A/N: So this is a story/plot bunny I've wanted to tell for a good year now. Though the plot kept changing over and over, and therefore I had to put it off. I don't think it's going to be an overly long story, more of a side-fic to go along with my current "A Spark of Hope" story. But I really thought it was time to come back and try this fandom again with the fic I always intended to write. I hope you all enjoy.

This takes place roughly 4 years following the war that started in Dawn. So by the time "War" is out it will probably be AU but for now here is my fic.

TO CLARIFY:

"SIGN LANGUAGE"
"SPEAKING"

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Planet of the Apes. I wish I was Pierre Buelle and 20th Century Fox though! LOL Only my OCs like Ethan belong to me.

...

CHAPTER 1
Maurice's Discovery

He was going to die, after all he'd been through in seven years, he was going to die.

Ethan supposed it was probably going to be nothing compared to how some people died. After all, he'd heard the stories, and sometimes, seen how some people died from the "Simian Flu". He'd also seen some of the veteran's that had come from the war in its later days, their corpses torn to shreds at times by the apes they fought, and lost again. But he? He was going to slowly bleed out from wound that was slowly seeping out from his side.

Ethan's parents had thought that, on the west coast, their worst enemy would be apes. A worry that was worth it to help to find a better place to live than their original spot. But the elements had long since taken them, and he had yet to see a single ape. No, rather he'd run afoul to some sort of animal he didn't recognize that had attacked, and wounded him, leaving a deep, bloody gash in its wake. He'd been lucky enough to outrun it before it caught up to him, and no doubt devoured him, but he supposed this fate was no better.

He groaned out in pain, whimpers gently escaping his body. He thought of calling for help, but out in the middle of the forest doubted he would be heard. He hoped, silently he would find some way to tell if animals approached. That was what scared him the most, not knowing if at any moment, his soon-to-be body could become the meal of some hungry animal. But he was too tired to get up and keep moving, far too tired. All he wanted to do was sleep...

Maybe he'd see his mom and dad then.

He'd been very close to finding out when he felt the careful, but powerful touch that rubbed against his side. Or the two seemingly large fingers that laid upon his neck. It was the last thing that the child was aware of as the world faded slowly to black, a deep, unending darkness.

Above him, the orangutan that had been looming over him stood silently, his mind quietly deliberating what he should do. If the older ape didn't act, the human would die, very slowly, from his wounds. And if he did, there was absolutely no telling how the other apes would react. Ever since the war had passed, and the humans lost, they had lived on separate sides of the continent of America. They had thought the humans would never again attempt to come near San Fransisco.

Yet here was one, merely a tiny little thing, proof that the humans were not extinct yet, and still had a way into the area. And his fate rested firmly on Maurice's shoulders, especially given he had watched him for nearly an hour and no one, human or otherwise, had come to find him or even seemed to be looking. It was a lot to put on the shoulders of someone who had been through so much, seen so much.

It gave him no choice but to take him back with him.

And so, moving his large paws beneath the boy's body, he gently hoisted him up. The boy was light, and his head rested gently against the orangutan's body, only making sounds as he breathed heavily. That made it easy to move through the forests rather quickly, and silently, the boy carefully held by one of Maruice's long arms. He made it quickly to the colony that the Apes had established after the war, not far from their original settlement within the hour.

He was careful to tuck, and hide his cargo from sight, though several Apes signed hello's that he could not return. The way to his destination: Caesar's home, a large, Earth based dwelling built from wood and grass, was not long, and for that he was thankful. Equally so that the guards on either end did not question why he was there, having expected him back with a report on their monthly perimeter check anyway without any real question.

It wasn't until he reached Caesar himself, who was waiting for him at the end of the hall, that he was questioned. And that was perhaps because he looked panicked, something different from his usual looks. Caesar looked upon him with curiosity, and signed a greeting before stating. "You have found something," In sign language, Maurice nodded. "Show me."

Making sure no one else was around, Maurice carefully set Ethan down on the floor in front of him. Caesar's eyes betrayed his shock, but Maurice knew Caesar would do nothing rash or hurtful. After all, one could not forget that Caesar had been raised by the humans, and war or not, he had some loyalty to them. "I found him alone on the outer rim of our territory. Something got to him, wounded him," Maurice signed calmly. "I could not leave a child to die."

