It was around a week ago that Charles first arrived on the 4077th and Chris was finally brave enough to talk to the man. He started out as asking about the meaning of a word Charles had used and thankfully Charles gave him an explanation. He had seen that as permission to keep asking and the questions haven't stopped. It started out slow with small things but soon it became a lot. Chris wanted to know everything about the man. Even though Charles didn't seem to like that the child was bothering him so much, he did enjoy talking about himself and what he had accomplished in his life.
They were lounging in the Swamp after breakfast and Charles was sitting in his chair listening to his record player. His hand moved slowly in the air at the tune of the classic music.
"What are you listening to? " Chris asked out of the blue from down on the floor of the Swamp where the boy was reading his comic book.
"Beethoven" Charles replied a bit irritated as he was trying to listen.
Hawkeye had to keep a close eye on his kid to make sure the boy wouldn't overdo it with his interrogation. He had seen Charles snap at the boy several times already and he knew the child could be a bit much sometimes. And on top of that they all been working a lot these weeks and everyone in the 4077th was moody and tense.
There just wasn't a lot of time to relax between the long hours of work and Hawkeye didn't want Chris to add to any irritation the other doctors might have. Thankfully they had some long hours of sleep and a couple of hours to relax before the wounded would be arriving.
"I've never heard of them." the boy stated. Charles looked completely shocked before he gave Hawkeye an accusing look.
"Pierce really? Aren't you the one responsible for the child's education?" He was slightly outraged.
"Didn't you know? " Hawkeye said as he looked over his magazine at his son. Chris seemed very enthusiastic about the other man but had difficulties understanding him sometimes. The boy looked back at him with slight confusion.
"What are you on about? " Charles asked
"The army sent you for that, didn't you know that's the whole reason you are here." Hawkeye said, he winked at his son who looked even more confused, letting him know he was joking, Chris broke out in giggles. "It's to teach my kid all about classical music."
Charles chuckled at the stupidity of it. " I would appreciate it if you didn't involve me in your insignificant jokes. "
"What does i-insig-ni-fi-cant mean? " Chris asked,he was trying hard to pronounce it correctly.
"Meaningless " Charles explained as he closed his eyes, trying to ignore the boy.
"Oh." the child thought about that for a second.
Hawkeye had told Charles that Chris was Dutch and that the boy was still learning English. So thankfully the other doctor didn't make fun of the child for not knowing some words or phrases. Hawkeye didn't know if he liked Charles yet but at least the man had dignity and acted like an adult which was already a big step up from Frank Burns.
"It's not a joke, it's true. Radar is here to teach him administration skills and BJ, well I don't know about BJ. " Hawkeye explains.
BJ chuckled, "Clearly I'm here to teach the boy some humor. "
"Clearly so." Charles replied.
"Not so," Hawkeye said as he stuck out his tongue in a childish display.
Chris giggled and asked "But what is a beethoven? "
Hawkeye saw Charles' face twitch a little and decided to put a stop on it. "Chris, I think that's enough, let's leave the man alone. " He told the boy.
Chris looked at him with big eyes before he said. "I was just asking. "
"And I'm just telling. It's enough. "
Chris sighed and mumbled a yes sir, before he put his focus back to his new comic book. Margaret had given it to him after she returned from her honeymoon and he had already read it a dozen times since he got it.
"You have my eternal gratitude." Charles replied, not even bothered to open his eyes as he listened to his music.
Hawkeye saw Chris open his mouth to say something again and he cleared his throat to get the boy's attention. Chris looked at him with a slightly hurt expression. Hawkeye gave the boy a stern one in return and Chris quickly returned to his reading.
Chris let out a small huff. Hopefully he still had some time before his dad must get back to work and he didn't want to waste it by getting into trouble, even though he thought Hawkeye was being unfair.
A couple of minutes later the intercom warned them about incoming wounded so the doctors got up quickly.
Chris's stomach sank. He hated that his dad and friends were working so much. He looked slightly heartbroken at his dad, pleading with him not to go.
Hawkeye sighed sadly. His kid looked so sad, and he knew that feeling well, but he had no choice. He went over to the boy and gave him an affectionate kiss on the top of his head and told him to behave.
Chris huffed a little and mumbled irritated. "I always behave."
Hawkeye laughed and said, "Wouldn't that be something." before he left the tent.
