I hope everyone has their bags packed! *Grin* Let's get to it!
No real warning for this chapter, so let the bonding begin!
Read on and see me at the bottom!
"Alright everyone, time to load up!" Rocky called from the kitchen. "We're leaving in 30 minutes!"
Kyle trudged from his room past the nursery and stopped. Turning the light on, he saw little brother had rolled over on his stomach and was babbling loudly from his crib.
"Hey, Sweetie, would you mind getting your brother into some clothes?" Aisha called as she walked down the stairs with a big suitcase. "I've already fed him and changed his diaper; he just needs to get an outfit on."
"Sure Mom." Kyle replied as he set his backpack by the door.
He walked to the little chest of drawers on his brother's side of the room and pulled out a black onesie with the Harley Davidson logo printed across the front. It had been a little gift he'd bought for his baby brother a few weeks before and had yet to be worn. He pulled out a little pair of black shorts and some socks from the bottom drawer and walked to the changing table. After setting the clothes down, he walked over to his brother's crib, put down the front bars and lifted Rowan out of his crib.
He was gentle as he lowered the baby onto the changing table. "Just hold still little bro, until I can…" he paused as he sniffed something nasty. He narrowed his eyes at his sibling. "Ugh, were you just waiting for me to come get you before you decided to poop or was this something random?"
Rowan gurgled at him while kicking his chubby legs.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Kyle snarked as he reached for the diaper drawer and pulled out what he'd need to do this nasty job.
"Look, I didn't want to do this, so, I'd appreciate you not pissing on me when I change your diaper, okay?"
The baby grinned at him and kicked his legs.
Kyle rolled his eyes and began to undress his baby brother. Thankfully, nothing further happened, and he quickly yet carefully cleaned him up and put a new diaper on. In no time, the baby was properly dressed.
"Awe, that was so cute," Melanie said from the door way. "You're such a good brother."
Kyle shrugged at her as she went to the closet. "Your mom asked me to bring this out while you were in here." She pulled out the baby harness. "Do you want me to show you how to do this?"
Kyle nodded. "Why not? So, do I wear it like a back pack?"
Melanie grinned at him. "Not exactly. At least this way, there's no chance of dropping him on his head." It didn't take more than a few minutes to show him how to snap the snaps and adjust the snaps.
Finally, she carefully slid the baby into the holder and gently pulled Rowan's legs through the holes.
"There we go. Just make sure you support his head and you're all set." A moment later, she handed him diaper bag. "You're all set. Now, you better get going."
Thanks Mel." He answered as he walked out of the room. He was careful to hold his brother's head close to his chest as he descended the stairs.
"Awe, now that's just cute." Rocky said as he pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. Kyle shook his head. "Okay, so are we getting out of here or not?"
Aisha grinned at him. "Yeah, Sweetie. The special seat is already installed. Go ahead and get him strapped in."
The Garcia brothers had worked their magic again and had taken out the table area and installed a special platform that would allow a rear facing car seat to be strapped in safely and securely, so it wouldn't move while the RV was in motion. The end product was perfect and now that was where Kyle settled his little brother in. He sat down next to Rowan and carefully strapped in the 5-point harness. When he got up, he saw that his dad had his suitcase in hand and was loading it into the back of the RV.
After that, it didn't take long for the teens to get situated. While Rocky got comfortable in the driver seat, Aisha stepped into the RV and had a quick talk with them.
"So, we're about to start off. We'll stop through a drive through for some breakfast and coffee; but other than bathroom breaks, we're going to drive straight through till we get to LA. We have plenty of snacks and water in the Mini Fridge so help yourself." She paused and looked at her son. "You're in charge of Rowan; he'll probably sleep right through this trip, but if he gets too fussy, let me know and we'll stop somewhere and that'll count as a bathroom break. Any questions?"
When the teens shook their heads, she gave her infant one last lookover before walking up to the passenger seat and strapped in.
Within minutes, they were off on the road trip.
About an hour later
The teens sat down at the fold out table feasting on their breakfast.
"So, are you going to tell us what you did this summer?" Autumn asked Ranook. "I mean, you were gone all summer and then you show up for my birthday party?"
