61On another beautiful late evening at Beach City, as the golden bright sun slowly goes down, everyone was ready to go home and rest up for the night. Pearl, one of the Crystal Gems, was sadly walking across the streets with her head looking straight down at the pavement. She was miserably thinking about Steven Universe (who is the son of Rose Quartz aka Pink Diamond).
It's been almost three years since Steven Universe and the Great Diamond Authority managed to cure all the corrupted gems after the million-year war on the planet Earth. Thanks to them, they brought in a new era of peace on Earth, the Gem Homeworld, and the entire galaxy itself.
Ever since Steven left his hometown nearly a year ago for his big road trip around the United States, everyone in his family started missing their favourite half-human and gem hybrid already.
Yes, he usually calls and checks things out with them sometimes on his phone. But it still wasn't the same without him in person.
Amethyst, Garnet, Lapis Lazuli, Peridot, Bismuth, and Pearl herself continue to help and teach all the Gems in Little Homeworld at Little Homeschool. Greg Universe, Steven's father, still works at his car wash and now lives at the Crystal Gem's beach house. But tonight, he has gone out with some residents for dinner somewhere outside of Beach City. Connie Maheswaran was still studying when she goes to college the next year.
"Oh Steven, I hope you come back and visit us soon," Pearl sadly told herself, heading back home before dark.
Then suddenly, Pearl stops in her tracks when she heard a faint soft whimper, which sounded like an injured puppy, coming from a dark alleyway between two food stores. As Rose Quartz's former servant and bodyguard for thousands of years, Pearl headed into the alleyway to investigate where the sound was coming from.
"Hello, is someone there?" she gently called out, looking around in the alleyway filled with dirty garbage pins and rotten food all over the dirty floor.
Then, she heard the faint whimpering again coming from a brown medium-sized cuboid cardboard box, and her eyes were aimed at it. Pearl at first thought it might be an injured small animal. Probably a kitten or puppy that lost its owner.
So, she kneeled on both legs in front of the box and could see something slowly moving inside it, but the left and right cardboard flats blocked it from seeing it. Pearl carefully used her hands to gently open the flats and didn't expect what she found.
"It's ok little one, everything is going to b-
Pearl gasped loudly at the glimpse of what was inside the box, revealing that it wasn't an animal.
It was a very tiny and skinny little boy, with messy black hair and glasses on his face. He was wearing nothing but ragged worn-out clothes as if he is homeless or abandoned.
Once the boy realized that someone had found him, he quickly buried his face and hugged his knees with his small arms shaking and whimpering in fear. Feeling so afraid that this lady might want to hurt him.
Pearl didn't know what to say in this situation, as there were so many questions running through her gemstone. Who is this little boy? Where are his parents? Why is he living in such a horrible and disgusting place? Why he is very skinny and wearing such foul clothes?
"P-p-please… D-d-don't… Hurt me" he whimpered, hearing that Pearl made concerned and realizing that he generally thought she was going to harm him.
She reached her right hand out, gently placing it on his shoulder, and felt him flinch slightly from being touched.
"Little one… Please don't be scared… I promise I won't hurt you." Pearl gently said, in a smooth and comfortable mothering voice.
The little boy was still shaking but then his curiosity took over him when hearing this stranger's kind and gentle voice. He slowly lifts his head up and saw this lady was very pale white, pointed, and had a white round gemstone on her middle forehead. The boy tilted his head and thought she looked very pretty in his mind.
Pearl formed a smile on her face when she saw his curious expression, with his very wide emerald eyes staring at her. The white gem thought he looked so adorable with those eyes too.
"W-who a-are y-you"? The boy finally spoke with his tune of fear still there.
"Well little one, my name is Pearl," she said kindly, trying her best not to scare the child. "And I could ask your name as well dear"?
"It's frea-Harry P-Potter, miss Pearl" The young boy replied mannerly.
Pearl let out a gentle laugh at his cute response, as he had such good manners for calling her miss, while Harry blinked in confusion. "You have such polite manners for a young man at your age."
"But… Why in the world are you out here all alone in a place like this?" Pearl curiously and concerningly asked.
Harry opened his mouth to reply to her question, but then closed it nervously, knowing if he told anyone then he would be killed.
Pearl saw how his body is frighteningly shaking even more and needed to be careful what to ask the poor thing.
