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Daniel was only vaguely aware of Elenore at his side. His forearms rested on top of the box he had brought in, his gaze directed out the window but focused on nothing. So much was changing, more than all of the previous ten years put together. He had never really liked change, though he wasn't sure why considering his younger years. Perhaps it was the lack of control but he immediately pushed that thought away. While he did like having some semblence of control, he couldn't claim that the lack of it made him more anxious than the next man.

He almost missed Elenore's comment, he was so deep in thought. He looked over at him and mumbled something unintelligible but along the lines of an acknowledgement. He had to admit, he was curious what she wanted to speak with them about but he also knew he would most likely find out soon enough. Deciding that he no longer wanted to examine his own personal issues further for the time being, he pushed himself up and away from the table. He walked out to the hallway, glanced into the living room where Elenore was speaking with Micheal and Leaf before turning and heading back outside to retrieve the last of the boxes Elenore had brought.

"What do you think? Blue or green? Or maybe a nice cream color," Micheal said, standing back to admire the walls of the living room while Leaf nailed the last board into place. "I think cream, with a pale brown trim."

Leaf glanced up from the board and rolled his eyes. "What's wrong with plain wood?"

Micheal frowned. "Because this isn't a cabin," he said. "'ave you ever been inside any of the other farm 'ouses? They're all painted. It's... It's..." He rolled his hand in the air before him, trying to think of the right way to phrase what he wanted to say. Then, failing, he settled for, "It's just something white people do." When Leaf just shook his head, he added, "You're just as bad as Wolf."

Leaf lifted his head again and began to argue the point when Elenore appeared from the doorway. Both men turned their full attention to Elenore, though Leaf stayed crouched by the board and Micheal remained where he stood in the middle of the near-empty living room. At the mention of furniture, Micheal looked visibly relieved. He had known that Daniel's lack of appropriate furniture would be a problem. He had worried that either he or Daniel would have to go into town and buy new furniture. He wouldn't have allowed Daniel to go as he needed to rest as much as he would allow himself. Micheal, on the other hand, simply didn't want to go into the city. Daniel had managed to make a clean break from the underworld without leaving behind too many enemies. Micheal had not been so lucky and he hadn't relished the idea of risking coming across one of them. Leaf couldn't go simply because his driver's license had expired and he hadn't gotten around to renewing it yet.

Micheal was about to agree that, yes, he would most certainly help, when she continued. At the mention of payment, he and Leaf looked at each other in surprise. The younger man got to his feet and crossed over to stand beside Micheal. In those few seconds, an amused smile had worked its way onto the older man's face. "Elenore, you've certainly got a lot to learn about the people around 'ere," Micheal said. "It's not about the money. I'm doing this because Daniel's like a son to me."

"Daniel has been a good friend to me for many years," Leaf said when Micheal finished. "I help him because of that friendship and because I know that if I ever need his help, he will be there."

"Whether you like it or not," Micheal continued. "you're family now and we look after our own."

As much as Micheal wanted to turn down her offer to pay them, he wouldn't turn down free food. It was very rare that he got food that he didn't make himself, unless he visited with Daniel or Screech and stayed late enough into the evening. On the matter of gas money though, he informed her that it would be Daniel she'd have to pay. While Leaf finished off the last of the boards, Micheal explained that he himself didn't have a car and Leaf's license had expired some weeks ago. He didn't mention, though, that his own license had expired years ago. Leaf must have noticed this lack of information because he looked over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow but he didn't say anything.

After Leaf finished, Micheal informed Daniel that they were stealing his truck before he and Leaf spent the rest of the day moving some of Elenore's furniture into the house. Daniel did his best to help but he was only allowed to lift the lightest of items, much to his obvious displeasure. By the time the schools were close to letting out, much of the furniture had been moved into the spare bedroom. The livingroom had taken less time than Daniel had thought to get cleaned up and furnished. The mattresses had been moved to the far corner and covered with a sheet. The couch and coffee table and been placed haphazardly, to be arranged later.

Daniel glanced at the clock in the kitchen, knowing that it wouldn't be long before he was properly introduced to Grace, Nicholas and Deserai. He didn't want to admit it, but he was nervous.

In the city, Nicholas stared up at the clock above the classroom door. It wouldn't be long before the bell rang and everyone was let out. For a moment, he wondered if Dan would be picking them up but he pushed that thought away. That was ridiculous. Their mother would be picking them up, just like always. That wouldn't change too, right?

((Yeah, because I've got nothing interesting. It would just be Micheal and Leaf helping Elenore move some of the furniture in, and Daniel being difficult about wanting to help but not being allowed. Also, sorry about the crap post. I'm not feeling well and it's been a long day at university.))

