Conner stared at his father.

"Get out." He said, his tone dripping with forced calmness.

"I'm not leaving unless you come with me." Mr. McKnight said.

"I'm not going anywhere. But you are." Conner said. He stalked up to his father and grabbed him roughly by the shoulder. He shoved him to the door. Conner pulled open the door and shoved his father out. "And don't even think about coming back." Conner said. And with that, he slammed the door on his father. Conner took a deep breath and walked up to his brother's room. He found Kira holding his sobbing brother. Conner stood by the door for a few minutes.

"Kira, can you go downstairs? I need to talk to my brother." Conner said. Kira stood up and walked up to him.

"Conner, I-" She began to protest.

"Kira." Conner said. Kira sighed and cast one last look at Eric before walking out of the room. Eric looked up at Conner, wiping his eyes.

"So," Eric said, sniffling. "Now you know." Conner walked up to Eric. Eric watched him, unsure how he was going to react.

"Yeah, I do." Conner said.

"Well, now what?" Eric asked, rising from the bed, his jaw tightening. "Are you going to beat me up? I mean, cause that's what dad did. Are you going to kick me out? Dad did that too. Are you-" Eric asked, getting more and more upset. Conner cut him off by quickly pulling him into a tight hug. Eric buried his face in Conner's shoulder and sobbed loudly. Conner held him even tighter.

"I'm not going to do any of that." Conner whispered to his brother. Eric continued crying. "You're my brother." Conner said, trying to comfort him. "This changes nothing." He swore. Eric pulled away and sat down on his bed.

"Of course it does." Eric said. "You heard dad, I'm-"

"So you like guys, big deal." Conner said. He sat down beside his brother. "I just wished I didn't have to find out the way I did."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you. And, like, things were good. We were getting along like we used to when we were kids. I was afraid that you'd react like dad did and I don't think I could-"

"It's okay." Conner said. Eric wiped at his eyes. "There's just one thing I don't get." Conner said.

"What's that?"

"Well, when you first got here, you called Naomi a hottie." Conner said. Eric laughed through his tears.

"No offense to Naomi, but I would've said that about any girl who came up to me first. I just……Wanted to play the part of Hetero-boy." Conner laughed.

"I figured."

"So……..Are we…..really okay?" Eric asked. Conner nodded.

"Yeah." Conner saw Eric's duffle bag. "What was this for?"

"I…….I was sort of preparing for the worse. I figured that maybe I could go stay with Aunt Cheryl in Turtle Cove." Eric shrugged. Conner sighed. He couldn't help but feel a strong hatred for their father for making Eric feel this way.

"Hey, I do recall we wanted to order pizza." Conner said. "Let's go downstairs." He said. Eric smiled.

"All right." He said. The two brothers went downstairs, were they found Kira sitting down at the bottom of the stairs, wringing her hands nervously. "What's up with her?" Eric asked, pointing to Kira. Conner chuckled and shrugged.

"No clue." Conner said. They stepped over her and went to the kitchen. Kira looked at them.

"Hey!" She said as she got up. She ran over and jumped onto Conner's back. Conner laughed and caught her. He carried her piggyback to the kitchen. Conner ordered the pizza and Eric explained everything to him and Kira as they waited. Conner asked him about the phone call the other night and Eric told him it was his boyfriend, the guy their father had found them with. He told him about the afternoon when he was supposedly checking out school clubs. He actually met with a friend of his, Tally. She had given him a note from Kyle, his boyfriend and he gave her a note to him. The same thing happened when he supposedly went shopping with Mrs. McKnight. Conner and Kira listened to his story, both feeling bad that he had to hide so much from everyone. The pizza soon arrived and they all ate.

"So, when am I going to meet this guy who has swept my brother off his feet?" Conner asked with a smile.

"You want to meet Kyle?" Eric asked, surprised.

"Well, sure. I mean, it's only fair. You know my girlfriend, so I should get to meet your boyfriend." Conner said as he munched on his slice of pizza. Eric smiled.

