Chapter 7

Flying Dreams

"Elizabeth!" Chris shouted feeling scared.

He tightly gripped the crow's feathers as he didn't want to fall off him and he felt tense that there might not have been a chance Mrs. Brisby made it. If Dragon did kill her, Chris would never forgive himself and her children would have not only no father but no mother as well. It would break the children's hearts more and Chris could see them going through hard times if they lost their mother. They were still young and poor Timmy was too sick to even get out of bed without the medicine Mrs. Brisby had but she lost it in the water. The children still needed their mother.

As Chris searched towards the water desperately the blue stone started to glow the blue color once again and Chris's eyes widened. The crow noticed something strange and when he looked towards the glowing he gasped when he saw the stone and he looked mesmerized by it. Chris couldn't understand what was happening as this stone was acting strange again but to his surprise, the water down below him and the crow started to glow in a certain area and when Chris got a closer look at the area that was glowing he gasped when he saw Mrs. Brisby in the glowing area of the water. Without realizing it, Chris grabbed a hold of the stone and when he did he gasped again when he felt something powerful surge through him and he then started to glow blue as the stone was doing something out of the ordinary and the crow watched shocked as he didn't know what to do at this moment.

To make things even more shocking, Mrs. Brisby started to float out of the water and she looked like a spirit as she was enveloped in the blue glow. She was coughing as she was dripping in cold water but she looked frightened of what was happening as she saw she was floating and was glowing a blue color. Chris's teeth were gritted as he now had both hands on the stone and was grunting and as he did, the glowing on Mrs. Brisby sent her floating to a hole that was made in the cobblestones in a mill and the glowing made her land safely inside it. The glowing from the stone eventually evaporated from the stone and when it did, Chris gasped and breathed hard at what just happened and he let go of the stone. What just happened was getting him freaked out as he couldn't believe that some magic from this stone saved Mrs. Brisby.

However, his hands started to sting suddenly and he hissed. He looked at his hands and his eyes widened when he saw the palms of his hands. They looked as though they got sunburnt as they now had a pinkish color. Not only that he felt as though he lost a lot of energy as he now felt lightheaded. He placed the palm of his hand on his forehead (even though the palm of it was stinging badly) and breathed. He felt like closing his eyes and falling asleep. It did feel like a good idea as he just wanted to lie down and….

Chris shook his head and slapped himself so he wouldn't close his eyes. He couldn't sleep, he needed to get to Mrs. Brisby. He just had to.

He looked at the crow. "I need you to take me to my friend, can you do that?"

The crow looked lost in his thoughts as he was staring at the stone as though he was hypnotized and he had a goofy looking smile plastered on his beak. "You're wearing a sparkly…"

Chris furrowed his brow weirded out by the crow. "What?"

"You're wearing a sparkly…"

Chris sighed annoyed and he then snapped his stinging fingers in front of the crow's eyes a couple of times to get his attention. "Hey, stop staring at this necklace and listen to me."

"Huh?" The crow shook his head. "Oh, sorry, what did you say?"

"I said I need you to take me to my friend, can you do that?"

"Oh, yeah, just hang on tight and I'll get you to her in a jiffy."

The crow flapped his wings towards the hole in the mill where the glowing placed Mrs. Brisby in and when he got close enough to it he perched on the cobblestone of the entrance of it. He then lowered his body towards the ground and Chris slid off him and when he did he heard crying. He looked inside and he saw Mrs. Brisby crying on her red cape like it was tissue. Chris looked at her sadly.

A thought then came to Chris and he looked at the crow. "Hey, can you do me a favor?" He whispered.

Chris saw that the crow wasn't paying attention and he was staring at the stone once again. Chris scowled at the crow and snapped his fingers in front of his eyes once again and the crow blinked his eyes and shook his head. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I said will you do me a favor? And keep it down."

"Oh, right." The crow whispered. "What's the favor?"

"I need you to find something. The thing I need you to find is a white envelope. It contains some medicine that my friend needs for her son. You must find it she desperately needs it. You understand?" The crow was once again staring at the stone and Chris was getting frustrated with him. "You listening!?" Chris said as quietly as he could.

The crow jumped surprised. "Sorry, sorry. What did you say you needed me to find?"

"A white envelope!"

"A white envelope got it. Oh, but one more thing."

Chris sighed annoyed. "What?"

"Did I mention to you that sparkly is very shiny and glowy?"

"Will you move it!?"

"Right, right, sorry. I'm going to get the items, be back with them before you know it." The crow took off to get the items.

