Disclaimer: I don't own The Mysterious Benedict Society

Chapter 2 (Kate's POV)

"I'm not sure I see the point of this..." Constance grumbled as she leaned wearily into the wooden handle of a rake. I admit I felt a little sorry for poor Connie girl, somehow it seemed writers never were natural born athletes. Stepping back I rubbed my chin in thought while I drunk in the scene of our pet project. I'd been planning this out in my head for weeks, and I was bent on everything being pretty near close to perfect.

"I said I don't see the point of this." Constance repeated with a little clear of her throat to get my attention. Turning to face her I grinned as I patted her on the back. "It's a tightrope Connie!"

Not all that surprisingly I watched as her eyebrows rose in shock and then drooped indifferently. "You really plan on walking on that old rope?"

"Yeah of course!" I said with a nod as I turned to look back at my makeshift tightrope strung between two trees in Mr. Benedict's backyard. Something in Connie's silence told me she wasn't all that convinced though. So I figured I'd give her a little demonstration. Sprinting forward I landed on the rope with one motion. It took me a second or so to get my balance, but everything considered I wasn't as rusty as I could have been. Looking straight ahead I just started putting one foot in front of the other until I'd managed to walk across the whole length of rope.

I had to admit it really took me back, and now I was sure it was just like they said in the circus, once you learned how to walk a tightrope, you never forgot. Like riding a bike the clowns used to say. Honestly I always wondered if you could combine the two and ride a bike across a tightrope. I felt myself grin a little playfully. But seeing as that would probably give poor Reynie a heart attack I guessed I'd never really know for sure.

Hopping down I dusted myself off before I turned back to Constance. "I'm a little rusty, but all and all not that bad right?"

Constance thought for a second before she smirked. "Yes...but what does this have to do with you and Reynie having dated for two months today?"

Putting my hands on my sides I smiled a little wider. "To celebrate that special occasion I wanted to share something that's special to me. And that's some of the cool stuff I learned in the circus. He didn't know me back then, so I want to share some of what helped make me who I turned out to be."

Connie frowned thoughtfully. "So how does this do that...?" To anybody else Constance would have seemed rude, but I could tell she honestly wasn't sure what I had in mind. Grinning I placed a hand on her shoulder. "There's a lot of stuff I don't know about Reynie's life before we met too, so I'm gonna ask him to think up something he wants to share with me from back then. But what I'm gonna do is teach him how to walk a tightrope."

It looked like Connie girl finally got the picture because she snapped around to look at the rope and the pile of raked leaves underneath it. She seemed a little shocked at first, then she just shook her head as she sighed gently. "I admit the concept is romantic, but killing your boyfriend would lose what you're going for here."

I couldn't help but choke out a laugh as I patted Connie harder on the back. "It's not that high, and besides, that's what the leaves are for! And I do appreciate you helping me rake those by the way."

Constance nodded again as she handed the rake to me. "No problem. After all..." I could see that familiar smirk showing up on her face. It was a look that told me she would be pretty happy with whatever witty remark she was about to make.

"A broken bone or two will just be physical proof of how much he's fallen for you. And that does seem very romantic..."

Ah what was great about Constance was when she paused so her statement would have time to sink in. And that's just what she did as she stood there smirking at me. Then like I could only expect from my Connie Girl, a slight twinge of her lip and glaze of her eyes meant she was suddenly about to say something sincere. "I'm happy for you Kate..." The words were softer and less confident than her teasing remarks, but I loved them both.

And honestly I was just glad to have the upper hand on being awkward again. Wrapping my arm around her neck I squeezed her until she started to moan dramatically about being "loved to death." When she finally managed to wiggle free she paced over to the back door steps and took a seat. Just far enough away to seem uninterested, but just close enough to not miss the spectacle she guessed was going to come. I chuckled to myself at that, and well frankly I knew she was probably right.

But really... Well I knew Reynie never was much on athletic stuff. I felt myself frown slightly as I looked back at the rope stretching between the two trees. Maybe I was a little nervous of what he'd think of my idea. But then I always knew what to do for nerves though didn't I? Replacing that old frown with a grin I hopped back on the rope and got in a few more practice sessions. After all, if I was going to teach Reynie how it was done, I needed to make sure I knew myself.

And I admit it was easy to lose track of time when it was just you, a wire, and that thing called balance holding it all together. Still sitting on the back steps I glanced Connie jotting down a few lines in her notebook. I smiled a little wider. Somehow I figured the string of words Connie was lost in right now was as exciting to her, as this string of rope was to me. And I guess that's when it hit me, I wanted to share with Reynie something that I was passionate about, something that made me feel like I was really alive.

The more I thought about it, the more sense it made, and the more I wondered what Reynie was passionate about. Sure you could have filled a book with all the things he was good at, but I wanted to know more than that...I really wanted to know what made him happy.

But one thing was for sure, even as sappy as it sounded, I knew exactly what made me happy. And he was currently staring up at me while I was lost in thought. I felt my nose wrinkle as I smiled and hopped down next to where he was standing.

