Luca was so improved that he was allowed to go back to the gorilla enclosure that day. And for the very first time an ape was able to be returned to its home without having to be chained or sedated first. It was quite a sight, the young silver-back, being escorted home by the little blind girl, with the handlers following close on their heels.

The only minor hiccup was the new handler, Franklin's young trainee, panicking and raising his tranquilizer gun as the oldest female gorilla strutted towards Amanda. Franklin made him lower it, however, then grinned as the new guy stood and watched in awe as the old female embraced and kissed and nuzzled and welcomed Amanda as if she were one of her grandchildren. And many of the other gorillas soon did the same.

"Oh my God," Amanda heard the new guy laugh as Luca, after a brief bit of rough and tumble with some of his same age companions, sauntered back to Amanda and pressed a small bouquet of flowers in to her hand before giving her a huge gorilla hug, lifting her a little off her feet as he hugged her.

Even Franklin was amazed by this.

"Fays got a boyfriend," Franklin lightly teased her as he drove her back to Will's house later that day. "Fay's gotta boyfriend. Fay's gotta boyfriend."

"Shut up," Amanda protested, laughing, and clutching her gift from Luca.

"Sorry, precious. I can't. I promised your brother I'd stand in for him while he was gone. And I'm sure he'd say ... Fays gotta boyfriend."

"He'd get his coconut cracked for it, too," Amanda warned her friend and driver. "But I can't do that while you're driving, can I."

Franklin made two stops, one to get Amanda a real vase for her present, and the other to buy some ice cream and cotton candy.

"All your teeth will fall out if you eat all that," Franklin warned the little girl gravely.

"I'm not gonna eat it all. I'm going to share most of it with Caesar," Amanda told him.

Franklin heaved a heavy sigh.

"What?" Amanda demanded. "Caesar likes ice cream and cotton candy."

But Franklin only tutted.

"I just don't know how I'm gonna do it," he sighed mournfully.

"Do what? Don't be weird, Robbie," Amanda demanded.

"Well, I just don't know how I'm gonna break it to Luca that you've got another boyfriend," Franklin teased. "It's gonna break his heart, you know."

"Oh, shut up, Lewis!" Amanda groaned using her older brother's name in place of Franklin's name and blushed again. She waited until they pulled in to Will's place and Franklin shut off the car before she really planted one elbow in to his ribs.

Caesar bounded out the front door with Charles close behind.

"How's it going, Mr. R," Franklin greeted Charles as Amanda handed a chocolate ice cream cone to Caesar. "This is hours. I'll split the cotton candy with you later this evening, after dinner maybe, okay?"

Caesar nodded and dived in face first to his cone.

"Hey Fay, don't run away yet. Don't forget your boyfriend's present," Franklin reminded her, handing her the few flowers Luca' gave her, now tucked away in a beautiful slim crystal vase that sparkled in the sun.

"Where's the Doc," Franklin asked Charles, who was beaming like a proud grandfather at Amanda and Caesar.

"locked in his office again on a conference call with Jacobs, I think. Want me to get him? He'll love the excuse to hang up."

"No, Mr. R. It's okay. I'll talk to him later." Hey, Buddy!" Franklin called to Caesar who came over and greeted the man warmly. "I can't believe how big you've gotten. You could fit in my hand the first time I ever saw you," Franklin fawned a little over Caesar.

Both kids said goodbye to him and holding hands, they ran together back in to the house.


"Okay, what's wrong," Amanda demanded a short while later. After his initial enthusiasm at her return, Caesar had gotten quieter and more withdrawn. This was marked by how coolly he greeted Caroline on her return home. Usually, Caesar would bound straight in to her arms and hug her, but that evening, he barely touched her hand before running off.

Amanda felt the sudden stab of Caroline's shock and hurt but could not muster too much sympathy for the woman yet.

"They keep fighting even after you leave," Caesar told Amanda, talking about Will and Caroline. "Until Charles made them be quiet, and Caroline go to work. Why doesn't Caroline trust Caesar? Thought she loved Caesar?"

