Can't believe it has been nearly a month since I last updated Oo! I feel really bad and blame my work :P I'm '(u)fortunate' enough to have one of those jobs, where we work our asses of a couple of month each year and take it slow the rest of the time.

I promise, I will continue this story when I have the time. I'm so glad for all your positive and very kind interest in my story (: And again, sorry for mistakes and grammar errors. Fell free to correct me! I don't bite (; (Unless I'm very, very hungry… Or Brutus came by…) No, seriously: English is a tough language and I would love to learn more.

Now, back to the story: (It's crazy! I have written 12 chapters and only covered about 30 minutes of the movie…) Finally introducing my second-favorite character on the Mile: Mr. Jingles! :D I love this scene in both the movie and the book – just shows how great a relationship the guards on the Mile have.

Chapter 11 – When the cat's away…

"What! Again! How can I lose again?! What kind of witchcraft is this?!"

"Aw, come on, Harry!" Brutus rubbed his face with a resigned laughter. "We beat you five times this morning and three times just now. Why can't you just realize, that you are the worst game player in all of the history of America and once again the Scum."

Harry cursed vividly under his breath, as he threw his card on the table. He only looked a tiny bit embarrassed, when he remembered that there was still a lady at the table.

"Please excuse my language, Miss Brent," he growled. "It's as furious as I am."

Ellie was coughing and laughing at the same time, hardly able to answer; she had just taking a sip of her tea, when Harry lost yet another round of President. They had moved from Chinese checkers to Go Fish and finally to President since lunchtime and Harry had managed to lose almost every single game.

The older guard shook his head and drew the watch from his pocket.

"You know what?" he grumbled. "I'm done with this. I'll have my revenge tomorrow. Goodbye!"

Brutus chuckled. "'Bye, Harry."

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Terwilliger."

Ellie was almost sad, to see Harry leave. Dealing with Brutus was so much easier, when there was someone else around. The last couple of hours had been like her first days on the Mile, when they had talked and laughed like old friends. But as soon as they were left alone, he felt instantly back in that silent, uncomfortable mode. Because of her.

She glanced at him across the table. He was collection the cards, with so much concentration it was almost ridiculous, so he wouldn't have to look at her by accident.

His worries concerning his sick father had been sincere, she didn't doubt that. It had actually touched her. But there was something more; something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

He had been lying, when he told her, his weird behavior hadn't been about her. He was still avoiding her. Avoiding eye contact. It was almost like he was a bit… scared of her?

Ellie's guts suddenly tightened. That sounded too familiar and then she remembered who had spoken those exact words: Her good friend Stella from the hospital on the day, she was giving permission to follow Alice to Cold Mountain.

They had been walking down the aisle, ready for the last round that day.

"I'm will miss this place," Ellie had suddenly said. "And I am going to miss you too, Stel. Two month is a long time."

"Oh, you won't have time to miss anything," Stella teased. "You know what prisons are full of?"

Ellie, who could already sense, where this was going, answered innocently: "Yes, rapists and killers and thieves and…"

"No, you goof! Men! Handsome bachelors in striking uniforms."

"Oh, that's right," Ellie answered with a dry smile. "Because that's the only reason, why I volunteered: To fool around with unmarried prisons guards in empty cells. Jesus, Stel…"

"Then go for the married ones, if that's what you want, I don't care."

"Stella!"

Her friend sighed heavily. "El, it's been five years. Not every man out there wants to hurt you."

"I don't need a man," Ellie said repellently. "I'm perfectly fine on my own."

"You're not. You just don't know it yet. And it's that attitude that scares the men away. You have to open up again. Men want someone, they can care for. Someone who needs their protection. Not a girl, who is running her own one-woman life. They hate that…"

"Ellie?" She snapped back in present time. Brutus was looking at her.

"You want some more tea?" he asked again.

"Oh… yes, please. I'm sorry, I was… some place else."

As he left with their cups, Ellie pulled to deck to her, flipping restlessly through the cards. The words 'scared' still flashed in her head. But suddenly it was in a completely different context.

You have to open up…

Perhaps this was essentially her fault. Maybe she had unwittingly pushed him away, because he was being nice to her or too caring. What if she was the scared one, not him? Scared of commitment and becoming to close to someone…

Brutus returned, placing her cup next to her. In her absent-mindedness she didn't noticing him standing there, until he spoke.

"Ellie," he said silently. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Are you afraid of mice?"

She would have been lying, if she said she had been prepared for a question like that.

"Not really, no." She looked at him carefully. "Why?"

Brutus nodded slowly in direction of the restrain room. Ellie turned in her chair, just in time to see something run across the aisle: A tiny, furry shadow on skinny legs and as it stopped by Coffey's cell, it was indeed a mouse.

"Aw, little guy…" she said softly.

The mouse trotted along the bars, then stopped and sniffed the air. When Ellie slowly got up, it rose on its hind legs, as though it was trying to determent, whether they were a threat or not. Apparently deciding on the last, it continued its walk to Alice's cell.

