Start the song. It's The Cold, the Dark, and the Silence by Sea Wolf.

"All I'm saying is there's no way you're a legal United States citizen," Brendon insisted, making Josh roll his eyes.

"Why does this matter again?" Ashley asked, her hand reaching into the backseat to hold Josh's.

"It doesn't," Josh mumbled, wishing Tyler was here but taking comfort in having Ashley's soft hand in his.

Tyler had to stay after school for basketball practice, meaning Josh had gone a full day without finding out if his husband really was mad at him. He'd survived school just fine, apart from either being avoided like the plague or being punched in the face by one particularly anti-Dun football player. Ashley was still frustrated that he wouldn't tell her who hit him, and Tyler still didn't know.

"Do you even have a birth certificate?" Brendon asked in exasperation.

"A what?" Josh asked.

Brendon gasped, almost swerving into the other lane as he looked back at Josh with wide eyes. "Are you actually kidding me right now?"

Josh shook his head, trying to remind himself not to be embarrassed about the stuff he didn't know. It wasn't his fault he didn't know them. It was his dad's fault.

He was relieved when Ashley calmly told him, "You have to have one to start school, so you must have one. It's okay, honey. We can just ask your mom. She'll know."

Josh nodded, resting his head against the cool window. He still didn't like cars. It didn't feel right for a human to move this quickly. How was this even safe? How was a strap of fabric across his chest going to save him if this thing crashed? He had no idea.

"Am I just dropping you off at Tyler's so you can get JJ?" Brendon asked Ashley.

"That works." She looked at Josh. "We can go ask your mom after that, okay?"

He nodded again, trying to remind himself again and again to breathe. His black eye hurt more than he was willing to tell his wife, and his pride hurt worse. Even if Josh hadn't shown weakness in any way while that asshole was throwing a fist against his cheek, he hadn't tried to fight back or protect himself. He'd found himself unable to fight back at all. It felt like he deserved to be punched.

"We can go see Hayley too if you want," Ashley added, clearly seeing right through his facade of complacency.

"Wait, I wanna go. I wanna see what the rest of Josh's family looks like and who he cheated on you guys with!" Brendon exclaimed. When Ashley glared at him, he corrected, "Not cheated, but like, who he was fucking."

Ashley started to protest before Josh said, "You can come as long as we still go get our baby first. I miss him."

A smile spread across Ashley's face. "I do too. It's hard to be away from him for so long, isn't it?"

"It makes me nervous," Josh told her.

His wife nodded easily. "Me too. I almost dropped out of school after I had him just because I hated being away from him so much."

"I almost dropped out," Josh admitted, and Ashley looked surprised. Brendon just looked curious. "I kind of still think I should."

"Why would you do that?" Brendon asked.

Josh shrugged. "School sucks."

"Of course it does. It's school. It sucks for everyone," Brendon chuckled out.

"It sucks more when everyone's scared of you for something that didn't even do," Josh mumbled, picking at the skin around his thumbnail anxiously. His eyes stung slightly, but he was trying as best as he could to fight the tears back.

Brendon was silent for a minute. Ashley squeezed Josh's hand, but didn't say anything else. Not another word was said for the whole ride to Tyler's house, but Josh was glad. He didn't want to talk about any of this. He just wanted his baby and his family.

Thankfully, Ashley just ran in and got their baby. He didn't have to go inside again. When she came back outside, she had JJ, his diaper bag, and something shiny. Surprisingly, she opened his door instead of her own.

"Hey, he has to be in a car seat. Do you want to come with me in my car and Brendon can just follow in his?" She asked him carefully.

Josh smiled, unbuckling his seatbelt without hesitation. "Yeah."

"Cool." She handed Josh the lumpy shiny thing. "That's from Mrs. Joseph."

Josh looked at it in confusion. "What is it?"

"Dude, was there no tinfoil in your cult?" Brendon asked with a smirk.

"I guess not," Josh replied quietly, reminding himself for the millionth time not be ashamed of the things he didn't know.

