Chapter 42

The drive home was nice, it sure felt good to be back home, they all thought. When they finally reached the house, they all unpacked and headed into the house, but Tom only for a minute, to give hugs and kisses goodbye. The next week was just to be family time, and Tom did not feel that he needed to be there, not to mention he missed his family and his best friend.

“I'm home.” Tom called out as soon as he walked in the door to his home.

“Tom.” Came four equally excited shouts from all over the house. Within seconds, they were all gathered around him, hugging him hello.

“It's really good to be home. How was it here the last couple weeks?” Tom asked.

“Boring same old same old really. Nothing much happened at all.” Carter answered for them all.

“How about you, how was the trip?” Deanna asked.

“I think maybe that I would like to go get changed, have dinner, and then we can all sit back and relax after that, and I will tel you all about it!” Tom asked.

“That works I think, and dinner will be ready pretty soon anyways, so go ahead and get changed, and then meet us in the dining room for dinner.” Ted said.

So that was how their evening went. Tom went and just stripped out of his traveling clothes and left his room just in his soggy diaper, and then went down and had dinner with the others. After dinner was finished and cleaned up, they headed out to the pool to relax, and they all sat in the hot tub. Tom spent nearly the next hour telling the adults all that they had done during their two weeks, including the modeling. He even told them about how the one night Tony out sprayed him, and made it a good foot above the already tall headboard. The guys all laughed at this, saying they had never even achieved such a feat.

“Well baby, that was some trip you went on. It sounds very nice, with of course the exception of the one tough day, but it was necessary. So how are Denise and Dieter doing now?” Carter asked.

“They are doing amazing. They were already doing quite well before the trip, but now it's like the entire weight of the world is not upon their shoulders. They look even more relaxed now than they did before.”

“That's really good to hear, I'm glad for them.” Denise said softly.

“Well guys, it's been a very long couple weeks, and I am tired, so I think that I am going to head to bed and sleep until noon.” Tom told everyone, and it was only just past seven.

“Okay baby, you have a good sleep, love you.” Carter said, giving his son a hug and a kiss goodnight.

Tom got the same from the other three as well, and then headed up to bed after getting cleaned and dried off. He quickly diapered himself, crawled into bed, and then passed out totally. Oh, and by the way, he did in fact sleep until just a little after noon the next day.

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

The entire week went by with a lot of hugging and cuddling at Tony's house, not to mention a lot of talking. Denise and Dieter were doing amazing. They had only had two dreams a piece since that day in the orphanage, but even they were not too bad, they had said. They looked and sounded even better than they had before.

Monday morning when they headed back to work, none of their employees would recognize them because of that, they just looked so much better than they ever had before.

Not one of them even left the house until Saturday. They really had no choice in the matter though, they were almost totally out of food. Tony though did not go shopping with his parents, he went to AJ's house, because he had been invited to come over, the swim team would be there most of the day, and some of the football guys would also be there, but not all of them.

“Hey baby, how's it goin', and how are the parents?” Tom asked as he met up with Tony just after he had left his house.

“I'm great, and my parents are doing even better yet. I think they are ready to go on their own now, I think they are as good as they could ever be. They are so happy and full of love now, even more than before.” Tony answered happily.

“That's really good to hear, they deserve it.” Tom smiled warmly.

They walked the rest of the way to AJ's house in near silence, bumping shoulders nearly all the way there, looking at each other and smiling coyly. They were in the driveway before they really said anything else.

“Can you spend the night at my house tonight baby?” Tom asked.

“I'd love to. Actually I think it would be a good idea. I think I will call my mom and dad and tel them to go out to a movie and dinner, and then go home for the night, it will be good for them to go out on a real date, possibly their first.”

“That does sound like a good idea. Call when we get inside.”

They knocked on the door, and as per custom, just walked right in after knocking. The guys all came from wherever they had been to greet them.

“Hi guys, you're the first ones here. It's really good to see you two. How was the trip, and how are the parents doing?” AJ asked.

“The trip was great, the one day of course understandably hard, but the rest was very nice. We're doing great, and my parents are doing even better yet. You'd hardly recognize them now, they look so happy and free.” Tony smiled brightly.

“We're really happy to hear that.” JJ said.

“So, where are your parents?” Tom asked.

“Mom was asked to go into work early today and work a few extra hours, because they were short a couple people, and dad is working on a job that he wants to get done this weekend, because he has an even bigger job that he would like to start on Monday.” AJ answered.

“Cool. So when were the others supposed to arrive?” Tony asked.

“I told them to be here for two, I wanted you guys here earlier so that we could talk, since we don't want too many more people knowing about your parents.” JJ smiled.

“Thanks. That's pretty much it though, they are ready to go it alone. In fact, I'd like to borrow your phone please to call my parents to tell them that I won't be home tonight, and that they should go for a date. I forgot my cell phone at home.” Tony said, and then explained, because he normally would have just used his cell phone.

“Not a problem, take all the time you need.” TJ said, handing the phone over.

Tony took the offered phone a few seconds later, and made the call. “Hi, mommy.” Tony said as his mom picked up.

“Hi baby, what's up, we just left a few minutes ago.”

“Not too much, but I'm gonna stay at Tom's tonight, okay, but you two should go out on a date, a real date, you know, dress up, go out for dinner at a really expensive restaurant, go to the movies, and then go home and make love all night long.” Tony suggested.

“You go be with your boyfriend, we'll be fine, and you know what, I just might have to drag your dad out to do that, it would be nice. Thanks for the idea.” Denise said with an audible smile.

“Good, love you guys, have a good night.”

“All set, mommy will make it happen.” Tony grinned.

“Good, I'm sure that they could use it too.” JJ smiled.

“Yeah. So, do you need any help preparing anything for the party?”

“Not really, we just have to carry all the trays and put them in the two rooms that we will be in.” JJ said.

“Then let's get it done then before the others arrive.” Tom said, and they all went and did that.

For the rest of the wait for the others to arrive, they sat in the living room, talking all about Tony and Tom's trip, everything that they had done, including the photo shoot, which all the boys said that they would love to see the pictures of. Finally all the rest of the guests arrived, and then they all went out to the pool for the first little while.

This time none of the football players even flinched at getting undressed and swimming and working out in the nude. They all laughed and played, talked and relaxed, whatever they wanted in the pool for almost two hours, before they all got out and cleaned up. From the pool they headed to the games room, all still naked, except their diapers of course, and there they played for another couple hours. At just before dinner time, everyone headed out, thanking their hosts for the fun time.

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

“Hi Tony, do you have a couple hours to kill, I'd love to talk to you?” Grant asked almost two weeks later.

The next couple weeks had gone by with not much at all happening. The boys all got together almost every day to work out, but otherwise they all pretty much did nothing much.

“Of course not Grant, nothings wrong though is there?” Tony asked.

“Oh no, I will explain it all when you get here. I have the rest of the day clear, my secretary is gone for the day, so just come on in when you get here.”

“Do you mind if I bring my boyfriend, Tom, with me?”

“Of course not, besides, I'd love to meet him.”

“We should be there in half an hour then.”

“Thanks, see you in a bit, bye.”

“Bye.” Tony said and they hung up.

Tony quickly explained to his puzzled boyfriend what was happening, and Tom of course agreed to go, so they hopped on their bikes and headed out. The ride was not hard, and while it was quite a distance away, they still made it quite quickly. They went up to the top floor and went right into grant's office, as he had told them to.

“Hello Tony and Tom, it's good to finally meet you Tom, I'm Grant.” Grant stood and shook Tom's hand as they entered.

