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Last Swim	By : jai Category: Individual Celebrities > Athlete/Sports Misc Views: 8159 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not know the people written about in this fanfiction. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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December 27, 2005 Ann Arbor MI

“So Michael, what have you found out?”

“That I was at my dad’s reception and yes, Cathy was there.”

“From the ice cream, I’m going to assume that your stomach is no longer a problem?”

“Well, I threw up earlier once I finally let it break out but I feel a lot better now.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Do you think we’re done with our work?”

Michael turned that thought around in his head. “I’d like to continue working with you for a while. There are a few things I’m wondering about.”

“Okay. Does Ian need to continue working with us?”

“I’d like him too because there are things that will affect him but it’s up to him.”

Ian looked down at Michael. “I was really afraid you’d resent me for pushing you like that. I’d like for us to keep working together too. We’ve come a long way the last three months but I haven’t quite licked the driving thing yet.”

“Ian, you did really well today,” he sat up suddenly and swung around to look at Ian. “Wait, is that why you were upset when you picked me up at the door? You said you were mad at Cathy but is that all it was?”

Bending his legs, Ian wrapped his arms around them and put his chin on his knees while he pondered that. “I was worried about you. I ran to the car because I wanted to get back to you as fast as possible, I didn’t even stop to look at the car; I just got in. I didn’t get mad until I saw how pale you looked when I drove up then I was suddenly furious that she could do that to in ain a public place and no one would notice.”

“Where you furious because Taylor did the same thing to you too? Made you feel unsafe in public?” Michael leaned forward and put his hand on Ian’s ankle, rubbing the bone gently.

Ian closed his eyes. “Yes, I think that was part of it. I kept thinking that no one seemed to understand how threatened I felt by Taylor because she was a woman. Just because I’m taller and stronger than her, she wasn’t able to hurt me. And Cathy did the same thing to Michael.”

“But because she was a woman, you would have been more vulnerable to her, Ian. First, you would have hesitated to defend yourself against her and second, she wasn’t acting alone.” Michael said, realizing that it applied in his situation too.

“Is that what happened to you, Michael? Was Cathy alone?” Walter interjected.

“No, Nathan was there too. He never touched me but I felt like he was herding me, keeping me from leaving. I’d turn away from Cathy and he’d be right there, laughing. God, he had a really weird laugh.”

“All right. I think you guys have done enough work today. We’re going to back off from this right now because I know you’re both going to keep thinking about it. We’ll meet on Saturday, I’ll come down to the pool and we’ll work a little on the driving thing, Ian.”

“I do want to tell you, Michael that I’m not surprised by Nathan’s behavior. He used to watch Cathy have sex with various partners, with her permission.”

“Ew. His own sister?” Michael looked like he’d eaten something sour and Ian wasn’t much better. “Dude, that’s disgusting.”

“Well, what did you expect? Before we finish tonight, I want to know something. What caused the break through?”

“My mom’s got a beau and we were talking about it, if she got married.”

Ian snickered. “Why can’t you say boyfriend? Your mum’s got a boyfriend.”

“Because he’d never be as good as you in the boyfriend department so he’s a beau, less chance I’ll compare him to you.” Michael said with a grin.

Walter rolled his eyes. “Hey, keep down the sugar level over there. Michael, what if your mom did get married?”

Michael sighed. “I think I’ll be okay with it, as long as I can meet his family before I’m related to them. I was a little freaked out because I thought Cathy was one of Jackie’s cousins, well I thought she was a girl my namenamed Claudia too but I was worried that I’d end up meeting all these people that were suddenly my family.”

“Why did you think she was your age?”

“Because it was easier to deal with someone my age being that way? No, it was less creepy. Most older women, I can tell they think I’m cute but they aren’t creepy about it. Cathy was creepy.”

“Where were you when Cathy came up to you?”

“I was out by the swing set dad put in for Jackie’s grandkids. I was playing with the kids, pushing Cassidy and Sierra on the swings. Which is why I didn’t want to make a scene, I didn’t want the kids thinking there was something wrong.” Michael said it slowly, “Huh. No one said anything because kids thought she was playing a game with me.”

“Which is probably why you really avoid being alone with the kids around here.” Ian added. “Not that I think it’s a bad idea but it was one of those odd things I noticed.”

“Michael, are you seeing the patterns you’ve used to block the incident out?”

Michael nodded, “Yeah. I’ll have to write it down in my book; try to figure it out backwards.”

“Good enough. Bring your books on Saturday and I’ll look them over while you swim. Now, how do you want to deal with the parents?”

&&
In the kitchen, the parents were still worried although Charles Stern was doing his best to explain the issues their sons has been working on and Sharon Morrissey was trying to assure them that it didn’t matter what Michael remembered; it wasn’t part of the case.

Frank Norris let the parents get some of their fear, anger and general displeasure that they were kept out of the loop regarding their children for a solid forty-five minutes when they started repeating themselves. He put down his coffee cup and cleared his throat. When that didn’t silence them, he tried a glare but got no response.

