Camp Bam Bam

Adam sat back with a sigh. It had been only about four hours since the meeting in the base this morning, but it felt like a lot longer. There was so much going on, and so many more things to get done. How the hell was he supposed to get a state funeral ready in two days... now less then one? But dammit, he was going to do it. He took a moment and looked around.

First, his eyes settled on Chris and Kenny. They had only been in Camp Bam Bam for a day and a half, and already they were fitting right in, becoming a part of the family. He couldn't help but smile at the two of them. They both tried catching glimpses of the other while they thought they couldn't get caught. It was really cute, to watch two young boys in love. Then it hit him. They were the same age as he was. He shook his head sadly thinking about what it might have been like for him, had things not worked out the way they had.

Then, he looked over and saw his younger brothers. Just thinking about what they had gone though almost broke his heart again. Kent, only five years old, watched as his mother got murdered. Then, less then a year later, he had been inside of “Phantom” as it went down and being burned so badly he should have died. Would have died, had it not been for the Clan and their advanced medical tech. No matter what happened, or how upset he might be at Cory and Sean for the wedding they had, he would never forget that.

Then there was Jimmy. Adam had often wondered, when he was in the lab, what it would be like to actually have brothers. His family filled a huge hole in his soul, but Jimmy and Kent were special. So far he only knew a fraction of what Jimmy had gone through, but he already figured it was as bad, if not worse than, what he had gone through.

Jimmy was scared of everything right now, and was clinging to Adam like a life boat. If it hadn't been for the dream he had a few nights ago, he probably wouldn't know any of what Jimmy could do. The boy either couldn't or wouldn't talk much about it. What little Adam knew, was that he was scared shitless of himself and what he could do. After living it through the dream, Adam couldn't really blame him. But, he did see something else in Jimmy's eyes when he looked into them...strength.

Of course, to survive what he went though, he would have to be strong. Adam knew, due to the connection that was getting stronger between him and his brother, that Jimmy has been having flashbacks and nightmares. Adam knew his brother needed help, but didn't really know what to do.

For now, he was letting Jimmy set the rules and those were simple. Wherever Adam went, Jimmy wasn't far behind. Jimmy asked Adam about almost everything from what he should do next, to whether or not he was wearing the right clothes. There was also one other thing that Adam and Jimmy shared...their scars.

Both Adam and Jimmy had crisscross patterns of scars all over their bodies. Jimmy's were almost all surgical, while Adam's were a mix of surgical and injury, but they were both heavily scarred. They also both shared an embarrassment about them. Adam was very good at hiding it, but to those that knew him very well, it was the ONLY thing that he was embarrassed about. There were many times when he and Logan were in bed, that Adam would simply run his hands all over Logan's silky smooth skin and wish his was like that.

"Adam." He heard someone call his name. He looked over and saw Joe sitting in his wheel chair and beckoning him over. Adam nodded and started to walk over to where Joe was sitting very near to the entrance to the bridge. They were having the funeral on a small island called Patriot's Point. This was a very fitting name for a place that was going to be the final resting place for many of his family.

It was only shortly before noon, and already there were many people wondering around wanting to pay their final respects to kids they never knew. Adam really didn't know how to feel about all of the strangers . On one hand, they were trying to be nice to Adam, and many of them have come up to talk to him, but on the other hand, almost every single one of them treated him just like a kid. Yeah, he knew he was only fourteen, but dammit, he had lost his childhood when he was way too young, and now, now it was too late, and treating him like a little kid just pissed him off.

And then, of course, there were the people that came just to speak to him. It was times like these, that Adam really was glad that he could organize things rather well. But the biggest problem, was that he hadn't slept since Sunday night. There was just too much to do. No matter how tired he may have been, he couldn’t stop. He had to get this done... for his family.

When he got over to Joe, he didn't like the look of the man in the suit next to him. "What's up, dad?" Adam asked, and as always whenever Adam called Joe 'dad', the man smiled brightly. However, this time the smile came and went quickly.

"Adam, this is Mr. Harold Jenkins, he's from the Secret Service, and is here to talk to us about the security for the funeral tomorrow." Joe's voice said it all. This man was going to be a pain in the ass.

"Commander Casey?" The man asked with a raised eyebrow and a skeptical tone to his voice, which put Adam off. Didn't Joe just say that?

Adam simply nodded and Mr. Jenkins began in a high pitched nasal voice, glancing quickly at notes as he made each point. "The President will arrive at 2:45 PM. He will proceed directly to the site for the memorial service, and he will be introduced by a local dignitary of appropriate rank. He expects to make a speech of about twenty minutes. You can schedule any other speakers around that. We will need to secure the parade route and move anyone without adequate clearance out of the area. No one bearing arms will be permitted within the perimeter except the Secret Service detachment and of course the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff if he is in uniform. I assume you will relay this information to the adult in charge...."

The more Jenkins went on, the more agitated Adam became. Adam, however, had lots of experience dealing with people that thought they knew everything and were rather annoying in their pushiness. The man went on for almost five minutes straight, making point after point. Finally, Adam was able to make his response... and made them point by point. Joe couldn't help but snicker as Adam was talking

"Okay, Mr. Jenkins," Adam started off, and then ticked of the points on his fingers. "One... I am the person in charge here. If you have a problem with that and want to talk to an adult, you can send your request in triplicate to the base commander, and he MIGHT get to it sometime next year."

