Disclaimer: I do not own TaleSpin or any of the Disney Afternoon characters; they all belong to Walt Disney!
WARNING: Longest chapter by far, make sure you have plenty of time to read.
Chapter Eleven
Mathew opened the envelope with trembling hands, pulled out the official-looking letter, and begins to read.
Dear Mr. Cloudkicker
We have received intelligence that after a twelve-year search, you have succeeded in finding your son, male minor Kit Cloudkicker. We, at the Cape Suzette Child Welfare Department, would like to congratulate you on your success of finding your son and we wish you the best of luck in your tine together.
Now that you have found Kit and we now know how to contact you, it is our duty to enlighten you on this very important piece of information.
You may or may not know this, but your deceased wife, Lilly Elizabeth Cloudkicker gave birth to twins and they were separated and sent to different orphanage by a careless Dr. R.J. Randle. When Lilly found out she had twins, she named the firstborn Kit, the name you both agreed on for a boy and she named the second son Chris, after her late father.
Chris is currently in the Cape Suzette Orphanage, he had been moved there from the Jungle City Orphanage for your convenience, since you are currently living at Higher for Hire, located in Cape Suzette. You may pick him up anytime. And you need not worry about gaining custody of Chris, since you have custody of Kit, you also have custody of Chris.
Hoping you're well.
Signed: Albus Lupin, of the Cape Suzette Child Welfare Department
Simba Pride, of the Jungle City Orphanage
Mathew dropped the letter as he finished reading; his face was blank from the shock of discovering yet another son. He slumped down on his bed.
"All this time, I thought I only had one son…now I got two…" He lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "How do I approach a son I didn't even know existed until now? Well, I just have to be honest with him, that's all. But how am I gonna tell Kit?"
Mathew did not sleep well that night, his mind was racing with wondering how best to inform Kit of his brother and how best to approach Chris. Finally, he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
The next morning, someone small was jumping up and down on his bed, Mathew jerked awake.
"Dad, Dad!" it was Kit, he got down on his knees on the bed next to Mathew and shook him. "C'mon, Dad, wake up, Baloo is gonna eat your breakfast if you don't hurry."
"Let him have it." Mathew mumbled sleepily. Slowly he rose into a sitting position on his bed. He let out a big yawn, he looked terrible, his eyes were slightly red and his hair was a mess. "I'm not hungry this morning."
"Gee, Dad, are you alright? You don't look so good." Kit said, looking at his Dad with concern, he placed a hand on his Dad's forehead. "You don't have a fever… are you sick at your stomach?"
Mathew was touched that his son cared about him so much.
"Nah, I'm fine, Kit… I just…didn't sleep well last night…too many things on my mind." Mathew said while stretching his arms out, then he patted the side of his bed as a gesture for Kit to sit down next to him. "Come here, Kit, there's something I gotta tell you."
Kit, who was standing on the bed over Mathew, sat down next to him.
"What is it, Dad?" he asked while Mathew put an arm around him and hugged him.
"Kit, there's no easy way for me tell you this, so I'm just going to come right out and say it." Mathew sighed and then said: "Kit…you have a brother…"
Silence fell between them for a moment, giving Kit time to register what Mathew just said. His wide-eye expression told Mathew that he was just as shocked as he was.
"I—I have a…a brother?" he asked slowly.
"Yes, Kit." Mathew said quietly.
"H-h-how?" he asked.
"Well, Kit, when a Mama bear and a Daddy bear love each other very much, they—" Mathew begun but—
"Dad, no! Not that 'how'!" Kit exclaimed exasperatedly, looking revolted. Mathew could not help but chuckle at his son's reaction. "No, I meant how did we not know about him before now?"
Mathew sighed sadly. "Dr. Randle separated you two after you were born and sent you two off to different orphanages."
"Ohh…" said Kit, looking a little sad. "What's his name?"
"His name is Chris,"
"Chris…" Kit repeated in a whisper to himself. "Are you going to go get him?"
"Absolutely!" Mathew said, patting Kit's head. "I'm taking off in a little while… I'm gonna go straight to that orphanage, get him and bring him back here."
"Hey, Dad, can I—can I go with you? ...Please?" Kit asked while tugging at his Dad's sleeve and giving the puppy-dog look.
"Of course you can, Lil Buddy." Mathew said with a smile, ruffling Kit's head and messing up his cap and his hair.
