"Hey, hey…" Noah whispered, softly smoothing the small black head that was burying itself deeper and deeper between his legs.

Prying the child off was like pulling two pieces of Velcro apart. He grunted and instantly reattached himself at every attempt. Both of his thin little arms were securely wrapped around Noah's legs making it impossible for Noah to move anywhere. Noah finally managed to push him back by gently gripping hold of his shoulders and the boy glanced frightened between Noah and the doorway. He made tiny intense peeps through shallow breaths and Noah was frantic for him. He crouched down to his level, still holding his shoulders, as the little one fought to cling onto him once more.

"What is it?" Noah searched the little face for answers and saw only pure terror in the pleading blue eyes. The little hands dug with remarkable force into Noah's forearms. He could still hear Maddie and the strange woman talking in the other room but he was too focused on the child to work out what they were saying.

Over the short time they had known the boy he would always react negatively to strangers, but usually he would simply shrink away or hide in his special spot in their closet. Noah had witnessed a KIND of panic in the child… right after the shooting, but even that didn't compare to the anxiety this stranger's presence in the house seemed to cause him.

The boy's body cramped up even further as they heard Maddie say, "… hang on I'll just go and get him for you…", but it was the sight of his trousers turning dark with urine that kicked Noah's natural instincts into motion.

Swiftly he lifted the petrified child and placed him on his cushion in the closet. "It's okay… it's okay." He stroked the stricken face. "You stay in here. Stay quiet…"

He closed the closet doors and leaned his body against them. His heart was pounding. What was he doing? If she was here for the child then…?

Noah, there's somebody…" she stopped in the doorway when she saw his face, "Noah? What's wr…?" But he quickly lifted his finger to his mouth, his eyes beseeching her to be silent. He stepped forward and grabbed both of her hands, drawing her with urgency deeper into the bedroom.

"Promise me you won't mention the child…" He spoke so quickly that his words stumbled together.

"What?"

"If she asks, you don't know anything about the child, okay?"

"Oh my god, Noah? Is that why she's here?"

"I don't know. I just… I just have this really bad feeling! Please Maddie! I know it means I'm involving you in this but…" he was desperate all of a sudden and he didn't really understand all the reasons why, "I need you to trust me on this."

Maddie felt a shiver run through his hands to meet hers and she watched a single tear path its way down his cheek. She did the only thing she could do. She nodded and drew him into a hug.

"I know there's a possibility we'll lose him one day," he whispered in her ear softly, so as not to let the boy hear, "but not now, okay? Please… I couldn't handle it… not right now… not without Luke here…"

She pushed him back and cupped his cheeks, "We don't even know for sure why she's here. Let's go out there and find out what she wants. If it's the child then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

He took a few deep breaths to steady himself and quickly visited the bathroom to wipe his eyes on a towel. One look in the mirror revealed them to be tired and bloodshot… but it would have to do.

Maddie was waiting by the doorway and she took his hand as they walked to face the woman together.

She was seated nervously on the edge of a chair facing Jonathan, who had gallantly filled the silence with idol chit chat and seemed more than a little relieved to see them.

Noah almost staggered at the sight of the stranger. He had only to look at her to know the truth. Her long greasy black locks, slightly wavy at the ends and her crystal blue eyes left him in no doubt. This was the baby's mother. Noah felt it in his bones. Huge pellets of anxiety dropped from his throat to his guts every time he swallowed and he held tightly onto Maddie's hand, trying to stem the shakes that threatened to give him away. God but he missed Luke!

The woman stood as they entered, her cheep gold hooped earrings swinging from her lobes. She wore a terribly short and skin tight white skirt that left nothing to the imagination. Her beige tights had seen better days and her singlet pink shirt was cut low down her front. She had a boyish figure with no breasts to speak of but the lack thereof was most likely due to her emaciated frame. It was obvious she was an addict. She was restless… edgy… and she had a nervous habit of shaking her left hand every few minutes. She also hadn't bothered to hide the needle bruises that trailed up her arm.

"Did that little angel really come from this?" He wondered with dread.

"Hello?" Noah swallowed and greeted cautiously. The external displayed casual interest while the internal fell slowly apart. "Can I… can I help you?"

She eyed him up and down, chewing loudly on a stick of gum, "You look just like 'im…"

Noah's heart froze, thinking she meant the child. No! No way! There was no way he could hand him over to this woman. "I'm sorry?"

"I knew who you were from your picture." She rummaged around in the tatty clutch purse, hooked over her bony shoulder, and withdrew a crumpled up bit of newspaper which she passed to him, tapping her finger on one spot.

Baffled, he took the paper from her and his eyes fell on a news article he had seen months before. An image of him smiled shyly up off the page from the tiny picture that accompanied the article.

