The Basil Family Case Files Part 3

Author's Note: Hello my lovely readers! I know it's been quite a while since my last "Basil Family Case Files" Series. However, I do believe that this will be a great adventure for our favorite crime solving family. The characters from 'The Great Mouse Detective' belong to Walt Disney Animation and the author Eve Titus and original characters belong to me. Do not use my characters without permission!

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Chapter 1: Welcome Back!

August 1st 1924

Warning: This chapter contains subjects of suicidal thoughts/flashbacks. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide or intensions of hurting themselves, contact your national crisis hotline!

Leana Basil and her twin brother, John were throwing pebbles at the water, wondering which ones would skip further.

"Oh! John wins again!" their friend Milton Romney shouts and his adopted sister, Winnie Fernsby writes up another tally. It was a hot day in London and the four rodent friends were in Regent's Park, walking along the stream.

"Leana, are you okay?" John asks, noticing that his sister seemed a bit depressed. It had been 10 years since the Great War erupted and their best friend, Benjamin Whittaker had left England to fight. It was thought the campaign would be short, but it became an ongoing fight between the allies' enemies. London had experienced bombings from the Germans, but the worst of it happened a year before the war ended. When the war finally came to an end in 1918, there was another battle, this time it was right at home.

The Spanish Flu pandemic changed many lives; some lives were taken while others had to adapt to the dangers and try to contain the spread of the aggressive strain of the flu that had spread across the globe.

The patriarch, Elliott Gersham Basil, commented that it would be difficult to retain those memories as he had experienced some great losses, particularly the tragic death of his mentor Henry Walker in the winter of 1895.

The Basil family had endured hardships and triumphs, including the addition of a new family member. Olivia Flaversham gave birth to a baby boy in the late spring of 1918; it came as a surprise when Olivia got pregnant and her husband was shocked, but they and their other children welcomed the fourth addition with love and glee. It was decided to call him Elliott Gersham Basil II, as Basil wasn't very fond of calling his new son Junior.

"Hey Leana, I'm talking to you," John said to his sister, but she didn't seem to listen. She had flashbacks to her childhood before the terrible times began. She missed Ben and wondered if he was even alive as she heard no word from him since he left in 1914. She, like her mother Olivia, was stubborn and refused to give into the belief that Ben had died in either the war or during the pandemic. The family remained in close contact with Ben's 'father' Orson Whittaker, who was really his uncle who raised him from birth following the death of Ben's mother, Vivianna. Ben had disclosed the fact that his real father was the notorious Professor James Ratigan, a criminal mastermind who kidnapped Vivianna and raped her.

"LEANA!" John shouts and she comes back to her senses, again.

"WHAT?!" she exclaims, her brother's voice was deep, as a result of puberty some years before and the earth shook under their feet. They had to be careful as John had the ability to manipulate the dirt and earthly materials around them, even his voice could cause an earthquake if he was agitated.

"About time you respond, you have got to stop daydreaming," her brother said, but Leana just ignores him.

"Leana, are you okay? You look sad," Winnie said, "I thought you would be happy on your 16th birthday."

"I do, I do feel happy about being 16, but the truth is," she stops and gazes down at her reflection in the pond. "I feel like…what if…I don't know, maybe I should consider the fact that Ben is not coming back at all."

"Oh Leana," Winnie replies with a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, "I know for a fact that you don't give into things like that. Maybe Ben is on some sort of adventure," she suggests.

"Why hasn't he written to us?" Leana asks, but then lets out a sigh, "Maybe he has forgotten about us. We were just children and he was older than us."

No one spoke for a moment until a big shadow shaded them from the sun. The stranger then threw a pebble across the water and it went farther out then John's. "Hey mister!" Milton said, also in a deep masculine voice, but then the stranger lets out a chuckle.

"So sorry for interrupting your pebble throwing, but I couldn't help myself," he said in a gentle strapping tone. Leana's ears perk up, that voice, she heard that voice before. The stranger, a tall and muscular rat with black hair and fur comes into focus, and Leana gazes into his gray-blue eyes, the color of a gentle spring rain.