Kit pushed his cap back into position and smiled warmly. "You know, it's funny, just yesterday I was meeting the Duck brothers and I wished that I had a brother and all this time, I have one. Sort of like a wish come true."
Mathew chuckles. "Yeah, that is kind of funny," he cleared his throat. "Uh, Kit…last night, I asked for Rebecca's hand in marriage…"
Kit's eyes widened, stunned for a moment and then his shocked expression was replaced with a glowing face of excitement.
"Yeah, and?" he asked eagerly.
Mathew smiled warmly. "She said yes."
"YA-HOO!" Kit jumped up with his fist raise to joyously punch the air. "Miss Cunningham is gonna be my Mom! Ya-hoo!"
Kit stopped jumping and cheering and wrapped his arms around his Dad's neck.
"I'm glad that you're happy for me and Rebecca, Kit." Mathew said while hugging Kit.
"Rebecca's… like a Mom to me, ever since I first met her. She's a great person, Dad, I'm glad you're marrying her."
Mathew nodded, smiling. He got up and headed for the bathroom.
"I'm going to get ready, I'll be out in a minute and then we'll go get Chris."
Mathew changed into clean clothes, brushed his teeth and combed his hair.
"Okay, I'm ready, let's go."
Kit jumped off the bed and followed his Dad out the door.
They walked down the hall toward Rebecca's room. Upon reaching the door to Rebecca's room, Mathew knocked on it. Moments later, Rebecca opened the door and smiled pleasantly.
"Well, good morning, flyboy." Rebecca said. She looked down at Kit. "Good morning, Kit."
Kit took off his cap. "Good morning, Miss Cunningham." He then placed his cap back on his head.
Mathew smiled proudly, glad that his son has good manners
Rebecca knelt down in front of Kit, hugged him and then kissed him on the forehead.
"I guess you heard the news," she said with a smile.
"Yeah, Dad told me and I think it's great…Mom." Kit then did something he has never done before; he kissed Rebecca on the cheek.
Rebecca looked momentarily stunned; she touched the spot where Kit has kissed her. Then she smiled warmly.
"Aw, that's sweet, Kit." Rebecca said; embracing Kit again and he hugged back. "I love you, Kit."
"Love you, too."
Then they broke apart and Rebecca stood up and patted Kit on top of the head.
"There's a cookie jar on the table and a jug of milk in the refrigerator if you're hungry."
"Wow, thanks… Mom…" Kit sounded like he was trying to get used to calling her that. "Um, can I call you that?"
"You can call me whatever you like, Kit." Rebecca assured him.
"Okay, I'll call you Mom, since you are a mother figure to me." And he was off to invade the cookie jar
Mathew moved to stand next to Rebecca, placing a hand on her shoulder as they watch Kit attack the cookie jar.
"You're good with him, Rebecca."
"Yeah? Well, you're not too bad with him yourself, flyboy." Rebecca said, smiling as she turned to face him. Their lips touched in a kiss for a moment.
"Rebecca, I have something to tell you." Mathew said after the broke apart.
"What is it, Mathew?" she asked, noticing how uneasy Mathew looked. She placed a hand on his arm. "Hey, you can tell me anything, you know that, right?"
"Yes, of course I do," Mathew said. "But I just don't know how you're going to take the news, and it might affect our engagement."
"That is not going to happen, Mathew, I'm letting Kit get away with calling me Mom, aren't I?" she said while patting Mathew's arm consolingly, Mathew grinned. "Come on, Mathew, tell me."
"Well…" said Mathew hesitantly. "It turns out that Kit is not the only son I have…"
"What do you mean, Mathew?" asked Rebecca, looking concerned
"Rebecca…" Mathew sighed. "It turns out that Lilly had twins, I have another son out there…I just found out…"
"Oh…" Rebecca seems lost for words. "...oh…wow, two Kits, this is...unexpected…"
"His name is Chris, Rebecca, and me and Kit will be leaving in a few minutes to pick him up...I hope you don't mind an extra kid."
"Well, this is unexpected…" she admitted but she placed a hand on his arm, smiling. "But I'm sure a flyboy Daddy like you and a business Mom like me can handle it."
"Yeah, you're right, Rebecca." Mathew smiled at her. "Well, Kit and me better be off. Come on, Kit."