“Hello Grant, it's good to meet you as well.” Tom said, returning a good firm handshake back, nearly causing pain in poor Grant, who was not used to such a firm grip.

“Please, have a seat boys.” Grant offered, and they all sat down on the comfortable armchairs that Grant had in his office for more comfortable meetings.

“So, you have me more than a little curious Grant, what's up?”

“Like I said, it's nothing bad, in fact it's amazing. Everyone here has noticed the change in your parents, and they all say the same thing, it is a miracle. Everyone now realizes just how miserable your parents really were, how empty they used to be. We never truly noticed it before, but now we do. Your parents are alive, and it's because of you boys. This trip, while I'm certain parts were hard on them, was very good for them, and it shows.”

“Thanks, but we did it all for them.” Tony blushed.

“I know, and that's what makes it so special. I'm not sure you or they really realizes what you have done for them. I, as a completely third party, can see more, because I am not quite as biased, but I can tell you that you really did give them life. Sure they were alive before, but they certainly never lived, now they are. You know, until not all that long ago, not one person here had ever seen either of your parents smile. Sure, they were friendly, got to know their employees and their families, sure they made this a great place to work, but they did nothing for themselves.”

“Actually, we did know all that. I was almost as much an empty shell before. I had parents that I knew loved me, but had no clue how to show it. I have gained almost as much out of this as they have. I did not have as much to go through to get to where I am now, but it was difficult at times. There were times when I thought that they just did not care about me, but now I know.” Tony said happily.

“Yes, I'm sort of aware of that as well, but I still think that none of you will ever truly know how far they have come. So, the real reason I asked you to come here, was that I was wondering if you had any idea what it was that your parents are planning?”

“Sorry, what, I know of no plans?” Tony asked in surprise.

“Well, that makes two of us then. I know they are up to something, and I know it's big, but I can't for the life of me figure out what it is.” Grant said in confusion.

“What makes you think that, because I have not noticed anything at home?” Tony asked curiously.

“Well, that might mean that it has nothing to do with their personal lives then, so that must mean that it is the business. It's just a feeling that I am getting from them is all. It almost worries me though, because they never do anything for the business without first consulting me to see what I think.” Grant said in deeper confusion yet, but then he was startled by a knock at the door. “Who the hell could that be, everyone thinks that I have gone for the day.”

“Hello Grant, I hope we're not intruding upon your secret meeting with our son.” Dieter grinned as Grant opened the door.

“Well, while I do not deny that your son and his boyfriend are here, I do deny that it was a secret meeting. I do wonder however how you knew they were here?” Grant asked, opening the door further to let his bosses in.

“Because there is very little that goes on here that we do not know about. Well, that and the fact we asked security to watch for Tony, and to alert us when he came back. We figured that you would get curious enough to ask him, as well as talk about us behind our backs.” Denise smiled brightly.

“Okay, well I'm certain that there is an explanation to all that, and I do hope that you tell me soon, because you have me as confused as a blond at a physics conference. However, you are right, we were talking about you guys, but I have to get my news from somewhere, because you two have been very tight lipped as of late. You may as well go and have a seat as well, and maybe we can all talk.” Grant offered, a sly smile upon his lips. He knew they were all smart enough to realize just what was going on.

“Hi mommy and daddy, that was pretty sneaky. So Grant says you guys are up to something, but has no idea what, he was hoping we knew something.”

“Hi baby, yeah, we have been up to something, and we have most everything in place now, so I'm glad Grant was able to hold off as long as he did, because we wanted to tell you all at the same time.” Dieter said.

“You had better sit down for this one Grant, and if that bottle is filled with something strong, you might want to grab a glass of it.” Denise smiled.

“Okay, well now you're just confusing me even further. Can I offer you a glass, it's some very nice cognac? I don't drink normally, but a sip every so often is nice.”

“Sure, just a sip, we too do not drink normally.” Dieter answered for them both.

Grant poured them all a finger in the cognac glasses he pulled from a cupboard, and then brought them over, and they all sat down. The boys both sat in one chair, to leave the other three for the adults. They all took a light sip, and then Denise started.

“So, you have noticed that we have been up to something have you. We knew you would eventually notice, and of course call Tony. We've been very careful to not even hint anything at home, Tony is too damned perceptive to miss something like this.”

“Yeah, and I know, why do you think I called him.” Grant shrugged.

“So yeah, we want to retire.” Dieter said, suddenly, and so straight faced that no one knew if he was serious or not.

“B-b-b-b-but, you can't be serious, you're not serious are you?” Grant sputtered out, nearly exhaling his last sip out his nose.

“Actually, we're dead serious. The board has been notified, our stocks have already been organized for sale, and you have been elected to take over my position. Congratulations on the promotion. You should see our payout, man we could retire on just that alone. We have decided that now that we are alive, we want to do some traveling, see the world, learn to really live again. We have put so much into this business, we have taken it as far as we can, now it's time to pass it on. You will continue our work, and maybe bring it even higher yet.” Dieter said a little misty eyed.

Grant just sat there for almost five minutes, mouth moving like a landed fish, not quite able to say all that he was thinking. It was after all more than a little bit of a shock to the system. He had just gotten one hell of a promotion, and of course the news hit him quite hard. He had never felt that Denise and Dieter would ever retire, he felt that they would be there until the day they died.

“I'm not sure what to say.” Grant finally managed to say something.

“There's not much you can say really, except thanks. Of course our votes meant half of the table, so only one other person there had to agree to make you president, but they almost all agreed instantly at our suggestion anyways. Our last day is this Friday.” Denise said.

“T-t-t-thanks.” Grant stuttered out.

“You're very welcome. Grant, we may not have showed it very well, but we consider you a very valuable friend and co-worker. We also thank you very much for the beautiful trip that you paid for. I know that we were not supposed to know that it was you, same as we are not supposed to know that you know all about us, or that we know all about your boyfriend. All our secrets are safe with each other though.” Dieter smiled warmly.

“That means so much to me. Your friendship has helped me so much, I would not be anywhere near where I am now if it weren't for you two, so thank you very much. I figured that you must know about us, and I appreciate the fact that you never said anything, and yes, I know all about you as well, but it was my pleasure to provide that trip for you guys. Especially after all that you have done for me.”

“It really was nothing, you really are very good at what you do, we could always see that, even if maybe you couldn't see it most of the time. The people follow you, because you are a natural leader, you do it in a kind and caring way, you don't yell and berate, and that was our main value at this company.”

“Thanks none the less. So when is the changeover being announced then?”

“We're hoping to have all the signatures in place by tomorrow afternoon, and then it will be all done. By Friday though, no matter what, we are officially retired. How does a huge corner office sound to you, because you will get mine?” Dieter asked.

“I've always loved your office, but what will you guys do?”

“Not too sure yet, to tell you the truth. We have been thinking about a few different things, but nothing concrete yet.” Denise answered.

“Well then, and I want absolutely no arguments here, we are going to have the biggest going away, retirement party this company has ever seen. I will see what I can arrange for this Saturday then.”

“We figured you might say something like that, so we will let you, but not too extravagant please, you know that is not our style.” Denise asked.

“Yes, I am well aware of that, however, leave it up to me.” Grant smiled warmly.

“Well, we are going to take off for the day. Are you boys going to head home now as well, or are you going to stay and talk for a few minutes longer?” Dieter asked.

“We're going to stay for a few minutes, but we'll be right behind you.” Tony answered.

“Okay, see you at home babies.” Dieter said, and they left.

“Holy shit, I knew it was something big, but that, well I had no idea that they would ever retire. That was a it of a shock.” Grant said after they left, turning to face the equally stunned boys.

