Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 22:18:31 -0500
From: TgrPaw@gmail.com
Subject: can-you-spare-a-quarter - 14

========================
Can You Spare a Quarter?
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Dedicated to "D":

   We didn't meet this way, it probably wouldn't have been anything like
   this if we had met this way, but if we had, I hope it might have been
   something like this.   {{{{ hugs }}}}

Disclaimer:

   Names of people, places, companies, and so forth are completely
   fictional.  While this story draws inspiration from real events which
   involved real people, it is nonetheless a complete work of fiction.

Copyright:

   2002; All rights reserved.

Comments:

   Email can be sent to TgrPaw@gmail.com

   Flames, hate mail, and similar things will be ignored.

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14. A New Beginning

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Everyone's hopes rose immediately as the news of Jamie moving his hand
spread rapidly through the hospital staff.  It was as if an enormous
weight had been lifted from their shoulders.  The surgeon who had operated
on Jamie confirmed that this was nothing short of amazing under the
circumstances, and especially so soon after the surgery.

The quantity of police had thinned somewhat, but Constable Murphy was
still at the hospital along with a couple of detectives.  A officer ran
into the waiting room the group had appropriated and went up to Logan and
began talking quietly but urgently with the officer.  Several times they
glanced in Graham's and then Frank's direction while continuing to talk.
Eventually the discussion broke up and then Logan stared at Frank hard for
a minute and finally motioned him off to one side with a nod of his head.

"I thought you might be interested to learn that we just busted down
the door at a certain house and found something very curious inside,"
said Logan quietly.

"What would that be?" asked Frank.

"Seems we found a fellow there.  He was out cold with both arms broken and
his nose as well," began Logan.  "They also found a stash of hard-core
porn featuring Jamie, the same guy, as well as a few other people.
A nice tidy package all wrapped up like it was Christmas.  The guy's not
going to have a prayer when he faces trial with us finding everything
all together like that."

"You don't say," remarked Frank.

"I don't suppose you would know anything about any of that would
you?" asked Logan gently.

"I'd never do anything that was inappropriate to the situation," said
Frank keeping his face expressionless.

"That's what I though," whispered Logan.  "By the way, next time you
should remember that soft earth retains footprints.  Unfortunately my
partner messed up and we weren't able get a proper set of impressions."

"That's too bad," said Frank looking at the officer with surprise.

"You might also want to get your hands looked at you don't want to get
an infection from having touched anything 'unpleasant'," added Logan.

"Yes I'd better go talk to one of the nurses," said Frank.  "I cut myself
shaving this morning."

"If it'd been my boy I'd have cut myself shaving too," said Logan quietly
as he walked away to get himself a cup of coffee.

Frank and Melody eventually managed to convince Graham that he needed to
go back to the apartment and get some rest.  Graham only relented when
Frank pointed out that when Jamie became fully aware it wasn't going to do
Jamie any good if Graham looked like he'd been awake all night worrying.

                               *** *** *** ***

"Graham wake up," said Frank shaking Graham's shoulder.

"I'm tired.  Wha ... What do you want?" asked Graham groggily.  Then
suddenly remembering Graham sat up and said quickly, "What's happened?
Is Jamie ok?"

"You better believe he's ok," said Frank with a big smile.  "He's awake
and we're going to go see him."

Hearing the news Graham stormed out of bed and set a new record for
washing up and getting ready.  In less than half an hour both men had
finished up and were running for the car.  Graham fired up the engine
and the little car's tires screeched as they left the parking lot and
headed down the street.

"Careful there, we want to go in the front door of the hospital
and not end up going in the back way," joked Frank.

Before long Graham was pulling into the hospital's parking lot and was
locking up the car.  Both of the men headed for the entrance at a run and
were soon standing in front of the admitting desk slightly out of breath.

"Is Melody on duty today?" gasped Graham.

"Yes she is," replied the duty nurse.  "I'll page her for you."

Graham and Frank both paced back and forth for a few minutes while waiting
for Melody to appear.  As soon as they saw her coming down the corridor
they went up to meet her.

