It had been nearly a month since the Big Bad Wolf, or, as Jacob insisted on calling him, Mr. Canis, had started living with them. Basil still didn't approve, but the beast had done nothing to warrant kicking him out.
He was surprisingly tame, and while it was possible that he was just lying in wait, he was doing so with more patience than Basil had ever expected from the creature.
Canis was strangely helpful around the house. He helped Relda with dinner, and cleaning. He followed her all around the house, resembling a lonely dog. The two could talk for hours, or even just sit in silence, content to just be in each other's company.
Canis soon became Relda's best friend, and Basil still didn't like him. He was the Big Bad Wolf. He was an Everafter, who their family always had a difficult time getting along with.
Basil had to admit though, maybe Canis could be trusted to not eat them. If he was going to, he already would by now. Such an act would probably get him accepted with open arms by many of the Everafters in their community.
This could be his key to get out of being hunted down like the animal he was, and the Wolf probably knew it. If he wasn't taking this chance, then he was either biding his time for something worse, or he wasn't planning on betraying them at all.
Somehow, despite his dislike for Canis, Basil was leaning towards the latter being the case. He still didn't like Canis though. And just because he could trust him not to betray them didn't mean he trusted him alone in their house.
Which was how, much to Basil's frustration, he found himself sitting in his old car with Canis sitting awkwardly in the passenger seat.
Relda had made dinner plans with some friends in town, and Henry was out with Goldilocks. When Basil needed to pick Jacob up from school, his choices were to either leave the Wolf home alone, where he might try to steal their magic, or take him along.
Basil wouldn't really mind keeping an eye on the beast if he didn't have to do it in the old car that wouldn't drive more than a few feet without sputtering and threatening to die altogether.
"Come on, you useless thing." Basil hit the dash as the car stalled. Canis glanced his way, looking confused. Basil glared at him, glad that the car was too loud for the Wolf to understand his humiliating frustration with his car.
"What?" Basil huffed. Canis gave him a look he didn't understand, and then he glanced away. Basil focused on trying to get the car to work.
One of these days they would get a new car. This one had been on its last legs for years now. There were just other things that always took priority.
Jacob's birthday was in a few months. Maybe they could gift this car to him and use that as an excuse to finally get a car that worked.
Basil was sure that the car would give out, but it got them to the school before it turned itself off. He groaned and aggressively pulled the keys out. He had no patience for this thing. He got out of the car, slamming the door a touch more than he probably should have. Jacob was walking down the school steps, approaching the car with a frustratingly amused look in his eyes.
"You having a hard time with the car again, Dad?" Jacob asked. Basil just handed him the keys.
"It's especially finicky today." Basil said. "You give it a try." Jacob was far from the best driver in the world. He got his driving skills from his mother. However, he hadn't run over anybody yet, and he could somehow handle the car better than Basil could, so he encouraged his son to drive when he could.
"Alright." Jake smirked as he made his way to the car, though he paused for a moment when he saw Canis leaning against the hood of the car, looking strangely deep in thought. "Hey, old man. What're you doing?"
"Thinking." Canis said. He ran his hands over the hood, almost as though he was petting the car. "This isn't a happy vehicle."
"It never has been." Jacob said. "Henry calls it a beast." He snorted slightly and gave Canis a mischievous look. "Maybe you'll be able to understand the car better than I can."
Canis didn't seem to understand the sarcasm in Jacob's tone. "Maybe."
Basil would normally sit in the passenger seat when either of his sons drove, but this time he found himself sitting in the back. Canis didn't seem frustrated or overwhelmed by the car. He seemed more fascinated than anything, like there was a mystery in front of him. Basil understood the draw of a mystery. He wanted to know what Canis was trying to figure out.
They made their way back home. He could hear Jacob talking about his day, as he always did on his ride home. Just like always, Basil couldn't hear a word being said. He hated it. He always felt like Jacob didn't feel comfortable talking to him and Relda. He used to talk to Henry, but Basil could see that they were starting to grow distant from each other.
It wasn't that Jacob and Henry weren't close, they were just at different places in their lives. Henry was trying to figure out adulthood, and Jacob was trying to figure out who exactly he was. Basil knew that it involved experimentation, and that it was normal for teenagers to feel isolated from their family, but he couldn't help but worry about Jacob.
