Building Things

Greg sighed softly as he lay on his back as Aiden came to lie next to him, draping an arm over Greg’s tight chest. Aiden nuzzled up to Greg’s ear, kissing it tenderly then gently bit the lobe. Greg closed his eyes, loving the touch, also loving the feel of the weight from Aiden’s toned body partly on him.

“Are you gonna stay all night?” Aiden whispered in his ear, then kissed it again.

“Wish I could.” Greg let another breath, “This feels so good to be like this.”

“What’d you tell your parents again?”

“A friend needed help.” Greg said and smiled out of the corner of his mouth.

“Is that what this…help?” Aiden asked as he nuzzled in even more.

“You’re driving me crazy.” Greg said with a slight smile, “You’re gonna make me hard again.”

“Good.” Aiden whispered as he slid his hand down Greg’s tight body, feeling the muscles under the smooth skin, reaching slowly and then finding with his fingers what he wanted. He wrapped his fingers around Greg’s stiffening length, “Mmmm, you are getting hard.”

“I need to go.” Greg said.

“Not yet, please?” Aiden asked and nuzzled the ear again. Greg turned his head toward Aiden.

“I’m gonna get grounded if I don’t get home.” Greg said. Aiden raised his head a little and came closer, “You don’t want me to get grounded, do you?” Greg whispered.

“No, but I don’t want you to leave either.” Aiden whispered and rubbed his lips over Greg’s, “Can I blow you again? I’ll make it fast.”

“Killin me, dude. My dick still aches from the last time.” Greg whispered and Aiden teased Greg’s lips more, “You’re so hot.”

“So are you.” Aiden whispered as he teased.

“Where did you learn to do this?” Greg asked.

“From my dreams.”

“Your dreams?”

“Dreaming about you and what you would like.” Aiden whispered and kissed Greg tenderly. Greg was starting to softly pant from not only the kiss but with Aiden slowly pulling on his now stiff member.

“I really gotta go.”

“I know.” Aiden whispered and teased Greg’s lips again. Greg’s phone started beeping.

“Fuck.” Greg whispered. He pushed up and Aiden rolled away to his back, “I’m fuckin dead.” Greg almost growled as he reached for his phone that was on the floor by his clothes. He swiped it and shook his head as he read the message, “Why can’t you just fuckin leave me alone?”

“Your folks?” Aiden asked as he looked at Greg’s gorgeous naked body at an angle to him.

“My mom. She’s been such a total bitch this week, more than usual.” Greg said as he typed a reply back and sent it.

“I wish we were older.” Aiden said softly as he closed his eyes. He felt the bed move.

“So do I.” Greg said, “This is so fuckin ridiculous. I can never do what I want to do.”

“Why not?” Aiden asked as he opened his eyes and looked. He watched Greg pulling up his underwear, covering that perfect muscled butt that he had that was facing Aiden.

“Because of them. I do everything that they ask but they just want to control me every minute of the day. I don’t get it, I really don’t.” Greg said as he slipped on his pants, then buttoned them. He sat down and worked his socks on.

“Maybe you could talk to them. Ask them why they do that.” Aiden said as he rolled to his side, propping his head on a bent arm.

“Yeah, like that’s gonna work. They don’t talk about shit, they just tell me how it’s gonna be. They’re so busy with just themselves, it’s stupid.” Greg said as he slipped on his runners, then picked up his shirt, slipping it on over his head, then his arms, then pulling it down. He looked at Aiden, seeing him still totally naked, lying on the bed like he was and it made his chest tight. He wanted to scream with his frustration, “Fuck.”

“What?” Aiden asked.

“You’re just so fuckin hot, especially lying there like that. You’re driving me crazy.” Greg said. Aiden smiled softly.

“I’m not trying to.” Aiden said. He rolled to the other side of the bed and sat on the edge.

“What are you doing?” Greg asked. Aiden bent down and picked up his underwear and slipped them on, stood, then pulled them up all the way.

“Getting some clothes on. I’m really not trying to drive you crazy.”

“Too late.” Greg said as he went around the bed. Aiden looked at him as Greg came up in front of him, “I’m already crazy about you, Aiden. I really am.” Greg said putting his hands on Aiden’s upper arms, “I don’t know when I can come back.”

“It’s okay. I understand.” Aiden said. Greg leaned in and kissed him, softly at first, then pressed in more, sliding his arms around the smooth warm skin, holding Aiden tighter to him as their tongues worked around one another. Aiden slid his hands around Greg’s waist, melting into the embrace. Greg’s phone beeped again. Aiden felt the limpness in Greg’s hands at the sound. They pulled back from each other. Aiden smiled a bit, “I don’t want you to get in trouble. You better go.” Greg let go of Aiden, “Thanks for coming over. It was awesome.”

“Yeah, it was.” Greg whispered and smiled, “I’ll see you later.” Greg turned and walked away. Aiden watched him as he went through the door, closing it behind him. Aiden’s chest was pounding as he looked toward the ceiling and blinked hard.

‘You’re not gonna cry…you’re not gonna cry.’ He kept telling himself over and over.

8888 8888 8888 8888

“Feeling better?” Derrick asked as he settled on his pillow, looking to his left at Ty.

“Kind of got rid of the extra energy, yeah.” Ty said.

“Got any left?” Derrick asked. Ty chuckled and rolled to his side to face Derrick.

“Why? Is somebody horny?” Ty asked.

“No, not really.” Derrick said with a smile.

“There’s a first.”

“No, I was just wondering if you really do feel better.” Derrick said as he rolled to face Ty.

“Yeah, I do.” Ty said.

“Good. Is something on your mind?”

“What makes you ask that?”

“Because it’s written all over your face.” Derrick said. He reached up a hand and gently stroked the cheek to the chin, “Such a handsome face, too.”

“Thanks.” Ty said.

“What is it?” Derrick asked in a hushed voice.

“Just thinking about tomorrow.”

“What’s going on tomorrow?” Derrick asked.

“There’s these three guys that are working a job downtown. They’ve got me kind of bugged.”

“How?”

“When Mike and I got to the job this morning, they were working unsafe, really pissed me off. They could’ve been seriously hurt or maybe something even worse. But one of them really kind of struck me with this feeling.”

“What feeling?” Derrick asked.

“It’s hard to describe really. The guy is really quiet. It’s like he’s thinking…several steps ahead of where he’s at. But he’s got this attitude too, you can see it in his eyes. Kind of like this cocky kind of thing about him but not saying much. I don’t know.”

“Is it gonna get bad with him?” Derrick asked.

“I hope not.” Ty said, “But, yeah, I think it might.”

“Working unsafe doesn’t sound exactly like how Sam does it or likes it done.”

“I agree.” Ty said, “I’ve always heard good things about Sam over the years, some of his guys not so much, but they don’t work for him anymore from what I’m told.”

“Did you talk to Sam about him?”

“No, didn’t get the chance, but I’m going to in the morning, get his opinion about him. Sam told me this morning that I can run the jobs however I need to, Mike said the same thing. I don’t want to just come in and start busting balls. That makes it bad for everybody, but I’m not there to be buddy-buddy with them either.” Ty said.

“Sounds to me that you might have a plan already.” Derrick said.

“Am I really that easy to read?” Ty asked with a smile.

“No.” Derrick said and stroked the cheek in front of him gently again, “It’s just that I know you. You never really do anything without a plan.”

“I guess I am easy.”

“About some things, maybe.” Derrick grinned.

“Are we back to sex again?” Ty asked with his own grin.

“Maybe.” Derrick said with a roll of his eyes. Ty leaned forward.

“You gonna spread your legs for me?” Ty asked.

“Maybe.”

“I thought you weren’t horny.” Ty said.

“Truth be known, I’m always horny for you, babe.” Derrick said just before he kissed Ty with an open mouth, tonguing him furiously. Ty was instantly hard.

8888 8888 8888 8888

Alec was clearing the table of dishes out on the veranda. He carried the stack in through the wide French doors when he stopped short and gasped slightly. Jean-Pierre was standing there along with two other men. They were dressed in almost expense type suits.

“Lord, you scared me.” Alec said.