He and BJ rushed over to the bus carrying the wounded and he quickly jumped inside to look them over. There weren't a lot of wounded this round but he knew more would be on the way. The first man was in bad shape. Hawkeye quickly gave instructions to bring him in and give him more blood. With that done he went over to the next only to find Sidney sitting there.
"Sidney, What are you doing here?" Hawkeye asked.
"I don't know, I thought I was getting on the cross-town bus." Sidney jokes.
"How did you get this red stuff all over your head?" Hawkeye replied as peeked underneath the bandage on the man's head. He was bleeding a lot but it looked superficial.
Sidney explained about a boy he had sent back to the front, on which he was making a house call. "You can't send them back and just forget about them... So, how's my tuchus?" Sidney asked, pointing at his head as Hawkeye put the bandage back.
"Fine. Just a little diaper rash." Hawkeye said. "Let's get that cleaned up inside." He helped the other man to his feet. "Try not to let Chris see you like this." he said. He wouldn't know how the boy would react, and he didn't want to find out. Chris has been behaving very well these past days. He didn't seem to patrol outside at night anymore and aside from the occasional nightmares, extreme startling when someone enters the room or his nervous stutter, he almost seems like a normal kid.
Hawkeye guided Sidney out the bus and looked around to see Chris just take a step outside the Swamp. The boy was carrying his books and looked around nervously. Hawkeye tried to hide Sidney quickly behind the open door of the bus but Chris had already seen them. Hawkeye saw the boy's eyes get huge and the child quickly ran over to them.
"Ohh boy. " Hawkeye mumbled.
"S-Sidney! A-Are you ok-kay?" Chris said, shocked. When he was close enough the boy grabbed the man's shirt with his free hand and looked him over with big glossy eyes.
Hawkeye was a bit relieved that Chris wasn't crying or trembling. It could definitely be worse.
"Hello, Angel." Sidney said as he put his hand on the child's head. "I'm fine, just a little cut that's all. " He tried to reassure the boy.
Chris didn't believe him and looked over to his dad.
"He's fine,Kiddo," Hawkeye said. Chris looked like he wanted to object but Hawkeye interrupted him before he could. "He's really fine, Chris. I don't have time for this, so why don't you bring Sidney to Post-op. Okay? " Hawkeye said before he rushed away to the next patient.
Chris stood there for a second after his father left him and then slowly turned to Sidney.
"You sure you're alright? " he asked with concern written on his face.
"Yes, I promise. " Sidney answered. The man smiled gently at him. "Come on. Let's get me cleaned up." Sidney said as he put his arm around the boy to walk together to post op.
Kellye, one of the nurses immediately came over to help, the moment Sidney sat down.
Chris watched intently every move the nurse made, his eyes glued on the wound in the man's head. It wasn't a big cut but there was so much blood, and he didn't like blood at all. It always scared him, bleeding was never a good thing. And he liked Sidney a lot, he didn't want the man hurt at all.
"How are things with you?" Sidney asked, looking over at the small boy who stood beside him. The boy kept a close eye on Kellye. Who was wrapped up Sidney's head wound with clean bandages.
Chris shrugged and told him everyone was working a lot. His homework was doing great and basically he was bored all the time.
Sidney listened carefully and Chris really appreciated that from the man, Sidney was such a great listener. He told the man about stuff that happened around the camp these days but got interrupted by his dad.
Hawkeye invited Sidney to scrub up and watch them into the OR.
Chris's heart sunk, he finally had someone to talk to when everyone was working and now his dad was taking that away from him. He pulled the man's sleeve softly.
"Can I come too, dad? " he tried, pleading for his dad to listen. Hawkeye brushed his hair with affection before the hands landed on his shoulders.
"Chris, you know what we agreed on. It's better that you stay out of the way. " Hawkeye said he hated to see the disappointment in the boy's eyes. He knew Chris wanted nothing more than to stay close, especially now Sidney was here.
"But Papa... " Chris whined softly. His voice cracked as tears stung his eyes.
"No." Hawkeye simply said. Leaving no room for arguments.
Chris's face blushed at his dad's firm tone. He had hoped that since Sidney would be staying at the 4077th that he would finally be allowed back into the OR where it was safe, but his dad was adamant that he needed to stay out. And it made him sad, sad but also angry. It wasn't fair at all. His dad worked a lot these past weeks and they barely spent time together.
