Getting It Together

Fun Fact, Really Really Sad Fact

Day 2 of the vacation

Potter appears upstairs where Logan was in the library. He held a hardcover book, the dust cover crinkling as he idly stimmed with it. He looked down at the pages with insatiable hunger as he devoured it with his eyes.

"Hey, Logan. Would you say you love Alejo?" Potter asks.

"Of course I do! He's my family. He's just...A little different." Logan smiles.

"Do you have any memories left about your life before Pascal kidnapped you again? How much he has hurt you and your so-called family? How happy you were with Alejo and Jasper? Do you remember‽" Potter stalks towards Logan, who stumbles backward gawkily.

"What? Don't say such things about Callie, what are you talking about?" Logan rambles.

"He kidnapped you." Potter forces out. "Plain and simple. He's tortured you! Look at your damn finger for fuck's sake!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, my Callie would never do something like that!" Logan argues.

"Pascal is hurting you, Logan! Just look at you! All the scars, burn marks, and your leg... He burned stars into your chest for crying out loud!" Potter yells.

"That was my fault! I tried to leave him! And now I won't again! I love him...." Logan looked to be on the verge of tears, gripping his arms tightly in each other.

"You don't love him, Logan." Potter stares right through him at the mirror on the wall behind him. "You're terrified of him."

"I do love him!" Logan cries, panicked. "Leave me alone!"

"You tried to leave him for a reason. And in a normal healthy relationship, people have the right to leave whenever they feel like it. Patton denied you that right and hurt you more times than I can count with my own two ghost hands. This isn't okay. You're not okay. None of you are." Potter says flatly, still staring at the mirror.

"Please stop," Logan begs, tears starting to fall. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know more than fucking anyone!" Potter screams, their lights flashing. "God damn it, what is it going to take to make you see that? He took you away from your family, Logan, your fucking broth-" Potter paused. "Your sister, Lacey. He took you away from the job you loved! You were a teacher."

"What?" Logan stammers. "N-No."

And in an instant, Potter gets a horribly selfish, amazingly brilliant idea.

"Did you know that you can never be facing backward on stairs?" They ask, leaning close to Logan's face. "No matter how hard you try?"

Logan's eyes widen, and he stares down at his lap, lost in thought. "But-But if you stood sideways? Well, no, that'd be sideways..."

"You know, there are more fake flamingos in the world than real ones." Potter continues nonchalantly. "Have you ever fought for flamingo preservation at work? Or, no, you taught about astronomy. I suppose not."

"Crows can mimic speech, just like parrots. Haven't you ever wondered why they don't?" Potter hums. "Are they hiding something?"

"Wait-Stop-" Logan pleads through his tears.

"Did you know that most frogs can jump up to twenty times their own height?" Potter ignores Logan, continuing on. "And stars with the shortest lifespan are the largest."

That was what did it.

Logan sobs, overwhelmed. "I-I miss teaching!"

Potter's eyes light up and they get uncomfortably close to Logan's face. "Pandas chose one baby if they have twins and kill the other. And even then, they can still crush the remaining baby because they're so small and breakable. Come on Logan!"

"N-No!" Logan screams, slamming his head sideways onto the bookshelf, slipping into a meltdown. "Stop it!"

"Come on Logan, snap the fuck out of it! He kidnapped you! You have to get out of here before it's too late!" If Potter was papable, they would no doubt be shaking Logan by now. "Small rodents eat their young when they can't care for them."

"Stop, stop, stop, stop!" Logan babbles, hitting his head again. "Please stop! I don't miss teaching, I wasn't a teacher, only Pascal! Only him!"

"He's abusing you, Logan! I'm not going to let you fucking die here like me!" Potter screams. "Sloths sometimes mistake their own arms for branches and fall to their demise. He's going to fucking kill you, Logan! You can't fucking let him!"

Logan wails, slamming his head onto the wall again. Wet blood starts to matt on his hair. Pascal races into the room, carrying a canister of salt.

"Get the fuck away from him!" Pascal yells. "Get the fuck away or I swear!"

He tosses the salt towards the ghost just as Potter disappears.

Rushing over to Logan, Pascal pulls him away from the wall, strong-arming the sobbing adult. He takes position with Logan in his lap, pinning Logan's arms down with one arm, and holding his head still with the other. His legs pinned Logan's down to the floor so the man wouldn't try to kick him. "Shh, I know Lo. I know. Sometimes I hit myself when I'm upset too. But it's not safe. You're bleeding, bunny. I can't let you keep hitting yourself."

"Papa?" Giovonnie nervously peeks his head over the corner of the door, rushing in when he notices Logan struggling in Pascal's hold. Sela followed right behind him, watching Pascal wearily and barking at the scene they walked in on. "Dad‽"

"No, Gio-!" Pascal cuts off, his attention moving to Giovonnie allowing Logan to get up.

Logan bangs his head into the wall again with a scream. Giovonnie stumbles back in fear, accidentally tripping over Sela's tail and tumbling to the ground. Sela yelps, impulsively rearing around and sinking her teeth into her attacker's leg.

Giovonnie freezes, then screeches, and Pascal looks hurriedly between the two before rushing over to Logan.

Sela whines apologetically, backing up and looking at her boy anxiously.

"Logan, stop struggling, you're hurting yourself!" Pascal screams, pining the sobbing younger man's arms down.

"Let go of me!" Logan howls, kicking and punching at Pascal. "Let go of me you fucking kidnapper!"

Pascal sets Logan down on the bed and grabs some rope, tying Logan up as he sobbed.

"No, please! Please I'm sorry Cal!" Logan quickly backtracks, squirming. "I didn't mean it!"

Pascal looks back over at Giovonie, hurriedly picking up his son and staring down at the bleeding mess on his leg.

Sela barks, following Pascal closely as Pascal carries Giovonnie downstairs and lays Giovonnie down on the dinner table.

"Dad! It hu-hurts!" Giovonnie sobs, holding tightly to Pascal's shirt when Pascal tries to pull away. The ghosts peek into the room, quickly running off to figure out what had happened.

"Hang on oreo, let me get something to help you."

Giovonnie loses it when Pascal grabs a rag and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, slamming his fists into Pascal's chest. Pascal holds down his shaking leg with one hand and unscrews the bottle with the other.

"Daddy please, I don't need it, please!" Giovonnie lets out a blood-curdling scream when the mixture rushed over his leg, bubbling and burning his leg.

Pascal cleans the wound as fast as he can and wraps it up, pulling Giovonnie into his arms after. Once more, he starts to gently rock the boy.

"It's okay Gio, you're okay. You'll be okay, please stop crying, oreo."

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