The Last Phoenix

"Dad, go through the drive through and get a couple #2s and what ever you want." Neal said casually, as they left the hotel parking garage.

"Neal!  You mean to tell me that at a time like this, all you can think about is food?" Tom said, amazed that Neal was being so self centered.

"Daaaaad!  Duhhhhhhh!! Think about it for a second; Jason hasn't had anything to eat since yesterday, he'll be hungry."  Neal stated matter of factly, what had been perfectly obvious to him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Son."  At the window Tom ordered three #2s and an extra burger.  At Neal's questioning look, he simply said, "Jason will be hungry."  They both laughed.

When they arrived at Juvy, the gate was still locked; there was a bent metal pole where somebody had tried to pry the gate open but had obviously failed.  Tom said, "Well, it looks like Jason is here.  Want me to come with you, or should I just wait here?"

"I think you should probably stay here, that way, if he tries to run, you can grab him.  It's going to be pretty creepy in there all alone, but I think we need the privacy.  Wish me luck, Dad." Neal said.

"Good luck, Son. I love you, and you make me so proud of you sometimes." Tom told Neal.

"I love you too, Dad." Neal said, as he left the van and unlocked the gate.  Inside, Juvy was as creepy as Neal thought it would be.  He looked around downstairs and didn't see Jason anywhere, so he went up to the older boys' section.  He had a real queasy feeling up there as he remembered the terrible things that had happened to him while he was there.  He found Jason asleep on his bed. 

Neal took out the burgers and drinks and set them on the desk.  The aroma of food soon brought Jason around.  He looked up at Neal and tears began to form in his eyes, but he didn't say anything.

Neal quickly handed Jason a burger and a drink.  "Don't say a word, Jason, just eat, and let me talk, okay?"  Jason took a bite and nodded.  "I realize I blew it yesterday, when I blew up at you.  I was real upset having to come back here to this awful creepy rotten place, and well... Aunt Linda is one of the nicest, kindest ladies you'll ever meet.. .and well... when you mouthed off at her... Well,  I guess I just went ballistic.  I said some pretty awful stuff to you that I shouldn't have said, but Glenn set me straight last night.  I should have known you were just showing off to the bullies, I kinda did that too until, well, until I got sent up here with the big guys.  Will you please forgive me for what I said and let me help you?"

Jason swallowed and took a drink.  "Why would you want to help me? I was a real jerk and I deserved to have my head on a plate, and you just told me off like you should have."

"Cause...... you tried to protect Aaron and Glenn too.  You aren't bad like those other assholes.  You need to watch your mouth, but I think you deserve a chance.  You just got to apologize to Aunt Linda, for mouthing off at her like that." Neal said.

"But I'm a worthless piece of shit, Neal.  I'm nothing but a screw up.  I mess everything up and you really don't want me around, honest, you don't." Jason started crying again.

"Jeez, Jason, you are NOT worthless.  Aaron and Glenn both want you to come and be their friend.  They stuck up for you, like crazy, and they both chewed me out but good, even when they thought I might get mad and kick them out."

"They did?" Jason looked completely lost.

"Yeah, they did.  If you think you can start thinking before running you mouth, I'm here to offer you a chance at rebuilding your life.  There are some of us that think you are worth the effort.  Do you?" Neal asked.

Jason stared at Neal, "No, I don't think I'm worth it, Neal.  I'm a first class screw up.  Ever since I can remember, I've done the wrong thing.  I've tried real hard and I always screw it up.  Sometimes the best I can do is act tough and make them afraid to be near me.  If I try to be nice, I get called names and the ones I was being nice to get picked on even more.  If I hadn't tried to be nice to Glenn, the others wouldn't have done that stuff to him."  Jason was crying and gasping for air by the time he finished.

Neal sat on the bed next to the older boy.  He put his arm around him and Jason all but climbed into Neal's lap and cried it all out.  Neal held him and let the emotions run through Jason and be released in the tears.  Neal knew how necessary crying could be.  Finally the sobs slowed and Jason was regaining himself.