The moment his dad turned away to walk toward the OR. Chris felt a burst of anger. He huffed and without thinking kicked the object closest to him. The metal bucket flew across the floor with a loud bang, apparently he kicked harder than he thought. He jumped up startled at the loud noise and immediately it became difficult to breathe. Fear grabbed a hold of him, making him break out in cold sweat.
Hawkeye was flabbergasted for a second, something like this had never happened before. The only tantrum behavior the boy had was stomping his feet and he once threw his comic book to the side, but he never kicked stuff around. He looked at Chris and saw the panic in his eyes before the boy became pale and his breathing sped up so fast he was gasping immediately. It was scary how fast Chris could be fine one second and having a complete panic attack the next. Hawkeye quickly closed the distance between them and developed the boy in a hug.
"It'll be okay, Kiddo," he said softly into the boy' ear. "Just breathe for me, I promise you it will all be alright." Chris shook and whimpered as he tried to breath. The boy's hands were wrapped tightly around Hawkeye's neck and he was shaking uncontrollably. Hawkeye felt nauseous watching Chris like this. He hated seeing Chris so scared. It made him feel helpless.
Hawkeye tapped the back boy's neck to indicate the good rhythm to be able to breathe normally again. They have done this several times already, and it really seems to help. Chris's breathing slowed down as the panic attack passed. He started crying while he clung to him, struggling to calm down. Hawkeye held him close while he cried. Chris always cried after a panic attack, which was normal according to Sidney.
"Can I offer you my opinion?" Sidney asked. The man had been watching the two silently. He continued after Hawkeye's nod.
"Take him with you into the OR."
Hawkeye looked at him thoughtfully before he asked "But what about teaching him some independence? What about his school and such back home? "
Sidney gave him a smile. "I think you're pushing him too hard too fast. If he gets older and more confident he wouldn't even want to stay close to you all the time, but now he still needs to. "
Chris had managed to calm down his crying a bit, and the feeling of inevitable doom and pain slowly went away. He still cried, he always cried after a panic attack and he hated it. He listened closely and really wanted his dad to agree with Sidney. He wanted to stay close, he didn't want to stay out here alone and scared.
"You're sure? " Hawkeye asked the psychiatrist.
Sidney laughed. "No, but it's the solution for right now, and judging by your look earlier, Chris doesn't usually kick things around. I'm no child psychiatrist but as a friend I say it would be better to slow down a bit. Maybe smaller steps? "
Hawkeye sighted and agreed. There wasn't time to argue and Chris's behavior startled him as well. So the man could be on to something. Chris seemed immediately relieved, he managed to reduce his crying to soft sniffles.
They headed to get scrubbed up and Chris felt so relieved. He was allowed to stay close again and it made him feel a lot better.
The Colonel seemed happy they were finally there, the man seemed impatient. But as everyone was moody these days it didn't come as a surprise.
Even the mood inside the OR was tense. Sidney was explaining about a patient of his, a soldier, named Tom, had seen three of his buddies killed in less than a day, and though he wasn't wounded, he did suffer mental problems. Sidney was doing a follow-up with Tom when they got hit.
Chris stood close by his dad and held on to the man's coat, he yawned widely. He was so tired but he didn't want to leave his dad's side.
Unfortunately his dad noticed that he was almost falling asleep where he stood and ordered him to a chair. He objected a little but his dad gave him a stern look that left no room for arguments, so he went to sit down. He didn't want to risk him being sent out the OR.
Hawkeye felt a bit irritated that Chris didn't even want to sit down, the boy was falling asleep on his feet. His panic attacks always did that, and he had half in mind to send the child to bed for a nap. But he knew it would be a whole fight to get him there.
Chris sat down next to Sidney and fell asleep on the man's shoulder within a couple of minutes. He wasn't even aware that he had fallen asleep until Margaret yelled that Winchester touched his nose and needed to scrub again. He startled awake and shot a scared look at his dad but the man didn't seem worried, so it must be okay.
Winchester didn't agree, and refused to scrub again.
"Major, I saw you touch your nose!" Margaret was outraged about the man's behavior.
Charles turned to her and said. "Major, do you think my face is insensate? Don't you think if I had touched my nose, I would have felt it?! "
"I just felt something over my lip. Maybe you touched my nose." Hawkeye jokes.
Chris started to get nervous, he didn't like people arguing. He was used to it, as they did that a lot with Frank as well but it still made him uncomfortable.
