I do not own anything related to "Arrietty" or "The Borrowers" nor do I make any sort of profit from them. If I did...well, I wouldn't be sitting here writing this fanfiction. I'd be selling it for money and it would be legitimate fiction. :P

Forever

Chapter 2

The twins pounced as we closed the distance between each other, tackling me to the ground with their combined weight. They laughed and squealed as we rolled in the dirt and leaves. The late winter grass crackled as we tumbled, smearing us with the last of its green coloring. We stopped close to the winding river bank and I was thankful that we hadn't rolled over. It was a steep drop to the water below. The current was swift and would sweep away a borrower within seconds.

A small cross planted there was testament to that.

After the untangling of our limbs, my brother grabbed one of my hands and my sister the other. Both children began to haul me back towards our home.

"Come on!" their sing-song voices chorused together. "Mother said supper will be ready soon and Papa said he has a surprise for us!"

I smiled and played along. This was a familiar routine. The twins never sat still for very long and loved being outside. When the light started fading and the dark growing, Mother would lure the twins in with supper and Papa would have a "surprise" that would keep them occupied inside our home until bedtime. It was comforting to have something set and steady every night. After all the chaos of the past years, stability was a gift. I cherished it.

Because it never lasted very long.

I have learned to take the good moments with the bad. You have to. Otherwise, if you focus only on the bad things, you let your life fall around your ears and you forget that good things can happen. Mother almost let the bad moments consume her for a long time after my brother wandered off the river bank. He was between the twins and myself and would have been twelve tomorrow.

But I don't dwell on it. He was here and we loved him and that is all that matters.

As the night grew deeper, the twins grew sleepier and my family grew quieter. Papa seemed especially quiet tonight, but I couldn't tell if it was the good quiet or the bad. Sometimes it was just better to wait it out and let whatever was happening either show itself or resolve itself.

"Arrietty," Mother began after the twins had been asleep for a while. She put down the pestle she was crushing seeds with, wiping her hands on her apron and going to stand by Papa. "I'm pregnant."

My eyes doubled in size, I could tell by the way my eyelashes touched my eyebrows. For a moment, everything was quiet before laughter spilled between the three of us. I ran to my parents, hugging both of them in turn and then together. Mother's eyes welled up with tears as she looked around our home.

"We'll have to expand again," she said. I nodded in agreement.

Papa chuckled and we sat down around the table once more to discuss rooms and sizes, additions, names, colors, decorations and anything else that could possibly pertain to having children. The darkness outside our little home grew deeper and deeper, the candles and lanterns that lit our home becoming more and more necessary. A strong wind blew through the forest, rattling the roof and sending a draft to extinguish most of the lights. Mine was the only one that stayed lit and I quickly tried to relight the rest.

Mother called out in the dark, telling me not to bother. It was late, she said, and past time for all of us to sleep.

We parted ways in the dark and I walked down the hallway to my room. I quietly closed the door behind me before dressing for bed and curling up beneath the covers. I shivered a bit in the chilly air, wishing I had started a fire in the hearth before the lights had gone out. It was too late to do anything now so I just curled in a ball and forced myself to sleep.

I woke up early, as usual. Sliding out of bed, I darted to my bathroom and hopped from rug to rug, trying to avoid the cold dirt floor. I poured some of the chilly water from the pitcher into the bowl, scrubbing my arms and face and wishing for the days when we lived in a bean house where we could borrow electricity for hot water and showers. I dried off and darted back into my room, changing into some warmer clothes and pulling on my boots.

I ran the pine brush through my hair, wincing at a few snags. I pulled it back into its usual messy knot, jabbing a long, thin piece of bark through it. The bark had been hewn and polished, carefully smoothed out until splinters no longer came from it. At the end, I had borne a hole into it and tied a couple pieces of shiny beetle shell onto it for decoration. A quick glance in the mirror told me everything was set and in place.

The house was still quiet, the only one up other than me was Papa. He was standing in the kitchen, building a fire in the stove for Mother to make breakfast. I smiled and waved before grabbing a dried berry and piece of bread and heading out the door.

I started foraging early in the mornings, right before the sun actually came up. That was the best time. Most of the birds are still asleep and the night-time predators had already gone to bed. Every now and then, though, some animal proves me wrong. A few weeks ago, I had a close encounter with a river martin. It was a female with a litter of kits and I got just a bit too close by accident. Thankfully, her first response was to scare me, rather than eat me. I slowly backed away, watching her at all times. She seemed satisfied after a little bit and hustled her kits back down the river bank and into the relative safety of the water.