"How is he?" asked Graham anxiously.

"The change is remarkable," replied Melody with obvious pleasure.
"He's off the oxygen, awake, and aware.  He's still very weak but he's
improved a thousand-fold from when he first came in."

"Oh that's wonderful!" exclaimed Graham while Frank stood next to him
with a huge smile on his face.

"Can we go see him?" asked Frank.

"If you don't he's going to drive the staff in ICU crazy," joked Melody.
"He's pressing the buzzer every couple of minutes asking 'Are they
here yet?'."

"Sounds to me like he's definitely on the mend," laughed Frank.

"Jamie's voice is going to sound a bit raw," cautioned Melody.  "But it's
nothing to worry about.  It's just temporary because it's only been an
hour or so since we removed the ventilator."

They all walked to the elevator and went up to the intensive care unit.
As they were putting on the required gowns and masks they all looked up
as an electronic tone sounded briefly.

"You'd better get in there," chuckled the watch nurse.  "He's going to
wear out that button if you don't."

Melody led Graham and Frank into the restricted area and they walked
down the row of beds.  This time Graham had no problems knowing which
one was Jamie's.  Jamie's was the only bed where there was a patient
who was trying to sit up, let alone moving at all.  As they approached,
they could hear the nurse watching over Jamie admonishing him to not
move about so much.

"You've got to be still," she said.  "Your doctor's going to skin me
alive if he sees you moving around like this."

"Jamie!" said Graham, perhaps a bit too loudly for the environment.

"Graham!  Frank!" said Jamie with a very hoarse voice which while weak
was only slightly less enthusiastic.

"How's it going there champ?" asked Frank.

"They've got me all wired up," said Jamie huskily.  "If I move my fingers
just right the nurse out front gets satellite TV on her monitor."

"That's so they can keep an eye on you while you get better," said
Graham with a gentle laugh.

"You look just like the back of the computer in Jason's bedroom,"
chuckled Frank.

"They've even got me plugged into the machine that goes 'ping'," said
Jamie with a grin while motioning up towards the monitors over his head.

"Well naturally," said Graham picking up on the joke.  "You never know
when the administrator might come by and want to see where his money is
being spent."

Melody looked on with total confusion on her face, but the nurse
attending Jamie was somewhat older and rolled her eyes at the skit that
was unfolding in front of her.  This was certainly the first time she'd
ever had a patient in ICU cracking jokes.  Graham smiled at Frank while
reflecting inwardly on the consequences of Jamie's having gotten into
Graham's collection of old movies, and considered what effects additional
exposure might bring.

"We're really glad you're doing so well," said Graham.  "If you keep on
improving like this it won't be long before you'll be able to leave."

"The doctor said he has to do a few more things but he wants to wait
before he does it," said Jamie.

"They need you to get a bit stronger first," said Graham.  "Then you'll
be able to handle everything ok."

"It won't be too bad," joked Frank.  "They just want to put on a new
coat of paint and polish up the chrome on your bumper."

"Well my bumper certainly could use some polishing after what happened,"
said Jamie with a wry grin.

Marveling at the positive change in Jamie's condition, Melody nonetheless
knew that Jamie would be tiring and looked up at the nurse that was
watching over him.  They exchanged knowing nods, and Melody put her hand
on Graham's elbow.

"I think Jamie needs to rest now," said Melody gently.

"You take it easy Jamie," said Graham with a smile.  "We'll have you up
and out of here before you know it."

"And no more flirting with the nurses," said Frank with mock seriousness.
"We've gotten complaints from one of their husbands."

"Awwww, why not?" said Jamie with a good imitation of a pout.

Graham and Frank began to leave when Jamie said, "Can Frank stay for
just a minute?  I need to ask him something."

"Only for a minute," said Melody putting just a hint of mother-knows-best
into her voice as she escorted Graham towards the observation room.

"What is it, Jamie?" asked Frank leaning over Jamie's bed.

"I heard one of the nurses talking and I sort of remember something but
I don't know if I was just dreaming or not," began Jamie.  "Did you ...
I mean, did ..."

