Author's website: http://www.1freespace.com/linda1

Disclaimer: Ray, Barbara and Damien Kowalski belong to Alliance Communications.

Author's Notes:

Story Notes: A third Ray as a boy story.

This story is a sequel to: Report Card

Eleven year old Ray Kowalski stood at the window looking up and down the street for a sign of his father's truck. He was excited, his small body wriggling with unsustained energy as he craned his neck to look up the street.

"Stanley," his mother walked into the room. "What an earth are you doing?"

"Looking out for Dad," Ray turned slightly. "So I'll be ready when he gets here," he turned back to his surveillance of the street.

Barbara smiled to herself as she looked at her watch - it read two o'clock. "He won't be here for another hour or so," she said moving over to her son. "And you have been ready since this morning." She kissed the top of his head.

"I know Mum," Ray beamed up at her, his blue eyes shining. "But I can't wait."

"I know that too sweetheart," she smiled down at him. Barbara knew that her youngest son was excited - he had been bouncing off the walls all day asking her every five minutes or so when his Dad was getting home. Damien was taking his two sons away for the weekend on a fishing trip, and Stanley had spent all week in a state of noisy and restless excitement marking off the days on his calendar. "Why don't you come and help me make some sandwiches for your trip?" she suggested. "It will make the time go faster."

Ray took a glance out of the window looking up and down the street as he considered. "OK," he finally decided. "Can we have peanut butter?" he said as he skipped ahead of his mother. "And chocolate spread?"

"Perhaps we ought to make some sandwiches that your Dad and Christian might like as well," Barbara laughed at her youngest son's enthusiasm and excitement. She sat him at the table with the bread, a knife and the butter dish. She moved around the kitchen collecting the ingredients she needed for the sandwiches. "Mum," Ray said as he carefully spread butter on the bread. "Will you be lonely without us?" He paused in his task looking up at his mother.

Barbara chuckled at the serious little face looking up at her. "No love," she replied with a small smile. "I have lots of things I want to do with you boys out of the house." She leaned over ruffling his blonde hair. "And you'll be back on Sunday night," Barbara passed him an opened jar of peanut butter.

"Will you miss us?" Ray asked as he painstakingly started to spread the peanut butter on the bread. "We'll miss you," he smiled up at his mother.

"Of course I'll miss my boys," Barbara smiled at Ray. "But I know that the three of you will have a good weekend together. And you can tell me all about it when you get home. OK?"

"OK Mum," Ray beamed again as he handed his completed sandwiches for her to wrap. Barbara busied herself wrapping the sandwiches, and placing them carefully in the box of provisions she had prepared for the weekend trip, briefly checking the contents. She listened as Ray happily chatted to her telling her about all the things they planned to do over the weekend.

"It sounds as if you are going to have a wonderful time," Barbara patted Ray's arm as she started to clear the table of the sandwich making equipment.

"Yeah," Ray beamed as he brought a bowl to the sink. "Mum," he said looking up, his face screwed up in thought. "Why are Dad and Christian mad at each other?"

Barbara stopped washing the dishes; wiping her hands on her apron, she bent down close to Ray. "What makes you think Dad and Christian are mad at each other?" she asked.

Ray shrugged. "They keep.... keep shouting at each other," he replied quietly. "I hear them when I'm in bed," he turned sad pale eyes towards his mother. "Don't they love each other any more?"

"Oh honey," Barbara pulled Ray towards her hugging him tight. "Of course they still love each other. They're just being silly grown ups. But it's nothing for you to worry about," she squeezed him. "OK?"

"OK," Ray nodded slightly.

They were interrupted by the sound of a truck pulling up onto the drive. "Dad," Ray said as he pulled out of Barbara's embrace running towards the front door. Barbara smiled following him out into the hallway. She suppressed a smirk as she witnessed Damien being hauled into the house by his enthusiastic younger son. "Dad's here," Ray beamed at Barbara.

"So I can see," Barbara chuckled. "Why don't you go and get your things, and see if Christian is ready while Dad has a cup of coffee?"

Ray let out a long sigh, eager to be on the road. "OK Mum," he murmured reluctantly. "Christian," he yelled as he ran up the stairs in a flurry of arms, legs and noise. "Dad's home."

