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It took just over an hour to get from Craig's house in Cedar City to mine, in St. George. That put me home in the early afternoon on Tuesday after school got out. Which meant I had the house to myself for a while. My folks were both at work. That gave me ample time to wash my travel clothes, and take a shower, getting rid of the smell of sex before anyone would notice. But first, to let people know I was home safe, and to check on other travelers, too. I went to my room and put my laptop on my desk. There was no need to worry about plugging it in just yet, as this would be a short session; it could run off the battery. I pulled it out and sat on my bed, and tuned my radio to The Hawk while I waited for the thing to fire up.

As the operating system loaded, I heard several pings from Skype, including one new contact request. That should be Craig. I ran through the list of messages; various notices of friends returning home safely. I replied to them in kind, as most had away or offline status at the moment. Then I got to the new contact. "Craig.Cummins wishes to add you to their contact list", it said. I accepted, cringing at the bad grammar, and immediately, a message popped up.

>>Hey, Toby. I'm in trouble! I need help. My family knew... and I've been thrown out. I don't know who to turn to.<<

I checked his status. He was still online, so I replied right away. >>Hey, what's going on? Are you ok?<< I didn't have to wait long for an answer. It came in little bursts, typical of someone with a lot to say online.

>>No, I'm not. I'm at a coffee shop.

>>Jake and Cory called home after they left me behind.

>>My folks, and several buddies of theirs. My parents didn't even let me get past the entry way.

>>After yelling at me for about fifteen minutes, they threw me out.

>>You were already gone, and I still don't have a phone, so I couldn't call you back.

>>Then I ran into their pals. A bunch of Danes that are part of a gang, and known gay-haters.

>>They attacked me as soon as they saw me, calling me a 'little faggot.'

>>I finally got away, and ran. Thank goodness, my laptop was in my pack!

>>I got as far as I could on foot and hid in this coffee shop. I didn't know who else I could safely contact.<<

There was a pause. I was horrified! I couldn't believe what I was reading. Cedar City was known to be a friendly little town. I guess, every town over a certain size has its bigotry. Then I realized, he was waiting for a response.

>>Does the bus line stop in your town? Can you get to the station?" I clicked open a browser and began to search tickets.<<

>>Yeah. It's a walk from here, though.<<

>>Ok. Hold on..." I clicked around, checked times, and got a ticket. "Ok, I've ordered you a ticket. It leaves in about an hour. Can you get there by then?<<

A pause. >>Yeah, I should be able to, if I hurry.<<

It was my turn to send several notes. >>Good. The ticket is in your name, at the will-call booth.

>>It will bring you here. I'll pick you up when the bus gets into town.

>>That will give me time to arrange things here, and figure out what to tell my folks about having a visitor.

>>The important thing is to get you out of Cedar as quickly as possible.<<

There was a pause. >>Thanks, tiger. I owe you, big time. I gotta go. See you soon.<<

Alright. I had about four hours to get things set up. But first, that shower.

* * *

My step-mom got home, first. She was a reedy spotted leopard. I'd lived with her and my dad for longer than my real parents had been together, but I never could bring myself to call her "Mom." It just didn't feel right, and she never complained. I was on the couch when she came through the garage door. "Hiya, Harper!" I jumped off the couch to give her a big hug.

"Welcome home, Toby! It's so good to see you! How was your trip?"

"Well, it was a little more, uh, adventurous than usual," I started.

"Do tell?" Harper loved adventures. Even though she was firmly committed to my dad, she had a huge crush on the adventuring archaeologist, Indiana Hounds.

I sat back on the couch, and she made herself comfortable in the barrel chair facing me. "Well, when I stopped in Kearney, for breakfast, I saw a hitchhiker trying to get back to Utah. I stopped, and he seemed nice enough, so I picked him up."

"Oh, wow! You know that can be really dangerous."

"Yeah, but he turned out to be a nice enough guy. He even offered me some gas money, but he lives in Cedar City, so I told him that wasn't necessary. And get this, he loves all the same bands I do, so it did a lot to break up the monotony of the drive."

"That's fair enough. He might have kidnapped you, but instead, kept you awake and safe on the road. Remind me to send him a thank-you card."

"You don't have to."

"What? Why?"

"Wellll..." I hesitated.

"What is it?" I could hear the skepticism in her voice, but we were interrupted by the sound of the garage door opening and closing, and then the inner door popped open to admit my dad. After exchanging our traditional rib-crusher hugs, and the usual shouted greetings, I had to start the story all over again.

"So now we're back to the part that Toby was about to explain to me, before you came in, Jamie," Harper eventually said. "I was saying I should send this fellow a thank-you note for keeping our boy awake on the road, and he says I don't have to."

"Oh? And why is that, son?" My dad turned to me. Where Harper looked skeptical, he looked amused.

