Disclamiers - As before

Chapter2

Two days had passed and still they had had no news on Steve. Mark was up and about early, busying himself with the house work. Kathyn got up about half an hour after her husband, she watched him for abit and smiled to herself. She knew how much Mark missed Steve. She missed Steve, sometimes she missed him so much her heart would ache and she would take a walk down the beach, stop and sit on one of the dunes and cry and then come back to the house feeling able to get on with reality. But with Mark it was different, She knew Mark loved his children equally,but Steve was always his blue eyed little boy. She remembered when Steve had first mentioned about going into the army.

******************** 1970 FRIDAY AFTERNOON

At 4:00pm Katheryn was preparing dinner for when her kids came home from school and her husband came home from work. Steve was in his final year and was hoping to go to collage on a sports scholarship and Carol had a few more years left in school, dreamed of being a nurse. Kathryn looked out of the window and smiled as she regonised the familar faces of her two children and there best friends walking towards the beach house. She saw Carol say goodbye to her friend and ran into the house, she kissed her on the cheek and ran into the living room and turned on the tv. Kathryn waited for her son to come bounding through the door with his usual wide grin, but after about five minutes had past and no sign of Steve, she looked back out the window again. Steve was talking to Tom, he had his head down and Tom had his hand on Steves shoulder. Somethings not right here thought Kathryn as her mothers intution kicked, but she held back. Steve was a happy go lucky kid but would tell you in his own time if something was bothering him. She turned back to the kitchen and continued preparing dinner. After about five to ten minutes she heard the front door slam signaling her sons arrival into the house.

"Hi mom. Whats cooking?" Steve called to his mother from the living room. Kathryn turned round and saw her sons usual smiling face.

"Oh hey honey." She leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Im cooking a full cooked dinner. Roast lamb and all the trimmings."

"Yum sounds great, er mom do you know when dad will be home, I need to tell you both something?"

"Um about nine o'clock I think, do you wanna tell me now or wait for your dad?

"I'd rather wait for dad to come home so that I can tell you both. Ok?"

Kathryn eyed him questioningly, but decided to say nothing.

"Okay honey, have you two got any homework?"

"Yep, I've got geometry and physics." Steve replied pulling a face which made Kathryn laugh. She then turned to her daughter.

"And what about you young lady?"

"Not much." Carol said walking over to the fridge and taking out a soda. " Just some english and home ec."

Kathryn looked at Carol a bit bewildered. "Huh? Home what?"

"Home economics." Steve clarified, then he looked at Carol and they both collaspsed into giggles.

"Oh like that is it." Kathryn smiled jokingly chastising her two children. "Right well you two better go and do your homework before dinner or you won't get any."

Groaning Steve and Carol went into their respective bedrooms to begin their homework. Later that night Mark Sloan pulled his car into the driveway of the beach house. It had been along day and a very emotional one, where he found himself having to deal with telling a man, about the same age as Mark, that he had just lost wife and his two children. That had been the hardest thing, the man had been taking his family on a trip, when a drunk driver had smashed into their car, knocking it through the crash barrier. As the car went down a hillside, the man had been thrown clear and the car had carried on going. Until it eventually went over the edge killing all three passengers. The man was hysterical and had to be given a seditive to help him calm down and sleep. After that Mark went into the locker room and slamed his fist into the first avalible locker and cursed as it started to hurt. He sank to The bench waiting for five minutes for the pain to stop and reached in his back pocket and opened it. He stared at the picture of his wife and children. He ran his finger over each one of their face and made a solomn promise to himself that if he could prevent it there was no way he would lose them. He would do anything humanly possible to protect them. He was startled out of his reprive by a knock at the car window he turned to see his wife standing there. He rolled down the windiow.

"Hey honey." She said leaning into give him a kiss. "Are you planning to stay in there the whole night or are you thinking about coming inside sometime to night?" She asked through a smile.

"Well see now that depends." He joked

"Depends on what?" His wife asked, curiousity getting the better of her.

"Well it depends if I get another kiss." He replied smiling happily.

Kathryn reached through the window and cupped Marks face gentley in her hands and pulled his lips to hers.After several moments they broke the kiss.

"Come on theres a roast dinner in there." She smiled

"Okay im coming." Mark said as he wound the window up, steped out of the car, locked it up and sliped his arm around Kathryn and they started to walk back to the house. "Have the kids eaten?"

"No, they wanted to wait for." Kathryn smiled at him. "And before you ask, they've both done their homework and Steve laid the table and Carol helped me serve the food up. The meals are in the oven keeping warm and the kids are watching TV."

"And?" Mark asked.

"And what?"

"Come on Kathryn theres something else I know." Mark said firmly.

"Well Steve......" She stopped when she saw Marks body stiffen. "Calm down Mark nothing wrong with him and hes not in any trouble, well I think hes not, but he wants to talk us later after dinner when Carol goes to bed. Just don't say anything in front of Carol, okay Mark?"

"Don't worry I won't say anything." He held up three fingers. "Scouts hounor or should that be doctors hounor."

He smiled warmly at his wife as they continued the rest of the way to the house in slience.

Once inside the house kathryn went into the kitchen, while Mark went into the living room to see his son and daugther. He found them sitting at opposite ends of the couch, with thier feet on the middle cushion watching some documentry programme. Mark moved to the back of the couch and just stood there watching them. After about five minutes had gone past and neither of them had said Mark leant down over the back of the sofa.

