Wait to start the song.
***There are mentions of Josh's stitches and the night they left the community in this chapter.***

Being at Tyler's house was much stranger than being at Ashley's. For starters, Tyler's mom kept asking them if they needed anything and smiling at Josh in a weirdly motherly way. Secondly, there were crosses on the walls, and not the kind Josh was used to. Third, Tyler's little sister trailed him silently, as if she was afraid Tyler would disappear if she wasn't with him.

Ashley had left the baby to Tyler's mom when she'd gotten here, though, which distracted her from coming in every couple minutes. She had Josh sit on the closed toilet lid while she rubbed foul-smelling brown dye into his hair. Tyler sat on the floor in front of him, talking to Josh calmly so the smell of the dye wouldn't make him too nervous. He hated chemicals. The smell of them made his head hurt.

"What was the first thing you did when you got out?" Tyler asked Josh curiously.

"Out of the fence?" Josh asked curiously, trying to ignore the disgustingly gooey substance being rubbed into his hair. Tyler nodded. "Well we ran for a really long time."

"Yeah, but I mean after you got to your grandpa's house. What did you do then?" Tyler asked, tracing where his initials were carved into Josh's skin gently.

Josh thought about that. His grandma had wanted to feed them, but they were all too sick to eat. What had he done? Then he remembered.

"I washed Abigail. She wasn't conscious enough to do it herself, and I was too scared to let anyone else touch her, so I did it myself," he said distantly. The soft touch of Tyler's fingertips against his arm and Ashley's fingers in his hair were the only things grounding him from getting lost in the memory. "She was soaked in blood though, so she had to get clean."

Tyler's little sister's eyes widened. She glanced nervously at her big brother, but he didn't seem to notice. "Her own blood?" Tyler asked.

"No," Josh replied simply.

Nobody pushed him to say more than that. Ashley sighed as she took her gloves off. "But you're safe now. Abigail's safe, you're safe, we're safe, and so is the rest of your family. We're all together too. Everything is getting better, even if it's slow progress," she told him calmly.

Josh nodded, looking up at her. He didn't realize he was searching for comfort in her eyes until he found it. She was smiling at him like she knew what she'd said was true. He smiled back after a moment.

"Yeah," he agreed. "It's getting better."

She looked proud of him as she kissed his forehead softly. Somehow, that replaced some of the anxiety eating away at the lining of his stomach with a gentle warmth that soothed the ache instead. Tyler's fingers laced with his, making him almost forget he'd been worried at all. The two people he loved most in this world (not including his son) were here, and that made everything better.

"We'll let this dye sit for about an hour and then you can wash it off," Ashley told him.

"Okay. Thank you," Josh replied.

She smiled. "Anytime."

Ashley plopped down next to Tyler and the little girl on the floor. She rested her head on Tyler's shoulder, taking Josh's other hand in hers. She traced the lines on his palm for a moment before lacing their fingers together and kissing the back of his hand.

"Is there anything you're excited about for going back to school tomorrow?" Tyler asked Josh curiously.

He shook his head. "Not really."

"Nothing at all?" Ashley asked sadly.

"School's never really been a good thing for me," he pointed out. "The only reason I never got beat up was because everyone thought my cult would kill them if they hurt me, or that Satan would possess them if they touched me."

"I'll still kill them if they hurt you, cult or not," Tyler mumbled.

"I appreciate that," Josh told him.

He glanced at Tyler's sister, catching her eyes for only a second before she hurriedly looked away. She was scared of him. Of course she was. He'd been partially responsible for her brother's abduction.

Josh didn't pay that much attention to the conversation in the room after that. Guilt was pooling in his stomach once again. How had he not realized for so long how bad things were? How many other families had been put in this position because of The Family? Did Patrick's family even know he was alive? Was he alive? It seemed like the pain caused by The Family would never stop.

"Josh?" Tyler's voice asked softly. Josh's eyes shot back up to his husband's, finding them to be concerned. "What are you thinking about?"

Simply out of habit, Josh's walls shot up. "Nothing."

"Josh," Tyler said simply. His tone was stern, proving that he knew Josh was lying.

