Vin sat on the porch staring at the mailbox, waiting for the mailman to arrive. It had been over a year since Chris ran away and the only comfort he had and the only thing keeping him from running after his best friend was Chris's letters that he would send twice a month.

They were short letters saying how much he missed everyone and saying that he was fine, but it was enough to hold him over till the next one.

The boy didn't know he was being watched from the kitchen window by Nettie. She gave a sigh and went back to washing her hands.

She loved having the kids all be there. Even though there were more mouths to feed and the boys were growing out of their clothes fast, but she would receive a check from Travis who was helping to pay for some of the bills.

He had gotten her permission to take care of all the boys and Inez which was to the relief of all the kids. There was however the problem with school.

Some were willing enough to go while others refused to or ditched.

It got to the point to where Vin refused to get out of bed in the morning and she would receive calls that Buck missed class and was in detention.

She had talked to the boys, but they gave her the same response every time.

'I don't care about getting an education.'

'I never went to school in the first place so why start now. I'll only be behind.'

She knew better however that those weren't the real reasons.

According to the others, Buck and Vin were Chris's closest friends and they were the ones to see him run off. It must've hurt them more so than the others.

Buck would never talk about it or else he'd get upset and Vin would run away for hours.

Voices from behind her brought her back to the present and she turned around with a smile.

Josiah, Nathan, Ezra, Inez, JD and Casey were all finishing up getting ready for school.

"Have a good day now."

"Yes ma'am." said Josiah and Nathan.

"Is Buck coming with us today?" asked JD warily.

Nettie wasn't even sure where Buck was at the moment. He didn't come in for breakfast, but as far as she was concerned he didn't go outside.

"No I'm not." came Buck's voice from behind the group.

His hair was all ruffled and he was still in his pjs.

"So what are you going to do then, sit around and do nothing?" frowned Nathan.

"Oh please, shove it somewhere. I don't want to hear it." growled Buck as he crossed the room to the door.

JD gave a long sigh and walked out as well. The others followed.

"Have a good morning, Ms Nettie." smiled Inez before shutting the door behind her.

The group hovered by Vin to see if he'd say anything.

"You know Vin that the post don't come until the afternoon." Ezra said finally.

Vin got up and walked down the porch and sat back down without saying a word.

"Let's just leave them alone." Josiah suggested.

They walked along the street to where the school bus would be picking them up.

"I wish they'd just snap out of their funk and just go with us." Casey said as she threw a rock that did a couple of skips.

"That's like asking them to live a normal life and forget Chris." frowned JD.

"Well I didn't mean it like that."

"Well that's how they'll take it." he snapped back.

"So then you're saying that you're willing to forget Chris."

JD wanted to say something in his defense but couldn't think of anything.

"It's not that we don't care about Mr Larabee, it's just that we really can't do anything about this situation as horrible as it is." Ezra said, coming to JD's rescue.

"We all miss Chris, but it was his decision to leave because he just has trust issues. It's not easy to repair trust with adults after being hurt so many times by so many of them."

"But Nettie and Mr Travis are good people." Casey said pointedly.

"Yeah we know, but Chris, Chris just can't or doesn't want to see that." said Nathan solemnly.

"I hope he's doing alright." Inez prayed as she looked up at the clouds.

Chris fell to the ground after another blow he received to the stomach. He curled up before he finally picked himself up to face his opponents again. They were kids who had stolen a bag from an old lady and Chris had gone after them. He didn't expect them to be carrying knives and he had lost his own in a couple fights back after losing.

The boys were at least sixteen years old and were about Josiah's size. Chris had been hoping that if he dodged their throws long enough then they'd tire out, but so far he had no such luck.

Before he could react he caught one of the boy's fist under his ribcage. The impact made him lose contact with the ground and he moved a couple of feet.

I'm definitely am going to have bruises after this.

Lifting his fist, he waited for their attack. He had watched long enough to know how they fought. The bigger one would go for his stomach while the other would aim for his face. The attacks would come back to back.

Taking a deep breath he waited for the jab to be thrown at his face. He dodged it and grabbed the boy's arm and pushing his own back up against his attacker, he threw the boy over his shoulder.

