Memoirs of a Diaper Boy II

Chapter 5

D.C.

“Rise and Shine sleepy head.” I heard a voice call out.

“Huh?”

“Time to get up. Breakfast is waiting on you and Anna is getting a bit mad that it’s getting cold.” Brian told me as I finally started coming to my senses.

“OK. I’ll be down in a minute.” I stated as I stretched a bit. I felt a couple of my ribs pop as I did so. I was glad that they were mostly healed and I was able to do most activities. Though I did have to watch it at times. I was even happier when I had gotten the casts off my arm and leg several months back. Figuring that my night diaper could still take some more abuse, I climbed out of bed and headed down stairs.

(“So nice of you to join us.”) Anna told me in simple Spanish as I walked past.

(“sorry.”) I mumbled in reply. As expected I got a light swat to my rear as I walked past Anna.

“Forgot to set your alarm again, huh?” Ian asked me as I sat down. I guess the light shade of red I turned was all the answer he needed.

“I wouldn’t make a habit of it or Anna might start sending Otto in to wake you up and I don’t think you want to get that treatment.” Steve said jumping into the conversation. Brian and David chuckled at this. I figured that they knew what their dad was talking about. Just as I was about to say something the Trips came charging into the room. With what had become a normal routine, Devon had climbed up into my lap to say good morning to me before going over to his dads.

“How’s his pull-up doing?” Steve asked as he checked Ryan’s and Ian checked Adam’s.

“About normal.” I replied after lifting my cousin’s shirt and saw that the wetness symbols had faded.

“Same here. Oh, Well. They’ll get the hang of it sooner or later.” Ian said.

“At least they have the day-time thing down now, mostly.” Steve told his husband with a smile. I smiled a bit at this myself thinking back at the last couple of months after Uncle Ian had announced that the Trips seemed to be ready to start potty training shortly after their fourth birthday.

“There is that.” Ian said.

“Uncle Ian, We got a note from school saying that Swimming was going to be starting on Monday and I need to get some Speedos in the school colors for it.” Brian announced.

“OK. We can get you out to the mall later on about that. What about you guys?” Ian asked David and Brad.

“Mine still fit and are in good shape.” David replied.

“I’ll need some. But the coach said I wasn’t allowed to do anything until the doctor cleared me about my ribs.”

“That’s fine. We can get you some along with Brian. You have a doctor appointment Monday so getting you cleared won’t be a problem. Besides, Anna and John both say that you’ve been spending time in the pool anyway.” I was told with a grin I turned red at this since I wasn’t supposed to be in the pool unless one of my uncles, or older cousins were around.

“This means that if the doctor clears you, we’ll be starting your drown proofing that afternoon.” I have to admit that I didn’t like the sound of this and the looks on David’s and Brian’s faces weren’t helping much.

“Don’t worry, It won’t be quite that bad.” I was told with a grin.

“It’s a good thing that I’m a good swimmer already.” I thought as the conversations went in other directions.

“So, have you told them yet?” Steve asked after us boys were sent upstairs to get ready for the day.

“Not yet. I was going to wait till dinner since things aren’t set yet.”

“Well, don’t wait to long. Spring Break is coming up pretty soon and I wouldn’t be to surprised if David and Brian have already started telling Brad about what we normally do for it.”

“I wouldn’t be to surprised either. I’ve got a call set up with Jason later on this morning to go over everything. The change in the plans were more his idea than anything else. You know we really haven’t gotten together since he was elected and none of the boys have had a chance to see each other and I’m sure they’d like to meet Brad as well.”

“Good point. What about the job offer” Steve asked his husband with a raised eyebrow.

“How’d you find out about that?” came the surprised response.

“Madge called a couple of weeks ago and we got to talking.”

“I guess I shouldn’t be too shocked by that.”

“Hey, she’s my little sister. What do you expect?” Steve said with a smile.

“I know. Meg was the same way with me with some of the people she’s hooked me up with.” Ian said with a knowing grin.

“Anyway, I already let Jason know that he’d have to find someone else for the A.G. post. I’ll admit he didn’t seem to happy about this but after I explained that it wouldn’t be right for me to leave office just after getting re-elected. Besides there are many just as talented people in the Justice Department and it wouldn’t be right for me to take their shot.”

“Right, and the fact that the people you suggested just happened to work for you at one time or another has nothing to do with it.”

“Hey. It never hurts to help boost someone’s career.”

“Especially when you might need to call in a favor later on.” Ian’s shy grin was all the answer Steve needed before he started laughing.

“I’ve said it before Ian and I’ll say it again, you would have made on hell of a Chief.”

“Well, what do you expect after having dealt with Brad for all those years.”

“I can believe it from what I had seen of the network he had laid out from the times our paths crossed during Korea and other places. I still would have loved to have seen the look on his face if he knew I married his baby brother.”

“Especially, after all the fights you and him had over the years”

“Yeah, something like that. Well we better go up and get ready for the day ourselves before the boys get back down here and start hassling us.” Ian laughed at this and followed his hubby upstairs.

“Uncle Ian what are we doing here?” Brad asked as he was steered into a Jordan’s Inc. Store.

“You said you need to get some Speedos for school right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Ok, then. Normal Speedos wouldn’t fit over your normal briefs so wee need to pick some from here.”

“But..”

“Don’t worry about what they look like Brad. I can tell you from experience you won’t be able to tell the difference.” Ian told his soon to be newest son with a smile.

“Ok.” Ian replied meekly but still not believing it.

“May I help you, Sir?” A salesman asked as they walked through the door.

“Yes, you may. I’m needing to get some Speedo style swim trunks for the two young men here.” Ian replied while placing a hand on Brad’s and Brian’s shoulder.

“I see. If you’ll follow me please, I’ll show you what we have in stock.”

“Do you have any in Blue and Silver? We need them for school .” Brian asked after looking for a moment at what they had displayed.

“Oh, the ones we have for the local schools are over here.” They were told as the salesman led them to a different area.

“You’ll find the different area schools displayed along the wall here and this book will show you the different styles and types of swimwear we carry for them. I’ll give you a few minutes to look through the book. My name is Jason. Just give a shout when you’re ready or if you have any questions.” Ian was told before Jason walked off to help another customer.

“I told you they wouldn’t be that bad.” Ian said as they looked through the book. Brad was a bit taken back when he saw that all the suits were being modeled by real people and not just placed on mannequins.

“How many days a week are you guys going to be swimming?” Ian asked once they boys had found what they were looking for.

“I’m not sure.” Brad said while looking at Brian.

“Coach Dunbar said we would be in the pool every day.” Brian told his dad.

“Ok then we’ll get you guys a couple of pairs each.” They were told as Ian waved Jason back over.

“The boys will need three pairs each of the model 4D in the 10/12 size. In the Blue and Silver color.”

“Ok, and what school is it for? Some of them require the school crest or Mascot to be on the trunks as well.”

“They’ll need it for Stonehenge Academy.”

“Ah, the Druids.” They were told with a knowing smile.

“I take you go there”

“Yeah, I’m on the JV Swim Squad. Who do you guys have right now for gym?”

“Dunbar.”

“You lucked out there. I ended up with Romanov.”

“Really? What’s his first name?” Ian asked with some interest.

“Ivan. He’s my uncle. My dad sent my brothers and sister out here to live with my grandparents while he was on deployment. I take it you know them?” Jason asked.

“Well, I could be wrong but I went to school with an Ivan Romanov.”

“Well, If I could have your name I could ask him if you’d like.”

“Nah. That’s alright. I’m probably thinking of someone else.”

“Well, if you’re sure. I’ll be right back with the trunks. Oh, and you might want to think about going with four pairs each. Dunbar always insists that the guys always have at least one clean pair of trunks on hand.

“That makes sense. Go ahead and make it four then.”

“Be right back.”

“You know him don’t you dad.” Brian said after Jason had walked off.

“Well like I said, I could be wrong but you never know. And while we’re here, how are you guys doing on supplies?”

“I’ve got about a week or so left. I was meaning to tell you last night.” Brian said

“I’ve got about a week and a half.” Brad added.

“Ok I’ll wait here for the trunks. Go get what you need and don’t forget to pick up some liners to go with the trunks as well.” both boys nodded and headed off to the area they needed.

“Boys, I need you to try on a pair of the trunks so we can make sure we have the right sizes for you.”

“Uh dad, how are we supposed do this? There’s no way those are going to fit over our normal pants.” Brian pointed out.

“Don’t worry about it. We have some trial pairs already in the dressing room. Just make sure the trunks have a liner in them.” Jason stated while leading them over to a dressing area and handed the boys a pair of trunks after fitting a liner into them.

“Mine seem to be a bit loose.” Brad said several minutes later as he came out to show his uncle the fit.

“They’ll fit just fine once you tie the waist band up. And once the doctor clears you we’ll be able to start putting a bit of meat on those bones of yours.” Ian joked as he prodded his nephew a bit in the ribs. Making the boy giggle a bit. Brian came out a moment later and his dad saw that the trunks his son was wearing fit exactly like they were supposed too.

“I’d say we got the right sizes guys. Go get changed back into your street clothes and I’ll meet you at the front counter.” The boys nodded at this and quickly ducked back into the changing cubical they were sharing. In their haste to get dressed they accidentally got their clothes mixed up. Ian started chuckling when he saw this but didn’t say anything .Twenty minutes after walking in, they were leaving the store with several more cases of diapers and pull-ups, along with the swim trunks.

“Well, that was quick. I figured you guys were going to be gone longer than this. I was just getting ready to take the Trips, and the dogs to the park and let them blow off some steam.” Ian was told when he, Brian, and Brad walked through the door.

“Sounds like a plan. Let me go up and change real quick into something grungier while the boys take their stuff upstairs and we’ll join you. What about David?”

“Oh, Hutch came over and asked David if he wanted to join him, Les and Les’s family at the water park.”

