Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 18:08:19 -0800 (PST) From: eagle 42 Subject: Tanner & Robert, Chapter 5 Disclaimer: This story is a fantasy of my own creation. The characters are not real; they were born of my imagination. If a consensual relationship between two of-age males bothers you, then do not read further. If you are under the legal age in your area, stop reading now. Any similarities between a character and a real person, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any actions the reader takes as a result of reading this story are not the responsibility of the author. You may not reproduce, post, or distribute this story in any way without the author's expressed written permission. You may print out one copy or save one copy of this story for your own viewing and entertainment. By reading further, you implicitly are agreeing to the above guidelines. Many thanks go to Hal and Jason for volunteering their time and expertise to edit this story. Comments from readers are encouraged. I appreciate your constructive criticism and comments. Enjoy -- Tanner and Robert - Chapter Five Deja vous (Tanner) "Hello. Uncle Jason? Yes, this is Tanner. What? Everything is great! You're gonna love them -- even my bratty little brother" I grinned at Robert who was standing behind the sofa where his parents were sitting. He made an obscene gesture to me, knowing his parents would not see it. "What? Say that again! Is he ok? When did it happen? All right! Let me call you back after I've talked with them. Thank you. I love you too. Bye." Robert Tanner turned to us, pale and visibly shaken. He moaned, "Earlier this morning my brother suffered a severe head injury while riding his dirt bike. He's in intensive care. I need to get back home ASAP." Chapter Five Dr. Worthington I went to Tanner, hugged him tightly and said, "Tanner, we're so sorry. What can we do?" "I don't know right now. I'm to call my uncle back after you and I have talked," he responded quietly. I looked over at Dorothy and without saying a word, saw that she understood and approved what I was about to suggest. When you've enjoyed a long close relationship as she and I have, sometimes verbal communication isn't necessary, and this was one of those occasions. "Tanner, I want to go back with you to California," and looking at Robert, continued. "Unless I'm badly mistaken, your "little" brother would like to also. His school is on Fall break, and I can arrange with the clinic to be off a few days. Right now my place is beside my new son!" "Sir, you have no idea how much that would mean to me, Kyle and Uncle Jason. It will also be a great opportunity for them to get to know you and Robert," Tanner answered with relief in his voice. "Fine, then that's what we'll do. Let me get my office manager on the phone so that she can arrange our airline reservations. When do you want to leave?" Tanner answered, "Airline reservations won't be necessary, sir. Uncle Jason is arranging to have one of his company aircraft pick us up tomorrow morning. I'm to call him so that he and I can make the final arrangements. Several of his associates were in Boston finishing up some litigation and were returning to La Jolla tomorrow anyway." A light went off in my head. "Of Course!! Tanner, your Uncle Jason is Jason Kingston of J. Kingston and Associates, right? "Yes sir. His firm specializes in defending physicians involved in malpractice suits." I continued, "That's an understatement, to say the least, Tanner. His firm is the largest and most respected in this country -- I mean, for those firms that specialize in malpractice defense." Turning to Dorothy, "You remember, dear -- we met him a few years ago at that medical convention in Chicago. In fact, we sat at the same table with him at the awards dinner. Damn, and to think ..." "You're right, Bob. I recall being impressed that he was both a physician and attorney -- very warm individual, if I remember correctly," she responded with amazement in her voice. She turned to Tanner, "And he's your uncle? Can you believe this!" "Yes, m'am. Uncle Jason and my dad are, uh, were only two years apart in age, dad being the oldest. Both went to medical school here in Virginia and returned to California to practice. Uncle Jason completed a residency in Family Practice while dad became an obstetrician. Uncle Jason only practiced for about five years and then decided to return to law school." "Uh, Maybe we should call Uncle Jason now to make the finalize the arrangements. What time can we be ready tomorrow?" "Anytime that suits your uncle's schedule. Go and ahead and make the call. If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with him before you hang up," I remarked. Tanner "The phone's ringing. (pause) Uncle Jason? How's Kyle? No change? Surgery day after tomorrow if the swelling doesn't go down? (pause) Yes, we'll offer a prayer on this end too." "Everything's great