Origins
His story has been in my head for a while so I decided to finally write it. It is basically a piece about where Fred came up with the name Snotface from and a little look at Elizabeth and Fred's friendship. Please review and let me know what you think of this. I really hope I did Fred justice because he is an amazing character.
Disclaimer
Sadly I don't own Fred or any of the other characters.
Fred sat in the corner of the room watching over Elizabeth as she slept. He had been assigned with Miss Elizabeth Cronin for just a few weeks now. He rubbed his eyes trying to keep himself awake. He knew he couldn't let himself get too tired. He couldn't do his job right if he was tired but he never slept well at the start of a new assignment.
It always took the child a while to trust him and to understand that he was really there and he wasn't suddenly going to be gone one morning when they woke up or came back from the bathroom or out the bath. It took them a while to fully understand he was their friend and he was going to be there for them. It was once that trust was established that Fred could start to get to know the child and work out how best to help them.
The start of a case was always hardest it took a while to work out what each child likes and doesn't like. He discovered the hard way that his last child Billy did not like spiders as he hid a few in his bed as a joke resulting in him not speaking to Fred for nearly a week, He had been lucky to rebuild his trust with him before he got deported.
He realised quickly that Elizabeth liked energetic and loud games that involved a lot of yelling and a lot of mess. Her favourite game at the moment was making mudpies . He knew this was because a lot of Elizabeth's home life was spent with her mother yelling at her for being exactly what she was, a child.
Fred knew that was why he was here to help her cope with her mother. He was just working out the best way to do that and for that to happen he needed Elizabeth to fully trust him and be comfortable with him.
He was pulled out of his sluggish thoughts by whimpers from the bed. "Fred, Fred," she mumbled over and over as she sat up urgently in the bed trying to see him.
"I'm still here Elizabeth remember I told you I would be. You got to trust me I'm your friend remember?" he asked her.
Elizabeth smiled at seeing him. "Hi Fred, you're just my friend right. You are sure nobody else in the whoooooole world can see you?" she asked looking at him. That was the other difficult bit at the start of a new assignment getting the child to understand they were the only ones that could see him. He had been in many close calls where an adult tried to get rid of him this usually happened when he didn't have the full trust of the child.
"That's right, tell you what I've had an idea," he said popping so that he suddenly appeared sitting cross legged on the bottom of her bed.
"What Fred?" Elizabeth asked giggling at his actions.
"We are going to be like spies and have a secret code that is just for us," he said in a stage whisper.
"Real spies?" she asked excitedly.
"Real spies," he confirmed.
"What is our special code Fred?" she asked excitedly.
"Every time we say something that is the truth and we want each other to remember that no matter what -" he began.
"No matter what?" Elizabeth asked.
"No matter what!" Fred said seriously waiting to make sure he had her full attention again before continuing. "Now as I was saying anytime we tell each other something we want each other to remember is true we are going to do this," he raised his hand and held his finger out. "Now you do the same," he said waiting for Elizabeth to copy his actions when she did so he carried on. "now you link your pinky with mine like this," he showed her then gave her pinky a gentle pull with his. "That is us promising each other that what we are saying is true. You think you can remember that?" he asked her.
"Yes!" she said enthusiastically.
"Promise?" he asked her.
"Promise," she said offering Fred her pinky.
"Great," he smiled as he linked pinkys with her.
"Fred, can I ask you a question?" she asked him.
"Yes you can ask me a question then you have got to go to sleep or you are going to be too tired to do all the great things I've got planned and I'll have to do them all by myself," he said crossing his arms.
"Okay, okay one question then I'll go to sleep again Fred," she agreed.
"Alright what's this veeeeeeeery important question?" he asked her with a smile.
"Are you ever going to go away when mummy is in the room?" she asked.
"No never I don't think we should call her mummy when you and I are talking about her. I think we should call her something else," he said.
"Like what Fred?" she asked excitedly.
"No, no not now you got to go to sleep now I can tell you all about that in the morning before we do all the other great things we're going to do tomorrow so go to sleep now. Okay please go to sleep," he said to her.
He sat by her side listening to her parents argue as Elizabeth at last went to sleep again he had acted out a few bed time stories (told his own way) with her teddies and dolls for her untill she went to sleep to help drown out the noise. He could feel her starting to trust him more as the connection was starting to grow stronger his magic increased and he could help her more. He knew he still had a long way to go it was still early days.
He sat in the corner of her room in a slight doze until the loud yelling of her mother made him jump.
"Her shouting used to do that to me too," Elizabeth said giggling as she got up,
"She can't scare me! I'm not afraid of anything!" he said firmly as he cross his arms and puffed his chest out.
"Then why did you jump?" Elizabeth asked.
"Never you mind, come on lets go we have lots to do today," he said as he ran to the stairs jumping up on the banister riding it down the stairs. He was exhausted but now wasn't the time to focus on that the job required his full energy and attention at all times.
