Saving an Angel

by Jason Finigan

This story is set in an alternate reality, and assumes the technology and capabilities of this reality's 23rd century are present in modern-day society.

Portions of this story contain copyrighted characters from other authors. Fictional organizations, situations, and characters from "Out of the Past" are copyright © by Dark Star and are used with permission. Clan Short is copyright © 2004-2008 CSU Productions; all rights reserved

This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. This story may contain scenes which involve sexual situations between young males. If this type of material is offensive to you, or it is not legal for you to be reading this type of material, please do not read any further. This story is copyright © 2007-2008 by Jason Finigan, all rights reserved. Please do not copy this story for distribution or post on any online server without the author's permission. Please send all your comments to: jasonfinigan@yahoo.com.

From the last chapter:

I looked over at Greg, and saw him staring back at me, wearing the goofiest grin on his face.

"What?" I asked him.

"Just thinking about how lucky I am to have the perfect family, and now to have the most beautiful boyfriend in the world," he said, the last statement causing me to blush big time which made me thankful that the lights weren't on for them to see it.

"You have a boyfriend now? Is it Kyle?" Adam asked, looking back and forth between us.

"Yeah, Adam. Your brother and I are now boyfriends," I told him.

"Cool!" he said happily, before he began to drift off to sleep. I could see that Greg was beginning to as well, and I was right behind him. I said a silent prayer to God, thanking him for giving me the best family, and boyfriend I could ever have hoped for. A feeling of peace and warmth swept over me. The last thing I saw before finally falling asleep, was Greg's beautiful face beside me.

Chapter 14

Morning came with the light streaming in through the blinds in the window. The soft glow that entered the room seemed to settle on the bed where I lay with Greg and Adam. Looking over at the two of them, I saw two perfect angels. Tears threatened to come to my eyes as joy filled my being. We were a family, something that I thought I never would have again after my mom died. All I could do was look over at the two of them as they slept. Adam was cuddled against Greg's side, his head resting on Greg's chest and his back turned towards me. My arm was draped over Adam whose back was turned towards me, and I was cuddling up close to him, my hand resting on Greg's side.

A sound from the door drew my attention from them, and I saw Ryan standing in the doorway, looking at the three of us. I saw as he noticed I was awake, and put his finger to his mouth, indicating to me that I shouldn't say anything, then he came into the room. He came around to my side of the bed, and sat down on the side. I could feel as he placed his and on my arm, and rubbed it gently. I felt as he leaned over and gave me a gentle kiss on my forehead and whispered good morning.

"Good morning, Daddy," I whispered back.

"Breakfast will be ready soon. Wake up your brothers and get washed up, okay?" he said softly.

"Okay, Daddy," I replied, then rolled over and reached up with my hands to pull him close to me into a nice morning hug. After several seconds, I let him go, and he stood up. Taking one last look at me, he walked out of the room, closing the door slightly. Sitting up in the bed, I looked down at the two sleeping angels beside me. Being careful so as to not disturb Adam, I leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Greg's lips. I felt as he began to return my kiss, his hand reaching up to hold onto my shoulder. The kiss we shared was so filled with love that it threatened to make me burst out in tears of joy. How I could have been so lucky to find someone like Greg, I never knew. It almost felt like I didn't deserve his love, but I was basking in it all the same. Gradually, we separated and looked into each other's eyes.

"Good morning, my love," Greg said.

"Good morning," I replied, a huge grin plastered on my face. "Dad says breakfast is ready,"

"God, I've gotta pee bad!" he suddenly exclaimed.

"Me too," I said, and together we hurried out of bed. The two of us rushed out of the room and into the bathroom where we both began to relieve our almost bursting bladders. When we were done, we washed our hands and brushed our teeth before returning to the bedroom. Adam had woken up and was sitting on the bed, still trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Where did you guys go?" he asked us sleepily.

"We had to go to the bathroom, little buddy," I answered.

"Oh, I've got to go too!" Adam exclaimed, then jumped out of the bed, leaving Greg and me chuckling as we saw him half stumble out into the hall to get to the bathroom.

"Don't forget to wash your hands, and brush your teeth," I called out after him, just before I heard the bathroom door close.

"I guess we'd better get dressed," Greg said.

