Memoirs of a Diaper Boy II

Chapter 10

Going for the Gold

“I’m really getting sick of that guy!” Brad ranted as he stormed through the front door.

“I’ll be out back.” he added a few seconds later after having said hello to the dogs.

“Problems?” Ian asked Steve as the later closed the front door behind him.

“You could say that. Brad’s coach informed him after practice today that he had taken the liberty of signing them up for some piss-ant little swim meet this coming weekend.” Steve explained as he gave his hubby a hug and kiss.

“Wait a minute, didn’t Brad tell him that he had to have this weekend off because the State finals were this weekend?” Ian asked in confusion thinking that he might have gotten something mixed up.

“He did. The coach replied that any meet that he signed them up for took precedence over any other meets that Brad might have.”

“And how did Brad take that?”

“Brad told the guy he could shove this meet up his ass that he wasn’t going to let down his teammates so he could be shown off like some bull stud at some piss-ant little meet that would have no bearing on his standings.” Steve answered with a small smile on his face.

“I see. I guess I’d better have a talk with Brad about this after he has a chance to cool down a bit.” Ian answered as he and Steve headed for the back door so they could see how David’s and Brian’s practice was going.

“Mr. Miller, there is a gentleman here from child services to see you. I’ve shown him into your office.” Ian was informed tightly. Ian looked up sharply on hearing this. Not only from the tone being used but from the fact that she had already taken him into his office.

“Did he say what this was concerning?”

“No, sir. He stated it was a private matter.”

“I see. Well, please inform our guest that I’ll be in to see him in a few minutes.” Anna just nodded at this and walked off.

“What was all that about?” Steve asked once Anna had gone back inside.

“I have no idea but he better watch out if Anna offers him anything. With how pissed she is right now she just might spike it with something .” Ian said with a smile as he got up out of the chair he was sitting in.

Ian smiled a bit as he got near the door and Devon came out holding Brad’s bear.

“Mr. Miller? I’m Mr. Collins from child services.” Ian was informed when he walked into the office.

“What can I do for you Mr. Collins?” Ian replied, ignoring the look he was getting.

“I’m here because it’s been brought to my attention that you’re in possible violation of the Youth Health Reform Act.

“I see. And which section am I supposed to be in violation of?”

“Section 4 sub-section B.” Ian was informed smugly.

“Because of this, I’ve ruled that the children residing here are in an un-healthy situation and are to be removed pending a full investigation.”

“And what makes you think that I’m in violation of the section you mentioned?” Mr. Collins was asked in a cold voice that most people would have realized was a danger sign.

“These make me think that you’re in violation.” Ian was told has he was handed several sheets of paper.

“I’m sure you recognize these forms.”

“I do. These are the forms that each of the boys fill out in their health class regarding their caloric intake for the previous day and is signed by me.”

“That is correct. The boys Health instructor called me up with grave concerns about the boys eating habits. And even more so with your lack of concern in the matter.”

“I see. And did their instructor also inform you that I had offered to go over their concerns with them in person and that they declined to do so citing they were to busy to do so.”

“Be that as it may. I’ve already made the decision to remove the boys for their own safety. Now please have the boys pack a bag and come down here to wait for CPS to arrive.” Before Ian could respond to this there was a knock at the door.

“Come!” Ian called a little to loudly.

“Dad, Anna wanted to let you know that dinner would be ready in about thirty minutes.” Brad informed his father.

“What?” Brad asked when he noticed that Mr. Collins was staring at him.

“It’s nothing. Go on upstairs and get cleaned up. Though ask Steve to come in here first.” Ian replied.

“OK.” Brad replied while still giving Mr. Collins a dirty look.

“By the way, That was Brad.”

“Oh.” Came the stunned reply.

“Brad said you wanted to see me?” Steve asked a few moments later as he walked into the room.

“Yes, I did.” Ian said as he started to fill Steve in on what was happening.

“That’s Bullshit.” Steve commented when Ian finished .

“Tell me about it. Now Mr. Collins, I’d like to see the 201Investigation forms along with the court order authorizing the boys placement in state custody.”

“Uh, We haven’t yet started the 201 proceedings.

“Run that by me again?” Ian and Steve asked at almost the same time.

“We ..Uh.. haven’t started the investigation yet.”

“Steve, get this asshole out of my sight for a few minutes while I make a couple of phone calls.”

“Now wait just a minute! You can’t talk to me like that.” Mr. Collins started before a hand came down on his shoulder.

“Try me. Now get the fuck out of my sight.” Ian replied as he reached for the phone.

“I’ll get it!” Brad yelled when he heard the door bell go off.

“Can I help you?” Brad asked the man standing in front of him when he opened the door.

“Yes, I need to speak with your dad. I’m with Child Services.” Brad was informed while the man showed him his I.D..

“Hey dad, the Kiddie Gestapo and their Schutzstaffel goons are here to see you!” Brad yelled before slamming the door closed before the stunned Child Service workers and the Sheriff’s deputies had a chance to say anything.

“Sorry about that. Brad’s had some past dealings with both of your departments and they weren’t all that pleasant for him.” Steve explained as he escorted the head deputies, lead case workers, and Mr. Collins into Ian’s office after leaving the rest of their group in the sitting room.

“Are the kids ready to go?” The CPS case worker asked the moment he came through the door.

“No, they aren’t Right now they’re probably finishing their dinner. And then they’re be going upstairs to complete their homework. They’ll be staying there until we get this little misunderstanding cleared up.” Ian explained as he offered everyone a seat around his desk.

“Mary, go get the others and have them have the boys go up and pack a bag then escort them out to the vans.”

“I would highly suggest that you not do that. I’d hate to see anyone get hurt.”

“Mr. Miller, I assure you my people know how to handle situations like this without harming any of the children.” Ian was told.

“You misunderstand me Mr. Clark. I’m not referring to your people hurting the kids. I’m referring to the kids hurting your people. So why don’t you just have a seat and we can get things here straightened out.” Ian explained calmly. Before things could go any further there was a knock at the office door.

“Sorry to interrupt Mr. Miller but your other guests are here.” Anna announced with an evil look towards the CPS people.

“Thank you Anna. Please see them in.” Anna nodded and stepped aside to allow the new people into the room. Everyone in the room stiffened up when they saw who the new arrivals were.

“Now that everyone is here that needs to be, lets get this foul up straightened out.” Ian announced. Twenty minutes later the meeting broke up with Mr. Collins being led from the house sporting a shiny new pair of bracelets.

“Brad, story?” Devon asked softly while coming into Brad’s bedroom followed closely by Otto.

“Sure, come on up here.” Brad replied while setting his own book aside.

“You feeling OK?” Brad asked his cousin once the story was done and he saw how lethargic Dev seemed, and that his color was off.

“Uh huh.” the boy replied a bit sleepily. Not really believing this, Brad decided to go down and ask his dads about this. Once he made sure that Dev was comfortable, Brad headed down to let his dad know of his concerns.

“Stay.” Brad said softly when he saw that Otto was trying to follow him. With a soft woof Otto turned back around and laid back down next to Brad’s bed.

“Dad, could I talk to guys for a minute?” Brad asked as he entered the family room where Steve and Ian were watching the late news.

“Sure Brad. Have a seat.” Steve replied while he moved over so Brad could take a seat between him and Ian.

“What’s up?” Steve asked.

“I’m kind of worried about Dev. He seems to be getting tired a lot lately and tonight I noticed that his color seemed a bit yellow when I was reading him a story a little bit ago. There’s nothing wrong is there?”