Well, parents are different than field agents so he stood and rapped his knuckles on the kitchen table. “Ladies, Gentlemen?” After they all fell silent, he sat back down. “Now that I have your attention, I didn’t tell you about Michael and Ian’s issues because it wasn’t part of the case. Please remember your sons are both adult men. They don’t have to tell you everything that happens in their lives and going in there demanding answers is not the way to go.”

Although Frank could tell they’d like to deny that had been the plan but their sheepish looks said otherwise. Frank wasn’t surprised that Mr. Callahan, Ryan, had been silent during most of the conversation and seemed to agree with him.

“Ryan, why are you nodding your head?” Debbie asked.

“Because he’s right; I don’t even know Michael and Ian but going in there with a line drawn is only going to cause them to withdraw from you.”

“Oh more than they already have?” Margaret accused?

“A doctor will sometimes ask a patient to not discuss their therapy with their families. Some days you have a great session but other days you don’t. Talking about your sessions while you’re having these ups and downs isn’t a good idea especially with the kind of work Michael and Ian were doing.” Walter spoke from the doorway. “If you’d like to come in, I think they’re ready to talk to you about it.”

The eight people in the kitchen stood up and moved into the living room where Ian and Michael had moved to the floor near the fireplace. Michael was lighting the fire as Ian arranged some floor pillows, leaving the couch free for everyone else. Walter came in behind them with a chair from the kitchen and a couple of bottles of water for Ian and Michael. He carefully placed his chair so he was sitting off to the side but able to view everyone and then sat down.

“While Michael is practicing his avoidance technique,” Walter slid a sly glance to the fireplace, “I’ll give you an idea of the kind of therapy we’ve been doing. Because Ian and Michael are used to being coached, I’ve been coaching them through the process. We meet on Wednesday and Saturdays but Ian and Michael have been basically working through this with each other.”

“It’s a radical approach but neither struck me as the type to lie on a couch and spill their guts to a stranger so we discussed the risks involved prior to beginning. We chose this because they do talk to each other, almost incessantly and neither lets the other get away with much crap before calling foul on each other. They also have a very healthy relationship in that they play fair with each other.”

“In short, they trust each other more than they’d ever trust an outsider and they needed to start working on their problems without also having to open themselves up to a new relationship. Due to the experiences they’ve both had, they don’t trust outsiders easily which is hardly surprising.”

“They’ve made a healthy amount of progress and most of the physical affects of their issues have subsided. I’ll be here to answer any questions about the process but I’ll be taking my cues from Michael and Ian about what not to answer.” Walter nodded towards the duo sitting on the floor.

Ian looked at Michael and then sighed. “Okay, go go first. I started having problems after the bomb thing. Mostly flashbacks about Taylor but after a while I was sleeping a lot but always hyper, I was eating more than normal and I stopped driving myself anywhere. Now I know I was hyperaware during the day because Michael was awake all night.

“I was eating more because I was stressed but also because we were fixing the same amount of food but Michael was eating less. So I’d try to eat what was left because it was painful to see the food he wasn’t eating sitting there. The driving thing, we’re still working on that one but Michael is helping me face it down and we’re getting there.”

Michael jumped in before anyone could respond. “My problems were similar to Ian’s except being almost totally the opposite. I was up all night because I was worried Cathy would get out somehow and come after us. Walter gave me the phone number of Cathy’s facility so I could call when I got too worried. I had to learn to think of her without getting sick because I stopped eating for a while.

“Then there was the problem with my memory which is one of the reasons I couldn’t talk to you. I needed to find out what happened without anyone who was there giving me their version. Earlier today I would have sworn that I didn’t want to go to that party and that mom forced me to attend. Now I know that Dad and Jackie gave that party just so I could meet her family and dad’s coworkers and that’s why you were so pissed off when I left early. It was near my birthday wasn’t it?”

“Michael, I wasn’t upset that you left early. I was disappointed sure but you looked so sick and I was worried that you wouldn’t let me take you home. Then you didn’t show up at home for hours so I was even more worried.”

“Dad, by that point I was already trying to come up with things to cover up what happened. I didn’t do it on purpose; I just couldn’t deal with what had happened. Right now, I don’t remember where I went after I left but that’ll be something I have to work on. But can you understand why I had to get here without talking to you about it?”

“Michael, how do you know you’re not forgetting other things that happened to you?” Debbie said worriedly.

Michael shrugged, “I don’t. I was worried about that too so Frank helped up us set up a time line so I could see what I did and didn’t remember. So far, I’m a little fuzzy on some stuff when I was really young but that’s because I was young.”

“Mrs. Phelps, if you’re worried that maybe Michael was abused when he was younger he doesn’t display any of the symptoms of it.”

“But he didn’t have any symptoms that that woman molested him either.”