"Coming, Dad." Kit took the last cookie and followed his Dad out of the room.
They walked down the hall to the place where all the planes were kept. Kit looked around as they entered the airport room. He saw the Thunderquack, the Ranger Plane, Scrooge McDuck's private jet, Shere Khan's plane. He was surprised to see the Sea Duck in the airport room.
"Dad, how did the Sea Duck get here?" asked Kit as he approached the Sea Duck and patted one of the pontoons fondly.
"Baloo requested the Organization to go get it for him, said he couldn't be away from his baby for too long." Mathew replied. "Which is understandable of course, it's the bond between the pilot and his plane. I feel the same way about the Phoenix, but I would give her up for those I love, as would Baloo. Now, come on, I can't wait to meet Chris."
"Me either." Kit said as he followed his Dad toward the Phoenix, which stood at the far end of the airport room.
As Mathew approached the door on the pilot side, he stopped in his tracks and looked up at engine one. A ladder was against the wing and someone had opened the engine and was working on it.
"What's going on? —HEY! Who's up there?" he called up.
Wildcat poked his head up. "Oh, hi, Matt. We're fixing Miss Phoenix up, she was worried about heating up and going 'BOOM, BOOM!'"
"Huh?" Mathew scratched his head, looking puzzled; he never really understood the odd mechanic's way of thinking.
Another person pop up next to Wildcat, it was Gadget.
"Oh, hi Mathew, Wildcat and I are modifying your overdrive." Gadget said, smiling. "We just installed some engine coolers in both engines. They will activate when the engines experiences extreme heat. Therefore, when you turn on your overdrive, you won't have to worry about overheating and blowing up one or both of your engines."
"Wow, that's great, Gadget." Mathew said, smiling. "Are you almost finished? Me and Kit gotta be somewhere."
"Yep, we're done!" Gadget closed the engine, gathered up her tools and climbed down, followed by Wildcat. "Now Mathew, you can now use overdrive for any amount of time, but you still have a time limit for how long you use it. Overdrive can burn much more fuel then normal flight capability, so don't use it any longer then you have to. But on the bright side, you can use it without worrying about blowing your engines out."
She said all of this very fast and enthusiastically but somehow Mathew managed to catch ever word, whereas Kit stared at her in great confusion.
Mathew smiled pleasantly at her. "Thanks Gadget, thanks Wildcat. Have you checked out the Sea Duck?"
"Yes, and we're working on it next." Gadget replied. "It has the same engines you have—Superflight One-hundreds and even has overdrive in it, but Baloo burned it out. The overdrive turbo engines are still there, but they've melted onto the main engines so we're going to have to replace the whole engines and put in new Superflight One-hundreds, new overdrive and I'll even throw in some engine coolers."
"I'm sure Baloo will be very happy," Mathew said.
"You bet your aileron I'll be happy," said a voice behind him, making him jump. He turned to see Baloo leaning against the nose of the Phoenix. "I'll be able to keep up with you two without blowing up the engines."
Mathew chuckles. "Hi Baloo, love to stay and chat but Kit and me gotta be somewhere." He walked over to his flaming red plane, reached up, and opened the door on the pilot side.
Kit walked up to Baloo, looking up at him.
"Can you come with us, Papa Bear?" he asked.
"Sure, Lil Britches, if it's okay with your Dad." Baloo glanced up at Mathew.
"Of course you can come, Baloo, this is family business and...Well…Kit and I consider you family."
This certainly made Kit happy; he grinned a big happy grin and begins pulling Baloo's hand toward the Phoenix.
"All aboard!" called Mathew, picking Kit up and setting him inside the plane before climbing in after him. He then held out a hand to Baloo, helping the big fat gray bear into the cockpit. He closed the door and sat in his seat. Baloo took the navigator's seat and Kit jumped into his laps.
"Oof!" Baloo grunted as Kit landed squarely on his great belly. "Easy on the landing, Lil Britches."
Kit grinned apologetically. "Sorry, Papa Bear."
"Baloo," Mathew said, gaining Baloo's attention. "Before we take off, I'd better fill you in on what we're doing."
Baloo nodded, indicating that he was paying attention.
"I've been sent an official letter from the Child Welfare Department, informing me that Kit isn't my only son…I have another one…"
"You have another kid? Why didn't you tell me?" asked Baloo.