After a moment of feeling his anxiety build, Josh looked at Tyler's sister again. "I'm sorry," he told her.

She seemed surprised that he was even acknowledging her, a blush instantly staining her cheeks. "For what?" She asked quietly.

"For letting him be taken," Josh told her shakily.

"Josh-" Tyler began, his features softening.

"I'm sorry he got hurt. I'm sorry you were scared. I'm sorry you're still scared. I'm sorry you missed him. I'm sorry things aren't back to normal. I'm sorry-"

"Josh, you did everything you could to keep Tyler out of the community," Ashley interrupted. "You got us out as soon as you could. There's no reason to be sorry."

Josh shook his head. One look at Tyler's sister was all it took to know that there was most definitely a reason to be sorry. "Look at her, Ashley. She's so scared. She probably has been for a really long time, and-"

"And it's not your fault," Tyler finished for him. "Maddy knows that. She knows you're the reason I made it out of there alive. She knows about the amulet. She knows about Mathias. She knows about everything you did for us. It isn't you she's scared of, Josh."

Confusion crashed over Josh like a wave. "Then what's she scared of?"

Tyler's sister, Maddy, took Josh's hand carefully. She turned it over, touching the stitches on his wrist carefully. "The Devil is real, isn't he?" She asked him quietly.

"I hope not," he told her quietly, not sure how to process the fact that she was now touching him.

For a moment, Josh just watched Maddy trace his stitches. She didn't respond for a little while. She couldn't be much older than Abigail. The fear in her eyes reminded him more of Jordan though. His little brother had looked terrified for months. Maddy's eyes looked like his.

"Even if he is, he can't hurt you," Josh told her. "You're protected."

"How?" Maddy asked him quietly.

Tyler and Ashley were silent as Josh talked to Maddy. He pointed to the cross hanging around her neck. "Christians aren't supposed to be touched," Josh told her.

"Tyler was," Maddy said quietly.

"But he got out. No one gets out. Tyler and Ashley did though, and what did they have in common?" Josh asked her.

Maddy smiled shyly. "They're Christians."

"That's right," he told her. "They were protected."

Tyler was smiling when Josh looked at him again. He was giving Josh that look again that made him feel important. Tyler and Ashley were the only ones who seemed to know how to give him that feeling with a single look.

"So I'm safe?" Maddy asked quietly.

Josh nodded. "Yeah, of course. Your whole family is. Satan can't hurt you. Your God loves you too much."

He was pulling all of this out of his ass, but it seemed to convince the younger girl well enough. The fear in her eyes was gone. Josh's eyebrows raised in surprise when she kissed his cheek before leaving the bathroom. The room was silent for a moment before Tyler spoke up.

"JJ kind of hit the jackpot when he got you for a dad, Josh," he said.

Josh didn't know what a jackpot was, but he assumed it was a good thing. His spouses looked like they were proud of him again. Warmth swelled inside of him as he smiled at them. He loved them so much.

"Wash that dye out of your hair, honey. Be fast because-and I'm sure Tyler agrees with this-I need to snuggle you as soon as possible. I've missed having my big tough little spoon around," Ashley added, already helping Josh up and carefully pulling his shirt up over his hair.

"I'm not a spoon," Josh said in confusion as he allowed Tyler to unbutton his jeans and slide them down his legs while Ashley closed the bathroom door.

Both of his spouses laughed, but somehow he didn't feel like the butt of a joke. Their laughter just made him smile. He felt so safe and comfortable right now.

"You're our little spoon because we get to hold you when we cuddle. Sometimes Tyler's the little spoon and sometimes I am, but I like when it's you too. Tonight is definitely an occasion where you're the one who gets to be held," Ashley explained.

"Okay," Josh agreed as he stepped out of his boxers.

Tyler started the shower for him while he spoke to Ashley. "If you get to be the big spoon, does that mean I get to hold him from the other side and kiss him a lot?"

Josh looked to Ashley hopefully for confirmation. She laughed, nudging him toward the shower. "Yes. We'll make a Joshua sandwich and shower him in kisses, but he needs an actual shower first. Get that dye out of your hair."

