A story requested by my good friend Autopilotkitty. Please enjoy!(BTW Autopilotkitty, thank you very much for inviting me to write stories with you and all of the kind reviews you've given me. I appreciate it very much; I look forward to writing more together in the future.) :)
It's a pleasant day in Endsville. Billy is standing in the foyer of his house with his parents, who are about to leave on a business trip. "Please don't go, Mom and Dad," the little boy pleads. "I'll miss you!"
"Sorry, son," Harold replies dolefully. "We'll miss you, too, but this is an important matter of business." Gladys bends down and gently places a consoling hand on Billy's shoulder. "We'll be back this evening, Sweetie, we promise." She plants a gentle kiss on her son's forehead, then gets up to leave. "Goodbye, son, we love you."
"Please take care, son." Harold calls as the two begin traipsing out the front door.
Billy watches sadly from the front window. "Goodbye...Mom...Goodbye...Dad...I...love you, too." Tears begin welling up in the little boy's eyes as he slowly slides to the ground and buries his face in his hands, sobbing.
At this moment, Billy's friend Grim enters the room. "Goodness, Billy," he inquires worriedly. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's awful," Billy weeps. "My Mom 'n Dad are gonna be gone for the whole day!"
The reaper traipses slowly up to the boy and gently lays a consoling hand on his shoulder. "There, there now, my boy, please don't cry. You and I can spend the day together." Billy turns his tear-stained face toward his friend. "R...really?"
"Certainly, lad." Grim replies kindly as he gently dabs Billy's tears away with the sleeve of his robe. Billy smiles joyfully as his heart begins to fill with happiness. "Oh boy, thanks so much, Grim!" He hops up and gives his friend a big hug. Grim gives a small contented smile.
Moments later, Billy is siting at the kitchen table, eating Grim's famous three cheese lasagna and cheesy garlic bread. "Mmm, this is delicious, Grim!" he says happily as he dips his piece of bread in the sauce and takes a bite. "Thank you so much!" Grim, who's clad in a chef's outfit(1), smiles warmly. "You're quite welcome, my boy."
After eating, Billy and Grim then go into the living room to play a game of Monopoly. Billy rolls the dice, moves his piece four spaces, and lands on Park Place. "Would you like to buy it, my boy?" Grim inquires. "Sure!" Billy replies happily as he hands Grim the money. Grim then rolls the dice and moves his piece onto the Reading Railroad. "Would you like to buy it, Grim?" Billy inquires. "Yes, please." Grim replies as he then hands the money to Billy.
Over the course of the game, Billy manages to win. "Congratulations, lad!" Grim cheers happily. "You're very good at this." Billy smiles modestly. "You're very kind, Grim. Playing games is always much better with friends." The reaper sighs blissfully. "Thank you, my boy."
Grim and Billy later go outside to play basketball. Billy merrily dribbles the ball across the field; once he reaches the net, he hops up and tosses the ball in the air, but the ball falls short of the net and drops to the ground. "Rats." The little boy then picks the ball back up, stands on the tips of his toes, and jumps higher-but still misses the basket. "Oh, phooey," he says unhappily as he sits slumped on the ground with his chin in his hands. "I'll never get this!"
Thinking quickly, Grim waves his scythe, upon which a sparkling cloud of magic encircles Billy, causing him to fly up and dunk the ball into the basket with ease. "Ha, ha, hey, this is great!" the little boy laughs merrily. As he slowly descends to the ground, he hops up with height and speed that would put a kangaroo to shame and quickly makes another basket. "Woohoo, yay!" he cheers happily. "Oh, this is wonderful! Thanks so much, Grim!" The reaper smiles contentedly, feeling good that his young friend was happy. "You're quite welcome, my boy." he replies softly.
By the end of the day, Billy is tucked in bed with his teddy bear under his arm as Grim reads him his favorite bedtime story. "The Big Bad Wolf slid down the chimney and landed in the pot of boiling water the Three Little Pigs had set up at the bottom. He then ran far away and never bothered those pigs again. The end." As Grim closes the book, Billy happily says, "That was a good story! Thank you so much."
Grim smiles. "You're very much welcome, lad." He then gets up to leave. Before he can reach the door, however, he hears Billy call, "Grim?"
The reaper peeks curiously over his shoulder, "Yes, Billy?"
"I...just wanted to say that I really appreciate all that you've done for me today. You've been so very kind and I can't thank you enough." the little boy replies very gratefully.
A wide, happy smile spreads across the reaper's face. "Oh, you're so very much welcome, lad! Every moment spent with you is a very wonderful one." He breathes a hearty sigh. "To be quite honest, I hadn't a friend in the world before I met you. You've been so kind and caring to me; I truly would have been lost without you and I appreciate you very much. You're very special to me."
Billy beams happily. "Aww, how kind you are, Grim! I appreciate you, too, and you're truly very special to me. Every moment spent with you is truly a wonderful one, too."
Grim traipses happily up to the edge of Billy's bed. "Best friends forever?"
"YAY! BEST FRIENDS FOREVER!" the little boy cheers as he and his friend happily share a high five. Grim then walks toward the door, turns Billy's bunny nightlight on, and switches off the lamp by the door. "Goodnight, my boy. Please have sweet dreams."
"Mmn, goodnight, Grim," Billy sighs as he snuggles down under the covers. "Please have sweet dreams, too." Grim sighs wistfully as he slowly traipses into the hallway, contented by his young friend's happiness. Billy was like a son to him.
The reaper had no sooner set foot in the hallway when he was approached by Billy's parents. "Hello, Grim." Harold whispers. "How was your day?"
"Oh, quite wonderful, sir," he whispers in reply. "Billy and I spent the day together."Lying in slumber but not fully asleep yet, Billy beams warmly as he listens to his family's conversation from the doorway. "Your son is very sweet," Grim addresses the parents. "We had a lovely time together."
"Oh, how wonderful, Sweetie!" Gladys says happily.
After Billy's parents have left, Grim peeks toward Billy's doorway. "Mmn..." the little boy coos blissfully in his sleep. "Grim...you're the best friend ever." The reaper brushes a small happy tear from his eye. "As are you, my boy."
The end.
Voice Cast
Billy/Harold-Richard Steven Horvitz
Grim-Greg Eagles
Gladys-Jennifer Hale
(1)Resembling the outfit he wore in the episode A Grim Surprise.