It took a while for me to get Dylian to calm down a bit. Once the tears had stopped, he handed me back the case of cash.
"No, Dylian. That is yours. I wasn't kidding about this. That money is yours to do with what ever you want." I stressed to him.
"You mean I can do anything with it?" He asked with wide eyes.
"Yes, little man. You can do anything with it you want." I said to him wondering where this was going.
"Then I want to give it to Nicky's family." He said with a strait face.
"Ok, but who is Nicky?" I asked him.
"He was my only friend when I lived at the fosters. His dad lost his job, and they were having a real hard time. He told me that they might lose their house. And if you are sure I can do anything with this money, then I want to give most of it to them so Nicky can keep his home." He said proudly.
"Done! You just need to decide how much you are going to give them." I said.
"All I want is a cello, then the rest can go to them." He said with tears starting up again.
"Hey, what's with the tears, little man?"
"I am selfish." He bawled.
"Oh, No you are not! I think what you are doing is one of the most unselfish acts that I have ever seen. I am so proud of you, it's not even funny." I told him. Simon started typing.
"Dy, I love you! You make me proud to be your big brother. I will get mad if you say that you are selfish again. Even when we lived at the fosters, you shared your lunch with Nicky so that he wouldn't go hungry. It's things like that show you are not selfish." He said via the computer.
"Ok, but when can we get them the money?" Dylian asked.
"Well, we might be able get over there sometime this week." I told him. The look of horror was unmistakable.
"No, it's got to be today. They might have already lost their home. I don't want to wait. Please, can we get it to them today?" He begged.
"I don't know. I don't want to leave Simon until Dr. Powers has been here and we don't know when he is going to be here." I told him. Seeing the tears start again an unexpected voice popped up.
"Me." Lisa said.
We all looked at her wondering what she meant. Tom got it before anyone else did. "Sweetie, do you want you and me to take the money to Nicky?" He asked his daughter.
"Yes." She stated in her sweet little voice.
"Dylian, do you know Nicky's last name?" Tom asked Dylian.
"Yeah, it's Koch." Dylian said.
"OK, Dylian, what say you give them all the money and I will still get you the best cello we can for you?" I asked him.
"Really?" He asked looking very bright. "You would do that for me?"
"Yes, I think what you planned for this money is wonderful. I will make sure that they know that it comes from you and that this was your idea." I told him.
"Ok, but that doesn't really matter as long as they get to keep their house." This little man said.
"Let me call for an escort and Lisa and I will deliver this gift to your friend's home." Tom told us. He called a number from his cell and asked for a full escort to the Koch's home. I wish I could have been there to see what the reaction was.
"Tom, please let us know just what happens. I want to know who this boy is that has my son's heart." I told Tom off to the side so the boys wouldn't hear me. "I want to make sure that things are ok with him."
"No problem, Drew. I will keep you posted. Now, we need to go, the Escort is down stairs waiting, and I don't like keeping them waiting." He told me.
He and Lisa left the room with the case of $500,000.00 cash that they were going to give to a 9 year old boy.
We were relaxing in the room waiting on Dr. Powers to come see Simon when Debbie and Miles came in the room.
"Drew, we would like to talk to you. We have decided to add a little something to our family." Miles started.
"You are taking in Even? I think that's great! I am so happy that means all three of the others boys will have a family." I cut in.
"Miles went up to talk and fell for him. He and Donnie will be down in a few. I can't believe how those two hit it off." Debbie chuckled.
"Guys, I think it's great. Congratulations. I will do everything I can to help. But, you do need to know about something that I have already set in motion." I told them, thinking they were not going to like this.
"What Drew, what did you do?" With him knowing me, he was already getting worried.
"Well, I had Jonathan set up 3 different Trust Funds for the other boys that were with Simon. I knew that Mark and Brian were taking in the younger two but I was not sure about the oldest one. I used Jonathan, knowing that he would be independent and could be the Trustee for the Trust Funds. I set them each up with 2 million that they can use for college or have full access as soon as they hit 21." I rushed to tell them.
"Drew, you know we don't need your money. But, this money is not for us, it is for Even and the other two boys. We will make sure that Even knows all about this so that there is no wondering if we want him or the money." Debbie told me. Not knowing that Even and Donnie had come into the room.
"What are you talking about, whether or not you want him or the money?" Even asked clearly on the defensive.
"Son, what we were talking about before you walked in was something that we just found out about. I will explain it to you fully, but first, I want you to meet my boss, Mr. Drew Thomas." Miles started.
"You're the guy that had Mr. Bruce come and save us, right?" Even asked me.
"Yes, although I didn't know about you and the other two, I was after Simon." I told him, wanting to be totally honest with him.
He ran over to me and grabbed me in a huge hug. "Thank you, sir, oh thank you so very much, sir. I can't tell you what it means to me that we are all out of there." He said, breaking down into tears. I hugged him back trying to ensure that he knew I was happy for him.