Frank understood what Jamie was asking and placed one of his hands on
Jamie's and looked into his eyes and said, "The answer is 'Yes' Jamie.
You never have to worry again."

Looking down at Franks swollen hand resting on his own Jamie said gently,
"You didn't have to do that.  I know you're not that kind of person.
You're going to feel bad about it later."

"I wanted to make sure it could never happen again," said Frank.
"It's worth some sleepless nights to know it's over with for good."

"Thanks," said Jamie with his eyes getting moist.  "It's going to be
good to not keep wondering when the next time is going to be."

"Never again Jamie," said Frank with kindness.  "Never again."

                               *** *** *** ***

After a few more days in ICU and no sign of complications, Jamie was
transferred to a private room.  Once out of ICU the doctor's permitted
the police to have several short interview sessions with Jamie to gather
additional information on the events that had occurred.  Graham attended
these interviews along with Matty and Frank so Jamie would not feel
alone.  The details which Jamie provided shocked even the well-seasoned
officers as they sat and took notes.  Graham tended to close his eyes as
the worst of the episodes were detailed, but he never left Jamie's side.

During a break in the middle of one of the interviews, Graham stepped
out of Jamie's room for a few minutes.  Graham was surprised to see that
Constable Murphy was stationed just outside the door of Jamie's room.

"How come you're here, Logan?" inquired Graham.

"The Superintendent is a bit concerned that someone might try to do
something," replied Logan.

"Do something?" asked Graham with a worried voice.

"Well, what Jamie's old man was up to involved other people and you never
know," said Logan.  "We're starting to identify them and pull people in
for questioning.  Charges are getting laid.  Some important people are
beginning to get nervous."

"Should I do anything?" asked Graham anxiously.

"No, you don't need to worry," replied Logan.  "There's not much chance
anyone will try anything here.  We've got some officers down by the
entrance just in case.  If something does happen and they can't handle
it down below then the three of us will do what we have to."

"The three of you?" said a confused Graham.

"Smith.  Wesson.  And Me," said Logan with a grim smile.  "That poor
boy's suffered enough - it ends now."

"Dirty Logan?" asked Graham with raised eyebrows.

"Go ahead," said Logan in a low husky voice with absolutely no smile.
"Make my day."

                               *** *** *** ***

A little over two weeks later Jamie went back in for his second and last
round of surgery. This had been delayed while he'd gathered sufficient
strength after his ordeal to be able to handle it.  A second round was
necessary in order to complete the rather hasty job of internal repairs
that had been done initially.

The day after the surgery Jamie was once again recovering in his room.
A nurse came in to change a dressing and Graham stepped out for a moment
to give Jamie a bit of privacy.  As Graham stepped out into the corridor
Jamie's doctor came up.

"Jamie is doing remarkably well," began the doctor.  "His powers of
recovery are really quite impressive."

"I was hoping so much that he'd come through," said Graham.  "But I
didn't expect anything like this at all."

"In addition to everything else, you should also know that we've completed
a second test of tests on Jamie and they have all come back negative,"
said the doctor.  "So you can put any worried along those lines to rest.
There will be some lingering after-effects due to poor nutrition but
nothing more than that."

"I've been afraid to ask that question," said Graham with a visible sigh
of relief.

"Jamie will need to take vitamin and nutrition supplements for some
time to make up for the years of neglect," continued the doctor.
"But overall I think he should do quite well.  I'll give you a list of
the things you'll need to get for him."

"He'll be eating properly from now on," assured Graham.  "I'm going to
do my best to make sure things will be completely different for him from
now on."

"I have no doubt at all about that," said the doctor with kindness.
"If the next few days continue like this we're going to be able to start
considering when he'll be able to be released."

"Already?" said Graham astonished.

"It will all depend on Jamie's progress from this final set of surgery
and of course where he's released to," said the doctor.

"What do you mean?" asked Graham with concern.  "He's going to back home
with me isn't he?"

"Yes of course he is," said the doctor hastily to correct Graham's
misinterpretation.  "I didn't mean that.  It's just that for the first
little while Jamie's going to need a close eye kept on him and it will
also be important to have a doctor nearby."

