"What's this sentence Mikkel?" asked Shari.

Mikkel struggled to sound it out like he'd been taught. "The cat ran up the road," he finally read slowly.

"Very good," Shari complimented. They had found out a week ago that his reading skills weren't all that good and since they wanted to put him in school with the other third graders next year they were trying to help him improve his vocabulary and his comprehension as much as possible. Mikkel had protested at first saying he didn't want to go to school and Marcus had sat him down and told him all the things he was missing, by not being able to read and he also explained he had to get a good education in order to get a decent job later and to keep; himself from being cheated. He had finally grudgingly agreed to give it a try and that was a week ago. He was making slow, but steady progress and both Shari and Marcus had a way of complimenting him that made him want to continue to learn to get more such praises.

"Why don't we stop for awhile and get some lunch?" Shari suggested after they had spent another half hour at it. "Then you can watch TV if you want before we get back to it."

Mikkel jumped up glad to be given a break, because at the moment his head was pounding and he felt as if his brain had been turned inside out and then wrung out to dry. When Marcus was home he sometimes took over the lessons for a few days, until he had to leave again. They had assured him that eventually he would be able to read easily and would understand enough words to read an easy book, then a harder one. Mikkel hoped that day came soon.

~~~Beyond the Future~~~

It was December and only a few days till Christmas. It would be both Davey's and Mikkel's first Christmas—O'Malley style. They were all flying to Chicago to see the rest of the family and the other O'Malleys were going to meet Mikkel for the first time. They all knew about him of course and after what both Marcus and Shari had told them they really wanted to meet him. Mikkel was nervous and it was obvious in the way he tapped his foot when he was eating breakfast and they way he avoided the subject. He was even thinking that running away might be a better option than meeting the people both Marcus and Shari talked about with such love and affection. Would they like him? Or would they reject him because of his past? Marcus and Shari liked him, they had invited him into their home and had treated him better than he had ever expected to be treated. Marcus was the cook in the family and his breakfasts were to die for. Eggs over easy, hash browns, milk and orange juice or some day's it was an omelet with bacon and toast. Shari usually fixed a sandwich for lunch and Marcus cooked dinner if he wasn't too tired and if he was they ordered out. He had gained weight just in the in the month and a half he had stayed with them.

"You'll love it," Shari assured him the day before they were supposed to leave for Chicago. "The O'Malleys are nothing if not original."

"Tell me about them," Mikkel requested.

"Well," said Shari, "You should really ask Marcus he's known then a lot longer than I have."

"He's not here," Mikkel pointed out

"Okay, I'll tell you what I can, but it's mostly what Marcus has told me and my conversations on the phone." Shari paused for a moment deep in thought. "They met at the orphanage known as Trevor House."

Mikkel nodded for he already knew this bit. Marcus had told him. "They had each been through a lot of strife to reach the point where they were put into an orphanage. In Jennifer's case it was a simple car accident that killed both her parents. The others were more traumatic. I won't go into them, because for one thing they aren't my stories to tell and for another I don't want to get any of the details mixed up. They formed a group and decided if they wanted to add another person to the close friendship they had formed. Marcus and Kate ran the group because they were the two oldest. They had two years of history together before the others started to show up one by one. The bond between then grew even to the point that when Lisa tried to run away and Marcus caught her and Lisa allowed herself to be talked out of it. Of course, from what I know even as a kid Marcus could be very persuasive. He had future big brother written all over him."

"Marcus got out first when he turned eighteen and he started searching for a place to live for when the others joined him. He had some money that his parents had left him and it was now legally his. He also looked for a job for he was determined to support the others so they could go to college after they graduated high school in case they didn't get even a partial scholarship. Kate followed soon after and then the others. They all went to college and majored in what they wanted to be. All of them had dreams. Marcus wanted to be a cop, but not just any cop a U.S. Marshal."

"Kate also wanted to be a cop, but she wanted to help people out of bad situations that could turn violent and her past led her to her dream. She became a police negotiator—one of the best you've ever seen. She could walk into any situation where violence was threatened and most of the time; talk the person out of it. The more danger there was the more bored she became. It was her way of putting the emotions like fear and anger aside in order to do her job."

"Jack is a fireman and second in command of company 81. He's the jokester of the family and is always ready with a good joke—a fake mouse or spider and the like. But under that joking exterior is a serious man which makes him a good leader. He is always on the front lines trying to save peoples' lives by going into burning buildings."

"Stephen is a paramedic and used to work in Chicago before the job and all the suffering he was seeing got to him and he quit. He was always on the front lines almost continually. Seeing a child die was the toughest and some of the accidents were so stupid. Like a child not being buckled into its child safety seat properly. He moved to a small town known as Silverton, which is just a couple of hours outside of Chicago where he bought a farm and is working on restoring it. Carpentry is his hobby—his way to relieve the stress. It's one of the reasons he lasted for ten years as a paramedic in Chicago the other is his family was always there when he needed to talk. He works as a paramedic in Silverton as well, although it's mostly broken bones or scrapes and bruises.

"Rachel is a trauma psychologist and helps children who come from broken homes whether it is domestic violence or something more serious. She has a way to relieve the pain of others. She helps them to deal with the situation so that they can sleep at night without the nightmares."

"Lisa was the odd one out, for she never felt like she truly belonged. The O'Malleys didn't care they simply made a place for her and smothered her with love. She is a forensic pathologist and dead bodies is her game. She has a reputation for making more connections that others would miss about a body then anybody I know. It is her job, to investigate such things and give an opinion on whether it was an accident or murder."

"Sounds like an interesting family," Mikkel said fascinated.

"I told you," said Shari dryly, "that the O'Malleys are nothing if not original. There genuine characters with a lot of personality. They mix together well. You have six and it used to be seven distinct personalities and yet they all get along."

Mikkel nodded and didn't say anymore even though he still had a ton of questions.