"Yeah, I'll go get changed in my room. Be back in a bit," I told him, giving him another quick kiss before heading back to my room. All the way to my room, the same smile I woke up with was on my face. I couldn't have been more happy if I tried. Everything in life was just so perfect. I began to feel that everything that I had to endure in the past was leading up to this moment. Pulling off my pajamas, I slipped on some underwear, one of my new pairs of shorts, and my new Spiderman t-shirt that Ryan had bought for me on that first trip we took to get me some clothes. Once I had my socks on, I went back into Greg's room to see him helping Adam get his shirt on which had somehow got tangled up over his head. I couldn't help but laugh at Adam's predicament, and went to help them out. It was so cute seeing him standing there in his shorts and with his head trying to poke through the sleeve of his t-shirt. With Greg's help we got his t-shirt on right, and then the three of us headed down to the kitchen.

Ryan and Jason were hurrying around the kitchen, fixing breakfast while Darren sat at the table reading the paper, which made me pause in confusion.

"Uncle Darren, I thought you didn't want Dad making anything in the kitchen," I said.

"Your Dad wanted to make something special for your Pop, little one," Darren said, looking up from his paper. He smiled at the three of us and then got up from the chair he was sitting in. "Come and sit down boys, and I'll get you some juice." We took our places, and watched Ryan and Jason making breakfast. Ryan was making some scrambled eggs, and Jason was taking slices of toast out of the toaster and putting them on a plate. Pretty soon the table was filled with food. The three of us looked at it all and I began to wonder just how long Ryan and Jason had been up to be able to make all this. Sitting in front of us, along with the slices of toast and scrambled eggs, were toasted waffles, a basket of bacon, a tray of meats and vegetables, and one of those long loaves of bread. Once they had everything out on the table, Ryan and Jason took their seats at the table beside Darren.

"Wow," I exclaimed, looking at all the food before me, and from the expression on Greg and Adam's faces, I could tell that they shared the same sentiment.

"I've never seen so much food," Greg said. I began to laugh slightly as I saw Adam's eyes jumping from plate to plate. It was as if he was waging a war withing himself, trying to decide which of the delicious food in front of him he wanted to eat first. The waffles won, and I saw him look to Ryan with a pleading look in his eyes. Ryan smiled at him, and nodded his head, at which Adam reached forward to bring the plate of waffles closer to him. It was slightly out of his reach, and I had to help him. We all watched as Adam took one, then two, then three waffles. I could tell he wanted more by the uncertain look he was giving to Ryan. Ryan saw the look, and shook his head at Adam.

"Eat what you have there first, Adam, and then if you are still hungry, you can have some more," Ryan said. Adam smiled shyly at him, and without being told, picked up the plate and passed it over to Greg, who was practically drooling by now.

"Dad, can I have some of the eggs please?" I asked politely.

"Of course you may," Ryan said, picking up the bowl of eggs in front of him and passing it to me. Using the spoon that was in the bowl I started scooping out some of the eggs onto my plate. I didn't want to take too much, as there was so much more that I wanted to try. Greg, by this point, had already grabbed a couple waffles for himself, and was busy working on the bacon. I handed the bowl of eggs back to Ryan, and picked up the plate of toast. I didn't like bacon too much, so I skipped that. Along with the rest of the food, Ryan had also put out some peanut butter and raspberry jam, some syrup for the waffles and a tub of margarine. Using my knife, I took some of the margarine and scarped it on my toast, then brought the jam closer to me so that I could scoop some of that out and put it on my toast as well.

Ryan, Jason and Darren, in the meantime, were making sandwiches with the sliced meats and vegetables. I thought this was a little odd as I didn't think that people ate sandwiches in the morning. To me, it was something that you ate during lunch time.

"Dad, why are you and Pop and Uncle Darren eating sandwiches. Aren't you going to be eating lunch?" I asked him.

"Kyle, some people eat sandwiches like this both for breakfast and for lunch. My parents always had this for breakfast and I guess I picked up the habit from them," he told me.

"Oh," I said. "You should try the eggs. They're really good," I said, after swallowing the bite of eggs I had taken.

"Thanks. I think I will," Ryan said, smiling at me.