Joe held back the laugh as the man's eyes got wide and Adam just kept going. "Two... The President is of course welcome to come to the funeral; however... it starts tomorrow at 1400, or 2pm if you can’t figure out military time. That is even if the President is not here. There are many people coming and the time is set. No one is going to change that."

The man's eyes were wide as he started to sputter, obviously never having been talked to like this before. "Three...Every single member of MY Unit will be wearing their side arms, and I am sure more than just the one. We were attacked three days ago and sorry to say this, but I will not order my men to be unarmed; whether you like it or not."

"Fourth... The President is more than welcome to make a speech, but I will NOT allow it to be political in nature, nor will I even allow him to try and use the death of my men to his advantage. If he even thinks about it, I will unplug his mic quicker than you can shove your nose up someone's ass."

Jenkins looked like he was about to have a stroke, so Adam pressed home his last point. He was done dealing with idiots like this. "And finally... since I know you'll go whine to the President with this, please give him a message. I and my team no longer answer to the United States government. I’m willing to have a friendly relationship with them, but they will not dictate my actions nor any of the actions of my team. Is that understood?"

Adam finished, never breaking eye contact with the agent. The man was sputtering trying to say something intelligible, but couldn't make anything come out. Adam finally couldn't take any more of it, so he turned and left while the man was still trying to say something. "If you have any complaints, you can speak to Capt. Juan Casey. He'll be the one to answer any more of your questions." Joe did lose it on that one and wheeled away laughing hysterically, while the man stood there wondering what went wrong.

 

---

"You know something, Dr. Jenson; I think I know the perfect person to 'test your skills' on." Janet said as she looked over to the young but attractive man in front of her. He said he loved challenges and she knew just the challenge to throw at him. If he survived this, then he could survive anything here.

"Please... Call me Dr. Phil." He said with an easy laugh. "It usually gets a quick laugh out of the kids I see, and it helps break the ice some." He was confident he could handle anything. He was one of the top child psychologists in the country and thought he had heard and seen everything.

Janet looked back down at the file that Dr. Dan from Orlando had sent her about Phil, and she had to admit, he looked like he was good. But, she also knew that it would take everything he knew and much more to try and help some of the kids here. She decided to see if he could handle things here and then go from there. "Okay, I'll send him down to you shortly. Why don't you get your office set up, and after you’re done with him, we can chat and see if you really want to help out here."

"Ms. Hayes, that'll be fine, but I'm sure I can handle anything here. I just want to help out kids and I can't think of anything better than what you are doing here. I just want to be a part of it." He was passionate about wanting to help, and Janet had to give him that. But then again, this was her family they were talking about, and she needed to make sure he could handle it. Plus, Dr. Dan said he was sometimes a bit arrogant and needed to be brought down a few notches... and she knew just the boy to do that. She watched him walk away and finally let the small smirk she had been hiding show as she went to find one of her boys.

 

---

 

"Hey Logan... you got a minute?" Todd asked as he walked into the control center. He took a quick moment to look over the screens at the front of the room; he was only slightly surprised to see the numbers on the bottom left screen, the number of rescues. Right now, they stood at over two thousand with just shy of forty active rescues, and over eight hundred active intakes going on. This was bigger than anyone thought it would be; thank God it was all running smoothly.

"Sure thing, Todd; let;s go into my office." Logan had to laugh... it was still hard getting used to the idea he had an office. But he was learning to like it plus, as Jack told him, sometimes he just needed to lay back and let his guys do what they do best.

He led Todd into the office and just before he shut the door, he saw Alvin get up from his desk and sit down in the command chair taking things over. He may only be eight, but Logan was always impressed by how well the little guy could handle anything that came up.

"So, Todd... what's up?" Logan asked, after handing his little brother a soda from the fridge and sitting down.

"Well, I was thinking about a few things and I think I would like to ask for a detached detail status to go to Maine." Todd said in a rush, trying to get it all out before he lost his nerve.

"Okay..." Logan said while sitting back in his chair. He was happy that Todd was willing to ask about something he wanted, but he wasn't sure why he wanted to go to Maine. "Why Maine?"

"Look," said Todd. "Saturday they got attacked by the FCC too, same as Sammy and them. A much smaller group, nowhere near as well prepared -- but still an attack. Then, a couple of the people there got arrested and needed Starfleet to bail them out of it. They're trying to do the same things we are, or the guys in Orlando -- and it's just a few high school kids and some even younger, with no training and almost no equipment.

"Know what they've got for ordnance? Two hand phasers for the whole group. Transport? A first response van and a plain everyday car -- and one of the Mikyvis kids. They *need* somebody with some military background and some firepower for advice if nothing else.

"I really think this is something I need to do, and I can't really explain it, it's just a feeling I have. There's something that's gonna happen with these guys, and I just feel like I'll be needed," Todd said as he ran down. "Plus, we need to be working with the others, coordinating with them, and we can't do that if we're all here in Utah and they're a bunch of other places. This is where I fit -- I can see it; can't you?"

Logan sat back, got a faraway look in his eyes like he was talking to someone else, then put his hands up in surrender. "Okay... okay... you got it, little brother. If you feel that passionate about it, we'll make it happen. Now... just give me a second..." Logan trailed off as his hands flew across the keyboard in front of him.