"Oh, Caesar," Amanda cried, flinging her arms around him, and hugging him tightly. "Caroline does love you, Caesar. Believe me, she does."

The young ape huffed. "Caroline thinks Caesar break Amanda," he told her with his thoughts.

She laughed but grew quiet when she realized Caesar meant that literally.

"NO, Caesar. That, uh, that' snot what Caroline is afraid of," Amanda told him, blushing.

Caesar touched her cheek even more gently than usual.

"Caesar not break Amanda," he insisted. "Caesar good with soft things."

"Hey, I'm not all that soft," Amanda protested.

Caesar stroked her hair, put his fingers on the back of her neck, and cupped her cheek. "Soft enough," he said stubbornly.

"She's not afraid that you'll break me exactly, Caesar," Amanda began haltingly. "It's because, well, you know, I'm a girl and you're a boy."

"So," was Caesar's only confused response.

Amanda groaned. She was blushing more now. "Uh, Caesar, you should ask Will about this, okay. I gotta get some homework done. So, you go and ask Will. Alright?"

Once Caesar was gone, Amanda buried her burning face in the flowers Luca had given her. She breathed in their scent, and closed her eyes, relaxing.


"Listen, Buddy, what brought all this up, huh?" Will said, squirming uncomfortably in his chair.

"Caroline won't let Caesar sleep with Amanda because he is not girl," Caesar signed.

Will blanched.

"How'd you know that Caesar?" he whispered, horrified. "Did Caroline tell you?"

"Amanda. She say ask Will," was Caesar's response.

"OH terrific," will muttered.

Will turned fully away from his desk and held out his arms to Caesar. The young chimp climbed up in his Father's lap, something he did not do nearly often enough in Will's opinion, and the scientist hugged him, much like Amanda had hugged him.

"It's like this Caesar," Wil began. "You see, men and women ... OH, no, I can't tell you like that."

He cleared his throat several times, his face going even more red than Amanda's.

"Caesar, when boys and girls get to a certain age, they sometimes ... Oh God, no, not like that." Listen, Buddy, will you go open the door?" Will asked, visibly struggling.

Burning now with curiosity, Caesar got off of Will's lap and opened the office door.

"Dad?" Will leaned towards the door and shouted. "Dad, will you stop what you're doing and get in here fast, please?"


"You and I had a little talk right after Caroline moved in, remember, Caesar," Charles told his Simian grandson.

Caesar nodded.

"And you know that Will and Caroline sleep together, Caesar," Charles said gently sometime later while he and Caesar sat on Charles' bed.

The young ape nodded again.

"And you've seen them on their blanket in the park, right?" Charles went on with a grin.

Again, Caesar nodded his understanding.

"Do you remember why I told you they did that?"

"Love," Caesar signed without hesitation. "Charles say Will and Caroline love. Might make babies together someday-"

With a little screech, the young ape leaped off Charles' bed and stared at him, his eyes widening.

"Caroline ... Caroline think Caesar make baby with Amanda?" he signed shock evident on his face.

The old man heaved a heavy sad sigh.

"I don't think she believes it would ever go quite that far, Caesar," Charles said very gently as he held out his arms to his grandson. "But that is the general idea."

Caesar stood frozen for a moment before going into his grandfather's comforting arms. He put his head on Charles' shoulder and the old man patted his back. The two stayed that way for a long time.


To keep the peace and make Caroline happy, the two youngsters settled down in their own rooms when bedtime came. But this was very short-lived. Just as Caesar was starting to slide into sleep, a heart-stopping scream ripped through the quiet of the night and brought him up and out of his bed in one motion. The noise was coming from Amanda's room.

As Caesar all but tumbled down from his own room and hit the floor at a run, he snarled, hearing Will and Caroline's raised voices. But as he got closer, he realized they weren't really yelling at Amanda. They were just trying to be heard over the sound of her crying and screaming. She kept saying something over and over again.

