A tie, a Hearing, a Mummy, and a Party
"Children make your life important"-Erma Bombeck
Kit Cloudkicker watched his reflection fumble with the tie that he was attempting to work into a full Windsor. The 12 year old, brown bear cub was dressed in a blue suit jacket as opposed to his usual green sweater. He wasn't one to dress up. Dressing up was for special occasions. However, today was a special occasion: He had a Ten O'clock appointment at the Cape Suzette Courthouse where he would be the subject of a hearing that could possibly grant his good friend Baloo, his 'Papa Bear', temporary custody of him.
"Urgh," Kit said in disgust as he struggled with the tie, "How are people supposed to wear ties when they can't even tie them?"
"Having trouble with yer tie Lil Britches?" asked Baloo.
Kit saw the big gray bear's reflection in the mirror. Baloo had on a suit jacket and a fully tied tie.
"How'd you get your tie tied right Papa Bear?" asked Kit who added, "These thing should come with instructions!"
Baloo laughed and said, "See Lil Britches, the trick with ties is to get em' tied once and leave em' that way."
"Can you show me how to tie mine?" asked the cub.
"Would if I could, but can't so I won't" answered Baloo.
"You can't?" asked Kit incredulously.
"Naw never did learn how to tie one of these things," said the bear as he looked at the tie that hung around his neck.
"Wait a minute," Kit said dragging out the word 'wait', "You mean to tell me someone else tied it for you?"
"Sure did, Wildcat's a whizz with hands on stuff, ties included," said Baloo with a laugh.
A couple of minutes later Kit went outside and found Wildcat replacing the port side propeller on the Sea Duck.
"Hey Wildcat, Baloo said you can tie ties," said Kit as he walked up to the aircraft.
The skinny lion peered down from the wing and said, "Oh hi Kit! You're looking real snazzy today. Got a hot date?"
"Naw, today's the day I go with Baloo and Miz Cunningham to the Court House," answered Kit.
"The Court House? That's a weird place for a hot date. .. or is it a cold date?" asked the mechanic.
Kit laughed and said, "No, we're going to the Court House so my guardianship stuff can get taken care of."
"Oh I see that's why you're wearing the suit. I'd go with you but the only suit I have is my birthday suit!" said the lion.
Kit laughed again, "Think you can help me tie my tie?"
Wildcat jumped down off the wing and proceeded to tie Kit's necktie in a flash. Kit was amazed as he watched the mechanic's hands tie the tie in a flurry of motion. "There ya go Kit, you're all tied up!"
Kit looked at the full Windsor around his neck and smiled, "Thanks Wildcat!"
While Kit was outside with Wildcat, Baloo was sitting down in his chair and wolfing down a piece of toast. The door opened and in walked his boss, Rebecca Cunningham and her 6 year old daughter Molly.
"Mmmm, something smells good," said Rebecca.
"It tastes good too," said Baloo, "Hiya Molly!"
"Hi Baloo," said the little honey colored girl who carried her favorite doll, Lucy, in her arms, "Where's Kit at?"
"He went outside to find Wildcat," answered Baloo.
"Molly honey, why don't you go and say hi to Kit and Wildcat?" said Rebecca.
"OK Mommy," said the little cub as she went out the door in search of her friends.
Rebecca smiled as she watched her pride and joy run off. Then she turned to Baloo and said, "So are you ready for today?"
Baloo's answer was unintelligible through the food in his mouth.
"Baloo don't talk with food in your mouth!" she snapped, "Were you born in a barn?"
Baloo swallowed and said, "Yeah, there was no room at the Inn."
Rebecca looked at the smiling pilot for a few seconds before she realized how his answer sounded. "That's about the most sacrilegious thing I've heard in years!"
The big grey bear laughed, "Get used to running a business in a man's world Beckers."
"Get used to having a woman running a man's business…and don't call me Beckers!" Rebecca said coldly.
