Our Boys

Someone Else's Son Pt. 1

Vik's concern for his new friend leads to a crisis for more than one family.

This is for sapphire1246 who asked for some Vikklan! It was originally only going to be a one shot but now I think it's going to be a mini-story on it's own :)

The football rolled free and the boys turned and chased it down the field. Vik ran as fast as his little legs would go to try to get there so he could kick the ball to Lachlan who would try to score the goal. Rob and Jerome were trying to kick the ball in the other direction to score for their team. From the sidelines, the screams and cheers of the parents and family members of the kids were loud and raucous.

Mitch cut across the field and kicked the ball away from Preston and accidentally knocked Lachlan down. Vik stopped to see if his new friend was alright before turning to see where the ball was. Rob and Jerome had moved the ball down the field and kicked it into goal. Both boys groaned their feelings, as they got ready for the next play.

When all was said and done, Vik's team lost by one goal but the boys were excited for it to have been so close. The other team had some bigger kids and JJ figured that Vik's team would be slaughtered on the field. It was also one of Vik's very first matches, after he'd joined the team wanting to follow in the steps of his older brothers. The fact that the boys had held their own was a minor miracle of sorts.

 The coach praised the boys lavishly as they gathered around the big cooler after shaking hands with the other team. Each boy received a cold Capri-sun drink. The leftovers were handed out among the siblings of the players. Josh and Ethan had come to watch that day and they received the last two just as Preston's little sister wandered over. JJ smiled as the two boys shared a look before Josh handed his to her, keeping one to share between themselves. He rested a hand on the boys shoulders and leaned down to whisper softly into their ears.

"That was a nice thing to do, kiddos. I'm very proud of you."

Josh and Ethan blushed under the praise and turned to see where Vik had gone off to. Seeing their baby brother sitting in the shade with Lachlan, they ran over to join them. JJ smiled again to see Vik hand off his drink too; the boys were very good about sharing. It was good to see Vik finally making friends with kids his own age too. For a long time the five year old had been very wary when it came to forming bonds with people outside the family, but that had all changed when he'd met Lachlan; or rather, the little Australian boy had followed Vik around for a good week at school, begging to be his friend before Vik gave in.

After helping the coach load the cooler and gear into the boot of one of the cars, JJ went to gather his boys to take them home. There was another man standing with the boys when he looked and he picked up the pace of his steps. The blond man was wiry and shabbily dressed, his body language was menacing and Ethan and Josh were trying to coax Vik away.

"Okay boys, all the gear is loaded, we should be on our way, the others will be expecting us," JJ announced loudly. The other man turned and JJ recognised him immediately, Lachlan's dad, Tom Power. "You missed a good game, the boys almost beat them today," JJ said as he took Vik's hand.

"I saw it. I was sitting over there by the bathrooms, watching. Come on boy, let's get going!"

Little Lachlan came to his feet and turned to look at Vik before following his father to the bus stop. JJ noticed that the boys were a little subdued on the ride home. He turned on the radio and within moments, Ethan was tapping his feet against the seat, Josh was humming along and Vik was asleep in his safety seat. The breeze from the window stirred his dark hair into tickling his nose and JJ smiled at the wrinkling and twitching that the little boy did as his hair blew around his face.