"Hey, there you are," Annie greeted the threesome as they entered the house. "Welcome, Kermit. Long time no see. It's so wonderful having you here again, if only for a couple of days. Imagine my surprise when Paul called to say he was picking you up at the airport."

Hands outstretched, she went to Kermit and enveloped him in a warm hug. He kissed her on the top of the head before he released her.

"The pleasure's all mine, lovely lady. I tried to pay a visit sooner, but, well, you know, Annie, the business is hard."

Annie swatted the visitor playfully on the arm. "I know all your excuses, Kermit. Don't even think about fooling me."

Apparently, she felt the waves of tension radiating from Peter and Paul, or her sharp ears simply caught Peter's relentless shuffle on the carpet. Paul could see the welcoming smile vanishing from her lips as concern clouded her delicate features.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a tight voice, releasing her hold on Kermit.

Paul straightened his shoulders and glanced at the now cringing teenager, who practically radiated guilt. Nothing escaped his vigilant wife, even if she couldn't see, he thought with pride. He went to her and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Don't worry, dear. Peter's gotten himself into some mischief. We'll straighten it out."

"What did Peter do?" Annie said, anxiously digging her fingers into the fabric of Paul's jacket. "Why didn't you call me, Paul?"

Paul patted her hands reassuringly. "Uh, there wasn't a phone booth in the woods."

"Woods?"

Paul gently pried her fingers from his jacket and breathed a kiss on Annie's temple. "Kermit will fill you in. Peter and I have to have a talk."

Before Annie managed to ask another question, Paul turned round and steered his foster son to the study, noticing Kermit's hand at Annie's back as he guided her toward the couch. "Why don't we sit down, Annie?"

***

"Sit down, Peter."

The young boy took a seat, and promptly began fidgeting on the chair. He looked straight at the floor, not daring to look up at his foster father.

Paul sat behind his desk, tapping his fingertips together, as he studied the restless boy for a full minute. It was a common tactic used to unnerve a perp at the precinct. He decided it couldn't hurt if he used the same method here, though Peter was far removed from the criminals he usually interrogated. And if he was being completely honest, he would have to admit he wasn't sure just how to approach the boy.

"Would you care to explain to me what happened?" he began.

Peter sniffed, apparently losing the battle of holding back his returning tears. "I'm so sorry, Paul. I don't know why I went there and watched those girls."

"You weren't alone."

Peter flinched. "N…no, I wasn't alone. B…but I can't tell you who was with me. I can't betray a friend."

"It's not necessary. I know the other boy was Ronny."

Peter gasped in utter surprise. "How did you know?"

"The girls identified both of you. One of the girls went directly to her parents and told them what happened. You were very lucky that Strenlich caught the call from Mr. Waters. He managed to calm Mr. Waters down, and then he radioed me. I just hope I can resolve this before things get out of hand."

"I'm so sorry, Paul," Peter said again.

"Well, I'd like to hear your version of the story before I call Mr. Waters back."

Peter took a deep breath. His guilty conscience was written all over his face. He started to talk, slowly at first, but then the words tumbled out of his mouth. He told Paul as much as he could without directly mentioning Ronny's part in the incident. When he was finished, he met Paul's gaze for the first time since they'd entered the study.

"What will happen now, Paul? Do I have to go to jail?"

"I don't know, Peter," Paul answered, though he knew that the consequences wouldn't be that drastic. "I'll have to talk to the girl's parents first. If they don't press charges, you and Ronny will be lucky. If they do, or only one of them does,…then things will be out of my hands. And even if the parents won't press charges, you'll be punished by Annie and me."

"Yes, sir," Peter said softly, "I'll accept any punishment you have in mind."

Paul shook his head. "I still can't understand what compelled you to do this. Didn't you see the no trespassing signs?"

Once again, Peter averted his gaze. "I did, sir. But…he…I mean I…"

Peter stopped in mid-sentence and Paul knew Peter had nearly betrayed Ronny. "Peter, you don't have to protect him."

"It's…it's not that. It's just I learned in the orphanage never to tell on anyone."

"You don't live at the orphanage anymore. This is your home."

"I know…ah, I can't explain it so that you'd understand."

"Okay, you don't have to say anything about that now, but you live in a house with two young girls. I have no idea how they will react when they hear this. As for me, I know you'd never spy on your sisters, but did the thought of them even cross your mind when you were watching your classmates? Let's turn this around and look at it from another angle. Would you like the thought of someone spying on your sisters if they were doing the same thing as your classmates, Peter?"

Peter shook his head and he shuddered. It looked like he was suppressing a sob that wanted to come out. "N…no, sir, I wouldn't like anyone doing this to them. In fact, I…I thought of them. But only afterwards. I wasn't thinking straight. There's no excuse for what I did."

"Yes, you're right, Peter, there's no excuse for what you did. What you've done will affect every member of this family in one way or another. It's too bad you listened to Ronny and your hormones, instead using your head."

"I know, sir. I…I'm so sorry, I don't know what else to say. I mean, I can apologize over and over again, but I can't turn back time."

Paul sighed deeply. "No, you can't. I wish we could."

Peter's shoulders slumped, and Paul knew Peter was beating himself up about what happened. Peter swallowed hard and seemed to force himself to speak in an even tone, "I think I better go upstairs and pack my things."

"Why do you want to pack?" Paul asked surprised.

A lonely tear slid down Peter's cheek. "I understand that you don't want to have someone like me under your roof… especially with Kelly and Carolyn. Just give me five minutes and I'll be ready to go back to the orphanage."

Paul got out of his chair and squatted down in front of Peter. The fact that he'd caused that kind of despair in the boy bothered him much more than any of Peter's teenage antics had done. He gently cupped the young boy's chin, forcing him to look into his eyes.

"Son, I never said I wanted to send you back. Yes, what you did was wrong, but this doesn't mean I don't love you anymore. We all love you - Annie, Carolyn, Kelly - and me. You are a family member in everything, but name. We all make mistakes. As long as you learn from your mistakes, you only can improve."

"Y…you won't send me back?" Peter asked, his expressive eyes sparkling in disbelief and a hint of gratitude.

A small smile tugged at Paul's lips, he gently brushed away the lingering remnants of a tear on Peter's cheek with his thumb. "No, son. I'd never send you back, no matter what. As I said, we are a family and that means we help each other. We'll go through this…together. Just promise you won't do something like this again, okay? Now, give your old man a hug."

The teen practically leapt into Paul's arms. It was obvious that a great weight had been lifted from Peter's heart. The tears that had been threatening earlier finally came and he sobbed into Paul's shoulder.

Paul waited patiently for Peter to calm down, not loosening his embrace while Peter clung to him so tightly. The fact was to share on the love Peter needed so desperately as much as Peter needed to know it was there. He took a deep breath and was surprised when he shuddered with emotion. He hadn't noticed his own tears swelling in his eyes and he buried his face in the silky mass of Peter's hair. To see one of his children suffer so much was nearly more than the rough and tough Captain of the 101st could endure.

When the storm of emotion had passed for both of them, Paul cleared his throat and offered the boy a handkerchief. After Peter blew his nose, Paul pulled him up and turned him towards the door.

"Well, son, the worst is still ahead."

"What's that?"

"You have to face Annie."

Part1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7

Back to author's index      Back to Story index