Chapter 71 "There's been a change of plans," Josh was told when he came down from his nap a few hours later. "What do you mean?" Came the worried reply. "Seems David's brothers have the flu or something so him and Caleb will be spending the weekend over here instead of you going over there." "That's cool. What time do they plan on being here?" Josh asked as the doorbell rang "That's probably them right now," Josh's mom answered as she walked off to answer the door. "Evening, Janet," Tim stated as he ushered David and Caleb through the door. "Thanks for agreeing to take these two for the weekend on such short notice." "It's no problem. We're glad to have them. Do they have everything they'll need for tonight?" Janet asked as she took the offered bags from David and Caleb's father. "Yep, everything they'll need is in there," Tim replied as he handed over the bags. "Well, I need to get going. I don't want to leave Carol alone with two sick boys for very long." "I understand completely. If you need any help this weekend just give me a call and I'll do what I can." "Believe me, Janet, by taking the boys for the weekend you're already doing us a very big favor," Tim told her before turning to David and Caleb. "You boys do what you're asked. I don't want to hear of any trouble when I pick you up on Sunday. Don't eat too much candy tonight and I want you to get to your homework first thing tomorrow," The boys were told sternly. "We will, dad. Tell Ty and Brandon to get well quickly," David said while giving his father a quick hug. Caleb did the same a moment later. With a nod, Tim hurried out the door and was soon driving down the street. "Ok boys, Go on upstairs and get washed up. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Don't worry about changing just yet, unless you're about to start leaking. We'll take care of all that after dinner when you get into your costumes," Mrs. Kelly told the assembled boys. "C'mon guys," Josh motioned after taking the bags that his mom had been holding. "I bet Ty and Brandon are mad about missing out on tonight," Josh stated as he led his friends in to his room. "That's an understatement. Mom thought she was going to have to tie Brandon to his bed with how he was carrying on. At least she did, before the bug really hit," David chuckled as he flopped down on Josh's bed. "You know, things are going to be a bit cramped trying to fit three people into this bed. Why you decided to get rid of the bunk beds I'll never know," Caleb laughed joining in on the conversation. "I just needed a bit more space after my growth spurt over the summer. I got tired of hitting my head on the upper bunk. As for things being a bit cramped, it won't be. I've already got sleeping bags set up downstairs in the game room. That way we can stay up later and not worry about waking anyone up if we make any noise. Let's go get washed up before my mom decides to send out a search party for us," Josh joked as he got up and headed out of the room. A few minutes later the three boys were sitting down and ready to eat. "Thanks for having us over, Mrs. Kelly," Caleb announced as he was handed a plate. "Yeah, thank you," David echoed a second later. "You're welcome, boys. we're happy to have you. I want all three of you to pay attention to what John tells you while you're out tonight and you're to stay together. John, if they don't behave themselves you are to let me know first thing in the morning," Mrs. Kelly told the assembled group. Even though nothing was said directly, Josh, David, and Caleb all understood that nothing better be reported or heads would roll. "Also, we don't want you boys staying out to late. In fact, you're to be home no later than ten o'clock. Understood?" Mr. Kelly told them, adding his own voice to the matter. "Yes, sir," the boys agreed before starting in on their meals before they got cold. Twenty minutes later, Josh, David, and Caleb were back in Josh's room getting into their costumes. "Hey, Caleb, I still have some of my smaller sized Thickies. Would you like to use one of those so you don't have to worry about leaks or coming back here for a change if you need it?" Josh asked when he saw the thin diaper his friend was getting ready to put on. "I wouldn't mind, but I don't want them showing through my costume." "I doubt that will happen, given how baggy the pants you'll have on are. Let me go get one, and if they look to noticeable to you can change back over to the Huggies," Josh told his friend before walking out of his room wearing nothing but a soggy diaper himself. "Josh, I hope you aren't planning on going out dressed like that," His mom joked on seeing her youngest son walking through the living room. "Not quite, mom. I'm just getting one of my old youth diapers for Caleb to try so we don't have to worry about any leaks or needing to come back here so he can