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Chapter 12

Although the governor wanted to be in the room with his son Josh, he stayed out in the waiting room with the rest of his family in order to let Josh get his rest. Knowing his son, he would think that he had to explain what happened, which the governor didn't want him to feel that way. So reluctantly, he left his son alone to rest.

As time passed, the governor and the rest of the family were getting more nervous. They knew that there were already several complications before they even got Cesar into the surgery room, so they feared the worst. They feared that maybe things have gone wrong in surgery and that is why they haven't heard a thing.

Just as the governor had enough, and was getting up looking for some kind of update, the double doors flew open. Dr. Whitmore walked out, rubbing his hands with sanitizer. The rest of the Lopez family stood up and looked around the doctor for Cesar, but they didn't see him. The double doors were almost closed when it flew open again and a bed was being rolled out with Cesar in it. Almost all at once, the Lopez family breathed a sigh of relief.

"Governor and Mrs. Lopez I have some good news and not so good news." Dr. Whitmore said as he walked up to the governor and Barbara. "Let me start with the bad news first so you won't worry and hear the good the good news when I say it." At the same time, Daniel and Barbara nodded their heads.

"Your son Cesar lost a lot of blood at the scene and in the truck before even getting into the surgery room. We don't know how that will play out when your son wakes up. The amount of blood that he lost is very dangerous because there was not enough blood going through the body and getting where it should be getting." The governor looked at Whitmore confused on what he was saying and the doctor saw that.

"Let me say it another way. The heart pumps a certain amount of blood, and it gets spread through the body. Certain things in the body can go without blood, but only for a limited time. Where the wound was might help us, but I am not going to say one hundred percent it will. Blood might not have gotten to the brain, which means your son Cesar might not be the same when he wakes up.

He is young and he is strong, which those two items are helping him a lot right now. What is not helping him is what I said earlier, the amount of blood that was lost. I know what I am saying is scary, but for now let's not worry about that. What we need to worry about is him waking up. The faster he wakes up, the better the outlook will be!"

"Okay let's say he wakes up sometime tonight, how long after that will we know that there was damage done to his brain. Will we see it right away, or will it come over time?"

"Governor Lopez there is no real good way to answer your question. Each person is different, but I have seen in my past patients we find out within the first twenty four to forty eight hours from when they wake up. If they can't remember their name, what year it is, what had happened and things like that, we are in trouble. If they can remember some of it, but not all of it, we have a good chance.

Then there are those rare cases that the patient wakes up and can't do a thing, basically a shell of the person they were before what had happened to them. Now there are also those rare cases that the person wakes up and remembers everything. What we are hoping for is the in-between, remembering some, but not all."

"Okay you said you were leading off with the bad news, what about the good news you have for us." Barbara asked as she grabbed his husband's hand. She wanted to change the subject because she saw not only worry in her husband's face, but in Daniel Jr., Carlos and Brandon's faces.

"Yes, there is a lot more good news than there is bad news here. Once we got Cesar in surgery and opened him up, there were no more complications. I was able to get in there and close off the bleeders, take out what couldn't be saved in record time. That is really good because the quicker I was able to do that, the less stress was put on his body."

"You are scaring the daylights out of me, my wife and my sons." The governor looked at his boys and then his wife before looking back at the doctor. "Yes that sounds like good news, but you also hid some bad news in the good news on taking out things you couldn't save. What exactly did you take out and what effects will that be on Cesar?"

Before Dr. Whitmore could answer the governor, they heard singing coming out of the bay where they put Cesar. As quietly as they could, they walked over to the curtains and poked their heads in. What they saw didn't surprise the Lopez family, but it did surprise Dr. Whitmore.

Josh was sitting down in a chair at the head of Cesar's bed, holding his right hand as he leaned down, almost laying his head on the pillow, singing to Cesar. Dr. Whitmore heard about the governor's son ability to sing, and even saw him sing a couple of times, but never in person. He couldn't believe how much more beautiful it is to hear the governor's son sing in person than on the radio or television.

On top of the fact he was pouring out his heart through song, the song he chose was so heart warming and sad at the same time, Bette Midler's "You Are the Wind Beneath My Wings". Josh sang every word of the song with so much emotion, everyone that heard him felt how badly he was hurting.

Before Dr. Whitmore knew it, tears were rolling down his cheeks as he listened to the young Lopez sing to his boyfriend. The staff in the ER, and some of the patients, made their way to the bay where Josh and Cesar were. They were stopped by security from getting close to the governor or his family, but they were not pushed back or asked to leave. They stood there listening to the beautiful voice that was in the air. It touched them so deeply; they too started to tear up. Just like the doctor, they could hear the pain and sadness in the voice and that is what brought them to tears.

Dr. Whitmore and the Lopez family was about to duck out of the curtains as Josh was finishing, but they saw movement from Cesar. They stood where they were and waited to see if it was their minds playing tricks on them. It wasn't long before they not only saw Cesar move some more, but heard him talking.

They all started to go rushing in, but Daniel Sr. held them back. At first they didn't understand why he did that, but when they turned their attention to the bed, they saw why. Daniel Sr. wanted to give his two sons some time alone to talk to each other without being disturbed by the whole family and ER staff.

When they saw Josh lean in and less than a minute later kiss Cesar, they knew things were going to be just fine. Not only is Cesar by the look of it returning the kiss, he is wrapping his arm around Josh. Seeing that movement made Dr. Whitmore very happy that Cesar might be on the other side of the small percentage that wakes up and remembers everything, which means his brain did get blood when they thought it didn't.

As soon as they broke the kiss, Josh turned and waved everyone in. Both Josh and Cesar wiped their tears away as their family walked over to the bed. Cesar grabbed Josh's hand and held it tight as his brothers, father and mother leaned in and kissed him on the forehead and welcomed him back.

Once everyone went up to Cesar and said what they felt, Dr. Whitmore introduced himself. "Young man not only is it great to see that you are awake, but talking and smiling at your family. I only have a few questions for you and then I will let you be with your family for a while." Dr. Whitmore looked over at the governor. "Make sure you don't wear him out. He needs his rest, so when my staff says it is time to go; it is time to go, okay?" Everyone nodded.

"Good I am glad we are all on the same page here." Dr. Whitmore turned his attention back to Cesar. "I am going to take a few vitals as I am asking you some questions. If I touch somewhere and it hurts, please let me know." Cesar looked up at his doctor, nodded and then turned back to Josh. "Okay you are going to be sore for a while, but the soreness should fade away more and more each day."