"Hey friends!" a high pitched male voice shouts and Lupus or Lope the bat flutters above them before settling on the rat's shoulder like a bird companion. "Guess who is finally home!" he exclaims.

The rat then gives a salute and says, "Lieutenant Benjamin Whittaker at your service."

Leana's face brightens with a big smile, her heart pounding against her chest, and she makes a dash towards her dearest friend. "BEN! YOU'RE HERE!" she exclaims, happily and her brother and friends also rush towards him.

Ben opened his arms, letting his young friends crash into him with such force that he nearly fell backwards, but managed to remain on his feet.

"Where have you been?! We thought you were dead!" Milton shouts in joy.

"Look at you! You've changed!" John exclaims, examining Ben, who was wearing a pair of navy blue trousers and an oversized white shirt, which covered his rather enormous muscles.

"And all of you have changed," Ben replies with a smile and gently hugs them back. "I wanted to surprise all of you and if I recall, today is your birthday," he said, referring to John and Leana.

"Yup, the big 16!" Leana said with a joyous laugh, hugging him harder. Ben gazes at the young mouse girl's green eyes before looking at her image; she had changed so much. Her light brown hair had grown long and she was tall, not as tall as him, but she was just a little flower bud last he saw her, and now she had blossomed.

"I've really missed you, my best friends," Ben said, but then, they hear a gurgling noise. "Oh, I actually didn't eat much today. I was hoping to see your folks, that is if you don't mind-" "Oh we don't mind!" John cuts in, "You will be our honored guest! I can't wait to see the look on dad's face when he sees you!"

The five rodents and their bat friend went on their way to Baker Street as the sun was kissing the horizon.

"Where were you all these years?" Winnie asks, but Ben shakes his head.

"I will explain once we get there," the rat answers, yet he shows a big navy blue blazer that had different medals pinned to the right side. "I will say that being in the navy has its ups and downs, but it was worth it."

"Yup, he's a hero!" Lope shouts, showing the Victoria Cross medal, but Ben hushes him.

"You were 16 when you joined, how did you manage to reach the rank of Lieutenant?" Leana asked. Ben, however, doesn't answer and instead, he briefly stops to take in a deep breath and tugs at the bottom of his sleeves. "Ben, is everything all right?" she asks, again, concerned for him.

"I'm fine, just need to breathe," he replies. Leana doesn't push him into answering as she could tell that he had been through a lot.

"So, John and Milton, how does it feel to have deep voices like me?" Ben asks and the two boy mice chuckle.

"It was weird when they started to crack," Milton answers, "However, I rather not go into-" "It's okay, I get it. Puberty does some crazy things," Ben chuckles and turns to the girls.

"You two do look splendid as well," he said with a smile, but couldn't bring himself to say that Leana was still the beautiful mouse that won his heart all those years ago.

"Oh, Ben, I have something for you," Leana said, pulling the blue stone pendant that he gave her for safekeeping.

"My," he replies, taking it into his hand, "You kept it safe." He did his best to tie it around his neck, but he was having trouble.

"Here, let me help," Leana offers and Ben feels her hand on his back. He felt his cheeks turn hot at her touch, but his brain commands to calm his body.

"Thank you, it feels great to have this, again," he said, touching the stone with his fingers.

They arrived at the Basil family house where they could sense a change in the air. "You want a bet everyone is in there, waiting to surprise us?" John asks in a low whisper.

"Ben, do you remember our friend, Dr. Dawson and his fiance, Jodie? Well, they are married with two children, the oldest is just about 9," Leana said and Ben nods.

"And you do remember our baby sister, Sophie," John adds and Ben nods, again. "Well, we have a new baby sibling."

"A new sibling?" Ben asks in shock and the twins nod their heads. "Good Lord, I have missed a lot."

"I told you to keep writing," Lope scolds him, but Ben ignores him and looks to the twins.

"Elliott Gersham Basil II, but we call him by his middle name. Call him our 'surprise' sibling, but Sophie makes the joke that he was an 'oops'," John said with a laugh and Ben laughed, too.

