Keep in mind, this is an AU of the main stuff, and in no way affects it. Nothing from the Main Storyline will make an appearance here, other than some characters.

I will be uploading two chapters per week [Tuesday/Thursday], since the chapters are so short.

Thank you for clicking this story, and I hope you enjoy! Please leave a review!

This week's chapters will be uploaded on Wednesday [today] and Friday. Regular posting days will continue next week!

Part Ten – The Chase

What were the odds that they'd be found by two cops right after that segment aired? Beary and Jewel went straight to the back of the bus and pulled open the back curtain, staring back at the police car that was tailing them.

"Henry, they're following us!" Beary called. He didn't want to go back! If Henry got arrested, what about the band? They'd never continue the journey on their own with him, Henry, and Jewel gone!

Jewel looked at him, sharing the same fears. She didn't want to go back just yet! She wanted to see her mother! Spend time with her probable father!

Henry went back to the cubs. "I didn't kidnap you, right? You came of your own free will?"

"We did!" Beary and Jewel confirmed.

Henry frowned, trying to think of something. "Then why don't we pull over and explain that to them?"

"No, we can't," Beary said. "They'll take me away and probably arrest you! Please, Henry! You need me to help reunite the band!"

"Heck, we can do that," Henry said, looking over at the other members of the band. "Can't we, boys?"

"I'm scared!" Fred cried, hiding under a blanket.

Zeb clutched a pillow. "I need honey!"

"Trixie!" Tennessee wailed as though his despair would never end.

Henry groaned. He knew deep down that he could probably finish the job on his own, but looking at Beary and Jewel's eyes, he knew what the right thing to do was. He walked back up to the front of the bus. "Roadie! Shake these fellers!" he commanded.

"Shake 'em!" Beary and Jewel echoed, grabbing onto whatever they could as the bus sped up. "Whoa!"

The fearful cries of the band that was no longer used to such excitement echoed through the air as Roadie's expert driving skills came in handy.

"Pull over! Pull over!" a voice over a microphone called. Beary and Jewel glanced out the back window again. "Pull over or..." There was a bit of a pause, and the two cubs saw the cops conversing. "Pull over or we'll make you pull over!"

Jewel snorted and started laughing. "They aren't serious, are they?" she asked, looking over at Beary before Roadie suddenly swerved, knocking her into him, their lips connecting. "Ah!"

"Ah!" he echoed, pushing her away in shock. "Gross!"

"Cooties!"

Their shouts drew the attention of Henry, who looked back to make sure they were okay, and shook his head in exasperation. Cubs and their "cooties". He turned back to Roadie. "Why haven't you ever become a racecar driver?"

"Because the bus race hasn't been invented yet. Plus, I don't want to just make left turns all the time." Roadie kept his eyes on the road, trying to get away from the police car. He made a sharp left and a hard right, but the cops were still behind them. Finally, he spotted their way out. "Let's play a little game I like to call 'Hiding in the Car Wash'."

"How do you do that?" Henry asked.

"We hide in the car wash." Roadie made a quick left turn – almost tipping the bus in the process – and drove into the car wash with the heavily dusty bus.

.~*~.

"I lost them!" Officer Hamm exclaimed in defeat as he looked around. Where had the bus gone?

"Are you serious? How could you lose them?! It's a bus!" Cheets responded, shocked.

Hamm grinned when he looked over at the long car wash, where just a little bit of the bus was sticking out. "Bingo, nine o'clock!" he said, gesturing at the sign that read BINGO 9 O'CLOCK. He turned the wheel and followed the bus.

.~*~.

Meanwhile, in the truck that had been following the chase with no lights or sirens, Jade groaned. "They are not about to do what I think they are, are they?"

"They did," James muttered, watching as Hamm and Cheets pulled into the car wash after the bus. "Those two dunderheads."

"I get that they're trying, but honestly..." Jade shook her head. "We're going to wait on the other side of the car wash, right?"

"I was thinking a bit further down and follow them. We're off-duty anyway, and not in a cop car, so they won't think we're cops. We'll follow them wherever they go – at a distance, of course – and when they stop, we'll talk to them." James found a nice parking spot and waited. "I just hope those two just don't... Oh, I don't know. Make things worse than they already have."

"Indeed."

.~*~.

"They're right behind us!" Beary cried, staring out the back window in shock.

"Hit it, Roadie!" Henry called.

"Henry, we're in a car wash," Roadie responded, sitting back and relaxing.