Mathew looked miserable. "I—I didn't know he existed until last night…Remember, I wasn't present when Kit was born and the doctor told me only about Kit, they didn't say anything about Chris."
"Chris? Is that the kid's name?"
"Yes, Baloo…And oh, I wish I've killed that Dr. Randle! He took my sons away from me and then he lied to me, telling me I only had one son."
"Yeah, I know what ya mean. If that had been me, I would've landed the Sea Duck on top of him and squash him!"
"Anyway, since Kit and Chris are twins and since I have custody of Kit, I also have custody of Chris." Mathew said. "We're going to Cape Suzette to pick him up—Oh, I almost forgot." He pulled the ceiling lever back, opening the back hatches. He then stood up, entered the cargo hold, and walked out of the plane through the back.
"What's he doing?" Baloo asked as they watched him enter a garage-type room. Kit shrugged.
Mathew came back out of the room, driving a golf cart, he droved it around the Phoenix and into the cargo hold.
Mathew re-entered the cockpit from the cargo hold after parking the golf cart in the cargo hold and tying it down.
"What's the golf cart for, Matt?" Baloo asked, while Kit looked up at his Dad from Baloo's laps as if to say 'what he said.'
"It's a long walk from the dock to the orphanage." Mathew explained. "And Chris may not be used to doing a lot of walking, being cooped up in an orphanage all these years."
Baloo and Kit both nodded in agreement.
Later, after a five-minute flight, they have arrived in Cape Suzette. Mathew had used overdrive the whole way, wanting to get there as fast as possible and he was testing the engines coolers. He was pleased with them, for the engines did not even begin to heat up.
They have flown past the gap in the cliffs so fast that the cliff guards did not even see them. Mathew turned the overdrive off and realized his mistake just in time. He had used overdrive too long; his gas tanks were a drop from being empty! He quickly landed the plane on the water, drove it up to the dock of Higher for Hire, and parked it there.
"Baloo, call the gas service and tell them to fill 'er up while Kit and I go get Chris." Mathew said while walking into the cargo hold. He untied the golf cart. "Kit, open the hatches for me, please."
"Okay, Dad." Kit said, grinning as he reached up for the ceiling lever and pulled it back, opening the back hatches.
Mathew drove the golf cart out through the back and onto the dock.
"Kit, do you want to walk, ride or drive?" Mathew ask, knowing the answer.
"DRIVE!" Kit shouted excitedly, jumping into the golf cart and bumping Mathew sideway into the passenger's seat. He gripped the wheel and turned the key.
I was right, Mathew mused. What twelve-year-old doesn't want to drive?
Mathew looked back at Baloo. "We'll be back as soon as possible."
"Don't worry about me, Matt; you just go get that boy of yours." Baloo said, closing the back hatches of the Phoenix, and tying the nose of it to a post.
"Okay, Kit. Turn the key and give a little gas, but just a little bit." Mathew told his son.
Kit obeyed his Dad and gave it a little gas and the cart started moving at three miles per hour.
"Now, slowly give it a little more." Mathew said.
Kit gave it a little more gas, pushing the pedal half way to the floor, bringing the golf cart up to ten miles per hour.
"Okay, keep it at this speed, no faster." Mathew said. "Keep the wheel steady, like flying a plane. Now, drive off the dock and onto the sidewalk and stay on the sidewalk."
Kit did everything his Dad told him. Mathew knew that his son was a little nervous about driving, so he just told him what to do without adding pressure on him. He sat back in his seat with his hands on the back of his head, acting so relaxed so that Kit would not feel pressured by a critical eye.
Kit tensed up when they come up to a crosswalk; the DON'T WALK light was on.
Mathew sensed the tension in his son.
"Kit, relax and let out a breath." Mathew told him. Kit obeyed, letting out a breath and loosened up his tensed muscles. "Okay, now slowly ease off the gas…"
Kit eased off the gas and they slowed down.
"Now, take your foot off the gas."
Kit removed his foot from the gas pedal and they slowed some more.
Mathew waited until they were almost at the edge of the sidewalk, leading to the crosswalk before giving out his next instruction.
"Okay, now slowly push in on the break, don't stomp on it, and just push it in slowly."
Kit slowly pressed the break in with his foot and they slowed down to a perfect halt.
"Very good, Kit!" Mathew beamed with pride at him. "I knew you could do it!"
