I absolutely love my reviewers! You guys just made my life! Thank you all so much! Please don't stop reviewing!

Oh, and Dea Puella, that is just too cruel a punishment! I wouldn't want that to happen so I decided I should just write the next chapter.

Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

This one's for noodlepie54 who helped me to get off my ass and write it!

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Only Clark is mine.

"Welcome home Jack."

Those words didn't register to Jack. They didn't have a place in his vocabulary anymore. Home? He had no home. This was just another temporary location before he was kicked out again. Or worse, he was removed. Removal meant something had gone horribly wrong and Social Services had to get him out of there as fast as they could. That was worse than getting kicked out. Jack shuddered internally as he tried to push those thoughts from his mind. He stared determinedly at the ground, refusing to look at the woman standing in front of him. He fixed his eyes on a stain on the ground, a little to the right of the woman's feet, and he began to sing in his head. Letting himself remember the lyrics, thinking of the chords to play on the guitar, this helped him to forget.

"Jack this is Evelyn Mercer and these are her sons. I'll let her do the introductions from there," Clark was talking to him. The social worker sighed as he realized that Jack was not paying any attention to him at all. "I'm sorry; he tends to space out sometimes, never listens to a thing I say. It's nothing to worry about though."

"Of course it's nothing to worry about. He's a kid, most kids ignore what we say," Evelyn had a twinkling laugh.

Jack had been listening though. At least when Clark mentioned her sons. Jack didn't remember hearing anything about there being more kids there. He shifted his glance on the floor taking note of a pair of feet in the doorway to his left, and two pairs of feet sitting on the steps in front of him.

"Jack, look at me when I'm talking to you," Clark chastised. Jack finally did look up at Clark, a bit surprised since he hadn't noticed Clark was still talking at all, let alone talking to him. "I've got to get going now, but remember what we talked about in the car. Be good and stay out of trouble. Good luck." With a pat on the shoulder and some parting words to Evelyn, Clark was gone. Jack felt even more alone than normal, if that was even possible. He did remember the talk in the car. How Clark had reminded him that this was probably his last chance, that if he screwed this up he would probably end up in the group home permanently. Jack jumped at the sound of the door closing behind him. This was it. He was stuck in this house for at least a while.

Jack sighed as he realized he couldn't stare at the ground forever. He looked up, looking around the room. Looking everywhere but in the eyes of the four people before him.

"Jack, these are my sons. This is Bobby," the guy in the doorframe gave a nod of his head. "And this is Angel and Jeremiah," she pointed to each of the two black boys sitting on the stairs. Jerry waved and Angel said hey to the scared boy in front of them. When Evelyn realized that Jack wasn't going to respond, she tried a different tactic. "How about the boys show you to your room, and then we all come downstairs and have a big bowl of ice cream?" Jack forgot his promise to himself and looked at the old woman. He was pleasantly surprised, he could barely remember what ice cream tasted like, and here she was, offering it to him in the middle of the day.

"Ma, how come you never offer us ice cream like that?" the guy named Jerry asked.

"Because you know where it is and you could get it yourself if you really wanted it Jerry," Evelyn laughed at him. "Besides, this is a special occasion!"

"Yeah, so don't fuck it up by asking stupid questions Jerry," Bobby crossed over to where his brothers were sitting and punched him in the arm playfully.

Evelyn just rolled her eyes at Bobby's use of language. "Boys will be boys," she winked at Jack. Jack felt himself give a flicker of a smile, something he hadn't done in a long time. Evelyn beamed. Even if it was just a hint of a smile, it was still a start.

Bobby reached over and grabbed Jack's bag off of the floor. "This all?" he asked. Jack gave a slight nod, looking somewhat embarrassed. Bobby just shrugged. "Well let's hurry up then, kid. Hopefully we can get a pick-up game in before dark." Bobby started clomping up the stairs, Angel and Jerry following him.

