A couple of months later….

Cailin slowly opens the door, finding a troubled looking Finley that sits in the corner of the room on his bed. He has his knees brought up to his chest, arms around his legs, and tries to close himself in. Finley has always said that if the place feels smaller, then answers will come more quickly, for there are less places for questions to hide. Cailin loves the thought of that. He could not stop smiling for hours after Finley had told him that theory. He has been catching the blonde going into small places to think things through, or to just help him get his bearings together, for a while now. The opposite of Cailin. Just thinking about going into small spaces has Cailin feeling ill.

The older boy closes the door behind him. He walks over to the bed, sitting down on the edge to give Finley a little space from other people. "I thought you were going to go through with it."

"So did I," Finley mumbles shortly after, eyes still cast down to the bed beneath him with a thoughtful look on his face. "I don't know what happened. I just got scared." 

Cailin sighs. "Well. Penelope is worried about you as usual, and probably won’t stop worrying until you tell her what’s wrong. You've crunched your time today."

Finley then sighs, nodding solemnly. "I know…."

The brunette stares at him for a couple of seconds, before blowing air through his nose. He turns so he is all the way on the bed, crossing his legs, and holding his arms out. "Come here."

Finley immediately unfolds himself, crawling over to his friend. He places himself sideways between Cailin's legs, letting his head fall on his chest, and knees over his thigh. The other boy wraps his arms around him tightly. "You need to stop overthinking. You won’t have an exciting life if you continuously question if it's the right thing to do." 

Finley looks up at him with a confused expression. "You're saying I shouldn't question whether what I’m doing is right or wrong? I should just go ahead and kill the man?"

Cailin throws his head back and laughs. The blonde giggles as Cailin cuddles into him, rubbing Finley's back reassuringly. "You know what I mean. Of course, with those types of decisions, please for the love of dragons, question it."

Finley giggles some more, before nodding. The blue-eyed boy sighs. "I'm talking about the smaller things. The things that shouldn't stress you out. Things that have easy answers, and you know they do."

"You're saying I should just tell them," Finley questions, and the brunette rests his head on top of his. 

"I'm saying that you already know the answer. You just want to think about it some more, because you can. You're procrastinating."

Finley does not say anything for a moment, before sighing lightly. "Yeah…. I guess you're right. But I don't want to tell them yet, it doesn't feel like the right time."

“Mhm.”

“I'm being serious! I will tell her. I promise, I won't let it eat at her forever. Just not now."

Cailin is quiet for a couple seconds, before nodding. "Alright, whatever you say. But let's finish the food, yeah?" He suggests, just as his stomach grumbles.

Finley lets out a laugh. "Okay, tubby."

"I'm not fat!"

"I didn't say you were fat, I said you’re tubby."

"What's the difference?"

"The... words."

"You know, I have you trapped here, I would watch your vocabulary.”

Finley tenses when he feels a single finger sliding up and down his side. It is a feather touch that has an unbearable sensation, and he squirms. "Okay, okay, I’m sorry! Let's eat, let's eat," he yells quickly. Cailin grins evilly, letting him go. He watches the blonde jump away from him in amusement. 

Cailin gets up, and silently walks back towards the door. He opens it, walking back into the dining room, where Penelope gives him a worried look when she notices Finley is not with him. He has decided to stay back to calm down a bit more.

Cailin grins teasingly. "He's fine. He was just thinking really quick," he states.

Penelope relaxes, nodding, with a smile. "Thank you, Cay."

"No problem."

***

Cailin, Finley, Ella, Julian, and Sarah are out collecting food for the kitchens in the back gardens. Many other students joined them in wanting to pitch in and help the farmers after school. "Why are we out here again?” Ella whines suddenly as she picks out the weeds in the gardens. 

Finley smiles at her as he checks all the tomatoes, making sure they are ripe, before ripping it off the stem. He places them in his basket. "Because it's fun. And it feels nice out today, imagine the tan I’ll get," he states, earning a teasing smile from his friend.

"A tan?! You mean a burn?!" Finley hears Cailin shout across the field, and the blonde rolls his eyes, deciding not to entertain him.

"I've never picked tomatoes before!" Sarah begins happily, picking another one and placing it in her own basket. A big smile is on her face as she has the time of her life.

Finley grins down at her, randomly loving the fact that their clothes are matching. Once Finley stated he wanted to help out in the gardens today, Sarah immediately wanted to tag along and demanded they wear matching overalls. So they are. The blonde wears adorable jean overalls, along with Sarah, except Finley wears a straw hat to keep the sun off his face. It is usually the first thing on his body that burns. He let his hair loose, noticing how long it had gotten, reaching his elbows. He makes a mental note to let his mother cut it later today.

Of course, everybody wears large gloves, carrying around tools and supplies. Julian walks around with a garden hose, watering all the plants around the sidewalks. He sometimes even waters Ella to spite her, who does not mind, because it cools her off. Cailin works in the corn field, not too far away from the three. He picks corn, placing them in his own basket.

"What's next after these?" Sarah questions and Finley looks around, spotting some bails under an apple tree.

"Next are apples. Fill this basket up first," he responds, earning a nod from the young girl as she continues walking along the tomatoes. She picks up the ripe ones, seeming to know herself which ones are ripe and which ones aren’t, but she double checks occasionally with Finley anyways. 

"You know, weeding gets kind of boring after a while!" Ella yells loudly, earning another spray of water from Julian. 

