Godfather turned Daddy {for CleverFox}

[animefangirl]

Nathan hadn't thought about Elysia in some time, he'd had no reason to after her funeral despite the fact that he had been named the surviving twins godfather. He knew that she would have been upset to know that her little baby had been kept from Nathan, since Nate had been her best friend and a lot of people thought they were going to get married for a while there but they'd branched apart when he went to college and she met Keegan. He had been happy for her, the man seemed to treat her well and she looked happy, he'd even been a groomsman at their wedding. After she died Keegan closeted himself and Crevan away, and Nate had made a few attempts to contact the man and get him to let Nate see the baby but when they were all ignored he left the man alone to his grief. Though he would soon regret that decision when some facts about Crevans treatment came to light. As of yet he had no idea that the little boy he was currently on the way to pick up from the hospital had been abused, all he knew was that Keegan had gotten into a car accident, and hadn't survived. The man had no next of kin in this country, so guardianship had fallen on Nate's shoulders. He'd gotten the call early that morning and had been shocked to hear the social worker saying that guardianship automatically transferred to him and that he now had the right to adopt Crevan as his legal son if he wanted to. He had of course been thrown for a loop but he'd loved Elysia like a sister and his heart went out to the little orphaned boy, only five years old and having lost both his parents. Nate told the social worker that he'd be there as soon as he could to get Crevan then tracked down his wife and they discussed it, though it wasn't really that long of a conversation since Jessica loved children and had agreed readily enough when Nate said that he thought they were ready to start a family, and adopt this poor little boy that had no where else to go.

Nate actually started feeling excited about it after that and he'd scooped Jess into his arms to give her a kiss then left to retrieve his new little ward, soon to be adoptive son. When he got to the hospital he asked for the boys social worker, a Ms. Emma Green, and when he tracked her down he showed his ID to confirm who he was. "My wife and I want to adopt him, I can sign the papers now and she'll sign them when we get home, I can fax them to your office or drop them off whatever works for you" He said as soon as the customary greetings were over. He waited for her to answer and then looked around, "Where is he? Can I see him now?" He asked, though if the social worker was expecting for him and the child to already know one another because of his role as the little boys godfather she was in for a surprise since he'd never met the little guy, even if he had wanted to at first and had honestly forgotten about him over the years as sad as that sounded. Once the woman lead him to his soon to be adoptive son he headed into the room with her, looking at the little boy sitting alone in the playroom and noticing first how tiny he looked, a lot smaller than a five year old should look, or so Nate thought anyway. He forgot about that after a moment and just glanced at Ms. Green as if to look for the go ahead to go get the boy. Then he headed over to Crevan and knelt down next to the little guy, "Hello Crevan, my names Nathan, I was your mama's best friend and she made me your godfather. Do you know what that means?" He asked, waiting for the little guy to answer him if he was going to and then went on, "You're going to come and live with me and my wife Jessica now, we're going to be your new parents." He said as gently as he could, hoping that he wouldn't seriously upset the little guy with that one but he thought that Crevan needed to know what was going on so he said it and waited to see what Crevan would do or say, ready to comfort the little boy if he was going to be distraught over the death of his father and hoped that someone had already told him Keegan was dead so Nate wouldn't have to.

[CleverFox]

Little five year old Crevan, who was no larger than a toddler, wasn't really sure why they were going out that night though the man he knew as Keegan had that nasty smell around him that he always had when he got mean so the little boy didn't question anything about it. He was actually dressed in his jammies as he sat in the car, the child squirming uncomfortably since it hadn't been that long since the man had decided he was bad and needed to be punished for something and while they were fading he still had the bruises. Crevan kept quiet however, having learned already that it was best to just be as quiet as possible so that the man would forget about him, the little guy looking out the window when suddenly he heard the blare of a car horn and saw the headlights a split second before the car was slammed into by a truck going the opposite direction. The little guy was actually in a carseat, which was probably the only thing that saved him, his father not being so lucky as the man hadn't even been wearing a seatbelt and even the fact that he was intoxicated hadn't been enough to save him. The little guy was scared because of the loud noises and the jarring and he started crying immediately, forgetting that he was supposed to be quiet and that the man didn't like it when he screamed or cried. It wasn't long before the scene was surrounded by rescue workers and the little guy was taken from the car, the paramedics taking precautions with him in case he was injured though one of them did give him a stuffed animal to hold onto that was meant to comfort him and keep him from freaking out on them. Once taken to the hospital the little guy was cleared by the ER staff and a social worker was called, the woman going about finding out who would be responsible for the child and then calling them.

