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Chapter Text

Chase was slowly heading down the creaky stairs that led to the basement. He turned on his black flashlight as he reached the darkness, and shined it around the room. The basement had cobwebs in the corners of the walls, and had storage boxes and other nick-knacks stored in it. There was an old box TV covered in dust, a table with a few old toys and stuffed animals, a really old computer that didn't even work anymore, and tons of other stuff. There was an old sewing machine just picking up dust after Jameson stopped sewing for a while, a tool kit filled with tools to fix anything in the house, a box that was labeled 'SHAWN'S STUFF' in all caps, a bag filled with painting items for Shawn, and plenty of other old things.

Amongst the never-ending treasure trove, there was a book shelf filled with books Chase has been meaning to read, but never got to yet. They were mostly old classics, mixed with a few kid books he used to read to his kids before the divorce. Chase walked up to the book shelf and began looking at the books. There was a few Stephen King novels, a couple Margaret Atwood classics, a few modern time classics like The Fault in Our Stars, The Hate U Give, The Road, and The Voices from Chernobyl. After looking at the separate books for a while, Chase finally decided to grab the black book with an old red hammer shadow on it, with a man crawling down the handle. It was titled 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption', by Stephen King.

Putting the book in his armpit, Chase began to get up when he noticed something strange: one of his kids' books was missing. To be specific: 'If You Give A Mouse A Cookie' by Laura Numeroff. It was the book he used to read to Greyson when he was about 6 and just starting Grade 1. The book was used to help him get through the tough transition and into a new stage of schooling. But, the book was missing from the bookshelf. Chase double checked the bookshelf multiple times, just to make sure he wasn't losing his mind. Once he felt confident that there was an actual problem, Chase began looking around the room for the book.

Unfortunately for Chase, a majority of the stuff down there was covered in dust and cobwebs. So half of the stuff Chase picked up gave Chase's fingers the Heebie jeebies. He hated the feeling of sticky, translucent webs getting stuck on your fingers and clothing. It felt weird, they were annoying to deal with, and you usually never knew if there were spiders on any of the cobwebs, until too late. Chase picked up all he could though. Blankets that fell, old clothing, weird looking hats, fold up chairs, a grey doll, a few pillows, a box of cords, a pencil case-

Chase stopped for a moment and re-winded his thoughts. 'Weird looking hats, fold up chairs, a grey doll-'...What? Chase looked back at the doll that was laying on the ground. Chase's eyes widened as he kneeled down to get a better look at it. The first thing he noticed was how big it was! It was so big, it could work as a life-sized doll for an 8 year old! Chase also looked at the clothes it was wearing. It was wearing a faded rainbow shirt, a pair of faded, ripped blue pants and a pair of broken running shoes. Chase couldn't help but also mention just how life-like it looked. Was it even a doll?! It had to be a doll! There's no way a super thin child was living in the basement! Chase slowly crawled up to it, and noticed something else: the doll had a kids book beside it! In fact, it looked like it was his son's book! How-This has got to be a joke set up by the others...

Chase picked up the thin book, and placed it back onto the book shelf. Now, to deal with the huge doll. Chase got down towards the doll and looked at it even closer. It looked like...the doll's chest was rising and falling! The doll was...breathing?!

Chase began to second guess himself. He must be imagining things. This stupid basement must be putting his anxiety into maximum overdrive. Hehehe...Spongebob...'NOT WHEN I SHIFT INTO MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!'. Plankton creates some of the best moments in Spongebob, I swear!

Chase focused his mind back onto the doll for a little longer. Chase looked at the doll's fa-...Wait a sec...The doll's eyes are open.

Suddenly, the doll gasped and sat up! It was ALIVE?!

"WHAT THE- HOLY FUCKIN' JESUS CHRIST!" Chase shouted, dropping his flashlight and scooting himself backwards as fast as he could. The doll(?) suddenly crawled away with a high-pitched scream of his own and hid behind a few stacked boxes.

Okay! That was no doll. That was an actual human being! A human child! What's a human child doing, hiding in the deep depths of the dark basement?! Questions began to flood Chase's mind all at once. He couldn't think straight. How's one supposed to think straight when there was a child living in the basement of your house?!

But, there was one question that Chase decided to focus on: How am I gonna lure the child over?

Now, the way that's worded just makes it sound all pedophile-like and creepy. But, there wasn't really a better way to word that! Chase looked down at his book, and began to formulate an idea. Chase picked up his flashlight again and began reading the cover out loud.

"If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. By Laura Numeroff. Illustrated by Felicia Bond." Chase read out loud. Chase looked up, and noticed the child had grown a little calmer. Chase decided to flip the page and start reading.

"If you give a mouse a cookie-" Chase flipped the page. "-He's going to ask for a glass of milk." Chase read, flipping the page. Chase forgot how short these pages were. But, that didn't matter. He was just reading it to him, not showing him the pictures.

"When you give him a glass of milk, he'll probably ask you for a straw." Chase read. Chase paused his reading, and saw that the child had peeked his head out more! Chase continued reading.

"When he's finished, he'll ask for a napkin." Chase read. "Then he'll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache." Chase read further, giggling to himself at the last line. God, he forgot how adorable this book was. It brought back cute memories of Greyson, and how Greyson would comment on his daddy's mustache when he read that line. Chase looked up as he flipped the page. The child was smiling, but still hiding behind the boxes.

Chase kept going. "When he looks in the mirror, he might notice his hair needs a trim. So he'll probably ask for a pair of nail scissors." Chase read. "Now, why would he need a pair of clippers?" Chase asked himself quietly. Chase completely froze when he heard a giggle. Chase looked up, and noticed the child was no longer behind the boxes, but kneeling in front of the boxes! It was working!

"When he's finished giving himself a trim, he'll want a broom to sweep up. He'll start sweeping." Chase read. Then Chase, having memorized the rest of the book on his own, lifted up the book so the kid could see the pictures. He shown the light onto the book so he could see the pictures properly. "He might get carried away and sweep every room in the house." Chase read with a giggle, turning the page with his hand. The child let out a longer giggle this time, and had scooted himself closer.

"He may even end up washing the floors as well!" Chase read. The child happily threw his head back and bursted out giggling. Apparently, something about the mouse over cleaning the house was hilarious to him. Chase beamed when he heard the giggle. It was so contagious! Chase couldn't help but giggle along with him.

"When he's done, he'll probably want to take a nap. You'll have to fix up a little box for him with a blanket and pillow." Chase read. Chase watched from the corner of his eye as the child crawled himself up to Chase with a pillow in his hand. The child kneeled in front of Chase, wanting to hear the rest of the story. Chase didn't keep the kid waiting any longer. "He'll crawl in, make himself comfortable and fluff the pillow a few times. He'll probably ask you to read him a story." Chase read.

The child smiled at Chase and pointed at the book. "Yeah, I'm reading you a story right now. Are you my little mouse?" Chase asked. The child nodded his head and began crawling around, sniffing the floor like a hungry mouse. He even added in a few high-pitched squeaks! Chase giggled at the child's pretend skills. Not bad! Not bad at all!

When the child finished, he hugged his pillow closer and waited for Chase to continue the story. "So you'll read to him from one of your books, and he'll ask to see the pictures. When he looks at the pictures, he'll get so excited he'll want to draw one of his own. He'll ask for paper and crayons." Chase read. The child's eyes widen as he listens, opening his mouth as he imagined.

"He'll draw a picture." Chase read, showing the child the 2-paged illustration of the mouse drawing.

"Orange!" The child yelled excitedly. Chase's eyes widened as a smile spread across his face. That was the first word he's spoken to him! Chase looked at the book, and sure enough, there was an orange crayon on the page. "Yeah! There's an orange crayon. Good eye!" Chase reacted. The child giggled in response, proud of himself for making he discovery.

Chase flipped the page. "When the picture is finished, he'll want to sign his name." Chase read. The child got up, and crawled on his knees towards Chase. Letting go of his pillow, the child lightly grabbed the book and placed it on the ground. Chase watched as he looked at the picture and pointed at the mouse's parents.

"Mommy and Daddy..." He said.

"Yeah..." Chase reacted. He wasn't sure if asking was inappropriate, but he decided to risk it anyway. He needed to know. "Where are they?" Chase asked.

The child looked up at Chase for a few moments. He looked a little lower. "They died." The child said in a semi-monotone voice. Chase raised his eyebrows in shock. Oh no...This child was alone.

"Oh...I'm sorry." Chase reacted politely.

The child looked up at him, confused. "Why are you sorry? You're not in trouble." the child reacted.

Chase bit his lip. "Sometimes saying sorry can be a kind way of saying: 'I'm here to talk' or, 'I understand your loss'." Chase explained. "I said 'I'm sorry', because I wanted to tell you both. I understand you lost someone, and I'm here to talk if you want to." Chase further explained. The child didn't know what to say. So, he crawled up and leaned himself into Chase's chest with a saddened expression. Chase hesitantly wrapped his arms around the child, and calmly hugged him.

Chase hugged him gently, to prevent injury. He was afraid of hurting the poor child. But, the hug felt very secure and allowed room for the first signs of a bond to appear. Chase calmly began to rub the child's back. But like most kids his age, the child pulled himself out of the hug after a few seconds. Chase looked down at the child and used his hand to move a piece of his long bangs out of the way. But, when Chase brought his hand back, his hand was covered in dust and tiny cobwebs. Chase cringed in disgust, but managed to laugh it off with a chuckle.

The child began laughing it off as well. The child sat onto his knees and began ruffling his hair to get all the dust out. The ruffling alone allowed a mix of dust, dandruff and dust bunnies to come pouring down onto the floor like an off-putting snowfall. Chase giggled at the extraordinary amount of dust in his hair, and mentally revolted at how disgusting it was. "I'm snowing! I'm snowing!" the child reacted with a laugh. Chase wheezed and covered his mouth, afraid to inhale any of the dust and dandruff that fell out of his hair. He had to admit, the child had a point. It strangely DID look like a snowfall...a deceiving snowfall at that...

"Ohoho my god! How long has it been since you've had a bath?!" Chase reacted. The child's face went blank. He attempted to think of the last bath he's had, but...couldn't think of a specific amount of time since his last bath.

The child looked up to Chase, with a blank expression. Chase couldn't believe it! This kid could've gone months, maybe even a year since he's last bathed himself! All Chase could do, was laugh in disgust. "Ehehehew! Oh no! That's not good at all!" Chase reacted.

The child responded with a mischievous giggle and got up to his feet. "Smell my hair!" The child commanded, getting closer and closer to Chase. "Smell my hair!" The child ordered again, attempting to climb Chase. "Smell my hair!" The child repeated yet again.

"Ew! No! That's yucky!" Chase reacted, covering his mouth with his hand as he tried to push the child away with his other.

"Smell my hair!" The child kept repeating, getting around Chase's hand and bringing his hair as close to Chase's nose as he could. Smell my hair!" The child repeated.

"Knohock it off! I'm not gonna-" Chase reacted, lightly pushing on the child's dirty hair to get him away. However, this only managed to get the child's head of hair into his neck. "EEP! What are you dohohoihing?! Hahahaha!" Chase yelled, giggling from the child's hair tickling his neck.

The child removed his head from his neck, and gasped. Chase looked right at him, and immediately noticed the playful glint in his eye. Uh oh!

"Tickle tickle?" The child asked, wiggling his fingers excitedly, before jumping onto Chase and tickling him on the neck.

"Wait! Whahahahat?! No! Nohohoho tihihihickles! Hahahahaha!" Chase giggled. Despite how tempting it was, Chase tried as hard as he could to not curl his neck in and squish the child's fingers. But, it wasn't easy when the child was tickling you.

Soon, the child had began laughing along with him! Chase finally got a hold of the hands safely, and held them in front. He let his giggles die down and was very tempted to tickle him back. But, he was afraid to. It could be seen as creepy! He just met him! So, Chase sat himself up and let go of the child's hands.

Chase held out his own for a handshake. "I'm Chase Brody." he introduced.

The child looked down at his hand and back at Chase again. Then, the child placed a hand on his own chest. "Robbie!" the child declared.

Chase smiled. "Robbie, huh? I like it." Chase reacted.

Robbie walked up to Chase, and pointed at him. "Chase?" Robbie asked.

"Yes. I'm Chase." he replied. Robbie tilted his head and smiled.

"Chase and tickle!" Robbie declared, wiggling his fingers again. Chase let out an uncontrollable squeak and attempted to scoot back. But, Robbie stopped him with a simple tactic: He threw the pillow at him! Chase made a disgusted raspberry sound at the dusty pillow, but quickly dropped the thought when he was bombarded with more tickles!

"Hahahahaha! Rahahahabbihihihie! Nahahahahaha!" Chase giggled, squirming back and forth a little bit.

"Tickle tickle!" Robbie teased as he wiggled his fingers on the sides and back of Chase's neck.

"Cohohohome ohohohohon! Thahahahat tihihihihicklehehes!" Chase reacted.

Suddenly, the tickling stopped! And, Chase had felt something come off his head! Chase felt his head, and discovered he was hat-less! "Hey! Did you-" Chase asked as he turned around. But just as Chase saw Robbie with the hat, Chase allowed his question to go unfinished. Robbie was wearing his grey Adidas hat! It was really big and hung over his eyes, but Robbie didn't care! All he cared about, was that he was wearing a grey hat that was being worn by Chase!

As much as Chase wanted to put the hat back on, Chase realized that there was a big chance the poor kid was battling head lice. So, he did NOT want to contract that! Chase bonked the front flap of the cap down, and watched as it just about fell off his head. Robbie fixed the hat so he could see, and laughed with a big smile. He was missing a tooth. Whether it was a baby tooth that never got a replaced or an irreplaceable adult tooth, Chase couldn't tell you. What he COULD tell you, is that he lost a tooth at some point.

Chase got a little idea: "Hey Robbie, how would you feel if I let you take a bath upstairs?" Chase asked.

Robbie's eyes widened as he quickly gasped excitedly. "A bath?! A BATH?!" Robbie yelled.

"Yeah! I could give you a bath!" Chase replied.

Robbie sprinted up to Chase and jumped up onto him. "YES!" The child yelled. Chase managed to grab the child in a nick of time.

"I guess you wanna be carried?" Chase thought out loud.

"Yes please!" The child replied excitedly. Chase nodded his head with a heartwarming smile and bent down to pick up the child's pillow.

Chase handed him the pillow. "Here-"

"No thank you. I don't need it. I'm a big boy." Robbie declared before wrapping his arms around Chase and laying his head on Chase's shoulder. Chase gasped in surprise, not fully expecting the boy to become so attached to him so quickly. But, Chase wasn't complaining! Not one bit. Chase bent down and picked up his flashlight, before he happily carried Robbie up the basement stairs. When they reached the upper floor, Chase walked, kid in hand, into the bathroom.

"Alright. Do you know how to wash yourself? Or would you like me to help you?" Chase asked.

"I don't remember...Can you help me?" Robbie asked shyly.

Chase smiled. "Of course!" he replied. Chase placed the plug into the bathtub and turned on the water. Halfway through, Chase picked up the bubbles and shook it to get the soap towards the bottom of the bottle. Then, he handed the soap bottle to Robbie! "Would you like to pour the-"

"YES PLEASE!" Robbie replied excitedly, practically ripping the bottle out of Chase's hand and squeezing it like there was no tomorrow. Chase kept an eye on how much he was using, and calmly put the bottle cap on when the child had more than enough soap in the bath. While Chase put the soap away, Robbie watched the bubbles form in awe and wonder...It was like Robbie was seeing bubbles for the first time in his entire life! It was so entertaining to see a child's reaction to a simple thing, such as bubbles forming in a bathtub.

"Should I leave the room to let you take your clothes off on your own? Or..." Chase asked.

Robbie gasped and grabbed onto his wrist desperately, and laid his head on the side of Chase's shoulder. Chase immediately understood: Robbie was not gonna let him go. Chase smiled and accepted the new fate that was being forced onto him. So, he stayed in the room and looked away when Robbie took off his clothes. When Robbie was all ready for the bath, Chase turned around.

"Alright." Chase said, before looking closer at the child. The child...had grey skin all over him. It wasn't just on his face. His entire body was covered in grey-tinted skin! And to add to the strangeness, Robbie had black sewing stitches all around his arms, his legs, his middle and even one around his neck! Chase walked up closer and knelt in front of him.

"Why do you have stitches on your body?" Chase asked, pointing to the stitches around him. Robbie looked down at his left arm, and noticed that one of the stitching spots near his wrist was getting undone. So with a casual smile, Robbie grabbed onto the palm of his left hand with his right hand, and did something absolutely horrifying! He began carefully ripping the stitching loose! And with one swift tug, Robbie pulled his entire hand off of his arm! Bone, muscle and skin, it was all completely detached from his wrist now! the only thing that was still attached, was his blood vessels and veins! And they were just hanging out of the wound!!

Chase let out a horrified shriek! THAT CHILD JUST PULLED HIS HAND OFF HIS ARM! HOW IN THE HELL DID HE DO THAT?!

"YOUR HAND!" Chase shouted. Robbie just stared at him with a blank expression, and reached out his right arm that now held his left hand. Robbie dropped it, and allowed the hand to just dangle there like a swinging toy. Chase gasped. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Chase shouted, hesitantly picking up the hand and looking at it.

Upon feeling the hand better, Chase realized something: Robbie's hand was more bony than usual! Was he...was he starving? Chase looked at Robbie, and noticed that the muscle that one of the muscles in his wrist didn't split right! So, a piece of the muscle was sticking out of his wrist!

Oh god- The poor man was quickly growing nauseous from the sight. Robbie reached out for his left hand with his right, silently asking for it as if it was a toy car or something. Chase, still disgusted, happily gave him the hand back. Robbie easily placed the nerves and the muscle that stuck out, into the detached hand. When the hand was in the right place, Robbie reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a pre-threaded needle! Then, Robbie began to sew the hand back onto his arm!

"How- How does that not hurt?!" Chase asked, immediately remembering the scene from The Walking Dead, where Clementine had to stitch her own arm. Robbie just looked up, already halfway through the sewing process, and shrugged his shoulder.

Chase watched the boy repeatedly make knot after knot to keep his hand attached to his arm again. Thinking about The Walking Dead again, made Chase go through a few thoughts and theories. Grayish skin? Missing teeth? Stitches to keep his skin together? bony hands? Now that he mentioned it, Robbie's ribs were showing quite a bit...Chase began to wonder something:

Is Robbie...a zombie? If so, how did he die?! And why did he come back to life?! Chase decided to make a mental note, to take Robbie to see Dr. Schneeplestein tomorrow.

Chase smiled at Robbie, and looked at the drawn bath. "Alright, you can go into the bathtub. But don't ju-" Chase ordered. With no time to spare however, Chase was interrupted by a splashing sound and the feeling of bubbly water getting splashed onto his clothes and face. Robbie took one look at the wet man in front of him, and bursted out laughing. Chase looked at Robbie with an irritated facial expression that was just hilarious to Robbie! The face, along with the wet shirt, really made him laugh and roll around in the tub. The rolling around only made more water fall out of the tub even more.

Chase's facial expression quickly changed into tired happiness. Chase giggled at the silly child, but also sighed as memories of endless cleaning came back to him. It had suddenly occurred to Chase that he was trying to bathe an 8 year old kid. Of COURSE there was gonna be water all over the place! And of course Chase was gonna get water all over his shirt. So, Chase took it off and knelt down to the end of the tub.

Robbie was playing around with the bubbles in the tub. "Bubbles!" he declared, holding a pile of bubbles in his hand to show Chase.

"Wow! That's a big pile of bubbles!" Chase reacted, poking the bubble pile in Robbie's hand. What he didn't expect however, was for Robbie to shove the bubble pile into his face! Chase just sat there in shock, with bits of soap suds on his face. "Hey! How dare you?!" Chase yelled with a smile. "How would you feel, if I just went-" Chase said, before grabbing a pile of bubbles into his hand and gently shoving it into Robbie's face. Robbie gasped in surprise, as he felt the soap suds fall down his forehead. Then, he bursted out laughing! Robbie found the payback hilarious!

A few minutes later, and Robbie was making bubble beards for himself! "Look! I'm Oooold and wrinkly!" Robbie played. Chase chuckled at the kids humor.

"Wow! What an old, and tiny man! Do you have any advice for a young, spry man like myself?" Chase asked, playing along with him.

"Yes. Yes I do. Be nice to your elders. Or else, yoooou're gonna-" Robbie wiggled his fingers in the air and tickled Chase on his stomach. "-Regret it!" Robbie finished his sentence as he tickled Chase.

"AAhahahahaha! Hehehehey!" Chase giggled, backing away and clutching his tummy. "Now you listen here Robbie! Why do you keep tickling me?" Chase asked, giggling as he asked.

Robbie's eyes beamed. "Because laughter is the best medicine! It helps with everything!" Robbie declared. Chase chuckled and shook his head as he crawled on his knees back to the tub wall.

Chase rested his cheek on his hand. "Now, who taught you that?" Chase asked.

"My Mommy! She used to tickle me all the time! It was so fun!" Robbie replied. Chase lifted his eyebrows. A kid who loves to be tickled! Boy, this could be fun.

"So..." Chase began, lifting his head off his hand. "Does that mean you're ticklish too?" Chase asked.

"Yes! Very ticklish! On my tummy, my sides, even my belly button." Robbie replied with a giggle as he clutched his own stomach.

"Hmm...Good to know." Chase said as he lowered his chin and rested it on his hands.

"Yeah...I miss her." Robbie said with a small smile, that slowly faded.

Chase's smile faded as well as he used one of his hands to move his wet bangs back against his head. "I'm sure you do...What was she like?" Chase asked.

Robbie looked up, but slowly began smiling as he thought of his mother again. "She was funny, smart, and very pretty! Even when she didn't think so. Mommy used to have glasses, and she would wear them when she was reading! They were black and blue glasses, that mixed in with her hair. Mommy used to color her hair, and I got to choose the color! She called it aper-enting." Robbie explained.

Chase chuckled at the last word. "Do you mean, experimenting?" Chase asked.

Robbie gasped with a smile. "Yeah! Expi-maning!" Robbie replied.

Chase chuckled again. "Ex-per-i-ment-ing. It's a hard word. Another word for it, is 'testing'." Chase explained.

"Testing? Like, testing a new color?" Robbie asked.

"That's right." Chase replied. "I used to color my hair as well. I had it green for a long time." Chase told him.

Robbie looked at him in awe. "Grass and dirt! You had grass and dirt on your head!" Robbie declared.

Chase just bursted out laughing. I guess those 'kids say the darnedest things' compilations are very right: Kids say the darnedest things! "Ohoho my gohosh...that's perfect...I love it..." Chase said as his laughs died down.

When he felt ready, Chase put some soap into his hand and got ready to scrub Robbie's hair. "You ready for a head massage?" Chase asked.

Robbin nodded his head and turned to look at Chase during the head scrubbing. Chase began sternly, yet gently massaging Robbie's hair. He started on the sides of his head, worked towards the front of the hairline, and slowly worked around the sides around the ears. Robbie had his eyes closed, and was practically melting at the touch. After pushing the soap on Robbie's head back farther, Chase moved his fingers into the back of his scalp. Robbie melted even more! The child was enjoying the massage so much! Then, Chase moved his fingers down to the back of his neck...

"EEEEHEHEHEHE!" Robbie squealed! Robbie lifted his shoulders up and threw his head back to protect his neck.

"Whoa! Ticklish spot?" Chase asked.

Robbie giggled more. "YEHEHEHEHESS!" Robbie replied through his giggles. Chase began laughing along with him as well, but seriously needed to get into his lower scalp. So, Chase lightly grabbed the top of Robbie's head, and pulled it in front a little, and began massaging and scritching at the tickly scalp. "CHAHAHAHAHAHASE! IHIHIHIHIT TIHIHIHIHICKLEHEHES!" Robbie giggled happily, waving his arms up to remove his working fingers off his ticklish neck. But Chase wasn't stopping! So, Robbie did the next best thing he could think of:

He tickled Chase back! Specifically, on the open and exposed armpit that was in front of him.

"EEEEK! HEHEHEHEY!" Chase jumped, quickly pulling his massaging arm back. Robbie's giggles quickly began to die down as he focused on tickling under Chase's armpit. "Hey! No! No tickling." Chase warned him. Robbie retreated his arms against his chest, and stared up at Chase innocently. In a sudden race of mischief, Robbie smiled widely and danced his fingers on Chase's sides. "HEY! No, stahahap it! Now's nahahat the tihihihihime fohohor thihihihis!" Chase warned.

"Anytime is a good time for tickles!" Robbie argued confidently as he brought his fingers up Chase's ribs.

"NAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! PLEHEHEHEASE NOHOHOHOHO!" Chase begged.

"Okay. I'll poke your ribs instead!" Robbie decided. Robbie began poking the sides and front of Chase's ribs, making sure to get in between the ribs for the 'sweet treats' as his Mom called them.

"HAHAhahaha! okahahay FIHIhihihihine! Juhuhust pohoHOHOHOH GAHAHAHAHA!" Chase reacted, suddenly bursting out into more laughter as his upper ribs were poked.

"Wow! You're SUPER-DUPER ticklish!" Robbie reacted.

"IHIHI KNOHOHOHOHOW!" Chase reacted, attempting to stop him with his hands. But, this ultimately failed and only gave him more spots to tickle!

Suddenly, before Chase could even say anything, Robbie hopped out of the tub, and crawled himself on top of Chase, causing the man to let out a loud "Oof!". Then, Robbie sat his wet body on top of Chase's belly. "Hey! What- Get your-" Chase yelled, before getting muffled by a towel being thrown at his face. Before Chase could remove it, Robbie began wiggling his fingers all over the poor man's belly!

"EEEEhehehehehahahahaha! Knohohohock ihihihit ohohohohoff! Nohohohow ihihis nahahat thehehe tihihihihime fohohor tihihihicklehehes!" Chase tried to tell him. But, Robbie refused to stop! Tickling his new, tall friend was so much fun!

"How ticklish is your giggle button?" Robbie asked out loud, not even giving the man a break.

"Plehehehease dohohohon't! Thahahat's enohohou-WAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AAHAHAHAHAHAHA! RAHAHAHABBIHIHIHIE!" Chase yelled, bursting into more laughter.

"Boop! boop, boop boopboop boop, boop, BOOP! Boop!" Robbie said as he poked the belly button over and over again.

Chase only continued to laugh into the half-unfolded towel that laid on his head. In an attempt to get the soaked, evil little child off his body, Chase unwrapped the towel and quickly wrapped the towel around the kid!

Then, he picked up the kid and brought him against his wet chest. "Come here, you ferocious little thing! I'm gonna wrrrap ya up, and wrestle ya till you're aaaalll dry!" Chase warned in a pirate-like voice, taking hold of the squirmy child in his arms and tickling wherever he can reach.

Robbie let out a squeal and a playful giggle as he wiggled around and laughed at the ticklish squeezes Chase was giving him. "AHAAAhahahahaha! EEEEEhehehehe-EEEEhahahahahaha!" Robbie laughed as he squirmed back and forth in the towel.

"Do ya give up?" Chase asked, still talking like a pirate.

"Nohohoho wahahahahay! Thihihis ihihihis fuhuhuhun! Hahahahaha!" Robbie replied.

"Ooooh!" Chase reacted. "Well then perhaps I should tickle ya all de way to de couch!" Chase suggested.

"Ihihihis thahahat whehehehere Ihihihi'm sleehehehehepihihing?" Robbie asked. Chase paused his tickling and removed the towel off his head.

"Is that where you'd want to sleep?" Chase asked, returning to his normal voice. Robbie nodded his head excitedly. It's been a long time since he's had a couch to sleep on! "Well, What are we waitin' fer?! Let's get ya dressed!" Chase declared, picking the child up bridal style with the towel around his front. Chase carried Robbie out of the bathroom, and into his own room. Chase carefully placed him onto the bed, and began to look through his closet for a PJ shirt for the boy to wear. A PJ shirt as a nighty will do until his clothes are washed and he looks around for other kids clothing they may have lying around. Chase checked all of his shirts, just to make sure he doesn't pick out one that has something inappropriate on it.

The first shirt he laid out for Robbie, said "This is my favorite tea shirt" with a tea bag on it. Another shirt he laid down, said "I love Bacon" on it. To add to the pile, Chase placed out a shirt with a phone and a poke ball that said "Don't bother me I'm catching Pokemon".

"Any shirts you wanna-" Chase asked, before pausing his sentence. Chase looked at Robbie and noticed he had already chosen a shirt and was already dressed! Robbie was wearing the "I love Bacon" shirt with a proud smile.

Chase smiled happily. "You like bacon too?" Chase asked.

Robbie jumped up and down on the bed. "I LOVE BACON!" Robbie yelled back.

