Memories Part 1: The Gathering

As they left Perkins, Teri was proud of her little troupe. She had expected at least some problems, especially considering that there were three boys in the group that she really knew nothing about. Sean and Cory made sure the new boys were included in the conversation; the adults didn't have to even speak up once to calm the discussions.

When they reached the vehicles, JJ stopped and asked Teri "Who's going to ride with who?"

"What do you mean? There's room enough for all of you kids in the Suburban; it DOES have nine seat belts! Cory and Sean can sit up front, you and the twins in the center, and the rest of the boys in back."

When he heard this, Ty bounced around as he exclaimed "YES! That means you get to sit with us, Adam!"

They all managed to get into the SUV without any problems, and shortly thereafter the convoy was on its way back to Teri's place. When they pulled into the drive, an awed Jacob announced "Wow, you guys have a nice place here! It's HUGE!"

Teri laughed. "For right now, at least, it's your place too. But don't become too attached to it, we are going to have to get a lots bigger place, especially if you guys get to stay."

Everyone piled into the house. Teri pulled Sean and Cory off to the side as they entered. "Boys; do you think you can be responsible for the rest of these guys in the pool for a little bit? It's still warm enough for you to all be out there for a while, but I want no horseplay."

They both nodded their heads yes, then Cory asked "What about suits? Sean and I are the only ones who have any here."

"That's a problem," Teri answered. "I guess the privacy fence will hide you all from the neighbors, so this time I'll let you guys skinny-dip. But, nobody goes any further than the pool room unless they have shorts on. Speaking of which; Cory, see if you can find two more pairs of shorts for the twins like the ones you gave Kyle."

"OK, mom; in fact, I think I'll grab clean shorts for all of us." Cory replied, and then took off to his bedroom.

Teri gathered the rest of the boys around her. "All of us adults need to sit and talk for a bit. Why don't you guys all go swimming in the pool, since most of you don't have suits, you can skinny-dip tonight. Sean and Cory are in charge; listen to them. Also, nobody comes in past the pool room without shorts on. Adam, you can get in the water as soon as I put some liquid bandage over your open sores, but no wrestling around or rough housing." She looked at the twins. "Cory is getting some shorts for you two to put on after you get out."

A few minutes later, Cory came bounding down the stairs with an armful of shorts; just as a blushing Adam came out of the bathroom wearing a towel, liquid bandage obvious on his chest and back. The twins stood frozen, shocked by the damage inflicted on Adam. Ty slowly walked up to his brother, tears streaming from his eyes. "I will NEVER forgive them for what they did to you!" he choked out. Ty then pulled Adam down so he could kiss his cheek, and whispered in his ear "I don't want you to ever leave me Adam."

"We will get over what they did to us together, Tyler. When I found out I had a little brother I was so happy, then I was told you were dead. Now that I'm with you, I never want to leave you again." Adam replied, tears welling in his own eyes.

The two brothers separated and joined the other boys. Sean led the group back through the rear mudroom to the pool changing room. The twins and Adam hesitated at first about showing themselves, but when they saw the rest just dropping their clothes and then walking around, Adam threw his towel into the corner and the twins pulled down their shorts.

Everyone just stood there for a minute, checking out each others bodies, and then Sean spoke up. "Okay, guys. First, now we can tell these two apart; Jacob's the one with the foreskin sticking past the end of his wand. Second, follow me; let's hit the pool!"

They walked through the doorway on the other side of the mud room, and everyone but Sean, Cory, and Ty stopped in wonder. There in front of them was a full-size Olympic swimming pool, surrounded by an eight-foot privacy fence. There was even a diving board at the far end and a slide at the shallow end!

Before anyone had time to recover, Sean spoke up. "Alright, here are the house rules. Nobody goes past that line in the middle, or uses the diving board, unless an adult is out here. Mom wants us to take it easy since we are by ourselves; but if Cory or me tells you to stop doing something, that means stop now. From personal experience, get wet before you try the slide. Now let's have some fun!"

Shortly a game of tag got started. It quickly became "dick tag", with each of them giving the tagee a thorough inspection while tagging them. The twins, especially Jacob, received more than their fair share of tags from Kyle and Ty.

Adam and JJ were the first to drift off to the side. They stood off in chest-deep water away from the others, facing each other with nervous smiles on their faces.

