Thank you to all the comments and helpful reviews about this chapter. I admit my childhood is remembered in bits and pieces, so I am not the greatest at figuring out how to portray kids, their reactions and emotions. Hopefully, the changes I have done will make this better and more realistic. I am ignoring some parts of the comments for know as I purposefully wanted to do so :). Thank you again for your help and patience!

As Roy and Joanne led their kids into Dr. Druther's office, he was there to greet them.

"Kids, this is Dr. Druthers. Doc, this is Chris and Jenny. Jo is going to stay up here with them while I go back down and visit with Johnny," Roy explained as he introduced everyone.

"Sounds good," Karl Druthers said. "Did Dr. Brackett mentioned about tomorrow at all?"

"Oh, yeah, about that. Jo and I thought that if it was alright with you, I'd come in around eight tomorrow morning and she'd wait downstairs with Johnny till our session was done. That way, if the guys had a rough night, there'd be plenty of time in the late morning and afternoon to come in after going home for a bit," Roy told him.

"Sounds good to me, and don't worry if you're running a bit late," he reassured him. "My thoughts were to call your Captain today, let him know I'd just like to meet everyone one-on-one for a bit before meeting as a group. I might call you up during the group meeting, although it depends on how things go and such."

"Alright, just let me know. I plan on basically spending the time with Johnny since he seems calmer with me around," Roy agreed. Turning to his kids and wife, he said, "I'll see you three later."

Gathering them both in his arms for a hug, he whispered in their ears, "Remember what mom and I talked about. It's okay to talk to him about anything, alright? I know it will be hard for you both, but we are just proud that you two are willing to try."

"I know dad, you've told us that a hundred times already," Chris said, wiggling out of the hug. Although he didn't mind shows of affection, at his age, the times he would allow them were getting to be less frequent, especially in front of strangers.

"Don't worry dad," Jenny reassured her dad as she held on tight. "We want Uncle Johnny home too."

Giving him a quick hug, Joanne told him, "I'll see you later hun."

As Roy left, Dr. Druthers turned to the remaining DeSoto's and asked if they had decided which one would like to go first. Seeing his sister's nervous look, Chris volunteered. Following the doctor to the room, he checked out the place and was relieved that it didn't look like the typical office.

"Feel free to take a seat anywhere," Doctor Druthers offered.

Nodding, Chris perched on the edge of the armchair close to the door, feeling his nerves kick in.

"If it helps, I promise that this will be painless," Dr. Druthers teased, sensing Chris' mood.

Smiling slightly, Chris asked, "So what happens now?"

"Well, first I'd like to tell you about some rules here, although they are actually rules for me," the doctor started to explain, but stopped when he saw Chris roll his eyes. "Or did your parents go over these rules with you already?"

"Yeah," Chris admitted.

Waiting a while for him to continue, Karl stepped in when he felt that Chris wouldn't continue.

"Since I have an obligation to make sure the rules are understood, could you tell me what you think they mean?" he prodded.

"Well…basically, it kinda sounds like you'll keep things to yourself as long, as it won't hurt me or others and you'll also not tell anyone about what we talk about unless it will help me and my family figure out how to help Johnny so he can stay with our family, right?" Chris blurted out, worried that he didn't understand things correctly.

"Exactly," Dr. Druthers beamed a smile towards him, proud of how quickly this eleven year old caught on. "My goal is to make sure that everyone in your family, including Johnny, will benefit the most from whatever I recommend to Dr. Early. Even Doctor Early won't know what we talk about in here unless I think he can help your family figure out ways to make life easier if I do decide that it is better for Johnny to go home with you."

Nodding, Chris muttered, "I just hope he comes home with us."

"Why is that?"

Glancing around the room, clearly uncomfortable admitting his feelings, Chris confessed, "He's a huge part of our family. If he wasn't around, it'd be like something would be missing, ya know? He's always been like a kid anyway."

"What do you think it'd be like if he did come home with you if he acted like a seven-year old?" Dr. Druthers asked.

