A/N: Kowalski: Again, TK is nowhere to be found so we're taking over. Tammy is from TK's other story, Camaraderie. No, she won't be important to the story so don't worry.

Skipper: In case you missed it, there were two updates in two days last time. Chapter 42 went up the day after Chapter 41, oddly enough, the same day TK mysteriously vanished. So if you haven't read that chapter, then do it soldier!

Private: To add onto Kowalski's comment, the other characters mentioned in this chapter are not going to be as important to the story as the Penguins or secondary characters (PARK B, Marlene, Julien…you know who I mean). So just sit back, relax, and we'll see you at the end of the chapter!

When Kenny woke up, he was startled to find a face right in front of him.

"Hi! I'm Tammy!"

Kenny scrambled off the bed and ran into another room. He found Barry yawning as a little boy was crawling out of bed.

"Sorry." Kenny said.

"Hey, I seed you on the computer thingy!"

Kenny looked puzzled.

"My name is Carlos!"

Kenny nodded as he remembered.

"Good morning!" Barry said. "I assume you officially met your roommate this morning?"

Kenny nodded.

"Don't worry; there are four bedrooms up here. Jackie and Beck are sharing a room, this is our room, and Tammy has that bedroom. The fourth one isn't ready yet because it was kind of late notice."

Kenny nodded.

"Your stuff is in there, by the way. We'll be able to move you by tonight." Jackie said as she entered.

"Hi Kenny!" Beck said as she came from behind Jackie. "You ready? We're going to visit our brothers today."

"Oh yeah, Nurse Chloe is the nurse for both Gordon and Kowalski." Barry said. "Her brother is a few rooms down from Kowalski."

"Alright, why don't we give him some space?" Jackie said. "Come on, let's go downstairs."

Barry patted Kenny on the back before leaving with the others. Kenny entered the room where his and Kowalski's bags were. He closed the door and then slid to the floor and hugged his legs as he let himself fall apart. His walls fell and he burst like a water balloon. Trying to keep quiet but at the same time, not show that he was hurting.

Twenty minutes later, he was able to sneak into the bathroom unnoticed and splashed water on his face. He stared at his pale reflection in the mirror, willing himself not to cry again. Taking several deep breaths, he exited the bathroom and made his way downstairs.

He had the same glazed look he had when he had flown to New York with Mr. Sorenson. He heard voices, but they seemed distant and unclear. He felt hands patting and guiding him. His body was moving on autopilot. Autopilot took control as he didn't register that he was eating and drinking. He didn't even know he'd been in the car until they reached the hospital. He blinked when hearing his brother's name. The name clicked with something in his brain and he allowed his feet and an unknown set of firm hands to guide him to his brother.

"Kenny, are you upset with me?"

Kenny's head rose slowly, his somber eyes looking like eerie blue orbs. They told a tale of hurt and defeat, held so much more than an average thirteen year old should even know. He felt his head move slowly from left to right before settling on staring at his sleeping brother.

"Kenny…"

"Dad, I think he needs a moment alone." Skipper said.

George nodded and exited the room, leaving the brothers by themselves.

Kowalski's eyes slowly opened and settled on his brother. "Kenny."

"Kowalski."

Kenny hugged his brother, trying to avoid the injuries.

The brothers were in silence, staring at each other before the door opened.

"Excuse me. Hi guys!"

Kenny recognized the person as one of the people who interviewed him before. She was with Todd, the man who said he was with Wisconsin Police. Another man entered, wearing a fancy suit. The other two were just in casual-formal attire, but the second man looked like he was going to meet the President with his neat appearance.

"Hello, boys." Todd said. "Kenny, it's nice to see you again."

Kenny nodded.

"Not very talkative today?" Julie asked. "We were told about what happened yesterday. That was completely uncalled for and if I had any say in it, I would have let you stay last night with the knowledge that you had to find another place to stay the next day."

"Thank you." Kowalski said hoarsely.

"We came to interview you, Kowalski. But only if you're feeling well enough."

"I'm alright."

"Mainly, we're going to be confirming that you and your brother have matching stories. It's mainly for the people in the government who want to know if we're talking about the same case and blah blah, legal stuff."

A small smile flashed across Kowalski's face. Kenny remained blank.

"What about him?" Kowalski asked, gesturing to the other man.

