Author's note. Just a fun little one shot written by me and Mrs Bumblebee a while ago, finally up.
Enjoy and please review.
Poor Cody whimpered and sniffled as he was forced to pack up all his things in his suit case and get ready to be taken to the orphanage. Aunt Lily had been given a notice from the town hall, probably from Mayor Bullony stating she wasn't seen fit to raise a young cafe and maintain a saloon all on her own.
She was forced to give Cody up, after all her yelling and disagreement to the papers they still lost and now Cody had nobody. Tears ran down Cody's face as he closed his suitcase and picked it up to carry it down stairs.
His Aunt Lilly had her back to him but as she heard he slowly climb down, she turned. He saw how watery her eyes were and knew she truly didn't want this but there was nothing she could do. She held out her arms to him and he flew into them.
"I don't want to go," he whimpered softly as she stroked his mop of messy hair.
"I know, Cody, I don't want you to go," she whispered back. "I love you so much but there's nothing I can do. But don't you fret, you can come and visit me as much as you like. And I'll be sure to visit you at least once a week."
Cody nodded miserably but it just wasn't the same. He'd be living in an orphanage now, probably until he was grown.
More tears weld up in Cody's eyes and sadly the moment was ruined by the Mayor and Sheriff Terribull stepping in, coming to collect Cody.
"Come on kid," Terribull said gruffly as Cody hugged Lilly even tighter.
"I dunno wanna go," Cody whimpered as the Mayor smiled coldly.
"I'm afraid you must, young Cody, Miss Lilly is no longer your guardian."
Cody looked up at the tow bulls with tear filled eyes and squeezed Aunt Lily tighter. Lily hugged Cody tightly before she had to force Cody to let her go.
"I'm sorry sweetie," She whispered and kissed his forehead.
"Be my brave little calf."
He nodded, still very tearful and slowly walked over to the Sheriff and the Mayor. The Sheriff bent down and scooped him up with one hand. Cody leaned against the board shoulder, wiping at his face and trying to appear brave. But as he was taken out of the saloon, he couldn't' help but break down.
Sheriff Terribull glanced down at Cody and frowned as he saw the poor young calf balling his eyes out, trying to hide by pressing his face into the sheriff's shoulder.
"Such a shame," the Mayor sighed, even though he was the one responsible for this.
"Come one kid, it ain't all bad," Terribull growled softly, awkwardly patting the young's calf.
"It is too. I...I can't live with...my Aunt any more...and I might never...get to see her again...and I know...no one will adopt me because of how...old I am," Cody cried and sniffled.
"You're not that old," mumbled Terribul, at a slight loss of what to say.
"There there, I'm sure there is someone out there who'll adopt you," the Mayor stated although he sounded like he doubted it.
Suddenly an idea popped into Terribull's mind and he glanced down at Cody before he looked over at the Mayor.
"Let's take him to your office before we take him to the orphanage, I need to talk to you about something," Terribull ststed.
"Hmm, oh very well," the Mayor said with a shrug. "It is rather hot out here; the orphanage is such a long way off..."
"Yeah, let's get a drink or something," Terribul said quickly and the Mayor nodded.
Cody continued crying against Terribul's shoulder as they headed for the Mayor's office. Once there, Terribul set Cody down in the reception area on a chair and told him to remain there. Cody just curled up in a miserable ball as the two bulls headed into the study.
The Mayor went to sit behind his desk and Teribull took a seat in front of it.
"Now then, what is it you want to talk about Terribull?" Mayor Bullony asked.
Terribull looked the Mayor in the eye.
"I want to adopt the kid."
The Mayor stared at him in mild surprise.
"You want to adopt the calf?"
"Yes," Terribul replied softly. "I´ve always wanted a son; I might as well take him."
Mayor Bullony was speechless at first but soon got over his shock and nodded.
"I don't see why not," He replied.
"Good," Terribul said, pleased the Mayor wasn't kicking up a fuss but he didn't really have a reason to.
Mayor Bullony turned and started digging around in his filing cabinet until he found what he was looking for and pulled it out before he handed it to Terribull.
"I just need you to read over and sign this to show that you accept and understand the responsibilities are asked to fulfil once you adopt young Cody," Bullony explained as Terribull picked up the paper and started reading it over.
It stated that not only would he be agreeing to provide a roof over the calf's head, there was also food and clothing. Plus, as guardian, he would be responsible for the calf's education and how he conducted himself in society. It seemed pretty straightforward to Terribul, nothing he wasn't expecting although it did mention that if anything property or money had been left to the calf by his parents, he would be in charge of that until the calf was of age.
