Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, associated trademarks, or characters. I also do not own any songs (unless otherwise specified). I do own Mouse, Candy and Sarah.
(a/n: thank you to everyone who reviewed, and even those who didn't. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Read on, oh faithful ones.)
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Chapter Thirteen
...
"Where did you go off to last night?" Quinn asked as they waited in front of the shopping centre, the statue beside them.
"Just wanted to go out," Mouse replied, smiling.
"Hey girls!" Mercedes called, walking over to them.
"Hey Mercedes. Tina and Kurt not with you?" Mouse asked.
"Tina's getting dropped off by her mum, and Kurt's coming with Brittany and Santana. Have a good night?"
"Someone did," Quinn said slyly, holding up Mouse's hand and showing Mercedes the club stamp on it.
"You have a fake ID?" Mercedes hissed, moving closer. "Girl, let me see!"
"I don't have a fake ID," Mouse muttered, pulling her hand out of Quinn's grasp and scrubbing at the offending mark. "Damn thing won't come off."
"Nail polish remover will make it come off easily," Rachel said, suddenly beside them. "Here, you can use this," she added, pulling out a small bottle of nail polish remover and a cotton ball.
"Thanks," Mouse said, taking them and rubbing the stamp off her hand.
"You always carry nail polish remover with you?" Mercedes asked, her eyebrow raised.
"No, but we are going shopping, so I presumed that nail polish and other types of make up application were a standard of such an outing," Rachel replied.
"Geez, Rach. Why don't you get a dictionary and translate that for everyone else here?" Santana muttered as she came over with Kurt and Brittany.
Tina wasn't too far behind them, her blue and black striped socks pulled up to her knees.
"She means that she's never gone shopping in a group before, and since we're going out with three cheerleaders and Kurt, we'll probably end up with make overs by the end of the day," Mouse said, grinning. "Don't look at me like that, you know it's true," she added when Kurt's mouth dropped open in indignation.
He closed his mouth again and 'hmphed' slightly. "I suppose you're right, and in that case, I say we go outfit shopping as a start," Kurt said, grinning.
"So where is Candy?" Tina asked as they walked into the mall.
"At home with a movie marathon, his homework, and colouring pages," Mouse replied.
"He's by himself?" Mercedes asked in surprise.
"No, I got Finn and Puck to look after him," she said, grinning slightly. "I did offer for them to come shopping, but they weren't too fond of that idea."
"Do you mind if we go to your house after we're finished shopping?" Rachel asked, looking hopeful at an opportunity to see Finn.
"Fine, but you'll have to hide the shopping bags or Candy will go through them for his presents," Mouse said. "So, who wants to go where?"
"I'd better check how my sales are going before we all start on a shopping spree and I completely forget," Kurt muttered, his eyes lingering on a nearby store's large sale sign.
"All right then. Come on. We'll go there and then make our way back," Mouse said, practically dragging Kurt away.
The others looked a little confused, bit still followed her down to Le Parfum.
"Aren't they from Vocal Adrenaline?" Tina whispered to Mercedes as three girls walked past.
"Yeah, they are," Mercedes muttered, turning her head to look back after them with a frown.
"They looked scared. What's so scary in a mall?" Santana asked.
"Here we are. All right, let's see this perfume of yours, Kurt. I want to buy a bottle and get it signed," Mouse said, grinning at him.
"Wait until I'm on Broadway for signatures," he said, rolling his eyes, but looking pleased anyway.
"Good morning and welcome to La Parfum... Oh, Mr. Hummel, I was just about to call you with a sales report," the store owner said, seeming flustered.
"You don't have it, do you?" Kurt asked, sighing.
"I won't be ten minutes!" he replied quickly, hurrying to the back of the store.
"Someone start timing him. I don't know why I let my scent sensation in here sometimes," Kurt muttered, sighing heavily. "Here it is. I said for it to be on the shelf at eye-level!" he growled. "What is this rubbish? Britney Spaz? Ugh, take it away!"