“I did not mean to, Mister Alec.” Jean-Pierre said smiling slightly out of the corner of his mouth, “These gentlemen are with the Directorate that I told you about.”

“Hi.” Alec said softly nodding toward them.

“They would like to show you some photographs if you wouldn’t mind.” Jean-Pierre said.

“Sure. Just let me put this stuff down in the kitchen.” Alec said. He gave a brief smile. The two men were silent and were just staring at him.

“Where is Julienne?” Jean-Pierre asked as he and the men followed Alec into the kitchen.

“She’s over at her house getting the kids and Chevelle ready to stay here tonight.” Alec said as he set the dishes in the sink. He wiped his hands on a towel and turned and looked at them all. Jean-Pierre turned and spoke to them in French. Alec was trying to follow along but was getting lost. Jean-Pierre turned back and looked at Alec.

“I apologize, Mister Alec, they only speak French. I will translate.” Jean-Pierre said.

“Oh, that’s alright. I wish I spoke better French.” Alec said, looking at the two men, “If they spoke Spanish, we’d be good.”

“I doubt that they do.” Jean-Pierre said. He relayed what Alec said to them and it the first time that they showed any type of expression at all, faint smiles and shakes of their heads. Alec threw his hands a little and cocked his head.

One of the men stepped to the counter and reached into his inside breast pocket and pulled out a group of photographs the size of index cards. He started to put them one by one on the counter. Alec moved and came close to him, moving some things about to make more for him. The man continued to slowly put them down, one by one, Alec looking at them carefully.

“They want to see if any of these men in these photographs are of the man that was here earlier.” Jean-Pierre said.

“Who are all these people?” Alec asked.

“It is better that you don’t ask.” Jean-Pierre said at Alec’s ear.

“Yeah.” Alec said. The man set one down and Alec put his finger on it, “He looks familiar.” Alec said, “Jean-Pierre, I’ve seen him before, but he’s not the man that was here. I don’t remember where I’ve seen him before though.” Jean-Pierre relayed what Alec said to the two men. They conversed with each other for a moment, then the one man continued to lay down more photos, “That’s him.” Alec said and tapped his finger on the photo and then looked up at the man next to him, “Oui.” Alec said. He got a nod from the man.

“Jean-Pierre?” Madame Julienne asked from the kitchen doorway. Alec, Jean-Pierre, and the two men looked in her direction.

“Julienne, peux-tu regarder quelques photos, s’il te plait?” Jean-Pierre asked. She stepped forward, the one man behind the other stepped out of her way as she came to the counter. She looked the photos over and then pointed to the second one Alec identified.

“Bien. Merci, Madame.” The man said, she nodded her head. He gathered up the photos and placed them back into his lapel pocket.

“It’s going to drive me crazy if I don’t know who the other guy is.” Alec said to Jean-Pierre.

“Can you remember where it is that you have seen him before?” Jean-Pierre asked. Alec bit his bottom lip as he was thinking.

“I don’t know, but it wasn’t too long ago.” Alec said, still trying to think and then it dawned on him, “Now I remember.” Alec said and snapped his fingers, “It was in Paris, at the airport. I remember him now because he was getting the same type of suitcase that Conner has. I thought he was going to grab Conner’s suitcase at first. That’s when you were there and you were talking to Conner. Remember?”

“Vaguely.” Jean-Pierre said, “But I don’t recall him.”

“I guess you wouldn’t because you guys were talking and were behind me. I remember I said to the guy, I think that’s ours.” Alec said, “He grabbed the tag and looked at it and said something like sorry or something. Then I grabbed the suitcase and pulled it off. He grabbed his.”

“You remember him from that?” Jean-Pierre said.

“No, not just from that. It was weird to me because he had an odor to him and it didn’t make sense to me.” Alec said.

“What was the odor?”

“It was like burnt motor oil. I remember it.” Alec said.

“How would you know…?” Jean-Pierre asked.

“I’ve been working on and building cars my whole life with my dad and brothers. I know burnt motor oil when I smell it.” Alec said, “Who is he?” Jean-Pierre relayed what Alec had just told him to the two men. They looked at Alec for a moment and then started talking between themselves. The man with the photos looked at Jean-Pierre and started talking to him. Madame Julienne was still standing there and as she listened, she made a slight gasp.

“Would you look at his photo again?” Jean-Pierre asked. The man pulled out the group again and went through them, taking the one and then holding it up toward Alec.

“Yeah, that’s him, the guy at the airport.” Alec said and nodded, “Oui.” He pointed his finger at the photo.

“Gabbiaux.” The man said. He spoke to Jean-Pierre again and then looked at Alec, putting out his hand. Alec took it, “Merci, merci beaucoup, Monsieur.” He took his hand back and spoke to Jean-Pierre as they exited the kitchen leaving Alec and Madame Julienne standing there.

“Uh, your welcome.” Alec said softly as they kept walking away.

8888 8888 8888 8888

Aiden rolled over in the big bed and picked up his phone and looked at it. He read the text that had just dinged. He sat up. He shook his head as he read it. He typed back and sent it.

‘what happened?’

‘they were all in my shit when I walked in the door’

‘sorry’

‘not you dude…its on them…their problem’

‘doesn’t make it right. What are you grounded from?’

‘they took my fucking car keys for a week’

‘what?????’

‘fuck em’

‘need to…you can use mine’

‘2 sweet’

‘I know’ Aiden texted and stuck out his tongue a bit as he sent it.

‘miss u’

‘miss u more’ Aiden texted. He texted again quickly.

‘deep breath. we’ll get through this’ Aiden texted trying to feel not brave but supportive. He really felt what Greg was going through now was his fault.

‘have an idea’ Greg texted back and Aiden looked at the phone with a worried look. He knew Greg and some of his ideas were a bit on the crazy side.

‘nothin stupid’ Aiden warned.

‘need 2’

‘need 2 what?’

‘tell them’ Aiden read it and went bug eyed. His thumbs started typing rapidly.

‘NO!!! don’t…not yet. U know what happened to me’

‘tired of living like this’

‘understand it…believe me…but not now…please’

‘scared?’

‘4 u, yes. U know how they are’

‘want to be with u!’ Aiden read it and his chest tightened. He fought back tears. He knew what Greg’s parents were like. He didn’t know them, but had listened all the time to what Greg had said about them and believed every word of it.

‘want it 2 so bad. please…don’t tell them…not yet’ Aiden sent it so fast. He knew that Greg would get up and go marching right out there and tell them. He was so scared for Greg right now, ‘think first’ Aiden typed right away and sent it as there was nothing coming back. He wanted to call him. His thumb was over the call button ready to push it.

‘I know u know best’ Aiden read the screen and let out a deep breath, ‘I know to listen 2 u. just really pissed right now’

‘u mean 2 much 2 me to see u hurt like I was’ Aiden texted.

‘I know. luv u’ Aiden’s eyes went back to bugging his eyes. His chest was about to explode with joy. He jumped up on the bed and stood. He read the message again. ‘Wait, does he love me, love me? Or is he saying he loves me for the great advice’ Aiden asked himself. He typed into the phone.

‘luv u 2’ Aiden closed his eyes after he sent it and grimaced. The phone was silent for almost an eternity and then it dinged. He opened only one eye and looked at it and gasped.

‘not as much as I luv u’ Aiden was panting as he read the text. ‘He loves me…he really does love me.’ Aiden thought to himself, “YES!” Aiden screamed out loud and danced on the bed, holding the phone in clenched fists.

8888 8888 8888 8888

Ty had his hands on the bed holding himself up as he looked down at Derrick. Ty was fully in him and slowly ground his hips in small circles, his balls dragging on the bed and pushed up against Derrick’s tight ass. Derrick’s legs were spread wide, his hands were rubbing all over Ty’s tight abs, kneading the muscles. Their eyes were locked on one another.

“You’re so fuckin gorgeous.” Ty said softly.

“You know you are too.” Derrick panted with being so filled inside. Every nerve in his body was firing all at once. His toes were curling.

“I love sex with you. You make it so fucking hot.”

“Do I?” Derrick asked.

“You know you do. You make me cum and cum.”

