"We're leaving at five o'clock day after tomorrow.  If you call for a ride, leave a note on the Rover so I don't send anyone out to look for you." Roy sighed as he watched them leave.  Chris stood beside him, waiting to see what was going to happen. "Can I help you get the tent up?" Roy asked after a few minutes. "Yeah, it's kinda hard gettin it by myself." "You'll get it next time." "Yeah," Chris acknowledged quietly, though at the moment he doubted it was true.                      ~/~/~/~/~ Johnny and Coty hiked a couple miles north through the woods, following a natural path made by pine needles.  They could hear a strange sound and Coty looked up at his father for an explanation. Johnny smiled when he figured out what they were hearing.  "Find it," he encouraged his son.  Slowly they crept forward through some thicker brush they would have otherwise avoided.  There, a few yards on the other side, was a gurgling creek and a bare area that looked to be the perfect campsite.  Coty grinned and turned in circles in the hidden little space they had found. "Okay," Johnny said dropping their tent on the ground, "now what's the first thing we do?  Do you remember?" Coty sat on the ground and pulled off his hikers and his socks, then rolled up his jeans to wade in the water. "Yep," Johnny laughed, "that's the first thing." As Johnny pulled off his own boots and socks and started to follow, the current pulled Coty off his feet. 'Oh God,' Johnny thought as he jumped in after him.  "You okay?" he asked picking him up out of the water. "Let me go," Coty coughed blowing water out of his nose. "You okay?" "Let me GO!" he shouted again trying to kick himself free. Johnny quickly put him on the bank.  "I'm sorry.  I just thought you might be--" "I know how to swim," Coty growled accusingly. "I didn't...I didn't..." Coty walked away from him, back to where Johnny had left the tent. "I'm sorry," Johnny said again as he trailed behind.  "I didn't mean ta...I honestly thought you might be hurt.  I wasn't tryin ta..."  Johnny sighed giving up, wondering what in the boy's mind made his touch something worse than being bowled over by the water.  "Ya hungry?" he asked wanting to move on. When Coty didn't answer Johnny decided to set up the tent.  The weather was fairly warm for early spring, but the temperature would drop once the sun went down.  He wanted to tell the boy he should get out of his wet clothes, but he didn't want to risk telling him in the wrong words. "You wanna do the fire?" he asked. Coty ignored him by staring at the creek with his arms folded across his chest. Johnny gathered the wood, dug a pit, and fetched some water.  After setting up some dry tinder under a couple of heavier sticks, he pulled out the matches.  "You sure you don't wanna do it?" he offered again. Coty looked at the matches, then at him. "Come oooonnnn, I'm gettin hungry," Johnny pretended to whine. Coty took the matches and knelt down to start the fire.  He blew gently, nursing the flame through the dry twigs until it was strong enough for regular wood. "Perfect," Johnny complimented as he added a small log to the blaze. As Johnny grilled some cheese sandwiches, he wondered what Chris had planned on cooking, and if it was any good. Coty stared at him from across the fire.  He hoped his foul up in the creek wasn't going to cost his son some sleep that night. When darkness fell, Johnny rolled out the sleeping bags near the fire.  He looked at the tent and half wondered why he had bothered with the thing.  He rarely slept in it, and his son didn't seem to care for it either.  Still, it kept the critters out of the food, and it was there in case it rained, so he always put one up. When Johnny woke the next morning, he found the other sleeping bag empty.  He waited for several minutes for Coty to come back, figuring he was off taking care of business.  More and more time went by and the boy still did not appear. "Coty?" Johnny called.  "Coty?" He pulled on his socks and boots and got up to check inside the tent.  It was empty save the food and gear he had stashed in there the night before. "Coty?  Where are you?" he shouted nervously.  "Coty?" He listened intently to the sounds around him.  All he could hear was the chirping of birds and the gurgling of the creek. 'Oh no,' he thought rushing to the waters edge and scanning the water back and forth down stream.  "Coty?!" Johnny paced back and forth along the bank, running his hands through his hair.  'Should I get Roy...should I look for him...should I go straight to the Rover and go call for help?' "COTY!" he shouted growing desperate. Making his decision, he took off at a jog in the direction he had parked his car.  As he ran, he saw little footprints pass under his feet.  He stopped and walked carefully back, not wanting to miss them or mess them up.  Sure enough, there they were.  He thought very hard over whether or not they could have been made the day before and he hoped they hadn't.  He walked in the direction the feet were pointing, and started to follow another natural path. "Coty?" he called out hopefully.  After half a mile, he started to wonder if he was doing the right thing.  A couple of footprints didn't really mean a thing, and the pine needles made it difficult to know whether Coty had really followed the path, or maybe just looked down it for a moment.  Cursing himself, he started back.  Another sound he couldn't immediately identify started to work its way into his head.  He paused to listen closer, but still couldn't quite figure it out.  'This is nuts!' Johnny thought sitting down for a moment to rest.  'What if he just went for a walk and now he's back at camp wondering where I went.  Then again what if he fell in the water, or got lost?  What if he ran off?  I had to go and grab him yesterday like a complete idiot, what if he just took off?  I have no idea what to do.' Rising to his feet, he started for the Rover again.  The same sound that had drawn his attention a few moments earlier started up again.  He wanted to ignore it, but as he walked it seemed to grow louder.  Then gradually, it grew softer again.  Johnny turned around, trying to find the source of the noise.  Leaving the path, he walked into the thicker woods.  Branches caught at his clothes, but the sound drove him forward.  It seemed at first to be a bird of some kind, then maybe a chipmunk.  As he got closer, he knew it had to be a kitten.  Cocking his ear to pinpoint the thing, he finally nearly stepped on it.  Johnny picked it up and it stopped it's crying to suck on one of Johnny's fingers.  The thing couldn't have been more than a couple days old. "Where's your mama there little guy?" Johnny asked it.  The sound, though with a slightly higher tone this time, started again.  Johnny pushed further into the brush, scanning the ground for the other kitten.  A couple yards in front of him, Coty beat him to it.  The boy added the baby to his bulging shirt and looked at Johnny with tears in his eyes. "The mama's dead," he explained to him. Johnny nodded, too relieved at seeing his son to answer. "Are they gonna die?" Johnny looked at the newborn in his hand and the five squirming bodies in his son's shirt.  