He pulled back from the hug when Miles started to tell him what we had been talking about. "Even, Mr. Thomas did something to help you and the other two boys out, other than sending Mr. Bruce. He set up a Trust Fund for each one of you in the amount of 2 million dollars, each. We were saying that we wanted to tell you about the Trust Fund up front, so that you knew we wanted you, not the money that was in your trust fund." Miles told him.
Even started crying, and then ran from the room. Miles went after him and caught up with him in the hallway. "Son, what is it? Why are you upset?" Miles asked hugging him.
"I don't deserve any of that. I am trash. Why would he do that? I am nothing but a whore." He bawled.
"Even, you are NOT a whore. You were abused and kept as a slave. You did what you had to do to survive and protect the other boys. You did that and kept yourself alive. That is what your Uncle sees and why he set up that trust fund for you. He wanted to make sure that you are taken care of, no matter what happens." Miles tried to get him to understand. Knowing that this boy was going to need some major counseling.
"Um, why did you call Mr. Thomas, my uncle?" Even sniffed.
"Well, that would be your little brother's fault. Ever since Donnie could talk, he called him Uncle Drew. Drew is my best friend as well as my boss. I have known Drew since we were in high school. I am sure he wouldn't mind if you called him Uncle Drew as well, but you call him what you feel comfy with, OK?" Miles said holding his new son tightly.
"Yeah, ok, can I call you Dad, or do I have to wait?" He asked with his head down.
"Oh, Son, I would love it if you called me Dad, and I am sure your mom would be thrilled if you called her Mom." Miles told him hugging him again. "What say we get back in there so Uncle Drew doesn't think he has done anything wrong, OK?" Even nodded but wouldn't let go of his new Dad.
They walked back to Simon's room with their arms around each other. When they came into the room Miles had to prompt Even to talk to Drew.
"Uncle Drew, I am sorry that I ran out, but I don't think that I deserve that money. I didn't do anything special except give into what they wanted." Even said, starting to cry again.
I caught Simon waving his hand out of the corner of my eye, "What is it, son?" I asked him.
"Ask him if he helped me after I got beat. Ask him if he was the one who fed me when I couldn't even lift my arm. Ask him who helped out the little ones when one of the johns hurt them. Ask him who it was who kept the house owner from killing me, just to get rid of me." Simon typed then turned the computer so I could see.
"Even, Simon has some questions for you and from reading them, I think you deserve more than what I put into that Trust Fund. I want you to answer them. First one is who helped Simon after he got beat?" I asked Even.
"I did." He said, looking down.
"Who fed him when he couldn't even lift his arms?"
"I did." Still looking down.
"Who helped the little ones when one of the johns hurt them?" I asked.
"I did." Still looking down.
"Who kept the house owner from killing Simon, just to get rid of him?" I asked with tears.
"I guess I did" He cried.
"Then you do deserve that Trust Fund, and much more." I told him grabbing him and pulling him into a hug. "Thank you for keeping Simon alive for me." We both cried and hugged each other.
"Is Simon going to be ok?" Even asked.
"Well, his voice should be ok and back to normal in a few days. We are still waiting for a specialist to take a look at his eyes to find out why he can't see. But other than that, yes he is going to be just fine." Debbie answered.
"How do you know, Mom?" Even asked her. I thought she was going to faint.
"Well, Son, I am his Doctor." She smiled. "I love to hear you say that word to me."
"What word?" Even asked.
"Mom." She told him pulling him into a hug. There was a look between Even and Miles.
At this same time, Tom and little Lisa were arriving at Dylian's friend Nicky's house. There was a lot of commotion with the escort coming into this little neighborhood. Tom and Lisa walked up to the front door and rang the bell. A little girl about 5 or 6 years old answered the door.
"Hi, does Nicky Koch live here?" Tom asked.
"Yep." Then she turned and yelled "NICKY, door for you."
A lady in her late 30's came to the door looking a little haggard and a blond boy came running down the stairs.
"Who are you and what do you want?" The lady asked.
"I know who you are; you're the Governor!" The boy said.
"Yes I am, and I bet you are Nicky Koch." Tom told the boy.
"Wow, you know my name." The boy looked at Tom in awe.
"Sir, why are you here?" The lady asked, a little more politely now.
"Well, I am here to talk to Nicky and his parents. This is my daughter, Lisa. My Nephew has asked me to stop by to give Nicky a little gift."
"Ok, why don't you come in to the living room, and I will get my husband." She said, holding the door open for us to enter.
We got to the living room I noticed that there were moving boxes stacked up against the wall. A large man and the woman came in to the living room.
"Sir, this is my husband, Greg, and I am Carol. We are Nicky's parents. Won't you please have a seat?" She said while sitting down in a recliner.
"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Koch, my nephew, Dylian…" I started when Nicky jumped up and screamed.
"Dylian is alive? Where is he? You have to take me to him!" Nicky yelled.
"Nick, calm down. Let the Governor talk, and I am sure he will let us know what you want to know." His father said. Nicky sat down but you could tell he wanted answers.
