Tommy and Tanner Chapter 31
Warning:
This story contains scenes of love and sexual interaction between males of similar age. If the reading or possessing this material is illegal in your country, state, province, county, municipality, etc., please leave this site immediately and do not proceed further. If you are under the legal age to read this, please do not do so. It is not my intention to offend anyone or to get you in trouble.
The author retains the copyright, and any other rights, to this original story. You may not publish it or any part of it without explicit authorization from me.
This is not my first attempt at writing fiction. My longer stories on Nifty include: "Always and Forever" (March 25, 2004), "Jacob and Jacques" (May 30, 2004), "Zeke" (August 29, 2005), "Tales from Bentonville" (November 16, 2008), and "Second Chance" (September 24, 2010) under "High School" and "Someone to Watch over Me" under "Beginnings" in the gay male section. There are a few short stories also: "Brad and Alan's Canoe Trip" (April 22, 2004 under "Camping", "Of Angels and Dragons" (November 8, 2008) under "Camping", "A Christmas Tale" (December 22, 2009) under "High School", "Brazil Affair" (October 1, 2010) under "Beginnings" and "Seth's Gift" (October 10, 2010) under the Science Fiction/Fantasy category.
I am now listed on Nifty under the category of "Prolific Net Authors" which will make it easier for you to access earlier stories. Some of these stories are also posted at: www.storylover.us along with those of other writers that may interest you.
My only reward for contributing to Nifty is your emails. Please write if you like the story. Please include the name of the story in the title of your email because my email service sometimes puts them in the "spam" file.
Finally, thanks and hugs to Tom and David (boxerdude) who edit for me so that there are fewer mistakes! They not only proof-read, but make other valuable suggestions.
David (dlee169@hotmail.com)
Tommy and Tanner, Chapter 31
Lonny Frey was feeling pretty lucky. He was out on bail and his lawyer had told him that because there was no victim to testify against him, the case would likely be dropped. Mason's death had proved to be a good thing for him.
He thought he was home free until the police came with a warrant to search his house and seize his computer. Even then he didn't anticipate that they would find any incriminating evidence because he had purged all the pictures from his hard drive and stored them on files that were carefully hidden above the drop ceiling in the basement bathroom. To his chagrin, the detectives found them in less than 15 minutes.
Wearing latex gloves to avoid destroying fingerprints, one of the officers placed a disk in the computer and cringed at what he saw. There were hundreds of pictures of underage children performing sex acts – some with adults and some with each other. In at least one of them, Lonny's birthmark was clearly visible.
The cops immediately arrested him on new charges of possessing child pornography. With the evidence they had against him, he would likely draw a sentence that would take him directly from prison to a nursing home if he didn't die first.
News of Lonny's arrest reached Darrel Frey in his cell at the county jail. Although she wouldn't see him directly, Brenda made sure he knew what was happening with his evil brother. It pierced him to the heart because he finally realized that Mason had told him the truth. In his rage, he had beaten the wrong person. Now he wished he could have a do-over and kill his brother instead, but life doesn't work that way. He got on his knees and prayed that his son would forgive him.
It was a very quiet night and the jailer who was supposed to do a midnight check fell asleep on duty. When he awakened at 1:10 a.m., he hastily made his rounds. That is when he found Darrel Frey's lifeless body strangled by his orange jumpsuit that was tied to the bars on the high window. The emergency call was far too late to save Darrel.
The trial of George Sessions, Jr. didn't take long at all. The jury decided that the state had not proved their case beyond the shadow of doubt. The defense had produced evidence that squatters might have been using the house and could have overturned a kerosene heater which could account for the accelerant that the state investigators had said was present.
On cross-examination, the head of the state investigation team admitted that the fire might possibly have started in that way. The jury reached a unanimous decision in less than an hour. It was over and Junior was free.
People of the community were of two minds. About half of them assumed that the younger Sessions had been wrongly accused and the other half figured he'd gotten away with arson. Whatever the truth, George collected the insurance on the house, sold the lot, and moved away.
By some twist of fate, Tanner's settlement money was posted to his account on the day the verdict was read. The money couldn't replace his father, but it felt like justice even so. It gave Tanner the kind of security his father and mother would have wanted him to have. He could only feel thankful that something good had come out of the nightmare of his father's death.
The snows of January gave way to the snows of February. Although the winter continued to be harsh, there was never enough precipitation in a short period of time to close school again that term.