"Wanna play around?" JJ asked quietly.

Adam giggled. "Sure, but what if they notice?"

JJ smiled broadly. "The only ones who might care are the twins, maybe Ty too, but I doubt it. Everyone here is really cool about being gay, so it is not a big deal."

" Okay, if you say so, I'll trust you."

JJ slowly reached out and took Adam's boyhood into his hand. He gently caressed the most private places on Adam's body, marveling at the softness and the smoothness. Adam reached over and began doing the same to JJ, shyly exploring his new friend. JJ began investigating Adam's foreskin with his other hand, it was the first time he had even known someone who was uncut, and there was no chance of him skipping this chance to explore the rare find. Adam shuddered from the new sensation as he moved his other hand to join the first in it's explorations. They moved together slowly, their bodies instinctively moving to the sensations they were feeling. JJ moved one of his hands to the back of Adam's head and carefully pulled Adam's face to his. He began by just pressing his lips to Adam's, but then started trying to explore Adam's mouth with his tongue. To his surprise, Adam opened immediately, trying to passionately explore with his own tongue. It took a minute for them to sort out what to do, but shortly they were tongue wrestling like pros. All thoughts of the others were gone from their minds as the sensory overload drove them to the edge. Both boys started moaning, the sound being muffled by each other's mouths but still audible. Suddenly, they broke the lip lock; and as their bodies spasmed uncontrollably, a loud groan escaped uncontrolled from both of their mouths. Both boys' bodies became stiff; a few seconds later, they collapsed against each other.

Adam recovered first, and as he looked up, he turned beet red. "Oh, shit! JJ, turn around, please?"

JJ looked at Adam, saw his blush, and turned around. Once both boys were turned, a round of applause rang through the pool area. All six of the other boys were sitting on the edge of the pool, smiling as they clapped their hands. They continued clapping as they all stood up.

Sean went into the water, and came up to the two boys. "That was awesome, guys! I wish I had a camera when you both got off; it was unreal! Let's join the rest of the guys; you need to rest after all that."

The two beet-red boys followed Sean to the end of the pool and climbed out. Cory met them there, and asked with a giggle "Does that mean you are boyfriends now?"

It was the perfect thing to say to break the embarrassment, as both JJ and Adam giggled and nodded their heads. Everyone was standing together, congratulating the new couple, when Jamie suddenly spoke up.

"Did that feel as good as it looked like it did from here?"

Adam smiled, "Yep, it felt awesome!"

"I can't even guess how to say how good it felt!" JJ chimed in.

Jacob giggled. "It feels good when Jamie and I touch each other in the bathtub too, but we don't make funny noises like you two did!"

Jamie blushed redder than a fire engine. "I can't believe you just told them that!" he said as he playfully slapped Jacob.

Everybody laughed, and after then Sean spoke up. "Hey, guys, I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry. Let's go get dressed so we can raid the 'fridge. All this swimming and watching those two make out has made me hungry!" When Sean saw the looks JJ and Adam were giving him, he decided it would be best to run into the house before they strangled him.

JJ and Adam took off after him; by the time the rest of the boys caught up to them in the pool room, Adam had Sean pinned on the floor while JJ was tickling him unmercifully.

The boys managed to get dressed after a few minutes without any further incidents. Cory had planned ahead; as he passed out the clothes, he announced loudly that Jamie was getting the red shorts and shirt, while Jacob was going to be in all yellow. "Now you can stay dressed when anyone need to know who is who!" Kyle quipped. This brought a round of giggles from everyone, and they headed out to invade the kitchen with smiles on their faces.

In record time, the counter was filled with tubs of ice cream, toppings, and dishes. As the boys systematically destroyed the kitchen, the adults came out of the office. As soon as they saw the kids happily competing to create the grossest combination, they all broke into laughter.

"Do you clowns realize you have to clean up before you eat those?" Teri chuckled.

Eight grinning faces smiled back at her, then returned to the mayhem.

Dan shook his head. "I think I'll go check messages on my answering machine really fast. I'm gaining weight just watching this bunch!" He then headed back into the office.

A few minutes later, Dan yelled out "OH MY GAWD!"

Teri and John rushed into the room. "What's wrong, Dan?" Teri asked.

"Listen to this!" Dan replied.

