"Why does he hate me Dodger?" Jamie asked Alan as he and the older boy sat on a couple swings at the city park. They'd had another run in with Robert barely an hour earlier and Robert made a couple of death threats to not only Alan but Jamie too. You know…the usual.
"I wish I knew dude. I've never known older siblings to be so…words can't even describe." Alan said as he held his hands out as if he could grab the word he was searching for out of the air. "I know most sibling relationships have their ups and downs, but I just can't see them being anything short of what I'm used to with my brothers."
"I wish I'd been your brother…" Jamie trailed off softly.
"Hey, none of that Jem. Just because we're not brothers by blood doesn't mean we aren't brothers in spirit. You'll always be a little brother to me." Alan said as he grabbed the chains on the swing he sat on and twisted to lightly kick Jamie's swing to the side. The younger boy made an 'eep' noise at the unexpected movement but he gave back what he got and that resulted in both teens struggling to breath. "Who knows, maybe after I introduce you to my dad – he'll informally adopt you."
Nobody spoke of the elephant in the room, particularly because they weren't in a room to begin with, but eventually the subject was broached. "What's gonna happen to me Dodger? I don't have anyone anymore."
"You've got me and you've got the guys…and Eddy's parents are meeting with your grandparent's lawyer to go over their will. You're gonna be fine and if there is a problem, I'll get my dad involved." Alan said, trying to assuage his friend's worries.
"I just don't want to be taken from you guys…you all make everything I do worth it." Jamie said as he looked down at his feet. He got a really short swing so his feet came nowhere near to touching the ground. Alan on the other hand got the really long swing and had his knees almost up to his shoulders for how low he was to the ground.
"Jamie, an answer please?" Robert's lawyer said as she stood in front of the stand and made a very stern eye contact with the younger boy.
"I'm sorry?" Jamie asked as he tuned back in. He hadn't realized that he'd zoned out in the first place.
"I asked, what is your relationship with Alan Tracy and Fermat Hackenbacker?" Robert's lawyer asked.
"We're close friends." Jamie replied softly.
"And what is your relationship with my client?" She asked.
"He's my older half-brother." Jamie said as he keenly avoided all eye contact with Robert.
"So, Robert is your older brother?" The lawyer asked, seemingly curious. "How much older is Robert than you?"
"He's about two years older than me." Jamie replied.
"And which parent do you belong to, his mom or dad?" Robert's lawyer asked.
"His dad had an affair with my mom and I was the result of that affair. I'm his dad's love child." Jamie said snidely.
"Any idea why Robert had such a low disregard for you?" Robert's lawyer asked to which Jamie couldn't help but to roll his eyes.
"Perhaps because he blames me for taking his dad away? His dad met my mom and they had a one-night stand, as a result she got pregnant with me and our dad wanted to be involved so he left Robert's mom and tried to be there for me. My mom hadn't had much of a desire to be with my dad after learning he'd been married and had a couple kids and she had me on her own." Jamie replied.
"I see." Robert's lawyer said before she turned to Barrett. "Your witness."
Barrett stood then and he moved over slowly until he stood in front of the stand. "When did you meet my clients Fermat and Alan?"
Jamie looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke. "I met them in class. I get pretty decent grades, so I've been able to skip a couple grades. I'm in the same class as Alan and Fermat."
"Skip a couple grades…how old are you again?" Barrett inquired.
"I'm twelve. I'll be thirteen in June." Jamie replied.
"Impressive, so because of our grades you've been allowed to skip grades. And you say you met my clients in class?" Barrett inquired further.
"Yes, sir. I met them, but they didn't try to be my friend until a few days later at lunch." Jamie said.
"Why is that?" Barrett asked.
"I'm a little shy. I don't like talking to people very often." Jamie replied. "They asked if they could sit next to me in class and I ignored them. Then a few days later, I was sitting in the cafeteria when they just came up and sat down with me."
"Ah, so that was that from there on?" Barrett asked softly.
"No, not quite. My dad didn't want me talking to anyone or hanging out with anyone, so he made me eat lunch in his office at the school." Jamie said.
"Now, please remind me who your dad was at the school?" Barrett asked, though he knew the answer.
"He's the former headmaster." Jamie said with a look of disinterest on his face.
"Former? Why is he the former?" Barrett inquired.
"He had a heart attack sometime after the fire and he resigned as the headmaster after the reconstruction of the school is completed." Jamie replied, fingers toying with the end of his tie.
