One Last Camping Trip (for Joe)

[echolls_cursed]

It had been a while since they'd been out camping together, and a lot had changed since the first time they'd gone out. From marriage to the loss of friends, they'd both seen so much change in their lives, but even though they weren't the same men who'd met on the island years ago, some things hadn't changed. The way they laughed at the same stupid jokes, or the way they gently bumped shoulders with each other in a silent show of affection sometimes.

Those things never changed.

Logan had already set up the sleeping bags and was currently working on trying to build a fire as he glanced over at Joe.

"I think mom's lighter is finally out of gas," he said. "Guess it had to happen eventually, I ran out of stuff to refill it with a while ago. Can you get me the plastic lighter out of my bag?"

Comments

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"Still took a long fucking time," Joe answered, surprised that the lighter had been going for that long. "That's what? At least a couple of years, isn't it?" He asked as he got the plastic lighter out of Logan's bag and tossed it over to him.

Maybe it was even more than that. He'd been on the island for five years now, a lot longer than he'd stayed in most places for most of his life. The island was more like home than anywhere else had been.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan caught the lighter and quickly got a fire going, piling a few more sticks on the pile and then sitting back to watch it burn.

"I managed to refill it twice, but- yeah, still a long time. Guess it's a good thing I'm giving up pot," he snorted softly, grinning a little as he glanced back at Joe.

"Guess we'll both be sober from now on."

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"The island is in danger now," Joe answered, smirking. "Or maybe it's a hell of a lot safer now that neither of us can blame drugs for any of the shit we might do." In the past little while, though, things had definitely calmed down for the both of them. It seemed like things were settling into place, just like they were supposed to and Joe never would have seen his life like this, but he sure as hell didn't mind it.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan laughed openly at that and moved over so Joe could sit beside him if he wanted.

"You know it's weird, but sometimes I hardly recognize this place anymore. There's all these new people and buildings, I feel like one day I'm going to wake up and not know it at all anymore."

[jdick.livejournal.com]

Sitting down beside Logan, Joe thought back to how things had been when he first arrived. Electricity and plumbing had been out of the question, that much was fucking sure, and the people changed. Buildings went up and appeared out of nowhere, but it still felt like home.

"I dunno if it'll ever change that much," he said with a grin.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Yeah? Yeah, maybe not," Logan agreed, though he didn't sound completely convinced. Even after all this time, Logan was still a pessimist.

"This is still the same at least," he said after a long moment. "Even now that I'm with Jack and the baby's on the way, this still feels the same," he admitted with a faint grin.

"When you get far enough into the trees, the island looks exactly like it did five years ago."

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"No denying that, man," Joe agreed. Sometimes it felt like there were more people on the island than when he'd arrived, but he didn't know if that was true. It was nice, though, like Logan said. You went far enough into the trees and nothing had changed. Progress hadn't come this far, which Joe liked.

"Not gonna lie, I'm glad plumbing was one of the changes," he said, grinning. "I like having running water."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, the electricity isn't so bad either. Still- I dunno, it's stupid, but sometimes I miss my first hut. It's crazy, I know. I mean, it was such a shit hole, and if Cutter hadn't..."

He trailed off and shrugged. "Let's just say that if other people hadn't come along and fixed it up for me, I probably would have frozen to death our first winter," he laughed quietly, though it was obvious that talking about Cutter still hit a sore spot.

"If it hadn't been for that hut, IO might not have met you, man."

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I recall you made fun of my fucking mohawk," Joe pointed out, laughing. "So maybe we might not've met if I hadn't been rocking such a flattering and stylish 'do."

It had been a long time since he'd had his hair like this and it wasn't important, in the grand scheme of things, but it made him realize just how far removed he was from the shit he'd been dealing with when he arrived. "I guess you're right, man. A lot of shit has changed."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"No shit, man. Back then I always thought it would be you and Billy forever. I never thought you'd end up with Dale or that people would start vanishing. Everything seemed so permanent back then."

