"She's called Eden but I call her Den." Gideon looked nervous as Barty held the baby but he nodded and let him take her. "She just learned to walk, she's very good and very humble." He nodded with determination and then let Barty go down with her, watching the whole time.
Aziraphale came over and immediately took the baby, holding her careful. "I tried before but they stopped me. I needed an adult..." Aziraphale looked very sheepish as he looked at Barty. "They've been there for months. The baby is new, I think it's the same mother? I'm not certain."
"Just hold her. You can carry her over to the car, Jonathan will take care of you. I'm getting the boy." Barty made sure that Aziraphale had the little girl securely, feeling a darkness at the pit of his stomach when he noticed that she was bruised. He moved away to go back up the ladder, then held his arms out for the little boy. "Come here, I'll carry you down. I know you are a good boy, I can see it. You'll be safe with me. You and Eden."
"She's my baby." Gideon informed Barty with determination as he walked up to the window and then looked at Barty with a small frown. The room behind him was bare with just a mattress on the floor and a bible next to it. Gideon climbed up to the windowsill and held onto Barty as the older man held him. He looked down and watched as Aziraphale hurried towards a car.
"Is that a policeman?" He didn't want the policemen to yell at him. "Aziraphale said he had to tell the police because the mean lady is a bad lady."
"I reckon she's not just mean. She's evil." Whoever that was, whoever had done this to these kids. Barty held Gideon against himself securely and then made his way down the ladder, making sure he wouldn't drop him. "It's not a policeman, but we will tell the police. But I will handle that. The police will know that you are a good boy and that your sister is a good girl."
And not sinful, evil or anything else. Damn. He let go of Gideon as they reached the ground, then grabbed a hold of the ladder. "I'll put that away and then we leave together. I have some water for you in the car."
"Okay. I can help you." Gideon walked alongside Barty with a slight limp, his feet still hurt from all the yard work. It was far too hot and the yard was very prickly. He was just glad that the baby didn't have to do yard work, she was too tiny to do that. She just tried to eat grass. "I haven't had water all day. I know I don't need it, I just want it but I really do want it."
Gideon walked into Aziraphale's garden and followed dutifully behind Barty in just his worn tank top and shorts. He had no shoes still.
"No, lad, you definitely do need water. You'll get do drink as much water as you want from now on." How old was this boy even? He was so malnourished that it was difficult to tell. Barty put the ladder back where he had taken it from, then he simply picked up the boy again. His feet looked horrendous.
He carried Gideon with him to the car, where he opened the door to the backseat and sat Gideon down next to Aziraphale, who was already seated and still holding the baby. He handed the bottle of water he always brought along - mostly because Tally never stayed hydrated - to Aziraphale. "Make sure the kids drink some."
With that done, he got into the passenger seat, finally ending the recording on his phone. He looked at Jonathan, unable to find the words to describe any of this. "I'm going to call Sam. And we should drive to your place before someone sees us."
"This is kidnapping a minor though... You know Gene will arrest me for it. Fuck. Why is there a baby? Fuck. Fucking hell." Jonathan put his head against the steering wheel, wondering if they should drive away or not. What was the better move? What was the right move? "Your fucking law firm better defend the ever loving shit out of me."
Aziraphale covered the babies ears from all the cursing and then unscrewed the cap and gave it to Gideon. The car was awkwardly silent as Gideon gulped down all the water, gasping once he was done.
Jon sighed and started up the car. "I don't even have a kids seat." He started to reverse from his parking spot. "They'd do me for that alone. Fucking thieving gypsy child napper."
"Then take them back to my place, Jon. I don't give a damn, but look at them!" He could not just leave them here, not knowing when - if ever - he'd have a chance like that again. "It's bound to be a controversial case, you can bet that Tally will want to take it on." All the more with Barty being involved. Tally would certainly enjoy dragging up some of his childhood trauma. Any chance to be an ass, Tally would always take it. It was good to be able to rely on some things.