"Thanks Dad," said Kit, smiling with self-satisfaction. "Thanks for the pointers."
"Anytime, son, anytime."
The traffic light changed from DON'T WALK to a picture of a person walking.
Kit pressed the gas in a little bit and they drove across the street and continue on their way.
After a twenty-minute drive, they reached the orphanage. They parked the golf cart at the front steps of the orphanage. Kit took the key out and handed it to Mathew, who took it and pocketed it.
"Well, here it goes." Mathew said as they walked up the steps into the orphanage.
Mathew and Kit held each other's hands as the entered the building.
A very gentle-looking old hen dressed in a motherly blue dress greeted them. She certainly had the aura of a very kind and caring soul.
"Hello, you must be Chris's family," she said in a sweet voice. "The resemblance is just uncanny."
"Yes, we would like to see Chris," Mathew said politely. "Would you please lead us to him?"
"Now I know where Chris got his kindness from," the old hen said with a smile. "My name is Betty, by the way."
"I'm Mathew Cloudkicker and this is my son, Kit."
"Nice to meet you two gentlemen." Betty said with a bow of her head, "Now, if you'll kindly follow me, I'll take you to meet Chris."
Betty walked off, leading the way with Mathew and Kit at her heels.
"This is a nicer place then the orphanage I grew up in." Kit commented. "At least the staff actually cares for their kids, so unlike the people at my orphanage."
"Remember, Kit, Chris didn't grew up here, he only just been moved here for our convenience." Mathew reminded him. "He grew up in Jungle City Orphanage."
"Here we are." Betty said, she gestured to the door beside her. "He's in there. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must tend to a little boy just down the hall." She left, leaving them alone in front of the door.
Mathew and Kit looked at the door to Chris' room, both feeling nervous. Finally, Mathew gulped and reached for the door handle, opened the door and he and Kit entered.
A bear cub who was the same height as Kit was sitting on the bed, reading the latest edition of the Flyboy magazine. He was wearing the same type of sweater Kit was wearing, except his was sky-blue with a navy-blue neck collar. His eyes were blue and two threads of hair stuck up at the back of his head.
He looked up at their entrance; his expression was blank as if he did not know what to think.
"D-Dad?" he asked nervously.
Mathew smiled pleasantly. "Yes, Chris, I am your Dad."
Chris looked at Kit. "Who are you?"
"I'm Kit, Kit Cloudkicker, your brother." Kit said.
Chris nodded, and he looked back at Mathew with tears flowing down his cheeks.
"Why, why did you leave me?" Chris asked, sobbing a little.
Mathew froze; a great sadness filled his face. He thought I left him, after all these years, he thought we just abandoned him…
"Oh, Chris…" Mathew said sadly, moving slowly toward Chris and sitting down next to him on the bed. Chris was crying, looking down on the bed. Mathew cupped Chris' chin up. "Chris, I didn't leave you, you and Kit were taken away from me when you were born. I've spent twelve years looking for Kit."
Chris lifted his blue eyes to Mathew's face. "Were you looking for me too?"
"I'm not going to lie to you, Chris." Mathew said, he put an arm around his youngest son and hugged him. "I didn't know about you until very recently, the reason for this is because the doctor told me that I only have one son—Kit, he didn't say anything about you so I didn't know about you. But have I known, I would've searched for you too."
Chris shoved Mathew's arm off from his shoulder.
"How could you not know that I was born?!" Chris asked, sounding angry.
Mathew bowed his head sadly, feeling that he deserved his son's wrath.
"I'm so sorry, Chris…you see, I wasn't present when your Mom gave birth to you and Kit, and I was on a cargo run at the time so I couldn't prevent that doctor from giving you two away to different orphanages."
Chris looked up at Mathew with a tear-stain face.
"You want me?" he asked.
"More then you know." Mathew replied as he lifted Chris up into his arms and hugged him tightly. Then he looked over at Kit, who stood silently a few feet away. Mathew held out an arm. "Kit, get in here."
Kit climbed up onto the bed and sat on his Dad's lap next to Chris so that Mathew was hugging both of his sons.
"Boys, I promise I'll never leave you."
Chris giggled as he felt the warm love in the hug that his Dad was giving him and his brother.
"Dad?" Chris said.
"Yes, Chris?"
"I love you." Chris said as he wrapped his arms around his Dad's neck.
