Memories Part 2: Spreading The Hope

One hour later....

Jamie and Jacob waved to Doc Austin as he split off from them. "Thanks Doc!" They then turned to their guests.

"Guys, let us take care of introductions." Jamie advised as he placed a hand on Dmitry and Dominic's shoulders. "We'll try to deflect the tough questions."

Both boys nodded, then followed as Jacob led them through the first stage security doors. "We are at alert; you guys need to be put into the system or else you'll set off the alarms."

Dmitry giggled. "That's what you think; take a look, we ain't here!"

Jacob looked at the display and giggled. "Okay dufus! No fair hiding behind your Phasenmorphs! Get your butts over here so you can legally get into CIC!"

Dominic looked at Jacob strangely. "We would have to be Clan members for you to do that."

Jamie smiled. "Yeah, you do. Welcome to the family, guys!"

"She's gonna be soooooooooo pissed!" Dmitry giggled. "I guess it's gonna be easier to do our jobs if we're part of the group though; let's do it!"

"Nyo might get a kick out of it," added Dominic.

"Y'alls evil!" Jacob giggled. "Tell the 'morphs to relax so I can get you in the system."

After a minute, Jacob waved them over. "Okay, Dmitry, you first for the bioscan. Once that's over with, you guys can come and go whenever you want."

"Hey, while you're scanning me, do you think you can tell me if my leg muscles are healed all the way?" Dmitry asked.

"Not from this terminal. We'll have Doc check you out tomorrow; he might be able to help you if they ain't."

"Actually my body will take care of that," said Dmitry. "I just wanted to know how well it's taking care of it."

"Whatever." Jacob replied. "Think about it; the same bed that fixed your boyfriend's eyes could fix your legs in about five minutes. Up to you dude."

"Dude, really I don't need it, my body heals ten times faster then yours could ever hope to," said Dmitry.

Dominic gave Jacob a blank stare, "Our relationship is for us to talk about when we're ready to talk about it."

"Dom, he didn't mean anything by it," whispered Dmitry.

"I will not have someone else telling us something that we haven't had time to talk about yet and decide for ourselves." Dominic replied.

Jamie slapped Jacob upside the head. "Think before you speak bro. Dmitry, Dominic; you guys have my permission to toss him in the pool first chance you get. You guys are close; that is obvious. How you feel about each other is between you two; we're here to talk to if you are having problems sorting out how you feel though. Until then the subject is dropped."

"Well you want to talk about it now?" Dmitry asked quietly. "Do you not want to be my boyfriend?"

Dominic sighed, "It's not that DT, I just wanted to actually sit down with you in a nice setting and actually ask you."

Dmitry pulled Dominic into a hug.

"Can I ask you instead?" Dmitry whispered into Dominic's ear.

Dominic wrapped his arms around Dmitry and nodded.

Dmitry smiled, "Will you be my boyfriend?"

"Yes," replied Dominic with a content sigh.

Jacob smiled. "Does this mean you guys want a private bedroom tonight?"

Dominic groaned and hid his face, "Okay DT you get his left side, I'll get his right, just tell me where the pool is."

"Yeah sure," giggled Dmitry. "We'll take that room."

"Hey! Whose side are you on?" asked Dominic looking up from Dmitry's chest.

Dmitry smiled, "Okay, okay, we'll take that room some other night."

Dominic groaned again and buried his face once more.

Jamie giggled. "Bro, you are gonna be soooooo dead! C'mon guys, lets get inside before my brother runs out of feet to put in his mouth!"

They entered through the second set of doors and walked across the hall to CIC. They were no more than five feet inside the door when a black haired ten year old broke away from his work and rushed over to them.

"Bathroom huh? Let me guess, you found them in the sink. Really great way to say you missed me; disappear for over an hour." Beau said as he came to a stop in front of them. "I'm Beau, and these are MY boyfriends. Who are you?"

"Actually they did find us in the bathroom," Dmitry giggled.

Dominic gave Beau a look that could make a Vulcan cry, "I've been tortured and sent all over this damn planet in the last month. On top of that, I've got the headache from hell that I'm just getting over. Trust me; the last thing I want is your boyfriends! If you have a problem with me then lets go outside and I'll kick your ass, if you have a problem with your boyfriends then leave me out of it; I have a hard enough time keeping myself out of the trouble that mine gets me into. But I'm not having the best week and the last thing I need is someone getting in my face about something that's not my problem."

By the time Dominic finished, Gabe was standing with the group. He gave Beau a cold look. "Mr. Wagner; your conduct is an inappropriate way to welcome guests. Jamie and Jacob were performing official business which I was aware of. I would suggest you calm down now." He then turned to Dominic and Dmitry. "Guys, I'm sorry about that; that is not the way we welcome guests to the compound. I'm Gabe; right now I'm in charge since our Patriarch is away. Welcome to Clan Headquarters; I'm guessing the terrors put you in the system already so you should be free to roam around. I didn't catch your names, but if you are not feeling good go ahead and grab a seat anywhere to relax."

"Hi Gabe, I'm Dmitry and this is my boyfriend Dominic." Dmitry said cheerfully.

Dominic looked Beau over; muttering something in Russian before he turned his attention to Gabe.

"Not good Dom," whispered Dmitry. "That doesn't help."

Dominic closed his eyes and sighed, "Thank you for the welcome."

Gabe smiled. "Dude, I understand. These three have set world records for putting their feet in their mouths. If you don't mind sharing the couch with our newest rugrat you can have a front row seat to watch this circus. Jamie just told me that right now you guy's history is confidential; I'll make sure everyone knows not to ask you anything more than you volunteer. We should be taking a late dinner break shortly; we can do introductions with everyone then."

"That sounds great, thanks Gabe," said Dmitry as he started to pull Dominic towards the couch.

As they reached the couch Dominic stopped and looked Matty sitting on Rusty's lap for a moment and then grinned, "I have one of those." He then held up his left arm, "but it's not quite as big."

