Gale ran around his parents home looking into the rooms in his search to find his friends.  The children of Amphitrite and Poseidon had been staying with them for a couple of days while Brook learnt to control her powers, and Gale loved it.  It gave him someone to play with.  He particularly loved Brook, who was his age.  The two had a lot of fun together.  He ran towards the guest room where the three where staying, checking in the the rooms between where he was and there.  He had checked his play room and they hadn't been there or in the kitchen.  As he came towards the room he slipped and fell head first into the door, making a loud bang.  He sat on the floor, head in his hands as he tried not to cry.  Dakota never cried and he wanted to be like him.

word count:148
tags: Dakota, Danielle, @pastfuture, Apollo and Gabriel

Dakota heard a loud bang and headed out to see what the noise was, seeing Gale on the ground he hurried over to him. "What's wrong what happened?" He asked kneeling down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to get him to look up at him. He hated it when the others got hurt he felt like he had failed in his job to protect them, being the oldest made him feel responsible for them all, but especially Gale because he was the youngest, born two months after Brooklyn. "Come on tell me what's wrong and if I can't fix it I'll get your dads and see if they can okay Gale?"

Words: 116

As hard as he tried not to, Gale still found himself crying when the older boy spoke. His head hurt from its connection with the door. "I slipped and hit the door", he mumbled, as he tried to discretely wipe the tears from his eyes before he looked up at the older boy. "I okay it just hurt", he continued, eyes betraying him as tears fell from them again. He hadn't wanted Dakota to see that he was crying. He knew Dakota wouldn't need his dads to help him if it had been him who had slipped and he didn't want them to have to help him either. He wanted to be strong like Dakota.

Word Count: 115

Dakota's hurt when he realized that Gale was crying he gathered him into his arms hugging him close, shushing him as he gently felt his head for the bump, it didn't seem to bad and he was careful not to touch it and make it hurt more. "It's okay to cry when it hurts, you don't have to be ashamed, everyone cries." He tells him, rubbing his back hoping that the tears stopped soon he hated it when any of them cried but especially Gale, it made him feel funny inside and he knew that he didn't like it. "I know it hurt but I got you, want me to kiss it better?" He asked, still stroking his back. "Kisses always make things better."

Words: 124

Gale cried softly into the older boys embrace, stiffening slightly at his words. Gale forced the tears to stop, "You don't", he stated. Gale had never seen Dakota cry once when he had hurt himself. "I wanna be strong like you", he mumbled more to himself then Dakota. The words helping him get control of his tears. "I'm okay", he continued, pulling back slightly to look at the older boy, sniffling slightly. "I'm a big boy, I don't need kisses to make me fell better", he replied. His resolve holding strong even with his eyes red from tears. "Where is Dany and Brook?", he asked Dakota. He worried that they had gone home and Dakota would have to join them. He hated when the other kids left. He never had anyone to play with when they where gone.

word count: 138
Dakota

"I do cry not often but I do cry." He tells him, feeling bad that Gale thought that his tears made him not strong, when he was younger he used to cry himself to sleep wondering why his parent's didn't love or stay around for him and his sister. "There are in the other room packing we have to go home tonight Brook said that Amphitrite and Poseidon are coming back tonight, and we want to be back before they come home, come on you can come help us pack, and if we have time we can probably play some games or have diner it smells like pizza." He said sniffing the air, standing up holding Gale before putting him down and taking his hand leading him to the room which they stayed in.

Words: 134

Gale shook his head, "I have never seen you", he replied. Gale pouted when he heard that they where packing, "Do you have to go?", he asked. He wanted them to stay all the time. It was boring here alone, "If you must go maybe I can go with you", he replied looking hopeful as they walked into the room together. Once in the room Gale pulled his hand out of Dakota's and moved to sit on one of the beds watching them. He didn't want to help them leave him again he just wanted them to stay and he knew it was silly but if they didn't get ready they could really leave could they. He could only hope anyway.