“No kidding. I never thought that they would leave the company either. I never even suspected it.” Tony said.

“I know, I saw your look of shock as well, and I think that maybe you were more shocked than I was at that.”

“I think maybe I was as well. This company was their entire lives.”

“And maybe that is why they feel they need to leave. This was their entire lives, all the hurt and pain that they suffered through went into making this business what it is, and now maybe it hurts them too much to be here.” Tom offered.

“You're probably right, and it makes sense too. For the longest time, this place was all that was holding them together, the place that made them feel normal, but now it feels like an anchor to them.” Grant surmised.

“It's the only thing that makes sense, that's for sure.” Tony said.

“Yeah, it is. Well, I think I am going to head out now boys, I'll walk you down to the garage.”

“Thanks, we'd like that. So, what are you thinking for the party?” Tony asked as they exited Grant's office.

“Not too sure, but it's going to be huge. We have almost three hundred employees here, and I want to have their families there as well, and then there are all the board members, and all the major clients, it's going to be massive, at least a thousand people. It's going to come as some shock to everyone, that's for damn certain.”

“Yeah, good luck on that one. I think it's going to take longer than just five days though, because there is no way that you are going to be able to arrange all that food in such a short period of time. You might be lucky to get it in two weeks. Might I suggest the exhibition center though, the buildings there are certainly large enough to hold that many people comfortably, and they have more than enough tables and chairs. I would also suggest that you get two or three caterers together for this one, because I doubt one would be able to cover it all.” Tom suggested.

“Good ideas, I will have to look into it. Thanks.”

They reached the garage a few seconds later and separated to head home. Everyones heads still reeling about the news that they had just received. The boys took it slower on their ride home, talking all the way about the news that they had had dropped upon them.

“Hi boys, had a lot to think and talk about on your ride home I take it? It took you long enough.” Denise smiled warmly as the two boys walked in the door.

“Yeah, well it was a bit of a surprise. I think we all understand why you guys decided to do it, correct me if I'm wrong. You both feel too happy now, and that place just reminds you of the emptiness you once felt, correct?”

“Exactly. We've been talking about it for quite some time now, well before the trip, but after, we figured that we had to. It's just not where we belong any more.” Dieter explained.

“So what are some of these ideas that you guys have come up with to spend your time?” Tom asked curiously.

“Well, for the summer I think that we are going to travel. We'd like to take you boys and your friends that helped you on a trip somewhere, and then I think the two of us are going to go on a long overdue honeymoon. We never actually had one, and I think we finally deserve one.” Denise answered.

“That would be very nice for you guys, but you don't have to take us all on a trip. So what about after summer?” Tom asked.

“We know that we don't have to, we want to. We know, just as well as you guys do, how much your friends helped you to help us. We wish to thank them for it, and no arguments. As for after the summer, we have a couple ideas to keep us busy, but the one we both seem to like the most, is to start a good youth group. We were thinking in the downtown area, where it is quite a bit poorer, and the kids could use somewhere to hang out. We were thinking of having a kitchen there as well for the kids who don't get enough to eat, so that they can always come and get a nice hot healthy meal. I think we have enough business contacts that we can get donations from to help run the place, not that money is really an issue, but we really would not want to use all our money either.” Dieter explained.

“That's really a very good idea. I bet we know someone who would be happy to donate time to put in a pool, and maybe some workout equipment and stuff. I know that Max likes to donate to the community, so if you find a suitable place, then he would probably help out a lot in that area.” Tony said excitedly.

“Not a bad idea. Kids that workout are happier and healthier, not to mention too tired to get into trouble.” Denise smiled.

“You should probably also have drug and sex counseling somehow, because there are problems with that even here.” Tom suggested.

“We had already thought about how to handle that, because we too know there are those problems. We might be able to find someone, but how to pay them is another question entirely. It's possible that the government would supply someone for that, but we will have to wait and see.” Denise said this time.

“So where downtown could you do something like this anyways?” Tony asked.

“Well, there's not much good land in town, but there is some. There are no suitable buildings at all though, so whatever we buy we will have to tear down and build what we want. We haven't entirely decided yet if this is what we are going to do or not, but like we said, it's the one idea we both really like, so it will probably be what we do. We will worry about all that later though, after the summer.” Dieter said.

“Well, if my vote means anything, I think that it is a great idea, and I think that you guys should do it.” Tony said with a nice warm happy smile.

“Kid, your vote means everything to us.” Denise said, and then grabbed said kid in a tight hug.

For the rest of the evening they sat around talking about it, what they would and should do, and by the end of the night, they had fully decided to do it, because the boys did not like the other ideas that they had come up with.

The next day when they told all their friends about Denise and Dieter retiring, they too were all more than a little shocked, but they also understood why they would do it as well. One thing that Tony and Tom did not tell the others yet, was the plans for the youth center, they wanted to hold off on that for a while.

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

Grant worked long and hard to arrange a suitable going away party for his bosses and friends, and it was the following week, because all three caterers that he had to hire for the job said that there was simply no way that they could do such a huge job in such a short time. Not to mention the facilities that he wanted to rent for the affair had been booked already for the weekend that he had wanted.

To say everyone was shocked the day that the retirement was announced, would be a rather large understatement. Denise and Dieter did take their leave on the Friday afternoon as they had promised, and by the time they left, everything was fully transferred to Grant's power, and that of his new CEO.

Every employee was asked to be at the retirement party, and to bring their families, all the companies biggest clients and board members were also invited, along with their families, so it was going to be a massive affair.

The plans all came together though, and Saturday evening, a week after Denise and Dieter retired, there was a party the likes of which the company had never before thrown. There were hundreds of tables set out around the large room, all with nice linens on them, centerpieces that were simply gorgeous, candles, crystal champagne flutes, two bottles of champagne, the works. There was a large stage set up at what had been designated as the front, and on there was a long line of tables all set up. The caterers had set up in the adjacent buildings, and they had been cooking and preparing foods all day, and probably the previous few days, and the smells were wafting over, it smelled wonderful. The food tables had already been set out, but there was yet to be any food on them, but with the amount of tables that had been set out, there promised to be a tonne of food, damn near literally. Over in one corner, the DJ had set out all his equipment, and he had six huge speakers scattered around the room, and a large light bar set up above the stage. And last but not least, on the opposite side of the food, was a large bar setup to serve everyone drinks, however that was to be totally non alcoholic. The only booze in the place were the champagne bottles. You could however order virtually any other type of drink that you wanted, they were fully stocked for everything else.

Denise, Dieter, Tom, and Tony were amongst the last to arrive, as they had been told to, so nearly everyone was there when they finally arrived, and they entered with a standing ovation by all. Grant was there to show them to the head table, he and his boyfriend would be joining them up there, as well as the new CEO and his wife and kids.

“Grant, you went to far too much trouble, but tis looks wonderful.” Denise said once the clapping died down, and they could safely talk.

“Na, not true, I wanted to do more, but this was tough to arrange as it was. Hell, a few of the things only just fell into place today, to tell you the truth. I must say that everyone has done a wonderful job though, it looks beautiful.” Grant said happily.

“I must agree with the beautiful part, it really does look very nice, even in a large barn style exhibition center. I take it that this is a full out party, dancing included, if the large dance floor and DJ mean anything?” Dieter asked.

“It sure does. I wanted to have a great party for the two people that made this business an international success. Before you two took over, it was barely known country wide, now it is worldwide. So you guys deserve this, and anything else we could do.” Grant said happily.

“I still think you did too much.” Denise said stubbornly, but with a smile.

“Yeah, I know. Well, I think it is about time we got this party started, what say we go ahead and get everyone to take their seats.” Grant said.