What Rebecca said irked Baloo. It was only a couple of weeks ago that he had been the owner of what was then Baloo's Air Service. He was able to do as he pleased when he pleased. That had all changed with a chance encounter with Kit and the arrival of the business woman who had purchased his business after he had defaulted on his payments. A lot had happened to him and everyone else, since that time. He had come face to face with the infamous Air Pirate Don Karnage, rescued Rebecca and Molly from the Air Pirates, and had gone toe to toe with the pirates during their attack on Cape Suzette. In the space of two weeks the city of Cape Suzette had learned just how complacent it had become and Baloo had learned that there was more to life than just doing as he pleased…well maybe there was only a little more to life. Now Baloo was working under a no nonsense boss who was determined to succeed in a man's world and to top it all off, he was furthering his responsibilities by applying for guardianship of Kit. The spunky little cub and the happy-go-lucky bear had become all but inseparable since their paths collided…literally collided. Baloo smiled as he remembered the boy sliding across the floor of his friend Louie's place on his airfoil and slamming right into his stomach while he was busy singing. The boy was the one bright spot in the past two weeks of his life.
"What are you smiling at?" Rebecca asked.
"Just remembering the day I met Kit," answered the bear.
Rebecca smiled and realized just how quickly the boy had endeared himself to not just Baloo, but to herself and Molly. As a matter of fact she was even thinking of having Kit babysit Molly one of these days. "He's a good kid."
"Good kid? That kid is something!" said Baloo.
"I'm glad that you two got back together," Rebecca said referring to the brief period that they had believed that Kit had sold them out to Don Karnage. The boy had been very brave to put his life on the line in order to give them the opportunity to escape the pirates.
Baloo realized what Rebecca was getting at and he felt embarrassed that he had given up on Kit after he had seemingly betrayed them. That day had been one of the worse days in his life. He felt that the boy had been only out for himself and had actually turned on them. Baloo was in such a rage that he blew off the fact that Kit had unlocked their handcuffs which gave them the chance to make their escape. It was only when he heard Kit's voice over the radio during the attack on Cape Suzette that he realized that the boy had never double-crossed him.
"Please tell Baloo, tell Papa Bear…I'm his navigator…always"
Once he had heard those words, Baloo knew the boy had had the best intentions in his heart. Thinking of those words now, Baloo smiled with pride.
"That kid really is something!" Baloo said.
Rebecca laughed and said, "Well being his guardian comes with a lot of responsibilities."
"I know, but if I don't get this guardianship, then he'll get sent to an orphanage," said Baloo, "Do you think they'll let me be his legal guardian?"
"I don't see why not. Guardianships are a lot less hassle than a full out adoption and besides I don't think the judge and social service people are going to deny the man who saved Cape Suzette," Rebecca said, "And this could be good publicity for Higher for Hire."
"I still don't like that name," the bear groused.
"But you like the re-built plane," Rebecca said with a laugh.
"I love my plane," Baloo said.
"I'll let you get away with calling it yours," Rebecca said chidingly.
"She'll be mine again," Baloo said matter of factly.
"Hi Kit, hi Wildcat," said Molly as she skipped down the pier to the Sea Duck where her two friends were standing.
"Hiya Molly," said Kit cheerfully.
"Hi Miss Molly," said Wildcat.
"Wow Kit you're all dressed up!" said the little girl.
"Yeah, I kinda have to," said Kit as he looked down at himself in his suit jacket.
"I guess you're too dressed up to let me play tail-gunner," said the girl with a faux downcast look.
Kit smiled and crouched down, "I'm not dressed up too much!"
Molly jumped onto Kit's back and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Gunner to pilot, we've got air pirates at 1 O'clock!"
