Mary yawned as she grasped the ringing phone. She didn't know who it was calling at this time of night, but it couldn't be good. "Hello?"
"Mrs. Copeland?" an unfamiliar female voice asked softly from the other end of the phone.
"Yes, may I help you?" Mary sat up and Will rolled over to look at her sleepily.
"This is Maggie Sutherland... The boys' foster mother..." she left off and took a deep calming breath.
"Yes, how may I be of assistance Miss Sutherland?" Mary asked wondering if the boys were going to have to go home early.
"It seems that well, the boys... I'm dying." Maggie's eyes were drawn to where the doctors were looking at the results from her tests. None of it was looking good.
"Excuse me?" Mary asked her eyes wide with horror. Will sat up and put an arm around her.
"I'm not going to bore you with all of the details because most of them I don't get... But easiest to say is that most of my vital organs are shutting down... Quickly. They give me a week, if I'm lucky... I was wondering... Could you watch after the boys until foster homes could be found? I know it's a lot to ask...but I don't have anyone I'd really trust to look after them." Maggie coughed a little and winced at the blood in her hand from the coughing.
"Of course... Are there any kind of papers we'll need to sign?" Mary asked as she leaned back into Will's arms.
"I'm having them faxed right now. I'm sending it to the fax number you put on the papers. Is that all right?" Maggie took the tissue from the nurse with a grateful smile.
"Yes. Will, go to the fax. There's some papers coming through that we need to sign." Mary told her husband, who jumped out of bed and went quickly to his at home office.
Minutes later he came back with the papers. "Okay, we'll sign them and fax them back. Is there anything else?" Mary said as she grabbed a pen from the bedside table and hurriedly signed before passing them to Will who, realizing what they were, signed quickly before taking them back to his fax to send them back.
"Tell my boys... I loved them. They were never really mine, but sometimes it felt like it... And don't let them come up here. It's going to be bad for them I know, but I don't want them to see me like this." Maggie looked up as the nurse waved the faxed in forms. "Thank you for this... I can never repay you."
"It doesn't matter... Are the doctors certain they can't help you?" Mary asked softly.
"Nothing to be done but ease my going... Take care of them." With that and a soft sob Maggie hung up and took the forms. Sighing, she leaned back against the hospital bed and let the cancer she had known of for the last three years flooded her body take over. Moments later the heart monitor screamed a warning.
***
"What was that about, Mary?" Will asked after he had come back from his office to find his wife crying softly in bed.
"Maggie Sutherland is dying. She asked us to watch after the boys until they could be sent to new foster homes." Mary let her husband hold her and rock her until her tears were done.
"William... I can't let those boys get sent to another foster home... The littlest ones... All they ever wanted was a home... Will, I try not to ask for much..."
"We'll see what we can do about adopting Kip and Brian... The others well, we'll have to ask them. They'll probably apply for emancipated minor rights seeing as how they're sixteen and seventeen." Will told Mary as he thought of all the paperwork they were going to have to do for the youngest two.
Mary gave him her prettiest smile and then they snuggled back into bed. "How are we going to tell them?"
"I don't know..." Will's answer was soft as he waited for her active mind to shut down.
Then with a little effort on Mary's subconscious mind, she was asleep without the nightmares she had worried about.
When his wife was soundly asleep Will drifted off as well.
***
"Boys, we need to speak with you. Adam, Jason, Sean, you three as well, it effects you." William said as he and Mary sat in the living room and the boys were just coming with their Baltimore friends.
"What?" Adam asked as he sat with Jason on his lap. Will didn't say anything as Mary had warned him.
"Brian, Kip, we've got into contact with some people, and we're going to adopt you." Will told the two youngest much to everyone's surprise.
"What?" Brian asked softly staring at the two adults as if he were about to faint.
"We're going to adopt you. The adoption board has already seen our file from when we gained custody of Sean and they are more than willing to allow us to adopt you two... If you would like." Mary told them softly. Then seeing their stunned looks she held her arms open and without a thought the two youngest flew into her maternal care.
"You'd be our mom?" Kip asked from where he snuggled on her left side.
"Yes. If you're okay with that Will will make the call and everything will be put into order." Mary hugged them tighter and tried not to cry.