The morning was cool and the rough breeze brought me back to the present. I shivered just a bit but pressed on. It would warm up soon enough and a jacket would only be a burden in the later afternoon. I trudged through the forest, scavenging what I could find of the winter berries, tree bark scratched off by various animals and anything else I thought might be useful. My standards weren't that high, but I knew what I was looking for.

The problem came in the late afternoon. I was reluctantly beginning to make my way back towards the house, having absolutely no luck in finding any of the sweet berries I knew would soon appear. I was still scanning the ground and didn't realize just how close to the edge of the river I had gotten. Dirt crumbled from beneath my feet, sending me careening down the steep slope and landing dangerously close to the water's edge.

Later in spring, this river would be topping its banks, but since it was still winter, the river was greatly lessened. That is why I landed on exposed muddy river bed, instead of actually in the water. I lay still, checking to make sure everything moved and I was still alive before daring to sit up. I made it to my hands and knees but collapsed when I tried to bear weight on my left leg.

I cried out and sank back into the mud, immediately running my hands down my leg. Thankfully, I couldn't feel a fracture and everything moved like it wasn't broken. However, there was an obvious swelling around my knee. Already it was nearly double the size of my fist. Tears welled up in my eyes. With my knee this swollen in just a couple minutes, I wasn't going to be moving on my own for a while.

Something chittered ahead of me and my heart froze. Slowly, I glanced up to find an enormous raccoon dog staring me down. My heart started again. It raced in my chest, thundering in my ears.

"Oh dear god." The words spilled out of my mouth before I could think of anything else. The creature before me was obviously a male, and probably a young one from the way he zealously guarded what must have been a female behind him. He chuffed at me again, most likely a warning to get away.

I tried crawling backwards, but managed to jab my knee against a rock. I screamed involuntarily and this only served to set the male more on edge. He howled at me and began to advance.

"Help! Someone!" I cried, tears freely flowing down my face. "Please someone help me!" I tried to stand. As much as it hurt to put any weight on my leg, I had to get out of there, and quickly. I hobbled along, looking over my shoulder as the male started coming at me quicker.

"iHelp!/i" My lungs hurt with every scream but I had to yell. If I was lucky, someone might notice and save me.

I hit a soft patch of mud as I ran. It swallowed my feet for a second and sent me tumbling end over end. My knee was twisted farther in the process and I screamed again. I was all out sobbing at this point when the male came even closer. He chittered angrily, teeth flashing in the late afternoon sun.

"Please, don't," I whimpered, curling into a little ball and closing my eyes. Suddenly, my waist was in a vice grip and I was lifted into the air. I dared to open my eyes only to find fingers closing beneath me, supporting my entire body as I was lifted higher. I tried to turn and see if I could figure out anything about the bean that had somehow found me this far back in the woods but his thumb blocked my view.

I heard a deep voice rumble around me, asking me if I was alright. I couldn't speak, I couldn't move. I was absolutely frozen in terror. The voice returned, shooing away the angry male howling far below me. My world was suddenly movement again, shaking and unsteady. It leveled out after a minute before it became a slight up, down and forward movement.

The voice-distinctly male from the deep tones-spoke again, trying to reassure me that everything was going to be fine. My world stopped moving and the semi-darkness of his fingers brightened to the forest sunlight as he turned his hand palm-up. I sat up, looking all around and trying to find a way down. My chest rose and fell in time with my rapid, scared breathing. This wasn't good. Some unknown bean had wandered into our woods. What would happen if he found our house? The twins? I was shaking and contemplating simply jumping off when what he spoke next captured my attention.

"Arrietty? Are you alright?" My eyes locked onto his enormous face, trying to figure out just how this huge bean could possibly know my name. The dark hair, longer than I remembered, the dark brown eyes, just as gentle as when I said goodbye.

"S-sho?" Oh, I hoped it was. I hoped it was more than anything else.

His smile confirmed it. "Arrietty, I missed you."

I broke down in tears, much to his horror. I scrambled across his palm-so much bigger than I remembered-and wrapped my arms around his thumb. He missed me? Probably not nearly as much as I had missed him. But he was back. He was back and he was real.

I felt his fingers brush gently against my back, trying to comfort me.

"Arrietty, what's wrong?" He brought me closer to his chest, held me near as he walked through the forest. I didn't think about it just then. I was only happy he was here. Alive and well, apparently. His new, strong heart beat in his chest, a sign to me of just how much he had changed. Those gentle fingers, though, so soft and warm, told me he really hadn't changed all that much.

"I'm just, so happy to see you." I was, but my knee was killing me as well. I didn't want to tell him that, though. No need to make him worry more than he already was. I wasn't given much of a choice, though, when Sho lifted me higher and offered me our old position on his shoulder. I bit her lip and looked down, my strong facade falling with defeat.

