Thanks for all the favs and alerts and a huge thanks to altern, Silvermoonlight GJ and SanguineSky for reviewing :) This is definitely aiming to be a sad fic :(

Luke Borden ducked his head under the warm water, reveling in the overall feeling of warmth and weightlessness. The air sacs in his joints made them float slightly, so he gleefully let them rise to the top of the water. He rose with them after a minute, shaking his head to get rid of some of the water.

He looked down with a grimace. The water was already turning a dark brown just from the loose dust he'd been carrying, not to mention all the stiff grime… The dark haired woman had said he could refill it if it got very dirty… Still, he would wash first, and maybe rinse off the second go around.

The green soap smelled like fruit, but when he tasted it he regretted it. Definitely not for eating. He pulled the pretty rag off the rack near the tub and used it to lather the soap and to start working at the tougher grime.

How he had found a human that would actually let him use her things, he would never know. Luke wasn't one to 'look a gift horse in the mouth' and so he decided that as long as the human female let him stay, he would stay. He would try to help and stay out of her way, but the lure of food and clean water and baths was simply irresistible.

Besides, he'd been living in the trees near her house for nearly a month now and she hadn't reported him. She said she liked him, she wasn't repulsed by him, she never screamed when she looked at him… She called him son.

Luke sank down into the water up to his mouth, resisting the urge to take in gulps of dirty, soapy water. His parents were both gone. His mother, the one who had contributed his egg, had died when he was too small to remember. His father had died just a year ago. Luke missed him desperately. Bill, his father, had been green. His mother was yellow and spiky, a guard class… A real guard, not just painted like so many of the brown workers. The combination had left Luke sort of in between, not quite green, not quite yellow… And with little spikes. Not like the ones he saw on the fully-grown guards, but still, his father had none at all.

His father was a 'thinker' and it had become apparent early on that Luke would take after him rather than his mother.

His 'bad breeding' as some of the other Poleepkwa called it had made it difficult to find friends with anyone but other class-breaker offspring. They weren't very smart, most of them, the products of workers and soldiers or guards, or worse yet soldiers bred to guards. Being second and third generation without the benefit of a careful mind or tempering leadership made them a little vicious.

So Luke had gathered his courage and his meager food supply and run away in the night. That was months ago. Living was hard, but by scrounging from garbage cans and drinking from hoses outside he'd survived. In regards to food, life was better… But the danger was much, much greater.

Which was why the human woman was such a shocking blessing. She would be his friend and she would protect him from the other humans, or at least that was what he hoped.

Luke came out of the bath nearly an hour later. He refilled it twice, and secretly Iris wasn't looking forward to scrubbing the tub afterwards. He must have been even more filthy than he looked.

He was still pretty wet, but Iris would show him where the towels were next time. He came to where she sat in front of the computer.

"Those have nice colors," he said slowly.

She looked at the forget-me-nots critically. "Blue is a nice color, but I was hoping for something red or yellow, or pink… Plus, we should really plant something that's impossible to kill. If I can't make petunias grow I'm in a real bind."

"I just want to help," Luke clicked. "Whatever you pick, I'll help you put it in the dirt."

Iris swiveled her chair around to smile at Luke but gasped instead.

Luke jerked away several steps as if he were afraid the bubble had burst.

"Luke, you're beautiful!"

His antennae swept wildly and he looked horribly confused, but it was the truth. His color had been hiding under all that dust, but in some places he was more golden brown, like the edges of his plates and underbelly and on the little spikes on his head and arms. The rest was a light earthy green.

"I'm a mixed class," he said nervously. "We aren't supposed to mix classes, and I guess before we came here it never ever happened… The others don't like me."

Iris clucked. "There are no other prawns here, darling, but I think you look lovely."

They quickly dropped his appearance, as it seemed to bother him so much. After a while Iris gave up on looking through all the flowers and let Luke use the computer after teaching him how to point and click. Every now and then she peeked over his shoulder, but he was always looking at some flower or other.

Eventually he moved onto caring for them, learning words… That first time, he was online for hours, but Iris didn't have the heart to tear him away until dinnertime. She made a casserole and could only hope the prawn liked it.

Oh did Luke like the casserole. He ate half the big pan before Iris had finished her first plate, and had that adorably sheepish expession when he realized how fast he'd eaten.

"I'm sorry," he said, wiping some bits of tuna off his face. "I just can't help it."

"It's fine, Luke. You've never had a good meal in your life, have you? If you eat like you're hungry I understand. Besides, you've got growing to do, eh?"

He nodded. He hoped to be as big as his mother, but he rather expected to be on the shorter side like his father. Still, much bigger than this kind-hearted human.

He very much wanted to eat the rest of the casserole right away, and something in the woman's expression made him think she'd let him… but his stomach really was full. Instead, he tore his eyes away from the inviting glass dish and looked at the woman. He realized suddenly that she'd given him a little metal thing to eat with like hers, but he'd been too hungry to even think about what it was for. He would use it next time.

His reaction to that thought nearly sent him into fits. Next time. He could be certain that she would give him food again, tomorrow… He didn't have to go to bed hungry as long as she didn't change her mind.

She had to have a name. He'd never asked.

"Everything you are letting me do… I don't know how to ever repay you. But I would like to know your name."

