If it's one thing that he hated more than hospitals; it was the fact that a 7-year-old boy was fighting for his life in this one. They arrived before the ambulance did carrying Luka.

Kate had tried to calm him down during the ride to the hospital and she thought she did a pretty good job just being there for him. It wasn't until they got inside the emergency room waiting area where he started to pace back and forth aimlessly most likely blaming himself.

"Rick please sit with me. You won't hear anything until the doctors finish their assessment of Luka." Kate told him.

He stopped pacing and looked her in the eye and said,

"Kate, I am the reason that he is in that triage room right now being put back together."

"How do you figure that Rick? What were you going to do? Keep watch over the apartment until something bad happened? And what would you do if something did happen? You can't just go in there half-cocked with guns blazing and save the day. Sometimes it doesn't work out the way we want it to."

"I could have done something earlier that maybe would have stopped him from getting hurt again. Because I know he's the kind of person who does this repeatedly. This guy is just like Chris. He takes advantage of little kids and he thinks that he is a God. I bet if we did a complete workup on Luka, we'd find injuries dating back to when he was about four years old. Broken bones that did not heal right, scars from cuts, being tortured and I don't even want to think how badly his head will be screwed up, especially when he gets older."

She knew that he was right. Luka had been abused since he was a small child. That in itself hit Kate hard. And if it did that to her, she can just imagine what it must be doing to Rick. On his next lap by she pulls him down into the seat and interlocks her fingers with his. He comes willingly and she thinks she hears him quietly crying. She dislodges their hands and wraps her arm around his shoulder pulling him closer into her body.

He cares for her and he appreciates the way she is opening up to him because it is something that she's never done with him before. She has shown him that there is a side to her that he has never been privy to. He closes his eyes only for a second and due to his exhaustion, he slips into a light sleep leaning up against her.

Kate looks down at his sleeping form. She knew that it would not take him that long before he fell asleep. He was up almost 48 hours watching Luka's apartment sitting in the rental car. She gently cards her fingers through his hair soothing him. She is in love with him and she needs to tell him how she feels before he thinks that she is making him wait. She isn't. It's tough on her part because she has never been in love before with any man. But she is glad that he did wait for her and before the sun sets today, they will have a quiet, intimate conversation. She can only hope that Luka is going to be okay.

It's about two hours later when a doctor comes out of the triage room and stops in front of Kate.

"Detective Beckett?" The doctor asks as he looks down at her.

Kate must have fallen asleep while she was holding Rick. She woke easily because the sleep she was in was very light.

"Yes, Doctor Nelson."

"I need to know your and Mr. Castle's blood types."

Kate went immediately to the worst-case scenario. Luka was in trouble and he was not going to survive. She tried to remain calm so she didn't wake up Rick.

"My blood type is A-negative. I'm not sure what Mr. Castle's is."

"O-Negative," Castle says in a sleep laden voice.

"Detective, I would like to ask if you would give me a vial of blood for screening purposes?"

"We are the same blood type me and Luka?" Kate says as she shakes her head agreeing to the screening.

"You are. Please follow me."

Rick looks to Kate and he lifts his head off her shoulder. He watches as she goes to the lab and hopes that Luka is going to be okay.

Sitting and waiting are two things Castle has never been able to do and his writer's imagination has him thinking about the worse case that can happen and now the doctor has taken Kate for blood work. What is going on with Luka?

Xx

They took five vials of Kate's blood and she wondered why they needed so many. She thought that screening was just a vial or two, not five. She found out why later.

As Dr. Wilson enters the lab, he starts speaking to Kate asking her questions about family history. Questions like has anyone had any medical issues specifically heart issues. Kate looks at the doctor and said,

"As far as I know Dr. Wilson everyone in my family is the picture of health. My aunt Theresa had an angina attack once but that was brought on by stress. Since then she's been okay."

He went over the checklist for all the possible medical issues that could be an issue. He went over the list and she answered no to all his questions.

Then the detective in her started to ask questions. That's when he told her that not only was she a blood match to Luka, but they shared Familia DNA. She and Luka were related. Kate couldn't understand how she was related to the little boy. She never knew of Luka or his mother three days ago so how could they be family. Dr. Wilson told her it was on her father's side. She told the doctor that she would find out, but to do what he needed to do to help Luka.

Waiting Room…

Castle was pacing when he saw Kate coming around the corner and the look on her face he had never seen before. He automatically went to the worst-case scenario. Oh god, did her blood work shows some type of illness? Is she alright?

