Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. All non-PR series characters belong to me. So if it didn't come from Saban or Disney, it's mine and you still have no right to it.
Starting the Path
Tyler shifted slightly in the bed, and then moved closer to the body next to him. He sighed softly when the strong arms of his brother wrapped around him and held him close. The boy had had a nightmare during the night and Tommy had picked him up out of his bed and carried him into the teen's own room. Tyler had cried for a while until he fell asleep in his brother's arms. Now, he didn't want to leave the warmth and security they offered.
"Hey little man...you okay?" Tommy asked sleepily, barely cracking his eyes open.
"Need to use the bathroom, but I don't want to get up." He looked up at his brother. "Want you to still be here when I get back." His brother had scared him several times over the past couple of weeks. Plus, there had been times when the teen wasn't at home when he should have been. Then, when he was home, Tyler hadn't been welcome.
For the first time since their dad had died, the boy had been truly alone. Their mom had thought Tommy was just going through a phase, but something told Tyler that was far from the truth. It didn't help that his brother had gotten mad at him once and the warm, brown eyes that normally offered him so much love, had flashed green and grown hard, sending him running to his own room where he'd hid under his bed in fright.
Reaching up to stroke the boy's hair, Tommy gave him a smile, but there was sadness behind it. He knew that he had frightened the life out of the boy and he felt a deep sorrow for that. After all, he was now Tyler's father figure. "I'll be right here... I promise, okay?"
The boy was quiet for several moments, and then he nodded. "Okay." He sat up slowly before crawling out of the bed. Walking quietly to the bathroom, he quickly took care of business and washed his hands, then ran quietly back to his brother's room. Crawling back into the bed, he snuggled up beside his brother once again.
Taking him into his arms once more, Tommy rubbed Ty's back gently. "See? I toldja I'd be here," he smiled.
The brown head nodded. "Do you have to go anywhere today?"
"No, not really. Why?"
"Just wondering. Seems like you're gone a lot more since we've moved here. Especially when you weren't you."
"Well... I'm here with you now. I'm sorry if things have been kinda bad lately... I'm trying to make sure that everything is gonna be okay, but... it's complicated," Tommy said with a deep sigh.
"Like after daddy died and mommy cried a lot before she and Mr. Russell got married?"
"Yeah... something like that."
"Too bad we moved so far from Sam and David. Sam's really good about making things less com- compl-" he was having a hard time getting the word out.
"Complicated?" Tommy helped, grinning. "Yeah, he is..."
Tyler snuggled up closer to his brother. "I miss daddy."
Closing his eyes tightly, Tommy nodded. "I know you do, kiddo-so do I." He stopped and sighed deeply once again. Their dad had a way of getting the younger boy to cheer up. It was something both boys missed deeply. "But we have to keep our heads up, right? That's what he would want."
The boy nodded. "Yeah." He was quiet for several moments, and then looked up at his brother again. "Tommy? Will you make me cheesy eggs?"
Looking into the soft chocolate eyes, so like his own, the teen's heart melted. It was going to take time for everything to get better, but if Tyler was willing to give him the chance to fix things, he was going to take it. "Sure. I could go for some cheesy eggs myself," Tommy chuckled, pulling the covers back and hoisted himself to a sitting position. "Be right back," he said, getting up and heading for the bathroom.
Tyler got up and went over to his brother's closet. Reaching up, he pulled down his brother's green hoodie and tried to put it on.
When Tommy returned from answering nature's call, he found his kid brother awash in fabric, trying to find his way out of a hoodie that was threatening to swallow him whole. "Need some help there, Sport?" he laughed.
Two short arms went up, the hoodie covering everything. "Can't find the holes."
"Well hold still and I'll see if I can find you," Tom laughed, trying to get the boy's head uncovered first.
When his head finally came through the hole, Tyler grinned at his brother. "Thank you, Tommy."
"You're welcome," the elder Oliver laughed. "Now let's find your arms and then we'll go make breakfast.
"Okay." Once his hands were found and the sleeves rolled up so that the small appendages could actually be used, the boy held his arms up. "Piggyback?"
"I suppose it'd be a good idea-you'd probably trip on the way down the stairs," Tom said, kneeling so that the boy could climb onto his back. "Ready?"