“I just hope that David remembers to use enough sun block this time.” Ian said as he started to climb the stairs.

“Boys, don’t get too comfortable. We’re going to be going to the park with Steve, the Trips, and the dogs.” Ian called out as he walked past Brad’s and Brian’s rooms.

“OK, dad.” Came the stereo response. Ian faltered for a second on hearing this since it was the first time he could remember Brad ever referring to him or Steve as dad.

“Something wrong?” Steve asked when Ian came back downstairs and he saw that his husband had been crying a bit.

“It’s nothing major.” Ian replied as he told Steve what he had heard upstairs.

“Ian, I think that’s something very major. It could mean that Brad’s finally starting to get comfortable living here and sees us as his family.” Before the conversation could go any further, they were joined by everyone else.

“You guys have everything packed?” Steve asked before they headed out.

“Yeah, Dad. We do.” Brian told his dad with a smile. Steve smiled back as he messed up his son’s hair.

“DAD!” Brian complained as he tried to straighten his hair back up.

“Hey Brad! Catch!” Brian yelled as he they the Frisbee at his cousin’s back. He was stunned when Brad was able to jump and catch it while his back was still mostly turned then flung it back at him without missing a beat. What he Brad didn’t see till it was too late was the Three dogs that were trying to go for the Frisbee as well.

“Ouch.” Brad mumbled as he was helped up off the ground by his cousin after the dogs had cleared off him.

“You OK Brad?” Ian called as he came over to see if his nephew was ok after having seen the dog pile Brad found himself at the bottom of.

“Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting this to become a contact sport.” Brad replied with a grin as he went over to the dogs and petted each of them to let them know that he knew what had just happened was just an accident.

“Well, before you get back to your game I think we better get something taken care of first.” Ian announced as he looked down and saw the wet spot on Brad’s shorts.

“AH, Man.” Brad mumbled when he saw what his uncle was talking about.

“Don’t worry Brad. It happened to me several times as well.” Ian said trying to comfort Brad before any meltdown occurred.

“Aren’t we going into the restroom?” Brad asked as Ian laid him out on the blanket they had brought with them.

“There’s no need to there aren’t enough people around to worry about that. Besides after having seen the condition of the restrooms already, this will be a lot cleaner.” Brad was told as his uncle went about pulling the boy’s wet shorts off and started to remove the wet pull up Brad had on.

“Brad, I think till you start to get better control or you’re certain to be around a restroom, you’ll need to start using the regular diapers. I’m surprised your pants aren’t a lot wetter than they are.” Ian commented as he pulled the overflowing pull-up away from Brad’s groin and out from under him. After handing the used garment to Steve, Ian pulled out a tub of wipes and started cleaning his nephew off. Once this was done Brad felt lotion and powder being applied to his butt and groin. Brad turned a bright red when the thing he was wouldn’t happen, did

“Don’t worry about that Brad. It happens to everyone at one point or another.” Ian laughed as he moved Brad’s hands away from the now deflating erection the boy had. Since his eyes were closed, Brad didn’t see what the diaper his uncle was placing on him.

“Ok, kiddo. You’re all set.” Ian announce as he finished taping the diaper closed and pulled Brad’s shirt back down as far as it would go.

“What about my shorts?”

“Those are too wet to put back on. You’ll be fine how you are.” Ian said with a smile as he gave Brad a slight slap on the rear to get him moving to back over where Brian was waiting for him. Brad gave his uncle a dubious look when he saw that his shirt only covered about the top three-fourths of his diaper.

“Go on. Brian’s waiting for you.” Steve added while giving Brad a firmer slap to the backside.

“Yes, sir.”

“Don’t worry about it Brad. I’ve been out here loads of times dressed just like you are.” Brian told his cousin with a smile.

“Right.” Brad thought as he caught the football that his cousin threw at him. A short time later the Trips joined them, dressed just like their older cousin, and Brian and Brad started throwing the ball a good deal easier so the Trips could catch it. It was kind of funny to see really since each of the younger boys had a dog trailing after them as they chased after the ball if it went over their head Several hours later Steve called that it was time to get things packed up and head for home when he saw some clouds starting to move into the area. They managed to get home and inside just as it started raining.

“Brian would you and Brad take the Trips and get them down for a nap before dinner and then work on any homework you might still have to do. We’ll be pretty busy tomorrow so you won’t have time to do anything then .” Steve announced as he and Ian took the dishes from their lunch into the kitchen.

“Ok dad.” Brad said as he grabbed Devon up before he could run off. Devon started giggling at this and even more so when Brad started to tickle him as he was carried upstairs.

“Sleep tight you guys.” Brad and Brian said as they put each of the boys in their beds and covered them up after giving them their Teddy bears.

“Bet you ten dollars that when whoever goes in to wake them up for dinner finds them in the same bed.” Brad said with a grin.

“You’re on. Lets see the money first though.” Brian responded with a smile. Thinking that this was going to be an easy bet to win given how the Trips acted when their dad showed them the beds a month ago.

“I can have Uncle Ian deduct it from my allowance.”

“That works.” After the boys shook on the deal they each headed into their rooms to get started on their homework.

“Ah Man, not again.” Brad mumbled as he sat down and felt the diaper squish under him. With a shake of his head, he got up and headed over to his changing table. After getting things arranged on the sideboard that he had talked his uncles into adding Brad climbed up on the table and started to change the extremely wet diaper he had on. Like earlier something made an unwanted appearance as he was getting the lotion and powder rubbed in. However, unlike earlier, Brad was in a better position to do something about it. Fifteen minutes later he was cleaning up the results of his distraction and finished getting a clean diaper on himself. Brad was glad that his uncle had thought ahead and ordered his cloth diapers with Velcro tabs on them to make solo changes easier.

“Brad, Time to wake up dude.” David said as he gently shook Brad’s shoulder. While Brad still jumped slightly he no longer tried to take a swing at people.

“Huh?”

“It’s time to get up. Dad decided to take up out for dinner instead of cooking. So you’ll need to get dressed as well.” David added with a grin seeing that his cousin was just wearing a diaper and plastic pants.

“I’ll be down in a few minutes. Oh, has anyone gotten the Trips up yet?”

“No, I was just about to do that now. Why?”

“Because I have a bet with Brian that the Trips will all be in the same bed sleeping when some goes into wake them up.” Brad explained with a grin.

“Oh, I can already tell you they are. Dad had me check on them when I got home. I don’t know why they even bothered getting them separate beds yet since the Trips always end up in the same one by the end of the night.” David said with a shrug.

“Great! Could you have Brian help you get them up.”

“That’s no problem. And you might want to get a shower before you get dressed. It looks like you’re going to need one.” David said as he pointed out the growing wet spot on his cousin’s diapers.

“What? Damn.”

“Don’t let dad or Steve here you saying things like that they don’t really care for those words being used by us.” Brad was told as David turned and left the room.

“Guys, I have something to tell you concerning Spring Break this year.” Ian announced as everyone finished dinner a couple of hours later, and Steve took the Trips to the restrooms to get them cleaned up.

“You don’t need to worry about that dad. We already told Brad what we normally do and what to expect.” David said cutting his dad off.

“I kind of figured you probably did. The problem though is that we’re having a change of plans this year.”

“What do you mean a change in plans?” Brian interjected

“If you two will be quiet for a moment, I’ll explain.” Ian said with some annoyance in his voice.

“Sorry.”

“Ok, What’s going to be happening this year is that instead of Florida, We’ll be heading to D.C. instead to visit Jason and his family since they haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting Brad and Jason insisted.”

“Couldn’t they just come down to Florida like they normally do?” Brian asked, kind of whining.

“I think you already know the answer to that and the reason why they can’t and don’t whine.”

“Yes, sir.” Brian replied softly looking at the table as he did so.

“It’s alright. I know you guys look forward to that trip but things change. Besides, I think it’s time that we broaden our horizons a bit. Especially with you guys getting a bit older now.”

“Well, what are we going to be doing there then and where are we going to be staying?” David asked.

“Steve and I have looked over some spots we think you boys will like. However we’d like you guys to go online and see if there is anything that you’d like to see that Steve and I haven’t thought of. As for where we’ll be staying, Jason insisted that we stay at their place.” David was told with a grin.

“Sorry, I guess I wasn’t thinking on that last part.” David said with a small grin of his own.

“Uh, Uncle Ian, Uncle Jason and his family aren’t going to have a problem with my condition are they?” Brad asked softly.

“No, Brad, I don‘t think they will. They haven’t had a problem with Brian yet so I highly doubt they’ll have any problems with you. Besides a couple of your other cousins have the same problem you do at least at night.”

“Oh. OK.” Brad said with some relief.

“I see you told them already.” Steve said as he brought three freshly scrubbed boys back to the table.

“Yeah. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. I am having them go through some sights and find things that they want to do.”

“I kind of figured that you would. How about we head on home. I see a couple of boys that are looking a bit sleepy even with that nap they took.” Steve chuckled looking at the Trips.

“I think you’re right.”

“Guys do you think we could do the White House tour on one of the days?” Brad asked a few hours later as He, Brian, and David were going over things to do on their trip.

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem. I’m pretty sure our dads already have that planned.” David said with a smile as Brian broke out in laughter.

“What’s so funny about wanting to see the White House?” Brian was asked angrily by his cousin. Brian just mumbled something to David that Brad didn’t catch and ran from the room laughing even more.

“Don’t worry about that Brad. Brian is just being a dweeb again I’m sure we can arrange a time where we can tour the White House.” David said with a suppressed laugh of his own when it became apparent that Brad was serious about taking the tour and didn’t realize that Jason was the President and that they’d be staying at the White House while they were in D.C.