"I can't wait to see your family and Dr. Dawson, I've really missed them and all of you," Ben replies and looks to the front door of the Basil household. Just then, the door bursts open with the great mouse detective, Elliott Gersham Basil, hurrying out, with Dawson and Olivia behind him.

"John! Leana! Who in the-?!" he stops and gazes into Ben's eyes.

"Um, hello Mr. Basil," the young rat said, unsure if the detective remembered him. Before anyone could utter a word, there was a squeal of joy as the twins' mother, Olivia jumped on Ben, hugging him with all her might.

"BEN! YOU'RE HOME!" she exclaims and Ben returns the hug. "Look at you! You've gotten big!"

"I have, Mrs. Basil! And you're still the pretty mouse lady detective I remember," Ben replies and they share another hug.

"Upon my word!" Dr. David Q. Dawson said and Ben examines the good doctor. He was still an obese mouse, with crow's feet around his eyes and the familiar mustache. Just then, his wife, Judith Sullivan or Jodie joins him. She still had lovely looking white fur and bright eyes.

"Dr. and Mrs. Dawson," Ben said with a bow of his head. He then notices two mouse children, a boy and a girl behind them.

"Benjamin Whittaker," Dawson replies with a chuckle. "So good to see you! Oh, I must introduce you to my little ones, Arnold and Alice!"

Ben kneels down to their level, although they were unsure of him. "It's nice to meet you two," he said with a smile and looked up to Jodie, "Mrs. Dawson, it's a pleasure to call you that now." He turns to Basil, who had been silent for a while.

Ben opens his mouth to say something, but Basil shouts, "Mr. Benjamin Whittaker!" The rat straightened himself up; it was something his body did when a naval commander addressed him.

"Sir!" Ben replies out of habit and salutes. "Oh, I'm sorry; after being in the navy for so long, I am so used to being shouted at like that," he explains.

Basil raises an eyebrow and then lets out a chortle. "Oh my boy! Look at you!" the mouse detective exclaims, "You have changed. Turn around so we can get a good look at you."

Ben obeys, turning around slowly to show Basil and everyone else. "Show us your pins," Leana said and Ben did so.

"My word!" Dawson exclaims upon seeing the medals pinned to the right breast pocket. "Look at these medals! You must be the youngest rodent to have earned these!" the doctor said, but Ben shuts his eyes and clenches his fists.

"Ben, are you all right?" Leana asks.

"I'm fine, I do wish to see your sister and meet you brother," Ben replies and they show him inside. He lets out a gasp when he sets his eyes on a young mouse girl, who looked like a smaller version of Olivia. She wore a blue blazer with a matching blue skirt and a yellow ribbon was tied behind her hair.

"Who's he?" a little boy mouse asks.

"Gersham, this is Ben Whittaker, he's our best friend," John replies and the little girl mouse steps forward.

"Sophie, what a pleasure to see you, again," Ben said and added, "You were just a baby when we first met."

Sophie's face breaks out in a big smile, "Big Ben!" she exclaims, giving him a hug, but her young brother wasn't so sure.

"It's okay Gersham, you can trust him," Leana said and their father, Basil nodded his head in encouragement. The young boy mouse shows his hand and Ben shakes it.

"Pleased to meet you, sir," he said in a little voice.

"He'll actually want you to play with him, once he gets to know you," Lope said with a chuckle.

Ben looks around the place; he had been inside the Basil household once after he and his pa, aunt and uncle rescued Dawson from drowning. It looked like it had been through major renovation, but it still had some charm to it.

Then, he spots a very elderly female mouse with another female mouse wearing a maid's uniform. "Mrs. Judson and Mrs. Rachel?" Ben asks and the elderly former housekeeper fixes her glasses.

"Oh my!" Mrs. Judson exclaims, "Mr. Whittaker! I thought you were…excuse me, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you."

"Neither did I," Mrs. Rachel said, "It's so good to see that you are finally home."

"It does feel good to be home, but more importantly, it's good to see that all of you are alive and well," Ben replies and everyone gathers at the table. Food was brought out; the twins had requested Mrs. Judson's cheese crumpets along with fine British cuisine and wine was poured in glasses for the adults, while the young ones had juice.

