Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 19:31:10 EDT From: adama1416@aol.com Subject: Tyler and the Football Coach Pt. 4 Disclaimer; The following is a fictional story. It did not happen, the characters are not real, it is the creation of my fertile imagination, with some input from friends and readers. It contains graphic depictions of sexual contact between adult men and teenaged boys. If it is illegal for you to read this type of material in your state/province, country, or community, or you are under the legal age for your geographical area of the world, do not read any further! That said, please feel free to write and let me know if you liked the story. I love to hear from my readers. You can contact me at adama1416@aol.com. Because this story is Fiction, there are no condoms employed anywhere in the text, however, we don't live in a fictional place, we live in the real world! Please play safe, always use a condom when you play! Part 4 Jess got Tyler up for school and got himself dressed, fixed them some breakfast, and they headed out the door. At the school, he reminded Tyler that he had a staff meeting that afternoon, and Tyler would have to entertain himself until he got finished around 5:00. He promised the boy that they would get some dinner on the way home and they parted to their classrooms. The school day was pretty much like any other except for the fact that every time Tyler would pass Justin in the hall, the boy would clap him on the back and mumble something incoherent. Tyler really didn't give it much thought, and just went about the school routine as usual. When Tyler went to his locker to put his books away he found a note inside, folded so that it would fit through the little air slots on the door. It read; Ty, Meet me after school in the clearing in the woods. I have to talk to you. David Tyler tucked the note into his pocket, closed his locker and headed out of the school building toward the football field, where the high school team was practicing. He quickly cut around the field and headed into the woods. Reaching the clearing, he was all alone and figured that David hadn't made it out of the building yet. In the distance he could hear the noises of the football team, and the faint sound of the band practicing in the band room. He dropped his backpack onto the ground and stretched out, using it as a pillow, as he got comfortable to wait for his best friend. Even though it was late September, the air was still quite warm and Tyler drifted off to sleep. He hadn't been sleeping long when he woke to see David kneeling over him, tickling his nose with a blade of grass. "Wake up sleepy head, did you have a rough night last night?" David said, laughing. "Nope, but I got here and you weren't here, so I made myself comfortable. I must have gotten too comfortable. So what's so all fired important that you left me a note?" David's expression turned serious as he sat next to his friend, bracing his back against the big tree. He remained silent as he fished in his mind for the right words. Tyler got up from his position on the ground and sat next to his best friend, against the tree. Looking into David's face he spoke. "Come on David, what's so important?" "Tyler, I know what you and the coach are doing together. I've seen you." David couldn't look him in the face as he said it. Tyler was speechless. He couldn't imagine when or how David could have seen them having sex, but he also knew that he couldn't lie to his best friend either. "Ho...wh...when did you see?" "The other day, I followed you home from school, only you didn't go home, you went to Coach's house. I snuck around to the back and looked in the window at you. You were sucking his dick, and then he put it up your butt! Why didn't you tell me? Aren't we best friends? Didn't we promise to tell each other everything, always?" David sounded angry. Now it was Tyler's turn to look at the ground. "I was afraid to tell you David. I was afraid you would tell on us or something, and maybe get Jess, I mean Coach, in trouble!" "Tyler, why would I tell on you? I love you, we're best friends and best friends don't do things to hurt each other! How long have you guys been. doing it?" "Since the first time I stayed all night at his house." "Did he make you to do it?" "No, actually, I started it. I wanted him to make love to me, to take me like a man does with the person he loves. I know it was wrong, but I couldn't help myself, I wanted it so bad. I know we've been playing around for a while, having sex together, and I really love you too David, but you couldn't give me what Jess does. When I have him inside me, I feel like the whole world stands still!" Tyler could feel the tears burning his eyes. David wrapped his arms around his friend and held him. "Oh Ty, I'm sorry, but I was jealous, and hurt too. I thought you didn't want to be my friend anymore, and I was