"Actually, those eggs do look really good," Jason said, reaching over to get the bowl. He did something then that I had never seen done before. Instead of putting the eggs onto his plate like I had, he put them onto an empty slice of toast, and then on top of that put a couple tomatoes, some lettuce, a couple strips of bacon, then topped it off with another piece of toast which he had buttered with the margarine already.

"Wow, what kind of sandwich is that?" I asked.

"That, Kyle, is called a Western sandwich. Sort of," Jason said, before taking a bite out of the sandwich.

"What's that?" Adam asked.

"Well, it's something some people like to have. You know how when you go to McDonald's and you get an Egg McMuffin?" Jason asked.

"Yeah," Adam replied.

"Well this is sort of the same kind of thing, only you put tomatoes and letuce on it as well."

"Oh okay. Is it good?" he asked.

"Delicious!" Jason said, then took another bite out of it, and from the look on his face, I could tell he was enjoying it a lot.

"Can I have one too?" Adam asked.

"You finish what you have there on your plate, and I'll cut up a couple for you, okay?" Ryan asked.

"Okay, Daddy," Adam said excitedly.

"Actually, Dad, I'd like to try one too, if it's okay," Greg said.

"Of course it is. Hand me your plate please, Greg," Ryan said. Greg had already finished eating the waffles he had served himself, and handed the plate over to Ryan.

"I'll let you use mine. Western sandwiches don't taste too good with syrup," Ryan said, looking at the streaks of syrup still on the plate. He then began to make the sandwich much the same as Jason had made his, and handed it to Greg. He then stood up and rinsed off Greg's plate, before putting it into the dishwasher.

"Aren't you having any more, Dad?" I asked him.

"No, I'm stuffed. Besides, I don't want to eat too much since we're going to the mall after breakfast."

"Oh yeah!" I said, remembering that we had asked him if we could.

"Which mall did you have in mind?" Jason asked Ryan.

"Well, I thought I'd take the boys to the Mapleview Mall. We've already been to the Burlington Mall. We also need to go to Zellers to pick up a couple more computer desks and get Greg's and Adam's computers from the computer store," Ryan said.

"Cool!" Greg and Adam exclaimed.

"Hey, Dad. Isn't EB Games in the Mapleview Mall?" I asked him.

"I think it is, but it's been a while since I've been there," Ryan said after thinking for a minute.

"Cool, if it's there, do you think we could check out a couple games for the Wii?"

"I don't see why not. Maybe your brothers would like a system and some games too," he suggested.

"YA!" both Greg and Adam said excitedly.

"Gee, I think they like that idea, Ryan," Darren said.

"Slightly," Jason said, nodding his head, and smiling at the two boys.

"But we're not going anywhere until you boys finish your breakfast," Ryan told them. I swear I have never seen anyone eat as fast as those two boys did. It was like watching an eating contest.

"Guys, slow down a bit or you're going to choke on your food," I told them.

"Your brother is right, guys. There's no rush. We have plenty of time," Ryan said.

"Okay, Daddy," Adam said, and slowed down slightly. Greg did too, but they were still eating faster than they normally did. I couldn't help but sit there and giggle.

"Are you all done, Kyle?" Ryan asked me.

"Yes, Dad. I'm full," I told him.

"Alright then, why don't you go ahead and rinse off your dishes and put them in the dishwasher. When you're done with that, get upstairs and get in the shower. And don't forget to brush your teeth."

"Okay, Dad! I'll be right back," I said, getting up from my seat, an grabbing my dishes. I quickly rinsed off my plate, and glass, then put everything in the dishwasher. Hurrying out of the kitchen, I headed upstairs and into the bathroom where I got undressed and started the water for my shower.

It didn't take me too long to finish my shower. After rinsing the last of the soap out of my hair, I shut off the water and dry myself off, getting the hair dryer out of the cupboard below the sink to dry off my hair before putting my clothes back on. I almost slipped on the wet floor before catching myself while putting on my socks, but I somehow managed to stay standing. I put the towel in the hamper, then started to brush my teeth. While I was doing that Greg came into the bathroom and closed the door.

"Damn, did you use all the hot water?" he asked me while starting to take his shirt off.

"Not even close," I told him, still brushing my teeth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," he giggled. I spit into the sink, and rinsed out my mouth.

