I rolled over when I heard a sound at the door. I was still in my uniform. I hadn't made it to the washroom before I crashed. Ranger had taken off my socks for me. He knew how much I hated sleeping in socks. My feet didn't slide across the sheets properly, and whenever I tried I would angrily rip them off my feet about half an hour after I went to bed, too frustrated to keep them on any longer. It would wake me up, and knowing Ranger he would have been concerned about me and would have wanted me to sleep as long as I could.

I opened my eyes sleepily as Ranger tensed and opened his. We had both been in a sound sleep for the last four and a half hours, and I didn't know about Ranger, but I was feeling much better. I wondered if we had time for a partner shower before leaving the apartment for the afternoon, before deciding that we didn't. I was hungry, and although it was hard to believe, for once my hunger for food exceeded my hunger for sex.

Eli appeared at the side of our bed. "Hey, Eli", I said. "I'm Steph, and this is Ranger. Can I get you something?"

"I was coming to diddle you."

"Why?"

He paused, not quite sure how to answer.

"Did Roscoe expect you to diddle him?"

"Yes. He said I had to so that I could thank him for taking such good care of me. The other men said I had to since they put up with me."

"How many times were you diddled a day?"

He thought about that for a minute, then held his hand up with all his fingers and thumb spread wide.

"Five?" I said. When he looked confused, I counted out his fingers. "One, two, three, four, five?"

He nodded as bile came up my throat.

"You will never be expected to diddle someone again. Eli, diddling anyone against their wishes is wrong and a chargeable offense. You can be put in jail for that. And diddling a child, even if they want it, is also something you can be put in jail for. Roscoe is a horrible and evil man, the other men in the club are horrible, evil men, and you will never have to go back to them again."

"Why did you think that we would want you to diddle us?" said Ranger.

"Ethan said that you owned this house. I don't want to leave. I wanted to thank you for taking care of me."

"Sweetie, we are glad that you are here with us as well", I said. "However, we don't want you to diddle anyone. That is a part of your body that is yours and yours only. If you don't want to share it with anyone, you shouldn't have to. And if you do want to share it with someone, wait until you are eighteen. You are far too young to be diddling anyone."

"Eli", said Ranger, "how old were you when Roscoe started diddling you?"

Eli thought about that. "When my mother died. He said my mother was no longer paying for our room and board through diddling, so I would have to pay for my own."

"Okay. Joe and Tracy will never ask you to diddle someone and, if someone diddles you before you are eighteen years old, even if you want them to diddle you, Joe will put them in jail. It is wrong, Eli."

"Will I be put in jail for diddling Roscoe?" he said tentatively.

Ranger shook his head. "Absolutely not. What happened is the responsibility of the oldest person. Roscoe was older than you so therefore it was his fault, not yours. You did nothing wrong, but what Roscoe asked you to do was wrong. It would be like if you diddled one of the twins or Tia. You would be at fault because you are older, and people would consider what you did as wrong."

"So I don't have to diddle Alix or Grace or Tia?" said Eli with relief. "I've been worried about that all day. I didn't want to. Diddling hurts."

"I would be very upset if you diddled them. Eli, in this house, in Joe and Tracy's house, you will never have to diddle someone or be diddled again. And if someone asked you to, I want you to refuse, and to tell Joe or Tracy or Steph or me right away."

I looked at Eli and saw the tears flowing down his face. "Eli, come here", I said. I reached for a tissue and, when he got close, I wiped his face off. "Why are you crying, buddy?"

"I don't like being diddled."

"I don't blame you. I wouldn't either."

"Are you sure that I won't have to be diddled again?"

I smiled. "I promise."

"And I won't be hit if I don't?"

"No one will ever hit you again. I promise that as well. And if they do, I want you to tell Joe or Tracy or Ranger or me. Hitting someone, unless it is in self-defense, is never acceptable."

Eli threw his arms around me and burst into tears. "Thank you", he said.

I hugged him tightly. "Sweetie, you are a good person. I can tell that already. You don't deserve to be hit or diddled or do anything that hurts you or makes you feel uncomfortable."

"Roscoe said that I was a dirty, horrible person who didn't deserve to live."

"Roscoe was wrong. You are a good person who is going to do great things in life. I know that, Ranger knows that, and Joe and Tracy know that. You are a person worth protecting, a person worth helping, and a person who is worth being alive. If you ever want help, if you are ever asked to do something that you don't want to do or feel uncomfortable doing, I want to know. Okay? I just want to be your friend."

"The only friend I have ever had before was Brett."

"I've heard that he was a good man. We've been looking for him."

"He didn't want to diddle me either. He was the only one in the club that didn't."

"As I said, he was a good man." I wondered about asking about Brett's location, but somehow I didn't think that Eli trusted us enough yet. "What have you been doing today?"

He smiled. "I played with Bob. He gave me kisses. He slept on the floor with me. I've always wanted a dog. He's a very good dog, isn't he?"

"He is, although he has a habit of eating sofa cushions, and you have to be a bit careful with your food. If you don't pay attention to it, he sometimes swipes it off the plate and eats it before you notice, and then he gives you an innocent, hurt look if you get mad at him. He ignores the fact that he still has food on his whiskers to give him away."