Not losing a beat, Chris brought his heel down on the back of the bigger boy's knee. Successfully buckling his leg. Chris wrapped his arm around his neck and brought his knee up.

Chris stepped back from his opponents, still breathing heavy.

The boys moaned on the ground holding their wounded bodies.

He bent over and collected the woman's purse and for an added bonus, took the knife.

He found the old lady talking to police officers and he quickly handed the purse over so as not to be caught up and asked questions.

"Wait a minute young man." called the old lady.

Chris couldn't help but turn around. He kept an eye on the officer however just in case.

She shuffled over to him and gave him a dollar and a piece of candy before patting him on the cheek.

"Thank you so much."

Chris smiled and then ran off.

He heard the officer call after him, but the old lady stopped him from being chased after.

To anyone else a dollar was nothing, but to him, it was his way to buy stamps for his letters.

He made his way back to the little rundown apartment building where he was staying with a hispanic family.

People around here called it the purgatory building, because of the street name, but it was a hopeless place with a lot of crime. Gangs would walk around marking their territory and pick on those who crossed it.

Making his way back to his floor, he slipped through the door into a small apartment. The children all rushed him and gave him a wave. The older girl about ten, stood a little ways back and smiled.

He gave them a quick hug a wave to the girl before disappearing into the room he shared with the baby of the family.

Pulling out the box he kept from under his bed, he stashed his money and replaced it back in its hiding place.

Chris then went to clean off his face and eat something.

The family he stayed with didn't speak much english except for the children who called him *Didi.

"Didi, you're back." smiled the ten year old girl named Maria.

"You know my name is Chris. I don't know why you insist on calling me that."

"My brother says that he saw you fight some boys today." she said, changing the subject.

"Yeah well that seems to be my occupation since I get into fights almost everyday." he said as he pushed passed her to the kitchen.

She followed him and sat down at the table while he raided the fridge.

"Is there a reason you fight?"

Chris stared off as if he was thinking about something.

"Maybe."

He pulled out some lunch meat and bread to make a sandwich.

"My mother thinks you're fighting some inner demons that you take out on others."

"That might not be too far off." Chris said under his breath. He took a bite out of his food.

Maria looked over her shoulder before whispering to Chris, "My father is out of the house and is gone for work. My mother's asleep so if you want to try and use the phone you can."

Chris smiled and patted the girl on the head, "Gracias Maria."

He went into Maria's parent's bedroom and picked up the phone.

He'd been dying to use the phone, but every single time he tried Maria's parents were around or the person never picked up. Eventually he gave up.

Dialing the number he'd memorised out of habit from dialing it so much, he waited for the other side to pick up. He held his breath in anticipation.

"Hello this is the Conley residence."

It was Sarah's mom.

Chris could easily recognize her voice after a year.

"Yes, this is Sarah's friend from middle school. I was wondering if I could speak with her?"

He held his breath while he waited for the response.

"Hang on a second."

Chris had waited for over a year to hear her voice, and the minute before he would hear her voice again was agonizing.

It was around the time when the baby was supposed to have been born. He was calling to see if it was a boy or girl.

"Hello?"

It was Sarah's dad.

Chris swallowed a lump in his throat. Had they known it was him?

"Uh hi I was calling for Sarah."

"You're one of her friends?"

"Yes."

"Well I hate to tell you this but she passed away during childbirth."

The news hit Chris like a ton of bricks.

"What, how?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"There were complications and they couldn't save her or the baby boy."

"So both Sarah and the baby died?"

"Yes."

Chris hung up the phone and covered his mouth to keep himself from being heard.

Maria who had been keeping watch at the door came over and gave him a hug as he sat there holding himself and quietly cried.

He cried for Sarah. He cried for their baby, Adam. He cried for not being able to be with her, and most of all, he cried because he felt that if he hadn't gotten her pregnant then none of this would've happened.

For the rest of the night he stayed quietly in his room in bed. His only thought was how he was going to tell Buck.

He didn't have the heart to write it out, but didn't have the guts to face his friend either. Crawling out of bed he began to write.

A/N: *Didi is 'warrior of the people' in spanish. Technically it is more feminine, but I thought it was funny to have him called Didi instead of Dieter.