A/N: My Easter gift to all of you! I hope you have a great holiday weekend, whether you celebrate Easter or not. Stay safe everyone!

Chapter 2

Jason made his way out into his backyard with more ice for the drink buckets. Everyone was already here and they were just waiting on Ash and Clay. Today they would be meeting Clay and getting him introduced to his new family. They had gotten him a sand bucket with a couple of dinosaur toys, sand toys, a coloring book and crayons. They weren't too sure what he was interested in so they went with typical little boy stuff. They figured with Ash being in the Navy that they would spend a fair amount of time at the beach. They still didn't know much about what happened to Clay's mother. If she was dead or just didn't want anything to do with him. They were hoping to talk to Ash more about it. Adam was even here to meet Clay. During Green Team Adam had asked Ash about Clay, but he didn't talk much, or at all, about Clay. He wanted to meet Clay and get to know him. He spent a lot of time with Bravo, especially Jason with Hannah and Emma being friends. Adam was looking forward to meeting Clay and getting to know more about the little boy. He knew with Ash being the only single father within DEVGRU that Clay was going to be very well looked after. Every team would be interested in meeting the little boy and letting him know that he had a huge amount of uncles there for him should he need it.

"He's late." Sonny commented, as he stood over the grill.

"He's got a six year old, they are not that easy to get dressed and out the door on time." Adam said with a warm smile.

"Seriously, Jameelah changed her outfit five times before we could leave." Ray commented, as he handed a beer over to Sonny.

"Ya, but Clay is a boy. Shouldn't he be able to just throw some clothes on and get into the car?" Sonny countered.

"Maybe he is nervous and wants to look good. We don't know what type of personality Clay has." Adam said.

"They will be here, relax Son." Jason said.

They were all excited and anxious to meet Clay. They wanted to welcome him into their family. To let him know they are there for him. They wanted to get to know him and Jameelah was very excited to have someone the same age as her to play with.

"Remember, we don't know what he will be like. He could be shy." Naima reminded them. She knew everyone was looking forward to seeing Clay, but they also needed to remember that he was still a six year old little boy and he might be intimidated by this many large muscular men around him.

"We'll be gentle baby." Ray said, as he placed a kiss to her cheek.

"A truck just pulled up." Alana said, as she walked out with some snacks.

"That's them." Jason said with a warm smile as he headed inside so he could answer the door.

XXX

Ash was not happy about having to bring Clay with him today. He would have rather to spend the day with his new team without his piece of shit son tagging along. He was going to have to figure out a way to etch Clay out so he could be free to do whatever he wanted. He was going to be looking into something he could do to send Clay away. He didn't want to pay for boarding school and he was too young for military school. The only other option would be to send him to a work camp in Africa. They would pay to have an American who spoke English and that would get Clay out of his life. He could just tell people he was accepted into some high-end boarding school. He couldn't be a bad father if he was putting his son's education first. He just needed to get rid of him once and for all. Now that he was in DEVGRU he didn't need Clay around. He didn't need to show him off to the Upper Brass or use him. Now he would be a liability to his career. Pulling up to the house Ash parked his truck and turned it off as he spoke.

"Remember what I told you." Ash said in a deadly tone that Clay knew meant he wasn't to screw up today.

"Yes Sir." Clay said softly.

He knew what the rules were, he wasn't allowed to talk about his mom and he wasn't allowed to tell them anything that wasn't how great his dad was. He wasn't allowed to talk about being left alone, the drugs and drinking or about the women that come and go at the apartment. Most importantly, he was clumsy. That's where the bruises come from. He had a few new ones today on his chest and his arms. He had on a long sleeved shirt, something that he hated. He hated how the scratchy material felt against his arms. His dad always made him wear one if he had bruises on his arms and they were going out. The material was itchy and he couldn't wait until he could finally take it off.

When his dad told him they would be going over to a member of his new team's house for a barbeque, Clay was surprised that he was getting to go. He never got to meet his dad's last team and he figured he wouldn't be this time around. He was nervous about being around so many people. According to his dad, everyone was going to be here, including his Commanding Officer. He was told that he wasn't allowed to embarrass him. Clay had brought his tablet and headphones so he would be able to just keep to himself. He wasn't really good at interacting with people, especially adults. He was grateful that his dad was allowing him to bring his tablet.

