It was almost time for Daniel's first American Thanksgiving. His parents had come to New York at the beginning of December, so he'd experienced a white Christmas with his family, but he was curious about this holiday that seemed to have little purpose other than stuffing yourself until you were sick. Seemed like a silly thing to celebrate.

He'd done well in school, as Dr. Tanzi had predicted, learning Braille quickly. He was learning how to use a cane to listen for vibrations bouncing off of objects. He rarely crashed into anything large any more. He had been excited to learn that he could still read maps, one of his favorite things to do with his father. Braille maps had thin wires glued to the outlines of countries, tiny pieces of plastic to mark cities, and different textures to mark the different types of terrain.

He looked forward to his weekends with the Hammonds. He began to think of the girls as his little sisters, even though they were the ones who protected him from teasing from the neighborhood kids. George and Ruby were great. They didn't try to coddle him or expect too much from him. They simply folded him into their family and expected him to behave like a long-time, permanent member of the group.

The only thing he didn't like about school was the three counseling sessions a week he had with Dr. Tanzi because he still wasn't speaking. Everyone seemed to think he could just open his mouth and utter coherent sentences. They didn't understand that every time he had try to say something in the days after the accident, it brought back the accident…when he had yelled at his parents to move as he had run toward them. It hadn't helped. They were still gone. And not, every time he tried to talk, his throat constricted and he couldn't breathe.

That was the biggest reason he was looking forward to the two days off from school. He'd skip one session with Dr. Tanzi. One day when he didn't have to work hard to block the images in his head. One day when he didn't have to wonder why they'd left him on his own. One day when he didn't have to face the fact that it was his fault his parents were gone.

George came to pick him up from school the day before Thanksgiving. Ruby stayed home, baking six pumpkin and four pecan pies to bring to her parents' home the next day. Her two sisters, three brothers and their families were all coming to Grandma Ida's for dinner. Daniel had met most of them, but either one family at a time or all at the park where he didn't feel quite so mobbed by the crowd. His family had been very small by comparison and he was still getting used to the noise that came with a lot of people.

Daniel knew they were planning to fly to Texas for Christmas to be with George's family. He had two younger brothers and only one was married with no children. Daniel figured he could deal with that group much better, but he wasn't looking forward to the plane trip. He'd been on a lot of planes with his parents, but it was the noisy airport that concerned Daniel.

Ruby had only recently been able to get him on a bus. Every time she started to head down the stairway of a subway entrance, he had gone rigid and Ruby hadn't pressed the issue. But George was picking him up and he had already warned Daniel that they would be taking the subway home.

Daniel was waiting for George downstairs, clutching his suitcase of dirty clothes. Amy was also waiting for her parents to come so she sat down on the bench next to him.

"Daniel?"

He groped along the bench until he found her hand and he signed "Yes."

"Are you going to your grandparent's house for dinner?" Amy knew he lived with a foster family but didn't know that he only had Nick, who didn't want him.

No, well, yes. To my foster family's grandparents.

"Big family?"

Yes. Too big.

Amy laughed.

The sound of her laugh startled Daniel and he jerked away from her. He'd heard her laughter many times before; Amy was an outgoing happy child who loved being with other people. He wasn't sure why the sound of his best friend's laughter should affect him. It made him feel warm and comfortable inside, like he had before his accident. He was sitting there, trying to understand his reaction when Amy jumped up.

"I hear my dad! See you next Monday, Daniel! Have a good Thanksgiving holiday."

Daniel raised his hand to wave and suddenly remembered she couldn't see the gesture. He slowly lowered his hand as he heard Amy great her parents with a squeal of excitement.

As soon as Amy left, Daniel heard George walking up the steps. The sound of his steps reminded Daniel of a Sousa march; energetic and rhythmic. He supposed it was the years of military training that contributed to George's measured steps. Daniel stood and waited for George to come to him.

"Ready, son?"

Daniel liked George's soft Texas accent. He was getting pretty good at identifying his classmates' accents. He could even tell what part of New York City many of the kids came from. The Bronx definitely had a different speech pattern than Brooklyn or Manhattan. Daniel considered it a game to try and figure out where people came from.

Daniel nodded and picked up his suitcase, holding out his hand for George to guide him down the steps of the school and to the subway station. Daniel began practicing the deep breathing that Dr. Tanzi had taught him. He counted his steps and pulled air in as deeply as he could as he counted six steps. He held his breath for four counts and then exhaled for eight steps.

He was so focused on breathing and counting that he didn't notice that he had walked down the stairway into the subway until George stopped to let someone pass by. Daniel moved as close to George as he could without seeming too much like he was a wimp. The kids at his school didn't tease him because they were all different in some ways, but he had heard enough to know that being a wimp was a bad thing and something to be avoided.

George looked down at the young boy hanging on his arm and felt a surge of protective feelings and a deepening anger at the grandfather who couldn't be bothered to raise his only grandchild. George squatted down next to Daniel.

"Daniel, as long as you keep hold of my hand, you'll be okay. You trust me, don't you?"

Daniel gripped his guardian's hand even harder, but nodded yes.

George lifted his hand to stroke the mop of blond hair and stood.

"Good. Just stay with me and you'll be fine."

Daniel clung to George and tried to block out the most frightening noises and smells. He tried the deep breathing again, but that just intensified the obnoxious smells, so he decided he could count how many steps it took before he got on the subway car.

One…two…three…four…

Daniel got to 154 when George stopped and told Daniel to take a short step up. Daniel obeyed and found himself inside a car. George led him across the car to two empty seats and they sat.

"I'm very proud of you, son. You faced a fear and worked your way through it."

Daniel opened George's hand and finger signed a question.

Are you ever scared?

"Oh boy, yes! Right after I graduated from the Academy, I was sent to Vietnam for two years. Ruby and I had just gotten married and I hated leaving her after only two weeks of marriage. We both prayed that I'd return healthy. I remember the sound of the jungles, the never ending oppressive wet heat – I thought Texas was hot - and the fear that someone you couldn't see could see you." George realized that he might be giving the boy a little too much information. "I did what I had to do and came home safely. I went again for two more years and just got back about six months before you came to us."

"Daniel, being afraid does not make you a coward. Giving up because of that fear makes you a coward." George drew Daniel in for a hug. "Daniel, you don't give up. I know this past nine months has been full of scary and unknown things for you, but look how much you've learned and how many things you've conquered. More than most adults ever had to. You are going to be a fine man, son."

Thank you.

"You're welcome, Daniel."