"He'd probably act like my sister did, except without liking the girly stuff," Chris said with a smile after thinking things over. "Mom and dad explained already that at least at first, if not longer, Jenny and I would have to rely on others to get to our activities. But honestly? Jenny and I talked about that last night cause we heard mom and dad trying to figure things out."

Looking up, Chris blushed, "The two of us, well, with dad working at least twenty-four hours at a time, mom can't take both of us to our games or whatever activities we got going on. So, depending on what the activity is or who she took last time, she'll either find someone who can help her out or take us. Like, Jenny just had a mother/daughter thing for Scouts, while I had a game. Even though it had been my turn for mom to take me to the game, the Scout thing was special and so Jenny got an extra turn."

"Did that bother you at all?" Dr. Druthers asked, a bit concerned.

"Yea, it did at first. Not as much as when I was younger though," Chris answered honestly, looking down at his hands and fidgeting. "Mom, dad and Uncle Johnny remind me then about when Jenny's had the same thing happen, like when I had an award thing back in March for sports. Mom and dad make sure we know why and usually set up something fun for us than. Like a sleep over at a friend's house. Last night, Jenny snuck into my room and asked if Unc…uh, Johnny…sorry.

"Me and Jenny tried practicing last night about not calling him our uncle, but it's hard," Chris revealed with frustration in his voice.

"Well, think of how long you have called him Uncle Johnny. You've been calling him that for what, almost ten years now?" Karl asked and then continued when he saw the boy nod. "It isn't going to be easy to just stop calling him that when you think of the fact it is second nature to call him that."

"What's that mean?" Chris asked, curiosity written on his face.

"Second nature is something that is done instinctively, something done without thought because it is such a habit. Just like calling your dad, dad and your mom, mom is second nature," Doctor Druthers explained.

Thinking about that, the doctor could see when the information sunk in and continued on the previous topic before they were distracted.

"So, how do you think you might handle the fact if Johnny came home to live with you guys? Keep in mind that since he doesn't know anyone, building trust between your parents and him will be difficult and because it would be difficult to introduce too many people right now in his life, for at least a few months, your mom and dad would be the ones who need to take care of him. They would need to take him to all his doctor appointments, help him out in any areas that he needs help. Johnny would also be depending on all of you, not just your parents, but also you and Jenny to introduce him to a different place than he is used to."

Leaning back in his chair, Chris sighed, "Man, that sounds like a lotta work."

"It will be and Johnny will be completely dependent on your family for at least a few months until he is able to accept other people," the doctor warned.

"Johnny's had to be dependent on us before," Chris said hesitantly. "I mean, the guys from the station would take him to physical therapy, but after injuries when he couldn't be on his own, he'd stay with us…We'd take care of him for the most part. Mom and dad sometimes needed to spend more time with him, especially when he got the flu or something and then me and Jenny would catch rides with others."

Pausing in his ramblings, Chris looked up at Doctor Druthers.

"I mean, I don't get a lot of what it means, what Uncle Johnny, I mean Johnny," he corrected himself. "But one thing I know is that mom and dad have always put Jenny and me first. Even when he's hurt, dad makes sure we know that. It won't be easy, but I think it'd be harder knowing we left him in some place."

Thinking the best way to bring up his other concerns, Dr. Druthers, slowly explained, "There may certain areas where Johnny might not be the same as well. From what his doctors told me, how quick he reacts is slower than it normally is and although it's getting better, he has trouble with his speech right now. Also, he may not understand the type of world we live in."

"What do you mean?" Chris asked, confused.

"Well, when he was seven, he still was living on a reservation. During that time, some reservations had areas where the people had no electricity in the home, no running water in the home, small houses that were in very poor conditions and little to eat. I am not sure what Johnny experienced being raised on a reservation, but it might be that he experienced some of these things or all of these things. Not to mention, during the time he was younger, many people probably didn't accept him because he was only half Indian, so he may have to deal with the issues that came up from that."

"Are you saying people may have been mean to him just cause he wasn't all Indian?" Chris angrily asked. Seeing the doctor nod, he simply said, "That's so stupid."

"I agree, but you see, Johnny will probably dealing with more than the effects of the head injury, but with the effects of his childhood again since he is reliving them."

