Dear Diary

 

Mrs. Amee returned to the room to find her great-grandson weeping softly as he clutched his newly returned diary. She wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but she guessed that he had found out that Jessie was here and safe as well. She left Dixon to his thoughts as she walked next door to Jessie's room. There was no time like the present to start getting to know the boy who would be sharing Little D's heart and her home with her.

She was not too surprised to find him crying when she got to his door. She knocked gently, but he didn't respond. She stepped a little further into the room.

"I'm guessing that you and Little D have seen each other," she said softly as she gently sat on the corner of the bed. Seeing the confusion on his tear stained face, she clarified for him. "You know him as Dixon, I believe."

"Yeah, we've seen each other, for all the good it did," the boy mumbled as his cheeks continued to channel water from his eyes. "Who are you?"

"My name is Amee Whatley Wiggins," the old woman answered. "You can call me Mrs. Amee if you'd like. Dixon has always called me Mamee," she added with a smile.

"I've never heard him mention you before," Jessie said quietly.

"Well, that's because he and I haven't seen each other in a very long time," Mrs. Amee explained. "He had forgotten that I existed, just as I had given up hope that he still did." She held out her hand as she said, "I'm your boyfriend's great-grandmother."

"He's not my boyfriend anymore," Jessie gasped out as he started sobbing more. "You don't have to worry about me corrupting your boy anymore. I'll leave him alone."

"Young man, I don't recall accusing you of corrupting anyone," Mrs. Amee corrected him. "If you have hurt Little D, however…."

"What if he hurt me?" Jessie blurted. "I went to take his diary back to him and he rolled away from me. He wouldn't even look at me." He sobbed for a moment longer before he continued. "Just tell him that I'm sorry he got hurt because of me. It won't happen again."

"Now you listen here, boy," Mrs. Amee said firmly. "What happened to you two boys had nothing to do with either one of you. That horrible woman that kidnapped my great-grandson was psychotic and evil through and through. She chose to do whatever she did to you boys of her own free will, and I will see to it that she pays for it dearly."

"She wasn't Dixon's mom?" Jessie asked meekly.

"I should say not," Mrs. Amee snapped. "His mother lived with me until she died three years ago, broken hearted by the loss of her baby and then her husband. She was the sweetest girl I could have ever asked for as a wife to my only grandson. She never gave up hope that her baby would be returned someday. If only she had lived to see the day," she added quietly as a single tear flowed down her own cheek.

"Dixon really has a family that loves him now?" Jessie questioned hopefully.

"He certainly does," the old woman confirmed. "I may be the only blood relative he has left, but there's a houseful of people waiting to welcome him home this afternoon. They'll be just as glad to see you, too."

"Me? Why would they want to see me?"

"You'll be coming home with us, too, you know," Mrs. Amee said with a smile. "You don't think I would leave Little D's boyfriend behind when I bring him home, do you?"

"I've already told you, I'm not his boyfriend anymore," Jessie snapped. "He doesn't want to be with me now that I'm not a… I mean after what has happened to me. Besides, he knows it was my fault he got hurt. I couldn't stop her."

"Your name is Jessie, isn't it?" When he nodded, Mrs. Amee continued. "Jessie, I've already told you. That woman was pure evil. You just said it yourself, you couldn't stop her. You did try though, didn't you?" He nodded again. "For that, I owe you at least this much," Mrs. Amee said as she leaned forward and pulled Jessie into a tight hug.

"You did everything you could to save my Little D," she whispered emotionally. "I can't ever pay you back for that, but at least I can give you a roof over your head and all the love this old heart of mine has left to give."

"You really want me to live with you?" Jessie asked her. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know that you love my great-grandson enough to risk your life to save his," the old woman told him. "In my book, that's all I need to know. Now before you try again to talk me out of it, I have to tell you that I'm a very rich old biddy and I'm used to getting my way."

"Yes ma'am," Jessie giggled slightly. "But what about…."

"You let me worry about Little D," she told him as she kissed his forehead. "If my great-grandson is fool enough to let someone as cute as you slip through his fingers, he will hear from me."

Nurse Patty walked in at that moment and announced, "I see you two are already getting acquainted. That's good because I'm here to help our young gentleman get dressed so he can go home with his new in-laws." She saw the blush on Jessie's face and added, "I don't miss much of what goes on around here, little man. Now, let's get you dressed."