"He been like this all day?" Damien nodded towards his disappearing son.

Barbara turned to the kitchen. "Pretty much," she replied. "He's really excited."

"No kidding," Damien slumped into the kitchen chair accepting a cup of coffee from his wife. "And is my other son as excited?"

"Damien Kowalski," Barbara turned on her husband. "Don't you start that now. I've already had Stanley thinking that the two of you don't love each other any more." She waggled her finger at him. "You promised you would take this weekend as an opportunity to talk to Christian and work things out."

"Barbara," Damien pulled on his wife's arm until he had her sitting on his lap. "I promised you that I would talk to Christian," he kissed her cheek. "And I will."

"Good," Barbara kissed him back. "Make sure you do."

"Dad," Ray wailed impatiently from the hallway. "Come on. Christian and I have loaded the truck. And we're ready to go."

"Perhaps his batteries will run down before we get there," Damien chuckled hopefully.

"I think he has the rechargeable sort," Barbara teased getting to her feet. "Here's the food for the weekend. Stanley helped me make the sandwiches," she handed him the box with a grin.

"Let me guess," Damien started out of the kitchen towards the open front door. "Peanut butter and chocolate spread."

"Right," Barbara giggled. "But I made some you and Christian will like," she whispered.

"I knew I married the right girl," Damien teased as he kissed Barbara on the cheek.

"Come on Dad," Ray shouted impatiently.

"Go and say goodbye to your mother," Damien instructed as he loaded the box into the back of the truck.

Ray ran across the grass towards his mother. "Bye Mum," he hugged her hard.

"You behave," Barbara kissed him. "And have a good time."

"I will," Ray shouted as he ran back across the grass towards the truck.

"Bye Mum," Christian murmured as he came out of the house, his backpack slung over his shoulder. He kissed her cheek.

"Have a good time love," she said returning the kiss. "And remember what we agreed. Give your Dad a chance."

"Yes Mum," Christian grinned. "Oh... and if Angie calls, tell her I'll call her on Sunday night." Barbara nodded watching as he jogged across the grass. Tossing his backpack in the back of the truck, he slid into the passenger seat.

Damien gave her a wave blowing her a kiss as he started up the engine. He sounded the horn as he pulled off the drive. Barbara waved until the truck had disappeared along the street. She turned back into the house with a smile. "Now to the spring cleaning," she murmured to herself as she headed towards the kitchen.

After a four hour drive, Damien pulled into their campsite. Ray jumped out of the truck running down to the water's edge. "Be careful Stanley," Damien called as he started to unload their equipment.

Damien and Christian started to set up their camp, erecting their two tents side by side. When they had finished unloading, Damien set up the small camping stove and put some water onto boil, as Christian wandered down to the water's edge to join Ray.

Damien watched as Christian put his arm around his brother's shoulder. He smiled to himself as Christian started to give Ray lessons in skimming the water with stones. He could hear them laughing at each other as their stones hit the water, breaking the silence of the evening with a plopping noise.

Apart from Barbara, his two sons were the most important things in his life, and he wanted the best for them. Damien loved them so much that it hurt, deep inside him, and he didn't want either of them ending up like he had - working long shifts in a meat packing plant with no prospects. He had been putting money away each month, and he was determined that his sons were going to have the college education denied him.

Damien's thoughts turned to his elder son - they weren't getting on very well at the moment, arguing and disagreeing about everything, including the weather. Christian was growing up, forging out his own life, and Damien was terrified. He knew it was stupid, but he wanted his sons to stay little boys so that he could protect them from the sometimes cruel world.

Damien shook his head sighing to himself as he studied his sons in the dimness - they were wrestling on the ground, and he could hear Ray's loud giggles as Christian tickled him. Damien stood up. "Come on boys," he shouted. "Let's get an early night. Lots of fish to catch tomorrow," he waved them back to the campsite. He smiled as they made their back to the camp, playfully pushing and shoving at each other.

"Come on Dad," Ray jumped on his father's sleeping bag. "Time to get up." Damien groaned as he opened his eyes focusing on his youngest son. Ray was grinning widely, his blue eyes shining with excitement.

