Chapter 2
At 10 A.M. everyone was at the dinning room table and having breakfast. The only difference was that Connor now sat at the end of the table in what used to be Angels chair. Giles had gone home with Buffy and Spike so that the other end of the table was empty. Sean and Hunter were the only Vampires requiring blood now. Sean had quickly become accustomed to the way that Cordelia used to fix it for Angel. Kathleen fixed his drink for him and waited on him as though they were already husband and wife.
One person was missing though. "Where is Nicky, Mike?" Connor asked. "He went to see some of the boys in Gunn's group early this morning." Mike answered after swallowing the food he had just shoved into his mouth. "Did he say when he would be back?" "Nah, he just said he was going to take the bus and go to the warehouse." "Can you sense him Kathleen?" "Yes, he's okay and doesn't seem to be getting into any trouble right now." "Gunn, if your going to the warehouse today would you check on him and tell him to get back here by lunch time. Fred and Kathleen are going to be taking them to get some new clothes for school which starts in a few weeks." Connor said.
"Sure, no problem. Do you want to go with me Mike?" "Yes, do you mind Connor?" "No go ahead." Connor and Kathleen looked at each other. They were kind of caught off guard by Mike's question. It was finally becoming a reality to them that they were the boy's guardians and they would now have the final word on what the boys did or could do. As the saying goes, 'The Buck Stops Here' now. They would no longer be able to hold the threat of informing Angel and Cordelia over there heads any longer. Connor was in his 30's now but all of a sudden he felt a lot older.
"Let's go to Wesley's office Gunn so you can let us both know what is going on since we've been gone." The men got up and left for Wesley's office.
"I need for you to come to the clinic with us Kathleen." Sean said. Without question she got up and followed him to the clinic. Hunter, Mike and Fred followed them. They all sat down around Fred and what was now Sean's desk.
"What's up?" Kathleen asked. "Kathleen we have been discussing the future of our clinic. As you know Sean was sent here to take Dr. Martin's and Mike's place and also God has chosen him for your future husband." Hunter said. Kathleen's ears turned red from embarrassment. "What we have been discussing though is the need for an RN that can double as an anesthesiologist. Since you finished with High School already we wanted to know if you would consider going onto Collage to become a Registered Nurse? Mike won't be able to help us much longer and we need an RN besides Cylindia since she is usually busy with Gunn's kids." Everyone was quiet and looking at Kathleen for an answer.
"Can I give you my answer at Supper today?" Kathleen asked. "Sure, take your time we know that this is a big, life altering decision." Hunter said. Kathleen looked at everyone. Mike was almost completely gray now and she knew that he spent as much time as he could with Hunter and their son. Kathleen got up and left to go into the chapel. Everyone knew that she had gone in to talk to Dr. Martin and her mother. She was in there for the next 3 hours. When she came out she went looking for Connor and found him, along with Wesley, in his office.
"Can I talk to you for a minute Connor?" "Sure, come in and have a seat." Kathleen came in and closed the door then took a seat at the couch. "I'm glad you're in here Uncle Wesley. Connor I have been asked by Hunter, Sean and Mike to go to Collage so that I could become an RN. They said that they need me to become an RN so that I can help them in the clinic and learn how to take care of the anesthesia when someone has to be operated on. If I do this then I won't be able to help you as much as I do now. What do you and Uncle Wesley think I should do?"
Wesley and Connor looked at each other and were quiet for a while. "I take it you've talked to Grandma, Dad and Cordelia about this?" "Yes I have and they say to do it." "I guess you have the answer then. Don't worry about how we'll get by because like Grandma always said, 'God will provide'. Connor said and got up and hugged his sister. "Don't worry about us Kathleen; we'll get by just like we always have." Connor said.
"You need to talk to Cylindia as soon as possible so that you can see about signing you up for the classes that you'll need." Wesley told her. "Since you already know Latin it will help you breeze through the language of medicine." "I'll talk to her right after supper." Kathleen said and got up and left.
Fortunately for Nicky he showed up for lunch. Connor finally said something about his brother's absence after everyone seemed to have finished their lunch.
