Candace looked mad.

"You cannot speak to me this way."

"Please listen to what I have to say. As a parent, you should listen to your child."

"I did. I let you go to New York and that was a mistake."

"No it wasn't. I've learned a lot-"

"You obviously cannot listen to me if you're in another country."

"You don't know what it's like t-"

"To what?"

"I appreciate you letting me go to school. And I love you, that will never change, but I needed a different change of pace, a different environment. But you don't know what it's like-and I've seen-" He hesitated.

"What?"

"You don't know what it's like not to have a mother!" Private said, tears coming back into his eyes. "I've seen what it's like…Kowalski and Kenny don't have a mum, Rico doesn't either, and Barry's an orphan…And-because I knew all these things- I missed you, but I grew a deeper appreciation for you and the moments we have together."

Candace was speechless so Private continued.

"Dan was mad at me because of an unresolved conflict. You know he holds grudges. Remember when he didn't talk to me for a month because I ate the last banana when we were seven? This time, he accused me of cheating during a game and we never talked about it.

"My roommates are actually good people. Skipper's grandfather and father were in the service, but Skipper doesn't make us do drills or anything. Yes, he has a commanding tone, but he wouldn't make me do anything I didn't want to. Rico's mum died in an accident when he was a toddler. He has vocal problems and he has the scar from an accident while helping his dad out in an auto shop. He's got a sensitive side if you dig deep enough. Kowalski and Kenny's mother died when they were little. They've had a hard childhood even if they won't talk about it. Kenny's here and Kowalski isn't. He's never celebrated Christmas. I don't want things to be like this between us, mum. I need you, mum. Please listen to me, Dad, Kenny, everyone…and if at the end of vacation…once you've heard us all out and made your judgment-" Private took a shaky breath. "I'll stay if that's what you really need."

He stepped away from the bathroom. "But that's not the case…can we have a truce? At least until Kenny leaves…because he needs you too."

Candace nodded numbly. She stumbled into the bathroom as Private exited the room.

He chuckled lightly as he went downstairs.

Everyone had gathered at the bottom of the staircase as soon as they heard footsteps.

"What happened?"

"We have a temporary truce." Private said.

"And school?" Kenny asked.

"I asked her to listen to me, Dad, you, and everyone. Once she's got everyone's voices and judges the situation…I'll do what she decides."

"WHAT?!" Ginger shrieked. "You're going to let her walk all over you?"

"Ginger!" Her mother scolded. "He's offering her a fair choice."

"I'm asking her to be a mum." Private said, looking at Kenny. "I don't want to act as if we're walking a minefield. I want her to use her sense and judgment. I'm asked her to incorporate our opinions in her final judgment. We both know I'm asking for an unbiased opinion."

"But-"

"Ginger."

"Sorry, mum. Alright, Private, full steam ahead then." She grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow for a little while."

The kids exchanged goodbyes.

"Daniel, are you okay walking home by yourself?" Andrew asked.

"Yeah, it's still daylight." Daniel said. "Thanks."

Private and Kenny moved to the kitchen to admire their handiwork. Andrew had gone upstairs. They took a few photos and sent them to Barry. Barry replied with pictures of his own cookies he made with his foster sister. The boys looked through each other's photos. They had taken some before finals week which would explain Allie trying hard to hide her face with a study packet and Ramona looking annoyed, but amused at the same time. Barry had taken Kenny's phone and taken several pictures of himself, most with his tongue out.

"Kenny."

"Hmm?"

"I'm okay with sharing my dad."

Kenny looked up.

"And my mum. I'm okay sharing my parents with you."

Kenny didn't answer, but a small smile appeared on his face.

"I'm sure that Skipper's fine sharing his family."

Private saw tears forming in Kenny's eyes.

"One day, not now, but will you tell me?" Private asked. "One day, will you tell me what happens? What has happened? I just want you to be safe. I don't want it to be a situation where we find out when it's too late."

Kenny shook.

"Please...I care about you…Dad cares...Skipper's parents, George and Sapphire, care…we'll listen…you know when something's wrong…I know you do…if one thing happens to you or to Kowalski… even if no one's listened before, I promise we will…If one thing goes wrong again…one day?"

"Okay." Kenny said hoarsely. A few tears escaped his eyes.

Private bit back the urge to ask him to start talking. "Thank you."

Private went back to the pictures of Barry to give Kenny a moment to wipe his tears away.

They sat in silence for a while when they heard Private's parents coming down the stairs.

"This summer." Kenny whispered. "If anything happens this summer…I'll spill everything, whether Kowalski wants me to or not."

"Call Skipper, his dad's the one who can do something and get you help faster. Promise?"

"Promise."

Kenny and Private exited the kitchen to find Candace and Andrew going over a list.

"Hello there." Candace said with a smile.

Kenny approached with caution.

"My goodness, Andrew, have you been feeding this child?" She asked. "No no, you're going to eat a lot of meat, mister. You're like one of those skeletons they have at hospitals to point out parts of the body. Goodness, I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Candace Davis."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Davis." Kenny said politely, his cheeks pink from blushing at the skeleton comment.

"Such a gentleman, I believe I met you when we first got to New York. I've also heard about you from Andre."

"Yes, he's been another best friend to me."

"So sweet. We were going over the list of food to bring for tomorrow night's dinner."

"Do you boys want to play outside for a while? Check on your forts." Andrew suggested.

"Yes please." Private said.

Candace looked like she wanted to object, but kept her mouth shut as the boys raced each other outside.

Unfortunately, Andrew had run over two of the four forts. Kenny and Private decided to destroy the other two and build the ultimate fort. They gathered as much snow as they could and got to work. They hadn't realized it was getting dark until Andrew called them in for dinner.

