Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 00:57:16 -0500 (EST)
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Next Generation, chapter 11

The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation - by BW
Copyright 2011 by billwstories
Chapter 11 -- An Unexpected Find.

Things were actually quite calm once school started,
which has not always been the case in the past.  This may
have something to do with the fact that Jesse is the only
one still in the local school district, other than Joshie.
Jesse is a junior this year, but isn't involved in a lot of
extra-curricular activities.  He does belong to the Gay-
Straight Alliance, but hasn't shown any interest in
assuming a leadership position, like some of his brothers
had done.  It might be a smart decision on his part since
he doesn't have any siblings to look out for him, as the
others had.  I wouldn't stop him, if he wanted to take a
active role, but I'm also fine with the fact he has decided
not to.

The first weekend after the local school district had
started classes, Jake, Jesse and I went to Andrew's college
for Parents' Weekend.  We had done this before with
Andrew, so it wasn't a big deal, but it did give me a chance
to talk to him, since I hadn't been home when he left to
return to campus.

Andrew was very excited to see us and I apologized to him
for not being there when he left.  He assured me it was no
big deal and we spent the next couple of hours with him.
He introduced us to his new roommate and a few of his
friends, but we skipped attending the football game this
year.

After dinner, we attended the social functions the college
had arranged for the occasion and Andrew introduced us
to a few more of his friends and classmates.  We actually
had a fairly good time and then Andrew decided to stay
with us at the motel that night.  Of course, Jesse and he
shared a room.

The next morning we attended services at the campus
chapel and then took Andrew out for brunch.  After we
finished eating, we took him back to his dorm room and
said good-bye to him, before making the trip back home.

Joshie enthusiastically greeted us when we returned and
wanted to know when we were going to our next football
game.  You see, one of the things we do is to go to the
high school football games together, and there are several
reasons for this.  First, I feel it is important to maintain
contact with the district, support the sports teams and
attend some of the other functions as well.  Besides, it's
one way I get to keep in touch with many of my friends
and former colleagues again.  Second, Jesse likes to go, so
he can hang out with his friends, which I don't mind
either, as long as he isn't getting in trouble.  I feel it is
important for him to have others he can relate to and be
close with, since his brothers aren't around.

Finally, Jake and I think it is important for us to take
Joshie with us too, because he has shown a definite
interest in sports.  We love to watch his reaction to the
plays and how excited he gets during the games.  Joshie
has shown a passion for sports, unlike his fathers, and
since Dion and Trey probably wouldn't encourage him in
this pursuit, Jake and I have taken it upon ourselves to do
it instead.  Dion and Trey don't seem to mind, as long as
they don't have to go unless Joshie is playing.  That is
fine with us and we enjoy this time alone with our
grandson.

At five years old, Joshie already understands more about
the game than many of the football wives I've met in the
past.  He loves the excitement of the game, especially the
deep passes, long runs and big hits.  I have a feeling I'll be
toting him around to practices and his own games before
much longer.

The month of September and the first week of October
seemed to fly by.  I spent a great deal of my time teaching
Joshie about football and had a blast doing it.  He would
continually beg me to go outside so we could toss around
the junior-sized football I'd bought for him, and I was
happy to comply.  Joshie was determined to learn how to
throw a perfect spiral and equally determined to catch my
return passes.  We spent many hours playing catch, so he
could master these skills, and I am impressed by how he's
continued to improve.  It doesn't seem to matter to Joshie
how hard he has to work or how long it takes to
accomplish whatever task he has set out to master.  He
only has one thing on his mind and that is achieving his
goal.  I have no doubt he will succeed in this effort.

Even though it is uncommonly cold for this time of the
year, Joshie still drags me outdoors with him every
afternoon.  He will only forgo our daily outing if it is
pouring outside.  If the rain is merely coming down as a
mild drizzle, Joshie insists we go out anyway.  After I do
this with him, I make certain that he takes some
precautions afterward.  Once we come back inside, I make
Joshie take a nice warm shower, which will hopefully
prevent him from getting sick.

During this time, we are also making plans to hold our
annual Haunted House.  Jesse and his friends decided they
wanted to continue this tradition, but they are primarily
doing this for Joshie and the other boys' younger brothers'
benefit.  I am fine with them doing this and I'm also
allowing them take care of most of the planning.  I only
offer my assistance when they ask me to do something or
if they come to me for help to correct a problem they are
having.  I am always glad to assist the boys in any way I
can and their plans are progressing quite nicely.