Kate sat down in one of the chairs right next to him and she just looked at Rick. He was the one to speak first.

"Kate, what's wrong? Are you okay did they find something in your lab work?" Then he reached towards her hand and pulled it into his. The gentle touch brought her back to the here and now. He asked again if there was anything wrong and she, seeing the concern in his eyes, told him she was fine.

"Rick, the doctor told me that I am a match for Luka and that I would need to give some blood so the doctor can start the surgery. He needs to have a partial resection of his liver and a drain put in the back of his head to reduce the swelling of his brain. He has two broken ribs and some internal bleeding. But, there's something else. Not only was I a match for Luka so he could have blood, but somehow my DNA came up as a 92% match that Luka and I are family and it is on my father's side."

Rick and Kate sit back and wait for the doctor to return to call Kate back to the lab. They are both lost in their thoughts about how she could be related to Luka.

Xx

After waiting two more hours for any word on Luka, Esposito and Ryan came and told them that Luka's stepfather confessed to beating Luka and killing his mother. But he won't tell them where the body is unless he gets a deal.

Kate and Rick both shake their heads telling the boys that there is no deal to be had.

"Either he tells us where he hid her body or he will be in general population up in Attica," Kate tells the boys.

Having their orders they leave the waiting room and head back to the 12th Just then Dr. Wilson came up to them he said Luka was out of surgery.

"Kate, Rick I have resected Luka's liver, the internal injuries and bleeding were also repaired, and the broken ribs would have to heal naturally. What we are watching is his head. His brain showed some blood pooling near the base of the skull. If the drain we put in does its job he will be up and around in no time. He's young and if things go as I hope they will, he'll make a full recovery.

Intensive Care Unit…

He looked so small lying in the bed. All the wires that were leading from his little body made him look that much smaller. They let both Rick and Kate see him. After seeing him, Kate knew that Rick wouldn't leave him. She led him down the hall not far from Luka's room and she told him to stay with Luka. She would be back in about two hours. She was going to talk to her Dad and see what progress the boys had made on the case. She surprised herself when she stood on her toes and covered his lips with hers in a deep kiss. Rick didn't think about what she was doing, he just deepened the kiss. They step back to take in some air and she saw that he had that lop-sided grin on his face. She brushed his cheek with the palm of her hand and tells him that she would be back soon.

Jim Beckett's house

Kate was still sitting in the car outside of her dad's home thinking about how to talk to her father about Luka. The most important issue was that he was family. Kate rang the bell shifting from foot to foot then the door opened. Her dad looked surprised but happy that she was there for a visit. He took her coat when she walked into the foyer and hung it in the closet. Then he saw her eyes and he knew something was wrong. They both sat on the sofa and then Jim spoke.

"Katie, what's happened to Rick? Is he okay?"

"He's fine dad. But there is something else that I need to talk to you about." Kate said.

"What is it, Katie?"

"I need to ask you something very important and I need the truth!"

Jim looked at her for a moment then he said,

"Katie why do you think I wouldn't tell you anything but the truth."

"Dad I have something to tell you, but let me finish before you ask your questions"

She explained everything about the case and how Rick and Espo met Luka and how his stepfather treated them, so Rick went back to see if there was anyone who'd heard anything in the apartment next door. When Castle knocked on the door, Luka cracked it open he had a black eye. He told Rick to leave because he would get in trouble so gave his card to a neighbor Ms. Gertie. She called Rick tonight and told him that the stepfather was beating Luka."

"Katie that's terrible. Is the little boy okay?

"Dad I have seen a lot, but the way he looked even made me sick. He's only seven years old."

"It took a lot for Espo to pull Rick off of him. I think he would have hurt him really bad if Ryan hadn't moved him out of the apartment complex and into the back of the car. Castle and I got to the hospital before the bus got there and they took him right into surgery. Dad the way he looked when they rolled him in..." Kate paused to collect her thoughts. "He needed blood so we gave mine because I was a match. The doctor needed to run another test and asked me about my family's medical history. When the test was done the results showed that Luka and I share almost the same DNA markers. How's that possible Dad?"

"Katie, you know that I would never cheat on your mother. God rest her soul. But there is only one reasonable explanation as to how you and Luka have almost the same DNA. You have an uncle, my brother who long ago was very careless with the women he had sex with. Is nothing that I'm proud of really, I'm ashamed of him if you want the truth. But he had a string of women that he slept with and that could be Luka's mother. That was years ago before he died."

