Story Two in the Full Circle Trilogy

"Our flight leaves at nine, so we need to be at the airport at eight, which is the long way of saying that we'll wake at six thirty."

"who flies the plane, daddy?"

The questions had been coming fast and furious since Jim and Blair had arrived home, with both men showing great patience in their answering even though they'd been answering the same exact questions for several days. However, this was the first time Jake had asked about the plane and Blair suspected that his son wanted to hear that one of his fathers would be flying it.

"A pilot will be flying the plane, Jake."

"oh, okay. does he fly it all by hisself?"

"No, he has a co-pilot."

"so they take turns?"

Grinning, Blair said, "I guess you could say that."

"where will I sit?"

"In a seat, with poppy and me."

"did I sit in a seat when I came here with my gammy?"

Blair faltered in his chopping of the celery, but recovered quickly and said, "I think you sat on your gammy's lap, Jake. You were barely three."

"oh. can I sit on your lap, daddy?"

Hearing more than a bit of worry in the question, Blair set the knife down, wiped his hands on the towel and then knelt down in front of his son. "You can sit on my lap, then poppy's, okay?"

"you sure?" he said, a small frown marring his smooth forehead.

He lifted Jake into his arms and waited until Jake put his arms around his neck before saying, "I'm very sure. I'd never fly without you on my lap. And you're going to love it, Jake, I promise."

Resting his cheek against his father's, Jake said happily, "'kay."

Naomi stood by the door ready to drive her family to the airport. The luggage was already stored in the trunk of the car and Jim was in the process of doing his anal-retentive checklist routine.

"Tickets?"

Blair patted his jacket pocket. "Check."

"All the tickets?" Jim asked again.

"All, Jim."

"Digital camera and the extra packs of batteries?"

"Check."

"Son?"

Blair bit back a grin, put his hand on Jake's head, and said, "Check."

"Son's luggage?"

Jake twisted his head under Blair's hand and said, "check."

"And in son's luggage?"

Jake grinned and said, "clothes, bull froggy, goggles, my basey ball, and my dinoooosaur collection, and my new swumming trunks, and my very own beachy towel, and… and…."

"Jakey?"

Jake's mouth turned into a perfect 'o', that coincidentally matched his eyes. He whipped around, ran down the hall and straight into his room. Jim and Blair could hear him calling Jakey's name, with Jim able to hear the jump onto the bed. Fearing that Jake would tear his room apart looking for the lost Jakey, Jim called out, "Oh, Ja-a-ke… look who crawled into my pocket…."

Jake peeked out around his door as Jim waved Jakey in the air. Huge smile splitting his face almost in two, Jake ran back into the living room and into Jim's legs. "poppy, you founded him!"

Small hands reached up, but Jim said, "Why don't I tuck him into the back of your pack?"

"'kay, but leave his head out so's he can see the planes too, poppy!"

"Naturally. Wouldn't have it any other way," Jim said as he stuffed the animal into the zippered pocket. "Okay, now that Jakey is set, it's time to get this show on the road," Jim announced.

"California, here we come," Blair added.

Jake was fairly subdued during the trip to the airport, but once Naomi pulled against the curb in front of United Airlines, he started bouncing. Like just about everyone else in the world, the energy of an airport immediately seduced him. His eyes couldn't seem to move fast enough as car after car pulled in, disgorging families with tons of luggage while overhead, planes flew low as they came in for a landing. The constant activity and sounds of the airport kept his head bobbing up, then back down to the people, then back up. If he had any memory of his first flight, there was no evidence of it. He watched with avid attention as Jim and Blair had their luggage checked, but when all the bags were loaded onto the cart, it really hit him that he was leaving because it was time to say good-bye to his nomi.

"You have lots of fun, and collect tons of memories for me, all right, Jake?" she asked as she lifted him into her arms.

"I will, my nomi, but why can't you come with us?"

"Maybe next time, all right?"

"'kay. gonna miss you, my nomi. eskimo kiss, please?"

They rubbed noses, then Naomi handed him, reluctantly, over to Blair. "You all take care, wear lots of sunscreen, takes lots of pictures, and I'll see you in three weeks, okay?"

Jake nodded as Blair dipped in and kissed his mother on the cheek. Jim did the same and Naomi gave a final wave, got back into the car and, after blowing Jake a kiss, pulled back out into the flow of airport traffic. Jake watched the car until it disappeared.

Understanding his son's unease at seeing Naomi drive off, Blair said, "Are you ready for California and the beach, Jake?"

Tearing his gaze away from the cars, Jake nodded slowly. Jim put his hand on Jake's head and said, "And Disneyland? Are you ready for Disneyland?"

Smiling again, Jake nodded. "I'm real ready, poppy!"

"Well, let's go. We have a plane to catch, kiddo."

They had a full hour before their flight would be announced, so thanks to their first class tickets and Naomi's Red Carpet membership, they were escorted to the VIP room to wait. The minute they walked in, Jake's buoyancy came back… in spades, courtesy of the huge windows overlooking the runway and, consequently, the planes. He wiggled in his father's arms and Blair immediately let him down. The second his feet hit the floor, he was off, and a moment later, was plastered against the windows, eyes glued to the planes taxiing down the runways.

"Well, I think we can relax for a bit, eh, Sandburg?" Jim said with a grin.

"Oh, yeah, he's one happy camper."

They made their way to a couple of large leather club chairs next to the windows and sank down into the soft bliss. During the next forty-five minutes, they sipped champagne, indulged in a couple of rich pastries, and watched Jake watch airplanes. When their flight was called, the only way they were able to tear him from the view and lead him out was to point out the very plane they would be boarding.

Once back in the airport, they had a short walk to their gate and, now that Jake was once again excited, he took the lead, pulling his little suitcase on wheels, backpack bobbing up and down. As he strode confidently toward gate six, his new white tennis shoes lit up with each step.

"Thank God he saw that little boy wearing a pair at the mall on Wednesday," Jim said as he watched the blinking heels.

"Yeah, I was beginning to think we'd never get him to let us buy him new shoes. But he was a goner the moment he saw those red lights."

"You gotta admit, in the shoes, new jeans and his polo shirt, he's the cutest kid in this airport," Jim said proudly.

Blair shook his head in mild disgust. "Oh, sure, says the man who's wearing the same polo shirt. I knew I should have purchased the blinking shoes for you too."

art by Lorraine

"You're just jealous 'cause Jake and I look so good, Chief."

Blair snorted.

"United Airlines flight two-ninety is now pre-boarding at gate twelve. Our Red Carpet travelers, passengers with children, and anyone needing assistance may now board. We'll be boarding for all ticket holders shortly."

"Wow, two out of three, Chief, not bad."

"Three out of three, Jim. You need mental assistance."

"Okay, that was not up to your usual standards," Jim said with a grin.

"I know, I know, but I'm too excited to be my usual witty self. Sorry, man."

"Forgiven."

A tugging at his leg told him a certain someone was anxious to board. Looking down into the excited face, Jim said, "Okay, okay, Hoss, we're going."

They both watched as Jake nodded and, with the supreme confidence of a child who knew his parents were right behind him, he took off, suitcase in tow.

It had already been decided by Jim and Blair that Jake would have the window seat, Jim next to him, and Blair across the aisle. It wasn't the most conducive seating arrangement for a sentinel who often needed the touch of his partner, but it would have to do. First class might offer wide, plush seats and top notch service, but at times like this, Jim missed three seats across.

"which seat is mine, poppy?" Jake said over his shoulder as he stopped in the middle of the aisle, confused.

"Go one more row, Hoss, and turn to your right. You're the seat by the window."

"I don’t see my name anywhere," he said, still confused.

Chuckling, Jim responded, "No names, Hoss, just a ticket with a seat number."

"oh." Jake stopped at the row Jim had indicated, then said in almost a whine, "but what about my suitcase, poppy?"

Blair was already opening the overhead bin, so Jim pointed up even as, with his other hand, he lifted Jake's roller. "See? We store our stuff up here, but we'll keep our shoulder bags and your backpack with us. Okay?"

Nodding happily, he scooted into the small seat aisle, then climbed onto his seat, turned around and let his legs dangle over the edge as he immediately peered out his window. Shaking their heads and grinning, and with the last of their luggage stored away, both men took their seats.

After putting on his seatbelt, Jim turned to Jake and clipped his together. He smiled as he noticed Jake was too busy looking out over the tarmac to notice. A flight attendant joined them and, after a grin aimed at Jake, asked, "Can I get you gentlemen anything to drink?"

That got Jake's attention. He whipped around in his seat to look expectantly up at his father. Laughing, Jim said, "Coffee for me, and—"

"can I have choco milk, please?"

Smiling at him, the attendant said, "I think we can manage that, young man. And maybe some goodies too?"

"goodies are my fav-O-rite things in the world," Jake pronounced with a firm nod of his head.

"Then you're in the right place because we have plenty of them for young men like yourself. I'll get the rest of the orders and be right back, all right?"

"'kay!"

She took Sandburg's order of tea, then continued on. Moments later, the rest of the passengers began to board. Jake watched wide-eyed as they filed past, some with children. Jake grinned and waved at a couple, who, equally wide-eyed, waved back as their parents carried them further down the aisle and into coach. The parade finally ended and the door was closed. Attendants moved up and down the aisle shutting the overhead compartments, serving the first class passengers, and ensuring that all passengers were wearing their seatbelts.

Jim spotted their attendant preparing to make her way down the aisle with their drinks and Jake's chocolate milk. Noticing that Jake had set his wolf pup down on the center console, he said, "Your milk is on its way, Hoss, so maybe you'd better transfer Jakey to your lap?"

The animal was quickly picked up and kissed before being made comfortable on Jake's other armrest.

"I see you're still here," the attendant said with a grin. "It's a good thing because I have some chocolate milk and fruit. How does that sound?"

"jakey says, 'mmm, good!'."

"And that handsome wolf would be Jakey?" she asked as she handed both drinks to Jim.

"yup! an I'm jake too, an this is my poppy, an that," he pointed at Blair, "is my daddy!"

Her smile widened and, after serving Blair his drink and a small plate of fruit, she said, "After the 'seatbelt' sign goes off, your daddy can join you over here if you're willing to sit on a lap."

"I am! I am!"

"Then I think you have a plan," she said just before moving down the aisle.

The vibration of the engines captured Jake's attention and he shot a surprised look at his father, who said, "We're getting ready to leave the gate, at which time, the pilot will taxi us out onto the runway. When we get clearance, we'll take off and you need to be prepared for that, okay? We'll go pretty fast down the runway and then the nose of the plane will lift up, the wheels will leave the ground and the next thing you'll know, we'll be airborne. You ready?"

"I be very ready, but I'm not sure 'bout jakey."

"Well, daddy is all alone over there, maybe jakey would be happy sitting with him until we're actually in the air?"

Jake leaned over until he could see his father from around Jim. "daddy, would you hold jakey for me? he could keep you company," he asked hopefully.

"I'd love to have him, Jake."

With a kiss to the animal's plastic button nose, Jake handed the animal to Jim, who in turn, handed it to Blair, who set it on his shoulder. There were only four other people in first class, and no one next to Blair, so he figured he was safe wearing a stuffed animal during take-off. Of course, truth was that even if the first class section had been full, he'd still have "worn" Jakey.

The plane backed away from the gate and a moment later they were taxiing down the runway. Jake slipped his hand into his father's and kept his eyes glued to the window. There was no line ahead of them so they were cleared for take-off almost immediately. Jim turned to Jake and said, "Okay, here we go, Hoss."

From across the aisle, Blair held out two sticks of gum and said, "Gum for the ear popping. For both of you."

The look on Blair's face said that Jim had better not only take it, but chew it. Jim quickly unwrapped the foil, handed half a piece to Jake, who, without tearing his eyes from the window, took it and popped it into his mouth. Jim did the same just as Blair whispered, "You know the drill, man. Dial it all down."

Jim nodded and flashed a grin at his partner. The plane picked up speed, and the faster it went, the tighter Jake gripped his father's hand. When the nose lifted, Jake's mouth formed an 'o', and both Jim and Blair watched his face as the plane took off.

"oh my," Jake said, eyes the size of saucers.

Once the land faded from view, Jake grew quickly bored with clouds. Blair moved over and took the window seat, there being no question of Jim making the move. His legs wouldn't have been able to handle it, and the sentinel in him wouldn't either. Jake was as happy as a clam now that his daddy was with him, not to mention the small fact that Jakey was back. Any bored energy was temporarily halted by the fun of being on his father's lap, eating his grapes, and finishing his chocolate milk.

As the passengers settled in and the plane reached its flying altitude, Jake decided he really had to go.

"daddy, where… where can I go pee?"

Jim automatically got up and stood in the aisle, then asked, "You or me?"

"I'll take the first one, " Blair said with a chuckle.

"Right."

Blair gave Jake a little bump with his legs and Jake slid down and hurried into the aisle. Blair quickly followed, took his hand, and led him up to the bathrooms. Fortunately for all concerned, one cubicle was empty. Blair got the door open and, after Jake took a moment to say a quiet, "wow," ushered him in as he asked, "You need me?"

Jake frowned a bit, then said bravely, "no, I can do this, daddy. I can."

"All right, I'll be right here if you need anything."

"'kay."

Blair shut the door and, like millions of parents who traveled with small children, stood guard. After two minutes he knocked and said, "Jake, you still there?"

A giggle answered him followed by the latch trying to turn. Blair helped him by sliding it over and pulling. Jake jumped out, announced, "that was fun, daddy!" and promptly marched back down the aisle to his seat. He waited patiently until Blair caught up with him and slid in, then lifted his arms, Jim's clue to lift him up and over to set him in Blair's lap.

"I take it you enjoyed the bathroom, Hoss?" Jim asked with a grin.

"yup! but it doesn't flush like ours, poppy. and I could barely reach the sink, but I washed my hands anyway, see?"

He held them up for inspection and both men said simultaneously, "Good job."

"can I take jakey next time, huh? please? he really needs to see it, daddy!"

"As long as you don't flush him," Blair said, hiding his smile.

"I would never flush my jakey!"

"Thank goodness."

Now that the adventure of the bathroom was over, and following a quick and disappointed check to see if the sky offered up anything better than clouds, Blair realized that they were about to have one very bored lap child. Which meant… books or coloring? When in doubt… ask the lap child.

"Hey, kiddo, you feel like reading with me, or maybe coloring for awhile?"

Twisting around in his father's lap, Jake asked, "but what about the movie, daddy? you said we'd get to watch a real movie in the air."

"Ah, but not until later. They'll serve breakfast in a little while and after clearing up, we'll get to see the in-flight movie, okay?"

"we get brekkie too, daddy?" Jake asked, happily surprised. It was obvious that he thought the chocolate milk and fruit was pretty terrific all by themselves.

"Yep, we do. So, what will it be, book or coloring?"

"coloring, daddy, I want to color, please?"

"You got it, Hoss."

When Jim spotted the attendants readying the food, he gave his partner the high sign and Blair immediately said, "Okay, Hoss, time to put everything away. They're getting ready to serve and we need to move everything off the tray."

Jake's answer was a rumbling noise coming from the vicinity of his stomach. He slapped a hand over his mouth but removed it long enough to say with a grin, "I think I'm hungry, daddy."

"Well, then, I'd guess this is perfect timing, wouldn't you?"

Jake's stomach rumbled an answer.

For the serving of breakfast, Jake moved, albeit temporarily, to Jim's lap, the better to see the cart and the strange way in which his food was about to be served. He found it almost as fascinating as the dishes and food when they arrived. Scrambling back over to Blair, he watched, mesmerized, as two small glass trays were placed in front of him, and another in front of Jim. The fact that he was given a small cup like his parents, his full of hot chocolate, and that it fit into a small indented circle, proved to be more amazing than the food itself. It was all just too perfect, and just the right size for a four year old. The cup fit perfect into his small hand and the food – a cheese omelet, two sausages, and two tiny blueberry muffins – came in just the right amount. And to have it all topped off with his favorite fruits – apple slices, oranges, strawberries, and kiwi – made it heaven.

Flying seemed to be designed specifically for him, and at his age, it only made sense.

"we have to land now, daddy?"

Blair smiled sympathetically at the disappointed tone in Jake's voice as he nodded. "I'm afraid so, Hoss. But the good thing is, you'll be back in three weeks, not to mention that once we land, you've got the beach, Disneyland and Simba to look forward to. Landing is kind of necessary for that, you know."

"oh. okay then. does this mean you have to go back to your seat now?"

"'Fraid so."

Jake peeked around his poppy at the two empty seats across the aisle, then said speculatively, "I could go with you, daddy. there's another window over there. can i?"

"What a good idea, Jake. Take-off over here with poppy, and land over there with me." Blair turned to Jim and said, "Whatcha think, man?"

"I think our son is brilliant. And you'd better make the move before the 'fasten your seatbelt' sign comes on."

"I'm thinking bathroom first. What say you, Jake?"

"gotta say good-bye to the bathroom, daddy, just got to."

"Oh, yeah, that's a must," Blair huffed as he watched Jake jump down and move into the aisle.

The landing was, as Jake would later say, "the bestest part, next to the bathroom and the food, and the take-off, and my wings, and my kathy!"

The attendants really hated saying good-bye to Jake, and he received a kiss on the cheek from "my kathy", which sent him into the long tunnel with a happily flushed face and a huge grin.

When they exited the gate, Jim spotted Naomi's friend immediately. Of course, the huge sign reading "Sandburg-Ellison" provided an excellent clue. Jim poked an elbow into Blair's side, and said, "When we get home, I'm having a serious talk with your mother about who gets top billing in this relationship, Chief."

"Go right ahead, Jim. As long as I'm her son, it'll always be me. In more ways than one," he added with a smirk.

"Bite me, Sandburg."

"Be still my heart."

"The car's in the parking structure, level A, section three," Sam Spenser said as he held out the keys to the house and the Tahoe. "By the way, I managed to locate and borrow a booster seat for Jake there, and it's already installed. And who figures those things out, anyway? Talk about a Rubik's Cube."

Laughing, Blair took the keys and said, "Been there, done that, man. Took my mother to finally show me the tricks involved. I think it's a woman thing."

"No doubt." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "Almost forgot this." He handed it to Jim and added, "Directions to El Moro Cove. Good thing you were able to connect to a flight that brought you into Orange County. You're only about twenty minutes away from your-home-away-from-home. Take my advice and go the Coast route. It's a beautiful drive that will take you through Newport Beach and Corona Del Mar. I've left my Thomas Brothers map book on the dining room table with directions to all the beaches tucked inside. Oh, and if you go the Coast route, you'll hit the Ralphs market and can stop and do some shopping. The only thing at home is coffee," he finished with a wry grin.

"Man, you've thought of everything, Sam. Thanks," Blair said in awe.

"Hey, with all the traveling I do, I'd better have it down pat for others. Okay, I have to trek down to the other side of this place for my flight, so what can I say? It was great meeting you guys, especially you, Jake. Have a great time."

Jake smiled shyly as Jim shook hands with Sam and said good-bye. Jake waved as Sam headed down the concourse toward his own flight before all three headed for the baggage claim. Once there, Jake was absolutely fascinated by the baggage carousel and immediately began to chase it. When the luggage started coming down, he froze, then yelled from the far side, "I'll find our stuff, daddy, don't worry!" He then began to run back and forth as black bags, tan bags, yellow bags, blue bags, golf clubs (not Jim's), and guitar cases (not Blair's), slid down and circled until spotted by their owners. Blair was pretty sure his son would have trouble differentiating their bags from someone else's, so he nudged Jim and whispered, "He's going to need a little extra help, 'poppy'."

Jim was grinning as he watched his son scamper around the carousel, but at Blair's words, he nodded and squeezed his way up to the edge of it. He spotted one of Blair's and started whistling rather pointedly. Jake froze, followed his father's gaze, then jumped up and down as he said loudly, "there's one, there's one!"

"You're amazing, Jake. I believe you found mine," Blair said as he leaned over and grabbed it. "Keep it up, Hoss, and we'll have our stuff in no time."

"I will, daddy, I will!"

Between Jake and Jim, they did, in fact, have their bags in no time. Loaded down, they proceeded out and across the street to the parking garage, where they found the SUV almost immediately. Jim loaded the luggage while Blair got Jake into the provided booster seat. When Jim slid in, he gave a low humming sound and followed it with, "Okay, I could get attached to this one."

"What? Give up your love of all things Ford? Never."

"I don't know," he said, eyeing the roomy interior, "this is pretty nice. And the leg room is terrific."

Rolling his eyes, Blair said, "Just start it and let's get going. I can't wait to see the ocean."

"me too, poppy! I wanna see the new ocean too!"

Looking in the rear view mirror, Jim asked, "New ocean?"

"I seen our ocean, so this one is new. I wanna see all the oceans."

"Well, we're heading out right now, Hoss, so get ready to see the old, that is now your new, ocean."

Jim backed out and followed the signs to the exit. They were the fifth vehicle in line for the exit gate, and Blair, always the quick one, said, "Jim, parking ticket?"

"Huh-oh. Okay, let's not panic. Look in the glove compartment, quick."

Blair popped it open while Jim checked the back of the sun visor. He found nothing. Blair closed the compartment and checked his visor. A "Yeehaw" told Jim the ticket had been found. Blair handed it to him and said, "With everything he had to do and tell us, I'm not surprised he forgot to mention this."

Jim rolled up to the gate and handed his ticket over. While the time and amount were being computed, he said, "Yeah, we're lucky your mother—"

"Jim, stop before you say something you'll regret," Blair interrupted with a wicked grin.

Laughing, Jim nodded, but said, "Hey, we both have to admit the woman outdid herself in 'helping' us with our vacation arrangements."

"Yeah, but you don't want to be caught saying that too often."

"Good point."

The attendant waved them through, thanks to the parking garage offering the first hour free. They'd made it by five minutes. Jim followed more signs that eventually led them out of the airport, whereupon, Blair said, "Okay, we want MacArthur south, so you need to stay to your left, and then make a right."

Jim did as instructed and a moment later, they were on MacArthur heading toward the beach. They knew this because Jim could both smell the salty freshness and, in spite of the towering buildings, could see the sparkling blue of the Pacific Ocean, a blue that actually was new compared the often grey waters of the Pacific Northwest.

Blair ticked off all the landmarks mentioned in Sam's directions as they passed them and within minutes they were making their left onto Pacific Coast Highway.

"daddy, where's the new ocean, I don't see it," Jake almost whined.

"You will, Hoss, just be patient. We have to get out of Newport Beach first, then you'll see it."

"'kay."

Both men were hoping the drive would be short enough to keep young mister Porter happy. All the bags were in the back of the vehicle, including toys that would have kept him occupied. As they drove through Newport, Jim and Blair both took turns whistling at the antique shops, small cafes, and bistros.

"Definitely upscale, Chief. This is *not* a quaint beach town," Jim commented after the fifth Mercedes almost cut him off.

"I noticed. Here's hoping Laguna is vastly different. I don't think either of us would be comfortable here."

"No way. Number one, they drive like maniacs, and number two, I've yet to see anyone driving without a cell plastered to their ear."

"Yeah, I noticed that too."

As the road curved and dipped, Jim finally spotted the market Sam had alluded to. He changed lanes and made a left and then right into the small, cramped parking lot. Fortunately there was a spot in the first aisle and he quickly swung into it. After turning off the Tahoe, he said, "Shall I do the shopping while you take him for a walk, or do all three of us go in?"

"no ocean, no walky," Jake said firmly from the back seat.

"Ah, then I'm thinking all three of us go in and do some shopping," Jim said with a grin.

Jake, unimpressed, waved a hand in the air and said, "we have stores at home, same stores, I want the beach, the new beach."

Blair shot Jim his "huh-oh, we have a sleepy, cranky child on our hands" look and Jim nodded as he said, "I think a walk?"

"Oh, yeah. You have fun in the store and Jake and I will look around. I do believe one block back I spotted a See's candy store…."

Jake undid his buckle, and with a cagey gleam in his eye, said, "I could do a walk, I could."

Laughing, Blair and Jim got out, and while Jim sauntered into the Ralphs, Blair took Jake for their walk.

"but I can't see it."

"But it's there."

"not if I can't see it."

"Can you smell it?"

"no, only smelling fried chicken," Jake pouted.

"Smells good," Blair said, trying to cheer up his son, and doing a miserable job.

"not as good as the new ocean. can we go back now?"

Blair looked down at his sad, disappointed and very tired son and immediately scooped him up. "You'll see the ocean soon enough, Hoss. We'll be living in its lap."

Jake, all his steam gone, rested his head on his father's shoulder and sighed dramatically. Smiling, Blair carried him back to the car. Fortunately, Jim was a whiz in the market when shopping alone, and they only had to wait another fifteen minutes before Jim was rolling a cart up to the back of the Tahoe. Another five and they were back on PCH and heading south.

"Okay, we're coming out of Corona Del Mar which means, according to Sam's notes, we should see the ocean on our right…."

Jake turned his head and the sight that greeted him drove all sleepy thoughts away. He pointed excitedly and said, "new ocean, it's the new ocean, and poppy, it's so much bluer than ours!"

"He's right," Blair agreed, eyes wide at the beauty of the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Southwest.

"Hey, I take offense in the name of our part of the ocean. When we have sun, we have blue water," Jim stated firmly.

"Yeah, but never this blue," Blair argued. "This is almost surreal and just as I remember it. And check out the sand. Bet there's not a rock, pebble, or stone in sight."

"Okay, I'll give you that," Jim chuckled.

"when do I get to go swummin'? can't I go now?"

"We're almost there, Hoss, so hang on. And remember, we're going to be living almost on the beach."

The jiggling of the car told both Jim and Blair that Jake was bouncing. Jim shook his head and muttered, "Like father, like son."

"Yeah," Blair said. "You always bounced in your car seat too."

"You are so… holy smokes, is that the place, Sandburg?"

Blair followed Jim's gaze, and his mouth dropped open.

"poppy? where? where?"

"You can't see it yet, Hoss, but give me a minute, and you'll have a great view of our new home," Jim said as he flipped on his right turn signal.

"My God, Jim, it's … it's unbelievable. This place is like a small paradise. Our very own cove."

"what's a kove, daddy?"

"Uhm, well, it's like… where a part of the land dips in and creates a protected part of the shore. I'll, uhm, draw an example for you when we get settled, okay?"

Satisfied as always by his father's words and promises, Jake nodded happily and went back to gazing lovingly out the window.

Jim made his right and slid the car to a stop in front of the guard gate. He pulled out the pass Sam had included with everything else and, after flashing it, the guard tipped his hat and waved them in.

