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Hey all, this is my very first attempt at writing, I hope you all enjoy this story.  I would first like to thank The Radio Rancher for his assistance in editing this story.  I was afraid that he would hurt me when we got working on this because of how obsessive I can be, but he’s been a real sport about it.  I would also like to that Akeentia for hosting this story, http://www.paddedroom.us/   Yes, if you like this story, you can find all the chapters that are posted on the Padded Room. You can also find other excellent stories on this site, such as Str8mybe's Haven, and Fire. Also there are Akeentia's stories, such as Ark. I highly recommend all of the stories on this site, and all the sites linked with the Fort Family of Sites. Finally, I would like to thank all of you for reading this.  If you have any questions, or comments, I would really like to hear from you. Please feel free to email me at roland@paddedroom.us  

I also need to apologize for how long it's taken to update this story here. Things have been really hectic for me, and I could barely keep up with the postings on the Padded Room. I really hope everyone likes this chapter, I know writing it was hard for me. I really need to send a shout out to Dark Star. He has been helping with both ideas and content. I really think the story is so much better with his efforts.

Again I hope you like it. Roland

Adam's head shot up when he heard this, with fear clearly evident on his face as he said, "No way, Logan! There is absolutely no way in hell you're coming with us," in a voice that brooked no argument, but that all could hear contained the fear that he felt. Logan just stared back at him, defiantly; not understanding, Adam, I have to go! They're in a secure bunker that can only be accessed by a single door into the facility. The only way to get through that door is if you have the password, and the only way to get that password is through me. Logan said angrily, as if this should solve the problem, but Adam wasn't buying it. . "Okay, Genius, so hack it from here." Adam shot back, the fear making it sound like anger, as Logan slowly shook his head with a small smile on his face, and said. "If I could, Adam, I would have it already. It's a closed system; the only way to hack it is to be physically there."  Janet decided that she needed to make her presence known as well as this was not going well. "Logan, you're not going to go there, and that's final." she said. Logan turned around to his mom, knowing that she was going to object, but, at the same time, somehow hoping that she wouldn't, and said, in a very cold voice. "Mom, you always said that I'm mature enough to make adult decisions. Well, now, this time, I'm making one. You said yourself that we need to help these guys, so I'm going to do what has to be done. I'm the only one who can do it, and I'm GOING to do it." Logan stared at his mother defiantly for the next several seconds and his look was returned in full measure.  Adam wasn't really sure who would look away first, so he did the only thing he could think of to break the tension. He certainly wasn't happy with this, but he also didn't see any alternative.

"Logan, you're absolutely set on going, aren't you?" Adam asked, breaking the spell that Logan was under. Logan looked over at Adam and nodded, determination filling his eyes.  Adam sighed heavily, shaking his head, then he said. "Okay, Logan, you can go..." but before he could finish, Logan shouted for joy, at the partial statement that he heard,  Janet started protesting, but Adam cut her off, as he pushed Logan out to arms length, saying, in a loud voice. "...BUT, you definitely need to have more than a bit of training, first. We can't have you there with us, with you not knowing what you're doing. Do I make myself clear?" Logan started to nod, 'I'm willing to do anything,' he thought, but Adam stopped him abruptly, saying. "Logan, I don't really think you understand exactly what I mean." shaking his head and then continuing, as Logan watched him intently. "I figure it this way; we can take a week to train you. IF you agree to the training, then there are a few things I can promise you." Adam said, as he moved Logan over to sit at the table. While doing that he shot a look to Joe, who took the hint. "Come on with me, Janet, I think we need to talk." Joe said to her, as he took Janet's arm and started to lead her out of the room. Janet started to protest, but Joe just kept pulling her, until she was out of the room. As soon as they were gone from the room, Adam motioned to Juan to sit down at the table with them.

This was going to be hard, but with steely resolution, Adam took a deep breath and started in on the boy he loved.

