Part 36

Cut off from the inside of the house, Stitch moved to the edge of the dock and sat with his feet dangling over the water, eyeing the small rowboat tied nearby. He didn't understand the people who lived on this strange planet or the way they reacted to him, but he especially didn't understand his own reactions. When he was playing with the adult Jack and the not-child Daniel, he had felt an emotion he was quite certain he'd never before experienced: happiness. Contentment, too, now that he looked back on it.

All that was gone, and it was his fault. When the boat tipped over, he'd panicked, flailing for the first thing he could reach and holding on for dear life. Unfortunately, the nearest object happened to be Daniel, but the pair couldn't remain afloat long. Just as suddenly, something grabbed Stitch's ankle and yanked, pulling boy and alien underwater.

Stitch didn't remember much of what happened after, but he did remember seeing his creator, Jumba, looming out of the murky depths of the lake. He also remembered Jack kicking him, making him let go of Daniel, then swimming away. Then Jumba and another figure were back, and Stitch desperately tried to fight them off, to give Jack and Daniel time to complete their escape. He thought he bit through and punctured an air tank which sent the assailants flying, but maybe that was only wishful thinking.

The next thing he knew, he was waking up on the wooden platform next to the lake, spitting water and still trying to fight off Jumba. The look of shock on Daniel's face compounded with the barely-suppressed rage on Jack's, told Stitch in terms he could understand that he had done something wrong and wasn't about to be forgiven for it.

Behind him came the sound of an approaching car, then doors began to open and shut as the beings Daniel had introduced as the rest of his team--his family--arrived at the cabin and announced their success in retrieving the wrecked red police cruiser. They were invited into the dwelling, and though Stitch's sensitive ears could easily have picked up their conversation through the building's walls, he chose to tune out the voices. He didn't need to hear Jack recite the litany of his errors to the rest of Daniel's family.

A new noise caught Stitch's ears, and he turned around in time to watch a pair of mottled brown creatures waddle out of the undergrowth toward the pond. After assessing the scenery, one of the small beings made another strange noise. Several more, smaller versions of the adults raced out of the woods and followed their parent into the water. The color was different, but to Stitch's eyes, it was obvious this was a family of ducks.

Everyone but Stitch, it seemed, had a family. By hurting Daniel, even accidentally, Stitch was sure he'd ruined any chance he might have had at making Daniel's family his own. There was nothing left for him here. He should leave now, before he inadvertently harmed the little boy he'd come to--

The cabin door opened again, and the blonde woman and dark-skinned man emerged, bidding Jack farewell, promising to come by again tomorrow. Jack attempted to cajole them into spending the night at his dwelling, but the pretty lady declined, expressing her belief that Daniel didn't feel "up" to company right now.

Minutes later, as the vehicle disappeared into the trees, Jack suddenly cleared his throat. "Stitch! Get inside before it gets dark."

Head drooping and ears lowered, Stitch stood and crossed the front lawn and crawled onto the porch. Before he could drag himself into the building, though, Jack crouched down and placed a hand on his chest, stopping his forward motion.

"Look," he began, grimacing. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. What happened wasn't your fault, but so many bad things have happened to Daniel, I'm... scared of losing him... again. When I get scared, I get mad, and you happened to be the nearest target."

Stitch's ears lifted slightly, understanding the words for an attempt at an apology. But the next words sent his spirits right back to the bottom.

"But if you ever, ever deliberately hurt him," Jack continued, staring at Stitch intently, "there will be no hole in this galaxy deep enough to hide from me. Are we clear?"

Guiltily, Stitch nodded and slunk into the cabin. Padding down the hall, he opened the door to Daniel's room and quickly stepped inside, pulling the door shut.

Author's Notes:
Number 37 should be along by Monday or Tuesday, 'opefully.