Bill W

Castaway Hotel
Next Generation

Chapters 47-54

Dion and Trey arrived home from school a little later than they normally did and had Joshie and Noah with them. I must have had a puzzled look on my face when they entered the house, so Dion attempted to clear things up for me.

"Noah went to the meeting about the soccer team, if you're wondering," he told me, "but he wasn't there very long. We'd waited around just to see how long he'd be, and when we saw the meeting ended fairly quickly, we told him he could ride home with us. That way he wouldn't have to wait around for Elliot to finish up at the high school."

"Thank you for doing that," I replied. "I'm glad he didn't stay there by himself."

"I could have done it," Noah insisted.

"I'm sure you could have," I agreed, "but you might have had to wait around for an hour or more before Elliot called for a ride. I'm not certain how long he'll be with the swim team today, so I'm just glad you didn't have to wait around with nothing to do for such a long time."

"Oh, okay," Noah muttered.

I had a feeling he had taken my initial comment to mean that I didn't think he was mature enough to wait by himself, but it's not what I was saying. I hope he realizes this now, because I didn't get a chance to emphasis that point to him before he disappeared up the stairs.

It was only about fifteen minutes later when Elliot called and I went down to pick both him and Jesse up. He told me the meeting for those who wanted to join the swim team had ended, but he wouldn't start practice until tomorrow. Everyone joining the team has to have their physical first, but once he passes it he can begin practicing with the others.

"Man, this is gonna suck if I have to wait around for Elliot to finish swim practice every night," Jesse sputtered.

"You can always ride home with Dion and Trey," I suggested.

"But their car is crowded," he countered, "with Joshie and Noah riding home with them."

"Even though their car isn't very big, I think you can still squeeze into the back seat with those two boys, since neither of them is very big," I offered. "However, that won't be a problem either, since Noah will be staying after school with the soccer team. It's my understanding that he signed up for the seventh-eighth grade squad today."

My comment seemed to placate Jesse temporarily, but I knew we might eventually need to come up with a better solution for his problem.

That night at dinner, Danny and Brandon asked the boys about their day. They started with Elliot first, so Noah could see this was something they frequently did and not because they were checking up or didn't trust him.

"How was your first day, Elliot?" Brandon inquired.

"I think it's going to be a good year, except my math teacher is kind of geeky," he answered. "This is his first year teaching and he's put up posters of Bill Gates, Albert Einstein and different Star Trek crews on his classroom walls. I hope it doesn't mean we're going to have to listen to him rant about how great they all are."

I think the rest of us were trying to contain our humor over his observation.

"What about the swim team?" Danny followed.

"I'll get my physical and start practice tomorrow," Elliot told him. "I brought home a schedule, so you guys will all know when I have a meet. I hope you'll come to some of them."

"We'll be there for as many as we can," Brandon assured him.

"Me too," Jesse chimed in.

"And Joshie and I will be there for all your home meets," I added. "I may even try to go to an away meet or two, if they're not too far away."

"Cool. I'm glad you're all willing to do this for me," Elliot confessed.

"How about you Noah? What did you think of your new school?" Brandon asked.

"It was good," was Noah's minimal reply.

"Did you like your teachers?" Danny pressed. "Yeah, they're okay," Noah answered.

It was obvious that getting information from him was going to be a little like pulling teeth.

"Did you sign up for the soccer team?" Brandon followed.

"Yep," Noah confirmed.

"Well, when do you start?" Brandon asked.

"Tomorrow," Noah replied.

"Noah, we're going to need a little more detail than that," Danny informed him. "Did you have your physical yet?"

"Yeah, I was the second one in line," Noah answered. At least it was more than one word.

"When will you get a schedule, so we can know when your games are," Brandon asked. "We'd like to watch you play too."

"I don't know when we'll get the schedule," Noah replied.

We were impressed with this expanded answer, but his fathers still wanted to know more.

"Do you want us to come see you play?" Brandon pressed.

"Yeah, sure," Noah agreed.

Since they weren't getting a great deal of information out of Noah, Danny and Brandon decided to stop questioning him. They hoped that over time he might become a little more communicative, especially after he sees how the others shared details of what was going on with us.

After we finished dinner, we sent the boys off to do their homework, before we allowed them to watch TV or play games. Noah didn't have very many assignments to complete, so he returned first and joined us in the family room.

"You're all done with everything?" Danny asked.

"Yep," Noah answered.

"Have any problems or need any help with anything?" Brandon followed.

"Nope," Noah replied.

This is definitely different, since we're used to boys who are eager to talk and fill us in about things. We did invite him in to join us watching TV though and Danny and Brandon offered him the spot between them on the sofa. Without hesitation, Noah went over and sat down with them.

I spent my time observing Noah, as he watched television. He seemed to be warming up to both Danny and Brandon and appeared to be comfortable as he sat between them. I know it's only been a week since he moved in, but I think this is a very good sign.

Elliot and Jesse came down a little later and joined the rest of us for a while. When the show we were watching ended, they asked Noah if he wanted to go to the rec room with them to play air hockey and table tennis. He eagerly agreed and the three of went bolting out of the room, as they headed toward the back of the house. The boys stayed out there until bedtime and then Danny and Brandon sent Noah and Elliot up to shower and hop into bed. Before Jesse had a chance to do the same, I pulled him aside for a second.

"What's up, Dad?" he asked, once the other pair had disappeared up the stairs.

"I just wanted to tell you to be very careful, if you and Elliot decide to do anything sexual," I began. "Please make certain your door is locked and Noah doesn't overhear what you're up to. I don't think we're anywhere near ready for him to get involved in those types of activities yet and I don't want him to become suspicious about what you're up to and then begin asking questions. Okay?"

"Yeah, we kinda figured that out already," Jesse confirmed. "We haven't really done much since we got back from vacation anyway and now Elliot will be spending a lot of his time with the swim team and then doing homework at night, so I don't think we'll be doing much anytime soon."

"I understand, and I'm glad you boys are smart enough to have figured this out for yourselves," I told him. "I hope you're not getting down about Elliot becoming involved in his sports again."

"Nah, I was expecting it. It isn't really a big deal for me, so you don't have to worry." Jesse observed.

I hope he means what he said.

The following morning, Elliot and Noah grabbed everything they needed to take with them to school. They not only had their schoolbooks and homework, but they also took their sports gear with them, so they could practice with their teams after their classes ended.

Jesse looked a little lost when he came home later, but he played with Joshie for a short time, before going up to his room and starting on his homework. I decided not to bother him or ask any question about how he was feeling. I thought if he wanted to talk about it he'd come to me, so I gave him some space and let him work this out on his own.

I gave Noah about two hours for his practice to end and to clean up afterward, before I went down to the school to see if he was ready to come home. I'd only waited about five minutes before he came wandering out the front entrance. When I saw him, I beeped the horn, because I wasn't sure if he'd spot me. After hearing the horn, he looked up and eventually figured out it was me in the Suburban, so he hurried over and hopped in.

"I was wondering how I was going to get home," he told me as he entered the vehicle. "I forgot to ask Uncle Dion about that this morning."

"I usually pick everyone up after practices, because your fathers are generally still at work," I explained. "Since you don't have a cell phone yet, I just figured out when I thought you'd be finished and then came down to get you."

"Thanks," he told me.

"I think we might as well head over to the high school next," I added. "We'll go in and see if Elliot is about done too."

"Okay," he replied.

Once we reached the high school, I set off in the direction of the pool, with Noah following behind. When we got there, I saw Elliot up on the high platform and pointed him out to Noah.

"That's Elliot up there?" he asked, since he didn't believe his eyes.

"Yes, it is," I confirmed. "Your brother is about to dive into the swimming pool from up there, so keep your eyes on him."

A moment or two later, Elliot executed one of his dives and Noah's mouth dropped open. I don't think he believed Elliot was actually going to jump from such a height.

"Wow. That was neat," he mumbled, barely audibly.

"Yes, it's not an easy thing to do," I concurred.

When Elliot resurfaced and was getting out of the pool, he looked up and noticed us. He then strolled over to where we were standing.

"We're just about done," he stated. "Your timing is pretty good."

I merely smiled, as he turned around and walked back toward his coach. Pretty soon, the coach blew his whistle and the rest of the team gathered around him too. He said something to them and then they all began heading toward the locker rooms. That is, everyone except Elliot. He came walking back toward us.

"Noah, I've got to go change first," he stated, "but it won't take long."

"Okay," Noah said, and then he followed Elliot toward the locker room.

I don't think Elliot expected him to do this and I'm not even sure he noticed Noah was behind him until they got to the locker room. Since Noah was already there, Elliot told Noah to sit on the bench and then merely peeled off his Speedo and went to take a quick shower. Noah stayed by Elliot's locker until he returned.

"Do you always take a shower with the other boys?" Noah asked, when Elliot got back.

"Yeah, pretty much," Elliot answered.

"Some of the guys on my soccer team did that today after practice, but I didn't," Noah admitted.

"Why not?" Elliot asked.

"Um… I didn't have a towel," Noah acknowledged, "but it was also because I've never taken a shower with anyone else before. I wasn't sure if I wanted to get naked in front of all those other boys."

"I know. I had some trouble doing it at first too," Elliot admitted. "Now I just go in and don't think much about it."

Noah considered what Elliot had told him for a minute, before he said anything else.

"But I'm not sure if I should," Noah confessed. "The other boys all have bigger wieners than me and some have even got hair down there, like you."

Elliot smiled. He knew how Noah was feeling.

"Yes, those things happen to some boys sooner than others," Elliot advised him, "but it's nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. It will happen to you sooner or later. You just have to wait until it's your time."

"So there's nothing wrong with me?" Noah asked.

"Nah, you're as normal as the rest of them," Elliot confirmed.

Once Elliot got dressed, the boys came back out to where I was waiting for them. After we were all together again, I led them out to the Suburban and we headed home. As soon as I pulled in the driveway, the boys jumped out, raced into the house and went up to their rooms. I took my time going inside and then began fixing dinner, while we waited for their fathers to come home. Before long, Noah walked into Elliot's room, clad only in his underpants.

"Elliot, will you come into the bathroom with me?" he asked. "I think I want to see how it feels being naked and showering in front of another boy, so I can see if I want to try it after practice tomorrow."

"Okay, if you think it will help," Elliot agreed.

The boys then made their way to the bathroom and Noah hesitantly removed his last article of clothing. He still managed to keep his privates concealed, as much as possible, and it began to appear as if he wasn't convinced he really wanted to do this. Then, he suddenly turned toward Elliot and dropped his hands to his side.

"It looks like a baby's, huh?" he asked.

"No, not at all," Elliot answered, while looking at Noah's two inch circumcised penis. "Trust me, it will get bigger soon and you won't feel that way. I'll even bet there are other guys in your grade that are about the same size as you."

"You think so?" Noah wondered aloud.

"Yes, I do," Elliot agreed. "But the size of your dick doesn't mean anything, except that you haven't started growing yet."

"I guess," Noah said, as he turned away and started to adjust the water.

When Noah started washing, Elliot put the lid down on the toilet and sat down, as he waited for his brother to finish his shower. He didn't want to leave prematurely and make Noah feel that he didn't want to be there for him, so he decided to stay. It only took Noah a few minutes to clean up and then he turned off the water again. When he stepped out of the shower, he looked over at Elliot.

"Will you hand me the towel please?" he asked, and Elliot reached over, picked it up and gave it to him.

"I guess it's not so bad," Noah stated. "I'll put a towel in with my other stuff for tomorrow and then take a shower with everyone else after practice. I guess I can do it, as long as you don't think anyone will say anything about my little wien… dick."

Noah had started to say wiener again, but then remembered that Elliot had called it a dick. He felt he'd better start using the right word for it, if he didn't want anyone to pick on him about it. Now that his problem had been addressed, he finished drying off and went back to his room to get dressed. Elliot returned to his room as well, but a few minutes later, Noah appeared in his doorway.

"Thanks for doing that for me," he told Elliot. "Not a problem," Elliot confirmed, "anything for my little brother."

Hearing Elliot say this brought a smile to Noah's face. In fact, it might be the first time he's really smiled since he came to live with us. I hope it means he's starting to feel like he belongs and will soon start to be more relaxed around the rest of us. The next afternoon, when I went down to the middle school to pick Noah up, he came out with a grin on his face. I was a little surprised by this, but pleased that he didn't appear as sad as when he first came to live with us. As soon as he jumped in the Suburban, he had a question for me.

"Are we going to go pick up Elliot now?" he wanted to know.

"We certainly can, if that's what you want to do," I agreed. "Normally, I'd wait for him to call first, but we can go, if you want to see him dive again."

"Yeah, I do," he answered.

We quickly set out for the high school and then walked to the pool. Noah immediately looked toward the high platform, but another boy was up there, so he began looking around for Elliot. A few seconds later, he spotted him waiting for his turn to climb up the tower to make another dive. When he saw Elliot look in our direction, Noah began to wave. When Elliot saw him, he smiled and waved back.

After this little exchange, we watched as Elliot climbed up to take his turn. I could tell Noah was very excited, and even proud, as he watched his brother make his next dive. After Elliot came out of the water, he strolled over to speak to us quickly, before he went back to practice some more.

"We'll probably be a little longer, so I hope you don't mind waiting," he advised us.

"Not at all," I replied. "Noah was eager to come back here, so he could watch you dive again, and I was happy to bring him. Waiting a while longer isn't a problem."

Elliot grinned and then went back to do a couple more dives, before his coach blew the whistle and called the team in for one final piece of advice. Once he'd finished, the team members started to head toward the locker room, but not before Elliot came over to speak to Noah first.

"Okay, I'm going to go shower and change now," he stated. "I won't be long."

"Okay," Noah readily agreed, as he got up and tagged along behind Elliot again.

I thought it best not to say anything, since this didn't seem to bother Elliot, and merely watched as the boys strolled way. I thought it was cute how Noah followed Elliot around, like a little puppy, and was pleased that the pair seemed to be bonding.

Once they got inside, Noah spoke to Elliot as he was taking off his Speedo.

"I took a shower at school today," he began. "No one said anything about my dick and you were right, a couple of the other boys have little dicks just like me."

"See. I told you," Elliot confirmed. "I'm glad you realize that now."

"Yeah, it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be," Noah confessed. "Thanks for helping me with that."

"Like I told you yesterday," Elliot responded, "anything for my little brother."

"Thanks. I like hearing you say that too," Noah admitted, with an ear-to-ear grin.

Elliot then went to take his shower and returned a few minutes later. When he came back, he had Hayden with him.

"Hayden, this is my little brother, Noah," Elliot stated, as he introduced them. "Noah, this is my best friend, Hayden."

The boys said hello to each other and shook hands. I think Elliot must have told Hayden about Noah before dragging him over to meet him, because Hayden didn't seem surprised by the introduction. Noah, however, appeared proud that Elliot had referred to him as his little brother and was also willing to have him meet his friend.

I think Elliot had just made our first major inroad with Noah.

Jesse's eighteenth birthday was on Friday, so I wished him a happy birthday when he came down for breakfast. I also made sure that Noah and Elliot knew it was Jesse's birthday as well and explained that we'd celebrate it this weekend, when we'd have a cookout with the extended family. What I didn't tell them was that I had other plans that I wasn't divulging yet.

You see, I intended to make a big deal about this birthday and was planning to take everyone to the restaurant tonight for a private family celebration. I didn't tell any of the boys about this, although I had informed their fathers, but I finally divulged the information to them when I picked up Noah and Elliot from their practices. Since Noah hadn't been with us for one of these parties before, I had to emphasize to him that he needed to put on some nice clothes, because we were going out to eat. I was certain Elliot would help him pick out something appropriate.

When I arrived back home with that pair, I finally told Jesse what I'd planned too. I think this came as a total surprise to him.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "You usually only do it for special birthdays."

"Well, I feel that turning eighteen IS a special birthday. It shows you're not a little boy anymore, because you're now old enough to vote and serve in the military," I explained. "Not only that, but it's also your senior year in high school and I feel that helps to make this birthday special too. Besides, it's just something I want to do for you."

"Thanks, Dad," Jesse responded. "I didn't expect it, but I really appreciate it. You always know how to make me feel good – and special."

The boys then ran off to get changed, while we waited for the others to get home from work. I'd told Little Ricky, Dion and Trey about my plans the previous night, so they'd be prepared. Plus it gave Dion and Trey a little extra time to make sure Joshie was ready to go too.

When Jake, Danny and Brandon arrived home from work, they all hurried off to get cleaned up and changed as well. When they were ready, we drove down to the restaurant. When we arrived at the small private dining room, Noah's mouth hit the ground, although not quite literally. He was just amazed by this place.

"Dang, this is fancy," he mumbled.

"It is very nice," I agreed, "and that's why we like to come here for special events."

"So we're gonna eat here for Jesse's birthday, but then you're gonna have people come to the house tomorrow for another birthday party for him?" he asked, to confirm he'd understood correctly.

"Yes, but we only do this for special birthdays, like Jesse's eighteenth birthday," I replied.

"That's still pretty nice," Noah stated. "I've never had two birthday parties for the same birthday before."

I think we all made a mental note of his statement.

At this point, we all took our seats. Noah, Brandon, Danny and Elliot sat at one table. Dion, Trey and Joshie sat at another and Jake, Jesse, Little Ricky and I sat at a third. However, we were all close enough so we could still chat with one another, if we wanted to.

Danny and Brandon told Noah he could order whatever he wanted from the menu. After looking at the prices though, he had a question.

"But these all cost a lot," Noah stated. "Don't they have a cheaper menu?"

"No, they don't," Brandon told him, "but since it's a special occasion, we'll splurge a bit."

Noah still looked dubious, but then Elliot leaned over and whispered something to him. None of the rest of us ever learned what he said, but it caused Noah to nod his head slightly, just before he went back to reading the menu.

Once we had all ordered, Danny and Brandon explained to Noah that tomorrow at the cookout he was going to meet many members of our extended family, plus some of Jesse's friends. Elliot quickly added that Hayden would be coming too, since he had introduced Noah to Hayden after one of his diving practices. Noah spent the next couple of minutes digesting all of this information.

After a brief delay, our food was delivered and the boys began to ravenously devour their meals. I guess the amount of energy they'd expended at practices, along with the lengthy span of time since they'd eaten lunch, had contributed to their current enthusiastic actions. I swear I could see sparks coming from their silverware, as they greedily attacked the food on their plates.

Once the boys were somewhat full – at least their plates were empty, the waiter came in and removed the dirty dishes. A short time after that, he returned with Jesse's birthday cake, a stack of dessert plates and more forks. After we sang happy birthday to him, Jesse blew out the candles and cut the cake. Elliot helped and passed out a piece to each of us. I also noticed that the boys made sure Noah got a slice about twice the size of the rest of us. Don't worry. It didn't go to waste. I'm not sure where he put it, especially after all he'd already eaten, but his piece of cake disappeared quickly.