"Okay, ours is all the way at the very end, Jim. The last one."

"Got it."

Now Jake could see and what he saw dazzled him. El Moro Cove was a small inlet of perfection, a strip of land protected by cliffs with fifteen or twenty mobile homes on a small rise above the water, the tide just kissing the sand a few feet below them.

"we're going to live here, daddy? " Jake asked in awe.

"This is it, kiddo."

Jim drove down the narrow road, passing each mobile home, parked cars, and children playing on top decks. At the end, the road widened into a half moon shaped dead end, and there, at a slight angle to the beach, sat their new home.

Blair gave a low whistle as Jim said, "Amen."

"Wow, this place is terrific," Blair said, his eyes taking in the white wood and dark blue trim, the plantation-shuttered windows and the plant boxes.

Jim parked in the slot marked "239", which coincided with their vacation address, and shut down. Keys in hand, he said, "Your mom struck gold this time, Chief."

"daddy, poppy, out… out... out," Jake ordered as he unbuckled his seatbelt and started wiggling.

"Right. Out," Blair said as he saluted his son, and received a giggle for his efforts.

Both men hit the pavement and Jim opened Jake's door. The boy jumped down and scampered around to the front. Spotting real sand, he immediately jumped over a log and was about to run onto the beach when Jim snatched at him, fingers connecting with the waist band of his pants.

"Whoa, Hoss, not so fast. We have a car to unload, groceries to put away, and one four year old to put down for a nap."

Jake's eyes widened in horror and Jim prepared himself for the onslaught. He wasn’t disappointed.

"a nap? now? but… but… poppy, I just have to go to my new ocean – I just have to!"

Blue eyes were welling up with tears and Jim immediately knelt down in front of him. With his hand on top of the curly head, he said softly, "I'll make you a deal. You help daddy and me with getting all our stuff inside, we'll put things away, then we'll all head to the water for a bit before coming back to take a nap. Deal?"

Jake gave the water behind him a look full of longing but reluctantly nodded his head. As Jim took his hand to lead him back, he said, "but right after, I get to go and touch everything, right?"

Biting back a laugh, Jim nodded. Together, all three began the process of emptying the car of luggage and groceries.

While Jim put away the groceries, Blair helped Jake unpack. The interior of the mobile home was cozy, yet beachy. The colors were sea greens and Mediterranean blues, with accents in pale mauve. There was a white-washed stone fireplace that promised cozy fires in the evenings, and the kitchen brought forth a whistle of admiration from both men. The home had two bedrooms and one and half bathrooms, with the smaller bedroom perfect for Jake. It had a low, wide window that overlooked the ocean, which thoroughly captivated Jake, who started jumping up and down in glee. Blair quickly calmed him with the promise of, "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can get out on the beach, Hoss."

It worked.

It took an hour to unpack and put away, and when it was done, Jake was standing in front of his fathers, one pair of "swumming" trunks in his hand.

"Right," Jim said with a grin. "I'm thinking we should christen our ocean. What say you, Jake?"

"bery good idea, poppy."

Jim let one eyebrow rise at the "bery", but Blair just squeezed his arm. A few minutes later they were ready to hit the beach.

"wow," Jake said as his toes hit the warm soft sand. He was wearing his blue swim trunks with the white stripe, his new beach towel draped around his shoulders and goggles atop his head. He'd been slathered with enough Bull Frog to protect his pale skin for days. Neither Jim nor Blair thought he'd use them – figuring that the first wave that knocked him down would end his session in his "new ocean".

Their little stretch of beach held about twenty people, all residents of the El Moro Cove Mobile Home Park. There were five other children on the beach, all currently digging in the sand. Jake ignored them and walked right up to the shore's edge, allowing the water to tickle his feet. He giggled, then turned back and yelled to his parents who were approaching in a much more leisurely manner, "it's warm, daddy!"

"Ya gotta love the Pacific Southwest, Jim."

"Oh, I do, Chief, I do."

At that moment, Jake took two more steps into the water and pulled his goggles down over his eyes. Jim immediately hot-footed it to his son's side. "Whoa, Hoss. Not so fast. This isn't a pool, honey. This is the ocean and there are no life guards. You can't just walk in."

"why not?" Jake asked, his eyes the size of Texas on the other side of his goggles.

Jim glanced past his son and said, "Well, this is the ocean," he said lamely.

Shaking his head, Blair took Jake's hand and said, "Come on, let's go in."

Jim watched helplessly as his mate, in orange surfer shorts, hair tied back, and looking good enough to eat, waded into the ocean with his son. As the water climbed to Jake's thighs, Blair lifted him in his arms and kept going. Once the water reached his chest, he said, "You ready to go under and see the ocean beneath the waves?"

Jake pumped his hand and said confidently, "I be ready!"

Blair looked over his shoulder and said, "Stay there and when he's done looking at sand," Blair grinned, "I'll have him 'swum' your way, okay?"

Laughing now, Jim nodded his head.

The waves that broke on the shore of their little inlet were gentle rolling things, thanks to the fact that it was, indeed, a cove. As Blair walked out a bit further, he was glad Sam had left them a list of surfing spots for Jim. It was obvious there'd be no serious surfing here.

"Okay, you ready now?" he asked.

"I be as ready as ever!"

Putting his hand on Jake's tummy, he said, "Okay, take a deep breath…."

He let him rest on the top of the water as Jake put his head down and kicked his legs. He seemed to understand now that the water would be different, and as he was balanced by Blair's hand, the waves caused Jake to bob up and down. Blowing out his air, he wiggled in his father's grasp, giggling as the waves washed over him. Blair pulled him up into his arms and Jake pointed down. "daddy, there aren't any lane lines!"

Jake's face was scrunched up in laughter, curls flattened to his head, and Blair thought no boy ever looked happier. He tapped Jake's nose and said, "You're right. Now why is that, do you suppose?"

"I don't know, but they should have, cuz then I could swum all the way to china!"

"Well, Catalina, anyway," Blair answered as he turned Jake around. "Okay, you ready to try and swim towards poppy? Waves and all?"

"yup!"

He let him down into the water and Jake treaded for a few seconds, instinctively acclimating himself to the differences between the pool back home and the ocean. Finally he turned, ducked his head down and started swimming toward his poppy. On the other side of him, Blair walked along side, cautious in spite of Jake's skill in the swimming arena. He'd only been taking lessons and swimming with the Dolphins since July, but had proved himself a natural.

Kicking hard, he swam steadily, taking his breaths after each wave. Moments later he'd made it to his other father who picked him up and held him over his head.

"The winnah, and still champeen, Jake Porter!"

They let him play for a few more minutes but eventually his own exhaustion caught up to him and they walked him back to their temporary home. After a shower and a snack of applesauce and a couple of cheddar cheese slices, Jake was more than willing to climb into his new bed for a nap.

Back in the living room, both men, now showered as well and wearing tank tops and shorts, sank down into the deep cushions of the couch and sighed.

"You think he'll sleep long?"

"I think he'll sleep 'til dark, then get up long enough to eat before going back to bed. That’s what I think," Blair said with a firm nod of his head.

"Cool. We can fool around later," Jim said, his eyes on their entwined fingers.

Blair gave a little humph and said, "You surfer dudes."

Washington D.C. – FBI headquarters

"We've got yet another last known, Mackie."

Paul McNamara, Mackie to his friends, looked up from his paperwork and tilted his head at his partner, Frank Stiller, who'd just come in from an interview.

Frank smiled at his friend's usual method of saying, "Yeah?" and waved a piece of paper.

Mackie stood up, grabbed his jacket, and raised an eyebrow. Shaking his head, Frank said as he turned around to walk back out, "Ye of little words."

Mackie grinned as they headed for the elevator. Neither of one of them held out much hope that this address would pan out any more than the six others, but one just never knew. And they had a child to find so they'd flatfoot every lead that came across their desks.

Four years ago, an eleven month old baby boy had been stolen out of his backyard where he'd been sleeping on a blanket. His mother, Jane Lloyd, had gone in to answer the phone. Less than two minutes later, phone in hand, she'd walked out only to find her baby gone. After nine exhaustive months, the case had been marked open but unsolved and thus filed away. Three years and seven months later, the case was handed over to McNamara and Stiller, two men who excelled in solving cold cases and who were already working on two other possibly-connected child kidnappings. As the weeks flew by, they began to believe all three might be tied together, especially after discovering that the first two kidnappings had been done for the sole purpose of providing specific babies, at a high cost, to parents who could not have their own. Their work eventually led them to an agency called "Wings Of A Dove" which claimed to be able to put the right baby into the arms of the right parents – for the right price.

The owner of the agency, Sharon Hilde, had gladly allowed a search of her offices, claiming that charging parents for adoptions was hardly illegal and she had nothing to hide. In going over her books, they'd found she'd been scrupulous in recording every single legitimate adoption. Fortunately, one member of Hilde's staff felt guilty enough, and frightened enough, to hint at a second set of books, which were found. They revealed that several babies, including two of the cases McNamara and Stiller were investigating, had been 'harvested' for extremely wealthy couples. "Harvested" being a euphemism for kidnapped when the required child couldn't be found through more conventional means.

The books also showed a third order had come in, one for a blond, blue-eyed boy between ten and twelve months of age. The ordering parents wanted their baby "now" and were willing to pay whatever it would take to bring the desired child into their home.

Hilde, eager to avoid a lengthy prison term, gave McNamara and Stiller information on her 'go to guy', one Mark Silver. It was he that she turned to when exceptionally wealthy and impatient parents came along. Silver, in turn, did what he normally did: he hired an oft used, down-on-his-luck drug addict named Paul Charbeau.

In the ensuing weeks, MacNamara and Stiller had discovered the whereabouts of two of the babies kidnapped by Charbeau, and returned them to their biological parents. Unfortunately, they hadn't been so lucky with the Lloyd baby. The second set of books showed a notation of the order, but no information on the parents and, unfortunately, the down payment had been made in cash. That meant that finding Charbeau and/or Silver would be the key to finding "Baby Davey", if indeed Charbeau had taken him.

But neither agent were looking at a happy ending. If they succeeded in finding either man, and then the now almost five year old Davey, they'd ultimately be taking a child away from the only parents he'd ever known, parents who undoubtedly loved him and probably had no clue what their desires and money had wrought.

So far, their search for Silver had come up empty handed, but their search for Charbeau had landed them several 'last knowns' and not much else. He'd served time for dealing and using, but other than that, his records had been sparse. According to his old PO, who admitted to less than perfect information on Charbeau, the man appeared to have no living relatives, no friends, and no one who could give them any clues about his current whereabouts.

Jim lay with his head on Blair's stomach. The sliders were open and the soothing sound of the ocean was lulling him into what Blair had coined his "safe zone". Blair's even breathing and the rise and fall of his stomach worked with the waves to hold Jim in comfort and safety. The sun was setting and their room was bathed in a soft glow of muted pinks and subtle oranges. He was wonderfully aware that Blair was gently playing with his hair. Jim smiled sleepily.

"Oh, yeah. I think we're getting to be experts at finding the right moments to do it," Jim said with a smile in his voice.

"The world should take a lesson from us. If anyone knows how to find time for sex, it has to be two men."

Jim flipped carefully over onto his side and gazed up at his partner. Grinning, he said, "Gay fathers rule."

"And hallelujah."

"poppy? daddy?"

At the sound of uncertainty in the small voice, Jim said, "Huh-oh, me thinks our son is lost in his new home."

Blair nodded and both men reluctantly rose as Blair said loudly, "We're coming, Hoss."

Padding over to the door, Blair stopped when Jim whistled and said, "Clothes, O Mighty Provider?"

Laughing, Blair turned back and slipped into sweat bottoms before continuing out, whereupon he found a tousle-haired, sleepy and very confused boy rubbing his eyes with his knuckles.

"Hey, kiddo, how was your nap?"

"my tummy woke me up," he grumbled. "it needs food, daddy."

Scooping him into his arms, Blair headed out to the living room, where he deposited his son on the couch. "How 'bout hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for dinner? And we'll eat out on the deck?"

"I could do that, but my tummy says now, daddy."

Jim walked in then and, with a smile, said, "So go play in the sand and try to dig your way to China and we'll call you when dinner's ready. How does that sound, Hoss?"

Jake jumped up and started to run toward the screen that separated them from the patio and the sand. Jim did a quick two step and planted himself in front of his son. Hands on hips, he said, "In your underwear, Hoss?"

Jake skidded to a stop, giggled, said, "oops" and ran back to his bedroom. Two minutes later, he was back wearing yellow shorts and a white tank top that he'd put on inside-out. As he ran for the screen, Blair said, "Don't go further than the sand in front of the deck, Jake. Okay?"

"'kay!"

The screen was pulled away and Jake jumped out, thudded across the deck, and plopped down in the sand. He seemed content to just sit, probably reveling in the idea of a warm, dusky, early evening and the still-warm sand. As Jim and Blair walked into the kitchen, Jim said, "Aren't you proud of me?"

"I am. You didn't try to change his shirt."

Jim buffed his nails. "Man, I'm getting good."

"Less anal as we speak, Jim."

Laughing, the two men began to put together the first picnic meal of their summer in Southern California.

In spite of his nap, Jake was still tired so while enjoying dinner on the deck with the ocean, sand, and families still on the beach, he ate slowly. He was also unusually quiet and attentive, his eyelids often drooping. When he'd finished his hot dog, macaroni and cheese, and fruit, Jim and Blair caught each other's gaze and, with a nod, Jim rose, lifted Jake into his arms and carried him back to his room. Jake never made so much as a sound as Jim got him into his pajamas and was already half asleep by the time he was put under the covers, Jakey planted firmly in his arms. As Jim bent down to kiss him on the nose, Jake said sleepily, "the beach made me poopted, poppy."

"I noticed. But you've had a very exciting day, so sleep well, and tomorrow we'll go swimming and exploring, all right?"

"I love 'sploring. is daddy gonna kiss me goodnight?"

"Yep. He'll be in shortly. See you in the morning, Hoss."

"night, poppy."

Jim walked out and into the hall, and into Blair's arms. "Hey, long time no see, Chief."

Kissing Jim's neck, Blair said, "Yeah, too long." Grinning, he added, "How long has it been again?"

Jim checked his watch by looking over Blair's shoulder, and said, "Six minutes."

"That long? Wow."

Blair peppered his neck with more kisses and as he lifted his chin to give Blair better access, he murmured, "You have a four year old waiting for a kiss goodnight."

Laughing softly, Blair stepped away and, with a pat to Jim's butt, walked past him and into Jake's room.

"I was almost asleep, daddy. I woulda missed your eskeeeemo kiss!"

"Not a chance, Hoss. Your nose ready?"

"ready!"

Blair bent over and they rubbed noses. Jake then wrapped his arms around Blair's neck and slobbered all over his cheek. Laughing, Blair straightened and said, "I take it that was for Jakey, who must be asleep already?"

"yup!"

"Thank him for me in the morning, all right?"

"okey-dokey," Jake said in the middle of a yawn.

Blair watched as Jake rolled over, snuggled down, and seconds later – was fast asleep. Smiling, Blair walked back out, closing the door behind him. He walked down the short hall to the living room, only to find Jim standing at the front door with a teenager.

"Yo, Sandburg, meet Rosie, our 'if needed' babysitter."

Blair walked over to his partner and smiled at the tall, coltish teen. "Good to meet you, Rosie. I'm Blair. Sorry you just missed your future charge. We've already put him down for the night."

"Hopefully I'll meet him tomorrow," she said with a shy smile. "I just thought I'd drop by and introduce myself. Mom and Dad also wanted to invite you over tomorrow for lunch, if you don't have any other plans. Dad's doing his seafood salad and we're eating on the deck."

Blair shot a look at Jim, who nodded. He turned back to Rosie and said, "Sounds good to us. What time?"

"Is one okay?"

"Sure is. Anything we can bring?"

"Nope, mom says just yourselves and Jake."

"You've got a deal," Jim said with a smile.

"Well, then, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks for stopping by, Rosie. Tell your folks that we're looking forward to tomorrow."

"I will." Rosie waved as she popped out the screen door and almost ran down the steps toward the mobile home next door.

"Wow, she's a bundle of energy," Blair said.

"You noticed, huh? She reminds me of … you. She never stopped moving."

Blair closed and locked the door. "I have a need for moving right now, Jim. What say you and I—"

Jim pulled the younger man to him and, one eyebrow rising, said, "Yeees?"

"Go out and hit the beach," Blair said, his expression the personification of innocence.

Voice low and almost a growl, Jim said, "I'll beach you, my little guppy…."

With a laugh, Blair moved away and almost ran back toward the bedroom, Jim hot on his heels.

Life at the beach was going to be fun.

The first two full days of their vacation were spent acclimating themselves to the area, taking loads of pictures and, of course, swimming and resting. Jim found Brooks Street on their first full day and Blair figured he was about to become a surf widower, at least in the mornings. Jim had gone out at dawn on day two, board in the back of the Tahoe, and had returned three hours later, face alight with the great surf he'd experienced. Day three was a replay. Blair had never seen Jim so happy about anything physical, other than sex with him, and it was like seeing the boy Jim must have been before his mother left.

Of course, Jake had immediately demanded that he be taught how to surf, so on the afternoon of their third day, Jim had given him his first lesson. Blair realized he was about to become a surf father too. Jake loved riding the surfboard on his tummy, his father guiding him as small waves pushed him forward toward shore. Blair figured it wouldn't be long before Jim and Jake were spending the early mornings at Brooks Street. And if they thought Blair would be on the beach with them, they had another thing coming. Further more, they'd better bring back breakfast too.

The lunch with Rosie and her folks had been fun with neither John nor Terry Hamill so much as blinking at the fact that they were entertaining a gay couple and their child. Rosie had been an instant hit with Jake, if for no other reason than she had the same name as his favorite newspaper delivery person back home. Rosie exhibited the patience of Job with Jake and really seemed to like being around him. They played in the sand while she taught him the fine art of sand castles and how to bury someone. Of course, Jake had immediately insisted that they bury Blair, who made the mistake of agreeing to being the sacrificial corpse. Jake showed a natural affinity for piling sand on top of his father.

On the evening of their third day, they actually gave Rosie her first chance to baby sit while they took in the Laguna night life, more specifically, a gay club called Ripples. For the first time in their relationship, they were able to dance together, hold each other and kiss in public. It had been a liberating experience for both.

While taking a breather and watching other men dance, they'd decided to nix Knott's Berry Farm unless Jake remembered it. They also decided to forgo the visit to Sea World, instead choosing to concentrate on their three days in Anaheim and the two days in LA. One hectic, fun-filled week bordered on each side by a week of beach living with a whale-watching trip thrown in for good measure.

On day five, they discovered a little hide-away of a restaurant called The Beach House that sat overlooking the water. Jim and Blair enjoyed a romantic dinner on the small deck while waves broke below and, even late into the evening, surfers surfed. But the restaurant also served a great breakfast and lunch so they had the opportunity to take Jake – who fell in love with the place and the waitresses, who fell in love with him.

All too soon, though, it was time to head for Anaheim. At least it was all too soon for Jim and Blair. Jake, on the other hand, was chomping at the bit to get to 'dizzyland'. The bright side of leaving their beach home was that Rosie had been given permission to join them, which would allow Jim and Blair to take advantage of the Disney resort's night life.

Six days after their arrival, the Tahoe was packed up, Jake was in his booster seat, Rosie beside him, and they were off for the "Happiest place on Earth."

"This is it, gentlemen, but understand, he ain't been around for a long time."

Mrs. Culbertson, the landlady for the Glory Arms (its glory days long gone) stepped aside and let Agents McNamara and Stiller into the small apartment. Both men made a thorough search of the premises, their warrant in Mrs. Culbertson's hand. In the kitchen, Stiller noticed the fresh milk in the fridge and a new loaf of bread on the counter. He said, loud enough for the landlady to hear, "If he's been gone that long, why does it still say "P. Charbeau" on the mail box, and why fresh food?"

"That'd be for his brother, Peter. He's been stayin' here since before Charbeau took off. Petey ain't like his brother, Petey's a good boy, pays the rent on time, ain't no trouble, and don't do no drugs."

The news of a brother surprised both men. As Stiller rejoined him, Mackie asked, "But Paul Charbeau was a problem?"

"He was a bad'un, he was. But anything he bought drug wise, he bought somewhere else. He know'd the rules and there ain't no buyin' on these premises."

Somehow, both agents believed the woman. From what they'd seen, the Glory Arms might be on the backside of its life, but she kept a clean place.

"Do you have any idea where Charbeau went, Mrs. Culbertson? Any idea at all?" Mackie asked.

"He made noises about being in the chips, but then, after a couple of weeks, he got real ornery and frustrated – until he got a panicked call from someone. He said he was heading out of town – Boston, I think, but had no money for plane fare. He actually asked me to loan it to him! But then, the next day, he had a ticket and was off. "

"No idea where he got the money?" Stiller asked.

"His employer was the word."

Mackie quickly asked, "Do you know who that was?"

"Nope, didn't believe he had one."

"I see. Do you know when the brother might be home?"

"He's got a job and gets off around six. He usually comes home right away. No dawdlin' or drinkin' for Petey."

Stiller checked his watch and said, "We've got time to grab a bite to eat, Mackie. What do you think?"

"Cioppinos is fairly close."

"Cioppinos it is."

The drive to Anaheim was remarkably easy and, as Jake had predicted to Cherry, his poppy had no difficulty finding "dizzyland". Thanks to another friend of Naomi's, their reservations at the Disneyland Hotel had been changed to a suite at the Grand Californian, which, according to said friend, was really the best and most convenient to both parks and Downtown Disney. In fact, the hotel actually had its own entrance to California Adventure. As Jim followed the signs, the bouncing in the back seat – and the front seat – increased. Jake had been awestruck the minute he'd spotted the Matterhorn, his head-bobbing increasing exponentially the closer they got. Now as the hotel came into view, his eyes did a great imitation of two Frisbees. Jim pulled up under the awning and before the vehicle was even in park, two attendants were opening their doors and welcoming them. Overnight bags were the only pieces of luggage that Jim and Blair took with them, the rest being loaded onto a cart. As Jake was handed over to Blair, one of the attendants said, "We can park you in valet or self parking, whichever you prefer, sir. Valet is no extra cost."

Jim looked at Blair, who looked at Jim, who looked back at the attendant and said, "Valet will be fine, and thank you."

"Not at all. Your luggage will be delivered within twenty. Have a great time."

All four turned to face the beautiful hotel and, with a shrug, Jim led them inside.

At Registration the desk clerk punched their names into the computer and, smiling, said, "Oh, of course, Mr. Sandburg. Your suite is ready and I have complimentary breakfast tickets for each morning of your stay as well as a complimentary dinner for the night of your choice. In this envelope are your passports for both Disneyland and California Adventure. If you need a babysitter at any time, we can provide that as well," she assured Blair.

"oh, no, thank you, I have my very own," Jake announced proudly from his poppy's arms.

Laughing, the young clerk handed Jim and Blair two more envelopes and said, "These are your key cards. You're on the top floor, suite six hundred. You have a master suite and a second bedroom which has two beds. You'll find a book in the room called the Californian which will tell you all about the hotel, the amenities and the restaurants. We have several special events throughout each day specifically aimed at," she smiled at Jake, "our youngest visitors. Please enjoy your stay, and if you need anything at all, please give us a call. Mr. Evans, our manager, hopes to get a chance to greet you later. The elevators are to your right."

Blair thanked her and, in a mild state of shock, they headed for the elevators.

"ohmy," Jake said as Jim put him down in the living room of their suite.

"I agree," Blair said as he pivoted to take in the luxury of the room.

The entire hotel was patterned after the great hotels of California's early history. It was huge, full of wood beams, stone fireplaces, oversized velvet chairs and couches, and grand staircases. Their suite was just as grand, with a large stone fireplace in the middle of the living room and large comfortable furniture. Their bellboy opened the doors of the two bedrooms and showed them where everything was before opening the curtains to the incredible view of the entire resort.

"At night, your view will be particularly beautiful, but don't worry, the curtains have special linings and you won't see so much as a sliver when it's time for bed. Your luggage will be up shortly and if there's anything you need, just ask for me, David."

Jim held out a five dollar bill and said, "Thank you, David. We'll keep that in mind."

David took the tip, smiled, and exited the suite. Before Jim could move an inch, Jake asked the only question that mattered.

"which one is my bedroom, poppy?"

Peter Charbeau walked over to the small desk, rummaged around a bit, then held up a white envelope. "Here it is, Agent McNamara."

Mackie and Stiller had spent an hour and a half at Cioppino's before returning to the Glory Arms. They'd timed it well what with finding Peter Charbeau unlocking the front door just as they exited the elevator. Once he understood their purpose, he was more than willing to help, or so he seemed. Now he handed the envelope to Mackie.

"Thank you, Peter. And you're sure this address is the only one you have?"

"Yes, sir. When he called, he said that if anyone came asking, I didn't know where he was. I got the feeling he was on the run. No one ever came and I was never asked. This wasn't his only address, I know he moved a couple of times, but this is the only address he ever gave me. Sorry. I haven't heard from him in almost two years, but that's not unusual."

"I see. Are you planning any trips in the near future?" Mackie asked easily.

"No, sir."

"Good, we may need your help again."

"Yes, sir."

The two men took their leave. As they walked down the hall toward the elevator, neither one had to state the obvious: that they would soon be on their way to Boston.

The plan for their first day was simple: Get acquainted with the hotel and Downtown Disney. Day two would be California Adventure, and their final day: Disneyland.

Now, as they walked behind an almost running Jake and a more sedate Rosie, Blair found himself wondering about Jim and how he was handling all of this. They'd done a lot of work on his senses before leaving Cascade and, so far, Blair had only needed to put a hand on Jim's back to help him refocus. No, his senses weren't Blair's concern, rather it was the whole tribal thing. This would represent the longest Jim had been away from his tribe (going after Simon in Peru didn't count, as Blair theorized that the Chopec people had been his first tribe.) He was dying to ask his partner how he was handling the idea of such a long separation but figured he'd have to wait until they could be alone.

"Hey, hold up there, Hoss," Jim said to one happy boy who couldn't seem to stop. "How 'bout some lunch before we go any farther?"

Jake, tennis shoes blinking on and off, skidded to a stop and turned to face his parents. "lunch?"

He seemed to be giving it some thought, so Rosie said, "They have a restaurant here with Disney characters, Jake. You might actually get to eat with, say, Chip and Dale?"

"chip and dale, the chipmunks from my cartoooons?" Jake was bouncing again.