Todd sat and watched him for almost five minutes; Logan never once slowed down as his hands flew, typing furiously here and there and quietly muttering to himself. Finally, Logan sat back as the printer started to fire out pieces of paper. Once it was done, Logan pulled the whole stack out and started to go through it. Every couple of sheets, he stopped and signed something; by this point Todd was becoming somewhat concerned as to what his big brother was doing -- hoping and praying he hadn't pissed his older brother off.

Finally, Logan looked up with a grin. "Okay... these first pieces of paper are your orders. You are to report to Division Commander Jonas McConnaghay as soon as possible. You are now acting as the Military Liaison between his Division and the Unit." Logan grinned at the shocked look on Todd's face as he handed over the first set of papers.

"Second..." Logan began as he passed over the next set. "As soon as they are ready, these are orders to have a Weapons locker installed and filled with whatever you think they need. Also, on Thursday, we will send a few guys over to install some computer networks that will hook directly into our mainframe and two set of transporters; one for people, the other for equipment."

Logan's grin got bigger at the look of shock and knew it would get even better with his last little surprise. "Finally, this last paper requires you to go find Ronnie and get your uniforms updated."

Todd looked up in shock, and then down to his uniform. "Umm... Sir... What do you mean; is there something wrong with my uniform?"

"Yes, there is," Logan said trying hard not to laugh. "You need to update your Sergeant’s stripes for your Second Lieutenant's Bar."

Todd looked at him stunned for a few seconds while Logan just sat there holding the piece of paper out to him. Finally, Todd took the piece of paper, read over it real quick, and almost knocking the chair over, he jumped to his feet and saluted. "YES SIR!"

Logan stood up, walked around the desk, and pulled his little brother into a hug. "Good job Todd. I know you'll do great, now let’s get out there before they destroy a city or something."

 

---

 

Logan and Todd came out of the office with Logan's arm over his brother's shoulder. Logan saw the pride on Todd's face and still had to wonder why his brothers always seemed to almost need his love and approval. Not that it was very hard, as all his brothers were great kids, and Logan really was proud to call them all brothers . Just as he got back to his seat, the doors open and Janet walked in. Logan groaned when he saw the look in his mother's eyes. "Oh Gods, mom... what have you done now?" He asked and heard many of the other kids in the room start to snicker.

Janet tried to put on her best 'innocent face' but that just caused almost everyone in the room to burst out laughing. "We don't buy it, mom...," came from one of the kids in the room. Janet stopped for a second and had to fight back the tears. It still made her heart feel good to have all these kids look to her as "mom."

"Weeeeell..." she said as she moved over to where Logan was seated. He quickly moved out of the command chair and let her sit down. "Thanks, Logan," she said as she sat down. "Now... it seems that the crew from Orlando thought that we might be able to use the services of one of Dr. Dan's associates." She let her voice trail off as many of the kids in the room looked perplexed.... until Logan spoke up.

"Wait a minute... Isn't Dr. Dan their shrink?" He asked, looking around the room trying to make sure he was right.

"Yup... that's right. Dr. Dan thought we might be able to use a shrink ourselves... I would have to agree with him to be honest, but... well... we have some interesting cases here, and I want to make sure he can handle himself." Janet sat back and wondered how long it would take for someone to figure it out. It didn't take long.

"Oh no... You didn't..." Alvin asked, half aghast and half amused.

"Oh, but I did." Janet chuckled. "Daileass... would you be so kind as to bring up the video and sound from room thirty two, section six, level C?"

"But of course." His voice came from all over the room as all the video screens in the front of the room changed to show a single room and a young man putting his books away. "You’re just in time too... Juan's almost there." Daileass's voice said, this time clear amusement could be heard. "And yes... I am recording.”

 

---

 

Dr. Philip Jensen looked around his office after putting his stuff away. He was anxious to meet this kid that Dr. Hayes was sending to him, but had to wonder why she acted strangely about it. Not that he was too worried. He may have only been twenty eight years old, but he had quickly made his way up to the top of his field and was well respected by the other child psychologists in the country.

He thought back to what made him so good at helping kids. It was the fact, that he had been there himself. Twelve years old and selling his body on the streets of New York City. At least until an older man had helped him out, and gave him a place to live. That man, who later adopted him, gave him everything he needed to survive and all that was asked in return was that he helped out other. This was his chance to do just that.

He was brought out of his musing by something strange. He listened for a moment, and yes... someone was singing as they came down the hallway. He had left his door open so whoever it was that Dr. Hayes sent could just walk in, but now he was hearing someone, a young boy by the sound of it, singing as they came near his door.

"OH Lord, it's hard to be humble.... when I'm perfect in everywayyyyyyy."

Phil's jaw dropped as a young Hispanic boy, maybe nine or ten years old, came skipping into the room singing at the top of his lungs. Juan took one look at the Doctor, then looked around the room and skipped over to the couch where he plopped down, swinging his feet up and crossing them at the foot.

"Hiya, Doc. How’s it goin’? Is this where you want me?" Juan asked, trying hard not to laugh at the look on the man's face. To his credit though, he recovered quickly.

"Uhmm... sure... if that's where you want to be." Phil picked up his note book and then moved around to sit in the chair across from this strange boy.

"Before you start, doc, I don't think it would be a good idea to ask me about my mother... you see, I was ‘made’ in a test tube, and then implanted into the womb of some homeless woman the government kidnapped off the street. I hear she had an ‘accident’ shortly after I was born." Inwardly he laughed at the look on the guy’s face and decided to go for broke. "I got a new mom now and she's great... even though she doesn't let me kill anyone... well... unless they try to hurt the family... then she's okay with it."

