Fic: Danny XY 1/1 Without a Trace/Kyle XY
Title: Danny XY Author: Lopaka Tanu Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Without a Trace or Kyle XY. Fandom: Without a Trace Pairing: None Prompt: 20 - Aliens Rating: Adult Warnings: Language, Violence Series/Length: Danny XY - 10,286 words Author's Note: Without a Trace fusion with Kyle XY. Summary: An eleven year-old boy is found wondering the scene of an unusual accident nude and without any trace of memory. _________________________________________________
"Rafi, are you sure this is what you want to do?" Sylvia Alvarez glanced from her husband to the back seat where a bundle of blankets kept twitching. Her fear and worry kept her face constantly contorted. "I'm not so sure any more, mi marido."
Swerving to the left to avoid a slower driver, Rafael refused to glance at his wife. They had had this discussion several times over the past six months. It had taken that long just to get this close. They were already committed to this, there was no time for turning back. Thus, he refused to even acknowledge her doubts.
"Are you listening to me, Rafi? This is wrong, we should never have done it." Frowning at his lack of response, Sylvia reached out a hand to touch his arm. She was further hurt when he shook her off. "They will be looking for him! You can't just expect him to disappear, they know what he looks like, they will find him and us eventually."
"Shut up, Sylvia! We already did it, it's done. Just cause you got cold feet now don't mean they won't do to you what they will do to me. You're only making me nervous and angry and if you keep up, I'm going to slip up!" The road ahead of him cleared of all traffic after he came around a large semi. Taking his chance, he floored the accelerator. As the car picked up speed, almost feeling like he was flying, Rafael felt for the first time that he might get away with it. In reality, he knew very well that they would track him and Sylvia down. That's why he had a contact already set up to take the package and run with it. If only he could get there before they found him and Sylvia.
Sylvia frowned as the car started to shake. "Slow it down, Rafi."
Going pale, Rafael watched the lights on the dashboard start to flicker on and off. "It's not me, Sylvia." Too much shock made his voice a bare whisper. He reached out and took her hand, knowing he hadn't gotten far enough away. "I'm sorry, mi amor, mi esposa, we tried."
Shaking her head in denial, Sylvia gripped his hand. "They can't, not yet. It's too soon." Looking out the window, she was blinded by the brilliance of light that suddenly exploded over head. "No," her cry of denial was cut off in a shriek of agony.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arriving by helicopter, FBI Regional Director Special Agent Harrison waited until the skids had actually touched down before throwing open the door. Last time he hadn't waited he'd fallen face first in to the sod from three feet up. Not much of a fall, but considering his advanced age, it wasn't something he was willing to risk. At seventy-eight years-old, he was by far the most senior member of the bureau this far out from DC.
Oregon wasn't the place one expected to find what was possibly a nuclear explosion.
What he could see in all directions was sheer and utter destruction. What had been a tree lined near coastal highway now was bare rock for over ten miles in every direction. Even the ocean had been scoured clean of life where it fell in the circle. The scientists, so far, weren't letting anyone without a radiation suit in to the site because of possible fall out.
As he had started to land on the highway, Agent Harrison had glanced out over the ocean, which was now visible thanks to the explosion, he saw hundreds of spectator ships. Not a one could have been here when the blast happened, they would have been dead by now. Now, on the ground, he could still see them out there, gawking in the most human of ways. It amused him in a way.
The Helicopter took off, reminding him that he needed to get away. Walking towards the waiting group of agents, he kept his head low. Wouldn't due to get it chopped off two months from retirement. They were waiting for him with serious expressions, making him sigh with disgust. After the roar of the engine was gone, he frowned at them. "Status report!"
"Sir, there have been traces of vehicles found near ground zero!" Agent Tanner saluted the old man out of habit. They had served together in Vietnam under Military Intelligence, making their professional relationship fluid. He knew what the former colonel wanted and how he liked it. "Radiation levels are background normal, not consistent with atomic weapons. Whatever happened here, sir, it wasn't nuclear in origin."
"Survivors?" A silly question, he felt, considering the damage, but if it wasn't a nuclear weapon, then it was a possibility.
"One, but you aren't going to like it." Turning away from the group of agents waiting to talk with the Director, Tanner walked towards a group of tents, Harrison in tow. Picking the largest one, he pulled open a flap to let both of them in.
Inside, a crew of six people in biosuits worked in a clear plastic tent. They worked around a small figure on a large metal gurney. One was taking a blood sample while two others delicately washed the figure with sponges. A fourth was attaching electrodes where they were washing. The fifth and six were examining the figure for damage.
Taking a slightly off step position next to the director, Tanner watched all inside the tent. "A boy, estimated age ten or eleven, Hispanic, was found wandering the site, nude."
"Any chance of an identification?" It was a faint hope. A Hispanic boy in this area was unheard of. Predominantly white didn't even begin to describe it.
"Sorry, sir. We found bodies in the back of a semi trailer. Illegals as far as we can tell." Tanner walked up to the tent and wrapped on an aluminum support to get the doctors' attention. "Has he said anything?"
"Negative." The doctor examining the boy's throat shook his head in confusion. He performed the same check four times before facing the director. "I'm not sure how, but judging from the lack of muscle tone, I would say this boy hasn't spoken a day in his life."
"Could he be deaf?" The Director's words were discounted as the doctor snapped his fingers and the boy looked towards him. "Son of a bitch." His shock at seeing the wide black eyed, pale gray boy's face made him take a step back. "Clean his face now!"
"Yes, sir." The man with the sponge on the right, lightly ran it over the boy's face.
As his face was cleaned, they could see his eyes weren't black, but warm brown. Still, his skin coloring was quite pale.
"He doesn't look like any illegal I've seen before." Smiling for the boy's benefit, the doctor who had been examining his throat rubbed a hand through his hair. He watched over the boy as further dust was washed away. His attention was drawn to the washing man when he paused at the boy's left arm. "What is it?"