"Smartass," I said, shaking my head.

"Nu uh, cuteass," he laughed, wiggling his bare bottom at me."

"Oh, you got that right," I said, then came up quickly and pinched his bum cheeks with my fingers.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed, jumping a little.

"Meet you downstairs, Babe," I said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips before heading out of the bathroom.

"Mmm, I love it when you call me that," he said, in a dreamy voice, causing me to laugh.

"Get in there, Greg," I said, then left the bathroom, and closed the door. Out in the hall, I saw Adam sitting on the floor waiting for his turn. He had his towel in hand and was looking up at me.

"Is Greg having his shower now?" he asked me.

"Yep," I answered.

"I hope he doesn't take too long."

"Well, why don't you go in there with him. It'll take less time if you have your showers together," I suggested.

"But he's your boyfriend," Adam said, looking at me in confusion.

"Yeah, and he's your brother," I told him. "Go on. It's alright. I'm sure he'd like you to share the shower with him."

"Okay!" Adam said, leaping up to to his feet, and rushing into the bathroom.

Before the door closed, I could hear Greg's voice. "Hey little buddy, you coming to join me in the shower?"

I headed back downstairs, where Ryan and Jason were sitting in the livingroom talking to each other on the couch. Darren wasn't anywhere to be seen, but I guessed he was in the kitchen cleaning things up.

"Hi, Dad. Hi, Pop," I said, walking in to the livingroom.

"Hey, Sport," Ryan said. "All cleaned up?"

"Yep. Greg is in the shower, and Adam went in with him," I said.

"Really? I thought you'd want to share the shower with Greg," Jason said.

"I do, but Adam was sitting out in the hall waiting for Greg to finish his shower, and I thought it'd take less time if they had one together. Greg and I will have lots of opportunities to have a shower together," I replied.

"That's a very mature thing to do, Kyle, and I'm really proud of you," Ryan said. His words made me smile with pride and I felt this warm feeling of happiness wash over me.

"Thanks, Dad. No-one's ever said that to me before. You really think I'm mature?" I asked him.

"Come up here, Sport," Ryan said, patting his lap to indicate where he wanted me to sit. Once I was sitting comfortably on his lap, he put his arms around me and held me close. "Yes, Son, I think you're very mature. Much more so than any other ten year old I've ever seen. Just don't forget to be a kid too. You've got lots of time to grow up, and there's no rush." A mischievous smile formed on my face as an idea formed in my mind.

"Does that mean, I get to do...this?" I asked suddenly, letting go of Ryan, and beginning to tickle his ribs. Ryan started to laugh hysterically as I mercilessly attacked his ribs with my fingers.

"Hey!" Ryan gasped, "I'm ticklish," he said.

"Yeah, I know!" I laughed, and kept up the attack. His face was getting all flushed and he was squirming madly on the couch. Jason was laughing along with me. It was the most fun I'd had with him, ever, and I loved it. All of a sudden the tables turned, and I found myself being tickled just like I tickled him. He knew just where I was the most ticklish and took advantage of it.

"Ah ha! It's my turn now!" he said with an exaggerated maniacle laugh, which made me laugh even harder.

"Stop, please stop!" I gasped. "Or there's going to be a puddle on the floor."

"You give? I win?" he asked.

"Yes!" I almost screamed, still laughing.

"I win," Ryan announced proudly, letting me up. I watched as he was catching his breath. He had this huge smile on his face, and he put his arms back around me.

"I love you, Kyle," he said.

"I love you too, Daddy," I told him, and snuggled into his embrace. That is how Greg and Adam found us when they came down the stairs.

"Hey, no fair. Kyle's getting some cuddles and we aren't," Greg complained.

"Well, there's lots of room on my lap boys," Jason said. Pretty soon he had too happy boys sitting on his lap and hugging him. We were a family, and it was the best thing in the world as far as I was concerned.

"Excuse me," Darren's voice said suddenly from the door to the living room. "Ryan, didn't you promise the boys a trip to the mall? And I believe you still have a couple of computers and some desks to pick up."

"You're right, Uncle Darren. But this feels so perfect," Ryan said, looking over at him.

