Mary Ann was nervous as she prepared to take her son home from the hospital for the first time. Dressed in a simple white t-shirt and wrapped snugly in a blanket, Dusty was resting comfortably. Stitches still covered his incision, which was still visible, and it was in turn covered by a large bandage. Dr. Daniels had given the couple detailed instructions on the care of the incision and stitches and how to change the bandages.

"Well, are we ready to go?" asked Roy.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Mary Ann replied.

Roy heard the apprehension in her voice. "Everything's going to be fine," he reassured her, putting his arm around her as they walked outside the hospital together.

Mary Ann waited at the curb while Roy drove the car around. Dusty awakened briefly as he was strapped into his car seat but quickly fell asleep again and slept all the way home.

Roy parked the car, and Mary Ann took the carrier containing her sleeping son into the house. Dawn had a big grin on her face as she came running, pigtails flying. "Is that my new baby brother?" she asked.

"Yes, this is Dusty." Roy grinned proudly.

"Hi, Dusty!" The little girl kissed the infant's cheek. "This is your new home! Want to see your new room?"

Dusty began to whimper and stir. "We'll show him later, OK?" Mary Ann said to her daughter. "Right now he's hungry. Want to see how I feed him?"

She sat on the sofa, and Roy removed Dusty from his carrier and handed him to his mother. Mary Ann opened her shirt and unhooked her bra, and Dusty latched onto her nipple right away and began to suckle eagerly.

"Wow!" Dawn's eyes grew big. "Did you feed me like that when I was a baby, too?"

"I sure did!" her mother told her.

Mary Ann nursed Dusty until he was asleep again, then took him into the nursery and laid him in his crib. After getting her son settled, she turned the television on for Dawn and then sat on the sofa beside Roy.

"It's so nice to finally all be together in one place," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"It certainly is," he agreed, holding her close.


A couple of weeks later, Ginger tearfully hugged her daughter good-bye at the airport in California. "Be sure and call us as soon as you get there," she reminded her. "And Audrey...I hope you have a wonderful holiday."

"Thanks, Mom. You and Dad, too." She kissed Ginger's and Igor's cheeks and was gone. Ginger watched wistfully until her daughter was out of sight, then turned with a sigh to leave the airport. "It's gonna seem so quiet when we get back home."

"Not for long." Igor grinned. "Mark and Jennifer arrive tomorrow, you know."

"Audrey and I have been getting their bedrooms ready," Ginger replied.

"I know you have." Igor took her hand and squeezed it gently. "You two did wonderful job. "They are going to love it."

A few hours later, Audrey arrived in Ohio. Roy was waiting to meet her at the airport. "Professor!" she cried, running into his arms.

"Hello there, Audrey." He gave her a quick hug. "I can't believe how much older you look now than you did the last time I saw you." Audrey was tall like both her parents. She had Igor's dark brown hair and eyes and Ginger's facial features.

"How are Mary Ann and Dawn and the new baby?" asked Audrey.

"They're all fine. Mary Ann and Dawn can't wait to see you again."

The ride to the Hinkley home took about thirty minutes. Mary Ann was sitting in the recliner holding Dusty and Dawn was playing in the bedroom when Roy and Audrey arrived.

"Mary Ann!" Audrey rushed to hug her friend. Dusty's dark blue eyes regarded the newcomer curiously. "He's adorable! May I hold him?"

"Of course!" Mary Ann handed her son to the teenager. Everyone laughed as Dusty rooted at Audrey's sweater.

"You are such a little cutie!" Audrey gushed. "You know, some of my friends back home babysit, but I've never been this close to a baby this tiny before."

"He seems to like you, Audrey," Roy remarked.

"You know what?" Audrey said to Dusty. "I grew up with your Mom and Dad. There were eight of us on an island all together, so we all got to know each other very well."

"Audrey!" Dawn had heard her friend's voice and came running.

"Dawn!" Audrey handed Dusty back to his mother and scooped the little girl up into her arms, quickly setting her back down again. "Wow, Dawn, you've really grown! I can hardly pick you up anymore!"

The day passed quickly, and after dinner that night, Audrey and Dawn watched 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' together.

"I think it's really neat that those two are so close, even though they're so far apart in age," Mary Ann said to her husband.

"Of course they are," Roy replied. "Having parents who were all castaways together for fifteen years is bound to create a powerful bond, regardless of age difference."

"I never exactly thought of it that way before, but you're right," Mary Ann replied.