"Logan, the training I'm talking about is going to be hard. No, correction, not hard... It'll be grueling. I'm going to put you through six weeks worth of intense training, in just one week. Please remember that I love you." Logan started to interrupt, but Adam stopped him. "Your training starts right now; I AM your commanding officer. As such, you will not interrupt me, you will only speak when spoken too, and everything you say to me had better end with Sir. Is that understood?" Adam said, in a cold voice.  Logan looked taken aback for a moment at Adam's statement, but he finally nodded. "What was that, Private?" Adam asked, in a loud voice. Logan's head snapped up and he stared at Adam for a second, with hurt and shock warring across his features before he said, "yes sir."

"Good," Adam said, with a small smile. "Now, Logan, I want to explain a few more things to you, before you accept this. One, I WILL make you hate me, over the next week. I WILL do my best to break you, both physically and mentally. You will be completely exhausted the entire time. You will be hurt, and bruised, and I will keep pushing you. I will push you till you collapse; then, I'll drag you back to your feet and make you keep going. I will shoot at you, and will scare the living shit out of you. I WILL break you. Do you understand what I am saying?" Adam said, trying to make Logan understand what he was asking for, but knowing sadly, that there wasn't really any way to do that. 

Logan thought it over for a few minutes, and then looked up, and with iron in his voice, said, "Adam, I know you'll only do what you have to; to make sure I'm ready. I know it'll be hard, but this is something I want... no, I NEED to do. I hope you understand." all with an expression pleading with Adam to understand what he was trying to tell him Adam nodded that he did, and replied sadly, "then I hope you will forgive me for what I'm gonna do to you." All Adam could do was hope that he would Logan got up, went over, and hugged Adam saying. "I know you're doing it for my own good." Adam just nodded then said, "You better go relax then. I'll be getting you up at 0530 and then you will know hell." Logan nodded, and went off back to his room. Leaving Adam wondering and hoping that Logan truly understood what he was getting into and that he would remember this conversation when the week was over. He really didn't know what he would do if Logan ended up hating him.

Joe led Janet from the room, leading her out onto the porch, where Janet turned and confronted Joe angrily "Joe, I can't believe you're not stopping this." she said once there. Joe just looked at her to see if she was finished and when it was clear she expected a response replied "Janet, think about it for a second. What would happen if we put a stop to this?" Janet looked at him incredulously and snapped. "Logan wouldn't get hurt, that's what'd happen?" "Logan wouldn't get hurt?" Joe asked while staring at her. "I think Logan would get really hurt. He has no training of any kind right now and this is the only way that he stands to get any before going into a combat situation. If you deny him this training then you place him in even more danger because he is going to go Think about it, you have told me many times that Logan's very mature for his age. You said that Logan's been really unhappy lately because he doesn't fit in. Well, I think he's found a group he can fit in with, and if this is what he needs to do to fit in, then we can't stand in his way." this training will let him become part of the group and more so give him a fighting chance out there in the field Joe said looking her in the eyes. Janet just stood there thinking about it for several minutes before sighing in resignation. "I just don't want to see him get hurt." Janet said plaintively trying to hold in the fear for her that she was feeling. "Janet, he could get hurt no matter what we do. All we can do is be there for him when it's done. and with this training he at least will be much better prepared to escape injury than if he didn't have it If Adam is doing what I think he is going to then, Logan's gonna need us over the next few days more than he ever has before. Joe said as Janet gave him a now increasingly worried look causing Joe to quickly reassure her "Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on Adam to make sure he doesn't go too far." and Joe thought to himself, to make sure he goes far enough.
         
