Sometimes, there are places which hold significant meaning in our lives.

For Jim Frayne, it was the large sitting area in his office at Ten Acres Academy.

Not only had it been built upon the ruins of his family's homestead, but it was placed specifically over the spot where he had first met his adopted sister and his wife; the very spot where he later proposed to that wife and made plans to build the children's home and private school that became his life's work. It was a place of comfort, beyond his busy desk, where he could go to think when he had difficult decisions to make. It was where he sat down to rest when the pressures of being headmaster became almost too much to bear.

Sitting on the antique loveseat and staring out the bay windows overlooking a thorny patch of rose bushes Trixie had planted in memory of his birth parents, Jim began to muse about his daughter's recent return to Sleepyside. Katie Frayne had decided to come back to teach at the academy after graduating from the University of Texas in San Antonio the previous spring, and it was certainly not something Jim and Trixie had expected from their oldest child. Truly, Katie was an excellent kindergarten teacher, and she had always wanted to have a job in education; but, that wasn't the surprising part. It was her willingness to return to the quiet world of her childhood that shocked her parents. As a little girl, Katie had forever talked of moving far away from Sleepyside and becoming an actress.

Funny how growing up can change our dreams, Jim thought.

He leaned back and smiled contentedly to himself at the idea of how even Trixie's dreams had changed as she aged. Her private detective agency with his sister Honey had lasted all of six months before she gave it up to become a mother. And, her investigative consultations with the local police department seemed to be taking a back seat more and more to her supporting role as an administrator at the school.

Funny how children can change everything.

The tall redhead could feel a warm smile creep across his face as he began to think of his adopted daughter Emily. She had certainly changed everything…for the good. Of course, Emily's autism was very challenging for those around her, but the little girl's golden smile made every difficulty worth it. She was a bright ray of sunshine to all who knew her. She had brought peace to them in their inability to conceive another child, and her small successes in life helped keep Jim and Trixie's views in perspective.

He took another look out the windows at the twisted up rose bushes, which seemed beautiful to him despite the lack of blooms they bore in their autumn slumber, and he sighed.

I'm blessed beyond measure, he thought happily.

"Mr. Frayne," his secretary interrupted his thoughts from the doorway, "Your sister is here to see you."

"Oh, send her in, Mrs. Keable." Jim moved across the room to stand at the edge of his large cherry wood desk. He chuckled to himself in remembering why Honey hadn't been addressed as Mrs. Belden. Once, when the kindly old secretary had first been hired to assist Jim, she had told him that a Mrs. Belden was waiting for him in his office, and he surprised her by asking, "Which one?" Mrs. Keable had cocked her head to the side in confusion and asked, "Well, how many wives does this Mr. Belden have?" Jim, of course, had never let the poor woman live it down. Now, whenever Honey, Diana, or Isabella were being discussed, Mrs. Keable knew better than to call any of them Mrs. Belden.

"Knock, knock!" Honey said cheerfully as she stuck her head into her adopted brother's doorway. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Not at all." Jim crossed to the door to take her arm and lead her to the sitting area. He gave her an approving glance as they sat down together. "You look very nice. Did you and Mother have breakfast with the Lynches at the club today?"

"Yes, it was our monthly date, you know. We had a lovely time talking about everyone. Did you feel your ears burning?"

"Hmm. That's what that was. I thought it was just the scarring from all the years of shrieking you and Trixie have done in my presence."

"Shrieking? Why you…" Honey gave him a playful swipe. The two shared a laugh together.

"So, what about me were you discussing, exactly?" Jim asked with narrowed eyes.

"Oh Jim, nothing too demeaning, I assure you."

It was Jim's turn to give a look of incredulity.

"Gee, thanks. You sound like that was a feat in itself. So, you feel like you didn't tell the truth, then, huh?"

Again, the pair laughed in unison.

"As if there were any truths about you that weren't perfectly perfect," Honey said with genuine appreciation.

"Awww. You're such a sweetheart." He gave his sister a hug and then held her at arm's length to look down in her eyes.

"Why the sudden visit, then? Not that I mind, or anything. It's just odd for you to come by during the school day."

Jim noticed an excited look sweep across the woman's smiling face and knew that there was something important she wanted to share with him.

"Something has happened," She said enthusiastically.

"Alright. I'll bite. What is it?"

