Chapter 37

'And you're telling us the truth? Liam's really alright? Why in heaven didn't you call us?' Sara asked, her voice just this side of hysterical as she sat in the passenger seat of the car.

'Mom, he's going to be fine. He's... he's got a swollen eye and some bruises on his ribs but...' Hope answered, hoping to reassure her mom. It would do no good to sugar coat her brother's condition considering they would be home in half an hour and Sara would come face to face with Liam, assessing the damage for herself.

Hope had tried to tell the sordid tale honestly, refraining from any unnecessary drama; she knew her mom would be off the charts with worry when she learned the details of what had happened.

Neal sat in the driver's seat, silent, seemingly concentrating on the traffic up ahead. His mind was reeling at the thought of his son and his boyfriend being savagely beaten by a couple of homophobic punks. Neal was a pacifist, had been his whole life, preferring to talk his way out of potentially dangerous situations rather than reverting to fisticuffs. He had that amazing silver tongue which had gotten him out of trouble dozens of times – especially in his previous life as a con man – and he couldn't abide the use of violence in any situation.

'But he's really upset about what happened to Cody and I think he blames himself for not being able to...' Hope continued as Sara interrupted, her voice strident, not listening to a word her daughter was saying anymore.

'What is it with that school? There was that drug bust last month and now...' Sara said angrily as she turned to look at Neal.

'Sara, it's high school' Neal said calmly, hoping to bring the hysteria down a notch. His wife flying off the handle wasn't going to help matters. 'Things have been happening in high school since... well, since before we were kids.'

'What? So, are you saying we shouldn't do anything?' she continued, her voice shrill; his attempt at placating her obviously having failed.

He scoffed in response and returned to his thoughts, sifting through what Hope had just told them and wondering what state they'd find Liam in when they finally got home. Sure, Neal was worried about the bumps and bruises but even more so, he was concerned about his son's state of mind and how this incident would affect his idyllic view of the world. Liam was a sweet, gentle soul and like his dad, he tried to avoid conflict whenever possible. This horrible turn of events would be an awful blow - especially after having struggled for so long before finally coming out to everyone around him.

From the back seat of the car, Hope's hand reached out to touch Sara's shoulder. 'Mom, there are bullies everywhere... it only takes a couple of idiots to make trouble.'

Sara's labored breathing continued to be heard over the car's engine as she hyperventilated, her face turning a dangerous shade of red.

'Honey...' Neal finally said, reaching out to touch her hand in an attempt to keep things from escalating. '...we'll find a way to deal with this, okay? Liam's a smart kid; if we overreact, it'll just make things worse for him.'

His words seemed to have the desired effect and Sara's breathing slowly began to even out as the car carrying the three of them entered the White Plains city limits, on its way to the little house on Meadowbrook Street.

WCWCWC

'What do you think, Uncle Moz?' Liam asked as he sat next to his godfather on the couch in the family room.

Peter had enlisted Mozzie's help while he drove into Manhattan to check on things at the Raphael Gallery; Friday was a big day at the store and he wanted to make sure they were properly staffed for the day, what with Hope being needed elsewhere. Peter hoped that Mozzie could talk some sense into Liam and convince him to turn in the three thugs who had attacked him and Cody.

Mozzie sat, cup of coffee in hand, studying the young man's face. He'd never been very good at facing up to things in his life – thought of himself as rather cowardly at times – and he admired the way Sara and Neal were raising their kids to take responsibility for their mistakes, teaching them to do the right thing.

'Uncle Peter says I should speak up but... what if they come after us again? Cody... he could have been killed if Josie hadn't walked by when she did.' Liam's mind seemed to be all over the place and his gaze turned serious once more as he glanced over at his uncle Mozzie. 'Do you think we could go over to the hospital and check on him?'

'Hey, slow down buddy. One thing at a time' Mozzie said wisely. 'Your folks will be here any minute and we'll see when they get here, okay? Here, have some juice' he added, handing Liam the glass that sat on the nearby table. 'The last thing you need is your blood sugar going all wonky... your mom will kill me if I let that happen.'

Liam reluctantly took a sip of juice as he peered into Mozzie's shifty eyes.

'Uncle Moz, what would you do if you were me?' Liam asked.

Mozzie took a minute before answering. 'Kid, I don't think you want to know what I'd do' he finally confessed. 'I don't always do what's right... but I admire the fact that you try to and I think the question you have to ask is 'can you live with yourself if you don't tell the truth and these guys walk free?' What does it say about your relationship with Cody if you don't take a stand? That they're right? That your feelings for Cody are... wrong?'

'No' Liam answered spontaneously. It had taken him a long time to come out to the world and the feelings he had for Cody were nothing to be ashamed of, how could they be when they were so innocent and pure.