"I know what it was like when you used to cuddle with me on the couch like that," Darren said.

"I know. I miss it sometimes, but now, I have so much more from these little guys, and Jason."

"Yeah, besides. You've got Miss. Jacobs to cuddle with now," I said, giggling slightly which grew to laughter from everyone else when they saw Darren's face go all red.

"Okay, you've got me there, little buddy," Darren said, laughing with the rest of us. "But if you guys are going to get all that done, you'd better get going."

"He's right, guys," Ryan said. "All right boys, go get your shoes on, and let's get going." The three of us practically jumped off Ryan and Jason, and quickly made our way to the front door where our shoes were. We were waiting by the front door when Ryan and Jason joined us and put on their shoes.

"Where's Uncle Darren?" Greg asked. "Isn't he coming with us?"

"No, Greg. He's got some things to do, and won't be able to come with us today. But he'll be done by the time we get back," Ryan said.

"Oh, okay."

"Let's go guys," Ryan said, opening the front door. The five of us left the house, Ryan closing the door behind him. Getting his keys out, Ryan led us towards the car, which he unlocked for us. Greg, Adam, and I climbed into the back while Ryan and Jason sat up front. Ryan started the car and pulled out of the driveway, and onto the street where he began to drive us to where we were headed first.

"Alright guys, what say we go to the computer store to pick up the computers first, then go to Zellers to get your desks before heading to the mall?" Ryan asked.

"Cool!" were the excited voices that came from our mouths. I especially couldn't wait because then both Greg and Adam could have their own computers.

"Hey, Dad. Do you think Greg and Adam could get a copy of Space Simulator 2004 too?" I asked him.

"Sure, I don't see why not, but don't you have it on your computer already?" he asked me.

"Yeah, but then that way we could all play the game at the same time."

"That sounds like a really good idea, Son," Ryan said.

"Wow! You're really going to get us that game?" Greg asked.

"If it's what you want," Ryan said.

"I'd love it! Thanks, Dad!" Greg said, excitedly.

"What about you Adam?" Jason asked.

"I don't know how to play very well," Adam said, a little sadly.

"Hey, don't worry about it, buddy. I'll show you how to play, okay?" Greg said.

"Really?" Adam asked, perking up immediately. "Thanks, Greg. You're the best!" I don't know how he did it, but Adam managed to pull Greg into a full hug, which Greg returned.

"I love you," I mouthed to Greg when I saw him looking at me. He smiled and mouthed the words back to me. I didn't realize it at the time but we were being watched by Ryan and Jason through the rear-view mirror.

"Hey, Daddy. Do they have a model shop at the mall?" Greg asked.

"I think they do, Greg. Why do you ask?" Ryan asked him.

"Well, I always liked putting models together and I wanted to see what they had."

"Sounds like a good idea. We'll check it out when we get there."

"Yeah, and we can go to EB Games to look at some games there too," I said excitedly.

"Not to mention food. We'll eat lunch there too," Jason said.

"Can we get some ice cream?" I asked suddenly, thinking about how I loved to get ice cream from the Dairy Queen there.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. It's supposed to be a hot one today," Ryan said. We pulled into the parking lot for the computer store, and Ryan parked the car. The five of us got out of the car and went inside. I saw Nigel behind the counter and saw as he looked up at us when we came in.

"Ryan!" he said, coming around the counter to shake Ryan's hand. "I thought something was wrong when you didn't come by to pick up the computers yesterday."

"No, no. We just got tied down with other things and couldn't make it until today," Ryan said.

"Well, they're ready for you," Nigel said.

"Great. I was wondering though, if you have a couple more copies of the Space Simulator 2004 game," Ryan said.

"Hmm, I'll have to check on that. Just give me a minute while Chantelle gets everything ready for you," he said, indicating the woman sitting behind the counter.

"Hello, Shantell," Ryan said.

"Hi, Ryan. You are definitely getting a reputation around here," she said.

"Oh?" Ryan said, looking a little surprised.

"Yeah. You've had the best behaved kids in the store, and you've placed one of the largest orders we've had in a while," she said.

"I hardly think two computers is a large order," Ryan said.

"Three. Are you forgetting the first computer you picked up already?" she asked.

"Um, no. I guess that one slipped my mind," Ryan admitted.

