* Now it's the boys' turn. But since Fang is with Max and Gazzy saw Dr. gates earlier (and not written in), there are only three of them. Basically, this chapter is sort of a bonding chapter between the boys and Roger. Poor Jeb better watch out or he might lose out to Roger's warmth and charm. hee hee But you never know, Jeb may redeem himself one day.

"Okay, let's set up some ground rules here," Iggy said before Dr. Gates even shut the door to the exam room. The others voted for Iggy to go first because they figured the first one to go would set the parameters for the rest of them. And they all knew Iggy was least likely to put up with any unwanted poking and prodding.

"Relax, it's not going to be as bad as you think," Dr. Gates reassured him. "It's not much more than a cursory exam, I promise. If you'd like, I'll warn you before I touch your, um . . . you."

Iggy reflexively put his hands over his lap on top of his backless dressing gown. He had never felt so vulnerable in his life. Or mortified.

"Uh, yeah, that's the part I'm worried about. Nobody-well, no guy-ever, you know, touched my, um . . . me."

"No guy, huh? If you prefer, I can have Dr. Martinez come in-"

"No!"

"Don't think of me as a 'guy'. Think of me as your doctor. The whole thing will be over before you know it." Dr. Gates tried his best to keep his voice calm and professional, but inside he was laughing to himself at Iggy's reaction to his suggestion about Valencia. "Besides, I'd be more worried about how cold my stethoscope is going to be. That's the usual complaint."

Iggy sighed and frowned. "Just get it over with," Iggy grumbled.

Dr. Gates performed the usual tasks of feeling glands, looking in his ears, nose and throat and listening to Iggy's heart and lungs. While inspecting Iggy's eyes, he asked, "Have you been able to see any better since you painted your room white?"

"I don't know. I think it's still kind of the same. When I'm in there, I can see some things, but it's still pretty much peripheral." Iggy shrugged. "I guess it's better than nothing."

"I think I'll do some more research on that. Maybe talk to some more eye specialists. I'm sorry I haven't been more aggressive about this. Ella has been a priority, and the new school," Roger apologized.

Iggy shrugged again. "It's not like I can't get around okay. As long as I don't lose my spidey senses," Iggy joked.

Roger was impressed with Iggy's acceptance of his condition, "But still, I want to help."

"Okay, thanks," Iggy muttered. Even though he would never be able to reverse his blindness himself, Iggy was always reluctant to accept help.

The rest of the exam revealed nothing unexpected. Other than his blindness, Iggy was in excellent health. And even Iggy had to admit the exam wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as he believed it would be. Dr. Gates spoke calmly, asking questions about James, keeping Iggy distracted from the doctor's manly hands briefly upon him.

"That was it?" Iggy asked when Roger informed him that the check-up was over.

"That was it," Dr. Gates answered. "Were you expecting me to do something else to you?"

Iggy blushed at the insinuation. It wasn't often that someone got the better of Iggy and Roger let out a little chuckle.

"It wasn't that funny," Iggy said under his breath. But then couldn't help laughing himself. His anxiety had been a little over the top, he decided.

Dr. Gates threw Iggy his clothes, telling him he could get dressed, and left him in privacy. Iggy declined a meeting in Dr. Martinez's office, having had enough humiliation for one day. Although, he had to admit Roger had handled what could have been a super awkward situation with ease. And it could have been worse-it could have been Jeb.

The anxiety in the waiting room lessened greatly once Iggy had told John and Jump about his exam. Not that they were enthusiastically looking forward to it. But neither were they refusing to disrobe as they originally said they would.

Jump volunteered to go next. He not only wanted to get the exam over with, he had a question for the doctor. Dr. Gates told him he seemed in good health, but Jump still needed to know.

"So, you're sure everything is fine?" Jump asked.

"Yep, looks like you're as fit as the rest of them," Roger answered, smiling.

"You're sure everything is fine?" Jump reiterated.

"Yes," Dr. Gates brow furrowed. "Is there something specific you're worried about?"

Jump's heart started to beat a little faster. He was nervous about telling the doctor about what happened to him when he was younger. It appeared to affect only his height, but Jump had always worried that the hormones with which he was loaded up could have affected him in other ways.

Jump stammered a little before finally getting the words out. "Do you know about me? I mean, what the other doctors did to me when I was younger?"

Gates didn't, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

Jump explained about the hormones used to push him through puberty leaving out the all important detail of why the doctors chose to do that to him. He wanted to spare Miranda's reputation. Fortunately, Roger accepted that Jump's former captors rarely needed just cause to conduct their experiments.

Roger sat pondering the information. "Well, physically, on the outside anyway, you appear to be normal. For a flock member," he added. "You're comparatively shorter than Fang and Iggy, but still well within the norm for human."

"What about my, um, um," Jump stammered, searching for the proper word. "My, um . . . equipment." He blushed.

Roger suppressed a smile. Of course that was what he would be worried about. What guy wouldn't?

"Perfectly normal. Actually, probably better than the average, if that puts your mind at ease."

Jump blushed again. "Oh," he said, relieved. "Does that mean it works? I mean, to have kids some day?"

