LOST AND FOUND - PART I

DINNER CONVERSATION

CHAPTER 4

When the two men returned they found the rest of the family already seated and waiting for them. Thea's cheeks were still slightly flushed, but a small smile lifted the corners of her mouth. Adam took his seat at the head of the table, his father on his right, Hoss on his left, and Joe next to his father. The children sat on either side of Thea in chairs that were almost the same as the rest, except higher.

Right after Adam and Joe were seated the door to the kitchen opened and a line of servers came in. The number of dishes being offered was staggering and when the last person escaped back to the kitchen Adam was shaking his head at his wife.

"It's a special occasion," she said in her own defense, as her husband turned to his father. "We don't usually do this, but Thea is right, this is a special occasion."

"So Adam," Joe said getting right to the point, "just how many businesses do you own here?"

Adam slanted a sideways look at his brother, "The hotel, the club, and a publishing firm."

Joe whistled and Thea gave him a chiding look, whistling was not acceptable behavior at table. "Sorry," he said to her then turned back to Adam to ask more questions, but stopped after he received another look, this time from his father.

The children had been unusually quiet, mostly due to fascination with their new family members. They were staring openly and when Thea noticed she told them to stop, but she spoke so low no one else heard her.

Ben turned to Adam. "I just realized you haven't told us anything about Thea's family."

Adam looked down the table at his wife, "I'm sorry to say there's a good reason for that, Pa. She doesn't have any - something we had in common until now."

Her new family members turned to her with sympathetic expressions, and she smiled ruefully, "It's true, I don't, not really. Sir Richard Westwood took me in when my mother died during childbirth. He was the physician who delivered me, but my mother had no identification and was gone before he could find out who she was. No one came to claim either of us, so he adopted me. I've traveled the world with him from the time I was born." She turned back to her daughter when the child dropped her spoon.

Hoss shook his head, "That's just plain awful."

"No, it's not as bad as it sounds," Thea said quietly, "I was very lucky to have Doc to take care of me. A lot of children are left with no one." She smiled at Adam. "And I certainly received a complete education," she laughed.

At that moment Alexander decided he had been quiet long enough, "Pa, what's a 'bangtail'?"

The adults at the table, except his father, froze being shocked at hearing a slang term for a lady of the evening coming from a four-year-old.

Adam looked down and his lips tightened. He cleared his throat then looked at his son. "Alexander, where did you hear that word?"

"Clarence said it when a pretty lady was walking by," was his young son's prompt reply.

Adam paused as his eyes narrowed. "And when did you hear this?"

"This morn..." Alexander started to say then stopped, his face paled and he hung his head.

"You ran away from Leslie again today, didn't you?"

The boy squirmed in his chair, but didn't say anything.

"I'm waiting for an answer, Alexander."

The boy spoke, "Yes sir."

Adam drummed his fingers on his knee for a moment, "Alexander, go to your room. I will be up later."

His son looked up and his mouth opened, but Adam cut his protest off by giving him a stern look and saying, "No discussion. Now go."

Alexander slipped from his chair and slowly left the room. Immediately Annalise spoke up, "May I be excused, Pa?"

Her father said, "Yes, you may," and she quickly slid from her chair and almost ran to the door.

"Annalise," Adam said quietly, and she stopped with her hand on the doorknob. "Yes Pa?"

"You will not go to Alexander's room,"

"Yes sir," she said defeated and left, closing the door behind her.

When he heard the door close, Adam looked up at the ceiling while deeply sighing. He shook his head then looked at Thea. She was biting her lower lip, but a small laugh still escaped.

"Do you see it too?" he asked.

"Oh yes, I noticed right away and it's almost uncanny."

"What?" Joe asked looking at Thea, but Adam had turned to his father, "Do you see it, Pa?"

Ben nodded, trying not to laugh.

Hoss didn't need to be asked, "I do too."

"See what?" Joe was becoming exasperated, a feeling that only deepened when they all laughed.

"Joe," Adam said, "my son may look like me, but on the inside he's you."

"Well, I don't see it."

"Of course you don't, you can't see yourself the way we can." Adam insisted as the others nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, so how is he like me?" Joe insisted.

"His facial expressions," Thea pointed out.

