Near the beginning of this story I had a line that mentioned Simon being in hospital, with the idea that I'd make a one shot about it in the future, and then a while ago clouse98 requested for some father/son bonding with Simon and Josh and so this idea grew from a one-shot to a "I don't know how long it's going to be yet!".
Anyways: Simon and Josh are taken hostage and Simon is beaten to try to get information out of Josh that he may or may not remember.
The little boy cringed under his bed as he listened to the man screaming at his mother. At four years of age he didn't know how to stop the cries of pain he heard, but he understood his mum was in trouble. She'd pushed him under the bed when she saw who was at the door and he trembled in fear of discovery as heavy footsteps sounded beside him. The voice he heard sent a chill down his spine as he heard the familiar weeping and a heavy thump as his mother was thrown on the bed.
"I'm warning you right now, Dani, tell me where you put the fucking book or I'll make that shit of a son of mine wish he'd never been born."
"No, Ray! Don't you touch Joshy!"
"Joshy!" he spat and struck her across the cheek. "I told you not to be calling 'im that pussy name, but you just gotta keep on defying me! Never wanted to call 'im Joshua in the first place but you didn't listen then and you ain't listening now. Where is that little bastard anyway? Josh, get your arse out here now!"
"H...he's n...not here!" Danielle Bradley screamed at her ex husband.
"Don't you lie to me, bitch!" Ray Bradley punctuated his sentence with several slaps to the woman's face until he heard a small whimper and he smiled as he released the woman and let her drop to the bed once more. He knelt beside the bed and lifted the edge of the blanket, calling in a deceptively quiet voice.
"Come out, come out wherever you are, little Josh! Daddy's home!"
Josh moved further back under the bed as his father's hairy arm reached for him. He cried out as the fingers touched against his pyjamas and he heard his mother pleading with this stranger to leave him alone.
"Come out of there boy, or you'll regret it!" the man spat, edging further under the bed.
"NO!" the boy screamed as his father snagged the edge of his shirt and began to draw him out. Josh Bradley, four-year old innocent child, was in the hands of a beast and he screamed in terror as he was drawn out of the darkness and into the bright light of their bedroom.
"Leave him alone!"
"Mummy! Mummy! Help me!"
"A real mama's boy aren't you, Josh, but I'm gonna change all that!" He shoved his ex wife away and lifted his hand to strike the squirming child he held by the collar.
Dani leapt at the man's back and wrapped her arms around his neck, covering his eyes as he cursed and finally released her son. She knew her ex husband was beyond angry now and she needed to get her son out of harm's way.
"Run, Joshy, get o...out of here!" she screamed as Ray pulled her over his shoulders and threw her to the floor.
"Mummy!" The child screamed as he watched in horrified fascination. He couldn't tear his gaze from the scene in the bedroom as his father's big hands wrapped tightly around his mother's neck. The big man slammed her head repeatedly into the hardwood floor, his cackling laughter washing over the horrified little boy.
"NO!"
Thursday, December 18th
Simon Minter heard the scream from his ten year old sons bedroom and threw the duvet off before bolting to the room closest to his. He took in the scene with one look and reached for the trembling body sitting in the centre of the righthand side bed. He could hear Ethan crying in the other bed, and was relieved when his boyfriend reached down and took the child into his arms.
"Come on, kiddo, let's go make some hot chocolate," the man said. This scene had been repeated too many times in the last few weeks, and JJ knew Simon was the only one who could get through to the scared nightmare riddled child they loved so much. He could hear his partner talking to the young boy and prayed he'd get through to the boy.
"Can we make some for Josh too, Papa?"
"Sure, kiddo, we'll make enough for all of us."
"With marsh-mallows?" the child cried softly as he tucked his head into JJ's neck.
"Sure with marsh-mallows," the man teased as they left the room.