"And what rocket got you up?" Damien teased as he struggled to sit up. "Your Mum usually has to dynamite you outta bed."

Ray bounced up and down on his father's legs. "The sun woke me up," Ray grinned happily. He jumped to his feet. "Come on Dad. Hurry up," he said as he disappeared out of the tent. Damien shook his head in happy exasperation wondering where Stanley got all of his boundless energy from.

Twenty minutes later, Damien emerged from his tent. Yawning, he stretched his body. He groaned slightly - he wasn't used to sleeping on the floor. Looking around their small camp, Damien was surprised to see Christian leaning over the small stove cooking eggs and bacon. He turned to his father. "So I see our little early bird woke you up too," Christian smirked. "Coffee," he pointed at the metal coffee pot.

"Yeah something like," Damien knelt by his son pouring himself a cup of coffee. "That looks good," he indicated the breakfast cooking in the pan.

"Won't be long," Christian smiled at his father.

Damien glanced around the camp looking for his younger son. "So where is Stanley?"

"I sent him to get some wood," Christian giggled. "Thought it might keep him occupied. You know burn off some of that excess energy."

"Good thinking," Damien laughed. "Although I have a feeling that we are gonna need more that wood collecting to keep his feet on the ground this weekend."

"I think you might be right," Christian pointed towards the small wood near their camp. Ray was marching out of the greenery, his small arms stacked with a huge pile of branches. All that was visible was a small pair of pale skinny legs with reddened knees, and a tuft of blonde hair that stuck up above the pile of wood.

Damien and Christian burst out laughing at the sight. "What shall I tell him we need the wood for?" Christian giggled as he started to serve up the eggs and bacon, splitting them onto three plates.

"Beats the hell outta me," Damien laughed as he patted Christian's back. "Come and get your breakfast Stanley," he called managing to suppress his giggles and adopt a straight face.

"OK Dad. I'll just put the wood over here," Ray dropped the wood at the edge of camp with a crash. "In case we need it later." He beamed as he ran over to join his brother and father, wiping his dirty hands on his shorts.

Ray hung over the edge of the bow of the small boat that his father had hired. He ran his hands through the clear water, studying the ripples that surrounded the small boat as it rocked gently. He turned to watch his father and Christian fishing - they had already caught supper and some fish to take home with them. Ray beamed - he was enjoying himself, but he hoped that his Mum was alright at home on her own.

Ray squinted shading his eyes with his arm against the sun as he gazed around at the lake and the surrounding countryside. He could just make out their small camp. Dropping his arm, he closed his eyes facing towards the sun; he leant his head backwards slightly basking in the warm sunlight beating down on his face. He could hear his father and Christian talking as they fished.

"Why don't you try another kind of bait," Damien suggested as he cast his line out into the centre of the lake. "Might help."

"I know what I'm doing Dad," Christian snapped irritated. "I have been fishing before."

"It was just a suggestion son," Damien said calmly. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"No," Christian mumbled as he baited his hook. "You never do."

"Christian," Damien glared at his son. "Don't use that tone of voice on me."

"And what tone of voice would that be?" Christian glared back at his father, his anger rising.

"That one," Damien shouted back.

"Don't be mad at each other," a small voice from the bow of the boat whispered. Christian and Damien turned to see Ray getting to his feet. The small boat started to rock as Ray stepped forward. "Please."

"We're not mad at each other," Damien forced a smile. Christian remained silent. "Now sit back down," he suggested. "And then we'll go back and get some lunch. Cook some of these fish. OK?"

"OK," Ray nodded as he went to sit down. Not looking where he was going, Ray tripped on one of the tackle boxes. The boat rocked to one side violently, and he disappeared over the side of the boat with a small cry. Ray screamed in terror again as he hit the water with a splash. He thrashed his arms about wildly, his blonde hair disappeared under the water re-appearing seconds later. He flailed his arms about crying out for his Dad and Christian.

"Stanley," Damien screamed as he leapt to his feet dropping his fishing rod. He threw his jacket to one side and tossed his shoes in the bow of the boot. "Hang on Stanley," he cried as he jumped into the water.