Kit took off trotting down the pier toward the Hire for Higher building with Molly making machine-gun noises as they went. Kit remembered the first time he had met Molly. It was the morning of his second day in Cape Suzette and Rebecca had just shown up with the deeds to the business and the Sea Duck. Kit's face had lit up as Molly had climbed in through the window. The boy was happily surprised with the arrival of the little girl and had let her jump onto his back and play tail-gunner. The two children had taken an immediate liking to one another, which was a fact that was noticed by Rebecca and Baloo. Kit could act more grown up than a typical 12 year old, but Molly had way of bringing out the kid in him. Having Molly around gave Kit a reason to act like a little kid again which was something that he had never really done since he had ran away from the orphanage two and a half years ago and for that fact he was secretly grateful to the girl.
Rebecca opened the door and saw her daughter coming down the pier, riding on Kit's back. She smiled at the sight of her daughter and her new friend and was pleased that the two kids had hit it off despite the 6 year age difference. He really is a nice boy, he doesn't let his tough past stop him from enjoying life, I just hope he really feels welcome here, she thought as the young cubs rushed passed her.
"Watch out Mommy, comin' through!" giggled her little girl.
"Now Molly you be a good girl for Wildcat while we're out," Rebecca said.
Kit stopped in front of Baloo's chair and leaned back, letting Molly slip onto the seat cushion. "There you go Molly," he said.
"Thanks Kit!" said the girl.
"You about ready to go Lil Britches?" Baloo asked.
"Yeah, we don't want to keep the judge waiting," said the cub.
Baloo, Kit, and Rebecca sat in a waiting room outside of the court room as they awaited their turn before the judge. With them was Rebecca's friend from college, Erin Fuchs. Erin was a newly minted attorney specializing in family law. The fox was more than happy to assist Rebecca in helping Baloo with Kit's guardianship.
"There should be no problem at all with this, especially given the fact that these guys are heroes," the lawyer said winking at Baloo and Kit.
"So you don't think Baloo being single will have any bearing on the judge's decision?" asked Rebecca.
"It might, but then again, I don't think the Social Services Department will want bad publicity by sending a hero to an orphanage," said Erin.
"You think us being heroes would've gotten us reward money," Baloo said.
"Where do you think I got the money to rebuild the Sea Duck? Besides the city needs to spend money on rebuilding the damages the pirates caused.
While the adults were busy talking among themselves, Kit was busy wondering about his future. What if the Social Services decided to ship him back to the orphanage? What if they wanted him to be placed into a proper home away from his new friends? If that happened what would he do? He pulled his red yo-yo from his pocket and unfurled it. The toy rolled down toward the floor and retracted up into his palm. The exercise helped Kit to stay focused. He hoped that he would be allowed to stay with Baloo at Higher for Hire and that he could begin to have a more 'normal' life.
"Hey Lil Britches it's our turn," said Baloo.
That snapped Kit out of his reverie and he stood up to follow the adults into the court room.
"All rise," said a stern-faced Rhino bailiff, "The Honorable George McConnell is presiding."
A short, shorter than Kit, hyena entered the room and took his seat. The judge grabbed his gavel and banged it hard, "This court is now in session."
Erin leaned over to Baloo and whispered into his ear, "This is not an actual court case, but more of a hearing. The Social Services people are going to address their case first then we will present ours."
"OK," Baloo said nervously.
The Social Services representative, Alan Hansen, was called to make his case for Kit having his welfare taken care of by the social services. The bear spoke of how a runaway needs to be placed into a stable home where he could have a structured life with a loving family and the right to attend school. The bear made it known that a 'family' consisted of husband, wife, and children.
After the Social Services rep made his case the judge called Erin to present hers. "Counsel, do you care to convince me that the social workers are not better suited than the people you represent?" The judge was barely keeping his impatience at bay. He had a 12:30 lunch with his colleagues at the Cape Suzette Country Club, followed by a round of golf.
