No Time Like the Present
part 2

TaleSpin and its characters are property of Disney. All other characters are mine and cannot be used without permission.

I'd like to thank Gidget for her always wonderful suggestions. Btw, Gidge, just send the psychotherapy bills brought on by proofing a Kit-fic to me per our agreement. ;)

Higher for Hire
Wednesday Night

Kit was curled up in bed, staring through the darkness at the ceiling. The quick tick, tick, tick of the alarm clock on the night stand and an occasional muted ship's horn from the harbor outside subconsciously intermingled with his musings of that day's events.

It had started out wonderfully. After all, his adoption day shouldn't have been anything but wonderful.

Even a mundane thing like breakfast had been great with Molly chattering brightly about being adopted and Rebecca sharing smiles with him over Baloo's lame jokes. He could barely choke down a few bites of his Cheery-os. He had been so excited.

After breakfast, the foursome had dressed in their Sunday best and traveled downtown to the adoption agency. There, he waited for what seemed like hours with Molly in the reception area. If the hard bench wasn't bad enough, Molly almost drove him crazy by repeating 'Molly Elizabeth von Bruinwald' over and over and over. He had been a little embarrassed when the motherly secretary had given them candy. As if he were a little kid who needed candy to keep him occupied! But in order to avoid hurting her feelings, he had accepted it graciously.

But all of the discomfort had been forgotten when their parents- his parents - had emerged from the office, adoption papers in hand.

Baloo, grinning from ear to ear, had boomed, "Gather 'round, von Bruinwalds!"

He remembered the rapture of being caught up in Baloo's warm embrace with him saying, "I'm afraid you're stuck with us, son." The tears in the pilot's eyes had mirrored his own.

His joy overflowed when Rebecca hugged him close to her, whispering, "Now nothing can take you away from me."

Then, Molly's wondering, "What's everybody crying about?" had made himself, Baloo, and Rebecca laugh.

However, their tears were short-lived. They had all disappeared by the time they had returned to Higher for Hire.

Home, Kit thought, smiling to himself as he snuggled further down under the blanket.

Then, his smile faded as he recalled what had happened next.

When they had walked into Higher for Hire, they had been greeted by faint scraping and rustling noises.

"What's that?" Rebecca whispered, clutching at Baloo's arm.

"Sounds like it came from in there," Baloo murmured. He gestured towards the kitchen.

Thinking it could be mice, Rebecca shivered with fear.

"Danger Woman'll check it out," Molly proclaimed, starting towards the kitchen.

"No," Rebecca said firmly, grabbing her daughter's hand. "Baloo will check it out."

"I will?"

"You will," Rebecca replied, giving him a pointed look and a little shove in the direction of the kitchen.

"Okay." Baloo gulped. "Here goes." He crept to the door and put his ear to it. "Don't hear anything now." When he pushed open the door, he was hit in the face with a bunch of balloons.

From the kitchen came Louie's raucous guffaws. "You shoulda seen your face, fuzzy."

Baloo swatted the balloons away impatiently. "Why? How'd it look?"

"Ugly, as usual." Louie smirked.

"Hey!"

"What's going on?" Kit asked as his eyes moved from the streamers and balloons draped around the walls to the treat-laden table.

"It's a jamboree for the new fam'ly," Louie proclaimed with a big grin as he ushered them into the kitchen.

Wildcat blew his noisemaker. "Happy New Year!"

When they had gathered around the table and had been served chocolate cake and Louie's famous Lemon Sludge punch, Rebecca looked at Baloo, "Should we give the kids their you-know-whats?"

"What, Mommy? What you-know-whats?" Molly asked.

Rebecca bent down to wipe her daughter's chocolate-ringed mouth with a napkin. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Through a mouthful of cake, Baloo said, "The you...? Oh, yeah. Sure, why not?" He took a swig of the punch and turned to Louie. "So, get this, innkeeper. Me an' Becky were sittin' at this outside café in Gay Pearee just down the street from the Eyeful Tower. One of the things on their menu was pain, no jive."

"Stomach pain from eatin' frog legs?" Louie interjected.

"No, meaning 'bread'," Rebecca clarified. "And it's pronounced 'pan', darling." She exited the kitchen to get something from the office.