“David, Brian Remember that I’m going to be picking you up today after fourth hour so be ready to go. I’ve already let the school know about this so it won’t be a problem to have you waiting in the office. Now get going before you guys miss the bus.” Ian told his sons as they got up from the table and headed for the front door.

“Have a good day and we’ll see you later.” Steve said as he gave each of the boys a hug as they walked past.

“You to dad.” Brian said as he returned his dad’s hug and quickly caught up to his brother. Little did they know what was going to be happening to one of them in a couple of hours time

“Hey, Miller! The coach wants to see in the pool now. You too Franklin. And don‘t bother changing yet, he said he wants to see you both immediately.” a boy called out as David and another boy walked into the locker room to change.

“What do you think he wants?” David asked the smaller boy as they turned around and headed for the pool area.

“I don’t have a clue. I just hope he doesn’t want to give us a swim test or anything.”

“It’s possible since both of us missed the test last week. Of course if that was going to be the case he would have had us change first.” David told Franklin as they walked into the pool house.

“What the hell!” David started to say as he and Franklin were grabbed from behind and had hoods placed over their heads. Before David could respond to this he felt his hands and feet being bound behind him.

“Now let’s see if you can swim.” A voice laughed as he pushed David forward. The few seconds of free fall that he had before hitting the water told David that they must have been dragged up to the top of the high dive platform. David heard Franklin yelling that he couldn’t swim just before they hit the water.

“WHAT’S GOING ON IN HERE?!!” A very pissed off Coach Romanov yelled when he and a few of the older students walked into the pool just as the two bound and gagged boys hit the water. Looking up he saw several other boys on one of the platforms laughing.

“You guys get down here now!” He screamed at the no longer laughing boys.

“Jason go in and help them out!” One of the other coaches called having been drawn by all the yelling.

“On it, coach.” Jason called as he yanked off his jacket and dove into the pool after the boys he had seen pushed in

By the time Jason had reached David, David had already kicked his shoes off, gotten the hood off his head and gotten it so that his hands were no longer behind him. Seeing that someone was swimming towards him he pointed towards the still struggling Franklin a few feet below and to the right of him. Seeing that David had everything under control, Jason nodded and headed for the other boy soon they were both heading for the surface.

“What the Fuck Do You Guys Think You’re Playing At?! Did You Not Understand What I Told You At The Start Of The Year About No Hazing?!” Ivan yelled at the top of his lungs. Before the boy getting chewed out could respond he was yanked off his feet and into the pool. About this time David’s dad walked in

{“What’s going on here Ivan?”} Ian asked calmly, in Russian.

{“These idiots decided to do the drown-proofing thing”} came the irate reply before he knew who he was talking to. At this point a sputtering head came to the of the surface at the center of the pool. Before anything could be said another person popped up beside it and dragged it back down. Moments later the gasping student came back to the surface and quickly started swimming for the pool’s edge. He went under two more times before being able to climb out of the pool. He was followed soon after by a very wet and pissed off David.

“Now you know what it was like for the other kid. Now go get my damn shoes!” David exclaimed as he pushed the still gasping boy back into the pool.

“Now which one of you has the keys to these damn things!?” David raged holding up his still handcuffed hands.

“Uh-hmm.” Ian coughed lightly getting his son’s attention.

“Hey Pops. Aren’t you a bit early?” David asked calmly on seeing his father standing there.

“A little.” came the reply.

“Go get into some dry clothes and then meet me in the office in fifteen minutes.” Ian stated calmly once the handcuffs had been removed from his son’s wrists.

“Aye-aye, sir.” David responded quickly catching the tone his dad was using and then all but ran to do what he was told.

“Well?” Ian asked the still short of breath boy as he was climbing out of the pool for the second time.

“Sir?” the boy gasped

“Where are my son’s shoes?” Ian asked the shocked boy.

“Fine. You go get them.” Ian told the next boy in line.

“But..?” The fully dressed boy started to say.

“Now.”

“Uh.. yes sir.” the boy stammered as he kicked off his shoes, and jacket and dove into the pool.

“Ivan, I’ll see you and these four idiots in the office in ten minutes after I check in on the other boy.” Ian said coldly before taking the shoes he was being offered.

“What do you boys have to say for yourselves?” Mrs. Dubov asked coldly looking at the four boys standing in front of her desk.

“It was just a joke. We were keeping an eye on them.” One of the boys said unable to meet his principal’s eyes.

“A joke? I would hardly call blindfolding, handcuffing, and then throwing a person from a twenty-five foot high platform a joke! What would you boys have done if either of your victims had landed wrong when they hit the water?”

“Run and got help.” a second boy answered softly.

“I’ll believe the first part of that statement, Mr. Young, but I highly doubt the second part. As of now you boys are suspended from this school. I‘ll be convening the Disciplinary Council for the Monday after the coming break ends.”

“You Can’t! We have a Swim meet this Friday.” The leader of the group exclaimed.

“Not any longer. As of now you boys are off the team permanently. I’ll be expecting you to have all your gear turned in by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll also be holding your grades until such time as it is turned in.” Ivan said simply from where he was standing behind the boys.

“You can’t! I’m in the running for a scholarship!” The third boy stated loudly.

“Not any longer. That ended the moment you decided to pull this stunt of yours. I made it perfectly clear what would happen if any hazing went on at the beginning of the year. Well, now you boys finding out that unlike my predecessor , I mean what I say. Mrs. Dubov if there is nothing else I need to get back to my class.”

“I’ll let you know if there is anything else I need.” With a nod, Ivan left the room.

“You boys really messed up. I told all of you at the end of last year that I would no longer tolerate that little initiation of yours and that I would no longer cover for you. Mr. Garrett, you, Mr. Young, and Mr. McCloud are lucky since all three of you are still under age. You, Mr. Berkhauser, on the other hand could be in for some real trouble. Since you already have enough credits for your diploma you can’t be expelled like the other three could. However, you are of age and you could be facing criminal charges depending on the whim of the other parents.”

“Yeah, well, that Miller kid is in trouble as well seeing as he tried to drown me.” came the arrogant reply.

“Yes, I thought we would hit that point. I’d like you to meet Mr. Miller’s father, Ian. Mr. Miller was here to make a presentation, but in light of this afternoon’s event, I doubt he’ll be doing so.”

“Oh and what was that going to be, an award for somebody being able to keep their pants cleaner longer.” The boy laughed at his not so subtle bard concerning Brad’s, and several other students’ problem.

“Actually, I was going to be presenting you with notification of your acceptance into the Naval Academy. But you can forget that now. The Navy is better of without people like you in it.” Ian said as he pulled an envelope out of his pocket and tore it up in front of the stunned teen.

“I’d like to see you bring this off. All I have to do is have my mom make a couple of calls and I’ll be back in like that. And if you think I’m worried about what some fruit say think again.” Ian was told smugly while the boy snapped his fingers.

“Son, you don’t want to turn this into a pissing contest with me. I can assure you, if you try, you’ll get burned so bad it’ll make you wish you died at birth. And speaking of your mother, let her know that I‘ll be in contact with her once I get back into town.” Ian said simply with a smile before turning back to Mrs Dubov, completely ignoring the comment made about his being gay.

“Lana, if there is nothing else I’d like to go ahead and get my sons on the road.”

“Certainly. Have a nice trip and tell Jason I said hello. Also, let him know that I’m still waiting on that book report of his.” Ian was told with a smile

“I’ll be sure to tell him that.” Ian said with a laugh as he left the room.

“Dad, I’m really sorry about all this.” David said glumly as he, his father and Brian walked out of the school.

“Don’t worry about it. I see this as you defending yourself. And I’ll be able to handle his mother, so there won’t be any problem. I’m sure you now understand why Steve and I were so hard on you and Brian when we put you through your drown-proofing.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean about that now. But I still thought you were being real jerks at the time.”

“That’s to be expected. I would have been surprised if you didn’t.” Ian chuckled as he messed up his son’s still damp hair.

“I’ll want you to get a shower and get those clothes into the wash when we get home.” Ian added as they climbed into the car.

“How’d the presentation go, and what happened to you, young man?” Steve asked his husband and son when they walked through the door.

“I’ll fill Steve in, you boys go get changed. We still need to be on the road in twenty minutes.” Ian said directing the boys upstairs. Brian and David just nodded at this and started for the stairs.

“And Brian, Make sure you and Brad wear some of your thicker diapers! I don’t want any accidents on the plane!” Steve yelled after the retreating boys. Brad waved to show his dad he had heard the request.

“How’re the Trips doing?” Ian asked as he pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

“Getting better, but Devon his throwing a major fit about not going on the trip.”

“Well that’s what happens when they come done with the Mumps at the last minute. Did my parents give you any grief when you asked if they could watch them?”

“Ian, when was the last time your parents had ever complained about watching any of the kids.” Steve laughed.

“Good point.”

“So tell me how the presentation went and why David’s all wet?” Steve asked as he and Ian sat down at the breakfast bar.

“It seems that a couple of the boys on the swim team decided to throw a little initiation for the new towel boys.”

“Meaning David and Elliot.”

“They would be the ones.”

“Uh, correct me if I’m wrong, but Elliot doesn’t know how to swim that well.”

“That didn’t stop them.”

“And what did this little “initiation” consist of?”

“It was the same one I warned David about when he told us about getting chosen.”

“Didn’t both the coach and the principal strictly forbid anything like this since the one kid was injured last year?” Steve asked thinking he might have missed something.

“No, you’re still right. And let me tell you they were both pissed. Of the four boys involved, three could be expelled it depends on what the council decides. Mr. Berkhauser was the fourth and I tore up his letter in front of him. I’ll be talking with John, Isaac, A.J., and Chris while we’re in D.C.” Ian stated, mentioning the Commandant of the Naval Academy, the Secretary of the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Chief of Naval Education and Training.

“Calm down, Ian. I know you’re upset about David being one of the people involved but is it really necessary to ruin a kid’s future over this?”