"Do you know about the riding therapy group Daniel has organized at the Sleepy R?"

"Oh yes, it's all Emmie's talked about, lately. Daniel's got her out there talking to those other kids and everything. I'm really impressed."

"Me, too! And, it's not just Emmie who's getting the best out of this, Jim. Maddie asked me before school this morning if she could go to a sleepover at Kaylee Corbin's house this weekend. Can you believe it? Neither Fiona nor the Belden twins are going to be there. I mean, she actually wants to be with other girls her age…alone…without her cousins. Jim, this is big!"

As if Maddie were his own daughter, Jim felt the emotional magnitude of what Honey was telling him. It really was incredible news.

"I'm very happy for her, Honey. I know you worry about how shy she is. See, just like you were at her age, she just needed a little push in the right direction."

"You must think I'm a ninny for making such a big deal of this." Honey said with a laugh.

"Hey, I have two girls. I know how important this kind of stuff is to them."

As if she suddenly remembered something, Honey made a little sound and then quickly began digging in her purse.

"Speaking of your girls…or…your oldest 'not a little girl anymore' girl…" Honey produced a red, blown glass apple from her pocketbook and held it up for Jim to see. "Ms. Trask sent this to Katie. It was hers when she was a teacher."

Jim felt a strong sense of admiration at the mention of their faithful old housekeeper. She had taken her retirement several years ago, but she often met up with the Wheelers at family functions. He guessed that she must have been there with Honey and his mother at breakfast that morning.

"Wow, that was very thoughtful of her," Jim said quietly. He took the small object and fingered it carefully. He thought of all the nice things the woman had done for him over the years, and he couldn't help but feel blessed once more.

"Was she well?" he asked.

"She seemed to be." Honey replied with a tilt of her head. Both of them knew that Ms. Trask was deeply private, and although she never gave them all the details as to why she never married, they knew there was some sort of hidden sadness to her. They also knew that even if her health wasn't the best, she would never tell them. That was just the way she was.

"Well, I have to run." Honey said quickly as she rose from her seat. "Brian has very few breaks at the hospital, and I want to take advantage of his next one to tell him about what Maddie said this morning. I just can't stop smiling about it!" She gave Jim a brief hug, patted his shoulder softly, and then turned to move toward the door.

In his appreciation for Honey's news, a new thought suddenly struck Jim.

"Daniel's just like him, isn't he?" The words were out of his mouth before he could consider how they might affect them both.

Honey had stopped short with a sort of stiff jerk, and then she turned to give him a soft look of nostalgia.

"Yes," she said gently, "Yes he is. And, I know Dan's probably up there in Heaven with the proudest grin on his face at what his son has become."

Jim laughed at that and shook his head in agreement.

"Oh yes, that I can see."

Later that afternoon….

"Headmaster Frayne? The two boys who were fighting during lunch today are here to see you, sir."

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Keable, please show them in."

As his secretary left the room, Jim stepped back behind his desk to give himself a more authoritative stance, but he nearly tripped over his chair when he realized that one of the young people being ushered into his office was none other than his sister's oldest son.

He coughed aggressively to cover up the small gasp that had escaped his lips.

Oblivious to his uncle's shock, Matt Belden kept his dark eyes lowered and chewed his lip nervously in the same fashion Jim had often seen done by his mother.

At least he doesn't seem to be injured in any way, Jim noted.

However, he could tell that the other boy entering the room, one Brandon Claremont, clearly sported a swollen eye and a darkening cheekbone. The stocky senior had his arms folded across his chest and was shifting his angry stare back and forth from Jim's face to Matt's.

Well, I guess I know who won, Jim thought.

The older man made a stern face at both of the teenagers and let out a serious sigh.

"Alright. Who wants to tell me what this was all about?"

The venom seemed to seep out of Brandon, leaving a sheepish and embarrassed look where the angry glare had been just seconds before, but neither he nor Matt made any attempt to answer the question.

When Jim's unrelenting pause of anticipation made it clear to the boys that they were going to have to speak sooner or later, Matt finally spoke up.

"I…hit Brandon."

"Why?"

Jim suddenly felt the tension in the room increase a hundredfold. It was obvious the boys did not want to share that bit of information.

"Brandon?" Jim coaxed.