Mathew hugged Chris around the middle, rubbing him on the upper back with a hand. "I love you too, Chris."
"Hey, Chris," Kit addressed his brother for the first time, pointing at the Flyboy magazine. "You're into airplanes?"
"Yeah, I dunno why, but I like to look at 'em." Chris said, staring at Kit as though trying to memorize all of his features, he was surprised of how much Kit look like him. "I've never been in an airplane before but I wish I could at least look around in one."
"Chris, you're in luck. Dad's a pilot and he's got his own plane, we can take you flying!"
"Flying?" Chris gulped, but then he forced himself to grin with excitement. "I mean, oh boy! I've always wanted to fly!"
Mathew and Kit somehow failed to see the momentarily look of fear in Chris' eyes.
"Come on, Chris," Mathew said, hugging Chris and standing up with him in his arms. "We gotta get back."
"Where're we going?" asked Chris.
"Home…sort of." Mathew said.
"Sort of?"
"I'll explain later."
A few minutes later, they were leaving the orphanage and into the golf cart. Kit and Mathew got in and looked at Chris, who stood by them.
"Chris, do you wanna drive?" Mathew asked.
Chris smiled very big.
"YEAH!" he yelled, jumping into the driver's seat and taking the wheel.
"Now, Chris, the first thing you have to do is—" Mathew begin, but the rest of his words were lost in the winds as Chris stomped on the gas and zoomed down the street with Mathew yelling: "AHHHH!!"
"Chris! Hit the break!" Kit yelled, while holding on to his cap.
"The break? Uh, which one is that?" Chris asked, looking around the steering wheel as they drove through the market place, knocking carts of tomatoes, apples, oranges and watermelon over, spilling its' content onto the sidewalk and onto the road!
"You mean you don't know how—? AHHH—Oof!" Kit grunted as a watermelon hit him on the head and he ended up wearing half a melon as a hat.
Mathew quickly knocked Chris' foot off the gas with his foot and pressed in the break and they halted.
"Whew!" Mathew sighed with relief, sliding down in his seat.
"Uh, Dad? You might wanna step on it…" Kit said in a worried tone, looking back behind them and shoving the melon off his head while casting Chris a resentful look, to which Chris grinned sheepishly.
"Why?" asked Mathew, who was still trying to catch his breath.
"Because we've got an angry mob on our tail!" Kit yelled.
Mathew looked back and saw the destruction that Chris caused to the market place and a mob of angry salesmen.
"Oh, snap!" Mathew hissed as he slammed his foot on the gas and they sped away from the angry mob. He drove all the way to the Higher for Hire dock where the Phoenix was.
"Hey-hey, Matt, ready for take off?" Baloo asked with his head hanging out the window of the door on the pilot side. "Is that your other kid?" he asked when he saw Chris hopping out of the golf cart.
"Wow…" Chris murmured in awe, looking the Phoenix up and down with admiration. "What a great plane, a Conwing L-sixteen, right?"
"Good eye, Chris." Mathew said, feeling proud of him. He walked up to the Phoenix and patted the side of it. "I call 'er the Phoenix, my best friend. Customized her myself." He pointed at one of the engine. "Can you guess what kind of engines those are?"
"Hmm," Chris said, looking up at the engine while holding his chin in concentration. "Are those Superflight One-hundreds?"
Baloo was certainly impressed as was Mathew and Kit.
"Hey, you're alright, Chris." Baloo said, giving Chris the thumb-up.
"Thanks sir." Chris muttered.
"No need ta be formal with me, Chris, just call me Baloo."
"Right, okay, Baloo." He smiled up at the pilot.
"Baloo, open the back hatches, please." Mathew said. Baloo obeyed. "Kit, help Chris into the plane while I load the golf cart in the cargo hold.'
"Okay, Dad." Kit grasped Chris' hand and led him to the cockpit. Baloo opened the door and held out a hand to the two bear cubs.
"You go first," Kit said to Chris.
"Okay, Kit." Chris said, smiling. His smile faded as he look up at Baloo, feeling distrustful of him. If Kit trusts him, and Dad trusts him, maybe I should give him a chance… He held up a hand to Baloo. Baloo grasped his hand and pulled him into the cockpit.
Kit was next to enter the cockpit.
"Well? What do you think?" Kit inquired of Chris as he looked all around the cockpit, taking in every detail. "Now you can't say you've never been in a plane."