He smiled a little and then shrugged one shoulder. "It all worked out though, just not how I thought it would. It took a while to get used to seeing you with Dale, but the truth is... Sometimes I think he kind of saved you. I guess it's not my place to say something like that, but..."

He trailed off again, leaning lightly against Joe's shoulder.

[jdick.livejournal.com]

Dale wasn't the only one -- there was Logan, of course, and Anne -- but Joe wouldn't deny that they'd all saved him a little bit. If not for them, he was pretty sure he'd still be coked up somewhere, maybe even dead already.

"It's your place," he answered. "Who else is gonna say shit like that to me?"

And Logan was right about he and Billy, too. In a way, Billy would always be stuck with Joe, but it was still good he'd gone. Even if it had fucking sucked at the time. Joe'd been poison to him.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Fuck, I dunno," Logan admitted, offering a grin as he shook his head.

The conversation was getting heavy, and Logan let it drop a little.

"So me and Jack have been talking about baby names," he said after a moment. "We're thinking of calling her Lynn if she's a girl. We haven't decided on a boy's name yet."

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"For your mom," Joe said, nodding. "That'd be nice, man. I think that'd be really nice." And he liked that Jack had agreed to it. It was the sort of thing Joe thought probably meant a lot to Logan and that was the sort of shit that was important.

"Any ideas for boy name?" he asked, grinning over at Logan.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Well I suggested Joe," Logan replied, smirking a little. "Thought that might boost your ego. Not that it needs it," he added with a grin.

[jdick.livejournal.com]

Joe smirked, but when he looked at Logan, he was smiling genuinely. "Really, man?" he asked. He was touched that they'd even think about that. "That's fucking... that's huge."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, well, don't get too excited, I haven't gotten Jack to agree to it. We'll see what happens. Part of me thinks we'll know what to call the baby when it gets here, you know?"

[jdick.livejournal.com]

Joe didn't know how that worked, couldn't imagine the impact of having an actual baby that was part of him, but he nodded anyway. He figured Logan knew better than he ever would. "I kinda hope it's a girl. You'd be fucking cute with a little girl hanging off your leg."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Man, if we have a girl, Jack's just going to build a tower and lock her up there like a princess. I think he's going to be over protective either way, but a girl? I'll be fighting him to let me take her to school or whatever," Logan laughed.

[jdick.livejournal.com]

Joe snorted in amusement, trying to imagine what he'd do if he ever had a little girl. Half the time he wanted to lock Logan and Anne away just to keep them safe, he couldn't imagine he'd be any better with a little kid.

"I guess I don't blame him," he said. "Even here."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Sometimes especially here," Logan pointed out with a faint laugh. "Neptune sucked, but at least there weren't dinosaurs and zombies or whatever."

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"Fucking true," Joe agreed. He'd escaped having to deal with the island bullshit lately, but that didn't mean it didn't still happen. "How tall a tower do you think he's gonna build?"

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I think it would be some Rapunzel shit," Logan snorted. "Not that I'd let him."

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"You could build a really tall ladder," Joe answered with a grin. "But I guess that would sort of defeat the purpose, huh?"

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, probably," Logan laughed. "Wwhatever, I'll worry about all that shit when the time comes. Right now I just want to get the hut ready. We have so much left to do. I feel like we'll never be done."

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"How much do you guys have left to do?" Joe asked, leaning back to look at the fire. "You know I can help you if you need a hand."

After years on the building crew, he really wasn't half-bad at carving or building furniture.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"A lot. We finished the shed to lock up the tools and guns, but We need to build a crib and stuff. Neil offered to donate some baby stuff though, so at least we wont be starting completely from scratch," Logan smiled.

"The dogs need a bigger pen since they'll be in the house less. I want to build them a small shelter as well so they aren't stuck in the heat. So...Yeah, if you ever want to help, it's more than welcome, man."

