It was just sundown when Jim Hellstrom stood outside the door of his father's house. His father. Great guy. Trapped for six weeks in that prison camp and not one word. Jim had noticed Kermit watching him but all of *those guys* watched people. It's what they did. Sized you up to see your strengths and weaknesses. Evidently, he'd made the cut, so to speak, because the agency had contacted him.

*Okay, Major, get to it.* He raised his fist and rapped on the door. The curtains on the window down the wall fluttered, then a few seconds later, the blonde from Kermit's picture opened the door. He didn't want to smile at her but he couldn't help it.

"I'd know that face anywhere. You must be Jim." Savannah was drying her hands with a dishtowel and trying to be as friendly and welcoming as possible.

"Yes, I am. You are...?"

Stepping back and inviting him inside, she replied, "Savannah. Please, come in."

Jim walked into what he considered an incongruous setting for the Kermit Griffin he'd met two years ago. A *normal* home. What he'd expected was either some 007-esc home with chrome and black leather or a spartan, dark apartment with ammo spread out all over the kitchen table. Certainly not this bright, comfortable home in the 'burbs.

"Have a seat," she gestured to the kitchen table. "Would you like some coffee?"

He nodded. She was being so nice to him. Griffin had to have told her about their little 'meeting'. It was becoming increasingly difficult to dislike her.

She brought him a cup and sat down beside him at the table. "Kermit should be back in a little while. How are you doing?"

"To be honest, I think this was a mistake. Maybe I should just go."

"No. Don't do that, Jim. Give him a chance." Savannah wanted to help salvage this for Kermit. She *knew* that now that Kermit had made this tenuous tie with his son, losing him would hurt. His hurt was something she wanted to prevent. One more loss wasn't acceptable in the face of all he'd lost over the years. "Sometimes he makes a lousy first impression."

"No sh...I mean, you're right."

"In fact," she laughed, "you want to know what the first thing he said to me was?" Jim looked expectant as she grinned with the memory. "He said 'What in the hell do you people want now?!'"

Jim laughed out loud and she had to laugh, too. A good sign.

They were interrupted by a tinkling, babbling sound coming from the living room.

"Excuse me for a minute." She disappeared around the corner into the living room. Jim followed. There was his little sister! A tiny, dark-haired little girl just waking up from her nap. She was holding a beat-up green frog in one hand and rubbing her eyes with the other. He couldn't help but grin at her.

Savannah knelt down and snuggled her close. Before she could say anything, Jim dropped down on the floor beside her. "Hi, cutie! I'm your big brother."

After Kat gave him a tentative once-over, she toddled over to check him out. Handing him 'Froggie' as a peace offering, she fell down on the floor beside him to play.

*Kitty Kat, you have a career as a diplomat.* Savannah got up and left the two to get acquainted.

By the time Kermit came through the back door, surprisingly with Vanessa in tow, Jim was flying Kat around over his head.

"Vaaarrrooommm! Little Kat flies jets!" He was lifting her up and down as she filled the air with squeals of delight.

The sight of him pretending with Kat brought back an intense memory for Kermit. The memory of all those lost years. Years that another man raised his child. If he'd known then what he'd learned about himself in the past few years, maybe he could have had that for himself. But that time had passed.

"Kermit?" Savannah was staring up at him worriedly. She had seen that look before. It was similar to the one he had worn as he tried to cut her out of his life. If Savannah had to put a name to it, it was sorrow. And regret. Vanessa caught it, too, and looked at Savannah in mutual sympathy.

"Kermit?" Vanessa asked, shaking his arm. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, fine," he said, smiling at both of them. "Impossible thoughts, that's all."

Savannah squeezed his arm, understanding completely. "So, do you two want me to stay out of this one? I'd be happy to-"

"NO!" and "Of course not!" issued from both Kermit and Vanessa at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled as Savannah giggled in appreciation.

"Iced tea, Vanessa? Or coffee?" Savannah asked, to give herself something to do. Even though she was touched by the fact that both of them didn't want to exclude her, she was determined not to horn in unless she really had to.

Vanessa nodded to say either would do as she and Kermit tentatively stepped into the living room to talk to Jim. Jim, seeing them, stopped playing with Kat and stared. Kermit and Vanessa looked at each other again, all three at a loss.

"Well...glad you could make it over, kid," Kermit began hesitantly.

"Yeah...thanks."

Vanessa made an exasperated sound and went over to sit on the couch next to Jim. "So, did you make up your mind about not joining up?"

"Not really."

"'Not really'?! Are you kidding me?" Kermit asked, approaching to sit in his chair. "I told you what that life did to me. What - you don't believe me?"

"Well, I don't really have much cause to, do I?" Jim snapped. "You've been so truthful up till now."

Savannah tried not to notice Kermit wincing as she brought Vanessa's iced tea and sat down near to her husband and daughter.

