Jigsaw

Wednesday morning; Jonas' bedroom:

Harry awoke slowly, with the unfamiliar feeling of another body beside him and something poking him in the hip. "Oh, shit," he thought to himself. "I'm in bed with Jonas. He'll freak!" Then the events of the night before came back to him, and his eyes opened wide.

Jonas opened his eyes and smiled. "'Mornin', Har'!" he said.

"Um, uh...." Harry's face registered panic.

"Will you stop worrying?" Jonas said reassuringly. "I knew just what I was doing last night, and I enjoyed the hell out of it - and so did you. I *know.*" He smiled, then looked serious. "But we do need to talk - after taking a leak. Race you to the toilet!"

"Um, we're both, uh...."

"Nude don't bother me; you know that. And if Tanner or D.J. should see, they'll just enjoy the view. C'mon!"

After the obligatory morning urination, during which Jonas playfully encouraged Harry to join in a "swordfight" with their streams - which seemed to relax Harry - they walked companionably back to the bedroom.

"I'll drag out some more sweats; we may as well be comfortable until we have to put on monkey suits for the funeral," Jonas said. "But sit down and let's talk - and having this conversation naked seems to fit.

"Harry, bro, you are my best friend and I love you. I was absolutely stunned to overhear you Monday night - I had no idea that you were in love with me, and that you thought you needed to hide it from me.

"But I'm still not sure of who I am, or who I'm going to be. And we'll just have to deal with that - together. I haven't stopped liking girls; that's a part of me. But I've never known a girl who cares as much about who I really am, as you do. That's really important to me.

"You never have to hide anything from me, ever again. And that includes being horny for me. To be honest, over the last two days I've felt so close to you that I can't find the right words for it. Don't think last night was something that'll never happen again.

"But don't expect me to fall madly in love with you, at least not yet. That's not me, or at least not who I am yet, and you know it. I need time to sort out my feelings. But I want you to know that yours are just as important to me, and you don't need to hide your love ever again.

"Now give me a hug, tell me you love me, and then let's get dressed and go get some breakfast."

Hope growing in his eyes, Harry hastened to do what Jonas had said. A few minutes later, Jonas looked down their still-embraced bodies.

"Well, we don't have to get dressed and go downstairs just yet!" he said with a quirky smile.

---

Later that morning:

"Maureen? There's some old dude getting out of a Lincoln out front," Tanner called out.

"Old dude? Let me see," Maureen answered, emerging from her study and coming to the window. "Oh, good, it's Josiah," she said. She strode to the front door and welcomed him in warmly. "Josiah, you know Jonas. This is his friend Harry Johnson, the boy who had the phone number I called you about. And these are D.J. and Tanner Wagner, of Clan Short in Florida. Boys, may I introduce you to Josiah Brewster, Family Court Judge of Franklin County and an old friend." A well-dressed, distinguished looking man in his late 40s stood smiling at her.

"Pleased to meet you," Harry, D.J., and Tanner echoed each other, as each shook his hand. "Hi, Judge Josiah," Jonah said with a smile.

"It's my pleasure, boys," Josiah said. "I gather you have something to do with the two boys Maureen spoke to me about? I seem to remember Clan Short was given temporary custody on the paperwork I was faxed."

"That's our Clan," D.J. responded. "That would be from Teri - Mrs. Short, Director of Federation Youth Services, I suppose I ought to say. She always tells us to call her Teri or Mom, though, so I formed the habit."

"Exactly," said Josiah. "I'm surprised at how fast she was able to do things, though. Usually pushing paperwork through the bureaucracy takes a lot more time."

"That's one of the nice things about FYS and the Clan," D.J. answered politely. "When Teri or Cory decides something needs to happen, they can order it done then and there. Take us - one moment Tanner and I were on the run from the three kiddie porn vendors that had custody of us, and before the day was out we'd been whisked up to the Enterprise, and then got a new and terrific set of parents."

