And it had nothing to do with you
And it had nothing to do with me
And it had nothing to do with love
And maybe that's the craziest thing in the whole biography
Maybe someday you'll forgive yourself
But the family last time I checked
Is a group of people who give you love
When you least expect
For this heart that we cannot protect
I got this love and this great respect
For this heart that we cannot protect
~ "A (With Love)" Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers
Bored one weeknight, Hank and Martha had played "Most likely to…" about their grandchildren. One would say a superlative and then they would agree who it would fit best: Seeley, Jared or Kelly. Most likely to sing and dance went hands down to Kelly. After some debate, most likely to pick a fight went to Jared. After most likely to eat a pickle and most likely to be married by 21, Hank realized that Seeley hadn't been represented enough.
"Martha," He had said, leaning back into the couch. "What about our Seeley."
Martha smiled, adoring her husband for taking paternal protection of the child.
"Most likely to go to college on sports scholarship?" Martha attempted
"I don't know," Hank shook his head. "Jared has a good little arm on him." He took a sip of his coffee and smiled. "I think Seeley is most likely to make us proud."
"That's a nice, blanket sentiment." Martha nodded.
"No Mar," Hank shook his head. "That boy, he's got heart. He's going to do great things if we can only make him see that."
Hank recalled the conversation as he sat in the living room reading the newspaper for the second time that day. He looked around and didn't see any of his grandchildren. He knew Jared had gone down to the basement to play and that Kelly had followed like a lost puppy, but he had no idea where Seeley had run off to. He vaguely remembered hearing someone head upstairs, so he threw down the newspaper and started for the stairs.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement in the kitchen. Warily, he approached and smiled when he saw his eldest grandson at the kitchen table, hunched over a text book.
"What are you doing, Shrimp?" Hank asked loudly as he made his way into the kitchen.
"Algebra." Seeley grumbled as he threw down his pencil.
"Your grandmother is a great mathematician, do you want me to go get her?" He offered and Seeley shook his head.
"It's not due till Monday. I'll finish it over the weekend."
"What's the phrase, why put off till tomorrow what you can do today?" Hank pulled up a seat and sat across from him.
"That's for chores, Pops." Seeley laughed. "This is algebra."
"Ah, I see the difference." Hank nodded "How are you holding up, Shrimp?"
"Fine," Seeley shrugged "I guess."
"Use your words, Seeley." Hank encouraged. "Words are going to get you through a lot of tough situations."
"I guess I'm confused." Seeley said after moment.
"Why?" Hank nodded
"I don't understand what I did. I don't understand why we're here." Seeley looked exasperated. "Is it my fault we're here?"
"No." Hank said quickly. "You didn't do anything. Shrimp," He said uncomfortably "This is hard to explain, but your dad… He's got things he has to work through and I think it's best for everyone that you kids just stay away for a while."
"Why? I can handle myself!" Seeley objected.
"Maybe you can." Hank conceded "But can Jared and Kelly? What would you do if something happened to them?"
"I don't know." Seeley shrugged.
"They need you, Shrimp." Hank sighed and reached across the table and put his hand on his young grandson's chest. "This." He tapped his hand against where Seeley's heart was beating rhythmically. "This is what you have that your father doesn't have. This is what's going to make you special. You've got the heart of a Booth, so show them what that means."
"Do they have the heart of a Booth?" Seeley asked seriously and waited for his grandfather's response.
"Kelly does." Hank nodded "Jared has it when it counts, which is all that matters."
"I have to keep us together." He agreed. "I have to be strong."
"I'm here, too." Hank promised. "You're not going to do this alone. Family never sacrifices something to get nothing in return, even if it is just the satisfaction of knowing you've all lived to see another day." He sat back and saw his grandson for the first time as to what Seeley was becoming: a young man. "I'm going to teach you how to shoot a gun."
"What?" Seeley sat up and seemed to vibrate with excitement
"Sure, I've got an old BB gun in the attic." Hank leaned forward. "But there are rules."
"Anything! What are they?"
"Only shoot for target practice. If you point that gun at another human being-"
"No shooting people, that's easy." Seeley cut him off.
"The gun stays in my office. You're not going to carry it around."
"I swear, I won't." Seeley leaned forward and looked at Hank with sparkling eyes. "Can we start tomorrow?"
Hank eyed his grandson thoughtfully before conceding with a smile.
"Sure thing, Shrimp."
*
Seeley was lying on his back later that night, looking up at the bottom of the top bunk where his little brother was sleeping. He was lost in thought when he saw out of the corner of his eye a little figure creeping along the hallway and stop in their doorway. He smiled and pretended to be sleeping and he heard the figure shuffle into the room on her hands and knees. A few weeks ago, Kelly had become obsessed with spies and was convinced if she was crawling on the floor, she wouldn't be seen. Suddenly, his bed shook a little and he heard a little voice proclaim, "Ow!"
"Who's there?" He sat up, looking around in mock fear. "Kelly! I didn't see you coming in!"
"I know!" She smiled, resting her chin on the side of his mattress. "I was sneaking. I'm a super sneaker."
"You really are." He grabbed her by the armpits and hauled her into his bed.
"Seeley," She said seriously after she settled in next to him. "I want to go home. I can hear Pops snoring."