Terribull looked up at Bullony.
"Any idea if the calf parents left him anything?" Terribull asked.
"Hmm, I believe they left him a little money," Bullony said thoughtfully. "And I think they may have left him a stake in something but I can't recall what that is."
"I want to know," Terribul said shortly and Bullony nodded.
Bullony turned back around and started digging around in his files again; searching for the file he knew some info on young Cody was in.
"Ah, here we are," he mumbled softly to himself as he extracted the correct file and opened it.
Terribul waited as Bullony read it before finally saying.
"It looks like they left him a stake in a Gold mine, one that I believe has grown over the years,"
Terribull reached up and scratched his chin.
"A Gold Mine huh," He whispered.
Terribull thought for a bit before he replied.
"Well, we'll just leave that untouched mine be for bit longer and let it grow more so there will be bigger profit to mine form it," Terribull explained.
"Yes," Bullony said slowly with a nod. "There isn't really any rush considering the calf is still quite young, he won't be taking it over any time soon."
Terribul chuckled.
"As his new father, I'm responsible for it anyhow. How about we check it out in a few weeks, see how it's coming along?"
Bullony nodded.
"Very good and do believe you are now wanting to take your new son home to start getting some "father and son" time in for the day, hmm?" Bullony stated.
"Eh, yeah," Terribul agreed, now feeling a little unsure. Despite the fact he'd always wanted a son, he didn't really know much about youngun's. He didn't want to mess up, his pride hated failing at anything.
"Thanks Bullony, I'll be off now."
As the Mayor nodded, he strode out of the office to find Cody curled up on a chair, still looking wretched.
Cody glanced up at Terribull and sniffled and rubbed at his eyes.
"Please...don't make me go there. I don't want to go...to an orphanage." Poor young Cody sniffled and hiccupped.
"Don't worry, you're not," Terribul said with a smile and Cody gaped up at him. He'd been so sure that the answer would be no and that he still had to go to that orphanage.
"I've adopted you," the sheriff explained. "You're coming home with me."
Cody's eyes widened even further.
"Wh...what?" Cody gasped.
"I'm your new guardian," Terribul explained softly. "I've always wanted a son and since we already know each other a little, I thought it would be best if I adopted you."
"Oh, but why me I thought you hated me?" Cody questioned.
Terribull chuckled and reached down and gently ruffled the calfskin hair playtime.
"I don't hate you, I just sometimes get a bit short tempered with kids when they bother me. But I'm sure we'll get along fine as long you obey my rules and don't get into too much trouble."
"Oh," Cody said, still staring at Terribul but looked a lot less upset. "You really want me?"
Terribull smiled again and nodded before he knelt down to Cody's height.
"Yes I do." He replied before he pulled Cody into a fathering hug.
Cody froze for a moment before flinging his arms around the older bull, starting to cry again. He just couldn't believe that someone had wanted him, he'd been sure no one ever would. And if he lived with Terribul, he wouldn't have to leave the town, he could still play with all his friends. And he could still see his aunt Lily, the Marshall, the Dakota Dude, the Colorado Kid, everyone.
Terribull smiled as Cody hugged him back. They sat like this for a bit before Terribull pulled away and stood up and picked Cody's suit case up for him. He smiled down at his new son.
"Let's head home." Terribull said and turned towards the door.
"Okay," Cody said, quickly jumping up to follow. But then something occurred to him.
"Uh...sir, what do I call you?"
Terribull stopped and turned around to look at Cody.
"You can call me whatever you want to until you feel comfortable enough to call me dad," Terribull replied.
"o-okay sir," Cody said with a shy smile, not quite able to form that one word but judging by the hopeful look in his eyes, he wanted to. This made Terribul feel really good about his decision and he hoped Cody would find the courage to call him dad soon.
Teribull lead Cody to his home on the other side of town and entered it. He led him into the living room where he set his case down for him.
"What all did you bring?" He asked the young calf.
"Um, my clothes," Cody mumbled, remembering how awful packing had been. "My Code of the West Book..."
Terribul tried not to snort at that.
"...some toys, my toothbrush...that's kinda it," Cody finished.
"Hmm, seems like to me we need to o do some shopping." Terribull stated before he chuckled.
"Let's get your things put in a room and we'll head back out, how's what sound?" Terribull asked.
"Sounds good," Cody said with a wide smile.