Dmitry giggled as he sat down and then pulled Dominic into his lap, "Dom are you saying that this little guy is dangerous."

"No comment," Dominic said with a smile.

Gabe gave them a curious look. "If you knew what the munchkin did earlier you'd know what dangerous was! All Jamie told me was that those are your pets on your arms; what are you able to tell me about them Dominic?"

"Actually we were here for that earlier," Dmitry said quickly.

"They're called Phasenmorphs, they have a number of purpose," stated Dominic. "We've mainly been using them to mask our bio signatures and block all of your telepaths. But they also serve as a weapon and shields that we can control through our mental link with them."

"And they're really cool!" added Dmitry. "I named mine Giggle."

Gabe's jaw dropped. "Wow; I gotta get one of those! It'd be great keeping Kyle outta my head! Hey, would you guy's mind helping out with security if we go to red alert? I'm always needing more Security personnel; it sounds like you might be all set with them helping you."

"Umm actually Kyle is the one person it has problems with," replied Dominic. "Kyle is something that it's never encountered before so it has trouble blocking him without over compensating. And sure, we can help you out if you want us to."

"That will at least make me feel like I'm paying you'll back for the food we've been borrowing from you guys," said Dmitry.

Gabe smiled. "You guys are part of the Clan now; any way you feel comfortable helping would be great. I guess I could settle for blocking the terrible twosome; that's still better than right now. Dmitry, you make it sound like you guys have been around a while; can you explain better or is that part of what you can't say?"

Matty had been slowly creeping across the couch while they were talking. He looked around to make sure nobody was paying attention, then reached up to where Dominic's left arm was draped on the back of the couch and gently ran his fingers over the Phasenmorph. He giggled when the creature started vibrating and giving off an audible purr. "Kewl, he's puwwin'!" Matty giggled.

Suddenly Dominic's eyes got really big and then he half closed them and sighed, "He definitely likes that."

Dmitry giggled, "Awesome! Oh right; we've been watching you guys since you were in South Carolina, it's been about three days."

"Yeah; and if I ever see someone kill a cup of coffee the way that Caleb did the other night again, I think I'll go ape." added Dominic softly.

"And I didn't notice your sleeping habits until it was too late for me to check everyone out." pouted Dmitry.

"You'll live," said Dominic as he laid his head back and sighed again. "Oh that feels so good."

Matty settled in next to the pair as he continued to stroke the Phasenmorph. "Whats his name Dommynick? Why do you feel good when I pet him?"

"His name is Eyes," Dominic said softly. "I can feel you petting him because his nervous system is tied into mine. It's the same link that I use to talk to him with in my head."

"Kewl!" Matty replied as he focused all of his attention on Eyes.

Gabe giggled as he noticed Johnny come up on Dmitry's right side. "I think you've started something! Look out Dmitry!"

Johnny giggled. "Can I pet yours, Deemeetee?"

Dominic laughed. "At least my name sounds better then yours when it's butchered."

"Yeah sure you can pet him if you want," giggled Dmitry. "Deemeetee? That almost sounds like what you call me Dom...among other things."

"Hey!" said Dominic.

Gabe shook his head. "You guys really have been around three days? It's cool, we ain't got nothing to hide; but if you can tell us, I'm curious why and how you stayed hidden."

"We work for a very old agency that is interested in seeing your clan progress and grow," said Dominic. "For the time being something happened that has left us stranded here but hopefully the issue will resolve itself soon."

"As to staying hidden, Giggle and Eyes took care of most of the detection," continued Dmitry. "But for visual we have personal cloaking devices, which are just about dead at this point; they only have power for three days."

Gabe nodded. "That's good enough for me. If there is any way we can help you recharge your cloaking devices just say the word and we'll help out. Do me one favor though; let me know before you guys have to leave. Oh, let your boss know that you don't have to hide to watch us when nobody else is around; that way you can save your cloaks for when you need them."

"Umm okay cool," replied Dmitry. "I'll have to check my handheld to see how to recharge the cells. And if you need our help while we're here we're more then willing to help out."

"I'm a better shot," Dominic commented with a grin.

"You're cuter too!" Dmitry giggled.

Gabe was suddenly distracted by Alec. "GABE!! Get over here NOW! We got problems!"

Gabe rushed to Alec's side and looked at the data stream. He was just about to comment when the secure line rang once again. "Here we go." Gabe groaned.

"Clan Short Headquarters, Gabe speaking."

"Gabriel, there is an unfortunate development in the trial you are monitoring. It appears that David and Jimmy have suffered the same brainwashing which you had advised me that Matthew suffered. I would strongly suggest that you stand by to recover the subjects which your personnel are guarding."

Gabe glanced over at the twins then returned his attention to the screen. "I believe that might not be necessary. We have personnel who are trained for such situations. Rest assured the prosecutor is not going to expect the answers he receives."

"I see." the caller responded with surprise. "Well I trust your expertise in this matter and although I am quite concerned, I will defer to your judgment on it as long as the parties involved will remain safe."

"As you are aware, that is always our priority." Gabe replied. "I believe you will appreciate the outcome."

"Very well then, I will leave it in your capable hands; thank you for your assistance." the caller said before terminating the call.

Gabe turned quickly to Xain. "Xain, give the twins everything you have on what was done to Matty. Jamie, Jacob; stand by to deploy, full security gear."

"Is there any way that we can be of assistance?" asked Dmitry.

"Please don't make me go anywhere," Dominic whispered to Dmitry. "I've still got a really bad headache."

Dmitry smiled and then kissed Dominic on the cheek, "That's okay Dom, you need rest anyway." Dmitry looked back at Gabe, "Is there any way that I can be of assistance then?"

Gabe gave a small smile. "If you want to back these guys as security it'd help a lot; that way they can concentrate on their work. Do you have enough power left in your cloak?"

"Yeah, we conserved a few hours worth last night by shutting them off while we slept," replied Dmitry.

"Mmmm, last night," Dominic said softly.

"Hmm I think petting your Phasenmorph has a strange effect on you," said Dmitry.