"Dad, Luka's stepfather killed his mother. He's asking for a deal and then he'll tell us where the body is buried. I'm not sure if making a deal with him is the right thing to do."

"Then don't. Investigate. There has to be some evidence that can implicate him. Have you filed for a search warrant for his property?"

"Esposito and Ryan did. I should get going. I need to see what progress they have made."

"Katie, if Lukas's mother is dead, and his stepfather is going to jail for murder and child abuse you do know that you could very well be his next of kin." Her father says as he gets her coat.

"I know dad and I need to talk to Rick about this. I just left him to come here to ask you about the DNA test."

"Good luck bug."

"Thanks, dad."

12th precinct…

"We're going to go over this one more time. You're trying to tell me that your wife slipped and fell in the bathtub cracked her head open on the edge of the tub and died due to drowning?"

"Yes."

"You know I've heard it all. But for some reason, I just don't believe what you're trying to sell me." Ryan told their suspect.

"Neither do I. I think you're lying through your teeth just to save your skin. What I think happened is that you got a little too hands on with your wife, beat her senseless and then without knowing it you killed her with your bare hands. Was that rage? Or was it just you beating up on a defenseless young woman?" Espo asked.

Ryan took out pictures of Luka and spread them out in front of the stepfather on the table. He made sure that he saw the damage he had done to a 7-year-old boy.

"Place your hands on the table. I am going to cuff you to the bolt until we return." Espo told the stepfather.

Espo cuffs the man tightly so he has to be reminded of his crime in picture form. They both get up and leave the interrogation room and ten seconds later they are stepping into the observation room adjacent to the interrogation room two. Once the door is closed Espo starts.

"What do you think Kate?"

She looks at Luka's stepfather through the two-way glass and sees what he's looking at on the table. She can tell he looks disgusted at what he sees.

"Guys, he's guilty of abusing Luka. But that charge doesn't draw as much time in prison as murder does. The warrant came in to search his house, car, and any common area that we can think of. Turn up the heat in interrogation two and let him stew for a little bit. While he is suffering, I need you to go to his house and search it top to bottom. Leave nothing unturned."

"On it, Beckett." The boys say together.

Espo and Ryan are out of the observation room and onto the elevator to their car downstairs. Kate still watches through the glass as he seems to take a little pride in what he has done to his stepson. She hopes that her boys can find something to nail this bastard with.

Xx

Rick has not left Luka's bedside since he was returned to the ICU room following his surgery. He watched him like a hawk. There was no way anyone would harm this little boy again; he would lay down his life to stop it.

"Mr. Castle, my name is Zoe. I am the nurse assigned to monitor and care for Luka. I can tell you this much he is a fighter."

"Hello, Zoe. I hope that he will be able to wake up soon. I need to talk to him."

"I am going to start weaning him off the post-surgery meds. He should be coming out of it in the morning. The nurse who will relieve me at six am will make sure he is well taken care of. Her name is Deb. She is a great nurse."

"I sure hope that he can recover from the surgery quickly. I am going to stay the night if that's possible, I don't want to leave his side."

"That's fine Mr. Castle. As I understand it, he doesn't have anybody to watch over him. Later I can set you up with a blanket and a comfortable pillow."

"Thank you, Zoe, I would appreciate it."

Zoe tries to make Luca comfortable by fluffing his pillow. Then she gives Rick a wink and she's out the door on to her next patient. Rick watches Luka as he sleeps. He looks like he is dreaming and he can tell that whatever he is dreaming is not good. He is starting to toss and turn and wanting him to calm down a little Rick places his hand on Luka's forehead to calm him down. It has the desired effect.

Xx

Failure is not an option for either of them. They will find something to get a convection. Whatever they find will be entered into evidence and preserved to guarantee an outcome that they can live with. The warrant they have gives them the right to search anything they please nothing is off-limits. As they pull up to the house, Espo and Ryan decide to break the apartment up into two sections. Kevin will search one side, and Javi we will search the other side. It takes them just shy of four hours to search the entire apartment. The only thing they came up with was a pair of handcuffs and a nickel bag of cocaine. Since they have the stepfather in custody Esposito had told the beat cops that they could go back to the 12th. There was no longer a need for them to be here guarding the apartment.

Just as they were about to leave, the building superintendent came up to the apartment.

"I just wanted to know if you guys were getting ready to leave yet?"

"Yes, we're just about finished here since there's nothing else we can go through."

The super took out his keys to lock up the apartment as Espo and Ryan walked into the hallway. Then he had a thought.