“Oh, David handled his part just fine. This has more to do with the attitude the kid had concerning this.” Ian explained as he told his husband what he had seen David do in the pool and what had gone on in the principal’s office.

“Ok, that makes a world of difference.” Steve said while looking at his watch.

“You boys have two minutes to have your butts down here or we’re leaving without you!” Steve yelled up the stairs.

“What are you yelling for dad? We’re right behind you.” Brian asked.

“Will you quit doing that?!” Steve stated as he spun around.

“Maybe.” Brian smiled as he turned around and walked over to Ian.

“I’ll get you one of these days boy.” Steve laughed.

“Alright boys, enough clowning around. We need to get on the road or we’ll miss our flight.” Ian said with a grin.

“Yeah, like they’ll take off with out us.” David laughed.

“You’ll see what he means in a little bit.” Brian said with his own grin when he saw Brad’s confused look.

“Uh, dad, shouldn’t we be going to the airport?” Brad asked while trying to recognize where they were.

“We’re going to the local airport Brad. Grampy was nice enough to loan us one of his planes for the trip.” Steve answered as their car pulled up in front of a building and Ian shut the engine off.

“Ok boys, start grabbing your gear out of the back and get it lined up. I’m going to go let them know we’re here and get a cart for the bags.” Steve said as they started climbing out of the car. Steve didn’t get more than ten feet from the car when the door to the building open and several people came running over to grab the bags and take them inside.

“Mr. Miller? If you’d like to hand me the keys, I’ll move the car around to our secure parking area.” an older man stated as he walked up to Ian

“Sure.” Ian said as he handed the man a spare key he had with him. Brad looked on dumbfounded by how easily his dad handed the key over to a complete stranger.

“Don’t worry about it Brad. Eric’s worked for my dad and I for years. Now let’s get inside before Steve decides to send out a search party for us.” Ian smiled as he explained all this to his son. In a sudden fit of silliness, Ian grabbed Brad and tossed the small boy over his shoulder and started running for the entrance.

Brad was out of breath by the time they finally met up with everyone else, from laughing so hard.

“You know ,Ian, it’s a good thing that Brad has that diaper on or you could have ended up with a very wet front.” Steve chuckled quietly as Brad was led over to a large window on the far wall.

“We’re going on that?!” Brian and David were asked in awe as Brad saw the plane that they were going to be flying on.

“Yep. That’s what my comment about them not taking off without us was about.” David laughed.

“Cool, and Grampy owns it?” Brad said while trying to wrap his mind around how much his family was actually worth.

“Sort of. Grampy’s and Dad’s business own it.” Brian added.

“Whoa.” Came Brad’s shocked reply to this.

“Would you boys like to take a small tour of the plane before we take off?” a voice asked behind them, causing all three boys to jump

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The lady laughed as the boys spun around.

“We won’t get into trouble will we?” Brad with a nervous glance towards where Steve and Ian were standing.

“Not at all. I happen to know the pilot and they say it’s ok.” she told the boys.

“You can go ask your dad if alright though if it’ll make you feel better.” Brad nodded at this and walked over to Steve.

“Dad, is it OK if we go look at the plane? The lady over there said it was OK.”

“Sure. Go have some fun. We’ll be with you in a few minutes.” Steve said with a smile at Brad’s excitement and sent the boy back over to his brothers with a light slap on his padded posterior. For Brad, this was all the encouragement he need before racing back to his brothers.

“Alright boys, you need to get strapped in we’re going to be taking off in a few minutes.” Steve announced as he and Ian walked onto the plane.

“We’re ready to go when you are Sandy.” Ian said to the lady that had been giving the boys a tour of the plane. This cause Brad to stop short since he was still looking in awe at all of the controls in the cockpit.

“I told you I knew the pilot.” Sandy laughed as she reached over to ruffle Brad’s close cropped hair as he looked at her in shock.

“It’s not polite to stare Brad.” Ian said softly as he led the boy over to a seat and made sure he was properly buckled in.

“Don’t worry Brad. This is perfectly normal.” Brian said when he saw his cousin stiffen up a bit as the plane’s engines revved up for take off. What happened next took both boys by surprise as they were pressed back into their seats when the plane accelerated faster than it normally would have.

“Show off.” Steve mumbled under his breath once they were airborne. As the plane leveled out and the seatbelt light was turned off Ian got out of his seat and walked forward toward the cockpit.

“Guys, even with the light turned off I want you to stay buckled in all the time. You can loosen the belts up if you want but they stay on unless you happen to be going to the head.” Steve announced to keep the boys attention away from the minor ass chewing Ian was giving the pilot for the take off she had performed.

“Head?” Brad asked Brian in confusion.

“The bathroom. They both still use Navy talk a lot of the time at home. You get used to it after a while.” Brian replied with a grin as he turned back to the game system he had just pulled out of his carry-on bag.

“Oh.” Brad said as he reached for his own bag to get out some of the school work he had been assigned.

“Brad the purpose of a vacation is to get away from school work.” David commented when he saw what his cousin was doing

“But, Mr. Rutherford said I needed to have all this done and sent back to him each day to be graded.” Brad complained.

“You mean your teacher is still giving you daily assignments even though dad told him we were going on vacation?” David asked angrily as he got out of his seat and headed up to where his dads were sitting.

“What’s up David?” Steve asked seeing the pissed look on his son’s face.

“Brad’s teacher.” David fumed as he took the offered seat next to Ian.

“What about Mike?” Ian asked

“He’s given Brad daily assignments to do while we’re on break. Dad, if any of us needs a break from work right now it’s Brad. I know he has a lot of catching up to do but he’s spending more time doing his school work than out doing things with his friends.”

“Calm down, David. I’m sure you probably misunderstood. And Brad is just trying to get some practice in.” Steve said.

“Not from what Brad told me. According to him he has to send the work back each day to be graded.”

“David, I’m sure you probably misunderstood what your cousin said but I’ll go back and have a chat with him.” Ian said as he got up and walked back to where his newest son was sitting.

“Hey, Kiddo. How’re you enjoying things so far?” Ian asked brightly as he sat down next to Brad.

“Not bad. The take off was a bit more that I expected but I’m all right.” came the reply with Brad not taking his eyes from the computer in front of him.

“Brad, I’d like it if you’d look at me while we talk ok?” Ian said as he closed the computer Brad was using.

“Sorry. It’s just that Mr. Rutherford wants this sent back to him before the start of the day tomorrow.” Brad explained.

“Yeah, that’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. David said you told him that your teacher has given you assignments to do each day over the break. Is this true?” Ian asked softly so Brad wouldn’t get upset.

“Yes, sir. Mr. Rutherford said that just because I was going out of town was no reason to stop doing my work.” Brad responded still getting a bit upset.

“Calm down, you’re not in any trouble. You remember back at Christmas when I told you that you’d be following David’s and Brian’s school schedule?”

“Yeah, a little.” Brad said as he calmed down a bit knowing that he wasn’t in trouble.

“Well, right now their school is on break so they and their teachers have a chance to relax a bit. This means that no school work was assigned to them for the next week. This means that you also shouldn’t have had any work given to you during this time. Now for the next ten days all I want you to concentrate on is having fun and acting like a kid.” Ian said with a smile.

“But my teacher…” Brad complained before getting cut off.

“I’ll be having a talk with your teacher. You won’t need to worry about this ‘til we get home.” Ian said firmly as he took Brad’s computer from him and stood up to head back up to where Steve and David were sitting.

“And?” Steve asked as his husband sat down.

“David was right. Speaking of whom, I’d like you to go back and get Brad doing something else. Maybe get you games linked up and do something together.”

“Great!” David smiled thinking of how he was going to trash his cousin on a couple of the games he brought with him.

“Now let’s see what this idiot teacher was giving Brad to do.” Ian stated as he accessed a couple of files on Brad’s computer.

“Forget talking to the teacher.” Ian muttered a few moments later.

“What is it?” Steve asked looking over.

“Take a look at what Rutherford was giving Brad to do on break.” Steve was told as he was handed the computer Ian was holding.

“Are you sure this is right?” came the shocked comment as Steve took a look as well.

“Positive. This file can only be accessed by three people; myself, Mrs. Dubov, and Brad’s teacher.” Ian stated angrily, looking down at what surely would have ruined his son’s vacation had it not been brought to either his or Steve’s attention.

“I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

“OK. You want anything to drink for when you get back?”

“A juice would be fine.” Ian replied as he stepped away from his husband to make a phone call.

“Mr. Miller?” the plane’s steward asked Steve a few minutes later.

“Yeah.”

“Sandy wanted to know whether the boys would be interested in seeing the flight deck?”

“They’re right back there, why don’t you go ask them if they’re interested.” Steve said with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course.” The steward nodded getting a bit red in the face as he did so.

Steve just shook his head at this and smiled at this, wondering how long the guy had been working for them.

“Everything is taken care of. When we get back Brad’s going to have a new teacher and Lana with be having a talk with the old one. Speaking of which, where are the boys?”

“Up front.” was all Steve. Ian nodded with a smile at this. Even more so when he heard Brad’s laughter coming from that area a few seconds later.

The rest of the flight went by with out incident.

“Admiral Miller?” a Lieutenant J.G. asked nervously as Ian and Steve got off the plane.

“Yeah.”

“The President requested that a car be set up for your group sir.” the young man stated as he came to attention and saluted.

“That little shit.” Ian chuckled as he acknowledged the salute he was being given and looked over at the cars lined up in front of them. The lieutenant looked like his eyes were about to pop out when he heard Ian’s comment.

“Well?” Ian asked the young man standing in front of him.

“Oh sorry, sir.” Ian was told as he, Steve, and the boys were led over to the limo that was waiting for them.

“Son, did they ever teach you the proper protocol to entering a vehicle when escorting a senior officer?” Ian asked with a slight grin enjoying the scene that was playing out.

