Summary: Leaving Camp Green Lake, X-Ray ponders the meaning of family. One shot.

Disclaimer: Most characters belong to Louis Sachar. I'll try my best to keep them safe.

Author's Note: I always thought X-Ray had a thoughtful, caring side. This fic lets it come out! Well, sort of. A few nights with no homework, just finishing Holes asa novel study and wanting to write, turned into this. Reviews would make my day!

"Damn. Can't believe you're leaving, man. This place won't be the same without you." Magnet says sadly, giving me a quick hug.

"I don't know what to say, bro. It's been a good year." Armpit says, quite wisely offering a fist bump instead of a hug.

"Take care of yourself, alright, man?" I say to Twitch, ruffling his hair.

"Hurry it up, Rex, the bus is waiting." Pendanski informs me obnoxiously. I want to punch him, what could it hurt? I was being released! I decide better of it, though, and fix him with a steely glare instead of punching him out.

A couple more quick goodbye hugs for Squid and Ziggy, and then I climb the stairs into that stupid bus. So here I am, a year after I got sent here. I don't feel any different. I sure as hell didn't build any character. I let the guard handcuff me to the seat, even though I wouldn't have done anything. That would've landed me right back here. I glance out the window and see D Tent waving and smiling. I look at the faces of the guys I had lived with for the past year, the boys that had become like family.

At home, it's just me and my mom. We don't exactly have an easy life. But they were a family. Before I got arrested, she made a point to eat dinner with me every night and make my lunches on school days. My mom doesn't have a job, our apartment is tiny, but we still managed to keep it together.

But what about D Tent? In a way, we're family, aren't we? We lived in the same tent; we dug side by side every day. Whether we admit it or not, we care about each other. Hell, I'm almost sad to leave. I'll miss them. In a way, I was like the dad of our "family", a scary, intimidating as shit dad, but I took care of my boys. Twitch is the irritating little brother. Seriously, what is he, like 12? Zigzag is like the crazy uncle that always ruins Thanksgiving, with his acute paranoia shit. Squid is like the angsty teenager that stays in his room all day and sleeps 'til noon, Magnet, the brother that you love hanging out with.

What does it mean to be family? I consider the thought as I remember the time I had picked a fight with Lump. Zig, Armpit, and Squid were right there to back me up. Maybe family means standing up for the people you care about? Maybe it just meant caring. My mind went immediately to when Caveman stole the water truck. I hadn't really cared about Zero, I regret that now. The little dude had really grown on me. Maybe family meant safety. Corny as it sounds, it's pretty much true. When you're little and with your parents, you know nothing can ever happen to you. I hope my tent-mates had felt that I would never let anything happen, that I had their back. Maybe family can't really be defined. Whatever it is, I know I just left a pretty damn good family behind.

I must've fallen asleep; the guard is roughly shaking me awake. I slowly blink the sleep from my eyes, and, walking on stiff legs, stumble out of the bus.

There's my mom, waiting like she promised. Is that? No it can't be. A stroller?

"Rex!" My mom throws her arms around me, I hug her back.

"Rex, I want you to meet your baby sister. " She said, gesturing towards the stroller.

I nearly fainted.

A/N: So, what did ya think? It's my first fan-fic, please be gentle.