Hey everyone!

I'm back with a new chapter! Since you all liked the Halloween story line so much, I thought I'd do a chapter on Thanksgiving. It involves many surprises and reveals, so prepare yourself for the unexpected!

Enjoy!

Home and Heartache

Elijah POV:

When Thanksgiving time rolled around, Elijah was fully prepared to spend it with his uncle in New York. Sure, he would miss his family back in Texas, but he figured that he would see them for Christmas. Besides, he and Uncle Jeffrey would probably invite the Manhattan Clan over for the meal, so it would work out.

However, he was surprised when Uncle Jeffrey informed him they were flying down to Galveston to spend the holidays with Aunt Martha and her family. Naturally, Elijah was thrilled; the days leading up to their departure were happy ones, and the teen had his bag packed days in advance, ready to go. He was in especially brighter spirits, since his replacement hearing aids had come earlier than expected. He had not seen his friends or family since June, and wanted to tell them everything he had been through since arriving in New York. The only problem was he could not tell them everything.

"It's not my decision," Brooklyn explained to him. "You know Goliath; if he hasn't met them in person-"

"I know," Elijah sighed, tapping one of the keyboard keys absentmindedly. "And after what happened before Halloween, I know better than to reveal your secret. They'll probably ask how many friends I've made, and I'll just have to tell them about the one human friend I know."

"You could lie and say we're human," the gargoyle suggested.

"Your names sound too fake; they'd think I'm making you up."

"Then make up fake names."

"I'll just say I've been alone and miserable my whole time here," the deaf teen said sarcastically. "Though I shouldn't be complaining; I get to go home again! I get to see my old friends and family!"

Elijah and his uncle flew out of JFK the Monday before Thanksgiving; the blind author knew someone with a private plane, so they were able to fly directly to the Scholes Airport, just outside the city of Galveston. The teen, who had never been in a private plane, stared out the window at the ocean on his left and the island on his right, slowly getting closer. He smiled, buckling his seatbelt as they prepared for landing.

The island airport was tiny, compared to the ones in Dallas and Houston, but it was still cool, and just in view of the Moody Gardens Rainforest Pyramid that had opened three years ago. It looked like they were building another one, and hoped he could visit it next summer. However, that paled in comparison when he and his uncle exited the baggage claim to find Aunt Martha and his cousins standing in the terminal, along with his deaf friend June, smiling and holding a handmade sign that read 'Robbins Thanksgiving - Welcome, Elijah and Uncle Jeffrey!'

"June," he yelled, running forward and hugging his oldest friend, nearly lifting her off her feet. He let her go and stepped back. "How are you," he asked and signed, unable to keep the grin off his face.

"I'm great," she signed back, grinning as well. "I missed you so much! I was going crazy with no one to talk to! It's been forever!"

"Welcome home, Elijah," the teen's Aunt Martha said, giving him a hug. "We missed you so much!" His younger cousins nearly tackled him to the ground, laughing and all talking at once. "And it's good to finally see you in person again, Jeffrey."

"I missed you, Martha," he said, hugging his sister.

"Uncle Jeffy," one of the younger cousins yelled, and they all swarmed him and Gilly, the latter getting a lot of attention and compliments.

"Anything happen while I was gone," Elijah signed.

"Not much," June replied. "They're building another Moody Gardens pyramid; I hear it's gonna be about space."

"Cool!"

"What about you, Mr. New Yorker," she asked, a smirk on her face. "What about your life? You don't seem as miserable as you did when you first moved there."

Elijah grinned. "Let's just say that I had some good friends to help me out."

[][][]

The drive into Galveston was good. The van's closed windows could not keep out the sea breeze that came from the nearby ocean, and the sky was turning purple from the sunset. Aunt Martha had started playing Glenn Campbell's Galveston on the car stereo [probably because she was excited they were visiting], and Elijah found it appropriate as they drove through the streets, looking at the familiar buildings.

"It's so awesome to be back," Elijah said, looking out the window at seagulls flying overhead. "I missed this place!"

"We missed you too," his aunt said from the front seat, glad that the kids in the back were too distracted by Gilly to be yelling.. "How're you liking New York so far?"

"It's… interesting," he replied out loud, also signing the question and answer for June, who sat in the seat next to him. "New York City's huge, and Weisman's cool. It's already freezing up there, and it snowed a little last week."

"That's crazy," his best friend signed. "It's a good thing you're back in some nice 74 degree weather!"

"I'm glad for it too!"

"Is that old candy confectionery still around here," Uncle Jeffrey asked his sister. "I remember they used to do taffy pullings every day, and the whole smell of the place made my mouth water."

