Chase's response to algebra wasn't that far off from what Locke's first reaction was. If math was meant to have letters in it the Roman Empire wouldn't have failed. "Yeah, but don't worry, that's years away, middle school at the earliest. And you said you were good at math, it will be a breeze for ya." He meant it as well. Unless you enjoyed a subject you weren't going to do well in it at school. Maybe you would get decent grades, but the knowledge would mean absolutely nothing. Locke knew the formula for finding out the area of a circle, but it had no value to him. Chase liked the subject, so maybe algebra wouldn't be too hard for the kid.

By now the sandwich was most likely finished cooking to Chase's specifications. The teen paused, deciding that Chase wasn't likely to play around with the hot frying pan, before getting down a small plate. "You're sandwich is probably done," Locke informed Chase, setting the plate down where the kid could put his sandwich. As he expected Chase was careful around the frying pan. Once the sandwich was off the burner Locke put the fudge back on, just to make sure that it did not turn solid on them.

"Chase Kid Death you have just made your first grilled cheese," joked the teen, using his best Home Sweepstakes announcer voice, "What are you going to do next?"

>> "Yeah, but don't worry, that's years away, middle school at the earliest. And you said you were good at math, it will be a breeze for ya."

Chase hummed in an unconvinced tone. Anything with letters sounded mighty suspicious. He wasn't too sure if he trusted a math that had letters, but he took Locke's word for what it was. He was an older boy, an authority figure, so he'd already taken-on math with letters. If he thought Chase could handle it when the time came, then Chase probably could.

>> "You're sandwich is probably done... Chase Kid Death you have just made your first grilled cheese. What are you going to do next?"

Chase grinned, shifting into a sitting position on his chair, and setting his plate back down on a place on the counter that was much closer to his body.

"I'm going to eat it!" Chase answered back with matching enthusiasm, briefly punching at the air and grinning. He flexed his hands as if readying for the consumption of his sandwich, and then picked up the sandwich that he had made. Chase surveyed it for a second, and then took a ginger bite. It was still kind of hot, thus he didn't want to burn his mouth. Chase took a bite, and saw that it was good.

Chase smiled toothlessly, his mouth still clamped shut around a bite of sandwich, and he nodded. He wouldn't keel-over from a toxic sandwich.

"I've got a brother," Locke started, not sure if Chase remembered being told about that before. That had been back on Halloween and since then there had been one of the most popular holidays for small kids. "He doesn't like cooking, but he likes what happens when someone does it." It was just polite conversation while Chase refueled. Brother instincts took hold of Locke, and he got out the milk to pour a glass for the kid. "My sister Mai likes to cook though. Her favorite is breakfast."

Milk does a body good, and Chase had already told him that there was no food allergies. The grilled cheese was probably too hot to devour without something to drink, and milk was better for a growing boy than soda or sugary drinks. "Here you go," he said, setting the glass down in front of Chase.

>> "I've got a brother. He doesn't like cooking, but he likes what happens when someone does it. My sister Mai likes to cook though. Her favorite is breakfast."

"How old are they?" Chase inquired absently, between mouthfuls. He took another bite, chewed, and swallowed, "Your brother and sister?"

Locke retrieved the milk, a glass, and poured one for Chase, which was answered by a quizzical look.

>> "Here you go."

"Thank you," Chase murmured. Locke seemed like someone who'd be like a good brother. Chase didn't say this, though. He puzzled over his glass of milk, tilting it from side-to-side precariously. Not like his old brother. Not like his sister. Did they even count as his siblings any more, or was he now officially an only child?

"I have a brother and a sister," Chase said, taking a sip of his milk, "Kind of."

That was the best way Chase could think to explain it.

Food always tastes best when eaten in the kitchen, especially if it is just off the stove. A kitchen meant comfort, and food brought that as well. To Locke it was sort of like climbing into a freshly made bed after a shower. You just feel so warm and comfortable inside and out. While Chase was the one that was actually eating the teen felt the same sort of peace he would if he had been eating. He took pride in cooking. Settling into the habit of taking care of his siblings had shown Locke that he liked to cook. Food network was way up on his list of favorite TV channels, not just because he could always eat. ”They’re almost seven,” Locke told Chase. The twins were close in age to Chase he remembered. If they were to meet it wouldn’t be so huge an age gap that they couldn’t relate.