"Did you have fun this morning Nicky?" Connor asked in a calm voice. "As a matter of fact I did big brother." Everyone noticed a hint of sarcasm in Nicky's voice. Connor counted to three. "That's good because Kathleen and Fred are taking you, Mike, David and Bobby to get some new clothes for school." All of the boys said at the same time, "Do we have too?" "Yes you do unless you want to deal with Kathleen. If your sister doesn't have a vision we can all go horseback riding when you get back. So the more you cooperate the faster you'll get back." Connor got up from the table to let the boys know that the discussion was at an end.
Connor picked up his son as he left the table. "Lou, I am going to take Daniel, Toby and Angus to go and pick up Santana's ashes. We'll be back afterwards." "Okay, I think I'll follow Fred to the mall so I can get some more clothes for Daniel. He's growing like a weed also." Kathleen and Fred went to their rooms to get ready to go shopping and were down in the Lobby in 15 minutes. When they arrived they found David and Bobby waiting for them along with Mike.
They took one look at them and sent them back upstairs to change and put some decent clothes on. When they came back down Lou came with them. One of the boys was missing though. "Where is Nicky, Mike?" Kathleen asked.
"He said he wasn't going and that you should just buy clothes that fit me because we're the same size." Mike couldn't look at his sister so he just turned away when he told her. "Where is he Mike?" Fred asked this time.
"He went to the warehouse again and said he wouldn't be home until Supper time." "Okay Mike we'll let Connor handle Nicky let's go." With that said they all piledinto Fred's van.Lou got into the van also since Nicky wasn't with them. For the next five hours they shopped until the boys almost mutinied. By the time they came back Fred was dragging while Lou and Kathleen faired just a little better. Meanwhile the boys still had plenty of energy and ran upstairs with their packages of new clothes to change into what they called their comfortable clothes.
Before Kathleen went up to her room she used her mind to search for Nicky. He wasn't in the Hotel but she did feel his well being. Fred guessed at what she was doing and asked, "Is he here?" "No but he seems to be alright. I think he is having a harder time then Mike is in accepting Momma's and Daddy's death. He's still feeling the loss real hard. Momma always said that Nicky was closer to Daddy then Mike was." They took a moment and sat down on the stairs.
"Momma said that even when he was a baby Nicky was always a problem until Daddy held him and then he would quiet down. Then when we punished him by forbidding him to play with the other boys for 2 weeks Daddy and Nicky did almost everything together during those weeks."
"I think it would be best to let Connor handle him first. Then when he finally breaks down and cries you can step in and hold him. I think that since you are built like your mother he'll accept you better afterwards." Fred told Kathleen. Both Kathleen and Lou looked at Fred. "You can sure tell that we were all trained by Momma." The women laughed then picked up the rest of their packages and went upstairs to their rooms.
Before sitting down for Supper Kathleen called Connor into his office. "Did Lou tell you that Nicky didn't go with us?" "Yeah and I don't know what to do with him. Would you go and ask Mrs. Sanchez to come to my office?" Kathleen went into the kitchen and asked Mrs. Sanchez if she would come to Connors office so they could talk to her about a problem they were having. When they went into the office Connor stood up and pointed to the couch and asked her to sit down.
"Is there a problem Connor?" Mrs. Sanchez asked.
"Yes there is and I was hoping you could help me. I don't know if you know this but we seem to be having a problem with Nicky. He doesn't want to do what I say and seems to be rebelling against my authority over him. Do you have any advice for me as to what you think his problem is and how I can handle it?" Connor asked. Kathleen was sitting next to Mrs. Sanchez as they waited for her to give them an answer to their problem.
"I think that Nicky is having a hard time letting go of his father. I don't think anyone ever noticed how close he had become to his father and he is missing him more than Mike is. He used to come into the kitchen and have a sandwich while watching me cut up meat or something and he would tell me how he talked to his father in his head so that so no one would hear what they were saying. He felt very special being able to do that. I think that that is what he is missing so much. He may never feel that connection with you Connor even though he desperately needs another man to be with him. Can you establish a link with him like your father did?" "No, only Kathleen can do that but I think it's like you said he needs another man. Kathleen, would you ask Sean if he can do it? Sean is tall and big like Dad was. Perhaps Nicky would feel more at ease with him since he looks a little like Dad and he is a Vampire." "I'll ask him tonight after Supper. Thank you Grandma Sanchez. You've been a big help." Kathleen said then stood up and opened the door and went to the dinning room table where everyone was gathering already. She noticed that Nicky was at his seat just as though nothing was wrong.