Neal handed Jason the second burger.  "I'll tell you right now that what you did didn't make them do that to Glenn.  Those guys would have done that anyway, if anything they backed off some, so you wouldn't come to his rescue.  What they did to him was bad, but they were capable of far worse. Believe me, I know that from firsthand experience.  I almost died from what they did to me and probably would have if Brian hadn't helped me run away.  What you did probably saved Glenn and Aaron's lives."

"You really think so?  You mean I did good?" Jason asked, with disbelief.

"Yes, Jason, I know so. You did very good, honest.  Will you at least let us try to help you?  Please?" Neal turned on his patented 'puppy dog eyes'.

"I don't know what to say, Neal, honest." Jason said taking another bite of the burger.

"Say, 'Yes,' and we can get out of this damned hell hole." Neal said.

Jason finished the burger and said, "Yes." through the last mouth full of it.

"Jeez, Jason, don't talk with your mouth full!" Neal kidded.

"I'm sorry, I screwed up again..." all of it said with his mouth still full.

Tom was pacing back and forth outside, waiting for Neal to return.  He was beginning to worry that something had happened to him, when Neal appeared dragging the larger Jason behind him.

"Hey, Dad.  I found him!" Neal yelled.

"Hello Jason, we were really getting worried about you.  I'll give you some pointers on hiding from Neal." Tom said, chuckling as he opened the van doors.

Neal and Jason climbed into the back seat.  Neal said, as Tom pulled away, "I hope the next time I see that place, it's nothing but a parking lot."

"Yeah, me too," Jason said, as his eyes filled with tears again.

Back at Haven a certain nosy computer made a note of that sentiment, and went back to monitoring the GPS.

"Hey, Dad?  Think Macy's has restocked since we hit it yesterday?" Neal asked with a giggle.

"Let's go find out."

Tom and the two boys had a wonderful time outfitting Jason.  By the time they were done, Jason was beginning to think he might make it.

*

Mitch and Travis both jumped up off the bed when Lou was wheeled back into the room.  He was still pretty drugged up, but he was actually awake.  He was waving his hand around in front of his face.  Leo was grinning from ear to ear as they gently settled Lou back in his bed.

Leo whispered, "Talk only in a whisper for now, so you don't overload his ears.  As it turned out, we didn't have to do the implant after all, we just did some reconstructive surgery on each of his ears.  The Ophthalmologist also went ahead with both cataract implants, so we don't have to return in six weeks.  Lou can now both hear and see; he just needs to learn how."

Mitch ran and gave Dr, Turnman a big hug, then went to Lou and touched him.  "He's loopy."

Dr. Turnman said, "Yeah, I'm sure he'll be like that for a few more hours.  Then he'll probably fall asleep for a while."  Leo yawned.  I'm going to go back to the hotel.  I'm sure your parents will want to come over and see him when they hear.  You two take care of him.  The nurses will be in to check."  Leo kissed the twins on the forehead, then he kissed Lou, who giggled and startled at the sound he had made.

When Leo left, Mitch climbed up on Lou's right side and Travis climbed up on his left side.  Lou felt Mitch's presence and turned his head and really saw Mitch for the first time; he reached out trying to touch him but miss judged depth and smacked Mitch right on the nose.

"Ouch, hey that hurt!" Mitch said.

"SSSSSHHHHH! Whisper, remember." Travis whispered.

"Sorry."

Lou was looking back and forth between the two twins.  He touched Mitch and smiled.  He then touched Travis, pulled back and cried then latched onto Mitch for dear life.

"Hey, I didn't do nothin'," Travis said.

Mitch caressed Lou for a minute, then replied,  "He was scared, He knew we were different, but didn't understand why.  His new sight was confusing him.  It must be weird to suddenly have a sense you never had before."

"Yeah, and now poor Lou has two of them that he never had before, and a family too."  Travis said, and gently laid his hand on Lou's back.  "I love you too, Lou."