"Dad," Christian leant forward. "Dad," his heart thumped in fear as he watched his father swim towards where his younger brother had disappeared under the water again.

Ray surfaced again screaming out in terror as Damien swum towards him. Circling around, Damien grabbed Ray from behind just as he began to sink under the water again. Damien yanked Ray upwards.

In his panic, Ray reached wildly for his Dad nearly dragging both of them under the surface. Damien managed to keep both their heads above water. Treading water he firmly gripped Ray under his arms swimming back towards the boat.

Christian was hanging over the side of the boat. As his father got within reach, he leant forward and grabbed his little brother hauling him over the side into the boat. Ray automatically clung to him, and Christian could feel the small body trembling against him. He hugged Ray whispering soothing words as his brother sobbed. He could feel the tears pricking at his own eyes, and he hugged Ray harder, as he bit at his bottom lip.

Damien managed to pull himself up and into the boat with a long groan. He looked over to his sons - Ray was crying and Christian looked terrified as he hugged his younger brother. Damien moved forwards quickly wrapping his arms around both his sons. Christian choked burying his head in his Dad's shoulder. "It's OK. We're good," Damien soothed. "We're good."

Damien stared out across the lake distractedly watching the moonlight dance across the still water. The silence of the night surrounded him, and he shivered slightly trying not to think of the events of the morning, and what he could have lost because of a silly argument. "Stop it," he chastised himself.

He had eventually managed to calm both his sons. Rowing back to their camp, he and Ray had changed out of their wet clothes. He had then persuaded them to eat some of the fish they had caught for lunch. Damien remembered sighing with relief as gradually both his sons reverted to their normal boisterous selves, the terror of the morning fading.

They had then spent an hour playing football before taking a long walk in the woods surrounding their campsite. Damien and Christian had walked side by side talking, this time without arguing, and they had managed to sort out their differences. Damien was still frightened for his son, but he knew he had to come to terms with his fear - for his son's sake. Ray had run, skipped, hopped, jumped and swung ahead of them - his energy relentless, his smile happy and his eyes bright with laughter.

Damien turned back to the tents. Making sure that the stove was off, he bent down peeping into his sons' tent. Christian and Ray were fast asleep tucked up in their sleeping bags, Ray snuggled close to his brother's body. Christian had his arm slung over his brother protectively. Smiling to himself at the picture, Damien settled into his own tent.

Barbara lay down her knitting as she heard the sound of the truck pulling up on the drive. With a smile, she hurried to the door.

"Hi Mum," Christian greeted Barbara with a kiss. "Any messages?"

"Yes. And all from Angie," she grinned. "Did you have a good time?" She couldn't help the anxious expression that crossed her face.

"Yeah Mum," Christian ambled down the hallway. He turned back to Barbara with a grin. "Don't worry. Dad and I are cool. We talked. OK?"

Barbara smiled back at him as she went out to greet her husband. Damien was unloading the equipment out of the back of the truck placing it into the garage. "Hi honey," he teased with a grin. "Did you miss us?"

"Of course," she whacked his arm. "But I got all my spring cleaning done with you all out of my way." She looked around. "Where's Stanley?"

"His batteries ran out about an hour ago," Damien teased walking back to the truck. Barbara followed peering into the truck - Ray was fast asleep, sprawled across the back seat, his legs and arms twitching as he mumbled in his sleep. He clasped a bunch of battered looking wild flowers in one hand.

"Come on champ," Damien slid his son out of the back seat cradling him in his arms. Ray mumbled stirring at the movement. He opened his eyes focusing on Barbara. "Hi Mum," he murmured sleepily. He thrust the flowers at her. "I picked these for you."

"Hello sweetheart," Barbara whispered accepting the battered looking flowers. "They're beautiful. Thank you." Ray smiled drowsily before his eyes started to close again. With a sigh, he snuggled closer to his father's chest.

"Come on son," Damien kissed Ray's forehead. "Let's get you to bed."

Barbara smiled as she followed Damien towards the house - all of her men were home, safe and sound.

THE END

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End The Weekend by Linda: linda18@ntlworld.com

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