"Then isn't that more of a reason to make sure he stays with a family that loves him and will be patient with him as he figures things out?" Chris wondered out loud.

Smiling, Dr. Druthers nodded and acknowledged, "You do have a good point there. I take it you would like to help him learn about that stuff, huh?"

"Yea, I mean, it'd be so cool to teach him about the different sports and stuff. I know it'd take a while, but I remember him teaching me about the best camping and fishing spots, stuff like that. Dad and I would have so much fun teaching him what he taught us about getting off the regular trails and stuff. Dad knows about roughing it a bit from his army days, but I guess not as much as Uncle…I mean Johnny does since he goes off on his own a lot more and picked it up as an adult."

"It sounds like it. So what else do you enjoy doing besides camping?" Dr. Druthers asked.

"I love sports, especially soccer. I mean, I've played basketball and football, but I dunno. There's something about soccer that's even better than those. I'm in Scouts too with a bunch of my friends. We do a lot of stuff in the summer and weekends during the school year. I get to go to Indian Guide camp for a week next month. It'll be a chance to earn some badges I don't have yet," Chris announced proudly. By the look in the doctor's eyes, it seemed he was proud of Chris as well and that made Chris even more relaxed.

This isn't as bad as I thought it would be, Chris realized. At least he's not making me feel like a dumb kid who doesn't know anything or whose opinion doesn't matter. He actually seems to listen to what I say.

"Sounds like you have some of your summer planned out."

"Actually, mom's got most of mine and Jenny's summer planned out. She hates it when we sit around watching TV or doing nothing. I know we were gonna go on a family vacation somewhere, but it'll have to wait until Johnny's doing better," Chris laughed as he said this.

"Did your mom and dad say that?" Dr. Druthers queried.

"No, it's just me and Jenny don't want to go anywhere without him. Its, well," Chris blushed. "It's just not a family vacation when you don't have the entire family together."

"I understand. Can I ask how you feel about this whole situation with Johnny?" the doctor softly asked.

Frowning, Chris looked away before answering, "It stinks. He didn't do nothing wrong and he got hurt. I know life isn't fair, but…well, still… I'm scared he won't get better since that would hurt all of us. I'm worried that people are gonna make us place him in some home. Even though he doesn't know us, we know him and we would be the best people to take care of him, you know? I know it'd be hard and frustrating and scary and Jenny and I would have to take a back seat to mom and dad's attention more than usual, but we decided it's worth it last night. We don't care if others make fun of us. Both of us have had kids at school make fun of us for having what they call a part-time dad, but we know that mom and dad love us a lot and it's about the quality of time, not quality, if that makes sense," Chris paused. "Johnny was the one who taught me and Jenny that. He also taught us that if someone makes fun of us, they aren't really our friends."

"It sounds like he taught you a lot," the doctor said.

"He did and I wanna be here for him" Chris stated firmly.

Nodding, Doctor Druthers expressed his thoughts that had been building up as time went on. "You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders."

"Thanks," Chris blushed, looking away.

"Is there anything else you'd like to talk about today?"

"Nah."

At least not here, I'd rather ask dad, Chris thought.

"Alright then," the doctor said standing. "I'm glad to have met you and I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

Also standing, Chris followed the doctor to the door and nodded. Following him out, Chris gave Jenny a quick squeeze of her hand as she made her way into the door.

"Don't worry," he whispered. "It's easy."

"Wait, can you stay with me for a bit?" Jenny asked, too nervous to go in by herself.

"Sure," Chris said and led the way in the room.

Smiling, Jenny went to sit down as Dr. Druthers shut the door.

"How about we have Chris in here while you tell me about yourself and then, if it's okay with you, we'll let him get to his homework while we talk some more, alright?" the doctor began, hoping to make Jenny more comfortable with the session. When she nodded, he asked, "So, I heard you just had a birthday recently, is that right?"

"Yea, it was my tenth birthday," she answered, grabbing Chris' hand real quick before letting go.

"Did you have fun?"