Ashley took the shiny thing from him, handing him his son instead. He watched her peel away the silver, revealing something that looked really delicious. He kissed JJ's head as more and more of the object was revealed, making the infant coo happily.

"She felt bad that you didn't have breakfast, so she made cinnamon rolls today and made sure you got one," she told Josh as she handed it back to him.

Although Josh had quickly decided that Tyler's mom was a good person, he still looked nervously at the cinnamon roll. He'd never had one before, which made it really tempting, but he hadn't seen her make it. He had no way of knowing if she'd added something dangerous into it.

"Oh," Ashley said quietly before pulling off a small piece and eating it. He watched her chew it up and swallow it. She smiled at him. "It's really good," she promised.

Josh nodded, but wrapped the tinfoil around the food again anyways. He didn't want to eat in front of Brendon. Ashley looked a little bit concerned, but still took Josh's hand when he climbed out of the car. He bounced JJ on his hip slightly, making him giggle and cling to Josh's shirt.

"Dada!" He giggled out, making Brendon look a little bit annoyed.

Josh kissed his baby's nose. "I missed you," he told the baby seriously. JJ giggled and grabbed Josh's cheeks, pulling his face down so he could press his open mouth against his father's closed one.

Ashley laughed. "I've been teaching him how to give kisses. That's as far as we've gotten so far."

Every inch of Josh's body flooded with warmth as he smiled at his tiny son. The baby smiled at him happily, and Josh couldn't believe he'd missed out on so much of this child's life. How was it even possible to love a person this much?

"Come on, little spoon. Let's get you home," Ashley said fondly as she led Josh to her car.

Josh couldn't stop smiling despite how much it made his swollen cheekbone hurt. Even after JJ was all buckled up and they were on their way to Josh's house, his smile didn't fade. Ashley held his hand while she drove, and he couldn't stop himself from kissing her hand again and again. He was so in awe of the fact that she carried that perfect baby inside of her. They'd made that little boy together, but she'd physically carried him inside of her. It was incredible.

"I love you so much that it's kind of making me want to cry," Josh blurted out.

His wife smiled. "Believe me. I feel the exact same way."

"I feel like this with Tyler too," Josh told her.

"I do too. I can't believe I feel this much love for two people," Ashley agreed. She glanced at JJ in the rear view mirror. "Well, three."

Josh nodded, looking back at JJ's carseat. "He's a miracle."

Ashley beamed. "Yes, he is."

-----

Brendon was shocked into silence when they entered the Dun household. Apparently whatever he was expecting Josh's home to look like, this wasn't it. It probably didn't help that Alivia's eyes lit up when Josh walked in, prompting her to hop off of the kitchen chair beside Mrs. Dun's and run to Josh.

As was typical for the little girl, she whispered, "Uncle Josh!" He smiled as he picked her up, grateful Ashley was carrying JJ when his niece immediately buried her face against his shoulder and inhaled deeply. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Josh told her with a smile.

His mom looked up then. "Joshua! You aren't supposed to lift her until your wrists are healed. You know that."

"She's tiny. It's fine," Josh reasoned.

Mrs. Dun smiled when Ashley handed JJ to her, much to Brendon's dissatisfaction. "And how are you?" She asked the baby in her usual reserved sweet voice.

JJ giggled, clinging to his grandma cheerfully. She smiled as he held him, and Ashley sat down across from Mrs. Dun.

"Hey, Mrs. Dun? We had a question for you," Ashley said kindly, reminding Josh of their previous conversation in Brendon's car. He sat down next to Ashley, keeping Liv in his lap.

"I'll try to answer it then," Josh's mother replied. She glanced at Brendon, who was standing uncertainly. "Honey, you can sit down."

Brendon sat down quickly, looking afraid to disobey her. She didn't seem to notice as she looked at Josh.
"We just wanted to-" He began, but she cut him off.

"Do you have a black eye?" She asked worriedly.