The others did not answer him, just went and took their seats. Grant went to the podium that had the cordless mic set up on it, and turned it on, and then asked everyone to please be seated. A few minutes later, everyone was seated, and he got started with the first of the speeches for the night.

“Well, as everyone knows by now, I am the new president, and that our previous president and CEO, Denise and Dieter, have decided to retire. I wanted to throw them a farewell party that everyone would remember, but in fact, I want everyone to remember the greatness that Denise and Dieter brought to our humble family run company. It is truly a family business, because whenever possible, Denise and Dieter went out of their way to help their employees and their families, often giving up much in the process. Our humble company went through many ups and downs, as any business will, and when there were hard financial times, and we were forced to think about reducing our staffing levels, they point blank refused to do such a hateful thing, so what did they do instead to make sure everyone could continue getting paid? They did the unthinkable in the corporate world, they cut their own pay, and urged the rest of us tight asses at the top to also tighten our own belts. I am happy to say that we all did, and then when the hard times were over, we reaped the benefits, and made sure to share with the people that got us there. Yet, through all that, it was never once leaked that they had done so, they did not want the people that made the company run worry, because happy healthy employees are productive employees they said. While I am certain that more than a few people realized what was going on, no one said anything.”

“Denise and Dieter always made sure that whenever their employees needed something, that they got it. It might not have always been the best, and it may not have always been exactly what they needed, but they made sure that their employees made it through whatever hard times they were facing, and still, most never even realized it at the time. I knew, of course I knew, because I was always there telling them that they shouldn't do it, that they were insane to do it, but you know what, dammit they made a great business because of it. In a corporate business world that cannot claim any type of employee retention, they have managed to keep employees on for many many years. Even though some of our people have had quite lucrative offers from other companies, none of them have left. Ask yourselves why, and I bet you all come up to the same answer. How could a few extra dollars equal the close friendly atmosphere that they have created, it can't, no way, no how.”

“If I am only half the president that Dieter was, then I will be a success, and every one of you will retire with this company, never wishing to leave. But I wish for more, I wish that I didn't have to take this position, I wish that Denise and Dieter had not decided to leave us to move on to hopefully bigger and better things. But alas, that is not the case, they are very clear, they needed out, and I understand their reasons. But still I wish.”

“For well over twenty years Denise and Dieter have worked for our small company. They clawed their way to the top, they fought for everything that they have, and they fought with vigor, and sometimes when need be, ruthlessness. Yet, as ruthless as they were to the outside world, they were the exact opposite inside. Yes they made hard decisions, they asked us all to do things over the years that made us wonder just what the heck they were up to, but every time they asked, we did, and dammit, again it worked. When the company started thirty five years ago, it was a two man operation, run out of nothing more than a basement. They quickly outgrew their space and upgraded and grew to twenty people inside of five years. They started gaining recognition in their field, they started to move up in the world. Then almost twenty five years ago these two kids came and asked for jobs, and they were hired. They looked half starved, they could only just barely speak the language, they had clawed their way through school to become educated while they worked, and they came to us with minds wide open, willing to learn anything that we taught them. They started out in the very same positions that many of you now hold, the very ones I held, but they desired more. They learned all they could, and inside of ten years, they were practically running the place. Then the owners decided to retire, and they were put in charge, because they had pretty much been doing it already, and by then they were more than qualified. It was a job that they took on with their whole hearts and minds.”

“When Denise and Dieter took over, we were still barely recognized outside the city, and certainly not outside the country, but that was all to change quite suddenly. In a risky move, they had a brand new office building constructed, and we moved there and they went after the international market, and got their feet in the door. Hell, the way I hear it, they just kicked the door down and forced their way in, and we have risen ever since. What Dieter and Denise have done for this company can never be forgotten, because it is they that got us all where we are today. There were times when everyone was telling them that what they were trying to do was impossible, but as we found out, when they put their minds to it, nothing was truly impossible. Sure it was bloody difficult, and we all worked our butts off to achieve the goals that they had set, but we did it, and we all came out better for it, and richer I might add.”

“You think those stock options that you get every year as a Christmas bonus are nothing, well you better think again. Those stocks were earned by all our blood, sweat, and tears, and you had better believe that they are worth far more than you can imagine. I know some of you have already used some of them, and that's fine, but trust me, many of you could retire right now as well and never have to worry. Because of all that was asked of us, because of all the work we did for the greatest bosses that there ever were, we have all become far richer than we can imagine, and I'm not only referring to money.”

“In the grand scheme of things, we are still a relatively small business, but our impact, under the guidance and leadership of Dieter and Denise, has been exponential, they have created ripples in the business world that will be felt for years to come. Sure, some of our competitors hate our guts, sure we bought more than a few of them out and took over their business, sure we stepped on some toes along the way to make us an international success, but we all did it together, and they made certain that you were all along with them for the ride. We were always included in every one of the successes, they made sure that we all got to bask in the glory of what we accomplished, but I bet most of you have no idea of the failures that we had as well. Granted they were far fewer, but we had them. They made sure that we were shielded as much as possible, so that any blame for anything that went wrong fell squarely on their shoulders, and that not one single person below them was ever put unnecessarily in the hot spot light. We were always protected, and we never really even knew it.”

“In the business world, people like Denise and Dieter are damn near impossible to find, everyone that is worth anything wants to come and work for them, simply because they do not want to be on the other side of the table from them, but not only that, where could you find a better pair of bosses. I really don't think that you could anywhere in the world. They have given so much to this company, yet they asked for so little in return, so that is why I have arranged a little surprise for them.”

“I have recently found out from a very reliable source, that our much loved Denise and Dieter have decided to start a troubled youth group in town, to try and help ease some of the pain caused by poverty to our youth, to try and reduce the amount of kids that turn to violence, to drugs, to anything that kids will do. They have not really started their planning phase so much, but they were in need of property and a building suitable for the center. So through a local Realtor, a local architect, and a local contractor, we have already started planning the facility for them. I am told that if all goes as planned, their youth group could be up and running in as little as six months. I have also arranged for donations from many of our supporting companies to help with the operation, and we already have in excess of two million dollars to help, so there will be plenty of money to help the kids who will undoubtedly be our future. So like I said before, I hope they go on to bigger and better things, well this is certainly a bigger and better thing, and something that I am proud to say that our humble little company will have donated to to help it out.”

“With that all said, I am pretty much finished, however I have arranged a donation jar to be placed by the bar, so that anyone who wishes to donate anything to the cause, they may do so. There will be much needed to supply such a facility, in a city that has many poor people, including food, clothes, games, and many other assorted items to keep the kids busy.” Grant finished his speech, and everyone applauded loudly, Denise and Dieter both had tears pouring down their cheeks, the boys both had happy wide smiles, who else would the reliable source have been.

Denise and Dieter both went up to the podium, holding hands. “Well Grant, thanks for all of that, and especially for the facilities that you have donated to our hopefully wonderful cause. Thanks to the reliable source that leaked the information, our wonderful son and his loving boyfriend, since we know they were the ones, because they were the only ones to know.” Denise started.

“And thanks to everyone for sticking by us through thick and thin, through all the good and the bad. As Grant said, we tried to shield you all from as much of that as possible, and while we know that most of you were more than smart enough to realize when the business was going through hard times, you all kept your heads up and your smiles glowing. We tried very hard to make this business one where everyone wanted to work, and I'm happy to say that I think we succeeded.”