Laughing, Mouse grabbed a few of the boxes and put them on the ground. She moved Kurt's bottles to the empty shelf, and replaced the lower shelf with the other bottles. The others helped out, laughing and shushing each other when their laughter got too loud.
"Here's your sales report, Mr. Hummel," the store owner called as he left the back office.
They all stood up quickly, trying to look innocent.
"Thank you," Kurt said, reaching over and taking the report. Looking at the figures, a grin started to spread on his face. "Excellent work, Carlos. Now, what are you doing about branch sales?" he asked, looking at him.
"Not much, at the moment. I don't have any time for myself, let alone for what you require, Mr. Hummel," he replied, sounding frustrated. "Tax time is coming up, and I need every spare minute to try and sort through that mess," Carlos added, indicating back to his office.
Mouse looked at Santana and nudged her.
"What?" Santana hissed, looking at her in confusion.
"You're good at organising things. You organised the bake sale, didn't you?" Mouse added, her voice raising. "And I know you're great at maths, even if you don't let the others know."
"Do you know anything about taxes?" Carlos asked, pleading.
"Anything at all?" Kurt added, looking at her with wide eyes.
If Santana did Carlos' taxes, then Carlos would have more time to promote Hummel.
Mouse rubbed her fingers and thumb together when Santana looked to her briefly, indicating that she'd have a paid job and Santana grinned slightly, then turned to Carlos.
"And what if I do?" Santana said, her hands on her hips. "You think I'm just going to work for free?"
"Of ... of course not," Carlos said quickly, looking relieved. "Come with me, we'll work something out."
Santana followed Carlos to his office, a broad smile on her face.
"Coach won't be happy with that," Brittany murmured.
"Of course she will be, Santana won the job, and it's only seasonal work, which means she can still do cheerleadering practice," Mouse said, patting Brittany's arm.
"Has anyone seen Quinn?" Rachel asked, frowning.
"I don't even remember her coming into the store with us," Tina said, looking around the small shop.
Not seeing her, they all hurried to the store door to look for Quinn in case she hadn't seen where they'd gone, and was wandering outside. Mouse stayed behind at the Hummel display, grinning to herself as she watched their reactions.
"Oh. My. God. Isn't that Josh from Vocal Adrenaline?" Mercedes asked, her mouth dropping open.
"Yes, I believe it is," Rachel replied, sounding breathless.
"Quinn's talking with him?" Tina said, her voice almost rising to a squeal.
"Where's the Hummel tester?" Kurt asked suddenly. "I'll drench myself in the stuff, and he won't be able to resist."
"I don't think he swings that way, sweetie," Mouse said, grinning at him.
"They never do," Kurt said, sighing heavily.
Mercedes looked at Quinn and Josh, and then over to Mouse, a frown suddenly flitting on her face. "You set them up, didn't you? Those girls were from Vocal Adrenaline before... You made them bring him here!" Mercedes hissed, hurrying over to Mouse.
"You can't prove a thing, and I'll deny it all anyway," Mouse replied, spraying some Hummel on her wrist and sniffing it. "This really is good, Kurt. How much are you selling it for?" she murmured, bending to look at the price on the proper shelf.
"I don't care if you deny it. I want you to set me up with someone," Mercedes said, grinning for a brief moment before she sighed heavily. "I don't want my heart broken again."
Mouse stood up again, a slight frown on her face. "Twenty dollars and thirty five cents. If I get two that's ... "
"Forty dollars and seventy cents, and a complimentary bag on behalf of my new assistant," Carlos said, grinning at Santana.
"I like free bags," Mouse said, chuckling as she picked up two bottles. "And stop looking so depressed, you'll bring me down..." she added to Mercedes.
Mercedes just looked at her, waiting for an answer.
Mouse sighed. "Just get me a bow 'n arrow and call me Cupid," she muttered.
"Haha. Think you can get me one that's tall, dark and handsome?" Mercedes asked, grinning as she hugged Mouse tightly.