change." "That makes sense. Just don't force him into wearing it if he doesn't like how it looks." "I don't plan to. I already told him that if he doesn't like it then he can use the diapers he brought with him." "OK, then get moving. I know your brother is wanting to meet up with his friends soon." "OK. You and Dad have a good time yourselves tonight." "We plan to," Josh was told with a smile. With a smile of his own, Josh headed to the basement and after a few minutes located the box he was looking for and withdrew a dark blue diaper of medium thickness. "Here, Caleb, try this on," Josh said handing over the diaper. "Didn't you have any white ones?" "Yeah, but I thought that with your pants being a dark color the diaper wouldn't stick out as much if your shirt rides up like a white one would. I can go get a white one if you want me to." "Nah, I see your point about going with a dark-colored one," Josh was told as Caleb hopped up on the changing table after handing the diaper to his brother. Josh grabbed one of his own diapers and headed over to his bed to change. Fifteen minutes later John walked into Josh's room just as he was putting on some camouflage make-up to his face. "You about ready Josh? The rest of us are waiting." "Yeah, I'm almost done," Josh told him as he put the finishing touches on his costume. "Have mom and dad already left?" Josh asked in a low voice. "Yeah, they left about ten minutes ago. Why?" John asked with suspicion. "This is why," Josh said with a grin, as he pulled a heavy looking oblong case from under his bed. "Jesus, Josh! Where the hell did you get those?" John asked in shock on seeing the rifles that the box contained. "It was a gift from Uncle Jim. And don't worry, they're all dummies," Josh said as John picked up a bolt action rifle from a recess in the bottom of the case. "Except that one!" Josh stated firmly as he took the rifle before his brother dropped it in surprise. "You better hope mom and dad don't find out about those," John said in a bit of a shaky voice as he saw Josh pick up an H & K MP-5 and sling it over his shoulder after putting on a combat harness. "Dad already knows about them. Uncle James talked to him about it before he sent them over," John just nodded at this but still looked very wary at his brother because of the change he saw. "Well, let's get going before all the good stuff is gone," Josh said with a grin that seemed to scare his brother even more. "Right," John mumbled as he followed his younger brother out of the room. All the conversation in the living room came to a halt when Josh and John entered the room. Nobody could really tell who looked scarier. John, who was once more in his shot up BDUs and extreme make-up job, or Josh who was wearing a regular set of BDUs, Jump boots, Face blacked out in cammie stripes, combat vest, and an assault rifle. "Hold up, guys," John said once everyone started for the door. "My mom made me promise to get pictures," John told the group with an apologetic shrug when everyone groaned. "I know, I know. But this will only take a minute," John told them pointing out that the camera was already set up and ready to go. Seeing that there was no way around it the group got into position for a group shot then Josh and John took a couple of themselves both together and alone. For all the shots, Josh was smart enough to make sure that he didn't have the gun on him when they were taken. Once all this was out of the way, the group left to go out. John made sure that there were some lights on to make people think that someone was home. Over the next couple of hours the boys raced over a six square block area. Josh and John seemed to get the majority of stares at the homes, especially once the sun went down. "Time to head on back, guys," John told Josh, David, and Caleb after looking at his watch and seeing that they only had fifteen minutes to get home. There was little grumbling to this announcement since all of them were getting a bit tired. "Watch out, Caleb!" Josh yelled as he roughly pulled his friend back from the few steps into the street as a dark colored car came roaring past weaving wildly as it did so. "You OK?" John asked as he helped the smaller boy up from the ground where he landed from Josh's tug on his shirt. Josh for his part ignored this as he pulled out a marker that he had in his shirt pocket and started writing down the car's licenses plate number on his arm. Once he had this done, Josh turned to make sure that his friend was OK. "Sorry about being so rough Caleb. You OK?" Josh asked in concern on how his friend was holding his right arm. "I don't know. I think something happened to my arm," Caleb whimpered through the pain and shock. "Let's run him by his house it's closer and with how his arm is swelling I think he better get it looked at," Josh told everyone. His voice telling them not to argue. A