Hey. So here's a one shot for a Christmas present since nothing else is ready. It's from when the boys were little and it's cute in a kind of sad way. So enjoy and Happy Holidays.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Covenant boys. Tyler's stutter comes from .writer's "Parlor" (which is very good and all of you should go read it!) and she gave me permission to use it. (Thanks!)

Better Late than Never

Reid Garwin only asked for one thing for his seventh birthday, a baseball glove. All of his friends had them, bringing them to recess at school, showing off how they glinted in the sun.

His mother said they were a waste, he didn't play baseball so why should he have a mitt? His mother didn't understand boys at all, he knew that if his dad was home that he would have a mitt too, his dad understood boys because he was one.

In the end, the timing worked out perfectly. Right before his birthday some of the dads of his friends decided to have a community baseball league for the kids in Ipswich. Reid was a kid of Ipswich, so he could play too. It was the best news he'd ever heard.

On his birthday, after his party was over, his mom gave him her gift. The minute he saw the box he knew it was too flat and square to be a baseball glove. Inside were two new shirts, they were both red. He hated red.

Meredith Garwin didn't tell her only son happy birthday. She didn't hug him goodnight or tell him that she loved him or that she hoped he had a good birthday. She just took her medicine from the orange bottle that Reid wasn't aloud to touch and went upstairs to her room, leaving the nanny to put Reid to bed.

"It's okay, buddy." Lisa, the nanny, said as she picked up the now-empty wrapping paper. She ruffled his almost-white hair and gave him a smile.

"I hate red." He was still holding the shirt box in his lap, his head was down, his bangs hanging in his eyes.

"I know, and I know it's not what you wanted but-" He cut her off.

"I can't be on the team if I don't have a glove. Tyler's dad said so. He said that I needed a glove and told him I was gonna get one. She said she'd get me one. She lied, she lied to me. Again." His voice shook and she watched him bite his quivering bottom lip to still it. "Why does she do that? Why can't she just tell me the truth?" He looked up at his babysitter, his blue eyes filled with tears.

"I don't know, kiddo." She wrapped her arms around his small frame and pulled him into her lap. He didn't cry, he never did, but he would shake. Almost like a shiver, a vibration, but never cry.

Garwin men don't cry. He had told her this once when she had taken his to get his shots for first grade the year before.

Once the shudders stopped she carried his upstairs and helped him get ready for bed before pulling the covers up to his chin and tickling him till he laughed.

She loved Reid like her own son, he was a little kid who didn't get the attention he deserved. Growing up her mother had always had more than enough time for all five of her children, even though she was a single mother and worked full time.

There wasn't a better mother on the planet than her own and she had promised herself long ago that she would make someone else's life as great as her mother had made hers. At seventeen she met Reid Garwin while picking up a different kid from the same school.

She watched his mom drag him to their car as he rubbed a hand across his nose. He had only been in kindergarten then but Meredith Garwin didn't know him from an adult, talking fast and using big words and even swearing.

The next day she turned in her two-week notice to the Snider's and approached Mrs. Garwin at the school. She had been Reid's nanny ever since. He'd been a brat at first but then he realized that she wasn't going to take that from him and let her become the mom he would never have.

Lisa watched him sleep for a long time before going to her own room for the night where she counted out her hard-earned money and set her alarm clock for earlier than usual so that she would have time to go to the store before it was time to get Reid up for school. If he wanted a baseball glove, he was gonna get one.

-

Three weeks later at his first baseball practice, Lisa sat on the metal bleachers with all the moms and other nannies watching all the kids learn how to throw the ball. She wasn't really sure what they were expecting from first and second graders but it seemed like a lot more than their short attention spans were willing to take in.

Finally they lined all the kids up in as straight a line as they were going to get. The plan was that the coach would toss the ball to whosever turn it was, they would catch it and throw it back before going to the end to the line.

