D'nahsy gave the gathering a small smile. "Hey. Sorry I'm late. Looks like I missed out on the fun?"

Matt boosted himself up on his elbows. "Jim was missing you. You know how sappy these younger boys can get."

"I will tickle you again," Jim threatened, "And I'm a month older than you."

"Because your planet has a shorter year than mine. I've been around longer, you've just lapped your sun a month more than me. In a year, you'll be two months older than me."

"Are you two going to start fighting again?" Braxton raised an eyebrow. "Because if so, wait a minute, I'll get a betting pool going."

Jim rolled his eyes. "Thanks for your support, Braxton. Ugh. Cyborgs aren't worth the hassle." He sighed. "And yet, somehow, I always end up loving them."

Sy joined Matt on the floor. "How many other cyborgs have you known, Jim?"

"One." Jim grabbed a cookie from the box and took a bite. "Matt, fix your shirt."

"Why, are my abs distracting you?" Matt stretched in an exaggerated manner. Jim went bright red. "It's okay to be jealous, Jim. I never mind someone admiring my hard work."

"Just fix your shirt."

Sy glanced between his friends before deciding someone needed to change the conversation. And it seemed that someone had to be him. "So, why don't you tell us about this cyborg?"

"He went by the name Silver. He was a good man. Well, not really. He was a pirate, a thief, a murderer, a cook, a lot of things really. But his heart had more gold than even Treasure Planet. He saved my life more times than I realized, and he taught me what it means to be, well, me." Jim ran his hand through his hair. "We have our differences, but he's been more of a father to me than anyone else in my life."

Jim turned away and wrapped his arms around himself. "Doesn't matter. I can't see him anymore. We should talk about something else."

Braxton set his hand on Jim's shoulder. 628 jumped down from where he sat and scrambled over to join them. Matt and Sy leaped to their feet and joined their friends.

"Jim," Sy was the only one to move around in front of him. He laid his hand on Jim's arm. "If you love someone, you should be able to talk about him. No matter who your father is, pirate or not, you can always tell us about him. And I have no doubts he's telling everyone about the son he is so very proud of."

Jim wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist. "Thanks guys."

Matt was the first to hug him. 628 flung all four of his arms around Jim's leg. After that it was a mess of arms and squeezing as all four boys squashed their friend in the middle of their huddled mass. From somewhere buried under the comfort of their love, Jim started to cry.