When Charlotte pulled her chair back in and began eating again, Toby and Francis reached over and each one squeezed one of Charlotte's arms, smiling at her as she looked at each one. When the meal was finished, the three teens asked to be excused, and after being given permission to leave the table, began to clear the table. It was forty-five minutes later when the teens walked out of the kitchen and walked into the living room, where they sat together on the couch, huddled together with Charlotte in the middle. Watching the three, Sherry asked Jane, "Have you ever had such comradery with your past Girls, Jane? I realize this is a special situation, so my question might be redundant."

Shaking her head, Jane replied, "No, your question is not redundant, it's a legitimate question. We have had two boys here at one time, a new boy, like Toby, and a boy like Francis, who was with us before the new boy arrived. There was concern by the 'old' boy, but not to that extent," and she nodded to the three teens sitting on the couch. "Toby and Charles came with an abundant amount of compassion for others, while Frank may have had the same compassion for others, but shut it off because of his Aunt Agnus. If I were to make a guess, it was Charlotte who helped him rekindle the compassion he hid. But as to having previous boys with so much compassion as those three, no. We've never seen that before. And as you said, Sherry, this is an unusual situation. And being an unusual situation, what can we honestly compare it to from the past? Nothing."

The rest of their time sitting at the dinner table was taken up with Sherry offering Jane and Susan information about the three teens. Susan was questioned about her planned lessons, and whether they'd meet the needs of the three teens after learning of their IQ scores. "What they are doing now would be considered the foundation classes at a college or University. I believe the current course of action is the proper way to go before they start classes a college or University sophomores would take." Susan softly chuckled, then said, "Toby is a few pages away from finishing that physics book and the last section test. He's the one I'll have trouble keeping up with. If he has a question about something, and we discuss it as a group, I'm afraid Francis and Charlotte will not have the needed grounding to contribute in a useful way. Of course, they might surprise me and know more about Toby's question than I realized, I'll have to wait and see how it works out. I am certain about one thing, given the speed Toby reads, and his ability to retain what he reads, he could obtain a BS in a few months, instead of the normal four years. And I believe Charles and Francis wouldn't be too far behind him."

Sherry and Jane nodded their heads in agreement with Susan's assessment. It was Jane who brought up the one thing the three women failed to mention. "Everything you said seems to be true, Susan. The only problem we've discussed deals with where they would be allowed to learn at their desired pace. I believe they'd desire you as their teacher, Susan, but the constant traveling would be a burden for you. We know the type of school they need, but making that determination right at this juncture is not prudent. The current situation has to be resolved before anything else can be determined. Until then, this is a central location where you can meet with them."

Sherry had been quiet while Jane spoke, her hand lying on the table with her fingers intertwined. Separating her hands, she now started sweeping invisible crumbs off the table, something Jane had seen her do in years gone by. "Okay, Sherry. Every time you've swept invisible crumbs from the table, you've had something to say but didn't want to intrude in the conversation. So, give, what's on your mind?"

Sherry was now using the palm of her hand to sweep it back and forth across the tabletop, a kin to a kid shuffling their foot in the dirt. "Well… I was thinking. Have you thought about hosting those three after this whole mess is over? You have plenty of rooms available, and as you said, this is a central location where Susan can meet with them. Or, if Susan can locate another location, they could live here and attend school with Susan there. You would have to evaluate the impact on your normal activities. Of course… it's just a thought, Janie. You understand?"

Throughout Sherry's suggestion, she kept sweeping her hand back and forth across the tabletop, never looking at Jane. Jane reached out and put her hand on the back of Sherry's hand, stopping the movement and causing Sherry to look over at Jane. "Your suggestion has merit, Sherry, and one I've not considered. Marie and I would have to discuss the idea in depth before it could be considered and brought to the guardians of those three. What we do here is based on isolating the boy so we can have complete control over everything he does without outside influences. Seeing three other boys here could interrupt our control and make it harder to guide him in the direction we want him to proceed. However, as I said, Marie and I will discuss the merits of the idea before any decision can be made."