"Me? Oh, I'm Reginald and I'm here to divulge the contents of the papers that were recovered. We found some things that we thought you should know about."

"First, we would like to hear the story though." Julie said.

Kowalski began to tell the story. He required several pauses, three glasses of water, and two bathroom breaks including one after a lunch break. Kenny left the room when it came to the sensitive part, but was brought in right after Kowalski was finished. They told the story about how Kenny was given the opportunity to see what family was like and how Skipper wouldn't let Kowalski off without knowing if the scientist trusted the leader.

At this point, Todd had to leave due to family obligations but said that he had enough information to file a complaint in the police department. He assured them that he would investigate and punish the officers who ignored the boys.

Reginald cleared his throat and showed them a packet. He opened it for them and gave them a couple of letters.

"I know you might have concerns about us looking at your mail, but trust me when I say it was important. These letters contained important information as well as legal documents from your mother stating that she did not want you in the care of your father."

Kenny blinked and Kowalski's jaw dropped.

Kowalski squinted, but still could not make out words as his vision kept blurring at times.

"Would you like me to read it?" Reginald asked.

Kowalski nodded, but Kenny took the papers before the man could move his hand.

"Alright."

The paper was heavily edited with crossing outs and additions as well as having been taped up a great deal. It was dated at first to when Kowalski would have been two. The younger brother might not have even been born yet. Perhaps Maria had been a few weeks or months pregnant when she wrote this first.

Kenny blinked and read the uncrossed parts.

"I, Maria Harrison, being of sound mind and body confirm this as my last Will and Testament should anything happen to me. Believing Ralph Taro is an unfit husband and father, I have planned on separating from him with my two children. However, it seems evident by this document that I have passed away for an unknown reason." Kenny looked up to see Kowalski looking surprised.

"Please continue." He said.

"I pass on my estate and everything I own to my sons. The house is to pass onto the ownership of Kowalski Benjamin, my oldest, when he reaches the age of eighteen. If something were to happen to Kowalski, then I leave my things to Kenneth Stelios, my younger son. I-"

Kenny found himself unable to read more and handed it to Reginald.

"Good job, young man."

Kenny smiled.

"Stelios?" He asked.

"It would appear to be the male version of Stella, Rico's mother." Kowalski explained. "Rikki's full name is Ricarda Maria Blue. His father said that they were hoping to have a girl and put our mother's name in hers." He coughed, his throat still felt hoarse.

"Oh." Kenny said.

Reginald began reading the will. "I shall now discuss my sons further. Being the absolute most important people on the planet to me, I must ensure their good health, happiness, and wellbeing. In order to do that, I insist that they be taken from the custody of their father as he is unfit to take care of them. I wish for their last names to be Harrison. My children, should I die before Kowalski is of age, have a list of caretakers I'd wish for them to be in the custody of. The list of people is as follows:

My sister, Talia Harrison

My nephew, Jeffery Harrison, when he has come of age

My best friend, Stella Blue and her husband Rex Blue or Rex Blue's mother, Mary.

Wilma Wayland; her son Cody and his wife, Madeline or their daughter, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Wayland-Henderson and her husband who run a foster home in New York.

If anything should happen to all of these people, I would like for my sons to be placed together in the foster system or with a nice family. Kowalski shall be legally allowed to be the guardian of Kenneth once he reaches the age of eighteen. If they remain foster or orphaned children, I give permission for Kowalski to be emancipated at the age of fifteen if he feels that he can financially and emotionally support himself and his brother and if he deems the situation worthy of being legally declared an adult while under the age of eighteen. I wish the best for my sons and ask for an environment where they are loved and cared for as much as I would have. My boys are the world to me and I hope they are in good hands."

Kenny had climbed onto Kowalski's bed and had his face buried in his brother's hospital gown. His hair covered his face as well as part of the blanket which he had pulled up to his forehead. He was shaking though.

Kowalski stared at the letter as if his mother's voice would suddenly burst out and talk to him. His mind whirred at two-hundred miles per hour as he soaked up everything he heard. She'd given him permission to be emancipated at the age of fifteen if he had to…he also had a long list of caretakers who weren't his father…she must have been heartbroken to cross off her sister and best friend's names…come to think of it, she wrote the will two years before Talia and Stella died…Had she already been predicting problems before Kenny was born? Perhaps even before he had turned one? They had a cousin out there, presumably alive, who was looking for them. If not, Rex was definitely alive and on the list of caretakers…but would he be too poor to take them in? He learned that Elizabeth Henderson had been the one to foster Barry and now planned on adopting the young boy.