Adam watched pensively as Logan left the room, then looked over to Juan. He was curious to see how this telepathy thing worked, so he gave it a shot, concentrating on sending a thought to him. 'Juan, can you hear me?' Juan looked at Adam, surprised, and then smiled. 'Yeah, I can hear you. Ain't this telepathy thing cool?' Juan asked back, with a grin, and then turned serious. 'Are you sure you want to do this?' Adam sighed, but slowly nodded his head. He didn't want to do this, but he also knew he had no choice. 'He's probably right; he'll need to be there. I just want to try and make sure that he can handle it. Juan nodded before saying, I don't think he can, he's not one of us, and I don't think it's right for him to be with us on an op.' Adam looked at Juan for a moment, then thought to him. 'Juan, he is one of us. I haven't made it official, yet, but he's gonna be our Intel officer. We don't have one of them, and we'll need one. Plus with what he's already done, hacking into the military computers, he's the perfect choice. But, I'm gonna need your help with this; I can't do this without you. Will you help me?' Juan studied Adam for a few moments before finally replying slowly. 'I still don't think it's a good idea, but if you want to, I'll help out.' Adam nodded, satisfied, then he got up and left the room in search of Joe.

Adam found Joe outside; looking out over the woods seeming deep in thought. "Joe?" he said, trying to catch his attention. Joe looked over at Adam, smiled slightly, and motioned for Adam to take a seat.

"So, Adam, trying to figure out if you're doing the right thing?" he asked the boy. 

"Yeah, I am... Joe, I just don't know if I can do this. Part of me is worried that I'll push him too hard, and the other parts worried I won't push him hard enough. They never trained me for this shit." Adam replied. Joe laughed while taking a seat himself.

"Adam, there's no easy way to do this. Just remember a few things. Logan may be just as smart as you are, but he's definitely not as physically developed as you are. You need to keep that in mind. You also need to watch him. Push him farther then he thinks he can go, but don't push him so far that he hurts himself. I'll help you out, the best I can, but I really think it's important for you to do this yourself." Joe told him. Adam just nodded, and became lost in thought for a few moments. After about five minutes, Adam turned to Joe. "Joe, I need to know if you can go pick up a few things?" Joe nodded, and Adam rattled off a list of things that he needed. 

After Joe had headed off to round up the things on the list Adam had given him, Adam began to set up the things that were needed for Logan to use. First on the list was the firing range, where Logan would receive his training, in firearms and their use. Second up was the obstacle course, followed by the running course. Both of those would be terribly difficult for the younger boy, but Adam wondered, not for the first time recently, who, exactly, it would be hardest on, and that was especially true as he came to the hardest thing to set up.  When he was looking around the other day, he noticed that the back porch had an old style bell hanging on a string. Adam thought it was there to ring when it was time for the children to come inside. Tonight however, he was setting it up for a much different purpose. He dug a hole in the front lawn and placed a large pole into it from which he hung the bell, along with a sign which read "Ring me to escape hell," because that was what he was going to put the boy he loved through, and  it would be starting early the next morning.

Adam woke up at 05:00 the next morning, and headed to get a shower. He was still very troubled by what was going to happen to Logan over the next few days, but if Logan felt strong enough about wanting to go, he'd do everything in his power to make sure that Logan was ready. While Adam was in the shower, he spent the time going over in his mind what he would be doing. He was so lost in thought, that he was surprised to hear the bathroom door open; but he was able to smell that it was Logan who walked over to the toilet to relieve himself. Adam didn't pay any mind to it considering the way he was raised and when he finally turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower. Logan was brushing his teeth, and nearly choked upon seeing Adam walking out of the shower, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.  Not noticing Logan's problems, Adam simply started to dry himself off; but Logan was staring openly at Adam still in shock. When Adam finally noticed Logan staring, he asked, "What? Is something wrong?" Logan blushed furiously, and turned around to face the sink; and it was only then that Adam noticed the slight problem Logan now had besides his blushing face as Logan stuttered "Umm... n...no... I'm just not used to seeing other guys naked." Adam frowned at that, but said. "It's nothing new to me. I had doctors looking at me all the time. I guess I Just never really thought about it. I can cover up from now on, if you'd rather." Adam said, shrugging his shoulders and not understanding what the big deal was.  Logan looked back at Adam, finally getting himself mostly under control and said with a grin, "Nah, I think I can get used to it." 