Candace made no objections to anything on her son's plate.

"Kenny, you can call me Candace if you want." She said.

CLANG!

Private blushed. "Excuse me." He retrieved his dropped fork. "I'll get a new one."

"I'm full, may I be excused?"

"Sure." Andrew said.

Kenny followed Private to the kitchen.

"Sorry, but that was unexpected." Private said. "I guess she's taken a liking to you. And maybe my dad talked to her. I did ask that she actually listen to him."

"Hopefully you can come back next semester."

"Me too."

That night, the boys discussed how odd it was for Private's mother to be acting this way. She had gone into her son's room and nodded slightly, not commenting on it.

"Are you comfortable?" Candace asked once she saw Kenny in bed. "Can I get you anything? I heard about your feet, and I must say that was very foolish, anyhow, do you need more blankets?"

"No thank you, I'm fine."

"Are you sure, sweetie? Frostbite can be painful even if it's only first degree."

"It's getting better, I promise I'm fine."

"You know where to find us if you need anything."

Kenny nodded. "Okay."

The next day, Ginger and Daniel came over to help with the ultimate fort. It looked like a crazy tower. Later in the afternoon, they needed a doorway as Daniel was stuck in the middle. However, Private's attempt to make a door caused the tower to fall on the four of them. They went inside for hot chocolate after that.

They laughed about the fort and talked about Christmas. Ginger gave the boys presents, but instructed them not to open the presents until Christmas day.

Kenny admitted that until he got to New York, he only got presents from Kowalski, Nat and Izzy. They were usually candy, sweaters, or other articles of clothing. Kowalski could only afford cheap candy.

He did not expect to be spoken to so much, and when he got to Daniel's house, it was a big surprise.

Candace's brothers were there with their sons and daughters. Her sister was there, as it was her house, and their parents were there.

Andrew's brother, Nigel, was going to come on Christmas Day. Their mother, known as Gran, was fussing over Kenny's thinness more than Skipper's whole family.

Most of Private's cousins were significantly older than him. The youngest of his cousins, not counting Daniel, was twenty-two. Uncle Nigel had yet to settle down, making Private the youngest of all his first cousins.

No one minded when Daniel wanted to steal Kenny and Private away for a couple of hours to play on an old PlayStation.

Kenny ate as much as he could during dinner, but Gran still fussed over him.

"I'm okay, Mrs.-um…"

"Darling, you can call me Gran like everybody else does." Gran said. "My husband, bless his soul, even used to call me Gran."

"Was he your dad?" Kenny asked Andrew.

"Yes, the one I mentioned."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Kenny said.

"My dear, it's been years. I'm still sad sometimes, but I'm alright."

Kenny smiled. "Was he a good dad, Gran?"

Gran's smile grew wide. "He was as good as I could have hoped for. He always took the time to listen to the boys and sort through their problems. He was in war, but he always managed to send his love and asked for us to send his prayers."

"Nigel and I loved him." Andrew said. "He never hurt us or said anything bad about us. He gave us a smack upside the head if we were being cheeky, but nothing more than that."

Kenny smiled again. "Thanks, Gran."

"By the way, I love the color you picked out for Andre." She said. "Personally, I would have picked a honey color, but black's fine."

Kenny blushed. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault, accidents happen." Gran said. She put her hand on top of Kenny's. "Sweetie, we're not mad at you. Andre's wanted change for a long time. But please don't introduce him to nose piercings or tattoos. Or else Mr. I-hate-tattoos-and-all-those-things- over there will lecture you to death." She pointed at Candace's father.

"Got it, Gran."

"Good boy." She winked at him and stood up to get dessert. She served Kenny a good portion of apple pie, and some pumpkin pie. "Now that pumpkin pie has a different flavor. It's a special pie recipe that's been handed down from my own grandmother and it is delicious. That being said, I will be offended if you don't eat at least half of it."

Kenny grinned. He ate the entire slice of pumpkin pie and a couple bites of the apple.

"I am proud of you." Gran said. "You are amazing, are you sure you're not my grandson?"

Kenny blinked, unsure of how to respond.

"Sure, why not? You're my grandson. And your brother's my grandson too, tell him to visit his dear old Gran and try some pie."

Kenny laughed. "Okay, Gran."

"I mean it, you spend Christmas with us, you might as well be family. We consider Ginger a part of the family since she comes by so often." Gran looked serious, and then she hugged him.

"I have to use the bathroom." Kenny said. He ran out before anyone could say anything.

"Andre?"

"Yes, Gran?" Private said.

"Does he know much about what we're doing tomorrow?" Gran looked worriedly at the hall.

"No. I wish he didn't have to go back. He's getting used to it here."

"You don't just mean New York, do you?"

"No, I don't. But he promised me he'd tell me one day. He said if anything happened in the summer, he'd tell me everything."

"You're such a good friend." Gran hugged him.

"Thank you, Gran. I think he's starting to see what family is."

"Sweetie, I'm a Grandmother, it's my job to take care of children and grandchildren. I mean it; he and his brother are considered part of this family."

They moved to the living room to watch Christmas movies. Kenny joined them ten minutes later. He sat next to Private and smiled. It was obvious that he'd been crying, but Private didn't say anything.

Both boys were tired as they went back to Private's house for the night. Andrew had to carry Kenny up the stairs.

"Good night, Andre." Candace said as she tucked him in. "You're growing up so fast."

He was too tired to respond.

She checked on Kenny next.

"Good night, Kenny."

"G'night mama…"

Candace closed the door with a smile and went into her own room.

"Kenny called me mama." She said softly.

"He called me Dad the other night." Andrew said.

"Do we know the story?"

"No, but one day we will. He promised Andre that he'd tell."