"Dude, I didn't do anything to him, and suddenly he's pounding me in the face." Brandon's outburst was accompanied by his original body posture; the crossed arms; the quick and angry glances. Jim could tell the teen didn't think he was going to get a fair judgment because of the relationship between his attacker and his principal.

"First, 'dude' is not how you should address me," Jim admonished. "Second, are you saying he just came out of nowhere and hit you? Without any warning; and for no apparent reason?"

"Well…we were all standing around talking and…"

Jim gave Brandon an objective look to encourage the young man to continue.

"Yes…?"

"I was wrong, and I shouldn't have done it." Matt interjected quickly. "Can you please just punish me and let us get back to class? I'm sorry. I am."

With a decisive effort to keep himself from getting upset, Jim crossed patiently to stand in front of his nephew and met the boy's eyes with his own.

"Why did you hit him, Matt?"

"Because he said something he shouldn't have." The boy said with a long exhalation of breath.

"About you?" Jim questioned.

"About…" Matt wouldn't say. He jutted his chin forward in a manner Jim recognized as identical to the mannerisms of his father when he had made a decision he wouldn't back down from.

Oh, I've seen that look before. Jim felt as if he were facing Brian Belden as a teenager once again.

But, what Jim couldn't understand was why Matt suddenly seemed to be protecting the very person whom he had just admitted to hitting. If Brandon's comments were worthy of being punched out over, why wouldn't Matt simply proclaim them and justify himself?

As if a thorn suddenly lodged itself in Jim's temple, a thought entered his mind and left the beginnings of a tension headache.

Could Brandon have been making fun of Emily?

The thought made Jim wonder if Matt was trying to protect him from the knowledge of such an injustice. Realizing that his nephew wasn't going to budge, the headmaster decided to try his luck with the other boy, again.

"Brandon, what did you say to make Matt so upset?"

"I...um..well…see..I wasn't even talking to him. He just jumped in on my conversation with Laura and Lydia, which had nothing to do with him, by the way. "

"And, your conversation with the twins was about what, exactly?"

Brandon looked uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat and looked at Matt cautiously.

"We were talking about Daniel." The boy shrugged as if it were no big deal.

Daniel? Jim thought. Where is this going?

When no one said anything for a minute, Brandon continued to speak.

"See, we were talking about Daniel and his new horseback riding friends. No big deal, really. I'm almost sure the girls were even laughing about my comments on Daniel and Ashley, and then Matt comes barging in and freaking out all over me!"

"Who's Ashley?" Jim asked, confused.

Now, he knew he'd reached the heart of the matter.

Matt shot Brandon an angry look through narrowed eyes as if he had wanted to keep this mystery girl a secret, but Brandon had ruined that plan.

The boy with the one black eye looked embarrassed and dropped his gaze to the floor.

"Matt?" Jim asked pointedly.

"She's in Daniel's riding therapy group," the boy said softly.

"Okay…"

"She and Daniel kind of…I mean…I think they like each other…" Matt let out another long sigh and then pushed out the rest of his thoughts in one quick breath. "She's got leukemia and she's bald, and I think she's Daniel's girlfriend."

It was as if Jim's nephew had stabbed him in the heart with those words. He couldn't take breath for a moment

Oh God, not again. We can't all live through this again, Jim silently prayed.

"I wasn't making jokes about her being bald. It wasn't like that!" Brandon quickly pleaded his case. "All I said was that Daniel only started that riding club so he could finally get a date. It was a joke about Daniel, not her!"

Jim fought back nausea as he rapidly began to consider the deeper reason why his nephew had been so angry with the boy's statement. He felt an immediate need to get Brandon out of there.

"Okay, I think I understand what happened. Brandon, if you didn't do anything to retaliate against Matt, then I see no reason to keep you here any further. You need to get back to class. I'll make a call to your parents to let them know what happened. Shall I see if Mrs. Keable can get you some ice for your eye?"

"No, Sir."

"Then, you may go."

The sandy haired boy rose with slumped shoulders at his shallow victory and shuffled past his assailant to exit the large office.

Matt was chewing his lip again when Jim turned back to face him.

The action was one of his mother, but the face making it was Brian Belden through and through. It reminded Jim of the repentant look his brother-in-law once carried after he too committed an uncharacteristic act of violence to protect his own cousin…

It's that time again! Fun with flashbacks…want to know who Brian punched?