He already had Bu and Shawnao and his horses, but he knew he couldn't leave the kittens anymore than his son could.  "We'll do what we can, okay?" Coty nodded, trying hard not to cry.  The sound started again to their left, and the two searched until the found the source.  For three hours they scrounged through the brush until they were certain there wasn't anymore that would be left behind.  Coty showed his father where he had found the mother caught in a trap, and they buried her under a tree. "You think she was a GOOD mom?" Coty asked as they walked back to camp. Johnny thought for a moment before answering.  "Yeah, I think so.  It looked like she was moving them, probably to a safer place." "Where's the owner?" "Ah...probably...maybe...probably found out she was pregnant, and didn't want kittens and just drove out into the country and dropped her off.  People do that sometimes." "That's mean." "Yeah it is." "I wish she hadn't died." "Me too." "Where gonna help 'em, right?" Coty asked gazing up at his father. "Right."  Back at their camp, they ate a quick breakfast.  Johnny emptied the boy's daypack, and bundled the kittens up inside for him to carry, then they  hiked back to the car.  Two hours later they found a pet supply store, and Johnny bought several nursing bottles and a large case of kitten formula.  He felt it would be smarter to head for home, but with Roy and Chris still off in the woods, he drove back to the forest. "Okay, now watch carefully," he instructed the boy wrapping one of his shirts around the smallest kitten holding it on it's back.  "You have to hold them like this cause you have to angle the bottle down, and they're to small to lift their heads up right to find it.  They don't like it much, but once you get the nipple in their mouths," he said demonstrating, "they'll stop squirming and eat." The kitten in Johnny's hand managed to free one paw from the shirt, but as soon as it got a taste of the food, it stopped pushing away at his hand, and rested its paw on his thumb instead. "See?" Johnny grinned.  "If you can just get it into their mouth's, they'll know what to do."  Coty watched for several minutes until Johnny pressed on the kitten's tummy to see how full it was.  With the kitten growling sleepy, and feeling satisfied he'd had enough, Johnny put him down and refilled the bottle for another. "All right, you want to try it?" Johnny asked. Coty nodded. "Okay, sit down, and I'll hand her to you.  Oops, him," Johnny laughed. Coty held out his hands, taking the kitten very gently.  In no time, it squirmed out of the shirt, crying it's head off because it could smell the food, but had no idea how to find it. "You have to hold him tight," Johnny explained, "not too tight, but you have to hold them down or they'll just want to turn themselves over.  They're not going to lay on their backs for you like a real baby.  I mean a human baby."  Johnny wrapped up the kitten for Coty to try again. The kitten squirmed loose, but Coty started to wrap the kitten up a third time on his own.  Johnny grabbed another bottle to fill and picked up another kitten, figuring the only way Coty was going to get a feel of how to hold the kitten right, was to just let him keep trying.  Johnny put down his fifth kitten, when glancing up, he saw his son had got it.  The kitten was pinned half upside down against the boy's knee with formula soaked into its face, but the bottle was in its mouth, and he was sucking away like nobodies business.  Johnny saw the tremendous concentration on Coty's face, making his shoulders shake with suppressed laughter.  The kitten fell asleep as Coty rubbed its belly, satisfied he was full.  "There's one more," Johnny smiled handing him another bottle as he began to clean up. Coty took a deep breath and began the wrestling match again.  In a much shorter time, he had it feeding on the bottle and he looked up with a grin. Johnny nodded his approval and sat down to watch until sleep claimed this full kitten as well. "Guess what?" Johnny asked. Coty looked up as he laid the kitten in a box with its brothers and sisters. "In five hours we have to do it all over again." Coty raised his eyebrows, but didn't look displeased. "Come on, now I'M hungry.  Lets carry them back to camp and see if we can catch us a fish." "Will they eat fish?" "Them?  Yeah, later, but not now.  It'll be formula for them for a while.  The fish is for us." "Oh, how long is five hours?" "They'll let you know, believe me." Coty carried the box until his arms grew tired and Johnny took over. For the rest of the day, Johnny fished while his son sat staring into the box.  Two feedings and their own fish dinner later, they stretched out to get some sleep before the kittens would be wanting their breakfast. Johnny woke first, and laid in the quiet morning, watching his sleeping child.  A leaf had gotten into the boy's hair, and Johnny stretched over to pull it out. "What are you doing?" Coty asked his eyes popping open. "Nothing," Johnny said quickly, "it's just, just a leaf Coty." Coty got to his feet and went to check on the kittens. Johnny sighed deeply and rested his eyes, wondering if he'd ever be able to touch his son. Later that afternoon they hiked back to the car.   The clearing they had parked in was empty and Johnny wondered how much longer Chris and Roy would be.  Right at the designated time,  Roy and his son arrived at the Rover.  Coty headed for the passenger door, but his father whistled at him, and motioned for him to get in the back instead, leaving Roy the front seat.  Despite the turn of events, Johnny wasn't about to expect the man to ride the entire way back cramped up in the rear. Roy thought 'thanks', but couldn't seem to get the word past his lips. Along the way, Chris couldn't help but notice the attention the two other campers paid to the box.  Coty kept staring at it, while Johnny would occasionally reach down and touch its side.  He was dying to ask what was in it, but the silence between the two men in front kept him silent as well.                        ~/~/~/~/~ The next day, the men of 51 had a late lunch.  Two fires had kept them busy well into the afternoon.  Just as they were finishing, they were again toned out.  It was nearing three o'clock, and Johnny hoped silently the run would not take very long.  He had instructed Coty if at any time no one was at the station, he was to do his homework and wait.  The fire took them hours to put out, and they did not return to the station until eight that night. They returned to find the kitchen had been cleaned.  The only explanation they had was Coty.  Chet, who'd pulled kitchen duty was particularly pleased.  They decided to have a quick dinner of just sandwiches.  As Johnny managed to squeeze the pickles and some tunafish past Chet standing in the refrigerator doorway, the phone rang. "Hello?" Cap. Stanley asked snatching it up and shushing Chet as he tried to pry the pickles from Johnny's hand.  "Yeah, just a sec, Johnny?" "Me?" "He gets all the phone calls," Chet whined freeing the pickles as Johnny reached for the phone. "Yeah?" "Mr. Gage, I'm sorry about tonight.  I had a class and...I just don't think it's going to work out.  I know you said I could study at your house, but my mom feels funny about taking care of a kid all night.  She and dad said I really need to stay at the dorm every night." "Wait wait wait...what didja mean sorry?" "About not picking him up." "Ya didn't..."  Johnny let go of the receiver, leaving it to dangle down by the phone.  "Coty?" he called.  He hurried over to the sofa, sliding the last couple of feet on his knees, but all he found was the morning's newspaper.  "Coty?" "He gets picked up at seven Johnny, it's going on eight thirty," Cap informed him. "No, that...that's" Johnny stuttered, gesturing toward the phone, "she didn't come get 'im." "Here we go again," Chet muttered to himself loud enough for everyone to hear. Johnny ignored him and headed for the bathroom while Marco and Mike checked the back parking lot, and the field behind it.  Roy took a quick look outside, but then left the rest of the searching to the others, feeling funny about it.  Johnny bumped into Chet coming into the bathroom, just as he was headed into the bunkroom. "Not in there," Chet told him. "You sure?" "Yeah I'm--" "Did you look under the beds?" "Johnny, monster's live under beds.  A kid wouldn't hide there." Johnny pushed past him and started the bed check.  Under his own bunk, his boy lay sleeping.  Johnny let out a breath, and dropped his head to his chest.  "This is not gonna work," he whispered to himself.  "And I thought she was responsible.  What am I gonna do?"  As carefully as he could, he slid the sleeping child out, and laid him on his bunk.  He waited for his Cap to tell him directly what to do.  However, in another forty five minutes, all he heard was his Cap warn everyone he was turning the lights out.  Johnny moved his turnout boots over to the bunk beside Chet, and quickly made up the bunk in the dark.  As soon as he laid down the squad was toned out to a possible heart attack. On their way back, Roy wanted to break the ice, but every time he looked at his partner, the man was staring out the window.  Back at the station, Roy watched the child, sleeping with the moonlight on his face.  Even knowing the trouble at home this boy was going to cause him the next day, he could not help but like him a little bit.  Johnny drifted over for a moment to check on him.  He caught Roy's eyes and opened his mouth to say something.  Roy sat up a little, wanting to hear what he had to say, but Johnny looked down instead, and returned to his bunk beside Chet.  Roy sighed, and rolling to face the wall, tried to go to sleep.                      ~/~/~/~/~ "You didn't ask him?!" Joanne nearly shouted. "I...I still don't think it's a good idea Joanne." "And you still don't have a good reason why either, do you." "I have the same reason I had before!  What if he does something again?  What if he bites her and doesn't let go?  What if he--" "Chris pushed her off the swings, did we forbid HIM to be in the same house again?" "That was a long time ago." "That was last year." "Joanne...there's a big difference between our son and Coty." "So why don't you name it?!" "Name what?" "Roy,  why can't you just come right out and say why you don't want that little boy around our kids." "I already--" "You aren't afraid of what he might do...you're afraid of what he might say!" "Joanne--" "You know Roy, in another two to three years, you are going to have to have a conversation or two with Chris about sex anyway." "Sex yes, but not...not like that.  What if he...  I don't want to know about that sort of stuff MYSELF!  Is it so wrong to not want my kids to hear about things like that?  What are you going to say to Jenny if she comes to you and asks why some man made Coty suck on his...or god only knows what!  WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO TELL HER?!" "What makes you think he'd tell either one of them about any of that.?" "I don't know, maybe he won't.  But how do I know that?  What am I suppose to do, tell Johnny to order him never to mention anything sexual to another kid?" "So that's it.  He's dangerous.  He should never be allowed around another child.  He should be taken out of school and isolated for the rest of his life." "I didn't say that." "Roy, he's going to need friends.  Someone's kids have to be the ones.  Jenny's ready to try again.  She's been ready.  Once Chris gets to know him, hopefully they'll hit it off as well.  I'm calling Johnny." Roy pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down in a huff. "Roy, if anything gets said, we'll handle it...but I honestly don't think he's going to tell them anything about any of that." "Kid's act things out too you know, what if he..." "We'll deal with it....trust me?" "It's not that I don't want to help him--" "I know.  You're just worried is all.  I'm just glad you care so much." Roy kissed her hand.  She kissed the top of his head, and went upstairs to make a phone call. After two hours on the phone with Johnny, Joanne talked him into giving the original arrangements another chance.  She didn't know who was more nervous about it, Johnny or her husband.                        ~/~/~/~/~ "Chris," Travis Sorsen whispered.  He had been Chris's friend since they both repeated kindergarten four years earlier. "What," Chris whispered back, making sure the teacher wasn't looking up. "Watch," the other boy mouthed.  He took the teacher's stapler out of his desk.  Carefully, he opened it out, aimed it at the back or Coty's neck in front of him, and squeezed the bottom in.  The staples only flew five inches before falling to his desk.  Chris covered him mouth, trying to keep from laughing at him. Travis held up is finger, signaling for Chris to give him a minute.  Pulling a rubber band from his pocket, he pulled one of the staples back into a makeshift slingshot between his pointer finger and his thumb.  The first one missed, but the second one hit dead on.  Both boys looked back at their English test, pretending to be filling in the answers as the smaller boy flinched.  He didn't cry out, and he didn't tell.  He never did; not about the times he was pushed down in the bathroom, or the times he was tripped in gym class, nor the innumerable knuckle punches he received in the arms.  He didn't even tell anyone about either of the times Travis had slammed his open desk top down on his hand when the teacher had stepped out of the room. Chris took a quick glance up to see if the teacher had noticed anything.  As usual, she hadn't. Travis made a face at him, pushing his nose up and pulling his bottom eyelids down. Chris laughed out loud, then quickly looked back at his paper, hoping the teacher wouldn't know it had been him. "Okay," Mrs. Sullivan asked the class, "how many of you are not finished yet?" Chris and Travis were the only ones to raise their hands, and they knew what was coming next.  It was time for history, and now they would have to finish the test during lunch recess, again." Chris sighed.  "Stupid Coty," he thought, "it's all his fault."                         ~/~/~/~/~ Chris arrived home from school that day in a good mood.  It was Friday, and he had the whole weekend ahead of him to play with his friends.  He dropped his books on the table, grabbed his skateboard, and headed out the door.  "Hi Chris," Johnny said quietly, coming up the front walk with Coty right behind him.  Chris felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck.  Johnny hadn't been over to the house since the incident with Jenny.  'The little fink,' Chris thought to himself, 'has to rat to his daddy?  Man am I in for it now, and I didn't even do anything!' "Chris honey," Joanne shouted from the door, believing he had made it much farther down the sidewalk before she had managed to get down the stairs to catch him.  She'd wanted to have a talk with him before Johnny brought Coty over; but the night they'd agreed on giving it another try, it had been late, and Chris had hurried off to school that morning without saying goodbye.  "Oh hi Johnny," she greeted upon seeing them, "hi Coty.  Chris, where are you going?" "To the park!" he said in a tone of stating the obvious. "Not today," she told him. "Why?!" "Because I just said so," she said, giving the number one mommy answer. "But why?" Chris pressed on. "Just go back into the house please and put your skateboard away." Chris sighed defiantly, but stomped back into the house none the less.  He paused just out of sight inside the doorway, waiting to see if the little twerp had told. "Sorry 'bout that," Joanne apologized for him. "Oh don't worry about it," Johnny answered. "Well come on in.  Roy just went to pick up some things for dinner." "Oh Joanne, you don't have to do that.  We don't--" "Don't try to tell me what to do.  Don't you know better than that kiddo?  Come on in the house." Chris scooted further inside and started up the stairs. "Chris," Joanne stopped him, "take your books with you." Chris heaved another sigh and came back down the bottom two steps to fetch his books off the table. "Loose the attitude," Joanne whispered in his ear as he passed by her, "Now!" Johnny looked with  embarrassment at the floor, pretending not to notice Chris's behavior. As Chris thundered his way up the stairs, Joanne smiled at him, shaking her head and casting her eyes toward the heavens. Johnny returned with a lopsided grin, turning to make sure his own son was still behind him.  He smiled at how close the boy was standing, and found his hand automatically moving to give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.  Centimeters from contact, Coty moved abruptly away leaving Johnny's hand to meet only air.  Now it was Joanne's turn to blush for Johnny.  He threw her a sad smile and shrugged. "Why don't you get at--" Johnny started to ask him. Coty took off his knapsack and placed it on the table, looking toward his father to see if it was the right thing to do. "Is it okay if he uses the table to do his--" "Of course it is.  I can share it with him," she said looking out the window, "if Roy ever gets back with the groceries." "I heard my name," Roy spoke opening the door between the house and the garage. "Don't DO that," Joanne scolded.  "I didn't even hear you pull in." "And that's my fault because..." "Just set it down and go talk to Chris." "Chris?  About what?" "Whadda you think?" "I thought it was only teenagers who gave their parents attitude all the time." "Think again." Johnny followed Joanne outside to help bring in the rest of the groceries. "BOO!" Jenny shouted gleefully jumping on his back from the top of Roy's work table." "Jennifer Leah!  What have I told you about climbing up there?" "Not to." "Go tell your father what you did." "But mommy, I was just playing!" "Move it!" Jenny planted a pouty kiss on Johnny's cheek, then allowed him to slide her to the floor and went inside. "Coty..ah..." Joanne spoke quietly, "still no touching huh?" "No.  He talks to me though.  Quiet, and not always, but sometimes; especially on the phone." "On the phone?" "Yeah, when I call him from work.  I'd hate to think of why but...I guess over the phone..." "He's safe, no way you can touch him." "Yeah, that's what I figure.  He'll figure it out though, that I'm not going to do anything when I'm right next to him either...man though...it's taking so long." "Does he like school now?" "No...yeah...well no..I don't know.  He likes reading, so he likes all the stuff he's doin 'cept math, but when it comes time for him to go, he really doesn't seem to wanna!  I just don't get it.  He likes it...but he hates it." "Huh, Jenny still can't wait to get there every morning.  I hope it stays that way.  Chris likes to go, but just try to get him to do the work.  I guess maybe every kid's different." "Yeah, but how can you like your teacher and the stuff you're learning, but act like you're being sent to prison every time it's time to go?" "I don't know.  Maybe it's the math.  Maybe he just hates it that much." Johnny looked doubtful, "maybe, but he's getting better at it.  He's starting to add pretty good." "Chris said they just started long division." "Yeah, I know." "So how do they do that?" "She just gives him worksheets while they work on the other stuff." "Huh.  Will they make him repeat the year just for math?" "I don't know.  It wouldn't make sense to have him in third grade now if they were going to.  I think he has to go to summer school though." "Yeah, if Chris doesn't watch it, he'll have to go too." "For math?" "No, reading.  They put him in the slower readers group at the beginning of the year." "I didn't know that.  I thought they were good at reading." "Well Jenny is.  I think Chris could be too if he could be bothered to do it more.  In kindergarten once he'd learned to do it a bit, you couldn't get him to put the books down.  It was constantly, 'read me a story daddy', then he's read one to us.  Toward the end of first grade though, he does as little as he has to.  Personally I think he just got too busy with his friends." "Yeah, I wish Coty'd make a few." "Well, I'm sure he will now.  This will give Chris a chance to get to know him outside of school, and without all the other kids to distract him.  I'm sure they'll get to be friends in no time.  I've got the bottom bunk already ready for him for tomorrow night." "Uh.." "I know, I cleaned under it too and I shoved an extra pillow and blanket under there.  Oh, and get this, I caught Jenny stuffing her teddy under there too." Johnny grinned.  The little girl had a great big heart. Chris quietly made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, glad it was Jen's turn to get a lecture.  He spotted the dark-haired boy doing his homework at the table, and it burned him up inside.  Hadn't he just been ordered to get his books OFF the table; but it was fine for this little twerp to use it, and it wasn't even his house!  He glared over at him as he poured himself a glass of milk, then smiled as he imagined pouring the rest of the carton over the intruder's head. Nobody in his class liked this kid, nobody.  Well maybe a couple of the stupid girls, but what did they know.  