"Do you plan on attending Wharton's again after it's been rebuilt?" Barrett asked as he cast a furtive glance back at Jeff.
"No. I have no intention of it." Jamie whispered.
"And why is that?" Barrett questioned.
"Because, by law I'm not his child. His name was never put on my birth certificate and he took me away after my mom died, kept me from my grandparents." Jamie admitted.
"I can see by looking in your folder, that you've recently been adopted? Is that true?" Barrett asked.
"Yes." Jamie responded, sitting up straighter at the mentions of his family.
"And whom are they? Can you point them out in the courtroom?" Barrett asked to which Jamie pointed behind the Tracy's to Mr. & Mrs. Alexander. They put on the appearance of a power couple. Mrs. Alexander was in a black pencil skirt, her long brown hair hanging over her shoulders and delivering a stark contrast of her off-white blouse while her husband sat beside her in a pressed business suit, his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and dark blond hair slightly greying with age. They both raised their hands to indicate that they were Jamie's adoptive family. "Please state your names please."
"I'm Marnie Alexander." Mrs. Alexander stated as she briefly stood with her husband.
"And I'm Dennis Alexander." Mr. Alexander said as he held his wife's hand.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you also the parents of one of my client's friends that also attended Wharton's?" Barrett asked them.
"Yes, our son Edward was how we met Jamie. He is friends with both Fermat and Alan and was a friend of Jamie's." Mrs. Alexander said before she sat with her husband when Barrett gestured that they could sit.
"Can I ask, why you were adopted?" Barrett asked.
"Well, my mom and stepdad died when I was little and because my biological dad wasn't on my birth certificate – that left me with my grandparents on my mom's side to look after me. They died last year." Jamie said, voice going soft at the mentions of their passing.
"I'm sorry for your loss, can I ask what happened to them?" Barrett inquired.
"Their car got stuck on the tracks when they came to watch a track meet I was in with Eddy, Alan, Fermat and our other friends. A train hit them when they couldn't move the car. Killed them both." Jamie replied, voice choking up at the mentions of how it happened.
"Did you see the accident?" Barrett asked, walking up to the judge when she offered a box of tissues and pulling a few for the young boy on the stand. He handed them to Jamie with a sad yet understanding smile on his face.
Jamie accepted the tissues as a few tears fell. He gave a silent nod in reply. His bottom lip trembled a little before he spoke. "Alan and I both saw that they were stuck on the tracks and tried to run and help them…but when the train sounded the whistle, a few of our team-mates held us back. We watched the train hit them, saw the fire as the car exploded and we watched as firefighters put out the blaze. They couldn't save my grandparents."
The judge leaned over holding the box of tissues to let Jamie grab a few more after he blew his nose on the ones Barrett had given him. He struggled to dry his tears now that they were flowing freely.
"So after your grandparent died?" Barrett asked, not intending to be cold hearted. He was trying to paint a picture using the boy's own words.
"Eddy, who saw the accident also and knew they were my grandparents…went to his parents and asked them if there was anything they could do to help me. All of my friends wanted to help me because since I was an orphan – I didn't have anywhere to go. No family to go to." Jamie said as he offered a smile to the Alexanders. "They contacted my grandparent's lawyer and since I was legally emancipated – which my grandparents allowed, they managed to get the right paperwork put in so that I was in their care legally. They adopted me not long after and now they're my mom and dad, Eddy's my brother." Jamie said with a tearful smile which made Mr. & Mrs. Alexander smile back at their son.
"Do you like living with the Alexanders?" Barrett inquired softly.
"Yes, I like having a family again. It's nice to have someone to love, someone to wish me a good night before bed and to give me a hug when I need it."
"Good." Barrett whispered in reply before he changed gears. "So tell me about the fire, what happened?"
"I was woken up by my friend Todd. I was crashing on his floor and he woke me up when the room started to fill with smoke." Jamie reported.
"Why were you on his floor, I know you told the investigations department but please remind me?" Barrett asked.
Jamie sighed before he began to speak. "You know that mine and Robert's dad was the headmaster of our school, well…he made me sleep in a single room. I didn't have a roommate and I was lonely. I would sneak in after the curfew checks and I'd stay in different dorms a few times a week. The night of the fire, my friend Todd who is also a mutual friend of Fermat and Alan's – extended the offer for me to crash in his room."
"So it was normal for you to break curfew and spend the night at a friend's dorm?" Barrett asked, trying not to paint the picture of a troublesome child but that of a lonely boy.