"Yep, the very same."

"daddy," he said ingenuously, "I could eat now, I could."

"Jim, I think we have consensus," Blair said with a wink.

They all headed over to the Storyteller's Café and, hopefully, Chip and Dale.

"pizza, pizza, pizza!" Jake exclaimed as he slid into his booster chair.

"Mmm, I think Jake will have pizza," Blair mused.

"I'm not so sure," Jim said as he perused the menu. "I suspect he'd love… some—"

"nonono, pizza, poppy, pizza."

"… some pizza," Jim finished.

Relieved, Jake sat back and grinned.

The waitress arrived, their orders taken while Jake scanned the restaurant for any sign of Chip and Dale. Disappointed when no signs of the furry animals could be seen, he sunk down in his booster seat. His mood lasted just as long as it took Chip, followed closely by Dale, to deliver his pizza. Jake popped up like bread from a toaster as his lunch was set in front of him and Chip slid in beside him.

For the first time in his life, Jake was speechless. He stared, open-mouthed, at the big furry chipmunk before slowly reaching out to touch the fur. Chip immediately took his hand and kissed it, then reached for a piece of pizza, pausing for permission. Jake nodded, still unable to speak. Clearly surprised at his generosity, Chip patted Jake on the head, then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Dale, meanwhile, was flirting with Rosie, who was giggling and having a ball. Finally the two cartoon characters took their leave, but not before posing with Jake so that Jim could take several pictures. It was clear that it would take Jake time to recover. He ate his pizza with a dopey grin on his face and just nodded or shook his head if anyone asked him anything.

Jim and Blair shared knowing looks as both realized simultaneously how much fun the Disneyland Resort was going to be for Jake and thus for them.

After lunch, they did some more exploring, checked a few shops, and then Jake spotted the pools, which settled their afternoon plans.

Jake stoutly refused to use the "baby's pool" so Jim, Blair and Rosie took him into the big one. With his body covered in Bull Frog, his goggles on and wearing his "I have to wear my team suit, daddy, I just haveto!" bathing suit, he was ready for a couple of hours of 'swumming'.

As Blair swam with Jake, Jim lounged in a chair and happily soaked up the California sun. Rosie stayed in the shallow end and watched her charge as he practiced his kicking, turns and breathing techniques with his father.

After fifteen minutes, Blair and Jake started playing and Rosie quickly joined in. At Jake's urging, he and Rosie were dolphins with Blair the human who swam with them. Jake bobbed up and down next to Blair, rubbing his 'snout' against his father while Rosie jumped up and dove back down into the water. Jim was just about to join them when Blair dove under Jake and seemed to disappear. The sun glistened so brightly on the surface of the water that Jim, even with his heightened sense of sight, lost track of his partner. Stomach doing butterflies, he moved quickly to the edge and scanned the pool. Jake and Rosie were now diving and making dolphin sounds as they looked for the 'human' pet. Jim found the hair on the back of his neck rising while his heart pounded in his chest. He made the mistake of trying too hard to use both his sense of sight and hearing and was immediately assaulted by the entire hotel. He stumbled back and almost fell just as Blair popped up behind Jake and yelled, "BOO!"

Jake jumped into his father's arms, giggling, and as Blair wiped the dripping curls away from Jake's forehead, he glanced over at Jim – and immediately lowered Jake into the water.

"Rosie, watch him, will you?"

Seeing the concern in his eyes, she nodded and immediately got Jake back into the game as Blair hauled himself out of the water. Padding over to where Jim now sat, he knelt down in front of him and asked, "Jim? What is it?"

"I'm … okay now. Just a little sensory spike. Tried to do too much, that's all."

Jim's pale face told Blair that something else was going on. "You've been doing fine since we arrived. What's different now?" he asked, tone both encouraging and gentle.

Jim made eye contact with him and smiled wryly. "You disappeared. In the water," he said as if that explained it all, and for Blair – it did.

"Ah, I see. So… why don't we go swimming? I'll … race you?"

"Maybe later, okay?"

Resting his hand on Jim's thigh, he gave it a squeeze and said, "No, Jim. Now. If I can handle me in water, you can. Now come on. Let's join our son. We can both be Jake's human pets."

Jim stared at the water as it dripped from Blair's curls and, a heartbeat later, said gruffly, "I want to be a dolphin."

Relieved, Blair grinned. "Okay, okay, you can be a dolphin. But don't go trying to screw the human pet, okay? I put my foot down on interspecies relations."

One eyebrow rose. "Oh, really? Since when?"

Laughing, Blair stood up. "Come on, my little dolphin, let's go."

Jim got up and, together, they moved to the edge of the pool and dove in. A few moments later, Blair found himself surrounded by dolphins, including one who kept nudging him in places he hoped no one else could see.

"Okay, are we ready for Downtown Disney and dinner?" Blair asked.

Rosie, Jake and Jim all jumped up and responded in unison, "YES!"

Slightly taken aback, Blair said, "Well, okay then. We should probably go."

Laughing, the four headed out of their suite.

Downtown Disney was next door to the hotel so their walk was short. Once they arrived, there was no doubt where they'd eat. Jake took one look at the Rainforest Café and demanded, in his quiet, "don't you think maybe" way that they eat there. Blair took one look at the long line and shook his head while Jim took one look at the exterior and shook his. He nudged Blair in the side and whispered, "Does it remind you of anything, Chief?"

Blair looked again, then whistled low. "We seem to be surrounded by—"

"Don't say it, Sandburg. I'm still recovering from this afternoon at the pool."

Jake had run over to the gift store, Rosie, good sitter that she was, hot on his heels. Blair shook his head and whispered, "I don't think we could pry him away from this place now if we tried, Jim. Do you think you … I mean, can you handle—"

"Chief," Jim whispered back, his voice full of a pain Blair had never heard before, "I'm fine with it. I'm thinking about… you."

Shocked, Blair stepped in front of his partner and placed a hand on his chest. "Whoa, what do you mean you're worried about me?"

Jim actually blushed and looked away, his eyes searching for anything that could interrupt the moment. Blair's hand pushed a bit and Jim heard him say, "Jim, please?" The "please" did it. It was so full of worry, concern and love that Jim had to look at him – had to answer.

"We never really… we did, but we didn't. You were so full of your theories, and I accepted them, the whole test thing, and 'You had to walk it alone' mumbo-jumbo, but what it all boiled down to was that you died, were murdered by her, and then you had to stand by and watch—"

A shaking hand to his mouth stopped him. He turned away again, and was immediately thankful that they weren't surrounded by tourists. This was too … intimate, too personal. On the other hand, he thought wryly, they were in the middle of one of the largest tourist attractions in the world.

"Jim, why can't you accept even now that I understood, clearly better than you, what was happening? I'm the scientist, remember?"

"For God's sake," Jim hissed, "you're also a man, my friend, and you were in love with me, cared about me, had feelings for me. And she killed you and I nearly fucked—"

"You didn't, because that's not who you are. Why can't you hear me, Jim? It was a fucking test and while I hate what it did to you, it took you to a place you needed to be." He smiled bitterly. "For awhile, anyway. For awhile, you were everything a sentinel should be, the way you are now. But I guess we still – you still – had one more hurdle to jump, one more obstacle thrown into your path, by me, no less. But hey, it got us to where we are now, didn't it? Didn't it, Jim?"

Jim looked over Blair's head and could see Jake, currently giggling as Rosie held out a huge stuffed python. Curly blond hair shone brightly, thanks to the store lighting, and eyes the same shade as Blair's, sparkled. Jake's high light laughter, along with the warm loving touch of Blair's hand grounded him and provided him with his answer.

"Yeah, Chief, it did," he finally said, his expression telling Blair everything.

"Well, let's go join our son and try to figure out what we won't buy for him, but ultimately will, okay?"

"You got it."

"I remember him. It's been years, and I might not remember his name on my own, but that face, yeah. No way could I forget that one."

Mackie and Stiller stood in the small living room of Phil Brewer, landlord for a rundown set of apartments in one of the worst parts of Boston. The man was almost emaciated, his eyes sunken. It was obvious to both men that they were looking at a real user. The whole apartment building smelled of users.

"The guy … Paul, you said?"

"Yes, Mr. Brewer, Paul Charbeau," Mackie answered.

"Right. Reason I 'member him is that he showed up, looked at the one-room place I had for rent and paid me cash – first and last month. My tenants aren't usually able to pay in advance, if you know what I mean."

"When did he move out?" Mackie asked.

"The Bristol on Chester?" Mackie repeated.

"That's right. Landlord's name is Schiff. Not as bad as this place, but ain't no heaven on Earth either."

"Thank you, Mister Brewer, you've been a great help," Stiller said.

The man shrugged as Mackie and Stiller took their leave.

As they walked outside, both men took a deep breath of fresh air, silently agreed to their next step, and headed toward the Bristol.

"Yeah, I remember him. Hard to forget. He showed with some woman and, if you can believe it, a goddamned kid. A damned rug rat. In a place like this." Schiff stuck out his cigar and asked, "You see any kids when you got here, huh? No, you didn't. You know what I got livin' here as well as I do. Ain't NO kids."

The two men shared a surprised look and did some quick calculations. The time period fit with the kidnapping of the Lloyd baby.

"A kid? How old, Mister Schiff?" Stiller asked.

"How the hell should I know? A baby's a baby. He was crawlin' and toddlin' and that's all I knows about 'em."

Both men shared another look at the word "he". Mackie stepped forward and asked, "Do you remember much about the boy? What he looked like, perhaps?"

"All's I remember are the curls. Blond they were. Oh, and blue eyes. Big blue eyes. I will say this for the rug rat, he were quiet. Real quiet."

"How long was the baby with them, Mister Schiff?"

"You actin' like the baby disappeared or something. Only one who kept disappearin' was Charbeau. Until the end, anyways."

Stiller asked, "The end?"

"They stayed here for… oh, almost two years, I'd guess, with Charbeau coming and going, and the little girl usin' and going from the streets to the high life every time he came back. Then some woman showed up, the girl disappeared, and the woman, who turned out to be her mother, left with the boy. He had to be, oh, three by then. Still blond, lots of curls and still quiet."

"And you never saw Charbeau again?" Mackie asked.

"That's right. Rented the place a week later."

"Do you happen to remember the names of the girl, her mother, or even the boy?" Stiller asked.

"Boy's name was Jake. Heard it called enough as he got older. Girl's name, Diane. Didn't know a last name until the mother showed up. She identified herself as Karen Porter. I remember her real well. Older woman, but a real looker, if you know what I mean, and not the kind usually frequenting my place."

"Do you know if Mrs. Porter lives here in Boston?"

Schiff shook his head. "No, I'm sure not. Hang on a minute." He walked over to an old rotting desk and started rifling through books and papers before finally pulling out a book. He flipped through it, found what he was looking for, and brought it over to them. "Here it is. She asked me to send her daughter's things to her in a place called Cascade, in Washington State." He tore out the page and handed it to Stiller.

Stiller took it, folded it and stuck it in his pocket. "Thank you, Mister Schiff, you've been very helpful."

The man shrugged, stuck his hands in his pockets, and Stiller and Mackie took their leave.

Once outside, Mackie said, "Summer in Cascade is bound to be cooler than here or D.C.."

"Yep, couldn't agree more."

Mackie looked up at the bright summer sky and said, "Do you think we've found him? The boy?"

"Looks like, Mackie, looks like."

They headed for the Boston headquarters of the FBI. Now that they had a couple of names, they had some research to do – and a phone call to their boss to make – which would undoubtedly lead to another flight; this time across the country to the Pacific Northwest.

Dinner at the Rainforest Café turned out to be a real treat after all. The interior was designed like a jungle with lush tropical plant life abounding. The trees were full of great tropical birds in the branches, not to mention the occasional python and in one corner, a cascading waterfall. The actual entrance from the gift shop into the restaurant was a giant aquarium that created an arch and immediately captivated Jake, especially when they had to walk under it to get to their table. But the real thrill were the animated animals. A bull elephant with a female and baby behind it were to their left, and every few minutes, the bull would appear to charge. To their right sat a gorilla which, every few minutes, would beat its chest wildly and roar into the crowd. And finally, the plains of Africa were represented by several roaring lions. And to top it off, every thirty minutes the patrons were treated to a tropical rain storm. Jake never knew where to look next so eating was definitely not on his top ten list of things to do. He had to see everything, kept wanting to get up and run over to the aquarium, then the gorilla, then the elephants, then the lions, and back to the aquarium. He also stopped every few minutes to look up at the beautifully created night sky: a sky filled with stars and constellations.

Jim, Blair and Rosie took turns running after him even though Jake could never get far without Jim knowing exactly where he was. They did manage to get some chicken fingers down him, a bit of salad and a couple bites of bread pudding, so dinner wasn't a complete loss.

Jake hated leaving and only the promise of even better delights in Downtown Disney got him out at the conclusion of the meal. And of course, they had to buy him a souvenir and even though there were no black jaguars or wolves, Jake did fall in love with a brightly colored toucan. He lifted it toward Jim and said shamelessly, "I have to have it for pengy, poppy! I haf to!"

Jim and Blair found it impossible to say no to such a reasonable request. How could a stuffed penguin not have its own toucan?

Back outside, they wandered down the center walkway of Downtown Disney, taking in the shops, crowds, and ambiance. Overhead, dark clouds had moved in and the temperatures dropped dramatically for Southern California in August. Glad they'd stuffed a jacket in Jake's backpack, they reined him in long enough to unzip it, pull the jacket out, and get him into it. Once that was completed, Jake was off again.

The duck wasn't yellow. It was a spotted duck with leopard ears. Definitely not high on either Jim's, Blair's, nor Jake's must-have list.

Rosie, however, loved it, so bought it. But she hid it away for when she got home.

"He's finally asleep," Blair said as he sank into the large oversized chair in the living room. "I thought he'd never drift off. He insisted I leave the curtains open so he could watch 'my mickey' though."

Jim chuckled and added, "I thought he'd never stop chattering. But like a battery-operated toy, he was winding down when I turned him over to you."

"The Energizer—"

"I know, Chief, I know. Between you and Jake, the poor Energizer Bunny always comes in third."

"Ha-ha, man."

They smiled at each other before standing. Moving as one, they walked over to the sliding doors. Jim opened them and both men stepped out onto their large balcony. Jim had already set out the brandy, so both sat down and shifted their chairs so they were close together. After Jim poured, they took up their snifters and allowed the brandy to warm a bit as they gazed out over Paradise Pier and the spectacular lights from the park. From their balcony they could see both the Ferris wheel and rollercoaster as well as much of the pier area of California Adventure. Why they both enjoyed the sight was a question neither could answer, but somehow the entire view spelled their life now.

Jim reached out and took Blair's hand after the younger man had placed his brandy snifter on the small table. Holding the warm hand to his chest, he said with a smile in his voice, "Who knew?"

"Yeah," Blair said simply.

"So both Diane and Karen Porter are deceased?" Stiller asked as he leaned over Mackie's shoulder to see the report.

"Yes. Killed almost a year ago. Traffic accident."

Stiller's hand fisted as he asked, "The boy?"

"Not with them," Mackie said, relief evident in his voice. "I have a call in to a Boston resident who's listed here as a friend of Karen Porter's. She was evidently staying with the woman. We may be very close now."

Stiller took a seat at the desk the Boston agency had temporarily assigned him, and said, "But obviously this Porter woman isn't … can't be the parent who ordered the child, and it's completely obvious Diane Porter isn't, so what was going on?"

"An educated guess would be that our wonderful Charbeau took the Lloyd child and kept him. That's why there were no records on the parents who ordered a blue-eyed, blond boy; the delivery was never made."

"Yeah," Stiller said quietly, "that makes sense in a warped kind of way. So you're thinking the boy is with the friend? Or is there another relative?"

"No other relatives. Karen and Diane Porter were it."

"McNamara, you have a call on five," another agent said as he poked his head in the open doorway.

"Thanks." With a look at his partner, Mackie picked up the phone and punched the blinking line.

The decision to do California Adventure first was obviously spurred on by the fact that Jake had slept with Mickey's face just outside his window. While he wasn't certain he wanted to try the "rolley coaster" that bore Mickey's likeness, he knew he wanted to go on the giant ferris wheel next to it. They all unanimously decided to eat "brekkie" in the park itself, so in spite of the reappearance of the dark clouds from the previous evening, they headed out.

The walk to CA took minutes, thanks to the hotel having its own entrance. They got their hands stamped and entered at the ride Jake was most excited about; The Grizzly River Run. They could see the huge grizzly profile and Jake immediately scampered off, Rosie on the run to catch him.

"Whoa, Jake, let's wait for your folks, okay?" she said as she caught him with a laugh.

"but… but—"

"But here they come, and we have Fast Pass, which means we have to check to see what time we're supposed to ride, okay?"

Looking up at his companion, Jake frowned and said, "fastpass?"

Rosie waved a hand in an all encompassing motion and said, "Look at all the people, honey. The line is probably huge so we have a special pass that lets us go right in but only at our scheduled time. See?"

Jake scratched his chin and said, "okay… so when do I get to go?"

"In one hour and fifteen minutes, Jake," Jim said as he and Blair caught up to the two. "Just enough time for some—"

"brekkie!" Jake said triumphantly.

"You got it, Hoss. So let's go find some grub," Blair added.

"how?"

"Well, I just happen to have this nifty super duper map here," Jim said as he unfolded said map, "courtesy of the hotel, so let's see…."

"There," Blair pointed. "Baker's Field Bakery. Says light breakfast and it has… hot chocolate."

Jake said, "which way, daddy? gotta have my hot chocoooola-teeee."

"Follow us, Hoss, and hot chocolate shall be yours. Of course, what I want to know is: who would have thought we'd need it in Southern California in August?" Blair asked.

Jim looked up at the sky and said, "Well, if it doesn't rain within the next couple of hours, I'm turning in my detective badge."

"I'm not leaving if it rains, poppy, I'm not, no matter what."

They started walking toward the front of the park as Jim said, "You think we'd leave just because of a bit of California rain? I don't think so, Hoss. We can handle any weather this state throws at us, right?"

Jake put up his hand, Jim slithered his over it, and Jake said, "you betcha, poppy! we be the bestest!"

"If it does rain, Mister Ellison, the park has both rain ponchos and umbrellas for a very nominal fee," Rosie offered.

"Well, there you go then. And please, Rosie, it's Jim—"

"And Blair," Blair finished for his partner.

Rosie blushed, took Jake's hand and, together, they ran a few feet ahead, eager to see what was around the corner.

Shaking their heads, Jim and Blair could only follow.

Breakfast consisted of pastries, croissants, and fruit cups; Blair's effort to make it look as though their son was eating healthfully. Rosie and Jake had hot chocolate while Jim and Blair enjoyed a couple of lattes. The snack shop was housed within a beautiful replica of one of the old Super Chiefs that used to populate the American railroad system. While they munched happily, it started to sprinkle, then rain. Jake high-fived his father as men, women and children darted out of the downpour and took shelter wherever they could. The downpour continued and people (tourists who were new to California) began to move toward the exits, while the Californians simply walked over to the souvenir shop called "Greetings from California" and came out wearing bright yellow or blue rain ponchos.

After licking his fingers, Jake, his upper lip sporting a whipped cream moustache, said matter-of-factly, "I want a bright yellow one, daddy."

"I'm thinking we just pop you into a trash bag and carry you through the park tossed over your poppy's shoulder until it stops raining, Munchkin."

Jake had just picked up his mug of chocolate with both hands so he slurped the last of it, licked his lips and said, "humph."

"Oh, yeah, you've scared him, all right," Blair said with a smile.

"Noticed that, did you?" Smiling, Jim got to his feet and said, "I'm going to run over and get us some ponchos, pitch black for yon Master Porter there, and I'll be right back. Sandburg, you pay for breakfast."

After Jake snorted at the "pitch black" remark, Blair rolled his eyes at Rosie and said, "See how I'm always 'Sandburg' when it comes to paying for things?"

"or when you do something wrong, daddy. like I'm jacob michael porter then."

"Thanks, Jacob Michael Porter," Blair said dryly.

"huh-oh."

Their Fast Pass time for Soarin' Over California was quickly approaching, which disappointed Jake, who expected the River Run to come first. But once Blair explained the ride, he perked up slightly, especially after Blair told him the Grizzly ride was next. They strolled over to the Golden Gate section of the park and found the ride easily. The clock over the Fast Pass sign was right on time for them and Jim quickly showed the pass. The young attendant looked down at Jake and said, "He'll need to stand over here as he may not be tall enough, sir."

Seeing Jake's shocked and horrified expression, Blair looked over at Jim, who, with a wink, nodded. Blair leaned down and whispered, "It's a done deal, Hoss. Go ahead."

Looking only slightly more hopeful, Jake walked slowly over to the sign, turned around and, at the attendant's instructions, put his back against the sign. The attendant patted him on the top of the rain hood, which, along with his super duper flashing tennis shoes, gave him enough height, and said, "You're in, son."

Smiling hugely, Jake took a flying leap and landed in his father's arms. "daddy, daddy, I'm tall 'nuff', I'm tall 'nuff!"

"Yes, you are, Jake. Yes, you are," Blair said as he kissed Jake's nose. "Let's go in and see this wonderful state, okay?"

Sliding his hood back with both hands, Jake grinned and said, "duh."

They went inside, followed the long trail, delighted in the absence of any line, and were finally put into what could only be called a holding pen. Above them, a screen showed all types of planes soaring overhead; obviously meant to keep them occupied until their turn on the ride. Eventually the doors slid open and they, along with about ten others, were shown into the huge theater.

Inside the cavernous space several seats resembling porch swings hung suspended from the ceiling. They were led to the front row and Jim immediately picked Jake up and set him in his seat. Because of his size, an extra part of the seat belt had to be used, so Jim buckled him in firmly. Patting his leg, he said, "You going to be all right when this thing lifts up into the air?"

Eyes shining in the semi-darkness, Jake simply nodded. He didn't look in the least bit scared so Jim took his seat next to him, with Blair on the other side, Rosie next to Blair.

A voice came over the speaker, letting them know what they could expect, and then the ride started very slowly.

The huge screen in front of them came alive with blue skies and white wispy clouds while at the same time their seats began to lift high into the air. Jake, legs barely swinging over the edge of his seat, grabbed both father's hands and, grinning widely, watched as suddenly he became a plane – soaring over California.

Their seats dipped and moved like feathers up and down as their "plane" flew through the clouds. Cool air brushed their faces and ruffled Jake's curls as the clouds finally gave way to the incredible vistas of California. They flew over surfers riding waves and Jake immediately let go of Jim's hand to point and say loudly, "poppy!"

The four minute plus movie had them skimming over sky blue lakes and rivers, zigzagging down a mountain slope on the heels of skiers, soaring over vineyards, and even under the Golden Gate bridge. Jake, once again in command of both his parent's hands, had eyes the size of saucers as whiffs of oranges assailed them as they passed over orange fields, and salty air as they glided over the bay of San Francisco.

All too soon, the ride ended and they were returned to the ground. The lights came up and Jake was released, but immediately said, "wanna go again, daddy. can we, huh? can we, poppy?"

Laughing, they guided their junior flyer out as Jim placated him with, "Maybe later, Hoss. Maybe later. We still have a Grizzly River Run to get to and we have about ten minutes."

Jumping up and down, Jake clapped his hands and danced ahead of them, eager to ride the great Grizzly River.

As they walked more sedately behind their hyper son, Jim said, "I have to tell you, Chief, that ride was worth the entire trip."

"I agree. I can only imagine how much better it was with," he glanced over at Rosie and Jake and lowered his voice, "You know… your senses."

"I just let the whole thing wash over me, Chief. Just let it in and enjoyed."

Smiling up at him, Blair said, "I don't know which was more fun, watching you, the movie, or Jake."

Laughing, Jim said, "Jake, hands down."

The rain had let up, but much of the park had thinned out so lines weren't really an issue, which almost every attendant they met said was very unusual, even in the rain. Jim figured the dark clouds overhead had telegraphed to most visitors that the summer storm wasn't nearly through. He just hoped it would last through tomorrow too. He was just selfish enough to hope for the same lack of people while doing Disneyland.

The Grizzly River Run turned out to be a riot thanks to Jake. Rafting down the river, all buckled in, yellow coat whipping in the wind, and face dotted with moisture, he laughed, cringed, yelped, and giggled his way over the rapids. Rosie and he were clearly having a ball. Jim, on the other hand, required Blair's hand on his arm in order to ground himself. The overwhelming motion of the raft, along with the sudden onslaught of sound could have proven too much, but with Blair close and grounding him, he could sit back, focus and enjoy his son.

When the ride was over and Jim was lifting Jake out of the raft, he wasn't surprised by Jake's first words on terra firma.

"have to go on again, poppy. now."

With a fond shake of his head and a wink aimed at Blair, Jim led them all away and toward the next attraction.

"So, where to for lunch?" Jim asked several hours later as they exited California Dreams.

The rain had stopped while inside the theater that featured Whoopi Goldberg guiding the audience through the history of the state, but the dark clouds overhead promised more to come. Blair consulted the map and said, "Well, what sounds good? They have three places where we can actually sit down and eat, as opposed to a fast food type place. We can go Mexican, or we can go fish and other American type food."

"Where's the fish?" Jim asked.

"A place called Ariel's Grotto which, now that I think about it, sounds more like a good dinner spot so how 'bout Mexican?"

"burreeetos!"

Jim's eyebrow rose as he said, "I think we know Jake's choice, Chief."

"I wouldn't mind a taco, Blair," Rosie chimed in.

"I think we have consensus again."

"Well, then, lead on, Senor Blair-o."

Rolling his eyes, Blair headed toward the Cucina Cucamonga, which was on their way to the next section of the park: Paradise Pier.

"burp."

"Excuse me?" Jim asked with a shocked look at his son.

"mmm, burp?"

"Better out than in, man," Blair said, hiding his laugh.

"I was just going to say – that was a poor excuse for a burp."

"buuuurp."

"Much better, son."

Paradise Pier was a section of the park that definitely required sentinel expertise. It was full of color, noise, action and, in spite of the rain, seemed to be the most crowded. Considering this was the only part of the park with a roller coaster, that wasn't surprising. But it also had a boardwalk which captured Jake's attention immediately.

They spent their first hour playing games and winning stuffed sharks, clowns, seahorses and assorted other toys, with Jake actually winning his fair share. They used water pistols to move sharks in a race, and Jake won not once, but twice. He loved the bells ringing and the presentation of his toy, the first stuffed shark. Then when he won again and was allowed to choose between another shark of the same size, or a bigger one, well, it was no contest.