It had been a long day, made even longer by the fact that Daniel had only been allowed to help with the easiest of tasks, something that seemed unfair to him as he'd been doing harder work for the past three days without a problem. It went against the grain, watching other men -his friends, nonetheless- doing hard work without doing hardly anything himself. It just wasn't right. But, he would admit, they had done a good job. The living room was actually starting to look like a living room. The spare room had been turned into a bedroom though it still only contained the three beds. They could get more furniture -bedside tables, maybe a lamp- later.

Daniel was pulled from his thoughts by a light touch on his arm. He looked down from the clock to find Elenore by his side. He would have nodded to her comment but her lips against his cheek held him still. Butterflies came to life in his stomach, something he hadn't felt for... longer than he cared to think about. "Alright," he said, was all he was capable of saying. He watched as she left the kitchen, listened as she walked out the front door. He told himself that she would come back, that it was illogical to think she wouldn't.

Shaking his head at his own unfounded worries, he left the kitchen and headed into the living room to, firstly, see if there was anything that Micheal and Leaf would like him to do and, secondly, to kick them out if there wasn't. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate everything that they did for him -he did and they knew it, too- but he didn't want them there when the children showed up. It was going to be enough of a change; he didn't want to overwhelm them with two extra new faces.


Nicholas was one of the first out of his seat when the bell rang. He hurried out of the classroom, grabbing his bag and going as fast as he could without running to make sure he was out of the school before Gus could catch him. It wasn't that he was in a hurry to get home -he had to remind himself that home was no longer with Aunt Rose, but with Dan- even though he was excited as well as nervous about going there. It was just that he didn't want to be caught by Gus inside the school, where he could be cornered. If he took too long, his mother would come looking for him and that would just make everything worse.

It seemed luck was with him that day because Nicholas was out in front of the school before Gus caught up with him. The boy shrunk back as his much larger, much meaner classmate seemed to materialise in front of him. Nicholas did everything he could to protect himself -which, really, only consisted of curling into a ball and trying to cover anything important- but it was little use against someone Gus' size.

Within the five minutes before most of the parents began to show up and the majority of students leave the building, Nicholas was convinced that there were few things in the world worse than his situation. He wasn't naive enough to think that there weren't any worse situations. He'd been caught in one himself! But, things couldn't get that much worse for him.

When most of the parents began to arrive, Gus took off with his friends, leaving Nicholas a bruised, bloody mess on the grass. Sitting up, he swayed with a wave of dizziness that swept over him. His hair stuck up in odd directions. Blood dripped from his nose and one of his eyes was already beginning to blacken. His stomach and back hurt where Gus had kicked him repeatedly. Gus wasn't usually so vicious. It was probably because his mother had gotten involved before. He had tried to stop her but she just didn't understand. If she got involved, it would only make things worse.

Nicholas stood up shakily and tried to get his hair back in order. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a piece of paper from one of his notebooks, using it to mop the blood off his upper lip. After stuffing it back in his bag, he brushed the grass off his clothes and hoped beyond hope that his mother wouldn't question him or worse, had seen it herself. The last thing he needed was for her to give Gus a reason to beat him even wrose.

It was all Nicholas could do not to groan when he saw his mother sitting there, waiting for him. How much had she seen? Had she seen Gus lay into him? He hoped not. Anyway, she wouldn't miss the blood on his face or the darkening bruise over one eye. His mother may have been oblivious to some things but she wasn't blind. He watched warily as she got up, approaching him even as he walked over. When she reached him, he stopped, letting her tilt his head this way and that. He instinctively winced when her hand got too close to his eye as she brushed his hair back. "Nothing." It was a lie and a blatant one but he didn't want her getting involved.

As she began to fix his hair, he gave his head an impatient shake before letting her lead him to the car. He climbed inside and began to buckle up when he noticed the Kleenex she extended towards him. He paused before taking it and pressing it to his nose. He buckled up with his free hand, nodding when she said they would stop by Aunt Rose's and he could change. When she asked if he was going to be okay, he shot her a look that he hoped looked annoyed. "Of course," he said. It was amazing how easily the lie came to him. With any luck, Gus would soon just go back to harrassing him again instead of actually beating him. That would be much harder to hide.

As they made their way towards the high school, Nicholas suppressed a sigh and looked out the window. He was tired, tired of Gus, tired of the city. He didn't want to deal with it anymore. If not for the few friends he had -if they could even be considered friends- he would ask his mother if he could transfer schools. But, then she would want to know why he wanted to transfer schools and that would just cause more problems. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

Finally, they reached the high school. Grace was already waiting, her face shadowed with both anger and bruising. What a pair they made. He could very easily guess what had happened; he was much more informed on what Grace got up to. While he did worry about her, he had his own problems to deal with.