Ranook frowned and nodded. "I guess now is as good time as any."
When they all looked at him in expectation, he sighed heavily. "I guess that whole incident, including seeing you bleeding out really messed me up. I'd never seen anything like that and it was a shock to my system. I tried my best to downplay my feelings, but I failed miserably at it. It showed up over and over in my dreams so eventually I stopped sleeping. I drank so many energy drinks that I started having heart palpitations. I think I even blacked out in front of my dad and he rushed me to the ER."
"When the doctor confronted me, I lashed out at him and finally spewed everything I was feeling. After I spent a few days in the hospital for observation, they sent me home with a strong suggestion that I seek some therapy."
"Dad decided the best way to help me was to contact one of his friends who was a retired Marine. He took me away to his old base and put me in basic training. Before I knew it, I started to enjoy the rigor. He worked me so hard, that I fell asleep on my own. When I woke up screaming from my nightmares, he took me back to the obstacle course and I told him everything. It really felt good to just let it out and he really put things in perspective for me."
"After the heart to heart, things got easier and before I knew it, I'd finished the program. He asked me if there was any other course I wanted to try out and I asked to learn military tactics. So he put me in with some of the more experienced marines and they taught me everything they could."
He paused and looked at Autumn. "By that time, it was a week before your birthday and when I came home, my dad took me shopping because all my old clothes were a little too tight with how ripped I am now."
He paused and pulled out a set of dog tags, "I earned these babies." He grinned and let go of them. "Not to mention that should we run into any kind of trouble. I can easily neaurtralize the enemy and keep you all safe."
Autumn looked at him sadly. "I wish you'd told us how you'd felt before. We could have helped you through it."
Ranook shook his head. "Nah, you guys had your own trauma to deal with. This really was the best way for me. I don't regret a single moment of my training."
They were all quiet for a few minutes. Katsume took another sip of his Arizona tea and swallowed. he looked at his friends and broke the silence.
"So, guys. I've never been to Universal Studios before, what's it like?"
"It's been a while since we were there last." Kyle answered. "I think we were around 10 last time. But I remember that it was loud and full of people. The tagline says that there, you 'ride the movies' so I think the roller coasters are movie themed. I know there is a bunch of carnival foods and arcade games."
"I remember there being dinosaurs and king kong… and something about Jaws."
"As in the shark movie?" Katsume asked. "I love that movie!"
"Yep, that's the one, but I think the Jaws ride is in Orlando." Leif answered. "I think they have a version of it during the studio tour."
"Don't forget the stunt show!" Autumn said. "I heard it's based on the movie Water World."
"Yet another movie I haven't seen." Katsume sighed.
"Not seen yet, you mean." Autumn grinned at him. "We'll just add it to the list of movies you haven't seen yet."
Katsume nodded, smiling. "I have a feeling that the list is just going to keep growing."
A few hours later
He felt so groggy…and his eyes felt really heavy. And his vision was spinning.
A girl was on top of him…and he was feeling a new sensation…it felt good, and yet it was all wrong.
Why couldn't he move?
"Hey, Katsume, wake up! Are you okay?"
When he opened his eyes, Rocky was standing over him looking concerned. Aisha sat by his head and sponged his face…the cloth felt really good on his sweaty skin.
"I think it was a nightmare, but it felt more like a memory…it all felt wrong."
"Don't worry about getting up right now, you can just lay there for a second."
Katsume sighed and closed his eyes. He felt better as the cold cloth sponged his neck.
"Would it help if you tell us about it?"
"Nothing to tell, it was probably just a dream."
Rocky gave him a searching look. Then he grimaced and stood up from where he was sitting. "Ok, then let's get you up to the room. The other guys are already settling in. If a shower would make you feel better, you can grab one before we leave for the park."
Katusme nodded and slowly got up.
"Just remember that you can tell us anything." Aisha told him. "You're safe with us."
The teenager only nodded before sitting up. "I know, but I really think it was just a bad dream."
This vacation was getting better and better!
For the teenagers, Aisha and Rocky had rented a suite. There were two large beds and two rollouts for them. It was pretty clear who would be getting the beds.
