Date: Sat, 28 May 2011 20:17:47 -0400
From: Andrew Davis <podiumdavis@gmail.com>
Subject: Sam's New Life Chapter #2

Warning! This story is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the
fictional characters and any live persons is purely coincidental. This
story contains fictional descriptions of sexual activity. If you are
under the age of 18, and/or if you are offended by this content,
and/or if it is illegal in your jurisdiction to posses or read such
material, please leave now and do not read this story as neither the
internet host nor the author can be responsible for your actions.

You may not reproduce this story in whole or in part without the
express written consent of myself (Podium Davis) at
podiumdavis@gmail.com

Sam's New Life Chapter #2 : The Ties That Bind

**********************************************

WARNING: This chapter contains extreme situations that may not be
suitable for all audiences. Readers discretion is advised.  Also if
your looking for a quick jerk off, you won't find it here.

**********************************************

Aaron awoke with his whole body shivering from the wetness that seemed
to rest over his entire body; his skin felt clammy and sticky. Aaron
swiftly opened his eyes and began to look around his room, he looked
over towards his window and saw the darkness that seemed to surrounded
him. Aaron then turned his head around and looked over towards Sam,
who laid sound asleep beside him. He hesitantly reached out his hand
in order to feel Sam's pajama top and when his fingertips finally
touched the fabric, he felt the sweat that was drenched within the
fibers.  "Thank god," Aaron thought to himself, because in that
moment, he believed that he might have wet the bed.

Aaron continued to lay in his bed for several minutes, while he
pondered why Sam's pajamas were so wet, that he eventually decided to
reach out his hand, so that he could touch Sam's forehead. When his
fingers touched, he felt the sweat that had formed on Sam's
head. Aaron really began to worry, that he started to run different
scenarios within his head, "is he sick?" he thought, "I wonder if my
covers are too hot for him?" Aaron thought again.

But after considerable thought, he finally concluded, that he would
remove the covers from Sam's body, hoping at least in his mind, that
it would help him cool off. But after a few minutes, Sam reached out
his arms and began to feel around for the cover's. Once Sam had found
them, he returned them back over his body.  "He must not have been
hot," Aaron thought, when he felt Sam's hand feel around for the
covers. He finally concluded that he didn't know what was up, so he
merely went to close his eyes again and tried to fall back asleep. But
when he was about to doze back off, he heard Sam mumble, "Daddy!
Please don't leave me. Come back!"

This really affected Aaron deeply when he heard his brother Sam say
this, because ultimately it made him feel sad in knowing what Sam had
gone through and all. But no sooner after Sam's mumbling, he felt
Sam's body jolt abruptly towards him; it was almost like he was being
attacked and lashing out to protect himself. Aaron quickly grabbed a
hold of Sam by his mid section and held him tight over his body; he
really wanted to protect Sam from hurting himself, or him for that
matter. Aaron got really scared when Sam's movement's became more
violent and he thrashed about kicking and clawing at some unknown
force that seemed to be attacking him.

Aaron simply couldn't handle it anymore; it was freaking him out and
his muscles were becoming tired. He was so bothered by the current
state of events, that he swiftly shook Sam's body and tried to wake
him from his nightmare, "Sam! Please wake up, you're having a
nightmare," Aaron said swiftly as the fear resonated within his voice.

When Sam was jolted from his nightmare; he was so distraught that he
began to cry. Sam then swiftly turned his body over so that he could
face his brother. With Sam now facing him, Aaron looked deep into
Sam's teary eyes and said, "you were sweating up a storm dude. Are you
okay?" But Sam just stared aimlessly back at Aaron as the tears
continued stream down his pump cheeks. Sam was unable to respond at
the present moment, no matter how hard he tried, his lips wouldn't
form the words, so he swiftly grabbed a hold of Aaron and began to hug
him tight. But while they embraced each other; Aaron could feel the
tears begin to run down his chest, making him feel even more wet than
he previously had.

Aaron held tightly over Sam's body, because he really wanted to be
able comfort him and show him that he was there for him.  "I'm
sorry. I just can't help it Aaron. I keep seeing all the bad stuff
that happened yesterday. I'm so scared!" Sam said, while he struggled
to speak through his tears. Aaron slowly but surely, tightened his
grip even more over Sam's body, showing him that he undoubtedly cared
for him and for his well being.

Aaron was so consumed in the moment, that he leaned forward and
lightly kissed Sam on his forehead, while Sam was still in his arms.
"It's going to turn out okay Sam," Aaron whispered, "I'm here for you
no matter what man."

"How ... would you even know? You still have your father!" Sam said,
while he continued to crying into Aaron's chest.

Aaron knew that he was right, he never knew not having a father, or a
mother for that matter. But he felt a little hurt by the tone in which
Sam said it. But he tried his best to collect his thoughts before he
went to speak again, "You're right. I don't know how it feels Sam, but
we can get through this together. I promise you, I'm here for you no
matter what," Aaron said, before he finally kissed Sam on his cheek.

"Why do you keep kissing me?" Sam asked alarmed.

Aaron again felt really hurt from this line of questioning, that he
began to think, "isn't this what he wants?" Because Aaron didn't know
of any other ways to be able to comfort him, so he merely said in the
best way he could, "I just want you to feel better. You're my brother
after all."

By this time, ten minutes had passed and Sam was still crying; he was
lost within his sorrow and fear. Aaron was out of ideas and he really
began to worry, so he finally told Sam, "I'm going to be right back,
don't go anywhere." Aaron then let go of his grip around Sam's body,
before he carefully climbed over him and out of their bed.

Aaron then bolted down the hallway at a very swift pace and headed in
the direction of his parents bedroom, he was too worried to even
knock, so he forced the bedroom door open and awoke his father.  "Dad!
Sam's crying. He was having a really bad nightmare and he was saying
stuff in his sleep. He began to kick around and stuff, so I had to
wake him up. But now he won't stop crying," Aaron said swiftly to his
father, before finally taking a breath.

"Just breathe Aaron, it's going to be alright. We will be there in a
few moments. But please go sit with him until we get there," Mark
informed his son, before he leaned over and tapped Tammy's shoulder
and awoke her. Now with Tammy awake, he got himself out of their bed
and placed a bathrobe around his body, before he started to make his
way out of his room and into the hallway.

When Mark had reached the boy's room, he found Sam sprawled out across
the bed, he was holding onto Aaron's pillow and hugging it for dear
life. Mark also took noticed of Aaron, who was sitting on the bed
beside Sam and rubbing his back. Mark then slowly made his way over to
the bed where the two boy's were and swiftly scooped Sam up into his
arms.  "Why are you all wet Sam? Jesus you're soaked," Mark commented
aloud.  "That's how I woke up dad. I felt really wet," Aaron informed
his father, while Sam locked his legs around Mark's body and cried
into his shoulder.  "C'mon buddy, what's wrong?" Mark asked, but he
was sure that he already knew the answer to that, because he knew what
this type of emotional trauma could do to a child.

"I keep seeing the man that was outside of my house, I saw him through
my window. He was standing beside a blue van and I keep hearing my dad
—" Sam replied.

Mark thought for a moment, while he tried to recall Sam telling him
about a man being outside of his window, but he couldn't think of him
even mentioning it, "Wait, what man?" Mark questioned.

"Well there was a fat man outside of my window, before what had
happened to my dad," Sam told Mark again.

"Wait ... why didn't you tell me this before?" Mark questioned.

"I don't know. I just didn't think to tell you. I'm sorry," Sam
replied.

"Okay let's not worry about that now Mark," Tammy said, while she
walked into the boy's room with some hot chocolate.

Tammy then made her way over towards the boy's dresser and placed the
cups down, before she walked over towards Mark, who still had Sam in
his arms. She could feel as her motherly instincts began to take over,
that she reached out her hand and gently pressed it against Sam's
cheek. Tammy then started to lightly caress Sam's face, while she
tried her best to help calm him down. Eventually, she began to whisper
to Sam and said, "It's okay Sam. It was only a dream, your safe with
us now."

When Sam heard Tammy say this, he knew it to be true, but it still
didn't make it any easier. But after a considerable amount of time;
Sam had stopped crying and his body became less tense as he finally
began to relax, Mark then set Sam back down on his own two feet and
mentioned to Tammy, "Honey, Sam's pajamas are soaking wet. Do you
think one of Aaron's might fit him?"

"It's possible that one of his old pairs might fit him. Let me go see
if I can find his old blue ones," Tammy replied, while she made her
way back over to the dresser.

Mark then looked over towards Sam and his son and asked "Did you boy's
want some hot chocolate? It will help you feel better." To which, Sam
nodded that he would like to have some and so did Aaron, so while
Tammy was searching the drawer's, Mark went over and grabbed the cups
off the dresser and handed them to the boy's.