“I love to make you cum.” Derrick panted. Ty started moving again, barely sliding in and out of Derrick, staying as deep as he could, rolling his hips. Derrick groaned again. Ty was so big, so long, and Derrick loved it. He had never been with anyone as big and it made Derrick desire it constantly, dream about it continually. Ty was the perfect lover as far as Derrick was concerned, there was no one better. And what Ty was doing to him right now only proved it further. Derrick closed his eyes and gripped Ty’s waist and just held on letting himself be taken by this totally perfect man that he loved so deeply.

8888 8888 8888 8888

Alec came up the stairs and saw Chevelle standing in the double doorway of the master suite, her back to him and she was shaking her head. Alec came up next to her and stopped, looking into the room and it made him smile warmly. Chevelle looked up at him.

“Are you certain you want to do this?” She asked softly. Alec chuckled and nodded. He was watching as two little ones were in the big bed, sitting there and both bubbling a bit as it were, big excited eyes, wiggling a bit as they sat there waiting under the duvet.

“It’s almost like being back home. My nieces and nephews would beg to do this with me when they came to stay over.” Alec said.

“I don’t want them to be any trouble for you.” Chevelle said.

“And they won’t be. Believe me, I know how to handle this. I’ll tell them a story or two and they’ll be out before long.”

“You would make a remarkable father.” Chevelle said and put a hand on his arm. Alec looked at her and smiled.

“Thanks. I’ve always loved kids. They can make it so easy sometimes.” Alec said.

“Alec, are you coming?” Sophie asked, “We saved you the spot in the middle.”

“Yeah, just for you.” Eadric said, nodding really big. He pat the spot between he and his sister with his little hand.

“Okay, so here is how it’s going to work tonight, guys.” Alec said as he looked at them in the big bed, “I need to go and take a shower and then when I get out, I’ll tell you guys a story. We can listen to the crickets too like we did last night. Your mom is gonna be in the room you guys were in last night right down the hall. You remember where that is?” Alec asked and they both nodded, “Good. If you need her, you know where to go, okay?” Alec asked and again, there were big nods. Alec looked at Chevelle again, “You want to stay with them while I’m in the bathroom?”

“I suppose I should.”

“I’ll only be a few minutes.” Alec said, “Go make yourself comfortable.” Alec said and went to the tall wardrobe, opening it as Chevelle crossed the room and sat down on the bed with her children. Alec pulled clothes out to change into. He had to look a bit and then found some sleep pants to put on. The light sweats had been too hot for him last night. Alec closed the wardrobe and came across the large room going by the end of the bed. Chevelle was talking to the children softly. Alec looked at them all and smiled big.

“You could sleep in here too, Mama.” Sophie said. Alec chuckled as he went into the bathroom.

“I don’t think that would be right, Sophie, but thank you.” Chevelle said softly as Alec closed the door. He set his clothes down on the wide counter and started the shower. He stripped his clothes he was wearing, leaving them in a pile and stepped into the big open shower. He washed himself and then his hair. He shut off the water and grabbed a towel, drying himself and stepped out, hanging the towel up and grabbed his clothes, slipping them on. Tonight, he would wear a tee to bed as well. He brushed his teeth and picked up his clothes from the day, opening the door. He looked over at the bed as he came out and put his clothes where he always did near the wardrobe. He wanted to do laundry tomorrow and get that out of the way. Chevelle was getting up off the bed and went to the doors. She smiled at Alec as their eyes met, “I will leave you for the night then.”

“Alright.” Alec said, he looked at the children in the big bed, and then back to her, “We’ll leave the door open tonight, just in case.” Alec said with a reassurance in his smile. Chevelle nodded.

“Goodnight, little ones. Remember what I said about being good.”

“We will, Mama.” Eadric said and snuggled down in the bed.

“Goodnight, Mama.” Sophie said and did the same as her brother had done. Chevelle walked out of the doors, leaving them open. Alec went to the group of switches on the wall and turned off the lights. The room was instantly bathed in moonlight through the balcony doors. There was a slight breeze that made the sheers on the French doors shift about as they draped on the floor. Alec went to the bed and as he had done last night when the children came to join him, he climbed on the bed at the foot, over the long bench that was there and came up the middle.

“You guys all settled in?” Alec asked. He could see them both nodding on the pillows as he came to the center. He turned over and worked his way under the duvet between the little bodies and settled on the pillows. Eadric snuggled next to Alec’s side first. Alec could feel the motion against him and he looked over. He saw an open eye of the boy. Sophie snuggled in as well and got comfortable up against Alec, “Have you ever heard the story of the Frog Prince?” Alec asked and both of the little ones shook their heads, “Do you want me to tell you?” He got nods from both, “Okay. Once upon a time in this kingdom far away lived a king and a queen…”

8888 8888 8888 8888

‘How can people do this to their own kids?’ Campbell wondered to himself as he typed up his second report on the laptop, Aiden’s report. He was sitting in the squad room at the station and his thoughts of his own life came creeping into the forefront and made him stop typing, ‘The question may never be answered, dipshit. The same thing happened to you too, remember?’ He answered himself. It all flashed through his mind, remembering how it had all happened. Some of the memories came to him in slow motion, others were just a blur.

That painful memory of being discovered that afternoon while he and Sammy were in the garage together. Friends, school-mates, they had been and had slowly discovering what they really felt about each other, how they desired each other. Their being together that day was mutual and Campbell wanted it so bad, to try it, to make sure that it was right, to confirm that what he desired was actually true. They hadn’t really talked about it, hinted at it yes, touched yes, played more aggressively with each other, but nothing really said to one another. And as they began to kiss, to touch, in his parents’ garage that afternoon, Dave Campbell lost himself to his inner desires. He wanted to do so many things with Sammy, to see and touch his naked body, and after so much time that had gone on between them, it was finally happening and it was so exciting. And as Campbell went to his knees and was just opening his mouth to take Sammy’s hard length into it, that’s when it happened. He could almost feel the hit again to the back of his head, the pain, and then there was the scream, the scream from Sammy. Campbell jumped and snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the voice speaking to him.

“Hey…you alright?”

“Yeah.” Campbell said and looked up. Collins, his fellow officer, was standing on the other side of the table looking at him with narrowed eyes.

“Did you hear what I said?” Collins asked.

“No. Sorry, was lost in thought. What’d you say?” Campbell asked.

“I was saying that I appreciated what you said about Lance earlier to those guys.” Collins said.

“It’s the truth. I’ve said it before, you know.” Campbell said. Collins just nodded.

“Yeah…uh…mind if I talk to you for a minute?” Collins asked and Campbell held out a hand and indicated the chair across from him. Collins pulled it and sat down, “Look, I’m glad you talked me into going with you…to apologize to that guy. The last thing I need is another formal complaint on my record.”

“It’s no problem. It was the right thing to do.” Campbell said.

“Yeah…guess it was. I just wanted to say thanks. You pulled my ass out and I appreciate it. I know I get a little pissed off and sometimes I’m a bit hotheaded. I’m trying to get over that, but it’s been tough, you know?” Collins asked.

“I can understand that. What we do can really be tough, and tough on us. We see a lot of shit, you know that, more than most people see or even realize.”

“How do you deal with it so well?” Collins asked. Campbell gave a slight smile and shook his head a little.

“I just do.”

“I’ve never seen you pissed off or even yell at anyone before.” Collins said.

“I read somewhere once that speaking softer gets more attention than just yelling. It makes people focus and pay attention. With the way things are today, society in general, almost everybody is either yelling or screaming about something. It always makes me think that what’s printed on our cars is true…to serve. How can you serve anybody that you’re yelling at? It always stops me.” Campbell said.

“You served in the military, didn’t you?” Collins asked.

“Yeah. That helped too.” Campbell said.

“Marines?”

“No, Army.” Campbell said, “Got deployed to Afghanistan. Saw a lot of stuff there.”

“I bet.” Collins said, “You don’t seem to be very old. Were you there long?”

“Two tours, almost four years. It was long enough, believe me. Gave me a totally different outlook on life.” Campbell said.

“I can’t imagine.” Collins said softly and paused, “So, what’s with this other kid?”