John and Leana gave a brief insight to Ben about what they went through during the war and the pandemic. "Many rodents perished, but thank the fates, our friends and family members survived," John said, but his father clears his throat in a warning tone.

"No Mr. Basil, I don't mind," Ben replies, while eating a helping of steak pie and mashed potatoes. "And what about the Easton girls? How are they doing?"

"They've changed for the better. You should've seen Suzette when she gave an apology speech when she and Nevaeh came back later in the 1914 fall semester," Winnie said and Ben ushered her to continue. "In fact, in 1915, there was a teacher who made rather rude and bigoted remarks to some new students who were rats and from another country, and refused to apologize for it."

"Suzette and many others, including us, held a protest about the teacher still working, but we wanted him out of the school. Suzette was rather passionate about the protest, saying things like 'hate has no home here'. Headmaster Thornton took the remarks seriously and terminated the teacher's employment," Milton finishes for his sister.

"My word, sounds like they did change for the better," Ben said, taking a swing of wine.

"But we want to hear about you," Leana said and everyone looked at her, even Ben. "The war ended almost 6 years ago; why didn't you come back until now?" she asks.

"Leana," her mother said in a warning tone.

"It's all right Mrs. Basil," the young rat replies, finishing his potatoes, "I do miss English food, but the whole world has a treasure trove of different cuisines."

"Wait, did you travel the world?" Winnie asks and Ben nodded his head.

"But let me go back a bit," he replies and starts his story.

I was in Nice, France when word came out that the Central Powers had surrendered and many of my comrades were prepared to go home.

However, many soldiers started getting sick; so sick in fact that they couldn't go home until the doctors said it was okay for them to go. It was then that we were warned about the "Spanish Flu" and that many countries would not let anyone in or out, so I was stuck in Nice for a long while.

I then became sick with the flu and was bedridden for two months. When I finally recovered, I made the decision to travel the world because many of my comrades died from the flu and it made me realize that I don't want to die without fulfilling my desire to explore all the different seaports and taste all the different cuisines.

I was taken under the wings of culinary masters; so many beautiful tastes and smells to experiment. Also, there were so many wonderful sights to see; the cities and countryside, the architecture and the wide open landscapes, it was like stepping into a living painting almost.

Ben finishes his story and produces his mother's list of the many sea ports she wanted to see, with some checked off.

"You went to Greece?!" John whines when he notices that Athens, Greece was checked off.

"I did, does that mean you have not gone yet?" Ben asks his young friend, but his face says it all. "How come? You always wanted to go to Greece from what I remember."

"It's because life hasn't been fair to him," Winnie responds with an eye roll.

"Oh, you shouldn't say such things," Ben replies with a smile. "I did discover that life is more valuable when you explore new places. Sometimes you do need to wait for the right opportunity."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Master Ben," Basil said, holding up his glass of wine in a toast. He then stands from his chair and says, "Benjamin Whittaker, we are happy that you made it home safe and sound. We do pray for new adventures for you to participate with us."

"Yes, we want you to join us in mystery cases that-" Suddenly, there came a crash from the kitchen and everyone let out a gasp.

"So sorry!" Mrs. Rachel calls out., "I tripped on my own two feet!" Jodie and Olivia went into the kitchen to help the housekeeper clean up the mess.

"No offense Mr. Basil, but your-" Milton stops speaking when everyone notices Ben, his eyes shut and he has his hands over his ears and he makes a moaning sound.

"Ben, are you all right?" Leana asks, walking over to him.

"Leana, don't go any closer to him," her father, Basil commands, as he sees the look of pain on the rat's face. He had seen this before and he had experienced this condition many times before.

The detective slowly walks over to Ben and, in a gentle tone, says, "Master Ben, you are safe here. That wasn't a bomb going off. Calm yourself." He then instructs the rat to breathe deep and exhale for a minute.

Ben then relaxes and opens his eyes, looking at his friends, who looked worried and even a bit afraid. "I'm sorry, it was out of habit," Ben replies, yet his heart continued to throb against his chest.

"It's not your fault, believe me I got scared, too," John said.