Lou smiled and snuggled into the brothers' loving arms.  He was soon asleep again.

Travis whispered to Mitch, "Have you seen what's in his mind?"

"No, I just kinda get like... feelings.  What do you see."

"It's really amazing.  He has had very little contact with any people, and we are the first ones to show him any love and caring, what so ever, but he has created a whole world of colors and shapes for himself.  It's absolutely incredible. It's just plain beautiful.  I got to get Mom or Dad to take me shopping.  I need to get him some stuff."  Travis said, while mentally making a shopping list.

*

Linda, Lee and Andy arrived at the hospital about an hour later, and Lou was still sleeping.  Andy stayed with them while Linda and Lee went to the Trauma center which was located just across the street from Children's Hospital.  They knocked on the door to John and Becky's room.  They entered when told to.

Linda went over to Becky and Lee went to John.

"Becky, you are looking really good." Linda said.

"John, you look like Living Hell." Lee said, at exactly the same time.

All four of them broke up laughing, John winced but kept his smile.  "Thanks Lee, nothing like a friend to be honest."

"Well, compared to what Tom said, I guess you are looking better.  So what are the Docs saying?" Lee asked.

"They would release me to home care right now, if I lived near by, but they are talking nursing home for a couple of weeks, then maybe I'll be up for the trip to Haven.  I feel so damn useless.  If we are going to take this job Tom offered, I should start getting to know the boys right away.  They need things to be as stable as possible and bouncing them between homes is bad enough, but also changing their adult support at the same time is not good at all." John said.

Linda and Becky said in unison, "I agree."

Lee grinned, "Oh thank God!  You're taking the job.  I was afraid I was going to end up daddy to ALL those boys..."

"You say that like there are a lot of them.  Just how many are we talking about?  Ten?  Fifteen?" John asked.

"Oh no, dear," Becky said calmly, "Forty.  Don't you remember?"

"F, f, forty?  Good God!  Forty boys?  I'm going to kill Tom as soon as I can move.  Honey, make sure it's on the top of my list.  I really don't remember all that much from yesterday, because of all those drugs they had me on."  John growled.

"No, don't do that, I'm sure they'd lock you up if you did that, and I'd have them again."  Lee shuddered.

The women were giggling at the men's antics. Until the TV came on all by itself and a face familiar to all of them filled the screen.  'My, it sure took long enough to isolate this circuit.  The wiring would have been better if done by a blind monkey.  I've never had to deal with such a mixed up mess.' a very disgusted 'Philip' said.  'Don't you worry one little bit, I can assure you that you will be at Phoenix House in three days, and the boys will be arriving the day after that.  They will all sleep and go to school at Haven until they have finished their own rooms and can move into Phoenix House, permanently.'

"'Philip'?  What have you done now?" Linda asked, very suspiciously. 

'Dear Lady, I have only done that which Tom would have, if he wasn't so busy being a hero along with Neal.  When he is finished settling things with Jason, he will be coming here too.'

"'Philip', you aren't answering my question." Linda said with a clear threat in her voice.

'I have arranged for transportation back to Haven and Phoenix House.  Samuel reports that the master apartment, as he calls it, should be ready by tomorrow.  He has designed and built it for your family and there is a guest room as well.   Your household goods have been packed and the moving vans will be there in two days so there will be no problem, and you will be good to go.  The Haven Staff is helping to get everything ready for you.' Finally winding down, 'Philip' stopped.

"What transportation?"  John asked.

'Well, there will be a private Med-Evac Helicopter from the hospital to the airport, then a large helicopter will transport you from there to the landing strip at Haven, to offload Lou and the twins, then it will head over to Phoenix to drop off you two and your twins.'  Explained 'Philip', as if that were an everyday occurrence.

"Just how many people are going to be flying?" Linda asked.

'There is room for eight passengers with two bedridden patients.'

So let's see, John and I and the twins; Lou, Mitch and Travis.  What about you two?  Will you be flying?" Linda asked.