"It's not a big deal. I just wanted to ask if-"

"Who hit you?" She asked, and it was strange for Josh. He'd come home with bruises for years, but his parents had never mentioned them. Maybe she just hadn't been allowed to.

Ashley sighed. "He wouldn't even tell me."

Josh's mom gave him a stern look. He rolled his eyes. "Mama-"

"Joshua," she said in a warning tone.

"I swear, I'm fine. Dark blood, remember?" He told her, and that did seem to calm her down. Brendon looked less relieved, but Josh ignored him. "Do I have a birth certificate?"

Mrs. Dun sighed. "It's not from the year you were born, but yes. They made you one before you started school. We had to make them for all of the kids who were born after you started school actually."

"I bet your dad loved that," Ashley commented, making Josh and his mother laugh, but Brendon stiffened fearfully.

"Oh, he was already mad enough that Josh was going to school. That was just the icing on the cake," Josh's mom told them. She glanced at Brendon then. "Are you a friend of Joshua's or Ashley's?"

"Ashley?" Brendon said quietly, but it sounded like a question.

"Not mine," Josh informed his mother, making Liv giggle almost silently.

They looked up when the door opened. Abigail shot through the kitchen like a bullet, wrapping her arms around Josh's torso and hiding her face against his side.

"I hate everyone. I want them all to die in a great big fire. I hope my whole school lights on fire, and every single person in it burns to a crisp. They're horrible, horrible people," Abigail mumbled into his shirt.

Ash walked in then, followed by Jordan and Hayley. "Abigail's first day wasn't any better than ours were, in case you missed that," Ash told Josh as she took her daughter out of his lap.

The toddler clung to Ash, whimpering quietly. "I missed you. I missed you. I missed you," she whispered over and over.

Brendon looked extremely overwhelmed now that all of the Duns were in one place and Abbie was already planning mass murder. Josh wrapped an arm around his baby sister before scooping her up into his lap. He let her hide against his chest, zipping her up in his hoodie so she could hide until her anger subsided.

It made Josh jump in shock when fingers were suddenly in his hair, but he calmed when he realized it was just Hayley. "You wanna explain this to me?" She asked with a smirk, tugging at his no longer technicolour hair.

"I didn't wanna get beat up. It was a lost cause," he informed her.

Hayley hummed her understanding, studying his black eye. She looked at Ashley. "Whoever hit him was left handed if that narrows it down for you at all."

"Traitor," he mumbled when his wife and mother both grinned.

Hayley snickered, kissing the top of his head. "Yeah, well, your wife is cooler than you. You should be used to people siding with her by now."

Ashley grinned. "That's right. Excellent observation, Hayley."

Brendon's eyes widened, and Josh knew he'd placed her. She wasn't just some extremely colourful Dun. She was the girl Brendon had been waiting to meet all this time.

Abigail hugged Josh a little tighter, so he held her too. He looked down at where her bright red hair poked out of the neck of his hoodie. "Would you feel less tempted to kill people if I let you hold the baby?" He asked her.

Abigail's head peaked up out of his hoodie. "A little."

Josh looked at Ashley to make sure that was okay, and she smiled. "Actually, I have something that might help more than that," Ashley said.

Abigail watched curiously as Ashley reached into JJ's diaper bag. Her eyes widened when Batibat was pulled out of the bag. She scurried out of Josh's hoodie, unzipping it just enough to reach out for her old doll. It was clear that Brendon recognized the doll. His eyes turned sad as he glanced up at Josh. Josh met his gaze only for a second before he was distracted by Abigail talking to her doll.

"I missed you! I prayed every single night that you were safe, and you were. I'm so glad you were there to protect little Joshua. You've always been fearless," she told the doll seriously as she climbed off of Josh's lap. "So, old friend, how do you feel about arson?"

She left the room then, and they all watched her without saying a word for a moment. It was Hayley who broke the silence. "What was that thing?"

"Batibat. We've had that thing forever," Josh told her.