Dr. Whitmore examined Cesar, touching lightly around his surgical wound and then made his way down to his feet and then back up to his head. Every so often Cesar would winch or jerk when Dr. Whitmore touched him, but all in all there was really no pain anywhere except where it was expected to be.

As he was being examined, he was being asked questions. What year it was, who was president, who were the people in the room and so and so on. He answered every question without hesitation, making Dr. Whitmore very happy. Once he finished his exam, he wrote a couple things on Cesar's chart and then explained what to expect in the next couple of days.

"Hopefully it will not take much longer for us to get Cesar into a room." Dr. Whitmore looked at the governor. "I know once we get him his room you are going to need to send security agents up to it to make sure it is safe, am I right on that?" Governor Lopez nodded his head. "Okay then, I have asked for one of the rooms on the top floor that we keep for certain guests like your family. They are a lot bigger rooms, but at the same time Cesar will be the only one in it and the nearest room to his is halfway down the hall."

"That sounds great!" The governor relaxed a little. "By doing that, it will save my security agents on clearing out half of a floor like they did when Barbara was in here having our kids. Neither my family nor I want to put any patient at this hospital out of the way by moving them.

"I agree and that is why I have asked for one of the rooms on the top floor. With that said..." Dr. Whitmore walked over to the head of the bed and placed his hand on Cesar's shoulder. "Young man you are not going to stay at the hospital that long. That is if you continue getting well as fast as you have. I don't expect you to get up until tomorrow at the earliest. Even then, I didn't expect to get the kind of result I have got from you, which all this put together will get you out of here in a day or so."

Everyone in the room, including Cesar himself, was surprised hearing Dr. Whitmore say what he said. All of them, except the governor, saw Cesar come into the hospital and they thought that he would be here for weeks, if not months. Now they hear that he is going to get out in a couple of days, what a shocker.

Dr. Whitmore answered the few questions Cesar, Josh and the others had before leaving the room. As soon as he left, several nurses walked in and asked Cesar if he was ready to be moved. Before he was able to answer, Russ stepped forward and pulled the nurse out of the room. Twenty minutes later, they walked back in and moved Cesar.

When they got off the elevator and into the room, they were surprised once again. It was more than just a room it was like an apartment. They rolled Cesar's bed into the room closest to the hallway, leaving two other rooms and sitting room empty. In addition, a small kitchen with everything needed to prepare a small meal.

By the time they got Cesar settled in, it was close to one in the morning. Josh's brothers, Barbara and the governor himself were dead on their feet. The governor talked with Russ to make sure everything was secure for his boys before calling Daniel Jr., Carlos and Brandon over to go. They all wanted to stay, but knew best not to question their father. Reluctantly they got up from where they were sitting and said their goodbyes to Cesar and Josh as they headed out the door.

Once the boys said their goodbyes and went into the hallway, the governor and Barbara spent a few minutes with Josh alone and then the same with Cesar before talking with them together. They made sure the boys had everything they needed for the night. At the same time they promised to be back first thing in the morning with changes of clothing.

Barbara kissed both of the boys on the forehead and then Daniel Sr. followed. They walked to the door of the room and turned around to bid the boys goodnight. Just like Josh's brothers, they did not want to leave Josh and Cesar, but they needed to get home to the twins. They don't like leaving them alone with anyone, even family like Rose, for too long like today.

As soon as Daniel Sr. and Barbara left, Josh kicked off his shoes and crawled into bed with Cesar. He was very careful not to get near the area where he was opened up as he cuddled up next to him. Cesar still had what they had given him to sleep in his system, as well as Josh, so the minute they laid their heads on the pillow, they were out.

All the way to the house, no one said a word. They all heard that Benedict was fired, but didn't know why. All they knew is that the governor pulled him in with Russ and Rich, and thirty-minutes later, he walked out and said goodbye to them. He didn't say why he was fired, but by the look on his face they all knew he felt bad.

When they got home, Daniel Jr., Carlos and Brandon went straight up to their rooms to get ready for school. Just as they were jumping into bed, their father called them out into the hallway. As they got out to the hallway, they noticed that their mother was not there. When they asked, their father told them that she was in the twin's room and left it at that.

"I know the last twenty-four hours have been crazy and hard on all of us. You guys know I would normally make you go to school no matter what, but because of what has happened and the time we got home, I am going to make an exception. You boys can stay home tomorrow if you want, but if you do, you will have to go to the hospital and visit with Cesar for at least a couple of hours."

Daniel Jr. looked at his brothers and knew what they were thinking, the same thing he was thinking. "Dad you don't have to put that as a rule on us. Even if we went to school tomorrow, we would have gone down to be with Cesar after school. In other words, if we get the day off, as soon as we wake up, we are going to go over to the hospital and be with our brothers. There is no question about that."

The governor knew he was going to get that response from his boys. He has seen them grow into mature young men in the last year and half. There was not a doubt in his mind that they were going to go down and visit with Cesar without being told to do so.

"You boys head onto bed and rest. Don't set your alarms to get up too early because your mother and I aren't planning to go down until around ten. That gives you guys a chance to sleep in like you do on the weekends." Daniel Sr. walked up to each of his boys and wished them goodnight before heading to the nursery.

When he got to the room, Barbara was walking out. She stopped closing the door then slowly reopened it so Daniel could go in and kiss his babies goodnight. He spent a few minutes at each crib whispering something to them that Barbara couldn't hear. After giving them each a kiss goodnight, making sure they were tucked in, he joined Barbara in the hallway. Together they closed the door before they made their way to their room.

Daniel noticed while he was getting ready for bed that Barbara was distant with him. He had no idea why, but was going to get to the bottom of it. Not wanting a fight, he thought very carefully about what he was going to say. Once he got the words straight in his head, he turned to Barbara and started to talk.

"I know we all have had a day that seems that it doesn't want to end. When we woke up this morning, none of us thought the day was going to turn out the way it did, but it has. I know something is bothering you and you will not be able to sleep until you talk it, so tell me what has you all tied up in knots."

Barbara turned and looked at her husband. For the first time since they have gotten married, she is very angry with him. Angry that he did something that she asked him to think about and let things settle before acting upon. Out of her past experience, when a person is angry, that person is unable to make the right choices, and here they are.

"The thing that is really bothering me is that you didn't let things simmer down before making a huge change to the security here at this house. On top of that, you told non-family members something that you and I haven't discussed. Something you said you would never do while we are married, but today you broke that promise."