"The little bugger ain't even afraid of us," Brutus said with a disbelieving laughter. "Hell…"

"Where's Dean and Paul," Ellie asked with a smile, as the mouse cast a long glance into Alice's cell. "They have to see this."

Moving carefully, not the scare their guest away, Brutus walked to Paul's office and called through the empty room. "Paul? Dean? Come in 'ere for a moment."

He came back to stand beside her, his arms crossed on his chest. They watched the mouse in silence, as it ran from the corner of Alice's cell to Bitterbucks, carefully monitoring each prisoner.

"Looks like it's doing a cell check," Brutus mumbled.

"Perhaps it wasn't satisfied with your work," Ellie ribbed good-heartedly.

Brutus put up a very wounded expression. "That was a mean blow to my guardhonor, ya know that?"

She laughed spontaneously, making him smile. He looked so much younger when he smiled, she suddenly realized; his boyish blue eyes surrounded by fine laugh lines. To be honest, he was a very handsome man, despite him being well over forty. His features wasn't quite as sharp as Dean's or some of the younger guards', but his jaw line was broad and strong – and he had cut himself shaving, which was strangely sweet.

"Or p'haps," he said, leaning closer to her, "it jus' came to see the newest addition to the Mile."

"Oh, you guards are all the same," she said with feigned offence. "With or without fur. I'm just a curious, new attraction to you guys, am I not?"

His forearm touched her shoulder and he chuckled. "Well, who can blame us, when the attraction's that pretty…"

Looking up at him, Ellie could fell herself blushing involuntarily, when he returned her surprised glare with a smile that was as lopsided at is was shy…

"What's going on here?"

Paul's voice made them both jump, like they had just been caught doing something they weren't suppose to. Even the mouse ran for cover. Brutus cleared his throat, taking half a step away from her.

"We have a visitor," he explained. "We think he's trying out for a job here at E block."

Dean, appearing behind Paul, stared at him like he was mental. Paul looked down the aisle, shaking his head.

"What on earth are you talking 'bout?"

"Look again," Brutus said, pointing towards the door of the restrain room. "He's right…there."

As though the mouse had just waited for some kind of signal, it reappeared and scurried across to floor, closer and closer to where they were standing, until it reached the last cells.

"Is it normal for a mouse to come op on people like that?" Dean asked, worryingly. "Maybe it's rapid."

Paul snorted.

"Oh, my Christ," Brutus teased. "The big mouse expert. The Mouse Man. You see it foaming at the mouth, Mouse Man?"

Dean frowned dubiously. "I don't see its mouth at all."

They all burst out laughing and even Dean seemed to soften up a bit. The mouse froze, when the noise made Bitterbuck stir in his cell, but then it caught the sense of the leftover from his dinner and it got up on two legs, joyfully sniffing through the bars.

"I think he's hungry," Ellie said softly. "The poor thing."

Brutus wasn't tardy to react; he grabbed the package of salty crackers, they had been eating during the games, from the desk.

"Aw, Brutal, no!" Dean exclaimed, when he realized what he had in mind. "We're gonna be hip-deep in mice around here…"

"Relax," Brutus said, breaking one of the crackers in his hand. "I'm just gonna see, what it'll do." He looked at Paul. "In the name of science, like."

Paul shrugged and Brutus squatted down. The mouse glared suspiciously at him, his tiny black eyes shining like pearls. But when Brutus dropped a piece, he could no longer resist and approached slowly, until he was nothing but four or five feet away from the tall guard. Grabbing the cracker, he sat down on his hind part, like a dog, and ate every crumb. When he was done, he brushed of his whiskers, peered up at them… and ran back to the restrain room, as fast as he could.

Dean made a resigned gesture towards the door, before letting his arm fall and shooting Brutus an 'I-told-you-so'-look.

"See," he said. "He's in the damn restrain room. Ya know he's gonna chew himself a nice little nest inside the walls."

Brutus looked at bit sheepishly, stroking his neck and Paul sighed.

"All right," he finally said. "Let's go get the damn mouse."

oOo

Ellie watched in great amusement as the men strode down the Mile, like soldiers ready for battle, armed with mops and brooms. The mouse hunt had not gone off quietly; every prisoner was now awake, watching every move from behind bars.

"What's happening?" Alice asked and rose from her bunk, where she had been napping.

"There's a mouse in the restrain room," Ellie said. "There are trying to catch him… Oh!" She laughed, she couldn't help it. Paul had just unlocked the door, revealing what looked like a crowded storeroom. From where she was standing, she could count at least ten chairs, two tables, a hat stand and endless amounts of boxes and files, filling the padded cell from floor to roof. Emptying the room would take forever. The poor mouse would be long gone.

She smirked. "Good luck, guys. Please let me know, if you find something interesting."