Not even the nerdiest boy would talk to him, because if they did, they knew they wouldn't have any friends either. He heard his mother and Johnny start to come back into the kitchen, so he took his glass and sat down at the table like he was suppose to. Joanne smiled at the sight of her son apparently mellowed out from the last time she'd seen him.  She played with his hair as she passed on her way to start dinner, and only got an embarrassed "Ma-um," back. "Can I help it if I love you?" she asked teasing. He rolled his eyes and took a gulp of his milk. "Whew," Roy sighed coming down the stairs and pulling out the chair right next to Coty to sit down. Coty looked up at him, eyes wide and uncertain what the man was up to. "Can he have some milk?" Roy asked Johnny as he jerked his thumb toward the boy. "Yeah, half a glass, if he wants some." "Half a--" "So he doesn't get too full for dinner," Johnny explained. "Chris never has that problem, do you Chris?" Joanne grinned playing with her son's hair again. This time Chris let her without comment.  "Nope," he boasted cheerfully, "I could drink a whole gallon by myself, and still eat whatever I wanted."  "Well I don't know about that," Johnny giggled pulling out the chair on the opposite side of Coty and sitting down. "Believe it," Roy told him.  "I swear we go through two gallons a day in this house...four when you're over." "Oh ha ha," Johnny laughed, glad the tension from the ill fated camping trip seemed to have disappeared, "I don't drink THAT much." "At two glasses with every meal?" "Well in the restaurants, they only give you these little glasses!  Anyhow, do you want some milk Coty?" The boy shook his head no. "How 'bout some Cool-Aid?" Roy offered. "Uh...no--" Johnny told him. "Oh that's right...sugar.  Sorry.  I shouldn'ta--" "Some water?" Johnny asked. Coty thought for a moment, then nodded his head. "He WANTS water?" Chris scoffed in disbelief. "What's wrong with that?" Johnny asked, standing to fetch it. "Nothin I guess, it's just weird is all." "Where's Jenny," Joanne asked. "Ten minute time out." "You keeping track of it?" "Ah...I'll go get her." "Roy!" "It hasn't been THAT long." In a moment, Jenny ran full speed into the kitchen, well ahead of her father. "Slow down," Joanne warned. "Hi Uncle Johnny," she sang as she pushed her way between him and the table to get into his lap. "Could you ask first?" Joanne laughed. "It's okay, how you doin peanut?" Johnny asked giving her a hug.  Coty watched the little girl on his father's lap.  Every time she made him laugh she snuggled against him, and every time she laughed, he hugged her again.  For over an hour while Joanne prepared dinner, Jenny crawled all over the man.  When Johnny caught him watching, he ducked his head quickly back toward his work. "Guess what," Jenny piped up loud enough for everyone to hear, "I got a reading award today!" "You did?  That's great!" Johnny told her, giving her yet another loving squeeze. "Uh huh," she told him, "Coty got one too!" "He did?" Johnny asked baffled.  "Did you get something in school today?" Coty looked self consciously around the room before pulling the colorful certificate from his knapsack and handed it to his father.  Johnny smiled at the paper.  It was the first thing he had ever gotten for his refrigerator door that was from his own kid.  He proudly turned it around for the others to see. "I'll go get mine," Jenny offered, sliding from his lap and running from the room. "For reading fifteen books in one trimester," Roy read aloud, "Wow!  That's really good!  You should be proud of yourself Coty."  He started to give the boy a pat on the back, but the immediate change in the expression on his partner's face stopped him in time.  "Ah..." he stuttered, covering himself and patting the table top instead, "that's...that's really good." "It was just a stupid assembly," Chris frowned from his seat, "they gave stuff to all the little kids, even the kindergartners." "Coty's in your grade though, right?" "Yeah, so..." Joanne shot Roy a warning look. "Did...didn't you get some math awards last year?" Roy asked hopefully. "Yeah, but they were stupid." Roy let out a sigh, his hope falling to the table.  "I didn't think they were stupid." "They only gave them to the nerdy kids this year," Chris told him defensively. "Well...maybe you'll get one next trimester...but you know, I'm sure in order to get one, you have to do ALL of your homework and get it in on time." "I did my homework!" "Not always.  I seem to remember getting a phone call from--" "Roy," Joanne cut in.  "Not now," she mouthed when he looked back at her. "See mine daddy?" Jenny asked, shoving her certificate at her father, but climbing back into her uncle's lap. "This is great Jenny," Roy smiled, reaching over and messing up her bangs. "Yep!  I had to read ten whole books all by myself." "They're baby books and they're dumb.  I could read them all in five minutes," Chris pouted. "Why don'tcha then?" Jenny asked. "Chris, knock it off," Roy ordered sternly. Coty put his homework away and got out his math flashcards. "You ready?" Johnny asked. The boy rubbed at his eye and stared at the table. "Okay," Johnny said thinking, "why don't we do this somewhere else and let Joanne have her table back.  Let me up Jenny." Jenny clung to him, throwing her arms around his neck.  "Where are you going?" she whined. "Just outside for a while." "Yea!" Jenny shouted, happy at the idea of playing with him outside. Looking to his left, and seeing Roy smile back at him, Coty quickly stood and followed his father. "Jenny," Joanne called as she was about to dart out the sliding glass door with them. "What?" "Stay in here for a while." "Why?" "Cause she said so," Chris filled in, in a very snotty voice. "Christopher Roy!" "Upstairs now!" Roy shouted. "What did I do?" "Oh you don't know do you?  Great!  You'll have plenty of time to sit by yourself and figure it out." Chris clomped toward the stairs. "And you can do your homework while you're up there too," Roy added. "It's Friday," Chris shouted back. "I know what day it is!" Johnny slid the door shut, tapping the glass twice near Jenny's nose and giving her a wink.  She tried to wink back at him, but he'd already turned away to walk out into the yard. "Cheer up Jenny," her mother comforted.  "I'm sure Johnny will play with you as soon as Coty finishes his homework." "I thought he was done," Jenny sniffed, sliding into Johnny's empty chair. "Well he's not.  He needs to work on his math," Roy told her, pulling her chair closer with his foot, then pulling the girl into his lap. Jenny giggled, giving her father a kiss.  "Ow," she declared adamantly.  "Mommy, daddy didn't shave today." "Tell me about it," Joanne groaned, "I got scratched this morning." "I'm off today.  I don't HAVE to shave," he told them. "Uh huh," Jenny disagreed, "you have to shave EVERY day." "Johnny didn't shave today," Roy spoke in his defense. "Yes he did, he's nice and soft." "That's cause it takes him three days to grow a five o'clock shadow." Joanne giggled into her lasagna noodles. "Huh?" Jenny asked. "Never mind, where's your homework?" Joanne asked. "Upstairs." "Why don't you bring it down and do it now?" "Cause it Friday," Jenny told her.  