"Okay. I'll call him tonight, see when's a good time to come up."

"Hey, maybe his parents can come and you can be a nervous wreck." Conner added with a smirk.

"I don't think so." Eric said. They all laughed. After they ate, Eric went to his room and got on the phone to call Kyle. Kira looked at Conner.

"You okay?" Kira asked. Conner nodded as he grabbed one of the last few slices.

"Yeah. I just.." He set the slice down on his plate. "I can't believe my dad was like that. I mean he acted as if Eric being homosexual would affect me, like it was contagious. He was just so heartless. I never understood what was it that made my parents split up…but after seeing how he could be so cold towards one of his own sons…now I wonder what she ever saw in him in the first place." Kira rubbed his back gently.

"At least Eric's got you and your mom." Kira said. "And he's got friends. I'm sure no one else would really give a hoot about it."

"Well, I'll leave the decision of whether or not anyone else should know up to Eric. It's his secret." Conner said. Kira smiled.

"Right." She said.

--

Eric dialed Kyle's number and waited.

"Hello?" Answered a voice. Eric instantly recognized it as Tally.

"Tally? What are you doing with Kyle's cell phone?"

"Eric?" She asked, confused. Her tone then changed to something so cold, Eric could've had frostbite. "What the hell do you want?"

"…What did I do?" Eric asked. Tally scoffed.

"Well, let's see, Kyle called you the other night and you proceeded to pick a fight with him, and then hung up on him. And to top it off, you didn't even try to call back and apologize until now, almost a week later? Do you know how upset he's been?" She asked. Eric sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry. Can I please just talk to him?"

"What, going to dump him to keep up the hetero-boy act?" Tally snapped.

"No! Goddamnit, Tally, let me talk to him!" Eric said, losing his patience. Tally sighed and Eric heard the phone exchanging hands.

"Hello?" Came Kyle's voice. Eric instantly felt awful. He could hear how depressed his boyfriend was from that tone.

"Kyle, hey." Eric said. "Look, I-"

"Why are you calling? I thought you said it wasn't a good idea for us to have any contact."

"I-I know that's what I said…….I'm sorry for hurting your feelings and hanging up on you the other night. I was just…"

"Scared?"

"Yeah." The two fell into silence. "My dad showed up here, in Reefside." Eric finally said.

"He what?" Kyle said, his voice going from depressed to a mixture of anger and concern. "What did he do?" When Eric had been kicked out of the house in Blue Bay, he hid out at Kyle's for a while as Kyle tried to nurse Eric's wounds and resist the urge to go and beat Mr. McKnight to a pulp. Eric had bruises on his chest and stomach, arms and face. Even after Eric had told his mom what had happened and she told him to come to Reefside, he stayed with Kyle until his wounds and bruises healed. He didn't tell his mom that Mr. McKnight had beaten him up and he didn't want her to know.

"He asked Conner to come live with him in Blue Bay." Eric said.

"Did he touch you?" Kyle asked, getting to the point.

"No, no, he didn't." Eric said. "Conner knows." Eric said. Kyle was silent. "And….It looks like I was afraid for nothing. Conner doesn't care. I mean, it's not like my dad…….I thought he was going to be so pissed, but he wasn't. We hugged and everything."

"Wow, that's great." Kyle said.

"So……I was wondering…….Maybe you can come here some day or something?"

"What?"

"Conner wants to meet you."

"I……..Uh……Are you sure?"

"Well, he told me himself, he wants to meet you."

"No, I mean….Don't you usually meet families unless it's….ya know serious." Kyle said. Eric's brows furrowed.

"Aren't we….Serious?" Eric asked.

"I………..Well……I just thought that……..I don't know…."

"Oh." Eric said, looking down.

"No, I mean, I think it's serious, I just didn't know if you did." Kyle said quickly. Eric smiled.

"So, are you going to come to Reefside willingly, or will I have to come and drag you here?" Eric asked. Kyle laughed.

"Well, I've got classes all this week." Kyle said. He was a sophomore at Blue Bay Harbor University, which sometimes made it difficult for him and Eric to go out on dates since he was busy studying and working since he had his own apartment and needed to pay rent.

