"The boy shoved him and he went down hard," the paramedic said to Stef. "He's got a bit of road rash on his shoulders, but other than that he seems okay. We want to take him in though just to check for a concussion. It's a good thing he was wearing a helmet, his head hit pretty hard."
Stef clasped her hand to her mouth and nodded. She watched as they loaded Jude in the stretcher into the back of the ambulance.
Mike Foster came over to her. "We've got a possible ID on one of the perps. "Jared and I are going over to check it out."
She nodded curtly.
He took her arm. "Are you okay?"
"More like mad as hell. We have fought so hard to be treated equally and have the same rights and protections as everyone else and all it takes is one mean kid to tear it down."
"What he did was illegal, and we'll catch him, Stef. Don't let this bring your whole world apart."
The anger in her eyes didn't soften. "I'm just glad it's you going over there and not me. I seriously don't think I could be professional. Not this close."
"Trust me, if we catch these dimwits I'm not going easy on them. Go take care of your son, I got it."
Stef smiled a little at the "your son" remark. She nodded. "Lena, ride with Jude. I'll follow." She got into her police vehicle and started the engine.
Connor's dad drove up and got out. He ran over to the ambulance, saw Lena and Connor sitting next to Jude in the ambulance. "What can I do?"
"They're just going to check him out because he hit his head."
"Can I ride with him?" Connor asked.
"Of course," Adam said. He looked at Lena. "Sacred Cross?" She nodded. "Any word on the creeps who did this?"
"Mike's taking care of it."
He nodded grimly. "Connor, I'll meet you down there."
***
In the back of the ambulance, Lena held Connor, who was crying uncontrollably. "Is this what it's gonna be like for us?" he asked, the words barely recognizable through the sobs.
"Oh no honey," she said, rubbing his back. "There will be a lot more people who are supportive than those who are not. You just need to be aware of your surroundings and if something doesn't feel right or safe, call us or get out of there."
"It happened so fast," he said, heaving.
Jude reached out and squeezed Connor's hand. "I'm okay baby, you don't have to cry. I just had the wind knocked out of me. Or do I have to use reverse psychology and tell you to cry?"
Connor laughed a bit. "I was so scared."
"I wasn't," Jude said. "I knew you were there. You always keep me safe." He squeezed Connor's hand.
"It'll be okay, honey," Lena said to Connor. "We're very lucky to have you. You've always been Jude's protector."
He looked down. "Not today."
"You're wrong. You may not be able to stop every bad thing from happening, but you can stand up for what's right, and you always do that, sweetie."
Jude looked at Connor, nodded, and squeezed his hand again.
***
"He's being released," Stef said. "Everything was fine on the scan."
"That's a relief," Lena said.
"Can I see him?" Connor asked.
Stef nodded. "Yes honey, he'll be out in just a minute."
Connor looked at his dad. "Sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for, son. You did everything you could. I need you to stay at the Fosters' tonight, though. I'm sure Jude will want you to be there, and I need to take care of something."
Connor nodded, his eyes tearing up again.
Adam walked out of the lobby, pulled out his phone, and dialed.
****
Adam set down the cup of coffee in front of her. "Thanks for seeing me on such short notice."
"Of course," Lisa said. "I'm just glad Jude is okay. Stef and Lena must have been frantic."
He nodded. "Connor was too."
She gave him a little smile. "It sounds like you're accepting this more."
"I've never seen Connor so into anything like he is this relationship with Jude. It has made me think, and this attack on Jude...I felt so, so angry. Which was kind of surprising, because at first I didn't really like him or want him to be around my son."
"That sounds like a big change for you."
"It is, and I'm realizing now, that I have to do something about this." He was twisting his coffee cup around in his hands.
"I'm sure the authorities will handle it, Adam. You're being supportive of Connor, and Jude, and that's the best thing you can do right now."
"I don't mean this one thing. I feel like I need to do something about the bigger problem."
She pondered that. "I see. Well, as it happens, our parent chapter, the San Diego LGBT Parents Association is short on a couple of directors."