"Cory?" the judge queried.

"Her son - he's Clan Patriarch, and has as much authority as she does if not more."

"Oh? Her picture led me to think she was a fairly young woman, in her thirties."

"She is. Cory's fourteen. But he's a legal adult, and an authority figure. It's a Vulcan thing."

"I'm beginning to see what you meant about surprising things," Josiah said to Maureen with an air of startlement.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Jonas said, grinning.

"True that is," Maureen added. "It's gotten to the point where if one of these boys were to be telling me that the Pope was planning to drop by for a visit, ye can be sure I'll be setting out my best silver and my white dress to greet His Holiness."

"You wouldn't be exaggerating a mite?" said the amused judge.

"Actually, no," said Harry. "Since I called Zac Hanson Monday, amazing things have been happening around here every few hours."

"I always knew Maureen was a pretty marvelous person," Josiah said with a warm smile.

"Oh, go on with you," Maureen said, blushing.

"Hey, no hitting on my mother without permission," Jonas said with a big grin.

"I assume you're up to see those two custody cases you mentioned," Maureen said, changing the subject quickly.

"In part, yes, but I wanted to check in with you, as well," Josiah answered. "The one household was just fine, but the other one, I wouldn't place a pig in. And it seemed like their chief interest was the extra welfare benefits they could get from the little girl."

"We've seen a bit of that," Tanner said. "Little Ricky's birth mom was like that; I'm glad Doc Austin and Carrie have him now."

Josiah looked questioningly at Tanner. "A six-year-old in the Clan," D.J. explained. "His birth mother was a neglectful pothead on welfare; her check was the main reason she kept Ricky. The pediatrician that Teri hired for medical services for FYS was his doctor, and removed custody from her as soon as he could do it under the Safe Haven Act. He and his wife adopted Ricky, thank God. He's a much happier little boy now."

"I'm not used to seeing young teenagers as concerned for others as you seem to be," Josiah said.

"That's the least of it," Jonas interjected. "These two have Starfleet commissions and phasers, and the right to use them. Their friend stunned a cop with his, right about where you're standing, and had Starfleet beam him up. Telepathic ten-year-olds, you name it. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a talking dog back in Florida."

"Just two eagles, so far. But unless they're talking directly to you, you can't understand them," Tanner answered seriously.

"If I didn't know your sense of humor, I'd think you were serious," Harry commented.

"He is," D.J. replied. "But the peculiar stuff that seems to impress you guys is really secondary to what you said, your honor."

"Josiah or Judge Josiah is just fine, out of court."

"The point is that every single one of us had it tough: physical or sexual abuse, neglect, abandonment, you name it. The Clan rescued us all from it, and we're committed, as brothers, to passing on the help we got to others as they need it.," D.J. said seriously.

"That does impress me," Josiah commented. "But tell me, Maureen, do you all have plans for this afternoon?"

"Yes, unfortunately, Josiah. The funeral of the parents of those two boys that Jonas and Harry found is this afternoon, and we're planning to attend it."

"In our case, we have to," Tanner said. "John - Commander Martin of Starfleet Security - wants us to be available as backup for him, to guard the two boys as well as you three."

Josiah lifted an eyebrow. "That thing on his belt is a real Starfleet phaser, Judge," Jonas said. "He's quite serious about guarding."

"In that case, I'll attend it with you," Josiah said. "I feel like I failed those two boys, even though I never knew them. Hmmm... I do still have a little estate practice on the side, a few old clients from before I went judge that still want me to handle their wills. Maybe I can dust off my lawbooks and volunteer to make sure the Templetons' estate goes to the boys, not to the greedy hands of the State Treasurer."

"I think they'd appreciate that, Josiah," Maureen said warmly. "But don't expect too much from them; when they were here, they were terribly grief-stricken, and I doubt they're much better yet. Just let them know you'll handle it for them, if you want my advice."