"Well, it's been a while since someone came in to buy three computers from us at once. Lately it's just been cheaper systems or parts."

"Well, that's not any good. It's the middle of summer, you'd think lots of people would be buying," Ryan said.

"Not really, Hun," Jason spoke up. "I've worked summers at Futureshop and it's one of the slowest times of the year. Except for February or March that is."

"I guess I'm just so used to my business being so busy I didn't realize that the retail aspect isn't as stable," Ryan said after thinking about it for a minute.

"Well, to be fair, in your line of work, the retail side is mostly transparent. So long as you can get the equipment you need, things run smoothly for you. I guess there are always corporations needing work done on their networks," she said.

"You have no idea. This last contract we acquired has been nothing but trouble. I'm going to have to do a bit of organizing before it gets away from us. Thankfully it's nothing major yet. But you're right. If it wasn't for the retail side of things, I'd have nothing to serve my customers with. Then I'd be out of a business," Ryan admitted.

"Aw, he's cute!" Adam said from behind the counter.

"Who is, Adam?" Ryan asked.

"The baby over here," Adam giggled.

"That's Nigel's and my son," Chantelle said proudly. "His name's Jordan."

"That's a wonderful name," Jason said, going around the counter to look at the baby. Chantelle got up from her seat, and lifted her son up from the carrier he was laying in, carefully resting him in the crook of her arm.

"Oh, he is so adorable," Ryan said, looking fondly at the child who was giggling at all of us.

"Would you like to hold him?" Chantelle asked.

"Me? Are you sure?" Ryan asked, shocked that she would ask that of him.

"I can see how you're looking at him, and I know you'll be gentle," she said, carefully placing her son in Ryan's arms.

"I've always wanted to have a baby of my own," Ryan said, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

"Well, I'm afraid this one is taken," Chantelle laughed, causing Ryan to laugh as well.

"He's beautiful, Chantelle. You and Nigel have to be very proud to have a son like this little guy," Ryan said.

"Yes we are," she said, taking her son back, and placing him back in the carrier.

"Are you okay, babe?" Jason asked Ryan.

"Yeah," Ryan said, wiping away the tears that had begun to fall from his eyes with the back of his hand.

"You guys are in luck, these are the last two copies we have," Nigel said, coming back to the front of the store to join us. "Did Chantelle get everything ready for you?" he asked.

"No, I'm afraid we were distracted by your beautiful son. The two of you are really lucky," Ryan said.

"Lucky?" Nigel laughed suddenly. "You wouldn't say that if you had to go through a night like we did last night."

"Oh? What happened? The little tyke keep you awake?" Jason asked.

"You could say that. I think he cried last night every hour on the hour. It took me three cups of coffee this morning just to get going," Nigel complained.

"You wouldn't trade your son for the world though," Ryan said.

"Yeah. Both Chantelle and I love him so much. No matter how late or often we have to wake up to take care of him, he's our son, and we'll do everything we can to make sure he grows up happy and loved."

"You make an excellent father, Nigel," Ryan said.

"Me? What about you? Raising three young boys on your own like you are."

"Well, I'm not exactly alone. The three of them have me, Jason, and their Uncle Darren to take care of them. And if I'm right, someone else might be joining us sooner or later," Ryan said.

"Who? Miss Jacobs?" I asked Ryan.

"Well, if it works out between your uncle and her, yes."

"Cool! Does that mean she'd become our aunte?" I asked him.

"I guess it would, Kyle," Ryan said.

"Neat!" Greg, Adam, and I exclaimed together.

"Well, I'll get your computers ready to go then, and Chantelle can ring in the games for you," Nigel said.

"That would be good, thanks," Ryan said.

"Don't mention it," Nigel said.

"So how much do I owe you?" Ryan asked Chantelle, once she had scanned the bar codes for the two games.

"Well, after taxes, it comes out to two hundred and twenty-seven dollars and ninty-eight cents." Ryan paid for the games, and Nigel helped us out to the car. I was amazed with how much room was still in the car even with both computers loaded into it.

"Dad, are you sure the desks are going to fit in here?" I asked him.

"Don't worry, Son. They're not going in the car. You see those two metal bars there in the trunk?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I said, seeing them.