"I've got tons of business experience." His phone buzzed and he looked down at it. He smiled. "It's a text from Lena. They arrested the guys who did this to Jude."
"Well that's a relief. Our next board meeting is on Tuesday, do you think—" she was interrupted by her own phone which was ringing. "Hello?" She listened intently. "Yes, of course. We're only a few blocks away. Be right there." She hung up.
"What is it?" Adam asked.
"Evidently this story is bigger than we realized, KNSD is asking for a statement."
"Want me to tag along?"
"Absolutely. I'm really uncomfortable with being on camera."
"I'm not."
"I'll call some of the other board members while we're on the way."
"Sounds perfect. I'll drive."
***
"This is Nicole Gomez, talking live with Adam Stevens, a Director at the San Diego LGTB Parents Association. I understand you know the boy who was attacked tonight?"
"He's my son's boyfriend," Adam said. "And we need to send a message to all the other kids out there, that this kind of behavior isn't acceptable in today's society. There is nothing wrong with being gay, and gay people are a protected class under California law." He pointed with his finger. "For the other parents out there, we need to stand up for our kids. And if you're a kid, you need to stand up for your friends."
***
Mariana burst into Jude's room. "Connor, your dad is on TV!"
He looked at her in confusion. "What?" He followed her downstairs, and she rewound the live stream on the DVR.
Connor watched, and his mouth fell open. He went back upstairs.
"What's going on?" Jude asked. He was resting in bed, playing games on his tablet.
"My dad just stood up for us. In front of the whole freaking world." He sat on the edge of the bed.
Jude looked understandably confused."What?"
Connor told him.
***
It was morning and Connor and Jude were spooning again, except this time when Jude woke up Connor was still behind him, asleep and snoring softly. Jude's phone buzzed. He picked it up from nightstand, and his face lit up when he saw it was a text from Brandon. Have you seen this? B. It was a Youtube link. Jude clicked it. It was the interview with Connor's dad! He watched it with interest, having missed it on TV. This is cool, he thought. Then he looked at the number of views.
And looked again.
He shook Connor awake. "Connor!!!"
Connor's eyes fluttered open. "Wah???"
"Look at this! Your dad's gone viral!" He played the video again, and then scrolled it. "It's had over 100k views overnight."
***
"Wanna come over after school?" Jude asked.
"Sure. Dad's got his first board meeting with the San Diego LGBT parents group. Think moms will mind me having dinner there?"
"Not at all," Jude said with a shrug.
"Cool. I'll probably just stay over again."
Jude smirked at him. "I like how that's a common thing now, but man...I hate having to sleep alone anymore."
Connor nodded. "Oh, me too. It sucks."
Jude opened the door to science class. They walked in... and stopped.
All the kids and Barbara, the teacher, were standing. And they started clapping.
"I guess this means...the whole school knows?" Jude said with a smile.
The kids clustered around them, giving them hugs, high-fives and pats on the arm. Jude looked at Barbara, and she smiled.
***
"We've been looking for a new executive director for over a year," Monika, a board member of the San Diego LGBT Parents association, said. "We've never seen a candidate more qualified than you, Mr. Stevens."
"Thank you. But I have to say, I'm just learning my way around this entire topic. I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I'm going to need the help of all of you to accomplish our mission..."
***
Connor looked at his dad. "You're doing this for me?"
"I am, son. Look, I'm sorry. I was wrong about a lot of things. I see that now. To be honest, after your mom and I split up, I didn't really feel like I even had a purpose in life except to work and give you a home. But I know what my purpose is now. These are good people, who will make sure that you and Jude are safe. Not just now, but forever. I need to give them everything I can give. When Jude was attacked by those guys...it felt like they were attacking you, and to be honest that's one of the things I feared most about you being gay. But I've seen how you've always treated Jude. You are his champion, and I'm so proud of how you would do anything to protect him."
Connor smiled. "Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"I know it's been awhile, but can I hug you?"
Adam smiled.