Brianna- In my rewriting of the series, Molly's drive to be a physchologist is fueled from wanting to figuring out Karnage and help people like Kit with their emotional probs. So, it's both now. Don't ever think you're thinking too far into the characters :P
***
A week had past since Rebecca and Baloo's homecoming. They were slowly slipping back into the routine of everyday life. Baloo wasn't having much trouble. He had basically eaten them out of house and home since they weren't given much food during meals on the island though the captives were given enough not to starve. The H&H crew made a visit over to Louie's. The old ape literally flipped when he saw Baloo walk through the door like nothing had happen. So, things were going well.
Baloo was extremely anxious to fly the SeaDuck - his baby. After six years, he hadn't lost his great skill for flying. He insisted on making cargo runs with Kit. Kit willingly let him take the controls while he resigned - just for now - to his seat as navigator. He didn't mind either. He loved the fact that he could be Baloo's navigator once more.
"Could you tell me the course to San Kanaka, Kit? I'm a bit rusty on where that place is."
Kit didn't even need a map, the course was imprinted in his brain. "260 East, Baloo."
"Okay, Kit."
"I told you, you can call me 'Lil' Britches' again. Even though I'm older now, I really missed you calling me that. It always made me feel special."
Baloo smiled. "I loved you calling me 'Papa Bear'. It's just," he fidgeted in his seat and looked over at his -adult- son. ", you're not a kid anymore. When I…left…you were still a teenager. Now you're as tall has I am and you're an adult and…"
Kit shook his head. "Papa Bear, stop. No matter how old I get, I'll always be your son. If it makes you feel weird calling me that, you can hand down the nickname to my kid. But it would never bother me if you call me that."
"Hey, that's a swell idea" Baloo agreed, brightening. He reached out and for old time's sake, ruffled Kit's now thick light brown hair. "So, what's with the fedora?" Kit fiddled with the brown fedora on his lap.
"Remember Rex Burback? He was the one who gave me the trunk that belonged to my parents. Well, he stopped by H&H a few years ago and gave me this fedora. It belonged to Vincent, my father. Since I was getting kind of old to wear my baseball cap backwards, I decided to start wearing this."
Baloo frowned, feeling suddenly downtrodden. Why did something else have to change? No matter how small the something was. "What happen to your navigator's cap?"
"It's actually hanging on the bedpost on my side of the bed. I still wear it something, like when we take a trip to the park or something. I hope to hand it down to my kid."
"That's good to hear. Uh, not-so-short-stuff told me you've been teaching her how to fly. Is she any good?"
"Oh yeah. She's been eager to learn ever since I told her I'd teach her when she turned sixteen. Her birthday was back in July, so she's had some lessons from me. She's pretty good too! It's not Molly's desire to be a pilot anymore, but she still loves to fly."
"Whoa…I can't believe Buttonnose is sixteen and learning to fly. That is incredible."
"Yeah, it is." Kit glanced over in Baloo's direction wearing an affectionate smile. "I still think I'm dreaming."
"What do ya mean?"
"Being here with you. I anticipated I'd never see you again, but here you are. It's great having you back, Papa Bear."
Baloo looked over at his son. "It's great to be back here with you too, Lil' Britches."
* * *
Back at Higher for Hire, Guinna sat at the desk busy answering the phone and taking down deliveries for the week. Rebecca watched silently and rather bored, leaning against the desk with her arms folded. She was ready to take her business back, but it seemed that she wasn't getting it back anytime soon. Guinna, setting down her pen, looked up at the presence before her.
"Need anything, Rebecca?"
"I was wondering" Rebecca hesitantly started. "When can I get back to work?"
"You don't have to. I got the job covered."
Rebecca pushed herself from the desk and stepped behind it. "But I want to work. When your belly is big and your feet are bloated, you'll want me to step in."
"Well, until then, I have the job." Guinna stood, leading Rebecca to the door. "So, why don't you relax. Go shopping or go for a walk or get a hobby."
Rebecca gawked at her. "I never had a hobby. Business was my hobby."
Guinna rolled her eyes at that. "You can't work forever. I got an idea. Do you remember the old, dumpy overgrown lot down the harbor?"
"Yes." Rebecca replied, laughing. "I wonder what dope bought that."
"Five months ago, Kit and I bought that land."
"Oh" Rebecca closed her mouth feeling a bit of guilt. "I meant dope in a good way?"