"I can't.  The last time I flew, the pressure changes really messed up my back." Lee said.  "I was back in my wheelchair for two weeks afterwards.  I have been doing so well since Mitch came into my life that I have no desire to jinx it now."

"Well. Love, we need to have another adult on that flight." Linda said.

"LEO!" All four of them said together.

That decided, the four talked about how Phoenix House should be set up.  John and Becky hadn't seen the place and were fascinated by how the boys wanted the rooms.. 

Lee finally gave them the answer as to how they had figured that out.  "It's the Boy Scouts.  Neal is trying to set it up like the Scout troop, with each boy being in a small close knit group and each group having a representative for a council.  All in all, I think it will make things work a lot easier in the long run.  I have seen how those Haven boys work things out and it is simply amazing."

*

When Doc Leo returned to the Hotel, he brought a nurse from Pediatrics with him, and they set up an examining room in one of the empty rooms,  Each boy would get a comprehensive physical, including a STD screening and HIV test.  The hospital staff became very helpful when they realized he was serious about bringing 40 boys into the outpatient clinic that afternoon. 

Before any of the boys were asked to come in, Jim came to see Leo, "Dr. Turnman.  We have two boys here that need to be attended to immediately.  One, of them, I'm afraid, has AIDS and the other one has had a major exposure to the HIV.  I was informed that Aaron was even on the HAART drugs for some time, then removed from them."

"You don't just stop taking those drugs, for God's sake.  What in the world is going on?  Jim, would you please send them both down here right away. I need to examine them and have a talk with them." Dr. Turnman was all business when a kid was in trouble, and stopping a kid's meds when it was obvious that the meds were still needed was certainly Trouble (...with a capital T...).[and that rhymes with P and that stands for Particularly Pissed Pediatrician.] (Turnman was predisposed to pounce painfully upon the person who put the poor patients he was parenting in such a precarious predicament. And he was not pleased. He phumed. Phrothing and phoming with phatherhood, praying that he wasn't too late to help the boys he was already phalling in love with.) {Excuse me I have to go Pee.} <Oh please!>

It was just a few minutes and Aaron and Glenn came into the room.  Both boys had very concerned, if not frightened, looks on their faces.  Glenn spoke nervously, "You wanted to see us, Doctor?"

"Come on in boys, please, and close the door behind you."  Dr. Turnman said.  Once the door was closed, he began, "First of all, I want you to know that you are not in any kind of trouble.  Second of all, as your Doctor, I cannot legally tell anyone else what you tell me, except as it relates to medical treatment, without your permission.  Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Both boys nodded.

"Okay, which one of you is Aaron?" Doc asked.

"Ah... that would be me." Aaron said in a weak voice.

"So, how long has it been since you received your last HAART medications, son?" Doc Leo said, in his kindest voice.

"Not since I got in Juvy, somewhere around nine months ago." Aaron replied.

"Holy Moses!  That makes me so angry. What in the world were they thinking?  How are you feeling?" Leo asked.

"Well, I'm real happy to be out of that awful place, but I'm really tired and well..." he trailed off, took a deep breath, coughed, then raised up his shirt.

"Lord have mercy," Doc Turnman gasped,  "Kaposi Sarcoma.  We need to get you back on those meds NOW!  I'm going to take a blood sample for the Lab at the hospital and then they will send us the medications we need.  Will you please let Nurse Carol get the blood from you now?" He asked.

"You mean you don't hate me?" Aaron asked, totally surprised.

"No son, of course not. Now, I want you to listen to me real careful for a second, and I mean both of you. Please look at me.  None of the adults here hate you.  There is absolutely nothing you can do to make us hate you.  We want to help you, and if you'll let us, we will love you too."  Leo picked up Aaron and gave him a big loving hug.  Aaron attached himself to Dr. Turnman like a starfish to a clam.  Nurse Carol came over, gently took Aaron's arm and took the three vials of blood that were needed for all the tests.  She carefully labeled the vials and checked Aaron Christopher off the list she had.

