Devil Days - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Missy Red and Kaleidopy
Last updated: 01/02/2007 02:01:11 AM

Chapter 8

Three days later, Tante walks quietly in the upstairs hallway. Hearing a scream coming from the boy's room, she rushes inside. The boy was screaming in his sleep. She quickly sits on the bed, before she could touch him, his eyes fly open. " Dey comin', dey comin' for me." He screams over and over.

" No Chile, you are safe now." Tante pulls him into her embrace. She rocks him softly in her arms. " It's over, they will never touch anyone ever again. Tante promises. You are goin' to be jus' fine."

" Non, non," He cries uncontrollable. He begins to shake his head as if he is still trapped in his nightmare. " Dey comin' back."

" Chile, everythin' is goin' to be all right. Jean-Luc is goin' to make sure dat no one will ever hurt you again." Tante tries her best to comfort him. As he trembles in her arms, she begins to stoke his back. " Remy, has Tante ever lied to you?"

The boy slowly calms down as he is rocked in Tante's arms. His eyes begin to get heavy as his tears stop. The last thing he hears before sleep claims him is Tante's humming.

Downstairs, Jean-Luc finishes signing several documents and gives them to a man. " Everythin' is legal?"

" Yes, signed, sealed and delivered." The man puts the papers in his briefcase and pulls out another document and gives it to Jean-Luc before he locks it. " And here is your copy."

" How come dis didn' take long?" Henri asks the man, their lawyer. " Usually dis can take years b'fore it is finalized."

" Normally adopting a child could take anywhere from two to seven years," The lawyer explains as Therese comes in carrying four glasses of wine. Grabbing one of the glasses, he smiles up at her. " Thank you," Returning his attention to Henri and Jean-Luc, he continues. " But the court saw this case entirely different. One, the child is homeless. Two, he is a mutant, and the court knows mutant children are very hard to adopt, almost impossible if you ask me. Three, it didn't hurt your chances that you could provide the child with not only a stable home environment, but an education that can be financed for the best schools in the world."

" Oui, dat he will have." Jean-Luc picks up his glass of wine and take a sip before he speaks again. " De Chile will never want for anythin' as long as I have somethin' t' say 'bout it." He glances over at a smiling Therese. " Y' seemed t' like de idea as well, Filleuse."

Therese smiles to herself, Jean-Luc was her god father, not only has he raised her since she was thirteen years old but she has always considered Henri her big brother. " It's going to be nice to have a little brother running around the house."

" He's gonna be a handful." Henri grins over at Therese. He gives her one of the wine glasses and holds it up in the air. " A toast, t' de newest LeBeau." He slips his arm around Therese's waist. " Y' goin' t' spoil him, I can see it now."

" And you won't?"

A few hours later, the boy opens his eyes to see Jean-Luc and Tante sitting on each side of his bed. Therese was sitting in the rocking chair with Henri standing by her side. Jean-Luc places his hand on the boy's forehead. " De fever has broken, how y' feel, Petite?"

" My head hurts, M'sieu LeBeau." The boy replies softly. He watches as Tante begins to shake a bottle of medicine. " Non Tante, not de stuff again. It taste horrible. My head don' hurt dat bad."

" Open your mouth, Chile." Tante orders him as she measures a dosage. She waits until he swallows it before giving him a glass of water. " Drink dis down and get dat terrible look off your face. It isn't dat bad."

" Y' don' have t' take dis stuff for a week." The boy leans back into the pillow. He hears Henri laughing at him across the room.

" We came up 'ere t' talk wit' y', Petite." Jean-Luc covers the boy back up with the sheets and blankets. He smiles a slight smile as tears begin to mist in his eyes. " I would be honored if y' would be my chile, mon fils."

" Y' mean it?" The boy tries to get up, totally unsure what he had just heard. He looks over at Henri and Therese, who both nod. Tante gently forces him back down into the pillow.

" I mean it." Jean-Luc answers him. " Dere is nothin' I want more dan t' give y' my name. Y' make me proud if y' accept my offer."

" Oui," The boy suddenly gets up and falls into Jean-Luc's chest. He starts crying. " Didn' t'ink nobody loved me, never thought anybody cared till y' came along. Merci, M'sieu LeBeau, merci."

" Papa, Petite!" Jean-Luc corrects his new son. " Y' call me, papa from dis day on." He holds the boy tight in his arms.

" What we goin' t' call mon frere, Pere?" Henri asks as walks over to the bed where his father continues to hold his new brother.

" His name is Remy!" Tante speaks up as everyone looks at her. When the boy looks at her with a confusing look on his face, she wipes his wet face with a tissue. " Remy told me his name yesterday," She smiles at the child. " You talk in your sleep when you have a fever, Chile."

" I do?" The boy looks at her with a confused look on his face.

Tante winks at him before she looks over at the others.

The boy looks at Tante. He begins to realize that Tante just told a small white lie. She wanted to be the one to give him a first name. Thinking a second he likes the name " Remy ". He then up at Jean-Luc, who nods in agreement. " Den, Remy it is." He hugs the boy again. " Remy LeBeau."