“And once again Grant fails to realize just how good he is. He says he hopes that he's half as good a president as Dieter was, but what he doesn't seem to realize, is that he will be every bit as good. Why do you think we hand picked you for the job. We knew that when it was our time to bow out, that you would be there to take over, and that everything would be in more than capable hands. For over twenty years this company has been our home away from home, it helped us to get through many tough times, we grew with it, we succeeded when we never felt that we were good for anything. Many of you will have realized that we had a hard past, and that we were not what you would call happy people, but we always tried to make this the best place to work. We may not have been happy, but your happiness made us happy as well, as happy as we ever would or could be. You see, we were both raised in an orphanage in Romania, where we were brutally raped and beaten, the love that we had in us, it eventually got beaten out of us. We knew not how to love, we knew not how to react to niceness, we were empty shells, just barely living.”

“We were, like Denise said, barely living, yet this business kept us alive, made us happy enough that we decided to try and have a child. We though that even we could love a child, sadly we were mistaken. In a way though we were wrong, because it was that child that managed to find a way to help us learn to love again. Our wonderful son Tony even wrote a book, and it has sold very well, it is a true and factual story of what happened to us, many of you will have read it already I'm sure, or at least heard about it, and how horrible it was for those kids. We were those kids, as were many others. We had always sworn that no one would ever find out about us, swore that we would never tell, but you know what, why! Why should we hide our horrible past? Why should he have to bury it? Why should we have to deal with all the horrible pain that it caused us, all on our own? We shouldn't have to, so we decided to go public with it, something not even Tony knows about. So you see, when we pushed you guys to do your best, it was never near as hard as we pushed ourselves, we poured everything that we had into this business, because it was all we had.”

“I know that what Dieter has told you has shocked you, and the few people that have read the book now know a considerable amount more about us than we ever thought that we would tell anyone, but it is for the best. It is because of this horrible abuse that we suffered that we believe that we are the perfect people to run a youth group, to try and prevent even just a fraction of that pain from befalling todays children, and we plan to go global to track down anything of the sort, that has, or is still happening, to help those that had been or are being tortured like we were. We are however not here tonight to make anyone sick, or drag anyone down, but we felt that you should be the first to know, we felt that you all had the right to know, because we consider you all friends and family. I think that it is time to eat now, because it is getting late, and no one really likes listening to these boring speeches.” Denise said happily.

The standing ovation that rocked the building at that, made their entrance greeting seem like a polite applause, and everyone was certain it had nothing to do with the food. Many of the people there had in fact read the book, so they all knew just where their bosses came from, and now understood a considerable amount more about why they acted the ways they had.

The meal was incredible, and everyone ate their fill, and then some, but then dessert came out. There had to have been over a hundred different varieties of sweets there, and although everyone was full, almost nothing was left by the time they finished the evening.

Shortly after the desserts were set out, the music started, and the party truly began. The dancing and talking lasted until well after midnight. Everyone congratulated Denise and Dieter, and told them that if they did only half as good at running the youth group as they did running a international company, than the kids were sure to be well off because of it. Even Tony was congratulated many times throughout the evening, everyone who had read his book stopped to talk to him about it, telling him how incredibly realistic he had made it all seem, that his writing style was incredible. Tom and Tony did get out on the dance floor quite a few times throughout the night, and they danced and had a lot of fun with everyone else.

The party had to be called on account that a good portion of the children could be found curled up under chairs or tables, on chairs or tables, and even all the adults had to admit that they were exhausted as well. Tom and Tony were carried out to the car by Denise and Dieter, and they headed home, the boys not once even waking up the entire time. The never even awoke when their clothes and diapers were removed, and nice clean dry diapers were put on.

Tom and Tony were so worn out from the party the night before, that they slept until noon, and even when they did get up, they still looked half asleep. For the most part, the boys just stayed around the house and did pretty much nothing.

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

“Mornin' guys, you look exhausted!” AJ greeted Tom and Tony the next day when they came to work out with all the guys.

“Yeah, the party was a huge success, and we passed out there just before midnight some time, and then we spent all of yesterday just sitting around in just our diapers. We're both still pretty tired.” Tony yawned.

“I bet. The workout will help I'm sure. So what's been up with your parents lately then, you haven't told us much?” JJ asked.

“Why don't we go start our workout, and we will tell you all about it while we do that?” Tom asked.

“Sure.”

They all went and got undressed and cleaned, to start their morning routine, and when they were ready, they climbed on the equipment, and started their workout. The whole normal crew was there, the ones who normally trained together, so there was not that many of them today. So as soon as they started, Tony got started on telling the story.

“Well, my parents retired of course, you all knew that for sure, but what you don't know is what they planned to do afterwards. We also found out a bit of a surprise at the party, but we will get to that. First is that they are taking the rest of the summer off, just to do some traveling, and one trip they plan to take all of us on that helped us to help them. We of course told them that this was not necessary, but you know how stubborn adults can be, so expect to be surprised with a trip of some sort before too long. After summer, they go full swing into planning and building a youth center downtown somewhere, to help the poor youth down there to keep away from drugs, booze, violence, and anything else. They plan to have a kitchen there to feed some of the kids when needed, they plan to take donated clothing to help the kids stay warm and clothed, they plan to have therapists there to help the kids in any way they can, and they plan to have lots of games and activities there for the kids as well. I also told them that I bet that Max would put in a pool for a really good deal, and maybe donate some decent workout equipment, because I know he does stuff like that. The way I see it is, if kids are active and healthy, they will be less likely to get in trouble.”

“That's a very good idea, and of course daddy would help out in any way he can.” TJ said excitedly.

“For sure, all we have to do is ask, and I bet he says sure before we even finish asking the question. He gets used equipment all the time as trade, and I bet he would donate any of that, because he only takes good trades, but it won't actually cost anything really to donate.” AJ added.

“Thanks, they will appreciate that. So anyways, at the party, Grant got up and made a long speech, and the end he told everyone what my parents were planning on doing, and that he had donated the lot, the building, the architect, and the builders to build their dream for them. Grant also announced that he was able to secure two million in corporate donations already, to help with the funding of the place, and that there was a donation jar put out for people to donate what they wanted for the cause as well. Grant called yesterday and told us there was another almost two hundred thousand dollars in there for the running of the center. So that means that they will not have to use a penny of their own money to run the entire thing, at least for a few years, but with all their contacts, I bet they never have to worry about money at all.”

“So, while that was a very nice surprise, it wasn't even the biggest one. My mom and dad have decided to go public with their ordeal, and they told everyone at the party the basics of what they went through, and that I had written a book all about what they went through. As it turns out, many people there had already read the book, so I was congratulated all throughout the night for the book. I never actually expected that they would go public with it, but now they are not ashamed of what happened to them, they now know that they had no control over any of it, and that it was not their fault, so they feel that they should share it with the world, to help raise awareness.”

“That's very good for them. If I had to guess, I would say that they are completely healed now, or at least as much as someone who has lived through something like that could be. It sounds like they have completely put it all behind them now.” JJ said in thought.

“Yes, I would have to agree. Their nightmares have also almost totally stopped since we came back. They are having only about one per week now, whereas it used to be every night, sometimes two or three times per night. So of course that is a very good sign as well.”

“I say that when the youth center gets started up, that we all rally at our schools to gain awareness for what they are doing, get donations of good used clothes, money, food, anything, I think that we could all get a lot of good stuff for the youth center. We could also raise awareness for drug and alcohol abuse, bullying, teen pregnancy, all of that. We can all help out a lot. And I bet mommy would be happy to help and be their accountant as well when she finishes school.” TJ said excitedly.

“Those are very good ideas, and yes, I bet she would be happy to do it as well.” Ricky said.