Chris rolled his eyes but shifted his focus back to Mrs. Brisby as she was continuing to cry. He went inside and there was junk everywhere to be seen from rope to fishing nets, and broken crates. Mrs. Brisby was sitting on one of those rope pulling machines sorts of type but it looked out of use.

Chris climbed up one of the broken crates and he then felt like he was on an agility course as he was jumping on objects and trying not to hurt himself as he was trying to get to Mrs. Brisby. Mrs. Brisby looked up when she was hearing noises and she gasped when she saw Chris. "Chris?"

Chris managed to jump on the rusty rope pulling machine that Mrs. Brisby was on and when he did he looked directly at Mrs. Brisby. "You alright?"

Mrs. Brisby got up and she hugged Chris tightly. "Oh, Chris… thank heavens you're alright!" She then started to sob on Chris's chest.

Chris hugged Mrs. Brisby back tightly. "Hey, it's alright, it's alright…"

"Chris… I lost Timmy's medicine… the medicine's gone…" Mrs. Brisby continued to cry on Chris soaking wet shirt.

It didn't matter if the shirt was wet or not. What mattered was that Mrs. Brisby was upset that she lost her son's medicine. That medicine was Timmy's only hope of getting better. He hoped that crow wasn't too awestruck by the stone to not forget what he needed to get.

All he could think about at the moment though was comforting Mrs. Brisby. With her being a widow and all she must've had a lot to go through. It was easy to tell and Chris could understand her feelings at this moment.

"Hey, Miss. Mouse," Chris looked up to see that the crow returned and the crow laughed a little. He thought that it was quick. "Don't worry, I'm okay." He then started to whistle and take a few steps as he had his wings behind his back and this made Chris furrow his brow at him annoyed. The crow then flew towards them and he laughed a little again as he then sat down next to them. "See? I'm alright." The crow gestured to himself.

"That's not the reason she's crying dimwit," Chris shouted. "Maybe if you haven't been focusing on the necklace here you would know the actual reason why she's crying!"

The crow looked at Chris surprised by his reaction and shouting. His beak hung open as he had no words to say to Chris.

"Chris, please don't get mad at him," Mrs. Brisby sobbed as she then looked at the crow and Chris looked at her sadly. "But Chris is right though… that's not the reason I'm crying. I lost Timmy's medicine." She then continued to cry in Chris's shirt.

The crow shook his head. "Aw, don't cry. I hate to see a woman cry… Hey! Was I great, or was I great? I saved his life!" The crow pointed at Chris and then laughed. "Oh, and did you see that cat out there? All dripping, and-"

Chris cleared his throat irritably towards the crow because he was trailing off and when the crow looked at him he saw that Chris was looking at him with a hard stare. Chris then indicated his head towards Mrs. Brisby and mouthed to the crow if he got the medicine. The crow looked at Mrs. Brisby and then he smiled sheepishly towards Chris and nodded, realizing that he was getting off-topic and needed to focus on the real problem here.

Mrs. Brisby looked up at Chris as she wiped the tears from her eyes with her cape. "We'll… go back to Mr. Ages tomorrow, and-"

"You weren't so bad yourself, the both of you," the crow said and then he smiled. "Hey, we make a pretty good team! Oh, and you dropped this back there." The crow extends the white envelope that Chris said he wanted him to find towards Mrs. Brisby and Mrs. Brisby looks to what the crow had trying to process it. "Your friend here wanted me to find this for you and nobody messes with ol' Jeremy, boy. Nobody!"

Mrs. Brisby eyes lit up when she saw the envelope and she smiled as she placed her hands on her cheeks. "That's it! Timmy's medicine!" Mrs. Brisby took the medicine from Jeremy's wing and hugged it tightly with happiness. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!"

Chris smiled at Mrs. Brisby. "Well, it's a good thing we won't be going back to Mr. Ages tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah, and before I forget," the crow said and then to Chris's surprise he pulled out his pocket knife that his old man gave to him on his tenth birthday. "When I found her envelope I saw this get stuck in the rocks of the water and I knew I couldn't lose it because this is yours after all."

"My… my pocket knife!" Chris smiled as he took the pocket knife from Jeremy and to his relief it was still in perfect condition.

This pocket knife was special to Chris and he couldn't even imagine losing something like this. It was too precious for him to lose. He was grateful that the crow saved his pocket knife that his dad gave to him as a birthday gift even though he didn't tell the crow to get it for him.

He looked at the crow as he put the blade part of it away and then he put the pocket knife back in his pants pocket. "Thank you! You don't know how much this means to me!"

The crow looked at Chris surprised. "R-Really? Oh… wow! Well, I saw it in the water and I said uh…" The crow smiled at the two as he placed his wings behind his back. "My name is Jeremy."