"I can't. I'm sorry." He looked at me in confusion, probably half expecting me to tell him to put me down or leave me alone. I brushed a hand across my now very swollen knee. "I twisted it when I fell into the river bottom." I chewed my lip, turning a bright red at how clumsy and silly I must sound. "Then I hit it against a rock when I was trying to escape the raccoon dog. I can't stand on it."

The confused look left his face only to be replaced by a deep frown. He stopped and looked around then back at me. "Do you live out here? With your family?" At my nod he was quiet and thought for a moment. "Where are they? I'll take you to them so they can look after your leg. But," he leveled me with perhaps the most serious and determined look I had ever seen him wear. "I'm not just going to leave you with them. I want to spend a little while with you." His features softened into a warm, comforting smile. "I always said I would protect you. Just because it's been eight years doesn't mean I won't now."

I smiled and rested my head on his thumb. He seemed just as naiive and egotistical as the day we met. Papa would probably be very disappointed and might try to make us move, but he would have to understand Sho had just saved my life. I sat up, reluctantly letting go of his thumb as I looked around and tried to figure out just where I was.

I jumped a bit when Sho knelt to the ground, holding his hand lower for me as I searched. I turned and smiled at him. How did he know I was really too high to figure out just where we were? He smiled back and I continued to get my bearings. After I moment, I recognized the spot on the river bank from this morning where I had stopped to have lunch.

"That way," I pointed. "Just keep following the river bank. We live a few minutes on this side of the bank."

"How?" he asked as we walked. Well, he walked and I rode in his hand.

"We found an abandoned trap-spider's nest underground. We just moved in and expanded." I shrugged. There really wasn't much to my story over the last few years.

"So what were you doing out here? So far from your house?"

I blushed and ducked against his thumb. "Would you believe me if I said looking for you? I just," I took a deep breath. "I missed you so much. I constantly wondered if you had survived your surgery. So, when I went foraging for food, I looked for you."

He chuckled and I blushed again. His free hand came and brushed against my back and one knuckle oh-so-gently against my face. I leaned into the touch, craving the reassurance that he really was here.

"My turn to ask questions. What were you doing so far out here? I've never seen a human in the eight years we've lived out here." I leaned into his thumb again, watching for the spot that marked where I always turned to go home.

"Would you believe me if I said looking for you?" I blinked and shook my head. "Well I was," he continued, watching me the whole time. "Everyday on my drive home, I stop and search for any sign of you. You're actually not too far from the cottage. Today, something drew me deeper into the woods than normal. That's when I heard you scream."

It was quiet for a little bit, each of us lost in our thoughts. I was thankful he rescued me, and trying to think of some way Papa wouldn't move us all over again. After a short period of time, I broke the silence.

"Turn left here. Just keep going straight back." I tried to adjust how long he should walk before we came upon my house. It would be a lot shorter for him than it was for me.

"Just tell me when to slow down. I don't want to walk on top of your house," he said. I had to giggle. Simply the thought of him doing an abrupt stop to avoid the house made me laugh. He smiled down at me, probably unsure of what I was giggling about but happy that I was smiling. I stretched out on my stomach, watching the ground beneath us go by.

My smile was gone almost instantly.

Large raccoon dog tracks were headed straight for the house. Fear shivered down my spine, raising the fine hair on the back of my neck.

"Sho! Walk faster!" He gave me an odd look but complied. My heart was racing again as his legs thundered across the ground. Sho must have been paying more attention than I was because the sudden stop jolted me loose from his thumb. Automatically, the rest of his fingers curled closed over me, steadying me in his hand.

After he was sure I wasn't going to fall, his hand opened back up and his dark brown eyes locked onto my face.

"Arrietty," his voice trailed off and my breath hitched in my throat. Oh no. Oh please, please no.

I scrambled across his hand as quick as I could, looking out over his fingertips at the destruction of my house below me. No. No. Oh dear god, no! I cried, trying to stand but falling back on my butt as my leg gave out.

"Down. Put me down!" I had to see, had to know for sure. The twins! I had to check on the twins. And Mother. And Papa. I had to know they were alright.

"Arrietty," his voice was soft, sympathetic.

"Put me down!" His lips thinned out but he did as I requested, lowering me to the forest floor and the edge of my home. I slid off his hand, hopping on one leg as I slipped down and into the pit. It had obviously been dug up by something-probably the raccoon dog that left the tracks.