He quickly scrambled into position, his small arms holding tight to his brother's shoulders. "Yep, all set." Wrapping his feet as far around Tommy as he could, Ty giggled. "Giddy up"
"Okay, hold on tight," he said and starting jogging toward the stairs, bouncing Tyler around as much as he could. "Here we go down the steps," and he bounded down them, always careful to keep the little boy on his back safe. "You like that?" he asked, walking into the kitchen.
Tyler giggled softly. "Uh huh." He grinned at his brother when the teen sat him down on the counter. "Can I stir the eggs?"
"Sure you can." Winking at the boy, he started getting things out to make them both breakfast. It had become a tradition of theirs that when things were rough or one of them was upset, then they'd have 'cheesy eggs'. The dish was just scrambled eggs with green peppers and cheese plus some diced ham. Add a couple of pieces of toast and it was their breakfast. It was something that Jacob had taught Tommy to make and since his death, had become a special thing between the boys. Tyler almost flatly refused to eat it if someone else made it, which their mom had caught onto rather quickly. Russell could make his brother eat it, but Ty was always quiet afterwards.
So, as the eggs were mixed and the other ingredients chopped, the two brothers spent the time making their breakfast and trying to heal from the rift that had been created between them.
Grinning around a mouthful of eggs, Tyler giggled a bit at his brother, and then turned his head when the doorbell rang. He didn't say anything as he watched his brother get up to go answer it.
Jason shuffled back and forth, almost tempted to start pacing. It had been a couple of days since they'd broken the spell on Tommy. In that time, they'd seen very little of the other teen except for during school. Now, he was checking to make sure the other boy was okay. Jason also wanted to try and get to know his new teammate a bit better.
When Tom reached the front door, he peeped through the hole to see who was there. Recognizing the young man in red, he thought, 'What's he doing here?' Opening the door, he nodded. "Jason, hi," he said, sounding a little surprised.
He grinned at the other teen. "Hey man. Um, sorry to just drop by like this, but since we haven't really seen each other since" He blushed slightly, "Well, since that day on the beach, I just thought I'd check to see if you're okay."
"Oh...well, I'm alright. Umm...come in," Tommy said, still a little shy around the young man who was now a teammate.
"Thanks." Stepping inside, Jason looked around a bit. "Hope I didn't wake you up."
"No, no," he said, running his fingers through his hair. "We were just having breakfast."
Before the other teen could ask what he meant by 'we', a small green clad form came running into the living room. "Tommy, I'm all done." Tyler was almost to his brother, when his feet caught on the hem of the hoodie he was wearing and tripped, heading for a hard meeting with the floor.
Grabbing for the boy, Tommy watched as his little brother crashed into Jason. "Tyler!" he gasped.
The Red Ranger reached down and caught the boy before he could rebound off of his legs and onto the floor. He grinned as he hoisted him up into the air a bit. "Well, who's this?"
"That's Tyler," Tommy informed Jason. "You okay, buddy?" he directed at the boy that Jason was holding, reaching out to take him from the Red Ranger.
"Yeah, I'm okay." He looked down at the teen holding him, his soft brown eyes, so like his brother's, meeting the deep, midnight eyes of this stranger. "Who are you?" He titled his head a bit, looking for all the world like a miniature version of the person that stood next to Jason.
It amazed the Red Ranger at the resemblance between the two. That's when he really took note of how deep the likeness between the pair actually went. His brow furrowed slightly as he began to wonder what Zordon would say to a Ranger with a son. Or if a Ranger could even have a child and still be an active Ranger. He turned his gaze to the newest member of the team, unsure of how to answer the boy and ask the Green Ranger what his relationship to the child he held was exactly.
"That's Jason, a new friend of mine," Tommy answered, taking Tyler from the Red Ranger. "And no, he's not my son," Tommy chuckled, apparently having been asked that before. "He's my kid brother."
"Ah, explains a bit." He blushed a little. "Guess you get that a lot, huh?" Jason chuckled a bit. "So, how many years between you two?" He watched as the boy climbed over Tommy's shoulder until he hung from the teen's back, his little face peaking around his brother's head.
"Yeah I do, actually," he replied, an odd look crossing his face. "There's ten years between us and he just turned five before my mom and stepdad got married." Tommy shook his head, "I mean, do I really look old enough to have a kid?" he asked, bouncing Ty around a bit and grinning at him.
"Well, as small as he is I can see how people could jump to that conclusion."