Dan placed the phone on speaker, and replayed the message he had just heard.

"Dan, this is your aunt, Ann Richardson, from Lexington, Kentucky. I just finally caught up with Jeremy and Sarah, and they told me what happened. I am sending an e-mail which will explain further; but to make it short, you are my eldest son. The e-mail has the details of what happened after you were born. I have already explained everything to your brothers; Jerald Jr., Kevin, and Tim, and they look forward to the possibility of meeting with you. I sincerely hope one day you will be able to forgive me, and that we will be able to meet."

Dan pressed nine to save the message, and then looked over to Teri. "Could I possibly borrow your computer for a few minutes?"

"By all means, Dan. The Internet lockout is engaged, so I'll have to log in for you first." Teri replied as she turned on the system. Once she was logged in, she disengaged the lock and turned the computer over to Dan. She then headed towards the kitchen to see just how bad the boys and the kitchen looked.

 

The boys had decided to pair off while eating the ice cream. Sean and Cory were feeding each other, with the pairs of Adam and JJ, Kyle and Ty, and Jacob and Jamie copying them. Just as Tyler managed to insert the latest spoonful in a giggling Kyle's mouth; they all froze as they heard Dan yell from the office.

"HOLY SHIT! My BROTHER is Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys!!!"

Eight mouths dropped open, as the spoons fell unnoticed to the floor. There was a stunned silence as their young minds processed the information they had just heard. They then suddenly jumped off of the barstools and stampeded into the office, screaming "NO WAY!" as they barreled through the doorway.

As they crowded around the adults trying to see if it was for real, Dan spoke out. "Hold it, give me a minute and I will print it out so you can all see it." He printed the e-mail and passed it to Cory. "Cory, why don't you read this out loud to everyone for me?"

Cory glanced at the paper in his hand, and then began reading aloud.

Date: August 21, 2004

To: danscotrichard@yahoo.com

From: arichardson1@hotmail.com

Subject: Hello, Daniel:

You may not remember me. I'm your Aunt Anne from Lexington, Kentucky. We haven't seen each other in many years, but I know that you are doing well for yourself in Des Moines. I want to express my deepest sympathy for the loss of your lovely wife, Sharon. I know that she will be sorely missed by you and your family.

The reason that I am contacting you now, after all these years, is because I need to be truthful to myself, to you, and to your brothers. Yes, you have brothers, three younger brothers, to be exact. I am just going to come right out and say it; you are my son, Daniel Scott Richardson.

When your father Jerald Sr and I were younger, we had a boy, you. We were barely struggling to make ends meet, and we couldn't support a child. So we agreed to let Jerald's brother, Jeremy, and his wife Sarah raise you as their own son. We gave you up so that you could have a better life than we could ever give you. Three years later, when things were looking up for us, we had another son, Jerald Jr. Your Dad and I started to look for you, but Jeremy and Sarah had moved away, and we had lost contact. We never gave up looking for you. Two years later, in 1969, Tim was born, and in 1971, Kevin was born.

Daniel, you have a family that loves you very much, and would like to be there for you right now. You have a wonderful aunt and uncle, Jackie and Harold Littrell Sr. You also have three wonderful cousins, Harold Littrell, Jr and Brian Littrell, and Chip Dodds. Kevin and Brian are part of the Backstreet Boys, and Chip is a Commander in Starfleet, assigned to the Starship Enterprise.

Kevin is married to a wonderful girl, Kristin, and Chip is married to a wonderful boy, Joshua. Chip and Joshua also have an angel for a son, Justin.

Please allow us the chance to become a family again. I have always loved you, son. I want you to believe that.

If you wish to get in contact with Kevin, his email address is ksrichardson@jive.com. You can contact Chip at cbdodds@starfleet.net; Joshua at jcchasez-dodds@jive.com; or Brian at btlittrell@jive.com.

Take care of yourself

Anne Richardson

The room fell silent as Cory finished the letter. After about a minute, Kyle spoke in a small voice. "Daddy, when do we get to meet Uncle Kevin?"

"I'll tell you what," Dan replied after a moment's pause, "I'll write an email tonight and we will see if we can all get together soon. I have always known that I was adopted; Jeremy and Sarah never kept that from me. They told me that someday they would find my mother and reunite us. I'm not sure who found who, but it looks like you guys finally will get to meet your grandparents. Why don't all of you go out and finish your ice cream, and I'll get a couple of very important emails sent out."