If Clay was honest with himself, he was anxious and nervous about meeting these people. He was never very good at meeting new people or being around people really. He was always by himself, no matter if he was at his dad's or his mom's. He didn't have friends or cousins. He kept to himself, it was simpler that way. Plus, he didn't get to go anywhere outside so making friends wasn't something he had the chance to do. He was always in his mom's apartment or at his dad's. The only time he was outside was during the car ride to and from one apartment. Sometimes he would have to go to the doctor's and that was really all the excitement he got in his life. The problem was, Clay didn't understand that this wasn't supposed to be nerve wracking. This should have just been something that was normal and exciting to him. He should be outside, he should have friends and go to school. His life wasn't supposed to revolve around four walls and hiding in closets so he wouldn't be hurt. He had no idea how unnormal his life truly was.

Ash got out of the truck and Clay removed his seatbelt and grabbed his tablet and headphones before he opened the heavy door. He was careful that it didn't slam back on him, that had happened a few times. With it open enough Clay dropped down before he closed the door. He saw that his dad was already at the front door so he hurried to catch up. He saw the door opening before he even arrived and he couldn't help but stand behind his dad as a very large man stood on the other side. He didn't think the men on the team would be big. His dad wasn't that big, this man was twice the size of his dad it looked like.

"Hey Boss, thanks for having us." Ash said with a polite smile. The tone he used was completely foreign to Clay's little ears. He had no idea his dad's voice could even sound like that.

"You're family now, you're always welcome." Jason said with an easy smile, before he crouched down so he was eye level with Clay, who slid further back behind Ash, clutching his tablet closer to his chest. "Hey Sunshine, I'm your Uncle Jason. It's nice to meet you." Jason said warmly to Clay. He could tell he was a little bit scared, but that was to be expected. He was a little boy coming to a stranger's home to meet a bunch of big men, a little bit of fear was understandable.

Clay didn't know what to say. To begin with, he called him the wrong name. His name wasn't Sunshine, it was Clay, so maybe he was confused. Then there is what his dad said, he wasn't to talk unless he had to. Did this count as having to? Clay had no idea what he was supposed to do now. He was also confused about how this man was his uncle. His dad and mom both said he didn't have any other family, so how was this man an uncle?

"Don't just stand there Clay, say hello." Ash said with an easy tone, but Clay could hear the hint of an edge to it.

"Hello." Clay said, just loud enough for him to be heard. He was rewarded with a warm smile from Jason.

"I know this is probably pretty scary for ya. You got a lot of family here that are excited to meet you. How about we go out into the backyard and you can meet everyone?" Jason suggested, and only stood up once Clay gave a small nod.

Clay was really confused as to how he had any family here. It didn't make any sense to him, but he knew better than to ask. He was hoping maybe someone would explain it to him without him having to ask a question. His dad didn't like questions and he knew better than to ask him one. Whenever he needed to ask a question, he would ask his tablet. The Google lady always told him the answers and she never yells or tells him to shut up. Clay followed behind his dad and Jason as they went through the house to reach the backyard. Clay couldn't help but notice how bright and big the house looked. He had never seen a house this nice before. Walking outside in the big backyard Clay was shocked by the amount of people here. There were guys, girls, and kids. Some were even darker in skin color, which only added to his confusion. How could he be related to them if they were brown?

"Hey, there's the little man of the hour." Adam said with a big warm smile as they headed into the backyard.

All of a sudden everyone's eyes were on him and Clay instantly felt uncomfortable. He wasn't used to people looking at him, noticing him. He thought he would be able to hide away like he always did at home. It seemed like everyone wanted to take him in.

"Sorry we're late, it takes a bit to get him out of the house." Ash said, as Trent handed him a beer. No one noticed the downcasted look upon Clay's face at the sight of it.

It wasn't his fault they were late. Clay just didn't want to go wearing this itchy shirt, plus it was almost five o'clock, he was supposed to eat dinner at five o'clock. How was he going to be able to make his peanut butter and jelly sandwich now? He always ate at five o'clock.

