By the time George got Daniel back to the camp, they'd had to stop twice for him to throw up in the bushes. George finally snatched him up and ran, eager to get him dry and warm.

Daniel was almost unaware of what was going on around him. All he could do was to run the accident over and over in his head. He could actually hear the snap of the chain. He knew that if he had moved faster, or been bigger, or screamed louder, that his parents would be alive right now. His head pounded, his stomach twisted, and he couldn't breath.

George burst through the door, dropped Daniel on the nearest bunk and dug through his stuff for dry clothes. He got him dried off and into some jeans and a t-shirt before he began checking for other signs of illness. He wasn't feverish. In fact his skin was still cool from the pool. He was pale, but that wasn't too unusual with Daniel.

Daniel lay rigid on the bunk. The more he remembered, the angrier he got. He hated himself. It was his fault. He shouldn't have lived. It would have been better if he had died with them. He began clenching his fists. His muscles felt as though they were rubber bands, stretched to the limit and he had to move or he'd snap. He sat up so quickly that George was startled and jumped back.

Daniel began tearing off the bedding from the bunk, flinging it around the tiny cabin. When he finished the first bed, he turned to another and then another, until all five bunk beds had been stripped. He then began pulling suitcases out from under the bed and tossing them. George stepped in and stopped that; he could hurt one of them or break a window. Furious at having been stopped, Daniel turned on George and began pounding his chest with his fists. George grabbed both of his wrists. "Daniel, you may NOT hurt anyone."

In a frenzy of fury, energy damned up inside, Daniel finally resorted to jumping up and down and screaming. George allowed him to vent for a few minutes. When he knew that the tantrum was winding down, he began talking softly to Daniel.

"Daniel, tell me what you're thinking right now. What is going through that head of yours? Open up to us. Ruby and I love you and we'll do anything to help you not to hurt inside any more." He kept repeating the words in a soothing tone until Daniel just stood still, tears dripping onto his t-shirt.

George pulled him into his lap and cradled him, rocking gently as Daniel allowed tears to flow for the first time since his parents' death. When the sobs finally slowed into hiccups, George brought Daniel's face up to his so Daniel could see his eyes.

"They really are never coming back, are they, George?"

"No, they aren't. Daniel, I want you to understand something." George continued rocking him and rubbing his back. "There is nothing you could ever do that will stop Ruby and I from loving you. We are not your birth parents; no one could ever replace them, but we do love you very much."

Daniel slid his hands up to the sides of George's face so he could feel him speak.

"If you try to block out the pain of their deaths, you'll also block out the happiness and love that they gave you. They don't deserve to be shoved aside and forgotten. Just as you don't deserve to be without their love."

Daniel clung to George for several minutes, until his breathing finally settled and he stopped shaking.

"Okay, son. Let's straighten up this place." George set Daniel to work remaking the bunks after he gathered and sorted the bedding.

George heard Ruby and the girls coming up the path, Rachel bouncing and chattering away as usual. He sent up a quick pray of thanks that he had been blessed with his wife and children. He was aware just how tenuous life could be and he prayed that his family would never experience Daniel's pain due to his premature death.

Rachel burst into the room, then stopped and gaped at the mess. "It looks like the room threw-up!"

Julie giggled and ran to hug her dad.

"We had a little problem." George met Ruby's eyes raised one eyebrow meaningfully. She knew that they'd be having a meeting of the executive branch of the Hammond family later.

XXXXXXXXXX

After lunch, Ruby took the girls to the corral for their first horseback riding lesson. George stayed back in the cabin with Daniel, who hadn't wanted lunch and was still feeling a bit nauseous.

George hunkered down with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, a suspense novel he'd been wanting to read, while Daniel dozed on his bunk. He was about thirty pages into the story when Daniel began to turn restlessly and murmur in his sleep.

"Run! Mom! Dad! I'm coming!" He twisted himself up in the sheet that was covering him.

George froze, unsure about waking him or letting him finish the nightmare and waking on his own. Daniel lurched up and off the bed, collapsing to the floor in the tangle of bedding. George dropped his book, reached down and picked him up, pulling the bunched sheets away from his thrashing legs.

Daniel's eyes were wide open and unseeing, still trapped in his nightmare. George grabbed his shoulders and shook him gently. "Daniel! Wake up!"

Daniel turned his eyes toward George. "Daddy?"

"Daniel, it's George."

Daniel blinked several times and tried to focus on George's face, just inches from his own. "George?"

George gathered him in closer for a hug. "Yes, son - George."

"I had a dream. I saw the accident again. Then Mom and Dad were mummified and they were coming to get me." Daniel grabbed George's shirt, feeling that that shirt was the only grip he had on reality. If he let go, he'd sink forever into his nightmare. "They were making moaning sounds and they smelled really bad. Like milk that sat out too long on a hot day."

George held on until Daniel began relaxing in his arms. "You hungry?"

Daniel nodded.

"Let's go find something for you to eat." George dug Daniel's shoes out from under his bunk. "Maybe we could go to the horse corral and watch the girls ride afterwards."

"I think I'd like to learn to ride, too."

"Then we'd better give you an extra dose of your allergy medicine. I think all that sneezing would scare the horses." George grinned at the boy, who seemed to have moved past his fright.

"Yeah. It scares me when I start sneezing without warning." Daniel grinned back at George

XXXXXXXXXX

George settled Daniel in the saddle, with Ruby and the girls watching on. Jake, the camp's resident horse expert, supervised and told Daniel what to expect. George finished buckling the safety belt around Daniel's waist and patted his protective helmet to be sure it was secure.

"Son, you have a go!" George had always wanted to say that ever since he heard it when he watched the Moon landing from his father's bedside.

Jake took Butterscotch's lead reins and walked Daniel around the corral several times. Julie and Rachel followed on their horses while George and Ruby waited under the welcoming shade of an oak tree.

"So, you want to tell me what happened in the cabin this morning?" Ruby folded her arms and raised one eyebrow at her husband.

George gave her a quick synopsis of the events of Daniel's outburst. "I think it's safe to say he's entering the second phase of grief that we've been warned about – anger. My concern is that he's turning that anger toward himself."

"I remember when Barbara lost her eyesight and she finally got past the denial stage. There wasn't a breakable in the house that was safe from her. Mom finally had to pack Grandma's china and store it in the basement." Ruby snickered at the memory. "But she really scared us. We were never sure that she wouldn't turn and start tossing us against the wall. Poor Dad did a lot of wall painting that winter."

"We'll have to keep an eye on the girls and make sure he doesn't accidentally harm them. I can't imagine Daniel knowingly hurting anyone. He's got such an innate gentleness about him." George sighed as he thought about the difficult road Daniel had ahead of him. "I wish he'd toughen up a bit."

"Just watch them, George." Ruby turned back to the corral. "All three of them seem like such normal kids."

The couple watched as Rachel moved her horse closer to Daniel's. She leaned toward her foster-brother and said something to him. They watched as Daniel turned quickly toward her and began giggling.

George pulled Ruby in for a hug and a quick kiss. "It's good to see him happy, even if it's just for a short time."

"Well, I think eventually those times will be closer together and last longer." Ruby rubbed his back as she leaned against his shoulder, watching the kids. "I thank God daily we took Daniel in. I just wish his grandfather would give permission for us to adopt him."

"In time, Ruby, in time."