"Those are roof racks for when I have to transport something large."

"Cool. I never knew you had them," I said.

"Well now you do. Shall we get to Zellers and buy the computer desks now?" he asked us.

"Yeah," we all answered.

"Alright then, everyone climb in, and let's get going." He then turned to Nigel who was standing off to the side watching us. "Nigel, thank you for everything. If there is anything my company can do for you, just let us know."

"Well, actually, there is one thing you can do," Nigel said.

"What is that?"

"Recommend us to your customers."

"With pleasure, Nigel. We'll see you again one day," Ryan said, shaking Nigel's hand. Nigel then went back into the store, and Ryan climbed into the car. Starting it up, he pulled out of the parking lot, and we drove to Zellers. Since it was still early, there weren't too many cars in the parking lot there, and we managed to find a space that was relatively close to the front doors. Parking the car, Ryan had us get out again, and we went inside. The last time we were here, we spent some time looking around. This time we went right to the furniture department and located the computer desks we wanted right away. Thankfully there were two of the same type of desks that I had. They weren't light either, and it took both Jason and Ryan to lift the two heavy boxes which contained the desks into the shopping cart.

We carefully navigated the cart throughout the store until we reached the check out counter where we had to wait in line. Adam was beginning to get a little restless, and I remembered well how restless I used to be when waiting in line with my mother. I began to smile as I saw Greg distracting Adam, and trying to keep him busy with a game of rock, paper, scissors. I hadn't played that in ages.

Once Ryan paid for everything, we left the store and Ryan opened up the trunk to get out the roof racks. It only took him a few minutes to get them secured and once that was done, he and Jason lifted the desks up onto them. From inside the trunk, Jason brought out some rope, and with it, they tied the two desks down so that they wouldn't fly off the roof while we were travelling. Pretty soon they had it all done, and we climbed back into the car.

"We're going to drop this stuff off at the house and put it in the livingroom before we go to the mall," Ryan said, as he started the car and drove out of the parking lot. Not ten minutes later, we were back home. Ryan and Jason got out of the car and began to unhook the desks from the roof of the car. I went to the back with Greg and Adam and opened the trunk. Greg took one computer, and I took the other, while Adam carried one of the monitors in his arms. As light as those LCD monitors are, they still weigh a fair amount for an eight year old.

Darren wasn't home as Ryan said he wouldn't be, and we waited by the front door for Ryan and Jason to come with the keys. Each of them was carrying a desk, walking slowly so as to not trip over anything. When Ryan got to the front porch, he sat the desk down onto the ground, and took out his keys, unlocking the front door. Adam opened it for us, and walked inside, followed by Greg and me. Once Adam had put the monitor down that he had carried into the house in the living room, he rushed back out, narrowly missing Ryan and Jason who were bringing in the two desks. Pretty soon Adam came back in and put the second monitor down with the first one he brought in.

"Okay, are we ready to get to the mall?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah!" we all exclaimed.

"Alright then, let's get going," Ryan said, and he led us all back out to the car. He locked the front door behind us as we left. Making sure the trunk was closed properly, Ryan then had everyone get into the car then started it up again. Once more we pulled out of the driveway, this time on our way to the Mapleview mall. The trip didn't take all that long, maybe five or ten minutes in total, but the parking lot was packed. I couldn't believe it. Where the Burlington Mall's parking lot was practically empty, this one was so full that Ryan actually had to drive around for a while to find an empty spot to park.

With luck, he found one further back in the lot. It didn't really matter where we parked as far as I was concerned though, just so long as we could get inside. I was really looking forward to having that ice cream that Ryan had promised. He was right though, it was already starting to get really hot outside, and even with the car's air conditioning, I could still feel it. We all got out of the car, and hurried to the entrance to the mall, which thankfully had it's air conditioner turned up high. The five of us sighed with relief upon feeling the cool air hit our bodies.

"Daddy, I have to go to the bathroom," Adam complained.