"Most of us have kids brother, we get it." Ray said with an easy smile.

"Sunshine, let me introduce you to everyone." Jason started before he went around the whole backyard introducing Clay to each and every single person.

It was a lot to take in for Clay and he had no idea what he was supposed to say or not say. They all had smiling faces, but most of the men here were huge. There was even a dog. He looked friendly, but he had never been around dogs before. He was completely out of his comfort zone and he had no idea how he was ever going to last out here. He just wanted to be back home where he could hide in his room. Jameelah came running over to Clay. She was super excited to have someone her own age to play with, she didn't even care he was a boy.

"Hi, do you want to play? Mickey is teaching me how to play soccer." Jameelah said with a big smile.

Clay was now very uncertain how he should respond. He didn't know what soccer was, and he didn't really play with people. He liked being on his own, but this girl, his cousin apparently, seemed to really like the idea of playing together. Clay just gave a small nod and Jameelah's smile got even bigger. She grabbed his hand and ran him over to where Mickey was.

"Quiet kid." Adam commented, as he kept his eyes on Clay.

"He doesn't get much interaction with kids his own age." Ash answered with a small shrug.

"He doesn't at school?" Jason asked, confused by that.

"He's homeschooled." Ash stated.

"Really? Why?" Sonny asked. He didn't think it would be good for a kid to be homeschooled. Kids needed friends and the structure of a school.

"He was in daycare while I was at work and then with a babysitter when I was spun up. When it was time for him to start school it was just easier on him to stay home. He didn't adapt to daycare too well. Now he has the same teacher for the past two years and he's grown a lot with his education. I've been looking into broadening schools actually."

"Really? But he's so young, he should still be home." Naima said. She couldn't imagine sending Jameelah away to school for months on end at her age. She needed her parents. Clay needed his dad.

"He's smart for his age and a normal school setting won't give him what he needs. A broadening school will be able to help educate him how he needs to be. I've spoken to him about it and he's pretty excited to check some out."

Ash was not in the mood to deal with some woman telling him what was best. He needed to get rid of Clay and he was not going to deal with some female trying to make it more complicated.

"Boarding schools can be beneficial to the right child. If you think he would have a better education, you have to do what you think is best." Davis said. Though she wasn't too sure a six year old should be away from home.

Adam had been keeping his eyes on Clay and the kids. He noticed that Mickey and Jameelah were playing soccer, but after a few moments Clay moved away and was currently sitting alone in the grass in the far back corner of the backyard. He had his knees up to his chest, his tablet in his lap with his headphones on. He was as far away from people as possible.

"He's not too social eh?" Adam commented.

Everyone turned to look at Clay and saw him alone with his tablet.

"He likes his tablet. He watches different shows on it. Keeps him interested." Ash said with a small shrug.

"Kids who are homeschooled have problems at times with interacting with kids. They don't get that socializing that they do in a school. That would be a benefit of boarding school, he would be around kids all day." Naima commented.

"Maybe we should go over there." Trent suggested.

"Let's give him some time to get used to being around us. I'm sure the kids will go see him soon enough." Jason said.

Emma was studying with Hannah for an exam they had. He was wishing she was here today, she always could get the kids to open up more. The guys spread out, mingling with each other. Ash was talking with Blackburn, but Jason and Adam couldn't help but keep their eyes on Clay. It was weird that he was isolating himself. Even if he wasn't used to being around kids, he should want to be around them now. He was keeping to himself, he even brought the tablet and headset with him, so he had planned to isolate himself. It wasn't normal, or healthy for that matter.

"I don't like this." Adam admitted.

"I don't either, but kids can be shy and introverted. They aren't always loud, especially when he's not around kids all day with school." Jason said, trying to think positively and not that there was something wrong with Clay.

"True. Hopefully with him being around the kids more now he'll open up." Adam still wasn't sure what was going on with Clay, but he would be keeping an eye on him.