“Yes I did. I still have some of them like being afraid of aggressive women, not wanting to be alone with children. I just didn’t know they were symptoms; I was too busy trying to rewrite history so don’t blame yourself for this mom. You either dad. I just wasn’t prepared for her and there was no way you could have protected me unless you locked me in a room. Cathy is a psycho bitch from hell and she’s way beyond the scope that any parent would be prepared for.”

“Michael, you were alone with Cathy, Nathan and those children; were you afraid to leave them alone with her?” Ian asked curiously.

“Um. Maybe more because of the way Nathan was looking at them.”

“Guys, no more work tonight. Shut it down.” Walter said mildly. “I know it’s really tempting to continue but not tonight. If you can’t help worrying the bone, write in your books and switch them off.”

“You’re right. Sorry, Michael.”

“It’s okay. It is kind of all swirling around in my brain though so I need a break.”

“May I ask a question? It doesn’t have anythto dto do with Michael and Ian’s therapy, just a technical question?” Ryan asked politely.

“Sure.”

“If Michael’s memories won’t change the criminal case, why are an FBI agent, an FBI psychologist and the federal prosecutor here?”

“If I may?” Frank looked at Sharon and Charles who both nodded. “I’m here because I worked with Ian and Walter on reconstructing the events that afternoon and on the timeline. Sharon is here because although it won’t affect the federal case, there might now be an avenue for charges in Maryland. Charles has been overseeing Walter’s work with Ian and Michael because it is an unorthodox format and Walter wanted other eyes looking over his shoulder.

“But mostly we’re here because we’ve all become very fond of Ian and Michael and we’ve all had a part in getting them here. It’s always good to have a crowd at a victory.” Frank grinned at the men sitting near the fireplace.

Ken shook his head, “A victory?”

“Yes. Because they stood up and refused to become victims. Because they saw they had problems and instead of sitting down and crying about them, they’ve been working on them. Because they had good parents who gave them the foundations they needed to become strong men.”

Michael leaned over and whispered to Ian, “Oh, he’s good.”

“Yes he is. I’m taking notes.” Ian whispered back.

Frank stood up and jingled his car keys. “I have a couple of bottles of champagne; we should celebrate all these good things.” Frank strode out the front door with a cheery wave.

“So, ten bucks says he doesn’t come back,” Ian whispered.

“I’m not taking that bet. God, would you look at the parents?”

“They don’t know how to respond to that do they?”

Frank stepped back in the house and locked the door, frowning a bit at the alarm before realizing only the front door was deactivated. “Ah, here we go.” He held the three bottles of bubbly up. “Ian, where are your glasses?”

“They’re in the cupboard in the corner.”

“No they’re in the other corner, Ian.”

“How did you know which corner I meant?”

“You meant the one near the microwave but they’re in the corner near the fridge.”

“No they are not.”

“Here’s let go find out.” Michael jumped to his feet and pulled Ian up. “But I know you’re wrong.”

“Michael if you’ve been moving the stuff in the cabinets around again, I’m not going to be responsible for my actions.”

Frank shook his head, grinning and followed them into the kitchen.

“Well.” Margaret and Debbie said at the same time and then turned to look at each other.

Ken sat forward and clasp his hands between his kne“I t“I think they’re trying to tell us that they’re fine. Yes, they have problems but everyone does. Considering all that’s happened to them in the last year, they seem to be doing well.”

“Ken, how can you say that?”

“Maggie, there’s nothing wrong with getting a little help when you need it. Yes, I wish that Cathy and Taylor had never come into all of our lives but they did. Ian and Michael are dealing with it the best they can.”

“But they should have told us!” Debbie was still unable to believe that Michael had kept this from her from so long.

“Deb, you’re not going to like hearing this but you should have told him about Ryan. How can you keep that from him yet turn around and blame in for keeping this from you?”

“But it was right before a competition.”

“And? He was also dealing with this memory thing before the competition but he did just fine. I think the days of keeping things from Michael so he can keep his mind on the competition are over, Deb. He’s proven that he can focus on his swimming and deal with life at the same time.”

“Mr. Phelps, Ms. Phelps. Can I make a suggestion?” Walter spoke quietly but caught their attention anyway. After they both nodded, he continued. “For right now, if you have something to tell Michael that you think might upset his training tell Ian instead. He’ll be able to tell you if you should go ahead and tell Michael or not.”

“And while I don’t think the Thorpe’s have the same issue, they can do the same; ask Michael and he’ll clear things for Ian. I know you sometimes used the guys’ coaches for this role but this will give the guys more control over their lives. This is only a temporary step, to get you used to bypassing their coaches and dealing directly with the guys.”

Michael came back in the room holding four glasses of champagne followed by Ian and Frank. Once the glasses were passed out Frank proposed a simple toast,

“To families and friends, those we are born with and those we make.”

Michael took a cautious sip of the half glass he’d consented to drink and promptly sneezed. “Ew. Bubbly snot.”
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