Chapter 21: Hard Candy Christmas

Hal's POV

"What!" I snapped.

Guy crossed his arms and snipped, "It's not my fault your ADHD kid is attracted to shiny things like a crow or something. I told him not to pick the thing up and he picked it up."

"That literally makes no sense!"

Guy rolled his eyes and explained, "Kid was with me doing routine checks. We stopped by a space bar-"

"You took a sixteen-year-old boy to a bar!"

"Yes. Anyway, this alien chick walked in carrying something shiny. It looked like a dick with jewels or whatever-"

I growled, "Is there a point to all of this?"

"Like I was saying earlier, kid touched it and he started screaming. And some shit happened and he's erm… He's in our room."

I stomped past him and headed towards the housing for the Corps members. Unfortunately, sector partners and honor guards share. Each room came standard with four bunks and nothing else. The door to our room slid open to reveal John on his hands and knees trying to coax something out from under mine and Kyle's bunk. Before I could even ask where the kid was, I heard the sound of pitiful sobbing coming from under the bunk. John glanced up at me before getting up.

Oh God. Please. Not again.

"Here's the deal, Hal, Kyle's three or four. Soranik says he has no memories of anything other than being three or four. However, he should be back to normal in three or four weeks. So, good luck with that," John stated before he and Guy quickly fled the room before I could kill them.

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before lying down on the floor. I peered under the bunk to see a tiny huddled form bawling his eyes out. Oh my God. Those morons left his ring on him! Toddlers don't get power rings!

Okay. I just must remain calm. The kid's on winter break so he won't miss any school and no one will ever know. It's only for a couple of weeks.

"Kyle," I spoke softer than I think I ever have.

"M-mommy!" he wailed.

"Calm down, kiddo. Everything's alright… It's me, Hal," I said before I realized that he doesn't know me yet. "I'm… I'm… I'm a friend of your Mom's."

He peeked out at me with big, bright, emerald eyes swimming with tears.

"Don't you want to come out from under there?"

He shook his head and curled back into himself. I tapped my fingers against the floor as I tried to think. I could force him out but that's only going to scare the shit out of him more… Let's see.

"Hey, Kyle, you like Star Wars right?"

He peeked out at me again and gave me a quick nod.

"Me too… Even though it's totally inaccurate," I muttered before creating a tiny construct of Yoda with my ring.

His eyes widened as he suddenly stopped crying. He stared at the little figure walking around in amazement. I slowly backed out, taking the figure with me. He slowly followed. I dropped the construct when he was far enough away from his hiding spot for me to grab him.

Kyle screamed bloody murder as I wrestled him onto my bunk. I clapped a hand over his mouth and pinned his flailing limbs before saying, "Shhhh. It's okay, Kyle. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a friend of your Mother's. I'm going to be taking care of you for a little while until she gets back."

I let go of him and he immediately started screaming and fighting.

"Do you want some candy!" I yelled above his screaming.

He instantly stilled and asked, "Candy?"

********Break********

Okay. That was probably the biggest mistake of my life.

"Kyle! Stop!" I yelled.

He completely ignored me as he continued to race around the room creating constructs of weird shit with me chasing after him. I nearly would have nearly tackled him if it weren't for Guy choosing that moment to open the damn door. Kyle quickly scampered around Guy and out the door. I smacked into Guy and the two of us fell to the floor with me on top of him.

"You dumbass! Look what you did!" I hissed.

Guy growled, "Me? What the hell did you give him?"

"Doesn't matter. Just find him before someone else does," I ordered as we untangled ourselves. "And help me get his ring away from him!"

Guy and I searched the entire perimeter of Oa looking for Kyle before we finally found him with Kilowog. The massive alien held the small kid in his right hand while just sat there and stroked Kilowog's arm.

"Kyle!" I snapped.

Kyle looked over at me and waved before pointing at Kilowog and chanted, "Puppy!"

I nearly face palmed while Guy just snorted. Kilowog looked mildly irritated as he handed Kyle over to me. I was quickly threatened to a keep a better eye on him or else.

Guy agreed. "Kilowog's right. Oa's way too dangerous for Kyle. You should just take him home."