She looked delighted. "Iris. My name's Iris."

"Thank you."

"And… you don't have to pay me back, Luke. Just keep me company and we'll consider it even."

When Iris showed Luke his bed she took nothing less than perfect satisfaction in watching him writhe on the mattress that she'd always considered hard and unpleasant. The trills vibrating out of the young prawn's mouth made her sinuses itch, and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her when he lifted the pillow and threw it into the air just to catch it and bury his face it in. He was only a child, but the expression he usually wore bore the suffering of a much older sorrow.

She made it a point to get him things she thought he'd like on her next trip: a down pillow and quilt, a blue jacket and dark jeans she was sure they'd need to tear up for him to wear, a gob of silly toys, a simple board game they could play together, paint sets and novels for young adults… She didn't know what he would like, so she tried to get a little of everything.

The clerk simply winked and said something about lucky grandchildren.

Luke very quickly caught on to domestic life. He started washing the dishes without her asking, he always made his bed after he caught a peek of how orderly Iris kept hers, he started using the toilet after she showed him how it worked, he showered daily, he wore his jacket, which he kept zipped up the collar, and the pants, which had indeed been cut off and shredded a bit to suit his alien frame. The jacket only needed to be split at the shoulder a bit to accommodate his spikes.

She bought lots of movies for him, usually the ones that weren't about humans. She eventually subscribed to an online rental service so that he could pick his own, which he did with unrestrained pleasure. The longer Luke stayed with Iris, the more he began to open up, and the happier he became.

Getting the portulaca and planting it had been an adventure, to say the least. Luke had gotten dirty much more quickly than logic dictated, but he seemed to enjoy digging his fingers in the cool earth so much that she couldn't complain. It was only a little dirt. Iris didn't like the fleshy leaved flowers, but they delighted Luke, so she tolerated them. She planted red, yellow and pink... She even bought forget-me-not seeds to put in a pot, just to see if they'd grow for Luke. He tended to them every day, even though the portulaca were fairly low maintenance. Iris was quite resentful of their success in the flowerbed. The first day the seedlings sprouted on the paper towel in the window, Luke was so wild with excitement that she let him plant them outside the next day.

In about a month he was four inches taller than Iris.

When she noticed, she burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked incredulously.

"You're getting big so… so fast, dear!"

The young Poleepkwa didn't believe her for a moment, then realized he was in fact looking down at Iris. He squawked in surprise and hunched a little.

Iris had none of it, grabbing his shoulder and pushing him upright again. "Be proud," she said sternly. "You're going to grow up and be a fine prawn, dear. It's probably all the good food and shelter letting you grow so fast, so don't go insulting my hospitality by getting embarrassed over a few inches." She smiled warmly, reached up and patted the yellow fringed cheek of the young alien and then turned back to the kitchen stove.

Luke thought about hugging Iris, but instead only hugged himself. He was really starting to love Iris. Not even his father had been so kind… Life had been too hard. Wasn't his fault… But Iris was the mother he never had.

He stood there aimlessly for a minute then looked around for something to do. The vegetables were waiting to be chopped up, so he picked up the sharp knife and started to take care of them. They hadn't been allowed regular knives in the District, though plenty had put together shivs out of garbage.

Luke rather liked tomatoes, but most other vegetables he ate only to satisfy Iris. She always gave him mostly meat anyway, so it wasn't like she was trying to turn him into a rabbit.

He was just starting on the potatoes when someone knocked at the door. Iris nearly tipped the pot she was stirring, and Luke managed to cut himself, albeit only a surface wound. Digger got up from his doggy bed with some effort and let out a thunderous bark.

Iris looked at Luke sharply. "Get in your room and hide in the closet behind the coats."

Luke took off quickly, avoiding the hall where the front door looked in. He was just shutting the door to the closet when he heard Iris talking to another human. He strained his senses to make out what they were saying.

"Iris Wickham?"

"Yes. Digger, get back!" The old dog was snarling angrily at the strange human, a female.

"I'm Joanna Yambi from Netcare Linmed Hospital. You haven't been returning our calls or our letters, so I'm here to make sure you're aware of how serious-"

"I'm aware," Iris snapped with anger that Luke had never heard from her before. "If I wanted treatment I'd go get it, don't you think?"

"Mrs. Wickham, you can't possibly plan on… you'd only have a couple of years at best."

Iris was silent for a long time. "Just go. I'll call the office if I change my mind."

"The sooner you call, the better chance you have, Mrs. Wickham. I urge you to explore your options. We can refer you to the best-"

"Of course. Thank you. Goodbye."

The door shut with a click, and the irritated Digger finally eased off with his constant growling. In a few minutes Iris came to the closet and opened the door.

"You can come out now, Luke. Just stay away from the windows."

Luke slid out of the closet carefully, trying to get the human to look at him but failing. She was avoiding him.

"You're sick," he accused.

"Don't worry yourself, Luke. I'm not sick."

"Yes, you are. The human said you only have a couple of years left."

She finally looked up at him and sighed. "You heard?"

He only nodded seriously.

"When I'm ready to get treatment I'll get it. Not because somebody made me."

Luke clenched his fists for a minute then stalked from his room. If not for the hateful MNU laws he would pick her up and carry her to a human hospital himself.