guestsurprise, who owns Devon, asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)
I only own Rachel. Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action.
No One Is Excluded In Family
Rachel was in the library dusting some of the bookshelves when she heard the library door open and turned to see her nephew, Devon, there. "Devon?" She asked in surprise. "I thought you were with Ben and Four Arms."
"I was," the teenager said before looking away.
Rachel immediately sensed something wasn't right. "Devon, what happened?" She asked.
He looked up at her. "Aunt Rachel, I think I'm better off solo," he said. "I don't want to ruin the Grant Mansion's reputation."
"Better off solo?" Rachel repeated in confusion. "Devon, what are you talking about?"
The boy looked sad as he flopped down on one of the couches in the library. Rachel went over and sat beside him. "Honey, did someone say something that hurt you?" She asked.
Devon bowed his head and a few tears came to his eyes. "Oh, Devon," Rachel said, gently pulling the boy into a comforting hug and he clung to her, crying into her shoulder. "What happened, hon?"
The boy clung to her. "Some of the Plumbers," he said before his shoulders heaved again as he cried. "They…They said they didn't want me around because I'm a former thief for the Forever Knights."
Now it took a lot to get Rachel mad, but something like that just took the cake. How dare they, she said to herself. Devon isn't with the Knights anymore, but those Plumbers still have the gall to judge him!
She set her jaw, but managed to keep her temper in check. "Those…Those…idiots," Rachel finally settled on, wanting to say more, but knew it wouldn't help beyond her venting. "Well, that's too bad they have to be like that," she said. "Because they wouldn't say that if they saw you like how we do."
Devon looked at her. "What do you see me as, Aunt Rachel?" He asked.
"A young boy in need of a lot of TLC and a family willing to give him that," she said. "I don't care what people say. You're my nephew, Devon. You've been my nephew since you first came here."
The boy looked at her in surprise. "Really?" He asked her.
"Of course," she said with a smile. "Anyone who comes here to live or to seek refuge becomes part of my family."
Devon smiled. He liked how Rachel could make someone feel better with words and he knew her actions backed up what she said. "Thanks, Aunt Rachel," he said.
"You're welcome, Devon," she said with a smile.
Meanwhile, Ben was chewing out some of the male Plumbers. "I can't believe you said that to Devon!" He snapped. "He's not with the Knights anymore!"
"But he was," said one of them. "Enemies aren't welcome here. You know that."
Rook, who was beside Ben, grew angry. "Devon is not an enemy!" He said angrily. "He is my nephew!"
"And he's my son," said Four Arms with a growl, making some of the Plumbers flinch.
Ben shook his head. "You know what? If that's how you treat my family, then I want nothing to do with you," he said. "Come on, Rook. Come on, Four Arms. We can have our guy's night at the mansion and Devon can join us."
"I agree," Rook said, nodding as he followed Ben. Four Arms was right behind them. Upgrade and Astrodactyl came up to them.
"Did those jerks really say that to Devon?" Upgrade asked.
"Yup," Ben said.
"So, I take it the guy's night is off?" Astrodactyl squawked in question.
"No," said Four Arms. "We're just going to have it at the Mansion instead, where Devon can join us and not be discriminated against."
Piling into Rook's Proto-Truk, they were soon at the Grant Mansion and found Rachel and Devon outside working in the flower gardens. Devon was pulling weeds and putting them in trash bags while Rachel watered the flowers with a special water and plant food mix. "Thank you, Devon," she said as she saw he cleared out the last of the weeds.
"It looks a lot better, Aunt Rachel," he said.
"Yes it does, thanks to you," she said, giving him a big hug.
Devon smiled and suddenly felt two arms pick him up. "She's right, son," said Four Arms.
Devon looked at his father. "Hey, Dad. I thought you, Uncle Ben, and Uncle Rook were going to at HQ for a while?" He said.
Rook came up to them. "Devon, we found out what those Plumbers said," he said. "And well…to put it mildly, we weren't pleased that they had said that about you."
"Four Arms was ready to punch them into the middle of next month," Ben said seriously.
"I believe it," Rachel said, knowing how angry Four Arms could get if someone said something or did something to hurt his family.
"So, we've decided to have our guy's night here instead," said Four Arms. "And you can join us, Devon."
"Really?" The boy asked hopefully.
"Of course you can," said Upgrade, coming up with Astrodactyl behind him. "So, this is the young boy you adopted, Four Arms?"
"Yes," said the Tetramand. "This is Devon. Devon, these two are Upgrade and Astrodactyl, two very good friends of mine, and your uncles."
Devon looked at the two in surprise. "You guys are my uncles too?" He asked.
They chuckled. "You bet, kiddo," Astrodactyl squawked in a friendly tone. "Your dad has told us a lot about you. It's nice to finally meet you."
"Yes," said Upgrade.
Devon looked away. "So, you know what I was before?" He asked hesitantly.
Upgrade gently turned Devon's face to look at him. "Yes," he said. "But that doesn't matter to us, because that's not who you are. You're our nephew and that's what matters to us."
The Mechamorph's kind words helped Devon and he suddenly hugged him, startling the alien a bit, but the alien returned the hug warmly. "Thanks, Uncle Upgrade," he said.
"Anytime, kid," Upgrade said.
Astrodactyl accepted a hug from Devon. "Now, how about we start that guy's night with some pizza and root beer floats?" He asked.
Rachel smiled as she heard them cheer in agreement. "I'll order the pizzas and get the floats going," she said. "Why don't you guys head to the rec room? I'll tell the other guys where you are."
"I'll help you, my love," Rook said, following her into the kitchen.
Devon hugged his father, who returned the hug firmly. "Thanks for standing up for me, Dad," he said.
"I'll always do so for you, Devon," Four Arms promised as he lifted his son up onto his back and headed inside the Mansion with the others.
Please leave a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418