It took several hours to do this and after that all Emma could do was wait around for the godfather to come and get the child, the woman sitting around and watching the little guy whom she had brought to the playroom after making sure that he was okay. Of course during the exams to make sure that he wasn't hurt the signs of abuse had been noticed and the x-rays revealed further abuse, the woman not the least bit happy about that but pursuing it was a moot point since the child's only close relative was now deceased. So she just sat there until she was paged and told that Nate was there, the woman going to meet with him and nodding her head when he showed his ID. "I have the paperwork that is necessary and I will give it to you so that it can be signed," Emma told hi before gesturing for him to follow her and leading the way to the playroom. "That's Crevan though there is something that we need to talk about before you take him home with you," she said, gesturing for him to go ahead and go meet the child. Crevan was sitting in one corner of the room with a book that was much too advanced for a five year old and never mind one that wasn't in school but he seemed absorbed in it, the little guy looking up when Nate came and knelt beside him. Large blue eyes, a perfect match for Elysia's own, gazed at the man and he just shook his head when asked if he knew what it meant that Nate was his godfather. It didn't seem to really phase him when the man told him that he was going to live with him and his wife, Crevan tilting his head slightly as he asked softly, "Where ish Keegan?" He didn't call the man daddy, dad or even father but rather used his first name, the little boy still looking at Nathan with a look of innocence that made him look like a little cherub.

[animefangirl]

Nate as of yet had no idea that his new little adoptive son had been abused by the man that was supposed to love and protect him, but he was going to be livid when he found out. Of course there was no way to get revenge against a dead man aside from desecrating his grave and Nate wasn't willing to go that far but he would still be furious for quite some time when he thought about Keegan. When he arrived at the hospital he was just worried about Crevan and bringing the little guy home, expecting him to be distraught and possibly have bumps and bruises from the accident. He met up with Emma when he arrived and nodded when the woman said that he could have the paperwork to sign and then mentioned that they needed to talk about something before he took the boy home, not really paying attention to her or else he might have thought that was ominous and asked what she needed to talk to him about but he just wanted to see Crevan so he headed inside the room where he kneeled in front of the little guy and introduced himself, smiling slightly when he saw the boys eyes since they were mirror images of Elysia's and had been her best feature. He forgot about that when he asked the little guy if he knew what a godfather was and was a little surprised when the child just calmly accepted that he was going to come live with Nate and Jess, that sending up warning flags for Nate for some reason since it didn't seem like normal behavior. "That means that your mama wanted me to take care of you if she and your dad couldn't anymore" he explained, calling Keegan the boys dad because he didn't yet know that the child didn't think of the man like that. Then Crevan asked him where Keegan was and that surprised him again, getting a slight frown out of Nate and he glanced at the social worker, wanting to ask her what was up with the boy but he resisted that urge so he wouldn't make Crevan feel bad about himself. "He's gone, buddy, and he's not coming back. I'm going to be your new daddy now" he said softly, once again expecting the boy to be upset and waiting to see how the innocent little child would react. "Wait here for a minute, I need to talk to Ms. Green before we go" He told Crevan, reaching over to gently run his fingers through the childs hair and then he got up and headed out of the playroom with Emma, "Well that was weird" he said softly once the door was shut, glancing questioningly at the woman and fully expecting her to explain to him what was going on.

[CleverFox]

Crevan had suffered a few minor cuts and bruises from the crash but since the majority of the damage to the car had been to the front and the child was actually in the back where he was supposed to be and in a carseat he escaped with very minor injuries. Keegan was not so fortunate, the man actually thrown from the car in the crash and dying on impact despite that he was intoxicated and more limber than a normal person would have been. The little boy was sort of distraught by what had happened and all the strangers that surrounded him but the stuffed animal that he was given served to calm him and he behaved himself both for the paramedics and then for the doctors at the hospital, the child getting cleared and then turned over to the social worker. OF course some things came to light during the exam that the woman knew she was going to have to discuss with the new guardian, Emma telling Nate that there was something they needed to talk about and then leading the man to the room where the child was currently. Crevan looked up at the newcomer when Nathan knelt in front of him, a look of purest innocence in his blue eyes as he studied the man, Crevan shaking his head when asked if he knew what a godfather was. Crevan seemed completely unconcerned with the fact that he was being told he was going to go and live with strangers and when Nate said that it meant his mama had wanted him to live with the man he just looked confused. That confusion only served to grow more pronounced when Nate went on to tell him that Keegan was gone and that he wasn't coming back, that not really affecting the boy though when the man went on to say that he was going to be his daddy now the little guy looked up at him with confusion clearly written on his face. "Wha's that means? Don' has one of t'ose..." Crevan said softly, just looking really confused. It was at this point that he was told to wait and he accepted that easily enough, Crevan looking up at Nate when the man ran his fingers through his hair and then moved to walk away with the social worker. Emma lead the way back outside the playroom and looked at Nate when the man said that was weird, the woman looking sad for a moment as she looked through the window at the little boy before once again turning to Nathan. "During the exam in the ER signs of abuse were discovered...Crevan has bruising on his back that is not consistent with the accident and is in fact already starting to heal and in the x-rays that were taken there are signs of old breaks, mainly to his ribs," she told the man, wanting him to know what had gone on and guessing that would explain some of the oddities that Crevan was displaying with his behavior.