"My dad was the headmaster. He and none of the dorm parents ever checked my dorm at curfew checks. It became pointless for me to even be there in that room. I started waiting until curfew checks were done and then I'd just go to one of my friend's dorms and they'd have a sleeping beg or a pallet of bedding made up for me." Jamie replied with a slight roll of his eyes. "For a school that claimed to be safer than the walls around Fort Knox, they were pretty lax when it came to security."
"Please…enlighten us." Barrett asked with a flip of his hand.
"Curfew checks happened at 7pm…if I waited until 8pm I could easily walk through the hall and no one would say anything. The cameras in the halls must have been fake, because I never got caught. And I wasn't quiet. I just left my room, shut and locked the door and just went up a few floors or a few doors down to one of my friend's dorms. Todd's room was a few doors down from Alan and Fermat's dorm. I went from the first floor to the fourth floor and nobody said anything, nobody took me back to my room…nothing. So I went to Todd's. We hung out, played a couple computer games on his laptop and talked. Then we went to bed. I slept on the pallet on the floor, while he went to bed." Jamie said.
"And the fire was believed to have started around midnight." Barrett supplied. "And you were asleep?"
'Jamie! Jamie wake up! Come on!'
Jamie opened his eyes at the sudden jarring and he shot up like a rocket out of his pallet which was made up on Todd's single dorm floor. Immediately he doubled over coughing and he buried his face into his pillow trying and struggling to breathe because of the burning smoke.
"Todd?!"
"Yes. Todd woke me up." Jamie said as he remembered the night of the fire.
"We've got to go!" Todd grabbed his young friend under the armpits and hauled him up from the floor. Todd grabbed Jamie's pallet made up of spare blankets and wrapped it around Jamie to protect him before copying with his own blankets.
When both Todd and Jamie were sufficiently covered, they took off running out of their dorm. It was much too high for them to jump; it was exactly four floors down. As they ran, Todd held onto Jamie's hand so he'd know where his friend was during this whole terrifying experience.
"And what happened when you were running? Did you see anything suspicious?" Barrett inquired.
"No, we ran for a few feet when I noticed Alan and Fermat's door wasn't open." Jamie said.
"Objection, if the witness was running for his life…he wouldn't be taking notice of his surroundings. He'd be running for his life." Robert's lawyer spoke up.
"Overruled…continue counselor." Judge Somers said before she looked to Jamie. "Continue young man."
"I stopped when I noticed their door was still closed…then I tried to open their door." Jamie explained before holding up his hand. "That's how I got these."
Feeling his heart leap into his throat, Jamie began pounding on the door. "Alan! Fermat! Answer me!"
Todd tried to pull his friend away from the door which was practically nothing but a wall of flame anyway, but Jamie yanked his arm free and resumed pounding on the door.
"Alan! ALAN!" Jamie's voice rose an octave as he screamed out the name of one of his very best friends. "Fermat! Please answer me!"
Todd watched as Jamie disregarded his own safety and grabbed the red hot doorknob before pulling away with a scream of pain. Todd attempted shouldering the door, but found the door wouldn't budge before he tried using the blanket to grip the doorknob. He too yanked his hand back with a cry.
"We couldn't get the door open and after we tried for a few moments, Todd felt it was too dangerous for us and he pulled me away. They were still in there though. And they almost died." Jamie said as his voice became quieter. "Todd was afraid we'd be killed if we didn't get out of there."
"I could understand his reasoning." Barrett commented before Jamie continued with his explanation.
"We ran out into the snow and rolled around in it for a few minutes." Jamie continued before he offered the court a sad smile. "You never realize how much you appreciate the snow until it's the only thing keeping you cool during a fire that makes it damn near impossible to breathe."
The crowd began murmuring lowly and Judge Somers had to shush them before she could continue with the testimony.
"Did you notice anything about that night that stood out to you?" Barrett inquired of the young boy.
Jamie remained quiet for a few moments until something occurred to him. He distinctly remembered seeing Robert scowling at him when he was picked up by one of the firefighters.
"Robert…" Jamie started.
"Objection, implication of my client without just cause." Robert's lawyer said before she was interrupted.
"Overruled." Judge Somers said with a roll of her eyes. "Please continue Mr. Mueller."
"Jamie, what do you remember about Robert?" Barrett questioned lightly.
"He looked unhappy when I escaped the fire. Like he was hoping I wouldn't make it out." Jamie commented with a whisper.
"And did you by any chance try to approach him on that?" Barrett questioned with a sly look.