Simon concentrated on the trembling child he held and wondered why a boy so young had seen more tragedy than most people saw in a lifetime. It had taken a while, but he and JJ had slowly revealed parts of the child's life, of the seven years that he wasn't with them. At four years old Josh had witnessed a murder, and not just any murder. He'd watched as his father beat the life from his mother and been so traumatised that he'd hidden himself away from the world, taking to living in the darkest streets. It was only because he was found by a sympathetic homeless woman, who the boy simply called Bee, that the boy had survived on the streets at such a young age. For two years the boy had learned to survive with almost nothing, until one particularly cold winter when the woman called Bee had fallen asleep one evening and never woken up.
After managing on his own for a while he was eventually picked up by authorities and chucked into the horrible group home where he met Ethan. During his time there he'd learnt of Ethan's problems with his mother, and when going to try and find the boy's mother, had found her also murdered at the hands of another man. Fearing for the safety of the other boy he took them both from the home and to an abandoned shopping centre, where the two had first met Simon and JJ and the others.
That was nearly three years ago and since that time a seven year old boy named Harry had also moved in with them and they were as close as a family could be. It was times like this, when the boy woke up screaming that cut Simon to his bone.
"Josh, you're safe. I'm here and no one is gonna hurt you." He ruffled the dark hair and kissed the top of his son's head, for that was what Josh and all the other boys were to him. Sons, children he loved and who loved him in returned, unconditionally and unequalled.
"I...I'm sorry, Dad..." the boy sobbed against the blond's shoulder.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Josh."
"W...woke you up...woke Ethan and Papa and..."
"Hey, that's not such a bad thing, Josh. After all it means JJ's making hot chocolate," the blond said, smiling hopefully at the boy.
"With marsh-mallows?"
"Is there any other way to have hot chocolate?"
"No...Mum used to make it for me before she...before she died. Why'd she die, Dad?"
"I don't know, Josh. Sometimes God just needs to call his special angels home. Your mum was special just like my brother and nephew were special. Right now they're our special angels. They're looking out for us and they won't let anything bad happen to us."
"I m...miss her," the child sniffed and clung tightly to the man kneeling in front of him. He felt the strong arms wrapping him in a protective cloak and felt safe once more. No matter how bad his dreams were, this man, his protector, could always drive them away.
"I know you do, Josh, and you always will, but when times are really bad and you need her, she'll be here. All you have to do is look inside yourself and you'll feel her there. She's part of who you are and she's given you a wonderful heart. I love you, kiddo."
"I love you too, Dad, promise me you w-won't leave me l-like mum did? I d-don't w-wanna be 'lone again!"
"I promise I'll try, Josh, but you have to remember if something does happen to me you won't be alone. You'll have Ethan and Harry and Tobi and Papa. Uncle Deji and both your Uncle Cal's, they won't let anything bad happen to you either. They'll all take care of you..."
"But they're not you, Dad. I want you here, you m-make th-the monsters g-go away and they don't h-hurt me no more and I'm not scared."
"Well then kid, guess we'll just have to do our best to make sure neither of us goes anywhere, because you've chased away the dark monsters that were chasing me, Josh. You make me feel safe too."
"I do?" the boy asked, disbelief written on his young face.
"You sure do Josh..."
"You two want some hot chocolate?" JJ asked from the doorway.
"I helped make it Josh. I even put extra marsh-mallows in yours." The other ten year old boy said as he bounced onto Josh's bed and waited for JJ to hand them their drinks.
"Thanks Ethan," the older boy said, smiling as he sipped the sweet liquid, leaving behind a milk moustache.
"Hey, Josh, you got facial hair like Uncle Cal!" Ethan said and frowned as the two men laughed. "What's funny?"
"You are kiddo," JJ said, ruffling the chestnut locks.
"This is good Papa," Josh said, smiling as JJ suddenly produced two chocolate chip cookies from behind his and Ethan's ears.
"How'd you do that then?" Ethan asked, frowning as he reached behind his ear but found nothing there.
"It's magic kiddo, I think you and Josh have a cookie factory behind your ears," JJ said, smiling as the two boys ate the cookies.