"Hey! I do too! Maybe I can make you some bacon tomorrow morning!" Chase suggested. Robbie lit up like a firework!

"YAY!" Robbie shouted excitedly, before bouncing onto his back.

"Alright, alright. Let's get this towel here off the bed-" Chase threw the towel aside. "-And let's get your makeshift bed ready!" Chase suggested, picking up the child bridal style again, and placing a folded blue sheet onto Robbie's belly. With Robbie and the sheet ready to go, Chase carried him out of the bedroom and into the living room. Placing him onto the couch, Chase unfolded the sheet and lifted it up, to slowly let it glide itself down onto the happy boy. Robbie giggled happily and moved the sheet out of the way, so he could breath the cool air outside the covers. Then, Chase grabbed a pillow and threw it onto his face.

"Hey! No!" Robbie yelled, before throwing the pillow back at Chase.

"Your pillow." Chase said, throwing it back to Robbie.

"No, yours!" Robbie replied, throwing it back.

"It's yours for tonight!" Chase argued throwing it back to Robbie.

"Fine!" Robbie replied, hugging it with a big smile. Chase grabbed a quilt from the closet, and placed it onto the couch. Robbie happily unfolded the quilt and laid down with it on top of the sheet.

Chase smiled. "Would you like a stuffed animal?" Chase asked.

"You...have those?" Robbie asked.

"I have a close friend who lives here too, who collects stuffed animals." Chase explained, referring to Marvin.

"Yes please!" Robbie replied.

Chase walked into Marvin's room, and opened up his tickle trunk. In there, were all his collectible stuffed animals! Chase decided to get him a stuffed Golden Retriever dog. Walking back, Chase handed Robbie the stuffed animal.

"Puppy!" Robbie reacted, reaching out for it and wrapping his arms around it right away.

"Good night, Robbie." Chase said.

Robbie opened his eyes and smiled. "Good night Chase." he said, opening his arms for a great big hug. Chase happily gave the boy a big hug before letting the boy fall asleep.

Chase happily spent a couple hours of the night, hunting around for clothes and washing clothing for the boy. He wanted the boy to feel welcome at the home, and ready the boy for his upcoming adventure in Dr. Schneeplestein's office...

Chapter Text

Chase was carrying Robbie on his shoulders. Robbie was holding onto his forehead, and checking out his yellow-sleeved arms. Chase had done the laundry the night before, and went to bed when the clothes were in the dryer. The next morning, Chase took out the child's one pair of underwear, and gave Robbie a new pair of light blue pants and a white shirt with yellow long sleeves. The child also had a black and white pair of socks on his feet. Robbie's hair had been combed, and pushed to the side a little bit. His hair was nicely parted with his bangs swerving to the left against his forehead, and the back of his hair was just patted down a little and left to be free. The child looked really cute, and all grown up at the same time!

"You ready to see the doctor?" Chase asked to the boy on his shoulders.

"Yes!" Robbie replied, still holding the stuffed golden retriever puppy in his arms. He had slept with it all night, and happily claimed it as his own for the time being! He even brought it to the table with him when he was eating! After that, Robbie proudly renamed the stuffed toy after his new favorite breakfast food: Bacon! Chase just loved it. He couldn't have thought of a better name!

"So, I will warn you: the doctor's name is extremely hard to pronounce. It took me a few times to get it myself." Chase warned.

"What is it?" Robbie asked, leaning his head to the side.

"Dr. Schneeplestein." Chase replied.

Robbie took a few moments to think about how he will pronounce it right. He decided to try it. "Dr. Shen-ep-sty?" Robbie attempted.

Chase giggled. "I'll give you an A+ for effort. It's a really hard name!" Chase reacted.

Robbie scratched his forehead as he attempted the name again. "Dr. Sheen-pleen?" Robbie attempted again. Chase just laughed as he listened. Robbie kept on trying. "Dr. Shin-a-teen? Dr. Sheep-lean? Dr...Sneep-steen?" Robbie asked over and over again. Chase just kept on laughing. Right now, Robbie was just giving him endless nickname opportunities! Though, he will admit: The last attempt sounded the closest to his name.

"You were close on that last one." Chase let him know.

"Really? What did I say?" Robbie asked.

"Dr. Sneep-steen." Chase replied.

"Okay...Dr. Sneep-talean? Dr. Cheap-la-seen?" Robbie kept trying.

"Getting a slight bit farther...but still close!" Chase encouraged.

"Dr...Dr. Nipple-shine?" Robbie asked.

Chase stopped mid-walk and just howled with laughter! "That was the BEST ONE YET!" Chase shouted amid his laughter. Even though the kid didn't really get it, Robbie started laughing along with him.

After a minute or so, Chase finally gained back control of his laughter. "Dohoctor Nipple shine...I'm so calling him that when we get inside." Chase told Robbie.

"What's so funny about Dr. Nipple-Shine?" Robbie asked. Chase just giggled. The poor child was so innocent! Has he never been faced with the horrors of dirty-minded primary schoolers before?

"Uuuuhuhuhuh...You'll understand it better when you're older." Chase explained.

Robbie tilted his head to the side like a curious puppy. What does that mean? When he's older?

Robbie immediately lost his train of thought when he walked into the room. The room looked like a traditional doctor's office with a bed, a couple chairs and medical equipment hanging everywhere. In the corner of the room was a desk, a chair, and a computer screen with an apple on the bottom!

Robbie gasped. "Can I play on the computer?" Robbie asked.

"Nope. That's Dr. Schneeplestein's computer. He uses that for work." Chase explained.

"Awww...I can't play on it while we wait?" Robbie asked.

"Nope." Chase replied.

Thankfully for Robbie, Dr. Nipple-shine didn't take long to arrive. Pretty soon, a man in a traditional white coat and glasses walked into the room.

"Hallo Chase! And...Who's zhis?" Henrik asked, walking up to the boy and kneeling down to his level.

"This is Robbie." Chase told him.

"Hi Dr. Nipple-shine!" Robbie greeted.

Henrik got back up and was about to continue, but immediately stumbled on his words when he heard the way the boy pronounced his name. Henrik raised his eyebrows and muffled a laugh. Chase, who was sitting right beside the boy, was snickering right beside him and failing to hide it.

"Uh- Chase!" Henrik yelled.

Chase removed his hand, slightly offended. "I- It was his idea!" Chase defended himself. "I was trying to tell him how to pronounce your name, and somehow he came up with Dr. Nipple-shine!" Chase further explained.

Henrik narrowed his eyes. Henrik believed it was too dirty-minded of a nickname to come up with as an 8 year old.

"Is that how you say your name? How do you say it?" Robbie asked.

Henrik sighed with a smile. "It's pronounced: 'Dr. Schneeplestein." Henrik explained.

Robbie just stared at Henrik blankly. Henrik lifted an eyebrow. What...Why isn't the boy talking? Is he confused? What's wrong?

"Can I just call you doctor?" Robbie asked, knowing full well he won't be able to pronounce it.

Henrik shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Sure. Yust call me doctor." Henrik replied.

"Or Henrik! His name is Henrik." Chase explained.

Henrik looked over to Chase. "Oh yeah...Or zhat too." Henrik added.

Robbie nodded his head in understanding.

"So: Vhy are you two here?" Henrik asked.

Chase went into explaining the situation. "So, I found Robbie living downstairs in our basement. He was covered in dust, and laying in the dusty basement." Chase explained. Henrik's eyes widened. He looked to Robbie.

"How did you get zhere?" Henrik asked.

"I found it!" Robbie replied proudly.

"Zhere's no door! I've been down zhere many times! No door." Henrik repeated.

"There's a window..." Robbie mentioned.

Henrik lifted an eyebrow, and looked to Chase. Chase nodded his head. "Okay, that's true. There's a window that's covered by a heavy blanket." Chase explained.

Henrik sighed and rubbed his nose. "So, zhis is a checkup?" Henrik clarified.

"Well yeah, but I noticed something else about the kid..." Chase added.

Henrik nodded and signaled for him to go on. Chase picked up Robbie's arm, and lifted up the sleeves to reveal the stitches around his arm. "His entire body has gray skin and his whole body is covered in these stitches. I had the displeasure of seeing what they were for, when one of the stitching lines came loose." Chase explained, slightly growing nauseous from the memory alone.

Henrik walked up with his gloves on and began to feel his arm. He felt around the wrist first, and immediately felt something off... "Robbie, vas it? Can you please bend your wrist?" Henrik asked. Robbie nodded and bent his hand up and down. Henrik noticed how his bending was a little limited, for a boy his age. He took a mental note and moved on. "Okay. And side to side?" Henrik asked, still holding the wrist. Robbie tried to move the hand side to side on his own, but found that he barely could! That's new!

"I-I can't." Robbie reacted.

Henrik raised his eyebrows. Wow! He was missing muscles! But how?! He's just a child! "Vow! Try vaving to me." Henrik ordered.

Robbie grew puzzled. "You mean waving?" Robbie asked.

"Yes." Henrik replied.

Okay..." Robbie said as he waved his entire lower arm below the elbow.

Henrik noticed something about his waving. "Funny...Vhen you vave your arm, your vrist goes limp and flops around vizh zhe arm. But you can't move zhe wrist on your own...You're missing zhe muscles to do zhat action." Henrik explained. Henrik repeated the drill with Robbie's other arm. "It seems like you can move zhe left vrist side to side better zhan zhe right vrist." Henrik explained.

"Why do you talk like that?" Robbie asked.

Henrik listed his head. "Hm? Like vhat?" Henrik asked back.

"You say your 'th' sounds differently. And your 'w' sounds!" Robbie explained.

"Yes...I have un accent." Henrik explained.

"Accent?" Robbie asked, not sure what that was.

Chase cut in. "Accents are types of ways to speak. Everyone has an accent. Some accents are stronger than others, and some accents are similar to each other. For example: I have an accent." Chase explained.

Robbie's eyes widened. "Really?!" Robbie reacted.

"Yeah! I have an Irish accent. I am Irish." Chase explained. "I say the 'th' sound differently too. Especially for saying the number 3. For example: Tree hundred and tirty tree!" Chase explained, saying his 'th' sounds in the traditional 'silent H' way.

Robbie giggled as he began asking questions. "Irish? As in, Ireland?" Robbie asked. Then, it struck him! Robbie gasped in realization. "You're a leprechaun!" Robbie declared.

Henrik just chuckled at the statement. "Vell...Somevhat...He don't have red hair, but he's got zhe accent!" Henrik explained.

Chase sighed. "I'm not a leprechaun..." Chase muttered.

"You lived in the land of leprechauns, gold, clovers, and lucky charms!" Robbie declared.

Chase sighed and rubbed his forehead, while Henrik just giggled while he felt up the arm.

"Can you please remove your shirt?" Henrik asked. Robbie nodded and lifted up his arms. Then, Chase grabbed his sleeves and pulled the shirt right off him.

Henrik's eyes widened at the sight. More stitchings?! They were everywhere! Some of them didn't even go around his entire body! Some of his stitches were made just to keep things in place. Henrik just stepped a few steps back and admired the strange, but astonishing view.

"Your...vounds haven't healed...at all." Henrik noticed. No amount of skin had grown around it. The stitches had been cinched up tight enough to prevent blood from coming out. Wait...was there even blood in his body? Henrik walked back up to Robbie and very delicately with his gloved hands, began to touch the grey skin. Henrik touched his forehead, touched his slightly sunken-in cheeks, and touched his really long brown hair.

"What's wrong Doctor?" Robbie asked.

Henrik's face slowly began to morph into a sad frown, the more he examined him. Henrik easily discovered some other things he's never seen before. Robbie's nose had a slightly blue hue at the tip. Henrik also looked at his hands, and noticed that his hands were also a slight blue hue. Henrik removed Robbie's socks and looked at his feet. Apart from his feet being super cold like an icicle, Robbie's toes were also slightly blue.

Henrik decided to poke and pinch his toes to try and get any slight hint of life.

Robbie let in a quick breath and covered his mouth.

Henrik looked up. "Vhat's wrong? Am I hurting you?" Henrik asked.

Robbie shook his head and slowly removed his hand from his mouth.

Henrik continued pinching his toes, and even tried wiggling them to try and get some life back in the freezing little things. But concentrating was a little hard when Robbie was making slight titter noises...

Henrik looked up at Robbie and looked at Chase for clarification. Chase had a playful little smirk on his face! Henrik tried wiggling the pinky toe a bit to watch the reaction. Then, Henrik wiggled his index finger under the boy's baby toe.

"...Mmm-! Pfffhehehehe! Cahaharfuhul." Robbie muttered somewhat quietly, as to not distract the man.

"Fastinating..." Henrik said with a smile. "Your nerves seem to vork really vell despite your...state..." Henrik commented.

Robbie nodded his head. Chase cracked a wide smile and a giggle. "I could've told you that." Chase commented. Robbie started giggling too. "Yesterday the boy proudly told me where his tickle spots were. Although...he did fail to mention his feet were ticklish as well." Chase explained.

Henrik smirked and looked up at Robbie with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Vell...I do need to test your nerves some vay..." Henrik mentioned, before scribbling his gloved fingers onto Robbie's feet.

"Uh oh! EEEhehehehehehehe! Dohohohoctohohohor!" Robbie giggled in his small, high-pitched kids voice.

"Yes? Vhat is it?" Henrik asked as he brought his fingers closer to his toes.

"Yohohuhuhuhu're tihihihicklihihihing mehehehe!" Robbie said through his giggles.

"Yes, indeed I am! It's un tickle test. I vant to test how ticklish you are!" Henrik explained playfully. Robbie let his upper body lightly fall, and just continued to giggle as he laid down on the doctor bed. "And I vant to test how vell your nerves vork. I'm a curious doctor, you know." Henrik added, being very playful with him. "Oh! And lets not forget: An endurance test! Ve can see how vell your lungs vork! And so far: Zhey vork really vell!" Henrik concluded.

Chase giggled. "I could've told you that as well! This child, is like the Road Runner with ADHD." Chase explained. Henrik let out a short laugh.

"Really?" Henrik reacted.

"Uh huh. This morning, Robbie was practically running circles around me! I couldn't catch up!" Chase explained.

"Interesting..." Henrik commented. Henrik let go of Robbie's feet and moved up. "Vhere else are you ticklish?" Henrik asked.

Robbie beamed up. "My tummy, my belly button, my sides, and my armpits." Robbie replied.

"Vell! Ve've got multiple spots to choose from!" Henrik commented, before going for his belly first.

Robbie squealed and bursted into giggles. "EEEEEP! Hehehehehehahahahahaha!" Robbie giggled.

"vell hello zhere, ticklish leetle belly button!" Henrik greeted, poking Robbie's belly button with his finger.

"Nohohoho behehehelly buhuhuhuttohohon!" Robbie said through his giggles.

"But YES belly button! Zhe belly button is zhe PERFECT button for zhe tickling!" Henrik reacted.

"Buhuhuhut behehehelly buhuhuhuttohohohon ihihis toohohohoho tihihihicklyhyhy!" Robbie argued.

"Oh, belly button is not very tickly. You're not even laughing loud yet!" Henrik argued back. Henrik brought his fingers up to Robbie's ribs. Robbie let out little giggles, but not very much. Henrik nodded in understanding and tried the armpits.

"HAhahahaha! NOHOHoho ahahaharmpihihihits! NAHAHAHAT BOHOHOHOHOTH!" Robbie yelled, bursting into loud laughter.

Henrik gasped. "Zhere ve go! Zhere's zhe loud laughter! Such a ticklish boy you are!" Henrik teased.

"Talking like Yoda, you are." Chase teased towards the doctor.

Henrik rolled his eyes with a smile. "Har-dee-har-har..." Henrik muttered.

Chase changed his voice into a yoda grunt-like voice. "Be happy, you must. Very ticklish, you must be!" Chase teased.

"Do you vant to go next?" Henrik asked, growing quickly annoyed by Chase's teasing.

"Very angry, you are. An angry German, you are becoming." Chase teased further.

Henrik looked up at Chase. "Halt die Klappe!" Henrik yelled at Chase.

Robbie's laughter increased as Henrik dove deeper into his armpit. "HAHAhahaHAHAHAHA!" Robbie laughed.

Chase's eyes widened as a giddy smile spread across his face. "Damn! Someone's turning into Beethoven!" Chase teased, mentioning the German, angry musician as a tease.

"For your information, Beethoven vas a romantic man vizh an obvious ear for zhe musical arts! I take zhat as a compliment." Henrik said with a smile.

"IHIHIHI CAHAHAHAN'T BREHEHEHEHEAHAHATHE!" Robbie yelled in the middle of their arguing.

Henrik gasped in surprise and removed his fingers. "Apologies, Robbie. I vent a little overboard." Henrik muttered. Robbie took in breathes of air and curled in as he continued to let out leftover giggles.

"Well, I guess I know which ticklish spots to go to when you being a little more evil than usual." Chase commented, looking at Robbie confidently. Robbie giggled and smiled widely as he kicked his feet in the air.

"No need for zhe tiny feet to be kicking!" Henrik warned with a smile.

Robbie attempted, and successfully gained better control of his feet. When Robbie gained better composure of himself, Henrik continued the examination.

"I want to check your heart. Vould I be allowed to?" Henrik asked as he lifted the stethoscope off his neck.

Robbie nodded. Henrik fitted the stethoscope pieces into his ears and grabbed onto the metal handle. He placed the flat metal piece on the other side, onto Robbie's chest to feel his heart beat.

Henrik quickly frowned when he realized something very unusual: He couldn't feel a heart beat! He couldn't even hear any signs of a heart in his chest! Henrik checked around the chest, doing all he can to listen for some kind of heart pulses. But...nothing. There was no heart beat. Henrik slowly removed he stethoscope end from the child's chest.

"O...kay. I'm gonna listen to zhe lungs." Henrik explained, before placing the metal piece onto Robbie's back. "Breath in..." Henrik ordered. Robbie did as he was told and breathed in as much as he could. "...and breath out." Henrik ordered. Robbie let out all his air. "Breath in..." Henrik ordered. Robbie did as he was told. "...And breath out." Henrik ordered again. Robbie listened and followed the orders.

Henrik was able to hear Robbie's breathing. But...it felt off...It didn't feel like a normal pair of lungs. It felt like...a rusty pair of lungs you'd hear from an elder...It was strange and almost scary.

"...Chase take a listen to zhis." Henrik suggested. Henrik removed the stethoscope from his ears and cleaned off the ear pieces before handing it to Chase. Chase put the stethoscope into his ears, and placed the metal piece onto Robbie's back. "Breath in..." Henrik ordered. Robbie breathed in as much as he could. "...And, breath out." Henrik ordered. Robbie breathed out. Chase listened closely and quickly found out what was the matter. His lungs were worn out! They sounded like they were overworked to the point of exhaustion! But how?! He's only around 8 years old! How could he have dying lungs?!

-Wait...zombie thing...his lungs could be already dead.

"Did you hear?" Henrik asked.

"Uh huh...It doesn't sound good." Chase said.

Robbie looked up at them. "What's wrong?" Robbie asked.

"Your lungs sound similar to an elder's lungs. You, Robbie, have old man lungs." Henrik explained.

"Old man lungs?" Robbie clarified, tilting his head.

Henrik grabbed a medical book and proceeded to explain what happens to your respiratory system as it ages. He explained how the ribcage bones get thinner, how the diaphragm gets thinner, how your lung tissue slowly stops working, and how the lungs air sacs begin to lose their shape. This can cause Robbie's breathing to get worse overtime.

"But vhat I don't understand, is vhy your organs are aging and zhe rest of you is not. Vhy?!" Henrik told him.

Chase looked at Henrik and looked at Robbie. He narrowed his eyes as he began to think...

"I wonder..." Chase said, before walking up to Robbie. "Lift your arms up please." Chase ordered Robbie. Robbie did as he was told, and lifted them up. Then, Chase felt around.

"Hehehehehe! Thhahat tihihihicklehehes! Hahahahaha!" Robbie giggled.

"I know, I know...Just hang tight." Chase told him.

Chase, through the jumpy lungs, managed to carefully feel between the ribs and check that his rib muscles and ligaments were in the right place.

"Ihihihit's hahahahard! Ihihihit's gehehehetihihing hahahahard!" Robbie said, slowly dropping his arms as he struggled to keep them up.

"You're doing great buddy! Just keep those arms up and out of the way." Chase encouraged.

Finally, with a little patience and quite a bit more tickling, Chase discovered something else. Chase backed up and looked at Henrik.

"Feel the muscles around his ribs." Chase ordered. Henrik walked up and felt around.

Robbie gasped. "EEEEEEHEHEHAHahahahahaha! Eeeeehehehehe! Ihihi cahan dohoho ihihihit! Ihihi cahahan dohohoho ihihihit!" Robbie said through his giggles and laughter.

"Great job Robbie! You're doing awesome!" Chase cheered. "Now: Do the muscles seem a bit spotty to you?" Chase asked.

"Spotty? As in...missing from zhe rib cage?" Henrik clarified. Chase nodded and brought the medical book closer.

Chase began to guide Henrik's hands around, to feel for the muscle holes hidden in the rib cage.

"HAHAHAHA! NAHAHAHAT BOHOHOHOTH OHOHOF YOHOHOHOU!" Robbie shouted, kicking his feet and dropping his arms as a slight bit of his sanity began to leave him.

"Robbie! Keep your arms up. Here: Would you like me to help?" Chase asked.

"YEHEHES plehehehehease...Ihihi neheed hehehelp..." Robbie replied.

Chase nodded and lightly began to pull Robbie's arms up. Henrik resumed with his examination, allowing room for the child to squirm and giggle as he felt around.

Chase smiled. Henrik was doing really well with Robbie. Robbie warmed up to him quite quickly as well! Chase was so thankful for that.

"You're doing vell! Almost done." Henrik told Robbie.

"Ohohohokahahahay..." Robbie replied.

As they looked, Henrik learned that most of his organs seem to be in really good condition for a kid in his state.

"Are you able to eat food normally?" Henrik asked.

"Yeah. I had bacon and eggs this morning!" Robbie replied.

"Yeah, he did." Chase confirmed.

"Sounds good. Vhat vas your favorite part? Zhe bacon?" Henrik asked.

Robbie giggled and nodded. "Yess! I even named my doggy Bacon! He loves bacon! It's his favorite food! It's my favorite food too." Robbie told him.

Henrik happily listened to Robbie ramble on and on about his dog, Bacon for a bit. It was really cute, honestly. Despite being somewhat dead-looking, Robbie's imagination never failed to amaze him.

After a couple more seconds, Henrik finished off his physical examination. Henrik laid Robbie down onto the table, and pulled out his Ultrasound computer and the gel. Using the gel on the ultrasound transducer, Henrik looked at Robbie's organs to try and get a better look at his organs. He wanted to make sure Robbie's organs were still together, and not dead or anything.

While he looked around in his belly, Henrik noticed something: "Vhat-...You've had un appendectomy." Henrik observed, seeing that his appendix had been surgically removed and sewn up.

"What does that mean?" Robbie asked.

"Zhat means a bunch of doctors put you to sleep, cut you open and cut zhe appendix right out of you. Zhe appendix is a worm-looking zhing at zhe side of your intestines." Henrik explained. "Do you remember getting put to sleep by a mask?" Henrik asked.

Robbie thought for a moment and gasped when he remembered something! "Oh yeah! I remember that! I got really sick one day and I went to the doctor's. A few doctors came in and made me go to sleep. Later, I woke up with Mommy and Daddy sitting at my bed. I have a scar from it right here." Robbie told Henrik, before pointing at the slightly lifted piece of scar on his belly.

"I see zhat..." Henrik reacted.

"Mommy used to draw on my scar with her finger and make little jokes about it before I went to bed. It was very tickly." Robbie told Henrik.

"Your mozher sounds like un nice person." Henrik told him with a smile.

"Yeah, she was. We even used to have poke wars when I was bored!" Robbie explained, before giving Henrik a bunch of pokes to his sides, chest and arms.

"AaaAHH! CAhaharfuHUHUL! Zhahat TIHIHIhickles! AAAH! NEIN! Nein. not nohoHOHOW! Hahaha!" Henrik said, quickly falling into giggles as a few really bad spots were poked aimlessly.

Robbie gasped. "Chase! Dr. Nipple Shine is ticklish!" Robbie declared happily, before wiggling his fingers wherever he could reach. Chase giggled at the silly scene that had just abrupted right in front of him. Chase knew Robbie would begin to get some ideas. He just didn't expect to do it in the middle of a test!

"RohobbihIHIHIE! CUHUHUT IHIHIT OHOHOHOUT! NOHOHO TIHIHIHIHICKLIHIHIhihing!" Henrik begged, curling up and walking backwards to get away from the tiny fingers.

Chase decided to take charge as well. "Okay Robbie, let's tone it down." Chase told him as he reached and squeezed his shoulder. "You'll have lots of time for that afterwards." Chase told him, much to Henrik's dismay.

Robbie nodded and kept his arms down beside him. As Henrik brought himself over to the boy however, it didn't take long for Robbie to start giving Henrik little tickles again. Henrik let out another yelp and backed up, letting a few giggles leave his lungs. It would appear that Robbie just couldn't keep his itchy tickle fingers away from him. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, no one could determine.

Henrik giggled nervously. "I can't tell if I can trust you now! I can't trust that you'll stop yourself from tickling me!" Henrik commented through a few nervous giggles.

Chase lifted an eyebrow and giggled as well. "Is it really that bad?" Chase asked.

"Yes! Vell-...no, but..." Henrik replied.

"I won't tickle you. I promise." Robbie told him, before lying on his back with his hands behind his lower back. Henrik, slowly and nervously, walked himself up to Robbie. When he felt safe enough in the boy's space, Henrik resumed with the ultrasound. Interestingly enough, Henrik had found that a few of Robbie's organs had started decomposing. Certain muscles in his body, like his chest and ab muscles, had started slowly decaying.

"Hey Robbie? Have you ever noticed your ab muscles getting weaker?" Henrik asked.

Robbie thought for a moment. "...Not really, no." Robbie replied.

"I'm gonna lay you down, and I vant you to sit up for me." Henrik explained as he laid Robbie down. Henrik kept his transducer on his abs, as Robbie attempted to sit him up. But, like Henrik predicted, it was very difficult for him.

Robbie quickly got tired. "I-I can't. It's hard. I'm tired." Robbie complained.

"I understand. Zhanks for trying zhough." Henrik encouraged him. "Zhe reason vhy you can't sit up on your own anymore, is because some of your chest muscles are decaying. Your abs-" Henrik gave Robbie's ab muscles a poke. Robbie giggled and clutched his abdomen. "-are slowly dying and turning to ash. Therefore: you're losing zhe muscles and ligaments to move properly." Henrik explained.

Chase covered his mouth as his theory was confirmed right then and there. "Oh my god...So, Robbie is turning into a zombie?" Chase clarified.

Henrik froze upon the last word that left Chase's mouth. Henrik thought about it and realized: yes! That's the answer! It explained everything! Henrik slowly removed the transducer from Robbie's abdomen and looked up at Chase.

".......Yeah...I guess so..." Henrik replied, slowly looking back at Robbie.

Chase began to feel a emotional urge in his throat. An urge to cry. If this is true, and Robbie really IS a zombie...that means Robbie has already died, and is already decomposing.

Henrik thought the exact same thing. But, he didn't have time to further think about it. The last place he wanted to check, was Robbie's heart. Was his heart even beating? Henrik moved his transducer onto the heart and looked at it. It...was beating, but just barely. It was making little jolting reactions. It looked...almost dead...But amazingly, Robbie was still living!

"What's a zombie?" Robbie asked.

There was that dreaded question. Henrik slowly lifted the transducer and looked up at Robbie with a guilty expression on his face. What was he gonna tell the child?! 'Guess what kid! You died, and you're currently decomposing into ash! Anything you bite, will become zombified! Hallelujah, a movie monster has come true!'. There is NO WAY Robbie's gonna take that well!

"I...I don't know how to explain it." Henrik started.

Chase, wanting to get it done and over with, put on a brave face. "Robbie...You are a super rare kind of human. You are a human that can beat death multiple times and still keep on living. So long as no one goes for your brain, you can survive anything." Chase explained, somewhat romanticizing the idea of being a zombie.

Henrik looked at Chase in awe, and...a feeling similar to pride! Chase was doing it! He was really explaining to Robbie that he was a zombie!

Henrik decided to add to it. "Vell...yeah! Zhat's basically true. But at zhe same time...you're also sacrificing certain body parts to keep on living." Henrik explained.

Robbie tilted his head, growing more and more curious.