"That's going to be a bit of problem then," said Graham with
disappointment.  "I live on Elizabeth Island, and it's not exactly the
big city there."

"Well I had a brief chat with Jamie about that and we both think we have
a solution," said the doctor with a smile.

"What?" asked Graham completely mystified.

"Jamie has told me about his friend Pony TwoFeathers and that they have
a small clinic in their village," began the doctor.

"That's right," said Graham quickly remembering.  "He hurt his ankle
and the village doctor fixed it up for him."

"Exactly," confirmed the doctor.  "I've already had a talk with the
doctor there, and he's indicated that they would be pleased to have
Jamie stay there.  He could also do the required follow-up examinations
in the weeks to come."

"That would be wonderful," said Graham with a smile.  "It's only a twenty
minute or so hike from where the house is.  When would he be able to
come home then?"

"First he'd have to be transported from here to the clinic," advised
the doctor.  "He'd have to stay there a couple more days to be sure he's
well rested and then if everything is still ok.  It would probably be
all right if he went home with you after that.  Provided that there's a
way for Jamie to get to your place other than by hiking; I don't want
him exerting himself physically for a while."

"Both my place and the village are on the water so he could come by boat,"
suggested Graham.

"That would be just fine," said the doctor.

"But when can he go?" asked Graham feeling very much like an anxious
child pestering a parent.

"Hmmm, what do you think of this coming Friday?" asked the doctor with
a smile.

"That's only four days from now!" exclaimed Graham.  "He's doing that
well?"

"All indications are that he's bouncing back wonderfully," replied
the doctor.  "Of course if anything were to happen that could change."

"This is wonderful news!" said Graham heading for the door to Jamie's
room.  "I'm going to go in and let him know right away."

                               *** *** *** ***

Late Thursday afternoon a knock came on the door to Jamie's room.
Graham opened it and looked out.  Matty was standing in the corridor
with Logan standing next to her.

"Why are you knocking?" asked Graham surprised at seeing Matty's
discomfort.  "Come on in."

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" asked Matty clearly in distress.

Graham turned his head back in towards Jamie and Frank and told them he'd
be just a few minutes and went out into the corridor.  Matty walked down
the corridor a dozen or so feet, stopped, and finally looked up at Graham.

"I don't know how to tell you this exactly," said Matty haltingly.

"What is it?" asked Graham getting worried.  "Is Jamie in danger?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that," said Matty.  "But it is something that
will almost certainly upset him."

"What is it?" demanded Graham.  "What's happened?"

"His father was brought into court today for the preliminary reading of
charges," said Matty.  "The charges were read out and on the advice of
his counsel he's agreed to plead guilty to everything."

"But that should be good news," said Graham with confusion.  "Now Jamie
won't have to testify."

"Yes that's good of course," said Matty.  "With all the physical evidence,
the depositions we have from the doctors, the lab results ... His lawyer's
basically going to plead for the mercy of the court.  They'll try to
bring extenuating circumstances into play for the sentencing, how his
client had a bad childhood, and all that kind of thing."

"Are you worried he's going to get off easy?" asked Graham thinking ahead.

"Oh no, I know the judge who's presiding," said Matty.  "He'll throw
several books at him.  We also plan to file for 'dangerous offender'
status.  Jamie's father is not going to see daylight again in this
lifetime."

"Then what is it?" asked Graham.

"It's this," replied Matty holding a sealed envelope in her hand.

"What is it?" asked Graham.

"It's a letter from his father," said Matty.  "His lawyer gave it to
the court and the court has ordered that it be delivered to Jamie."

"Oh no," gasped Graham.  "He'll just get scared all over again.  Can't we
just get rid of it."

"Unfortunately I can't," said Matty.  "I'm an official servant of the
court and I've been ordered to deliver it.  I don't want to do it,
but I have no choice."

"So Jamie has to read it then," said Graham with resignation.

"No, I didn't say that exactly," said Matty somewhat coyly.

"You've got an idea?" asked Graham.