They all spent the next hour talking with each other and moving around between different conversations. It was five o'clock when Clay moved and came over to join Ash, Alana, Adam and Jason in their little circle. Clay knew he wasn't supposed to interrupt his dad, but it was five o'clock, it was dinner time. Clay reached up and pulled at Ash's coat sleeve. Ash instantly was looking down at Clay with a completely blank face.

"When the adults are talking, you don't interrupt." He simply said.

Clay knew that. He knew he shouldn't be bothering his dad, that was something that was always made clear to him, but it was dinner time.

"It's five o'clock." Clay simply said, as if that explained everything.

"Ya, so?" Ash asked, not sure why that mattered.

"It's dinner time."

"It will be dinner time when the food is finished." Ash countered.

"But dinner is always at five o'clock. Five o'clock is dinner time." Clay said, as if that would explain away why he was upset and bothered right now.

It was taking everything in Ash not to reach out and slap Clay. He told him to stay away from him and to watch his tablet tonight. To not cause a scene or embarrass him and yet here he was going on and on about what time he likes to eat. Ash didn't give a fuck, he was here to interact with his new team and earn their trust. Once he had their trust it would be easier to stab them in the back by taking Jason out of Bravo One.

"What do you normally eat for dinner?" Alana asked warmly.

Clay looked over at her and for a second they could see he was relieved that someone seemed to understand his problem. "Peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

"Well, you are in luck, because I just so happen to have all of those ingredients in my kitchen. Do you think you could help me make one?" Alana asked.

Clay gave an excited nod, happy that he would be able to eat his dinner when he was supposed to. Alana and him headed inside to make Clay his sandwich.

"He's particular when it comes to eating." Ash said, to try and offer some sort of reasonable explanation to Clay.

"A lot of kids are. When Hannah was his age all she would eat was peanut butter and banana sandwiches. We couldn't get her to eat anything else. The problem was at school though, she couldn't have peanuts so for an entire summer before grade one, we had to slowly switch her from peanut butter to peanut alternative peanut butter. The stuff tasted terrible, but eventually she didn't even notice it. She ate it for lunch every single day for a year before one day she decided she didn't like peanut butter anymore." Adam said with a warm shake of his head.

"Mickey was cheese sandwiches. For a while though Emma used to eat ketchup sandwiches. Her teacher actually pulled us in for a meeting to ask if we had enough money for food." Jason commented.

"I guess I should be happy he is eating peanut butter and jelly then. How old is Emma?" Ash asked.

"She's sixteen going on twenty."

"Is she still grounded?" Adam asked.

"No, she's off it now. Three months stuck at home after sneaking out to get drunk at a party. Kids man, they aren't like what we used to be. Now there's temptations everywhere."

"I think the temptations are the same, but we just have knowledge about them now. My parents were hippies, they smoked pot and drank while pregnant. It wasn't a big deal to be sitting in the back of a pick up truck with twelve of your friends. Now we just know how wrong what we all did truly was." Ash commented.

"That's true. It's everywhere now, in kids' faces, but at least it's also in the parents' faces as well. We know what could be coming and we can help guide our kids to make sure they don't destroy their lives. Emma sneaking out to party is a pretty typical teenage thing for her to do. At least she's not telling you she wants to be a stripper after high school or something crazy."

"I would tie her up to her bed and she would never be allowed to leave the house." Jason said with an edge to his voice.

"Clay's mother was a stripper. A simple easy fling turned into a baby, that she dropped off on my doorstep nine months later. She hasn't contacted me or been back since." Ash easily lied. The more sympathy he could accumulate the better off he would be. They didn't need to know what truly happened.

"Wow. See that is why I always lecture Sonny on the importance of condoms when sleeping with strippers." Jason said.

"It's good advice." Ash agreed.

"Ya, but you got one hell of a kid out of it. That makes all of the sleepless and long nights worth it. Who do you leave him with when you get spun up?" Adam asked.

"A babysitter. My parents are dead and so were hers. Neither of us have any siblings so it's just me and him. I have a really good babysitter that stays at the apartment and watches Clay."

"It's good that you can have someone that you can rely on to help you with him. We never know when that call will come in, so having someone solid and reliable is a huge asset to you." Jason said, pleased that Ash had someone.