Still holding Aaron, Dr. Turnman turned to the other boy, "Alright, Son, who are you?"

"Glenn VanSchoonhoven Parker." The boy replied, and looked hopefully at Aaron.  "Is he going to be okay?  Please God, let him be okay! They wouldn't do nothin' for him when he told them he was sick."

"Well, I don't know for sure yet, son, but with the HAART treatments, from what I have been told,  HIV and even AIDS is no longer a certain death sentence.  Hopefully, we have gotten him back on the meds in time.  We'll watch him real close and pray." Doc noticed that Aaron had stopped crying and might quite possibly be asleep.  "So, Glenn Parker, I heard you may have been exposed to HIV.  Is it just that you are Aaron's friend?"

Glenn swallowed and hoped what the Doctor had said earlier was true.  "No, sir, they forced me to have sex with Aaron, repeatedly for over a week.  It was the only way to get them to stop doing it to me.  I'm sorry, but I had to make it stop."  Glenn curled up over his knees and sobbed bitterly.

Leo nodded to the nurse who gently took the sleeping Aaron from him and laid him gently on one of the beds.  Kneeling in front of Glenn, Leo said, "I know, son, I know.  Neal went through that too, and I've seen just what kind of internal damage they could do to a guy.  Luckily, Neal wasn't infected so maybe you weren't either."

"I did a very bad thing, I should have protected Aaron better and not done those things to him." Glenn got out between sobs.

"Son, what do you think they would have done if you didn't do that?" Leo asked softly.

Glenn quieted and slowly looked at the doctor.  "I hadn't thought about that.  They would have done me more, and they would have all gang banged Aaron.  Oh, my God, it would have been even worse."

"Glenn, sometimes we have to do something that might seem bad if looked at by itself, but in context is good.  In medicine, sometimes you have to cut through some healthy tissue to get to the cancer to remove it.  In a real sense, what you did may have actually saved both of you.  Aaron is going to need you now, more than ever.  Can we get that sample now?"

Glenn wiped his eyes and then tentatively held out his arm.  Nurse Carol worked quickly and soon she had her three vials of blood.  When she was done, Glenn woke up Aaron and they left quietly.

Jim came back in when the boys were gone.  "So, are they sick, Doc?"

"The little one is for sure.  Could you get these samples to the hospital lab ASAP and go to the pharmacy and pick up the meds?  I'm calling the HIV Department and getting an expert to help us on this one.

Jim took the vials the nurse gave him and quickly left.  He passed a loaded down Tom, Neal and Jason getting off the elevator.  He filled them in on the doc's physicals and then headed out.  Before the next boys arrived, Tom took Jason into the room where Leo was.  "Dr. Turnman, here is Jason Parker, he can be your next victim, ah, I mean, patient."

"Hello Jason.  I hope we can get off to a better start than yesterday.  Now how about removing your shirt for me.  Nurse, has my stethoscope gotten cold enough?" Dr Leo said with a perfectly straight face.

"Yes Doctor, I've had it in the ice bucket for the last hour, just like you asked."

By the time Jason left the exam room, he was actually smiling and a bit more comfortable.  Neal was waiting for him and led the way down to Glenn and Aaron's Room.  "We put your stuff right next door.  Here is the card to open the door.  I'm down the hall if you need me.  Now go in there and thank these two guys for saving your ass."

"Yes, sir," Jason said, without even thinking about the fact that he was answering a kid five years younger than him and calling him sir.

Neal grinned and barely held back his giggles, knocked on the door and pushed Jason in when they answered.

"Ah, hi guys," Jason said dumbly.

"Jason!" Aaron yelled and ran to the older boy and gave him a big hug.  "Thank God, Neal got you back?  Oh, man, I was so worried about you."

"You were?" Jason was amazed.

Glenn came and gave Jason a hug, "Yeah, we were both worried.  You were our only friend in there, of course we cared."

"I... I had no idea... You guys are my friends?  I don't think I ever had a friend before.  Jason sat on one of the beds and started to cry.  His two friends sat on either side and hugged him while he cried.