Lisa watched Reid catch the ball and throw it back like little pro, she smiled. The two of them had spent several afternoons in his backyard doing that same thing so that he would be ready for practice. When the coach told them they could go, Reid ran straight into her arms. She picked him up and twirled him around a couple of times.

"Did ya see me?" He asked once his feet were back on the ground.

"You bet I did! You did such a good job, and you know what a good job deserves?" She grabbed his hand and they made their way across the parking lot to her car.

"What?"

"Ice cream!" She scooped him up again and ran to the car just to hear him laugh. They went to their favorite ice cream place and split a fudge sundae, which involved a war between their spoons for the cherry.

-

At his first game, Lisa's mom, who insisted Reid call her 'Grams', came to watch him play. Reid loved Grams almost as much as he loved Lisa. She wasn't as old as his real grandmothers, both of whom wanted to be called 'Grandmother', and she was nicer too, funny. He didn't know many funny people. She called him 'Squirt' and her house always smelled like chocolate chip cookies. He was a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies.

Instead of sitting on the bench with the rest of the team, Reid stood off to the side so that he could see the parking lot. Both his mom and dad had promised they would be there for his first game, neither showed but he still hit the ball and was able to run to first base. Pogue and Caleb both hit singles as well, so by the time it was Tyler's turn all the bases were loaded. He first missed two but on the third one he hit it hard. It went up, up, up and right into the glove of a player for the other team. As they all came back to the bench, Aaron, who was just mean and stupid, tripped Tyler, who was much smaller and shy.

"Hey!" Reid called as he helped his friend up. His father had told him over and over again how important it was to be friends with Tyler, Caleb, and Pogue. They'll be your brothers one day. He didn't know what that meant but it must have been something important.

"Hey what? You gonna do something about it?" Aaron's comebacks weren't good but he was bigger than the rest of them and that made up for it. He pushed Tyler again but the smaller boy said nothing

Reid had a bed temper but he as only seven and didn't know that yet, so there was no history of anger management yet, no little voice telling him to breathe. It was just him and his boiling anger and Aaron being an idiot and hurting his best friend.

He didn't know he had attacked him until they were on the ground. Reid was trying to remember how to throw a punch as they rolled around in the dirt, their brand new baseball uniforms instantly filthy.

The coaches came running along with some parents as Reid finally remembered what to do. Seconds before he was pulled off of Aaron, he slammed his small fist into the taller boy's nose and made it bleed. He didn't know it at the time, but in that one motion he had started a war that would last for years.

-

Later, after the coaches had made the boys apologize, Lisa sat Reid down on the bleachers so she could clean his scraped knee with paper towels she had wet in the bathroom. Mrs. Simms came up to them, Tyler trotting along behind.

"Excuse me, Lisa, is it?" She smiled sweetly as the girl turned around. "I have a first aid kit, I thought he might need a band-aid." She handed over the small white box and sat down on the metal bench.

"Quite the scuffle you got in back there." She told Reid as Lisa put antiseptic from the kit on his knee.

Reid shrugged and busied himself picking at a scab on his arm. Tyler sat next to his friend on the other side.

"W-why'd you d-do that?" Tyler had always had a stutter and Reid had learned to ignore it, unlike Mrs. Simms who took Tyler to speech therapy twice a week even though it didn't help. All the doctors said it would pass as he got older, that it was very common, but the woman wouldn't hear it.

The blonde shrugged again. "I don't know, he was pushing you. I had to do something."

"Thanks." The brunette smiled at his friend who returned it.

-

The weeks went on, practice every Wednesday and Friday, games every Saturday. Reid was good at baseball, he had never really been good at something before and he liked it.

Every week his parents promised to come to his games and every week he watched the parking lot, hoping they were just late, but they never came. Lisa was always there and she always cheered the loudest of all the people in the stands.

One Tuesday night as Lisa tucked him into bed she told him about Grams's doctor appointment the next day. "It's nothing to worry about, just a checkup, but she wants me to go with her. Do you think someone can give you a ride home after practice tomorrow?" He nodded knowing someone would.