"Kid...listen," Kermit said, trying to convince him. "There's not one day in my life now that I don't wake up in the morning, worrying that some old enemy will look me up. And I have plenty to choose from. You try to do good in the business but it's not enough. It'll never be enough to save the world."

"Then how come you're still in it?" Jim asked Vanessa.

"Maybe because there's nowhere else for me to go."

Kermit glanced over at her in sympathy, feeling a sense of connection to her that he hadn't felt for a long time. He'd been there himself. "Just don't do this, Jim-"

"DON'T tell me what to do!" Jim snapped. "It's MY choice. MINE! I didn't ask for your opinion on this - either of you! I just wanted to meet you...."

Savannah had been staying in the background during the conversation. The life Kermit and Vanessa had shared and their experiences were foreign to her. The *business* was an abstract concept to her. But...Kermit wasn't an abstract concept to her. He was a man with feelings. When Jim jumped down his father's throat, she elected to throw her two cents in. Maybe a third party....

"Jim, don't you think that maybe you should *listen* to what they have to say? They HAVE been there and-"

Shooting her a glare that would melt glass, Jim directed his next flare at her. "Listen, lady. I've got mothers coming out of my ears and the LAST thing I need is advice from a *stepmommy* that I could have probably gone to high school with!!!"

Kermit was getting up from his chair but Savannah stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and a shake of her head. Quietly, she picked up Kat from the floor and said, "You're exactly right. Sorry." Turning to Vanessa, she excused herself by saying, "Kat and I need to go outside and try to figure out things for her party on Saturday."

They left and before Kermit could open his mouth, Vanessa plowed into her offspring. "I can see that the Hellstroms seriously neglected to teach you manners!! What the hell did she do to you except try to be nice? She welcomed you and ME, which has to be unbearably uncomfortable, into her home. You have behaved, for want of a better phrase, like a SPOILED LITTLE SHIT!!!"

"Oh, yeah?!!!"

"That the best you can do?!" Kermit jumped into the parental moment. "I told you what would happen if you hurt that lady out there. What the hell did you expect? You came looking for us, remember? What did you want us to say? 'Yes, son, please go fuck up your life just like we did.' Sorry, but-"

"Kermit."

Annoyed at being interrupted, he looked up at Vanessa. "What?"

"*I* wasn't finished. Now, sonny boy, you want to give up a glittering career in the Air Force, destroy Ben and Sylvia and foul the rest of your life, go ahead. We lost more than we EVER got from the 'business'. You wallow around with the scum of the earth, trying to be the good guy and, little by little, you lose yourself." Vanessa, point made, sat back down at the table and gestured to Kermit to proceed.

"Why, thank you. Jim....I told you how that life poisoned everything I tried to build. This family I have now is a happy accident. I found someone with enough guts to put up with the demons I have that pop up from time to time. That was luck! Don't count on it happening to you. Don't volunteer for this duty."

Jim quickly stood up. How dare they try to be his parents. He didn't want to HEAR what they were saying. But, in spite of himself, he felt the genuine concern in their voices. In their words. Just like Ben and Sylvia. Before he started to bend, he stormed out into the backyard to get away. There, he came face-to-face with another problem. The stepmother.

Savannah was sitting beside Kat as she played in her sandbox. Her pup, Mary Sue, bounced around the sandbox, giving the impression that she was much too refined to get sand in her paws. Jim walked slowly over to them and sat down. Absently digging in the sand with Kat's shovel and tousling the puppy's silky hair. "I'm...well, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve th-"

Smiling, she forgave him. "It's all right. But next time, you're grounded."

"This was a bad idea. I should never have come looking for them." Like he could have resisted. Once he found out he was adopted, he HAD to know.

"Jim, you need to get to know him. He's a good man who doesn't give himself lightly. But when he does, it's all the way. He'd do anything to help you or make you safe or happy. Sometimes, his feelings are so powerful that they can smother you. And him. Give them both a chance." She stopped, not wanting to risk alienating him by offering too much advice.

Kat put a handful of sand on his starched pants. He laughed and, much to the baby's delight, poured a handful into her lap. "I would like to keep in touch with this little girl. No matter what happens."

"Sure! She could use a big brother. You can be a part of this family in any way you choose. And I don't think I can be much of a stepmother but I'd like to be your friend. Okay?" Savannah smiled and waited for his response. When he remained silent, she offered, "Look, why don't you come by for Kat's party on Saturday. No one has to know who you are if you aren't ready to tell. They'll just think you came by to say hello to Kermit."

*Peter Caine and his father won't,* he thought. He was cursing himself for telling Peter so much about his 'father'. Being Kermit's friend, if he didn't know before, he probably knew now and was sure to tell his dad. But he really wanted to come to this party. "Sure," he said, "I'll come."