Once we'd all had our cake, I handed Jesse his birthday card. He opened and read it, and then looked at me with a quizzical expression.

"What's the surprise I'm supposed to ask you about?" he wondered, referring to the cryptic note I'd written in his card.

"I'm sorry that I don't have a present to give you here, but you will definitely be getting some things tomorrow, at the cookout. However, tonight I have an announcement to make that I think will please you. Tomorrow, before the cookout, I'm taking you down to my friend's car lot so you can pick out your first car. It won't be a new one, but this way you'll have it to get back and forth to school this year and then be able to use it to take you to and from college next year. Happy birthday, Jesse, from Pop and me."

Nearly as soon as he heard what we planned to do, Jesse leaped out of his seat and rushed toward me, so he could give me a hug. Then he did the same thing to Jake.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," he said over and over again. "I can't believe you're gonna do this for me."

"We are. It isn't a joke, but it comes with a certain amount of responsibility too," I cautioned. "I expect you to help with transporting Elliot and Noah back and forth from their practices, as well as being willing to run errands for us whenever we need your help."

"Oh, I will. No problem," he agreed.

"One other thing," I added. "You also have to keep your grades up and not use the car to do anything we wouldn't approve of. If either of those things happens, then I will take the car away until you can prove to me you have matured and deserve to have it back."

"Don't worry. You won't need to do that," Jesse assured us. "I never thought you'd get me a car for my birthday, so I won't do anything that will make me lose it."

"Great. Then we shouldn't have any problems," I confirmed, as I gave him another hug. "Happy birthday, son."

"Wow, two parties and a car!" Noah exclaimed. "I sure am glad I came here to live."

"Those are privileges that need to be earned," Danny advised him, so he didn't get the wrong impression. "Since Jesse first came to live with us, he has repeatedly shown that he is very mature and extremely responsible. If he hadn't, then this probably wouldn't be happening for him now. If you hope for something like this to happen for you too some day, then you've got to prove to us that you are also mature, responsible and trustworthy."

"Okay," Noah said, with a grin. I could see the wheels turning in his head now.

"That goes for you too," Danny added, while directing his comments toward Elliot.

"I'm not worried. I'll be able to buy my own car by then," Elliot boasted, with an arrogant smirk.

"Not if we tell Uncle Mark to misplace your request or not honor it," Danny shot back, which caused Elliot to give him a shocked look in return.

"You wouldn't really do that, would you?" Elliot wanted to know, while looking doubtfully at his fathers.

"Just be a good boy and you'll never have to worry about it, will you?" Danny responded. We knew this would give Elliot something to think about.

Now that we were all finished eating, I paid the bill and took everyone home. Once we got there, Noah pulled Elliot aside, so he could ask him a question.

"What did you mean at the restaurant, when you said you could buy your own car?" Noah asked.

Elliot then began to tell Noah about the large inheritance his father had left him when he died.

"Wow, I wish my parents had left something like that for me," Noah observed. "My mom said we didn't have any money left and that's why she couldn't go see a doctor sooner."

"I'm sorry about that," Elliot told him. "I wish we'd have known about your situation back then, because we might have been able to help."

"Thanks. It's nice of you to say that," Noah responded.

Once they finished their conversation, they came in to join the rest of us in the family room. We all spent the rest of the evening together, until the boys went up to bed.

Not surprisingly, Jesse got up extremely early the next morning, because he was very eager to select his new car. After telling him the car lot wouldn't be open yet, Jake and I were able to get him to sit down and eat some breakfast. The three of us didn't leave the house until just before 9:00, which was the time the dealership opened. Jesse had wanted to wake Elliot so he could go with us, but I told Jesse to let him sleep and then he could tell him about the car later.

My friend greeted us the minute we arrived. I had forewarned him that we'd be coming, so he was eager to take Jesse around and point out the selection he had to choose from. Jesse seemed interested in several of these vehicles, each for a different reason. Jake and I eventually told him he'd have to decide which of the features he wanted were the most important to him and then he could narrow his choices down that way.

After a few minutes of thinking things over, Jesse agreed to do what we'd suggested and quickly eliminated a few of the vehicles he first had on his list. In the end, he was down to choosing between a black Volkswagen Golf and a red Audi A4.

"Okay, tell me what it is about these two cars that you like," I advised him.

"Well, the Golf is kind of cool and sporty looking," Jesse began, "and it's good on gas, so I won't have to spend all my money on fuel to get around. The Audi really looks sharp and it's a good size, so I can take my friends with me when I go places. It's also big enough to haul all of my clothes and stuff in it when I go to college."

"I'm fine with either of those choices, since they're both made by the same parent company," I agreed. "The Golf is a pretty safe car, but I really like the fact that this Audi has all-wheel drive. That can really come in handy during the winter months."

"Yes, I think the Audi would be more appropriate for going back and forth to college," Jake offered. "The all-wheel drive will make your dad and me worry a lot less about you making that trip, especially when you come home for the winter holidays."

"Yeah, you're probably right, Pop," Jesse agreed. "Then let's get the Audi. I thought I kinda liked that one better anyway, but after you told me it would be better in the winter, I like it even more."

Since it was now decided, I advised my friend and made the deal. He said he'd make certain the car was registered and ready to be picked up Monday afternoon, so Jesse said he'd walk over after school to get it. He had the biggest grin on his face as we drove back home.

"Thanks, Dad and Pop. I think the car is super and I like it a lot," he confessed. "Thank you so much for doing this for me."

"You've earned it," I replied. "Just don't abuse it now."

"I won't. You don't worry have to worry about that," he agreed.

When we got home, Jesse ran off to tell Elliot about the car he'd chosen, while Jake and I started getting things ready for his party. Elliot quickly agreed that he thought Jesse had made the right choice when selecting his car and couldn't wait to see it.

Just before the others got here, Jake went out to fire up the grills, while I got the rest of the food ready. I did that in between feeding those just crawling out of bed, but I only let them consume a very small breakfast to tide them over.

The extended family began arriving around noon and Hayden and some of Jesse's friends started showing up a little after that. I had suggested to Jesse that he should invite some of his friends too, since he'd grown fairly close to them. I also figured it would give him something to do while we older folks chatted.

Jesse and I greeted the others as they arrived, but I let Jesse and Elliot introduce everyone to Noah. The boys explained to him about whom each person was and I could tell Noah's head was spinning, as he tried to absorb all of this information. I didn't worry though, because I knew it would start to become clearer to him over time.

Jesse was also eagerly telling everyone about the car he was getting for his birthday and his friends were blitzing him with questions about it, in addition to telling him how lucky he was. As I watched this happening, I thought back to when I got my first car and what a huge deal it was to both my friends and me. Having my own set of wheels meant I had a new sense of freedom, since I didn't have to wait for the family car to be freed up before I could do something. Thinking back to that time made it easier for me to appreciate how Jesse is feeling now.

Over the next few hours, we conversed with our guests and watched Jesse parade around the yard like a strutting peacock. I was certain the moment he picked the car up on Monday he would begin driving around to show his friends his new toy. I just hope he didn't treat it like one.

Noah was getting just as much attention as Jesse, since everyone wanted to get to know our newest family member better too. However, it didn't take long before everyone realized that Noah didn't like talking about himself or his past life. He was pretty shy and tight lipped when it came to giving out any personal information, especially when it concerned his parents. Everyone was kind enough not to press the issue and instead told him about themselves. They also made sure to include a few of their more humorous memories of their time with the family, to make it easier for Noah to listen to what they had to say.

About an hour after we'd eaten, the boys decided to go for a dip in the pool. Jesse had told Hayden and his friends to bring their swimsuits along, so most of them wore their trunks under their clothes. Now, they were frolicking merrily in the water, along with Elliot, Noah and Joshie. Come on, you didn't think they were going to be able to leave Joshie out of this, did you? He considers himself part of the pack, and even though he might not be the alpha dog, he is certainly trying to work his way up the pack's ladder of dominance.

While the boys were swimming, the adults stayed at the picnic tables and chatted. At that point, Sally had an announcement to make. A few of us already knew about what she was going to tell us, but many of the others didn't.

"I'm very pleased to let the rest of you know," she began, "that Richard is going to start working for me the day after Labor Day."

Little Ricky blushed when he realized this was about him, but everyone else was eager to congratulate him. He was quick to let them know this position might only be temporary, since he was only covering a maternity leave. However, he also mentioned Aunt Sally had told him the girl he was filling in for might opt to stay home with her child for a longer period of time, rather than return to work. Either way, he would be gaining some valuable experience in his chosen field.

After this had been cleared up, Steve had a question for Danny and Brandon.

"Have you received any news about when you're going to be able to adopt Elliot?" he wanted to know.

"In fact, we have," Brandon answered. "We're supposed to go to court this coming Friday to take care of that."

"Fantastic," Steve agreed. "So you'll be formally adopting Elliot the Friday before Labor Day and Richard will be starting his new job the day after. I guess this will give us plenty to celebrate over the holiday."

Everyone agreed with his comment and looked forward to partying again next weekend. It will also be our official recognition of the end of summer.

After we had the cake and ice cream, the party only lasted about another hour, before people started to go home. Jesse thanked everyone for coming and they wished him happy birthday again before they left. As soon as most of our guests had gone, Jake and I began to clean up, and the boys pitched in and gave us a hand. It didn't take long before we had everything inside and put away. Once that happened, the boys went back to the rec room for a while. Hayden and some of Jesse's friends had decided to stick around a little longer and were out there playing air hockey, table tennis and listening to music with them.

After their parents picked them up, a couple of hours later, and the last of our guests had departed, the rest of us gathered in the family room to watch a DVD. I noticed that Noah had decided to lie on the floor next to Jesse and Elliot this time, rather than sit on the sofa with Danny and Brandon. Actually, it's nice to see that he's bonding with the boys too.

Once the movie ended, that trio went up to their rooms. After making sure that Noah was in bed and asleep, Elliot slipped out of his bedroom and went over to Jesse's room. Both boys were clad only in their underwear as Elliot walked in, and Jesse looked up, mildly surprised to find Elliot there.

"I just came over to explain why I didn't give you a present earlier," Elliot began. "I was thinking about what I should get you and thought maybe I'd hire a hooker, but then I thought it would mess things up if she jumped out of your birthday cake. Instead, I decided I'd just take care of you myself. Happy birthday, stud!"

After saying this, Elliot pushed Jesse onto the bed and began kissing him, passionately. Jesse gave in to Elliot's aggressive move willingly and eagerly reciprocated. Almost immediately, their tongues began to intertwine and their lips pressed gently against each other, as Elliot let Jesse know just how special he was and how much he cared for him.

Slowly, Elliot moved down to Jesse's neck and then he started working his way down Jesse's body. Tenderly, he paid attention to each sensitive and erotic region of Jesse's body, as he came to it. Gradually, he worked his way to Jesse's midsection and grabbed his underwear with his teeth. As Elliot tugged at the garment, he gave a playful growl. This caused Jesse to chuckle, as Elliot worked the underwear off Jesse's body. What Jesse didn't notice was that Elliot had removed his own underwear as well, so now they were both naked on the bed.

For the next couple of minutes, Elliot orally pleased Jesse, as he worshipped his prized piece of meat. Before Jesse was able to reach his climax, however, Elliot quickly slipped a condom over Jesse's penis, added some lube and then straddled Jesse's midsection.

"Happy Birthday," Elliot told him, as he guided Jesse's sheathed manhood into his anal cavity.

Inch by inch, Jesse's impressive rod slipped deeper into Elliot. Once he was fully inside him, Elliot began to bounce up and down, like a rodeo rider on a bucking bull, as he pleasured him. Unlike the rodeo rider, this ride wasn't over in a matter of seconds. Instead, Elliot got his own workout, as he rode Jesse's 'saddle-horn' and ever so slowly brought him to his release.

After several minutes of this hectic and erotic ride, Jesse arched his back off of the bed and thrust his hips skyward. When he did, he buried his penis deeply into Elliot and released his creamy load into the tip of the condom. After a few more thrusts, to drain the remaining droplets, Jesse collapsed onto the mattress, with Elliot slumping forward on top of him. After taking some time to recuperate, Elliot looked down at Jesse and spoke.

"I hope you enjoyed your birthday present," he whispered.

"Yep. It was better than a hooker any day," Jesse agreed.

After cleaning up, Elliot stayed in with Jesse through the night and cuddled with him until morning. In fact, I was mildly surprised to find them together when I came to wake Jesse up the next morning, so he could get ready for Sunday services.

It turned out to be a pretty typical Sunday. We went to church, stopped for brunch and then came home and chilled. We made sure that the boys got all their homework done too, so they'd be ready for school the next day. I could tell Jesse was also anxious to pick up his new wheels after classes ended tomorrow, so I wasn't certain if he'd be able to sleep tonight or concentrate in any of his classes the following day.

Jesse did look a little haggard when he came down to breakfast that morning, so I figured that thinking about his new car had probably kept him up for a while. I'm also positive the school day must have seemed as if it dragged on forever, but I'm sure he made up for that afterward. Jesse didn't come home until just before dinnertime, because he was showing off his car to his friends and even took some of them for a quick spin in it. At least for the time being, Jesse was the leader of the pack.

The week also brought about another interesting change – that is besides Jesse coming home in his new car. When I went to pick-up Noah and Elliot after their practices, Elliot had something else he wanted to discuss with me.

"When I went to swim practice this afternoon," he began, "Hayden told me his mother was wondering if we wanted to car pool with them and take turns bringing us all home. She said she'd also be willing to pick Noah up at the middle school and that way you guys can alternate weeks. It would save both of you gas money, besides making it so you and she don't have to go out every day to pick us up. What do you think about the idea? Is it something you might want to do?"

"Sure. In fact, I may be able to do her one better," I offered. "Let's wait until we get home first, before I give you my final answer, because I need to bring Jesse in on this discussion."

Elliot seemed to wonder what Jesse had to do with it, but he agreed. When we got home, I called Jesse into the room with us and asked him a question.

"Jesse, Hayden's mother wants to arrange an informal car pool with us, to pick the boys up after their practices," I began. "She wants to alternate on a weekly basis, but I have another idea. If you're willing, we'll make this a three-person car pool, with you, her and me. Each of us will pick the boys up for a week at a time, so we'll only have to do it every third week during the particular sporting season."

"Yeah, I can do that,' Jesse agreed. "When it's my week, I'll just hang out at school with my friends and then pick Noah and Elliot up when they're done."

"I can live with that," I agreed. "Elliot, would you please call Hayden's house and see if his mother is agreeable to our proposal. If she is, she can finish off the rest of this week, then I'll take next week and Jesse can take his turn the week after that."

Elliot agreed and went off to make the call. Hayden's mother was more than willing to accept our offer, although she thought we were assuming more of the burden than we needed to. However, I had Elliot explain to her that we had two boys involved in sports, where she only had one, so we were also willing to take twice the responsibility for hauling them back and forth. As long as that wasn't a problem for her, then we were happy to do it this way. Happily, she agreed with the arrangement.

Since she was picking the boys up for the rest of the week, it took me off the hook and I began focusing on a couple of other issues. The first was Elliot's adoption, which will take place this Friday, and then our Labor Day cookout, which will be the final one of the summer. I was also looking ahead to Andrew's twenty-first and Joshie's sixth birthdays, since both events are just a week and a half after Labor Day.

A couple of nights later, after the boys went upstairs to bed, Noah made his way over to Elliot's room. He stood in the doorway for a few seconds before Elliot noticed him, but he didn't say a word. For that reason, Elliot decided to confront him about why he was there.

"Did you need something?" he asked.

"Um… yeah. I want to ask you a question," Noah responded. "Is that okay?"

"Sure. What's up?" Elliot asked.

"I just want to um… know something," Noah stammered, as he entered the room and moved closer to Elliot. "Why does my uh… dick get um… all stiff when I uh… shower after soccer? Is that like um… normal?"

Elliot grinned, as he looked at Noah.

"Yep, it's very normal," Elliot began. "You're reaching the age when things are going to arouse and excite you sexually and it's why your dick gets hard. It's a normal occurrence and something you can't really control. You're probably going to start noticing your dick doing it in all kinds of different situations and you can't always predict when it's going to happen."

"So you think this happened because I was naked with the other boys?" Noah asked next.

"Yeah, that's probably what caused it to happen in the showers," Elliot agreed.

"So does it mean I'm like our dads and like boys too, because it happened when I saw the other guys on my team without their clothes on?" Noah pressed.

"No, it doesn't necessarily mean you like boys. It just means you got excited when you were around other naked bodies," Elliot explained. "The same thing would probably have happened if you were naked with a bunch of girls too."

Noah's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when Elliot suggested this.

"Oh, I don't think I could do that," he confessed. "I almost couldn't do it in front of the other boys."

"And I'm not saying you should," Elliot chuckled. "All I'm saying is that at your age your dick can get hard for many reasons, especially when you're around other naked people, but you'll discover it isn't the only reason it occurs. In fact, you might also find your dick getting stiff while you're sitting in class or walking down the hallway."

"But why would it do it then, if there are no naked people around?" Noah wondered.

"It might happen because you've just noticed someone that you find attractive or it could be the result of you thinking about a person you like or a situation that sexually excites you," Elliot explained. "Some people say that a strong breeze can get guys our age stiff, but no matter why it happens, it would probably be best if you just try to cover it up, so it's not so obvious. Most of the time you can make it less noticeable if you quickly adjust your penis in your underwear or hold your books over it, so no one else will see the bulge."

"Why did you call it a penis?" Noah asked next. His expression showed he was truly confused by the use of this term.

"It's the proper name for your dick," Elliot explained. "Your dick can be called a lot of things, but the proper name for it is penis."

"What other names?" Noah wondered.

"Well, you've called it a wiener and dick so far," Elliot told him, "but it can also be called a cock, prick, pecker or even a willy. When it's hard, it can be called a stiffy, boner or erection."

Noah just absorbed this information and thought about it for a minute. Once he had done this, he looked at Elliot again.

"So what should I do when it happens in the shower?" he wanted to know.

"Well, when it happens there, I think it would be best if you turn away from the other boys, so they won't notice it," Elliot told him. "It's not that there's anything wrong with getting a stiffy, but some of the boys might make fun of you when it happens." "Even if it happens to them too?" Noah asked.

"Probably not if it's happening to them at the same time," Elliot cleared up, "but even though all boys get erections, sometimes they make fun of others when they get one around other boys."

"So I want to make sure they don't see my 'rection?" Noah asked.