Phil sat back for a second, then started to take some notes... trying to buy himself some time to get his brain working. Thankfully Juan gave him the time he needed. "So, is that why Dr. Hayes sent you to see me, to try and work out your... anger management problems?"

Juan almost fell off the couch laughing so hard. When he finally could talk again, he looked up at the confused doctor and almost lost it again. "Doc... I moved past "anger management problems" before I was out of diapers."

Phil's jaw hit the floor, but he recovered real quick and leaned forward. "Okay, then why do you think Dr. Hayes sent you to me?"

Juan sat up and leaned in closer to the doctor with a very serious look on his face. "Well, according to the books I've read, I think I qualify as being Psychotic, Sociopathic, Psychopathic, Multiple Personality Disorder, Schizophrenic, and obsessive compulsive, but that's only when it comes to weapons."

Juan grinned at the look on the doctor’s face when he got done and leaned back in the sofa. 'This is what mom wanted and so far I haven't had to lie... this is great!' He thought to himself, as the doc did his best impression of a fish with his mouth opening and closing really quick. Juan was almost positive he broke the man, but he surprised the little guy.

"Ummm... okay... why don't we start with that last one?" Phil's mind was running a million miles an hour and the only thing he could think of was that Dr. Dan had set him up. No kid could be THAT screwed up. "You say you’re obsessed with weapons. What do you mean?"

Juan sighed and then stood up. "Well, it would be better if I just showed you." He then reached behind his back and pulled out a huge hand cannon of a pistol, locked back the slide and dropped the clip out. He then put it on the table and did the same thing for the next three guns he retrieved from their hiding places. Dr. Phil's eyes got wider as he pulled out each gun. Then came the six knives, the expandable tactical baton, the brass knuckles, and then he took off his boots and showed the doctor the hidden blades in his boots that extend when he turns his foot just so.

Phil couldn't think of what to say. The way in which the kid handled the weapons; it was obvious that he knew how to use each and every one of them, but... but he was only a little kid. At least that's what his brain kept screaming, even though his eyes were telling him that this was not just a kid but a well trained killer.

"Excuse me, Dr. Jensen, but there is an urgent incoming phone call for Juan. I'm sorry to break this up, but... Juan, I think you need to take this, it’s from Secret Service Agent Jenkins." Daileass's voice came over the speakers.

Juan sighed as he started to pick up his weapons. "It's okay Daile... I think the doc’s taken as much as he can right now. I'll take it in my room. Tell whoever it is I'll be there in a few minutes."

A few levels above them Janet had fallen out of her chair laughing, as did almost everyone else that was seated. Logan was barely consciences as he held onto the side of the chair. Tears were rolling down his face as he struggled to breathe. Out of every computer terminal, a tray popped open with a CD labeled "Dr. Phil meets Juan."

 

---

 

Billy and Will were finding it rather amusing, but at the same time, rather annoying. “Everywhere in the city that Billy and Will went, they found it amusing that people were going out of their way to avoid them like the plague. They even saw one older couple cross the street to stay as far away as possible.

They were on a supply run to get more clothes for the new kids coming into the base. They were able to get most of the stuff they needed from Target, but some things they just couldn't get there. Neither of the boys could still believe that Will’s former Martial Arts Master had literally bought the department store chain. Ronnie had gone absolutely nuts when he found out that Target had an entire distribution center that was stocked with nothing but what their Master thought they might need. However, there was one thing that the Master over looked...Medical supplies.

The two boys were holding hands and walking towards the largest pharmacy in town. Bill still couldn't get over the fact that he WAS walking. He still got tired easy, but this little stroll wasn't gonna bother him none. Plus, Janet had said he needed to do as much walking as he could to get his leg muscles built up again.

They were just entering the pharmacy when they heard a commotion and Will got ran into by a boy about their age. Will fell down, with the boy on top of him, and Will’s training took over. He continued to roll with the boy until Will was on top of the boy, his pistol out, and pointed at the kid’s face.

The kid screamed and Will immediately pulled the gun back and jumped off the kid. Billy, in the mean time, had pulled his gun out and was watching everyone around them to see what was going on. To say that both the boys were a bit jumpy after what happened on Saturday would be a bit of an understatement.

"What the..." Will said at the same time that a loud voice coming up from the back yelled out, "stop that kid!"

The kid that Will had been run over by started to try and scramble away. But Will was too fast for him and grabbed his arm and held him down while Billy put himself between Will, the kid, and the guy that ran up from the back.

“Just hold on for a second, and let’s figure out what the hell's going on here." Billy said with an air of authority that belied his twelve years of age.

"That kid's a thief!" The guy said, pointing towards the boy on the floor who was starting to cry. "I want his ass thrown in jail."

"Now hold on just a moment!" Billy said while looking at Will, and getting a nod in return. They knew each other so well that most of the time they didn't even need to talk. Not that it would have mattered because they could talk to each other in their heads if they needed to.

Billy walked up to the guy and pulled him to the back, after holstering his gun. Will, for his part, lifted the kid up to his feet and moved him outside where they could talk.

Once they got outside, Will sat the boy down and sat next to him. "What's your name?" Will asked.

"Dale." The boy answered softly.

