Cops' Kids

C15

"Hola, Tyson," Anton grins with a shake of his head. He pulls Tyson in the front door and Leo closes it behind them. "Pissed of the wrong boyfriend." He chuckles as he fist bumps Tyson's limp hand, wondering why he doesn't have fresh scraped, bloody knuckles. Their dad hasn't told them anything but Anton and Leo are smart enough to put two and two together.

"What happened?" Leo asks, ushering Tyson to the couch. Their dad is on the way. Tyson merely groans and lays on the couch, eyes rolling in their sockets.

"Isaiah! You little shit!" Benjamin exclaims, sitting up on the couch. Isaiah giggles and runs away, TV remote in his hand. He'd snuck up on Benjamin and changed the settings on the TV, shutting off the show he'd been watching. The race ensues when Benjamin takes off after him.

"Stop it!" Warren yells, ever the bossy one. It's for a good cause. If anything breaks in the house they'll all feel the wrath of Elmer.

"Make me!" Isaiah taunts gleefully, knocking into Tyson in the hallway. He ricochets off his muscled brother and crashes into the wall.

"Jerry!" Ross yells next. The three boys at the bottom of the stairs all look up at the thumps coming down. Ross is chasing Jeremiah for something.

"Don't even think about it!" Warren warns but is again, too late. Jeremiah launches himself from halfway down the stairs. Tyson reacts the fastest and skips three steps to catch the boy who thought flying was a wonderful idea. Jeremiah knocks into him and they fall the rest of the way down.

"I'm sorry!" Colin hollers down the stares. "I gave them sugar!" Then he claps Ross's back and tells him it's okay. Tyson caught Jeremiah so he is unharmed and nothing is broken.

"Fuck!" Warren swears, bending down and picking up a picture frame that fell off the wall when Isaiah ran into it. The glass is cracked on the picture of Elmer and Serena's wedding. Colin and Ross jog down the stairs as Tyson hooks Jeremiah over his hip. Isaiah starts wailing. It was him who knocked it over so it is him that will get into trouble.

"Mom's getting it good," Tyson hisses. Jeremiah buries his nose in his older brothers neck.

"Why'd you steal the TV remote?" Benjamin scowls, slapping Isaiah's head. Tyson returns the gesture to him quite speedily. The hit did stop Isaiah's crying but Tyson picks him up in his other arm anyways.

"Why'd you chase him?" Warren retorts. He starts pacing the hallway, cracked picture in his hands.

"What are we going to do?" Colin pulls his rosary from his pocket. Ross chews on his lips, earning a glare from Benjamin. Tyson has an idea forming in his mind and sets Isaiah down after a kiss on his forehead.

"Warren," he says, thrusting Jeremiah into his arms. Warren tosses the picture frame to Benjamin, who catches it with a muttered curse word. "Call Leo, tell him to get his dad over there if he isn't working."

"Who the hell is Leo's dad and why do we need him?" Warren asks, setting Jeremiah down. He doesn't like how Tyson babies the smaller boys. Keeping their hearts naive will only make them break even more, will make them hope that maybe Elmer won't hit them.

"Dr. Delluci," Tyson says simply. Colin and Warren both look up at the name, concern, relief and questions on their faces.

"How do you know that?" Warren asks. Tyson waves his concern off.

"Take everyone to the park. I'm grounded. He'll probably think I got mad and did something stupid." Tyson explains his idea, snatching the picture frame from Benjamin. He checks the cheap watch on his wrist, first bought the first time Elmer took his phone away. At one point they were all iPad babies because Elmer didn't like how loud all the boys were, being so close in age and all.

"I'll stay with you," Colin immediately volunteers himself. The boys all look at him and Tyson spots the scar on the hairline of his skull.

"You've already been hurt enough because of me," Tyson shakes his head. "Go, have a relaxing day. Ross and Warren can watch the boys."

"I'll tell Leo and them you pissed off the wrong girls boyfriend." Warren says, throwing an arm around Colin. Ross ushers Isaiah and Jeremiah out the door. Colin's fingers move to the next bead on his rosary, his face radiating some sort of glow even with the tension from knowing what Tyson is going to be put through.

"He just needs ice and painkillers," Dr. Delluci is saying when Tyson wakes up. "Nothing broken but his wrist is sprained. Thank God his rib didn't break again."

"We're not dumb," Leo says, looking pointedly at Tyson's hands. "For picking a fight he sure didn't fight."

"He's your friend boys," Dr. Delluci sighs. "Let him tell you on his own time and terms." The doctor waves at Tyson. "He doesn't have much control of anything else."

"Still," Anton speaks up. Ice is in his tone. "I'm calling Uncle Erik. He won't say no to me. I'm his godson."

"I already called him, son," Dr. Delluci placates his son by putting a hand on his shoulder. It does nothing to calm down his hotheaded son. "It's up to Tyson to accept Erik's help."