Jobs Must Be Done

Bonnie put on a black and white dotted dress made of blousy chiffon. It billowed over her bosom and created a striking hourglass figure she had never had before. It was one of her more flattering dresses—Clyde had recently picked her out some suitably fashionable attire for her new figure—but it didn't feel right once she tucked her hair up into a chignon and put on her burgundy sweater. "This looks like somethin' Blanche would wear." She said, turning to see her silhouette in the mirror before putting on her heels.

"If you don't wanna wear it, you don't have to go today." Clyde called from the bathroom where he was shaving his face. Bonnie heard a weak whimper coming from the nursery. A part of her wanted to go in there and see what was wrong with him, but she was certain that based on the other sounds she heard Blanche and Buck were already in there trying to get him ready for the day. She didn't want to give him too many people to focus on at once.

She shrugged. "I'm goin', Clyde." She reminded him sharply before putting on her bright red lipstick. It felt good to have some color on her lips again… Clyde came out with a little bit of shaving cream still on his cheek. She wiped it off and kissed his cheek before grabbing the baby blanket and a small handful of cash. "Well, honey, jobs must be done."

…later, they're outside the shop…

The sign said exactly what it was: a Ma and Pa shop. Blanche rolled the pram into the store while Buck, Bonnie, and Clyde prepared for their heist. Oh yes, this was going to be an interesting one. She had protested that the baby should've been left at home, but Bonnie couldn't part with her son. This job wasn't dangerous. Blanche knew that she had a specific job: fill a bag with all the groceries they'd need for the week, set the bag down in one of the aisles, and walk out so that the others could walk in. She was so nervous as she filled the bag with apples and bread and the like. Bonnie stood outside the store, taking a drag on a cigarette as confidently as ever. Now that Billy was in their life the redhead had a "to-hell-with-it" attitude but the nurturing maternal instinct when she was actually around her son. Blanche didn't have that kind of confidence, only the maternal instinct although she was childless.

Buck watched Blanche through the glass. "You don't think they're gonna question her?" He asked his brother, grabbing Clyde by the shoulder. Bonnie passed the cigarette onto her confident lover.

"Will you relax? Nobody questions a woman with a baby." Bonnie watched inside the shop as well. Clyde put a hand on Bonnie's shoulder and forced her to turn and look him in the eye. "You sure you wanna do this? You can wait in the car with Blanche and Billy if you wanna…"

She shook her head and let a puff of smoke blow in his face. "I'm gonna do this, Clyde." He didn't seem so sure of that. She looked at the clock in front of the bank. "Billy won't have to eat for a few more hours." With his hand still on her arm she grabbed his collar and started to reach for the hem of her skirt. "Do I have to show you my authority the way I show all these other boys? Let's go." He snatched her hand away from the skirt hem. Blanche came out of the store and Bonnie looked at Blanche with her specific instructions on her lip. "Get in the car and keep him quiet. If things go wrong go to the next shop and take some cash. There's some under his blanket. Please Blanche… be good to Billy." Bonnie leaned into the pram and kissed her son's forehead. Without another word to the brunette or another stolen glance at her baby, Bonnie and Clyde went through the door. Buck stayed out long enough to help Blanche and Billy into the car.

Bonnie hadn't lost her touch in the holdup. Blanche had dropped the bag in one of the aisles for Bonnie to find and pick up like it was a purse before taking it to the counter. Clyde was already chatting up the cashier and trying to get all the cash that was there (only about seventy dollars, he realized). He didn't even have to pull a gun on the man at the counter: the cash was just handed over when Bonnie looked at him. Bonnie saw the tired but happy eyes that she recalled her father having when she sat in his lap and he told her stories. They were the eyes of a father trying to do what was best for his child. Bonnie wondered if he pitied her, or pitied Clyde, or wondered about his family at home.

Too much pity, not enough shoplifting. "Let's go, sugar." Clyde said as he started to pull Bonnie away from her gaze aimed at the old man.

"You take care a 'im, you hear?" The man called after her. She looked back and Clyde stopped in his tracks. "I saw ya outside, 'fore ya came in. Y'all have one good behaved kid. That's rare nowadays, raise him up right, got it?"

