Chapter Three: The Secret Kind
Mouse yawned widely as he sat up in bed, careful not to crack his head against the top bunk.
Swinging his feet over the edge of the bed, the boy glanced towards the front of the trailer and caught sight of Josh slumped over the kitchenette table, snoring quietly.
Smiling, Mouse stood up and walked the short distance to the kitchen area and stood up on the tips of his toes to reach the box of Froot Loops cereal from the cupboard. As soon as the twelve-year old had his hands on the red cardboard box, the cupboard door slammed shut and Josh snorted at the sudden sound, waking up.
The child peered over his shoulder at his uncle. Josh rubbed a hand down his stubbly chin and blinked blearily a couple of times.
Looking around, the hunter sighed, "I fell asleep at the table, didn't I, Kiddo?"
Mouse nodded, "Yeah. You came back late and kind of passed out. I didn't want to wake you up."
Standing slowly, Josh stretched, "I meant to get back earlier."
The twelve-year old shrugged, "It's okay, really."
Mouse knew about monsters and hunters, he knew that his uncle was one of the brave men and women that saved innocent people from the creatures that went bump in the night so it didn't bother him if Josh came home in the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes Josh would leave him at the park, if the case he was working on was close by- while other times he'd take Mouse with him. The boy never helped out with the hunts, Josh had made it very clear that he didn't want the boy getting involved in all of that… at least not right now.
Josh had told Mouse that if, when he was older, he wanted to be a hunter, then he wasn't going to stop him, but for now, he just had to focus on one thing, and that was being a kid.
The boy's uncle gave him a sad look, he always hated to leave Mouse behind, before he reached up and grabbed two bowls from the cupboard for their cereal.
While Josh found a couple of spoons, Mouse took a jug of milk from the small refrigerator.
Frowning, the twelve-year old held up the plastic jug to show Josh, "We need more milk."
There was about a quarter of the liquid left, enough for the morning's breakfast but not much else.
Josh nodded as he poured two heaping bowls of cereal, "I'll get some today."
For a few minutes, uncle and nephew ate in silence before Josh spoke again.
"How was it at Rita's? Did they let you choose the movie?"
Mouse pulled his spoon out of his mouth and shook his head, shrugging to let his uncle know that it was no big deal.
There weren't many kids his own age in the trailer park and although Rita's sons and daughter were a few years older than Mouse, he often found himself in their company, especially if Josh was away for more than a day or two. Josh's trailer had a radio but no television and if Mouse wanted to watch a show or movie, he had to go down to Rita's.
"It was okay," Mouse told his uncle, "Rita made Kraft Dinner for us and we had doughnuts for dessert."
Josh nodded, finishing up his cereal and taking his dishes to the sink to wash.
"Her kids weren't too rough?"
Mouse managed to roll his eyes in exasperation so he wouldn't have to lie to his uncle. Rita's four sons- and daughter, for that matter- loved to watch WWE and MMA on television and then imitate the moves they had seen on each other… or Mouse, if he was there.
Even though Josh didn't want him getting involved with hunting, that didn't mean his uncle hadn't taught him how to protect himself and Mouse knew more than a few tricks that would make real wrestlers cry like babies. But Josh had made him swear never to use what he knew on another person so he was forced to put up with Rita's sons.
"Okay, okay," Josh relented, a concerned look fading from his face, "I just worry, those boys aren't exactly lightweights."
Now Mouse gave him a truly exasperated look, "You hunt monsters without blinking an eye and you're worried about Rita's sons?"
Josh shrugged, "Well, they're a lot bigger than you."
Mouse scowled though he didn't really mean it. He knew he was small for his age, something that made his name fit perfectly.
"You finished?" his uncle asked and Mouse nodded, allowing Josh to pick up his empty cereal bowl and spoon.
"Can we do something today? Together, just us?" Mouse asked, trying not to sound whiny and not quite succeeding.
Even though he was twelve and by no means a little kid anymore, he really missed his uncle when Josh left him to go on hunts.
Josh turned to the boy and nodded, "Sure, whatever you want, Kiddo."
SPN
Josh peered at Mouse in the dimly lit movie theatre but the boy didn't notice, enjoying his popcorn and the pre-movie entertainment.
The hunter could hardly believe that eleven uneventful years had passed since that fateful day John Winchester had called from Bannock.
Sometimes, when Josh looked at Mouse, all he could see was the wide-eyed, chubby-cheeked, tearstained face of the infant he had 'abducted' from a small-town Gas N' Go.