"Okay, Dale, my name's Will. Why don't you tell me what happened?"

Dale looked up at Will with tears in his eyes. "Why would you care, I'll be going to jail and... and then my mom's gonna die." Dale lost it, putting his head in his hands and sobbing.

Will looked over to where Dale dropped the bag he was carrying and saw about ten different bottles of medication and over the counter drugs.

Will put his arm over Dale's shoulders and felt the boy stiffen, but then Dale turned into Will and started to cry into his chest.

"What's wrong with your mom?" Will asked gently, and Dale looked up into his eyes. All Dale saw was caring and concern.

"She... she has cancer." Dale said, and broke down again. He stiffened when they both heard the sounds of sirens coming close.

Will looked down at the frightened boy in his arms and pulled his head up so he could look him in the eye. "I need you to trust me. I won't let you go to jail and when we're done here, I need you to take me to your mother. Okay?"

Dale stared into his eyes for a few moments and then softly nodded. Will smiled, patted him on the arm, and then got up as the first of the police cars got there.

As the officer got out of his car, Will put his right hand up in the air and slowly reached behind him to pull out his wallet. The cop watched him closely with his hand on his holstered pistol. The police officer relaxed when he saw the boy pull out a wallet and flip it open. "Officer, My name is Captain William Casey of the Clan Short Special Forces Division. As per Article four, section A and B of the Clan Short Charter, I am taking charge of this situation and would appreciate any help you and your fellow officers can give me."Will spoke with as much authority as his cracking voice would allow.

The officer stood there for a second staring at Will. He then nodded his head. "Of course, Sir; however, I will need to call this in so that my superiors know what is going on."

Will smiled and looked at his name badge, "Of course, Officer Kimball. Thank you for your help."

Will was smiling as he turned back and walked back over to where Dale was sitting and staring at him with a shocked look. Will was about to say something when Billy came out of the store, followed by the man that was chasing Dale. Will called Billy over and they went a few feet away from everyone else as another cop got there and the man went over to talk to the officers.

"So what happened, Billy?" Will asked as he threw his arm around the slightly older boy.

"Well, according to the guy over there, the kid came in to pick up the medication for his mother. When the guy started to ring it up, the kid bolted for the front door and you know what happened from there. But the really interesting part came when I chatted with one of the ladies that works here. It seems that the kid's mother is dying of cancer. She's just over seventy years old and had been the foster mother for the kid since he was like four. Hell, if what the lady told me is right, she's fostered over two hundred kids since she was younger and has eight right now. Anyways, the kids have been doing everything they can to stay with the lady and help her out; but with the medical expenses and everything else, she can't afford her medication. She's had to choose between food for the kids and her medication. She chose the food, but I guess this kid thought it should have been the meds."

Will stood there for a second to absorb what Billy had told him. He then did something that he had never done before. Since he found out he could read other people's minds, he had never gone into the mind of someone who hadn't invited him in. Now Will looked over at Dale and reached into the kid’s mind, and what he found sort of surprised him. While he was worried about going to jail and being arrested, the thing that scared him the most was what his mother would think about what he did, and the fact that she wouldn't be getting her medication. He didn't really care what happened to him; he was more worried about the woman who he called mom. With that in mind, Will came up with a plan.

Twenty minutes later, Dale was still sitting on the bench where Will had left him, watching Will, Billy, the pharmacist, and the police officers talk. It got heated a few times, but for the last five minutes, they were talking quietly. Finally, he watched as Will picked up the bottles of medication that Dale had dropped when he ran into him, and he and Billy walked over to Dale. The Pharmacist walked back into the store and the police officers walked back to their cars. Dale couldn't figure out what was going on.

"Well, Dale, you ready to go home?" Will asked with a big smile on his face.

"Huh?" Was all Dale could really say. Both Will and Billy grinned really big.

"We got everything worked out. But I think you need to take us to your house so we can give your mom her medication." Billy said as he held out his hand for Dale. "By the way, the name's Billy."

"But... but... What happened?" He asked, taking Billy hand and letting the boy pull him to his feet.

"Why don't we wait till we get to your house so we only have to explain it once, but long story short, the cost of your mother's medication is now being covered by Clan Short Special Forces Division... which we both happen to be members of." Will said with a grin as he threw his arm over the boys shoulder and they started walking. It only took them about ten minutes, for Dale to lead them to his house. Dale led them to a rather large house that looked like it could use a bit of fixing up, but it wasn't too bad. Dale led them into the house, and both Will and Billy marveled at the sheer love that could be felt in this place.

"MOOOOM!" Dale shouted out as soon as he shut the door, and to Will and Bill it sounded like a herd of elephants were coming to welcome him home.

"DALE!" Came an older woman's voice, and soon Will and Bill were right in the middle of a crying and sobbing group of kids and then a woman walked out with a cane. As soon as the woman came into view, Dale broke from the others and ran into her arms. No one, including Will or Bill, had dry eyes when everything calmed down. From what they could make out amidst the sobbing, someone named Mrs. Whittaker was on her way over to take the kids. Somehow, word of what happened at the pharmacy had reached her and she was coming to remove the kids, because obviously, Dale's mother couldn't take care of them any longer.

Once everyone started to calm down, Dale introduced his two saviors. "Mom, this is Will and Billy, they're from that Clan Short group that got attacked on Saturday."