"What's happened?" Scott asked sensing something else.
"Late last night I received a call from your foster mother... It seems that she's very ill-" Scott shot to his feet ready to run for the car to get to the woman who had taken care of him and Kevin when they had had no one else.
"Wait, Scott." Mary called softly and Kevin pulled Scott into his arms waiting for the rest of the news.
"Boys, this is very hard... But she's dying. And last night she asked Will and I to watch after you until foster homes could be arranged for you." Mary's voice was soft and the foster brothers stared at her in horror.
"We need to go to her." Scott said trying to get out of Kevin's arms.
"She asked me to not let you." Mary told them then stopped when the phone rang. Will went to get it and when he came back he was rubbing his eyes sadly. "That was Maggie's lawyers. She died this morning."
Mary clutched the youngest ones as they moved to hold one another in her lap. Kevin and Scott started crying into one another's shoulders.
Paul and PJ just sat there stunned. While Shawn and Sean clung to one another and tried not to sob.
"Boys, the rest of you are welcome here... And should you agree we'll adopt those of you who can not get emancipated minor's rights." Will told them softly as he sat and tried to understand how something like this could happen to these boys who had already seen so much tragedy in their young lives.
"I'm too young." PJ said softly as he raised his worried eyes to the others. "They'll take me away and put me in another home." His eyes were wild and the other foster boys knew what was about to come so they all moved to grab him.
To their surprise it was Adam and Jason who got a hold on him before he could make a mad run for the door. "You'll stay here. Mom and Dad will adopt you and everything will be fine." Jason murmured softly to the shaking boy.
"You're really going to adopt us younger ones?" Shawn asked from where he and Sean were wrapped in one another's arms.
"If you'll let us. If not, then we'll try to get set up to foster you." Mary said as she gave the lovers a soft smile.
"I'd like that." Shawn told her softly as he laid his head on Sean's shoulder.
"We're close enough to our eighteenth birthdays we'll be able to get out emancipation rights... But can we stay here until then?" Kevin asked after speaking softly with Scott.
"Of course. I hope that you'll stay even after you've gotten them. This is your home now. All of you." Will told them as he watched all of them deal with the hard facts, pushing their grief away for another time.
"You boys go upstairs and relax... I'll call when it's dinner time." Mary said as she lifted Brian and Kip off of her lap and pushed them to the other boys, knowing they needed time to deal with everything.
"Okay." Adam said as and Jason stood up pulling PJ with them. The others followed the blonds up the stairs and Mary went to Will who looked as emotionally beaten as she felt.
"We're doing the right thing, I know that... But is it wrong of me to be happy about us giving those boys a permanent home?" Mary asked Will softly.
"No... I think that it's a good thing. We can give those boys a lot that they couldn't have had before. I think that's why Maggie asked us to take them. Because she knew we wouldn't be able to let them go. And I'm certain that wherever she is, she's happy that her boys are getting a family."
Mary gave her husband a smile and a nod. "You do realize that we now have ten teenage boys living under one roof?"
Will groaned as he remembered his own high school days.
"Don't worry. We don't have to wonder who our boys are with romantically." Mary gave her husband a secret smile.
"Why's that?" Will asked not liking the look on her face.
"Well, first off only Paul is straight. Secondly, all of them except for Paul and PJ are in love with someone else from this house."
"What?" Will's eyes were wide. Sure he knew about Sean and Shawn and their Adam and Jason, but the others?
"Kevin and Scott have been together for a while. Brian and Kip are just starting to explore one another, but even then you don't have to worry. It's really love between those two boys." Mary snuggled closer to her husband and smiled at his look.
"But they're only-"
"In love, William. They love one another like you and I. No matter what we do or say, they'll always be in love... And if you try to split them up you'll be sleeping on the couch for years." Mary gave him a stern look and William nodded slowly.
"I understand, but it's going to take some getting used to." Will sighed and laid his head against the back of the couch he and Mary sat upon.
"Just like having ten boys under our roof. We'll do what we've always done. The very best we can do with what we have. Now I need to go start making the calls to get their school records shipped down here." Mary gave Will a quick kiss then was up and walking into the office, strength and stubbornness in every step.
