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The boy was alone in the room, his back to the window as he stared at what appeared to be a photo album. He was clutching a backpack in his lap, fidgeting every few moments as if his body just couldn’t bare to stay still.
Kevin felt for the boy, he hadn’t even received his file yet or confirmation that they would even be allowed to take him home with them, but for the child to stare at one single thing for that long even when it was obvious he was energetic by nature, the boy had to be hurting.
Raymond came back with the social worker, delight on his face and a file in his hand.
“We are allowed to take the boy if he wishes to come with us. His name is Jacob Peralta.” He handed the file to Kevin, which he read over quickly. Jacob Peralta, preferred name Jake, eight years old, half Jewish, abandoned by his father, his mother dead, possible undiagnosed learning disorder, allergic to bees.
It was such a small amount of information, but it did tell him a lot. Kevin closed the file, and turned to his partner, nodding once.
“May we meet him?” He asked the social worker, who smiled and nodded.
“Of course! Just in here.” The woman turned to open the door, taking a few steps in. “Jake, there are some people here to see you.”
Kevin watched as the boy, Jacob, quickly scrubbed at his face with his sleeves, which came away wet. The boy finally turned towards them, his eyes and face splotchy from obvious crying. His curls fell down past his ears, his sneakers scuffed, one hand reaching out to place a hand on the photo album, as if terrified to lose it.
“Hello Jacob, I am Detective Raymond Holt, and this is my partner Professor Kevin Cozner. We would be interested in taking you to our home with us, if that would be agreeable to you.”
Jacob shrugged, glancing down at the photo album again.
“Sure, I guess.” He mumbled, making the social worker nod. Kevin, however, frowned.
“Jacob, you don’t have to say yes. We were hoping for a chance to get to know you. Would you like to sit with us and discuss things?” He offered, gesturing to the table and chairs. Jacob shot him a slightly confused look, but carefully closed his album and moved it, the backpack and himself to the table. Kevin and Raymond sat on the other side, the two of them sharing a happy look.
“Would you like to tell us about yourself, Jacob?” Raymond asked, extending an open palm. Jacob hummed for a moment, tapping out a seemingly random pattern on the table.
“Well, I’m Jake, and I’m eight, which is great, because it all rhymes.” He flashed them a small smile, which vanished almost as soon as it appeared. “My favourite movie is Die Hard, my favourite colour is blue, my best friend is Gina, and I want to be a policeman when I grow up, just like John McClane.”
“Jake.” The social worker says in a light scolding tone, and the boy ducked his head. Apparently this ‘John McClane’ person was not meant to be brought up.
“Intriguing. I, myself, am a police officer.”
For the first time, Jake truly lit up.
“Really?! Have you catched a bunch of bad guys?! Do you say cool things when you catch ‘em?! Who’s the worse guy you ever caughted?! Can I see a picture of a dead body?! Please please pleaseee ?!” The young boy was flapping his hands, kicking his legs, his eyes wide with excitement as a grin stretched across his face. If Kevin were prone to such things, he would call him adorable.
“I have caught… ‘bad guys’, and I do sometimes indulge in some catchphrases. However, I feel showing you a picture of a dead body is… inappropriate.” Raymond answered. “In the future you should say ‘caught’ bad guys, the ‘worst’ guy, and caughted is not a word. The word is, again, ‘caught’.”
Jacob deflated a little, his wild movements stopping.
“Sorry.” He mumbled, absently clutching onto his backpack again.
“That’s alright, Jacob. It’s quite understandable that at your age there are still things you need to learn. As adults, it is our duty to help teach children.” Kevin explained, seeing that the boy thought he was in trouble. Jacob wrinkled his nose, looking up at them again.
“Could you call me Jake please?” He asked, absently moving his hand to chew on the side of his thumb. Kevin and Raymond shared a look, and they both knew what the other wanted.
“Of course, Jake, if it would make you more comfortable.” Kevin answered, letting a small smile show through.
He was already smitten.
Jake gave him a small smile back around his thumb, seemingly not even noticing he was chewing on it.
“Are you- oops.” Jake finally noticed his thumb as he started to speak, moving it into his lap as his legs started kicking instead. “Are you a policeman too?” He asked Kevin, who shook his head.
“No, I’m a professor at Columbia University. I lecture on the classics.”
“Like the Beatles?” The boy asked, tilting his head just slightly to the side.
“No, classic literature. Like The Odyssey.”
“I dunno what that is.”
“Very old books.”
“Oooohh.”
Jake was nodding, a light frown on his face as he took in the new information. The frown deepened after a moment.
“So you like reading?” He asked, his legs suddenly moving faster.