"A bar code." Washing the rest of the arm, the doctor looked for any more tattoos. "Some son of a bitch tagged him with a bar code."
"Who else knows this boy is here?" Quickly making a decision, Director Harrison waited for Tanner to respond. If he was right, then this boy was the key to a human trafficking ring.
Tanner frowned at the question, thinking back on it. "There was the scientist who discovered him. The two agents who brought him in and all of us here."
"Good, keep it to that. Where are you detaining those who had contact with him?" He knew his second in command enough to know that he had already quarantined them.
"The next tent over under armed guard." Lowering his voice to make sure the doctors didn't get wind of this, Tanner stepped in closer to the Director. "What do you wish done, sir?"
"I will deal with them personally. Make sure no one here speaks of this again. As far as they are concerned, he's just a boy orphaned during a bad gasoline tanker explosion." Moving for the tent exit, Harrison ran a hand over his face. Shit, and here he was hoping things would go smoothly. If someone was breeding mute humans for slavery, then he planned on keeping their investigation secret. Wouldn't do to let on they had been discovered.
He turned for one last look at the boy, now cleaned of the ash. Those dark eyes were still watching him, making a shiver run down his spine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~Four Weeks Later ~~~~~~~~
Nicole Taylor was a blonde woman of thirty-three years. Despite her obvious choice of hair colors, she was considered a brilliant woman. A clinical psychologist turned children's/adolescent psychologist, she specialized in tough luck cases, as they were referred. Usually abused kids, run away teens, may be a few truly rotten apples, made up her roster. One of the first seemed to be the reason she was standing in an office of a doctor fifty miles outside of her jurisdiction.
In one hand held a brief case, in the other was the tote bag she had been asked to bring. Inside was a change of clothes for four days. They had taken great pangs to ensure that she was well prepared to spend several days in the field on this case. Her usual work kept her pretty much to the juvenile detention center. If it hadn't come from her former doctorate mentor, she wouldn't have taken the case.
Looking up as the black door to the office was opened, she smiled at Dr. Derrik Lawson. "Professor Lawson, it's been a long time."
"Nicole, it is so good to see you, I wish it were under better circumstance. You should really tour our facility when you have the time." Despite his accent, his words were almost flawless. Older by forty years, he never tried to make her feel the age gap. He held the door open for her to enter in the secure area. "Please, understand the circumstances of his incarceration are not for civilian protection, but his. Our Daniel is a remarkable boy, so brilliant and easily understanding. It is a shame he does not remember."
"Remember what?" Walking down the gated corridor, she started to question what was so special about this boy. He was being guarded by some of the best security devices she'd ever seen, even some she hadn't. Very strange.
"Daniel was brought to us in complete secrecy. No one knows who he is or where he came from, not even him." Coming to a security door, Dr. Lawson placed his hand to the palm scanner and used his other hand to slide his security badge through a magnetic slot. A buzz let him know the door was unlocked. "Forgive the security precautions, most of our guests are not allowed to have contact with the outside world. That is for civilian protection."
She followed him through the door, heatedly glaring at him. If he was about to put her life in danger, then she was walking right back out the way they came. "Okay, this just got too weird. If this boy is so special, why bring him to a mental institution for the criminally insane?"
"Because it is the safest place for me." No longer completely white, Daniel was still pale. He smiled for Nicole, tilting his head up so he could see her. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he put down the video game, it was boring anyways. "I have completed this three times, Dr. Lawson, your testing of my hand-eye coordination would seem to be inadequate."
"That wasn't the point, my boy, it was meant to amuse you." Dr. Lawson tried not to frown. "You see, Nicole, nothing I have tried goes right. Every attempt I make to aid his in recovery has failed." Bending over, he ruffled Daniel's hair, then stood up again.
Sensing the hair out of place, Daniel quietly put it back exactly in fashion as Dr. Lawson's.
"You see, not a word of complaint. He is not a boy any more. May be I am too old, perhaps that is it, but I can not reach him, Nicole." Putting his hands in his pockets, Dr. Lawson turned to his former student. "Ordinarily, I am not a man who begs, but this is not something I can deal with. Please, help him become a real boy."
"Despite what you are saying, Dr. Lawson, I am not, in fact, an animated, wooden puppet." To prove it, he wiggled his fingers. "Not wooden."
"Ever since we showed him Pinocchio, that has become his favorite reference." Dr. Lawson's frustration was evident as he gestured to Daniel. "That, the first personal reference he makes to himself in relation to his environmental stimuli, is all I have been able to achieve. You know kids, have two of your own. Please, teach him to be a little boy again."
"To infer again, means that the subject was once that thing. As has been previously demonstrated, no one has certifiable proof I was a little boy before four weeks ago." Putting a hand to his chin, Daniel frowned. "Perhaps I was a wooden puppet after all."
Throwing his hands up, Dr. Lawson looked in askance to the ceiling.
Nicole had to place a hand to her mouth to cover the smile. Despite herself, she found her initial misgivings about this disappearing.
After having calmed down, Dr. Lawson looked over at Nicole. "My dearest student, I ask that you work with him in this short time you will be here. In the next five days, you must work miracles, for that is all the time we have."
"Five days?" At his expression, she Nicole felt the delight that had started to bubble up in anticipation of working with Daniel, burst. "What is happening in five days?"
"As I said, he is a remarkable young man." Rustling Daniel's hair again, Dr. Lawson smiled paternally upon the boy. "Four weeks ago, he was brought here to protect him from the prying eyes of the media. He was the only survivor of a terrible accident. In fact, it was so bad, poor Daniel completely forgot who he was. He couldn't even remember how to move his limbs, let alone speak. It was as if he was a brand new boy."
"You mean in just four weeks, Daniel has gone from basic catatonia to this?" Kneeling down in front of him, Nicole reached out tentatively to touch his cheek. At Dr. Lawson's confirmation, she gasped. "Remarkable."