"Wait, you guys do know about the storage space down in the basement that's for this apartment don't you? Each apartment has one."

When the super said that, both detective's eyes got wide, really wide.

"Can you show us where this storage unit is?" Kevin asked.

All three of them were down in the basement less than five minutes later. They found a secured storage area with a master padlock on a hasp. It didn't take much to break off the lock. Most of what was in the storage unit were boxes of old clothes, suitcases, some small appliances, baby furniture, an old twin bed with box spring and mattress, and some older toys that must have been Lukas. What had both their attention is the steamer trunk that sat in the corner of the storage unit covered with a tarp. Esposito moved over to the trunk took all the toys off the top of it and pulled off the tarp. The lock was unlocked so to open it was to simply push a button and the hasp sprung free. Both men had examination gloves on and Ryan lifted the lid of the steamer trunk. What sat inside the trunk was a garbage bag tied off at the top with a rope. Kevin untied the knot in the rope that was keeping the bag closed. He slid the top of the bag down and what they found where the partially mummified remains of a woman who look to be in her mid-thirties. The second Esposito looked at Ryan he knew they had the evidence they needed to put away Luka's father for the rest of his life. Espo high fived Ryan and they started to catalog the evidence they found in the storage unit. The M.E. was called and when Lanie arrived she was sad that Luka had lost his mother. She would need to perform a complete autopsy before she could tell Kate the actual cause of death.

Xx

"Tell me that you found something… anything." Kate asked her boys when they returned to the bullpen.

"We did! We hit pay dirt, that bastard will be going away for a very long time." Espo told her.

"This is good news guys! What did you find?"

"Mrs. Benton." Espo gave her the grim news and Kate understood what they meant.

"Lanie will give us her report tomorrow morning after she completes the autopsy," Ryan said.

Kate who now can twist the screws to Mr. Benton gets up from her desk and walks over to her partner's desks.

"Who wants to come with me and break the news to Luka's stepfather?"

Kate, Ryan, and Espo enter the interrogation room. Espo and Ryan take a seat across from Harry Benton, Luka's stepfather. Kate opted to stand because she thinks better on her feet. His eyes never left the two men sitting across from him.

"Mr. Benton, we will be charging you with murder in the first degree. We found your wife. All I need from you is a signed confession."

"Bullshit! You didn't find squat, and I ain't signing nothing."

Kate nodded to Ryan who pulled his tablet from his jacket. He scrolled through the pictures he took of the crime scene and stopped at a picture of his wife that had a picture of her wedding band. It matched his wedding band perfectly. After seeing this Mr. Benton's face dropped a little but there was more. Ryan then showed him a picture of his deceased wife's neck. Hanging from it was a neckless that had a personalized name on it. It was silver and read 'Luka'.

"We have you dead to rights. There will be no deal to be had. We are going to throw the book at you, Mr. Benton." Kate said.

"Espo get this piece of shit down to central booking and get him in the system. The charges are murder in the first, child abuse, and whatever else we can think up."

"No problem Beckett it'll be my pleasure."

Espo uncuffs Mr. Benton and removes him from the interrogation room. They head to booking and from there he will be sent to Rikers until his trial date. What Mr. Benton doesn't understand is that when he is booked under child abuse charges, he will be in for a world of hurt. The hardened cons at Rikers or where ever he will serve his time look upon his type of crime as the lowest of the low. The cons will beat him to within an inch of his life. And when he recovers from his injuries, they will do it all over again.

Xx

Esposito had a soft spot for Luka. Even though he tries to play the tough guy all the time, he knows where Luka is coming from because he has been there. He sees Castle as he steps into the room where Luca is recovering from his surgery. It's early, around 5:30 AM but he wanted to come and see the little guy before he had to go to work. Rick was true to his word. He stayed there all night never once leaving his side. And this is how he finds Castle, sleeping with his head on the mattress next to Luka. Esposito takes in the sight and just watches both of them. Rick was the one to see that he was being abused and did something about it. He wonders what will happen to the boy now. He hopes that he's not just thrown into the DCS system with no help at all. It would be easy for someone like him to fall between the cracks. But he knows that he did his part. Because of him and Ryan, Luka will have his justice.

Xx

Rick hears the soft click of the door. He knows who was just here by the scent of his cologne. He always thought Espo had a soft spot and now he knows for sure. Rick raises his head and takes a look to see how Luka is doing. He should be coming out of his drug-induced haze soon now. He just hopes that he is not afraid to be in the same room with him.