Dr. Gates frowned. "You're a bit young to be planning for children, don't you think?"

"I mean down the road. But I noticed you didn't answer my question." Jump was frowning too.

Roger sighed. "Well, size doesn't have anything to do with fertility. However, it's possible that your internal organs have been affected by the hormonal changes. I could run some tests."

"Okay. Just don't tell anyone else."

"Of course not. Everything we talk about is confidential. I won't even tell Dr. Martinez."

Roger was curious as to why the sixteen year old would be concerned about fertility but decided not to press the issue. He felt it took a lot for Jump to open up as much as he did and he didn't want to scare him off.

John was still squirming, sitting across from Dr. Gates in Dr. M's office, well after his exam was over and he was fully dressed. He was still a tiny bit skeeved out, having been poked and prodded by a man he didn't know that well.

"Anything on your mind, John? Do you have any concerns?" Dr. Gates asked.

"Actually, I want to know about you," John surprised him.

"Oh. Well, you can ask me anything. I'll answer as honestly as I can," Roger paused, seeing an opportunity. "If you'll let me ask you a couple of questions."

John thought about it for a second. Ella put him up to doing some reconnaissance for her, but he didn't bargain for Gates to question him as well. But, he couldn't let Ella down. John knew she was just using his crush on her to get information out of Roger, but he felt it was worth it.

"All right," John finally answered. "As long as it's not too personal."

"Agreed," Roger said. "What would you like to know."

John decided to start out with his career. "What did you do at Genesis United? What was your job?"

Dr. Gates perked up at the question. "I was working on changing the DNA of pigs so they produce omega-3 fatty acids instead of saturated fats and cholesterol. It was quite interesting. If that had been successful, we could have begun work similar changes in other meat products. I guess the lab never got back up and running, though."

"Yeah, yeah," John interrupted. "That's not really what I wanted to know about anyway."

Roger raised an eyebrow. "Cut to the chase, then."

"How's it going with Ella?"

Roger smiled at the mention of his daughter. "Very well, thank you. We've been getting to know each other. And you're interested, why?"

Ignoring Gates' question, he continued, "What about Dr. M?"

"What about her?" Roger tried to play it cool. But his thoughts betrayed him. In just a few seconds, the telepath got the information he was after. John knew Ella would be pleased with him.

"Forget I asked," John said. "I was just wondering if you're planning on sticking around. Some of us think you're okay. We're getting used to you and it wouldn't be cool if you roped us in and then left."

"I'm not roping anyone in, John. I genuinely want to help all of you. I've never had a family of my own, until now, with Ella. And it seems that all of you are part of the package," Roger laughed. "Sometimes it's overwhelming, but I do care about all of you. I plan on sticking around."

John could tell that Roger was being honest. He felt just a little guilty for tricking him about Dr. M. As he started to get up, Dr. Gates stopped him.

"My turn," Roger smiled.

John sat back down. "Oh yeah. I forgot."

"I hear you're interested in the school."

"Yes. I'm going to get tutored this summer, then start in the fall with everyone else," John said. "Gazzy and I are really looking forward to it. I'm sure Nudge and Ella will like it too. But we'll probably only see them at lunch, 'cause they'll be in different grades."

"Oh, I think Ella decided against it. She doesn't want to leave her friends. And it's a little too far."

"What?" John cried. "She didn't tell me that!" He looked down at the floor, realizing he just gave away more than he meant to.

Roger smirked. "Please tell me that's not the only reason you agreed to go to the new school."

John slowly lifted his gaze. "No, it's not the only reason. But it was a good one. I really do want to learn stuff."

"And how does Ella feel about you?" Suddenly, it wasn't Dr. Gates sitting across from John, but Ella's dad.

John sighed. "Not the same."

"You're sure?" Roger asked, wearing a gentle expression.

"Uh, telepath, remember?"

Roger's face dropped. "I forgot about that." He eyed John suspiciously, racking his brain trying to remember everything he'd been thinking about during their conversation.

John, sensing Roger's thoughts, said, "Don't worry, I won't say anything if you don't. Not after finding out Ella lied to me."

"What do you mean?"

"She wanted me to get the scoop on you and her mom. I think she knows I like her and she totally used that," John smiled and shrugged. "It wasn't like she was fooling me, though. I was willing. But she led me to believe she was still planning on going to the new school."

Roger frowned at his daughter's deviousness. "You shouldn't let Ella take advantage like that. Or any girl, for that matter."

"You mean, doing something for a girl, maybe that you didn't really want to do, just because she bats her eyelashes at you? "

"Exactly," Roger said, pointing at John.

"Such as, giving a bunch of unruly boys physicals?"

Roger's face tinged pink. So, John did pick up on that, he thought.

"Busted," John smiled.

Roger snickered, "Get used to it kid. It'll happen to you your whole life."

John smiled. "Dr. Gates?"

"Yes, John?"

"I'm glad you'll be sticking around."

* I'm glad Roger is sticking around too. I have plans for him ;)

As always, feed back is appreciated. Let me know what you like and what you don't. This one is definitely a work in progress.

Stay tuned! Labor Day is coming up!