"That's E-rection," Elliot corrected, "and it's probably best not to make it stand out so others notice it. Damn, that didn't come out right. Of course it's going to stand out, but just try to keep it from becoming too obvious. Like I said, there nothing wrong with getting one, but I don't want anyone picking on or making fun of my brother just because it happened in the shower."

"Okay," Noah agreed, "and thanks. I'm glad I decided to talk to you about this. At first, I didn't know who I should ask, but then I thought you might be willing to help me. I just figured that because you went into the bathroom with me when I was trying to decide if I'd be able to take a shower in front of other boys, you might help me with this too."

"Noah, you can ask me about anything at any time," Elliot confirmed. "You're my brother now and I'm happy to clear up any questions you might have. It doesn't just have to be about boy stuff either. You can ask me about anything and I'll try to help you find the answer."

After Elliot said this, Noah walked over and gave him a hug.

"Thank you," he told him. "I'm glad I have such a nice brother."

After Noah said this, Elliot gave him a hug in return, plus he kissed Noah on top of the head. They certainly were bonding as brothers.

The rest of the week passed by quite uneventfully. The boys had their practices every day and then Hayden's mother would bring them home afterward. It was actually nice not to have to worry about going after them every afternoon, so in the interim I focused on other things. I was busy looking ahead to Friday and the weekend, because I had a lot to do to get things ready for the big upcoming events. You see, I had agreed to take on most of the responsibility for planning each occasion, since everyone else was busy working.

When Friday rolled around, Elliot had to skip going to swim practice. He had already cleared it with his coach and let Hayden's mom know about it too, so it wasn't as if he was just ditching. He did it because his fathers were picking him up for a special event – they were going to the courthouse to legally adopt him.

Sally, Steve, Mary and I met them there. Sally was present to represent the Department of Social Services and Elliot's legal interests, since he is still technically a ward of the state. Steve, Mary and I were there merely as observers and interested family members. Unfortunately, Jake couldn't get the day off, so he was going to miss out on this.

The rest of us sat in the gallery as the presiding judge asked Elliot, Danny and Brandon a few questions. Once they had each told him that they were entering into this of their own free will and the judge was convinced Elliot wanted Danny and Brandon to adopt him, and it was in his best interest, he continued. Under the agreement, Danny and Brandon were each adopting Elliot separately and then jointly sharing custody.

Sally had suggested this option, and Steve had agreed it would probably work best for the family, since gay couples aren't allowed to marry in Pennsylvania and are therefore excluded from adopting as a couple. He had also written a letter as a 'Friend of the Court' in support of this proposal. Since he is also a judge, it was obvious his opinion carried considerable weight in the decision making process, not to mention that Social Services was supporting this adoption arrangement as well. Therefore, Danny and Brandon were separately awarded legal custody of Elliot and he became their son. He also changed his name to Elliot Kennedy O'Hara Currie, which will now appear on his new birth certificate and all future legal documents.

Once the ceremony concluded, we congratulated Elliot and his fathers, before we headed home to meet up with the others. Since this was such a special event, we were going out to eat again and celebrate Elliot's official status as the newest member of the Currie clan. I think Noah was amazed when he learned that we were going back to the restaurant, especially since it was so soon after our last party there.

Once Jake arrived home from work, he cleaned up and changed, and then we loaded into the Suburban and set out for the restaurant. We had also thought ahead and asked Hayden's parents if he could join us for this special event and they agreed, so we swung by his place and picked him up. He congratulated Elliot almost as soon as he got in the Suburban.

"So you're officially their son now?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am," Elliot agreed.

"Congratulations. That's great and I'm really happy for you," Hayden offered.

"Thanks. That means a lot coming from you," Elliot agreed.

We met Steve, Mary and Sally at the restaurant, because they wanted to join us in celebrating this momentous event. Elliot had just become the first official member of the next generation of boys the family was helping.

Once we got inside, everyone began to ask Elliot, Danny and Brandon if they felt differently now, but each of them was quick to point out that not much had really changed. They stated that they've all felt like a family for a very long time and this feeling didn't come about merely due to the fact that a judge had made a decision or because they had been given a piece of paper. I think the rest of us felt the same way about this too.

As expected, we enjoyed another fantastic meal, topped off with a very special cake. This one read: 'Welcome to the family Elliot Kennedy O'Hara Currie.' I think the staff must have used up all of the blue icing on this one. Not only did they use it to add some of the decorations, but it also took four lines written in the same icing to get the greeting and Elliot's new name to fit on the cake.

Once our little party ended, Hayden returned home with us. His parents had agreed to let him spend the night, so he could continue celebrating the big event with Elliot. The boys were having a blast playing games and just horsing around, but right before bedtime Noah pulled Elliot into his room so he could ask him a question.

"Do you think they'll adopt me too some day?" he wondered.

"Sure, if that's what you want," Elliot told him. "They'll probably ask you about it, once you've been here for a while. I lived with them for eight months before they asked me if I was interested. They said they didn't do it sooner because they wanted me to have time to adjust to living with them first. They didn't want me to feel like I had to do it just so I could live with them and thought by waiting it wouldn't make me feel pressured or put me on the spot."

"Oh, okay. I see how it works now," Noah responded, with a nod. "I was just wondering if they might do the same thing for me too."

"Does this mean that you want them to adopt you?" Elliot asked.

"Yeah, that's what my mom was hoping would happen," Noah replied. "She told me before she died that she wanted some nice family to adopt me and make me their son, so I didn't get shoved around from one foster home to another."

"Well, I'm sure it will happen then," Elliot confirmed. "Just give it some time."

Noah was smiling broadly as he went to his room and Elliot headed off in the other direction, so he could spend some time with Hayden. After I heard about their little discussion, I concluded that Elliot seems able to supply Noah with all the reassurance he needs to keep him happy, at least that's what he's been able to do so far.

I was kind of surprised that Noah didn't also ask why Hayden was staying in Elliot's room, seeing we had quite a few empty bedrooms at the moment. I was familiar with the fact that Noah had spent the night with Elliot a couple of times after he first came to live with us, so possibly this doesn't strike him as being odd. I was still prepared for him to ask one of us about why those two were sharing a bed though, but he never did. Therefore, I wasn't about to bring it up either and chose to let a sleeping dog lie, so to speak.

Hayden spent most of Saturday with us too. The boys did all kinds of thing together, including hiking, swimming and playing games in the house. Of course, they asked Jesse, Noah and Joshie to join them on everything they did. The lone exception was that Joshie didn't ride along with them in Jesse's car later, when they gave Hayden a ride home.

"Nice car, Jess," Hayden told him, when they arrived at his house. "Thanks for everything and I'll see you at school on Monday, El."

Hayden's comment caused Jesse to do a double take. First of all, people don't usually just call him Jess and he had never heard anyone else use a nickname for Elliot before either. After thinking about this for a few moments, he chose not to comment and merely drove the others home.

The next day started off as another typical Sunday for us. We went to church and brunch first, but when we returned home our attention turned to other things. As soon as we changed our clothes, Jake and I got busy preparing the side dishes we'd need for the cookout we were having the next day. The boys all volunteered to pitch in and help out, both the older and younger ones, because they also liked it when we have everyone come to the house to celebrate too. Even though not everyone will be able to be with us for this holiday, it's still nice to spend this time with those who can make it, as well as being with the extended family.

The Labor Day cookout started around noon on Monday. Steve, Mary, Sally, Susan and Alice all showed up, along with some of the boys and their partners. Kevin, Vinnie, Dustin, Katie, Cole and Beth were among that group, and Sammy and Graham even drove in from York to be with us, so it was a nice gathering.

The cookout went well and we all enjoyed ourselves. Everyone also made sure to spend some time with Noah while they were here, so they could get to know him better, and those who weren't with us on Friday also congratulated Elliot, Danny and Brandon on the adoption. They even went out of their way to make certain that Elliot got special recognition for attending his first family gathering as the newest Currie. A couple of the boys even lifted him up on their shoulders and paraded him around the yard for a couple of minutes, before christening him in the family pool, fully dressed. Fortunately, Elliot took this little joke good-naturedly, but he did pull Noah and Hayden in with him, when they offered to give him a hand to climb out of the pool. When will those suckers learn?

Brandon's parents also called the house that afternoon. They did this so they could congratulate the boys on the adoption and speak to Elliot and Noah too, but they also wanted to share some other information with them.

"Brandon, your father and I have decided to join you in Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving and Christmas again this year," she advised him. "We feel Noah should be able to spend these important holidays in his new home the first time, rather than getting on a plane and celebrating one of them at a strange location. Besides, it still allows us to be able to see you at both holidays again this year."

"We appreciate that, Mom," Brandon replied, "but you could still be with us for both holidays and only make one trip. Besides, you did this last year too, because of Elliot. Are you certain you want to do it again?"

"We're well aware that we did this last year too," she confessed, "but we're willing to do it again, so it will make it easier on Noah. We have no problem with flying there this year as well, unless you're planning on taking in a new boy every year, just so we have to do all the traveling. You aren't, are you?"

Brenda giggled after saying this, to let Brandon know she wasn't serious. Brandon got her little joke and decided to continue by building upon it.

"How in the world did you figure out our plan, Mom? Danny and I thought we could trick Dad and you into coming here for every holiday, if we took in a new boy each fall," he teased.

Brenda tittered in response.

"As long as you're giving us more grandchildren, we won't complain," she admitted. "But one of these times I hope you're able to take in a baby. These two are getting too big for me to cuddle."

"I don't know about that, Mom. I think Elliot really enjoys your attention and I'm sure Noah will too, but we'll do what we can about getting a baby," Brandon offered.

"I'm glad Elliot likes it when I hug and kiss him, because I enjoy it too, and I can't wait to give Noah a squeeze and smooch," Brenda agreed. "You'll be able to bring the boys here next year. Okay?"

"That sounds fine, Mom, and thank you. And thank Dad for us too," Brandon told her, before passing the phone off to Noah.

"Hi, honey, this is your grandmother," she began. "Welcome to family! Your grandfather and I are looking forward to meeting you at Thanksgiving."

"Neat," Noah replied. "I can't wait."

They talked for quite a while and Noah managed to answer several questions his grandmother posed, before he got a chance to speak with his grandfather. When he finished talking to him, Noah handed the phone to Elliot.

Elliot was thrilled to chat with his now legal grandparents again. He was also very happy that they were pleased it had been his idea to incorporate their family name into his as well. In fact, it earned him a few extra brownie points, which he quickly added to when he told them he couldn't wait to see them both again too.

Once Elliot finished speaking with his grandparents, he passed the phone to Danny, who spoke with Brandon's parents for a few minutes as well. Once he was done, he gave the phone back to Brandon, so he could say good-bye to his mom and dad and tell them he was looking forward to seeing them at Thanksgiving.

While Danny and Brandon were finishing up the call, Elliot was eagerly filling Noah in about their Grandpa Pat and Grandma Brenda. I think both boys were gleefully anticipating spending the holidays with them and I think Noah was anxious to meet them as well.

On Tuesday, we returned to our normal schedules again, but this time it was my week to pick the boys up after practice. Since Jesse had his car, he took Noah and Elliot to school with him in the morning, which removed that burden from Brandon. As usual, I was free to do whatever I wanted until the afternoon, when it came time to pick them up. I drove to the middle school to pick Noah up first, since his practice generally ended before Elliot and Hayden were done. Once I had Noah in the car with me, I drove over to the high school to fetch the other pair.

They hadn't come out by the time we got there, so we decided to go in and watch them for a few minutes, until they were done. Noah told me he usually just waited in the car with Hayden's mother when she picked the others up. He also added that he usually had to wait in front of the middle school a little longer than he did for me, before she showed up as well. I asked him if that was a problem for him, and he assured me it wasn't, so I didn't pursue this topic further.

When we arrived at the pool, the team was huddled around their coach, so we didn't get an opportunity to see them practice at all. After their little meeting broke up, Elliot and Hayden went to the locker room to shower and change, so Noah and I just waited at poolside for them to come back out. After we dropped Hayden off at his house, we continued on to our place.

During dinner, I told everyone that Jake and I were going away on Friday. I explained that since Andrew's twenty-first birthday is next Monday, Jake and I were driving to his campus so we could celebrate his birthday with him this weekend. Jesse immediately stated that he wanted to come with us, since Andrew and he have always been close. As soon as we agreed to let him join us, Elliot announced that he also wanted to go and then Noah said he did too. Since I didn't want to answer for their dads, I looked over at Danny and Brandon, to see what they thought.

"We have to work," Danny stated. "Well, Brandon only works until noon on Saturday, but it's up to you."

"If you don't mind, then Jake and I are willing to take them with us," I agreed, which sent the three boys into a mini celebration. "I know Andrew will probably be happy to spend time with Jesse and Elliot again, and it will give him a chance to get to know Noah too."

Seeing Brandon and Danny had agreed to this, I told the boys they had to pack a bag for the weekend and not wait until the last minute to do so. I wanted them to be ready to leave Friday night, as soon as Jake got home from work, and insisted that the Suburban was to be fully loaded before he got here. I warned them that if they weren't ready on time, I'd leave the stragglers behind.

Hearing this, they agreed they'd be packed before Jake got home from work, and then they raced off to their rooms. I suspect they did this to get an early start on keeping that promise.

On Wednesday morning, I got the boys up and saw them off to school. After they left, I got busy making phone calls and finalizing the arrangements for our weekend trip. First, I called Andrew, to make certain he didn't have other plans for either Saturday or Sunday. Once he agreed that he didn't, I told him we'd be arriving Friday night, so we could spend a little extra time together. It would also allow us to spend all of Saturday celebrating his birthday with him and then we'd stick around for part of Sunday too.

Andrew seemed pleased we were coming, but he was even happier when I informed him that Jake and I were bringing the boys with us as well. Suddenly, he was not only thrilled that we'd be there, but he was also pleased that he'd be able to spend time with Jesse and see Elliot again. On top of that, he also admitted that he was looking forward to meeting Noah as well.

After I finished speaking with him, I called and reserved two rooms at a motel where we had stayed before, and then I began packing the things Jake and I would need for this trip. When I'd finished and felt that everything had been taken care of, I started going about my normal weekday tasks. What I wasn't aware of yet, was that today was not a normal day.

Unbeknownst to me, the divers finished their practice early, due to a problem with the platform, so Elliot told Hayden that he was going to walk over to the middle school and meet up with Noah. He said he'd wait for me to pick him up there and then they'd come over to the high school to get him. Once he finished explaining all of this, he left the pool area and went to change.

A short time later, when Elliot was approaching the middle school, he spotted Noah sitting in front of the building with some of the other soccer players. Obviously, his team had finished practice earlier than normal too, so they were all waiting in front of the building for their parents to pick them up.

As he got closer, Elliot noticed there was a bigger kid standing next to Noah and quickly assumed he must be one of Noah's teammate's older brothers. As he focused in on them, Elliot started to become concerned. It appeared the larger boy was picking on his brother and Noah looked as if he was on the verge of tears. Elliot quickened his pace and then broke into a full sprint when he saw the larger boy reach out and shove Noah.

Elliot was slightly taken aback as he approached his little brother. The bully was not only nearly twice Noah's size, but he was also larger and heavier than Elliot as well. Despite this disadvantage, Elliot raced up and shoved the other boy away.

"Don't push my brother, you jerk. He's not even half your size," Elliot admonished, before leaning down to check on Noah.

"Noah are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes. Can we please just go home?" he wondered, without looking up to meet his brother's gaze.

Hearing this, Elliot quickly grabbed Noah's arm and helped him up. Once Noah was on his feet, Elliot put his arm around Noah's shoulder and they began to walk away. Elliot thought it might be wiser if he took Noah over to the high school now and wait for me to arrive there. It also meant this minor incident would have ended then and there, except the bully had to open his big mouth and stir things up again.

"That's right, just take you're little boyfriend and run away," he taunted. "Go back to your Pride meeting with the rest of the Currie queers."

Elliot stopped dead in his tracks after he heard the boy say this. After a momentary pause, he leaned down and whispered in Noah's ear.

"You go stand by the building and stay where I can see you," Elliot urged him. "Just wait there and don't get involved in whatever happens next. Do you understand?"

"But…" Noah began to protest in response.

Since Elliot didn't want to argue this point, he hushed his brother by putting a finger over Noah's lips. Once Noah got the hint, Elliot sent him on his way. When he was sure Noah was where he'd directed him to go and was going to follow his instructions, Elliot turned and walked back to face the bully again.

"Would you mind repeating that for me, because I don't think you have the balls to say it to my face?" he challenged.

Hearing Elliot's retort, the bully let loose with a barrage of insults about Noah, Elliot and our family in general, but Elliot simply stood there and let the bully rant on. During this time, Elliot allowed the slurs to bounce off of him, like raindrops off a slicker on a stormy day, but at the same time a subtle change in his demeanor began to occur. Although it didn't appear that anyone else even noticed this new development, Elliot's jaw, neck and arms started to tense up, indicating at least some of these insults were beginning to get to him. Slowly, any of the previous indications that had once showed he might be feeling a shred of kindness toward the aggressor now seemed to drain from Elliot's face and eyes. Instead, he began to stare at the bully with a steely, cold determination.

For their part, Noah's teammates were just as shocked by what they were witnessing. They were all fairly good kids, so most of them had never seen or heard anything like this before. Even the bully's brother looked embarrassed by the scene unfolding before him.

After a couple of minutes of carrying on this way, the bully finally grew tired of Elliot's lack of response and made his next move. Unfortunately for him, this turned out to be a huge mistake. Frustrated, the aggressor stepped forward and took a swing at Elliot. This, however, was something Elliot had been anticipating and played right into his hands. In fact, it was precisely the opening he'd been waiting for.

Elliot easily blocked the larger boys right hook with his left arm then followed through by bringing the palm of his right hand into contact with his opponent's nose. He followed this with a rapid succession of blows from his right elbow, which smashed into the side of the bully's face. Now that the larger boy was totally disoriented and bleeding rather badly from his nostrils, Elliot reached up, grabbed him by the shirt, near his shoulders, and drew him closer. As soon as the boy was in range, Elliot lifted his knee and buried it in the larger boy's groin. This dropped the bully to the ground, in a pathetic heap.

What had just transpired wasn't elegant – in fact it was rather brutal, but it had been effective and was over in a matter of seconds. The bully's face was now a mass of blood and tears, as Elliot bent down and whispered in his ear.

"The next time you have something to say about the Currie queers, I want you to think about this and ask yourself if it's worth getting your ass kicked again."