"'Cause you look just like 'im!" she continued, her eyes surveying the surroundings, "Well, when he was younger that is…" She began to wander around the room and picked up a vase from a nearby table. She studied it intently before replacing it, "You've done well for yourself, haven't you? Fancy LA Director and everything!"

The other three adults in the room were all completely lost.

"Oooh!" She exclaimed, stopping by a table when her eyes fell on a framed photograph of him and Luke.

...

The younger kids were buried on the floor under mounds of opened wrapping paper. Ethan was having a wonderful time playing Santa's little helper and handing the gifts from under the Christmas tree to their relevant recipients.

Faith would retrieve a parcel, check the tag, and then whisper the name of the recipient in Ethan's ear so that he could proudly deliver the gift in exchange for a kiss or a hug. Then he would stand by that person and eagerly await the parcels unwrapping.

Eventually he handed a shiny red rectangular box tied in a ribbon to Noah.

"For me?" Noah asked him and he nodded excitedly. "Thank you so much! Do I get a hug as well?"

Ethan jumped up and squeezed Noah's neck before forcing himself into a gap between Luke and Noah on the couch. Noah read the tag to discover the gift was from Lilly.

"Thank you." He said to her and she smiled.

"Do you want to help me?" Noah asked Ethan and the little guy could barely contain his happiness. He tugged at the ribbon and it dropped from the box. Then Ethan lifted the lid to reveal a sterling silver photo frame about the size of an A4 notebook. But it was the picture inside that rendered Noah completely speechless. Lilly had had the shot enlarged in black and white… and it was breathtaking.

Noah had never seen the photo before. He didn't even know it existed. But he remembered the day like it was yesterday. It had been taken only a few weeks after Luke regained the use of his legs, when their relationship was still brand new. The first real romantic relationship either of them had ever had. They had accompanied Lilly on a walk through the forest that bordered Emma's farm. She'd taken her digital camera along and unbeknownst to them, she had secretly snapped a shot of them as they stood, hands clasped beneath the trees. It was a windy day and their hair blew in their faces, but they were oblivious to it. Their eyes were shut and their lips were locked in a tender kiss.

"I found it on my computer about a month or two after you left for LA." Lilly explained, "I thought once or twice about sending it to you but, at the time, I wasn't sure whether it was appropriate."

Noah knew he was crying. Luke took the frame from him to study it himself. He smiled softly at it and placed an arm around Noah before kissing his cheek.

"But I'm glad I didn't send it then," Lilly continued, "because giving it to you now…? It just seems like the perfect gift at the perfect time!"

And oh, it definitely was!

...

Now this woman glared at the photograph and let out a fierce guttural laugh at the sight of it. "My, my! I bet Pops was just THRILLED by THIS! Am I right? God but I would have killed to see his face when he found out!" She surveyed all the other photos of Luke and Noah, along with many of their friends and family. "And he lives here too? Doesn't he? Lawdy… lawdy…! The great Winston Mayer… that fine upstanding guy… has a gay son!"

She was laughing in hysterics now and Noah, his nerves already shot, didn't think he could take much more of it. He was suffering from a deep seated nausea that weighed down his guts and he was starting to lose control. "Look! Would you mind telling us who you are and how we can help you please?"

"Yeah! I figured he'd never tell you about me! He left for the army and came back all hoity-toity… Thought he was God's gift or something! Too good for the likes of us that's for sure!"

"You knew my father from before he joined the army?"

Before Branson?

"Kid! I've known your father his whole life! He's my big brother!"

Noah's eyes grew to saucers!

"And don't that just make us family, or what?" And she walked over to slap Noah on the back like they were old friends.

"My father never mentioned he had a…"

"A sister? Well… as far as he was concerned he didn't! Paid me a tidy sum each month to deny we were even related at all!"

His cousin! The boy was his cousin!

"Oh my god! That means I have family out there? Real family?"

"Sorry kid… it's just me and 'im left! Ma and Pops died when I was fourteen." It didn't escape Noah's attention that she said nothing about a son. "We lived in a trailer so it's not like they left us a kingdom or nothing! Pa couldn't even spell bank account let alone hold one! So I've been working the streets ever since." It took her a few moments to collect herself, "The name's Michelle, Michelle Harris. I was married once see… for about a month!"

"And you came here to find… to find my Dad?" Noah asked.

"I'm looking for 'im. He owes me some money! I lost contact with 'im a few months back… Then I saw your picture and I figured you'd know where he was… But I'm willing to bet I'm wasting my time here, right? I'd bet a million bucks you're not on speaking terms, right?" And she lifted another photo of Luke and him to highlight her point.

