes of added time, but he hadn't been as effective after the tackle. There was no further scoring either, so Noah's team won 1 – 0.

As he was coming off the pitch, I went to see how he was doing and to ask if he needed help, but he had something to ask me first. "Some of the guys on the team want to know if we're going to have the Haunted House again this year. Since Elliot isn't here, they said they wanted to help."

"I'm sure we can do something, but at this moment I'm more concerned about how you are doing. That was a nasty and illegal tackle that the opposing player made on you earlier, so how's your leg?"

"Eh, I'm ok, but the coach said I should ice it when I get home."

"I'll check it over too, because I want to be sure that ice is all you need." Noah merely nodded and then came with us so we could head home.