But while the boy's were drinking their hot chocolate, Tammy continued
to search through the drawers, hoping to find the pair that she
thought might fit Sam, but after a few seconds, she had found the blue
pair, which was in the very bottom of the top drawer. With them now in
hand, she made her way back over towards Sam, "Let's see how this
looks," Tammy said to herself, while she held the pajamas over his
body and checked to see if they'd fit him. "How does it look Mark?"
Tammy asked.

"It looks like a perfect fit," Mark said, before Tammy ended up
handing the pajamas over to Sam and said, "please go into the bathroom
and get changed."

Sam felt a little reluctant that he would have to go in the bathroom
by himself; but he did what was asked of him. So, he slowly started to
walk out of his room and down the hallway, until he was just outside
of the bathroom door. He swiftly turned on the bathroom light, before
finally walking in and shutting the door.

Now that he was alone, he grabbed his sweaty pajama shirt and removed
it from over his frame, before finally throwing it to the floor. He
whipped it harder than he had expected too, but nonetheless, he looked
back up and looked at himself in the mirror; which was hung up just
above the sink on the wall. He looked at his own reflection that
stared back at him, but he could hardly even recognized himself; his
face was beet red, his eyes looked blood shot and his cheeks looked
puffy.

Sam eventually decided to open the cupboard door; which was just below
the sink. He swiftly grabbed a face cloth from underneath and turned
on the tap. Sam then checked the temperature of the water and made
sure that it was lukewarm to the touch. Once he felt that it was
comfortable for him, he placed the cloth under the running water,
until the water's warmness was soaked into every fiber of the face
cloth. Sam then placed it over his face and tried to wash away the
redness, that all of the crying had caused from his face.

When he had finished washing; he stared at himself again in the
mirror. But seeing himself the way that he was, made him start to feel
funny; he felt like a truck was being parked on top of his chest, he
could feel the weight try and bring him down. It was in that moment
that it finally sank it; he would have to bury his father.

Sam tried hard to bottle up his emotions; so that it wouldn't hurt him
anymore. But it wasn't working like he had hoped it would, he was just
too overwhelmed. He just wanted to get out of the bathroom as quickly
as possible. He just wanted to be around his new family, because he
knew that they would be there to help him, so he swiftly changed his
pajama bottoms and gave himself a quick look, before he left the
bathroom and ran back towards his room.

But when Sam arrived back inside his room, he saw Aaron cuddled into
his mothers arms crying. This made Sam start to feel sad again,
because he really didn't want anyone to be crying, including
himself. But curiosity began to get the best of him, when he began to
wonder why Aaron was crying, so he walked over towards him and sat
himself down on the floor, before asking, "Is everything okay?"

Tammy then stopped rubbing Aaron's back and look down towards Sam. She
titled her head slightly, acknowledging his genuine curiosity, because
she knew that Aaron cared for Sam very much and she could see that Sam
was genuinely concerned for his brother. She really felt like she was
beginning to see what Mark truly saw in Sam or at least, she thought
she did; he was a very loveable little boy and very genuine. And yet,
she felt like she hardly even knew him, but she hoped that would
change in the near future. But Tammy was consumed by all the emotion
that had transpired in the last few minutes, she was filled with love
for her two little boy's that when she went to speak, compassion
filled her ever word, "He's just really worried about you Sam. He's a
very sensitive boy and he cares about you a whole lot."

Sam reflected on Tammy's comment for a moment while he let it sink in,
but when it finally had, Sam began to cry. Sam swiftly jumped up off
of the floor and hugged Aaron, before he spoke and said, "I'm really
sorry Aaron. I didn't mean to make you cry too."

Sam truly felt bad that he had made Aaron cry, so while he was hugging
Aaron, he gave him a light peck on the cheek. But after a few awkward
moments of silence, Aaron finally said, "It's alright Sam." Aaron then
swiftly jumped out of his mothers lap and gave a warm and loving hug
to Sam, before he repeated, "we will get through this together." This
really made Sam feel better the second time Aaron said it to him,
because it reassured him. Sam was really beginning to understand the
bond that was forming between them both, it wasn't faceless or
shallow, it actually meant something.

"Well, are you boy's going to be okay now?" Tammy asked.

In reply, both of the boy's nodded that they were feeling a lot
better, especially since they had gotten to have some hot
chocolate. Tammy then went on to tell the boy's that since it was only
4:30 am, that they should get some more sleep. Both of the boy's
agreed, when they saw the absence of the sun in their window. But
before Aaron could even take notice, Sam jumped back under the covers
and laid down in Aaron's part of the bed. When Aaron finally realized
where Sam had gone, he too jumped into the bed and got under the
covers. Now that they were both in bed, Tammy and Mark hugged and
kissed them both, while they tucked them back into bed, just like they
had done earlier in the night. With the boy's now tucked away under
the safety of their covers, Mark and Tammy walked to the doorway and
turned off the light, before they went back to their room to go back
to bed.

"Good night Aaron," Sam said, while he closed his eyes and they both
fell back asleep.

**********************************************

"C'mon boy's it's 9:30 am. It's time to get up!" Mark called out from
the door way.

"Okay Dad," Sam replied, before he ended up shaking Aaron, so that he
could be sure Aaron was awake.

With them both now awake, Mark made his way back downstairs. Sam
slowly lifted his head slightly from his pillow and looked over
towards the window; seeing the sun beaming into their room, "it
definitely was a new day," Sam thought. He truly felt there was hope;
he was no longer a boy lost out at sea, he was found and safe.

Sam looked over at Aaron, who laid beside him and formed a smile
across his face. He felt so happy that he couldn't contain it, he felt
so loved, even if he wasn't their real son, he sure felt like he
was. Sam felt all giddy inside, even playful, that he swiftly turned
his body around, and placed his feet along the wall, before he pushed
Aaron right out of the bed and onto the floor. Aaron giggled when his
butt made contact with the floor, which made a loud resounding
thud. Aaron swiftly jumped up to his feet and grabbed Sam by his arms,
before he heaved with all his might and pulled Sam out of the bed and
onto the floor.

"There, now we're even!" Aaron said giggling, while he stood over Sam,
who was now laid flat out on his back.

"What are you boy's doing up there? Hurry up! Your breakfast is
getting cold," Tammy yelled up the stairs.

"Nothing Mom!" Sam yelled back, while they both giggled in concession.

"You know it feel's really weird calling someone mom. I've never
really had one before," Sam commented to Aaron.

"Yeah, I bet it is. But we better hurry, let's go eat," Aaron said,
while his tummy made a rumbling sound.

With that being said, the boy's ran down the hallway and jumped down
the stairs; skipping a step or two, here and there while making their
way down the steps. When they finally had made it to the dining room,
they found blueberry pancakes with some breakfast sausage already
waiting for them on the table. But since their breakfast was ready and
waiting for them, they walked over to the table and took their seats
beside one another, before finally grabbed a stack of pancakes for
themselves. They were both extremely hungry, so they had eaten rather
fast; much faster than they normally would have and they even had
second helpings too. But when they both had finished eating, they
began to feel there chests expand uncontrollably as they hiccuped
almost in perfect unison.

"You know you boy's really shouldn't have eaten so fast," Tammy
advised, while she giggled and watched.

"Oh by the way Sam, Dan stopped by while you boy's were still
sleeping. He brought your iPod and some more clothes for you to
wear. But he told me he wasn't able to find any of your photo albums,"
Mark informed Sam.

"Really? Sweet! Will I be able to go back to my old house soon" Sam
said, "I mean, so that I can get more of my stuff?"

"I don't know. I will try and find that out for you though," Mark
replied.

A moment later, they heard a knock on the door and Mark swiftly got up
from his chair and walked over towards the front door. After he looked
through the peep hole, he opened the door, seeing two young boy's,
they were Aaron's, "BEST FRIENDS!" or at least that's how Aaron
would've say it.

"Aaron! Max and Cameron are here to see you," Mark announced towards
the dining room.

When Aaron heard that his "BEST FRIENDS!" were here, he bolted from
his chair and charged to the front door. Aaron was really happy that
they'd showed up to see him, because he hadn't seen them in the past
few weeks. But he was really excited that he would be able to tell
them about his ... new brother Sam. But then it began to sink into his
head, "would they even like Sam? How would Sam feel about his
friends?"

"Wait here a second," Aaron requested to the boy's, before he made his
way back over towards Sam and asked, "Do you want to meet some friends
of mine?"

Sam looked a little scared that he even began to fidget with his
fingers. After a few more moments of silence, he leaned over from his
chair to see the boy's that were standing outside of their front door,
until finally he asked, "Are they nice?"

"Yeah man, we have lots of fun together," Aaron informed Sam, who
still had a look of fear in his eyes, so he said, "and I promise, you
will too!"

"Okay fine. But I'm trusting you," Sam said reluctantly.