"Mother! Papa!" I called out their names time and time again. I called for the twins, hopping down their hall, my hall, our parents' hall. Nothing. There was no answer. The entry to the halls were scarred with teeth and claw marks, furniture had been overturned and there were obvious signs of things being dragged.

I collapsed on my parents' bed, curling up and sobbing. My heart hurt worse than my knee did. I was alone, I realized. Completely and utterly alone. I don't know how long I lay there crying before Sho's voice reached me.

"Arrietty?" he called, his voice rising a bit with concern. "Arrietty, are you in there? Are you okay?" I wanted to get up, to go back outside and talk with him, but I couldn't. I was far too tired to move. Sleep claimed me even as his name slipped from my lips.

I don't know how long I slept, only that when I woke up, the house was pitch black and it was cold again. I shivered and slid out of my parents' bed, hobbling into the bathroom. I splashed my face with water that was left in the basin. My hands fumbled for the lantern Mother always kept on the counter.

My fingers touched the metal and curled around it before my other hand sought out the matches. I struck one against the wood counter and lit the old lantern. When the flame was strong, I searched out some bandages and rags. I splinted my knee as best I could, throwing all the bandages and medicine I could find into the sack Mother carried when we moved here eight years ago. My hands stroked the stitches she and I had worked so hard on. I cried again, there on the cold dirt of the bathroom floor.

After a few minutes, I dried my tears and stood shakily. With a busted knee and heavy heart, I made my way back into the living room. Of all the things I had expected to find, it certainly wasn't Sho sitting outside, intently watching and waiting for me.

"Arrietty," he sighed in relief. "I'm glad you're alright. You had me worried when you didn't come out."

I plopped down in a chair, shocked that he had actually waited. "How long have I been gone?"

He watched me carefully. Well, what little he could see of me in the lantern glow. "Nearly four hours."

I blinked, completely floored. "And you waited for me this entire time?"

He smiled and tears welled up in my eyes again. "Of course, I said I would protect you didn't I? Are you...ready to leave?" His voice dropped, softened with sympathy as he spoke.

I looked around the room, thinking of all the memories I had stored here. No, I really wasn't ready. But what choice did I have? My family was gone. My home was destroyed. I was alone.

"Where will I go? I don't know of any other Borrowers except Spiller, and it's been nearly three months since we've seen him." Warm, gentle fingers reached into the hole and brushed the side of my body.

"With me, of course," Sho responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "You'll come back to the cottage with me. You'll be safe there."

I looked up at him, way, way up. It finally occurred to me, the broadness of the shoulders, the width of the chest and the defined arms, that the twelve year old boy I had known was now a twenty year old man. I looked down at my feet. How could I intrude on his life? He had a job. He probably had a family.

"I-I can't. I can't just barge into your life. You're an adult now. With a job. A family. You probably have a girlfriend or a wife or something." I bit my lip, squeezing my eyes closed tight. "Besides, what kind of company is a little Borrower for an adult Bean?"

Those fingers that had been so gentle just a moment ago stopped. They rested against my side, letting me lean into them. I didn't want him to leave, but I could never stop him from having the best life he possibly could.

"Arrietty." I didn't want to look up at him. "Arrietty. Listen to me. I have a job, but I work from home three of the five days a week. I'm a graphic designer. I design websites, company logos, images and campaign sites. I live by myself. I don't have a wife or a girlfriend. I never have since I met you." His fingers tipped my head backwards, forcing me to look at him. "And never, never think you're not good company for me. Your company is what I have been missing these past eight years. I don't want to lose you now that I've finally found you again."

A slow, tremulous smile spread across my lips inspite of myself. How could I refuse after all that? My company was what he had been missing? He didn't want to lose me? What was I supposed to do then?

"Okay. I just need to get some clothes." He smiled down at me and my smile grew. His hand withdrew and I hobbled down my hall, throwing all my clothes into the giant sack. I grabbed my borrowing bag and tossed it over my shoulder before limping back down the hall. Sho's hand appeared before me and I gratefully collapsed in it. My knee was throbbing in time with my heart beat and it hurt more than when I originally injured it.

He took the sack from me and put it in one of his jacket pockets as he stood. He was about to start walking away when I stopped him.

"Wait, Sho, could you...would you...bury it?" My voice broke on the last two words but I managed not to cry this time. Those large, soft brown eyes of his just watched me for a moment before he nodded.

"I'll put you in my shirt pocket. You'll be safe and warm there." I leaned into his thumb, giving it one more hug before he carefully stowed me in his pocket.

I watched, enraptured as he managed to fill the hole with a few handfuls of dirt, twigs and leaves. He gently patted it before looking down at me. I just watched as the ground grew smaller and smaller. Then he turned and that was the last I saw of my home.