The elderly woman looked at Will and Bill as if she just noticed they were there. "Oh my, I'm sorry, how rude of me... please... please come in and sit down. Would you like something to drink?" She asked as she shushed the other out of the way and motioned for them to follow her.

"No, thank you, Mrs..." Will trailed off.

"Marshall, but please... call me Wilma."

"Okay, Wilma, it doesn't sound like we have much time from what we've heard about Mrs. Whittaker. Why don't we all sit down and try to figure out what we can do."

They watched as her smile faded, and the boys saw that she had to fight back tears, but she quickly got herself under control and led them into the living room. Once they were seated, she made the round of introductions, and the two boys met all the kids she was currently fostering. The two oldest were twin girls, Sarah and Samantha, sixteen,,and then there was Kelly who was fifteen, Jamel and Doug who were both thirteen, Dale who was twelve, Kenny who was eight, and Jenny who was the cutest little five year old girl that either boy had ever seen.

Once the introductions were made, Will got right down to business. "Okay, can I assume that none of you kids want to leave your mom?" For the next minute, Will could barely hear anything as the kids were very loud in their wishes that they wanted to stay with their mom.

Will couldn't help but laugh. "I guess that's a yes. Okay, hold on just one second and I'll get someone here who can make it happen." Will pulled out one of the communicators that he'd been given and opened it up. "Hey Daileass, you there?"

"No, I thought I'd take a vacation to Hawaii today... of course I'm here," came the voice from over the comm. Both Will and Billy broke up laughing.

"Okay, I guess that was kinda stupid to ask, but we need a favor. Can you ask Logan to send someone who's really familiar with the Safe Haven Act to where we’re at?"

"Sure thing bro, I'll have him send someone ASAP. Anything else?" Daileass asked?

"Yeah... just to be on the safe side, can you have a strike team standing by just in case things get out of hand here. I doubt it will, but you never want to be too careful." Will said, hoping he wasn't making the people here too nervous.

"I'll do one better... Khan, Thor, Tyr, and Fluffy just walked into the control room... I'll have them hang out just in case you need them."

Both Billy and Will broke up laughing. "Well damn Dael, I don't think we'll need that much firepower, but it'll be nice to know their ready in case we do."

They heard Daileass laugh, and then come back over. "No problem, Captain, and by the way, Todd should be there any minute."

"Thanks Dael... Talk to you later." Will said, and flipped the communicator shut just as Todd beamed in. Everyone but Will and Billy jumped when Todd showed up, but quickly settled back down.

"What’s up, Will? Logan said you needed me," Todd asked as he walked over and saluted.

Will motioned for him to take a seat and gave Todd the quick version of what they found out and what was needed.

Todd was smiling by the end of Will’s little explanation. "Okay, now I just need to ask a few questions. Please understand that what I am asking is needed for me to do what I need to do to make sure you all stay here." Todd made eye contact with each one of the kids and then settled on Wilma. When she nodded, he started his questions.

"Let me make sure I understand a few things. Every child here wishes to stay here with Wilma? And Wilma, you would like for them to stay here under your care?" Todd got nods from everyone, except Wilma. He raised an eyebrow at her reluctance and waited for her to explain.

"While I would love for them to stay here, I... I’m just not sure it’s wise." She was interrupted by all the kids voicing their objections, but when she held up her hand, they all stopped.

"Kids, you know I love each and every one of you, but we need to face reality here. My cancer is getting worse and without being able to get the medical attention I need, I won’t be around for much longer anyways." She said, as she wiped away a few tears.

Before anyone else could say anything, Todd broke in. "Wilma, I understand that you have been giving up your medication so you could support your kids. Don’t you have insurance or anything like that?"

"Well I do, but it doesn’t cover everything and with the cutbacks that DSS has had, I can’t afford everything for the kids anymore. What money I had in savings went to make sure they had everything they needed."

Todd had pulled out his PADD and was working on it the entire time she was talking; he looked up when she was finished. "I know this is personal, but how much do you get from DSS per child a month?"

"Well between everything, it’s a little over four hundred a month per child." Todd looked up at her when she said that, then looked over at Will.

"Sir, I think there’s more going on here than what we know so far. According to the DSS reports in this area, she should be getting over six hundred per child, per month." Todd stated, and then went back to work on his PADD. There was silence for a few moments before Will spoke up.

"Wilma, this is what we are offering... Todd, let me know if I'm wrong on anything." After getting a nod from Todd, Will went on. "Clan Short Special Forces will give you a stipend of eight thousand dollars a month, that’s one thousand per child for as long as they are living here. We’re also picking up all the family’s medical costs from now on. However, we would ask that you come to our hospital if possible, seeing as it has better medical equipment than any Earth based hospital. I think that would be best for everyone. We would also require monthly visits by Federation Youth Services just to make sure everything is going okay. Does that sound okay with you?"

Wilma was sitting there with her mouth open, but finally she was able to speak again. "That... That sounds great, but... but they’re going to take the kids away from me anyways, so I guess it really doesn’t matter."

Will’s smile got a whole lot bigger . "I guess I forgot to mention that if you agree to this, you would be adopting all of them and nothing your local DSS can do will be able to stop that."

It took a minute for that to sink in, but the second Wilma nodded her agreement, all hell broke loose as she was attacked by eight kids who were hugging her and each other and crying.