"I think you're right, my dear," he answered. "I have seen some pretty traumatized kids come through my court, and it's always best to let them know you're there to help, and then go ahead with the nitpicking details without stressing them about it."

---

Wednesday Afternoon:

Maureen was pacing nervously. Funerals weren't really her thing, but she knew she just had to be there for C.J. and Jed's sake. She hadn't really known the senior Templetons in life (for which she was now feeling a strange regret). But for the hour or so that they'd been at her house Monday, she'd grown attached to the two little darlin's. She was really glad that Clan Short had decided that they should come back for their parents' funeral, but at the same time she had her doubts that they would be truly safe from Scordo. But the folks at Clan Short had assured her late yesterday, when she had talked with them about the funeral, that not only the boys, but also a contingent of Federation Security personnel guarding them, would be at that funeral.

Only problem was, where were they? The funeral was at two, and it was past one-thirty now. She was dressed and ready, in the only black dress she owned - a full-skirted, long-sleeved crepe, with a high, pleated collar fashioned sort of like a turtleneck. She also wore sensible black, one-inch pumps and her mother's pearls. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a knot, but little tendrils framed her face and neck. D.J. and Tanner were ready too, in matching dark-gray suits, with a green tie for D.J. and blue for Tanner. Harry's suit matched D.J. and Tanner's with a red tie, while Jonas wore black pants and his Black Watch blazer, with a midnight blue tie.

The story behind the suits was amazing in itself. Shortly after the arrangements were made as to who would be attending the funeral, D.J. had received a call on his communicator, from the Lafayette. Both he and Tanner, as well as Harry, were to go outside in tight-fitting clothes, and stand absolutely still. Huh? Now wait a minute here! But two of the young men (she still had a problem not seeing thirteen-year-olds as children, but she gave it her best shot) seemed to know what was happening. And they reassured Harry that nothing would hurt him. So they went to the half-bath off the kitchen, changed, and went to stand out in the backyard for probably a minute. Less than an hour later, three full sets of clothes in garment bags appeared in the living room in a transporter beam, with the message, "I hope these will be satisfactory, sir."

D. J. said, "They look great. Thank you, Ensign."

Well, if they could do that....

Suddenly the living room lit up with the shimmer presaging the arrival of someone - or something - by transporter. Maureen wasn't sure she liked the idea that she was actually getting used to this. The shimmer resolved into ten people, all dressed in dark civilian suits for a funeral. Jacob performed introductions: "Hi, Maureen, good to see you again. You know Jed and Ceej, of course, and this lady is Rina Baldwin; she contributed a lot toward helping Jed start to get better after he came to us; and the rest are Dr. Dan Richardson, Federation Youth Services psychologist, Commander John Martin and Lieutenant Matt Barnes, of Federation Security, J.J. Richardson, Dan's son, whom you probably remember, Adam Short, J. J.'s boyfriend, both of Clan Short Security, and my twin brother Jamie Dodds, of Clan Short Intelligence. Guys, this is Maureen. Her son was the one who found Jed and Ceej."

"'Tis pleased I am t'meet you all," said Maureen nervously. "My son Jonas and his friend Harry are upstairs getting ready. This is my friend Josiah Brewster, our county Family Court Judge. We'll leave in a few minutes for the church; it's only a couple blocks up the street. After a brief service at the church will be the burial, an' then ye're all invited back here for some refreshments if ye'd care t'stay."

Dan answered for the group. "Maureen, we all owe you and your son and his friend a huge vote of thanks for what you've done on behalf of these two boys and Clan Short. We'd be honored to stay."

"Well, I guess we'd better be on our way then."

