Chapter 1

Copyright 11/2000
Updated 3/12/07
Word Count: 3507


Two Months Later

Scott slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the harsh, bright light. He turned his head to his right and saw Alex standing next to him with two women he'd never met before. One wore a nurse's uniform, the other a pair of jeans and a pale blue sweater. Scott wanted to ask them what was happening, and where he was, but he couldn't speak. He tried to move and found he couldn't. He became frightened; his eyes darted wildly around the room.

Alex looked up at Scott and exclaimed, "He's awake!" The small boy instantly ran to him brother's bed and hugged him.

The two women, who'd been talking quietly to each other, looked up and walked to Scott's bed. The nurse began to check his vitals while the other women sat beside him and gently brushed Scott's hair away from his eyes.

"It's okay, Scott," she began, speaking in a soothing tone. "My name is Ms. Branson. You were in an accident and you're in the hospital now. Do you remember what happened? Blink twice for yes."

Scott blinked 'yes', as tears started to form in his eyes. *Yes, I remember,* he thought. *The plane blew up and Mommy and Daddy died.* He willed the tears not to fall, but a single tear escaped and drifted down his cheek.

Ms. Branson wiped the tear away. "It's okay, Scott. Everything is going to be fine. You've been in a coma for almost two months. It's going to take some time for you to recover, but you're going to be okay."

"Ms. Branson, how come Scotty can't talk or move?" Alex asked, fear obvious in his voice.

"He's been through a very traumatic experience, Alex. It's going to take time for him to recover. Come now, it's time to go."

"Okay, but I wanna say goodnight to my brother first," Alex said. He gave Scott another hug. "G'night Scotty, I love you." He then gave Scott a kiss on the cheek and ran to Ms. Branson, who was waiting by the door.

Silent tears rolled down Scott's cheeks as he watched them leave. *I love you too 'Lex. Please don't leave me too.*

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Ms. Branson walked quietly to her car, Alex's small hand clutching her tightly. He was just as quiet as usual, but she was happy to see that the devastated expression that had haunted his young features for the last two months was gone.

She'd talked to Scott's doctor briefly before leaving and was thrilled that the boy's prospects looked good. There was some minor, irreversible brain damage but it was to a nonfunctional part of his brain. They were cautiously optimistic that there would be no complications from the coma and that Scott would be fine with some physical therapy and time.

He would need a few more days in the hospital for observation and to run some more tests. Then he'd be transferred to a local rehabilitation facility.

She sighed as she reached the car. She quickly got Alex situated then climbed into the driver's seat. It would be rough for Scott for the next few months, but he seemed like a strong kid. Ms. Branson was sure he would be just fine.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

I wonder how far Nebraska is from Alaska, Scott thought as he walked up the cement walkway to his new home. He had remained in the hospital for four days then had been transferred to a rehabilitation facility for almost three weeks. After over three weeks of being stuck in a bed for most of the day everyday, it felt good to be up and around again. They'd only let him walk around for a short time each day. When he'd left, they told him he still had to take it easy for a little while. He'd looked the doctor in the face and said, "And sleeping for two months isn't enough rest?"

The doctor had laughed, talked to Ms. Branson while Scott had dressed, then left the room.

He wasn't allowed to run at all for the next few days at least and he was to rest as soon as he started to feel tired. None of which Scott was happy about. How was he supposed to make friends if he couldn't play with other kids? Grownups were okay to talk to, but they didn't do anything fun. Besides, it was summer! Summers were made for running around and having fun.

He stared at the huge building in front of him, paying particular attention to the large sign that read: State Home for Foundlings. "What's a foundling, Ms. Branson?" Scott asked the woman holding his hand.

"A foundling is an infant found after its unknown parents have abandoned it," Ms. Branson answered.

"Then why are me and Alex here? We know who our parents are, and they didn't abandon us. They ... they died." Anger and sadness laced his voice. Scott looked up at Ms. Branson as he waited for an answer.

"I know, Scott." Ms. Branson couldn't help but hear the sadness in the little boy's voice, or see it in his young eyes. "When this place was first opened, the children brought here were foundlings. As time passed, more and more children were brought here because their parents died, didn't want them anymore, or simply couldn't care for them. Very few children are left on the doorstep now."