~~~Beyond the Future~~~

"Calm down," Marcus told Mikkel who was fidgeting nervously. They were at the airport waiting for their flight to be called so they could board. Mikkel was in a fresh pair of jeans and a nice long sleeve sweatshirt. Shari and Marcus hand bought them for him and some other clothes as well. "I know you're nervous about meeting my family, but there nothing to worry about they are going to love you."

"I know what both you and Shari have said, but I still can't help feeling nervous," Mikkel replied trying to remain still.

Who's meeting us at the airport?" Shari asked Marcus.

"Lisa and Quinn," said Marcus. "They were detailed to do it," he said with laughter in his voice.

"In other words, they were told to do it and I can just imagine how Lisa reacted," Shari said dryly, trying to hold in her laughter.

"She nearly exploded," said Marcus with humor. "If she had been asked it was one thing—but to be told like her opinions didn't matter...well let's just say that didn't go over well."

Shari didn't have a chance to respond as their flight was called. "Stay close," Marcus ordered Mikkel as he held Davey who was still too young to know better than to wonder off so Marcus carried him.

They boarded their flight without any problems and Mikkel tried to relax and read a book he had brought. He still had some trouble reading, but he'd picked up quite a bit from going to school and what both Marcus and Shari had tried to teach him beforehand. They had found out that he could read but not very well and they had tried their best to teach them. The book was one of those stepping stone books that was supposedly easy to read. Both Marcus and Shari had encouraged him and told him that the more he read the easier it would become. So far he didn't know if that was true or not, he was still having trouble. It would just take time he was told to become proficient.

The flight was too short and soon they were landing. They walked down the ramp and Mikkel tried his best to hide behind Marcus and Shari, hoping to be forgotten. He looked around the airport and it was huge. People were streaming all around them like a tide and no one seemed to notice them as they were bumped and jostled as they walked.

"Marcus!" a voice called, "Shari!"

"Lisa!" Shari exclaimed. She rushed forward and gave Lisa a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"It's so good to see you," Lisa exclaimed.

"Any hugs for your big brother?" Marcus teased, as he came forward with Davey in his arms.

"Of course," said Lisa, giving her brother a hug practically smothering Davey between them. Davey struggled not liking the feeling of being crushed and said, "Auntie Lisa, Unca Quinn!"

"Here I'll take the squirt," Quinn offered, taking Davey out of Marcus's arms.

"It's good to see you Marcus," said Lisa giving him another hug, "Especially when there's not some emergency or something. So where's this young man you've been telling us so much about?"

"At the moment he's trying to hide behind me," said Marcus with laughter in his voice. "He was nervous about meeting the family." Marcus pulled Mikkel out from behind him and said, "Lisa, Quinn meet Mikkel."

"It's nice to meet you Mikkel," said Lisa crouching down to the boys level an offering to shake his hand.

Mikkel nodded, but didn't say anything. "He's shy about meeting new people," Shari offered

"Hey, I know the feeling," said Lisa. "You and I are going to become good friends I just have a feeling. If you're especially good I might even let you see my pets."

