Woohoo! 8D Took 6 months to update, didn't it? YAY! 8D

Never Go Home Again
Chapter 4: Just a Phase

Mommy was crying. She shook her head at the cop and turned slightly. Her eyes widened when she saw Zach. "Zach!" She called loudly. She shifted Gray against her chest and ran down the steps towards him.

Owen stepped away from Zach, getting out of her way.

She bent down and grabbed Zach. She hugged him against her and Gray, tears down her face. "Where were you? Where'd go?"

"Daddy forgot me..." Zach said.

She pulled back and nodded. "Your teacher called. I was going to come get you. And then she called back and said you were gone!"

Zach didn't understand why she was so upset. "Owen walked me home." He said.

She blinked and shook her head. "Who?"

"My friend Owen." Zach answered. "Daddy said he can come over and play."

She opened her mouth. Then shook her head and pointed towards the house. "Just get inside."

"Owen too?" Zach asked hopefully.

"Just get inside!" She repeated, a little louder. "Upstairs to your room, now!" She stood up and shifted the baby again. "I need to talk to the police officer." She turned.

Zach looked back at Owen and waved at him.

Owen stepped closer to him and shook his head. "I think I should go..." The teenager started to say.

"No!" Zach said quickly.

"Zach, get inside!" His mom snapped. "Now!"

Zach reached out and grabbed Owen's hand. "You'll get lost again." He whispered and then preceded to tug Owen towards the house. Owen glanced back but followed along after Zach. The kid's mom wasn't stopping him. And Zach's dad said he could. Zach pulled him through the door and stopped just in the entrance way. Zach quickly sat down and started untying his shoes. "Shoes go here." Zach said pointing at the mat near the door. Then he stood back up.

Owen glanced down at his feet. "Not wearing shoes."

"Oh." Zach glanced down as well. Then looked back up at Owen and smiled. Then grabbed his hand again. "Okay. Come on." Zach tugged him through the house. Though the living room and up the stairs. He didn't let go of Owen's hand until they were in the kid's bedroom. Zach pulled off his backpack and threw it on his bed. "We can play now."

Owen glanced around the room. The walls were painted light blue. There were Spiderman curtains hanging on the window and the bed was covered with Spiderman, too. Legos and toys littered the floor. Owen smiled as he looked around.

"This is my bed." Zach said, pointing at it. "And this is my dresser and I got a lamp. And my books are over here. I can't read very well. But here!" He pulled a book out and showed it to Owen. "This is Nemo." He pointed at the orange fish on the cover. Then flipped it open and pointed at a blue fish. "This is you, Dory."

Owen smiled at that. And then Zach sped around the whole room, showing Owen his favorite toys and his favorite shirt and the stuffed animal his grandma bought him last Christmas and his remote control car. The kid suddenly had more energy than the energizer bunny. And it was cute.

"Zach!"

Zach was half laying in his toybox, rooting around for his Doc Ock action figure. He stopped when he heard his mother's voice. He rolled out and quickly starting throwing toys back in. "We're in my room."

Owen immediately dropped to the floor and helped the kid.

"We?"

Zach popped out into the hall and nodded his head, smiling wide. "Me and Owen."

Mommy frowned and opened her mouth slowly. "Who... is Owen?"

"My friend." Zach said with a smile. "Daddy said he could come over. Daddy was gonna call his parents but Owen doesn't remember his parents. He's got Dory Disease."

She blinked at him. "Zach..." She sighed and shook her head. Then she followed him in.

"This is my friend Owen." Zach turned to smile at Owen. "Owen, this is my mommy and my brother Gray."

Owen smiled and stood up quickly. "Hi." He said, trying to not sound so awkward.

She sighed again. "Zach, I don't have time for your games. I need to talk to you about what you did. It was very serious. You can't do it again."

Zach frowned and shook his head. "But daddy knows Owen. He said..."

She held up her hand. "Zach, stop it."

"Karen!"

She turned and glanced at the door. Then back at Zach. She lifted her hand to point at him. "You stay right here and don't move!" She said. "I'm going to talk to your father." She turned and walked out of the room.

Zach frowned and looked at the floor. He didn't understand why mommy was so mad. Why did she yell at him? He hadn't done anything wrong. Daddy said Owen could play!

"Hey." Owen said softly. He moved closer and sat down beside Zach on the floor. "It's okay."

Zach sniffed and rubbed at his eyes. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Then there were footsteps in the hall. Owen stood up immediately and stepped to the side of the room. He didn't want to get in the way.

Scott walked into the room, stepping past the teenager. He crossed his arms as he stood over Zach. The kid looked so miserable. Scott let out a sigh and dropped his arms. "Zach." He said softly. He sat down on the floor across from Zach and sighed. "Zach." He repeated. "Look at me, son."

Zach looked up slowly, still looking miserable and confused.

