Peter looked up at him, then hugged him again. "Alright....but it was horrible....my nightmare...." he said wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "I don't want to go any where. I don't want to go anywhere! I want to stay here..." he pinched his eyes shut "What if the doctor cuts my hair!!?"

Justin held his cousin close. "I don't know if he would or wouldnt." Then, Miley came in. "Is everything okay?"

Peter looked up, his cheeks red, and he was still trembling "I had a horrible nightmare Miley..."

Justin said, "Well, I hate to leave but i have to go home to my wife." He gave his cousin a hug and tousled his hair. "I love you." After his cousin said he loved him to he left.

When he left, Miley asked, "How come you asked Justin if the doctor would cut your hair?"

Peter sat up straighter, tousling his own dark curls, praying they would stay. "Justin suggested I go to a doctor to see why my hair fell out after telling me that it probably was just stress and we lose hair everyday and it grows back."

Miley felt the bed. "Hey I will watch your hair for you and you can too. If more falls out, we can go see a doctor and get some medicine to see why it's happening. No one in our family has gone bald at fourteen. Sixty maybe, but not fourteen."

Peter felt tears in his eyes. "Will I go bald at sixty?"

Miley gave him a sad smile. "I'm not sure. I mean most of the people in our family have all of their hair."
She stroked his short, dark hair, then walked aorund his bed and felt for hair. "Your bed sure is wet." She placed her hand on a pillow. This would explain why there were red lines down his cheeks. He had been crying in his sleep. She thought she had heard crying in the middle of the night. The pillow was sopping wet

She put her hand to his forehead, wondering if that coudl be it. It felt incredibly hot. "Peter, I'm going to take your temperature. I think you got a fever." She ran to get the thermometer.

Peter made a face and sat on the end of his bed. He felt his own fore-head and it didn't feel hot him....maybe that was because he was cold. He touched his pillow and it was soacked. "I was crying.....that's way it's wet" he threw it to the head of his bed. Then looking at the sheets, he saw something dark tucked mostly under his blankets. Dreading what it might be, he picked it up and saw it was another lock of his own hair. He bit his lip, and jumped up almost falling to the floor when a wave of achey dizziness hit him. His stomach began churning but he ran out into the hall crashing head long into Miley. "My hair!!" he cried and showed her the piece he had found.

*********

When Justin pulled in the drive of his house, he quickly got out of his car and went inside. It had been hours since he had been with Maralyn and he wanted to know if her and the baby were alright. "Maralyn?" he called as he came in and shut the front door behind him. When he recieved no immediate answer he yelled again, a bit louder "Maralyn!??"

Maralyn rushed over to teh door. Usually she would be a little annoyed at his attempts to play hero with his family but had grown to appreciate him more after almost losing him twice. "Yes?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miley wrapped her arms around him, seeing the lock of her dear little cousin's hair. "Peter, we really need to see a doctor."
Peter burst into tears. "I'm going bald. It won't grow back" He felt sick to his stomach and fell to the floor, sobbing. God why is this happening to me? Please let me have my hair.

"Oh Peter!" Miley said wishing to cry along with him. She wrapped her arms around his shaking form and stroked his hair. "Shhh...don't cry anymore Peter....sssh....things will be okay. You'll see. You won't go bald....you won't I promise" she whispered in his ear, hoping he would be comforted by her words. She brushed his dark curls from around his ears. "Everythings going to be alright. PLease don't cry anymore!"

*******

Justin felt relief at seeing her alright. He moved to her and gave her a hug. "I was getting worried about you and little Sara. I'm sorry I was gone so long...I talked to Ian at the Jail. Then Miley called me, because Peter is having a really ruff time" he put an arm around her shoulders. "Chrissa's mom learned about his past and now he can't see her anymore. Brian's Mom is blaming him for Brian's getting shot, and now he lost some hair from the stress. I stayed at miley's for awhile, and then when me and her were talking I heard Peter screaming upstairs. He was having a nightmare" Justin shook his head. "I feel so bad for him...."

Peter shut his eyes tight. He didn't want her to see him like this, but everything was going so wrong. No! Not my hair! his insides kept screaming. "Maybe we should go see a doctor." He sadly touched his thick, clean dark hair that he still had. Please God don't let anymore fall out.
~~~~~~~~~~
Maralyn's eyes opened wide. "Oh no. Not Peter." Then, remembering her years as a nurse she said, "It does grow back sometimes. Think you could host any counseling sessions for him?"

Justin half smiled. "I probably could. I just wish there was a way to help him more. His hair his special to him, especially since it's just now coming back. He doesn't need this....I wish people would just leave him alone" Maralyn detected a little frustration in his voice.

********

Miley nodded to him. "We will....it's morning I'll try to schedule one for you today. But Please don't cry anymore.....or I may cry to" she said and hugged him tightly. His fore-head was still hot to touch, and she feared he was getting sick.

Peter shivered. "Okay." He let her help him into the bed and watched her make an appointment. He turned to his dresser, and tried to read the Bible. He begged God for his hair to stop falling out and stay on his head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Justin then walked to the phone and furiously dialed Brain's mom's number.

On the way to the doctors Peter sat on the middle seat staring sadly out the window. He didn't say a word the whole time and Miley, who was driving, became more worried about him. Miley's mother, sat in the passenger side front, she had her purse and was checking to make sure she had everything.

But Miley was quite distracted, she constantly glanced in the rear view mirror to look at Peter. He looked so upset, she just wanted to take him in her arms and give him another hug. Half way to the doctor she asked quietly "Peter...are you okay?" she tried to keep her eyes firmly on the rode but it was hard.

*************

Some one picked up the phone on the other end and inquired. "Yes?" he could clearly tell it was Brian's mother.

Justin clenched his teeth, as he felt his blood boil. "Hello. You will be happy to know that my cousin's hair is falling out now because of stress. What did you do? Pray for it to fall out? Doesn't sound very Christian."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter didn't want to worry her, but his nose felt very stuffy and his head was hurting. All he could think about was losing his hair and that he might be going bald. "All the kids at school are going to laugh at me. Jen won't even love me anymore. She'll think I'm ugly." He groaned, trying to shut in the tears. His stomach was throbbing. "I'm falling apart." He felt another lock of hair hit his neck. He picked it up with his hand. "No!" He held it close, wishing he coudl jsut fasten it to his head.

Miley made a face. "Oh Peter....we are almost there. Hold on!" she said and accerlated a little faster....also a little over the speed limit. She was hoping and praying he would be alright.

*********

There was a gasp on the other end of the phone. "What!? What are you talking about?? Who is this!?" she exclaimed.

Justin said in a low voice, trying to control his anger, "This is Brian's mother isn't it? You yelled at my cousin, Peter, when he was already having a bad day and now his hair is falling out."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When they finally got to the place, Peter felt weak and had to walk close to Miley. Finally, they got inside. All he could think about was his hair, as he ran hand through it. He put his hand in his pocket, where he put the lock that fell out. THey had him sit and wait an fill out papers. Hands trembling, he wrote down the information and tried to stop the tears as he wrote what was happening.

"Well I'm sorry....I didn't want his hair to fall out! I just want him to stay away from my Son! It's his fault that Brian was shot!!" she yelled at him over the line, her voice emotional.

********

Miley kept an arm around her sick cousin the whole time, trying to comfort him. She helped him with the papers, and after he was done she handed him a hankerchief. "Here you go Peter. Use this."