His son would talk to them, but not about what was really bothering him. Basil and Relda knew that Jacob felt more a part of the Everafter community than the mortal one, but they didn't know how he was coping with his chosen community seeing him as such an outsider. Whenever they tried to talk to him about it, he would just laugh and wave them off, and come up with a distraction to change the conversation.
Basil didn't even know how school was going, because Jacob always 'told' them about it during the drive home, when they couldn't hear a word he was saying.
Basil strained to listen, and then he was shocked when Canis answered, and he could actually hear him.
"I'm sure your teachers are just as frustrated with you as you are with them." Canis shouted, and Basil had no doubt that he wasn't mishearing him. Jacob gave Canis an alarmed look before he turned his attention back to the road. The teenager said something else. Basil couldn't understand him, but Canis nodded like he could.
"No, I suppose I wouldn't like being trapped in a crowded building for so long." Canis said. "But your mother wants you to go to school, and I trust her judgement."
Jacob shook his head and looked at Canis. Though Basil couldn't hear him, he could see the mirth in his eyes. Canis smiled ever so slightly.
"No, I don't think your mother will change her mind if you bring your family's new 'pet' to school." Canis said. He sounded both amused and annoyed. Basil was just shocked. Even just hearing half a conversation, he was picking up more of what his son was saying than he could when they had just a normal family conversation.
He wasn't surprised that Canis could hear Jacob, and make himself be heard. He may be taking on a human form, but he was still a Wolf. His animalistic ears could pick up what humans couldn't, and if the Wolf's howl could be heard from the other side of town, then he could make himself heard over a noisy engine.
What shocked Basil about this was that Jacob was talking to Canis. He was opening up to him in ways that he couldn't take to his family. He knew that Jacob had slowly started to warm up to Canis after the Wolf had caught him sneaking out weeks ago. Jacob insisted that he didn't like Canis, let alone get along with him, but what Basil saw in front of him said differently.
Jacob was opening up to Canis. He was letting himself be vulnerable in front of the beast, and it hurt to watch. Basil wished that he could get his son to trust him like this.
Canis continued talking to Jacob about school, and Basil literally had a backseat view of his own son's life. He found himself thinking about Canis. Whether he liked it or not, the Wolf seemed to be making a place in the Grimm's life. He was Relda's best friend. He was apparently Jacob's confidant.
Basil didn't like him, but he couldn't just ignore how his family felt about him. He was important to them, whether Jacob wanted to admit it or not. Sitting in the car, Basil was finally willing to concede that this was a battle that he was going to lose. The question was, what did he do about it?
Basil thought about it all during the drive back home. By the time they pulled up to the house, he had the beginnings of an idea. Jacob went inside, but when Canis went to follow Basil grabbed his arm and pulled him back. It was the first time he was initiating contact with Canis. He half expected the Wolf to come out, for the man to lash out. He didn't even grow tense at the contact. Canis just gave Basil his full attention.
He'd thought carefully about how to approach this conversation. "Do you know how to drive a car?"
"I'm afraid not." Canis said. "The Wolf never had a reason to keep up with technology."
"No, I suppose it didn't." Basil said. "I'm going to grab the keys. Take this chance to familiarize yourself with the car." He didn't wait for Canis' questioning response. He just went inside.
It was a small gesture of trust. Basil was turning his back on someone that he still considered an enemy. He was trusting the Wolf to not attack him, or to turn the other way and go after the town.
When he entered the house, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had been more anxious about turning his back on the Wolf than he thought. Basil made himself calm down and went into the kitchen to find Jacob.
"Give me the car keys." Basil said. His son frequently forgot to put the keys back where they belonged. "I'm taking the Wolf out."
Jacob paused in the middle of holding the keys out to him. "When you say you're taking him out…"
"I'm taking him for a drive." Basil gave his son an unimpressed look. "I'm not dragging him out to the middle of the woods so I can dispose of the body."
"Just double checking." Jacob said. Basil sighed and shook his head.