“The one at the house we went to?” Campbell asked and Collins nodded, “Like I said, he was part of what started all that that we responded to. He’s the oldest son of that woman. She threw him out over the weekend and that’s when the one uncle reacted, the heavy set one.”

“So the boyfriend that we arrested was really the one that started all of it?” Collins asked.

“Yeah. Apparently he assaulted the older boy over the weekend.”

“Was it reported?” Collins asked and Campbell shook his head.

“No. I’m doing a follow up and add on report to the response call with his assault.”

“So, you’re hanging this guy?”

“Yeah.” Campbell said and had a firm look on his face. Collins could see it, “They’re still running him. I’ve haven’t heard anything back yet, but I would lay money on it that he’s done this before…somewhere or to someone. You saw how he was when we arrived. I could tell he’s been in this kind of situation before.”

“Pretty sure of that myself, but that’s just a hunch.” Collins said, “That Caldwell guy, he’s a fuckin monster. His arms are as big as my legs. I thought he’d killed Freitas when he hit him like he did.”

“I’m pretty sure he wanted to. Especially after he hit his nephew like that.” Campbell said, “But like I said, I know him, not well, but I do know him.”

“How well?”

“I’ve met him a couple of times, there at the house. I was with Lance that first night when Lance got the case. Then after Lance was pulled off the case, they gave it to me, and I did a follow up. Both times he was gentle, never riled or angry about anything.” Campbell said.

“I guess I can understand him getting pissed off about the boy being treated that way. Just wish I had handled it different.” Collins said.

“Live and learn, man.” Campbell said. Collins just nodded.

“Well, I’ll try.” Collins said as he got up. Campbell followed him with his eyes. Collins put out his hand to Campbell. Campbell took it in his, “Again, wanted to say thanks.”

“It’s part of the brotherhood. You’d do the same for me.” Campbell said and gave a smile.

“You’re an alright guy, Campbell.” Collins said.

“Thanks. I try.” Campbell said as he took his hand back. Collins walked away, going off shift.

8888 8888 8888 8888

Ty rolled to his back and was breathing hard. He put his hands to his face and rubbed himself with his palms. He dropped his arms on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Derrick groaned a bit as he rolled to the edge of the bed, putting his feet on the floor. Ty’s breathing began to get slower as he rolled his head and looked at his husband sitting there.

“That was…fucking incredible.” Ty said.

“Yeah, it was. Now I’m going to walk bowlegged.” Derrick groaned a bit as he got to his feet. He looked over his shoulder at his man lying there in their bed, “I thought you said you didn’t have any energy.”

“You bring it out in me.” Ty smirked. Derrick smiled. He went into the bathroom, closing the door. Ty knew what Derrick was going to do now and try and get rid the multiple loads he had shot into him. Ty looked over at the clock on his side of the bed on the nightstand, just after eleven.

“Uncle T?” Ty heard Aiden from a distance. Ty went wide eyed.

“What’s up, buddy?” Ty asked guardedly, not moving in the bed.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” Aiden asked, still from a distance.

“Yeah sure, hold on a sec.” Ty said and rolled to his side of the bed. He got out of bed and reached down for a pair of shorts. He stepped into them and pulled them up, snapping them, “You in the kitchen?”

“Yeah.” Aiden said. Ty went around the bed and headed to the hallway. He came out and joined Aiden in the dark kitchen.

“You okay, bud?” Ty asked.

“I think so…uh…maybe.” Aiden said. Ty flicked on the lights and both of them squinted with the light for a moment, “Hey…can I show you something?”

“Is it a hot picture of your boyfriend?” Ty asked as he stepped to Aiden. Then Ty realized that Aiden was just in a pair of jeans, nothing else. He looked Aiden over quickly but carefully and saw the tight abs and tight chest that Aiden had, “I didn’t realize you were so built. Damn, Aid, you’re hot.”

“Huh?” Aiden asked and then looked down at himself, “You really think so?” Aiden asked.

“Well, yeah, duh. No wonder Greg keeps hanging around.” Ty smiled, “What did you want to show me?”

“Can you read this?” Aiden held out his phone, “I don’t know what to think about it.”

“Hey, what are you doing?” Derrick asked and then saw Aiden. Derrick went wide eyed, “Oh shit.” He said, turning on his heel and headed for the bedroom, he was still naked. Ty looked over his shoulder at Derrick and smiled seeing his tight naked butt walking away. Ty looked back down at the phone and read the texts as he moved over to the counter and sat on one of the stools.

“So…” Ty said as he looked up at Aiden and raised an eyebrow, “when’s the wedding?” Ty asked.

“Do you really think it’s true?” Aiden asked. Ty held out the phone as Derrick came into the kitchen.

“Is what true? What’d I miss?” Derrick asked. Ty handed the phone toward Derrick. Derrick looked down at it as he came around and was reading it. He gave Ty a side glance and then looked at Aiden, “He’s grounded?” Derrick asked and Aiden nodded, looking sad, “Sorry to hear that buddy, I really am.”

“So, what do you think, Aid? You know him better than we do.” Ty said.

“I don’t know what to think.” Aiden said and put his hands on the island counter, “I keep reading it over and over. My mind is going crazy thinking all kinds of things, what if this, what if that.”

“Yeah, okay. I get it, I really do. But, bud, I really think that you need to talk to him. You guys need to sit down and figure out what’s goin on.” Ty said.

“But if he’s grounded, what am I suppose to do?” Aiden asked.

“Well, he’s grounded from driving it looks like. So, why don’t you go over there?” Ty asked.

“I can’t just go over there.”

“Well I’m not talkin about right now, bud, not this late at night. Why not tomorrow after work? Makes better sense to me.” Ty said.

“I guess so.” Aiden said and sounded a bit defeated.

“You should try and get some sleep, bud.” Ty said, “I know it might be a bit tough, but you’ll be worthless at work tomorrow if you don’t.”

“I was trying…and…there’s just so much that…” Aiden said and looked directly at Ty with pleading eyes, “Have you ever been through this?” Ty smiled out of the corner of his mouth.

“Yeah, a couple of times.” Ty said and looked slowly up at Derrick, who was standing beside him. Derrick looked down at him and put his arm over Ty’s shoulders.

“You have?” Derrick asked and raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. You don’t remember?” Ty asked.

“Why don’t you…jog my memory.” Derrick said with almost a smirk.

“You came home that one night, it was kind of late, I was sitting on the back steps. You’d gone out to dinner after I left that afternoon. Sound familiar?”

“Is that the night…?”

“That’s the night that I told you that I loved you.” Ty said, “It was driving me crazy. All this stuff was going through my mind about you. How perfect you were, how sweet, how you always made me feel so good about myself, about us. It was after we had that argument. Remember now?”

“I never really forgot.” Derrick said and leaned down and kissed Ty’s forehead. Ty put his arm around Derrick’s waist and squeezed him closer to him. Ty looked back at Aiden.

“How do you feel about him, Aid?” Ty asked. Aiden hung his head a moment and then looked up at both of them.

“He makes my stomach flip every time I see him. When he smiles at me, my knees shake. And then when we’re together…I just can’t get enough of him. He smells so good, is always so…”

“Wow.” Ty said, “I’d say you’ve got it really bad.”

“The boy’s in love, there’s no doubt.” Derrick said.

“Yeah, it’s beyond hardcore lust that’s for sure.” Ty said.

“What am I gonna do?”

“You’re gonna get through this, that’s what you’re gonna do.” Ty said, “You know what you want and deep down I think you know what he wants too. It’s pretty obvious from here. And after what I saw this morning…you guys are just so hot together.” Aiden blushed and Derrick smiled, “So…tomorrow after work, you go over to his place. Talk to him, see what he says. Make sure you listen to him. And if it’s right, tell him how you really feel. The best advice I can give you, buddy, is always be honest about how you feel, you’ll never go wrong.”

“That’s for sure.” Derrick said, “It’s like I told you the other day, Aiden, tell him the truth. I think you did that when you called him and looked what happened, he showed up.”

“Yeah.” Aiden said softly.

“Now, you need to get to bed. I know, because I need to.” Ty said. He let go of Derrick and got up off the stool.

“Thanks for helping.” Aiden said.

