Francis let his jaw drop open. His eyes glazed over for a moment. "Huh?"

"The birds and the bees." Logan repeated.

"Why would we talk about birds? I don't like bees. I got stung once-"

Logan interupted. "Uh, you don't know what I mean?"

Francis just shook his head.

"I mean......uh.......sex."

Francis' eyes widened. "Sex? Why?"

"Because....because you don't know about it, do you?" Logan had to look away from Francis for a second, and began to chew on his cigar.

He heard Francis utter a weak, "No."

"Well, we're gonna talk about it. That ok with you?" He glanced back at the boy, trying not to be too intimidating.

Francis sat back a bit, suddenly looking even smaller than he actually was. "Ok."

Logan watched as confusion washed over the little guy's face. "It's alright. I guess we should begin with what you already know. Uh, what do you know?"

Francis looked up, looking pitiful. "I don't know."

"Well, you know the difference between boys and girls, don't you?"

"I guess." His forehead crunched in concentration. "Other wise, I couldn't tell boys and girls apart."

Logan closed his eyes, willing himself to be calm. He opened them, and again looked into the green eyes. "What makes a boy different from a girl?"

"The way they pee?" He looked hopeful that was a correct answer.

Logan paused, hoping he was on the right track. "And?"

Francis looked frustrated, but he dove in head first. "Girls pee sitting down, and boys pee standing up." When he finished, he attempted a slight grin.

Logan again paused, now that he felt they were getting somewhere. "And why is that?"

"Because boys and girls have different parts. Girls just can't unzip and pee. They have to sit down, or their legs get all wet."

Logan let a smile appear on his lips. "Right. Do you happen to know the names of the parts?"

Francis closed his eyes, deep in thought. He opened them once again, and looked even more frustrated. "Um, boys have dicks and nuts and girls don't."

Logan winced. The little guy had the right idea, but........"Uh, yeah. But they have different names."

Francis sat forward a little. "But that's what you call them, right? I heard some of the others say the same thing, too. That's not right?"

"Uh...those are just ....uh....slang names. Do you know the proper names?"

"Pee......pee-nis?"

Logan almost shouted. "Yes! And?"

Francis just shrugged. "I don't know. Do we have to talk about this? I don't know all this stuff. Can we talk about something else?"

"No. We are talking about this because you DON'T know about it. That's how you learn, right?"

"I guess. But, I don't like talking about all this stuff. Jason never stops. That's all he talks about. He said that Tony took so long in the bathroom because he was getting friendly with his dick. I didn't know what that meant, so I asked him what he meant-"

Logan's mouth dropped open. "WHAT?"

"Jason told me that Tony goes into the bathroom and looks at dirty pictures, and polishes his knob. I didn't know what that meant either. Jason called me a dummy 'cause I didn't know noth-anything. He told me that Tony plays with himself when he gets...uh..horny? I asked him what ...horny...was, and he said that's what happen when your dick...uh...pee-nis gets all hard and stuff. Is that true? He said it happens to all guys. Does that happen to you?" Francis finally paused to take a breath.

Logan couldn't believe his ears. He tried to answer. "Uh, well, I guess-"

Francis wasn't done yet. He was on a roll. "When that happens to me, I just think I gotta pee real bad. Jason says that mas..master...masterelation is something that all guys do. I don't. Am I supposed to? What am I supposed to do? Does that mean I have to look at dirty pictures, too? I don't like those pictures. Naked ladies and all. Do all girls look like that? Jason says that jerking off is better than getting laid. What is getting laid?"

Logan didn't know whether to shit or go blind. He certainly didn't expect this. He held up his hand, to stop Francis from asking any more questions, at least until his head cleared a bit. "So, this Jason told you all this?"

"Uh huh."

"What else did he tell you?" Logan's interest was piqued. How much did this Jason tell Francis, and who else was he speading the word to?

"He told us what you're supposed to do when you are with a girl. He said you're supposed to get on top of her, and, girls have a hole, did you know that? You're supposed to put your...pee-nis...into the hole and move it back and forth until something shoots out and then the girl gets a baby. I think he was lying. I don't think that's true. Is it true? Is that what he meant when he said 'getting laid'? He called it something else. It's a word I'm not supposed to say, but you say it all the time. How come I can't use it?"

When Francis paused, with his face covered with confusion, Logan let out a chuckle. Francis looked at him, maybe feeling a bit slighted by the small outburst. Logan stubbed out his cigar, and repositioned himself, trying to think of a way to respond.

"Uh, let me guess? Jason called it 'fucking'?"

"Uh huh. Mr. Scott told me the next time he heard me use that word, he was gonna wash my mouth out with soap. Why would he do that? I heard him use that word too. Is it because you guys are older than me that you can use it and I can't?"

"Uh, something like that. So, Jason told you all that, huh?"

"And he said that Mr. Scott and Dr. Jean do that all the time, 'cause they sleep in the same room. Do they do that? How come Dr. Jean don't have a baby?"

Logan burst out laughing. He didn't mean too, and now he knew that Francis was hurt. He tried to calm the boy down. "Look kid, that really isn't any of our business. What they choose to do behind closed doors is up to them." Logan needed to bite his lip for a split second before continuing. "It seems to me that you at least have some idea about sex." He saw the boy wince. "I'm gonna put a few things straight. Ok?"

Francis sighed. "Do we have to? I wanna watch tv."

"The quicker we get this overwith, the quicker you can get to your tv. Ok?"

"Ok. So Jason wasn't lying? Wow. People really do that? Doesn't it hurt? Girls really have a hole? Eeeww. That's gross." It was the slight lisp Francis let out when he said 'gross', that made Logan relax considerably. He patted the boy on the head, and stretched out his legs, grabbing the pamphlets from his bed.

"Here's some things I want you to read. These will clear up everything for you. It tells about all your parts, and girls' parts, what they are used for, how babies are made. The whole nine yards. Here." He handed to forelorn boy the stack of pamphlets. "Read them, and I'll clarify anything you have trouble with."

The boy looked up from his armload. "Clar-if-y?"

"Answer any questions you have." And Logan knew, without doubt, that there would be a lot of questions.