********Break*********

"I want Mommy," Kyle whined for the thousandth time as we transported back home.

"And I want Bruce Wayne's money but we don't always get what we want."

He stuck his bottom lip out at me in a pout. I ignored him and merely set him down on the couch. Kyle continued to pout but looked up with interest as K-9 trotted into the room. The alien dog immediately went to Kyle and licked his face. The kid just giggled and entertained himself by petting the dog while I called Carol and basically begged her to help me.

A couple of hours later, Carol showed up with one shopping bag in her hand.

"That's it?" I asked as she rolled her eyes.

"No, you idiot. Go get the rest from the trunk," she ordered before shoving her car keys into my hand.

After making several trips out to her car, I came to find Carol assembling a gingerbread house with Kyle in the kitchen. Somehow, Carol managed to talk Kyle into handing his ring over and had actually gotten the kid dressed in a sweater and a pair of jeans.

I asked, "How'd you do it?"

Handing me his ring, she replied, "We traded," before pointing to a stuffed… something.

"Carol, what is the hell is that?"

"That would be your son's favorite Pokémon."

Kyle just had to be weird as shit. Him and his anime and Pokémon and action figures and comic books and bleeding liberal heart.

"Okay. Great."

Carol replied, "By the way, we have to go get the Christmas tree I bought set up. We also need to see Santa tomorrow."

"What for?"

"Because it's Christmas and Kyle hasn't told him what he wants. Now, I've got to go. Take good care of him. I swear I'll kill you if anything happens to Kyle," she threatened.

Carol kissed Kyle's cheek before grabbing her purse and keys. She promised to back in the morning before she left me to deal with a toddler and an alien dog by myself.

Kyle immediately frowned and whimpered, "I want Mommy."

I ran a hand through my hair before changing the subject. I managed to keep Kyle's mind off his mother by letting him watch TV. A few hours later, we ate dinner. Everything was running smoothly before bath time came around.

"No!"

"Kyle, come here," I snapped as I turned the water off in the tub. "You're getting a bath."

"No!" he yelled and stomped his foot.

He immediately tried to make a break for it. He started screaming bloody murder as I snatched him back over to me and closed the bathroom door. I basically manhandled him out of his clothes as he kicked and screamed. The final straw was when his baby teeth sank into my arm.

I flipped his naked body over my knee and planted my hand against his ass. I popped him a few more times before getting in his face. Grasping him by the shoulders, I growled, "Don't. You. Ever. Bite. Or. Fight. Me. Like. That. Again."

He cried and wiped at his eyes as he managed a nod. I sighed before getting him into the tub. Kyle managed to calm down for the most part as I got him cleaned up. For some reason I felt somewhat bad.

Kyle was still sniffling when I pulled him out of the water and wrapped a towel around him. He looked up at me with those big green eyes swimming with tears and sniffled as a bubble of snot popped out of his nose. Ignoring a feeling of disgust, I grabbed a handful of toilet paper and pressed it to his nose.

"Blow."

He did as he was asked. I wiped away his remaining tears before pulling into my chest. He continued to sniffle as I held him. I rested my cheek against his damp hair as he muttered, "Sowy."

"I know, kid… I'm sorry too but you can't act like that to me. Just don't do it again, alright?"

"Kay," he sniffled as I pulled back.

I finished getting him dried off and helped him into a pair of footie pajamas. Kyle's teeth were brushed and all that other shit was taken care of also before I carried him to his room and tucked him in. I turned to leave and paused when he called out to me.

"What?"

"Pwayer."

I just blinked at him for a second. I've never know Kyle to pray. Ever. I don't even know if he's religious.

I ended up walking over to him anyway. He closed his eyes, bowed his head, and folded his little hands. He babbled his way through some prayer before thanking God for his mother and his new doggy. I was surprised when he mentioned me.

A couple of minutes later, he was tugging on my shirt.

"Stowy," he whined.

"Erm… Right," I mumbled as I glanced around the room before my eyes landed on some stupid kid's book Carol just bought.