Chase walked up to Robbie and grabbed his hand. "You were able to pull your entire hand off with no issues. No average human, can do that without losing a lot of blood and dying. But at the same time..." Chase explained as he lifted up Robbie's sleeve to reveal his stitching job. "...Your hand can't stay onto your arm anymore without the stitching. You need the stitching on your wrist, to stop your hand from falling off and getting lost somewhere. The need to stitch your hand back on, is a small sacrifice to pay for you to be alive right now." Chase told him.

"I know zhis is so confusing right now. I get it. But, as you get older in the mind, you vill understand vhat you can and can't do." Henrik told him.

Robbie nodded his head in somewhat understanding.

"Here:" Chase said, picking up Robbie and carrying him in his arms. "Your body may not be able to age, but that is okay. You know why?" Chase explained. Robbie shook his head. "Because being a kid is a lot more fun than being an adult. Trust me. Being a child, is a carefree lifestyle!" Chase explained.

Robbie smiled as he looked over to Henrik. "Okay." Robbie said.

"Plus, being a kid forever means you're gonna be getting lots of tickle fights for a long time!" Chase explained, giving Robbie tickles and squeezes on his sides and ribs. Robbie curled in and hung his head as he bursted into childish giggles and laughter. "And I know someone, who absolutely adores it!" Chase added, giving Robbie's chin a little tickle.

Robbie giggled more as he lightly pushed away Chase's hand with his own tiny hands. "Is it you?" Robbie asked before wiggling his fingers all over Chase's neck.

"EEeehehehehe! Ihihi mehehehean, yohohou're nahahat wrohohong..." Chase said through giggles as he tried to stop himself from squishing his fingers.

"Is it Dr. Nipple Shine?" Robbie asked before reaching his right hand over to Henrik's neck and giving it a few tickles.

"Aaah! Rahahabbihihihie! Myhyhy nahahame ihihihis nahahahat Dohoctohohor Nihihipple shihihine!" Henrik argued, scrunching up his neck as he walked away.

"It is now! And Dr. Nipple Shine is in need of some revenge tickles!" Chase declared, lifting up Robbie by his armpits and placing him onto Henrik's shoulders and middle, piggyback style. Amazingly, Robbie wrapped his arms and legs around Henrik like a small sloth, and began tickling him on his belly and his belly button!

"HEHEhehehehey! Dohohon't yohohou dahahahare! Ihihihi'm gohohohonna fahahahahall!" Henrik yelled, attempting to keep himself upright.

Chase walked up to Henrik. "You're not gonna fall." Chase reassured him, wrapping his arms around Henrik's upper ribs and clawing at his upper ribs. "I'm gonna hold you up and tickle you as well!" Chase replied.

Henrik squealed and quickly started squirming and giggling. "CHAHAHAHAHASE! RAHAHAHAHABBIHIHIHIHIE! NAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHOHO!" Henrik reacted, resting his head on Chase's shoulder as he laughed.

Robbie held onto Henrik's middle with his right hand, while he tickled Henrik's neck with his dominant right hand.

"Eeeeehehehehehe! Nohohoho neheheheck!" Henrik commanded as best he could though his giggles.

"I like tickling your neck! Your giggling is my favorite thing to hear!" Robbie told him.

Chase giggled himself as he continued to dig into Henrik's upper ribs. The kid wasn't wrong. Chase has always enjoyed Henrik's giggles. But, he rarely ever got to tickle him without risking the doctor getting injured! And even if that wasn't an issue, Chase would never be able to get away with no revenge tickles. And boy, was Henrik an aggressive ler!

This time though, Henrik did the tickling first! So, Robbie was allowed to tickle him with no repercussions! As for Chase however...he didn't quite know. But, that didn't matter. This was worth it.

What mattered now, was Chase AND Robbie's love for Henrik's giggles and laughter!

"Yohohou twohoho ahahare sohohohoho ehehehevihihihil! EHEHEHEVIHIHIL, IHIHI TEHEHEHELL YAHAHA!" Henrik declared.

"I know." Robbie replied smugly. Chase giggled at Robbie's remark.

Henrik finally decided to get Chase back. He placed his eager hands onto Chase's sides, and squeezed them like there was no tomorrow.

"AAAaah! WAHAhahahaha! Hohohohold ohohohon! Hehehehenrihihihik!" Chase giggled.

"Vhat? You vere asking for it zhe moment you started helping zhe child!" Henrik teased.

Darn it! Henrik's trying to get revenge on him now!

"Uh oh! No! No tickle backs! Bad Doctor!" Robbie told him, being somewhat bossy to him. Robbie placed his fingers into Henrik's armpits and tickled Henrik into bringing his arms away from Chase.

"AAAAH! NEHEHEHEHEIHIHIN! NEHEHEIN NEIN NEHEHEHEHEIN! ROHOHOHOBIHIHIHIE HAHAHAHALT!" Henrik pleaded, clamping his arms shut as he squirmed back and forth helplessly.

"Yeah! Noho revenge tickles, you cheater!" Chase teased as he went for Henrik's hips. Henrik threw his head back and began switching between cackling and laughing! He couldn't stop worth his life! The two boys were being very evil and unfair to him! So, Henrik finally considered mercy options.

"OHOHOKAHAY! OHOHOHOKAHAHAY! PLEHEHEHEHEASE STAHAHAHAP! BIHIHIHITTE! HAHABE GNAHAHADE MIHIHIHIHIT MIHIR!" Henrik begged desperately.

Chase stopped his hands for a moment. "What was that?" Chase asked.

Even though Robbie was still tickling his armpits, Henrik was still able to get his words out. "Hahahabe Gnahade mihihihit mihihir...Have mehehercy ohohon mehehe..." Henrik explained.

"Ooooooooh..." Chase replied. "I get it now." Chase reacted.

"What did he say?" Robbie asked, not fully getting it.

"He said 'give me mercy. Please stop tickling me." Chase explained.

"Okay." Robbie replied and jumped off Henrik's back. Chase grabbed under Henrik's armpits, and kept him from falling.

"...*huff* D-Danke...*huff*" Henrik said.

"No problem." Chase replied.

"So...how do- *huff* you feel about *huff* *huff* being...*huff*...a zombie?" Henrik asked.

Robbie thought about it for a few minutes. When he decided his answer, he looked up at the two adults with a smile. "I like it." Robbie told them. "I like being a zombie. I can be a kid forever! I can start a new life! And the best part?" Robbie explained. Chase leaned in curiously. Henrik smiled and crossed his arms.

Robbie lifted himself up onto his tiptoes and gave Chase a kiss on the cheek. "I got to meet you and Dr. Nipple Shine." Robbie told him.

Chase covered his mouth with his hands and began to tear up. "Awwww! Come here, you!" Chase reacted happily, picking the boy up and giving him a great big hug. "You come here too!" Chase said to Henrik as he pulled him into the hug. "And of course, Bacon, get over here too." Chase added, hugging everyone (including the stuffed dog) in one great big group hug. Robbie laid himself comfortably onto Chase's chest. Henrik hugged Chase right back, trapping Robbie into a sandwich.

"Zombie sandvich!" Henrik declared.

Chase bursted out laughing and hugged Henrik a little closer. "Zombie sandwich!" Chase repeated, loving the idea.

Robbie also gasped and hugged his dog stuffy. "Zombie bacon sandwich!" Robbie added, holding Bacon in his arms.

Chase and Henrik just laughed at Bacon's inclusion into the sandwich. "True! You can't have a sandvich vizhout zhe bacon!" Henrik added. Chase giggled as he held the child. Chase had felt quite nervous about how Robbie would react to being a zombie. But, Chase soon figured that the way he explained it seemed to help Robbie handle it better. So, Chase mentally congratulated himself as he held his new family member close to him.

Chapter Text

It was around 8 o'clock in the evening, and Jameson Jackson was happily reading a book in the living room. He was rocking in his rocking chair, with a blanket draped over his legs. The book he was reading was a classic story of a 5-person family, living in the harsh reality of the pioneer times. Yup! Jamie was reading Little House on the Prairie. More specifically the first book: Little House in the Big Woods. Jamie happily read about Laura's life as an innocent 5-year old: A doll loving and hard-working child, who begins the house work chores that she will continue to do until she becomes an adult herself.

Jamie had started to read about Laura's family Christmas, when Jamie began to slowly nod off. The words on his page slowly turned more and more blurry, and his fight to stay awake became more and more difficult. It didn't take long for Jamie's eyes to shut for good, and for his hands to land on his lap. With his hands growing weak under his sleepy spell, the book made its way out of Jamie's hands, and onto his lap completely closed. The bookmark had ended up falling onto the ground beside the rocking chair, proving itself useless while the book number left the man's brain. But, no need to worry: finding his spot in such a small book is a very easy task.

Meanwhile: Chase had walked himself into the room with a child in his arms. He placed a finger over his mouth to tell the child to be quiet, and pointed at the sleeping Jamie in the rocking chair. Robbie gave Chase an understanding nod as he imitated himself 'zipping his mouth closed' with his fingers. Chase gently placed Robbie onto the semi empty couch and opened up the kid's blanket. Robbie rested his head on a white pillow and happily hugged Bacon the stuffed Dog while Chase gently draped a blanket over the kid's body. Robbie eagerly made himself comfy before looking at the sleeping man across the room.

Robbie sat up and put a hand over the side of his mouth as he whispered into Chase's ear. "who is that?" Robbie whispered.

Chase looked over at Jamie with a smile, before bringing his attention back to Robbie. Chase placed his mouth towards Robbie's ear. "His name is Jameson, or Jamie for short." Chase whispered back. Robbie nodded back with a smile and snuggled himself into the couch. Chase leaned over and gave Robbie a kiss on the forehead. Robbie closed his eyes and gave a small smile as he appreciated the gesture.

"Good night Robbie." Chase whispered. Then, Chase gave the stuffed dog a little kiss as well. "Good night Bacon." Chase whispered to the dog. Then, Chase began to stand himself up-

"Wait." Robbie whispered, grabbing Chase's wrist. Chase knelt himself back down. When he reached the boy's height, Robbie sat himself up and gave Chase a kiss on the forehead back.

Chase gasped silently and looked away slightly as he blushed a light red. "Thank you." Chase whispered to him.

"I love you." Robbie whispered a little louder, before flopping himself under the covers and snuggling himself further into the couch. Chase smiled, and began to feel his eyes well up with a tear or two.

"I love you too." Chase whispered back before attempting take two of standing up. This time, Robbie allowed him to get up and leave if he desired. The man had a bed of his own, after all. Chase wiped the little wet tear off his face as he tiptoed himself away from the couch, and towards the direction of his bedroom. Chase very carefully opened the bedroom door without any creaks, and gently closed it with as little sound as possible. When he felt alone and safe, Chase allowed his eyes to drop the tears he was producing. He wasn't crying from sadness. It was a cry of bittersweet joy that filled his heart. He hadn't heard the words 'I love you' from a child in years. To be honest, Chase had missed it...a lot...So, Chase allowed himself to lay in his bed and grieve the sad memories of what he had lost, and soak in the achievements of what he had gained.

12:30 am BST

Jamie's eyes began to come to life from a sudden burst of light. Jamie slowly opened his eyes, and found that the light wasn't directed at him. The light was far away, and was reaching the entire living room. Jamie gently began lifting up his head and immediately felt a shot of pain shoot across his neck and shoulders. The sleeping position he had fallen asleep in, was clearly not helping his neck posture. Jamie tilted his head from side to side, and cracked his spine and the surrounding joints, to relieve some of the pain. As Jamie predicted, the spine cracks lessened his pain a significant amount. Then, when his eyes gained better focus, Jamie looked up at the kitchen to see who was up at this time a night.

Jamie tilted his head as he noticed something strange: no one was there. The light was on, but no one was present in the kitchen.

...Strange...

Jamie kept on watching though, to see if anything would happen.

Sure enough, something DID happen! A pair of grey-skinned hands were raising up above the island, and lowering down to hide behind it.

Up and down, up and down the hands went. Each time, looking like they were straining to reach something! Jamie wasn't really sure if he should investigate, or if he should just sit in the chair and watch what happens next.

Jamie decided to do the latter. He decided to watch the silliness happen, and observe them. Now that he mentioned it...Who even WAS this? Why were they so short? Did they need help?

Jamie began to hear footsteps in the kitchen. The creature must be walking. Then, Jamie watched as a pair of arms grabbed a chair and quietly dragged it over. When the chair slid behind the island, Jamie noticed that the top of the chair was visible above the island. So Jamie watched, puzzled but curious, as the chair got dragged across the floor from the kitchen table to the kitchen counter.

When the chair was in place, the creature climbed onto the chair and made itself visible above the island. Jamie's eyes widened as his jaw dropped in shock. it's a child! It's a gray-skinned child, with...stitches on his neck. Jamie didn't know how he felt about this. Who brought a child into the house? Was he homeless? Or, was he an orphan? Is someone planning on adopting? And why does the child have stitches like that, and grey skin? Should Jamie be worried?

Jamie watched as the child stared at something in the cupboard in frustration. The child reached his arms up, but lowered them with empty hands. Jamie tilted his head. What was he trying to do? the child made grunting noises as he attempted to reach up into the cupboard. But, even as the child stood on his tippy toes, the poor kid couldn't reach it. So, the child looked around for another way up. He knew he needed another level up to reach it. Looking down, the child must've noticed the empty counter space, because in a moment's notice the child stepped onto it and reached up again.

But...the child was still struggling to reach it! Whatever it was, it must've been on a very high shelf! The child stopped reaching and grumbled. He got himself all this way for nothing! Being short sucked. The child crossed his arms and pouted. The child's facial expression quickly changed to interest as he began feeling the cupboard shelf. The child tilted his head to the side while he pushed down on the cupboard shelf, seeing if it'll stay intact.

'Oh god...He'd better not be considering climbing that...' Jamie thought in his head.

The boy pushed on the shelf one last time, to see if it would fall. When it didn't, the child smiled before doing the unthinkable:

The boy grabbed the second shelf floor, and placed one knee onto the bottom shelf.

'OH GOD!' Jamie thought to himself before taking off in a sprint towards the kitchen. Jamie stopped himself behind the chair, and picked up the kid before he got any further up the shelf.

The child smiled and let out a squeal, followed by a few giggles. "Chahahase! Yohohou scared me!" the child said in between his giggles.

Jamie made a smile of his own as he heard the kid's giggles. They were super adorable to hear. 'Wait-...Chase?' Jamie thought, growing confused. Well, he got one answer. It was Chase that had befriended the kid. Now that he thought about it, of COURSE it was Chase! Chase had always wanted another child! A child that couldn't get ripped from his grip by the laws of divorce.

The child looked down at the hands. "Okahay. Yohohou cahan let go-" The child started as he turned his head around. The kid's words drifted away as he realized something terrifying: This isn't Chase! THIS IS A STRANGER!

The boy's eyes squeezed shut as he looked forward. The child let out an ear-piercing, blood-curdling scream!

Jamie dropped the child and jumped back in pure surprise. Jamie leaned himself against the island, with his arms up, and his mouth wide. It looked like Jamie was trying to scream! But...it didn't have a sound. Jamie closed his mouth and began breathing heavily to lessen his anxiety.

The child just stared at the man. The kid tilted his head to the side with suspicious eyes, before his face morphed into surprise. Jamie watched as the child gasped with wide eyes. "You were the man sleeping in the chair!" the child declared.

Jamie blinked in surprise, and nodded.

"What's your name?" The child asked.

Oh gosh...The kid had no clue about his vocal predicament. Jamie looked around for a moment, and opened a nearby drawer. He pulled out a notebook and a pen and wrote his name down on the notebook before giving it to the kid.

The child stared at the notebook blankly. Jamie lifted an eyebrow, and waved at him to get his attention. When the child looked up, Jamie gave the child the 'Okay' sign with a curious facial expression, in an attempt to ask what was wrong.

"I can't read pretty writing." The child told him.

Jamie blinked a few times in surprise, before face-palming himself with a smile. Duh! He's a kid! Of course he can't read it! He doesn't know handwriting yet! Jamie took back the notebook and wrote his name down in normal printing. Then, he gave it back to the child with a smile.

{Jameson Jackson , or Jamie for short}

The child read. He looked up at Jamie with a small smile. "I'm Robbie." He said, before writing it out on the notebook and showing it to Jamie. "R-O-B-B-I-E. Ro-bbie." The kid spelled out. Jamie quietly giggled at him. The kid was acting like he couldn't spell.

Jamie took back the notebook and flipped the page over to a new one. Then, Jamie wrote something down in printing.

{I know how to spell, Robbie.}

Robbie read the page, before lowering it and looking up. "Why don't you talk?" Robbie asked. Jamie blinked in surprise. Oh yeah...How exactly was he supposed to explain it? Jamie scratched the back of his head awkwardly, and took back the notebook to answer him.

{I can't.}

Robbie read. Robbie looked up and tilted his head to the side. "Why not?" Robbie asked. Jamie walked up to the kid, and showed him the scar on his neck. Robbie gasped and lifted up his hand. "Can I feel it?" Robbie asked. Jamie nodded in reply.

Robbie brought his fingers closer and felt the scar. It felt like skin, but not. It felt unusual. It felt like a bump line, that went from the middle of his neck, to the hole in between the collar bones.

"I can feel the line." Robbie told him excitedly. Jamie allowed a small smile to show up on his lips, as he focused on the tiny fingertips touching the surgical scar. "My scars can't heal like that. My scars have needle thread." Robbie told him, before backing up. Jamie tilted his head to the side, confused. Robbie pointed at the scars on his neck. "See? They can't make a skin line." Robbie told him. Then, Robbie lifted up his pajama shirt, and showed off his belly stitches. "They'll be stringed together forever. I can't heal." Robbie told him.

Jamie's eyes widened at the amount of stitches the kid had. Jamie knelt down and looked closer at them. There were multiple scars, and all of them had been sewn together with black thread. Jamie moved his fingers across the fresh-looking stitches. Jamie slightly pushed on it, and jolted when his thumb managed to cave into the large cut slightly. Jamie's jaw dropped, horrified by his actions, as he carefully removed his finger. There was translucent, slightly dark-looking liquid, lining the tip of his thumb and fingernail. Robbie's eyes widened.

"Is that what's inside of me?" Robbie asked.

If Jamie was capable of a shriek, Jamie would've shrieked in disgust and horror! Jamie looked away from his hand and started shaking the hand rapid-fire. When the liquid partly flew off his thumb, Jamie stuttered and practically road-ran his way to the sink. Jamie shoved his entire hand under the hot water to get it off. Jamie couldn't believe he did that! He accidentally shoved his finger into a child's insides! Why did he even TRY that?! Of all the things to not do, that HAD to be #1. But...here he was: washing goopy child insides off his ha-...

Goopy insides...It was clear! Wh-that was no blood...It looked like it could've passed for ink, but it was clearer and a little more thick. It...reminded Jamie of soap, but...darker. It was...almost foreign. Jamie lifted an eyebrow. This stuff came from a person's body. Specifically, a child's body!

Jamie turned the water off and dried his hands off. Then, Jamie examined the child a little bit. He felt the general weight of the child, felt the bone density, and tried to stretch the kid's cheek skin. Then, he played with the kid's long hair, and shined a flashlight into the side of the kid's eye. Amazingly, the child's pupil didn't dilate at all! Heck, his eyes didn't even shine a deep red like it's supposed to for people. It shown white. like, completely white. It looked like the kid had severe cataracts! Or eye cancer! But when the flashlight was shown away from his eye, the pupils went black again.

As Jamie looked at the kid, a thought came to his head. Jamie brought his eyes closer to Robbie's eyes. Robbie widened his eyes, in confusion and slight fear.

"...J-Jamie? What a-" Robbie asked, before closing his mouth. Jamie placed his hands onto Robbie's cheeks, and narrowed his eyes as he looked closer.

Jamie gasped as everything clicked together! Zombie! The child was a zombie! It all made sense! He had thread keeping his cuts together because they couldn't heal! He had strange gel-like stuff inside his scar because it was liquidized infection! OH GOD, THE LAST DISCOVERY!

Jamie physically gagged at the thought of that stuff ending up on his thumb.

But then, that would mean...!

Jamie scooted himself back, until his back hit the island wall. Jamie was growing really nervous. Zombies were like human-shaped bugs! They can bite, and their venom is contagious. The last thing Jamie wanted, was to get bitten by a zombie and wind up being a zombie himself.

Jamie's face just read 'confusion'. That was, until something clicked in his head. "You're scared!" Jamie realized. Jamie didn't know how to reply to that. "It's okay. No more scary." Robbie added, before snuggling himself into Jamie's chest.

Jamie's eyes widened. He froze in place, as to not offend the tiny zombie. Jamie didn't know what to do! Usually, zombies would try biting a person in this position. But...this zombie wasn't biting. This zombie was...cuddling? Jamie didn't even know what to think. He tried looking around to see if he was truly alone.

He looked to his right: Just an empty kitchen. He looked to his left: Just an empty livi-Wait a second! Chase was there, peeking his head out from the other side of the kitchen wall frame! Chase had a wide grin on his face, which he was currently trying to cover up with his hand.

In an attempt to get his attention (and to GET THE ZOMBIE OFF HIM), Jamie frantically signed the word 'Help' to Chase, right above Robbie's head. Chase's grin quickly morphed into a surprised frown. Chase removed his hand from his face. Then, Jamie signed the word 'Zombie' to the hiding man.

Chase jolted in surprise. Was it really that obvious? Chase looked around a bit, before signing the words 'I know' back to the mute man. Jamie's face morphed into panic and frustration. Jamie felt angry, but his entire body was filled with panic! He wanted to push the zombie off of him, but...that would offend the zombie and make him wanna bite him. He wanted to scoot back further and run away from it. But...his back had hit a wall. An island cabinet to be specific. Where was he supposed to go?

To make matters worse, it looked like this zombie was fully sentient, meaning he had feelings and a proper voice. The child was even able to make facial expressions! And right now, it looked like the child was showing...mischief? It was like looking at an evil child. He had a glint of mischief in his eyes, and a smirk on his face. Jamie looked at Chase with one eyebrow raised in confusion. What was happening? Apparently, Chase already knew. Chase was smiling again, and...It looked like he was snickering at him. How dare he!

Jamie tilted his head to the side, mentally asking the child 'What?'.

"Are you ticklish?" Robbie asked.

Uuuuum...What?

All of a sudden, Jamie felt a pair of small hands digging into his armpits! Jamie jumped and gasped in surprise. A wobbly smile began to appear onto his face as he attempted to get away from the zombie's ticklish fingers.

"Tickle tickle tickle! Are you ticklish here? What about here?" Robbie teased, before going for Jamie's ribs. Jamie's body began shaking with laughter. Robbie found out really quickly that Jamie didn't have much of a sound to go with his laughter. His laughter was more unpredictable breathing and occasional wheezing, than actual laughter. But Robbie didn't seem to care! His facial expressions seemed to make up for that completely! Jamie's wide smile, tightly closed eyes, and light squirming was enough to make the most emotionless man, melt from cuteness overload.

"What about your neck?" Robbie asked, before running up to Jamie's neck. "Is your neck ticklish?" Robbie asked, wiggling his fingers into the side of Jamie's neck. Jamie curled his neck in and bursted into silent laughter. Jamie wiggled around and swatted at Robbie's hands, as he tried to get the kid to knock off the tickles.

"You think this is bad, just wait till I do this:" Robbie said with a smirk. Then, Robbie shoved his head of hair into Robbie's neck and shook his head around. Jamie jolted in surprise, and fell onto his left side. Jamie tried shaking his head, tried swatting at the hair, and tried getting away. But none of them were working! Robbie was still capable of tickling him to bits!

Jamie began signing the word 'Stop' to Robbie, in the hopes that Chase would translate it for him.

Robbie took his head out of Jamie's neck, and looked at the sign. "Chop? Karate chop?" Robbie guessed.

"It means stop." Chase said behind him.

Robbie jumped and turned around. It was his favorite person! "CHASE!" Robbie shouted to him and sprinted up to give him a tackle hug. Chase's eyes widened as he quickly put a finger on his mouth and made a soft shushing sound. Chase lowered himself down to Robbie's height, and the two boys joined together in a big, tight hug. "Your turn!" Robbie declared. Almost immediately, Robbie started tickling Chase's ribs.

"GaaAAA-" Chase yelled, before using his hand to shut himself up. Chase grabbed his wrists, and gave him a stern, but quiet "Shhhhhh" sound. Robbie widened his eyes and looked down guiltily. Chase decided to let go of one hand, to lift up Robbie's chin. "It's not the time for tickles. It's time for sleep. What were you doing up anyway?" Chase whispered.

Robbie brought his voice down. "I wanted a drink." Robbie replied.

"Why didn't you get me?" Chase asked.

Robbie chewed on his lower lip. "I didn't want to wake you." Robbie replied.

Chase nodded his head understandably. "Well, you kind of already did. I woke up to the sound of you screaming." Chase told him.

Robbie frowned and pointed at Jamie. "He made me do it. He scared me." Robbie told him. Chase lifted an eyebrow and looked at Jamie.

Jamie was holding a kids cup when Robbie ratted him out. Jamie placed the cup down so he could sign. 'He was going to try and climb the cabinet.' Jamie told him.

Chase's eyes widened. He turned his head towards Robbie. "The colorful cups were on the top shelf. I couldn't reach. I'm small." Robbie replied.

Jamie pointed to the cupboard. 'I moved them down.' Jamie signed. Chase sighed in relief.

"Okay. Thank you." Chase said to Jamie.

"Thank you? For what?" Robbie asked.

Chase looked at Robbie and shook his head with a crooked smile. Then, Chase grabbed Robbie and brought him into a snuggle hug and a squeeze. "Thank you, for not falling on your face. If that happened, you might've needed staples in your noggin." Chase replied, ruffling the boy's brown hair. Robbie giggled and played with his hair.

"You have no hat." Robbie commented.

Chase nodded his head and moved his bangs out of the way. "Yup. I have no hat." Chase replied. Robbie brought himself up onto his feet again. Then, Robbie went up onto his tippy toes and ruffled Chase's hair in revenge. "Hehehey! How dare you fluff my dirt-colored hair." Chase teased.

"I dare." Robbie replied, growling back at him and showing off his curling, wiggling fingers.

Chase giggled at the attempt, and gave Robbie a boop on the nose. "Booop!" Chase cooed. Robbie giggled and dropped his evil, fierce composure. "Someone needs to go to beeeeddd..." Chase teased. "I think it's you..." Chase told him.

Robbie's giggles kept on going. "Buhuhut whahahat ahabout my wahahateher?" Robbie asked. Jamie walked up behind the boy, and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. Robbie turned around, and smiled at the cup of water being served to him in a blue cup with a smiley face on it. Jamie smiled and lightly ruffled Robbie's hair.

'Good night Robbie.' Jamie signed. Jamie (or Robbie) needed to make a name sign for the zombie boy. But, Jamie had a while to make a sign for him. So, he put it on the 'to do' list for himself. For now though, Jamie signed his name the traditional way: spelling it out.

Robbie turned his head to the side, but quickly caught onto what he might've said. "Good night Jamie. I think that's what you said." Robbie replied. Jamie smiled and nodded.

Then, Jamie signed 'Good night' to Chase.

"Good night Jamie. Don't let the Walker kill you on the way." Chase joked. Jamie rolled his eyes, but smiled and chuckled at the reference. When Jamie started walking away, Jamie turned himself around to face the two. He lifted up his hands and positioned them into a 'holding gun trigger' sign, like AJ did to Lilly in Season 4. Chase let out a giggle at the dark, but funny call back to the video game.

Robbie was drinking his water, and had lifted an eyebrow and looked at the two, just drowned in confusion. The poor kid had no idea they were joking about zombies in front of him. The boy lowered his cup and looked at Jamie for clarification. Jamie noticed his confusion, and looked at Chase while he pointed to Robbie with a snicker. Chase looked at Robbie, and awkwardly looked around for a moment or two. What was he gonna tell the kid? It's already been 2 days with him in the house, and the adults are already making Telltales* 'The Walking Dead' jokes around him. So, Chase knelt himself down to the child's level.

"We'll show you the reference when you're older, and capable of handling the subject matter." Chase told Robbie. Robbie nodded back in understanding. Jamie turned himself around and began heading to his room. With Jamie gone to bed, Chase picked up Robbie and walked him to the couch. "Attempt #2 of getting you to bed." Chase joked. Robbie giggled at the line as he was tucked in. "Good night, Robbie." Chase said.

"Good night, Chase. I love you." Robbie said, with a happy smile.

Chase smiled back. "I love you too." Chase said back. "Don't let the bed bugs get you. Cause if they do, they're gonna-" Chase said. Suddenly, Chase began making ticky-ticky noises and danced his fingers on Robbie's belly, sides, and armpits. Robbie bursted into high-pitched giggles, and squirmed around a bit with a huge smile. After a couple seconds, Chase stopped his fingers and teases, and gave Robbie a kiss on the forehead. Robbie happily took the kiss, and gave Chase a big, toothy smile. Chase giggled at the size of the smile as he stood back up. "Try to get some rest. And feel free to sleep in." Chase told him.

