Living in a Small Town

 

Kaden's parents were fighting again.  He knew they would when he got home from school that day.  His father's car was in the driveway in the middle of the afternoon again which always meant he'd been fired from another job, and when Kaden got inside, he saw that his mother had been drinking her medicine again.  They always fought the nights that his father got fired and Mom drank her medicine.  Well, ok, Mom and his father both drank the stuff every night, but some days Mom just drank the red stuff from the box in the fridge that Kaden was never supposed to touch.  Other days, she got the bottles out of the cabinet in the living room.  Those were her medicine bottles.  Kaden was not supposed to touch those either.  The medicine bottles always meant it was going to be a big fight.

They seemed to be yelling about the stinky lab thing that was in the basement.  Mom didn't want it down there, but his father said there was nowhere else to put it.  The man said he knew what he was doing, and the cops would never think of someone putting a meth lab in their own basement in a crowded neighborhood.  Kaden had hoped a meth lab was like the yellow lab that the lady next door had before it had died, but the one time he opened the basement door, it had been such a horrible smell that he got sick from it right on the kitchen floor before he could shut the door.  He cleaned it up really good, so nobody knew, but he never tried to go back to see the dog in the basement again.  If it smelled that bad, he did not want to play with it.  He later found out that it wasn't a dog at all when his mother told him there were bad chemicals in the basement and he was to never go down there, no matter what.

Kaden was brought back to the present when he realized that his father was already hitting her.  That was not good.  He didn't usually start hitting her until after Kaden was in bed for the night.  Once Mom stopped fighting back, his father would go looking for Kaden to hit him too.  With no windows in Kaden's room, since it was technically just a storage room, he couldn't get away from the beating until the man was too tired to hit anymore.  Fortunately, he was still in the living room so he could pick up the empty beer cans, but Kaden didn't want to do this anymore, any of it.  He was tired of telling his teachers he fell down.  He didn't think any of them believed him anymore anyway.  They kept asking him if there was anything he wanted to talk about, anything at home that was bothering him.  No, Kaden didn't want to talk about anything.  Talking about it made him think about it.  School was the only place Kaden could go where he could think about other stuff.  He didn't want the teachers to take that away and make him think about it there too.

The young boy jumped as he heard a new sound.  Mom had never screamed like that before.  That was when Kaden decided he was getting out of there.  He knew it would just make his father madder if he couldn't find Kaden, but maybe he could sneak back in after they were asleep.  Sometimes his father didn't remember things that well in the mornings.  Maybe Kaden could tell him he was there, but the man just didn't see him.  He heard his father cursing as he tried to strike a match to light a cigarette.  The boy opened the front door as quietly as he could and then ran.  He forgot that he was just wearing his undies and a pair of gym shorts that were a little too big for him that mom had gotten from a Goodwill store.  Honestly, he didn't care either.  He just wanted to get as far away from home as he could so he wouldn't hear those sounds anymore.  Kaden wasn't aware of his father getting angry at his shaking blood covered hands that couldn't hold the matches still to light the cigarette.  The man who had just killed his girlfriend with a butcher knife dropped the still lit match, not seeing it land on the box of matches that he had spilled on the floor as he jerked the door to the basement open to go back to work in his crystal meth lab.  As the small boy was escaping from the nightmare of his young life, Kaden's house exploded in a big ball of fire, and he was struck on the back by flaming debris as he ran.  It hurt as badly as his father's beatings, maybe worse, but he kept running away.  As that old song went, tonight was his Independence Day.

Kaden ran for a couple of blocks, but he started to feel pretty dizzy and a little cold.  He looked around and saw a house with a porch swing that had a blanket lying over it.  He hoped the people wouldn't mind him using their swing and blanket for a few minutes.  He would just sit and rest and warm up and then decide what to do next.  He climbed the porch steps, curled up on the swing, pulled the blanket over him, hissing when it hurt his back to do that.  He barely noticed the little black kitten that had already been sleeping on the blanket, but he was aware when said kitten cuddled up next to him purring loudly.  He mumbled a thank you to the small animal just as everything went black.

Stanley Stonewall had been awakened in the middle of the night by some loud noise in the distance, followed by a lot of sirens, but he had eventually gotten back to sleep without ever wondering what was going on.  The sound had been at least a few blocks away, and if it was anything really important that affected him or their house, his husband Jude would have phoned to let him know, no matter how busy Jude was with the situation.  He hated that Jude was working the night shifts, but at least the sheriff had made it clear that he had no problem with Jude having a husband instead of a wife.

A few blocks away, Deputy Sergeant Jude Stonewall was watching the firefighters trying to save the surrounding houses.  He didn't need them to tell him that this had been a crystal meth lab explosion.  For one thing, he knew his department had been watching the house and its inhabitants for a month or so, waiting to move in with a solid enough lead to get a search warrant.  Guess they won't need that after all, now.  He had also seen fires like this before.  He knew without having to be told that there wouldn't be any survivors in the flaming inferno in front of him.  Luckily, the occupant next door had gotten out of her home before it too was lost to the flames. 

"I told that damn fool not to put the lab in his own basement, the stupid shit," he heard the lady from the house next door griping from somewhere near where he was standing.  "Shame about little Kaden though.  Those two didn't deserve a kid as sweet as that little angel.  At least now that baby won't be put on the street corners like his momma to support dumb ass.  Serves him right burning up in that mess.  He'd better be glad he did too, 'cause if he hadn't, I'd make him wish he had for burning me out with him.  Ain't bad enough he killed my dog, he's got to blow his damn house up with them all in it and taking my house with him.  I wish to God and Heaven above poor little Kaden hadn't been taken with them though.  That poor baby sure didn't deserve to go like this." 

"You're telling me there was a kid in that?" Jude growled as he stepped up right next to the woman.

"Oh, Officer, I didn't see you standing there," she said nervously. 

"Cut the crap; was there a child in that house?"

"Yeah, they had a kid; he was in second grade, I think," the woman said as she started sniffling and wiping her eyes.  "Sweetest little thing in the whole neighborhood.  He was always fetching my mail and the paper for me, so I didn't have to do it, he said.  I knew he was just doing it so I would give him a little snack.  Lord knows she was never around enough to feed him, and if she was around, she was too drunk to take proper care of him."

