It is not flesh and blood, but the heart, which makes us fathers and sons. (Johann Schiller)

Becoming a Father

David Pearce would never forget the day that a little alien baby landed in the jail yard and turned his whole world upside down.

It was Christmas Eve, and a number of the inmates were enjoying the bit of fresh air outside before their yard time was up. David had only stepped outside into the chilly air to go for a coffee when he heard the startled shouts. He turned his gaze just in time to see a large….something….fly over the fence and crash land into the yard. The inmates had all stopped their game of basketball and weight lifting and had dropped their cigarettes to run over to the strange arrival.

The strange pod opened up to reveal a small blue infant inside; his arms were wrapped around what looked like a fish in a glass ball of water and between his lips was a strange glowing binky.

Joel, one of the kinder inmates, had scooped up the infant into his arms. He turned around in time for the Warden to walk up and he requested to be let back inside and for a few extra blankets. That was when the little baby turned his gaze to the Warden.

All it had taken was one look into those bright green eyes and David Pearce was sunk. He cleared his throat and looked to the man before him before he gently took the baby from his arms.

"I can take it from here."

"You sure about that Warden?" one of the other inmates chuckled "Last I knew you weren't a fan of kids!" he chuckled and was joined in by several of the other men. That much was true; the Warden had already had several run-ins with the "miscreants" of the city. Already he'd had his car egg-ed, t-p'd, and had seen several buildings and the parks t-p'd and covered in graffiti. All the same; he looked from the tiny child in his arms and then back to the men he'd watched over since he'd gotten the job only years earlier.

"I think I can handle a baby, Suarez."

By midnight the Warden Pearce was eating his words. The funny little blue baby had gone from giggling and cooing, to screaming. He flailed his little arms around and kicked his little feet.

"Kid, come on! Work with me here. What do you want?" he practically begged. "You've been changed, fed, rocked!" he sighed heavily. His eyes turned to the clock and knew that he had to surrender; and promptly walked out of his office and to the guard shack. It was there that he found the person he sought; Officer Keene. She was one of the few female officers at the prison, and David knew that she had a few children under her belt. And so when he walked into the shack with the screaming babe she shook her head and gave him a rather sympathetic smirk.

"He just has gas." She said as she took the baby into her arms and gently placed him over her shoulder. She rubbed his back in soothing circles and sure enough, up came a very loud burp. Instantly the crying stopped and he went back to coos. "There we are! All better!" she rocked him gently before handing him back to the stunned warden. He hadn't expected everyone to be so accepting of the clearly alien infant, but had been all the more grateful when they had been.

He returned to his office with a now sleepy looking baby in his arms. He looked around the room and shrugged. He practically lived in his office; he had no family to go home to, only a small little apartment that held no sentimental value for him. His office however was furnished with a couch, a very comfortable armchair and his desk of course.

"Well it's not the first night I've spent in this office." Being very careful of the baby he shrugged his jacket off and threw it on the desk. Slowly he sank back onto the couch as he kicked his shoes off. No sooner had he laid back that the baby cuddled into him, his green eyes closing as sleep began to overtake him. He hadn't let go of the strange fish all day long but now the orb sat on the coffee table and the Warden could have sworn that those large eyes were protectively following the baby with every move that the Warden made. The older man shrugged it off and looked to the little baby in his arms. There might have been a time when he'd wanted children; but his career and circumstance had prevented that. There had been one woman that he'd come close to marrying; but she'd grown short with his odd work hours and his ever growing cynicism. She swore that he would rather be married to his job and left him.

After that he'd grown withdrawn; he'd committed fully to his job and hadn't had a relationship since. Now though, as he looked to the little baby in his arms, he couldn't ignore that strange paternal feeling kicking in.

"Well looks like it's just the two of us Blue." He paused, looking down to the baby. "Huh…Blue..That's not so bad!" he smirked at his wit and if he had been paying attention he would have seen the fish on the table roll its eyes. Maybe it was fatherly instinct, maybe it was because he was an alien, or maybe it was because the child had an undeniable cuteness; but the Warden felt a need to protect this child from everything. From the government and the feds that lived off of these sorts of discoveries. It wouldn't be the most orthodox life; growing up in a prison, but it would be the safest; that much he knew. Already the guards and the inmates adored him and he knew that they would keep him safe as well. But already he felt a special connection to the baby; to his Blue.

"Blue! Get back here! Darnit kid!" the Warden ran after the toddling child who left soapy footprints in his wake. He caught the flash of a pair of tiny blue butt cheeks as they disappeared behind a corner and huffed, following in pursuit. He had been giving the kid a bath and had turned to reach for a jug to rinse his head when Blue had jumped from the tub and ran down the halls.

"Haha Wah-Wah! You can' catch me!"

After he had landed in the prison yard and he'd been checked out by the prison physician, he'd been estimated to be only a week old. His awareness had stunned them of course, but had chalked it up to his being an extraterrestrial. Now however, as he chased the scheming little tot down the halls, David muttered out the words he'd already said too many times before; this kid was just too darn smart for his own good!

Those same words were once more repeated when a three-year old Blue had rigged up a tricycle out of old license plates and Lord knew what else and busted a hole through a wall of the prison.

"That was very dangerous Blue! You could have hurt someone. You could have gotten hurt!" he said gruffly. The little child sat on the couch and looked up to the Warden, his little hands were folded in his lap and his face was the perfect mask of innocence.

"I don't want to see you do that again, do you understand me?"

"I sawwy…"

"No tools like that unless someone is watching, got it?" David said. He'd already realized that if the kid wanted something he would find a way to get it; and upon seeing how brilliant he was he didn't want to squash his creativity. It worried him; it truly did; how smart his little Blue was; but at the same time he couldn't extinguish the pride he felt at how smart his little boy was. He sat down on the couch and looked to Blue.

"Next time you want to go outside, you just ask, okay? You don't have to bust down the walls. And if it's raining, and I say no; I mean no. Got it?"

"Got it!" the little boy nodded. He looked up to the Warden, seeing the still angry expression on his face. The man had been near furious when he'd seen the damage that had been done, and that disproving look on his face as he looked down at the little boy had practically scared him to death. Little Blue had always been mischievous, but he'd never been in so much trouble with the Warden before.

And so, he put on his most adorable expression, stood up on his little feet, and wrapped his arms around the Warden's neck; burying his face there.

"I wuv you Papa."

Once more the Warden's tough exterior broke down and he sighed and wrapped his own arm around the tot. He could have teased the boy about sucking up not getting him anywhere, he could have told him that he was still in trouble; but he couldn't and he wouldn't.

Instead he would enjoy the perks of being a father; he sent one of the guards out for ice cream, and spent the night up late with his "smart little boy", watching movies and eating sundaes until they passed out on the couch.

Fatherhood can make you do a lot of crazy things; it can even make you forgive a kid when he drives a laser-powered trike through the prison walls. All the kid had to do was look at you with those green eyes and you couldn't stay mad at him. Parenthood has a funny way of doing that to you; no matter what the kid does, you'll always love them.

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