Sam then went to get up from his chair, but he seemed to have a little
trouble, because he got up like he needed to muster all of his
strength just to get out of his chair. Aaron couldn't quite understand
what was making it so hard for him, "was he afraid of kid's his own
age too?" Aaron thought, before he finally concluded in his mind that
"maybe it was just hard for him to make new friends." But once Sam was
up and out of the chair, they both walked towards the front door, with
Aaron using his hands to guide him.

When they reached the front door, Aaron introduced his new brother Sam
to his friends, Cameron and Max. They both said "hello," to him,
before Aaron finally invited them inside the house. When the boy's had
closed the door, Sam felt better that he could see them more clearly,
that is, without the sun shining in his eyes. Sam looked over at one
of the boy's who's name was Cameron, "man do we look alike," Sam
thought to himself. They both had freckles that adorned their faces,
they were even about the same height, although Cameron seemed to have
bigger muscles than he did. Cameron also had dark brown hair and brown
eyes. Sam finally concluded that they were probably about the same age
too.

Max on the other hand, had only a few freckles, but was much taller,
by about 6-8 inches, he also had dark brown hair and green eyes. But
while Sam stood in front of the boy's, he started to feel a little
embarrassed about the state he stood in, he was still wearing his
pajamas, well they were Aaron's, but what difference did that
make. Sam didn't really know why it bothered him, but to him it just
felt plain weird.

"So ... do you want to hang out today?" Cameron asked, in an attempt to
break the silence.

"Sure! We could do that," Aaron said, while his eyes pierced deep into
Sam's. "can't we Sam?" Aaron beckoned.

Sam just looked down and stared at the floor, he felt nervous, maybe a
little apprehensive too. But he found courage within himself, "I
suppose we could," Sam said nervously. He didn't really know these
boy's; but he hoped that they would be nice to him. Sam really wanted
to go get changed into some normal street clothes, so he quickly
excused himself and bolted up the stairs to his room.

Meanwhile, the boy's were questioning when he had gotten a brother. He
swiftly explained everything in detail, about the what's, how's and
why's, well at least to the best of his knowledge. When the boy's
seemed to finally understand the gravity of situation and how he was
now his brother, they felt really sorry for Sam.  "Do you think that's
why he's acting so weird then?" Max asked.

"It's possible. I mean, he's gone through a lot in the last couple of
days," Aaron remarked.

Cameron thought that he would try his best to help cheer him up, well
at least at some point in the day, when the moment felt right. Cameron
was a really good dancer and he loved playing basketball, so he really
wanted to be able to show off some of his sweet grooving moves. At
least in his mind, he hoped that it would help make him happy.

After two or three minutes had passed, Sam started to make his decent
back down the stairs, he was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a navy
blue t-shirt and black socks. Sam really wondered what they would be
doing today, considering the sun was shining; it was in the mid
eighties outside and lot's of fun could be had outside or inside. Once
he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stood at the base of the
staircase and stared towards the boy's, "so, what do you guy's want to
do today?" Sam asked, while his eyes stared over towards Aaron.

"Well, do you want to go play some basketball?" Cameron asked.

Sam then turned his attention over towards Cameron, "Sure! That could
be fun," Sam said, before returning his eyes back over towards Aaron.

Aaron quickly nodded towards the boy's, before they all walked into
Aaron's backyard. Sam hadn't gotten to see the backyard yet, but it
was massive. They had an above ground pool with a deck that surrounded
it, a huge garage, which Sam suspected held lawn mowers and tools, or
something like that.

Aaron eventually walked over towards the side of the garage and
grabbed his basketball, before he wiped off some leaves that seemed to
be attached to the ball. With the ball now in hand, they made their
way to exit the backyard and began their trek down the street and
around the corner.

But while the boy's were walking to the park, Sam was taking notice of
all the houses along the street, he was mapping out their locations in
his mind, so that he could remember how to get to the park again, if
he ever desired to go back. But while they continued walking, they saw
a man in a black suit, "a little to dressed up for this neighborhood,"
Sam thought, while they walked past him. But for a moment, he swore he
heard a radio, but it was gone sooner than he knew it. The next thing
Sam saw, was a small dog that was running towards them, which began to
bark and chase after them along a white picketed fence.

Once they had passed a few more houses, Sam began to see the park,
which had previously been obstructed from his view, because of the
amount of tree's that lined the street.  "Beat you there," Aaron
yelled out all of a sudden, while he sprinted down the narrow
street. The boy's were caught off guard, there was no prior notice and
Sam wasn't even ready for a race, but he still tried his best to try
and beat Aaron and the other boy's.

By the time they made it to the ball court; they were gasping for
air. Aaron had beaten them all there, but Sam was still proud to come
in second place. They stood there for a few minutes, so that they
could get their breath back. When they felt their lungs return to
their normal rhythmic motions, they looked around and saw that the
park was completely empty, it was almost eerie. But the boy's shrugged
it off, almost glad that no one would be there to watch them.

The boy's really began to sweat, because the sun was beaming down onto
them. Aaron swiftly put his hands over his shirt and pulled it off,
showing his hairless chest off to the boys, before finally throwing it
to the side of the ball court. Sam soon followed suit, because he too
could feel the sweat start to make his shirt completely drenched.

With everyone now ready to play, they chose their teams, it was going
to be "Cameron and Max" vs "Sam and Aaron." But there was one
condition, Max wasn't going to be allowed to do the toss up, because
he was much taller than all of them and it meant that they'd never get
their hands onto the ball.

So Cameron and Sam went to the line first, Cameron swiftly threw the
ball up into the air and caught it, he did some fancy footwork around
Sam, before taking a shot and scoring a 2 pointer.  "HA!" Cameron
announced to the boy's.

Sam got his hands on the ball the second time they met at the line,
but Max managed to steal the ball from him and scored on his own
team's net. Cameron gave a really weird look towards Max, he was
really confused at how Max had managed to score on their own net, but
he just shook it off and continued to play.

By the time they finished playing, the score was 62 – 42, with Cameron
getting most of the shots and Sam getting every point for his
team. Aaron was quick to apologize to Sam, because he was never really
good at basketball. But Sam didn't mind loosing too much, because
after all, they were all having fun. But by now, they were really
exhausted, so they decided to go back to Aaron's house to have some
juice, because they were so dehydrated. But before they left the
court, Sam and Aaron went to grab their t-shirts off the ground. Once
they had their shirts in hand, they began their walk to Aaron's
house. They walked at a much slower pace than their original trek,
because they were really drained from the basketball game. But when
they finally arrived at Aaron's home, they found Mark and Tammy
sitting and waiting at the dining room table.  "Hey Mom," Aaron called
out enthusiastically, while they walked towards her.

Mark seemed to have a serious look on his face, that he sat up
straight in his chair, eyeballing the boy's, while they came towards
him. Mark cleared his voice, before he spoke, "Hi boy's, can we talk
with Sam for a moment in private please?"

Aaron felt somewhat concerned that he needed to talk to Sam in
private, because his father had never tried to hide anything from him
before, but he thought it must have been for good reason, so he
squeaked out, "Sure Dad, that's fine." Aaron then lead the rest of the
boy's into the kitchen, so that they could have some privacy and get
something to drink.

With the boy's now in the kitchen, Mark instructed Sam to take a seat,
to which Sam complied. Mark let out a long sigh before he started to
tell Sam that he had spoken with the insurance company and that they
needed to go in to talk with the people there, well at least talk to
Sam. Mark also went on to tell Sam that they really couldn't do much,
at least not until they were provided with a death certificate.  "Do
you understand so far?" Mark questioned, "yeah I think I do," Sam
replied in an uneasy tone.

"Okay, well there's more," Mark said.

Mark then went on to explain that he had gotten some information out
of the insurance people. His father did have a life insurance policy
with them and that it was a substantially large policy for a regular
working man. But Mark went on to say that Sam's father was insured for
an upwards of three million dollars and that it was even government
issued and paid for.

Mark then paused for a moment, so that he could make sure that Sam was
following him thus far, but when he was sure, he continued and stated,
he was trying to find out why his father was covered under a
government issued policy. "There's one more thing," Mark told Sam, "I
also found out that your also covered under this policy. You are
listed as the sole beneficiary," Mark said.

Finding out this news made Sam feel excited, because he knew he'd be
taken care of now. But it also made him feel sad too, because
ultimately he wasn't looking forward to having to bury his father. But
while Sam sat in his chair processing the information he was just
told, he heard a knock on the front door. Mark then pushed his hands
down on the dining room table and pushed himself up and out of his
chair, before he walked to the front door and open it. Once the door
was open, Mark saw three men in black suits standing on his porch.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" Mark asked, while he looked over the three
men that were standing on his property.

"Hello, are you Mr. Wilson?" one of the gentlemen asked.