Erin Fuchs stood and said, "Yes your honor. I believe that while the Social Services always have the best intentions in mind for the children, I feel that putting the child into the system may be detrimental to his well-being. One of the goals of the Social Services is to place needy children with loving families. That is a very noble cause. However, the older a child gets, the less likely he or she is to be adopted. Most potential adopters would like a younger child to raise as opposed to one that is well on his or her way to being a grown up. A boy of 12 would more than likely be bounced around different foster parents at best. At worst he would be remanded into an orphanage. It is true that he will be provided for wherever he is sent, but to send a boy to a series of foster homes or, God forbid, an orphanage would be a blow to the child's self esteem. There is also empirical evidence to show that children who are shuttled from one home to another or are sent to orphanages tend to suffer from the aforementioned low self esteem, poor grades, and a propensity to commit criminal acts. Is that what we want for this boy? After all, if it wasn't for him and his prospective guardian's actions earlier this month, this Court House might not be standing today."
"Objection your honor!" bellowed Hansen, "The counsel is speculating and besides she is trying to use minor popularity to justify her ends!"
Baloo leaned over to Kit and whispered to him, "Minor popularity my tail!"
Kit giggled and rolled his eyes at Hansen's outburst.
"Sustained," said the judge. "Now, now counsel, don't try to put anyone on a pedestal in my court room. And Mister Hansen, next time you voice an objection, lower your voice. I'm 12 feet from you, not 12 miles from you."
"Yes your honor," said the chastised lawyer.
Kit and Baloo both giggled.
"Knock it off you two!" Rebecca warned quietly.
"Ahem," said the judge who fixed his gaze on Baloo and Kit, "Is it alright if I speak in my courtroom?"
Baloo and Kit stopped giggling.
"Thank you gentlemen," said Judge McConnell. "Now that I've heard both counsels I'd like to get to the meat and potatoes of this hearing. I would like to hear from Mister and Missus," he paused and looked at a document in front of him, "Bruinwald."
Oh great, the judge thinks I'm married to Baloo! Rebecca thought to herself.
Mister and Missus Bruinwald? Ha! No way! Thought Baloo.
"HA HA, Oh my gosh, he thinks Baloo and Rebecca are married! HA HA! Kit laughed to himself.
"Your honor, it's just Mister Bruinwald," said Erin.
The judge didn't seem to notice the fox's words as he was too busy looking at his pocket watch. He seemed impatient about something.
Baloo went to a chair beside the judge and stood with his right hand up and his left on a Bible.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" said the bailiff.
"So help me God," said Baloo.
"I want you to cut to the chase and explain to the court why you and not the Social Services should be granted guardianship of the child," said the hyena judge.
"Well, er, your honorship…" said Baloo.
"It's your honor," said the judge who once again looked to his pocket watch.
"Right your honor. Well you see it's like this; Kit and I are a team…" Baloo said.
"A team? What do the two of you play? Two on two Basketball? Just get to the point," said the judge.
"Oh yes, um well," Now what did that cute lawyer lady say for me to tell the judge? Oh yeah, orphanages are no place for a kid, foster homes would cause Kit to rebel, and I couldn't have stopped the Air Pirates without him!
"Today," said Judge McConnell.
"Your honor, a few weeks ago I was just a regular guy with my own business. I didn't have any obligations and then WHAM! I ran into Kit, uh well he ran into me, and since then we've gotten along. He stays with me and he has his own bed and gets fed…I am going to be signing him up for school at Cape Suzette Elementary once Christmas break is over. I'm even going to teach him the Cape Suzette fight song… um, Kits a good kid. He's had a tough life and hasn't had a steady home life, but I think I can help him to settle into an everyday life. It's something I want to be able to do because it's a way to be responsible…and besides he did some great things a couple of weeks ago when this city was attacked. I honestly couldn't have done my part without him."
Hansen rolled his eyes.
"Putting yourselves on a pedestal are we? No harm though. Now what does your wife think ?" asked the judge.
"What? Her?" Baloo said nodding toward Rebecca, "Her, my wife? That's a good one your honor!"
Rebecca felt her blood pressure rise, oooh he makes me angry sometimes!
"Oh yes, I forgot. You're single. Hmmmm, do you have any idea how often a single person gets any type of guardianship?" asked the judge.
"Uh, not as much as should be," said Baloo lamely.