Dominic blushed, "Oh crap did I say that out loud?"

"Yes you did!" Gabe giggled. "You guys are gonna fit it great around here. Dmitry as soon as Xain says he's ready we'll transport you guys out. You might need to tell Giggle it's okay."

"Okay, that shouldn't be too hard," said Dmitry as he carefully slid out from under Dominic. "Hey Johnny I'm gonna need my arm back for a little while."

"Okay Deemeetee! Can I play wit' him when you get back? Pweeeeze?"

Dmitry smiled, "Sure maybe later tonight Johnny." Dmitry then turned his attention to Xain, "Giggle is ready now so I'm ready whenever you are Xain."

Xain nodded. "My brothers have acquired the required information. Alec, notify Lafayette to prepare to transport three personnel."

Dominic got up and walked over to Dmitry as he was taking his place to transport out. When he got there he hugged Dmitry tightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek saying "be careful" before returning to his seat. Once he sat back down Matty asked "Can I pet your kitty some more?"

"Sure I think he would like that." said Dominic.

Dmitry joined Jamie and Jacob in the center of the room. A few seconds later, they dematerialized.

"Whewd dey go Dommynick?" Matty asked in awe.

"They used a special machine that lets them move from one place to another faster then you can snap your fingers," replied Dominic. "I've never used the machine that they just used but I've used one that's kinda like it, its kind of fun."

"Kewl!" Matty exclaimed as he went back to petting Eyes.

 

One hour later:

Five shimmering columns appeared in the center of CIC. As soon as the group materialized, Jamie immediately escorted a subdued Dmitry over to Dominic. "Dom, you need to give Dmitry a little support. Things didn't go too smoothly."

"What did you do to him?" Dominic said darkly as he got up and pulled Dmitry into a hug.

"Don't do that Dom," replied Dmitry softly. "They didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh, sorry Jamie. But then what's wrong," whispered Dominic.

"I killed someone," said Dmitry.

"Well did they deserve it?" asked Dominic.

"What's that got to do with it?" replied Dmitry. "I still killed someone."

"It has everything to do with it!" said Dominic as he pulled Dmitry over to the couch and sat him down. "Dmitry, don't you remember what Ark was telling us during training about different kinds of people? There are people in this world that don't deserve to be here; but because of the laws of this world they are allowed to live. But if you throw away all of those laws and just follow what's right in your heart, then everything becomes clear. It's part of our job to make sure that those that cause others pain pay for what they did; that way no one will ever have to go through something like what we've had to go through."

"It still hurts though," Dmitry said as he laid his head on Dominic's chest.

"That's because you're a good person DT," replied Dominic. "If it didn't bother you then I'd be worried."

"I love you Dom," Dmitry said quietly.

Dominic kissed the top of Dmitry's head, "I love you too DT, I love you too."

Dmitry smiled to himself and then sighed.

Jamie turned and was intercepted by Gabe. "What happened?" Gabe asked softly.

Jamie looked up at Gabe. "Both boys' minds were totally messed up by that trash. We were able to fix it so they told the truth; when that happened, that stupid prosecutor tried to attack them. We came out of hiding and stunned him; he's on the Lafayette now waiting to join Hippobottom out on the prison planet. We had the Judge bring their stepfather in; when we confronted him with his actions, he attacked us. By the time we had our phasers in our hands Dmitry vaporized the sorry butt hole. Jimmy and David are now under Clan protection."

"He went head first if anyone cares to know!" Dmitry added from the couch.

Gabe hugged Jamie then went over to the couch. He squeezed Dmitry's shoulder as he said "Thank you Dmitry; you did exactly what you should have done. I felt the same way when I had to kill a guy a while back; it proves you are human and have feelings. I'm proud to have you guys as brothers, and if you ever need someone to watch your backs we're all right here for you. I'm gonna go welcome our new brothers."

"Thanks," replied Dmitry. "Ohhh if I have all of you as brothers now, does that mean that..."

"NO IT DOESN'T!" Dominic said quickly.

Dmitry sighed, "Okay never mind then. Thank you though Gabe, that does mean a lot to me."

Gabe giggled. "Oh, just a warning; now that you are part of the family my lil' brother and his cohort will probably try to get you guys in the shower when they get back. I think they are keeping notes on what everyone looks like nude!"

Dominic blushed, "Oh God."

"COOL!" exclaimed Dmitry. "Sign me up!"

Matty's eyes lit up. "WUSTY! Awe we gonna showew tonight too! PWEEEEEZZE!"

Rusty rolled his eyes. "Thanks a LOT Gabe! Sure kiddo; I'll let you shower with me tonight."

Gabe chuckled as he turned and went over to where Jacob was standing with two scared boys quivering in his arms. As he looked into the two new boy's eyes, he suddenly realized what needed to be done. "Jacob, I think this might be too much for them. Why don't you take these guys to the dining room; it'll be quieter in there." Gabe then turned and scanned the room. "Trav!"

"Wazzup Babe?" Travis answered from the far side of the room.

"Go find Dad and have him come to the dining room." Gabe replied as he watched Jacob lead the boys out. "You need to be there too; I think it's time we follow in our Patriarch's footsteps."

A few minutes later, the group was assembled at the table; a platter of fresh cookies and a pitcher of milk sitting in the center. Gabe took a good look at the new boys. "Jacob; why don't you introduce your friends to us?"

Jacob pointed to the boy on his left. He appeared to be about ten years old, with light brown eyes and close-cut honey brown hair. "This is Davey, he's ten." Jacob then pointed to the other boy. He had brown eyes and light brown hair with the same conservative close cut. "This is Jimmy, he's nine." Both boys were dressed like young executives in black pants, white shirts, and dark ties. Neither one showed any signs of dirt or wrinkles on their clothes, and both were sitting ramrod straight in their chairs.

Gabe gave both boys a smile which wasn't returned. "Hey guys, I'm Gabe. The old guy sitting here is my Dad, Doctor Austin Michaels." Gabe wasn't too surprised to see both boys wince at his calling his dad an 'old guy'.