"What about next Saturday?" Eric asked.

"I'm working next Saturday."

"Oh."

"But, how about next Sunday? I've got a day off." Kyle said. Eric smiled.

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll see you then." Kyle said. "I've got to go."

"Okay." Eric went to hang up.

"Oh, Eric?" Kyle said quickly. Eric brought the phone back to his ear.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad everything's okay….And……….I……..uh……love you.." He said quietly. Eric froze.

"Did you just say what I thought you just said?" Eric asked.

"Not unless you didn't-"

"Because, I love you too." Eric said. Eric could practically hear him grinning. "I'll talk to you later." He said. They both hung up. Eric couldn't help the big smile that formed on his lips.

----

The following day, Naomi had agreed to meet with Ethan at the mall to help him pick a gift out for his mother's birthday. She was sitting in the food court, looking at her wrist. A bruise had started forming around it from when Trent grabbed her. She took a deep breath and grabbed a bandanna from her bag and tied it around her wrist, hiding the bruise. A minute later, Ethan walked up to her.

"Hey." He said. Naomi put on a smile.

"Hey." She said. She stood up.

"You have absolutely no idea how grateful I am for-"

"Naomi." Came a voice. Both of them looked over to see Trent standing there. Naomi looked down.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I called your house. Your mom said you were at the mall. I……I just wanted to talk."

"I'm busy right now." Naomi said. Trent clenched his fists, fighting the urge to grab her roughly and pull her away.

"Please?" He asked. Naomi looked at Ethan.

"I'll be right back." She said. She gave Trent a cold look and walked off to the side with Trent. They stood a few feet away from Ethan. He watched the two carefully, although he couldn't hear them.

"What do you want?" Naomi asked, her voice low.

"Look, about yesterday, I just……I wanted to apologize. You're right, I am jealous of you and Ethan hanging out together. I know Ethan has feelings for you and I just don't want him to steal you away from me."

"So you expressed that feeling by acting like a caveman and grabbing my wrist in a vice grip?" Naomi asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm sorry." Trent said. "Just, give me another chance, please?" He begged. Naomi looked at him and sighed.

"All right." She said softly. Trent smiled. He leaned in and kissed her. Naomi responded. Ethan sighed and looked away. Naomi looked at Trent.

"I'll see you later. I promised Ethan I'd help him shop for a present for his mom."

"Why don't I come with you guys?" Trent asked. Naomi gave him a look.

"Trent." She said. "You just have one more chance, don't blow it."

"All right, I get it." He said. He gave her one last kiss before walking off. Naomi sighed and walked back over to Ethan.

"Everything okay?" Ethan asked.

"Uh huh. Now, let's go shop for your mom's present." Naomi said as they walked to some stores.

---

That night, Tommy, Kimberly and Trini enjoyed a quiet dinner at home. They watched some family movie on T.V., or at least tried too. Half way into it, Trini fell asleep. Kimberly slowly took her up to the room and took her to bed. Tommy realized it was rather late so he decided to go to bed himself. He changed into his usual sleeping attire-boxers and a black muscle shirt and settled into bed. He couldn't seem to fall asleep so he decided to get some reading done. He lay in bed and read. A while later he heard a soft knock on his door. Tommy set his book down.

"Yeah?" He called out. The door opened to reveal Kimberly wearing black spandex shorts and a white shirt. "Kim, hey." He said. He felt a little embarrassed being caught in his sleepwear. Jeez, you're an adult; don't act like a freaking teenager.

"Hey." Kimberly said. She walked into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"What's up?" Tommy asked, sitting up and putting his book aside. Kimberly shrugged.

"Couldn't sleep, just thought I'd come and see what you were doing." She said. She came over and sat down on the other side of the bed. Tommy's heart rammed against his chest. She's on my bed. Okay, hormones, behave yourselves. He thought to himself.

"Oh." Tommy said. He took off his glasses and set them on his nightstand. Kimberly looked at him and giggled. "What?" He asked.