"Oh." Scott stared at the sign a moment longer and then sighed. He followed quietly as Ms. Branson gently pulled him forward and led him into the home. She led him up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway. They stopped in front of a room and Scott looked in. It was empty for the moment, but he knew other people lived here. He walked to the center of the room and looked around. Beds lined two of the walls. All of them were made but one. The lone unmade bed was in the corner of the room by the window. Scott walked over to it and put his small bag on it.

Ms. Branson walked over to Scott and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Alex's bed is right there next to yours," she paused as she pointed to the bed directly to the right of Scott's, then she walked to what looked like a closet with doors. "And this is where you'll keep your clothes and anything you don't want stolen." She took a key attached to a chain from her pocket and handed it to Scott. "Make sure you don't lose this, Scott." She looked at her watch then said, "The other children are at lunch right now, but I'll send Alex up when he's done eating. He can explain the rules to you. I'll send a clean set of sheets up with him. Do you prefer blue or green?"

Scott looked up at Ms. Branson for the first time since they'd entered the room. "Blue," he answered in a low voice. Reality seemed to be crashing down around him. They're really dead. They're really, really, dead. This isn't a dream. No more bedtime stories. No more plane rides. No more Mommy. No more Daddy. Tears welled behind Scott's eyes, but he willed them not to fall. He was a big boy now and big boys don't cry. No matter how much his heart was breaking, he wouldn't give in.

Ms. Branson gave Scott a gentle squeeze on his shoulder then left. Alone in the big, military barracks style room; Scott walked to the closet on the right side of his bed, unlocked it, and opened the doors. There was a bar going across the top with a few empty hangers. The bottom contained a two-drawer dresser. Scott turned back to his small bag and opened it. He sighed as he looked inside it. Like I have much worth stealing, he thought sadly. He sniffled a little then set upon the small task of unpacking.

After signing Scott out of the hospital, Ms. Branson had taken him to McDonalds for lunch then to Wal-Mart to buy him some new clothes. He now had the bare basics of a wardrobe, a coat, sneakers, and the blue duffel bag that held the new items. He'd picked out his new clothes carefully. On the hangers, Scott hung the three pairs of jeans, two blue and one black, his blue polo shirt with Mickey Mouse on it, and his coat. He opened the bottom drawer, placed a T-shirt with a jet on it, a plain gray long sleeve shirt, a blue sweater with a big jet on it, and two pairs of pajamas (one with planes on it, the other red and blue with a big Superman symbol on the chest) in and closed it.

He opened the top drawer and pulled the pack of underwear out of the bag, opened it, and placed the five pairs of new underwear in the drawer. Then he did the same with the pack of white t-shirts. Next to them, he put the five pairs of socks. He took off his new pair of blue and white high tops and placed them on the top shelf. It wasn't much, but Ms. Branson had promised to take him shopping again in a few days when she had more time and he was feeling stronger. She said he could pick out another pair of jeans, a pair of dress pants, shoes, and some more shirts.

Having completely unpacked the clothes, Scott flopped on the bed and pulled the bag up next to him. After picking out Scott's clothes, Ms. Branson had gone to go to the Health and Beauty Aid section and Scott had looked at the books. He'd walked up and down the aisles until one book caught his attention: "A Brief History of Flight: From Balloons to Mach 3 and Beyond" by T. A. Heppenheimer. Ms. Branson had walked up from behind him, startling him.

"You like planes don't you," she'd asked.

"Yes, ma'am," he'd answered politely, as his parents had taught him.

He'd started to put the book back on the shelf when, much to his surprise, she asked, "Would you like to have that book, Scott?"

He had stared at her in surprise and answered, "Yes, ma'am."

Scott now rolled on his back and opened the book. He was halfway through the first chapter when he heard Alex's voice.

"Scotty! I missed ya!" The smaller Summers boy ran to his brother, who was now sitting up. He dropped the sheets and pillow Ms. Branson had given him for Scott onto the bed, and threw him self at his big brother. The two boys fell back on to the bed with Alex on top of Scott.

Scott laughed at the goofy expression on his little brother's face and said, "It's only been a week since ya saw me last, Lex."

