Bill W

Castaway Hotel
Next Generation

Chapters 8-14

Once the others had gone home, Lucas went off to play with Joshie. When that happened, I took Jordan, Nicky, Jesse and Andrew aside, so I could clear the air and let them know what I thought would be acceptable.

"Okay, I'm fairly certain I know what you boys are planning," I began, "but nothing happens unless each person agrees he wants to participate." I saw four heads nod in unison.

"I also don't want you to get carried away with this and allow it to become all you do while you are here," I stated, while directing the comment toward Jordan and Nicky. "I want you to have a good time, but there will be other things you can do that doesn't involve sex." They merely smiled in understanding.

"No anal," I whispered to Jesse and Andrew, as I got ready to leave. They merely nodded their heads in agreement.

Since that had been settled, I left the boys alone and they immediately went to the family room and challenged each other on the video games. Once they grew tired of playing on the X-box and Wii, they asked Jake and me if we wanted to watch a movie with them, so we agreed. We spent the next couple of hours watching 'The Great Raid,' which is about a World War II rescue operation and stars Benjamin Bratt. We all enjoyed the movie, because it was quite exciting, and when it ended, Jake and I went out to fix dinner.

Later, after we finished eating, I saw Nicky, Jordan, Jesse and Andrew playing hide-and-go-seek outside with Lucas and Joshie. I was glad to see the older boys spending time with the younger ones too and figured I'd let them know that when they came back inside.

When it grew dark, the boys finished their game and I got my chance to speak with them.

"I'm glad to see you guys were doing something with the two little ones," I told them.

"It's no big deal," Andrew answered.

"Yeah, the older boys used to do things with us too," Jesse added, "so we thought we'd do the same for Lucas and Joshie."

"Like we told you about the kickball," Nicky offered, "it used to make us feel good when they did that, so we thought we'd make Lucas and Joshie feel good too."

"We just wanted to make sure they didn't feel like we were leaving them out of everything," Jordan added. "Jesse is right. Our uncles always made sure to include us in things when we stayed here or went places with you, and I remember how great it made me feel."

"Yeah, so we wanted to do that for Lucas and Joshie too," Nicky concluded.

After I commended their actions again, I offered all of the boys a piece of leftover birthday cake and some ice cream. Once they finished eating it, we all went into the family room and watched some television together. A little later, Dion and Trey came in to get Lucas and Joshie, so they could give them a bath and put them in bed. A short time after that, the other four left and went upstairs and I'm pretty sure I knew what that meant.

The boys started off by going into the same bedroom together, so they could talk things over first. They hadn't really had a chance to discuss what they wanted to do tonight and decided to do it now.

"I can't believe you guys got your parents to let you stay another week," Jesse began.

"They weren't happy about it at first, but they gave in after talking it over with Papa," Jordan explained.

"My mom was throwing a fit, because she didn't want me coming back home alone," Nicky added, "but she calmed down after Papa said he'd bring Kylie and me back."

"You're pretty lucky he offered to do that for you," Jesse suggested. "Otherwise you might not have been able to stay."

"I know and I think he only said he'd do it, because you guys had talked to him about what we'd done during the trip," Jordan suggested. "I think he was glad we were honest about it and he was okay with what we did, so he was willing to give us some more time together. At first, I was a little worried about you telling him what we were up to, but now I'm glad you did."

"We even thanked him personally, when we were with him on a ride at Hershey Park," Nicky added, "so I think that probably helped too. We even talked a little about what we were doing and thanked him for allowing us to learn from you guys. It might have helped that he knows we appreciate everything he is doing for us and that may be another reason why he agreed to let us spend a little more time with each other. If Papa hadn't allowed us to stay over now, we wouldn't see you guys again until Christmas."

"I'm glad you thanked him and were able to talk to him about what you were doing on vacation," Andrew confirmed. "It is probably what convinced him that you're mature enough to handle these things, or else you wouldn't have said anything to him about it directly. That might have also helped convince him to talk your parents into letting you stay longer."

The two boys looked at each other, since neither of them had realized before that they were actually helping themselves when they'd done that. However, they didn't have long to consider this, because Andrew was asking them a question.

"Okay, so what do you want to do this time?" he wanted to know.

"We're not sure, but how about something different," Jordan suggested.

"Yeah, we liked what we did before," Nicky offered, "but you said there was even more you could show us."

Andrew and Jesse looked at each other and grinned.

"There is, if you're ready for it," Jesse teased.

"We are!" they both screamed, at nearly the same instant.

"Do you know what a blowjob is?" Andrew asked next.

"That's when someone sucks on your dick," Jordan answered, while turning slightly red.

"That's right," Andrew confirmed. "Do you think you're ready to try that?"

Nicky and Jordan turned and looked at each other, but didn't respond. Eventually, Jesse figured out why.

"Look, we'll do it to you, but you don't have to do it to us, unless you want to," he told them.

Suddenly, the younger boys began to relax and smile again.

"Okay, then we'll try it," Jordan agreed, after Nicky whispered something to him.

"Do you want all of us to do it here, in this room, or do you want to be in separate rooms?" Jesse prompted.

"We can all do it in here, if you guys don't mind," Nicky answered, and that was fine with the older pair.

Once this had been agreed to, Jordan and Nicky removed their clothing and laid crosswise on the bed, so there would be room for Jesse and Andrew. Once they were in position, the older boys decided to let them experience a little pleasure from some other erotic areas first, before they sucked them off. Instead of going directly for their penises, the boys licked and sucked on the younger pair's nipples and then worked their way down the center of their chest, before reaching their midsection. At that point, the older boys got up and positioned themselves between the younger pair's legs and began to lick and suck on their testicles next, before slowly working their way toward the grand prize.

Lovingly, they ran their tongues up and around the length of the penis, until they could swirl their oral muscle around the head. Expertly, they teased the tiny openings for a couple of seconds, and then they opened their mouths and slid them over the shaft, as they greedily swallowed the quivering masts.

Nicky and Jordan immediately began to squirm and moan, as their partners added some suction and their heads started to bob up and down on the younger pair's erections. Gradually, the older boys suckled the younger ones closer and closer to orgasm.

When Jordan and Nicky began to feel their juices starting to rise, they instinctively placed their hands on their partners' heads and attempted to encourage them to take in more of their penis and proceed at a slightly faster pace. As expected, it didn't take long before each boy was completely overwhelmed by the sensations and were soon squealing in orgasmic delight, as they arched their backs and drove their dicks as far into the other boy's throat as it would go. Once their penises were seated deeply in those warm, moist caverns, they spewed their creamy loads down the other's gullet and then collapsed on the bed, totally spent.

For a minute or so, the boys lay on the mattress, with their hearts still racing, heads swooning and mouths hanging open. Deliciously, they savored the tingling sensations that still coursed through their bodies from their explosive climax, as they slowly came down from their orgasmic highs. After they had enjoyed these wonderful feelings for as long as they could, they began to express what they felt about the experience.

"That was totally wicked," Nicky gushed. "It was better than anything I've ever felt before."

"Man, that was really awesome," Jordan agreed. "I don't think I've ever shot so much and felt that lightheaded before. It was the best ever."

"We're glad you enjoyed it," Andrew told them, as he spoke for both Jesse and himself. "When you two are ready, why don't you go take your showers and Jesse and I will use one of the other bathrooms and do the same."

"But you guys haven't cum yet," Jordan observed. "After how good you made us feel, we're more than willing to do something for you too."

"You don't have to," Jesse responded. "We can take care of each other, if you'd rather not."

"No!" Nicky stated firmly. "We owe you, so we aren't going anywhere until we help you guys too."

"If that's what you want," Andrew agreed. "So what do you want to do?"

"I don't think we're ready to do what you did to us yet," Jordan acknowledged, "but we'll jerk you off, if that's all right?"

"That will be fine," Jesse agreed.

Since this had been settled, Andrew and Jesse lay on the bed and the other pair moved in beside them and began to slowly stroke their genitals. Tonight, the younger boys were determined to bring their partners as much pleasure as they could and tenderly stroked the engorged phalluses until they erupted and spilled their milky load.

Now that everyone had enjoyed a release, they accompanied their partners to the shower. Each pair took off in a different direction, as they went off to do this, but they eventually met up in the bedroom again.

"Once you're ready, we can go back downstairs until bedtime," Andrew advised them. "That will also give you time to decide whether you want to sleep alone, with each other or with one of us."

"Yes, Andrew and I are willing to do it any way you want," Jesse confirmed. "All you have to do is decide what you'd rather do."

"Hurry up and get dressed and then we'll go down," Andrew told them.

"Are you guys going to go downstairs naked?" Nicky asked, a little shyly.

"We usually do, but we won't if you'd feel more comfortable with us all being dressed," Jesse answered.

The younger pair turned and looked at each other, before either responded.

"Nah, we think we're ready to see what it feels like going around like you guys do," Jordan responded, after getting his cousin's silent approval. "I think it will also help to show Papa that we've grown up and are able to handle what he's letting us do. We want to prove to him that we're not ashamed of what we're doing and willing to be open with him too."

"Yeah, it's not like he or Papa Jake haven't seen us naked before," Nicky added. "They used to give us baths when we stayed here with you when we were younger."

"Okay, if that's what you want to do, then let's go," Andrew urged.

Jordan and Nicky stood up and dropped their towels on the floor, as Jesse and Andrew did the same. Then, the four of them walked downstairs together.

"Where are Lucas and Joshie?" Nicky asked, as he walked into the family room. This caused Jake and I to turn our heads in their direction.

Although I knew both of my grandsons were circumcised, I didn't realize how much they had matured, physically. Of course I suspected as much, but now I got to see how much they had developed. Each of them was respectably hung and didn't seem ashamed that Jake and I were seeing them this way. Since they didn't seem to be embarrassed by it, I merely answered Nicky's question.

"Dion and Trey have put the two younger ones to bed already," I explained. "I just checked on them before you came down and they were both sound asleep in the guest room. I guess they were pretty tired out."

"Oh, okay," Nicky acknowledged. "I wasn't sure if they'd be in here naked too."

"Joshie occasionally runs around the house without any clothes on," I confirmed, "since his fathers often do as well, but I'm not sure about Lucas. I'm not convinced it's something I'd want him going back and telling his parents he did here."

"We won't say anything to him then, so you don't have to worry about us, Papa," Jordan assured me, with Nicky nodding in agreement. "We don't want any of our parents to find out that we were running around your house naked."

"I'd hope not or we might have to tell them about the other things you've been doing too," I joked.

This caused both boys to blush and their mouths to drop open, slightly.

"You wouldn't do that, would you, Papa?" Nicky wailed.

"No, I'm just teasing," I confessed. "I'm not sure your parents would ever allow you to spend time with us again, if they ever found out what you've been doing."

"It's nothing bad," Jordan announced, "but it has been fun and we've learned a lot." Again, Nicky nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad you feel that way, and as long as all of you are okay with what you're doing, I am too," I told them.

"And you too, Papa Jake?" Nicky asked, in an effort to make certain we were all in agreement.

"Yes, me too," Jake confirmed, which brought smiles to both boys' faces.

A few minutes later, Jake said good night and went to bed, because he had to go to work in the morning. I stayed up with the boys and we chatted for a while longer, before they went to their bedrooms to turn in too. I understand that Nicky decided to sleep with Andrew and Jordan stayed with Jesse that evening. They didn't do any more fooling around, but it was obvious that each of them now enjoyed a closer connection to the others. I'm glad they were enjoying their time together, as well as what they were doing. Now, I just had to figure out what other things I could do to make sure they were entertained for the rest of the week.

Monday morning, Andrew talked Dion and Trey into letting him borrow their car for the day. Andrew didn't have another option, because Jake had taken our car to work and I didn't feel he was experienced enough to drive the Suburban. It is very large and extremely challenging to navigate for a fairly inexperienced operator, so I prefer him to drive something easier to handle. Once they agreed and he had access to a vehicle, Andrew rounded up the other boys and they piled into the car. They planned to see if they could find any of Jesse's other friends, so they could hang out with them for the day.

I understand they located them rather quickly and then spent time with them at one of the boy's house. Since another of Jesse's friends also had access to a vehicle, they decided to go over to the mall and hang out there for a while. After a couple of hours, they returned home for a late lunch and then the four of them shed their clothes and went out to skinny-dip in the pool. When Lucas and Joshie saw the other boys swimming, they wanted to go in the pool too, so Dion and Trey agreed it would be all right.

"Can we swim without our clothes on too?" Lucas asked.

Dion hadn't realized the other boys were skinny-dipping, so he glanced over at me, to see what I thought before he answered.

"Lucas, I don't have a problem with it, as long as you don't tell your parents you did that here," I told him. "It's not that there is anything wrong with doing it, it's just that I didn't ask your parents first and I'm not sure what they'd think about it. Would you be able to keep it a secret and only talk about it when you're here."

"Sure, Papa," Lucas agreed. "I think it will be fun."

Before long, Lucas, Joshie, Dion and Trey had all stripped down and were heading out to hop into the pool with the others. Nicky began to panic when he saw them approaching.

"Did Papa say it was okay for them to do this too?" he asked. Once Dion and Trey confirmed I had, he relaxed and began to enjoy himself again.

"Their pee pees are all bigger than ours," Lucas announced, referring to Joshie and himself.

"Yes, but yours will get bigger too, when you get older," Dion told him. That seemed to suffice, so Lucas jumped in with the others.

The boys stayed in the pool until nearly dinnertime and then they got out, dried off and came back inside. None of them seemed to be in a hurry to get dressed again and pretty soon I saw them in the family room watching 'Up' together.

When Jake returned home, I asked the boys to put some clothes on before we ate, so they raced off to do as I'd requested. After we finished dinner, the little ones talked the older boys into playing hide-and-go-seek with them again and they stayed outdoors until it began to get dark.

Once they came inside, Dion and Trey rushed Lucas and Joshie off for their bath and then put them to bed. While they were doing this, the rest of us went in to watch television.

"Lucas and Joshie were cute swimming naked in the pool," Jordan told me, once the little ones were no longer with us.

"Yes, and they seemed to enjoy it too," I confirmed.

"Man, I remember when I was that little and wish I could have gotten naked with you guys in the pool, like they did," Nicky announced. "I think it would have been fun."

"I guess you must have forgotten that we did it a couple of times," Jordan reminded him. "The other boys let us do it when Papa wasn't here."

"Oh, they did, did they?" I commented.

I tried to act angry, but they obviously knew I wasn't. They ignored my faked reaction and continued their conversation.

"I remember that now," Nicky confessed, glancing at me shyly. "I would never dare to do it at home, especially not with Kylie around."

"Yeah, I've made sure that Megan has never seen me naked either," Jordan agreed, "although she almost caught me a couple of times. Once she came into my room without knocking first and another time I forgot to lock the bathroom door."

The boys all had a good laugh over this and then we focused on the television program again. After watching a couple of shows together, the boys went upstairs and showered quickly. When they were done, Nicky and Jordan confronted the older pair.

"Are we going to do something tonight?" Jordan wanted to know.

"If you guys want to," Andrew agreed. "What would you like to do?"

"Can we do what we did last night?" Nicky suggested, and the other pair quickly agreed.

They went into one of the rooms and arranged themselves crossway on the bed again, so Andrew and Jesse could help them out. Tonight, they paired up with the opposite boy they were with the previous night and ever so tenderly the older boys orally satisfied their younger partner and brought them to another mind-blowing climax.

Once the younger pair had gotten off, Jesse and Andrew started to leave. They were going to go to another room and take care of each other, but the other pair stopped them before they got very far.

"Wait!" Jordan shouted, before they got to the doorway. "Nicky and I talked it over while we were showering and decided we were going to try doing it to you too, if you want."

"We wouldn't mind that at all," Jesse agreed, "because we were just about ready to do that with each other. Are you sure you're ready to do it?"

"Yes," Nicky replied, meekly. "We decided we should try it too, since you have been so good to us."

"You really don't have to," Andrew confirmed, but Jordan and Nicky weren't about to change their minds.

"We know, but we've made up our minds," Nicky confirmed.

"Okay, but when we get close we'll let you know, so you don't have to take it in your mouths," Andrew offered. "At that point, you can just jerk us off until we cum."

Nicky and Jordan seemed to be fine with this suggestion, so the pairs switched places. The younger pair now positioned themselves over the older boys' breasts and began to hesitantly work on their nipples. After they'd nipped and sucked on the tiny nubs for a while, just like the other pair had done to them, they slowly began to work their way down their chests, until they were just above the pubes. At that point, they stopped momentarily and moved between the older boy's legs. Tentatively, they stuck out their tongues and swiped them at the scrotum. After gaining a little more courage, they gradually bathed that delicate area with their saliva.

After doing this for a short time, their focus drifted upward and they stared at the erect pieces of meat, which was standing proudly just a few inches in front of their eyes. This was an instinctive reaction on their part, as they thought about what they were about to do next. They had no idea what this was going to be like and, therefore, didn't want to rush blindly forward.

Tentatively, they took an exploratory swipe at the penis with their tongue, to see what it was like. Once they decided the skin didn't have a bad taste, Jordan was the first to continue. Somewhat more adventurously, he ran his tongue over Jesse's helmet, which sent chills up and down his partner's spine. Then he cautiously opened his mouth and slowly guided it over the helmet, until eventually he let his head drop lower, as he took more of Jesse's organ into his mouth. Unfortunately, he tried to take too much and began to gag.

"You don't need to try to swallow all of it," Jesse advised him. "Just take as much as you can, even if it's only the head." Jordan nodded and then went back to work.

Next to them, Nicky was carefully pulling Andrew's foreskin back and exposing the head, so he could do what Jordan was doing to Jesse. Once he decided this area didn't taste any worse than the skin, he put his mouth over the glans and cautiously began bobbing up and down on the shaft.

"Just extend your lips forward, so your teeth don't rub against my dick," Andrew warned Nicky, while making a slight grimace. "It doesn't feel so good when your teeth are rubbing against it."

Since Jordan had also heard Andrew's comment, he made sure he did the same thing. It took them a few seconds to figure out how to do this comfortably, but once they did, they were eager to continue.

It took quite a while longer for the older pair to reach their orgasm, so at one point Nicky stopped, raised his head and spoke.

"Is this going to take much longer?" he asked.

"You can just use your hand, if you don't want to keep going," Andrew told him.

Even though he'd been told he could quit, Nicky wasn't about to give up and neither was Jordan. A couple of minutes later Jesse warned Jordan that he was about to cum and a minute after that Andrew did the same to Nicky. Both boys then brought their partners off manually after being warned and then waited for the older boys to recuperate, before they spoke.

"Did I do okay," Nicky asked, once he saw Andrew was ready to sit up.

"You did fine," Andrew assured him. "Thank you."