"But," she warned, "there might be another problem. If you think things are volatile with Kermit and Vanessa, wait 'til you meet my family. Might need some warheads off your jet to deal with them."

Jim just stared at her. Puzzled.

*****

"Well, that was smart," Vanessa quipped, casting a desperate eye at her departed son.

"Nobody ever said you weren't smart," Kermit comforted. "What was it - two years at the Sorbonne?"

"Three."

"There. You see? You're officially smart."

Vanessa's lips twitched slightly at the joke as she clasped her hands together. "Don't make fun."

Kermit moved to sit next to her. "I'm sorry."

She pressed her knuckled hands up to her forehead. A definite sign that she was upset. She always hid her face when she was upset so that nobody could see. Kermit took her hand firmly and gently led her over to sit next to him on the couch. She sniffled a little.

"What's wrong?" Kermit asked gently, rubbing her back.

"Do you think," Vanessa asked, swiping at her eyes, "that it would be an incredible broach of etiquette if I asked a married man to give me a hug?"

"Most definitely." Kermit wrapped his arms around her, pressing her head to his chest. He rocked her gently as she attempted to bring herself under control. "Tell me what's bothering you," Kermit prodded carefully.

"Oh...that." Vanessa giggled under her threatening tears. "The first time I get to be Mommy and I lose my temper. Probably didn't do any good at all....The kid's going to join the business and get himself killed. Or worse. Kermit...."

"It'll be okay," Kermit comforted, rocking her. "It'll be okay...."

"My first chance to be a mom...my LAST chance to be a mom...."

"Ssssshhhh! Look, even if the kid joins up, we've both got friends. Listen to me," Kermit said, inclining her chin. "We've both got friends that can look out for him. I'll call in every favor I have-"

"So will I-"

"...and so will you. Maybe after the kid sees for himself...."

"He'll be okay?"

"He'll be okay," Kermit assured her, kissing her on the forehead.

Vanessa sighed and leaned back, enjoying the feel of his arms after so long and reveling in the comfort he provided. Neither one noticed Jim and Savannah watching and listening from the kitchen.

Smiling up at Jim, she whispered, "See."

He did see....a little. Saw that they did care what happened to him, even though he still felt a sharp sting of abandonment. They seemed to care for eachother. "Does that bother you?" he whispered back, inclining his head toward the figures on the sofa.

To be honest with herself, Savannah had to admit to an irrational flood of jealousy at the site of the two of them, with their history, holding eachother. Even if it were in comfort instead of passion. Just a twinge. Not much. Those were feelings she would keep to herself. "No, it doesn't. I *know* my husband. He loves ME. But, he and Vanessa were close once. They have a child together and if he didn't at least care enough about the mother of his child to be kind, then he wouldn't be the Kermit Griffin I married."

With the intent of an announcement, Savannah put Kat down on the floor. Sending her off to wriggle in between Vanessa and her father. *There, that's better,* Savannah thought as Kat took Vanessa's place in Kermit's arms.

Jim, arriving early at Kat's birthday party, wandered around aimlessly, still not sure that this was a good idea. His father had already seen him, though, and was walking toward him. Jim cocked his head curiously. Still the same upright posture. The same dark glasses. But Kermit was in a good mood! He had been blowing soap bubbles Kat's way and laughing at her attempt to bat them and making them pop. He looked different somehow like that....

"Hey, Jim," Kermit greeted with a friendly smile. "Glad you could make it. Come in! The little princess hasn't blown out her candle on the cake yet but there's plenty of ice cream to raid. In fact, there's enough ice cream for the whole city. So help yourself, make yourself at home-"

"A little late to offer me ice cream, isn't it?" The words were out before he could stop them but he couldn't help it. All Jim could think of when he saw this paternal, pastoral scene was why couldn't it have happened with him?

Kermit paused but he was in too good a mood with Kat around. He shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said and walked back to sit with Kat as she tried in vain to blow bubbles to her puppy.

*Damn damn damn!* Jim swore silently. *The guy welcomes me and I chop his head off. That's mature....*

Figuring some ice cream might cool him down after all, he headed toward the snack table where Savannah, winking a hello at him, dished him up a bowl. He was startled, though, when Caine was at his side and Jim didn't even see him approach.

"Hello," Caine greeted. "It is a pleasure to see you again."

Jim studied the older man analytically and soon came to the conclusion that he couldn't 'read' this man's body language. He could only stand there awkwardly until Caine took pity on him. Smiling gently, Caine lowered his voice. "Yes, I knew. I knew at the prison camp. I see the likeness."

Jim looked around nervously, making sure no one else overheard.

Kwai Chang Caine frowned at the young man. "You should not be so harsh with Kermit," he told Jim. "After all, it was you that chose your foster parents over him long ago."

"WHAT? What the hell are you talking about?!" Jim demanded.