"Sweetheart …. Were you abandoned here?"
Harry still tenses and manages to answer her question by slowly nodding his head.
"I-I did something wrong, and he-he got m-m-mad, and it really, really hurt…. And I-I d-didn't want t-to be with t-them anymore, so I-I run away as f-f-far as I-I could…. And I-I-I…. His last sentence was cut off, by his shaking.
Pearl quickly noticed it and gently picked him up out of the cardboard box and hugged him close to her chest. Harry felt scared when he was being lifted out of his hiding place and expected Miss Pearl was going to throw him on the floor.
But instead, she was hugging him. It felt warm and comfortable, and calmly snuggled in closer to her chest.
"There, There…. It's going to be okay Harry…. You're safe with me?" Pearl whispered into his ear and rubbed his back in a circle.
Pearl concluded that this child was abused probably by his parents possible. She also notices that he was light weighted as if she's holding one of Steven's plush toys.
But that wasn't the time right now. When seeing his condition, she needed to take him to the beach house. Harry looked like he needed a wash in the bathroom, some new clean clothes to wear, and something to eat too. So, Pearl lifted herself back to her feet with Harry still wrapped around in her arms.
"Harry…. I'm going to take you somewhere safe to get the help you need…. Is that ok with you dear?" Pearl asked and smiling down at him.
Harry lifted his head to look at her and nervously nodded, as he didn't want to argue with her. Since she was the very first person to be nice and kind to him.
"Ok, let's go then shall we."
After that, Pearl finally left that horrible and disgusting alleyway behind with Harry snuggled against her chest in her arms. The white gem started heading to the beach house, where Garnet and Amethyst are most likely to be waiting for her.
While passing through some residents' houses, Pearl noticed that Harry has buried his face in her chest. He was trying his best to stay hidden from the world. Pearl thought he looked cute doing that, as it reminded her of how she used to hug Steven when he was having nightmares as a toddler.
After ten minutes of walking, Pearl reaches the seafront in Beach City where the sun completely disappeared for the night. The white gem walks on the sandy beach towards where the Crystal Temple is located, after passing by some of Steven's fast-food restaurants that he visits such as Beach Citywalk Fries, Fish Stew Pizza, and the Big Donut.
Then, Pearl finally arrived at the Crystal Temple, where the beach house was in front of the gigantic fusion statue of Obsidian, hidden behind the mountain in Beach City.
"Harry, we're finally here." Pearl gently rubbed the boy's back with her hand to let him know that they arrived at their destination.
Harry removed his head from her chest and looked up to see the beach house and the Obsidian statue for the first time, letting out a curious coo. Pearl chuckled when seeing his first reaction to where she lived.
"Are you ready to see my home, Harry?" Pearl asked, Harry a little shaken from her question.
"It's… really big…" Harry mumbled.
"Ahh yes, it is really bi-
"Hi, what's up P!" said a familiar voice coming from behind both Pearl and Harry. Pearl turned around and saw that it was Amethyst who was walking towards her, coming back after doing another late shift from teaching at Little Homeschool.
"Hi Amethyst, working on another late shift tonight?"
"Yeah, I needed to help Peridot prepare a horticulture lesson tomorrow for a new few gems who are interested in growing their own plants" Amethyst explained, with a laugh.
"And since it's my weekend tomorrow, I can finally rest u-
Amethyst paused for a second and looked puzzled upon seeing Pearl holding a small boy in her arms.
"Hi, who's the little guy you're holding there?" Amethyst questioned, as Harry frighteningly hid his face again in Pearl's chest from this new person.
Pearl immediately noticed his frightening behaviour and said "Hi, it's ok Harry… She's one of my friends at home. She won't hurt you, I promise."
Feeling assured, Harry slowly turned his head to see Amethyst and saw that she has purple skin and long light purple hair.
"Harry, this is Amethyst," Pearl introduced Harry to one of the members of the Crystal Gems.
Hi, M-Miss Amethyst"
"Miss?" Amethyst suddenly laughed loudly, which made Harry puzzled as to why she was laughing. "You don't have to call me miss, little man," she said after her laughter stopped.
"Just plain old Amethyst is fine by me kid." Amethyst reached and placed her hand on top of Harry's head and gently ruffled his messy black hair. Which made Harry let out a small giggle when she was messing with his hair.