afraid of loosing you. But I have another confession to make." He got silent while he tried to find the words to continue. "I want what you have, I want to have a man make love to me too. I would really like for it to be my dad, but I'm afraid he would hate me for being. well, you know." Did he actually hear what he thought he heard? Was David actually telling him that he wanted to have sex with Jess too? Tyler couldn't believe he had heard his friend correctly. "David, did you just tell me that you want to have sex with Jess?" David hung his head again, "Yeah, I guess I am. Are you mad at me?" "Hell no I'm not mad, I was gonna ask you if you wanted to join us!" David's face lit up as he looked Tyler in the face. "You really mean it? You really want me to have sex with you and Coach? But won't he be upset if... " Tyler wasn't sure if he should tell David that it was Jess' idea to bring him into their special time or not, so he decided not to. "Ok, listen, this is what we'll do. My mom will probably be gone again this weekend, so I'll be staying at Coach's house, and I'll get him to let me invite you to spend the night. We'll go to bed in the spare room and I'll get up and go to his room and pretend that you're still asleep, then you wait for about five minutes and come into his room too, but be naked when you come in. I'll have him busy and he won't notice that you're there until you join us on the bed." "Cool, but what will I do? I mean what will I do once I get in there and on the bed?" "Just do what ever you think will make you and him feel good. But I need to warn you, if you take it up the butt, it hurts a lot at first, but then it starts to feel really great, and the more you do it, the better it feels." "Wow, I can't wait. But what if your mom doesn't leave town for the weekend?" "That's not a problem, I'll just tell her I'm spending the night at your house. She won't care anyway." Without thinking, David grabbed Tyler and kissed him on the lips. Tyler's response wasn't what David expected though, as he put his arms around David's back and began to probe his lips with his tongue. David slowly opened his mouth and allowed Tyler's tongue to enter as they held the embrace for what seemed like a long time. When they separated the only thing David could say was "WOW!" Tyler looked at his watch. "Oh man, I've got to get back to the school, Jess should be getting out of his meeting in a few minutes. You want a ride home?" "Sure, let's go." The boys walked back across the football field and around to the teacher's parking lot, just as Jess was coming out of the building. "Can we give David a ride home?" "Sure, climb in boys." Tyler opened the passenger door as David slid across the front seat to the middle, then he got in and shut the door as Jess put the key into the ignition. They talked about the next day's practice as they drove to David's house. Once David was out of the car and into his house, Tyler proceeded to fill Jess in on the plan for the weekend as they drove toward the restaurant to have dinner. "And he's ok with all of this?" "Yeah, in fact, he's been secretly wanting to have sex with us for a while. And did you know he's spied on us having sex once already?" "What? When?" "He followed me to your house the other day and peeked through the window at us?" "Well, that explains how the crate ended up under the window, I thought someone had tried to break into the house." "But just remember Jess, you can't let on like you know anything is going on. He thinks it's going to be a total surprise for you." Jess quickly made an X sign across his chest, "Cross my heart buddy, but are you sure you're ok with all of this?" "Just as long as you remember our deal, you can only do stuff with David when I'm there too, at least until I'm gone to Nashville!" Jess could see the uncertainty on the boys face and was wishing he could tell him about David's dad, but he didn't dare. Practice Tuesday went smoothly and the team got a lot accomplished. Jess and Chuck both noticed that Justin was more aggressive than usual, even making some really nasty hits, causing Jess to have to warn him that those sorts of things would be considered illegal contact during a game. Justin just shrugged it off and walked away. Once in the coaching office, Jess filled Chuck in on the plan for the weekend, assuring him that it wasn't too late to back out. Chuck insisted that they go ahead with it because he really wanted it to happen. As they were getting ready to leave Chuck invited Jess and Tyler to join David and him for dinner. They accepted and decided that he and Tyler would follow them to the restaurant. Tyler's mother returned home on Wednesday, but as usual was gone again by Friday afternoon. This time she hadn't even bothered to call, but left a note on Jess' door saying that she wouldn't be back until the following Wednesday, and that she had left Tyler a