[Lake Tahoe - Luxury Vacation Cabins, Summer 1993]

"Lilly!" Duncan whined as he chased his sister, "Give it back!"

"No way, Donut!" Lilly grinned, her blonde pigtails bouncing behind her as she raced toward the lake with her brother's latest prized possession, "It's a baby toy and YOU are NOT a baby!" she exclaimed as she lifted the offending item and drew her arm back as if to throw it in the lake.

"NOOOO!" Duncan cried, his lower lip trembling as he stopped in his tracks and reached toward the precious high-tech dump truck, tears threatening to spill from his deep blue eyes. "I'll tell mom!" he threatened, his desperation showing in his small voice.

The mention of their mother sparked a look of annoyance and determination in the lithe 6-year-old's sharp and cat-like eyes. She frowned and stalked momentarily back toward her brother. Making a quick decision, she tossed the toy away and crossed her arms over her slight chest while she glowered down at her little brother. "Don't you dare say a word to that witchy woman," the petulant child said coldly, "I love you but if you do, I'm going to have to hurt you."

Duncan's innocent blue eyes grew wide and his tiny jaw dropped open in horror. Seeing the look in his sister's eyes, one that he considered to be pure evil, he barely managed to squeak out a weak and awkward, "Help!" when he suddenly realized that they weren't alone.

Lilly must have realized it at the same time her brother did because she looked away from him with a glare, trying to find out who in their right mind might dare to interrupt them.

"Hey there," said the brown-haired, brown-eyed boy who had somehow managed to sneak up and join them without either of the siblings realizing it. Giving his best look of utter ignorance, the child who was the son of two actors inserted himself into the situation easily, "You guys playing cops and robbers? I wanna play!"

Narrowing her blue-green eyes at the younger boy, Lilly answered haughtily, "No, we're not. And even if we were, we're not allowed to play with strangers, so there." The girl stuck her tongue out at the new boy prissily, forgetting her brother for the time being, her attention focused on this new annoyance.

"Logan!" the boy heard his mother call, having seen him approach the Kane children from several hundred feet away where she was sunning along the water's edge. "Don't be a nuisance now. You know your father doesn't like it when you push your way into other people's business."

Rolling his eyes tolerantly, the boy looked back over his shoulder and called out with sugary sweetness, "Yes, Mother. I was just trying to make some new friends."

Lilly snorted and gave the boy a shove, saying, "Sure you were, Nosy."

Duncan looked on in horror as the other boy's eyes flashed with anger, his little hands curling into fists at his side as he gritted out menacingly, "I may be nosy but you're a bully."

"Oh yeah?" Lilly challenged, "Well, whatcha gonna do about it, Nosy?"

Getting a steely glint in his dark eyes, the boy obviously accepted the challenge, giving the girl a smirk as he said, "This." Promptly, and before she could figure out what he was doing and move out of his way, he reached for her and grabbed her around the knees. It took all his strength but he managed to strong-arm her over his shoulder and, swaying slightly every once in awhile, carried her the couple yards to the water and unceremoniously dumped her in.

She squealed and screamed while the boy laughed at her, pointing and mocking her with his words, "You look like a drowned rat, Mistress Bully-Pants!"

Nearly forgotten, her brother scrambled up and over to the edge of the lake just in time to see the girl stomp and rave, throwing what could only be described as an infantile temper tantrum. The guileless blue-eyed brother giggled at the sight of his sister and stuck out his hand with a look of awe and respect that came very close to hero-worship, "I'm Duncan. That's my sister, Lilly. Thanks for sticking up for me back there. You were pretty amazing."

Taking the offered hand seriously and giving his new comrade a crooked half-grin, the other boy said, "Logan. But you probably figured that out when my mom yelled it." He paused and looked toward the lake where Lilly was now standing in the water, ankle-deep, trying to wring out her dress. Then he looked back at the other boy and asked curiously, "Is she always that mean?"

Nodding, Duncan said solemnly, "Sometimes she's even worse."

Shaking his head, Logan looked back at Duncan and offered sincerely, "I'm here the rest of the summer. Our cabin is right over there. Come find me if you want to play or if you could use some protection. I'm not scared of the likes of her."

Smiling happily, Duncan nodded and asked curiously, "Do you like trucks?"

Shrugging, Logan said, "They're ok. Do you like swords?"

Looking a bit doubtful, Duncan asked in response, "You mean real ones that are sharp and scary?"

"Nah," Logan said with a slight shake of his head, "Fake ones. Foamy ones even."

"Oh, ok. Sure," Duncan agreed readily once he was sure that no one would get hurt.

"Cool," Logan grinned and looked back at Lilly who had finally gotten out of the lake and was busily and furiously stalking back toward their chalet. Frowning, Logan suddenly looked worried as he said, "I'm gonna scram before she tattles on me. Come and look for me later!"