"I should really start charging," Mouse muttered, handing money over to Carlos. "Thanks," she said, taking the small shopping bag with her purchases. "Who's ready to go bargain hunting?" she called, redirecting their attention away from Quinn and Josh.
"I definitely am!" Kurt called back, going over to Mouse. "You didn't have to buy it, you know," he murmured, looking embarrassed.
"Why not? It smells great, and I wanted one. Here, sign the box," Mouse said with a grin, bringing a pen out of her handbag and offering it to him.
Kurt signed the box, shaking his head slightly. "You're crazy, Mouse."
"I know. Come on, let's go get Quinn before she ditches us for the body," she replied, taking the pen and box back. "Ready? Good," Mouse said, taking her phone from her pocket and dialling a number.
Across the mall, Quinn's phone started ringing. Blushing slightly, she apologised to Josh and turned away to answer her phone.
"Hello?"
"Have you got a date with him yet?" Mouse asked bluntly.
"Mouse!" Quinn hissed, her face reddening further. "Yes, in two weeks when Sectionals is over and I don't have any appointments. Why?" she relented, curious.
"Because we all wanted to know... Does he know about the baby?" Mouse added, watching Quinn's face as she just nodded in reply. "Put Joshie boy on the phone for a moment?"
Quinn turned back to Josh, smiling briefly as she handed him the phone.
"Hello?" Josh said, sounding uncertain.
"Put him on speaker," Mercedes hissed, tapping Mouse's arm.
Rolling her eyes, Mouse pulled the phone away from her ear and put it on speaker, all of them crowding around her eagerly.
"Hi Josh, just a quick question... Are you going to take care of Quinn when she's screaming her lungs out and a baby's practically ripping her body in half in about six months? Or do you think she's easy because she's already pregnant, and you're looking for a quick fuck? If it's the latter, I suggest you get the hell out of the mall before I kill you!"
"Umm... Wow. That was blunt... I'm not sure what will happen in six month's time, how about we see what happens after our date?" Josh offered, a hesitant smile on his face.
Across the way, they all saw Josh cover the phone slightly and ask Quinn a question.
"She's not really going to kill me, is she?" Josh's muffled voice came through.
"I have very protective friends," Quinn replied, smiling and laughing slightly. "It's fine, Josh. I'll still see you in two weeks, right?" she asked, taking the phone from him.
"Sure... Your friend's not coming, is she?" Josh asked quietly.
"I heard that, bastard! I like him already," Mouse said when Quinn put the phone back up to her ear. "Right, we're here to go shopping, now get over here," she called, waving her hand.
"I recognise her," Josh said, frowning slightly.
"I better get over now. I'll see you next weekend. Bye Josh," Quinn said, smiling at him and going over to her friends, practically skipping.
Josh grinned and watched as her friends all crowded around Quinn, looking over to him every so often. He preened at the attention, then left with the girls from his glee club when they stopped looking.
"Did you have to do that, Mouse? What if he'd gone running and you blew my chance with him?" Quinn asked, biting her lip slightly.
"Yes, I did have to do that. And if he'd gone running, then you would have known that he was just an insensitive jerk. Guys don't understand subtlety, so it's easier to ask them things straight up... All right, who's getting what for Candy's birthday?" Mouse asked, grinning.
...
"Thank you, Doctor... Yes, I'll see you in a month's time," Quinn said as she stood to leave the doctor's office.
"And your payment?" he asked, looking at her sternly.
"The cheque is in the mail. I swear, it was sent!" she added at his look of disbelief. "Maybe there was a problem at the post office?" Quinn suggested.
"Unlikely, and you've used that excuse three times already, Miss Fabray. If I don't receive a payment for this, as well as your previous appointments, then I'm afraid I'll have to turn you away at your next appointment. I simply cannot continue to see you without payment. The debt collector's will start doubling soon," he added, glaring briefly.
"Yes, I know. Thank you," Quinn said frostily, leaving the building as fast as she could.