“In a way, there is. You see Brad, Dev was born with only one kidney and it was smaller that it should have been. The doctors said that it was possible that Dev would have some problems because of this.” Ian explained while pulling Brad into a hug. Knowing how close the boys were.

“Well, they can do a transplant or something can’t they?” Brad asked almost in tears.

“They’re looking for a match right now but given that Dev has a very rare blood type the doctors are having a hard time matching him with a donor.”

“What about Andy or Ryan?”

“They would be the best match for him but they’re to young to even be considered. And no one else in the family was a close enough match.” Ian added sensing what Brad’s next question was going to be.

“Well, what about me?” Steve and Ian were asked desperately.

“It’s worth a shot.” Steve told Ian.

“Okay. Take him in with you when you see Dr. Foreman tomorrow.” Ian said in agreement after a few moments of thought about the growth spurt Brad seemed to be in the middle of at the moment.

“Now Brad, I just want you to realize that there is a good chance that you won’t match. I don’t want you to get upset if this turns out to be the case.” Brad Just smiled at this remembering what his dad had told him once in a dream. After wishing his dads a good night, Brad headed back up to his room.

Brad smiled a bit, when in the glow of the room’s night light, he saw that Otto had climbed up in bed with Dev and his cousin was now snuggled up between the dog and Brad’s teddy bear.

“Okay, boy you can get down now. We don’t want you to get in to any trouble.” Brad told the dog softly once Brad had finished with getting dressed for bed. Otto woofed softly at this and gave Brad a wet kiss before hoping off the bed. Dev started whimpering a bit when Otto moved but quickly settled down once Brad took the dog’s place next to his brother.

The next morning, when Steve went to make sure Brad was up, he wasn’t at all surprised to find that all three of the Trips were now in bed with Brad with the dogs curled up on the floor next to it.

“Boys, it’s time to get up.” Steve announced while shaking Brad’s shoulder gently. Like usual Brad jumped a bit at this.

“Time to get up.” Steve repeated. Brad nodded at this and after pulling the Trips off of him climbed out of bed and headed into the bathroom so he could get a shower.

“And just get dressed in some regular clothes you won’t be going to school today.” Steve yelled through the closed door as he and the Trips walked past.

“You better get into your uniform.” David stated when he walked into Brad’s room and saw him wearing play clothes.

“Steve said I wasn’t going to school today. I guess him and dad decided to have me go in when they take Dev into his doctor today.”

“Oh, OK. I’ll let the coach know that you won’t be in for practice today. Well, we better get down to breakfast before Anna gets mad.

Brad was even more shocked at Dev’s color when he saw the boy walk into the dinning room a short time after he did.

“Don’t worry about it Brad. This is still normal for him.” Brian informed his brother when he saw the concerned look on his brother’s face.

“If you say so.” Brad answered but not really believing it.

“Now Brad, I just want you to know that they’ll be wanting to do some blood tests on you and depending on how those turn out they may do some more advanced tests on you and those are on the painful side.” Steve explained while they waited for the doctor to come into the exam room.

“I don’t care how painful they are if it helps Dev then that’s all that matters.” Brad replied. Steve was surprised by the look of determination in his nephew’s eyes. Before he could answer this though the doctor came into the room.

Morning, Mr. Levinston, what seems to be the problem today, and who might this young man be?” The doctor asked as she shook Steve’s hand.

“Morning, Lisa. Dev’s been having some problems so we thought we better get him checked out and this young man is Dev’s Brother and cousin, Brad.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Brad was told as Lisa offered her hand to him.

“Thank you, same here.” Brad answered as he took the offered hand.

“You know, you look familiar. Have we ever met before?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh, well. I’m sure it’ll come to me eventually. Now let’s see what we can do to help you feel better.” Lisa commented as she turned her attention to Dev.

“Well, I think that about does it. I’ll know more once we get the blood work back from the lab.” the group was told as Dr. Foreman finished putting a band-aid over the site where she had just drawn some of Dev’s blood.

“There’s one more thing, Lisa. We’re wanting to have Brad tested as a possible donor match for Dev.” Steve informed her.

“Steve, I’m not sure I want to get anyone’s hope up. With you mentioning that Brad is only related to Dev by blood as a cousin, the odds of him even being a close match would be astronomical”

“I’m aware of that. But I insist that the tests be run.”

“I’ll run them, but I don’t think anything will come of it.” They were told as Lisa prepared another syringe to draw some of Brad’s blood. Of course the moment Dev saw the needle he started crying.

“It’s okay. Dev. It’s for me.” Brad said as he walked over to the exam table and pulled Dev into his lap after he climbed up on to it.

“See. It’s nothing to worry about.” Brad told his brother as the needle was pushed into his arm.

“It’ll take a little while to run all the tests on Brad’s blood. In the mean time, We’ll need to start Dev on dialysis immediately.”

“Are you sure that’s necessary?” Steve asked with concern.

“Yes, I am. Going off the results of Dev’s blood tests. The sooner he starts the better.” They were told as Steve was handed the results from the tests they had just run.

“I see.” Going off of the look on Steve’s face, I could tell the results weren’t good.

“How long do you think it’ll take to get the results from Brad’s tests?” Steve asked as we were led down the hall and into another room.

“It’ll take a few hours to get the preliminary numbers back. Depending on those, we’ll see if we can progress further.” About this time we entered another room. I guess Dev had gone through a course of dialysis before because the moment he saw the machines he started freaking out.

“NO, Brad! No, Machines!!!” Dev screamed in my ear, nearly blowing out my ear drum. I tried putting him down for a moment to try and clear out the ringing in my ear, but Dev’s arms and legs tightened around my neck and waist to the point that they were painful.

“Easy Dev. No one’s going to hurt you.” I said softly trying to calm him down.

“NO! Machines bad!” Dev wailed as he increased the pressure of his hold on me. Before I could do anything else, I felt Dev’s hold relax and felt Steve take him from my arms.

“Thanks.” I croaked as I was able to breathe normally again. As I looked around I saw Dr. Foreman putting a used syringe into a plastic box.

About this time, a nurse came over and started to take Dev from Steve.

“No! I’ll take him.” I announced firmly, shocking everyone in the room.

“Dad if it’s OK. I’d like to stay here while Dev has his treatment. This way he’s less likely to freak out again when the stuff you gave him wears off.” I said firmly, while giving the nurse a hard look since it seemed like she was still going to try and take Dev from me.

“It’s OK Janet. I don’t think it’ll hurt anything.” Dr. Foreman stated as she led us over to a couch next to one of the machines.

“I’ll take him while you get comfortable.” Steve told me. I nodded at this and once Steve was holding Dev, I climbed on to the couch and stretched out. Once I was done with this, Steve placed Dev back in my lap.

“I’ll be back to check on you guys in a little bit.” I was told by Steve as the nurse started getting Dev hooked up to the machine. After seeing the size of the needle used I could understand why Dev would freak out like he did.

I must have fallen asleep at some point because the next thing I knew Steve was waking me up and Dev had already been disconnected from the machine.

“Let’s go Brad. It’s over.” Steve said softly.

“Huh?” I mumbled still partly asleep.

“I said we can go now. Dev’s finished.” Steve repeated .

“Oh. okay.” I answered after stretching a bit.

“Dr. Foreman wants to see us for a moment before we leave but before we do that I think we better get you into some dry pants.” I was informed with a chuckle. I could feel my face turning a bright red as I looked down and saw that the front of my pants were wet.