Nodding, she gave a smile and explained, "A bunch of my friends were there, along with Johnny and the other guys from the station. When Johnny got back from running an errand for mom, he played tag with us girls. Well, actually, it was more like us against him…"

Hearing Jenny giggle made Karl smile.

"It sounds like a wonderful party."

"Yea, I even got to help cut my cake this year."

"Wow, that sounds neat," Dr. Druthers said, trying to sound impressed.

Seeing the nod, he decided to move along and explain how the sessions would work between them. Using some simpler wording than he had for his parents and after giving some examples, the doctor inquired if she understood.

"I think so," Jenny slowly said as she looked at Chris. "It's kinda like when friends make a pact to keep secrets for one another, unless one or more of them is worried about the friend with the secret. If the secret isn't good, then you need to tell an adult and get help. That's what you'd do here if something came up. Otherwise, you'll make sure to try to keep what's said in here between the two of us, unless you think it'll help make sure Johnny can come home with us."

"Exactly," Doctor Druthers said, proud once again at how quickly the privacy policy was grasped, knowing it was tough at times for even adults to understand. "Why don't we start this session with something easy, such as what you like to do for fun or the activities you are in after school?"

"Well, I'm signed up this summer for Girl Scout Camp for a week. I think it's not too long after Chris goes. Right?" she turned and looked at Chris for confirmation. When she got it, she went on. "I also get to be on what I call a swim team, where we get to learn about swimming, swim meets in case we wanna get involved with a real team later on and stuff like that.

Taking a breath, she stopped her leg from bouncing up and down before going on, "I also play volleyball during the beginning of the school year. Sometimes, I'll try out for a part in a play during the spring too. But only if it's a good play. Plus, then there are Girl Scouts meetings on weekends during the school year and random times in the summer. I know mom has some day camps set up for me, like the swimming team and drama camp, so that'll be fun."

"Sounds like you're going to be busy," the doctor said.

"Yea, but I don't mind. It's better than sitting around and doing nothing," Jenny admitted. "Plus, my friends are usually in the same day camps so it makes it even more fun."

"Is it hard to keep up with your schoolwork with everything going on during the school year?" he asked.

"Not usually and I got to get at least B's in most of my classes to be able to keep going to my classes. Although, there was a class I was in that I couldn't make it past a C+ for the life of me. My parents tried helping me out and stuff, even Chris did, but I just couldn't figure it out. Since I was working so hard, I was allowed to keep going to my different clubs and stuff."

"Can I ask what you were having trouble with?"

Giggling, Jenny smiled, "I had a ton of trouble with Geography. I couldn't remember the states and capitals for the life of me it seems. Also, the teacher tried to teach us about the basic of maps, but that didn't go so well either. Dad said not to worry, that there was a reason he drove the Squad and mom still didn't do so well with maps. Chris wasn't any help at all, he said he was still learning and to get back to him."

Laughing, the doctor was entertained by what he saw as a family project. Chris too was laughing, as he was like his parents and couldn't figure out directions very well.

"Did Johnny help you out at all?"

"Are you kidding?" Jenny stared at him. "He's the only one in our family who actually can figure things out. That's why he tells dad where to go in the Squad. The few times dad has let him drive on vacations, we have ended up lost!"

"I think I don't want to know what those stories involve," Dr. Druthers wisely told her.

"You don't," Jenny assured him, smiling at him.

He doesn't seem so scary, I don't know what I was worried about, Jenny contemplated. At least I know why Chris said I had nothing to worry about.

"It seems like Johnny's been involved with your family a lot."

"Yeah, he's been with us since I was born basically. He'll go with us on family trips, he's babysat Chris and I, helped dad repair stuff around the house, basically if we need him, he's been there. If Johnny needs us, then we're there. He even has his own room that also is mom's sewing room where he stores clothes and stuff. He's just family," Jenny summarized.

Sensing that she was getting more comfortable with him and that it was a good place to take a break, Doctor Druthers asked if she minded continuing on with their session without Chris. After a few moments of hesitation, she agreed and Chris left, reassuring his younger sister that everything would be fine, but that he would be just outside if she needed him.