He knew he wouldn't be able to be an active field agent if he had to also be a full-time dad to Emma and Mickey. He wouldn't be able to focus enough in the field and not constantly be worried about them at home. Even if he could find someone to watch them that he could trust, he would always be worried about them. He had no idea how Ash was able to do it, but he figured he must be used to it after six years of living this life. Alana walked back over to join them as Clay was sitting at the table with his tablet eating his sandwich.

"He is such a sweet little boy." Alana said warmly to Ash.

"He steals all of the women's hearts." Ash said back.

"Dinner is just about done!" Sonny called out.

Everyone got to work on getting the table set and everyone situated at it. This was going to be their first family dinner with Ash and Clay and they were all looking forward to it.

XXX

Jason went into the house once everything was cleaned up from dinner. He thought that now would be a good time to give Clay his welcome to the family gift. Clay had been pretty closed off and introverted since he had arrived. Jason knew that kids could be shy around a lot of people that they didn't know, he was hoping this gift might loosen Clay up a bit. Jason grabbed it and headed back outside and over to the table where everyone was still sitting. Adam lightly tapped on Clay's arm to grab his attention. Once Clay looked at him Adam motioned for Clay to remove the headphones and Clay reluctantly did after pausing his show.

"We wanted to give you a welcome gift, to properly welcome you into the family Sunshine." Jason said, as he placed the sand bucket down in front of Clay.

"For me?" Clay asked, confused. No one had ever given him a gift or a present before. Clay had heard about them, had heard about Santa and the Easter Bunny from his videos, but he had never gotten anything. Ash had always told him he wasn't good enough.

"Ya Kiddo." Adam said with a warm smile.

"You didn't need to do that." Ash said, doing his best to hide how displeased he was. He didn't want Clay to be getting gifts. He didn't want Clay to be interacting with his team. Clay needed to remember his place and that was to shut up and stay out of the way.

"It's no big deal. Besides, Clay is our newest nephew and that means we get to spoil him a bit." Ray said with a warm smile to both Ash and Clay.

"Go ahead, check it out." Sonny said to Clay.

Clay looked over at Ash before he reluctantly moved and started to look at what was in the sand bucket. He pulled out a coloring book with pictures of cars, trucks, and space on it. He then pulled out a box of crayons. Clay had never colored anything before and he wasn't too sure what he was supposed to do with it all. He placed it down on the table before he reached in and pulled out some sand toys, Clay was once again not sure what to do with the little castle pieces, but he placed them down on the table. He tilted the bucket to get the last few items in the bottom of it. His face instantly lit up like none of the guys had seen the whole time he was here. Clay quickly turned the bucket around and dumped out the five dinosaur figures that they had picked up. Clay set them up on their feet before he grabbed his favorite one out of them all.

"Triceratops."

"Is that one your favorite?" Sonny asked with a warm smile. Happy to finally see the kid smiling.

Clay gave an excited nod. "It can get up to thirty feet long and weigh almost sixteen hundred pounds. It was one of the last known dinosaurs and they lived in North America. Triceratops were actually one of the last known dinosaurs to evolve that weren't an aviator. And their horns, some people think they weren't for protection like most thought. But they think it might be to stand out for mating purposes like antlers. I think that's silly. Their horns and frills change as they age, so I think it was a way to tell who was older. And they were the protectors of the carnivorous dinosaurs. They could stand up to the tyrannosaurus rex and actually survive because of their horns."

"Wow, I didn't know that. So the triceratops is pretty badass. You know which one my favorite was?" Sonny said, as he picked up the pterodactyl.

"The pterodactyl, that's my second favorite. Did you know they had a fifth toe, something that wasn't common at all for aviators? They came from Germany, but eventually ended up in North America. They had a really varied wingspan some were only twenty inches, but others could be over three feet if they lived long enough." Clay said with a big smile.

"You like dinosaurs eh?" Ray said, more than happy to see that Clay was finally coming out of his shell a bit. He was also very impressed with how well Clay could talk. He knew through Jameelah that she would never be able to say half of the words properly that Clay was.

"Ms. Google started to teach me all about them a few months ago. They are really interesting."