"Mine or yours? Which is it? I need to know before I call Sam."
"Mine, we got more hands on deck there. Even our Tommy knows some first aid. If you live with Alfie, it's a requirement." Though he doubted Alfie was there. "Call Sam but ask him not to bring Gene. I don't want a fucking fight."
"Could... could you please not swear. There are minors present." Aziraphale tried very timidly as he bounced Eden and tried to distract her.
"Sorry, you God-fearing gasúr, but I ain't in the church. I curse all I bloody well please. I got three kids in my bloody car and none should be in this fucking state." Jonathan cursed as he pulled into the street and took off driving as quick as he could - at the speed limit. There was a baby and all.
"That's right. Go full Irish, than he won't understand enough to know you're cursing." Barty said it encouragingly and then he held his phone to his ear, having called Sam.
"Sam? It's me." Obviously. Now he felt he was stalling. This was a lot and not really the kind of vulnerability he liked to show, especially not to Sam. Whatever. "I'm about to ruin your weekend, darling. Can you meet me at Jonathan's place? Are you on duty or off?"
"You keep pushing this bogman and he's gonna go full fucking Gaeilge." Jonathan stubbornly complained as he pulled off the street and into the dual carriage. Only fifteen minutes left and he was able to properly sort this shit. Hopefully.
Sam picked up fast, as he always did. "You always do find a way to ruin my weekends." Oh yeah, definitely some baggage still there. "I'm off duty but I can be on. What's happened? Is anyone hurt? If it's something big, I'll have to phone in. Be honest."
"It's delicate. Look, come to Jonathan's house and I'll show you a video. Show you evidence. And then you can help me strategize, because you'll want this handled well." of course he would. He was a good cop. He was also someone who loved kids, oddly enough, given that he was awful with them most of the time. Unless he could just kick a ball around. But then, that was Sam and people in general. "It's concerning kids, Sam. How soon can you be there?"
"I'm going now. I'll be there in ten minutes. I'll look at my phone then. See you soon." Sam as always was to the point, efficient and hung up when he had to get into his car like the responsible driver he was.
Jonathan had to snort. "You two in a room? Fuck. That never ends well."
They'd either fuck or fight. And honestly, fighting was better. Fucking caused more problems. For both of them.
"It's going to be just fine. We're perfectly capable of rational thinking." Although, right now? he very rationally sent the video clip he had taken to Tally with the caption 'the crown vs mormons, are you ready?', so perhaps he wasn't entirely rational. At least he had not yet done any excessive cursing.
"We'll need to have evidence of their current state and all injuries before we treat them and then they need to eat and drink, probably sleep." All of them seemed exhausted. They were asleep or half asleep in the car right now. "I'll discuss it with Sam, but we'll probably have to get them to a hospital."
"We'll make it through, mate. We know we ain't done nothing wrong. We saved some kids today." Jonathan turned off from the dual carriage way and started towards his house, excited to just be back in his neighbourhood where everything was less white.
Aziraphale looked at his brother and his brother's odd friend with curiosity and then looked out of the window. It looked different here. Not in a bad way though. "I hope I don't get you into trouble. I couldn't very well tell you the situation, just in case they found the texts. I knew I had to do something. They're children."
"You did the right thing, sunshine." Now he just had to deliver on his promise of actually keeping the children safe. He didn't think they would take the kids back to their families, at the very least. He should be able to prevent that from happening. "I'm a lawyer now. I know how to keep you safe."
He promised it, wondering whether Aziraphale would have any conceivable idea what a lawyer was. Well, whatever. "For now we are going to Jonathan's house. He lives with his brothers and sister." Bill wasn't officially part of the family, but she might as well be. "Nobody will hurt you there."
"I am sure of it, yes. I was more worried about the children than anything. I could see poor Gideon doing garden work with no shoes and he was quite sunburnt. He did it for four weeks in a row. I watched him fall down from my window. There was no other option. And once he told me he had a baby, I was terrified. I tried to get them myself but I'm not as savvy as you. I got caught. Very fast." Aziraphale laughed in a self deprecating way.