"I don't have anything set up for you yet," Terribul explained as they headed to his home. "On account of this was a bit of a sudden decision but I've got a couple of ideas do for you."
Cody smiled as he followed Terribull back into town and headed towards one of the shops.
"OK, I'll let you go pick out a few things and bring them back to me while I gather a few things," Terribull said to Cody as they stepped inside.
Cody nodded, grinning widely as he walked into the store. He saw that it was a clothes shop and groaned a little, he didn't like clothes shopping. But he did need some new things, mostly underwear and pants. Since he worked and rode a lot, his clothes took a lot of punishment. But the problem was there were so many clothes, he was overwhelmed.
"This isn't going to be easy," he groaned softly as he started going through what was available.
While Cody was searching through from clothes he found his size he got a tap on the shoulder. Cody turned around and gasped when he saw one of his favourite bulls of the whole town. Marshal Moo.
"Moo, what are doing here?" Cody asked as he stepped up to hug his favourite hero.
Moo chuckled and ruffled Cody's hair some.
"Saw he come in here and come to see what you were up to."
The Marshal then came down to Cody's height so he could speak softer to him.
"I thought you were heading to the orphanage, that's what Miss Lily had told me when I found her crying today," Marshal Moo asked.
"I was but I got adopted before I could get there," Cody stated with a smile as Moo stared at him in total surprised.
"Adopted before you got there? Who adopted you, Cody?"
"Sheriff Terribul," Cody said brightly as Moo's eyes widened in shock. "He asked the Mayor and he agreed."
"I...that's a bit unexpected," Moo stuttered slightly.
"I know...but he's not pushing me to do things such as calling him dad so soon or anything. So far he's just told me to get comfortable and fell at home," Cody added.
Marshal Moo nodded in understanding.
"So, now explain to me why you're in this clothing shop?" Moo asked.
"Most of my clothes are a bit rough," Cody explained, scuffing his heel a little. "Aunt Lily didn't bother packing some of them; she said they weren't worth taking."
Moo chuckled.
"All kids go through clothes pretty quickly, it's good you're so active Cody. You'll be fit and strong as an adult."
"Really?" Cody asked excitedly.
Moo chuckled and nodded.
"Yep, I know so because just like you growing up."
"That's great," Cody exclaimed, he couldn't wait to be big. He'd be able to do all sorts of cool stuff and have adults take him seriously. Heck, he would be an adult so of course they would. And he swore never to be boring to kids like some adults tended to be.
Moo laughed at Cody's expression before asking.
"Need any help choosing some clothes?"
Cody blushed shyly and nodded but was reassured by Moo with a chuckle and stood and led Cody to section in the store that was better for Cody's size and gender.
"Hmm, I don't think you need a new hat," Moo teased, trying to make this a bit more fun for the young calf.
"No sir," Cody said with a grin as Moo paused by some belts.
"What about a belt, do you need one?" Moo asked and Cody stared down at his own.
"Well, I've only got one," he admitted.
"Yeah you need another." Moo laughed.
Cody smiled as he picked a belt from the display and followed Moo as he continued walking and shopping through the store for his young partner.
Meanwhile, Terribul was stocking up on things, mostly food and drink wise. He'd needed to shop anyway but now that he had an extra mouth to feed, he needed almost doubled his usual shop. Plus, he figured he should probably get some kid friendly food like milk. He also decided he'd probably need some medicine and bandages, who knew the scrapes kids could get into.
"Thanks for all of your help Moo," Cody said as he and Moo left the store with Cody's new things.
"No problem Cody, happy to have helped."
"I hope I can still hang out with you and the guys," Cody said in a hopeful tone.
"Of course you can," Moo replied. "I'm sure the Sheriff won't mind. Off you go and find him."
Cody nodded and rushed over even as Moo grimaced a little. He didn't really trust the Sheriff but hoped he would allow Cody to still come and see them.
Cody entered the store he saw Sheriff Terribull in and walked up to him. Terrible smiled down at him.
"Got all of the new things you needed?" He asked.
Cody smiled and nodded and lofted his bags to show all that he had.
"Good, let's get going," Terribul said and they started heading for where his horse was tethered.
"I saw the Marshal in the store," Cody said brightly causing Terribul to almost pause.
"Did you now?" he said, his tone not changing but his eyes were slightly narrowed.
"Yeah, he helped me pick out some good practical things," Cody said with a nod.
"Did he now?" Terribull asked.
"Uh huh he helped me pick out a new belt and clothes to wear," Cody continued.