Josh kissed her quickly before climbing into the shower. "Yes, ma'am."

Ashley laughed. "You're such a dork."

"Love you too!" He called as he stood beneath the shower head, trying to wash the dye out as quickly as possible.

---
Start the song. It's Danny by Nicole Dollanganger.

As it turned out, Joshua sandwiches were actually Josh's favourite thing. Ashley was laying behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist and her body pressed against the back of his. Tyler was laying in front of him, soothing his fingers through Josh's freshly dyed hair and occasionally peppering Josh's lips, face, and neck with gentle kisses. It was hard to tell whose legs belonged to whom, as they were all tangled together beneath the sheets.

JJ was fast asleep in the bassinet that Tyler's mom had insisted be kept in her room so the three of them could actually sleep before school. Tyler's father had yet to make an appearance, but Josh couldn't bring himself to worry about that when Ashley's soft lips were soothing along his shoulder blade.

"How do you feel, sweetheart?" Tyler asked Josh gently, pressing their foreheads together and nuzzling his nose against Josh's.

Honestly, Josh felt more calm than he could ever remember being. His stomach kept flipping in the best way, and he was slowly falling more and more in love with both of his spouses. He smiled contentedly at Tyler.

"Perfect," he decided.

"You are perfect," Tyler assured him.

He slid his hand out of Josh's hair, wrapping his arm around both him and Ashley instead. Josh felt Ashley's body press against his more as she moved to get closer to Tyler's touch.

"I love you," Josh said dazedly. "Both of you."

"I love you too," they both replied easily.

The smile gracing Josh's lips felt like it would never fade away. Even when Tyler's lips met his, he couldn't stop smiling. He kissed his husband slowly, revelling in the sensation of his wife's fingertips trailing along his bare side. He shivered beneath her touch. No anxiety could survive in an environment this soothing.

Tyler's tongue was soft against his, and his arm around them tightened slightly. Josh shivered when Ashley began to kiss down his neck and along his shoulder. This was a lot for Josh's mind and body to take in at once. He loved Tyler and Ashley so much that it was overwhelming him, but in the very best way.

He nearly stopped breathing when Tyler's hands started to unbutton his jeans. He popped the button effortlessly, still kissing Josh deeply. As much as Josh wanted Tyler to touch him, he didn't want Ashley to be scared. He broke the kiss with Tyler.

"What about..." He began breathlessly.

Josh trailed off when Ashley helped Tyler push his jeans down his legs. In fact, she turned Josh's head so she could kiss him slowly while Tyler slid Josh's boxers off too. Josh kicked them off under the sheets, too distracted by the taste of Ashley's lips to notice that Tyler fished them out and dropped them on the floor.

Why was everyone but Josh wearing so much goddamn clothing? Tyler seemed to be on the same page as Josh, pulling his own shirt over his head. Josh was panting for breath when he broke the kiss with Ashley. Her lips were swollen and her pupils were blown wide, just like Tyler's. This was different for her though, and Josh couldn't forget that.

"Ashley, if you don't want to-" He started carefully.

"I want to," she assured him.

Tyler smiled. "Come here."

Ashley sat up on her knees like Tyler was, leaning across Josh to connect her lips with Tyler's. He was more gentle with her than he was with Josh, making her melt and need to put her hands on Josh's chest for support. It was once again overwhelming Josh how much he loved them. He would do anything for these two.

Tyler broke the kiss only long enough to pull Ashley's shirt over her head. Josh sat up so he could kiss along Tyler's shoulder. His hands, however, were focused on getting Tyler's pants off as soon as possible. Tyler's hands were carefully undressing Ashley, and every inch of skin revealed of his spouses' bodies made Josh feel even more intoxicated with love. Being vulnerable was really hard for all of them after what they'd been through, but they all trusted each other.

Once their clothing was gone and their soft skin was all available to touch, every final drop of anxiety left Josh. All he had to focus on was the way Tyler whimpered when they touched him or how Ashley got too shy to ask them for what she needed. The three of them took care of each other though, proving just how much they loved each other with every touch. By the end, Josh was positive that he'd never love anything or anyone as much as he loved their little family. They were perfect to him.