He gazed up at the ride, a rollercoaster that looked … awesome. He chewed his bottom lip.

"Come on, you can do it," Blair coached. "I'll be with you every step of the way."

"I… don't think so, Chief. Why don't you take them."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"All right. We'll be back soon."

"I'll just… sit over there." Jim pointed to a couple of benches.

"You got it. See you soon."

Blair walked back over to where Jake was bouncing, eager for his first 'rolley coasty' ride. Blair flashed the pass and they walked through. Lining up in the row as indicated by another friendly attendant, they waited for a car, then climbed in, with Jake in the middle. The body brace was lowered and Blair whispered, "You ready?"

"I be ready, daddy!"

And they were off.

In spite of all the precautions, Blair kept his arm across Jake as the ride started up its first crest. He watched as Jake's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, then his mouth opened….

…and they were on their way down.

Blair grinned into the wind, and blessed Karen Porter.

"I understand, Mrs. Webber. Yes, I see. Thank you for taking the time to return my call. Your help has been greatly appreciated. No, I'm afraid we can't tell you anymore than we have, but again, thank you."

manip by aly

Mackie closed his phone and turned into the offices. Walking over to his desk, he reached for one of his signature licorice whips and stuck it into his mouth. His partner grimaced.

"How the hell can you eat those things? And did you reach the lady and if so, what did she say?"

Guessing that his partner had managed to connect with Karen Porter's friend, he repeated, "What did she say?"

Grinning at his win, he stuck the whip back into his mouth, pushed it to the corner, and said, "Karen Porter was in Boston at the time of her accident because her daughter wanted to come home, but, the boy was in Cascade. And are you ready for this?"

"I'm ready for anything."

"The boy was left in the care of a Cascade Police detective by the name of Blair Sandburg, who lived in the complex owned by Mrs. Porter." Mackie's expression changed to one of almost sadness as he added, "She left a will assigning this detective full guardianship. He's in the process of adopting the boy and goes before the judge for the final decree in one month."

"Well, fuck."

"Yeah."

The two men stared at each other – until Mackie took his seat and picked up the phone to check with their boss on flight arrangements to Cascade.

The rain had finally stopped and the famous California sun had broken through. They'd finished with the boardwalk area of Pacific Pier and had headed over to It's A Bug's Land where Jake could simply run and enjoy. Jim and Blair were sitting on a bench resting as Rosie followed Jake, who was in seventh heaven – again. In front of Jim and Blair was a circular tiled area with small holes, all of which had Blair's full attention. Finally he pointed at the holes and said, "Think those are like the popping fountains like at the mall?"

"Yep. And now that the sun is back out, maybe they'll turn it on—"

Jim didn't have a chance to finish, thanks to the water which started popping out of the holes in a random pattern. It didn't take long for the dancing water to attract the attention of just about every child in the area, and it took even less for Jake, who seemed to have developed a sixth sense when it came to new attractions. Before either man could blink, he raced around the corner, the poncho hood flapping behind him. Jim made a snatch, snagged the edge of the poncho, and said, "Whoa there, Hoss. I know what you want to do, but how about taking off your shoes first? It'll be more fun."

Face registering his surprise that he'd be allowed to go barefoot, Jake promptly sat down on the ground and held out his leg. Laughing, Jim took one foot, Blair the other. Moments later a barefoot Jake attacked the fountain with unbridled glee. He stopped momentarily when he realized that the water couldn't be predicted, but that only seemed to make him happier. Curls plastered to his forehead, he ran helter-skelter, trying to catch the popping water with his hands or his mouth, his bare feet making a gentle slapping sound on the tiles. Other children were doing much the same, but many were more reticent, or just unsure. They also kept looking back at their parents, as if asking permission to show the same wild abandonment that a small four – almost five – year old in a yellow poncho was demonstrating.

After almost fifteen minutes, with children coming and going, Blair elbowed his partner and said, "Is it a good thing, or a worrisome thing that he could do this all day?"

Lowering the digital camera while observing the pure joy on his son's face, Jim said, "A good thing. A very good thing."

Blair squeezed Jim's arm in agreement.

"So, are we still good for Ariel's Grotto for dinner?" Blair asked from his spot on yet another bench.

Rosie, who was reading a book on Walt Disney that she'd purchased in the Disneyana store, lifted her head and nodded happily. "I heard someone say that… uhm, well, that Ariel is often there and you can have your picture taken with her. Also, Chip and Dale make appearances."

All three looked down at Jake, who was stretched across the laps of his fathers, head pillowed on Blair's sweater, sound asleep.

"Well," Blair said as he smoothed back the hair from Jake's cheek, "I'm pretty sure he could handle another encounter with the chipmunks, and I think he has a crush on Ariel, so I'm thinking… yeah, we do the Grotto. Jim, what say you?"

"I'm okay with it. It's almost dark and the Pier will look pretty good, so yeah, we do the Grotto. How much more time before we wake the sleeping prince?"

"Let's give him another fifteen, and it will have been two hours. Not a bad nap for being in the middle of California Adventure."

"Nope, not bad at all. And choosing the wine country for our little 'rest' was brilliant, Rosie."

"Thank you. The attendant at the ice cream stand said that it was lovely and secluded, with very few people."

Looking around at the grape vines, and enjoying the peace and quiet, Jim said, "Well, she was right. This has been a very nice two hours. Oh, and by the way, Sandburg? I think you're the one with the crush on Ariel."

Seeing Rosie's expression, Blair winked at her and said, "Nah, I'm more a Dale kind of guy."

The quiet and restful minutes passed deliciously slow as a few people wandered in and out of their wine paradise. Most had sleeping children in strollers and as each passed them, Jim grew more and more puzzled. Finally he poked his partner.

"Okay, we're in kidville and all the younger children are in strollers and if they aren't, mom and dad are pushing the strollers until the kids get tired and climb back in. Now I'm pretty quick and a good judge of children's ages so I've noticed that most are are older than our Jake. I've seen five, six and even seven year olds riding in the darn things. So why not the Jakemeister? In fact, we've never done the stroller bit. What's with that, Sandburg?"

"Boy, you're observant. Finally noticed the absence of a stroller, did we?"

"Har-har. So is it us, or them? Are we bad parents? Should he be in a stroller? Should we rent one?"

"Well, first off, strollers are really for parents. Hands free kind of thing, you know? Now do you mind the times when he likes being carried?"

"Hell, no. We've damn few years of that left, Sandburg."

"Okay, then. Second, our son… well, he kind of… well, to be blunt – he hates the damn things. He simply won't get in one. When I first met him—"

"The naked bicycle rider," Jim interjected when he noticed Rosie's rapt attention to their conversation."

"Right."

"What do you mean, 'the naked bicycle rider'?" Rosie asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. She knew Jake's background and how he'd come to Blair and Jim so this extra glimpse was enticing.

Blair grinned, looked down at the sleeping boy, and said, "He'd escaped the dreaded 'bath time' by getting away from his grandmother and running outside. Unfortunately, she'd managed to get him undressed so he ran out into the courtyard naked as a jaybird. He'd just received a tricycle and he jumped on it and pedaled off."

Rosie clamped a hand to her mouth as she tried to stifle the attack of the giggles.

"Anyway, I was just coming home and he nearly ran me down. I managed to stop him and then he inundated me with three year old gibberish. He was cackling and so proud of his 'escapeeeee' that it didn't bother him that he was talking to a complete stranger. I quickly bundled him up in my coat, then asked him to help me find my way home. He got back on the trike and led me to our gate."

"Okay, so now explain the stroller thing, Chief."

"A few days later -- I was off for three days, remember Jim? The sprained knee?"

"Oh, yeah, the Scott case."

"Right. So I was home and hobbling around—"

"You were supposed to stay off your leg, Chief."

Blair made a little yapping motion with his hand before continuing on. "So anyway, I was home and decided to sit out in the courtyard and soak up some sun. Karen came out with Jake in her arms and pushing a brand new stroller, so new, the tags were still on it. Anyway, she got the door closed, put him in the thing, and turned to say hi to me. That's when he shrieked bloody murder. I swear, both Karen and I jumped out of our respective skins. I know I was certain he was dying. I rushed over as fast as I could and he was trying to climb out and screeching and pounding the damn thing and we both thought it was going to collapse with Jake in it. In fact, it started to do just that and I barely managed to get him out in time.

"Karen was panicking, certain she'd done something wrong. By this time, he was happy as a clam, arms around my neck and occasionally shooting the dreaded stroller killer looks. Karen, exhausted by this time, led us over to one of the benches and we sat down. Jake made himself at home on my lap and while he played with the buttons on my shirt, Karen and I caught our breaths. Finally I had to ask him what the heck had happened. He shot another nasty look at the stroller and said simply, 'i can walk, i'm a big boy. that's for baybeeeees.' No matter what we said, he flatly refused to get back inside, insisting that he was 'growd up' and 'not eben supyman' would get him back inside the vehicle of baby death. That last part was mine."

Jim chuckled softly as he smoothed his hand down Jake's back. "Supyman, eh?"

"Yep. Now you know why no stroller – ever."

Jim got a speculative gleam in his eye and Blair frowned. "Jim?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Blair would have pursued it but Jake turned over, yawned, opened sleepy eyes, rubbed them, and said, "daddy?"

"Right here, Sport."

"poppy?"

"Present and accounted for, Hoss."

"I'm here too, Jake," Rosie chimed in with a grin.

Jake sat up, a shy smile on his face. "i napped goooood, didn't i?"

"You sure did," Blair agreed. "Ready for dinner now?"

Jake slid off Blair's lap, grabbed his backpack and nodded. "i be ready!"

Jim reached out and snagged Jake's shirt. Pulling him forward to stand between his legs, Jim said, a devilish grin on his face, "I bet you're beat, Jake. How 'bout we let daddy rent you a stroller?"

Jake's horrified expression more than backed Blair's story.

"poppy, no!" He puffed out his chest and added, "i don't need a stroller, i have you and daddy! only baybeeees use strollers and i'm almost… almost," he held out both hands, "ten!"

Nonplussed, Jim found his mouth opening and closing. Blair, stifling his laughter, said, "Well, ten is a little over five years away, but hey, who are we to quibble?"

Nodding in satisfaction, Jake pulled on Jim's hand, forcing him to rise. Once everyone was up, Jake headed off, once again confident that he would be faithfully followed.

He was.

Walking back out into the main part of California Adventure, Blair gave Jim a sharp poke in the ribs.

"is that where she sits, daddy?" Jake said as they were led through the front of the restaurant.

Following his pointing finger and spotting what looked like a giant – shell – throne, Blair nodded. "I'm betting… yep."

They had waited in line for over thirty minutes at the front of Ariel's Grotto, Jake in Jim's arms, head on his shoulder. Eventually it had been their turn to be seated which had entailed a walk down a large circular staircase that led into the "lobby" of the grotto. To their left, the dining room, to the right, an outside patio offering a great view of the lake and Boardwalk. Jim, at Blair's urging, had asked for one of the patio tables and they were being led there now.

"we get to eat outside, daddy?" Jake asked from Jim's arms, his head swiveling in every possible direction.

"Yep. You'll have a super duper view of the entire pier and Californian Screamin'. Plus the rides we're saving for after dark."

"yippeeee!"

Once at their table at the very end of the makeshift pier, Jake was placed on a booster seat next to Rosie. He looked around, eyes glittering as they reflected the many and varied neon lights of the park. Jim ruffled the curls and took his seat next to Blair. Menus were placed in front of each of them, including Jake, who immediately picked it up and began to study it with great concentration.

When the waitress came back, they ordered fish and chips for Jake and Rosie while Jim and Blair settled on the lasagna. Their meals came with both salad and French onion soup, which Blair assured Jake he would enjoy the same way he'd enjoyed onions in his Thanksgiving stuffing. It was the promise of a cheesy crusted piece of toast that floated on the top of the onion soup that tipped the scales and convinced him to try it. To him, it was like having croutons without the salad.

By the time their meals arrived, it was after eight and Jake thought it the coolest thing. He was up and eating dinner when if at home, he'd be getting ready for bed.

While enjoying their meal and the view, the park night-lights came on, soliciting a series of "ooohs" and "aaaahs" from Jake. Once the meal was finished, and while Jim and Blair relaxed over coffee, Rosie took Jake to the railing so he could watch the ducks and feed them saved bits of his French fries. Only the promise of "Night rides" could pry him from "my ducks".

"Our trip to Cascade is on temporary hold," Mackie said and he put the phone down.

"On hold? Why?"

"Briggs called our Cascade office. It seems this Sandburg is pretty interesting, as is his partner…."

Mackie drew it out, and at a 'gimme' gesture from Stiller, said, "Detective James Ellison."

"Ellison? You're kidding. He has quite a reputation in law enforcement. Sunshine Patriots, Brackett, the entire Curasco operation… Hell, he even brought down Zoeller, and let's not forget your old nemesis, Yuri. "

Mackie shook his head. "Not likely to. Ellison and his partner are something else."

"His partner? You mean Sandburg?"

Mackie nodded. "Sandburg began riding with Ellison over three years ago. Supposedly doing a paper on closed societies. Ellison, who had a good rep before Sandburg, now has a great one."

Stiller nodded, then figuring there was something else, asked, "Spill, partner."

"Doesn't the name 'Sandburg' ring a bell yet?"

Stiller frowned, ran through his mental rolodex of facts, then his face cleared as he said, "Shit, of course. He claimed his partner – Ellison -- was Superman."

"Yep. Then recanted and ruined his career."

"You're still not saying something, buddy."

"It's not what I'm not saying, it's what Briggs isn't saying."

"I hate it when you two go all zipped lip on me."

"Then let me really make your day – Briggs is an old buddy of Banks'."

"Hoss, maybe you should hold off on The Orange Zinger as your first ride after eating. Maybe we should try the Jumpin' Jellyfish?"

"jumpin' jellyfish?"

Blair squatted next to his son and pointed upward towards several long poles from which colorful parachutes seemed to be drifting down. "Jumpin' Jellyfish."

"ooooh. i could do that one, i could."

"Okay, then," Blair said, straightening. "Jumpin' Jellyfish it is."

The Jumpin' Jellyfish turned out to be a big hit with Jake. The ride took the participants high into the sky, then, after a few seconds, it brought its riders floating back down. The view from the top was incredible, but at night, it was particularly awesome, and for a sentinel, even more so. He had Jake with him while Blair and Rosie each had their own "Jellyfish". Jim was thoroughly enjoying his senses in a whole new way. With no worries, he could send his vision out and take in the entire vista from the park to the mountains, thanks to the closeness of Blair. Zoning simply wasn't a worry.

The Zinger appeared to be a huge orange that rose high in the sky and dominated the north end of the lake that Paradise Pier was built around. The ride itself was actually inside the orange, where Jake, Rosie and Blair would be loaded into a swing. Once the ride started, they'd be zipped around inside like a buzzing bee. Or several bees. As Jim stared up at it, he knew damn well he'd be sitting this one out too.

The good news was that the huge orange was 'peeled' so he'd be able to see inside and enjoy the sight of Jake's face as he zipped around and squealed in delight. Now he watched as they were indeed loaded and a few moments later, was enjoying his view of Blair, hair flying behind him, face almost as expressive as his son's.

Four happy but exhausted people walked slowly back to the hotel. Proof of Jake's exhaustion was the fact that he passed the Grizzly River ride and didn't so much as blink, let alone ask to go on it "one more time". They all made it upstairs to the suite and in less time than usual, Jake was down and sound asleep, Rosie not far behind.

Jim and Blair didn't even give a thought to the balcony, choosing instead to go to their bedroom suite and the sunken tub with the much needed whirlpool jets. They stripped down slower than two healthy, sexually-interested men should and, with grins, groans and aching muscles, climbed in, Jim first. Sliding down in front of him, Blair allowed himself to be pulled back and into the larger man's chest as he sighed happily.

"We've still got tomorrow to go, Chief," Jim said as, underwater, he rubbed Blair's stomach.

"Tomorrow? Heck, we still have LA to get through, Jim. Thank God we decided to skip Knott's Berry Farm."

Resting his head back and closing his eyes, Jim murmured, "We can do this. We're healthy, strong, young—"

"You're certainly two out of three…."

Sliding his hand lower, Jim said, "I'll show you young…."

Morning came with more clouds and a weather report that said simply, "You were here yesterday, well, same thing today, only more so."

Jim and Blair looked over at each other and quirked eyebrows. "So," Jim said, "does that mean more rain, or more sun?"

"You're the sentinel, you tell me, man."

Jim slipped into his jeans and said, "More rain, sun later -- maybe."

Putting on a sweatshirt, Blair said, "At least California rain is warm."

"where are we eating brekkie again?"

"It's called Carnation Plaza and you'll be able to have something you've never had, namely cinnamon roll French toast," Blair said as they walked through Downtown Disney to the Monorail that would take them into the park.

"but… but what 'bout my mickey mouse pancakes, daddy?"

"Well, they might have something as good, or maybe even better."

"what? what?"

Smiling down at him, Blair said, "Mickey Mouse …waffles."

It was obvious Jake was trying to picture a waffle shaped like Mickey and equally obvious that he was having difficulty doing it. Blair put his hand on Jake's head and said, "Don't worry, you'll be able to see everything first."

"'kay, but what if i don't want a waffle or a cinnameeeee bun frenchy toasty?"

"Then we'll find out where they serve Mickey Mouse pancakes and go there, okay?"

"'kay. i just don't think i should come to dizzyland and not have mickey pancakes, it would be wrong, daddy."

"Well, you could look at it this way," Blair reasoned as they boarded the Monorail. "You get Mickey Mouse pancakes at home all the time, but you've never had a Mickey Mouse waffle, and it's still all about Mickey Mouse."

As Blair sat down, Jim across from him with Rosie, Jake climbed onto Blair's lap, obviously intending to finish the very important subject of 'brekkie'. As the train moved slowly forward, he wasn't even interested in looking out the window as he said, "so if i have a mickey mouse waffle, i won't be hurting mickey?"

Slightly taken aback by that logic, and fully aware that Jim, with a smug "better you than me" expression on his face, was listening to every word, Blair managed to shake his head. "Uhm, no, Jake, I don't think you'll be… hurting… Mickey. I suspect that he'll be happy and proud that you tried both … uhm, you know, both Mickey – foods."

"oh." Jake bounced off Blair's lap and plastered himself to the window, palms on the glass.

Jim gave Blair a thumbs up sign. Blair stuck his tongue out at him.

The waffle was a big hit, as was the huge cup of hot chocolate that came with it. The only fly in the ointment arrived in the form of Jake saying, as they got up to leave, "i can't wait til you make me mickey mousy waffles at home, daddy!"

Jim gave Blair another thumbs up sign, and Blair stuck out his tongue again.

Never having been to Disneyland, both Jim and Blair were surprised when, looking at the map so helpfully provided, they discovered the place resembled a baseball field's home plate. Sure, it had its odd pockets in far corners, but basically, they would be traversing … home plate.

Walking down Main Street USA proved a real temptation for Jake, who had to ride the "horsey wagon" and the "toot-toot wagon" and the "toot-toot taxi" as he called all the turn-of-the-century vehicles taking tourists up and down the long street. The stores held little charm for him, other than the very first one which was called The Emporium. Evidently it was world famous for its storefront window displays which often featured delightful scenes from Disney movies and cartoons. It was wisely decided that since they'd pass the store on their way out, they'd do some looking then. Jake seemed satisfied with that, especially since ahead of him, rising majestically into the sky – was Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Unlike the previous day when zigzagging had been their watchword, they decided to move clockwise through Disneyland which placed Adventureland first on their list of lands to visit. At that news, Jake went stubborn. He just had to go to the castle first, "cuz cherry said so". Eventually Blair managed to talk thanks to the promise of the Jungle Cruise as his first ride. Jake still got the last word.

"okay, but when it's time, we have to go in the front way, poppy. we just have to! cherry said it's the only way to go into the castle!"

After being assured that they'd go in the "front" way, Jake scampered several feet ahead, chanting, "elfants, lions, tigers and big snakeeees, yippee!"

Laughing, they quickly followed, Rosie racing ahead to catch up their Jungle Jake.

"…and now, the one sight never seen by human eyes," their guide waved a lazy hand in the air, "the … back of water!"

Jake squealed in delight and bounced on his father's lap at the idea of seeing the back of water. Blair could barely conceal his laugh. When they'd entered their boat for the cruise, Blair and Jake had been guided around so that they ended up in the front, while Jim and Rosie were guided to their right, thus seated directly opposite. It was actually the perfect arrangement as they could watch Jake's delight with the ride, and fifteen year old Rosie's crush on their handsome young "Jungle Guide" who'd identified himself as Jack.

manip by aly

Jack, recognizing a rarity, namely a four year old who wasn't afraid, spent the ride having a ball with Jake. While other small children and toddlers were cowering, napping, or hiding, Jake was twisting and turning and trying to see everything all at once. At several points in the ride, Blair had serious concerns that Jake would abandon ship and jump overboard. Jake laughed riotously when they came upon the "lost safari" and the camp that had been taken over by gorillas. He gasped delightedly as he pointed at the hippos with the wiggling ears right after Jack said, "They're only dangerous when their ears wiggle" and clamped his hands over his ears when Jack took out his gun and fired down into the water. He then immediately tried to go overboard to "make sure the hippy hippo is okay, daddy!" Jack assured him that he only fired to get them "to go back under water and play".

The elephants bathing also earned a good try at going overboard as Jake just had to join the baby "ephants" who knew a good thing when they saw it.

When the boat came into view of the dock, Jim, Blair and Rosie weren't disappointed when Jake offered up his California Adventure and Disneyland motto, "wanna go again, poppy."

But the next ride had Jim worried. It was Pirates of the Caribbean and according to the blurb on their map, it went underground and took place almost entirely in the dark, not to mention it was apparently full of skeletons, shootings, and burning villages. When Jim expressed his concerns to Blair after their fun in the whirlpool tub, Blair had started laughing so hard, he'd actually fallen off the bed.

Turned out Blair's lack of concern had been right on the money.

The calm opening of the ride lulled all of them until they entered the tunnel and a pirate voice intoned, "Beware all ye who enter here…."

No one was surprised when he bounded out of the boat saying, "wanna go again, daddy."

"So we're on hold?"

Mackie fiddled with his pen, eyes focused on his blotter as he nodded.

"They're on vacation?"

"In Southern California. Be back in another couple of weeks," Mackie said as the pen flip-flopped over his fingers.

"You're taking it well, this being on hold business," Stiller said as he picked up the coffee cup from Starbucks.

"If that boy is the Lloyd child, I'm not looking forward to taking him from two people who are totally innocent in all of this. Two people who put their lives on the line every day of the week. Two people who have been calling that boy 'son' for nine, ten months. So yeah, right now, I'm okay with being on hold."

"And the Lloyds? Who had that child for eleven months before he was taken from them?"

The pen dropped with a soft plop as Mackie's eyes remained focused on the blotter.

manip by aly

Mackie put the key into the lock, turned it, and pushed the front door open. He set his coat down on the chair in the foyer, dropped the mail onto the small table, and kicked off his shoes. The television in the living room was on, but the room itself was empty. He checked his watch. Ah, bath time. He started upstairs and, by the time he hit the landing, could hear his son's giggles along with his wife's soft words.

He paused in the hall and listened as the sound filled him to the point that he had to see his son, Mark. He pushed open the bathroom door and smiled at the sight.

His wife, Catherine, was on her knees in front of the tub, sleeves pushed up beyond her elbows, hair tied back in a very young looking ponytail. His fourteen-month old son sat in the yellow tub float, hair spiked with shampoo, hands slapping the water delightedly.

"Hey," he said softly.

Catherine turned her head and smiled. "You're home early. Care to join us?"

Mackie unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. A moment later, he was down on his knees, arms in the water up to his elbows and trying to find Mark's yellow ducky. When his fingers slipped around it, he leaned over and kissed Mark on the nose. The action brought forth a parade of giggles and clutching fingers as Mark reached for his 'da'.

Watching his son's fingers, grasping them with his own, feeling the wonder of the small life, Paul McNamara doubted that he'd ever be able to give his son up – no matter what.

Jim's eyes were closed, but not because he was napping. They were waiting their turn to enter the Haunted Mansion and, once again, he was worried. Another underground ride with spooks, ghosts and goblins, but this haunted house was nothing like the one from the carnival. Once again Blair was smiling and certain that Jake would love it. Rosie, who'd been on it many times, had already given Jake a good idea of what to expect, and he was more than ready.

A squeeze on his arm got Jim's attention and he opened his eyes to look down into Blair's. At that moment, his world shifted and for a brief second he was back in a hospital room with a young guy calling himself "Doctor McKay". He blinked, looked again, and smiled. Same guy – only – different. So very different. Still beautiful, still short, but now small lines of life and laughter spread out lightly from the corners of his eyes. The hair was still long and curly, the mouth wide and generous, but now the blue eyes held a maturity that matched the wisdom Jim had seen so long ago. He glanced over Blair's shoulder to where Jake was seated on a brick ledge with Rosie beside him. They were talking and digging into Rosie's souvenir sack, clearly not interested in anything Jim and Blair were doing. With a sense of privacy, Jim placed his hand on Blair's arm and said, "Do you know why I came to your office that day almost four years ago?"

"Sure. I was a hunk and you couldn't resist me," Blair said with a smirk.

"Besides that," Jim said with a huff.

Hearing the edge of seriousness in Jim's voice, Blair's expression went thoughtful as he answered, "Because you knew you needed help?"

"So I should have trusted you?"

Blair laughed and said, "Good point. Okay, why?"

"The wisdom in your eyes. For all your posturing in that hospital examining room, there it was. Deep, strange, but there. On the outside, you were a young kid, but in those eyes," he tenderly touched the corner of Blair's right eye, "I saw the wisdom of the ages."

Blair didn't know what to say so opted for stunned silence.

"And of course, you were cute, short… a hunk," Jim finished with a smile.

With a grin, Blair said, "Knew it all the time. My hunkiness gets 'em all in the end."

Before Jim could answer, an attendant, dressed like a servant from the nineteenth century, opened the Fast Pass gate and allowed them to enter. It was finally their turn.

They were led up to a large front door where a group of about twenty others stood. The door was opened and after being ushered inside, they were guided into what appeared to be a gallery room. Blair, knowing what was coming, whispered to Jim, who nodded and immediately hoisted Jake onto his shoulders. When the doors of the gallery room closed, the lights blinked out to be replaced by a muted, scary glow. A ghostly voice welcomed them to the mansion and called their attention to the pictures that surrounded them. Jim gripped Jake's legs a bit tighter as they listened to the voice tell them about each family member as they appeared in their "corruptible mortal state."