"You touch his nose Charles, you'll have to marry him." BJ joined in.
Margaret had enough and called out to Colonel Potter to fix it.
Potter tried explaining to Charles that Margaret is a very good observer, but the man still refused. Which started an argument between the two again until they were screaming at each other.
"It's the battle of the noses, ladies and gentlemen. Who do you think is ahead?" Hawkeye asked BJ.
" Well Winchester was ahead for a while but he blew it. " BJ added with a snicker.
Giving up the debate Charles pulled off his gloves with some aggression and rushed past a wide eyed Chris to scrub again.
The OR session lasted several hours, by the time they were done it was time for a late dinner. Chris had slept a little bit but the lingering feeling of the panic attack was still close so he stayed close to his dad.
They waited behind Margaret and Charles in the food line, while the two were still arguing with each other. Chris sighed, he was tired and nervous because everyone seemed so angry all the time. He smiled at Igor and asked for what he wanted on his plate. The man didn't even say anything or even smiled back. Igor just filled his tray and went to the next.
Klinger came in hopping, completely dressed as a little girl. He had long fake pigtails with a bow on his head. Chris's mouth fell open when he saw the man carrying Radar's bear. He looked around him nervously but he didn't see Radar anywhere. He knows Radar wouldn't like it but didn't dare to say something about it.
Klinger turned to Freedman, who was pouring himself a cup of coffee, and said. "Excuse me sir. I can't find my daddy." Klinger waved around his lollipop. "He's a big hairy man in an undershirt. "
They sat down at their usual table. Klinger followed along talking to Sidney, trying to prove that he was crazy.
Before Hawkeye even took a bite he asked BJ to sniff his food.
"I'm not sniffing your food." BJ snapped at the fork Hawkeye was holding in front of him with a piece of vegetable.
Chris started eating, he didn't understand what his dad meant about the smell, he liked this food. Especially the vegetables as some were even fresh unlike the other products the army served.
Radar rushed in and didn't look happy at all. The clerk snatched the bear away from Klinger and snapped. "Who gave you permission to steal my personal private property? "
"I'll tell my daddy, you did that. He's got big long hairy arms." Klinger said as he grabbed the bear back. "I've gotta prove that I'm crazy! "
"Ohh so you're crazy for carrying a teddy bear!" Radar snapped and again grabbed back his bear.
Chris watched as the arguing around him got louder. His dad was still bothering BJ, making the man yell back and Margaret was still loudly arguing with Charles about him touching his nose. This with the combination of Radar and Klinger yelling to each other made sitting there almost unbearable. It was too loud, too much movement and too much anger. He got tears in his eyes and his head started to hurt, he just couldn't handle this much information at once in his head and it only made him confused. Potter tried to calm people down, but nobody even heard him over the loud yelling. So Potter gave up and he and Sidney got up to go outside.
Chris quickly followed them and outside he took a deep breath, finally he could think again. He didn't listen to the adults talking; he just needed a minute to recover. He stayed outside for a while and didn't really notice Sidney and Potter leaving.
Hawkeye came looking for him after a couple minutes, and quickly found him outside.
"Are you okay? "Hawkeye asked the slightly pale child. He pulled the kid in an embrace, his hand on the back of the boy's neck. Chris nodded, he was just tired but okay.
Hawkeye pulled back a little to get eye contact and gave Chris a stern look. "You are supposed to tell me where you are going, remember? "
The boy blushed a little and quickly apologized. Hawkeye brushed the small blonde head affectionately. He wasn't angry, but he was a bit irritated. He was worried when he found out his child left the tent, and he also felt a bit guilty about it. He should've watched the boy better. Christopher looked exhausted, pale and completely drained out.
"I think an early bedtime is in order. " He told his son. Chris shook his head quickly.
"That wasn't a suggestion, Mister. " Hawkeye said as he guided Chris back to the Swamp. It was already late as they ate a late dinner but it was still a couple hours before the boy's bedtime, and Chris didn't seem to be happy with the idea.
Inside Hawkeye gave Chris a gentle push to get him to change into his pajamas.
"Daaaad.. " Chris whined softly. This was so unfair! They spent hours in the OR and now that his dad had time, he was sent to bed.
"Again not a suggestion." Hawkeye said sternly. He was slowly losing his patience with the boy, he already had to push the child towards the swamp. He didn't want to get angry at him as Chris already had a bad day, but the child was being disrespectful and rude.