bag, with some clothes in it, on the carport. Jess smiled to himself as he read the note, thinking that at the rate things were going, she would never sell the house because there was never anyone available to show it to interested buyers. He knew that the wedding was planned for the following weekend, but every delay in selling the house would keep Tyler there just that much longer. Jess had no sooner turned the key in the lock when he turned to see Tyler riding up the drive on his bike. He ruffled the boys hair as they entered the house. "Welcome back champ!" Jess said with a bit of a lilt to his voice. Saturday morning Jess suggested that they finish the drawing they had started a week ago, to which Tyler agreed, but when Jess came into the bedroom to find Tyler already naked and posed, he wasn't carrying the sketch pad, but instead, an easel with a large canvas board on it, and a box filled with paint and brushes. Tyler noticed that on the canvas had already been sketched the drawing from the pad. Jess pulled out a round board and began squirting globs of paint onto it, then picked up a brush and began applying paint to the canvas. Around noon, he began putting the paint and things away as he looked at Tyler. "Time to put our plan into motion big guy, David will be here soon, so you should probably be dressed. That way he won't think we've been up to something when he first gets here. You know, it`s not too late to decide that you don`t want to go through with this, and I`ll understand completely." Tyler shook his head no, as they got busy. They got the bedroom straightened up and Jess put the easel and canvas in the corner, facing the wall, then they went to the kitchen to fix some lunch. Just as they finished eating, the doorbell rang. Tyler opened the door to find David and Chuck standing there, as Jess walked up behind Tyler. "Hi guys, come on in." Jess said. "What have you guys got planned for today?" Chuck asked. "I thought we'd head over to Knoxville and check out that new arcade, and maybe even take in a movie." Jess replied, "What about yourself?" "I'm going to the office. I have a load of work on my desk that I need to get caught up on before Monday." "Oh, I don't envy you that mess!" "Well, at least you guys will be having some fun!" Chuck said with a knowing smile, "Let me know how things go, and I'll pick David up around noon tomorrow." He said with a wink. Jess walked David out to the car as he waited for the boys to get David's things into the spare room, and come out to get in the car. "You know Jess, I really appreciate this, I guess I should have paid more attention to how things started between me and my dad, then I wouldn't be in this position of asking my best friend to get things started for me." Best friend, Jess thought, where did that come from? Of course, he didn't dislike the idea, and they had been doing a lot of things together lately, so why not? "Chuck, you know, I would really feel a lot better if you were the one breaking your boy in. I mean, it's only fair for you to be his first!" "Well, I trust you completely, and I know that you're not going to hurt him, so it's all cool." The boys came out of the house, stopping only long enough to make sure that the door had locked behind them. Piling into the car with Tyler in the middle, they blew the horn to get Jess' attention. He shook hands with Chuck and walked up to the car, getting in and starting the engine. As they backed out of the drive, his thoughts again returned to what Chuck had just said, calling him his best friend. Their day in Knoxville was full and active, but as it got close to 5:00 Jess decided it was time to head back to the house. They stopped to eat on the way home, and then at the video store where he let them pick out the movie for tonight. Once they were back in the house, Jess went to his bedroom and changed into a pair of sweat shorts, and then came back out to the living to find both boys sitting on the couch in their underwear. Jess started toward one of the two big chairs as both boys pleaded for him to sit between them. When the video started, both boys snuggled close to Jess, pulling one of his arms over each of their shoulders and settled in to watch the movie. By the movie had ended it was 9:30 and Jess got up from the couch. "I'm going to bed guys, don't stay up too late, and don't make a mess!" Jess said as he stretched, winking at Tyler. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired too." Tyler said. "What about you David, I think it's time we all went to bed." "Yeah," David added, "It's been a long day. But I really had a lot of fun though Coach." "Yeah, listen David, when we're not at football practice or at school, you can call me Jess, just like Tyler does. Ok?" "Sure!" David beamed. Tyler jumped up and grabbed Jess around the waist, and hugged him goodnight, followed by David, then both boys headed for the spare room. Jess turned off the VCR and the TV set, then turned off the lights and headed for his bedroom. He heard the toilet flush as he went into his room and pulled the door shut, but not all the way latched, took off his shorts and got into the bed. As he reached for the lamp to turn it off, he glanced at his watch, in about twenty minutes, Tyler should be coming in to get things started. It seemed like the longest twenty minutes he had ever waited for anything in his life. Jess heard the padding of bare feet as the door opened slightly, and Tyler entered the room. Without hesitation, Tyler pulled the light blanket off of Jess and climbed up onto the bed with him. Not waiting for Jess to say anything, Tyler immediately got between Jess' outstretched legs and began slathering his semi erect cock with his tongue, then grasped it between his lips and sucked it into his mouth. Jess closed his eyes and was soon lost in the sensations the boy was creating in his groin. Jess felt the additional movement on the bed as David joined Tyler, and as per the plan, he pretended not to notice. When Tyler raised up, releasing Jess' cock from his mouth, David quickly leaned forward, pulling the cock into his own mouth and sucking it in. He was careful to imitate what he remembered Tyler doing to his much smaller cock, and began to suck with somewhat practiced skill. Jess wasn't totally sure that the boys had traded off on his cock until he opened his eyes slightly, tilting his head just enough to see Tyler kneeling next to the sucking David. Tyler began to run his hands down David's back toward his butt, then began to knead the boy's firm young ass cheeks. David never missed a beat as Jess raised up onto his elbows. "David? What's going on?" Jess said in mock surprise. David looked up at Jess, his mouth still full of the man's very large cock, and smiled around the cock in his mouth. It was all Tyler could do to keep from busting out laughing at Jess' poor attempt at acting surprised, but nearly lost it for sure when he saw the look on David's face. Not wanting to be left out of the action any longer, Tyler quickly moved behind David and began probing at his friend's hole with his tongue, causing David to moan around the cock which was filling his mouth to maximum capacity. Once he was sure that he had the small entrance good and wet, Tyler began poking his finger into David, which elicited a similar but stronger response, as David thrust his face all the way down on Jess' cock, causing himself to choke. Jess could feel his climax building and didn't want to cum just yet, so he sat upright, placing his hands on either side of David's face, and lifted the boy's head off his cock. He pulled David up onto his chest as he lay back and gently kissed him on the mouth, enjoying the difference between the taste of David's mouth, compared to Tyler's, then began to slowly stroke down the boy's back until his hands reached the firm mounds of his ass cheeks. He began to knead the flesh and separate the mounds as Tyler once again, dove back into his friend's young hole with his tongue and fingers. Before long, David began wiggling his body downward on the man's chest and belly, until he felt the large cock poking at his tight little ball sac. Tyler became acutely aware of what David's intentions were, and quickly sucked Jess' big cock into his mouth, getting it as wet as he possibly could, then he used one hand to position the head at his friend's hole and whispered for him to sit up. As David changed his body position, the head of Jess's cock gently pushed into the spit slick hole, which Tyler had opened well with all his probing. Tyler leaned forward and told David to push out with his ass muscles, and accept the big cock into himself, and, taking a deep breath, David began to slide down the length slowly. Once he felt the pubic hair tickling his smooth butt cheeks, David knew that he had the cock all the way inside of him. He smiled at Jess, a bit apprehensively, and began to ride up and down the shaft, as Tyler began to play with David's young cock, which was beginning to get rock hard once again. Tyler positioned himself so that he could take turns kissing David and Jess, and put his hands to work, tweaking first David's nipples, and then Jess', until they were both fully into the fucking. Jess hoarsely told Tyler to straddle his head so that he could fuck into his sweet hole with his tongue, and Tyler was quick to respond to the command. Once Jess was busy sucking and tonguing Tyler's hole, Tyler simply leaned forward, taking David's cock into his mouth, and began to suck deeply on his friend. David increased his up and down movements, making it difficult for Tyler to keep the contact between his mouth and the four inch cock that he was sucking on, but he remedied the problem by grabbing David's hips with his hands, giving him a bit more stability as