"You did a good job too," Jesse told Jordan. "Thanks for doing that for me."

"You know, it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be," Nicky confessed.

"I didn't think so either," Jordan agreed. "I'd do it again, but I don't think I'm ready for you to shoot in my mouth yet."

"Me neither," Nicky added.

"No problem," Andrew assured them, and then they all went to shower again.

They did this with the person they had just gotten off with, and once they finished up, they all went back to the same room. After talking it over, they decided to sleep with the opposite person than they had been with the night before.

After ending up in the appropriate rooms, the boys got in to bed together. The older pair decided to cuddle with their partners, which at first caused some alarm. After explaining that they enjoyed showing affection and being close with their partner after sex, Jordan and Nicky agreed to try it. It didn't take long before they fell asleep, feeling happy and secure in the other's embrace.

Tuesday morning, the older boys took Lucas and Joshie out and played kickball with them in the yard. They were really great with the little ones again and kept letting them get on base. This, of course, led the younger boys to believe they were better than they were, so Lucas and Joshie were beaming, as they strutted back inside.

"Papa, did you watch us?" Lucas asked, as he entered.

"Yes, I did and you and Joshie are very good," I responded.

"We didn't make any outs," Joshie boasted, with his little chest puffed out.

"I saw that too," I confirmed. "I am very proud of both of you."

This seemed to suffice and the pair took off for the kitchen. Once they had a drink and caught their breath, the boys decided they wanted to go swimming again. Before long, clothes were being thrown in all directions, as they began to strip and head out the back door. I followed them, since I wanted to make certain someone was playing lifeguard for the smaller ones.

The boys swam for over an hour, and when they finished, I went indoors and grabbed a bunch of towels for them to use to dry off. Once they were doing that, I went inside and began fixing their lunch.

The boys were ravished, because of the exercise, and wiped out the food I had prepared in no time at all. When they finished eating, Jesse made a suggestion for what they could do next.

"You know, the old tree house is still in really good shape," he announced, "so what would you think about going out there for a while?"

"Can we hike around too?" Jordan asked, so the older boys glanced over at me, to get my reaction.

"Jesse and Andrew know the area well enough and I trust their judgment," I stated, "so I don't see a problem with that. You boys should also thank Jesse for going out there and coating the wood on the tree house with water-seal every couple of years, so it didn't rot out."

The boys quickly thanked him and then someone else spoke up.

"Papa, can Lucas and me go too?" Joshie asked.

"It's Lucas and I, but I think you'll need to clear that with your fathers," I told him.

Joshie immediately jumped out of his chair and raced off to find them.

"Are you going to go with us, Papa," Lucas asked, once Joshie had disappeared.

"No, I'll let you boys do that on your own," I answered.

"Then why did you say that to Joshie," Lucas asked.

I had to think about what he was saying for a moment, before it clicked in.

"I didn't Lucas," I explained. "I was just correcting Joshie on how he asked the question. I wasn't saying I wanted to go too."

I guess that must have cleared things up for him and then a minute later Joshie came running back into the dining room, smiling.

"Daddy said it is all right for me to go, but Papa has to say if Lucas can go too," Joshie announced.

"As long as your father is letting you go, then I think it will be okay for Lucas to go with you," I agreed. "I just want the four of you to keep a close eye on the little ones and not let them do anything dangerous." They all nodded in agreement.

"Is it big enough for all of us to go up there?" Nicky wanted to know.

"It is," Jordan answered. "I've been up there before, when I was little. We had even more boys us up there then, than we have here now."

"Yes, it's plenty big enough," Andrew agreed, "and there are railings running all around it, to keep anyone from accidentally falling off."

"How do we get up there?" Nicky asked next.

"You climb up a ladder," Andrew answered. "I'll follow Lucas up, to make sure he doesn't fall, and Jesse can follow Joshie up. We'll all be fine."

Everyone seemed eager to do this and quickly rushed out the door. I watched as they made their way back to the woods and disappeared from view.

After they had everyone up in the tree house, the older boys told the younger ones it was a pirate ship, and for the next twenty minutes or so they pretended attacking other ships and energetically engaged in sword fights with imaginary adversaries and each other.

Once they finished doing this, someone else suggest they were in Tarzan's tree house and living with the apes. After hearing what they were going to do, the two youngest ones began acting like chimpanzees. I was told they were quite comical.

They played around like that for many minutes and then someone else suggested they should now be the 'Swiss Family Robinson.' After explaining to Joshie and Lucas what this meant, they spent nearly a half-hour fighting off the cannibals they imagined were trying to kill and eat them. They pretended to be firing guns, throwing spears and shooting arrows at the invisible attackers, before they grew tired of these games and got ready to leave the tree house.

The boys climbed down in the reverse order of how they had climbed up, so Andrew and Jesse would be there to help if the two youngest had any trouble on the ladder. Once they reached the ground, they decided to go for a hike, but the older ones made sure to avoid the area where the ravine and steep drop off are located. They didn't want to take any unnecessary chances that Lucas and Joshie might fall down it and get injured.

They actually spent quite a while hiking around our property and only stopped when the little ones began to complain they were getting tired. When this happened, Jordan and Nicky offered to carry them, piggyback, to the house and Joshie and Lucas enthusiastically accepted their offer.

When the boys returned, Lucas and Joshie were eager to tell Dion, Trey and me about the great time they'd had and all the things they'd done. The words were spilling out of their mouths, like water over Niagara Falls, and their arms were flying around, as if they were in a street fight, as they demonstrated all the things they had done. Once they'd finished telling us about their time in the woods, they went off to clean up.

"Guys, thank you so much for doing all of that for them," I told the four older boys. "I've never seen Joshie so animated and I'm really glad Lucas is having such a wonderful time too. You did a fantastic job with them and I want to thank you for them and for me."

"Papa, you've made Nicky and me happy too, by not treating us like little kids," Jordan replied, "so we were glad to do the same thing for them."

"Yeah, we just treated everyone the same," Nicky agreed. "It's just that we did things we knew they'd like to do too."

"Well, thank you again," I responded, "and I mean that from the bottom of my heart."

Once I'd finished speaking, the older boys went off to clean up too. However, I didn't see them again until I called them down to eat.

After dinner, I talked to Jake, Dion and Trey briefly, before I went to find the boys, so I could speak with them as well.

"Okay, I'm going to give you guys a choice as to what we can do tonight," I told them. "We can go to a movie, watch one at home, play games, go bowling or we can do something entirely different. I have a friend who, in the past, has offered to let us use his 4-wheel ATVs, so it's up to you what we do."

"The ATVs," Nicky and Jordan began screaming right away.

"Okay, give me a second to speak with Dion and Trey about this first and then I'll call my friend, to see if tonight is good for him," I answered.

When I spoke to Dion and Trey again, neither of them was interested in going with us. Dion had choir practice and Trey wanted to spend some time working on his story, since Dion was going to be out. After hearing what they had planned, I asked if it would be a problem if I took Joshie with us, since I was going to be taking Lucas. They both agreed that would be fine, since Joshie would be unbearable to live with if he wasn't included. Once that was settled, I called my friend to talk this over with him. When I got done, I went back to speak with the boys again.

"My friend said tonight is fine with him, but he only has four vehicles," I explained. "That means we'll have to double up. Jake and I will ride with the two little ones, so you boys will have to figure out who will ride with whom."

"I'll ride with Jordan, since he's bigger than Nicky and I'm smaller than Jesse," Andrew offered. "That way it won't be so crowded on the seats."

That seemed easy enough and the others seemed fine with his solution. However, Jesse had something more he wanted to add.

"We will sit behind them and let Jordan and Nicky do the driving, since Andrew and I have done things like this before," he offered.

"You don't have to do that," Jordan replied.

"No, it's fine and you are visiting," Andrew agreed. "We can do this again some other time, when you're not here, so we want you to enjoy the opportunity now."

I decided to interrupt and not allow them to debate this point any longer.

"Look, it sounds fine to me, but we need to get going," I urged. "Even though it doesn't get dark until later, I suspect you'd like to do this for as long as we can."

This seemed to motivate the boys and we quickly headed outside and loaded into the Suburban. Before long, we were on our way over to my friend's farm. It isn't very far away and he had everything ready when we got there. He owns four ATVs, one for each member of his family. There is one for his wife, one for each of his two children and one for himself. That worked out well enough for us and I thanked him for allowing my family this opportunity.

Once we were ready, my friend gave the boys a quick explanation about how to operate the vehicles and a brief safety lesson. Since I knew he wouldn't have enough helmets for all of us to wear, I thought ahead and brought bike helmets along for the two little ones, Jake and myself. I felt there was less chance of us having an accident than the boys, so I made them wear the better protection.

I was familiar with this place, since I had been here before, so I took the lead and Jake followed at the rear. I had Lucas with me and he was thrilled to be leading the pack. We traveled over some trails I'm sure my friend and his family used for this purpose, when he wasn't driving his tractor over these same rugged routes. Jake and I had the younger ones sit in front of us, so they could help us steer. This allowed them think they were doing the driving, and Jake told me later that he had been able to hear Andrew and Jesse shouting out tips to Jordan and Nicky.

We had been going like this for about forty-minutes when I signaled the rest of them to stop. I then informed them it was time to change drivers, if that's what they were going to do, and then we'd make the trip back. Almost immediately, Andrew and Jesse reminded me that they had agreed to let Nicky and Jordan do all the driving and urged me to just keep going. Jordan and Nicky quickly glanced over their shoulders and gave the older boys a questioning glance, but Andrew and Jesse stuck to their guns. Since they were fine with this arrangement, I started along the path that would take us back to the farm, with the rest of them following closely behind.

It was just starting to get dark when we pulled up in front of the barn door where the ATVs were kept. My friend came out and asked how everything went and the boys told him fine. They also thanked him for letting us use his vehicles to do this and shook his hand. As they were heading over to the Suburban, I tried to slip my friend some money, to help cover the cost of the gasoline and wear and tear on the ATVs, but he was reluctant to take it. After I insisted, he told us we could come back again, if we wanted a longer experience. He even said anytime this week would be fine with him. I told him that sounded like a plan, and then hopped in the Suburban with the others and set off for home.

Once we were inside, each of the boys thanked Jake and me, and then Nicky and Jordan also thanked Andrew and Jesse for letting them drive the ATVs the entire time. The older pair played it down and said it was no big deal, but I could tell it really meant a lot to the younger duo.

I then suggested we could do this again tomorrow, or the night after, and we could even bring our dinner with us and have a picnic out on the trail. The boys seemed to like this idea, so I told them I'd call my friend tomorrow and ask him which night would work best for him.

When we arrived at home, Dion and Trey came out to greet us and then took the little ones with them, so they could get them cleaned up and ready for bed. As they disappeared, the rest of us went to clean up too. Once the boys got upstairs, I could have predicted the question they were planning to ask next.

"Are we going to do something tonight?" Jordan wondered, hopefully.

"You sure are a horn dog," Andrew joked.

"Aren't all guys our age?" Jordan retorted.

"I suppose they are, but I don't live with them," Andrew teased.

"Nicky and I like doing it because you guys make us feel so good," Jordan added. "Besides, we probably won't get to do anything like this again for a long time."

"Please?" Nicky whined. "I don't care what we do, as long as we do something."

Andrew and Jesse tried to hide their amusement.

"Okay, let's take our showers first and we'll go with the same person whom we rode on the ATVs with," Jesse suggested.

"Yeah, that's fine with us," Jordan answered, after getting a nod of agreement from Nicky.

"Okay. Why don't you guys get undressed while I talk things over quickly with my brother," Andrew suggested.

The younger pair immediately began to do what he suggested, which gave Andrew and Jesse a few moments to speak privately, while they were also getting undressed. Then the pairs went into two different bathrooms and took their showers together.

Jesse and Andrew made sure they washed the younger boys thoroughly – every inch of them. They even slipped the first knuckle of their middle fingers into the younger boys' rectums, which caused Jordan and Nicky to yelp slightly and ask what they were doing. The older boys simply explained they were just making sure they were thoroughly clean everywhere, but Jordan and Nicky weren't certain this was a totally honest statement. However, since what they were doing didn't hurt and the older pair didn't try to go any further, the younger duo dropped their protest.

Once the showers were completed, the four boys returned to the bedroom and the older boys had the younger ones lie down on the bed again. Andrew and Jesse eyed them for a moment, before one of them spoke.

"Do you trust us?" Andrew asked, directly.

Jordan and Nicky nervously glanced at each other before responding.

"Why are you asking us that?" Jordan countered.

"I'm asking it because Jesse and I need to be sure, before we do anything with you tonight. Do you trust us?" Andrew asked again.

"Your not planning to shove your dicks into our butts, are you?" Nicky asked, nervously.

"No, we aren't planning to do anything like that, but we still need to know if you trust us?" Andrew reiterated.

Jordan looked over at Nicky and Nicky nodded.

"Yes, we do," Jordan replied, now that he had his cousin's input. "You've only made us feel good and haven't done anything that hurt us so far, so we trust both of you."

"Good," Jesse stated, "and we sincerely hope you mean it."

Having said this, the older boys walked up to the bed, lifted the younger boys legs into the air and then knelt down behind them. Jordan and Nicky thought the boys were going to work on their testicles again and were surprised when they felt a tongue at their back door. Instinctively, they stiffened a bit and clenched their anal muscles, but they didn't say a word. After a few seconds of seeing how pleasurable the sensations from this activity were, the two boys began to relax and enjoy what the other pair was doing to them.

Jesse and Andrew paid a great deal of attention to their partners' anal rings and worked their tongues over and around the virgin openings. Once they felt their partner relax, Andrew and Jesse began to try to insert their tongue through the opening, with varying degrees of success. After a couple of minutes of testing the waters, the younger pair let down their guard completely and allowed the older boys to do whatever they wanted.

Jordan and Nicky were now beginning to moan and wiggle around slightly due to this attention, and then they actually began to thrust their butts backward, in order to meet the probing oral muscles. Jesse and Andrew smiled inwardly at this change in attitude and began to aggressively rim their partner. The more they did it, the more the other pair seemed to enjoy what they were doing, until Jesse and Andrew stopped. There was complete silence in the room momentarily, and then Andrew spoke.

"So, what did you think of that?" Andrew asked, while shifting his focus between the pair.

Jordan and Nicky quickly glanced at each other, and after a few seconds of silent communication, Jordan finally spoke.

"It felt kind of strange at first," he began, "but then it began to feel really good."

"It made me tingle inside," Nicky added, "but it was a good feeling."

"So you liked it then?" Jesse pressed.

"I did," Nicky answered, "but I don't want to do that to anyone else."

"I feel the same way," Jordan confirmed.

"We weren't planning on asking you to," Andrew confirmed, "but we wanted you to see there were other parts of your body that can give you pleasure too."

"I would never have guessed that would be one of them," Nicky admitted.

"Me either," Jordan agreed, "but I think I'd be willing to have you do it to me again."

"Do you mean now?" Jesse asked.

He was merely hoping to clarify his statement. Jordan looked at Nicky quickly, so he could gauge his attitude about this, before he responded.

"Yeah, I guess now would be okay," Jordan agreed, once he had received Nicky's silent consent.

With a smirk on their faces, Jesse and Andrew told the other two to get on their hands and knees this time and then they bent forward and began to repeat the process. After another couple of minutes of this type of attention, the older pair wet a finger and then used it to probe the virgin chute. Once again, the pair stiffened momentarily, but then began to relax and let the older pair have their way with them. After slowly inserting their finger as far as it would go, the older boys gently stroked it in and out of their partners, as they tenderly fingered the other pair.

After doing this for a short time, they had the boys flip over on their backs again and then they went back to work with their tongues. Gradually, they slid their way up the perineum, over the ball sacks and then up their cocks. Once they reached the tip, they gave the younger pair another blowjob and brought them to a thunderous climax. Jordan and Nicky were panting and sweating as the last of their juices was siphoned from their cocks.

"Man, I don't know if it was because of what you did to my butt first, but that was wild," Nicky gasped, as soon as he was able.

"Yes, that was the best one yet," Jordan agreed. "Just wait a little while and we'll do something for you guys too."

"You don't have to," Andrew responded. "Why don't you guys just chill out here tonight and Jesse and I will sleep in the other room. We can help each other get off before we turn in, because you guys look as if that took a lot out of you."

"You might be right about that," Jordan agreed. "It did kind of drain me and make me kind of sleepy."

"Okay, then you two sleep in here and we'll do something for each other tonight," Jesse confirmed.

"Are you sure?" Jordan asked.

"Yes," Andrew answered. "Good night and I'm glad you trusted us enough to let us do that for you."

"I…" Nicky began, and when he saw Jordan nodding, he corrected himself. "I mean… we are glad we did too. I wasn't sure about you messing with our butts, but it really felt great and I look forward to doing it again."

Andrew and Jesse were beaming broadly as they looked at Jordan and Nicky lying in bed. They were excited that the other pair had enjoyed what they'd done and looked forward to future contact with them.

Since Nicky and Jordan were satisfied and sleepy, the older boys tucked them in and then closed the door on the way out. Silently, they slipped down the corridor toward another bedroom. They felt great about what they'd just done, but now they were ready to take care of their own needs.

Wednesday morning, the older boys went out and met up with Jesse's friends again. They played softball and soccer at the high school and then the four of them returned home around lunchtime. After the boys had finished eating, they rested for a while and then decided to swim and cool down. The little ones wanted to swim too, so I told them they could and went out to keep an eye them. They swam for about an hour, before they grew tired and were ready to do something else.

After we came inside, the little ones began teasing the older boys to do the same sort of things they'd done the day before and the older guys eventually gave in to their demand. When the boys headed out to the tree house, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to call my friend and see when it would be a good time for us to go back to his farm for another ATV outing. He was quite apologetic and explained that something had come up, so tonight wouldn't be good for him, but he suggested we could come by the following day, if that would be acceptable. I thanked him and said I'd get back to him after I checked with Jake and the boys, but I felt it would be fine with them too.

Once I hung up, I called Jake on his cell phone, to tell him he didn't have to rush home this evening, since we weren't going to the farm. I also asked if tomorrow would be okay for him and he suggested he could take a half-day off from work, so we would have more time to spend with the kids. I agreed that would be nice and told him to go ahead and do that. Then I called my friend back, to confirm our plans.

While I was speaking with him, I asked if he'd mind if we came over earlier, so we'd be able to spend more time on the ATVs. After thinking it over briefly, he agreed to my request and then asked if I could come over now, so he could take me out and show me some of the other trails. I thought that was a great idea, so I told him I'd be there shortly. I quickly left the boys a note, to let them know I'd be gone for a while, and then drove over to the farm.