Aaron said, "For God's sake Jason, you helped protect us, of course we're your friends. How could we not be?"

"Yeah, we didn't let on there, cause it would have spoiled your rep with the Shitheads." Glenn clarified.  "Things are going to be way different now; all the real rotten bastards are in detention and they won't be around to  bother any of us from now on.  We can be ourselves again."

By the time Dr. Turnman and Nurse Carol were done, it was dinner time.  Andy and Neal got everybody together and Andy said, "Okay guys, listen up now, we called down there and we have the dining room set up for tables of eight,  I want to have one of the Haven kids and six or seven Juvy kids at each table."  The boys all started to mill around looking for friends to hook up with.

"Okay, lets form up in six groups.  Danny with this group, Donny next, Jimmy, Brian, Neal and you guys get me." Andy assigned the groups saving the last group, the one with that loud mouth Jason, for himself.

"Now guys, stay with your group and let's go eat."  Andy led the way and for the first time, there was some semblance of order in going down to the restaurant.

When everyone was seated and had ordered, the conversations began.  The 'Haven' boys all started with something like, "The reason we had you form these groups is that the suites in the Phoenix House are divided into four bedrooms and a common area.  One of the bedrooms is kind of small, and will be a single. That will be for your group leader.  It is this way because, if someone has a problem, then he can go talk to the group leader in private.  There will be a weekly council meeting of all the group leaders, where information will be given out and problems discussed, and hopefully solved.  So think about who you want to share a room with, and who you want to share the suite with.  Unless you are brothers or there are some special circumstances, the rule of thumb is; room-mates have to be within two years of each other in age."

Then the discussions at the tables went in various directions. At one table, there were two sets of brothers, the Rossmans and the Flynns; the younger brothers were friends, so they wanted to be together and with their brothers too.  The older brothers were seven and fourteen, which would not be a good match, but the other three at the table were two six year olds and an eight year old.  With a little more discussion, the first group was formed.  Likewise the other tables worked things out pretty easily.  There were surprisingly few boys that traded tables. 

The only table that had a real problem was Andy's.  Aaron and Glenn wanted to share a room, and of course, Andy insisted that their ages were too far apart.  Jason jumped in and said that they were one of the special cases.  Well, it wasn't long before they were in a yelling match and standing there facing each other.  Aaron was in tears and Glenn was franticly trying to calm Jason down.

Neal looked over to his dads who just sat there, calmly watching the scene unfold.  Standing up and stomping over there, Neal picked up two glasses of ice water and promptly doused both of them.  "Shut up, both of you.  You guys are the older guys.  You are supposed to set the example.  Jeez, some example!  I don't know which one of you is the worst."  Neal let all the disgust he felt come through in his voice.  He looked over at Tom who gave him a thumbs up.  "Both of you head over there.  That table for two, NOW GET MOVING! You had better work this out or there will be serious trouble.  And we better not hear another loud word from either of you. Is that clear?"

Andy started to argue, but the glare that Neal gave him quickly changed his mind and the two older boys sheepishly retreated to the romantic corner table.

Neal sat down in Andy's place, "Okay, guys, what was going on here?"

"Jason was trying to tell the other one what we wanted, and he just wouldn't listen," Juan said.

"Yeah," Tey agreed.

Jose chimed in, "We had it all worked out, too.  Juan and I wanted to be in the same suite but he was too old, so I was rooming with Tey and Texas was with Juan.  And we wanted Jason to be our leader."

Neal thought about it and it seemed to make sense.  After all Aaron and Glenn had been staying together for some time now anyway and wanted to continue.  Andy didn't know the story and had reacted to Jason from his experience of yesterday.  "Okay, Ah, Juan, right?"

"Yeah, you remembered my name.  Kewl" Juan glowed at being remembered.

"I try real hard to anyway.  Juan you are in charge til Jason gets back." Neal said.

Juan grinned at the others who stuck their tongues out at him.