With swimming over, Tommy and Tanner didn't have a lot of required physical activity until track. They kept in shape by spending more time on Kempo, often practicing with Andy and Devin.
With Andy's encouragement, Devin had enrolled in classes at Shogun so that he'd have "real" training. Andy wanted his boyfriend to be able to protect himself. Devin's parents agreed and had no qualms about spending the money.
February was a busy month for Tim because of wrestling finals. He was favored to win in his weight division in district meets, and perhaps take a state title. His family and friends supported him by going to every match they could. His brothers were avid fans, taking Andy and Devin along too. Chris and Drake added their support. Chas and Melody never missed a match. And Todd Baker even brought Brendon to the ones that weren't on school nights. The little boy cheered for Tim as if he were his older brother.
Tim looked like a winner on the mat for more reasons than his sculpted muscles. There was no missing that he was a stud by the way his junk was showcased in his singlet. But on top of that, the head coach, Warren Tharp, encouraged him to grow a beard to make him look older and tougher.
Shortly before district's, Tim trimmed it down to about a quarter inch all over and got his brothers to trim his sideburns and hair to the same even length. It worked well to camouflage his innocent looking boyish face. Everyone told him he looked awesome, except for Teri who wanted to keep him as her little boy for as long as possible. As he looked now, he reminded her of Tark who'd been a senior in college when she'd met him in her sophomore year there. It was difficult for her to accept that her first-born was a mature young man, but there was no denying that reality.
As predicted, Tim breezed through the semifinals, pinning his opponents without breaking much of a sweat. He was dominating on the mat.
However, he ran into serious competition at the state level. In his second match, he had to work hard to eventually win by decision. But that opponent turned out to be the only one who really tested his mettle. The rest got pinned in short order. Tim proudly brought back the trophy for his school.
Tark had scheduled his knee surgery for the month of March. His doctor had laughed when Tark told him that there was a narrow window of opportunity in which to do it. He wanted to have it taken care of after the wrestling season and before the new baby arrived so that he'd be through therapy and back to normal when summer football training began.
Teri took the day off from school to drive him to the hospital, but insisted that the boys should go to school despite their desire to be with their dad too. She assured them that there was nothing they could do but wait and that they needed to keep their school work up in case they had to miss later when their little sister was born.
Tim got everyone off to school in the morning and promised to see that they were all fed. He would act as the parent until Teri got home or until Grandma Jeri and Grandpa Floyd got there. He had no qualms about his temporary role because he knew his brothers would do what they were supposed to regardless of who was home.
Tark's surgery took place early in the morning. Pastor Anna came to say a prayer for him just before he got prepped. He wasn't sure how, or if, God answered prays for people with minor problems like his, but he knew that he felt better that someone cared enough to be up that early to bless him.
It all went off without a hitch. When the surgeon talked with Teri, he said that he had had to scrape away a lot of scar tissue and repair a tear in the meniscus tendon. With good luck and therapy, Tark's leg should be as good as new though his range of motion might be a little less than in his other knee.
When he came out of the anesthetic, he was a little loopy. Teri smiled at how he kept insisting that he was completely normal and certainly could have made business decisions despite the warnings in the information packet they'd received before surgery. She stayed by his bedside all day.
Tim was home at 5:00 beginning to plan for dinner when he was interrupted by the ringing of the front doorbell. He opened it to see Cathy Mosbeck accompanied by Devin and Andy. They were all grinning and holding plastic and glass containers full of food.
"A little bird told me that you might enjoy getting out of KP duty tonight. There's a chicken casserole in this glass pan and it can go in the microwave or oven. The Tupperware bowls have two kinds of salad and a batch of those Nieman Marcus cookies from Tucker's recipe. We hope they'll be up to your brother's standards."
"I'm sure they're wonderful!" Tim exclaimed. "I can't tell you how thankful I am for your kindness. My brothers and I had to stay longer than usual at school because I had a make-up exam and I was their ride. I've been standing in the kitchen trying to decide what cans I could open to rustle up something for the starving horde. Let me call them down."
A few minutes later, Tim's three brothers were adding their thanks. They were as pleased as he was.
After the teens had chatted and bumped fists all round, Cathy left with Andy and Devin in tow. She needed to get them back to her house to reheat a similar casserole to feed her family and Andy who had become a frequent guest. She was very pleased that she'd been able to repay the Torrance family after the splendid dinner Teri had served during the snow emergency.