"We also came across a letter for the two of you." Reginald said. "It's a personal letter, but it was mandatory to gather any and all evidence and examine it. The contents of the letter are classified and will not be disclosed to anyone else unless you wish for it to be. The other letter contains more papers which we have discovered to be communication between your mother, aunt, and their friend Stella."

Kowalski nodded.

"I shall leave you with this." Reginald said. He patted Kenny on the back. "I wish the both of you luck. I may be in contact with you later to discuss housing arrangements; if not me, then another person from my department or Julie here."

"Thank you." Kowalski said.

Julie smiled at the boys once Reginald left.

"Well, I suppose now's a good time as any to tell you this." She said.

"What?" Kowalski asked. Kenny looked up a little, his eyes puffy and red.

"I work for the same organization that you are in, Kowalski."

"What?"

Julie nodded, showing him a communication watch. "Your situation was brought to our attention about a month ago. Do you remember what happened a month ago?"

"It was weeks before school got out." Kowalski said.

"And those guys came in our school and my teacher fought them." Kenny said.

"Randy Campbell is also part of our organization. He was put in the school to keep an eye on young students. He notified his sister to keep watch over you, Kowalski."

"His sister?" Kowalski asked. "I wasn't aware that he had a sister."

"Carol Merrick, your swim coach, let us know what was going on as soon as the swim competition was over."

"Coach Merrick and Mr. Campbell are siblings?" Kenny asked. "But, they don't have the same name."

"Coach Merrick is married." Kowalski said. "She doesn't wear her ring during school hours because she doesn't want to lose it if she has to demonstrate anything. She chaperoned the Valentine's dance and had the ring on. I asked her about it and she told me not to go around telling everyone."

"Oh, then Mr. Campbell really did save us." Kenny said. "Is he in the hospital now?"

"He's at home on bed rest." Julie said. "You know, it really is a small world. My younger cousin was on a rookie mission and got into trouble; Jackie Henderson helped her out and was recruited. You know Jackie as Barry's foster sister."

"Wow." Kenny said.

"And from there, Jackie dates Skipper's brother, right?" Kowalski asked.

"That is correct. I also believe that since your mother and Stella Blue were best friends, you most likely would have grown up knowing your teammate, Rico." Julie said.

"What about Private?"

"Andrew Davis used to work for our organization and I believe Nigel has met with George once or twice, but that was when George's eldest was a baby."

"Does Rico's dad know our mother?"

"I'm not certain about that." Julie said sadly. "I would assume Stella spoke of her friends fondly, so maybe he can give you an idea. In the meantime, we'll try to locate your cousin and see where it goes from there."

"Thank you." Kowalski said.

Julie wished them luck and left. After she left, the brothers were given space to be by themselves. The nurse came in briefly to check Kowalski before exiting the room.

"Letter." Kenny said. He opened one of the letters. "It's for us."

"Can you read it?"

Kenny nodded.

"Dear Kowalski and Kenny,

Hello, boys, this is your mother writing to you. If you have received this letter, this means that unfortunately I have passed away and that's why I am no longer with you. First and foremost, I want you to know that I love you very much and that you mean the entire world to me. I assume you have received my will already? If so, then you know I wrote this before Kenny was born and you were about two, Kowalski. Please know that I loved life and lived it to the fullest and would never dream of attempting to leave you. The reason I wrote my will early was because I was afraid.

I hope by now you know my older sister, Talia, and my best friend Stella. Unfortunately about a month ago, the two of them died in an accident. The three of us grew up promising each other that we would be together forever and never be separated. Being technically the youngest of the three of us, younger than Stella by three months, I took this to heart even in adulthood. I felt strongly superstitious as both of them died together and I suspected I might be next. My marriage was already deteriorating and I thought that having another baby would remind him of why we love each other and why we wanted to be a family. However, he still did not care much for the baby. Kenny, don't think that I had you just to try to reconnect my marriage. I also wanted to give Kowalski a sibling because he had been asking since he was old enough to understand what a brother and sister were.

I love the both of you and always will. I won't pretend to be psychic, mostly because I don't believe that is sc-" Kenny stopped, squinting at the word.