Brutus pushed his cap back, already looking defeated. "You ain't gonna help us?"

"No," she said, leaning back against the desk. "That's men's work. I'm just a nurse. A pretty addiction, remember?"

She smiled and he returned it. It was that crooked smile again; the one that made her heart flutter, as he held her gaze just slightly longer than he had too…

When he returned his attention to the retrain room again, her entire body felt hot, like she was running a fever and she was more confused than ever. What was he doing? The one moment, he was running away from her. The next he was obviously flirting with her… Had she missed something?

Brooding, she turned around, cleaning the desk from crumbs, empty cups and cards, while the men were sweating over the furniture. When she was done, there was still no sign of the mouse and the Mile was all cluttered up.

She joined Alice by her cell.

The old lady shook her head. "All that fuss for a single mouse."

Ellie smiled. "They will never find him. He's already…"

She felt silent. Emptying the restrain room was apparently hard work: Brutus had removed his jacket and tie and when he stepped under the bright light, it made his white shirt slightly transparent. She could see the outlines of his strong arms and broad chest, through the fabric…

"I'm sorry," Alice said sweetly, following her gaze. "Did you say anything? Your ovaries were talking to loud."

"Oh, haha, very funny," Ellie mumbled, moving to the backside of Alice's cell, so she couldn't see the men work. Alice turned on her bunk, so they were face to face.

"Ellie, sweetheart," she said softly. "I swear, you are the most stubborn girl, I've ever meet: Just make my day and admit, that you like him."

Ellie hesitated. "I don't know what I feel," she said quietly. "He's acting so strange to me, I can't even tell, whether he like me or despise me anymore…"

"Men tend to behave quite strangely, when they're in love," Alice replied in a conciliatory tone. "Perhaps he's too shy to do anything about it?"

Ellie snorted. "Well, I'm certantly not going to ask him out, if that what he thinks."

As soon as the words had left her mouth, she wanted to bite her own tongue off.

"Oh, so you do wanna go out with him!" Alice said in a very histrionic whisper. "Didn't I know it?"

"No, I didn't say that!" Ellie panicked by the sight of the joyfully look on Alice's face. "Alice, I swear to God, I will never forgive you, if you tell him!"

"Tell him what?" the old woman responded innocently. "I though you didn't wanted to go out with him?"

Ellie flushed. She was way out of her depth – and Alice knew that. She was smiling at her and Ellie didn't like that smile one bit.

"You know what," she said resentfully, narrowing her eyes. "I don't think I like you anymore."

Alice laughed softly. "If that's the prize…"

Ellie was ready with a rapt response, but Paul interrupted: "Miss Brent? Could you be a doll and make us some fresh coffee?"

"Sure, Mr. Edgecomb," she said. "Just a minute."

As she left, she mimed the words 'don't you dare tell him' to Alice, but all she got was an unperturbed smile from the old lady.

oOo

Finally, there was just an old dresser left, squeezed completely up against the back wall.

"He has to be behind it," Paul said, wiping the sweat of his face. "There's no other hiding places left."

"Let's get it out then," Dean said. "Before we lose him."

The soft rattle of empty cups made them all turn around. Ellie was approaching, carrying a smoking warm pot of coffee and a tray with mugs. She didn't look too disappointed, about their unlucky mouse hunt.

"Is the mouse still gone?" she asked innocently, putting the pot down. "Aw, that's tough luck…"

"You probably hid him somewhere," Paul said.

"I swear, I haven't seen him," she said solemnly, placing a hand on her chest. "But if I had, I wouldn't tell you either."

"Well, we know where he is," Paul said, pushing back his sleeves. "Brutal, take the other side. And Dean, you'll smack him, if he gets past you, all right?"

"Who?" Dean asked with a smirk. "Brutal or the mouse?"

"Har, har!" Brutus jeered, but when Ellie started laughing, it suddenly wasn't that bad to be the one, they took the mickey out of.

"Okay, ready?" Paul grabbed the other side of the heavy furniture. "1,2,3 – pull."

It had all been a waste of time. There was nothing, but dust balls behind the dresser. Paul frowned and turned to Dean. "You let him get past you."

"I did not," Dean said, wide-eyed with wonder. "I've been here all the time."

"Then were the hell is he?" Brutus asked annoyed and all Dean could do was to shrug. Brutus shook his head. "Three grown men," he said dully. "Outsmarted by a mouse."

Delacroix giggled in his cell, making Ellie chuckle again.

"Aw, don't worry," she said encouraging. "When this mess is back on its place, he will return."

"Or perhaps we scared him of for good," Dean suggested carefully. "All of this commotion…"

"Yearh," Paul said, filling his cup and nodding, as to convince himself. "Yearh, that's probably the last we'll see of him…"

Flirting! Definitely flirting in this chapter!

You guys probably think I'm moving to slow ;) But I can't help it – I've always imagined Brutus to be all shy and awkward, when he falls in love.