"I think it's possessed," Ash added. "Abigail wasn't half as freaky before or after she had it."

"Mama, what's possessed?" Liv whispered.

Brendon's eyes widened. Oh, right. He didn't know Josh wasn't the only teenage parent in this family.

Ash smiled. "Controlled by demons."

"From Hell?" Liv asked without a trace of fear.

Her mother nodded, kissing her nose. "That's right. It's probably our Grandma Malvolia. She promised your grandpa she'd always keep an eye out for us when she died. She probably crawled inside of that doll before she could be pulled down to Hell."

"On that note," Josh decided, standing up and helping Ashley to do the same.

He took his son from his mother and headed for his room. It made him smile when Ashley took Hayley's hand and pulled her along with them when she hesitated. Brendon looked completely lost.

When they got to Josh's room, Ashley and Hayley didn't hesitate to climb onto his bed, making Brendon look even more uncomfortable. He didn't sit down even when Josh laid down on his stomach atop the duvet.

"Problem?" Josh asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"You guys haven't like...." He gestured to Ashley and Josh before the bed.

Josh smirked, but Ashley blushed. Hayley looked a little bit shy then too, but Josh knew it was because she'd definitely had sex in here before. Even if Ashley hadn't, Hayley had.

"No, it's safe," Ashley replied stiffly. "We've never...not in here."

After Brendon finally decided to sit down, much closer to Ashley than Josh wanted him, Josh glanced at him. "Tyler has though," Josh told Brendon, making him spring off of the bed with wide eyes.

"You piece of shit!" He exclaimed, looking betrayed.

Josh snickered, laying JJ out in front of him. "It's not a big deal, Brendon. Even people in cults wash their sheets."

"I think they wash them more often actually. Your sheets got washed a lot in the community," Ashley said as she laid down on her stomach beside Josh, making JJ grin when she rubbed his tiny belly.

"Washing your sheets is more of a priority when there's blood and vomit all over them almost daily," Josh reminded her, feeling a bit guilty for joking about that. Terrible things had happened in Josh's childhood home, and in a way, they still hurt too much to talk about so lightly.

"Vomit?" Brendon asked anxiously where he stood beside the bed.

Hayley was back to grumpily tugging at his hair, surveying it for any pink left behind. She seemed thoroughly unhappy with how well Ashley had dyed such a dull colour over something so bright.

"Yeah, from when Josh got poisoned. Remember? He was vomiting blood at school," Ashley said, laying her head against Josh's shoulder as she spoke.

Ashley's touch comforted him, but he still wished she wouldn't talk about this. He found himself leaning more into Hayley. The colourful girl left his hair alone then, rubbing his back protectively.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Josh," Hayley said quietly, drawing all eyes to her. Her own dark eyes were sad. "You're doing so well though. I can't even imagine seeing the things you've seen and still being as good of a person as you are."

Those words soothed Josh greatly. He didn't know how the hell Hayley had been able to overlook what he'd hidden from her and just continue to be his best friend, but she did it so well. Josh wished he'd grown up next door to her and known her his whole life. He wished there was no treacherous backstory for her to have to learn to accept. He wished they could just have a normal friendship.

Instead of verbally thanking Hayley, Josh nudged his head against her knee before smiling at her. She smiled back warmly, brushing his hair back off of his forehead gently. She understood.

"Don't think I'm not still pissed you dyed your hair without telling me though," she told him.

Josh grinned. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

"What's that?" Brendon asked, finally climbing onto the bed. He only did so so that he could pick up the tiny black statue Tyler had returned to Josh. He turned it around in his hands, startling when he saw its expectant smile. "Holy shit. Is this-"

"Satan? Yeah," Josh replied calmly, holding JJ's feet and helping him to bicycle them. The infant laughed excitedly. "Tyler stole that from the community after everyone was gone."

Ashley took it from Brendon, giving Josh a disapproving look. "I told him to get rid of this thing. Why did you want to keep it?"

