Chapter Fifty-Eight

"That's pot!" Joseph exclaimed, his face pale.

Lee and Kara stared at him in unison and then at each other. Lee raised an eyebrow in silent question. What six year old knows what marijuana is?

"That's bad! Don't touch, Momma. Please don't touch!" Joseph grabbed the bag out of Kara's hands and ran towards the bathroom.

There was a tell tale sign of the toilet flushing but when Joseph didn't come out, Kara and Lee went to him.

Kaylee tugged on Kara's pants. "No keddy?"

"Not anymore," Kara explained wryly, lifting Kaylee up into her arms.

"Hey, Joseph, you okay in there?" Lee asked popping his head into the bathroom.

The little boy sat next to the toilet, his knees raised and his head resting his arms.

"What's going on, Joseph?" Lee asked, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Joseph raised his head and Kara sucked in her breath at the tear stains on his cheeks. "Did I do bad?"

"No. But you wanna tell me why you got so upset?" Lee asked.

"Pot is bad," Joseph repeated.

"Sure, but how do you know that?"

Kaylee leaned over from Kara's arms and looked down the toilet. "Bye bye?"

Joseph shook his head and lowered it onto his arms again, hiding his face.

"Um, you know what? Why don't you and Kaylee go for a walk? I heard they opened up some kind of zoo close by. We'll meet up with you later," Lee told her.

Kara wanted to stay but she figured Lee might be right. Joseph might be more open if he wasn't crowded even if Kara felt he'd open up to her, before he would to Lee. Maybe it was time to change that. "Sure thing," She leaned down and touched Joseph's bent head, feeling the little boy shudder.

"Awww. JoJo, nopie keddy, saaaaa?" Kaylee asked grabbing a handful of his hair.

He pushed her hand away, but otherwise didn't look up.

Lee took a seat next to him in the bathroom as Kara and Kaylee left them alone. "I'm not mad at you,"

Sniffle. "No?"

"Not even a little," Lee assured him.

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Lee said with a small grin.

"Huh?"

"It means, 'I promise'," Lee explained. "Can I ask you a question?"

Joseph shook his head.

"Well," Lee cleared his throat, trying to figure out what his next move should be. He suddenly wished his mother was here to help him figure out how to navigate these choppy waters. He pretty much knew where Joseph got his personal experience with drugs but Lee knew the child would have to get past all his bad memories before he could really settle in with them.

He knew Joseph still had nightmares. Monsters chasing him, climbing in windows to get him and take him away. Joseph never articulated it but Lee got the feeling there weren't any run of the mill monsters in Joseph's dreams. They had two very specific faces.

Lee had mentioned that perhaps Joseph would benefit from talking to someone but between spending time in the brig and moving, there just hadn't been time. Maybe after they got settled. But in the mean time, Lee needed to do something. "Did your mom and dad smoke pot sometimes?" There. Rip the band aid off.

"You my dad," Joseph insisted with a determined lift to his chin.

They may not have been related by blood, but Lee could have sworn that was a very Starbuck gesture. Lee felt warmed by the child's words but he tried to focus.

"That's right. And nothing's gonna change that." Lee suddenly got an idea. He got to his feet with a groan, the cold hard floor not all the pleasant against his ass. He looked through for the folder he wanted in the bag with all their important documents and brought it back to Joseph in the bathroom. He grimaced as he sat back down and crossed his legs. "See this? Remember when we asked you if you wanted to live with us?"

Joseph nodded vigorously.

"This paper says that you're going to be our little boy forever. No matter what."

"What if…they come get me?" Joseph asked, his voice trembling.

Lee felt a nervous twinge in the pit of his stomach. They had a year. One year where Joseph's parents could come back and if they had appropriately cleaned up, try to reclaim him. Lee was tempted to take Joseph, Kaylee and Kara and go underground for the year.

"I promise, no one will ever hurt you," That much, Lee could promise. He'd die before anyone harmed this boy again.

Joseph propped his head on his arms, but no longer hid his face. He regarded Lee carefully. "It made them go sleepy."

Lee held his breath and waited.

"Suntines…they friends no sleepy."

Lee blinked in surprise, his thoughts going down a road he wasn't sure he wanted to even contemplate.

"They bad touch here," the boy explained pointing to his crotch.

Lee stared at him, the boy's image going slightly blurry under the haze of rage that gripped him.

"Mommy and daddy say tha-" He shook his head. "No. You get mad."

"I won't…" Gods Lee thought. Mad wasn't even the word for what Lee felt right now. He clenched his fists at his sides and tried to breathe but there was a heavy weight on his chest.

"My other mommy and daddy say if I let the friends do the bad touch they don't hit me no more," Joseph explained.

Lee opened his mouth and closed it again, at an utter loss. Gods, he wanted to hit something.

"But then they drink the 'brosia and forget."

Joseph's eyes were slightly glazed as if focused on the memories that plagued him and not seeing the safe walls around him at all.

Lee placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. Joseph jumped under his palm but then he looked at Lee and his eyes seemed to clear and he exhaled.

"So I throw the pot away."

"I understand," Lee said; his voice hoarse with the effort to blink back the tears in his eyes. Year or no year and Lee didn't give a frak if those two ever cleaned up their acts, they were never getting their hands on this child again, no matter what he had to do. "I want you to understand something now,"

Joseph blinked warily. " 'kay"

"I will never hurt you like your mommy and daddy hurt you. Not ever. I swear to the Gods that you have no reason to be afraid. Kara and I might get mad at you if you've done something bad and have to punish you so that you'll learn to be good. But you will never go through what you did with your old mom and dad. No on is gonna beat you. No one is gonna touch you in a bad way." Lee had to stop 'cause he feared he'd lose his composure soon.

"I'll try be good all the time," Joseph vowed. "Even at Kaylee."

Lee sniffled and rubbed his nose, willing the tears to stay put. "Even if you're not good all the time, Joseph. We're still gonna love you."

"No do over?" Joseph asked, using one of Kara's popular expressions.

"Nope. No do overs," Lee confirmed.

Joseph rose up onto his knees and wrapped his arms around Lee's neck. "Still gonna love you too," he whispered softly into Lee's shoulder.