"What the bit I told Rich and Benedict about moving the family to Austin?" Barbara answered, "Yes". "Come on honey I have to do something to protect my family. The security here is not doing their job to make that happen. From the stabbing this morning way, back to the killing of Elizabeth and everything in-between. I can't have my kids put in harm's way because the security here can't do their job."

"No matter where our kids are, things are going to happen. The same security that they have here would also be in Austin, or where ever we are. That means that if there is someone out there that really wants to harm them, they will do it no matter where they live. You can't lock them up in a box and throw away the key and that is the only way you will be able to keep them completely safe."

Daniel knew what Barbara was saying was right. He went too far when talking to Rich and Benedict about moving his family to Austin. The more he thinks about it, the more he sees that Austin might be worse for his kids since the city is a lot bigger and none of their friends are there. The more friends they have around them, the less chance anything will happen.

"You are right sweetie, you are right. I should have never said what I said without talking to you about it. I am sorry for breaking that promise and it won't happen again." Daniel leaned over and kissed Barbara on the cheek. "As far as Benedict is concerned, he is going to stay fired."

He went on telling Barbara why he fired his head of security in El Paso. It was not because of the stabbing, which he knows once the news gets out that the termination happened, they are going to say that is the reason it happened. No, it happened because of his personal belief and views about gays. Those views and beliefs in his mind cannot be in a house that has not only one gay teen, but also two and his brother who is gay as well.

"I didn't know why he said what he said to you. If I was there, I would have done a lot more than terminate him, if you get my drift." Daniel smiled as he nodded. "I know you don't want to think about this now, but I think we will have to. Who is going to replace him as head of security? We can't leave this position open too long because a lot of things can and will fall through the cracks when we don't have a head of security."

Leaning back, Daniel started to rub his chin. "You know I really haven't thought much about that yet, but you are right. That position can't be left vacant for a long period of time. At the same time, I really don't want to bring in someone new from the outside at this time. Normally when that happens, the new person shakes things up, which we can't have right now."

"I agree, but who here on staff can be moved up to that slot. Everyone here came in with Benedict, and those that didn't, they were placed in their position because they couldn't handle the jobs they had, like Jonathan."

"You know I never thought that Jonathan couldn't handle the position he had. If I did think that, I would have fired him, not moved him around. No sweetheart, I kept him because I thought he was too young and didn't have enough experience. Since placing him in the position he has now, he has shined. Maybe we should promote him on a temporary basis and see how he does. If we see he can't handle the job, we move him right back to house security and hire someone else."

Barbara thought what her husband came up with was a good idea. Try out Jonathan in running the show, and if he can't handle it yet, he gets moved back to house security. They stayed up a little longer talking about that and what they were going to do later that day. Once they put together their plans, they got under the blankets, kissed each other goodnight before turning off the lights. Just like the boys, the moment their heads hit their pillows, they were out like a light and didn't wake up throughout the night.

Even though the governor's schedule was cleared, he got up at the same time he normally does, four in the morning. He slowly got out of the bed; trying to make sure, he does not shake it too much with his movement and wake up Barbara. Once he was dressed, he headed down stairs. On his way, he stopped in and took a peak in the nursery.

After making sure the twins were okay, he headed down to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. When he walked in, he was surprised to see Rich sitting at his kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. He grabbed himself a cup of coffee and joined Rich at the table. No one spoke. They just sat there reading the newspaper.

It was Rich who finally broke the silence. "I know you don't want to hear this first thing in the morning, and especially after a day like yesterday, but I need to say it." Daniel looked up at Rich, taking a sip from his cup. "What you did with Benedict I agree with, but, and yes there is a but. When the press gets a hold of this, they are going to turn it around. At the end, you are going to look like the bad guy here.

Therefore, I took the liberty on calling Benedict and setting up an appointment with him and you first thing this morning at five. I knew you wouldn't be able to sleep in and five is a good time because no one will see him here. Meet with him and I am sure once you do, you will see your way to letting him stay on staff."

"He can't, not with the way he thinks Rich. There is no way I can leave here knowing what I know now, thinking that all my kids are safe. No not with the way Benedict thinks about Josh and Cesar."

"I agree with you on why you fired him, but it will not play out that way in the press once they get a hold of it. You are gearing up to take on a huge battle with the gay rights bill and the others. There is just no way you can afford to have this topic dominating the headlines. Not if we want to get these other bills passed."

"Okay, I will take the meeting, but I'm not promising you anything." Daniel got up from his seat and walked over to the coffee maker to pour himself a fresh cup of coffee. "The only thing I ask of you Rich is that you are in the meeting as well. I don't want this meeting to become a he said, she said battle in the press."

Rich agreed, but didn't like what he heard. He got up and poured himself a fresh cup of coffee before following the governor to his private office. As they walked, he couldn't get off his mind the last thing the governor said. It sounds like the governor is going into the meeting with his mind already set to keep Benedict off the staff.

Seeing Benedict sitting already in the office brought Rich out of his thoughts. Benedict got up when they walked in and didn't sit back down until the governor asked him to. After greeting each other, the governor made his way around his desk, sat down while Rich and Benedict sat down in the chairs in front of the desk.

Placing his cup of coffee on his desk, the governor leaned back in his seat. "Mr. Benedict as you know, I am not the one that set up this meeting, but I listen to what my advisors advise me to do. I am taking this meeting out of respect to Rich and all the great work you have done for me since you came down here and took over the detail.

With that said, I am still unhappy on what you told me yesterday concerning Josh and Cesar. These are my boys and I will lay my life down for them without question. I know I am their father and I am supposed to say that and mean it, but you were hired to do the same. You knew from day one when I interviewed you that I had two gay sons. I made that clear to all of you and asked each and every one of you if you could do your job and not let that change the way you do your job.

However, you come to me at the worst time and tell me your true feelings about my boys and brother. Damn it..." Daniel slammed his fist against his desk. "I love my boys and my brother too much to watch them get hurt in anyway. If you can't do your job because you have personal feelings about gays, then I can't have you part of this security detail."

"Sir, I know what I said yesterday was wrong of me. Not only because of the timing, but also as well what I actually said. It was wrong and I wish I never said it because that is not my true feelings about homosexuals. I have nothing against them. In fact, I have many as friends, very close friends, besides your brother and sons.

My wording was wrong and I am going to take this time to correct what I said. Not in hopes to get my job back, but to make sure you don't think I am a gay basher, because I'm not. No matter what you decide at this meeting, I want to make sure you know what type of person I am. That is not the person you heard yesterday.