Even though I had been there on previous occasions, I was in for a surprise. When I arrived, my friend took out a couple of the ATVs and then I followed him on the second vehicle. He led me out on the trail we had taken the last time we were there, but then he suddenly veered off on another path. Over the course of the next hour or so, he showed me a collection of trails I never dreamed existed.

First of all, I didn't realize he owned so much land or that a small stream ran along one edge of his property. He had even damned the stream up, as an alternative watering hole for his animals, but it also made a very lovely spot where we could picnic. I was truly glad he had suggested bringing me out here, so he could show me these other trails and this wonderful spot where we could stop and relax. I thanked him for doing this and told him I never realized his farm was so extensive. He merely grinned and said he didn't like to brag about how much property he owned.

The boys were back by the time I got home and were playing kickball in the yard. A couple of Jesse's other friends were with them, which kind of surprised me, since Jesse didn't usually bring anyone home with him. There were also a couple of younger boys I didn't recognize, which made me wonder who they were and what they were doing here. When I got out of the Suburban, Jesse ran over to fill me in about what they were up to.

"A couple of my friends came over to spend more time with us," he began. "I hope that's okay."

"I've already noticed and it's fine," I responded. "I've told you before that you should bring your friends by once in a while. I'm just a little surprised they'd want to play kickball with your nephews."

"They decided to join us so their younger brothers could play too," Jesse replied, which explained whom the other boys were. "They aren't as young as Joshie and Lucas, but they're not as old as Nicky or Jordan either. We talked about it when we were together earlier and they thought their brothers would enjoy playing too."

"Well, it looks as if everyone is having fun, so go back and finish your game," I told him. "You should have known I wouldn't have any problems with your friends or their brothers coming here and I can tell Joshie and Lucas don't seem to have any problems with it either."

"No, because they still haven't made any outs," Jesse giggled. "We told the others that's what we did for them, so they went along with it too."

"That's a very nice thing for them to do and I can't wait to hear your nephews tell me what fantastic players they are."

Jesse began to laugh, as he turned around and walked back to participate in the game.

My prediction came true, almost as soon as the boys finished their game. Once they came inside, Joshie and Lucas were eager to tell me how they were the only ones to get on base every time, without making any outs.

"I saw that," I confirmed. "You two are doing very well playing against the older boys."

At that point, Joshie leaned forward and whispered in my ear.

"Don't tell Lucas, but I don't think the others were trying their hardest when we were up," he stated.

I merely grinned. Nothing was getting past him.

The boys were all hot and sweaty now, so after getting drinks, Nicky shouted out a question for me.

"Papa, would it be all right if we all go in the pool again?" he wanted to know.

"I don't think the others brought their trunks," I countered, since I wasn't ready to have boys I didn't know that well go skinny-dipping in our pool.

"We could wear our underwear in instead, if that would be okay," one of Jesse's friends suggested.

"Well, I suppose that would do the trick," I responded.

"Good, then we'll all wear our underwear," Jordan offered. "That way, no one will feel out of place."

I thought it sounded like a reasonable suggestion, so I agreed. However, I did pull Joshie and Lucas aside before we went outside, so I could speak with them about this.

"What's the matter, Papa?" Lucas asked, as the others started for the backdoor.

"I just wanted to tell you not to say anything about going naked in the pool," I warned them. "These boys and their parents might not understand."

"It's okay, Papa," Lucas answered. "We won't say nothing."

"You won't say ANYTHING," I corrected.

"Yeah, I said that," Lucas replied, confused.

I decided to just let it drop and went outdoors with them, to play lifeguard again.

I'm not certain if the boys realized this when they opted to swim in their underwear, but a similar thing happens in wet tee shirt contests too. Many of the wet undies soon revealed more than the wearer might have wished, but no one seemed overly concerned by this fact, nor did anyone say a word about their own or anyone else's situation. I wasn't about to say anything either and merely watched as the boys frolicked around in the pool. They seemed to be having a great time and even managed to cool off in the process. They were all well behaved and very good with the little ones, so I told them they were welcome back anytime.

The only negative outcome from their visit was that I now had a large stack of laundry to do, once they left. I had passed out most of our remaining clean towels for them to use to soak up the water from their bodies, so now there was a pile of damp towels in the laundry room. That didn't really bother me, because I was pleased they'd enjoyed themselves, got along well with everyone else and each of them had so much fun.

Jake arrived home a short time later, so I took him aside and explained about my visit to the farm. I told him about the other trails and then we discussed what we might have to eat the following evening. Once we came up with a few suggestions, we sat down and explained our ideas with the boys. They seemed fine with everything and helped us to figure out what we were going to eat on our picnic, so I went back and started planning what I'd need to do prior to taking the family out to the farm the following afternoon.

That evening, the four older boys got together again, before they split up into pairs to take their showers. They wanted to take a couple of minutes to discuss what they might do afterward.

"We're going to do something again tonight, aren't we?" Jordan asked.

"If that's what you want," Andrew responded.

"We do!" Nicky shouted, to show he was in full agreement with his cousin.

"What did you have in mind?" Jesse inquired next.

"How about doing what we did last night," Nicky suggested.

"You want us to rim you again?" Jesse asked, to clarify the situation.

"Yeah, if that means what you did to our butts, before you sucked us off," Nicky answered.

Since that was settled, the boys switched partners from the previous evening and went to wash up. Once they were done, they went back to the bedroom, shut the door and got ready for another round of sexual exploration.

This time, Nicky and Jordan were prepared for what was about to happen and concentrated on enjoying it, rather than questioning what was being done. Both boys immediately began to squirm around and moan, due to the expert probing by their older partner's tongue. I think Jordan and Nicky may have been a little confused about why they were enjoying this so much, since each considers himself to be straight, but neither was letting it interfere with the pleasure he was receiving from this activity. They wholeheartedly participated in the process and thoroughly enjoyed the sensations that coursed through their bodies. Once they released their load and recovered, Nicky spoke up.

"Jordan and I have talked it over earlier and we think we're ready to try doing it to you too," he offered.

"Are you sure about that?" Andrew questioned

"Yes, we're willing to see what it's like," Jordan confirmed. "We've tried everything else and none of that turned out to be too bad and nothing bad happened from doing it, so we agreed to try this too."

After discussing the situation with them a little while longer, the older boys agreed and settled back on the bed. They were willing to give the younger pair a chance to see what it was like to perform this act too. Even though they agreed to do this, Nicky and Jordan were a little reticent at first. For the first few moments, they seemed slightly reluctant to allow themselves to totally get into what they were doing, but eventually they let go of their inhibitions and moved ahead, with reckless abandon. Thinking back upon what the older pair had done to them, Jordan and Nicky attempted to mimic everything they could recall. Jesse and Andrew later admitted that both boys had done an admirable job, so they honestly enjoyed their efforts.

"It wasn't really that bad," Jordan admitted, once they'd finished. "I guess it isn't really that much different than eating out some girl's pussy."

Nicky merely looked over at his cousin and nodded, once he'd had a few moments to consider Jordan's comment.

The boys fell asleep a short time later, since they were completely satisfied, now that their sexual needs had been met. I was glad they were able to verbalize their feelings about what they'd done and open minded enough to try something different.

The next morning, I raced around to collect the items we would be taking with us on our little excursion to the farm. I had everything set by the time Jake arrived home and he helped me carry it out to the Suburban, before the boys hopped in too. We then made the short trip to my friend's place and he was there to meet us when we arrived.

"Is everyone already for some fun?" he asked, as the boys approached the vehicles.

"Yes!" they all screamed, nearly in unison.

My friend's grin merely grew wider, as he handed the safety helmets to the older boys. After the two little ones put on their bicycle helmets, we set out again, as we had done before, with me in the lead and Jake bringing up the rear. The only difference was that this time Joshie was riding with me and Jake and I had cooler straps attached to our shoulders and the soft-sided coolers resting against our backs. Joshie and Lucas were seated in front of us, so they could do the driving again – well at least that's what they thought.

A short ways down the trail we had taken previously, I veered off to the right and led them along several of the new trails my friend had shown me earlier. Eventually, we reached the dam and the boys were just as amazed as I had been about it being there. Almost as soon as we got off the ATVs, the boys began teasing for permission to take a quick dip before they ate. Since I didn't have any objection to their request, the boys quickly stripped out of their shirts, shorts and underwear, but I had them leave their athletic shoes on. I did this because I didn't want them to cut their feet on a sharp stone or other item that might lie along the bank or beneath the waterline.

Jake and I decided we'd also join them and spent nearly an hour frolicking about and acting like a pack of otter pups in this watery retreat. The boys really enjoyed their time in the dammed up stream and were disappointed when they had to get out to air dry and eat.

One of the errands I had run earlier was to purchase a sub sandwich for each of us. I had asked each person what kind he wanted and then packed these items in one of the coolers for our trip here. I had also brought along drinks and chips for everyone as well, so we unpacked everything and sat down on the bank, overlooking the water, and began to eat. As the boys devoured the food, they also talked about how much fun they'd had so far and stated that they were glad we had decided to bring the food out, so we could eat here too. I was glad they were happy we did this, since I felt most people don't seem to enjoy picnics as much as previous generations had.

Once we finished eating, the boys wandered around and checked out the area a little more, before they took another swim. Even though we had a pool at home, the boys seemed to enjoy this activity even more than they would have taking a dip in our back yard. There was something about this dammed up creek, the wooded surroundings and fresh air that made it so much more appealing and peaceful than our aboveground set up at the house.

After the boys grew tired of splashing around in the small pond, they got out and put their clothes back on. They figured it wouldn't be too uncomfortable to wear damp clothing for the short ride back and I had no problems with them doing this either. I did have them brush off as much water as they could with their hands first, before they put on their clothes, and then we drove over some more trails, before making the return trip to the barn.

My friend had instructed me earlier about what I should do when we got back, since he wasn't going to stick around. Therefore, Jake and I carefully placed the vehicles back where they belonged and made certain everything was secure before we left. The boys told me they wished my friend had been here so they could thank him again, so I suggested we could stop by to do that the following afternoon. They seemed fine with the idea, so we left to enjoy the rest of the evening at home.

After spending some more time together, the four older boys slipped off for some more time alone with each other. As was their custom, they went up to the bedroom and sat down on the bed to talk first.

"Have you guys ever fucked?" Nicky asked, quite unexpectedly.

Andrew and Jesse glanced at each other, while trying to figure out how to phrase their answer.

"Since we're older, we have," Andrew stated.

"I didn't have a choice, the first time it happened to me," Jesse replied, candidly. "It didn't happen here, but where I lived before, and I wouldn't want that to happen to anyone else."

"Why? What happened?" Nicky asked, concerned.

"My step-father forced me to do it, but I never really enjoyed doing it with him," Jesse confessed.

"That must have been awful," Jordan commiserated. "So are you able to enjoy it now?"

"Oh, yes," Jesse responded. "The memories of those old times are completely gone. They began to disappear shortly after I came here to live and it's been great ever since."

"That's good," Jordan stated, sincerely.

"So what's it like?" Nicky pressed. "Does it feel as good as the stuff we've been doing?"

Andrew grinned and then replied.

"Actually, it might even feel better," he told them.

"Doing it or having it done to you?" Nicky persisted.

"Actually, both can feel great," Jesse answered, "but some things are not for everyone."

"But what if we want to try it?" Nicky insisted.

"We can't do that with you, at least not yet," Andrew advised him. "That was the one stipulation Dad gave us, because he didn't feel it was something you should become involved with yet."

"Why not?" Jordan wanted to know. "He didn't mind us doing these other things."

"That's true," Andrew agreed, "but he has his reasons."

"Like what?" Nicky pressed.

Jesse and Andrew could tell by his demeanor that he wasn't in agreement with this prohibition and wasn't about to give in until he understood the reason for it.

"Well, for one, I think because you both feel you are straight," Andrew explained. "Another reason might be that he's worried it might cause problems, if your parents find out."

"But Papa knows we aren't going to say anything," Nicky shot back.

"Yes, but penetration can cause bruising, which others may notice," Andrew reasoned.

"Well, we aren't going to go around showing our butt holes to other people," Nicky stated, sarcastically.

"So you've never mooned anyone?" Jesse shot back, which caused Nicky to blush.

"Only a couple of times," he admitted.

"And a doctor might notice it while giving you a physical," Andrew added. "You need to have a physical before you play sports and you probably also get a general physical, either by your family doctor or at school."

"Okay, we see your point," Jordan confirmed, "but we could still do it to you. Right?" Andrew smirked.

"I'll tell you what," he stated. "A long time ago Ricky showed me something similar that we could do, because Dad felt I wasn't ready to do it yet either. Would you be willing to do that instead?"

"Sure," Jordan agreed. "We know you'll make us feel good again."

"Yes, we will, but we'll have to do this in the showers," Andrew explained. "Nicky will go with me, since we're the shortest and you two can go to the other bathroom to do it."

Andrew then whispered a few sentences of explanation to Jesse, before the four split up and went their separate way.

"We need to get wet first and soap up a bit before we start," Andrew stated.

Andrew then began soaping up his inner thighs. Then he soaped up Nicky's dick and got it nice and hard.

"Okay, here's what you do," Andrew told him. "Stick your cock between my legs, from behind, and then I'll squeeze my thighs together. Then you can slide your cock in and out, so it will make you feel as if you're actually doing it."

Nicky followed Andrew's instruction without question and before long the sound of his grunting and panting filled the small room, as he worked his way toward an orgasm. In fact, it only took a couple of minutes before he groaned one final time and his load spurted out between Andrew's legs. Then Nicky stumbled backward, until he was able to brace himself against the wall, as Andrew turned around to make certain he was all right.

"So, how was it?" Andrew asked, once he saw Nicky had recovered.

"Even better than the other things we've done," he panted. "Do you want to do that to me now?"

"Nah, I think we should finish washing up and then you should take it easy for a bit," Andrew answered. "I'll get off later, with Jesse."

Nicky didn't complain, so the boys cleaned up and returned to the bedroom. They were there alone for a few minutes, before Jordan and Jesse returned.

"That was awesome," Jordan announced beaming, as he entered the room. "What did you think Nicky?"

"I thought it was great too," he stated. "I can't wait until I can do that for real."

Both younger boys giggled and then thanked their partners for showing them something new and fun to do. Then the older pair went off to take care of their own needs, before all of them drifted off to sleep.

Friday, I took the boys to I.H.O.P. for breakfast. I wanted to do something special with them this morning, because tomorrow I would be taking my grandsons home. I knew the boys loved the selection here, so this is a treat for them and it makes me feel good watching them enjoy the various items they order. In fact, the boys decided to order in pairs and then split the two orders, so they could try more than one thing. This also included Joshie and Lucas, but they weren't able to finish everything on their plates, even though they had a good time trying. They were also adorable to watch, as they bit in to items they had never tried before.

Once we left the restaurant, I took the boys by the farm, so they could thank my friend for letting us use the ATV again. He was thrilled and amazed that they had wanted to do this and told them they were welcome back any time. I also slipped him some more money, to help cover the expenses he incurred from our second outing. From there we returned home and the boys stayed outside to play for a while, before taking a dip in the pool.

After lunch, they talked me into taking them down to play miniature golf and ride on the go-carts next. Andrew and Jesse took the two younger ones around with them, since Joshie and Lucas are too small to operate a cart on their own. Everyone seemed to have a good time and then we headed back to the house to have dinner with the others.

After we finished eating, Jake and I took everyone to the theater. It ended up that Dion and Trey offered to take the two little ones to see 'Toy Story 3,' while Jake, I and the other boys went off to watch 'The Expendables,' with Sylvester Stallone It seemed that everyone enjoyed the movie they went to, as judged by the comments after we got back in the Suburban, and then we stopped for some ice cream and frozen yogurt before we returned to the house.

Once we got back, everyone took off in different directions. The older boys went up to shower and repeat the new sex act they had tried out the night before, while the two little ones took their bath and got ready for bed. After that, the rest of the night was pretty quiet.

I think Andrew and Jesse were starting to regret that the younger pair would be returning to their families the following day and their summer vacation was coming to an end. I could even see all four boys were moving a little slower and their spirits weren't as high as they'd been, as they came down for breakfast the following morning.

Once they finished eating, I had those I was taking with me grab their belongings and then we loaded everything into the trunk. There were a few tearful goodbyes as we prepared to leave and more than a few thank yous to various individuals, for showing them such a good time. As soon as this ended, I got the boys in the car and we took off.

We dropped Lucas off first and spent some time filling Elizabeth and Tim in about his stay. Lucas animatedly told his parents about all of the things he had done and how good he was at kickball. His parents merely smiled as they listened, since they had figured out the reason he had done so well, especially after Lucas told them Joshie had done just as well too.

After a brief stay at their house, I got Nicky and Jordan back in the vehicle and we finished driving to Jordan's house. When we got there, we visited briefly with Michael and Andrea, but we couldn't stay long, because we had a flight to catch. We took Kylie's things out with us, but Michael drove us to the airport. He said it would be better to leave the car at his place, than in the long-term parking lot at the airport. I couldn't argue with his logic, especially after he agreed to pick me up when I returned, so that's what we did.

The plane trip was kind of amusing, because Kylie wanted to tell her brother and me about everything she had done with Megan. It appeared that Andrea had devoted a great deal of her time to the girls while Michael was working, so they had done a great many things together. They had gone to a water park, the local park, spent time shopping and even played with Megan's dolls and had tea parties. It seemed as if Kylie had really enjoyed herself and I was glad the two girls had this time together also.

I stayed with Marie and Adrian for three days. I would like to have stayed longer, but I was going to do the same with Michael and Andrea when I returned. Marie and Adrian told me in private that they had enjoyed their time alone; since it was very seldom that they got to spend that much quality time together without the kids. In response, I told them I was pleased that they had enjoyed their second honeymoon. They merely smiled and said they had, which led me to believe they had made the most of their time without their children.

Michael met me at the airport when I returned and then I spent three more days with his family. I limited my time at each place, because I didn't want to be away from home for too long. Yes, I only had Jesse to be concerned about and Jake, Danny and Brandon were all there to keep an eye on him and make sure he was fed. Dion and Trey were there as well, but their focus was primarily on Joshie, although they would work with the others to make certain everything and everyone was taken care of too. However, even though so many people were there, I still missed being with the boys too and felt a week was more than enough time to be away from them.

I enjoyed myself at both places, but particularly the time I got to spend alone with my grandchildren. I also relished my time with their parents, once the kids were in bed, because I didn't often get a chance to do that either. Typically, there are others around when I see my grandchildren or when the older children return home, so it was delightful to be able to focus all of my attention on them and nothing else. It was also nice to be able to discuss things with the adults, without the children interrupting or limiting what we could say, so all in all, it worked out perfectly.