"Okay!" Robbie replied, before turning himself over to snuggle his stuffed dog.

Chase walked himself into his room, and closed the door. After all that just happened, Chase let out a breath of exhaustion and relief. As he got back into his bed, Chase's phone made a vibrating sound on his bed. Chase picked up the phone, and read the message.

[Your inner Dad's showing.]

Chase read. Chase let out a chuckle as he grinned. Chase started texting him.

[I mean, who wouldn't? It's a child!]

Chase sent. Chase placed the phone down for a bit, and just stared into the dark abyss, that was his bedroom ceiling. Chase's phone vibrated, and Chase read the new message from Jamie:

[That's true. Also, is he a zombie? Or something under that category?]

Chase read. Chase sighed, but typed back:

[Yes. He's a zombie.]

Chase plopped his phone down on the bed comforter. He knew that Jamie might be scared of the boy. But...he's not worth the fear. Heck, the kid doesn't even bite. His phone vibrated again. Chase picked it up and read it:

[Does he bite?]

Chase typed back.

[Nope. He doesn't bite.]

Chase decided to watch his phone this time. He watched as the 'Delivered' word changed to 'Read 12:38 AM', and watched the 3 dots turn into a message:

[Are you sure? How long have you had him for?]

Chase read. Chase rolled his eyes and typed back.

[2 nights.]

Chase double-clicked his home button, and began going through old, unread emails. A few seconds later, a new message rolled in:

[2 nights is not long enough to determine if he bites.]

Chase frowned. He swiped down on the message to reply to him.

[Okay. Congrats! you can parent better than me.]

Chase sent back, with an eye roll emoji. Chase sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was too tired to deal with this right now. It's almost 1, and he needed to sleep. Chase tossed to the side, and grabbed his phone. Another message had come in:

[I'm actually worried. I don't want anyone becoming a zombie in this household. I'm scared he may bite one of us if he thinks we're a 'threat' to him.]

Chase softened his frown. The truth was, Jamie's right to be worried. Even though Robbie has proved himself to be an angel, he's still somewhat unpredictable. If one of the adults DID threaten Robbie, what would he do? Would he yell? Would he punch? Would he hiss? Would he bite? Would the kid even fight back? Or would he run away? No one knows. Not yet, anyway.

[Tell you what: I'll talk to him tomorrow.]

Chase suggested. Chase watched his phone, as the 3 dots turned into a new, and short message:

[About what? About biting? or about my fear of him?]

Chase read. Chase began typing almost immediately.

[Both. I'll start with the latter, but end with the former.]

Chase replied. Chase clicked the lock button on his phone, and placed it on his night stand. But, sure enough, Jamie wasn't done talking. Chase sighed, and picked up his phone again and read the message on the lock screen:

[Okay. Just don't be surprised if I end up cowering away from him. I'm still quite nervous of what he'll do.]

Chase chuckled. The guy had just admitted to being scared of a child. He replied.

[He's a child. And frankly, he's much more alive and sentient than the zombies presented in games and video. All the zombies want on the media, is to survive. Robbie actually has a personality, a voice, a silly streak, and even a mischievous streak. XD]

Chase watched as Jamie replied back to him.

[Bahahaha! I can tell. Still though...I don't wanna die.]

Chase read. Even though the message ended, Chase watched as Jamie typed out another message:

[Though the kid seems happy and cheerful, I almost wonder if he'd be better off unconscious. It's almost sad seeing a kid's body rot and fall apart. I'm sure it's worse for him.]

Chase read. Chase's widened as the horrifying thought took over his mind. Gosh, he never even thought about that! What if Robbie's really suffering? What if he's able to feel his body rotting from the inside out? Chase began to feel tears welling up in his eyes at the mere thought of it.

But then, Chase remembered something: Some of the kid's nerves were shutting down as it was. What if the nerves kept progressing? What would happen if Robbie couldn't feel pressure or pain again? Would the kid develop an insensitivity to pain? or would his nerves become numb all over his body? Could they even prevent it?

This was all things that Chase needed to consider...Gosh...

What will life be like for the kid? Should they take advantage of the kids' capabilities while he has them?

But, Chase remembered something: Robbie's hand! Robbie was able to rip his hand off without any pain! The only nerve that seemed to survive on him, was that one nerve that hung down. But technically, no one knows if that nerve was really alive or not. The nerve could've been just a dead nerve that was still connected to him.

Huh...Maybe his nerves will stay intact. Maybe they may only get damaged if he damages them himself. For example: the stitches on his neck and belly. Maybe stitching the cuts back together was easy and painless because the nerves surrounding the cut were now dead. It may explain why the back of Robbie's neck (which was still uncut) was super ticklish, while his belly was not as ticklish. Or maybe, the pain receptors were dead while the pressure nerves weren't. Who knows? The ticklish thing may not have changed at all for the kid! Maybe the kid's belly was naturally not as ticklish as the back of his neck.

All Chase knew, was that he was going to have to get some doctors appointments set up for Robbie to answer his questions. And when he's not visiting the doctor, the child can be treated like a normal boy: joyful and curious, with a mischievous streak a mile along.

(7 HOURS LATER)

A rapid knocking noise could be heard on the door. "CHASE! CHASE! WAKE UP! I SLEPT IN! CAN WE PLAY NOW?" A small voice yelled from the other side of the door. Chase let out a groan and looked at the time: 8:13. Chase let out a tired groaning sound and covered his head with his blanket. It's too early for this.

The door handle could be heard opening. Robbie peeked his head in. "Hello? Chase?" Robbie asked, opening up the door further and walking in. Robbie walked himself up to the left side of the bed (the side Chase was facing) and lifted up the comforter a smidge. Robbie could see Chase's face. Chase squeezed his eyes shut, before grabbing the blanket and pulling it back on his face. Robbie let out a few giggles. Then, Chase began to hear tiny footsteps walking away from the side of the bed.

"Well, it looks like Chase won't get up to make me breakfast." Robbie said, with some pretend sadness in his voice. "It looks like I'll have to bother some other person in the house." Robbie added, pretending to feel disappointed by his inability to get Chase up. "It's too bad. I like Chase's eggs and bacon." Robbie said, before closing the door.

Chase smiled and let out a small giggle of his own. He's such a weird kid. He could clearly tell from his 'saddened' voice that Robbie was planning something. But, Chase couldn't really tell you what it was. Chase just patiently waited for Robbie to do something. Interestingly enough, Chase was still able to hear tiny footsteps in his room. Wait a second...did that kid close the door while he was still in the room? To give him the illusion that he left?! Wow! If the kid was better at sneaking around, Chase could've fallen for it! That genius of a child!

Chase listened carefully as the kid snuck around his room. It sounded like he was walking around the bed. But he wasn't sure where he was going exactly. When the footsteps stopped, Chase felt some weight on his bed. Did Robbie just jump onto his bed? Chase could hear blanket noises from his comforter. A second later, Chase could feel the child's weight getting closer and closer to his body. What was that evil little goose planning? Chase waited for a couple moments, to see what the kid would do.

Robbie flopped his body onto Chase's left side. "Wake up, Chase!" Robbie yelled.

Chase let out a surprised yelp. "What the- When did you get here! I didn't even hear you come in!" Chase reacted, playing along with him.

"I tricked yooouu..." Robbie teased, poking his side. Chase let out a few giggles and reached up for the kid's hand. "Can you please get up? Why are you hiding under here anyway? Are you afraid of the light?" Robbie asked.

Chase let out a laugh at the last question. "Maybe I am." Chase replied.

"No you're not!" Robbie argued with a giggle.

"Yes I am! I'm always scared of the light in the morning." Chase argued back.

Robbie bursted out laughing. "It's called being tired!" Robbie replied.

"No! It's called 'fear of the morning'! And I have it!" Chase joked.

Robbie's laughter continued for a few more seconds. Robbie brought himself closer to Chase's shoulders. "Are you gonna get up now?" Robbie asked.

"Nope." Chase replied.

"Why?" Robbie asked.

"It's too early." Chase replied.

"No it's not." Robbie told him.

"Yes it is. I don't like waking up at 8." Chase complained.

"What time do you wake up then?" Robbie asked.

"I like waking up at 10." Chase replied.

"10?!" Robbie yelled, flopping onto Chase again. Chase let out a grunting sound as the kid's upper body pushed onto Chase's shoulder. "That's so long!" Robbie reacted, shaking Chase's shoulder while he whined.

Chase chuckled. "No it's not! It's an average morning for your average bro!" Chase replied.

"Get up." Robbie told him, poking his shoulder.

"No." Chase replied.

"Get up." Robbie ordered again.

"Nnno." Chase replied.

"You don't have a shirt on." Robbie commented.

"I know. It's comfy." Chase replied.

"Can I sleep with no shirt on?" Robbie asked.

Chase thought for a moment. "Okay." Chase replied.

"Really?! Can I take it off now?" Robbie asked.

"Do you have shorts on?" Chase asked.

"Yup!" Robbie replied.

"Then yes, you can." Chase replied.

"Yay!" Robbie cheered, before pulling the covers off himself and whipping his shirt off almost immediately. Robbie threw his shirt onto the floor and brought himself under the covers again.

"Better?" Chase asked.

"Yeah!" Robbie replied. "Now get up." Robbie told him.

"No." Chase replied.

"Please?" Robbie asked.

"Hmm...nah." Chase replied.

"I'll tickle you." Robbie warned him. "I've been waiting aaaaaalllll night to tickle you." Robbie told him.

"Oh really?" Chase asked, only half listening to him at this point.

"Yup. I have the fingers to do it. And you have no shirt or socks on." Robbie told him.

"I know. Why would anyone sleep with a shirt and socks on? I'd be sweating buckets." Chase told him.

"I slept with a shirt. And I wasn't 'sweating buckets'." Robbie replied.

"Interesting." Chase replied, still barely listening to him.

Suddenly, Chase gasped at the feeling of tickling fingers spidering up the left side of his ribs.

"AAAAH! NO! NOHOHOHOHO! GEHEHEHET OHOHOHOFF!" Chase bursted out suddenly. Chase's body practically morphed into a wiggle worm under the blanket. This caused Chase to toss himself onto his back, and unintentionally offered more spots to the boy.

Robbie removed his fingers, but only for a moment or two. Then, Robbie's fingers began feeling around for a belly button in the dark. When they found it, Robbie's index finger immediately dipped itself in and wiggled around. "ooOOHOHOHOHOHOHO GAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IHIHIHIHIT'S TOOHOHOHO EHEHEHEARLYHY FOHOHOR THIHIHIHIHIS!" Chase yelled.

"It's not too early. You're just not a morning person." Robbie replied.

Robbie climbed himself onto Chase's waist, and laid himself down onto Chase. Taking advantage of his new comfy position, Robbie used his flexible spidery fingers to cover Chase in lots of upper rib tickles. "HHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! GEHEHEHEHET OHOHOHOHOHOFF! THIHIHIHIS IHIHIHIHIS SOHOHOHOHO UHUHUNFAHAHAHAHAIR!" Chase argued.

"No it's not! You're able to fight back!" Robbie argued back.

"NOHOHO IHIHIHI CAHAHAHAHAN'T! IHIHIHIHI'LL HUHUHUHUHURT YOHOHOHOHOU!" Chase reacted.

Robbie shook his head and wiggled a single finger into Chase's belly button again. "Believe it or not, I am a lot tougher than I look. I may look like a fragile kid, but I am a STRONG, FIERCE WARRIOR! ON THE INSIDE!" Robbie told him, pausing his tickles so he can show off his 'huge' muscles.

Chase's laughter fell into giggles. "Ihi thihihink my buhuhunny slihihippehers juhuhust rahan for cohohoveher..." Chase commented, quoting Mushu, from Mulan. Robbie looked back at Chase with clear shock and slight hurt in his eyes.

Robbie frowned suspiciously as he crossed his arms and pouted. He looked at Chase's feet, and suddenly got an idea. "Careful Chase. You'll regret making fun of me..." Robbie warned. Robbie crawled himself over to Chase's feet, and sat on them. Chase jumped and yelped, as he realized what the kid was planning. Uh oh...

"Uh, now wait a second! Robbie, don't even think about goING FOR MY FEHEHEHEHEHEHET! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NO! NO-NO-NO-NO-NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" Chase shouted, bursting into hysterical laughter.

Robbie paused his tickling and clapped his hands excitedly. "I found another ticklish spot!" Robbie declared, before resuming his ticklish scratching and tickling on the arch of his foot.

"KNOHOHOHOCK IHIHIHIT OHOHOHOHOFF! NAHAHAHAHAHAT MYHYHYHYHYHYHY FEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHET!" Chase begged helplessly. Chase had started pounding his fists into the bed, and squirming back and forth to cope with the overwhelming ticklish sensation.

"Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle! Will you get up yet?" Robbie asked.

Chase let out a squeal before shaking his head frantically. Even if the kid was a really good tickler, and he was attacking his feet, Chase was NOT giving up that easily.

"Okay. I wonder how ticklish your toes are?" Robbie asked. Chase's eyes practically widened to the size of dinner plates! OH GEEZ!

Robbie lightly pushed back Chase's toes, and began scribbling a finger under his toes. This sent Chase into cackles instantly! Chase's fists stopped pounding the bed, and began reaching for the evil kid, who was tormenting his feet. The kid was under the blankets though! How he was surviving under there without suffocating, Chase will never understand. Chase attempted to reach for Robbie multiple times, but ultimately kept failing and ended up laying himself down on his back with his hands covering his face for a majority of the time. The toes tickled him WAAAYY too much for Chase to stand for very long!

Thankfully, Robbie seemed to notice that. So, Robbie stopped his fingers and crawled away from his feet. Chase's laughter fell into soft giggles and breathing rather quickly. Poor Chase had to rub his feet and toes against his bed to get rid of the leftover phantom tickles. But, the phantom tickles soon passed and allowed him to regenerate his lungs properly.

"Okay...please...don't go...for my t-...toes...for...very long..." Chase suggested through his breaths.

"Okay. I promise. Can you get up now?" Robbie asked.

Chase sighed and giggled. "Nohope...your tihihicklihing made me tired again." Chase replied.

Robbie groaned angrily and flopped himself onto the bed in an angry pout. "Ssstupid tickling, making Chase tired..." Robbie pouted.

Chase giggled at the childish pouting. "Come here. Be my teddy bear." Chase told him, reaching his arm out.

"No." Robbie replied.

"Please?" Chase asked, giving him the puppy eyes to further convince the kid.

"No." Robbie replied with a smirk.

Chase pouted back. "Party pooper..." Chase muttered.

Robbie let out a giggle and soon agreed to become Chase's makeshift teddy bear. It was actually...really fun! He got to cuddle Chase, give Chase little bear kisses, and even got to snuggle into his chest. It ended up being more comfortable than he expected. Robbie soon realized that these many months of being alone, made him miss one thing in life: A warm person's touch.

...Maybe relying on a person won't be so bad after all...

Chapter Text

It was a very calm, and sunny Saturday morning. Robbie had learned to make himself some cereal on his own, and had soon discovered the kind of channels Chase had. One of them, happened to be playing Courage the Cowardly Dog! And, to Robbie's amazement, the TV channel also played other cartoons, old and new! So, Robbie happily watched cartoons for an hour or so, while eating Nesquik™ cereal. Soon, Jamie had woken up and noticed Scooby-Doo: Where Are You? playing on the TV. So, Jamie eagerly joined the kid with his cup of coffee.

Jamie placed his coffee down on a coaster on the coffee table, and began to sign to Robbie. 'Good morning.' Jamie signed.

Robbie looked over, and smiled excitedly. "Good morning!" Robbie replied.

Jamie looked at the cereal in Robbie's hand, and decided to turn it into a new lesson. As of late, Robbie had been trying to learn Sign Language so he could better understand Jamie. So, Robbie happily learned a few words a day, so he could get better at understanding him.

Jamie placed his hand onto Robbie, to get his attention. Robbie muted the TV and looked at Jamie. When he was ready, Jamie pointed to the cereal, before showing Robbie the sign. 'Cereal.' Jamie signed by moving his index finger from the right corner of his mouth to the left corner. Jamie also curled and uncurled his finger as he moved it from one corner to the next. Robbie gasped, and placed his cereal down.

"Cereal?" Robbie asked, trying out the sign as he clarified.

Jamie nodded his head with a smile as he repeated the sign. 'Cereal.' Jamie repeated.

Robbie nodded and picked up his cereal with his left hand, and signed the word with his right. Then, Robbie put it into a sentence! "I'm eating cereal." Robbie told him out loud while signing at the same time. Jamie clapped his hands excitedly and gave Robbie two thumbs up. Robbie giggled at a job well done, before unmuting the TV and watching the shows again.

It didn't take long for the boys to start laughing. The Tom and Jerry Show was now playing on TV, and some of the screaming comedy was getting the better of them. They were currently watching Tom and Jerry: Dog Trouble.

At the moment, Jerry was trying to escape from Tom. But, he notices a mouse trap with cheese!

"No! Just run! Keep running, Jerry! Don't focus on that!" Robbie told the TV character. Jamie looked over and smirked at the kid's yelling.

'Watch.' Jamie told him. Robbie did. He watched as Jerry started dragging the mouse trap closer, closer and right up to Tom's tail. "Ohoho nohoho!" Robbie reacted, covering his smile with his hand. But, Jerry began struggling on where to put the mouse trap! The tail kept moving!

Finally, after some anger, Jerry picked up the big, heavy tail and threw it onto the mouse trap! Tom looked sadly at his red, painfully pounding tail, before shooting Jerry a little glare.

Jamie began to smirk as Tom began hunting for Jerry again. Robbie noticed it, and tried to cover up his snicker. But, Robbie's grin quickly turned into worry, as Jerry almost ran into a sleeping dog! "Uh oh!" Robbie reacted. Thankfully though, Jerry hid in between the door crack.

Then, Tom came running up to the door! But, he couldn't stop his huge body from smashing into the dog! Jamie rolled his eyes and face-palmed his face.

"Yeah. What a dummy. Get some grips on your paws, Tom!" Robbie yelled at the door.

Jamie tittered at the funny reaction. But then, his titters became silent giggles as the dog and Tom pulled their mouths away! It looked like they were kissing!

Robbie giggled. 🎶Tommy and Butch, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!🎶 Robbie sang. Jamie raised an eyebrow, with a confused, but amused face. "Now run, Tom! Butch wants that gay kiss from you! And he's gonna chase ya for it!" Robbie added. Jamie just bursted into laughter. Oh my god! This kid's awesome!

Robbie gasped as Jerry was suddenly chased by Butch! "Uh oh! You might wanna run too. You just might be their dinner date!" Robbie told the TV. Jamie, just loving the narrations Robbie was making, pulled out his phone and started recording.

"Now Tom...Why would you even try that? Butch is still waitin' for you to fall into his loving arms." Robbie teased. Robbie watched as Jerry slid down as well, but ended up climbing himself back up the coo-coo-clock! And, to make matters worse, the coo-coo-clock's bird had just been broken by butch!

"Oh...Well, rest in pieces Tweety Bird." Robbie said, somewhat sad-sounding. Jamie's jaw dropped. This kid just made a dark joke! Holy crap! Robbie continued to watch, as Tom quietly slid himself down the lamp pole and tried to quietly sneak away. "Be quiet, Tom...You don't wanna alert the angry bulldog." Robbie warned. Suddenly, Tom stepped onto a creaky floor! "Oh-...What did I tell yeah? Now you're NEVER gonna get away without a date!" Robbie taunted.

Robbie watched as Tom was once again, chased by an angry bulldog. Jerry watched back and forth, cringing and reacting to the different things Tom would smash into. "Goodness! With all the items you're crashing into, your first date may be at doctor Nipple Shine's!" Robbie declared, giggling as he used the funny nickname. Jamie's eyes widened as he heard the name. Jamie signed something behind the camera. 'Who?' Jamie signed.

"Who?" Robbie replied. "Dr. Henrik. His last name is hard, so I call him Nipple Shine. Chase found it really funny. I still don't know why though. He says I'll get it when I'm older." Robbie told him.

Jamie turned off his video and clutched his stomach as he laughed hysterically.

"What- You find it funny too?! What's so funny about it?! I don't get it!" Robbie reacted, growing more and more angry. Jamie attempted to sign the word 'Sorry' to him, but his apologies were pushed aside with more anger. "What does it mean? Why is it so funny?! I don't GET IT!" Robbie complained.

'Good.' Jamie signed, still giggling.

"NOT GOOD!" Robbie yelled and signed back at the same time. Then, Robbie turned himself away from Jamie, and pouted on the couch. Jamie's smile slowly lessened. He knew that Robbie found it unfair. But, Jamie also knew that Robbie wasn't as mad as he made himself to look. Jamie waited a couple seconds, before waving a hand in front of his eyes. Robbie didn't turn his head towards Jamie. But, he didn't push it away either. This meant that Robbie was not as mad as he appeared. This eased Jamie a little more.

Jamie got up, and scooted himself over more. He took off his hat, ruffled his hair around a bit, and placed it onto Robbie's head. Robbie's frown quickly softened, and turned into curiousity as his eyesight was partly blocked by something black on his head. Robbie felt the hat with his hand, and looked over at Jamie.

Jamie smiled as he narrowed his eyes the slightest bit, to get a better look at it. 'Looks good on you.' Jamie said with a smile.

Robbie didn't smile at first. But, he did look down before giving Jamie a makeshift, lips-only kinda smile. It was semi-fake, but it was also the best smile he could muster right now. Or so Robbie thought...

Jamie gave Robbie a 'fake disappointed' face, and began to think up ways to cheer him up. Then, Jamie remembered something very helpful: he had powers. So, Jamie decided to use them. Jamie showed off a toothy smile, and began drumming his fingers on his wiggling mustache. He knew that the kid liked slapstick humor, so he decided to take advantage of that. He began focusing his eyes on the hat, and slowly began to smirk. Then, Jamie snapped his fingers! An idea came to mind!

Jamie carefully placed his hand onto the hat, and carefully lifted it off Robbie's head. When the hat was lifted up high enough, Jamie very lightly let go of it and allowed it to drop towards the boy's head. Robbie expected the hat to fall right back onto his head. But, it didn't! It landed...above his head? Robbie lifted an eyebrow as he grabbed onto the hat and lifted it off his head.

Suddenly, Jamie gasped and covered his mouth excitedly! Robbie attempted to ask what was excited about. But, his words were interrupted by a loud 'SQUACK!' Robbie jolted in surprise, and widened his eyes at the sound of a...parrot?! On his head! Thankfully though, Robbie didn't jump or squeal in surprise. So, Jamie carefully brought his finger up to the parrot's feet, and allowed the parrot to wrap its feet around Jamie's finger. When the parrot felt secure, Jamie brought the parrot off his head and revealed the beautiful parrot to Robbie.

Robbie gasped and smiled excitedly! The parrot was red from the top of his head to the start of its wings. The wings had a line of yellow, before ascending into blue. "It's pretty!" Robbie reacted.

Jamie nodded his head, and pointed to his head. 'Really smart!' Jamie signed.

"Really?" Robbie asked.

"Really?" The parrot asked. Robbie gasped and giggled at the parrot. "What's your name?" The parrot asked.

"I'm Robbie." Robbie told him.

"Robbie." The parrot repeated.

"Yeah!" Robbie replied. Suddenly, the parrot began leaning into Robbie's cheek and making kissing noises! "Hehehehe!" Robbie giggled.

"Hehehehe! Kisses for Robbie! *smoooch* Kisses for Robbie! Kisses for Robbie! *Smooch, smooch*" The parrot cooed with little 'kisses' and coos to go with them.

Robbie let out little giggles. "Thahahanks fohor thehehe kihihissehes!" Robbie said.

"Robbie needs more kisses! Robbie needs more kisses because I love you!" The parrot declared, bending its head down. When the beak was down far enough, the parrot started clicking its tongue and giving Robbie 'little kisses' on the neck with its beak. Robbie started giggling happily and curling his neck in. "Kisses for Robbie!" The parrot said. "Kisses for Robbie! *smooch* Kisses for Robbie! *Smooch* *Muah* Kiss, kiss, kiss!" The parrot teased.

"Hehehehehehe! Sihilly parrot!" Robbie giggled.

"Hehehehehe!" The parrot imitated.

Robbie gasped in surprise and let out a few more giggles! "Ihihit laughed with me!" Robbie declared.

Jamie nodded excitedly. Then, Jamie's mouth morphed into a mischievous grin as an idea came to mind. When Robbie was busy focusing on the parrot, Jamie snuck his hand under the parrot and right towards Robbie's tummy. Then, Jamie's fingers lightly dug into Robbie's tummy and tickled him. Robbie squealed in surprise and fell into a fit of giggles.

Filled with curiousity, the parrot decided to fly himself onto Robbie's shoulder! *Squack!* "Who's ticklish?" The parrot asked. Robbie's giggles only continued as he was teased by the parrot. "Ticklish Robbie?" The parrot asked, opening up its wings. Jamie nodded back in reply. But, the parrot didn't read the nod of the head as a 'yes'. Instead, the parrot repeated the head nod back!

Robbie's giggles only heightened at the miscommunication.

Suddenly, the parrot started kissing Robbie's neck again! "tickles for Robbie! Ticklish kisses for Robbie! *smooch* Tickle tickle tickle! *Mwah* I love you! *kiss, kiss* Tickles for Robbie! *Smooches* Is Robbie ticklish?" The parrot teased as it gave Robbie lots of beak tickles and verbal kisses.

Robbie had abrupted into giggles from all the loving kisses and the cute little teases coming from the parrot. "Eeeeehehehehehehe! Ihihihi'm tihihicklihihihish thehehehere!" Robbie giggled.

"Ticklish Robbie! *Mwah* Ticklish Robbie! *Smooches* Tickle tickle tickle! Ticklish little Robbie!" The parrot teased further.

"What are you giggling abo-...Oh my god..." Someone said behind them. Jamie and Robbie turned around, to see Chase awake.

The parrot stopped its ticklish kisses, and looked at the new person who had walked in. "CHASE! We have a parrot! His name is Crackers!" Robbie declared.

Jamie looked right at Robbie with a confused, but an amused expression. 'since when?' Jamie asked. Robbie turned his head to the side, confused. Jamie's face morphed back to normal as he rephrased his sentence. 'Why the name?' Jamie asked.

"Because parrots eat crackers!" Robbie replied.

Chase giggled. "He's got a point, Jamie." Chase added.

Jamie closed his eyes halfway, to give Chase a 'disappointed' look. 'How about I yeet the parrot at you?' Jamie suggested.

Chase's eyes widened, as a nervous smile grew onto his lips. "How about you DON'T?" Chase suggested.

Jamie snapped his fingers like Swiper from Dora, and made a pouty face. He looked sad or disappointed that he couldn't throw the parrot.

"by the way: Is that real? Or...magic?" Chase asked. Jamie smirked. He picked up the hat from Robbie's head, placed the hat down onto the parrot, and lifted it back up again. When it was lifted back up, the parrot was gone!

Now, it was Robbie's turn to make the pouty face. "Awww...I wanted to play with Crackers..." Robbie whined.

Jamie smiled, and conjured up a pen and a pad of paper. Jamie wrote something down, and handed it to Robbie.

[I'll bring him back later.]

Robbie read. Robbie gasped. "Really?" Robbie clarified. Jamie nodded back. "Yay!" Robbie cheered, throwing his hands in the air and jumping up and down.

"Now: Who would like to go to the park for a little picnic?" Chase asked.

"ME!" Robbie shouted loudly, running up to Chase and hugging him.

Jamie giggled and put his own hand up as well. Chase chuckled at Jamie. "Really? You wanna go to the park too?" Chase asked, surprised but curious.

'I haven't been to the park in years.' Jamie told him.

"Wait, seriously?!" Chase exclaimed.

"What?" Robbie asked as Chase picked him up.

"Jamie hasn't been to the park in years." Chase told him. Robbie looked over at Jamie with his jaw dropped, almost to the floor. Then, Robbie jumped out of Chase's arms and grabbed onto Jamie's hand. "COME WITH US! COME WITH US, COME WITH US, COME WITH US, COME WITH US! COMEWITHUS!" Robbie shouted, pulling Jamie as hard as he could towards the door.

"Whoa who whoa whoa WHOA, Robbie! We still need to pack up the picnic! I don't want you playing on an empty stomach." Chase told him.

Robbie loosened his grip on Jamie's wrist, and suddenly started pulling Jamie towards the kitchen. "FOOD FIRST!" Robbie shouted.

Chase walked up to Robbie, and brought his head towards the side so he could look eye to eye with him. "Robbie, don't pull people. Let go of Jamie." Chase told him. Robbie stared at Chase with guilt in his eyes, before letting go of Jamie a second later. "Thank you. Now, I want you to apologize." Chase told him.

