A/N - Hi, it's me this time. So technically I'm supposed to be posting the next chapter of You're a What? but I'm just kind of stuck on that right now, so I started writing this instead. Don't, worry, that fic will be updated soon, I'm just really into this fandom right now.
Not a great many people have been on the wrong side of a police chase in their lives. Those who have are usually either bank robbers, arsonists, murderers, or a delightful mix of the three. Those who have not are usually brilliant inventors, clever researchers, or aspiring chefs. Unfortunately, all three of these kinds of people, along with a strange man they had just met and did not yet trust, had ended up on the wrong side of a police chase with nowhere to go and no one to go to, which is a very upsetting way to begin a story, or a police chase.
Violet Baudelaire held onto her brother tightly, and her brother held onto their baby sister, who was holding onto the door handle and reminding herself to not bite anything important. Lemony Snicket held onto the steering wheel of the car tightly, knuckles white as he gripped it with all his strength. He continuously glanced into the rearview mirror, hardly daring to believe whose children he had in the backseat.
Snicket twisted the wheel every direction he could think of, pushing the taxi to its limits, crashing through hedges and breaking at least nine traffic laws in his attempt to lose he and the Baudelaire's pursuers.
The taxi rounded a particularly sharp corner, a phrase which here means 'it nearly capsized as it sped around a small house'. Snicket almost said something unbecoming for a man of his articulatory prowess, but then glanced into the rearview mirror once again and remembered he was in the company of children.
After rounding the particularly sharp corner, Klaus, after peeling himself off of the floor of the taxi (he had not been wearing a seatbelt), looked out the back window of the car and noticed that they were no longer being followed.
"They've stopped!" he exclaimed, sharing a joyful look with his older sister. "We've lost them!"
"You can slow down now, ," Violet told the man in the front seat, after making Klaus put on his seatbelt and checking to make sure Sunny had not bitten anything. "Thank you for letting us come with you." she added, remembering to be polite.
Snicket seemed to not have heard Violet, instead continuing to travel at dangerously high speeds down a long and winding road, which is the name of a song, and also an expression that refers to the lengthy and difficult path we all travel down in life, and also the road the taxi happened to be speeding down.
"Mr. Snicket?" said Violet, cautiously extending a hand. She found that she could not reach the unresponsive man's shoulder from where she sat, so she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed into the seat next to Snicket's, ignoring Klaus' protests.
She had just buckled her seatbelt again when Snicket jerked the wheel and took the taxi around another particularly sharp corner.
"Sir?" said Violet, placing a light hand on the man's shoulder. Snicket flinched violently as Violet touched him, a fact that he would deny for years to come.
Violet quickly withdrew her hand and stared at Snicket, frowning in worry at his strange behavior. His eyes jumped between her and the road, and with a start she realized he was waiting for her to continue.
"You can slow down now, they've stopped following us," she told him gently. Snicket made an odd jerking motion with his head that might have been a nod, then slowly, painfully, lifted his foot off of the pedal, where it had been figuratively stuck throughout the whole ordeal.
Snicket let the car coast down the road, steering it around the many bends they encountered and watching carefully for any suspicious figures they might encounter, and doing his best to ignore the children he had promised to keep safe.
It was in this fashion that they arrived at a motel on the outskirts of the city, a dinky, dreary place half collapsed into the dirt. Klaus had attempted to speak up several times during the ride, but each time he had opened his mouth, his words died in his throat before he could speak them.
Snicket parked the car and took his hands off the wheel, shutting off the headlights and plunging them into darkness. He opened his mouth and turned to look at Violet, then back at Klaus and Sunny, but didn't seem to have anything to say. He turned back around and cleared his throat, managing a soft "Follow me," before exiting the taxi.
Violet quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the taxi, watching Snicket as he fiddled with the lock on a door a little ways away from their car. She turned away and opened the door for Klaus, who was holding Sunny.