"I don't have any clothes here," Jessie said as he stared down at his bed. He didn't want Mrs. Amee to think that he was a bum or something, but he had to be truthful.

"Now, do you think I'm stupid enough to come in here to dress you without bringing clothes to do it in?" Nurse Patty asked pointedly. "It's called replicators, kiddo," she added with a grin. "Now we're going to dress you to the nines and get that boy of yours all hot and bothered just from looking at you."

"If you'll excuse me," Mrs. Amee began, "I'll go have a word or two with another hard-headed young man." She stopped at the door and turned back to add, "Oh and Jessie, don't take it too harsh if he doesn't get too hot and bothered just yet. I don't think his implants are working to full performance yet."

Jessie had no idea what the implants were that Mrs. Amee was referring to, but he certainly caught the general idea of the statement. He could feel his skin burning from head to toe as the woman shut the door. Nurse Patty didn't make things any better.

"Get out of bed now, so we can cover that cute little butt of yours with a few layers for Dixon to take off later," she said with a mischievous smile.

Jessie was still blushing from Nurse Patty's comment a few minutes later when he stepped into the hall with her. He was told to sit on a bench in the hallway and wait for Mrs. Amee and Dixon to come out. As he sat there, a good looking teenager with caramel colored skin came running up to him.

"Are you Dixon?" Jessie started to answer, but the boy didn't give him time. "I'm Huey, well, actually Langston Hughes Washington, but everyone calls me Huey. It's funny, but you don't look like the pictures of your dad to me. Dad said you did, but he has trouble with his eyes sometimes. I don't mean when he's driving of course, it's just that he gets emotional and then everything gets blurry on him. He claims he's not crying, but I've seen him wiping the tears away when he thinks no one is looking. So are you ready to go home?"

"Wow, dude," Jessie giggled. "You talk faster than some of the girls I know."

"Am I too feminine?" Huey asked quickly. "Some people at school seem to think so. That's why they call me names and stuff, but I don't let it bother me. My real friends like me just the way I am, and that's the most important thing, right?"

"Yeah, what you said," Jessie giggled some more. "I'm not Dixon, though. I'm Jessie…."

"Oh, you're the boyfriend," Huey blurted. "That would explain why you don't look like the pictures. Well, if you don't mind me saying it, Dixon has great taste. I can't wait until I get a boyfriend." He paused as his face registered the shock of having just come out to this stranger. "I guess it doesn't matter if you know that I'm gay. I mean you must be too if Dixon is your boyfriend."

"Yeah, I am," Jessie agreed quietly.

"That's so cool," Huey bubbled. "It's going to be great having you two around. I won't feel like such a freak anymore. You're the first gay people I've met since I told my family about me. I wish I had had the courage you guys have when I was your age. I would have been terrified to tell my folks when I was your age. I was still terrified when I did and that was just yesterday."

"My parent's never knew," Jessie muttered in almost a whisper. "They were… they died a little while ago."

"Don't fret about it, I'll loan you mine if you want parents that bad," Huey told him. "I don't think you'll lack for grownup attention, though. Grandmomma Amee will see to that, I'm sure. She sure is happy to know that her Little D is coming home at last. I wouldn't want to be that woman that kidnapped him, though. Grandmomma Amee may be the sweetest little old lady ever, except for Grandmomma, that is, but I wouldn't want to get in her way if she ever lays eyes on that woman."

"She told me that Dixon was kidnapped," Jessie agreed. "She looked pretty upset over it."

"Well, first Little D got taken, then her husband, Mr. Daniel, he up and died from grief because Little D had been at the store with him when that woman took him," Huey began to explain. "Little D's grandparents had been dead and gone for a while, but then about a year after Dixon was stolen, Mr. Danny, that's Dixon's daddy, got killed in a car wreck while looking for his son. Finally, Dixon's mom got the cancer and she died too. All that would have been enough to make Mrs. Amee near crazy with grief, but then to find out what that terrible woman did to him, that may have just pushed her over the edge, but not Mrs. Amee. She was chomping at the bit yesterday to get down here to be with that boy while they had him in the surgery." He finally paused for a moment as he considered something for a moment. "You are one lucky guy, Jessie."

"How do you figure that?" Jessie asked bluntly. He thought of everything that had happened to him and wondered how sane this teenager could be to think that he was lucky.