"I have been ordered by the court to deliver the letter," said Matty
with precision.  "Those are my instructions."

"So what you're saying is that Jamie has to know that you have it and
that it is here," said Graham slowly while starting to see some light
at the end of the tunnel.

"Yes, Jamie has to know that I have brought it to him," said Matty
treading very carefully.

"I think I follow," said Graham now understanding fully.  "Let's go
back in."

Graham and Matty both took a deep breath and walked back to Jamie's room.
Opening the door they entered and sat down in the chairs that were on
both sides of Jamie's bed.  Graham sat up at the top of the left side
of Jamie's bed and Matty sat next to Frank on the right side.

"Jamie we have a bit of a problem," began Graham.  "Matty here has been
given an envelope by a certain someone's lawyer and has been ordered by
the court to deliver that letter here."

"It's from him isn't it?" said Jamie like he was spitting out poison.

"Yes I'm afraid it is," said Graham.  "Matty didn't want to bring it
but she was ordered to by the judge."

"I have to look at it?" asked Jamie with obvious disgust as his eyes
grew dark looking at the envelope Matty was holding.

Graham looked straight into Jamie's eyes and said, "She was ordered to
'bring' it here."

Jamie noted Graham's strong emphasis on the word 'bring' and suddenly
his eyebrows went up.  Jamie then looked over at Frank who nodded back
at Jamie while smiling slightly.

"Get me a match," said Jamie with a voice that could barely be heard.

Matty opened her purse, reached inside, and produced a book of matches
and handed them over.  Frank got up and fetched a wastebasket from the
other side of the room and brought it to the side of the bed.

"Do you need any help?" asked Graham gently.

"No," said Jamie firmly while striking a match.  "I'm going to do this
myself."

Matty held out the envelope while Jamie put the burning match under it
then when it caught fire she let go and it fell into the wastebasket.
Jamie, Graham, Frank, and Matty watched as the fire on the envelope's
surface spread and then paper contained inside of it began to burn.
As the envelope burned in the bottom of the wastebasket Graham looked
up as he heard Jamie's teeth grinding and saw Jamie's lips twisted
into a snarl.  Jamie's eyes didn't blink once as he watched the flames
completely consume the paper.  As the smoke from the envelope drifted
away Logan briefly opened the door to the room and looked inside to check
if everything was ok and seeing what was happened closed the door again.

"Get that thing out of here," said Jamie softly when the envelope and
its contents were finally reduced to ashes.

Frank picked up the wastebasket and began to walk towards the door
with it.

"How come you had matches with you - I didn't think you smoked?" asked
Frank as Matty held the door open for him.

"I don't," replied Matty.

                               *** *** *** ***

The float plane touched down gently on the surface of the water and Dave
directed the craft towards a wooden dock that extended outwards from the
small village on the north side of Elizabeth Island.  As they taxied in,
Jamie could see that there were people everywhere.  All of them watching
the small float plane come in.

"Why is everyone out watching us?" asked Jamie.

Graham looked at Dave and Frank and then smiled before saying, "I think
they're here for you."

"For me?" said Jamie with surprise.  "But why?"

"Oh I don't know," replied Graham with a grin.  "Maybe because they
think something important is about to happen or because someone special
is arriving."

The plane slowed and then finally bumped up gently against the side
of the wooden dock.  Dave jumped out and tied the plane up fast to it,
and then opened the passenger door and helped Graham out of the plane.
Frank came out next and then finally Dave reached up into the plane and
lifted Jamie out and put him down onto the dock.

As Jamie got his footing and then looked up he saw that the entire village
was clustered around the dock and along the edge of the shoreline.
As Jamie looked them over wondering what was happening, the crowd of
people parted in the middle and Pony TwoFeathers began to slowly walk
down through them towards the dock where Jamie was standing.

Pony was wearing a blue ribbon shirt with yellow and red ribbons going
horizontally across and others hanging down from it.  He also had on a
black navajo-style hat with a beaded hatband that went around it with
native designs displayed on it with a hawk feather sticking up from
the hatband.  In addition Pony had a hair-pipe choker that went around
his neck.  When Pony finally arrived in front of Jamie he stopped.

