Author's Note:This is a one shot from the Almighty Johnsons. I was told about Carmelita by KseniaNZ as this is something I have not been able to buy here yet. And being told the scene from the show, I had to explore the possibilities. A sad story, but an insight in Anders. Big thanks to KseniaNZ for the help.

Warning: The warning is placed here for vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Almighty Johnsons, nor any other stray Norse Gods found in said show. Anders assures me that in spite of popular belief he is not a dwarf, though my three inch high Fili and Kili does not quite appear to agree with him. Anders is also under protection of Kili and no permanent harm will come to him in my fanfic stories.

Tears for Carmelita

Being the oldest brother of four Mike was quite used to getting attacked as soon as he stepped in through the door. Ty and Axl had a way of making him feel like the kid in Calvin and Hobbs. Opening the door meant you just might get barreled over and run to the ground. Anders had done the same when he was younger but was now too old. He was eleven though you couldn't really tell from looking at him. He had been small for his age when he was a baby, and he was small for his age now.

He hadn't expected anyone to come running today though as Ty and Axl were visiting friends. It was quite handy to be able to pass them away for a short spell at times. Axl loved it, especially since the parents of the other kids tended to serve ice cream and such treats. Ty loved it because it meant getting out of the house every now and again and he was old enough to be aware of the stress the household was under.

Anders would normally be in his room when he wasn't with his younger brothers. He had been closing himself off as much as possible lately but Mike was too tired to really care even if he knew it wasn't really a good thing.

The way their family was working out was hard on all of them except maybe Axl who was often blissfully unaware. All three of the brothers tended to try and shield him from the worst of it.

Even so Mike was well used to the younger two coming at full speed when he got in, just as he was used to Anders ignoring it. Which made it somewhat confusing to hear that particular kid come running now.

"Mike, you got to help me!" Anders cried as he skidded to a halt. "Come on, hurry!" He grabbed Mike by the wrist, dragging him along. Or rather he tried to drag him along. Anders couldn't really budge Mike no matter how hard he pulled. "Mike, hurry."

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"You gotta do something," Anders demanded, his voice thick and Mike was starting to get really worried and hurried after him. Anders pulled him to his room where the first thing Mike saw was the small jar of goldfish food toppled on the desk. He groaned, wishing that his brother would be more careful with that stuff. Anders was responsible for the care of his pets himself, but sometimes his pocket money wouldn't be enough to purchase food and other supplies. That meant their mom had to get it, or Mike did.

"Look, she's sick, what's wrong with her?" Anders darted to the set of drawers where the cage for his guinea pig stood. Mike didn't really need to look closer, and he wondered why Anders thought he could do anything. Still he approached just to make sure.

"She's dead," he shrugged.

"No!" Anders wailed, shaking his head insistently. "She's not dead Mike, she's sick. You gotta help me take her to the vet. We got to get her help."

"Anders, she's dead," he sighed. Anders was normally quite smart. He ought to know what a dead guinea pig meant.

"No, she's not dead!" Anders grabbed the cage, opening the hatch to take the animal out but Mike stopped him.

"She's dead Andy," he softened his tone since Anders was obviously upset. "Look, she was pretty old you know. They don't live forever. It was just her time."

"No!" Anders shook his head. "It can't, she wasn't that old Mike, can't we take her to the vet, please?" he pleaded desperately.

"No Anders, it wouldn't do any good," he sighed. "I'm sorry, I really am. But she's dead, and the vet can't change that. She was just too old." He knew that it wasn't neglect that had caused it. Anders wouldn't neglect his guinea pig anymore than he'd neglect his goldfish. He had a feeling the reason he had spilled the food was he looked to the guinea pig while feeding the fish. Ever since they got him his first goldfish he'd been very careful to take care of them and he never had to be reminded to feed them or clean the bowl. He had always been sickly though and had to sometimes stay at the hospital and their mum never took proper care of either the fish or the guinea pig then. Mike would make sure the guinea pig was fed and the cage clean, but he too sometimes forgot about the fish. It never seemed as important somehow.

There had been a few different goldfishes in spite of Anders' care, some died of unknown reasons. Axl accidentally killed two and Ty one, they were just too young to understand that you couldn't do certain things to a goldfish, and every time Anders was upset about it. Mike would usually wind up being the one who got him a new one and as soon as he got attached to it things were okay again. The goldfishes were all buried in the backyard though, and he knew that Carmelita would be too.