"You're spoiling them babe," the blond said with a smile. His best friend and lover had a heart of gold, and when it came to the two boys he overindulged them most of the time. Simon smiled inwardly as he realised he did the same thing.
"Yes, yes I am," the man said with a grin. The two men watched as the boys finished off the cookies and drank the hot chocolate. Once the mugs were empty, JJ placed them back on the tray and looked at Simon.
"All right boys, it' three o'clock, so what do you say to brushing your teeth and we try to get some sleep?" He saw the look of fear come over the small face and smiled knowingly at the child. "And since I find it cold tonight why don't you sleep in with your fathers, Josh?"
"Can I?"
"Sure. Now go brush your teeth and I'll get your pillow," Simon said as he reached for the oversized blue pillow.
"Guys..."
"Come on kiddo, you can share the bed as well for tonight. It's gonna be very squashed in there!" JJ said, taking Ethan by the hand and heading for the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later the house was silent and the occupants were sleeping peacefully.
The large tree stood next to the fireplace, the decorations spread over it in a haphazard way that spoke of a child's hand, the messiest at the bottom where Harry had decorated it, and neatest near the top, Tobi's sections. Christmas day was a week away and already the presents were stacked on either side leaving little room for Santa's presents. Red and green tinsel were strung from corner to corner and a sparkling centerpiece of silver and gold hung in the middle of the ceiling. The decorations had been put up that day, the lights already covering the walls and roof on the outside of the farmhouse. The Santa clock ticked on the shelf, a solemn signal of warmth and friendship that would be shattered before the end of the next day.
...
"Look, I don't support hurting a child and I'm paying you enough to make sure that doesn't happen!" Craig Harrington spat as he paced the length of his office. He was a desperate man right now and unless he retrieved the journal, his life would be in shambles. Ray Bradley was dead, but not before he'd stolen the journal with times and dates of bank deposits and illegal operations. Now it looked like it was all coming back to haunt him and he couldn't afford to let that happen. He needed a clean slate to run for MP and if word of his illegal activities got out, his career was over and he'd be in prison for the rest of his life.
"You want the book back or not?" Liam Marshall asked, playing with his trademark four-inch switchblade.
"I need that fucking book and if you hadn't been so incompetent in killing Bradley all those years ago I'd have it already!"
"I told you Bradley didn't know where the book is. Before he died he said his wife had it, but she didn't tell him and he'd killed her. He was pretty certain his son knew where it was and he's the only one who can tell you. It might have to get rough..."
"No! You won't hurt the child! Find some other way to get him to tell you what he knows!"
"Well, there might be another way."
"Tell me!" Harrington ordered hopefully.
"We kidnap the boy and make sure he doesn't see our faces, but we also take one of his adoptive fathers."
"What good will that do?" the older man asked as Marshall cleaned his fingernail with the tip of the blade.
"Well, since you won't let me hurt the boy I'll need another method of persuasion. How long do you think young Josh can hold out if the man he thinks of as a father is a victim of torture? I figure we snatch the boy and and one of the men and take them to that little place just outside the city. I work the dad over while the kid is there..."
"Not in the same room. I don't want him seeing what's happening to his father."
"Look, Mr. Harrington, its kind of hard to get the kid upset enough to talk if he doesn't know what's happening to his father."
"I don't care! I don't want him witnessing something like that! You can maybe blindfold the kid while you're working the guy over. That way the kid knows something is going on, but he isn't forced to watch it!"
"How come you're so soft on the kid?"
"I saw some things when I was a kid and I wouldn't want that to happen to any one else. The boy saw his father murder his mother and that's more than enough trauma for him to deal with. Make sure neither one of them sees your face since I'd rather not add accessory to murder to my list of crimes."
"All right, I'll do my best. Make sure you deposit the money into my account by tomorrow afternoon."
"It's already been arranged. Get me that book, Liam, but don't hurt that boy!"
"Your wish is my command," Marshall said before standing and leaving the office.