Caesar looked at Maurice for a long minute, considering his options carefully. After all, he may have left his anger with the humans, for the most part, after the war. But he and Maurice were not the only ones there, and some apes were not as forgiving. "I will get a doctor. But word of this does not leave the three of us," Caesar signed in a hurry. "Bring him quickly to my guest room."

Maurice could only wonder what they were bringing upon themselves.

...

He awoke with his shirt removed, and his wound wrapped up nicely, but with no idea of where he was. Ethan felt panic as he tried, in vain to sit up, but found the pain too great. He laid his head back down, letting out what he hoped wouldn't be a loud noise. He wanted no one to hear him, for fear of who it was that had taken him, and if they were dangerous. Sure, to someone older, the wrap would tell him that no one intended to harm him, but at seven, his irrational fear indeed took over.

The door in the corner of the room opened, and panic spread over him now more than ever. It was an ape, a real, live ape, and what's more a massive, red haired orangutan. He shot up biting back the pain, and felt the Orangutan gently try and pus him back down, but panic had yet to calm him. He could see as the ape attempted to communicate in words to him, shaking his head, and mouthing something that seemed to come out as: "I will not harm you". But Ethan was not fully satisfied until the ape released him, and held up his hands.

Ethan looked at the orangutan for a long moment before realizing the ape was indeed not here to harm him. But that left the remaining question of what in the world was happening. He thought quietly about how he was to communicate, but did not have to think long. He remembered the stories of his father, who had fought in the war, of how Apes, like himself, communicated in sign language, as well as through verbal communication. And though he wasn't sure whether it was true, he knew he had to try.

"Who are you? Where am I? What do you want from me?"

The orangutan looked more than a little taken aback at his frantic sign language. Yet with gentle eyes, he looked him over, and carefully pushed him back onto the bed, without any abuse. "My name is Maurice. You are in the Muir Woods Colony, where I took you... You have been seen by a doctor and we have stopped your bleeding," He signed, to which Ethan followed easily. "Can you speak?"

"I am deaf, so I prefer to sign," Ethan signed back. "You saved me?" He asked, the ape nodded slowly. "Why? I am human. We were enemies."

"The war is over, child," Maurice offered. "And if it were not, you are but a small child. You have no place in it. Our leader, Caesar, was raised when young by humans. He would never approve the death of a child," He paused a long moment, then signed again. "What is your name, young one?"

Ethan looked up at the ape, worry in his eyes. But for the most part, he could tell that Maurice would not hurt him. He seemed to be doing his best to keep him from hurting himself. "Ethan Marcus Reese," He signed his full name. "If you aren't going to hurt me... What will you do?"

Maurice looked upon the human quietly, his mind racing. That was the question that had been on his mind since he'd found the newly-dubbed, Ethan. Did they dare try and find a human colony to bring him to? They knew already that they were not welcome in human settlements after winning the war, after all. "Caesar is deliberating," He explained. "We will keep you here while you recover. But what will be done with you afterward will depend on him," Ethan shifted a bit. "You have no reason to be afraid. Are you alone?"

"Yes, my parents died-..."

When he stopped signing, and looked sorrowfully, Maurice did not drag anything more out of the human. Instead, he placed a comforting hand on the side of his head, running a finger through his blonde head of hair. The boy being alone out there only firmly complicated the matter, as there was no one to go looking for. He felt the boy's auburn eyes lying upon him, as if curious what he was doing, but he only removed his large paw after a long moment.

"Where did you and your parents come from?"

"The East."

He sighed, he had figured as much. He carefully moved his paw the blankets near the foot of his bed, and drew them over the child. He knew that the boy needed to rest, and regain his strength, no matter what his fate would be. And perhaps in some strange way, he thought that it might comfort him, and more easily beckon him to sleep if he were tucked in. "Rest, Ethan," He told the boy gently. "I will return with an update when I can."

Ethan's eyes widened, the ape was leaving? The only person he knew there, let alone knew he could trust? A part of him was thankful he wouldn't be in an ape's presence again. But the other, rational side of him was scared to be left alone by his only, for lack of a better term, "friend" in this place. And so, he reached a hand out to grab one of the giant's fingers, surprising Maurice who stared down at it calmly.

"Please don't leave," Ethan signed. "I'm scared."

Maurice stared at the young human sympathetically. He knew that in his place, he would be scared as well. As the boy had clearly been raised to think that apes were their enemies, a fact that had only been true during the war, before the young boy could even comprehend what it all meant. But the fact that the boy had reached out for someone he thought of in such a manner also told him he was not one-track minded like some humans, no, he could be taught otherwise.