[animefangirl]

Nate was grateful that Crevan had survived the crash, if only because he felt that he owed it to Elysia to look after the little guy and he would have been upset if he'd heard about the child dying in the accident with his father. After talking it over with his wife he actually was feeling excited about the whole thing and he wanted to take Crevan in with him and be the little guys daddy, but after speaking to him he was a little unsettled about the strange way that the little one was behaving. He tried explaining what a godfather was and saw that the boy didn't understand, but he didn't bother trying to explain it a second time he just went on to answer the little guys question and tell him that his father wasn't coming back, once again unsettled by the way that the little guy just accepted that and then told him that he didn't have a daddy. "Well, now you do have a daddy, and you have a mama at home whose very excited to meet you." he said, trying to just go with what the kid was saying so he wouldn't upset him and then he told the child to wait there and went to talk to the social worker. He quickly found out why Crevan acted so weird, and why he was so small, and his eyes flashed dangerously when he heard it. "That doesn't make sense, Keegan doted on Elysia..." he said, looking back at the little boy with a trouble look on his face, not doubting the woman or doctors words he just didnt' understand how someone like that could have turned into an abuser. "I would've fought for him if I'd known" he said then, more to himself than to Emma he was just upset that Elysia's child, his godson had gone through something like that and he hadn't been there to protect the little guy. He just never thought that there was a reason, not with the way that Keegan had treated the boys mother. "I want to take him home now, is that alright?" he asked, waiting for Emma to confirm that it was okay and then signed the little guy out and signed the adoption papers, legally adopting Crevan as an individual for the moment since he knew he could add Jessica to it later and he wanted it finalized. "Alright, we all set?" he asked one last time after handing over the paperwork to the social worker and waiting for her to give any last instructions. Then he headed inside the room and held his arms out to Crevan, doing that grasping motion that was pretty much universal for 'come here so I can pick you up'. "Time to go home Crevan." he said, trying to sound happy and not at all threatening and successfully hiding the anger he felt at Keegan since he did not think that the abused little guy needed to see him looking angry, it might scare Crevan and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

[CleverFox]

Crevan had no idea that he was behaving abnormally or anything like that but the nature of the way that he'd grown up prevented him from really getting a grasp on just what 'normal' was supposed to be so for him he was normal. The child didn't understand the whole concept of Nate being his godfather but he accepted that Keegan was gone and wasn't coming back easily enough and that he was going to go and live with Nate and his wife, the little guy not realizing that he was causing Nate to think that he was strange. Crevan told the man that he didn't have a daddy and then just sort of looked at him when Nate said that now he did and that he had a mama at home who was excited to meet him, that one perplexing the little guy though he once again kept quiet. Being told to wait in the playroom didn't really phase Crevan either, the child just went back to what he was doing while Nate and Emma left the room to talk to one another. After leaving the room Emma told Nate what they had found out in regards to the treatment that Crevan had endured at the hands of his father most likely and she looked at Nate when he somehow incredulously said that the child's father had doted on someone, whom Emma presumed was the child's mother. She allowed Nate to vent a little without interrupting him since there was really nothing that she could say and when the man said that he wanted to take Crevan home now, asking if that was alright, she nodded her head and said, "Alright, it's just fine." Emma gave him the papers to sign and then took them when he had filled them out, nodding when the man asked if they were all set. "I think that's everything and I wish you good luck. I will be doing one home visit just to make sure that everything's going smoothly but that's just a formality really," Emma told him before letting him go to get the little guy. Crevan looked back up when he heard the door opening and when Nate held his arms out to him the little boy looked at him for a few minutes before getting to his feet and walking over to the man, lifting his arms in the universal little kid 'pick me up, pick me up' motion. "Don' has home," Crevan told him softly when Nate said that it was time to go home, the little guy resting his head on Nathan's shoulders and seeming to trust him even though he'd just met the guy. Maybe it was because he was used to being hurt and just assumed that was normal or maybe it was because he got the impression that Nathan was different, it was impossible to say.