few minutes later, all four boys were walking into David's house. "Mom? Jim?" David called as Josh had Caleb sit down. John was shocked at how pale Caleb looked in the bright lights of the living room. "What are you guys doing here? You were supposed to be spending the night over at Josh's." "Caleb had a slight accident on the way back to our house. I though it would be better to bring him back here since it was closer and I knew you would need to know," Josh told Mrs. Kessler as she got the first look at her step-son. "What happened?" the boys were asked as Mrs. Kessler examined Caleb's arm. "As we were starting to cross the street a few blocks over a car came flying past us without it's headlights on and I had to pull Caleb out of the way before he got hit. I guess I was bit rougher that I was meaning to be. I did manage to get the car's number as it went past a street light, if it helps." "OK. You boys go climb into the car. Let me go get Tim so he can run Caleb to the ER and get that arm looked at." "And Josh?" Mrs. Jansen called as the boys were helping Caleb towards the door. "Yeah?" "Thank you," Josh just nodded at this with a smile. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the hospital and Tim started filling out the paperwork to get Caleb looked at. While all this was going on, two ambulances pulled up and off loaded two kids about, David's brother, Brandon's age. "Hey John, Josh," Dan said as the two boys walked past him when Caleb's name was called. "Hey Dan," The two boys replied. Fifteen minutes later, Dan reappeared. "Sorry about the wait. We had a couple of kids brought in. As I'm sure you saw." "What happened?" Tim asked concerned voice. "Hit and run," Was all the reply that Tim got. From the tone used, Tim figured that it was bad. "Someone should be with you shortly," The group was told as Dan finished getting Caleb's vital signs and doing a brief exam of Caleb's arm. Several minutes later the doctor showed up and began checking the arm over. "It looks like the arm may be broken. We'll need to have some X- rays taken to be sure. How did this happen?" Tim filled the doctor in on what he knew and had Josh fill in the rest. The doctor's eyes widened a bit when Josh recalled what he had seen. Without a word the doctor left the room and returned a few moments later with a police officer. "Son, the doctor tells me that you may have seen the car that hit a couple of kids a few blocks up from where your friend was almost hit. Do you think you could tell me what the car looked like that almost hit your friend?" "Sure, and if it helps I managed to get the plate number off the car as well," josh told the officer and gave all the information he could. "Well, it could be an entirely different car, but it seems to match the car some other people saw. The license plate number is a definite bonus. We'll get in touch with you if there is anything else you can help with," the officer replied after getting Josh's home address and phone number. The doctor returned a few minutes later and confirmed that Caleb's arm was broken. Josh turned a bit white when hearing this and started to apologize to both Caleb and his dad for what happened. "Josh, it's OK. I know you didn't mean to injure Caleb. From what I've heard, things would have been much worse if you hadn't pulled him back like you did. So don't worry about it," Tim told Josh firmly while handing him some tissues to blow his nose with. Josh nodded at this and accepted the tissues silently. They group walked out of the hospital Twenty minutes later. With Caleb sporting a new cast on his arm and all the boys treat bags having been x-rayed to make sure the contents were safe. "Caleb, do you still feel like spending the rest of the weekend over at Josh's? I can take you home if you feel like it once I drop the other boys off." "That's OK. I want to still do the sleepover," Caleb stated. "OK. Then let's get you guys home," Tim stated as they climbed back into the car. "Where have you guys been?" Erin asked as the boys walked through the front door with Tim following close behind. Without comment, Tim filled Erin in what had happened earlier and that was why the boys were so late getting home. "That's acceptable then. You guys go up to Josh's room and get out of your costumes and get in to some clean diapers and PJs. You can leave the candy down here while your doing that," Erin told them with a grin as Mr. Jansen gave David and Caleb a hug before leaving. Erin laughed a bit when Josh, David, and Caleb came back down a few minutes later all sporting very thick cloth diapers, and short T- shirts. "Go on down and climb into bed. I've already prepped thing for you," Erin told them while giving each of the boys a slap on their padded rears as they walked past. "Caleb, I want to say that I'm sorry about your arm. I didn't mean for you to break it." "That's OK. Like my dad said earlier, this is easier to deal with than what would have happened if you hadn't pulled me back like you did," Josh was told in a sleepy voice. Given the activates of the night, all three boys decided to go right to bed instead of staying up late like they had planned. Josh's parents found all three boys sound asleep holding stuffed animals and pacifiers hanging out of their mouths several hours later when they went down to check on them once they got home. Mrs. Kelly wondered about the cast that Caleb now had but figured that it would be best to wait until morning before finding out what happened.