"Nicky, I won't make you wait any longer. Dylian is fine. He has a lot of bruises that his foster father gave him, and a nice cut on his head from falling trying to get into a dumpster to get food. He was crying from hitting his head when my Brother-in-law, Drew Thomas, found him. Now, Drew is a very powerful man and when he was told about what had happened to Dylian and his brother Simon, Drew went nuts." Tom was telling them.
"Wait a minute. Are you telling me that Simon is alive?" Greg said jumping to his feet. "John told me that Simon had died in the hospital from a brain thing. If he is still alive what happened to him?"
"John Nesco sold him into sex slavery after catching Simon with one of his friends. There were three other boys already there when Simon arrived. Simon wouldn't go along with them, so they beat him damn near to death on several occasions. John then decided that Dylian would bring a larger sum of money due to his age and looks. When Dylian fought back, John beat the crap out of him as well. It was the second time he was beaten when he took off." Tom told them.
"Why didn't Dylian come here? We would have helped him. He was like a second son to us, anyway." Carol wondered out loud.
"Well, that kind of brings me to why I am here. Dylian didn't come to you because he knew you were having problems of your own. He knew that Greg had lost his job and that you could lose your home. He had gone to his case worker and she had told him to stop making up lies. I will tell you that she is now in jail, as well as the whole CPS system is under investigation. I will make sure that there is nothing like this out there, ever again."
"We still would have helped him. We are losing our home, but we would have helped him" Carol cried.
"Well, you're not going to lose your house. Dylian has made sure of that." Tom told them.
"With all due respect, Governor, it's damn near too late to help us." Greg said with his head hung.
"Well, Nicky might be able to do something with the gift that Dylian has sent for him." Tom said, holding out the case to Nicky.
Nicky slowly took the case and sat down between his mother and father. He opened the case slowly. "Holy crap!" He yelled.
"Nicky, watch your language." His mom told him.
"Sorry, Mom, but look." He said turning the case so she could see.
"Holy crap! Sir, where did this come from?" She asked shutting the case and sliding it over to her husband.
"Shit!" Was his comment.
"This is a gift from Dylian to Nicky for him to use as he sees fit." Tom told them.
"But, where in the world would Dylian get this kind of money, and how much is it?" Greg asked.
"Like I said, my Brother-in-law is a very powerful man. He is the owner of DJ Enterprises. He was having a little trouble getting Dylian to understand that money isn't important to him, compared to Simon and Dylian. He came up with this crazy idea to give Dylian $500,000.00 to do with as he wanted, so that Dylian would know that he was what is important. See, Simon was trying to convince Dylian to ask Drew for a cello, but Dylian said it was too much money. Then with Simon having his throat surgery and not being able to talk, Drew decided to get him a laptop computer so that he could commutate with them and got Dylian one as well. Dylian got upset because now he didn't think he would get his cello. So, he gave him the money. But, Dylian didn't ask to go get his cello, instead, once he found out that the money was really his to do what he wanted to with it, he said that he wanted to give it to his best friend Nicky, so that Nicky could keep his home." Tom explained. "Dylian didn't keep one bill out of that case. Dylian didn't want to wait for the money to get over here, so Lisa here said that we would bring it to you. I have an escort outside if you would like a ride down to the bank to take care of things."
"Yes, thank you. We will need to set up an account for Nicky so this money will be safe for him." His dad said.
"What? Dad, this money is to help. I don't want it for me. Sir?" Nicky turned to me, "Is this money for me to do what I want with?"
"Yes, Nicky, it is." Tom told him.
"Then, I want to pay off the house, so that my sister can keep her room. I want to buy my Dad a new truck so he can get a job. I want to buy my mom a new minivan so I don't have to walk to school anymore. Can I do that?" This child asked with tears.
"Yes, you can. And I will be more than happy to help you do those things." Tom told the young man.
"No Nick, that money is for you." His father tried.
"Dad, that's what I am going to do. It wouldn't do me any good if it's sitting in the dumb bank and we lose the house." He reasoned with his father.
"Ok, son, if you're sure. I am so very proud of you for thinking of your family before yourself." His dad said getting up and hugging his son.
"Alright, then let's get going. We have a lot of shopping and stuff to get done." Tom said, getting up and heading to the front door.
"Sara, come on, sweetie. We are going out for a little while." Carol called up the stairs. The little girl came running down the stairs.
"Where are we going?" Sara asked.
"We are going to pay the bank for the house, so we can keep it." Nicky told her. She started crying. "Sara, why are you crying?"
"Cause I don't want to lose the house. I don't want to have to move." She cried.
"Sara, sweetie, we aren't moving. We aren't losing the house. In fact, everything is going to be much better, now. Dylian has taken care of us." Carol told her.
"Dylian? What could he do?" She asked.
"Well, he gave us a wonderful gift." Was all Greg said.
With that, they got into the limo and headed off to the bank to take care of things. From there they went to a Dodge dealership and had Carol pick out a new Caravan. And Greg picked out a new 4X4 Pickup.
"Sir, will you take me to see Dylian now?" Nicky asked almost as soon as the vehicles were picked out.
"You bet, buddy, let's go tell your parents." Tom said holding out his hand to his little girl and the other to Nicky.