"I guess…" Chris said, paying little or no attention to his older brother. He was busy looking at the controls, trying to get an idea of how the controls works. "This is an awesome plane!"
"Glad you like it," said Mathew, who had just entered the cockpit from the cargo hold. "You wanna fly us outta' here?"
"Who, me?" squeaked Chris, prodding himself on the chest with a finger. Baloo noticed the fear in the bear cub's young face. "Are you sure you want me to? You saw what I did in the golf cart."
"Good point." Mathew sighed. "Everybody buckle up, we're taking off." Mathew pushed Baloo out of the pilot seat and sat down.
Baloo moved over and sat in the navigator's seat and Kit hopped onto his big belly, landing gently this time.
"Come on, Chris," Kit said. "There's enough room on the Baloo Express for one more."
"Uhh..." Chris said shyly, looking at Baloo nervously.
"Yeah, Chris, don't worry, I won't bite. Now come on up here." Baloo patted his lap.
Chris backed away, shaking his head, looking ever so distrustful.
Mathew watched Chris closely, noticing how he was with Baloo. Before he could say anything, Baloo reached over to Chris, lifted him, despite Chris' protests.
"Chris, I would never hurt ya, ya gotta believe that." Baloo told him, holding the bear cub at arm's length, and then he pressed Chris to his chest and hugged him. "See? I'm not hurting ya." He rubbed the back of Chris' head very gently.
Chris eased his tensed muscles and relaxed in the big gray bear's arms. He actually enjoyed the embrace Baloo was giving him and he hugged Baloo back.
"There…told ya I wouldn't bite." Baloo said softly as he placed Chris on his laps next to Kit. He sat there, two bear cubs sitting on his belly with an arm around both of them.
"We're ready for take off." Mathew said, flipping all the switches that turns on the engines. "Here we go…" He pushed the throttle forward and they moved away from the dock, gliding along on the water.
This isn't so bad. Chris thought, but then Mathew pulled back on the flight stick, bringing the plane up into the air. Yikes! I spoke too soon!
He shut his eyes tight and his body tensed up again.
"Chris?" Baloo said gently in his ear. "Are you okay?" He lifted Chris off his lap and embraced him consolingly. Chris wrapped his arms tightly around Baloo's neck as though unwilling to let go, after a moment, he realized what he was doing and he let go of Baloo.
"Yeah, I-I'm fine…" Chris said, aware that his Dad and brother were watching him. "I'm just trembling with excitement," he lied quickly. He can tell by Baloo's frown that the big gray bear was not buying it.
Kit was looking out the window and saw that the sky was cloudy, perfect for cloud surfing and a little time to bond with his younger brother.
"Dad, does the Phoenix has towropes?" asked Kit.
"Yeah, she does," said Mathew, who had also noticed the perfect cloud-surfing weather conditions. "Why don't you and Chris try it out?"
Before Chris could say anything or object, Kit grabbed Chris' hand and pulled him into the cargo hold.
Kit took out his airfoil, placed it on the floor, and stood on top it, beckoning Chris to stand in front of him on the board. Chris obeyed, seeing no harm in it… yet.
"Kit, wait…" Baloo said at the doorway to the cargo hold.
"We're ready, Dad!" Kit called.
Mathew pulled back on the ceiling lever, opening the back hatches.
"Matt, no!" Baloo yelled at him.
Chris, realizing too late what was going on, let out a frightful moan as the wind blew into the cargo hold, sweeping them off the floor and out of the plane!
Kit and Chris were gliding along behind the Phoenix, with Kit holding the towrope. The air and clouds rushed by them as they continue to cloud surf.
For a moment, Chris was enjoying it—until he looked down and saw the oceans from ten thousand feet up. He squeaked with fright, he turned around on the board to face Kit and he wrapped his arms around Kit's waist very tightly.
"AHHH!!" Chris screamed. "Oh, please, don't let go, Kit!" he cried, holding onto Kit, his body shaking like a leaf.
"Chris! It's okay, I got you." Kit said, realizing his brother was scared. He waved a hand as a signal for Mathew to reel them back into the plane. Mathew got the message and hit the switch from the cockpit. Baloo was standing in the cargo hold, near the back exit.
The towrope wheel begin to spin, reeling the two bear cubs back in.