The DeSoto children typically did their weekend homework on Sunday night. "Yeah I know," Joanne said, "but you know, Coty does his as soon as he gets home every night, Fridays included." "What's you point?" Roy asked. "I was just thinking it was a good idea is all.  You know how many times Chris has told us he couldn't go to bed on time Sunday night because he still had homework to do?" "Yeah, and half the time we catch him playing or watching TV." "I know, that's the point.  Maybe he'd do better if we got a little stricter with him over it.  Besides, wasn't it you who just told him to work on his homework tonight?" "Only cause he got sent to his room, and what does that have to do with Jenny?" "Well it wouldn't hurt her any, would it?" "No, but what kid wants to leave school on Friday afternoon and go straight home to do homework?  If you ask me Johnny's a little TOO strict...but what do I know." "Roy--" "Joanne, that kid looks at me, at EVERYBODY, like they're a three headed monster.  I've never once seen him smile, never once heard him talk.  If it were my kid, I'd get him some help.  Watching his diet and making him do homework isn't going to make him normal." "Can you honestly tell me you haven't seen any changes for the better in that boy?  What about the reading award?" "What about right now?  He has to go outside to do his math?" "He's shy Roy.  Lots of kids are shy." "Is he retarded?" Jenny asked, making both parents take pause. "No, no Jenny, not at all," Joanne told her. "A lot of the kids at school say he is." "Who?" "Just kids.  They call him a retard at recess and push him over to our playground.  Third graders aren't allowed on the first grade playground.  They get into trouble if they get caught." "Somehow I don't think Coty would get into trouble if he played over there." "No, even a couple of the recess teachers brought him over to our yard a couple times cause they thought he was a first grader, and his teacher had to come get him back.  It was funny." "I bet Coty didn't think it was funny," Joanne spoke thoughtfully. Johnny slid the door open, stepped inside, and began to close it again behind his son. "Leave it open," Roy requested, "it's nice out." "Can we eat outside mommy, please," Jenny begged. "If you wash off the patio table for me." "Yipee!" Chris could hear his sister's happy voice coming from the backyard as she dragged Johnny out there to help her, and then to play.  From the hall window, he could see everything. "You're it," she squealed, tagging Johnny and running away.  Johnny chased her around and around his tree house until she hid under the table.  He watched Johnny walk around the yard, pretending to search for her under flower petals and fallen leaves.  Chris knew she was giggling, giving herself away even if it hadn't been obvious where she was hiding. "Dumb," he thought, but he longed to be out there with them. "What are you doing?" his father's voice suddenly asked behind him, making him jump. "Nothin." "Didja do your homework?" "Some of it." "What some of it did you do?" Chris shrugged. "If you didn't do any of it, you should say so.  I hate it when you lie more than anything else you can do." "I didn't start yet," Chris admitted. "Well...don't worry about it right now.  Can you tell me why you're up here?" Chris shrugged again. Roy sighed.  "Well think about it and when you can tell me, you can come down." "Can I ride my skateboard?" "Not up here you can't, and dinner will be ready in a while." "Why are they here anyway?" "Who, Johnny and Coty?" "Yeah." "Aside from the fact that Johnny's my friend, your mom is going to start looking after Coty while we're at work again." "Why?" "Cause...she wants to." "Why?" "She just does.  Johnny...doesn't have anyone else right now to do it, and your mom...likes Johnny a lot.  You know your Uncle Wesley died before you were born...and Johnny--" "Is his replacement." "No...not really, but she does love him, and in a way, she thinks of him as a little brother." "A LITTLE brother?" "A younger brother okay?  And he's helped us out hundreds of times.  She wants to do this for him, that's all." "So it's not cause she likes Coty." "Huh?  Well I'm sure she likes him too...or she will.  We don't really know him...yet...okay?" "Okay." Roy started back down the stairs. "Dad?" "Yeah." "I made fun of mom, that's why I'm up here." "Can you tell her you're sorry?" Chris paused for a minute, making sure everyone else was still outside.  "Yeah," he agreed hurrying down the stairs.  "Sorry mom," he chirped pecking her on the cheek and racing outside. Joanne gave her husband a smile as he hugged her from behind.  "If keeping up with him is this much of a roller coaster now, I don't even want to think what it's going to be like when he hits thirteen." "Do you realize he's halfway to eighteen now?" she asked him. "I realized that on his last birthday." "Roy, remember what we were talking about a month or so ago..." "Yeah." "Well..." "Go ahead and stop," he told her as he watched his children play. Tears came to her eyes as she turned around to hug him tight.  "Are you sure?" "Yeah...it'll be okay.  I'm sure." "I love you." "I love you too," he said as he pressed his face into her soft hair.                          ~/~/~/~/~ "Okay," Johnny went on early the next morning as he dropped his boy off before going to work, "I brought him some milk and Ovaltine and some cheese and crackers for a snack later.  He likes this cotton throw, so I figured I'd bring it along.  Oh, and he has three math worksheets he has to do today.  He'll probably do them right after breakfast.  I didn't feed him yet cause--" "I thought he did his homework yesterday." "He did, but she gives him extra math to do on Saturdays.  The more he does--" "I see." "You don't have to do the flashcards with him though...I'll ah..and absolutely no pork of any kind.  He's allergic I found out." "Got it. Oh, and I brought--" "Go Johnny," she ordered him, "before the two of you are late." "I...yeah okay.  I'll call you." "I know you will," she laughed. Roy grabbed him by the collar and pulled him toward the door. "I'll see you tomorrow Coty," Johnny told the boy on his way out. Coty didn't look up, keeping his eyes on the knapsack in his hands. "Bye Coty...bye Coty," Johnny tried. "We're gonna be late Johnny," Roy said, tugging on his shirt again. "He'll be fine kiddo, go," Joanne told him, pushing him out the door and closing it behind him.                       ~/~/~/~/~ Joanne was mildly surprised when 2pm rolled around and Johnny still hadn't called, but she figured they were busy on runs. She was right.  Johnny's stomach tore at him, reminding him he hadn't eaten since the night before.  "Hey Roy?  Could you--" "I know, I know, I can hear it from here...FOOD.  I'm starving too." "Actually...could you swing by your place for a minute?" Roy tapped his steering wheel a few times.  "Sure...maybe we could get something there even." Roy hit the fridge as Johnny stepped out into the backyard in search of his son. "Hi hon, what're you doing?" Joanne asked coming down the stairs. Roy, mouth full, pointed toward the backyard. "Oh...like I couldn't have guessed that one." "Where is everybody?" Roy asked taking another bite as soon as the words were out of his mouth. "Chris is at the park, and Jenny and Coty are in the treehouse." "Alone!" Roy shouted choking on the food. "Don't even start," she warned. Roy put his sandwich down and walked out into the backyard.  His partner stood very still underneath the treehouse.  As he and Joanne came outside, he held up his finger for them to be quiet, then he carefully walked back to the porch to join them. "What's this one?" they could barely make out their daughter's voice say, "and this one...now add them up." "Seven?" they heard Coty ask. "Nope, try again." "Nine," they heard him say more confidently. "Nope." "Turn it around." "It says six," she told him, "see?" "Six is this way, not that way." "Oh yeah," Jenny answered. Johnny covered his mouth, trying not to laugh and disturb them; and Joanne herded the two men back inside. "I'm glad the answers are on the back," Johnny giggled out loud, grabbing a couple of the sandwiches Roy had made, and helping himself to a quart of milk from the fridge.  Roy grabbed a glass and filled it before Johnny downed the whole thing, and the two sat down to eat. Several minutes later, Jenny, with Coty in tow, came in the back door.  "Hi daddy, whatcha eatin?" she asked. "Um..." he said opening his sandwich as he tried to remember, "bologna.  Throw this away for me?" he asked handing her a dirty napkin. "Sure," she replied skipping to the trashcan and opening the lid.  An unfriendly odor arose from it. "I don't suppose you'd like to take care of that before you leave," Joanne hinted. Roy nodded his head and started on his second sandwich. Coty scooped up some matches from off the stove, and started to light a scented candle sitting on the table. "Ah ah Coty," Johnny stopped him, shaking his head. Coty took a nervous look at the red-haired man who now stared at him, every bit as unfriendly as the odor had been, and put the matches back where he had found them. On his way out, Roy placed them in the cabinet above the stove, but otherwise didn't say a word. "Let's go upstairs Coty," Jenny said as soon as the two men had pulled out of the drive. "Jenny," Joanne stopped her, "remember what we talked about?" "Do you want to go upstairs with me Coty?" He looked up at Joanne a little confused, then followed Jenny toward the stairs.                         ~/~/~/~/~ Later that night, Chris ignored his sister and her little friend as he tried to watch TV.  A movie that had looked so good in the previews turned out to be rather boring, and he became curious about all his sisters giggling upstairs. In her bedroom, the two of them had a deck of cards between them, but what was on the cards didn't seem to be part of the game.  Taking turns, each would throw a card into the air.  The object of the game, if there was one, seemed to be to cover the card with their bare foot before the other did.  Who ever covered it first apparently got the card.  The game looked very silly and childish at first, but the more they played, the more it looked like fun. "Can I play?" Chris asked. Jenny stopped playing and looked at him while Coty dropped his eyes to the floor. "I guess," she told him.  "Give me the cards Coty.  I have to seal them again." "Deal," Chris laughed. "Huh?" "Never mind." Jenny handed out the cards three ways and threw the first one into the air.  Chris and Jenny went for it, but Coty didn't move.  The same was true when Chris took his turn. "Go Coty," Jenny told him. Coty threw one out instead of into the air. "Do over," Jenny declared, handing it back to him. Chris suddenly felt awkward, knowing he was the cause of the boy's sudden change in mood.  He wondered what his father would do and he wished he was there to ask him.  "That's it guys, bedtime," Joanne announced. "Uh uh," Chris cried, "I've got half an hour." "Oh, no hon, I was talking to those two.  I didn't know you were up here." "But Coty's eight.  He's got half an--" "No, Johnny wants him in bed by eight." "Really?" "Really." "Man." "Go brush your teeth," she ordered, hustling them through the door, one door down from Jenny's, room to the sink.  "Oops Coty, where's your knapsack?  Chris, I think it's still in the kitchen, could you go get it please?  Bush your teeth young lady." "I'm waiting for Coty." "No you're not, you're getting to bed as fast as you can." By the time Chris returned with the knapsack, his sister was being ushered into her room.  Chris handed Coty the bag, but Coty didn't reach to take it. "Just set it down Chris," Joanne told him. Once Chris had walked away, Coty picked up his bag, then took it into the bathroom and closed the door.  A moment later, Chris heard a long and loud scrapping sound.  "What's he doing?" he asked his mother. "I think he put the stool in front of the door." "Why?" "Cause we don't have a lock." "So." "Chris..." she started to explain, but she didn't know what to say, nor how much.  They had told the kids very little about the boy behind the door.  In fact, all they'd really told them was that he'd lived in a bad place with some mean people.  The toilet flushed, the stool scraped away from the door, and Coty came out smelling of the same mint toothpaste his father used. "Okay, remember, you're sleeping in Chris's room on the bottom." Coty stepped passed her and across the hall. "Good night Coty," she said switching off the light and pulling the door partly closed. "Mommy!" "I'm on my way Jenny, hold your horses." "I will if you buy me one," Jenny giggled back. Chris loved that joke.  It made their parents squirm a little every time they used it.  Ever since Johnny got the ranch, they could no longer use not having a place to keep a horse as an excuse not to get them one.  Twenty-five minutes later, Chris crept into his room, ordered off to bed himself.  Blinking his eyes, he could see the bottom bunk was empty. "Must be in the bathroom again," he thought to himself as he started to climb up to his bunk.  As he lifted his foot to the bottom ladder rung, something clunked underneath the bottom bed. "Mom!" he shouted running out the door. "What?  What's the matter," Joanne asked him, rushing up the stairs. "Something's under my bed!" "I'm sure it's just Coty, Chris.  Just climb up and go to sleep." "Huh!" "Was Coty in his bed?" "No." "No, it's just Coty...do you want me to go back with you?  Come on, I'll show--" "Why is he under the bed?!" "Come on," Joanne told him, "let's go downstairs." Chris felt funny, but followed her down, unsure what was going to happen.  He watched his mother pour two glasses of milk and motion for him to sit down at the table.  Chris sat, but an unexplainable knot forming in his stomach kept him from touching the milk. "Coty..." Joanne began.  Here it was again.  What should she tell him?  How much should she say?  "Johnny didn't know he had a son until Coty came to live with him.  