"Sarge, we got confirmation, there are two bodies in the first house, adults by the size of them," one of his men reported to him.

"Check again, Miller, there should be a kid."

"Oh no, Sarge, please tell me you're not serious."

"I wish I could, Hank, I wish to God I could."

"I'll let them know to look more closely again, but then we'll have to split up our crew to go handle that wreck out on the highway."

"Not much we can do here at this point, leave me one man, and the rest of you get out to the wreck," Jude ordered.

Hours later at the end of his shift, Jude was still wondering what had happened to the kid they did not find in the remains of that house.  Of course, the experts on such fires told him that given the heat of the fire, and the damage done to the adults they did find, it's most likely that the boy's remains were completely incinerated.  That didn't make Jude feel any better at all, and he fully expected to have nightmares as he slept today of what that poor kid must have gone through the last moments of his life.  What he did not expect was to see a pack of wild dogs in his yard.  They ran off when he pulled up and got out of his patrol car.  He laughed as he saw the tiny black stray kitten that he and Stan had been feeding the last couple of days standing on the porch steps looking as if she had chased off the canines with her ferocious and totally adorable hisses and mews.  He also didn't expect to see the kitten climb up to snuggle next to a lump under the blanket on his porch swing, before mewing desperately at him.

"So, kitten found a friend to bring over to mooch more free food, huh?  Hmm, too big to be another kitten, or even a grown cat.  I'll bet Momma Stanley took pity on you and snuck something out to keep you company."  He smiled as the tiny little feline continued to meow noisily at him.  "I'll go in and see what's for breakfast, and I promise I'll come back out and share, little one."  That's when he noticed the dark stains on the blanket, but he was tired and hurting emotionally, so he didn't look closely.  "Stan must have spilled something," he muttered as he walked into the house.  "Honey, I'm home," he called out as he walked into the kitchen.

"You say that every day when you come home, and every day it's just as dumb," Stan snarked, rolling his eyes.  "Just don't ever stop calling me sweet pet names, you big stud you," he complained when Jude came over to kiss him.  "You smell smoky," he said wrinkling his nose as he pulled away from the embrace.

"Meth lab blew up a block or two over last night," Jude said as he stole the coffee cup out of his husband's hand.  "I need this," he added as Stan started to complain.  "Actually, today, I almost wouldn't mind something stronger.  There was a kid in the house, Stan.  He... he was only... second grade," he broke down into sobs and his husband hugged him tightly.

"The parents?" Stan whispered.

"Burned to death as well, we assume," Jude answered still weeping.  "Two adults were found in the house, no more identification possible.  Wasn't much left of them, from the heat and the fire.  The kid... fire chief said the inferno was too hot.  He probably....  Oh God, Stan, why do the assholes and idiots get kids, but we can't?"

"Because the assholes and idiots outnumber the good guys," Stan growled as he kept hugging his husband.  In public, Jude was the big, strong, macho male, but when he came home from stressful shifts like this, it was Stan who was the strong one.  He felt Jude trying to pull away like he always did, ashamed of ruining Stan's shirt.  "Shirts wash, Jude.  You just cry it out, love.  I'll clean up the mess later."

"Like you cleaned up the porch?" Jude teased as he sniffled.

"What do you mean?  I swept and mopped the porch yesterday afternoon, like I always do on Thursdays," Stan huffed.  Stan was a tiny bit obsessive and compulsive, in that he made himself a schedule that he absolutely stuck to for cleaning their home.  Sunday was laundry day so there were clean clothes for the week ahead.  Mondays and Tuesdays, since Jude had those days off, they worked together on the bigger projects, like redoing the drywall in the guest room, or laying the paving stones for the back patio they were building.  Wednesday was the day to vacuum, dust, and clean the living room and bedroom.  Thursdays, Stan worked outside on the small lawn, flowerbeds, and the front porch.  Fridays he cleaned and disinfected the bathroom, and Saturday he mopped and disinfected the kitchen.  Of course, there were spot cleanings any time there was an accidental spill or some such catastrophe, no matter what day of the week.

"You didn't sit on the porch swing and spill something on the blanket?"

"How long have we known each other?" Stan asked.  Not waiting for an answer, he kept on talking.  "Have you ever seen me spill something and NOT clean it up right then and there?"

"No, that's why it surprised me to see those stains, unless your furry baby did it somehow," Jude told him.  "Oh, and speaking of your feline child, she is protesting the lack of breakfast.  She's cuddled right up to whatever plushy or pillow you left for her."

"Jude, I never even saw the kitten yesterday before I came in the house for dinner.  Now what stains are you talking about?  That blanket was top dollar at the festival and if it's…." Stan bitched as he stepped out the front door.  "JUDE! Get out here! HURRY!"

"What's the matter?" the sergeant asked as he rushed to join his husband.

"It moved," Stan said pointing at the lump on their porch swing.  "It might be a stray dog or something.  Shoo it away or something."

"Well, there were some dogs in the yard when I came up, but the brave little panther baby here scared them off just as I drove up and got out of the car.  It's probably just our kitten's mom or dad come to mooch off the softie that keeps feeding her," Jude said gently and kissed his husband's cheek as he walked toward the swing.  "Ok, lump under the blanket, come on out.  No scaring the lady of the house."

"I know you did not just call me.... JUDE!" Stan started to scold then screamed as a tiny arm and hand slipped out from under the blanket, blood dripping from the little fingers.

"Get in the house and, NO, run to my patrol car and use the radio.  It's quicker," Jude snapped as he rushed forward and pulled the blanket away to reveal a small boy whose entire back looked like half burned and half raw ground hamburger meat at the moment.  He could see debris embedded in places on the poor kid's back as well.  There was a piece of glass stuck in his little shoulder and that's where most of the blood seemed to be coming from.  He quickly checked and found a very faint pulse.  "He's still alive.  Tell dispatch we need an ambulance crew here NOW."

What seemed like hours later and yet only moments at the same time, Stan was riding in the front seat of the police cruiser as Jude followed the ambulance to the hospital.  "Jude, what are you doing?  You're stopping the car."

"Just because I'm in a patrol car doesn't mean that I can break the law when I'm off duty, Stan," his husband replied as he pointed up at the red traffic light.

