Chapter Text
Hazel usually walked Andy to school in the morning. She didn't have to--Andy walked home alone from school by himself all the time–but she claimed she liked the morning walk with him. Plus, she told him with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes, this way she knew he wasn't playing hooky. Even six months pregnant, belly heavy in the summer sun, she still got up every morning and held his hand on the way to school.
So the day was just like every other day he'd had since Logan and Hazel had gotten married; they waited together for the train to come to a stop, and they watched as the passengers got off one by one before crossing the tracks. Andy told her about the things going on at school, while Hazel told him about the things she planned to build that day. They talked about the baby, too, if it would be a boy or a girl. Andy hoped for a little brother, of course, while Hazel insisted she was already outnumbered and needed a little girl for balance.
They were in front of the Blue Moon when the man grabbed Andy by the shoulder, scaring the life out of him and Hazel both.
“I know you, boy ,” the old man said, and Andy felt his blood run cold with the familiarity of the man's voice.
Before Andy could respond, Hazel had intervened. “Excuse me, sir, please get your hands off of my son.”
They were drawing a small crowd. Grandma Vivi and Heidi were both stopped, watching them, as was Wei. “Son?” The old man scowled. “The boy's an orphan. He's no son of yours, harlot. He belongs to the Caravan of the Bright.”
“Harlot?” Hazel scowled.
“I'll be taking the boy back home now, if you please,” the old man scowled, picking Andy up from the back of his neck. In spite of the man's advanced age, he was able to lift Andy like he weighed nothing.
“Let me go!”
“Put him down right this second–”
The sound of a gun clicking is the only thing that made the man stop, in spite of Andy and Hazel's struggles.
Logan. Thank the light.
“Sir, I suggest you put my son down and refrain from insultin’ my wife unless you want me to shoot you.”
The man lowered Andy to the ground, but didn't let him go, a firm grip on his shoulder. “I had heard Sandrock was a little backwards, but pulling a gun on a man trying to reclaim his property? Where's your Civil Corps? I demand justice!”
“I'm a civil corps member,” Hazel scowled. “Let's go of my son and perhaps we can discuss this like adults.”
“They let a harlot in the civil corps?” Mr. Donovan finally let go of Andy's shoulder, letting the little boy run towards his Pa and hide behind him. He hadn't liked Mr. Donovan back when he was with the caravan, and he liked him even less now, over a year later. “Corruptible people! You wonder why those of us choose to stay in the caravans rather than indulge in this corruption! You will lead us back into an age of darkness!”
It reminded Hazel of the nonsense Miguel used to spout, back before he’d been sent away to Atara. Miguel at least never called her a whore, though.
As if called by name, Justice came riding up just at that moment. “Logan, put your gun down. What seems to be the matter folks?”
Logan kept one death grip on Andy, and another on his gun.
“Finally, an authority figure! My name is Donovan Foley–I am a member of the caravan of the bright. This young man,” he gestured towards Andy. “Is a member of our caravan that we thought we lost a little over a year ago. I've taken it upon myself to return him home, and these two accosted me! Even threatened me!”
Logan looked like he wanted to speak, but Hazel squeezed his hand and shook her head to stop him. Let Justice take care of this, she said with her eyes. Logan continued to scowl, but did as his wife silently asked.
“I imagine they might've, seeing as they've taken Andy in and have been raisin’ him as their own.” Justice lowered his hat. “We were under the impression Andy was an orphan.”
“I found him alone in the desert. Left behind,” Logan scoured, a picture-perfect bandit ready to fight. “I've been raisin’ as my own, for over a year now, with Hazel. My wife, who you keep insultin’.”
“A woman should only be in such a state of undress if she's selling herself,” Mr Donovan turned his nose down towards Hazel, who looked embarrassed by her black croptop. Nia had said it looked cute and showed off her baby bump; she hadn’t expected a strange old man to use it as an excuse to insult her. “Very well. Thank you for looking after the boy. I’ll be taking him back now.”
“No!” Andy screeched, clinging to Logan's legs like his life depended on them. “No, I don't want to go with him! You can't make me, please!”
“Hang on there, sir. Andy's gotten real attached to these folks here. This is his home now–surely you don't want to just rip him from his home and people who care about him, right?” Justice asked.
Logan and Hazel both kept a firm, protective hand on Andy.