Basil goes into the kitchen, noticing some glass shards on the ground and his housekeeper apologizes, again. "I really didn't mean it, sir," Mrs. Rachel said with sincerity.

"Just be careful the next time Master Ben is here," Basil demands and adds, "He has survived a worse hell than we had all those years ago." The mouse detective fetches the kettle to fill it with water and turns on a heater at the stove.

"Is Ben all right?" Olivia asks her husband.

"Shell shock," he replies and she gasps.

Just then, the door opens and Milton steps in. "Something is still wrong with Ben," he said and Basil hurried out of the kitchen. Ben was standing up from his chair, his hands were clenched into fists, and hot breath blew out of his nostrils.

"Master Ben, it's-" "DON'T COME NEAR ME!" the rat snaps at everyone, his knees buckling and collapsing on the floor. Leana, refusing to stand aside, walks up to him, and gently places a hand on the back of Ben's head, her fingers creasing his black hair.

"Ben, it's all right," she said in a soothing tone, but she heard a growl.

"Leana, step away from him," Basil orders his eldest daughter, but she refuses to listen. She places her second hand on Ben's head, she knew that some terrible memory was flashing in his mind and it wasn't going to stop. Taking a deep breath, Leana whispers, "Be calm." Then, a green glow appears from her hands, engulfing Ben's head and the rat lets out a sigh.

The green light then dissipates and Ben looks up at Leana, their eyes locked. "I had forgotten your magical ability to heal," he said as they stood to their feet. Ben realizes that everyone was staring at him; he had an episode that he hoped he had control over, but wasn't successful.

"I'm afraid I must take my leave," he said, collecting his belongings.

"What, but why so soon?" Dawson asks, but his wife, Jodie, insists that Ben leave at his own accord.

"Do you wish for someone to escort you home?" Olivia asks, yet Ben shakes his head.

"I'll keep an eye on him before heading home," Lope volunteers and preaches on his friend's shoulder.

"I know it's abrupt, but I am still feeling out of sorts," the rat replies and then takes something out of his uniform pocket. He gave it to John and the young mouse was delighted to see it was a recipe book from Greece, but it was actually written in Greek!

Ben then takes the pendant off his neck and gives it to Leana, "You keep it."

"But it's yours, I-" "I want you to keep it," Ben cuts in, "Seeing how much you've cared for it has made me happy."

Leana takes it, yet she could see that he was struggling with something inside of him. Ben bids everyone a good evening and a Happy Birthday to the twins and walks out the door with Lope. Leana rushes outside and watches them walk away at a quick pace. "Daddy, what's wrong with him?" she asks her father when he comes out.

"Shell shock, sweetheart," he answers, "He must've experienced something truly horrific while fighting in the war. He just needs space and time to get himself together."

"But I want to help him," she pleads and her father nods his head.

"I understand that you do, however, I suspect he hasn't gotten any sleep for quite some time. Have you seen the bags under his eyes?" he asks and she begins to think.

"I thought I was imaging it, but it looked like he put some makeup on to cover them," she answers.

"Exactly my dear girl, he must be having nightmares of the traumatic events," Basil replies and pulls in a comforting hug. "He'll be alright. Yet you should ask Tsura to see if she can provide some sort of spell that'll block these nightmares haunting him."

Leana nods her head in agreement, "That's what I'll do. And to give him a happy dream or have him spend time with us in the Heaven realm."

"Maybe so, but I insist that his mental state get much needed rest first," Basil said and took his daughter back inside the house, where the birthday festivities continued.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Ben struggled to stay awake. The headache that formed was now an unbearable migraine and he pulls up his sleeves to reveal the scars he made on his wrists.

"Bud, are you okay?" Lope asks, but Ben presses his hands against his head. "I'm going to get your pa. I'll be right back!" The bat flies away, but Ben didn't even notice that he left and he curls in a fetal position.

The pain dies away and the young rat could hear the agonized voices of his colleagues who perished in the war. "Please…I'm sorry…I couldn't…" Ben pleads, tears falling from his eyes.

"BEN!" the voice of Orson Whittaker calls out to his adopted son.