Caine tilted his head. "You do not...remember?"

All at once, the memories came crashing down on him. He DID remember....

*****

He wanted to play airplane. He ALWAYS wanted to play airplane but tonight, his dad wouldn't cooperate. "Fly me, Dad," he whined, tugging at his dad's arm. "Fly me!"

His dad smiled. "Not now, Jimmy. Mom and I have a guest. Can you say hello to Mr. Larsen?"

Jimmy glanced at the stranger. He didn't want to say hello at all. If this stranger wasn't here, he, Jimmy, would have been in the air, zooming around in the clouds ages ago. "H'lo," he mumbled, a bit irked.

The stranger's mouth twitched as he got up and went to him. "So exactly how does this flying business work, anyway?" he asked the youngster, bending down to him.

Jimmy pointed to the ceiling. "Dad makes me fly!" he explained.

"Sounds too important to miss," the strange Mr. Larsen mused. "How about WE take a buzz?"

Jimmy cocked his head at the novelty of a stranger being the plane but the stranger grabbed him up so quick, it took his breath away. Then he was flying!!!

"I don't hear any engines," Mr. Larsen said as he easily hoisted the boy in the air, lifting him, dropping him, and lifting him again.

*Dad's friend is strong!* Jimmy exhulted, realizing that he was going a little bit higher than his Dad took him. He put out his arms and obediently became an engine. "RRRRrrrrrrrrroowwwmmmmm!!!!" he cried out as he swooped around the room. It felt strange, but fun, too, to have a stranger be the plane. Finally, they came to a 'crash landing' behind the couch, both of them chuckling.

"Any landing you can walk away from is a good one," the stranger laughed, dusting off his pants.

Ben Hellstrom had a large grin. "You must have kids."

"No, no, I don't. But I have a younger brother and sister. Whew!" The stranger blew air through his lips as he sat down again, affectionately ruffling the boy's hair. "Got my exercise for today! So, champ, you gonna fly airplanes when you grow up?"

The boy shrugged. Growing up was so far away, he didn't even think about it. "How come you wear sunglasses inside?" he asked.

"Well...my eyes are sensitive to light," he told them.

"Can I see them?"

"Jimmy," his father chided, "if Mr. Larsen takes off the glasses, he won't be able to see! Besides, it's your bedtime...."

Jimmy sighed and stomped off.

Ben grinned apologetically but Mr. Larsen waved him off. "No, no worries. My cab should be here any minute anyway. Sylvia," he said to the woman in the kitchen, "that's the best apple cobbler on the face of this earth. Thank you." He bent low and kissed her hand.

She giggled. "Well, I hope you can get your car out of that ditch."

He nodded. "Great kid you have there."

"Thank you," she said, a bit solemn. "Jimmy was adopted - I found out I couldn't have children. But Jimmy's been a blessing to our lives."

"I can imagine."

Jimmy, listening around the corner, resolved to find out what 'adopted' meant. He almost didn't hear the stranger approaching until it was too late and he scampered back to his bedroom. Mr. Larsen knocked and peered in. "Good night, Jimmy," he said. "Nice meeting you."

"Yeah, thanks for the ride," Jimmy said, remembering his manners.

Mr. Larsen kind of smiled a bit strangely at him. "Hey, Jim," he whispered. "Are you...are you happy here with your mom and dad?

Jimmy looked puzzled. "Yeah," he said. "Sure I am."

"They give you enough good food to eat? Take you to fun places? They don't...they don't hurt you, do they?"

Jimmy frowned, not knowing what the stranger was after, but he really seemed concerned in knowing the answers. "Yeah, it's fine," he assured him. "I'm fine."

"Okay," Mr. Larsen said. "Can I get a hug good night? Are you too old to do that?"

Jimmy WAS too old, he felt, but not many of Dad's friends helped him fly. He owed the tall man something, he thought as he tentatively approached. Mr. Larsen squatted down and held out his arms. Jimmy went to him and found himself on the receiving end of a very warm and protecting hug. He had thought for a moment that Mr. Larsen started to cry but when he drew back, his face was normal. "Thanks," Mr. Larsen said. He then took off his sunglasses and showed them to the boy. Jimmy lost no time in looking through them. It showed everything as darker but normal unlike most glasses he looked through, which looked jumpy and fuzzy. He gave them back as Mr. Larsen stood and ruffled his hair once last time. "Good-bye," he told Jimmy and walked out.

Jimmy never saw Mr. Larsen again....

*****

...until now. Jim looked over at Kermit Griffin, smiling and chatting with his wife. He couldn't believe it. KERMIT was the mysterious Mr. Larsen! He gaped at Caine, who smiled.

"Your father loves you very much," Caine said. "Enough to give you up."

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7   Part 8   Part 9   Part 10   Part 11

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