"Well," I had decided how much to say, and I was going to test the waters with Craig. "It turns out, the same thing that got him abandoned in Kearney means his parents won't take him in, now that he's back home. And his so-called buddies sicked a few of their friends on him, too, so now he's afraid of getting beaten up if he stays in Cedar."

"Really? What, is he gay or something?" Dad saw me go pale with the question.

"Oh, let me guess; he came out to his buddies, and they left him, then made sure if he ever did get home, his life would be over, eh?"

"That's sick," Harper interjected.

"Indeed," Dad agreed. They must have seen the relief on my face, because Dad continued to figure things out. "And you, being the soft-hearted fixer-upper that you are, are bringing him here, aren't you?"

"If that's OK with you guys..." I started.

Harper answered first. "Of course it's OK, Toby! Have you ever known us to turn our backs on someone in need? We may not agree with his lifestyle choice, but we won't leave him in the cold, either." She took my dad's paw, and he smiled at her, indicating his agreement. She continued, "He can stay here for a while, until he gets on his feet, and finds himself a place to live."

"Good, because his bus should be arriving at the station in about an hour," I speculated.

Dad laughed, and then smiled. "I'm proud of you, son. You really understand the importance of caring for others. He can sleep in Teagan's room. Just... well, don't let him rub off on you, OK?"

I was too happy to go pale, and I was expecting something along those lines from both of them. Still, I was actually surprised how readily they accepted Craig. "Thanks, guys." I had already anticipated that they'd have him sleep in my older brother's former room, abandoned now that he had grown and moved away, and had gotten the bed ready. Much as I wanted him in mine, we were going to have to be very careful about that, so as to not get caught.

My folks went to the kitchen and started working on dinner together, while I sat at the counter and regaled them with stories from the last month of school. Dinner was a simple affair, a chicken salad made with leftover game hen from the night before, so we were able to eat it before I had to get to the bus station. They made sure there were plenty of leftovers available for our guest when we returned, and I headed out the door.

* * *

Craig's face lit up as he stepped off the bus and saw me waiting for him. Then he cringed and went neutral again. I could see why; his silver fur and black nose were stained brown with dried blood. His left eye had hemorrhaged, and there was bruising around it. He moved tenderly and with a limp, frustrating the line of passengers building up behind him inside the bus. I hurried out and took his frame pack from him, enabling him to move a little easier.

"Thanks, hon," he said softly, holding his side.

"You look a sight, dude! What did they do to you?" I carefully rested my hand on his shoulder, both to reassure him, and to help guide him through the crowd of the station and back to my waiting Jimmy.

"What didn't they do, would be easier to explain." He paused and coughed slightly, wincing as it shook his ribs. "About the only thing those Danes didn't do is rape me. I guess they just couldn't bring themselves to cross that line, since they were beating me up for being gay. That, or I got away before they decided to punish me that way."

I was speechless. My insides were swimming. This was the sort of thing you heard about far away in distant states, not here in our quiet little corner of Utah. Part of me wanted to find these Great Danes and show them how it felt. Part of me wanted to get Craig as far away from Cedar city as possible. And part of me just wanted to wrap him up in the biggest, tightest hug I had ever given anyone. But that would hurt him, and there was the part of me that was now terrified to show him even the slightest hint of affection in public, lest someone here do the same thing again, to both of us this time.

He looked at me and read the emotions on my face. "But now I'm here, with you. I feel safer already."

I swallowed, and felt better. Helping him get into the truck, I hurried around the other side. My place was about ten minutes' drive away. I decided I'd better prepare him for his stay.

"Listen, my folks know why you're coming, OK? They aren't going to get in your face about it, but they don't know that I'm the same way. They don't want you to, ah, rub off on me, so they'll be watching."

"I won't be doing much rubbing for a while anyway," Craig teased, then coughed and winced as his laughing caused another sharp pain in his ribs.

"Maybe I should take you by the hospital, first?" I speculated, putting my paw on his knee.

"Naw, let me set my stuff down, first, please?" His eyes went all puppy on me, and I very nearly melted, looking at that soft expression. "I just, I need to rest for a bit. I haven't been in a home for over a week. Please?"

"Ok, but we're taking you in soon. I mean, if there's internal bleeding or anything, it could be fatal."

Craig's ears went flat, and his face got pale under his fur. "Ok, fine," he said meekly. There wasn't time for more, as we were home. I guided him out of the car with instructions to leave his pack, which I would be getting and bringing inside while Dad and Harper took care of him directly. Harper was a triage nurse, and checked him out from head to toe. She decided that no, a hospital trip would not wait, and re-loaded everyone into her car. We took hers because my Jimmy was blocking dad's car in. and she had the smooth-riding mom-van, so Craig could lay out on the bench in relative comfort while she tended to him and Dad drove. I was to carry the food, which he would get as soon as the doctors decided he wouldn't need surgery. If he did need it, then he'd have to wait until afterward to eat, so he would have an empty stomach for the procedure.