Author's Note: I know its been forever since I've updated and I feel horrible about it. Anyways, here's a treat for all my fellow Peanuts fans, especially those of you who love Linus. Enjoy!

Linus van Pelt sat in his favorite arm chair, sucking his thumb. holding his blanket and thinking. What he was thinking about, he couldn't exactly tell you. Things just kind of spiraled into one and other, leaving an actual topic hard to decipher.

"Linus!" his little brother, Rerun, screeched. Linus's eyes flew open and he let out a barely audible 'grrrr'.

The little first grader feet smacked against the linoleum of kitchen floor as the youngest van Pelt searched for his brother.

"Maybe, if I close my eyes now, I can pretend he isn't here," Linus wondered.

"There you are!" Rerun said, relief clearly in his voice.

"Here I am," Linus confirmed. He scooched over in his chair, making room for his brother. The younger boy climbed into the chair, using his hands as a lift.

"Hello, Linus," Rerun said.

"Hello, Rerun," Linus somewhat repeated, smoothing his light blue blanket out on his lap.

"Guess what." Rerun ordered excitedly.

"What?" Linus aksed, not even coming close to matching his brother's tone. Linus knew better than to get excited over something that Rerun was excited about until you knew what it was. Rerun got excited over having pizza for dinner, and that happened at least once every two weeks.

"We're getting a dog for Christmas!" Rerun all but screamed.

"What?" Linus asked, tightly gripping his blanket.

"We're getting a dog for Christmas!" Rerun repeated.

"We're getting a dog. An actual, real, living dog?" Linus asked, checking once more. Rerun nodded.

"That's great, Rerun," Linus said, knowing that Rerun had wanted a dog for the longest time. Rerun smiled, then snuggled in close to Linus, resting his head on Linus's shoulder. Linus considered protesting until Rerun's arms wrapped around him in a big hug. Linus sighed, giving into this moment of affection.

Linus had always had a soft spot for his brother. Maybe it was because Rerun was someone to finally look up to him, the way Linus first had with their older sister, Lucy. After Lucy's first amazement with being an older sister had worn off, she began to torment Linus, and Linus lost his respect for her. He was, however, determined not to be that with Rerun. Rerun already had a Lucy, he didn't need two.

The brothers sat there for a considerable amount of time until Lucy burst in.

"I can't believe we're getting a stupid dog!" Lucy screamed. "You two, move!" Obediently, the boys slid off the chair, making way for the girl. She plopped herself down in the chair and groaned loudly.

"First, I have to have two stupid brothers, now I have to have a dog, too?" she whined. Linus and Rerun exchanged a glance. Rerun shrugged and plopped himself down on the floor. Linus sighed and chose to sit on the couch.

"What's so bad about dogs, Lucy?" Linus asked.

"First, you have to walk them every morning, even when its raining and snowing. And second, they chew up everything." Lucy explained.

"Everything?" Linus asked, clutching at his blanket.

"Everything. Shoes, couches, curtains, blankets," Lucy confirmed. Nervously, Linus wiggled his blanket between his fingers. Their mother called something that Linus could not make out but caused the corners of Lucy's mouth to curl up into an evil grin.

"Oh Linus!" she called happily in a singsong voice.

"What?" Linus asked.

"It's wash day," Lucy smirked, prying the blanket from Linus's hands. Linus's eyes widened. He whimpered. His blanket was everything to him, it was his lifeline. A childish lifeline, but a lifeline nonetheless.

Linus closed his eyes, trying to take deep, but shaky, breaths. Rerun, noticing this, gripped Linus's shoulders tightly then began to shake him violently.

"Come on, big brother, breathe!" Rerun screeched, trying to shake Linus back to health. Linus let out another whimper and clutched at his stomach.

"I don't feel so good," he muttered. "My head hurts and I feel like I'm going to throw up.

"It's in the rinse cycle!" Lucy yelled. Linus began to shake and shiver.

"Hang on, Linus, it's rinsing!" Rerun begged. "You'll have it back soon!"

"Blanket, need blanket," Linus moaned. An idea popped into Rerun's head. He let go of Linus's shoulders, causing Linus to slump forward, and he ran into the kitchen. He could see the pale blue dish towel their mother sometimes used hanging from the counter. He jumped and caught it.

"Here!" Rerun yelped, throwing the dish towel into Linus's lap. Cautiously, Linus picked it up and put it over his shoulder, like he would if it were his blanket.

"No substitutes," Linus groaned, tossing the towel back at his brother.

"Here," Lucy grumbled, throwing the blanket at Linus. He picked it up happily and hugged it tightly.

"That's a new record," Lucy remarked. "He made it through the entire time without passing out,"

"I don't know if that's a really a very good record," Rerun said.

"It's a good record for him," Lucy insisted. The two stared at their brother who had returned to his usual position. His blanket slung over his shoulder, his thumb in his mouth and his eyes closed. There was something comforting about just watching him like that, while at the same time, it was sort of sickening to see the third grader still hanging on to his security blanket and sucking his thumb.

"Would you two kindly stop staring at me?" Linus asked. His siblings returned to their previous activities, Rerun playing with blocks and Lucy channel surfing, leaving Linus to his thoughts and fears.