Mark gave the men a look of suspicion, "how could they know my name"
Mark thought, before he spoke and asked, "who are you and what is this
regarding?"

"Well, we're from the CIA," the uniformed agent said.

"Can I see some identification please?" Mark requested.

Mark watched attentively while one of the agents attempted to pull out
his identification and was truly surprised, when the man presented him
with it. With his request now fulfilled, he invited them inside his
home.  "So can you tell me what this is regarding then?" Mark
questioned in a concerning tone.

One of the agents then readjusted his face to where it showed no
emotion at all. He then spoke in a monotone voice, "We recently became
aware of Mr. Davis passing. We were sent here by the president
himself."

"The president?" Mark questioned, almost flabbergasted.

"Yes, he sends his condolences. But Mr. Davis was one of our best
intelligence operatives. You see, he's required to log in once every
twenty-four hours to our system. But when he didn't, we became
suspicious and contacted the local police station," the agent said.

"Is this some sort of prank? Or, as my son would say, am I on punk'd?"
Mark asked, hoping that this was indeed a joke, because the
implications of the whole matter, seemed very deep.  "No sir, we at
the CIA don't have a sense of humor," the agent said with a slight
smirk across his face.

"Okay well, can you please tell me what this is all about then?" Mark
said, before he paused for a moment to think how they could have found
him, "Also, can you tell me how you got my address?" Mark asked
sternly.

By now, Sam was wondering what was taking Mark so long, so he leaned
over in his chair and saw the three men in black suit's standing at
the front door, "Dad? Who are those men?" Sam questioned, from the
dining room table.

Mark reared his head and looked back at Sam, before returning it to
the three men, "So ... can I tell him who you are?" Mark asked, to which
he watched them nod that he could.  "Well buddy, they're from the
CIA. Did you know that your father worked for them?" Mark questioned
towards the dinner table.

"What do you mean?" Sam yelled back.  "I will take that as a no then,"
Mark commented.

"We are here in order to protect his son, in addition too, we have our
way's of finding out information," the agent informed Mark. This
really surprised Mark, a boy needing federal protection, this was
almost unheard of. But he dared to push it even further and questioned
in a concerning tone, "But why would Sam need to be protected?"

"That is strictly classified information. If at some point you need to
be brought into the loop, then we will let you know. But for now, we
are unable to share," the agent told Mark in a condescending manner.

Mark then heard a voice call out behind him, which he recognized to be
Aaron's voice, "can we come out of the kitchen now dad?"

"Not just yet Aaron. Give us a few minutes," Mark replied back to his
son, before he returned his attention back to the situation at hand,
"is Sam allowed to know that you will be protecting him?" Mark asked.

One of the agents peaked his head around Mark and looked over towards
Sam. When he saw that Sam wasn't even paying attention to them, the
agent lowered his voice and told Mark, "He honestly may not be ready
to know why, or who his father really was. But we will be doing our
best to remain unseen."

"Well, is there any other information you can tell me?" Mark asked.

"No, there is nothing else we can share with you. We just wanted to
inform you that we will be around and for you not to worry if you see
us," the agent told Mark, before they shook his hand and went for the
front door to leave.  "Thank you for your time."

Mark really thought it weird to have the CIA in his home not moments
ago, but he shrugged it off and returned to the dinning room
table. Once Mark was seated in his chair again, he beckoned to the
boy's in the kitchen and told them that it was okay to come out now.

Once the boy's had exited the kitchen room, Mark asked, "Are you boy's
hungry? It's already past 1:30 pm." But the boy's simply shook their
heads no, so Mark simply suggested that they go play for a while.  "Me
too?" Sam asked excitedly.

"Yup! Go have some fun with your friends," Mark suggested.

Aaron didn't seem to waste any time, because he grabbed a hold of
Sam's hand and dragged him out of the chair and up the stairs. But
when they reached their room, they all decided to sit down on the
floor, while they tried to decide what they should do now. Cameron
suggested that they watch a movie together; Max suggested they play
some music and just chill; Aaron suggested they play some "Left for
Dead 2," and Sam agreed, at least in some respects that they were all
good ideas.  "So which should we do?" Aaron asked.

"Why don't we start by playing Left for Dead 2, then work our way from
there," Sam suggested.

So that's what they did, they all took turns playing and killing the
mindless zombies that tried to eat their brains. After three hours of
playing, they had enough, so they decided to watch "2012." Once the
movie started all of the boy's laid down on the floor to watch the
film, Aaron laid on his back facing the television with his hands
behind his head and Sam was laying on the left side of his hip with
his right arm draped over Aaron's body. Max too was laying on his
back, but was facing sideways towards the television and Cameron had
his head rested over Max's chest.

**********************************************

The boy's watched as the water crested over the mountain tops, before
the massive wave sank into the valley and wiped out the monk temple
that laid in it's path of destruction. But during this time, Sam
really felt like he needed to pee, so he quickly asked Aaron if they
could pause the movie for a minute, so that he could run to the
bathroom. Once the movie was paused, Sam got up from the floor and
started to make his way out of his bedroom, but he stopped just short
of the doorway and asked, "Aaron? Can we maybe get something to drink
and some popcorn for the movie?" To which, Aaron nodded, before he too
got up from the floor and started to make his way to the
doorway. Aaron and Sam walked together, until Sam turned into the
bathroom and Aaron continued his way downstairs.

Once Sam had finished his business in the bathroom, he quickly washed
his hands and left to go back to his room. But when he arrived, he
realized that he made it back before Aaron had, so he just laid
himself back down onto the floor to wait for Aaron.

A few minutes later, Aaron came back into their room with some freshly
popped popcorn and some cans of sodas. He quickly passed the sodas to
his friends and his brother, before he returned his body to the floor
and unpaused the movie with his remote. Sam and Aaron resumed their
previous positions, but this time Sam didn't merely rest his arm over
Aaron, because he began to gently rub Aaron's stomach back and forth
with his hand. But while they continued to watch the movie, they saw
the ship that was to save mankind, it was being thrown to and fro
within the churning water, they were about to hit Mt. Everest with the
front of their haul. But out of nowhere Cameron yelled, "HIT REVERSE
THRUSTERS!" which really seemed to scare the rest of the boys, because
they nearly jumped out of their own skin. The boy's had sat up so fast
from the scare they had just received from Cameron that even Aaron
felt panicked for a moment. But once the boy's had gotten over from
being scared, Sam resumed his playful rubbing on Aaron's stomach.

Sam had never seen this movie before and by the time it had finished,
Sam was crying. It was just too sad for him, knowing that all those
people had ... died, even though he knew it was a movie, it still
affected him deeply that thoughts of "Destruction," kept repeating
over and over in his head. Aaron noticed the tears that were welling
in Sam's eyes that he swiftly grabbed for Sam and hugged him.

Aaron was really starting to get concerned, because Sam seemed to be
becoming more and more unstable by every passing moment. He didn't
know what to do anymore. But Cameron sure did as he put his plan into
motion. Cameron then jumped up from the floor and began to do some
popping and gliding moves that you'd normally expect from a
professional dancer.

Aaron looked up from Sam and began to giggle, when he saw Cameron
strutting his stuff. Seconds later, Aaron had released Sam from his
grasp and walked over to his movie player, he quickly grabbed one of
his Michael Jackson CD's and stuck it in, so that Cameron had
something to dance to. Aaron had known full well how good Cameron was
at dancing and how much he could move just like Michael himself.

When Sam heard the music start to come on; he looked up from the
carpet and looked over at Cameron, who was trying his best to do a
moonwalk across the shaggy carpet. This seemed to be helping Sam quite
a bit, it was distracting him from the pain that he was currently
feeling; he was hurting so much inside, he just wished things could
have been different.

Not to say that Sam wasn't happy being with his new family, it was
just in the manner he'd met them, under these dire circumstances. Sam
was genuinely happy to have Aaron there to support him and the same
went for Mark and Tammy. And maybe quite possibly Max and Cameron too,
but he wasn't quite sure on that yet. After all, he knew that he was
care about, but to what end. Was he just that kid who's father was
killed? Or, was it that he was genuinely loved for who he was,
regardless of the circumstance.

The more Sam continued to watch Cameron, the more he started to feel
better; he could feel the warm and fuzzy feeling rise up into his
chest and the emptiness flee from him. But after several minutes of
admiring Cameron's skills, Sam said, "Thank you. That helped me a
lot."

"You're definitely welcome Sam," Cameron said, while he beamed a smile
across his face.

Sam smiled back at Cameron, he really thought that Cameron was a cool
kid, he really liked him. But once the moment was over, Sam began to
wonder what they should do next.  "Maybe we can watch another movie,"
Sam thought, "but something less sad." But by the time Sam went to say
what was on his mind, they heard Mark call up from the bottom of the
stairs, "Hey boy's your parents are here to pick you up."