Oh no! Thought Kit, Please don't let them send me back to the orphanage! Please God I don't want to go back there!
"Well then if there is no wife to hear from then perhaps we should go to the source. Let's talk to the person in question," said Judge McConnell who turned his gaze toward Kit, "Let's hear what Mister Cloudkicker has to say."
Danger Woman peered around the corner and saw the mummy that was staking her. The tall mummy had resurrected and had been terrorizing the people of Cape Suzette and it was up to Danger Woman to stop him.
The toilet paper wrapped mummy was fumbling around in the darkened room in search of the brave heroine. It shuffled along with its arms outstretched in search of its prey. The mummy took a tentative step in the direction of the wall near where Danger Woman was crouched, waiting to strike. She saw the mummy's foot come around the corner and she decided that now was the time to act.
"Take that you mummy!" said Danger Woman as she jumped up and hit the mummy in the leg with her sword(flyswatter). The metal handle connected on the mummy's knee cap.
The mummy let out a groan of pain and hopped up and down, its hands going to the wounded leg. Danger Woman kept up her attack. She swung the swatter at the mummy and scored two more hits. The mummy let out an angry groan and reached for her. She jumped to the side and narrowly avoided being caught in the mummy's clutches. She climbed onto a chair and jumped onto the back of the mummy.
"Take that you mummy! Take this!" she hollered as she brought the swatter down on the mummy's head. "Danger Woman will defeat you!"
A knock at the door caused the battle to halt. The mummy went to the door and opened it to reveal a stout looking bear and a very tall ostrich.
"Is this Higher for Hire?" asked the bear with a look that said, 'what did I just walk into?'
"Uh yeah this is Higher for Hire," said the toilet paper wrapped figure. Perched on the figure's shoulders was a little girl bear sporting a makeshift red cape around her shoulders and what looked like a colander on her head. She held a flyswatter in her left hand.
"I'm Danger Woman!" the little girl yelled at the top of her lungs.
The ostrich burst out laughing but his partner only shook his head, "Who's Danger Woman?" the bear whispered to the ostrich.
"Geez, you got kids so how could you not know who Danger Woman is? She's a superhero character on the radio," answered the ostrich.
"Okaaaaay," said the bear, "Anyways, we have a delivery for Higher for Hire. Your boss already coordinated everything with us so will just being leaving this with you."
"Leaving what with us?" asked the mummy.
"Uh, the fruit," said the bear.
"Oh yeah, Miz Cunningham said something about a bunch of fruit. I wonder if she'll be making fruitcake," said the mummy.
"Yeah, fruitcake. We'll just be leaving it with you," said the bear.
"C'mon Wildcat, let's get mommy's fruit!" said the Danger Woman fanatic.
As soon as the ostrich and the bewildered bear drove off Wildcat, who had finally gotten all of the toilet paper off of him, began to load the crates of fruit into the Sea Duck with the help of Molly. The little cub helped out by pointing out places in the cargo hold for Wildcat to place the crates.
"Mommy says that she has a surprise for everyone when she gets back!" said Molly who still wore her Danger Woman outfit.
"I like surprises," said Wildcat, "Except for that time my mom took me to the dentist for the first time. She said I was going to get a surprise, but the surprise was a tooth being pulled."
"Cloudkicker, that is an unique name, is it a tribal name?" asked Judge McConnell.
"Uh, not that I think so," said a nervous Kit.
"Well it certainly has a one-of-a-kind sound to it," said the judge.
Kit laughed, "Yes it does your Honor."
"So why don't you go ahead and tell the court what you think about all of this ?" said the judge.
Kit gazed around the court room and gulped. He normally wasn't shy, but there was something about sitting up in front of people and talking that was quite different than any other situation he had been in. Even talking with the air pirates wasn't this bad. He took a deep breath and began: "Well I've been with Baloo and for a few weeks and I got a place to stay and they take pretty good care of me. I'm really looking forward to school…"
The judge interrupted; "A twelve year old boy looking forward to school? What are they feeding these kids these days?" Kit looked at the judge and saw that he had a sly grin on his face. The judge then glanced at his pocket watch and then said, "Continue."