“And we can help from the university as well to get needed supplies. With all the donations that we can all get through our schools, I bet your parents never have to worry about a thing Tony.” Matt said.

“Thanks guys, my parents will be so happy to hear all of this.” Tony said happily.

The continued their workout for a while longer, talking all about all that they could do to help out the cause, because they all liked helping out a good cause, and then they got started on their swimming and diving practice.

When the others were all told about Tony's parent's, and what they had planned, they all jumped on board right away. Max especially did, and like AJ had said, he had said yes before they were even finished telling him. Max had told the boys that he had quite a few pieces of good used workout equipment that he would be more than happy to donate, so he would put them into storage until later. Alice also said that she would be more than happy to offer her services, and while she would not be fully qualified by the time they opened, she would be allowed to work for them, and use it as her practicum, and that her professors would be happy to go over her work.

Dieter and Denise had also been in contact with all the parents, behind all the boys' backs of course, planning a trip. All the parents of course now knew all about Denise and Dieter, what they had went through, and all the help that the boys were able to provide, even if most of it was just moral support for Tony and Tom. Not one of the parents even hesitated in saying yes, so the trip was scheduled to leave the following Sunday. The only thing that the parents were not told, they would be told when the boys were, was where the boys were going, or how, they were only told the length of time, which was to be two weeks.

All the boys and parents were more than a little curious as to what was happening, but no matter how much they tried, they could garner no information at all. Then suddenly on Sunday morning, at each of their houses, a bus pulled up. Denise and Dieter went to personally collect each of the boys, and they pretty much told everything the exact same things.

“Good morning Dieter and Denise, you look even better than the last time we saw you, how are you doing?” Alice asked when they arrived.

“We're doing excellent, thank you very much. Well, as I am more than certain that you have realized by now, we are picking up the boys for their two week vacation. Boys, go get your bags packed, but no clothes, just your personal items will be all that is needed for this trip. Bring a mix of cloth and disposable diapers if you wish.” Dieter answered, and told the boys, who all tore off as if their diapers were on fire. Of course that would be improbable given just how wet most of them were. They were back only minutes later.

“Okay, so I know you are all dying to know what it is that we are doing, and where it is that we are going, so now we get to tell you. We have a friend who happens to own a small yacht, if you wish to call a little over a hundred and fifty feet, and twelve rooms, small. He owed us more than a few favors, and was more than willing to lend us the use of his private yacht. He has been teaching us over the last week everything that we will need to know, not that there is really a lot to know, but we now do. We are going to spend a couple weeks just cruising around the ocean, we won't even see land until we head back.” Denise said this time.

“Wow, must be nice to have friends who would lend you such a boat for two weeks. What the hell could you have done to get such favors?” Max asked in shock.

“Kept him out of jail.” Dieter grinned.

“Yeah, that would probably do it. What the hell did he do?”

“A few numbers were accidentally adjusted to make his business look more than it was. We helped him out of that little pickle, and then helped him to make those numbers real, so we made him very rich. So yeah, he owes us just a few favors. Hell, he told us that anytime that he is not using the boat, that we were welcome to it, all we had to do was pay for fuel.” Denise smiled.

“Ouch, no wonder he's so nice then. Not even gonna ask how you helped to keep him out of jail, because I doubt that that was entirely legal either.” Alice commented, because she happened to know just a little bit about what they had to have done.

“No, more than likely not, but in business, skirting the government and staying out of jail is a fine art. We learned it well. So boys, what are you waiting for, Christmas? Go get on the bus!” Dieter grinned.

The boys all ran out of the house, and then ran right back in to give hugs and kisses goodbye, then ran right back out again, and hopped on the bus with all the rest of the boys that were also excited to be going. Denise and Dieter said their goodbyes only seconds later, and then joined the boys. The bus driver took off and went to the next house. Inside of half an hour, they were on the road to the marina where the yacht was moored. The boys all talked excitedly the entire time about how great the trip was going to be.

When they finally arrived, they all disembarked from the bus, and walked to the slip where the yacht was parked. Every one of the boys' jaws dropped when they saw the ship. It was not huge, but nor was it small. It had a huge bow and aft deck, a large sitting area above the main cabin, everything was just incredible. Then they went inside. If they thought that the outside was nice, it was absolutely nothing in comparison to what they found inside. It was full of rich woods and beautiful furnishings, thick soft carpets, wide open spaces, it had it all. The main deck was dedicated to the living area, and the living room had six large sofas around a nice gas fireplace, and above the fireplace was a massive TV that looked to be hooked to an incredible home theater system. There was also a very nicely decorated powder room next to the stairs that led both up and down. Above that was the control room for operating the large vessel, and it was very nicely laid out. There windows all around the large room, so that they could see any direction easily. Then of course above was the main sun deck. Down below was where all the bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, and a few bathrooms were. Then of course down below all of that was the main engine room, the backup engine, the power generators, waste treatment and storage, fresh water holding and treatment, humongous fuel tanks, and a large storage room. In here Dieter got the engines all warming up, because you could do so from here as well. The boys all went and picked out rooms that they wanted and put their things away, but they did not all strip just yet, they were after all still around a bunch of people.

It took almost an hour for everyone to get all their gear stored away, all the groceries brought in from the bus, and put away, and for the engines to warm up sufficiently. When everything was done, all the lines holding them in place were released, and Dieter pulled them away from the pier. It took nearly an hour, at the snails pace they had to move, while in the slow zone, to get out to the open waters, but once they did, Dieter opened up the throttles and they sped up. Dieter pointed them out to the open ocean, making sure to stay well out of the shipping lanes, because the last thing that they wanted was to get hit by a large tanker ship or something silly like that. They all felt that that would ruin a perfectly good vacation.

Once they were a couple hours out, and everyone felt that they could get more comfortable, they all stripped down to their sodden diapers. The likelihood that anyone would see them was slim to none. Denise and Dieter told the boys to all go and play, while they piloted the ship, so the boys did so. The first thing that they all did was go get into some clean dry diapers. They went with the cloth, to help reduce some of the garbage. Once they were all changed, they explored the ship even more, finding out everything that there probably was to know about it. They all ended up on the uppermost deck, just laying back and talking, until they all started to feel hungry.

Because the galley kitchen was not exactly large enough to fit all the boys comfortably, AJ and JJ offered to go and cook dinner, and the others let them. They went and made a good filling dinner for everyone, and when it was ready, they called everyone on the intercom that ran throughout the entire ship.

Dieter put the engines into idle, just letting them drift, and he and Denise went and joined the boys for dinner.

“So, how do you boys like it so far?” Denise asked.

“It's wonderful. It's so free and peaceful out here. We've been on a cruise before of course, but there were so many other people there, and we certainly couldn't walk around like this. Thanks so much for bringing us on this trip.” AJ answered for them all.

“No, this is payback, a thank you for all that you did. I know that what we went through was hard on Tom and Tony both, and you all helped them to cope with it, enabling them to help us better. You may not think that you did much, or anything at all, but trust me, you all did.” Denise said.

“We only did what any friend would do, but thanks none the less.” JJ said.

“Yes, and very good friends you all are as well.” Dieter smiled warmly at all the boys.

After dinner was finished up and cleaned up, they all went back out onto the main deck, all except Dieter, and sat around for a while. Dieter went up and shut down the main propulsion systems, dropped the anchor, and set an alarm that would warn of any ship approaching, and then joined the others. They sat and talked for a while, just relaxing in the peaceful surroundings. Not much of any real importance was said, but they all talked a lot.

The next couple days just flew by, and every day they went further and further out. They did not leave the ship once, nor did they see one other ship. Every night all the boys, and Denise and Dieter, wore themselves out making love to their babies. It was universal, they all enjoyed making love on a gently rocking ship.