"I understand, Janie, and I wouldn't want my idea to make your work harder than it already can be. It's the reason I added finding another place Susan can meet with the three kids. But… that's then, the mess is now and must be dealt with first."

Jane patted Sherry's hand, telling her, "I know, Sherry. You know the importance of the work Marie and I do here at Seasons House, and you would never want us to interrupt that in any way. Still, your idea does have merit." Jane then turned her attention to the teens still sitting on the couch. "Girls, Toby, it's time you three get ready for bed. Girls, you know the routine with your faces, so I don't need to remind you."

The, "Yes, Aunt Jane," was more solemn than previous answers, likely because of the news Charlotte shared at the dinner table. They stood up from the couch together and even walked to the stairs together.

Sherry shook her head and said, "They still hurt after hearing what Charlotte went through. Too bad we all can't be that compassionate with each other. I better go, Janie. I believe I want some compassion when I get home."

"I'll walk you out, Sherry," Susan said, "I think the idea of compassion tonight is warranted. Thank you again for the meal, Jane. That young man is going to melt a girl's heart with his cooking."<?p>

Jane arose from the dining room table and walked to the front door with Sherry and Susan. After opening the front door, she hugged both women and waited until they were safely in their cars and leaving before she closed and locked the front door. No sooner had she turned to walk back into the living room, when she saw the three teens descending the stairs. She waited in the usual spot in the middle of the living room until the three reached the first floor and walked until they were two steps in front of her. Jane had to keep her facial expression neutral this time because of a first for Toby. He, along with Francis and Charlotte, was wearing the girls robe over his pajamas. "Toby," Jane addressed Toby. "Why are you wearing that robe this time? You do know it's a girls robe, correct? And that you aren't required to wear it?"

Toby had a small smile on his lips as he replied, "Yes, Aunt Jane, I know it's a girls robe. And I know I'm not required to wear it, but I started thinking I might be a bit immodest just wearing my pajamas. In searching the closet in my bedroom, this was the only robe I found, so it will have to do. As I said before, it's just a robe."

Nodding her head, Jane told him, "While I didn't find you to be immodest just wearing your pajamas, I understand your reasoning and applaud you for it. I also applaud your attitude toward wearing it." She then turned her attention to Francis and Charlotte. "Let's have a look at your faces, girls." Jane leaned close to each girl, examining their faces for any trace of makeup. "You both have done an excellent job cleaning your faces. Now off to bed, the three of you."

After receiving three, "Yes, Aunt Jane," she also received three hugs and three "Goodnight, Aunt Jane," from the three before they chained themselves back up the stairs to their bedrooms. Marie came out of the kitchen right then and stood by Jane, watching the last of Francis disappear up the stairs. "Those three think the world of you, you know. We must make sure to get the backstory of the next boy sent to us so we treat him as is appropriate. I'm not saying we don't establish our authority, but as we discovered about Francis, he may have reasons why he took the wrong path."

Jane put her arm around Marie's waist, saying, "You're right on both counts, Mein lieber Freund (My dear friend.). While some may need our normal routine, someone like Francis would need a special program. I also believe Sherry and Susan should be involved with our next boy. Sherry because she could give us insights into the boy's mind and nature. And with Susan's help, we'll know what courses the boy needs to be given. We've learned much during this unusual situation, knowledge we can put to good use next time." Jane turned and kissed Marie on the cheek before bidding her a good night. Marie returned the gesture before checking the doors and lights on the first floor, then venturing to her bedroom. Both would mull over everything they had learned before sleep finally took them away.

Jane came out of her bedroom at seven in the morning. She had just reached the dining room when she heard a 'shave and a haircut, two bits' knock on the front door. She shook her head and murmured, "That crazy woman." She knew there was only one woman who'd knock that way and discovered she was correct after unlocking and opening the front door.

There, standing in front of three other people, with a smile too big for that time of the morning stood Jill. "Hey ya, Thompson. What took ya so long to answer the door? We've been standing out here since last night, ya know. What's for breakfast?"

Behind Jill stood a man. Behind him stood Susan. Behind Susan stood Sherry, and all three had a hand over their mouth, trying not to laugh. Jane looked at the three and told them, "It's fine, go ahead and laugh at this crazy woman. She's usually this way after too much coffee or something she took out of her office."

"Whoa, there, Thompson. You know darn well I never take any loopy stuff from my office. Not when I can get it directly from you."

Jane gave Jill a death glare, telling her, "Now it's you who are to hold on. You know very well after that one time I gave up all of that. Now if we're going to be spreading rumors, I remember that time on the beach with you and that cute guy."

Jill's smile abruptly vanished, replaced with a horrid expression. "Please, Jane, not that one. Please, Jane, don't." Jane saw tears in Jill's eyes, and heard her say, "Not that one."

Jane saw the frightened, pleading, look on Jill's face. She didn't hear the anguish in Jill's voice, but Sherry did and pushed her way past Susan and the man. When she reached Jill, she could see Jill shaking. Putting her arm around Jill, she looked at Jane and in an almost angry voice told her, "Sometimes, Janie, you go too far without realizing you've gone too far. We'll be in the study." With her arm still around Jill, Sherry led Jill past Jane and to the study.

The man held out his hand and introduced himself to Jane. "Ms. Thompson, I'm Thomas Glean. A plastic surgeon Jill consulted about Toby Camber. I hope you and Jill haven't had a falling out, she speaks highly of you."

Jane had a puzzled look on her face after what Jill had said. She was puzzled because she didn't know what she said that had upset Jill or Sherry. She did recover though, when Thomas introduced himself. "Mr. Glean, it's a pleasure to meet you. And it's Jane. Please, come in. And you too, Susan. No sense you standing outside this early in the morning."

Laughing, Susan said, "Why that's magnanimous of you, Jane. I feel so special."

"Careful, Toliver, the stable stalls need to be mucked out today. The girls and Toby can teach you how it's done."

Putting on her best Southern drawl, Susan said, "Oh please, Miss Jane. Not mucking out the horse's stalls. I just can't tolerate the putrid aroma of those places. You wouldn't want me retching the entire time I'm here teaching your darlings, would you, Miss Thompson?"

Thomas did his best not to laugh, but asked Jane, "Are they always like this? And it's Thomas, Jane."

"Thomas, you don't know the half of what I have to put up from those three. Please, go with Susan, she'll show you around the first floor. I need to go see why Jill is so upset. If you'll excuse me."

Jane turned and quickly made her way to the study, disappearing after opening the study door and walking into the study. "She's extremely worried about Jill, isn't she, Susan?"

"Yes, Thomas, she's extremely worried about Jill. Jill and Sherry go way back with Jane. Together, they kept Jane from self-destructing. Those three are closer than three sisters could ever be. I will tell you something else. Jane hasn't a clue what she said that upset Jill, and that bothers her. Come on, I'll give you the nickel tour before breakfast." Susan closed and locked the front door before showing Thomas around the first floor. She refrained from giving Thomas any information about Seasons House true purpose, believing Jane should make that decision.

When Jane entered the study, she saw her dear friends in the middle of the study, with Sherry holding a crying Jill. Jane walked over and put her arms around Jill from behind. "Jill, I'm so sorry for upsetting you with what I said. And yet, I don't understand why what I said has upset you."

Jane felt Jill reach up behind Sherry's back and put her hands over Jane's hands. In a crying, stuttering voice, she said, "It…It's…no…not…you…your…fa…fault…Janie. I…I…nev…never…tol…told…either…either…of you." Sherry had moved her arms so they now were around Jane's back and pulling her closer; Sherry and Jane had sandwiched Jill between them. Sherry and Jane remained quiet as Jill's crying finally eased, waiting on Jill to speak when she was ready. The warmth they felt for each other only intensified by their physical closeness at the moment, listening to Jill take shuddering breaths as she slowly relaxed while being between the two women. "It had to do with that boy who was with us that day on the beach near those rocks. You two had gone into the ocean while that asshole and I stayed on the beach. He told me he knew of a small alcove in the rocks that had some beautiful crystals embedded in the rocks, and asked if I wanted to see them. I was so stupid I didn't suspect anything. The crystals were there, alright, and when I bent down to take a closer look, he came up behind me, grabbed me around the waist with one hand, and reached between my legs with the other, and started rubbing me hard. I told him to let me go but he said he could tell by the way I looked at him that I wanted it. I tried pulling his hand from between my legs but he only got rougher. Finally, I stomped on his left instep as hard as I could, and that caused him to let go of me. I turned around and faced him, and before he knew it, I'd kicked him as hard as I could right in his balls. I was so mad at what he'd done, that while he was still on his knees, I gave him a roundhouse kick to the side of his head that knocked him out cold. That's when I came and told you two we needed to get back to the hotel to get changed so we could get to the restaurant before it got crowded."

Sherry had brought one hand out from behind Jane and was now gently stroking Jill's hair. "Why didn't you tell us, sweetheart?"

"Tell you, Sherry," Jill all but shouted. "I knew exactly what you two would have done to him had I told you what he tried to do to me. You two would still be in jail and I'd have been alone back then."

"Did you ever see him again?" asked Jane.

Jill nodded her head, then chuckled, before saying, "Yeah, I saw him again, but he didn't see me. He was with a different girl at that club we went to the next night. When I saw her go into the ladies, I followed her and told her about him. She took my hands in hers, then with a feral look on her face, she told me she hoped he tried it with her. She found me the following night we went to that same club, and it was delicious. She was all giggles, as she told me he tried to rape her while they were at a secluded place. When I asked her what she did to stop him, she laughed and said she put him into the hospital, called the police, and pressed charges against him for attempted rape. When word got around about what that woman did to him, and he was being charged with rape, several more women came out and told of being raped by him or him trying to rape him. He got himself in a heap of trouble, plus several broken bones." Jill got quiet for several minutes before adding, "I'm sorry I didn't trust you two enough to tell you back then. But I didn't want either of you to be arrested because of what you'd have done to him. And knowing your states back then, you both would have hurt him something fierce."

It was Jane who spoke for both her and Sherry by telling Jill, "I'm glad you didn't tell us then, Jill. We would have killed that son-of-a-bitch. Back then, no one hurt one of my dear friends without paying dearly for their actions."

There was a light knock on the study door, but the door remained closed. Jane knew Marie would have come into the study after knocking, so it had to be one of the teens. "Come in," Jane said loud enough for the one on the other side of the study door to hear her.

When the door opened, Toby stuck his head into the study just enough to tell Jane, "Aunt Jane, breakfast is ready." When Jane thanked Toby for informing them, he pulled his head out of the study and quietly closed the door.

Jill let out another shuddering sigh before Jane asked, "Well, girls. Anyone for breakfast?" When both said yes, Jane then said, "Well, I guess we can't go to breakfast as we are. We'll have to let each other go."

Jill turned her head as far in Jane's direction as she could, and told her, "No shit, Sherlock. How long did it take you to figure that problem out?"

Jane glared down at Jill, telling her, "You do have a crude way of putting things." She then leaned down and kissed Jill on the cheek before adding, "And don't you ever change, Doctor Jill Peters."

Jill let go of Sherry, turned around, and put her arms around Jane, pulling Jane tightly to her, and put her head on Jane's chest. "Damn you, Thompson, you say the nicest things." She abruptly let go of Jane, looked up into Jane's stern face, and said with a huge smile, "Right, I'm hungry, let's eat."