This was all too much for Noah! While watching the confrontation, he had been scared to death that Elliot was going to get hurt, so the second he saw the fight had ended, he raced over to his protector. Without caring what anyone else thought, he wrapped his arms tightly around Elliot's waist. He was crying as he did this, but his tears were quickly absorbed by his big brother's shirt.

As Elliot looked around at Noah's teammates, he noticed their quivering lips and teary eyes. This made him begin to feel badly. He had definitely lost his cool in front of these little boys and managed to scare them half to death. As the anger began to ebb out of his body, he started to look at his former opponent with pity. This caused him to kneel down and reach into his gym bag, in search of something. When the bully's little brother saw Elliot make this sudden and unexpected move, he hurriedly spoke up, in a soft, yet raspy, voice.

"Please don't hurt my brother anymore," he pleaded. "I know he shouldn't have been picking on Noah or said that stuff about you guys, and he shouldn't have tried to hit you either, but please just leave him alone."

This comment struck Elliot like a knife in the gut and caused him to feel ashamed about what he'd just done. Yes, the other boy had started it, but Elliot began to feel that he'd overreacted and responded inappropriately. He'd reacted with devastating force and that was probably more than what the situation had called for. Slowly, he pulled a tee shirt out of his bag and handed it to his vanquished opponent.

"Here, use this to clean your face," he suggested. "I'm sorry I kept hitting you like that."

Elliot then offered his hand to the larger boy, to help him up. The bully looked reluctantly at it for a moment, but after a brief delay he took Elliot's hand and pulled himself back to his feet.

"I'm sorry too. I apologize for what I said to you and your brother," he stated, in a whispered breath.

As this was happening, I pulled up in the Suburban. Since I didn't expect to find Elliot here and because it looked as if something was terribly wrong, I started to grow a bit apprehensive. I noticed one boy was bleeding, and apparently crying too, yet I had no indication as to what had transpired. When I saw Noah's face was tear-streaked as well, I got out of the driver's seat and walked directly toward Elliot. I hoped he could tell me if there was a problem.

"What's going on?" I wanted to know.

Elliot looked at me and I could immediately tell he had been involved in this somehow. The expression on his face indicated he was definitely ashamed about something, but I still had no idea what.

"I'm sorry. I overreacted when this guy started picking on Noah and saying crap about our family," Elliot confessed. "I hit him a few times and then I kneed him in the balls. I feel bad that I did it now, but he made me really mad and I just reacted."

After Elliot told me this, I quickly asked who this other boy was. Before Elliot could answer, the boy's brother spoke up and filled me in about their names and also went on to give me his perspective about what had happened. Once I heard his version of the events, he also informed me they were waiting for their mother to pick them up. When I learned this, I decided we would wait for her to arrive as well, so we could clear this matter up.

The boys' mother pulled up a couple of minutes later, and when she saw her older son, she got out of her car and rushed over to him. Before I could say anything to the woman, her younger son began blurting out the story about what had happened again.

"Bobby started picking on one of the boys on my team and said some really mean things about him and his family, so his brother ended up kicking Bobby's butt," the little brother began. "Bobby totally asked for it too, and he even tried to hit the other boy first, so you can't be mad at him for what he did to Bobby."

His mother seemed to freeze in place when she heard this news. Then, she looked at her older son, before glancing over at Elliot and me. I quickly confirmed what she'd been told and apologized for what Elliot had done. I then had Elliot apologize to both her and her son too, but she seemed preoccupied, as if she had something else on her mind. Instead of reacting to what we'd said, she asked her younger son to tell her exactly what his brother had said and he eagerly repeated everything he could remember.

"No, we should be apologizing to you for what he did," she stated. "He knows better than to spout that kind of garbage or to do anything that would start trouble. I'm very ashamed of him. He not only deserved the beating your son gave him, but he'll probably get another from his father, when my husband gets home from work."

After I corrected her and explained that Elliot and Noah were my grandsons, I tried to tell her that I didn't feel any further punishment would be necessary. I felt that what Elliot had done to him should serve as a sufficient deterrent, but she didn't agree. She was adamant that her older son would be dealt with again, since he knew very well that her husband and she didn't allow or tolerate that kind of behavior. I didn't argue with her further, because I was certain Elliot would be having a similar conversation with his dads when they got home from work. The only difference was, I knew Elliot wouldn't be getting a beating for what he did.

Before I forgot, I hurriedly called Trey on his cell phone next. Luckily, he was still grading papers at school, so I asked if he'd run over to the pool before he left. He quickly agreed he would pick Hayden up and then drop him off at home, so I herded Noah and Elliot into the Suburban. Neither boy said anything on the drive home, not to me or to each other. However, I was mildly surprised by what happened when we reached the house. The second Noah got out of his seat he rushed up to Elliot and wrapped his arms around his waist. In fact, he was hugging Eliot so tightly that I thought he might squeeze his big brother to death.

"Thanks for saving me. I was really scared and don't know what I would have done if you hadn't showed up," Noah stated, sincerely.

"I'm glad I did and I won't ever let anyone hurt you," Elliot croaked out. His voice was a little shaky, because he was overcome by Noah's emotional outburst.

I was touched by the sentiment between the two brothers, but I knew Elliot would still have to be punished for what he'd done. Fighting was just not an acceptable way to solve your problems. It might have been different if he'd handled this solely as a defensive confrontation and merely blocked the other boy's attack while protecting Noah. We might have even been willing to overlook him landing a blow or two, as he sought to stop the aggressor, but Elliot didn't end it there. In fact, he really did a number on this kid and was very fortunate he hadn't done more permanent damage to him.

Realizing he was in trouble, Elliot slunk past me and went up to his room. He knew he'd done something wrong and looked like a condemned man waiting for his dads to come home and pass sentence.

The house was pretty quiet until dinnertime. Once we were all sitting down at the table though, things began to get interesting. None of us had said anything to Danny or Brandon about what had happened earlier, but I'm positive they could tell something was wrong just from the looks on Elliot and Noah's faces.

"So how did your days go?" Brandon asked.

Neither boy answered right away and looked sheepishly at their fathers. After a few moments, Elliot swallowed hard and began to speak.

"I screwed up big time today," he admitted. "I beat the crap out of another kid when I went over to meet Noah after practice."

"He only did it because the boy was picking on me," Noah blurted out. "Elliot was just trying to make him stop."

"Hold on a second," Danny urged. "I think we need to slow down and back up a bit."

Danny and Brandon now looked between the two boys and studied their faces.

"Elliot, why were you at the middle school in the first place," Danny asked, "and what happened that made you hit another kid?"

"I got done with practice early, so I walked over to meet up with Noah," he began. "When I got there, I saw this older boy picking on him. You know, he was saying a bunch of crap and pushing Noah around. When I saw this, I went over, stepped in and told him to keep his hands off my brother. Then I helped Noah up and we started to walk away.

"When we did," Elliot continued, "the guy started shouting a bunch of crap at us. He said we were Currie queers and told us to run off to our Pride meeting. I didn't hit him for that, but I did walk back and challenged him to say it to my face. When he did, I still didn't react, not until he threw a punch at me. After I blocked his swing, I hit him in the nose and then a few more times in the head, but I didn't stop there either. Even though he was all bloody and crying, I pulled him toward me and kneed him in the balls too."

"The boy on my soccer team even admitted that his brother started it, not Elliot," Noah chirped in, coming to his brother's defense again.

"I heard his brother say that too, but Elliot knows he could have handled the situation quite differently," I stated. "His martial arts training should have taught him that it is designed for defensive purposes, but Elliot chose to use it as an offensive weapon."

"Yeah, but I bet the shit-head won't say anything like that about our family again," Jesse offered, as he slapped Elliot on the back.

Elliot seemed embarrassed by the attention he'd just gotten from Jesse and ashamed of himself for what he'd done, so he just stared down at his plate. After I'd heard Jesse's comment, I flashed him a stern glare in response. He quickly got my message and ended his contribution to the discussion.

"Okay, we'll talk about this in more detail after we finish our meal," Danny advised Elliot.

I think Danny suggested this because he needed some time to think about how he should handle the situation, but I also believe he wanted us to finish our meal while it was still warm. Unfortunately, it didn't work out as he had hoped. First of all, I think most of us had suddenly lost our appetite – that is everyone except for Jesse.

The rest of dinner seemed to drag on forever, because it now felt like we were sharing the final meal with an inmate on death row. I'm not sure how the others fared, but I was finding it difficult to chew and swallow my food, because my mouth had dried up and there was very little saliva to aid in the digestive process.

After we finally got up from the table, Danny and Brandon asked me to join them when they spoke to Elliot in the family room. The other boys wanted to go in with us, but we told them it wouldn't be necessary and this was something we needed to do in private. I explained I was only invited because I had talked to both the boy and his mother, but then Noah began to complain that he had talked to them too. Although I agreed this was true, I explained that I could relay the information they had given us, so we wouldn't need his input. He wasn't happy about being left out, since he had actually also witnessed what had transpired, but he realized this was a losing battle and ended his protest.

Once we were alone, Danny, Brandon and Elliot sat on the sofa, while I chose to sit in the rocking chair. Elliot was looking down at the rug and acting as if he was facing a military tribunal.

"Elliot, do you know why we're upset about this?" Danny asked.

"Yes sir. I shouldn't have hit him like that," he admitted. "Maybe once, after I blocked his punch, but I shouldn't have finished him off like I did. I treated him like he was a mugger, when he was just a playground punk."

"Look, we're very pleased and even proud that you stood up for your little brother, but we don't want you to end up becoming a bully yourself. We also don't want you to find out you now have a target on your back that others will focus on, because they think you're abusing others too," Brandon told him, in a more conciliatory tone.

"I know," Elliot agreed, without going into detail.

"You have to realize that since there are people who find being gay morally objectionable, or even repulsive, it is in our best interest that we conduct ourselves in a manner that will give them little to find fault with. Many of the most vocal groups tend to overreact concerning things we do, even if they wouldn't say anything about others who had reacted in a similar manner. This is because they would love to derail our family's attempts to enlighten the community about our situation," Danny continued. "Due to their bias, many of these people either tend to misread what we do or even intentionally misinterpret it, so they can use it to their advantage. That's why it's so important that we don't do anything that gives them fuel to add to their fires."

"I didn't think about anything like that at the time," Elliot confessed.

"That much is obvious, but now we have to determine an appropriate punishment for what you did," Danny stated. "Dad, I think we should keep him from doing anything extra for a while, so how would you feel if we began by making him stay home this weekend, instead of going with you to see Andrew?"

When Elliot heard this, his eyes bulged open.

"That's your call and I don't want to sway your decision," I replied. "I leave that entirely up to Brandon and you."

"Dad Danny, can't you punish me some other way?" Elliot pleaded. "I'm really looking forward to visiting Andrew and I'd hate to miss his birthday or mess up everyone's plans just because I screwed up and acted like a jerk."

"Your not being there won't ruin Andrew's birthday and the others will be more than able to help him celebrate it without you," Brandon challenged. "Dad and Pop have things planned, and Jesse and Noah will be there for Andrew as well."

"I know, but Jesse and Noah are expecting me to go with them. I don't want to screw up the trip or cause them not to have a good time, just because I got grounded," Elliot whined.

"Well, I doubt they will allow that to happen," Danny challenged.

"Please," he pleaded again. "Can't you punish me some other way?"

Danny and Brandon looked at each other, as they considered his proposal.

"What would you suggest then?" Danny countered.

"I don't know," Elliot replied. "Couldn't you just ground me or not allow me to stay at Hayden's overnight or maybe just not let him stay here with me for a while. Anything, but please let me go with Papa this weekend. I was just getting close to Andrew before he left for college and I don't want him to think I didn't want to be there for his birthday when everyone else is going."

Danny and Brandon looked at each other and then at me. Since I wasn't about to say anything in front of Elliot, I merely shrugged my shoulders.

"I tell you what," Danny offered. "Give us some time to talk this over a little more and then we'll get back to you about it. This doesn't mean we're going to let you go on the trip, but we will consider what you've said, as well as think about other possible punishments."

"Yes, sir," Elliot replied, less than enthusiastically.

He did look somewhat relieved by their willingness to reconsider their position, but it was obvious he wasn't totally satisfied. Reluctantly, he slunk out of the family room and shut the door behind him, as his fathers requested. Once he was gone, Brandon looked at me and spoke.

"Help us out here, Dad," he began. "We're new at this and could use your expertise. We know we should punish him, but we also want to be fair. After all, this only happened because he was defending his brother."

"I know and I feel badly about disciplining him for this too," I admitted. "The only thing is, we can't allow him to think he can handle his problems by fighting. He's had training the other kids haven't and that makes him dangerous if he doesn't learn to control his temper. This incident kind of reminded me of the fiasco in the courtroom, when he tried to attack his dad's killers."

"I thought about that too," Danny confirmed. "What do you think we should do?"

"If it were up to me, I would ground Elliot for the rest of the month. That will give him nearly four weeks to think about what he did," I suggested. "Even though I know this will kind of punish Hayden too, I think you also have to make sure the grounding includes not allowing him to sleepover at Hayden's or permitting Hayden to stay with us either. I'll also tell Jesse that he's not to fool around with Elliot during this time as well, although I'm not sure they have been doing anything like that as of late. It's because I'd already asked them to cool it for a while, so we wouldn't risk Noah seeing or hearing anything he shouldn't."

"So you think that will be enough?" Brandon pressed.

"I do," I confirmed. "You know how close Hayden and Elliot have become, so going a few weeks without being able to hang out with him, except at school, plus restricting his other activities should be a pretty sober reminder for him the next time he is about to lose his cool."

"Okay, then that's what we'll tell him," Danny agreed.

Danny and Brandon got up and left the room at that moment, so they could advise Elliot about their decision. He was happy to learn he'd be able to go visit Andrew with us this weekend, but he was totally bummed out that he was going to be grounded for nearly an entire month. Not only that, but he didn't realize his dads were going to stop him from spending time with Hayden too. When he made his suggestion, he'd thought they'd do one of those things, not all of them, so he ended up going to bed that night with mixed emotions. He was pleased that his fathers had changed their minds, while at the same time feeling miserable about his new punishment.

Noah had his first home soccer game on Thursday and we all planned to attend. He'd had a couple of away games before this and his team had won one game and lost the other, but this would be the first time any of us had seen him play. I know we are all excited about watching him, but I'm not sure if any of us understands how Noah feels about us being here today. For all we know, our presence may make him nervous or it might even embarrass him, having so many in the crowd screaming his name. It may also be that he is indifferent and doesn't care if we are here or not. We just hope he is glad we showed up to cheer him on.

Joshie and I got to the athletic field first and found a place to sit in the bleachers. Brandon showed up about fifteen minutes after we did and Danny pulled into the parking lot a short time later. I'm not exactly sure when Jesse arrived, because he didn't come sit with us right away. Instead, he stood off to one side of the bleachers and chatted with a group of other young men first. By the time I spotted him, the rest of us had been there for a quite a while, but he still didn't come over to sit with us until just prior to the opening kickoff.

Before this happened, the rest of us spent our time watching Noah's team warm up. They were the only ones there for quite some time, because the other team's bus hadn't arrived yet. Incredibly, the home team had been going through their drills for about twenty or thirty minutes, before the other team got here. The referee went out to meet the visitors and hurry them along, and he only allowed them a limited amount of time to warm up, after they made their way down to the pitch.

You may be wondering why I referred to the athletic field this way, so I'll explain. Having followed some of the older boys when they'd played soccer, I'd learned that the playing area is called the soccer pitch. This is the term we've borrowed from the Brits, since they are more passionate about the game and have played it much longer than we have. Seeing there are still a lot of people who aren't as involved or familiar with this game, they tend to call it a soccer field, but active spectators and participants don't typically refer to it that way. In fact, for the rest of the world this sport is referred to as football, not soccer, but by the time the sport began to gain popularity in this country, we already had a game we called football.

When the visiting team was finally ready to play, the two teams lined up for the starting kickoff. When they did, I quickly noticed that Noah was playing the right midfielder (or halfback) position. The midfielders are basically the only players who are actively involved in both the offensive and defensive play, so they end up doing a great deal of running during the contest. Since I didn't previously know Noah played this position, I hadn't asked how he felt about being continually on the go. I certainly hope he's in shape and up for constantly being on the move. I know Elliot likes to run, but I wasn't so sure about Noah.

Once the game started, I was quite impressed with Noah's play. Not only did he have fairly good footwork and passing skills, but he also seemed to have a good general feel for soccer tactics and an astute awareness of where his teammates and the defenders were on the field. Due to this fact, he delivered a couple of very nice passes to his forwards and later made an excellent crossing pass, which another of his teammates was able to redirect into the goal. It was a very impressive assist and we all cheered when it happened.

As we were clapping and yelling enthusiastically to acknowledge the play, I saw Noah look up and give us a grin. It was obvious he was pleased by how excited we were about his accomplishment. I think this also answered any earlier questions we might have had, when we wondered how he felt about us being here.

Noah's team ended up winning the match, 2 – 1, and after the coach dismissed them, he raced over to join us.

"I'm glad you were all here," he gushed. "Thank you for coming to see me play."

"Trust me, it was our pleasure," Brandon responded. "We were very impressed watching you in action."

"So you think I did okay?" Noah wondered, showing he was a little insecure about his skills.

"Okay? We thought you were excellent," Danny answered. "Brandon and I both played soccer on the school teams too, so we can tell when someone knows what they're doing and has a good feel the game. We were very impressed watching you play today."

Noah was beaming from ear-to-ear.

"You made a couple of very nice passes," I added, "but that assist was outstanding. You're an absolute natural out there. I take it you don't mind having to run so much?"

"Nah, it's not bad at all," he replied.

"Then maybe you might want to start going out with Elliot some morning," I suggested. "He likes to go running too and he went out a lot with Hayden last year."

"Really?" Noah wondered.

"Yep, and I go out with them sometimes too," Jesse added. "Maybe we can all go out and run together next time."

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Noah confirmed.

After we finished our little chat with Noah, Brandon excused himself and left, so he could go over to the high school to pick Elliot up after his practice. Danny, on the other hand, told Noah he'd wait around for him to clean up and change first, and then he'd take him home. Of course, I took Joshie with me, but since Jesse has his own car now, he went home alone.

I don't believe driving four vehicles to the same soccer match would ever be considered green. However, seeing we were all coming from different places and at slightly different times, I'm not sure how we could have arranged it differently. I know we'll eliminate one vehicle, once Brandon and Danny are both working at the health center, but seeing Jesse is already near the middle school, it wouldn't really make sense or save any gas by having him drive home first, just so he could ride down with Joshie and me.

Once we sat down for dinner, Noah shared some other interesting news with us.

"Most of the boys on my soccer team heard about what happened the other day after practice," he began, "when Elliot had the fight with that other boy."

