Atticus Finch sat quietly on his porch, like any other night. The wind whistling and it was getting late, and he was getting worried.

Where are they? They said they'd be home by nine..

He adjusted his glasses to get a better view of the sidewalk. He knew that's where they always walked, and as far as he was concerned, they would probably do so again.

Just when he came to that conclusion, a shout interrupted the silence of the neighborhood.

It was Arthur Radley, and he was in the land just outside the schoolyard. Atticus could tell by the direction the sound was coming from.

"Mister Finch! Your children... Your children! They're, they're.."

Atticus ran as fast as he could, only to find Arthur trying to pick an unconscious Jem off the ground, while an equally unconscious Scout laid next to him.

"Arthur.. What happened here?"

He looked at the innocent faces of his children, trying not to break down in tears.

"Mister Finch, Bob Ewell came after them. I saw him passing through your yard earlier, and I followed him, hoping to see what he was doing.. He normally doesn't come around here, I was concerned... By the time I was able to catch him, he was touching your daughter. She tried kick him away and he punched her. Then, he twisted her arm when she tried to resist. I think he broke it, I heard a crack. And that.. Vile man kept grabbing her. That's when.."

Atticus lifted Jem off the ground.

"Then what?" His eyes were red from the tears as he questioned his reclusive neighbor, who was reluctant to speak.

Atticus tried hard to get the words out of Arthur, but they wouldn't leave his lips. He was frightened. And they both were.

"Arthur, did you hurt him?"

"No, sir. He's dead." Arthur lifted Scout from the ground, making sure he could hold onto her small, delicate frame.

They carried the children back into the house, and Arthur was strained from the work he was doing.

"I'll call Heck and Doctor Reynolds. You just stay right there, all right, Arthur?"

Though the situation was dire, Atticus was trying to be calm as possible. For the sake of both his children and Arthur, who was overall, scared.

"Yes, Mister Finch."

Atticus turned the dials on the phone to Eula May and directed to the sheriff.

"Hello, Heck. Yes, there was a madman after my children.. Bob Ewell, yes. I should have been more cautious... I know, I know, send Doctor Reynolds with you. Thank you so much.. Goodbye.."

Atticus then moved the summertime cots to his bedroom and one at a time, took his children up the flight of stairs to his bedroom.

He wanted to make sure both of them were all right, and he wanted them to be with him. Together.

As soon as the sheriff and doctor arrived, the Finch home became a madhouse. The doctor shuffled up and down the stairs and through the hallway. The sheriff was also having quite the time outside, pacing the crime scene and bringing back a tattered ham costume from the Halloween pageant. It was Scout's.

"Mister Finch.." The sheriff walked into Atticus's bedroom, where the doctor was also working. Arthur stood behind the open door, wanting to listen instead of speak.

"Yes, Heck? How was it out there?"

"I think I can determine that Bob Ewell committed suicide after he was done.. Harming the children, in a pretty elaborate show, to say the least. "

Arthur knew the truth but wanted to stay in the comfort of the shadows. Atticus listened with open ears, knowingly going along with Arthur's plan of secrecy.

It's a sin to kill a mockingbird. That mman's done nothing but save my children!

The Sheriff continued, noticing the intense listening of both the lawyer and doctor in the room.

"He tied his knife, a kitchen knife, to a tree with some twine and then backed into it. It was planned and orchestrated.. Well thought out. We'll leave it at that, Mister Finch. Good night and good luck. Because lord knows, you need it!"

Before Atticus could protest and add a well known fact about his young son, the sheriff walked out the door.

Jeremy always carries a ball of twine with him.. For whatever reason, I suppose.

"Mister Finch!" Another voice was calling upon him, the doctor.

"Yes, doctor? "

"Both of your children have broken arms.. Jeremy on the left and Jean Louise on the right.. Jean Louise also had some pretty dark bruises on her face.. And maybe, molested, even. Well, when she wakes up, we'll know. All I do know is I set both of their arms, put on casts, and have so painkillers for you to give them. They won't be attending school for a long while. Not until I say so. Good night, and I'll be back tomorrow."

Atticus nodded his head in response and sat on his bed, read a newspaper and waited for one of his children to awaken.

"Arthur, they're gone."

"I know, Mister Finch." Arthur shuts the door, "Can I stay with you? "

"As long as Nathan doesn't throw a fit, sure! Bring a chair in if you'd like. "

So, he did. And the two men waited in silence, reading side by side.

With all of the time he spent in his house, Arthur was well read and wrote often. If he wasn't turned into the ghost he was, he could have been a bestselling author. And secretly, he was.

He wasn't "picking cotton", he was ghostwriting

In the depth of his thoughts, only one thing could rouse him.

A frantic scream, and panting breath.

It was Scout. She used Her good arm to shove away a man who wasn't there, and Atticus ran to console her.

He tried to wrap his arms around her, but she tried to shove him away.

"It's just me, dear. Just Atticus. I love you, I'd never hurt you! What happened?"

Scout wanted to think of words, but couldn't "I don't know. He hurt me. Bad." Tears rolled down her cheeks and she let her father tight.

It was the beginning of a rocky, rocky road. And both men could see it.