"Oh, sorry, I'm just so focused on that little boy," Stan apologized.  "He looked so tiny and pale and there was so much blood."

"No passing out in the patrol car, Stanny.  Come on stay with me," Jude said firmly.

"I'm all right, it's just he was so fragile looking, and so.... so broken," Stan whispered back.

"I know that look, Stanley Stonewall," Jude cautioned.

"I'm not getting attached," Stanley lied obviously.

"Yeah, neither am I," Jude lied as well.

Once they got to the hospital, they were shown to the waiting area for the emergency room.  Being such a small hospital, the waiting area wasn't that far from the exam rooms.  When they heard the doctor yelling about the lab needing to hurry up and get the boy's blood type, they both jumped up and ran to the check in desk.

"Nurse, that boy needs blood, right?" Jude demanded.  "Stan, you're O negative, a universal donor.  You can give him blood."

"Well, now I'm sure you know, Deputy, that there are regulations, even if some of us don't agree with them…" the nurse started.

"Do you swear your blood is clean?" the doctor snapped.  They hadn't heard him leave the exam room, but there he was standing next to them.  "This kid has very nearly bled out.  We need blood in him now.  If I can get it from you, that gives the lab time to type the kid and get a better match."

"I'm totally clean, Doc," Stan snapped.  "No drugs, no diseases.  Take all he needs."

"Get another bed in that exam room now," the doctor ordered.  "Deputy, I may need your backup on this if anyone reports me to the medical board."

"You let me worry about that medical board, Zeb."  Everyone turned to see the sheriff walking up the hallway toward them.  "If his blood can save that kid's life, it's more of a criminal act to not use it, ain't it?"

A few hours later, Stan and Jude were both back in the waiting room.  Stan had given two pints of blood to the tiny boy before the blood lab technician showed to let them know that the boy was type A negative.  The problem was that after the multiple car accident on the highway the night before that happened at the same time as the explosion, the hospital was practically out of blood.  Fortunately, Jude was A negative, so he had given a pint to Kaden as well before the doctor declared the boy as stable as they could get him after what he had been through the night before. 

The receptionist at the desk as well as the sheriff were both under strict orders to keep a close eye on the two men, but Stan in particular after he had given so much blood.  Under any normal circumstance, Stan would only have been allowed to give one, but Kaden had lost a lot of blood, and there had been a delay in getting word back from the lab on his type as the lab tech was calling around trying to find some blood to replace their exhausted supplies.  Stanley was a bit lightheaded and not really with it, so to speak, and Jude was fretting over him instead of resting himself, so neither of them noticed as the sheriff had gone outside for a few moments.  Jude did ask the sheriff to watch his husband the moment the man reentered the hospital however, and then he had gone to the restroom.  The older man walked up to Stan and offered his hand to shake.  "So, you're my night crew chief's other half, huh?  The wife should be here in a bit with food for you two while you wait."

"That's very kind of her, but...."

"Willy, where's our boys?" a pleasantly plump matronly woman called out as she walked into the room carrying a cardboard box from which the most delicious smells were wafting.

"Now, PittyPat, you know we talked about this," the sheriff started.

"Don't you take that tone with me, William Arthur Truesdale," the woman scolded.  "You been coming home to me every day since his interview bragging over how much you like Jude and how much like our Alex he is.  I've been after you for months now to bring them over for supper one night and you give me one excuse after the other.  Well, I ain't having it no more, you hear me?  No more.  Our boys need some Momma loving today and they're getting it whether you are around or not.  Now you go keep the town safe, and might I add you should maybe do a bit better job at it if you let a crystal meth lab get set up right here in town, AND let it blow up, mind you.  Well, I never....  How am I supposed to show my face at the sheriff's wives Mahjongg tournament this summer when you let the crooks burn themselves up instead of catching them?"

"Yes, dear, I'm headed to the office right now," the chastised sheriff said obediently.  He glared at his Deputy Sergeant who was snickering as he sat down next to Stan once again.  He didn't say a word about the fact that it was clear his deputy had been crying in the restroom.

"Not without your lunch and some sugar, you ain't," PittyPat snapped as she handed him a plate of food wrapped in plastic wrap and then stretched up to kiss his cheek through his graying beard.  "There now.  You get along and let me get acquainted with our boys."

"Jude, Stanley....   Well… umm... meet the wife," Sheriff Truesdale said before getting shooed out of the room by said wife as if he were one of the wild dogs that had skedaddled out of the Stonewall front yard that morning.

"Oh, my gracious, you've been crying," PittyPat gasped as she turned to look at Jude.  "Please God, don't tell me we lost our little one."

"No ma'am, but it was really close," Stanley told her.

"We would have if Stan here hadn't donated two pints of blood to keep him with us," Jude informed her as he held Stan's hand lovingly.  "But that puts them both in danger."

"Well, we just aren't going to let that happen.  I won't stand for it.  We are not losing any more precious boys in this town.  Not while I draw breath, do you two hear me?  I won't lose another one.  I won't."  The older woman took a moment for some deep breaths and then smiled at Jude.  "Now, you're obviously Jude, and my gracious, don't you look handsome in that uniform?  Here's you some good home cooking, so you eat up.  You need all your strength for law enforcement," the woman announced as she shoved a plate of food at Jude.  "Oh, and you must be Stanley; my, my, my, aren't you a cutie?  Oh, you two are just gorgeous together.  Now, you eat up too, Stanley.  That's my home-made bacon and onion cheeseburgers with some tater tots and a little salad.  Lord have mercy, it never dawned on me that you two might be vegetarians or some such, but if you are you at least have the salad. Well, it's a stressful day and you need comfort food, even if you don't eat it normally.  I reckon I could have just made regular hamburgers instead, but really if you're having a burger, you might as well have a cheeseburger and what's a cheeseburger without bacon?  You just can't go wrong with bacon.  After saving that sweet little boy's life, you need your strength, and all that protein will help with that, too.  Listen to me rattling on when you boys need to eat.  Go ahead and dig in, boys."

"Thank you, ma'am," Jude said as he sat down holding the plate carefully.  "I'm sure it's all really good, all of it."