Mikkel perked up at that. "I like animals," he admitted shyly. The tough exterior had faded over the last couple of mouths when he had begun to realize he was safe and the real shy, friendly boy had begun to emerge.

Marcus and Quinn chuckled together at that, "Well Lisa has some unusual ones I can assure you," said Quinn. "It's nice to meet you Mikkel I'm Quinn."

They shook hands and Mikkel began to relax a little, although he was still nervous about meeting the others.

"Let's get your bags and get out of here," Lisa suggested. "Mikkel why don't you walk with me and let the others catch up." Mikkel and Lisa walked ahead of them while the others followed.

"She's good with children," said Marcus observing the two of them.

"I think it probably comes from the time when the Richards were going to adopt her and then Andy was killed. Maybe she is just trying to make up for what she lost," said Quinn.

Marcus nodded. "You're probably right. Of course, I've been trying to figure out Lisa for over twenty years, but there are so many layers to her personality it's like a giant puzzle. She has things in her past that nobody knows about and that she refuses to talk about even now."

"I know," said Quinn, shaking his head sadly.

~~~Beyond the Future~~~

"How's everything going in Montana and how are my niece and nephew doing?"

"Just fine," said Quinn dryly. "They'll be excited to see their Uncle Marcus and Aunt Shari."

"They wear us out chasing after them without even trying," Lisa admitted with a smile.

"They're at that age where they'd rather run then walk and with all the land in Montana—well let's just say it's like having a gigantic sized backyard," Quinn said.

"You're enjoying them though aren't you Quinn?" Shari teased. "You might as well quit protesting. You're loving every minute of it and you know it."

Finally, Quinn nodded, as if conceding that he did love it. "I enjoy being a family man," he finally admitted. "I also enjoy being back in Montana and doing ranch work."

"You don't miss being a U.S. Marshal at all?" Marcus teased.

"Not much, you know the reasons I originally got into being a U.S. Marshal. I'm just glad the case is solved, even if it did take twenty years," Quinn said.

"You're happier and more contented then I've ever known you to be," Marcus admitted. "Part of that, I'll admit, was probably solving your father's murder, but the other part is more obvious if you know what I mean . . ."

"Marcus!" Lisa exclaimed punching her brother on the arm.

"Now Lisa you behave yourself," Marcus teased.

"Or what?" asked Lisa half-threateningly.

"Or I'll set Jack on you and makes sure he drives you crazy with all his practical jokes."

"You wouldn't," said Lisa, trying not to laugh.

"Try me," said Marcus, with a smile. He enjoyed teasing his sister. "All I have to do is say the word. . ."

"It could go both ways you know," said Lisa getting a mysterious gleam in her eyes. "And this time, I am not going to be tricked into doing Dave's room by mistake."

The debate lasted all the way to the hotel.

Mikkel listened as they teased each other and thought it was obvious to anybody who observed them for long that they loved each other as brother and sister. The way they teased and joked and took comments that to anybody who didn't know them; would have been offended—but not anybody who knew the O'Malleys.

~~~Beyond the Future~~~

A few hours later; Marcus and the rest arrived at Dave's estate which is where Christmas was being held this year. Most everybody was already there the driveway was filled with cars as was the garage which was huge. Some were even parked on the grass.

They arrived at the front door and rang the bell and a tall blond man answered it. "Tom you made it," said Marcus shaking the man's hand. "The last time we talked you were uncertain if you could get away for a few days."

"Well, I made it," said Tom. "I hated to miss my chance to meet the boy I've heard so much about over the last couple of months. It's good to see you Marcus and you to Shari. And how is young Davey doing?"

"See for yourself," said Shari handing over her son.

"Man you sure have grown since I last saw you. When was it? Around the Fourth of July barbeque that's it," Tom said.

"Unca Tom, wan' down," Davey insisted.

Tom laughed and set him down after Marcus gave him the okay sign. "So where is this young man I've heard so much about?"

"Mikkel meet Tom Peterson, Tom, Mikkel Wilkerson," said Marcus pulling Mikkel out from behind him where he had been hiding.

"It's nice to meet you Mikkel," Tom said with a smile.

"You to Mr. Peterson," Mikkel said politely after the introductions were through.

"Just Uncle Tom will do young man after all I'm sure you will soon be family, so you might as well start calling me what all the other children do."

Mikkel nodded and followed Marcus and Shari as they went around and said hi to each one of the family.

~~~Beyond the Future~~~