Jon pulled up outside his place and parked up, not bothering to be perfect with the park job. He undid his seatbelt and looked at Barty. "I have to warn everyone else. You get the kids ready, yeah. Just come in."
Jon got out and left them to it while he jogged into the house. "HOLDEN! Something crazy happened. Crowley! You better know some fucking first aid, son!"
"Course I do," Crowley said, walking out of the living room with a frown, wondering whether Jonathan was hurt. He didn't look hurt, at least. "Are you all right?"
Holden walked out of his room, where he had been reading, frowning at his brother. Strange enough to see him awake so early on a Saturday, but just what could have happened? "What's going on, Jonny?" He glanced out the window, trying to spot the car.
Jonathan picked up his lighter and did the responsible thing he had to do at that moment. He lit himself a cigarette and took a deep inhale, blowing out his cheeks. "I just kidnapped three Mormon kids from a torture chamber with Barty and bloody Sam Tyler is on his way." Jonathan laughed and then gave Crowley a look. "Go and find any fucking drugs and hide my stash then come back here and help us out. And tell Tommy to stay in his room."
Jonathan looked at Holden and threw his arms out. "There's a wee little baby and a tyke with Barty's brother. We gotta get pictures before first aid, yeah? Then we need the copper before the ambulance. So take your time and brace yourself, mate. It's pretty shit."
"Understood." That was a lot of horrible news to get at once. He took a deep breath and watched as Crowley dashed off, evidently knowing exactly where to go looking for the drugs. He'd discuss that with Jonathan later. "Maybe don't smoke around the kids." That was some friendly advice. "Tommy's taking a nap right now, allergies are getting to him."
So at least that was one less issue. He got his phone out to check the battery life on it. "I can take pictures. They... We got some stew, don't we? In the freezer. Stew is nourishing. We should heat that up."
Barty opened the door, carrying the baby and gently pushing the two boys ahead of himself. "Living room is to the left, sunshine. Just sit down on the sofa there."
Holden smiled at the kids, unsure what else to do. "I'll get you lot some juice, all right?" He could get orange juice from the pantry. And the first aid kit.
"I don't have a clue how to start. We wait for Sam, right? Cause if we take pictures of random kids, we might be called a pack of nonces." Jon theorised as he blew smoke away from the baby, as if that somehow helped. He was stressed, this was his only calm down method.
Aziraphale went into the living room but there was a girl napping on the couch and his face went red. Oh. Girls. He had no idea how to talk to girls. "Come along, Gideon. Don't wake the girl." He whispered as he led Gideon to an armchair so he could sit, crouching down next to him and looking at his feet. "Oh dear."
"That's not a girl, that's just Bill." So. Maybe a girl, but Crowley didn't find it overly remarkable. He had hidden away the drugs well and good, thrown them out in some cases - a few cars that had driven by were in for a surprise - and now he was back in the living room, looking at the kids that had arrived. Damn.
He pushed his glasses up to seem less strange, his eyes currently only a bit reddened. Then he crouched down next to Aziraphale, looking at the boy's feet as well. "Damn. That looks bad."
Poor kid. "You can relax though." He smiled at Aziraphale. "It's safe here. I'm Crowley, by the way."
"His name is Anthony," Holden corrected, which made Crowley stick out his tongue. Holden set a few glasses down on the table and started pouring orange juice, handing one glass to Gideon and smiling at him. "Can your sister drink juice too? She's still little."
"Oh, hello. I'm Aziraphale! It's lovely to-- to meet you all. I'm sorry I'm not in a better state of affairs but it's been quite the week." Aziraphale remarked, sounding like a strange little adult as he crouch there, smiling. With the sudden appearance of all these new people, Gideon was suddenly clutching onto Aziraphale and he laughed nervously. "Oh gosh, he must be nervous. Gideon, answer your elders."