Pearl smiled, as she enjoyed hearing Harry giggle and slowly interacting with Amethyst.
"So, where did you find this little guy anyway Pearl?" Amethyst asked. Pearl's happy face turned into an uncertain look after the purple gem's questioned her.
"I found him in an alleyway inside a cardboard box while on my walk" she answers and looks down at Harry.
"Ok, then why was he living in there?" "Shouldn't he be with his family or something?
Pearl didn't know all the answers to why Harry was in that alleyway and simply said "I'm…not sure, but I need to get him cleaned up first, and then something to eat before finding more answers?"
"Then why are we standing around here for, let's get him inside! Garnet is already waiting for us" Amethyst immediately said, leading the way up the wooden staircase to the beach house as Pearl followed her.
Pearl and Amethyst reached the top of the stairs and entered the beach house through the front door. Both of the gems saw Garnet sitting down on the couch waiting for them.
When the leader of the Crystal Gems noticed their arrival at last, she stood up and greeted the two gems once she saw them return.
"I see you two have arrived late sooner than I suspected," Garnet said, with a smile.
"Well, time does pass by Garnet" Amethyst happily replied back at the gem fusion.
Garnet turned her attention over to Pearl, who was surprised and noticed that she was holding the tiniest little boy that she had ever seen. The large gem didn't expect Pearl to bring a child back home in one of her Future Visions.
Harry curiously tilted his head towards the very tall fusion, through shining green, emerald eyes, as they both stared at each other.
"Oh, and who's this little cutie pie," she asked, her question made Harry's face blush pink.
"This is Harry… I found him today during my usual walks around Beach City" Pearl explained.
"I see" Garnet knelt on one knee to introduce herself to Harry and didn't want the child to be scared of her tall height.
"Hello there, little Harry, it's nice to meet you," Garnet said with a smile, as she reached out and gently placed her hand on the boy's cheek.
Harry flinched for a second from being touched again until he stopped and felt the hard smooth gemstone on the palm of her hand and soft fingers on his cheek. He thought it felt nice and her hand was soft and warm.
Harry leaned into her hand and lightly rubbed his cheek against it, like an affection-starved kitten. The three of the gems let out a coo at the child's actions.
"Well, I was right, you are a cutie pie." Garnet said, with a smile.
"I-I am?" Harry blinked.
"Of course, you have that adorable little nose and those sparkling green eyes, little one" she commented.
This made give Harry the courage to smile at Garnet and say "T-thank you."
Pearl was glad that Harry was interacting with Garnet and Amethyst very well so far. But Pearl thinks it's time to get Harry sorted out now. First, starting with washing and scrubbing him clean in the bathtub.
"All right Harry, since you've gotten yourself settled with us, why don't we get you washed up in the bathtub?"
"I-it won't b-burn me… W-will it" Harry mumbled, nervously.
"E-excuse me, what did you say Harry?" Pearl asked, upon seeing Harry looking anxious which made her feel concerned even more. Maybe he was concerned about the bath being too hot. But Pearl decided to leave it for now.
"Don't worry Harry, I promise I'll make sure the temperature is comfortable for you."
"O-ok" Harry shyly nodded, knowing that he can trust her.
Before Pearl could take him for his bath, she turned her attention to both Garnet and Amethyst. "Would either of you mind cooking something for him, while I take him for his bath?" Pearl asked and both of them nodded in response.
"Sure thing, we'll get right on it," said Amethyst with a grin, gladly accepting the task in any way to help the little guy.
Amethyst and Garnet headed into the kitchen to cook something delicious for Harry to eat and Pearl carried him straight into the bathroom.
After Pearl set the boy down on the bathroom counter, she turned on the bathtub water taps and made sure the temperature of the water was comfortable for Harry to get in. When the tub was full of warm water, the gem turns off the water tabs. Then, approached the young child and was ready to take off the worn-out clothes that he is wearing.
Harry hesitated a bit when she was about to take off his shirt which caught Pearl's attention.
"Harry, are you okay?" Pearl asked concerningly and Harry nervously nodded in response.
Just as the gem carefully removed his shirt, she let out a loud horrified gasp and clapped her hands over her mouth. She was very disturbed by what she saw on the boy's body. His entire chest was covered in fresh scars, bruises, and burns, that look like they are about a few days old. It got even worse as there was hardly any fat on him, and his ribs were sticking out from his skinny frame.