Mouse had no idea of his real origins. As soon as the boy was old enough, Josh had told him that he was the child's uncle and that his mother and father (Josh's sister and brother-in-law) had perished in a car accident, the same story he had told Rita the first day the infant had come into his life.
To make the tale even more believable, Josh had shown the boy a picture of his 'mother' and himself, holding an infant, all smiles. The photograph was actually a picture of Josh, his wife and son, Luke the day he had been born.
Mouse, although not a gullible child, believed Josh and surprisingly asked few question about his parents. The hunter guessed that just knowing what his mother looked like was enough for him.
In all eleven years, Josh had managed to keep Mouse a secret. The only other hunters that had ever met the boy were Bobby Singer and Rufus Turner- two men Josh knew kept their traps shut about just everything else so he trusted them not to go telling anyone else about Mouse- for fear that John would find out that Josh had failed to 'get rid' of his boy.
Not that Josh was afraid of John Winchester. No, he was more afraid of what the man would do to Mouse if he found out he was still alive.
"Popcorn?"
Mouse's voice interrupted Josh's thoughts and the hunter turned to look at the boy holding a half-empty bag of popcorn out to him.
Chuckling, trying to shake off the less-than-pleasant thoughts, Josh took a handful of popcorn.
"You wanna save some for the movie?"
Mouse's peered down into the paper bag, noticing for the first time that had had eaten nearly all of the popcorn.
"Sorry," he muttered guiltily.
Josh frowned; he hadn't intended on upsetting the kid, it was just some popcorn. He could get some more if they really needed it.
"Don't worry about it," he told Mouse, "I think the movie's about to start any minute."
Sitting back, munching on his handful of popcorn, Josh decided that he wouldn't think about John Winchester that day. The man was an asshole and didn't deserve Josh's time. Instead, Josh thought back on the first few days with Mouse and how grateful he had been that he knew how to look after an infant.
Eleven Years Ago…
Josh opened the door to his trailer carefully, letting out a breath when he heard silence; the baby was still sleeping.
Stepping inside, he sat the car seat down on the kitchenette table and made his way to the rear of the trailer, peering down at the little boy sleeping on the bed.
As the hunter watched, the infant's eyelids fluttered and opened to reveal a pair of mossy green eyes. Lower lip trembling, the baby let out a sad cry and Josh acted instinctively, scooping the little boy up and holding him cradled against his chest.
The child whimpered for a moment more before settling down, the physical contact- even with a stranger- comforting him, Josh decided.
Moving from one end of the trailer to the other, Josh soothed the infant, humming a nonsense song as he went. The baby closed his eyes and yawned snuggling against Josh, falling asleep again.
The hunter closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.
W
Josh took a sip of coffee as he finished off the list he was writing early the next morning. He would need to pick up a few things for the baby. Besides the car seat he'd borrowed from Rita, he had nothing in his trailer he needed for taking care of a year-old infant.
Standing up from the small table, Josh stretched and slipped the list into the pocket of his jeans. Finishing his coffee, he moved to the back of the trailer to where the baby was sleeping.
Smiling, the hunter reached down and picked up the child, cradling him against his chest. The baby wriggled and his eyes opened. For a moment the child peered at him with a rather grave expression before laying his head on Josh's shoulder and sticking his thumb into his mouth.
"What do you say we find you some breakfast and then go on a little outing?" Josh asked and walked back to the front of the trailer.
Holding the infant with one arm, the hunter peered at the contents of his cupboards to find an appropriate breakfast food for him.
"Look," Josh crowed, "Cheerios!"
The baby peered at the yellow box with interest, reaching out for it with chubby hands.
The hunter chuckled, "You like these, eh?"
Carrying both baby and cereal box over to the small table, Josh slid into the booth, setting the infant up on his lap. Opening the top flaps and crinkly plastic bag, the hunter poured some Cheerios out onto the table.
The baby burbled happily at the sight of the cereal and waved his arms before scooping up a handful and shoving them into his mouth.
Smiling, relieved that he'd found something the child would eat, Josh dug a hand into the box of Cheerios and brought a fistful to his own mouth, chewing loudly.
W
"Phew, kiddo, you're lucky we're going into town this morning," Josh told the baby as he peeled away the soiled diaper and tossed it into the trash, grabbing handfuls of toilet paper to wipe the infant's bum.
The baby whimpered and squirmed under Josh's ministrations and the hunter frowned at the sight of bright red skin surrounding the infant's anus and creeping up towards his genitals.
"We'll get something to fix that," Josh promised, tossing the dirty toilet paper into the toilet and flushing it.
"I don't have anymore diapers so you'll have to go commando for a while," he told the baby as he pulled the infant's small pair of pants up, "Hope that okay."