Things have also been going quite smoothly on the home
front -- at least until the morning I received a totally
unexpected phone call.  I knew immediately that what we
decided to do here was going to have a major impact on
our lives and determine what direction we'd be going for
quite some time to come.  However, I think you should get
Danny's perspective about what took place and learn how
he became involved in this situation.

Danny was at work and had just finished treating a young
girl who'd been brought into the emergency room.  After
he finished taking care of her, he moved into the corridor
and began walking toward the intake counter, so he could
see how many other people were still waiting to be seen
and what he could do to help.  It had been fairly quiet for
a Monday morning, so he wasn't sure what he might
discover.  To his surprise, the lady at the intake counter
seemed thrilled that he was there.

"Damn, you must be psychic!" she exclaimed.

"Nah, that's one of my brothers, not me," he quipped
back.  Danny was making a cryptic reference to Graham's
unique ability to receive messages from the world beyond,
which the rest of us aren't privy to.

"Why?  What's up?" Danny asked.

"The police just radioed and said they're bringing in a
teenage boy," the nurse explained.  "They said they'd
found him outside, hiding in the woods and dressed in just
his underwear."

"What?  In this weather?" Danny asked, rhetorically.  "It's
been getting really cold after the sun goes down and it's
been raining.  The kid could be suffering from
hypothermia, if he's been outside dressed that way for any
length of time.  What the hell would he be doing outdoors
with so little on?"

"I'm not sure, doctor," she replied, "but they should be
here any minute now."

Danny then moved to the nurses' station and started
giving instructions in preparation for the boy's arrival.  He
wanted them to be able to take care of any potential
problems quickly, once he arrived.

'It's the middle of October and the temperature has been
dipping into the forties at night and the weatherman
reported it was supposed to drop into the thirties
overnight,' Danny thought.  'So why would this kid be
outside with hardly anything on?  Something must have
happened to force him outside dressed that way.'

Danny was still contemplating the various possibilities
when a squad car pulled in and two officers jumped out.
They quickly opened the rear door and helped a youngster
inside.  The boy was bundled in a blanket, but his bare legs
were sticking out below the lower edges of the protective
covering.

"Bring him in here!" Danny instructed, and the officers
followed him into a treatment room.  The kid appeared to
be about 5' 2" tall, and from what Danny could tell, had a
slender build.  Danny immediately turned to the officers,
so he could ask them to leave.

"We'll take care of him now," he instructed.  "Thank you
for getting him here so quickly."

"Doc, we need to ask this boy a few questions," one of the
officers stated.  "He may have witnessed a murder."

"Well, that will have to wait," Danny advised them.  "First,
I've got to make sure he's stabilized and his body temp
isn't in the critical range.  If we're lucky, it hasn't dropped
to dangerous levels yet and we won't have to worry about
his bodily systems shutting down.  Any idea about how
long he's been outside dressed this way?"

"Our guess would be maybe twenty or thirty minutes --
forty minutes tops," the officer explained.  "We received a
call about gunshots at the motel, over by I-76, and arrived
at the scene a couple of minutes later.  We found a male
victim inside one of the rooms, and while searching
around for the shooter we noticed the bathroom window
was open.  We searched the surrounding area and woods
for a suspect and evidence from the crime scene, and
that's when we found this kid.  We believe he was in the
room when the assailants broke in, but was able to escape
out the window before they could get to him."

While Danny had been talking to the policemen, the
nurses were taking the boy's vitals and trying to warm him
up.  They had taken the kid's tee shirt off, but left his
boxers on, for modesty sake.  Next, they applied warm
compresses to his neck, chest and groin, before covering
him with blankets that had been warmed.  This was done
to get his body temperature up and keep him from
suffering any ill effects from his exposure to the elements.

Once he left the patrolmen, Danny checked with the
nurses, to see how the boy was responding to their efforts.
They quickly advised Danny that the boy didn't appear to
know where he was and hadn't answered any of the
questions they had asked him.

"What would you like us to do next, doctor?" one of the
nurses asked.

"I'll take care of him for the time being," Danny told
them.  "Get everyone else out of here, because they'll just
be in the way.  Then, you can tend to your other duties."

Immediately, the nurses began to comply.

"Doc, wait," one of the patrolmen stated.  "We need to ask
the kid some questions."

"As you can see, he isn't responsive at the moment,"
Danny replied, "and I need to be certain he's stabilized
and out of danger first.  I'll let you know the minute he is
capable of answering your queries."