“It’s OK, Brad. It’s my fault for not thinking a head a bit by not having you wear one of your thicker diapers.”

Once we were back in the exam room, Steve motioned for me to lay down on the exam table and realized that he was going to do the honors himself instead of just sending me off to the restroom to do it myself.

“Brad, I want to say how proud I am of what you did for Dev.” I was told as Steve pulled my pants off. Followed closely by my shirt, which had also gotten wet when the diaper decided to leak.

“ But, I didn’t really do anything. I mean, all I did was hold him and try to calm him down before Dr. Foreman sedated him.”

“True, but your holding him like that made things easier for her to do that. Not to mention that Dev woke up about halfway through the procedure and because you were holding him like you were he didn’t freak out again like he normally would have.” I was told as Steve untapped my diaper and pulled it down.

“I think you better start paying more attention to getting cleaned up. It looks like you’re starting to get a bit of a rash.” I just blushed a bit at this since I knew I wasn’t cleaning up as well as I should have been. Steve, in return, just smiled as he finished cleaning me up and added a thick coating of Butt Paste to my nether region before getting a fresh diaper under me. He had just gotten the front of the diaper pulled up and the first tape fastened to it when Dr. Foreman. I was more than a little surprised when she didn’t try to excuse herself while Steve finished up but just sat down on a nearby chair and waited. I did notice that Dev was giving her a dirty look. I just chuckled a bit at this since at only Five years old he wasn’t able to do this very well.

“Sorry Brad, but it looks like we forgot to pack you an extra pair of shorts.” Steve said after a few moments of digging through the back pack that we normally used a diaper bag. Just shrugged at this as I accepted the shirt he gave me. Luckily, I found that it was large enough to cover most of my diaper when I stood up.

“So Lisa what’s the word?” Steve asked as he turned his attention back to Dev’s doctor.

“I have both some bad and astounding news which would you like first?”

“Let’s hear the bad news first.” Steve said warily.

“It looks like Dev’s cancer is coming out of remission. I’ll want to start him back on the chemo as soon as his kidney functions come up more.”

“And what’s the astounding news?” Steve inquired, sounding like someone had just kicked him in the head.

“From what we could tell from the initial blood tests, Brad is a prefect genetic match. I’ve already contacted Children’s General to have him admitted for further testing. If what I think proves to be true, Brad could be the key to solving both of Dev’s major health concerns.”

“Brad, this is where you have a choice to make.” Dr. Foreman said as she turned her attention on me.

“What’s that?” I asked not fully understanding what was going on.

“If the tests I’m going to have you do comes back like I think they will it means that you could help make Dev all better.”

“So what are we waiting for?” I replied as I hopped off the table and headed for the door.”

“Easy there kiddo. Let’s finish hearing what the doctor has to say.” Steve chuckled as he pulled me on to his lap.

“The choice you have to make won’t be an easy one. You see, if the tests come back positive, then we’ll need to start you on a course of medications to help your body do things that will help Dev. The problem is that a couple of these drugs are on a banned list for athletes, and they take some time to flush out of your system once you stop taking them. This means that you’d have to give up swimming for awhile during this.”

“There’s nothing to decide. I’ll start the drugs as soon as you need me to.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to take some time to think this over?” Steve asked. Surprised by how quickly I answered.

“I already did. I’d gladly give my life up if it meant that Dev would get a chance at a better one. Swimming is nothing compared to that.”

“What about Coach Dunbar and the guys on your school swim team?”

“I’ll miss them but I think they’ll understand once I explain everything to them.” I replied.

“Besides, I’m pretty sure that Coach D will let me stick around to help with out other things even if I can’t compete.”

“When would I need to start the drugs?” I asked turning back to Dev’s doctor.

“It would depend on how long it takes for Dev’s Kidney to come back up to a level I feel safe with. But I think anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months.”

“That’s perfect then. That means I’d be able to finish out the season with the team at school and still make the Regional next month.”

“What about the Nationals and beyond if you make it at Regional?”

“Like said a few minutes ago, I’m not worried about that. If I need to stop for a while then I’m willing to pay that price and if I end up having to retire completely to insure that Dev has a chance at growing up then I’d do that without a second thought.” I announced firmly. Steve just pulled me in closer when I said that.

“Okay then, I’ll give the hospital a call and let them know you’re on your way.” We were told as Dr. Foreman stood up.

“Oh and Brad one thing you should know, my brother isn’t going to take this news well. I would suggest that you have some other people around when you tell him.” I just looked up in confusion on hearing this.

“Your other coach is my brother, and he has a bit of a temper when it comes to things like this.”

“Oh, okay.” I replied in understanding.

“Well, I’ll be by to see you sometime tomorrow to see how the tests are going.” Steve and I were informed.

“Are you really sure you want to do this?” Steve asked as we were walking back to the car.

“Yes, I am. I meant what I said, I’d gladly give my life if it meant Dev would get a chance at a better life. Giving up swimming is a small price to pay if it comes to that.” Steve just nodded his head at that and let the matter drop.

“Miller residence.” Anakin said after he picked the phone up.

“Ani?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s Steve. Is Ian there?” Steve asked after we had been on the road for a few minutes.

“Yeah, he’s here. Just a sec while I get him.” Anakin said as he laid the phone down and walked to the back door before yelling for Ian.

“Hey, Steve. What’d you need?” Ian asked after he picked the phone up and shooed Anakin away.

“I need you to pack Brad an overnight bag and meet us at Children’s General. They want him to get some further testing..”

“Okay. What about everything else?” Ian asked with some relief.

“It’s a good news/bad news thing. I want you guys all around when we discuss this.” Steve informed his hubby.

“Okay. We’ll meet you there in about 45 minutes.”

Forty-five minutes later Steve was leading Ian, David, Brian, Hutch, and Anakin into a conference room down the hall from Brad’s room and had everyone take a seat before speaking.

“So what’s going on?” Ian asked Steve while everyone else looked on anxiously.

“Let me get the bad news out of the way first and then we’ll go from there.” Steve announced while drawing a deep breath. After letting it out slowly he continued.

“Dev’s kidney has started to fail again and it also looks like he’s coming out of remission.” the group was told sadly. Ian just nodded stonily at this announcement, while the boys seemed to collapse in on each other.

“What about Brad?” Ian asked in a rough voice trying to hold his emotions in check for the moment.

“At the moment, that’s the good news. From what Dr. Foreman told me all the initial blood tests show that Brad could be a good enough match to help with both of these problems. That’s why they wanted Brad admitted so they could run some more tests. They’ll be doing those over the next couple of days and we should have the results back in a couple of weeks. Dev’s doctors are extremely optimistic about Dev’s chance for a full recovery if all the tests come back like they’re hoping based on what they saw with first blood tests.”

“What about Brad? Are there any dangers to him on this?”

“No. The doctors all assured me that there shouldn’t be any problems for Brad. That all the tests are straight forward and pose no danger to him. There is one thing though. If all the tests come back positive and we move forward that Brad will have to give up competitive swimming for a while, he might have to retire permanently.”

“No! Swimming is Brad’s thing. There has to be another way.” David blurted out.

“David, I know how you feel on that matter. I think Brad could go far if he keeps competing. However, all this has been explained to him and Brad’s made his decision. I expect all of you to honor that choice and not say anything to try and change it.” All the boys nodded at this. Though, David looked highly pissed.