Robbie looked up at Jamie. "I'm sorry for puling you." Robbie said in a genuinely sincere voice.

Jamie knelt down to his level. 'It's okay.' Jamie signed.

Robbie made a small smile before taking off running towards the kitchen. "What are we packing for lunch?" Robbie asked.

A good 10 minutes later, Jamie, Chase and Robbie were off with their lunch food. They had packed up a few sandwiches, a few veggies, a couple water bottles, some cheese and a blanket to lay it all out on. Chase had loaded up the food in a cooler bag, and loaded it into the backseat. Meanwhile, Jamie had helped Robbie get some sunscreen onto his arms and legs. When Chase walked back into the house, he noticed that Robbie was partly covered in sunscreen.

"Uuuuuh...Robbie's a zombie...I don't think his skin gets affected by the sun..." Chase said.

Jamie turned around and with sunscreen-covered hands, Jamie began to sign. 'Who said?' Jamie asked.

"Let me explain: When a person gets severely sunburnt, their skin cells become dead and regenerate. But, zombie skin is already dead. Therefore, less susceptible to getting burnt." Chase told him.

Jamie decided to pull out his phone, and look it up. When he found something helpful, he turned on the 'Siri reads' option on his phone, and made it read the information.

"if you are a zombie, your skin is fully made of dead cells already… in some ways, less vulnerable to UV light, but at the same time unable to regenerate. That means we could see all kinds of fun effects that we do not see when a live human gets sunburnt… maybe the skin will get extra dry -maybe even cured like leather-, maybe it will get decolorated (as the sunlight will eat away at skin colors)… and we won't see the effects that come with live cells getting damaged and regenerated." Siri read.

Chase's eyes widened in surprise. What- how did he find that so quick? I guess...he DOES need sunscreen then?

"...Okay. I guess that answers everything." Chase said out loud.

"Answers what? What's the answer?" Robbie asked.

"Despite being a zombie, you still need sunscreen to protect your skin. Though your skin doesn't get burnt without it, it DOES get dry and pale without it." Chase explained.

"...So I can pull my arm off and sew it back on, but I can't go outside without sunscreen?" Robbie whined.

Chase's face went pale as he remembered Robbie's 'hand trick'. "Y-yes. That's right." Chase said, slightly stuttering in disgust. Jamie raised his eyebrows in surprise. Looks like Jamie's not the only one who gets disgusted by zombie gore...

Soon though, the boys were off. They hopped into the car, and drove towards the nearest park, that had lots of playground equipment. Robbie was visibly BEAMING at the amount of play equipment there was! He couldn't wait to get going! But first: lunch.

Chase and Robbie unfolded the blanket and laid it onto the ground, while Jamie carried the cooler bag out of the car and spread out the food. When the picnic food was all ready, Robbie practically dug into his sandwich to get it done as quick as possible, so he'd have lots of time to play on the playground.

"Robbie, Robbie- slow down. There's no need to devour the sandwich like an animal." Chase warned.

"Bu* I wa**a go o* z*e pla***oun*!" Robbie argued with his mouth full.

Jamie quietly giggled at the child's poor manners, with half-chewed in his own mouth.

"Hey! No giggling with your mouth full!" Chase commanded to Jamie. Jamie's giggles only increased into full-blown laughter. He did all he could to keep his sandwich in his mouth. It was not easy though, when you're laughing up a storm. "Jamie, listen to me! quit laughing! you're gonna choke!" Chase warned. Jamie, thankfully, managed to swallow his sandwich before bursting into even more laughter.

Chase just sighed. He looked a Robbie. Robbie just shrugged his shoulders before taking another bite of his sandwich. Robbie had managed to stop laughing, but was still smiling as he watched Jamie slowly lose his composure. Chase scooted himself closer to him. "Are you done yet?" Chase asked. Chase's words had only managed to throw Jamie into another fit of laughter. Chase sighed with un-amused eyes, but a very amused smile. "I guess not..." Chase muttered under his breath. It didn't take long for Jamie to fall backwards onto the blanket.

When Robbie swallowed a bit more of his sandwich, Robbie began to giggle at Jamie's strange giggle fit. Soon, Robbie placed down the last quarter of his sandwich, and crawled himself over to Jamie with a big, mischievous smirk. "What's tickling you, Jamie?" Robbie asked. Jamie's laughter had started to dissipate, but was still reoccurring in giggle fits. Robbie giggled at Jamie. "Hey Chase! I think a ghost may be tickling him!" Robbie teased. Chase rolled his eyes with a smile.

"You think so?" Chase asked.

"Yeah. Why would Jamie still be laughing on his own?" Robbie asked.

"I don't know. Ask him." Chase suggested.

Robbie smiled and looked at Jamie. "Hey Jamie? Why are you laughing? Are we really that funny?" Robbie asked. Jamie's giggles paused for a moment. But, Jamie was still visibly smirking. While his giggles left him, Jamie took advantage of the break and brought his finger towards Robbie's face. He booped Robbie's nose, before falling into even more silent giggles. Robbie just hung his head in unamusement.

Then, Robbie's mischievous nature came back to him. "Well...If you're gonna laugh, you minus well have something to laugh at!" Robbie declared, before lightly wiggling his fingers on his neck. Jamie curled his neck in, and started flapping his hands towards Robbie's hands. But, Robbie ended up just going for the ribs instead. This caused Jamie to scoot himself away from the boy as breathy, silent giggles left his mouth. But...Jamie had scooted himself right into the arms of Chase!

"Gotcha! Robbie, get him!" Chase told him.

"Okay!" Robbie replied as he got up. In a moments notice, Robbie had shoved his bony hands into Jamie's sides and wiggled deeply in between the bony ribcage pieces. Jamie threw his head back in hysterical laughter, and began kicking and squirming like a mad man. Jamie's hands couldn't choose between frantically signing, or pushing Robbie's hands away. But, nothing was helping him to get free.

To make matters worse, Chase had placed his hands into Jamie's armpits, and started tickling them like there was no tomorrow. "Nice one, Chase! Here: I'll grab them." Robbie suggested. Robbie stopped his little tickle attack and proceeded to lift Jamie's arms up halfway, to allow Chase more room to tickle, tease, and scratch in his armpits. But, Robbie made sure Jamie could still sign to him if he needed to.

By now, Jamie had a huge toothy smile on his face, and was rapidly kicking his feet out in front of him. Thankfully though, Jamie was still capable of signing. So, he took advantage of it. 'Stop! Stop! Make it stop!' Jamie begged.

Chase smirked as he watched the sign language as well. "Awww...Is de widdle quiet boy tickwish? Are de quiet boy's awmpits too ticka-ticka-ticklish for him?" Chase asked.

"I think they are!" Robbie replied.

"Oh Robbie, would you please be a dear and lift up his arms for me? I need them just a little higher." Chase asked in a polite, British accent.

Robbie giggled, before putting on his own British accent. "Why of course! Anything to see some dimples on this saint." Robbie replied. Chase's eyes widened as his smile quickly widened in admiration.

"What a lovely British accent, you've got there!" Chase said, in his own British accent.

"Why thank you, good sir." Robbie replied in his British accent. "Would you like a spot of tea, to go with that ticklish armpit?" Robbie asked.

"Why yes! I'd love some tea! And perhaps a little fruit cake to go with the pretty giggles from this cute little man?" Chase replied back, in British.

"Brilliant!" Robbie exclaimed, letting out a few giggles.

Chase let out a few chuckles as well, before resorting back to his usual Irish accent. "Alright. I think he's had enough." Chase told him.

"Okay." Robbie replied, before gently lowering his hands down. Jamie's arms just fell to the side all helpless.

'Thank you.' Jamie signed, basically melting deeply into Chase's arms.

"Uuuuh...Jamie? Uhuhum...Don't go falling asleep on me, buddy." Chase said as he lightly shook him to wake him up. But, Jamie barely moved. He was like dead weight.

"Jamie?" Robbie asked, sitting on him and shaking his shoulders. "Wake up." Robbie whined. Jamie stayed limp, not making a single movement...

...Well, apart from a noticeable 'blep' that he made with his tongue...

Robbie narrowed his eyes and tightened his lips. "Don't make me tickle you again." Robbie warned. Jamie stayed right where he was. Robbie smirked. "You've got 5 seconds to come alive, before I tickle you again. 5...4...3..." Robbie counted.

Much to Robbie's surprise, Jamie reached his arms up and trapped Robbie against his chest! Then, Jamie turned him onto his back, and tickled him in sweet revenge.

"AAAAHAHAHAHAHA! JAHAHAHAMIHIHIHIHIE! CHAHAHAHASE HEHEHEHEHELP MEHEHEHE!" Robbie shouted as he laughed hysterically.

"Nope...it looks like you're stuck." Chase replied with a smug look.

With that out of the way, Jamie hugged Robbie closer to his chest, before tickling him absolutely everywhere! The tummy, the belly button, the sides, the ribs, the armpits, everywhere on the boy's upper body was tickled.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! EEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHE! YOHOHOHOHOU'RE TIHIHIHIHICKLIHIHIHIHING MEHEHEHE EHEHEHEHEVEHEHERYWHEHEHEHERE!" Robbie yelled.

Jamie made a big, smug smirk, and Chase noticed it almost instantly. "Ohohoho...I think he's aware, Robbie..." Chase reacted, slightly nervous of what Jamie was capable of if he caught him and tickled him as well.

"CHAHAHAHAHASE! DOHOHOHOHO SOHOHOHOMETHIHIHIHING! PLEHEHEHEHEAHASE HEHEHEHELP MEHEHEHE!" Robbie begged helplessly.

Chase gulped as Jamie showed him an evil, mischievous, and almost threatening facial expression. "Uh...Sorry kid! You're on your own. There's NO WAY, I'm helping out. This guy will utterly destroy me, if I get involved. So...nope! Not happening." Chase replied.

Jamie nodded his head, as if to tell Chase 'you made the right choice by backing away'. Then, Jamie slowed his fingers and hugged the boy. Robbie's smile widened as he regenerated the breath he had lost. But thankfully, Robbie didn't need that much breath to get better. So, Robbie was able to enjoy the cuddle session with Jamie for a while.

Though it took a while longer than they expected, the boys did end up playing on the playground for a while. When the picnic stuff was all packed away, all three of the men had walked up to the playground to check out the equipment that was available to them. There was lots of rope-climbing equipment, lots of swings, plenty of slides, quite a few spinning equipment pieces, and a lot of different monkey bar sets!

On one of the monkey bar sets, Robbie had jumped up and started climbing from bar to bar with his bare hands like a monkey. While Robbie was just dangling on the monkey bars, Chase was standing on the ground, just eyeing up the boy with an evil idea in his mind.

"Hey Robbie! How long can you hang from there?" Chase asked.

"I don't know...probably a while." Robbie replied.

What would happen if I tickled you right now?" Chase asked, as he reached his hands up to get at his armpits.

Robbie let out a nervous squeal as he kicked his legs anxiously. "Don't tickle me! I'll fall!" Robbie begged, with a nervous, but an eager smile taking over his lips.

"If you fall, I'll catch you." Chase replied.

"I like being up here though!" Robbie argued with a smile and a giggle.

"Then it looks like you're gonna have to work hard to stay up there, then." Chase replied before wiggling a couple fingers in one of Robbie's armpits.

"eeEEEEK! CHAHAHAHASE! STAHAHAHAHAP IHIHIHIHIT!" Robbie squealed as he kicked and giggled.

"Let's see how long you can last. So far, you can last almost 5 seconds." Chase told him.

Robbie continued to giggle and squeal for a good 30 seconds. He used as much of his grip as he could, to not let go of the monkey bars. But, the tickling was weakening him!

Next, Chase began tickling both armpits one at a time, and switching armpits every few seconds. Robbie kept holding on, but the poor boy was slowly losing his grip! It was growing increasingly difficult to keep holding on. But Robbie was a determined boy! He wanted to reach a maximum of 2 minutes. So, he attempted.

"Wow...not bad...But what if I switched spots, and chose to tickle the back of your neck? How would that make you feel?" Chase asked as he walked towards Robbie's back. Chase had lowered his left hand, before moving his right hand back up to the back of Robbie's neck. Robbie let out yet another squeal, and fell into a puddle of babbles and laughter.

"NOHOHOHOHOHOHO! CHAHAHAHAHA! TIHIHIHICKIHIHIHIHIHI! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Robbie babbled helplessly.

Chase lowered his right hand for a moment or two. "you've lasted more than a minute so far. You're doing very well. I'm impressed. buuuuut..." Chase muttered, lifting up both hands this time. "What if I tickled your neck, AND your left armpit? Can you last? Or are you too ticklish to stand it?" Chase asked.

Robbie's eyes widened as he realized what was coming. And before he could stop it, Robbie let out another squeal before falling into an endless swirl of laughter. One hand was tickling the back of Robbie's neck, while the other hand was tickling his left armpit! It was SO BAD! And it was quickly weakening him!

"STAHAHAHAP IHIHIHIT! STAPSTAPSTAP CHASE, PLEHEHEHEASE STAHAHAHAP!" Robbie begged frantically as he kicked his legs in the air.

"Listen, I'll stop tickling you, the moment you let go of that blue bar. Until you let go though, I'm not budging..." Chase replied.

This was the moment where Robbie decided: enough is enough. If Chase is going to be like that, he minus well let go of the bar and claim his personal high score. So, Robbie let his shaky hands go. Robbie fell for a good couple inches, before being safely caught in the arms of his tickler.

Robbie's giggles continued to leave his mouth as he laid in Chase's arms, bridal style. "Thahahahat wahahas ehehehevihihihil..." Robbie told him.

Chase chuckled. "I know...But did I go overboard?" Chase asked.

"Nohohoho. Thahahahat wahahas peheheherfehehect." Robbie told him through his giggles.

Chase's eyes widened as a thought went through his head...He LIKED that?!

"Wait a second...Was that activity fun for you?" Chase asked. Robbie's smile widened as he giggled and nodded back in reply. Chase shook his head in disbelief. "Wow...it's a wonder what you can handle..." Chase commented as he walked away from the monkey bars.

"Ihihihi cahahan hahahandle ihihihihit. Ihihihi'm ahaha bihihig bohohohoy." Robbie told him.

Chase giggled back at the last statement. "In some ways you are. But in other ways, you'll still be our cute little Robbie." Chase told him.

Robbie ended up falling asleep on the man. Though Chase had to put the child into the back seat of the car, he really didn't want to let go of him. But...safety first, wants second. When Chase and Jamie got home, Chase placed Robbie into Chase's big bed for a good ol' nap. But, Robbie had woken up enough to grab his hand.

"Can you please stay?" Robbie had asked him in his tired, childish raspy voice. The child even had the audacity to give him the puppy eyes...

How can a man say no to that?! So...two men ended up taking a nap together. And soon enough, Jamie joined them...in a chair, in another room...

...With a book in his lap...

Chapter Text

"GOTCHA!" the kid shouted, jumping onto Chase's shoulders.

Chase gasped in surprise, and placed his hand on his chest. "Oh no...You got meeee!" Chase wheezed dramatically, falling to his right side and taking Robbie with him to the couch cushions.

Robbie hit the soft couch with a high-pitched "Oof!" and crawled himself onto Chase's chest. Chase had to stop himself from laughing the moment he saw what Robbie was wearing: He was wearing a headband with a pair of fox ears on his head! Apparently, Henrik had convinced him that foxes are the coolest animals. So, with Jamie's sewing skills, Robbie had put together his own fox ears out of felt, and got them sewed onto a headband! And now, Robbie can't stop wearing them!

"I've got you! You are my food now!" Robbie declared, pointing his finger at him. In response, Chase jokingly chomped his mouth right in front of the tip of Robbie's pointing finger. Robbie squeaked and pulled his finger back in surprise! "That's it!" the kid exclaimed. Robbie shoved his mouth into Chase's neck, and started gently nibbling on Chase's neck while making 'Om nom' noises to tease him.

"Hehehehehey! Hahahahaha! Thahahat- Thahahat tihihihicklehes!" Chase giggled lightly, squirming around under the child.

Robbie removed his head from Chase's neck and looked at Chase with wide, starry eyes. "My prey is ticklish!" Robbie declared. He lifted his hand up and admired his nails. "Maybe I can put these paws to good use?" Robbie suggested, curling his hands up in front of his chest like a cat. Eager to use his hands, Robbie placed his fingernails into Chase's sides and wiggled his 'claws' on the sides of Chase's stomach.

Chase bucked and shook his head! "eeeEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE! ROHOHOHOBBIHIHIHIHIE!" Chase squealed, grabbing Robbie's wrists as he kicked his feet out in front of him.

"Wow! My meal is so loud! Maybe I should munch it down quickly." Robbie said, before removing his hands. Robbie lifted up Chase's shirt and took in a deep breath. Shoving his face into Chase's belly, Robbie blew a BIG raspberry into his tummy!

"OHOHOHO MYMYMY GAHAHAHAHAD! NOHOHOHOHO RAHAHAHASPBEHEHEHERRIHIES!" Chase shouted loudly!

Immediately after the raspberry, Robbie had went back to his 'nom nom' nibbles and pretended to eat all the food within the squishy belly. "So much food in your belly! Yum yum yum!" Robbie teased.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IHIHIT TIHIHIHICKLES! HEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHA!" Chase yelled, frantically holding his arms against his chest.

Robbie lifted his head up. "Really? I had no idea! It was hard to tell over all your laughing." Robbie teased.

After another 5 minutes of tickling, Robbie stopped and removed his fox ears.

"Hey Robbie, could I try on the fox ears?" Chase asked.

Robbie giggled. "Sure!" Robbie replied.

Robbie placed the fox ears onto Chase's head, and smiled at the new look. Once the fox ears were fixed up, Chase put his loose fists up to his chest like a kitty and tilted his head to the side to look cute. "Am I kawaii?" Chase asked in a high-pitched voice, speaking all kawaii, anime-like.

Robbie giggled and laughed at the weird word. "So kaw-eye-ee!" Robbie replied, accidentally mispronouncing the Japanese word.

Chase let out a short giggle. "YES! Look out everyone! Here comes a cute motha-lovah!" Chase declared, bouncing his upper body and his 'paws' back and forth.

"YES! I love Mommies." Robbie replied, not entirely understanding the word. "Can I be a cute mother-lover too?" Robbie asked.

Chase removed the fox ears and placed them onto Robbie's head. "Of course!" Chase replied.

"YAAAY!" Robbie cheered, before taking off in a quick sprint around the couch. When he reached the front of the couch again, Robbie proudly yelled "STAND ASIDE FOR THE MOTHER LOVER FOX LORD!". Chase just bursted out laughing. "DOES YOUR CHILD HATE YOU BECAUSE YOU READ THEIR DIARY? NEVER FEAR! THE MOTHER LOVER FOX LORD IS- THERE'S A CAT!" Robbie shouted suddenly!

Chase sat himself up in surprise, and hopped himself right off the couch. Chase looked at the other side of the couch, and covered his mouth to suppress his laughter:

Robbie was running after a white cat with a blue color, and leaning over to try and pick it up! The cat, naturally terrified, was running away and jumping on every surface it could to get away. Chase sighed as he watched the cat jump on top of the fridge. Clearly irritated, the cat hissed at Robbie as a warning.

Chase walked up to the kid, tired but patient. "Robbie, let's not chase it. Chasing a cat like that scares it and gets it angry." Chase told him.

"Oh..." Robbie muttered, frowning to himself. Chase brought Robbie over to the back of the couch. "Stay here, and I'll get the cat for you, okay?" Chase told him.

"Okay." Robbie replied.

Chase walked himself up to the refrigerator and held his arms up. "Here kitty-kitty-kitty. Come here." Chase encouraged. The white cat jumped back and nervously curved its back. "It's okay. Robbie's new. He's a good kid, I promise. He just...needs to learn about a cat's behaviour." Chase told the cat, as if it would understand all it was being told. The cat slowly brought itself closer to Chase, and jumped down the refrigerator and into his arms. "There we go. See? It's gonna be alright. Look:" Chase reassured. Chase carried the cat slowly over to Robbie, and allowed the cat to inspect Robbie a little bit.

The cat smelled Robbie's body a little bit. It slowly brought its front paws out and felt Robbie's shoulder and hair. At one point, the cat snuck its wet, twitchy nose into Robbie's neck. Robbie giggled as he tried to keep his neck from curling. In a few seconds though, the cat removed its nose and began crawling itself out of Chase's grip. Slowly, the cat brought itself down onto Robbie's knees and walked its back legs down onto Robbie as well. Slowly, the cat sat in Robbie's lap, and smelled Robbie further.

"Hi kitty. I'm sorry for scaring you." Robbie said to it, giving the cat a couple pets on the neck and the ears.

"His name is Marvin." Chase told him.

"Marvin?" Robbie clarified.

"Yeah." Chase replied with a smile.

Robbie smiled and continued petting the cat. Marvin, getting used to Robbie, laid his belly on Robbie's lap. Robbie smiled and began giving Marvin little scritchie-scratchies on the bottom of the ears. Marvin began purring and curling into the touch happily. "He likes it!" Robbie told Chase.

"I can see that." Chase reacted.

Robbie continued to give the cat many scratches. "Good kitty. You're a very good kitty. Such a good boy." Robbie cooed softly. Chase covered his mouth in giddy excitement from all the cuteness of the two. They were so cute together!

Chase pulled out his phone and began taking pictures. The cat, noticing Chase from every picture angle, rolled his eyes.

Chase tilted his head and smiled. "What's wrong? Does someone not like taking pictures?" Chase asked, giving him the puppy eyes and the bottom lip.

Robbie giggled. Marvin looked up at Chase and shook his head. Robbie's eyes widened as he smiled widely. "He actually told you no!" Robbie reacted.

Chase nodded. "Yup, he can do that. He's a smart cat, you see." Chase told the child.

"How smart? Can he ring a bell when he's hungry?" Robbie asked. Chase nodded. "Can he play with string?" Robbie asked.

Chase nodded. "If he's in the mood to, yeah." Chase replied.

Robbie giggled and squealed as he felt the cat climb onto his shoulders. Chase laughed as well. "He also likes to be people's scarves." Chase added. Robbie giggled into his grey hand and resumed his scratching against Marvin's ears. Marvin laid his head on top of his paws, on Robbie's right shoulder.

Chase smiled and took another picture of the cute sight. "Hey Robbie." Chase said.

"Yeah?" Robbie whispered.

"Marvin is not some ordinary cat..." Chase hinted.

Robbie looked up at Chase with curious eyes. "Really?" Robbie reacted, with a glint of excitement in his eyes. "Is he a type of tiger?" Robbie asked. Chase shook his head. "Is he gay?" Robbie asked.

Chase giggled at the random question and shook his head. "Ironically, no." Chase replied. "He's a shapeshifter." Chase told him.

Robbie gasped and looked at the cat's head. Marvin's eyes were widened. "Really? What can he turn into?" Robbie asked. Chase smiled and picked up Marvin. As Marvin was lifted away from Robbie, Marvin gave Robbie a cat smile and a wink. Chase held Marvin in his arms for a few seconds, and pet him lightly with his entire hand rubbing Marvin's back. Marvin happily took the rubs and pets, and purred into Chase's soft touch.

"You ready Marvin?" Chase asked. Marvin looked up at Chase and gave him a happy 'Meow' in reply. "Okay." Chase said, before placing Marvin onto the ground. Marvin sat himself down and jumped up onto his hind legs. The moment Marvin was on his two back paws, Marvin began to glow and get bigger. Robbie watched with starry eyes as the glowing being morphed into the shape of an adult human being. Quickly, the glowing faded, and revealed a human male.

The male had a white cat mask on his head, a blue t-shirt, a black pair of pants and a black cape. The adult also had some facial hair, 4 symbols drawn onto the top of the mask (Normally seen in a deck of cards), and some green colored hair poking out of his white cat mask. Marvin had his hands up against his chest when he first appeared, and lowered one of the peach-colored hands down to his side. With the other hand, Marvin gave Robbie a kind wave.

"The cat is a MAN?!" Robbie asked in surprise.

Chase giggled at his funny question. He walked up to his friend. "Robbie, this is Marvin the Magnificent. He's a magician." Chase introduced.

Robbie gasped. "CAT MAN!" Robbie declared excitedly. "CHASE! IT'S A MAGIC CAT MAN!" Robbie shouted. Marvin's lips and eyebrows perked up at once, and lifted into an adoring kind of face that a man would give a tiny, whimpering puppy. Marvin had only known Robbie for a few minutes, but he already wanted to protect this tiny little bean of cuteness with his entire life!

"I know! He's a magic man who spends part of his time being a cat. Here's a little secret: when Marvin is being a cat, that means Marvin wants attention and love." Chase told him. Robbie tilted his head to the side and frowned.

"You don't have to be a cat to be loved. I can give you lots of hugs and cuddles when you're a big cat man!" Robbie declared. Marvin could feel tiny, loving tears showing up in his eyes. All Marvin wanted to do now, was to hug the kid and cover the kid in endless kitty kisses.

Marvin finally bursted out of his calm composure. "I can't! I can't, stay calm in front of him like this! He's too-" Marvin paused his phrase to squeal and clap his hands in giddy excitement. Then, Marvin knelt down to Robbie's height and opened his arms. "Come to Marvy, you adorable-" Marvin declared. Before the magician could finish what he was saying, Robbie had already sprinted right up to him! "-OOH!! My goodness!" Marvin jumped, not expecting the force of an 8 year old child to bash right into him.

Robbie giggled as he happily hugged Marvin and shoved his face into Marvin's shoulder. Marvin's eyes grew all wide and starry at the adorable fact he had just learned: "You're SO HUGGABLE!" Marvin declared, giving Robbie a light squeeze.

Robbie's giggles grew louder in volume as a big, wide smile spread on his face. "Again!" Robbie yelled.

"Again?! You want another squeeze?" Marvin asked in a childish, goofy voice. Robbie's laughter only got louder as he listened to Marvin's hilarious voice. He nodded back in reply. "Aaaalright!" Marvin said, before giving Robbie another tight squeeze to go with his hug. Robbie squealed, and rested his chin on Marvin's shoulder while he fell into childish, little kid cackles.

"And SO GIGGLY! I wonder..." Marvin thought out loud, before giving Robbie's belly a little squeeze. Robbie squealed and bursted into hysterical, childish laughter! Marvin gasped and turned the child so he could see him over the child's shoulder. "And TICKLISH!" Marvin declared. Marvin began cradling Robbie like a toddler against his right arm, and began tickling his belly with his left hand. "ticky-ticky-ticky-ticky-tickle! Aaa-ticky-ticky-ticky-ticky-tickle! Such a squishy boy with a squishy belly-welly in my grasp!" Marvin cooed. Robbie's giggles only increased from the teasing! "Awww! I could just hug you forever, and ever, and ever, and ever!" Marvin declared.

Amidst his giggling, Robbie finally spoke up. "NOHOHO! IHIHI HAHAHAVE TOHO PLAHAHAHAY!" Robbie said with a wide smile on his face.

"Play?! But who would want to play when you could cuddle?" Marvin asked.

Robbie knew that the man was teasing him and playing around. So, he went along with it! "MEHEHEHEHE!" Robbie replied.

"NOPE! No more play time for you! You committed yourself to this. Therefore: you are ALL MINE!" Marvin declared, giving Robbie another squeeze. Robbie squealed and fell into another silly giggle fit.

Then, Robbie felt the need to return the favor! "My turn!" Robbie declared.

Marvin giggled to himself as he readied himself for tickles in reply. But, Robbie gave him a big hug and a squeeze! "Oh! You mean squeezes?" Marvin asked.

"Yeah! Hugs and squeezes for Marvy!" Robbie yelled.

Marvin giggled in reply. "Alright. I suppose after squeezing the laughter out of you, I deserve some squeezes of my- whOA! OHO MY GOD!" Marvin replied, interrupting his own words as he experienced a tight squeeze from an abnormally strong child. "You're a lot stronger than I expected!" Marvin commented. Robbie giggled mischievously as he squeezed Marvin again. "WOW...I think SOMEONE'S been lifting weights!" Marvin reacted, squeezing the bicep muscles on the kid. "Dude! Chase, you have to feel these things! This boy's got SUPERMAN muscles!" Marvin exclaimed to Chase.

Robbie giggled and pulled away to look up at Marvin. "No I don't! I have strong Robbie muscles!" Robbie declared proudly.

Marvin giggled at the funny reply. "You sir, have super strength! And what would you use that super strength for?" Marvin asked.

