It was night out, Ulrich was in his house in his five-year old son's room wrapping up a bedtime story to him.

"...And so." Ulrich said. "The young girl fled her home just as it was to be destroyed by the heroes' newest member, who had unwillingly joined the dark lord's army on their quest for world domination. However, the girl's father survived and helped the heroes rebuild their home."

"What happened then?" The boy asked.

"I'll tell you the rest tomorrow. Right now, it's past your bedtime." Ulrich said as he kissed his son and tucked him in. "Good night, Calvin."

"Night, Daddy." Calvin said as Ulrich turned off the lights and closed the door.

He then went to his daughters' bedrooms and saw that they were asleep. Finally he went into the master bedroom and went into bed with his wife, Yumi. They had been married for almost ten years and they already had all they ever wanted: A loving wife, a nice home and decent job, and three wonderful kids. Ulrich then began to flashback to when his son was born.

On Valentine's Day of 2016, Yumi was in the hospital already in labor with her second child. After nine hours, she had given birth to a healthy young boy.

"What shall we call him?" Yumi asked.

"Calvin." Ulrich said. "Calvin Stern."

A few days later, the three went home to find their friend Odd playing with their two-year old daughter, Rumiko.

"Hey, Odd. We're home." Ulrich said.

"Oh hey guys." Odd said. "Is that my new nephew?"

"Mommy!" Rumiko said as she ran up to her mother and hugged her.

"Hi, Rumiko-chan." Yumi said unable to hug her back because of the sleeping infant in her hands. "Did you miss us?"

"Hey, Rumiko." Ulrich said.

"Oh. Hi Ulrich." Rumiko said not paying any attention.

"Who wants to see her new baby brother." Yumi said.

"I do! I do!" Rumiko said jumping in the air. Yumi then kneeled down so that she could get a closer look.

"This is Calvin." Yumi said. "Promise you'll be nice to him and take good care of him. When he's older he's gonna want a big sister to look up to."

"I promise."

"Let me hold him now." Odd said.

"Alright, but be careful with him." Yumi said jokingly giving Calvin to him.

"Oh, look at you. You're so cute." Odd said to him. "Can I stay just a bit longer? you know, just to help out.

"I think you helped out plenty with Rumiko." Yumi said. "Besides, shouldn't you be getting home to Sissi?"

"Yeah, well. She's been kinda moody lately with her being pregnant with the twins and all that and I don't think she wants me around right now." Odd said. "So I thought I'd stay with you for a little while."

"No way." Ulrich said

"Really, Odd." Yumi said. "You should be getting home."

"Nooo!" Rumiko protested. "I want Uncle Odd to stay some more. Please?"

"See? Your daughter wants me around."

"Oh, alright." Ulrich said. "But once Sissi wants you back, get out."

"Deal."

As the years went by, Yumi and Ulrich noticed that Calvin wasn't like any other boys his age. When he was one, he was already spelling words with Scrabble tiles. At age two, the first words he spoke were complete sentences and he was already reading at a first grade level. At that same year, they called a university professor to have his IQ tested. The results shown him to be incredibly gifted for someone of his age and that he has full potential to become a genius before he even starts school.

"Wow." Ulrich said. "He basically could be the next Jeremie."

"I recommend that you placing him in a small acedemy for gifted children that one of my colleagues runs." The professor said. "You won't even have to pay unless he flunks."

"Oh, that's not going to happen." Ulrich said.

"What?" Yumi asked.

"Listen, he's a smart kid. I can understand that." Ulrich said. "But still, he's just a kid. He has plenty of time until he can actually apply his knowledge and we should make sure he uses that time to his fullest. Think about it: If we send Calvin off to school this early in his life, he's not going to have time to enjoy his childhood. Not only that, we, as well as himself, might be obligated to pressure him to reach his full potential as early as possible and he'll start to push himself untill he can make himself, and us, proud."

"And you know this how?" The professor said.

"Because that's the way my father raised me, and I'm not willing to become anything like him." Ulrich said. "Genius or no genius, Calvin will still be treated like a normal child as long as I'm his father."

"What do you say, Mrs. Stern?" The professor said.

"I say my husband has made some excellent points." Yumi said

"Very well, then." He said. "Call me if you change your mind."

True to his word, Ulrich made sure Calvin got all the benefits of being a child and tried to make sure that his smarts didn't get in the way of that. When Calvin was three, Yumi noticed something else about her son: He was an incredibly distant and solitary child. When she dropped of him and Rumiko at day care, Rumiko would always play with all the other kids, but Calvin would always sit in a corner either reading a book or building a puzzle. Like any concerned mother, Yumi made a doctor's appointment for him to see if anything was wrong with him.

"So, what seems to be the problem?" The doctor asked.

"I'm really worried about my son." Yumi said. "He never play with others, even at home he's quiet and reserved."

"I see." He said. "Does he have any habits like morning rituals, or have narrow interests?"

"Well, he does like to eat his food in a certain way, and he does have a habit of going on about a certain topic until there's nothing more he can learn from it." Ulrich said

"Hmm." The doctor said. "I think I know the problem; I've dealt with many kids like him before. Calvin, would you come with me?"

"But, why?" Calvin asked

"We're just going to run a test to see if I'm right."

"Right about what?" Yumi asked.

"You'll see."

In a short time, the doctor came back with Calvin

"So, is my son alright?" Yumi asked

"Absolutely, you have almost nothing to worry about."

"What do yo mean 'almost'?" Ulrich asked. "Is he okay or isn't he?"

The doctor just smiled. "He has autism. Asperger Syndrome to be exact."

"Really?" Yumi asked.

"That's all?" Ulrich asked.

"Mommy, what's autism?" Calvin asked.

"I'll answer that, Calvin." The doctor said. "Autism is when the brain develops differently than normal. It's most known for affecting communication and social skills. Nobody knows what causes it nor does anybody know how it can be cured."

"Will I not be as smart anymore?" Calvin asked.

"Oh, heavens no. In fact, people with Aspergers can be smarter than those without it." The doctor said. "Calvin, I've met a lot of kids with your condition and they've still gone on to lead good lives. You are no exception."

"But still." Ulrich said. "Is there anything that can be done to help him get through his day to day life without problems."

"I recommend speech therapy for starters or applied behavioral analysis. But no medication unless the symptoms are much more severe." The doctor said. They then walked out and thanked him. "And if you have any other questions, feel free to call me."

"Alright." Yumi said. "Coming Calvin?"

Calvin just nodded his head and they headed off.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure most of what I said about autism was flawed in some aspects. I only used the best of my knowledge, which was not a lot despite having Aspergers myself. This was originally going to be the conclusion to Christmas With the Belpois', but I had this idea right then so I decided to do this first. But don't worry, next chapter will be back to the original story. Also, feel free to check out my friend's website: http:/codelyokoforever(dot)proboards(dot)com/. Please Review.