Adam just nodded, and then he said, "You'll find clothes laid out on your bed after your shower. I want you dressed and out in front in 30 minutes. Eat if you have time. If you don't, it's your problem; Understood!?" Logan nodded, and started to strip out of his boxers as Adam left.  Adam couldn't help but take a peak as he walked out, thinking. 'Boy I need to get control of these feelings, if I plan on being any good to either of us.'  As he headed down to the kitchen realizing that Logan wasn't the only one to have a slight problem now. 

Adam was slightly surprised to see that everyone else was already awake and eating breakfast by the time he got down there though. Joe looked up from his coffee and asked, "you all set for today?" Adam sat down after grabbing himself some coffee and replied in a pained voice. "No, I don't want to do this to him. I don't want to put him through this, but I don't see what else I can do." Joe just nodded and told him, "Just remember you have us here to help." Adam simply nodded as he took a sip of his coffee, and was soon lost in thought.

Logan got out of the shower and went back into the room he was sharing with Adam. He was still unsure of what today would bring, but he knew he had to face it. He knew that the only way that Adam and the others would accept him was if he was one of them and this was the only way to do that. He also knew that he loved Adam, and he was willing to go through anything for that, anything at all. Looking around, Logan saw that Adam had laid out a set of "BDU's" (Battle Dress Uniform) and a set of boots, similar to the ones Adam wore all the time.  He took a moment to look over the clothes before he put them on, and was surprised by how well the clothing fit, but then he realized that this must be one of Adam's extra sets. He was also pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the boots were. He had kind of thought they would be really uncomfortable. Finally when he was dressed, he looked himself over in the mirror before heading downstairs to face what was to come, thinking, 'Boy do I look out of place in this stuff.' He walked into the Kitchen, and saw everyone looking at him. His mother had a look of concern, while Joe and Adam looked supportive. Juan's expression was totally unreadable, but Logan thought that Juan was difficult to understand most of the time anyway.

After Logan got his breakfast and sat down, Adam spoke up. "Logan, you are about to start the most difficult thing you have ever done. I give you credit for even trying this." Adam had slipped into commander mode by this point, as that was the only thing that was going to get him through what was to come.  Then continued; "But before we begin, there are a few things you need to know, and a few rules we need to follow, okay?" Logan, who was watching him throughout all of this, nodded while giving a barely audible "yes sir." Adam nodded and smiled trying to put Logan somewhat at ease. "First, I want to apologize upfront, for the bastard I will have to be. Please understand; I am going to be that way to make sure you get the skills you need. Most of what I will teach you is not physical, but it will seem that way. Once you figure it out, things will go a bit smoother for you. Second, there is a bell outside the front door. If, at any time, you feel you can't go on, you ring that bell, and it's over." Joe piped up at this point saying. "Logan, we had the same thing when I went through the Ranger training. Don't feel bad if you can't handle this. My crew started out with over forty people in it. Before the first week was out, there were only eighteen of us left. What I'm saying is this, there are many grown men who couldn't handle what your about to try, so don't feel bad if you can't do it." Logan nodded his understanding but had a set expression that said he was determined to never ring it, and Adam felt like this was a good time to head outside. "Private, you have ten minutes to muster outside. Have either Joe or Juan go over your uniform. I will inspect you when you get outside. Every morning till this is over, you had better be presentable. Understood!?" Adam barked as Logan gave a "yes sir," Adam simply nodded and went outside.

Logan appeared outside ten minutes later, and walked up to where Adam was standing. He couldn't help but think that Adam looked hot even in his BDUs. He stepped in front of Adam, then came to attention trying to put such thoughts out of his mind. Adam gave him the barest hint of a smile, and then proceeded to walk around him. "Tell me Private, do you know why it is that you must be fully presentable at the start of each day?" Adam said in a voice that made it clear he was in Command mode. Logan stood at attention staring straight forward and gave a crisp "No Sir."