"You say 'pain'. I say 'pan'. Bo-bee-bo-bee-do. Let's call the whole thing off," Louie sang.

"Anyhoo, I asked the gar-con if it was swift or slow pain, an' do you know what he said?"

Between bites of cake, Molly and Wildcat chimed, "What?

Baloo scratched his head. "Actually, I ain't too sure about that part."

"You sure do know how to tell a story," Louie chuckled. "Badly."

"I thought it was pretty funny, Papa Bear," said loyal Kit.

Completely ignoring Kit's comment, Baloo scowled at Louie. "It wasn't that bad."

"It wasn't that good, neither."

Just then, Rebecca came in, a small package in each hand. "I hate to break up this riveting conversation, but I have something important. Adoption presents for Kit and Molly. From your father and me" She gave one to each cub, then sat down between Kit and Molly to observe their expressions.

Kit tore the ribbon and wrapping off of his package to reveal a small rectangular box. Inside that box was a pocket watch nestled on a bed of blue velvet. From the tiny circular filigree of interlaced leaves engraved on the outside of the 14K gold-plated lid, Kit surmised that it hadn't been cheap. When he carefully removed it from the box and opened the lid, he noticed an inscription on the inside. It read: To our son Kit. Lots of love from your parents. June 15, 1938

"Wow..." was all Kit could say. Deeply touched, he read and re-read the inscription. He was seeing it, and he still couldn't believe it.

Rebecca pointed at the watch face. "See, it even has a second hand so you can time your track races if you want to."

Kit's eyes met hers and he nodded. "Thank you," he whispered, blinking back tears.

Rebecca, her own eyes misty, enfolded him in her tender embrace. "I love you so much, Kit. Never, ever forget that."

Hugging her back, Kit silently nodded and breathed in the subtle sweet scent of her perfume. He had never been happier than at that moment.

"Mommy, can I wear mine now?" Molly asked.

"Sure, honey," Rebecca sniffled. She gave Kit one last squeeze and went to help Molly with the clasp of her gold locket.

Kit smiled broadly at Baloo, who was sitting on his left. "Thanks, Papa Bear. This watch is great."

Baloo gave him a brief, one-armed hug and a light noogie. "I told Becky you'd like a watch better'n a pocket knife." Swiveling in his chair to face Louie, he loaded another large slice of cake on his plate before saying, "Lemmee tell ya about the time me an' Becky were in Italee..."

An hour later, Kit, squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. As he looked around the kitchen, everyone seemed to be having such a good time. He was the only one who felt bored and excluded, partially due to the fact that, at thirteen, he was too young to truly participate in the grown-up conversation, yet was too old to wrap himself up in streamers and play 'mummy' with Wildcat and Molly.

Everyone's obliviousness to his plight only added to his misery.

As the adults' laughter filled the kitchen, Kit sighed, slouched in his chair, and loosened his tie. He longed to escape to his room, but that would seem rude, especially since the party was being thrown in his honor. Instead, he opened his pocket watch and wondered how much longer it would last. Knowing Baloo and Louie's party-hardy reputations, it could last until the wee hours of the morning. His heart sank.

If I can handle air pirates, I can handle one measly party, he thought in an attempt to bolster his resolve.

He took a sip of the perfect mixture of tart-yet-sweet that was Louie's Lemon Sludge and half-heartedly listened as Baloo recounted adventure after adventure that he and Rebecca had shared on their honeymoon. Normally, he loved Baloo's stories, but today they grated on his nerves like fingers on a chalkboard.

"So I look over at Becky an' say, 'What? No French fries? We're in Francais, ain't we?'" Baloo guffawed and slapped his palm on the table, making everything on it dance.

"My husband," Rebecca said with a rueful shake of her head. "You'd think he'd never been out of Cape Suzette before."

"Sounds like Mr. World-Traveler left his brain behind," Louie joked.

"S'long as I took my heart with me." Baloo winked at Rebecca over Kit's head.

Not for the first time did Kit wish that he wasn't sitting between Baloo and Rebecca. He felt as if he were the net in the middle of their flirtatious 'tennis match'. Worse still, Baloo had blatantly ignored all of his tentative attempts to enter the conversation and had even turned his broad back on him several times.

Rebecca counted on her fingers. "Your heart, your fishing pole, your fishing tackle...you had enough fishing gear to catch a pod of whales."