"Well, I know you've been hurt too, but just think about that new fangled thing that Dixon's got," Huey answered. "I mean he's got like robo-wood now. I hear tell he'll be able to make it go up and down anytime he wants it, or should I say when you want it?"

"Wait a minute! What are you talking about?" Jessie demanded. Huey then explained with only a few side comments exactly what Dixon had been through. "He was scared I wouldn't want him," Jessie whispered when he was done. "Maybe he does still want me!" Just then he heard a door opening.

---

Mrs. Amee returned to Dixon's room where he was still holding the diary. "Well, young man, what do you have to say for yourself?" she asked firmly as she sat on the end of his bed. Her great-grandson looked up at her in confusion. "I have just left your young man's room and he was in a state worse than you. Would you like to tell me what happened when he came over here to return that book to you?"

"He just came to give the book back," Dixon told her. "I told him I wanted to cuddle…." His voice suddenly disappeared as he realized what he was talking about with a woman.

"Honey, I'm not so old that I don't remember what courting couples do when they're alone," Mrs. Amee laughed. "You told him you wanted to cuddle?"

"Yeah, and he just dumped the book on the table and left," Dixon answered.

"No, I meant it as a question," Mrs. Amee explained. "Did you actually say that you wanted to cuddle?"

"I even scooted over in the bed so he could get in," Dixon said as his tears started back up again. "He didn't want me. He knows what happened and he doesn't want to be with Frankenstein boy."

"You will never refer to yourself in that derogatory way in my presence again," Mrs. Amee said quickly. "You are just as much a normal boy now as you were before this all happened. Marc assures me that your penis will function perfectly normally once it has finished healing. You would even be able to father children, should you ever choose to do that." She smiled at his obvious discomfort at discussing his private parts with his great-grandmother. "This is natural biology, Little D. There is nothing to be ashamed of about the way your body works; not in front of me, or Jessie," she added pointedly.

"But he left me," Dixon said dejectedly. "I didn't get the chance to tell him that it works even better than it did."

"He saw you moving in the bed and thought that you turned away from him," Mrs. Amee informed him. His eyes widened in shock and then filled with even more pain.

"Why would he ever think that I would turn away from him?"

"Honey, I have to tell you some things that aren't going to be easy to hear," Mrs. Amee sighed. "After your attack, that woman did something hideous. She put your… what she had removed from you into the microwave and tried to make Jessie eat it." Dixon shook his head in disbelief. "I'm afraid so, sweetie. It gets worse, though."

"Did she hurt him?" Dixon demanded. "He said she didn't, but he acted like he didn't want to answer."

"He probably didn't," Mrs. Amee told him. "You see, Little D, after the police got there, and that woman was arrested, Jessie got taken to a foster home."

"Why would they put him in a foster home?" Dixon questioned.

"Well, she had called in a report of Jessie's older brother and his lover doing nasty things to both you and Jessie," Mrs. Amee answered.

"That's a lie!!!" Dixon yelled. "Jason and Philip never touched either one of us. They would never hurt us."

"I'm glad to hear that, and I do believe you," Mrs. Amee told him. "The point is, the authorities in Arkansas had to investigate. Jessie was put into a foster home, and it wasn't a good one. The man who was supposed to be the father beat Jessie." She continued over Dixon's gasp of horror. "They told him that you were dead," she added.

"He said that when he came in here," Dixon mumbled.

"Dixon, dear, that's not all that happened to poor Jessie while he was in that house," Mrs. Amee said hesitantly. Tears were starting to flow down her cheeks as she continued. "Dixon, Jessie was beaten and tortured by the teenage son in the home. The boy raped him several times."

"NOOO!!!" Dixon wailed. "Oh my god, my poor Jessie."

"Jessie was here as a patient because that teenager nearly killed him," Mrs. Amee informed her weeping great-grandson. "When he saw you roll over he thought that…."

"He thought I didn't want him because of that?" Dixon whimpered. "Mamee, what have I done? I love Jessie. I don't care that he's been hurt. Help me get to his room, Mamee. I have to see him again."

"Well, that won't be a problem," the old woman assured him. "He is coming home with us in a few minutes. In fact, he is probably waiting for you to get dressed so we can leave." Dixon practically leaped out of the bed. "Are you sure you want an old woman to help you get dressed?" Mrs. Amee asked with a laugh.