"No way…he's already tried to strangle me once and threatened to hurt me and my friends. Why would I want to willingly sacrifice my life to have a couple questions answered?" Jamie replied. "I'd much rather be in the company of my other brother and friends."
"I see. So, care to go into further detail on the rest of the rescue?" Barrett asked lightly.
"After Todd and I were taken to one of the waiting ambulances, the Thunderbirds came to help with the fire. And then they escaped…Alan and Fermat. They were badly burned. The Thunderbirds took them to the hospital since they possessed a quicker means of travel as opposed to an ambulance." Jamie said. "I wish I could forget…but I can't. I'll never forget, never."
"What can't you forget?" Barrett asked.
Jamie raised his hands and covered his ears as though he could hear whatever it was that he claimed he'd never be able to forget. Barrett came closer and he tilted his head in concern to Jamie. "What is it Jamie?"
"Their screams." Jamie said as he covered his mouth to stifle the panicked sobs as he was once more haunted by the sounds of their screams. "They came out of the school, and their screams…I'll never be able to un-hear their screams and cries of pain."
"It'll be okay son." Barrett tried to comfort him.
"Can I please go?" Jamie asked as he continued to stifle sobs.
Barrett looked to the judge and she nodded her head, granting permission for Jamie to leave the stand.
"Yes you may." Barrett said to which Jamie rushed from the stand and it became a big courtroom spectacle when Marnie Alexander stood up and Jamie ran straight into her arms. Dennis stood too and both Marnie and Dennis escorted Jamie from the courtroom, making shushing sounds as they tried to comfort the young boy. Jeff, Scott, Gordon. Virgil and John were each sat in silence before the judge called an additional recess.
Jeff didn't wait for very long before he stood and Scott hurried to catch up with his dad. Jeff left the courtroom and walked at a brisk pace until he found the office which Barrett had designated as their office for the time being. Giving a single knock on the door, Jeff opened the door and slipped inside to where Marnie and Dennis were working on calming Jamie down. Jeff took a step forward and opened his own arms to Jamie before the young boy ran forward and hugged Jeff tightly. Jeff rubbed Jamie's back and hugged him back with whispers of "I'm sorry".
Scott and his brothers filed in, absolute silence their only company as Jeff worked to comfort the young boy.
"I'm so sorry Jamie." Jeff whispered softly before he pulled away to look at the young boy. "I wanted to thank you for going up there and testifying though. I don't know quite how to repay you though."
Scott cleared his throat to get his dad's attention and when Jeff looked back Scott mouthed to his dad silently one way to repay Jamie. Jeff nodded at that before he looked back down at Jamie. He could see the young boy was grateful for the comfort. Looking toward Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, Jeff communicated silently to them his intentions. They nodded at the idea and they remained quiet while Jamie took his comfort from Jeff.
Barrett called them back in after a few minutes and Jamie requested to stay in the office by himself, which was allowed. They all returned to the courtroom, each one giving Jamie a smile as they left.
Once back in the courtroom, Judge Somers announced that they were going to call it a day and they were going to pick back up the following day. Barrett nodded to the judge and waited until she left the courtroom to go back to Jeff and his sons. They all walked out of the courtroom, returning back to the office where they left Jamie to sit and gather his composure.
Jeff looked to Mr. and Mrs. Alexander before he started to speak.
"Would it be okay if my sons and I took Jamie to go see Alan and Fermat in the hospital?" Jeff asked as he, Marnie and Dennis walked ahead, leading their ragtag group towards the office.
Marnie and Dennis looked at each other before they nodded.
"That'd be okay, I think seeing Alan and Fermat would make Jamie feel better. He's been so worried about them." Marnie replied as she turned to smile at Jeff. "If you or one of your sons will bring Jamie back to our house before his curfew, that'd be just fine with us."
"We can do that." Jeff replied before he opened the door and offered a smile to the pre-teen. "Hey Jamie, want to come with me and go visit someone?"
"Who?" Jamie asked, not realizing who Jeff was talking about.
"He's talking about taking you to see Alan." Gordon chimed in. To see the light come up on Jamie's face was a real treat especially after seeing how broken he'd been barely an hour earlier.
"What?" Jamie asked as his eyes came alight with excitement.
"Come on kiddo, I think a surprise is in order." Jeff said as he gestured to Jamie to come along.
"Mom? Dad? Can I?" Jamie asked, trying to utilize the puppy pout that he'd seen Alan use before on their friends.
"We've already given our permission to Mr. Tracy. Either he or one of his sons will be bringing you back to the house before your curfew." Marnie said with a smile that she turned to Dennis. "Go on sweetie."