On their fourth day out, a sudden storm popped almost out of nowhere, it had not even shown on any of the radars, and the weather service had not mentioned anything about it. It was bright and sunny one minute, and then it was dark and stormy almost the next minute.

“Boys, this looks like a small violent storm, get your life jackets on now, and then secure anything on the deck. Make sure to work in groups so that we all know where everyone is, but make it quick.” Dieter yelled out.

They all went about doing just what they were told to do. They first all got into their life jackets, and then started by making sure all the doors were closed and sealed, to prevent water from getting inside as much as possible. They then went about the daunting chore of making sure that there was nothing on the deck that would disappear if they were tossed about. The boat was already starting to rock quite a bit, and tossing about was probably not that far behind.

The boys though were the picture of calm and collect, they were not scared at all, they went about their jobs quickly and efficiently. They of course were not worried about being swept overboard, because they all knew that they were good strong swimmers, even in a storm. They did not care to try it out though.

“Okay, I think we have everything as secure as we can possibly make it.” JJ called out as soon as they all entered the bridge, where Denise and Dieter were both attempting to get them out of the storm without killing them.

“Good. We were able to find out where the storm came from, how fast it is moving, and how large it is. We are heading in the direction that it came from, taking the quickest route back out of the storm cell. The weather services guy said that it was just a sudden tropical storm, and while not very big, they are known to be quite violent, so expect a bit of a rough ride for an hour or so. I figure that if we can keep up on this heading, we should be out of the storm in about half an hour. He did warn me to stay into the waves, so that they are not crashing against the side.” Dieter told the boys.

“Makes sense. The waves could tip a boat this size quite easily if they get large enough. I've heard of freak storms on the ocean like this before, but man, I never wanted to see one.” AJ said.

“You're telling me kid, and I have to try and drive this bloody thing out of this mess.” Dieter said, wiping his sweaty hands and brow quickly.

“Whoa, that was a hell of a wave.” TJ said suddenly as a wave came crashing over the bow of the ship, and they dropped slightly from the wall of water.

“Yes it was. The waves are getting worse, so I suggest that you guys all hold onto something so that no one falls and gets hurt.” Denise said, and they all did. There was a good sturdy handrail all around the bridge for just such a purpose, so they all grabbed a hold of it.

For the next nearly forty five minutes they fought to get out of the storm, and they managed to do so, finally. The water was still choppy, the sky was still dark, and it was still raining a bit, but it was nothing major. Denise took over the helm and continued putting them further from the storm.

“Well, that was not really that much fun. Now if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to go change my diaper, because I think I have loaded it to capacity.” Dieter said.

“Me too.” More than a couple of the boys said. “We'll come with you, and we can all change together.” Tony offered.

“Great, that would be nice.” Dieter smiled.

They all went down to the master suite, after grabbing their diapers, and they quickly got each other all nicely cleaned, creamed, and diapered in short order.

“Much better. I think one more pee and I would have been leaking like a sieve.” Dieter sighed.

“Yeah, I think more than a few of us were in the same boat, no pun intended of course.” AJ grinned.

“You sir are horrible.” Dieter said with a fake swat upside the head.

“Why thank you, your compliment is most graciously received.” AJ said with a nice formal bow.

“Brat.” Dieter said, sticking his tongue out, and then turning to walk away.

The boys all followed him out of the room, and they all headed back up to the bridge, all that is except AJ and JJ, they decided that lunch was called for. So they headed to the kitchen and got started on a nice filling lunch. After lunch, they all sat out on the deck, looking towards the storm. It was now almost bright and sunny, and while it was still a little chilly, they were able to comfortably sit and watch in just their diapers.

“It really is kind of beautiful to see, from a distance.” Tom said.

“Yeah, I agree, but at a distance is the only place I ever want to see another storm like that, thank you very much.” Dieter commented dryly.

“Same here.” They all said together.

They got back underway a while later, but not really going too terribly fast or far, it was mostly just a slow ride. It was just a little after four that TJ spotted something over the port side of the ship.

“Hey guys, come take a look at this, you have to see it.” He yelled out for everyone to hear.

“What is it?” AJ asked, arriving first.

“Whales, and tonnes of them.”

“Of course there would be tonnes of them silly, they each weigh like a tonne or more.” Ricky said, coming up behind, but having not seen them yet.

“Oh wow, look at them all.” JJ said in awe. “Dieter, shut down the engines, whales.” JJ yelled loud enough that hopefully he would hear.

He had not, but had heard the yell, so Denise came out to see what was up. They were unable to see the boys from the bridge really. She was told, and then she relayed the info to Dieter, who immediately shut down the engines. The last thing that they wanted to do was injure a whale with their props.

“Wow, look at them all, there has to be thirty or more of them.” Denise said as they came down to see the whales for themselves.

“Thirty three, or at least as best I can count with them all moving.” JJ said.

“What kind are they?” TJ asked.

“I think that they're Gray Whales. I remember reading about them, but nowhere do I ever remember seeing that they can travel in such large numbers. I know most whales do travel in groups, and they are usually females when they travel in groups this size. I know that we are in their approximate migration route though, but I thought that they would be further south still, or maybe that's where they're headed, because that's where they breed. Not too sure though. They are the right color and size though.” AJ answered.

“Cool.” They all said, and they did not doubt AJ's memory either, they were certain that these were in fact Gray Whales, and they were all right.

They watched the whales play for a little over an hour before they all moved on. It was really very interesting to watch, as the whales would dive down and then come up and clear out of the water, then come crashing down, sending a wall of water for many meters. They were all taking pictures as well of course, documenting the occasion. One whale, however, thought that it would be funny to splash the side of the boat that was intruding upon their fun, and it ended up splashing everyone. Thankfully they saw it happening, so were able to get their cameras covered in time to prevent damage. They were all quite wet though, not that it mattered all that much. It was a very enjoyable hour at any rate.

After their whale watching was over for the day, they decided that they may as well stay put for the evening, so Dieter went and dropped the anchor, while Denise, Tom, and Tony went and made dinner.

They just sat around for the rest of the evening, relaxing and talking, having a good night. When they all went to bed, they once again all made love to their partners for almost an hour, all once again enjoying the gentle swaying of the boat.

The following day they decided that they were about as far out as they wanted or needed to be, so pointed back towards home, but on a different path than they had taken. They made it back home on the day that they had said that they would, and a good thing too, because they were almost out of food. The bus was there waiting for them, as it had been scheduled to be, so after a quick third time over to make sure that everything was packed and the ship cleaned, they all boarded the bus for the return trip home.

“So, how was the trip?” The boys were asked when they were dropped off to home. JJ's parents and siblings were also there.

“The trip was great, well except the little tropical storm that we had to endure for a few hours.” AJ answered for them all.

“Yeah, and we saw a huge group of Gray Whales, we got to watch them play for quite a while.” TJ beamed.

“Cool. I hope you all took pictures.” Sarah asked.

“Yep.” JJ answered.

“I'd really like to go for a swim, it's been so long, and then we can sit in the hot tub and tell you all about our trip.” AJ offered.

It sounded good to everyone there, so they all stripped off and headed out to the pool. They swam and played for a good hour, then sat back in the hot tub, and the boys told all the highlights of their nice private cruise.

“That sounds like a lot of fun, wish we could have gone as well.” Alice said wistfully.

“There wouldn't have been any more room. We had all the rooms used up as it was.” AJ said simply.

“Yeah, you're a pretty big group.”