Xx

She's running late because she decided to get coffee for herself and Rick. She parks the car in an official parking spot for police vehicles and she puts her placard on the dash to identify her reason for being there. She parked next to a blue unmarked unit but she doesn't know who's is it is until she walked through the entrance doors. She sees Esposito trying to sneak out the side door without being seen but she knows it's him and she lets it go for now. Kate flashes her badge at the nurse sitting at the desk and she just waves her in no questions asked. By the time she arrives at Luka's room, she hears light laughter. The scene she sees when she opens the door and walks in the room melts her heart. Rick is making funny faces at Luka and he is giggling. He is contorting his face to make him laugh and she can't help to laugh along with Luka.

Rick senses her before he sees her. He turns to look at her still with a goofy face in place and he sees that she is laughing. He's glad that she is, her job demands a lot from her and she needs to let loose at times.

"Hey, Kate."

"Hi, Rick. How is our patient feeling?"

"He's doing good. Some post-surgery soreness, but other than that his spirits are high." Rick says as he looks over to Luka who nods in agreement.

"Rick there something I need to talk to you about, and it involves Luka. I would like to do it away from small ears if you know what I mean."

Rick nods and he tells Luka he will be right back. Once they are out in the hallway Kate tells Rick her news.

"Rick I have to tell you what Dr. Nelson found when he ran his tests. I found out how I am related to Luka. It seems that my uncle was very free with the women he slept with. He is how I am related to Luka."

"That's good then right? He will be able to take Luka home when he is discharged and give him the care he needs."

"Rick, he passed away about three years ago. So no, he won't be able to take Luka. But I might be able to. Since we are a blood relation DCS might grant me custody. What do you think?"

"Wait, Kate, what are you asking me?"

"I know that this is sudden and out of left field, but would you consider taking me and Luka in as house guests at the loft?"

Rick looked at her and could see that she had given her question a lot of thought and that she was also very sincere.

"Are you sure that you will gain custody? I am kind of attached to him, Kate. I need to make sure that he is taken care of. By whoever that is, be it you, or DCS."

"Rick, I need you with me if I decide to do this but we do it together. I think that we can make what we have work as a family. I know that there is Alexis to consider but I'm willing to take the chance that she will love having a little brother."

"Kate, don't you know that Alexis looks up to you? She would know that you'd never let Luka fall back into the clutches of the DCS. She'd want you and Luka to stay with us, and so would I."

Kate gave what she thought was her best puppy dog eyes to Rick hoping that he would consider them staying with him and Alexis. She watches his face change from happy to sad to happy again. Then without warning turns and walks away from her. She watches as he crosses the hall, summon the elevator gets on and as the door closes in front of him, he gives her the smile he only gives to her. She stands there waiting not knowing what to do because there's nobody else here with her. After about 5 minutes standing in the hallway, she decides to go see Luka. The second she enters his room he smiles at her. He remembers her from the other day Rick and the other person stopped to ask if he heard anything about what happened next door.

"Hi, Luka. My name is Kate. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts a little, and my chest feels funny."

"I can tell you about what happened if you'll let me."

Luka nods.

"Your stepfather hit you in the head too many times and this caused your brain to swell a little. The doctor put a drain in the back of your head so the swelling would stop and your brain would recover quicker. You have some broken ribs and that's why your chest feels funny. The doctor says you should be here for another two to four days and then you'll be coming home with me and Rick."

"What about my house the one where Ms. Gertie lives?"

"You're not going to be living there anymore. So, all the bad things that happened there are in the past. You're going to start a fresh new life with two people who really care about you. And if you didn't know it, you have a sister, a big sister to be exact."

"I do?" Lukas's eyes were as big as saucers.

"You do."

"Wow wee."

Just then the door pushed open and in came a very out of breath Richard Castle. He walked over to the side of the bed where Kate was sitting and stops directly in front of her. The next thing she saw him do was to get down on his right knee. He was fumbling with something in his left pocket and as he pulls it out her hand automatically went to her mouth to stop the gasp she knew was going let go.

"Katherine Houghton Beckett will you be my wife?"

Now she understands where he went when he left her in the hallway. He went to the jewelry store not far from the hospital. The things this man will do for her.

"Why, I'd love to be your wife Mr. Richard Edgar Castle."

Rick removes the two-carat ring from the velvet-lined box and places it on Kate's ring finger. Luka who had been watching the whole scene play out in front of him wonders what was going to happen to him now. Rick and Kate who had looked over to the little boy knew they needed to explain what was going to happen next.