"Do you know why you're in trouble?" Scott asked softly.

Zach nodded his head. "I left school."

"Yes." Scott said, nodding his head. "Why was that wrong?"

Zach shrugged and looked at the floor.

"Zach."

Zach let out a loud sigh. "You were late and mommy has the dumb baby and he just cries and I don't like sitting next to him in the car!" He said loudly, all in one breath.

Scott frowned and shook his head. "Zach, don't call your brother dumb..."

"Well he is!" Zach snapped. "All he does is cry! And you said Owen could come over and Owen was at the school and I asked him to walk me home and he did and you said it was okay!"

Scott frowned again and tilted his head for a moment. He opened his mouth slowly. "Zach... I thought Owen was a friend from school."

Zach shook his head quickly. "No. Owen's too big for my school."

Scott paused again. "How old is Owen?"

"15."

Scott shook his head. "You can't be friends with someone that old."

Zach's mouth fell open. "You said I could! You said he could come over."

Owen shrank back as they talked. He glanced at the door and then back at Zach. When the kid wasn't looking at him, he slowly stepped towards the door. He didn't want to get Zach in trouble.

"No!" Zach said loudly, jumping up. "No, Owen, you can't go!"

Scott frowned. He looked behind him, where Zach was looking. Then he turned back around slowly. "Zach..."

"Dad! Please!" Zach begged. "He has Dory disease!"

Scott looked even more confused. He held up his hands and shook his head. "Zach, sit back down."

"Please, dad!" Zach repeated again. "He'll forget again and get lost again."

"Zach!" Scott said his name loudly. "Calm down..."

"Dad! Tell Owen he can stay!" Zach sounded desperate.

"Fine!" Scott said loudly. "Just sit back down and Owen can stay."

Zach smiled and looked at Owen. He waved his arms. "Come back in!"

Owen hesitated, hovering in the door. "I should go..."

"No!" Zach whined. "You have to stay!"

Owen bit his lip and glanced at Scott. But the man had said he could. He stepped back into the room and sat down in the corner. He didn't want to be in the way.

Scott watched his some for a few moments. The kid was happily staring off at nothing. "Zach..." He started slowly. "Owen is... here now?"

Zach smiled and nodded.

Scott nodded and was quiet for a moment. Then he leaned forward slightly. "Zach, tell me more about Owen."

"He likes blue and Spiderman." Zach was still smiling as he talked. "And he has a brother named Peter but he forgets."

Owen frowned slightly and looked at the floor.

"But it's okay." Zach said, smiling at Owen. "I hafta remember his brother for him. Cuz he's gots Dory disease."

"Dory..." Scott repeated the name.

Zach nodded again. "From the fish movie."

Scott nodded slowly. "Where did you meet him?"

"At the hospital." Zach answered. "When you and mommy were getting Gray."

Scott frowned slightly and tilted his head. "The night your brother was born?"

Zach nodded again and looked at the floor. "I was gonna run away."

Scott's eyes widened. "Zach!"

"I didn't want a dumb brother." Zach mumbled. "And was gonna run away. And Owen said not to, because brothers can be good."

Scott smiled tightly and nodded. "Yes, they can be." He reached out and ruffled Zach's hair and the kid smiled up at him. "Okay, Zach. I'm going to go check on your mom and brother. You... and Owen... stay in here and... do your homework, alright?"

Zach smiled and nodded his head. "Okay! Thanks dad!" He hopped up and turned towards his bed. He reached for his backpack and pulled it towards him. "Owen, can you help me?"

Scott watched his son for a moment longer. Then he stood up and walked out into the hall. "Karen?" He called out his wife's name.

"Kitchen."

Scott followed her voice and stepped into the kitchen. Gray was asleep in his swing, rocking gently. Karen was leaning over the sink, scrubbing a pan with more effort than needed. Scott sighed as he walked up behind her. He grabbed her arm, trying to still her movements.

Karen stopped. She dropped the scrub brush in the sink and turned around. She let out a sigh and leaned back against the counter. "Is he okay?" She asked softly.

Scott smiled and nodded. He briefly told her about the few times he'd talked with Zach about Owen before and about what he'd just learned. "Karen, it's a phase." He said softly. "He'll grow out of it."

Karen glanced away, looking over at Gray. "Are you sure?"

"He has an imaginary friend." Scott said with a shrug. "That he met the day Gray was born. It's his subconscious trying to deal with the situation of being replaced."

Karen let out a sigh and shook her head. "But Zach said he was 15. Where would he get that from? Why would he make up an imaginary friend three times his age?"

Scott shrugged again and tilted his head. "It's normal. There's nothing wrong with him. "

Karen shook her head. "I don't know... it just... seems wrong."

Scott stepped closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "Once he starts making friends in school, he'll forget all about this Owen thing. You'll see. He'll be fine."