"Yes, thank you very much, Mrs. Truesdale," Stan agreed as he sat beside his husband.  "Neither of us are vegetarians, so it's all fine.  We normally don't eat much with onions.  Not because we don't like them, of course.  It's just we try to avoid foods that are going to give us… well, you know…."  His voice trailed away as he hid his mouth behind his hand.  "No offense intended, Mrs. Truesdale.  It's very nice of you to feed us lunch, ma'am."

"No need to be so formal, you two.  You can call me Aunt PittyPat just like everybody else in town, leastways until you get more comfortable," the woman gushed.  "As for the onions, well, son, if your man can't give you some sugar when your mouth smells like you know how to eat good food, well maybe he ain't the right one after all.  Of course, anybody could just look at you two and know that isn't the case.  You're just downright adorable together, almost as cute as my Alex and his Bobby Dale."  She looked away and dabbed at her face with a handkerchief before turning back to face Jude and Stan.  "Now I'm just going to tell you two right up front that you don't ever have to call me and Willy anything you ain't comfortable with, but I know he already thinks of Jude here like a son, and even though I'm just now meeting you two, I got to tell you I do too.  Why it's just like if our Alex was still here, bless him."  The bubbly woman suddenly stopped talking again as she grabbed the handkerchief from her purse and dabbed at her eyes once more.  "Some days I miss him so much it just feels like a hole right in my heart.  That's just what it is, too.  It's a hole that won't ever go away or stop hurting."

"If it's not too much to ask, what happened to him?" Stan asked softly as he rubbed the woman's arm comfortingly.

"Our Alex was always what my Daddy called delicate," she spoke quietly.  "That's why it wasn't any surprise to us that he came out to us.  I mean how could we not know?  When your eight-year-old son puts up a mosquito net around his bed and then describes it as looking just like the princess bed in his story book, well, it's a pretty good clue at the very least.  We still loved him to pieces.  We weren't monsters like that horrible, no good trash Jimmy Eubanks.  Jimmy's son Bobby Dale was the most charming little boy I ever saw besides my Alex.  I knew what they were getting up to in that old treehouse behind the house.  They weren't hurting anybody, and they always blushed so cute when I would ask them if they had a good time.  Then one day Jimmy caught them at it in his barn.  We knew he wouldn't like it, but none of us ever dreamed that he would.... would...." Here the woman broke down in sobs and Stan and Jude both rushed to hug her from each side.  "That cold hearted bastard didn't just kill them; he tortured them for days, lying to us the whole time about where the boys were.  Made us think he was just as worried as we were about the missing boys.  His wife found out what he was doing but it was too late to save either of them.  Bobby Dale was already gone, and Alex died on the way to the hospital.  I never even got to say goodbye to him.  I wanted to do everything Jimmy had done to my baby back to that miserable excuse for an ape.  No real man, no human, could do that to the sweetest pair of boys ever born, only a subhuman bastard.  I'm sorry, boys, I just forget I'm a lady when I think of that monster and what he did to my baby boy."

"Excuse me, Aunt PittyPat, but I need to borrow these gentlemen for a moment or two."  The three people in the waiting room looked up to see the nurse standing in the doorway.  "Little Kaden has woken up, even though he should be knocked out by all the pain meds he's on.  He is begging to talk to the nice people with the kitty and the warm blanket on the porch swing.  Would that by chance be the two of you?"

"Yes, we found him this morning on our porch swing covered in the lap throw that we got last month at the Founder's Day Festival," Jude answered.  "How is he?"

"Well as you already know, he's burned pretty badly, and there were bits of glass and wood and even a nail in his back, apparently he was running away from home last night, literally in more ways than one, just as the explosion happened.  Thanks to you two, he's got a really good strong chance of having a nice long life again."

"Oh my God," Stan whispered.  "That poor little angel."

"Well, he is refusing to go back to sleep until he talks to the folks with the kitty and the blanket, so could you please come with me?"

The two men gasped as they walked into the examination room and saw the tiny boy lying on his tummy, his back covered in bandages.  They had been so distracted by getting prepped for the transfusions earlier that they hadn't seen the boy clearly.  He had the sheet under him in a death grip and just a towel covering his little butt as there were more bandages on his legs.  "Can't sleep, can't sleep, can't sleep, gotta say sorry, can't sleep gotta say sorry," he was chanting over and over.

"Kaden, sweetheart, here's the people you wanted to talk to," the nurse announced as they walked in.

The poor boy tried to turn so he could see them, but he cried out from the pain.  Stan and Jude both rushed to the other side of the room so that he wouldn't have to move.  Stan reached out and laid his hand on the boy's much smaller one.  "Don't wiggle around, little angel.  We don't mind coming around here to see you."

"I ruined your blankie," the tiny tot sniffled.  "I heard the amb'lance guy say so before we got to the hospital but then I fell asleep again.  I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to ruin it.  I can come over to your house and do chores and stuff to pay you back.  Please don't tell my father or Mom about it, they'll just be madder at me than just for me getting in the hospital."

"Were your father and mother in the house when you left it, Kaden?" Jude asked softly.

"Yeah, oh, I mean yes, sir.  They were in the kitchen figh... umm talking about stuff," the boy answered. 

"Such a polite little darling," Mrs. Truesdale cooed from the doorway of the room.  "Oh, but Jenny Sue, can't you put some covers over the poor boy yet?  I know he's still a young boy and ain't got nothing we ain't all seen before, but I'm sure he'd feel a lot more comfortable having company without him giving everybody in the hall out here a full moon."

"Yes, ma'am, Aunt PittyPat, I was just about to put a sheet over him.  We can't have anything heavier on him I'm afraid, because of the burns and wounds," the nurse replied as she carefully put a sheet over the boy's lower body.

"Thank you, ma'am," Kaden called out.  "I know my father wants me to get used to being nakee around people, but it still feels kind of bad to me.  I'll get better at it though, I promise."

"You will do no such foolish thing," Jude snapped.  "Your body is yours, not anybody else's and you have the right to keep it private and all to yourself until you decide otherwise, preferably when you are much, much older.  Anybody that tells you otherwise will answer me and my badge."

"You're a policeman?" Kaden asked, looking up at him the best he could.  "Wow.  You look really awesome.  Wait, you don't got a gun.  How can you be a policeman without a gun? You're not one of them mall cop kinds of policemen, are you?" the boy asked with a disapproving frown.