Tyler giggled, and then looked at Jason. For a moment he just stared at the teen, then the grin he'd been wearing turned into a full blown smile. "Do you like karate? Tommy's a black belt and he's teaching me!"
"He is? That's great!" Jason said brightly. "And yeah, I like karate-I'm a black belt too. Maybe I can teach you sometime."
The boy thought about that for a moment, then nodded before grinning again. "Do you want some cheesy eggs? Tommy makes really good ones."
"No thanks, I already had breakfast. Something to drink would be nice, though," Jason answered with a smile.
Tommy grinned at Jason. "We've got juice, water, Gatorade, Pepsi and Mountain Dew."
"Orange juice or apple juice?"
"Both actually. Ty drinks a lot of it so mom's always buying that and Gatorade. So it's up to you which one you want." He nodded for the other teen to follow him into the kitchen. Looking over at the table, he looked down at Tyler. "You need to go finish your juice and take your vitamin."
The boy looked at his brother. "Aw, Tommy." He gave his brother a set of puppy dog eyes. "Do I have to take it?"
"Is that one of those great chewable vitamins? I used to love those when I was little," Jason said to Ty with a smile. "Grape, cherry, or orange flavored?"
The boy sighed. "It's orange. We didn't have any cherry or grape left and the orange is yucky."
"Well, if you want to grow up big and strong, like I did, you need to take your vitamins and eat your vegetables."
"I don't mind the vegetables, but I just think the orange tastes yucky."
"I'll make a deal with ya. You take your vitamin and finish your juice like your brother asked and I'll give you a piggyback ride. Whatcha think?" He turned to Tommy. "Orange juice will be fine, by the way," he grinned.
Chuckling softly, Tommy poured the other teen a glass and set it on the counter.
Tyler thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay." He went back over to his place at the table and took the vitamin, making a face as he chewed it. When it was gone, he finished off his juice and took the empty glass over to his brother. "All done now Tommy."
Jason sipped his juice slowly. "So it's just you two for the day, huh? Got any plans?"
Tommy took the glass from his brother, and then ruffled his hair a bit. "Okay kiddo, why don't you go watch cartoons for a bit?"
The boy's eyes lit up. It was a rare treat for him to be able to watch TV and it not be something his brother picked. "Cool!" He ran off to the living room, his little legs barely missing the hem of his borrowed shirt once again.
Watching him go, the elder Oliver smiled softly, and then turned back to the Red Ranger. "Yeah, our mom and step-dad are out of town until Sunday." He blushed a bit. "They're kind of mad at me for my attitude the past couple of weeks."
Jason nodded. "Yeah well, it's not like you could help it, but I know you can't tell them that. I've had to make up all sorts of things to tell my parents since this whole ranger thing started." He finished his juice and rinsed out the glass in the sink. "What about the kid? Does he suspect anything's going on?"
The green clad teen snorted. "Yeah, considering I scared the shit out of him a few days before you guys got me back." He sighed and you didn't have to know Tommy very well to tell that he felt horrible about what he was going to say. "He just wanted to know when we were going to have another lesson. And I snapped at him, complete with glowing green eyes."
The Red Ranger grimaced. "Man, I'll bet he was petrified... poor kid." When Jason looked into Tommy's face, he could see the remorse and embarrassment there. "But you couldn't help it, man. You shouldn't feel guilty for something you had no control over," he counseled, putting a hand on his new friend's shoulder.
"You don't understand Jason. I have been there for Tyler constantly since our dad died almost two years ago. He trusts me, or did, without question. Now," He shook his head. "Now he refuses to sleep in his own bed and is almost glued to my side most of the day. Even then, there are times that he acts scared of me."
"Well you know, there's one thing that is good about this situation-he's young enough to where he'll probably forget most of it. He seems to adore you, so it doesn't look like he's been too scarred by it."
"You don't know my little brother. And Jason, he knows that I'm a ranger. He caught me fully morphed in my room shortly before we fought that last time." He shook his head. "Ty's love for me is about the only thing that kept me sane."
"Wish I had a kid brother like that- or any brother at all. It's really nice that you're that close. It'll all be okay, Tom... you'll see. Now, I believe I owe said brother a piggyback ride, huh?"
"If you can actually get him to trust you enough to climb up on your back, I'll buy you a drink at that Youth Center place."
