Note: Thanks for the reviews.

Warning: This chapter alludes to child abuse - no specific details, but there are references.

When Danny opened his eyes, he thought he was in heaven. He didn't feel anything, and he could only see blurriness. His second thought was that at least he might see his mother again. As he blinked the sleep out of his eyes, he realized he wasn't dead. He was in a large hospital room with other patients. He was hooked up to machines. When he tried to move, pain started to shoot throughout his body. He tried to call out, but then realized that something was in his mouth. Finally, a nurse approached him. He looked up at her with scared, searching eyes.

"Morning, baby. You're finally awake. You can't speak," she said as she saw the frustrated look in Danny's eyes. "You're on a ventilator. One of your lungs collapsed. I'll get the doctor. We'll see if we can't take the tube out of your mouth now that you are awake. Just relax, sweetheart. You're going to be OK."

Danny appreciated the nurse's soothing tone. He wondered how long he had been there. He thought for sure he was dead. He wondered if his brother knew that he was in the hospital and why.He knew that no one from the group home would miss him. His caseworker might be worried, but more than likely she hadn't even realized he was gone yet. He was just one of many cases for her. Danny's eyes shifted to look around him. He saw various people holding vigil over their loved ones. He never felt more alone than he did at that moment.

The nurse returned with a grandfatherly-looking doctor. "Good to see you awake, son. You took quite a beating. It was a good thing that deli owner took the trash out when he did. If he would have found you ten minutes later, you probably wouldn't be here right now," he said as he listened to Danny's heart and lungs. "We're going to take the vent out. Take a deep breath and then blow out slowly."

The doctor carefully took out the vent tube, and Danny coughed until he could catch his breath. Then he asked weakly, "How long have I been out?"

"Three days," the doctor answered. "You had surgery to repair internal bleeding and lung damage. You lost a lot of blood, but you're going to be fine. You just need to take some time to heal."

Danny nodded. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. I'll come back to check on you a little later. The nurse will monitor your vitals and get you some water."

As the doctor walked away, the nurse lifted a cup to Danny's lips. It was the best thing he'd ever tasted. "Your caseworker told us to call her when you woke up. I'll go do that now."

"How did you know I have a caseworker?"

"We took your fingerprints when you came in unidentified. They are on file with DCFS. Of course, DCFS is so slow we didn't find out your name until this morning. It's nice to finally talk to you, Danny Alvarez," the nurse said with a smile.

"You, too," he replied weakly.

"After I call your caseworker, is there anyone else you would like me to call?"

Danny thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No, ma'am. There's no one else."

The nurse nodded as she gave him a sympathetic smile and then walked out of the room.

He was moved from intensive care to a large room with five other sick kids. They all had visitors stopping by. A few of them had parents who never seemed to leave. Danny could barely stand to watch them. He slept on and off for two days before his caseworker finally got around to seeing him.

"Hey. How are you feeling, Danny?" Sheila Simpson asked.

"I've been better," he answered quietly.

"Your doctor seems to think you will get sprung by the end of this week. My mission is to find you some kind of foster home…"

"No…no foster homes…just send me back to the group home."

"That won't work, Danny. You'll need extra care that you won't be able to get in a group home. You start your junior year in another month. If you really want to focus on bringing up your grades to get into college, you would be much better off in a foster home."

"Sheila…no foster parents are going to want me. I'm too old. I don't want to go somewhere just to get kicked out or…"

"Look…I know you had a bad experience with foster parents in the past, but I'll do a better job of screening. I promise. They have to be equipped to deal with your special needs…at least until you get back on your feet. Let me work on it. I'll come back soon to let you know what I find out. Can I bring anything to you? Do you need anything?"

Danny shook his head sadly, and then Sheila turned to leave. "Sheila?"

"Yeah?"

"Um…do you know…do you know…?"

Sheila interrupted. "He knows, Danny. I had his parole officer track Rafael down. I spoke to him. He knows where you are and what happened to you. That reminds me…a detective will be by to question you shortly."

"I don't remember anything," Danny lied knowing that giving up Jackson would mean Raffi going to prison.

"I figure that is what you would say. That's why the detective hasn't been here sooner. You probably don't want my opinion, but I think you are better off if your brother stays far, far away from you. You've worked too hard to let him bring you down even further, Danny."

Danny just turned away as Sheila left the room. He knew Sheila was right. While part of him wished that Raffi would be concerned about him enough to come to the hospital, the other part of him knew that Raffi was trouble. He had to find the strength to let Raffi go…even if that meant he was truly alone in the world.

Sheila returned the next day to speak with Danny. "You're looking a little better today. I think I have some good news for you."

"Did I win the lottery?" he asked sarcastically.

"No, not that good. But I do have a promising foster situation for you."

"Sheila…"

"Wait… before you go all negative, let me explain. James and Sandy Taylor are a couple of retirees. They live in Brooklyn in a little house with a yard. They've been taking in older foster kids for the last ten years. This may sound bad, but they mostly do it to supplement their retirement income. That's why they like older kids who can take care of themselves. I spoke to them, and they know about your situation. Mrs. Taylor says she is willing to help you get back on your feet. I explained how hard you are working to make good choices. I told them you are a good kid who just needs a nice, safe place to stay until you can go off to college."