Now that he was clean, the baby wriggled and let out a happier burble.
"Gotta remember to get you some new duds, too," Josh muttered to himself.
"All right, let's see if I can recall how to put that car seat into the pickup," the hunter said as he lifted the boy and carried him out of the bathroom, forgetting to wash his hands before leaving.
W
It had been many years since Josh had had to install a car seat and quickly found out that it was not like riding a bike; he didn't know what he was doing at all.
Sighing and wiping a hand over his sweaty forehead, he glanced down at the baby who was sitting contentedly in the grass beside the car, picking at the sparse grass and shoving the blades into his mouth.
"You're one of those kids, are you?" Josh asked and picked the child up, brushing pieces of grass off the boy's small t-shirt, "Puts everything and anything into your mouth."
The boy laughed, giving Josh a view of tongue and gums stained dark green.
"Ah well," the hunter mumbled, "Builds up your immune system."
Moving away from the truck, Josh walked next door to Rita's trailer and banged his fist against the metal frame of the screen door.
From inside the residence came the sound of rapidly moving bare feet and giggling. Suddenly the interior door was thrown open and a little girl of about three was standing in the door, wearing an oversize 'Slayer' t-shirt and nothing else.
"Is Rita in?" Josh asked though he was almost certain she was.
The little girl peered up at the hunter with eyes the colour of mud and said nothing.
"Brandy! Who's at the door?" Rita's voice could be heard shouting from the other end of the trailer.
Josh sighed as the child let the interior door go and ran out of sight, towards the sound of her mother's voice.
Moments later, the plodding steps of the family's matriarch announced her arrival and Rita was leaning out of the doorway, grinning at the hunter.
"You're as good as your word, Joshie," the woman chuckled, eyes taking in the sight of the baby in the man's arms as though the infant were a cheeseburger.
"Actually Rita," Josh cringed, hating it when she called him 'Joshie', "I came to ask a favour."
"Mmhm?" she muttered, keeping her eyes on the little one.
"I haven't had to install a car seat in years and I don't remember how," the hunter explained sheepishly, "Do you think you could come over and show me how?"
Rita nodded, "So long as you let me hold that babe."
Josh nodded and handed the infant over to Rita.
The baby stared up at the woman for a long moment, apparently not sure whether to cry or not then settled to peering at Josh with pleading green eyes.
Rita stepped out of the trailer, letting the door slam shut behind her, and followed Josh. As they walked the short distance to Josh's truck, he heard Rita making silly noises to the baby and the infant laughing unsurely.
"All right Josh," Rita said, resting the baby on her hip, "First thing you've gotta do is put the seat in backwards."
The hunter raised an eyebrow, "You're sure?"
Rita nodded, "Its so's they don't go flying through the win'shield if you stop suddenly."
Josh did as he was told and turned the car seat so that it was facing the back of the vehicle.
"Now you need to put that strap there," Rita pointed with her free hand, "And clip it there and there and there…"
Within two minutes the car seat had been successfully installed with a minimum of fuss and Rita was reluctantly handing the baby back to Josh.
"What's his name?" Rita asked before turning to head back to her trailer.
"Uh," Josh hesitated. He couldn't very well give the boy's real name, especially if there were cops out looking for him, "His name is Luke."
Josh smiled even as his heart began to beat faster at the thought of his own little boy. He hadn't planned to say 'Luke' the name of his long-gone son, but it slipped out and now he couldn't change it.
"Well feel free to bring 'im over to play with Brandy and the boys whenever you're out of town," Rita told Josh.
"Thanks," he said, "I'll do that."
Once Rita had gone back into her trailer, yelling at her sons to stop beating on their sister, Josh sighed and glanced down at the baby.
"What do you say we go out for a while?" he asked and the baby burbled happily.
Quickly strapping the boy into his car seat, Josh climbed into the driver's seat and started the truck's engine, once again hoping he was doing the right thing by keeping the child instead of leaving him at the police station or hospital.
W
The grocery store was relatively quiet, as many people were at work and would do their shopping in the evening, after they were finished.
Josh placed the baby the cart and headed inside, pulling his list from his pocket as he did so.
He remembered from taking care of his own son, that by one year, babies could start eating a mix of baby formula and adult foods as long as they were easily to chew- or gum- and digest.
Heading down the aisle of the store that catered to the needs of infants, Josh parked the cart in front of the rows of formula and tried to figure out which ones the baby might like. As far as Josh knew, the only thing the boy enjoyed eating was Cheerios.
"Hmm," Josh muttered, picking up a can of formula and showing it to the baby, "Do you like this stuff?"