The room had a flat screen TV and a small kitchenette that included a modest fridge and two small bathrooms on either side of the room. Never in his life, had Katsume seen such fancy digs!
As Katsume stood under the spray, he tried to relax. Though the water felt amazing, he couldn't get his mind off the dream…if it was actually a dream. It didn't have the fuzzy feel like other dreams he'd had; no, this one felt more like a memory.
He stopped washing himself off and stiffened. It was a scary thought! If it wasn't a dream, that would mean that at some point, he'd lost his virginity and it had been against his will. He flinched at the thought of the 'R' word. He'd always thought that his first time having sex would be with a girl he loved and it would only happen when they were ready for it…but if that had been his first time, it seriously sucked!
The memory was fuzzy, if it was a memory and his head suddenly spun at the thought of being drugged. He wanted to throw up, but instead he shoved the memory away. No, he was here to have fun, and so what if he'd been r…taken advantage of? Clearly there were no negative side effects or he would have heard about it from the blood tests. He didn't have any STD's and no mysterious babies had shown up with a note attached claiming him as a father, so even if he'd been… with a girl…or multiple girls as his dream/ memory indicated, he was fine and none the worse for wear.
"I'm just going to go on with the vacation and pretend nothing ever happened." He sternly told himself. It was just a dream...er…nightmare.
A couple hours later
As he sat on the trolly during the Hollywood tour, Katsume couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. The little hairs on the back of his neck were standing straight up and he just felt really restless.
"Dude, are you okay?" Ranook asked from the seat next to him. "You're acting like a kid with a sugar high."
Katsume grimaced. "I don't know if I'm being paranoid but feel like I'm being stared at."
Ranook turned in his seat and looked around them. There were a lot of people on the tram and all of them were looking at their phones or talking to their companions or in some cases, looking after their kids who were even more fidgety than his new bro.
On a second pass, he did see a couple of girls that were looking his way. They were total hotties!
He grinned and looked back at Katsume. "Yep, we're being stared at! Two hot chicks right behind us."
Damn, that's weird. I'm not used to that kind of attention." Katsume mused.
"Hey, you're a good-looking dude. Now that you've gotten cleaned up, I'm sure they won't be the only babes to stare at you."
Katsume shook his head. "Right. Are you sure they're not just looking at you. I mean, you're the one who looks like an MMA fighter."
Awe, I'm flattered!"
Katsume only rolled his eyes as the Tour guide started up the engine and pulled out of the station. With all the cool intense action going, the chicks were completely forgotten, for now.
Just after lunch
"Ok, I've just fed and burped him, he should sleep for a while." Aisha told her son as they sat in a shaded area of the park. It was just outside the Jurassic Park ride and this out of all the rides was one that they'd looked forward to.
"Got it." Kyle said as his mom placed Rowan in the stroller. "Go have fun."
He shook his head as his grinning parents walked off, hand in hand towards the water ride. They were currently sitting in a booth at a open aire café. Kyle sat on the outside of the seat in front of the stroller and Autumn sat on the other side of him. Leif and Sapphire sat across the table while Ranook and Katsume sat on either end.
They were all just sitting there, enjoying their snacks and relaxing in the cool air under the fans when suddenly the load roar of the dinosaur was heard and it startled the baby causing him to cry hysterically as little tears poured out of his eyes.
Kyle put down his drink and sat forward. "Hey, little bro. What happened?"
The baby's cries lessened in volume as he heard his big brother speak to him. He whimpered and more tears stained his baby cheeks.
"What? Was it the dino out there?" Kyle asked as the baby started crying again. Everyone grinned at him as Kyle, who was completely focused on his brother lifted the infant out of the stroller and held him close to his chest.
"Hey now. you don't have to worry about those things out there. They can't get to you in here and even they could, I'd fight them off for you."
The baby was softly whimpering now, and Kyle rubbed his back. "You can just go back to sleep now, I really want to finish my hamburger and fries before it gets cold."
Autumn was giggling now and she picked up a fry and fed it to her boyfriend. "All you had to do was ask."
"Awe, this is so cute." Leif said looking amused as he took out his camera. "I should really capture this on film!"