he continued to nurse at the bobbing young cock. David could feel his own climax building as the cock buried in his ass continuously massaged his prostate with each up and down movement, and suddenly felt his young balls seize as he shot three good healthy jets of his young cum into Tyler's mouth. At the same time, he felt Jess' hot cum coating his insides, and he quickly stopped moving up and down, savoring the pleasure as he felt the force of the cum emptying into him. Jess raised Tyler's hips and slurped his small cock into his mouth, sucking hard on it, as Tyler's body too, stiffened in climax. The three fell into a heap of sweaty, panting bodies, as Jess' cock began to soften, and soon dislodged itself from David's previously virgin hole. Once things settled down some, Jess had both boys move up next to him, one on either side. He turned to Tyler first, kissed him deeply then asked how he felt about what had just happened. "I was jealous at first, but when I saw how much David was enjoying himself, I began to enjoy it more, and the mean thoughts just went away and I wanted him to experience it all." Jess then kissed David and asked him how he felt. "I was scared at first, but I knew that I really wanted to do it. It was amazing, but." "But what?" Jess asked. "Well, promise you won't get mad at me?" Jess nodded his head, "Well, I was wishing it was my dad! I really want him to love me the way you love Ty." Jess pulled both boys to him tightly, kissing first one and then the other on the forehead. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, he turned to David. "David, there's something I need for you and Tyler both to know about what happened tonight." The two boys sat upright in the bed and looked at one another, then back at Jess, who was sitting up as well. "I wish I had known before tonight that you wanted to do this with your dad, because this was all his idea. See, he has been wanting to do it with you too, just like his dad did it with him. If we had known this earlier, it would have been him instead of me!" David looked stunned at first, then looked at Tyler. "You helped plan all of this?" David said as Tyler nodded his head. "But you knew that I wanted it with my dad, why didn't you tell Jess?" "Because I didn't know that your dad wanted to be with you, I thought that Jess." Tyler felt the tears begin to sting his eyes, "I thought that Jess wanted you to replace me when I'm gone." "Huh?" David was shocked. "What do you mean, when you're gone? Where do you think you're going?" "My mom is getting married, and Don, the guy she's marrying is moving us to Nashville." Now it was David's turn to feel the sting of tears, "Weren't you going to tell me? Ty, we're best friends!" Jess hugged both boys to him, as they both began to sob into his chest. "Listen boys, this isn't the end of the world. Let's go to the kitchen and get something to drink, and see if we can't figure a few things out, ok?" They got out of the bed and headed to the kitchen. Jess got some glasses down as Tyler got three sodas from the fridge, and David got out a tray of ice. As they sat at the table drinking their sodas, Jess explained to David how his dad had come to him for help in finding out if David was interested. He explained to him about the video he had seen at their house when he spent the night, and that his dad could fill him in on all the details of his relationship with his father. Tyler sat very quietly, listening to Jess talk to David, then... "But that doesn't solve our problem Jess. I still have to move to Nashville, and I won't get to see you or David anymore, and then you won't have anyone to love anymore either." Tyler said, his eyes welling up again. "Ty, I have a friend who is an attorney, and we discussed the idea of getting your mom to let you stay with me, at least until the end of the football season, and then figure things out from there. Does that sound ok to you?" "Yeah, it sounds great, but what if she says no?" "Well, my friend says that we can take a legal action that might give me custody of you. See, when she leaves you here all the time, that's called desertion, and that's actually against the law. That doesn't mean we can do it, it just means that it's an option." Tyler's expression changed as his spirits lifted a little. "Now, let's finish these drinks and get to bed, to sleep this time, all I want to know is who's sleeping where?" The two boys looked at one another and smiled, then looked back at Jess. "Can we all sleep together?" Tyler asked. "Sure, but let's all go pee first." Jess was first in bed, followed closely by the two boys, who jumped in on either side of him, laying their heads on his outstretched arms and cuddling close. Within minutes they were all three asleep. The knock on the door woke Jess and he grabbed his robe as he hurried down the hall to see who it was. He opened the door to find Chuck standing