“Thanks for sharing.” Ty said, “It’s gonna be alright, buddy.”

“I hope so.” Aiden said as he came around the counter. He gave Derrick a hug first, “Thanks”, Aiden whispered as Derrick hugged him back and then let him go. Aiden hugged Ty really tight, “I love you, Uncle T.”

“Love you, too, bud.” Ty said as he hugged the tight body, “Now go to bed. Want me to get you up in the morning?”

“I should be alright, thanks.”

“Alright.” Ty said as he watched Aiden walk away toward the back door. They heard it close. Derrick and Ty looked at each other for a long moment, “Young love.” Ty sighed.

“Yeah, I know. It’s really sweet and so are you.” Derrick said taking Ty’s hand in his and pulled him toward the bedroom.

8888 8888 8888 8888

Dave Campbell pulled up in the driveway of his little house and put the car in park. It was very late, almost midnight now. He got out of his car, his Mustang, closing the door. He walked around it and pushed the button on the fob in his hand and the car locked, giving a double chirp. He went across the lawn and up the step and to the front door. He put his key in the lock and turned it, opening the door, going in, then closed it and locked it behind him. He was tired, drained. All these memories keep flooding his mind, memories of his deployment. He hadn’t had them in quite a while, had pushed them to the back of his mind, trying to forget what had happened there.

He set his keys down and went through the living room into the small kitchen, turning on the light as he came through the open doorway. ‘Eat something’ he said to himself, ‘It’s way too late to eat’ his own mind answered, ‘Something to drink at least’ he sighed softly as he opened the fridge door. He pulled out a bottle of water and opened it. He drank most of it, recapped it and walked out of the kitchen, ‘Watch TV for a while’ he said to himself as he looked at the big black screen, ‘Sure, an infomercial, why not? Sounds really entertaining.’ He shook his head and rolled his eyes, “Just go to bed.” He said out loud this time, “You need to try and find a life at some point. This is getting ridiculous.” He shut off the lights and went into the little hallway, turning right and went the one step to his bedroom door.

He had showered and changed into his street clothes at the station. He pulled his holstered gun off his belt that he carried as was what he was supposed to always do and set it on the dresser. He unclipped his badge off his belt and placed it next to the weapon. He removed his phone and looked at it, the glow of the screen partly lit up the dark room, ‘No surprise there with no messages. Got to know someone to get one, loser.’ His mind said to himself. Campbell shook his head as he unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it out of his pants. He stripped it off and tossed it toward the basket he had but missed. He kicked off his shoes and then undid his pants, pushing them and his underwear down as he went and stepped out of both of them. He pulled his socks off as well and just dropped them. He went to the bed and tossed back the sheet and the light spread and dropped into bed, reaching over and flipped the alarm on. He dropped to the pillow and closed his eyes. He was restless for a time and tried to sleep. He slowly drifted off.

He thought he heard something and opened his eyes. He lifted his head off the pillow. The moonlight was coming through the partially closed blinds of the big window. He let out a deep sigh and dropped his head back on the pillow as the shadowed figure stepped out of the dark corner.

“What do you want, Danny?” Campbell said toward the ceiling.

“I thought you’d be glad to see me, Dave.”

“You shouldn’t be here, Danny. I should be over this.”

“Are you really over me, Dave? You told me you loved me, remember?”

“I remember, Danny. But then you died.” Campbell said and lifted his head off the pillow. His eyes looked around but the room was empty, “I really need to find a boyfriend.” Campbell said in a whisper dropping his head back on the pillow again. He closed his eyes.

8888 8888 8888 8888

Alec heard the first bird chirp and start to sing somewhere out in the garden. He took in a deep breath and slowly let it out through his nose. He let his eyes open slowly. He pulled out his hands from under the covers using them to rub those sleepy eyes. He heard a slight sound, almost like a soft chortle. He thought it might have been Eadric at first. He rolled his head to the right, but Eadric was sound asleep. Alec took in another breath and rolled his head left and looked at Sophie, she was asleep as well. Alec lifted his head off the pillow. It took him a moment to focus. He blinked hard and his chest pounded. He slipped up and out from under the covers quickly and went across the bed to the foot as fast as he could. He threw his arms around Conner’s neck and squeezed him to him so tight. Conner put his arms around Alec’s back. Alec let go his tears and sobbed.

“Hey, babe.” Conner said as he rubbed Alec’s back through the tee.

“How long have you been here?” Alec whispered in Conner’s ear.

“About an hour.” Conner whispered in reply.

“What?” Alec asked as he pulled back and looked into Conner’s face, his hands on Conner’s shoulders. Conner smiled and flashed his eyes.

“Shhh, don’t wake the kids.” Conner said, he nodded his head sideways, “Looks like I’ve been replaced.”

“Not by a longshot. No one can replace you.” Alec said.

“Really? Where did they come from?”

“It’s kind of a long story, but, short version is they’re her grandkids.” Alec said.

“I kind of figured that. But what are they…?”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Alec asked.

“I was watching you sleeping with them. It was just so sweet to watch. I didn’t have the heart to wake you up.” Conner said.

“She should be up here pretty soon.”

“I’ve already talked to her downstairs. How about some coffee?” Conner asked.

“Do you need some?” Alec asked.

“I need something else first.” Conner said and leaned forward, Alec pulled back and covered his mouth.

“Morning breath.” Alec whispered.

“I don’t care. I’ve waited too long.” Conner said and reached up, taking Alec’s hand away and fell into his mouth. Alec moaned softly and wrapped himself around Conner. Their kiss was filled with passion, a deep passion taking away all of the emptiness and ache that they both felt. It renewed what they had missed, missed from just being with one another, touching, seeing one another. It was to the both of them as if they had been apart for years and had rejoined. They pulled apart as they heard the soft sounds of the tray being set down on the small table near the balcony. They both looked in her direction as she was trying to slip away back toward the open door.

“Thank you.” Alec whispered toward her and she looked in their direction and gave her soft smile and a nod with just her eyes. Madame Julienne slipped out the door as quietly as she did when she came in. Alec looked back at Conner, “I’m going to go brush my teeth whether you like it or not.” Alec whispered.

“If you insist.” Conner whispered.

“I do.” Alec said and got up and crawled over the long bench at the foot of the bed that Conner sat on. Conner watched Alec walk away from him toward the bathroom, closing the door quietly. Conner got up and went over to the tray, pouring coffee in a cup and then picked it up. He went out on the balcony and leaned on the railing just looking out over the broad garden below. Conner heard the sound of coffee being poured, the carafe being set back down on the tray and then felt the arm go around his waist. Alec came close to him, snuggling to Conner’s side. Conner swung his arm over and put it around Alec’s shoulders. He leaned his head and rested it against Alec’s.

“Are you okay, babe?” Conner asked.

“I am now. You’re here.” Alec said, “What happened down there?”

“Well, you were talking about a long story…this one’s a long one for sure.”

“Your dad called me.”

“I know. I asked him to.” Conner said and then kissed Alec’s temple, “You said you wanted to go home. Do you want to go right away?”

“I do…but then I don’t.” Alec said.

“It’s this place. I know you love it here.”

“I do…but I think we should talk first. There’s so much that’s happened.” Alec said.

“Yeah, I know that feeling.” Conner said. He looked at Alec, and Alec slowly looked at him, “I missed you so much. You’re all I thought about. I just need to know one thing, are we gonna be alright?”

“Do you want us to be?”

“You know I do. I would give anything for that, Alec. I love you so much it hurts. You’re everything to me. I never want to lose that feeling that I have for you, that longing, that need just to be close to you, to touch you. If you told me that the only way we could stay together was to just go away somewhere, just the two of us. I’d give everything up and just go. I just want to be with you…for the rest of my life.”

“Are you proposing again?” Alec asked.

“Only if you want me to.” Conner said and raised an eyebrow.

“No.” Alec said, “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. We don’t have to get married, Conner, at least not now or ever. What I wanted to tell you was, I don’t to be with anyone else but you. I want to be yours and yours only. I don’t want to be with Derrick, I don’t want to be with Ty, I don’t want to be with anyone else, just yours, exclusively. You know what I mean?”

“Wow. So I guess you don’t want to do the horndog thing anymore?”