“Yes, sir. When exiting the vehicle it’s senior officer first, then down to junior officer last. Entering the vehicle is just the opposite, junior officer first and senior officer last.” they were too brightly.

“You’re the junior officer, Lieutenant.” Steve announced matter-of-factly.

“Uh.. Yes, sir.” they were told as the young man entered the car. It was all Ian and Steve could do to keep from busting out laughing at this. Once the boys were in the car Steve and Ian climbed in allowing the driver to close the door behind them.

“Settle down Brad, it’s just a car ride.” David said softly as he grabbed Brad’s shoulder and eased him back down into his seat. Both dads smiled at this little by play but could understand Brad’s excitement. Steve could have sworn that he heard David ask Brad how his diaper was doing at one point. He wasn’t sure if Brad’s red face was due to either the answer he gave or David’s use of the word diaper. If the lieutenant heard this, he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

Brad’s jaw about hit the floor when he saw them pull up to the White House’s gate.

“Well, you said you wanted to tour the White House. Here’s your chance.” Brian teased seeing the look on his cousin’s face.

“Brian.” Ian said in warning. Though the smile Ian had on took most of the sting out of the rebuttal.

“Sorry.” Brain said giving his dad his sad puppy dog look. Ian and Steve broke up laughing at this.

“Admiral Miller? I’m Agent Anderson. I’ll be your escort during your stay.” A man said after they had walked through door to the front foyer.

“USSS or DPS?” Ian asked as he took the offer hand.

“Secret Service. The First Lady is waiting for you on the residence floor. Your bags are already being taken up.” the group was told as they were led to an elevator nearby.

“We’ll be giving you a security rundown once your meeting with the First Lady is over.”

“All the boys have already been told what to expect and how to behave.”

“Yes, sir. However we’re still required to go over everything.”

“Gotcha.” Ian said as the lift stopped and they were led down the hall.

“Mrs. Murphy? Admiral Miller is here ma’am.” our agent said after knocking on the door.

“Thank you Tony, that’ll be all.” Ian’s sister-in-law said as everyone walked into the room.

“I said that’ll be all Tony. Thank you.” came the even firmer dismissal when the agent didn’t leave after the first one.

“Yes, ma’am.” The agent said quickly and closed the door behind him.

“What’s with this “Admiral” B.S.?” Ian was asked as he was given a hug.

“Hey talk to your hubby about that. It certainly wasn’t my idea.” Ian laughed returning the hug.

“You look as stunning as ever Madge.” Steve said as he picked his little sister up.

“And you’re just as bald as I remember.”

“Hey! What’s with picking on the bald guy?” Steve exclaimed to everyone’s amusement.

“Oh, quit your whining. You love it and you know it” Madge laughed while jabbing her big brother in the ribs.

“So where’s my baby brother and the rug rats?” Ian asked with a smile.

“Your baby brother had something come up. And the rug rats as you like calling them, are out with some friends at the moment. They should be home any time now if they know what’s good for them.”

“Still the task master we all love and admire, huh?” Ian joked.

“Something like that.” Madge said as she turned to greet her nephews.

“And what have you boys been up to lately?” they were asked with a smile as each one was give a hug. Except Brad, who hung back a bit. This started a five minute jumbled rant from Brian and David.

“And what about you young man?” Madge asked, looking over toward Brad who was still standing behind Ian.

“Sorry Madge, he’s still a bit shy around new people.” Ian stated.

“It’s OK Brad. She won’t bite.” Ian said while giving his son a small push towards his aunt.

“Too hard anyway.” Steve mumbled, while rubbing his left forearm a bit.

“Don’t pay any attention to my brother. He has a lousy sense of humor. Besides he deserved it.” Madge laughed, knowing what had prompted her brother’s comment.

“Now you just come over here and tell me about yourself.” Brad was told as he was led over to a couch and pulled on to his aunts lap.

“But first, I think maybe we should get you into some dry shorts.” Madge teased a bit when she felt the wet diaper Brad was sporting squish in her lap a bit when he sat down.

“Don’t worry about it Brad. You aren’t the first boy I’ve known that wears diapers at your age. Now let’s go get you taken care of”

“I can get that sis.” Steve said.

“You sit. I’ll take care of this. It’ll give me the perfect chance to get to know my newest nephew.” And without saying another word she led Brad from the room and down the hall.

“Like I said before, you aren’t the first boy I’ve known to wear diapers at your age.” She told her stunned nephew when he saw her pull out a diaper and cleaning gear from her son’s closet.

“Now why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself while I get you cleaned up.” Brad was told kindly as his pants were pulled down exposing a very wet diaper.

“I’m surprised this thing didn’t burst when you sat down just now.” Madge joked as she tickled Brad lightly in the ribs.

“You look a lot like your dad you know that?” Brad was told as the tapes to his diaper were pulled open.

“Yeah, I know.” Brad mumbled still nervous about having someone new changing him not to even mention the fact that it was the First Lady.

Brad was just getting a new diaper placed under him when the door burst open.

“Tell them I’ll be there in a minute. I need to take care of something first.” the boy said to someone in the hall.

“And what would that be, hmm?” Madge asked her son as she continued to put the new diaper on Brad.

“Oh, huh, nothing. I just needed to use the bathroom.” the boy stammered at seeing his mother diapering a boy he had never seen before on his bed. What was worse, she was using one of his own diapers on the kid.

“Well, you know were it is. Don’t let me stop you.” The boy was told by his mom

“Uh, right.” the boy said still looking at Brad as he walked past.

“Don’t worry about that. That was just Jackson.” Brad’s aunt stated as she continued to tape the fresh diaper closed.

“How’s that feel?” Madge asked once the tapes were closed and she had snugged up the diaper a bit.

“Feels just fine. thanks.” Brad said softly as he reached down to pull his pants back up.

“Since we already have you to this point why don’t you just change into something more comfortable.” Brad was told as his dress shoes and pants were taken off. Looking around Brad saw that his bags were now sitting on the second bed. Brad shrugged as he was helped to his feet and took off his shirt. He was surprised to see that his aunt didn’t even bat and eye on seeing the marks on his back.

Just as Brad had finished pulling on a new shirt and was reaching for his shorts the bathroom door opened and the new boy walked back into the room.

“Jackson, I’d like you to meet your cousin Brad. Brad this is my second youngest son Jackson. I’ll just leave you two alone to get to know each other.” Jackson’s mom said as she went into the just vacated bathroom to wash her hands.

“I see we have something in common.” Jackson said with a small smile while nodding at the still exposed diaper Brad had on. Turning a bright red Brad scrambled to get his shorts on.

“I guess so.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re pretty informal about that around here. I would have figured you’d already know that living with Uncle Steve, and Ian.”

“Well, I’ve only lived with them for a few months so I’m still learning things.”

“Yeah, dad mentioned you had been in a group home for a couple of years after your mom and dad died.” Brad was told. Brad felt considerable relief hearing that his cousin didn’t know the real story of what had been going on in his life ‘til just recently.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“We better get back down to the sitting room before mom decides to someone to look for us.” Jackson said as he got up off his bed and headed for the door.

“Oh, there’s something I better tell you first about Daniel, my older brother. He’s got a problem with his legs so he walks kind of funny don’t make any comments about it since he’s really sensitive about it. He also has a slight problem with his bladder so he’s still in diapers for that. So watch what you say on that point. He also has really sharp hearing and can hear things you might not realize.”

“Oh OK. I’ll watch my step.” Brad answered as the boys left the room.

“I was wondering when you’d decide to join us.” Jackson’s mom said with a smile as the boys entered the room.

“Well, you did say that you wanted us to get to know each other so we were.” Jackson shot back with a smile of his own. Before Mrs. Murphy could respond to this, Jackson was propelled a few steps forward.

“Watch that tone young man.” a familiar voice called from behind Brad. Turning around Brad found himself face to face with a person he could have sworn was his uncle, but that wasn’t possible since his uncle was sitting in a seat behind him.

“And you must be Brad. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Jason said while holding his hand out.

“Oh, sorry. It’s a pleasure to meet you sir.” Brad stammered as he took the offered hand.

“You can call me Uncle Jason if you’d like. At least , in private.” Brad was told with a smile as he was led further into the room.

“So what have you been up to these last few weeks, bro?” Jason asked Ian as he sat down.

“Oh the usual, trying to keep the Republicans in line. Trying to drown Brad. That sort of stuff.” Ian said with a smile.

“Still doing that, huh. You know I could ask CPS to look into that don’t you. I mean really trying to drown your own kids.” All the adults and kids started laughing at this, except Brad.

“Easy Brad, he’s just joking about calling CPS.” Steve said as he pulled Brad onto his lap and gave the boy a hug to try and calm him down.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’d never do any thing to hurt your dad. Especially after all the butt chewing’s he’s given me over the years.” Jason said quickly with a smile.

“Yeah, well you deserved them too, most of the time.” Ian shot back at his brother.

“True. Especially that first one.” Brad thought he saw a bit of sadness along with the smile his uncle had This conversation went on for a little while longer before a steward came in and announced that dinner was ready.

As everyone got up to head for the dinning room, Brad got his first really good look at Jackson’s older brother, Daniel. Aside from the noticeable limp, and the obviously padded butt, Brad was surprised at how small Daniel looked in comparison to his brothers and sister. Ian saw this and after getting Brad’s attention by tapping him on the shoulder, he just shook his head to let Brad know that he wasn’t to make any comments Brad just nodded at this.

“Time for bed guys.” Steve announced a few hours later.

“ But dad ,it’s only seven o’clock.” Brian complained looking at his watch.

“Try again, Bri You forgot to reset your watch. It’s almost Ten and it’s time for you guys to get into bed. Brad, you’ll be bunking with Jackson. Brian, you’ll be with Evan and Eric. David you’ll be with Daniel.” Steve said.