"The reason is quite simple. There must be no difference between you and any other soldier out there. You now represent this Unit, and you will look the part at all times, is that understood?" Adam told him crisply. Logan responded with a "Yes sir." Adam came back around to face him, and any hint of a smile was now off his face. Logan could clearly see that this was not the Adam that he had known. This was someone else and it almost frightened him, maybe even did. "Now, let's start this off easy. Drop, and give me fifty push ups." Adam said, smiling predatorily. Logan hesitated for only a second, but it was all Adam needed. He got right into Logan's face and screamed at the top of his lungs. "I SAID DROP, MISTER!" Logan dropped and started his push ups. Adam stood right over top of him the entire time. "During your training, I am your God. You do not eat, you do not sleep, you do not PISS without me saying it's okay. Do you understand, Private?" Adam bellowed. Logan gave a soft "Yes Sir," starting to wonder if he bit off more then he could chew; as Adam added coldly,  "Now for not obeying my order as soon as I said it, you can add another ten on there."

Ten minutes later, Logan finished his push-ups, and he thought his arms were going to fall off. He was hoping for a break, but that was not to be, because as soon as he stood up, Adam looked at him and said. "Good, now follow me and don't fall behind." as Adam started off down the road at a jog. Three very, very long, seemingly never-ending hours later, they arrived back at the cabin. When they got there Logan wasn't sure what pissed him off more, the fact that Adam kept screaming at him to keep up, or the fact that he was barely winded. Logan collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion the moment Adam stopped jogging, which caused Adam to spin around and scream at Logan. "Did I give you permission to rest?" Logan looked up at Adam with complete shock on his face, but was able, barely, to pull himself up while saying, "No... No sir." Adam just snorted with disgust, walked over to the table where there was one of the MP-5s, and handed it to Logan, saying. "Take this, hold it over your head, and jog in place." Logan did as he was instructed, holding it above his head, and started to jog. "Don't stop till I tell you to." Adam added. Logan nodded and watched in disbelief as Adam walked back to the house, grabbed a bottle of water, and a chair. He brought them over, and sat down a few feet in front of Logan. He made quite the production of sitting down and relaxing, as he opened the bottle and took a long swig; saying "Ahh that hits the spot," before going on,  "Now Logan, the weapon you are holding is a Heckler and Koch MP-5SD. It is one of the premier sub machine guns made. Remember what I am about to tell you, because I will be asking you about this later, and you had better be able to answer correctly. The MP5SD is a full time sound suppressed sub machine gun, with a nineteen round clip. What makes a sub machine gun different from a full machine gun, are two things. A full machine gun is rather large and bulky, used primarily as a squad support weapon, or mounted on vehicles or helicopters." Adam was explaining all of this, while Logan jogged in place. Logan was somewhat surprised to figure out that when he concentrated on what Adam was saying; the jogging wasn't as bad as it was before. Adam continued, "It has three different settings, single shot, two round burst, or fully automatic. The MP5SD can fire approximately eight hundred rounds per minute. Now, let me ask you this, if it can fire eight rounds per minute, then how long would a nineteen round clip last... assuming of course, you had a round in the chamber?" Logan struggled to think about that. He wasn't expecting to have to do hard math problems, while being totally exhausted, his arms burning while he held a gun high over his head, jogging in place. Adam gave Logan about thirty seconds to figure it out, and when he didn't; Adam got up and stood before Logan. "Stop, and lower the weapon." Logan stopped, and stared ahead as Adam looked at him. 

"Logan," Adam began. "This training is not just for you to be physically able to handle the stresses of what's going to happen. The main reason for it is to force you to be able to think while in a very stressful situation. That is the most important thing. Almost anyone can be taught to run, jump, and climb ropes and things like that. But you need to be able to think clearly when you are under immense amounts of pressure. Okay?" Logan nodded replying "Yes Sir." "Good, now go take a few hours of rest. I'll come and get you when I'm ready." Logan nodded, and started to walk off dead on his feet. He got to the stairs, turned around, and said to Adam, in a wooden voice filled with exhaustion. "You'd be out of ammo in about one and a half seconds." Logan then turned and walked inside, not seeing Adam grin at his back, as he walked in.