“Just with you, only you.”

8888 8888 8888 8888

Ty heard the alarm and growled. He reached out and slapped the nightstand a few times until he found the alarm clock. The alarm silenced and Ty groaned into the pillow. He felt an arm go over his back and smiled. The weight of it felt good to him, Derrick was still here and in bed. Ty turned his head to his left and smiled as Derrick was already smiling.

“Morning.” Ty said with half a mouth.

“Morning.” Derrick flashed his eyes.

“Are you gonna be fuckin cheery this early? How do you do that?” Ty asked.

“Because I love the morning, it’s my favorite time of day.” Derrick said.

“Oh god.” Ty grumbled and closed his eyes. Derrick chuckled and slid to him, kissing the tip of Ty’s nose. Ty opened one eye, “Don’t tell me your horny.”

“I told you I’m always horny for you.”

“Okay.” Ty grumbled. Derrick rolled away to the edge of the bed, “Where you going?”

“Shower.” Derrick said as he got up.

“But I thought…?” Ty asked as he raised his head off the pillow.

“Nope…you’re not interested…it’s okay. You’re just not a morning guy. Maybe my boyfriend is.” Derrick said as he went into the bathroom.

“You got to tell who this boyfriend is.” Ty said. Derrick came back to the door with his toothbrush in his mouth.

“Never gonna happen.” Derrick said.

“Somebody I know?” Ty asked as he rolled to his side, “Just please tell me it’s not the paperboy. You’ll blow my dreamboy fantasy that I’ve been having.”

“He does have a cute little butt.” Derrick said and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Now who’s Mr. Perv?” Ty asked and got out of bed. He went around the bed and went into the bathroom. Derrick spit and rinsed his mouth as Ty used the toilet. Derrick started the shower. He waited a few moments and then stepped in under the rain head, closing his eyes. He felt hands on him and smiled, he opened his eyes as the water gently ran over his face.

“Oh look, it’s my boyfriend. I thought you’d never get here.” Derrick said getting his face close to Ty’s, “We have to make this quick, my husband’s still in bed.”

“I thought you said he was old and slow.”

“He is.” Derrick said as he kissed Ty with a teasing open mouth, licking Ty’s lips.

“How old is he?” Ty chewed Derrick’s bearded chin.

“Ancient.” Derrick said with a hiss as he was grabbed. Fingers were wrapped around him and pulled and slid up and down him.

“When are you gonna dump him and run away with me?” Ty asked as he pulled on the length and kissed Derrick ear then chewed on it. He moved to Derrick’s neck.

“Whenever you want.” Derrick hissed. Ty kissed Derrick’s collarbone, following it with his lips.

“What I want is for you to put this inside of me and fuck me until I scream.” Ty said as he chewed on Derrick’s neck underneath his chin.

“I can do that.” Derrick hissed out. Ty let him go, turned and put his hands on the shower wall, arching his back, throwing his tight muscle butt out. Derrick got behind and ran his hard length up and down the tight crack.

“Don’t fuckin tease me. Give it to me.” Ty said over his shoulder. Derrick grabbed himself and put his tip at Ty’s wet hole. Ty arched even more and Derrick pushed spreading Ty open, “Oh…fuck yeah.” Ty growled, “All of it…I want all of it…come on…” Ty panted as he was spread open even more. Derrick pushed in all the way, “Fuck…you feel so good.”

“You’re so tight…just like a young guy should be.” Derrick said as he looked down at where they were connected. Derrick lifted his head and looked at the back of Ty’s, running his eyes all over the broad muscled back, big shoulders. Ty slid his hands further up the wall, leaning his head closer to the tile. Derrick started moving in and out of him making Ty moan and grunt softly. Derrick put his hands on the big shoulders and looked down. His thrusts became more intense and shorter, “You feel so good.”

“Yeah…fuck me, big boy…fuck me hard.”

“So good.” Derrick said through clenched teeth, holding on tight to the muscle, “Like that muscle boy?”

“You know I do.” Ty panted through his nose in short breaths, “Fuck me harder…yeah…just like that.”

“You’re gonna make me cum.”

“Do it…do it.” Ty said looking over his shoulder, “I want it.” Derrick was too worked up now. He felt it take over his lower body, that wonderful feeling. His balls tightened slightly and he felt himself cut loose, “Oh fuck yeah…I feel it…give it to me.” Ty growled. Derrick pushed in even deeper and held still, his dick pulsing inside of Ty. Derrick leaned his head forward, his forehead touching the back of Ty’s head, “Now, I can face the day and go to work.” Ty said softly, Derrick smiled and ran his hands over Ty’s muscled back. He slowly pulled out of Ty who made a grunt, “Damn I hate that.”

“Maybe I should get you a butt plug.” Derrick said and slapped Ty’s butt once.

“Don’t even think about it. I always want the real thing.”

“And I’m always happy to give it to you.” Derrick said and kissed Ty’s neck. Derrick took the soap and washed himself, Ty took it from him and did the same.

8888 8888 8888 8888

Aiden followed his morning wood across the studio and into the bathroom. He went to the sink first, his mouth tasted like hell. He took his toothbrush, loaded it, then brushed his teeth, hoping his hardon would go down. He spit, then rinsed, then hung up the toothbrush. His length was finally going down. He stepped over to the toilet, relieved himself, then flushed it. He turned and opened the shower door, turning on the water. He waited a just a moment then stepped in.

He ducked under the showerhead and let it the water run down over his tight slender body. His thoughts were filled with Greg. He remembered while they were at school early in the year, in the showers there in the gym, looking at each other, Aiden longing to touch Greg’s magnificent body, touch his chest, his tight six pack, to run his fingers over his hanging length then to touch his big balls that hung. Aiden remembered the looks they gave one another, but never said anything at that time about it, they just watched each other. Aiden remembered that he had to turn away to keep his excitement at bay. If they had only done then what they were doing now, Aiden thought, maybe we would be further than just blowing each other, or jerking each other off, maybe Greg would have fucked him by now, maybe.

Aiden washed himself with the body wash. He was hard again, even harder now than he had been when he first got out of bed. His soapy fingers wrapped around his throbbing length. He started to breathe hard as his hand slid up and down slowly, loving the feel of what he was doing, had been doing for so long by himself now. He was very familiar with touching himself but wished Greg was here doing it instead. Aiden had his eyes closed, trying to picture it in his mind, them showering together, Greg behind him, rubbing his hard length against Aiden’s tight butt. Aiden moaned softly then opened his eyes.

He soaped a finger of his other hand and as he was breathing hard, he took that finger and rubbed over his opening. He had never really done it before and almost gasped with the way it felt to him. He pushed in and his entrance gave way slightly. He groaned out loud, his mouth fell open as he went a little deeper. It felt incredible. His other hand started to move fast on his length as he made his other finger inside move rapidly. He leaned against the stall wall and felt it as he erupted all over the glass door again and again. His mind couldn’t believe how intense his orgasm was or how much. His lazy eyes looked at the glass door as he caught his breath looking at the number of streaks that were running down.

“Holy shit.” He whispered, “I bet his dick makes it even better.” He let go of himself and pulled out his finger slowly. That felt incredible too, making his breath ragged again. He blinked his eyes hard a few times and then ducked under the water again. Slowly he collected himself then shut the water off. He opened the glass door reaching for the towel. He dried himself then stepped out, closing the glass door behind him. He hung the towel and walked out of the bathroom going toward the dresser that was there on the wall. He heard his phone ding. Looking over his shoulder, he saw it then went to it, picking it up. He opened it and read the message then shook his head. He pressed the call button and put the phone to his ear.

“You got my message.”

“Yeah…what’s goin on? We’re not working today?” Aiden asked.

“You know what happened yesterday at your mom’s. So, I need to get everything taken care of for your brother. That means I’ve got to go downtown and get it done legally.” Bart said.

“So…you’re gonna keep Seth? Like keep him, keep him?”

“Of course I am. Where else is he gonna go? We’re family, Aiden. I want you to come here too. I mean that.”

“Yes, sir.” Aiden said, “I need to talk to Uncle T and Derrick though. They’ve been so good to me. But, what about Mom? She goes to your house a lot.”