"Yes. Apparently the state believes as well." There was anger apparent in his voice. "They wanted to send him to a state orphanage today, saying that he is ready now. Bureaucracy always is concerned with the money, not the people. I argued til dawn last night, you were the compromise. I am sorry, but this is the best I could do." As she stood up, he cleared his throat. "Nicole, you have five days to make Daniel behave and think like a normal boy his age. He is a fast learner and you are a good teacher. I have confidence you will not fail."
"No." Unable to break Daniel's gaze, Nicole set her mouth in a grim line. She couldn't do this, he wasn't a pet project she could spend a few days on and then go back.
"What do you mean?" God, he hoped she wasn't going to make him do this.
"Daniel needs a family, Professor, I can't give that to him." By now, she was able to glance over at Dr. Lawson. She didn't like what she saw. "What have you done?"
"I have not lied to you, Dr. Taylor, if that is what you think." He had picked up Nicole's bag where she had dropped in the doorway. Walking over to a shelf along the wall where a few articles of clothing and some books were laid, he began putting them in the bag. "Since you have refused to go along with my plan, I must skip a few steps and get right to the end." When the last of them had been placed in the bag, he walked over, holding the bag out. "Daniel is not just your patient, my dear, by authority of the state of Washington, he is now your ward."
Pure outrage coursed through Nicole. How dare this old son of a bitch? "Where do you get off, this is my life, his life! We are not playthings, Doctor!"
"And that is why you must do this!" He shoved the bag in her arms hard enough to shut her up. This wasn't going as he planned originally, but he had made several plans just in case. "Daniel is not a normal boy, his medical files will prove it. There are things you do not know, but will come to understand in time. I convinced the board to give it five days, that in that time you would become so besotted with the boy you would be unwilling to let him go. As you said, he needs a family, you can and will provide that for him. Not because you were suckered in to this, but because you were the best hope for Daniel."
Putting his hands on her shoulders, he took a shaky breath. "My dear Nicole, if I had another choice, I would have made it. They wanted him placed in a facility that would most likely have kept him so emotionally and socially retarded he would never recover. He is too special, Nicole, you will see that. Though you may never forgive me, at least Daniel will be taken care of."
Shock had set in and all she could do was stare. She had been blind sided and taken for a fool. Watching over Dr. Lawson's shoulder, she saw Daniel staring at them in fascination. He really wasn't normal, he should be reacting to this, not just observing. She very much wanted to say no, just turn her back on this and walk away. "You son of a bitch."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the car on the ride back to her North Seattle suburb home, Nicole kept glancing over at Daniel. He continued to watch the world go by outside his window in the same position since he climbed in the car. She had had to show him how to sit in the seat and buckle up. There was something unsettling about the way he just sat there. Clearing her emotions, she decided to try for a professional approach.
"What are you thinking about?" It seemed like a good place to start. If she could get a truthful answer, she would know where to proceed from there.
"The sky is blue because of water vapor in the planet's atmosphere catching and refracting the sun's light. Without the water in the atmosphere, the surface of Earth would be more like that of Mars, extreme in temperature. Water makes up seventy-one percent of the human body and the mass of the biosphere on the planet. The ratio is attuned to prevent..." He glanced down at the hand on his shoulder, then up at her. "Yes?"
"How does knowing all that make you feel?" She had waited until they were at a red light to interrupt him. What she could tell so far was that, if he had been allowed to continue, he wouldn't have stopped until unconscious.
"It does not make me feel one way or the other. It is simply a fact." Turning away from her, he went back to staring out the window.
"Okay, I can see this is going to be a lot of work already." At his nod, she faced forward again. "Good. I'm glad we agree." It took her a moment to register. Glancing over at him quickly, she frowned. He hadn't just smarted off, had he? Whether it was intentional or not, he wasn't a complete automaton.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dragging his rolling suit case behind her, Nicole led Daniel in to the living room, then closed the front door. "Welcome to my home, kiddo. Casa de Taylor as my daughter likes to call it. You'll meet her and Josh later, they are in school at the moment. All I can say for them is thank god, I don't think I could handle having to deal with too many questions at the moment."
Walking through the front room glancing about, Daniel took in his new surroundings with a critical eye. Each item had a function, a place. There was chaos here, but if he could figure out enough of the pieces, he would be able to predict what went where and why. "You will have to face them in time. Unless you find a way to permanently avoid them, they will find out about me." He stopped, bent down, and picked up a small, yellow creature. "This does not exist in nature, judging by the placement, coloring, and material used in its creation, this is a toy."
"Yes, I think it is called a pokemon." Glaring down at the offending item, Nicole shook her head. "I told Josh to get all his toys out of the living room before I left this morning. Obviously his allowance will have to be docked yet again."
"As well it should." Putting the toy back where he found it, Daniel walked on to explore further. "As your son, he should know his place, learn that every action has a consequence. Rewarding one for not..." He trailed off again, something flashy getting his attention. "What is that?" His voice was almost reverent as he moved towards it.
"Oh, no no no!" Too late, Nicole was appalled at how fast Daniel was attracted and entranced by the muted television. His vacant stare gave her the perfect ammunition in the argument that it was in fact an idiot box. Reaching out in resignation, she picked up the remote from among Josh's toys in front of the couch. She turned off the mute and then jumped in surprise at Daniel's shriek.
Trembling, Daniel hit the floor behind the coffee table, fighting not to move. After the television was silenced, he visibly relaxed. "What was that horrible noise?"
Nicole had to clamp a hand over her face to keep from laughing. As it was, her eyes were already watering from the hysterical fit. "Well, Daniel." Sitting down on the couch, she placed a hand on his small back to sooth his nerves. "That is what we call heavy metal. Lori and Josh were probably both in here, he doesn't watch MTV all by himself. I don't think he quite gets it yet."
Shuddering in revulsion, Daniel poked his head up above the table to glare at the now blank screen. "Why would anyone subject themselves to that terror?"