"And what did they have to say about it?" Danny asked, obviously concerned about the implications.

"Some of the guys said they've had trouble with that boy before too," Noah admitted, "but s few of my teammates wanted to know where Elliot learned to fight like that."

"And what did you tell them?" Danny followed.

"I said I thought he took karate or something," Noah answered.

"Has anyone made any mean or bad comments about what happened that day?" I asked next.

I felt it would be wise to see if there might be some negative repercussions from this incident.

"Not really," Noah replied, "and the boy's brother has been a lot nicer to me since it happened. He even told me his father whipped his brother's butt with a belt when he got home that night."

When I heard this, I just hoped his father didn't go overboard doing this and that nothing else will arise out of this incident.

"So was anything else said?" Brandon pressed.

"Well, some of the boys have joked about it," Noah answered. "They go around telling the other boys that they've got to be careful not to mess with me when Elliot is around, unless they want to get their asses kicked."

Elliot and Jesse almost spit out their food and drink when they heard Noah say this. I don't know if it was due to fact of what he'd told us or because he'd said the word ass, instead of using butt or something else in front of the rest of us. I think I, and the other adults at the table, found his comment slightly amusing.

After dinner, Jesse filled Elliot in about what he'd missed by not seeing Noah play, so Elliot told Noah he hoped he'd be able to watch one of his games soon. Noah thought it was great that Elliot wanted to watch him play too, so he walked around with his chest all puffed out for the rest of the evening.

On Friday, after I picked the boys up from practice, we hurried home and loaded our bags into the Suburban. I had Jake's things packed with mine, so we just needed to wait for him to show up, shower and change. He'd told me the previous evening that he'd try to leave work early, so we could get a head start, but unfortunately that's not how it worked out.

Jake didn't arrive until around 5:45 and still had to jump into the shower and change first, before we could be on our way. We were finally ready to hit the road about half an hour later and I offered to drive, since Jake had been behind the wheel for most of the day. He happily accepted my offer and we set out for Andrew's campus. We arrived there just before 8:30 and discovered him waiting for us in front of his dorm. It appeared he was really anxious for us to get here.

"What took you so long? I'm starving," he stated, in a fairly loud voice, as we pulled up next to him.

"Sorry, it was my fault," Jake offered. "I couldn't break away from work early like I'd planned, so we got a late start."

"It's okay and I'm not really mad," he clarified. "It's just that I'm really hungry and that makes me grouchy. Can we go eat now?"

The boys laughed at the way he'd said this, but Andrew ignored them and hopped into the backseat. I also let him pick out the restaurant we'd go to tonight, so we ended up at an Italian establishment.

After looking at the menus, we ordered a variety of dishes and then shared them with each other. We had pizza, gnocchi, spaghetti, rigatoni, Eggplant Parmesan, lasagna, Veal Scallopini and Fettuccine Alfredo. To say the least, we were stuffed by the time we left there.

Now that we'd filled our bellies, we were going to take Andrew back to his dorm, but he asked if he could stay at the motel with us instead. He said he wanted to spend more time with the other boys, since he hadn't seen Jesse or Elliot for over a month and had just met Noah. Seeing I had reserved two rooms – one for Jake and me and another for the boys, I agreed this arrangement would be fine. I did manage to pull Andrew aside first, to let him know that Noah was not aware of or involved in any of the sexual escapades. After hearing this, he assured me it wouldn't be a problem and stated that he merely wanted to spend the night with the others.

From what he said later, I guess Noah got more than an eyeful of manly flesh that evening, as the boys stripped down in the room, before they went in to shower. It didn't seem to bother him, although he did make a comment the next day about Jesse's huge dick. However, since he'd been taking showers with the other boys on his soccer team after practice, he wasn't freaked out or anything.

Elliot told me Noah spent a considerable amount of time gawking at Jesse and Andrew's groins though. It also led Noah to ask Andrew why his penis looked different from everyone else's dick, so Andrew had to explain to him about the difference between being circumcised and uncircumcised.

Elliot slept with Noah, so Andrew could spend the night with Jesse. I think Noah was very happy with this arrangement, since he had slept with his brother before and felt comfortable with him. I have a feeling it also helped to ensure that he enjoyed a good night's sleep, especially since Elliot told his fathers and me that he'd cuddled with Noah the entire time.

The next morning, after getting up and going out for breakfast, Andrew wanted to show Elliot and Noah around a bit. The rest of us had been here with him before and had seen most of the campus, but since the other pair hadn't been with us, we decided to do it again. It wasn't a big deal, so Jesse, Jake and I went with them as Andrew pointed out many areas of interest to the younger pair. I thought it was good for Elliot and Noah to see what college life was like and how the students seemed to be happy and carefree. I hoped it might get them excited about attending college when the time comes.

As we made our way around the campus, I was a bit surprised when Elliot announced that he wanted to attend the University of Pennsylvania one day. He said that's where his father had gone, so he wanted to go there too. Since neither his dads nor I had ever heard him voice this ambition before, I thought I should comment.

"That's an Ivy League university and a tough school to get into," I informed him. "I'm not saying you can't do it, but it will require you to keep your grades up throughout high school, if you hope to get accepted."

"That's okay," he answered. "I'll work as hard as I have to, but that's where I want to go."

Clearly, this was important to him and a very worthwhile goal. I also made a mental note to speak with Danny and Brandon about this when we got back, so we could all encourage him to continue to pursue this lofty objective.

After we spent an hour or more on this tour with Andrew, I asked him if there was anyplace special he'd like to go next. I told him that I'd like to take him shopping, so he could pick out some items he really wanted for his birthday. After thinking about this briefly, he told me he could use some new clothes, but then he also said he'd like to get a couple of things for his dorm room too. Happily, I agreed this would be fine.

After asking him where he'd like to go to get these items, we took him out shopping. We went to Old Navy first, where he picked out several garments, and then we went over to Office Max and Target after that, where he selected the things he either needed or wanted for his dorm room.

On our way around the store, we passed by the Electronics Department and I noticed the televisions were tuned in to the 'tenth anniversary of 9/11' ceremony. It had kind of slipped my mind that today was September 11, so Jake and I talk briefly with the boys about what happened that day and how it affected our lives and the country. Even though Noah and Elliot had been fairly young when it happened, they'd still seen many programs on that terrible day and were able to contribute to the discussion.

When we were done with that, I got my next surprise. I was somewhat amazed when Jesse and Elliot chipped in and bought Andrew a gift too. First of all, I didn't know they were planning to do this, and second, I wasn't aware they even had any money on them. If doing this wasn't special enough, when they gave Andrew their gift they told him it was from the three of them. This means they included Noah in on the gift too, even though he hadn't been able to contribute monetarily. I know Noah picked up on this fact too and I'm sure he later thanked Elliot and Jesse for doing it for him.

Later that evening, we took Andrew out for his birthday dinner, but this time I insisted he select a nice steakhouse. Once again, Noah was a little reluctant to order anything, since he felt it was all too expensive, but we eventually encouraged him to order a strip steak. I had to describe how they were cooked, so he could determine how to have his steak done, and he ended up choosing it be cooked medium-well. I also let him take a bite of my medium-rare fillet later, to see if maybe he might adjust not only his steak choice, but also how he wanted it prepared, for future outings.

We all had a very lovely meal and each of us thoroughly enjoyed our steaks. Once we had finished the main course, I encouraged Andrew to select his own birthday dessert, rather than merely settle for whatever freebie the house gave out to those celebrating this special event. I think he appreciated everything we did for him to make his birthday special.

Andrew stayed with us at the motel again that evening, but this time he convinced Noah to share a bed with him. Although doing this put the two smaller guys in one bed and left the two larger ones in the other, I don't think anyone minded. Elliot and Jesse were used to sleeping with each other and Noah thought it was really special that Andrew wanted to spend the night with him.

We all showered at the motel the next morning, but Andrew wasn't able to get dressed there. We had to drop him off at his dorm, so he could change into another outfit. When we got there, the boys helped him carry everything we'd bought him the previous day up to his room, which they all got to see for the first time. After he finished putting on clean clothes, we then went over to the campus chapel for services. When the sermon ended, we took Andrew out to brunch and then back to his dorm. We said goodbye to him when we got there and wished him a happy birthday again, before the rest of us started the trip back home.

We'd had a nice time with Andrew, but we were all a little exhausted by the time we arrived at the house. Once we'd unloaded the Suburban and unpacked our bags, Danny, Brandon and I urged the boys to get their homework done next, before it got too late. They all grumbled a bit and said they wanted to wait a while first, but we insisted they get it done now or else we wouldn't allow them to go on any other trips when school is in session. Since they didn't want this to happen, they did as we asked and were finished with their assignments before dinner.

After we had eaten, the boys lay around and watched TV for the rest of the night. Before they went to bed, they admitted they were glad we made them do their homework earlier, because it had been nice to relax and take it easy after dinner. We merely told them they needed to remember this the next time they objected to doing what we told them.

On Monday, we all got back into the normal swing of things again. Before the boys left for school, I reminded Jesse that it was his week to pick Noah, Elliot and Hayden up after their practices and he said he remembered it was his turn. Since that had been cleared up, I told the boys I'd see them again at dinner and then they headed out the door.

True to his word, Jesse brought Elliot and Noah home later, after he'd dropped Hayden off at his place. It was nice for me to not have to do it this week, since I had a lot of laundry to catch up on. We'd been gone all weekend, so I'd fallen behind on my chores.

During dinner, Danny and Brandon asked the boys about their day and wanted to know if they had anything special lined up for the rest of the week. This was when Noah told them he had a game after school the following day and an away game on Saturday. After hearing this, Danny and Brandon asked Elliot when he had a meet and he advised them his first meet wasn't for another week. He would be competing for the first time next Tuesday. Once we had gathered this information, the rest of the evening was fairly quiet.

The next afternoon, we all went to watch Noah's next home soccer match. When he saw us in the bleachers this time, he was all smiles and seemed pleased we were there. I would even go as far as to say that he was proud his family had shown up to support him. I think he's beginning to appreciate how close-knit our family is and that we go out of our way to support each other.

As it turned out, it was another exciting game and Noah played very well again. This time, however, the biggest play he made was when he stopped the other team from scoring on a corner kick. The ball was kicked to an area in front of the goalmouth, but was almost immediately deflected away from where most of the players were located. After rolling untouched for a few seconds, it came to rest in a dangerous location, where it could have easily been kicked past our goalkeeper by one of the opponents.

When Noah saw the ball in this vulnerable position, he reacted quickly and streaked across the gap. He was intent on making sure he reached it first, before someone from the other team could get to it. He not only booted the ball out to midfield, but he was also able to get it to one of his own team's players, who dribbled it toward the other goal. Although they didn't score on the play, it still made a tremendous difference. If the other team had been able to cash in on that opportunity, it would have tied the score. Instead, Noah's quick thinking and skillful play helped to secure a 1 – 0 victory for his team.

When the game ended, and after his coach had dismissed them, Noah jogged over to where we were waiting for him. We expected he would be thrilled about the outcome of the game, but his demeanor showed he wasn't happy at all.

"Smile, you just won," Jesse teased, as he got closer.

"Yeah, but I didn't score or have an assist this time," he whined.

"But that was one hell of a defensive play you made," Brandon remarked. "If the other team had scored when the ball was rolling around loose in front of your goal, then the game would have ended in a tie."

"Yes, I was very impressed with how quickly you spotted what a dangerous situation that was and then reacted to it," Danny added.

"Not only did you boot it away," I continued, "but you even got it to someone on your team, so the momentum shifted when your team put pressure on the other keeper. I think that's what made your defensive play even more impressive."

Noah tried to downplay his accomplishment and even attempted to convince us that if he hadn't gotten to it, then one of his teammates would have instead. To tell you the truth, I thought his humbleness and modesty were endearing.

"Maybe, but they didn't and you did," Danny countered. "No matter what you think, that was one fantastic defensive play."

Noah was suddenly all smiles and no longer worried that he hadn't scored or had an assist. We had finally been able to get him to realize that good defensive play is just as valuable as scoring or making an assist.

During dinner, Noah reminded us that he had an away game on Saturday. After hearing what school they'd be playing, we realized it wasn't too far away, so we all began thinking about attending. There was only one problem – Elliot was still grounded and this created a minor problem for his fathers. They felt one of them would have to stay behind to make sure Elliot didn't take advantage of them being away.

When Dion and Trey heard us talking about this, they suggested a solution. Since I had already asked if I could take Joshie with me, they offered to keep an eye on Elliot until the rest of us got back. This meant neither Danny or Brandon would have to stay behind with Elliot. Since Danny didn't have to work this weekend, Brandon said he'd have his receptionist rearrange his appointments, so he would be able to go watch Noah play too. They enthusiastically thanked Dion and Trey for offering to do this and even promised to repay their generosity by doing something for them in the future. Danny and Brandon were thrilled with how this had worked out, but Elliot did not share their enthusiasm. He had been secretly hoping he'd be able to go watch Noah play too.

Jesse was kind of torn at this point and felt he was caught between a rock and a hard place. He wanted to go watch Noah play too, but then he thought he should stay and keep Elliot company instead. After he mentioned his dilemma to Elliot, Jesse was quickly told that he didn't need to stay home and baby sit for him. Elliot informed Jesse it wasn't his fault that he couldn't go, so he shouldn't end up having to share in the punishment. After they finished their conversation, Jesse came out and let me know he would be going with us as well.

Elliot was still depressed about not being able to watch Noah play, so I went to talk to Danny and Brandon about the situation. I felt that since Elliot didn't have practice on Saturday, this might be the only game he would be able to attend, so I suggested they might want to give Elliot an option. They could give him the choice of going to watch Noah play this Saturday, if he was willing to agree to an alternative punishment to compensate for this privilege.

Danny and Brandon were willing to consider my proposal, but admitted they didn't know what other punishment they might suggest instead. Seeing they were stumped, the three of us put our heads together to come up with something suitable. After discussing some other possibilities, Brandon came up with a potential solution. He said that if I were willing to teach Elliot how to do the laundry, then they would be willing to let Elliot go with us, if he was willing to be responsible for doing that chore when we got home on Saturday, as well as on Sunday. Brandon said that he thought I deserved a break, since I do so much around the house, and this would give me one. When I agreed this would be acceptable, we went to speak with Elliot.

"Elliot, we know you'd like to watch your brother play on Saturday, so we're going to give you a choice," Danny told him. "We'll let you go with us, but you'll have to do something else as punishment to make up for this privilege. Are you willing to agree to something like that?"

"Yeah, but what would I have to do?" he wondered.

"If you agree to this, then you'll have to do the laundry this weekend, then we'll allow you to go," Brandon informed him, "but we'll leave it up to you."

"But I don't know how to do laundry," Elliot insisted.

"Papa has agreed to teach you," Brandon countered.

"So I just have to put the dirty clothes in the washing machine and then move them to the dryer?" Elliot wondered.

"Not exactly," I answered for them. "Once the garments are dry, then you have to fold each item or put it on a hanger before it gets wrinkled. Then you'll have to take each person's belongings and place them in his room, like I do when I do the laundry."

"And you'll help?" Elliot followed.

"I'll show you what you need to do and help you decide which items belong to whom," I replied, "but you'll have to do all of the work."

Elliot didn't look as if he was really eager to do this, but since he wanted to see Noah play, he finally relented.

"Okay, I'll do it," he sighed, in resignation. "I guess it's worth it, if I can go to my brother's game."

Noah and Jesse were also excited when they heard about this arrangement and even offered to help Elliot do the laundry. That's when we had to step in and say that wouldn't be acceptable. Elliot would have to do the laundry by himself, seeing it was his punishment, or the deal was off. Reluctantly, the three boys agreed to our stipulation.

Joshie's birthday was on Wednesday, so after he woke up and came downstairs, we all made a big deal about this being his special day. We decided to do this now, because Dion had agreed to let Shelly have Joshie stay overnight with her and her parents. She'd asked Dion if he would allow this so they could celebrate Joshie's birthday with him tonight, since we weren't having Joshie's party until the weekend. After Dion agreed this would be fine, he packed a bag with a few items so Joshie would have some play clothes and another school outfit for the next day. He then slipped the bag into the trunk of their car before they left for school, so he'd have everything with him when he dropped Joshie off with his mother on the way home.

The situation with the other boys seems to have calmed down recently, at least now that his dads have agreed to allow Elliot to attend Noah's next game. It isn't that they are letting Elliot off the hook, but since it might be the only time he'll be able to see Noah play, his dads have decided to make this exception. However, Elliot had to agree to an alternate punishment to earn this privilege.

As usual, Jesse drives the boys to school every morning, but it is also his week to pick them up from their practices each afternoon. This means that except for when the boys have a game or a meet, I am hardly involved with them at all during this period.

With so many other things going on, I've been trying to do whatever I can to make things easier for everyone else. Although I'm not sure if the trivial matters I'm taking care of actually relieves the others of any significant burdens, I don't know what else I can do for them. I've tried to think of different ways I can assist them, but I keep coming up empty. I wish the boys would just tell me if there is something more I can do to help.

One thing that will be changing is that this is Danny's last week working full-time at the hospital. He has been advertising the opening of his new practice for about a month now, in much the same way that Brandon had done with his dental office, and he'll begin working there on Monday. The following weekend, he will start his new shift at the hospital, but I hope he doesn't have to do this for very long. I don't want him working seven consecutive days every week, even if he is basically only working part-time Monday through Friday. He's still going to be there for eight hours a day.

Unfortunately, his final week at the hospital has turned out to be very hard on Danny, because he's been putting in extremely long hours. After finishing his twelve-hour shift in the E.R. during the day, he comes home, eats dinner with the rest of us and then goes to the health center to make certain things are getting set up for Monday's opening. Brandon went with him the first night, but since there wasn't a great deal he could do to help, he's stayed home the following evenings and spent his time with the boys instead.

I even offered to help Danny set up his new office, but he quickly assured me that I'd have the same problem Brandon had. He pointed out that they have to do this themselves, because they know where each item should go and they have to be certain everything is where it needs to be. I feel badly that I can't do more to assist him with this process, but I do understand what he is telling me.

This pace kept up until the weekend, when we got a little breather. Saturday morning, we ended up leaving the house early, so we could go to Noah's game. Brandon had to take Noah down to the school first, so he could ride on the bus with his team, but Brandon assured him the rest of us would be coming to see him play.

We all rode together in the Suburban this time and arrived at the other school well before the 9:00 kickoff time. Elliot was thrilled he had been allowed to come with us and was now totally glued to the action. In fact, I'm not sure if he ever took his eyes off of Noah throughout the entire time, from the warm-up period and throughout the match. I believe he was watching his brother even more closely than Noah had paid attention to him, when he went to watch Elliot dive.

