Chap 8 The Partnership Agreement
Phineas glanced over at Jeffrey when he heard him changing position on the bed. As he got some sheets out of a closet in the corner, he realized that he hadn't done so many domestic chores in years. It felt strange to be doing laundry and cleaning bathrooms. But, Jeffrey was part of his life now, and these chores were just part of the deal, it came with the territory. The strange thing was that he didn't seem to mind it too much.
Jeff heard his Aunt Elizabeth speaking "why did I have to get saddled with an 11 year old kid," and he closed the door and leaned against it feeling sick.
Then he saw Stan Fuller standing in his room and Ralph leaping toward Stan's Guidebook. He ran over and tumbled out the window.
The landing was soft and baby Moses sat in a reed basket beside Jeffrey, but he didn't know why.
"Just be quiet and sit still," Stan ordered as he moved the baby to the river.
"Are we alive?" Jeff asked.
"Just be quiet until I solve this," Stan yelled at him and Jeff felt helpless and alone.
"I was just asking," then he felt a hard grip on his arm and they landed at Headquarters.
"I don't want him," Stan said to the Tribunal. "He'll hold me back, I was second in my class at the Academy. I don't want to be saddled with a kid, stick him with somebody else."
"He was meant to be a Voyager, you have to take him," Garth's voice echoed in Jeff's head.
"Babysitting isn't part of the Partnership Agreement!" Stan yelled at Jeffrey and Garth.
"I don't want to be with him!" Jeff yelled back and ran up to Stan and pounded his chest with his fists.
"Hey, Jeff, it's okay," Bogg said as he shook his shoulder. "Wake up."
"I 'm not supposed to be with him!" Jeff continued as he fought the arms that were trying to hold him.
"Jeff, wake up, wake up," Bogg raised his voice this time and held Jeff tight to his chest with his left arm, so he couldn't hit him again.
Jeff suddenly stopped moving. "What?" he said in a shaky voice.
"It's okay, you just had another dream."
Jeff pushed himself away from Bogg and took a deep breath.
"Fevers can make you have strange dreams," Phineas explained.
"Oh, yeah," Jeff acknowledged, recovering. He sat still for a moment, a sentence repeating itself in his head, 'Babysitting isn't part of The Partnership Agreement'. He felt embarrassed by the nightmare and tried to make light of it. "At least I didn't see Marley's ghost, I'd hate to think I have to have a third nightmare."
"Ghost?" Bogg asked in confusion.
"You know, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens?" he said. He didn't want Bogg thinking he was a lot of trouble, having two nightmares in one day.
When Bogg didn't seem to understand, Jeff continued, "you know, Bob Cratchet? Tiny Tim?"
"Something about Christmas?"
Jeff smiled and suddenly reached out and gave Bogg a hug. "Thanks," he whispered.
"For what?" Phineas just wasn't following the conversation. He was glad that Jeff was no longer hitting him, but he couldn't really follow his comments. Maybe the kid was still dreaming a bit. He rubbed the center of his chest where Jeff had punched him as he walked over to the table beside Jeff's bed. He poured another cup of soda and handed it to him, "drink," he ordered. The sooner Jeff was hydrated, the better he would feel.
"Bogg?" Jeff asked after drinking half the cup.
"Yeah?"
"What's in the Partnership Agreement?"
Phineas glanced up, realizing that Jeff had heard Stan's earlier comment.
"To tell you the truth, I don't know," he answered.
"But, we're partners, how could you not know?"
"I never meant to have a partner, so I never bothered to look at it. You know I'm not much with the books."
"But we've been back at headquarters before, you could've looked then."
Bogg shrugged. "Wouldn't've made any difference so I never bothered. We're together, no matter what that agreement says."
Jeff finished the soda and lay back down on Bogg's bed, pulling the blanket over his shoulders as he shivered. Phineas noticed the chill, and went to the closet for another blanket. He spread it over Jeff as he started to speak, "Stan said it doesn't include babysitting," he whispered.
"Stan doesn't know how to have a partner, he's never had a partner in his life."
"He was second in your class, he says he knows what's in it."
Bogg sat down beside the bed. "No matter how smart Stan is, or what that agreement says, you're my partner, and if you're sick, I'll take care of you. You'd take care of me, in fact you have, big time, remember?"
"Yeah."
"So the only people who follow agreements like that to the letter, are people who don't know how to make a partnership really work. They need to keep track of all the rules." Bogg paused, "but you and I know how to make it work, don't we?"
Jeff smiled to himself, "yeah."
"Besides, we're a family, not just partners."
"Yeah," Jeff repeated.
When Tom returned with supper for all three of them, they sat at a table in the corner and had an enjoyable meal. Afterward, Tom told Phineas to get cleaned up and get some sleep, then excused himself so they could get to bed.