“Oh, but I was hoping to be with Anna.” David said in mock disappointment.

“Yeah, right. Go get ready for bed you little faker.” Ian said as he pulled David into a hug.

“I expect you to wear the skivvies and sleep pants that I packed for you while we’re here. Understand?” Ian whispered.

“Yeah, I understand.”

“Good. I don’t want a repeat of last time.”

“Tell me about it.” David said with a smile at the thought of what happened last time.

“You know these are really comfortable.” Brad commented about the diaper he had just been helped into.

“I know, I like these a lot better than some of the ones I used to wear.” Jackson replied as he finished up getting his own diaper on for the night.

“You just want to share a bed ? That way we could talk a little longer and not have to worry about the rents coming down on us.”

“I guess so.” Brad said warily as his cousin climbed under the covers. Hoping that nothing would happen if he did this, Brad followed close behind. This scene played out in Daniel’s , and the twins room as well.

“Time to get up guys” Anna said while shaking Brad and her brother on the shoulder. Given that she didn’t even flinch when Brad jump when she touched his shoulder, Brad figured someone had warned her about this.

“OK, ANNA! I’m up!” Jackson said loudly as his sister shook his again harder.

“Good, stay that way and watch the tone.” Anna shot back while slapping the covers about where her brother’s backside would be.

“Don’t worry about changing yet Brad. Everyone normally waits until after Breakfast.” Anna said with a smile when she saw that Brad had started to remove his night diaper.

“Besides, the diaper you have on can still take lots of punishment.” Brad was informed with a laugh as his cousin walked out of the room.

“She’s right these things will take a lot of abuse. I think Uncle David had them made special us.” Jackson said with a grin as he got out of bed and stretched a bit.

“We’ll let’s get going. I want a chance to see dad before he has to head for the office.” Brad was told as his cousin left the room wearing nothing but, his wet night diaper, a t-shirt (that only covered the top third of his diaper), and a pair of socks.

“Daddy!” Jackson called as he ran and leapt into his dad’s arms as Brad and he walked down the hall to the dinning room.

“Forget something, kiddo?” Jason asked his son as he gave the boy a couple of swats to his diapered bottom.

“I see you forgot something as well there Brad.” Jason laughed as he ruffled his nephew’s hair.

“Nah, we didn’t forget. I just wanted to see you before you left for work.” Jackson giggled.

“I see. Well you better get in there and get something to eat before your brothers and cousins eat everything.” Jason chuckled as he gave his son another swat on the butt and set him back down on the floor.

“You guys have a good day. I want to here about everything over dinner.” Brad was informed as his uncle walked off after ruffling his hair again.

“I see Jason met you guys already.” Steve said on seeing Brad’s hair.

“We met him in the hall, just now.” Brad said as he sat down.

“Well, you must be comfortable around him now give what you’re wearing. Or rather what you aren’t.” Steve joked about Brad’s lack of pants. This caused Brad to turn a bright red.

“Steve, quit teasing the boy.” Madge said as she punched her brother in the arm.

“Where’s Uncle Ian?” Brad asked looking around the table.

“He had a business meeting this morning. He’ll be joining us for lunch later.” Steve explained.

“Oh OK.” Brad said as he got up and followed Jackson over to the buffet table that had been set up. The rest of the meal conversation dealt with what they had planned for the day.

“Jackson since you’ll be going with your cousins today you’ll need to pack a bag.” Madge informed her son as he got up from his seat.

“MOOMM!” Jackson whined loudly at this causing Daniel to wince in what looked like pain.

“Don’t “mom” me. Just do as you’re told. And I want you wearing full briefs not your pull-ups.”

“Yes, ma’am.” came the glum reply as Jackson and Brad walked out of the room.

“What was that about?” Brad asked after closing the door to his cousin’s bedroom behind them

“My mom knows I don’t like wearing full diapers during the day because none of my pants fit right with them on. And I really don’t like using the diaper bag they have for me.” Brad was told.

“Well, we look to be about the same size. I wouldn’t mind loaning you some of my clothes for the day. And you could always just use your school backpack to carry extra diapers supplies in.”

“Your dad won’t get mad about loaning me some of your clothes will he?”

“I doubt it. He had me pack extra changes just in case of leaks and such.”

“That’s cool.” Jackson said now smiling since he wouldn’t have to deal with people possibly seeing that he was in a diaper.

“You boys ready?” Steve asked after knocking on Jackson’s bedroom door and getting permission to enter.

“Yeah, dad. We’ll be out in a second.” Brad answered as he finished tying the shoe he had just put on. Steve nodded at this and did a bit of a double take when he saw what Jackson was wearing. With a bit of a smile, Steve backed out of the room and headed back to the sitting room where they were going to meet before heading out for the day.

“What’s so funny?” Madge asked her brother when he re-entered the room.

“It’s nothing. Jackson really must have disliked you having him wear a full diaper with his regular clothes.”

“He normally does, since his normal pants and shorts tend to accent the shape of the diaper. We tried to warn him about that possibility when he got them but he didn’t want to listen. Why bring this up?”

“From the looks of it, Brad loaned Jackson some of his clothes so things wouldn’t be as noticeable.” Steve answered with another smile. He frowned a bit when his sister started to get up from her chair.

“Madge sit down.” Steve said with an edge to his voice knowing what his sister was about to do.

“You can’t talk to me like that.” came the indignant response to the tone her brother used.

“Calm down a bit, okay? Brad probably did this to make sure that everyone has a pleasant day. That won’t be possible if Jackson is worried about people seeing that he’s wearing a diaper.” Steve said rationally. Before the conversation could go any further, all the boys came rushing into the room. Jackson’s mom saw right away what her brother was talking about. Jackson seemed a good deal less nervous about wearing a diaper for the outing than he normally would.

“Where’s your bag young man?” Jackson was asked when his mom didn’t see the usual bag that she had her son carry his extra diapers and such in.

“Brad suggested I use my school bag. It’s a lot less noticeable than using the other one.”

“Well, we’ll see how it works and go from there.” Madge said after catching a look from her brother. About this time the Secret Service detail came into the room.

“Madge, this isn’t going to work.” Steve said frowning at all the people wearing suits in front of him.

“Steve, if you think I’m going to let the boys out without a detail you’re out of your mind.”

“No, that’s not what I meant at all. What I mean is all these suits. You want things to be low key right?”

“Of course.”

“Okay then, You, you, you, and you go change over to some civvies and be back here in 15 minutes.” Steve said using the voice that told people to do what he said and not to argue.

“Well, get going.” Steve said a moment later when nobody had moved. With a nod of her head, Steve’s sister told the men singled out by her brother to follow the orders given.

“Okay Steven, what’s going on in that devious little mind of yours?” Steve was asked after the four men left the room.

“All these suits around us would stick out like a sore thumb. However, if you have only a few guys out in the open trailing us, like I know they will, and several more mixed in with us the boys will be better protected.” Steve explained to everyone. Madge now understood why her brother chose the four men in question. The men picked had a close enough resemblance to the boys that anyone looking at them would assume that they were just out on a family outing. The person heading the detail didn’t pickup on this as quickly as Steve would have liked so he ended up having to explain everything. By the time this was done the others were back in the room and Steve told them what was going to happen. This of course set the detail’s leader off.

“Mr. Miller, I don’t like how you’re telling my people what to do and I think in the future any suggestions you have should come through me first.”

“Son, I’ve been planning ops like these since you were still trying to figure out the right way to wear a jock strap and how to get to first base with a girl. If anyone has a problem with what I’ve come up tell me now and I’ll listen to what you have to say.” Steve said starting to lose his temper.

“Steve, calm down. I don’t have a problem with what you’ve outlined and it’s clear that, with the exception of Mr. Hesston, everyone else agrees with what you’ve outlined. So you all get going and have a fun day.” the group was told.

“And Steve?” Madge added as her brother started to stand.

“Yeah?”

“Jason asked me to give this to you for added security.” Steve was told with a smile as Madge pulled something from behind her and tossed it to him.

“Tell him thanks.” Steve said as he caught the object and started inspecting it. Mr. Hesston started to have a fit when he saw the Glock Steve was now holding but said nothing when he saw the First Lady’s eyes.

“You boys have fun today and do exactly what your uncle and everyone else says.

“Yes, ma’am.” all the boys coursed as they stood up and headed for the door.

“Mr. Hesston, I’d like a few words with you please.” Madge said as her brother started to close the door behind him. Seeing at how his shoulders tensed up at her tone she could tell he recognized it.

“So what do you boys want to start with?” Steve asked the boys as they were led through the tunnel connecting the White House with the Treasury Building.

“Air and Space.”

“Smithsonian.”

“Arlington.”

“FBI.”

“Marine Barracks.”

“Okay how about this, we start at the far end of the Mall and work our way back.” Steve laughed at the mixed responses he got to his question. All the boys were in agreement with this and they continued on. They hooked up with the tail end of a group ending a tour of the Treasury and were able to get out on the street without getting any undue attention.

“When any one of you guys need to change let me or one of the agents know about first. Under no circumstance are you to go off alone. Understood?” Steve whispered to Brad, Jackson, and Daniel. All the boys nodded their understanding to this, though Daniel bristled heavily at Steve’s next comment.

“Daniel, if you start getting tired or anything let us know and we can slow down some for you.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Daniel answered stiffly.

“Watch the tone young man. That was coming from your mom.” Steve answered while placing a firm hand on the back of his nephew’s neck.

“So how’s the day been so far?” Ian asked as he joined everyone for lunch several hours later.

“Great!” came the overwhelming response. As the boys started going into detail about what they’d done so far. All except for Daniel.

“How about you Daniel?” Ian asked picking up on his nephew’s uncharacteristic silence.