Neal got up as the food was being brought in and went over to the adults, "Gee, thanks for all the help, Dads."

Tom smiled, "Neal, you guys wanted this as your project. You four boys are in charge, remember, you wished that you owned Juvy and could be in charge and help the boys there? I'm sure that was what I heard when 'Philip' played back Brian and Travis's conversation. If you need help, just ask.  But, I must say, you handled that as well, if not better, than any of us adults could have."

Neal blushed, then grinned and went back to his original table.

At the table for two, Andy said sheepishly, "I guess we got told, huh."

"I could have done without the ice water, that's for sure." Jason added pulling at his cold drenched shirt..

"We'll have to get even with him for that." Andy said with a gleam in his eye.

"Actually, I hate to admit it, but he was right.  We weren't setting a good example.  I should have tried to explain about Aaron and Glenn, not just yelled at you." Jason apologized.

Andy nodded, "And I should have asked why they were a special case.  I'm sorry, I guess I was still pissed about the way you talked to Mom yesterday."

"Yeah, I know, I still have to apologize to her for acting like such a dumb ass. Sometimes my mouth goes off on its own, before I think, and it gets me in trouble.  I thought all the older guys were getting dumped, and I was real scared and pissed as hell."

"Yeah, I'd have to say that came through pretty clearly.  Can we maybe start over, and be friends?" Andy asked.

"Friends, that would be nice." Jason smiled, using some muscles he hadn't used in a very long time.

Author's Notes:
If you are wondering where the boys got the idea of forming the groups the way they did, it is simply the way Boy Scout Troops are set up.  It actually works pretty well most of the time.  Oh there will be some problems, but hopefully they will be able to work it all out.
Jason and Andy, friends?  What is the world coming to?  And Neal pushing around the older guys. Jeez.
I hope Lou gets better fast and can start learning to see, hear and talk.  Looks like 'Philip' has taken care of getting them home.  John and Becky have a huge amount of work ahead of them too.  All this should be fun.  Until the next chapter, take care and write.
Str8mayb

Editor's Notes:
I am ashamed of myself. When I was given this chapter I expected to be able to bring it up to at least ten thousand words, but alas, I have not even come close to that amount.

The story is progressing very nicely. I am very proud of the Haven boys, and how well they are doing taking on all that responsibility. I am really happy that Lou is going to be able to see and hear. It is really nice that he was able to have surgery and didn't need the implants for his hearing. He will be much better off without having that implant. He will now be able to hear pretty much normally, albeit with some amount of hearing loss, which will be determined later.

And of course Aaron and Glenn have a pretty good chance of living a full life. We have it on good authority that HIV and A.I.D.S. are not a death sentence any more. I just hope they get Aaron back on the medication in time.

It looks like 'Philip' has been pretty busy, and will continue to be busy for some time to come. I won't say any more about that because it won't be ready for some time yet, and it isn't nice to spoil things. Let's just say that 'Philip' notices something that will, in fact, be extremely important. I love giving hints that don't help in the slightest, and yet have in fact told you something from the future of the story. I'm so sneaky. 

Str8mayb, have I passed the class? I have been taking misdirection lessons from the master. If I pass, he promised me he would give me a bow tie. I don't know what I am going to do with a bow tie, but he seemed to think it was important, so I will be happy to accept the honour of having one.

It looks kind of limp and it smells funny. He handed it to me so I could see what it looked like. I'm not sure if I really want it now that I know what it really is. He won't tell me what it is for though, but he promised me that if I did well on his tests, I would get the tie and he would tell me all about it. I just can't understand why I have to take his tests for him. I thought tests were to find out what the person knows not what someone else knows. Oh, I get it! I'm supposed to wear the Bow Tie while I'm taking the test. I apparently also have to wear a bag over my head. I'm just not sure if I can get the bag on over my headphones.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Author's Grovel, Again:
Thanks to The Phone for his time and excellent editing.  I'm not letting Neal make that trip to Norway.