It turned out to be another exciting game, even if it was still scoreless at the end of the first half. However, early in the second half one of Noah's teammates scored a goal and then about ten minutes later, Noah scored off a corner kick. The right wing on Noah's team took the corner kick and managed to send the ball just short of the goalmouth. One of the boys on the other team tried to head it away, but the ball didn't end up going very far. This allowed several other individuals from both teams to briefly come into contact with the ball, and after it bounced off yet another boy, Noah was able to get a foot on it next. He made solid contact with the ball and sent it flying toward the goal. The ball glanced off the left upright and, fortunately, skidded off the post and glided into the net for a goal.

Noah was grinning from ear-to-ear as his teammates congratulated him, but I noticed he was also looking around so he could see our reaction too. I believe he wanted to make sure we had seen what he'd just done and that we appreciated his effort. He looked thrilled when he saw we were standing, clapping and cheering for him, and it turned out that Noah's goal was the last time anyone scored in this game. When the final whistle blew, his team won the game, 2 – 0.

Since Noah was required to ride back on the bus with his team, the rest of us hopped into the Suburban and headed home. When we got there, we quickly discovered that some of Joshie's friends had already arrived for his party. Earlier in the week, Dion had invited all of the children from Joshie's first grade class, so there were kids running all over the place. I could immediately tell that Dion and Trey were overwhelmed and needed a hand getting things organized, so I asked Jesse to drive to the middle school to pick Noah up for us. Once he agreed, the rest of us took a couple of minutes to unwind a bit first, before we jumped in to do what we could to help make Joshie's sixth birthday party a success.

Shortly after Jesse arrived home with Noah, Dion realized he had forgotten something and asked Jesse if he'd be willing to run to the store and pick it up for him. Jesse quickly agreed and Noah asked Jesse if he could go with him. Jesse told him he would have to ask his dads for permission to do this, so Noah ran over to find one of them. He located Brandon first and got permission to go, and when Elliot overheard their conversation, he wanted to be able to join them. He hurriedly asked Brandon if he could go too, but his dad was quick to remind him that he was grounded and, therefore, wouldn't be allowed to do this. Elliot appeared to be pouting as he walked away, but he looked absolutely dejected as he watched the other pair drive off.

While Jake and I fired up and manned the grills, to get the food started, Danny and Brandon helped to bring the other items out of the house. Once the boys got back from the store, Jesse and Noah helped to organize a kickball game and played in the field for both teams, since there weren't enough children who wanted to play. All of the boys from Joshie's class were anxious to join in, but only a few of the girls wanted to participate. Most of the girls had either worn a dress or had on a nice pair of shoes, so they decided they would just watch, since they didn't want to mess up either item.

Those who played in the game seemed to have fun, but Joshie was a little disappointed that he didn't do as well this time, as compared to the games he'd played with the family. Since his friends didn't know that his cousins and uncles took it easy on him, Joshie's friends threw the ball to get him out, instead of missing him intentionally. This meant that Joshie ended up making a couple of outs, which seemed to surprise him. He still did very well, but it was kind of a rude wake-up call for him to learn that he had feet of clay on his birthday.

We fed the kids hot dogs and hamburgers after their game ended, along with potato chips, pretzels and soda, before we let them top it off with cake and ice cream. Dion had made sure to let the other parents know this party was for Joshie to have fun with his friends and not to accumulate presents, which meant gifts were not required. In this regard, the party was a huge success.

Once the last of the parents had picked up their children, Joshie went to find his fathers. He had a question that had been bugging him all day, but he'd waited until after his party had ended to ask it.

"It's my birthday, so when will my brother be coming here to live with us?" he asked, very directly.

Dion and Trey immediately understood why he was asking this question. It was due to the way they had answered him previously. They had told Joshie that his new brother wouldn't be coming home until a month after he had his next birthday and that is a difficult concept for someone Joshie's age to comprehend. At least now they'll be able to give him a more understandable response.

"Joshie, it's still going to be a few weeks until he gets here," Dion began. "Wyatt is still in his mommy's tummy, but when he comes out, we'll be bringing him home a day or two later."

"How many days?" Joshie pressed.

"It's hard to say, but maybe twenty-five," Dion told him.

Dion then flashed his fingers to indicate how many days this would be. He put up all of his fingers on both hands twice and then one more time with just one hand. Joshie frowned.

"That's too many," he insisted.

"It may be, but there's nothing we can do to make it happen any sooner," Dion reasoned. "I'm afraid you'll just have to wait."

Joshie seemed disappointed, but he knew it wouldn't do any good to argue. He tried that the last time and it had done nothing to speed things up.

The rest of the weekend passed quietly, although Elliot continued to sulk. He was upset that he hadn't been allowed to ride to the store with Jesse and Noah, plus he hadn't been permitted to play in the kickball game with the rest of the boys either. His options had been greatly limited throughout the weekend because of the grounding, which meant he definitely wasn't a happy camper.

As he set about doing the laundry, which he had agreed to do so he could go to Noah's game, Elliot acted as if we were treating him like Cinderella. Picking up on this fact, the rest of us decided to play along. Since I had been the one chosen to instruct him on how to do this chore, as we didn't want him to ruin any of our clothing, I pretended to be the wicked stepmother. Joining in on this illusion, Danny and Brandon took on the personas of the ugly stepsisters. We were having a good time mockingly ragging on Elliot, the same way those characters would have done with Cinderella, but we also thought we were being funny. Elliot, however, definitely didn't find our antics amusing, but he continued doing his job.

We made it through the rest of the weekend and Elliot managed to hold up his end of the compromise. I think in the end Elliot was satisfied with the deal he'd made, even though at times he had begun to question whether it had been worth it. By the time the boys left for school on Monday, things were pretty much back to normal.

That evening at dinner, Elliot reminded us that he had a swim meet the following night, which instantly caused a problem. This problem didn't involve any of the adults, but it did affect Noah. After learning about the meet, Noah quickly began to complain that he wanted to watch Elliot too, but he had practice after school and wouldn't be able to attend. We discussed this situation further and I told him that Elliot's meet wouldn't start as early as his practice, since Elliot's team would have to wait for the other squad to arrive first. This, in turn, meant that Noah should still be able to get to the high school in time to see most of it.

After digesting this information, Noah didn't seem totally convinced this was going to work out, so I promised him that one of us would hurry over to pick him up, just as soon as he finished his practice. I explained that by doing this he should get to the meet in time to see Elliot do his optional dives, although he might miss one or possibly all of Elliot's required dives. Although this option wasn't perfect, it did seem to placate Noah slightly, but he still insisted that he'd prefer seeing his brother do all of his dives.

The following afternoon, the rest of us got to the high school pool before the competition got underway. I kept a close eye on my watch during the early portion of the meet, so I would know when it was time to leave so I could pick Noah up. I'd offered to do this so his dads would be able to stick around and not miss any of Elliot's dives. Even though some of the races were held first, the diving still got underway before it was time for me to make my run to the Middle School.

Since we've never had a diver in the family before, some of what we saw was confusing. Even being able to follow the rules governing the diving competition was a bit of an education for us. I think I understood it a little better than Elliot's fathers, since I typically watched the diving events during the summer Olympics and have seen many more of those competitions than either Danny or Brandon. I hope you'll bear with me as I try to explain this to you, the same way as I did for them.

Each diver has to do three required dives, which are designed to showcase his mechanical skills. After each dive is completed, every judge gives the diver a score, between one (lowest) and ten (highest), to signify how well he performed the dive. The highest and lowest judges' scores are then dropped and the remaining scores are added together. This total is then multiplied by the degree of difficulty factor for that particular dive, which is rated between 1.0 and 3.9. Dives with difficulty levels of 1.0 to 1.9 are the easiest dives, difficulty levels of 2.0 to 2.9 are in the mid-range, while those rated 3.0 to 3.9 are the most difficult to execute.

The degree of difficulty for each dive is pre-determined by the governing organization and standardized (into charts) for all competitions. The result of the multiplication process then determines the diver's final score for that dive. In the end, the scores from each of his dives are added together to establish the diver's grand total and final ranking among the various competitors.

Even before Elliot had a chance to make his first dive, Brandon began to get anxious. It all began when he noticed how high the platform was and I saw his face grow pale. Shortly after that, he started to panic.

"Wow, that's pretty high," Brandon commented, nervously. "Do you think it's safe for Elliot to do this?"

I smiled when he made this comment, because I realized he was putting himself in Elliot's place. Elliot had confided in us that he's afraid of heights and Brandon could empathize with him, because he suffers from acrophobia too. Elliot insists he's able to block his fear out when he dives, but I'm not so sure his father will be able to do the same. Instead, Brandon is reacting as if he is the one up on that platform, instead of his son.

When I looked over at Brandon again, to see how he was holding up, I noticed Joshie was gripping his uncle's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. I could only think of how this was another instance of role reversal, as my grandson did his best to reassure his uncle and help him get through this.

When it was finally Elliot's turn, he performed very well and appeared to execute his dive with grace and agility. I was only able to watch him complete the first of his required dives, a back dive pike, but then I had to leave before he did the inward dive pike, so I could keep my promise to Noah.

True to my word, I left the pool at the time I thought Noah would be finished with his practice and drove over to the Middle School. I had barely pulled up in front of the building when I saw him come shooting outside. He raced over to the Suburban, jumped inside and quickly buckled up.

"Come on. Let's get moving," he urged.

I could only chuckle at his behavior, but did as he requested. A short time later, I was pulling into a parking space back at the high school and Noah was urging me to hurry up, so we didn't miss anything.

We walked very quickly, in fact it was almost a jog, and arrived at the pool before Elliot had completed the last of his required dives, a forward one and a half somersault. Noah and I quickly took our seats, but Noah was sitting on the edge of his, as he watched his brother prepare to make this dive.

Elliot did a nice job and executed the dive very well. Not only was he graceful when he did the somersault, but there was very little splash as he entered the water. I think we were all impressed, but I don't believe any of us were cheering for him as loudly as Noah.

Once the required dives were completed, the competitors began to prepare to do their optional dives. These are the more complex and visually spectacular dives that each diver uses to showcase his particular strengths and overall talent. For his first two optional dives, Elliot performed a forward 2.5 somersault pike and a reverse 1.5 somersault tuck. Again, he performed them well, but we soon discovered both of these dives are only in the mid-range of difficulty, at 2.6 and 2.1 respectively. Even though he'd executed these dives fairly well, when the judges' scores were multiplied by the difficulty factor, his total score did not place him on the leader-board. This was because some of his competitors had scored better on their dives, so he didn't currently rank as one of the top three in total score.

Noah was cheering very loudly after Elliot completed each dive, but I'm not sure if Elliot could tell who was making all of the noise. The way Elliot kept glancing over at us, I suspected he was either slightly embarrassed by how loudly we were cheering for him or a little nervous about having to perform these dives in front of us. After all, this was the first time we've come to one of his competitions. I thought he might have even selected the easier dives to do this time, so he would have a better chance of performing well today, because he didn't wish to mess up and embarrass himself in front of the family.

When it was time for Elliot to do his final dive, his coach approached him for a quick pep talk. Although we couldn't hear what was being said, we could see Elliot shake his head emphatically. Then, after a few more words from his coach, he reluctantly nodded in agreement and waited for the competitor ahead of him to complete his dive.

About that time, the coach looked up and spotted us in the front row, so he came over to chat. The coach knew me from when I was superintendent, but he's also familiar with Danny and Brandon, since they'd both been in his P.E. class at one time or another. It didn't take long before we were all involved in a conversation about Elliot, as we waited for him to do his final dive.

"Coach, what were you and Elliot discussing, before he went over to do this dive?" Danny asked.

"Elliot has played it rather cautiously with his first two optional dives and that's hurting his overall score," he answered. "He's a better diver than what he's showed so far, so I told him to relax and try one of the more difficult dives that he's been working on in practice. He's never done this one in a meet yet, but I feel he's capable, so this should be pretty interesting."

After saying this, the coach excused himself to rejoin the team. As he was walking away, we observed Elliot begin to climb to the top of the platform. This time he appeared to be more nervous and the expression on his face suggested that possibly either his fear of heights or the difficult level of the dive might be affecting him this time.

Once Elliot was standing on the platform, he slowly approached the edge and then began to kneel down.

"Is he doing that because he's scared?" Noah asked.

"He probably is a little scared," I agreed, "but I don't believe it's why he's bending down. I think it probably has something to do with his next dive."

No sooner had I said this then Elliot leaned forward and began to push himself into a handstand at the very edge of the platform. I didn't even know he could do a handstand on the ground, let alone so high up in the air. The crowd grew quiet and the only sounds you could hear were the water slapping against the pool tiles and the gasps from a few of the mothers in the crowd as they watched what Elliot was doing. I took a quick glance at Brandon and discovered he was desperately clinging to Danny and Joshie at this point, as he tried to determine if he could watch this dive or if he would have to turn away.

We all held our breath as Elliot's arms began to tremble slightly as he lowered his body ever so slowly. Then, he pushed away from the platform and began the dive. His takeoff wasn't perfect, but the triple somersault and his seamless entry into the water were breathtaking. As Elliot came out of the water, a huge smile appeared on his face when he heard the heartfelt round of applause that greeted him.

It was at this point that we learned the dive was referred to as an armstand back 3 somersault pike. When the judges' scores were multiplied by the 3.5-degree of difficulty, the resulting total greatly boosted his overall score. Even though his team didn't win the meet, Elliot was awarded a bronze medal for his effort.

Now that the meet had finally ended and the awards had been presented, we waited in the bleachers for Elliot to shower. When he eventually emerged from the locker room, his damp hair, jeans and sweatshirt were a strange contrast to the shiny, bronze medal he still wore proudly around his neck. He blushed when we cheered and patted him on the back, but he made sure we each got a chance to inspect his medal.

"That was incredible," Noah told him. "I don't care if you didn't get the highest score today, you're still the best to me and I'm really glad you're my brother."

I think those two have formed their own mutual admiration society and the rest of us are thrilled that they have grown so close. Elliot later confided in us that he thought Noah's reaction had a lot to do with what happened with the bully and how he'd protected him, but I disagreed. I believe Noah's strong feelings for him had begun long before that incident took place.

I had seen Noah following Elliot around for quite a few weeks prior to the run-in at the middle school and Noah had also consciously chosen to go to Elliot for help each time he had a problem. He had sought Elliot out so he could speak to him about his initial reluctance to shower with the other boys on his team and it was Elliot who had explained to him why some of the other boys were more developed than he was. Elliot was also the one whom Noah went to when he had another problem and Elliot ended up explaining about erections to him too. I believe all of these previous encounters have added up to explain why they now have such a close bond. In fact, I don't think it could be any stronger, even if they had grown up in the same household.

While I had been thinking about their situation, some of the others had been praising Elliot.

"That was awesome, son," Danny told him, "but you scared your dad to death though."

"Awww. You don't have to worry about me," Elliot replied.

"I wasn't talking about me," Danny laughed. "I don't think your other dad took a breath until you finally climbed out of the pool."

All eyes were now focused on Brandon.

"Okay, I'll admit it. I got nervous just watching you climb up the ladder," Brandon offered, as he put his arm around Elliot's shoulder. "I'm certainly glad I didn't close my eyes though, because those dives were impressive and the last one was absolutely spectacular."

"Thanks, Dad," Elliot smiled. "I was nervous too and had to concentrate like crazy just to keep from thinking about the height."

"That last dive was way cool," Noah gushed, as he moved even closer to his brother. "I couldn't believe you could do that. It's so high and then you had to stand on your hands too."

"Awww, thank you," Elliot replied. "It was a little scary, but I've been practicing really hard so I could use it in a meet."

It was nice to see such a happy smile on Elliot's face again, especially after watching him mope around the house these past few weeks. We were all very proud of him and even Hayden and his parents came over to tell Elliot how impressed they were with his last dive. I think this made Elliot's smile grow even wider.

The rest of the evening was pretty quiet, except for everyone talking about how impressive Elliot's final dive had been. Jesse was somewhat speechless after first witnessing that dive, but he finally began to praise Elliot for what he'd done, and Noah also continued going on and on about how great his brother had done. The boys were still pretty wound up when they went to bed, so I'm not sure how long it took before they finally fell asleep.

Elliot was still pretty keyed up when he came down to breakfast the next morning. This was due to the fact that he was fairly positive that some of the other students would be talking about his final dive, since quiet a few of them had also been there watching the meet. If you remember, I've told you before that I thought Elliot was a passive attention seeker, so now he was reveling in the anticipated attention he felt he was going to attract at school.

When everyone arrived home later on Wednesday, I was very surprised that it wasn't Elliot who came home all excited. Although he had received considerable attention from his schoolmates about his final dive, it turned out that one of his fathers showed up even more excited than he was. As soon as Danny walked through the door, he immediately let us know that he had something he wanted to share with the rest of us. Surprisingly, he hadn't even taken time to fill Brandon in about this first, but he eagerly told us about his day as we began to eat.

"I was working at my office… well, I didn't have a patient or anything at the time, but the obstetrician from across the hall came over to speak with me," he began. "He told me that he'd just learned that a pediatrician he knew had recently passed away – more precisely, the man had suffered a coronary the previous day.

"As it turns out," Danny continued, "that pediatrician's office is only about five miles from the health center and the two of them had several patients in common. The obstetrician dealt with the mothers, while the pediatrician took care of their children. To make a long story short, the obstetrician wants me to go with him to the funeral home tomorrow night. He says he'll introduce me to the man's widow, so I can give her my business card."

"Danny, it might be a little too soon to approach her right now," I advised him.

"That's what I thought, but my friend says if I don't do it then someone else will," Danny replied. "He said there are probably others who will be eager to take advantage of this situation and will offer to buy his patient list before I have a chance to. He insists it's imperative that I act now, if I want a shot at acquiring those patients."

"But she's just lost her husband," I reiterated.

"I know and losing her husband must be difficult, but his patients are still going to need a doctor," he responded. "I'm just going to give her my card and tell her that I'm interested in helping her husband's patients. I'll also tell her I'm willing to pay her for her husband's patient list and records too. I'll be very sensitive about her situation and will try not to do anything to upset her. It's just that my obstetrician friend has convinced me that I just can't afford to pass up this opportunity."

"I hope you know what you're doing then," I warned.

I was still skeptical about his plans, but I had stated my objections, so now it was up to him as to how he was going to proceed. Nothing more was said about it, either that night or the next morning, but I was interested in seeing what he was going to do. He'd had all day to think about it and consider the various viewpoints.