The next six days were shear hell on both Adam and Logan. Logan's hell was more physical, since Adam wouldn't let him get more then two or three hours of sleep at any one time. Adam kept pushing Logan well past the point where Logan thought he would drop. However, once Logan figured out that Adam was training his mind more then his body; Logan soon figured out that the pain could be set aside. It didn't make it much easier, but it helped a little. Perhaps just enough; Adam, on the other hand, was going through his own hell. He was constantly fighting with himself as to whether he was pushing Logan too hard, and at other times, whether he wasn't pushing him hard enough. He needed to make sure that Logan was ready for what happened, but it was killing him to see Logan hurting. At one point, he even broke down crying after he sent Logan off to bed. Thankfully, Joe was there to help him through it.  In the end it was hard to say who had it the hardest of the two boys

The last day turned out to be the hardest on both of them. Adam was pushing Logan really hard, and Logan was starting to falter. Adam was upset that he had taken Logan to the point of failing, and turned to talk to Juan. Juan, for his part, had helped out where he could, but wasn't all that interested in helping Logan. Logan, as Juan saw it, wasn't one of them, and this was proving it. "Juan, I need you to take over." Adam said, nearly in tears, but fighting to hold them back. "Take him to the Range, and show him how to shoot the pistol and the MP5. Okay?" Juan nodded, completely confused. 'Why is Adam crying over this?' Juan thought to himself; not understanding what was going on, and not understanding Adam's emotions, confusing the young boy even more, as he finally just shrugged and walked over to Logan. "Okay Logan, it is time to take you to the Range."  

Juan brought Logan back to the cabin about the same time that Janet was putting dinner on the table. Everyone was too interested in the food to talk about much else. Logan felt he barely had time to eat before Adam would be rousing him to do something else, and he could only hope for a few minutes of rest before that happened, as he shoveled food into his mouth as fast as he could. Every moment spent eating was one less for sleeping. When he finished, he stumbled to his feet and asked if he could get some sleep.  Adam simply nodded, and Logan walked off. He didn't even try to make it upstairs; he just dropped on the sofa, and was sound asleep less then thirty seconds later. 

Adam watched Logan leave, then turned to Juan. "Well, how'd he do?" Juan couldn't help but grin and said. "Un-fucking-believable!" Joe quickly said. "Juan, watch your language." Juan, clearly not understanding what he did wrong looked confused at Joe. Janet saved him by saying. "It's okay; I've heard that and much worse." Juan, still not understanding what was wrong, didn't bother asking. "That kid is a natural. All I had to do was explain to him that shooting is almost all mental, then explain it to him; he was shooting like he couldn't miss. Of course he's still not as good as I am, but..." Adam chuckled when Juan said that, and nodded. "So you think he'll do okay on the OP?" Adam asked Juan, who sat there considering. Joe and Janet watched with obvious fascination. It was so hard, at times like these, to remember that Juan was only nine and a half years old, and Adam was barely thirteen. If anyone else were to listen to them, they would say they were adults.

Juan considered the question for a moment before responding. "Well, he has the accuracy. Of course he won't know if he can actually pull the trigger till the time comes." Adam nodded in agreement and said. "If we're lucky, he won't have to. Okay, then I think he's ready. I still can't believe he took everything I dished out." Janet beamed with pride and ran back over to the counter. "Oh! This calls for one of Logan's favorite cakes, "Death by Chocolate"." Both Adam and Juan grinned at that and were soon hurried out of the kitchen so Logan would have something left when he awoke to the boys complaining that they were being starved, even though they had just eaten.