here. Yes, Dr. Worthington and I have everything arranged on this end. He'll be accompanying me and so will Robert. (pause) You're not surprised, are you? (pause) Tomorrow at 7 a.m.? Hold on." Dr. Worthington nodded his approval. Robert just smiled. "7 a.m. it is. We'll be there in plenty of time. (pause) Ok, that'll be fine. See you. Uh, Wait a minute. Dr. Worthington wants a word with you." "Jason, Bob Worthington here. (pause) Yes, Dorothy and I were just relating that evening to Tanner. (pause) Right. I didn't make the connection at first, but ... Small world, isn't it? (pause) You're sure that it's ok for Robert and I to come? We won't be an imposition? Good. (pause) It was nice to speak with you again ... yes, very mixed emotions ... joy with having reunited with Tanner, but concern regarding Kyle's accident. Please keep us posted if there are any changes tonight. You have our number? (pause) Thank you. Good evening." Dr. Worthington returned the phone to me and continued, "Well, it's all arranged. I still can't believe that Jason is your uncle. Will wonders never cease!" Dorothy "Tanner, where did you stay last night?" "At the Holiday Inn out near the University." I answered. "I've made reservations for five days." "Well, even if you weren't flying back to California, we're not letting any son of ours stay anywhere but here. Right, Bob? "Absolutely!" Dr. Worthington replied with big smile on his face as he heard his wife refer to Tanner as "son". "Robert, you and Kirk take Tanner out to the hotel in my car; let him get checked out and bring his stuff here. Since we're having the repair work done on the two guest rooms, he'll have to share a room with you or sleep on the foldout sofa in here," I added. "Tanner, we had a bad storm last week that caused a huge limb to break off and land on our roof. The side of the house upstairs with the two guest rooms had considerable rain damage because of the rather large gaping holes created in the roof. The holes have been repaired, but remodeling on the two rooms is moving at a snail's pace," I continued. "Mom, you're actually going to let me drive your 'tank'? Robert teased. "Tanner, my brother, you should have shown up sooner!" "Pay no attention to your bratty little brother, Tanner." "Here are the keys, Robert Chaise Worthington! Just don't put any dents in it", I continued as the three young men headed out the door. Dr. Worthington As soon as the kids were gone, Dorothy and I fixed a drink and sat down to talk for the first time since Tanner came into our world. "Sweetheart, you realize that our lives will never be the same again, don't you?" I began. She reached out, took my hand and responded, "Yes, I do, and in more ways than we can ever imagine. And before you say anything else, I want him here too. He's not only your son, but he's mine now also. That is, if that's what he wants." She squeezed my hand as my eyes grew misty. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" "Just being you is enough! I love you, Bob Worthington." She leaned over and kissed me lovingly. With a sly grin spreading across her face, she spoke after a few moments of reflection, "It's not every man that can create a 'Polaroid' child, you know. Just think, this morning we were the parents of one 16 year old and then, presto, we have two teenagers. Frankly, I think we need to be prepared to be the parents of three teenagers. Kyle maybe not belong to either one of us, but he's as much a member of this family as is Tanner. If Tanner were to move here, you know Kyle probably would too. Have you thought about that?" "It has flashed across my mind. But, to be perfectly honest, neither one of us has had time to think through any of this. It's all happened so fast," I answered. Dorothy said, "Robert is so excited about having a brother. I know he has finally resigned himself to being an only child. Remember when he was just a tike? He used to ask God to send him a brother when he was saying his nightly prayers. Well, the Lord truly works in mysterious ways." She continued, "Sure, Kirk is like a brother, but, dear, Tanner really is his brother, granted, half- brother, but blood kin at that." "I really don't remember seeing him this excited since Santa brought him his first bike," I remarked and chuckled. "Can you believe how much they resemble each other? It's really like they were identical twins. I guess we know whose genes are dominant in these two," she teased. I grinned and picked up the conversation, "If Tanner and Kyle decide to move here with us, we'll have to look at adding on to the house. Thank God we can afford it. You know, we've talked about converting the pool house into a guest cottage for some time. If we did that, then the two guest rooms could become the boy's rooms." We continued discussing the change in our little world for some time when we heard the loud voices and laughter of three boisterous teenagers as they neared the library. "All