Reminded of their food, the boys returned to the kitchen. They picked up their spoons off the floor, tossed them in the sink, and then resumed eating with some clean spoons. There was no conversation, each boy deep in thought about the news in the email that they just heard. As they finished, Adam spoke up.

"Man, JJ. I can't believe it! You and Kyle have an UNCLE in Backstreet!"

"Adam, you are wrong on one thing," JJ replied, "he is OUR uncle. Me, Sean, Cory, and Kyle swore that we would be brothers forever. You, Ty, Jacob, and Jamie are a part of that now. Even if we are not related by family, you are all my brothers, which means any relatives of mine are yours too."

Teri and Dan walked up to the boys with smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. "Did you guys really do that?" Dan asked.

"Yep, we did. It's okay, ain't it dad?" JJ responded, while giving Dan the puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, JJ, it's fine. I'll just have to get used to having a whole bunch of sons; and I'm proud of all of you."

At that, the entire group of boys mobbed Dan and Teri, enveloping them in a massive group hug.

John and Joe were standing in the foyer outside the office, watching the happenings in the kitchen. "Now that's a Kodak moment," Joe stated. "It would be better if CPS was willing to release the twins for adoption, but at least they agreed to long-term foster care with Teri for now."

"True." John replied. "The best thing for those boys is a stable family, and I very much doubt their parents will be authorized to get them back. Hopefully sometime soon, CPS will release them for adoption."

Teri and Dan finally managed to escape the mob surrounding them. "Boys," Dan chuckled, "we actually just came out to get some drinks. I just finished sending emails to your grandma and Uncle Kevin, so this should surprise them. I still have to send out some to Chip and Brian, so I'll be a little bit. I was wondering one thing; you guys are all excited about your Uncle Kevin, what about Brian, or Chip's husband, Joshua?"

"We know Brian's a part of Backstreet too, but what do you mean about Joshua?" Sean asked with a puzzled look.

Teri smiled, then walked over to the intercom unit on the wall and placed one of the boys' CD's in the player. She selected the track she knew would spark their thoughts, and then pressed PLAY.

The first notes of "Bye, Bye, Bye" from N'Sync's "No Strings Attached" CD filled the house. You could hear the boy's jaws popping as they dropped when each of them realized who Joshua was.

Surprisingly, Jacob was the first to be able to speak. "Holy smoke! Joshua is JC in N'SYNC! AWESOME!! When do we get to meet him??!!"

Dan chucked. "I don't know yet, buddy. With him and Chip having a son, plus his band schedule, it might take a bit. Let me go finish the emails, we might know in a few days."

Dan grabbed his drink, and then went back to the computer. As he was pressing SEND on Brian's email, the last one he had to do, his Inbox suddenly had two messages in it. The first one was from Ann.

Thank you so much for responding, son. It made me cry with joy to see that you took not knowing who your birth parents were and turned it into a career of helping children without loving families recover. I still feel a little guilt, even though you told me not to. Kevin should be sending you an email soon, he is making travel arrangements so that some of us can be there with you and the boys in your time of need. Give everyone my regards, and I will see you soon.

Love, Mom

Dan wiped his eyes, and quietly called Teri over. "Look at this, it's more than I ever expected."

Teri read the message as Dan was printing it, then gave him a hug. "Congratulations, Dan. She seems really nice; I hope this all works out."

Dan went to open the second message, when a third appeared. As soon as he saw the address, he decided to open it first.

**OFFICIAL DISPATCH FROM USS Enterprise**

From: Captain James T. Kirk

To: Mr. Daniel S. Richardson

Daniel;

On behalf of the officers and crew of the USS Enterprise, I wish to extend our condolences for the recent passing of your wife, Sharon. In addition, I wish to personally express my sympathy to you and your sons. I am personally making arrangements for Commander Dodds to be present to support you and the boys. If there is anything you need, please feel free to contact me through Starfleet headquarters.

Respectfully;

Captain James T. Kirk

USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A

** END DISPATCH FROM USS Enterprise**

"Teri, you might want to load the printer, I think all the boys should get a copy of this." Dan stated with a grin. "It's not every day someone gets a letter from Captain Kirk."