"Sound it out."

"Scl-sclo-no there's a dot…scio-scie-is that a u?"

"Where's the bump?"

"On top."

"It's an n."

"scien-oh! Scientifically."

"Good job!"

Kenny continued reading.

"I won't pretend to be psychic, mostly because I don't believe that is scientifically possible, but I have a strong hunch that I may be the next to go. The three of us were very close and I feel that we were meant to leave together. For the past two years, I lived in constant worry about what would happen to me and most importantly, you two. My fear started about a week before my sister and best friend died, which is when I wrote the will. I must have been a couple of months pregnant at the time.

I wish I had more time with you. Kenny, you were born three weeks premature and Kowalski was born a week late. Kowalski, I can already tell that you are a scientist in the making and I fully encourage you to explore your interests and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Whatever you chose to do in life, I support and love you so go for it and don't give up on your dreams. Kenny, I wish the same for you and hope you have an amazing life full of adventure. Kenny, your middle name is the male version of Stella. I was so happy to have been able to give birth to you; I thanked my best friend by naming you after her. I believe she and my sister were alright with me living this long. You are also named after your grandmother, my mother, whose name was Kendra. Kowalski, you may be wondering why your first name is a surname. The reason for this is that my father's mother's family had the surname and I wished to incorporate the name in yours so we wouldn't forget where we come from. Your middle name, Benjamin, comes from your late uncle. Your uncle, my brother, died with my mother when her cancer made a return. He was forced to come out by emergency surgery at five months. He survived in the NICU for four days and died exactly twenty-four hours after our mother did. She was able to inform us that she wanted his name to be Ben and we complied.

Right now, I am trying to contain tears as I write this letter, looking at your beautiful faces. You two fell asleep on my bed for naptime and I can't help but wonder if this may be one of the last times I get to see you. You may not know much about me when you grow up, and sadly you probably won't know that much. As hard as this is to admit, the only people who could tell you more about me have unfortunately passed away. Stella's parents passed away when she was sixteen and she lived at our house until she got her own apartment. Talia and I lost our mother at when we were fifteen and ten, respectively, from breast cancer. Our father unfortunately passed away when I was pregnant with Kowalski. Rex can tell you a lot about Stella and Jeffery can tell you a lot about Talia.

I can tell you some things about myself, but I know it won't be enough. Hopefully you can gather enough information to be satisfied. About me, I will tell you that I love animals and I have always been interested in chemistry and biology. I was very shy and kept things in, which Stella used to try and break me out of. I love chocolate, and unfortunately may have passed on my candy addiction to you. I am not sure what else to tell you except that I love you so much and no matter what, I will always be there when you need me the most. Even if I am not there physically, I hope I can be in your hearts and minds.

Love you forever and always,

Your mother, Maria Harrison."

Kenny's voice had grown hoarse after reading it.

"You're named after girls." Kowalski said, trying to make light of the situation.

Kenny smiled. "And you're named after a surname…what's a surname?"

"Last name."

"So she did love us…she wanted to keep us."

Kowalski nodded slowly. "Perhaps…the both of us inherited all of…of our characteristics from her." His voice was nearly strained.

"So, we might not be able to know everything about her?"

"No, but Rex is bound to have a…a bunch of his late wife's things so…maybe we can take a trip to Rico's…find out more about their friendship."

"Okay."

"Hey, I think I heard a knock."

"Come in!"

The door opened and Skipper entered with a smile. "Good news, boys! You're coming to stay with us as soon as we're done renovating the guest room."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, Kenny, we were redoing the guest rooms and we threw out an old mattress. The new one will come in a couple of weeks so you have to stay at Barry's for a little while."

"But we won't be separated?"

"I promise you can live at our house until we find someone who can care for you permanently." George said as he entered. "Is it okay if I make that promise?"

Kenny nodded. "When's Kowalski getting out of here?"

"I believe sometime within the next week or so. Both of you are going to stay at the Henderson's until we get permission to bring you into our home."

"Alright, thank you." Kowalski said. "So…technically…am I out of commission?"

"What do you think, solider?" Skipper said. "Physically, yes. But we can use your brain."

Kowalski laughed. "Well, at least I know I can be of some help." He coughed a few times.

One week later, Kowalski was released from the hospital and put on bed rest at Barry's foster home. Kowalski's voice was starting to improve and he was able to speak more than one sentence at a time. Kenny didn't want to move from his brother's side, afraid he might actually lose the older one this time.