After dinner that evening, Danny left to meet up with his obstetrician friend, so they could ride to the funeral home together. It wasn't a very long ride, but Danny spent his time trying to make certain he had decided on the best way to handle this meeting. By the time they got there, he hoped he was going about this the right way.

After walking up to view the body in the casket, Danny and the obstetrician walked over to the receiving line.

"I'm not sure if you remember me," the obstetrician told the widow, "but you're husband and I were colleagues. Although we had different specialties, we had collaborated on a couple of cases, since I'd handled the births and he was going to take care of the children once they'd been born."

"Thank you so much for coming," she replied. "I'm not sure I recall ever meeting you, but if you dealt with my husband, then I'm certain Oscar felt you were a very good man."

"Thank you. It is very kind of you to say that," the obstetrician replied. "This is a good friend of mine, Daniel Currie. He's opening a pediatric office in the same building where I just started my new practice."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Currie," she said, while extending her hand. "Did you know my husband too?"

"No, ma'am, but since we're in the same field, I came to pay my respects," Danny answered.

"That's very thoughtful of you," she stated.

"I know this isn't a very good time for you, but since your husband's patients are going to need someone to take care of them," Danny began, "I just wanted to let you know I'm interested in doing that. I'll be happy to pay you for your husband's patient lists and records, so I can fill the void his passing has created. Even if you're not interested, I'm still glad I came to offer my sincerest condolences."

"I thank you for coming and I appreciate your offer. It's something I might be willing to discuss with you further, once everything settles down a little," she agreed.

"That would be wonderful. Let me give you my business card then," Danny stated, as he pulled one out of his pocket. "Just call me any time. My office phone number is on the card and I've written my cell number on the back, so you can also reach me at home."

After this exchange, the two men moved on so the others waiting to speak with her could. When he told me about their conversation, I thought he'd done quite well in broaching the subject with her. Now, I just hope it also brings him some business.

On Friday, Elliot had another swim meet, but this one was away. It was also a lengthy drive to get there, so we informed him that we were sorry, but we wouldn't be able to attend this meet. He said he understood and it was fine, but I promised him I would go to at least one of his away meets, as soon as there was one that wasn't too far from home. He seemed to be fine with the situation.

Elliot didn't arrive home until quite late Friday night, but he still took time to tell us he'd done fairly well, but he hadn't won a medal this time. We advised him we didn't expect him to win one each time he had a meet, but we were still proud of him either way. He seemed satisfied with our response.

Saturday morning, I was feeding the troops breakfast when Danny came bursting into the kitchen to find me.

"I just got a call from the wife of the pediatrician whose calling hours I went to the other night," he announced. "She told me she was interested in my offer to take care of her husband's patients and wants to talk to me about this further. She informed me she's going to be moving to another state in the very near future and staying with one of her children, rather than remaining in the area and living alone. Before she does that, she said she'd feel better if she knew for sure that her husband's patients are going to be taken care of."

I think we all knew where this was going, but we eagerly listened as Danny continued on.

"She asked me if I'd be willing to meet at her husband's former office in an hour to see what I'd be getting into. She also advised me that her husband's staff would meet us there, so if we reached an agreement they'll help pack up all of his medical files so I can take them to my office. If this works out, then I'll have my staff start calling his patients on Monday and inform them I'll be taking over the practice."

"Impressive," I agreed. "I was obviously wrong when I suggested you shouldn't go to the funeral home and confront her so soon after her husband's death. I'm glad you didn't listen to me, because I'm probably more sensitive and conservative about such things than you younger guys. I'm just pleased it appears to be working in your favor."

"Thanks, Dad," Danny replied, "but do you think I can borrow the Suburban to do this? I'll be able to get a lot more in it than in my car."

"Yes, of course," I told him. "Would you like me to go with you to help?"

"No, Brandon and I should be able to handle it," he replied.

"But don't you have to go in to work at the hospital today?" I wondered.

"Yes, but not until this afternoon," he replied. "We should be able to get everything done before then and I'll still have time to come back here to clean up and change first."

"All right, but don't try to do too much," I warned him. "Remember, you now have two boys that are depending on you."

"I know, Dad, and I'm doing this for them, as much as for Brandon and me," he clarified. "By building my practice, I'll have enough money coming in to support them the way I should and have more time to spend with them by not having to work at the hospital too. That's why I kind of jumped on this as quickly as I did, even though you weren't in favor of what I was planning to do."

"I'm actually glad you did now," I confirmed. "Here are the keys to the Suburban and I'll keep an eye on the boys while you're gone. Just give me a call if you need anything."

"I will and here are the keys to my car, just in case something happens where you'll need a vehicle," Danny said, as he handed me his keys in return.

Brandon and Danny left a few minutes later and I silently prayed that most of the other pediatrician's patients would agree to transfer to Danny's care now. If they do, it might give him enough patients so he can give up his weekend job at the hospital much sooner than anticipated. It would be much easier on him and give me some peace of mind, but it would also allow Danny a chance to spend his evenings and weekends with his lover and sons. I think that would be a major advantage for all of us.

When Danny and Brandon arrived back home later, Danny had to hurry to get ready to go to the hospital, so Brandon filled Jake and me in about what they'd done. He told us that after Danny had looked everything over, he and the widow negotiated a price and Danny wrote her a check for the files. Danny and he then moved quite a few boxes filled with patient records to the Suburban and took them over to his new office. Danny will ask his receptionist and one of his nurses to start calling the patients next week and advise them of the change.

It may not be much, but it is another step toward a new future for him. I only pray that everything works out just fine.

When Danny's receptionist and nurse began contacting the families of the children whose records he had purchased, most of the parents weren't ready to blindly commit themselves to a new pediatrician. Quite a few of them said they would be willing to give it a try and see how their children liked him first, since his office wasn't too far away from their old pediatrician's office. That, however, was as far as they were willing to commit at the present time. Danny's nurse and receptionist assured them this would be fine, so some of the parents even set up appointments for their children to have physicals, so they could test the waters. This way, they and their children would be able to meet Danny and decide if this was what they wanted to do.

As Danny put it later, this would be the same as going through an interview process with each new patient he hoped to gain. Regardless of this fact, he still felt it would be worth it in the end, even if only half of the patients decided to come with him. That would give him a lot more patients than he currently has.

During the week, Noah had another soccer match and Elliot had two meets. We attended Noah's game and one of Elliot's meets, and each of them did very well. We didn't attend Elliot's other meet, because it was at another location that is quite far away. In fact, since this meet was being held on Friday evening, Elliot's team was even going to stay there overnight because of the travel distance.

Even though this meet was taking place so far away, we still feel badly when we miss any of the boys' activities. Although we feel guilty about not being there to support them, the boys seem to take these minor setbacks in stride and refuse to let it bother them. I'm certainly glad they don't get all emotional whenever we can't make it to one of these events.

In between these sport outings, I received some unrelated, yet very important news. Frankie's troop commander called to invite the family to the award ceremony being held to honor Frankie's actions. It is scheduled to take place next Saturday at 2:00, outside of the Troop M Barracks, weather permitting. If the weather is inclement, then the ceremony will simply be moved indoors.

I called and told the rest of the family about this event, since I felt some of them might want to attend as well. I also advised them not to worry if they couldn't make it, because we understood that not everyone would be able to fit this into their schedules. In order to make them feel a little better about it if they couldn't attend, I informed them that I would be taking my video-recorder with me, so they could view the events of the day later, at their convenience. I also let them know that I felt the news stations might cover this ceremony as well, so there is a chance they might be able to watch at least part of the proceedings on TV. The only thing I'm not sure of is if the coverage will only be regional or if it will be shared with a broader market.

All of us at home are planning to go to the ceremony, except for Danny and Brandon. Danny is working at the hospital on the weekend and Brandon has appointments until noon on Saturday. He was considering rescheduling them, but then he had second thoughts about doing this. Since he's rescheduled appointments a few times before, so he could see the boys' sporting events, he didn't want to irritate any of his patients and possibly lose their business by doing it again. For that reason, he opted to stay home as well. He did, however, give me permission to take Elliot and Noah with us, if Jake and I were agreeable. Danny and he were willing to lift Elliot's grounding for this purpose, seeing it was nearly the end of the month anyway. Besides, they felt it might do the boys good to witness their uncle receiving this very special recognition.

When Friday came, we all loaded into the Suburban and set out for Allentown. I'd reserved rooms at the same motel we had used when we went to see Frankie in the hospital, because I wanted us to have some time with him before this event was held. We will also spend Saturday night there, so we can take Frankie out to dinner after the presentation, and then we'll return home on Sunday.

We stopped to eat on the way to Allentown, because the boys were starving, so we didn't arrive there until quite late. After checking into the motel, I called Frankie to let him know we'd made it. I also told him we were all tired and wanted to get a good night's sleep first, but we'd be happy to meet him in the morning and take him out for breakfast. He agreed that would be fine and we ended the call.

The next morning, Frankie drove over to the motel so he could direct us to a place where he liked to eat. It was a locally owned establishment, not one of those chain restaurants, and it offered an interesting selection of breakfast dishes. We all ordered something different, and from the comments I heard afterward, everyone thought the food was delicious and each of them seemed to enjoy his meal.

Once we finished, Frankie took us to a park where we could sit and talk for a while, before we headed over to the barracks. While we were talking, Frankie told us he thought people were making far too big of a deal out of what happened. He said he'd only done what he'd been trained to do and was getting paid for, so he didn't feel he should be getting special recognition for it too. He was even more uncomfortable because he'd heard rumors that some pretty important people were also going to be there today, even though he hadn't been told whom that would include. He also confided in us that he was actually beginning to feel embarrassed over the fact that they were doing all of this solely for him.

As a father should, I tried to explain to Frankie that even though he might feel a little uncomfortable from the attention he was getting, all the indicators pointed to the fact that he had probably saved many lives when he stopped that truck and confronted those individuals. I also strongly urged him to accept the idea that what had been accomplished after he derailed their plans deserves to be honored. I suggested he should be willing to accept this award to recognize the outcome, which prevented the loss of many lives, even if he didn't feel he deserved it for his actions. He finally agreed to do this and we drove over to his apartment next, so he could change into his uniform.

We arrived at the State Police barracks a little early and discovered that everything had been set up at the rear entrance to the building. Those in charge felt it would be too disruptive to hold the ceremony at the front entrance, so they moved it to the opposite side of the building. This location is very similar to the main entrance, but this way they wouldn't interfere with the primary access to the station.

The podium had been placed on the top landing, so everyone in attendance could see the speakers while they made their remarks. Chairs had been arranged across the sidewalk and lawn for the spectators, so we took seats in the front, where we could see everything, and got comfortable. Frankie, however, was required to wait inside and we were told he wouldn't come out again until he was formally introduced. Shortly after he left us, the reporters and television crews began to arrive and set up their equipment, so they would be ready to cover this event when it started.

At 2:00 sharp, the ceremony began with Captain Dalton, the troop commander, welcoming the crowd and thanking them for coming. After doing this, he introduced Colonel Frank Noonan, the Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police. Colonel Noonan began his remarks by explaining the events that took place on the day in question and followed it up by praising the actions of the young trooper who managed to prevent a major tragedy. He then called Frankie to the podium, so he could present him with a citation.

After pinning a ribbon on Frankie's uniform, he handed him a plaque that had been inscribed to recognize his accomplishment. The Commissioner then announced the awards were to honor Frankie for his role in stopping a group of domestic terrorists who had been determined to commit an act of violence on U.S. soil. He then added that the suspect, the one who had survived the gun battle after being cornered later, had actually confessed about what they'd planned. He admitted that he and his partner were heading to New York City to shoot down commercial aircraft and then they were going to open fire on the first responders and spectators, once they began to gather.

After hearing this, we were in total shock. This was the first time any of us had heard that the man who survived had confessed, so this just added weight to the fact that Frankie deserved this recognition. Even though Frankie also appeared flabbergasted by this revelation, he maintained his composure, as the Commissioner shook his hand.

As those in attendance applauded Frankie for what he'd done, I remained focused on my son. I couldn't help but think about all the lives he'd saved, not to mention how extremely handsome he looked in his uniform as he held the plaque out for all to see. I was extremely proud of what he'd accomplished, but more importantly I was in awe of the wonderful young man he's become.

Frankie was then asked to remain a few extra moments so some additional photos could be taken with him and the Commissioner. Once that had been done, Frankie stepped off to one side, as Colonel Noonan stepped back to the podium and introduced the next speaker. This time it was a representative from the Department of Homeland Security and a woman quickly emerged from building and walked briskly toward the microphone.

After introducing herself, she informed us that she had just flown in from Washington, D.C. solely for the purpose of presenting Frankie with the 'Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor' from a very grateful federal government. She explained that this award was the civilian equivalent to the military's 'Medal of Honor' and was presented for 'actions exhibiting exceptional courage, extraordinary decisiveness and presence of mind, regardless of personal safety, in an attempt to save or protect human life.'

This was obviously a great honor and Frankie received another nice round of applause as she presented this to him. Since he was so much taller than she was, Frankie had to bend at the waist so she could lift the ribbon with the medal over his head. Once he was able stand upright again, Frankie looked slightly embarrassed over this dual recognition, but I'm not certain if anyone else noticed his predicament.

After she'd presented this award, the woman from Homeland Security then offered a few observations about how Frankie's exceptional performance of duty had prevented a major disaster. She also told the audience that it was people like Frankie who kept our nation safe and will eventually lead us to victory in the war on terror.

Once she finished speaking and another round of pictures had been taken, she stepped off to the side with Frankie. When they did that, Colonel Noonan returned to the podium and informed the crowd there was one final presenter. To our complete surprise, he then introduced New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and we watched as he walked out of the building and stepped up to the podium.

Mayor Bloomberg began by thanking Frankie for his acute attention to detail while performing his duty and stated that because of Frankie's actions, New York City had been able to avoid another horrific act of violence. He went on to state that he believed the terrorist plan was to diminish the city's importance to the country and leave another scar on the psyches of all Americans. He then presented Frankie with a Key to the City and invited Frankie and our family to join him for another celebration, which would be held at Gracie Mansion at a future date.

Not only was Frankie surprised by this generous offer from Mayor Bloomberg and the additional recognition, but the rest of us were also absolutely floored by this news. Yes, Frankie had prevented a terrorist attack from taking place in New York and we understood the City officials were grateful, but to make this offer on top of everything else was truly unexpected and a bit overwhelming. Frankie had already received a citation from the State of Pennsylvania, a medal from the federal government and the Key to New York City from the Mayor, but now he was also given an invitation to attend another ceremony to honor his accomplishment. This was absolutely fantastic and more than any of us could ever have anticipated.

When this ceremony concluded and more pictures had been taken, Captain Dalton pulled Frankie aside and told him his name had been submitted for consideration to the B.C.I. Captain Dalton explained that a position had recently opened up and others in positions of authority felt that Frankie's previous military training and experience more than qualified him to have his name added to the list. They felt Frankie's actions had also proved he has a good eye for detail, which is another necessary attribute. Captain Dalton also told him that although he didn't want to lose him as one of his troopers, he was willing to make this sacrifice and let Frankie move on, because he felt it would be best for Frankie as an individual and the department as a whole.

Once they'd finished their discussion, Frankie was released to deal with the press corps. They had been waiting patiently to interview him since the ceremony first began and were now asking him questions, as their cameras and microphones recorded everything he said.

During this process, they wanted to know how Frankie had spotted the terrorists to begin with, what happened when he pulled them over, how badly he had been wounded and if those wounds were healed now, as well as how he felt about preventing the terrorist from being successful and what he thought of the honors he had received today. I thought Frankie handled the interview extremely well; he was very articulate and showed great dignity while doing this. I was not only proud of what he'd done and the recognition he's received, but I was also extremely proud of him as a person. After a shaky start, he has certainly developed into one terrific young man.

Once we were able to rescue Frankie and get him away from there, he wanted to go home and get out of his uniform. He said he'd been in it long enough and didn't need any further attention drawn to him because he was wearing it. We happily gave in to his request and took him to his apartment. It was kind of a tight squeeze with all of us being there, but it wasn't going to be for very long, because we were taking him out to eat in a couple of hours.

While we waited, the boys were eager to let Frankie know how proud they were of him too.

"Uncle Frankie, that was incredible," Elliot began. "Not only did the State Police give you an award, but so did the federal government and the mayor of New York City. I'm so proud of you and I know my friends will probably ask me questions about this, because I'm sure it's going to be all over the news."

"All the people gave things to Uncle Frankie and shook his hand," Joshie added. "He must have been a very good boy."

"Indeed, he was," Dion assured him, as the rest of us tried to stifle our humor over his comment.

"Yeah, Frankie," Jesse chimed in, "you're the family hero now. I bet nobody will badmouth the Curries after they hear about this."

"Uncle Frankie, I know I just met you," Noah added, "but I want to tell you I'm very proud that you're my uncle too."

Damn, who could improve on that?

As it neared the time for our reservation, Frankie gave us directions on how to get to the restaurant. Nearly as soon as we walked in and announced our arrival, we got an unexpected reception. Obviously, the owner or manager had recognized our name on the reservation list and connected it to events he had seen on television, so we were given the royal treatments when we arrived. After escorting us to our table, the waiter announced he had been instructed to give us our drinks, plus desserts after we finished eating, all compliments of the house. He also informed us that the management and staff were honored that we had chosen to eat at their restaurant to celebrate Frankie's accomplishments.

I can't even begin to tell you how many people stopped by our table to offer Frankie their congratulations and thank him for doing such a wonderful job. It's a good thing he wasn't in uniform, if this many people recognized him without having it on. However, we later discovered that a couple of the employees had been actively going around the restaurant telling the other patrons about Frankie. Once their customers heard what he had done, they came over to let him know how grateful they were for the difficult, and sometimes thankless, job he was doing.

Even with the endless interruptions, we still managed to enjoy a very nice meal. I believe we were all eager, and even somewhat relieved, to get out of there when we were done eating though. I will say we can now appreciate how celebrities and politicians must feel about getting so much attention when they're out in public. Too much of a good thing can definitely end up being bad, even if it is merely too much praise and recognition.

Frankie went back to the motel with us and decided to spend the night there as well. He was afraid some of his neighbors might come over to congratulate him too, once they saw him arrive home. Therefore, he thought he'd rather avoid it, if at all possible.

Since Dion and Trey, and Jake and I had our own rooms, it meant Frankie would have to bunk in with the boys. It was quickly determined that Frankie would sleep with Noah, since he was the smallest, and Noah seemed excited to agree to this arrangement. I think it was a case of hero worship in full bloom, which meant Noah was thrilled to share a bed with the super-cop he was now related to.