This time it was Guinna's turn to laugh. "It's okay. I'm not offend. We been cleaning it up and want to build a house on it, but we haven't be able to get started."
"You want me to build a house?"
"Nooo" Guinna laughed again. "I've wanted to start a garden in the backyard. Well, there's not like a lot of backyard, but the grass has really grown. I bet a garden would look great there."
"Gardening? I have never gardened in my life!"
"Perfect! You can learn. It's not hard. I had to do gardening a long time ago and it was fun."
"Fun?" Rebecca gave her daughter an uptight expression, but finally gave in. "All right. I'll do gardening."
"Great! Trust me, you'll like it. Here, I have twenty dollars on me" Guinna said, reaching into her skirt pocket. "Go buy some plants from the nursery up the road. Buy things like foxgloves and pansies and some foliage. The foliage does real good here."
"What's foliage?"
"Like hostas or peace lilies. You can get my favorite, stargazer lilies!" Guinna said, excited.
Rebecca reached out to offer the money back. "You know so much about plants, you should go buy them and I'll stay here."
Guinna placed her hands on her hips. "No, I want you to surprise me. Just don't get festuca grass. I'm allergic."
"Okay, no festu…whatever grass. Gotcha."
"Now go have fun. You need it." Guinna pushed Rebecca out the door and shut it quickly.
Rebecca stood there for several moments, staring at the closed door and muttered, "I just got back and my child is already pushing me out the door."
* * *
It was almost evening when Baloo and Kit arrived in San Kanaka. Baloo was tired, and it showed. He was prone to getting tired a lot more then he use to…his laziness didn't help. He also didn't want to except he was getting old. They were loading some seriously heavy cargo on the SeaDuck. Baloo was having a hard time with the extreme weight - at least to him it was extreme, but didn't want to admit it. He glanced over at Kit who was lifting the seventy pound crates without breaking a sweat. Baloo removed his pilot cap, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Papa Bear, why don't you go in the Duck. I can finish this up."
It was an offer Baloo was willing to take. Instead of heading into the Duck, he plopped down on a dock leg. "I can't believe how strong he's gotten. Heck, he's even eye to eye with me."
After Kit had hauled the rest of the crates off the SeaDuck, it was time to take leave for Cape Suzette. "Why don't you let me fly home."
"Naw, I can handle it" Baloo said, heading for the pilot seat.
"But, you look tired. I'll fly home."
"I said…" Baloo paused. He looked at the pilot seat then the navigator seat then at Kit - who was now the pilot. "Okay. You can fly back."
"Thank you." Kit sat down and started the plane. "You don't have to worry, I know how to fly."
"And, you're good at it, Kit. No, you're great at it. It's just…" Baloo stopped. He strapped himself into the seat.
"It's just what, Baloo?"
"Nothing. Let's just get home."
* * *
Kit and Baloo landed in the Cape Suzette harbor around eleven o'clock. Rebecca had been out all day and was exhausted from searching for the plants Guinna wanted. She had laid out on the couch going in and out of sleep. Molly had left the radio on after she went up to bed. The two bears walked in the building. Kit headed upstairs right away to join Guinna.
"Good night, Papa Bear."
"G'night Kit-boy" Baloo replied, walking into the living room. He saw Rebecca sleeping on the couch. A smile crossed his face at the sight. He switched off the radio and sat down on his makeshift bed next to the wall.
Rebecca stirred from the sound of the bed creaking, and lifted her head. "Baloo?"
"Go back to sleep, Becky."
"I want to talk to you for a minute" Rebecca said, sitting up.
Baloo raised an eyebrow. "Right now?"
"Please?"
"Okay" he said, getting up and sitting down beside Rebecca.
"Have you noticed how different the kids are?" she asked, slowly.
"Yeah, I have."
"It seems that they don't……need us anymore."
"I've seen that too. Today, Kit treated me like a kid saying that I look tired 'cause I was having trouble picking up a few crates."
"That's what I'm saying. Today, Guinna wouldn't let me work. I did my job for five years, and that doesn't include what I did before H&H. She's doing my job and I have nothing to do. The kids made it without us. It's great that they did, but I feel kind of useless now."
"Me too. Kit is such a great pilot. He carries a job and a family, something I could never of done at his age."
"Molly is already a senior. She's grew up to so fast. My little girl isn't so little anymore."
"They don't need us no more."