"It isn't a question of fear, so much as rebellion." She reached over and pulled him on to the couch next to her. With a sigh, she held him close, laying her head upon his. "The older kids get, the further away from their parents they try to pull. It is a biological thing, it happens to us all. I'm afraid it's already started in Lori. It's only a matter of time before she refuses to even be seen around me. I did it with my mother, she probably did it with hers. That's the real fact of life."
Daniel observed how the close contact seemed to make Nicole feel better. He had read about this, it was called giving comfort. It felt... nice, he believed was the word to use. He inhaled her perfume, it was very faint after so many hours. Her own scent was much stronger by far, it made his nose itch, but he felt comforted. He had also read people liked to be comforted in return.
Nicole forced herself not to stiffen as his arms slid around her neck. Instead, she closed her eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After having checked her messages on the machine in the family office/library room, Nicole returned the two calls to her other patient. He was a hypochondriac bordering on something more serious. If it wasn't routed off soon, he would really start trying to hurt himself just to get attention. During that time, she had left Daniel in the living room with something much safer on the television, the discovery channel.
Or so she had thought.
Standing in the living room entrance, all she could do was watch in horror as Daniel wrapped Lori's old cabbage patch doll in toilet paper. Parts of the stuffing had already been placed in tupperwear bowls with lids, marker writing on the side labeled the contents. Much to her amusement, after he had finished wrapping up the doll, he placed it a shoe box he had colored to look like the doll. If she didn't stop him, he might actually find some place to entomb the poor thing. "Been busy?"
Daniel glanced up at her startled. "It would appear so." Pulling back from the shoe box, he glanced back over at the television. "I do not believe they gave all the correct steps. Mine does not look like theirs. Then again, I did not have all the correct materials."
"Well, a corpse is kind of hard to come by." At her words, he glanced over to the cat that was laying on the back of the sofa. "Don't even think about it, buster."
"Very well. You may have one the battle, but the war isn't over!" Shrugging, he picked up the television remote and hit the recall button. The screen changed to that of cartoons and he was drawn in to the violence. "Off bug spray really works. Kicks, kid tested, mother approved. Pepsi, generation next."
"Okay, that's enough TV for you!" Jerking the remote out of his hand, she clicked it off. "Come with me, I am going to give you your first cooking lesson."
"When will Josh and Lori get out of school?" Following along behind her, he kept pace with her. "According to sesame street, kids who go to school usually have a predesignated time. Barring what is called 'after school activities', they should arrive soon after wards."
Picking up, she set him down on top of a stool next to the counter. "Well, they get out at three, normally. If Lori or Josh gets in trouble, which is a good possibility considering I'm not supposed to be here for a few days, they will have to stay after. Their father will have been notified and will pick them up after that. Of course, he will come home then, depending on what they did, he will have stopped off and picked something up for dinner." As she spoke, she opened up the freezer and pulled out a frozen dinner.
"If they have done something and the teacher has called him at work, he will be calling me." Reaching in the pocket of her sweater, she held up a silver phone. "This is my work phone, but because I am constantly on the go because of cases, my job covered an expensive cellular account." Frowning at the lack of service, she put it back. "Or as cheap as they could possibly get away with."
"Your tone implies you find their actions disgusting. Does it not make sense that they should go with the cheapest available? If they had to cut part of the budget to get you a better cellular account, where should they draw the money from?" He sat perched on top of the stool, unaware of what he should do, if anything. Things were very confusing with this new person, it made his head hurt.
"It would, if the service was reliable enough to be adequate. As it is, they are just wasting state's money." Eyes wide in false cheer, she held up the blue box. "This is a TV dinner. You do not need to know why, if you were normal, you wouldn't care. What is important is that this is a quick meal, usually reasonably priced, and it resembles something like food if you are too tired or lazy to cook properly." Pulling open the box, she dumped the tray on the counter.
"See the frozen stuff, it's corn. That frozen stuff, that's what they call Salisbury steak, and that is machine fabricated mashed potatoes. You put a few slashes in the plastic coating like so." Taking a butter knife, she slit the plastic covering. "Then, you put in the microwave as instructed." Closing the door on the microwave, she hit the time and then the start button. "In a few minutes, you will have a hot meal."
"And a large mess." Cocking his head, he watched the microwave. "Laws of physics demand that the liquid inside will be irradiated until it explodes."
"And a large mess," Nicole agreed. She had forgotten to put a napkin over the tray and now it would splatter inside the microwave. Oh well, Josh was in trouble, she would make him clean it later. Moving to the freezer, she pulled out another dinner. This one she fixed without the explanation.
As they ate at the counter, Nicole watched his reactions to the food. For the most part, his face remained neutral. It wasn't until he reached the corn he had any major reaction.
Face crinkled, Danny spit the corn out of his mouth. "That is...disgusting! I think." Whipping his lips with the back of his hand, he spit in the tray to get the taste out of his mouth.
Nicole snorted. It was good to see him reacting again. She decided to try something now while he was distracted. "Well, what do you like to eat?"
"Pizza. The flavors are mixed and varied dependant upon the toppings. It doesn't really matter what kind of toppings, I like them all." Picking up a spoon full of the mashed potatoes, he stuck them in his mouth and started to suck them slowly. As he had hoped, it dissipated the flavor of the corn.
"That figures. My kids could live on that if I let them." They were making progress. If he continued to be so open, she might get some information from him yet. "How does that sound, Daniel, pizza for every meal?"
"A bad idea." He pointed at the corn. "I used to like corn, at first. They served it with every meal, including breakfast. Now, the taste of it makes me ill."
That was interesting to her. "Then why did you try it?"
"I was hoping I would like it again." Shrugging, he went back to sucking on his spoon of mashed potatoes.
Now was the time to make her move. "Speaking of back then, Daniel, what can you recall? I mean, what is the first thing you can remember?"