He left the boy to change while he was fetching some water so Chris could brush his teeth.
He came back and was relieved to see Chris listened to him and got dressed in his yellow pajama pants with one of his army shirts. He didn't mind Chris wearing his shirts to sleep in, it was sweet in its own way.
Hawkeye guided Chris to the helmet filled with water. Chris was frowning with glossy eyes, he definitely wasn't happy when Hawkeye handed him his toothbrush.
Chris had to refrain himself from stomping his feet. He was getting very annoyed but dad gave him a stern look so he did what was told.
After he was done his dad lifted up the covers of his bed and made a motion for him to get in. Chris didn't move, he felt his anger rise and gave his dad an angry glare.
"Christopher! I'm not telling you again. " Hawkeye snapped, his patience was gone and he wanted his kid in bed and sleeping right now. He was met with the stubborn glare of his son until he decided he had enough.
Chris let out something between a squeak and a gasp when his dad moved forward fast and grabbed his arm, pulling him close. Within seconds he felt his face press against the man's belly as his dad reached over him to get access to his behind.
"Noo…" He whined softly as he immediately put his hands back and tried to protect himself but Hawkeye had already pulled his pants and briefs down in one fast movement. The man pulled the small hands away from his target with one hand and with the other gave him three hard wacks on his bare cheeks.
SMACK* *SMACK* *SMACK*
Chris let out soft yelp as he jumped forward at the force of his dad's hand and burst into tears. He buried his face in the man's t-shirt while his hands found his bottom. Those smacks had really hurt, he hadn't meant to make his dad this angry, he just didn't want to go to bed.
Hawkeye brushed the child's hands away to rearrange the boy's briefs before pulling up the pajama pants from the floor while Chris's crying slowed down to a soft sobbing. Hawkeye sighed as he embraced his son tight, he hated punishing his son, but the boy needed to listen to him. Chris looked like he could drop down any minute and he didn't understand why the boy was being so difficult. He was obviously very tired.
He detached Chris from his waist and sat down on the bed. Chris looked at him, his eyes were red and swollen.
"I-I'm s-sorry " he mumbled before Hawkeye pulled him close to give him a kiss on his forehead. He stayed snuggled up to his dad for several minutes before the man had enough and finally put him to bed. He was already drifting off to sleep when his dad said his good night.
The next day Chris woke up slowly. He yawned and found his dad sleeping on the cot next to him. The man was snoring softly and his blanket lay almost on the floor. He got up and put the blankets back over his sleeping father and put on his slippers. He needed to go to the latrine and he wasn't allowed to walk barefoot over the compound. He quickly snatched the thermos in order to bring his dad some coffee the moment he woke up.
Chris entered the Swamp again after his coffee run. His dad stirred a little when he put the now full thermos on the side table and collected a comic book so he could wait for his dad to wake up.
Hawkeye woke up slowly, he heard some soft noises in the background and figured his kid must be awake. He sat up, yawned widely and opened his eyes. Chris handed him a cup of coffee, the boy had a big smile and looked happy to help.
He laughed and collected his cup from the eager child.
Thanks, Kiddo," He said ruffled the boys' hair making the child giggle and took a sip of his drink. The awful smell hit his nose and he made a face. He hated army coffee, it just wasn't the same. He looked at his watch, still half asleep, it was 8am.
BJ and Charles woke up as well and also received a cup from the child.
"You, my boy, are a godsend! " Charles mumbled as he took a sip, Chris seemed to completely light up and got a big smile. Charles grimaced at the taste. "I just wished I could say the same about this ghastly beverage. "
As they were heading to breakfast they noticed a big pile of various army stuff thrown together. With help from others in camp, Zale and Igor's lice burn pile has grown huge.
They walked past the Colonel who loudly ordered them "to assemble one regulation, bon-type fire!"
People immediately cheered loudly and started adding stuff again. Hawkeye and BJ cheered as well, they needed to work during the day but they would have time later to add some stuff.
Chris didn't understand why they wanted to burn all their things and it even scared him a bit. He liked this camp and what use was it to burn it down. His dad told him he could also put stuff on there but he didn't want to. He didn't even like the idea.
At breakfast Chris helped Francis with his crossword puzzle. People still seemed a bit moody but it was a lot better than yesterday. Even his dad didn't bother BJ by asking him to sniff any of his food.