Chapter 72 "Morning, mum." Josh mumbled as he, David and Caleb walked into the kitchen later the next morning. "Morning boys. Everyone sleep O.K.?" they were asked. "Just fine." Josh and David replied. "I could have slept better if my arm didn't hurt like it did." Caleb replied as he took his seat. "I saw that you had injured yourself when I checked in you guys last night. What happened?" "Oh, Josh broke it." Caleb announced without thinking about how his answer might be taken. Mrs. Kelly took it the wrong way and assumed that Josh had done it on purpose and reacted accordingly. "Joshua get to your room now!" His mom yelled before any of the boys could explain. "But..." Josh started to explain. "I SAID NOW!" His mom boomed. Without another word Josh bolted from the room crying not seeing either John or Erin as he ran past them. "What was that all about?" John asked his mom as he and Erin entered the room. "Your brother broke his friend's arm and probably without provocation." Mrs. Kelly told them with disgust on her face. "Didn't you let him even explain what happened?" John asked in surprise, but worried what the answer was going to be. "Oh Mother, you didn't?" Erin asked in shock as she saw the look on her mother's face. "John, you explain it to her. I'll be right back." Erin said heading back upstairs without so much as a glance at her mother's stricken face. "You better sit down, mum," John announced in a tired voice as he started to tell his mother what had happened the night before. David and Caleb joined in at certain points to let Mrs. Kelly know how they felt about things. "Josh, open up please, it's me," Erin said after softly knocking on the door. Not waiting for an answer, Erin opened the door and found Josh sitting in the window nook staring blankly out over the backyard holding his teddy bear. "You okay there, Thumper?" Josh was asked softly as Erin sat down across from him and pulled the younger boy into her arms. "I know you're upset about how mum reacted just now. John's telling her everything right now." "I just don't get it." Josh sobbed continuing before Erin could say anything. "They don't do anything when I'm defending myself and someone gets injured. But they go ballistic if I accidentally injure someone trying to save them. How could mum even think that I would harm one of my friends, even with serious provocation? Let alone without it?" Josh sobbed. His choice of words telling Erin that he had heard what their mom had said. "I don't know, Josh. We both know that this isn't like mum and something is going on for her to act like she did. I'd like you to come downstairs with me and finish eating. Okay?" "I think it would be better if I just stayed up here for awhile." "If you think it would better that way. I'll fix you up a plate and have David and Caleb bring it up to you." Josh nodded his thanks and turned back towards the window. "Where's Joshua?" Mrs. Kelly asked as Erin re-entered the room. "He felt it would better if he stayed in his room for a while." Erin told her while fixing the plate she had promised for her brother. "David would you mind taking this up to him?" Erin asked as she set everything on a tray. "Erin, if Josh wants to eat he can come down and eat with the rest of us." Mrs. Kelly said sternly as Mr. Kelly came into the room. "David, please." Erin said in a tone that David and Caleb knew all to well. Feeling that disobeying Mrs. Kelly was the lesser of two evils at the moment, David took the offered tray with a shrug towards Mrs. Kelly and gesturing towards Caleb disappeared quickly upstairs. Once the younger boys had left the room, Erin sat down and after fixing her own plate turned towards her mother. "What happened?" she asked calmly. "What do you mean?" "I mean, what happened? You aren't acting like you. What with biting Josh's head off about Caleb's arm without letting him explain what happened first." "You mean you haven't even told them yet, Janet? And what happened to Caleb's arm?" Mr. Kelly interrupted. "Josh accidentally broke Caleb's arm last night while preventing him from getting hit by a car. And what's going on?" Erin asked as her mom let out a small gasp and hurriedly left the room when Erin mentioned Caleb's