“The more time the boy spends here, the more he stands to be corrupted by the technology of this world! Legally, he belongs to our caravan!”
“Listen, he's an orphan, right?” Logan pleaded, trying his hand at diplomacy even though he’d rather just shoot the man. “His ma and pa are gone?”
Old man Donovan sighed. “Yes, William and Agatha passed from a fever when the boy was young. But we don't just abandon our own! He belongs with the caravan.”
Justice looked down at Andy. “I think the question of where Andy belongs can only be answered by Andy,” Justice kneeled before him. “Andy, where do you want to go?”
Was that even a question? “Logan and Hazel!” Andy said without even taking a second to think about it.
Logan and Hazel each took one of his hands, and squeezed it gently. They didn’t let go.
“Well, there you have it,” Justice said. “I’m sorry sir, but the boy wants to stay here. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave these folks alone, now.”
Mr. Donovan sneered. “Where is your Mayor? Your local authority? I would like to speak to them.”
Luckily, Trudy was willing to tolerate Mr. Donovan even less than Justice had been willing to. “Logan and Hazel have taken good care of Andy,” Trudy said. “I know, for the boy is a good friend of my daughter’s. As far as the town of Sandrock is concerned, Andy is the legal son of those two, and you’ve no authority to separate a family,” Trudy told him.
Mr. Donovan didn’t like that, but he seemed to realize he wouldn’t win any arguments here in Sandrock, so he stormed off.
For the first time all morning, Hazel let herself breathe. “Oh, thank you, Trudy! Truly I don’t know what we would’ve done in that man had taken Andy!”
Logan knew exactly what he would have done, but such words weren’t appropriate for delicate ears, and so he kept them to himself.
“We’d have never let that happen,” Justice told her. “Andy’s your kid. He’s a Sandrocker. We don’t let go of our own.”
“Of course we don’t,” Trudy agreed. “Honestly, the biggest crime today is that the young man has missed a day of school, and has been deprived of a day’s education.”
Andy felt furious. “You’re gonna make me go to school??? After that!”
“No,” Hazel defended, and Andy felt his temper deflate immediately. “No, I think we’re gonna get breakfast at the Blue Moon, take a walk around the oasis. Maybe shoot off some fireworks,” she took Andy’s hand into her own and squeezed it before taking Logan’s in her other hand, holding on to both of her boys’ tightly. “Spend the day together as a family.”
Logan leaned over and kissed her forehead. “That sounds like a good one to me, darlin’.”
Andy let go of her as he cheered. “Can we go to Catori World??? I wanna ride the rollercoaster!”
“Yes,” Hazel said.
“We’ll think about it,” Logan said at the same time, and Andy cheered because he knew his day would end with rollercoasters and his family, and he couldn’t think of a better way to end it.
For weeks, the family felt like the worst of it was behind them. The only thing they had to worried about now was the baby coming soon, but even then that was week’s away. They were building another room onto the house to make room for the baby, which meant Miss Heidi was there a lot, and it was noisy a lot, but it didn’t bother Andy none. He knew it’d be even noisier once the baby was born, anyway.
He didn’t mind. He’d never been a big brother before, and he was looking forward to it.
Like every other day, Hazel had gotten up with him to walk him to school. Since the incident with Mr. Donovan, Logan had been getting up and walking with them, too, just in case, which Andy didn’t mind. They stopped together at the mailbox before heading out towards school.
“I think y’all ought to name the baby Andy Jr.”
Logan ruffled his hair as Hazel went through the mail. “Absolutely not.”
“I like James for a boy,” Hazel muttered, flipping through letters.
“Ah, I was thinking we could name him after my Pa, if it’s a boy,” Logan huffed. “But James is nice, too.”
“Howlett James,” Hazel smiled dreamily, and Logan did too, until Andy stuck his tongue out. Andy Jr. was clearly the superior name.
“What about a girl, though?” Logan asked. “We can’t go assumin’--”
He stopped what he was saying, though, when Hazel dropped the mail to the ground and covered her mouth, gasping.
“Ma?”
“Darlin, what is it?”
She turned the letter over and showed it to them. It was a court summons.
For the custody hearing of Andrew William McCallum, The Caravan of the Bright vs. Logan and Hazel of Sandrock, to be Held in Atara on Autumn 1. Legal counsel will be provided for you unless you wish to provide it yourself.
Aw, hell.