There was quite a crowd in front of the small Methodist church. People were filing in singly or in small groups. The Templetons had been well liked in town; few knew of Scordo's blackmail of George. As Maureen and her party arrived, no one noticed a man go off to the side and draw a cellphone from his pocket. He was of average height and build, nondescript coloring. His eyes were grayish, but could look daggers through you if you crossed him It would be complimentary to call his hair light brown. It was short, straight, and slicked back, cut bluntly around his ears and neck. He was dressed in a light brown suit. He punched a number, then said, "The brats are here. I want them taken care of by the time the funeral's over, got that?"

"Yes, Mr. Scordo," said the voice from the other end.

C. J. and Jed felt a little bewildered as they walked into the church, each firmly grasping one of Rina's hands. They were led by an usher to a pew near the front of the nave, where they sat down and bowed their heads for a moment of silence. They weren't strangers to church attendance; they customarily attended services with their parents most Sundays, except when George was involved in some project out of town. But this was totally different. Neither of them had ever attended a funeral before, and they didn't quite know how to act. Finally Pastor Tucker approached the pulpit, and began the service for Burial of the Dead.

"Jesus said, 'I am the resurrection and the life....'" The words had little meaning for Jed now. He knew, of course, all about how Jesus had died and rose again from Sunday school, but couldn't figure out how it related to this situation. Eventually, with the long prayers and the sermon, he mostly tuned it out. He knew the Shepherd's Psalm by heart, and recited it along with everyone else. That felt kinda good in his heart. He was vaguely aware of Ceej fidgeting restlessly on the other side of Rina, and couldn't rightly blame him. He wanted in the worst way to fidget himself. But a twelve-year-old was too old to do those sorts of things.

The hymns, now, were a totally different story. He'd been planning to sing in the choir after his voice changed; maybe that would have happened next fall. He knew he had a nice treble voice, and had always enjoyed the singing. Two hymns in particular gave him pause. There was one whose words spoke about the unchanging love of the Creator in spite of all the changes life handed one, and that He would always be there. But it was the final hymn that really made Jed think. The words were something about meeting again in the Hereafter. As he sang, his voice cracked a little (more from age than emotion, but that was there too), but his heart lifted with hope at the promise of seeing his Mom and Dad again someday. When the hymn was over, he started to think to himself: 'I don't think I really believe that Dad went to Heaven to be an engineer for God. Maybe I never really did, actually, but thinkin' so helped me to feel better about it for a while. Maybe what happened is that they have become kinda like guardian angels for kids like me and Ceej who had lost their folks in a tragedy - kinda like what they said at Clan Short about what St. Mikey did for abused and neglected kids. I should tell Dr. Dan about this later. But I don't think Ceej ought to know just yet. He's little; he might need to believe that Dad is an engineer for God to understand why he isn't coming back.' With those thoughts, he found a new strength growing within himself, and understood what Kyle had meant. He squeezed Rina's hand and smiled at her.

Before he knew it the pallbearers were lifting the caskets for the procession down to the burial ground. All the people waited respectfully in their seats till the pallbearers had gotten outside, then the congregation began to file out. Although the town cemetery was adjacent to the back of the church, the grave site was quite a ways away. Jed could barely make out the two holes in the ground, until they had walked up a little rise from the church. The pastor was facing the open graves, looking toward the back of the church. Behind him and to his right was the lane that wound through the cemetery from the street beyond.

The congregation gathered in a crescent facing the pastor. Jed, C.J, and Rina were in a group in front, slightly to the left of the center of the arc, with members of Clan Short gathered around them. Dan, Jamie, and Jacob were slightly to their right. Maureen, Jonas, and Harry were slightly to their left, joined at the last minute by Harry's mother Abbie, and Josiah Brewster was to Maureen's left. Behind them, from left to right were D.J., Tanner, Matt, Adam, J.J., and John, phasers hidden at their waist under their suit jackets. A few townspeople were to their left, and a large number of others, including George's coworkers and some town dignitaries, were off to their right in a ragged arc.