When dinner at the Torrance house was over and the leftovers safely stashed in the fridge, the boys climbed into Tim's car to go visit Tark. Although he wouldn't be in more than overnight, they needed to give him a hug or two to help him recover.
Tark was delighted to see the rest of his family. He had recovered from the effects of the anesthetic pretty well, but now it was the codeine in his pain meds that was making him a little goofy. He knew what the pills were doing to him and vowed to get off of them the minute he got home. He hated not feeling in control.
Floyd and Jeri stopped to see Tark on their way to the house. Although they knew where a spare key was hidden, they didn't like to go into the house when the family wasn't home. It didn't bother Tark or Teri, but to the older generation it was an invasion of privacy.
The boys left a few minutes before the end of visiting hours in order to pick up a couple of items from the supermarket that would be needed for breakfast. Jeri and Floyd stayed until visiting time was over.
Teri had planned to stay by Tark's bed all night, but he convinced her that she should go home to rest, not only for her sake but for their daughter's. That was his trump card, so to speak. So, after a couple more goodnight kisses, she walked to the parking ramp with her parents.
When Teri brought Tark home around 10:30 the next morning, she was especially pleased that she had convinced Dorothy to leave the stair-chair lift in place because Tark would have had a difficult time negotiating the climb to the second floor with his left leg in an immobilizer. Of course he would have toughed it out and made it up, but that kind of effort should be saved for the therapy he'd undergo after his knee healed.
"Tim, you need to wake up to drive me to the hospital," Teri urged as she shook her son's shoulders.
"What's up? Is something wrong with Dad?"
"No, Honey, my water broke. I think your little sister isn't going to wait for her due date."
Tim was out of bed in a flash, forgetting that he had nothing on. Teri didn't bat an eye, and Tim didn't realize it either until he was about half dressed; then he blushed.
To divert her attention and save his embarrassment he asked, "Should I wake up Grandma?"
"That would be good. I don't want your father to feel that he has to go and my dad isn't real good with things like this, so tell him to stay home in case Tark needs anything. In my concern, I forgot they were here!"
Tim took charge. After he got Jeri stirring, he advised his mother to ride down the stairs to keep from exerting pressure that might hasten the baby's arrival. He chose to get the van out and pull it up to the back door because he thought they could get his mom in and out of it more easily than his Regal.
After he'd put her bag in the back, he and Jeri helped her into the front seat and got her buckled up. He gave his cell to Grandma to call the hospital so they'd be expected.
Tim was anxious to get there but drove carefully despite hearing his mother's moans when her labor pains came close together. He felt that he had a tiny life in his hands as well as three adult ones. Fortunately traffic was very light and some of the traffic signals were blinking amber because it was around 4:00 a.m.
When he pulled up to the emergency entrance, two orderlies had a gurney ready for Teri. From that point on, the scene was like one from a movie. Tim abandoned the van in a temporary parking spot and got into the building just in time to take Jeri's arm as she tried to keep up with the cart.
Upon reaching the delivery room, Teri was immediately wheeled in. Tim and Jeri were given gowns and masks and told to scrub their hands thoroughly if they were planning to assist.
Tim couldn't believe that he was being allowed in, but didn't hesitate. He stationed himself by his mother's right hand and coached her to breathe as he'd watched Tark do when they were practicing the week before.
It wasn't long before Tori loudly announced her displeasure at being thrust from her warm cocoon and into a harsh cold, world.
"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Torrance! You have a healthy baby daughter. She's pretty tiny, but she looks great. We'll keep her in an incubator in the neonatal to keep her warm."
The staff cleaned Tori up quickly and laid her against her mother's breast. Both Tim and Jeri had tears in their eyes at the miracle of new life.
A minute later, the nurse gave her to Tim to hold.
"I think she's got her daddy's eyes," she commented.
"Yeah, I think she does look a little like Dad," Tim grinned.
"Uh, you're not her father?" the doctor said in disbelief.
"No, I'm her big brother, but thanks for letting me in to help."
"You're welcome, but this is highly irregular. You look too mature to be the son of this pretty lady," he said glancing toward Teri.
"It's that beard!" Teri exclaimed. "He looks like his father did in his 20's."
"Well I am almost 18, Mom. I'm not exactly a little boy."