"I, uh, well I like it here. I like Cape Suzette. It sure beats living in an orphanage!" Kit said directing this to the Social Service's Lawyer. "I think that I can have a stable life with Baloo and if I went to a foster family, uh well foster families mainly want little kids and not kids my age."
The judge interjected again, "In light of a pressing 'business' matter I have to attend to soon I am going to ask you to cut to the chase. What is it you want in life."
"In life?" asked Kit who didn't understand the question.
"Yes, in life. Do you want a stable place to live? A place where you will be cared and provided for, a place where you can feel like you belong," said McConnell.
"Yes," Kit said.
"Social Services seem to feel that they can provide a child with all of that and to be honest they do a fairly good job here in Cape Suzette," said the judge.
Oh no! He's going to rule in favor of the authorities! I gotta make a run for it soon! Kit thought in a panic.
Baloo shot a worried look at Rebecca and Erin. He didn't want Kit taken away from him, not after all he and his Lil Britches had been through in the past few weeks.
Hansen had look of satisfaction on his face. The tall bear glanced at Erin Fuchs and smiled.
Judge McConnell leaned forward and gave his ruling, "So given all of the facts and testimonies the court has decided…"
"Well that's the last of the fruit," said Molly.
"Yeah that's a lot of fruit cakes and fruit salads," said Wildcat who looked at the delivery schedule and saw where the cargo was headed. "Oh that's the surprise! Baloo and Kit are going to be surprised!"
Molly giggled, "Mommy said this was a surprise for when they get back from the court house!"
Twenty minutes later the door burst open and Kit rushed in, "Molly, Wildcat, guess what!"
"Um, let me think, do I get a clue for the guess?" asked Wildcat.
"The judge said I can stay here with Baloo!" said the excited boy.
"Yay!" Molly said and jumped into Kit's arms, "Now I can play Danger Woman with you!"
Rebecca walked in and saw her giggling little girl in Kit's arms. Awww, that's so cute! They're like brother and sister.
"I see you got a cargo haul for me Rebecca. I was kinda hoping it could wait cause I wanted to take Kit out to celebrate," said Baloo with a hint of resentment.
"Business before pleasure Baloo, you can celebrate after you do your cargo run," Rebecca said with a smile, "Now everyone, chop-chop, we have cargo to deliver!"
As the Sea Duck raced over the ocean, Baloo leaned over to Rebecca, who sat in Kit's normal seat and said, "I got to admit it Rebecca, you had me going earlier when you said that I had cargo to deliver. I was getting riled up about postponing celebrating with Kit."
"Well when I got the order the other day I figured I'd keep quiet and save it as a surprise for you guys," said Rebecca.
"Too bad yer friend didn't come along, she's a real looker," Baloo said in reference to Erin Fuchs.
"Don't get your hopes up Baloo, she's engaged," Rebecca said with a smile.
"Her loss," said the bear.
Rebecca just laughed.
Baloo decided to change the subject. He looked over his shoulder to Kit and said, "Hey Lil Britches want to try out that new board?"
Kit smiled a big grin, "Sure Papa Bear!" Kit pulled his airfoil out from his sweater and clicked it open to its crescent shape.
"What is that?" asked Rebecca who had yet to see Kit 'in action'.
"Its an airfoil Miz Cunningham," Kit said proudly.
"What's it do?" she asked.
"I'll show you!" Kit said then he was off, racing toward the back of the plane. Baloo flicked a switch and opened up the cargo door.
"Baloo, what are you doing?" asked Rebecca apprehensively.
"Letting Kit have some fun," the big bear said.
"Why do I feel a lawsuit coming on," she quietly said to herself.
