Chapter Text
Jonathon Vangelis was a troubled teenager. Growing up in a shithole with an alcoholic father and a mother working two jobs left him broken. He was always angry, always fighting for himself. His life was far from perfect, but it was manageable – until his father went off the deep end. He gambled away all their money and hurt Jonny’s mother when she screamed at him for ruining everything.
After that, there was chaos: blood, police, and confusion.
His mother did not survive, and his father went to jail. Jonny had no one left.
Then a stranger appeared. Doctor... Carmilla? She claimed to be a friend of Jonny’s mother. There was no one else to take him in, and since Doctor Carmilla had a good reputation for helping children whose families could not support them, and after confirming that she did have a connection with Jonny’s mother, he was left in her care.
“Got all your things?” the doctor asked from the doorway of Jonny’s old bedroom in that messy flat. The boy looked at a single box of his belongings and his backpack, which held all his clothes that were not completely ruined.
“I think so...” He looked at the strange woman.
She smiled. It was a gentle smile, almost soft. Jonny was not used to seeing smiles like that; the last time someone smiled at him that way was in primary school, when he wrote an excellent essay in English class. He did not even go to school anymore because he had to help his mother at work.
“Come on. You get to choose the music in the car. We have a long ride ahead of us.”
He looked at her and took his things.
“What about the rest of the stuff?” he asked as they were going down the stairs.
“The things that are not too damaged will be donated, and the rest will just be thrown out. I would take care of that, but I need to be back in London soon, and picking you up is already a bit of a hassle.”
“Sorry for being a problem.” His gaze dropped from her face to his feet.
“Oh no, no, no, Jonny. You are my child now. I want you to know that I care for you. We might have just met, but I knew your mother for a long time. She was a good person, and I believe you have a good heart just like her.”
She put one finger under his chin and tilted his head to make him look at her.
“No matter how angry you will be with me, no matter what problems you will cause, I care for you. And I would take a bullet for you.”
He blinked a few times. He put the box down and hugged her tightly. She was surprised at first, but then she hugged him back and rubbed his back gently.
The ride to the Doctor’s home was a quiet one, if you do not count the music Jonny picked. She asked some questions but did not push him to answer. He also did not really want to talk because he was focused on looking out of the window. It was the first time he had really left the small town he grew up in, and he was going to London.
That was scary.
After a four- hour car ride, they stopped in front of a big house.
“You said you live alone,” he said, looking at her, confused.
“Because I do live alone.”
“Why the fuck would you need such a big house then?”
The doctor just shrugged.
She let him choose which room would be his, and she let him decide what they would have for dinner. For the first time in his life, he could choose what he wanted.
They ended up having spaghetti for dinner.
“Okay, so I will need to go to work at the end of the week. I work at a few hospitals, just so you know. There is also a chance I will be called in randomly if there is an emergency, but do not worry. I will ask Scuzz to be here with you when I am at work, all right?” She looked at him over her spaghetti.
“Who is Scuzz?” he asked, tilting his head.
“They are a kid I helped a few years ago. They went through some things and lived here for a few years when they did not want to stay in Japan. Oh, Beta might come with them. Beta is their partner. I helped him when I was in France a few years ago, and he moved here for university.”
“And they will be watching over me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“More like spending time with you so you will not be all alone here. It is a big, empty house, and I cannot imagine being here alone after what you have been through would be nice.” She gave a bitter smile.
“Mm... okay. But they will not treat me like a child, will they?”
The doctor just laughed.
Doctor Carmilla was getting ready for work. She walked into the living room, where Jonny was hand-sewing some flowers onto one of her blouses. She smiled at the sight.
“I am leaving in 30 minutes. Scuzz and Beta will be here in about 10 minutes. Anyway, a few rules.” Jonny looked up at her. “No cooking, because you will burn the house down, and Scuzz is even more likely to do that. If you leave the house, lock the door with your keys. If some random adult approaches you, ignore them and go find Scruzz or Beta, okay?”
Jonny raised one eyebrow.
“You were a random adult once.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “That is different, Jonny.”
“Sureeeeee,”
It has been a month since Doctor Carmilla took Jonny in. It has been a nice month, but there have also been harder times.
Jonny had his breakdowns; he had cried, yelled, and told Carmilla that he hated her, even though it was not true. But she was not angry. She always tried to understand. She asked a lot of questions, she did not yell, she did not tell him to get out of her house. No. She held him close, sometimes singing in a low voice to calm him, sometimes leaving him alone for 20 minutes and coming back with hot chocolate milk and a weighted blanket.
She was trying. And she was the first person in Jonny’s life who tried. She was kind.
Scuzz and Beta were also kind. They always came in when Carmilla left for more than four hours, to keep Jonny company, as he was still rather antsy in such a big house.
When Doctor Carmilla was sitting in her office/home lab, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” she said, not looking up from the computer screen where she had been reading an email.
Jonny came in looking worried
"What is it Jonny?" Carmila asked looking up from the screen of her computer
“IHAVEBEENWONDERINGIFICOULDCALLYOUMUM.”
She looked at him, eyes wide.
“Sorry, sorry... um, that was probably a bit much...” he started, but was cut short by Carmilla hugging him tightly.
“Of course you can, Jonny.” She rubbed his back in a familiar manner. “Of course you can.”
She could feel his tears slowly wetting the blouse she was wearing. It was the one where he had sewn flowers into it.
As a few more months passed, Jonny became more and more comfortable around his newfound parent. He really loved Carmilla, and they had fallen into a nice routine. When she was not home, Scruzz and Beta would take him out to show him around London, or they would stay at the big house and try to find new ways to pass the time. It stayed like this for a few months until one day Carmilla got home early.
“Jonny.”
He looked up from a sketch of a new flowery pattern he was making for another one of her blouses.
“Someone new will be joining our little family soon...”