The question took Josh by surprise. He wasn't sure. Maybe it just reminded him of home. Maybe it reminded him of the only consummation he'd been comfortable with. Maybe it reminded him of the last time things were okay. "It's special."

"You're not still a Satanist though, right?" Brendon asked accusingly.

Once again, it was Hayley that came to his rescue. "Why does it matter what his religion is if you already know he'd risk his life to save Ashley and Tyler and that he's doing a really good job being JJ's dad?"

The room got quiet, but Hayley continued to rub his back soothingly. His anxiety was lessened by the presence of his best friend. She'd protect him. He could trust her.

"Honey, you don't still believe it though, do you?" Ashley asked worriedly.

"I don't know what I believe," Josh admitted. "I'm not going to run around kidnapping people and sacrificing animals, though, if that's what you're asking."

Ashley sighed turning his head and kissing him softly. She looked him in the eyes then, and his anxiety melted away completely. "I'm not worried about you hurting anyone, sweetheart. I know you. I know how sweet and gentle and kind you are. All I'm worried about is you still being afraid or feeling forced to fall back into your dad's footsteps. I know you're not going to hurt anybody, little spoon."

Those words proved to be exactly what Josh needed to hear. He wished Tyler was here. He could always remind Josh that he was good and make him feel safe.

Josh really hoped Tyler wasn't mad at him. He missed his husband so much that it made his chest hurt. It felt like a part of him was missing.

Josh kissed Ashley again before laying his head down on JJ's tiny belly. The baby squealed in delight, grabbing handfuls of Josh's hair. Josh didn't mind though. He liked the reminder that some part of him was good enough that he'd been given this perfect baby even after what he'd done to Ashley. In fact, he was starting to wonder if this was some entity's way of telling him that he wasn't bad at all.

"Dada dada dada dada," JJ rambled excitedly.

Josh picked his head up to kiss JJ's chubby cheeks. "I'm here," he promised his son. "I'm not going anywhere."

Once again, JJ squealed cheerfully. Josh kissed the baby's nose. How was it possible to love someone this much?

"As much as I hate to say it," Brendon began, "you're a really fucking good dad. That baby loves you so much. I don't know why, but-"

"That was almost nice. Thanks, Brendon," Josh laughed out.

It took Josh a second to realize that Hayley wasn't paying attention anymore. She was staring blankly at the floor, twirling her hair around her fingers distractedly. She didn't seem to even be aware of the hand she was still rubbing Josh's back with.

"Hayley?" He asked carefully.

She flinched, looking at him with wide eyes. "Yeah? Sorry. I was just...." She trailed off as tears gathered in here eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked her worriedly.

Hayley was nodding before he'd even finished the sentence. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm great. I have to go. Tell Tyler I said hi."

"Hayley?" Josh asked again, this time in confusion, but she was already climbing off of the bed.

Hayley didn't look at anyone as she left. A heavy silence hung in the air after she'd closed Josh's bedroom door. The only sound was JJ's quiet cooing. Josh glanced at Ashley, who looked just as concerned as he felt.

"Is that normal for her?" She asked quietly.

Josh shook his head. "It didn't used to be. She did that at the hospital too," he replied nervously. "Did I do something wrong?"

His wife shushed him, shaking her head before kissing his lips gently. "No, honey. You didn't do anything wrong. I don't know why she did that."

"Maybe it's because Ashley's here," Brendon suggested. "It might kind of suck to go from being the girlfriend to the friend of a guy who's married to two people."

Josh sighed. Brendon would know. He'd gone from being so close to Ashley that they were practically dating to this. There was always an air of discomfort between the two of them that they couldn't seem to fight off. Brendon's friendship with Ashley had deteriorated just as quickly as his relationship with her had. He just didn't want to admit it yet.

"She's going to be okay, Josh. You know that, right?" Ashley told him, disregarding Brendon.

"I hope so," Josh replied quietly. He really really didn't want to hurt anyone else.