"Then take care of the grapevines!" Finley suggests to her, pointing along the fence where grapes grow over large baskets that sit untouched.

Ella's head falls against her shoulders and she groans. "How much longer?!"

Finley rolls his eyes yet again as he picks another tomato. "You can go back inside if you want too, Ella. Nobody is keeping you here."

Ella is silent for a moment, before picking herself up and walking to the grapevines. Finley bites his bottom lip to keep from smiling. "Fin…." He hears Sarah mumble, and he turns to her.

"Yes?"

"There's a boy staring at you. By the barn."

The blonde pulls his head up, glancing over to said barn where he can see Myles standing. He looks freshly washed, with new clothes that fit him well on his body. Even if he has been at the KSDL for only a couple of weeks, he already looks a lot healthier.

Finley smiles, handing the basket over to Sarah, without looking at her. "Hold this for me, I may be a while." Finley then makes his way out of the tomato field, Cailin watching him with squinted eyes as the blonde jogs over to where Myles stands silently. "Hey! It feels so good to see that you're okay. How is your sister doing?" He asks, smiling brightly when Myles gives him a small grin, of course, not responding.

"I'm guessing she's doing well with the smile you wear?" He questions. Myles gives him a nod, before turning his gaze to the barn, more so the horses.

Finley follows his glance and gets excited. "Would you like to meet the horses?"

Myles's cheeks pink and shakes his head, looking shy. Finley's smile becomes teasing as he walks over to the barn gates, opening them to beckon the silent boy to follow. "Come on, they're sweet. You know you want to, too."

Myles hesitates, before taking a step closer to the older boy. The blonde takes this as an agreement, so he leads Myles into the barn. The horses, like they always do when Finley arrives, poke their heads out of their stalls. They snicker, shaking their heads.

Finley comes up to the first stall with a smile. It is his favorite horse, a beautiful white mare named Lana. He places a hand on her cheek, lightly petting her as he looks over to Myles, who looks slightly hesitant. "Come over here, she won't bite. She's the sweetest out of all of them."

The young boy slowly makes his way closer, Lana turning her head to the other male curiously. He flinches, taking a step back. Lana huffs and Finley giggles. "Don't be scared, she's just looking at you."

Myles swallows before coming up to Lana again. The mare rests her head against his chest, snorting. The blonde smiles wide. "She likes you!"

The other boy gives a small grin, before laying his hand on her cheek. He lightly pets her like he saw Finley doing before. The blonde sets his hands on his hips. "Do you think Candy would like the horses?" The silent boy perks up at this, nodding. Finley grins. "I would be happy to teach her how to ride one. Penelope taught me when I was ten years old, me and Cailin both."

Myles blinks before nodding again, and the blonde tilts his head. "When do you think Candy will be getting out of the emergency care?"

Myles hesitates. He looks down at Lana, who has raised her head again to go back to Finley, who absently runs his fingers through her hair. Then, the brunette puts up 4 fingers, and Finley frowns. "4 weeks?" He questions and the other boy nods. 

Finley huffs. "That's a long time." Myles nods sadly, and the blonde tilts his head. "Have they given you a nanny yet?"

Myles nods again, kneeling on the ground and writing the name in the dirt. Finley’s eyebrows raise. "Nanny Williams? I hear a lot about him, he's been waiting to care for children for 20 years!"

The brunette looks up at him and shrugs, Finley grinning sympathetically. "It must be hard for you to trust another parental figure after what you must have gone through."

Myles's eyes turn haunted, and he does not give any gestured responses. He stares down at the ground, and Finley all of a sudden feels very guilty. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. I won't again if it upsets you."

Myles blinks, coming out of whatever trance he was in, and nods once. The blonde clears his throat uncomfortably. "Will you be joining school with us? Maybe becoming a nanny yourself?"

The dark eyed boy bites his bottom lip, and Finley guesses it was to stop him from smiling. He shakes his head. "No…. Not being a nanny?" Myles nods, looking up at the other boy as if he is crazy, and Finley shrugs. "Don't give me that look, I see how you care for your sister. You should consider it. My mother tells me all about getting ready to be a nanny, she says it's all sorts of fun."

The blonde’s eyes brighten. "Maybe she can be your mentor! She is a lovely person; you will love her! She's understanding, loving, is very patient, and likes just about everybody she can. She's the perfect match for you." Myles trains his eyes to the horse again, looking troubled. He does not gesture anything as Finley continues, on a roll. "Oh my gosh! It would be so cute if you nannied for children with hearing disabilities! Since you don't talk; I’m guessing you know sign language, don't you?"

The silent boy nods slowly, and Finley giggles excitedly. "It would be so cute if you nannied for children that need that help. There aren't many nannies that are up to the task."

Myles looks up at the other boy, not gesturing anything, but the smile on his face is bigger than he has ever seen it. "See? Even you like the idea. Ask Williams about it. He is very trusting, open up to him. I'm sure Candy would love to see you enter the program."

Myles sits down on the ground, shrugging again, and Finley grins, letting it go.  

"Hey, Fin." The blonde looks up, smiling at Cailin as the older boy smiles back. "Come help me with the apples, we can feed them to the horses afterwards."

Finley's eyes brighten again, and he nods excitedly. He looks back down to Myles, who is beginning to stand up. "I'm sure you have to go back to see Candy. I'll see you later then?"

Myles simply nods with a small grin, and the other boy nods back. "Good! I'll hold you to that.” He walks over to Cailin, who opens the gate for him, and they both begin to walk over to the apple trees.