"Who's parents daddy?" Aaron yelled in reply.  "Both Cameron's and
Max's." Mark said.

"Okay dad, we'll be down in a few minutes," Aaron yelled back down to
his father.

Aaron then returned his gaze back to his friends, he was a little
disappointed that they would have to be going now, because he was
having so much fun hanging out with them. Aaron really cared about his
friends, so he walked over towards Max and got up onto his tiptoes and
gave him a big bear hug. He also did the same for Cameron, but without
having to get up on his toes. Cameron wasn't too happy either that he
had to leave now, so he thought to himself that he was going to ask if
he could spend the night with them. Once all the hugs were given they
started to make their way out of the bedroom and downstairs.

"Hey Dad! Did you bring me some clothes for my sleepover?" Cameron
asked excitedly.

"Wait! You're sleeping over? You never discussed this with me,"
Cameron's father said.

"Well I'm telling you now," Cameron joked.

"Well if it's okay with Mark and Tammy, then I don't see a problem
with that," Cameron's father said.

"Sure I suppose Cameron could stay the night, but that's if he really
wants too!" Tammy said, which resulted in Cameron jumping for joy.

Max's face began to form a frown, because he really wanted to stay
too. But he didn't think his Mommy dearest would allow him to stay. So
he tried his best and built up the courage to ask, "Mom can I stay
too?"

"Well ... uh I suppose. Well. Okay fine," Max's mother finally agreed.

Cameron then started to listen attentively to what his father was
telling him; his father said that he would be returning within the
hour with an over night bag for him and that it would include his
toothbrush, a pair of clean underwear, some clean sleep wear for him
to sleep in and last but not least, a clean pair of clothes for
tomorrow. Max's mother instructed that she too would be returning soon
with those same items. With their parents instructions set, they left
to go back home. After their parents had gone, Mark called the boy's
to the dining room table.

"So, we weren't quite expecting all of you boy's to stay for dinner,
so let's order out. What would you boy's like to eat, Pizza? Chinese
food? Mexican or Italian?" Mark asked.

The boy's then began to discuss among themselves, until they
eventually decided on getting some fresh ravioli, the kind with
ricotta cheese in the middle. Mark agreed as well that it would be a
great treat and Tammy felt really happy that she wouldn't have to cook
for all of these boy's.

With their choice now set, the boy's decided to go back upstairs to
play until their dinner was to arrive. So they all ran towards the
staircase and bolted into Sam and Aaron's room. But once inside, Sam
questioned to the other boy's, "so ... now what do you wanna do?"

"Do you guy's want to play some rock band?" Aaron asked.

Aaron then watched Max go and grab one of the guitars, Cameron too
claimed an instrument for himself, which was the drums. Which only
left two other instruments to play, bass and vocals. Aaron swiftly
went and grabbed the other guitar, because he always loved playing
bass, which only left vocals for Sam.  "Oh Joy!" Sam commented at his
luck, because he didn't think he was any good at singing. Aaron then
seemed to give Sam a mocking tone of voice and said, "Ha! You're stuck
on vocals now."

"Great! Some brother you are," Sam giggled.

Aaron then smiled over towards Sam, while the other boy's were picking
a song to play. But Sam could feel Aaron's eyes staring down upon him,
so he looked over at Aaron and saw what he thought was a glint in his
eye. Aaron was staring blamelessly at Sam, almost in a manner of being
consumed by some unseen treasure that only he could see. Sam continued
to watch as Aaron's eyes began to glass over as his eye released a
single solitary tear and Sam watched as it fell towards the floor,
before being soaked up into the carpets fibers. Sam gave a look of
confusion towards Aaron, because he didn't know what was currently
happening in front of his eyes. But Sam formed a smile and beamed back
at Aaron, who returned the smile, before they both brought their
attention back to the game at hand.

After they had played eight or nine songs, they heard Mark beckon from
the bottom of the stairs, "Dinner's ready boy's. Hurry up and get down
here before it gets cold."

In that instant, all of the boy's dropped their instruments to the
floor and ran down towards the stairs. The boy's were really hungry,
so they were really looking forward to filling their empty
tummies. When they had reached the bottom of the stairs, they heard a
knock on the front door. Aaron swiftly changed his direction and
opened the door to see Cameron's father.

"Hey Cameron, here's your stuff for your sleep over," Cameron's father
told his son.

"Thanks Daddy. But can't talk now, it's time for dinner and I'm going
to die if I don't get something in my belly," Cameron told his father,
before he ran off to the dinner table.

And almost like clockwork, Max's mother came to the door, not thirty
seconds after Cameron's father. She too dropped off Max's belongings,
before yelling towards Max, who was already sitting at the dinning
room table, to behave himself and to have fun. Max quickly nodded and
waved his mother off.

With Max's and Cameron's bags now placed at the foot of the stairs,
Sam and Aaron made their way over to the dinner table. But as was
becoming routine, Sam and Aaron sat down beside one another, Max and
Cameron ended up sitting together on the opposite side of the table
and Tammy and Mark sat at the head of the table.

Tammy then began by handing out some freshly baked garlic bread to the
boy's, before she walked around them and started placing some wedding
soup into their bowls.  "Meat balls in soup?" Sam questioned.

"You might like it Sam, but if you don't, then we won't force you to
eat it," Tammy said, to which Sam returned a smile and nodded.

When all the garlic bread and soup was served, Aaron placed his
elbow's onto the table and clasped his hands together, before closing
his eyes. Mark was surprised, he had never seen his son do this
before.  "Are you feeling okay Aaron?" Mark asked, but Aaron swiftly
spoke and said, "I'm fine."  But by now everyone was looking at Aaron,
wondering what he was doing or feeling. But unbeknownst to them, Aaron
was praying.

	'God, I don't know if you're real and I don't know if I ever
	will.'  'but when I was a little boy, I believed in you.'  'I
	remember I once asked you for a brother or a sister.'  'Is
	this your answer?'

	'If it is, then I thank you for it, but I just wish you'd help
	Sam.'  'I'm afraid of what happened last night.'  'I just want
	him to feel safe with us.'

	'I'm really starting to feel like an idiot, like I said, I
	don't know if I believe in you.'  'But if you do exist, then I
	thank you for my new brother and for my friends.'  'Oh, and my
	parents too.'  'Thanks for listening, that's if you exist I
	mean.'

With Aaron now finished praying, he returned his hands back down to
his sides and opened his eyes, he looked up and looked over at his
father. Mark looked a little concerned, because he thought maybe Aaron
was having a pain in his side or his stomach had turned for a moment,
"everything alright Aaron?" Mark asked.

"Yup, I feel much better now," Aaron replied, before he picked up his
spoon and started to eat.

With Aaron taking the lead, everyone started to dig into their
soup. Sam stuck his spoon into the soup and scooped a meatball onto
it, before he brought it to his lips and opened wide. Sam didn't
really fancy the taste that touched his tongue, the meatball seemed
soggy and the spices, bland. But he was too hungry to care, he swiftly
ate everything in his bowl, before waiting for everyone else to finish
theirs.

"You must have been hungry, because you finished before all of us,"
Tammy commented with a giggle.

Sam nodded that he indeed was starving, but nonetheless was willing to
wait for them to finish theirs, so Sam just munched on his garlic
bread for the time being. When everyone had finished devoured their
soup, Tammy filled their plates with the fresh ravioli that was
smothered in a blush sauce. The boy's didn't mince words, because they
were still hungry. But when their plates had started to get empty; the
boy's giggled and talked, as well as made bad jokes that only kids
could laugh at.

Mark simply admired the display set out before him; he felt happy that
Sam was fitting in, or at least in his mind he was. Yes, there had
been a few rough bumps thus far, but he was getting along with Aaron
and even Aaron seemed to adore Sam. But while Mark watched; seeing the
boy's laughing and the joy that seemed to be emanating from their
faces, he though, "These were moments of refinement, moments of
clarity, the things that bound them together as a family; Sam was his
boy and no one could ever change that."

But while Sam was giggling and having a good time, he turned his head
and looked over towards Mark, he saw the smile that was resting over
Mark's face. This really surprised Sam when he realized what he was
actually doing, he was having fun. Sam could feel as the guilt started
to fill his entire body; his eyes began to water and he really didn't
want to be seen like this, so he swiftly pushed his feet against the
footing of the table and kicked back. He quickly ran into the kitchen,
before seeing a door that he hadn't noticed before and ran towards
it. In Sam's mind, he though it may have been a closet to hide in, but
when he opened the door, he realized that it wasn't. With the light
emanating from the kitchen, he found the light switch and turned it
on.

"It's okay Tammy, I'll handle this," Mark said, while he got up from
his chair, "you boy's continue eating and I will be back in a moment."