Jason grinned. "Would that be with me standing or sitting?"
He returned the grin. "Standing."
"Okay, it's a bet." The Red Ranger walked into the living room with a grin on his face. He knew how much little kids seemed to love climbing on him-like he was their own personal jungle gym or something. Spotting Tyler on the couch, he walked over and sat down beside him. "Hey Sport! Ready for that piggyback ride I promised?"
Tyler looked over at him, then back at his brother, who nodded at him that it was okay. He grinned up at him. "Flip first?"
"Yeah, we can do that. Come on, jump up," Jason said and stood up beside the couch. He held out his hands for the little boy to grab on.
Giggling, Tyler took hold of the hands and started walking up his new 'friend'. When he reached his waist, the boy flipped backwards. With a grin he looked at Jason and held his hands out. "Again!"
"Okay, let's do it again," Jason grinned, looking over at Tommy. "Just be careful."
Ty giggled again and flipped three more times. On the fifth time, he got distracted by something on the TV and missed where he was putting his feet. When his left foot started slipping a bit, he drove his right foot down hard... directly into the teen's crotch.
Tommy saw it happening, but before he could do anything about it, Tyler's little foot had connected with a very sensitive part of Jason's anatomy.
Jason barely held himself up, going a deep red before turning pale. As the boy landed safely on the floor, Jason went to his knees. His hands were cupping that traumatized area as he leaned to the side and settled on the floor. "Oh God."
Tyler looked over at his brother, fear coming up in the expressive chocolate eyes. "Tommy?"
Moving quickly over to his new friend, he laid his hand on the young man's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Jase. You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah... just... just give... me a... few." The words came out in pants and he opened his midnight eyes to look up at the other teen. "Not the ... first time."
"I'll get you something cool to drink and maybe some ice. Be right back," he said and turned to his brother. "Come on, Ty. Help me in the kitchen." Together they went to get something to help Jason feel better. "Tyler, it's okay. I know you didn't mean to-he does too."
Once in the kitchen, Ty lifted his arms up. When he was in his brother's arms, Tyler latched on and started crying softly. "I didn't mean to be bad." The last time he'd been flipping with Tommy, Russell had scolded him and told him that he was going to hurt someone. After that, the boy didn't ask to flip, but would do so if given the opportunity, which his brother did at least twice a week.
"Listen to me, Ty-you weren't bad. It was just an accident. Nobody's mad at you, okay?"
He looked at his brother, tears staining his cheeks. "What about Jason?"
Jason came into the room. He was limping a bit and winced slightly as he came up behind the pair. "I'll be okay, runt."
"Jase, sit down," Tom said, pouring soda with one hand and holding onto a whimpering Tyler with the other. "See Ty? He's gonna be just fine and he's not mad at you, are you Jase?"
Jason shook his head. "No, I'm not mad at you Tyler." He took a drink of the soda, and then looked at the boy. When Tommy brought him closer, the Red Ranger put a hand on the small back and started rubbing it gently. "It was an accident, kiddo. I know you didn't do it on purpose."
Tyler relaxed a bit in his brother's arms and looked over at Jason. For several moments, he just watched the teen, and then he held his arms out to the red clad boy.
In spite of the pain he was in, Tyler's gesture of trust made Jason smile. "Come 'ere, kiddo. Let me hold you," he said, taking the small boy into his arms and settling him on his lap. "Let me rest for a little while and I'll still give you that piggyback ride, okay?" He reached up and pushed the dark hair out of Ty's eyes.
"Okay." The little boy sighed softly and rested against Jason's chest.
Tommy's eyebrows rose slightly. He'd never seen Tyler take to anyone like this. Normally, the boy held people off a bit until he'd known them for a while. He was even shy around their Uncle John every time the man came into town to visit them and would stay that way for several hours.
Looking up, the burly teen noticed the mild surprise on his new friend's face. "He's adorable, you know that? Such a friendly little thing," he said, bouncing the little boy on his lap slightly.
The Green Ranger chuckled slightly. "Um Jase, don't know how to tell you this, but you're the first person he's let do that to him without knowing them for months. He's normally shy or clinging to me when someone he doesn't know is around." He watched as his little brother giggled while Jason bounced him around.
"Really?" Jason asked in surprise, looking down at the increasingly happy youngster. "You're kidding..."