...
"All right, birthday boy! Time to blow out your candles," Sarah said, grinning as she brought out a large chocolate mud cake covered in brightly coloured smarties.
Candy's eyes widened and he clapped happily as the cake was set in front of him.
"Happy, happy, happy," he chanted, then went silent quickly as Sarah lit the candles, and looked at everyone expectantly.
Surprising everyone, it was Terrence who started singing first.
"Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday, dear Candy,
Happy birthday to you!"
"Whooooo!" the jocks all called loudly.
"Make a wish!"
"Blow out the candles!"
Candy laughed at their cheering, then leant over the cake to blow out the fourteen candles.
"Cake, cake, cake!" a chant started loudly.
"Presents now, then cake!" Candy said, grinning at everyone.
"Your birthday, your rules," Mouse said, ruffling his hair with a grin.
Candy went red and quickly swiped at his hair to fix it up.
"Presents!" he said again.
"All right, Candy. Which present do you want first?" Mouse asked, holding the camera up, ready to take a photo of her brother.
"That one," Candy said, pointing to the topmost present on the table.
"That's mine," Finn said, grinning broadly as he handed the present to him.
"Thank you!" Candy said, ripping at the paper immediately. "Yay! Look, Mousie, Mummy!" he said excitedly, holding up a Lightning McQueen automatic racing car from Cars.
"That's great, Candon. Why don't you open the rest now?" Sarah asked, smiling at him.
Candy looked at the boxed car to the rest of his presents and reluctantly put the car beside him, double checking to make sure it was still there when he grabbed the next present.
"That's from me, Candy. I hope you like it," Quinn said, smiling at him.
"A baby?" Candy asked in an awed whisper, his eyes flicking to her stomach. He quickly opened the flat package, but there was no hint of disappointment when he realised it wasn't a baby but a book. "New fairy book! Thank you, Quinnie!"
"I made sure he didn't have that one," Quinn added when Mouse looked at her.
"Thanks," she said, snapping a photo of her, and then moving the camera to take one of Candy as he grinned at his new book, turning the pages carefully.
"Who wants their present opened next?" Sarah asked loudly, redirecting her son's attention.
"Presents!" Candy called, grinning.
"This one's from me," Kurt said, handing Candy a small Disney-themed paper bag. "Look inside," he added when Candy looked preoccupied with the characters on the bag.
Reaching inside, Candy's eyes widened when he pulled out Beyonce's newest CD.
"Thank you!" Candy said, turning to hug Kurt tightly.
"You're welcome. We can practice here sometime, and you have something new to listen to," Kurt said, smiling at him.
"Mousie, photo please!" Candy said, holding up his CD.
"He's awfully excited over a CD," Rachel murmured, grinning slightly.
"Of course he is, it's Beyonce," Kurt said, turning to grin at her.
Mouse laughed and pointed the camera at Candy to take photos of him with the CD.
"This one's from Brittany and me," Santana said, passing Candy their present.
"Thank you, Brittany and Santana," he said, ripping the wrapping quickly. "Monsters Inc. bag!" Candy squealed happily, hugging the bag to his chest tightly.
"Thank God for that. His other one's falling to pieces," Sarah muttered, sipping at her soft drink.
"Here you are, Candy," Artie said, rolling over with his present on his lap.
"Thank you, Artie," Candy said happily.
"Hold it up Candy, what is it?" Mouse asked, grinning as she took a photo of him again.
"J-a-z-z. Ja-zz mid... Mid-ni-g-h-t..." Candy tried to read, frowning slightly at the larger words. "Jazz midni-g-h-t blues," he finished a moment later, letting out a deep breath.
"It's a jazz CD," Artie added, pushing his glasses up slightly, looking embarrassed.
"Thank you!" Candy said, standing up to put his arms around Artie's neck and hug him tightly.
"Owwww," Artie groaned, wincing.
"Candy, you're hurting him," Mouse said quickly, and Candy moved away, looking teary.
