Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did.

!!Happy Late Easter!!

I'd like to thank yaonne- san, ShadowWolfDagger, yumi-wheeler, xxClois-LuverXX and penny3 for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact.

This chapter is dedicated to Penny3, thank you for your crit, it has helped shape this chappie, thanx again, hope you like it. Love, Brownie!

Warnings: this will have mentions of child abuse.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Johnny

Chapter 7: Let's Get Crackin'

"Sacrificing your happiness for the happiness of the one you love is by far, the truest type of love." Herbert Wilson

When they got to the dining room, Ben, who was waiting for them, raised his eyebrows at Sue's red-rimmed and puffy eyes, but thankfully, thinking better of it, didn't say anything about it. As the couple took their seats across from him, he questioned, "You guys get the kid settled in okay?"

"Yeah, he's still sleeping," answered Sue.

Taking Sue's word for it, Ben asked, "You guys know what I don't get?"

"What?" asked Reed.

"Well, you know how most people, especially little kids, get scared when they see me? Johnny didn't do that. He…he wasn't scared at all, he looked and talked to me like I was just a regular person, like old Johnny does, but he knew me, so that was different." Ben was truly perplexed, it seemed that Johnny was more afraid of him when he was older.

Seeing Ben's confusion, Reed asked, "You know what I think," Ben guessed it was a rhetorical question when Reed didn't wait for an answer and kept talking, "I…I think that deep down, Johnny's subconscious remembers us." Seeing Sue and Ben's unconvinced expressions, he elaborated, "I mean, think about it, most abu..," here he paused and looked at Sue from the corner of his eye and changed his choice of words, "most…um...most children with hard pasts have trouble trusting people…" he was interrupted by Sue before he could continue.

"I think you're right, Reed," exclaimed Sue, "He didn't even flinch when you picked him up and Johnny didn't meet you until he was nine years old. And Ben, no matter how much the two of you fight, Johnny knows that you'd never actually hurt him, he could never be scared of you. He never has been."

Ben, who was never comfortable with touchy-feely moments or emotions and was truly desperate to change the subject, said, "So, now that we've figured that out, how in the world are we gonna fix this?"

Holding up the manila envelope, Reed answered Ben's question, "I think the answer lies in this envelope. I mean, didn't it seem like the alien guy, Fez, I think his name was. Didn't it seem like he wanted to help Johnny? Like he wanted him to be happier or something?"

"Yeah he said something about, his boss wanting to "help" Johnny and now that he'd met him he wanted to, too. And I'm pretty sure the envelope wasn't there until after Fez disappeared," said Ben.

Standing up and grabbing the envelope, Reed asked, "You guys ready?" and at their nods, he turned the envelope upside down, spilling its contents, which included a piece of computer paper with writing on it; a letter maybe, a folder, a cloth CD case, and a see-through photo album, the first picture in which was the one Reed and Ben had seen, causing Sue, once she'd seen it, to bite her lip and turn her head away, 'How could she have not know about this, how did she not notice?'

"You all right, Sue?" asked Ben, his own voice cracking with emotion, but he couldn't help it, God Damn it, this was his matchstick, someone he loved like he was his own nephew. And if he couldn't stand to see him like this, he didn't even want to imagine how much it affected Sue.

"Yeah, just…just give me a minute, 'kay," replied Sue, trying to rein in her emotions, then once she'd succeeded, continued, "All right, I'm ready. Let's get crackin'!"

After Sue said that, they all pushed their chairs over to one side of the gigantic dining table, Sue sitting in the middle with Ben and Reed on either side of her, and just like that the three over-drinking-age members of the Fantastic Four started to search for a solution for and the source of their youngest's problems.

…TBC…

(If you want me to?)

Over 630 words! Sorry for the wait, but I'm writing three other stories and had a doctor's appointment.

So whaddya think? Good, iffy, bad, better, could be better? Should I continue? Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.

*wishes really, really hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.