"We welcome you back from your difficult journey," said Pony in a loud
voice that carried.  "You were taken against your will to the darkest
of places.  The evil tried to take you away from us, but you fought back.
It tried to destroy you, but you fought back.  You almost left us, but
you fought back.  You have proven yourself to be a true warrior and have
come back from a place where no man should ever be taken."

Jamie looked up at Pony as he spoke the words and felt calmed by them.
There was something about Pony's manner that made Jamie feel as if Pony
knew everything about him and his past, but respected him nonetheless.
Feeling that Pony could look inside him and knew the innermost secrets
of his life, Jamie nonetheless felt no shame.

"Yesterday you left us as a boy," continued Pony.  "Today you have
returned as a man.  You have proven yourself to be the bravest of
warriors.  We now invite you to join us and become one of our tribe.
Will you accept to become one of us?"

Jamie looked up at Graham who was standing behind him.  Graham smiled
back at him and nodded and then Jamie replied to Pony, "I accept."

Pony then took out a necklace made of glass pony beads.  The beads were
in alternating colours of white, yellow, red, and black.  Hanging from
the necklace was a small circular pendant with regularly spaced spokes
that radiated out from the centre of the pendant to its edge.

"With this necklace of the medicine wheel as token of our bonding I
declare you now and forever to be a member of our tribe," pronounced Pony.
"You are of us, and we are of you.  An offense against you is an offense
against each of us."

As Pony spoke the final words he placed his hand on Jamie's shoulder
and the deep echoing sounds of a drum began to be heard.  Jamie looked
about for the source of it and saw four men located near the shoreline
beating on a large drum with what looked like oversized wooden drumsticks.
As the men began to beat on the drum, the entire village began to chant
in rhythm.

"Turtle Island is happy again," said Pony as the drum continued to sound
rhythmically and the villagers chanted.  "His heart beats strong as our
brave warrior comes home."

Jamie looked around and everyone was smiling at him and he smiled back.
As Graham put his arms around Jamie from behind in a hug, he could feel
the tension leaving Jamie as the sounds of the drum and the villagers
continued.

"What's Turtle Island?" whispered Jamie.

"It's what the Indians call North America," replied Frank quietly.
"The Indians believe that the land we live on is a living being, a
great turtle.  We all live on the back of the turtle as it swims along
through the universe which is a vast ocean.  The beating of the drum
represents the heart beat of the turtle."

Jamie looked back at Graham a bit embarrassed by all the attention but
proud at the same time of the honour that had just been done to him.
Graham smiled back at Jamie and hugged him again.  Just then there was
the unmistakable sound of loud barking accompanied by confusion as a
rather familiar looking boy finally lost his struggle to contain a large
white dog.

"Cindy come back here," called Jason, but to no avail.

In an instant Cindy had broken out of Jason's arms and went bounding
through the crowd.  She rushed up to Jamie and leapt up and placed
both front feet on Jamie's chest while proceeding to bark frantically
and licking his face enthusiastically.  Graham quickly put his arms up
to support Jamie so that he wouldn't fall back under Cindy's weight.
Jamie for his part returned Cindy's greeting in kind by petting her with
his unbroken arm and trying to hug her with his other arm even though
it was in a cast.

"It's good to see you girl," said Jamie as he rubbed his one hand up
and down Cindy's back as she continued washing Jamie's face.

While Cindy was busy greeting Jamie, Jason came down and gave his father
a hug to welcome him back.  Jason's mother, Kathy, also came out and
down from the crowd and stood close by.

When Jamie finally managed to get Cindy settled down, Jason came up to
him and at first stuck out his hand but then seeing Jamie's right arm
was in a cast lowered it again.  Jason then tried a couple of times to
say something and getting more and more flustered finally gave up and
wrapped both arms around Jamie in a big bear hug.

"I'm really glad you're ok Jamie," said Jason while still hugging him.
"If you'd ... I don't know what I would have done."

"I'm really glad to see you again Jay," said Jamie happily.  "I don't
ever want to leave again."