Chase seemed confused about if he had any siblings or not. Locke didn’t know the boy’s history, how he had had a family before coming here, a family that he was no longer a part of. Was Chase’s situation like his own? Technically speaking the twins were only half siblings, and had Locke not been an only child things might be even more complicated. What if Kendra had children before she met his dad? Then there would have been actual siblings, half siblings, and step-siblings. Not only would the issue of brothers and sisters be complicated, Locke wasn’t totally clear on his relationship to Kendra. She had married his dad, so she was his step-mother, but she hadn’t adopted him, just had legal guardianship. Her family, her parents, uncles, aunts, etc, what were they to him? ”Kind of?” he asked. A pretzel was dipped into the fudge and then laid down on wax paper so that it could cool and harden. ”Complicated huh? If it makes things easier, I just say that Chris and Mai are my brother and sister, even if they don’t have the same mom.”

>> “They’re almost seven.”

Chase nodded. So, they were two years younger than him. That was a good-sized gap. Chase munched on his sandwich quietly. While Locke was at-peace, Chase seemed mildly uncomfortable, and uncertain of words he’d yet to say.

>> “Kind of? Complicated huh? If it makes things easier, I just say that Chris and Mai are my brother and sister, even if they don’t have the same mom.”

“We have the same Mom,” Chase interjected, a little too suddenly. He paused, cleared his throat, and took a bite of his sandwich. Couldn’t talk if he was eating—this gave him time to think, before next speaking. Chew, chew, chew, swallow… awkward clearing of the throat.

“Well, we used to,” Chase said frankly, “But I got a new mommy when I came here. So… I don’t know if I still have siblings or not.” Because if he had a new mom, and his old mom still had his siblings and wasn’t his mom any more… were they still siblings, technically? Chase nibbled at the crusts of his grilled-cheese sandwich, staring down at his plate. Not that he cared. Not like he’d see them ever again.

“I used to have a brother and sister,” Chase explained, “A twin brother, and a little sister, who’s three years younger. Russell and Abigail.”

Neither of them were very noteworthy and had always been mean to Chase, though, so Chase had never taken a liking to them, nor did he have much to say about them beyond what had already been said.

Complicated indeed, more complicated then things were for Locke. Chase's birth family was still alive, or at least that was the assumption that Locke was going to operate under, which meant that he still had blood relatives, which if not for the birth of the twins, Locke would not have. It wasn't his place to question why Chase had been removed from his actual family and and given a new mommy. The kid was young and given how messed up things had to be for you to get a new family, it probably was a painful topic. "Blood isn't everything," Locke comforted Chase, "Family is the ones that love you and that you love. They're the ones that laugh with you when you play games and sing happy birthday to you."

Locke remembered how Chase had never gone Trick-or-Treating before, but what sort of parents didn't acknowledge a kid's birthday? Chase had to have had birthdays since he had a twin. "Russel and Abigail are still there, but you get a choice now. Do you still want them as your brother and sister? I'm sure your new mom would understand if you told her if you wanted to see them again or not."

>> "Blood isn't everything. Family is the ones that love you and that you love. They're the ones that laugh with you when you play games and sing happy birthday to you."

Like Miss Gemma. Chase ducked his head in embarrassment as Locke offered this grain of wisdom, but he smiled and nodded. It was true. Gemma was more of a “family” to Chase than his real family had been. She was so nice, so good to him. Miss Gemma was the best mama ever.

>> "Russell and Abigail are still there, but you get a choice now. Do you still want them as your brother and sister? I'm sure your new mom would understand if you told her if you wanted to see them again or not."

“No,” Chase hesitated to say, “I mean, they are my brother and sister, but they never really were my brother and my sister.” Quiet eyes flicked towards Locke then flickered back towards Chases’ shoes. His family had never been like a family should have been. Just as his parents had treated him differently because of his mutation, so had his siblings avoided him or, if they couldn’t avoid him, they weren’t really all that nice.

Chase looked down at his plate and his glass. He’d torn through the sandwich and inhaled the milk, leaving an emptied glass and a plateful of crumbs in his wake. So perhaps the child had been a bit hungry. But the deal had been, eat real food first, and the reward was dessert.

“Okay, I ate my sandwich!” Chase announced, quickly changing the subject and hopping off of the chair, “Can we eat the chocolate now? Can we? Can we please?”