These are small one-shots for the story Iron on the Outside; Father Within, many of which came to me after I've already made it to where I'm at now in the story. While I finish up that one, here you can find little scenarios from Tarzan's childhood I didn't get a chance to share in the main story. I hope you enjoy them! If you have not read the story mentioned, that will help you greatly in understanding the relationship Kerchak and Tarzan have now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tarzan in any of its media forms.

"Where are we going now?" Nine-year-old Tarzan complained when Kerchak said it was time to get moving.

"Do not start your whining," Kerchak scolded as he walked past his son. "It's time to leave these grounds for a new foraging site. Food runs low after a while. We leave to allow this place to replenish while we seek out new treats."

"Ugh, but it's so tiring," Tarzan said as he started following his father.

Tarzan's three-year-old sister, Kaphi, ran by Tarzan with several giggles, running circles around her brother before running over to her mother.

"See, Kaphi thinks it's exciting," Kerchak said with a smirk.

"Kaphi thinks anything is exciting," Tarzan argued, turning to watch his sister climb up on her mother's back. Tarzan smiled before glancing up at his father's back. He crouched as he prepared himself to leap, then pounced up on his father's back, slipping slightly as he had miscalculated his jump.

Kerchak paused and glanced at his son, making sure he managed to situate himself on his back, then he smiled.

"You're that tired already?" he asked as he started leading the family away once more.

"Well yeah," Tarzan said, lying down on his father's back. "Every step you take is like quadruple steps I have to take."

"Fair point," Kerchak said before chuckling.

"Besides, I have to make up for lost time on all the times you didn't let me ride on your back."

"Is that so?" Kerchak paused for a moment before he added, "You know, you were about Kaphi's age the very first time you rode my back.

"Really? You let me on your back when I was that little?"

"I had no other choice at the time," Kerchak said. "You were as much trouble as your sister at that age. And while I may not have been entirely accepting of you then, you were still very much a part of the family—especially in your mother's eyes. I'll be honest with you, it was a terrifying experience for me."

Tarzan rolled on his father's back as he belly-laughed.

"Really? No way. Not you."

"It was. You were so small and . . . very not good at holding on."

Kala set three-year-old Tarzan by the river while she lowered her head to slurp up a drink. Tarzan copied her at first, leaning down to slurp up the water before he was distracted by a fish that swam by. He laughed and reached into the water as if he might catch another unsuspecting fish.

"No, Tarzan," Kala said, pushing her son back until he plopped down on his bottom, sitting in a gorilla fashion. He looked up at his mother curiously before giggling and reaching out for her. Kala smiled at her son before she returned to drinking the river water.

Tarzan watched her for a moment before he blinked at a butterfly that fluttered by. He laughed and crawled after the butterfly a bit, eyeing it when it landed on a nearby plant.

Kala looked up to check on her son. At this age, the toddler was always toddling off somewhere. He usually was good about staying close to her though, so she wasn't too concerned. She was sure one day, Tarzan might be more daring to explore more of the family grounds on his own, but for now, she was okay with him sticking close as he was still a bit clumsy on his feet and struggled with the grip in his hands. She wondered if he'd ever have the kind of ape grip that allowed him to grasp trees and even cling to her back appropriately, but even if he never did, he seemed pretty content with how he managed to get around. As long as he was happy, she was happy.

Kala returned to drinking the water, enjoying the cold feeling on the hot day.

Tarzan jumped for the butterfly, but it flapped away before the child could land on it. He grumbled before laughing as he playfully chased after the butterfly, focused on the sparkling blue wings keeping just out of arm's reach. The butterfly flew into the trees, escaping into the jungle, leading little Tarzan after it.

Kala finished filling up on water and glanced up to check on Tarzan. She did not see him immediately but didn't panic right away. She glanced over at the other gorillas just a few feet away from her, everyone either getting a drink or resting near the riverbank. Kala tried to peer through everyone in hopes that Terk may have pulled Tarzan into a game, but she could see the young ape playing with Flynt and Mungo, all three throwing mudballs at each other and laughing while their parents shook their heads in amusement.

Okay, some panic was starting to form in her chest.

Kala spun around, checking the foliage and glancing at the trees. She couldn't see or hear Tarzan anywhere. Had he wandered off without realizing he was going too far away? Kala grunted in worry as she charged the trees, stopping just before them and peering through as if hoping she might catch a glimpse of Tarzan.