"They thought I was an alien." Putting his spoon down, he picked up the tray, hopped off his stool, took it to the trash, emptied it, then put it next to the sink. Looking at her in askance, he waited for further instructions.
After a moment, she realized what he was doing. It took her that time to come to the realization he was acting out what he knew. They had taken him to the cafeteria at some time. Taking her own tray, Nicole walked over to the sink and grabbed his. "These are disposable. When we are through, we simply toss them in the trash."
"Okay." Despite his words, Daniel's expression showed that he didn't believe her.
As she threw the TV dinner trays in the trash, then washed her hands, Nicole processed what she learned so far. Nothing was coming to her, she needed more information. "Who thought you were an alien, Daniel?"
"The men in radiation suits." It felt strange talking to her about this. No one at the other place had asked him about his past. In fact, they didn't do a whole lot of talking that didn't involve instruction.
"Tell me about them. Why were they wearing radiation suits?" If she was correct, then this could be the accident that erased his memory. It had to have been pretty bad, but radiation suits?
"They were afraid of fallout. At the time I was found, they thought it was a nuclear explosion. I was almost shot because I moved. They weren't expecting anything to have survived. The first words out of the man's mouth were 'I knew it! It's a god damned alien!'" Picking up his glass of water from the counter, Daniel swallowed the rest of it. "It's understandable, I was covered in gray dust and was quite thin, according to the doctors who examined me. If it wasn't for my ears, they would have assumed the same thing." He winced. It was at this point in the story the doctor had pinched his ear for the man in the suit as he told him about finding Daniel.
Nicole noticed him wince and hold his ear. Obviously, it wasn't a pleasant memory he was reliving, but it was an unusual physical memory to relive. "I can't imagine that was pleasant. Being found at the sight of an explosio..." She trailed off in shock. Four weeks ago, an explosion. Putting a hand to her mouth, she gasped. She quickly wrapped her arms around Daniel.
It was the second time she had swept him up in a hug. Like last time, Daniel didn't find this unpleasant. In fact, it felt correct. Humans showed affection for one another, he was human. He was human. Human. Tightening his grip around her, Daniel buried his face in her sweater.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel was disturbed from his doze on the couch by the crashing of the front door in to the stopper behind it. Sitting up wide eyed, he glanced around the living room. As he caught movement in the front hall, he lowered himself down until he could just see over the couch.
Entering the house in a huff, Lori tossed her backpack on the entrance table. "God! I hate that Mr. Fitzgerald. He is the worst Vice Principal in the whole world!" Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she stomped further in to the house.
Behind her came a snickering younger boy. Josh looked up from his gameboy only long enough to see where he was going then turned and headed for the living room. "I told you, sis, Mr. Fitzgerald is wise to your quote 'mad skills'."
Seeing the approaching boy, Daniel ducked down and slid off the couch. He didn't know these people and that made them dangerous. The convicts at the asylum had taught him many things, one of which was to watch out for new people. They never hurt him, but they were violent towards each other.
He rounded the couch as Josh came around to sit on it. Keeping low, he sidled up behind the couch. He was about to peer over it when a strong pair of arms captured him from behind. Kicking behind him as he was hoisted off the ground, Daniel fought to get free.
"Whoa there, big guy!" Stephen Taylor lashed Daniel down close to his body. Holding him tight, he whispered a shush in to the struggling boy's ear. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you, Danny."
"Stephen! Oh, I see you found him already." Coming from the office, Nicole rubbed at her forehead. "Sorry, Daniel, I didn't expect them home for another twenty minutes." She moved to stand in front of Stephen, reaching out a hand to fix Daniel's mussed hair. "You looked like you really needed the nap."
Frowning at her, Daniel sighed. "I take it these are yours?"
Stephen had to bite his tongue to keep the laughter inside. "Yeah, we're hers. Honey, I picked up dinner like you asked over the phone. Lori should be in her room by now and Josh." He nodded to the couch. "In his usual spot, gathering dust."
"You can put me down, now." Daniel didn't like being restrained. To emphasize that, he wiggled in Stephen's grip.
"Okay, woolly worm, I'll set you down." Gently putting Daniel down, he rubbed the kid's head, messing up his hair. After standing up, he smiled at Nicole. "I left dinner in the car, give me a sec and then we can set the table and eat."
"Already done. Daniel thought he needed a lesson in proper table settings." She gestured towards the room separating the kitchen and the living room. In there was a table decked out in five plates, perfect settings with each and a pair of candles on the central divide. "Daniel takes everything he does seriously."
"Why couldn't our other kids be like that," Stephen asked Nicole as he leaned in to give her a kiss. "You get to ride herd on them while I go get dinner out of the car. Be right back."
"Thanks a lot." She slapped his arm teasingly, before letting him go. "All right kids, put your bags up, get your home work out. After dinner is through, I want to see you working, not playing. Don't think that just because your father was the one to get you you aren't in trouble!"
"Ah, but mom! Lori was the one who got in to trouble today, not me!" Not even bothering to get up from his sprawl on the couch, Josh continued to flip through the channels. Feeling a tap on his head, he looked up and smiled at his mom. "Yes?"
"Upstairs, homework, now." Crossing her arms, she stared him down. Her smirk of satisfaction grew as he quickly shot out of the living room and up the stairs. Some times it was good to be mom. Reaching over the couch, she killed the television.
Coming back in the house and closing the door, Stephen held up the bags of take out. "Dinner's here!" Moving quickly through the living room entrance and in to the dining room, he placed the bags on the table. Together, with the help of Nicole, he opened and served the cartons of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, coleslaw, and biscuits.
Nicole made sure to put a little of everything on Daniel's plate. As he sat down, she smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We eat as a family, Daniel. It is important to us that all of us be here for at least one meal a day. Due to schedules, school, work, and a whole slue of other things, Dinner usually is it."
"Familial Bonding is something I read about." He returned her smile. It was an easy thing to do around her.
