dreamland (bill skarsgard one shots)

27. faded from the winter - the kid

WARNINGS: smut, mentions of trauma, angst

NOTE: i'm sticking to castle rock's storyline of the kid being henry deaver from an alternate universe, so that is why he is referred to as henry here. hopefully it's not confusing, but to tell them apart i'm calling andre holland's character henry deaver and bill's character is just henry. okay, carry on.

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In the beginning, if you would have told her that she'd be housing a prisoner in her home for Christmas this year, she would have laughed in your face. If you would have told her that she'd eventually fall in love with said prisoner, she would have called you a liar.

Yet, here it was; Christmas time. And here he was, the prisoner. Staying in her home, sleeping under her roof, eating her food, using her amenities.

Yes, some months ago, she would have laughed in your face if you'd told her that this would be happening. But now? Well, those things had come true. He was present in her life, had been since the day he'd been found in the depths of Shawshank.

And she loved him. Oh, how she loved him.

It had happened gradually. The day she'd met him, her heart broke for him. The boy - or man, rather - who'd been found in a cage in the very guts of the prison, in a cell block that had been completely forgotten, destroyed by fire and left to deteriorate.

It couldn't be said how long he'd been down there. But from the look of him, it had been years. He was skin and bones, and she began to wonder if a minor gust of wind might blow him clear across the courtyard. He looked like a frightened animal, afraid of the slightest sound and touch. He didn't speak. The only thing they'd gotten out of him was a name - Henry Deaver.

The warden was on the case, trying to figure out just who Henry Deaver was. In the meantime, she stayed behind. As a psychiatrist, she'd worked with many of the prisoners in this place. She'd been in the presence of some pretty rough characters, ones who gave her the creeps, and others who weren't all that bad. She'd seen it all. But she'd never been around one quite like him.

He watched her from where she stood, after the doctor and nurse had left the room. His eyes, two different colors, seemed to stare right through her. But she wasn't scared. In fact, she felt an odd tugging in her heart. The intense need to help him, to take care of him. The feeling grew so strong that it took her breath away, as if she'd been kicked in the chest.

And as time went on, as Henry Deaver was located and eventually came to town to help this young man, as the legal wrinkled and hiccups were all smoothed out, as they began to talk about releasing him from prison, she was there. Helping, overseeing. Making sure this young man was treated right. He was so fragile, she feared what might happen if he was pushed too hard. She knew he needed gentleness and kindness.

Because she was around him so much, the young man, whom everyone had started referring to as 'The Kid', began to warm up to her. He depended on her, he found comfort in her presence and developed a sort of fixation on her. He saw her as his guardian angel, a caring, nurturing character. The only form of care and nurturing he'd received prior to her was from Warden Lacy, and that hadn't been very much at all to begin with. A woman's presence was different, especially this woman's.

The day he was released from prison, she was there at the front gates, waiting for him. Alongside her was Henry Deaver, who'd taken The Kid's case upon himself. She and Henry were the only two people who wanted to help him, it seemed.