"Tarzan," she called out. "Tarzan!"

She didn't see him at all through the fringe of the jungle, and she was about to explore deeper when a commanding roar made her halt. She froze and shot an annoyed look at her mate as he walked over to her.

"What are you doing?" Kerchak asked as he paused in front of Kala.

"Tarzan's wandered off," Kala said, stepping into the trees, "I have to look for him."

"I just secured this spot for us," Kerchak said, stepping in front of Kala once more to keep her from going into the uncharted territory. As much confidence as he had in Kala's ability to defend herself, Kerchak knew there were nearby gorilla troops waiting their turns to approach the river for a drink. Kala could easily be snatched away or harmed by another silverback in the area if she wandered too far.

"I need to find my son," Kala said.

Kerchak bristled at the word slightly, but he bared his canines in warning. No one was to leave the boundaries he set after he completed his rounds. It was just too risky. However, if Tarzan was still within his boundaries, he might be able to find Tarzan and bring him back to Kala while ensuring other families and predators. As much as he'd rather see the hairless wonder meet his fate in the jungle, he knew Kala would not budge unless someone went looking for him.

"I will look for Tarzan," Kerchak said. "Stay here with the family. You will have safety in numbers. Hopefully, Tarzan is still within my boundaries."

"You'll do that?" Kala asked, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping slightly.

"If it means keeping you safe, then yes," Kerchak said. "Hopefully, he is still within my boundaries and hasn't ventured into unmarked territory yet."

"Yes, I don't think he would have gone too far. He must have realized by now and is probably frightened."

Kerchak resisted rolling his eyes as he stepped into the trees. Perhaps if Tarzan knew the ways of gorilla life, he wouldn't have wandered so far to begin with. Foolish, rookie mistake. But then again, his own son had made a similar mistake, and in the dead of night, which cost him his life because Kerchak had been too slow to rescue him. Kerchak huffed. Tarzan was simply a young child who did not know any better. He could hardly blame him for this bout of recklessness. Perhaps he would learn from this and never wander from Kala so far again.

"Thank you, Kerchak," Kala said as he walked further into the jungle.

Kerchak let out a soft grunt in reply as he continued, moving slow so he could listen for any rustles or frolicking. As leader of the family, it was his job to ensure every member of the family stayed together, protecting them if needed, and as much as he loathed it, Tarzan was a member by Kala's words and honor. And as his mate, he would not let Kala down by failing to find Tarzan. If anything, by doing this, he would continue to prove himself a good mate to her, and she would not abandon the family to raise Tarzan in seclusion. He never wanted Kala to feel left out or as if she was being exiled due to her choice in bringing Tarzan into the family. She was still very much an included and engaged member of his family.

Tarzan, however, left most of the family with mixed feelings. Some days, the child was almost indistinguishable from the other ape children his age. He ate what everyone else did, shuffled along like everyone else, and clung to Kala while she played with him like the others.

And sometimes, he did weird things. Like walking on two legs a few times. That had startled some of the other children at first, who then thought it a neat game and started copying Tarzan, upsetting some of the mothers. Sometimes, Tarzan copied other animal noises, which was a very strange trick of his. And he would play with sticks, vines, and rocks with unusual dexterity.

Yet, for the most part, the little boy did his best to act like an ape. Kerchak would give him the benefit of the doubt that he might continue to do so.

Kerchak paused as he sniffed the air, looking for any scent of gorilla, hoping enough of it rubbed off on Tarzan. He wasn't actually familiar with Tarzan's scent. Now and then, he would catch a whiff of the child and pick up on the different smell he carried. He noticed that the longer the child lived with them, his scent became more tamed down, covered by a mix of gorilla and jungle smells. It made for an odd tracking experience as Kerchak found the strange scent he was looking for and followed it.

The scent would come and go as he tried to force himself to focus on it. He hoped this would be the only time he would need to hunt down the child as he did not want to become accustomed to his odd pheromone. Kerchak paused when he lost the scent again and checked his surroundings.

He was still within the boundaries he had marked. That was good, less chance of running into a contender or predator at this time. He peered through the foliage, looking for any sign of Tarzan.

Suddenly, something rustled to his right, and he swung his head in the direction of the noise, standing tall as he waited for something to appear.

A butterfly fluttered past a tree and toward the great ape, who rolled his eyes at his own jumpiness. Then, he startled when Tarzan came barreling around the tree after the butterfly, a big smile on his face as he chased the insect.

