Matty and I went up to the room and we went to sleep. I slept a little bit, but every time I closed my eyes I just ended up reliving the explosion. So, I just spent most of the night reading my mother's journals.

The next morning, Irene did knock on the door at exactly seven am. I woke Matty up. We got dressed and went downstairs. Doctor Williams was sitting with my grandfather. He was still overweight back then. That was before he got thin. I remembered him from when I was a boy. He and his wife were very warm and nice. Complete opposite from my grandfather. It is amazing that the two of them have stayed friends since they were boys. I think the last time I had seen Doctor Williams before this was when I was twelve years old, and he had come to visit the Colonel and I when we were staying at the Ramstein air force base in Germany.

Doctor Williams got up from the table and came over and hugged me. "Blimey, you are the spitting image of your father. This is your son?"

I smiled, "Yes sir, this is my son, Alex."

Doctor Williams smiled warmly back at me, "It is so nice to see you again after all these years, Lee. I should have made more of an effort to keep in touch with you over the years. But you and your uncle moved around so much. I know my daughter Nora has seen you on numerous occasions. Told us your wife was a wonderful woman. I am sorry about her loss. My wife Margot and I would have loved to meet her."

I answered him, "Thank you. I was going to bring my wife to meet you last time we were in London. Unfortunately, you and your wife were in California visiting Nora."

He smiled at me, "Pity. Would have loved to see you under better circumstances. Jonathon tells me you are going to be staying here. That I need to call you Michael in front of other people. The boy will be going by Matthew like your father? Should I call him Matt or Matty? I believe people that were close to your father would call him Matty."

I really liked that suggestion, "I think Matty would fit Alex perfectly. Thank you, sir."

Matty ate breakfast and then we went back up to my mother's room so the doctor could examine Matty.

"Off with your shirts, lads. Both of you. Your grandfather wants me to make sure you are alright as well, Lee."

I complained a little, but I took my shirt off. Then I took Matty's shirt off for him because I could tell he did not really understand what was going on.

Doctor Williams looked at Matty's back and winced,"What did they do to this poor boy? How old is he?"

I sighed, "He is five, sir. I had to get him away from some evil men. That is one of the reasons why we need to hide, sir. Why I can't be Lee Stetson anymore."

Doctor Williams nodded, "I understand. Jonathon told me everything. Well, we are going to get you boys healed up. When you feel better you will need to come to my estate. My wife Margot will cook you both a homemade meal. She is a wonderful cook. I am sure she would love the opportunity to fatten this poor child up. He does seem like he is a bit malnourished. Now let me check his ears out."

He looked into Matty's ears. "Well, whoever cleaned his ear did a very nice job. It looks like it is healing nicely. I will give you some antibacterial ointment to keep it from getting infected. Unfortunately, I do not think he will ever hear out of his right ear again. His left ear there may be some hope for. The ear drum is just damaged. He may have some hearing in that ear. I will need to test it in the office. Now it is your turn, Lee."

He looked me over. "Well, I think you may have cracked a rib or two. I noticed you did not eat breakfast Just sipped on a coffee and picked at a roll. Are you having stomach issues? You also look very tired. Have you slept at all?"

I sighed, "I'm fine. I never eat much for breakfast. I have not had much of an appetite since my wife died. As for sleeping, I keep reliving what happened whenever I close my eyes."

Doctor Wililams nodded sympathetically, "Yes well, that is understandable. You and the boy have been through a terrible ordeal. Now psychiatry is not my specialty. But if you need to talk. I will listen. Anytime, day or night. Here is my card. You call it. I am going to prescribe you both some pain medication. Antibiotics for the boy and for you I will write you a prescription for sleeping pills and some anti-anxiety medication. Also, if you need to get away from Jonathon for a little bit as we all do once in a while. You and your son are always welcome at my estate. My wife will be very excited to see you again. We have some pictures of your parents wedding that we would love to show you. We also have some of you too as a boy when we visited you in DC when you were a child. It has been wonderful to see you again, Lee. I will give Irene the prescriptions. You boys just take it easy for a few days. I will also work it out with Irene when you can come to my office and a time when you come to my estate for dinner."