"Even if we were I couldn't speak to him. I'm sorry but my father's dead. He died last year."

She had just replaced the frame back on the table and she froze at his words. She turned to him with an expression of complete disbelief, "What?"

"I'm really sorry."

"But… but… how? When?" Noah wasn't certain, but he thought he saw a flash of sadness in her eyes.

He felt like crawling in a ball and crying. He couldn't take much more. One section of his brain was desperate for news on Luke; the other was concerned for the terrified little boy, his cousin, who he'd just hidden in the closet. A third section tried to untangle the mystery of this woman, who he felt sure was the child's mother, and yet didn't seem to have come for him. In fact she didn't seem to know he was there at all. And that meant the last speck of brain power he had left simply couldn't handle anymore and definitely couldn't deal with dragging up the memories of his father's death.

And then besides all this going on in his head, his body was still racked with poison, his stomach felt like it was on fire half the time and a sleepless night of worry finally took it's toll… his legs gave out and he collapsed.

"Noah!" shrieked Maddie as she tried to grab him, "Jonathan!"

Jonathan was quickly on his feet, helping to grip Noah under his arms and moved him over to lie on the couch.

"I'm okay…" Noah said faintly, "I just… I was just a little..."

"I'll fetch you some water." And Maddie disappeared into the kitchen.

The woman watched flabbergasted. Eventually she followed Maddie and spoke from the kitchen doorway, "Can you at least tell me what happened? What happened to Winston?" She sounded frantic and desperate.

"I'm sorry," Maddie's voice replied. Noah heard as she opened the fridge and she took out the water bottle, "Can you give us a moment please? Noah's just been released from the hospital and this is a little too much for him right now."

"But I need to know!" Insisted the woman, "Why did he…"

Noah lifted his head from the couch as her sentence cut off. She was staring intently at something within the kitchen. "Is it just the two of them living here?" She asked.

Noah felt icicles forming around his heart. NO! The drawings! The drawings on the fridge! She would see the drawings and then she'd know! She'd know her son was in this house and she'd take him away from them. She'd take him away…

"Noah?" Jonathan griped one of his shoulders as he noticed the tension in the other man increase.

"It's just Luke and Noah here." Maddie replied, "Jonathan and I are visiting from Montana."

Jonathan stared with confusion in the direction of the kitchen but he said nothing.

Noah visibly relaxed and said a silent thank you to Maddie as the woman followed her back to the couch. Michelle hadn't said anything so she couldn't have noticed. Noah knew from Joshua that the woman treated the boy badly, but he still found it amazing how unconcerned she seemed by his disappearance. She definitely didn't strike him as a desperate mother with a missing child.

Michelle watched awkwardly as Noah drank the water Maddie handed to him, "I see you're sick okay? But I just need to know…"

"Colonel Mayer committed suicide last year. In a cabin a few miles outside of the city." Maddie answered so that Noah didn't have to.

"Suicide? But… but that's impossible! That man would never kill himself!"

"Well he did." Stated Noah finally, "I was there."

"Miss Harris, was it?" Maddie jumped in, concerned for Noah's wellbeing, "I'm really sorry for your loss, but as you can see this isn't a good time. Now if there's nothing else you need, I must ask you to please leave."

"Yes." She was shocked and so did little to protest as Maddie guided her outside. "Yes, okay. Good to finally meet you Noah."

Once the door closed behind her Noah gulped in air as though he'd just emerged from a long period under water and let out an exclamation, "SHIT! Oh my god!"

"Wow!" said Maddie, "Your aunt! But at least she was here about your father and not the boy."

"That was his mother…"

"What?

"It was her Mad's. I know it was! The boy's my cousin."

"Well if she is his mother, it's obvious she doesn't know you have the boy." observed Jonathan.

"No." agreed Noah, "No. She doesn't know. And she never will! The boy's never going back to THAT! Never!"

"No…ah…" It was said very quietly. So quiet in fact that he was the only one to hear it at all, the way most people had the ability to hear their name said on the wind or over a crowd of voices.

He turned to the sound and locked eyes with the child standing in the entrance to the passageway. He briefly pressed his face into his hands to hold back tears and quell the flood of emotions erupting within him at the sound of that tiny voice.

He spoke!

The child had spoken!

He rose from the couch and ignored Maddie's protestations to stumble over to him.

"Hey?" He said as cheerily as he could, "How about we get you out of these wet cloths and into a bath?"

"I can take care of him Noah. Why don't you rest?" asked Maddie kindly.

"No. I need to do this. Thanks."

He held out his hand and the child took it without hesitation, allowing Noah to lead him down the passageway to the bathroom.

...

(Should I keep uploading this series?)