That said, Logan ran off. he headed in the direction his mom had called him from but then disappeared from sight before Duncan could figure out what had happened.

Eventually, Logan had to head back to his home away from home. He crept up cautiously and tried to sneak inside without anyone noticing. He was hoping that his dad might be grilling out for dinner and his mom might be lounging in the front room. He'd noticed he was getting into more and more trouble lately and while the lectures were fine - he could tune those out - he didn't like when his dad yelled at him and called him names.

This time, however, he barely made it in the door before he was lifted from the ground by the back of his shirt. He yelped and flailed, trying to regain his footing. When he heard his father's cool, calm voice, though, he froze.

"Welcome home, son," came the deep voice of superstar Aaron Echolls. Taking hold of his son under the armpits, Aaron easily held the boy several feet off the ground and pinned him against the wall. Then, staring sternly into the startled eyes of his son, he asked with a playful but ominous chill in his tone, "Have you been getting into mischief again?"

"N-no, Dad," Logan stuttered in response, "I swear. I-I made a new friend a-and protected him from a bully."

"A bully, you say?" came Aaron's deep, amused but somehow threatening response. "Did this bully happen to be, oh I don't know, a cute little blonde girl? Perhaps this new friend's big sister?"

Logan hesitated, then shakily nodded his head. He wasn't sure if that was the right response or not, but either way it was honest.

"You fool!" his father growled menacingly as he shook the boy before pinning him roughly back against the wall, "Do you know who those kids are?!" he hissed.

Wincing, Logan shook his head and pursed his lips. He had the feeling that anything he said might further anger his father so he determined to not say anything at all.

"Those were the Kane children, Son," Aaron explained gruffly, giving Logan another shake and shove against the wall. "The Kanes! My God, Son, don't you know who the fucking Kanes are?!"

Again, Logan shook his head but didn't say a word. He was concentrating on holding his breath to keep a whimper from escaping. He knew how much his dad hated any show of weakness and he was afraid of what his dad might do if he showed any now.

Giving a derisive chuckle, Aaron glared at his son and said with a sneer, "They're only the richest family your mother and I have ever met. Jake Kane is a billionaire. A BILLIONAIRE, I tell you. Do you know how many zeros are on a billion dollars, Son? That's nine zeros, ten figures total. We can NOT," another slam, "afford," again a slam, "to piss off," slam, "a single," slam, "one," slam, "of the," slam, "Kanes," slam.

Logan's head was aching by this point, throbbing would be more accurate. He tried to keep the pain from etching itself on his face as finally he said, "Sorry, Dad. I didn't know. I-I'll stay away from them from now on. I swear."

His words brought another condescendingly evil laugh from the grown man who shook his head and said with deep-seated regret, "You really are an idiot, aren't you, Son? When will you ever learn? No, no, don't say a thing. Here's what you're going to do. You're going to go back to the Kanes and apologize profusely. Then, once you've done whatever it is that you have to do for them to accept your apology, you're going to ingratiate yourself to their children. Become the boy's best friend. We need this connection, Son. I'm counting on you to make this work. Don't even think of letting me down."

The child was terrified by his father's words. He'd never seen his dad like this before and it scared him. Working up the courage to speak again, he finally managed to get out, "Y-yes, Sir."

When the words of compliance were spoken, Aaron suddenly changed back to the loving but stern father that the son used to know. Setting his son back on his feet and making sure those feet were steady on the floor, Aaron gave Logan a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He ruffled Logan's hair and said with what seemed like out of place affection, "Thatta boy. Go get 'em, Son. Do your dad proud."

Logan stood with his back pressed against the wall for a long time after his father left the room. He didn't know what to do and he wasn't so sure he could stand on his own. Eventually, he pried himself away and tiptoed to the stairs, wishing and hoping to not meet up with his father again that night.

His wish was granted and when he made it up the stairs and into his room, he quickly shut and locked the door. Tenderly, he took off his shirt and looked at himself in the full length mirror on the back of the door. Raising one arm and then the other, he saw red marks in the shape of fingers. He frowned and wondered if they'd become bruises or if they'd quickly fade away. His upper back was red but there were no distinct marks so Logan figured he'd be fine there. Then his hand went up to the back of his head and he winced and cringed at the large knot he felt forming there.

Pulling his fingers away, he checked to be sure it wasn't bleeding. When he saw that it wasn't, he felt a wave of relief then tried to remember all of what his father had said. He was to become friends with the blue-eyed boy. The thought of a friend made him smile but then he remembered the girl and he scowled. Could he avoid her and still be friends with him? It was worth a try. All he knew was that after the encounter with his dad, if he never saw the girl again, it would be too soon.