"I know, but I still missed ya."

"I missed you too, now get off of me," Scott said, giving Alex a light push.

Alex rolled with the push and flopped on the bed next to Scott. "That's a neat looking book, Scotty."

Scott closed the book. "Yeah, it's pretty cool. Ms. Branson bought it for me when we got my new clothes today."

"Cool. I guess I better tell you the rules now. First, you have to write your name in all your clothes so the laundry people know which room to bring them to. There's a big hamper in the corner." Alex pointed to a large white wicker basket in the far corner. "That's where you put your clothes when you change. Lights out is eight-thirty. If you get caught out of the room, or making any noise, after that you get in trouble. Most of the time they just don't let you watch TV for a while or they don't let you play outside for a day or two. No eating or drinking in the room and you gotta make your bed everyday when they wake you up for breakfast. There's no running in the building and no fighting. Umm, I guess that's pretty much it. I'll tell you if I remember anything else later."

The two boys sat quietly for a minute then Alex suddenly jumped up and ran to his own locker. He unlocked it, pulled out a thick book, and ran back to Scott's bed. He plopped on the bed and handed it to Scott. "This is what I got for my birthday. Well, actually, it's not the only thing I got. I just like this the bestest."

Scott looked at the book; it was 'The Brothers Grimm'. Scott knew it had been Alex's favorite book. "I'm sorry I missed your birthday, Alex, but they wouldn't let me out of the rehabilitation center in time," Scott said sadly. Alex's birthday had been four days earlier. Scott had begged anyone who would listen to let him out early so he could be there for his brother, but they had all refused.

"It's best if you stay a few more days," they all said.

"'S'okay, Scott. I know it's not your fault." Alex took the book back and stared at the cover. He opened it up and flipped through the pages until he found the story he was looking for, The Elves. "This my favorite story in the whole book."

"I know." Scott smiled as he looked at the page. There were actually three stories with that title in the book. Scott knew because it was the same book their parents had brought for Alex on his second birthday. Their mother read to Alex from it every night. When Scott learned how to read, Alex had often begged his older brother to read to him when their parents were too busy. "You used to bug me, Mom, or Dad to read the stories to you all the time." Scott looked up from the page to Alex's face.

"I remember." Alex said, then his face suddenly dropped into a frown and his lower lip began to quiver. Tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to fall at any moment.

"What's the matter, 'Lex?" Scott asked.

"I miss Mommy and Daddy. I don't want them to be dead, Scotty. I want them alive." The dam broke with those words and the tears flowed freely down the small boy's cheeks. He threw his arms around Scott's neck and sobbed uncontrollably. "It's not fair!" The words caught in Alex's chest as he cried harder.

Scott hugged Alex tightly, willing his own tears not to fall. "I know, Alex. I miss them too. I don't want them to be dead either, but there's nothing we can do about that. Please stop crying." Scott prayed Alex would stop. If he didn't, Scott knew he'd start crying soon as well. He held onto Alex as his younger brother's sobs grew quiet. After a few minutes, Alex broke the hug and sat back.

"Thanks, Scotty. Sorry I cried on your new shirt." Alex sniffled then wiped his eyes with his own shirt.

"S'okay, 'Lex. Come here." Alex scooted close to Scott again, and Scott gave his brother another hug. He wiped the rest of the tears from Alex's eyes, then reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a small packet of tissues. He took a few out and handed them to Alex. "Here, blow your nose."

Alex took the offered tissues and blew his nose. Then he took the tissues over to a small wastebasket in the corner of the room and threw them in. He walked back over to Scott's bed, sat on it, and picked the book back up. "Read to me, Scott. Please." Alex looked at Scott with pleading eyes that threatened more tears.

"Sure, Little Brother, but first help me make the bed." The two brothers quickly made the bed. Scott took the book and positioned himself on the bed so that his back was against the headboard with the pillow behind him. Alex laid next to Scott with his head on Scott's shoulder.

"The Elves story first." Alex said, flipping through the pages until he found the story again.

"I kinda figured that," Scott said, then began reading.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

"Which one now?" No answer. Scott glanced down at his brother. Alex was sound asleep, snoring softly. Scott smiled as he looked at his little brother. He closed the book and laid it gently on the floor.