Gideon held onto Aziraphale's sweater and looked at the floor. He took the juice to be polite. "She's too little for sugar."
"I think she's almost a year, if I have my math correct." Aziraphale offered helpfully with a smile before he watched Bill sit up, swiftly looking away with a deep red blush. She had short hair. How strange.
Bill blinked and then frowned. "What did I miss...?"
"Hot lawyer brought in some abused kids," Crowley explained, sitting on the floor to hopefully make Gideon relax a little again. "The orange juice is good for you, you should have some."
Holden looked at the tiny baby, his heart hurting at the sight. He got his phone ready and asked, just to make sure. "Can I take some pictures? I need to have a record of how it looked before I can do some first aid."
Even that baby was bruised. How could this have happened?
"Oh yeah, it's not problem at all, sir. Gideon, you just have to take a few pictures for me and then we'll all be tip-top. Perhaps once your feet are better, we can go for a ... a jaunt around the neighbour. Look at the houses. You love looking at houses." Aziraphale tried, wanting to encourage the boy as best he could.
Gideon was trembling because there was a lot right now but he nodded his head and then sipped some orange juice. It was good.
"A smashing lad!" Aziraphale ruffled Gideon's hair, just trying to be as upbeat as he could be. "You can sit with me while we do it - if that's okay with you, sir?" Aziraphale looked up at Holden for approval, not wanting to overstep but knowing that evidence was important.
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thearrangement2024-04-14 04:49 pm
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Aziraphale came over and immediately took the baby, holding her careful. "I tried before but they stopped me. I needed an adult..." Aziraphale looked very sheepish as he looked at Barty. "They've been there for months. The baby is new, I think it's the same mother? I'm not certain."
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Saving Eden. There was some irony there.
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"Is that a policeman?" He didn't want the policemen to yell at him. "Aziraphale said he had to tell the police because the mean lady is a bad lady."
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And not sinful, evil or anything else. Damn. He let go of Gideon as they reached the ground, then grabbed a hold of the ladder. "I'll put that away and then we leave together. I have some water for you in the car."
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Gideon walked into Aziraphale's garden and followed dutifully behind Barty in just his worn tank top and shorts. He had no shoes still.
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He carried Gideon with him to the car, where he opened the door to the backseat and sat Gideon down next to Aziraphale, who was already seated and still holding the baby. He handed the bottle of water he always brought along - mostly because Tally never stayed hydrated - to Aziraphale. "Make sure the kids drink some."
With that done, he got into the passenger seat, finally ending the recording on his phone. He looked at Jonathan, unable to find the words to describe any of this. "I'm going to call Sam. And we should drive to your place before someone sees us."
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Aziraphale covered the babies ears from all the cursing and then unscrewed the cap and gave it to Gideon. The car was awkwardly silent as Gideon gulped down all the water, gasping once he was done.
Jon sighed and started up the car. "I don't even have a kids seat." He started to reverse from his parking spot. "They'd do me for that alone. Fucking thieving gypsy child napper."
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"Mine or yours? Which is it? I need to know before I call Sam."
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"Could... could you please not swear. There are minors present." Aziraphale tried very timidly as he bounced Eden and tried to distract her.
"Sorry, you God-fearing gasúr, but I ain't in the church. I curse all I bloody well please. I got three kids in my bloody car and none should be in this fucking state." Jonathan cursed as he pulled into the street and took off driving as quick as he could - at the speed limit. There was a baby and all.
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"Sam? It's me." Obviously. Now he felt he was stalling. This was a lot and not really the kind of vulnerability he liked to show, especially not to Sam. Whatever. "I'm about to ruin your weekend, darling. Can you meet me at Jonathan's place? Are you on duty or off?"
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Sam picked up fast, as he always did. "You always do find a way to ruin my weekends." Oh yeah, definitely some baggage still there. "I'm off duty but I can be on. What's happened? Is anyone hurt? If it's something big, I'll have to phone in. Be honest."