By the time I got back, Andrew, had already returned to campus, so I missed seeing him off. I felt badly that I didn't have more time to spend with him before he left, but I was told he didn't seem overly concerned about it. I had spent quite a bit a time with him before our vacation with the others, so I assume it had been sufficient for the time being. Jake, Jesse and I would be going to see him again on Parents' Weekend, which is only a few weeks away.

Jesse and Joshie will be starting school on Monday, so I haven't missed seeing Joshie going off for his first day in Kindergarten either. When that day came, I snapped a bunch of pictures of Joshie getting ready and Dion and Trey shot a video of him walking into the classroom for the first time. Dion was eager to show this video to Jake and me when they returned home after work and we certainly enjoyed watching it. Joshie was adorable when he turned to wave goodbye to his fathers, before he strode into his classroom and took his seat. This was definitely a keepsake and something we'd all cherish for a long time to come. My little man is definitely growing up.

Things were actually quite calm once school started, which has not always been the case in the past. This may have something to do with the fact that Jesse is the only one still in the local school district, other than Joshie. Jesse is a junior this year, but isn't involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities. He does belong to the Gay-Straight Alliance, but hasn't shown any interest in assuming a leadership position, like some of his brothers had done. It might be a smart decision on his part since he doesn't have any siblings to look out for him, as the others had. I wouldn't stop him, if he wanted to take a active role, but I'm also fine with the fact he has decided not to.

The first weekend after the local school district had started classes, Jake, Jesse and I went to Andrew's college for Parents' Weekend. We had done this before with Andrew, so it wasn't a big deal, but it did give me a chance to talk to him, since I hadn't been home when he left to return to campus.

Andrew was very excited to see us and I apologized to him for not being there when he left. He assured me it was no big deal and we spent the next couple of hours with him. He introduced us to his new roommate and a few of his friends, but we skipped attending the football game this year.

After dinner, we attended the social functions the college had arranged for the occasion and Andrew introduced us to a few more of his friends and classmates. We actually had a fairly good time and then Andrew decided to stay with us at the motel that night. Of course, Jesse and he shared a room.

The next morning we attended services at the campus chapel and then took Andrew out for brunch. After we finished eating, we took him back to his dorm room and said good-bye to him, before making the trip back home.

Joshie enthusiastically greeted us when we returned and wanted to know when we were going to our next football game. You see, one of the things we do is to go to the high school football games together, and there are several reasons for this. First, I feel it is important to maintain contact with the district, support the sports teams and attend some of the other functions as well. Besides, it's one way I get to keep in touch with many of my friends and former colleagues again. Second, Jesse likes to go, so he can hang out with his friends, which I don't mind either, as long as he isn't getting in trouble. I feel it is important for him to have others he can relate to and be close with, since his brothers aren't around.

Finally, Jake and I think it is important for us to take Joshie with us too, because he has shown a definite interest in sports. We love to watch his reaction to the plays and how excited he gets during the games. Joshie has shown a passion for sports, unlike his fathers, and since Dion and Trey probably wouldn't encourage him in this pursuit, Jake and I have taken it upon ourselves to do it instead. Dion and Trey don't seem to mind, as long as they don't have to go unless Joshie is playing. That is fine with us and we enjoy this time alone with our grandson.

At five years old, Joshie already understands more about the game than many of the football wives I've met in the past. He loves the excitement of the game, especially the deep passes, long runs and big hits. I have a feeling I'll be toting him around to practices and his own games before much longer.

The month of September and the first week of October seemed to fly by. I spent a great deal of my time teaching Joshie about football and had a blast doing it. He would continually beg me to go outside so we could toss around the junior-sized football I'd bought for him, and I was happy to comply. Joshie was determined to learn how to throw a perfect spiral and equally determined to catch my return passes. We spent many hours playing catch, so he could master these skills, and I am impressed by how he's continued to improve. It doesn't seem to matter to Joshie how hard he has to work or how long it takes to accomplish whatever task he has set out to master. He only has one thing on his mind and that is achieving his goal. I have no doubt he will succeed in this effort.

Even though it is uncommonly cold for this time of the year, Joshie still drags me outdoors with him every afternoon. He will only forgo our daily outing if it is pouring outside. If the rain is merely coming down as a mild drizzle, Joshie insists we go out anyway. After I do this with him, I make certain that he takes some precautions afterward. Once we come back inside, I make Joshie take a nice warm shower, which will hopefully prevent him from getting sick.

During this time, we are also making plans to hold our annual Haunted House. Jesse and his friends decided they wanted to continue this tradition, but they are primarily doing this for Joshie and the other boys' younger brothers' benefit. I am fine with them doing this and I'm also allowing them take care of most of the planning. I only offer my assistance when they ask me to do something or if they come to me for help to correct a problem they are having. I am always glad to assist the boys in any way I can and their plans are progressing quite nicely.

Things have also been going quite smoothly on the home front – at least until the morning I received a totally unexpected phone call. I knew immediately that what we decided to do here was going to have a major impact on our lives and determine what direction we'd be going for quite some time to come. However, I think you should get Danny's perspective about what took place and learn how he became involved in this situation.

Danny was at work and had just finished treating a young girl who'd been brought into the emergency room. After he finished taking care of her, he moved into the corridor and began walking toward the intake counter, so he could see how many other people were still waiting to be seen and what he could do to help. It had been fairly quiet for a Monday morning, so he wasn't sure what he might discover. To his surprise, the lady at the intake counter seemed thrilled that he was there.

"Damn, you must be psychic!" she exclaimed.

"Nah, that's one of my brothers, not me," he quipped back. Danny was making a cryptic reference to Graham's unique ability to receive messages from the world beyond, which the rest of us aren't privy to.

"Why? What's up?" Danny asked.

"The police just radioed and said they're bringing in a teenage boy," the nurse explained. "They said they'd found him outside, hiding in the woods and dressed in just his underwear."

"What? In this weather?" Danny asked, rhetorically. "It's been getting really cold after the sun goes down and it's been raining. The kid could be suffering from hypothermia, if he's been outside dressed that way for any length of time. What the hell would he be doing outdoors with so little on?"

"I'm not sure, doctor," she replied, "but they should be here any minute now."

Danny then moved to the nurses' station and started giving instructions in preparation for the boy's arrival. He wanted them to be able to take care of any potential problems quickly, once he arrived.

'It's the middle of October and the temperature has been dipping into the forties at night and the weatherman reported it was supposed to drop into the thirties overnight,' Danny thought. 'So why would this kid be outside with hardly anything on? Something must have happened to force him outside dressed that way.'

Danny was still contemplating the various possibilities when a squad car pulled in and two officers jumped out. They quickly opened the rear door and helped a youngster inside. The boy was bundled in a blanket, but his bare legs were sticking out below the lower edges of the protective covering.

"Bring him in here!" Danny instructed, and the officers followed him into a treatment room. The kid appeared to be about 5' 2" tall, and from what Danny could tell, had a slender build. Danny immediately turned to the officers, so he could ask them to leave.

"We'll take care of him now," he instructed. "Thank you for getting him here so quickly."

"Doc, we need to ask this boy a few questions," one of the officers stated. "He may have witnessed a murder."

"Well, that will have to wait," Danny advised them. "First, I've got to make sure he's stabilized and his body temp isn't in the critical range. If we're lucky, it hasn't dropped to dangerous levels yet and we won't have to worry about his bodily systems shutting down. Any idea about how long he's been outside dressed this way?"

"Our guess would be maybe twenty or thirty minutes – forty minutes tops," the officer explained. "We received a call about gunshots at the motel, over by I-76, and arrived at the scene a couple of minutes later. We found a male victim inside one of the rooms, and while searching around for the shooter we noticed the bathroom window was open. We searched the surrounding area and woods for a suspect and evidence from the crime scene, and that's when we found this kid. We believe he was in the room when the assailants broke in, but was able to escape out the window before they could get to him."

While Danny had been talking to the policemen, the nurses were taking the boy's vitals and trying to warm him up. They had taken the kid's tee shirt off, but left his boxers on, for modesty sake. Next, they applied warm compresses to his neck, chest and groin, before covering him with blankets that had been warmed. This was done to get his body temperature up and keep him from suffering any ill effects from his exposure to the elements.

Once he left the patrolmen, Danny checked with the nurses, to see how the boy was responding to their efforts. They quickly advised Danny that the boy didn't appear to know where he was and hadn't answered any of the questions they had asked him.

"What would you like us to do next, doctor?" one of the nurses asked.

"I'll take care of him for the time being," Danny told them. "Get everyone else out of here, because they'll just be in the way. Then, you can tend to your other duties."

Immediately, the nurses began to comply.

"Doc, wait," one of the patrolmen stated. "We need to ask the kid some questions."

"As you can see, he isn't responsive at the moment," Danny replied, "and I need to be certain he's stabilized and out of danger first. I'll let you know the minute he is capable of answering your queries."

The officers weren't happy with his response, but allowed the nurse to guide them out of the area and into the waiting room. They were told they should stay there until they were called.

Once the others had gone, Danny continued his examination of the young man. The boy's temp was rising, so that was a good sign. His pulse and breathing were a little slow, but still adequate. His blood pressure was also a bit on the low side, but wasn't critical, so Danny began to check the lad over for injuries. Danny examined his fingers and hands first, and that's when he discovered a problem. The boy's right wrist was swollen and he winced and tried to pull it away when Danny touched it. Danny concluded from the signs that it was broken, but he'd need it x-rayed to determine how badly. Danny then stepped out into the hallway and asked the nurse to call the radiology department and schedule the procedure.

Danny then went back inside, so he could check the boy over for other injuries. He carefully folded the blankets back, so he could examine the kid's legs next, and that's when Danny noticed the boy was still wearing the damp boxers he'd arrived in. Danny ignored it for the moment and continued his examination of the boy's legs and feet. After failing to discover anything else that looked suspicious, he turned his attention back to the wet underwear.

'Damn, they should have taken these off the kid. Screw the modesty issue,' Danny thought to himself, as he quickly slid the garment down the boy's legs. He then grabbed a towel and very gently wiped the boy's four inch circumcised penis and budding testicles dry, as well as his hips and buttocks. While doing this, Danny noted the boy was definitely into puberty, but concluded he couldn't be more than thirteen or fourteen-years old. His body was slender, but he was clearly healthy and not malnourished. This fact was emphasized by the young man's well-toned abdomen and muscular legs, which suggested he might be some sort of athlete.

Once Danny had finished toweling the boy off, he put a hospital gown on him, in preparation for his trip to the x-ray department. When this was done, Danny finished by covering the boy with the blankets again, to make sure he stayed warm.

While Danny had been doing all of this, one particular observation stood out in his mind. The young man had not reacted or moved the entire time he was being examined. Danny considered this response unnatural and had even anticipated the young man would protest or resist such an intrusive disturbance to his modesty when he removed the boxers, as anyone his age might do. Danny even considered the possibility the boy might struggle or try to fight him off, but nothing like that happened. This made Danny curious about the reason the boy was being so passive and docilely allowing Danny to do whatever he wished.

As he was considering this, Danny was also moving up to check the boy's pupils and make certain they were responsive. After a few seconds, Danny concluded they were reacting satisfactorily and noticed the boy had stunning blue eyes, even though they seemed blank and unseeing. The young man was definitely good looking, but he lacked any sort of spark to show that he was aware the world was still going on around him.

At this point, Danny reached over and grabbed the towel again, so he could dry the boy's raven colored hair. As he did this, there was still no reaction on the lad's part, so Danny thought he'd try to elicit some sort of verbal acknowledgement from him. Carefully, Danny leaned forward and began to talk to the boy, in a very soothing tone.

"Hey, you're all right now," Danny told him, while brushing the boy's hair with his fingers. "Whatever happened out there, it's over and you're safe here."

There was still no response, but Danny stayed by the young man's side and continued talking soothingly to him until the orderly came to take him to radiology. Once the boy was gone, Danny went out to speak with the policemen.

"When can we question the kid, Doc?" one officer asked, as he jumped up from his chair.

"Right now he's being x-rayed for a possible broken wrist," Danny informed him.

"Can we speak with him when he comes back then?" the officer persisted, while looking annoyed.

"You may question him all you want, but I doubt you'll get any answers," Danny told him. "The boy is in shock and not communicating at all. He didn't say a word the entire time the nurses and I were with him – not even when I asked if his wrist hurt or if he had any other injuries. I'm not sure when he'll snap out of it and be able to give you any useful information."

"Doc, we need some help here," the other officer pleaded. "There's been a murder and the kid's the only potential witness we have right now. Can't you do something to help us?"

"I'm sorry, but there's no miracle drug or magic treatment that will snap him out of it," Danny explained. "If he witnessed something as traumatic as a murder, it may be some time before he is able to deal with that issue and respond. Do you know anything about him?"

"From the clothing and what some of the other officers found in the motel room," the first policeman told Danny, "it looks like the kid was traveling with the victim, who we suspect was his father."

"And that's all you know?" Danny asked.

"We also know the deceased's name was Sean Kennedy and he was from Fox Chapel. That's a suburb outside of Pittsburgh," the policeman replied. "We have State Police officers going to the address on his license as we speak, so they can question anyone else living there and canvass the neighbors for other information. Unfortunately, that's all we have to go on at the moment."

"Well, I'll continue taking care of the boy and call you the minute he starts talking," Danny told them.

"So you're going to keep him in the hospital then?" the patrolman pushed.

"I think it will be best to keep him under a physician care for the time being," Danny answered.

The patrolmen weren't happy about being unable to question the boy, but they finally left anyway. Danny then went to check on some other cases, before returning to see how the boy's x-ray had turned out.

"You were right," one of the nurses told him, when he returned. "The boy's wrist was fractured, so we got an orthopedist down here to set it and put it in a cast."

"Has he said anything yet?" Danny wondered.

"No, nothing," she replied. "He only groaned a little when the orthopedist reset the bones."

"Thanks for taking care of that," Danny told her, before going back to sit with the young man for a while longer.

About an hour later, the police showed up again, but this time one of them was carrying a backpack and overnight bag.

"Here are the kid's clothes from the motel," he said, as he gave the bags to Danny.

"We've also discovered a few other details," the officer continued. "From a picture the State Police found in the house they went to, it appears the victim was in fact the boy's father. The neighbors told us the kid's name is Elliot Kennedy and he's fourteen-years old. His mother died in childbirth and he's been living alone with his father ever since. No one knows of any other relatives or about a next of kin. We'd still like to speak with him as soon as we can, but we're willing to wait a while, if we have to. Has he said anything yet?"

"Not a word," Danny explained, "and I think it might be quite some time before he does. This poor kid is obviously devastated by his father's murder, and if he actually witnessed it, as you believe, then he'll probably need psychological counseling before he pulls out of this."

The policemen appeared flustered by this news and continued to insist they couldn't wait too long before they would need to speak with Elliot. However, Danny was just as adamant about not letting it happen. He explained that if they tried to force the boy to speak with them, then he might shut down permanently. If that happened, then they'd never be able to learn whatever information he knows about the crime. Danny said the best thing they could do was to be patient until the boy is ready to speak again.

That was the last Danny saw of the police officers, but a few other people came by to inquire about the boy. Over the course of the next few hours, the staff had to turn away a couple of very pushy reporters who'd heard about the case and wanted a scoop. A short time after that, a social worker came by. The police department had notified her office about the boy's situation and she was there to begin filling out the required paperwork to bring Elliott under DSS's jurisdiction.

Danny was called to sit down with her, so he could fill her in about the boy's condition. He also relayed what he had learned from the police, but there was still a great deal of information lacking. Regardless, she processed the boy anyway and Danny inquired what the department was planning to do with him. The social worker replied that they'd have to find a foster home for him, once Danny released him. Danny took in all of this information and then got up to leave the room.

"If you'll excuse me, there's something I need to do," he told the social worker.

"Of course," she stated. "I'll be in touch to see how the boy is doing and when you might release him. At that time, I should have more details about what we've been able to line up for him."

After saying goodbye to her, Danny went to the empty doctor's lounge, shut the door, grabbed the phone and dialed home.

"Hello."

"Dad, I need to ask you a favor," Danny told me, as soon as I picked up.

"Okay. Ask away," I replied.

"I've got a situation here at the hospital and it's pretty unusual," Danny answered. "It's also the reason I'm calling, because I think we need to get involved."

"Involved? What exactly does that mean," I responded.

"It involves a boy who was brought in to the emergency room a few hours ago. He's fourteen and I just finished filling the social worker in about his case," Danny replied. "As of yet, he's been unresponsive and the police suspect he witnessed a murder. The police have confirmed the victim was his father and the kid's in shock. It's going to take some time before he snaps out of it, so he'll need to remain closely monitored and surrounded by caring people."

I began to suspect where Danny was heading with this.

"Dad, D.S.S. is going to place him in a foster home, once I release him," he continued. "His name is Elliot and I feel I need to make certain it's a place where he will feel safe and loved, as well as being able to accommodate his current medical situation. What I'm asking is for your help. Do you think you're up for this?"

I thought about it briefly.

"What sort of commitment are you asking for?" I wanted to know. "Are you merely asking if the boy can stay with us until his relatives are located or until he recovers from the trauma he witnessed? I hope you're not hinting at our becoming involved in a longer term commitment."

"Dad, he doesn't have anyone. So far, the police have been unable to locate any other relatives," Danny advised me, "so I was thinking maybe this could be the first boy Brandon and I take in. The thing is, due to his current condition and the fact that Brandon and I both work, I also need to know if you'd be willing to help us with this."

"Danny, if the boy needs our help, then you know I won't turn him away," I answered, "but are you certain you've thought this through? You and Brandon are just starting your careers and you'll most likely be focusing all of your attention on being successful for the next year or two. Knowing this will be the case makes me wonder if the timing is right for you to be taking on so much more responsibility."

"Dad, I know how tough this will be, but I really want to do it," Danny assured me. "Elliot is going to need a lot of love and understanding – more than most foster homes will be able to give him. That's why I think it would be best if he lives with us. I'll just need your help to look after him while Brandon and I are working. We've been talking about if for a while and your right – we're busy with work, but lately we've both been feeling the urge to start a family. There's never going to be a perfect time and there's always going to be some kind of complication, but Brandon and I both feel the need to share our lives with a child of our own. So what do you say?"

I thought about the idea some more.

"Well, things are pretty much under control here and everyone seems to be doing quite well," I began. "Jesse doesn't need much attention from me any longer and Dion and Trey have taken over most of the responsibility for Joshie, so I do have plenty of free time that I can use to give you a hand. Okay, I'll agree to help you take care of this boy. I will also try to help him work through whatever issues he has, due to the events he's recently experienced. Is that what you want to hear?"