Clyde put his hand on his gun but Bonnie stopped him before he could draw it. "He knows 'bout our son, sugar, what if he tells the laws?" Bonnie just looked at her with compassion in her eyes and a mouthed trust me. She reached into the bag and handed him back twenty dollars before bolting for the door. "The hell was that about, sugar? He could be callin' the laws right now, tellin' them that two thieves got away."

"He won't call." Bonnie promised him. "He wants what's best for Billy. And it's not good for him to grow up without his parents, Clyde, he could tell."

"Since when d'you know him that well?" Clyde sneered, but he saw the sincerity in Bonnie's eyes. "Well, we got away with groceries and fifty bucks, not too bad for your first day back. But next time it'll just be Buck an' I. If every trip we have to give a little of what we take we'll never get much." She smiled and agreed to this deal, but she knew that underneath his harsh words he didn't feel bad about giving the man a little money. It was the least they could do considering he complimented their kid.

…later that night, at the house…

Bonnie and Blanche were trying to get Billy into bed, but nothing was working. Bonnie fed him, changed him, and sang him a lullaby (well, a lullaby more or less, the classic lullabies didn't have an effect on the child so she ended up singing How 'Bout A Dance more often than not) but that didn't work. Blanche took a turn, crooning one of the oldest hymns she knew, but it only made him cry. "We tried everything, Bonnie." It wasn't like Blanche to give up that easily, but that was exactly what she was doing.

"I know that, Blanche." Bonnie said, mischievously smiling as she thought.

"Well I actually want to get some sleep tonight." Blanche stated, rocking her nephew in the rocking chair and shushing him softly. "You know, actually get some sleep, instead of staying up with your son all night."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Last night was the first night I asked you to stay up with Billy, Blanche." She reminded the brunette. "For a woman who wants to be a mother so badly you sure as hell don't know how much work children are." She could tell that her words cut Blanche a little deeper than she meant to, so she backtracked. "Stay up here for just a moment, I've got an idea."

Bonnie left Blanche with the squealing baby, and Blanche just spoke to the child. "Of course, she leaves me here, practically exhausted, with the baby. What's she gonna do, go out for a drink or somethin'?"

Bonnie came back quickly, dragging Clyde into the room. "Baby, please!" Bonnie begged, squeezing his hand. "Blanche should be able to go down and eat dinner with her husband. You can at least hold him, sing to him again?" Clyde scratched his neck and Bonnie took Billy from Blanche. "Go on down an' eat, Blanche, I think we got this." Bonnie sat in the rocking chair with her baby in her arms and Clyde behind her. He could tell that his redhead had been crying. "Please, baby, we gotta get him to sleep. I haven't slept a full night in three weeks."

"Well we can't blame that entirely on the baby…" He joked, rubbing her shoulders. He saw the look on her face and noted that she wasn't in a joking mood. "Bonnie, babe, why don't you go downstairs and get some dinner too? You must be starvin'. I'll see what I can do." Bonnie stood up and handed Clyde the baby, and without another word headed downstairs. She really was hungry: hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. The whole busy lifestyle that was practically forcing her to skip meals was good for her figure, but terrible for her appetite. Clyde and Billy locked eyes, but the screaming was still practically incessant. "Listen, son, I wanna make myself very clear." Clyde started sternly, but still soft enough that it wouldn't come off like he was screaming at the infant. "You're cryin' 'cause you're tired, ma's cryin' 'cause she's tired of you cryin', an' there're too many tears in this house." Clyde used his thumb to wipe the tears off of the baby's cheeks. Billy quieted down and watched his father. "That's better. No more tears now, y'hear? How 'bout a lullaby, Bill?" Clyde started to sing the same tune as the night before, happy that it was just him and his boy and he could be himself.

From the bottom of the stairs, Blanche and Bonnie stood listening to the newfound quiet in the upstairs. All that was heard was Clyde's tenor voice and the occasional gurgle of the baby. Clyde always sang the same little tune, but it was wonderful. It always worked. "Maybe Billy just needs his father's touch." Bonnie commented, looking at Blanche very smugly. "Between Clyde an' Buck there'll always be someone there to calm him down even when I can't."

"We can't." Blanche corrected Bonnie.

Bonnie stood by her words. "I can't." And that was the end of that discussion.

Author's note: So yeah, this chapter has been written. I hope it was alright, and I wish luck to everyone starting school this week (week two for me, heck yeah!) and please review! I can't wait to hear what's on all of your minds. I'll update as soon as I can!