"Now, what do we do? I feel so alone."
Baloo patted Rebecca on the back. "You're not alone, Becky. We still have each other."
***
A week had past since Rebecca and Baloo's homecoming. They were slowly slipping back into the routine of everyday life. Baloo wasn't having much trouble. He had basically eaten them out of house and home since they weren't given much food during meals on the island though the captives were given enough not to starve. The H&H crew made a visit over to Louie's. The old ape literally flipped when he saw Baloo walk through the door like nothing had happen. So, things were going well.
Baloo was extremely anxious to fly the SeaDuck - his baby. After six years, he hadn't lost his great skill for flying. He insisted on making cargo runs with Kit. Kit willingly let him take the controls while he resigned - just for now - to his seat as navigator. He didn't mind either. He loved the fact that he could be Baloo's navigator once more.
"Could you tell me the course to San Kanaka, Kit? I'm a bit rusty on where that place is."
Kit didn't even need a map, the course was imprinted in his brain. "260 East, Baloo."
"Okay, Kit."
"I told you, you can call me 'Lil' Britches' again. Even though I'm older now, I really missed you calling me that. It always made me feel special."
Baloo smiled. "I loved you calling me 'Papa Bear'. It's just," he fidgeted in his seat and looked over at his -adult- son. ", you're not a kid anymore. When I…left…you were still a teenager. Now you're as tall has I am and you're an adult and…"
Kit shook his head. "Papa Bear, stop. No matter how old I get, I'll always be your son. If it makes you feel weird calling me that, you can hand down the nickname to my kid. But it would never bother me if you call me that."
"Hey, that's a swell idea" Baloo agreed, brightening. He reached out and for old time's sake, ruffled Kit's now thick light brown hair. "So, what's with the fedora?" Kit fiddled with the brown fedora on his lap.
"Remember Rex Burback? He was the one who gave me the trunk that belonged to my parents. Well, he stopped by H&H a few years ago and gave me this fedora. It belonged to Vincent, my father. Since I was getting kind of old to wear my baseball cap backwards, I decided to start wearing this."
Baloo frowned, feeling suddenly downtrodden. Why did something else have to change? No matter how small the something was. "What happen to your navigator's cap?"
"It's actually hanging on the bedpost on my side of the bed. I still wear it something, like when we take a trip to the park or something. I hope to hand it down to my kid."
"That's good to hear. Uh, not-so-short-stuff told me you've been teaching her how to fly. Is she any good?"
"Oh yeah. She's been eager to learn ever since I told her I'd teach her when she turned sixteen. Her birthday was back in July, so she's had some lessons from me. She's pretty good too! It's not Molly's desire to be a pilot anymore, but she still loves to fly."
"Whoa…I can't believe Buttonnose is sixteen and learning to fly. That is incredible."
"Yeah, it is." Kit glanced over in Baloo's direction wearing an affectionate smile. "I still think I'm dreaming."
"What do ya mean?"
"Being here with you. I anticipated I'd never see you again, but here you are. It's great having you back, Papa Bear."
Baloo looked over at his son. "It's great to be back here with you too, Lil' Britches."
* * *
Back at Higher for Hire, Guinna sat at the desk busy answering the phone and taking down deliveries for the week. Rebecca watched silently and rather bored, leaning against the desk with her arms folded. She was ready to take her business back, but it seemed that she wasn't getting it back anytime soon. Guinna, setting down her pen, looked up at the presence before her.
"Need anything, Rebecca?"
"I was wondering" Rebecca hesitantly started. "When can I get back to work?"
"You don't have to. I got the job covered."
Rebecca pushed herself from the desk and stepped behind it. "But I want to work. When your belly is big and your feet are bloated, you'll want me to step in."
"Well, until then, I have the job." Guinna stood, leading Rebecca to the door. "So, why don't you relax. Go shopping or go for a walk or get a hobby."
Rebecca gawked at her. "I never had a hobby. Business was my hobby."
Guinna rolled her eyes at that. "You can't work forever. I got an idea. Do you remember the old, dumpy overgrown lot down the harbor?"
"Yes." Rebecca replied, laughing. "I wonder what dope bought that."
"Five months ago, Kit and I bought that land."
"Oh" Rebecca closed her mouth feeling a bit of guilt. "I meant dope in a good way?"
This time it was Guinna's turn to laugh. "It's okay. I'm not offend. We been cleaning it up and want to build a house on it, but we haven't be able to get started."