Blair stood next to Jim with Rosie in front of him. When the pictures seemed to be moving, he watched his son's surprise turn to amazement as Jake whispered, "we're going down, poppy!"

Looking up, Blair said, "Are you sure, Jake? Maybe the pictures are going… up," he finished spookily.

Giggling, Jake shook his head hard and said, "no, we be going down, down, down."

art by Lorraine

The voice went on to encourage them all to notice that there was no way out of the room they occupied, but that they were free to choose his way out. The lights went out then and lightning struck overhead. Everyone looked up only to find the dangling body of their suicidal host. Jake's hands clamped onto Blair's head as he said, "ooooooh, daddeeee!"

Stroking his son's legs, he whispered, "Look over there, they're opening the door now."

Sure enough, the doors were sliding open to reveal a dark corridor known as the Hallway of Changing Portraits. It was long and dimly lit by replicas of gaslights from the turn of the century. To their right, five portraits ran the length of the hall. As they walked, the pictures changed without warning and allowed them to see what the person looked like in the ghostly world. Jake seemed fascinated by the knight on horseback, and when it turned into a ghostly specter, he hid his eyes with his hands.

They continued on and turned a corner where a moving ramp held their "doom buggy", a black carriage that turned around so that they could enter and sit for the actual ride. Rosie declared that she wanted a buggy of her own, so Jim, Jake and Blair got into the next one. Jake sat on Jim's lap and was delighted when the voice, now coming through speakers inside, told them not to touch the safety bar, as a ghost would do it for them. Sure enough, and to Jake's delight, the bar moved forward.

The ride had officially begun.

A moment later, they entered the séance room and once again Jim and Blair found one hand quickly captured, but now in excitement. The flying bells, drums, and other musical instruments kept his attention until their buggy turned and he could see the table and the crystal ball – with what appeared to be a living face encased inside. As they slowly passed it, the "trapped" woman intoned, "Goblins and ghoulies from last Halloween, awaken the spirits with your tambourine…."

Jake's eyes nearly popped out their sockets as he whispered, "ohmy…."

He was not a happy camper when they left the séance room and wanted their ghost to turn the buggy around and go back… until Jim pointed out that they'd entered a grand ballroom. This was so fascinating to Jake that he once again let go of his parents' hands and gripped the safety bar as he leaned as far forward as possible to see everything as the buggy traveled the length of the long ballroom.

Up to this point, Jim and Blair hadn't said much, other than the occasional, "Oooh, look at that," but now they found themselves constantly pointing and saying, "Do you see that, Jake?"

Dancers, duelers, a birthday party, ghostly heads coming out of the grand organ; Jake caught it all, clapping gleefully every time something new was pointed out. As the buggy moved away, Jake's expression saddened as he leaned forward to wave good-bye to "my ghostie friends".

They entered a room called the Attic then, and for some reason, this did nothing for him. It was interesting, but too messy to keep his attention. He didn't perk up until they left and seemed to go outside. The buggy dipped way back until Jake was literally lying on his father. Blair wrapped his arms around him and kissed the top of the curly head. Jake giggled, but then the buggy straightened and turned. To their right stood a rickety old man with an equally rickety dog. Both their knees were shaking as the man raised his lantern and warned Jim, Blair and Jake to go no further into what appeared to be a cemetery.

The ride had Jake's interest again, and once more Jake embraced the ghosts that haunted the cemetery as his own personal "ghosties". He enjoyed the party-like atmosphere, the singing, the ghostly orchestra, and the singing busts. As their buggy turned for the final portion of the ride, three ghostly hitchhikers stuck out their thumbs and Jake immediately said, "hop on, there's room!"

He was surprised when, as the buggies moved up the ramp toward the exit, the buggy was turned in order to face a mirror. But he was even more surprised and delighted to find one of the hitchhiking ghosts almost sitting on his lap. Jake did a double take, looked at the spot between them, then back at the mirror, then watched, mesmerized, as Jim seemed to put his hand under the ghost's chin and pat it. Jake could see it in the mirror, but not in the buggy. Blair took Jake's hand and placed it on the ghost's "tummy" and Jake, seeing it in the mirror, giggled wildly and rubbed the paunchy stomach. Then it was over and they were getting out. They had to take a moving ramp that carried them up, but before they exited, Jake's attention, along with everyone else's, was captured by a shelf to their left. A small doll of a woman who seemed to be made out of glass stood on the shelf, her face the only mobile part. In an inviting voice, she said, "Hurry back, and make sure you bring your death certificate. We'll be dying to have you…."

Jake refused to move. He braced himself on the railing and, standing on tiptoe to avoid the moving ramp, kept watching, totally enraptured by her. Finally Jim lifted him up and urged, "We're holding up the line, Hoss. Gotta go."

"but-but-but—"

"But now, kiddo. Come on." He plopped him down on his shoulders as they continued outside… and into rain.

"huh-oh, poppy. you should have let me stay, see?" Jake said as he was quickly lowered and his poncho pulled out of his pack.

"But there's so much else to see," Blair said reasonably as they ducked under some shelter so they could all don their rain gear. "If you'd stayed in the Haunted Mansion, you'd miss Tom Sawyer's island, O Great Ghost Lover."

Adjusting his hood, Jake swiped at his face and said, "kay, but wanna go see my ghostie friends later, 'kay?'

"Absolutely."

Protected against another day of strange California August rain, they headed out of the Mansion area and back towards New Orleans Square via the back paths. For a reason only Jake knew, the shops beckoned, so Jim and Blair trailed behind as Jake and Rosie jumped ahead. Jake darted in and out of stores apparently searching for something in particular, something each new store failed to deliver. His disappointment growing, a worried Blair finally took him aside and, on his knees before the pouting boy, asked, "Okay, Jake, what's up?"

Lower lip trembling, Jake looked down at his wet shoes, scuffed the ground a bit, and finally murmured, "no ghosties. I want my very own ghost, daddy. I thought there'd be one in a store, but there isn't. there just isn't."

Jim, hearing the complaint, used his sentinel sight and quickly scanned the remaining stores. With a smile, he leaned over and quickly whispered in Blair's ear. Eyes bright with understanding, Blair fussed with Jake's poncho a bit, then with a small, secretive grin, said, "Well, have you looked over there?" He pointed to a store called, "Le Bat en Rouge".

Seeing it, Jake frowned and took a couple of steps forward, the water on the pavement sloshing. He stopped, turned back – and seeing both parents smiling encouragingly – bit his lower lip before turning around and taking several more tentative steps toward the entrance.

Rosie came out of a store called Cristal d' Orleans carrying a bag in her hand. Seeing Jake peeking in the door of another shop, she glanced over at Blair, who just grinned and mouthed, "Watch."

Slowly Jake went inside, finger to his mouth. All three hurried over. Inside, Jake had pushed his hood off and was now standing in the middle of the spooky store, eyes wide, mouth open. Blair moved to his side, squatted next to him, and said, "See anything you like?"

There was so much to see, Jake clearly didn't know where to start. He immediately recognized his favorite characters from "The Nightmare Before Christmas", but he also spotted every favorite villain in Disney history. Jake simply could not move. Blair stood, scanned the shop, and spotted a stuffed character he suspected Jake would love. He moved quickly to the shelf, took it down, and came back.

"How 'bout this, Hoss?"

He held the stuffed version of their hitchhiking ghost out and watched as the blue in Jake's eyes brightened.

"my ghostie, daddy. you found me my very own ghostie!" Taking it, Jake hugged it to him as he moved his body side to side in an almost dreamy state. Grinning, Jim high-fived his partner.

Now that he had his ghostie, Jake had no difficulty navigating the store. Nor did he stop at just collecting his hitchhiker. He also managed to talk his parents into buying him Zero, Jack's ghost of a dog from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and his first Disneyland cap, in this case, a Haunted Mansion baseball cap that said, "I got out alive" and finally, his favorite reminder: a small 'doom buggy' replica that was nearly perfect in its design.

Satisfied, Jake marched out of the store with his hat on his head, but safely protected by his rain hood. His doom buggy was tucked away in his backpack while his ghostie rested in his arms but under the protection of the yellow plastic. Rosie didn't come out empty handed either. In her backpack, she now had a stuffed "Sally" from Nightmare. Jim and Blair walked about behind their charges, both sporting their new baseball caps that matched Jake's. Both were also wearing souvenir Haunted Mansion pins.

Adventureland continued to excite Jake as they finally started to make their way over to the Rivers of the World and, hopefully, the ferry that would take them across to Tom Sawyer's Island. They had only gone a few feet when Jim grabbed Blair's arm and pulled him close.

"The island is closed, Chief. The rain," he said softly.

"How do you—"

Jim gave him the sentinel look and Blair said, "Oh. Yeah. That. So, what, you can see a sign or something?"

"That and I can hear folks being told as they walk up. We're going to need to distract him somehow."

Rosie, seeing that Jim and Blair had stopped, captured Jake's attention and kept him from going any further. Blair glanced over at their son, then back up at Jim. "Okay, got any bright ideas?"

Jim crooked his thumb to their left and said, "Critter Country?"

Shaking his head, Blair said, "You know his opinion of that, Jim. We'll never get him over to what he calls, 'kiddie land'."

Jim chuckled as he said, "He's four years old, has a ball in It's a Bug's Life and yet he calls Critter Country 'kiddie land'? Amazing. How can he be so young, and so old at the same time?"

Blair shrugged, and said, "Look, it's almost lunchtime, why don't we see about The Golden Horseshoe for the show and lunch, then we can sneak him out that way, and to the entrance of Fantasyland?"

"What about Thunder Mountain?"

"We can get to it from Fantasyland without him seeing Tom Sawyer's Island. And who knows, maybe later, it'll be open."

The look Jim favored him with told Blair just what Jim thought of that possibility.

Blair shrugged and without facing Jake or Rosie, said loudly, "Anyone hungry?"

Jumping up and down, Jake said, "I am, I am, daddy!"

The Golden Horseshoe's next show was in less than fifteen minutes, but due to the rain and thus reduced tourists, tables were available. They were ushered in and, thanks to a beseeching look from Jake, were seated in the balcony. Once settled on his booster seat, they got him out of his poncho, got his backpack removed and his face dried off. Now that he could look around, he loved the place instantly as he realized that he was in a saloon straight out of the old west.

Jim, eyebrow arched at the pronunciation of 'television', said, "Yep, we're in an old time saloon, buddy. And after we eat, we're going to get to see a real show, just like in the cowboy days."

Jake shot what could only be called a four year old's version of a withering glance at Rosie. He wagged his finger at her and said, "you didn't tell me about this, rosie. you boo-booed."

Laughing, she said, "That's because I've never come in here, Jake. I was always racing around while mom and dad did the Horseshoe."

"'kay," he said magnanimously, instantly forgiving her the transgression.

Everyone laughed at his tone, and Jake, only slightly puzzled, said, "what's for lunch, daddy? can I have a bronco burger?"

With a 'huh' look at Jim, Blair said, "Bronco burger, Jake?"

"cowboys, daddy," he said patiently.

"Ah. Well, let's see." Blair picked up the menu, perused it, then said, "You can have a 'Little Doggie', or a … well, what do you know, you can have a Bronco burger, Jake. And they have chuckwagon chili too. What say you?"

"burger 'n chili, daddy, please?"

"You got it."

After perusing the menu, Jim, Blair and Rosie were ready to order when their waiter arrived. Jim matched his son's order while Rosie chose a salad with her chili, as did Blair. Chocolate milk for Jake, coffee for Jim and Blair, and a diet soda for Rosie rounded out their order. Considering the amount of time the 'theater' had to take orders, serve, and clean up before the show started, they knew the food would be very much pre-prepared, so all were surprised at how good it was, especially the mild chili which was warm and filling, yet with just enough kick to keep both parents and children happy. When the meal was over, the staff moved quickly around the large 'saloon', clearing the tables and offering dessert. They all ordered the bread pudding with more coffee for Jim and Blair and hot chocolate for Rosie and Jake.

It was while everyone was enjoying their desserts that the show started. The lights went down and a moment later, a huge spotlight hit the curtains on the stage. For the next few minutes, Jake was an active participant in the show, laughing, giggling, and having a riotous time as they were entertained by singers, ropers, and dancers. As fun as it was, though, it was just about twenty minutes too long for an active four year old. By the time it ended, a squirrelly Jake was more than willing to get up, get back into his poncho (Jim's idea, since he was the only one aware that while inside, a deluge had started), and head out. As the building emptied, people weren't all that eager to actually leave, thanks to the downpour. Fortunately, there was a covered wooden sidewalk and people simply stretched out along its length, or went into the stores next door in hopes that the rain would at least lessen.

It was obvious to Jim and Blair that Jake in a store, after an hour constrained within the Horseshoe, was not going to work. Jim glanced over at the shooting galleries across the way, then at Rosie who was gazing with longing at the shops. He gave Blair a look, and Blair rolled his eyes. "All right, I'll go with Rosie while you take the sharpshooter across town," he said with a rolling drawl.

"Good thinkin', pardner. Meet you yonder in twenty."

Shaking his head, Blair took Rosie and headed for the Bonanza Outfitters while Jim lifted Jake and, at a run, headed for the shooting galleries. Once under the shelter of the gallery, he pulled Jake's hood down and set him on one of the boxes at the short counter that held the rifles.

Tweaking a curl, Jim said, "Okay, pard, you ready to start shooting?"

Face sparkling with joy, Jake nodded enthusiastically so Jim turned him around and plucked down a dollar. When the attendant took the money, Jim lifted the weapon, leaned over, and placed it in the appropriate position for Jake. He guided Jake's hand to the trigger and said, "Okay, you see this?" He pointed at the sight piece, and at Jake's nod, said, "This is how you aim. You close your left eye, and peer through these two pieces of metal until you see what you're going to fire at, okay?"

Jake nodded eagerly, but when he got his first glimpse of his targets, namely rivers of cute ducks and fields of equally sweet squirrels and rabbits, his joy deflated like a punctured balloon. Jim, seeing it, smiled gently and took the gun from Jake's hands.

"How 'bout you just watch me until daddy and Rosie get back?"

Eyes bright with unshed tears, Jake shook his head, and slowly Jim put the rifle down, lifted his son into his arms, kissed his cool cheek, and said, "You know what I think we should do, Hoss?"

"what?" came the tremulous answer.

"I think we should go get you an Indian chief's hat. What do you think?"

"a real one, poppy?"

"Absolutely, positively. And Jake?"

Blue eyes, only slightly brighter, but with an edge of unhappiness still present, blinked at him, and Jim said gently, "I'm very proud of you, Son."

"you… are?"

"Yep. You're very brave. Now come on, let's get that Indian hat."

Smiling again, Jake nodded and Jim put his hood back up as once again they had to make a run for it, stopping only when Jim got them to the Westward Ho Trading Company. Inside, he set his son down and watched as he looked around, spotted the feathered hats, and immediately ran over to pick one up.

"how's this one, poppy?"

"That's you, Jake. That's definitely you."

Jake took off his cap and put on chief hat, then grinned and looked in the mirror. He nodded and tried to look wise, but ended up giggling instead. Jim made a twirling motion with his finger and Jake did a nifty pirouette that brought him up against his other father's leg.

Staring up at Blair, eyes gleaming with joy, Jake said, "daddy, daddy, lookee, lookee, I'm a chief, just like you!"

Blair smiled down at his Indian son as Rosie came up behind and whistled her approval. Five minutes later, they walked out, Jake with his Haunted House cap tucked into his pack, his chief's headdress replacing it on his head and safely under the hood. As they watched him stride out of the store looking as if his head was three times larger than his body, Jim and Blair shared a grin.

The deluge finally ended and the group made their way out over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad without their junior chief noticing Tom Sawyer's Island. He was so excited at the idea of the ride, nothing else mattered. The rain had dropped to a drizzle and the walk to the ride was fun as, naturally, Jake had to find every puddle and jump into it. Overhead and to the west, the sun was just starting to peek through the clouds, promising a sunnier late afternoon.

Blair checked their Fast Pass for Thunder Mountain, and found that they were actually late, but still within the window that allowed them to go right in, not that it would have mattered. Thanks to the heavy rain, the ride was virtually empty and they were quickly put into one of the rail cars. Rosie and Jim took one seat and Blair and Jake the one in front. Once again a safety bar was dropped down and, with a clankety-clank sound, the train began its run. Since Thunder Mountain was a much slower ride than California Screamin' or any typical type of roller coaster, Jim felt comfortable giving it a try and he wasn't disappointed.

The idea of the ride was that it basically climbed up the mountain and – of course – headed back down fast with the typical curves and not so typical water. Jake got a kick out flying beneath dinosaur bones before hitting more water while Jim found himself lowering his hearing to avoid going insane thanks to the screeching behind him. There were more curves, then the last hurrah, an almost straight drop down – and into – more water.

When the ride ended, Jim felt like his senses had been through the ringer – a fun ringer – but a ringer nevertheless. As he exited with a flushed-faced Rosie, he glanced ahead at his bouncing, bopping son who was, naturally, saying, 'gotta go again, daddy."

Jim smiled and thought that maybe he'd go again too.

Following the map, Blair led them to the front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, via a side route that had them crossing a small bridge over a lovely pond filled with swans and ducks. They started through the gate but Jake pulled away from his father and ran in the opposite direction. Stumped, everyone paused until they realized he was literally going to the very front. He stood expectantly and, with parental shrugs, Jim, Blair, and Rosie joined him. Nodding firmly, Jake looked up pointedly, and Blair lifted him up and onto his shoulders. He suspected he had Cherry to thank for this little ritual.

"kay, daddy, we can go in now."

"Aye, aye, sir!"

Jim laughed, saluted and added his, "Aye, aye, Captain Jake, sir!"

They entered Sleeping Beauty's castle, or rather – Fantasyland. Unfortunately, the courtyard held a treasure trove of shops, including a magic store as well as the entrance to the actual castle. Jake was clearly torn. Magic, or castle? Cherry had told him he absolutely had to see the castle first, but the magic store was definitely calling him. He was, after all, Jake the Wizard. He patted his father's head, signaling that he wanted down.

Once Jake was on the ground, Blair asked, "Well, Hoss, where to first?"

Finger to his lips, he glanced over at the entrance to the castle, then over to the magic store, then back to the entrance. Reluctantly, he pointed to the entrance. A man had to honor his future wife.

Ten minutes later they were exiting what they all were now calling, "The ride that wasn't." Jake crossed his arms and said with a disgusted expression on his face, "that was a girly thing and it wasn't even scary. the cartoony was way better."

"Yes, well," Jim said, "not even Disneyland can bat a thousand, Hoss."

"but that was stooooopid, poppy," he said stubbornly.

Blair bent down and said gently, "Not to Cherry, it wasn't. And now you can tell her that you did it, just like she asked you too. Right?"

"I guess so, daddy, but it was stooopid to me."

Blair bit back his laugh and asked, "So, where to next?"

A little excitement came back into his face as he pointed to the magic shop. His two slaves and one babysitter nodded sagely as they followed the junior wizard into the store.

Fifteen minutes later they exited, junior wizard wearing a Mickey Mouse Sorcerer's Apprentice hat that was almost taller than he was. In his hand, he gripped a bag with three combined magic tricks that he couldn't wait to practice and show his parents later. As they left the courtyard, Jake's gaze was immediately captured by the merry-go-round. He paused in a shaft of lone sunlight as he looked upon the beauty that was King Arthur's Carousel.

"I take it that you'll take him on the merry-go-round, Chief?"

"Me? What about you?"

"Oh, no, I think this one is yours, Sandburg."

"No, no, I defer to you—"

Small fingers tugged on Jim's jeans.

"poppy, there are enough horseys for all of us!"

The two men looked at each other, nodded in resignation, and headed for the merry-go-round.

They got into the short line and when the current go 'round ended, they moved forward so that Jim could lift Jake onto the platform. The choice of animal was fairly simple since they all looked alike, more or less, so Jim simply put Jake on the first white steed they came to. Rosie took the horse behind Jake. Blair, with a furtive look around, took his seat on the horse and then watched with amusement as Jim, after the exact same look, took hold of the pole and swung one long leg up and over the other horse. They were on either side of Jake and both men, as evidenced by their shared looks, felt ridiculous.

"Well, that was – different," Jim said as they got off the carousel.

Jake looked up between his father's and added, "tooooo slow, poppy!"

Before either man could answer, music started up and a huge spotlight landed on a large stone a few feet center of the carousel. There was a sudden puff of smoke and there stood Merlin.

Small fingers once again tugged on Jim's jeans as people started moving toward the stone and the wizard, cutting off Jake's ability to see. Jim lifted him onto his shoulders as the great Merlin announced that he was looking for volunteers to attempt to pull the famous sword, "Excalibur" from its resting place in the stone.

"Ow, Jake, take it easy on your old man's noggin, okay? " Jim asked as Jake started whopping him on the head in his excitement to 'volunteer'. Jim made his way through the crowd, Blair and Rosie following. As they moved to where Jake could raise his hand and be seen, Rosie tugged on Blair's shirt. When he stopped, she whispered, "You have to register the 'volunteer' ahead of time, Blair. They choose randomly throughout the day from the list that signs up."

Smiling, Blair nodded. "I know. Remember when Jim made himself scarce before we ate?"

At Rosie's nod, Blair held out his hands, palms up. "We can only hope they call him."

Understanding dawned and Rosie nodded excitedly.

Merlin stood regally before the stone, brought his arms up high, and said, "We call for the brave and the one with the pure heart to come forth and attempt to remove the sword. Should he or she succeed, they will serve as our King or Queen, to rule wisely for the rest of the day, this realm, this Disneyland."

Jake started bouncing on his father's shoulders and Jim had to grip the thin ankles as he said, "Calm down, Grasshopper. He'll call out for volunteers by name."

With both hands on either side of his poppy's face, Jake leaned down so he could see him, albeit from an upside down view, and said, "but how does he know who wants to volunteer, poppy?"

"He's Merlin," Jim said simply.

"oooh," Jake said wisely.

"I call forth our volunteers… Michael Oakland… Susie Randall… and… Jacob Porter."

"poppy, daddy, poppy, that's me!"

Lowering Jake to the ground, Jim said, "So it is. Hurry up there, Hoss."

As it turned out, neither Michael nor Susie were present, so it was up to Jake to try alone. Merlin smiled down at him, touched his wizard hat, and said, "You are most aptly dressed for the task, young Master Jacob. Is your heart pure?"

Eyes wide, Jake looked over at his fathers, who both nodded. He turned back to Merlin and nodded, his big blue wizard hat sliding forward and almost obscuring his features. He pushed it back with a shy grin as Merlin explained that just like King Arthur, only the rightful heir would be successful in pulling the sword from the stone. He leaned over and peeked under the big hat as he asked, "Are you ready to try, Master Jacob?"

Looking small, vulnerable, and heartbreakingly hopeful, Jake nodded. Merlin placed Jake's hands in place on the sword, then stepped back.

"Now is the time, Master Jacob. We need a true and faithful ruler of the realm and if you be he, the sword will slide out, easy and free."

Music swelled, and Jake, with one last, lost look at his parents, and following the taking of a very deep breath, pulled….

… the sword and it slid out easily, much to Jake's total amazement.

He stumbled back, mouth open, eyes blinking wildly. The music grew once again, and confetti burst from the stone to fly up before falling gracefully down and onto Jake's upturned face. A few moments later, amid the cheering crowd and his family's whistles and "Yoohaws", Jake was crowned King of the realm of Disneyland. His wizard hat was removed so that Merlin could place the crown on his slightly damp curls, then Merlin tapped each of Jake's shoulders with the sword. A special medallion, that he could wear all day and would identify him as the King, was placed around his neck. Merlin then kissed each cheek and to the applause of the crowd, Jake ran back to his parents.

Suddenly the very confident boy was just a four year old and overwhelmed. Eyes shut tight, he raised his arms so Blair lifted him onto his hip and kissed a wet cheek. Jim leaned down and kissed the tip of Jake's nose. "Well, your majesty, where to now?"

Jake hid his face in Blair's neck.

"Why don't we just go sit down for a few and let our king relax a bit? Maybe some hot chocolate would help too?" Blair said as he moved toward a bench.

"Good idea. All new kings need hot chocolate. Rosie, what about you?"

Sitting down next to her charge and rubbing his back soothingly, Rosie said, "Well, I guess now that I'm his majesty's lady-in-waiting, a hot chocolate would be nice."

"Okay, be right back."

Jim didn't need to ask where the nearest food stand was, he only needed to follow his nose, which led him around the corner to the Village Haus restaurant. Inside, he quickly ordered four hot chocolates and, after spotting the long cinnamon twist treats, ordered two of them as well. When he got back to the bench, he found Jake sitting quietly on Blair's lap, medallion in hand, and hiccoughing. Blair scooted over when he spotted Jim, who then sat down and handed out the hot chocolate. He waved the warm twisty under Jake's nose and said, "Hot chocolate and a cinnamon twisty, Jake."

Smiling now, Jake took a piece of the goody, took a bite, then sipped his chocolate. When his mouth was rimmed in both brown and white sugary sparkles, he said, "I really did it, daddy, didn't i?"

"Yes, you did, Jake."

"just like you said when you tol' me I had a pure heart and I pulled it out all by myself, didn't I poppy?"

"Yes, Jake, you did," Jim said with a grin thrown at Blair. Their son was in a weird kind of seventh heaven shock and the only cure was to let it run its course.

Jake sipped and chewed and fondled his medallion and crown continually. Eventually his eyes began to stray, to take in the area and the rides. The crowds had thinned out a bit, with most everyone taking advantage of the sun and choosing to hit the faster rides. His gaze was continually drawn back to one particular ride: Snow White's Scary Adventure, until finally he said, "poppy? daddy? lookee!"

They followed his pointing finger to a window above the ride and a curtain that was parting to reveal the Wicked Stepmother.

"Oooh, that looks good, Hoss. Shall we?" Jim asked as he collected empty cups and passed out napkins.

Nodding, Jake lifted his crown off his head and said, "I better not wear this around 'cause I'm really too liddle to be king. will it fit in my pack?"

"I don't think you're too little to be king of Disneyland at all," Rosie said. "But if you'd rather, I have room in my pack, Jake."

Jake handed over his crown and Rosie put it carefully inside her pack, but they all noticed that Jake kept his medallion on. He hopped off his father's lap and gave them all a knowing look.

Wiping his jeans of tell-tale sugar, Blair stood and said, "Right. I'm thinking we're ready to go then."