Connor went to his chair while Mrs. Sanchez returned to the kitchen. Joaquin brought out two mugs of blood for Hunter and Sean. After everyone was through eating the main course Connie cleared the dishes then came in with a large 10 inch 3 layered chocolate cake that she set in front of Sean. Everyone was watching him as he stared at it. "How did you know that I loved chocolate cakes?" "Junior told me after they came back from Ireland that Kathleen told him that it was one of the few foods that you could really taste. Now since I haven't made a chocolate cake since you've been here I thought you were long overdue." Sean cut a large slice and placed it on his plate along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream that Joaquin had brought to the table. As he took a large bite of the cake he closed his eyes and slowly ran his tongue through the chocolate.
"That is almost as good as my first glass of blood was when I came out of hibernation." Sean continued to eat his cake and savor each bite as Connie sliced up the rest of the cake for everyone else. Kathleen liked to mix the cake up with the ice cream. She was busy doing this when she suddenly felt someone's eyes on her. She looked up and found Sean watching her.
"What are you doing? You're going to ruin the taste of the chocolate." Sean asked her. "I'm mixing the ice cream and cake together, it's how I like it." "But you won't get the full flavor of the chocolate then." When Sean took another bite of the cake he didn't see Kathleen pick up half of the cake. She put her hand on his arm and put it to her side so he couldn't see it. She waited for him to turn towards her. As he turned towards her she said "Just to make sure that none of the taste of the chocolate is lost here is half of my cake." Kathleen took the cake and smashed it into Sean's face.
Sean calmly put his arm around Kathleen's neck and pulled her towards him. "Come here my beloved and let me give you your first real kiss." Kathleen screamed as Sean kissed her while rubbing his face all over her face. All of the younger children were cheering Sean on while everyone else was laughing.
"You should know better then that by now Sean. Kathleen doesn't like to be told how to eat her cake and ice cream. I learned that as soon as she found out she liked eating her desert like that." Connor said as he ate his own desert. "What did she do?" Sean asked as he cleaned his face with the towel Connie had given him. "I can't remember what she said but I know it got me to jump over the table and go running after her. Of course I finally caught her and held her over the second floor balcony, like I usually do, until she promised not to say what she said anymore." "I thought she could outrun anyone." Sean said. "She can't outrun Lou, Hunter, Spike or myself since Cordelia was human and my mother was Dad's Sire. What she can do is transport herself from one place to another place close by. Dad and Cordelia told her that that wasn't fair when playing and she wasn't to do it anymore unless she was in a serious situation." Everyone was laughing at Kathleen. "So I'm giving you fair warning as to what she can do."
Sean wiped his hands again and said, "Doesn't play fair huh. I'll have to keep that in mind next time. Maybe I should start getting someone on my side to help me. Hey Mike and Nicky do you want to help me with fighting your sister? We don't have her powers so well have to win by numbers." "How are we going to do that?" Nicky asked.
"I can link up my mind with yours just like your father did, do you want to do it?" Unknown to everyone else Kathleen and Sean had already established a link between them and she had told him what her and Connor wanted him to do.
Nicky and Mike looked at each other. Both were reluctant. Nicky was the first to agree. "Okay, I'll do it." Sean went over to their side of the table and got down on one knee. "Okay Nicky turn towards me. You have to help me a little since we're not related by blood. Clear your mind then reach out for me and I'll more or less catch you." Nicky did as he said then when he was done with Nicky he turned to Mike after he agreed to do the same thing.
When Sean was done he stretched out his hand and said 'Team?' Both Nicky and Mike stacked their hands on top of Sean's and said 'Team'. "Let's give the team howl." Sean held back his head and started howling like a wolf which Nicky and Mike joined in on. Toby, Angus and Vicky came and joined in. After a minute of all of the racket Kathleen stood up and called a halt to the noise. "Alright, alright that's enough. I'll get back at you Sean, just you wait and see. I want you boys to go to your rooms and take all of the tags off of your new clothes then bring them down to the laundry room so we can wash them." All of the boys took their plates, glasses and silverware into the kitchen then went running up stairs.