"Go on ahead, they'll show you your room," Evelyn reassured him. Jack walked silently up the stairs, making an obvious effort to be as quiet as possible. As soon as he was out of sight, Evelyn just shook her head and sighed. The poor boy. Evelyn hadn't missed any detail. His too-big clothes that were obvious hand-me-downs. The cut that was healing across his eye. The way he refused to look anybody in the eye. How he had jumped when the door closed, as if sealing his fate. The way he hunched into himself, as if he was terrified of what would happen if he came out of his shell. And of course the way he tried to be as quiet as possible, as if something bad would happen to him if he made to much noise. Evelyn sighed again as she realized something bad probably had happened to him for that reason alone. He had led such a tough life for being only twelve. She prayed that she could help him come out of his shell. "Really, all he needs is a big brother," Evelyn murmured to herself. She laughed as she heard a crash come from upstairs and then her three sons yelling at each other using some very colorful language. "And now he has three."

Jack was gazing out the window in his new room; the three boys standing behind him. "Well what do you think?" Bobby asked him.

"It's nice. Thank you." Jack remembered to thank him. He didn't want to make that mistake again. It's what happened at the last house.

"He does speak!" Jack looked embarrassed and turned back towards the window. "You're gonna have to learn to speak up kid. Mercers aren't quiet. And we can't have a fairy living in this house. You're not a fairy, are ya?" Jack shook his head, amusement showing in his eyes.

"Jesus Bobby! Learn to shut the fuck up!" Angel laughed at his oldest brother. "And you know you're gonna have to pay for that." He looked down at the now broken statue of a hockey player.

"Why do I have to pay for it? It was mine!" Bobby shouted incredulously. Angel just shrugged and laughed again. "Oh, fuck off," Bobby grumbled.

"Just ignore them," Jerry suggested to Jack. "It's what I do." He stopped talking suddenly has Bobby tackled him onto the bed. Jack backed away, pressing against the wall, his eyes wide. Where they really fighting? Was he going to be next? Was Bobby the enforcer in the house?

"Bobby," the single word spoken from Angel made him stop and look up. He followed Angel's eyes to see Jack pressed against the wall, his eyes wide, and he was shaking.

"Fuck," he whispered. "I'm sorry little man, we was just playing. Don't be so skittish." Jack blushed and looked almost angry. Although he wasn't angry at Bobby, he was angry at himself. Bobby knew the look only too well. "Well come on kid, let's go get some ice cream." Jack nodded and silently followed the boys out of the room, simply walking over the mess of the broken statue as they had done.

"Bathroom's down the hall. That's my room, Angel's room, Bobby's room, and Ma's room," Jerry pointed them out. He went racing down the stairs, Angel and Bobby following him. Jack walked quietly, silently. He didn't want to become a nuisance in the first hour of living there. Bobby turned around as the other two boys ran ahead to the dining room.

"Hurry up you little fairy," Bobby grabbed Jack's arm and was surprised to see him pull back in pain. Bobby reached again, this time for Jack's sleeve. Jack was staring at the ground again, not looking at Bobby's face. Bobby pulled back the sleeve to see a deep cut across his arm and some bruises in the shape of a hand directly below the cut. "Fuck." Bobby muttered again. "Fuck kid, I'm sorry." Jack just shrugged, barely noticeable. Bobby cursed again. Thinking that this kid didn't deserve this. It was weird; Bobby had already taken a liking to the boy, which was completely unusual. Bobby knew this himself and wondered why? Then he realized the answer. He saw a lot of himself in Jack. "Well come on, we don't want the ice cream to melt."

Jack followed Bobby into the dining room and took a seat next to Angel.

"I made you a bowl of vanilla, and we've got lots of toppings. Do you like vanilla?" Evelyn asked Jack gently.

"I don't know," Jack murmured quietly. He stared down at the table as the three boys shared a glance. This kid was too quiet. He was going to take some getting used to. But surprisingly enough, all three boys were thinking of ways to get him out of his shell.

"Well, we'll fix it up for you just right," Jerry offered grabbing the bowl. His brothers grabbed a bunch of different toppings and began pouring them on. Evelyn just smiled at the display. The bowl was placed back in front of Jack covered in chocolate, caramel, and strawberry syrup, whipped cream, and little chocolate candies. Jack looked at the mountain of ice cream in front of him. Silently he grabbed his spoon and took an enormous bite. Four pairs of eyes were watching him anxiously, waiting for his reaction.

Jack's face split into a wide smile as he hurriedly dipped his spoon in for another bite of sugary goodness. Evelyn memorized the picture immediately, wondering whenwill bethe next time she would see it again.

Ok, Chapter Two. Now please Review!