"His laugh," Ben added.

Hoss spoke up, "The way he just says whatever comes into his head," he turned to his younger brother. "You were exactly like that."

"And, last but not least, his talent for getting himself in trouble," Adam finished.

Joe was still shaking his head, ready to argue when Thea brought up another point.

"Tell me, have you always assumed that these characteristics of Joe's came from his mother?"

Ben nodded, "Yes, I believe we have."

"Well, since we all basically agree that these characteristics came to Alexander through his father, that would mean they came from an ancestor in common." She paused, bit her lower lip again and looked at Ben. "And since they have different mothers, that ancestor in common would have to be... well ...you."

Hoss and Adam looked at each other in surprise, and then at their father, grinning.

"Oh no," Ben said.

"Oh yes," Adam replied pleased with his wife's astute observation. "Those are the laws of nature and breeding Pa, you know that."

Hoss just sat there, grinning his widest grin.

Thea sighed and stood, signaling the end of the meal. "Why don't you all go into Adam's office and have that private talk I know you have been wanting to have."

Adam nodded and stood, "I'm sure you three remember how to get there, so make yourselves at home. I'll be down as soon as I have a little talk with Alexander," he headed for the door, but Thea called to him.

"Adam, I'll be in Annalise's room getting her ready for bed, so please let me know when you're finished so I can do the same with Alex."

Her husband just nodded and left.

The other three men looked at Thea expecting her to be upset at the idea of Alexander being punished, but she said, "He won't be long. If I know my husband, and I do, this latest misdeed of Alexander's is going to call for some serious thought on his father's part to find a suitable punishment." She moved toward the kitchen door, "I'll be sending a cart to the office with coffee and dessert, so just make yourselves comfortable." Smiling widely at them she turned and then disappeared through the kitchen door.

Ben looked at his sons, "Do either of you remember where it is?" Hoss and Joe shook their heads. "Well, I guess we will stumble across it eventually," Ben laughed and the three went in search of the office.

When they finally made it there the cart was already in the room, so they helped themselves and settled down to wait for Adam; Thea was right, he didn't take long. When he came in and saw the amusement on his father's face he rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh, then settled himself into the rocking chair next to Ben.

"Did you decide on a punishment yet?" Hoss asked.

"No, I left him thinking about what he thinks his punishment should be," Adam answered.

Ben laughed and his eldest son gave him a narrow look, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Yes, I have to admit I am."

Adam stretched his arms over his head and said, "Excuse me for a moment," moved to a clear space then bent over until his hands were flat on the floor in front of him. He then astonished his family by doing an expert handstand. He stayed that way for a moment then slowly lowered his head toward the floor. As soon as his head touched he pulled his legs in and rolled, coming lithely to his feet.

He sat down in the rocking chair again saying, "Sometimes that's the only way I can get my back into alignment. Someday you'll have to tell me how I broke it, but not tonight. Tonight you three get to ask the questions."

"How did you know you broke your back before today?" Joe asked, startled. His brother gave him a look that said Joe was being dense. "Oh right, Thea."

Ben spoke next, "Just what did happen to you? I looked for you all over Chicago and couldn't find a single thing."

"That's because I was in New York. How I got there, I have no idea, but that's how I ended up in the morgue in the hospital where Thea was working. I never did get the whole story and I don't remember anything about it at all. She's the one who found me."

"Found you?"

"She was the doctor who was supposed to do the post mortem, and I was very lucky that she didn't wait like most doctors would. If she hadn't gotten to me when she did I would be dead. In fact, I was dead for a little while, but Thea brought me back and wouldn't let me go."

"How'd she do that?" Hoss asked.

"Chest compressions," he said and his family looked at him blankly. "Thea tells me that's a technique that was used on Lincoln by a Union Army surgeon when he was shot. You press on the chest near the heart to artificially pump the blood," he shook his head. "She also used some kind of drug she learned about while in China, some kind of stimulant. All I know is it worked and I woke up to agony."

Ben sat forward, his face drawn with concern, "Agony?"

Adam sighed then said, "I guess the best way for you to understand is to let you see the scars like Joe suggested." He stood and unbuttoned his shirt then shrugged out of it. His chest and back were covered with thin, white, smooth scars, almost too many to count. He turned around when he heard his father's quick intake of breath and saw him flinch.