The officers weren't happy with his response, but allowed
the nurse to guide them out of the area and into the
waiting room.  They were told they should stay there until
they were called.

Once the others had gone, Danny continued his
examination of the young man.  The boy's temp was
rising, so that was a good sign.  His pulse and breathing
were a little slow, but still adequate.  His blood pressure
was also a bit on the low side, but wasn't critical, so
Danny began to check the lad over for injuries.  Danny
examined his fingers and hands first, and that's when he
discovered a problem.  The boy's right wrist was swollen
and he winced and tried to pull it away when Danny
touched it.  Danny concluded from the signs that it was
broken, but he'd need it x-rayed to determine how badly.
Danny then stepped out into the hallway and asked the
nurse to call the radiology department and schedule the
procedure.

Danny then went back inside, so he could check the boy
over for other injuries.  He carefully folded the blankets
back, so he could examine the kid's legs next, and that's
when Danny noticed the boy was still wearing the damp
boxers he'd arrived in.  Danny ignored it for the moment
and continued his examination of the boy's legs and feet.
After failing to discover anything else that looked
suspicious, he turned his attention back to the wet
underwear.

'Damn, they should have taken these off the kid.  Screw
the modesty issue,' Danny thought to himself, as he
quickly slid the garment down the boy's legs.  He then
grabbed a towel and very gently wiped the boy's four inch
circumcised penis and budding testicles dry, as well as his
hips and buttocks.  While doing this, Danny noted the boy
was definitely into puberty, but concluded he couldn't be
more than thirteen or fourteen-years old.  His body was
slender, but he was clearly healthy and not malnourished.
This fact was emphasized by the young man's well-toned
abdomen and muscular legs, which suggested he might be
some sort of athlete.

Once Danny had finished toweling the boy off, he put a
hospital gown on him, in preparation for his trip to the x-
ray department.  When this was done, Danny finished by
covering the boy with the blankets again, to make sure he
stayed warm.

While Danny had been doing all of this, one particular
observation stood out in his mind.  The young man had
not reacted or moved the entire time he was being
examined.  Danny considered this response unnatural and
had even anticipated the young man would protest or
resist such an intrusive disturbance to his modesty when
he removed the boxers, as anyone his age might do.
Danny even considered the possibility the boy might
struggle or try to fight him off, but nothing like that
happened.  This made Danny curious about the reason the
boy was being so passive and docilely allowing Danny to do
whatever he wished.

As he was considering this, Danny was also moving up to
check the boy's pupils and make certain they were
responsive.  After a few seconds, Danny concluded they
were reacting satisfactorily and noticed the boy had
stunning blue eyes, even though they seemed blank and
unseeing.  The young man was definitely good looking, but
he lacked any sort of spark to show that he was aware the
world was still going on around him.

At this point, Danny reached over and grabbed the towel
again, so he could dry the boy's raven colored hair.  As he
did this, there was still no reaction on the lad's part, so
Danny thought he'd try to elicit some sort of verbal
acknowledgement from him.  Carefully, Danny leaned
forward and began to talk to the boy, in a very soothing
tone.

"Hey, you're all right now," Danny told him, while
brushing the boy's hair with his fingers.  "Whatever
happened out there, it's over and you're safe here."

There was still no response, but Danny stayed by the
young man's side and continued talking soothingly to him
until the orderly came to take him to radiology.  Once the
boy was gone, Danny went out to speak with the
policemen.

"When can we question the kid, Doc?" one officer asked,
as he jumped up from his chair.

"Right now he's being x-rayed for a possible broken wrist,"
Danny informed him.

"Can we speak with him when he comes back then?" the
officer persisted, while looking annoyed.

"You may question him all you want, but I doubt you'll get
any answers," Danny told him.  "The boy is in shock and
not communicating at all.  He didn't say a word the entire
time the nurses and I were with him -- not even when I
asked if his wrist hurt or if he had any other injuries.  I'm
not sure when he'll snap out of it and be able to give you
any useful information."

"Doc, we need some help here," the other officer pleaded.
"There's been a murder and the kid's the only potential
witness we have right now.  Can't you do something to
help us?"

"I'm sorry, but there's no miracle drug or magic treatment
that will snap him out of it," Danny explained.  "If he
witnessed something as traumatic as a murder, it may be
some time before he is able to deal with that issue and
respond.  Do you know anything about him?"

"From the clothing and what some of the other officers
found in the motel room," the first policeman told Danny,
"it looks like the kid was traveling with the victim, who
we suspect was his father."