I picked it up and turned to Kyle to see him patting his mattress. Taking a seat on the bed, I leaned against the headboard and got somewhat comfortable before he crawled into my lap and settled against my chest. I flipped through the book and frowned.

The only thing in this damn book is saying goodnight to random shit. Dammit. I missed my chance to be a millionaire. I could've written this shit.

"In the great green room-" I began before pausing as Kyle popped his thumb into his mouth. I pulled it out and said, "Big boys don't suck their thumbs, Kyle," before continuing, "there was a telephone and a red balloon-"

********Break********

I was instantly woken up by Kyle screaming his head. I quickly got untangled from the sheets and ran into his room. Flicking on the lights, I found the kid sitting up crying. I picked him up and nearly gagged as moisture met my skin. Shit. He wet the bed.

"It's okay. Calm down, kid. I gotcha," I mumbled as I tried to balance him on my hip while grabbing a new set of pajamas and underwear.

I got him cleaned up and changed before pulling the sheets off the bed. At four in the morning, I was not in the mood for laundry. I ended up just dropping the soiled sheets into his hamper before carrying him to my room.

I tried to deposit him onto the bed but he only tightened his grip around my neck and cried, "No!"

"It's okay, kid. I'm not going anywhere. I just need you to-"

"No! He's gone get me! I want Mommy!"

I groaned before dropping onto my back on the bed with him still latched onto me. I sighed, "Kyle, you were just having a bad dream. No one's going to hurt you… You want to tell me what happened?"

"Mommy died in the hosbital. There was a mean lady and I runned away. And I was sweeping and a man came in and putted his hand on my mouth."

Kyle emphasized his point by pressing his tiny hand against my lips. I pulled his hand away and said, "It was just a dream, kid. I'd never let anyone-"

I stopped talking when the realization of what he just said sank in. Kyle's mother died in a hospital from cancer. He ran away from his social worker… If he's getting flashbacks when he's asleep… Oh God no. Please.

"Kyle, what did that man do next?"

"Told me ta be quiet."

"Did he… did he hurt you?"

Kyle shook his head and said, "I bited his hand and woke up."

I was vaguely aware of the fact that I was clutching him to me. Poor kid. If anyone's as so much as laid a hand on him or worse… Damn. We have a lot to talk about when he goes back to being a teenager.

"Well, it's over now… No one will ever hurt you when I'm around."

I sank back into bed with Kyle curled up against me with his head on my chest.

********Break********

"Is Mommy coming?"

I suppressed a groan as I helped Kyle into a pair of jeans and the sweater with the reindeer on it. I merely replied, "Sorry kid but your mother's not back yet."

"Where Mommy at?"

Heaven? "Far away… Listen, how about we go get some ice-cream after Santa?"

"Yay!" he enthusiastically replied as I ran a brush through his messy mop of hair.

Carol showed up not long after and the three of headed to the mall. Kyle held tightly to my hand as we weaved in and among the shoppers in the crowded mall. I worriedly glanced around and hoped no one I knew was there. The last thing I need is to explain why my teenager is now a toddler.

Carol and I stood over to the side while Kyle waited in line to see a random guy in a costume and his "happy" elf. Kyle kept glancing over at us every few seconds as he waited in line.

Carol asked, "How is he?"

I didn't respond because I was too busy watching the elf toss Kyle up onto Santa's lap. The terrible actor ho-ho-hoed badly before asking Kyle what he wanted for Christmas.

"My Mommy and Daddy back."

Great. He wants the one thing I can't give him. Kyle wants his dead mother and deadbeat father, who doesn't even give a damn about his own kid.

Laying her hand on my shoulder, Carol asked, "Hal, you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

We got ice-cream a little while later before we headed back home. As I pulled into my parking space, I glanced in the rearview mirror to see the kid completely passed out.

"While he's still asleep, what's bothering you?" Carol asked.

"I don't know, Carol. It's just that I don't know what I'm doing. He doesn't even know who I am. His father's an asshole for abandoning him. He should be dealing with this and not me. I don't know how to handle a child. I can't deal with all these mood swings. And he won't shut up about his mother. What does he want from me? It's not like I can bring her back from the dead."