They were still going strong when the door bell rang . Billy was sure that they didn’t hear it over all their tears, so he got up and opened the door. Standing there was a scowling older lady with two police officers behind her. Billy couldn’t help but grin as he noticed one of the officers was the one that Will had talked to first at the pharmacy.

As soon as Billy opened the door enough, the woman just shoved right past him and walked into the living room. As soon as she walked in, the room fell quiet. In a shrill voice she demanded, "What are you kids doing... I told you all to be packed by the time I got here."

Will took an immediate dislike to the woman and walked up to her. He held out his hand as he spoke to her. "Mrs. Whittaker?" She looked down at his hand, scowled more and just nodded, never accepting his hand. "My name is Captain William Casey of the Clan Short Special Forces Division. I think you should be made aware of the fact that your authority here has just been superseded by mine, and Clan Short of Vulcan will be handling this matter from here."

Her scowl deepened as she looked down on the boy in front of her. "Look kid, I don’t care who you think you are; these kids are mine and they’re leaving with me. If you have a problem with that, I’m sure these fine officers wouldn’t mind throwing your ass in jail with the little brat over there." She said as she pointed over at Dale.

That’s when Todd spoke up. "Actually Mrs. Whittaker, as of five minutes ago, these eight children have been adopted by Wilma Marshall pursuant to Article 134 of the Safe Haven act. They have been taken away from your loving care due to violations of article eighty-one, section one of the same Safe Haven Act. Officers, if you would be so kind as to place her under arrest until such time as we can get trained telepaths here to determine the depth of her guilt and any others that are involved."

Both of the police officers moved to the DSS woman and before she knew what was going on, had her in cuffs, moving her out of the room. Before they got outside, she was screaming at them and all the kids in the house..

Once she was gone, Will looked over at Todd who was grinning. "Mind telling us what just happened?"

"Sure, while you guys were talking, I had Daileass hack into her computers. It turns out, she’s been skimming off the top about two hundred dollars per child under her ‘care’ for the last ten years. All told, she stole several hundred thousand dollars from the children of this city. I’ve already contacted the main Clan and they said they would take care of it."

There was stunned silence for several seconds before Will turned to Wilma. "Well, Mrs. Marshall, it looks like things are looking up for you. Someone will return in a few days to give you everything you need. If you need to contact us before they get here, just call this number,” he said, handing her a card, "and someone will be able to help you. But for now, we really need to get going. I know everything will work out for you and YOUR children."

Five minutes later, the three Unit boys beamed back to Camp Bam Bam after many rounds of hugs and tears.

 

---

 

Jesse looked over at his brother lying in the bed next to him. Ever since they got back from the hotel, where the kids here rescued them, the two brothers had to stay in these beds to help their butts heal. They thought Jesse was sleeping, but he wasn't really and he overheard them talking about everything that was wrong with them. He knew his brother James wouldn't have lived much longer, something about them being torn up inside and bleeding bad. All Jesse really knew, was how painful what their dad had done was and hoped he never had to deal with that again.

Thankfully, the people brought him and his brother here, and were fixing them up. He wasn't sure where they were, or what was going to happen to them, but for now at least; they were warm, had full stomachs, and weren't hurting. That's something that hadn't happened in a very long time.

"Jess?" His brother said from the next bed, almost like he was afraid he wouldn't get an answer.

"Yeah bro... I'm here." Jess said just as softly. He didn't know where they were either and didn't know if someone was listening in.

"Was... was it all just a dream?" James' voice quivered with fear.

"No, it wasn't a dream." They heard a voice say, and both boys jumped a bit and cowered in fear.

"It's okay, I' ain't gonna hurt ya none." The voice said as a boy, somewhat smaller than they were stood up out of a chair they hadn't noticed before. Both boys immediately calmed down. They weren't really scared of other kids.

"Where... where are we?" Jesse asked, after a moment of gathering his courage. He was never allowed to speak unless spoken too before, but he knew the people earlier said they would be safe. He wanted to believe that, oh how he wanted to believe.

"Well, right now, you’re in our little clinic, in what we call Camp Bam Bam, but if you are both feeling up to it I can show you to rooms you can use." As he was talking, the young boy came closer to Jesse and James allowing them to see him more clearly now. He had longish blond hair and really bright blue eyes. He was only about four and half feet tall, but carried himself with a confidence the two older boys could feel. He wore a white lab coat, but it didn't look like one the doctors would wear, as it had a picture of an explosion on the front chest. "By the way, my name's Jory. I’m here to help get you guys settled in and answer any questions I can."

The boys just looked at him not really knowing what to do or think. They just laid there looking up at Jory. Jory finally walked over to the table in the room, turned and looked back at the boys. "Okay, how about this. There are some clothes here for you two to wear. They’re a couple of my brother Will's jumpsuits, but I think they should fit you. He's your age and just as tall and lanky. He even gave you guys a pair of boxers each... not that he needs them. Billy usually doesn't let him wear underwear no more, says it just gets in the way." Jory laughed and knew by the looks on the twins’ faces, they had no idea what he was talking about.

"Anyways, why don't you boys get dressed and then meet me outside in the waiting room, from there, I'll show you around and to a room you guys can have for however long you stay here. I'll also show you the most important area in the base.... the kitchens." Jory laughed again, and this time he at least got a small hint of a giggle out of the two boys, but then he saw Jesse's face fall.