"I did catch me a whopper." The big bear spread his arms out wide to show how big the fish was.

"That I believe, fuzzy. A whopper of a story, that is!"

"It's true. Tell the man, Beckers."

"Do you mean the guppy or the tadpole?" Rebecca giggled as she rose to pour them all more Lemon Sludge.

"That big trout that we fried up for our supper, sweetheart." Baloo playfully swatted her backside.

"Watch it, Baloo. I can still fire you." She poured some punch for herself and sat down. Her brown eyes flashed a challenge at Baloo over the rim of the glass when she took a drink.

Baloo rose to the bait. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," she said matter-of-factly. "And then where would you be?"

Looking adoringly at her, Baloo murmured, "Lost." He leaned over Kit to kiss his wife.

For Kit, to have the big bear's bulk hovering unwelcomely over him was the last straw! It was one thing to be ignored. It was another to be stomped on like a doormat.

Kit, seething with repressed anger, scraped his chair back with an irritated, "Excuse me!"

Infuriated, he stormed out of the kitchen and rushed upstairs to his room where he flung off his suit jacket and hastily changed into sweater.

"Lost," Kit scoffed as he pulled on his baseball cap. "He'd be lost without me to navigate."

A burst of laughter came from the kitchen, fueling his anger. He felt the immediate need to get out earshot of their annoyingly cheerful voices.

An old adage of Baloo's unwillingly came to mind: If there's no place else to go, the only place to go is up.

With that thought in mind, he sprinted up the stairs to the third story, through his parents' bedroom to the door that led outside to the widow's walk. On the way, he closed every door that he could to shut out the sounds of the party below.

Kit breathed a deep sigh of relief as he sat down on the edge of the widow's walk with the sparkling Cape Suzette harbor and bright blue sky stretching before him.

As he sat there, his head pillowed against a rail post, with the warm afternoon sunshine pouring down on him, breathing in the briny sea air, and listening to the calm splash of the water against the shore, his anger subsided. Though Baloo's utter disregard of him still rankled.

He stayed there, watching the airplanes and boats coming and going through the cliffs, until he saw Wildcat returning to his houseboat to finish packing up for his visit to his girlfriend Clementine, who lived in Boomstone. The vacation was a thank-you gift from Baloo and Rebecca for keeping an eye on Higher for Hire during their honeymoon.

Shortly after Wildcat left Higher for Hire, Baloo and Louie had walked down the dock together, joking and laughing. Together, they had flown away in the Sea Duck, presumably to take Louie back to his island.

"And Baloo didn't even ask me to come along," Kit whispered sadly into his pillow.

Since he couldn't sleep, he sat up in bed and flipped on the light. He reached over to the night stand for his new Space Riders comic book. On top of the comic was his pocket watch, right where he had tossed it after the party.

Forgetting about the comic book, he picked up the pocket watch and opened it. Once again, he read the inscription.

Kit Cloudkicker von Bruinwald. It would take some getting used to, but it had a nice ring to it. He loved the fact that he was now Baloo's son, something that he had wanted ever since he had literally run into the pilot at Louie's Place.

He glanced at the empty bed across the room. It seemed odd not to see Baloo there.

Kit heaved a deep sigh.

Despite his happiness about being adopted, there was a queer lonely ache in his heart. He missed the talks, the jokes, the laughter that he and Baloo used to share long after the lights were out. He even missed the crumbs on the floor from Baloo's midnight snacks.

But he didn't miss Baloo's blind-ruffling snoring or having to muffle that snoring by wearing earmuffs that cut into his head and made it uncomfortable to sleep. Rebecca now had those earmuffs.

Rebecca, to whom Baloo would share all his secrets. Rebecca, to whom Baloo would impart his adventures first.

And he, Kit, had been relegated to being just one of the kids. Baloo had made that very clear at the party by ignoring him in favor of Louie and Rebecca.

It made him sad to think that he was no longer Baloo's confidant, best friend, and co-pilot in every crazy scheme. But if there was one thing Kit knew from experience was that life wasn't easy or fair. He'd get used to it in time. He didn't want to get used to it, but he would. All of a sudden, life felt flat.

He snapped the pocket watch's lid shut, turned off the light, scooted down under the covers, and placed the watch on the night stand.