Word count: 121

"I don't like crying in front of people." He tells him, reluctantly he started to pack his bags he much preferred to stay at Gale's house but they couldn't stay forever they had to go home unfortunately, he wished that they could say but it wasn't possible, because Apollo and Gabriel had only said that they could stay until their parent's got home which would be in a couple of hours unfortunately, maybe they would ask them to stay he loved Apollo and Gabe they made them feel welcome and at home which is something that their biological parents never did.

Words: 101

Danielle smiled, "He cried like a little girl when we where younger", she said with a wink at the younger boy. "Every time our parents left us I heard him", she teased her older brother, smiling only slightly as she packed her stuff in her bags, helping Brook as she went. She didn't want to go home to the parents who where never there. Once she had got control over her powers over the currents, her parents had had very little time for her. Danielle had thought it might get better when Brook was born but their parent's hadn't changed. Danielle looked back up from her packing and met the eyes of the younger boy. "We don't want to have to go home Gale, but if you help us we might have time for a game before we leave", she stated kindly.

Word count: 142

"Help p'ease Gale?" Brooklyn asked turning her unseeing green eyes pleadingly at Gale, walking over and taking his hand. "If you help we can play a game and have dinner." She tells him with a secretive smile, she knew that Apollo and Gabriel were going to ask them to stay and that they were going to stay but she didn't want to ruin the surprise for the rest of them so she said nothing and let them pack. "Guess what, there's pizza for dinner and fruit salad for dessert, and juice, lots of yummy yummy juice, so help please so we can get some yummy pizza?"

Words: 106

Gale looked at Dakota, still not able to imagine him crying, especially not like a girl. Gale got up at Brooklyn's insistence and helped her pack her things, "Mmmm pizza. Dinner is going to be good", he said before thinking for a moment. "You know if you asked, my dads might let you live here", he said, looking excited and hopeful at the other three. "You would never have to go home cause your home would be here", he continued. They may all be kids but they still had chooses and that didn't they? He knew they all had many decisions ahead of them and if he only knew how to use his powers he might be able to get his dads to make the offer to them as if it was there own free thought.

Word count: 136

"Yeah maybe, but maybe not, I don't want to ask and them think we're being rude so that we can't stay here again." He tells Gale, he had thought about it before and wasn't sure if he should ask, it didn't seem like the right thing to do, He glared at his sister, a light blush on his cheeks. "Be quite, Dani, you cry all the time, and I don't cry like a girl, I cry like a boy a really manly boy." He tells her with a scowl, finishing his packing before going to help Gale and Brook, so that they could play for a bit before dinner was ready.

Words: 111

Danielle giggled at her brother, "dah, I'm a girl. I'm allowed to cry", she replied, laughing at her brothers blush as she finished her packing and sat on the bed waiting for the others to finish. Four sets of hands would simply be to much for packing her sisters stuff. She noticed one of her sisters toys on the ground and picked it up, fiddling with it in her hands. She couldn't help but think about Gale's words. Like her brother, she knew they could never ask Gabe and Apollo to take them in but if they offered it would be a dream come true for her and her siblings. He knew she should love her parents but she could seem to make herself. They had never been there for her and she had always wished to be away from them. She let out a soft sigh then forced a smile when she heard Apollo call them for dinner.

word count: 159

"Dinners ready." Brooklyn said with a grin, dropping her clothes and running towards the kitchen, she knew her way around here like the back of her hand so her loss of eyesight never affected her when she was here but when she was in the other place, she couldn't seem to remember where everything was and had the horrible habit of running into things, which hurt, she didn't like it there very much, she made her way to her usual chair, taking a seat and reaching out and grabbing a piece of pizza which was already warm so it wasn't too hot or cold. She munched away on it throwing Apollo and Gabriel a smile, before going back to her pizza.

Words: 121

Gale sighed, he supposed he should have known they wouldn't want to ask. He placed the items he help into Brook's open bag and moved slowly towards the door. "They would never say you aren't welcome here", he stated, hoping it was true. Gale sat on a bed again, suddenly not wanting to go to dinner because it would mean his friends would have to leave soon. He wondered why Brook had seemed so happy. When Dakota and Dani headed for the door Gale got up to follow them to the kitchen. He could only hope that they wouldn't have to leave later.

word count: 103