"Yes, well, now you are going to put that to practice." Nicole walked over to the stares. Putting a hand on the banister, she leaned over to get a better angle. "Kids, dinner is on the table. Put your gameboy up, Josh, and get off the phone, Lori. Now!"
Daniel was shocked to hear the two kids come down the stairs. It sounded more like a dozen to his ears. Frowning, he focused on the sounds. Slowly, the echoes filtered out and he could hear each step. He jumped when one of the kids landed on the floor after skipping the last two steps. When he started listening again, the sounds were back to echoing.
Nicole glared at Josh. "What have I told you about jumping off the stairs?"
"Not to do it." Rolling his eyes, Josh walked back up the last three stairs, then walked back down them. Passing his mother, he heaved a sigh then walked over and took his seat at the table. It wasn't until he had his glass in his hand and was about to take a drink that he noticed Daniel. "Who are you?"
"My name is Daniel, you must be Josh. They have told me much about you." Staring at Josh, Daniel was completely fascinated. He had never seen a boy his own age before.
"What are you looking at?" Glancing at himself, then over his shoulder, Josh tried to see what held Daniel's attention.
"You. I have never seen one like you before." Cocking his head to the side, Daniel observed Josh's movements with puzzlement. It was strange. "I knew there were other humans my age and size, but had yet to encounter one."
"Okay, freak. Where are you from, Mars?" Taking his drink, Josh shook his head.
"Perhaps. The government men who found me weren't sure." Picking up his fork, Daniel ignored Josh while he choked on his drink. He placed some of the mashed potatoes in his mouth and sucked them down slowly.
"So, he's another of your cases, hunh, mom?" Taking her chair, Lori couldn't care less. She wasn't thrilled her mother had brought home this stray, but it wasn't like he was pissing on the carpet or anything.
"Yes, and I would appreciate it if you treated him with curtesy." Snapping at her daughter came easily to her. Lori seemed to delight in pushing her buttons, knowing which ones were the quickest way to set her off. Perhaps she would return the favor, later. Right now, she wanted to have a meal in peace.
"So, kids, how was your day? Aside from the obvious school related trouble." Deciding it was his job to declare peace, Stephen glanced between Josh and Lori.
For his part, Josh just smirked and glanced at Lori.
Lori, predictably said nothing.
"Okay. How was your day, Danny?" May be he could completely strike out on this front. At least he made an effort, unlike his kids.
Looking up from cleaning his plate, Daniel blinked in confusion. "What was that, Mr. Taylor?"
"I asked how your day was." He smiled fondly at the boy. Perhaps he wasn't going to lose this round after all.
"Adventurous. New. Strange. Interesting. Special. Surprising. Dull. Normal. Comforting. Disgusting. Tasty. Warm. Cold. Wet. Scary." After he finished speaking, he picked up his plate and stood up. Taking his plate, he went in to the kitchen and set it by the sink.
Watching him, Nicole felt the weight of this challenge press upon her. There was so much to do and she almost felt like giving up. It was like having a new baby, so much work just to get him on equal footing with her kids. However, there was one advantage he had over them. She reached out and snagged Daniel to her as he started to return to his seat. Messing his hair, she smiled. "Usually, we wait until we are all done before taking our plates to the kitchen. I guess I forgot to mention that."
"That's okay. You were busy." Slipping out of her hold, he resumed his seat at the table.
"All right." Switching between the three kids, she directed her attention at the boys in particular. "Your father and I have discussed Daniel's situation. He will be staying with us for a while, there will be no objections to that. This is a family, not a courtroom. For the mean time, he will be bunking down in Josh's room. This is only until we get your father's work room set up for him, so don't start, Josh."
"Your mother and I have agreed on this. If you have any questions, now is the time to get them out of the way." Stephen shared a look with Nicole. They had tried to discuss possible situations during their short talk earlier, but couldn't cover everything.
"So, that's it? We have our very own pet alien?" Josh held up his hands to ward off the looks of his parents. "Hey, he's the one who said it was possible."
"Don't even start, Josh." Glancing to Lori, Nicole raised an eye brow.
"Nothing to discuss here. You want to bring home weird boy, that's fine with me. Just don't expect me to clean out the bottom of his ca..." She narrowed her eyes as her mother stuck the chicken leg off her plate to her mouth.
"Eat your chicken before you swallow your foot." And that ended the open discussion over Daniel in Nicole's opinion. "Hurry up. You both have homework. And no more phone for the night, Lori. You're being punished, try to remember that."
"Yes, mom." Glowering, Lori finished her chicken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Settling down for bed, Josh kept glancing over at his room mate. It was strange having someone else sleep in his room, never having done so before. He guessed there was always a first time for every thing. The fact they had piled all his things in one corner to make room for the new kid made this even worse.
For his part, Daniel was equally uncomfortable around Josh. He didn't know what was to be said or done between the two of them, if any thing. He decided to stick with what he already knew and say nothing. Rolling over on his side, he tried to get comfortable.
Standing in the door way, Nicole and Stephen watched the two boys. The idea of having a stranger in their house was also alien to them. The hand around her waist let Nicole know that Stephen was willing to try and make this work. She looked over to him, letting him know that she appreciated his effort. Turning to go, they shut off the light and let the door close behind them.
After a few minutes, Josh rolled over to face away from Daniel. "If you get beamed back to the mother ship, don't take any of my things."
"Don't worry. If I go, I'll only take my pet." Pulling his blankets around his chin, Daniel snuggled against his pillow. "Though, I'm sure they'll make me keep you on a leash."
Josh laid wide awake for the next hour.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rushing to get her family ready, Nicole put the piece of toast in her mouth and zipped Josh's backpack. She had made sure to get his books together while he was taking a shower. Lori was in hers and Stephen was hopping around the living room in one sock trying to get the other on. A power outage in the middle of the night had reset their alarm clocks and now they were running late.