Coty's mom never told him--" "I know." "Right...his mom..." "Was mean to him." "Yeah...very...and she had...she made him...live with some people who were even meaner, so he...I guess he feels safer under there, when he's sleeping...cause it would be harder for anyone to get him...to be mean." "Oh," Chris said, standing and feeling very guilty.  "Goodnight." Joanne sat back a little surprised.  Normally her very inquisitive son would have asked questions, lots of questions.  The fact that he had not touched his milk didn't slip by her either.  Now she had questions of her own.  She told herself to try to talk to him again later, but what she needed to ask him, she didn't know.                       ~/~/~/~/~ To Chris's relief, Johnny picked Coty up first thing in the morning, and didn't even stick around for breakfast.  However, at Joanne's suggestion, Johnny dropped him off again early Monday morning, so he could walk to school with the DeSoto children. As soon as they were out of sight of his house, Chris ran on ahead.  Normally he would have waited until they were a lot closer to school, but the last thing he wanted was to be seen walking with Coty.  It was bad enough to get caught walking his sister to school.  Besides, he figured Coty could do it. "Hey Chris," Travis greeted, giving him a soft punch in the arm. "Hey Trav," Chris answered checking behind him and hoping his sister and Coty were not in sight.  He didn't see them, but he knew they wouldn't be long.  "Come on, let's go do something." "Where's your skateboard?" Travis was always after him to bring it to school, but his mother wouldn't allow it.  "Aw I forgot," he fibbed. "How can you forget it?  You're suppose to ride it to school." "I'll just get it after, no biggy." "Yeah, but now we can't ride them now." Chris wanted to tell him they couldn't ride them now anyway.  It was against school rules, and if they got caught, they'd both get sent to the office.  Instead he kicked at a stone.  In the distance, he saw Coty and his sister start to round the corner.  As soon as Coty saw the two of them, he walked back behind some ladies bushes.  Chris could see he said something to Jenny, but the six-year-old kept coming. 'If you come over here and start telling me how you're gonna tell mom when you get home, I'll smack you.  I promise,' Chris thought to himself. Instead, the little girl pretended not to see him at all, and walked right on by.  He was grateful Travis seemed to be too busy spinning one of his skateboard wheels to notice her.  When the bell rang, he couldn't help but watch for Coty to come out and go into the school, but he saw nothing.  To his surprise, the boy was already in his desk when he and Travis entered the room.  Travis smiled over the fact the teacher had not yet arrived.  He walked to his desk, deliberately hitting Coty with his backpack as he went. Chris faked a smile.  He knew it was his turn to do something, and it was expected.  Eddie Morris saved him by pretending to drop his heavy science book on Coty's head.  The thing was huge.  Chris set his backpack down and pretended to be very busy looking for his homework that he knew they'd have to pass in right at the beginning of class.  It was actually tucked safely into one of his folders, his father had seen to that.  The act worked, and before they got too suspicious, their teacher walked in. Reading rolled around two and a half hours later.  Chris, Travis, Davis Sternwell and Katie Brimley all lined up to go to the dumb readers class, as they all called it; and Coty and Howard Winegarten lined up with them to go to the accelerated reading class.  They were suppose to follow a teacher's aid to the library, walking in single file, and without talking.  When the teacher's aid didn't show up, Chris knew there was going to be trouble.  They were told the aid was sick, and they were expected to walk like nice little ladies and gentlemen by themselves.  The 'slow' boys stopped by the water fountain as soon as the door was closed.  Katie, followed by Howard and then Coty, kept going.  After getting a drink, Travis ran after them.  Chris was thirsty, but he skipped his drink to follow.  Howard, as usual, had his shoe untied.  Travis stomped on the floor in time with the boy until he caught it under his foot, causing the boy to fall flat on his face. "I'm telling," Katie hissed. "Shhhh," Travis told her putting his finger up, "no talking in the hallway." Coty ignored them all, and kept on going.  Katie tried to help Howard to his feet, but he pushed her away.  The library door opened just as Coty reached it, with the rest of them half way down the hall.  "Did you run?" the librarian accused him.  "There is no running in the halls.  Go stand in the corner." "Mrs. Stanky," Katie appealed as she came in. "Uh, Katie, I don't want to hear it.  No one likes a tattletale.  Go take your seat.  Your teacher's waiting." "But Mrs. Stanky, Travis--" "Go sit down Katie. Travis giggled at the boy in the corner, and nudged Chris. Chris did his best to smile back.  All he had done was trip Howard, it had always seemed funny before.  Boys tried to trip each other all the time. "Mrs. Stanky," Coty and Howard's reading teacher called pointing at Coty's back. "That one ran.  I tell ya, you can turn your back on these kids for a minute." The teacher nodded and went back to the rest of her group.  She had seven other kids from three other classes to deal with, not to mention the fact that Howard Winegarten looked like he was close to crying.  Coty sat forgotten for nearly half an hour before his teacher let him out of the corner herself.  Travis made a face at him from the other side of the room, deliberately holding his book upside down in order to make the other kids in his group laugh. "Miss Sandries?  I think mines written in Spanish," he quipped. The other kids laughed again, including Chris and Katie.  Travis could be very funny.  That was why Chris had always liked him. After reading was lunch and then recess.  Chris and his friends lucked out and managed to get one of the balls to play with.  Once recess was over though, Chris ended up being the one stuck turning the ball in.  Eddie stood by their classroom door smiling.  Inside the class room Travis had Coty's desk tipped back, with Coty in it.  He kept letting it go, and grabbing it again, as if he were going to let the desk fall over backwards.  Coty just looked back at him.  All the other kids were standing around watching.  Between Travis, Davis, and a couple other kids standing right around him, there was nothing else he could do.  Even if he hadn't been pinned in by bodies, if he moved he might cause the desk to fall himself.  "Why did you even move here," Travis asked.  "Why don't you go back where you came from.  Nobody likes you.  If you don't move, we're going to beat you up.  Just wait.  One day after school--" "Teacher!" Eddie warned from the doorway. Travis dropped the desk, causing it to fall hard back down to the floor.  All the kids scattered to their desks. "Chris?" the teacher asked as she came in.  "Are you going to sit down?" "Yes ma'am," he blushed. onto part 7