Robbie thought for a moment, but gasped and pointed up when he got an idea. Marvin watched the kid as he walked up to him, and lightly pushed Marvin to the ground! Marvin made an 'OOF' sound, but giggled a bit as he hit his back on the ground. "I'd tickle people with my powers!" Marvin declared, before wiggling his fingers all over Marvin's sides, lower ribs and belly.

Marvin yelped in surprise. "AAAH! Wahahahait, whahahaHAHAHAHAT?!" Marvin yelled.

"Everyone is ticklish somewhere! That means, Robbie can beat everyone!" Robbie explained. "And, I can make them happy at the same time!" Robbie added.

"Ihihihi meheheheheahan...Yohohohou're nahahahat wrohohohohong, buhuhuhut..." Marvin muttered.

Chase was smirking in amusement as he watched. "Hey Robbie: try behind the ears!" Chase suggested.

"Behind the ears?" Robbie clarified.

"Chahahahase! Shuhuhuhut uhuhuhuhup!" Marvin told him.

Chase gasped and dropped his jaw. "Such rude words! Robbie," Chase ordered.

Robbie wiggled his evil fingers behind Marvin's right ear. "Way ahead of you." Robbie replied smugly.

Marvin jolted and shrieked! "eeEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHE! NUUUHUHUHUHUHUHU! ROHOHOBBIHIHIHIHIHIHIE!" Marvin squealed through his high-pitched giggles.

"What? Why are you laughing so much? I'm giving you ear scratchies! Don't you like those?" Robbie teased.

"YEHEHEHEHES, BUHUHUHUT AHAHAHAS AHAHA CAHAHAHAHAT!" Marvin yelled back.

"But you ARE a cat! You're wearing a cat mask with whiskers!" Robbie told him.

Chase just crossed his arms, enjoying the hilarious view. These two were like two peas in a pod! They were PERFECT for each other!

"CHAHAHASE! HEHEHEHELP MEHEHEHE!" Marvin begged, reaching out.

Chase raised an eyebrow. "No way! If I help you, Robbie's gonna go for me next! I'm staying over here, thank you very much." Chase replied.

Marvin let out a whine in reply, and decided to try and fend for himself. "Cohohome hehehere, you ehehehevihihil chihihild!" Marvin said through his laughter as he reached and tickled Robbie back.

Robbie squealed and curled himself forward as laughter left his mouth. Continuing to tickle the boy, Robbie dropped to his knees with a wide, toothy grin on his face. With Robbie on his knees, Marvin spun Robbie around onto his back, and trapped him into a tickle hug against his chest. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOHOHOU GOHOHOHOT MEHEHEHE! UNCLE! UHUHUNCLEHEHE!" Robbie begged.

"Alright alright. I'll let you go." Marvin decided, letting him go and laying his hands beside him. But Robbie had spun himself around and lifted up Marvin's shirt! "What the- Robbie, let go of-" Marvin managed to get out.

Robbie blew him a loud, long raspberry right onto his belly! "GaaAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHYHYHYHYHY AHAHARE YOHOHOHOU LIHIHIHIKE THIHIHIHIHIS?!" Marvin asked.

"Cause it's funny!" Robbie replied proudly, before looking at Chase for clarification.

Chase was smirking. "He's got a point." Chase added.

Marvin looked at Chase, with evil, mischievous intentions in his eyes. "Funny, you say?" Marvin asked evilly.

Chase noticed Marvin's change in expression, and slowly began backing up with his hands raised up in front of his chest. "Now Marvin, let's be serious for a moment...my actions were justified." Chase said nervously.

"Hmm...Maybe for you, but certainly not for me. And now...you're gonna regret it." Marvin told him, before lightly jumping onto him.

"Wait! Marvin, don't! I'm- OhoHOHOHOHO GEHEHEHEHEEZ! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IHIHIHIHI'M SAHAHAHAHAHARRYHYHYHY!" Chase shouted.

Marvin was squeezing the hallow part of Chase's hips. "You're sorry? Oh, isn't that a shame? I don't quite believe you." Marvin replied. Chase shrieked and laughed as one of his bad spots on his body, was tweaked and drilled into with both index fingers. Now THAT just wasn't FAIR! "If you were REALLY so sorry, you would've jumped up and actually saved me from that evil boy! But nOoOo! You had to keep yourself safe from getting tickled. So, now I'm going to make you regret that choice!" Marvin declared. Chase looked up for only a moment, and immediately regretted it:

Marvin had used his magic to make a makeup brush appear in front of him! Holding it in his hand confidently, Marvin waved it with a smug smirk. Chase nervously laughed to himself and slowly began scooting himself away. But, Marvin grabbed his ankle. "Nope." He said. "You ain't going anywhere..." Marvin warned. He pulled Chase back, and removed his sock. "Since you refuse to stay still, I'll have to go for your foot." Marvin told him. Holding his ankle still, Marvin dragged the makeup brush up and down the foot.

Chase squeaked and covered his mouth with a semi-loose fist. "NOOOOHOHOhohohohoooo! Mahahaharvihihihihihin!" Chase yelled. He helplessly squirmed and squeezed his left arm as a huge grin overtook his face.

"Yes Chase?" Marvin asked in a smooth, low voice.

"Pleheheheheahase dohohohohon't! Thahahahat tihihihihicklehehes!" Chase begged.

"Please don't what? Please...don't stop? Very well. Your wish is my command." Marvin said back. "Robbie? Could you be a dear and hold his ankle down for me?" Marvin asked.

"Sure!" Robbie replies, laying on Chase's ankle with his chest.

Suddenly, Marvin dropped his makeup brush onto the ground and began to glow. His glowing body grew smaller and smaller as it morphed into an animal. When the glowing subsided, a white cat with a smug grin on his face eyed up Chase. With the ankle being held down by Robbie, Marvin could now effectively tickle his foot! Marvin started by licking Chase's inner arch.

"OhohOHOHohoho NOOOHOHOhohohohoho! THAHAHAHAT'S JUHuhuhuhust nohohohohot FAHAHAHAHAhahair!" Chase argued.

Robbie giggled. "All's fair when it comes to tickles!" Robbie replied.

Strangely enough, Chase's foot didn't taste yucky to Marvin. It actually tasted nice! Which is ironic because...well...he's a man who sweats in his shoes. Then again, being a cat makes his taste buds a LOT weaker compared to a human's tongue. So, perhaps weaker taste buds helped him in that regard? Who knows!

Marvin began licking up the ball of Chase's foot. Chase yelped and fell into cackles! The thing was, a cat's tongue is like a naturally flexible wet brush. It had bumps on it that could be used to brush out its own fur, and clean itself. So a brush-like tongue was PERFECT for tickling!

And so was his nose! Amidst the licking, Marvin began smelling underneath the toes. Chase covered his mouth to muffle a loud, high-pitched squeal. "Wow! Your voice is really high for a man!" Robbie declared. That comment alone, made Chase giggle and snort. If Marvin were still human, Marvin probably would've laughed too. But, Marvin was too busy licking underneath his toes!

Chase threw his head back. "AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NAHAHAHAT THEHEHERE! NAHAHAHAHAHAHAT THEHEHEHEHEHEHEHERE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! EEHEHEHEHEHEHE!" Chase shouted, pounding his hands into the floor.

"That's a great spot, Marvin!" Robbie declared proudly.

"NOHOHOHOHOHO IHIHIHIT'S NAHAHAHAHAT! IHIHIHIT TIHIHIHICKLEHES TOHOHOHOHO MUHUHUHUHUHUCH!" Chase yelled.

Robbie giggled. "Really? What tickles more? Your feet? Or your hips?" Robbie asked.

"HAHAHAHAHA! FEEHEHEHEHEHEHET! MYHYHYHY FEEHEHEHEHET AHAHAHARE WOHOHOHOHOHORSE! MUHUHUHUCH WOHOHOHOHORSE!" Chase replied.

While Chase was somewhat losing his mind over the tickling, Chase ended up accidentally lifting his bare foot up into the air! "WEEEEEEEE! HIGHER CHASE! HIGHER!" Robbie shouted. Chase lifted his head up, and just laughed at the silly stunt. Marvin the cat made a surprised meow sound, while Robbie was just giggling and hanging onto Chase's leg.

I guess Chase AND Marvin overestimated how heavy Robbie really was!

Robbie wrapped his legs around the leg, and picked up Marvin with his free hands! With Marvin safely in his arms, Robbie placed Marvin around his neck like a scarf and turned himself around to face Chase.

When he was ready, Robbie picked up Marvin a little aggressively and lightly threw him onto Chase's chest. Marvin landed onto his feet, right on top of Chase's chest! Chase let out a surprised "Oof!" sound, yet smiled when he realized it was just the 9 pound cat and not 45 pounds of Robbie. Next, Robbie swung himself upside down, and landed himself on his back onto the floor. Then, Robbie crawled himself over to Chase and laid himself onto Chase.

"You're so fun, Chase. I love living with you." Robbie complimented. Chase smiled and began petting Robbie's head. Marvin, happy but wanting to turn human again, walked himself off of Chase and laid himself onto his back. With no time to spare, Marvin's cat body began to glow and morph. In only a single short minute, a big man with a cat mask was now laying on his back, with his arms resting behind his head.

"Cat man is back!" Robbie said happily. Chase chuckled at the funny nickname and looked over at Marvin. Marvin looked back at chase, but quickly turned his focus onto a crawling Robbie who was now laying himself in between Marvin and Chase.

With Robbie now in between them, Marvin was able to see the child up close. Almost right away, he noticed something was off. "...Hey Robbie?" Marvin called calmly.

"Yeah?" Robbie said, turning his body towards Marvin.

Marvin brought his hand a little closer to the child's neck, but hesitated for a second. "Am I allowed to touch you?" Marvin asked.

Robbie nodded back, granting him permission.

Marvin began feeling Robbie's face carefully. It felt cold to the touch. "Do you feel cold?" Marvin asked.

"No, I don't." Robbie replied.

"Okay." Marvin muttered. Next, Marvin began poking the cheek to see if the skin where he poked would go a pinky-peach color. But, it didn't change colors at all. There was no color change on where he just poked. But, there was a bit of caving on the cheek that remained after being poked. It looked almost like Robbie didn't have very much cheek muscles to give it its full volume.

Marvin tilted his head curiously as he felt the other cheek with his other hand. Gently, Marvin started squishing both cheeks together. "What are you doing?" Robbie asked.

Marvin quickly removed his hands and retreated them. "Nothing. Just...questioning something." Marvin replied.

"What's your question?" Robbie asked.

"Why is it that your cheeks look plump and chubby, until I squish them? Why don't your cheeks puff back out and regain its original shape?" Marvin asked.

Robbie raised an eyebrow. "...What?" Robbie asked, very confused.

"Okay. I'll squiiiiish your cheeks..." Marvin said, squishing his cheeks with his fingers. "Aaaand let go...and look!" Marvin reacted, before making a mirror appear in his hand to show Robbie. "Your cheeks are not growing chubby again. They're permanently sunken in! To make things even weirder, I can see the imprints of my fingers on your cheeks. It's like...you don't have cheek muscles at all." Marvin explained.

Robbie's eyes widened as he brought his own fingers up to his own face. Robbie began feeling his empty cheeks, and gasped as he understood what Marvin was talking about: Robbie was losing the muscles and the fat in his cheeks! Robbie gasped nervously and sat himself up into a kneeling position to show Chase.

Upon seeing Robbie's face again, Chase's own face softened as he clearly noticed the cheek volume difference himself. "Can I feel your cheeks Chase?" Robbie asked. Chase took a few seconds to answer, but snapped himself back into reality to nod his head yes. Robbie began pushing down Chase's cheeks and admiring how soft his cheeks were. Although Chase's cheeks were much more stretched out than Robbie's, Robbie was still able to notice how his cheeks would change color and pop out upon removing pressure.

Chase, wanting to know the feeling himself, touched Robbie's cheeks and gently squished and moved them around. Robbie's cheeks reminded him of a grandparent! The cheeks were growing saggy and losing volume. Chase sighed as he realized what might've been happening.

"I...I think your cheeks are decaying." Chase told him.

Robbie looked at Chase with a hurt, sad face. "My cheeks are dying?" Robbie whined.

Chase nodded back with a pity smile on his face. Chase began playing with Robbie's hair. "You'd better get your grandfather impression down-pat because someone's cheeks are getting saggy and hollow." Chase said as a small joke. Robbie wasn't amused though. Chase noticed that. "Not the time for jokes?" Chase asked calmly. Robbie shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't sure what to think. He certainly didn't feel up for jokes, but he didn't want to feel sad either. He knew this was happening. He knew he was losing his body bit by bit. But...it still hurt.

"What's going on exactly? Cause so far, it sounds like Robbie has the start of Progeria or something." Marvin explained.

Chase attempted to think of a way to explain it to him without scaring the living hel-

"I'm a child zombie." Robbie explained in 4 words.

Marvin raised his eyebrows and chuckled. "Really?" Marvin clarified, not really believing it.

Chase's eyes widened as he realized what Robbie just outwardly told him. "Uuuuuuhhh...I was trying to help Marvin by NOT being blunt!" Chase told Robbie.

"But I'm fine." Robbie argued.

"You're fine...for a zombie." Chase corrected.

Marvin lifted an eyebrow, still confused as to what's really going on.

"My skin is grey. I have only 3 big boy teeth and the rest are baby teeth and lost tooth holes. I also have stitches!" Robbie told him, lifting his shirt up proudly to show off his stitched up skin.

Marvin's eyes widened. "These look new! Like, they look like fresh cuts, but...not fresh!" Marvin reacted.

Robbie began pointing at his cuts and began telling Marvin about how he got those cuts. Each cut seemed to have its own story behind it. One of them was caused by a sharp branch! One of them was from a triangle shaped ruler. There were stretch marks surrounding a bit cut that had broken open while he was hanging on some monkey bars. His pinky finger had a tiny cut from a piece of paper, that never healed. There was a slash across the outside of his thigh, that was caused from a screwdriver, that he got before turning into a zombie. It was partly healed over, but was still stitched shut by the kid just to be safe. Marvin just about lost his mind when he heard Robbie proudly pronounce, "I used Mommy's sewing talent to fix my skin!". Chase looked about as pale as a vampire. He looked like he was gonna vomit anytime soon.

By the time Robbie was done telling his scar stories, Marvin wasn't sure is he should be protecting this zombie child, or ending this zombie child's suffering. The good news was that Marvin believed him. But the bad news was: What was Marvin going to do?

Robbie looked up at him with puppy eyes, fearing he may be losing his life. But, Marvin pulled him into a protective, snug hug. "I will protect you and your scars from breaking apart. I will keep you safe from the zombie killers. I will love you, cuddle you, care for you, and be your safety cat man. I don't care that you can bite me and turn me into a zombie As long as your brain is still working as well as it is, I will keep you safe." Marvin told him rather quickly.

Chase dropped his jaw in surprise, but put on a toothy smile once it really sunk in: Marvin was going to help Chase keep the kid safe.

Robbie giggled and hugged Marvin back. "You don't need to keep me safe. I'm a big boy. I can keep myself safe." Robbie told him. Marvin giggled at his persistence. "But, I would like to have another friend." Robbie added.

Marvin gasped and clapped his hands rapidly. "I'd love to be your friend! I've always wanted a kid to play with!" Marvin replied.

"The best part about being a zombie, is I get to be a kid forever!" Robbie added. Marvin smiled and gave him a bear kiss. "Lucky bugger. I wish I could be a kid forever." Marvin told him.

Robbie crossed his arms with a smug look on his face. "Hey! You get to be a cat! You are a lucky bugger." Robbie declared.

Chase giggled and happily enjoyed watching the zombie child and the adult child fighting over who was 'the more lucky bugger' out of the two of them. The truth was, both of them were! Marvin was their part time roommate and their part time house cat, while Robbie was their full-time forever child! How much cooler can these people really get?

Chapter Text

{“Robbin! Quick! Go hide in the closet. Mommy’s gonna keep you safe.” She told him. Robbie only cried more.

“NOOO! I wanna stay with you!” Robbie cried, scared of what was happening.

“Just go! I’ll be right there. I promise.” She encouraged Robbie before pushing him into the closet and closing the door.

“I’M SORRY! JUST TAKE ME! LEAVE MY FAMILY OUT OF THIS!” a familiar male voice begged.

There was a loud cry in agony. “You brought this upon yourself.” a low, quiet voice told him, before something big fell onto the ground.

“AUSTIN!” Robbie heard. His eyes widened in horror. Is Dad okay?! What about Mom? “I’m begging you! Think about what you’re doing! PLEASE!” He heard.

“You should’ve thought of that before you called the police on me…” The deep voice warned.

A loud shout could be heard, followed by multiple more shouts of pain. Robbie couldn’t take it anymore. He picked up a broomstick from the corner of the closet and kicked the door open. “GET AWAY FROM THEM!” Robbie shouted before hitting the man on the head with the broomstick.

A shout of pain could be heard from the evil man, before he slowly got up again. “You little SHIT!” He shouted.

Another loud shout of pain could be heard. But this time, it was high-pitched. Then, Robbie looked down and noticed the blood spilling out. It was then that he realized it was himself who was screaming. Then, another cry of pain left his mouth as he was whacked in the back of the head with the very broomstick he was holding.

Robbie attempted to get up, but was pushed down by the man’s foot. “Such a shame your ‘papa’ had to be such a racist.” the deep voice yelled. Robbie began to feel really weak. He tried to reach out, but he could barely move his arms. He tried to kick, but he could barely do that either. He could barely even keep listening to the deep voice that was talking to him. The man’s voice was slowly turning into mumbles.

“H...He...l...he…” Robbie barely spoke. He felt himself take one last breath before everything went black.}

Robbie opened his eyes wide and looked around the room. Where was he?! Robbie quickly sat himself up and looked around at the room. He let out a sigh of relief when he remembered what had happened. He hugged his stuffed dog, Bacon close to him and sobbed to himself. It was that nightmare again. He always used to have it. But the longer he was around, the less the nightmare haunted him. He had grown less and less freaked out by the nightmare, and had grown more saddened whenever the nightmare entered his brain again. At this point, Robbie had gotten more scared of how lost he currently was, more than the nightmare itself. But it still hurt him.

So, Robbie hopped off the couch with Bacon in his hand, walked himself towards Chase’s bedroom door and opened it. He walked himself inside, and walked towards the empty bedside. Chase placed Bacon onto the bed first, and climbed his small, nimble body up onto the bed with a little difficulty. Though he had gotten used to getting into Chase’s bed in the mornings, Robbie still found it a little hard trying to get into the bed at night time without Chase’s help. But, Robbie found a way and laid down onto the pillow on the left side of the bed.

Robbie pulled some of the blankets onto himself and spent a few minutes watching Chase’s body lift and fall. It didn’t take long for Chase to breathe in deeply and for him to toss himself towards Robbie’s direction. Chase opened his eyes and looked at him. “Hi Robbie.” He greeted quietly.

“Hi Chase.” Robbie replied back with a hurtful whine in his voice.

“I heard the door open. Is something wrong?” Chase asked.

“I had a nightmare.” Robbie admitted.

Chase nodded his head in understanding. He was a little surprised it took this long for Robbie to come into his bed in the middle of the night. But, here he was: complaining about a nightmare. “Do you want to talk about it?” Chase asked. He remembered when his kids would sometimes talk out their dreams to him, and he could help him determine what was fake, what was realistic and what made no sense to him.

“No thanks. It’s too sad.” Robbie replied with a frown. Chase softened his expression. A sad nightmare? It’s been a while since he’s dealt with one of those.

Chase opened his arms. “Do you wanna cuddle?” Chase offered.

Robbie looked at him with a small smile and nodded. He scooted himself closer to Chase and snuggled himself into Chase like a little burrito. Chase wrapped his arms around the child and kept him as close to his chest as he possibly could.

“You don’t need to fret about a nightmare. It wasn’t real, so you don’t need to worry. I’m right here.” Chase said to calm him down.

Robbie immediately felt an ache in his chest. He felt like he wanted to cry, and it had come on strong the moment those words left Chase’s mouth. Robbie began to sob and hung his head while lots of tears fell from his eyes.

“Juuuust let it out. Cry it all out. You’re allowed to cry.” Chase told him. Robbie thankfully took his advice and continued to cry. He mourned the loss of his parents and began to question just why they had to die. If that evil man had not come in and killed them with his knife, they would all still be alive.

Then again...he never would’ve met Chase…

[The Next Morning]

Jamie walked himself into Chase’s room to wake him up with some pancakes. He knocked on the door and walked himself in, and smiled at the adorable sight:

Chase and Robbie were sleeping together, completely snuggled into each other. Jamie, growing a little playful, walked up to the two and looked around. Funnily enough, Chase’s foot was sticking out from under the blanket. Sensing an idea, Jamie snuck himself up to the foot and knelt down. With the man still sleeping soundly, Jamie decided to disrupt it by tickling his bare foot with his fingers.

Chase squeezed his eyes slightly and kicked his foot, believing some bug might be walking on his foot. So, Chase twitched it slightly to get the thing off. When the foot stopped moving again, Jamie started tickling it again.

Slowly, some sleepy giggles left Chase’s mouth. “Mmm...mmhehe...hehehehe…” Chase giggled semi-quietly.

Almost immediately, Robbie opened his eyes and looked at Chase with confusion on his face. Jamie quickly hid. “Chase? What are you laughing at?” Robbie asked.

Chase seemed to have fallen right back asleep again, because all Jamie could hear from him were mumbles back. When Chase fell back asleep, Jamie moved onto Robbie’s feet and started tickling them. A wide grin immediately grew onto Robbie’s face. “Hehehehey! Stahahap tihihihicklihing my feheheheet!” Robbie giggled.

Chase let a smile grow onto his face. “Hehe...Is someone tickling you?” Chase asked.

“Ihihihi thohohought yohohou wehehehehere!” Robbie giggled.

Chase lifted his head up and smirked. “How does that make sense?! My arms are up here!” Chase reacted.

“Thehehen whoho’s tihihicklihing mehehe?” Robbie asked.

Chase looked up and snickered when he saw Jamie at the end of bed. “Why don’t you look up and fi-hihind ohOHOHOUT- HEHEHEHEY!” Chase asked, before bursting into a fit of laughter.

“Hahaha! Na, na, na na, na! Your feet are tick-a-lish more!” Robbie sing-songed teasily. Suddenly, Robbie began feeling tickles on his toes! “EEEEHEHEHEHEHE! STAHAHAHAP IHIHIHIHIT!” Robbie laughed.

“OHOHOKAHAHAY, OHOKAHAHAHAHAHAY! YOHOHOHOU GOHOHOT UHUHUHUS, NOHOHOHOW LEHET MEHEHE GOHOHOHOHOHOHO!” Chase laughed, falling onto his back and kicking his other leg helplessly.

“HIHIHI MIHISTEHEHER JAHAHACKSOHOHON!” Robbie greeted, pulling his feet away before crawling on his knees up to Jamie.

Jamie paused his tickling to give Robbie a wave. Then, his fingers started tickling under the toes.

“NAHAHAHAHAHAHA! JAHAHAHAMIHIHIHIE! NAHAHAHAT THEHEHEHEHEHEHERE!” Chase shouted at him.

Robbie gasped and grabbed onto Jamie’s wrists. “He’s too ticklish there!” Robbie warned. Surprised that the little kid would grab his wrists, Jamie smirked, leaned into Robbie’s belly and blew a raspberry. “HEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHOHO!” Robbie yelled, laughing hysterically high-pitched and letting go of Jamie before falling backwards onto the bed. Jamie chuckled and practically melted at how adorable the child was. “Yohour muhuhustache tihihicklehehes!’ Robbie told him, clenching his bare belly. Jamie narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and wiggled his mustache back and forth. This made Robbie fall into another fit of giggles!

Then, Jamie realized what he was coming in for:

Jamie cleared his throat before starting to sign.‘I have pancakes ready for you and Chase! Then after that, the Doctor wants to see you to do a test.’ He signed to them.

Chase sat up. “A test? What kind of test?” Chase asked.

Jamie shrugged his shoulders. ‘He has a mouse. That’s all I know.’ Jamie replied.

“Oh…” Chase reacted, unsure of what to do with that information.

It took a bit, but the dramatic duo did make it to the Doctor’s office. Henrik was sitting in his desk chair and looking after a dark brown house mouse. “Zhe mouse has yust been vashed vizh zhe soap and vater.” Henrik told them.

“Okay. But...why?” Chase asked.

Henrik looked at Robbie. “Have you heard of zhe rule of no biting?” Henrik asked.

Robbie nodded. “I can’t bite someone as a zombie because my mouth juice might be contagious.” Robbie said, remembering the conversation he had with Chase over biting people, a couple days after he moved in upstairs.

“Zhat’s right.” Henrik replied. “But I vant to confirm zhat zheory, so ve can take zhe extra steps if you do have contagious saliva.” Henrik told him.

Robbie nodded. “Okay. I don’t wanna make people sick.” Robbie told him.

“And I want to know what we’re in for if he does accidentally bite someone.” Chase replied.

“Vell...Zhe only vay to know vhat is in your saliva, is by eizher spitting into a cup, or by spit taking vater.” Henrik explained.

Robbie nodded. “Okay.” Robbie replied.

Henrik handed Robbie a cup, and got Robbie to spit into it. Robbie did just as he said, and handed the cup back. “Perfect.” Henrik reacted before putting a lid on the cup and placing it beside the microscope.

Then, Henrik headed for the mouse cage. “Zhere is still somezhing I need you to do for me, and...it might be a leetle gross…” Henrik admitted, pulling out the little white mouse.

Robbie gasped and widened his eyes in excitement. Chase yelped and backed up, slightly afraid of the mouse. Robbie giggled. “Are you scared of mice?” Robbie asked.

“I mean...yeah! They used to spread disease, and they still do!” Chase replied.

Robbie held out his hands towards the mouse, and watched as it crawled on Robbie’s hands and twitched its nose.

“I...I vant you to bite zhe mouse.” Henrik told him. Robbie looked up in horror.

“BITE HIM?!” Robbie reacted.

Chase visibly gagged. “Oh god…” Chase muttered.

“Yes...It’s zhe only safe vay for us to determine if your bite is contagious.” Henrik explained.

“But...it’s furry! It squeaks! It’s alive!” Robbie protested.

“I know it sounds gross, but...you can do zhis.” Henrik told him.

“I...I don’t wanna. Mm mm...I don’t wanna.” Robbie told him, holding the mouse a little tighter in his hands.

“Please?” Henrik asked.

“Why can’t I bite a person?” Robbie asked.

“Because...No vone will offer to be a test subject if zhey are risking becoming a zombie.” Henrik replied.

“Oh...Well, why can’t you bite him too?” Robbie asked.

“Because I might mix up zhe 2 saliva’s.” Henrik replied.

“Is this really the only way?” Robbie asked. “Why can’t I bite...a cam-ee-lion?” Robbie asked.

“You mean a chameleon? No. It’s...not zhe same. A mouse is zhe primary science testing animal ve can use. Vhe don’t have to vorry about ezhics for a mouse, and ve don’t have to sacrifice somezhing huge.” Henrik told him. “It vill only take a second.” He reassured.

Robbie bit his lip and looked at the mouse. It was still running around in his cupped hands. Robbie fixed his grip on the mouse, and took a deep breath.

“You can do zhis. It should not cause you any harm.” Henrik told him.

Robbie took in another quick deep breath and bit the side of the mouse very quickly and deeply. Chase widened and just about yipped at the sight, but covered his mouth. Henrik smiled upon the child’s bravery. “Good job Robbie.” Henrik encouraged.

Robbie attempted to say ‘do I let go now?’, only for the words to come out in all mumbles. Chase let out a disgusted whine and an uncomfortable chuckle at the kid.

“Let go.” Henrik encouraged. Robbie let go of the mouse and moved his tongue around with a disgusted facial expression.

“Excellent.” Henrik replied, before putting the mouse into the cage.

“Will it be okay?” Robbie asked.

“Ve vill have to see.” Henrik replied.

Robbie nodded and left the room. Chase watched the child leave the room before turning to Henrik. “Okay...was that actually the only way to see if the kid’s bite is contagious?” Chase asked.

Henrik started petting the mouse through the cage, and mentally noted how calm the mouse was despite being bitten 2 minutes ago. “Yes. Zhat really vas zhe only vay to find out zhe effects of a zombie bite.” Henrik replied calmly. “And considering Robbie managed to feel bad for a mouse...I zhink zhat could’ve gone much vorse.” Henrik added.

“I’m not disagreeing with you at all. I’m glad it went as well as it did. But...I could not imagine being told to bite a mouse just to determine you’re contagious. Especially a live mouse.” Chase mentioned.

