Chapter 37

Luna shot AJ a look at the thought of her child having to see that and said, "You shouldn't have had to see that Shawn, I'm sorry."

"I was in the house with Lieutenant Aguilar, but dad was shouting and cussing so I looked out the window," Shawn told her.

"Do you know why they did that to your father, Shawn?" Luna asked him.

"I asked Mama…Ruby and she said it was cuz I wasn't her real boy. I thought that meant I was like Pinocchio. I knew I wasn't a robot cuz I had a broken arm when I was four. But then later, when Lieutenant Aguilar and I was on the airplane she told me that my real mommy had just found out I was alive and that an Admiral had helped her find me."

Luna smiled at Shawn and told him, "AJ was the Admiral that helped me. He was the one that told me you were alive. I was sick when you were born and they told me that you had died."

"Did that make you cry too?"

"Yes very much! I was so sad that I would never get to see you."

"Was it the splosion that made you sick?"

Again her eyes flew to AJ's, thinking that these two must have had some talk before she got there.

"I told him you got scarred protecting him before he was even born," AJ explained.

Giving him a grateful smile, Luna told Shawn, "I loved you even then Shawn. I would rather have something bad happen to me than to you."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes really. I would never lie to you Shawn."

"That's what the Admiral said too!"

"Well that's because he is a very honorable man," Luna explained.

"Oh…am I honorable?" Shawn wanted to know.

"Do you tell the truth and always keep your promises?" asked Luna.

"Ruby told me never to tell dad what she did to me…and I didn't…is that not telling the truth?"

"Did she hurt you, Shawn?" AJ asked sharply.

"No Sir," responded the child almost coming to attention again.

"Shawn, what did Ruby do to you?" his mother questioned.

"She told me not to tell," he whimpered.

"She told you not to tell your dad, right?"

"Yes."

"Well he's not here Shawn, so you can tell us."

He paused as if considering her reasoning and then after looking around at the three caring faces in the room, decided that it was okay, "Whenever she was mad at me she would lock me in the closet. It was dark in there and I got scared. I don't like the dark, but Dad said that only wimps need nightlights. So I guess I'm a wimp."

Luna had wanted to take Shawn into her arms the moment she'd come into the room, but hadn't wanted to rush him, however after hearing this and seeing the tear that slid down his tiny cheek when he admitted to being afraid of the dark, she couldn't hold back any longer. Gently putting her arms around him she said, "I don't think you're a wimp at all and you can have a nightlight in your new room for as long as you want."

"For real?"

"For real!"

"Thank you…mommy," he said, the last in almost a whisper as he gave her a tight hug. Once again Luna couldn't hold back her tears.

"It sounds to me like the two of you are off to a pretty good start," Lieutenant Aguilar spoke up. "I'll check in on you both in a few days, but until then I think Shawn might feel comfortable going home with his mom now. Right, Shawn?"

Nodding at Lieutenant Aguilar, Shawn held out a hand each to Luna and AJ. Once he stood securely between the two new people in his life he asked AJ, "Are you my new daddy?"

To be continued…