Chapter 22 Gifts

It's been a number of days since Logan showed Carlos the photo album. His friend's reaction was so great, he was inspired to do something for him. He talked to the rest of the family, who were just as enthusiastic about it and they quickly put their plan into action.

It's fun to work on their secret project. It has been so long since they created a surprise for their friend. Logan can't wait to see his reaction when they hand it to him.

In the meantime, he gets to tell Carlos stories from the photo album every night. Because ever since that first time, Carlos comes to Logan after everyone has gone to bed. He is still hesitant, but he doesn't wait for Logan to invite him in anymore. One time he even woke up the smart boy after he fell asleep too early. He almost yelled at him, until he realized who it was. Now Logan just anticipates his arrival and does everything he can not to fall asleep.

The others are fully aware of it, even though Carlos tries to make sure they are all asleep. They're not sure why he does it, but they are already happy he's this comfortable with Logan now. It's very different from how it used to be. They have all been best friends since the beginning, but somehow were always split into twos. It was always Kendall and Logan, and James and Carlos. They're personalities just matched better, so it was natural for them. But Logan is happy with the change. He always felt that there was a distance between him and Carlos, which seemed to get worse the older they got. He didn't want them to drift apart, he wanted them to be closer. And even though the situation is horrible, he is finally getting his wish.

From the outside, there doesn't seem to be any improvement anymore for Carlos' behaviour. But the family will never agree with that. Ever since his nightly visits with Logan, he is trying to connect with the others though old memories.

One memorable example of this was what happened about a week ago. Kendall and Katie were fighting over what to watch on TV. Katie wanted to watch a special on unsolved murders, while Kendall wanted to watch a hockey game. The others were at work, when Carlos shuffled into the room. He hesitantly sat down next to Katie on the couch. But the siblings were already involved in a heated argument and didn't notice. He moved slowly and sneakily as he pulled the remote from behind Katie and changed the channel. Brother and sister both stopped what they were doing right away when they suddenly heard the laughter of Fatboy and ChumChum. A cartoon that the whole family used to tune into back in LA. The fight was immediately forgotten and Kendall and Katie watched in amusement as Carlos silently giggled at funny antics the characters on screen pulled. Soon all three were laughing out loud, which the rest of the family came home to in surprise. At the end of the day the entire family ended up on the couch to watch the Fanboy and ChumChum marathon on Nickelodeon, which lasted until Carlos fell asleep on Logan's shoulder. After they put him to bed, they all stayed up and talked about the moment. Because that was the first time the real Carlos came out and they were determined it wouldn't be the last time.

Nothing like that had happened since, but little things do occur. Not only does he clean up his own plate after meals, but he has also started to help Mrs. Knight clean up after the others. It's strange, because it isn't in his nature to do so. Not that anyone minds. Mrs. Knight is definitely happy, even though he still tenses up when she walks close to The only reason they can think of is horrible, but maybe she reminds him of the woman who held him captive. They try not to think about this as they try to make him feel comfortable.

During all of this, the house has been fully designed to their wishes, which includes the swirly slide. They saw his eyes sparkle when he saw it, but he has yet to use it. They know it'll just be a matter of time, so they don't push the subject.

And after today, they hope to see a lot of progress in his recovery. Because today is the day they will give him the surprise they've been working so hard on. It's Saturday and everyone is staying home. They have prepared a full day of indoor fun for the whole family. Breakfast already consists of all of Carlos' favorite foods. They know he can tell from the way his eyes lit up as he eyes the table. They hope to catch a glimpse of the old Carlos, who used to stock up his plate and eat way too much, without getting sick or feeling full. Unfortunately he doesn't, but he does eat a little of everything and the smile on his face is good enough for them.

After breakfast, Katie invites him upstairs so she can show him something. He seems hesitant, because he has noticed how nervous and excited everyone is. But he doesn't protest when Katie pulls him along. When they reach the stairs, Carlos starts to head for his room, presumably to get dressed. Katie stops him right away.

"No need to get dressed, it's Sunday. We're all going to stay in our jammies today!" She tells him with an excited smile. Carlos frowns, but follows her to her room anyway. "Ok, you need to see this. I got a new video game last week, it is so much fun!" She tells him as she grabs her Nintendo 4s and shows him the screen. He looks a little confused, but decides to play along with her intent to distract him.

He watches her move her hands rapidly across the screen.

"You want to play?" he looks up curiously as she looks at him and holds out the device. He looks at the Nintendo, not sure on what to do. "Here, it's okay." Katie mentions with a warm smile and hands it to him.

He holds the game in his hands and tries to move the character. He stills looks unsure and sends Katie a questioning look. She grins.