"Right on time Detective!" I said with a playful cluck of my tongue. "I'll be sure and give your agency a good review." Reynie smiled a little sheepishly as his eyes drifted over my shoulder to the contraption Connie and I had compiled. No doubt about it he was wondering what this "case" would involve. So keeping with the theme and calling back all my old circus days I gestured proudly to my homemade high-wire act. I made sure to add in a little dramatic flair since I remembered the crowd always loved that sorta thing.

"Introducing Cannonball Katie now featured in a stunning act of death defying dexterity! And joining her for the first time, our very own Detective Muldoon!" Grinning from ear to ear I playfully wrapped my arm around his shoulders as I gave him a little squeeze. "Or you could say two clowns on a wire!"

It was plain to see on Reynie's face that he was caught somewhere between happily going along with me, and objecting to where this was obviously going. Which knowing poor Reynie, he probably thought was the hospital for both of us. "Um Kate..." He hesitantly started to say. "Yeah?" I said with a playful raise of my eyebrows as I stepped him a little closer to the tightrope. He smiled nervously. "I'm sure you'd be wonderful but...I'm not really sure I can..."

Stopping us both dead in our tracks I put my hands on my sides confidently as I looked him hard in the eyes. "You didn't think I'd like you either. Truth is Reynie, you think a little too much sometimes." Before he could reply to that I grabbed his hand and pulled him up onto the rope, where he basically clung nervously to one of the trees as his self-doubt got a little more insistent.

"Kate I can't! I'm not good at this sort of thing! I'm sorry but I'll fall if I try!"

I clucked my tongue again. "And your point is?" He wrinkled his forehead as he almost pulled the bark right off the poor tree. "My point is I could break something! I'm no good at this, you know that!"

I frowned half firm, half playful. "All I basically heard out of that was 'I'm no good' which I have to seriously disagree with." He smiled a little weakly through his fear gritted teeth. "I appreciate your confidence in me, but couldn't we please talk about this back on the ground?" I crossed my arms as I shook my head slightly. "Reynie Muldoon we are not that high!"

He looked over at me with a playfully annoyed frown of his own. I knew it was because he realized I could have told him right down to the last inch exactly how high we were. But I wasn't going to. Sniggering to myself I took a few steps across the rope and toward him. "And why are you so worried anyway, you know I'd proudly sign your cast with an "I Love You" for Constance to make fun of?"

I saw that his face had relaxed just a twinge as his eyes focused on me instead of the ground. "I'd rather just take you at your word..." Smiling I closed the distance between us until I was close enough to take his hands. Though I knew I'd have to pry them off the poor tree first. For a second or two neither of us said anything. It was plain to see on his face that he wasn't exactly comfortable, but I knew that my Reynie was really a lot braver than he gave himself credit for. I just needed to help him believe that.

Holding out my hands I smiled a little softer at him. "Do you trust me Reynie?" I guess it was the right question, or maybe he could just tell how sincere I was, because believe it or not, he slowly peeled his hands away from the tree. I felt our fingers interlock as he looked at me a little desperately.

I felt my heart swell as I squeezed his hands a little tighter. "You're not gonna fall buddy, not with me..."

I admit we must have looked more than a little crazy wobbling back and forth. But I shifted my weight with him and did my best to compensate for his awkwardness. And it was probably surprising to Connie (who I felt sure was getting an eye full and sniggering all the while) that we kept standing.

But I wasn't really surprised at all.

No way.

If I could manage this act all those years ago when I was alone without a true friend in the world, than now with someone I loved beside me...well I knew I could have done just about anything. That's because I'd finally figured out that "The Great Kate Weather Machine" wasn't a solo performance after all. I looked over into his brown eyes as I felt my face gently soften. He didn't too much believe in himself I knew, but the truth was he didn't realize just what he meant to me. Not yet anyway. But I'd keep at it until he did. No doubt about it.

Slowly taking a step back I gently tugged on his arms for him to try and follow me. "Don't even think about looking down..." I whispered as I reminded him to keep his eyes forward and on me.

I saw him swallow hard as he hesitantly let his right foot lift just enough to place it ahead of his left. Then he did the same with the other foot, and well that was all it took to have that amazing moment. It was that moment when you gain just a little more confidence in yourself...when you get a dose of much needed healthy pride and it makes you smile.

And that's just what he did, he smiled at me. It was a smile that celebrated not just our two month anniversary, but a single significant step toward him believing in himself just a little more.

"Thank you..." He whispered lightly as I watched a tiny breeze ruffle his brown hair. I knew what he meant. And I knew just how much he wanted to believe in himself. Below the surface I knew there was a lot he still needed to work out, a lot he hadn't ever shared with me, because maybe those memories just hurt too much to bring up.

But one thing was for sure...now that we were a team, well even more than we already were that is. Now that we were together, there wasn't anything ever going to break us up.

I grinned wider as I let a bit of frank honesty spill out.

"I love ya Reynie."

He still seemed a little shocked each time he heard me say that.

"I...I love you too..."

And his reply still felt just a bit guarded. Like he was as unsure of himself when it came to expressing his feelings as he was at walking this tightrope. And honestly I knew we were both new at this. But hand in hand we were going to help each other out until a tightrope was old hat. And that went for whatever "tightropes" life might be planning to throw at us down the road.

Really all that mattered to me was seeing him smile... Because he was, and would always be, first and foremost...my best friend...

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to review. Stick around for more coming soon!