Whatever Happened to Dodger?
DISCLAIMER: Believe it or not, I am not Charles Dickens. Gasp! Sorry to disappoint all of you. I assure you that most of these characters and some of the plot belongs to him, wherever he may be buried.
SUMMARY: Did you ever wonder what happened to the Dodger? Charles Dickens gladly tells us what happened to Oliver, Fagin, Charley, Nancy, and Bill, but what happened to that funny boy with the top hat who disappeared from the text around chapter 43?
A/N: So, yeah... I'm updating. Yay! Thanks for the reviews. Personal thank yous at the end. This chapter was written while I was watching The Great Mouse Detective. I just hope mice don't end up in here somewhere. I like this chapter, but I don't know why. I hope everyone else likes it too. Here it is!
Chapter 4: The KidDodger had been in London for several weeks. He had managed to find a place to sleep without much difficulty. He set up his sleeping quarters in an old building much like Fagin's. It was far away from other people, but he liked it better that way. There was no one to bother him.
So far, he had gotten on pretty well on his own in the city. Money was never really an issue. He managed to find enough money to buy what he needed.
Working for himself was so much easier than working for Fagin. He could keep all of the money he made and control his own working hours. He could go where he wanted and take what he wanted. There was only one rule: don't get caught.
It was the one rule in the unwritten pickpocket's handbook. Anybody who had dared to take a wallet at least once in their life could tell you that this was the only downside to picking pockets for a living.
This barely bothered Dodger anymore. He had been caught before and he figured that if he could escape once he could escape again. The only thing that worried him even the slightest was the thought of being giving a tougher punishment next time. Hard labor was one thing but death was another entirely.
So, if he followed the rules, he would be safe. Of course, Dodger had never been known to follow the rules. He had only done what he was told several times in his life, and only if it wasn't something too strenuous or boring.
One month later he was still safe. So far so good.
Dodger wasn't one to go looking for trouble, but if he happened to find it he often had a hard time ignoring it and walking in the opposite direction.
That is exactly what almost got him in trouble again one day.
Dodger was walking down the street, minding his own business (and the business of the well-dressed man in front of him), when he heard someone crying for help.
He ignored it and continued his pursuit of the gentleman who would unknowingly be buying supper for a certain boy that afternoon.
But there it was again. There was that cry for help. It sounded like a child.
Once again, Dodger ignored it, but then the cries grew louder and the gentleman began to look around for the source.
Silently cursing the bodiless voice, Dodger quickly hid in an alley nearby. There, he found the source of the voice. It was, in fact, a small child. It was a little boy. He could not have been more than five or six years old.
The reason why he had been screaming quickly became evident. There were several older boys surrounding him. The oldest looked to be around Dodger's age. They appeared to be trying to take something from the boy who was clutching whatever it was as if it was his most prized possession.
Against his better judgment, Dodger stepped forward and shoved some of the boys out of the way and approached the eldest.
The boy was taller than Dodger, but that didn't seem to stop him from causing trouble. He looked the boy square in the eye and asked what the problem was.
"Problem? There's no problem," the boy responded.
"You lie," Dodger spat back. "I don't know who you think you are, beating up a child more than half your age."
He chuckled before continuing.
"Me and my friend did things like this when we were nine."
The boy looked very insulted. He shoved Dodger causing him to take a step back.
"And who are you, telling me what I can and can't do and telling me I'm a child?" he asked.
Dodger smirked.
"I don't think it matters much, does it?"
Dodger's confidence seemed to annoy the boy. He swung at Dodger's head, but he quickly ducked, causing the boy to hit nothing but air. This only angered him more.
He swung again. This time Dodger moved to the right so that the boy accidentally punched one of the other boys.
Dodger laughed. This was fun.
Now it was Dodger's time to fight. He punched the boy square in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. The boy had amazingly slow reflexes.
The boy jumped up and aimed another blow at Dodger.
Before anyone knew what had happened, a fight had broken out between the two boys.