Pearl stared at Harry with horror, her thoughts racing through her mind and gemstone. She knew he was abused, but this was unacceptable, he is an innocent sweet little human child for crying out loud. Not even the Diamonds would ever do anything that cruel towards both humans and gems.
"H-Harry…Who- Just before Pearl could finish her question to Harry. Both Garnet and Amethyst rushed in to see what the matter was, as her loud gasp echoed everywhere throughout the beach house.
"Hi Pearl, what's the-WHATTT!" Amethyst loudly gasped as well too, but two of the other gems were in complete silence when they saw Harry's broken and battered chest.
Harry was now terrified as he started to feel scared and guilty after the three gems discovered what had happened to his entire body that they weren't supposed to look at. He quickly buried his face in his knees and wrapped his arms around himself, completely afraid that they might hit him.
Then, Harry felt something gently placed on his cheek, which caused him to flinch for a second. He thought for a moment that one of the gems was going to slap him hard on his face and punish him. But then he slowly looked up and saw that it was Pearl with her hand on his cheek, who was looking incredibly sad and horrified, with a single tear running down her cheek.
"Harry I-…. I-I'm so sorry… She softly said. "You should never have been put through this kind of pain…ever".
"But I….I deserved it" Harry nervously said, which made Pearl and the others look even more extremely shocked.
This isn't normal for a little boy like Harry to be saying anything negative like that at all. Garnet knew this wasn't good at all and calmly stepped forward, placing a hand on Pearl's shoulder.
"Pearl, give Harry his bath now" Garnet calmly commanded, trying her best to contain the situation. I'm going to collect the first aid kit. Amethyst, please continue making the soup in the kitchen."
Amethyst nodded seriously and sadly, as the purple gem left the bathroom to cook the soup in the kitchen. Garnet then left too to get the first aid kit, as she will tend to the boy's wounds after he finishes his bath.
Pearl wiped off her tear and gently took off the rest of Harry's ragged clothes. Once that was done, she picked him up and gently placed him into the waters of the bathtub. Harry winced as the water touched his bruises, burns, and scars giving him a bit of pain.
"Is the temperature ok Harry?" Pearl worryingly asked when she saw him wince in the water.
"Yes… But it…hurts a little bit" Harry mumbled, trying to get used to the temperature of the water.
"I understand it hurts, but it will make you feel better when you come out… Ok" Pearl assured him kindly, and the boy nodded slowly in response.
"Good, now why don't we start cleaning you up."
Pearl started gently scrubbing and cleaning all of Harry's dirty and battered injuries, with shampoo and a sponge. She was extremely careful not to injure any of his wounds whilst washing him. Harry just sat in the tub quietly trying his best not to wince when his injuries are being washed by the shampoo. Pearl gave a sad look and was glad that she took this boy off the streets.
In her thoughts, The Crystal Gem was so desperate to find the ones responsible for the boy's condition and give them a piece of her mind. She wishes Steven were here to help, as he could have used his healing spit to get rid of those horrible wounds quickly.
Soon enough, Pearl felt she had cleaned him the best she could, after cleaning his messy black hair lastly. She carefully pulled him out of the now crimson-red and brown water in the tub and wrapped him in a white fluffy towel. The towel covered his entire body and Pearl laughed when his tiny head peeked out from it.
"Well, aren't you a sweetheart," she said, smiling and cradling the little bundle. Harry blushed and tried to look away from being embarrassed, which made him even cuter.
"Come on now dear, the others are waiting for us".
Pearl carried the wrapped-up bundle in her arms into the living room, like a new-born baby. The white gem saw Amethyst finish cooking up the soup in the kitchen and the purple gem poured it from the pot into a small white bowl. The white gem turned her head to see Garnet sitting on the couch waiting for her, along with the first aid kit on her lap.
Pearl sat down on the couch beside the tall gem fusion and placed Harry on her lap. Now they were ready to cover his injuries before they might get infected by germs. Pearl slightly removed the towel revealing only showing his new clean and dry body. But his wounds were still there on him.
Garnet opens the first aid kit and carefully covered Harry's bruises, scars, and burns, with plasters and bandages all around his body.
"There, you should feel better in time, little one" Garnet grins, covering the last bandage wrapped around his body.