"Yeah, it's still here," she replied. "We'll definitely stop there at some point this week."

"So how many friends have you replaced us with," June asked jokingly.

Elijah managed to smile, though he secretly felt bad that he couldn't tell her the full truth. "There's a few guys I've gotten to know," he replied, carefully choosing the words he signed. "They live in New York City. One of them's even learned sign language to communicate with me."

"Awesome! What's his name?"

"Brodie," he fingerspelled, figuring it was a more believable name than Brooklyn. "He has two brothers, Lex and… Borris."

"Borris," she repeated. "That sounds fake."

"That's what I said when I met him," Elijah replied, hoping she did not question him too much. "They're pretty cool guys. There's also this girl at my school named Amanda. She's got a mean right hook."

"She hit you?!"

"No, but she apparently punched someone who was making fun of me." He smiled. "I remember you doing the same years ago."

June smiled too. "I just pushed someone who was pushing you. You would've done the same."

"What're you two talking about back there," Aunt Martha asked from the front seat.

Elijah smiled. "Just catching up with my best friend," he said and signed.

[][][]

The next few days were amazing.

Elijah, Uncle Jeffrey, Aunt Martha, June, and all of Elijah's family and friends were able to do fun stuff while they waited for Thanksgiving Day. They went into the historic downtown district for a day, just looking around and spending time together. They stopped by that old candy place Jeffrey had mentioned, and they each got their own small bag of taffy.

Another day, they went to the beach. It was not very crowded, given the time of year, but it was still warm enough to swim in, and Elijah found that he had missed the murky and dirty water more than he realized. It was fun, playing with his old friends and his family, smelling the sea breeze and building sand castles, like he used to as a kid.

Even his aunt's house was still the same; two stories tall and large enough to hold her family, it was located not too far from the beach, but far enough away that beach goers did not try to park in front of their house. Elijah and his uncle were staying in a hotel, since she did not have any room, but went over to her house for breakfast each day. It was a happy time on the island, and Elijah hoped it would never end.

But the happiness could not last forever. At some point, his Uncle Jeffrey asked him a question, and Aunt Martha drove them to Elijah's old house, which was still up for sale. The grass in the front lawn was overgrown, and the windows were dark. Even without going in, the deaf teen knew the entire layout of the house; he could almost imagine what it looked like back when he still lived there. He could tell that down the hall was his parent's room, and he did his best not to cry, especially when they went to the cemetery afterwards. Uncle Jeffrey did cry, hugging his sister as they stood in front of the stones.

And there was another visit Elijah knew he had to make. He had asked June which day would be best, and the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving, he went with her to the hospital, going up to the fourth floor. The nurses at the station said hi to June and asked who her friend was. She introduced them to Elijah and asked if there was any change. No change, but he was awake. They walked down the hall, stopping outside a door.

"Are you okay," she asked him.

"I… Yeah," he replied. "I wanna see him. How long can we stay?"

"No more than five minutes; he needs his rest. We can still stay in the hall until visiting hours end at nine; my mom'll show up then to spend the night with him." She then opened the door, leading him into the room.

June's brother Jerry lay in the hospital bed, the usual tubes and machines hooked up to his arm. His head was bald from the chemotherapy, and Elijah was shocked to see how much the young adult had changed. He looked a lot older than someone who should be in college. Jerry noticed them as they approached the bed, and he gave them a weak smile when he saw who it was.

"The Prodigal Friend returns," he said, his voice a few decibels above a whisper. June went to stand in a place that she could read both of their lips, not wanting Elijah to have to sign and talk while visiting Jerry.

"Hey, Jerry," Elijah said, giving his friend a small wave. "How're you doing?"

"The usual," he sighed. "Not going anywhere anytime soon. How's New York?"

"It's great. A lot colder, and the people up there are… interesting."

"Did you bring me an Empire State Building snow globe," he asked, cracking a small smile.

"I can if you want."

"Don't stress yourself, Elijah." He sighed. "I'll see it in person someday…"

The deaf teen and June exchanged worried looks. Jerry had been sick for over a year, and while he was not getting worse, he was not getting better either. Still, they refused to give up hope that he would get better and make a full recovery.

"I'm glad you came to visit me," Jerry continued. "I rarely see anyone outside of the family anymore."

"No problem," Elijah replied. "Did you know that we're all coming here for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Make sure my mom doesn't burn the rolls."

"I will."

A nurse poked her head in. "Time for you to get some rest," she told Jerry.

"Thanks," Elijah said, leaving the room with June. They stood outside as the nurse gave Jerry his medicine, watching the young adult once again go through the motions. The teen looked at his friend, who watched the scene with a tired expression.

