Author's notes – Hey, I forgot to mention in the first part, but Rachel so gave me the idea for this story. I'm a bad puppy for forgetting to mention that before.

Summary – The kids are worried about Tommy.

-o-

'The Plan'

Trent

-o-

"Why are you all so concerned with Tommy and Mercer?" Picking up the glasses and tossing them into the small sink behind the bar to be cleaned, Hayley doesn't look too happy with us. "They've had a very rocky past and you all are just asking for trouble with bringing it up."

"We're just trying to help." Ow, okay no need to break a rib, Kira. Giving my girlfriend a bit of a look, I don't see how elbowing me in the side was called for. If anything maybe Hayley can help us.

"If you want to help, I'd advise you to leave those two alone. Tommy isn't overly fond of your dad, Trent. He has a hard time trusting people and making friends and Mercer hurt him pretty badly."

"But I know he's sorry. If they'd just sit down and talk, maybe they could be…you know, together again."

"Together?" Laughing and starting the water in the sink, she looks very amused at my choice of wording. "You make it sound like they were a couple or something." Um, weren't they? I mean, I'll admit I'm not that good at understanding this whole gay thing, but not too many guys have boxes full of pictures of their male friends, right? I mean not unless there was something more going on.

"So they weren't?" Hey, Kira, why aren't you elbowing Connor there?

"What? Are you all serious?" Giving us an unbelieving look, Hayley doesn't seem to share in our view of the two men. "You guys, there was never any…well, not exactly anything with…it's just…well they're not even gay as far as I know. So I doubt there was something between them." Ah, as far as you know, but dad is a very private person and maybe Dr. O didn't want to announce he was with him or something. So maybe we are right.

"Yeah but Mercer isn't exactly a public person, right? I mean maybe they just hid it. Maybe he asked Dr. O not to tell anyone because he was afraid it'd be some big scandal. After all he did say he was an intern when they met, and they are a few years apart." See, I think Ethan has a point. Dad has an image to uphold and sleeping with an intern who used to race bikes and get into fights probably wasn't his idea of good publicity.

"Well, maybe it's possible, but…" Suddenly pausing, she glances back at us suspiciously. "Why are you all even interested in this anyways?"

"No reason." Alright, perhaps all of us answering at the same time wasn't the best way to get her suspicions down.

Heaving a sigh and giving up on the dishes, she leans on the counter like a woman on a mission. "Kids, listen to me, and listen carefully. I don't know what you are planning, or thinking about planning, but don't do it." Holding up a hand when we go to interrupt, she isn't letting up. "No, now Tommy has been my best friend for the past six years, he's a good guy, and he has enough problems with relationships as it is, so whatever you all are thinking of doing to him or for him, don't. It'll only lead to trouble."

Sliding off her seat, Connor holds up his hands in a sign of surrender. "We're not going to do anything Hayley. If you say they weren't dating then they weren't dating."

"Good."

-oooooo-

"So what are we going to do?" Leaning against the outside wall of the café and looking at us expectantly, Connor apparently follows the belief that having your fingers crossed means immunity from prosecution. "I mean it's obvious they were together, so what should we do?"

"I didn't realize you were such a romantic." Laughing as Connor pulls a face at her wording, Kira is pressing her luck today.

"I'm not. I just think it sucks that Dr. O is all alone and miserable, when he has a chance to be happy. Come on, we're going to be in college next year and then what'll he do? We're like the only thing making his life fun right now and when we're gone, he'll just hang around Hayley or by himself watching bad horror movies and buying cats." Cats?

"Um, why cats?" Yeah wondering that myself.

Giving us an exasperated look, he apparently knows something we don't. "Duh, all lonely people buy cats. It's like the requirement for being alone and pitiful." I was not aware of this. Hey, my dad isn't seeing anyone and he doesn't have cats. Also noticing that he left dad out of his concerned reasoning, though guess I can't blame him, his alter ego did nearly kill us all.

"Riiiight. You know you really gotta stop watching those soap operas, Connor." This from the guy who watches Star Trek.