Jim dumped their trash, took Jake's hand and, as Jake slipped his other hand into Blair's, they headed over to Snow White. While standing in the short line, having decided earlier that the Fantasyland rides wouldn't require Fast Pass, Blair frowned at the wall that told Snow White's story and served as backdrop for the mine cars that would take them through the story ride. Sensing his partner's concern, Jim finally asked, "What's up?"

"Don't laugh, but I'm thinking this one might be a bit much for him, Jim."

Looking shocked, Jim hissed, "Excuse me? This from the man who said the Haunted Mansion and Pirates was fine?"

"This is different, Jim."

"Pray tell, how? No, let me guess. It's the dwarfs that put it in the realm of reality, right? No, wait, the wicked witch?"

"Jim, all I'm saying is, this has a mother, albeit a stepmother, trying to murder her child. I just think this one might be overkill."

"So, what, we tell him no? We get out of line?"

"I'm thinking – yeah."

"Okay, but you tell him."

Rolling his eyes, Blair snagged Jake's sweatshirt and turned him around. He knelt on one knee and said, "How 'bout we skip this one, Hoss. Maybe go hit Mr. Toad's Wild Ride?"

"but daddy, I wanna see dopey and doc and sneezy."

"Yes, well, maybe this one is too—"

"cherry said this was a fun ride, daddy, so I just have to go on it."

"Chief, you did your best. Let's give it a try."

With a sinking feeling, Blair nodded. They moved up in line until it was their turn to get on one of the mining cars. Rosie and Jim sat in back, Blair and Jake in front.

A minute later, they were entering the ride….

"Okay, okay, you were right," Jim said as he sat on a bench just outside the ride, a shuddering and cowering Jake on his lap. With Jake's face buried against Jim's neck, and Blair rubbing soothing circles on his back, they waited – helplessly.

The ride had started out fine, with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in their cabin. The mines were beautiful, but then the stepmother did her mirror thing, changed into an old crone, poisoned the apple, and from there, Jake was a goner. Blair had watched as Jake's fingers tightened on the safety rail, and his face grew more pale. Finally Blair had simply taken the boy into his arms.

Rosie looked horrified and felt somewhat responsible as she'd been pretty sure the ride would be fine for Jake too. Now, seeing her discomfort, Blair said, "It's okay, Rosie, don't worry."

Biting her lower lip, she nodded glumly.

Jim, now rocking Jake slightly, whispered, "Jake, there are four kids waiting for you."

He didn't lift his head, but he did whisper, "there are?"

"Yep, and you know them pretty darn well. Peter, Wendy, John and Michael. You think you're ready to join Tink on their adventure, Hoss?"

"tink?"

"Yep. You can watch Peter fight Hook, and see the Lost Boys, and fly in a pirate ship over London…."

Slowly Jake's head lifted. "I can?"

"You can."

Jake's head swiveled toward his other father, who nodded. Finally he said, "'kay, but no more snow white, 'kay?"

"No, Jake, no more Snow White."

He nodded and, content to stay in Jim's arms, they headed for Peter Pan.

By the time they'd finished that, plus Pinocchio and Mr. Toad, Jake was almost back to normal. He was still clingy, but once again looking forward to each new experience. They all went on the teacups and he squealed delightedly. He thought Alice in Wonderland was boring, but restful, and Dumbo was the most fun ever. They didn’t do the Storyland boat ride as Cherry had told him it was very boring, nor did they do Casey Junior for the same reason.

The Matterhorn was a must and, since it appeared to be similar to Big Thunder, if somewhat faster, Jim decided to give it a try. Their Fast Pass worked its charm and they were on in five minutes and, judging by Jake's squeals even when faced with the Abominable Snowman, he had a new favorite ride that would, undoubtedly, Jim thought, need to be repeated.

When they got off, their watches told them their dinner reservations for The Blue Bayou were close, so they caught the Disneyland Railroad and took it through the Grand Canyon and the famous Primeval World, which had Jake so mesmerized that only the promise of food finally got him off when they arrived at New Orleans Square.

On the way to the Blue Bayou, Jake ran happily ahead until he spotted a man seated behind an easel. That stopped him cold. He stood on tiptoe to see what he was making and immediately let out with a squeal of delight and headed back to his parents on the run.

Jim, who'd been watching carefully, said, "Huh-oh. We're about to pay for a caricature of our son, Chief."

Blair chuckled and said, "Sounds good, actually. I'd love one, wouldn't you?"

"How'd I know you'd say that?"

"What, you don't want one?"

Jim didn't have a chance to answer as their excited son barreled into both of them. "daddy! poppy! ya haveta, ya just have to see! he does cartoooonies of people! can we get one, huh? can we? can we?"

Smiling indulgently, Blair glanced up at Jim and said, "It doesn't take much, does it?"

"Just wait until he comes home begging for a Mustang, Chief."

Laughing, Blair patted Jake's head and said, "Sure, we can. We'll get one done of you, Hoss. Why don't you and Rosie check on when he can do you, okay?"

"me? but … but … but I want all of us, daddy!"

Looking way too smug, Jim said, "Nope, doesn't take much at all, Chief."

Rolling his eyes, Blair gave Jake a gentle push. "Go, we're right behind you, Hoss."

"yippppeeeee!"

With that, Jake turned around and, with Rosie following more sedately, started running back to the artist. Half way there, he suddenly turned partially around and yelled, "he has to do poppy on a surfy board, daddy!"

Unfortunately, at the same moment, a tall, barrel-chested, inattentive man moved impatiently around a woman pushing a stroller, and straight into Jake's path. Jake slammed into him with his shoulder and bounced so hard that he was spun around before falling and landing on his butt, hands behind him to help cushion his fall. Before anyone could react, the man was leaning down into Jake's space, face florid, eyes spitting fire as he growled, "Young MAN, you should watch where you're going! You could HURT someone. What's the MATTER with you? Didn't your parents teach you ANYTHING?"

Jake's eyes grew wide as his lower lip began to tremble. He started to inch his way backward but didn't get far as Jim swept him up into his arms even as Blair shot past them, his own eyes blazing.

While Jim soothed Jake and checked him over for injuries, Blair took the man's arm and led him a few feet away. Once out of earshot, he corralled his anger, stared up at the man and said carefully, "Look, this is Disneyland, a place designed specifically for children. They're excited, not always looking where they're going, but then, they're children in a place of wonder. We're the adults, we're the ones who should be looking out for them, not the other way around, not here. They look up to us, depend on us to care for them, not to yell when they get excited and bump into some adult, who's in a hurry and not paying attention. He's a child and deserves more."

His breath ran out and he found himself blinking up at the man, hands on hips. People were watching, their eyes going back and forth between the two men and a little boy clinging to the taller man's neck, face buried against his cheek.

Brown eyes blinked down at Blair and slowly the red flush dissipated. The man took a deep breath before saying apologetically, "You're right." He ran his fingers through his hair, exhaled and added, "I'm sorry. Even here, the habit of hurrying was stronger than the simple enjoyment of the place. If you'll let me, I'd like to apologize to the boy."

Admittedly shocked, Blair found that he could only nod. He stepped aside and watched, amazed, as the man walked over to Jim and Jake. He put out a hand and, at Jim's nod, touched Jake's leg.

"Son, I just want to apologize. I shouldn't have yelled and I'm sorry. I was in a hurry and not paying attention. It was all my fault, okay?"

Jake slowly twisted around in Jim's arms, rubbed at his eyes and finally gave the man a tremulous smile. "I'm sorry too. I was running backward, see? cuz we're gonna have cartooonies made of us and my poppy is gonna be a on a surfboard, see?"

The man smiled gently. "Yes, I do see. I'm Bob, by the way." He held out his hand.

Jake looked at it, grinned, slid his very small one into it, and said, "I'm jake."

"Good to meet you, Jake. You have a fun rest of the day, okay?"

"I will. bye!"

Scratching his head, Blair watched "Bob" smile again, nod at Jim, and pat Jake on the head before joining his own family with a sheepish grin. Walking up to Jim, his arms held out to the two currently reaching for him, Blair said as Jake floated seamlessly from one to the other, "Wow, that was—"

"Straight out of the Sandburg Zone, Chief," Jim finished for him.

"Ha, ha."

A warm hand settled on his cheek and Blair looked into his son's wide blue eyes.

"toonies, daddy? us in cartoonies?"

"Right. Cartoon of the family. How fitting," he said with a grin.

Thanks to posing for their "portrait", they were fifteen minutes late for their dinner reservation. Fortunately the restaurant was running behind, which meant they were shown right to their table. When Blair made the reservation, he'd put in for a 'river' view, and once seated, Jake let out with a soft, "ohmy" as he realized they were eating right on top of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

As water was poured and their menus delivered, Jim got out the "cartoon" and they all took turns looking at the "Ellison-Sandburg-Porter Family Portrait". The artist had done a great job of capturing them in a vacation setting with a hulked-up Jim riding atop a surfboard and hanging ten; a hunky Blair basking on the beach in a Speedo; and a precocious Jake, on his knees and upending a bucketful of sand over his unsuspecting father. Eventually though, dinner had to be decided, so Jim rolled up the drawing and tucked it back in the bag.

It turned out that ordering was no hard task, with Jim choosing the prime rib, Blair, the baked salmon, and Rosie the Monte Cristo sandwich. When Jake was given the choices on the children's menu, he scrunched up his face and said, "can't I have the crissy sandwich too?"

"Do you know what it is, Hoss?"

"frenchy toasty only for dinner, poppy!"

Smiling innocently, Blair said, "He's got you there, Jim."

"Right. So, a Monte Cristo for the Jakemeister. No problemo."

For Jake, the highlight of the meal was discovering that he actually got to dip his dinner into raspberry jam. He was ecstatic. He ate, watched the boats float by, and chortled at what lay ahead for the riders. He also decided that before they went back to Fantasyland, they had to go on Pirates "one more time".

Which they did.

They missed the train back to Tomorrowland and, with a twenty minute wait, decided to try the famous Disneyland "Fritters" with more hot chocolate for dessert. They still had three hours until the fireworks, so they hoped that Jake would nap with the warm drink serving to relax him. Blair took Jake up to the train stop while Jim and Rosie got their dessert and drinks. Once Jim saw the size of the fritters, he ordered two, he and Rosie deciding they could easily split them four ways.

Rejoining Blair and Jake, they ate the treats and sipped their chocolate, and sure enough, within ten minutes after finishing, Jake was sound asleep. When the train arrived, Blair carried him aboard and they rode through the rest of the ride with Jake dead to the world.

They decided to get off at Toon Town, knowing full well that's where Jake would love to find himself upon awakening. They found a quiet spot, sat down and, while Rosie did some souvenir shopping nearby, waited for their sleeping prince to awaken.

"Hey, wake up."

Head nodding, Jim shook himself awake. "I wasn’t sleeping, you twerp."

"Twerp? Moi? And you were too."

"Is he awake yet?"

"No."

"Then shut up and let me go back to not sleeping."

"Riiight."

When Jake finally awoke, he was, as guessed, thrilled to find himself in Toon Town. He bounced off his father's lap, refreshed, excited, and ready to go.

In the next hour, they hit every Toon Town ride, most of which Jake could ride alone while waving madly at his parents and Jim took pictures up the gumpstump. When Jake had finally exhausted Toon Town, they made their way over to It's A Small World, figuring there was just enough time to ride it before finding a spot to watch the fireworks. As it turned out, in spite of the fact that Jake insisted on going again – and again, Jim still managed to find them a good spot for the fireworks.

As they sat on the bench waiting for night-sky show, Jim whispered worriedly, "You don't think two days of this, plus late nights are going to hurt him, do you?"

Blair looked down at Jake, who was on the ground with Rosie and playing with their souvenirs. He smiled softly, shook his head and said, "Don't worry, Jim. He's napped, eaten fairly healthy foods – most of the time – and tomorrow is a rest day before we head for LA. I'm betting he sleeps in, as in really sleeps in, and we end having a late brunch. I'm also betting we can get him to bed early and go clubbing—"

Jim held up a hand. "Whoa, Mister Nightlife. Clubbing?"

Blair's eyes twinkled as he said, "Long Beach, about thirty minutes from here. The Silver Fox. You, me, holding hands, slow dancing, billiards…."

One eyebrow shot up. "Billiards?"

Blair rolled his eyes and swatted Jim's arm. Clasping his hand over the 'sore spot', Jim whined, "Sandburg, that's spousal abuse."

"I'll show you spousal abuse later, old man. If you're up for it."

"I won't hold my breath, Chief. You're usually snoring before you've got your jeans off."

"That's not snoring, Jim, it's *snorting* each time I get a look at your chicken-stick legs."

"Should we be having this conversation in Disneyland with our son and his babysitter two feet away?"

"Oh, don't worry, they've both seen your chicken-stick legs by now, man."

"You are so going to pay later. These chicken-stick legs are going to be wrapped—"

"Senior citizen, two o'clock," Blair whispered with an impish grin.

"…as I was saying, I wonder how the fine citizens of Cascade are doing without us right now?"

Simon sat in his darkened living room, a drink in hand and listening to the sounds of the birthday party coming from the Mitchell's next door. He'd been invited but after a call from a buddy with the FBI in Washington, he'd lost all desire to celebrate anything.

He tried to remember everything Blair and Jim had told him about Jake, Diane, and the circumstances of his birth, but he wasn't bringing anything up other than the fact that Karen Porter, after going to her daughter's aid in Boston, had discovered she was a grandmother. Surely Blair had Jake's birth certificate? Proof that he was indeed, a Porter?

Of course he had everything that would be required to keep Jake where he belonged.

Of course.

What the hell was the name of that lawyer? Simon put the glass down, walked over to his jacket, pulled his wallet, rifled through the few business cards… and found it: Richard Doan. Scribbled under the name was another number. Simon recognized Blair's scrawl and, for some reason, dialed that number instead of the printed one. Nine wasn't too late to be calling – not under the present circumstances.

After the third ring, a male voice answered.

//I'm leaving in ten, Mindy, I promise.//

"This is Captain Simon Banks, Mr. Doan. I believe we met last year at Karen Porter's funeral."

"Yes, twice," Simon answered with a soft smile. "But that's not why I'm calling," he added, his smile fading. "I need to know if there are any birth records on Jake, Mr. Doan."

There was a lengthy pause, then….

"It is. I need to know, Mr.—"

"Richard. It's Richard, please."

"I need to know – Richard."

"To my knowledge, there are no birth documents. From what Karen was able to gather from her daughter, Jake wasn't born in a hospital, but rather in a truck. Apparently Diane was in the middle of a move from one place to another when her water broke. There was a storm or something, Diane was sketchy with the details, and they were forced to pull over. Jake was born two hours later."

"But surely they took her and the baby to a nearby hospital?"

"Okay, so local court house?"

"And of course, Karen had nothing."

"I'm afraid that covers it. Which is not to say that Diane didn't have some medical records, she did, and I have copies on file here, but Blair has the originals. Typical baby records. Now, would it be possible for you to let me in on what's going on?"

Simon closed his eyes for a moment, debated, then decided that should the situation come to a head, Jim and Blair would need the man. He cleared his throat and quickly filled Richard Doan in on all that he'd learned from his friend.

The wild bursts of color seemed to go on forever as spectacular music punctuated each blossom of shooting light. For Jim, the world seemed to narrow down to the rainbow of colors entering his retina, and the music; a perfect counterpoint to the muted sounds of two important heartbeats and the warmth of two bodies melding into his. He was the circle, they the center. He had no danger of zoning, could let it all in, absorb it and enjoy it with abandon.

When it ended, none of the four moved right away, faces still raised to the sky, still seeing the imprints of the display. Finally Jake summed it up rather succinctly with a simply stated, "wow."

The crowds that had been held hostage by the fireworks, now began to move either toward the exit, or to their last few rides before the park closed. Jim and Blair shot a look at each other, silently saying the same thing. They really hoped that Jake had forgotten about Tomorrowland. Their hopes were dashed a moment later when he clapped his hands and said, "daddy, poppy, spacey mountain!"

Groaning, both men stood and, with Rosie giggling behind them, trekked over to Tomorrowland.

"I don't know, Jim, it's dark, which means you'll – you know – in order to see, and it's fast, much faster than the Matterhorn, so you be the judge."

"Damn."

"Look, why don't you take Jake and give it a try? We'll sit so that I'm behind you, okay?"

Jim thought about it… and decided that being in the dark might be an advantage to his senses, so he nodded. "Okay, we'll go for it."

Jake jumped for joy and then, without warning, into his poppy's arms, who, fortunately didn’t need any warnings. Catching him, he tapped the baby nose and said, "You be ready, Hoss?"

"I be always ready, poppy!"

They'd missed their Fast Pass for the ride during Jake's nap, but the line looked to be only about thirty minutes from end to entering so they lined up. During their time moving forward, there was plenty to see and plenty to keep Jake busy. As they moved, Blair said, "Jim, you have to admit, this is wild. We're in Southern California, in the month of August, at Disneyland, and this is the first time we've stood in line for any appreciable time."

"Well, yeah, but we have the rain and Fast Pass to thank for that."

"Exactly my point. It's August, Jim."

"Okay, okay, I get it. Luck is with us."

"That's all I'm saying."

"our turn, poppy," Jake said from his place between Jim's legs.

"Right," Jim said as he expelled a breath.

They climbed in, Blair and Rosie behind them. Like all good roller coasters, the ride started out slow, rising steadily before starting its first descent. Jim concentrated on Blair's heartbeat and Jake's warmth as they zoomed along within the futuristic "mountain." Jim could feel Jake's joy as he concentrated on the small gasps of excitement and the small 'weeeeees' uttered almost breathlessly … and suddenly … he got it. He suspected that Blair had understood all along, but now, so did he. He understood Jake's complete lack of fear in the face of rides that other children his age – and older – wouldn't even consider riding. It was simple: Jake knew he was safe because his parents were with him. Just like now as Jake sat safely contained within Jim's long legs, his arms creating a barrier that protected Jake. Hence, Jake could trust the ride, enjoy it wholeheartedly while knowing full well that nothing could happen to him. That's how he'd felt all day, on every ride, whether with Jim or Blair.

As Space Mountain continued, a part of Jim reveled in his son's happiness while another part wondered what had gone wrong in Snow White. Hadn't Jake been safe then? The ride hadn't been fast, hadn't even been as dark as Space Mountain, so what had been the difference?

He could tell the ride was coming to a close, so he temporarily abandoned the questions, figuring that Blair would have a theory. Hadn't he learned that a Sandburg theory was usually the truth?

Their spaceship glided to a stop and a wiggling Jake was already bouncing up and chanting his usual mantra, "gotta go again, gotta go again."

Laughing, Jim lifted him into his arms, kissed his cheek, and said, "I think we need to start making our way home, Hoss. But there's still lots to see on our way out."

They were already walking toward the exit which caused Jake to have to turn in his father's arms in order to point back at the ride. "but… but... it needs me, poppy, we just have to go again."

Chuckling, Blair captured Jake's wayward hand and said, "Lots of things need you, Jake. You've got to be fair to everything in Disneyland, don't you?"

Jake bit his lower lip, scrunched up his face in serious thought, then nodded happily and said, "yup!"

They decided to walk out instead of taking either the train or the monorail, and this proved a good decision since it allowed Jake to say good-bye to everything. It also turned out to be a bad thing as he grew increasingly sadder with every step closer to the exit. They did stop at the souvenir shop that had attracted Jake's attention on their way in, and Jake got his last hat of the day – the requisite Mickey Mouse ears with his name sewn on front. They caught the Monorail, exited at Downtown Disney, and walked the short distance to their hotel. Jake, albeit sleepy, still had the wherewithal to marvel at the colored lights in the trees. His energy was definitely on the wan as they walked into the hotel and, while waiting at the elevator, he simply raised his arms. Chuckling softly, Blair lifted him.

Once in the room, Jim and Blair got Jake into is pj's and then into bed while Rosie changed in the bathroom. By the time she was ready to crawl under the covers, Jake was sound asleep, his Mickey Mouse hat sitting on the nightstand, Jakey in his arms.

"'Night, Rosie," Blair said softly as he turned out the light.

"Good-night, Blair. Night, Jim. And thanks for a really great couple of days."

"Thank you, Rosie," Jim said. "You made them a lot more fun. And don't forget, we still have Los Angeles to look forward to. See you in the morning."

He closed the door and followed Blair into their bedroom. He watched as Blair kicked off his shoes and socks, took off his shirt, discarded his pants and boxers, and headed for the bathroom stark naked.

"Uhm, Blair?"

"Jacuzzi, Jim."

Jim started to strip.

"God, this feels good," Blair said as he floated on top of Jim's body.

Jim anchored his partner and started kissing Blair's wet, warm neck. "Mmm, sure does."

Blair laughed low and turned his head to catch Jim's lips. After the kiss, Blair turned over and, with a raised eyebrow, positioned himself above Jim. "You ready?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"Hey, for all I know, Disneyland took a lot out of these old bones." Blair patted Jim's legs.

In response, Jim grabbed Blair's waist and pulled him down until the head of his cock bumped against Blair's ass. "You were saying?" he said with a leer.

Head on Blair's chest, Jim yawned and asked, "So why all the problems with Snow White today?"

Eyes closed, hand on Jim's head, Blair said, "I'm not sure. I think it brought up insecurities rising from his years with Diane. Maybe we can thank the guy who lived with them. I know he had a couple too many trips to the hospital before Karen showed up and brought him to Cascade."

"Shit, of course. He can't verbalize those feelings because he doesn't even remember those days, but something like that ride would bring them up."

"Yep." Blair yawned, reached for the blanket and brought it up to cover them both.

"Jake certainly hasn't allowed those days to keep him from loving us or trusting us. That's a bit of a miracle."

"We can thank Karen for that, Jim. Unconditional love, security, she gave it to him in spades."

"God bless you, Karen," Jim whispered. "And God bless the young detective who took Jake into his home so easily and quickly."

"Humph."

While Jim and Blair sat in the living room reading the paper and Rosie sat on the floor watching television, Jake slept. No one was surprised. But when eleven rolled around and Jake still had not appeared, Blair put the editorial section down and started to get up.

"Don't bother, Chief. He's up. He's on the floor going through his haul and showing Jakey everything."

"Oh, man, this I gotta see."

Blair rose and hurried down the hall. The door was partially open and he peeked in….

"… and this is zero, but don't worry, jakey, you're number one to me. but you gotta welcome zero, 'kay? and this is my great chief hat. I'm the great wizard, and I'm the great chief jake, but that's not all. lookee here, jakey. this is my crown. I be the king of dizzyland and this is my medallion and I wore it all day…."

Blair stepped back and, grinning broadly, returned to the living room.

Their last day at the Disneyland resort was spent pretty much as Blair had predicted. For brunch, they left the hotel and went into Downtown Disney in order to eat at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. Jake was in seventh heaven when the waiter slid his plate full of Banana's Foster French Toast in front of him. He dug in to the mile high brioche topped with banana's foster syrup and powdered sugar with glee. Jim, meanwhile, dug into his Southern Omelet, which was actually an open faced omelet topped with sweet onions, red bell peppers, andouille sausage, and white cheddar cheese, sided with a jalapeno corn muffin with clover honey butter. Blair had the Avery Island Eggs, which turned out to be sweet corn cakes topped with two poached eggs and a Louisiana crawfish bacon cilantro salsa. Rosie, who'd decided she'd eaten way too much in the last two days, opted for half of the French Quarter salad.

When they were finished, they did some more walking and found a store called Build a Bear. Jake immediately took off, his tennis shoes lighting up as he ran inside. Forced to follow, Jim and Blair ended up in a world of stuffed animal parts that, once chosen and assembled, could be clothed and accessorized per the choices of the new 'pet' owner.

They found Jake running up and down the aisle of stuffed parts, the expression of concentration on his face a wonder to behold. Unfortunately, the expression turned to one of extreme sadness and disappointment when whatever he was so desperately searching for, failed to materialize.

Rosie got to him first. "Jake? What's wrong?"

"how can they have all these animals, but no jaggywars? I need a jaggywar!"

While Blair hurried over to Jake's side in order to stop any tears that might start, Jim immediately turned left and headed for the cashier.

"Excuse me?"

The cashier, a young woman with California blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes looked up and smiled winningly. "Sir? How may I help you?"

"My son is looking for a specific animal, but so far, no luck. Do you happen to have any panthers or jaguars?"

"If we do, they'd be over in our World Wildlife Fund aisle at the back of the store."

Jim zoomed in on the back aisle and smiled the minute he spotted Jake's desired animal. "Thank you, you've been very helpful."

Jim walked over to where Jake now sat in his father's arms, head down and still looking sad. He placed his hand on the curly head and said, "They have a special aisle near the back, Jake. It's called the World Wildlife Fund aisle. They have a lot of wild animals over there and when you buy one, some of the money goes to preserving those animals in the wild. Maybe we'll find your jaguar there?"

Jake lifted his head. "maybe?"

"I think so, Hoss." He winked at Blair, letting him know that everything was all right.

Blair put Jake down and watched as he immediately headed for the back of the store. A moment later, a cry of 'whoopee' rang �hrough the shop. Blair leaned in to Jim and asked, "Just how much is one of these 'build a toy-traps' going to cost us?"

"Thirty five."

Blair groaned.

An hour later, Jake walked out of the store carrying a 'condo' holding a 'jaggywar kitty' dressed up like a surfer.

Walking back to the hotel, they heard Rosie ask Jake, "Why did you need a jaguar, Jake?"

"it were lonely and needs my jakey, silly."

They spent the afternoon at the pool and let Rosie and Jake enjoy hot dogs with their sunset. Back upstairs, Jim and Blair got ready for their night of clubbing. After a litany of "You know our cell numbers" Blair finally managed to drag Jim out and down to the car.

"You're worse than a new mother," Blair said as they pulled away from the hotel.

The traffic was heavy on Harbor but thinned out when Blair made the turn onto Pacific Coast Highway. They'd decided to stop in Sunset Beach for dinner, at a restaurant Rosie had recommended called Captain Jack's. After that, they'd continue on to Long Beach, or more specifically, a small arm of the city called Belmont Shores and its rather famous gay night club.

Both men enjoyed the drive along the coast and once in Sunset Beach, found Captain Jack's almost immediately. Only problem turned out to be the parking situation. Blair made several turns around the block hoping a car would leave the curb, but no luck. He was ready to give up when Jim spotted a small sign down the dead-end street that held the entrance to the restaurant.

"It looks like the parking for this place is over there, down that little alley. See it?"