Now let me make clear what I tried to say yesterday. Guarding a person like Josh, Cesar and Isaac, it is a lot more work than guarding even you sir. There are crazies out there that will try to take a shot at them to get their fifteen minutes of fame. More so that they are a family member of a very popular governor and on top of that one of them is about to step into a singing career!

With all this, the security around Josh and Cesar needs to be a lot tighter and stronger than it is right now. You need to double his security detail at least. Even with that, there's no guarantee that nothing is going to go wrong. No amount of security around a person will keep those haters and those that want their fifteen minutes of fame from getting through if they really want to." Benedict looked over to Rich for a few seconds and then back over to the governor. "One last thing, I will lay down my life for your sons and brother if needed. No matter why the person is coming after them, I will do it because that is what I was hired to do and no person deserves to be killed by anyone."

"If you would have said what you said here yesterday, we wouldn't be here today. You are great at your job. Pulling off the impossible as you did yesterday was unbelievable. Not only controlling the scene, arresting the one that did the stabbing, but as well getting the arrest warrants issued for the rest of my ex-wives family. Not too many other people in your line of work would have been able to do that.

Because of that and what you said here today, I am going to just put aside what you said yesterday. All of us were running around like chickens with our heads cut off. In the heat of that moment, things were said that would have normally not have been said if we had a chance to filter our words like we normally do."

Daniel got up from his desk and walked over to his door. He looked out and asked the guard that was standing in the hallway to call for Jonathan before closing the door and walking back to his desk. Rich and Benedict looked at each other trying to see if the other knew what the governor was up to, but they didn't.

"Benedict if you want your job back, it is yours to have." Immediately Benedict said yes with a big smile on his face. "Good, nothing else needs to be said about what happened yesterday from this moment on. It will not even be recorded in your personal record." Just then, they heard a knock on the door and then it opened. Jonathan popped his head in, but waited to for the governor to invite him in.

"Jonathan thank you for coming, please take a seat." Jonathan walked over and took the seat in the middle of Benedict and Rich. "Sir you are fired as head of house security effected immediately." Everyone looked at the governor stunned on what he just done. None of them suspected that at all from him.

"Since you are no longer an employee of the guard detail that the tax payers of this state are paying for, I would like to hire you on as the head of my son's Josh and Cesar's security. You will run a separate detail from Benedict's units, but will also have to find a way to work together. You will hire an entire detail and they will report to you. However, that detail will not be paid by the state. Instead, they will be paid by me personally, just like you. Do you understand what I am asking of you?"

Getting his breathing under control, Jonathan spoke. "Yes sir, you want me to put together another detail to go alongside the detail that Josh and Cesar have right now." The governor nodded. "I am honored that you trust me to do this, but I have a question about all this, Russ and his detail. What is going to happen with them?"

"They are also going to stay on guarding Josh and Cesar. Russ will report to you and Benedict at the same time. I know that is going to be confusing at first, but I trust you guys will figure out how to make sure it works. Maybe Russ just reports to Jonathan and Jonathan briefs you Benedict on things that he feels that you need to know." The governor looked over at Benedict and then Jonathan, looking for agreement from them.

"Russ and his detail will be detached from my security detail, but will report directly to Jonathan and him alone. Too many chiefs will cause confusion, agreed?" Benedict looked over to Jonathan, who was nodding his head. "Just give me a briefing at least once a day and then whenever something comes up that is out of the normal is all I ask so if needed, I can dispatch more men to help out."

"Gentlemen I have a long day ahead of me, and not enough time in the day to get done everything I need to get done." The governor got up and walked around the desk. "I trust you guys to come up with a plan to make this work. Just let me make this one thing as clear as possible. Jonathan and his detail are separate from the rest of the details here. Jonathan you make sure you hire the right people that can do the job because at the end of the day the detail is yours to live with. I recommend former military personal that were in Special Forces. I have contacts in that area if you need it."

Jonathan jumped at the suggestion that the governor gave him. Before leaving, the governor promised to make the calls and get interviews set up first thing next week. As he walked out the door, the governor thought about something that he felt he needed to take care of with Jonathan at that moment.

He turned around and walked back over to Jonathan. "Jonathan instead of me firing you, you resign from your position here. It wouldn't look good on your employment record with me firing you. So resign and make the effective date two weeks from today so it looks all proper and everything. However, in that time period, you will move over to your new position. We have no time to waste on getting up the security that Josh and Cesar need."

Once again, Jonathan agreed with the governor. He promised by the end of the day, his resignation will be written and on the desk. That put a smile on Daniel's face as he bid Benedict and Jonathan goodbye and he and Rich left the office for their long day ahead.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Josh and Cesar were waking up. The nurses kept waking Cesar up every hour when they came in to take his vitals. In return, Josh was wakened as well. They really didn't have a good night sleep, which they knew they needed due to what was coming at them through the day.

Cesar is going to be taken up and down for tests and Josh wasn't about to let him out of his sight. That means he is going to be up and down with Cesar. On top of the tests, they knew without a doubt that the family was going to come down and spend most, if not all the day at the hospital and also their friends will more than likely stop by after school.

Right on schedule, Dr. Whitmore and his staff walked in to see how Cesar was doing. They stayed until breakfast was brought up, which was a liquid diet for Cesar. When Cesar saw what he had to eat, he begged Josh to sneak over to the cafeteria and get him some real food. Not wanting Cesar to feel bad, he joined in and ate the same thing he was eating. That did make Cesar feel better, but at the same time it made him feel bad.

As they finished eating, Daniel Sr., Barbara, Isaac, their brothers and even the twins arrived. Immediately they asked Cesar how he was doing after saying good morning. No surprise to them, Cesar claimed he was doing fine and asked to go home. Daniel Sr. tried to side step the question, but Cesar kept asking it over and over again.

Reluctantly Daniel caved in and tried to answer the question the best that he could. "I don't know when you can go home, but trust me we are not going to have you stay here one day more than you have to son. This is a place none of us want to be in, no matter what. However, we have to follow your doctor's orders. So let's wait and see what Dr. Whitmore has to say about your recovery before we ask him when you will be able to go home."

Cesar hated the answer, but knew he had no other choice but to agree. Daniel Sr., Barbara and Isaac went into the other room to let the kids have fun. They could see in Cesar's face and hear it in his voice that he doesn't want to be here. So hopefully, with all the boys just talking and having fun will take his mind off what he is thinking.