He sat back and listened silently as his mother questioned Grace. Grace lied, of course, about what had happened, but at least she had something better to say than 'nothing'. Perhaps good lying was something a person had to learn and not an ability they were born with, like one of his classmates had said.

He looked back out the window as Grace got settled. His mind had just started to wander when Grace spoke. Looking over, he promptly looked away again at the look on her face. He had seen that same look on her face only a few times before and it just didn't suit; the concern was so unlike her. "Nothing," he mumbled. "What happened to you? They kick you in the face?" Because that was what it looked like and that was the only way he could think of that a person could get a bruise like she had from playing soccer, of all sports. If she was going to lie to their mother, she had better leave him alone. He'd tell their mother the truth if Grace didn't back off.

Looking in the rearview mirror at his mother, he asked, "Can we go now?" It wasn't so much that he was in a hurry to see where they would be living but he didn't want them to keep questioning him about what had happened.

Nicholas settled back in his seat when Grace turned back around and their mother turned on the radio. It was a relief not to have the spotlight on him. He didn't want them to worry about him but, even more than that, he didn't want either of them to get involved. If his mother did something, they'd call him a mama's boy and beat him up. If his sister got involved, they'd mock him about getting girls to fight his battles for him... and they'd beat him up some more. It was a lose-lose situation for him, no matter what happened.

Staring out the window, Nicholas kept the tissue pressed to his nose. By the time they had left the city and arrived at Aunt Rose's, the bleeding had stopped. When the car pulled to a halt, Nicholas jumped out of the car, taking his bag with him and hurrying inside. He didn't say anything to Aunt Rose, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He did feel bad about not saying 'hi' but he pushed it away.

Making his way upstairs, Nicholas locked himself in the room that was once -even yesterday- his bedroom. It was so odd, the idea that he wouldn't be living there anymore. They were going to be living with Dan from now on. He didn't know if they would move in that night but it couldn't be too far off. Within the next couple of days. Although his mind was still filled with thoughts of Gus' attack, his thoughts were beginning to drift back to the previous problem that occupied his mind.

As he got changed into a clean pair of clothes, he noticed a tear in the side of his shirt, at the bottom. It had probably gotten caught on Gus' shoe or something. With a grimace, he scrunched the shirt up and threw it into the garbage can. He hated this, hated how weak he felt, how helpless. He wanted to be able to give back to Gus as good as he got. He wanted to be able to protect himself. Then again, unless he suddenly grew six inches and gained twenty pounds, that wasn't likely to happen any time soon.

With a sigh, he finished changing. He debated on whether or not to take his bag but then decided to leave it. He didn't have any homework that was due tomorrow. The work he did have could wait.

Making his way back downstairs, he made his way back to the car. Grace was already there and his mother and aunt were talking with Deserai hanging around them like she usually did. Climbing into the back seat, he stared out at the fields and forest. He just wanted to vanish, to be able to go into the woods and not have to deal with anyone. The thought came to him that he would get pretty lonely in there by himself, and that his family would miss him. He reassured himself with the idea that he would visit them sometimes before pushing any such ideas away. It was stupid. He wouldn't be living in the forest by himself anyway.


Back in his home, Daniel paced around like a caged lion. He had sent Leaf and Micheal home with the promise that he would make it up to them. He didn't like kicking them out like he had but he didn't want to overwhelm the children either. But, now that his friends were gone, Daniel found there was nothing to distract him from what was to come.

Would the kids like him? Would they hate him? Would they even want anything to do with him? As much as he had tried to convince Elenore that everything would be alright, he hadn't managed to convince himself. Their reported reactions kept swirling around in his head and they didn't make him feel any better. He would have continued working on the house but there was nothing he could start that he could then stop and resume working on later, and he didn't want to keep working once they all got there. He knew how incorrect first impressions could be -and how much of an impact they had.

Nicholas waited for his mother and younger sister to get into the car. On the outside, he seemed calm and patient, as always. On the inside, he was squirming, ready to burst out of the car and walk all the day to Dan's house if it meant actually moving. But, as usual, he riened this part of him in, staring out the window and trying not to worry about what was to come.

When his mother and Deserai climbed into the car, it was all he could do not to mutter a 'finally'. He was anxious to get going, to just get the difficult first real meeting over with. When his mother spoke, instead of turning on the car and driving off, Nicholas forced himself to listen. He didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed that they wouldn't be moving in right away. He decided that he would decide later, once he had actually seen the place for himself, and gotten to know Dan better.