"And that's all you know?" Danny asked.

"We also know the deceased's name was Sean Kennedy
and he was from Fox Chapel.  That's a suburb outside of
Pittsburgh," the policeman replied.  "We have State Police
officers going to the address on his license as we speak, so
they can question anyone else living there and canvass
the neighbors for other information.  Unfortunately, that's
all we have to go on at the moment."

"Well, I'll continue taking care of the boy and call you the
minute he starts talking," Danny told them.

"So you're going to keep him in the hospital then?" the
patrolman pushed.

"I think it will be best to keep him under a physician care
for the time being," Danny answered.

The patrolmen weren't happy about being unable to
question the boy, but they finally left anyway.  Danny
then went to check on some other cases, before returning
to see how the boy's x-ray had turned out.

"You were right," one of the nurses told him, when he
returned.  "The boy's wrist was fractured, so we got an
orthopedist down here to set it and put it in a cast."

"Has he said anything yet?" Danny wondered.

"No, nothing," she replied.  "He only groaned a little when
the orthopedist reset the bones."

"Thanks for taking care of that," Danny told her, before
going back to sit with the young man for a while longer.

About an hour later, the police showed up again, but this
time one of them was carrying a backpack and overnight
bag.

"Here are the kid's clothes from the motel," he said, as he
gave the bags to Danny.

"We've also discovered a few other details," the officer
continued.  "From a picture the State Police found in the
house they went to, it appears the victim was in fact the
boy's father.  The neighbors told us the kid's name is
Elliot Kennedy and he's fourteen-years old.  His mother
died in childbirth and he's been living alone with his
father ever since.  No one knows of any other relatives or
about a next of kin.  We'd still like to speak with him as
soon as we can, but we're willing to wait a while, if we
have to.  Has he said anything yet?"

"Not a word," Danny explained, "and I think it might be
quite some time before he does.  This poor kid is obviously
devastated by his father's murder, and if he actually
witnessed it, as you believe, then he'll probably need
psychological counseling before he pulls out of this."

The policemen appeared flustered by this news and
continued to insist they couldn't wait too long before they
would need to speak with Elliot.  However, Danny was just
as adamant about not letting it happen.  He explained that
if they tried to force the boy to speak with them, then he
might shut down permanently.  If that happened, then
they'd never be able to learn whatever information he
knows about the crime.  Danny said the best thing they
could do was to be patient until the boy is ready to speak
again.

That was the last Danny saw of the police officers, but a
few other people came by to inquire about the boy.  Over
the course of the next few hours, the staff had to turn
away a couple of very pushy reporters who'd heard about
the case and wanted a scoop.  A short time after that, a
social worker came by.  The police department had
notified her office about the boy's situation and she was
there to begin filling out the required paperwork to bring
Elliott under DSS's jurisdiction.

Danny was called to sit down with her, so he could fill her
in about the boy's condition.  He also relayed what he had
learned from the police, but there was still a great deal of
information lacking.  Regardless, she processed the boy
anyway and Danny inquired what the department was
planning to do with him.  The social worker replied that
they'd have to find a foster home for him, once Danny
released him.  Danny took in all of this information and
then got up to leave the room.

"If you'll excuse me, there's something I need to do," he
told the social worker.

"Of course," she stated.  "I'll be in touch to see how the
boy is doing and when you might release him.  At that
time, I should have more details about what we've been
able to line up for him."

After saying goodbye to her, Danny went to the empty
doctor's lounge, shut the door, grabbed the phone and
dialed home.

"Hello."

"Dad, I need to ask you a favor," Danny told me, as soon
as I picked up.

"Okay.  Ask away," I replied.

"I've got a situation here at the hospital and it's pretty
unusual," Danny answered.  "It's also the reason I'm
calling, because I think we need to get involved."

"Involved?  What exactly does that mean," I responded.

"It involves a boy who was brought in to the emergency
room a few hours ago.  He's fourteen and I just finished
filling the social worker in about his case," Danny replied.
"As of yet, he's been unresponsive and the police suspect
he witnessed a murder.  The police have confirmed the
victim was his father and the kid's in shock.  It's going to
take some time before he snaps out of it, so he'll need to
remain closely monitored and surrounded by caring
people."

I began to suspect where Danny was heading with this.

"Dad, D.S.S. is going to place him in a foster home, once I
release him," he continued.  "His name is Elliot and I feel
I need to make certain it's a place where he will feel safe
and loved, as well as being able to accommodate his
current medical situation.  What I'm asking is for your
help.  Do you think you're up for this?"