Tyler grinned up at the teen, and then looked over at Tommy. "Can we go play at the park? I don't want to stay inside today." He turned back to Jason. "You can come, too."
Shaking his head, Tommy was really surprised at his little brother. "Sure we can, but you'll have to get dressed first." He grinned. "And that means you have to wear your own clothes."
"Yeah, I don't think this 'dress' is gonna work on the monkey bars," Jason laughed, pulling at Tyler's borrowed shirt.
Giggling the boy, held his arms up. "Off please."
Chuckling softly, Tommy walked over and pulled the shirt off. "All right, go get the clothes you want to wear out and then I'll help you get dressed before we comb your hair out."
"He's got a head of hair on him to be so little. I've been trying to figure out your heritage ever since I met you. I'm Italian and you don't really look like me...Native maybe?"
After sending the boy off, the other teen nodded. "Yeah, we're both half Paiute. Might be more, I'm not sure." He frowned, thinking about it for a moment. "Dad was full, but mom's only half. So I guess that makes Ty and me three-quarters."
"Oh, okay. Do you know anyone that lives on the reservation about an hour outside of town?"
"A few people. We've got a half-brother that lives there along with an uncle. Our dad was on the Tribal Council."
Jason was slightly impressed, but realized now wasn't the time to bring up why they had moved to Angel Grove and away from the Reservation. "So, whatcha wanna do at the park? We could drop by the Youth Center later and grab some sandwiches for lunch, if you want."
"Well, whatever we do, I need to run some energy off of him. He hasn't really been out of the house much since I got kidnapped by Rita."
Shooting him a mischievous grin, Jason stood up carefully. "Oh, I think we can manage that. There's all kinds of playground equipment at the park for him to wear himself out on. So, shall we go help the little guy get dressed?"
"Sure you're okay? I've caught a stray foot from him a time or two. He can kick pretty hard for as small as he is."
"Yeah, I'm okay. Might be a little slow walking for a little while, but I'll survive." They were walking toward the living room when Jason posed a question. "Tommy, I don't mean anything by this so please don't get offended, but...why is Tyler so small? I've worked with lots of kids his age at the Youth Center and other places, but he's one of the smallest 5year olds that I've met."
"I'm not offended. Our mom is kind of small to begin with and they had to take Tyler when she was eight and a half months along. I was the same way. We were both a little big for her to keep carrying. He might be a little on the small size for his age, but mentally he's above his age level."
"Billy Jr., huh?" Jason grinned. "Well, I'm sure he'll hit a growth spurt before long. Probably end up taller than both of us. Now, where'd lil' bit get off to?"
Tommy chuckled. "Maybe." He nodded. "Come on, his room's this way." He led Jason up the stairs and stopped in the doorway to his brother's room. In the middle of the floor, the little boy had the T-shirt he was going to wear stuck on his head with both his arms inside. He shook his head and laughed softly. "Least once a week."
Jason stayed a step or two behind and just chuckled. "Need some help there?"
"I'm stuck again, Tommy." He wiggled his arms a bit. "Help please?"
Tommy looked over at Jason. "You want to see if he'll let you help him?"
"Yeah, sure," the Red Ranger said, kneeling down beside the youngster. "Okay, lil' man...how'd you get yourself into this mess?" he asked, taking hold of the hem and pulling upward, revealing a mussed and frustrated Tyler.
The boy sighed, looking over first at his brother, then at his new friend. "Russell's always telling me that I need to stop being such a baby and do things for myself. But I always miss the arm things and it goes wrong."
"Oh well, we'll get you straightened out. Here, put your head through the hole first," Jason said, gathering the shirt in his hands and holding it out to the boy. Once the little dark head popped through, he helped guide the short arms through the arm holes until the shirt was on properly. "See? Not so hard," he smiled warmly at the boy.
"Thank you Jason." He held the little jeans out to the teen next. "Can you help me with these, too?"
"Sure, no problem. Here we go," he said, helping Tyler get his pants onto his legs and then stood him up. "Can you pull 'em up and fasten them yourself like a big boy?"
Tommy watched the pair. Inside, he was both angry and upset. He was angry at their step-father. The man knew that Tyler tried his best, but his coordination was still off at times. That was one of the main reasons why he'd started teaching his little brother karate. On the other hand, he was upset with himself, too. The last two weeks, he'd ignored his little brother, forcing the boy to interact more with a man who, at times, acted like he barely tolerated Tyler. Now, watching the boy with Jason, he couldn't help but wonder what about the teen set his brother at ease.