"I'm a deputy sheriff," Jude explained.  "I took my gun off and secured it in my car before I came in the hospital, little buddy.  There are some places that you should never take a gun and a hospital is at the top of that list."

"My father takes his gun everywhere with him," the boy said and then gasped.  "Oh, please don't tell nobody that I said he had one.  Mom says if he gets caught with it, it would vi… vio… it would do something to his probe station, whatever that means.  I just know it would get him in trouble which always makes him mad."

"Little angel, you never have to worry about him getting mad again," Stan said softly as he kept rubbing the tiny hand soothingly.  "Now why don't you get some more rest?"

"But I gotta make up for ruining the blankie," Kaden protested.

"We'll discuss the blanket after you wake up, sweet boy," Jude said as he reached out and caressed the boy's arm.  "Right now, you just get back to sleep so you can heal up faster."

Everyone in the room just melted at the sight of the boy yawning and relaxing at last.  His fingers wrapped tightly around Stan's as he mumbled, "Tell the kitty thank you for giving me kisses and keeping me warm."  His eyes popped open one more time to look directly at Stan's face.  "Are you gonna be here when I wake up?"

"I swear I won't leave your side until you tell me to get out of here and leave you alone," Stan answered as Jude just nodded and smiled.

Kaden slept for several hours, but Stan kept his word.  He stayed right beside the sleeping boy, holding his hand even when he was moved from the ER to a private room.  Jude went home and changed out of his uniform and took a nap as he would have to work again that night, but still managed to be back at his little buddy's bedside when the vivid blue orbs sparkled open once again. 

"Hi cutie," Stan said softly as Kaden blinked a few times while he took in the fact that both men were beside his bed and Stan was still holding his hand.  The boy gave a weak and shy smile to the men and then he squeezed Stan's hand with his own, at which point the smile was replaced by a gasp.

"You're really still here," the little boy whispered.  "I didn't dream you."

"We're not a dream and neither are you," Jude smiled as he reached out and rubbed the boy's arm again.  "Are you hurting, son?"

"I can still work for you to pay you back for the blankie," the boy answered quickly.  "I go to school when I'm hurting all the time, so I can still do chores for you.  I'm a real good floor scrubber on account of I'm closer to the floor than grownups.  I even did chores for Mrs. Evans from next door on account of her being old and lonely and she gave me stuff to eat to pay me."

"You don't have to do any chores for us, sweetheart," Stan told him quickly.  "If I was that worried about that blanket, I wouldn't have left it on the front porch."

"Don't tell Mom or my father about the blankie, please.  Please let me work for it," the child started begging.  "My father will get really mad if he has to pay for anything I messed up.  Please, please, don't tell him I did it."

"Sweet baby, that worthless excuse for a man won't ever get mad at you again."  All three males in the room looked over to see Mrs. Truesdale standing in the doorway of the room.  She was dressed up in an attractive business suit and had on a lovely set of pearls with matching earrings.

"Wow, you look like a picture I saw once of a queen," the little boy gushed.

"Oh, fiddlesticks, you little sweet talker," the older woman laughed.  "This is just my go to court outfit."

"Court?" the boy asked in confusion.  "You play basketball like that?"  Needless to say, the adults all cracked up over that innocent question.

"Mercy sakes alive, sweetheart, no," Aunt PittyPat giggled.  "Not a basketball court.  I went to a different kind of court today so I could make sure you and your new daddies are all set, legal and proper."

"New daddies?" all three males chorused.

"Well, you didn't think I would give my new grandson to anybody else, did you?" she asked with a huff.  "Besides, Kaden's got blood from both of you in him now.  That means you are definitely a family now, no doubt about it.  Besides, according to the boy's school records and the state police check into his birth parents, there is no other family to take him."

"Mrs. Truesdale, please don't make jokes about something like that," Stan whispered as he grabbed onto the railing on the side of the bed to stay standing since his knees seem to have gone AWOL.

"I never, EVER joke about the welfare of a child," the woman said firmly.  "You boys didn't think that Willy was the only civil servant in the family, did you?  Mercy sakes alive, you boys have got to start learning more about this town if you're going to stay here any time at all."  She walked over and held her hand out to Jude.  "Mrs. Patricia Truesdale, director of the county department of Social Services, which would include Children's Protective Welfare Services.  In such a small county, I'm not just the director, I'm the only social worker in the department.  We used to have an office with the food stamps folks, but they consolidated to save the state money."  As she had been speaking, she had shaken hands with both Jude and Stan as they stood there speechless.  She then turned to shake hands with Kaden.  "Now, you get to call me Granny, little angel, as soon as we can convince your daddies here to call me Momma.  Oh, and they do have a little paperwork to sign, of course."  She turned back to the men and pulled a stack of papers from her rather large purse. 

"What…. How…." Jude stammered.  Stan just knelt on the floor beside the bed with tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Please don't cry, mister," Kaden said softly.  "You don't have to keep a little troublemaker like me.  It's ok."

"Oh, Kaden, baby boy, don't ever think that way," Jude told the boy quickly.

"I'd like to see someone try and take you away from me," Stan blurted as he practically jumped up and grabbed Kaden's head, kissing all over his face.  "My boy."  Kiss.  "Mine."  Kiss.  "Mine."  Kiss.  "Mine."

"Umm, excuse me, dear, but I beg to differ.  Kaden is going to be Daddy's boy, aren't you son?" Jude announced proudly.

"I will if you save me from the kissy monster," Kaden called out with a giggle. 

"Well, fine, be that way," Stan pouted over-dramatically as he pulled away from Kaden.  "I will only kiss my boy when he asks for it then."

"Well, I guess maybe a few more kissies wouldn't hurt," Kaden said bashfully.

"HA!  I knew you'd be Momma's boy," Stan erupted and then blushed intensely.  "Ummm, I mean… err…."

"Don't you fret over that, Stanley, sweetheart," Mrs. Truesdale smiled.  "You were going to have to sign your name to the line for the mother anyway, because our forms are still a bit outdated."

"See, babe, it's fate," Jude laughed as he kissed Stan on the cheek. 