"No, it wasn't you, Candy ... it was this. I got you something else," Artie said, his eyes watering as he handed the large tin box to Candy. "Happy birthday," he added, then rolled over to Mouse. "Can I get some ice?" he asked, his voice an octave higher.
"I'll get it for you, Artie. You keep taking photos of Candy, Mouse," Mr. Schue said, smiling briefly as he headed into the kitchen.
"Does anyone want a drink?" Sarah asked, standing up.
"No, thanks."
"What's in the tin, Candy?" Tina called when Candy fell silent after opening the package.
Candy looked up with the largest smile on his face Mouse had ever seen.
"It's just some new textas and colouring pencils," Artie said with an embarrassed cough when he became the centre of attention at Candy's lack of words.
Candy hugged Artie again, the tin clutched in his hand tightly.
"You're welcome, Candy... Why don't you open Tina's present now?" Artie suggested, looking as embarrassed as ever.
"Okay," Candy said, sitting down and putting the tin on his lap protectively.
"Here you are, Candy," Tina said, handing him her present, and feeling slightly inadequate after his response to Artie's present.
Candy opened it eagerly, holding up the book and CD pack to the sunlight so he could read the words properly.
"Speak cle-a-rl ... clear-ly book and C-D pa-c-k," Candy pronounced carefully.
"It's what I was given to help my stuttering. It's the newer edition, but I thought you might like it, and you can listen to the CD at nigh- oof!" Tina's rambling stopped suddenly as Candy hugged her just as tightly as he had Artie.
The tin fell on Tina's foot and she cried out in pain.
"Better make that two ice packs, Mr. Schue!" one of the jocks called out with a laugh.
"Where is Schue anyway?" Puck asked, looking around.
"More to the point, where's my mother?" Mouse muttered, seeing that she still hadn't returned from her trip to the kitchen. "Here, take some photos. Don't let Candy open my present until I'm back," she instructed, going back into the kitchen.
"Oh, come on. It's not like you need to be faithful to your wife," Sarah crooned. "She faked a pregnancy to get you to stay with her, you owe her nothing."
"It's not that, Mrs. Franklin. Please, I need to get the ice pack to Artie," Schue said, trying to get around her.
"Mum, we've all decided we want drinks now. Since you offered before, our guests would like you to bring them out. Mr. Schuester, we need another ice pack for Tina's foot please," Mouse announced.
Will nodded, looking both embarrassed and grateful.
"What do they want?" Sarah asked, glaring at Mouse as Schue left the kitchen with the two ice packs.
"Coke, lemonade, lemon squash, diet Coke, Fanta and three waters," Mouse rattled off the top of her head.
"Mouse!" Puck called loudly.
"Coming! Thanks, Mum," Mouse said brightly, ignoring the look her mother gave her as she left the kitchen quickly. "Everything all right?" she asked Tina and Artie, who were sitting next to each other, ice packs in their relevant places.
"We'll survive," Tina said, grinning.
"Good to know," Mouse said with a small laugh. "I'm coming, I'm coming. What's wrong?"
"Candy wanted to wait for you," Puck said, handing the camera back to her. "Apparently, I don't take good photos," he added, smirking.
"He took one of the ceiling, just to prove it," Mercedes added.
"Okay, you can have ours next, Candy kid. This is from Matt and me," Mike said, handing him the wrapped box.
"Thank you!" Candy said, ripping the paper quickly. "Looney Toons cup! Ohhhhh," he added when he looked inside. "Sweets!"
"Is he talking about himself, or does he actually mean there's sweets in there?" Kurt asked Mouse quietly.
"Not quite sure. Show us all, sweetie!" Mouse called, taking a photo of his lolly-filled mug.
"Would you like my present now, Candy?" Schue asked, smiling at him.
"For me?" Candy asked in surprise, his eyes big.
"Of course. Happy birthday," Will said, handing a thin package to him.