near miss with the car. "Two of the Taylor's sons were involved in a hit and run last night. Cameron didn't survive and they're keeping Tim in for observation. We didn't find out about it till after Cameron was already dead. Your mom is taking it hard because of all the time she helped out with the boys while Julie was pregnant with the twins this last spring and with watching them on and off since then." There was dead silence at this information. "I just hope they're able to find the bastard that did it." their dad said bitterly. "That shouldn't be a problem, dad. I think the car that almost hit Caleb was the same one that hit Tom and Cam." "And how is that supposed to help?" Mr. Kelly barked angrily. "Because I managed to get the plate number and description of the car and already turned it over to the police." Josh announced, causing everyone to jump. Without another word, Josh went up and hugged his father just before the elder Kelly broke down for the loss of the boy he was starting to consider another son. After helping his dad regain control for a while Josh went up to comfort his mom. "Mum, are you OK?" Josh asked after knocking on his parents' bedroom door and getting permission to enter. "I just heard what happened from dad. I just want to let you know that I forgive you for taking my head off a bit ago. I know now that you weren't meaning anything by it." Josh said as he gave his mom a hug. "I'm so sorry Josh about how I acted. I just was trying to sort everything out and figure out why someone so kind and gentle would have to die so young." Josh was told before his mom broke down again. Josh's dad came in a few minutes later to take Josh's place. "Josh, what's going on?" David asked as Josh came back into his room. "You know the hit-and-run victims the doctor had mentioned last night as he was taking a look at Caleb's arm?" Josh asked with a heavy sigh. "Yeah, what about it?" David replied as he started to feel that he wasn't going to like the answer. "It turns out that it was two of Zach Taylor's younger brothers." "Which ones?" Caleb asked as tears started welling up in his eyes since he had known the Taylor brothers the longest since they used to be neighbors. "Cam and Tim. Cam didn't make it and they're not sure if Tim is." Josh said in a bit of a dead voice knowing that this was going to be his friend's question. David sat down heavily at Josh's desk as if all the air had left his body. Without even realizing it, David reached for the phone on Josh's desk and called his mom. Unfortunately he ended up getting the answering machine. "Mom or Tim, please give me a call at Josh's house as soon as you here this. It's important." David said in husky voice as he gave Josh's private number. "Cam was Brandon's best friend. I'd rather he heard about this from a family member than some other way." Josh was told when David saw his questioning look. The boys sat in silence over the next twenty minutes before the phone ringing jarred them back to reality. "Hello?" David answered "David? It's Tim, I just got your message to call what's going on?" "I have something I need you to tell Brandon. It's about Cam Taylor. He's..." David started to say but couldn't bring himself to finish. He let the phone drop to the floor with his sentence unfinished as he joined his brother on Josh's bed. "David?" "David?! Are you there? What's going on?" "Tim? This is Josh." Josh said after taking a moment to compose himself. "Josh, what's going on? What was I needing to tell Brandon about Cam?" Came Tim's questioning voice. "Cam died last night as a result of injuries sustained in a hit and run." Josh said bluntly. Thinking of no other way to break the news. "Hit and run? You mean one of the boys the doctor was talking about last night when we brought Caleb in was Cam Taylor?" Tim asked in shock. "Yes sir. The other was, his brother, Tim. Last I heard, Tim was going to make it but they're keeping him in for observation." Josh told David and Caleb's father. "My god. Thanks for letting us know we'll get things handled on our end. If you don't mind, I'm going to have Carol come pick the boys up. Please have them ready." Tim stated, using his wife's first name because he forgot he was talking to an 11 year old. "I'll let my mom know. We'll have them ready." "David, Caleb, your mom is going to be here in little while to pick you up so you'll need to get changed and dressed." They were told softly as Josh gave them each a comforting squeeze on the shoulder before leaving the room to let his mom know what was going on. "Mom, I just thought I'd let you know that David's mom is going to be here in a little bit to pick David and Caleb up." "Why? I know this is a rough time for us but that is no reason to send your guests home." Mrs. Kelly stated heatedly. "Easy mom. This was Caleb's dad's idea not mine." Josh replied before