-

After practice the next day, Reid and Tyler sat on the bleachers waiting to be picked up, both of their rides were late that day. Tyler's mom showed up soon, as she made he way to the boys Tyler turned to his friend.

"Need a r-ride h-home?" He coughed, something he did when his stutter was bad, as if he was blaming his speech problem on a tickle in his throat.

"No, my dad's coming."

"Okay, I'll s-see you at school." He gathered his stuff and made his way to his mom.

"Does Reid need a ride?" Rosalind Simms asked her son when he reached her.

"No, h-he's got one coming." Tyler kicked dirt up as they walked, making his shoes dirty.

-

A few hours later the phone rang during dinner at the Simms manor. Mr. Simms answered to a very frantic voice on the other end.

"Hello? This is Lisa, I work for the Garwins. I was wondering if you had any idea where Reid was?" She said it very quickly, all in one breath.

"I haven't seen him, let me ask Rosalind, hold on." He put his hand over the receiver as he passed the question on to his hovering wife. She shook her head.

"He was at the ball park, Ty said he had someone coming to get him." Glenn Simms passed this information to the hysterical young girl.

"I asked him to get a ride from a friend, I had to go with my mother to a doctor's appointment, he said he'd be fine. He's only seven, what am I thinking. God he's just a kid." She was crying and talking to herself. "I'm going to go look for him. If you hear anything, let me know."

"No, I'm going to help you look, we'll cover more ground." After hanging up, Glenn turned to his son. "Tyler, what exactly did Reid tell you today?"

The still six-year-old boy thought for a moment. "He s-said that someone was g-going to come pick him up, he said he d-didn't need a ride."

"Did he say who?" Rosalind sat down next to her son, who was frowning in concentration. "Tyler this is very important."

"I-I-" He stopped, trying to steady his words. "I th-think," He stopped again, coughed, and started over. "I think he s-said his dad was c-coming." He sighed, finally getting the sentence out.

A look passed between his parents, worry etched in their features. "Tyler are you sure that's what he said?" The boy nodded at his mother, not understanding why that mattered.

His father now sat on his other side. "Tyler, his father couldn't have come to get him, because… because Reid's dad died two years ago." The news shocked the young boy, how could his best friend's dad be dead. Reid always talked about his dad, how he was coming home soon.

"S-so why d-did he say that? W-why did he t-tell me his d-dad was coming to get him?"

"Because Reid doesn't know that. He's in denial, that means that he thinks his dad is alive." This was a complicated subject and hard to explain, especially to someone so young.

"So w-who was coming to get Reid then, i-in real life?" His mom and dad shared a look again. He loved how his parents could talk without saying anything, it was like they had superpowers like the people in his comic books. He liked comic books and he thought it'd be cool if his parents were in one.

After the silent conversation, his mother spoke.

"No one."

-

It was cold at the park, a freezing wind caused Reid to shiver as he waited on the bleachers in the same place as he had been hours ago when Tyler had left. His dad was going to come, he had promised. He was coming, he was just running late. He was always late.

He rubbed his bare arms and rocked back and forth. He couldn't feel his hands and his feet felt really heavy, it was so cold and he was so tired.

Something wet fell on his arm, it was a raindrop. He looked up and watched the huge drops fall on his face. He closed his eyes and felt a tear slip from underneath his eyelid. After the first one he couldn't stop them anymore, they came fast and hard, matching the rain. His small shoulders shook with sobs as he curled into a ball, biting his bottom lip to from disturbing the semi silence. His dad was coming, he knew he was. He was just late, that was all.

"Reid," A deep voice called through the sheets of rain. His dad was here and he was going take him home and everything would be okay.

"Reid," His father called again. He could see headlights in the parking lot, right where he was always meant to show up,. Reid tried to stand but he was shivering like crazy and his feet were really heavy. Stupid cold weather during summer.