"Who could do something so vicious," Ben said.

Putting his shirt back on, Adam said, "I don't know, and I don't think I ever will know. I have no clear idea as to why either." He sat back in the rocking chair and looked at Hoss when he spoke.

"I don't know how that pretty little thing you married could've handled something like that."

"Don't let her looks fool you Hoss, she's the strongest person I know." He smiled, "She put me back together, then hounded me, and nagged me, and bullied me until I did what she wanted. And I have to say she came up with some of the most unusual treatments," he said as he laughed. "The scars are bad enough, but I had quite a few broken bones as well, so I was a captive audience."

"Dear Lord," Joe breathed.

"What were these treatments you thought were unusual?" Ben asked.

"Well, for example, gymnastics for strength, flexibility, and balance. I'm still surprised I didn't re-break anything the way I kept falling down. But it worked." He held up his strong, long-fingered hands, "Can you see how this one finger isn't quite straight? My hands were badly broken too so I think I at least got a few good shots in before I went down."

"I hope so," Joe said staunchly.

Adam smiled at him, "To get my hands back into shape, the first thing she had me do was squeeze things."

"What things?" Joe laughed.

"Balls."

"What?"

"Leather balls. I don't know how she made them, but every time I wore one out, she made another one that was harder to squeeze. Then we moved on to playing the piano - now that was painful, but worth it. Then I learned how to juggle for hand-eye coordination."

He looked around at his father and brothers, smiling at their wide-eyed expressions. "But even with all the physical problems the worst thing, the thing I had the hardest time accepting was forgetting how to read."

"You couldn't read!" Joe and Hoss exclaimed in unison.

Adam shook his head, "No, not a word. I had taken a few severe blows to the head and my brain swelled. And Thea believes that the problem with my memory is just as much emotional as it is physical."

"That must have almost driven you crazy," his father said.

"Yes, and what was driving me even more insane was not knowing who I was. But eventually I came to accept it and decided to go on and do something with my future since that's all I had."

The four men sat silently for a minute and they heard a small knock at the office door. Adam's brow furrowed and he called, "Come in."

The door opened and Alexander took a tentative step into the room and looked at his father anxiously.

"What are you doing up? Couldn't you sleep?" Adam asked him.

The boy shook his head, "I was thinkin' about what you said."

His father didn't say anything for a moment as he studied his son trying to figure out what he was up to. Then he patted his knee saying, "Come here," and Alexander rushed over to him. Adam lifted the boy into his lap and put his arms around him.

"I know I'm not supposed to be up, but had to ask you something Pa, and I just couldn't wait."

"All right, ask your question."

"Do you hate me?"

Adam stiffened, "What!"

"Do you hate me Pa, because I'm bad?"

"Alexander, I don't ever want to hear you say something like that again," he cupped a hand around the boy's chin and tipped his head up until he was looking Alexander in the eye. "You are my son, and I love you. That is a fact, something that will never change. No matter what you do, no matter where you go you will always be my son, and I would never, ever hate you," he paused. "Now, do you believe me?"

"Yes, Pa."

"Good, because asking me if I hate you is an insult to me as your father, don't ever question it again." He tightened his arms around Alexander and began to rock, "But you have to learn Alexander, what you do does affect other people. Because you insisted on disobeying me Leslie could have lost her job today. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"

The boy nodded.

"And I think first thing tomorrow you need to go and apologize to her. What do you think?"

"Yes Pa," Alexander said with a huge yawn.

Adam looked down and saw the boy's eyes were already closed. "Go to sleep, Alexander," his father told him and for once, his son did what he was told.

Adam just sighed and kept rocking as the other three men stood.

When they moved toward the door Adam called, "Good night. Someone will be in the hall to show you to your rooms." But his eyes were still on his son.

Joe and Hoss went through the door and Ben paused for a moment to look back. He smiled when he saw his eldest son brush Alex's hair back with a gentle hand then lean down to kiss him on the forehead. The boy snuggled closer to his father as Adam leaned back in the chair and continued to rock.

Ben closed the door quietly as he left.