"Okay, Buddy, we'll go to the food court where the bathrooms are," Ryan said, and led us over to the escalators that would lead us to the lower level of the mall. Little Adam was doing that dance that most boys do when we really have to go pee badly, and I began to wonder if we'd make it in time. Thankfully we did, as Adam ran into the bathroom, found an empty stall and took care of his next to bursting bladder. Deciding that I'd take care of some business too, I walked over to one of the urinals and relieved my bladder, which thankfully wasn't as full as Adam's had obviously been. Adam came out of the stall, now smiling with relief and went over to the sink to wash his hands.

"Feel better now, Buddy?" I heard Ryan ask him.

"Uh huh," Adam said, with obvious relief.

"So what do you want to do first?" Ryan asked us, after we had left the bathroom.

"Can we have some ice cream?" Adam asked.

"Of course you can, little one," Ryan replied, and led us over to the Dairy Queen, where thankfully, the lineup wasn't too big. I guess it being morning still had something to do with it. Once it was our turn, Ryan looked at us. "Okay, what do you all want?"

"A Smartie Blizzard!" I said.

"Chocolate ice cream cone!" Adam said.

"Raspberry Smoothie!" Greg said.

"Nothing for me thanks, Ryan," Jason said.

"Can I have a Blizzard with Smarties, a chocolate ice cream cone, a raspberry smoothie, and a medium strawberry shake please," Ryan said to the person at the counter. It took the people behind the counter several minutes to prepare what was ordered, but once they had everything done, and Ryan had paid for it all, we went over to the tables to find a place to sit. We found a spot not too far away from the A&W restaurant that was out of the way from the rest of the traffic. Like the parking lot, the mall was packed with people hurrying about to get their shopping done.

"Oh no!" Adam's voice suddenly cried, and I looked over at him to see that his ice cream cone had fallen off the cone and had dropped down his shirt and onto the floor below.

"It's okay, Adam. It was just an accident," Ryan said, taking a napkin to try and wipe up the mess that was on his shirt.

"I'll go get him another one," Jason said, rushing back over to the Dairy Queen.

"But I dropped it," Adam cried.

"It's okay, really, little one. I'm not mad. It happens sometimes," Ryan said, trying to soothe Adam a bit.

"But my shirt. I got it all dirty," Adam said, tears still running down his face, but his crying for the most part had stopped.

"Hey, Adam. It's happened to me before, you know. And I bet it's happened to everyone. We can wash your shirt. It's not a problem.

"But now everyone will look at me funny," Adam complained.

"No they won't," I told him. I bet you if we go to the bathroom, we can rinse some of that out and when it dries, no one would know that you had spilled anything on it."

"You sure?" he asked me, sniffing slightly.

"Yeah. I'm sure. Daddy will clean up what he can now and then when you finish the ice cream that Pop is bringing you, we can get your shirt cleaned up, okay?"

"Okay," Adam said. Suddenly I heard a sound beside me, and I turned to look in the direction where the sound came from. My eyes suddenly opened wide at what I was seeing in front of me. Not ten feet away from me was an older boy from my past, a boy who's face I recognized immediately.

"S... Simon?" I said, stuttering slightly in shock.

"Kyle? Is that really you?" the boy asked me. I couldn't help but stare up at him with both shock, and wonder.

"Uh huh! It is you isn't it, Simon? I mean, I'm not dreaming this?" I asked him, still unable to believe that the one person who I'd missed most of all since my mother died was standing there beside our table.

"Yeah, it's me, little buddy," the boy said, grinning from ear to ear. I couldn't help myself as tears of joy and happiness began to fall from my eyes, I stood up and ran to him, wrapping my arms around him and holding him tight, afraid that if I let go he'd leave again and I'd never see him. I didn't care who could see me, or where we were, as I cried into his chest.

"I missed you so much, Simon," I cried.

"I missed you too, Kyle. I have missed you so much," Simon said, kissing the top my head while the other boy he was with, and Ryan, Greg, and Adam looked on.

Editor's Notes:

For some reason, I have the funny feeling, I have been here before, and It seems we ended up in exactly the same place. I was hoping we might have gotten farther in this story than we did in the other one. Oh well, I guess we will find out more in the next chapters of the two stories. As always, this was a very sweet wonderful chapter. It really is nice that Kyle and Simon found each other again. I can say that it really does warm my heart to see how the two sets of boys will feel about each other once they get to know one another. I predict that it will be wonderful. Please hurry Jason, we are very eager to see what happens next.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher