This is a story of fiction, the author makes no recommendations and does not condone, or condemn, any actions taken by the characters in this story. The characters are completely fictional and any similarities to any person or persons, living or dead, real or fictional, are completely coincidental. The Author takes no responsibility for any actions or inactions taken by any person or persons who read this fictional portrayal - so read at your own risk! This is an original piece of fiction written by the author who goes by the pen name Magusfang, any other person who wishes to post this story, or download it, may do so as long as they retain this paragraph. Boy in The Grass Chapter One: A Chance Encounter The boy lay in the grass, throwing the football up into the air and letting gravity bring in back to him. Summer here sucked, he didn't really have any friends to play with, all the children thought he was weird and avoided him; there were a few smart kids that didn't avoid him, but their idea of fun was twenty-hour video game marathons and he was pretty sure if any of them went out into the sun, they'd burst into flames. The cool kids used to tease him until he beat up a couple of high school students, now they just avoided him. He had a bike, but since that knucklehead Pete Crawford had tried to cross Main Street against the light and been hit by a lumber truck, his mom wouldn't let him ride more than a block from the house, so he couldn't even go to the local college; some of the professors there were the closest things he had to friends. It wasn't fair, he had told Pete to wait, but no he always knew better. Well he's not so smart now, Mickey went and visited him in the hospital and said all he does now is stare straight ahead and drool - yeah summer here sucked! He threw the ball up again, but this time it didn't come back down; two thin, tanned arms snatched the ball out of the air and they really looked like girl arms. He spun over and jumped up, yep a girl and she was standing there holding his football, her pretty freckled face framed by the brightest red hair he'd ever seen. But what caught and held his attention were her deep clear blue eyes, they had to be the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen - the most beautiful anything he'd ever seen! "Hi, my name is Emma, we just moved in next door." Great! As if summers didn't suck enough, now there's a girl living next door to him - a pretty girl! Well it won't be long before she's crossing the street just so she doesn't have say hi to him. His mom is gonna want him to be nice to her, and play with her, and be her friend and stuff; his mother won't understand when this girl starts avoiding him and it will, of course, be his fault. Great, just great; as if summer didn't suck enough! She looked at him funny and smiled, "Hey, can you speak? Heeeeelllllloooooo? Momma, I think there's something wrong with him." "Emma! Be nice!" the woman next to her snapped, then she turned to look at him, "Hi, I'm Mrs. Carter, Emma's mother." He glanced in her direction, but quickly looked back at Emma; there was something about her, he just couldn't stop looking at her blue eyes and he had a funny feeling in his stomach. Emma's mother lightly touched his shoulder, "Little boy?" "See mom, there's something wrong with him," Emma interrupted as she looked at her mother, "I know! He must be the boy that was hit by that truck! Bet that's why he can't talk." As soon as Emma broke eye contact, he turned his head and looked at the woman's hand on his shoulder. Without ever looking up to her face he finally spoke, "That was Pete Crawford." "What?" the woman responded caught off guard by the boy's sudden soft and emotionless words. "That was Pete Crawford." He repeated. He finally looked up at the woman; she looked a lot like Emma. Same deep blue eyes, same bright red hair, same light dusting of freckles. He could see himself getting lost in this woman's eyes as well. "Pete Crawford got hit by the truck. I'm Max Johansson, and I can speak." The woman chuckled, "So you can. Is your mother home?" "Yes." Was all Max said as he turned back and resumed staring into Emma's beautiful eyes, making no other indication he was going to move or continue speaking. "Why are you staring at me? Are you retarded or something?" Emma asked slowly, deliberately pronouncing each word. "EMMA!" her mother snapped. "Well there's something wrong with him Mom!" Emma complained back. "I mean he just stands there staring at me! It's creepy!" 'And there it is!' Max thought. "Emma Carolyn Carter!" her mother snapped back, "Be nice or I'll tan your ass right here in front of the whole neighborhood!" "Sorry mom..." Emma responded as she dropped her head. She was pretty sure her mother wouldn't spank her right out on the street, but she wasn't gonna take any chances - parents do the strangest stuff sometimes! Once again freed from Emma's eyes, Max looked at the woman, "Do you wish to see my mother?" Again caught off guard by Max's unexpected words and soft speech, she stammered a little, "What? Ummm...yes, yes I would like to see your mother...um...if you think she's not busy." "Follow me." Was all he said and turned walking up the steps. When he realized the woman and girl hadn't moved, he stopped and turned, "Did you change your mind?" "What?" Max sighed slightly, and they thought he was retarded, "Do you still wish to see my mother or have you changed your mind?" He noticed, for the first time, that they were dressed alike; short white shorts and a light pink girlie t-shirt, both wore canvas tennis shoes on the ends of their long shapely legs. Max felt a funny fluttering in his stomach as he stood on the porch and looked down on the mother and daughter; Emma looked like a younger copy of her mother and was obviously going to turn into the stunningly beautiful woman that was her mother, tall and slender, no not slender, lithe like a jungle cat. "No...I mean yes...umm...I mean I still want to see your mother." The woman stammered. Max closed his eyes for several seconds, then opened them again, looking at the woman once more. "Come." Was all he said as he turned and opened the door to the house. The woman swallowed hard and had to agree, this boy was a little creepy, scary even. His flat quiet voice unnerved her; it was like he had no emotions. 'Great,' she thought, 'living next to a future axe murderer!' She shook her head and started up the steps, "Come on Emma." Emma looked at her mother and whispered, "Creeepppppyyyyy." Her mother gave her the look mother's have been giving children since time began, but she had to agree with her little girl - this boy was creepy! Emma shrugged and whispered again, "Sorry." and followed her mother up the steps, the two followed Max through the house and Mrs. Carter couldn't believe Max lived in such a bright and welcoming home. Emma was sure he actually lived in the basement in a creepy dungeon with skeletons in cages and stuff. Max stepped through an open door to the kitchen and spoke in the same quiet emotionless voice he had used before, "Mom, this is Emma Carter and her mother Mrs. Carter. Mrs. Carter wishes to see you." Emma and her mother stepped through the door, past Max, and approached his mother. A short dark haired woman turned from the stove and wiped her hands on her apron; she was dressed in a short blue sundress that sported yellow daisies, her feet were bare and she had pink toenail polish. She was a girlie girl and Emma's mother liked her instantly; her voice was warm and friendly, and hinted at the mischievous soul hidden underneath her pretty face, "Hello, hello. Mrs. Carter is it? Just moved in next door, right? Just call me June. And I see you've already met Max." As they stepped forward, Emma and her mother were greeted with a warm genuine smile that lit up not only June's pretty face, but also the entire room. June's warm brown eyes felt like a hug when she looked at Emma. 'Hell,' Emma thought, 'she's real pretty and real friendly. Ain't no way she's Max's mom. She must have found him in the basement!' Emma's mother stepped forward and took June's hand lightly; Emma and her mother noticed her neatly manicured fingernails bore the same color polish as her toes. Mrs. Carter also noted June's hands were small and soft, delicate; like the woman who owned them. "Hi, I'm Marge. It's nice to meet you June." "Would you like something to drink? You guys look hot." June responded as the two women's hands separated and June looked over to where Max stood just behind Emma. "Max, go get us a few Diet Cokes please." "Ok." Max responded, startling Emma who gave a little shriek; she never heard Max step up behind her. Emma turned as Max stepped around her, her feet getting tangled up together, and she began to fall; but Max responded instantly, moving faster than she thought possible and catching her by the waist, actually picking her up, then gently setting her back on her feet. Emma gasped, surprised by both his speed and strength; as she looked up into his sparkling green eyes, her heart skipped a beat and a lump formed in her throat. Max blinked at her, lost in her deep blue eyes for a second or two, and then spoke again, "Are you ok?" Emma, not trusting her voice, just nodded and smiled as she blushed when Max gave her a small quick smile and said, "Good." Letting her go as he turned towards the fridge to get the sodas; it was so quick that Emma wasn't completely sure he smiled at her, but she decided she would believe he did. June broke the silence, "Where are my manners? Sit, sit." She said cheerfully as she held out two chairs. "So, Marge, what can I do for you?" "Ummm, I know we're new neighbors and all and this is kinda quick and all. Umm we don't really know anyone in town...my husband's transfer was kind of a short notice emergency thing and all and we really didn't have an opportunity to check out the area." Marge stammered as Max began passing out the sodas, Emma rewarding him with as sweet a smile as she could when he set a bottle in front of her; and he smiled back - she was sure of it this time! She could feel butterflies in her stomach and couldn't figure out what was happening to her, she really didn't like boys like that, and especially not creepy retarded boys like Max. She was brought back to reality as Max turned and handed the last soda to his mother, who smiled at him as Marge kept trying to get out her request. "The thing is, we had help packing, but...ummm..." Max broke in, trying to save this woman anymore discomfort, but mostly just trying to shut her up, her incessant droning was beginning to annoy him. "Do you need help unloading?" Marge stopped and looked at Max with a smile, relieved that he had asked her and saved her the embarrassment of asking a stranger for help. "Umm, why yes. My husband has a bad back and some of the furniture is a little on the heavy side. Me and the girls can help some, but..." and she shrugged. Marge looked back to June, "We would really appreciate it if your husband could lend a hand." "Well, Max could help. Right Max?" June answered cheerfully. "Yes." Was all he said. 'And right back to creepy.' Emma thought. Marge looked at Max, and then back to June, "Oh I'm sure he would be a great help, but ummm...maybe if your husband could...I mean some of the stuff is really heavy." "I'm afraid my husband passed away nearly seven years ago. It's just me and Max now." June replied and held up her hand with a smile as she saw the look of horror on Marge's face, "It's ok, we've made peace with it. It's hard sometimes, but we get by." "Oh, June, I feel terrible; I'm so sorry, I didn't know!" Marge replied. "I just don't know how much help Max could actually be." "Oh, he's stronger than he looks." June said with a cryptic smile. "He sure is." Emma muttered, blushing slightly as she remembered the feeling of his strong hands on her waist. "What was that?" Marge asked her daughter as she glanced at her daughter. "Um, nuthin mom." Emma replied and looked up to see Mrs. Johansson smiling at her, and almost choked when she saw the pretty dark haired woman wink at her. Emma glanced at Max who was staring at his soda, then back to his mom who was smiling even wider. All Emma could do was blush and smile back; she had been well and truly busted. "He's been the man of the house a long time. He does almost all the maintenance and repairs to this old place." Continued June. And if we run into something he and your husband can't handle, well us womenfolk will just have to pitch in." Marge looked at Max for a second, then smiled and nodded at June. June smiled back before speaking, "Good, that's settled. Why don't you go get your husband and we can grab a little lunch, nothing special just sandwiches and chips, then we'll all go over and pitch in." "Oh that's so sweet, but I don't want to be a burden. I mean I'm already stealing Max from you." "Nonsense, it's our pleasure." June replied as she smiled sweetly, Marge couldn't believe how nice this woman was to complete strangers; in her experience, people just weren't like this. "Well my husband had to run to the hardware store but he should be back soon." "Good, that will give us some time to kibitz. I don't get to many visitors out here at the edge of town." June replied happily as she turned to her son, "Max? Why don't you and Emma go enjoy your sodas on the porch, where you can keep an eye out for her dad." "Ok." Max replied quietly as he stood and held out a hand for Emma. She looked at his hand and smiled as she took it and stood. Max held her soft hand gently as they both walked from the kitchen and Emma was amazed that such a strong hand could hold hers so gently; the butterflies in her stomach went into overdrive, as she felt slightly light-headed. Marge watched them go and turned to back to June, "Um, he's kind of um..." "Intense? Odd?" June finished for her with a laugh. "Yeah, my Max is kind of unique and a bit of an odd duck. But he's kind, sweet, and generous to a fault." "He just doesn't seem to speak much." Marge said quietly, "If you don't mind me asking, is there something wrong with him?" "No, not really. Not physically anyway. I've had him tested seven ways to Sunday and the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him." June said thoughtfully. "You know he didn't speak a word until he was five, not one word. Then one day I ask a question, you know just sort of thinking out loud, and he answers it like he's been talking forever. Well you could have knocked me over with a feather, I just sort of looked at him and said 'You can speak?' and he just looked back and said of course he can speak." Marge just looked at her wide-eyed, "Why did he never speak before?" "He said it was because he didn't have anything to say." June laughed and Marge joined in. After a minute or so both women calmed down and June began to speak again, "That's my Max, he's kinda an acquired taste. But like I said he's a sweetie. If you ever need a hand with something, don't hesitate to ask." Max led Emma out onto the porch and sat on the swing. He pulled her down next to him and continued to hold her hand, smiling at her again as he looked deeply into her blue eyes; he decided her eyes were the most beautiful shade of deep blue he had ever seen or even dreamed of. Emma blushed a little as she noticed he was staring into her eyes again, but she seemed just as hypnotized by his sparkling green eyes as he was by her blue. 'He's kinda cute, in a dark and creepy sort of way, I wonder if he has a girlfriend.' Emma thought. "You're staring." She finally whispered and Max just nodded. "Why are you staring?" "You have the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen and I just can't stop looking at them. I apologize if I'm making you uncomfortable, I don't mean to." Max replied softly, "It's just you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen. I'll stop if you want me to. I don't want to creep you out or anything." Emma smiled and began giggling, Max just raised his eyebrows in a question causing Emma giggled again, "That's like ten times more than you've said since I got here. You're down right chatty!" Max smiled again and Emma thought it was a nice smile; somehow it made her feel all warm inside, "Do you really think I'm pretty?" Max nodded, "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. And your eyes are like a clear blue sky in the early morning, such a deep beautiful blue. And your smile lights up your whole face..." Max stopped suddenly as she kissed him on the cheek. He blushed and he knew he had a silly looking grin on his face, but he just couldn't seem to wipe it off. Emma saw his whole face change when she kissed him and felt a warm tingling in her stomach and legs; the world seemed to be spinning too fast and she really felt light headed now. "Max? Ummm, have you ever been kissed by a girl...Ummm...I mean...like a grown up kiss...ummm...you know...on the lips?" Emma asked shyly and Max just stared as he shook his head slowly. "Emma?" "Yes Max?" "Can I kiss you?" Max asked as he blushed fiercely, Emma was blushing just as hard, and she nodded her head, slowly licking her lips. Max leaned in and gently brushed his lips against hers and she gasped as she felt an electric shock shoot through her body, ending up in her most private of places. Max gently cupped the back of her head and softly pressed his lips to hers once again as his fingers sought out the pressure points on the back of her neck; he knew where these points were from helping his mother with her migraines. He didn't know why, but he opened his mouth slightly and sucked on her lower lip, pulling it gently. He could hear her breathing become more rapid and he could feel her body began to tremble, as he tasted her saliva on his tongue. As they pulled away from each other, Emma dropped her soda and Max snatched it out of the air without ever taking his eyes of hers; he placed both bottles on the small table next to him and pulled her onto his lap, so he could wrap his arms around her. She swallowed hard and Max could feel her whole body shiver with pleasure; he was running on pure instinct but he judged, by her reactions, he was doing something right. She was panting now as Max gently caressed her bare arms. "Will you kiss me again?" she whispered. Max leaned toward her as he lightly tightened his grip on her small body and pressed his lips against hers one more time. Max knew where the pressure points on her back and sides were, but had never massaged these points on a real person before and was unsure what would happen. Emma had parted her lips slightly, mimicking what Max had done during their first kiss and he captured her lower lip in his mouth once more, gently licking it with his tongue. He released her and immediately brushed her lips with his a second time and as their lips pressed together, the tips of their tongues gently touched. Emma felt another rush of electricity shoot through her, but this time there was an immensely pleasing warmth emanating from between her legs and spreading throughout her body; she moaned gently and began to tremble even harder in his arms. Max gently trapped Emma's tongue in his mouth and pulled like he had done with her lip, Emma moaned a little louder as the sensations in her body became much more intense. She could feel a warm dampness between her legs and her body tingled with pleasure, a pleasure like she had never experienced before; she was sweating slightly, and as Max released her tongue, she could feel the peasant sensations linger a few seconds, peak, explode through her body as she moaned, and then dissipate. She shuddered slightly, not understanding what had just happened and not caring, then opened her eyes to see Max's flashing green orbs staring back at her, "That was so nice, thank you Max." Max smiled, pleased he had made her happy, as Emma snuggled her head onto his chest, tucking the top of her head under his chin. Max continued smiling stupidly as he wrapped his arms around her thin frame securely, not tight but firm enough to let her know he safely had her. She sighed happily and began to drift off, she felt so safe and loved and relaxed, all her cares were gone and nothing could touch her while she was in Max's arms. She went limp and sighed loudly as her body pressed into his. June and Marge stood staring through the screen door at their two twelve year old children snuggled up on the porch swing, both women were wide eyed and breathing a little more rapidly as they held on to each other for support - they had just witnessed their children's first sexual kisses! June gently shook her head to clear it and pulled Marge away from the door. She quietly guided the other woman back into the kitchen and they both sat heavily at the table. "Holy shit!" Marge exclaimed, finally breaking the silence as she looked over at June, who was blushing and had a slight sheen of sweat on her face. "Did she just have an orgasm?" "Um, I...I...ah...think so..." June stammered. "From a kiss?!?!?" Marge exclaimed a little too loudly, causing both women to flinch, then looked at each other and began to giggle. "Oh my god, I've never seen anything so fucking hot in all my life!" "What should we do?" June asked. "Do?" "Marge, Max is only twelve years old for Christ's sake. He can't go around giving girls orgasms, he's still a baby!" "Sweetie, I think he can! I just saw him do it to my twelve year old daughter!" Marge replied with a huge grin on her face, "Lucky girl!" "Marge!" June exclaimed and both women began giggling again. "God, but that was amazing wasn't it? I'm a little wet. Jesus Christ, my son got me wet! My TWELVE YEAR OLD SON!" "Shhh!" Marge giggled, looking around nervously, "Wet? Shit girl, I'm soaked!" "Oh my god!" June exclaimed as a terrible thought dawned on her, "You don't think they would go any farther do you?" Marge looked at her, eyes wide in horror, "Oh shit! What do we do?" "Have you had the 'sex talk' with Emma?" June asked. "Not yet." Marge answered. "You?" "No. I don't know what to say, he should really have a man for that." June answered with a hint of sadness in her voice. "But I guess I'd better." Marge giggled again, "Are we gonna talk to them or are they gonna talk to us?" "Marge! This is serious!" exclaimed June. Both women sat looking at each other for a few seconds and began giggling again. "How the hell am I supposed to do this? Every time I think about what I saw I start blushing and giggling like a school girl - a horny school girl!" They heard a car door slam and Marge shot to her feet, "Shit, it's my husband!" They shot from the room and literally sprinted to the front porch, nearly ripping the screen door off its hinges trying to get out so they could separate their children. They both sighed in relief as they turned and saw them sitting side by side on the swing, drinking the last of their cokes. "Mom, dads back." Emma said slowly as she gave her mother a strange look. "Are you ok mom? You look a little out of breath." "Huh? Oh yeah sweetie. We were just telling stories and laughing a lot. June has got a lot of really funny stories." Marge replied with a blush. "Oh ok." Emma replied, satisfied with her explanation. Marge stepped off the porch and waved over to her house. "MIKE! OVER HERE!" A stoop shouldered man, not much taller than Max, waved back; June looked at him and decided he had never done a hard days labor in his life. He wasn't fat exactly, but he was a bit of a marshmallow and his arms weren't much bigger than hers; there obviously wasn't much muscle on his underdeveloped frame. He came over and stopped in front of his wife and gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek, 'Oh, a romantic!" June thought sarcastically, wondering how this gorgeous woman ended up with this flat tire of a man. 'Oh well, they say love is blind. Maybe he has other, hidden, assets.' She thought with a grin. "June, this is my husband Mike." Marge introduced the two. "Oh, and this is my other daughter Amy." June smiled at the small blond haired girl. She looked to be several years younger then Emma, maybe seven or eight. "And this is Max." Emma added with a smile, still holding his hand. "Hi Amy. So how old are you?" June asked the young girl sweetly as she knelt down in front of her. "Ten" The girl answered with a shy smile as she stood next to her father. June blinked; not believing this small girl was ten. Mike reached over and gently stroked her hair as he smiled. "I was helping Daddy get stuff for the house." "And you were a big help too." Mike added enthusiastically, but it seemed to June that his smile was a little forced. "Oh Dad." Amy whined as she rolled her eyes. 'Well, at least he's a good dad, Amy seems to love him a lot...' June thought as she raised her estimation of this man, but only slightly; there was something about him that made her neck tingle, and not in the good way. "Well Amy, are you hungry?" June asked and smiled as she watched Amy nod enthusiastically. "We have sandwiches and chips inside, aaannndddd I just may be able to round up a nice piece of cake for desert." The little girl frowned, "I'm not supposed to have cake, I'm dibetetic... dibet...diate..." 'That explained her small size.' June thought as she gently rubbed the small girl's shoulder, "You mean diabetic? Well let me tell you a secret..." she said quietly and held out her left wrist for the little girl to see. As Amy saw the medic alert bracelet she stared at June in awe, then slowly held out her left arm and showed her bracelet, which was an exact match for June's, only smaller. "I can't have sugar either, but this is a special cake - no sugar!" The girl looked over to Marge, "Momma?" Marge smiled and nodded. Amy pumped her fist in delight and wrapped her arms around June and gave her the tightest hug she could. June leaned back and smiled, "But you have to eat a sandwich first, so you grow up big and strong, ok?" Amy nodded and smiled at June. "Good, now why don't you go with Max and Emma so you can wash up." "Ok." The small girl chirped happily. "Max, can you show them to the hall bathroom?" "Yes." Was Max's only reply as he gently took Amy's hand and picked her up with a smile. Amy's eyes got wide and she looked at her sister who just shrugged and took Max's free hand. He turned and went into the house without another word, Amy in one arm and holding Emma's hand; Mike looked at his wife quizzically and she just smiled. All during lunch Emma and Max traded looks and blushes. The women noticed and smiled inwardly, remembering what they had witnessed earlier; Mike didn't notice anything except how pretty June was and wondered if she had a man in her life. He shook his head slightly and thought, 'My life is complicated enough!' Amy sat next to Max and decided that he was her new best friend. Emma thought it was sweet the way Max doted on her younger sister; Amy had always been the way to Emma's heart. As she watched him, she started feeling something in her chest, a warm happy feeling. Who was this strange dark haired boy and what was he doing to her? Why does everything he did seem to make her happy? Max sat at the table playing with Amy, pretending he didn't see her as she snitched his potato chips, giggling her head off. Initially Max was nice to Amy for Emma's sake; he noticed immediately how fond and protective of her little sister she was and he wanted to make Emma happy, so he would make Amy happy. But as the meal wore on and the three of them played, he found himself liking the little girl more and more, even starting to feel protective of the tiny blonde girl, when after lunch her mom told her it was time to check her blood sugars. "Awwww Mommy, I don't want to...it hurts." Amy whined in a little girl voice. Max stepped forward and looked at Marge seriously, "Mrs. Carter, if you want I can help her. I know a few tricks so that it doesn't hurt as much." "He helps with me, he's really good at it." June added cheerfully, trying to sway the tall redhead. Marge thought for a second, then looked at Amy, "Do you mind if Max helps you?" "That'd be great!" she replied happily, then looking at Max, "Do you really know how to make it not hurt?" "Maybe...are you ticklish?" Max asked with a smile as he began tickling her sides, Amy giggled in glee and squirmed happily as Max teased her. "Ok Amy, ready?" Suddenly the small girl got a sad look in her eyes as she nodded. "Ok, sit here." Max said, still smiling, as he sat her on the counter and took her shoe and sock off; Amy, along with everyone else, watched him confused. Max just continued to smile, offering no explanation as he squeezed her big toe, causing her to giggle again. Max used the alcohol prep to clean her big toe and placed the lancelet in position as Amy winced and tried to look brave but failed miserably. Marge knew she would be crying soon, she always cried when they had to stick her; she hated it, but it had to be done. Max looked at Amy and nodded, she nodded back at him, then he smiled and tickled the sole of her foot; and as Amy began to giggle and squirm, he triggered the lance and quickly drew off the blood onto the test strip, handing it to Emma while Amy continued to giggle and squirm. Max squeezed her big toe for a few seconds until he was sure the bleeding had stopped; he then kissed that very same big toe and winked at her, "All done." The look on Amy's face was priceless, she looked over at her sister as Max put her sock and shoe back on while Emma smiled and showed Amy the meter as it was calculating her sugars. "No way!" Amy whispered with wide eyes as she sat on the counter and looked around the room. She threw her arms and legs around Max and pulled herself into a fierce hug as Emma stepped up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you Max." Emma whispered and kissed his cheek again. Amy was hugging Max for all she was worth and Max was suddenly confronted with emotions he never knew he had; he never really had friends, there were a few kids he played with, but they were not really friends. But in just a few hours these two had become important in his young life - and they were girls! To say Max was confused would be an understatement, but he would find this to be an almost daily occurrence with his two new friends. Max was lost in his confusion as he tried to figure out what he was feeling, when he was suddenly brought back to reality by a warm wet sensation on his neck. He didn't know how long he had been standing there, lost in his thoughts, but he now noted that everyone was standing around him as he felt Amy jerk in his arms and suddenly realized she was crying, "Amy?" Instead of answering him, she just hugged him tighter and shook her head. Max began to panic; he didn't know what he had done to make Amy cry and was worried that everyone would be angry with him. But as he looked around, he saw Marge hugging Mike and his mother staring at him, her hand over her mouth and tears welling up in her eyes. He turned his head and looked into Emma's smiling face. "Emma...?" "Shhh." Was all she said as she leaned into him and gently kissed his lips - right in front of their parents! Emma leaned in further and gently wrapped her arms around Amy and Max. "Marge? What the hell is going on here?" Mike whispered to his wife. Marge giggled softly, "Looks like Emma has her first boyfriend." Marge stood and pulled her husband to the kitchen door as she looked back at June, "Coming?" June nodded and followed. "Should we be leaving them alone like this?" Mike asked, obviously worried about his daughters. "Oh Mike! They're only twelve, besides Amy can chaperone." Marge giggled again as they left the kitchen. "Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better." Mike mumbled as he let his wife lead him out of the kitchen. After the adults left, the three kids continued to hold each other for several more minutes, until Amy broke the silence, "Emma?" "Hmmmm?" "Is Max really your boyfriend?" "Mmmm hmmmm." "Oh..." Amy sounded a little disappointed. Emma leaned back and looked at her sister, "What's wrong Amy?" "Um..." Amy responded quietly. Emma giggled, "Do you want Max to be your boyfriend too?" "Hey, I'm standing right here!" Max said with a small laugh. "Hush. This is girl talk." Emma said giggling, "Don't worry, we'll tell you what we decide." Max smiled as he felt the two girls giggling in his arms. After a few moments both girls calmed and Emma began speaking again. "Amy, Max is my boyfriend, but I'll share with you since you're my sister." "Excuse me?" Max interrupted. "I'm not a puppy you know." Amy leaned back and her wide sad eyes nearly broke his heart, "Don't you like me?" "Well yeah, but...um...I mean I don't even know if I'm really Emma's boyfriend..." Max stammered, unsure how to defend against this gentle assault on his heart. Emma grabbed his face and turned him to look into her deep blue eyes, "Oh, you're my boyfriend alright!" Max looked at the determination on her face and learned a simple fact that most grown men fail to learn: to win an argument with a female, you must refuse to fight. As he sighed, his shoulders slumped in resignation, "Fine..." Both girls smiled and Emma snuggled back into his side while Amy sat on his hip, fidgeting with his shirt as she blushed. Finally she gathered enough courage to speak, "Um...Max?" Max looked at her staring into his chest and waited for her to continue. She looked up at him with her head still bowed and blinked a few more times, Max could tell how nervous she was and, being a boy, couldn't for the life of him figure out why. Amy took a deep breath that caught in her throat, "Um Max? Would you um...I mean if it's ok with you Ems...um...can he...?" Emma laughed softly, "You want our new boyfriend to kiss you?" Amy nodded shyly as Emma smiled at her sister, then looked at Max, "Please Max? For me?" Max shook his head slowly, a serious look on his face, and saw the disappointment in both of the girls' eyes, he smiled to himself and touched his forehead to Amy's, "I'll do it for Amy though." Amy leaned back, a bright smile lighting her face, "Re...really?" Max nodded as he turned and sat her back on the counter; he placed his hands around her mid-section, locating the landmarks that would tell him where her pressure points were. "Ready?" Amy nodded slightly and closed her eyes as she tightly puckered her lips. Max could feel her trembling with excitement and nervousness, he felt butterflies in his stomach as well as he slowly leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers. Amy jerked slightly and inhaled sharply as her mouth relaxed and Max gently pressed harder into her lips as he began to manipulate the pressure points on her back and sides, Amy began to breath rapidly as she trembled. Max gently pulled her lower lip between his, just as he had done to Emma earlier, and pulled back gently, as he lightly licked her lips, Amy moaning quietly as Max let her lip fall free and without giving her a chance to recover, he pressed his parted lips against her trembling mouth and let their tongues meet; Amy made a squeeking noise as her body began to shake even more. Max gently massaged her pressure points as he sucked her tongue into his mouth and curled his around hers as he, again, gently pulled back. Amy made a strangling sound as her body became stiff and she shook uncontrollably for a few seconds, then collapsed into Max. He leaned her back and she looked up at him with wide, slightly glazed eyes. "Amy?" Max asked in a concerned whisper. Her eyes focused on Max's and he smiled at the look of awe on her face as she whispered, "I think I peed a little..." He laughed quietly as she blushed, "Is that good?" Amy blushed even harder and dropped her head. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it, it felt so good..." Emma kissed her sister's cheek and giggled, "I did the same thing." The tiny blonde looked at her sister then back to Max, "Really? Then you're not mad?" "No, as long as you're happy, I'm happy." Max replied with a smile. Amy smiled back and melted into Max, resting on his chest and sighing happily as Max picked her up and went to join their parents outside. As they stepped out onto the porch, Mike was putting his cell phone away. "Sorry guys, I have to swing by the office. I'll probably be late." Mike said as he turned to Max, "Can I take a rain check on the help?" "Sure, but if you want I can start unloading now and wait until tomorrow for the heavy stuff." Max offered, still carrying Amy. "That'd be great, but don't over do it, I'll see if I can line up some more help for tomorrow." Mark replied as he started for his car. "Unfortunately we'll have to camp on the living room floor tonight." "Nonsense." June replied, "We have plenty of room and we can whip up something tasty for dinner." "June, we don't want to be a bother..." Marge started, secretly hoping the small pretty woman would insist. "Bah, what are neighbors for? Besides it will be nice to have guests for dinner." June said as Mike waved again and drove off. "Well let's see what we can get done in the next few hours." The five of them went over to the Carter house and the girls began moving light boxes and clothing while Max moved the heavier boxes and some of the furniture. Using the dolly he was able to move nearly all the furniture, including the kitchen appliances. Several times Marge nearly stopped Max, telling him something was too heavy, then standing open mouthed as Max simply picked up whatever it was and moved it into the house. After several occurrences, June stepped over to her new friend and laughed, "I told you he was stronger than he looked." "I don't think Mike could have lifted some of those boxes." Marge replied, still a little shocked. "Max is full of all sorts of surprises." June replied proudly as the girls watched Max pick up a box of books. They smiled and ran to their mother as Amy gushed, "Mom! Look how strong our boyfriend is!" Marge looked down at her daughters and arched her eyebrows, "Our boyfriend?" June laughed, "So you're gonna share him huh?" Both girls blushed and giggled. June laughed and tousled their hair, "Well try not to wear him out." The girls giggled again and ran off to find Max, Both women laughing as they looked into the trailers. "Looks like we got almost everything in, Mike should be happy." "He'll be surprised, that's for sure. I better call him so we don't have a hundred people here tomorrow." Marge said as she started for the house to retrieve her cell phone. "Why don't you call him from our place, that way he'll have our number. I'm going to go and get your rooms set up. When you're done we can start on dinner." June replied as she set off for her house with Marge in tow. They both smiled as they watched the kids toss Max's football around. Max and Emma were trying to get Amy to stop flinching so she could actually catch the ball but every few tosses ended up with the girls tackling Max and the three dissolving into a giggling pile of intertwined arms and legs. June went upstairs as Marge stepped into the kitchen to call her husband. June was making a bed in one of the upstairs guest rooms when she heard Max call out from the front hall; stepping out into the hallway, she called back, "Bring everyone up here and I'll show the girls where they're sleeping." She smiled when she heard the clomping coming up the stairs, knowing the kids would be racing, but she began to laugh out loud when she looked back out in the hall and saw Marge doing a victory dance. "You won huh?" "That's right!" Marge replied happily and started pointing at the kids, "I beat you and you and you!" June laughed again and stuck her tongue out at Max. "Ok guys, the girls will be in here." Every one walked in and Marge and the girls stopped cold. Emma spun in a circle as Amy squealed and ran to the giant four-post bed and dove on top of the pink down comforter, the room was huge and decorated in pink so it was obviously a girl's room, with stuffed animals everywhere. What stunned everyone were the obviously expensive furniture, the high-end computer, and the large flat screen on the wall above the huge fireplace; Emma surveyed the large room, then looked over at her mother with wide eyes, "Holy crap!" "Emma!" Marge snapped, then relaxed as she realized the same words nearly exploded from her mouth. "But yeah." "Mom?" Max asked softly, "Are you sure?" "Yeah Max, it's time." June answered a little sadly, then smiled and scuffed up Max's hair. "Mrs. Johansson?" Amy asked quietly as she slid off the bed. "Whose room is this?" "It was my sister's" Max replied quietly. "She died." "Oh Mrs. Johansson, we can't, we'll sleep in the living room or something." Emma said as she took June's hand, the young girl's deep blue eyes wide with worry. June smiled down at the young girl, "No it's ok. It was a long time ago and it's time to move on." The pretty dark-haired woman knelt down and looked up into Emma's face, "And I'm hoping you guys will help me with that." The young redhead looked down at June and a tear ran down the small girl's cheek; June reached up and wiped the tear away with a small smile, "It's ok, she's with her daddy." Emma just nodded, unable to speak, and wrapped June in a hug the older woman returned gently. "Ok, lets go show your mom where she's sleeping." Emma let go and nodded at June, unable to speak, and stepped back. As June stood, Amy took her hand and looked up at their family's new friend, "Mrs. Johansson? Thank you for trusting us with her room. What was her name?" June smiled with a tear in her eye, "Cynthia," June walked over to the fireplace mantle and picked up a picture and handed it to Amy, "this is her with her daddy." Amy smiled as she looked at the pretty dark-haired girl in the photo then handed the picture back with a sad smile, "She's pretty, just like you." Jun e took the picture and gave the small blonde girl a tender hug before replacing the photo back on the mantle, "Come on, I'm sure everyone is hungry. Oh and Marge, you and Mike are in the room just down the hall from the kitchen. It's already made up, I'll show you when we go down." As everyone followed June downstairs and past the kitchen, the mood lightened and the girls began talking and commenting on the house, the two women watching with amused smiles as Max played tour guide. Marge started to look around and began noting high-end antiques and expensive furniture, "Um, June? I don't want to pry, but this is some place. What is it you do for a living?" June laughed, understanding Marge's comment, "I take care of Max." "Um, being a mother must pay a hell of a lot better than it does New York." Marge said giving June a funny look. June just laughed, "Well my husband made a bit, quite a bit actually, on some government projects and then there was his life insurance and what his parents left him; and I wasn't always a housewife...well house mother...But mostly Max provides for us." "Max?" Marge questioned, more confused than ever. "Max took over his father's company and started selling rights and patents to some of his inventions, I'm sure you'll see some of them soon." June replied proudly as she scuffled Max's hair again. "Awww, mom..." Max whined, embarrassed. June laughed, "Max is a little shy about his accomplishments." She stopped and looked at Max with a gleam in her eye, "Don't you want to impress your girlfriends?" Max just rolled his eyes, "Is it ok if we grab some sodas and hang out in the library?" "Ok, ok," June laughed, "but don't get caught up in anything, we'll be having dinner in about an hour." She turned to Marge as the kids took off down the hall, "Do we need to go next door and get anything before dinner?" "Yeah, I should grab our bags before it gets dark." Marge replied. "Come on, I'll help. I was just gonna make some spaghetti so it won't take long." June said as she and Marge headed out the front door. The girls followed Max through a large set of double doors into the Library and stopped; as they looked around the library, the wide-eyed girls were stunned by the sheer size of it. The room had twenty-foot ceilings with a balcony that ran around the entire perimeter wall; the large book filled room had to be at least sixty feet wide and nearly twice that long. Every wall was covered with floor to ceiling books and there were at least ten large bookshelves in the room itself, the girls had never seen so many books in one place before. Past the bookshelves was a huge fireplace with comfortable looking chairs and couches arrayed around it, tables and lamps flanked each chair, and couch; some of the tables were piled three or four deep with books. As they walked past the bookshelves they saw a computer console that looked like something out of a science fiction movie. There were also a couple of long tables and some desks arrayed by the shelves, and books, books, everywhere books - on shelves, tables, and chairs, even piled on the floor! Amy was the first to recover and ran to catch up with Max, he stopped as she took his hand and looked up at him, a shy, almost worried, on her pretty face, "Max, did you read all these books?" He smiled, "Most." Emma picked a book up and looked at it, "How can you read this one? It's not even in English." "It's Latin." Max replied simply. Amy looked around, still daunted by all the large books, "Um, Max? I don't read so well..." She dropped her head, a little embarrassed at her admission. Max picked her up and gave her a hug as he smiled at her reassuringly, "That's ok, you will as you get older and I can help." As he smiled, he kept walking towards the fireplace, "Do you like cartoons?" Amy nodded and smiled at Max, happy again, the embarrassment of a moment ago long forgotten. "Um Max, I don't see a TV." Emma interjected as she looked around, her eyes finally settling on Max's smiling face; giggling when Max winked, she knew he was up to something but had no idea what. "Library." Max said in a firm voice as he looked up at the ceiling, mostly for dramatic effect, the girls watching as their confusion quickly turned to curiosity. "Can you detect both females in the room?" "Yes Max." the room replied causing both girls to jump. "Holy crap, who was that?" Emma replied as she jumped with a start. "I am the Library voice activated audio user interface Miss." The voice responded calmly. "May I inquire as to your name?" "Um, I'm Emma, Emma Carter...um nice to meet you?" Emma replied, spinning in place, trying to find where the voice was coming from. "Nice to meet you Miss Emma. Max, please indicate user authorization level." "Full guest protocols please." Max replied with a self-satisfied smile as his little demonstration had the effect he wanted, namely amazing his two new girlfriends. "Guest protocols have been saved for Emma Carter. May I inquire as to the other young lady's name?" "Go ahead." Max whispered to stunned Amy. She nodded and her wonder soon turned to excitement as she smiled brightly, "Hello Mr. Library, I'm Amy Carter, I'm Emma's sister, I'm ten." "I am pleased to meet you Miss Amy, ten is a good age. I'm four. Max, please indicate user authorization level." "Full guest protocols please." "Guest protocols have been saved for Amy Carter. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Amy never missed a beat, "Mr. Library, can we watch cartoons?" "But of course Miss. Is there a particular cartoon you wish to watch?" "Can I watch 'The Little Mermaid'?" Amy asked. "Movie or television episode?" "Movie!" Amy replied happily, her beautiful blue eyes literally shining with excitement. "Yes." Suddenly a wooden panel above the fireplace slid up and Amy and Emma stood staring silently at the largest TV either girl had ever seen. "Do you wish me to start the playback?" Max put Amy in a large overstuffed couch then sat next to her, with Emma on the other side of him, both girls cuddling into him with small smiles on their faces. "Start playback, volume thirty, dim lights." The lights dimmed and the movie started. "Max, this so cool!" Emma exclaimed and Max just smiled as he turned to kiss her lightly freckled cheek; Amy laughed softly, the way young girls do when something pleases them, as she watched her sister kiss their new boyfriend softly, then stood on the couch. "Wait a minute Mr. Library." Amy said suddenly and the movie paused; the young girl giggled as she climbed into Max's lap, with her legs draped over her sister's. She snuggled into Max and sighed happily, "Ok." And the movie resumed. Max thought the movie was silly, a definite girlie cartoon, but he was happy just sitting there with the girls snuggled into him; if asked, he doubted he could have told anyone what the movie was actually about so lost in the sensation of the two small warm bodies pressed into his. As the movie ended, the lights came up slightly and the Library asked, "Is there another cartoon you wish to see Miss Amy?" "Holy shit, who was that?" Marge exclaimed. She and June had snuck in during the last fifteen minutes of the movie and taken a seat to let the kids finish before dragging them off to diner. "I am the Library voice activated audio user interface Miss." The voice responded. "May I inquire as to your name?" "Um...I'm Marge Carter." The tall red haired woman replied slowly, wary of the disembodied voice. "Adult female. Miss Marge, are you related to Miss Amy and Miss Emma?" "I'm their mother." Marge responded swinging her head around the room. "Where are you?" "I am the Library Ma'am. You are inside me." "Cool huh mom?" Amy replied with the energy and excitement that is the sole provenance of small children - especially happy little girls! "Ummmm, yeah, it is." Marge replied smiling at her youngest daughter. She turned to June, "Does the whole house speak?" "Yeah, but I made Max put it in standby in most of the house. It tends to creep people out." June laughed. "I told you it wouldn't take long before one of Max's little toys made an appearance...so to speak." Emma giggled as she snuggled even tighter into the embarrassed boy, "See I told you Max was creepy mom." "Creepy?" Max repeated, a little hurt, but not much; he was used to being perceived as odd. But Emma's next comment took him completely by surprise, making him see himself in a whole new light. Emma stretched up and kissed him softly as she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "Yeah, but a good creepy." Emma replied softly as she kissed him again, this was quickly becoming her favorite pastime. "Come on you guys, time to eat." June laughed as she stood and started for the Library door, Max and the Carter women following behind. The five of them ate, talked, and laughed all through diner; it was a new experience for Max; mostly it was just he and his mother and Max found he liked having people around, especially people who didn't think he was weird, well at least didn't mind that he was weird. After dinner, they all helped clean up the kitchen, laughing and having fun as Amy and Emma gave Max hugs and kisses almost every time he turned around, causing both girls and both women to giggle constantly and Max had a silly grin on his face all evening. After dinner the mothers shooed the kids upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. Max showed the girls to the bathroom off their bedroom and went across the hall to his room. Emma let Amy shower first as she stripped and changed into her robe then set Amy's nightgown out and dug the over-sized t-shirt she usually slept in. She couldn't find the towels and went across the hall, walking into Max's room as he was walking out of his bathroom after his shower. "Max..." she started to say then froze as she looked up and saw Max staring back at her wearing a shocked look on his face - and nothing else! Emma giggled as stepped into the room, closing the door behind her and dropping her robe to the floor. As Emma and Max stood in front of each other, staring at each other's naked body, Max gasped, "God, you're so beautiful!" Emma smiled and stepped forward into Max's strong arms, pressing her naked body against his, as Max's arms seemed to move of their own volition as they wrapped around Emma's lithe naked form. He began gently caress her back as she moaned quietly, enjoying the feeling of his warmth mixing with hers. "That feels so nice Max." Emma whispered then gasped quietly as she began to feel something pressing into her lower stomach, she knew what it was as she leaned back slightly, looking down between them, but had never actually seen one for real before and as she saw Max's erection her breath caught in her throat. "Oh my god Max..." she looked up into his eyes and smiled, "Can I touch it?" Emma smiled and took Max's silence as a yes, quickly reaching down and wrapping her small hand around his erection, causing it to jerk. "Does it always do that?" "Sometimes, but more lately." Max whispered and groaned. "I didn't hurt you did I?" Emma asked as she looked up with worry but Max couldn't speak and only shook his head. Her smile returned as she realized Max liked what she was doing and, not really knowing why, she began to slowly stroke him and smiled even wider when she saw him close his eyes, sighing with pleasure. She was really enjoying touching him when she noticed his legs shaking, and worry once again tainted her voice, "Max?" "Emma...if you don't stop..." Max groaned. "What's wrong Ma..." was all she got out before he spurted and covered her stomach and chest. "Holy crap! That was so cool Max!" She looked up at him and smiled as he leaned down and gently kissed her. Both Max and Emma jumped, Emma giving a little scream, as the door opened. "Emma?" Amy asked as she stepped into the room and froze. She was standing in just a towel and staring open mouthed at them, shock clearly written across her face; but after several seconds she smiled and dropped her towel. Max was now standing in his room with two naked girls; it was safe to say his young life had suddenly taken an interesting and unexpected turn. Amy walked over and looked between Max and her sister, "What's that?" she asked as she ran her fingers through the mess Max had deposited on Emma's small chest; before Max could say something, Amy stuck her fingers in her mouth and smiled. Not to be outdone by her sister, Emma scooped some of the white fluid up and popped her fingers into her mouth as well. Emma giggled, "That kinda tastes good." Amy nodded and both girls took more to taste and in no time they had cleaned most of Max's deposit off Emma. There was still some left on Emma's small breasts and Amy leaned in and licked the last of it off her sister, gently sucking her nipple while she was there. "Oh my god!" Emma gasped in shock, taken completely by surprise by this new, and intense, sensation. "Like that huh?" Amy asked with a wicked smile on her face. "Yes, that feels awesome!" Emma whispered and pulled her sister back to her breast, Amy just smiled and continued licking her sister. Max smiled as well as he leaned in to kiss and lick Amy's breasts - she was, after all, his girlfriend as well. "WHAT ARE YOU KIDS DOING UP THERE?" Marge yelled up the stairs. Both girls gave a little shriek and giggled as Max smiled, "Should we tell her?" Emma and Amy looked at him wide eyed and giggled again, grabbing their clothes before running back to their room. Max looked out the door and yelled down, "JUST GETTING TOWELS FOR THE GIRLS!" "OK, HURRY DOWN. AMY NEEDS HER SHOT." Marge yelled back. Max waited a moment, grabbed a couple of fresh towels from his bathroom and headed across the hall where he heard the girls giggling in the shower and headed into bathroom. "Here are some fresh towels." Max said as he placed the towels on the vanity and turned to go as two sets of arms emerged from the shower to grab him. He smiled as he let himself be pulled into the shower, "We have to hurry." Both girls nodded and began washing Max. After they finished, Max helped Amy wash Emma, then Emma wash Amy; they had great fun drying and dressing each other, then went downstairs giggling arm in arm. They were met by both mothers at the bottom of the stairs who gave the smiling children the narrow-eyed looks that mothers everywhere are famous for. "Sounds like you guys are having fun." June commented. "The showers are so cool." Amy responded as she hopped over and gave June a hug. She looked over at her mother, from the raven-haired woman's arms, "You gotta see it mom!" June laughed, "All the showers are the same Baby, she's seen one already." Marge stepped forward and looked at her youngest daughter as she brushed Amy's fine golden locks from he small pretty face, "It's time honey." Amy immediately became subdued and followed her mother into her parents room; Max looked at Emma with concern at Amy's sudden change in mood, the little redhead had also lost her smile as she looked at Max and just said, "Insulin." Then fell in behind her sister and mother. Max looked at his mother, who shrugged and said, "She's your girlfriend." Max nodded and hurried after the Carters, "Mrs. Carter? Um, can I help?" "Can he mom?" Amy almost begged. Marge looked at Max, smiled, and nodded just before Emma wrapped her arm around his waist and gave him an affectionate kiss. They followed Marge and Amy into the room Marge and Mike would use, still subdued but much less anxious. "Ok sweetie, lay down on the bed and lift your nightgown." Marge said as she prepped the syringe. "Hip or leg?" Amy looked at Max as she climbed up onto the bed as he stepped forward and asked, "Which one hurts more?" Amy sniffled as the fear crept back into her eyes, "Hip." Max gently kissed her forehead and whispered, "Trust me?" Amy smiled sadly and nodded; Max returned her smile then looked back at Marge, "Hip." Then turning back to Amy, "I'm gonna touch your back and waist, try not to move ok?" Amy nodded as Max probed for the landmarks he needed, once he found them he pressed hard. Amy giggled. "That feels funny." "Ok Mrs. Carter, go ahead." Max said quietly and Amy whimpered. "Amy? Look at me." "It's gonna hurt." The young girl whined. Max smiled and leaned over kissing her on the lips and the small girl's eyes popped open, wide open, then closed slowly as she sighed with pleasure. Marge gave her daughter the shot, then stood smiling and tapped Max on the shoulder, a small laugh escaping her throat, "Ok lover boy, we're done." The tall strong boy stood with a smile and let go of Amy as her eyes opened and she smiled brightly at him, "Oh god Max..." Amy looked at her mother, an unasked question dancing in her wide blue eyes and Marge smiled with a nod. Amy grinned, pulled Max down, and kissed him just as hard as she could; when she finally let him up for air, she smiled, "Thank you." "Max?" He turned and looked at Marge, who was still smiling, as she stepped forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. Max made a soft whine as June and the girls began giggling while Marge stepped back and looked at a stunned Max with a small smile on her face, "Thank you." Amy giggled from the bed, "Mom! Stop trying to steal our boyfriend!" Marge looked at her youngest and stuck her tongue out, She then turned and whispered into Emma's ear, "You better treat him good, or someone will steal him from you guys." Emma smiled and whispered back, "Oh, I'm never letting go of him." June decided it was time to gain control of the situation, "Ok, ok. Why don't you kids go to the library and watch a movie or something, me and Marge want to visit some more." "Can we watch another cartoon?" Amy asked excitedly. "If it's ok with Max and Emma." Marge said with a smile. "Don't go hogging the TV, be a good guest baby." Amy looked at Max and Emma with her best pound puppy eyes, Max smiled and nodded and Emma giggled, "All she has to do is pout and she can get Max to do anything she wants." "I'm sorry..." Amy said with another pouty look and her sister, who laughed and hugged her. "It don't work on me sis, remember I'm the one who taught it to you." Emma replied as the two sisters lay on the bed and laughed in each other's arms June laughed, "Come on Marge, let's go gossip while the kids decide what cartoon Amy wants to watch." Amy looked at June with wide eyes. The older woman winked at her and Amy smiled brightly. After Marge and June left, Emma and Max started tickling the young girl as Max quizzed her on what she wanted to watch, Amy giggling her head off, tried to answer but was failing happily. Max's head was in a spin, this morning he had no friends and now he had two girlfriends, this morning the girls in town avoided him like the plague and now he was rolling around on the bed with two beautiful girls with whom he had taken a shower. As all these thoughts hit him at once, Max was overwhelmed with emotions he was not used to dealing with; he stood and stepped back off the bed, with a strange, wide-eyed look on his face and dropped into a chair near the door. Amy and Emma looked at each other when they saw the strange expression on his face, a little flash of fear running through Emma and settling as a cold ball in her stomach. She crawled off the bed and went to Max, kneeling between his knees, "Max? What's wrong Max? Please tell us." "It's just..." Max started as he looked into Emma's eyes while Amy came over and kneeled next to Emma, leaning into her sister. "Um...you know how you said I was creepy when we first met..." "Oh Max, I'm sorry. I didn't know you then and..." Emma started, the fear in her stomach flaring slightly. "No Ems, It's ok. I am creepy, and weird, and even a little scary." Max interrupted as he reached out and gently caressed her face. "I think you're wonderful Max!" Amy exclaimed. "Thanx Amy. I think you guys are wonderful too. But it won't last." Max said quietly. "When summer is over and you guys go to school...well all the kids will make fun of you for being my friend." "Girlfriend." Emma corrected. "That'll just make it worse." Max informed her. "I really like you guys a lot and it just kinda makes me sad that our friendship will end after summer vacation." "It won't Max, I promise." Emma replied as tears formed in her eyes. "It's happened before. When you go to school and people find out where you live...well they're gonna start asking you about the freak who lives on Beach Road." Max explained sadly. "And if you try and defend me or let them know you like me, well you'll have no friends at school, or worse, they'll start calling you a freak and start being mean to you." "Max...please..." Emma stammered as tears rolled down her face. She didn't know what to say and was afraid he might be right; she had seen how the cool kids treated the misfits. She had even been one of the cool kids, torturing others just because they were a little different; she had never thought much of it before, but now she felt ashamed. Amy had remained quiet; she didn't really understand what Max was saying, but seeing the tears in her sister's eyes, she knew Emma did. "It's ok Ems. I want you to be mean to me in front of them, I don't want you getting teased because I won't be there to protect you." Max replied as he pulled the girls off the floor and into his lap. "What do you mean? Are you going somewhere Max?" Amy asked with concern. "No. It's just that I don't go to school, Mom teaches me at home." Max explained. "So, maybe we can be friends after school, you know, so the other kids won't know." "Maybe your mom could teach us." Amy offered hopefully. "Don't you want other friends, go to dances, maybe even play sports and stuff?" Max asked the young girl. Amy shook her head vigorously, "You're the only friend I need, you and Emma. Besides, I never really had a lot of friends in my old school cause I was sick a lot." "Max..." Emma whispered with tears in her eyes, listening to her sister talk, but not really hearing her. "It's ok Ems, lets just enjoy the time we have together. You'll always be welcome here." Max replied. "In fact...House, global command input." "Ready." "Upgrade Amy Carter and Emma Carter interface protocol to resident, full access with core write-protect." "Amy Carter and Emma Carter interface protocol upgraded to resident, full access with core write-protect. Upgrade saved." "Max? What does that mean?" Amy asked. "I just told the house you live here. You can come here any time you want and have full run of the house, even if me or mom aren't here." Max replied with a smile. "You can even make some changes to make the house respond the way you like." "Really?" Amy asked with bright eyes. She giggled as Max nodded, then made a cute determined face. "House." "Yes Miss Amy." "Do you have a name?" "I am referred to as 'House'" "From now on you'll be called Jeeves." Amy replied with a nod. "Would you like to make this a global change?" the house asked. Amy looked at Max confused. Max smiled and answered the house, "Yes, make appropriate changes to the interface operating system." "Changes made and saved." Jeeves answered. "Did Amy just name the house Jeeves?" Emma asked with a giggle and Max nodded, glad to see a smile on her face again. Emma, felt a little better, but there was a little sadness in her. She really liked Max and was afraid she would lose him; it was then she decided that if she would be unable to be Max's friend because he was uncool, then she would just have to make him cool. Amy ran from the room giggling. Max looked at Emma, who just shrugged, both of them laughing as they ran after her. When they entered the hallway, they heard Amy in the kitchen, "Mommy, Mommy..." As Max and Emma entered the kitchen they saw Amy sitting in her mother's lap. "Mommy, can we go to school here with Max?" "You are going to school with Max. You'll be in a different grade, but in the same school." Marge replied. "Max is home schooled." June replied. "Actually, he graduated last month and will be taking college courses this fall." "What?!?!?" Marge asked stunned by June's revelation. "He's starting collage at twelve?" "Well, he'll be thirteen July twelfth, but yeah. He wanted to start this summer, but I insisted he take a few months off." June continued, ignoring Marge's shock. She turned to Max with a mischievous smile on her face, "Unless you still want to take classes this summer?" "No, no. You're right mom, I need some time off." Max responded quickly. "Ok, ok...lets just take a second here." Marge said, trying to wrap her head around what she just heard. "You're telling me Max is finished with high school already and is about to start college - at twelve...um thirteen?" June nodded and Marge took a deep breath and continued. "Isn't it gonna be a little odd, a thirteen year old wandering a college campus?" "He'll take most of his courses online here at home, we have set up a program with the school to let Max study at his own rate, so he'll only be on campus a couple of days a week for individual meetings with professors and for classes he has to attend, such as labs." June replied. "I'll be escorting him, it's much too dangerous to let him wander the school alone." "Oh mom, I've been there alone before." Max replied. "Yes, and if I had known what you were doing, well I'd have been very cross with you." June replied in a motherly tone and Max just rolled his eyes, showing that everything considered he was still just a twelve-year-old boy. "Is he like some sort of boy genius?" Marge asked quietly. "Max has an IQ score of one hundred and ninety-nine, out of a possible two hundred. He designed, built, and wrote the programs for the house automation. He has sold several patents and holds several more in computer and software design." June replied. "He is a prodigy in sciences and math, but he has subjects he struggles in just like any other student." "Mom stop. You're embarrassing me." Max said blushing as the Carter women stared at him open mouthed. Marge stood and walked over to Max, taking his hands as she smiled down at him, "Never be ashamed of being smart Max. You should be proud of your accomplishments." "Thank you Ma'am." Max replied shyly. Amy suddenly started hopping on one foot then the other, "So Mommy? Can we go to school with Max?" "I don't know sweetie. We'll have to talk it over with your father and June." Marge said quietly. "You'd be missing so much by home schooling. Why don't we wait on this until I can talk to your father?" "Ok." Amy responded a little subdued. Amy turned to Max, "Can we watch TV?" Max nodded and Amy smiled. "Jeeves? Can you ask Mr. Library if he has 'Finding Nemo'?" "Yes Miss Amy, please standby." Jeeves responded. "The Library has qued the movie and is awaiting your arrival." "Thank you Jeeves." Amy replied giggling. "You are most welcome Miss Amy." The computer responded. "Jeeves?" June asked with a smile. "Yeah, Amy named the house." Max replied. "Oh and I gave them resident status. Is that ok?" June smiled and nodded. "Mom, can I give Marge resident status? You guys seem to like each other and it's been so long since you had a good friend and..." "Go ahead Max." June interrupted with a quiet laugh, but she knew he was right as she fervently hoped that she and Marge would become close friends. "Upgrade Marge Carter interface protocol to resident, full access with core write-protect." "Marge Carter interface protocol upgraded to resident, full access with core write-protect. Upgrade saved." "Oh, and Jeeves? Can you make sure all upgrades are saved to the core at the next backup?" Max added. "Core updates will be done at scheduled back up at one a.m." Jeeves responded. "Max, you may want to explain about the Dungeon and Alice." June replied. At the word Dungeon, the Carters froze and stared at June, then slowly everyone turned and looked at Max; then suddenly Emma spoke, "I knew it! You got a dungeon with skeletons and stuff!" June laughed, "You really need to stop referring to that room as the Dungeon." Amy looked at Max wide-eyed and whispered, "Do you really have a Dungeon?" "Well..." Max started. "Whose Alice?" Amy asked in a frightened little voice as she stepped back away from Max, maybe Max wasn't who she thought he was - he had someone named Alice in his Dungeon! Max immediately noticed the change in Amy's demeanor and knelt down to talk to her, "It's not really a dungeon. It's my workroom, I just call it that because it has no windows and it's in the basement." "Who is Alice, Max?" Amy asked a little more forcefully. "She's not a who, she's a what; she's like Jeeves and the Library. Would you like to meet her?" Amy nodded, still a little cautious. Max smiled and turned to leave the kitchen when Amy grabbed his hand. Max looked at her with a question in his eyes and Amy just sighed like he was a slow child, "Don't be rude, thank Jeeves." "But..." Max started and stopped when Amy glared at him. Max just sighed causing the older women to smile openly, "Thank you Jeeves and I apologize for being rude." "You are most welcome Max, the apology is appreciated and accepted." Jeeves replied. "See, it never hurts to be polite. That's what Mommy says." Amy said as Max led her out of the kitchen. "Oh my god! She's so cute!" June exclaimed as she and Marge sat at the Kitchen table. "It's really great how close she and Emma are." "Yeah, Emma's been a god send, what with Amy being so sick." Marge replied quietly. "It's more then just diabetes isn't it?" June replied as she gently reached out and took the quiet redhead's hand. "She contracted it young and it was misdiagnosed. She's had some kidney damage and things were pretty bad for a while." Marge answered quietly. "We have to watch her closely, she's pretty fragile. She's been through so much; I don't think she'd be the happy girl she is today if not for Emma, she watches her at school and home and... they're always together." "How bad is she?" June asked. Marge began crying and the smaller woman went to her, wrapping her in a gentle embrace. Marge cried for a few minutes before she got control of herself. "Sorry." She mumbled. "It's ok, I didn't mean to pry." "No, it's ok. The doctors say that she suffered significant organ damage that will significantly shorten her life." Marge continued as tears streamed down her face. "They seem to think that she'll began to suffer body wide organ failure." "How long does she have?" Marge laughed quietly, "They gave her two or three years, that was eight years ago." "Does she know? Does Emma?" "Amy does, couldn't really hide it from her." "So Emma doesn't know?" "No, Amy didn't want to tell her. She didn't want her to be sad all the time. Mike agreed, but I wanted to tell her. We decided to let Amy decide." Marge answered, "Please don't tell Max, I don't want him changing towards her. They seem to get along so well, I don't want to ruin that." June nodded and continued to comfort her new friend. Max led the girls down the hallway, past the library; past the room their mother was staying in, and past his mother's room. All the way to the end of the hall to a metal door. As they approached, the door slid sideways revealing a set of stairs. "This way to the Dungeon." Max joked. The girls followed slowly down the stairs and down another hall, this one was well lit and looked nothing like any dungeon Amy had ever seen, half way down the hall Max stopped in front of a frosted glass door. "Welcome to the Dungeon." The girls looked at each other and shrugged, this room was definitely not very dungeon-like. Max smiled at their expressions, "Alice? We have guests." The door slid open and the two girls gasped as they saw a dark haired girl standing in the room, around her were a few soft chairs and a large computer console in the room, but nothing else. "Who is she?" Amy asked. Without waiting for an answer, she stepped into the room and began talking to the girl. "Hi, I'm Amy. What's your name?" "Hi Amy. I'm Alice." The girl replied happily. "Are you Max's prisoner?" Amy asked as she looked over her shoulder and glared at her and Emma's amused boyfriend. "No. I can leave here any time." Alice responded calmly as she smiled at the small blonde. "Really?" Amy asked, still unconvinced. "So if I asked you to come to the Library and watch TV with us...um would you?" The girl nodded and suddenly disappeared. "Hey, where'd you go?" "I'm in the Library Miss Amy." Alice's voice responded and she suddenly reappeared. "Are you a ghost?" Amy asked quietly. "No, I'm a Automated Language Initiated Control Engine. ALICE." Alice replied. "What you are seeing is a holograph." "A holo...hooliwhatsit?" Amy asked confused by the unfamiliar word. "I'm like a TV picture without a TV." Alice explained, being as patient and calm as only a machine could be. Emma stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Max, "It's Cynthia, isn't it?" Max nodded, "My father designed the interface after her, I never change the Avatar because it was kinda a way to keep her with me." "This is your sister?" Amy asked quietly and Max nodded. Amy sighed as a tear rolled down her cheek, "Then she is a ghost." "Sort of." Max replied as he blinked his own tears away. Emma gave him a tight hug, "You ok Max?" He looked at her and smiled, giving a slight nod, to which Emma smiled back hoping her show of affection would somehow cheer him up, "You know this is a very disappointing dungeon, not one skeleton." Max just laughed. "Alice, please project human skeletal structure, fifty percent size, position six by nine." Max said with a smile and a small skeleton appeared next to Amy causing her to scream and run into Max and Emma's waiting arms. Amy looked back to see Alice dancing with the skeleton, the small blonde looked up at looked up at Max and slapped his chest playfully, "That's not funny!" Then she started giggling and resumed hugging Max. Max smiled, "Wanna keep him?" Amy smiled back and nodded happily. Max looked to Alice, "Go ahead and make him a permanent construct." "Yes Max, do you wish a language interface?" Alice responded. Amy looked at Max as he turned back to her, "Do you want him to be able to talk?" Amy nodded and giggled again. "Give Bones a level two language interface with high level personality engine. He is to be assigned as Amy's assistant and given global access while she is present." "Construct saved, initialized, and assigned." Alice responded. Amy giggled. "Ok Amy, he is like a little child, you have to interact with him so he can learn." Max said as he looked into her wide eyes. "Interact?" Amy asked. "Talk to him, play with him; teach him how you want him to act." Max answered. Amy smiled and went to introduce herself to the small skeleton as Max looked at Emma, "Want to me make you one?" Emma smiled and shook her head, "Not now. Let's go watch the movie and snuggle." Max liked that idea very much, as did Amy. Emma shot out of Max's arms with a mischievous smile and ran back up the stairs as Max stepped into the Dungeon and quickly scooped up a laughing Amy, and ran after the laughing redhead; Bones and Alice blinked out and were waiting for them when they ran into the Library, laughing and out of breath. They spent the next couple hours snuggling and watching the movie, sometime during which Amy fell asleep on Max's lap. Max gently laid her on a couch and he and Emma began kissing in one of the overstuffed chairs. That's how their parents found them around eleven-thirty. "Hey guys." June interrupted. "Getting kind of late." "Yeah, poor Amy is wiped out." Emma replied as she glanced at her sleeping sister. She looked into Max's eyes, "Can you carry her upstairs?" Max nodded as he stood and gently set Emma on her feet before walking over and gently scooping up Amy, who whined quietly and snuggled into Max's chest. Marge walked over and kissed Max's cheek, "Thank you Max." Max just smiled at her, he was more than happy to be holding the young girl as he and Emma walked out of the library, up the stars, and into the girl's room. He gently laid her down and he and Emma tucked her in. He kissed Emma and walked out of the room and as he walked into his room and turned to close the door, he was surprised that Emma was right behind him. "Emma?" "Shhh, I'm sleeping in here with you Max." "But..." "No buts. I know what you said earlier about us not being friends after summer vacation. Well, we are gonna be friends, best friends, and more and I don't care what anyone says, now shut up and get in bed." Max nodded and smiled as he slid into bed, Emma quickly joining him, sliding easily into his arms. Within minutes both were peacefully asleep and never noticed when a small figure slipped into the room and crawled into bed next to Max. A few hours later Marge and June were surprised to see the girls' bed empty. They looked at each other wide-eyed and quickly, but quietly slipped across the hall to Max's room, both smiling when they saw the girls snuggled into Max, all three peacefully asleep.