"Right, right." Henry sat down in his chair as well, and glanced back at the band, who were all still a bit shaken up. In fact, Zeb had retched in a bucket that was thankfully already filled with garbage.

The older bear walked back to the younger ones, hoping they weren't too frightened by all of this. "You kids okay?"

"Bonked our heads a little, but we're fine, Henry," Jewel responded.

"And Jewel has cooties!" Beary exclaimed, disgusted.

"I do not!" Jewel shrieked, launching at him and biting his ear.

"COOTIES! Ow!" Beary scrambled to get away.

Henry rolled his eyes. "Why do you think she has cooties?"

"She kissed me!"

"I DID NOT! I FELL ON YOU AND IT HAPPENED! I WOULD NEVER KISS YOU INTENTIONALLY!"

"I WOULDN'T KISS YOU EITHER!"

"Gods give me strength to deal with these cubs." Henry took a deep breath. "Beary, Jewel, behave. Jewel, stop biting his ear. Beary, stop screeching. Honestly."

Up at the front, Roadie was roaring with laughter, and Zeb hurled again. Tennessee and Fred were still blubbering, and the bus was gently getting the wash that it rightly deserved. Henry went back up to the front.

Beary finally got his ear released, and he glanced out the back window again, and tapped Jewel's shoulder. "What are they doing?"

Jewel looked out the back window in time to see one of the cops being dragged out of the driver's window by a spinning brush. "What...? Is he crazy?" She watched as the other cop got pulled out of the other side as well. "If Uncle James were here, he'd call them idiots."

Beary nodded in agreement, watching as the cops got tossed and washed with their car, before finally being deposited behind the vehicle. He shook his head and waved when they stood up. Jewel laughed and did the same.

"I don't think they'll be following us any longer," Beary grinned, looking over at his friend.

"Nope!" Jewel turned around and looked at the other older bears, shaking her head as her ears lowered. "Crying, hiding, and throwing up. This... This isn't how I expected the band to be. They were supposed to be awesome."

Beary nodded in agreement. "I know... It's actually kinda..." He sighed. "Disappointing. Remember last night? Fred had to hold Zeb up because he was swaying so much."

Jewel frowned, and looked at Tennessee. "And he's such a crybaby. Mama... Why would she see in him?"

"Jewel, I, uh, think he heard you," Beary said as the bus pulled out of the car wash after Roadie paid his dues.

The golden cub's ears flattened when she saw the hurt expression on Tennessee's face. She looked at the ground unhappily. Oops.

Silence fell on the bus, broken only by Zeb heaving for the last time as they began to pull out of Nashville, happy that the cops had been lost behind them, but weren't going to take any more chances in getting caught. However, about thirty minutes outside the city, Roadie pulled over.

Henry frowned. "What's up? Run out of gas?"

"No. We're being followed." Roadie looked in the side mirrors at the silvery-blue pickup that pulled over behind them.

Beary and Jewel knelt on the back seat and looked out the window. "Wait! That's my uncle!" Jewel exclaimed excitedly, bounding forward and practically jumping off the bus.

Beary, however, stayed where he was, and shifted into a corner, trying to remain small. He knew that James would take him back to the Barrington house. He just hoped Jewel wouldn't bring him in.

To his immense disappointment, that's just what she did.

"Well, would you look at you lot?" James Stone shook his head and looked at the bears in the bus. "Ridiculous. Never thought I'd see you three in one place ever again." The plump black bear grinned. "But it's not you guys I'm interested in, though..." He looked pointedly at Tennessee. "You, I am a little pissed off at."

"What did I do?!" the heartthrob crybaby asked, leaning away from him.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll figure it out. Now then, where's our other missing bear cub?"

As one, the adults in the bus pointed back at Beary, and James walked back and sat down next to him. "Beary? Your parents are worried sick."

"Parents? Those humans are not my parents! My parents abandoned me! They are Dex's family, not mine! They already have another baby on the way. Just leave me alone!" Beary cried, shrinking back.

James frowned. "You don't really think that, do you?" He glanced up, noticing eyes were upon them. "Come outside and we'll talk, okay? I promise, I won't take you back if you don't want to go, because I know you'll just leave again." He gave Beary a friendly smile and got up, walking towards the front of the bus.

Beary thought for a few moments, sighed, and got up as well, following him off the bus, making sure not to look at the faces he was sure were watching him. As soon as he stepped off, he let out a startled screech as he was pulled into the arms of a female bear. "Jade!"

Jade snorted and hugged him. "I should be tanning your hide, mister, for the scare you gave your poor mother."