Logan woke sometime later, to a smell that could wake him from the dead, his mother's double chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting. She only made that on very special occasions. Wondering what was going on, he stumbled his way into the kitchen. Adam and Juan were sitting, rather impatiently, at the table, as Janet was finishing up the frosting. Adam saw Logan stumble in, jumped up, and ran over to him, enveloping him in a huge hug, and whispering in his ear. "Congratulations, you passed hell week." Logan beamed back, and couldn't help but give Adam a very passionate kiss pleasantly surprising him. They broke it some time later when Juan giggled and asked Joe, "Did they forget to breathe, or did they somehow tie their tongues into a knot. That made everyone burst out laughing, and effectively broke the special moment Adam and Logan were sharing.  Logan responded.  "Just wait little brother, when I find you making out with someone..." 
They both blushed heavily, and Logan made a comment about little brothers. 

Juan burst out into tears when Logan said that, and Logan moved over to him asking with concern. "Hey there little guy, what's wrong?" Juan managed to say between his sobs. "Did... did you really mean it... when you called me your little brother?" Logan pulled him into a hug, and said, "of course I did. I love you, little guy, just like you were my blood brother." Janet went over, and pulled them both into a hug. "Juan, can you look at me?" She asked, gently, and when Juan was finally facing her, she said. "Juan, I've learned something since you guys got here. Family is not just made up of blood relatives; it's made up of people who love each other. I can't speak for everyone, but I can guess that they feel the same way I do. That now you're a part of this family forever." Juan looked around hopefully, at everyone in the room, and was greeted with nods from all of them. He hugged Logan tighter and whimpered. "I never had a family before, I'm afraid I'll fuck it up, and you guys won't want me no more." Logan looked at the little guy in his arms and said with all the emotion he could put in his voice "You listen to me, I love you and no matter what you do, that will never change. You will always be my brother if you want to be" Joe moved over and pulled Juan's face up to look in his eyes. "Juan, family doesn't abandon family when they make mistakes and that goes for me too.  I think of you as a son I never had, I think the same way of Adam and Logan, as well as the other three. Of course, that's if you want me to be your dad." Juan looked hopeful, and asked in a shy voice filled with disbelief, "Really??? You mean it?" Joe nodded with a smile on his face and said "Really", as Juan looked back up at him with his large brown puppy dog eyes, and asked "can I call you dad?" Joe blinked back tears, but smiled, as he said "I would like that a whole lot." Joe then reached over, and pulled Juan up off his feet, and sat him down on his lap. Juan looked somewhat fearful like he wanted to ask something else, so Joe asked him, "What's wrong, little one, is there something else you want?" Juan just nodded, as everyone else sat down. "Go ahead champ, you can ask me anything." Joe said to him. Juan started to stutter as he asked. "Well... if you're my daddy... that means I'm your son... and... well... I don't have a last name... and I was wondering if... since your my dad... if I could use yours?" 

Joe nearly cried at the hurt in Juan's face, when he asked that, and could feel the tears he had been fighting to contain escape, at what this little bundle was asking him as he said, softly, "Of course you can, Son!" then he looked up at Adam, and said "As a matter of fact, I would be honored if all the boys called me dad, and used my last name... if you and they want to." Joe barely had time to finish that, before he had another boy in his lap crying. Adam joined Juan in crying in Joe's lap; overwhelmed with these new feelings coursing through his body, warm, wonderful feelings that he hoped would never end, as he asked "Are you sure?"  With hope in his voice, Joe just nodded, and Adam buried his head back in Joe's shoulder again happily saying, barely loud enough for everyone to hear. "Thanks...Dad."

Editor's Note:
Well what a roller coaster ride that chapter was. We seem to be building a real family. That was really cool. It looks like Logan is one incredible person.  It is nice to know that ordinary people can excel beyond what their genetic limits should be. Juan is becoming more like the kid that he really is, even though he is enhanced, he still has the need to be loved. It seems Adam needs it too. I can hardly wait for chapter seven. This story is really great.
Darryl
AKA Radio Rancher