"Well, now that it's all decided, first thing in the morning you two had better get to the hardware store and pick up the rest of the drywall that you need for Kaden's room," Mrs. Truesdale told them.  "Oh, and you'd better rent a truck while you're there, so you can take the load of paving stones Willy and I got for you, too."

"How did you know we…?"

"Jude, dear, you live in a small town now; MY small town," the older woman said as she patted the man on the cheek.  "If I don't know everything I need to know, I will find out in two shakes of a dog's butt.  Now, back to our little one here.  Stanley, I've already told the hospital about the paperwork so it's just fine for you to stay the night here with Kaden tonight while Jude is working.  So, if you need to run home and get anything, I'll stay here with my grandbaby until you get back."

"Yes, ma'am… Momma," Stan grinned and kissed the woman on her cheek.

"Well, now that's more like it," she squealed and grabbed Jude by the arm.  "Don't think you're getting out of this room without giving me some sugar, too, Jude Stonewall."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Momma," Jude smiled as he bent to kiss her cheek as well.

"Wait!" she called out as the two men headed for the door.  "You didn't sign the papers yet."

"Oh, I looked at them, Momma," Jude told her with a big grin.  "There's something I've got to discuss with Stan before we can sign, though.  Don't worry, son, we're not backing out on the deal," he added quickly at the look on Kaden's face.  "I just think all of us need to talk some things over first, because there might be a mistake on the paperwork that would have to be corrected before we can sign."

"Jude, do you mean what I think you mean?" Stan questioned.

"I don't know," Jude answered.  "That depends on what you think I mean."

"If it's about what I think it is, I can tell you right now, I agree to it."

"Are you sure?  I mean what we have now was your idea," Jude said seriously as he cupped Stan's face in his hands. 

"Yeah, it was, and you know why we needed it," Stan returned.  "But it sure looks and feels like that has changed now, doesn't it?  I mean she did say…."

"Yeah, it does, and yes, she did," Jude smiled happily.  "I just didn't know for sure if you felt it, too."

"We should probably have your boss here when we discuss it too though, don't you think?  We don't want to do something that will hurt more than it helps."

"Granny, are you sure they're ok to take care of me?  They're not talking much sense right now," Kaden announced from his bed with a frown.

"Well, I admit I am starting to wonder," the older woman answered the boy.

"I promise it will make sense if you can get your husband here when we stop back by here after the hardware store," Jude told her.  "We'll be back as quick as we can."  He ran back over to the bed and kissed Kaden on the forehead and then hugged Mrs. Truesdale.  "I might be wrong about this, but I don't think I am, and if I'm not, just remember that you and the sheriff started this ball rolling.  We're just running the play, as the sports guys like to say."

"Now, Kaden, if you hurt too much, let Granny or the nurse know, ok, my little angel?" Stan said as he kissed the boy's forehead too.  He was shaking and there were tears on his face as he then took his turn hugging Mrs. Truesdale.  "You have no…." he started and then sobbed a bit.  "No idea how much you have… what you have….  I can't thank…."  He was still crying as Jude pulled him away and they left the room.

"Get the sheriff here, please, Momma?" Jude called out as they stepped into the hallway.  "Be back as fast as we can."

"Granny, you didn't clobber them and make them silly in the head, did you?" Kaden asked her.

"I didn't, but I'm thinking somebody must have," she mumbled as she stared at the door the two men had just gone through.  After a moment, she shook her head and smiled at the little boy in the hospital bed.  "Now, sweetie, I'm going to call your Poppa and let him know you're awake and ready to meet him…."

"And let him know that Daddy wants to talk to him," the boy added.

"Yes, that's right, and then, how would you like it if Granny read you a story while we wait for all those crazy men to get back here?"

"You really wanna be my Granny and read to me and stuff?" Kaden whispered in shock.

"Of course, I do, sweetie," the old woman answered.  "I've been wanting a cute little grandbaby like you for years.  Oh, I should say grandson, since you're not a little baby, are you?"

"Well… I'm not a baby, but… well…. Maybe I don't mind so much if you want to call me your grandbaby," Kaden blushed.  "I never had a Granny before."

"I'll make you a deal," Granny offered.  "I'll promise to never call you grandbaby in front of any of your friends, if you promise to never to get too old for cuddles with Granny."

"Well, that'll be easy, Granny, 'cause I only got one friend," Kaden said sadly.  "Nobody else wants to be friends with trash like me."

"Ok, let's change our deal a little then.  I won't ever call you grandbaby in front of anyone you don't want me to, if you don't ever call yourself bad names in front of me.  Can you agree to that for Granny, little angel?"

"I'll try, Granny," Kaden promised with a hopeful smile.

"There's my beautiful grandbaby," Granny returned the smile happily.  "Oh, I just can't wait to start filling up the walls in my house with pictures of my new boys."  She kissed Kaden on the tip of his nose, making the boy blush and giggle, and then called her husband on her cellphone.

Across town, Jude and Stan had arrived at their little house to find a flurry of activity.  Hank Miller and the rest of the night crew from the sheriff's office were gathered around the house and several of them cheered when Stan and Jude drove up.  "Well, now we can get the drywall inside the house after all," Miller called out.  "Open the door, Sarge, so we can get moving."

One of the other men informed them that the paving stones were already out back.  "You'll have some of all of us from the sheriff's office night shift and day shift coming over to help whenever we can.  We'll have this house of yours ready for your son when he gets out of that hospital or Aunt PittyPat will know the reason why, and NOBODY crosses Aunt PittyPat," the man explained with a laugh.

"How did you guys know about…?" Stan started to blurt.

"Aww look, it's a city boy," one of the other officers teased with a chuckle.

"I heard some city slicker in a movie once say, 'Welcome to the Big Leagues'," Miller said with a smile.  "Well, in this case, it's Welcome to the Little Leagues." 

"Everyone in town knows everyone in town, and everyone knows everyone else's business, public and private," the other man explained further.  "For instance, my wife knows that you got yourselves a little black kitten you've been feeding.  She'll be here as soon as she can with some proper cat food and some cat toys and furniture so you can bring that little one inside and get it situated and comfy before your son comes home too."