"You're nervous about me sitting here." Kimberly pointed out. Tommy's cheeks turned red.

"N-no, I-I-I'm not. I have no idea what yo-you're talking about." Tommy stammered, looking away. Kimberly laughed.

"Right, your face is always that red." Kimberly said. Tommy groaned.

"All right, Kim, you're gonna get it." He said. He tackled her on the bed and began tickling her sides. Kimberly laughed.

"Stop! Stop! I'm sorry!" She said, squirming beneath him. Tommy continued tickling her. Kimberly continued laughing and squirming. After a while, Tommy stopped. Kimberly laughed a bit more. Tommy smiled and stared down at her. Kimberly looked up at him. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing." He said. "Just watching the most beautiful woman in the world." He said. Kimberly blushed. He leaned down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Kimberly put her arms around his shoulders and returned the kiss with equal feelings. The kiss evolved into an intense make-out session. Tommy rolled over to his side, he and Kim still not breaking lip contact. One of Kimberly's hands became buried in his hair. She moaned as she felt him leave a trail of kisses from her lips to her neck. He held her close, one of his hands slipping under the bottom of her shirt. Kimberly gasped at the feel of his hand on her skin. Tommy returned to her lips. His other hand slowly and gently ran down her leg. Kimberly was lost in a sea of passion and had no intentions of being found anytime soon. She was so engulfed in what was going on when she felt a sudden stiffness against her leg. She gasped softly. Tommy forced himself to pull away from Kim's lips. Damn you, hormones! He thought to himself.

"I…..I'm sorry." He said as he fought to catch his breath. "I….didn't.."

"Shh." Kimberly said softly. She stroked his cheek. "It's okay." She said, her eyes telling him all.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Kimberly smiled.

"I've never been sure-er of anything else in my life." She said. Tommy chuckled.

"Kimberly, 'sure-er' isn't a word." He said. Kimberly playfully groaned.

"Yeah, shut up now." Kimberly said. She leaned in and kissed him. They sat up. Tommy reached into his nightstand and produced a small foil package. Kimberly could've made a crack about him having condoms right there in his nightstand, but decided against ruining the mood. They met for yet another kiss as they slowly took off each other's clothing, what little of it there was. Tommy laid Kimberly down on the bed and simply stared at her.

"God, you're beautiful." He whispered.

"Are you going to just sit there all right?" She asked with a smirk. Tommy smiled and slowly got on top of her. Kimberly's smirk faded as they stared into each other's eyes. "I love you, Beautiful." He whispered.

"I love you too." She said. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just….Go slow. I haven't done this in a while." She said. Which was true, seeing as the last-well, and first-man she had slept with was Anton. Tommy kissed her as he slowly entered her. Kimberly moaned into his mouth. Kimberly felt like she was in heaven. Here she was, with the one man she had ever loved. Tommy gently kissed her neck as they moved together in perfect harmony. Kimberly moaned softly as she ran her hands up and down his back.

"Oh god." Tommy murmured against her throat as he sucked on the soft flesh of her neck. "Kimberly, I love you so much." She could only moan softly in response. After a while, Kimberly could feel her toes instinctively curling as she buried her head in Tommy shoulder. Tommy picked up his pace as he too felt himself reaching the edge. Kimberly breathed heavily as she felt herself getting closer and closer to her breaking point. Tommy kissed the edge of her mouth. She lifted her head up and the two kissed passionately. Kimberly climaxed with a soft cry, which was soon followed by Tommy's low groan as he did too. They fell in a heap of post coital bliss on the bed, gasping for air. Tommy slowly rolled to his side and held Kimberly close. Kimberly curled up against his chest feeling absolutely perfect. That had been a million times better then her night with Anton all those years ago, not that she had any doubts of that of course. She loved Tommy with all her heart and soul, and she knew Tommy loved her. She felt him plant several kisses on her forehead before she slowly drifted off to sleep. Tommy brought a hand up and gently stroked her hair before sleep took him over as well.