"I have to get to Jessie," Dixon stated firmly. "I would let Pigface Priscilla see me naked if it gets me to him faster."

"We will discuss your less than flattering descriptions of girls later," Mrs. Amee warned him as she began helping him untie his hospital gown.

"Yes, ma'am," Dixon murmured. "What will I wear??" he suddenly blurted. "I don't have any clothes here, do I?"

"Nurse Patty was kind enough to… replicate I believe is the word for it, some things for you. I hope you don't mind boxers. We thought that with the bandages around your… well we thought a little more room down there would be more comfortable." She laughed softly just before asking, "Does Jessie know you blush this much? Look at that, it's all the way down to your butt cheeks."

---

Jessie looked up when he heard a door open across the hall. He sat immobilized by fear and nerves as Dixon stepped out of the room and then he too froze as their eyes met. The boys rushed to each other and wept openly as they hugged each other tightly.

"I'm so sorry," Dixon said just as Jessie started talking at the same time.

"I'm sorry, Dixie," he whispered. The boys looked at each other and grinned. "Why are you sorry, Dixon? You didn't do anything wrong?"

"I made you think I was turning away from you, when I was trying to make room for you," Dixon said with a ragged voice. He was hardly breathing his emotions were so strong.

"You were making… Wait, when you said you were sleepy you meant…?"

"I meant that I was sleepy," Dixon answered emphasizing the last word and winking at Jessie. "When you left, I thought…."

"You thought that I didn't want to be sleepy with you," Jesse wept. "Dixie, I'm so, so sorry."

"Me too," Dixon started crying again as well.

"If you two don't get out of here, you'll have a lot more to be sorry about," Mrs. Amee told them. "You'll miss your own welcome home party."

"I know how to motivate them," Nurse Patty whispered in the old woman's ear. "Ok boys, I just have to check you one more time before you leave, so if you'll both drop your pants…."

"You have seen all you get to see," Dixon exclaimed as he grabbed Jessie's arm and started running for the elevator door at the end of the hall.

"Thank you for everything you did," Mrs. Amee told Nurse Patty. "I'm sure the boys will appreciate it as well, once they've had a little time to get over the embarrassment of it."

"You give them both a hug from me, and tell them they don't have to be hurt to come back and say hello," the nurse replied as she wiped tears from her eyes. "I'm going to miss having well behaved patients around here," she added as she saw KC and Joey peeking out of their door. "Come on out, you two," she told the little sneaks. "You can say goodbye to your friends before they go home."

"You'we weavin?" Joey asked Dixon.

"Yeah, little buddy," Dixon answered with a smile. "I'm finally going home." He was looking at Mrs. Amee when he said it, but then turned back to Joey. "I'll miss you little guy."

"Bud, you god a boyfwiend," Joey said sadly.

"A boyfriend never takes the place of other friends," Jessie told the little boy. "Maybe you can be my friend too?"

"YEAH!!!" the tyke yelled as he grabbed both Jessie and Dixon in a hug. "I godda go back do bed now. Daddy said he was gonna dake me do ged wunch bud, onwy if I ged sweep," he rambled softly before waving and walking back toward his room. "Bye."

"Take care of each other," KC said as he walked up to the boys.

"Thanks, KC," they said in unison, and then looked at each other in surprise.

"You know KC?" each asked.

"He told me you were here," Jessie answered first.

"He listened to me when I was crying 'cause I didn't know where you were," Dixon explained. Both boys turned to look at KC, who was blushing a little.

"Well, maybe the C stands for Cupid," he grinned. "See you around the skate parks," he added as he turned to leave. Jessie and Dixon each reached out and grabbed him, pulling him into a joint hug before he could get away.

"Thanks, dude," they both whispered.

"It was nothing," KC mumbled as he blushed again. "You guys take care of yourselves, ok?"

"We will," they agreed.

"You said you could feed me?" Jessie asked Mrs. Amee as she walked up. "I'm starved."

"Me too," Dixon agreed.

"Me three," Huey added.

"Oh my goodness," Mrs. Amee gasped as she clutched her chest suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Nurse Patty asked as she ran forward.

"I just realized there's going to be three boys in the house now," Mrs. Amee told her. "I'm going to have to get the kitchen remodeled to make room for the extra refrigerators." Nurse Patty laughed all the way back to the nurse's station as the three boys in question just groaned.

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To Be Continued ...

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