I've left you toast on the table eat it up quickly and don't make a mess. I am going to go to the shops I wont be long I expect this place to be spotless when I get back," she said.
Fred noticed how scared Elizabeth was around her mother, so much so she didn't even laugh at the faces Fred pulled at her or when he made fun of her voice and walk round the kitchen. It was still early days.
"Great now she's gone we can get started or everything that we need to do. Now the first thing we've got to do is come up with a name that we can call her when we are talking about her. The important thing to remember about this name though is it is just what we call her when we are talking about her with each other we don't use this name to anyone else okay," he said.
"Okay," Elizabeth said nodding in agreement.
"Alright would be a good word to use?" he asked her "Lets think of something horrible that she reminds us of. You say the first word that comes into your word to describe her the very first word I think it might be a good word to use. Lets see come on lets hear that word!" he said giving her a drumroll on the table with his hands.
"A beast! Like the one in the stories you told me that is what she reminds me of a beast!" she said confidently.
Fred laughed "I knew it! I knew this would be a good idea! I like that name but it still doesn't seem like it's enough you know? She is such a beast she's a, a...a big beast a large beast a..." he paused trying to think of more words.
"A megabeast!" Elizabeth shouted.
"A megabeast that is perfect! I love it! That is what she is she is the megabeast! We're not scared of the megabeast are we?" he asked her as he jumped up so he was standing on top of the table knocking the bottle of orange juice over in the process.
Elizabeth gasped as the juice stained the carpet. "The megabeast is going to shout," she said carefully,
"So what let her shout! She can shout all she likes cos we're not scared of her! We're better than the megabeast! We can do whatever we want to her we can...well we can rub dog poo in her hair!" he said helping Elizabeth as she tried climb up on the table with him knocking the cereal off the table as he pulled her up.
Elizabeth looked at it uncertainly for a second before saying "then rub her face in all the stuff on the floor!" she said.
"Yeah!" Fred yelled in agreement as they danced on the table and their plans for how to deal with the megabeast became more involved and ridiculous.
"She's back! Get me an axe, get me a chainsaw I'm going to slice her into a thousand pieces!" he yelled as Polly came in.
"Elizabeth I..." she stopped as she saw the state of the kitchen. "Elizabeth what on earth happened here? What is so difficult about doing as you are told once in your life? Why do you always have to cause trouble?" she yelled. As she moved nearer Elizabeth continuing to yell at her Fred moved so he was standing between them. "The death breath! She killed me with the death breath! Be gone evil one!" he yelled as he mimed choking and made his fingers into a cross and held it out towards her. He hoped Elizabeth would remember what he had said to her. It was still early but even little bits at a time was a step in the right direction.
"Go and get the shopping from the hall then go upstairs to your room an you are not to come out until your father gets home!" she yelled to Elizabeth's already retreating form.
Fred followed her into the hall. "We're not scared of the megabeast. Right Fred?" she whispered as she went to pick up the shopping.
"Right!" he agreed though he could still see she was scared but she was starting to trust him, it was starting to work he could feel his powers continuing to strengthen as her trust and belief in him grew which was what gave him his power.
Elizabeth picked up the bag of shopping and picked up the bunch of flowers being careful not to crush them she didn't feel like giving the megabeast anymore reason to yell right now.
"Hey Fred, what kind of flowers do you think these are?" she asked as she moved them closer to her to look at them.
Fred glanced at them. "gladiolas, why do you care what flowers they are? Flowers are disgusting and boring they make me want to puke!" he said.
He began to mime throwing up over the hall when Elizabeth sneezed. Fred gasped as the force of the sneeze caused him to bounce off the walls and ceiling before crashing down to the ground again. Each child had a special talent they could do with their Imaginary Friend it seemed they had found Elizabeth's.
"Are you alright Fred?" Elizabeth asked running over to him.
"Yes I'm alright," he said scrambling to his feet.
"Elizabeth hurry up!" Polly yelled. Elizabeth ran quickly into the room putting the bags and the flowers onto the counter. "Get upstairs now!" Polly barked.
"Come on Snotface lets go, our plan is working perfectly this is where all the things we've got to do today are" Fred said running with her towards the stairs.
"Hey why did you call me that?" Elizabeth yelled as she ran up the stairs with Fred.
"Because it's your new name Snotface. You're not Elizabeth you're Snotface, to me now" he said smiling a bit as she giggled in response.
"Oh I forgot to give you something," he said as he wiped the little bit of snot from her sneeze off the front of his jacket and wiped it on her top. "HA HA HA!" he exclaimed.
She laughed at his actions as she tried to find a hanky to wipe it off with but Fred kept catching her and tickling her instead. "You think you can beat Drop Dead Fred so easily Snotface?" he said.
He had achieved another important part of getting with a new child giving them a nickname that was perfectly suited to them. He was confident with more time with him Snotface would be okay.