"It is, Dad, and thanks," Danny responded. "Now, I can call Aunt Sally and see if I can set this up through her. I'm not sure if this will be a permanent placement or not, because we don't know enough about Elliot's background yet. I can't even give you an idea about how long it will take for him to overcome the effects of whatever he might have witnessed, but I can't think of anyone better suited to be there for him than you."

"I appreciate your confidence," I replied, "no matter how ill placed it might be."

Danny mumbled something before he hung up, but I wasn't able to catch what it was. I then sat down and began to think about what I was getting myself into.

Once he finished speaking with me, Danny called Brandon, to share his plans, and then he called his Aunt Sally next. Danny explained the situation to her and got her to commit to assigning temporary placement of Elliot into his and Brandon's care. She told him she didn't have a problem doing this, especially since Danny was currently treating him. She then went on to explain that she'd have to temporarily assign the boy into my care, until Brandon and his application to be foster parents had been approved.

Before they finished speaking, Sally told Danny she'd send someone by the house later, so he and Brandon could fill out the necessary forms to start the process. Once they had been formally approved, she'd transfer the boy's care from my name to theirs, but this way they wouldn't have to wait before taking him home. Now that all of this had been taken care of, Danny went back to check on Elliot again.

"Feeling better?" he asked, upon entering the cubicle, but there was no response. Danny walked over and sat on a stool, which was located next to the gurney on which Elliot was lying.

"Hey, it's okay," Danny told him. "I'm pretty sure you saw something awful happen, so I can understand why you don't want to talk about it. It's all right and I want you to know you're going to be taken care of. You're being assigned to come live with my partner, Brandon, and me for now, at least until we locate your relatives. My dad will be looking after you while we're at work, but he's a great guy and you'll like him. We're going to make sure you're taken care of and we won't let anything bad happen to you."

Elliot's head turned slightly, to look at Danny, and Danny took this as a good sign. Elliot didn't say anything, but it did seem as if he had acknowledged what Danny had said. Unfortunately, Danny couldn't afford to stay with him any longer and had to leave Elliot in the nurses' care.

When Danny's shift came to an end, he went back to get Elliot and helped him get dressed. Then, he led the boy out to his car, helped him into the passenger seat and buckled him in. Elliot still didn't react, nor did he look at the scenery. He merely remained perfectly still and didn't make a sound.

The young man accompanying Danny appeared to have nothing seriously wrong with him, on first inspection. It was only when you got a look at his face that you realized he seemed to be in a catatonic state. After talking to Danny, I was worried he might be in such poor condition that Danny would have to carry him inside, but that was not the case. He was walking under his own power, even if he didn't seem cognizant of what was going on around him. He had this vacant expression on his face and it appeared as if the rest of the world no longer existed for him. It was actually a little spooky.

In spite of his condition, I was still impressed by what I saw. He was a handsome young man, even though he looked sad and lost in his own thoughts. It would be hard to miss those lovely blue eyes and I found myself drawn to them, although at the moment there wasn't any spark of happiness shining through them. They were obviously one of the lad's best features and were set off nicely by his coal black hair.

Danny quickly introduced the young man to Brandon and me, but Elliot didn't look at either of us. Once we had been introduced, Danny asked me to explain things to the others, so they would understand Elliot's situation and not make matters worse. I understood what he was getting at and agreed to take care of this for him. A few minutes later, I took my other sons aside, so I could fill them in about what had happened to Elliot and why he was here with us now.

Throughout his first night with us, Danny and Brandon literally had to assist Elliot with everything he needed to do. The boy showed little desire to do anything on his own, so Danny and Brandon ended up having to feed him and bring his drink to his lips. They also had to make sure he went to the toilet and gave him a bath. Then they put his underwear back on him, as they prepared to put him in bed.

Throughout each of these occurrences, Elliot remained almost totally unresponsive and offered very little assistance in performing even the simplest of these tasks. They did manage to get him to open his mouth, and then chew and swallow his food and drink, and he also walked from place to place, as long as one of them helped him stand up and then guided him along the way. However, that was about the extent of his involvement in his personal care.

There was an open bedroom on the second floor that we could put Elliot in for the time being, but I didn't think he should be navigating the stairs in his current condition. Instead, I thought he would be better off using the guest room, which was located on the first floor. I also felt it would be best if either Danny or Brandon stayed with him during the night, at least until he knew his way around and was able to take care of his own needs.

Danny quickly decided that he wanted to do this the first night, because Elliot was accustomed to having him around. He also felt it would be better for him to do this, since he happened to have the next day off, whereas Brandon had to work. Brandon and I agreed to his proposal, so Danny collected a few items and took them to the guest room. Hopefully, a good night's rest will help to pull Elliot out of his stupor, if only just slightly, and he will begin to show some improvement tomorrow.

After tucking Elliot into bed, Danny came back out to say good night to Brandon and me. We talked briefly and discussed a few things concerning Elliot's stay with us, and then Danny went back to the guest room and climbed into bed beside his foster son.

Brandon, Jake and I all decided to turn in about an hour later, but unfortunately we didn't get to sleep for very long. Sometime around 3:00 in the morning, we were all awakened by a bloodcurdling scream. I jumped out of bed and raced to the source of the disturbance.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

I was standing in the doorway of the guest room and could see Danny holding a shaking Elliot in his arms.

"I don't know! Elliot just started screaming," Danny replied. "He scared the crap out of me and I damn near had a coronary. He must have had a nightmare, probably about what happened to his father."

Elliot had begun to calm down slightly, even though his body was still shaking uncontrollably. Danny was already sitting on one side of him, so I sat down on the other and tried to help Danny comfort him. I didn't even have to touch Elliot to feel the effect of his trembling body; it was causing the bed to vibrate. It was as if he were standing naked in a blizzard and shivering from the extreme cold.

I felt terrible for Elliot and wanted to do something to help too. Since Danny had his arms wrapped around the boy and was whispering words of comfort to him, I tried to come up with something else I could do to make him feel better. I had been wracking my brain for about a minute when an idea suddenly popped into my head. While Danny cradled Elliot, I began to sing.

To my lullaby surrender Warm and tender is my chest Father's arms with love caressing Lay their blessing on your rest Nothing shall tonight alarm you None shall harm you, have no fear Lie contented, calmly slumber On your father's chest, my dear Here tonight I tightly hold you And enfold you while you sleep Why, I wonder, are you smiling Smiling in your slumber deep? Are the angels on you smiling And beguiling you with charm While you also smile, my blossom In my bosom soft and warm? Have no fear now, leaves are knocking Gently knocking at our door Have no fear now, waves are beating Gently beating on the shore Sleep, my darling, none shall harm you Nor alarm you, never cry In my bosom sweetly smiling And beguiling those on high

It was a haunting lullaby I'd heard Charlotte Church sing on a DVD one of my older children had given me. I had changed some of the wording slightly when I memorized it, so it would make sense coming from a man

"Dad, that was absolutely amazing," Danny told me, as soon as I finished the song. "Well not your singing, but the effect it had on Elliot. Almost as soon as you started, I could feel the tension drain from his body. You're going to have to teach that song to Brandon and me, so we can use it to calm him down if this happens again."

"Danny, I'll be happy to teach it to you, but is what just happened normal?" I wondered.

"I'm not a psychiatrist, Dad," Danny admitted, "but I think he was reliving the horror of what he saw earlier. It will probably take some time, maybe even years, before those memories stop haunting his sleep. The prospect that this might happen every night is not a happy one, since it will cost everyone sleep, but we'll cope with it, the best we can."

"Is he going to be all right now?" I wondered.

"I'm not sure," Danny confessed. "He may do this again, but then he might not. I just don't know for certain what to expect. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Danny still had his arms wrapped around his foster son and Elliot's head was resting against his chest. Danny was gently rocking back and forth and alternating between whispering words of comfort to the boy and humming the melody of the song I had just sung. I left them at this point, since I felt there was nothing more I could do to help.

Danny told me later that Elliot fell asleep again shortly after I left the room, but he continued to hold on to Elliot throughout the remainder of the night. He sat with his back propped up against a stack of pillows and kept Elliot cuddled against his side. He prayed this would be enough to keep Elliot from waking up with another blood curdling scream and it must have worked, because I didn't hear anything for the rest of the night.

The next morning, Elliot remained fairly unresponsive, so Danny and Brandon continued to tend to his needs. Brandon did as much as he could before he left for work and then Danny took over from that point on.

"Papa, what's the matter with that boy?" Joshie asked, as he was getting ready to head off to school.

"Joshie, we think he saw something really bad happen and just can't deal with it yet," I explained.

"Is he gonna be like that forever?" Joshie followed.

"No, little man, he'll get past this eventually," I told him. "We're just going to have to be patient and help him as much as we can."

This must have been a sufficient explanation for him, because Joshie turned and walked over to Elliot. Joshie then reached out and gave Elliot a hug, as he began to speak to him.

"It's all right," Joshie told him. "Papa, Uncle Danny and Uncle Brandon are going to help you get better. I'll help too, if you want."

Elliot didn't respond to Joshie's statement, but I think his words might have gotten through. Either way, it was very touching to watch.

Danny and I spent the rest of day tending to Elliot. I took over the responsibility for the afternoon shift, so Danny could take a nap. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and I didn't want him to get rundown in the process. When Jesse returned home from school, he asked if he could help and spent some time with Elliot too.

After I thought about it briefly, I realized it was probably a good idea. Given Jesse's past, maybe he could get through to Elliot, where Danny and I hadn't yet been able to succeed. Once I agreed to his request, Jesse wanted to know what he should do, so I told him to just to sit and talk to Elliot. I suggested he could tell Elliot about his day at school, how he ended up living here, about his favorite movies and games or anything else he could think of. I explained the important thing was just that he talked to Elliot and let him know he would be okay.

I left the two boys alone, but I did listen outside the door for a brief time, to see how things were going. I was somewhat taken aback, yet pleased, by what I heard.

"I think I know how you're feeling," Jesse told Elliot, "but you're going to be okay. I know, because I kind of went through the same thing."

Although Elliot didn't reply, Jesse continued his story.

"I was a lot younger than you are now when it happened to me, but I saw my father killed too. It was my real father, not my stupid step-father, and he was shot while I was standing right next to him."

Jesse paused for a second after saying this, to regain control of his emotions, but before long he started to speak again.

"After that happened, I stopped talking and didn't say another word until after I came to live here," Jesse confessed. "My life has been a lot better since I moved in with my new dad and I'm sure you'll get better too. I know it's not easy, but you've got to put this in the past and go on with your life. You're safe here and if you're worried you'll forget about your dad, I can tell you that won't happen. I haven't forgotten my dad. I think of him often, but I am also glad I have this new life. That will happen for you too, but it's just going to take time."

I was a little choked up after listening to Jesse, so I slowly moved away from where I'd been standing. I didn't want him to discover I'd overheard what he had said. I'm often amazed by how the boys can grasp a difficult situation and figure out how best to approach it, usually better than most adults would. I'm not sure how much of what he said got through to Elliot, but if it registered at all, I'm certain it will help Elliot get past this crisis.

Jesse stayed with Elliot and talked to him until it was time to eat. When I told him that dinner was ready, he led Elliot to the table and made sure he was seated between Danny and Brandon. I was beginning to see that Jesse would probably play a major role in Elliot's recovery, whether he realized it or not.

A short time later, Danny and Brandon approached me. I could tell something was troubling them, so we moved into another room for a few minutes, so we could speak privately.

"Dad, I've gone through Elliot's suitcase and he doesn't have many clothes," Brandon told me. "What do you think we should do?"

"Well for now I'll go through the closets and see what I can find that the other boys have outgrown and might fit him," I began. "We may also have to ask Jesse if we can borrow a few of his things for Elliot, at least for the time being."

"Do you think that will be enough?" Brandon followed.

"No, it probably won't, but we'll make do until we can get more of his things and determine how long he's going to be with us," I explained. "I will run out tomorrow and buy him some underwear, but it doesn't make sense to purchase a whole new wardrobe for him just yet. There's a good chance he has plenty of clothes at his old home, but we just need to find a way to pick them up or have them sent here. Then there's always the chance the authorities will find some of his relatives and Elliot will get shipped off to live with them."

I saw Danny react to my last statement.

"Although it hasn't been easy dealing with his problems and having him here," Danny responded, "I really don't want to lose him at this point. I feel we have a lot to offer Elliot, and unless he has family members who truly want him come live with them, I'd rather keep him here."

"Me too," Brandon added. "I know Danny has done most of the work so far and has had to deal with most of the problems, but I also want Elliot to stay with us. I know that probably doesn't make much sense, since we don't know a whole lot about him, but I just want to take care of him and make sure no more bad things happen to him. I think if he gets taken away, we're going to feel nearly as badly as he did when he lost his father."

I nodded my head in agreement, because I realized that I was beginning to feel the same way. I've already spent enough time with Elliot and have done a great many things for him, so now I feel the same desire to protect Elliot and keep him around. It may sounds strange, but I think I've also seen the apron strings appearing between Danny and Brandon with Elliot, so there is now this invisible bond between them. I am certain it will be a heart wrenching experience if somehow Elliot gets taken away from us now.

The rest of the evening was fairly uneventful, as we took Elliot into the family room to watch some television before he went to bed. I don't think he actually watched any of the shows or cared what was going on, but someone was always in physical contact with him, so he would know we were there and he was safe.

When bedtime rolled around, Danny was determined that he would stay with Elliot again. Even though he had to work in the morning, he insisted he'd be all right and it would be best for him to do this again. I overheard Brandon trying to talk him out of it, but obviously Danny wasn't about to be deterred.

"Danny, you don't have another day off. You've got to go to work in the morning," Brandon stated. "You'll need to be well rested, in order to think clearly, so you don't make any mistakes with your patients. Why don't you let me do this tonight?"

"Brand, you have to work too, so what difference would it make if you stayed with him?" Danny countered. "Besides, I've had to go on duty with less sleep than this when I was doing my residency, so I'll be fine."

"You're right, but I don't work twelve hour shifts at the hospital, like you do," Brandon retorted. "I work a fairly standard eight-hour day, so we'll take turns and I'll stay with him tonight. That way, you can get some rest. I just don't want you getting sick or screwing up at work. Okay?"

"Look, Dad watched Elliot for me this afternoon, so I was able to get plenty of rest then," Danny stated, "I'll be fine, even if it works out that I have to stay up with him for a while. You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine. Okay? Besides, I also know what it was like last night and what I'll need to do to calm him down, if it happens again. Look, I really think I need to be with him tonight and then you can stay with him tomorrow. Deal?" Reluctantly, Brandon agreed.

After watching how protective Danny was of Elliot and listening to the passionate argument he'd just used to convince Brandon, it was quite obvious he was becoming very attached to his foster son. He was eager to do everything he could to help take care of Elliot, which I thought was very admirable. It might not have been practical, because Danny wouldn't be much good to anyone if he let himself get rundown from lack of sleep. Regardless, he insisted we let him do this, even after he was aware of the risks involved.

I went to bed shortly after they did, but I was awakened again a few hours later. It was still the middle of the night when Elliot's screams told us he'd had another nightmare. Without hesitation, I rushed out of my room and went to see if I could help.

Once again, Danny was already handling the situation and trying to calm Elliot down, but Elliot's body was visibly quivering, like a leaf in a strong breeze. Even though Danny was holding him tightly, it had little effect on the boy, so I walked in and sat down on the bed, next to them. I looked at Elliot and then up at my son. Danny tried to flash me a weak smile, but I could see this was upsetting him deeply. Noticing this, I began to sing again, in hope of calming both their nerves, and by the time I'd finished the lullaby, Elliot seemed better. I looked up at Danny, to gauge how he was holding up, and discovered that he appeared to be relieved that Elliot was nearly calm again.

"I'm sorry, Dad," he confessed. "He was fine while I was holding him, but I left for a couple of minutes, so I could go to the toilet. He must have realized I wasn't here and got scared."

"Danny, it's not your fault and it's not a big deal," I replied. "If nature calls and you have to answer – there's no call waiting. All I want to know is if Elliot's all right now?"

"Yeah, he's okay," Danny assured me. "He began to settle down the minute you started singing that song to him again. I think he just woke up, found me missing and panicked. Next time, I'll just wake him up and take him with me."

I hated the thought that Danny might have to do this every time he had to use the toilet, but I guess for the time being it was our best option. Elliot did appear to be calm now and his trembling had nearly subsided, so I bid them sweet dreams and left the room. I relieved Danny when he got up to go to work, so Elliot wouldn't suddenly find himself alone again.

The rest of the day was pretty much like the previous one, except Danny wasn't here spending every second he could with Elliot. Today, that duty fell to me. I thought Elliot seemed to be more responsive today, in that he'd follow me wherever I went without assistance. He still wasn't speaking or responding in any other way, even though I tried to ask him some questions. I hoped by doing this it would get him to open up, but Elliot never said a word. That evening, after dinner, I pulled Danny and Brandon aside.

"I received a phone call earlier," I began. "It seems the authorities have no one else to contact about this and need to know how to dispose of Elliot's father's body."

"Oh, damn, I never thought about that," Danny said. "So this means we've got to do it. Right?"

"Someone needs to," I informed him, "and I've been told Elliot is the only living relative on his father's side of the family. I think we'll need to get involved, since we obviously can't place the burden directly on Elliot right now. He's still in such a fragile state and might find dealing with this difficult, but I also feel it may give him some closure by having a funeral for his father."

"You're probably right," Brandon agreed. "It's just that Danny and I have never done anything like this before."

"Dad, what do you suggest?" Danny wondered.

"Well, they did tell me there was insurance money that could be used to cover any expenses and they've also discovered that Mr. Kennedy owns a cemetery plot, adjacent to his wife's. I think it would be best if we take care of the arrangements, without getting Elliot involved in the planning. We should probably keep the funeral fairly modest, but without going to the extent that it would cheapen any memories Elliot might retain of it. I was also informed that some of Mr. Kennedy's co-workers have been trying to find out when the funeral would be held, because they want to pay their respects. I guess that's about all I can tell you."

"Dad, may I ask you a big favor?" Danny wanted to know.

"I think I can guess what you want to ask, but go ahead," I replied.

"You've handled things like this before, so would you help us do this," Danny followed. "I mean, Brandon and I will do whatever we need to do, but we just aren't sure what that might be."

"Look, why don't you let me make the arrangements then," I suggested, "if that's all right with you? Just tell me when you'd like the service to take place and I'll handle everything else."

"That would be a huge help," Danny concurred. "It works out that I have Saturday off and Brandon only works until noon, so why don't we do it on Saturday afternoon. That might be easier on his co-workers too, since they won't have to take time off from work to attend. It will also give you tomorrow and Friday to get everything set up."

"It sounds fine to me," I agreed.

