***Trigger warnings for mentions of abuse and abortion.***

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

Josh let out a little harrumph of dissent when someone shook his shoulder to wake him up. He was so comfy and warm, wrapped up in scratchy blankets and soft arms. When his shoulder was nudged again, he regretfully blinked his eyes open, smiling slightly when he saw Hoppus.

"Hi, Dad," he grumbled out sleepily, making Hoppus's lips twitch up into a ghost of a smile. "Are you gonna yell at me?" Josh added, his eyelids already falling shut again as Frangipane's chest continued to rise and fall evenly beneath his cheek.

Hoppus sighed, crouching down to be at eye level beside Josh's bed. "I figured I'd at least have a few more months before I started finding girls in your bed, Joshua," Hoppus scolded, looking more amused than angry.

Josh's lips tugged up into a lopsided smile. "It's not like that. Frangipane's just my friend. She's had a rough couple days. I think she needs to rest, but she said she can't leave work," Josh explained, not giving away any of the information Frangipane had entrusted to only him.

"I'm not sure if that's an acceptable reason to be sleeping in bed with an inmate, kid," Hoppus informed him. "She could lose her job over this. It's okay for her to be your friend and spend time here, but she can't sleep in here."

"Noted," Josh replied, making no move to wake Frangipane.

Hoppus seemed to hesitate before asking, "And all she did was sleep, right? If she made you do anything or if she asked you to do anything-"

"Just slept," Josh interjected quickly. "She wouldn't do that, and neither would I. We know the rules. Besides, we're just friends. It's not like that."

Hoppus sighed. "Why can't she go home, Josh?" He asked carefully. When Josh remained silent, he chuckled. "Right. Silly me. You aren't going to snitch."

"It's not my business to tell you," Josh explained quietly. "She has good reasons though." He hesitated before adding, "I think some part of you already knows why she can't go home, Hoppus. I've barely known her for a week, and I know. You've known her a lot longer."

The guard didn't need much time to figure it out. "It's her husband, isn't it? She's trying to get out of there. God, that's gotta be terrifying. Poor thing. I doubt she's been sleeping. Anyone trying to get out of a situation like that would be exhausted."

"I think I might be able to find her a place to stay for a while," Josh told Hoppus. "I think my sister would probably let her stay at her house if she knew everything that's going on. I'm gonna have to call her today."

Hoppus nodded. "Okay. I can take you to a phone after breakfast."

A loud buzzer sounded overhead, flicking the lights on in the prison and signalling to the inmates that it was time to wake up. Frangipane didn't even stir, too exhausted to be bothered by lights or loud noises. Her only reaction at all was that one of her arms slid down to wrap around her stomach, her unconscious mind not seeming to remember that it was empty now. Hoppus saw the action too.

"She's pregnant?" He asked, the colour draining from his face.

"It's not my business," Josh replied simply, shifting his head onto the pillow beside hers and allowing her to curl up against him in her sleep.

"Please tell me it isn't yours," Hoppus whispered worriedly.

Josh rolled his eyes. "I've barely known her for a week, and we haven't done anything. How the hell would she be pregnant with my kid?"

Hoppus let out a breath of relief, shaking his head. "I don't know. I just-I needed to know. It's her asshole husband's kid then?"

"It's none of our business is what it is," Josh replied simply, earning himself a frustrated sigh from Hoppus.

"Okay. Fine. Fine," Hoppus surrendered. "I'm the only officer in this part of the block right now. She can sleep while I go get your breakfast, but then she needs to get back to work. Got it?"

Josh's lips tugged up into a partial smile. "Thanks, Dad."

Hoppus chuckled. "You're damn lucky I love you, or you'd be in big trouble right now, mister."

"I love you too," Josh replied, watching a couple layers of frustration be stripped away from Hoppus's exterior when Josh offered him a genuine smile. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're a little punk, Joshua," the guard scolded fondly.

Josh beamed. "Yeah, but you love me."

"Fucking right I do," Hoppus replied with a grin as he left the cell.

The door buzzed when it closed, letting Josh know he was locked in again. He smiled when he heard another buzz before the lights in his cell turned off. Some still came streaming in through the window on the door, letting Josh know that Hoppus had turned the lights off just for Frangipane.