"What's the catch?" Danny asked skeptically.

"Well, they want a kid who is willing to help around the house. So, you'll need to bring a positive attitude. And the other catch is that this isn't going to be your family, Danny. They don't want a son. They've had a dozen kids go through their house in the last ten years. They don't get attached. When you turn eighteen you are on your own."

"That's it. I just need to mow their lawn and then pack it up in two years?"

"Yep. If you don't bother them, they won't bother you. They have a small, but comfortable room in their basement for you to stay in. I don't think you'll have any trouble with these folks, Danny. Mr. Taylor is 68 and Mrs. Taylor is 65."

"OK…I'll give it a try," Danny agreed hesitantly.

"Great. Oh…and there is one more thing…actually two."

"What is it?"

"I had to tell them about Rafael. You have to promise not to contact him, Danny. I won't tell him where you are. The Taylor's won't want to deal with any issues that may involve your brother."

"He doesn't care where I am, Sheila. All he cares about is getting high. I won't contact him. I'm done with him," Danny replied quietly. "What's the other thing? You said two?"

"Absolutely no drinking, Danny. The Taylor's won't put up with it. You can't hide it like you did at the group home. Do you understand?"

"Yeah…I understand. I'll stay clean. I promise," Danny answered in an annoyed tone.

"OK…I'll make the arrangements. I'll have the group home send your things to the Taylor's," Sheila said as she walked out the door.

Danny laid his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes. After his first and only foster home experience, he told himself he'd never do it again. He thought he was better off in a group home. After his parents died, he and Rafael stayed with their grandmother in Florida. More accurately, Danny stayed with his grandmother. Rafael was only there when he needed money. He lived with her for two years before she died of lung disease. Even though Rafael was over 18, the state wouldn't let Danny go with Rafael because of his stint in Juvenile Detention. Truly, Rafael just didn't fight that hard to keep Danny, but Danny didn't realize that at the time. He still looked up to his brother.

Two years earlier

Danny was sent to live with foster parents named Kim and Kyle Wellman. They couldn't have children of their own, so they took in children who needed homes. Kim was a housewife and Kyle ran a construction crew. At first, Danny was overcome with how nice they were to him…Kim, especially. Kim bought him the nicest clothes and expensive shoes. Even his own mother was never able to do that for him. Kim always had a warm smile for him. While Kyle wasn't as attentive as Kim, he was always good to Danny. Sometimes, he even played catch with Danny and the other kids in the back yard. For a while, Danny thought things couldn't be better. He was in a good foster situation, and he was still going to the St. Benedict's after school program. At first, he had to go the program because he was caught shoplifting from a liquor store. But now, he just went because he liked the structure, and Father Orlando helped him keep on the straight and narrow.

Danny did his best to be a good kid. He really did want to stay out of trouble, but every once in a while he would get depressed, usually because he missed his parents or his brother. And when he got depressed, he would drink. So he started to sneak beer out of Kyle's refrigerator in the garage. One day when Danny was drinking behind the garage, Kim caught him. Danny panicked because he thought for sure she would kick him out. But she didn't. Instead, she told him that it would be their secret. And then she let him continue to drink and would often join him. At first he thought Kim was the coolest mom in the world, but then she started to do things to make him feel uncomfortable while he was drunk. When he would tell her no, she would warn him that if he didn't do what she said that she would tell Kyle about the alcohol. And then she reminded Danny about all the things she bought for him. She told Danny that he owed her. So Danny let her do what she wanted. He hated it because he felt like he didn't have any control over himself, and he felt like he asked for it. He shouldn't have accepted the nice things. He shouldn't have kept drinking with her after she caught him. He wanted to run away, but he had nowhere to go. He tried to call Raffi, but Raffi never returned his calls.

And then the whole nightmare came to an end one night when Kyle caught Danny with Kim. Kim made it seem like Danny was taking advantage of her, even though he was only 14. So Kyle beat Danny up and threw him out of the house. Danny didn't want to go to Father Orlando, the police or the hospital. He was ashamed and didn't want to tell anyone what happened. So, he wandered around for days until he finally tracked Raffi down at an old girlfriend's.

Danny had to beg Raffi to help him. He begged him to take him away from Florida because he was terrified of running into the Wellman's and didn't want to go to another foster home. He didn't tell Raffi what actually happened with Kim. He just told him that Kyle lost his temper. Raffi finally agreed to go with Danny because he was in trouble with the police anyway. They scraped up enough money to buy bus tickets to New York City. Raffi always wanted to go to New York, and that was far enough away to outrun the law in Florida. They weren't in New York a month when Raffi was arrested for possession. When they arrested Raffi, the police turned Danny over to DCFS and he was sent to a group home. Raffi was in prison almost two years before getting out. As soon as he got out, he started to get high again which led to Danny getting beaten and stabbed.

Danny opened his eyes as he tried to push he awful memories out of his head. All he could think about was how much he wanted a drink right at that moment. He just hoped that the Taylor's were good people. Danny wasn't sure he wanted to live anymore if he couldn't find some peace and happiness in his life.