At least he thought he did.

Just as he closed his eyes, the watch teetered on the edge of the night stand and fell to the floor with a crash!

Kit's eyes flew open. Oh, no!

Alarmed, he flipped on the light, peered over the side of his bed, and gasped. The watch's tiny, intricate innards lay scattered all over the hardwood floor.

Boing went the spring as it popped out.

Kit leapt from his bed. Kneeling, he scooped up the pieces.

He crouched there for a moment, gazing at the watch pieces, his mind whirling. He couldn't let Baloo and Rebecca know that he had already broken it. They would think he was careless and didn't appreciate the gift.

Like Baloo would notice if it was broken anyway, he thought bitterly.

But still, he had to get it fixed. He didn't want to be grounded.

What a time for Wildcat to visit Clementine!

With Wildcat gone, there was only one person who could help him now. After wrapping the watch pieces up in a clean handkerchief, he hastily dressed, went to the door, and peered down into the office. Baloo was sitting in his favorite armchair with Rebecca snuggled on his lap. They were talking quietly, their arms intertwined about each other.

There was no way he could sneak past them. He'd be busted for sure, then questioned and lectured.

Kit quietly closed the door. He crossed the room in determined strides. Pushing the lamp to one side, he crawled on top of the night stand, opened the window, and looked out into the starlit night. It was a straight shot down to the cobblestone pavement two stories below.

That didn't faze him. He whipped out his airfoil and flicked it open with the practiced push of a button. Making sure that the handkerchief containing the watch pieces was safely in his pocket, he jammed his cap further down on his head. He climbed onto the windowsill, took a deep breath, and jumped. He slipped the airfoil beneath feet and glided down, landing with the silent agility of a cat. With a push of a button, the airfoil collapsed like a fan. He stowed it beneath his sweater.

Looking up at his open bedroom window, he didn't know how he was to get back inside, but he'd think about that later.

Right now, he was on a mission.

He quickly made his way through the near-deserted streets of Cape Suzette towards downtown and Khan Tower, skirting the places where he knew street pirates hung out.

Finally, he arrived at his destination. Panting a little after his long jog, Kit looked up at Khan Towers - all 90 stories of it. It towered before him, a massive symbol of billionaire Shere Khan's wealth and power.

There were still a few windows lit up, attesting to the long, arduous hours Mr. Khan demanded from his employees.

Kit hoped that the person he needed to see, Khan's scatterbrained inventor Buzz, would be one of those working late. But to ascertain that, he had to first get past the doorman and up to the fifty-second floor to Buzz's lab.

Kit cautiously crept up the steps, between the twin stone tigers guarding the building. With his back to the skyscraper's wall, he peeked through the revolving door. He could see the doorman guarding the elevator at the far end of the lobby. He stood there for a minute, pondering what to do.

Luck was on his side. Just then, an attractive young woman emerged from the elevator and smiled at the doorman. The doorman smiled back and exchanged a few pleasantries. Kit saw his chance and took it. While the doorman was engaged in conversation, he stealthily slipped through the revolving door and dove behind a potted plant just inside the door.

Now, for getting across the lobby to the elevator.

Again, luck was on his side. The gallant guard offered to walk the woman to her car. Once they were outside, Kit sped across the lobby. His heart pounding, he hit the 'up' button and kept his eyes peeled for the doorman's return. After a moment, the door opened. He stepped inside and pressed the floor number.

When the elevator door closed and the car began its ascent, Kit breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe now.

At the 52nd floor, the elevator door opened. Kit cautiously looked into the lab before stepping out. "Buzz?" he called.

All he heard was the low hum of machines and a bo-ing! Bo-ing! Bo-ing!

What in the world is that? the boy wondered. It sounds like a gigantic pogo stick.

The noise was getting louder by the second.

All of a sudden, an odd-looking figure jumped out from behind a tall machine. Actually, it jumped over the machine.

"Aah!" Kit crouched as it bounced over him.

"Kit?" Buzz said, bouncing from the ceiling to floor. His lab coat comically flapped up and down with every bounce. "Am I glad to see you!"

"Yeah." Kit's head bobbed as he watched the inventor's great leaping bounds. "What are those?" he said, meaning Buzz's shoes. Each penny loafer had two springs taped to the bottom.

