17
"There is always someone bigger!"
"Tell me that was stupid, right?" Ben muttered as he held the icepack to his face, his lovely little uncle pacing with his hands behind his back and his lips pursed in the Harkness-Jones pose of thought. Ton was uncommonly angry.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" River asked as she entered and crouched to check on her charge and Ben pulled back the icepack to show the livid mark.
Penny entered and chose a chair, swinging his feet as he watched silently.
"There you are! Where were you?" River looked over at the child who was pursing his lips in a parody of Ton.
Then Monkey entered with a huge grin, slipping over to sit with Penny, also swinging his feet. River looked at them then frowned "OK. What did you do?"
Wide eyes as they all looked at her, then Ton answered politely "I've not done nothing Miss River!"
She frowned as she looked at the other two who looked around the room like they couldn't possibly understand the question.
Then Graham entered, his nose gushing blood and a look of doom as he slumped in a chair, Mrs Anderson huffing as she headed to get a wash cloth. She crouched to check his nose, "I don't know Graham. How you can tumble over your own feet and tangle your laces, I will never know!"
Monkey rose, stalking off with Penny following, then hesitating in the doorway to do a weird dance with his feet, then walking off. River watched the display and turned to Ton "Did he tie these laces together?"
Ton shrugged, "He would have seen them doing it, right?"
Ben snorted softly then looked at the other boy who now wished he had never hit Ben to get the toy from him. He had a feeling he was going to suffer some more before he was done. Even though he was larger than the other boys they watched the only one in the room larger… bigger in every way.
Ton waited until River rose to go call the parents and he canted his head "You know, my Taddy once told me something and I never forget his advice."
Graham looked at Ton silently.
"There is always someone bigger than you out there." Ton said calmly "And you know … combined, there is nothing we cannot overcome. So. If you take Pen and Monk and put them on a scale … I guess they are more than you, right?"
Graham got it and nodded.
"It's up to Ben to call a line" Ton said as he left, turning in the doorway as River brushed past him to check they were not killing one another "But you know …. I am big too. If I sit on you … there would be a line too! A squishy one!"
Ton walked out as River gaped. She had never heard Ton angry or threatening in anyway, didn't even think there was a bad bone in his body but apparently his Harkness-Jones heart was HUGE.
"You know Graham …. I think you should say sorry very loudly where everyone can hear" River said as she looked at the forlorn child, "Only way to save yourself at this point."
"Yes ma'am."