"But... umm... Jory... we're not allowed... to wear clothes." It was at that moment, that Jory really understood the depths of psychological torture these two boys were made to live with. Just like everyone else in his immediate family, his telepathic powers have been getting stronger, but unlike his brothers, Jory also had a bit of empathy. When Jesse spoke so softly, it took Jory's enhanced hearing to hear him. The waves of terror were flowing off the boys like they were sure they were about to be beat to death. But it was his telepathy that really got him seeing red.

The images that flashed through both of the boy’s minds of what their punishment would be for wearing clothes almost made Jory sick to his stomach. He had seen some terrible things in the time since he left the lab, and heard about, and even shared some of Juan's memories of what he went through. But, the monster that these two boys called "dad," Jory found fit right in with Juan's old masters. It took all of his self control to not let his face twist in anger and disgust, but he knew these two boys would need a lot of help. Chang was right, these two boys would probably only feel somewhat safe around someone younger than they were. It would be a long time until they would be able to trust any adult.

He slowly walked over to Jesse's bed and motioned for James to join them. The other brother slowly slipped out of bed and quickly got onto the bed his brother was on and snuggled right up to him. Jory gently sat on the bed next to the two boys and put his hand on top of Jesse's. "I give you my word... NO ONE will hurt you here. Not while I'm around anyways." Jory put as much emphasis and feeling into it as he could, to try and make the boys understand just how serious he was.

James spoke up for the first time, but again Jory had to rely on his enhanced hearing to be able to hear the boy as he spoke so softly. "But... but what can you do?"

Jory half grinned at that question and slowly reached around to his back and under his shirt. He pulled out the Glock 9mm pistol he kept in the holster in the small of his back. He dropped the clip out and locked the slide back, so there was no chance it could be fired and then handed it to the two wide eyed boys.

Jesse gently took the gun like he was afraid it would bite him, but the longer he looked at it, the child like curiosity came out and all two soon he and his brother were lost looking over the highly polished piece of metal that Jory had given them. Soon both boys were asking questions about the gun and Jory was answering just as quickly as they could ask. He pulled one of the bullets out of the magazine and passed it to the boys so they could see it. They were soaking up the information as fast as Jory could give it to them.

"Okay guys, let’s hold off on any more for now, why don't you get dressed and we can go get some food. Then if you want, I can show you to the firing range. Adam, my oldest brother, and the commander of the base, requires anyone who wants to carry a gun to be certified in both gun use and more importantly gun safety. If you want, I can set that up, since I happen to be one of the instructors, and then you can carry your own. Does that sound good to you?"

Both boys nodded quickly and jumped up to get dressed. Jory had no real intention of giving these boys live firearms anytime soon, but he knew it would help them feel safe, so he was going to work something out. Probably give them a small pistol with blank rounds. It's not like they'd need live fire rounds inside the base.

The boys were quiet as Jory led them out of the waiting room and into the hallway. Camp Bam Bam had only been "open" for two days so far, but they already had just under a thousand kids staying here, and just over three hundred adults. All the kids they met, recognized Jory, not because he had met them; but because he was wearing his fatigues and green beret. They knew he was one of the leaders of this place and because of that, many of them stopped and thanked Jory for the help he and his brothers had given them. Jesse and James didn't really know what to think.

Both boys stopped dead in their tracks when they got to the dining hall. IT was huge, with over three hundred kids walking around or sitting down and eating. It was set up cafeteria style, and you went along and picked out what you wanted. But it was the smells that hit the boys that stopped them dead. Neither boy could ever remember smelling something so good.

They went through the line and were shocked to see kids in the back cooking up the food and helping serve people. They saw boys and girls of all ages, sizes, shapes and colors. It was truly, a sight neither boy ever thought they would see. They were sitting there chatting away with Jory and a few of the other kids when both boys suddenly went still and quiet. Jory looked around and finally saw what got the boys scared.

Dave had just walked out of the kitchen area with a huge tray and was making his way towards the boys table. "It's okay guys, he’s a good one and remember I said nothing would happen to you while I'm around. Okay?"

Neither of the boys said anything, but they both slowly nodded their heads. Jesse and James both made themselves as small as possible and cowered into Jory. If the situation wasn't what it was, it might have made Jory laugh. Here were two boys, both bigger than he was, trying to hide behind him.

Dave saw what was happening and slowed down. He had a questioning look on his face, but Jory's smile told him it was going to be okay, if only Jory really knew what would happen.

"Hey there guys, how’s it going?" Dave asked, and Jory felt both boys start to shake in fear. He patted their hands and tried to reassure them it would be okay.

"Not too bad... I see you made some of your world famous "Welcome to the Unit" banana splits." Jory was hoping the thought of such a treat would calm the boys down.

"Of course I do... So, who are these two new young ones?" Dave asked, as he set the try down on the table, as he stood back up, all hell broke loose.

Jesse was sure that Dave was going to try and hurt them like every other adult always had and he couldn't let his brother get that close to dying again. Before he even knew what he was doing, he grabbed for the gun that was right in front of him, the gun that Jory carried on the small of his back. He remembered Jory showing them how the safety worked and with a quick flick of his thumb, he flipped down the trigger, and before even Jory could move, he raised the gun and pulled the trigger in one fluid motion.

Jesse was unprepared for the kick the pistol had, and it flew up and hit him in the forehead. Dave in the mean time had a stunned look on his face and pulled his hand away from his chest: looking down he saw it was covered in blood.