Not even remorseful for the trouble he caused, Kerchak thought as he quickly put an arm out to stop the child. Tarzan didn't slow down fast enough to avoid running into Kerchak's arm, and he fell back with an oof. He looked up nervously at the large ape.

"You are in big trouble," Kerchak said to him, glaring at the child. "You should not be this far away from the family, especially Kala."

Tarzan's lower lip quivered, and he lowered his head, blinking his eyes up at Kerchak.

"I sorry," Tarzan said. He pointed at the butterfly that was disappearing into the jungle. "I chase butterfly."

"And that was wrong of you to do when it went into the jungle," Kerchak said. "You should have returned to Kala immediately when you saw it leave the family grounds. If you cannot obey my rules, you will find yourself grounded to your mother's sight until you can, however unlikely that may be."

Tarzan sniffled and wiped an eye before he gave a submissive smile, something he must have seen other young apes do in Kerchak's presence. It was an appropriate apology, and Kerchak sighed and accepted it with a nod.

"Very well," Kerchak said, leading the way back through the trees. "Come."

After a moment of hesitation, Tarzan shuffled after the silverback, tripping over a few roots. Kerchak moved at his usual swift pace, glancing back belatedly to make sure Tarzan was keeping up, and he realized he was gaining a lot of distance from the hairless ape. Tarzan didn't seem overly alarmed as he kept leaping after Kerchak, though he did get distracted by a strange looking rock. Kerchak rolled his eyes as Tarzan paused to sniff at it before picking it up to study in his hands.

"Tarzan, come," Kerchak snapped.

Tarzan blinked as he seemed to remember what they were originally doing, and he dropped the rock and ran over to Kerchak, who turned and headed back for his family. A few steps though told him this was going to be a very long trip as Tarzan once again fell behind.

Kerchak sighed as Tarzan found himself distracted once more by another flying bug. He reminded himself Tarzan was still a young toddler, and most apes his age would be carried on a gorilla's back. He hesitated as he watched Tarzan chase the bug, then made a decision and reached for the child before he could change his mind.

Tarzan oofed as he was snatched midjump, and he watched curiously as he was lifted to Kerchak's back. He cooed softly as he was pushed up to Kerchak's shoulder, and he climbed up the ape as well as he could, nearly slipping and forcing Kerchak to keep a hand nearby just in case.

Finally, Tarzan was able to sit himself on Kerchak's shoulders, and he touched the gorilla's tuft of hair curiously, babbling softly as he pushed his fingers through the silky hair.

Kerchak hummed uncomfortably before he jerked his head back just a bit, but it was enough force to send Tarzan sliding down his back. The toddler giggled as if it was a fun ride before stopping mid-back, and Tarzan readjusted himself so he could hold on in the way Kala had been teaching him over the years.

Slowly, Kerchak made several careful movements, and he could feel Tarzan lean one way and the next as he did so, his grip just threatening to loosen and then the child would fall right off his back. How on earth did Kala walk with this clumsy child on her back? This was not moving them along any faster.

Tarzan seemed pretty content on his back despite the way he swayed. He was looking at the world from a new height, and he reached out a hand for a fruit hanging just at his level, leaning forward slightly.

Kerchak felt Tarzan fall before the child actually did, and he was quick to raise a hand and catch the child before he fell too far forward. He pushed Tarzan to the center of his back so the child could find a grip again.

"No, Tarzan," Kerchak said. "You can eat when we get back to the family."

"Hungry now," Tarzan said with a pout.

"That's what you get for running off," Kerchak scolded. "Now be still."

Tarzan huffed but repositioned himself on Kerchak's back, his tiny fingers clutching small fistfuls of the gorilla's fur.

Kerchak tested a few more steps with Tarzan on his back, not liking this experience one bit. Tarzan still leaned too far to one side or the other as he walked. The child was just asking to fall off. He couldn't imagine how upset Kala would be if he was the reason Tarzan ended up injured.

As he practically tiptoed through the jungle, he suddenly felt Tarzan crawling up his back, and he nearly shook himself to stop the child, but he stopped himself as he was sure that would only end up in Tarzan falling off his back.

"Tarzan, stay put!" Kerchak scolded.