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Jamie replied excitedly before he practically skipped over to the Tracy family. Jeff placed a hand on Jamie's shoulder and directed him in front of him.
"Don't forget to wear your seatbelt! And be careful with Alan, don't squeeze him to hard! I know you'll be excited, but remember to be gentle!" Marnie called before the office door swung shut.
"I will!" Jamie called back before he walked along with the Tracy family. He kind of looked askance to Lady Penelope and he smiled with a light blush when she smiled at him first.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Jamie practically vibrated with nervous energy as he sat in the backseat beside Gordon. The older man was on the left hand side, near the window – keeping Jamie in the middle beside Virgil while John sat directly behind them in the very back of the back seat.
"So Jamie, when we get to the hospital – I don't want to tell the doctors or nurses that you aren't related to Alan. He's still not allowed to have any outside contact with anyone that isn't specifically family." Jeff advised to which caused Jamie to go still with a frown.
"I don't want to get you in trouble Mr. Tracy." Jamie said with a sad look on his face.
"You won't. We're just going to keep up the charade that you are Alan's cousin and that you wanted to see him." Jeff advised.
"But…what do I call you? Do I continue calling you Mr. Tracy or do I call you something else?" Jamie asked with a pale color taking on his features.
"What do you think…Uncle Jeff?" Virgil asked with all due respect and a wry smile.
"You can call me Uncle Jeff if you're comfortable with it. I don't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable Jamie." Jeff said as he glanced quickly over his shoulder to look at Jamie.
"It's okay Mr. Tracy. I can call you Uncle Jeff." Jamie said as he gazed out the window at the scenery. He never imagined he'd ever have a chance to ride around with Jeff Tracy, Eddy and the rest of the boys would be jealous especially since they'd been begging Alan to let them meet the famed Jeff Tracy.
Mr. Tracy, though a big household name really wasn't any different from the average person. Sure he had a lot of money, but Jamie didn't feel like that made Mr. Tracy any different.
"Mr. Tracy?" Jamie asked.
"Yes Jamie?" Jeff asked back keeping his attention on the road.
"When Alan is out of the hospital, will you let him come back to school?" Jamie asked. He didn't give notice to any of Alan's brothers that went silent at the mention of Alan going to school.
Jeff was silent as he gave thought to it before he spoke up.
"Jamie, I know you only understand the loss of a parent and loss of grandparents…but you'll understand it one day when I say that to come so close to losing my youngest son is a risk I'd rather not take again. I'd rather not permit Alan to return to the mainland in order to take classes again, but Alan is fifteen. He's old enough to make his own decisions. If he decides he wants to take classes back on the mainland, I'll make sure someone stays with him and he can stay in our family apartment." Jeff commented softly.
"Okay." Jamie replied, suddenly feeling like he over stepped his boundaries.
"Now Jamie, when we get to the hospital…you'll need to get an admission bracelet so that you can come in to see Alan. They won't let you in without it. Then we'll see about getting you into some scrubs to let you in so you can see Alan and Fermat. I know they'll be happy to see you." Jeff said as they took the turn that would take them to the hospital before turning into the hospital parking lot. Jeff did however take notice of the hordes of police lingering in the area and patients being moved from emergency transportation vehicles. "What in the…?"
Pulling up, Jeff rolled a window down when a cop gestured he do so.
"What's going on here officer?" Jeff asked as he felt his own blood pressure begin to rise.
"We did a sweep of the premises after receiving threats to a few of our patients and uncovered a concealed pipe bomb. We had the entire facility evacuated to be safe until we could make sure there wasn't any additional threat made." The officer said as he began trying to stall the vehicle from entering any further. "What business do you have here?"
"I was bringing my sons to visit their brother." Jeff said before he looked out toward the facility. "Where is my son?"
"Sir, we've gotten the all clear and we're bringing each of the patients back in." The officer said. "I'm sure your son is being brought back in shortly if not already getting set back up in his room."
"Oh my god." Jeff said as he covered his mouth in shock before he shook himself of the nerves. "When can I see him?"
"You can see him as soon as we've received word that he's back in his room. Can you tell me who your son is?" The officer asked.
"My son is Alan Tracy…he's up in the pediatric burn unit." Jeff said as he pulled out his wallet to show his ID to prove who he was to the officer.
The officer stepped away for a moment to talk into his radio to get information on the whereabouts of Alan and when he returned he shook his head.