"Thank you, Schu-ie," Candy said, opening the present. He frowned slightly, his brows furrowed. "Co-llec-ti-on... coll-ec-tion of Disney music sh... shee-ts," he said carefully, then looked inside the book, still looking confused.
A look of comprehension dawned on his face as he saw and recognised music sheets from Glee.
"Ohh! Thank you, Schu-ie!" he said, grinning up at him.
"You're welcome. I'd hoped you would like it," Will said, sounding pleased. He blinked groggily as a camera flash blinded him.
"All right, who's next?" Mouse asked, grinning.
"This one's from all of the team, Candy kid," Terrence said, handing him a large rectangular present. "And this one's from me," he added with a wink, giving him a smaller oval present.
Candy looked between the two, torn between the decision of which one he should open first. Closing his eyes, he pointed at one present.
"Eeny, meeny, miney, tiny mousie!" he said, ending up pointing to the bigger present. Happy with his decision, Candy eagerly opened the large present. "Warmness!" he exclaimed, grinning brightly.
"What is it?" Rachel asked, frowning as she stood on her tiptoes to try and see over the jocks' shoulders unsuccessfully.
"Disney blanket and bed set. With stickers," Terrence replied.
Candy hurried to hug them all, and was swallowed up by the jocks surrounding him for a group hug.
Laughing, Mouse took photos upon photos in an attempt to get one of Candy in the middle of the mass.
"Awww... look at them being all maternal," Sarah muttered scathingly as she brought a tray of drinks out.
"What's the other one Terrence got for you, Candy?" Mouse called, ignoring her mother's comment.
Candy made his way out, and sat in his chair once more, presents surrounding him. He blinked a few times to make sure they were all real, and then satisfied, turned to the oval present Terrence had bought for him. Opening it, his mouth dropped in shock.
"Football?" he asked, staring at Terrence in surprise.
"That's right, your very own football," he said, grinning broadly at Candy's expression. "We can all play at lunch, and I even wrote your name on the bottom, see?" Terrence said, nodding for him to turn it over and look. "That way, you know it's yours and no one can take it."
Candy carefully put the football with his other presents, and hugged Terrence solemnly.
"Thank you," Candy said, his words choking.
Mouse bit her bottom lip in worry, but continued to take photos of her brother with the large jock. She would talk to Terrence about it later.
"All right, enough mushy stuff! Next present," Sarah called out, rolling her eyes.
The sooner the presents were finished, the sooner they'd eat the cake and get the hell out of her house... Then the real party could begin, starting with the bottle of gin she'd hidden on top of the kitchen cupboard.
"Here you are, Candy. I hope you like it," Rachel said, giving him her present.
Candy opened it, thanking her as he did so. "P-os-i-tiv-i-t-y," he mouthed the book's title. Frowning slightly, he opened the book to look inside. "Froggie!" he said gleefully, turning to look at the other animal pictures.
"It's a positivity book; I thought he'd like the pictures until he could read it properly himself," Rachel said, smiling broadly.
"That's very thoughtful, Rachel," Finn said, smiling down at her.
Rachel practically glowed at the compliment.
"All right, mine next, Candy," Mercedes said, trying to push away her pain and jealousy at seeing Finn and Rachel's adoring looks.
"Thank you, 'Cedey!" Candy said, grinning at her.
"You're welcome," she said, her unhappiness lifting with his bright smile.
"Oh, colour book!" he said happily, then stopped suddenly when he noticed another book underneath. "Empty book?" he asked.
"For you to draw in yourself," Mercedes replied, smiling.
"Sweet likes drawing!" Candy said, bouncing on his chair happily.
"You want to give yours next, Mouse?" Puck asked her.
She shook her head. "I'll go last," she replied, grinning.
"All right... Here you are, Candy kid. Happy birthday," Puck said, handing him a present.
"Thank you, Pucky!" Candy said, smiling up at him brightly, and then looking back down to open the present quickly.
A shocked gasp filled the room, and Mouse frowned slightly, wondering what on earth Puck had given him.
"Guitar!" Candy yelled happily.