"Ms. Google?" Alana asked.

"The Google Assistant on his tablet. He asks the AI questions. We've been over it though that it is just a computer program and not an actual person." Ash answered with a pointed look at Clay. He was hoping Clay would understand what he was saying and shut the hell up.

"Google can be very helpful." Naima said warmly.

They were all very pleased to hear Clay finally talking and opening up a bit. It was clear he loved dinosaurs, something that was typical of a boy his age. It was something they had finally learnt about Clay and they could use that to keep connecting with him. They spent the next thirty minutes sitting around talking. Adam and Sonny were playing with Clay with the toy dinosaurs and they were completely impressed with the amount of knowledge Clay had on each and every single one. It was clear he was very interested in them and had wanted to learn everything he could about them. Everyone was starting to spread out and it was only Adam, Sonny and Clay left at the table when Clay started to have trouble breathing. The wheezing sound caught both Adam and Sonny's attention and instantly their heads were snapping in Clay's direction.

"Ash!" Adam called out just as Sonny called out for Trent.

Everyone in the backyard turned to see what was going on. Trent and Naima instantly knew what was happening and they were instantly heading over to Clay.

"What is it?" Jason asked.

"He's having an asthma attack. Where's his inhaler?" Trent asked Ash.

"In the truck, the red backpack in the backseat." Ash said and before he could even finish the sentence, Brock was already running out of the backyard.

"Ok Sweetie, can you sit up straight that will help open your lungs a bit." Naima said, as her and Trent both got on either side of Clay. The others gathered around.

"How long has he had asthma?" Trent asked Ash.

"A few years now. Doctor said it was childhood and he would grow out of it."

"He get a lot of attacks?" Trent asked next, as he rubbed his hand against Clay's chest.

"Depends on the day." Ash answered as Brock came back in with not only Clay's red backpack, but also Trent's small medical kit he kept in his truck. He knew his best friend would want to listen to Clay's lungs.

Trent opened the backpack and grabbed the tube and the inhaler, only it was orange and not blue. "Where's his blue one?" Trent asked Ash.

"He doesn't have one. They only gave him that one." Ash answered.

"What is it Trent?" Jason asked, knowing something was going on that Trent wasn't happy about.

"There are two inhalers you get with asthma, an orange one that you take twice a day to help prevent an attack. But then there's a blue one that you take when an asthma attack hits. The orange inhalers aren't designed to stop an asthma attack."

Trent wasn't happy about this, but he got the orange one ready knowing it was better than not doing anything. Clay should have had the blue inhaler though, he needed it.

"Why didn't the doctor give you both?" Naima asked.

"I don't know. His family doctor said it was the only one he needed." Ash said with a shrug.

He didn't want to deal with this. He didn't need everyone asking him questions about why Clay had what. He had the orange one and that was all he needed. He would be fine with just the one and Ash was not about to pay more money just so Clay would have two of them. Trent spoke as he got the inhaler ready and into the tube.

"You should be finding a new doctor for him. He's clearly an idiot." Trent then turned his attention to Clay. "Ok Buddy, tilt your head back a bit."

Clay titled it back a bit and Trent placed the mask part of the tube over Clay's mouth and nose before he pressed down on the cartridge.

"He can do it himself." Ash said, not liking how they were all treating Clay. He didn't need them to baby him.

"Trent's a bit of a control freak when it comes to medical things." Sonny explained, as this was the first time Ash was seeing Trent in his medic mode.

Trent and Naima worked with Clay on getting the attack under control. After using the inhaler twice, Trent handed it over to Naima and he grabbed his stethoscope from his kit as he spoke. "Clay, I'm just going to listen to your lungs for a second here."

Trent took a moment to listen to Clay's lungs, but he wasn't happy with what he was hearing. They were pretty congested and clogged up. He needed the proper inhaler to help clear his lungs, but he didn't have one. Trent removed the stethoscope and spoke.

"Ok Buddy, your lungs are still clogged up, so we're gonna do another puff."

Naima nodded and she shook the inhaler before she got it ready and moved it over to Clay's mouth once again. She pushed down on the cartridge as Adam spoke.