Later that evening, as bedtime approached, Brandon let Danny know he was ready to take over the duties of the night shift. Hesitantly, Danny watched as Brandon led Elliot to the guest room. Once inside, Brandon explained to Elliot that he'd be staying with him this evening. Although Elliot had willingly gone with Brandon to the room, he still wasn't taking the initiative of getting himself ready to sleep, so Brandon had to help him strip down to his underwear. Once he was ready, Brandon guided him to the bed and tucked him in. He then hurried around to the other side and crawled in beside him.

As soon as Brandon got comfortable, it was almost as if a magnet began to draw Elliot closer to him. Little by little, Elliot inched his body nearer to his other foster father, until he was able to place his head on Brandon's chest. When he did this, Brandon slipped an arm under and around Elliot, so he could hold him close. Elliot drifted off to sleep a few minutes later and Brandon concluded this was probably the best way to deal with him for now.

When Brandon got up later to use the toilet, he woke Elliot up and took him along. Brandon tried to get Elliot to urinate on his own and eventually succeeded. Once Elliot finished, Brandon relieved himself and then they washed their hands and went back to bed.

Fortunately, there was only one minor screaming incident that night, even though Elliot was in contact with Brandon the entire time. As soon as I heard it, I went in to see if I could help again and sat on the other side of the bed. Eventually, I started to sing the lullaby and Elliot began to calm down. I wasn't certain if it was the lyrics or the melody that produced the soothing effect, because I was positive it wasn't my vocal ability. When I'd finished, Brandon looked at me and spoke.

"Danny told me you did that the other night and Elliot calmed right down," he explained. "I figured it was probably just a coincidence, but I don't believe that now. You'll have to teach us that song, so we can sing it to him too."

I agreed I would and then went back to my room. After that little outburst, Elliot slept peacefully throughout the remainder of the night.

I got up the following morning and replaced Brandon, as he got ready for work. Elliot was sleeping peacefully, so I didn't bother him and, instead, set about jotting down some ideas concerning the funeral. I was still doing this when he awoke.

As the day progressed, I noticed that Elliot was starting to show some signs of improvement. Without explanation, he began to do a few simple things on his own, although his movements were very stiff and mechanical. In fact, Elliot seemed to be functioning entirely by rote, without exerting any conscious thought into his actions. However, the important thing was that he was doing these things by himself, without someone directing him.

This left me free to call the funeral home and church, so I could set up appointments to speak with them about the funeral arrangements. The funeral director was willing to see me almost immediately, so I set up a later time with our minister. I then made sure Elliot got ready to go with me, because I couldn't leave him alone. Although I didn't want him to be part of the decision making process, I still needed to take him with me. What else could I do with him? I couldn't wait until Dion and Trey came home from work so they could watch him, because it would be too late. Besides, I didn't think Elliot would understand most of what was taking place, since his condition hadn't improved that greatly.

When we got to the funeral home, I explained the situation to the funeral director and told him we'd like to have a brief calling hour before the church service. We ended up agreeing to do this at 1:30 on Saturday and then we could hold the church service sometime thereafter. Next, I went with him to pick out the casket that Mr. Kennedy would be laid to rest in. I also pointed out the type of vault I felt would be appropriate and then asked him if he could arrange for one to be delivered to the cemetery where Mr. Kennedy had his plot. After I gave him the name of the cemetery and its location, he agreed to take care of doing that for me.

Once I finished up there, I drove over to the church next. Even though Elliot had been at my side the entire time we were at the funeral home, I was fairly certain that not much of anything had registered with him. He seemed stuck in his daze and did nothing that would indicate he knew what was going on. I hope some day he'll realize and appreciate what we did for him, but that is something that could be a long way down the road from now.

At the church, I got the minister to agree to hold the funeral at 3:00 and then gave him what information I had concerning Mr. Kennedy. After I'd finished doing this, he told me what other types of information he'd like to have, so I jotted down a few notes, to keep from forgetting anything. I then promised to get back to him with the answers as quickly as I could. Once I felt everything had been covered, I took Elliot and drove over to the florist next.

At this point, I had no idea as to how many people would be attending the funeral, but I wanted to make certain there were at least a few floral arrangements to adorn the area beside the casket. I took Elliot in with me and tried to get him to help select the arrangement that would be from him. I'm not certain if he actually responded or not, but I thought his eyes seemed to light up a bit when the florist showed him a picture of a floral blanket, which was made up of red roses and white carnations. It would be placed over the lower half of the coffin and include the word 'Dad' on it. I had a very strong feeling that Elliot wanted this particular item, so I ordered it. I also selected another arrangement, which would come from our family and would be placed on a stand near the head of the casket.

Once we finished up the last of these details, I drove Elliot home. I spent the rest of the afternoon with him once we got there and tried to reassure him that we were doing our best to ensure that everything will be perfect. Then I took care of his physical needs, by fixing him some lunch before I did anything else.

Elliot was still at my side when I picked up the phone to contact the person from the coroner's office who had called me in the first place, to find out who was making the arrangements. I asked him to have Mr. Kennedy's body transferred to the funeral home and he told me there was a suit in with Mr. Kennedy's belongings, which the police had delivered with the body. He said if it met with my approval, he'd tell the funeral director to bury Mr. Kennedy in this garment, to save us the time, effort and expense of purchasing something else. I thanked him for doing that and then requested he forward any paperwork or other appropriate information there as well. He agreed, so I moved on to the next task.

I then called Mr. Kennedy's employer and gave the HR manager the appropriate information, so she could share it with Mr. Kennedy's co-workers. I also asked her to see if she could collect some anecdotal information that could be used during the funeral service, to make the eulogy more personal. She agreed to my request, so I thanked her for her help and told her I awaited her speedy reply.

Later, after Danny and Brandon returned home from work, I shared the details about what I had done with them. They thanked me for taking care of this and then took Elliot with them, so they could spend some family time with their foster son.

I spent much of Friday double checking all of the details for the funeral, in order to make certain that nothing had been overlooked. Once again, Elliot was by my side the entire time and I was beginning to feel as if he might be aware of what was going on. He seemed to cling to me a little more tightly than he had the day before and I felt this might be directly related to his having been with me as we made the arrangements for his father's funeral. In turn, this caused me to suspect that he had come to the realization that he would soon be seeing his earthly remains for the final time.

I wanted to make this as easy for Elliot as I could, so I kept one arm wrapped around him throughout much of the day. I was able to take a slight break from doing this when Jesse and Joshie returned home from school, since they also wanted to spend time with Elliot and I agreed that would be fine. Enthusiastically, the pair talked to Elliot and told him about their day, but they also let him know they cared about him and that he was safe with us. I think they were forming a bond with Elliot too, at least to a limited extent.

As soon as Danny and Brandon returned home, I explained my suspicions that Elliot might partially understand what is going on. After listening to my observations, they thanked me and then took over caring for Elliot for the rest of the evening.

On Saturday, I made sure everyone got ready on time, so we could attend the service together. Since I wasn't certain how many others would be in attendance, I wanted as many of our family to be there, as possible. Quite a few members of our extended family had also heard about our newest boarder and what had happened to his father, and they indicated they would be attending as well. I was pleased to hear this, because I didn't want to take the chance that Elliot might later remember that hardly anyone had attended his father's funeral.

Danny and Brandon even managed to come up with a suit for Elliot to wear. I think it had belonged to one of the other boys when they were younger, but he looked good in it. It not only fit him quite well, but it was also an appropriate color for the circumstances. Joshie noticed that Elliot was all dressed up, but not looking particularly happy, so he asked if he could ride with him when it came time to leave. Danny and Brandon said that would be fine, so Joshie left with them, while Jake and I took the others with us.

Once we arrived at the funeral home, Brandon told me that Joshie made it a point to be in physical contact with Elliot during the entire trip. Joshie was even standing next to Elliot and holding his hand as we made our way inside. It was really touching to see this five-year old taking care of the older boy and being so concerned about his welfare.

I quickly glanced around, to see if everything was as I had requested, and was pleased to note there were several other floral bouquets on display, along with the ones I had ordered. I went over to see who they were from and learned that the first one was from our extended family. They had all chipped in and ordered it, because they also wanted to make sure an appropriate number of selections were present. The second arrangement was from Mr. Kennedy's office and another was a separate arrangement from his boss. The remaining floral offerings were from Mr. Kennedy's neighbors and other friends, who had seen his obituary in the local paper. I guess the HR manager had submitted the information, so others who knew Mr. Kennedy would be aware of his passing. From what I've seen and heard so far, it is obvious that Mr. Kennedy had been well liked and highly respected.

Shortly after we went inside, Danny and Brandon took Elliot up to see his father. Although I was wondering if any of this was getting through to him, I received at least a partial answer when he turned around. Elliot had an extremely sad expression on his face after viewing the body and tears were gently streaming down his cheeks. He might not be fully aware of what is going on, but he clearly understood that his father is no longer here for him. Elliot then stayed very close to his foster-fathers and stood between them in the receiving line, as the others came into the room.

The calling hour seemed to go by quickly and we were all surprised by how many of Mr. Kennedy's co-workers, neighbors and friends had shown up. Each one came over to speak with Elliot and either hugged him or patted him on the back, although the women often kissed him on the forehead or cheek. On occasion, I could see a distant glimmer of recognition in Elliot's eyes when someone came up to him, but he never uttered a word. He appeared to be the stoic little soldier, with a stiff upper lip, so only our family was fully aware of the toll his father's death was taking on him.

Once we left the funeral home, we drove to the church in a standard funeral procession. Three gentlemen Mr. Kennedy had worked with volunteered to serve as pallbearers and Dustin, Cole and Kevin stepped in to fill the other places. Once the casket had been positioned at the front of the church, the trio came back to sit with the rest of us, while Mr. Kennedy's friends returned to sit with their families and other co-workers.

Dion had volunteered to serve as a soloist and sang a couple of hymns, one as we entered and another as we were leaving, which added a nice touch to the service. The minister gave a very brief, yet appropriate and touching eulogy. He included many of the little tidbits I'd passed along to him from Mr. Kennedy's co-workers and also mentioned what a devoted and loving father Mr. Kennedy had been.

Seeing there would be no graveside service, Danny and Brandon led Elliot up to the casket once the eulogy had been concluded. At that time, they each placed a single rose on the coffin lid. Although many of the rest of us were grieving for Mr. Kennedy, it was fairly obvious that everyone in attendance was more deeply affected by what his son appeared to be going through. Eliot, on the other hand, showed only a minimal response to what was taking place. The lone sign that he might possibly be aware of what was going on were the telltale traces of the tears that had cascaded down his cheeks. While our hearts ached for him, none of us could really fathom how deeply he was being affected by this loss.

Since it was unnecessary for us to go to the cemetery next, the pallbearers loaded the coffin back into the hearse. The funeral home director was going to take care of transporting the casket to its final resting place, where Mr. Kennedy's remains would be interred next to his wife. This relieved us of any further duty, seeing we wouldn't be require to be there when this took place.

Throughout the remainder of the day, and over the next few days, Danny and Brandon spent as much time with Elliot as they possibly could. They helped him when he needed assistance and continually talked to him, to let Elliot know they understood his grief. They also assured him that they would take care of him as long as he needed and did their best to provide him with the reassurance we felt he needed.

Jesse and Joshie were there for Elliot as well, along with the rest of my sons, but I think the younger boys were making the greatest impression. They continued to talk to Elliot and let him know they cared, but Jesse also reminded Elliot that he had endured a similar situation and could empathize with what he was going through. Jesse even told Elliot he'd start to feel better as soon as he was able to release his grief and begin to take his place as our newest family member. None of us, however, were sure how much of this was getting through.

Jesse was also happy to lend Elliot some of his clothes, and when we put these together with the other things I'd scrounged up and the clothing Elliot had with him, there was enough to suffice for the time being. Something, however, would need to be done before Elliot started school, because most of the things he had to wear for the time being wouldn't be appropriate in a school setting.

Danny and Brandon have been taking turns seeing to Elliot's needs and staying with him overnight. It had now been nearly two weeks since Danny brought Elliot home with him, but unfortunately Elliot still continued to endure the vivid nightmares that caused him to wake up suddenly – screaming, shaking and sweating. The screams didn't last as long as they had on those first few nights, and now whenever it happened, Elliot seemed to calm down more quickly after each session. This was especially true after one of us wrapped him in our arms and sang the lullaby. I had taught the song to Danny and Brandon during the interim and loaned them the CD to practice with. This way, they could soothe Elliot using the method that elicited the best response and eliminate their need to have me do it for them.

Once Elliot heard the song, his body would almost immediately stop trembling and he would slowly settle down and fall back to sleep. We still aren't exactly certain what he is going through or how much he had actually witnessed when his father was murdered, but it must have been an extremely painful and horrific experience for him. Why else would the memory of what happened still be plaguing him?

After each of Elliot's screaming sessions, neither Danny nor Brandon would allow himself to fall into a deep and restful sleep, so they weren't getting a great deal of rest. I would fill in and take over each morning, once they started getting ready for work, and would stay in the guest room and watch over Elliot until he woke. Just as soon as he was fully alert, Elliot would follow me around the house for the rest of the day, like a little puppy. I would keep my eye on him, so I could see what he was doing, and gradually noticed that he was starting to do more on his own.

Even though Elliot still hasn't been able to tell us what happened that night or how much he had actually seen, it hasn't stopped the police from phoning the house nearly every day to ask when they're going to be able to question him. We've told them Elliot still isn't communicative, while at the same time remaining adamant that we will not allow him to be questioned until he is emotionally and psychologically ready. Unfortunately, this has proven to be a thorn in their side and extremely frustrating for the detectives working on the case.

Recently, some of their comments have made us concerned that they might be reaching the point where they are considering bringing charges against us for hindering their investigation. I'm not sure if they'd have any legal ground to stand on, since we are only doing what we feel is best for Elliot. We are not connected to this case in any other way, except for being Elliot's legal guardians and concerned with his physical and emotional well-being. It's not as if the investigation has stalled completely due to our refusal to let the detectives speak with Elliot. In fact, the police have been able to piece together quite a few of the details from that night, even without Elliot's statement. However, knowing exactly what happened at the motel is still a mystery.

What the police do know so far is that there was some sort of altercation between Elliot's father and three men at a restaurant. After listening to various witness accounts about that evening and reading a sheriff's department report, they have learned that three drunks had been harassing a waitress and making some pretty derogatory comments to her, which offended many of the other patrons. After a while, Elliot's father confronted these men and asked them to knock it off. He was also overheard telling them that he didn't want his son to hear or witness such behavior.

After Elliot's father stated his request, one of the drunks threw a punch at him and a fight ensued. The restaurant owner then called the sheriff's department to report the disturbance, but all the deputies did, after breaking up the fight, was to take the three drunks outside and tell them to go home and sleep it off. Now, the police believe the troublemakers didn't do as they'd been told and waited around instead, so they could follow Elliot and his father to their motel. The detectives investigating the murder feel these actions were a gross dereliction of duty and the sheriff's deputies should have made certain that the three men had actually left the area. They feel things would have turned out much differently if they had.

Even though Elliot was still maintaining his silence, he was beginning to show signs that he was coming out of his depression and mental fog. He was continuing to do more for himself, like eating on his own, getting dressed without assistance and taking care of his personal needs, such as going to the toilet and bathing without being prompted to do so. He also seemed to be listening to what the others were saying to him, especially Jesse and Joshie, even though he still wasn't responding to them verbally. Although the current situation isn't perfect and there haven't been any huge gains, when you add up all the small strides he has taken, Elliot definitely seems to be heading in the right direction.

There was one particular incident of note during this period, although I can't be positive if it actually had anything to do with Elliot slowly starting to come around. One night, after Elliot had woken up screaming again and we'd put him back to bed, I noticed Joshie had come downstairs to see what was going on. I was going to send him back to bed, but he seemed to be on a mission, so I merely watched to see what he was up to. Quietly, he crept toward the guest room, carrying his teddy bear with him. I followed behind, to see what he was up to and witnessed a truly selfless act being made by a small child.

Without a word, Joshie walked over to the bed and placed his teddy bear next to Elliot. I quickly scooted back out of his line of sight, so he wouldn't know he'd been observed. I thought it was best to let this little covert operation be his little secret and watched him scamper back up the stairs.

When Danny went in to the bedroom a short time later, he discovered Elliot snuggling with the bear and resting very peacefully. It might have been purely a coincidence, but Elliot didn't wake up again that evening and his nightmares only plagued him for a few more nights. Even though I have no way to prove it, I'd be willing to bet that Joshie's selfless act played a significant role in Elliot's recovery. Sometimes it is the littlest things that make the biggest impact.

A few days later, I was filling in for Danny and watching Elliot, after he'd left for work. I dozed off for a little while, since Elliot was resting so peacefully, and when I woke up a little while later, I sat up and dangled my legs off the side of the bed. I was trying to work up the willpower to go make some coffee, since I no longer had to stay with Elliot until he awoke. When I finally found the strength to do so, I was on my way to the kitchen when I ran into Joshie. He was dressed for school, but his fathers weren't ready to leave yet.

"Can I go see Elliot?" he asked. His eyes and expression were pleading with me to say yes.

"Okay, but don't wake him up," I agreed.

That was all it took to catapult Joshie in the direction of the guest room. A few seconds later, he came racing into the kitchen, brimming with excitement.

"He said good morning!" Joshie exclaimed.

I was somewhat confused by Joshie's utterance, as I was still trying to shake off the cobwebs of sleep.

"Who did?" I asked, since I didn't comprehend the importance of his revelation.

"Elliot did," Joshie gasped. "I was standing by his bed and he said that to me."

Surprised, I went rushing toward the guest room, with Joshie at my heels. As I walked in, Elliot was sitting up and had a pensive expression on his face. I didn't speak and merely observed him instead. After a few seconds, Elliot turned slightly in my direction and started speaking.

"My dad woke me up that night," he said, which left me totally flabbergasted. "I was sleeping and he was shaking my shoulder."

I'm sure my mouth must have hung open and I wondered if he might be talking in his sleep. When I realized he wasn't, I started to respond, but Joshie beat me to the punch.

"See, I told you he was talking," Joshie announced, matter-of-factly, while poking me in the leg. I signaled him to be quiet and then turned to speak to Elliot.

"Oh, I didn't know that," I said, lamely.

Since Joshie had distracted me and I didn't want to take too long before responding, I didn't have much time to think about how I should reply to his statement. Feeling rushed, it was the best I could come up with.

"Yes." Elliot continued. "Someone was trying to break in to our room and I guess my dad must have looked through the curtain and seen who was there. Then he woke me up, took me into the bathroom, opened the window and told me to climb out and run. I was only in my underwear and it was raining, but he ordered me to do it anyway. He told me to run and find a place to hide, and I was not to come back, no matter what I heard. He pushed me through the window, but not before I promised to stay hidden until he came to get me."