For a while it did. Daniel Jr., Carlos and Brandon were able to keep Cesar occupied enough that he was not thinking about wanting to go home. The only time he was reminded of that was when the nurses came in to take him down to do a test. Every time he came back, they had to start all over to get him to stop thinking and asking about going home.

By noon, Daniel Sr. had left to take care of state matters. Even though he is not in Austin, he still has to deal with state matters that were on his books. Several of the meetings that he was supposed to do, he had his secretary put them back on the books, but via conference on the phone, which worked for the most part. One of the meetings had visual demonstration that he was unable to see, so that meeting had to be rescheduled.

As the Lopez family was making the best of it at the hospital for Cesar, the entire Mendoza family was being pulled out of the holding tanks to be brought in front of a judge for arraignment. The case was put before Judge Ralph Garcia of the 190^th district court. He was a new judge that had no alliance to anyone yet. Knowing that, they knew these cases were going to be handled the way they should, by the book.

By the time the Mendoza family walked into the courthouse, it was packed with local and national press. Seeing that the courtroom was packed with the press, they loved it. They loved the response they were getting from the press corps and was just eating it all up. Martha's father started to chant hateful things abut Josh and those like him in Spanish. At first, the press corps had no idea what he was saying. They had to get someone to translate.

Just as they got a Spanish interpreter, the courtroom was called to order. A few seconds after the bailiff called the courtroom into order, a young Hispanic guy, with red hair, who does not look over a day of thirty walked out of the judges chambers in a black robe. Everyone quieted down as Judge Garcia sat down and started looking over the charges.

He read the charges before coming out, but he was doing it again so he didn't make any mistakes. Once he felt he couldn't get any more familiar with the charges, he put the folders down and looked out to the gallery. Not saying a word, he just stared everyone down in the gallery before making his way to the witness stand where he started sizing up the Mendoza family.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I'm going to keep these proceedings open to the public unless the prosecution or the defense has a problem with it." Judge Garcia looked at both parties. They took turns saying they had no problem with his decision. "If any of you speak out of line, you will not be asked to leave my courtroom. No, you will be held in contempt and taken into custody. So take this as your only warning. There will be no outburst of any kind as I hear the cases."

They heard Judge Garcia was going to be harsh, but didn't believe it until now. "Now let's go ahead and work ourselves up to the main case here. Bring before me all those that were arrested yesterday at their hotel and were not at the crime scene." Everyone except Martha's father stepped forward with court appointed attorneys.

"Your honor, my clients did nothing wrong and were only arrested because they are related to the one that was found at the scene. Governor Lopez and his staff used their influence here in this state to get the warrants issued for my clients, which if it was any other person, the warrants wouldn't have been issued. Therefore, I am asking this court to throw out the arrest warrants and release my clients immediately."

"Do you think this court is blind sir?" Judge Garcia looked down at the attorney that was talking who started to shake his head. "Not only your clients were heard making threats towards the governor of this state, his family, but as well destroyed the governor's house. As they were destroying the governor's house, they wrote what they planned to do to the governor and his family if they were given a chance.

Since the EPPD or the governor's own security detail cannot say positively who were the ones that wrote that, I am going to agree it was all of them since all their fingerprints were over the room in question. Therefore, the terrorist warrants will stand. With that said, what are they going to plead, guilty or not guilty?"

One by one the Mendoza family stepped forward and pleaded not guilty. Once all their pleas were entered, their attorneys tried to get them bail, which Judge Garcia denied. That not only surprised their attorney's, but also surprised the people that were in the gallery.

"There is no way I going to release these individuals back on the street to finish what one of their family members allegedly tried to do. This family has a history on trying to harm the governor and his family. Their daughter, the governor's ex-wife was shot and killed when she tried to hurt the governor's current wife. That was not the first time she tried to harm the first family of Texas. I know you all know where I am going and there is no need to waste the courts time going over what we all know.

No sir, these individuals are going to stay locked up until they get in front of an immigration judge. There they will be stripped of their visas and sent back to Mexico. After that happens and if they are caught back here in the United States, they will be arrested on the spot and automatically sent to prison."

Judge Garcia looked over at the sheriffs in his courtroom. "Take these individuals out of my courtroom, I am done with them." The sheriffs walked up to the Mendoza family that was still stunned on getting the news that they just got, and handcuffed them. As they were being escorted out, they looked at their attorneys yelling in Spanish why they were not being set free as they were promised was going to happen. All the attorneys could do is asking them to settle down and they will join them in a few minutes to explain everything.

Once all the Mendoza family was cleared out of the courtroom, Martha's father was escorted from the jury box to the defense table. Judge Garcia looked to see who the defense attorney of record was for Mr. Mendoza. He was surprised to see an old friend that he worked alongside at his former law firm.

"Mr. Myers it is good to see you up and about." Mr. Myers looked up at the judge with a huge grin across his face. "It shouldn't have surprised me that you are the attorney of record for this defendant since you love the high profile cases." The judge looked over at the prosecution and waved her over.

"Mrs. Salazar the defense attorney, Mr. Raymond Myers works at my former law firm. Before becoming a judge, I tried cases with him. Since there is a former relationship there with the defense attorney, I will allow you to put in a motion for me to step down. However, before you do, let me tell you that I can continue with this case and not show any favoritism to the defense. If he thinks due to our friendship that he was going to get special treatment in here, he is sadly mistaken."

Mrs. Salazar looked back at the defense table to see a stunned Mr. Myers. Seeing that, she turned and informed the judge that she had no problem with him staying on as the judge. Judge Garcia thanked the prosecution and asked her to step back.

"Mr. Myers we are going to follow court procedure. I will not tolerate any games or stunts that you are known to do. Your client will be called forward, the charges will be read and then he will enter his plea. After he does that, I will set bail and then the next court date. Nothing more is going to happen here today and if you attempt to try and circumvent the procedures of this court, you will be found in contempt. Do you understand everything I am saying here?"

"Yes sir I do understand what you are saying." The bailiff called the case number, but before he was able to read the charges, Mr. Myers stopped him. "My client waives the reading, but not the rights. He pleads not guilty! As your honor can see, he has no record, not even a parking ticket. So therefore I am asking this court to give him ROR."

"I object your honor on giving this defendant ROR. The defense attorney was right when he said his client has no record to speak of, but that is here in the United States, what about Mexico. Put that aside, he is not a citizen of this country and what would be stopping him from high tailing it back over the border once he is set free on ROR. I ask this court to set bail so high that he can't even reach it with a bails bondsman."