"Quiet voice, Candy," Sarah called, her fingers at her temples.
"Guitar, guitar, guitar, guitar!" Candy chanted, strumming the strings in time.
"I'll give you some proper lessons later, all right?" Puck asked, grinning at him.
"Thank you!" Candy said, strumming again.
"Last, but hopefully not least, a present from me," Mouse said when Candy had quietened down. "I don't know, you've got a lot of presents, maybe you don't want this one?" she said, smiling slightly as she held out an envelope.
"Present!" Candy said, placing the guitar on the table very carefully and holding his hand out for Mouse's present.
Instead of giving it to him, Mouse hugged him tightly. "Happy birthday, Candy. I love you, sweetie," she whispered in his ear so his new friends wouldn't hear and he'd get embarrassed by her mushiness.
"Love you too, Mousie," Candy replied seriously, kissing her cheek. "Present now?"
Laughing softly, she pulled away and gave him the bright red envelope.
"Thank you," Candy said.
He didn't even sound disappointed that it was a smaller present than others he'd already been given, Mouse noted with slight surprise. If he had been disappointed, she knew that it would be worth that small misery when he opened the envelope and discovered what was inside.
Candy opened the envelope and pulled the card out. He grinned at the picture of Sully from Monsters Inc. on the front, and then opened the card. Two thin pieces of card fell onto his lap, and Candy frowned as he picked them up.
"The Lion King" - those three words he knew how to read very well - "on st-age. Stage..." Candy repeated, the word rolling around in his mouth and in his mind. His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. "Stage?" he all-but screamed, staring at his sister hopefully.
Mouse couldn't hold back her grin, and she nodded. Candy screamed loudly, a happy sound nonetheless, and wrapped his arms around her neck tightly.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Stage," he repeated, pulling away and looking slightly dazed.
"The Lion King show is really expensive, how'd you get the cash to pay for it?" Quinn asked softly.
Mouse could practically see the fees for her doctor's bills going through Quinn's mind.
"I'll tell you later," she promised, touching Quinn's arm briefly.
She nodded in appreciation, and turned back to watch Candy's still-dazed expression as he surveyed all of his presents. He was still clutching the Lion King tickets in his hand tightly.
"Who wants cake?" Sarah called out. She just wanted everyone out of the house.
"Movie first!" Candy said, holding the DVD Sarah had given to him earlier that morning.
She sighed heavily. "All right, Wall-E it is," she muttered, stabbing the knife into the cake.
...
"Terrence, can I talk to you for a moment?" Mouse asked quietly as people started to leave after the movie and cake.
"Yeah, sure," he replied, following her out into the foyer.
"Thank you for getting Candy the football; it looks like he really loves it," she said, smiling.
"I'd hope so," Terrence joked, grinning briefly. "You're worried that he'll get hurt?"
"Yes... Football's such a rough sport, even with all the padding. I'm just worried, and I want to protect him from being hurt by people so much bigger than him," Mouse said with a sigh.
"Seems to me that you're always protecting him. I know how to play football, all right? And I'd never hurt him, so I wouldn't have bought it for him if I didn't think he'd be okay. It'll help his co-ordination, and make him stronger too. Just because he has the football, it doesn't mean we're going to force him to play with us. Candy will be safe; you can watch if you want," Terrence offered, smiling at her.
Mouse nodded, still looking worried. Her mind was going through every possible negative thing that could happen. If she watched Candy play, then as the school's First Aid officer, she'd be able to help him quicker if anything did go wrong...
"All right. I'll let him play with you at lunch, and I'll watch to make sure he doesn't get hurt," she said, nodding.
"Thanks, I'm sure it'll mean a lot to him," Terrence said, sounding genuinely happy.
Mouse just nodded again, and went back to her brother, who was touching each of his presents lovingly, and yet also with a slight amount of fear, as if he was afraid they'd disappear the moment his fingers came into contact with them.
...
End of the thirteenth chapter. Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it.
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