"That was nice of him," Terribul said lightly, deciding not to scold the calf as he hadn't told him he couldn't talk to the Marshall. He didn't think he wanted Cody hanging out with the Marshall and his men too much or they might start trying him against him.
So he smiled and asked.
"That's good. Now, what do you want for supper?"
"Um well I haven't had barbeque ribs in a long time, can we have that?" Cody asked.
"Sure," Terribul said with a smile, pleased he'd stocked up on plenty of meat. "Since it's your first night and since I haven't had it in ages."
"Great," Cody said delightedly and Terribul ruffled his head.
"It's settled then, I'm making a barbeque sauce for it."
"Yes," Cody hooted in excitement and punched the air and followed behind Terribull excitedly.
The large bull smiled, pleased at how excited Cody was. He hoped that Cody enjoyed their meal, he was rather proud of his cooking skills. However, he didn't often have a chance to show them off.
Cody followed excitedly behind Terribull back to the house. Once inside Cody ran to his room to put all his new things up before he ran back out to help Terribull with dinner.
Terribul was pleased about this as well but Cody had helped his aunt a lot at her saloon so it wasn't a total surprise. He would certainly enjoy having a little help around the place, it got so dusty. He would give his new son some chores but not too many that the calf couldn't have a little fun.
Cody ran into the kitchen.
"Anything I can do to help?" He asked as he came to stand never to the larger bull.
"Set the table," Terribul asked before remembering there was only one chair. "There's a stool outside, it should be fine for you, go and get that too."
"Okay," Cody said cheerfully, rushing outside to get the stool first. Terribul resolved to get a proper chair for him at some point.
Cody did as told and brought the stool inside and then went and started grabbing the plates, forks, and glasses for dinner.
"Anything else?" he asked brightly and Terribul told him to pour himself a glass of milk and then asked for a glass of sarsaparilla for himself which Cody did happily.
While Cody poured the glasses Terribull busied himself by starting to cook the ribs, brushing his homemade sauce all over them. Cody could smell the spicy barbeque and grinned, it smelled delicious. He wasn't sure what else to do so he sat down, sure Terribul would tell him if anything else needed doing.
Soon Terribull finished cooking and picked up the ribs and placed them on a large plate and then smothered them in more sauce before he placed the plate down in the middle of the table.
"Help yourself but don't make too much of a mess," Terribul warned, knowing just how messy eating his ribs could make you.
Cody nodded but hungrily helping himself to some. The first bite had him almost squealing with delight, they were so delicious.
Terribull chuckled as Cody dug right in. Terribull reached out and started to eat with him.
"Like it huh?" Terribul asked, holding a dripping rib up.
"It's brilliant," Cody exclaimed before munching away on another rib.
Terribul chuckled before tucking into his own rib.
Terribull smiled as he ate. Yep he had truly out done himself with this batch and reached out and grabbed another rib.
"Where did you learn to cook, this is great?" Cody asked as he gnawed on his rib.
"My father," Terribul said with a fond smile. "He was one hell of a cook, except for porridge; he always seemed to burn that."
Cody giggled at that but soon silenced himself so he could continue eating, licking and cleaning his fingers of any sauce that didn't make it into his mouth.
"You'll need to wash your face after we've eaten," Terribul said and Cody nodded his understanding. His aunt Lily always wanted him to wash up so he was used to it. And as tasty as this sauce was, it was pretty sticky and he didn't want to get covered in stickiness and dust.
Terribull ate until he was full and there was no more ribs left to finish off, other then a plate full of meatless bones. He picked up their plates and shooed Cody off to the bathroom to wash up while he cleaned up the kitchen.
He heard a lot of splashing and ruefully shook his head; he knew kids could be a bit messy. But he hoped Cody wouldn't be too messy, he wasn't a clean freak but he did like order. You couldn't stop things becoming dusty in a place like this but he didn't want his things dirty or sticky.
Cody finished cleaning himself off and grabbed a nearby towel to dry himself off and then threw the towel into the dirty clothes hamper before leaving the bathroom to see what else he could do today.
"Is there anything I can do?" he asked politely as Terribul cleaned the dishes.
"Hmm, there's a barrel outside, take the bones and dump them inside," Terribul said after a moment's thought. "But make sure that you close that barrel up or we might get scavengers."
"Okay," Cody said brightly, grabbing the bowl that contained the meatless bones and running out with them.
Cody found the barrel with no trouble. He took the lid off of it and dumped the bones inside and placed the lid back on it and ran back to the house with the empty bowl.
