A/N: Well, ummm, this is unexpected. Apologies to my When I'm Gone readers, but ever since I saw It Chapter Two last month, my imagination has been yammering away about writing some Pennywise fics. Pennywise has been a favorite villain of mine for about 20 years now, ever since I read IT for the first time, so I suppose it's no surprise that here I am writing about him - sorta. So don't worry, dear Kingdom Hearts readers, When I'm Gone isn't abandoned, but if I didn't get this out, I wasn't going to get any writing done. Needless to say the Pennywise here is Bill Skarsgard's version.

Enjoy!

OOOOOO

The Beginning
May 31, 1879

The train roared through the countryside as the Shrine Circus train left the town of Derry, Maine far behind it. One day to set up, seven days of shows, and then it was on to the next destination. It was hard work with a grueling schedule, but clown William "Willie" Gray wouldn't have traded it for anything. The smiles and laughter when Pongo the Clown did his act made it all worth it for him.

The cheers of the crowd played in his mind as he opened the door into the boxcar that housed his wagon. He'd forgotten to pocket his smokes when the circus had packed up, and none of the miserly bastards back in the dining car would spare him one. He stepped into the car, pulled the door shut behind him, and the sudden wailing of a baby slapped into him like a wall of frigid water. He stood still just inside the door for several seconds as his mind tried to grasp the logic behind the sound – why would a baby be in his wagon, of all places – before the wails increased in volume. The change broke his daze, and he nearly ran the short distance to where his wagon was sitting, chained by its axles to the car's floor. He hopped up onto the small platform that served as something of a porch and fumbled for his keys in the dark as the wailing turned to the shrieks of a baby in serious distress. He finally grasped the right key, unlocked the wagon's side door, and wrenched it open. He struck one of his matches to see by as he stepped inside. The small flame barely lit up the small space, but it was enough. He brushed by his clown costume, hanging on one wall, past the props that he used in his act, and went to the far end, where his bed and dressing table were at.

There, lying on the narrow bunk that he slept in when the circus was stopped in town, was a wiggling bundle, and the shrieking was emanating from it. The bundle was tied shut with a granny knot, and Willie was vaguely aware that his hand was shaking as he reached out to it. The tie cam undone easily with a single tug, and the blanket fell away.

Willie felt himself freeze up all over again as the baby became visible, and he absently took in the enlarged head, the bright red hair that only covered the back half of the head with a single vertical tuft in the center, the stump of an umbilical cord, and the blue eye that looked off to the side while the other looked up at him. The crying quieted, as if the infant was as surprised to him as he was to see it, and then the eyes squeezed shut as the wailing started back up.

The match burned his fingers and sputtered out, shaking Willie out of his daze. He cursed, shook his hand and reached down to grab another match. He struck it and used it to light the candle that sat on his dressing table. The candle's brighter glow filled the inside of the wagon, allowing him to finally turn his attention to the little trespasser. He scooped it up into his arms, and the infants left eye peeped open to look up at him.

" 'ey there, little guy. What are ya fussin' about?" He tapped the prominent nose with a finger, and the baby titled its head back and puckered its lips. "Hungry, are ya? What are you doin' here?" He ran his hand over the red tuft and smiled when it promptly sprung back up. "Well, I guess that's not important right now. I'd better introduce ya to everyone else and see what we got to feed ya."

Willie tucked the blanket around little hands and feet, and then he walked out of his wagon, and out of the car in which it was stored, heading forward towards the dining car.

OOOOOO

The packed dining car went silent when Willie walked in, with a bawling babe in his arms. He couldn't help but grin at the site. Cigarette smoke drifted lazily through the air, caught in the sunbeams shining through the dirty windows, while everyone from the lowest stagehand to Ringmaster Shrine himself stared in complete silence at the sight of Willie with a baby. Even the infant quieted for a few brief seconds before starting up again, and the sound had the same affect on everyone else as it had on Willie himself. People broke free of their daze, and some began moving towards him while others fired off questions.