During the ride, Nicholas forced himself to sit still, staring out the window like he usually did. The longer they drove, the more restless he got. He was surprised that Deserai was so quiet but he didn't think on it long. He found it hard to think about anything for long. In all honesty, he was nervous, almost scared. So much was changing and so quickly. He liked that they would be living in the country but he didn't know whether or not he would like living with Dan.

When they turned off the main road and onto a dirt road, Nicholas tried to look ahead, trying to spot the house. After several minutes, just when he had begun to sit back, since it seemed he wouldn't be able to spot the house after all, he saw it.

It was nothing like he had imagined, though he wasn't entirely sure what that was to begin with since he hadn't any idea particular idea. But this was definitely wasn't it. The house looked small, and run down. It needed new paint and it looked like some of the boards were rotting. When the car came to a halt, then was turned off, Nicholas wanted to ask if this was the right place. It just didn't seem... right.

Nicholas climbed out of the car more slowly than Grace, looking at the house and then around. It was in the middle of nowhere. He could see the forest edge nearby but there was nothing else but tall grass around the house. Slowly, reluctantly, he followed after his mother and sisters. Deserai was the first one to the door, knocking on it. When the floorboards beneath Grace started to creak, Nicholas stopped, casting a nervous glance at the porch. This was most certainly not what he had been expecting.

It was only a few seconds after Deserai knocked that the door opened. Dan looked different from the last time Nicholas had seen him. He was no longer covered in blood but he was paler, too, and there were shadows under his eyes. He swallowed nervously as the man looked them all over, his expression unreadable. But then he smiled, a small smile but a smile nonetheless and Nicholas' nervousness eased.

"Hello Deserai," Dan said. "Nicholas, Grace." He looked at each of them in turn before looking to Elenore. Nicholas watched as something new came into his expression, something small and subtle. He wasn't sure he liked the way Dan was looking at his mother but, then, he wasn't entirely sure what the look meant either. "Elenore." Dan watched her for a moment before he cleared his throat and looked over them all. "Please, come inside," he said, stepping aside so they could enter.

Daniel was in way over his head. He had known that before but now it truly began to sink in, looking over the three children who he would now have a part in raising. He could see the hostility in Grace's eyes, just barely held in check. Nicholas looked nervous, and slightly disappointed too. Daniel wasn't too concerned about that. The boy had only seen the outside of the house -which, really, was more of an embarrassment than anything else. Once he saw the inside, his opinion would change. Deserai, however, made him nervous. It wasn't that the girl was young. It was that he could see the excitement in her face, the high expectations. He was bound to let her down. But, despite all of his misgivings and fears, he kept that smile on his face, hoping beyond hope that, even if Elenore noticed how nervous he was, the children didn't.

All of a sudden, tiny arms wrapped around his leg. He blinked, keeping one hand against the door frame to help him keep his balance. He blinked again, unsure what to do. Were young children normally so... tactile? He didn't think he had been as a child but he couldn't remember. Uncertain but determined not to let her think him cold or uncaring, he placed a hand on the top of her head before turning his attention to the rest of the family.

He stepped aside, relieved that Deserai let him instead of forcing him to pull her along with his leg. As the three others entered the house, he was ever aware of the young girl by his side. He watched Nicholas and Grace's expressions as they entered. He couldn't read Grace's face but he could see the disappointment in Nicholas' ease, just as he'd thought it would. Grace, on the other hand, would take a while to warm up to the place. He wasn't surprised, hadn't been expecting anything else. She was angry, angry at the world and angry at him. He hoped, in time, that she would warm up to him too.

While Elenore closed the door behind her, he watched Nicholas glance into each of the open doors -Daniel had closed his bedroom door before they'd arrived- before disappearing into the kitchen. A tiny hand grabbed hold of one of his fingers and he looked down at Deserai just as she gave a tug on it. Elenore answered her before he could but he smiled anyway. "It's alright," he told her before looking back to Deserai. "It doesn't have much yet, just your beds, but you can go take a look anyway. It's just through that door." He used his free hand to point towards the nearest door, glad that they'd been able to at least get the beds set up, if nothing else.


In the kitchen, Nicholas peered into cupboards, exploring the fridge and the pantry. There was little in the fridge -just some milk, butter and a few other items. The pantry had more, mostly vegetables, flour and other dry items. There weren't any sweets in the place and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. Just like every other child, he liked sweet things, but he knew they weren't good for him.

Slipping out of the kitchen, he glanced at the others before wandering into the living room. The room was almost compeltely empty, except for their couch and coffee table. There were a few tools in one corner and a white sheet that covered something low and rectangular in another. Casting a glance over his shoulder, he walked over and lifted up one of the corners of the sheet. His brow creased in confusion at the sight of the mattresses before he let the sheet corner drop again.