"Your honor the prosecution's request is not only outrageous, but..." Judge Garcia raised his hand, stopping Mr. Myers. "I don't need to hear anymore arguments from either side on bail in this matter. I had my mind made up on the bail amount before I even walked in here today, and nothing that was said by either of you has changed my mind on that."

Judge Garcia looked straight in Martha's father's eyes. "Mr. Eduardo Mendoza you are lucky that you committed this crime in a country that gives you rights that the country you are from doesn't. If you would have done what you did here in your country, there is no doubt that you would have been lost between the crime scene and the jail.

You attempted to murder not only a citizen of this country, but one of the sons of our sitting governor. No matter where our personal views are as far as this governor, we as Texans and Americans will not tolerate anyone taking it upon him or herself to kill members of an elected official's family. In fact, we will not tolerate anyone from this country or any country for that matter killing each other off.

Under the laws of this land, you are given the opportunity to plea your case in front of a jury of your peers. I won't take that from you, even though you are not a citizen of this country. Those that will be sitting in that jury box will not be a jury of your peers since they are citizens of this country, not citizens of your country.

With that said, I am denying defense request on giving you ROR. You are going to be held without bail until you are found either guilty or not guilty by twelve citizens of this county. For your protection, I will be moving you into protective custody while you are a guest of this state. Nothing is going to stop us giving you a fair and just trial."

"Your honor I object to his bail. As I have said, my client doesn't even have a j-walking ticket on his record. Even the charge he is being charged with requires you to set some kind of bail for him, which you are not. If you don't give my client bail, you will leave me with no other choice but to take this up to appeals to get the bail."

"You can do whatever you feel you have to do, but the bail I set will stay as is. The appeals court won't overturn my decision on not giving your client bail and let me tell you why so you don't waste your time. First, he is not a citizen of this country. Even if his visa is taken away from him, he can still run to Mexico and there is nothing we can do to stop him.

Secondly, everything I have on hand as how far this defendant will go, I must keep him locked up. Not only for the safety of the governor, the governor's family, but as well for all the innocent citizens that might get caught in the crossfire. By what has been presented to this court, he doesn't care about the law of this land. All he cares about is getting revenge and that I can't have on my watch."

Mr. Myers tried to object, but Judge Garcia held up his hand. "I have made my ruling and I will not change it no matter what you have to say. Your client will be remanded to the custody of the sheriff's department and will remain there until his trial is over." The judge pounded his gavel. "This court stands in recess until one."

Judge Garcia got up and made his way to his chambers, followed by Mr. Myers. When they reached the door to the judge's chambers, Judge Garcia made it clear that he wasn't going to talk about the case anymore, more so that the district attorney is not present. That didn't make Mr. Myers happy, but he had no other choice but to except it.

All through lunch, just like all morning long, Eric, Bernice and the others were asked what they knew about the stabbing. No matter what they said, their fellow students and even a few teachers didn't believe them. Everyone at the school knows how close they are to each other, so they figured Josh's friends knew more than they were letting on.

Eric was about to go off on several students that had walked up to him and the others asking the same questions they were getting all day long when the bell rang. With a laugh, Eric looked at the guys and answered their question saved by the bell. At the first the other students had no idea what he meant by that, but by the time they got to the stairway that leads up to the first floor, they caught on.

Josh's friends thought they were getting the worst of it, but boy were they wrong. As the students piled into the old auditorium, they were stunned on the announcement that was made once the attendance was done. They knew Josh wasn't going to be there, but they didn't think their instructors were going to do what they had done.

Mr. Franklin was nowhere to be seen, so Mr. Edgar took roll call before calling up Sharon on the stage. When he called her name, she was as stunned as the others in the class were. Reluctantly she made her way to where Mr. Edgar was standing, but she had a weird feeling in her gut whatever he was about to do, was not going to be any good.

"Ladies and Gentleman, from the beginning of the year, Mr. Franklin and I made it clear that attendance is a must if you want to stay in Los Tigres. No one, I mean no one is above anyone else in this class. It doesn't matter who that person is, or what that person has done. He or she must be here in class every single day without question.

To make sure you guys understand that we mean what we said, Josh is being removed as the soloist of Los Tigres and Sharon here is going to be moved into his position." All at once, the students started yelling at Mr. Edgar, but he refused to answer their questions that they threw at him. "I don't care what you guys have to say, it will not change my mind or Mr. Franklins. Josh is no different from any of you and he missed school today. You all know what happens when you miss school, no exceptions."

This time the students didn't say a word, they just sat there quietly. Then one of them stood up, grabbed his books and started to walk out of the auditorium. The others just looked at each other for a few seconds before doing the same. Mr. Edgar couldn't believe what he was seeing, his students making a stand by walking out on him.

"If you walk out that door, you will not be allowed to come back." Mr. Edgar yelled out. The student that started the walk out stopped, turned around and walked back in.

"I would like to see you get another group of students here at this school together that can sing and do what we can do in time for the concert and the competition in a couple of weeks. You know as well as I do you can't do it! So don't throw out threats that we all know you can't deliver on."

Just as the student turned to walk out, he ran into Mr. Franklin, who was surprised on what he walked into. He asked the students where they were going. When he got the answer, to their councilors, he didn't understand. When the students explained why they were going to get their schedule changed, he was angry as all hell.

"The decision on removing Josh for the soloist position was not cleared by me. Trust me when I say that will never happen and more so on the reason that was given to you guys for it happening here." He held open the doors to the auditorium. "Why don't we all just settle down and come back in. We have a lot of work to do in order to get ready for the concert and not enough time in the day to get it all done."

Reluctantly, the students turned around and walked back to their seats. On their way, they all looked over at Mr. Edgar, giving him a dirty look. As the students settled in, Mr. Franklin pulled his fellow teacher to the side. Mr. Edgar could see by the look in Mr. Franklin's face he was about to explode.

"It is taking every ounce of energy in my body to not say what I want to tell you. I don't want our students to hear us at odds, so I am going to wait until after class to deal with you. However, this time, I am not going to keep this between the two of us. We are going to go down and see Principal Michaels to let him decide whom he wants to keep, either you or me. By the end of the day, one of us is no longer going to be teaching here."

Mr. Franklin left Mr. Edgar in the corner. He apologized to the class again before moving onto what he had planned for the day. Once they all let go of what Mr. Edgar tried to do, they started to sing without missing a beat. The rest of the period flew by and before they knew it, the bell rang ending fourth period.