“I mean it David. I expect you to keep your mouth shut on this matter.” Steve added after seeing the look on David’s face

“Now, if there are no other questions or comments, Brad should be back in his room by now and would like to see all of you.” Steve announced as he stood up.

“DADDY!” Dev called out when he saw Ian com into the room.

“Hey Kiddo.” Ian replied with a smile as he walked over to the bed that Brad was stretched out on and picked Dev up and gave the boy a fierce hug.

“How you doing Brad?” Ian added after setting Dev back down on the bed so he could curl up next to his brother.

“Not bad. It’ll be better once they stop sticking me with all these dang needles.” They were told with a smile.

“I can imagine.” Ian laughed back. His mood lightening greatly on seeing that both of his sons were doing well at the moment.

Over the next hour the group talked aimlessly All to soon, Steve and Ian announced it was time to head home so Brad could get some rest since he had a busy day coming up.

“David, could I see you for a second?” Brad called out as his dads and brothers headed out the door.

“Privately.” Brad added when he saw Steve and Ian start to turn around.

“We’ll be outside if you need us.” They stated as they walked out the door.

“OK. Spit it out.” Brad said turning back to his brother.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Came the somewhat acidic reply.

“Bullshit. You’ve been acting all pissy and sullen ever since you walked through that door. Now tell me what’s got your underwear in a knot.”

“Fine you want to know what’s pissing me off, I’ll tell you. It’s you deciding to give up swimming after all the hard work you’ve put in and you didn’t even check with the rest of us first!”

“I wasn’t aware that I had to ask your permission to save someone’s life.” Brad told his brother calmly. This statement brought David up short.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that if the test come back positive and I go through with this I’d probably end up saving Dev’s life. But hell if you think it’s more important that I keep swimming instead then fine I’ll call dad back in here and tell him that I’ve changed my mind and to have them stop the tests. Just keep in mind one thing.”

“What’s that” David interrupted.

“That I’ll make sure that everyone knows that it was you that changed my mind and they’ll know who to blame when Dev dies. So what’s it going to be are you going to get your head out of your ass and respect my decision to try and save Dev’s life or are you prepared to go through the rest of your life wondering if you stopped the one chance that he had at a full life because you were to selfish to honor someone else’s choice?” Brad asked coldly. David just shot his brother a venomous look before turning on his heels and stormed out of the room. Nothing more was said about the hospital visit for the rest of the night though everyone was giving David a wide berth because of the pissy mood he was still in. Hutch even went so far as to sleep in Brad’s room that night due to how David was acting.

“Miller! Get your butt out of that pool and into my office now!” Coach Dunbar yelled after seeing David perform another sub-standard dive.

“Okay, you want to tell me what the hell is going on with you today.” David was asked as his coach sat down behind his desk.

“It’s nothing . I’ll start paying better attention to what I’m doing.” David replied as he started to get out of his seat.

“If your butt moves so much as another inch off that chair you’re off the team.” With a huff David dropped back into the chair he was trying to vacate.

“ Now talk to me. I can tell something’s bothering you. Now what is it?” Dunbar added in a softer tone.

“It’s Brad.”

“I see. Your dad mentioned to me that Brad would be out a few days while he has some tests done but assured me that nothing was wrong. Most of the team and I planned on going to see him after school today instead of having a practice. So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that depending on the out come of the tests Brad’s going to give up swimming and piss away all the hard work he’s done over the last year.” came the acidic reply.

“David, I’ve come to know Brad well enough over these past few months to well enough that he wouldn’t just give up without a valid reason. Now what aren’t you telling me?”

“It’s nothing.” David mumbled.

“Fine. Go get cleaned up and dressed , then meet me back at the bleachers. If you won’t tell me what’s going on, I’m sure Brad probably will.” David was told with a look that told the boy not to argue the point. With a small nod, David got to his feet and headed for the door that led to the looker room.

“OK, everyone out of the pool and hit the showers! Then meet back here!” Dunbar yelled as the final bell sounded. In a rush all the boys climbed out of the pool and headed for the locker room. Twenty Minutes later the last member of the team come out and joined the group that was sitting on the benches in front of the coach.

“All right, quiet down and listen up. I’m sure by now you’ve all noticed that Brad isn’t with us right now. He’s in the hospital right now under going some tests. And before you all start yelling questions, I’ve been assured by both of his dads that Brad is in perfect health and these tests are to see if he can help someone else in their family.” The group of boys let out a open sigh of relief on hearing this.

“Who’re the tests for?” Aaron asked for the team.

“I’m not sure yet. I forgot to ask when I was informed of this. And David is being a bit tight lipped about it as well.”

“How long will he be out?” Jacob asked next.

“Mr. Miller said that it shouldn’t be more than a couple of days. He did assure me that barring any freak problems, Brad would be out and ready for State this weekend. Anyway, I thought that Brad might want to see some friendly faces after getting poked and prodded all day. So I thought instead of practicing today we’d go over and visit with him for a while.” All the boys cheered at this and after a few minutes of getting rides arranged the team headed off to meet with their star member.

“So Miller are you done lounging around and ready to get back to work? Coach Dunbar asked as he and the rest of the team walked into his room.

“Hey coach.” Brad replied with a smile.

“I wouldn’t mind it. A good work-out would be a danged sight better than letting them poke and prod me from one end to the other.” All the boys, except for David laughed at this. Over the next hour Brad and the rest of the team joked around even bringing Brad’s room mate in on the kidding around at times. David just sat off in the corner sulking.

“I see you still have your head up your ass.” Brad said bluntly once everyone but David and his coach had left. David just huffed at this but didn’t really answer.

“What are you talking about?” the boys’ coach asked in confusion.

“I see you didn’t tell him the whole story then?” Brad asked his brother, who remained silent. After shaking his head a bit at how his brother was acting, Brad gave his coach the full story.

“Well, as you now know, I’m having some tests done to see if I can help Dev out.”

“Right, and I’ve already told you how proud I am of that choice. I know that it wasn’t an easy choice for you to make but I can respect why you’re doing it and I hope that you’ll be able to get back on the team for next year.”

“I do, too. The thing I didn’t mention in front of the guys and I hope you’ll keep this between us is the fact that David, here tried to talk me out of it. He seems to think that my swimming is more important than Dev’s life.” Brad said calmly, while giving his brother a hard stare.

“I’m sorry, but did you just say that David has tried to talk you out of trying to help out another family member because he thinks you should keep swimming?” Brad was asked in stunned disbelief.

“That’s about the sum of it.”

“Are you out of your ever loving Mind, boy?!” Dunbar fairly exploded at a now cowering David. This tirade went on for several minutes. It only stopped because Steve, Ian and the rest of the boys walked into the room.

“David, consider yourself suspended from the team until further notice.” David was told coldly as Brad’s and his coach stormed out of the room.

“So what did we miss?” Steve asked conversationally once Dunbar had left the room.

“I informed the coach why David’s been in such a pissy mood.” Brad informed everyone.

“Well, that is something I’d like to know about myself.” Ian commented. Since he too was wondering what was going on with his oldest son. Brad filled his dads in quickly as to what had gone on the day before.

“Dad, it’s not what it sounds like?” David started to say before getting cut off by his dad.

“We’ll talk about this when we get home.” Ian announced in a tone that lowered the room’s temperature by a good twenty degrees. David just nodded at this. The rest of the visit was kind awkward after this.