Carefully, he curled his large paw around his hand, careful to belittle his strength. He still made sure the grip was firm enough that Ethan knew he was going to be okay. When he released his hand after several moments, Maurice began to sign again. "I promise to be back as soon as I can. Until then, if you feel uncomfortable, ask for me," He told the boy calmly. "But you can trust us, as you have me. You have nothing to fear here," He added.

Ethan didn't reply to him, but instead rested his head back on a makeshift pillow. Maurice quietly nodded, turning towards the door and moving back toward it. He would let the doctor know he was awake while he went to meet Caesar, that much he knew. The boy still had to be monitored while he was there, whether the boy liked it or not. He thought of this as he tilted his head back towards the child, who seemed to tremble a little, and no doubt he'd be afraid for a while.

He knew that Caesar would not send an expedition to the East Coast if that was truly where he came from. The humans would kill the apes on sight as far as they knew. But he also knew he would not simply release the boy into the wilds after helping him, they had may as well kill them there if so. All facts which put his leader, and dear friend in a tough spot, and even tougher position.

Could they let the boy stay in the colony?

It was the most logical of the options right now. Given Caesar had already sent Apes to find signs of adult humans in the vicinity, and found nothing of the sort. This meant that Ethan, and his family, had left on their own, and died, on their own, as far as he could tell. He grunted to himself, his worry for the boy was no doubt a sign of his growing softness in his older age. And though he still had much life left to live, that was no doubt something he'd face now more than ever.

Moving down the hallway, he found Caesar in his primary office overlooking the colony. Clearing his throat, he got the young chimp's attention, and nodded his head. "He's awake," Maurice spoke calmly. "Name: Ethan, deaf, speak sign language," He spoke, which he rarely did outside of Caesar's presence (and more importantly, when they were alone). "Family dead."

Caesar nodded his head, of course he had suspected the same thing. "From the east?"

"Yes," Maurice stepped up to his friend's side. "We could send party..."

"Too dangerous," Caesar told him firmly. "No risk."

"He stay then?"

Caesar was silent as he looked over at his friend, unsure of how to answer. The ape looked out upon the sky after a long moment, looking down upon the colony, which was slowly dying down for the night. Maurice wondered if, after all this time, Caesar would actually consider throwing a harmless young child back out to the elements. And for a moment, he worried he would do just that, much to his shock. "We have no choice," Caesar finally signed. "Like you, I will not condemn a mere child. No matter what his species has done," He admitted. "When he is better, we will call a meeting of the council. But until then it does not leave this home."

Maurice gave a small sigh of relief, thankful that above all, Caesar still had not lost his sense of right and wrong. "He will not go to an ape family willingly. He fears us," Caesar nodded at Maurice's sentiment calmly, expecting as much. "I have gained his trust. So I believe it only right I take care of him," Caesar looked rather surprised. "Don't look so surprised, I am getting old. I have no family to care for myself... I am the one that saved him and brought him here. The duty should rest on my shoulders."

Caesar nodded his head slowly, but then replied with honesty. "I hope for your sake, you have not made a mistake."

Maurice merely gave a small half smirk. No doubt, it was true, but he would have done it again, and again, if need be. But for now, he could only hope this was not a mistake he'd regret. But it was a small reminder in the back of his mind of the past, that made him respond to Caesar with sound logic he no doubt needed to hear. "Do not forget, it was also Will's choice to save you," Caesar looked at Maurice silently. "Think of it as returning the favor."

Caesar didn't argue there, and it was true. But Maurice knew this would be harder in the trying times they lived in. This was not pre-war society, nor human-ruled society. He was about to become the guardian, the father, of a human he barely knew. And it scared him, he wouldn't lie about that. But he knew if he did not take him, no one else would, no one else would want the responsibility of a human.

And as he had said, he was getting older in his years. And this was perhaps the one chance he had left on this Earth to pass his lessons, and stories onto someone that could carry his legacy, human or not. A fact that made him only hope that, at the end of the day, he was making the right choice.

...

A/N: Woo! And there's the first chapter, it feels SO good to finally get this off my back. XD Next chapter we'll get a bit more of Maurice and his newfound ward. After all, they have a long way to go given all of the obstacles that will be put in front of them. Tell me what you think, and if I should continue. :)