They all fell asleep pressed together, the sweat on their skin becoming cool as the December night air reached it. Somehow, they'd ended up in another Joshua sandwich, but he was grateful for that. Even when he was snoring in Josh's ear, Tyler's fingers slowly combed through Josh's hair.

Ashley was cemented against Josh's back, her usual cuddly self. Even when she'd first come to the community, Ashley had needed to be practically on top of Josh to fall asleep. She needed to be held or to feel a body pressed against hers. Just as always, Josh would never dream of letting her fall asleep without someone to hold her.

His eyes studied Tyler's sleeping face fondly. His mouth hung open so his snores could slip out, but he was smiling slightly too. Josh's fingers were tangled with the ones from the hand Ashley had wrapped around his waist, but his other arm was already falling asleep beneath Tyler.

"Everything is going to get better," Josh whispered under his breath.

Neither of his spouses heard him or replied, but he still smiled. He knew it was true. As long as he had these two by his side, he'd be okay.

Josh looked up when Tyler's door opened. Mrs. Joseph carried in a fussy JJ. Her exhausted expression changed to one of surprise when she realized that the three of them were naked. She didn't comment though, meeting Josh's eyes.

"I've tried everything to get him back to sleep, but I think he just misses you guys," she whispered to him.

Josh pulled his arm out from under Tyler carefully and released Ashley's hand, sitting up. He took his whimpering son when he was handed to him. He held the baby close against his chest, smiling when JJ looked up at him with those eyes so much like his own. One look was all it took to tell him that JJ was just looking for comfort. He kissed JJ's forehead softly, rocking him just slightly. His whimpers slowly stopped as Josh soothed him.

"You're okay," Josh whispered to the infant. "We're all right here. Nothing can hurt you."

JJ watched Josh trustingly, sucking at his thumb as his eyelids became heavier. Mrs. Joseph seemed surprised by how easily Josh was able to get the infant to doze off.

"You're really good with him," she told him quietly.

Josh glanced up at Tyler's mother, careful not to hold eye contact for too long. "Thanks."

Josh's eyes widened in surprise when Mrs. Joseph kissed his forehead. "You get some sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow."

He nodded, keeping his eyes on JJ. Never in his life had an adult who wasn't his mom done something like that. It made him feel strange, like he was missing something inside of him. He watched her brush Ashley's hair off of her sweaty forehead gently.

"We're proud of you, Joshua. I don't know if you know that, but we are. You've overcome so much, and I can't imagine how hard it must be. I hope this doesn't make you uncomfortable, but just know you're in our prayers," she told him gently.

Tears nipped at Josh's eyes. Everything always worked out when Tyler prayed for him. He couldn't imagine what having everyone in Tyler's family praying for him would do. He felt so unbelievably safe right now. Why couldn't he have grown up in a house like Tyler's?

"Goodnight, sweetheart. Let me know if you need me to come take him again," Mrs. Joseph told him. She smiled at him kindly.

"Thank you, ma'am," he replied quietly.

"You don't have to thank me. You're just as much a part of this family as Ashley and Tyler. We're blessed to have you here, and I'll do anything I can to help you feel safe," she told him as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "I'm going to tell you the same thing we told Tyler when he first went back to school. If it's too much tomorrow, you can just tell Tyler or call my husband or me, and we'll make sure you get home. Don't push yourself too hard."

Josh wondered if she knew how much that meant to him. He wondered if she knew that his heart was about to burst in his chest or that he'd never felt this safe before. She kissed his forehead again, and Josh didn't feel like something was missing this time.

"Thank you, ma'am," he repeated quietly.

"Sweet dreams," she whispered kindly before she left the room.

Josh watched the door for a moment before lying back down. He held the baby between himself and Tyler. JJ let out a little snore that sounded a bit like Tyler's, making Josh smile. Ashley's arm wrapped around him again as she nuzzled the space between his shoulder blades in her sleep. He had the most beautiful family in the whole world, and somehow it just kept growing.