Someone cleared their throat. The noise startled Scott and he looked up at the doorway to the room. A tall, husky, dark haired boy was leaning on the doorframe.

"Well, ain't this a cozy little scene," the boy said sarcastically. He noticed the dried tears on Alex's face and said, "So what was the little whiner cryin' about now? He missing his Mommy and Daddy again?" The boy made a mock crying face as he held his fists in front of his eyes, turning them.

Anger built in Scott, but he kept himself calm. "He is not a whiner; he's just a little kid. Yeah, he misses 'em. What's it to you?"

"Chill, I was just teasing. What are you, his guarding angel or somethin?"

"No, I'm his brother, Scott."

"Oh yeah, I remember the little whiner talking about his big brother and how great he is. You don't look so great to me." The older boy grinned menacingly at Scott. "My name's David. I'm twelve. Ive been here since I was born."

The boy started to say something else but Scott cut him off. "So what? Does that make you special or something?" Scott made his remark as sarcastic as possible.

David just widened his smile. "No, Punk. You keep up those smart remarks and I'll make ya a permanent part of the wall. Just thought I'd let ya know I'm in charge around here. You mess with me and I'll make ya regret it. Just ask whiner there," David pointed to Alex, "he'll tell ya."

"What did you do to him?" The anger became obvious on Scott's face as he stared at the older boy.

David was about to make another sarcastic remark when he heard a noise behind him. Suddenly, Ms. Branson appeared behind him.

"Is there a problem here, boys?" she asked. David smiled as sweet a smile as he could manage. He then turned to face Ms. Branson.

"Why no, Ms. Branson," he said sweetly. "I was just introducing myself to Scott."

Ms. Branson said nothing as she looked down at the boy skeptically. She looked to Scott. "Are you getting settled in okay, Scott?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I'm doing fine."

Ms. Branson stared at Scott for a moment then looked back to David. She looked like she wanted to say more. Without another word, she turned and left.

David stared at Scott a few moments longer, then in a lowered voice said, "Watch your back." With that, he turned and left.

Scott sighed with relief as the bully left. *Good one, Scott. Way to start your first day. That kid's about three times bigger than you.* He sighed again and gently slid his arm from underneath Alex. I need some fresh air. He opened his locker, pulled out his sweater and sneakers. Dressing quickly, he walked out of the room leaving the still sleeping Alex on his bed. He decided it would be a good time to take a walk around outside.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Scott took a deep breath as he sat on a bench by a picnic table. He'd walking around for over an hour, familiarizing himself with the orphanage's grounds. He was sitting quietly, thinking, when someone suddenly put a hand on his shoulder. Startled, Scott jumped up and whirled around to face the person. A blond haired boy, only a little smaller than himself, stared at him.

The boy stuck out his hand. "Hi, name's Nathaniel."

Scott shook the boy's hand. "Scott."

"Yeah, I know. So, heard ya had a run-in with our resident jerk, David."

"How'd you know about that?" Scott asked, looking at Nathaniel suspiciously.

"It's a small place. Word gets around pretty quick around here. David's just a jackass. He thinks just because he's the biggest kid here that makes him the boss. He thinks he's soooo tough." Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "I'd watch out for him though, 'specially when he's with his buddies, Dean, Lance, and Frank. They like to hit people."

Scott stared at Nathaniel. He didn't know what it was, but there was something about Nathaniel that Scott didn't like. I think I'll avoid you too if I can. Scott thought to himself.

"Come on; let's go play with the new computer. I'll show ya some cool stuff."

"Uh, no thanks. I gotta go check on Alex. He's my kid brother."

"I know. Like I said," Nathaniel added as he saw the surprise on Scott's face. "It's a small place."

"Yeah, right. Bye." Scott said and quickly walked away before Nathaniel could say anything else. That dude is really weird, Scott thought to himself. I'm definitely stayin' away from him.

Nathaniel watched as Scott walked into the orphanage. "On the contrary, Scott," he said in a low, sinister voice. "You and I will be spending a lot of time together." He chuckled softly as he walked into the building.

TBC