I thought about it briefly.

"What sort of commitment are you asking for?" I wanted
to know.  "Are you merely asking if the boy can stay with
us until his relatives are located or until he recovers from
the trauma he witnessed?  I hope you're not hinting at our
becoming involved in a longer term commitment."

"Dad, he doesn't have anyone.  So far, the police have
been unable to locate any other relatives," Danny advised
me, "so I was thinking maybe this could be the first boy
Brandon and I take in.  The thing is, due to his current
condition and the fact that Brandon and I both work, I
also need to know if you'd be willing to help us with this."

"Danny, if the boy needs our help, then you know I won't
turn him away," I answered, "but are you certain you've
thought this through?  You and Brandon are just starting
your careers and you'll most likely be focusing all of your
attention on being successful for the next year or two.
Knowing this will be the case makes me wonder if the
timing is right for you to be taking on so much more
responsibility."

"Dad, I know how tough this will be, but I really want to do
it," Danny assured me.  "Elliot is going to need a lot of
love and understanding -- more than most foster homes
will be able to give him.  That's why I think it would be
best if he lives with us.  I'll just need your help to look
after him while Brandon and I are working.  We've been
talking about if for a while and your right -- we're busy
with work, but lately we've both been feeling the urge to
start a family.  There's never going to be a perfect time
and there's always going to be some kind of complication,
but Brandon and I both feel the need to share our lives
with a child of our own.  So what do you say?"

I thought about the idea some more.

"Well, things are pretty much under control here and
everyone seems to be doing quite well," I began.  "Jesse
doesn't need much attention from me any longer and Dion
and Trey have taken over most of the responsibility for
Joshie, so I do have plenty of free time that I can use to
give you a hand.  Okay, I'll agree to help you take care of
this boy.  I will also try to help him work through
whatever issues he has, due to the events he's recently
experienced.  Is that what you want to hear?"

"It is, Dad, and thanks," Danny responded.  "Now, I can
call Aunt Sally and see if I can set this up through her.
I'm not sure if this will be a permanent placement or not,
because we don't know enough about Elliot's background
yet.  I can't even give you an idea about how long it will
take for him to overcome the effects of whatever he might
have witnessed, but I can't think of anyone better suited
to be there for him than you."

"I appreciate your confidence," I replied, "no matter how
ill placed it might be."

Danny mumbled something before he hung up, but I
wasn't able to catch what it was.  I then sat down and
began to think about what I was getting myself into.

Once he finished speaking with me, Danny called Brandon,
to share his plans, and then he called his Aunt Sally next.
Danny explained the situation to her and got her to
commit to assigning temporary placement of Elliot into
his and Brandon's care.  She told him she didn't have a
problem doing this, especially since Danny was currently
treating him.  She then went on to explain that she'd have
to temporarily assign the boy into my care, until Brandon
and his application to be foster parents had been
approved.

Before they finished speaking, Sally told Danny she'd send
someone by the house later, so he and Brandon could fill
out the necessary forms to start the process.  Once they
had been formally approved, she'd transfer the boy's care
from my name to theirs, but this way they wouldn't have
to wait before taking him home.  Now that all of this had
been taken care of, Danny went back to check on Elliot
again.

"Feeling better?" he asked, upon entering the cubicle, but
there was no response.  Danny walked over and sat on a
stool, which was located next to the gurney on which
Elliot was lying.

"Hey, it's okay," Danny told him.  "I'm pretty sure you
saw something awful happen, so I can understand why you
don't want to talk about it.  It's all right and I want you to
know you're going to be taken care of.  You're being
assigned to come live with my partner, Brandon, and me
for now, at least until we locate your relatives.  My dad
will be looking after you while we're at work, but he's a
great guy and you'll like him.  We're going to make sure
you're taken care of and we won't let anything bad happen
to you."

Elliot's head turned slightly, to look at Danny, and Danny
took this as a good sign.  Elliot didn't say anything, but it
did seem as if he had acknowledged what Danny had said.
Unfortunately, Danny couldn't afford to stay with him any
longer and had to leave Elliot in the nurses' care.

When Danny's shift came to an end, he went back to get
Elliot and helped him get dressed.  Then, he led the boy
out to his car, helped him into the passenger seat and
buckled him in.  Elliot still didn't react, nor did he look at
the scenery.  He merely remained perfectly still and didn't
make a sound.