[animefangirl]

Nathan was a little disturbed that Crevan was so okay with Keegan being gone and with the knowledge that the child was coming to live with him, and he was thinking he was going to have to have that "stranger danger' conversation with Crevan because the little guy was just too trusting right now and he didnt' want something bad happening to the child. After talking to him for a little while he went to talk to the social worker and ended up ranting a little bit, talking more to himself than to her as he looked at the tiny little boy he still fully intended to adopt and wanted to help even now that he knew about the kids issues. So he filled out the adoption papers and handed them over to her, nodding when she told him about the home visit and he was understandably nervous about that one since he knew that if home visits went badly then adoptions could be put on hold or even not granted and he didn't want anything to interfere with him taking care of Elysia's child. "Okay, call a few days ahead of time to set up a time so one of us can be home?" He asked, not really sure what he was going to do with Crevan while he worked yet, he supposed he'd just take the little guy with him. AFter that he headed into the room to get the little boy, holding his arms out to the child and smiled when Crevan came over to him and lifted his arms in that universal 'pick me up' motion that kids had, since he thought it was cute. He carefully picked Crevan up, balancing the boy on one arm instead of holding his back thanks to those bruises he knew the child still had and told him that they were gong home. His heart melted a little when the baby told him that he didn't have a home and laid his head on Nate's shoulder, as if the child already trusted him and while that was a little concerning for the kids sense of safety with strangers it was still touching to Nate. "You do now, buddy. You have a home with me and your new mama. Her name is Jessica and she's very happy that you're going to come and live with us" He told the little guy as he carried him out of the hospital playroom and down to the parking garage where he'd left his car, complete with a brand new car seat that he'd gotten on the way here. "Alright, lets get you buckled in, then we have to go to the store and get you some clothes and toys." He said as he gently set the baby down in the car seat and started to fasten him in, watching him carefully to make sure he wasn't freaking out and fully expecting him to be scared of driving in a car after the accident but there wasn't really any way that they could avoid it so he would just have to help ease the childs fears on that one if it happened.

[CleverFox]

Emma could tell that Nathan was worried about the seemingly odd behavior that Crevan was exhibiting and honestly she would have been too were it not for the fact that she knew what had happened to him and knew that could be a contributing factor. Of course the fact that the little guy was so trusting was sort of strange even to her since she would have expected him to be fearful of everyone but he seemed to take to Nate right away, the social worker not dwelling on that one too much but rather going outside of the playroom with Nate and explaining to him what the doctors had found when they'd examined the little guy. She listened as the man sort of vented but she didn't interrupt since she was guessing that he just needed to get that out of his system and he didn't really sound like he was talking to her anyway so Emma just waited for him to finish and then gave him the papers to sign. Once he'd done so she gave him the go ahead to take Crevan home with him, adding that there would be one home visit to make sure that things were going okay with the little guy before anything would be finalized. When he sort of halfway told her and halfway asked if she would call a few days ahead Emma nodded in response, showing that she would, and then gave him one of her cards. "If you need to contact me for any reason," she told him before wishing him luck and then leaving him. Crevan looked up again as the door of the playroom opened and when the man held his arms out the little guy got to his feet and walked over to him, holding his arms up to be picked up. Being told that he was going home caused the little guy to say that he didn't have one as he lay his head on Nate's shoulder, Crevan not entirely sure what a home was supposed to be since he had no more concept of that than he had of family. "Don' has no mama...no daddy...don' knows wha' ish s'poseda be," Crevan said softly, still confused by all of this since the whole concept of family was foreign to him. Crevan gripped Nate's shirt as he was carried out of the hospital and then to the parking garage, the little boy's blue eyes opening wide as he was placed in the car, Crevan shaking his head as he said, "No crashes....no..." His tone had a definite whimpering quality but even as he said that he didn't fight against being buckled into the carseat, the boy once again tilting his head at the mention of toys. "Likes t'is?" he asked, holding up the stuffed rabbit that he'd been given by the paramedics to keep him calm. He still looked more than a little freaked out, and he squirmed in the carseat since his back was still sore, but he wasn't fighting against any of this but instead was just accepting it.