"I don't believe it. What, people zooming down the highway are supposed to spot that tiny thing?"

"I did," Jim said smugly.

Laughing, Blair poked Jim in the ribs before negotiating the Tahoe into the narrow alley that proclaimed itself 'valet parking' for Captain Jack's. A man handed them a ticket and they left the car in his hands. As they jogged across the small street, Blair said, "If there's a sign inside that says, 'We do not have valet parking', we're dead."

Jim laughed as he pulled open the door and let Blair precede him. "I'm not worried, Chief."

"Good."

They'd wisely made reservations, based on Rosie's advice, and were shown almost immediately to their table. The restaurant was designed to look like a sailing ship, with narrow low doorways – that required a certain sentinel to duck – portholes, brass fittings, several aquariums, and a bank of windows that overlooked homes on the back harbor. Luckily they had one of the window tables in a corner next to an aquarium. Once settled, they both ordered beers, made their dinner decisions, then settled back to enjoy the view.

Blair noticed the strange nervousness currently being exhibited by his partner, noticeable in the way he was playing with his beer glass and cutlery. Blair frowned and finally asked, "Everything okay?"

"Hhmm?"

"Everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, why?"

"Well, you're about to enjoy what is, according to the menu, the largest cut of prime rib west of the Pecos and you're acting like a nervous—"

"I'm not nervous. Just, maybe, restless."

"Restless? After two days of walking what must amount to hundreds of miles with a four year old?"

Jim smiled wryly and nodded. "Guess so."

The waiter arrived with their salads and hot rolls so conversation slowed while they ate, but that didn't stop Blair from watching his partner.

"Salad's good."

"Yep."

"You're a real conversationalist tonight, Jim."

"I'm sorry. I guess the idea of this place we're going to doesn't really thrill me."

"Why not? You had no problem with the one in Laguna."

Jim deliberately lowered his voice and said, "Yeah, because it was in a predominately gay area. This place is in Long Beach which isn't known for its gay culture, you know?"

"So, what, you want to skip it?"

"Would you mind?"

Blair glanced out the window and gave the question some thought. He really wanted a place where he could hold Jim, dance with him, hold his hand, and kiss him in public, and the opportunities to do that were in short supply. On the other hand, how much could he enjoy it, if Jim wasn't?

"Nah," he finally said. "I don't mind."

"We could take our dessert to go, stop at the liquor store across the street, pick up some wine, then check out the beach. What do you say?"

Sitting back and smiling, Blair said, "Not a bad idea. It's a warm night, no rain, yeah let's go for it."

Jim smiled, a sudden shy smile, and said, "Good. And … thanks, Blair. Thanks for understanding."

"Don't be an ass," Blair said fondly.

Their dinner arrived then, causing both men to whistle low. Jim's prime rib was on the bone and took up the entire plate, and Blair's crab legs and lobster were simply huge. Jim looked at the two plates and said, "We'll be taking dessert and half our dinners to the beach, Chief."

"Works for me," Blair said as he dug in.

When their meal was as finished as the two men could get it, they had everything, including a piece of pecan pie and an apple tart, packed up in to-go containers. Jim paid the bill and when their leftovers were delivered, they got up and headed out. On the curb, Jim said, "I'll hit the liquor store while you head down to the beach and pick us out a nice secluded spot, okay?"

"Got it, but get me a small thing of vanilla ice cream for the tart, okay?"

Laughing, Jim headed around the corner to the liquor store while Blair walked across the street. The beach was just beyond the row of buildings that peppered the highway so he'd only gone a few paces before he needed to get barefoot. Stuffing his socks into the shoes, he tied the laces together, slung the shoes over his shoulder and kept walking.

The beach was dotted with fire pits, several of which were lit and surrounded by groups of laughing people enjoying the beach at night. Seeing them, Blair automatically headed in the opposite direction. He didn't have to walk far to get to a stretch of beach that was empty of humans. He dropped his shoes and sat down cross-legged to watch the waves, knowing full well that Jim would find him easily.

Fifteen minutes later, Jim said from behind him, "Stand up, Chief."

"What?"

"The store, it had beach stuff, so I bought a couple of mats and two towels in case we want to go swimming." He handed down a bag. "Here's your ice cream, by the way."

Smiling, Blair got to his feet and took the offered bag. Jim quickly spread out the mats, dropped the towels and the other bag with their leftovers and desserts and then sat down. Blair shook his head at his partner, who was making himself at home. Sitting down next to him, Blair set the bag down and, with a grin, took off his shirt and wiggled out of his jeans. "Good thing I'm wearing dark boxers. No one will even guess I'm not wearing a suit."

Jim pulled his polo shirt off and let it drop onto the mat. Then he got back to his feet, pulled the zipper down on his jeans and, with in a suggestive tone, asked, "Why wear your boxers at all, Chief?"

Blair got to his feet and cocked his head. "Er… public beach ring a bell, Detective?"

"Like I won't know if anyone strolls by?" Jim countered as he stepped out of his jeans and boxers.

"Well, okay then." With that, Blair had his boxers off and was running towards the water before Jim could blink.

Watching his partner run, hair flying loose behind him, he found himself growing hard at the sight. When Blair hit the water with a happily yelled, "Yeehaw!", Jim laughed and took off after his partner.

Blair was floating on his back, eyes fixed on the full moon overhead. He stared dreamily up at the silvery orb and sighed happily. The water was unbelievably perfect for a warm August night. The swells kept him bobbing gently to the point that he thought he could close his eyes and drift off, he was so comfortable.

"Don't go to sleep on me, Chief," Jim said softly.

"Mmm, was thinking about it."

Jim swam over, pulled Blair to him and then let his legs float up until he was on his back, Blair between his legs. With one arm across Blair's chest, he asked, "How's this?"

"Nice. Very nice."

They floated for a bit, Jim acutely aware of the tide, the beach, and the man he was holding. When he felt the first tremor of cold pass through Blair, he said, "We'd better head for shore."

"Damn, I was just envisioning us floating to Catalina."

"Without Jake? He'd kill us."

Laughing, Blair slid away from Jim and said, "Good point." He looked shoreward and asked, "Is it safe?"

Jim followed his gaze, and nodded. "All clear."

"Then let's go," Blair said just before he began to swim for shore.

Jim followed, but at a more leisurely pace, knowing damn well that he wanted to be behind Blair when he got out of the water. Nothing like watching a naked Blair walking away from him. He grinned. A few moments later, he got his eyeful.

Blair rising from the sea.

He chuckled and promised himself to never let Blair know he'd even thought such a thing. Although… Blair rising from the sea, okay, the Pacific Ocean, was one hell of a sight.

Sitting opposite each other, their cups full of wine, they dug out the leftovers and, with a sense of fun, fed each other. They gently sucked each other's fingers after taking tasty morsels of buttery shellfish and juicy prime rib before exchanging wine-flavored kisses. They both decided to save the desserts and share them the next day with Rosie and Jake. At eleven, they cleaned up, dumped the trash in one of the beach receptacles, brushed off as much sand as they could, and headed back to the street and the Tahoe. As they climbed in, Blair said with a smile, "This was way better than some loud, smoky club, Jim."

Grinning, Jim said, "A warm night in Southern California, the beach, good food, and a naked Blair versus a club in Long Beach? Oh, yeah, way better."

Checking out the next morning took a bit longer than anticipated as Jake naturally had to cover every inch of the hotel so that he could say good-bye. But once finally in the car, Blair double checked the map and quickly directed Jim to the right freeway. Traffic was light and they made good time to Los Angeles. They took the Hollywood Freeway, got off on Hollywood Boulevard and drove west. They were amazed as the scenery changed and businesses became movie memorabilia stores, souvenir shops, and famous theater landmarks. They passed the Pantages theater, host to The Lion King, and Jake started bouncing in his seat. On their left, the refurbished, and now Disney-owned, El Capitan theater slid by, while on their right sat the world famous Grauman's Chinese Theater. Jim moved into the left-hand turn lane because sitting majestically across from the theater was their destination: The Roosevelt Hotel. He turned into a private driveway which led to valet parking in front of the lobby and stopped. A young man in a red vest immediately showed up at the driver's side of the Tahoe so Jim got the window down.

"Sir, checking in?"

"Yes, we are."

"You can leave everything here, we'll take care of parking the car and getting your luggage. Registration is just inside."

Jim nodded and they all quickly got out, Rosie taking Jake who was looking less than thrilled. After the Disneyland Resort, the back of the Roosevelt wasn’t exactly exciting.

The Roosevelt Hotel had been completely refurbished and now glowed with the kind of classy art deco look of the twenties, thirties and forties. It reeked of a quiet and oddly modern elegance with the type of service experienced in another generation. At the front desk, they were checked in quickly and efficiently. Jake remained unimpressed until they were ushered outside and it became apparent that they were being led to something called a "cabana".

Walking alongside a huge shimmering pool, Jake tugged on his father's jeans and asked, "what's a ca—ca—"

"Cabana. It's a cabin-like room that opens onto the water, the water in this case being the pool."

Jake clapped happily and trotted ahead, almost dancing around their bellhop. They were led to a corner "cabana" and the young man unlocked the sliding doors, slid them open and allowed Jake, Jim, Blair, and Rosie to precede him inside. He immediately walked over to a side door, unlocked it, and said, "The second suite, sirs."

Blair walked over and peeked in. Two twin beds and another set of sliding doors that opened onto the pool. Concerned, he walked over and checked the locks, which seemed pretty good. Satisfied, he rejoined Jim in the master suite only to find Jake bouncing on their bed. Jim was fishing around in his wallet for a tip while Rosie watched Jake with an amused expression, her head bobbing up and down in time with his bounces.

Jim, with a worried look at his bouncing son, handed over a five dollar bill as Blair hurried around the panel that partially separated the bed from the rest of the room and grabbed Jake mid-bounce.

"Okay, Hoss, we don't do that at home – okay, except on Sundays – but this isn't our bed, young man. Come on, we need to get your stuff into your room, okay?"

"but daddy—"

"No buts, Hoss."

The bellboy was leaving as Blair, Jake in arms, walked back to the other suite, Rosie right behind him with their luggage.

"but… but… can we go swumming now, can we?"

Blair looked at his hyperactive son and shook his head. "I'm thinking lunch, a nap and then a swim before dinner. Tomorrow is going to be a big day, remember?"

Jake's lower lip made an appearance but Blair stood firm. He set Jake down and watched as he glumly walked over to the bed where Rosie had set his bag.

"I slept in the car, daddy," he said as he unzipped a compartment and shook out his swim trunks. He held them up imploringly.

"My God, he looks just like you, Chief. Begging for 'just one more test, Jim'."

"Don't give up your day job, Jim," Blair said, trying to bite back the laugh the oh-so-hopeful and winning look on his son's face was trying to tease out.

"He did sleep in the car…."

Jim let his voice trail off as Jake nodded in agreement, his curls bouncing.

"I slept good in the car, daddy. real goooood."

With a huff, Blair turned to face Jim. "I agree with Jake, Jim. You're being too hard on him. I think we should go have lunch, laze around the pool and go swimming."

Jim rolled his eyes.

Lunch turned out to be quite a bit more fun than anticipated. The concierge directed them to a popular restaurant called Hamburger Hamlet where he promised there'd be good food and a mural that would delight both Jake and Rosie. It was also well within walking distance, being less than a block away. A further bonus was the fact that it was located across the street from the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater. They were eating late so missed most of the lunch crowd and, according to their waiter, were between shows at El Capitan. They were able to get a window table in the front dining room which meant lunch would be shared with "Swivel-head Jake."

The front mural captivated Jake from the get-go. Considering that the entire wall space was taken up with Indiana Jones – Jake's captivation came as no surprise to his fathers. Once he was seated comfortably on a booster seat, he couldn't take his eyes off the mural. Finally, after three minutes of everyone watching Jake watch the mural, he asked, without taking his eyes from the wall, "who's he?"

Blair didn't even need to look. "That's Steven Spielberg, Jake. He directed Indiana Jones."

At that moment, Jim happened to glance out their window. Eyes glued to a spot across the street, he reached out, snagged Blair's shirt, and pointed. Blair looked, and promptly snagged Jake's shirt to capture his attention. He pointed across the street and Jake, following his father's finger, immediately said, "ohmy. ohmyohmyohmy."

Naturally, Rosie had to look too, and what she saw brought a huge grin to her face.

In front of the theater across the street, stood Superman, Luke Skywalker, Chewy Chewbaca and one Storm Trooper – all happily posing for photos and autographing.

Jake pointed at them and said, "i... we… can i… that's supy, daddy!"

He began wiggling in an attempt to get off the booster but Blair quickly stopped him. "Whoa, Hoss, I don't think so. We'll go over after we eat, okay?"

"but… but … they might be gone, daddy!"

Jim gave Blair his, "I hate to tell you this, but the kid might be right" look. Blair huffed some hair out of his face and said, "You've got a point. What do you want for lunch and poppy can order it while I take you and Rosie across the street."

Jim's right eyebrow arched and Blair whispered, "I'll make them look taller to him."

While Jake and Rosie rattled off their orders, Jim stared at his mate, astounded at the way his mind worked.

"poppy, remember, a choc-coooo-laaaat malty and a whoooooole bunch a frenchy fries, 'kay?"

"Got it, Hoss. Go have fun, food'll be here when you get back."

Jake didn't bother to jump to the ground, he simply lifted his arms. Grinning, Blair swung him up and into his own. With Rosie at his side, he headed out of the restaurant.

While Blair, Rosie and Jake waited at the light for permission to cross, the waitress came up and Jim faithfully repeated everyone's order to perfection before going back to watch.

As his family walked over to the theater, Jim found himself smiling at the idea that he was "married" to a man who had enough self-confidence in himself to allow his son to see his heroes as "larger than life" by being the one to take Jake instead of Jim.

Blair pulled the towel up to Jake's chin, gave his back a gentle rub and went back to sunning himself. Lunch had been delicious with the highlight being Jake's fifteen minutes of stunned happiness at meeting Superman, Luke Skywalker and finally being hugged by Chewy Chewbaca. After lunch, they'd come back and gone swimming, as planned, and now a tired but happy Jake was sound asleep, curled up in a lounge chair in the shade, a beach towel serving as his blanket.

Something suddenly blocked the sun and Blair shielded his eyes as he looked upward.

"Thought you could use this," Jim said as he handed Blair a tall, cold glass.

Blair took it, sipped, and grinned. "You are my savior, Jim. Lemonade and tea, perfect."

"They call it, are you ready for this? An Arnold Palmer."

Jim sat down and took a sip of his beer, his long, bare legs stretched out in front of him. Blair looked his fill, happily enjoying a relaxed Jim wearing nothing but a pair of white trunks.

"What?"

Blair shrugged and said, "What, what?"

"You're staring."

"Well, duh. Look at the view, man."

Jim cocked his head. "You're staring at me, Chief."

"Well, duh. Look at the view, man."

"Nice to know you aren't taking me for granted – yet," Jim said with a smirk.

"Talk to me when your gut is pet-worthy, your abs have fallen to your knees and your hair's a distant memory, buster."

"You'll be just as hot for me then as now."

Grinning into his tea and lemonade, Blair said, "I know."

Their first night in "Hollywood" gave Rosie another opportunity to be a real "Jake-sitter" since Jim and Blair were going to take in the show in the famous Cinegrill, the entertainment lounge in the hotel. Their reservations were for dinner at seven with the show beginning at eight-thirty. In an effort to appease their little general, who had the pout in full swing, they let him take him a swim after his early dinner.

At five thirty, wrapped in a huge towel, he was carried back into their suites where Rosie took over and helped him get into his pj's. The Roosevelt had the Disney Channel so Jim and Blair, both dressed to kill, weren't too worried about leaving him. Jim's only concern was the fact that their rooms were off the pool.

Now Blair sat on the floor with Jake, who was on his tummy, face in hands, and watching a cartoon while his father tried to gently comb out the still-damp blond curls.

Jim smiled at the picture of a dressed up Blair sitting cross-legged on the floor while taming curls so much like his own. Jim suspected Naomi would be nodding sagely right about now if she were here. Tearing his eyes from the view, he took Rosie aside.

"I know I don't have to tell you not open the door to anyone but us, no matter what someone might say, but honey, watch him closely. Don't let him outside for any reason, okay? Those sliding doors with the pool and colored lights just on the other side are going to be tempting, especially when other people start swimming later this evening."

"I'll keep him busy, Jim. Promise."

"That's my girl."

Jim moved to stand in front of the set and caught Jake's attention. Jake looked up, which in turn forced an impatient sigh from Blair, who, after one last swipe of his fingers through the curls, gave up and rose to his feet.

"poppy, I can't see,"

"I know. I want you to listen to me, okay, Hoss?"

Jake scrambled up at the serious tone of his father's voice. "what, poppy?"

"Jake, I want a promise from you."

"a promuse? from me?"

"Yep. I know you'll be good because you always are, and you and Rosie will have fun while your daddy and I are having dinner—"

"I should be able to go to, though," Jake said with a finger wag.

"Well, actually, this show really is for grown-ups, but tomorrow, The Lion King for you. Fair enough?"

Jake pretended to think about it before tapping his finger to his bottom lip and nodding. "'kay, that's more 'an fair, daddy."

With a look at Blair, Jim said, "Uhm, thank you, son. We appreciate that. Now, as to the promise. I want your promise that you won't go outside for any reason. I know you're capable of being around a pool, that you're a good swimmer, but I want you to stay inside. Will you do that, Hoss?"

Jake's face scrunched up as he thought hard. He tilted his head and said, "but poppy, what if aliens land? what if we're attacked by giant spiders or—"

"I guarantee that won't happen while we're gone, Jake," Jim said as he tried to hide his smile.

"well, if you're sure…."

"Poppy's sure, Jake," Blair added. "Do we have a deal?"

Jake nodded in a very grown-up manner and said, "I promuse, daddy and poppy. an I'll make sure rosie stays in too!"

"We knew we could count on you, Hoss. Okay, kiss good-night and we'll be on our way."

Jake was lifted and kisses of all kinds were exchanged before he was transferred to Rosie so that Jim and Blair could take their leave.

The Cinegrill lived up to its reputation, as did the food supplied by Wolfgang Puck. Blair demolished the Maine Lobster with Puck's signature chopped vegetable salad while Jim enjoyed the roast beef with goat cheese salad. Melissa Manchester was the featured artist so Blair was in seventh heaven. Both men enjoyed the food, the ambiance, the singer and each other. If they had moments when they would have liked to reach out and touch one another, or hold hands, well, they were used to such moments going unfulfilled. A look was enough, a look that promised more when they returned to their suite.

Jake rolled over and onto Jakey. He opened his eyes, frowned, threw off his covers, grabbed a smooshed Jakey and padded over to the door that connected his room to other one. He could hear the drone of the television set and knew that Rosie was still up, but that made sense since she was his sitter. He didn't know what had awakened him but he felt himself drawn to the sliding glass doors that separated his room from the outside. Still frowning, he pushed the big wooden slats aside and peered out. The pool lights shimmered in the darkness and he could tell it was very late because there were no people and most lights were out in the other rooms. He could hear his poppy's voice soliciting a promise not to go outside and he had every intention of keeping that promise, but that didn't stop him from reaching for the lock and pushing it far to the right. He pushed the slider open and stood quietly, Jakey held to his chest.

Jake didn't know why he was on the alert, only that he was. He watched the water of the pool ripple slightly in the wind, listened to the faint sound of music coming from another room, and watched the leaves of the huge palms move to the sound of the music. He wanted to step out further, but that would have violated his promise, so he waited – patiently – and was rewarded when a small figure broke away from the shadows and moved slowly around a lounge chair and into the light.

A little girl.

Jake could see that she had something in her arms, something held tightly to her chest. She was tiny and in pink pajamas with feet. Jake figured he was way older than her. Way older. But… she was too close to the pool and there were no adults around to help her. The breeze kicked up and something rolled out of the shadows toward the water.

A ball. A brightly colored rubber ball.

The little girl spotted it immediately and ran after it. When it rolled into the water, she stopped at the edge of the pool. Jake wanted to get her attention because he was pretty sure she was going to try for it, but unlike him, she didn't know the danger. He really wished the ball would float closer to this end of the pool because he could make her see him then.

As if hearing his wish, the wind picked up, and the ball, caught on the ripples of the pool, moved toward the shallow end. The little girl followed.

"hey, hello!" Jake called out, his voice low and easy so as to not scare her.

She turned her head and spotted him waving. She smiled. Jake held up his Jakey and said, "wanna pet him?"

She nodded shyly as she held up her own, which turned out to be a bear. Jake held Jakey out in front of him and gave his wolf a wiggle. The little girl looked back at the pool and her ball, then at Jake and the enticing wolf pup. Jake held his breath.

Like any self-respecting toddler, she chose Jakey.

She toddled over to him and one tiny hand reached out for Jakey. Jake let her take him as he walked backwards into his room. She followed and he quickly slid the door shut against the dangers of the pool.

Rosie yawned and reached for the remote. She clicked off the set, stretched, and checked the clock, which told her that it was after midnight. That meant Jim and Blair should be returning any time now. Even if they stayed after the show for a final drink, she figured they'd be back shortly. A knock on the door between the main room and the second suite brought her up with start. She stared at it until the knocking came again. For heaven's sake, who… but of course, it had to be Jake. But why was he knocking? Had she locked… no, she could clearly see she hadn't. She got to her feet and hurried over. Pulling the door open, she looked down … and her mouth dropped open.

"Great show, Chief."

"Yep. She's incredible, isn't she?"

"I'll have to get a CD," Jim said by way of agreeing.

Blair reached inside his dinner jacket and pulled one out. He held it up in front of Jim's face. "When I went to the restroom."

Jim took it and, laughing, said, "They were selling them in the Men's Lounge?"

"Ha-ha."

"At least we'll go home with more than a set of mouse ears," Jim said as he perused the back of the CD.

They walked outside and turned the corner that would lead them to their suite when suddenly Jim stopped dead.

"Hey, what's up?"

Jim held up a hand for quiet and cocked his head. Blair shifted nervously. Jim in sentinel mode when they'd left Jake alone with Rosie wasn't Blair's idea of fun.

"What the hell?"

"Jim?"

"Come on, Chief. Our son appears to have 'some 'slpaining' to do."

Rosie stared down at Jake, who had his arm around a little girl. A toddler with short, straight, jet black hair and brown liquid eyes that were looking up at her expectantly. A toddler carrying a fluffy pink bear.

"bawl?"

"Uhm… what?"

"she lost her ball, 'kay? it went into pool and she almost went in after it, 'kay? but I stopped her by showing her jakey—"

"Jake, tell me you didn't go outside?"

"I didn't go outside. I was bery careful and didn't step over the slider hump and poppy and daddy would be proud because I kept my promuse."

At that moment the door behind Rosie opened and Jim, closely followed by Blair, hurried in.

"Jake?" Jim asked as he stopped dead a few feet away.

"poppy. daddy. meet… well, I don't s'actly know her name but anyway," he looked at the toddler and said proudly, "this is my poppy and this is my daddy."

Blair stared at the tableau and finally said, "Jim, I think our son kidnapped a child."

Jake, seeing the glint of humor in his father's eyes, grinned happily and said, "she wanted her ball, daddy."

"Ah," Blair said sagely as he nodded. "That explains it."

"She lost her ball in the pool, Chief," Jim said pointedly.

"but I didn't step even my big toe out of my room, poppy. not even a hair, " he added with a "so there" nod of his head.

"All right, son, I know." He turned to Blair and said, "Chief, I'm going to check around outside and see… you know…."

His voice trailed off and Blair nodded his understanding. "Right. I'll keep our – enlarged – family busy. Go, investigate." He made a shooing motion with his hand.

Jim nodded, but before leaving, he knelt down in front of Jake, placed his hands on Jake's arms and said solemnly, "I'm very proud of you, Jake. Very proud. We'll talk more later, but right now I'm going to try and find her parents, all right?"

"you'll find them, I know."

Jim kissed his warm cheek before tickling the little girl and soliciting a round of giggles. He ran his hand down her soft, straight hair before standing up and heading out. Once the door shut behind him, Blair lifted the little girl into his arms, walked over to the sitting room and sat down on the couch. Jake followed and crawled up next to his father to rest his head against Blair's arm. Rosie sat on the floor at their feet.

Blair looked at the toddler and asked, "Can you tell me your name, honey?"

"'ori."

"Ori?"

She nodded happily and held up her bear to Blair's face. "bear."

"Beautiful bear, Ori. What's his name?"

Looking confused for a moment, Ori pondered the question and finally smiled brilliantly. "bear," she said proudly.

"Ah, bear. What an excellent name." He nodded at Jake and said, "This is Jake, Ori. Jake, this is Ori. And this," he tweaked the bear's ear, "is Bear."

Jake blushed and said, "hi, ori. this," he held up Jakey, "is my wolfpup, jakey. he's the bestest in the whole world and… wait, I'll be right back!"

Jake scooted off the couch and ran into his room. A moment later he was back, the black jaguar from Downtown Disney in his arms. He crawled back onto the couch, retook his position and held out the cat. "this is cacha and he's jakey's lonely jaggywar. cacha is bery brave but was very lonely until jakey came along." He held "Cacha" out to Ori, who immediately squealed in delight before hugging it to her.

Blair could only stare at Jake.

Jim could hear panicked footsteps followed immediately by a deep masculine gasp.

Jim was pretty certain he'd found the "missing" parents. He hurried past the pool to one of the cabanas tucked into a back corner. Wishing he had Blair's gift of gab, he raised his hand to the slider and gently knocked. A moment later, a tall dark man with worried green eyes was peering out at him.

"Yes?"

"Excuse me, my name is Jim Ellison. My partner and I have the suite at the other end of the pool? Anyway, we have a four year old and this evening, it seems … well, he spotted a toddler by the pool – seems she'd lost her ball? And she was about to try to retrieve it—"

"Brad, what is – oh, I'm sorry—"

Jim was now able to see where Ori got her luxurious black hair and sparkling almond-brown eyes.

"Honey, I think this gentleman has found our Iori. And from the sound of it, not a minute too soon."

"I don't understand—"

"Actually, it was my son who found her and, with the help of a stuffed wolf, managed to get her away from the pool."

"How did you find us?" Ori's mother asked, amazed.

Jim did some quick thinking and finally said, "Well, I remembered seeing you all earlier and simply tried to remember which of these rooms—"

"Ah, of course," Brad said with a relieved smile. "Maybe we could—"

"Absolutely. Just follow me," Jim offered.