“David, dad wants to see you in his office now.” Brian informed his brother coldly about an hour after they got home. Before David could answer, Brian turned his back and walked out of the room. David noticed that Hutch and Anakin were giving him the cold shoulder as well.

“You wanted to see me dad?” David asked nervously as he entered his dad’s office.

“Sit.” David was told bluntly while his dad pointed to one of the empty chairs in front of his desk. David knew right then that this wasn’t going to be one of their friendly chats.

“Explain.” Ian ordered once David had sat down.

“I thought that Brad was making a mistake in not talking with the rest of us first.” David stated while looking down at the ground.

“So you felt that you should go in and try to talk him out of what he was doing before you even knew if he was going to have to quit. Is that about right?” Ian asked in a deadly calm voice

“I guess so.” Came the soft reply.

“And what about my telling you to not to do anything to try and change Brad’s mind?” Steve asked jumping into the conversation.

“Well?” Steve inquired after David didn’t answer. David Still didn’t answer at this point since he didn’t know what to say.

“Fine. Consider yourself under hack until the end of the school year.” Ian announced after a few moments more of silence.

“But..” David started to say before getting cut off.

“Not one word mister. Now get out of my sight.” David was told. The look of disgust David saw on both of his fathers’ faces hurt him more than the tone of voice ever could.

“Yes, sir.” David said sadly as he got up and walked out of the room.

The next couple of days were really tense around the Miller household. The only brief moment of excitement came that weekend When Brad and the rest of the rest of the Stonehenge Academy swim teams pulled off the most decisive State Championship since Brad’s father was on the team. Brad even managed to break the record that his father had set almost thirty years before. The only gloom that darkened this event was the fact that Dev was to ill to attend the finals in person.

“Brad, could I talk to you for a minute? There’s something I need to get off my chest.” David asked after closing Brad’s bedroom door once he had been told to enter.

“Have a seat.” Brad told his brother while pointing to the bench at the foot of his bed.

“Thanks.” David said as he took the offered.

“I just want to say that I’m sorry about how I’ve acted these last couple of days. I was wrong to act like I did. I just didn’t want to see everyone get their hopes up again about Dev getting better and then have it not work out. The last time nearly killed everyone. I just didn’t want to see everyone go through that again.”

“So you thought it would be better to try and talk me out of it?”

“Yes. I just didn’t know what to do. And I guess hearing that you were giving up swimming without talking to the rest of us first just pushed me a bit over the edge.”

“I can understand that you thought you were doing what was best. But I’m kind of disappointed that you didn’t tell me this at the beginning. I doubt that I would have changed my mind any but at least I would have been able to talk to dad and Coach D about it.”

“I know. I just wasn’t thinking right. Anyway, I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. If you want, I’ll talk to dad and the coach about it” David was informed.

“No. That’s alright, I messed up and I’ll take the consequences like a man. I just wanted to say I’m sorry.” David stated as he got up and left the room before Brad could respond to this. Brad just nodded at this and decided to let his dad and Coach D on what David had just told him.

“Brad, don’t bother changing. I got a call from Dr. Foreman. She wants to see us in her office as soon as possible.” Steve announced the moment Brad walked through the door a little over a week after the State swim meet.

“Did she say what it was about?”

“No, she just said it was important.”

“Can I at least change my pants first?” Brad asked with a slight blush.

“Sorry, we don’t have any time. We can take care of that when we get to the doctor’s office. Unless, of course, you’re about to leak.” Steve replied picking up on what Brad was meaning.

“No, I should be good till then.” Brad stated with a little embarrassment. Steve just nodded at this as he led Brad towards the garage.

Twenty minutes later they were being ushered into an exam room.

“Do you think that this means all the tests came back positive?” Brad asked, finally giving voice to his concerns.

“I don’t really know. But it is promising. Now hop up here and we can see about getting you into some clean pants.” Steve said with a smile while patting the exam table. Brad nodded at this and hopped up on the table.

“Oh, excuse me.” Dr. Foreman said a moment after she walked through the door and found Brad in the middle of a diaper change.

“That’s okay Doc. I don’t mind.” Brad told her as Steve continued with what he was doing.

“So what’s the news?” Brad asked without hesitation.

“All the tests came back positive.” Dr. Foreman. Announced as a huge smile broke over her face.

“I don’t know how to explain it. But as far as we can tell Brad is a perfect match to Dev in almost everyway.” Brad and Steve were informed happily.

“What about the chance of rejection?” Steve asked. Hating to have to play Devil’s Advocate but having been down this road before made him more than a little cautious.

“That’s the best bit of news yet. The chance of rejection is less than one percent. I doubt Dev will even need to continue the anti-rejection medications once the first round is completed.” This news allowed Steve to finally relax a bit.

“How long would it be before I would need to start the drug treatment?” Brad asked nervously since he only had a couple of weeks to go before the Regional finals.

“That all depends on Dev. I want his kidney function to come up to at least seventy-five percent before we start the next round of Chemo. Once we start that we’ll be starting you on the drug therapy.” Brad and Steve nodded at this. While Brad Grilled Dr. Foreman about what he should expect to go through while taking the drugs, Steve stepped out into the hall to give Anna a call to let her know that they would be going out for dinner and that she was invited as well.

“So what’s the word?” Ian asked as he, Anna, Ryan, Andy, and David got out of their car. Steve was a bit shocked when Ian’s parents pulled in next to them and climbed out of their car followed closely by Brian Anakin, and Hutch.

“I’ll let everyone know what’s going on after we’ve been seated.” Steve said with a grin as he opened the door to let everyone file in.

“Uh, Steve you know that we’re seriously under dressed for this place, right.” Ian commented as he walked past.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re acquainted with the owner.” Steve replied with another grin as he walked to the front of the line.

“May I help you, sir?” They were asked snidely as Steve walked up to the podium.

“Yes, I believe you have a reservation for Levinston.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t seem to have that name on my list. You must be thinking of the place down the street. You see we have a very strict dress code here and we most certainly don’t allow children. Now I suggest you leave before I’m forced to call the police and have you escorted out.”

“I see. You do know that I‘ve already spoken with the owner and we‘re here at his request.” Steve said with a nod while putting a hand up to stop Ian from making a scene.

“I’ve heard that one before. Now for the last time Leave before I am forced to call the police.”

“Don’t worry Ian, I’ve got it under control.” Steve announced while pulling his phone out.

“Hey Denny, It’s Steve” Steve said as the phone one the other end was picked up.

“Yeah, we’re here now. But Chip at the front desk is having a bit of a snit because we brought the boys with us and we’re dressed a bit on the casual side.” Ian heard his hubby say. He did smile a bit at how the maitre’ D stiffened at the use of a shortened version of his name.

“That’s fine. We’ll be waiting. Right see you in a few.”

“And, I suppose you talking into a dead phone is supposed to intimidate me some how?”

“No. My talking on the phone wasn’t meant to intimidate you at all. He is.” Steve said with a nod over the man’s shoulder. Nervously, the Maitre’ D looked back over his shoulder and saw the Executive chef/Owner of the restaurant heading his way.

“Is there a problem here Chip?” Denny asked calmly.

“Not at all, Sir.” Chip replied.

“Then why are my guests still standing in the lobby and not being seated like I left instructions for.”

“I assumed, that this was a matter of them trying to gain entrance by using your name and looking at the list while my back was turned.”

“I see. And you of course followed the guidelines I set up for things like this by asking for some I.D. and the Password.”

“Well, no sir. I just thought..” Chip started to explain but fell silent at the look he was getting from his boss.