there, wearing a pair of running shorts and t shirt, and sneakers without socks. "I know it's not noon yet, but I just couldn't wait any longer. How'd it go?" "Let's go to the kitchen and make some coffee, and I'll tell you everything you want to know." Chuck kicked off his shoes and followed Jess into the kitchen as he began filling the coffee pot with water, then got the maker ready to brew the coffee. He didn't look at Chuck or talk the whole time the coffee was brewing, and he got cups, sugar and milk, setting them on the table. He knew that the suspense was killing Chuck, but he figured to let him stew just a little bit longer. Once he poured them each a cup of coffee, he took his cup and sat next to his friend, silently sipping his beverage. "Well?" Chuck asked impatiently. "Well what? Oh, that's right, you want to know how things went last night. Well, I'll tell you this for starters, David has been wanting to have sex with you for a long while." "What? How do you know that? Did he tell you that? Of course he did, but was it before or after or what? And what all did you all do?" Jess filled Chuck in on all of the details, then suggested that they go and wake the boys. Upon reaching the bedroom, the two boys were wrapped around one another, sleeping softly. Chuck looked at Jess as if to say, "Do we have to wake them?" but moved to the bed and gently shook David as Jess shook Tyler. David looked into the face of his dad and threw his arms around his neck, tightly, kissing him on the mouth. Chuck immediately began caressing his son's back as the boy kissed down his neck and chest. "Ty, let's you and I give them some privacy, what do you say?" Tyler and Jess left them alone in the bedroom and went to the living room to talk. David stood up on the bed, throwing his arms around his dad's neck, and began kissing him all over his face, tears streaming from his eyes. Chuck pulled away and looked at his son. "Why are you crying son? I thought from what Jess told me that this was what you wanted, as... as much as I do." "I do dad, I'm just so happy cause I finally have what I want from my dad! " "Oh, what's that sport?" "Total love!" David exclaimed as he threw himself back into his dad's neck, kissing frantically as he pulled his dad's t shirt upward. Between the two of them, it didn't take long for Chuck to be totally naked as David dropped to his knees on the bed and began adoring his dad's rapidly stiffening cock. Chuck quickly placed his hands on his son's head, guiding his head lightly, while the boy did most of the work, sucking deeply, then pulling upward, and back again. Chuck felt the electricity shooting through his body as his son awakened the feelings he had held inside for so long. David quickly pulled his mouth off his dad's hard, wet cock, and reached for the bottle of lube on the table beside the bed. He squirted a good amount into his hand and applied it to his dad's member, then squirted out more and applied it to his hungry hole. As he lay back onto the bed, he pulled his dad down with him. "Fill me up dad, please. I want you to make me totally yours!" Chuck didn't need any more encouragement as he lined the head of his cock up to his son's hole and eased forward and in. Once he was all the way in, David threw his arms around him again, and whispered, "I love you so much Daddy! And I`ve waited for this for a long time." Chuck responded by kissing his son on the mouth, as his tongue found it's way inside tasting, for the first time, his son's sweetness. Chuck began to fuck in and out, each time being met by David's own thrusts to meet his driving cock, as they consummated their love for one another. Possibly, due to the excitement of the moment, Chuck reached his climax all too soon, and filled his son with his seed. As they lay clutching one another, Chuck noticed a stickiness between them. As he raised up, he ran his fingers through the small puddle of liquid from his son's navel. "David, you can cum?" David chuckled, "Yeah dad, I have been for a couple of weeks now." David inserted the sticky fingers into his mouth, reveling in the sweet taste of his son's cum, then leaned downward as their lips came together in a long and passionate kiss. Once they were all together in the living room, Chuck hugged Jess, whispering into his ear, "I can't thank you enough for this! What ever I can do to help Tyler stay with you, just let me know and I'll do it." He then surprised Jess by kissing him on the lips. The two boys hugged each other in a tight embrace, as David said, "Look at our two dads, that's so cool!" Tyler looked at his friend briefly, then leaned his face toward David's and kissed him deeply as well. When they separated, they both hugged the two men without letting go of each other and the four of them embraced in a group hug. Once David and Chuck left, Tyler and Jess fixed a light meal, ate it, and went to