Tarzan did not listen of course. He managed to scramble up Kerchak's back and settled back on his shoulders, where he was able to snag a mango hanging inches above Kerchak's head. Tarzan swung his feet slightly as he bit into the mango, humming delightfully.

"Mm, yummy," Tarzan said.

Kerchak growled under his breath and decided to ignore the child for now and try walking once more. He found that with Tarzan in this position, the child did not sway as much, and Kerchak was able to resume a normal stride. He hmphed in thought as he glanced up at the child who was very distracted by the fruit at the moment. Perhaps Kala's smaller size enabled Tarzan to cling to her shoulders a bit when he was on her back, and that allowed them to walk at a normal pace, where here, Tarzan was too small to reach Kerchak's shoulders from the center of his back. The shoulders would have to do.

Tarzan ate his fill of the fruit, then seemed to remember gorilla manners and held out the rest to Kerchak, offering another submissive smile.

Kerchak paused midstep at the gesture, a bit surprised Tarzan would even consider it.

"Err, you hold on to it for now," Kerchak said with a frown, "But thank you."

Tarzan yawned as he hugged the half-eaten fruit to his chest for safe keeping. He leaned forward enough so he could rest his head on top of his arms, right in Kerchak's warm turft of hair. Tarzan closed his eyes contently.

Kerchak frowned but did not try to force Tarzan to stay awake. He walked a bit faster back to the family, hoping to end this strange one-on-one time with the hairless wonder. He finally made it back to his family to see everyone sleeping, and he figured it was time to move back to their usual grounds and allow another family a turn with the river.

He roared loudly to wake the family and get them moving, startling Tarzan awake, who shot up and nearly slid right off Kerchak's shoulders, but thankfully, he corrected himself on his own.

Kala quickly walked over to him, a smile on her face at seeing her son. Kerchak pulled Tarzan down from his back and handed him to Kala, who accepted her son and checked him over.

"Are you hurt, Tarzan?" Kala asked. "You know better than to run off."

"Sorry, mommy," Tarzan said, giving her his best sad face. Kala melted and hugged him close.

"I'm glad you are safe." Kala looked at Kerchak. "Thank you."

Kerchak nodded and turned away. He swore he could still feel the child on his back, his fingers running through his hair in curiosity while he swayed left to right. He shook out his fur and called the family to follow his lead. Hopefully, he would never have to experience such a strange thing again.

"Wow, I guess I was as much trouble as Kaphi," Tarzan said, jumping off his father's back and landing on the ground, checking out the new lands they had arrived at.

"As much?" Kerchak questioned, frowning at his son. "You were far more trouble than your sister at that age. Chasing every little thing that moved. Becoming obsessed with silly things like rocks. In fact, you're still as much trouble."

"No, I'm not," Tarzan said. "I can at least hold on now."

"I suppose that is one thing you've improved at," Kerchak said.

"Oh yeah," Tarzan aimed himself at his father, crouching low to pounce. "I'll show you what else I've improved at."

Tarzan jumped and tried to tackle his father, only for Kerchak to fall backwards and catch him. Kerchak rolled over and pinned Tarzan down and tickled him mercilessly. Tarzan squirmed and squealed as he tried to wrestle out of his father's arms.

"Dad, I surrender!" Tarzan pleaded.

"I thought you were showing me what else you've improved at?" Kerchak asked as he kept tickling his son. "I must say, you're not doing a very good job."

"I . . . can't . . . breathe," Tarzan said in between fits of laughter.

Kerchak stopped tickling his son and instead, rubbed his nose against Tarzan's while his son took a minute to catch his breath.

"I save you, Tarzan!" Kaphi yelled as she tackled her father's arm. The little ape found herself quickly pinned in her father's arms while he playfully mouthed her, and she giggled loudly.

"Shouldn't you be setting a perimeter around the new land?" Kala asked as she walked over to her mate and children. She grinned at their playful behavior, loving how connected her entire family was.

"Yes, I should get started on that," Kerchak said as he set his daughter down next to Tarzan. "We need to make sure everyone knows where the boundary lines end."

Kerchak looked at his kids pointedly. Kaphi gave him her best innocent look while Tarzan crossed his arms and gave his father a mock glare. Kerchak snorted at them before saying, "Is that a challenge, little boy?"

Tarzan quickly changed his frown to smile.

"Never."

"Like I said, you are nothing but trouble."

Tarzan laughed, and Kerchak smiled as he went to mark his territory and check for any threats. He really did love his children.