"I just thought that it might be better to talk with you in private as I'd like to know how are you doing with what is going on with Johnny?" the doctor prodded gently.

"I dunno, it's hard and doesn't seem real," she sighed deeply. "It makes me sad cause it's gotta be so hard on Johnny not to know anyone or really know what's going on. Then, dad and mom, but especially dad, are having such a hard time dealing with this. I mean, yeah, it's gonna be hard for everyone, but well…it's hard to explain. Then, I know Chris and I talked last night a lot and we know we're gonna have to let mom and dad know they shouldn't feel guilty if they need to spend more time with Johnny. I know they love us a ton, but they love Uncle Johnny too and I don't want them to think that we don't want him around. Both of us do. He's family."

"It sounds like you've been thinking about this a lot," Doctor Druthers said. "Have you thought about how it might be having him at home?"

"It'll be hard and difficult. Probably scary too," Jenny said thoughtfully. "I know I shouldn't have eavesdropped, but I overheard mom and dad trying to find a way to tell Johnny about his aunt not wanting him around."

"Do you have any ideas about that?" he asked curiously.

"Actually, yeah and you can tell mom and dad if you want. And Chris did help me with this idea," Jenny said as she blushed a bit after stalling a bit. "See, I know she lives outta state. I think they should tell him that she brought him here, but got sick and had to move to a place where it was better for her health. Since she didn't want to keep moving him around and knew that she couldn't take care of him, she found us. Then, he got hurt and although he doesn't remember us, we do remember him."

"That is actually not a bad idea," a surprised Doctor Druthers replied. "How'd you two come up with that?"

"Well, I was reading a book a few weeks ago about someone who was adopted after the mom and dad died and that stuck with me. I told Chris about it and we just kinda took it from there, ya know?" Jenny said slowly. "I'm not sure how we figured it all out, we just know we wouldn't want to be told my family doesn't want me."

"You, young lady, have quite a good imagination."

"Thanks…" Jenny blushed again.

"I do want you to realize something that may be an issue if the group of people involved in Johnny's care do allow him to go home with his family," seeing her confusion, he assured her. "By family, I do mean the DeSotos'. Anyway, Johnny was raised on a reservation and he might not be aware of certain things that you would think everyone would have growing up. Things such as running water in the house or electricity. A house that isn't falling apart. People may have also judged him and treated him badly because he is both white and an Indian. Honestly, at this point, we are not sure, but I need you to understand that."

"So, he may not trust us because people who are white have hurt him?" Jenny asked, confused at this foreign concept.

"Yes, that may be the case. White people may have only been able to see his Indian half while the Indian people may have only seen his white half. If that was the case, he may have been targeted more than others and hurt more than others."

"Well, that's dumb!" Jenny declared. "People can be really blind. I guess if he doesn't know these things and is scared of us, we'll just have to show him that we are different from the people he used to be around."

"I was hoping you would say that, but remember, it may take a long time," Dr. Druthers warned.

"Don't worry, between dad and Unc... I mean, Johnny, I got a pretty good stubborn streak."

"That'll help," he smiled. "Do you want to talk about anything else today?"

Thinking about it, Jenny shook her head and replied, "No. I can't think of anything. But can I ask what we're going to talk about tomorrow?"

"We'll talk more about how you are dealing with everything and I thought I would start telling you how Johnny may be affected by his injuries a bit more. Does that sound okay?" he asked, slightly amused by the young girl.

"Sure," Jenny smiled bashfully. "Sorry, I know I can be too curious sometimes. I can't seem to help it."

"It's okay, in here, it's more than welcomed."

Getting up, Dr. Druthers walked her to the door and led her to the waiting room where her mother was reading a book while Chris was finishing up the last of his homework.

"Well, Joanne, I think everything went well today," Karl told her as the kids packed up their school things. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Thank you for everything," Jo said, shaking his hand. "Roy and I cannot tell you how much we appreciate you doing this for us."

"Not at all. Have a good day."

With a wave good-bye from the kids, the three DeSoto's left the office and made their way downstairs to the ICU waiting room.