telling his mom what was going on. "I'm sorry I snapped at you, Josh. Of course the boys should be with their family at a time like this. We'll be heading over to the Taylor's in about thirty minutes. Since I know you and Jim are friends I'd like you to join your father and I. Please dress nicely, nothing fancy, just nice." Mrs. Kelly said with a small smile. Josh nodded his understanding and went to get a shower and then to get dressed. "Mom, is this acceptable?" Josh asked thirty minutes later, walking into the kitchen. "That will do very nicely." Mrs. Kelly said looking at the polo shirt and neatly pressed Khaki pants her son was wearing. On closer inspection of the pants she saw that these were a pair of the pants that Josh had modeled the day before. The other thing Mrs. Kelly was glad to see was that Josh had decided to use one of his thinner diapers. Josh, and his parents left for the Taylor's. Going over to the Taylor's turned out to be bittersweet. The doctors had decided to release Tim that morning so he was already home by the time Josh and his parents arrived. After giving his condolences to Cam's parents, Josh found Zach holed up in his room. Not knowing what else to do, Josh just sat with his friend and listened to the disjointed rambling Zach was doing. A short time later David, Caleb, and several other friends from school showed up to help out. After awhile, Josh and David headed back to where the adults were talking. It was then that the boys had heard that the information Josh had given to the officer in the hospital had led to the arrest of the driver of the car that had been involved in the accident. The next several weeks were a blur of activities Josh. The day after Cameron's funeral he found out that he was being called as a witness to the driver's trial since he was the closest thing the prosecutors had to an eyewitness. To say that Josh was nervous would have been an understatement. It was even greater when Josh found out that the person driving the car was the local police chief's son. Everyone knew that the teen would be found guilty, but figured that he would get off with what would be no more than a slap on the wrist. The court was packed the day of the sentencing. A pin drop could have been heard outside while people waited for the sentencing to be read. In the end, the driver was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison as a result of two previous convictions he had to his name. The only sound in the courtroom was the sobbing of Cameron's family once the verdict had been read. Josh and everyone soon got back into a regular routine and things got back to normal. Not surprisingly, soon after the verdict was read the Taylor's moved into a slightly smaller house. Josh and Brandon didn't see Zach again until High school. Both were surprised by the changes that had come over their friend in the passing years. Before he was extremely out going practical joker, now it was all they could do to get him to say one or two words to them. Over time they went their own ways and he just became another face in the hall. To everyone's surprise, Josh and Neil struck up a friendship once Neil got out of the hospital. They still get together today when their schedules allow. Neil's daytime wetting problem cleared up soon after the doctors changed his medications. Though he still needed diapers at night for some years to come. Epilogue Erin and Aaron ended up getting married, to no one's surprise, after graduating med school. Erin went on to be one of the leaders in Pediatric Urology, with Aaron specializing in Child Psychology. They currently reside in Orlando, Florida with their 4 sons. After getting his PhD. in Computer Science from M.I.T, John started his own computer company that took the market by storm and ended up buying out the Microsoft(r) Corporation. DJ writes Military fiction and General fiction in his spare time. He and John are still happily married and live outside Sedona, Arizona, with their three sons. Brandon went on to become a lawyer specializing in Child rights. he currently lives in McLean, Virginia with his family. While it was tough on him, Caleb got through college and ended up taking over the Marketing Division of CKM Inc. He lives outside Boise, Idaho with his family. And Josh, well, he ended up surprising everyone. In his Sophomore year in high school he got roped into running for class president and won. He enjoyed it so much he decided to follow a career in politics. And where is he now you ask? Well, he currently lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington D.C. with his wife, three sons and two daughters. No one was more surprised about this then he, given his views on gay rights. Not to mention, that he now holds the distinction of being the youngest person ever to be elected to that office. Having done so by age 38. Finis.