"No, and you did everything just like your father would have if he weren't laid up recovering. You're a fine man."
Tim was nearly tearing up again. He noticed that his mother hadn't used the adjective "young" in talking to him. Wow did he feel great!
When the nurses got Tori into the infant intensive care unit, they quickly measured and weighed her. At 4lbs. 13 ounces, she was tiny indeed. They fitted her with a heart monitor and an oxygen tube. Despite their cheerful words in the delivery room, they were concerned that she might not thrive.
Poor Teri's blood pressure was very high and she was not allowed to be anywhere but in bed. Jeri went with her to her room. Tim was allowed to come in where his baby sister lay in the incubator. Probably it wouldn't have happened had he not already been in on the delivery.
He was asked to scrub again and put on a new gown. After that, he came in and actually got to touch her. He had heard that babies did better when they felt the presence of other humans, so he laid his warm hand across her belly and talked to her. It amazed him how he could cover her body almost completely with it. The scene was so tender that no one who didn't know would ever have guessed that he was not the father.
Back at the house, Floyd helped his son-in-law get dressed and into his immobilizer at about 5:30. Once the call had come that Tori had arrived, Tark could not rest until he got to see her and his wife.
Tommy and Tanner were beginning to stir. They were still used to getting up early for swim practice and had a difficult time sleeping longer on school mornings. That would change in the summer, but not yet.
They stumbled to the bathroom to empty their bladders and heard Tark and Floyd talking in the hall.
"Let me make you breakfast and then I'll drive you to the hospital. They'll be fine a few minutes longer. You'll need your strength." Floyd was saying.
"Hey, what's up?" Tommy asked.
"Your sister decided she couldn't wait and was born about 4:30 this morning." Tark answered. "We're going as soon as we can get around.
"We'll go with you! Let's wake Tuck; he'll want to go too."
Tuck jumped out of bed no more mindful of his nakedness than Tim had been. He jumped in the shower with his brothers and all took a quick rinse before dressing. Tuck fussed over his hair while his brothers put a little gel in theirs and spiked it some. Theirs still hadn't grown out enough to require much in the way of styling.
Grandpa had a hot breakfast on the table when they got downstairs. They ate it hurriedly so they wouldn't hold their dad up too much. He grinned at them and told them to slow down because Tori wasn't expecting them anyway since she hadn't met them yet.
They put their dishes in the sink and helped Tark out to Floyd's car. Tommy and Tanner practically picked their dad up to get him seated. He marveled at their strength.
Within 20 minutes or so, Grandpa was dropping the others at the door and handing his keys to the valet. Tark recognized his van sitting in a 15 minute parking spot. Luckily there was no ticket on it.
The guys all rode up the elevator to the neonatal ward and found their way to the intensive care nursery. Like the regular baby ward, it had windows, but the little ones were not visible from the hallway.
"How may I help you, gentlemen?" a motherly nurse asked.
"I've come to see my daughter. She's in there," Tark said pointing to where Tim was standing.
"What is your name?"
"Tark Torrance," he answered. "Actually it's James Tarkington Torrance, but I hate the pretentious sound of that."
"Uh, Mr. Torrance is in there with the baby now. Who are you, really?"
Tark laughed: "That Mr. Torrance is my oldest son and he'll vouch for me if you get his attention."
Seconds later, Tim waved to his family and turned to come out to greet them.
"I'm not sure about the rules of brothers being in the intensive care unit, but we all assumed he was the father. You can't be old enough to have a son that age! You must have married at 10. That's amazing. You look like brothers."
"Dad's a stud!" Tucker announced proudly.
Tim elbowed his brother in the ribs, and Tuck blushed. He'd come a long way in bridling his tongue, but evidently not enough for Tim.
"Well, you'll have to scrub and gown like your son. I'll see that the incubator is moved close enough to the window so the rest can see the baby. We can't allow everyone to traipse through."
"Dude, you've gotta shave off the fuzz," Tommy said as he hugged Tim. "You look like an old guy."
"I feel like a father. I'm sorry Dad; I didn't intend to take your place."
"It's cool," Tark announced. "You did me proud. I'm going to meet my daughter and then go see the love of my life."
Tark got prepped and went into the sterile area. He closed his eyes and the tears flowed as he touched his tiny daughter. The nurse moved the incubator closer to the window and told him that he could prop her up enough for the other guys to see.