Suddenly, one of the boys cried out, "Run! Run! It's the beak!" and all the boys scattered.
Dodger laughed as he stood up and brushed himself off. He was sporting a busted lip, but that was all. The other boy would be lucky if his nose was not broken.
The Dodger looked around. There was no one in sight, not even the little kid the older boys had been picking on, but that was alright because Dodger had not started that fight to help the little kid. He had started the fight simply because he had been bored. It had certainly cured him of his boredom.
He once again started down the street in search of money for supper. He found a subject and began to follow him cautiously. The man stopped at a fruit stand and Dodger saw his opportunity. He was about to take the wallet when he suddenly got the feeling he was being watched.
He quickly made it look as though he, too, was looking at the fruit. Out of the corner of his eye he tried to check to make sure he was not being watched. He did not see anyone, but by this time, the gentleman was gone. Dodger slowly turned around and saw a small boy watching him from across the street.
Oh no, he thought. Not again!
He did not want to be stuck with another little kid. It only led to sorrow. He could still remember Oliver Twist.
Ignoring the child, Dodger started walking down the street again, determined to get money this time, but once again he stopped and turned around. The kid was following him, and he also stopped.
Dodger ignored it yet again and kept walking. So did the boy. Dodger stopped. So did the boy. This was getting very old very fast.
Finally, after some more walking and stopping, Dodger addressed the child.
"May I help you?" he asked politely.
The boy shook his head.
"Well then why are you following me?" Dodger asked.
"Th-thank you," the small child managed to get out.
Dodger was about to ask the kid why he was thanking him when he recognized the child. It was the boy he had saved from the bullies.
"No problem, kid. Now go find your mother."
At this last remark, the boy started to cry.
Dodger sighed and asked the boy what was wrong.
"My- my mother was taken away!" the boy sobbed.
"Taken away? By who?"
"The police."
"Where'd they take her?"
"To the prison."
"What did she do to get arrested?"
"She was caught... picking pockets."
This took Dodger by surprise.
"Where's your father?"
"I don't know!"
Dodger sighed again.
"C- can I stay with you?" the child asked.
"What's your name, kid?" Dodger asked.
"Timothy," the boy sniffed.
And against his better judgment, Dodger agreed to let the boy come with him.
"But only until one of your parents are able to look after you." He repeated this several times to make sure the boy understood. He did.
"Good. Now then, maybe we should find some food."
Dodger did not like this new arrangement at all, but he knew what it was like to be small and helpless with no one to look after you. He also knew that the best solution to this situation would be for the child to find a temporary home to keep him out of prison.
This would definitely be interesting.
A/N: And that's chapter 4. Yes, that's the whole chapter. I hope it wasn't dreadfully boring. My ear just popped, but I'm sure nobody really cares. Umm...I don't know when chapter 5 will be up, but Kelly is pretty mad at me at the moment because she just realized that I always manage to get very long extensions on the due dates of these chapters. Ha! You're so gullible Kelly. So, personal thank yous:
You're gonna die: Thank you very much for your kind and wonderful review. It is greatly appreciated, even though you threatened my life. Yes, I know how much you like Charley and Dodger's hat. That chapter was supposed to shut you up, but apparently nothing does that. I agree that my punctuality does need to be corrected. You have to quit giving me extensions and keep bothering me until I write. Thanks for the review, Kelly. Hope you like chapter 4...even though there's no hat or Charley or drinking. I'm just a failure to you aren't I? Sorry to disappoint you. Review anyway.
Kokoro no Yami: Thank you so much for reviewing. I'm glad you like it so far. I know he has to get his hat back. It is all part of the story. You and Kelly need to be patient and wait. I will get there eventually. He may very well meet up with "the old fogies" again. Ha! Ha! Fogies... I like that word. I read Confusing Time. I really liked it. It was really good. I like Alice in Wonderland but can't find too many good fics. Yours was very good though. I would have reviewed if I could but my computer simply won't allow it. Sorry. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
And to everyone else out there: Read and review! Thanks!