checked out?" I asked. He responded in the affirmative. I continued, "Tanner, do you think you might be comfortable addressing me as something besides 'sir'? That sounds so formal." He teared up a bit and asked timidly, "How.. how about 'dad'?" I walked over to him, embraced him warmly and answered into his ear, "That sounds wonderful! Are you comfortable saying that so soon?" "Yes, sir, uh, dad," he answered quietly. There was not a dry eye in the room. Dorothy broke the mood after a few moments by suggesting, "Robert, help your brother take his stuff up to your room. Let's get some organization here." "Right Sarge!" Robert retorted and laughed. "Bro, you'll get used to our mom, the drill sergeant, soon enough. There's still time for you to reconsider the Holiday Inn." Tanner quipped, "Oh, she doesn't seem so tough to me. You aren't THAT bad, are you, 'mom'?" The look on Dorothy's face spoke volumes, "Thank you, sweetheart," she responded warmly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She continued, "You can sleep in with Robert or you can bunk here on the sofa. It folds out into a queen-size bed. The mattress really isn't too bad. Whatever you decide." Robert Kirk, Tanner and I took his stuff to my room, which is rather large. Even though it has a king-size bed, there's still gobs of room. Tanner hung up his suit bag in the smaller closet and placed his two bags in the walk-in closet on the other side of the room. "Wow, are all the bedrooms this big?" he asked. "Oh, yea, even the two guest rooms. Each has it's own private bath too. When we have guests, dad and mom wanted them to have their privacy and us too," I answered and continued, "Well, bro, what'll it be? Sleep here or downstairs? I promise I won't toss and turn too much." Secretly, in my mind, I was hoping beyond all hope that he would choose to sleep in my bed with me. I thought to myself, "Wait a minute, you pervert; he's your brother. That's sick getting turned on by your brother; that's incest!" Tanner brought me out of my thoughts by offering, "This bed looks a lot more comfortable than the sofa downstairs; besides, it's a lot more private here. I'd feel like I was under the scrutiny of all those books' authors down there in the library. Kinda spooky, huh?" He laughed. "Just make Robert take a shower before going to bed; his feet really stink. Or, is it his butt?" Kirk interrupted, offering his two-cents worth and holding his nose. I shot him a bird while Tanner chuckled at our banter. He commented, "You two remind me of Kyle and myself. Our parents just could not believe the things we said to each other -- all in jest; but, nevertheless, to an outsider, we sounded like we despise one another. Far from it, Kirk and I have always been close even though he's almost three years younger than I." Kirk said, "I'll stay over at my house tonight again since you two will have to get up really early tomorrow to meet your flight. Tanner, if he tries to molest you, just give me a call. The sex police have him listed as the neighborhood sex offender poster boy. They've deputized me to keep an eye on him." "Up yours, Kirk." I replied, giving him the finger again. "In your dreams, buddy, in your dreams," he retorted. We finished following up on sarge's orders -- getting Tanner situated -- and went downstairs to rejoin mom and dad. Dr. Worthington "There you are, boys. The sarge, here, has decided that we're eating out tonight. Tanner, Saturday and Sundays are Karl's days off unless we're hosting a special occasion here. He left to visit friends in San Francisco after you fellows went to the mall." "Go get washed up; you too, Kirk. We're eating early tonight so we can hit the sack before it's so late that we have trouble getting up tomorrow in time for the flight." "Tanner, we need to decide what to do with your car while we're gone. There's only room for three cars in the garage." Robert I piped up, "Dad, have you seen his car? It's a Porsche convertible!" Dad looked amazed and commented, "I've always wanted one of those. They're really a great handling vehicle, aren't they? Dorothy wanted me to get a Jag this time around. It's a convertible and I really like it, but, it's not a Porsche!" Tanner interjected, "It was a graduation present from my parents; my reward for getting a full college scholarship, I guess. Anyway, I love it ... fun to drive." "Can pick up lots of chicks with it too, I bet," quipped Kirk. Tanner blushed a bit and smiled, "Let's just say it doesn't drive them away!" My heart just sank when I heard his comment. He was obviously straight. "I keep a weather cover for it in the trunk. That'll do just fine while we're gone," Tanner continued. "You guys want to help me put it on?" We went outside to take car of his car. Dr. Worthington Our dinner was pleasant with most of the conversation revolving around Tanner's life in California. I was beginning to wonder if Robert and Kirk might just decide