Week 14 - UDC 10 - In which Viper is introduced to life with Pete, but not actually Pete himself... yet.

66. Axis

In the hours that he'd taken to go out to Fort Worth Naval Air Station, the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach had only gotten worse. He'd gotten the names of the officers with whom Pete had stayed after getting pulled from Mr. Finney and Miss Lowell's care and while two of them were deployed at present, the third, which had been the final military family Pete had been placed with according to Alan, was not.

Lieutenant Carpenter had genuinely liked him, but Pete hadn't gotten on with his kids as much... and Mike got the feeling as he'd talked to the man that it had been more his kids than Pete. Frequent tussles and disagreements, was the way that Carpenter had put it, with his wife in the middle. It hadn't been prudent to keep him, not with so many apparent ongoing issues.

Would it be worse right now, if he were to take Pete to Miramar, where Duke's name was a more-known entity? It was starting to seem that way.

"Lieutenant Commander?" Carpenter asked as Viper started to walk away, and he looked back at him. "My oldest son is in his JROTC unit at the high school now, and... something about a new kid, recently. It was so sudden that he took note of Pete hanging out fairly often, consistently, with someone other than the honors students. I don't know if that helps you here."

Viper smiled slightly. "I think I've met that kid's parents yesterday, actually. And it does help. Thank you, Lieutenant." It lent a lot more depth to the three different sets of parents of the day before, too. He'd thought it was overkill, but... not in a case like this one.

67. Contour

The man who arrived at his desk that afternoon seemed a bit more settled down than the one who had set out for the base that morning, Alan observed as Mike sat down with a sigh. Then Mike was staring at something over his head and Alan followed his line of sight to... "Oh." He took the picture off the wall and handed it to him.

Mike stared at it, at the image of Pete wearing the aviator jacket that was far too big and very clearly had belonged to his wingman, and wasn't sure what to think. "When was this?"

"A month ago," Alan said calmly. "Pete hadn't seen Miss Lowell and Mr. Finney in three years, so we arranged a reunion in the open at a grocery store."

Mike glanced up at him. "Grocery store?"

Alan shrugged. "It was an idea... only, and he told me this last Friday when he was here for his weekly check-in, Nora apparently took him shopping. A lot. So I was right to arrange a reunion, and not-so-right to do it that way. I didn't stop to think it through, because Pete rarely asks for things, and I wanted to give him something normal. It both did and did not work." He tapped the image of one of the boys, the shorter one not holding a toddler. "You met Bart's parents yesterday, and you'll be meeting Nick tomorrow. Also Nicky and Maggie."

Mike paused. "Nicky and Maggie?"

Alan pointed to one of the toddlers. "You saw Nicky yesterday, when Noah got Frank to bring him into the conference room. Remember Helen's concern about Colic? Nicky had it."

Mike returned his attention to the picture and suddenly realized he'd walked into a situation with multiple facets.

68. Meridian

"Weekly check-in? Isn't that excessive?"

"What would you do in the instance where a kid is emotionally closed off for his own emotional safety, in a situation that can change on a dime, and he's with a foster family that isn't perfect, Mike? The Bradshaws are good for him, but I haven't stepped him down to once a month yet because Pete expects weekly. He needs the routine right now." Alan paused. "Plus, we never know if it's going to be a Uniform Day Nap Attack or not. Haven't had one of those since he's been with the Bradshaws."

Nap attacks? "I'm going to need you to explain that one. Why would he be-"

Alan sighed. "You know how cadets in both the ROTC and the JROTC can get downgraded based on uniform inspections? Pete was being hyper vigilant about his surroundings in order NOT to get downgraded after the third fight he'd been unable to avoid on Uniform Day. I found out by asking Advisor Norling about it, because Pete wouldn't tell me."

"And the hyper vigilance led to nap attacks?"

"Exactly. Also, he's twelve."

All of this went a long way in explaining the three couples from yesterday and certain reactions to his presence.

69. Nadir

"What foster family was he with that had you checking on him like clockwork?"

"Keep asking questions like that and I might make you an honorary Social Worker," Alan said as he stood and moved to open his file cabinet. He rooted through the top drawer for a minute, and then closed the drawer and handed a file to him. "The Tathams. Nice older couple with no kids in the house, because theirs are grown. A bit distant, and a lack of concern regarding first aide, but overall they were good for him. To a point."

Mike tried to hand the file back to him and Alan shook his head. "You didn't need to show me their file-"

"You asked," Alan explained, interrupting him. "...and you care."

Mike was starting to wonder if Alan had spoken to Officer Santos or not. "A police officer said the same thing yesterday at the police station."

"And you also just found out that a friend died, Mike. None of this is easy."

No, none of it was. Certainly not that detail.

70. Zenith

Twenty minutes into Mike arriving back at Social Services, one of Alan's co-workers passed him a note that caused Alan to chuckle. "I wouldn't have been surprised if Nick had managed to come here instead of calling, Frank. Even in the middle of a school day."

Frank shrugged. "I talked him out of it and told him to ask his father later." He looked at Mike with a smile. "You'll find out when you meet him, but that kid? Protective, curious, tolerant, and probably adopted your godson within five minutes of meeting him."

"That so?" Mike set the folder down on Alan's desk and motioned for the note, which Alan handed over with a barely concealed smile. He read it, then chuckled himself. "I'm going to assume you didn't write what he actually said."

"No, I did not." Frank shrugged. "Especially considering that he slipped even deeper into the Tennessean Twang and I barely understood until I managed to calm him down."

The note: What are you all doing that has me tip-toeing around Pete like he's made of glass and inviting Jaime and his girlfriend/fiancé to dinner at Bart's house? If I don't get an explanation, I'm actually telling Pete, regardless of what kind of week we're having!

Mike glanced at Alan. "What kind of week are they having?"

"From talking to Walt this morning? I think Pete had a flashback involving Nora, but I won't know about what, exactly, until I talk to him tomorrow." Alan looked up at Frank, who was frowning. "Or maybe today?"

"Probably would be better if you did," Frank mused.