“We do both enjoy a good book, yes.” Raymond answered, neither of them expecting the very sudden act of Jake shutting down after that remark. He stopped moving almost entirely, just the rise and fall of his chest, his face going back to the blank look it had adorned when they first walked in, ducking his head so they couldn’t meet his eyes, once again clutching tightly to the backpack.
“Probably won’t want me then.” He mumbled, so low the two men across from him could barely hear it, but they did.
“Why would you assume that, Jake?” Kevin asked, keeping his own voice low. The boy squirmed uncomfortably, before sighing, seeming to come to a decision in his head.
“I… don’t read so good.” He admitted, still not looking at them. Kevin looked at his husband, placing a hand on his shoulder. Bold for them, especially in public, but Kevin was a little… rattled by the boy. Possible undiagnosed learning disorder flashed in his mind, something he was sure no one had explained to Jake. He hadn’t felt like this towards anyone other than his Raymond, and it hadn’t even been an hour.
“Jake, would you look at us, please?” Kevin asked after a moment. It took a bit for Jake to do as he was asked, but he did it. “That’s okay. Everyone learns at their own pace. Just because we like reading doesn’t mean we don’t want to take you home with us simply because you’re still learning.” He explained. Jake’s brown eyes filled with tears that he very stubbornly blinked back, taking a few deep breaths and kicking his legs again.
“I- I’d like to go with you guys.” Jake said.
“Excellent.” Raymond said, just a hint of a smile on his face.
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Four days and two home inspections later, Raymond and Kevin were picking Jake up from the centre, placing him in the back seat of their car, and taking him home with them.
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Jake was in his new bedroom, his photo album open on the floor, laying on his stomach as his legs kicked lazily in the air. They had gotten him a blue bedspread and a blue lamp for his desk since he’d said it was his favourite colour. Kevin and Raymond were really nice, and they talked to him like he was a grown up. Maybe they’d let him see Gina at some point during the summer. He missed her.
He wasn’t really sure what he was meant to do here. They didn’t seem like the type of adults who would enjoy noisy games like Star Wars or Die Hard, and he didn’t really… feel like playing them anyway. He missed his mum. He missed his dad. He felt bad about missing his dad because his dad didn’t care about him or mum at all. He hadn’t even come to the funeral. All he had left of his family was Nana, who was too old to take care of him full time, and this photo album.
“Jake, it’s time for dinner. Please wash your hands and come downstairs.” Kevin said as he appeared in the doorway, making Jake look up and nod. Quickly washing his hands, he half ran downstairs, trying to remember where the dining room was. He followed the noises of plates to find his new… watching people(?) setting the table and climbed into a seat.
Raymond and Kevin talked about their days, trying to include Jake every so often, but he felt a little uncomfortable. He didn’t know what his place was here. Was he going to stay forever? Was it just for a little while? Why did they hardly ever smile? Eventually, he gathered the nerve to ask a question.
“What’s the word for you people?”
Kevin and Raymond shared a look, the same look mum and dad had shared when he asked what sex was. Kevin seemed to recover first.
“What exactly do you mean by that?” He asked, one eyebrow very slightly raised.
“Well, you aren’t my parents, and you’re not family, but you’re still in charge of me now I guess. What’s the word for you?” Both adults relaxed.
“The word is guardian or caretaker. Someone who watches over another who is unable to care for themselves yet is known as a guardian or caretaker. There are slight differences in the terms, and the one that applies to us under the law is guardian.” Kevin explained, Jake nodding along as he listened.
“Okay. I was just calling you watching people, but guardian. Cool cool cool.” Jake smiled at them, trying to understand what they were feeling, but it wasn’t easy. Their faces hardly ever changed. He went back to his pasta, trying to twirl it on his fork like Raymond, but it kept falling off.
“Jake, you mentioned that this… Die Hard was your favourite movie, does that mean you have seen other movies to compare it to?” Raymond asked, making Jake sit up straighter. Movies was something he could talk about all day.
“Uh-huh! Die Hard is the super ultra best movie of all time but The Princess Bride is super good! We went to see that on Gina’s birthday. I’ve also seen Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit!”
He continued rambling through dinner about his favourite movies, and when he went to sleep that night in his new bed, sneaking out his favourite soft toy from his backpack when they couldn’t see so they wouldn’t think he was a baby, he was much more comfortable than he had been earlier (even if he still had to cry himself to sleep because he missed his mum so much).
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When Raymond came home two days later with a VCR machine and videotapes of some of his favourite movies that he’d mentioned, Jake ran up and hugged the man for the first time. It took a moment for him to return it, but he did, and two small pleads to Kevin later he was in on the embrace as well.
Jake hadn’t felt this safe in a long time.