"She's not my mother!" Beary growled, pulling away from her.

Jade paused, studying him for a moment. "Found out, huh? That you were adopted?" She shook her head, one arm still wrapped around Jewel's shoulders. "I was wondering how long it'd take. No matter, she still raised you."

"Because my own parents didn't want me!" Fresh, hot tears rolled down his cheeks as he sat down on the grass by the bus. "Dex told me that I was abandoned!"

Jade had no problem baring her teeth. "Dex told you this?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Why that little, no-good, little piece of sh-"

"Jade!" James warned. "We will explain things to Allison and Norbert." James then sat down next to Beary. "As for you... What do you want to do?"

"I... I want to get the band back together and prove I'm worth something." Beary's ear flicked when he heard Tennessee start bawling from inside the bus. "But... But they're not like I expected, Mr. Stone. Zeb's completely zoned, Tennessee's a humongous crybaby, and Fred... Actually, out of all of them, Fred's the closest to what I read and saw."

Jewel nodded in agreement.

"I see... Do you feel comfortable around them?" James had known the band for years, as he had married Trixie's younger sister, Tasha. He knew they were good guys who would never, ever hurt Beary or Jewel.

Jade blinked, looking at her friend in surprise. Was her uncle serious?

"Yeah, I do. It's a lot to get used to, but they're still my favorite band. Maybe when Zeb stops throwing up, they'll play us something! Do you think? Plus, I can't leave now. They're... They'll fall apart again!" Beary explained, wiping away his tears. "Please don't take me away. I... I have to find out who I am. My place is here."

"And what about Mr. and Mrs. Barrington, kiddo?"

"I... I'll call them tonight, okay? Let 'em know I wasn't kidnapped or anything."

James nodded. He knew it was foolish to leave Beary, but he also knew that the cub would just run away all over again if he was taken back. It'd be better that Beary realize on his own that he was loved and wanted by his human family. He was a smart kid, and would figure it out sooner rather than later. "You make sure you call them, okay? I'll talk to them later this evening, if they're not still out looking around for you. Just remember that they love you, okay?"

Beary gave a small nod and let the older bear hug him, before he got up and ran to Jade's arms. Jewel smiled and hugged him as well, knowing that her uncle would let her stay with Beary.

James got up, brushed himself off, and went onto the bus. In a loud voice, he spoke. "Okay, you lot! I'm going to leave you in charge and fully responsible for these two young, highly impressionable cubs! So shape up and act your age! No more drinking. No more crying. And, Fred? Stop hiding under a blanket. These cubs have grown up thinking the world of you, and you better live up to their expectations. You've already done a poor job of it!"

He then turned to Roadie. "As for you, you did felony evading of a cop. I'm not sure whether or not to arrest you or applaud you for what you did to those two dunderheads. It was quite the show, though. The fact that they followed you into the car wash... I actually had to pray for strength, I couldn't believe it." He shook his head and grinned. "Nonetheless, no one can prove who was driving, and there were no pictures of you taken."

"Can't you prove it?" Roadie asked, confused but proud.

"I'm off duty, first of all, and second of all, I can't prove anything, because I didn't see who was driving, either." James winked at him. "Drive safe, old friend. If I see you do that kind of BS again, though, I won't hesitate in having you arrested."

Roadie nodded.

James then looked at Henry. "As for you, we'll get that segment fully taken off the TV. I know you didn't kidnap them. Those two knucklehead cops that reported you misinterpreted what Big Al said. I called him up myself asking about them, and he explained everything. Don't even worry about it." He smiled and leaned in a bit closer. "And I know about Beary and you, Henry... I've been looking into his past for as long as I've known him. Everything adds up, as far as I'm aware. I'll ask some more questions, but I have a very distinct feeling that he's your missing boy. Don't say anything to him yet, though. He's confused and hurt, and may reject you for it."

Henry smiled a little and nodded, feeling butterflies in his stomach. Possible confirmation from a cop?! Glory!

James straightened up and looked at the others. "If I get one bad report from my niece, I will fight all of you." He turned and went back to the door before stopping next to Roadie. "By the way, if you are looking for Trixie," he whispered, "she's in Knoxville. Jewel mentioned that Tennessee wouldn't play without her." He went on to tell him exactly where she was performing, and that there was a motel not too far from it.

Roadie grinned and nodded.

Once James had left, Beary and Jewel reentered the bus, this time sitting near the front across from Henry, wanting to look out the side windows as they traveled.

Roadie waited until Henry had taken his seat, and closed the door, taking to the road once more.