Mrs. Brisby smiled at Jeremy. "I'm Mrs. Brisby and this is Christopher Fitzgibbons."

"Call me Chris for short, though," Chris said.

Mrs. Brisby tapped Chris on the shoulder, which made him look at her. "We better go, Chris." She then looked back at the crow named Jeremy. "Thanks again! We have to go home now."

Chris and Mrs. Brisby then walked across some rope carefully until they were on a lobster trap and Jeremy flew over to them as he then landed near them and grabbed a hold of some rope as he stared at them. "Uh, where's home?"

"In the garden patch, by the stone," Mrs. Brisby said as she was testing some rope that went down the lobster trap.

"Well… do you like me?"

Mrs. Brisby looked at Jeremy. "Of course I like you." She then looked at Chris. "We can go down this."

Chris got on one side of the rope while Mrs. Brisby got on the other side of the rope as Jeremy then said to Chris: "Uh, how about you, Chris? Do you like me? You don't seem as though you do."

Chris sighed and he looked at Jeremy. "Look, it's not that I don't like you it's just that you can be a little annoying. But in all honesty, you're a pretty caring guy, I'll give you points for that."

It was true of course. Chris thought Jeremy saving his and Mrs. Brisby's lives was a huge risk. He didn't have to but he did so anyway. Jeremy didn't seem to be too bad but what he lacked was paying attention.

Chris is not one to yell a lot but if he had to it was only for good reasons. His reason for yelling at Jeremy a couple of times was because he wasn't listening like he was a child messing around. Chris may be nice but it doesn't mean he can't yell as well.

"See you around, Jeremy," Chris said as he and Mrs. Brisby got on the rope and let it descend them down inside the lobster trap.

Jeremy looked and leaned down into the lobster trap where Chris and Mrs. Brisby descended into. "So… you don't think I'm clumsy or anything?"

Jeremy all the sudden fell into the lobster trap and he yelped as he tried to steady himself on the rope Chris and Mrs. Brisby were descending on but the rope broke and the three crashed to the floor. Chris hissed in pain when he felt the palm of his hands slam to the ground. It felt like his skin was scraped off with a knife. He tried not to let Mrs. Brisby nor Jeremy see he was in pain and so he breathed through his nose.

As Chris was trying to ease the pain on his hands he heard Jeremy say: "Oh… sorry. Excuse me, pardon me."

Mrs. Brisby got up and Chris did as well only much more slowly as he was trying to hold in the pain he was feeling. "Oh. Well if you're going to feather a nest, you've got to learn how to treat a lady," Mrs. Brisby said.

"Right. When you're right you're right. And you're right." Jeremy then tried to get the old rope off him that was tangled on him. "None of the girls I meet want to get serious!"

"I doubt they'd survive," Chris said with his arms crossed.

Jeremy got most of the rope off him. "Huh? Maybe it's my approach." Jeremy's eyes then lit up with an idea as Chris and Mrs. Brisby were getting out of the lobster trap. He then looked at Chris. "Say! You seem like the kind of guy who could win over girls! You could teach me how to… you, know, how to-"

"Sorry, you're barking up the wrong tree. I'm not the type of guy to swoon the girls. But here's a tip: you want to win a girl over you might want to try and behave yourself."

Chris and Mrs. Brisby got out of the lobster trap through a big hole and started to walk towards the hole through the cobblestone wall they all went through. It was night time already and the stars were out and about shining. The breeze felt nice as it blew in their direction and walking in the nice breeze is what Chris needed.

"I'm not that bad," Jeremy said as he tried to get out of the lobster trap. "I just need a few pointers to polish my style." He tried to pose but there was a rope tangled around his foot and because of that he tripped and fell flat on his face.

Chris and Mrs. Brisby looked at Jeremy. "Jeremy, we have got to get home," Mrs. Brisby said.

Jeremy tried to get the rope off his foot and he was struggling while doing so while following the two out the mill. "Well let me… Let me fly you two home! We can talk on the way!"

Chris hummed at the idea. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea… could save us some time."

"I prefer if we didn't," Mrs. Brisby said. "I'm afraid of heights."

Chris looked at Mrs. Brisby surprised. "Really? I didn't know mice could be afraid of heights."

Mrs. Brisby looked embarrassed but she nodded. "It's strange but it's true."

"Okay, then we'll walk," Jeremy said as he was trying to shake the same rope off his foot.

"Bye, now."

"Yeah, see ya," Chris said.