The boys and Grandpa got misty-eyed too when the saw the newest member of the family. She was like a tiny doll. Her arms were about as big around as Tark's thumb. Tuck mentally compared her tiny legs to his dick, not with sexual thoughts, and figured that they honestly weren't as large in circumference.
Floyd and the boys went to Teri's room to see her before they left. She looked happy, but was frustrated that she couldn't be with Tori. The nurses said they would take her over in a wheelchair soon. Then they'd try to let Tori nurse if she would.
The guys could swing by the house and still get to school more or less on time. Tim needed to shower and get his books, so he and his brothers left shortly to do what they had to do. Floyd said he would take Tark and Jeri home later.
When the boys got to school after dropping Tucker on the way, they found Peter in Teri's room trying to get organized before the first class started. Although Teri had called for a sub at 6:00, no one had showed up yet. So, Peter had been tapped to fill in. He was excited for the family and said that he'd do his best to follow Teri's lesson plans.
After he'd started the class, the substitute teacher arrived out of breath. She was pleased that he remained for the rest of the period so that she could review the plans for the next one.
Tim was pumped, but exhausted. At lunch he told Melody all about seeing Tori being born. She knew by the look in his eyes that he'd make a great daddy someday. She was beginning to hope that he'd fulfill that role with THEIR children. God, he looked so mature!
They lingered at the table after their companions had left, since neither had to go too far for their next class.
"I've been accepted to DeKalb next year and I think I'm going there," she informed him. "I was leaning that direction even before you committed. I hope you don't feel like I'm chasing you."
"I'd be flattered if you are," Tim grinned. "I hadn't planned on getting into a serious relationship in high school and then get separated in college. Long-distance romances are too difficult to keep up."
"I see you said hadn't' and not aren't' planning to get involved." Melody grinned slyly. "Does that mean we have a chance?"
"Yeah. I can't promise a `forever' relationship this young, but I care for you a lot," he gulped. "Damn, I didn't mean to fall in love..."
"I didn't either, but I have," she said quietly. "We know we're compatible in almost every way. I have a feeling we'll be great in bed too. Do you, uh...?"
"Do I want to find out?"
"Yes," she responded breathlessly, hoping she didn't sound easy.
"You know I could hardly hold back last time we were at your house alone."
"I don't think you did, entirely. I saw the wet spot on your Levi's.
"Melody, are you sure about this? I don't want to take your gift unless..."
"If it doesn't work out to be forever, I'll have a great memory of knowing you were my first," she smiled. "Can you come over after school, or do you brothers need a ride?"
"Uh, Grandpa's going to pick them up so I can stay and do some work in the library."
"Oh, I don't want to interfere with your studying."
"It can wait," Tim assured her, breathing erratically. "I'll need to swing by the drugstore first, `cause I'm, uh, not prepared."
"You'd better hit the restroom on the way to class so you don't embarrass yourself," Melody grinned as she put her hand on his thigh very near his package.
"Uh huh," he agreed.
He headed directly to the restroom where he got into a stall, pulled his jeans and underwear down in one smooth move freeing his raging hardon. He pulled his shirt up to keep it clean, stroked his cock exactly three, long pulls, and shot almost straight into the air. Fortunately, that, and all the successive volleys, landed on his taut abs. It took several wads of toilet paper to clean up enough to pull his clothes back up.
He was a minute late for class, but several other students straggled in as well. Flushed and relaxed from his orgasm, he looked radiant; making his teacher suspect he'd had a "noon-er."
"Tim, perhaps you'd like to share why you're so happy," Mr. Jameson said, attempting to embarrass him.
"Sure. Mom had a baby at 4:30 this morning and I got to help deliver her. It was awesome!"
All the students had congratulatory comments and/or questions. It took the teacher over 10 minutes to get the class settled down. His off-the-cuff remarks had backfired.
Thanks to all who emailed since last posting. The list includes: George K (114) JTR, Rob O, Declan P(115), Jim C, Bob, Bill T, Rutabaga, Walt S, Ott H, Bill K, Bert H, Danny A, Rutabaga, Adam J (116), John McD, Anthony B, Roger L, Dwight C (Todd), and Stef.
JTR from NYC had successful surgery today. Although there was cancer present, the surgeons removed it all plus a margin of healthy tissue around it. They don't think she'll need any chemo! Thanks for all your prayers. It's time to turn those from petitions to expressions of thanksgiving!
David