"Ok, here's what you do."

In the meantime, the others are busy transforming the house for fun and games. They have turned on music and are singing and dancing along to old Big Time Rush songs. Kendall laughs when James and Logan act like they are on a stage and perform each everyone's parts of Famous acting like the other would in an exaggerated manner. Jennifer Knight laughs as well when Logan and James both act like they're Kendall and flip their hair before doing 'the Kendall'. The blond shakes his head and throws pillows their way.

Pretty soon all three are on the couch doing impressions of each other to If I Ruled the World.

Jennifer Knight heads for the staircase after everything is set up.

"Katie, Carlos?" She calls out and shakes her head at the three goofballs on the couch.

In Katie's room, Katie is cheering Carlos on as he plays the game on her handheld gaming device, getting better every minute. When they hear her mom calling, only Katie looks up.

"We'll be right down!" She yells back, while Carlos doesn't seem to have noticed. "Carlos, come on, we should head downstairs." She tells him, but his eyes are glued to the small screen. "Carlos?" She calls again, chuckling when he is still too far into the game to notice. "Carlitos!" She calls a little louder, suddenly startling him and he looks at her. "Save the game, mom wants up to come downstairs." She can see hints of a pout forming on his lips, making her smirk. "Come on, you can finish the game later." She tells him and he seems to grumble a little before handing the device to her and standing up to leave. She shakes her head with a chuckle and goes to save the game. Her smile vanishes right away. "Hey, you beat my high score!" She yells in frustration.

She quickly saves the game under his name, still dumbfounded how he managed to beat her and then quickly follows him down. She finds him standing at the bottom, staring at his crazy friends, who are still doing impressions of each other on the couch, serenading to invisible fans. He seems intrigued and a little far away, like he's remembering something. But soon a small smile is visible as well as he continues to watch their insane rendition of Boyfriend.

Jennifer Knight goes to turn down the music, resulting in all four boys groaning and pouting. Everyone looks at Carlos in surprise, who seems embarrassed right away.

"Come on, you goofballs." Jennifer tells them as the guys throw Carlos a grin. He looks away in shyness. They all bound over to the dining table and Carlos' eyes widen when he sees the games stacked up there and the game Yahtzee already set up. Everyone sits down and he surprises them by moving to sit between Logan and Kendall. He throws them a shy smile and they quickly start to play. (A/N: going to skip a little bit, because this is not the main subject of the chapter)

Their entire day is relaxed as they play games. They revel in seeing Carlos enjoying himself and looking more comfortable than he has in a while. Right now Katie has given Carlos her gaming device again, while Mrs. Knight does the dishes and Kendall makes hot chocolate. The other guys sit with Carlos and Katie and watch in amazement as he beats all their high scores, after playing the game for the first time. They cheer him on and after a while Logan gets up and motions for James to follow. Carlos doesn't notice, he just keeps his full attention on the game. Katie is happy she gave it to him, he seems much more at ease as he is distracted from the world around him.

Kendall sets the hot chocolate on the dining table, when Logan and James return. Kendall smiles when he notices the brunettes holding something behind their backs. They approach Carlos, who is so emerged on the running character on the screen, that he again doesn't notice them. Katie does and nudges his arm.

"Carlos." She quietly tells him and points to the guys. He looks up and puts down the game when he sees their excited grins.

"Carlos, because we are so proud of all the progress you've been making, we want to give you something. It's from all of us and we hope it will help you get even better." Logan tells him. They notice the subtle blush appearing on his cheeks. The other guys nod at Logan and he pulls the gift from his back. He hands a large book to Carlos, who looks confused, but hesitantly takes it.

"It's a photo album. We uh, we put together all the pictures we could find of you from when you were born till now." James tells him. Carlos looks at the album in awe.

"We saw how much you enjoyed looking through Logan's album, so we wanted you to have your own. Now you can look at all the pictures whenever you want." Kendall adds as they watch Carlos' reaction.

He looks moved by it and affectionately traces the title of the soft fabric like cover, 'Carlos' Memories' can be read on the front.

"So, what do you think?" Logan asks hesitantly. He is not prepared for the reaction he receives as Carlos jumps up and pulls him into a tight hug. It takes him a moment to recover from the shock and then slowly hugs him back. "You're welcome, buddy." He says in a near whisper.

Carlos then moves over to Kendall. He seems a little hesitant, but then hugs him as well. Kendall grins and hugs back right away. Just then Katie taps the boy on his shoulder.