"He must have known what might happen then," I responded.

Elliot merely ignored my comment and continued speaking. He said he'd held it in long enough and needed to get this out of his system.

"When I was climbing out the window, someone started banging into the door. They must have been trying to break it down and the whole place felt like it was shaking," Elliot told me next. "My dad said to run and not look back, so I did what he said and ran into the woods. I heard some loud yelling at first, but I couldn't tell what anyone was saying. It was raining so hard and it was so loud that it sort of drowned everything else out. I was scared and just kept running. I was starting to feel pretty stupid, since I wasn't wearing much and what I did have on was already soaking wet and it was so cold out. That's when I heard those two horrible bangs.

"I wanted to believe that sound might have been thunder," Elliot explained, as his lower lip began to tremble, "but I guess I knew it wasn't and panicked. I started running faster, trying to get away from that sound, but it was dark and I couldn't really see where I was going, so I ended up tripping over that stupid log. That's how I broke my wrist," he added, while staring at his cast.

Fortunately, at that instant Dion came into the room and told Joshie to come with him, so he could take him to school. Now, Elliot and I were finally alone.

"It didn't hurt when it happened," he continued. "I must have been either too scared or too shocked to be aware of the pain. I knew what happened back in the room, so maybe I was trying hard to block everything out and blocked the pain out as well."

Elliot's entire body was beginning to tremble as he told me his story and then he began to sob in earnest. I sat beside him and pulled him tightly against me in a powerful hug.

"You must have been really scared," I told him. "I know I would have been." Elliot looked up at me.

"I was scared, really scared, but I was still hoping that somehow everything would be okay," he confirmed. "I don't know how long I was out there, but it was bitterly cold. Then, I heard other people moving around in the woods, but I knew it wasn't my dad. He would have called out for me and that never happened. I figured whoever had been banging on our motel door was now looking for me too. It had to be the same jerks we'd run into trouble with at the diner. I was sure of it. I thought they must have hurt my dad and now they wanted to get me too. Luckily, it was the police."

"Right away they started asking a bunch of questions, like what was I doing there and where had I come from, but I couldn't say anything. It was like I couldn't make my mouth work. Eventually, one of them asked if I had been staying at the motel. I must have nodded my head, even though I don't remember doing it, but that's when I found out my worst fears had come true." Elliot paused briefly and then continued.

"After they learned I'd been staying at the motel, one of the officers asked if I knew the victim and that's when I knew my father was dead. I could feel it. They didn't know it was my dad and they just kept asking me about the victim or the guy in the motel room. Finally, I heard one of them say the word killed and that confirmed what I already knew in my heart.

"He kept asking me who the man was," he continued, "but I couldn't say anything. I felt myself slipping into this – I don't know what to call it, a fog, I guess. I remember I wanted to cry, but I couldn't find my voice. I just kept hearing those loud voices yelling somewhere in the distance, and even though I tried, I still couldn't understand what they were saying. I never saw anything either, but I knew it was those assholes from the restaurant. We didn't know anyone else there, so they had to be the ones that murdered my father."

Elliot's entire body was heaving now, as the floodgates he had held closed for so long began to burst open. I held him close and allowed him to release his grief. It was several minutes before he began to calm down and eventually started to speak to me again.

"The police kept asking me all sorts of questions, but for some reason I couldn't tell them anything," Elliot admitted. "Everything they asked seemed to come out in a blur. I didn't know what they wanted, I just knew my dad was gone and that's all I could think about. I would have given anything to have been able to help them, but it felt like there was nothing I could do. I felt like my mind and my mouth were fighting each other, like my brain wanted to say something that would make everything better, but my mouth wouldn't cooperate. I don't know what I would have said though, even if I could have said something.

"I didn't actually hear what had been said in there because of the rain," Elliot continued, "and I didn't see who entered the room or which guy shot my dad. I just kind of tuned out their questions and kept thinking this was my fault. If I hadn't let my dad take me on this trip, then he wouldn't have been at that restaurant or argued with those guys. If I hadn't gone on this trip, he'd still be here."

Elliot began crying even harder after coming to this conclusion. Seeing this, I felt it was time for me to step in and let him know it wasn't his fault.

"Elliot, you didn't do anything to cause this," I told him, while I held him tightly. "The fault lies only with the three men who couldn't hold their booze or their tempers. All you did was go on a trip with your dad and you can't punish yourself just because you wanted to spend time with him. You'd have probably hurt his feeling if you hadn't wanted to go. Your father sounds like the type of man who wouldn't have let a bunch of drunks harass a waitress, whether you were there or not. He couldn't know, and neither could you that doing the right thing would cost him so dearly."

Elliot's head suddenly shot up and his blue eyes stared into my face.

"You really believe that?" he asked.

"Of course I do," I stated, "and I want you to think about this very carefully. Was your father the type of man who would step in to situations like that and try to protect a defenseless woman?"

"Yeah, he believed you should always try to do the right thing and help people in need of help," Elliot answered.

Elliot sat quietly for a few seconds considering my remarks, and then it appeared as if a light had suddenly gone on in his head.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sure he would probably have done that," he finally concluded. "He was never one to stand around and let someone get picked on."

"See, so you had nothing to do with what happened," I reiterated. "Your father would have stepped in to help the waitress, even if you weren't there."

Elliot looked slightly relieved by this revelation and I could feel some of the tension easing from his shoulders. It seemed as if he was feeling better than he had a few minutes before, but he wasn't totally out of the woods yet.

"All this time I felt it was my fault," he repeated. "I kept playing it over in my head. I just knew if I hadn't been with him, then he would be at work right now, not – dead."

"And now you see that's not true. Right?" I asked.

"Well, I guess," Elliot admitted. "I can see it still might have happened. I just wish there had been something I could have done to stop it from ending like that."

"Like what?" I challenged. "Could you have stopped your father from standing up to those men? Or do you think you could have made sure they went home, like the deputies told them? Or were you planning to fight them off at the motel?"

"When you say it like that, it sounds silly. I know I really couldn't have done any of those things," he confessed, while looking at me thoughtfully.

"Then you can't go on blaming yourself for what happened," I told him.

From that moment on, I sincerely believe things began to change for Elliot, as he finally allowed himself to release the guilt he had been harboring up until then. After a moment, he went into the bathroom to wash his face and then I took him with me to the kitchen, so I could fix his breakfast. That morning, he didn't merely pick at his food. He ate well for the first time since he'd been with us. I knew that one talk wouldn't fix everything, but this was definitely a good start.

Elliot spent the rest of the morning following me around the house as usual, but I suspect it was merely because it was what he had become used to doing. I wanted to get him involved with some of the household chores, so he'd have something else to think about other than what had happened to him and his father. I had him help me rinse off the breakfast dishes and load them in the dishwasher, and then later I had him assist me when I made his lunch. We had another little chat as we sat down to eat.

"Thank you for everything else you did by the way," he said, but I wasn't sure what he was referring to. I guess he must have realized my confusion, because he added some clarification to his statement.

"I may not have been talking then, but I've been taking in everything that's been happening and I remember all the things you did for my dad's funeral. It was really nice. I'm sure my dad would have been happy with everything, especially that you made sure the people he worked with were able to come. He loved his job."

I was actually too choked up to respond to his comment, so I just leaned over and hugged him in reply. He hugged me back and that was more than enough thanks for anything I had done.

That night, after dinner, Elliot sat down with Danny, Brandon, Jake and me, so he could share his story with them. I felt it would be better, and more cathartic for him to do this, rather than have me relay the information.

Elliot basically repeated the same story he'd told me, only this time without blaming himself for what had happened. He did tell them he thought it was his fault at the time, but explained I had helped him realize he didn't have anything to do with it and couldn't have prevented it from happening. Danny and Brandon looked up and smiled at me when they heard Elliot admit this, just to let me know they appreciated what I'd done for their son.

Now that Elliot was talking, Danny and Brandon decided it would be a good time to get answers to some of the questions they had. Suddenly, they were firing queries at him, one after the other, with the next one coming just as soon as Elliot had answered the previous one.

"So what were you and your father doing in this area?" Brandon wanted to know.

"My dad's been traveling a lot lately, because of his job, and wanted to make sure we still spent time together. That's why he made plans for us to take a leafing trip over the first long weekend from school," Elliot replied. "We'd been driving around and checking out the leaves that had changed color and doing some hiking in the woods. He liked to stop at the cider mills and some of the historic towns too."

"You mentioned you were on a long fall break weekend from school, but our district hasn't had one recently," Danny stated. "Where did you go to school?"

"I was in a boarding school near my old town, outside of Pittsburgh," Elliot answered. "It's called the Benjamin Rush Academy."

This bit of information caused Danny, Brandon and I to trade glances at one another and wonder if Elliot expected to continue attending private schools if he lived with us.

"Are you a good student?" Brandon asked next.

"Yes, I usually get mostly A's and B's," Elliot answered, "but it's not like I'm a genius or anything."

Elliot seemed to be trying to downplay this fact, so as not to appear too nerdy or conceited.

"What grade are you in?" Brandon wanted to know.

"I'm a freshman in high school," Elliot replied.

"How old are you and when's your birthday," Danny followed.

"I turned fourteen last summer," Elliot informed them. "My birthday is June 29th."

I could see Danny and Brandon both making mental notes about this information.

"Do you have any other family?" Brandon wondered aloud.

I knew this was bound to come up and we all braced for the possibility that we might lose Elliot.

"Not that I know of," Elliot confessed. "The only family I remember was my grandfather, but he died when I was little."

I glanced over at Danny and Brandon and thought I saw them breathe a huge sigh of relief.

"Do you know if there is someone special we should contact, like your father's lawyer?" Danny wanted to know. "I'm sure there are a lot of loose ends we'll need to tie up, like getting your things and having your school records transferred."

"I can give you the address for my old school and I have my house keys, but I don't know of anyone else you should contact," Elliot explained. "My dad had lawyer friends and people he worked with, but I don't know if there is anyone you should get a hold of."

"Well, that settles that then," Danny stated. "Is there anything you'd like to ask us?"

"Um, well… I'm not sure how to ask. Are you guys… uh, married?" Elliot inquired.

The boys weren't quite prepared for that question. It seems obvious now that it would eventually come up, but we'd all been so concerned about Elliot and his recovery that we hadn't given any thought to how he might react to being in a house full of gay men.

"Oh, well, no… not exactly. Pennsylvania doesn't recognize same sex marriage." Danny answered, awkwardly.

"We've been in love since high school and when we finished college we decided to commit ourselves to each other, so our relationship is like a marriage," Brandon offered. "Does that make you uncomfortable?"

I think we were all holding our breath, while we waited to hear Elliot's response. A lot was riding on his reaction to this query. Clearly, he couldn't stay in a home where he was uncomfortable, yet we had already grown so attached to him.

"It doesn't make any difference to me, I don't mind," Elliot answered. "I'm just glad to be in a place where everyone is so nice."

I think we all breathed our second sigh of relief in less than two minutes.

As I looked up, I could see Brandon was about to ask another question, but I cut this session short.

"Let's continue this later," I told them. "I'll bet Elliot is tired of answering so many questions and could use a break."

Danny and Brandon didn't seem as if they wanted to stop here, but they relented to my request. I think they were afraid that if Elliot stopped speaking, he might slip back into his unresponsive state, but I was confident those days were behind us. I suggested next that Elliot should go find Jesse and see what he was up to, while Danny, Brandon, Jake and I discussed some of the issues that had surfaced during this impromptu interrogation.

We actually left Elliot alone for the rest of the evening and merely watched him interact with Jesse and Joshie. It was nothing earthshaking or extraordinary, but it was nice to see him finally acting like a kid and having a little fun.

Later that evening, Elliot woke up screaming from the terror of his nightmares, but it was not nearly as bad as it had been the first few times it had happened. In fact, this only happened a few more times in the coming weeks and these episodes appeared to be slowly coming to an end.

Over the next few days, Elliot continued to show positive signs that he was healing and dealing with his demons. One of these was that he was interacting more with Dion and Trey too, and not merely relying on Danny, Brandon and I.

Strangely enough, the most interesting of Elliot's recent interactions was with Joshie. Joshie was with me in the family room at the time, when Elliott approached us.

"Is this your teddy bear?" Elliot asked, while holding it up.

"Uh huh," Joshie answered.

"Hmmm, I wonder how he got in my bed then?" Elliot followed.

"Ummm, you were sad and I thought Teddy would make you feel better," Joshie told him. "I brought him to your room and put him in bed with you."

Elliot smiled broadly.

"Well, that was very thoughtful of you and Teddy helped me sleep much better, but I don't need him anymore," Elliot confessed, before giving Joshie a hug. "Why don't you take him back now? He's already helped me, but I think he misses you."

"Okay," Joshie said, "but you can have him back, if you get sad again."

Upon hearing this, Elliot hugged Joshie one more time and then ruffled his hair.

"Thank you. That's very sweet of you," Elliot said.

Joshie let his head drop slightly, after hearing this, as his way of showing he was slightly embarrassed by the attention Elliot had given him.

"Yes, you did a very nice thing," I told Joshie, before Elliot left, "and it helped Elliot a great deal. I'm very proud of you for doing that to help him."

Joshie gave me that, 'aw shucks' look and then took off to put Teddy back in his room. Elliot shared a knowing grin with me and then turned his attention to Jesse, who had come in to watch television.

"You were a big help too," Elliot admitted, while looking in Jesse's direction. "It was really nice of you to tell me about what had happened to you. It made me feel like I wasn't so alone. It also made me feel like I might be okay again someday, like you are. As bad as things have been, it's nice to know that someone else knows what it's like."

"I didn't do anything special," Jesse balked, "but I did want you to know that I had been there when my father was killed. I remember how bad I felt after it happened and I didn't speak again, until I came here to live."

"I can understand why you stopped speaking, but what happened that made you start talking again?" Elliot wanted to know.

"After I came here, I became really good friends with one of my new brothers," Jesse explained. "One day we were riding our bikes and Andrew had an accident. I could tell he was hurt, because he wasn't moving, so I rushed back here and told Dad that Andrew was hurt."

Jesse looked up at me, so I could confirm his story.

"Yep, that's what happened and it was the first time any of us had heard Jesse talk," I agreed. "He didn't speak as clearly as he is now, but he spoke well enough that I could understand what he was saying. After he did that, we raced down to see how badly Andrew was injured. If Jesse hadn't spoken, I would have never known Andrew was hurt and he might not have survived."

"Wow! You were a hero then," Elliot stated, as he looked at Jesse. "Where is Andrew now?"

"He's away at college at the moment, but he'll be coming home for Thanksgiving and you'll be able to meet him then," I answered.

This seemed to suffice for now and before long I saw Jesse leading Elliot out of the family room and on a tour around the rest of the house. I think the healing process was moving into high gear now, which will make life a little easier for everybody.

Halloween was now less than a week away, but the boys had decided against canceling the Haunted House. For a brief time, Jesse and his friends had thought it might be best to forgo this activity, in deference to Elliot's condition. However, now that he was on the mend, they decided to go ahead with it.

Now that he's started speaking again, Elliot has become fairly close to Jesse. At first, I believed it was only because they shared a similar traumatic experience, but it didn't take long before I could see there more to it than just that. Jesse was eager to introduce Elliot to his friends when they came over to our place to work on the Haunted House. Each of those boys treated Elliot very well and even took time to chat with him, in an effort to ask questions about his life. They didn't include Elliot in on what they were doing for the Haunted House though, because they wanted him to be surprised when they took him through it. Since I thought this was reasonable, I helped keep Elliot busy while they were working.

Now that Elliot was recovering, Danny, Brandon and I had other issues to take into consideration. First of all, we needed to talk about his academic future. Up until now, we had agreed not to enroll him in school, for a couple of reasons. First, he had been uncommunicative until recently and, second, we were concerned if he would be able to deal with social interactions. His father's murder had taken such an extreme psychological and emotional toll on him that he had become reluctant to deal with anyone unfamiliar to him. Therefore, we felt it would be useless to place him in a classroom setting and force him to deal with situations he might not be ready to cope with. Now that he is doing better and interacting with some of Jesse's friends, we concluded it was time to finally enroll him.

After talking about this at great length, we decided to give him a few more days to recuperate before subjecting him to the rigors of a new high school. We'd wait until the following Monday, which would be the first Monday in November, to get things started. In the meantime, Danny and Brandon could discuss the situation with Elliot and explain why he would be going to a public school, rather than a private one. Once these decisions had been made, I realized it was time to discuss another issue.

"Okay, how do you want to handle the police now," I asked. "You know they've been calling nearly every day wanting to know when they can speak with Elliot."

"What do you think?" Danny asked me in return. "I'd like your opinion before I give you mine." I thought that sounded fair.

"I think Elliot might be able to handle speaking with them now, with one stipulation," I answered, "I feel one of us should be with him when he is questioned. He's been through a lot, but I think he can handle the pressure, as long as one of us is there for moral support and to protect him. Whoever is with him can make sure things don't get out of hand and the police don't get too aggressive."

"Do you really think he's ready for this?" Brandon questioned. "I mean he's just starting to come out of his shell."

"I know, but he was able to open up to me and then share his story with you," I answered. "I believe it also helped for him to get it out of his system, because he had been holding in a lot of guilt. It was difficult for him to do this at first, but he seemed to have a much easier time telling you. He was also able to answer your other questions as well, so I think he will be able to do the same thing with the police, as long as they don't get too rough with him."

"If that's what you think, then would you call the detective back and set it up?" Danny asked.

"I'll just wait and suggest it to them when they call again," I recommended. "When would be a good time for you to have me schedule this?"

"I have Saturday off again and Brand only works until noon. Right honey?" Danny stated.

"Yes, I get off around noon," Brandon confirmed.

"Okay, what if I set it up for like two or three on Saturday. Will that be all right?" I asked.

"That would be fine with me," Brandon agreed, "but would you be willing to go with us when the time comes?"

"I think that might be a little overkill. You don't really need me," I responded.

"Brandon's right! I'd feel better if you were there," Danny confirmed. "You were there when the police took us in for questioning and you know more about handling these types of situations than we do. I think it would be best for Elliot if you were there with us."

"And how will we explain all of this to the police?" I wondered. They took a minute to think about this before responding.

"We're his parents, I'm his doctor and you are his legal guardian," Danny began, "If they can't agree to these ground rules, which as his doctor I feel are necessary for his protection, then I won't allow him to be interviewed."

"I'm not sure they'll like that," I replied.

"If they don't, then like Danny said, we won't allow them to question him," Brandon jumped in.

"That's a pretty risky gambit," I shot back.

"Maybe, but we feel strongly about this and we want you there too," Brandon stated. "Will you go with us? Please?"