"I don't want you to ever get hurt again," said Jason softly as he gave
Jamie a quick kiss on the cheek.  Then realizing what he'd just done in
front of everyone, Jason blushed furiously and ran over to his father
and hid his face against Frank's stomach.

Frank looked down at his son with surprise while putting his arm around
him and then looked over to Jamie who had a calm smile on his face.
Then Jamie blushed when he noticed Frank looking at him in a curious
yet pleased sort of way.

"Maybe it's time I had that talk with you," said Frank quietly to Jason.

"Awww dad," replied Jason now completely embarrassed, as Jamie looked up
at Frank with a bit of a grin.

"On the other hand, perhaps it's too late," reflected Frank.

Finally the village doctor that had looked after Jamie when his ankle was
hurt came up and announced that Jamie needed to rest and everyone said
their good-byes.  Jamie looked a little shaky after all the excitement and
Pony TwoFeathers quickly reappeared at his side and picked him up in his
strong arms and began to carry him off the dock and towards the clinic.

"Can you teach me the things you taught Jason and about your ... our
people?" asked Jamie as Pony carried him up the dock and towards the
clinic.

"Now that you are one of us it is my duty," said Pony.  "I will teach
you the ways and stories of your new people.  Our history and traditions
will become yours and we will be your new family.  You have come through
a great struggle and bring great honour to us by joining with us.
Our fathers and forefathers have fought many battles against evil and
now your success will be remembered as theirs have been."

"I've never had a family before," said Jamie with a tear in his eye.
"At least never what you'd call a real one."

After getting Jamie settled in at the clinic. Pony, Frank, and Jason said
their good-byes and headed out to walk back to their homes.  Cindy settled
down on the floor and laid next to Jamie's bed.  Graham tried to convince
her to come with him, but it was to no avail.  It was clear that Cindy
wasn't going to leave Jamie's side now that he was back.

"I need to get some rest too," said Graham.  "I hope you won't mind if
I head home and get some sleep.  All the excitement this past month has
taken a toll on this old guy."

"That's ok," replied Jamie.  "Thanks for looking after me and getting me
to the hospital Graham.  I knew if I could just get back to your place
somehow everything would be OK."

"Everything is definitely going to be OK now," said Graham.  "I sent a
letter to the office just before we got on Dave's plane today.  I won't
be going back to work again.  I've quit, it's time for this old man
to retire.  I want to help you get back on your feet and be here for you."

"You didn't have to do that," said Jamie worried he was being a burden
on Graham.  "I don't want to cause problems for you."

"It's no problem and I'm very happy to do it," said Graham reassuringly.
"I've been waiting for the right reason to pull the plug, and then
I started to realize that maybe it was standing right in front of me.
I knew it for certain though when I opened my apartment door and saw you
laying there in the hallway.  You're stuck with me Jamie, but only if
you want to be that is.  Think you could get used to having me around
all the time?"

"Well I was kinda wondering ummm, like well maybe you could," stammered
Jamie.  "What I mean is like ... nah you'd never want a kid like me.
Not after the stuff I've done."

"Go ahead Jamie," said Graham softly.  "Ask."

Jamie took a deep breath and looking down and away from Graham's eyes
finally said softly, "Could you like ... be my dad maybe?"

Graham had hoped that Jamie might ask, he'd even thought of what he might
say if Jamie did ask.  Now that the moment had arrived Graham found the
enormity of the moment had left him speechless.  Graham tried to speak,
but found he had to pause for a moment.

Finally finding his voice and wiping briefly at one eye Graham said,
"It would be the most wonderful thing in my life.  Matty said that I
shouldn't suggest it to you or ask, that I had to wait and let you bring
it up.  She did say though that if you did ask, that it wouldn't be hard
to do after everything that's happened."

"I'll be really good," said Jamie tentatively looking up at Graham.
"Please?  Pop?"

Graham self-control totally left him when he heard Jamie say 'Pop'
and he put his arms around Jamie, held him tightly, and said gently,
"Yes Jamie, I've love it if you were my son."

[to be continued]