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Jonathan had to snort. "You two in a room? Fuck. That never ends well."
They'd either fuck or fight. And honestly, fighting was better. Fucking caused more problems. For both of them.
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"We'll need to have evidence of their current state and all injuries before we treat them and then they need to eat and drink, probably sleep." All of them seemed exhausted. They were asleep or half asleep in the car right now. "I'll discuss it with Sam, but we'll probably have to get them to a hospital."
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Aziraphale looked at his brother and his brother's odd friend with curiosity and then looked out of the window. It looked different here. Not in a bad way though. "I hope I don't get you into trouble. I couldn't very well tell you the situation, just in case they found the texts. I knew I had to do something. They're children."
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He promised it, wondering whether Aziraphale would have any conceivable idea what a lawyer was. Well, whatever. "For now we are going to Jonathan's house. He lives with his brothers and sister." Bill wasn't officially part of the family, but she might as well be. "Nobody will hurt you there."
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Jon pulled up outside his place and parked up, not bothering to be perfect with the park job. He undid his seatbelt and looked at Barty. "I have to warn everyone else. You get the kids ready, yeah. Just come in."
Jon got out and left them to it while he jogged into the house. "HOLDEN! Something crazy happened. Crowley! You better know some fucking first aid, son!"
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Holden walked out of his room, where he had been reading, frowning at his brother. Strange enough to see him awake so early on a Saturday, but just what could have happened? "What's going on, Jonny?" He glanced out the window, trying to spot the car.
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Jonathan looked at Holden and threw his arms out. "There's a wee little baby and a tyke with Barty's brother. We gotta get pictures before first aid, yeah? Then we need the copper before the ambulance. So take your time and brace yourself, mate. It's pretty shit."
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So at least that was one less issue. He got his phone out to check the battery life on it. "I can take pictures. They... We got some stew, don't we? In the freezer. Stew is nourishing. We should heat that up."
Barty opened the door, carrying the baby and gently pushing the two boys ahead of himself. "Living room is to the left, sunshine. Just sit down on the sofa there."
Holden smiled at the kids, unsure what else to do. "I'll get you lot some juice, all right?" He could get orange juice from the pantry. And the first aid kit.
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Aziraphale went into the living room but there was a girl napping on the couch and his face went red. Oh. Girls. He had no idea how to talk to girls. "Come along, Gideon. Don't wake the girl." He whispered as he led Gideon to an armchair so he could sit, crouching down next to him and looking at his feet. "Oh dear."
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He pushed his glasses up to seem less strange, his eyes currently only a bit reddened. Then he crouched down next to Aziraphale, looking at the boy's feet as well. "Damn. That looks bad."
Poor kid. "You can relax though." He smiled at Aziraphale. "It's safe here. I'm Crowley, by the way."
"His name is Anthony," Holden corrected, which made Crowley stick out his tongue. Holden set a few glasses down on the table and started pouring orange juice, handing one glass to Gideon and smiling at him. "Can your sister drink juice too? She's still little."
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Gideon held onto Aziraphale's sweater and looked at the floor. He took the juice to be polite. "She's too little for sugar."
"I think she's almost a year, if I have my math correct." Aziraphale offered helpfully with a smile before he watched Bill sit up, swiftly looking away with a deep red blush. She had short hair. How strange.
Bill blinked and then frowned. "What did I miss...?"
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Holden looked at the tiny baby, his heart hurting at the sight. He got his phone ready and asked, just to make sure. "Can I take some pictures? I need to have a record of how it looked before I can do some first aid."
Even that baby was bruised. How could this have happened?
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Gideon was trembling because there was a lot right now but he nodded his head and then sipped some orange juice. It was good.
"A smashing lad!" Aziraphale ruffled Gideon's hair, just trying to be as upbeat as he could be. "You can sit with me while we do it - if that's okay with you, sir?" Aziraphale looked up at Holden for approval, not wanting to overstep but knowing that evidence was important.
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