"Springy shoes designed for dusting the top of tall furniture. At least they will be when I get the tension right on the springs. I can't stop. Been bouncing around here for hours," the inventor said, as if bouncing around the lab at all hours of the night was normal.

"I'll stop you...somehow." After Kit got into the rhythm of Buzz's bouncing, he lunged for the inventor's legs. "Whoa!" he yelled as he was dragged while the shoes continued their jumping. His head felt as if it was going to split as they bounced ever lower and lower.

Finally, their combined weight was enough to overtake the shoes.

"Did...did we stop?" Buzz stammered as he swayed, then fell on his backside.

Holding his spinning head, Kit replied, "I think so."

Buzz removed the shoes, which bounced a little ways by themselves. "Next time I'll set the tension a little lower."

"Good idea," Kit said, dizzily getting to his feet.

"Thanks for the help, Kit. Stop by anytime," Buzz said. He crawled underneath a bench to retrieve one of the errant shoes.

"Okay." When Kit got halfway to the elevator, he stopped. "Wait. I came to ask you a favor."

Buzz locked the shoes in a cupboard where their thumping could still be heard. "Sure, sure. Anything."

"My watch is busted. Can you fix it?" Kit took out his handkerchief and shook out the pieces onto a lab bench.

Buzz peered at the pieces through his large, googly eyes. "Looks just like my watch. Of course I can fix it. Make yourself at home." He started to rummage through drawers and cupboards in search of tools.

Kit sat down on a lab stool, his chin propped in his hands. His eyes drooped as he watched Buzz work. He must have dozed off, because he woke with a start when Buzz exclaimed, "I've got it!"

Through a yawn, Kit muttered, "Is my watch fixed?"

"Not only that, but I've thought of my next great invention. Platypus carriers!"

"Platypus carriers?" Kit echoed wonderingly.

"Yes. For when you want to carry your platypus. It'll be a sensation! Everyone needs a platypus carrier."

Kit picked up his now-intact watch and left, murmuring to himself, "That Buzz sure is a crazy old coot, but he's a great guy for fixing my watch." He looked at the inscription inside. Satisfied that it was his watch and that it was repaired, he snapped the lid shut.

When he arrived home around 11:00 PM, a light was on in the bathroom, so he knew one of his parents was still awake. He skirted the building, opened the office door, and peeked in. The room was dark, so he slipped in and closed the door, cringing when it creaked.

Halfway up the stairs, he froze when he heard a faraway door slam. His eyes strained to see through the darkness. At first, he didn't see anything. Then, he spotted a light coming from under the kitchen door.

Baloo's getting a midnight snack, he thought.

He hurried up the stairs. Just as he passed the bathroom, the doorknob rattled.

Oh, man!

Kit sped into his room and dove under the covers. He lay there, eyes closed, trying to calm his breathing. At the last moment, he remembered to remove his cap. He stashed it underneath the blanket.

A moment later, Rebecca tiptoed into the room. Kit held his breath while she smoothed his hair and tucked the covers around him. She stood there for a moment, her hand on his shoulder. A cold sweat beaded on his forehead. What if she'd discovered somehow that he wasn't asleep?

Much to Kit's delight, he felt her gentle kiss on his cheek. Then she stepped out as quietly as she had come in, leaving the door open a crack.

Kit breathed a sigh of relief. Feeling very warm and loved, his hand stole up to his cheek where she had kissed him.

Then, Kit heard Baloo's heavy tread plodding up the stairs. Out in the hallway, Rebecca asked Baloo accusingly, "Are you eating something?"

Baloo swallowed loudly. "Not anymore."

Rebecca whapped Baloo playfully.

"Are the little tykes a-snoozin'?"

Little tykes? Kit thought, outraged. I'm thirteen years old, for crying out loud!

The rest of Baloo and Rebecca's murmured conversation faded as they ascended the stairs to their bedroom.

Any joy that he had felt over Rebecca's goodnight kiss was forgotten in fuming over Baloo's careless remark.

Little tyke?

Baloo had been thoughtless in the past, but that was going over the line.

The worst part of was that Kit loved Baloo so much that he would go through fire and water for him. It hurt excruciatingly that Baloo had just tossed him aside like an empty wrapper.

The day that had begun so wonderfully for Kit ended in tears.

End of part 2