They sat and talked for a while longer until they decided that it was dinner time. Problem was that no one felt at all like cooking, so Max went and ordered pizza for everyone. The huge order was delivered nearly an hour later, and they all dug in whole heartedly. Shortly after that AJ and JJ left with his parents to go home. They decided to go spend a few days at JJ's parents place. They figured it was only fair.

It was now the beginning of August, and the boys had all planned another trip up to Max's friends cabin. This time it was planned to be two weeks long, and they were all looking forward to it.

Dieter and Denise had gone on their long awaited honeymoon, they went to the Carribean for two weeks. They laid back on the beach and enjoyed themselves by relaxing the entire time. They were served everything, and for the first time in their entire lives, they splurged on the best of everything the entire time. Tony told them that they should, so they did.

On the Sunday morning that everyone was scheduled to meet at AJ's house to take the bus up to the cabin, it was a madhouse of activity. They were going for two weeks this time, so that meant that their supplies naturally had to be doubled, well just in the food areas, but that was a lot extra. They ended up buying another dozen coolers and thirty six ice packs to help hold it all. It was still not quite enough with all the coolers that everyone else had brought over, but it helped. When Ted and Tom arrived with the bus, almost everyone was already there, so they all helped to load it up

Before too long, over thirty excited boys were cooped up inside the bus, all happy to be going on another vacation. This would be their last of the year, so they wanted to make it worthwhile. They had not even left town when all their clothes were removed, and all the cloth diapers were passed around for everyone to slip into, and everyone did this time. The trip took the normal time, and when they got there, they all made quick work of offloading the bus and getting it into the cabin. Max and Ted said their goodbyes not even five minutes after it was all done.

The boys all got to work setting everything up, and by the time they were done that, lunch was being started on.

The entire two weeks was spent playing long and hard, both all together playing games, or in their couples making sweet tender love. They once again played a kick ass game of capture the flag, diaper style, but this time the teams were broken up more fairly, and the game lasted all day, because they all knew what to expect. It ended up being pure fluke that one team ended up winning, but they all had a tonne of fun. They also played hide and seek, diaper tag football, diaper dodge ball, you name it, they played it, just in diapers.

It actually surprised the boys when Max and Ted pulled up two weeks later to collect the boys. They had all forgotten entirely what day it was, so they were not expecting the men to be there, so they ended up having to do a rush pack job. Ted and Max both laughed at this, thinking that it was quite comical.

None of the boys really wanted to be heading home, but they knew that they had to. They had just under two weeks left to get prepared for school. They all had to go get their hair done, go clothes and shoe shopping, and they had to go add to their school supplies as well. Of course most of this would be done in one or two days, but they did not want to feel rushed.

The trip back was uneventful for the most part, but the boys told the men all about their antics during the two weeks, and they all laughed a whole lot.

After taking a few days to rest from their vacation, a mass back to school shopping party was arranged. It was going to go over three days, mainly because even as good as Marcos is, he would be unable to get all thirty boys done in the one day. AJ did call ahead to warn him of this monumental event, and Marcos was happy to put up a sign. So all the boys went and had their hair done on two consecutive days, they all stuck around to watch the transformations, and they all looked really good. More than a few of the boys had never been to see Marcos, so they were all shocked at how good he really was.

The third day was spent clothes, shoes, and school supplies shopping. Ewan and Sean were equally happy to see all the boys, many of them new. The boys all helped each other to pick out clothes that would look really nice, and or show off their bodies nicely. Shoes were much the same. School supplies was the quickest, easiest, and cheapest of their stops, and it was also the last. Each boy had their brand new backpack loaded to the max with new shoes and clothes, and they each carried at least two extra shopping bags of overflow.

They of course all had a blast the past three days, well what gay or bi boy doesn't enjoy shopping. Probably most did, that's for sure.

Denise and Dieter had had quite a few meetings over the past couple weeks, since they got back from their honeymoon, hammering out plans and details for the new youth center, and by the time that the boys got back from their cabin adventure, the plans were all set to go, and groundbreaking was to start the same day that the boys started school. The builder promised that he could have the entire thing done in one and a half months, and possibly less if all went well. Max was of course part of the build team, because it had been decided that a pool was definitely going to be put in, and all he was charging Denise and Dieter for was the parts to do the install. All the manpower he was donating, and then the workout equipment as well, it would total at least a fifty thousand dollar donation if his estimates were correct.

School and Olympic swim training started up the same time that school started as well, so they got right in the swing of things. The first day of school, as always, was a write off, nothing got done, just their new lockers were assigned, students met their teachers and were given their class schedules, friends met back up after the long summer off, same old, same old. As always Mrs. Berry greeted her favorite students warmly, but then she greeted everyone warmly anyways, but AJ and JJ she had a real soft spot for. She did assign the standard beginning of the term essay to be written on what they all did for their summer vacations. She was very careful to limit it to no more than five pages, because she knew that AJ and JJ seemed to always have exciting summers.

The first few weeks of school went by amazingly fast and smooth for all the boys, so smooth in fact, that TJ and his entire group of friends were told that they were no longer welcome in elementary school, that there was simply no more that they could be taught there. They were all told that they had already talked to all their parents, and that the boys had the final say of course, but they were all very strongly urged to move up to grade eight, where they would be able to excel even further. They all decided, amongst themselves, that they would do it, so they were all moved, and they all went right to the advanced classes again. Many of them were with AJ, JJ, and a few of the others. It was also at this time that Tony decided to drop a bombshell on all his friends, even Tom had no idea about what he was about to be told.

“Guess what I did guys?” He asked after they had all finished having a great workout, and the swimmers an even better practice. They were all sitting in and around the hot tub, because not all of them could fit in it anymore.

“What?” They all asked.

“I just finished writing the sequel to my parents story, they return to the orphanage. It took me since we got back to get it all written, but I did it. I made it to be a true account of the visit back to their home country, I left in all the details of what they said and remembered. No one knew it, but I had a recorder and I recorded everything that was said, so I wrote it almost verbatim from the recording. I did add details and wrote it into a story of course, but it is meant to be a chronicle of the visit. I would like for you to edit it again for me AJ, and then the publisher said that he will get it to printing as soon as he can do so.”

“Of course I will, but how come you never told us?” AJ asked.

“Because I wanted it to be a surprise.” Tony grinned.

“That's some surprise. How big is it?”

“A little over five hundred pages long, so not quite as long as the first book, but this one is far darker, because it tells of the things that they had buried so deeply that they had completely forgotten about it until they were there.”

“I trust you have it with you today?”

“I do.”

“Give it to me before you leave, and I will have it edited for you in just a few days I'm sure. Five hundred pages is not that big, so it shouldn't take me that long.” AJ smiled happily.

“Awesome, you're the best, thanks.” Tony smiled as well.

And he did, AJ had the new book read and edited inside of three days, and other than a few minor issues in grammar and punctuation, it was as ready as he could make it for printing. Tony was right though, it was very dark, but he put in a rather poignant disclaimer at the beginning to warn people as such. When AJ gave Tony the edited copy back, he excitedly called his publishing company and talked to the owner, who said that he would be there the next day to pick it up, and give him the first check. Half going to the children's hospital of course.

Inside of a couple months the book was released, and it also went up to the top ten list for true stories. The story and it's sequel had been seen by many high up people, and it started shining a rather bright spotlight on atrocities that happened, and were possibly still happening all over the world. People were looked at in ways that they did not care to be looked at, and changes got made, slowly but surely. Almost exactly two years after the release of the second book, the movie was released. Tony sold the movie rights, and they made it into a very good movie. This of course earned Tony a considerable amount more money than he had ever dreamed, and of course half went to the hospital.