"According to the boss, Alan is still at the secret location. Same as his roommate." The officer said before offering a sad smile to the vehicle of worried family. "I'll notify my captain to let them know there is family waiting to see them, but I can't let you past this point. I'm sorry."
"Can I ask, who was being targeted?" Jeff asked, swallowing as he feared the worst.
"I can't say, unfortunately there is a large case ongoing that is high profile but is being kept undisclosed except to those directly involved." The officer said. He waved the large vehicle over to a parking place to answer questions to someone else that pulled in behind Jeff. Sitting in worried silence, Jeff hoped and prayed it wasn't what he was thinking.
"Dad, you don't think Alan and Fermat are in danger here…do you?" Scott asked as he felt the worry creeping up on him and hanging over him like a dark cloud. Nobody else spoke for a long time, simply sitting in absolute silence. They couldn't have been there for any longer than a half an hour when suddenly there was a knock on the window and Jeff was rolling said window down to talk to the police chief.
"Yes officer?" Jeff asked as every question any worried parent thought of flitted erratically through his brain.
"You Jefferson Tracy?" The police chief asked as he stood up straight and tall.
"Yes, sir I am." Jeff pulled his ID from his pocket and showed it to the officer that stood before him.
"I have some information regarding your son, Alan who was in Pediatric Ward C – section burn unit." The police chief said.
"Yes, what can you tell me? Is he alright?" Jeff asked before remembering that Fermat was also back with Alan. "What about his roommate Fermat? And my mother?"
Now that he'd thought about it for a few moments, he realized that his mother would have been evacuated with Alan and Fermat considering she'd gone to visit them and keep them company during the testimony of Jamie today.
"Your son is fine sir, as for his roommate unless you are a guardian of his or his father is present I cannot disclose that information. Your mother, she was taken with your son to an unspecified location for their safety."
"Their safety? Was my son the target?" Jeff asked as he began to worry. "We're currently fighting a legal battle against the person believed to have started the fire at the school and he had a bone to pick with my son."
"I cannot definitively say sir, but we have reason to believe your son was the primary target this afternoon. The pipe bomb was located on the same floor in one of the emergency exits as your son's burn unit. Officer Pellegrini and his arson dog discovered the threat and took immediate action to have it dealt with." The police chief said. "Medical transport just brought your son back and they're getting him set up in his room now as we speak. You can go to the front desk to be checked in. The hospital is tightening security until we're positive the threat has been eliminated."
"Thank you officer." Jeff said before he turned to the boys. "Come on boys, let's go see Alan, make sure he's okay."
Scott, John, Virgil and Gordon eagerly exited the vehicle but none more eager than Jamie. It'd been a long, long time since Jamie had seen Alan in person – since the night of the fire to be exact. Sure Jamie had talked with Alan and Fermat over web cam, but that didn't mean it assuaged his fears that Alan was going to simply disappear if he blinked at the exact wrong time. Walking in with the Tracy family, Jamie tried to stick to the plan. He called Mr. Tracy his uncle Jeff and let Jeff lie through his teeth to get Jamie in to see Alan and once they'd gained the clearance they made their way up to the floor that Alan and Fermat were on. This was it, he was going to finally see Alan after many long months.
A/N: Hello from my corner of the Earth - sorry I've been virtually non-existent lately. I've been working long hours and trying to divide my time between working, homework, and writing. It's coming along, but I'm also working on a requested story for another of my readers and I've been trying to finish that puppy up. I am excited to say I've gotten a story written for Halloween also - just as an FYI, to keep your eyes peeled for the story "Near Death Ex-FEAR-ience" This will hopefully also appeal to SPN fans which I'm also a fan of - I dreamed up a crossover story and was surprised to finish it in less than a month. I'm still editing it, but I'll be posting it around the last week of October for Halloween. I'm currently working on another chapter for Never Look Back - Belonging and just felt an increasing urge to write today, I'll post a warning for that chapter though - it may be triggering when I post it because it describes some of the abuse Alan faced in brief and pretty vague descriptions.
Thank you to all who have been favoriting and following my stories and an even bigger thank you to my followers for tolerating my bouts of absence. A writer's work is never finished!
Look forward to the update on Never Look Back - Belonging on Thursday.
Also, I came up with some ideas for grant names in Never Look Back - Belonging, please go to my account page to participate in the Poll, I haven't yet selected a close date, but I'll announce it on Thursday when I post the chapter for Never Look Back - Belonging. You can vote twice in the poll, so pick your favorites and I'll go from there! =)
Thanks again!
Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010