"He need a hospital?"

"No, it should help to clear them up. When he gets home though you should have him sit in the bathroom with the shower running. The steam will help clear them as well. He needs a blue inhaler though. His lungs are really congested." Trent answered.

"I'll make an appointment in the morning. I'll get him home so he can sit with the steam before bed." Ash said, playing the role.

He wasn't going to be doing any of that. He would be leaving Clay at the apartment so he could go out and get drunk. Today had been exhausting and he just wanted to get the hell away from seeing Clay's face. After a few minutes Trent and Naima finally said Clay would be good now. His lungs still weren't that great, but he wasn't at risk of a more severe attack.

"Alright Buddy, I want you to take it easy tonight. Don't run around back home, just rest up and let your lungs have a bit of a break ok?" Trent said.

Clay gave a nod and they could tell he was feeling a bit tired. That was to be expected after an asthma attack. Ash grabbed Clay's things and his backpack and they said their goodbyes as they headed out. Ash got Clay into the car and they headed out. He just wanted to get Clay away from him so he could relax and maybe find some woman to fuck.

"We're his lungs ok?" Ray asked, once they were alone.

"I didn't like how they sounded, but they were getting better. The steam will help get them the rest of the way. He really needs that second inhaler though." Trent answered still not happy with how Clay didn't have two inhalers.

"Why wouldn't the doc give him both?" Sonny asked.

"A family doctor isn't always the best choice when you have children. They don't have a set speciality, like a pediatrician would. Hopefully Ash gets the second inhaler and that will help with Clay's lungs." Naima answered.

"Now that we're alone, what's wrong with him? And I'm not saying there is anything wrong with him, but he's not a normal six year old. Mickey or Emma couldn't say half of those words." Alana said. She was glad that the children were inside for all of this. It would have scared Mickey and Jameelah.

"Jameelah can't." Ray agreed.

"He's got to be a prodigy." Adam easily stated.

"Most likely, though that will be connected to a syndrome." Naima started.

"A set routine, doesn't like changes within the routine, keeps to himself." Trent started, as he looked at Naima.

"Intelligent, not a fan of crowds, repetitive movements to soothe. The signs are all there." Naima agreed.

"What is it?" Jason asked, both Trent and Naima were doing a lot of talking, but neither of them were explaining it.

"There's a good chance that Clay has autism, it would be high functioning though. He might also be a savante, but that is something that only a professional would be able to diagnose." Naima answered.

"Will he be ok?" Alana asked.

"He'll be fine. He'll have a lot of adjustments to make as he gets older to social situations, but he can learn how to interact socially. There are steps and support groups that he can be in to better help him learn. He would really benefit from being in school. Having that constant interaction with kids his own age. Most schools also have Occupational Therapists that would be able to help him with his emotions and social situations." Naima answered.

"Maybe boarding school would be the best place for him." Sonny commented.

"If the boarding school is a good one, then it could be really helpful to him. He would excel with the routine from day to day. Kids on the spectrum take comfort in a daily routine and knowing what will come next." Trent added.

"Still can be hard on them though with moving. There are other ways he could be helping Clay with everything." Adam wasn't real happy with how Ash seemed to be raising Clay. Yes, Clay was his son and he had every right to raise him how he saw fit. The problem was though, if Clay needed the extra help, then Ash should be there. It was hard to be there for your child if you were always getting spun up and going on tour for three months at a time.

"It's his call to make. He's Clay's dad, he's gotta do what he thinks is best for his future." Blackburn said.

"Look, we got to meet Clay and start to get to know him. Maybe if we are still here next weekend we can all go to the beach. Emma and Hannah will be with us that time and we can get him to open up more." Jason suggested.

"I agree. We just need to be around him more and then he'll start to get comfortable and open up to us more." Ray said in complete agreement.

"For now, we need to get the kids home. It's getting late." Naima said.

They all agreed that it was getting late and they started to clean up and getting ready to head out. Today they were able to see Clay and start to get to know him. Next weekend they would hit the beach and try and get Clay to open up more. They would get him there and Clay would grow used to having a very large family there for him.