Outside the closet, Jesse asked Hiro, "Hiro, what on Earth did you do to him?"
Hiro shrugged and plopped down on his belly. He rolled around on the carpet, playing with his doll.
Emilee soon noticed something on Jesse's left hand, the hand he used to hold Tracey's left arm, and pointed at it. "Jesse, what's on your hand? Is that blood?"
"Wha-What do you mean, dear?" Jesse picked up his hand, and his eyes widened when he saw the stain. "Oh, my gosh! That kid is hurt! No wonder he's scared! Emilee, get the First-Aid kit. I'm going to try to get him out of the closet."
Emilee nodded and saluted him. "Aye, aye, captain, or in this case, lighthouse keeper." She turned on her heel and marched out of the den.
Jesse took a few moments to think about how to get Tracey out of the closet. After five minutes, he picked up the TV remote and turned it off. Setting it on another coffee table, he nudged Hiro, and they approached the closet.
Jesse knocked on the door and said, "Please, kid, you don't have to be scared. We're not going to hurt you. Why don't you come out?"
"No!" Tracey choked out on the inside of the closet. "I don't trust humans! Leave me alone!"
"Trust humans?" Jesse asked, confused. "What do you mean?" Then he gasped. "Oh, my gosh."
Emilee soon reentered the room, carrying a First-Aid kit, and sat beside her husband.
"Emilee, guess what?" he said.
"What?" she said while she opened the kit and peered into her husband's face.
Hiro stopped playing with his toy and sniffed inside the kit.
Emilee pushed his face away so she could see Jesse better.
He pointed at the closet and whispered, "I think this kid may be a fairy."
"A fairy?" questioned Emilee. "Se-Seriously?"
Jesse nodded. "Yes. Just now, he said he doesn't trust humans. I don't know what it is, but something tells me he's a fairy."
Emilee couldn't help but smile. "That's amazing. Guys, let me through."
Hiro and Jesse moved aside.
Emilee sat cross-legged before the closet and gently rapped on it. "Tracey, I promise you can trust us. We only want to help you. You obviously have been through a lot today. Please."
Tracey glanced at her through a crack in the closet and took deep breaths. He tightly clutched his arm.
On the outside of the door, Emilee snapped her fingers. "I have an idea. Jesse and Hiro, leave the room for a moment."
They nodded and shuffled into the main living room.
Emilee shut the First-Aid kit and tossed it onto the couch. She then went into the kitchen and prepared dinner for Tracey. She put a chunk of lasagna on the plate, along with a piece of bread from the basket he had seen earlier. The last thing she did was pour him a glass of ice-cold water.
Emilee took the meal to the closet and set it down. "There's food and water here in case you're hungry. This is my specialty: homemade lasagna. It's delicious. I'm just going to leave it out." As soon as Emilee set down the plate, she shuffled to where Hiro and Jesse hid and joined them.
They waited and watched the closet.
Ten minutes passed. Emilee rested on the floor, and Jesse paced back and forth. Hiro was playing with his toy again.
Tracey finally decided to come out. He was so hungry and thirsty. Slowly, he opened the closet's doors, and his eyes landed on the plate of lasagna. "Mmm, food," he whispered.
"Jesse!" Emilee murmured. "He's coming out!"
"Really?" Jesse stopped pacing and went to her.
Emilee gestured at Tracey.
He stopped at the plate and reached for the glass of water. "Water!" Tracey picked up the glass and gulped it down in one sip. "Oh, that's refreshing."
Hiro tried to play with him again. He picked up his toy and trotted by his owners.
"Hiro!" they whispered.
Tracey saw him and gasped. He didn't like the sight of the doll in his mouth. He thought about hiding in the closet again, but then changed his mind.
Hiro sat before him and wagged his tail. Dropping the doll, he plopped onto his belly and licked Tracey's cheek.
Hiro's warm tongue helped him calm down. Smiling feebly, Tracey lifted his hand and ruffled the fur on his head.
Jesse and Emilee sighed when they saw he didn't look as afraid anymore. They tried one more time to make friends.
Emilee picked up the First-Aid kit and handed it to Jesse. She nodded, and he returned it. Emilee had to find a way to distract Tracey so Jesse could tend to his arm.
They slowly approached, and, chuckling, Emilee placed her hands on her hips. "Well, would you look at that? Hiro really likes you, young man." Bending down, she stretched her arm across her knee. "Do you like dogs?"