Unfortunately they hadn't had a lot of time together as Hawkeye and BJ were scheduled to work this afternoon and Chris was left on his own. So he went to help a very energetic clerk with delivering some mail. Radar was also happy with the bonfire and it made Chris uncomfortable. He didn't want things to be burned down. He knew they were doing it for fun, but it was a big change and he rather they didn't.
Hawkeye groaned as he stepped out of Post-op, he had worked a couple of hours and he couldn't wait to add his share to the bonfire. It had been a rough couple of hours, the patient Sidney brought in apparently hated the man. He and BJ tried to get Tom to talk to Sidney before he shipped out but it didn't go as planned.
Tom angrily tells him that he'll never forget how much he hates him for what he put him through. After the ambulance leaves, Sidney sighed and said "It's very possible that getting his anger out on me is the best thing for him" He looked at the leaving ambulance with sadness "On the other hand, I'll never know".
After that Hawkeye went to the Swamp, he could definitely use a drink. Chris jumped up as he entered and went over to fix him a drink.
"Are you okay? " Hawkeye asked as he sat down, the boy looked pale and nervous. Chris handed him his drink and he put his arm around him. Chris nodded but still seemed anxious, but the boy always was a bit twitchy. Hawkeye knew it was probably the bonfire, he didn't know if Chris had ever been to one or not and it must seem strange to the boy.
The evening turned slowly into night and all of the personnel were gathered around the now huge pile of things. People were laughing and cheering with each new added item.
Klinger shows everyone a copy of the Army cookbook and adds it to the fire. People laughed and applauded him.
Chris stood besides Sidney, his dad was running around with BJ collecting stuff and throwing them on the pile. Chris looked with wide eyes at all the happy yelling people, they were loud and seemed pretty unpredictable and that made him uneasy. It also made him sad to see stuff from the camp being thrown away like that.
Sidney put a comforting hand on his shoulder as Radar started to play a fanfare on his bugle. Chris was glad Radar looked happy when he played, his friend hadn't been smiling for days now and to see him this joyful was good. He looked around the compound at the cheerful people and smiled. Everyone seemed ecstatic as the big pile got lit.
Chris looked at the small flame getting bigger, he felt dreadful watching the pile emerge in flames. He was relieved that everyone was happy but he couldn't help feeling sad.
The colonel came running up with several enlisted men carrying his desk and with some effort threw it on the pile. The pile creaked as the desk landed.
Several people cheered and jumped up and down and next thing Chris knew, Sidney was taken off his uniform shirt and with a wide swing threw it in the fire. Next Sidney took off his pants. The man was hopping on one leg trying to get out of it as fast as possible. He threw his trousers on there as well and took a deep bow. People applauded him, and he was laughing so hard that Chris really wondered if Sidney hadn't become completely crazy.
Chris looked around him nervously, people were acting even more unpredictable than normal and it scares him. He wanted his dad but couldn't see the man. A loud bang from the Swamp door caught his attention and he saw his dad and BJ running towards the burning bonfire carrying a cot. They neared the fire and with a swing threw the cot on there. Chris quickly made his way over and leaned against his dad. Hawkeye was laughing hard and pulled the boy close.
Charles stood next to them looking at the fire seemingly unimpressed by this whole spectacle. "A cot. " he said with slight contempt. "How can you do that? "
BJ laughed and just shrugged. "It's just an object. It has no intrinsic value. It's just a thing. "
"Besides, it's yours." Hawkeye added with a snicker. Charles gave them a murderous look and they quickly walked away before the man could explode. They went to stand next to Sidney. Hawkeye knew his son was nervous about this as Chris was holding on to his arm tightly, but he believed it was something better to ignore some of his weirder behavior. He wanted to show Chris that everything was fine and they were only having fun, and besides he didn't mind his kid being clingy sometimes, it made him feel special too.
The colonel starts singing the chorus from "Keep the Home Fires Burning," and the rest of the camp joins in as the bonfire continues to burn.
Hawkeye gave Chris a quick kiss on the top of his head before he joined in as well. The boy was leaning into him watching the fire. He felt the boy tremble slightly and put his arm protectively around him. Chris let out a soft sigh as he looked at the fire. He was glad everyone was happy but he still doesn't understand it. The fire only made him feel sad and scared.