The guinea pig had been old enough to die a natural death though, Mike had been told they generally lived four to five years, and Anders had had it for three. Before then it had belonged to a kid in the neighborhood that Mike had played with. When they moved they didn't want to bring the pet and Anders had begged their mother to buy it. He'd pleaded, whined and cried until she gave in. He'd also spent all his pocket money on the purchase and not even that had been enough so finally Mike had told him he'd chip in the rest as an early birthday present.

He'd expected him to whine later about not getting anything for his birthday since it was several months later so he'd even got him a toy for the pet, and to his surprise Anders had pointed out he'd really gotten his present.

When it came to most things Anders was growing up to be a selfish whining brat, but when it came to his pets and the responsibility of their care he was quite mature. They just didn't live forever, which was why Carmelita was now dead. Even so Mike was willing to bet that she had lived a happier life after Anders got her than she had before.

"Look, we'll burry her in the yard, okay?" he urged. "We'll dig a grave and burry her by the goldfish, if you find a shoebox I'll go get the shovel."

Anders nodded slowly, standing by the cage and biting his lower lip. Mike went to fetch the shovel, imagining Anders to soon follow with the dead pet. He didn't come though, so after several minutes Mike went inside to see if he had found a box. He found him still in his room, sitting on the floor with the cage next to him. He was crying his eyes out, sobbing quietly with one arm covering his eyes and the other resting on the cage.

It was enough to make Mike sigh, there would be no simple pet burial. He'd never get Anders to do it the way he was crying. Normally Anders would try not to cry, even if he tended to be quiet emotional.

Going back outside he picked up the shovel and started digging the hole. By the time he finished Anders still hadn't come out and he frowned. He thought it was rather silly, Carmelita was after all just a guinea pig, but that didn't mean he enjoyed seeing Anders so sad. He would be sad enough with the fish. Obviously a guinea pig would be many times worse.

Going into the garage Mike paused for a moment, then shook his head. He had to be the biggest idiot in the world, first digging the grave, and now he was doing even more work. He liked working with wood though, always had, so he grabbed some left over pieces of wood and sawed them into appropriate lengths, then nailed them together to form a box. He left the top off, then grabbed a leftover piece and painted the name 'Carmelita' on it. He even added the date. Then he took the box with him as he walked inside again.

Looking into Anders' room he found he was still crying on the floor beside the cage.

"Andy, you can't sit here crying all day, she's dead," he urged softly.

"I don't want her to be dead," Anders sobbed. "Please Mike, can't we take her to the vet?"

"No, it wouldn't do any good," he argued again. "We can only burry her, now, I've already dug the grave. Let's just get it over with, okay?"

"I'm gonna miss her," he mumbled, peering into the cage.

"I know Andy," Mike squeezed his shoulder gently. "Come on now, it's gonna feel better when we're finished."

"I don't want to," Anders sniffed, burying his face in his arm again.

"I know Andy," Mike nodded. "But there's nothing else to do. She's just too old, there's nothing to be done about that." He pushed the box closer and opened the cage, taking the pet out and placing it gently into the box.

"What's that?" Anders sniffed.

"I thought it would be better than a shoe box," he admitted.

"Carmelita was special," Anders stated seriously. "Really special, shoe box is awful," again tears trickled down his face and Mike was starting to wish he could make him stop. How much tears did he even have? Surely he had to be dry now.

"She won't be in a shoebox now," Mike reminded him. "She's got a real coffin, we'll nail the lid on too."

"Wait," Anders reached into the cage and pulled out her toy, placing it in the box before he ran his hand gently over her soft fur. He bent down and pressed a kiss to the silken head and Mike shuddered. "Okay," he sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

Mike took the box into the garage and nailed the lid in placed, then took the grave marker he had made and brought the box with him outside. Anders trailed behind, still with tears and snoot a mess on his face.

Just as he had dug the grave, Mike now had to fill it in with Anders sitting on the ground beside him. He cried his eyes out when Mike smoothed down the earth on the grave and the older brother didn't know what to do.

"Uh, why don't you pick some flowers," he finally suggested.

Anders nodded and stood, shuffling off to the flowerbed to pick the best flowers and bring them over.

While he did that, Mike put the shovel and the tools away. A glance outside revealed Anders still by the grave and he had a feeling he'd be there for a good long while.

Just when you thought Anders would grow up into a heartless selfish jerk he went and cried his heart out over a guinea pig, getting you stuck with all the work because you just couldn't help but feel sorry for him knowing how miserable he was.

He still made up his mind that if he got another guinea pig, he'd have to burry it himself, Mike wasn't going to do that for Anders any more times…

The End.

Please review, the Cricket is hungry...

Big thanks to KseniaNZ for the help