Kit took a tow rope from Wildcat and jumped off into the air. His feet found his airfoil and instantly he was cloud surfing. This was the first time he had tested out his new airfoil. His previous device was snapped in two by Don Karnage during the attack on Cape Suzette and so Kit had built himself a new one. It had taken him several months and many tries to build his first airfoil which had later been broken before he could test it. Later on he had finally built a fully functioning airfoil while he was staying on Marshall's Island. That airfoil was the one that Karnage had broken. Now he was testing out airfoil number three.
Rebecca looked out of the back of the Sea Duck and saw the bear cub trailing the plane as he stood on his airfoil. The boy was skating across the clouds and suddenly she realized why he called himself Cloudkicker.
"Baloo's right, that kid is something!" she said.
"WAHOO!" Kit yelled at the top of his lungs as he indulged in his favorite pastime. If FLAP wasn't going to lower the age limit for pilots, then this was the next best thing. Maybe someday the guys at the Federal Licensing Agency for Pilots would come to their senses and make an exemption for him, but in the meantime being the only cloudsurfer in the world would have to do.
Kit entered a cloud and felt the cool water particles breeze across his nose. He opened his mouth and took a drink of water vapor from the cloud. He exited the cloud into the sunshine and let out another 'Wahoo'. This was the life!
Rebecca reentered the cockpit and sat down next to her daughter.
"Mommy, didja see Kit?" Molly asked.
"Uh-huh," she said, "Baloo, promise me that when you let Kit do that that you won't let me know OK?"
"Afraid he'll get hurt?" Baloo asked.
"That's the most dangerous thing I've ever seen anyone do!" she said.
"That kid's an expert. Besides, he's been in more dangerous sitchiations before," said Baloo, "Anyway Wildcat is back there to keep an eye on him."
"Oh great," Rebecca said to herself.
"Look Mommy there's Louie's!" said Molly.
Louie's, Baloo's favorite hangout owned by his best friend was their destination. Earlier Baloo had been annoyed that he had a cargo run to deliver when he had wanted to take Kit out to celebrate. However, his mood had changed when he found out that Rebecca had received an order from Louie to deliver fruits to his island. Rebecca hadn't met the orangutan yet, but she had heard of him from Baloo and had extended her services to him. Luckily Louie had scheduled for cargo to be delivered on the same day as Kit's hearing and so Rebecca felt like giving Baloo and Kit a surprise. She was going to treat everyone out tonight in celebration. Now Baloo took the plane in for a landing.
Wildcat reeled Kit in as the Sea Duck made ready for its landing. "Wow Kit now I see how you got your name!" said the mechanic.
"You ought to try it out," Kit said with a smile.
"Naw, I'm wild, but not that wild," said the lion.
"Heya cuz," said Louie as Baloo and the others entered his nightclub, "You must be Rebecca ," he said as he extended his hand to Rebecca.
"Hello," she said as she shook the tropical shirt wearing orangutan's hand, "This is some place you have here."
Louie planted a kiss on Rebecca's hand and then said, "You ain't seen nuthin yet! Wait till tonight when it gets crowded!"
Rebecca blushed with Louie's kiss and then was led to a table by one of Louie's waiters.
"Well hi there miss Molly how have you been?" asked Louie to the little girl.
"I've been good, just really wanting another Krakatoa Special," she said innocently.
"One Krakatoa Special comin right up, or make that five Krakatoa Special's comin up!" said Louie.
"We need to get that cargo offloaded Baloo," said Rebecca.
"Don't worry about it. Louie's guys are on it," answered Baloo.
"So Kit, I guess everything went fine and dandy with the judge," said Louie.
"It sure did Louie. Now Baloo is legally my guardian," said Kit. This was the third time Kit had been to Louie's. The first was when he had swiped the Sub-Electron Amplifier from Don Karnage and the second had been when he and Baloo had decided to ditch their ridiculous red uniforms that Rebecca had made them wear. That had been the day that Molly had snuck on board. They also had a run in with Karnage and his pirates on the way back from the island.
"Hey Wildcat, I gotta blender that's on the fritz. Think you can take a look?" asked Louie.
"Where am I going to take it?" asked the lion.