"Thank you, Miss Garnet," said Harry, with a small smile. Garnet smiled even more then placed her hand on the boy's head and ruffled his hair. "You're welcome, cutie pie."
" Thank you, Garnet, now I can put some clothes on him," Pearl said, looking over at Harry wearing nothing on him.
"Oh, don't worry about that, I already got that covered," said Garnet, pulling out one of Steven's old red t-shirts from behind her and handing it over to Pearl.
Pearl slipped it onto Harry which covered his entire body completely. Even though it was too large for the boy to wear, this had to do until they find some proper clothes for him.
"How does the shirt feel Harry," The white gem asked. "It feels comfy" Harry replied with a happy smile.
Pearl giggled and said, "Well, I'm glad you like it."
"Hi Pearl, here's some soup for the little guy," Amethyst said, as she came over to the others, with the white bowl full of tomato soup that she made in the kitchen. She handed the soup over to Pearl and Harry looked at it in confusion.
"All right, Harry let's get some food in your stomach, "Pearl said, stringing the soup with the small spoon.
"But…. I've already eaten this week?" said Harry, timidly. All three of the Crystal Gems froze in confusion after hearing what the boy said.
"P-pardon dear?" Pearl asked, confused and worried.
"I…. I thought that I'd eaten for this week?" Harry replied, afraid that he might have said something wrong. "D-did I s-say anything wrong?"
"Oh no dear, it's just that…. It's not healthy for a young human to eat once a week. You need to eat three times a day…. And I'll make sure you're fed properly from now on…. OK?"
Harry nodded until his stomach started to growl that Pearl's attention, making her giggle slightly.
"Well, it looks like your stomach agrees with me" Pearl smiled, as she scooped up a spoonful of warm tomato soup from the bowl by using the spoon. She gently brought it to Harry's mouth, he hesitated at first but soon devoured it. After he swallowed it, he let out a soft hum in delight when tasting the delicious tomato soup in his mouth.
"There you go, delicious isn't it," said Pearl happily, feeling glad that he was eating something and enjoying it. Harry looked up at her and happily nodded.
Okay, here comes another one."
Amethyst sat down next to Garnet, while they watch Pearl keep on feeding Harry multiple spoonsful of soup. Both of them were amazed to see Pearl looking so happy when feeding Harry.
"Man, I have never seen Pearl so happy like this since Steven left," Amethyst whispered to Garnet.'
"Well, Harry does resemble a lot like Steven when he was just a young boy" Garnet replied, seeing a comparison between Rose Quartz's son and Harry's personality. They both know that Pearl would miss Steven the most since she grew especially closer to him and his mother than the rest of the Crystal Gems.
"Yeah." Amethyst simply replied.
Finally, after gulping down one more spoon of soup Harry managed to finish his meal.
"Was the soup delicious, Harry?" Pearl asked the child, after placing the empty bowl on the living room table near them.
"It was yummy" he happily replied. Then the little boy let out a soft yawn, as he started to look very tired and sleepy now. So, Pearl picked him up and stood up to take him somewhere to sleep for tonight.
"Looks like someone is getting tired. Come on dear, let's get you somewhere to sleep tonight " Pearl said, holding the boy close to her chest.
"But I'm not tir- Harry tried to resist and was cut off by another yawn. But Pearl gently placed her hand on the back of his head and pulled it against her chest, resting his head there calmly.
She then turned around to face the others to tell them where she was going to take Harry next for his night sleep. "I'm going to take him up to Steven's room. Hopefully, Greg wouldn't mind if w-
"Hi, don't worry about it P," said Amethyst, taking out her phone from her chest in her gemstone. "Greg had texted me earlier and said that he is going to spend the night in his van. Since it's going to be a long evening with the residents tonight" The purple gem explained.
Pearl nodded, feeling thankful and started walking upstairs to Steven's bedroom, with Harry still held snugly against her chest.
Pearl entered Steven's old bedroom, full of Greg's stuff who moved in almost a year ago after Steven left. But does frankly sleep in his old van to feel more at home sometimes. Through the window doors, the moon in the night sky shined its light across the bedroom.
The white gem first pulled the white comforter blanket off the double bed and gently placed the child on the bed. Then Pearl covered his body with the white blanket and then took off his glasses and placed them on the wall shelf. She saw that Harry has drifted off to sleep looking extremely comfortable, under the covers and snuggling against the pillows while breathing quietly.