It occurred to Josh a few moments later that he'd have to explain Frangipane's situation to his sister in order to get her a place to stay. If he did that in front of Hoppus though, he'd be giving away Frangipane's secret. It was with many whispered apologies that he nudged her awake. She flinched awake, looking very afraid for a second before she realized it was Josh waking her up and not her husband. Then she relaxed slightly, still a little tense.

"Shit. Sorry. I just realized that Hoppus is going to find out about the abortion when he takes me to call my sister today. Is that okay with you? Should I ask him to let you take me? What should I do? I'm so sorry. I know you're exhausted," Josh whispered to her, gently brushing loose strands of her bright blue hair off of her forehead as he spoke.

She blinked sleepily, glancing at the door. "Did he come in here already?"

"Yeah. He isn't mad. I only told him you've had a rough couple of days and couldn't leave work. He sort of figured out that you were leaving your husband from that. He said to let you sleep until he came back, but I didn't want to snitch without your permission," Josh explained, making Frangipane smile slightly.

"If you trust Hoppus, I trust Hoppus. He can know about the...procedure, but I don't want him to tell anyone else," Frangipane agreed sleepily. She sighed. "I want to stay in here with you all day. I hate that I have to go back to work. I'm gonna miss my puppy."

Josh sighed. "I'm gonna miss you too. I'd be alone all day if Hoppus wasn't on duty. I sort of miss being on suicide watch. At least I got to spend all day with you. Now I'm back to being a fucking zoo animal again."

"What are you going to do today?" Frangipane asked sadly.

"Eat breakfast, call my sister, write to my other sister, read, eat lunch, stare at the ceiling for a while or something, shower, eat dinner, go to bed," Josh listed, making Frangipane frown.

"I'm so sorry, Josh," she sympathized. "I'll try to come see you later if I can."

"Don't worry too much about it," Josh replied, not wanting her to feel pressured to spend time with him when she had better things to do.

"Josh, you're my best friend. I'm going to worry about you all the time whether you want me to or not," Frangipane informed him.

She sighed, finally looking around his cell a little. She chuckled when she saw the shelf full of religious items. Josh had to restrain himself from pulling her back down beside him when she climbed out of his bed and walked over to his desk. She picked up the little statue of the saint his mom had given him.

"Who's this?" She asked curiously.

"I have no fucking clue. My mom sends me shit like that all the time," Josh replied honestly. "I have three other saints in the box under my bed. I had a crucifix in juvie, but one of my cellmates stole the Jesus off it, and another used the cross to make a shiv and shank a guy."

"Who do you have in the box?" Frangipane asked amusedly.

Josh climbed off of his bed, sitting down on the cold floor and digging through the box of letters until he'd produced three statues like the one in Frangipane's hand. He read aloud the little plaques at their feet.

"It looks like we've got Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Nokter Balbulus, and Saint Catherine of Sienna," Josh reported before looking back up at a very intrigued Frangipane.

"What are they supposed to do?" Frangipane asked, coming to sit on the floor with him and adding the unnamed saint to stand on the floor with the others.

"Saint Anthony helps find lost things. My mom probably thought I was a lost thing and asked him for help. Saint Nokter helps kids with speech impediments. He was supposed to help me stop stuttering. Saint Catherine prevents fires and once condemned a prisoner or something, so I think that one is just my mom being a dick," Josh explained.

Frangipane laughed. "How do you know all of that?"

"Catholic school," Josh replied, smiling when that made Frangipane laugh even harder.

"That worked out well for you," she commented.

He smirked. "Jury's still out on that one."

Frangipane grinned, sitting forward to press a kiss to his cheek before looking down at the unnamed saint. "Where's his name tag?"

"No clue," Josh replied. "It must have gotten lost over the years."

"So does that mean I get to pick a saint to watch over you?" Frangipane asked with a slight smile.

Josh shrugged. "I don't know how much I buy into this stuff, but sure."

Without hesitation, Frangipane handed him the statue and declared it, "Saint Jude, the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. He's the one who always has flames around his head in pictures and get people through impossible shit, right?"