Tracey bobbed his head. "I do, ma'am. It's just—the dogs look quite different here vs. the dogs where I'm from."
"I understand," Emilee spoke, noticing his pointy ears.
Jesse sat beside Tracey's arm and quietly opened the First-Aid kit.
Emilee scooped up Hiro's toy and offered it to Tracey. "Do you want to throw it for him? I think he'd like that."
"Sure." Tracey took the toy out of her hand. "Thank you, ma'am."
Emilee watched as he drew back his arm and tossed the doll. It landed in the kitchen, and Hiro immediately chased it.
Emilee and Tracey chuckled, and Tracey finally calmed down. He fell onto his backside and relaxed his shoulders.
Emilee peered into his golden brown eyes and admitted, "You're quite calm, young man."
"Thanks. I learned from my teacher. He told me calmness is the way of the ninja."
Emilee lost her smile. "Your teacher? Don't you have parents?"
He upsettingly shook his head and answered, "No, ma'am. They died when I was only a year old. I never knew them. Sensei said my realm was destroyed, and that was how they died."
"Your realm?" Emilee questioned.
Tracey opened his mouth, but couldn't speak because Jesse grabbed his arm, and a searing pain engulfed it. "Ow!" He tried to rip his arm free, but Jesse held it tightly.
"I know it hurts," he said, "but we need to take care of your arm, kid."
"Trust him," Emilee gently said. "Before we retired, he was a doctor."
Jesse jabbed his fingers into Tracey's arm to feel for a broken bone.
It hurt so much that Tracey began to cry again.
"Just don't look at it," Emilee continued. "Look, here's Hiro coming to comfort you."
Sure enough, Hiro entered the room from the kitchen and settled beside Tracey.
Emilee finally built up her confidence. She shakily lifted her hand and took Tracey's.
He jumped, but calmed himself when he and Emilee met eyes. He felt something warm inside. They stared at each other for the longest time.
Emilee soon gently pulled some of Tracey's hair off his face and admitted, "You remind me so much of our son."
Tracey became nervous. "Is that a good thing?"
"Yes," Emilee whispered. "You know..." She cleared her throat and scratched her nose. "It's pretty late, and the sea is still recovering from that storm. Wou-Would you like to spend the night here?"
"Are you serious?" Tracey felt a pinch of excitement in his system. The ocean saved him.
"Of course," said Emilee. "We can give you our son's room."
Jesse looked up from Tracey's arm and took a deep breath. "Um, Emilee, may I speak with you in the kitchen? Alone?" He rubbed his hands together.
"Sure," his wife answered.
Jesse nodded and stood. He glanced at Tracey and politely asked, "Do you think you can wait here? We'll be right back."
"Yes, sir," Tracey calmly spoke.
"Thanks," said Jesse. "Until I return, try not to move your arm a lot. I still need to confirm if it's broken or not."
"Yes, sir," Tracey repeated. He watched as Jesse took Emilee's hand and helped her up. They ventured into the kitchen, leaving Tracey alone with Hiro.
Jesse led Emilee to the corner of the kitchen, where Tracey couldn't hear, and double checked to ensure he wasn't listening in.
"What's wrong?" Emilee inquired.
Jesse inhaled and faced her. "Emilee, I know where this is going. We just met the kid. We know nothing about him. You're jumping to conclusions way too fast."
Emilee puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. "We can't just kick him out and make him sleep in that ghost town."
"I understand," Jesse argued, "but we need to learn more about him before we reach beyond the limits of just letting him sleep here."
Emilee protested: "But doesn't he remind you of Sky? Not letting him stay here is like kicking our own son out of the house. Every child deserves a family. Can you at least give him a few days? At least until the ocean settles down? In a few days, we can learn who he is, who his teacher is, and where he's from. Please, doll. Just give him a chance. He's hurt." She turned on her puppy face.
Jesse thought for a few moments. Closing his eyes, he grasped his elbow and scratched his chin.
Emilee anxiously waited for his response.
Finally making up his mind, Jesse opened his eyes and gripped his hip. "All right. He can stay."
"Yes!" Emilee silently cheered. She lifted her fist and excitedly leaped into the air.
Jesse continued: "But only until the ocean settles down."
"Oh," said Emilee. "All right. Deal." She nervously nodded, and she and Jesse shook hands.
Deep inside, Emilee wished for the ocean never to settle—that it would stay rough forever. She hoped that somewhere in the near future, she and Jesse would have a new son.