*No, I'm not dead. Yes, I'm very sorry for the longest wait ever. Life has been crazy, but I think I got it all sorted through. The consistency of updates is going to be very sketchy from now on, so even though this is very short, I hope this will do until the next time we meet*

I'll be Good

Chapter 37

It's funny how life works sometimes. People say if a person works hard enough, the world will reward them. They call it Karma. Those same people also say that if something good happens surprisingly, it's luck, or unlucky for the opposite. They never give credit to the person, they never say "good job!" because all the work was done by some invisible hand that obeys the laws of good morals, because who will be the person to say, "Karma doesn't exist?" No one, because then they're put down for being a pessimist, but in reality, they're just being a realist.

So why is it when a hard-working person only gains more troubles Karma doesn't come in and fix it? Why are the good people being punished?

Jim can only rub his temples and sigh.

He wouldn't consider himself one of those "hard working people" because in all honesty, there are times where he himself is guilty of sloth, one of those seven deadly sins that no person should live their life by. Yet, no matter how many things he's done, there's been more misfortune in his life than fortune. So, Karma owes him one.

Maybe that's why they say "Karma's a bitch," because it takes more than it gives.

That's what they used to say during Tarsus IV. Whenever they lost someone to Kodos' men, they'd all mutter "Karma's a bitch." Because in all reality that kid they lost didn't deserve it, so they didn't forgive Karma, and maybe Karma didn't forgive them either. Maybe that's why Jim still shivers at the thoughts of Tarsus IV. Maybe that's why he's still plagued with the nightmares.

Maybe Karma is passed down through the parents, why else is he born fatherless and basically motherless because Winona didn't want him.

Jim wipes his eyes, because damn it, he's not going to start crying over Karma, because he doesn't believe in it. It was just something to blame while all his children died. Lady Luck never helped him either. Luck was never on their side in Tarsus IV. During those days it was just a game of "what are the odds" with them never being in one's favor, like a giant game of "truth or dare" yet lacking the truth, because only lies slipped past their teeth on Tarsus IV.

Back then, Jim wasn't Jim, he was just JT, the blond skinny kid with fierce blue eyes with a knife in his boot. He slept with one eye open and never missed a beat. He was one step ahead of the game, but never beating the odds.

That's probably why so many bad things happen in his life, he's cursed Karma and he's long since used up his Luck. The odds have always been against him, so why does he even bother anymore?

The damn Universe owes him.

But that's why the Universe gave him Bones.

"Jim?"

He stiffens, looking up from the ground to find Bones standing above him. Jim smirks a little out of courtesy, then glances back down and waits as Bones settles beside him.

"Ya'know, when we first started looking for you, my first thought was that you took off down the road, went to the city-or something. I thought maybe you even wandered off through the fields…" Bones pauses, sighing, "Yet, I find you in the chicken coop."

"Reminds me of home." He replies, picking at the strands of straw scattered about the hardwood floor.

"You used to sit in a chicken coop?" Bones implores somewhat incredulously, in a joking matter. Jim just shrugs, "Only when Frank was mad."

There's a pause, as Jim realizes what he just said and Bones processes it.

"Was Frank your stepfather?"

"Uncle."

"Want to talk about it?" The southerner prompts, but Jim shakes his head, "Not really."

"Right." Bones says more to himself.

There's a collective sigh and a light shuffle as Bones shifts his weight to get more comfortable, "My Ma's waiting for us inside."

Jim nods, biting his tongue. For the past hour he's sat here, feeling alone, neglected, left behind, yet here Bones was, searching rather desperately to find him. He doesn't deserve this.

He chokes on his throat, fighting the sob tearing at his vocal cords.

Bones just leans over and wraps him up in a hug.

The pressure builds in his chest, the anxiety, the hurt, the confusion, it all just overflows, causing tears to roll down his cheeks. He sobs quietly into Bones' jacket, all those emotions falling away with the tears. The pressure slowly eases and he finds himself sniffling with Bones' warm arms about him, just holding, not pushing and prodding.

Sucking in a shaky breath, Jim peels away, wiping his face with a sleeve.

"Let's get inside." Bones prompts after a thorough glance at him.

There's no room for argument as Bones gently, yet forcefully, pulls him out of the chicken coup, leading him inside. The warmth of the house reaches Jim's muscles and he can feel the exhaustion of the emotional depletion sinking deep within him. Yet as soon as Misses McCoy comes around to hug him, he feels a bit of life surge into him.

"Oh Jim, I'm glad you're okay, you had me worried sick dear." She exclaims and she gives him a quick kiss on the forehead.

He feels himself blush at the sudden burst of attention.

"Let's get you boys all warmed up, I have some hot chocolate." She declares and heads off into the kitchen.

Jim and Bones exchange a look, a knowing look; they're about to get spoiled out of their minds, which Misses McCoy will only chuckle and claim that "it's family tradition."

That's how Jim found himself, being welcomed into the McCoy family, where the kitchen smells of heavenly wonders and the door is always open. There's always going to be a nice warm fire burning during the colder months of winter and there's always going to be a spare room. Jim can't even put into words how thankful he is for all of this, it almost brings him to tears when he receives a hand knit beanie from Bones' mother.

But all of it just feels so right.

Live Long and Prosper.