[animefangirl]

Nathan felt a little weird signing the papers, realizing that he was now the legal parent of that little boy and that it was his job to make sure that Crevan was taken care of and safe, and grew up to be a good person. It was a big responsibility to have all of a sudden, at least with babies the guy had nine months to get used to the idea, Nate had only had a few hours. Still he was determined to do his best with the child. He nodded when Emma gave him her card, thanking her and then going into the room where he scooped the little guy up and told him that he was going home and he frowned when the baby told him that he didn't know what a mama and daddy was supposed to be. "A mama and daddy are people who love you and take care of you, buddy" He said, wanting the child to sort of understand it at least but if Crevan still was confused Nate figured that the child would just figure it out as they went along and he got used to being treated like real member of the family. As he spoke to the child he carried him through the hospital and to the car, carefully placing him in the car seat and gently shushing the boy when he whimpered about crashing, "It's okay Crevan, we're not going to crash. Keegan was...sick when he was driving thats why he crashed but I'm not sick" he said, having to stop himself from saying 'drunk' since he didn't think that the little guy would know what that meant so he went with sick instead and waited to see if that reassured the baby or not. Then he mentioned getting clothes and toys and he nodded when the little guy asked if it was like his rabbit, "Yes stuffed animals, and other toys that you can play with" He agreed, thinking he needed to get books too since the kid would have to start learning to read sooner rather than later considering he was going to be six when he started kindergarten instead of five so Nate would like it if he was somewhat prepared for it and not waste the full year that the boy should have been in school but wouldn't be because his birthday was three months too late. After that he waited for the little boy to answer if he was going to and gently ran his fingers through the freaked out babys hair, "Shh, it's okay Crevan, I'll keep you safe" he said, leaning forward to kiss the kids forehead and then he got into the drivers side and carefully pulled out of the parking spot. He drove very carefully on the way to the department store, making sure not to do any sudden turns or stops so he wouldn't freak the baby out any more than he already was. When they got there he parked and then went around to Crevans side of the car again and unbuckled the baby, "Alright, time to go shopping" he said, scooping the little guy into his arms and making sure that Crevan still had his stuffed rabbit since he was thinking that the child probably was using it like a security blanket right now. "You want to help pick out your clothes?" he asked when they were inside, carrying the little guy to the childrens department and started flipping through the racks, though he would set the little guy down with a warning to stay close if Crevan wanted to be put down so that the child could pick out some clothes that he actually liked.

[CleverFox]

Crevan just didn't know what to make of this man that said he was going to be his daddy now, the little guy not having had very much experience with other people so he wasn't quite sure if this was normal or not. He was aware of the fact that the man was acting differently than Keegan had but then again Keegan had been nice on the rare occasions that they'd gone out somewhere so the little boy was still unsure about things but regardless of that he went willingly to the man when Nate held his arms out to him, the little guy lifting his own arms to be picked up. When the man once again mentioned him having a mama at home that was excited to meet him the little guy said that he didn't know what a mama and a daddy were supposed to be, his blue eyes going to Nate as the man said that they were people who took care of him and loved him, that causing the child to once again look at him with a confused look. Crevan didn't say anything else about that however and didn't speak up again until he was carried out to the car and placed in the carseat, the child at that point whimpering for Nate not to crash as he remembered what had happened the last time that he was in a car. His blue eyes went to Nate when the man told him that it was okay and that they weren't going to crash, the little guy still looking fearful even as Nate told him that Keegan was sick and that was why he had crashed. "Smellded icky...was mads," Crevan said quietly, the little guy already having learned that Keegan was always mad when he smelled like he had the night before when he'd crashed the car. He wasn't aware of what alcohol was but he did know the scent very well. That was momentarily forgotten as Nate mentioned something about getting toys and clothes, the child holding up the rabbit and asking if it was like that and nodding when Nate said that it was. When Nate trailed his fingers through his hair he actually leaned into the touch a little bit without thinking about it, listening as the man told him that he would keep him safe. "Natey ish nice," the little guy murmured softly, Crevan squirming as they drove toward the department store and he was glad to get out of the car, the little one looking around as he was scooped up into Nate's arms once again, the stuffed rabbit that he had still held in his arms tightly. His blue eyes shifted around with an inquisitive look in them as they entered the store, Crevan squirming and pointing to the floor as he said, "Wanna walks." Once he was placed down Crevan started looking at the clothes, which weren't really for his age group seeing as he was so tiny, but he seemed unconcerned by that. Not that he really paid attention to the clothes for very long, Crevan catching sight of something else that was of more interest and promptly wandering off. He probably wouldn't have done it had he ever gotten into trouble with Keegan over it but the man had never really given him the chance to wander off so Crevan didn't think twice about it...actually he didn't really think about it at all, the little guy just knew that he saw something interesting and he ended wandering off.