"So what was it like riding in the back of a police car?" John asked eagerly. "Was it cool and scary?"
The family was sitting around the dining room table having their supper later than usual after getting back from the police station. John had been peppering CJ with questions for about ten minutes and Sarah could see that the boy was too emotionally drained to handle his twin right now. She turned her head and directed The Look at John.
"Please stop bothering your brother, John. I'm sure after he's had some sleep he'll be able to talk to you about it, but right now, let him be."
CJ had also been too emotionally drained to eat his dessert so Chuck took him upstairs to help him get into bed while Sarah stayed in the dining room with John and Lisa to give father and son some quiet time together.
Chuck thought for a moment he was going to have to carry CJ up the stairs. The way the boy's shoulders sagged as he laboriously pulled his feet upwards one by one to negotiate each step really had Chuck worried. He settled for a steadying palm in the center of CJ's back and an encouraging, "Up we go, that's it," before steering the boy into the room he shared with his twin.
Chuck decided that CJ could go one night without a bath and he made his son promise to have a shower in the morning before school instead as he helped to change day clothes for night clothes and tucked CJ into bed, snugging the covers up tightly to give the boy a sense of security.
Sitting down on a chair that he pulled up from behind himself, Chuck asked gently, "Now, what is it besides this whole pencil misunderstanding that's still bothering you?"
CJ looked at his father as though trying to decide whether to confide in him before opening his mouth to speak.
"There's this girl, dad," he began.
Chuck's stomach lurched a bit at this information. Both his little boys were growing up so fast. He was going to have to start practicing so he could make the mental shift and begin thinking about them as young men when the time came.
Leaning forwards in the chair a little and lacing his fingers together so his hands wouldn't betray his rush of feeling, Chuck managed a quick, "Yes?"
"Well, you see," CJ continued, now looking Chuck straight in the eyes, "I like her, dad. I thought we could be friends. John got her to talk to me because I was nervous, and we were hitting it off just fine. That's when I forgot about the pencils and put them in my pocket. Because I was nervous. You know, dad, because a girl made me nervous."
Chuck smiled warmly at CJ and commented, "Yes, son, I know all about girls who can make a guy nervous. I married one."
"Anyway, dad, she thinks I'm a thief and I don't know how I'm going to convince her that I'm not without saying she made me nervous. What should I do?"
And now the look of pure trust in CJ's eyes undid Chuck once more. He had to look quickly to the floor and purse his lips together tightly to get control of himself again. It was amazing to Chuck how often the joys of parenthood could be just as painful – if not more painful – than the sorrows in their own way, and he had to wait a moment before the feeling of his heart swelling in his chest subsided.
"When the time is right, CJ, you'll know what to say. And if she's meant to be your friend, she'll hear you," Chuck advised, reaching out to smooth CJ's bangs back from his forehead. "And I'll go to the school with you tomorrow morning and drop in on Director Jarvis to make sure he's been informed of what really happened. No sense letting any rumors that may have started get out of hand, right?"
"Thanks, dad, that helps a lot," CJ said, finishing with a wide yawn.
His eyes slowly closing as he relaxed into sleep, CJ managed to add in a quiet whisper, "I love you, dad."
"So what did our other son have to say for himself?" Sarah asked as she changed into a pretty negligee for the night.
"John?" Chuck inquired. "Pretty much what you'd expect, I guess. He found out which girl it was who is interested in CJ, and her friends said they had seen him looking at her, so he told the girl that it would be a good time to go over and talk to him."
"And what about the other part?" Sarah asked, beginning to brush out her hair.
"Well, he said he didn't realize that there was such a thing as a lie of omission. I'm pretty sure he was telling the truth. John may be a handful but he's never been a liar."
"I would say you're right on that one," Sarah contributed.
It was a bit hard for Chuck to carry on a serious conversation with his wife as she pulled the brush through her shortened hair. Because she still wasn't quite used to the new length, she kept jerking the brush past the ends and whacking herself on the shoulder with it. Chuck, who was now in his pajamas, went over to her and held out his hand for the brush, taking over the task.
"And when I explained to him how that kind of an omission could endanger us all, I think he understood and took it seriously. I mean, this time it wasn't anything major but if it had been information we needed to know to protect him and CJ and Lisa –"
Sarah turned around and took the brush from Chuck's hand so she could run it through his hair, and he closed his eyes and almost purred at the sensation. When he opened his eyes again, Sarah was smiling at him proudly.
"You're such a good dad and apparently an imposing authority figure," she said, kissing him on the cheek.
"You know, Sarah, I think the credit for that goes to you. That look you get – you know that look you gave him at dinner? – well, I think it scared John so much that he was willing to listen to anything just so he wouldn't have to see it again."