“Not any more. I don’t want her ass here ever again, especially after what she pulled yesterday with your brother, and I told her that too. As far as I’m concerned, she’s an unfit mother.” Bart said.

“Uncle Bart…”

“Look, I’m not telling you to come here, I’m asking you, Aiden. You’ve got your own room here anyway, you and Seth. Yeah, I know you’re sharing it, but at least we would be together, family.”

“Yes, sir.” Aiden said softly. He was torn inside over this. He missed his brother, missed him terribly but he also had some freedom here, freedom to be who he really is. He doubted that it would be that way at Bart’s.

“I’ll call Ty right now, don’t worry about that. Come by this afternoon. I’m sure your brother wants to see you.” Bart said.

“Yeah, I miss him. I mean even though I saw him yesterday working at the job, I do miss him.”

“Glad to hear that.” Bart said, “Alright, I’ve got to get movin. I’ll see you a little later.”

“Alright, bye.” Aiden said and hung up. He sat down on the bed, putting his phone next to him. He hung his head.

“Hey, what the hell’s going on?” Ty asked as he stood in front of Aiden. Aiden lifted his head and just stared at him, “Bart called me. Said he wants you to move to his house. You didn’t ask him, did you?”

“What? No, no I didn’t ask him. He sent me a message and I called him. He said he was going downtown to make it legal for Seth, whatever that means.”

“Yeah, I know what he means. He wants to throw your mother under the bus, which I don’t blame him. But, what about you? Do you want to go to Bart’s?” Ty asked.

“I…I…” Aiden said as his eyes welled. Ty put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay.” Ty said and knelt down in front of him, “Look, I’m not trying to stir things up, okay? Tell me the truth, are you happy being here?” Ty asked softly.

“It’s so nice here. You and Derrick…you’ve been so good to me.” Aiden said as he dropped a tear.

“That’s because we love and care about you, bud.”

“I kinda miss Seth being around, though. I don’t know what to do.” Aiden said.

“Yeah, I can see where it would be a little tough to decide. I mean, where else can you sit around butt naked and not have to worry about it?” Ty asked and Aiden looked down. He was naked. His eyes went wide and he looked at Ty, “See? And I don’t have a problem with it, your Uncle Bart might, or his girlfriend when she comes over.”

“I guess I lost track of what I was doing when I called him.”

“Hey, no worries.” Ty said and squeezed Aiden’s shoulder a bit, “I need to talk to Derrick about this and I want you to know he has made it really clear to me that he likes having you here. It might make him a little sad to see you go. As far as I’m concerned, you can stay as long as you want, I’ve said that before and you know it too. What we need to do is all sit down together and get this worked out. Are you good with that?”

“Yeah…yeah I am.” Aiden said then sniffled.

“Good. I’ve got to get to work. I’ll get a hold of Derrick in a little bit and then Bart. Maybe we can all get together tonight for dinner or something. Good with that?”

“Yeah.” Aiden smiled and nodded.

“I know you probably feel like a ping pong ball right now, bouncing all over the place. And I’m not trying to steer you either, but I want you to know you’ve got a home here, a real home, you know what I mean?” Ty asked and Aiden nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Hey, it’s no problem. Don’t forget to get some clothes on at some point today, okay?” Ty asked and flashed his eyes. He stood up, “Damn, you are a hottie, that’s for sure.”

“I think I already have a boyfriend.” Aiden said and Ty laughed.

“Good, because I have a husband, and we’re family, remember that.” Ty said and bugged his eyes. Aiden smiled and nodded, “I’ll call you later.” Ty said and walked away toward the man door. Aiden followed with his eyes.

8888 8888 8888 8888

“Sid, it’s Derrick.”

“Morning, Derrick.”

“Good morning. I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. A couple of things came up.” Derrick said into the phone. He sat back in his chair.

“I understand, been a bit busy myself. Oh, I wanted to say congratulations to you.”

“Thanks, appreciate that. So, what’s going on?” Derrick asked.

“Well, remember a couple of years back, you were talking about wanting to move your firm, not having enough room and all.”

“Yeah…but I have kind of let that go. We’ve done some moving around here and are making it work.” Derrick said.

“Well, would you still be interested if something was available?”

“Possibly.” Derrick said, “I’d have to talk to Tom about it first and he’s got a few things going on personally right now. I don’t know if this would be the right time or not for him.”

“Well, you know the building on the corner of 8th and Morris?” Sid asked.

“The Gloucester building?” Derrick asked and sat forward in his chair.

“That’s the one. It’s up for sale.” Sid said.

“I love that building.” Derrick said above a whisper.

“I know, that’s why I called you Friday. The law firm that was in it has downsized and relocated. The building is empty now but has not been advertised as for sale yet. Would you possibly be interested?”

“The whole building?”

“Yes, the whole building.”

“It’s two stories and if I remember right, each floor is twenty-five thousand square feet.” Derrick said.

“That’s what I’m told. Offices are still in place, everything is still pretty much there, except furniture of course.”

“I’d like to see it.” Derrick said.

“Want to meet me?”

“Serious?” Derrick asked.

“Yeah, I can leave right now. I don’t have court until this afternoon.”

“Tom’s not here right now.”

“What’s going on with him?” Sid asked.

“I can’t say, I promised I wouldn’t.”

“You’re a good friend, Derrick.”

“Well, don’t try to butter me up too much, Sid.”

“Alright.” Sid said and chuckled, “Still want to meet me?”

“Yeah, let me grab Terry real quick and we’ll meet you there.” Derrick said and stood.

“See you in a few minutes then.” Sid said and hung up. Derrick slammed the phone down and rushed around his desk, going out into the hall.

“Terry!” Derrick yelled. Heads snapped around hearing him yell. Derrick moved quickly toward Terry’s door, which was open, “Terry!”

“Yeah, boss.” Terry said and came from another direction. Derrick spun and saw he was wide eyed, “What’s wrong, boss?”

“Heard from Tom?”

“He said he had another appointment this morning and would be in later. I just haven’t had a chance to tell you yet.”

“That’s alright, no problem, come on.” Derrick said, turned and headed for the front, Terry right behind him.

“Is something wrong, boss?” Terry asked as everyone was watching the pair. Derrick went by Kim’s desk, almost at a trot, “Where we going?”

“Kim, Terry and I will be out of the office for a while. You can get me on my cell.” Derrick said nearly reaching the front door, he looked back, “You’re in charge.” Kim was wide eyed at her desk but held up a hand as she watched them go out the door together.

“Oh…okay.” She said as the phone rang, “Jacobson and Donahue.” She said into the phone.

8888 8888 8888 8888

Dave Campbell pulled his flashy dark blue Mustang into the parking lot behind the station. He shut it off and got out, closing the door. He saw a couple of officers and they saw him, giving him a wave, he waved back and smiled. He liked these men he worked with and missed going out on patrol with them. Yesterday had been good for him, a few calls, until the late afternoon near end of shift, that call of domestic violence.

He walked into the back door of the station and made his way down the hallway, going into the large squad room. The detectives had their desks along one wall, eighteen in all, facing each other in pairs, your back would to the back of another detective, but you would look across to someone else across your desk. He moved over to his and saw a few new case files that had been laid on it. He slipped off his sport coat and hung it over the back of his chair.

“Campbell!” Came the loud voice. It could send shock waves up your spine. Campbell looked over.

“Morning, Captain.” Campbell said as saw Captain Enright walking toward, a large heavyset black man that always spoke loudly with a deep voice. He was a man of few words, and when he spoke, you’d better get what he said as he never repeated himself. Enright came close to Campbell, but not too close. There were several officers and detectives in the squad room, all looking in their direction.

“I read your reports from yesterday.” Enright said, then pointed a finger toward Campbell, “You keep that up and you’ll make Lieutenant in no time. Good work.”

“Thank you, Captain. Just doing my job.”

“Yeah, and you’re doing it too damn good, too.” Enright said, “You got noticed. I need you in my office.” Enright said, turned and walked back toward his own office door. Campbell let out a breath and followed him. All eyes were on Campbell. A couple of detectives just shook their heads. Campbell came in and closed the door as Enright went around his desk and stood there.