bed. "Jess." "Yes Ty?" "I'm glad that we helped David and his dad find each other!" "Me too, champ, me too!" Tyler lay his head on Jess' chest and looked up at him smiling. "I love you dad!" Tyler said. "I love you too champ!" Jess responded as they drifted off to sleep. The phone sounded like it was a million miles away as Jess groggily opened his eyes. Looking at his watch the thought to himself, "Who in the hell would be calling at this hour of the morning?" It was just after 3:00 AM as he picked up the phone. "Hello? Yes, this is Jess Braun. When? Where? Yes, he's here at my house, I'll bring him with me. Ok, Thank you for calling, I'll get him up and dressed and we'll be right there. Yes, about 40 minutes." Jess hung up the phone. Looking at the sleeping boy he hated to disturb him from his sleep. Jess ran his hand through the boy's blonde hair as he whispered, "Ty, wake up buddy, we have to get dressed and go someplace." Tyler raised slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he yawned. "Huh? What's going on Jess?" "Get dressed buddy, we have to go to the hospital, your mother's been hurt." Jess was already nearly dressed by the time Tyler realized what was going on. "My mom? What happened?" "I don't know bud, that was the police and they didn't say a whole lot, except that she was hurt and in the hospital over in Knoxville. I told them we would be there in about a half hour or so, so we need to get moving." Tyler jumped from the bed and began dressing as Jess went to the kitchen and returned with two glasses of orange juice. Handing one to Tyler he said, "This will help you wake up a little until we can get something to eat at the hospital. You ready?" Tyler nodded his head as the two of them headed for the car. "I'll call the school from the hospital once we know what's going on, that way we can stay there as long as we need to." Tyler was silent as they drove toward Knoxville. There wasn't much traffic, so Jess made the drive rather quickly. In the Emergency Room there were three policemen talking to a nurse as Jess walked over to them and spoke. Yes, I'm Jess Braun and I have Tyler Jackson with me. I was called about his mother being hurt." One of the officers turned to Jess. "Mr. Braun, I'm the one who called you, where's the boy?" "He's right over there, is she ok? What happened?" "I'll answer all of your questions in just a moment, but first we need to get the boy someplace safe. Joe, can you sit with the boy over there while I go and talk to Mr. Braun?" "Sure Detective." came the man's answer as Jess and the Sergeant moved to a small room behind the nurses station. "Would you like a cup of coffee Mr. Braun?" "Yeah, sure, but what's going on? How's Ms. Jackson?" The officer poured a cup of coffee and handed it to Jess then sat on the edge of a table. "I really hate having to give people bad news, but it really doesn't look too good for Ms. Jackson. Do you know Don Whitson?" "No, not really, I know that she and Mr. Whitson were planning to get married, but that's as much as I know about him." "Well, we have Mr. Whitson in custody. We got a call from the motel owner saying that it sounded like someone was being killed. When we got there he was standing over her beating her in the face. Apparently the fight started over the boy. I know the boy was with you, but it seems that Mr. Whitson was insisting that the boy be sent up to Kentucky to the military academy there to get him out of the way, and she wanted the boy to live with them after the marriage. When we got her here, she gave us your number and told us that you were keeping the boy for her so we called you. That was before." the officer paused, "before she slipped into the coma." Jess didn't know what to say, he was shocked. "Mr. Braun, do you know if they have any relatives in the area that could take the boy?" Jess looked blankly into the face of the big man. "No, actually, they don't, I mean, Tyler's real dad hasn't been heard from since he was a baby, and her parents aren't living. To the best of my knowledge, she doesn't have any siblings." The officer wrote something on his notebook then sat silently for a few moments. "Well, I'm sure you, not being related, would probably not want to be bothered, so we can call children's services to come and take the boy until the mother's condition improves and she is released, but she did ask if we would ask you to take Tyler to live with you until she's better, that was before she slipped into the coma also." Jess suddenly felt nothing but fear for Tyler. "No, I don't think children's services is a good idea, the boy is going to be upset enough over all of this, without sticking him into a strange place with people he doesn't know. I will take Tyler home with me, he has his own room at my house, he stays there a lot when she's away, so it really won't be any trouble, but I would like to get some more of his things from