Two weeks after that, the Sorenson family was ready to take the boys in. Kowalski went first with the majority of their items. Kenny was to stay one more night at Barry's before Rocky came back for him in the morning.

Kowalski said that Kenny could call him as often as he wanted even though they would see each other in less than twenty-four hours.

Kenny called about four times, but Kowalski was fine with that. His vocal cords had shown signs of vast improvement and he was able to carry out full conversations.

Kowalski smiled as he hung up the phone, having calmed his brother's nerves yet again. He had realized that he didn't have his cell phone and that Kenny's was broken. They were communicating through the landlines which meant that every time Kenny called, someone in the Sorenson house picked it up and brought it to Kowalski.

Kenny called again right as Rocky was leaving to pick him up. Brian was out for the day with his oldest brother. Sapphire was out shopping and George was outside. Kowalski kept hearing the phone ring and decided that he should investigate. He limped down the hall when the ringing stopped. Skipper, who had been showering, came out of the bathroom with his shorts on.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Phone…"

They went to investigate to find Toby holding the phone to his ear. His back was turned to them.

"So go back to your little hiding hole and don't bother us-" He was saying. "Because you and your brother are just unwanted intruders."

"TOBY!" Skipper barked.

Toby turned with a grin, ending the call.

Kowalski growled. "What did you say to him?"

"Who?"

"My brother, you dolt! What did you do?!"

"Dolt? Well, that's not nice considering we let you stay here."

"Toby, I'm going to kill you if you said anything." Skipper said.

"What. Did. You. Say?" Kowalski hissed furiously, his teeth bared.

"The truth." Toby said, approaching them.

"What does that mean? What did you do?"

Toby grinned. "I just told him that he's an interloper."

"Toby!" Skipper snapped. "Are you an idio- Kowalski!"

Kowalski lunged forward, pinning Toby to the wall with his good arm.

"Why?" Kowalski growled.

"Oh come on, it was just for fun. Learn to take a joke, why don't you?"

Kowalski's grip loosened. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Poked fun at people? Take a joke, man."

Kowalski lashed out, his fist making contact with Toby's face.

"Kowalski, stop!" Skipper said. "Toby, get out of here."

"I live here, they don't." Toby said.

"You-"

"Boys!"

The boys turned to see George staring at them sternly.

"Kowalski, you're supposed to be on bed rest. Skipper, take him to his bed."

Skipper nodded and helped Kowalski along.

A few minutes later, Kowalski was staring at the ceiling when someone knocked.

"Come in." Skipper said. He'd been reading on the other bed.

George entered. "Sit up, please."

Kowalski slowly sat up, bracing himself.

George sat next to Kowalski. "I know you're old enough to realize that what happened was not alright. Even though Toby did something to deserve that, we don't retaliate by hitting."

"I know." Kowalski said.

"You and your brother are not burdens, you know that."

Kowalski stared at his knees.

"He ruined everything I've-" Kowalski caught himself.

"You've what?"

"Everything I've done to keep Kenny safe…I told him he'd be alright here, he's safe now…but he takes in everything and-"

"We'll reassure him that he is welcome here, because he is and you are too."

"I'm sorry for hitting Toby."

"I'm not going to hurt you for that. I give stern lectures, right Skipper?"

Skipper nodded. "You're alright here, soldier…do you trust me?"

Kowalski and Skipper stared at each other for a few minutes.

"Yes."

Skipper smiled. "Well, there's a start."

Rocky arrived at the foster home to find Barry panicking in the front yard with his cell phone.

"What's going on?"

"He's gone!" Barry said.

A/N: Kenny: I'm alive and not physically hurt!

Skipper: Dang it, all these cliffhangers. Well, it's not as tedious as the last one. Any questions, leave a review or PM…I can't guarantee that TK will answer, but we will be around!

Kowalski: As TK has previously mentioned, the focus is slowly turning back to the Penguins. Starting chapter 45, the focus will attempt to stay around the main four and those closest to them. Other characters that have been introduced will be reintroduced for your convenience.

Private: If TK has any ideas for minor characters, such as Barry's foster home or Rico's friends, those ideas will be in separate stories from this one. Oh, and if you're wondering where Rico is right now, he went to look for TK.