"What about me? I helped too." She says with a playful smile and a small pout. He grins and she squeals when he suddenly picks her off the ground in a warm hug. She smiles from ear to ear when he sets her back down. He turns around and his smile fades a little when he sees James looking down at his feet. He steps forward hesitantly, fiddling with the straps of his helmet.

Logan and Kendall follow his gaze and nudge James, who then looks up sadly. His eyes grow when he sees Carlos nervously looking at him. He moves forward a little more, looking unsure and biting his lip. He moves forward again, but pulls back right away. They see him struggling to decide on what to do. The guys look at James and see he is becoming frustrated. After a few awkward seconds James closes his eyes and sighs.

"It's okay, Carlos. You don't have to hug me. Just seeing you happy is thanks enough for me." He says, plastering a fake smile on his face. He turns around and starts to walk away. The guys see Carlos looks sad and even slightly guilty. He bites his lip again. Then suddenly he moves forward as fast as he can and pulls James in a hug from behind.

James freezes up completely and closes his eyes as he slowly moves his hands on top of Carlos' arms. He can feel the young man shaking like a leaf, but the fact that he is trying makes his eyes tear up. It only lasts a few seconds, but to James it feels like hours. Then Carlos lets go, grabs the photo album and runs off and up the stairs.

The others watch him in amazement and then back at James, who still stands there frozen. He trembles and feels his own waist, where Carlos' arms were only seconds ago. Kendall and Logan walk up to him and smile at his shocked expression.

"Well, that was unexpected, huh?" Logan asks him. He turns his head towards his friend, who then notices his lip starting to quiver.

"Oh, buddy..." Kendall whispers and he gathers James into his arms, who quietly starts to sob.

"I guess it was a little much for both of you to handle, huh?" The blond asks as he rubs his friend's back.

Katie in the meantime noticed how Carlos didn't even try to approach her mother. The woman immediately went into the kitchen and is cleaning the counter feverishly. Katie cautiously approaches her.

"Mom?" She quietly asks, but her mom continues to clean without looking up. "Mom, I'm sure he was just caught up in the moment with James." She still doesn't respond. "Mom?" She asks again. Jennifer stops cleaning for a moment.

"I'm fine, Katie!" She says, sounding a little angry. Katie immediately puts up her hands in defense, getting that her mother just needs a moment.

Katie retreats back to the guys now sitting on the couch. Kendall sends her a concerned look, pointing towards his mom. She shakes her head. Logan and him continue to rub James' back as he starts to calm down. Katie sits next to them.

"Wow..." She suddenly pipes. The guys look at her with growing smiles. "Besides him ignoring mom, that could not have gone better..." She tells them.

"Yep. I mean, he actually hugged all of us." Kendall muses.

"Yeah, he even hugged you, James. Did you see that coming?" Logan asks the sniffling brunette. A smile appears on his face and he shakes his head. "Me neither. That was just... wow." He chuckles.

"And that was just his reaction to us giving him the album. Do you think he'll ask us for the stories behind those pictures as well?" Kendall muses. Logan shrugs.

"Maybe. I definitely hope so. But not today probably. It's okay though, I mean, he took some huge steps today." They all glance at the staircase with a smile.

"Who knows, maybe tomorrow we can get him to use the swirly slide instead of the stairs." Kendall muses.

"That would be awesome, but I think it's a little too early for that." Logan mentions. Then suddenly they hear a strange swishing sound coming from the swirly slide. They all whip their heads around to it with wide eyes, watching the opening at the bottom carefully.

They see a strange object fall to the ground. Kendall stands up and walks towards the slide with a frown.

"What in the world?" He questions as he crouches down to pick it up.

"What is it, Kendall?" Logan asks him as Kendall comes back up.

Kendall looks at the stuffed brown monkey in his hands and looks at the banister. He grins when he sees Carlos looking at him with wide eyes, he gasps and runs off when he realizes he's been caught.

The blond looks back at his friends and holds up the stuffed monkey.

"Too early, huh?" He muses with a chuckle. They all stare at the now empty banister in awe. Could it be? Was he really improving this fast? Or was it too good to be true? Whatever it is, this day has been incredible and hopefully will only get better.

A/N Yay :) I finally got round to updating this story again! Honestly, this wasn't the chapter I had in mind, but when I started to write, this came out. I had a lot of fun writing it and thought it was time for some fluff :)

Do expect the next chapter to contain a little more angst ;) But I hope you liked the chapter, let me know :)

Thank you for all the support so far. I apologize for not replying to all the reviews I received for this story. I will get on that, but in general thank you so much for all comments, reviews, favorite alerts and all others, I appreciate all of them!

Next chapter will be up hopefully on Sunday :)

Love, Baxxie