"We can trust him, right?" asked Klaus as he set down Sunny. "We haven't just made a huge mistake?"
"He's a Snicket, and all the Snicket's we've met have been trustworthy so far," Violet replied, walking around the car towards the trunk. "Do you think he has any luggage?"
"Kit," said Sunny, tugging on Klaus' pant leg.
"Sunny's right," said Klaus, resting his hand on Sunny's shoulder. "This is Kit's taxi, not his. He won't have anything in the trunk."
Violet nodded, then glanced back at Snicket. As she watched, he managed to get the motel door open, quickly disappearing inside.
"Come on," said Violet, rounding the taxi and taking Sunny's hand. "We shouldn't keep him waiting."
Klaus followed his sisters across the parking lot and into the motel, hoping that Snicket had payed for the room, but knowing that it was most likely stolen. Still, if he and his sisters could sleep in a bed tonight, he wouldn't mind.
As he crossed the threshold, Klaus immediately noticed that there were absolutely no belongings in the room at all, and mentally sighed as he realized that this room was, in fact, stolen.
The next thing he noticed was that there was only one bed.
Snicket seemed to have realized the problem too, as he was currently making a bed for himself on the couch. He noticed Klaus watching him and said "Could you close the door please? And the curtains? There is a great need for caution at times like these."
Klaus quickly did as he was told, shutting and locking the door and closing the curtains, making sure no gaps remained.
"Are you certain you don't mind taking the couch?" asked Violet, setting Sunny onto the bed. "You could have the bed, and Klaus and Sunny could sleep on the couch."
She paused. "I could take some pillows and sleep on the floor." she added as an afterthought.
Snicket shook his head. He seemed much more relaxed now, much more at home in the cramped, dimly lit space. "I would be a terrible guardian indeed if I took such a large bed for myself and forced a child to sleep on a cold, dusty floor." he said.
"No floor," agreed Sunny, bouncing slightly on the bed. "Payama?"
Snicket paused in the process of taking a pillow from the bed for himself and looked at Klaus, unsure of what Sunny was asking.
"She's wondering if we have any clothes to wear to bed besides these," translated Klaus, picking at the sleeve of his disguise, uncomfortable with the thought of asking Snicket for anything. "It's alright that you don't, we don't mind."
That wasn't entirely true, as Sunny definitely preferred her soft pajamas over her current attire. It was much too formal and stiff for the young girl, but she knew better than to complain. They had slept in their uniforms the night before, after all.
Snicket obviously didn't like the idea of his three companions sleeping in such uncomfortable clothes, but he had none of his belongings with him and it wasn't yet safe to go out and buy the Baudelaires some less conspicuous outfits.
"I'm sorry that I can't provide you with anything at the moment, Baudelaires, but in the morning I'm sure I can find a dinky, dreary place that sells clothing for children of all ages," said Snicket, placing a hand on his chin in contemplation. "In fact, I think I might have passed one on my way to the Hotel."
Violet smiled at the man. "Thank you very much, Mr. Snicket," she said, taking off her hat. "Is there anything we can do for you in return? I'm certain that I could think of some way to improve the engine of your taxi."
"And I think I've read a book somewhere about ways to make clothing out of everyday objects, perhaps I could make some instead of you having to buy them?" suggested Klaus.
"Cook!" shrieked Sunny exitibly, bouncing up and down on the bed, thinking of all the meals she could prepare as a thank you.
A small smile was beginning to spread across the man's face, the first the children had seen. "Thank you very, very much Baudelaires," said Snicket, something that sounded like happiness creeping into his voice. "I would be happy to let help you fix the car, make clothes, and cook meals, but I'm afraid that before we do any of those things, we all need to recuperate, a word which here means 'go to bed and wake up at dawn feeling well-rested'."
"I thought it meant 'to recover from illness or exertion'?" Klaus asked, beginning to like the man more and more.
"Yes, that too."