Their expressions turned to shock at Doc Austin's reply. "Watch it kiddo; keep talking like that and you're going swimming!"

Gabe giggled. "Anytime Dad; bring some friends to help! As I was saying, that's my dad, and this cutie sitting next to me is my boyfriend Travis."

Both boys' jaws dropped. Jimmy got his voice back first. "Doctor; isn't it against God's Word for them to be boyfriends?"

A voice from behind Gabe interrupted the conversation. "Actually, Our Father his instructed you to 'Love thy Brother'. That law has no modifiers."

Gabe turned just in time to see Mikey appear in full glory, wings glowing and fully extended. "Hello David and James. I am Saint Mikey of Urbandale, Protector of Gay and Abandoned Youth. I am also the Guardian Angel of your new family."

Jimmy and Davey quickly shoved their chairs off to the side and dropped to their knees reciting the Lord's Prayer. Mikey walked around the table and took a seat in one of the chairs. As he sat he said "Rise little ones; there is no need to pray to me. Our Father has sent me to help you with your struggle. Come, have a seat on my lap."

The two boys were still in shock as they stood and climbed onto Mikey's lap. Mikey wrapped them in his wings and a soft golden glow surrounded the trio.

"It is time my brothers. Release your pain." Mikey instructed softly. For the next fifteen minutes, the only sound in the room was soft sobbing coming from beneath Mikey's wings. As the sobbing finally ceased, Mikey once again spoke. "Your minds have been filled with mistruths and slander of God's Word. I shall remedy that and ensure you know the true meaning of Our Father's Word." The glow returned at an almost blinding brilliance for a minute, then subsided as Mikey opened his wings. "You now have the Truth; listen to the guidance of your new fathers and brothers. You have God's Blessing little ones."

Davey looked up at Mikey in awe. "Will we ever see you again?"

Mikey giggled. "Probably more than you could ever dream of, David. You might say I'm a regular around here. You know, those ties really don't suit you!" Mikey swept his hand across the chests of the two boys, making both ties vanish. "Gabe, Travis; take care of my newest charges."

Gabe giggled at his dad's shocked expression. "No problem Mikey. You gonna say hi to the other new guys while you're here angel-boy?"

"Of course!" Mikey replied. "David, James; if you need me just pray to Our Father and I will get the message. You guys are going to have to relearn being kids; go ahead and have fun with the rest of the guys and you will do just fine."

Both boys gave Mikey a huge hug before reluctantly climbing off of his lap. Mikey smiled and ruffled their hair. "Enjoy your new home guys." He then stood and headed towards CIC.

Gabe chucked at the expressions on the two boy's faces. He then put an arm over Travis's shoulder. "You ready to become a daddy hon?"

Travis smiled. "Let's hit it Babe; I think it's time these guys got a taste of a real family."

Gabe looked over at the two boys. "Davey, Jimmy; what are your full names and birthdays guys?"

Davey answered for both of them. "I'm David Michael DeMarco. I was born October twenty-first 1994. Jimmy's full name is James Richard DeMarco; he was born September ninth 1995. Before our mom married our step-dad our last name was Anderson."

Gabe nodded. "Thanks Davey. I know what you are about to hear is going to sound unreal; you are just going to have to trust me right now and later on we'll explain how we can do it. Is that okay?"

Both boys nodded warily. "I guess so." they chorused.

Gabe chuckled. "Good answer! Do you guys want to use one of your old last names, or do you want to use either, my last name, Travis's last name, or a combination of both?"

They whispered to each other for a minute, then Davey replied. "We'd kinda like to have both of your names if it is okay. Do we have to go to another judge to do it?"

"Nope." Gabe replied. "We'll handle it right now. Dad, this is a direct Clan adoption; I just need you here to welcome your new grandsons. Jacob, prepare to record."

Jacob retrieved his tricorder and sat it on the table. He adjusted it then spoke in a clear voice. "Begin recording. Jacob Stewart; Clan Short Intelligence. As stipulated in Article 200 of the Safe Haven Act Clan Short is exercising the right to perform adoption without Federation Youth Services involvement. Due to current tactical and situational concerns all Federation involvement is denied. The youths formerly known as David Michael DeMarco, birth date October 21, 1994 and James Richard DeMarco, birth date September 09, 1995 are hereby released from all Terran and Federation jurisdiction. Clan Short hereby claims sole jurisdiction over said youths concurrent with physical and telepathic evidence gathered previously on this date."

Gabe took over. "Gabriel Michaels; Clan Short Security. As of this time and date; I hereby take full legal custody of said youths in conjunction with my life partner Travis McCarthy. Both youths have declared their wish to change their surname to 'Michaels-McCarthy'. All previous claims by other parties to custody are hereby declared null and void. This is a permanent adoption with no recourse." Gabe then nodded at Jacob.

Jacob nodded back. "Clan Short Intelligence has verified all preceding information and certifies it as accurate. This concludes these proceedings. End recording."

Doc Austin stood up and yelled into the kitchen. "Helen! Get in here; you've got grandsons!"

Gabe and Travis followed Doc Austin around the table to the two shocked boys sitting on the other side. Doc Austin knelt between them and put an arm over each of their shoulders. "Welcome to the family guys! I'm gonna go get your Grandma Michaels; we'll meet back here to join you with the rest of your new family at your first meal. Do you have any questions for any of us?"

"Do we have to call one of you 'Dad'?" Davey asked with evident distaste.

Gabe pulled a chair over and sat down. Travis immediately perched on his lap as he was answering. "No Davey; we will not force you to call us Dad or anything else you don't feel comfortable with. You don't have to, but I would like to hear why you hate the word 'dad' so much."

Davey got fire in his eyes as he replied. "That ba ... no-good trash used to beat us until we called him Dad even though he was not our real Dad. Neither one of us remembers much about our real dad; our Uncle Mike was like a Dad to us, but he gave up on us and left us with 'them'."