their house, and Tyler doesn't have a key." The officer smiled. "You know, I had a feeling that you might suggest that Tyler continue to stay with you." He reached into his pocket, retrieving a ring of keys, "She gave us the keys to her house so that you could get in." He handed Jess the keys. "Of course, you know this could be a long term thing, there's no telling how long she could be in the coma, and then again, there's the possibility she may never recover! Are you prepared to deal with that?" "I am prepared to do what ever I need to do to insure Tyler's safety and happiness! If that means keeping him indefinitely, then that's what will be. I wouldn't, no, couldn't imagine turning the boy away. He's a good kid, and as a teacher, I know it's vital to maintain as much consistency as possible in cases like this. Now I have a question for you. Do you think she has a chance? I mean, should I prepare Tyler for the possibility that she may not survive?" The officer looked at his shoes, then up at Jess. "Honestly Mr. Braun, I don't give her much chance of survival. When I left her room, they were putting her on a respirator, and that's never a good sign." "Well, I think it would be a good idea to let Tyler see his mother, then take him home and let him get some rest. I've already decided to keep him home from school today, and I'll find an appropriate time to talk to him about her situation." "I think that's a very good idea. Of course there will be some paperwork that you'll need to sign, and the children's services people from your county will need to stop by for a visit, but I see no reason why we can't let Tyler go back with you. And we need to make arrangements to get her car from the motel too. The key is on that ring I just gave you. I wouldn't let him stay in with his mother too long, and you might want to prepare him a little for what he's about to see. If you don't think you can handle that, we can have a nurse or a psychologist talk to him." "I think we'll be fine, I'll talk to him before we go in, and we'll only stay as long as he wants to. What's the room number?" "It's 214. Right across the hall, so if you need me or the nurse, we'll be right here." "Thanks." Jess said as he stood and headed out to where Tyler was sitting. Jess knelt down in front of Tyler as the officer got up to leave. "Tyler, we're going to go in and see your mom in a minute, but there are a few things I need to tell you first, ok?" Tyler nodded his head sleepily. "Your mom is in pretty bad shape and she may not be able to hear you, but you can talk to her if you want to. Then, when you're ready, we'll go home and get you back to bed, then tomorrow, we'll go to your house and get some of your things to bring to the house, and we'll talk about what is going to happen from there. Is that ok with you bud?" Tyler nodded his head again as he stood up, taking Jess' hand in his and they walked toward the room. Inside the dimly lit room, Tyler walked to the edge of the bed. He reached out his hand and touched his mother's hand, then stood silently for a moment. Jess watched the boy intently as he stood there, admiring the boy's courage, but also ready to hold and comfort him should the need arise. After what seemed an eternity, Tyler looked up at Jess and smiled. "Can we go home now?" he said as Jess noticed a tear streaking the beautiful little face. "Sure we can champ, if that's what you want." Tyler turned back to his mother and said simply, "Good night mom!" then turned and took Jess' hand in his again as they headed to the door. As they left the officer had Jess sign some papers that would be passed on to the children's services office in their county, and they left the hospital. On the edge of Knoxville, Jess spotted a Waffle House, and pulled in to get them some breakfast. They ate in silence then got back in the car to head on home. "Would you like to lay down in the back seat and maybe sleep on the way home Ty?" "No, I want to sit up here with you Jess." They buckled their seat belts and Jess made the short trip back home. When they entered the house it was almost 7:00 so Jess picked up the phone and called the school to let them know to get a sub for him, and that Tyler wouldn't be in either. He explained the situation and then hung up the phone, turning to find Tyler sitting on the couch, just staring off into space. Jess walked over and sat next to the boy, putting his arm around him, when Tyler turned his face into the man's chest and began to sob. Jess decided that the best thing at this point was to let him just cry it out as he comforted the boy, rubbing his shoulders and the back of his head. Tyler eventually cried himself to sleep and Jess picked him up and carried him to the bedroom, laid the boy down and started to leave the room when Tyler latched onto his hand, pulling him down onto the bed beside him. It was after noon when they awoke again.