"Mom, I need my bag!" Rushing in to the kitchen, Josh yanked his backpack from Nicole's hands and rushed back to the front door.
Behind him, Lori came barreling down the stairs with her hair still dripping wet, but toweling it off. Throwing it on the front entrance table, she ran out the door. She reached the bottom of their front walk in time to catch the bus.
"Bye, honey. Have a good day." Kissing Nicole, Stephen took her other piece of toast off her plate and ran for the door.
Nicole was left staring at three untouched plates of food on the counter and a bleary Daniel with his mouth full. Sighing, she picked up her own empty plate and walked around the island to the sink. "Well, good morning to you too, my family. How did you sleep? I slept well. Sorry to see you have to rush, but I am sure you will be there on time."
"Who are you talking to?" Rubbing his eyes, Daniel frowned. He hoped that Nicole wasn't like some of the men at the asylum, they talked to people who weren't there as well. Usually they got violent to other people who told them their friends were imaginary.
Rinsing her plate, she put it in the dish washer. "Sarcasm, Daniel."
"Ah." He had heard of this. It interested him. "Will you teach me about sarcasm?"
"Sure, why not? I got nothing to do until Friday anyways." She turned back to clean off the other plates but found that Daniel had beaten her to it. Sitting in front of him was a large plate of eggs, bacon, and toast. "How is your breakfast?"
"Good." Swallowing a mouthful of eggs, he grinned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nicole placed the painting down, a half smile on her face. She had been hoping that getting Daniel to paint would help him express himself. The expression was far from what she was expecting. They were perfect in every detail, right down to things she never noticed. Touching her portrait, she frowned. She had crows feet.
"How goes the new one?" She walked around the easel to see what he was painting this time. It was the sixth one in the past four hours. She paused upon seeing it.
On the paper, Stephen stared back at them with an expression of affection. His lines were sharper in contrast, but the coloring was warmer. He seemed to glow in the painting.
Daniel worked in more lines, tilting his head and partially closing his eyes to get a better view of his work. As he finished adding the highlights of bright black to Stephen's hair, he smiled. "Done!"
"That looks really nice, Daniel. What do you call it?" He had called her portrait Hope. The one of Josh was Pet for some strange reason. Lori's, being mostly a blur, was called Controlled Chaos. Nicole couldn't have gotten it better. Another was just plain black, he didn't name it. The last was of a man in a radiation suit, it also remained nameless.
He smiled without realizing it, taking a deep breath. "Danny."
And there it was. Nicole felt at a loss for words. He had expressed a connection with them. Instead of speaking, she wrapped an arm around him, letting her hand rest around his ribs. When he drew back in a familiar manner, a mischievous thought occurred to her. She ran her fingers over his rips quickly.
Danny giggled, but clamped down on his voice to silence it.
"What was that?" She knew very well.
"Nothing. Let's start a new painting." He tried to wriggle out of her grasp, but she had him good. Wide eyed, he realized he was trapped and she was going to do it again.
Running her fingers up his ribs, Nicole cackled along side his giggle fit. She felt happy hearing his laugh. It was the first time she had heard it.
Daniel finally pulled away from her. Putting a chair between them, he glared at her. "You did that on purpose!"
"Of course. You have to learn to loosen up. Crack a smile, you're a kid." Circling around the chair, she lunged for him. As she came crashing down on the chair's pillows, she laughed at his shriek. "The tickle monster will get you, Daniel!"
Running for the kitchen, he dashed around the island and crashed in to Stephen's work room just off the pantry door. He pushed the door almost closed and prepared to watch for Nicole. Daniel wasn't disappointed.
Walking around the corner, Nicole tried to be quiet. She used her height to glance over the island to see if he was there. Frowning when she found nothing, she scanned the rest of the kitchen.
Clearing his throat, Daniel massaged his throat. He had a plan. If she wanted to play games, he knew of one that proved useful.
Glancing at the back door, Nicole started to move towards it.
"Nicole. Honey, are you here?"
"Stephen?" Turning back towards the dining room, Nicole looked about in confusion. "What are you doing home so early?" It was unusual, but not unheard of for him to come home for lunch if he knew she would be here.
"I've got something to show you. Come in to the living room."
Glancing back at the back door, Nicole was tempted to go. "I've got to find Daniel, Stephen."
"He's in here with me. That is part of what I want to show you."
"He must have gone around the outside of the house." Going back to the living room, Nicole was prepared to give him a lecture about going outside without telling her. However, when she reached the living room, she found no one there. "Stephen?" Walking off to the other side of the entrance hall, she went passed the stairs towards hers and Stephen's room.
Just as she entered their room, she heard giggling and feet pounding up the stairs. Moving quickly, she ran back in to the entrance hall in time to see Daniel top the stairs and round the banister. "Daniel!" Some thing occurred to her. "Was that you?"
Holding in his giggle, Daniel made a sound of agreement.
"How did you do that?" She knew he was different, but how much?
"Precise muscle control, Nicole," came his reply in the voice of Dr. Lawson. "It seems the subject has a remarkable ability for mimicry. Most interesting, wouldn't you agree."
Grinning as her face pinked, Nicole nodded. "Oh, yes, very. How did you come by this ability?"
This time, her voice came down the stairs. "We found the subject, known simply as D-A-N-1-3-L, was unable to speak as his vocal chords were not developed. Speech therapy combined with his rapid learning provided a most unique opportunity for research. The results were stunning to all involved and the subject was taught to control his voice perfectly."
All good humor evaporated from her. "I'm sure." Reaching out for the banister, she climbed the first two steps. "Come on down, Daniel, it's time for lunch."
"Can we have TV Dinners without corn this time?" Slipping down the steps, he reached her side and grabbed her hand. He started to drag her to the kitchen.