"And my brother is on his way with some furniture from when his kids were the age of your Kaden, so the boy will have a set of bunk beds, a dresser, and a desk for his room," Miller added.  "You might want to check with Kaden about the colors though.  It came from my niece's room, so everything's purple.  It's not lacy and girly, but it is purple.  If Kaden wants it a different color, my niece says she'll be happy to help Kaden paint it any color he wants.  She's a right good babysitter, too, in case you two want to go out sometime."

"Wow…. I'm…. Well, just… Wow," Stan mumbled as he sat on the porch swing that someone had already cleaned up for them.

"Yeah, well a lot of Yankees think us Southern folk do everything slow and lazy," Miller responded with a chuckle.  "The way it really works is that we get the job done right the first time, so we got time to be lazy once it's done."

"True that," another man laughed.  "Now let's get going.  Some of us still gotta work tonight." 

Stan surrendered his keys to his husband's workmates, and then he and Jude grabbed a change of clothes each and headed back over to the hospital.  When they arrived, they found their new Momma and Poppa in the hallway.  "Y'all are just in time," Momma told them.  "Stan, you go on in the room, there.  Jenny Sue is just fixing to change Kaden's bandages and she wants you in there to see what to do so you can do it next time.  Our little angel's a might skittish about girls seeing his body, though, so I decided to just be a backup if you need it."

"Jude, you want to tell me what is so important you needed me over here, instead of in the office managing the paperwork and the press and the state police inquiries all about last night?" the sheriff asked his night sergeant.

"You talk with them, love, and I'll let our boy know what we want to do," Stan said as he snuck a kiss to Jude's cheek before knocking softly and entering Kaden's hospital room.

"Well, sir, I looked over the paperwork from the court hearing today about Kaden's future and I think there is a possible mistake involving the names being used," Jude started.

"I got yours and Stanley's names from your personnel files, son.  Kaden's name we got from his school records," Sheriff Truesdale told him.  "Is something misspelled?"

"No, sir, they just might have the wrong last name on the paperwork, and that would need to be fixed before we can sign those papers," Jude answered.  "You see, those papers state that Jude Michael and Stanley Jacob Stonewall are adopting Kaden Shiv Stonewall.  With your permission, if you really don't mind, we'd like to have that changed to Jude Michael and Stanley Jacob Truesdale adopting Kaden Shiv Truesdale."

"Do you really mean that, son?" William Truesdale whispered as tears came to his eyes.  His wife was actually speechless for the first time in history.  She was wiping tears from her face as well.  "We wouldn't want to deprive you of your birth name, Jude."

"Oh, that was gone long ago, Poppa," Stan spoke up as he stepped into the hallway again.  "Stonewall is what I suggested for our new name when we… well, when we moved in together.  I chose it out of respect for the Stonewall riots, but it isn't either of our birth names.  If we can have a family again, well… that's worth far more than an admittedly important and historic event that happened before we were even born.  Now, it seems our son has a request as well.  He doesn't want to keep his middle name, as that was the name of the man that died in the fire, and it is an extremely unpleasant association for our son.  He has asked if we could give him another name that would connect him to his new family."

"We need to be in there to talk this all out as a family," the sheriff said as he sniffled a bit.  "And where there's fewer witnesses to me being an old softie instead of the hardened macho sheriff."

"As if," Jenny Sue snorted as she came out of Kaden's room.  "Everybody in town knows that the only thing you're hard on is crime, Uncle Willy.  Aunt PittyPat, y'all can all go back in now.  Not only does our young man have new bandages, but the doctor gave him clearance to sit on his butt as long as he doesn't lay on his back just yet.  He's also wearing some non-slip socks now, so he can even get up and move around some, as long as he doesn't get too rambunctious."

The family walked into the room and saw little Kaden sitting up on the side of the bed swinging his feet and giggling happily.  "Lookie Daddy.  Lookie Momma Stan.  Miss Jenny gave me ducky feet."  He grinned and stretched his legs out in front of himself so that both feet were wiggling in the air proudly, showing off the bright yellow socks with the rubbery grips on the soles.  "See my ducky feet, Granny and Poppa?"

The four adults broke into smiles and giggles with the happy boy, as Nurse Jenny explained, "He might be a little more energetic than is good for him right now, because he got another dose of pain meds to help him manage sitting up.  Next dose won't be quite so high, and neither will he, I can guarantee that.  I can also promise that if a little scamp does misbehave, the next dose of medicine will be a shot in his little rump, not in his IV."

"I gotta have a shot in my booty?" the little boy whimpered wide eyed in fear.

"Not if you behave and don't get into trouble," Nurse Jenny told him with a pointed stare.  She then turned to the adults in the room and explained, "The biggest reason the next shot won't go in his IV is that we are hoping to take it out once that bag of fluids he's on now is gone."

"Is he doing that well already?" Jude asked excitedly.

"Let's just say, you better hurry up with that paint job in his room, because he will be going home before you know it," Nurse Jenny smiled.

"Home to Mom and him, or home with Daddy and Momma Stan?" Kaden asked nervously.

"Kaden, sweetheart, we need to tell you that your mother and father….  Well, there was an explosion in the house…." Stan started.

"Their stinky old lab thingy in the basement blew up?" the boy asked.

"Yes, son, it did," Jude answered.  "As you told us, they were in the house when it happened, and well…."

"Did they get burned up too?"

"Yes, sweetie, they did," Stan confirmed.  "I'm really sorry."

"What you sorry for?  This means they can't come take me away from you and Daddy, don't it?"

"That's exactly what it means, my smart little grandson," his proud Poppa smiled. 

"So, I really get to be Kaden Truesdale now?" the little boy asked looking at his dads eagerly.  "Do I still gotta be Kaden Shiv?  I don't like being named for him."

"Well, I'm rather hoping you get to be Kaden Alexander Truesdale," Stan said as he turned to Mr. and Mrs. Truesdale and gave them the best puppy dog eyes he could manage at his age. 

"Alexander would have been your uncle, if a mean man hadn't done something very bad to him," Jude explained to the little boy.  "So, if you get to use that name, you will have to be extra special proud of it, and make sure you live a nice long and very, very happy life, both for you, and for the first Alexander."

"Hey, if I get to use Alexander for my middle name, my names will spell K A T," Kaden blurted excitedly.  "I can be Kat and the kitty can be Kit.  Oh… unless he gots a name already."