"Should we be going," he asked her.

She turned to him, almost with a dazed look. "... Yeah," she eventually signed back. "Let's go."

They made their way out of the hospital, walking down the street towards the beach, both of them silent. Elijah could not help but feel bad; he knew Jerry growing up, and while he had seen him before moving to New York, he had not anticipated his friend to look that weak. He could only imagine what it was like for June, visiting him in the hospital every day.

Eventually, they reached that candy place his Uncle liked, and they went in. It had an old fashioned soda fountain, which was an old timey word for 'milkshake maker,' so they each got a small one, sitting at a nearby table to enjoy them. For a few minutes, they drank their frozen drinks in silence, watching the servers and other guests.

"Remember when he was first diagnosed," June asked him.

Elijah finished his sip, tentatively signing "Yes."

"We thought he was just feeling under the weather. But then it didn't go away…" She sighed. "But I didn't want to talk to you about him now; I want to talk to you."

He frowned. "What? You… wanted to talk to me? About what?"

She hesitated before signing, "You're lying to me."

Elijah froze at that statement, unable to hide his surprise, but she continued. "I don't see why you have to make up friends for me to think that you're happy up North; if you're not happy, I'm fine with that. Just… please don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying to you -" He started to say.

"Yes, you are. I can tell. Your eyes…" June looked at him, her eyes a little teary. "You used to tell me everything; how you felt, what was going on in your life… Now you're just… quiet. You barely email or video conference anymore, and I had to learn from your aunt that you were coming here for Thanksgiving"

"I'm not trying to be distant," he protested, frowning so she could tell he was hurt. "I've just been really busy at school, and I really do have friends in New York."

"Like Amanda?"

"What? She's just a- Are you jealous of her?"

"Of course not," she replied, frowning at him now. "But I can tell she's real. If you thought I'd be jealous or think that you've replaced me-"

"Hey," he interrupted. "I can never replace you. We've been best friends since we were five; we always will be. It's just the distance between us right now… it's always hard when friends don't live near each other any more."

"But you're still hiding something. Are… Are you going deaf? Permanently?"

"No."

"Are you in some sort of trouble?"

"Of course not."

"Then what is it? Why can't you tell me?"

"I CAN'T -" He stopped, realizing he had said it out loud instead of signed it. Fortunately, no one else seemed to notice, and he sighed, trying to calm down. "I… want to tell you everything. But I can't. I'm sorry."

June stared at him for a few moments, not signing anything as their milkshakes lay untouched. Eventually, she looked down, a tear on rolling down her face. Then, when she looked back up at him, she signed three words that changed his world forever: "I love you."

The volume in the room seemed to drop to nonexistent levels, and Elijah wondered for a second if he had actually gone deaf. Then, when his mind caught up with him, his hand jumped, knocking the glass off the table, the contents splattering on the floor. He looked at June with a shocked expression, oblivious to everything else.

"At… At first," she continued, starting to cry a little, "I wasn't entirely sure, since we've been best friends and all that. But... ever since you left, I've been thinking about it. And I just… I know you probably don't feel that way about me, but I had to tell you."

Elijah was stunned; he had no idea where this revelation was coming from, but all he could do was sit there, silent. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say or even do. Comfort her? Stay quiet? Say that he loved her back? Did he love her back? However, she stood up before he could do anything.

"I'm going back to the hospital; my mom should be there soon." She wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry for telling you this during your vacation, but… I just couldn't keep it to myself any longer." And with that, she made her way towards the exit and left.

The deaf teen continued to sit there, her half-finished milkshake in front of him, and his on the ground. He felt like he had been sucker-punched in the face, but nothing hurt; he just felt numb. After a few moments, he looked around, checking to see if anything had changed. Nothing had; everyone was going about their lives, and the world still moved around him.

"... What just happened," he muttered to himself.

[][][]

Mason POV:

"We have news, Thirteen," the voice in the phone said.

"Spill it."

"Thailog has made his move; there wan an attack on a robotics company in Vermont last night. Reports talk about a winged monster with weapons."

"Did they take anything?"

"Mainly online plans and programs."

"Why is this our concern? He is also a member."

"The Council is aware, but they want to know what he's planning."

"So where do I come in," Mason asked.

"You've been given a temporary reassignment. Pay attention, as these details will not be repeated.."

Wow! A lot of information to take in! Elijah's two homes are clashing in more ways than one, and Thailog's up to something!

Feel free to follow or favorite this story to be updated on new chapters, and feel free to leave a review on this chapter or others if you want. And, as usual, have a safe and happy week/weekend!

-aggiefrogger