Chris and Mrs. Brisby descended the cobblestones until they landed on lily pads and they walked and jumped across them smoothly like a feather until they got onto a rock and started to walk back to Mrs. Brisby's home. As they were walking they heard splashing and they both knew that Jeremy was still following them but they also knew there was no point in stopping Jeremy in walking with them for he seemed to be serious about walking and talking with them. The guy was awkward but he did seem like he liked to talk a lot.

"I think I got real potential, I mean girls go for the athletic type, don't they?" Jeremy said.

"Jeremy, you're stepping on my tail," Mrs. Brisby said.

"Oh! Oh, yeah! Excuse me, pardon me… Say, Chris! Is there any chance I could have your sparkly? It might help me win a girl over!"

"You got money?" Chris said.

Jeremy looked at Chris confused. "I don't even know what money is."

"Then my answer is no."

Even though Chris would've gladly have given it away there was something about this necklace that didn't make any sense. In the end, he had to figure out the necklace's secret.

The walk back to Mrs. Brisby's home wasn't too bad and when they got close enough to Mrs. Brisby's house, Jeremy said his goodbyes to them. He also said that if they needed him just mention his name to any crow they come across in the woods and they'll find him. Chris and Mrs. Brisby said they would remember that before Jeremy left to go home.

As Chris and Mrs. Brisby got close to the house they heard what sounded like yelping from Auntie Shrew and when they did they quickly got to the house and they then heard giggling but they mostly heard Martin laughing.

"Oh!" They heard the shrew shouting as they got inside and when they did they saw her laying on top of the staircase and she was staring at Martin furiously. "You impertinent little-"

"Martin," Mrs. Brisby shouted towards Martin and she then looked at the shrew as she got up and ascended the steps with her cane with that grouchy look. "Auntie Shrew, what's going on!?"

"Indeed," the shrew shouted towards Mrs. Brisby but when she saw Chris her eyes widened in surprise but then she furrowed her brow again at him. "You again? I would've thought that you would've been gone by now. Shouldn't you be back on that farm of yours, Charlie?" She said as she poked him in the chest with her cane.

Chris was starting to find Auntie Shrew to be quite ruder than the last time they talked. Chris scowled as he rubbed his chest. "My name's Christopher and the farm is technically not mine. I don't even live there."

"Your last name is Fitzgibbons though, which would mean that you live on that farm."

"Not really, I just visit my relatives there. I live in the city."

Auntie Shrew rolled her eyes with disgust. "Whatever, you humans cause enough troubles these days and I hope you-" she then poked Chris in the chest with her cane again this time a little rougher, "Christopher Fitzgibbons don't give any of us animals more trouble than there already is. Now if you'll excuse me." The shrew shoved Chris aside.

"Please," Mrs. Brisby said indicating with her hand downstairs towards the shrew. "Come back inside…"

The shrew looked at Mrs. Brisby. "Not for a king's ransom! I have just one thing to say." She then used her cane to point at Martin. "That child is a brat!"

"Take it easy, will ya?" Chris said as he crossed his arms. "He's just a kid. You don't have to have an ugly attitude about it."

Chris saw in the corner of his eye that Martin was looking at him surprised. However, he smiled at him gratefully. Chris would've smiled at him back in return but he couldn't bring himself to break eye contact with the shrew as he continued to scowl at her.

The shrew looked at Chris and she gritted her teeth in anger. "Now you listen here-"

"Auntie Shrew," Mrs. Brisby said as she got in front of Auntie Shrew before things got serious. "Please calm down."

"Well, I suggest you tell your friend here to watch what he says." Chris's eyes widened in shock but still in anger. "Not everything he says will get him anywhere."

Chris sighed annoyed and walked down the stairs so he wouldn't have to be near that old grouch and when he got downstairs he sat down where his sleeping area was as he had one leg out and one leg bent. He looked at his hands as he heard Mrs. Brisby apologizing to the shrew and how she would talk to Martin and then he heard the shrew say that the frost was off the ground and that Moving Day is at hand. Chris looked at the white shirt he had and while the shrew said to Mrs. Brisby to prepare her very odd family, he ripped some cloth off the shirt and started to make bandages out of them on his hands as he wrapped the cloth around them like bandages. Chris then heard the shrew say good day to Mrs. Brisby as he continued to mend his burnt palms. He then thought he heard the shrew mumble about rats and such but he paid no attention to it as he was finishing up patching his burnt palms.

The white shirt was nothing too special and was an old piece of clothing so it didn't bother him that he tore it apart. He did notice the children watching him as he was mending his palms but he tried not to look at them as he did it. When he looked up at them he saw that they were looking at him with concern. He didn't know what to say as they stared at him.