The next email he opened was from Brian.

Daniel;

Hey cuz! I'm so glad to find out I have another cousin, Welcome to the family! Even though the circumstances are not good, I still look forward to meeting you and the boys. Tell them I said Hi, and assuming Kev does not screw up and send us to Alaska, I should see them soon. Yep, your little brother is arranging the travel plans, and I would advise against letting him do it too often. Hehehe. On a serious note, I would like to extend my condolences for Sharon's passing to you and the boys. I will see y'all soon; take care.

Brian

"Oh my God!" Dan laughed. "The boys are gonna LOVE him!"

He went back to his inbox, and then exclaimed, "Holy shit, I don't believe this! Joshua emailed me; I sent one to Chip, but not him!" Dan decided he might as well open it before he opened Kevin's mail, since it seemed to be a conspiracy to make Kevin's the last one.

Daniel;

Welcome to the family! Ever since your Mom contacted us, Justin has been asking every five minutes when he will get to meet your boys. I would have written earlier, but I had to wait for the tornado to wind down and fall asleep. I would like to extend our condolences from my family to yours on Sharon's passing; if there is anything we can do to help you out I insist you ask. I have been in contact with Starfleet, so Chip has been kept up-to-date on everything as fast as I hear it. Starfleet is helping arrange transportation, so Kevin should not get us too lost getting over there to see you. Don't worry; your brother is actually really cool, just a little dizzy. I better go now, the munchkin is awake again, and it is impossible to type when he is active. We will see you soon; take care of your boys.

Joshua, Chip, and Justin

Dan had to smile reading Joshua's email, Justin sounded just like a few boys right here. He could just imagine what one more energetic boy would be like. He looked at his inbox, and saw that there were no new arrivals, so he finally opened Kevin's email.

Daniel;

Hey bro, how ya doin? Kristin and I send our condolences about Sharon, we are really sorry we never got to meet her. I'm looking forward to meeting you and my nephews; we have a lot of catching up to do! By the way, if any of our cousins make any remarks about me, ignore them. Unless they are good ones; which never happens. I will email you tomorrow morning with arrival times for everyone, so we will see you soon!

Kevin & Kristin

Dan shook his head in disbelief, without even seeing any of his family; he already felt a part of it. He printed out copies of the rest of the emails, and passed them around to Joe, John, and Teri.

John looked at Teri as she handed him the copies. "Teri, could you make sure I'm up by 5:00? I called in to the station while you guys were getting the email. I need to be at the airport to meet the Governor"

"No problem, John. I'm probably going to be up anyway, it will be the only time I have a chance for quiet, since the boys will all be asleep."

"Thanks, Teri"

The adults decided they better check on the boys. It was not too hard to find them; the giggles coming from the Rec room pretty much gave away their location. Adam and Jacob were deep into a video game, with everyone else cheering them on and wrestling around.

"Sean, Cory; get over here!" Teri said in a mock stern voice.

The boys jumped up. "Yes, mom?"

"Go get some blankets, pillows, and quilts; it's getting late. I'm gonna let y'all camp out down here tonight. The TV gets shut off in fifteen minutes!"

"Okay, Mom." Sean replied "but do we HAVE to shut it off in fifteen minutes? Jacob is kicking Adam's butt, Adam needs a chance to catch up."

"Sean Michael, what did I say?"

"Yes mom." Sean pouted, as him and Cory headed to get everything.

Fifteen minutes later, the kids were finally paired off and cuddled up on the floor. As Teri dimmed the lights as low as they would go, she wondered how they could be comfortable. The boys had managed to lay in such a way that each of them was touching at least two others, either with hands, feet, chest or back.

The adults sat down for some tea, and then Joe headed out to go home. "I'll call y'all tomorrow, I better get some sleep."

The next morning, Dan got up when Teri woke John. They had a cup of coffee before John left, then sat and reviewed the events of the previous day. Dan went in to check his email, at first the mailbox was empty, but as he was just getting ready to close it a message appeared.

Dan;

Your little bro is spazing at meeting you, so I had to do it for him. I've got 2 words for ya; WE'RE HEEERRRREEEE!!!!

Brian

Just then, there was a loud BOOM, and the sound of little feet running to the Rec room window.

Cory suddenly yelled, "KEWL!!! It's a Federation shuttle!"