“What can I do for you, Captain?” Campbell asked.

“Why don’t you have a seat.” It wasn’t a question. Campbell sat down in one of the chairs in front of the big desk, “I’ll get right to it.” Enright said, he sat his large body down and glared, as he always does, “You know who’s called me this morning?” Enright asked and Campbell shook his head, “The Mayor. It wasn’t the Chief, it was the damn Mayor.” Enright said loudly, “Do you know why?” Campbell shook his head again, “It’s because you kept your head. You didn’t use extraneous force yesterday. You simply stopped the situation from getting worse. IA is reviewing the incident as well. They’re gonna pull the dashcam videos.”

“I don’t understand, Captain. I was just…”

“Oh, don’t go all holier than thou or any of that shit on me. You did more than just your job yesterday, Campbell. You, singlehandedly, kept this department from a possible outcry from the public and god knows what else. That video that you got from that kid’s phone clearly shows what happened. And it’s a damn good thing. My only question to you is, what the hell was Officer Collins was doing all that time, because it doesn’t look like much in the video.”

“I beg to differ, Captain. Officer Collins was doing his job. He was the first one to step into the fight that was going between the three adult males to break it up. I was behind him, but he got there first. My attention was focused on the woman and the other man. My report clears says all that, Captain.” Campbell said.

“Yes, it does. But it was the after, where the video is concerned that is in question right now, Campbell. It clearly shows you coming across the yard to stop that man, the one you arrested. What’s his name…Freitas?” Enright asked, looking down at some papers on his messy desk.

“Frank Freitas, correct.”

“Yeah, we got more information on him too. He’s got a string of warrants out in other states. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon.”

“That’s good to know.”

“My problem is…this video has gone viral, Campbell.” Enright said and Campbell went wide eyed, “It’s all over the goddam net. Do you know how many emails we’ve received so far?” Campbell shook his head.

“How did it get leaked, it’s evidence.” Campbell said.

“That’s why Internal Affairs is into it now.” Enright said, “Campbell, you’re gonna give me a fuckin heart attack, you know that? My damn blood pressure is through the roof right now.”

“Sorry, Captain. I sent that video to the proper channel through the internal link.”

“Yeah, that I know already. We checked your laptop. You did the right thing.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“So my problem is, what to do with you right now. I can’t have you on the streets in either uniform or working a case until IA gets through with their investigation.”

“How long will that be?” Campbell asked.

“Who the hell knows? Those guys drag their fuckin feet. Makes me sick but I can’t do anything about it. In the meantime, I have to reassign all your cases that just came in.”

“Are you putting me on Administrative Leave, Captain?” Campbell asked.

“I don’t want to. I had to do some fast talking with the Mayor, and the Chief. You’re too valuable to this department, Campbell.”

“Then…what…?”

“I’m reassigning you, temporarily.”

“To what…janitor?”

“Don’t be a smartass.” Enright said, pointing his finger, “You know we’re putting in another station over on the east side.”

“Yeah, I know that.”

“They’re having trouble getting it set up. I haven’t figured out why yet. I want you to take your organizational skills and get it up and running. I want it done in a week. By then I should hear something from IA.” Enright said.

“What about Collins?”

“What about him?”

“Is he going to get something like this too?”

“What, you want his help?”

“No. I just don’t think he needs to be punished like I am.”

“You’re a real team player, aren’t you? I like that.” Enright said and sat back in his chair, “This isn’t punishment, Campbell, don’t think of it that way. I’m trying to protect you.”

“With all due respect, Captain, it just doesn’t feel that way.” Campbell said, he stood up, “Will there be anything else, sir?”

“I will stay in touch with you. If you have any problems over there, you call me…directly. They know you’re coming and that you’re in charge. Is that clear?”

“Very clear, Captain.” Campbell said. He turned and went to the door.

“Campbell.” Enright said, Campbell looked at him, “You do really good work, and I mean it. You’re a damn good cop.”

“Thanks, Captain.” Campbell said and opened the door, going out.

8888 8888 8888 8888

Ty walked in the building downtown under renovation. He looked around and saw that a lot had been done. Debris had been removed for the most part in the front, but there was still a lot that needed to be done in the center and back of the building. Ty heard voices toward the back of the building. He stepped around and walked toward them. He stopped and leaned against an old open stud wall and just watched and listened. They had their backs to him for the most part.

“Listen, dipshit, I’m not gonna get my ass chewed out because you don’t want to do this anymore. Quit your fuckin whining and get moving, you sound like my little sister.” Mario said. He was in Rod’s face, “Maybe you should look for another job…something easier.”

“You’re an asshole, you know that?”

“Yeah, you keep tellin me that. So I guess it must be true.”

“Knock it off you guys.” Julio said getting in between them, “Mario, just back off. We’ll get it done, you know that. We’ve got a few days.”

“You heard what he said yesterday. And you really want to fuck with him after he lifted that beam by himself like that? Are you fuckin stupid?” Mario asked.

“He’s not even here yet.” Julio said, “I bet he ripped his back apart yesterday showing off like that.”

“I’m not that fuckin old, at least not yet, and I wasn’t showing off either.” Ty said and three heads turned slowly around and looked at him. Ty was looking down at his curled fingertips and nails, still leaning against the stud wall, “Looks like you guys put in a full day yesterday cleaning this place up. Good job. Maybe another full day will have it pretty much whipped into shape and then we can get started on what we should be doing.”

“Uh…morning.” Julio said.

“Yeah…morning.” Ty said lifting his eyes, “And by the way, my back is just fine, thank you. Even went to the gym last night after work and had a pretty heavy workout too.”

“Dude, I didn’t mean anything by what I said.”

“Save it…dude.” Ty said, “We’re gonna something straight here. I’ve been doing construction longer than you’ve been alive. I can out work you any given day of the week. But the thing is, I don’t need to try, unless you think for some reason, I have to prove it to you. So what do you say…dude? Do I need to prove it to you?” Ty asked in an even tone of voice.

“Uh…no…sir.”

“And don’t give me that ‘sir’ shit either. That was my grandfather and he’s dead. My name is Ty or you can call me Mr. Caldwell, but I don’t care for that either.” Ty said and stepped forward to them, “Call me ‘sir’ again and I might put a sharp stick up your ass.”

“I was trying to be respectful.” Julio said.

“You can show me respect by doing the job.” Ty said, “Have you got anything done yet this morning?”

“Not yet.” Mario said slowly and looked at the other two.

“Kind of thought so as I don’t see any brooms or shovels or wheelbarrows.” Ty said as he looked around, “How’s the dumpster?”

“It’s about half full.” Mario said.

“Good.” Ty said, “Get started and I’ll call for another one for tomorrow. Maybe by the end of the day today the one out front will be full.”

“You can count on it.” Mario said.

“I will.” Ty said to him evenly. Mario nodded and walked away to get started. Ty held up a hand and stopped Julio and Rod, “I’ll be clear about one more thing. You want to walk the clock, do it on someone else’s, not mine. Do we understand each other?”

“Yes.” Julio said. Ty looked at Rod, who nodded.

“When I ask you a question, I would prefer a verbal answer.” Ty said.

“Yes.” Rod said. They walked away like whipped puppies. Ty watched them get going for a while. He pulled out his phone, opened it, then dialed. He put it to his ear.

“Hey, wanted to let you know it worked out just fine.” Ty said, “No…I did like you suggested. I think I know who I want to lead this…yeah…oh, we’ll need this dumpster picked up and another in its place tomorrow. Do I tell Annie? Okay…thanks for the help, Sam. Yeah, talk to you later.” Ty said and hung up the phone. He put the phone away, “Mario.” Ty said as he walked toward them, “I need to meet up with Mike on another job, let me give you my number.”

“Okay.” Mario said setting down the wheelbarrow and pulled out his phone from his back pocket. He got ready and Ty read off the number to him, “Got it, boss.”

“Alright, I’ll be back in a little bit.” Ty said and walked away from them.

“Why did he give you his number?” Rod asked. Mario rolled his eyes then looked at him.

“Maybe in case we need to get a hold of him. Are you that stupid?” Mario asked, “Get to work.”