Will watched her with a sigh and shook his head before rising and following.
***
Adam and Jason finally allowed PJ to get out of their arms when they were in the attic, knowing if he tried to run they would be able to stop him before he had gotten too far.
"I can't believe she's gone." Kip said softly from where he lay with Brian on the mound of pillows in the floor.
All of the other foster boys nodded.
"I wonder how we go about getting the rights for minors." Kevin muttered as he and Scott sat together on the window seat.
"I'm sure Mom is getting the info for you." Adam told him as he and Jason cuddled each other and played with their lover's hair.
"Yeah." Scott kissed Kevin on the cheek and nuzzled him before laying his head on Kevin's shoulder.
"Everything will be fine." Jason told them and gave them as bright of a smile as he could muster. "I mean look at it this way. You've got a home here and a family that accepts you."
The other boys gave the blonds weak smiles and nods. Then Paul gasped and groaned. "What?" Scott asked ready to go to him if needed.
"How am I going to tell Jo?"
The other boys from Baltimore groaned and shuddered.
"Who's Jo? Paul, I thought you were straight." Adam asked, not recognizing the new name.
"I'm bi, but Jo is short for Joanie. My girlfriend back home." Paul shuttered again.
"What's the problem?" Jason asked, wondering if Paul was into something he couldn't handle.
"Jo is about six foot of pure muscle." Kip told them with a chuckle.
"Oh... I'm sure she'll understand." Adam said, not really believing himself. Though he would love to met this Amazon.
"I'll wait... Do it later when we know more." Paul said with a nervous shake of his head as if he expected her to jump out of the closet and grab him right then.
Adam and Jason went on to talk to them about getting a neighbor to pack their things up in Baltimore and send them to Cameron.
***
"This is our new school? Where's the metal detectors? The security guards?" Brian asked as he and the others got out at their new school.
Adam and Jason laughed and nodded. "None of that. Come on. We need to get to home room."
The others followed as the blonds led the group to the four different home rooms that they had been split into. Fortunately they were at least in groups. Shawn was in home room with Sean and Shane. Paul and PJ were in with Matt. Brian and Kip shared Jeff and Shannon's home room. Kevin and Scott were with Adam and Jason.
Their reception at the small country school wasn't the warmest at first, but then when the other kids realized that they weren't to be messed with, they left them alone.
They were only in school for five weeks before it was out for the summer and they were free to do what they wanted. All of them were learning to wrestle, even Brian and Kip.
One night after they had gotten back from their matches, with those who weren't skilled enough to actually do so finding other things to do so that they could watch their friends. PJ was sitting watching one of the wrestlers that worked for Matt and Jeff while the others chatted, either waiting to wrestle or do some little odd job. Suddenly, for no reason the guys could see, the foul-mouthed baldy started crying softly.
"What's wrong, chico?" Scott asked seeing the tears rolling down his small friend's face.
"I miss Rob." PJ cried and to Scott's surprise moved onto his lap, still crying.
"Who?" Scott mouthed to Kevin who just shrugged and waited to see if any of the others knew who their friend was talking about.
"I miss my Rob!" PJ started sobbing into Scott's shoulder with his arms wrapped around his friend.
"Who's Rob, chico?" Scott asked him softly.
"My boyfriend." PJ cried still harder and Scott could only hold him.
"I didn't know you had a boyfriend." Kevin said softly as he put his hand to PJ's head drawing his attention.
"We didn't want to tell anyone..." PJ looked up with tears still running over his face.
"It'll be okay, chico." Scott promised and Kevin nodded.
PJ gave them a small smile and then frowned rubbing his face. "Damn tears... Fucking ninny."
Kevin and Scott cuddled the younger boy until he fought them off. "Can't take too much of that lovey dovey shit... But thanks anyway." PJ jumped to his feet and was off doing what ever he had done before.
"He has a guy...that he claims as a boyfriend... Kevin, I had had my worries that he would never find some one." Scott gave a chuckle. "I wonder what kind of delinquent PJ's bringing into the family."
"I don't know... The guy probably has a mouth on him... Just to keep up with our boy." Kevin laughed with his lover.
"I have a feeling we'll find out soon." Scott said softly, and they turned as the next set of wrestlers came from their match.