"You have that stashed in your trunk, Willie?"

"What's a babe doing here?"

"How'd a kid get here?"

"What are we supposed to do with it?"

"Quiet!"

The car fell silent a second time as Ringmaster Shrine's voice rang out. The crowd around Willie parted to let him through.

Joseph Shrine towered over Willie as he came to stand in front of him, and his dark eyes stared down at the squalling infant.

"Where did you find him?"

"He was in my wagon, sir, on my bunk."

The ringmaster frowned but said nothing for a moment. "Well, he was obviously left there for a reason. It seems we might have a new member of our family."

"What about his parents?" asked Amos, who was a clown alongside Willie. "Shouldn't we try to find them?"

Mr. Shrine sighed. "If his parents had wanted him, they wouldn't have left him in Willie's wagon, now would they? It's safe to assume that he's been abandoned, so we'll care for him the best we can until we can arrange something better. Now, we have things to do. Willie, stay in here with him. Ann -" One of the acrobats stepped up. " - take Mary and go get some milk from the goats. It would seem that your idea of having a petting zoo with us is about to pay for itself. Cyrus, you, Howard, and Lou go scrounge for anything that might be useful."

"Like what, sir?" Cyrus, Ann's husband, asked.

"The babe will need blankets, clothing, diapers, toys, and a place to sleep. Grab anything that could work and bring it all back here. We'll go through it all then. It'll have to do until our next stop." Mr. Shrine turned around to face the rest of the car. "As for everyone else, keep quiet and don't harass Willie." He smiled. "Wait until we've got the mite bedded down elsewhere first."

There was a collective chuckle, and those who had been given tasks to do wandered out to go do them, while Willie settled down in the nearest chair. The infant calmed and gazed up at him with one eye, while the other continued to look off to the side.

"What are we going to name 'im?" Chauncy, one of the elephant trainers, called out as Mr. Shrine went to leave the car.

Mr. Shrine paused at the door, turned, and looked down at the baby with a thoughtful expression.

"Let's name him after Willie!" someone called out, and a ripple of laughter moved through the car, followed by a second when Willie groaned at the suggestion. The corner of Mr. Shrine's mouth twitched, and Willie felt his heart sink.

"No, I don't think we want to saddle him with that." Willie could hear the humor in Mr. Shrine's voice and see it dancing in his eyes. "How about.. Robert?"

A low murmur rose from the others in the room, followed by a general chorus of agreement.

"Then it's settled." Mr. Shrine nodded. "The little one's name shall be Robert..." He smiled in a way that promised Willie that he wasn't going to like what was coming next. "William Gray."

There was a pause, and then the others roared with laughter while Willie groaned again.

Mr. Shrine put his hand on the door handle. "Don't be so down about it, Willie. You found him, so you get a namesake. Be honored." He smiled, and then he opened the door and stepped out.

OOOOOO

A few hours later found little Bobby Gray sleeping peacefully in a wicker basket next to Willie's bunk in the clowns' sleeper car. The little mite had eagerly slurped down the goat's milk that Ann and Mary and retrieved for him, and then he had yawned, closed his eyes, and fallen asleep in Willie's arms. The troupe had then quietly discussed whether to keep him or not.

It was Chauncy that pointed out that with his wandering eye and enlarged head, something was clearly wrong with him, and it was likely why he'd been abandoned. Leaving him at an orphanage or church would likely result in a miserable existence. Within the circus, he might be able to find his place. Decision made, an unused basket was hastily turned into a bed, and Willie had taken the little one off for a nap.

Night had fallen as the train raced westward, and the countryside flew by the window as Willie readied himself for bed. He didn't know the first thing about raising a kid, didn't know if he was even cut out for the job. Hell, he was probably too old. He put the oil lamp that hung from the ceiling out, climbed into his bunk, and laid down on his right side, so he could see Bobby.

"Well, I guess I'll find out." he said as he closed his eyes and allowed the motion of the train to send him off to sleep.