Josh chuckled. "Yeah, he is. This should probably be your patron saint too."

"We have the same patron saint? Wow. We must be best friends," Frangipane decided with a grin.

The light in Josh's cell turned on, and the door buzzed as it unlocked. Hoppus seemed surprised to see Josh and Frangipane sitting on the floor with four saints, but he didn't really question it. He just handed Josh a tray containing coffee, pancakes, suspicious looking scrambled eggs, and purple grapes. Josh set the tray on the floor, only picking up the coffee. Hoppus allowed this, knowing that Josh always started with coffee. It was usually only after coffee that Hoppus had to convince him to eat something else.

"Whatcha got there?" Hoppus asked curiously, sitting in Josh's desk chair instead of on the floor.

"Saints from my mom," Josh explained simply.

Hoppus chuckled. "She's still sending you those?"

"She's moved on to prayer candles, which seems counterproductive, but I'm not going to be the one who tells her that," Josh replied, making Frangipane grin.

"At least she's not sending you a new Bible every week anymore," Hoppus justified. "You've probably donated more Bibles in your lifetime than the Pope has."

"So when you say your mom is a crazy Catholic, you're not just being dramatic?" Frangipane asked amusedly.

"My mom could probably beat the Pope in a trivia contest about Catholicism," Josh replied, making her snicker.

"My parents are Catholic, but they'd never do anything like this," Frangipane told Josh amusedly, her arm vaguely gesturing toward the shelf of religious paraphernalia as she spoke. "Is your sister also a cross wielding maniac?"

"Nah, she's normal. Still Catholic, but normal," Josh assured her. "She won't care if you aren't religious. Plus she's the least judgmental person I've ever met. You'll like her."

Frangipane smiled warmly at him before looking to Hoppus. She tensed slightly, and Josh knew she was going to tell him her secret. She was just afraid to.

"I-I, uh, I jus-ju-just-" She began, stuttering nervously. She breathed out a laugh when Josh handed her Saint Nokter to keep her from stammering while she spoke. Cradling the porcelain saint in her hands, she told Hoppus in a quiet voice, "Josh is helping me because I'm trying to leave my husband before he finds out I got an abortion this week because I know he'll probably kill me over it. I didn't tell anyone but Josh about the abortion. I couldn't keep the baby though. My husband would treat that kid like he treats me, and it would never live to adulthood."

Hoppus seemed stunned for a moment, his eyes shooting to Josh. It was clear that he couldn't believe Josh had kept such a massive secret from him for three days, and he was even more surprised that Josh had been the one person Frangipane had told about her situation. Hoppus's eyes then went to Frangipane, and his face softened.

"You should be resting, Ashley. There are too many risks that come with this job for you to be back here before you've had time to heal physically and emotionally. My god. No wonder you were so exhausted. I'm so sorry," Hoppus told her sincerely.

"I couldn't stay home. It wasn't safe," Frangipane explained quietly. "It was safer for me to come here than to stay at home with my asshole husband, especially when my body is still healing. I wouldn't be able to protect myself if he did anything to me. Besides, I wanted to see Josh so I could make sure he was okay and let him know that I'm doing okay. I knew he'd be able to make me feel less guilty and more safe, and I was right. I feel a million times better now that I've talked to him, especially now that I know he's off suicide watch and in a safe mindset."

All of this seemed to be a lot for Hoppus to wrap his mind around. "I know I keep asking this, but I just need to know for sure that you and Josh aren't breaking any laws here. You know that he can't give consent to anything while he's incarcerated and that-"

"We're not sleeping together or anything, Mark. He's just my best friend," Frangipane interrupted defensively. "My job is to protect him, not to weasel my way into his pants. I'm not going to take advantage of him or violate his consent. He's the sweetest human being I've ever met, and I would never do anything to jeopardize my friendship with him."

Josh blinked before looking to Hoppus and asking, "Your name is Mark?"

The question seemed to catch Hoppus off guard just as much as everything else they'd talked about today had. "What? Yeah. Have I never told you that?"