"We can't go home right now." Seeley sighed.
"Can you call Alice and have her pick me up?" She insisted. "You and Jared can stay here."
At that moment, Seeley saw two feet dangling over top of his bed and with a thud, Jared fell next to Kelly.
"I want to go home, too." He looked at Kelly. "I miss my friends."
"We've only been here one day!" Seeley looked exasperated. "You two love Pops and Grandma!"
"I know," Jared shrugged "But I feel like we've been banished."
"What does banished mean?" Kelly looked confused.
"It means Mom and Dad don't want us anymore." Jared told her and she looked up at Seeley in terror.
"That's not right, Munchkin. This is like a vacation. We packed our bags, right?" She nodded. "We drove in the car and ended up somewhere totally different than where we started from, so it's a vacation."
"Vacations are supposed to be fun." Jared grumbled.
"Grandma made pie!" Kelly reminded him "That's fun!"
"See?" Seeley smiled as Jared rolled his eyes.
"Seeley, I'm scared." Kelly said after a minute, snuggling closer in to his side. "I think there's a zombie with a green face and big teeth in my closet. And my bed makes funny noises when I move."
"It squeaks?" Jared sarcastically asked
"Like I'm squishing something." Kelly nodded, not catching her brother's sarcasm.
"My bed doesn't have anything under it, you can sleep here tonight and tomorrow morning, we'll fix your bed." Seeley promised as Kelly yawned and smiled. "Do you want to sleep here too, Jared?" He goaded
"Shut up." Jared glared at him, but reluctantly flopped back onto the pillow when Seeley slid over to make room for him.
"Are we in trouble?" Kelly asked after a moment of silence.
"Why would you think that?" Seeley wondered
"Jared said we were bam-ished. Are we in trouble?"
"No," He shook his head and glared at Jared over top of her head "We're not in trouble. But we have to stick together right now."
"Is this going to be forever, Seeley?" Jared asked after a moment, breaking his cold exterior. "Have things changed for good?"
"I don't know." He replied honestly. "But I want you two to know that I'm going to fight for us. We're going to come out of this on the other side like champions."
"I just want to be normal." Jared sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and staring up at the bed above them.
"We're Booths. We aren't normal." Seeley said knowingly. "We're always going to be a little different than everyone else. Maybe a little bit better, hopefully not a little bit worse."
"Are we famous?" Kelly asked sleepily
"Yeah, the only famous Booth I know is the guy who shot Abraham Lincoln." Jared mumbled.
"Kelly," Seeley asked suddenly, "What's your full name?"
"Kelly Ann Booth!" She replied with a giggle
"Jared?"
"Jared Henry Booth." He said roughly
"And I'm Seeley Joseph Booth." Seeley nodded. "No John or Wilkes in there, so I'm pretty sure we're a lot better than the guy who shot Lincoln. I think we're going to be alright."
Both Jared and Kelly seemed to be contemplating his logic when Kelly looked up at him.
"Tell me a story." Seeley couldn't help but laugh at the flighty thought process of a 3 year old.
"Which one." Seeley said reluctantly, not knowing if he could come up with something right now.
"About Bob, Bill and Bonnie." Kelly yawned again. "And a dragon. And spies."
Bob, Bill and Bonnie were three siblings that Seeley and a reluctant Jared had created for Kelly's amusement. They went on adventures and tonight, they outwitted enemy spies, overtook a castle made of the world's strongest steel, and then slayed a dragon that was threatening to eat them all.
As Jared was flamboyantly ending the story, Seeley looked down and saw Kelly was out cold. He looked up at Jared and the story stopped abruptly.
"Dad beat you up, didn't he." Jared said after a minute. "That's why we left. Dad."
"Yeah." Seeley couldn't see the point in hiding it from his brother.
"Dad's a jerk." Jared sighed. "We're going to be fine, right?"
"As far as I can tell." Seeley shrugged. "I can't see the future."
"I think we will." Jared nodded and looked down at Kelly, who was sleeping peacefully, curled into Seeley's side.
"We're Booths." Seeley nodded, hoping he didn't need to explain to Jared what that meant, but he continued. "We'll bounce back and be stronger. Bad stuff is always going to happen, but if we stick together, we're going to get through it all."
"For once, I hope you're right." Jared yawned. He started to get up when Seeley reached over and stopped him.
"The offer to sleep here tonight still stands." Seeley said gently, hoping not to scare away his brother. Gratefully, Jared smiled and put his head back on the pillow that he, Seeley and Kelly had been sharing and closed his eyes.
For the first time in a long time, Seeley thought introspectively, he felt safe. He felt free. Here in the small twin bed, cramped against the wall as his siblings took up the majority of the bed, he knew Jared was right. Things would be just fine.
Lying there in bed, he was overwhelmed with a sense of pride. Pride knowing that Pops was there, supporting them and loving them. Pride because his brother, for once, seemed to be on the same page. Pride for his family, however screwed up they were or would ever be, because he knew they were indeed special. Being a Booth, he decided, didn't imply an unequivocal sense of responsibility. It wasn't a burden, but it was about having the strength and courage to face what came his way and knowing he would never be alone.
People would always rely on him and, with pride, he accepted the challenge.
But the family last time I checked
Is a group of people who give you love
When you least expect
..fin..