“Jose, please escort my guests to the Presidential Room. And then come back and cover the desk for a little while.” Denny told the General Manager as he walked over to see what the problem was.

“At once sir. If you folks would follow me please.” The group was told as Jose grabbed some menus and stepped aside so the others could pass.

“May I take your drink orders while you’re looking over the menu?” Jose asked the group while waiters went around the table filling water glasses.

“I’ll take an iced tea.” Ian stated starting the process. He smiled a bit when Brad, Brian and David all asked for Lime slices to go with their water.

“Very good , sir.” Jose stated as he took the last order.

“Jesse here will be your waiter for the rest of the evening.” Jose added introducing A young man in his mid-Twenties. Ian looked hard at him trying to figure out where he had seen their waiter before but couldn’t place the face.

“I guess that since we’re eating here the news is good?” Ian asked his hubby. This question caused all other conversation at the table to stop cold.

“It is. From what Dr. Foreman told us just a little bit ago, Brad is a perfect genetic match to Dev. So once Dev gets stronger we plan on going ahead with what’s already been planned. That is unless anybody has an objection.” Steve added while looking down the table at David.

“How are they going to do it?” Brian asked just as Jesse and another waiter walked back into the room with their drink orders.

“What would your pleasure for the evening be?” Steve was asked once all the drinks were in place.

“I’d like to start off with the Caesar Salad with dressing on the side, An 8oz Rib-eye with the steamed vegetables.”

“Very good, sir. And how would you like the steak prepared?”

“Medium-well would be fine.” Jesse nodded at this and started down the table.

“Could I have grilled cheese?” Jesse was asked by Andy and got the question in stereo when Dev and Ryan echoed the request.

“Of course you can, you know what I think would go good with that a bowl of Tomato soup.” A new voice added before Jesse could say anything.

“Yeah, that would be Yum.” The three boys said in almost perfect unison. This caused the others to laugh a bit. Their waiter just nodded at this and wrote the order down then left the room to get the orders in.

“Sorry about the misunderstanding at the door. Chip’s always been a little anal about the dress code at this place.” Denny told them.

“I can understand that. Besides as Ian pointed out we were a little under dressed for this place.”

“Just a little. But given the fact that you’re part owner of this place I don’t think many people could complain about it.”

“I’m sorry, did you say we’re part owners to this place?” Ian asked in confusion.

“Yep. You remember that small loan I asked you for when we first started going out.?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“It was so Denny here could buy this place after the bank foreclosed on it from the previous owner. Denny was the Sous chef at the time. Anyway, mom was always tight when it came to handing Denny or I any money from our trust funds.”

“Mom?”

“Yeah, mom. What didn’t you realize Denny is my baby brother?” Steve chuckled at the look on everyone’s faces at this comment since it was a well know fact that Steve hated his other family members with a passion.

“C’mon guys You’ve heard me tell you this story a hundred times about the only brother I’ve ever had respect for was the brother that pissed my mom off because he refused to bend to what she thought he should do with his life.”

“You would have loved to have been there for that one. I thought mom was going to have a dang stroke right there. She never did approve of my interest in cooking. Dad and Gramps, on the other hand , were all for it when they saw how good I was at it. I found out later that it was Gramps that set up that Scholarship to the CIA for me. Come to think of it, When I told her I was heading there instead of Harvard is when she blew the gasket. Oh well, no big loss.” Denny announced as Jesse walked back into the room and over to him.

“I’ll be back in a little while there seems to be problem in the kitchen. If you’ll excuse me.” Denny stated as he followed Jesse out of the room.

“You never told me Uncle Denny worked for the CIA.” Brian stated in awe.

“Wrong CIA. The CIA Denny meant was The Culinary Institute of America.” Steve said with a laugh.

“Oh. Why would he want to go there instead of Harvard?” Brian asked

“Think of the CIA as a culinary version of Harvard.

“Oh, OK. I guess that makes sense.” the group was told as their first course was delivered.

The group laughed a bit at the Trips reaction the small fruit and dip plate they had received for their first course.

“These are Yummy!” Dev announced with all the authority a Five-year-old could muster as he attacked the food. Everyone else at the table had to agree that the food quality had greatly improved since the last time they had come there.

“Sorry about the wait on everything. My lead chef was having a bit of snit over seeing Grilled cheeses and Tomato soup being ordered.” Denny said with a smile.

“Yeah you always did like cooking more for kids than adults.” Steve replied with a smile.

“Something that had gotten me into trouble with my instructors more than once at school. But hey, if the First Family enjoyed it how bad could things be.”

“I was on the kitchen staff during your brother’s first term. The kids tended to come down after school looking to raid the fridge every once in a while.” Denny explained seeing Ian’s questioning look.

“I’m surprised Jason didn’t join them as well.”

“Oh he did on more than a few occasions. The head chef about wet himself the first time your brother came storming into the kitchen with his detail demanding to know what was going on with the kids being there instead of doing their homework. I jumped in and told him that a full stomach would be more productive to studying that an empty one would. Of course this was right before I handed him a slice of the cake that I had made for that night’s dessert.”

“I bet that shut him up quick.” Ian laughed at the thought of the sight of that especially since he knew what his brother’s sweet tooth was like.

“Surprisingly enough it did.” Denny said with a laugh. This conversation lasted a few more minutes before Denny excused himself and headed back to the kitchen.

The rest of the meal was concluded with the normal banter and before they left for home informed Denny that he and his family needed to come over more often.

The next month was rough on Brad as his coach insisted on almost daily training sessions. Brad was almost on the verge of exhaustion before Steve stepped in and told the guy the Brad was going to be taking the week before the Regional meet off to rest. This didn’t sit well with Brad’s coach at all and he liked it even less when he found that Brad would be taking a leave of absence from competing once the National meet was over with

“Hurry up guys! We’re going to be late!” Steve yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

“We’ll be right down Dad.” Brian called back down as he hurriedly finished packing some items into his carry-on bag.

“You OK, Brad?” Ian asked when he saw that Brad seemed a bit distracted.

“Yeah, I’m just a bit bummed that Dev had to go into the hospital for more tests just before this came up.”

“I know. He would have liked to be there as well. Now let’s get you to the airport. You don’t want to be late for your flight.” Ian told his son.

“I really wish I could go with you guys instead of having to fly with Capt. Bligh. I mean it wouldn’t be so bad if we were going first class but he’s always so cheap. The last time we almost missed the flight because he choose to have us go Stand-by.” Brad mused.

“I know and don’t worry about it. Things are already taken care of.” Ian stated with a smile. After having learned that Brad’s coach had again decided to list them as Stand-by Ian purchased Brad’s ticket himself. The rest of the drive to the airport was done in almost complete silence.

“I thought I told you I wanted you here at least ninety minutes before the flight?” Brad’s coach stated heatedly once Ian had left.

“I’m still here on time. I was only off by two minutes.” Brad shot back.

“Listen here boy, when I tell you Ninety minutes, I don’t mean Ninety-two.”

“Right.” Brad replied before storming off to another part of the waiting area. Neither Brad or his coach said anything to each other the rest of the time before their flight was called.

“I’ll be right back. You wait here for me.” Brad was informed by his coach before the man walked off.

“Yeah right.” Brad muttered before grabbing his carry-on bag and headed for the gate. He almost made it through the door to the jet way before his coach grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him aside.

“I thought I told you to wait over there for me.” Brad’s coach snarled.