"You were right the first time Davey; 'bastard' was the right choice of words." Travis commented.

Davey and Jimmy looked up at Doc Austin, their expressions clearly showing that they were expecting him to explode. Doc rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a few seconds before commenting "I guess that word will work. I can think of a few more colorful ones; but those are usually reserved for use by drunken sailors."

Gabe giggled at his dad's reply. "You forgot JJ dad!" He then turned back to the boys. "Davey, Jimmy; I know we've still got a long way to go to earn your trust. In a few minutes we'll go back into CIC; that's the big room you guys first came into. When we get in there, I'll show you some information we have. Right now we have two guys guarding your Uncle Mike; we did a full background check on him before we sent them. Your Uncle Mike did not have any choice in the matter; your old parents made it so that he would go to jail if he even tried to call you."

Jacob broke into the conversation. "He was gonna kill your old stepfather; but he realized he'd go to jail and never see you. He's hurting a lot inside from not being able to help you."

Gabe's gaze shot over to Jacob. "Where did you find that?" he asked in shock.

Jacob grinned and pointed to his head. "You are so blond, Gabe; I'm a telepath, remember?"

Jimmy muttered just loud enough to hear "I wish he had; at least then we would have known where he was. Mom used to drive by his house all the time and show us that he moved because he didn't care for us."

Jacob's face began to match his hair. "THAT BITCH!" he growled. "Anything she told you file in the trash! If you need help forgetting it I'll gladly make it so she doesn't even exist in your head. She is full of shit; Mike was so tore up about losing you guys he almost killed himself. He still loves you; if he ever finds out everything you guys had to go through he would probably try to kill himself again."

Doc Austin stared at Jacob in surprise. "Jacob, deleting her from their memories would be extremely unethical."

Jacob replied in an ice-cold tone. "Try me Doctor. I just reviewed what she did to these boys. Not a single thing she did to them was ethical; I shall not let them suffer due to something as illogical as so called 'ethics'."

Gabe managed to recover from the revelation enough to regain control. "Mr. Stewart, stand down. At this time you have presented enough evidence to initiate an investigation. You are to provide all relevant evidence to Xain for determination of the logical course of action. Once he has made his determination, he shall discuss it with James and David to determine a course of action acceptable to them. Until such time as Xain has made his decision, public discussion of this topic is forbidden."

"You mean we have a choice about what happens?" Davey asked in wonder.

Gabe smiled. "That is the golden rule around here guys; no matter what you have the final right to say yes or no about anything that directly affects your body. Nobody has broken that rule yet; I am afraid to find out what will happen if anyone ever does."

"What about sex stuff?" Jimmy asked quietly.

Travis answered Jimmy in a caring tone. "That is up to you too. If you want to do something and the person who you want to do it with agrees then it is fine; but if either one of you is uncomfortable with it then all you have to do is say 'no' or 'I'm not sure' and it won't happen. If you start something but don't feel right about it then just say 'stop' and the person will stop. There are no adults allowed around here who will ever try to do sex stuff with you."

"Yeah right, whatever." Davey muttered.

Doc Austin turned Davey's face towards him. "I will cut the privates off of any adult who tries." he said seriously.

"If he doesn't I will. And I won't use a knife." Dominic announced from the doorway. "Sorry for interrupting; I needed to stretch my legs and figured I would check out the newest additions to the family."

"Damn," added Dmitry from under Dominic's arm as he covered his crotch. "That hurts just to think about."

"Don't worry, yours are safe," muttered Dominic.

Dmitry giggled but then got serious as he addressed Davey and Jimmy, "Actually I kinda prompted Dominic to want to stretch his legs; I wanted to know if you guys are alright."

Both Davey and Jimmy nodded. "We're better." Davey replied. "Gabe and Travis just adopted us. Thanks for saving us from the bastard," Davey glanced at Gabe to ensure he was not going to get in trouble before continuing, "We owe you our lives."

Dmitry blushed, "You don't owe me for that, I'm just glad that the both of you are ok. And even if he hadn't of pulled that gun I probably would have killed him anyway just for the fact that he sounded too much like someone else that I knew that deserved to die."

"I think if we want to help make the world better, people like that should be dealt with when ever the opportunity presents itself," said Dominic. "And I think Nyo and Ark would agree."

Dmitry giggled, "Dude, they don't know who that is."

"Oh, oops," said Dominic. "Sorry, they're friends of ours; I'm sure you'll get to meet them some day."

"I think I need to up our uniform order." Gabe giggled.

Davey rolled his eyes at Dmitry then replied. "Whatever. You saved my little brother; that is enough for me to owe you."

"Yeah but these guys were going to save you anyway," replied Dmitry.

"They were saving us, but so were you. His gun was pointed at Jimmy when you got him; would they have been able to shoot him in time before he pulled the trigger?"

"Ok I guess you have a point," Dmitry said quietly.

Dominic shook his head and then poked Dmitry in the ribs, "That means they win. So you say..."

"Hey!" giggled Dmitry as he squirmed under Dominic's arm. "Ok they win!"

"And?" said Dominic.

"You're welcome," added Dmitry.

"Better," mumbled Dominic. "You have to work on delivery though."

"We can do that later," whispered Dmitry as he looked up at Dominic and wagged his eyebrows.

Dominic sighed, "You're hopeless."

Just then Helen came into the room. "Austin, what were you mumbling about? I barely could hear you." She then noticed the new faces in the room. "Oh my; I see that you boys have been busy. Travis, honey; could you please introduce your new friends? Jacob; go tell your brothers to wrap it up and get ready for dinner."

"Yes ma'am." Jacob replied as he hopped up and ran towards CIC.

Travis beamed with pride as he began introductions. "I'll start at the doorway first mom; otherwise I'll never get to them. The taller one is Dominic and the other one is Dmitry; they are Clan Security and are gonna be visiting for a while. I'm kinda proud of these other two; my snuggle bunny and I adopted them! Mom, meet your new grandsons; the oldest one is Davey and the youngest one is Jimmy."