As the students left, Mr. Franklin gathered his files and made his way to the door. Mr. Edgar followed, hoping that he could talk Mr. Franklin out of going to see Principal Michaels. All the way down to the principal's office, Edgar pleaded with Franklin, but Franklin was refusing to let his fellow instructor talk him out of doing what he knew he should have done a long time ago.

When they reached Principal Michaels office, the final bell rang. The secretaries of Michaels took one look at the two instructors that were walking up to the counter and knew why they were there. One of them picked up the phone and informed their boss that two of his instructors were asking to see him. As soon as she put down the receiver, she told Mr. Franklin and Edgar to go on back.

All the way down the hall, Mr. Edgar tried to get Franklin once again to reconsider, but he got the cold shoulder. When Principal Michaels saw Mr. Franklins face, he knew the shit was about to hit the fan. He knew that it had to do with Mr. Edgar and whatever it is, must be bad because they are now standing in his office.

"Gentleman please take a seat and tell me what I can do for you." Principal Michaels pointed to the seats in front of his desk as he took his seat.

Not wasting any time, Mr. Franklin explained why they were there. He not only told Principal Michaels about the stunt that Edgar pulled earlier, but about everything else he had done. As Franklin was talking, Principal Michaels looked over at Edgar and saw fear in his face. There was no doubt in the principal's mind that Edgar knew he screwed up.

"Okay, is that all you need to tell me Mr. Franklin?" Mr. Franklin nodded his head, but was puzzled on the response he got from his boss. "Since you have said your peace, you can go now and leave Mr. Edgar and me alone."

Mr. Franklin got up from his seat and walked over to the door. He couldn't shake the feeling that Principal Michaels was just going to slap Mr. Edgar on the hand. Knowing that and his students the way he does, there is no way his students were going to stay in his class another minute with Edgar still there.

"I do not know what Mr. Edgar has on you sir, but whatever it is, it can't hurt you as much as me walking out would." Mr. Franklin turned and spoke in a stern voice. "If you don't remove him from my class and away from my students immediately, I will walk. It is either him or me, but you can't have both of us."

"I understand that you are frustrated, give it time and you will..." Mr. Franklin interrupted his boss. "Frustrated, I passed frustrated weeks ago. No sir, I am downright angry and tired of all the stunts this guy is pulling. The stunt he pulled today was the last straw sir! I want him out of my class as far away as possible. If you refuse to do the right thing here, I am walking."

Principal Michaels knew there was nothing he was going to be able to say to Mr. Franklin that was going to settle him down this time, so he didn't try. He let Mr. Franklin leave without responding to what he had said. Once he was gone, Principal Michaels turned his attention to Mr. Edgar.

"I do not know what is wrong with you or what you have against Josh, but what ever it is, is it worth your job?" Mr. Edgar shook his head. "Then why are you doing what you are doing? It doesn't make any sense to me that you know what you are doing is wrong, but yet you keep doing it. You keep shooting yourself in your foot."

"Sir, we have a standing rule in Los Tigres and that is no one, no matter who they are, can miss a day of school. More so, that we are in crunch time mode getting ready for not one, but two shows back to back! Josh was not at school today, which means he broke the standing rule. In return, he needs to be removed as our soloist. No matter what he has done, he is not above the rules of this group."

"My understanding is Josh has really not missed one day of school this year, unlike his attendance last year, which we all know why that was. Putting that aside. Josh had no other choice but to miss school today because of what happened to him yesterday coming out of the television station." Principal Michaels got up from his seat and walked around his desk until he was standing directly in front of Mr. Edgar.

"Josh was almost killed yesterday. The only reason he wasn't killed was because of his boyfriend's quick response on jumping in front of the knife. In return, he is the one that got stabbed and almost died. If you were in his spot and it was your wife, you can't tell me that I wouldn't have received a call from you or a family member telling me that you were not going to come into work today."

"That is a totally different situation all together. Neither this state, nor this country recognizes same sex relationships. Under that thinking, he doesn't have the same rights that we have as straight couples. Therefore, he should be here in school, not out there sitting at his boyfriend's bedside playing nurse maid."

Being knocked down on his butt, it took a few minutes for Principal Michaels to respond to what Mr. Edgar just spit out. Finally the truth of why Mr. Edgar seems to be against Josh. It wasn't because Josh was the worst singer or that he was being shown any kind of favoritism. No it boiled down to what seems to be the same old story when the topic has to deal with gays comes up. They are not recognized under the law, so they should not be given the same latitude and rights that straight couples take for granted and misuse every day.

"Mr. Edgar, I hope I misunderstood what you just said, because if I didn't, we have a whole new set of problems here." Michaels looked straight into Mr. Edgar's eyes, trying to get a read. "Are you sitting there telling me that you hate gays and that they shouldn't be given the same rights we all have?"

"No sir I am not saying that at all. I have no problem with whom Josh fell in love with and dates. That's his life and he will get whatever is coming to him for choosing to live that life. What I was trying to clarify was that Josh is no more important in Los Tigres than I am, Mr. Franklin is or any other student in that class is.

Yes, he does give us things that we would not have if he was not part of Los Tigres, but they are all extras. We can do without the extra work and headaches that comes with all the extras Josh brings to the table being part of Los Tigres. On top of that, the negative stuff that he brings, over shadows the positive things.

Moreover, he broke the standing rule that all the students have to follow and that is attendance. He is not here at school today, so he can't sing at the concert or the competition that weekend as well. We will hurt and more than likely lose the meet, but we have to show that no one, I mean no one is above anyone else no matter what they bring to the table."

"Where do I even start on what you are saying here to me? First, let me say to you, Mr. Edgar, you or I can't keep Josh from performing at the concert. It is not a school event first of all, and secondly he is on the ticket with George Strait. It is his job and he is making money out of it. We are the guests in that concert and we are the ones that can be disinvited if the crap hits the fan. If we do get uninvited, can you tell me where we can raise the money we are going to get in the same amount of time."

"No sir I cannot, but that still does..."

"I heard you out, now you hear me out. You have no right to remove Josh from the concert, end of story. You have the right to remove him from the other performance, but I would have over ruled that even if Mr. Franklin was onboard with that decision. Why Josh is missing school today was out of his control and he should not be penalized for it."

Principal Michaels retook his seat and pulled out Mr. Edgar's personal file. "Since you lost Josh last year, you have had it in for him. I am tired of hearing all the complaints and mumbling in the halls on how you plan to get rid of Josh from Los Tigres. I know most of what I hear in the hall is gossip, but there has to be some kind of truth to it in order for the gossip to get started.