Mark walked into the kitchen and found the basement door wide open, he
swiftly walked towards the door, before walking down the steps
slowly. When Mark had reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked to
his right, seeing his exercise room, but it remained void of any
child. So he looked to his left, seeing his recreation room; which had
a set of couches, a pool table, a 50 inch wide screen television and
of course his computer.

Mark found Sam sitting in the computer chair; staring into
nothingness, while his eyes continued to leak all over his
t-shirt. Mark walked a few steps toward Sam, but he stopped for a
second, while he tried to collect his thoughts.  "Sam? Are you okay
buddy?" Mark finally said, while he approached him from behind. But
Sam didn't say a word, so Mark turned the computer chair around so
that Sam was facing him, before he knelt down in front of him.
"What's wrong buddy?" Mark questioned.

"I can't do this anymore Mark," Sam said, while his tears began to
flow with more fervor.

Mark looked down upon Sam, this was painful to him, he hoped that Sam
wasn't going to say it, that he couldn't stay with them anymore, that
it was just to much for him to handle. But nonetheless, he put his
hands onto Sam's shoulders and gave them a light squeeze. Mark finally
spoke with a concerned tone that resonated from his vocal cords, "Do
what buddy?"

"Fun! I'm having too much fun. It feels really wrong. Should I not be
sad?" Sam said, "I mean, my daddy is gone now. Please tell me how I
should feel, because I don't know anymore."

"Oh, Sam," Mark said as compassion for this little boy ran over his
body, "It's okay buddy. These things are never easy, especially for a
boy your age. I understand how confusing it can be for you, but that
still doesn't change anything, because we are here for you 100%. We
will help you in any way we can," Mark said, before pausing for a
monetary second, "Do you understand me so far Sam?"

Sam wasn't feeling too bold at the present moment, because he had a
look of restraint written across his face, his lips were pursed and
his eyes started aimlessly down at the floor. But he tried his best
and finally built up the courage, "Do you love me Mark?"

"Sure I do buddy," Mark said in a low tone, "you wouldn't be living
with me if I didn't."

"Why do you love me?" Sam asked, because he really needed to know
why. It was like his life depended on knowing the reasons.

"Well," Mark said, while he placed his hands over Sam's, "I think
you're a cute little boy," Mark said, while he tapped Sam's nose for a
moment, before returning his palms back over Sam's. "I think your a
well mannered little boy. You fit well with our family. No, let me
re-word that, your apart of our family," Mark said, when he felt
himself loose control of his emotions and his eye's began to water
like crazy, Mark then readjusted his voice, when he was unable to
speak for the moment, before he added, "plus I know your a good little
boy, don't forget, I saw your school records," Mark said, with a smile
across his face.

"Look at us were a mess," Mark finally commented, while he continued
to stare down upon his, son.

This was a defining moment for them both, they were both raw and bare
to one another, emotion or no emotion, Mark loved this boy. This had
been the first time Mark ever thought of Sam as his son, it felt so
liberating to him.

"Can I have a hug?" Mark finally asked.

But Sam didn't respond, but simply lunged directly for Mark and
wrapped his boyish arms around Mark's neck.  "I think I love you and
Aaron too," Sam said into Mark's neck.  "What about Mommy? I mean,
Tammy," Mark questioned.

"Yeah I love her too," Sam quickly said, because he was sorry he'd
forgotten her.

"Is everything okay down there Mark?" Tammy beckoned from the landing.

"Yes honey, everything is fine. Sam just need's to have some time
alone," Mark informed Tammy, before he too told Sam to spend some time
by himself and if he wanted to, that he could use the computer.

Mark reached out his hand and turned on the computer, before he gave a
reassuring tap on Sam's head. Mark then went to make his way back up
the stairs, but he stopped short of the first step and said, "when
you're ready to come up, please do. But don't be too long, or Aaron
will begin to worry about you."

"Okay daddy," Sam replied.

Mark then walked the rest of the way up the stairs and left Sam by his
lonesome. Sam swiftly went to his e-mail account and logged in; "23
New Messages," the screen read.

The number of messages surprised Sam, most of them seemed to be from
people from his school, including one from his principle. Sam really
wondered how she had gotten his e-mail, so he swiftly opened it and
read it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Sam,

I'm so sorry to hear about your father, I'm here if you need to
talk. Oh and by the way, Billy gave me your e-mail, hope that was
okay. Anyway, I'm keeping you in my prayers.

Mrs. Singer Principle of Canyon Elementary

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam then hit the next button and found the next e-mail to be from
Billy, "OMG! What happened? R u ok d00d? Call me!"

Once he had read through most of the e-mails, there was still one
left. The subject had read "Confidential," it had come directly from
an anonymous e-mail address and showed a federal symbol along the top,
it read:

"Dear Samuel,

My dearest boy, you may have received this e-mail, because I'm quite
possibly dead. I'm really sorry that you have to find out like this,
but I must tell you the truth. In my death, which maybe unfortunate,
there is still hope, there is so much for you to look forward to in
life. I want you to keep your head up; I know this transition will be
difficult, but you will turn out okay. But now I must tell you the
truth, I am not your real father and your mother never died giving
birth to you, the truth is, I've never been married.

But nonetheless, I have always loved you; I have always thought of you
as my own son and treated you as such. I hope there is some way in
your heart that you can forgive me. But it was all done to protect
you, please trust me on this. I would have done anything for you, even
if it meant taking a bullet.

In my unfortunate passing, I leave all my earthly possessions,
belongings, the house, everything is left into your care. I'm truly
sorry that it had to come out like this, but the fact of the matter
is, at this time, I can't tell you who, or where your real parents
are, nor can I tell you if they are dead or alive, again this is for
your own protection.

Now this part is important, you will find my last will and testament
in my closet, it's going to be difficult for you to find. So write
this down; First you will need to find the wall safe, it sits behind a
false panel within my bedroom closet. Once you have it off, you will
need to enter, 12 R, 77 L, 7 R. Inside you will find the will, as well
as some other important information.

Now, you may ask how you've received this e-mail even in my passing,
the fact of matter is, that if I haven't checked into this system
every twenty-four hours, then this e-mail was to be sent. If in 1 year
I haven't checked in, then there will be another e-mail sent to you,
which I hope will be safe enough for you to know the truth. There are
reasons that I can't tell you who they are or were, please continue to
trust in me like you always have.

One last thing, if you've been put into foster care and you actually
trust these people, then you may share this with them. But them alone,
you will need to delete this email as soon as possible. If therefore,
you don't trust them, then please delete right away and contact the
police.

P.S. I intended on telling you the truth on your 18th birthday, but
since I haven't survived to make this date, this is my only way of
telling you.

Love always, Dad"

Sam was in shock; his father ... Jeff ... wasn't? ... his daddy? WHAT?!

"DADDY!" Sam cried out from the computer chair.

The sound of several sets of feet could be heard through the ceiling
as they rushed towards him and to the doorway, soon Mark beckoned,
"are you okay Sam?"

"No! I need you now," Sam cried.

"Dad, can I come with you?" Aaron asked.

"I don't know buddy. He may only want me for a few minutes," Mark
advised his son.

Sam heard Aaron's plea and Sam yelled back and told Mark, that it
would be okay for him to come down with him, but that only him and
Mark were allowed to see him in his current state. Aaron quickly
grabbed his fathers hand, while they walked down the stairs and into
the basement.

When Aaron and Mark reached the bottom of the steps, they saw Sam, who
had his head collapsed into his hands. Aaron had quickly let go of his
fathers hand and ran towards Sam, he quickly grabbed a hold of Sam and
embraced him.  "What's wrong Sam? Please don't cry," Aaron said, even
as his own eyes began to get watery.

Mark soon approached Sam and Aaron. But once he was standing beside
Sam, he tried to move his hands out of the way, so that he could look
Sam straight into the eyes, but when he tried, Sam didn't budge.
"What happened?" Mark asked.

Sam tried his best to explain; he told them he was reading his e-mails
and had received many condolences from kids from school, as well as
one from his teacher and his principle. But then went on to explain
about the very last e-mail he read, "Not only have I lost my dad, but
he was never my dad to begin with," Sam said, while his chest heaved
in and out as he gasped for air.

"What do you mean Sam?" Mark questioned.

"I received an e-mail from my dad, he told me some stuff. He said if I
trusted you that I could show you. But that we must deleted it soon,"
Sam replied.

"Aaron, go to the couch now please," Mark instructed, but Aaron didn't
move, "fine have it your way, but no reading the screen."

Mark then asked for Sam to show him the e-mail, to which Sam
complied. Sam watched Mark's eye's become wider and wider with each
passing second, Mark had kept looking back and forth from the computer
screen and looked at Sam every few seconds. Mark was indeed surprised
at what the email had to say, that he was at a loss of words when he
finally finished reading.

Mark quickly grabbed a scrap piece of paper and started to write down
the combination, before he stuck it into his back pocket.  "I honestly
don't know what to say buddy, but what I can say is that you will
always have us, you're stuck with us now."

"Yeah, your stuck with us!" Aaron reiterated.

"Thanks guys," Sam said.

Sam was really thankful, he knew that without a shadow of doubt, he
was home. He always knew the saying, home is where the heart is, and
his heart belonged here with Mark, Aaron and Tammy. Sam then raised
his arm's up towards Aaron and Mark, because he really, and I do mean
really wanted to hug them.

They continued to embrace for several minutes, before Mark pulled away
from the boy's and suggested they all go back upstairs, so that Sam
could finish eating his dinner.  "Okay Dad, we will be up in a
moment," Aaron said, while he was still embracing Sam. But when they
heard Mark reach the top of the stairs, Aaron began to speak, "I love
you Sam, I really, really do. I hope you know that. I just wish I knew
how to help you stay happy, because I don't like seeing you hurting
inside and crying."

"Thanks Aaron," Sam said, while he looked deep into Aaron's eyes, "I
love you too."

But while Sam was looking into Aaron's eyes, he saw them shine back at
him; Aaron had a look of desire, hope, love and compassion amalgamated
into one across his face. The way that Aaron looked at Sam was
something deeper than a brotherly relationship, it was much, much
more.

Sam really had never seen someone look at him like this before, he was
confused at what it all meant, but he somehow felt that it was a good
thing. Even as such, his body began to respond to Aaron's gentle
rubbing on his thighs, that his wiener began to grow within his
underwear.

Sure Sam had gotten erections before, like the occasional morning
wood, or when he saw a cute girl, but never from someone touching his
leg. It kinda made him feel weird about the situation. But he didn't
care at the present time, he could see that Aaron loved him no matter
what. And he kinda knew that Aaron liked to touch him, considering
what had happened the previous night. But he also knew that Aaron
liked to kiss him too, so he inched himself closer and gave him a kiss
on the crook of his mouth.

They had kissed for several seconds, before Sam pulled away and smiled
at Aaron. Sam watched as Aaron's eyes began to overflow with tears,
before they crested over his lower eyelid.  "Why are you crying
Aaron?" Sam asked.  "Because I love you. And you mean so much to me,"
Aaron replied.

"But I'm the one usually crying. Are you hurt or something?" Sam asked
concerned, obviously oblivious to the situation.

"No, I'm not hurt. It's just, when you kissed me on the side of my
mouth. It made me feel really happy inside, because now I know that
you really do love me," Aaron said compassionately.

Aaron started to feel himself become filled with boldness, that while
he was rubbing Sam's thigh, he started to slowly creep his hand up
Sam's leg. But stopped short of Sam's bulge that he could clearly see
trying to pop out of his pants.  "So ... do you um, want me to kiss you
again then?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. Do you want to kiss me again?" Aaron asked playfully.

Sam thought about it for a moment, did he really want to kiss a boy on
the lips? Wasn't that kinda, gay? But he really loved Aaron, he just
wasn't quite sure what kind of love he felt for him yet, and he just
wanted to make Aaron happy.

So with his mind decided, he leaned back in and kissed Aaron on the
crook of his lips again, but he felt compelled to go even further as
he slid his lips directly over top of Aaron's. When Sam had done this,
Aaron's mind began to race, which caused his body to jolt and for his
hand to slide right into Sam's groin. Sam was so surprised that he was
just touched down there, he broke their kiss. And gave a look of shock
to Aaron.

The boy's stared into each others eye's for a few moments, but Sam was
starting to get freaked out about all of this, so he said, "let's go
back upstairs now please."

"Okay," Aaron said, "I'm sorry I didn't mean for that to happen."
Aaron really started to feel sad, because he was surely enjoying the
time they were spending together.

"It's okay Aaron, I still love you," Sam said, while he slowly got up
from his chair.

But when he saw the sad look that was on Aaron face, he grabbed
Aaron's hand. He then tugged Aaron up from his kneeling position, so
that he stood straight and said, "I'm not mad at you Aaron. Here I
will show you." Sam then pulled Aaron closer to his body and kissed
him straight forward on the lips, but he wanted to get even with Aaron
for touching him, so while they kissed, he cupped his hand and put it
over Aaron's groin and felt the bulging erection that he was
sporting. Aaron wasn't expecting Sam to do that, he really thought he
screwed up, but he couldn't contain his excitement as he burst into a
smile and pulled away from Sam.  "You sly little devil you," Aaron
said, while he waved his finger at him.

"Hey, fair is fair. You touched me, I touched you. We're even now,"
Sam said.

"Well, um since we've touched each other now. Can I see yours?" "
Aaron asked.

"Not right now and I'm really not sure that I'm comfortable with
that. Like wouldn't that make us, you know different?" Sam inquired.

"It's okay, I won't force you to do anything, I'm sorry. Are you
against people like that?" Aaron asked.

"No, I'm not against people like that," Sam said, almost like he was
offended.

"Okay okay! I'm Sorry, I was just curious," Aaron said, before he
suggested they start to head back upstairs.

With that set in mind, Sam moved closer to the computer and clicked
the delete button to his father's email, before he logged out and
turned off the computer. When Sam turned around, he saw Aaron rubbing
his hand over his groin, which kinda surprised Sam. So he hastily
grabbed Aaron's free hand and pulled him towards the stairs.

Once they returned to the dinning room, Sam went and sat down to
finish his dinner. Aaron again sat down beside him and waited for him
to finish. But while he was eating, Mark asked them, "are you both
okay now?"

Sam nodded and said, "we just needed to talk in private for a moment
daddy. I hope that was okay." But Mark didn't mind at all, in fact he
was glad that Sam was confiding in Aaron, but if he only knew what
really happened downstairs.

While Sam continued to eat, he began to notice that Max and Cameron
were missing, so he swiftly asked Tammy, "where did the other boy's
go?"

"Oh, I sent Cameron up for a bath," Tammy said, "and Max?" asked
Aaron.

"He's upstairs waiting in your room for Cameron to finish, then he
will be having a bath too," Tammy informed the boy's.

"Oh okay. Cool," Aaron said.

Sam was too hungry to care at the present moment, so he swiftly
started to devour what was left in his plate. But when he had finally
finished, he got up from his chair and walked into the kitchen. He
then walked over to the sink and turned on the water, so that he could
rinse his dish's off. Once it was thoroughly rinsed, he placed it in
the dishwasher and made his way back out to the dinning room and
questioned Mark, "Hey Daddy, where did you put my iPod and the rest of
my clothes that Dan brought over?"

"Well, I put the iPod in the top pocket of your suitcase. And I'm
really sorry we never made it to get you a dresser today, but we will
have to do that tomorrow. And as for your other clothes, they're in
the wash getting cleaned," Mark told Sam.

"Okay Daddy, thank you," Sam said, while he and Aaron walked towards
the stairs.

Once the boy's had made it upstairs and into their room, they found
Max sitting on their bed playing with his iPad.  "What are you doing
Max?" Sam asked.  "Nothing really, just checking my email and talking
to a friend on Skype" Max replied, "but hey, are you okay? You left
the table in a rush."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't mean to be rude to you guys. I just
got really sad all of a sudden," Sam told Max.

"It's cool bro. I'm not offended," Max said, while he smiled back at
Sam.

Sam then walked over towards his suitcase and looked for his iPod,
once he found it, he went over near his bed and laid down on the
floor. Sam was shuffling through his music, when Aaron came over and
laid down beside him, so he passed one of the earphones to him so that
they could listen together. Sam then switched to a specific song that
he wanted to share with Aaron, "Owl City – Meteor shower." Sam really
hoped in his mind that Aaron would hear the lyrics of the song when it
said, "Please don't let me go, I desperately need you." But when that
part of the song came up and repeated it self again, Aaron looked over
at Sam. Aaron wasn't sure if Sam was trying to say something to him or
not, but he grabbed Sam anyway and gave him a quick hug. By the time
the song had finished and switched to another, Cameron came into the
room still somewhat wet and announced to the boy's, "I'm done
Max. It's your turn now."

**********************************************

By the time all of the boy's had finished having their baths; it was
getting close to their bed time. But before they were to go to bed,
Mark and Tammy wanted to spend some time with them. So they told the
boy's to come down to the basement, so they all could watch a movie
and to have a snack with them. But when the boy's had gotten
downstairs, Mark had already portioned several bowls of chocolate and
vanilla ice cream for them all to enjoy. Mark then handed the bowl's
to the boy's, before he walked over to his 50 inch wide screen TV and
inserted the movie "Cars," into the movie player.

When the movie had finished, Mark started to advise the boy's that it
was now time for bed. But when he realized that they had all fallen
asleep during the movie, he looked at the boy's. Mark thought it was
cute in the way that the boy's had all fallen asleep intertwined
together; Sam and Aaron had fallen asleep together on the couch, Aaron
laid behind Sam and had his arm hanging over Sam's chest. Max and
Cameron were asleep on the floor snugged together in a ball. Mark
figured that all the fun the boy's had today probably drained them of
their energy, but especially Sam, who he suspected was an emotionally
drained little boy. Mark then got up off the couch and walked over to
Sam and Aaron, before he shook them both and told them, "It's time for
bed boy's."

"Okay Daddy," Sam said, while he got himself up off of the couch. Sam
then grabbed Aaron's hand and helped him up, before they casually made
their way upstairs and into the bathroom.

Once they were inside, Aaron turned on the tap and grabbed for his
toothbrush, but while Aaron was doing so, Sam noticed some dried
chocolate ice cream resting around Aaron's mouth, to which he pointed
and giggled. When Aaron noticed it from his reflection in the mirror,
he went to lick his lips clean, but before he could even do so, Sam
stuck out his tongue and licked it off for him, "Mmm you taste good,"
Sam commented in a giggle.

"Hey! That was my ice cream," Aaron belted out laughing.

"Snooze you loose!" Sam giggled.

But shortly after, the moment had ended and they ceased to laugh. Sam
started to question, if it were wise to have done that, he really
didn't want to make Aaron believe something of it. So he apologized to
Aaron and told him it meant nothing, it was in fun. But Aaron felt in
his heart that there was more than he was letting on, but he let it
slide for now. Sam and Aaron quickly finished brushing there teeth,
but while they walked out of the bathroom they saw Cameron and Max
coming up the stairs. Cameron then walked into the bathroom with his
over night bag and brushed his teeth, before finally changing into his
flannel pajamas. Once Cameron was done, Max entered and got himself
ready for bed.

When everyone was ready, they got themselves settled under the covers;
Sam and Aaron took the lower bunk and snuggled together as one. Max
and Cameron took the top bunk and snuggled together too. Mark and
Tammy then gave the boy's kisses and hugs, while they tucked them in
for the night. But once they were finished, they turned off the light
and left to go back into their room.

With the lights now turned off, the boy's began to say good night to
each other, "Good night Aaron, I love you!" Sam said, while he held
Aaron tight into his arms. Sam was really starting to feel like he was
becoming attached to Aaron, although he was a little bit worried about
their activity's downstairs, and yet it just felt right to him. Sam
felt so lucky to have Aaron there laying by his side, because he knew,
if he ever needed anybody, that he had Aaron right there.

"Good night Sam, I love you too," Aaron said, while a tear began to
run down his cheek. Aaron really meant what he said, he really did
love Sam, more than anyone could even fathom. He didn't quite
understand why he was so drawn to him, but he justified in his head
that maybe he could help him in some way.

Once Aaron and Sam had said their good nights, they heard Max and
Cameron speak, "Good night Max," Cameron said, while he was being
consumed by Max's arms.  "Good night Cameron," Max said.

"Thanks Max. It means a lot to me that your holding me," Cameron said,
while a tear ran down his face.  "No problem buddy, sleep tight." Max
said, before they both closed their eyes and drifted off.

Sam felt extremely happy as he laid nestled together with Aaron in his
arms, he truly felt loved by him after today's events. Although he
wouldn't tell Aaron, at least not yet, that he was enjoying their fun
in the basement, he just felt it too soon to be having fun. Although,
Sam had never done anything with someone else before, he had touched
himself every now and again. But while Sam continued to ponder the day
over in his head, he began to feel Aaron's heart beat along with
his. This made Sam become more aware of his surroundings as he began
to feel the warmth that emanated from Aaron's body, which made him
feel like the void was being filled within his own heart. But after
much thought, he began to speak in a whisper, "Hey, are you still
awake Aaron?"

"Yeah why?" Aaron replied in a low tone.

"I just think it's funny. I can feel you breathing because we're so
close together," Sam said, while he giggled.

"Yeah, it's kinda funny isn't it?" Aaron whispered.

"Do you think Cameron and Max are still awake?" Sam questioned.

"I don't know. But there's only one way to find out," Aaron said,
before he whispered up to the boy's, "you two awake up there?" But
when they heard no reply, they felt sure they'd fallen asleep.

"Why do you care if they're awake or not?" Aaron whispered over to
Sam.

Sam thought for a moment, while he decided, if he really wanted to ask
Aaron the question that was on his mind; if Aaron wanted to try the
stuff they had done in the basement again. He felt that if he did ask,
it probably wouldn't make him sad for having fun again, because he now
knew that it was okay to have a little fun and he figured it would
probably help him cope in one way or another. Even as such, Sam still
felt apprehensive about it, but he loved Aaron and he knew Aaron would
never force him to do anything he didn't want to do. As confused as he
was about the whole situation, he thought he might want to do
again. But finally after much wrestling within his head, he concluded
that he would ask.

"No reason," Sam said playfully, "I'm just a little confused is all. I
mean the stuff that happened downstairs. What does it even mean?"

"I don't know. But why are you thinking about it?" Aaron asked
curiously.  "Because, do you want to do it again right now?" Sam
asked.

But when Sam had finished saying the words, he felt boldness come over
him and he didn't even wait for Aaron to respond. Sam swiftly stuck
his hands under Aaron's pajama shirt and began to rub around
underneath, before he withdrew his hand and said, "do you recognized
this?" Sam then moved his hands down towards Aaron's pajama bottoms
and swiftly stuck his fingers under the elastic band and pushed his
fingers inside of Aaron's underwear, but stopped suddenly just short
of his pubic bone. "And how about this? Do you recognized this?" Sam
asked again.

Aaron was really shocked that all he managed to say was, "How? ... ... ..."

But Sam just giggled and smiled to himself. He then swiftly gave Aaron
a kiss on the lips, before he finally pushed down deeper into Aaron's
underwear. With his fingers now grasped over the lump that rested
between Aaron's legs, he began to feel as it grew to meet his
hand. Sam was definitely surprised with himself, he didn't know he had
this much nerve, but yet here he was with Aaron's wiener within his
grasp.

Aaron was shocked, because he wasn't aware Sam was awake at the time
of his little expedition from the previous night. But he still wasn't
quite sure what all this meant, but his wiener sure did. Aaron then
swiftly moved his hands toward Sam and began to feel above Sam's
bottoms, before he finally got the nerve to do the same. Aaron started
to pull back on Sam's elastic band that rested over his waist, once it
was stretched, he stuck his fingers into the fold of Sam's underwear
and grabbed a hold of his little member.

After several minutes of their fondling session, Sam whispered to
Aaron, "Cool," and to which Aaron said the same. They both now knew
what each other had between their legs. But by now they'd grown tired,
so Sam gave Aaron a kiss good night and they both fell asleep with
their hands down each others pants.

**********************************************

Authors Notes:

There is a real conflict going on in Sam's head, which also seems to
be confusing Aaron. I hope I've been able to portray this conflict
without loosing you all. I'm afraid though, because I feel I've left
more questions then answers within this chapter. But I promise you
that they will all be answered at some point in time. I personally
feel that these moments shared between the boy's are genuine and raw
to the bone.  There is a real sense of curiosity and love shared
between them. I believe the sky is the limit for these boy's, but I
believe it's still possible for them to hit a road block again. The
lines of communication are opening between all of them and I believe
that's important, if they are to adopt him, or not. I also genuinely
believe that Sam is finding his nerve, balls, guts. How else would he
go from the receiver of affection to the giver.. :)

With that being said, this story has really grown on me. At first I
believed it to be a side project of only a few chapters. But this has
since changed and the depth and emotion journey of it all will be
worth it. I hope you all will agree with me in some form or fashion
that the direction I've taken and will be taking the story will be a
good one. I genuinely would like to thank all the reader's that did
contact me and let me know their thoughts on the story. Because
without them, the story probably wouldn't have made it to another
chapter, even as much as I thought it might be a few chapter
story. This story now hold's a special place in my heart and I will
continue to write it until the very end. But if I may, I believe this
story has a lot to offer in terms of it's depth and real raw emotion
that I try to portray. I know for myself that it even affected me, it
hold's a strong emotional pull. I have also put a lot of effort into
this chapter, more than I have for any of my chapters and I hope that
it shows. I've done my best to keep the flow as smooth as possible and
the story fluid. Also this chapter is longer then Chapter #1 :) Good
news or bad news, you decide, 26 pages strong and flowing.

Food for Thought:

Was this a failed break and enter? Or was it an assassination. Why is
Sam so important? Who are Sam's real parents? Are they gay? Will Sam
ever overcome this emotional scar?

But as always, let me know what you thought at podiumdavis@gmail.com

And also feel free to read my other story "Jacob and Kyle" which can
be found under the young friends section.

And Once again.. Thank you for reading.