Another lame title, but the idea of Hadji having culture shock when he moved to America was what sparked the idea for this fluffy one-shot. Hope you enjoy adorably innocent Hadji and reassuring father Dr. Quest. Just writing this makes me want to adopt when I'm an adult. From India. *snuggles little Hadji*
Culture Shock
Boom! Crash! BANG!
Dr. Quest removed his reading glasses, rubbed his eyes with a weary sigh, and balled the invention-design page he had been attempting to finish—the page which was now marked with a very unprofessional-looking line of smudged ink.
He tossed the ruined page into the trash as he exited the room, and listening with chagrin as the Incinerator-Green 003 cremated an hour's worth of concentrated thinking and writer's cramps.
With a worn expectation that had long-since lost any worry it may have held, Dr. Quest exited the side office and entered the laboratory in the adjoining room.
He was quite taken aback to see not his blonde, bright tornado of an eleven-year-old, but a shamed-faced (and almost underweight) child wearing a half-unraveled turban, sitting with an expression of pure perplexity in the midst of telltale shards of broken vials and spilt chemicals.
A brown face with all the softness and elegance of a newborn tiger blinked up at him, and in the same moment, a large horned toad made its presence known with a grumbled "Croak!" from the boy's hands.
Dr. Quest felt a familiar irritation swell within him as he scanned the room, saw the opened cage, and noted that that particular horned toad was now yet another ruined experiment.
"Hadji."
The boy had by now gathered his bearings, and stood quickly at the scientist's low warning tone, almond-shaped eyes wide as he held a firm grasp on the now rather bored-looking toad.
"What are you doing?" Dr. Quest demanded with honest curiosity mixed with his controlled frustration.
"I-I am very sorry, Dr. Quest," stammered the little Indian. "I was"—he held up the horned toad—"trying to pet him. He jumped out of my hands and…" He gestured to the destruction around him. "I am very, very sorry, sir."
Dr. Quest sighed. "It's all right, Hadji, but I must ask you not to open any cages again without asking my permission first. There is a lot of work that has to be replaced now because of what you've done. Please give me the toad."
The boy complied, passing the lumpy amphibian to the scientist and stepping back shamefully.
"I would also appreciate your help in cleaning up this mess," Dr. Quest added as he stepped over a few spilt, colorful liquids and dropped the heavy toad into its home. "I think that should be punishment enough for you; this place is a mess."
He was smiling good-naturedly as he turned to face Hadji again, but it soon faded to confusion as he saw the child's expression.
"You are not going to…" Hadji trailed off, looking very surprised, though Dr. Quest could not fathom why he should be.
"I'm not going to what, Hadji?" he pressed gently.
"You are not going to…to beat me?"
And with that one, innocent question, spoken in a soft voice from that precious little boy, Dr. Quest knew that if he did not already love this new addition to their family, it would not be very long until he did. He could feel it beginning—that same affection that rose within his chest the first moment he held Jonny in his arms and saw his sapphire eyes smiling up at him. It was as if he was looking at his new child for the first time, and anticipating the love that would come as he raised him.
He felt a strange burning behind his eyes, and blinked hastily to dispel the sudden onrush of emotion. He stepped forward and placed a firm hand on Hadji's narrow shoulder.
"Why would you ever think something like that, Hadji?" he queried tenderly.
Hadji did not raise his head, but Dr. Quest could hear the words clearly—the boy was not afraid to speak the truth; that was one thing Dr. Quest had noted from the first moment of meeting him, and something he admired right away.
"When I was younger, I worked for a man in Bombay for a short while, when Pasha left me there to travel to the mountains. Vipul was his name, and he sent me to beg for him. If I did not return with enough coins, or I did something wrong, he beat me hard to punish me." He met Dr. Quest's eyes and ensured hastily, "Pasha did not know Vipul was a bad man. When Pasha returned, he was very angry when he heard of it, and took me away. He never left me with anyone again, always paid for a place for me to stay and let me entertain for my own coins….But it was not only Vipul, Dr. Quest. India is just that way."
Dr. Quest's brow wrinkled. "I know; Race stopped a rug salesman from slapping Jonny once while we were in that country."
"It was white men, too," Hadji said, dropping his head again as if worried he would offend the man. "I was frightened that, if I did wrong, you would beat me too, or more worse than that, send me away."
Dr. Quest leant down onto one knee, and placed his other hand on Hadji's chest. "Hadji, I will never harm you, no matter what you do. I must punish you—and Jonny—for things you do wrong. That's part of being a child; it's mine and Race's job to make sure you grow up to be good and smart men who do right."
"Like you and Race?" he interjected, eyes shining.
"Well, yes, like me and Race," Dr. Quest answered, chuckling with mild surprise and pleased to know he and Race did behave well before the boys. "So you see, sometimes, you must have some privileges taken away, like television or swimming, when you disobey the rules. But no one will ever hurt you here, and if someone does, I want you to promise that you will come to me and tell me, and we'll make sure they are punished for it."
He smiled and stroked a thumb along Hadji's cheek—light skin against dark; tender no matter the difference between them.
"Pasha told me that you would be good to me," Hadji said after a moment, when his eyes had softened at the gentle contact, "but I did not think…I am so much different than all of you, Dr. Quest. Do you really think I can be as good and worthy as you and Race and Jonny?"
"You already are, Hadji," he assured him with deep sincerity, mentally kicking himself for his own ignorance; of course Hadji would feel like he did not belong here, even if he never revealed his insecurities. "Perhaps even more good and worthy than we are. You are a very intelligent boy, but more than that, you are wise and kind and strong. You are one of us now, son, as much part of this family as Jonny is, and you never have to pretend to be anything than what you are. Do you understand?"
Hadji bit his lip studiously, and then his thin face lit up with a bright smile, and he nodded.
Dr. Quest smiled again and straightened up. He looked around at the mess, and observed that none of the spilt chemicals would do any harm to the floors.
"Well," he said, "this disaster isn't going anywhere, I think. Would you like to go with me into town to order some new equipment?"
"Oh, yes, sir," Hadji grinned outright, and then turned around and waved. "Goodbye, Mister Toad; I am sorry to have frightened you."
The toad croaked a sarcastic reply.
Dr. Quest laughed aloud and wrapped his arm around Hadji's shoulders, straightening the crooked turban with his other hand. Then, acting on impulse, he leant down again and planted a kiss against the boy's temple.
"Are you happy here, Hadji?" he asked, looking deeply into the chocolate eyes to see the answer clearly.
"Very much happy, Dr. Quest." He threw his arms around the man's neck. "Thank you."
Dr. Quest gaped at the unexpected embrace, but quickly recovered and hugged him back tightly.
"I'm glad," he said with delighted conviction, and then released him. "Now, go find Jonny, and tell him he may come along too."
"Yes, sir."
"And Hadji?"
The young Indian halted at the door and looked back.
"If he's up to something, please try not to get involved. He's been too quiet today for my liking."
Hadji laughed. "Yes, sir."
Fifteen minutes later, there was a sonic boom emanating from somewhere on the beach, followed by one resounding "Yippy!" and one half-horrified "Aaaaah!", a frantic puppy's yapping, and a man's voice shouting, "Jonny! Hadji! You know that thing's not been tested yet!"
Dr. Quest tossed his pen aside and pinched hard between his eyes.
Just keep repeating it, Benton. "I will never harm you, no matter what you do. I will never harm you, no matter what you do…"
End