By now, Terribul was mostly done and turned as Cody came in with the empty bowl. He held out a hand and Cody handed him the bowl which was duly washed. Once Terribul was finished, he just left everything to dry and turned to Cody.
"What do you normally do after dinner?"
Cody shrugged his shoulders.
"Normally I still help around the house until its bed time or if we had dinner later I was sent to off to bed afterwards. Sometimes I just do wash up and then head off to bed," Cody replied.
"Well, why don't we clear out your room, it's a bit cluttered at the moment," Terribul suggested. "We don't have to do it all tonight, just make sure you can move around alright there."
"Okay," Cody said with a smile, it would be nice having a new room. Even if he missed his old one.
Terribull smiled and led Cody back to his room so they could get started.
"We'll start with those boxes" Terribull said, pointing towards the boxes that were blocking the closet.
"Okay," Cody said and went to started moving them.
"Leave the biggest ones for me," Terribul advised as Cody heaved up a box which was almost too heavy for him but not quite.
"Okay, sorry," Cody said with a puff as he staggered out with his box. Terribul shook his head but with a small smile as he heaved a large, heavy box up.
"Hey," Cody cried but Terribull was already walking off with it.
Cody snorted and ran to pick up a different box, this one being smaller and easier for him to carry.
It rattled a lot as Cody carried and the calf assumed it was full of odds and ends, maybe tools. His room was a bit musty but all it needed was a bit of airing out. He'd started to notice that the house smelled a lot different from Aunt Lily's, hers smelled of the saloon and...girly things. They weren't bad things but he always knew he was living in a lady's house since she didn't have a partner.
When he'd been in friends' houses, they smelled like a mixture of manly and girly things plus whatever the grownups did as a job. But this house was pure bull territory and Cody found he liked it quite a bit. It just felt right to him.
Terribull smiled as they continued to work together until all the boxes were out of the room.
"That's better, isn't it?" he said and Cody agreed with him. His room looked so much bigger now and it was great.
"It's brilliant, thanks," he said happily, feeling the urge to hug Terribul well up inside him but still feeling too shy to actually do it.
Terribull smiled down at Cody.
"What to help me fix up you bed?" He asked.
"Sure," Cody said cheerfully.
"If you strip it and give the sheets a good wave out the window, I'll get some clean ones," Terribul said as he went to unlock the window, opening it onto the cool evening air.
Cody had a little trouble tugging the tightly packed sheets but in the end he managed. They were very musty and a bit dusty but that was soon taken care of by beating them out of the window. Luckily, there wasn't much wind so the sheets weren't ripped from his grasp.
Terribull soon came back into the room, carrying a bundle of fresh sheets under his arm and another bundle of covers under the other. He set them to the side so he could help Cody put the old sheep back on the bed and then let Cody help him put the fresh once on.
"You've got school tomorrow, don't you?" Terribul asked as they continued working.
"Yeah," Cody said, pleased he wouldn't have to travel far to get to it.
"Well, I'll make up something for your lunch tomorrow and when schools finished; you can play with your friends for a bit," Terribul now said. "But I want you back in time for dinner, so come home after the bell goes, okay?"
"Okay," Cody beamed.
Terribull chuckled at this and patted his head before he glanced outside and saw it had become dark outside.
"Well, looks like its bed time for young calves," Terribull stated as he started to playfully shoo Cody towards the bed.
Cody giggled before jumping on the bed. Terribul helped him take off his boots and then Cody undid his belt before pulling off his shirt. And that was him ready for bad and Terribul still couldn't' quite believe he had a little son. His own little son who he could teach and raise, someone to really look up to him.
Terribull leaned down and hugged Cody goodnight and before he pulled away from him he gave him a loving kiss on the forehead which stunned Cody but he smiled and giggled.
"Goodnight Cody, I want you to be happy with me," Terribul said softly as he ruffled the little calf's hair.
"I think I will be," Cody said with a big grin as he settled under his covers.
Terribull tucked Cody in then headed out of the room, turning off the lights on his way out.
"Sleep tight my little calf," He whispered.
"Thanks, you too," Cody said loudly before murmuring softly. "Dad!"
Terribull's heart leapt in joy at hearing that simple name and turned around and whispered.
"Love you too son," he closed the door half way and walked off to his own room.
Cody couldn't believe it, he hadn't really meant for Terribul to hear but he'd obviously liked it. Cody couldn't remember his real parents but he'd always wanted his own dad. And now it seemed he had one at long last.
Author's note. There might be a one shot sequel to this at some point, suggestions are welcome.