Chapter 2

3 days later, Stefan comes home. 3 days after that, they have a big ole party for his arrival. They didn't want to scare the poor baby as soon as he came home! Almost a week and they're already used to smelling poop all of the time! Family, friends, everyone was there. Even Ulrich's sister flew in from her college in America. Cousins, Aunts, and Uncles surrounded Ulrich, who was holding Stefan. Finally, having a younger sibling, Ulrich was overprotective, as was Judy with him.

"Uwich! Can I wold him?" His 4-year cousin, Candace, asked.

"No, no, Candace. Your much to young." Ulrich replied, shaking his head.

"But Uwich!" She screamed. She wailed and cried for her mother. Stefan just lay there. He was pretty quiet. Ulrich was learning sign language as fast as he could.

"Ask mommy, okay?" Ulrich said in his best little kid voice. Her mother, Candace's, pulled my mom aside and told her what Candace had said. Ulrich's mother nodded and said something else, but Ulrich couldn't hear it. His mother walked towards him.

"Ulrich," She said. Ulrich looked at her with wide eyes. "Let me hold him." She commanded. Ulrich unwillingly handed him to her. "Come over here." His mom said walking to Ulrich's room, which was surprisingly empty. "Sit down." He sat. "Now, what's the problem?" Ulrich shrugged.

"Nothing." He answered.

"No. Something's up. Tell me." She said. "And I'm not asking, I'm telling."

"Nothing!" He repeated. "And I'm not lying, it's the truth."

"I know he's your only younger sibling, and only brother but your really too overprotective. It's okay to be protective but I'm the parent. I'll do most of the protecting, alright?" Mrs. Stern said, patting Ulrich's leg. Ulrich nodded. He understood, he just didn't want too. "It's okay if Candace holds him."

"But she's just a baby herself, mom!" Ulrich yelled.

"It's not like she'll walk around alone with him! She'll be sitting down, carefully, and supervised. Not by you. C'mon, they drove here all the way from Italy! She probably won't see him for a couple of years." She pleaded. "Go talk to Jacob, he's around your age. He's your cousin and the 2 of you nearly never see each other. They're leaving tonight." Mrs. Stern said. Ulrich gave his mom the we're-not-that-close-in-age-so-please-I-really-don't-want-to-talk-to-that-annoying-kid look. "Go." She commanded. Ulrich sighed and walked towards his 11-year cousin, Jacob. He started up a conversation and Jacob brought up a new topic.

"Have you heard of some stupid 'Lyoko' game?" Jacob asked.

"What? Where'd you hear about that?" Ulrich asked, his heart beating as fast as ever.

"At my school, Kadic Academy. I heard some weird looking blonde boy talking to a freaky pink haired girl about 'Lyoko'. I assume it's a handheld or computer system game." His cousin answered. How would he go to Kadic? He's Candace's brother, they live in Italy.

"You go to Kadic?" Ulrich asked. "You live in Italy!"

"I go to Kadic and visit my parents every couple of weeks. Just like you! I'm a 6th grader. Don't you go to Kadic?" Jacob answered.

"Yeah…" Ulrich replied slowly. He sighed with relief. He thinks it's a game. "Whew…" He thought. "Hey, uh, I gotta go do something. Talk to you later." Ulrich said running to his room to get his mobile. He called Jeremy.

"Jeremy!"

"Hey, congrats on your new baby brother!" Jeremy said. Ulrich hadn't told anyone about his disability except Yumi.

"Oh, yeah, thanks. Hey, this is about Lyoko." Ulrich said out of breath.

"Yeah? Shoot."

"My cousin, Jacob, the one you met awhile ago goes to Kadic. 6th grader, and I didn't know. Anyways, he overheard you and Aelita talking about Lyoko! He doesn't know what it is; he thinks it's a handheld or computer game. But that was close." Ulrich replied.

"Seriously?"

"Yes! Jeremy, if you don't want Lyoko found out by the world, keep it down low! Only you, Aelita, Yumi, Odd, and me know!" Ulrich said. Suddenly, there was a knock on his door. "Hey Jeremy, I got to go. See you!" He hung up. "Come in!"

Ulrich," His mom said carrying the baby, "the doctor just called." Ulrich's eyes widened. "He told us some information about Stefan's condition. He said that it's rare to correct deafness from birth, but in this case it's very likely to be corrected, as said when he was born. He has to go for tests every two weeks, just check-ups. His right ear is slightly better than his left so Stefan can hear little in his right ear. Not much, but they say it's something they can fix. He can hear something like a whisper, soft, but he can hear something." Ulrich smiled as wide as he could. He hugged his mom.

"Really?" He asked, tears welling up. His mom nodded. "Can I hold him for a little?" His mom nodded and handed him to Ulrich. She left the room. He called Yumi.

"Hey, Yumi. How's your week been?" He asked.

"Great. How's Stefan?" Yumi replied.

"That's actually what I called for! The doc called and said that Stefan's right ear was slightly better than the left. He can hear little, it's like a soft whisper." Ulrich said.

"Really? Ulrich, that's great! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks. I haven't told the rest of the gang anything and… I'd really like to keep it that way."

"Yeah, sure. No problem.