Jane looked up toward the ceiling, shaking her head. Sherry laughed and let go of both Jane and Jill. Together, with Jill in the middle, the three women walked to the study door hand in hand. When they reached the study door, Sherry stepped forward and opened the door, watching as Jill and Jane walked out of the study still holding hands. Under her breath, Sherry said, "Gawd, I love those two women." She stepped through the open door, closed it behind her, and made her way to the dining room, where she found Toby waiting to seat her.

Toby was the last to sit down at the table. After bowing his head, he looked at Jill and asked, "Are you okay, Jill?"

Jill looked at Toby, a concerned expression on his face. "It's sweet of you to ask, Toby. I'm better now, just a bad memory I neglected to tell my friends about."

Toby smiled and replied, "I've got an extra tee shirt you can have."

A burst of laughter escaped Jill before telling him, "Naw, I've got enough of those tee shirts, more than I need. Toby, the gentleman sitting next to you is Dr. Thoman Glean, a plastic surgeon. After I make sure you haven't done anything to set back the healing process, he's going to give you a good once-over to see what he can do to lessen all of the scars you have. And trust me when I tell you, he's an excellent surgeon."

Toby held his hand out to Thomas, which Thomas took. "It's nice to meet you Dr. Glean," Toby told the man. "I hope there's something you can do because I'm a right mess."

Thomas smiled at Toby and told him, "Toby, and to everyone around this table, it's Thomas. There's no need to be stuffy." Thomas had looked up at everyone around the table when he said that. "As to you being a mess, as you say, I've brought some before and after pictures, you'll be surprised at what I can do, Toby." Thomas then looked at Jane and said, "Everything I can do for Toby is pro bono. You and Marie helped my younger brother many years ago, and my family is truly grateful. He went into law and started his own firm; they help those who've been abused. He's built a reputation that causes other lawyers to cringe if they have to meet him in court. He's never forgotten your lessons, Jane. He preaches them to any kids he defends, and they seem to listen to him."

Jane smiled after hearing about Thomas' younger brother. She remembered Steve Glean, and how long it took before he finally came around to what Jane was trying to teach him. She gave Jill another stern look when Jill said, "Jaanniiee, can we p-l-e-a-s-e eat now? I'm hungry."

The woman just had a meltdown and here she is with another big smile on her face as she asked her question. "How can you only think about your stomach, Peters? There are other important things to be considered." Jane had schooled herself as she faced Jill's huge smile, a smile Jill knew always got to Jane.

With a gleam in her eyes, Jill asked, "Do you want the simple answer or the clinical answer?"

Jane shook her head, saying, "Neither... let's just eat our breakfast."

The table broke out in laughter when Jill fist-pumped the air and exclaimed, "YES!"

Sherry turned to look at Thomas before telling him, "Thomas, you'll have to forgive our diminutive friend. When her body is deprived of protein, her mind wanders into the void." Sherry gave Jill a big smile when Jill looked past Susan and gave Sherry a dirty look.

Jill then slowly turned to look at Thomas, when he said, "Yes, Sherry. I've noticed when her nutritional level is low she becomes a bit spastic." He smiled at Jill as she gave him a dirty look.

Looking at Thomas, Jill said, "Et tu Brute? What is it, kick Jill Day? You two do know revenge is best served cold, right? See if I steer any more patients your way, Thomas. Spastic indeed!"

The teens could no longer hold their laughter, and caused the entire table to start laughing when they led the way. They laughed even harder when Jill sniffed the air, then picked up the bowl of scrambled eggs and put a spoonful on her plate before passing it to Susan.

Jane sat back in her chair and examined her little family. She watched as they each took what they wanted before passing it to the next person. She listened to the talk as it started while each served themselves. She watched the teens and was proud of them for the way they were helping each other through their school work and adversity. When she looked at Marie, she saw Marie looking at her. Marie laid her left hand on the back of Jane's right hand, lying on the table, before saying, "Tout va bien, n'est-ce pas (Everything's fine, isn't it?)?"

Nodding her head, Jane said one word, "Oui (Yes.)."