I shook his hand and thanked him. He left the room.

Matty & I put our shirts back on. A few minutes later Irene came into the room. "Jonathon suggested I take you to the movie room for a while. He has a large collection of classic movies. You can also watch television in there if you would rather watch that instead of movies. He has a sports package for the football. I am sure there is some sort of match on. There always is. He also suggested I get some toys and games for the boy. Do you have any suggestions on what Alex would like?"

I smiled at her, "He likes video games. He had a Nintendo Game Boy which was his favorite toy at home. I am sure he would be very happy with that. The Mario ones are his favorite of the games for that. He likes to read as well. Whatever popular children's books that are out. He will read anything. I have some money in my duffel bag in the bedroom."

Irene smiled. "That is no problem. Do not worry about the money. Jonathon is a very wealthy man. Also, I would like to apologize for the way I treated you at the door yesterday. I did not know you were Jonathon's grandson. You could have just told me that upfront. I would have let you in right away."

I nodded, "I know. I just had no idea who you were. I do not want too many people knowing who I really am. You are a really great personal assistant by the way. My grandfather is lucky to have you. Thank you for everything you have been doing. Especially the clothes and returning the rental car. I really appreciate it."

Irene raised her eyebrow, "You are very welcome. You are mistaken on one thing, I am not Jonathon's personal assistant. I am his wife."

That floored me. She was just a kid. My grandfather was 88. "You're my step grandmother? What are you like 25 or 26 years old?"

She looked at me, "I am nineteen. I will be twenty next month. Before you say anything or think any less of your grandfather because of our age difference. There is nothing romantic between Jonathon and me. We did not even kiss at our wedding. He just kissed my cheek. My father gave me to him as a gift when I was seventeen. Jonathon just went through with marrying me when I turned eighteen because he thought if he declined. My father would just give me to another rich old man that would take advantage of me. Jonathon is a good man. He helped me get into business school. If I am not available some evenings that is where I am. I am very grateful to Jonathon. The least I can do for him is help him with his affairs. He is getting quite old. It is getting harder for him."

I was amazed at how young she actually was. "You are the same age as my other two boys."

Irene looked at me, "You have other children? Aren't they in danger as well?"

I sighed,"I have two stepsons but they are not children anymore. One is nineteen like you and the other is 21. The older one just finished college and is training to be an agent. The other boy, well he goes to college in NYC and is doing quite well. I have it in place that if I needed to disappear. They would each get a third of my trust fund. So, each boy is getting 1.5 million dollars. I also put a phone # they can call if they are in trouble. It is an answering service that will alert my network if someone needs help. I still have access to it. So, if I check the messages. I will know if they are in trouble. I will have to talk to Grandfather in case that happens. So, he can prepare emergency identifications for them too in case either or both of them need to disappear and one for my mother in law as well. When Matty is older maybe we can trick them into coming to the estate. It is not safe for me to reach out to them right now. As long as Karbala thinks I am dead then they have no reason to seek revenge on me anymore. It makes them safer. Karbala was more interested in Matty anyway because he is my actual son and met most of the criteria of the kids that they were training to be mercenaries."

Irene nodded, "Yes, well we can work on an emergency plan with Jonathon for your American family as well. One thing at a time. But for right now. You and Alex need to rest. Let us go to the movie room."

Irene took us to the movie room. It had a huge movie screen and very comfortable black leather recliners with cup holders. There is also a black leather couch. Matty & I opted for sports, and she grabbed the remote control and turned it on a soccer channel. You want to take over the next part of the story, kid. I have been talking for a while."

Notes:

Next chapter: Lee & Matty start to settle into their new life in England. They move into the guest house. We get to meet Sven.