With that said, I am going to remove you from Mr. Franklin's class. You will not get your own classes until the school board hears your case. For the mean time, you will be stationed here in the office helping out where needed. Your pay will not be affected nor will your tenure as well." The principal looked up from his desk.

"Let me make a few things clear to you before you leave my office. You are not to go near Josh or the students in Los Tigres or the rest of the classes you were teaching alongside Mr. Franklin. If the board decides to put you back in classes, you won't teach with Mr. Franklin. I will give you regular music classes, but nothing like you had before. If the board decides to remove you, well we will save that part of the conversation for that time. Is there any questions on what you can and cannot do?"

Mr. Edgar shook his head and with that, Principal Michaels asked him to leave his office and to go home. Slowly Mr. Edgar got up and walked out of the office. He was more embarrassed than anything else. So instead of going to get his things from the classroom, he headed straight out of the building to his car in the teachers parking lot.

Just as Mr. Edgar drove off, the final bell rang, excusing classes for the day. Bernice, Eric and the others in their circle grabbed their books and hurried out of the building. Father Gomez was waiting for them out on Schuster Street to take them to see Cesar and Josh.

Once everyone piled into the car, Father Gomez drove off. It didn't take him long at all to get from El Paso High School to Providence. It actually took him more time to find a parking spot than it did to drive down there. When he finally found a spot, they all got out and made their way to Cesar's room, going through several security checks along the way.

When they finally got to the top floor, they heard Josh's voice. At first they thought something was wrong with Cesar, but when they got closer to Josh, they found out that they were way off base. Josh was not talking to doctors or nurses. He was talking to several guys in suits that were making him angrier by the second.

"Sir, if you take our recommendations, your CD will fly off the shelves and the concert would be sold out. I know it doesn't sound right, but we need to take advantage of what happened to your boyfriend while we can."

"No I will not do that, hell no." Josh angrily shouted at the representatives from his record label. "I will not go out there and say what you want me to say in order to sell more tickets or CD's. I'd rather not have a career before I ever do what you want me to do." Josh turned and started to walk back to Cesar's room, but stopped halfway and turned back around. "Tear up my contract, because I don't want to be part of a label that is willing to do what you guys are asking me to do."

TO BE CONTINUED...

WRITER'S CORNER:

{Welcome back one and all to another exciting chapter of "Shadow of My Father". I hope you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I did writing it. I know I didn't go too far in the time line, but a lot happened in this chapter that I couldn't rush. Right now the story is on January 17, 1992 and will get rushed through in the next couple chapters.

The chapter picked up right where it was left off at, which was at the hospital with Cesar waking up. I gave you all a little back ground that was not in the last chapter with the talk between Dr. Whitmore and the governor. Now that Cesar woke up that talk might be obsolete, but who knows I am evil and I might throw in health issues on Cesar down the line due to the stabbing.

It is good to see that Cesar woke up and was moved to a room. I also liked the fact that Josh was allowed to stay with Cesar through the night. They are too far in love with each other; they cannot be without each other through a night. Proving that point is Josh crawling into bed with Cesar, showing a true love there.

No surprise to me it was Barbara who settled down the governor and got him to rethink what he decided on. It looks like the boys are staying in El Paso. That is a good decision and decision that needed to be made. Their friends and everything else is there. It is not the right time for them to be uprooted and moved out of El Paso to a new city they really don't know much about.

Was anyone surprised on the governor's decision to bring back on board Benedict? They worked out their problems and came to an agreement. Benedict is good at what he does and needs to stay on board because of how good he is. I hope you all agree and can see why the governor did what he did the day before and then went back on it.

The new security around Josh and Cesar, what do you guys think about that? Do you think it is too much? Do you think Josh and Cesar are going to feel like prisoners? Me I think it is needed and I don't think they will feel like prisoners. Only time will tell us the answer to that question and many more dealing with security around Josh.

What in the hell is going on with Mr. Edgar. Let me tell you, if I was in that class, I would have done the same thing. It took Mr. Franklin coming in to save his choir group. Mr. Edgar went too far and the students had enough of it. They didn't sit by and let anyone steal their chances on winning their meets, or at least their best way on getting that done that is.

Principal Michaels had to juggle a lot of ball on that issue and I think he came down with the right decision. Leaving it to the school board is the best decision since they have been overturning all his decisions lately. I wonder where the school board is going to land on this. I also wonder if we are going to see any more of Mr. Edgar. What do you guy's think about the Edgar issue? Was the right thing done?

Finally the ending I know it is another cliffhanger and I am not going to give much away on this plot here. All I can say is tune in to the next chapter and you will get your answer on what has Josh all up in arms. What was said or asked of him to do or say that got him to tell the record label to stick the contract where the sun doesn't shine? Is there anyone out there that can fix this? I truly hope so because Josh deserves a record deal.

So much going on in this story and not enough paper to write it all! I know if I forgot anything in my writer's corner about this chapter, Trevor will take care of it in his corner. There are still a lot of open plots out there that I have not even touched on, and many more new plots are to come. I hope that you all didn't forget about any of those plots, and if you did, well then it will be a lot of fun when they come back up again. So hold onto your hats ladies and gentleman, the ride is just beginning!

I could stay here all day long, with all the open plots already in this story, but I will not. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jpg@tickiestories.us, Thanks!}

EDITOR'S CORNER:

Thank god, Cesar looks as if he is going to be ok; it was also a nice touch having Josh stay at the hospital with his lover. I know that means a lot when you are in hospital because it happened to me when I was the victim of a gay bashing in the 50's and if my partner hadn't stayed with me my stay would have been a lot longer I'm sure. Love is a good cure for many ailments.

Barbara's `pillow' talk with Daniel Sr. also cleared a few things up allowing Mr. Benedict to stay on. He is a good man who has worked hard for the first family and I'm sure he will continue to do so.

I always suspected that Mr. Edgars motives were anti-gay related. Sadly attitudes like Mr. Edgar's still abound today. All their friends must have been beside themselves when they heard the news and their school day would have been a very long one.

Finally, the ranting and raving of Josh there at the hospital, what is going on there? At least we only have to wait until Monday for the answer.

The Adventure of Cliff & Derek is my next posting on Wednesday next week and of course, another episode of Shadow of My Father will be published on Monday.

Hugs Trevor

trevor@jacobmillertex.com