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"All you need to do is throw something at my hut," Joe said. "I'll hear it and come on out to give you a hand. Or you could probably just shout."

It was nice living that close to Logan, nice having him back in the Hamlet where they really were within shouting distance.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Alright man, maybe this weekend?" Logan suggested, grinning a bit. "I'm seriously gonna make you work though if you help," he warned.

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"Hey, I'm a good fucking worker," Joe answered, laughing. "I've got muscles I never used to have and all that shit. I can help." And he didn't mind helping either. In fact, he was looking forward to being involved with getting shit ready for the baby.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I know man, I'm just fucking with you," Logan grinned.

He went silent for a moment and smiled to himself.

"I want you to be there. When the baby comes, I mean. You should be there with the rest of us. It feels like the kind of moment you should share with your dad."

And Joe would always be like a father to him.

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"You think Savannah's gonna be okay with that?" Joe asked, a little surprised. There sure as hell wasn't any way he'd say no to such an invitation, but he wanted to make sure he'd really be welcome, that it wouldn't make her uncomfortable.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I dunno. I don't think so. I mean, I'll ask, obviously, but- I think she'd be okay with it, man," Logan insisted.

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"Then, yeah," Joe said, grinning. "Yeah, man, then I'd wanna be there. That'd be fucking incredible." It was strange, but in a good way, how things were playing out. This wasn't something he'd ever have expected, but now that it had come, it was a good thing.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan couldn't help it, he wasn't even aware of it, but there were moments when he looked at Joe just as he had when he'd been changed into a little boy. Moments where he looked at Joe with the sort of happiness and joy that rarely revealed itself to the world, even when he felt it.

He said nothing, he simply slung an arm around Joe and embraced him tightly.

[jdick.livejournal.com]

Joe's grin grew and he hugged Logan back hard, holding onto him. It was impossible not to notice the way Logan looked at him and it made him feel like all the fucked up shit he'd done could be forgiven. Because there was at least one area where he hadn't fucked up quite so bad.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan held on tighter, still finding comfort in the man's embrace after all this time.

"It's been a good year, Joe. Next year's gonna be even better," he said, and he really meant it. He really believed it.

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"When the baby starts to cry at four in the morning, you might take that back," Joe teased, but he didn't mean it. He knew the baby was finally bringing Logan everything he wanted; a family of his own, someone he could take care of and do right by.

"It'll be great," he agreed.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"If that happens, I'll just take the baby to your place and make you sing it back to sleep," Logan grinned. "You know any lullabies Joe?"

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"Only ones with the word 'fuck' appearing in 'em about eight times," Joe answered with a smirk. He'd never been good at things like that, but he thought he could probably try to learn something for Logan and Jack's kid. Something that wouldn't cause him to grow up with Joe's mouth.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Well that's good, man. I mean, how else is it gonna learn its first words?" Logan asked with a laugh.

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"You want your kid's first word to be fuck?" Joe asked, laughing in return. "'Cause I can arrange that, man, don't even worry about a thing. You just give me a few months with it and before you know it, the kid'll be cursing up a storm."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan laughed at that, wrinkling his nose and grinning.

"I'm sure Jack will love that," he snorted, imagining the look on Jack's face.

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"Hey, that's what happens when you let your kid be around Joe Dick," he said, laughing. Although he hadn't yet taught Matthew to swear. Somehow, he figured Anne would probably not be too impressed if he did that.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I think I can live with that," Logan grinned. "I really can't wait though, man. It feels like December's never gonna get here."

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"It'll get here and then you'll forget what it was like before there was a baby," Joe said, as if he had any idea what it might be like. He couldn't even imagine it, but somehow that felt right anyway.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, you think?" Logan asked. "I dunno man, I still remember how it all was at the beginning. I'm pretty sure some stuff you just never forget, no matter how much changes."

[jdick.livejournal.com]

"I guess maybe you'll just get used to it," Joe said, thinking about it. "And when you do, it'll just be like the kid was always there."