"You want me to build a house?"
"Nooo" Guinna laughed again. "I've wanted to start a garden in the backyard. Well, there's not like a lot of backyard, but the grass has really grown. I bet a garden would look great there."
"Gardening? I have never gardened in my life!"
"Perfect! You can learn. It's not hard. I had to do gardening a long time ago and it was fun."
"Fun?" Rebecca gave her daughter an uptight expression, but finally gave in. "All right. I'll do gardening."
"Great! Trust me, you'll like it. Here, I have twenty dollars on me" Guinna said, reaching into her skirt pocket. "Go buy some plants from the nursery up the road. Buy things like foxgloves and pansies and some foliage. The foliage does real good here."
"What's foliage?"
"Like hostas or peace lilies. You can get my favorite, stargazer lilies!" Guinna said, excited.
Rebecca reached out to offer the money back. "You know so much about plants, you should go buy them and I'll stay here."
Guinna placed her hands on her hips. "No, I want you to surprise me. Just don't get festuca grass. I'm allergic."
"Okay, no festu…whatever grass. Gotcha."
"Now go have fun. You need it." Guinna pushed Rebecca out the door and shut it quickly.
Rebecca stood there for several moments, staring at the closed door and muttered, "I just got back and my child is already pushing me out the door."
* * *
It was almost evening when Baloo and Kit arrived in San Kanaka. Baloo was tired, and it showed. He was prone to getting tired a lot more then he use to…his laziness didn't help. He also didn't want to except he was getting old. They were loading some seriously heavy cargo on the SeaDuck. Baloo was having a hard time with the extreme weight - at least to him it was extreme, but didn't want to admit it. He glanced over at Kit who was lifting the seventy pound crates without breaking a sweat. Baloo removed his pilot cap, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Papa Bear, why don't you go in the Duck. I can finish this up."
It was an offer Baloo was willing to take. Instead of heading into the Duck, he plopped down on a dock leg. "I can't believe how strong he's gotten. Heck, he's even eye to eye with me."
After Kit had hauled the rest of the crates off the SeaDuck, it was time to take leave for Cape Suzette. "Why don't you let me fly home."
"Naw, I can handle it" Baloo said, heading for the pilot seat.
"But, you look tired. I'll fly home."
"I said…" Baloo paused. He looked at the pilot seat then the navigator seat then at Kit - who was now the pilot. "Okay. You can fly back."
"Thank you." Kit sat down and started the plane. "You don't have to worry, I know how to fly."
"And, you're good at it, Kit. No, you're great at it. It's just…" Baloo stopped. He strapped himself into the seat.
"It's just what, Baloo?"
"Nothing. Let's just get home."
* * *
Kit and Baloo landed in the Cape Suzette harbor around eleven o'clock. Rebecca had been out all day and was exhausted from searching for the plants Guinna wanted. She had laid out on the couch going in and out of sleep. Molly had left the radio on after she went up to bed. The two bears walked in the building. Kit headed upstairs right away to join Guinna.
"Good night, Papa Bear."
"G'night Kit-boy" Baloo replied, walking into the living room. He saw Rebecca sleeping on the couch. A smile crossed his face at the sight. He switched off the radio and sat down on his makeshift bed next to the wall.
Rebecca stirred from the sound of the bed creaking, and lifted her head. "Baloo?"
"Go back to sleep, Becky."
"I want to talk to you for a minute" Rebecca said, sitting up.
Baloo raised an eyebrow. "Right now?"
"Please?"
"Okay" he said, getting up and sitting down beside Rebecca.
"Have you noticed how different the kids are?" she asked, slowly.
"Yeah, I have."
"It seems that they don't……need us anymore."
"I've seen that too. Today, Kit treated me like a kid saying that I look tired 'cause I was having trouble picking up a few crates."
"That's what I'm saying. Today, Guinna wouldn't let me work. I did my job for five years, and that doesn't include what I did before H&H. She's doing my job and I have nothing to do. The kids made it without us. It's great that they did, but I feel kind of useless now."
"Me too. Kit is such a great pilot. He carries a job and a family, something I could never of done at his age."
"Molly is already a senior. She's grew up to so fast. My little girl isn't so little anymore."
"They don't need us no more."
"Now, what do we do? I feel so alone."
Baloo patted Rebecca on the back. "You're not alone, Becky. We still have each other."