Eli laughed, and it was the joyous sound of a child laughing. It was wonderful.

"What else did you do?"

"Tia read to me for a while. I don't know how to read. Do you think that she could teach me?"

"I don't know if Tia could teach you, but I do know that Tracy could teach you. She taught Tia how to read and she would love to teach you as well."

"The babies were showing me their computer games, and they recognized their numbers. I don't know my numbers either."

"Again, that is something Tracy can teach you. Brett said that you were a very smart person, and I am sure that it won't take long for you to learn those things."

"Roscoe said that I was too dumb to go to school."

I was furious. How could someone treat a child that way? "Roscoe was dead wrong. I would take Brett's word any day over Roscoe's. Roscoe was not a very nice person and it sounds like he would say anything, even lie, to make someone feel bad about themselves."

"He said he was the president and had power over me."

"Ranger is the president of his company too. Can you see him ever yelling at you or saying something to make you feel bad about yourself or hitting you or anything like that? To tell you the truth, I have known Ranger for a long time and I have never heard Ranger yell at someone. Never, Eli. I have known Ranger for longer than you have been alive, and he has never yelled at anyone. He considers that wrong and, quite frankly, after having been married in the past to someone who yelled at me all the time, I like Ranger's attitude better. And because of that, everyone likes Ranger and wants to be on his team. Just because you are the president does not give you the right to yell at people. It does not give you the right to hit people. It does not give you the right to diddle people. Those things are all wrong, and no role in life will make them acceptable."

He sat and thought about that for a little bit.

"What else did you do today?" I asked.

"I had a bath." He grinned. "You know what? The water was warm! Tracy put bubbles in it, and gave me things to play with. And when I was finished, Tracy gave me new clothing. I can't remember the last time I had new clothing. I even had my pick of clothes. Tracy gave me a track suit and a pair of jeans and two t-shirts and a hoody and a sweater, and boxers. And the person who bought my clothes also got me a winter jacket and a hat and mitts." A tear dripped down his cheek again. "I've never had a pair of mitts before."

"Sweetie, you need mitts. It's cold out."

"I normally just put my hands in my pockets. A person named Amelia brought the clothes up to me. Tracy said that she had done the shopping as well."

"Amelia is a nice person. I'm sure doing the shopping made her very happy."

"I made her a picture to thank her. Tracy said that she would like it."

"Somehow, I know that Amelia would love it."

"Tracy gave me a toothbrush. She even gave me a choice of colors. I picked a toothbrush with an alien on it. It made me laugh, and Tracy said that any toothbrush that made me laugh would be a good toothbrush to use. My mom always bought me my toothbrushes, and they were always too big. This one is little."

"I'm glad you like it. When I bought it, I thought for sure that someone special was going to use it. And I was right."

"Why are you so nice to me?"

"We like you and we think you are a good person."

"I don't ever want to leave. What's going to happen to me? Will I have to go back to Roscoe when I tell you where Brett is?" He clapped his hands over his mouth and looked stricken.

"No", I said. "You are never going back. This is what will happen. Roscoe will be put in jail. Brett's life will be saved, and Richard – the previous president – will stay in jail. You will live with Joe and Tracy and Bob for a while. Joe is a police officer and will be able to protect you well.

"The way it works is that a person goes to what is called a trial, and the judge deems whether the person is considered guilty. Roscoe will be considered guilty for diddling, and will be put in jail just for that. However, if we can find Brett, Roscoe will also be put in jail for hurting Brett and that means that he'd be in jail for a longer period of time. That's the first thing. That means that you will never go back to live with Roscoe again.

"While you are waiting for the trial to happen, which could take a long time, you will be in what is called witness protection. This means that you will live with someone who will take care of you and ensure that you will remain safe and ensure that Roscoe wouldn't be able to hurt you. The people who were chosen to look after you are Joe and Tracy and Bob. Since Joe is a police officer, he is the best person to look after you. And since Tracy is a nurse, she can help you if you have any sores or injuries from being diddled or hit. She can also help you learn to read and do your numbers. Joe and Tracy will cuddle you when you have nightmares, look after you when you are sick, listen to your stories, and do everything to take care of you that they can think of.

"During the day, Tracy looks after Tia and Alix and Grace, and you will be coming here and helping her do that. Bob will come with you as well. You will have a lot of fun together, and Tracy will teach you and the girls all sorts of things.

"After the trial, you will be eligible for adoption. This means that a couple will get the right to become your parents, to raise you and love you as a member of their family. To protect you against people who want to diddle you or hit you or yell at you. Tracy and Joe have already expressed an interest in becoming your parents. I don't know if they will be allowed to adopt you, but they want to and, to tell you the truth, I think they will have a very good chance to do so. Then, after you are adopted, you will start school and make friends and learn how to ride a bike and, when you are older, how to drive a car. You will have cousins and lots of friends and time to play at the playground."

Eli was crying again. "Tracy and Joe want to adopt me and make me their son?"

"Yes."

"And if I tell them where Brett is, I will be protected from Roscoe longer?"

"Yes."

He thought about that for a moment. "I want to tell you where Brett is."

"Then let's find Joe. He is the best person to tell."