"Luka, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that you would no longer be living with your stepfather. If you agree you will be living with me and Rick. He has a very big apartment that I think you'll love the second you walk into it. Your stepfather will no longer do the things he did to you we will make sure that no one will hurt you the way he did ever again."

Luka could only smile brightly.

"The bad news is that your stepfather will be going to prison for a long, long time."

Kate had thought about telling Luka what had happened to his mother but decided not to until he was a little older. She wouldn't keep it from him but she doesn't want to add to the amount of stress that he already has. She'll tell him when he's ready.

One year later at Upstate Correctional Facility in Franklin, N.Y. …

He thought it was bad enough when he was at Rikers but it seems that the inmate network has spread the word about what he did to Luka. He was only beaten for about three minutes at Rikers but the cons managed to make every one of those minutes count. He left there with a broken nose, missing three teeth, and a broken wrist and forearm. He thinks it was a shank that was used on his back and now he has to pee into a bag that ties around his waist. He was transferred to the Upstate Correctional Facility right after his trial. He was found guilty of murder in the first degree, child abuse, and tampering with evidence. The second he checked in at the upstate Correctional Facility he was put in the general population. He knew right then and there he was a dead man.

Two weeks later…

To make things easy on himself he took a job in the prison that would keep the cons office back, or so he thought. It happened one night after a long twelve hours of doing laundry for the prison. He was in his cell on the top bunk and what he found odd was that his cellmate was nowhere to be found. It was beyond lights out and he can't figure out where he went. He was about to turn over to go to sleep when he heard voices outside of his cell. It didn't take long for him to figure out what was going to happen next. The lock electronically buzzed and the lock unlocked. The cons slid his cell door open. It was a funny thing because they were carrying socks. It wasn't until they got closer that he realized there was something very heavy at the end of those socks.

"Welcome to your blanket party." The one inmate whispered.

Then four men of the ten that were there threw a blanket over the top bunk and him and used their weight to hold the blanket over him so he couldn't get away. Then the other six cons, three on each side started beating on him with the one-pound steel balls that work at the end of the socks. It made an effective weapon and on that night Mr. Benton who once abused his stepson, and murdered his wife, would take his last breath at the hands of the cons who were killing him.

Three months after the demise of Mr. Benton…

"Luka, come on downstairs. It's time for dinner." Kate yells up to their son.

It wasn't a minute later when Alexis was chasing Luka down the stairs. They made it to the table and Luka came to a sudden stop and broke out in a smile at what he saw on the table. Rick, Kate, and Alexis have been planning this surprise for him for the last two weeks. Luka moves cautiously over to where the cake is sitting on the table. He leans over and reads what the top of the cakes says and his smile grows even larger. He is tempted to swipe his finger on the top of the cake to taste the icing. But as his hand moves towards the top of the cake Kate stops him by saying,

"No taste testing mister. You get to eat your birthday cake after we eat dinner."

"Come on mom, you know dad always takes forever to finish what's on his plate."

Alexis who is not helping matters at all nods her head and agrees with Luka.

"Dinner first, then birthday cake and presents later. And you better finish everything on your plate."

"Mom!" Luka sulks.

"You only turn eight once, and I want to be ready with the camera so let's go."

Rick places Luka's favorite dish on the table, spaghetti and meatballs with traditional red meat sauce and a loaf of toasted Italian garlic bread. Things have changed drastically since he came home from the hospital with them. He's been introduced to different types of foods and he likes a lot of them. He now has friends that he didn't have before. And a big sister who helps him as much as she can as he tries navigating through his busy life. Things are good now and he loves it here.

Fin

These are the lyrics to Luka by Suzanne Vega. It's a great song so if you have the time watch the video. Without this song, this story would not have been possible.

My name is Luka
I live on the second floor
I live upstairs from you
Yes I think you've seen me before

If you hear something late at night
Some kind of trouble, some kind of fight
Just don't ask me what it was
Just don't ask me what it was
Just don't ask me what it was

I think it's because I'm clumsy
I try not to talk too loud
Maybe it's because I'm crazy
I try not to act too proud

They only hit until you cry
After that you don't ask why
You just don't argue anymore
You just don't argue anymore
You just don't argue anymore

Yes, I think I'm okay
I walked into the door again
If you ask that's what I'll say
And it's not your business anyway
I guess I'd like to be alone
With nothing broken, nothing thrown

Just don't ask me how I am
Just don't ask me how I am
Just don't…