“Chase…” Henrik looked him right in the eyes from a couple feet away. “I zhink you should consider zhe bigger picture in all of zhis. If zhis child is truly contagious, zhen ve have a potential zombie apocalypse on our hands. Yes, zhe zombie are much more alive and empazhetic zhen ve zhought, but it is still a zombie apocalypse nonezheless.” Henrik explained. “If zhe kid is contagious zhrough zhe saliva, ve need to very careful to treat zhe simplest paper cut so zhe child’s saliva doesn’t end up in our blood stream. But if zhere’s a hidden venom in his teezh, I need to make zhe kid a mouzh guard as protection from his bite. I don’t vant to risk anyzhing so long as zhe kid is alive.” Henrik explained further.

Chase’s frown only deepened. He looked down to the floor and sighed silently. “On top of all that, we also have to consider Robbie’s psychological thoughts in all this. I know that if I knew my body was slowly dying because I’m now a zombie, I would quickly become depressed, anxious, or worse: suicidal. But incredibly, Robbie has managed to keep a good level head over the things he’s been through. Considering he lost his Mom, he still seems really happy.” Chase explained. “But...how long can a child keep that up before they just give up on life?” Chase asked rhetorically.

“I don’t know. I zhink ve should consider zherapy or counselling.” Henrik told him.

“That’s a good idea.” Chase replied.

Chase and Henrik walked out of the doctor’s office and into the living room. Robbie and Jamie were sitting at the bar, drinking some sort of chocolate concoction.

“What are you guys having?” Chase asked.

“MILKSHAKE!” Robbie shouted back.

Jamie pointed to the tub of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie tub that was still on the counter. “Oooooh! Sounds delicious! Don’t mind if I do!” Chase replied before grabbing the milk from the fridge. “You want one as well?” Chase asked.

Henrik waved him off. “No zhanks.” Henrik replied, sitting at the bar.

Chase smirked. “I can add some coffee into it.” Chase encouraged, shaking the bottle of instant coffee for Henrik to hear and gaze upon.

Henrik chuckled and looked at him with a ‘really?’ face. “Do I look like a cat?” Henrik shot back.

Robbie giggled and booped his nose with the end of his milkshake straw. The straw left a little dot of chocolate milkshake that ended up falling down Henrik’s nose and into his mustache.

“How dare you.” Henrik teased, before sticking his tongue up to lick the milkshake off his mustache. “Okay. I’ll take a milkshake. No coffee tho. I’ve probably drank enough today.” Henrik replied to Chase.

“Comin’ right up Doctor.” Chase replied before digging deep into the tub of ice cream.

“YAY!” Robbie shouted.

All four adults took the time to enjoy some good ol’ milkshakes and talk together in the kitchen bar. They placed their worries aside and chose to just have a little fun to ease their mind from all the stress of everyday life. Chase took some of this time to mentally reflect. He was truly proud of Robbie’s ability to stay positive through all he had been through. But...there was one thing Chase wanted to know:

What exactly happened to Robbie?

Chapter Text

{The child opened his eyes and immediately noticed the translucent white body cover. In his attempt to look around, the cloth made moving sounds as he moved his head around. He couldn’t see anything but white, save for the slightest idea of grey that could be seen past the sheet. Robbie, feeling awake and slightly claustrophobic, pushed the sheet off his face and body. The first thing his eyes saw of his location, was the really bright lights surrounded by the tiled roof that was above him. He blinked a few times, but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. Not entirely sure what had happened, Robbie looked around the room and moved his head around:

The room was very white and grey. The silver walls seemed to be lined with silver little doors with handles on the sides of each door. It looked like a locker room with much bigger doors. On the left of him, were silver tables with a small black doormat at the end. What was it for? Why was it shaped like a hospital bed with a table on the top? Robbie didn’t understand. He got up from the steel bed and felt something cold on his butt and upper legs. Curious, Robbie looked down and noticed that HE was on a metal hospital bed table too!

Not only that, but he was naked! Robbie blinked in surprise as he looked at his naked body. He didn’t know how he felt about it. Where was his clothes? Why did they take off his clothes? And why was his skin...more red than usual? Robbie looked closer at his hands and noticed something even weirder: his hands and fingers were a mix of yellow and a purplish red. Looking at the backside of him, he immediately noticed the skin color change starting halfway on his shoulders. He looked really weird.

Robbie looked around the room further in search of his mother. He walked down the hallways of table beds, and noticed how all the table beds that were out for him to see, were empty. Robbie looked around at the locker doors and decided to walk closer to them. Each and every door seemed to slightly reflect his appearance. It was very weird and almost creepy looking. Robbie looked at his multi-colored body. It looked...wrong to be these kinds of colors. Robbie, curious as to what was inside the lockers, decided to open one of the locker doors. It felt like a fridge in there. He opened the door further. What he was expecting to see was a wallet, a bag, a coat or a few pictures. But instead…

There were feet. Feet sticking out from under a blanket. Robbie blinked and tilted his head in confusion. Why were there feet in a locker? Was it a halloween decoration? And why? Or was this a person’s feet? If it was the latter, why was there a person in a fridge? And more importantly: Were they ticklish? Robbie smiled and lifted his fingers up to the feet. He let out a giggle and tried tickling the feet. But...there was no reaction. No laugh, no snort, no giggle, not even a foot jolt. Just...still. Robbie frowned. That’s poopy. They’re not ticklish on their feet.

“You’re no fun.” Robbie told the feet before closing the door. Robbie felt a gust of cold leave the door and a smell of something...almost sickening filled the room for a moment. Robbie plugged his nose and stuck his tongue out at the icky smell. “You stink Mister! You need a bath!” Robbie yelled at the person behind the door. When it didn’t reply, Robbie just kept on walking across the room. The rooms seemed to have a wide silver sink, a bunch of big clocks hanging on a hook and a cooler of ice with something weird in one of them. It looked like it was a hand of some sort. Curiously, Robbie walked up to see what it was. He dug his hand into the ice, and surprisingly didn’t shiver. It was cold, but it didn’t make his hands or arms sore. So, he dug deeper. When he could see it, he picked up and pulled it out-

IT WAS A CUT OFF ARM!

“AAAAAAAH!” Robbie screamed, dropping the arm onto the cooler and scooting away. Ew! Oh gosh! Who would cut off an arm like that?! Arms are supposed to be attached to you! Not cut off! Robbie gasped in horror as the hand started to move on its own! He stood back up and took off sprinting across the table room. As he sprinted, he had to sprint around the different beds and push them aside so he didn’t fall into them!

Robbie turned around and slowed himself down when he realized the hand wasn’t chasing him. In fact, the hand was gone all together! Robbie took a moment too replace the breath he had lost.

Suddenly:

A CRASH WENT OFF BEHIND HIM!

Robbie screamed and turned around-

THE HAND WAS CRAWLING ON THE WALLS LIKE A FREAKING SPIDER!

Robbie screamed even more, and attempted to back up into a wall. Only, the child kept on bumping into the hospital tables and causing the wheels to squeak as they rolled away! Robbie turned back around to see where he was going, and finally touched the white wall. Robbie gulped and started hyperventilating as the hand crawled itself towards him.

“GET-GET AWAY FROM ME! EW! SPIDER HAND! SPIDER HAND! AAAHHH!” Robbie screamed.

To make matters worse, Robbie looked at his own arm and noticed it had severed itself from him! And NOW HIS OWN HAND WAS CRAWLING ITSELF TOWARDS HIM!}

“WAIT! NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE! ME! ALONE! AAAAAAAAAH!” Robbie screamed.

“ROBBIE! Calm down! Look! It’s me!” a voice said to him. Robbie only cried more and turned his face into his pillow. This ended up deafening his screams, but also made him struggle to breath. “Robbie! Robbie, look at me!” The voice yelled again.

Robbie immediately felt a hand touch him.

WAS IT THE SPIDER HAND?! GET OFF ME SPIDER HAND!

Robbie only screamed further and turned himself onto his back to fight off the spider hand. Robbie’s face was filled with tears at this point and his fight or flight was making him throw some sort of fit. Chase, not really sure what to do, grabbed Robbie’s body and pulled it close to him. He hugged Robbie tightly and swayed him back and forth lightly and started to hum to him. Robbie’s screams stopped almost immediately, and were replaced by quick breaths and small whines. He started to open his eyes and attempted to focus his eyes. But it was hard to focus them when he had tears still blurring his vision.

When Robbie started to come back down to earth, Robbie started to accept the cuddles and calm down. He snuggled his face into Chase’s chest and whimpered in fear as he remembered the vivid dream.

“It’s okay Robbie. It’s okay. You’re safe. Chase is here. Jamie’s here too. We’re all here. You’re safe with all of us here.” Chase said soothingly.

Henrik sat on the other side of Robbie and wrapped his arms around him too. “I’m here Robbie. Do you hear my voice? It’s me: Henrik Nipple Shine.” Henrik told him.

Robbie slowly moved his face out from Chase’s chest. “Am I conta-jus?” Robbie asked.

Henrik made a hurt ‘aww’ sound. “Don’t vorry about zhat. Ve talk about zhat later.” Henrik replied.

Robbie sobbed. “I am, aren't I?” Robbie asked before starting to sob again. Chase sighed in pain as he rubbed the child’s hair. He’s way too young to be stressing about this. What 8 year old is worried about being contagious?

“Robbie...He said we’ll talk about it later because he hasn’t checked the mouse’s progress yet. It’s still in the cage since you bit it.” Chase explained calmly.

Robbie whined. “My mouth still tastes like mouse.” Robbie told him. Chase cringed at that comment and looked at Henrik; he was surprisingly chuckling at the comment.

Robbie looked at Henrik. “Why-why are you laughing?” Robbie asked.

“You said your mouth still tastes like a mouse. It sounded funny to me.” Henrik told him.

Robbie smiled slightly and looked down. “My mouth tastes like mouse, chocolate milkshake and strawberry toothpaste.” Robbie told him.

“Ehehehew! Oh my god! I did not need to know that.” Chase reacted.

Robbie gasped as his eyes fell on a white creature. It was Marvin in cat form! Robbie immediately did the grabby arms towards the cat. Following what he wanted, Marvin jumped onto the couch to cuddle Robbie.

Chase chuckled. “You have a third cuddle buddy.” Chase told him.

“Why are you a cat, Marvin?” Robbie asked.

The cat purred and licked his neck in response. Robbie smiled at the furry creature and hugged it. “Cuddles are the best. And you looked like you needed a furry cuddle.” Marvin-

...The cat spoke?!

Robbie gasped. “You can speak vhile you are a cat?!” Henrik yelled.

Marvin looked at Henrik and nodded.

“Vell...Excuse me vhile I question my entire existence…” Henrik said bluntly.

Robbie giggled and gave Henrik’s ribs a push. “HeheHEY! Don’t you zhink of tickling me young man!” Henrik warned.

Robbie’s smile slowly dropped as he remembered one part of the dream. Robbie looked away from Henrik with a sad frown on his face.

“Why are there feet in locker fridges?” Robbie asked.

Henrik’s slight mischief dropped when he heard the strange question.

“Feet...in locker...fridges. I am so confused.” Chase muttered.

“Why were there metal doctor bed tables?” Robbie asked.

Henrik’s eyes widened. “Are you talking about...autopsy tables?” Henrik asked.

Robbie looked down and continued to ask questions. “Why was my skin red blue and yellow?” Robbie asked. Henrik lifted an eyebrow in pure confusion. “And why was there a hand in a cooler?” Robbie asked.

“A hand in a cooler?! Like…” Henrik pretended to karate chop his hand off and pull it away from the body.

“Yeah. There was no body. Just a hand with a bone sticking out.” Robbie replied.

“Are...Are you sure it wasn’t your hand?” Chase asked.

“My hands were still with me. This was a cold hand in a pop cooler.” Robbie explained.

Henrik hissed awkwardly. “I’m pretty sure I’m wrong, but zhis is starting to sound like a morgue.” Henrik told him.

“What’s a morgue?” Robbie asked.

“UH-...wellllllll…” Chase started.

“It’s a place where they put dead bodies.” Henrik explained slightly.

“Why would I be in a ‘morgue’ if I was alive?” Robbie asked.

Chase’s face went sheet white. “He woke up in a morgue.” Chase whispered. “He woke up...in a morgue.” Chase repeated quietly.

“Henrik sighed and scratched the back of his head. “Vell, where are stories of people vaking up in morgues. But no stories of people vaking up multicolored-...Robbie vhat color vere your fingertips?” Henrik asked.

“Blue. At the top” Robbie replied.

“....Ooookay. Zhere are no stories of people dying and vaking up partly decomposed…” Henrik explained.

“There was feet in a locker fridge. I tried tickling them, but they weren’t ticklish on the feet.” Robbie explained.

Henrik’s eyes widened in horror. “...Robbie...vere zhe feet vhite?” Henrik asked.

“Yeah! Very white!” Robbie replied.

Hold up- DID THIS KID SAY HE TOUCHED THE FEET OF A DEAD CORPSE?!

“Ew! Ew ew ew ew ew! Robbie! You don’t-...Don’t touch a stranger’s feet.” Henrik ordered.

Robbie nodded. “Okay. It was cold in there. I felt like an icicle. I didn’t like it there. It was dark.” Robbie told them.

“I’m sure it vas.” Henrik reacted.

“How did you get out?” Chase asked.

“I found a push door. I walked down the hallway, and asked for help. But all the people I talked to, were screaming and running away.” Robbie told them. “I found a door to outside and I left the big hospital. I stayed homeless.” Robbie explained.

“Jesus…” Chase muttered before cuddling Robbie some more. “I’m so sorry.” Chase told him.

Robbie pulled away and looked at him with a confused frown. “Why are you saying sorry? You didn’t kill them.” Robbie told him.

“Sometimes saying sorry is a gentle way of saying ‘I feel terrible. Let me help you’.” Chase explained.

“Vait...Kill zhem? Your parents vere killed?” Henrik asked.

“Yeah.” Robbie replied. “He used a knife to cut them till they died. Then, he cut my back.” Robbie explained.

Chase just hugged the kid tighter. He really wanted to cry for the kid. Not only did the kid see his parents die right in front of him, He also died and woke up alive in a morgue! A MORGUE! Adults can barely handle that, let alone children! And then Robbie had to wake up, just for him to end up homeless?! Talk about a traumatizing experience!

“I’m surprised you haven’t developed PTSD from this yet.” Chase reacted.

“Vell…” Henrik started, lifting his finger. “Nightmares are a symptom of PTSD. I’d say he has zhe start of PTSD.” Henrik explained.

“What’s PTSD?” Robbie asked.

“It’s a short form for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s when a child or an adult goes through something super scary, and they start having nightmares, feeling constantly worried, not wanting to do anything that reminds you of what happened, and so on.” Chase explained.

“I have nightmares. I have nightmares about being killed, all the time.” Robbie told them.

“I zhink you should sleep vizh Chase in his bed from now on.” Henrik told Robbie.

Robbie’s eyes widened and he clapped his hands excitedly. “Endless cuddles!” Robbie declared.

Chase laughed at the kid’s excitement. “Yehep! Endless cuddles!” Chase declared back. Then, Chase grabbed onto Robbie, pulled him into a back hug and started pretending to nibble on Robbie’s neck loudly and playtfully.

“EEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHE! NECK NIHIHIBBLIHIHIHIES!” Robbie laughed as he threw his arms around.

Henrik smiled and started poking and tickling the ribs. “Gitchygitchygitchygitchygoo! A gitchygitchygitchygitchygoo!” Henrik teased in a high-pitched voice.

Robbie fell into giggles and laughter almost immediately. In response to the cute laughter, Marvin turned himself back into a human and started tickling Robbie’s feet.

“WAHAHAAAA! MAHAHAHARVIHIHIHIN! NOHOHOHOHOHO!” Robbie begged.

Chase looked up and giggled once he saw Marvin. “Finally decided to become human?” Chase asked.

“Well, yeah! I wanna tickle him too. I think he needs it.” Marvin replied.

“Is someone in need of lots of tickles? Does someone need some tickles to get the bad dreams away?” Chase teased.

“YEHEHEHEHEHEHES!” Robbie yelled back. “AHAHAND CAHAN IHIHIHI HAHAHAVE SOHOHOME BREHEHEHEAKFAHAHAST?!” Robbie asked through his laughter.

Chase paused his tickling. “Wait, whahat?! You want breakfast now?! It’s 2 in morning!” Chase reacted.

“It is?” Robbie reacted.

“Yes. It is two in zhe morning.” Henrik replied.

“Oh. Okay! I’m gonna go to bed then.” Robbie replied before standing up on the sofa and stepping down off of the couch.

“Wait, really? Just like that?” Chase asked.

Robbie ran up to Chase and started pulling his arm. “Come oooooonn! I want cuddles! We’re wasting cuddle time!” Robbie whined, still pulling.

“Ohohokay. Good night, I guess.” Chase said to them.

“Oh yeah!” Robbie let go of Chase and sprinted up to Henrik. “Good night!” He said happily, hugging him and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Then, he sprinted up to Jamie. “Good night!” Robbie said happily before tackle hugging him and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Lastly, was Marvin. “Good night!” Robbie said excitedly, jumping up and giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He jumped off Marvin and ran up to Chase again. “See you in the morning!” Robbie said to them.

Everyone except for Jamie was in awe at how adorable the kid was. They couldn’t even reply to him! Well...except for Jamie...he smiled happily and waved back at the kid.

Chase and Robbie got into the room and closed the door, ready to try and sleep once more. Henrik headed off to bed himself, while Jamie sat down at his rocking chair for a moment.

Suddenly, Chase’s door opened again, and out came Robbie! The kid sprinted up to the couch and picked up his stuffed dog. “I forgot Bacon!” Robbie told him before sprinting back. Jamie giggled at the kid before opening up his novel.

Even after all that trauma, Robbie hasn’t let the pain get to him...And thank god for that.

Chapter Text

A loud bang could be heard before a bunch of fast footsteps. “VAKE UP VAKE UP VAKE UP!” Henrik yelled quickly, jumping onto the bed. “CHASE! VAKE UUUUP!” Henrik yelled again.

Chase growled and covered his face with his pillow while Robbie got up quickly and gave Henrik a big hug. “Good morning Dr. Nipple Shine!” Robbie greeted.

Henrik giggled at the nickname yet again (That nickname never gets old!) before picking up Robbie and hoisting him up onto his side. “I have some great news! But I vant to show you!” Henrik told Robbie. Then, Henrik poked a slightly bulging pocket on his lab coat, and watched as a little mouse popped out from inside the pocket!

Robbie gasped. “MOUSEY!” Robbie squealed. Henrik lifted the mouse out, and showed off the mouse’s belly as well. Robbie smiled excitedly! “This is the mouse I bit!” Robbie reacted.

“Ja! And he’s not infected! Do you know vhat zhat means?” Henrik asked.

Chase lifted the pillow off his face and sat up quickly. “He’s not contagious!” Chase declared.

Robbie gasped. He looked at Chase. Then, he looked at Henrik for eager clarification. “He’s right! You’re not contagious!” Henrik exclaimed.

Robbie quickly hugged Henrik and bounced excitedly. When the kid let go, Robbie clapped his hands rapidly before trying to get himself down from Henrik.

“Oh! You vant down? Okay.” Henrik muttered as he put Robbie down.

As soon as one single foot touched the ground, Robbie sprinted up to Chase’s side of the bed and jumped with glee. “I’m safe! I’m safe! I won’t risk making anyone else a zombie!” Robbie declared excitedly.

“I know!” Chase reacted, growing excited too. Chase lifted Robbie onto the bed again, and started playing with the kid. Robbie quickly caught onto the play fighting, and started pushing on him and climbing all over Chase. Chase giggled and began making roaring sounds while reaching for Robbie. “RAWR! COME HERE, YOU!” Chase teased.

Robbie wrapped his arms around the back of Chase’s neck, and started giggling evilly. “Nohoho! No way!” Robbie replied.

“Don’t make me get Henrik!” Chase warned.

Robbie gasped dramatically. “Nooo...Not Nipple Shine!” Robbie acted.

“But YES Nipple Shine!” Chase acted along with him.

Henrik smirked in amusement and rolled his eyes at the acting weirdos. “Are you two making fun of me?” Henrik asked.

“Hey, hey Robbie. Do his nipples look shiny to you?” Chase asked.

Robbie took a moment to just hum, rub his chin and stare intently at Henrik’s nipples. Henrik, growing really uncomfortable with the child’s intense staring, started to cover up his nipples with his arms. “Stop starin’ at my ti-...boobs-VAIT...” Henrik began struggling to find a good replacement for nipples.

Robbie bursted out laughing. “You’re not a girl! You don’t have boobies!” Robbie declared in between his laughs.

Henrik sighed at the child’s immaturity. But Henrik quickly opened his eyes when he heard yelping coming from Chase.

“Robbie, get that away from me! You know I hate those!” Chase warned.

“But it’s just a cute mouse! And it’s not a zombie mouse. Henry checked that this morning!” Robbie told him. It looked like Robbie was trying to get Chase to see his new mouse friend. But being the man he is, Chase was afraid of mice.

“What are you so afraid of? It’s small. It’s harmless!” Robbie told him.

“Yeah! That’s what they thought when the bubonic plague happened. And that became a freaking epidemic!” Chase muttered.

Henrik placed a hand onto Robbie’s shoulder. “Please leave Chase-”

“Hey! Come back!” Robbie yelled suddenly. Henrik looked at the mouse and watched in both horror and amusement as the mouse scurried up the top of Chase’s pant leg.

“AAAAAAIIII! GETITOFF GETITOFF GETITOFF!” Chase shrieked, kicking his leg. But somehow, SOME! HOW! The mouse managed to hold on and scurried up to his waist when he calmed down!

“Come here Stuart! Stuart, stop!” Robbie begged, crawling up to him to retrieve the skittering mouse.

Chase watched as the mouse stood up, and stared at him. Chase, paralysed with fear, stared at the mouse for only a few seconds. Suddenly, the mouse moved itself towards the shirt on all four legs, and quickly ran under the shirt.

“SHIT! GET OUT OF- AAAH! EEEP! HAHAHAHA!” Chase shouted, suddenly bursting into laughter. The mouse was sniffing around on top of his belly, his sides, his ribs, and his abs.

“Sorry Chase! I’m trying!” Robbie yelled. The child was reaching his hand under his shirt, and trying to reach around and grab the moving bulge under Chase’s shirt. But the mouse was too quick. To make things worse, Robbie’s moving hands were tickling Chase as he tried to reach and grab the mouse.

“ROBBIHIHIHIHIHIHIE! GEHEHET OHOHOHOUT OHOF THEHEHERE!” Chase laughed helplessly.

“I’m trying to get Stuart!” Robbie told him quickly. “Stuart! Come here, little guy!” Robbie called. The mouse didn’t listen at all. Instead it just climbed back and forth on Chase’s belly and abs. Finally after getting a little annoyed, Robbie dropped both his hands onto the bulged-up shirt. He managed to successfully capture the mouse this way, but the mouse was now skittering and squirming under his grip.

“EEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHA! OHOHOHO NOOOHOHOHOHOHO! NAHAHAHAT THEHEHEHEHERE!” Chase begged desperately. The mouse’s claws were lightly scratching against Chase’s lower stomach, which was a really bad spot on him.

“Here: I’ll grab it.” Henrik told Robbie, before quickly reaching his hands under the shirt.

“AAAAH! YOHOHOUR HAHAHANDS AHAHARE COHOHOHOLD!” Chase yelped.

Henrik looked up at Chase with a ‘seriously?’ expression. “Vell, maybe you need to chill a bit.” Henrik told him.

“OHOHO FUHUHUHUCK OHOHOHOHOFF!” Chase yelled at him.

Robbie’s eyes widened in surprise. Meanwhile, Henrik’s face frowned. “Be careful Chase. Zhere’s a child here.” Henrik warned before wrapping his hands around the mouse. “Okay. Got it. Robbie, let go. I have Stuart.” Henrik told him. Robbie nodded and lifted his hands up, and watched as Henrik grabbed hold of Stuart and pulled him out from under Chase’s shirt.

Chase let out a sigh of relief. It was finally gone. It took long enough. “Okay. If you vant to keep zhe mouse, make sure you don’t place zhe mouse close to Chase. He’s very scared of zhem.” Henrik warned.

Robbie took the mouse and allowed Stuart to run around on his arm, before grabbing him in his hands again. “I promise.” Robbie declared. “But can you hold him for me? I have to do something.” Robbie told him, handing Henrik the mouse quickly.

Robbie sprinted up to Chase, lifted up his shirt and climbed under Chase’s shirt.

“Whahahat ahare yohohou- HAHAHA! ROHOHOBBIHIHIHIE! GEHEHET OHOHOUT!” Chase shouted.

“Please hold still. I’m trying to make sure Stuart didn’t bite you.” Robbie told him.

“Ihihihi...IHIHIHI WAHAHAHAHASN’T! IHIHI SWEHEHEAR!” Chase begged him.

“But I think you were! And I just want to double-check.” Robbie calmly told him.

Suddenly, the door knob was opened and a man in a red bath robe with a hood on, walked right into Chase’s room with a green eye on his shoulder. “Chaaaaase. I’ve been waiting HOURS for you to make some food. Me and Sam are STARVING.” the man whined.

Henrik yelped in surprise and turned to see who it was. “Oh...Okay. Jackie: Guten Morgen.” Henrik told him.

“Wassup Doctor Mabuse!” Jackie greeted.

Henrik sighed. “I am not a criminal, or a gambler for zhat matter.” Henrik told him.

“But you’re german, and a doctor!” Jackie stated. “That means, it’s relevant.” He declared.

Robbie stopped tickling him and stuck his head out from the bottom of the shirt. “HI RANDOM STRANGER!” Robbie yelled.

Chase fluffed Robbie’s hair, before sending Jackie an annoyed expression. “There’s cereal in the cupboard.” Chase told him.

Jackie growled. “I need a meal! We both need a meal! A proper meal.” Jackie argued, pointing to the green eye.

“Why can’t you make it?” Robbie asked.

Chase smirked and chuckled as he stared at Jackie. “Yeah, why can’t YOU make it, huh?” Chase asked, as a matter of factly.

“Because the last time I DID try to cook something, I ended up almost burning the house down.” Jackie told Robbie.

“Ooooh...That’s bad.” Robbie muttered.

“Robbie: This is Jackie. He’s...you wouldn’t believe it...ANOTHER person who lives in this house.” Chase told him.

Robbie widened his eyes. “Why do so many people live here?!” Robbie asked.

“Because it’s easier for multiple people to pay for one house, than it is for each of us to pay for a 1-person apartment each.” Chase explained.

“Ooooh.” Robbie reacted.

Jackie gasped and ran up to Robbie. “You adopted a child?!” Jackie exclaimed.

“Uuuuhhh...Technically? No. Do I want to? Yes. This is Robbie.” Chase explained.

“Welcome to the house, squirt.” Jackie greeted, shaking the kid’s hand. Jackie paused for a moment as his body processed something: “...And may I say that you have the coldest hands in existence?! Holy crap!” Jackie reacted, staring at the child’s hand.

“Really?” Robbie asked.

“You do...but that can’t really be helped.” Chase told him.

Jackie let go of Robbie’s hand with an empathetic frown. “Awww...do you struggle with maintaining body heat?” Jackie asked.

“Uh…”

“Yeah, he does.” Chase explained.

Jackie turned around, opened up Chase’s closet and grabbed a light turquoise-colored heated blanket out of the top of the closet.

“Here little guy...try this.” Jackie encouraged him as he placed the heated blanket on Robbie’s shoulders and back.

Robbie looked at the heated blanket in curiosity and wrapped the corners around his chest. “What is it?” Robbie asked.

Jackie plugged the heated blanket in and turned it onto medium. “It’s a heated blanket. Chase bought it to warm himself up. It’s supposed to instantly warm you up if you’re constantly cold.” Jackie explained.

Chase smiled. “I completely forgot I had this, actually! Thanks for the reminder!” Chase reacted. “This thing should keep anyone warm in a matter of minutes. It’s like a light, and warm hug.” Chase told Robbie as he fluffed his hair.

Robbie’s smile grew and grew the longer he sat there. “I can feel it. It’s getting warmer and warmer!” Robbie told Jackie. It didn’t take long for Robbie to succumb to the warmth. Very soon, Robbie sighed with a smile on his face and melted into the bed. He was laying down on his belly and was happily taking in all the warmth he was being given.

Jackie walked up to the laying kid and gently picked him up. “You okay like that?” Jackie asked, allowing Robbie’s head to rest against his shoulder. Robbie started to wake himself up a little more, and went wide-eyed when he realized he was being held by the new person.

Nervous from the new person, Robbie hugged himself with the blanket. “I want down.” Robbie told him.

Jackie looked at the kid. “I just got you up. Why would you want down right a-”

“I want DOWN!” Robbie said louder.