"Oh they didn't tell her first," giggled Dmitry. "This'll be fun!"

Helen smiled at the boys in the doorway. "Sorry to ruin your fun cutie, but I was wondering when they would get around to it!" She then started over towards the boys at the table with a glowing smile on her face.

"Hmmm cutie, I don't think anyone has ever called DT that before," said Dominic as he looked down at Dmitry. "I'll have to save that one for later though."

"Oh gawd!" replied Dmitry as he tried to hide his face. "Don't give him ammo! Embarrassing others is my department!"

As she walked by the two boys, Helen whispered "Dominic, if Dmitry tastes as good as he looks you have a gourmet meal for a boyfriend!" She then hurried over to greet her new grandsons.

Dominic smiled, "You have no idea."

"HEY! That's not fair!" said Dmitry as he turned a deeper shade of red. "You can't just joke and run! I'm not done!"

"Who said she was joking," Dominic whispered into Dmitry's ear before he started nibbling on it.

Dmitry giggled, "Well if I'm a gourmet meal then you're the dessert that completes me."

When Helen reached the boys, she knelt in front of them and looked each of them in the eyes. "I see God has blessed me with a pair of angels for my first grandchildren. I see the same look in both of your eyes that Travis had when I adopted him; would you be comfortable giving your new grandma a big hug?"

Both boys visibly hesitated. Davey made his decision first, and slowly held out his arms. After a few seconds in Helen's arms he started to relax and return her hug. When the hug broke, he had a small smile on his face. After seeing that his brother was okay, Jimmy took a chance and held out his arms. As his timidness melted away, wrapped himself tightly around Helen.

"You are safe now little one. You want to tell me about it?" Helen asked softly.

"No; Jacob knows and now he hates us." Jimmy stated with certainty.

Gabe reached over and laid his hand on Jimmy's shoulder. "Hey kiddo, you misunderstood. Jacob was very upset about what your old mother did to you and that is why he is angry. He wants to help you, after we have all sat down and had that discussion it will be your choice as to what happens. It just makes him really mad when he finds out about things like what happened to you guys."

"Really?" Jimmy asked; turning his head to look at Gabe.

"Yes, Jimmy; Jacob and Jamie will do anything to protect their family. That includes both of my new sons. If you make Jacob mad he might pull a prank on you; but he would never hate you."

Jimmy settled back into Helen's chest. Helen nodded to Gabe that he did well, then said "Austin, go call Carrie and get her over here. I think a celebration is in order to welcome our grandsons to the family."

Austin nodded. "I was planning on doing just that. Davey; it looks like your brother has camped out on your grandma. Would you like to come with me to call your other grandma?"

Davey looked at Gabe and Travis, who both nodded their approval, He then put his hand on Jimmy's back. "Bro, will you be okay if I go with grandpa?"

Jimmy nodded. "Uh huh. I ain't movin; this is nice."

As Doc Austin and Davey headed out of the room, Beau came out of the hallway and approached Dmitry and Dominic. "Can I talk to you guys for a minute?"

"Oh Hiya Beau!" said Dmitry. "Can he Dom?"

"Sure," Dominic said cautiously.

"And if you run out of time I'll talk him into giving you more then a minute," smiled Dmitry. "Actually I'm not really sure if he would time you though because then he wouldn't be paying attention and Dominic always pays attention so..."

"DT," interrupted Dominic.

"Yeah Dom."

"Shhhhhh," said Dominic getting a giggle out of Dmitry. "Okay; go ahead Beau."

Beau shuffled his feet. "I kinda screwed up when you guys got here. I didn't think about how you guys felt; I was kinda missing my boyfriends and took it out on you. I'm sorry for being such a jerk."

"I'm sorry too; we can both be accused of taking it out on the wrong person," said Dominic. "I was just getting over the worst headache I've ever had and I was a little bit too touchy."

"In that case you're both really cute for a couple of jerks," added Dmitry.

"So what does that make you then?" Dominic asked Dmitry.

"DAMN cute!" giggled Dmitry. "Wait a second, did you say they're both your boyfriend? You have TWO!?"

"No! Don't even go there DT," Dominic said quickly.

Beau couldn't help but giggle. "Keep it up Dominic; trust me, having twin boyfriends is not as kewl as it sounds. You have twice as much to miss when they are not there. You wanna try introducing ourselves all over again since we got a bad start last time?"

"I like that idea, let's start again," said Dominic as he stuck out his hand. "My name is Dominic Ivan Nimvok, I'm ten years old, I'm originally from Russia , and my eyes use to be my favorite thing about myself because they were gray."

Dmitry giggled, "I think your name was enough Dom."

Beau took Dominic's hand and shook it. "Hi, I'm Beau Wagner. Those two nut cases you came in with are my boyfriends; don't take them too seriously, they can pull some pretty mean pranks."

"Ooo pranks, I might have competition," smiled Dmitry has he offered his hand. "We're very pleased to meet you Beau. And by the way you've got to have one of the coolest hair and eye color combos ever; the blue eyes with the black hair is really amazingly cute!"

"You'll have to excuse Dmitry, he thinks it's his job to make anyone he likes blush," said Dominic as he stepped behind his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around him.

Beau giggled. "You're gonna love Cory then; he's easy!"

The three of them moved out of the doorway as the rest of the boys started to filter into the dining room. As Matty came in dragging Rusty behind him, they stopped by Dmitry. "Deemeetee; Jamie says you fixded the bad man sodat he can't huwt noone nomowe. Thanks fow fixin him." Matty then timidly gave Dmitry a quick hug.

Dmitry smiled and then carefully returned the hug, "You're welcome Matty. And thanks for the hug, I think I needed that."

Matty smiled at Dmitry in response. "Youw welcome Deemeetee. Youw awe a good boy just like Wusty."

"I don't know if I'm as good as your friend Rusty but thank you for the complement," said Dmitry.

Matty turned to drag Rusty to the table. "You awe." Matty replied with the certainty of youth as they moved away.