"You guys are going to owe me big time for this. I may just be the first Vampire to die from being worn out." Sean said from the floor where he was sitting.
Wesley stood up and said "Sean and Connor would you come with me into my office please?" Wesley walked to his office without even looking back.
"Oooohhh! You're in trouble now." Gun said to Sean. Sean looked at Gunn and made a motion as though he was staking himself but still obediently followed Connor and Wesley.
Wesley was sitting at his desk while Connor was still standing and waiting for him to come in. Wesley pointed to the couch close to him. Sean took a seat where Wesley pointed and Connor sat close to him. "What's up?" Sean asked.
"I heard you call Kathleen your Beloved and you seem to have established a link with her already because I know that you haven't had a chance to talk by your selves after Kathleen and I talked to Mrs. Sanchez." Connor said.
"Yes we did establish a link between us and yes I did call her my Beloved. I know that you know what it means for a Vampire to call someone their Beloved. Kathleen and I knew that we were meant for each other from the time that we laid eyes on each other. Apparently it was also one of Henry's jobs to make sure that we connected also because I heard him say 'Done' before he left." "You haven't had sex yet have you?" Connor asked. "No Connor we haven't. I promised Cordelia that I wouldn't have sex with her until she was at least 18. Also I don't know if she has talked to you about this or not but I, Hunter and Mike have asked her to go to school to become an RN and she has agreed to this. We talked about it and she has asked me if we could wait to get married until after she graduates from college. I told her I might have a melt down but I agreed."
Connor and Wesley looked at each other in surprise. "I guess my little sister is going to be a very busy young lady for the next 3 or 4 years." Connor said. "I don't know about that with her IQ she may just complete it in 3 years or less. Plus she has all of these Doctors and an RN to help her. Plus she already knows Latin. Well Sean I guess I can expect the water bill to go up again." Wesley said as he stood up to leave. "Why would the water bill go up?" Sean asked as he followed him out the door. "I'll let Connor explain." Sean and Connor took a seat again while Connor explained how he had both Lou and Cordelia trying to get him to cave in and have sex with Lou before he graduated.
By the time they came out of the office everyone had helped to clear the table and were heading for their own rooms and families. Kathleen was the only one waiting for the men to come out of Wesley's office.
"Is everything okay Sean?" "Yes your brother and Uncle Wesley were just checking up on us. All I can say my dear is it's a good thing that you're the one that asked if we could wait to get married until you graduate because I don't think I could withstand all of the tricks your mother taught you on how to control a man and getting him to do what you wanted." "Don't worry Sean I don't want you to see all of the tricks Momma taught me. Otherwise you might go running out into the sunlight just to get away from me." She gave him a kiss on the cheek then turned to Connor. "I'll be going to UCLA early tomorrow with Cylindia and Fred tomorrow Connor. Cylindia said we need to sign me up for classes as soon as possible so well probably be gone all day with everything I have to do. Goodnight you two." Sean and Connor said goodnight and went to their own rooms.
At 2 a.m. Sean heard someone knocking at his door. He smelled the air and knew it was Kathleen. "Come in Kathleen." She opened the door and came in and whispered to him. "Sean Nicky is sick. Mike came to my room and told me his brother had thrown up and wasn't able to sleep because he is having a lot of pain in his side." "Okay, go and take his temperature and I'll be there in a minute." She closed the door behind her and went up to Nicky's room. She went to his medicine cabinet and pulled out the thermometer that her mother always kept in each of the kid's bathrooms.
"Nicky hold this thermometer under your tongue until I take it out okay?" "Okay." Kathleen put it under his tongue and waited for it to beep. Just as it beeped Sean came in. "What's his temperature?" "It's only 99." Kathleen got up so Sean could examine Nicky. When he pressed on his lower right side Nicky moaned in pain and started crying. "It looks like your appendix is inflamed and I'm going to have to take it out or it could burst." "Is it going to hurt?" Nicky asked as he wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. "You won't even know were taking it out because you'll be sleeping." Sean said. "You stay right here and I'll be back in a few minutes okay?" "Okay but don't be too long because it really hurts." Sean and Kathleen went out of the room and closed the door behind them and went to the second floor.