Nodding, Tyler buttoned and zipped the pants after pulling them up. He grinned. "Thank you." Going over to his brother, he looked up at him. "Will do you my hair Tommy?"
"What do you do with a mane like that on a 5-year old? Braid it? Ponytail?" Jason asked, watching his new friend taking care of the smaller version of himself.
Tommy laughed softly. "When we're going to be doing a lot, like today, I'll braid it for him. He's in kindergarten, so on school days I usually just put it in a ponytail for him."
Tyler reached into the nightstand by his bed and handed his brother a dark brown piece of leather. "Old tie? Like Davey wears?"
"Who's Davey? One of his friends?" the Red Ranger asked.
Taking the piece of leather, the elder Oliver used it to tie off the braid, wrapping it around several times before knotting it into place. "Actually, that's what Ty calls our half-brother, David." He grinned. "Think Ty has some long hair; you ought to see David's. If I hadn't gotten mine singed over a fire, it'd be past my shoulders."
Tyler giggled. "Tommy burned it with a marshmallow that was on fire."
"That conjures an interesting image, I gotta tell ya!" Jason chuckled. "You guys like to go camping?"
"Davey got pictures of it. Tommy looked like he was trying to do the Spirit Dance." He giggled again.
Rolling his eyes, Tommy blushed a bit. "Yeah, we do. Just don't give me the job of roasting marshmallows for s'mores. I almost always burn them. What about you?"
"Oh I love to camp! Maybe we can all go sometime, huh? And I'll do the marshmallows," he said, reaching over and giving Tyler's side a quick tickle.
The boy giggled, then climbed around his brother and quickly clambered onto the teen's back. "You can't get me now."
Raising an eyebrow, Tommy couldn't help but once again be amazed at how quickly Tyler was letting Jason in. He'd have to talk to their uncle about it the next time they went out to the Reservation. "Yeah, we can do that. If you want, we can go out to the Res sometime to camp. They've got some great spots."
"That'd be great. I've always wanted to see that place, but I don't know anyone out there and I'd feel weird going by myself." He paused and then made a lightning fast move, catching even Tommy off guard. Carefully latching onto Tyler's sides, he gently tickled the boy until he squealed.
Tyler squealed and laughed, giggling hard. After a few minutes, he started hiccupping between laughs.
Laughing softly, his brother grinned at him. "Again squirt?"
Tyler shrugged, grinning up at his brother and Jason.
"Uh oh...what'd I do?" Jason asked, grinning at the cute little boy clinging to his brother's shoulders.
"It's not your fault. Happens sometimes." He patted his brother's hands. "Hang on and we'll go get you a drink of soda. Then Jason can sit with you while I get dressed, okay?"
"O-kay." The boy giggled when he hiccupped the word out.
Once they were back in the kitchen, Tommy poured a small glass half full of Mountain Dew for the boy and sat him down with it at the table. Jason watched as the elder Oliver gave Tyler directions to sip it until the hiccups were gone while he went to get dressed. "Go ahead, we'll be fine. Won't we, Ty?" Jason said, smiling up at Tommy from his seat beside the youngster.
Tyler nodded slowly as he sipped at the soda, and then grinned at his brother. "I'll be okay." He took another sip.
"All right, I'll be right back." Heading back upstairs, Tommy had to chuckle softly. 'Ty's got Jason wrapped around his finger already, but doesn't realize it yet.'
"So Tommy tells me you're in kindergarten, right?" Jason started off, trying to remember how to make conversation with one so young.
For a moment, Tyler just met the dark eyes with his own chocolate ones, and then he flashed the teen a bright smile. "Uh huh. Mommy had me tested so that I could go ahead and start early."
"Wow. You must be really smart! What do you like to do at school?"
He shrugged. "Tommy already helped me learn my alphabet and Davey taught me how to count." He grew quiet. "Daddy taught me my name and stuff like circles and squares."
The older boy couldn't even imagine how it felt to lose one's father at such a young age. He felt so bad for the kid-and for Tommy too-but had no idea what to say, especially to Tyler. "My goodness, you must be the smartest kid in your class. I'll bet you'll be reading before long."