Kit hopped into the cargo hold and put his airfoil away. It was then that he noticed that Chris somehow ended up on his back. His arms were wrapped tightly around Kit's head and his legs around Kit's waist.
"Chris, get off, you're safe now." Kit said, trying to remove Chris' hands from his head, but no luck.
Baloo stood watching, Chris had a look of terror frozen upon his face.
"Kit, he's in the state of fright," Baloo said. "He can't respond just yet, give him a minute."
"Baloo, I'm losing blood in my head here..." Kit said.
Baloo sighed, walked around Kit and tried to pull Chris off him, but his body was so stiff and frozen by fright that it did not budge.
Baloo moved his hands down to Chris' hips and tried again, but he ended up lifting Kit up off his feet as he tried to pulled Chris off of him.
Baloo sighed again, putting the two bear cubs down. "It's no good, Lil Britches, he's just not letting go."
"What's wrong with him, Baloo?" asked Kit, sounding concerned for his brother.
"Chris…" Mathew came into the cargo hold, having put the plane on autopilot. He was worried, Chris face was frozen in terror and his grip on Kit was very tight. He walked over to Chris and Kit and bent down to talk in Chris' ear. "Chris, Chris, can you hear me?"
"What's wrong with him, Dad? Why won't he respond or let go of me?" Kit asked.
"Kit…Matt…" Baloo spoke, looking from Kit and Chris to Mathew and back again. "I think Chris is afraid of height…I noticed that he got tensed when we took off…Kit, I'm sorry, I tried ta stop you, but you were already out there and I think cloud surfing was just too much for him."
Just then, Chris' body unfreezes and slumped against Kit's back.
"Chris," Baloo lifted Chris off Kit's back, held gently in his arms and carried him over to the bed on the side. "Are you alright, kid?" he asked and he placed Chris down on the bed in the corner of the cargo hold.
Kit moved to stand by Baloo, rubbing his head, relieved that Chris has finally let go.
Chris whimpered and curled himself into a ball on the bed, hugging his knees.
"Chris…" Kit sat on the bed next to him and laid a hand on Chris' back. "Chris, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were acrophobic." Chris gave no response.
Kit begin rubbing Chris' back, wondering what to do…and then an idea came to him…He stood up and shifted Chris' body to a more comfortable position and laid Chris' head on the pillow.
Chris just stared blankly at him as he did this.
Kit stroked Chris' head gently and hummed a tune before he started to sing.
"Home is where the heart is, wherever you may be. There'll always be a home for you, here inside of me… Home is where the heart is, and whatever you may do, there'll always be a part of me here inside of you…"
He touched Chris' chest, the place where his heart was and felt it beating.
Behind him, Mathew moved closer to his two cubs and started to sing the chorus.
"Four walls may surround you and protect you from a storm." Mathew sat on the bed next to the two bear cubs. "But my two arms around you will keep you safe and warm..." He picked Chris up in his arms and gave him a consoling embrace. He continued the song with Kit singing along. "If ever we're not with you, if ever you're alone. Remember where our heart is, and you'll always have a home."
Chris started to get some of his senses back, he looked up at his Dad and hugged him around the neck.
"Dad, Kit, I'm sorry, I should've told you—" he begin, looking ashamed of himself but Mathew placed a finger on Chris' lips to silence him.
"Four walls may surround you and protect you from a storm." Mathew continued to sing, hugging Chris tightly. "But my two arms around you will keep you safe and warm...Home is where the heart is, wherever you may be. There'll always be a home for you, here inside of me…Home is where the heart is, here my heart's at home. Remember where my heart is, and you'll never be alone…and you'll never be alone…Remember where my heart is…and you'll always have a home…"
As Mathew finishes the song, he saw that Chris had fallen asleep, resting his head against his Dad's chest. He smiles warmly as he stroke Chris' head. Then he laid Chris back on the bed and Kit laid beside him with an arm around Chris, letting his brother know that he will always be there for him.
Chris hugged Kit in his sleep as they continue to fly back to the Organization PhoenixHQ…
Author's Note:
WHEW! That was a long, long chapter. How did you like it? And what do you think of Chris?
For those who haven't seen or don't know, you can find the picture of Chris in my profile, just so you'd know what he looks like in case I didn't described him well enough.
Don't forget to post a review on your way out, reviews makes me happy!