Kyle only shook his head and was about to speak as a rude voice was heard.
"I swear Larry, these fathers get younger and younger every year." Kyle looked over his brother's head.
"All they care about is booze, weed and having sex with whatever whore will open her legs for him."
"Not surprising, not to mention that horrible rap music they listen to." The feminine voice answered.
Kyle saw the couple at another table. It was a middle aged couple and they looked way too dressed up to be in an amusement park.
"Not even close!" Kyle called back. When the startled couple looked over at him, he looked at them defiantly.
"Excuse me, young man?" The older lady said with a tone of disapproval.
"You heard me, old lady. If you're so interested in me, than you should know that he's my baby brother. I'm watching him so that my parents could have a little time for themselves."
"Just who do you think you are to speak to my wife like that?"
"Some one who has been through a whole lot of bullshit and shouldn't have to deal with yours." He paused as Rowan started crying again. He rubbed the baby's back again. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to focus on getting my baby brother back to sleep."
"I do mind." The man answered as he started walking towards the teenagers. "Obviously your parents didn't teach you to respect your elders."
Ranook suddenly stood up from the booth and put himself between the old man and his crew. A second later, Katsume joined him looking pissed off.
"That's far enough, old timer." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not about to let you spoil the day with your shitty opinions. None of us give a damn about what you think and we were doing just fine before your idiot wife opened her mouth and started talking about my friends as if she knew us."
"Respect is earned." Katsume added quietly. "If you didn't treat us with respect, then we don't owe you any. Now, if you don't mind, we have our meal to get back to."
The older man sneered at him but walked away muttering under his breath. "Rotten kids, nothing good will ever come of them…probably end up in jail."
Ranook rolled his eyes as he turned back to the table. "Typical old geezer."
"You'll get used to it." Katsume said with a shake of his head. "I did a long time ago."
When they sat back down again, Ranook took a deep breath, releasing his irritation. "Yeah, but you left that life behind. This would be a good time to start fresh."
"I agree." Katsume answered. "And I think I'll start by getting a shake!"
"Ooh that sounds good." Ranook agreed. And I think I'll join you."
When the parents got back, looking absolutely windblown and really happy. They saw the friends quietly chatting. Rowan was curled up against his brother's chest and snoring softly.
They couldn't resist snapping another picture of them.
So, did you guys have fun?" Kyle asked them.
Rocky nodded and pulled over a chair straddling it. "So, did anything happen while we were away?"
Autumn picked up another fry and munched on it. She'd decided to indulge and got another order of fries. "Nothing that we couldn't handle."
From across the room the old couple snorted. Aisha turned at the noise but the couple didn't look up from their meal.
"You should be proud of your kids. Trouble came knocking and they handled it like a unit." Said an old retired soldier with a veteran's hat on. He'd seen the whole thing and now stood to his feet. "They're a credit to you."
Rocky looked at his kids who looked innocently at each other and then at his wife. When he looked back at the soldier he smiled. "Wish I could take all the credit, but it was a group effort. Still, i'm glad to know that I can trust them to work together even when I'm not here."
Were you in the military or something?" The old soldier asked.
Or something." Rocky said as Aisha bit her lip. "My wife and I are martial artists along with our friends. Our kids were trained by us from a young age in the same style. We taught them to remain calm in the face of conflict and only fight as a last resort.
"Well, they did you proud today. If there were more kids in the world like them, the world would be a brighter place.
"Thank you sir, I really have no idea what to say to that." Rocky said, looking proud but still a little confused.
"Just keep doing what you're doing and there may just be hope yet for this world."
After shaking the man's hand, the old soldier walked away and Rocky looked at the kids again.
"Well, I have no idea what happened here, but as long as all of you are unharmed and the baby is fine, then we should continue to the next attraction as soon as you are done eating." He paused and pulled out his phone, looking at the app for the park. If we get to the stadium soon, we'll be just in time to watch the stunt show."
So, what do you guys think? It's been a while since I wrote a cute sibling moment, so I really enjoyed writing that part in.
What do you think will happen in the next chapter? What would you like to see in this story?
Let me know in your reviews!
See you all in the next chapter!