Louie just smiled at the mechanic and led him to the malfunctioning appliance. Wildcat had it working properly in 32 seconds.
As early evening turned into night the club began to fill up. Soon the place was wall to wall pilots, sailors, and their dates. Louie's band was playing swing numbers and the dance floor was full while Louie was acting as the master of ceremonies.
Rebecca sat at the table and enjoyed the music as well as the sight of Wildcat doing his best to dance with a female lion that had shown up with a few friends. The mechanic had no rhythm, but that didn't stop him from cutting the rug. Baloo was also out on the floor being the center of attention. The big gray bear had a pair of maracas and was shaking them about and making an utter spectacle of himself. She laughed at the sight of Baloo and shook her head. He's going to make an interesting role model for Kit, she thought and then saw Kit jump up onto Baloo's shoulders. The cub took off his cap and whirled it in the air and let out a 'yee-haw', just like a cowboy.
"Mommy, I'm getting tired," said Molly.
"I know sweetie. Its getting late, but we'll be leaving soon," Rebecca said to her drowsy daughter.
A few minutes later Baloo, Kit, and Wildcat returned and sat down. The laughing trio looked spent from their time on the dance floor.
"Miz Cunningham, you and Baloo should go out there!" said Kit.
Baloo and Rebecca shot a serious glance at Kit and then smiled.
"Actually I was thinking that its getting late and we ought to get home," said Rebecca.
"Yeah Molly looks like she's counting sheep," said Baloo, "C'mon Wildcat, let's go get the Sea Duck ready to go."
"Good, cause I'm so tired I about to count rams!" said Wildcat.
"I'll grab Molly Miz Cunningham," said Kit.
Rebecca watched the boy lift up her half-awake daughter and head toward the door. She smiled and realized just how fortunate she was to have Molly. Having a daughter made her a better, more responsible person and she felt that with Kit being in his care, Baloo could be a better, more responsible person. "One can only hope," she said as she got up to leave.
Kit lay in his bed and stared up at the ceiling of the room. It was a little after two in the morning and he was exhausted from his long day. Good thing Rebecca had decided to forgo work and allow her staff to recoup from the party at Louie's.
In the bed next to him, Baloo snored softly. The big bear had fallen asleep almost immediately. Despite being tired, Kit thought about the events of the day: His frustration with his tie, the court appointment that determined his guardianship, testing out his new airfoil, and the party at Louie's. It had been an all-together full day. He finally had a stable place to call home now. After years of being on his own and being an air pirate he could finally have a normal life. A small pang of guilt came on him then. He hadn't told Baloo about his past yet except for the air pirates and he hadn't gone too in depth on that. He felt bad for not wanting to share his experiences at the Freeport Home for Children, his discovery of his real last name, the truth about his parents, how he had fallen in with Karnage and his cutthroats, and the disastrous hijacking attempt on the Queen of the Skies that had resulted in the deaths of so many innocent people and became the reason he left the pirates. The child of Kieran and Katie McCloud wasn't ready to tell anyone about his past. Not yet anyway. That part of his life was the one secret he had left. There was too much pain and shame that went with that chapter of his life. Kit let out a small sigh and then turned his mind to happier thoughts. He now had a fresh start in life. He felt that with Baloo and his friends that he could have a future, the type of future that his parents would have wanted for him. A moment later the cub fell sound asleep with a smile on his face.
The sound of rain hitting the roof caused Baloo to wake up. The bear looked out and saw the rain falling from the dark sky above. He yawned and rolled onto his side. He looked over to the bed next to his and saw the sleeping form of Kit. The boy had thrown the blankets off of him in his sleep. Baloo got up and walked to the boy's bed. He reached down to the blankets and pulled them up to Kit's chin. He smiled as he realized that this was the first time he had ever tucked anyone in. He let out a small chuckle, looked at the peaceful expression on the sleeping cub's face, and got back into bed. He looked over at Kit and said quietly, "Sleep tight Lil Britches."