That perked the boy up again. "Tommy helps me read. I like 'Green Eggs and Ham'." He cocked his head to the side. "Can you really make eggs green? What do they taste like?" He frowned a bit. "Do they come from green chickens? Are green eggs smelly?" He started going a mile a minute. "I like green. So does Tommy, but I didn't like it when his eyes glowed green. He scared me then."
Raising an eyebrow, Tommy, now fully ready to go, looked over at Jason, wondering what the teen had said to turn his brother into a chatterbox.
"Whoa little man, slow down!" Jason laughed, looking from one Oliver to the other. "Umm...yes, you can make green eggs-you just use food coloring. They taste the same. No, I don't think there's any such thing as a green chicken. At least, I've never seen one. And yeah, green's a good color-I like it too," he finished and gave Tyler a big "Whew!" and a bigger smile.
Shaking his head, Tommy walked over to the pair. "You ready to go monkey?"
Nodding, Tyler climbed down from his seat and quickly climbed up his brother, coming to rest on the teen's back. "All ready."
"He is a monkey, isn't he?" Jason laughed. "So, we need to take anything with us?"
"A couple of Gatorades. Tyler can share one with me."
"Alright, so let's get going. Like I said before, we can get some lunch from Ernie at the Youth Center later, if that's okay."
"Yeah, that'll work." After a quick stop to grab the drinks, Tommy followed Jason out of the house and locked the door behind them.
Tommy sat in the shade of a tree and leaned back. He shook his head as he watched Tyler scamper over the jungle gym like it was nothing. "Kid can't put his own shirt on, but give him something to climb over or start him working on a kata..." He snorted softly. "Totally different."
"So how's he doing with karate? I've never tried to teach someone quite that small before."
Shaking his head, Tommy let out a sharp whistle and brought his little brother running over to them. He grinned at the smiling boy. "Show Jason your kata."
Tyler raised an eyebrow, and then realized that his brother wasn't talking about their special one. "Okay." He slipped easily into a stance and began throwing several punches, blocks and turns with a few kicks. The boy's technique was clean even if he was a bit slow.
When the boy finished, Jason gave him a big smile and turned to Tommy. "You taught him that?"
Tommy nodded. "Yeah, started shortly after our dad died. I had to do something to draw Tyler out of his shell. So, I started teaching him karate. He really took to it. Also helps improve his coordination."
Tyler ran over to his brother and took a seat in his lap. "Did I do good?"
Grinning at his brother, the green clad teen nodded. "Yeah, you did good." He handed him the bottle of grape Gatorade they'd brought. "Sit down for a few minutes and drink a little of that."
"You did really good, Ty. You're really gonna be somethin' when you get older," Jason said. "You wouldn't wanna help me out at the Youth Center, would you?" he asked Tommy. "I could definitely use some help with the kids and with the guys our age."
"Sounds like fun, but I'll have to figure out something to do with Ty when he's not in a class." He looked over at the other teen while his brother sipped at his drink. "I draw babysitting duty almost every afternoon. Mom's busy trying to take care of the house and she also does some clerking for the firm Russell works at."
"All of us hang out at the Youth Center after school, so I'm sure there'd always be someone there that could keep an eye on him for a little while for you."
"Yeah, but like I said, he's kind of shy sometimes. How you did it, I have no clue, but he seems to trust you and Ty definitely likes you. I guess it'll depend on how he takes to the others." He reached out and flicked his brother's nose, grinning before he looked back over at Jason. "So when's your next class?"
"Monday, after school. Why don't you come over and watch?"
"We can do that." He looked down at his brother for a moment. "I owe him a lesson before then. Couple of them actually."
"Tell you what," Jason began, "Why don't we give him one today? That will let me see your teaching style and see how you work with kids." He grinned. "Plus it'll give me the chance to work with someone his size. Tomorrow, if you want, we can do it again."
For a moment, Tommy was silent as he thought about his friend's proposal. A small grin broke out over his face that slowly turned into a smile. "You've got it."
Tyler grinned up at them both as he continued to sip at his drink. He had a good feeling about Jason and his feelings were right a lot of the time.
Author's note: I realized that in order for everyone to understand a bit more about Tommy, Tyler and Jason in 'Family Stands' that you needed to see the beginning. So here's the first of many glimpses into that start.