"Look, we're getting off track here, we need a plan if we're going to help anyone." Plus I have to get back home. I'm supposed to be spending some quality time with him before he gets swamped with new business deals and problems, and instead I take off this morning to come hatch a matchmaking plan with the group.

"Well what if we just ask them to meet somewhere and talk. I mean Dr. O didn't seem too interested in that idea, but maybe you could talk to your dad." Doubt it Kira, dad's even more closed off about feelings then Tommy.

"I don't think so. Every time I bring him up, dad just changes the subject. If I hadn't found all those pictures in his closet a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have even brought this matter up to you guys." That was an interesting afternoon. Went searching for a dress shirt to wear so I could take Kira out to a nice place to eat and instead find a box full of old pictures of them at dig sites, on trips, and even around the house.

"So they're both just being stubborn then?" Maybe. I mean you said he had pictures of them together in the lair too, so kind of looks that way.

"Looks that way." Sighing and waiting for one of them to make a suggestion, it doesn't look like it's not going to happen. Fine, I'll make the plan. "So since neither of them is going to admit that they miss the other, looks like we'll have to trick them into being in the same place together so they can finally talk things out." Not an easy task when Dr. O won't come to the mansion and dad won't leave it.

"Preferable some place that they won't make a scene." That too. Dad isn't one for yelling, but I have heard Dr. O once or twice when mad and it's not a pleasant experience. "Or kill us."

"Well what about a restaurant? That's sort of a date like setting, and public, all we need is to figure out how to get them both there and make sure they don't leave." Well that is one of the perks of being the son of a very powerful man.

"That's not a problem, all I have to do is throw around some names, mention it's my dad that's coming there and they'll do what we ask them to. Don't ask how I know that okay, it's not something I'm looking forward to doing, but it's for a good cause so I guess I can make an exception this once."

"Alright. That just leaves the little matter of getting them there." That shouldn't be too much of a problem either.

"Don't worry about it. I'll tell dad I want to go out to eat, it won't take much to convince him. Then we can just tell Dr. O the same thing." See easy.

"It may work on your dad, but Dr. O is another matter entirely. He doesn't go out to restaurants, well not the type we need to send them too. He'll wanna know why we want to go there, and most likely try to change our minds saying how we should just get some pizza and go watch some movies back at his place." Damn, Connor's right. This is always so much easier in the movies.

"Well, we could say that we want to thank him. For you know being such a big help and keeping us alive this year. Plus we could say we want to go some place fancy so we can all dress up and you know be adultish for a change." He's so going to argue for pizza.

"He's going to see right through this." Head in hands, Kira seems to be thinking along the same lines as myself. "He'll tell us he doesn't want a fancy dinner, argue for pizza and then we'll be right back where we started. I don't suppose your dad would want to go to Pizza Hut would he?" Oh yeah that won't rouse suspicion.

"I think we have a better chance of getting Dr. O to the restaurant. We could tell him we heard a bunch of other kids talking about it and saying how great it was, and um, well we want to go there, but we don't think they'd let us in because we're teenagers?" God that's no better. You know this would be so much easier if dad was in on this, he'd know how to trick someone…note to self don't say that out loud or in the presence of Tommy.

Sighing and looking up at the sky, Connor seems ready to get on with it. Maybe he really is a romantic deep down. Or maybe all those lame soap operas finally got to him. "Maybe we could combine the two." Probably our best bet.

"Sounds like our best bet." Looking to Ethan who nods in agreement, she then turns to me. Sure, why not.

"Okay then, I'll go talk to my dad and you guys head over to Dr. O's place."

"Guys just a thought but um, what if we're wrong? I mean what if we do all this and then find out they really weren't together? We could get killed." Hmm, he does have a point.

"Come on, even if we are wrong, which were not, Dr. O won't kill us. And Trent's Mercer's son, he won't kill him and his friends out of fear of a scandal." That's what you think. I still remember some reporter that got on his bad side and was last seen in a labor camp someplace outside Guatemala.

"I'm not talking about them, I'm talking abut Hayley."

To be continued………