"She doesn't have a name," Stan corrected him with a smile.  "I think Kit suits her very well, though."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, guys," Jude cautioned.  "We don't have permission to use either of the names, yet.  Maybe Granny and Poppa don't want that."

"Willy, I thought you told me Jude was a smart man," PittyPat Truesdale scowled.

"He's got the highest IQ of anyone on the force, darling," Poppa Truesdale said in confusion.

"Then how is it he's dumb enough to think we would say no to our little KatBoy?" Granny fumed as she sat on the bed beside said boy and cuddled him into her lap.  "I'd be proud of you and love you no matter what name you and your daddies want to use, but I'm extra special proud of you for wanting to use my first boy's name.  And how silly would it be of us to not let our own sons, and grandson, have our last name?"

A knock on the door had everyone turning to it to find a man about the same age as William Truesdale standing there.  "I hope it's not presumptuous of me to come by and see the folks that I had to postpone my fishing trip for this morning."

"Henry, please come in," Granny said as she stood up and offered a hand to the man.  "We were just about to call your office.  We need some name changes on the paperwork from this case."  She turned to the younger three males in the room and introduced him.  "Boys, this is Henry Higgins, our local judge."

"Oh, PittyPat, you don't have to bother Sarah Belle with retyping all that this evening," Mr. Higgins said as he walked in and kissed her cheek.  "Tween me and Willy here, I think we can make sure that it's still legal if we just scratch it out and rewrite it by hand.  Sarah Belle can type it all up after she gets back from the beach with Jimmy Ray on Tuesday.  Then we can have everybody come back in to re-sign everything on Wednesday just to make it all formal like.  And what did I do this time, anyway?  Introducing me to my new family as the judge, knowing good and well I'm your big brother."

"Big brother?  Big brother?" Granny fussed.  "I like that.  You and everybody else in this town know that I was born first, Henry."

"Silly girl," Henry chided.  "I was trying to give you the option of being younger like so many other women your age want to claim, not that I'm naming names, of course."

"I am so telling Ellie on you; letting it out around town that she's lying about her age," Granny squealed.  "You'll be sleeping in the doghouse for a week, little bro," she added with a giggle.

"Oh, you don't have to tell me," an older woman said, as she entered the room. "I heard him, the old buzzard.  He thinks I'll forget about what he said before he gets back from his fishing trip.  I ain't senile, yet, Henry Higgins.  And just listen to himself acting like it was his idea for us to come visiting our new family."

"Henry Higgins?" Stan repeated to be sure of the name.

"Yes, trust me I've heard it my whole life.  Momma had seen Pygmalion while she was pregnant with us," the man confirmed.  "I must have liked it as much as she did, though, because I fell for My Fair Lady Eliza," he added as an introduction for his wife.  The buttering up must have worked, because her frown disappeared, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Now, I hear tell you boys are going to be calling us Uncle Henry and Aunt Ellie," the woman smiled as she came further into the room.  "I absolutely would NOT let Henry leave for his silly fishing trip until after he and I came over to meet all three of you boys."

"If I ain't managed to permanently chase off my ornery little big sister by now, I know she won't disappear while I go fishing for a few days," the judge grumbled.  "But the fish in that river just might disappear if I don't get to them while they're biting."

"You will stay here and be sociable with our family if I have to hog tie you to do it, you hear me, Henry Higgins?" his wife snapped.  She then turned and took a good look at the boy in the room.  "OOOOO ain't you just the handsomest little man," she cooed as she came over to sit on the other side of Kaden, squeezing the boy between the two older women.  "I bet you know my little granddaughter, Janie Higgins.  She's in elementary school, too.  She'd be here with us if she wasn't spending the night at her friend Lisa's house."

"You're Janie's Granny?" Kaden asked wide eyed.  "She's the nicest kid in the whole school.  All the other boys think she's cute, too, so I guess she must be.  She's the only friend I got in the whole world.  She don't let nobody pick on me at school. She even beat up Nicky Haskell for spitting on me once.  Oh, I wasn't supposed to tell nobody that.  Nicky don't like nobody knowing he got beat up by a girl."

"That's our Janie, all right," Uncle Henry laughed.  "A warrior against injustice just like her Pawpaw, and a scrapper just like her Mawmaw," he added proudly.  "And I'd be willing to bet that she'll take even better care of you since you're her cousin now."

"WOW! I gots lots of family now," Kaden exclaimed and then he yawned. 

Right on cue, Nurse Jenny walked into the room.  "I hate to break up the family get together, but my patient needs rest now.  Don't give me that look, sheriff.  You might run the county, but when you're in this hospital, you're in my jurisdiction. " 

"One thing before we go, Jenny Sue," Uncle Henry said as he pulled a pen from his pocket.  "We need to do some paperwork real quick and I would like to ask that you observe as an impartial witness."  When the Higgins heard the new names that were going on the paperwork, they both hugged everyone in the room, even Nurse Jenny.  "I couldn't be any happier for you all," the judge whispered emotionally.  "I knew how Willy and PittyPat felt about you boys, but I didn't know we would be making it legally official."

"Oh, PittyPat, I'm just tickled pink for you all," Aunt Ellie gushed.  "You and I are going to have to go shopping so I can catch up on all the birthday and Christmas presents I've missed out on for your new boys."

"That's a great idea, Ellie," Granny agreed.  "My little Katboy here lost everything he had in that fire, so we're going to need to set him up with a whole set of clothes, and of course the toys."

"OH," Aunt Ellie gasped.  "That reminds me.  Janie told me she wanted me to bring you this, Kaden," she said as she pulled a slightly worn looking teddy bear from her large purse.  "She got this bear when her Momma and Daddy got killed in a car accident.  She said he helped her sleep when she had bad dreams."

"She sent me her teddy bear?  Really?"

"She said you needed him more than she does right now," Aunt Ellie said as she wiped a few tears from her face.

"Wow, she's taking care of me even when I ain't in school," the little boy whispered as he held the bear tightly.  A few sniffles later, he was asleep on his side, clutching the stuffed toy tightly as the adults all left the room except for Stan, who settled down in the recliner chair beside the boy's bed.