"Sure, Daniel. How about tacos?" Distracted, she almost missed his response. She was busy planning a call she had to make.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Holding the glass to her lips, Nicole took a sip. The burn of the drink on her tongue didn't last long, but the warm feeling in her gut settled down nicely. Across from her, she watched as Stephen poured himself a glass. They had decided to wait until after the kids were in bed before they talked. "He's grown attached to you." The words were out before she could think about what she wanted to say.
"I kind of figured that after I saw the portraits." Holding his own drink, he watched it curiously. It had seemed like a good idea, something to help him relax after two days of stress. "I mean, mine is the only one with more colors than necessary."
"I don't know what to do for him, Stephen. I mean, I know what I'd like to do, what the final results have to be, but I don't know how to get there." Taking another sip of her drink, Nicole rubbed at her nose. Her body was really warming up and it was causing her nose to run. This also wasn't her first drink either. "He is so far from normal that it, quite frankly, scares the hell out of me. Daniel is unique."
"What do think the end results should be?" He wasn't sure how to help her, but she was depending on him.
"At first, I thought it was to teach him how to be a normal boy. I thought he would be happier that way." Finishing off her drink, she set the glass down on the well worn coaster. "But, as I've gotten to know him more, I don't think that is true. I think now that the best I can do is just give him the knowledge on how to function in a normal society, and let him explore what it means to be who he is on his own time. But that also poses problems. I know how children are, Stephen, they are going to make his life pure hell."
This he knew how to handle. "Then keep him away from them until he is ready. Let Josh and Lori be his training wheels. If he learns social ques from them as fast as he learns everything else, he will be able to pass for one of those little monsters in no time."
Snorting, Nicole gave Stephen a glare. "This isn't a time for jokes."
"I was serious. It's no wonder the boogey man is gone, one of those kids in Lori's class probably took his lunch money." Laughing along side his wife, Stephen took her in his arms. "Don't get so worked up over this, Nicole, you've done a remarkable job so far. Right now, I think the best thing for Danny, and for you, is to be right here in a place where people care about him." He squeezed her close, letting her lay her head on his shoulder. "What he needs isn't a teacher, he needs what he now has. A mother."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sitting in his office, Dr. Lawson pressed the conference button on his phone. "Go ahead, Nicole, I am listening."
"What the hell did you do to Daniel?" Her voice was so loud it caused the phone speaker to whine.
"I take it one of his abilities has manifested. I was expecting as much." Sitting back, he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yeah, and he revealed that you performed tests to see how much he could learn. What interested me was not what he quoted, but how he quoted it." Her voice dropped an octave in anger. "Daniel is not a lab rat, Dr. Lawson! If you ever come near him again, I will not be held responsible for my actions. Congratulations, you got what you wanted after all. We go tomorrow to make it official."
The line went dead.
Arching his eyebrows, he scanned the other occupants of the room for reactions. "Well?"
"We appreciate your discretion in this matter, Dr. Lawson." Crossing his legs carefully so as not to wrinkle his expensive suit, Director Harrison nodded to the black woman standing beside his chair. "See to it that there are no hitches in the filing."
"Yes, Director." Turning, she left the room. She knew when she was dismissed.
Uncrossing his legs, the Director sat forward in his chair. "The Visitors believe that Daniel is dead."
"As far as I'm concerned, Daniel is the son of Illegal Aliens who was so traumatized by his arrival that he will never remember who he is." Turning off his phone, Dr. Lawson glanced up at the Director. "Daniel Taylor will grow up a normal boy with a few quirks, Nicole Taylor will see to that. I trust her."
"That's nice, but you will forgive me if I decide to take a more active roll in seeing to that." The green eyed man in Dr. Lawson's third chair smirked.
Harrison held up a hand to forestall Dr. Lawson's objection. "My man will be there to pick up the slack wherever it may fall. This is not a reflection on you, Derrik, we are simply covering our bases."
"Well, at least can you tell me what the hell this is all about?" Feeling angry, Dr. Lawson picked up his pen then threw it down in disgust. "Why all the secrecy?"
"You will keep to the cover story, Dr. Lawson. That is all you need to know." Flashing green eyes, the man stood up. "If you speak of this again to anyone, I will know, and I will get upset."
"You will find, Mr. Foss, that I do not intimidate easily." Dr. Lawson's smile held no humor. "I run a prison for the criminally insane, there is nothing you can say or do that would scare me."
"Simmer down. Tom, you have a job to do, go about it." Waiting until the green eyed agent left, Director Harrison frowned. "Derrik, I won't tell you this again. Your ignorance in this is imperative. If you knew even a little of what was going on, you would be constantly searching for clues. You know better than I that it's in our nature to be curious. But you can't be curious, they would find out eventually and you would lead them right to that boy. You trust this Nicole Taylor, now I ask you, trust me."
With much reluctance, Dr. Lawson nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Kids, can you come in here?" Stephen held his wife's hand as Lori, Daniel, and Josh came walking from the living room in to the kitchen. Smiling at them, he squeezed Nicole's hand in support. "We've made a decision and we would like you to know about it."
"As you know, Daniel is staying with us for some time." It was hard to speak of it now that they were actually in the room. Nicole felt kind of guilty having gone ahead and done this without consulting her children, but it had to be done. "We've been worried about what might happen to Daniel. I asked your father, and he agreed. It was a big decision, not something we took lightly. There were a lot of circumstances..."
"We've decided to adopt Danny." Taking the lead again, Stephen also took the brunt of the expressions from his kids. His kids. Three of them now. Three kids. Kneeling down in front of Daniel, he took boy by the shoulders. "You're one of us now, kid, you're a Taylor. Welcome to the family." As Daniel smiled, Stephen ruffled his hair.
Standing back, Nicole watched her kids and husband interact. Daniel didn't seem to mind being included in all the activity like most kids who had suffered trauma. In fact, she noticed, he seemed to enjoy it. Daniel Taylor, her Daniel. Her Lori, her Josh, her Daniel.
They were going to be a family. With a lot of hard work, she knew they would make it happen.