As quiet descended once more, the graveside service began: Pastor Tucker read aloud, "Forasmuch as Almighty God hath received unto Himself the soul of our departed sister Rhonda Elaine Sarles Templeton, and our brother George Matthew Templeton, we therefore tenderly commit their bodies to the ground in the blessed hope that as they have borne the image of the earthly so also they shall bear the image of the heavenly...."

Two police cars came down the street beyond the pastor, and turned into the lane leading to the grave. They pulled to a stop behind him, and four cops exited the cars and walked towards the crowd.

"In sure and certain hope, we now commend the bodies of George and Rhonda Templeton to the earth, and their souls to a merciful and loving God. Amen." Pastor Tucker concluded.

The policemen strode forward towards Jed and C.J. "Christopher and Jeremiah," one of them said, "we have a court order to take you into the care and custody of Child Protective Services."

Josiah Brewster strode forward. "You most certainly do not!" he said firmly.

"And how would you know?" one cop asked him, obviously not recognizing him.

"Because I am Family Court Judge for this county, and both the Federation and my court have already assigned custody elsewhere," Josiah answered.

"We'll just take these boys now, and sort this out later," said the cop.

Suddenly both twins spoke up. "He'll kill them as soon as they're out of sight," said Jamie.

"That's the man behind this, Uncle John," said Jacob, pointing at Scordo, who was standing with the other Selectmen at the right edge of the crowd.

Maureen followed Jacob's pointing finger, and said, "That's Randall Scordo, all right - just as I'd thought."

Scordo backed away from the crowd, looking to make his way away from the service.

Adam dropped back from the crowd, drew his phaser, and ordered, "Freeze, Mr. Scordo." Scordo made as if to bolt, and Adam stunned him, with his phaser set to minimum stun.

"Him, him, and him - they were in on the murder," Jamie said, gesturing to three cops as Matt, John, J.J., D.J., and Tanner drew their phasers. D.J. and Tanner stepped forward as one to cover Rina and her two new sons. One policeman drew his service revolver, and Matt stunned him with his phaser. "This other guy was not; he was just here to help execute what he thought was a legal custody order."

"Gentlemen, I am John Martin, Commander in Starfleet Security," John said. "You are all under arrest for attempted violation of a Federation Safe Haven custody order, and suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder."

"That goes for you, too," Adam said as he advanced on Randall Scordo, now groggily coming to after a minimal stunning. With an angry look on his face, Jed ran over to join Adam, followed by a shocked C.J.

"I know who you are!" Jed said scathingly. "And I know what you did. You're the man I heard my father arguing with on the phone those nights. You murdered my parents in cold blood, and now they're in heaven with God. You look just like the troll in a dream I had a long time ago - and you act like him too. And you're going straight to hell, Scordo!" C.J. looked at his big brother with pride and admiration, silently cheering him on.

"Martin to Lafayette," John said into his communicator.

"Yes, Commander Martin."

"I have four in custody here, on criminal charges including suspicion of murder. Prepare to beam them up on my order, and lock them up."

"Get over with the cops," Adam ordered Scordo.

"You're just a kid," Scordo said.

"*Lieutenant Short* just gave you a lawful order," Matt said firmly, walking up and emphasizing Adam's official title. "Now will you obey him or will you be dragged?" He grabbed Scordo's shoulder and frogmarched him over with the cops.

"Energize," said John as Matt stepped back. Scordo and the three cops vanished in the familiar transporter twinkle. "Pastor, please accept Starfleet's apology for interrupting your service. It was necessary to protect those boys by making those arrests at this time. But I would not willingly interrupt a sacred service."

"That was the end of the liturgy for burial," a still-startled Pastor Tucker said with a smile. "All that remained to be done was the benediction. But it's much as I've said in several sermons: God does protect and defend us, and often he works through men of good will - like yourself and these boys - to accomplish his ends. I believe Arkham has been blessed and protected by your presence here, and I think that was his will for this service. Let us go forth in peace!" he said, lifting his voice to the assembled congregation for his final words.

---

To Be Continued