"Dad, I also think Elliot would feel more comfortable if you were there with us," Danny added. "Keep in mind, Elliot opened up to you first, so I think it would make it easier for him if you were there when he had to relive it again."

"I appreciate that, but I'm still not convinced…" I began, but Danny cut me off.

"Dad, let's be honest. Elliot has been spending far more time with you than us, because you're home with him all day long, while we're at work. We've both noticed that Elliot seems to relax when you're near him, so you'd really be making this easier on him if you were there with us when he does this."

"Okay, you may be right, but I'm still not sure the police are going to allow it," I conceded. "If the detective will agree to let me go in with you, then I have no problem doing so. It's just that I don't want to push my way into the picture and step on any toes in the process either."

"Dad, you know better than that," Danny responded. "We trust you completely and wouldn't even have Elliot, if we didn't have your support. That's why we'd like you to take an active part in helping us raise these boys, if you're willing. You've still got a lot to give and Brandon and I have a great deal to learn about being parents."

"Guys, I'll be happy to help out in any way I can, so don't worry about that," I agreed. "I just didn't feel it would be wise for me to take more boys in on my own, because I was concerned that I might not be around as long as they needed. At least with you two coming back and taking over, I know they'll always be someone here to watch over our family.

"Yes, Jake would have been here if something had happened to me," I continued, "but sometimes he has problems dealing with situations as they come up. Jake's admitted to me, on more than one occasion, that he doesn't feel he did a good job with Shannon when they were on their own. He says that only improved when they moved in with us. He's also told me he doesn't always feel comfortable when addressing certain issues, but now you'll be here to handle the situations Jake isn't comfortable with. With you and Brandon in charge and Jake around to help you out, you'll be able to work together and take care of anything that pops up. That is why I'm no longer worried about what will happen if I'm not around."

"But that's not going to happen. You're going to be with us for a long time to come," Brandon stated, adamantly.

"We can't be sure," I confessed. "But with you two and Jake to look after the boys, I'm not as worried about what will happen to them without me. Besides, Trey and Dion have come home and taken over most of the responsibility for Joshie, so I don't have that to worry about either. I'm certain they'll be willing to help you too, if they opt to stick around. In the meantime, I'm willing to do whatever I can, as long as you need me."

"Oh, we need you and want you involved," Danny assured me. "Elliot needs a lot of attention right now and we couldn't have done this without knowing you were going to be around to look after him during the day and whenever he's not in school."

"I'll admit, I've enjoyed having him around," I confessed. "I also think it's good for Jesse to have Elliot here as well. Seeing them together these past few days has brought back memories of the good old days, when you two were much younger." Danny and Brandon smiled.

"Like the time right before and just after our first trip to D.C.?" Brandon asked.

"Yes. I remember that trip as if it happened yesterday," I admitted, while growing a bit nostalgic.

"Well, it seems a little longer than that for us," Danny teased, "but I remember that trip with many fond memories."

"Like the first time we made love," Brandon interjected, with a bit of a sigh.

"Yeah, that too," Danny agreed, and then he had an afterthought. "You don't think those two are messing around, do you?"

"No, I don't believe they're doing anything sexual, at least not yet," I replied. "Jesse probably would have said something first, before he did anything, but I believe that spending time with Jesse has helped Elliot feel more comfortable about being here."

"Yes, I can remember what that was like too," Danny admitted. "When I first came here, it wasn't very easy for me either. If you can remember back that far, I was really scared after my father threw me out. It was mostly because I had no idea where I was going to live or what I was going to do, and then suddenly I was put here with you and Ricky.

"Having Ricky around did end up making it easier for me to feel that I could fit in here too, especially after I learned he wasn't your biological son either. I figured if you had taken him in and he was happy and felt like he belonged, then maybe it could work out for me too. That was a big concession, since when I first showed up here, I still felt that being thrown out of my house was the worst thing that could ever happen to me. In the end, it turned out to be the best break of my life, especially after I met Brandon too."

I could tell both Danny and Brandon were thinking back to those times and getting a little teary eyed in the process. Therefore, I thought it would be best to put an end to this little stroll down memory lane, before they became too maudlin.

"Okay, I'll take care of arranging for Elliot to talk to the police then," I told them, "but I'll let you enroll him in school."

"That's fine," Brandon agreed. "I'm going in to work a little later on Monday, so I'll have time to do it."

Seeing those matters had been taken care of, I told Danny and Brandon that I was going off to find Elliot. I thought it might be best to discuss this idea with him first, before the police called again. I didn't want us to commit to anything unless Elliot thought he could handle it too. I wanted to get it straight from the horse's mouth. Elliot was back in the rec room with Jesse, so I didn't interrupt. When I saw him come out, a short time later, I asked if I could speak with him.

"Did I do something wrong?" Elliot asked, right away.

"No, not at all," I answered. "I just need to see what you think about something."

"Okay, what's up?" he answered, while giving me a questioning glance.

"I think you know the police have been calling almost every day, because they want to talk to you about what happened," I confirmed.

"Oh, yeah. I know they've been calling," he admitted.

"Do you think you're ready to do this yet?" I followed. "I don't want to tell them you are, if you aren't sure. Danny and Brandon have said they're willing to go with you on Saturday, if you think you can do this, so I need to know if you think you're ready."

"Do you know what they're going to ask me?" Elliot wanted to know. He looked worried.

"The police will want to know what happened on the last night you were with your father, beginning at the restaurant and up until they found you in the woods," I explained. "Do you think you can do that?"

"All I have to do is tell them what I told you. Right?" he asked, and I nodded. "Okay, I think I can do that then."

I was glad to see he looked confident when giving his answer, so now I just had to pray what actually happens isn't harder on him than what he's envisioned. A bad experience might trigger a setback in his recovery.

The next time the police called, I explained that Elliot had recently started talking again and then agreed to bring him to the station house Saturday afternoon, so they could finally speak with him. The detective on the other end of the call seemed thrilled that we had finally agreed to let them hold this meeting with Elliot, but I warned him that Elliot's condition was still fragile and he might shut down if they pushed him too hard. He said he understood and would try to take it easy on him. However, I didn't tell him we were all coming down with Elliot too, because I didn't want to give his department time to prepare their opposition to our being there.

When Brandon got home from work on Saturday, he took a few minutes to clean up and change first, before we took Elliot to the police station. Once he was ready, we led Elliot to the car and made our way there. Upon entering the building, we went directly to the front desk, announced our arrival and then stated the reason we were there. The officer on duty then made a quick phone call, to pass the message along to the detective division.

When the detectives came out to greet us and learned what we wanted to do, they tried to limit us to just one person going in with Elliot. However, Danny and Brandon stood their ground. They gave the detectives an ultimatum. Either we all are allowed to go in with Elliot or they'd have to wait until he has completely recovered from this traumatic episode. Reluctantly, the detectives eventually gave in.

We were then led to a small room, where the questioning would take place. Even though they had three or four of these types of rooms, it just happened that they took us to the same room where, several years previously, some of my sons had been interrogated about their involvement in David Hubbard's severe beating. That incident had included Danny and Brandon, and I saw a dark glimmer of recognition when they saw where we were going. I assumed being led here had dredged up some painful memories for them.

The interview started out with Elliot repeating the same story he had told us. Then, one of the detectives began asking him questions about that night.

"So you didn't see anyone at the motel or hear what they were saying?" the detective asked, and Elliot shook his head.

"But you did see the men at the restaurant?" the detective followed, and Elliot nodded.

"If I show you a bunch of photographs, do you think you'll be able to recognize those guys and point them out to me?" the detective wondered.

Elliot looked at us first and we could tell he had suddenly grown quite nervous, so Danny placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I'll try," he said, meekly.

The detective then got up and walked over to a cabinet. He opened the door, took something out and then came back to the table carrying two cardboard sheets. Each one had multiple photos attached to it. He set the first one down in front of Elliot. Elliot looked the pictures over carefully and pointed to one of them. The detective then asked if he recognized anyone else and Elliot told him no. The detective quickly set down the other sheet, and after studying it for a while, Elliot pointed at another of the photos.

"Do you recognize anyone else?" the detective barked.

When Elliot shook his head, the detective reached out and grabbed Elliot's shoulder and began to shake him slightly.

"Concentrate! Look at them again!" he ordered, and Elliot suddenly looked terrified.

"Get your hands off of him!" Brandon shouted, while rising from his chair. "You touch him again and we're out of here."

Brandon then moved over to comfort Elliot.

"I'm sorry," the detective responded, although his delivery seemed to be lacking in sincerity. "But isn't there anyone else you recognize?"

"One guy looks a little familiar, but I'm just not sure why," Elliot stated.

"Point that one out to me then," the detective ordered, forcefully.

"No, because I'm not sure why he looks familiar," Elliot replied. "It may just be that I saw him somewhere else or he could have been one of the people eating at the restaurant that night." "Come on, kid, just point him out to me," the detective pleaded.

"He's not going to do it, so take what he's given you," Danny said, quite forcefully.

The detective stared threateningly at him for a few moments and then nodded.

"Well, he's picked out two of the three men we've taken into custody and interrogated," the detective acknowledged.

He didn't seem thrilled about this, but he wasn't totally upset either. He then tried to push to get more information out of Elliot, but Elliot kept telling him he didn't know anything else. When the detective got too persistent and aggressive again, Danny and Brandon ended the interview and we took Elliot home. Of course, the detective was upset about this sudden turn of events and objected vehemently, so I jumped into the fray. I informed the detective that any further questions should come through Danny, Brandon or me first and then we'll relay Elliot's answer. If that wasn't good enough, then he could just contact our attorney. To say the least, he was pissed.

On the way home, Elliot thanked us for making the detective stop when we did. He told us the guy was making him nervous and scaring him so badly that he couldn't even think. We told him we understood and then assured him he wouldn't have to speak directly with that man again.

Once we were sure Elliot was feeling better, Danny turned to me and spoke.

"Did you recognize that room we were in?" he asked.

"I did, but I was hoping you two didn't," I replied.

"We did and I can't believe it still freaked me out, after all these years," Danny continued.

"Me too," Brandon added. "At first, I wasn't even sure I could go in there again."

"You've been in that room before?" Elliot asked absentmindedly, as he glanced out the window at the passing scenery.

"Yes," Danny admitted. "Back when we were in high school. Or were we in college already?"

"We were in college," Brandon answered. "It was the summer between our sophomore and junior years."

"That's right, because we didn't think they were going to let us return to our campuses, once classes started," Danny suddenly remembered.

"Yeah, that's right," Brandon confirmed.

"So how did you end up at the police station back then?" Elliot pressed, as he turned toward his foster dads.

"We hadn't done anything," Danny answered. "It was just that this guy who held a grudge against us said we did something, when we hadn't. The police took his word for it and arrested us for beating him up, but it was later proven in court that we didn't do it."

"He said you beat him up and they just took his word for it?" Elliot tried to clarify.

"Yeah, pretty much. They took us in, along with your Uncle Pat and Uncle Shannon," Brandon answered. "I know you haven't met them yet, but you will."

"So what really happened then?" Elliot asked, continuing the story.

"Some low-life drug dealer gave him the beating," Danny answered. "That's why he couldn't say what happened. If he did, he'd also have to admit he was buying drugs at the time. Instead, he used what happened to him to try to get even with us for something that had happened in high school."

"But he didn't get away with it. Right?" Elliot continued.

"Right," Brandon replied. "Your Uncle Mark remembered something that proved it couldn't have happened the way the guy said, and Uncle Mark had the evidence to back up what he was saying. That was enough to convince the jury we didn't do it."

"That's great," Elliot stated, "but having so many uncles is sure getting confusing. I think I need flash cards."

"It will take some time to get used to this," Brandon agreed, "but in the end I think you're going to like having so many around. They're a great group of guys and you can always depend on them being there when you need something."

"Sounds cool," Elliot agreed. "As an only child, I always wanted a bigger family. I can't wait to meet the rest of them,"

When we got home, I explained everything that had happened to Jake and told him about the room we were in, since his son had been part of that group too. He wasn't so sure it was just a coincidence though. He thought it was more likely that the police had chosen that room to put extra pressure on Danny and Brandon and make them suffer for being unwilling to go along with their request. Actually, he meant both requests. First, for making them wait so long before they got to question Elliot and then for pushing to have more than one person go in with him. I agreed the police might have done this, even though I thought it highly unlikely. First of all, no one from the police department knew who would be coming down with Elliot and I'm not sure any of them would have remembered so much detail about something that happened nearly seven years before.

I also told Jake that Elliot's interview should end the process and it was now up to the police to use that information to make the arrests. I also told him, just in case anyone else called to set something up with Elliot, that no one from the police department would be allowed to speak directly with Elliot again. I told him from now on one of us would relay his answers and Elliot wasn't going to speak to them directly, unless we approved it and were with him at the time. Jake assured me he would honor our wishes, so we put this matter to bed – for now. All that was left was for the criminal justice system to arrest, try and, hopefully, convict the guilty parties.

Putting that behind us, we now began to focus on happier business. Since tomorrow is Halloween, it was time for us to transform our place into a Haunted House. Jesse's friends showed up before it got dark, with their younger siblings in tow. There were even more of them now, than just the two Jesse had started with. Those three boys had gotten more people involved in helping them, so they could both finish in time and also to fill the various roles in our little maze of terror. Therefore, there were quite a few people here, itching to get started.

Jesse's friends also brought their younger brothers and sisters with them, because they were planning to take them, Elliot and Joshie through the Haunted House for a practice run. Since they weren't quite ready to get started, I waited in the family room with the group that would be taking the tour. Once I received word that everything was set, I took that group outside and led them around to the back of our house, where their adventure would begin.

We started out by passing through our little graveyard, with its tombstones containing the names of some of the worst murders in history. There was one for Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacey, Son of Sam, Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson, Joseph Stalin, Vlad the Impaler, Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. As we had done in the past, this area contained a surprise and everyone jumped and screamed when one of Jesse's friends emerged from under an artificial grass rug in front of one of the tombstones.

After that little scare, the children had to make their way across our newest obstacle. This year, the boys had asked me to construct a small, suspension type walkway that everyone would have to cross in order to get to our backdoor. I did this using chains and slender wooden strips and then fastened this temporary structure to several stakes, which I had driven into the ground on either side of the walkway. It was only a few inches above the ground, but it swayed gently from side to side as the person crossed. This forced the individual to concentrate on what he was doing, or else he might fall. It wasn't dangerous, but merely another different and somewhat nerve-wracking thing for them to experience.

As soon as the children stepped on this footbridge, it began to move. Immediately, they all froze for a split second, before they continued on. They were still tentative about crossing it, but soon realized it wasn't as treacherous as they feared. I have a feeling our suspension walkway is going to be a big hit tomorrow night.

Once the group reached the back door, the next series of ghoulish surprises lurked within. As soon as the door opened, the sounds of maniacal laughter and screams filled the air, along with the flashing of strobe lights. The strobe lights were used to give everything an otherworldly and supernatural appearance. As they entered, Dracula opened his coffin and sat up. While Dracula was busy distracting our visitors, others who were dressed in hideous costumes rushed up and grabbed a hold of our guests, which elicited a round of screams.

Once they had gotten over this shocking experience, the children walked, single file, between two skeletons. They couldn't get around them any other way, otherwise they'd step on the headless corpses we had placed on either side of our slender walkway. The skeletons had been arranged so our visitors would be certain to bump into one or the other as they passed by.

Jesse and his friends had added another new feature this year, which they now set into motion, as the unsuspecting visitors moved down the short hallway leading toward the basement door – their next destination. One of Jesse's friends' fathers had somehow gotten a hold of a large plastic replica of the front of a snub-nose cab for an 18-wheeler. The boys had hooked up battery-generated headlights to it, which they suddenly turned on. As they did this, another one blasted an air-horn, while the other boy pushed the 'truck cab' at the visitors. Those in the front of the line all stopped dead in their tracks. Some even tried to jump backwards or run away from it, which told us the effect was realistic and scary. This was going to be another big hit.

Once the children got over this fright, our guests were then led down the steps to the basement. To do this, they had to navigate through an array of fake cobwebs, plastic spiders and phony cockroaches along the way. Once they got to the bottom, they approached four large aquariums, which the boys had filled with various creepy delights. One of the tanks held spiders, the next a variety of bugs, another was filled with worms, snails and slugs, and the final tank held a collection of snakes.

The boys had covered the tanks with clear, plastic lids, so our 'props' wouldn't escape, but they also hooked up spotlights above and slightly behind each tank. As the children moved next to this area, the lights were turned on, one at a time, to highlight what was contained within. Suddenly becoming aware of this series of revolting animals elicited a few gasps, shudders and screams, which were quickly followed by some gleeful cackling from Jesse's cohorts.

After getting away from this area, the children were led past a table containing an array of body parts, most of which seemed to be able to move on their own. First there was a bloody arm, which would reach out and attempt to grab passers by. Then there was a pair of eyes, which appeared to be suspended in midair, and these eyes would appear and disappear with varying frequency.

The boys had talked Dion into doing this for them, since they needed more help. He had on a dark-colored bodysuit and a cloth mask over his face, so only his eyes showed through. There was also a black light illuminating the area, which helped to mask his presence and added an eerie effect when he opened his eyes. Since he would also move around slowly when his eyes were closed, it also made his eyes appear as if they were floating and attached to nothing.

Finally, there was a severed head, which appeared to be setting on a platter. The head would open its eyes and speak as the children walked by. In reality, the head belonged to Vinnie, who had also volunteered to help and was made up to look like a very haggard Osama Bin Laden, complete with the infamous turban.

From there, the children were led toward the far corner of the basement and the entire area was then lit up, so they could see and collect their treats. At this point, they were allowed to choose from an assortment of seasonally appropriate items the boys had either made themselves or purchased specifically for this occasion. The children were now permitted to select any five items from what we were offering. All they had to do was indicate what they wanted and someone would place those items in their bag. The selection included white chocolate eyeballs, gummy worms, thumb lollipops, bones made from pretzels and covered in white chocolate, and chewy candy tongues.

Elliot seemed impressed at how much work the boys had done and how detailed the Haunted House was. I thought I had even seen him tense up and get a little pale when he walked past the snake tank. Joshie, on the other hand, was finding it hard to contain his joy at having been able to go through it. Once the others left, Jesse offered Elliot the chance to participate in the Haunted House the following night, when they did it for the public. When Elliot said he'd love to do it, Jesse gave him a choice of the tasks he could participate in.

Joshie would be going out with his fathers, to trick-or-treat at the houses of some of their friends and a few of our extended family, so he wouldn't be available to do this. I think he was just happy he got to experience it this year and had been delightfully scared in the process. Tomorrow should be a blast for all of us.

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