"Koba! Koba! Koba! He's hurting Koba!"

Caesar narrowly missed colliding with Charles outside of Amanda's door, and the two pushed their way in to the now crowded bedroom. A visibly shaken Will knelt by Amanda's bed, his hands on the little girls' back. Caroline sat holding the shrieking sobbing girl tight in her arms, rocking slowly back and forth, tears sliding down her own cheeks. "Sweetie, can you hear us? Do you want us to call your Mom and Dad?" Caroline was asking in a tremulous voice.

If Amanda did or did not want her parents called, she seemed unable to answer either way as Caesar climbed on to the foot of the bed and moved next to Amanda and Caroline. The young chimpanzee put a hand on Amanda's head and began slowly stroking her hair, making low soothing sounds. The little girl did not stop crying, but she did stop screaming, and no longer sounded like she would tear apart her own insides if she did not stop soon.

"Koba," Amanda whimpered hopelessly. She pulled herself out of Caroline's arms and clung instead of Caesar, who lay down and curled himself around her, hugging her tight.

"C'mon kids," Charles murmured softly. "Let's leave Caesar to it, okay? Will, Caroline, come on now."

After the old man had ushered the other adults out, he bent and kissed Amanda's head and then Caesars.

"We'll be just outside little ones. Just scream if you need us, okay. I know you can do that."

And then Charles left them alone, too, closing the door softly behind him.


It was a long time before Amanda stop crying and even longer before she could speak.

"Who Koba?" Caesar asked. Then he braced himself for an explosion that never came.

"My friend," Amanda answered without hesitation. "My friend and my guide. He used to help me get around, especially outside."

Caesar pondered. He had seen a man walking with a dog in their neighborhood, and the dog seem to be guiding the man. Was that what Amanda meant?

"Where Koba now?" Caesar asked gently. He was afraid she would say 'dead', but what she said next was even worse.

"I don't know," Amanda sniffed. "They took him away from us when I was little."

Caesar was astounded.

"They? Your Mom and Dad?" he asked, trying to understand.

"No. Courts and judges and lawyers," Amanda almost spat out those words. Caesar had never heard her sound so angry and bitter and just plain sad before.

"Why? Why take Amanda's guide."

Immediately, he wished he had not asked because Amanda started to cry again. But it was not as loud or out of control as before. The young chimp only held his friend and waited patiently.

"My fault," Amanda finally whispered. "It was all my fault. I went out when I wasn't supposed to go out. I told Koba to stay, stay at home. I knew the way, but he wouldn't listen. He came anyway, and a man tried to make me go with him. He tried to hurt me and Koba ... Koba ... Koba stopped him. But because Koba hurt that man, hurt him good, they took him away."

Caesar still did not understand why this Koba would be punished for saving Amanda, for doing what was his job? For doing exactly what Caesar would do in his place.

"Who hurt Koba?" Caesar wanted to know. He gently took Amanda's chin and made her face him, though it broke his heart to look in to her tear-streaked face.

"Tommy. It's someone named Tommy. I guess he owns Koba now. He ... He burned Koba's eye out!" Amanda wailed.

Caesar let go of her chin and pulled her in to his arms again.

"I could hear him yelling at Koba, calling him bad names. He hit him too, I think, but then he put a cigarette in Koba's eye and held it there."

Caesar felt a burning feeling deep down in his very blood and his bones. Was this called rage? It even made him forget all about being mad at Caroline.

"Caesar save Koba," the young chimp vowed to Amanda, and to himself. "Caesar find and save Koba. Bring Koba back to Amanda. When Caesar big, he go save Koba. Make Koba and Amanda family again."

Amanda only gave a tearful little laugh. It was obvious that she did not believe him.

But Caesar swore deep in his heart that it would be true. Someday, he would make it true.


AN:

Special thanks to Estrella for all her wonderful PMs that are really making me think.

And hi to my new readers, and especially to my loyal long-suffering readers. :) I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

As always, keep the comments, reviews, votes, ETC coming. It is so appreciated.