II

Family

¡§This is my family. I found it, all on my own. It¡¦s little, and broken. But still good. Yeah. Still good.¡¨ [ii]

¡§Andy! What time is the signing?!¡¨

A hand slowly crept out of the abyss of PADDs and books ¡Vmade out of paper, no less- as a younger voice answered the uneasy Will.

¡§I¡¦m right here, you don¡¦t need to yell,¡¨ When Will failed to answer him, Andy trudged onward with a half smile, watching as the man he often assisted in business matters ¡Vthe one who often remained calm and collected, who could go a whole day without speaking a word to anyone- button and unbutton various coats, and shirts, and different ways to style his hair...they all looked the same to him. ¡§Your signing is at two PM.¡¨

¡§Tell me why its so important again, please?¡¨ He took off the dark blue coat. Maybe go with something of a lighter hue...

¡§We¡¦ve gone over this.¡¨ Andy didn¡¦t need to remind Will often, and today he had done so of the novel-signing three times since he had arrived at the office they shared.

¡§Go over it again!!¡¨ When Will finally stopped to watch as Andy¡¦s face turned somber and downcast. He immediately apologized, knowing better. Casually throwing the various coats, jackets and sweaters he had in his hands into the closet he had gotten them, Will sighed.

What am I doing?!

¡§It¡¦s alright, Will,¡¨ Andy¡¦s solemn mood had lifted, but apparently Will¡¦s, had not. ¡§The signing is a little bit more than important. Remember? We printed copies of your book into hardcover, paper and ink versions just so your fans could get a better feel of what you, as a traditional-minded writer, would want. You even wrote that little foreword in the thing.¡¨

Will smiled, an echo of a memory flashing back to him as he slumped into his desk chair.

¡¥I¡¦ve written a book, Andy. It may be hard for you to believe, but I¡¦d actually like for it to be that when its published.¡¦

His fanbase had grown almost twice its estimated size when the limited edition hardback came out.

And now, today at two, Will was going to a book-signing, a concept long gone with the appearance of PADDs and the rest of technology. Pens had been replicated, (50, to be on the safe side) and from what Will had last heard on the news-comm, the line at the bookstore Andy had chosen had grown, like his fanbase had, twice, its estimated size.

Everywhere, the hardback had sold out, fans frantic to get a copy had even purchased the bootleg copy, which also proved to be a challenge not worthy of someone who was only curious¡¦ time.

¡§That was a good idea, Will.¡¨

¡§What was?¡¨ Head resting on his arms, and arms folded on his desk, Will was really, beyond tense. It really wasn¡¦t about the book-signing, after all, all he was really doing was signing his name onto a piece of paper and talking to his fans.

Nope, it wasn¡¦t about that. It was about the petite woman with long, dark hair, who, if he pushed the right buttons, would be putty in his hands, ready for him to sweep off her feet.

Yeah.

Right.

¡§The whole book thing. I couldn¡¦t have thought of it, that¡¦s for sure.¡¨

Will lifted his head, chin on his arms now, and watched as Andy stood, a five-foot something, twenty year-old man with thin brown hair and softer features than Will had at that age.

Andy had been ten years old when he showed up at Will¡¦s doorstep, fatherless -he had died several days ago- red-faced and tear-streaked, for his mother had ran, somewhere into oblivion (she had never looked back, never to realize that the son she had left behind would one day grown to be the extraordinary man he was today) and since Will was the neighbor who occasionally played with him when nobody else would, he was the first person Andy went to.

It had been raining that day, Will remembered, and the week which followed had been rather hectic, running back and forth between his room and Andy¡¦s room, in their cramped apartment, tending to his cold and fever as well as his child-like emotions.

¡§Do you think my daddy will come to pick me up soon? He¡¦s been gone for a real long time.¡¨

Will furrowed his eyebrows. If he wasn¡¦t going to tell the boy, nobody else would, and chances of that looked slim at the moment.

¡§Andy, your daddy loves you. Never forget that, okay? No matter what happens, always remember that your daddy loves you and always will.¡¨

The tears were forming, his sniffling increased, and Will feared he would do the same if he continued. Nevertheless, the boy was waiting for more.

¡§Andy, you¡¦re going to stay with me, okay? Until we get everything sorted out and taken care of, you¡¦re going to stay with me.¡¨

And he did. Will contacted the authorities, who, after taking Andy and putting him into an orphanage for a week, realized he would be better off with someone familiar than someone of the opposite stature (the system had improved greatly since the twenty-first century, after all) and deemed it worthy for Will to take legal guardianship of the young boy.

The rest of it was history. Although they never established a great father and son bond Andy would have had with his own father if he hadn¡¦t died, the two of them still shared an understanding, as if loosing a parent made them the same people.

¡§I don¡¦t think you give yourself enough credit for what you do.¡¨ Will began, standing up to collect the rest of his clothes. The gray one would do fine. It was a neutral color, not inviting a lot of darkness nor brightness.

Andy laughed, gently and sarcastically. ¡§I go to school, come here, and then go home. I don¡¦t do much!¡¨

¡§No,¡¨ A tickling rush ran through and through as Will began what Andy would¡¦ve labeled as a lecture if it weren¡¦t for Will¡¦s grave expression. ¡§you go to Starfleet Academy, where you learn to chart the infinite number of stars and planets which litter the universe, and then you come here, where you manage to keep me sane and proud of the person you¡¦ve grown to be, and then you go to home, because that¡¦s where you can rest, because, after all, you¡¦re only human.¡¨

A pause.

¡§Stupid Will.¡¨

A smile. ¡§What??¡¨

¡§I hate it when you¡¦re right!¡¨

Author¡¦s Note:

Andy was a character I created because when I started writing about ¡§Will¡¦s assistant¡¨, I imagined a young man, who had some sort of grand, teacher-like but bordering on father-like relationship with Will. I didn¡¦t want ¡§Will¡¦s assistant¡¨ to be just that, like he was working for him. So ¡§Will¡¦s assistant¡¨ then turned into Andy, which kinda fits into the story perfectly, because if you think about it, twenty-year old Andy could be twenty-year old version of Will.