A few minutes later, Doc Austin returned with his wife Carrie just as the last of the boys took their seats. They homed in on Davey and Jimmy, who were nervously sitting between their new parents. Carrie ruffled Gabe's hair as she came up. "Honey I am so proud of you and Trav. What you have done today is very special; if you ever need me you know I'm here for you always. You've made this all worthwhile with this, so how about if you introduce me to your sons, my new grandsons"

Gabe smiled. "Thanks Mom. This is Jimmy next to me; sitting next to Trav is Davey. Guys, this is your Grandma Michaels."

Both boys gave small smiles. "Glad to meet you Ma'am." they responded in unison.

Carrie knelt between the boys, placing a hand softly on each of their shoulders. When both boys jumped from the contact, she gave Austin a glance before speaking. "Welcome to the family Davey and Jimmy. You guys must be pretty special; these guys seem to save a different kid every day yet Gabe and Travis have never even suggested that they might consider adopting anyone before you two came home. I know how strange this all seems right now, but I do have something for you to think about. Travis was just as jumpy as you are right now when he moved in here; in fact it took two people to even get him to go meet his new mom. All you need to do is relax and listen to the rest of the boys around here, a lot of them have been through some really bad things, but they have overcome what adults did to them before they came here. They will help you a lot more than any adult ever could, and none of them will lie to you. I can't tell you everything these guys have been through, but I'm positive you will find out soon; somehow everyone gets briefed within a couple of days. Just be yourselves; that is all anyone will ask of you."

"It's alright guys everything will turn out okay." said Dmitry, who had been watching from the other side of the room. "I don't think there's a person here that I wouldn't trust with my life. I've seen what they can do to protect those that they love and what extremes they will go to keep their promises."

"Remember what I told you guys?" Jamie added. "Nobody here will hurt you or mess with your minds ever. We don't let them on the property; Jacob and I always catch them before they make it to the front door."

Davey looked around at the few boys who he slightly trusted. "My mother used to be nice, but that bastard changed her. What's gonna keep that from happening to any of you?" he asked accusingly.

"Uncle Cory'll kill 'em first!" Johnny piped up. "He hates bad people."

"Yeah; that's if Kyle don't fry their mind first." Robby added.

"Tell me about it!" Dominic muttered.

Davey and Jimmy both twisted their heads to look at the young boys sitting by Rusty. "How do you know that? Doesn't that scare you?" Jimmy asked.

Gabe answered for them. "Davey, Jimmy can I have your attention?" Once they both turned towards him, he continued. "Normally we don't talk about this stuff at the table, but I think you need to hear it right now. Just over a month ago, two of your uncles who are not here right now joined the family. Shortly after they became family, we went to Chuck E. Cheeses for Alec's birthday. While we were there, a man who was after your uncle's boyfriends showed up and tried to kidnap all four of them. He hurt my little brother while he was attempting to do it and was planning on killing him. You have not met JJ yet, but him and I apprehended the guy and took him into custody. I know you saw Jamie and Jacob hold a quick court; well Cory did a more formal version of the same thing. He sentenced the guy to death; JJ and I as eldest family members executed him on the spot. We don't run around killing people; but if there is no other way to rehabilitate the person we will do what is necessary to protect society. Dmitry did that today; he could have disabled the man who married your mom, but it would have been useless in the long run. He did what was necessary to protect society. Jacob put the facts in my head earlier; with Cory away Alec, Justy, and I share responsibility for what happens. We all agreed that execution was the only possible solution for his crimes against the two of you; and anyone who attempts anything like that ever again against you will suffer the consequences. Trav and I will ensure it personally."

Jimmy turned his head to Carrie. "Did he really do all of that?"

Carrie nodded seriously. "Yes he did, little one. He had nightmares about it for a week afterwards. I do know he'll do it again if he thinks it's necessary."

Davey turned to Gabe. "Why would you do that for us?"

Gabe smiled. "Because you are our sons. You are never going to suffer again. What you guys lived through would have caused most kids to commit suicide; instead you managed to survive due to being strong inside. You are a lot like Travis in that respect; that was the main reason I first decided that you were the right ones for us to adopt."

Gabe then ruffled Davey's hair and then giggled. "Plus you two are cute as buttons" Travis then gave Jimmy a slight hug and said "Yeah what he said!"

Both Davey and Jimmy got confused looks on their faces. Davey looked over to Travis. "Travis?"

"Yes Davey?" Travis replied softly.

"I don't understand. When Gabe messed up my hair and called us cute, I felt kind of funny right here." Davey pointed to the center of his chest. "I also felt like I was about to laugh, but nothing was funny. Gabe said we are like you; can you explain that?"

Travis was stunned as he felt the questions reopen still healing wounds. Travis took a deep breath. "Kiddo, those were feelings of love and joy buried deep inside you; they are trying to come out for the first time in a long while. You have not been able to be a kid for so long that you have forgot what it feels like. It's good stuff kiddo; as you relax it'll happen more as you relearn how to be happy. I'll tell you what; Cory helped me a lot, so when he gets back let's all four sit down with him to figure out a way to make it easier on you. He's only fourteen, but he's the reason most of us are here right now. You can chill guys; it just means you are healing already. It takes a while to relearn love and trust; you're taking the first steps." Travis then reached over and pulled Davey towards him, bringing Jimmy along and making it a one-armed double hug. "I can honestly say I'm already starting to love you guys."

For the first time since they arrived, genuine smiles graced the faces of Jimmy and Davey. Davey looked over his shoulder at Carrie. "Thanks for talking with us Grandma; this is really happening isn't it? We have two new Pops and a family that isn't going to hurt us."

Carrie smiled back. "That's right honey. Don't let your Pops forget to talk with you after dinner, okay? All of these guys are your brothers now; but there are some good things they do out of habit which might scare you if you don't know about it ahead of time."

"Okay grandma." Davey replied as he shifted from Travis's arm to Gabe's waiting arm.