"So noones gonna give thier ol' man a hug then."

He laughed as they both jumped and two pairs of eyes looked directly at each other and then at Mark. They both smiled and jumped off the sofa. Carol was the first to Mark and Steve stood back while Mark hugged Carol, who once she had let go went into the kitchen to help her mom. Mark walked towards Steve and engulfed him in a big hug, surprise to feel Steve return the hug even tighter. Mark pulled away and looked at his son. Steve was smiling but Mark could see something troubling hom as his normally bright blue eyes were sad and a bit dull.

"You ok son?" Mark questioned softly as he ruffled his sons floppy mess he called hair.

"Yeah dad, but I need to talk to you and mom later. OK?" Steve asked.

"Ok son." Mark said.

Dinner went by quickly with chatter about school and work. After dinner the family sat down to watch TV. After ten minutes Carol said she was tired and that she was off to bed. Mark picked up the remote and turned the tv off and turned to look at Steve.

"Ok son, you wanted to talk."

"Ok ." Steve whisphered quietly as he shifted in his seat. "Well we had avist at school today..............He was a sargent from the army."

"Alright and what did he say?" Mark asked slowly, not liking where this conversation was going.

"He was speaking about the war in Vietnarm and about how they need more volenteers to go over there."

Kathryn grabbed her husbands hand she knew Steve had always been the adventurous type climb trees and do sports at school, but war at least doing the other things she knew for certain that Steve would come back to her.

"Steve please tell me you don't want to join the army?" Kathryn asked.

"Mom I want to do this."

"Have you spoken to Mr Delaney your headmaster?" Mark asked his son.

"I spoke to him after the assembley. He was very encouraging. He took me to his office and we had a long talk with the sargent. It was very informative. He wants to talk to you two as well, as Im still a minor. Please can you understand this is what I really want to do."

"We understand son. Have you really thought this through enough though. Are you sure you know what your letting your self in for? You do realise you could die out there." Mark felt kathryns hand gripp his tighter.

"I know that and can fully understand why you and mom are worried dad but." Steve paused taking a deep breath before continuing. "This is something I want to do. Something I can do. Im not as smart as you dad but this is something I can do and I need to feel that I making a difference."

"I know you do son, but please for your mother and my sake please think this through a bit more." Mark said softly looking at his son.

"I will dad, I promise."

Kathryn stood up and walked over to Steve's chair. She knelt down beside him and took his hand.

"Honey you know we love you and we want whats best for you. We will always support you in whatever you do."

"I know mom." Steve said smiling at her.

"Whens the sargent coming to see us?"

"In about three days I think."

"Well Steve take the three days to have a long hard think about it and if after the three days and after we spoke to the sargent you still want to go ahead and join the army then we will give our blessing. We may not like it but we'll surpport you." Kathryn look into her sons eyes and saw the tears brimming at the words. She pulled him into a hug. Once in his mothers embrace Steve finally let the emotion that he had tried so hard to keep under control alday, he finally let all the emotion out and broke down in his mothers arms. Mark who had been watching it all from the sofa knelt down beside his wife and son and put his arms around both of them. They stayed that way till Steve had finally stop crying.

"Steve why are you so upset for honey?" Kathryn asked softly.

Steve waited till his breathing returned to normal to answer. "Because I love you two and Carol alot and I never want to hurt you. I was so worried about telling you both. I just was scared that you might hate me, think that I wanted to leave home."

"Steve you didn't hurt us and never be afraid to tell us anything you should know that by know after seventeen years. We love you too. We will never stop loving you." Mark whisphered to him, holding him tighter. After awhile The three pulled apart. They continued to talk for a while until Mark noticed Steves eyes begin to droop and when he looked at his watch he saw that it was ticking towards half past one.

"Oh jeez would you look at the time." Mark said running a hand across his eyes. "Time for you to go to bed mister."

Steve got up slowly and walked over to his parents and leant over to kiss his mom goodnight, then he moved over and gave his dad a hug.

"Thanks mom and dad. Goodnight." Steve smiled as he walked to his bedroom.

"Goodnight." They both called after him.

Later that night after everyone had gone to bed Kathryn turned over in bed and realised that Mark wasn't there. She smiled to herself as she knew exactly where he had gone. Slipping out of bed and pulling on her dressing gown, she quietly crept down to Steve's room and pushed the door open. Sure enough there was Mark sitting next to Steves bed watching his beloved son sleep. She smiled at the doorway content to watch the two men in her life.

************************************************

Mark touched Kathryns arm bring her back to the present.

"Hey you looked a million miles away." Mark commented as he pulled his wife into an embrace. "Thinking about Steve huh?"

"I was just thinking about the day he told us he was joining the army. The night I found you in his room watching him sleep." They both smile at the memory. Mark leaned in and gave his wife a kiss. Just then Carol walked into the room.

"Oh please child in the room." Carol laugehed as she smiled at her parents.

"Very funny young lady. Anyway good morning to you." Kathryn said as she moved to the kitchen to start breakfast. "What would you two like Ive got pancakes, I could do a cooked breakfast or I could........................"

Kathryn was cut off by the phone ringing. They all looked at each other. All three unsure what to do after about three rings Mark picked up the phone.

TO BE CONTINUED