The baby looked up at the hunter and smiled, waving his pudgy arms and crowed, "Dada!"
For a split second Josh's heart leaped into his throat and he turned around to find the aisle empty. Sighing, he peered at the baby, "Josh. I'm Josh. Can you say that?"
"Dada!"
Josh squinted at the infant. He didn't even look like John Winchester so he didn't know why the baby was calling him 'Dada'. Deciding they could work on 'Josh' later, the hunter read the label on the can of formula powder and saw that it was for younger babies and put it back on the shelf. He needed a formula for infants at least twelve months old.
"Here we go!" Josh announced and grabbed six cans of formula for infants up to twelve months and dumped them into the cart, "That wasn't so bad."
Spying a lineup of tall, yellow containers filled with star-shaped cereal, Josh grabbed a couple of them and tossed them in with the formula.
Gripping the handle, he pushed the cart down the aisle to the area where the diapers and wipes were kept. The hunter spent a long time going between Huggies, Pampers and a no-name brand of diapers before grabbing the cheaper choice, quickly checking the size of the diapers and guesstimating that they'd fit the boy. Afterwards he grabbed six packages of wipes and put them into the cart along with the formula and diapers, talcum powder and a container of rash cream quickly following.
"All right, Luke, let's check out the produce," Josh said and the baby babbled happily as the hunter pushed the cart towards the part of the store that held food.
Within no time the cart was filled with vegetables and fruit, boxes of unsweetened cereals, bags of pasta and trays of chicken and a carton of twenty-four eggs.
Steering the cart to the checkout, Josh waited in line patiently while the boy stared at everything and babbled away.
"What an adorable little boy you have," the elderly female cashier told Josh as he approached her, "He looks just like a little mouse."
The hunter smiled and began placing items on the conveyor belt.
"Dada!" the baby squawked loudly, "Dada! Dada!"
The cashier chuckled as she began ringing the items through. Again, Josh felt unease and told himself he was just being paranoid. If John had followed him to make sure he'd done what he said he'd do, Josh was certain that by now the father would publicly accuse him of kidnapping and have the boy back in his custody by evening.
"Deee!" the baby called, legs drumming against the cart, "Deee!"
The elderly cashier told Josh the total and he pulled a wad of bills out of his wallet, thumbing through them to find the cash he owed.
Once he'd been given his change, Josh quickly packed the groceries into bags, telling the baby he couldn't wait until he was old enough to help out with tasks such as this one, and then they were heading out to the parking lot, their next destination already in mind.
W
Picking clothes was easier than choosing diapers or formula. All Josh had to do was check the ages listed on the tag of a garment and make sure the item was an article of clothing for a boy and toss it into the cart.
He grabbed a half-dozen pairs of onsies in various colours, twelve pairs of pants and twelve shirts- both long-sleeved and t-shirt- to go with the pants. Before leaving, Josh picked up a pair of pajamas and shoes.
"There, that wasn't so bad," the hunter said he pushed his cart towards the checkout of the department store.
The baby blinked owlishly at Josh and muttered tiredly. The hunter smiled at the little boy and picked up his pace, wanting to get the infant home and to bed as soon as possible.
W
"Home sweet home," Josh murmured to the baby sleeping in his arms.
Before doing anything else, the hunter tore open a package of the diapers he had just bought, put one on the drowsy infant and settled him onto the bed sans pants. Within seconds the baby was asleep, a rolled up towel preventing him from falling out of the bed.
Once he was sure the infant was settled, Josh unloaded the groceries from the truck and put them away, tearing the tags off the clothing and putting them in the small dresser across from the narrow bunk bed in the recess that served as a bedroom in the trailer.
Turning around, Josh frowned for a moment when the baby whimpered in his sleep.
"You really do look like a little mouse," the hunter muttered to himself as the baby eased back into a more comfortable sleep.
A sudden sharp banging at the trailer door had Josh swearing and hurrying to the front of the home.
"What do you kids want?" the hunter asked in an unfriendly tone at Rita's offspring standing in his patch of yard.
His neighbours four boys and one girl, all peered up at him with the heartless expression only children can give an adult and get away with, "We wanna see the baby."
Junior- Kenneth Jr. actually- the oldest boy told Josh and took a step forward.
"He's sleeping," the hunter said, "You're all gonna have to come back later."
"We won't wake 'im," Junior insisted, "We promise, right?"
His siblings, Wayne, the second oldest, Ronnie the third and Axton, only four years old, and holding little Brandy's hand tightly, all nodded, earnest expressions on their faces.
Josh sighed, "All right, but y'all gotta be quiet."