"Hal!" she snapped as I heard a sob behind me.

Oh shit.

I slowly turned in my seat to see Kyle behind me with wide, teary eyes and his bottom lip trembling. What did I just do?

"Kyle-" I softly began before he slipped right out of the seat I'd assumed he'd been securely fastened to.

I quickly got my seatbelt off and threw the door open as he somehow managed to slip out the car door. I got out in time to see Kyle run right into Carol. How did she manage to get out before me?

She tried to calm him down as I just stood there awkwardly. Carol eventually ended up carrying the sobbing and hysterical kid up to our apartment with me following quietly behind them. She immediately put him to bed while I just sat down at the couch and waited for her to return to cuss me out.

Apparently, I predicted the future because she did exactly that. I just sat there and felt guilty while she barked at me. I basically just ruined Christmas for the kid and then I told him about his mother.

"Are you even listening to me, Hal?"

"Vaguely," I mumbled. "What should I do?"

"I don't know but right now there's a sad little boy without a mother on Christmas who needs his father."

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Yeah. He wants his real father-"

"Hal, you are his real father and I doubt Kyle would tell you otherwise. Have you not noticed the way he looks up to you and tries so hard to win your approval? Kyle loves you as much as you love him. I know how protective and loving you are when it comes to the kid-"

"Carol, this is different. He's four. He doesn't know me. I'm not his father anymore. I'm just a stranger-"

She interrupted me and hissed, "Fine. Do whatever you think is best. But, that little boy had better have a smile on his face when Christmas Day gets here."

I woke Kyle up a little while later after Carol left. He rubbed his eyes with his tiny hands and blinked up at me. His bottom lip trembled as soon as he realized where he was.

"Mommy's in Heaben?"

"Yeah… I'm sorry, kid."

I pulled him into a hug as he latched onto me. He cried as I tried to soothe him and tell him that everything was going to be alright. Eventually, K-9 jumped onto the bed and tried to comfort Kyle also.

*********Break*********

Kyle leaned up against me bundled up in a blanket as we watched a few Christmas movies suitable for kids. In other words, it kept his mind off his mother while I nearly died of boredom.

"Are you my new daddy now?" he asked out of nowhere.

I muted the singing little shit of a snowman on the screen before looking down at him. He had his eyes locked on the stuffed… whatever the hell Pokémon he likes. K-9 just looked up at us with interest from his spot on the floor.

"Only if you want me to be," I responded, running a hand through his hair. "And even if you don't want to me to be, I'm still going to take care of you, keep you safe, and love you."

Kyle nodded before whispering, "Kay… Daddy."

I wasn't sure how to respond. Luckily, I didn't have to because there was a knock on the door. I shifted him off me and told him to stay there before opening the door to find Guy, John, and Kilowog.

"What are you three doing here? It's Christmas Eve."

They all held up gifts and said, "They're for Kyle… Can we see him?"

"Uh… yeah… But shouldn't you be with your families?"

The three of them looked away sadly. I then remembered that Kilowog was one of the last of his kind, Guy had broken up with his girlfriend, and I knew absolutely nothing about John's family. They were all basically alone on Christmas.

"They can stay with us!" Kyle exclaimed as he appeared out of nowhere and wrapped his arms around my leg.

I glanced down at his excited puppy faced expression and instantly gave in.

********Break********

Carol's POV

I arrived early Christmas morning with Santa's presents only to find four Green Lanterns and a space dog quietly assembling a few toys. Hal just shrugged as I placed a few more gifts under the tree.

"They'll be joining us today," Hal informed me as I nodded.

"Right."

The four of them finished what they were doing while Hal went to get Kyle. It wasn't long before Kyle quickly padded into the room pulling Hal along with him. He practically dragged Hal over to the tree to see what Santa had brought.

I frowned for a minute when I realized that Kyle would be sixteen again in less than a week. But he's just so adorable and so innocent and cute… I wonder where Guy found that thing that de-aged him.

Merry Christmas! Sorry I haven't updated but life tends to get in the way. Hopefully, I can update a lot more before I start next semester.