As Alec watched his little brother's new family begin to bond, he leaned over to Dmitry. "It's a good thing you killed that bastard; right about now I easily could rip his dick off and shove it down his throat before vaporizing his worthless ass."

"You mean that thing I actually killed was human?" grinned, Dmitry. "Wow! I was under the impression that he mates through his foul language; and the only way to tell his species to back off is to vaporize them."

Alec looked at Dmitry with surprise, then giggled. "Thanks D, I needed that! You might be right; I'm not to sure a human could do that much stuff."

"I got a question for ya though," said Dmitry. "Are they ever going to feed us or do I have to start eating my boyfriend?"

"Hey!" shouted Dominic.

"Naw, we usually save eating boyfriend for during the evening showers!" Alec replied with a grin.

Dmitry grinned, "AWESOME! Hey Dom did you hear..."

"Yes! Yes I heard him," blushed Dominic.

Dmitry looked over at Dominic and gave him an evil smile.

"No plotting," Dominic said to that. "I'll get you before you get me."

"Oooh promises," replied Dmitry.

"Oh God!" said Dominic as he hid his face. "I just can't win."

Dmitry giggled, "Tonight at eleven! How many shades of red can Dominic Nimvok turn!"

Dominic was saved from further torture by Helen as she began bringing food out to the table. Carrie quickly went over to assist her with the multiple platters.

"AWESOME!!!" Justy exclaimed. "Thanks Helen! Dad and Pop won't fix us the stuff to make our own burritos and tacos any more; not since Airhead loaded up on refried beans then snuck into their bedroom after they were asleep!"

"Umm hey Dom, what the heck is a burrito or taco?" Dmitry said as he watched the food get placed on the table.

"Oh sure now you want me for something," replied Dominic with a grin. "I don't know what they are DT, your guess is as good as mine."

"Okay," said Dmitry as he turned to Alec. "Hey Alec what kind of food is this and what is a burrito and a taco?"

Alec grinned. "Well, that's pretty easy. A burrito is when you take a tortilla and fill it with meat and stuff then wrap it up. A taco is kinda the same thing; it's stiff so you put your meat in the bottom then pile more good stuff on top of it."

"Please say we're still talking about the food," groaned Dominic.

Dmitry giggled, "Thanks Alec. Jeez Dom you need to get your mind out of the gutter."

"I need to get MY mind out of the gutter!?" replied Dominic. "If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black I don't know what is."

"What's this got to do with pots and kettles?" smiled Dmitry.

Dominic sighed, "I'm done, I just want to eat in peace."

Dmitry moved a little closer to Dominic, "I'm just kidding with you Dom."

"I know I'm just hungry and tired," replied Dominic.

"Okay Dom, let's eat already," said Dmitry as he kissed Dominic on the cheek.

As the last dish was sat on the table, Jimmy turned to Travis. "Poppa, can I say Grace?"

Travis smiled with joy. "Sure thing son; let's tell the rest of the guys." He then raised his voice. "Guys! Hold off your attack; our SON wants to say Grace!"

The table fell silent as everyone bowed their heads. Jimmy looked around then began. "Our most gracious Heavenly Father. Thank You for providing this feast for our nourishment. Thank You for Pop and Poppa and our new grandparents. Thank you for Saint Mikey, who you sent to help us. Thank You for all of our new friends here today. Please watch over our Uncle Mike and help him to understand what happened to us was not his fault." Jimmy paused and looked over at Travis for support. At Travis' smile, Jimmy continued. "Heavenly Father, I know you have told us to forgive; but I can't forgive our old stepfather and mother for hurting us and teaching us Your Word as lies. Instead I give them over to Your Judgment, since only You can fairly account for their actions. Father, please guide the others being hurt by people like my old stepfather to safety like we have found." As Jimmy's voice broke with emotion, Travis reached up and put a hand on his shoulder. Jimmy gave a small smile of thanks and continued. "I will finish by praying as you have taught us. Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever and ever. Amen.

Travis leaned over and kissed the side of Jimmy's head. "That was perfect, son."

As everyone started filling their plates, Davey and Jimmy watched in wonder. Finally Davey leaned over to Gabe and whispered "Pop, why is everyone still talking? Only adults are allowed to talk at the table after Prayer."

Gabe reached over and pulled Davey into a hug. "That's a stupid rule that parents who don't care about their kids use. Mom always told me that meals were a time for everyone to relax and catch up on what the rest of the family is doing. Teri and Helen believe in that too; they get worried if you are quiet. I'll bet you find a bunch of old rules which we don't follow; if you are not sure just ask someone. Nobody will think you are stupid; every guy here has had to unlearn old rules which were wrong."

"Thanks Pop"

As the meal progressed, it was obvious that both Davey and Jimmy were taking their cues from Gabe and Travis. As they relaxed, their personalities started to emerge slightly. By the end of the meal, they were shyly holding small conversations with others nearby.

Helen looked around at the group of stuffed boys with a smile. "Do you guys feel better now?"

"Yeah!" the boys chorused.

"What are your plans for this evening, Alec?" Helen asked, her tone implying it better not be work.

Alec giggled. "Relax Mom; I'm thinking we've done enough work for today. I'm gonna set up for movies in the rec area; it looks like Gabe's gonna have to cover for Sean with all the new guys."

"That's good; I'll work on a snack for everyone later." Helen replied as she stood up and went over to where Jimmy and Davey were sitting. "You guys are making me proud. Listen to what Gabe has to say to you; he's going to try to make it easier for you to adjust to your new home."

"Okay Grandma." both boys chimed.

The boys started to get up from the table and make their way to the rec room. Jamie came up to Gabe and got his attention. "Hey bro; Dmitry and Dominic are kewl; they already know everything. Rusty's gonna meet you guys in the overnight room with Matty; the rest of us are gonna get our showers out of the way while you guys talk. Jacob and I are gonna listen in from out in the hall, we'll give you a hand if you need it."

"Thanks dude," Gabe replied as he glanced over to his two sons who had taken residence under Travis's arms. "I hope we don't need you though; I think they are finally relaxing."