“Daniel’s a bit bummed at the moment. He had a bit of an accident earlier and a couple of boys nearby saw it and pointed it out loudly.” Steve replied while placing a comforting hand on the small boy’s shoulder

“I hope you were able to handle the situation discretely.”

“From what I was told, it was handled but none to discretely” Steve said while giving the other boys a stern look.

“Alright boys, let’s hear it.”

“All we did was have a talk with the guys and pointed out that they shouldn’t do things like that, and how would they like it if something like that were to happen to them and they had someone loudly point it out.” David explained for the group.

“And you did this while completely surrounding the boys in question. Steve added with a bit of a smirk.

“That was just so they would take what we were saying seriously.” Jackson added. It was clear from his tone that he would have liked to have done something more than just talk to the people picking on his brother.

“Did anyone recognize you?” Ian asked. Wondering if he was going to be having to tell Jason about this and get him prepared for a possible firestorm.

“Not that we could tell.” The agent sitting with them answered.

“And what the boys did and said was nothing compared to what the boys’ parents when they stepped into it.” The agent continued.

“Okay then, if it can be avoided, I won’t tell your parents about this. But it better not happen again.” Ian said with a tone that none of the boys missed.

“Yes, sir.” the boys all answered in unison.

“So what did we have planned for the rest of the afternoon?” Ian asked as their meals arrived. This renewed the first conversation. By the end of the meal even Daniel was laughing and joking again.

“I want everyone to use the bathroom before we leave. Including you three.” Steve said as he took care of the bill.

“But, I don’t feel that bad off.” Jackson said.

“Jackson, We don’t need a repeat of earlier, now go.” Ian replied before his husband could.

“Yes, sir.” came the grumpy reply as Jackson grabbed his backpack and followed everyone else.

“So how are we going to do this?” Daniel asked once the door to the family restroom had closed behind them.

“I’ll change you, Brad can change me, and you can change Brad.” Jackson said while stripping off his shorts.

“Sounds good to me.” Brad added while he was doing the same. Daniel was a bit hesitant about this set up but knew that this was going to be the quickest way to get things done.

Brad got a bit of a shock, when he happened to look over and got a glimpse of his cousin’s penis while Jackson was getting a fresh diaper ready.

“Damn, how could a guy that small be packing something like that.” Brad thought on seeing the 5.5in penis his cousin was sporting and the thing wasn’t even hard.

“I’m ready when you are.” Jackson called breaking Brad from the zone he was in.

“Oh, sorry. I was thinking of something.” Brad said as he walked up to the counter the boys were using as a changing table. Jackson just chuckled at this. He knew perfectly well what Brad had been thinking of having caught his cousin glancing at what his brother was packing between his legs.

Ten minutes later, three freshly diapered boys walked out of the bathroom and rejoined their group. The rest of their day went by quickly and by late afternoon seven boys were dragging their weary butts into the family room.

“Boys, why don’t you go lay down for a bit before dinner.” They were told in a polite way by their aunt and mom. The boys were so tired they didn’t even bother trying to argue about this. Madge, Steve, and Ian all smiled at this.

“Should we go in and help them change?” Madge asked a moment after Eric walked out of the room.

“You might want to help the twins but the others were changed a short while ago and should be alright how they are.” Ian replied with a small yawn of his own. His sister-in-law just nodded at this and went to check on her youngest boys.

“It’s a good thing I checked on them. The boys were so tired they were both dead to the world when I walked into the room. They didn’t even bother taking their clothes off first.” Steve was told with a smile.

“You could have called me to help.”

“It’s fine this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with having to get those two ready for bed after they already were asleep.” Madge chuckled.

“I’m glad that Ian was able to talk Jason into letting the boys join you this week I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with them while they were on break.”

“It’s no problem sis. We don’t get to see them often enough. And Brian and David were asking if we’d be able to see them much after the last election. And everyone, so far, has been really great to Brad.”

“Well, he is a very charming young man After meeting him and helping him out yesterday, I find it hard to believe that he’s capable of doing what I had read about in his file. You wouldn’t believe the collective stroke Jason’s detail had when he told them that Brad was to be given the same treatment as everyone else and that he wasn’t supposed to be hassled in anyway.”

“That explains the look the agent briefing us yesterday was giving Brad. You would think they’d be more worried about Ian or myself being alone with him than Brad.”

“Tell me about it. The head of Jason’s detail made the mistake of insisting that Brad be barred from the White House grounds as he posed , and I quote, a viable threat”

“Oh I bet Jason loved that one.” Ian laughed.

“Let’s just say that, no one else will be making that same mistake.” Steve and Ian were informed.

“Where’d the guy end up?” Ian laughed knowing that his brother would have put the guy in the worst place he could think of if the agent wanted to keep his job.

“Some where in Alaska, I think.” This got a laugh from everyone.

“What did you tell the kids about Brad’s background?” Ian asked seriously.

“We told them that Brad had been placed in a group home after his mom died because they couldn’t find any information on his dad. And not to ask any questions about it.” Madge replied just as seriously. Both men just nodded at this.

“I hate to be a wet towel here, but those kids wore me out as well.” Steve said standing.

“I’ll have some one wake you in time for dinner.”

“Thanks, sis.” Steve said as he gave his sister a small kiss on the cheek.

“Boys, something came up last night so there’s going to be a change in plans for the day.” Ian announced at breakfast the next morning.

“Ah, man.” Brian and Brad mumbled to each other. Unfortunately Ian heard them.

“If you two don’t want to join us that’s fine. I’m sure your aunt can find you something to do around here. I just thought you’d like to visit my old ship while it was still in port.” Ian explained.

“OH.” the boys answered in unison on hearing what the change was going to be. The look on the boys faces got all the adults smiling. Over the rest of the meal Ian went over what the boys would be seeing and how they were expected to behave while at the base.

“Oh shit.” the Ensign on duty muttered when he saw the people get out of the car that had just pulled up to the ship’s gangplank.

“What was that sir?” the Master Chief standing nearby asked when he heard the officer mutter. Looking over to where the young officer was looking he saw the group on the dock below them and when the officer with them looked up pointing he saw who the officer was.

“Oh shit, is right sir.” the Master Chief said while he grabbed a nearby phone and placed a phone call to the ship’s bridge.

All the boys jumped a bit when they heard three sharp blasts come over the ship’s intercom

“Now hear this, Schwarzenegger Alpha, arriving.” a voice called loudly as the group arrived at the landing.

“Permission to come aboard, Master chief?” Ian asked while saluting the person in front of him.

“Granted sir.” The Master chief replied while returning the salute.

“The Captain is on the bridge and would like to meet you at your leisure, sir.” The Ensign said while giving Ian a salute of his own.

“If you’ll follow me, Admiral.” the Ensign added once everyone was on the ship. Ian smiled at this, guessing , correctly that the Ensign didn’t realize who he was talking to.

“Yeah, if you’ll follow him Admiral.” Steve teased softly once the officer was out of earshot. Daniel having heard this exchange started chuckling and whispered it to everyone else so they would be in on the joke.

“Admiral, on the bridge.” The Ensign called as he stepped on the bridge.

“As you were.” Ian called quickly before anyone could really respond to the first order.

{“So, I see that Isaac decided to finally pull that third star out of his ass for you eh, Comrade.”} The ship’s Captain commented as he turned his seat around to face the men behind him. Ian was about to go ballistic till he saw who had made the comment.

{“Misha, you old reprobate. What the hell are you doing here?” Don’t tell me they actually made you the C.O. of this old crate.”} Ian responded in Russian as he stepped forward to give his old friend a hand shake, but instead, drew the man into a hug.

“Damn, it’s good to see you again. It’s been what almost ten years now hasn’t it?” Ian asked after releasing the hug and switching back to English.

“About that. Not since Marie’s funeral.” Mikhail Romanov said with some sadness.

“You wouldn’t believe how big the kids are getting now.”

“Actually, I would. I saw Jason just a few days ago. Along with Ivan.” Ian told his friend with a smile.

“Why do I get the feeling there’s a story behind that?” Mikhail asked rhetorically.

“Oh, there’s a story alright. Anyway, I’d like to introduce the rest of my party. I believe you already know my son David. Next to him, is his brother Brian, who’s Steve’s son, after that you have their cousin Brad, followed by Daniel, Jackson, Evan, and Eric. The last four belong to Jason.” Ian explained as each of the boys stepped forward to shake the hand the captain was offering them.

“Jason’s kids. You mean the last four are..” Mikhail started

“Exactly.” Ian said overriding what the captain was about to add.

“And Brad, I take it was Brad’s son?”

“Also correct.”

“Brad, I knew your father for a while when we were younger and again during the war. I’d like to express my condolences on his passing. I hope the people responsible for his death are given the proper punishment when the time comes.” Brad was told.

“Don’t worry about that sir, they were.” came the cold answer. Seeing the look in the boy’s eyes as he said this told the captain not only how the people in question were handled but also by whom.

“Good. Ian, I’ve arranged for your group to get a tour of the ship. Once that’s over, I’d like it if you’d join me for lunch.”

“We were supposed to meet the base commander for lunch but he’ll understand the change of plans.” Ian said, accepting his friend’s offer.

“Uncle Ian? Is there a bathroom nearby?” Brad asked a short time into the tour.

“Yeah. Let me just inform the guide and Steve.” Ian said softly.

“Excuse me petty officer, I’ll be right back. One of the boys needs to use the head.”

“Of course sir. Would you like the rest of us to wait?”

“That’s OK. This will take a little while. We’ll catch up.”

“Aye, sir. We’ll be in the CIC when your done.” Ian was informed.

“Does anyone else need to go?” Steve asked before they started moving again. Jackson and Daniel both said they did and joined their cousin and uncle quickly.

“Lock the door Daniel.” Ian said after everyone had entered the bathroom.

“Ok.” Ian was told as his nephew did as he was asked.

“Dang, I forgot how small these things were.” Ian mumbled looking at the room they were now in.