"Well, children," Mrs. Brisby said with disappointment. "Now you've done it."

Teresa looked at her mother as she was sitting on a thimble with Martin sitting against it with his arms crossed angrily. "It was Martin."

Chris watched as Mrs. Brisby was getting everything she needed to make the broth for Timmy. "The shrew means well. She only wants to help."

Mrs. Brisby then poured some hot water into a bowl from her makeshift tea kettle and after she did she poured the medicine into it. Chris could tell she looked extremely tired but even though she did there was some determination in them to give Timmy the medicine. Even though she was a widow Chris could tell she was strong and only a strong widow is capable enough to put up with these difficult tasks. He admired her for that.

When she was done with making the broth she took that and a spoon with her to Timmy's room and as she did, Martin followed her with a guilty look on his face and he then slid his hand through his hair as Mrs. Brisby opened Timmy's clothed-door to his room. "Gosh, I'm sorry, mom."

Chris sighed and stood up. "Hey, kid." Martin looked at Chris confused. "Can you come here for a sec?" Martin walked towards Chris and when he did, Chris got on his knee and then placed his hands on his shoulders. "Listen, I can understand that the shrew can be…" Chris thought of what to say that wouldn't involve curse words. "Hard to handle but your mother does bring a good point. You should at least try to give the shrew some respect and then maybe she'll give you some respect."

Martin looked down sadly but he then looked back at Chris. "It's hard to do that… she doesn't like you though. It's kind of one of the reasons why I yelled at her. I even like having you around more than her."

Chris smiled weakly at Martin. "That's very nice of you, kid. But you should take my word for it. When I was your age I was exactly like you, being young and wild but as I grew older I started to understand things better. Not everyone is nice and they have their reasons for it. Even though the shrew may not like me and I may not like her a little it doesn't mean that I don't show her respect and you should give her some respect as I do."

Martin looked surprised with Chris. "You have respect for Auntie Shrew?"

Chris was telling the truth and it was a lesson his parents taught him and he would never forget that lesson. He nodded at Martin. "I do and if I didn't I wouldn't have a heart. The only time you don't give anyone any respect is if they harm you or bully you. You understand?"

Martin thought about this as he rubbed his head. After a while of thinking though he then nodded his head. "Yeah… thanks, Chris."

"No problem." Chris then looked to see that the girls were staring at them. Chris stood up as he placed his hands on his sides. "You kids should probably go be with your mother and brother, they would probably like that."

The kids nodded and they walked towards Martin's room and when they did they entered to go be with their mother and brother. Chris wanted to leave them be but something told him he should have a look to see if everything was alright. He breathed then took slow steps towards Timmy's room. He grabbed the cloth and he hesitated to open it but he assured himself in his head it was only to check on them. He repeated it a couple more times until he felt calm.

He opened it quietly and looked inside. He saw the three kids watch as Mrs. Brisby fed Timmy the medicine and when Chris looked at Timmy his heart sank. Timmy looked weak and he looked as though he hadn't eaten anything for a long time for he could his body was very thin. He could hear Timmy's raspy breaths and his eyes looked frail.

Looking at Timmy reminded Chris of his mother… With no hair, thin, and weak, she had a low chance of surviving because of cancer. He remembered holding her warm hand on the hospital bed as she said her final words to him. It killed him as much as it killed him when his old man died and when he saw the color drain from his mother's face and heard the heart monitor on the machine beep and then go flat… she never woke up again.

"Is Timmy gonna die?" Cynthia asked.

It broke Chris's heart when a child asked that question.

"No, sweetheart," Mrs. Brisby assured her daughter. "He's just very sick."

"What's the matter with him, Mother?" Teresa asked worried as Timmy was now asleep.

"Mr. Ages called it… pneumonia…"

"Pneumonia…"

"When will he get better?" Cynthia asked.

"Soon… I hope," Mrs. Brisby said.

Hot tears were streaming down his face as he watched what was happening in front of him. He felt so bad for them and this reminded him too much of two of the worst days of his life. He could still perfectly remember those days and he wished he didn't.

He quietly closed the clothed-door and he looked down sadly as he walked away and as he did he wiped away the tears from his eyes with his arm. He walked upstairs and then went outside to get some fresh air.

A/N- Well, here it is guys! Chapter 7. I named this chapter after the song Flying Dreams from the movie because I think it's both great and a beautiful song and I can just see it being played as Chris watches the Brisby's in Timmy's room. That scene was very sad and I still found it sad as I wrote that scene with Chris in it.

However, the next chapter will be out soon, so later.