In the US it's the Sunday after Thanksgiving and Craig's dad has accepted the invitation to play golf with Nathan and his father, Governor Bauer, at their country club. Jackson is there too, on a mission of his own. Several different agendas are in play, and all would benefit from some plain talking...
It's time to go home, both for Craig after his weekend away with the cadets and for the guys in the US as they return to college after spending Thanksgiving with Travis at his farm. Someone may not get a soft landing though....
The guys are shocked out of their sleep as Travis screams in the night. As Noah grabs the revolver, Will switches on his flashlight and sees there are paw tracks leading away from Travis's sleeping bag towards the treeline...
After Thanksgiving, Shane makes a brief phone call to Craig before Travis takes the guys up into the hills for a camping trip. As night falls and Shane begins to worry about wolves and lions, talk around the campfire raises an awkward question. Why did Craig get sent home? Noah suggests an answer no-one believes...
As Noah goes into town with Travis's sisters and Will helps with an air survey, Travis decides to teach Shane how to ride a horse and then arranges a visit to an old friend. On the way there though, they are pulled over by the police. Is Travis really old enough to drive? And who is Snow Bear?
It's the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and Shane, Noah and Will are off to stay with Travis at his farm in Dakota, but first they have to get there. His forefathers made the journey by ox cart, but Travis has better transport in mind and Will certainly approves. There's still a danger of Will being scalped before they get there though...
Though the dinner goes well for Nathan and the Hawks, Travis and Shane aren't so lucky: Nathan has decided to put them on fire picket duty with Quinn. Then, early in the morning as Shane makes his way towards the Pavilion, he bumps into someone unexpected...
When Jackson spots Shane in the ante room and homes in on him, Shane's first thought is that he must have done something wrong. It turns out Jackson isn't an ogre though, and Shane & Nathan soon find their schemes growing wings. There's a visitors' dinner to host too after sports afternoon and Nathan finds he's been listed to sit on Jackson's table. Someone else though may have designs on Jackson.
It's Armistice Day and Craig has an important duty to perform, but will he manage to get to school without creasing his uniform or scuffing his boots? More importantly, has he mastered the bugle calls yet? Across the pond, Nathan is trying to sort out some travel arrangements...
It's Monday and Craig receives an unexpected visitor whilst he's working at the garage after school. He's just been volunteered for a task. Over in the States, the guys in the dorm are summoned to Weekly Orders by Nat, and he has bad news for them regarding their drill assessment...
It's Muster Sunday, the day the guys in the dorm go through their first test of Military Skills. Two reputations are riding on their performance: their own, and Craig's as a tutor. Unfortunately, someone is hell bent on ruining things for them...
It's early in the morning and something has woken Nathan up. Are Shane and Travis still asleep in their beds? It's rumoured they sometimes slip out of the dorm at night but he's never managed to catch them...
Later in the day it's time for the guys to go into town, where Noah makes an astute observation.
It's time for Craig to make that video call, to re-establish links with the guys in the dorm. But he hadn't counted on having Mandy gate-crash on the call... What will she think of his American friends? What will they think of her? More specifically, what will Nathan think?
Back at Allegheny Alcatraz, Nathan has news for the guys in the dorm: they are going to need to get their act together, and pretty fast too ! Can they rise to the challenge? And maybe Craig can reach out to them, re-establish the bonds that were broken so abruptly, help them...
Now back in the UK, Craig returns to school and has to face up to his friends. They are eager to know what really happened over in America and why he got sent home to England. On top of that, Nathan has been talking to his dad...
Things are quiet in the dorm, then the door rattles and bursts open, much to the annoyance of Cadet Sergeant Bauer. Who's making so much noise? And what have they brought him?
Back home in England, Craig is settling down to do his homework after school when his messenger pings. Somebody over in The New World wants to talk to him.
I met Kurt at the "Freshers' Fair" on the first Wednesday of the new academic year. I was a final year Sports Science student, out recruiting members for the University Gay Society. It's a tough job, being the first to grab all those fresh young guys and separate them from their joining fee but it has its benefits - not least of which is getting a chance to chat up all the new prospects on campus.
Sometimes the right decisions are the hardest to make. The most painful. Will Craig have what it takes to do the right thing, and this time for the right reason? His isn't the only future resting on it.
It was just after five-thirty as I gently closed Nathan’s bedroom door and crept down the corridor back towards my bedroom. As I turned around to close my bedroom door after me, a slight noise further down the corridor drew my attention. Jackson’s bedroom door had opened and he was standing in the corridor.
After the barbeque ends, Craig heads back up to the house for his usual Sunday evening video-call with his dad. Except, of course, this isn't the usual call. It's that call, and Nat wants a third item added to the agenda.
The afternoon was full of games and general good fun enjoyed by all the cadets but, as evening approached and we sat down for a meal, Mrs Bauer and Jackson started to ask a few seemingly innocent questions about Nathan and me.
When Craig and Nathan get back to the boathouse, the grills are sizzling and the guys from college have arrived, and not just the lads from the dorm: quite a few Cadet Officers have turned up too. After lunch is eaten, Will suggests Craig should demonstrate his skill with a shotgun.
Before the upcoming barbeque, Nathan takes Craig along the Allegheny River in a classic 1920's speedboat. After the adrenaline rush is over, Nathan drops anchor and asks an awkward question.
After staying overnight in Nathan's room, questions have to be answered when the bedside phone rings. Do I want breakfast in bed? And what are the plans for the remainder of the day ? Nat thinks it would be a good idea to invite Jackson and the other boxers over to a Sunday afternoon barbeque...
Nat’s standing there, looking at me. Those big sparkly amber - hazel eyes. I’ve forgotten what I was going to say. I don’t think I actually knew what I was going to say. Words didn’t come into it. Well, not my words anyway. But Elizabeth’s words were still ringing in my ears. ‘Punch him or kiss him’.
After the opening of the exhibition at the gallery, Boots heads back with Nathan and the Bauers to spend the rest of the weekend at their house. After Mrs Bauer has retired for the night, Nathan once more tries to get Craig alone and suggests they try out the jacuzzi...