Pearl smiled as he looked so peaceful and adorable in his sleep, almost any human or gem in Beach City would hug him to death.
Before quietly leaving the room, she kneeled near the bed and gently stroked the side of his head for the last time. Suddenly, she felt something touch her other hand and looked down surprisingly to see Harry gently holding it in his sleep. She felt her entire holographic body and gemstone feeling warmer than before by this.
Smiling softly, Pearl gently squeezed his tiny hand back while tenderly looking at him. He was truly a sweet little angel. The member of the Crystal Gem couldn't take it anymore. She silently leaned down toward his headside and kissed it slightly.
"Sleep tight Harry…. You're safe with us now" Pearl gently whispered into his ear.
Pearl also curiously when she notices that there was a scar on Harry's forehead, shaped like a lightning bolt. It was strange, because she thought that all the wounds were cleaned when she took him for his bath. It looked like Harry had it a long time ago. But Pearl dismissed it and decided to leave it for now.
When Harry let go of Pearl's other hand, she carefully stood up and quietly walked out of the bedroom. She looked back to make sure Harry was going to be ok without her throughout the rest of the night. But Harry looked comfortable and relaxed where he is now, so he will be fine until the next morning she hopes so.
Slowly, Pearl climbed downstairs to the living room and found Garnet and Amethyst waiting for her on the couch.
"How is he?" Garnet asked.
"He's asleep, but I believe he'll be fine," said Pearl, sitting on the couch now looking sad and upset, thinking about the ones responsible for the boy's injuries.
"I can't believe anyone would ever harm such a sweet child, like Harry. Especially if they are human." Pearl clenched her hands on her leggings angrily. But Garnet calmly placed her hand on Pearl's shoulder with a frown.
"Pearl, when Harry is ready to speak about his past, he will come to us. But for now, he needs to rest and heal here until we find him a new home".
Pearl finally let it go of her angrier by breathing out in frustration, as she let go of her hands on her leggings and sighed. "I guess…your right," said Pearl, with concern.
Harry hasn't told them who was responsible for giving him those disgusting wounds on his body. But the Crystal Gems couldn't force him to tell them who did it. So, they will have to wait until Harry is ready to speak.
"Hi, I have an idea!" Amethyst excitedly suggests as both Pearl and Garnet turned their attention toward her. "Since Harry is staying here with us, why don't we introduce him to Little Homeworld tomorrow!"
"That…sounds like a fabulous idea Amethyst!" Pearl happily agreeing with Amethyst's idea. Maybe Harry meeting gems like Lapis, Peridot, and Bismuth first in Little Homeworld.
He could also meet the human residents In Beach City, such as Greg, Connie, and even Onion. Also, it might be a healthy opportunity for the little boy to make some friends, so they can get him out of his shell.
"Then, it is settled" Garnet smiled. "We'll take Harry out to Little Homeworld to meet the other gems tomorrow." Pearl smiled and nodded, agreeing with the arrangements first thing in the morning.
Later, both Garnet and Amethyst returned to their rooms in the Crystal Temple for the night. With all the lights turned off. Pearl, however, decided to check up on Harry again before going back to her room, as she climbed upstairs quietly again to Steven's room.
When she entered, she saw the young human fully asleep on the bed, snoring softly. Pearl smiled, as she came over and knelt on both knees while gently rubbing the boy's side one more time without waking him.
But, just before Pearl was about to leave Harry in peace for the night, she heard something that she didn't expect to hear.
"Th-thank you miss Pearl?"
Pearl was completely surprised, blushing noticeably light blue across her face, when she heard him mumbling thank you to her in his sleep. This made Pearl smile once again, thinking how this little boy couldn't be this truly cuter.
So, what Pearl did next was something she hadn't done before in her entire life.
She carefully climbed under the covers on the other side of the bed next to Harry. Suddenly, Harry slowly moved towards where Pearl is and snuggled against her warm body, with his head resting on her chest.
Pearl then adjusted herself and wrapped her arms around Harry comfortably pulling him in even closer.
"Good night, Harry," she said quietly, as she closed her eyes falling asleep for the very first time in her life. Both the alien gem and the human child were feeling comfortable and smiling in their sleep. The white crystal gem's new mission now is to protect and take care of this sweet little boy.