"Over here!" Ben's godfather, Nolan Shenton shouts. Nolan's wife, Alicia places a hand on her godson's head.

"I knew this would happen," she said and examined the scars on his wrists. "Dear me, these look awful."

"Come on lad, we're almost home," Nolan said, helping Ben to his feet.

"It wasn't my fault," the young rat cries as both Orson and Nolan balance him.

"Yes, we know Ben, it wasn't your fault," Orson comforts him, knowing that his 'son' was having a flashback of his service.

The four rats and their good friend Lope made it back to the shop where they served Orson's famous fish and chips. It had closed up earlier in the afternoon as Orson was having trouble with staff. His previous employees had also gone off to fight in the war, but many did not survive. It was now him, Lope and Nolan who served the customers, yet Orson knew he needed more help around, especially with Ben in a horrific state.

"I need something to drink," Ben said and Lope volunteers to get him water. "No, I need coffee."

"Ben, you can't drink coffee every night. You need to sleep," Orson said, "Look at you, you can barely stand on your feet and you have bags under your eyes."

"I can't sleep!" Ben shouts, "If I do, then I see all the rodents I met in France dying all over again!"

"Ben, please, just calm down," Alicia said, soothing him and looks to her husband Nolan, who nodded his head and left the room. He opens a medical bag that belonged to his wife; she volunteered at the local hospitals for the rodent soldiers returning from service with wounds and other ailments.

Nolan takes out a syringe and fills it with a sedative. "Do you really think that's necessary?" Orson asks his friend.

"Orson, he can't go through another night without rest. All we can do is hope and pray that the nightmares will not be horrific like before," Nolan answers and hides the syringe.

Lope had returned with a cup of tea, it was peppermint and Ben didn't protest as he needed something to soothe his headache. "Why don't I draw you a hot bath? It'll calm your senses like it always has," Orson said, but Ben shakes his head.

He looks to his father and godparents, "I don't know what else to do. The memories…they make me feel…like I am…nothing."

Orson places a comforting hand on his son's head, "My boy, you survived a great war, and I am happy that you are alive. You are worth everything to us, to your mother, and even to your friends," he said, "Do not think for one minute that you are worthless."

Ben then starts to think about his friends, especially the Basil twins, John and Leana. They were young, again, and laughing with him while having a grand time playing. When he saw them at the park today, he couldn't contain his joy of seeing them, alive and well, and all grown up. Leana was thrilled to see him again, and he was happy that she was alive. The headache subsided and Ben couldn't hear the voices inside his head. "Oh, I feel a bit better…and I feel so tired," he said and decided to take a relaxing bath before bed.

"Hey bud, if you need anything, just give me a call," Lope said before he left to return home and Ben thanked him.

When the tub was full, Ben removes his clothes and Alicia takes them to be mended. Nolan and Orson remained outside the bathroom door, making sure that Ben wouldn't hurt himself like he did before. The scars on Ben's wrists were in different states of healing; the recent ones were red and covered in scabs, while a few were in the 'remodeling' stage. He wasn't sure how his friends would react if they saw them and he knew that somehow he would have to explain to them.

"Ben, are you alright?" Orson said.

"Yes," Ben answers and takes a bar of soap to clean the sweat and grime off his body. The scent of the soap reminded him of the nectarines he'd eaten and cooked while in Greece. He had to take John and Leana to Greece, the war was long over and every country was healing from the turmoil. Ben knew he wasn't the only one suffering, yet the trauma was hard to bear.

He finishes his bath and gets into his night clothes. He assured his father and uncle that he was ready for sleep. "We'll be close by," Orson told him and his son nodded.

The bed felt like a cloud to Ben as he hadn't slept in it for days and he made a quick prayer that the demons haunting him would leave him alone for one night.

"Tomorrow is another day," he said to himself before succumbing to sleep.


From the author: Hello my fellow readers! I know it's been ages, but I was dealing with depression and bad anxiety for the last few months. As mentioned, if you or someone you know is struggling with depression, there's always help nearby, even among family and friends. To my faithful reader, bookandfilm2823, I am eager to read your reviews for the upcoming adventures for our favorite mouse detective and his loved ones! See you soon!