Josh shook his head. "Nope. You've always just been Hoppus or Dad."

"Dad?" Frangipane asked, smiling slightly.

Josh shrugged. "My real dad hasn't visited me in years, so Hoppus is my new dad. His wife even decided to be my new mom since my real mom thinks I'm damned to Hell or something."

"That's so sweet!" Frangipane cooed, making Josh blush. She smiled at him. "You deserve a family who loves you and supports you. You really do."

"You do too," Josh replied quietly.

Hoppus sighed, reaching out to squeeze Josh's shoulder comfortingly before telling him, "Eat your breakfast, bud. The sooner that's gone, the sooner you can go call your sister. If she says it's okay for Ashley to stay with her, I can let Ashley know and give her your sister's information. I'll just have you write it down, and I'll give it to her when our shift ends."

"Okay," Josh agreed. He looked at the food on his tray, his stomach aching slightly at the sight of it, before looking back at Hoppus. "What if I'm not hungry?" When Hoppus looked like he was going to give him the same talk about eating as usual, he added, "I don't really feel good."

Hoppus seemed to understand then. "Are you anxious about talking to your sister?"

Josh shrugged. "I don't know. I don't usually call her. We haven't called each other in a really long time."

Frangipane took his hand softly, her expression full of nothing but warmth and support as she told him, "Josh, if calling her is too overwhelming, you don't have to do it. I can figure this out on my own. I'm not your responsibility. Your only responsibility is to take care of yourself until you go home in June."

"I want to help," Josh insisted. "I shouldn't be anxious. She's my sister. I should be able to talk to her."

"Your sister loves you, and you should feel safe talking to her, but your relationship isn't that black and white," Hoppus empathized. "It's okay for you to feel anxious about this. You aren't used to talking to your family when you need something. They usually come to tell you what they need. This is a big step for you, and it's okay if that causes some discomfort. I'll be there with you the whole time though, and I'll have your back."

Josh nodded, looking down at his hands for a moment before grabbing the box from under his bed and digging through it for a moment. He pulled out the thick envelope containing his sister's engagement announcement, engagement photos, wedding invitation, and wedding photos. He'd received all of them on the same day, marking the first time hed even known his sister was in a relationship. Hoppus was right. His family only came to him when they needed something. They didn't make an effort to check on him or to include him in the happy parts of their lives. The only person who had even attempted that was Abbie, and he hadn't even seen her in person until his mom thought she could use him as a learning tool.

"So I'm just doing what they do," Josh thought aloud, looking at his sister's wedding invitation for a moment before tucking it back into the envelope and stuffing it back into the box. "I can do that."

"Are you sure?" Frangipane asked softly. "Really, if it's too much for you-"

"I can do it," Josh insisted, looking to Hoppus. "I know I haven't eaten yet, but can we go now?"

Hoppus nodded, standing up without hesitation. "Yes, but only if you promise to at least eat a few bites when we come back."

"Okay," Josh agreed, standing too.

He let Hoppus cuff his hands in front of him while Frangipane stood up. As soon as the cuffs were on, she wrapped him up in a hug, going up onto her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. He smiled slightly when she met his gaze.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked him quietly, not pressuring him either way.

He nodded. "Yeah. I'll let you know what she says, okay?"

Frangipane still looked hesitant, like she was afraid that she was forcing him to do something that he didn't feel comfortable doing. She didn't want to inconvenience him or be a burden. Josh could relate to that feeling, even without having been in an abusive relationship. He gave her a reassuring smile as Hoppus unlocked and opened the cell door.

"Josh?" Frangipane asked quietly as she followed him and Mark out of the cell.

"Yeah?" Josh asked.

Then he was being turned around by small hands, and Frangipane was hugging him tightly she buried her face against his throat and pressed a gentle kiss there. He couldn't hug her back because of his cuffed hands, so he pressed a kiss to her temple instead.

"Thank you," Frangipane told him quietly.

"This is what friends are for, right? I'd be a pretty shitty friend if I didn't even try to get you away from that shithead," Josh pointed out.

Frangipane broke the hug, smiling at him despite the tears in her eyes. "You know how I told you that when you get out in June, you're going to find someone who deserves you and loves you more than anything?"

Hoppus's expression softened, his hand touching Josh's arm lightly to let him him that he agreed with that statement. Josh smiled slightly and nodded.

"They're going to have to be an actual angel because I have no fucking clue how anyone could ever deserve you," Frangipane told him, absolute sincerity dripping from the words.

Josh smiled although he was pretty sure that wasn't anywhere near true. "Thanks, Ashley."

She smiled, grabbing one of his cuffed hands and squeezing it reassuringly. "I have to go do rounds, but I'll come see you as soon as I can, okay? I love you, wifey."

Josh laughed when Hoppus's eyebrows raised. "I love you too."

Hoppus led Josh in the opposite direction than Frangipane went. He held on lightly to Josh's arm, still seeming to be processing that final interaction. Josh laughed again.

"You still think I'm fucking a girl who nicknamed me 'wifey'?" Josh asked amusedly.

Hoppus smiled slightly. "No. I'm just.... I don't think I've ever seen you be that comfortable around someone before, and that's the most I've ever seen you smile. I feel bad that you didn't meet her sooner."

Josh smiled slightly, waiting for Hoppus to buzz them through the thick steel door that separated solitary inmates from the rest of the rest of the prison. "For the record, you're still my favourite."

Hoppus chuckled as the buzzer sounded, indicating that the door had unlocked. "Right, sure," he teased disbelievingly.

Josh grinned. "I'm serious. She's my best friend, but you're my family. You're the only person in the whole world who I actually believe will never let me down. You decided to be my dad when you don't have to, even though my real dad wants nothing to do with me. There's no one I trust more than you."

Hoppus didn't chuckle this time when he looked at Josh. His expression contained so much love and appreciation that Josh couldn't help but smile fully, making Hoppus smile too. He squeezed Josh's arm lightly again.

"Well, just so you know, being your dad is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Sometimes I forget you're not my biological kid. That's how much I love you. Sometimes Skye forgets too, and she hasn't even met you yet. Your brother, Jack, asks about you all the time. I'll have to bring you a picture of them so you know what your family looks like. We all love you though. We're all so proud of you," Hoppus told Josh, making his heart swell in his chest and his entire body be bathed in endorphins.

"Would you ever let me meet Jack?" Josh asked curiously.

Without hesitation, Hoppus replied, "I'd bring him in today if he didn't have school. I've almost brought him to see you a couple times, but then I realized I'd never asked you if that was okay with you. He always asks to come visit you though. If you want to meet him, I'll definitely bring him this weekend."

"Really?" Josh asked, barely masking his surprise. "My mom wouldn't even bring Abbie to see me until she realized I can be used as an example of how not to live your life."

Hoppus shook his head, looking incredibly annoyed by that. "Yeah, well, Jack talks about you like you're a superhero because you've grown up to be such an amazing man in a shithole like this. Your mom is wrong, and it was cruel to use you like that. I would love for Jack to know you."

Josh smiled as he waited for Hoppus to buzz them through one more door, the last one before their words would be drowned out by the shouts of inmates. "I want to know him too."

Hoppus smiled as he scanned his card. "I'll bring him by on Saturday. Do you want to meet your mom then too?"

"Okay," Josh replied quietly, making Hoppus smile widely.

"They're gonna love you even more once they meet you," Hoppus assured him as the buzzer sounded. "You might not believe this, but you're really easy to love."

Josh smiled down at his feet, his chest feeling warm as the door in front of them opened. "I get it from my dad," he replied, making Hoppus laugh.

"Unfortunately, I think you got your humour from your mom," Hoppus informed him, making him grin.

"Joke's on you. I fully intend to love my mom when I meet her, and now that I know she's funny, I think I'll love her even more," Josh countered amusedly.

"Yeah, well, joke's on you because you'll never love her as much as she loves you," Hoppus replied with, smiling warmly at Josh. "Come on. Right through here."

Josh smiled as he followed his dad through the prison. He couldn't wait to meet the rest of the family that picked him to love without even having met him. He had a good feeling about them. They didn't seem like they'd rely on saints to love Josh for them.