to turn the tables and move to LA and live with Tanner and Kyle instead. Upon my mentioning that, Tanner quipped that he didn't feel these two naive easterners could survive life in the fast lane out there. Our two 16-year olds replied that they just might like to give it a try. After a relaxing and delightful meal, we immediately drove home and began preparing for the next few days in California. Dorothy and I retired to our section of the house, Kirk went home next door while Tanner and Robert headed upstairs to Robert's room. Robert "Tanner, which side of the bed do you want? Either is ok with me." "You take the side with the alarm clock, Robert. I'll be just fine over here. By the way, would it be ok if I took a shower now?" Tanner asked as he began undressing. "Go right ahead; I'll follow you. Just holler when you're finished," I stammered, trying not to be so obvious looking at him standing there just in his boxers. "God! What a stud," I thought to myself. "OK Robert, keep thinking about other things so you don't sport a woody right here in front of him." Tanner dropped his boxers on his side of the bed and walked, buck naked, into the shower area. "What a fine looking ass," I thought as I got just a glimpse of it. I finished undressing also, went into the bathroom to take a leak at the urinal and brush my teeth and then got my toiletries together for the trip. Just as I was finishing up, Tanner opened the door to the shower and stepped out right next to me while drying himself off. Both of us were standing there right in front of the full-length mirror on the wall and realized that we were staring at each other, amazed at how much we looked alike -- then we started giggling like two 13-year olds. "Damn, we're almost twins. You know that, bro?" Tanner said. "I may be a bit taller and weigh a little more, but other than that, we are nearly identical." Then, with a smirk on his face, he commented, "Well, I'm a little bigger in one other area, but after all, I'm two years older than you." We both looked down at our dicks and then at each other's dick in the mirror and I retorted, "Not that one could tell, big brother." We both started laughing. I picked up the banter, "Bet you don't have a birthmark on your ass like I do -- right here on the left cheek." I turned to give him a good view of my butt as I pointed to the spot. "Guess again, little bro" Tanner came back with a laugh as he showed me his ass cheeks. There it was - - same mark in the same place. We both were moved to such hysterical laughter that even mom and dad heard us in their room. The intercom came alive as I heard dad ask, "Are you two ok? We heard quite a ruckus up there." "We're fine, dad, just fine. You're not gonna believe this but ... you know that birthmark on my butt, well, Tanner has one exactly like it and on the same place." You should have seen the look on Tanner's face when I said that. Dad laughed out loud and responded, "God, you two! I'm not sure this family is ready for this. Get to bed, my twins. We've got an early wakeup call, remember?" As the intercom cut off, Tanner grinned and said, "I don't believe you told him that, you dickhead. What'll he think going on up here?" "Don't sweat it, man. Mom and Dad are used to this crap when Kirk sleeps over -- nothing new to them. In fact, I sometimes think that dad would like to be right in the middle of the fray. He's cool. You'll see." As we prepared to climb into bed I commented, "I usually sleep naked, Tanner, but I'll put on my boxers if sleeping in the raw makes you uncomfortable." "Hey, man, so do I. I like 'free-balling' while sleeping -- can't stand to get my nuts twisted up in underwear or 'jams'. And no, I'm not up tight about it if you're ok with my being naked too." "Fine. That settled!" I answered. I thought to myself, "Please don't let me get a hard-on now. Tanner's probably straight; and, boy, would that fuck things up if he thought I was gay. Hell, he might just decide that he didn't want to be a member of this family." We got under the covers, each on our side, but we turned towards each and continued to talk until sleep overcame us. However, I did offer a short silent prayer in thanks for His finally answering my prayers of long ago --asking for a brother. Soon we drifted off into a pleasant night's slumber. Tanner Robert and I decided that we were comfortable sleeping in the raw so we hit the sack soon after our shower and the shenanigans in front of the wall mirror. "Damn, he's cute," I thought. "But when I say that, it's like saying I'm cute too. I mean, we're almost twins. Weird! Just hope I don't throw a boner just because I'm so near to him now. That could possibly create all sorts of problems -- maybe resulting in my being asked to leave even before I get to know my new family." Before drifting off to sleep, I offered a prayer to God thanking Him for leading me to this wonderful family. He truly works in mysterious ways.