"I'm over here," he called back to the rain and waved his arms, hoping his father would see him. "Dad, I'm over here." The figure ran to him, a dark shadow outlined by the headlights behind him. As the person got closer, he knew that it wasn't his dad, his dad was a lot taller and he didn't wear baseball caps.

"Reid, are you ok?" Mr. Simms asked him as he reached the bleachers. Reid could barley nod. His dad was coming, he knew it, at first he was filled with disappointment but his dad was always late, he could wait a little longer.

"Come on lets get you to the truck, get you warm." Mr. Simms was standing in front of him now, acting as if he was going to pick him up. Reid scooted away from him before he could.

"My dad's coming, he'll be here soon." Mr. Simms seemed taken back a bit, a if that had been the last thing he had expected to hear.

"No, son he's not. Now come on, we need to get you dry before you get sick." He moved to pick Reid up again but the soaked, shivering blonde shook his head.

"No, he is coming, he told me he was." The poor kid was crying, trying desperately to understand all of this. Wanting so badly to believe what he thought he knew.

"Reid, come on, we'll talk about it at home, when you're dry." The older man hadn't realized how defined a world the seven year old had painted for himself, a place where his dead father even promised him things. He took the boy's arm, planning to lead him to the car.

"No!" The blonde boy stumbled backward, away from his best friend's father in fear.

"Reid." This voice didn't belong to the man in front of him but to Lisa, she was climbing across the bleachers to him. "Reid, it's okay, it's me.

"Lisa?" His voice was small as she reached him and gathered him in her arms, despite the fact he was soaking wet.

"Are you okay?" He could barley nod, it was cold and he was scared. "Let's go home."

"My dad's coming." He shook his head, refusing to leave.

"No, baby, he's not." She pushed his wet hair out of his eyes.

"He told me he was."

"I know he did but he called me, his flight got canceled."

This earned her a glare from the man standing over her but she didn't let it faze her because it got Reid in the truck, safe. She had been lying to the young boy ever since she found out about his father. At first she had tried to break it to him easily, but soon she found that he refused to believe it, no matter how obvious it was.

It was healthier for him, she decided, to live in his fantasy world than to have to realize the death of his father. After tonight though, she wasn't so sure anymore.

----------------

Later as she tucked him into bed and kissed is forehead, she could feel his blue eyes watching her.

"Are you okay?" He nodded.

"Good night, kiddo. I love you." She ran a hand over his thin blonde hair, noting that he would need to get it cut soon, before standing up to leave the space-themed room.

"Lease?" His tiny voice called after her, his voice shook a little bit.

"Yeah kiddo?" She stuck her head back into the room.

"He's not coming back, is he?" She could see tears in glistening in his blue eyes.

"No buddy, he's not." She stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars on his ceiling, not able to look at him.

"Is he dead?" She didn't know how to answer him. How to open her mouth and burst his world. "Is he? Is my dad dead?" She could see him trembling from where she stood next to him. She squatted down so that they were eye to eye.

"Yes, Reid, he's dead. He died when you were five." He nodded slowly, letting the information settle in his mind. He climbed into her lap and she held him close. Then she felt the wetness of his tears against her shirt. She rubbed his back through his t-shirt, letting him cry. She was struck again by the fact that he was just a little kid, one that had already been through a lot in his short life.

A few minutes later he looked up at her, his eyes red and puffy. "Please don't leave me Lease. Don't you leave me too."

"I won't kiddo." She kissed his forehead. "I promise."

He cried for a little longer before sleep captured him. She watched his silently and whished she could make it all go away and that she could keep her promise and have him never grow up, but she knew everything would have to change eventually, just maybe not right now. She smiled and pulled the covers around him tightly before leaving the room. She turned out the light, causing the glow-in-the-dark stars of his ceiling to illuminate. She had held him above her head so that he could put the stars where he wanted them and she told him that they would watch after him while she was gone at night. He believed her and she trusted that stars to do they're job, watching over him, just like his father would watch him and protect him for the rest of his life.

THE END

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