"Go and tell Hunter and Mike what is happening then wake up your brother and Wesley and let them know. I'm going to the clinic to get things started. Tell Connor to bring Nicky to the clinic." Sean went to the clinic and Kathleen went to Hunter and Mike then Wesley and Connor. Within the next 10 minutes Connor had Nicky in the clinic. Hunter and Mike came in shortly after. Mike was moving slower these days since he was now in his early seventies but he could still help by taking care of the anesthesia. He had Nicky out within the next 15 minutes and Hunter prepared him for surgery. After only 90 minutes they were through and Nicky was back in his bed. Sean kept watch over him through the night to make sure that there were no problems.
At 8 a.m. Nicky woke up to see Sean by his bed and watching him. "Did you do it yet?" "Yes we sure have; how are you feeling?" "I have to pee." "Okay let me help you up." Sean pulled the covers off of Nicky and helped him sit up and to the bathroom. He left him alone once he got him to the toilet but left the door open in case he needed him. Nicky did okay though and made his way back to his bed by himself. After he laid down Sean checked under the bandage. "Well it's apparent that you heal fast like Connor does. New skin has grown over where I had to cut you to get your appendix out but I want you to stay in bed at least for the morning." "I'm hungry can I have something to eat." "Sure I think I smell breakfast being cooked. I'll carry you downstairs for breakfast then you're to go right back to bed okay?" "Okay but I think I can walk." Sean put some sox on his feet and his slippers then his bathrobe. "Okay are you ready?" Nicky stood up carefully in answer and they proceeded to go downstairs carefully. Halfway down the stairs Nicky's knees began to buckle and Sean picked him
Kathleen got up and went to him. "How is my little brother doing?" Nicky looked and said through the link "Watch this." With the best poor me expression he could create he looked at his sister and said "Better than I was last night but I'm still hurting a lot. I was too weak to make all of the way down and that's why Sean had to carry me." Sean put him down by his chair and held on to him while Kathleen pulled the chair out for him and he sat down. "What would you like for breakfast? Connie made scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon and sausages. Or you could have cereal like oatmeal or Cream of Wheat." Kathleen said as she kneeled by his chair.
"Can I have some of that chocolate cake that we had last night?" "Anything you want my poor little brother." Kathleen pulled the napkin out from under his silverware and started to rub at something on her forehead. Nicky looked at Sean and smiled while Kathleen was rubbing at whatever it was she felt on her forehead.
"Did I get it all off Nicky?" "Get what off?" "The word STUPID that you seem to think is written on my forehead, now you'll have scrambled eggs, toast, sausages and a glass of milk and that's all." Everyone was laughing at him. "You should know by now that you can't pull one over on Kathleen Nicky." Connor said. "I know but I thought she would feel sorry for me and give me what ever I wanted like she said. You can't blame a guy for trying." Nicky said just as Kathleen brought over his breakfast then returned to her chair next to Sean. "Thank you Kathleen." "You're welcome Nicky. Did Sean tell you to stay in bed the rest of the day?" "No he said I could get up this afternoon." "Okay then make sure you do exactly as he said and I'll see you this afternoon when I get back." Kathleen finished her coffee which she had started drinking recently, gave Sean a kiss on his cheek and left to go upstairs. "I'll be down in a few minutes Fred and Cylindia."
Fred and Cylindia went upstairs also since they were done with their breakfast also. In a few minutes, as Kathleen promised she was downstairs, as were the other two and they all left through the back.
Everyone got up from the table then and since Nicky was done Connor escorted him back upstairs and made sure he got into bed again then sat down on the side of his bed. "I am sure glad that you're okay Nicky. You gave us quite a scare last night you know." "You were scared. Why?" "Because, I don't want to lose you so soon. Especially so soon after losing Dad and Cordelia. I don't think I could take losing another family member so soon, so I want you to make sure that you and Mike stay nice and healthy okay?" "I'll do my best big brother." "You see to it that you do." Then Connor did something that surprised Nicky. He gave him a big hug and held on for awhile. When he pulled away Nicky caught a glimpse of a tear running down his brothers cheek but he didn't say anything he just slid further down in the bed and laid back on the pillow and kept what he saw in his heart.