They were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening, followed by Sara's anxious voice, wafting through the house.

'Liam?' she called out as the teen stood from the couch to go greet his parents.

He braced himself for an onslaught of motherly smothering. 'Here, Mom!'

The newly arrived trio followed the sound of his voice, Sara a few steps ahead of Hope and Neal.

'Oh, honey!' she exclaimed as she looked into his battered face.

He submitted to her unyielding hug, wincing in pain as she squeezed his bruised body a little too tightly. Neal appeared behind her, his face worried as he threw his arms around the two of them and squeezed again, to Liam's chagrin.

'I'm fine. I'm fine.' he kept repeating, hoping they'd eventually loosen their death grip, which they finally did as Liam began to pull away.

Sara examined his face, touching his bruised cheek gently and making weird mewling sounds that were just plain weird and upsetting.

'Who did this to you?' she asked, her voice choked up. He was still her baby, all six feet of him, and she couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to him.

Liam could see Hope lurking in the background, shrugging in defeat; they both knew this moment of intense parental over protectiveness was inevitable and they just had to get through it before everyone could finally settle down and return to more rational behavior.

'Mom, I'm fine' Liam kept repeating as Neal studied his eyes to get the real deal.

'How's Cody doing?' he asked, knowing that was probably uppermost in his son's mind.

'Not good, Dad' Liam answered, showing some emotion. 'They really... they really beat him up bad.'

Neal put a comforting arm around his son, rubbing his back and moving everyone over to join Mozzie in the family room. Sara wasn't quite ready to let go of her little boy and she sat down next to him, her arm draped around his shoulders as everyone took a seat. Despite his deep concern for his son's wellbeing, Neal seemed determined to remain calm and rational so they could talk things through without any unnecessary drama; thankfully, now that they'd seen Liam with their own eyes, Sara's state of mind seemed to have been been downgraded from total hysteria to a more manageable level of motherly concern.

'I want to go back to the hospital' Liam said, predictably.

'Just... tell us what's going on, first' Neal said, leaning forward.

'Well, the police questioned the kids who were at the school last night and they want me and Cody to make a statement' Liam said.

'When is all that happening?' Sara asked.

'Today... I think they're coming to Cody's hospital room later but I'm not sure' Liam said, relinquishing control to his parents, relieved now that they were finally home.

'Where's Peter?' Neal asked.

'He went over to the gallery but I can take over from him now that you're home' Hope said as Neal nodded in agreement.

'Did you get any sleep?' he asked with concern as he turned to look at Liam's exhausted face.

Liam shrugged; admittedly, a couple of hours after surviving such a traumatic incident wasn't much rest.

'Look, why don't you go lie down for awhile...' Neal began.

'Dad!' Liam protested as the doorbell was heard.

They exchanged puzzled looks and Neal rose to get the door, surprised to find Caitlin standing there, looking anguished. What now? he thought as she opened her mouth to speak.

'I just heard the news about Liam' she said as she stormed in, not waiting for an invitation.

'How did you...?' Neal asked, wondering how Caitlin had even heard about the incident.

'I have friends who go to White Plains High. Everybody's talking about it' she explained as she flew by him to enter the house.

Everyone looked surprised to see the newly minted member of the Caffrey family suddenly appear, looking like she was ready to go to war.

'Caitlin!' Sara said as she rose to greet her. 'Is anything wrong?'

'I came to see Liam' she said of the young man who seemed to be the centre of attention.

He looked up at her meekly. He didn't know her well at all but seeing her appear in front of his eyes like a crazy banshee somehow warmed his heart; there seemed to be someone else in his corner, even if it was some impulsive, five foot two blond girl who could probably get knocked over with a feather.

'Liam, I have some friends at your school who'd be glad to teach those goons a lesson...' she began as Neal interrupted.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, there, Wonder Woman! That is not how we're going to deal with this situation' he said emphatically although a small part of him was thrilled to witness the eagerness with which she'd come to Liam's defence.

Hope smiled as she took in the look of sheer combativeness on the young girl's face; maybe she wasn't so bad after all...

'Now, sit...and listen' Neal barked as Sara gave a small smile, impressed by her husband's forcefulness. 'If you're going to be a part of this family, you're going to learn how we do things around here.'

It was as if Neal had knocked her out with a decisive right hook to the jaw; the young girl fell back on the couch in silence as Mozzie looked over his shoulder at her in admiration – she had balls and he could sure use her chutzpah... in so many situations.

'Now, this is how things are going to go down!' Neal announced decisively. The chaotic situation was getting out of hand and the Caffrey patriarch decided it was his job to restore some order before total anarchy invaded their quiet home.

Everyone stopped talking and stared, mouths dropped open.

TBC