The three of them, Brad and his wife in bathrobes, headed across the pool area. A small gasp stopped them. Jim turned around only to find Ori's mother staring at the pool – and the small ball floating harmlessly in the water.

"Iroshi, it didn't happen. Iori is all right, honey." He slid an arm around her waist and led her back from the pool edge.

Jim opened the slider and stepped inside, two worried parents right behind him. Ori raised her head, smiled benignly and said simply, "jake," as if that answered every question in the world. Jake blushed a deep crimson. A moment later, Ori's mother was rushing forward, arms outstretched. Blair quickly rose, Ori in his arms. He handed her over and watched as her mother kissed her, petted her hair and repeated her name over and over. Ori's father walked over, hugged them both, kissed the top of Ori's head and then knelt down in front of the still-seated Jake. Hand on his knee, he said, "I want to thank you for watching out for my daughter. You did a very good thing."

Jake blushed again and ducked his head as he mumbled, "it were jakey."

Grinning, Brad ruffled Jake's curls and said, "Well, please tell Jakey thank you, okay? "

Once the happy family had left, a sleepy Ori waving a fond farewell to Jake, Blair lifted him into his arms and said, "We need to get some sleep, gang. We have a big day in front of us tomorrow."

"I couldn't agree more, Chief. Rosie, you are hereby relieved of your duties and released to bed."

Grinning, Rosie rose and saluted. "Aye, aye, sir!"

Jake watched with a smile and did his own sleepy version of a salute. Jim kissed him goodnight before Blair carried him into the other room, Rosie following. Jake was tucked in and less than a minute after his head hit the pillow, was asleep.

Blair pulled the covers up a bit, kissed his already sleeping son on the cheek and turned to walk out, only to find Rosie still standing by her bed, seemingly unwilling to make a move to change. It didn't take it a genius to figure out what was bothering their young charge.

"Rosie, you did nothing wrong," Blair whispered.

"He could have… he could have gone out…."

"How often did you check on him once he was down?" Blair asked gently.

"Every twenty minutes or so," she answered thoughtfully.

"You did everything right. Ultimately, we have to trust Jake to do as we ask, and he did. But I suspect had he actually strayed beyond his room, you would have known, Rosie. You're very careful of him and for him. We couldn't have done this trip without you."

Moisture glistening in her eyes, Rosie smiled and nodded. "Good night, Blair, and thank you."

Smiling in return, Blair said, "See you in the morning."

By the time Blair got to his and Jim's bed, Jim was already under the covers, arms over his head, hands clasped behind his neck. "Everything okay?"

Stripping efficiently, Blair nodded and yawned. "Rosie was a bit concerned and feeling that what almost happened was her fault. I reassured her." He kicked his shoes away and sat down on the edge of the bed to remove his socks. "My concern is Jake."

"Jake?"

"Jim, he got up out of a deep sleep because something awakened him. He knew instinctively to go to the slider, open it, watch, and wait."

"And this is… bad, how?"

Blair got up, unbuckled, unsnapped and unzipped and stepped out of his dress slacks. He hung them up and took a few minutes to re-pack their clothing since they wouldn't be using them again. He didn't say anything, allowing his words to penetrate. He was rewarded with a hiss of breath.

"Are you suggesting," Jim finally said, "that our son is… that he could possibly be… like… me?"

"What, you can't say it? Can't say that Jake might be a sentinel? Even now?"

"Sandburg, is he?"

"No. Of that much, I'm certain. But he's… something."

Jim sat up. "Something? Gee, thanks. That's so… precise."

"Hey, you're the one who spent eighteen months with the Chopec and a real shaman. You tell me."

"You're the anthropologist, you tell me."

Blair sat back down and rubbed his forehead for a moment before saying, "Actually, I do remember something about Celtic Shamanism that might apply."

"So we're saying that Jake is a shaman? A four year old shaman?" Jim asked incredulously.

"Hey, it's possible, man. Many cultures believe shamanism is a gift, not something learned or a mantle to take on. Kind of like sentinel abilities."

"So you're saying that like you, Jake is a shaman?"

"I'm not a shaman, Jim. Get over it. And no, I'm not suggesting Jake is either – exactly."

Blair got up again and began to pace as he spoke. He was in full lecture mode and Jim propped up his pillows, sat back and settled in for an education. He'd missed this.

"If memory serves—"

"And it always does, Chief," Jim added with a small, proud smile.

Blair continued as if Jim hadn't interrupted. "I attended a lecture given by Doctor Liam O'Connell. He was a practicing shaman and he talked a great deal about shamanism, as practiced by the ancient Celts. It was believed that the truly gifted shaman, the shaman gifted by God, did spirit walks in their sleep as naturally as some people snore. No drugs needed, no meditation, just the simple act of falling asleep."

"Wait, are you saying our son was spirit walking and spotted that little girl?"

Blair stopped his pacing and gesturing, his arms falling to his side. Wide blue eyes met shocked blues. "I think… so, Jim."

"You don't think that's quite a jump? For all we know, he just woke up, got confused and went looking for us."

Blair sat down and, determined to keep him down, Jim reached over and pulled him back. Blair let himself be tugged until he was snug in Jim's arms. Head back against Jim's chest, he said, "You could be right, but everything inside of me says different."

"Maybe because you're a shaman, Chief," Jim suggested as he carded his fingers through Blair's hair.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a shaman, Jim. I'm your partner, your back-up, yes, and Incacha…."

Blair sat straight up. "Shit, I forgot to tell you." He twisted around and with a stone-on glare, said, "Our son named the jaguar… 'Cacha'."

Blair noted with satisfaction that Jim was speechless.

Blair pulled the sweater over Jake's head and tugged it down. Once he'd straightened Jake's hair, he turned him toward the mirror and said, "Well?"

Jake stared at his reflection and grinned. "I look very growed-up, daddy."

In his slacks, good dress shoes, white oxford shirt and pale blue pull-over cardigan, Blair had to admit, Jake did indeed look very grown-up. Blair smiled down at his son and said, "Come on, let's join poppy, Rosie, and get this show on the road."

"simba, here I come!"

By the time they'd parked and walked across the street to the theater, the doors were just being opened to allow the theatergoers inside. Jake was completely enthralled by the huge, majestic theater, not to mention the gigantic flags of Simba that adorned each side of the Pantages. Once in, his eyes bugged out at the décor, which was extravagant to say the least. Blair knew his own eyes were equally "bugged" out, and Rosie was walking around with her mouth hanging open – and she lived in California.

Naturally they had a gift stand and, with some careful maneuvering, Jim and Blair managed to hide it from Jake. They knew a stop would be SOP after, but right now, they wanted to get their growling "Simba" to his seat. Jim did linger just enough to quickly purchase a large, colorful program along with Rosie, who bought one to show her parents.

They handed their tickets over to an usher who led them to their front row aisle seats. Rosie went in first, followed by Blair, the intention being that Jake would sit between him and Jim. The young, and very helpful usher then suggested to Jim who took the aisle seat for his long legs, "Sir, you might consider having the young man on your lap during the opening. Trust me, it will be worth it."

Jim smiled up at the young woman and said, "Will do, and thanks for the heads up."

She smiled back and headed up the aisle.

The play was due to start at three and it was two thirty which meant that they had thirty long minutes before anything that could keep Jake occupied would even begin to happen. Jim looked at Blair, who stared back. They both shrugged at the same time and Jim immediately handed the program over to Jake. While Rosie looked at hers, the three of them poured over the large book, pointing and laughing at the amazing pictures of what they'd be shortly seeing on stage. Blair had already explained that while the play would follow the movie, the characters he'd see on stage would be real people costumed to look like animals. In seeing the incredible photos, all four were beginning to get a glimmer of how magical their afternoon would be.

At ten of, Blair wisely decided that Jake should take a quick trip to the bathroom so nothing would interrupt his enjoyment of the play until the intermission. They scooted out and, in order to facilitate the restroom break, Blair lifted Jake and hurried up the aisle. Once the deed was done, they hurried back with two minutes to spare. At three minutes after three, the lights dimmed, and, for Jake, a miracle happened. The orchestra pit was just a few feet in front of them, and it had, to Jake's delight, been filling up with musicians. Now a bright circle of light illuminated the pit and a single man. He was introduced, via a voice over a speaker, as the conductor. The audience applauded and then the miracle occurred as slowly the pit began to move inward… until it was, for the most part, hidden under the stage. If Jake really sat up and craned his neck, he could just see the small lights on each stand along with the occasional glimpse of the men and women who would provide the music. His expression told his parents that the magical moving orchestra pit was, so far, the hit of the day.

The lights then went down completely and Jim quickly took Jake onto his lap. He wasn't sure why it was so important, but he trusted the usher. At the same time, Blair encouraged Rosie to move into Jake's seat so she'd have a better view of whatever was about to happen. The overture began just as Rosie settled in. The music was so close to him, and so recognizable to Jake, that he was already overwhelmed. Then the curtain went up.

Jake knew the story by heart, thanks to having seen the cartoon movie several times, but still… nothing could have prepared him for the opening.

Sunrise over the African plain, and there, so close, rose Pride Rock. When Rafiki came on stage, Jake started bouncing and Jim had to tighten his hold for fear that Jake would bounce right off his lap and into the aisle.

Rafiki began to sing the Circle of Life and the second miracle happened; a miracle that also showed Jim and Blair why Jake should sit on Jim's lap. As Rafiki called all the animals to Pride Rock, they came – right down the two aisles of the theater.

People beautifully adorned as giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, gazelles, and elephants paraded toward the stage, many nodding at the children in the theater. Jake wisely refrained from reaching out and trying to touch them, but many bowed their beautifully crafted heads to him as they moved gracefully toward Pride Rock.

Jake had seen California Adventure and Disneyland, and he'd been thoroughly amazed at many things since his arrival in California, but nothing could have prepared him for The Lion King on stage.

The play ended but neither Jim nor Blair missed the fact that their son was frozen, eyes still glued to the curtained stage. The second act had kept Jake's attention just as fully as the first. He'd not spoken a word, but had, on occasion, joined in singing a bit under his breath. Mostly he watched without blinking. In fact, more than once, either Jim or Blair had been forced to lean over and tell him to either "Breathe, Jake," or "Blink, Hoss."

They finally got Jake up and ready to leave, but he was very reluctant, wanting to stay in hopes that the curtain would go up again on "my simba – grrrr." He was very disappointed to be told how tickets worked. But once out in the lobby, the souvenir booth beckoned.

Now with one stuffed Simba and one Zasu doll under his arms, Jake danced out of the theater and into the sunlight. He was still walking on air, had a kind of silly grin on his face and was singing Hakuna Matata, mostly to himself, while his dancing walk told everyone how happy he was. He waited at the curb, still dancing, until his parents and Rosie, all grinning broadly, caught up with him. He grinned up at them and when the light flashed "walk", he danced across the street and onto the opposite curb. Once there, Jim paused to glance over his shoulder. "Hey, there's a restaurant called The Pig 'N Whistle just over... yes, right there. I heard someone mention it earlier as a great place to eat. How 'bout we try it for dinner?"

With Jake won over by the name and Rosie and Blair amenable to the idea, they turned away from the parking lot and walked down toward the Egyptian Theater and the restaurant. Inside, it was small and comfortable with a kind of quasi-British pub-art deco look. They were given the only large booth in the place, which happened to be by the window. This allowed them the enjoyment of watching the parade of Hollywood souls walk by.

Their waitress brought the menus and both Jim and Blair noticed the steepness of the prices, but the ambiance, convenience and history (as written on the back of the menus) more than made up for it. The restaurant offered fish n' chips, one of Jake's favorites, so he "allowed" Simba to order that for him while Rosie ordered the Cobb salad. Jim ordered the Pig 'n Whistle burger with cheddar cheese and mushrooms, Blair, the grilled Atlantic salmon. All three men also added side salads, Jake chiming in with "looooots of croutons, please!"

While they waited for the food, the restaurant began to fill. By catching snatches of conversation, it became apparent that most of the patrons were future theatergoers out to eat before their showing of the Lion King. Jake was completely enthralled with his Simba and Zasu and put on his own junior performance while patiently waiting for his meal. He chirped, growled, sang and danced his "sooovneers" in the spacey booth while lying down on his back between his fathers, completely oblivious to what was going on around him.

Jim spotted the waitress heading their way with the salads, so he captured Simba, stilled Jake's busy hands, and said, "Salad with loads of croutons at nine o'clock, Hoss. Up and at 'em."

Jake peeked over the edge of the table and, satisfied that his salad was truly on its way, sat up. Simba and Zasu were strategically placed so that they might enjoy the view before he settled in to eat.

It was after seven by the time they returned to the hotel. Jake looked imploringly at the pool and then at his parents, and, by silent agreement, it was decided that an early evening swim might be just the way to end their last day at the Roosevelt.

At eight-thirty, after allowing Jake to play "Simba, the water Lion King" with Rosie, they got him out of the pool, everyone dried off, and they walked back to their cabana. Ten minutes later, Jake, in his pj's, was curled up on his bed with his new family members and busy introducing them to Jakey, 'Cacha, Zero and his ghosties. At nine, he was under the covers and sound asleep. Rosie wasn't far behind and by nine-thirty, Jim and Blair were "alone at last."

Holding hands, they sat side-by-side on the couch and enjoyed the silence. After several peaceful moments, Jim said, "Do you think we could skip Santa Monica tomorrow? Maybe just a stop at the Farmer's Market before heading back to Laguna?"

"Sounds good to me. Jake won't notice."

"Let's hope that holds true with Knotts too."

"That I can't promise. But he's excited about heading back to 'his' beach, so I'm guessing we'll skate through."

"Speaking of skating…." Jim ran his hand up Blair's leg.

"Jim, there are so many comeback lines to that – I don't know where to begin."

"Well, we could begin with a kiss, or—"

Blair rolled his eyes.

"so no brekkie here?"

"Nope. We're going to stop at a place called the Farmer's Market for brunch before heading back to our beach."

Jake sat on the edge of his bed, legs swinging as he watched his father pack his backpack. He cocked his head at the term "farmer's market" and asked curiously, "will there be cows?"

Blair paused in zipping up the pack. "Cows? Uhm, no, no, I don't think so."

"chickens?"

"Uhm, no again. By Farmer's Market, I mean an open market full of stalls selling fresh produce. But this particular market also has tons of food stalls and other fun stuff."

Legs still swinging, Jake nodded sagely and said, "so no cows or chickens." He jumped off the bed. "'kay. but you'd think at least one of the farmers would bring something, like maybe a baby pig?" With that, he walked out of the room and into the other suite where Jim and Rosie were waiting, bags by the slider, both ready to go.

He walked straight up to Jim and said, "did you know the farmers market doesn't have any cows, chickies or piggys?"

"I think I knew that, Jake. Why?"

"it shouldn't be called the farmers market then," he said simply just as Blair walked out of the bedroom with Jake's backpack.

"Ah," Jim said wisely before he shot a confused look at Blair, who simply shrugged his "It's a Jake thing" shrug. Jim nodded and rubbed his hands together. "Okay, gang, are we ready to hit the road? Jake, did you say good-bye to the pool?"

"yup. an my bed, an both rooms, an—"

"So that would be a yes. Okay, we've got everything, right?" When everyone nodded, Jim twirled his finger in the air and said, "Okay, then, head 'em out, people."

With Jake marching in the lead, they did just that.

"There, a guy's pulling out, Jim," Rosie said as she pointed between Jim and Blair.

"Got it, thanks." Jim slowed to a stop and waited patiently while the El Dorado backed slowly and cautiously out of the parking stall. Once clear, Jim pulled in and sighed happily. He had a feeling parking places at the Farmer's Market were at a premium.

"Not bad," Blair observed as he got out. "Not bad at all."

Rosie lifted Jake out and set him down and all four stared at the buildings. Jake looked up first at Jim, then Blair. "I don't get it, daddy."

Placing his hand on the top of Jake's head, Blair said, "You will, once we go through that walkway there. Do you see those green baskets?"

Jake nodded, not sure where the question was going.

"Well, those are the shopping 'carts'. You want to be in charge of ours?"

Jake grinned. The baskets were small, on two wheels, and looked just his size. He immediately ran over and pulled one out. Looking proudly back at his parents, he said, "I be ready!"

Fifteen minutes later, balancing a tray laden down with food, Blair got back to the table. Jim was already seated next to Jake, who was eyeing the oyster po'boys with disdain but stealing French fries when he thought his poppy wasn't looking.

"Okay, Hoss, if this doesn't please you, I don't know what will," Blair stated as he set the tray down. He picked up one plate piled high with lettuce, shrimp, sliced eggs and tomatoes for Rosie and handed it to her before picking up the second plate and setting it ceremoniously in front of his son. Grinning, he said, "Please note: one mini-taco, one slice of pizza, one rib and some chicken fried rice. And before you say anything about waffles, remember, you can have a waffle ice cream cone on our way out." Satisfied, Blair sat back, arms crossed over his chest.

Jake stared at the plate for several seconds before looking up gleefully and saying, "wow!"

Jake pushed the cart, now full of fresh produce, a lemon meringue pie from DuPars, a bag full of fresh pastries for their breakfast the next morning, and several steaks, hand chosen by Jim, for barbecuing over the weekend, toward the car. He'd had his waffle cone – chocolate and chocolate chip-mint – inspected every single stall, and was finally ready to head home to "his beach". Behind him, three exhausted people followed.

The sun was setting as they dropped Rosie off at her place and Jake was sound asleep in his car seat. Jim parked the SUV and, while Blair carried Jake and some of their luggage, he carried in the rest of the luggage and their goodies from the Farmer's Market. He was in the kitchen, putting the pie in the fridge, when Blair came out of Jake's room.

"He's down for a bit. Probably be up in time for dinner."

Jim closed the door on the refrigerator and handed Blair a cold water. "He won't go to bed early, you know."

Taking a swig, Blair nodded. After wiping his mouth, he said, "So whatever we feel like doing, we should do now." He grinned.

"Horn dog."

"Yep. You lucky cat, you."

Later, while cooling off in each other's arms, Jim said, "You do realize that this is the first vacation we've ever taken that went off without a hitch, right?"

Blair thunked Jim on top of his head. "It would have been a hitchless vacation, but now you've gone and ruined it and we'll get that hitch."

"Since when do you believe in that kind of superstitious mumbo-jumbo?"

Blair lifted his head and looked at Jim, who chuckled and added, "Right. Forgot who I was talking to for a minute. But come on, we only have a week left – what could go wrong?"

Blair rolled over on his back, shook his head, and said, "You just had to dare them, didn't you?"

"Okay, smart alec, I'll bet you five that we make it home without that hitch that's worrying you so much. Deal?" He held out his hand.

Blair turned his head and looked with suspicion at Jim's hand. "Make it ten, and you have a bet."

"Done."

They shook and Jim pulled him back into his arms. "Trust me," he said as he rested his head against Blair's, "Hitchless."

That night, Jim burned the steaks.

Their last week in California actually did go hitchless, if burned steaks and Jim's sunburn didn't count. Jim insisted they didn't because anyone who knew them would all agree that criminals trying to take over the sunshine state fit the bill of "hitches," not burned steaks and skin. Blair had no choice but to agree.

The closer they got to Saturday, the day they were to leave, the more antsy Jake became. He was torn between his love for their beach and Rosie – and going home to see his nomi, cherry, corky and his room, not to mention his fish and his home. He didn’t want to say good-bye to Rosie, but he wanted to see "uncle simon". He didn't want to say good-bye to his beach, but he wanted to show and tell for all his friends.

Thursday and Friday turned out to be rather trying days as Jake watched his parents start the packing process. Friday night, Rosie and her parents gave them a going away party, a barbecue without burned steaks, out on their deck, and Jake alternated between happy and cranky. At nine, when he started to whine, Jim and Blair knew it was time to take him home and get him to bed. He hugged "my rosie" hard, cried, and threw himself into his daddy's arms. Rosie had a few of her own tears to shed, but just as everyone was calming down, Jim reminded Jake of the present he'd picked out as a thank you gift for Rosie. Both started crying again.

Finally, they took their leave among promises to write and keep in touch.

They walked slowly back to the mobile home and decided to sit out on their own deck for a few quiet minutes, allowing Jake to watch his ocean and enjoy one final night in Southern California. He sat on Blair's lap, head back, hands wrapped around Blair's, eyes at half-mast as he watched his ocean and the night sky. Jim rubbed Jake's tummy and talked quietly of Cherry, Corky and Naomi, and how the fish at the Anjasmayo were missing him terribly. Just before he fell asleep, he started to smile.

The next morning, Blair figured there'd be no more good-byes on the part of his son. He was wrong.

First, Jake had to say good-bye to his room, his bed, his shower, his kitchen, his deck and his sand. Once that was done, he naturally had to say good-bye to his ocean – again. When Blair pointed out that he'd done that last night, Jake's answer was simple.

"but daddy, that was at night."

Since Jim was busy loading the Tahoe with their luggage, and the mobile home was once again in pristine order, Blair decided, why not?

Jake, wearing his light-up tennis shoes, a white tee-shirt and his blue denim overalls, walked over to the sliding glass doors, cocked his head, and said, "daddy?"

Right. Good-bye ocean in the daylight.

"Right. We say good-bye to the ocean." He grinned, took his son's hand and led him out onto the deck. "Okay, let's get your shoes and socks off, we don't want to leave the Tahoe full of sand, not to mention the airplane, okay?"

Jake nodded, promptly sat down, and held out one leg. Rolling his eyes, Blair hiked up his jeans a bit so that he could bend at the knees and do his thing. Once Jake was barefoot, there was no stopping him. He jumped up and ran onto the sand with a happy grin.

"my sand, daddy. warm."

"Yep," Blair agreed as he toed off his loafers. He was grateful he'd decided to go home sock-less. Jake turned and headed for the water's edge, his blonde curls caught by the Southern California breeze.

Blair followed at a more leisurely pace and thought briefly of Jim, who was undoubtedly arranging the luggage in the back of the Tahoe in the most advantageous manner. He grinned at the thought even as he lifted his face to the sun. Jake had stopped at the line that marked the last tide and now stood quietly watching the water as it rolled in, aquamarine in color and frothy as it climbed up the dark sand.

Blair noticed the stillness of his son and moved in behind him. He placed a hand on top of the curly head and waited. Jake slowly leaned back until he was resting against Blair's legs and, together, they watched the water.

"my ocean, daddy," Jake whispered. "I don't wanna say good-bye."

Fingers combing through the softness of his son's hair, Blair said, "Then isn’t it a good thing that the ocean is forever and goes all the way to Cascade? This very water will end up on our beach at Tumbler's Cove. This – very – water."

"forever," Jake breathed out.

"If we take care of it," Blair added.

"be good to it, huh, daddy? I didn't even pee in it, and once, at tumbler's cove, corky did, but he was littler then and prob'ly couldn't help it."

"No doubt," Blair said with a grin.

Slowly Jake raised his arms. Grin widening, Blair hoisted Jake up, letting Jake use his right hip as a brace. Jake's left arm wound around Blair's neck as they both looked out over the bright blue ocean.

"No, Naomi, I'm sorry, as it turns out, I can't join you in picking them up. Something's come up and I need to go into the station. But I'll try to make it tonight for dinner, all right?"

Simon fiddled with his cigar and closed his eyes against his lie. There was nothing at the station requiring his presence, but there was no way he could face Naomi, let alone Jim and Blair – yet. He'd let them have their homecoming and deal with the threat to their family later in the week. He'd also find a way to back out of the dinner that evening.

"Yes, I know. No problem, Naomi. I'll call you if things get sticky here, all right? Good. Say hi to them and give Jake a big hug for me. Right, see you later."

He put the phone down and sat down at the kitchen table.

This just couldn't happen. They couldn't lose Jake.

They couldn't lose him.

Jim shut the back hatch and rubbed his hands together. Not bad, he thought. Not bad at all. Everything neatly packed and stacked and they were ready to go. He checked his watch and nodded in satisfaction. Fifteen minutes to spare. He just hoped Jake was done with his good-byes. Of course, saying good-bye to Rosie last night had been the most difficult, but still, Jake was one possessive young boy when it came to things that he deemed "his". Like the mobile home and the beach it rested on.

Jim walked back into the house and cocked his head as he realized that he was alone. He turned toward the slider that opened onto the deck and spotted Jake and Blair at the water's edge. Smiling, he walked out. Jake's shoes and socks were sitting on the edge of the wooden deck so he stepped over to them and picked them up, his gaze softening at the smallness of them. Shielding his eyes with his hand, he watched Blair and Jake.

Jake was up in Blair's arms, almost standing on Blair's hip, his left arm wrapped around his father's neck. He was wearing a blue denim shirt that was only slightly lighter in color than Jake's overalls and the sight of the two of them nearly choked Jim up. His heart started to race as he continued to watch them.

manip by aly

His family.

His.

In spite of the distance that separated them, Jim had never felt more connected – or more protective.

Jake must have spotted something because he suddenly pointed and Jim could hear his words clearly.

Jim followed the direction of the small hand and he could see it too – a whale. Water spouted from the blowhole and Jim could hear Jake's giggle. He watched with tears in his eyes as Jake rested his blonde head against Blair's dark one, their curls mingling together.

God, he loved them so damn much.

Jim watched as Jake lifted his head, raised his right arm and, with wiggling fingers, said one final goodbye.

Blair turned around and, with Jake still in his arms, started to walk back toward the mobile home. When he spotted Jim, he tugged a blonde curl in order to get Jake's attention from the ocean. "Look, it's poppy."

Jake grinned and started waving madly, which almost toppled him from his perch in Blair's arms. Laughing, Blair righted him and set him down. The moment Jake's bare feet hit the sand, he was running.

When Jake was almost at the deck, Jim bent at the knees and held out his arms. Jake launched himself into them and Jim scooped him up and straightened.

"i been saying good-bye, poppy! did you see my whale?"

"I sure did. And we now have just enough time to get your shoes and socks back on before we head to the airport."

"oh, okay, we can do that."

Blair, eyes crinkled with humor, stopped a few feet from Jim and Jake. The sun caught the highlights in his hair and his blue eyes seemed to sparkle even brighter than the incredible ocean behind him. His gaze met Jim's and they shared a silent, "I love you" before Jim handed him Jake's shoes.

"Here, do your thing, Chief," he said, his own eyes crinkling at the corners with his smile.

Blair stepped up onto the deck and put Jake's socks on – not an easy task as young Mr. Porter decided that now would be a good time to wiggle his toes maniacally. Eventually, Blair succeeded with both socks and shoes. As he helped Jake tie the left shoe, he looked up and said, "Ready to go home, Jim?"

"I'm ready, Chief."