The next day, we wanted to take Frankie to church with us, but he was afraid members of the congregation would recognize him and then create a scene similar to the one he had endured at the restaurant. Therefore, he merely wished to go to his place and try to remain anonymous for the rest of the day. We could all appreciate his feelings, so we honored his request and said farewell to him. Before he got in his car, which he'd left at the motel when we went to the ceremony together, I told him to take it easy and keep in touch, and then he left for his place. A short time later we did likewise, except we still had quite a lengthy drive ahead of us.

That evening, we played the video of the ceremony for Danny and Brandon and they were blown away by what they observed. They had seen snippets of the events on the news, but after viewing the entire footage, from start to finish, they were even more impressed than they had been before. In fact, Danny also commented that while he was working at the hospital earlier several of his co-workers had questioned him about what Frankie had done. They told him they had seen it on the evening news and were proud that Frankie had grown up in our small community and had gone to school here. I guess this means Frankie truly is a hometown hero.

After we'd got a good night's sleep, the next school and workweek started. I don't know how to put it, other than it was our post Frankie recognition era. I'm sure you wonder why I've stated it this way, so I'll explain. No matter where I went during the week, people were stopping me to talk about what Frankie had done, but it didn't stop there.

Danny and Brandon are also being asked questions about Frankie by their employees, patients and various doctors and nurses in the building, but they aren't the only ones. The snack bar employees and construction workers, who are putting the finishing touches on things, were asking Danny and Brandon questions about Frankie as well. Everyone seems really interested in what he did.

Dion and Trey have also been asked about this by their colleagues and students, and Jesse, Elliot and Noah all experienced similar queries from their friends and other students. In fact, the bully who had harassed Noah after practice and then had the run in with Elliot came up to Noah and told him he was impressed by what Frankie had done, so he would never let anyone say anything bad about our family again.

However, that wasn't the only fallout from Frankie's story appearing on the news. Kevin reported that his business had been affected by the news about Frankie, the week after it broke.

"Dad, loads of people have been coming in to the store and asking if the Currie Pharmacy people are related to the hero State Trooper," he informed me. "When I told them that Frankie is my brother, I suddenly had a whole bunch of new customers."

"That's fantastic," I agreed. "I just hope it lasts."

Not only did this incident impact Kevin's business, but Danny also told us that during the week his office had received a great many calls too.

"Dad, a bunch of the patients my office had contacted from the other pediatrician's files suddenly started calling back," he reported. "They told my receptionist they were calling to confirm that they'd be happy to have me as their child's pediatrician."

I thought that was fantastic as well, but isn't it funny how one event like this can affect us in so many different ways?

Not everything that was happening to the family had to do with what Frankie had done though. Elliot came home one evening and asked Jesse if he could speak to him alone, although at the time none of the rest of us knew about this clandestine request. When Jesse agreed, the boys went up to his room to talk.

"I'm not sure, but I think this guy on my swim team has been checking me out," Elliot explained, once the door had been closed.

"What makes you say that?" Jesse asked, in return.

"Like I said, I'm not sure, but I think I caught him checking out my package when I was standing near him in my Speedo," Elliot offered. "I think he's also been watching me out of the corner of his eye when we're in the shower together."

"So who is he and do you think he's gay?" Jesse wanted to know.

"His name's Ian Hill and I don't know if he's gay or not," Elliot admitted.

"So did he just start doing this?" Jesse pressed.

"Well, I thought he was checking me out when I first joined the team," Elliot replied, "but back then I felt he was only sizing me up as a teammate. When I suspected he was still doing it, I guess I just kind of dismissed it by saying it was only my imagination or it wasn't really happening. I'm just not so sure about that now, because he seems to be more obvious about it now. He doesn't even appear as if he's trying to hide what he's doing any longer and seems to be doing these things more often. Tonight when I caught him staring at my junk, he just looked up at me and smiled."

"Well, that might be a clue then," Jesse responded, with a giggle.

"Come on. Be serious!" Elliot pleaded. "I want to know what you think I should do!"

"Well, to begin with, is he cute and are you interested in him?" Jesse wondered.

"Yeah, I think he's exceptionally cute," Elliot agreed. "He has short blond hair and very pretty green eyes. He also has these adorable tiny ears, a poutty little mouth and a cute nose. I am totally interested in him.

"I have to admit that before I noticed him doing this, I was spending most of my time checking out Hayden," Elliot continued. "The thing is, I also realize I don't stand a chance with him. I guess I've never paid much attention to Ian until recently, but now I think he's even cuter than Hayden. He's probably the next cutest guy on the team, after me of course."

Elliot smirked after saying this, as he glanced up at Jesse.

"Oh, of course," Jesse teased back, "but the real question is – is he as hot as me?"

"No one's as sexy as you, Jesse," Elliot laughed, while giving Jesse a playful grope.

"But seriously, what do you think I should do?" Elliot pressed.

"Have you talked to him at all, even just casually?" Jesse asked.

"I've never said much more than hi or great race," Elliot confessed. "He's told me nice dive before or that I looked good doing a dive. Oh, and when I won my medal last week, I think his hand kind of lingered a bit when he gave me a pat on the butt in the locker room."

"He said you looked good doing a dive and not just that it was a good dive?" Jesse followed.

"I distinctly remember him telling me a couple of different times that I looked good doing a certain dive," Elliot reiterated.

"Well, I definitely think he's been hitting on you and trying to see if you might be interested," Jesse confirmed. "Next time he says something like that to you, joke around a little and see how he reacts."

"Like how?" Elliot asked.

"Just flirt back a little," Jesse advised him.

"I don't know how to do that," Elliot blushed. "I've never done it before."

"Well, if he tells you that you looked good doing a dive, tell him you look good all the time and see if he picks up on it," Jesse suggested.

"You really think I should?" Elliot wondered.

"Only if you want to find out if he's really interested in you," Jesse shot back. "I mean you don't have to do it if you don't want to, but he may say something in response to your comment that will give you a better indication about how he feels, one way or the other."

"What else?" Elliot asked.

"You could say he looks pretty good himself or tell him he's only seen the surface," Jesse offered. "Just make it something that you can explain away later, in case he isn't interested and is just being friendly."

"Yeah, but how? I've never done that either," Elliot admitted.

"For example, by saying he looks pretty good too, if he reacts badly and tries to turn it against you, you can say you just meant he looked good in his last race," Jesse explained. "If you tell him he's just seen the surface and he tries to make something out of it, you can say you meant you have other dives that he might be even more impressed with. Just leave yourself an out, in case you've misread his intentions."

"Okay, I get it now," Elliot agreed. "I think I'm going to try that next time he says something then."

"Good," Jesse agreed. "I'll be interested in seeing how this works out."

"Me too. Thanks, Jess," Elliot added, as he gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

Elliot's grounding had been almost as hard on Jesse as it had been on Elliot. They hadn't been together in weeks, so Jesse eagerly accepted the younger boy's kiss.

"Mmmm. I've missed that," Jesse groaned, "but aren't you still grounded?"

"Maybe, but my dads did say when they punished me that it would be over at the end of the month and this is the last day of September," Elliot stated.

He then began to pull Jesse's zipper down, as he gently pushed him onto the bed and tenderly groped his package. Elliot's soft touch instantly turned Jesse's cock as hard as steel and it formed a solid lump in his underwear. When Elliot unfastened the button on Jesse's jeans, Jesse's fabric covered penis exploded through the opening, in an effort to seek some relief.

As much as he loved the attention, Jesse was severely conflicted. Although he would desperately enjoy getting off, he didn't want to risk getting Elliot in trouble again and then have to go another month without this sort of contact.

"I don't know, El. Maybe we should ask first. I don't want you to get in trouble again," Jesse whispered, in a barely audible voice.

Elliot didn't answer right away. Instead, he leaned in and softly nibbled on Jesse's lower lip, before slipping his tongue into Jesse's warm, wet mouth. Elliot gently squeezed Jesse's hard cock through his now tight fitting underwear and rubbed his fingers over the head, where he felt a small wet patch expanding on the material. Elliot then momentarily broke the kiss, so he could answer Jesse's question.

"So do you want me to stop then?" he teased.

Jesse was too turned on to back away now. Instead of responding verbally, he returned Elliot's kiss, to let him know how hungry he was for the feel of his mouth. Elliot got the message and parted his lips, as he welcomed Jesse's invading tongue and massaged it with his own. While this was going on, Elliot's fingers danced up Jesse's package and teased it further, but then he suddenly shifted his attention and his hands grasped the top of Jesse's jeans. Immediately, he began to tug them down and Jesse eagerly lifted his butt up enough to allow Elliot to pull the denim past his firm backside. Elliot then scooted down between Jesse's legs and before long was pulling his jeans completely off his feet and tossing them aside.

Elliot then leaned in and kissed the soft skin on Jesse's taut belly, before he moved lower, so he could kiss the head of his cock and balls through the thin fabric covering. While doing this, he buried his face in the warm, soft skin of Jesse's thighs and allowed his own smooth cheek to rub against the hard bulge in Jesse's briefs. Elliot then turned his attention back to Jesse's testicles and began to gradually work his way higher, until he could run his tongue over the wet spot that had formed on his underwear. At this point, he hooked his thumbs into the waistband and tugged on the restrictive garment. Jesse lifted his butt again, as his underwear slid lower and his hard boyhood slapped against his belly. Moments later, Elliot pulled the briefs completely off Jesse's legs and tossed them aside too.

Elliot wasn't about to give Jesse a moment's rest. He quickly moved back into position and slowly ran his tongue over Jesse's balls and then began to suck on them individually. He followed this up by moving slightly higher, so he could kiss the base of Jesse's cock and lick his way up and down its entire length of his firm mast. Elliot used his tongue like a paintbrush and worked his magic on Jesse's sexual canvas, while making sure not to miss a spot. Then, he wrapped his lips tightly around the glistening head and gently lapped at the small opening with his tongue, before it glided around and caressed the smooth surface of the glans. After a few seconds of doing this, Elliot guided Jesse's manhood down his throat. At the same time, he reached under Jesse and began to knead his firm buns like soft dough, while he continued to pleasure him with his mouth.

Jesse was in heaven. He couldn't believe how much Elliot had improved at this since their initial encounter. When they first began, Elliot couldn't even suck him to completion, but now their sexual encounters were passionate and exciting.

Elliot also began to massage Jesse's tight opening with his finger, and as he felt him begin to tense up, he gently forced the digit into his rectum. It had the desired effect, since Jesse had been hovering on the edge. Just as Elliot hoped, this new sensation in his bottom sent Jesse over the top and he filled Elliot's mouth with his release. After Elliot cleaned him with his tongue, he moved up Jesse's body and rested his head on Jesse's chest. He then looked into Jesse's flush face and waited for him to come down from his sexual high.

"Oh my god, El. That was great!" Jesse said, breathlessly.

"I'm glad you liked it," Elliot acknowledged, while absentmindedly playing with Jesse's nipple through his tee shirt.

"Man, I'm never getting grounded again," Elliot promised. "I've become so used to being able to do this with you that I had no idea how much I would miss it. Some days I'd be watching you doing your homework and I'd have this sudden desire to jump you right there."

"Are you sure it was me you were thinking of and not Ian?" Jesse teased, with a chuckle.

"Ian's cute, but he's not as hot as you are, Jesse. You're freaking amazing," Elliot confessed.

"Awww, you're just saying that," Jesse blushed.

"Nope. You're just going to have to trust me on this one," Elliot replied, as he began to lightly stroke Jesse once more.

"Careful or you'll wake him up again," Jesse giggled.

"Would that be so bad?" Elliot asked, with a giggle of his own.

"Hell no, but dinner should be ready any minute and we don't want to be interrupted," Jesse replied.

"Good point, and I'm hungry after that workout," Elliot confessed. "What about later tonight, after the little ones go to bed?"

"It's a date!" Jesse exclaimed.

Now that this had been agreed to, Jesse put his clothes back on and they came down to join us for dinner. As he ate, Elliot was mentally looking forward to their next encounter and thankful that Jesse never held back when they had sex. He was always intimate and shared himself openly, and Elliot loved that about him. Elliot also enjoyed the sex he'd had with his cousins, Nicky and Jordan, but as willing and open as they were, they weren't nearly as uninhibited as Jesse.

After a few seconds of thinking about this, Elliot suddenly had to stifle a groan of disappoint. This happened when he remembered Jesse would be going off to college next fall and not having Jesse around would be a difficult adjustment for him to make. Eventually, Elliot's smile returned when he realized they still had several months to explore each other's bodies before this happened – including tonight.

As we slipped out of September and into October, I was intrigued by how many positive changes had recently happened for our family. First of all, after Frankie had been honored and his name had been aired in numerous news stories as a local hero, Kevin said it brought a lot of people into his pharmacy wanting to know if he was related to the hero trooper. When he confirmed that Frankie was his brother, his pharmacy's business began to increase dramatically, but this upswing hasn't trailed off.

"Dad, I suspected the increase might only be temporary, but they keep coming back," Kevin informed me. "I've even had to hire additional employees to help me deal with the additional volume in sales."

"I think that's fantastic," I confessed, "and I hope it continues."

"Yes, I've even called Jeff and told him that I'll probably need his help sooner than I'd first anticipated," Kevin continued. "After I told him this, Jeff agreed to arrange things on his end so he'll be able to move here in a month. Isn't that great?"

"Kevin, I hope you're not jumping the gun here," I cautioned. "This might not be a permanent trend."

"I thought that at first, but the people seem to act as if they feel shopping here is something they should do, to pay our family back for what we're doing to help the state and country," Kevin responded. "Several of them have even said as much, although not precisely in those words."

"I pray that you're correct in your assumption," I added.

"Dad, things will be fine," Kevin replied. "I have a strong gut feeling about this and I tend to believe what my customers have told me.

"Okay, but I just don't want you to discover in a month or two that there isn't enough work to continue supporting both Jeff and you," I relented.

"I'm sure we'll do fine," Kevin answered.

Danny and Brandon are doing much better because of Frankie's heroics as well. Not only did they acquire new patients because of the publicity the Currie name had generated, but they also now have sufficient patient bases to make a real go of it. Since neither of them had a steady income that they could depend on, other than Danny's hospital job, I think they had their doubts as to whether they were doing the right thing. That no longer seems to be the case.

Things are also going extremely well for them at the health center. All of the offices are currently operational, although some of the doctors only have office hours at that location a few days a week, but it still means Danny and Brandon are collecting rental income from them. Not only that, but the laboratory is also up and running, which is generating even more profit for the boys.

You see, once Danny was able to arrange for the additional funding and purchased the needed equipment to be installed in the lab, he hired several technicians to work there. They are currently drawing and evaluating blood work, but they are also getting set up to perform a variety of other tests as well. The new tests they are doing were culled from suggestions made by the doctors who have offices at the health center. They wanted to be able to provide these services in-house, so their patients wouldn't have to travel to an independent lab or to the hospital to have these tests performed. It also eliminates the need for those doctors to contract with expeditors to take the samples they extract in their offices to one of the external labs to be evaluated.

Danny is also considering allowing other local physicians, who don't currently have an office at the health center, to utilize the services of the laboratory too. He is willing to let them contract the service on a per use basis and this would help to ensure the technicians have enough to do during their shifts. It will also generate some additional income, which will help their bottom line.

Besides having the laboratory up and running, the operating and recovery rooms are also ready for the various doctors to use for outpatient procedures and minor surgeries. This will give them a convenient sterile environment to provide these services, which should prove to be a benefit to their patients as well.

Danny is also gradually procuring the various pieces of equipment needed for the Diagnostic and Imaging department, and so far they've installed an x-ray machine and sonogram equipment. There are still several other diagnostic apparatus Danny wants to have in there as well, such as an MRI and CT equipment, but he has to make sure the funding is in place first. In reality, this is happening a lot sooner than he first anticipated and each of the items he wants to have in there should be installed well before Jesse earns his degree in radiology.

The best part about all of this is that these recent changes have managed to eliminate my sons' fears about having taken these risks in the first place. Kevin now has a sufficient gross income to cover his expenses and enough left over to provide him with a decent salary to live on. As far as Danny and Brandon are concerned, their situation is very similar. Their practices are also starting to bring in enough money to cover their expenses and provide them with an adequate salary as well. However, if that isn't enough, they are also generating enough additional income in laboratory fees and lease agreements at the health center to cover all of the expenses to keep the facility going and still have a little left over to boot.

Since things are going so well, Danny is also ready to make another major change in his life.

"Dad, I've talked it over with Brandon and I think I'm ready to give up my weekend job at the hospital," he told me one evening. "This will give me back my weekends to spend more time with my family. I'm thrilled that I'll have this extra time to spend with my sons, but I'm also looking forward to spending a little more quality time with Brand. He's been great about it, but I know I haven't been paying as much attention to him as I should."

"Yes, those changes should work out to everyone's benefit," I agreed.

Danny's office hours will now be exactly the same as Brandon's, which means he'll basically be working nine to five during the week and nine until noon on Saturday. The biggest difference between their work schedules is that Danny will occasionally be called in for emergencies, which can occur at any hour. Brandon, on the other hand, will hardly ever be involved with emergency calls, at least not ones that fall outside of his normal business hours.

The younger boys are also keeping busy and have already started planning this year's haunted house. They are trying to see if they can incorporate some of the things they saw at the Ghostly Mansion into it, but they have discovered this is not an easy task. They've asked me to help them with a few items, but they also want me to keep Noah busy as well, so he won't see what they're doing and will be surprised when they take him through it. This isn't an easy chore either, since Noah desperately wants to be with the other pair most of the time. I've tried to assure him that he'll be glad that he gave them time to do this once he sees the results, so he's been a little better about not being a part of it.

Looking at another issue, things are getting slightly more interesting for Elliot as well. After listening to Jesse's advice, he went out of his way to talk to Ian, so he could figure out if Ian is gay and if he's interested in him. So far, they haven't done much more than compliment each other on their performance at meets, but they have had a few nice talks about school and some of their other interests. Unfortunately for Elliot, no hidden feelings or desires have yet been revealed.

Elliot has also continued to do well at his meets, possibly even better than he was doing before. These results might be influenced by a desire to impress Ian, or possibly he just wants to do well in front of the family, but his coach has told us that Elliot has shown steady improvement. The rest of us are still in the dark about Elliot's interest in Ian, because for some reason the boys haven't deemed it prudent to make us aware of the fact that Elliot might possibly have a romantic admirer on his team – at least not yet.

We have, however, started to become a little suspicious, because we've begun to notice Elliot staring at or talking to this one particular boy at his meets. He used to spend all of his time hanging around Hayden and doing most things with him, so this new trend is causing us to wonder what this current attraction is about. However, before we could delve into this situation further, we were distracted by another event.

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