The kids smiled and crowded into the small trailer, following the hunter to the back bedroom.
Josh put a finger to his lips to emphasize the need to be silent as the children crowded around the bed, peering down at the infant.
"Why's he so small?" Ronnie asked, looking up at Josh.
"Because he's a baby, stupid," Junior snapped and punched his younger brother on the arm.
"When can he come an' play with us?" Axton asked.
"Not until he's a bit older," Josh answered, "He's still a little guy."
Brandy reached out a hand but Junior grabbed her wrist before she could touch the baby, "Don't."
The little girl stuck out her lower lip in a pout but did as her brother asked.
Wayne yawned, growing bored.
"Let's go home and watch WWF," he suggested.
As one, the siblings turned and headed back towards the front of the trailer, not even saying thank you to Josh as they left, the door slamming after them.
The hunter sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Those four are going to be a handful."
Turning his attention back to the baby, Josh smiled and told himself he was doing the right thing, looking after the infant instead of leaving him for someone else to look after.
SPN
"Did you like the movie?" Josh asked as he and Mouse left the theatre, squinting in the bright sunlight after sitting in the dark for an hour and a half.
"Yeah, it was great," the boy said, "Thanks Josh."
"No problem," the hunter said, "You know I always enjoy doing things like this with you."
Just as they reached the truck, Josh's cell phone rang and he dug the black, flip Motorola from his jacket pocket.
"Yeah?" he asked and was silent for a moment as he listened to the person on the other end talk.
Mouse, with one hand on the door handle, sighed and scuffed at the curb with his sneaker. No one ever called his uncle unless it was for a hunt.
"Okay," Josh was saying, "I'll be there as soon as I can."
Ending the call, the hunter closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket, grabbing his keys from another to unlock the truck.
"What was it?" Mouse asked as he climbed onto the long bench seat.
"Oh Bobby Singer wants my opinion on something," Josh replied casually, as though Bobby Singer often called him up to get his opinion on things.
Mouse looked up at his uncle, "Not a hunt?"
Josh shook his head and started the truck's engine, "Nope. Bobby just wants me to come over and look at a few things. It's for another hunter, actually."
"Who?" the boy wanted to know instantly. He'd only ever met Bobby Singer and Rufus Turner in person but he'd heard all about many other hunters from his uncle.
Josh shrugged, "Didn't say. Doesn't matter. I'll go up to Sioux Falls as soon as we get home and I should be back by tomorrow hopefully."
"I want to go with you," the twelve-year old said, "Can I go with you?"
"I don't think so," Josh replied, paying more attention to the road than to the boy, "I'll drop you off at Rita's and-"
"I don't want to go to Rita's again," Mouse argued, "I want to go with you. You just got back from a hunt and now you have to go away again. Why can't I come with you? You know I won't cause any trouble."
Josh sighed, "I know you won't cause trouble, Mouse, but I just wanna get this done and over with."
"Please let me come along," the boy pleaded, "It's just to Bobby's. It's not like you're going on a hunt."
"We'll see, all right?" Josh growled, "I'll think about it if you'd stop pestering me about it."
Mouse sat back and stared out the smeary side window, feeling his eyes prick with unshed tears. He hated it when Josh was mad at him, but his uncle didn't understand. He didn't really like it at Rita's and besides, he felt like he barely got to see the man sometimes because he was always off on one hunt or another. Sure, Josh would take him along often, but only if the hunt was close by.
And now Josh was only going to Bobby Singer's place, not even going on a hunt and he didn't even want to take him along? It wasn't like Mouse hadn't ever been to Sioux Falls; he'd been there loads of time and there had never been a problem.
As Josh pulled the pickup truck to his trailer, a loud bang from next door startled both him and Mouse and the two watched as Rita's boys rolled out of the doorway and onto the sparse grass, punching and kicking one another. Josh stopped his truck and watched the scuffle for a few moments, not at all surprised when Brandy, wearing a rainbow dress and white tights, crashed through the screen door and joined the fray, hitting just as hard as her brothers were.
"Okay, you can come to Sioux Falls with me," Josh said and cut the truck's engine.
Mouse said nothing as he scrambled from the cab and headed inside to grab his duffel bag.
Author's Note:
Chapter title comes from a Screaming Trees song of the same name.
Thanks to oooPENNYWISEooo, SUPERNATANGEL67, battlemaiden518, Ruby, Souless666, BranchSuper, StyxxsOmega, brihun2388, SPN Mum, JadeDeLair, ktdog1, Trucklady53, reannablue, QueenBea93, SamDeanLover28, Sallyannerenee, jensensgirl3 and Guest for reviewing.
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