“Looks like we’ll have to do this one at a time boys.” Ian said as he help Daniel lay down on the floor and started to pull his pants off. Before Ian even got the first tape off everyone heard a muffled fart and knew that Daniel had just loaded the back of his diaper.

“Sorry, I didn’t think that was going to happen.” Ian was told embarrassedly

“It’s ok. Things like this happen. Both of you guys strip off and go use the toilet. I don’t want any repeats.” Brad and Jackson was told as Ian turned back to the task at hand. Luckily, it turned out to be a hard load and easy to clean up.

“What’s going on in there?!” a voice yelled through the door as Ian was finishing up with Brad.

“We’ll be out in a minute.” Jackson called out as he finished washing his hands. Seeing that Brad now had his pants back on and was standing up Jackson unlocked the door.

“It’s about time! What were you doing in here anyway? Getting a piece of ass.” The guy asked snidely on seeing the two boys standing by the door. Unfortunately he didn’t see Ian come up next to him.

“Is there a problem Seaman?” Ian asked calmly.

“Not once these little fairies get out of my sight.” The sailor said not looking at who was addressing him.

“Excuse me?!” Ian barked causing the sailor to turn and see who it was talking to him.

“Uh.. Nothing sir.” the sailor mumbled while he looked nervously at the three stars adorning the gold shoulder boards of the man standing before him.

“It didn’t sound like “nothing” to me seaman.” Ian roared. This caused several people to stick their heads into the room to see what was going on. They all stopped dead in their tracks on seeing someone get ripped apart by a senior officer.

“What’s your name sailor?” Ian asked one of the people standing in the doorway.

“Petty Officer Second Class Williams, Sir!” barked the sailor. This caused Daniel to wince badly since he was standing right next to the person in question when he yelled.

“Tone it down a bit, son.” Ian said calmly.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Williams, I want you to escort these three young men to the CIC. After that, I want you to inform the captain that there’s been a bit of an incident and that his presence is requested in the Flag wardroom. Understood?”

“Aye, aye sir.” Williams replied still standing at attention.

“Boys, go with the petty officer he’ll get you back to the group. Brad let Steve know what’s going on and I’ll meet you guys for lunch. Okay?”

“Okay, dad.” Brad said nervously.

“The rest of you are dismissed.” Ian said as he lead the seaman through the door.

“If you guys will follow me. I’ll get you back to your group” PO Williams told the boys as he led them down the passage way.

“What happened? We thought we lost you guys.” Steve joked when the petty officer handed them off to Steve.

“We had a bit of a problem in the restroom.” Brad said as he told Steve what had happened.

“Oh boy. I’m glad that I’m not that guy.” Steve said once Brad was done.

“Don’t worry about it. Ian will have everything sorted out in time to make lunch.” Steve said while placing a hand on Brad’s shoulder to move the boy along seeing that they had fallen behind the group a bit.

The rest of the tour and lunch went without incident. Each of the boys had even been presented with caps and t-shirts bearing the ship’s slogan and plaque design.

“Ian, it’s been a pleasure seeing you again. And sorry about the problem with the Seaman. It’ll will be properly handled. I’ll see you later this week.” Mikhail stated while shaking everyone’s hand.

After leaving the ship, the boys toured the rest of the Norfolk Naval Base. By the time they got back to the White House they were completely bushed and like the previous days climbed right into bed when they got back. This time though Steve and Ian followed the twins into their room to help them get ready for their nap.

“Guys, I want you all packed before you go to bed tonight.” Brad, David, Brian were told during lunch several days after their tour of the naval base.

“Okay.” came the tired response. Ian and Steve chuckled at this. They had been running the boys so hard on this trip it was almost like they were going to need a vacation to recover from the vacation. Which is why Ian planned to have them home by Saturday night. That way they’d have a little over a day to get readjusted before starting back to school.

“Just be sure to leave your suits out. You’ll be joining Madge and I for a formal dinner tonight. That goes for you and Steve as well Ian.” Jason said with a smile as he stood up and kissed all of his family good bye before heading back down to the Oval Office to finish his day. Ignoring Ian’s questions the entire time.

“And before I forget, It’ll be full Dress Whites for you guys to night.” Steve and Ian were told with a smile before Jason closed the door behind him cutting off the protests that were starting.

“This better be good, Madge.” Steve mumbled as their group walked down the steps leading to the State floor.

“Ladies and Gentlemen presenting the President of the United States and the First Lady, Mr. and Mrs. Jason Murphy.” An usher called as Jason and Madge walked through a door leading to a ballroom.

“Oh, boy.” Steve muttered under his breath a moment later when he saw the banner hanging along the far side of the room. “Welcome Medal of Honor Recipients and Guests”

“That little shit.” Ian muttered about his brother when he saw the same banner. The boys were in disbelief at what was going on. While they knew about their dad and uncle having the award, though he hardly ever talked about it, they were awed about all the other people that were present that had received the same award.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could have your attention please?” Jason called after stepping up to podium that had been set up.

“Thank you, I’d first like to thank the Medal of Honor Society Chairwoman for graciously changing the venue of this year’s gathering. I approached her earlier this year after something had been brought to my attention that I felt needed to be recognized. I had been informed that there had been one Medal earned during the Second Korean War that had never been bestowed. The previous administration was aware of this and had kept it quiet at the request of that person’s family. I guess they felt that two Medals in their family was more than enough. Having known tonight’s honoree for several years, he would probably be cussing me out under his breath right now. Much like his brother is doing right now.” Jason said adding the last part when he saw that Ian had guessed as to what was going on.

“While Gunnery Sergeant passed away several years ago, I have the great honor of presenting tonight’s award to his son. Bradley would you join me, please?” Jason asked his nephew. Seeing that Brad was to stunned to move, Ian stood up and escorted Brad up to where Jason was standing. Opening a folder before him Jason started reading.

“By Order of the President of the United States and an act of Congress , Gunnery Sergeant Bradley James Miller is hereby awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor with cluster in lieu of second award. In the early hours of 5 September 2029 while assigned to Task Force Viper aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt Gunnery Sergeant Miller helped organize and lead remains of the crew to repel units of the North Korean Army after the ship came under a non-lethal gas attack. Though severally injured in the opening moments of the attack, Gunny Miller refused to be evacuated to an area of the ship still held by friendly forces and continued leading the personnel at his disposal. Over the course of the battle Gunny Miller had received several more injuries but refused to leave his men. Only after the ship was back in friendly hands did Gunny Miller accept treatment for his injuries. Gunnery Sergeant Miller’s bravery and devotion to the men and women under his command upheld the highest traditions of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Naval Services.” Once done reading the citation Jason closed the folder and handed it to Ian. Turning to the officer to his right to accept the case holding Brad’s father’s second Medal of Honor. Brad numbly took the case from his uncle still to stunned by what was going on to say anything. As before Ian had to help the stunned boy back to his seat only this time it was during a round of applause.

“Boys, I don’t know how much longer this is going to go on so I want you to head back upstairs and get into bed. I’ll check in on you when this thing is over.” Ian told the boys as he waved a Secret Service agent over.

“Would you escort the boys back upstairs, please?” Ian asked the guard softly getting a nod Ian had the boys follow the agent out of the room.

“I’ll take it from here.” Anna told the agent when she saw them walk past her room. Getting to her feet she took he cousins from the agent and ushered them to their rooms telling Brian and David to be quiet her brothers were already asleep.

“Let’s get you ready Brad.” Anna said softly to her cousin as she helped him to Jackson’s room.

“Let’s set this over here while we get you ready for bed.” Anna stated as she gently pulled the display case out of Brad’s hands and laid it on the bed next to him. Brad’s eyes never left it the entire time Anna was pulling off his clothes and wet diaper and replacing it with a clean one. Once she had her cousin in a clean diaper and T-shirt, she led him over to Jackson’s bed and helped him into it. Before pulling the covers over him, Brad was handed the teddy bear he had been given at Christmas. Though he always had it by his head this was one of the few times he actually curled up with it.

“How’re you feeling this morning Brad?” Steve and Ian asked at almost the same time when Brad walked into the dining room the next morning.

“Better. I guess last night kind of threw me for a loop.” Brad replied sheepishly as he sat down.

“I can understand that.” Ian said while shooting his brother an evil look

“Don’t try that look with me Ian. As I told you last night, your parents were the ones that okayed this. If you want to jump down anyone’s throat over it do it to them.” Jason replied with a steely look of his own.

“Alright both of you dump some hormones.” Madge said peevishly breaking the glaring contest her husband and brother-in-law were getting into.

“Ian, Jason and I both talked to your mom and dad about this and they felt that Brad should be the one to accept his father’s award.”

“So you decided to ambush us?”

“Not at all. I thought that you had been told by your parents about this and were just playing dumb about so Brad wouldn’t freak out or something.” Jason replied a bit more calmly this time.

“I see. Then I guess I owe you both an apology for my behavior both last night and this morning.” Ian said sincerely before turning back to his breakfast. With this said the matter was closed and the subject changed back to them leaving latter that afternoon. Brad and the boys all acted a bit hyper on the way to the airport for their return home since none of them had ever been a part of the full Presidential motorcade.

Ian and Steve both laughed a bit when they looked into the back seat of the car and saw that all three boys were fast asleep when they pulled into their driveway.

“Steve once we get they boys inside, I’m going to go over to mom and dad’s and have a talk with them.” Ian said as he picked Brian up.

“That’s fine Anna said that the Trips were already home and were taking a nap when I called.” Steve said while picking Brad up and giving David a nudge to wake him up.

Ian returned from his parents house a few hours later and never said what exactly was said only that the matter had been taken care of. The rest of the weekend was rather quiet since the Trips were still getting their energy back from being sick and everyone else was recuperating from the trip.

Chapter 6

In The Summer Time