“You did. But since I already have a ticket, I didn’t see the point in waiting around to see if you made it or not. Now let go of my arm.” Brad commented in a cold voice as he jerked his arm out of his coach’s grasp and headed through the door.

Brad smiled widely when he saw his coach running onto the plane just moments before the door closed.

“Get up. We’re changing seats.” Brad was informed as his coach tried to hand his boarding pass.

“Yeah, right.” came the sarcastic reply as Brad took out a pair of headphones and put them on. Before things could go any further, one of the flight attendants came up and informed Brad’s coach that he had to take his seat immediately so the plane could depart.

“Who was that guy?” The man sitting next to Brad asked, once Brad’s coach walked off.

“I’m sorry to say he’s my swim coach.” Brad replied.

“I’m sorry to hear that. He seems like a real asshole.” The man replied with a slight grin.

“You’re not kidding.” Brad replied with a smile of his own.

“I’m Brad.” Brad told the man while holding out his hand.

“Dennis.” Brad was informed as Dennis took his hand. Dennis was surprised by how firm Brad’s grip was.

“That’s quite a grip you have there.”

“Thanks. I work out a bit.”

“I’ll bet.” Brad was told with a smile before Dennis turned back to the paper he had been reading . Brad smiled as he pulled out the book he had brought with him. The rest of the flight was uneventful.

As the plane came in for a landing in Denver, Brad Started wondering if his coach was going to be stupid enough to try anything. After a moments thought, Brad decided he wasn’t going to worry about it and just deal with things as they came up.

“Good luck dealing with your coach. And good luck with your swim meet.” Dennis stated as he and Brad stood up to get their bags so they could deplane.

“Thanks. I hope your business meeting works out for you.” Brad replied.

“I’m sure it will.” Brad was told with a smile.

“Boy you better not disrespect me like that ever again.” Brad was informed harshly once he had met back up with his coach in the terminal.

“It’s kind of hard to disrespect someone when you never respected them in the first place. Now let go of my arm before we’re both sorry.” Brad replied as he jerked his arm out of his coach’s grasp.

“And a word of warning, you ever grad me like that again and I will seriously mess you up. Is that understood?” Brad informed his coach in a calm statement of fact. Without waiting for a reply Brad stormed of to find the car his dad had informed him would be waiting.

“May I help you sir?” The desk clerk asked as Brad and his coach walked up to the desk.

“Yes, I believe you have a room reserved for me. Charles James.” Brad’s coach stated before he could say anything.”

“I’m sorry sir, but I can’t seem to find a reservation in that name.”

“Son, I’m in no mood for jokes right now. Get my room key ready for me.”

“I’m sorry sir. But I don’t have any room registered for you.” The desk clerk stated again.

“Listen junior. I’ve had a long bloody day. Now I demand you get my room ready. I made this reservation almost two months ago!” Charles yelled loudly enough for the hotel’s General manager to come out from his office.

“I’m Douglas, the hotel’s manager. Is there a problem sir?”

“Yes, there is. Junior here, seems to have lost my room reservation. Now I demand that another room be found immediately.”

“I’m sorry sir, but with the Swim finals this weekend we’re booked solid. You said you had made an on-line reservation.

“That’s correct. I have the confirmation letter right here.” Brad’s coach huffed as he pulled the letter out of his pocket and slammed it down on the desk.

“Ah, I see what the problem is now. Your reservation was for last weekend.” Douglas said calmly as he handed back the letter.

“What the hell do you mean the reservation was for last weekend!” Brad’s coach exploded.

“Sir, I’ll ask you to kindly calm down. As your letter clearly shows, your room was reserved for last week.” Douglas pointed out. This started a five minute tirade by Brad’s coach when he saw this.

“May, I help you sir?” Another clerk asked as Brad tried to distance himself from the spectacle his coach was making.

“Yes, could you tell me if the Miller/ Levinston party has arrived yet?” Brad asked.

“And your name, sir?” Brad was asked.

“Bradley Miller.”

“Yes, Your Party has already checked in and are waiting for you.” The clerk stated as she made a key for him and gave Brad directions to the suite they were in.

“Bradley, Get over here! We’ll find somewhere else to stay than this dump.” Brad’s coach yelled from across the lobby.

“Sorry coach. I’m staying with my family. I told you this when you got ready to make the room reservation.” Brad stated as he headed over to the elevators.

“I told you we’re leaving.” Brad’s coach yelled as he stormed over to when Brad was standing and slapped his hand down on Brad’s shoulder. Before the older man knew what was happening Brad had him pinned to the floor in an arm lock and his knee pressing up against the man’s neck.

“I told you not to touch me like that again. Next time you go to the E/R.” Brad whispered in his coach’s ear.

“And by the way, after this season is over you’re fired.” Brad stated in a louder voice as he let his coach up. Before Brad’s coach could do anything else he found himself getting restrained by a couple of the hotel’s security people.

“Sir, do you wish for the police to be called?” Douglas asked as he came over.

“No, that’s O.K.. I think my point’s already been made.

“Of course sir.” Douglas stated as he motioned for Brad’s coach to be escorted from the hotel grounds.

“God what a day.” Brad sighed as he got to the penthouse his family had rented for weekend.

“Brad!” Brad heard from down the hall as he turned to see who had called his name he found himself getting knocked over by Aaron, and Ryan.

“Hey guys.” Brad said with a smile as he picked himself and his brothers up off the floor. About the time he got to his feet Brian, David, Hutch, and Anakin made it to the door.

“About time you showed up.” David started.

“We had some problems.” Brad replied.

“Yeah, speaking of which, where is that problem you call a coach?” Brian asked.

“Beats me. Trying to find a place to stay for the weekend. I guess. I’ll tell you about it inside.” Brad told them as he opened the door.

“Tell us what?” Steve asked making Brad jump a bit since he hadn’t seen that Steve had already opened the door.

“Oh, I was having some more problems with “Sir James”. Let me get changed and I’ll bring you up to speed.” Brad told his dad.

“I can live with that. Anakin why don’t you show Brad where he’ll be sleeping.” Steve announced. With a nod Anakin showed Brad out of the room.

“Dang, Brad, I don’t think that thing would be able to take much more abuse.” Anakin laughed when Brad dropped his pants to change what he knew was going to be a seriously loaded diaper.

“Tell me about it.” came the reply. Once Brad had the diaper off, he decided that a shower would feel better than using wipes.

“I thought maybe you got lost.” Steve joked when Brad finally reappeared. He smiled when he saw that Brad was dressed in just a T-shirt and a diaper. Everyone smiled when Ryan and Aaron wasted no time jumping in to their brother’s lap once Brad and sat down on the couch.

“Nah, I just decided I needed a long hot shower after the trip here.” Brad stated as he wrestled a bit with his brothers.

“Yeah, you said you were going to tell us about that. So spill it.” Steve laughed. And spill it, Brad did. By the time he got done Steve looked like he wanted to hunt Brad’s coach down and do more than just twist the man’s arm a bit.

Brad, Brian, and David spent the rest of the evening relaxing and getting prepared for the next two days. Though he never showed it, Brad was envious of the rapport that David and Brian had with their coach. Steve, of course, pick up on this anyway and while Brian and David were in getting ready for bed he decided to sit down and have a talk with Brad about this.

“Something you want to get off your chest?” Steve inquired as he sat next to Brad on the couch.

“Not really. I was just thinking how much better this season might have gone had I ended up with a coach like Brian and David have instead of the asshole I have to deal with. Looking back on it, I should have taken Grampy’s advice and shopped around a bit more fore a coach. Especially once I found out what he was really like.” Brad stated.