"I won't be long." Basil said. "At least get started on your homework while I'm gone." Jacob didn't acknowledge him with more than a nod. He went back outside and saw Canis sitting in the front seat of the car, getting used to the vehicle, just as he had asked. Basil got into the passenger side and handed Canis the keys.
What followed was an hour-long crash course of driving. It was a lot easier to teach Canis than it had been to teach his sons. For one, Canis could actually hear him and ask questions if he didn't understand something. Basil had thought that teaching a completely oblivious Everafter how a car worked would be infuriating, but Canis picked up on it better than he thought he would.
What was surprising was how cooperative the car was. It was still loud, and it stalled, but Canis was able to work around the issues and make it work much more smoothly than Basil or Jacob could.
Henry called their car a beast. Canis was a beast. Basil wondered if the Wolf somehow found a kinship with the old car, and he could dominate it and make it listen to him. Basil really didn't know. It was just one of those things about Everafters that he didn't think he would ever understand, and he didn't think he had to. The possibility did make him feel better about this decision though.
"Do you know why I want you to know how to drive?" Basil asked.
"Just in case you need another driver." Canis said.
"Just in case." Basil closed his eyes. "You understand the responsibility that my family has in this town."
"I do." Canis said. "Relda's explained the sacrifices." Of course she had.
"When I was Jacob's age, I had never imagined that the responsibility would fall on me." Basil said. "I had three older siblings. This responsibility should have been theirs, but they're all gone now." None of them had even died because of Everafter or magical danger. It was just life.
"You Everafters don't understand it." Basil said quietly. "The brevity of life. How precious it is. Every day I wake up with the knowledge that it may be my last. If something happens to me though, I want to make sure that my family is taken care of."
Basil swallowed thickly. "I know you care for Relda, and you've shown that you will take care of my sons. I don't know why you care for my family, but I would be a fool to refuse your help."
They drove for a few minutes, with the only sound being the roaring of the engine and the creaking of the car. Basil eventually found the nerve to speak again, just to get it off his chest.
"I'm sure Relda told you, but she's not allowed to drive. Even if she was allowed, I wouldn't ever trust her behind the wheel of a car." Basil said. "We live too far away from town to walk everywhere we need to go. It's necessary for us to have a car, which means that somebody needs to be able to drive. I can't put that responsibility on my sons. They have their own lives to worry about."
This conversation was not just about the car, it was about taking care of the family. Being the man of the house. Basil knew that he was a lot older than Relda. He'd never even considered the possibility that he would outlive her. Ever since they'd moved back to Ferryport Landing, he'd been trying to give his family the tools they needed to move on without him. It was why he'd insisted on teaching the boys about magic from a young age.
Relda had still been relatively new to this life. If something had happened to Basil, he hadn't wanted to leave his family in the dark. It had been a conscious decision, one that he stood by, even if Relda didn't agree.
Basil knew that his boys could take care of themselves. They were very capable young men, even if he was regretting now making them be so independent so soon. The one that he was most worried about was Relda. He knew she was more than capable of handling herself and their sons. He just worried about her happiness.
Relda was a social person. She thrived on close relationships. Basil knew that if something happened to him, his boys would distance themselves even more, and Relda would lose everybody overnight. Basil needed to know that Relda would have a friend who would have her back, and offer comfort, and encouragement. He needed to know that she would have somebody who would drive her to town, and keep her from getting in over her head.
The Wolf was far from his first choice, but after a month of him living with their family he knew that it couldn't really be anybody else. Relda trusted him. She had welcomed Canis into their family with open arms, and Basil couldn't afford to push him away.
"If something should happen to me, can I trust you to chauffeur her, should she need it?" Basil asked. He couldn't bring himself to ask what he actually meant. The Wolf was smart enough to look between the lines and figure it out though.
Canis didn't answer for a long moment before he nodded. "As long as Relda wants me around, I'll be here for her."
It was odd to be reassured by a Wolf's promise, but he was. For years Basil had thought that the Grimms would be by themselves, and it was just part of the family curse. They could have Everafter allies, but not true friends. Maybe his wife could move past that. Basil just had to let her. If that meant letting the Wolf into his family and trusting him, so be it.