“I know what you mean. Your dad and I should have picked up on the vibes better but we dropped the ball as well. Just consider this a learning experience and we’ll all know better for next time.”

“If there is a next time.” Brad added glumly.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure that this is going to be short time deal.” Steve informed Brad confidently while pulling the boy into a hug.

“Now go climb into bed. You’ll need to get as much rest as you can over the next couple of days.” Brad was told as Steve released the hug.

“Thanks, Steve.” The older man was told with a smile as Brad got up to head into the bedroom.

“Get going. I’ll be in to tuck you guys in in a minute.” Steve said as he gave Brad’s padded rump a light slap. That night Brad had one of the most restful night’s sleep he could ever remember.

The next morning was a whirlwind of activity as the three boys got ready for the meet. This didn’t lighten up any when they got to the complex the meet was being held at. Even after all the meets Brad had been to over the last year, he was a bit surprised by the sheer number of people that were there to compete.

“Name and coach?” The person behind table asked as Brad made it to the front of the line to check-in.

“Bradley Miller, Charles James.” Brad informed them.

“OK, your number is 456 and you’ve been selected for a random drug test. Take this to room number three down the hall. Follow their instructions and wait for the results.” Brad was told and he was handed a cup.

“OK.” Brad replied as he took the cup. He was glad that his coach was off somewhere else at the time and didn’t see this because of how the man had acted the last time Brad was hit for a drug test. Thirty minutes later he was standing in the staging area listening to his coach blow a gasket over his having to take a drug test.

“What do they think they’re playing at having you take a drug test?! And you, what would you have done if your doctors had started you on those drugs already?! Do you have any idea how it would have made me look to the other coaches to have a swimmer banned from competing due to drug use!” Brad’s coach ranted loudly.

“Now I expect you to do all that you can to win. If you embarrass me by losing, I’ll make sure you’re never allowed to compete ever again!” Brad was told sternly.

“Coach, I don’t know what you’re playing at. But if you’re trying to piss me off it’s working. Now go dump some hormones and get out of my face.” Brad informed his coach before walking over to where his brothers and their coach was.

“Okay, brad take some deep breaths and let them out slowly.” David’s coach said softly before Brad even had a chance to say anything.

“Thanks coach. I needed that.” Brad said gratefully.

“You’re welcome. I’ll tell you that guy has a lot of nerve lecturing you on not embarrassing him and he’s going off like that at full volume.”

“I know what you mean.” Brad said but before the conversation could go any further Brad’s and David’s number were called for their first relay. This started a tempo that Brad found exhausting.

What none of the Miller boys knew of at the time was what happening at their school while all this was going on. Their coach and several other people had set up a party at the school so people could watch the meet. Ian had even managed to talk Dev’s doctors to release him for the day so the boy could watch his brother’s race. The frenzy that was happening was like nothing Ian had ever seen. And it just got higher the more Brad and David won. By the end of the day, Ian was sure a lot of people were going to be talking in raspy voices for the next several days from all the yelling they had done.

“Okay boys, I want you all in bed in thirty minutes.” Steve announced shortly after they got back to the hotel from celebrating the decisive thrashing Brad and David had given everyone. Both boys were hyped up from the medals they would now be adding to their collection, Though Brad was still fuming over the public ass chewing his coach had given him concerning the two Silver medals Brad had earned.

“And Brad I want you to go relax in the hot tub for a bit. It looks like you could use it.” Steve told the boy as he helped him change out of the wet diaper Brad was sporting by this time.

“If you say so.”

“Hey!” Steve said sharply to get Brad’s attention.

“Don’t let what you’re coach say get you down. That was a tough race you were running and you were only one-one hundredth of a second behind him.”

“I know. I’m not bummed about the placing. I know I did my best on both of them. It’s just that I’d like to shove my fist down my coach’s throat for how he was going off.”

“I wouldn’t worry about. You may not have noticed but they had the cameras on you guys while he was reading you that riot act. After this meet, I’ll be surprised if he ever gets anybody to sign with him again.” Brad just nodded at this as he got up off the bed and headed for the hot tub that was out on the patio.

The next day was almost as long as the first one for Brad given how many dives his coach had signed him up for.

“Now remember Brad I want you to do that dive I saw you do in the video I showed you.” Coach James informed Brad as he got ready for his last dive of the day.

“Coach, I already told you, I’m not doing that dive. I promised my dad that I wouldn’t do it again so I’m not end of discussion.” Brad said firmly.

“Listen boy, you’ll do whatever dive I tell you to do. You got that?!” Brad was informed as his coach was poking him in the chest with his finger.

“Yeah, I got you.” Brad stated while trying to keep from putting his fist down his coach’s throat.

After a couple of deep breaths, Brad headed for the dive platform and got ready to do his last dive of the day and possibly his career. Or so he thought.

“What the Hell was that?!!” Brad’s coach exploded at the top of his lungs before Brad even got a chance to finish climbing out of the pool.

“That was an almost perfect dive. I think I pulled out just a second early.” Brad announced calmly as he finished getting out of the pool.

“And that wasn’t the Fucking Dive I TOLD YOU TO DO!!” Coach James yelled. This out burst caught the attention of a nearby camera man who quickly pointed his camera towards Brad and his coach.

“I know it wasn’t. But it was still impressive. Now please get out of my way.” Brad said calmly as he started to walk back to where his brothers were. Though, Brad did flash his coach a warning look as he did so.

“Oh shit. Brian we better get down there now.” David announced quickly when he saw the look Brad was giving his coach on the Jumbo-tron that was mounted on the far side of the pool.

“I think you’re right.” Brian agreed. The boys didn’t get more than half a dozen steps in before Brad’s coach stepped of the line.

“Don’t you turn your back on me boy!” Brad’s coach said coldly as he grabbed Brad’s shoulder and spun him around. Before Brad knew what was happening he felt a hand connect with the side of his face knocking him down. This was the point Brad had been hoping for. With a cold look of his own, Brad kicked up and back planting a foot squarely between his coach’s legs. Then followed it up with a savage roundhouse kick to his coach’s jaw as the man fell to his knees.

“Forget the end of the season. You’re fired effective immediately.” Brad stated after making sure the man was still breathing.

“Jeez, Brad. Remind me never to piss you off.” David announced once he finally made it over to his brother.

“Okay. Remember never to piss me off.” Brad replied with a grin. Brian started giggling a little bit at this comment and even more when he saw David’s confused look.

“Well, Brad, I must say people will be talking about this meet for quite some time. And I’m not only referring to your swimming.” David’s coach said once Brad’s coach had been taken to the hospital.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because incase you didn’t notice, The TV Networks had caught that little tirade of your former coach’s on TV.” Brad was informed.

“Well, I’m sure they probably edit out a lot of that stuff before showing it.” Brad replied.

“Uh, Brad with this being the finals they were sending the feed out live.” Steve announced from behind his nephew.

“Oh.” Brad said turning a bright red as he did so.

“I’ve already intercepted the reporters. I’ve arranged it for you to give some interviews once we get home.” Steve told the still stunned boy.

The rest of the meet was uneventful for everyone concerned. Brad, Brian, and David managed to pull in eighteen medals between themselves. Most of them being Gold and Silver. During the award ceremony it was announced that Brad and David were both going to the National Finals to see who would get one of the few remaining spots on the following year’s Olympic Team.