Without wasting a second, Jackie placed him down onto the floor. Robbie started walking on his own to the door. As he walked however, Jackie noticed that the kid’s legs were getting weaker and weaker. Suddenly, Robbie’s body flopped onto the ground in exhaustion.

Chase just laughed at the kid and slowly picked him up again. Robbie squirmed slightly and looked up. When he realized it was just Chase, Robbie calmed down and allowed himself to fall asleep.

Jackie’s smile slowly turned into a frown when he saw that. Was the kid afraid of him? Did the kid feel uncomfortable with him? Why didn’t the kid grow annoyed or uncomfortable with his presence?

Henrik walked up to Jackie, and rubbed his back. “Don’t get offended if zhe kid can’t be held by you yet. Robbie needs yust a leetle longer to get used to you.” Henrik explained.

Jackie sighed and looked down. Even through his hurt, Jackie pulled himself together and gave Henrik a smile. “Don’t worry. I’m not hurt. I’m alright. Fit as a fiddle.” Jackie said in a semi-convincing tone, before showing off his muscles to Henrik.

Henrik chuckled and squished his muscles. “For a fiddle, you’re very buff.” Henrik stated, giving Jackie a few pokes to the shoulder.

“I know! I work hard to get these kinds of muscles!” Jackie reacted, taking the compliment happily.

While Henrik and Jackie were playfully bickering, Chase had handed Robbie over to Jamie so he could have a comfy cuddle buddy while he made breakfast. Jamie, who had grown to be really good with Robbie, rocked in the rocking chair with Robbie in one hand, and reading an old book in his other hand. While Robbie was comfy there, Chase started off making eggs, bacon and waffles for everyone.

It surprisingly didn’t take long for the father figure to make the meal. Because before they knew it, the smell of bacon was filling the room. Robbie seemed to smell it almost immediately because soon, Robbie was raising himself up and sniffing the air. Jamie looked down at Robbie and giggled at the silly sight.

‘Hungry?’ Jamie signed.

“Mm hmm!” Robbie nodded his head. Robbie took off the heated blanket and walked up to Jackie, who was sitting on the island bar seat. He climbed himself onto the bar seat and placed the blanket onto Jackie’s shoulder.

“Thank you Robbie.” Jackie said with a smile. “Did you turn it off? It still feels warm.” Jackie asked, before reaching for the connected remote. It was still on the medium option. Jackie clicked the button a few times till it turned off, and gave the heated a good throw towards the couch. Somehow, the blanket seemed to hit the couch perfectly!

“So...do you like Spider-Man?” Robbie asked.

Jackie looked at Robbie. “Yes, I do. How did you know?” Jackie asked.

Robbie smiled. “You’re wearing Spider-Man pj’s.” Robbie explained.

“Yes, indeed I am.” Jackie replied.

“You have big muscles.” Robbie told him.

“Do you wanna feel them?” Jackie asked.

“How did you know I wanted to?” Robbie asked, reaching out to grab Jackie’s arm.

“I just guessed. Most people want to.” Jackie explained as he held his arm out. Robbie felt Jackie’s arm with wonder and curiosity. They felt like firm pillows. Eager to see if they felt like a pillow, Robbie laid his head onto Jackie’s muscles. Jackie was both surprised, and confused by the strange action.

Despite the strange action, Jackie seemed pretty proud of himself for getting this far with the kid already! He gave Chase an excited grin and pointed to Robbie. Chase lifted an eyebrow, and chuckled at the weird child.

“What are you doing?” Chase asked, bending down to look at Robbie from the side.

“He has arm pillows.” Robbie whispered with stars in his eyes.

Chase laughed at the child. “Oh really?” Chase reacted.

“Yes!” Robbie declared.

“Shouldn’t you be saying something to Jackie?” Chase hinted.

Robbie lifted his head up again. “Hmm?” Robbie hummed.

“About the blanket?” Chase hinted further.

“Oh! Thank you Jackie for the blanket!” Robbie said to him before pulling Jackie into a big hug.

Jackie’s smile widened in excitement as he wrapped his arms around the kid. With a few pats on the back, Robbie let go and proceeded to happily eat his breakfast while getting to know Jackie. It didn’t take Robbie much longer for him to get used to Jackie at all! That just made things better! Jackie didn’t really tell the kid about his powers yet, but he knew he may be able to soon. The truth is, Jackie has wanted to have a child around the house. And now, he has one!

...Well, it’s not really his child, per say. But it is a child nonetheless.

Chapter Text

Robbie laid in Chase’s bed, staring at Chase’s sleeping body. The nightmares had been keeping him awake again, leading to Robbie being unable to sleep for any longer than 4 hours. Robbie hugged bacon harder as he silently cried onto the pillow. His nose had started to get filled with tears, and were starting to make him wiggle his nose and sniff. Feeling the need to blow his nose, Robbie sat up and scooted himself towards the end of the bed. Hopping off the bed with his stuffed dog in hand, Robbie walked towards the door, gently turned the knob and headed out of the room.

The rest of the house was very quiet and dark. Robbie looked up at the clock on the DVD player: 2:38. He looked around the room a little bit and noticed that the movie they were watching last night, was still in the DVD player at the spot they paused it on. It was the movie ParaNorman. Looking around further, Robbie noticed that a sliver of the moon was showing through the clouds in the sky. Through the pockets of clouds, were many bright and dim stars that couldn’t really be put together by the boy because of his little knowledge on constellations.

Robbie started walking down a couple halls, and walked towards one of the rooms. There was a door with a cat entryway carved into it, a white door with a doctor name tag on the left side wall, and lastly: a doof with a bunny door knocker on the middle top of the door. Robbie attempted to reach it, but he was just a little too short for the knocker. Instead of knocking and waking anyone else up, Robbie decided to quietly walk into the room with the bunny door knocker.

Robbie left the door open, walked into the room and observed the many things filling the room: It was all vintage items from many different decades! There was a dresser with a small TV, a record player and a radio on it! There was a mantel clock from the 1910’s, a camera from the 1950’s, a typewriter from the 1940’s, tons of classic books on a bookshelf, and…

Was that a war hat?

Robbie took the hat off of the hook and looked at it very carefully.

{J. Jackson}

Wait...Jamie owns a war hat?! How? And why is his name written on the felt inside the hat? Was it actually his? Or...was it just an item he bought at a Goodwill?

Robbie decided to try putting it on his head to see if it would fit. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t fit very well. It fell overtop of his head, completely drowning his face in felt. Robbie lifted up the bill a little bit, so he could at least look in the mirror with the hat on his head. The hat had reached down his neck and was gently scraping across the middle of his neck. Robbie smiled and giggled to himself as he saw how big and silly it looked on him.

Suddenly, Robbie started noticing a black figure walking up behind him. Scared that it might be a monster, Robbie turned around and whacked the figure with the hat.

“GET AWAY FR-” Robbie’s shouting was quickly interrupted by a hand going over his mouth. Robbie’s eyes widened as the figure finally brought his face closer. It was Jamie! Robbie seemed to calm down almost immediately. He let out a slightly muffled “Oh.”

Jamie grabbed a COLEMAN lantern from what looked to be the 1950’s, and brought Robbie over to the bed. After placing the slightly dim lantern onto the nightstand, Jamie lifted Robbie up onto the bed. With the lantern lighting up the room a little, Jamie was able to sign to him.

‘Hi Robbie. Is something wrong?’ Jamie asked.

Robbie rested his head onto Jamie’s arm and brought his stuffed dog closer. “I couldn’t sleep.” Robbie told him.

‘N-i-g-h-t-m-a-r-e?’ Jamie signed each letter out one by one, so he could understand what he was signing out.

“Night...mmmmare. nightmare!” Robbie exclaimed quietly. “Yeah, I had a nightmare.” Robbie told him.

‘Wanna talk about it?” Jamie asked.

Robbie shook his head and instead, pointed to the hat. “I found your hat. I like it.” Robbie said. Jamie looked at the hat and sighed as he slowly frowned. “What’s wrong?” Robbie asked. Jamie removed the hat from Robbie’s head and looked at the hat himself. It was his special hat from when he fought in the 1st and second world war. Slowly, little things started to fill his mind. The first day lined up with his fellow soldiers, a couple of his boat trips, the fights he had in the trenches, and...the fights he had on the battlefield. They were scary, bloody, mentally scarring, and too hard to look back on. But...perhaps he could try? To help Robbie?

Jamie put the service hat onto his head and showed Robbie. Robbie smiled and pointed at it. “It fits you better than me.” Robbie admitted. Jamie’s smile dropped slightly when he realized something wasn’t clicking in his mind. So, Jamie got up from the bed, carried the lantern over to the closet and opened the closet door. With his free hand, Jamie pulled out a hanger with a full suit cover. He placed the suit cover onto the bed, unzipped it and presented Robbie with a full british uniform from the First World War. Robbie gasped and was about to touch it...but the kid quickly looked up at Jamie for permission to touch it.

Jamie nodded with a small smile, and allowed Robbie to feel the old uniform felt and fabric. It was all beige, still very well put together and very formal-looking. Then, Robbie’s eyes fell upon a silver chain that was attached to the uniform shirt:

{J. Jackson}

“You’re a war survivor?” Robbie asked.

Jamie nodded his head. ‘You’re immortal because you’re a zombie. I’m immortal too.” Jamie explained.

Robbie gasped and looked at the uniform further. Then, Robbie ran up to one of the shelves of stuff, and grabbed a poppy. Running back, Robbie inserted the poppy into the uniform before standing straight and saluting Jamie.

Jamie smiled in appreciation and saluted Robbie back in the formal, proper fashion.

“Wait...do you have nightmares about war?” Robbie asked.

Jamie nodded his head as he re-zipped up his uniform cover.

“Nightmares about battling?” Robbie asked.

Jamie nodded. ‘PTSD’ Jamie signed.

“Oh yeah! I think Dr. Nipple Shine told me I have PSTD too. My nightmares are about my parents and the evil man who cut them.” Robbie explained.

Jamie’s eyes widened as he quickly sat down. “Tell me about it.” Jamie told him.

Robbie nodded his head and started explaining everything. “My Mommy’s name was Dawn. She loved listening to fun music, eating food from china and watching funny shows. She worked in a toy store downtown, and loved bringing home little toys I would like. When she came home, Mommy would sometimes let me eat ice cream-” Robbie leaned in and placed his hand on the left side of his mouth to tell him a secret, “as long as I didn’t tell Daddy.” Robbie whispered. Jamie smiled. “My Daddy’s name was Austin. He worked in a police station! He was so cool! And had big muscles! He could outrun anyone! If you took off running, Daddy could catch up to you and arrest you really quickly.” Robbie told Jamie.

Jamie widened his eyes in surprise, and continued to listen. “We were eating supper and watching spongebob when someone knocked on the door. When Daddy answered it, he seemed happy to see the person at the door. But then I heard yelling and my Mom grabbed me and ran away from the table. She tried to get me to hide in the closet, but she didn’t come with me. Mommy pushed me in, and…” Robbie paused for a moment. “The man cut him with a knife and made him fall. The man cut Mommy too.” Robbie finally told him.

Jamie looked down and rubbed Robbie’s back. Gosh that must’ve been terrible. He couldn’t imagine what it would’ve been like for him.

“I got angry and hit him with a broomstick. But, he cut me in the back. He...he called my daddy a racist. What does that even mean?” Robbie asked.

Jamie’s eyes widened in horror. Oh gosh...What does he tell him? How should he tell Robbie?

Jamie decided to summon a notebook and a pencil, so he could write it down. It didn’t take him very long because in a matter of a minute or two, Jamie was handing Robbie the notebook and the lantern to see it:

[A racist is a person who thinks lighter-skinned people and darker-skinned people are not equal. Sometimes men with light skin thought people with dark skin shouldn’t hang out near them.]

Robbie blinked in surprise. “...That man thought my Dad hates dark-skinned people?” Robbie asked.

Jamie frowned and nodded his head.

“But...dark-skinned people are people too.” Robbie told him.

Jamie sighed. ‘Not everyone believed that 50 years ago.’ Jamie signed.

Robbie frowned. “That’s bullying.” Robbie told him.

‘I know.’ Jamie replied.

Robbie gave back the notebook and rested his head on Jamie’s lap. “Thank you Jamie.” Robbie said calmly.

Jamie wrapped his arm around Robbie and patted his head. Jamie was beginning to realize just how much stress Robbie’s had to deal with. It was bad enough for an adult to have to watch their parents die, let alone a little child. Jamie finally decided to protect this boy and determine who had killed his parents and attempted to kill him.

[The Next Morning]

Chase walked out of the room with Robbie’s heated blanket around his shoulders. “Robbie? Where did you go?” Chase asked. He looked at the kitchen, and noticed it was empty. He turned his head and looked at the couch, which was surprisingly also empty. Walking towards the hall, Chase decided to head to Jamie’s room to see if Robbie ran in there. Chase grabbed onto the bunny door knocker, and used it to knock on his bedroom door.

“I’ll get it Jamie!” A familiar high-pitched voice let out. Chase’s tense shoulders softened into relief. Soon, the little kid opened up the door and revealed himself to the person at the entrance. “CHASE!” Robbie shouted, jumping up onto Chase’s waist and hanging there.

“Hi Robbie!” Chase greeted. “Fancy seeing you here! I woke up to my little sleeping buddy missing.” Chase explained.

“Yeah, I had nightmares again.” Robbie told him.

“Oh. But...why didn’t you cuddle up to me when you were scared?” Chase asked.

Robbie looked at Chase with a guilty face, before hiding his face into Chase’s belly. “You looked comfy where you were.” Robbie muttered. “I didn’t wanna wake you up.” Robbie admitted.

Chase sighed and smiled. “It’s alright. It’s nice that you went to Jamie.” Chase told him.

“Jamie has PSDT!” Robbie told him.

Chase blinked in surprise, and looked at Jamie with clarification. Jamie, feeling slightly embarrassed, signed the word ‘war’ to him.

Chase’s eyes widened for a moment. ‘WW1? WW2?’ Chase signed to him quietly. Jamie bit his lip as he signed his reply. ‘Both’ he replied.

Chase’s eyes widened in horror. But his eyes quickly lessened when Jamie waved him down. ‘Can I borrow your phone?’ Jamie asked.

Chase nodded and handed his phone to him. “You remember how to use it? Do you want me to give you a quick lesson on-” Chase’s question was quickly interrupted by the snap of Jamie’s finger. ‘No. Thank you. I know how to work a phone.’ Jamie signed back to him sternly. Chase nodded and immediately shut himself up.

Jamie paused his typing when he heard something plastic fall onto the ground. “Oopth...Thorry Chathe! Aah, mm thpillin’ ” Robbie muttered in the background. Chase quickly ran past Jamie and looked at what Robbie was doing. Just as Chase suspected, Robbie was causing trouble:

Robbie had spilt a partly used bottle of Aunt Jemima table syrup onto the ground, and it was already spilling. Not only that, but Robbie’s mouth was completely full, and slightly spilling maple syrup. Was...Was Robbie drinking maple syrup straight up?!

“Uuuuhuhuhuhuh...did you suddenly get hit with a sugar craving or something?” Chase asked the kid.

Robbie swallowed the stuff down and giggled mischievously. “.......Maybe.” Robbie replied.

Chase couldn’t help but chuckle at him. Then, it was as if something in his brain told him ‘you know what? Fuck it!’ and took over his adult side. Before he could really logic anything out, Chase picked up the bottle, wiped the saliva off the bottle mouthpiece and straight up drank a huge swig of it. Robbie bursted into laughter at this, and bursted into even more laughter when he saw Jamie’s wide-eyed stare.

Chase wiped the access syrup off his face and swallowed the extra syrup down. “The kid’s got pretty good ideas.” Chase admitted. Robbie giggled and beamed proudly at Chase’s loving reaction.

Jamie sighed and stared at Chase with pure disappointment. ‘You’re an adult. How can you still act like this?’ Jamie asked.

Chase looked at Jamie with an offended glare. “Oi! How dare you dictate my behaviour! Especially when you’re known for acting like a child as well.” Chase exclaimed.

Jamie was about to point his index finger at Chase, but he dropped it a little when he realized...Chase might’ve been a little right. But, he raised his index finger back up at him when a good argument filled his head. ‘Sure, I act like a child. But I act like it, within reason.’ Jamie explained. ‘I can entertain some kids and be quite childish myself, but switch into adult mode when a couple kids are fighting each other.’ Jamie explained further. ‘I don’t...drink maple syrup straight up, and completely ignore the syrup splatter on the ground.’ Jamie added.

Chase was rolling his eyes, and started reenacting Jamie’s rant in a dramatic, mocking way. You could tell that both Chase AND Jamie were done dealing with the other person’s bull. Robbie on the other hand, was just leaning against the island, laughing hysterically. This was HILARIOUS to him!

It didn’t take very long for Jamie to give up his rant. ‘You know what? Fine. You want to act like a child, I’ll treat you like one.’ Jamie warned. Jamie walked up to the sink and wetted a washcloth. Then, Jamie walked himself up to Robbie, knelt down to Robbie’s eye level, and handed him the washcloth. ‘Can you clean up the syrup you spilled?’ Jamie asked.

Robbie smirked and looked away for a moment. “What’s the magic word?” Robbie teased.

Jamie chuckled and leaned his head back in slight frustration. Then, Jamie placed his hand on his chest and started drawing tiny circles with his hand. ‘Please?’ Jamie signed.

Robbie nodded and gave Jamie a kiss on the cheek. “Okay!” Robbie replied happily before skipping to the mess to clean it up.

Jamie couldn’t help the little smile that grew onto his face. It made his heart melt seeing Robbie be so cute and caring. It also made Jamie realize that Robbie was being a better adult than Chase was right now. So, Jamie stood back up to his feet and turned to face Chase. ‘And now to deal with the second child in the house:’ Jamie signed, putting the syrup into the fridge before walking closer to Chase.

Chase smirked and crossed his arms confidently. “Oh please...what are you gonna do? Put me on a time out?” Chase asked teasingly.

Jamie shook his head with a smirk and wiggled his fingers evilly. Chase’s confident smirk slowly fell as he realized what he was signing himself up for. “Uh-Now wait a second Jamie...I’m not so sure you wanna-” Chase’s protest was quickly interrupted by his own squeal. Jamie’s hands had managed to tickle him for only a few seconds, before Chase started pushing his hands away and backing up. “WAHAIT, JAMIHIHIE!” Chase laughed.

“I’m almost done! Then I’ll come and help you!” Robbie told them both.

Oh thank god...Robbie was gonna help him before this gets too far! Chase reached out in front and grabbed one of Jamie’s hands. This didn’t stop Jamie at all though. Jamie only dug his hand right into Chase’s belly! “OHOHOho geheheheheheez! Hahahahaha! Jahahahamihihihihie!” Chase giggled, letting go of Jamie’s hand.

Suddenly, a small, but quick hand seemed to find Chase’s belly button! “NOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHAHA! IHIHI THOHOHOUGHT YOHOHOU WEHEHERE HELPIHING MEHEHEHEHE?!” Chase reacted.

“I am! I’m helping you act like a big boy, like me!” Robbie explained before giving Jamie a high five.

“COHOHOHOME OHOHOHON GUHUHUHUHUYS!” Chase begged.

“I’ll save you!” someone yelled behind them. Suddenly, Jamie felt his body get tackled to the ground by a flash of red. A sudden, somewhat quiet squeak filled the room for only a second, causing Robbie and Chase to look over to the source of the sound. The man who tackled Jamie, appeared to be Jackie! And Jackie seemed to have paused what he was doing, to stare at Jamie in pure shock. “Holy- That was YOU?!” Jackie yelled to the dapper boy. Jamie was sitting up, and rubbing his throat. “Did that hurt you?” Jackie asked. Jamie ignored his question and only continued to focus on the noise his throat made.

Jamie looked at Jackie, and quickly patted his shoulder. ‘Tickle me!’ Jamie ordered desperately. Jackie blinked in surprise, and just froze there. So, Jamie gave Jackie’s shoulders a slight shake to get his focus back. ‘Tickle-’

Jamie’s signing was quickly paused thanks to Jackie. The superhero’s hands had given Jamie’s sides a quick squeeze. Jamie tittered quietly for a few seconds, but it didn’t last long at all. When his body sobered up, Jamie immediately begged Jackie for more tickles. He wanted to test if the sound he made was a legitimate vocal cord sound, or just a weird throat noise.

“I...I don’t understand why you want tickles so badly!” Jackie admitted.

“I’ll do it!” Robbie quickly yelled. With not even a moment to spare, Robbie snuck his little fingers under Jamie’s shirt and skittered his fingers all over his ribs and armpits.

“EEE!” Robbie heard. Jackie’s eyes widened as it finally clicked: JAMESON JACKSON WAS MAKING NOISE! And not just claps or whistles, ACTUAL, VOCAL NOISES!

Jamie grabbed onto Robbie’s hands, and gently moved them away from his ribs. Next, Jamie started attempting to use his voice again. For the first few minutes, the sound was just exhaling sounds coming from Jamie’s mouth. But with perseverance and determination, a vocal sound was made! It was short, a little quiet and sounded like a cry...BUT IT WAS SOMETHING!

The moment he felt the slightest vibration in his vocal cords, Jamie bursted out crying. It was a joyful cry. A cry of both amazement, grief and relief that let itself out in streams of tears and sobs. “Your voice! IT WORKS! IT ACTUALLY WORKS!” Chase declared as he pulled Jamie into a big hug.

Chase wasn’t the only excited one. Jackie was ecstatic! Absolutely ecstatic! “JAMESON JACKSON SPEAKS ONCE AGAIN!” He shouted, before joining in on the hug. Jamie’s joyful tears continued to leave his body as he hugged his roommates. His sobs were mixed with impulsive laughter as well, which made Chase smile in excitement. It’s been a long time since Jamie has experienced such raw, mixed emotions.

Jamie pulled away from the hug. ‘But how? My voice hasn’t been used in decades! Maybe, even a century!’ Jamie told him.

Chase shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe Henrik knows.” Chase told him.

Jamie nodded his index finger at him. ‘Maybe.’ Jamie replied. ‘But that doesn’t matter. What matters now, is Robbie.’ Jamie told him as he handed back Chase’s phone.

Chase opened up his phone and looked at all the new information in his search history:

[Austin Clancey - Facebook.com]

[Austin Clancey
I am a Police Officer in Brighton. I have an amazing, beautiful wife named Dawnia, and a cute little boy named Robbin.

Hometown: Brighton, England

Hobbies: Playing card games, visiting car shows, Nascar racing, baseball and riding around in my police car with Robbin.

Music: 80’s rock, death metal, country.

Movies: Grownups, the Fast & Furious franchise, Blue Planet (Robbin loves it a lot more than me), Hamilton (Everything is free in New Jersey!), Beetlejuice...Beetlejuice...Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeecause!]

Chase quickly pulled out a notebook and a pen, and began writing all this information down.
He needed to process this and look for more information.

More importantly: an address...

Chapter Text

Chase, Henrik, Jamie, and Robbie rode in Chase’s car to find the house address. Chase was following the GPS that was leading him to the address he found on the Facebook page, Henrik was talking to Chase in the passenger seat and Jamie was sitting in the back of the car with Robbie.

“Do you recognize any of this, Robbie?” Chase asked.

“No. It just looks like a bunch of houses.” Robbie replied.

Chase chuckled and looked at Henrik with an amused smile. “He’s got a point, Chase.” Henrik replied.

The four of them drove by many more houses, before nearing the house they were looking for. A few kilometres before they reached it, it became very apparent what house was the correct house. The house was abandoned and all raggedy, with peeling paint and a broken fence on the side. There was even a tuxedo cat just hanging out on the porch. But the moment that the car pulled into the cracked driveway, the cat jumped down and ran away.

“Bye bye kitty.” Robbie said to the cat, waving through the window.

Chase parked the car. “Do you recognize this house?” Chase asked, turning to see him.

Robbie hopped out of the car and ran up the driveway. Jamie widened his eyes and hopped out of the car to follow him.

“ROBBIE! JAMESON! WAIT FOR US!” Chase yelled. Henrik and Chase both ran up the driveway after them and stopped in front of the porch.

Robbie climbed up a porch decoration to the mailbox and reached into the mailbox. “Hmmm...Okay!” Robbie muttered, pulling his hand out with a piece of metal in it. It was a key on a ring.

“How...how often do you go here?” Chase asked.

Robbie walked to the door. “I used to come back all the time! I used to live here until the ‘no trespass’ sign came up.” Robbie explained.

Henrik widened his eyes. “Should...ve be here?” he asked.

“Well technically, this isn’t trespassing because Robbie used to live here before it was abandoned...And we’re with Robbie. So…” Chase explained.

Henrik looked at Jamie with a worried look on his face. Jamie gave Henrik a ‘eeeehh’ signal by twisting his open hand and wrist. Robbie finally got the door unlocked. He turned the doorknob and pushed. But it wouldn’t open. “Dammit. It’s stuck again.” Robbie muttered. So, Robbie walked a few feet back and readied his foot. “Stand back. More back.” Robbie warned. Suddenly, Robbie took a running start at it, kicked the door open and fell onto his side. The door blasted open and smacked the wall on the inside of the house.

“Where did THAT come from?!” Chase asked.

“For a child vizh decaying muscles...You are VERY strong.” Henrik admitted.

Robbie jumped back up onto his feet, sent Henrik a proud smile and took the key out of the lock. “Welcome home! It’s very dirty, so please leave your shoes on. It’s also cold, so keep your coats on if you’re cold.” Robbie told them as they walked in.

Henrik pulled some dust masks out of his backpack and handed one each to all of them. “Here. You need zhese.” Henrik told them all.

For Robbie, Henrik handed him a kids medical face mask. “Why are you wearing masks? And why do I have to wear one?” Robbie asked.

“Because it helps us from getting dust in our lungs. And zhe mask vill save your lungs from furzher damage.” Henrik explained.

“Oh.” Robbie put the medical mask on then walked around the familiar house.

The house entrance opened up to a mud room, which led to a living room and a dining room. There was a staircase on the left side of the living room behind the grey couch, and a railway on both sides of the staircase. The staircase was covered with a layer of carpet that was covered with a few layers of dirt by the time they were there. There was little dust travelling in the air, save for the dust that flew off the surfaces. It was still filled with dust though, which made the dust masks all the more necessary.

Chase felt a shiver run up his spine as he walked around. The house was creepy looking and...pain-stricken. There used to be a family of three living here. Now it’s severely abandoned and filled with junk.

“Chase! Henry! Jamie! I wanna show you my room!” Robbie told them, running to the staircase.

Chase looked up the staircase and immediately tapped the front of the first stair. “Is this safe?” Chase asked.

“Look Chase!” Robbie jumped up every single stair to the top. Robbie turned around. “It’s fine!” Robbie said at the top.

Henrik blinked. “Yeah...for a 65 pound child. But for zhree 170 pound men?” Henrik asked.

Jamie slowly stepped one step at a time up the steps. Other than the creakiness of the stairs, the stairs were still relatively safe. Only when Jamie reached the halfway point, did Chase actually consider starting up the stairs. Chase took one step at a time, and kept in mind where the stairs creaked the most.

While he was getting to the top, a cracking sound and a loud snap could be heard behind him. “Scheisse!” someone yelled behind him. Chase turned around and saw Henry’s foot stuck in the stair. “Vell…Zhis is a fine pickle.” Henrik admitted.

Chase giggled and walked down for him. “Want some help?” Chase asked.

“Ja bitte.” Henrik replied.

Chase grabbed Henrik’s ankle and tried to pull it out. But the foot was stuck pretty good. “Okay. I’m gonna pull, and I want you to pull as well.” Chase explained. Henrik nodded and readied his foot. “On three. 1, 2, 3!” Chase and Henrik both pulled on the foot, and POP! Right out of the hole. “There.”

“Zhank you.” Henrik replied.

“No problem!” Chase replied as they caught up to the others.

Robbie ran into his room and stood in the middle of it to show it off. “This was my room!” Robbie told them.

The room was still somewhat put together with red walls, hanging picture frames, a full twin sized bed, a whole bunch of old stuffed animals, a big toy chest, a few books, and a table filled with model cars. Chase felt a yearning in his throat to start crying. It was just like a regular little boys room. It reminded him so much of his own boys' rooms, before his wife took custody of them. Now he never sees their rooms.

Jamie walked up to the model cars that were sitting on the table first. “Hey Jamie! This one’s my favorite!” Robbie picked up a red and white old car. Jamie gasped and looked closer at it. He remembers seeing a car like this! Jamie shined his flashlight onto the back license plate of the car and pointed to it.

[1935]

“Yeah, that’s the license plate!” Robbie said.

“I think he’s trying to tell you that 1935 is the year the car was made.” Chase explained.

“Oooooh.” Robbie reacted.

Jamie grabbed a bright red convertible from the table and showed Chase.

‘I was friends with someone who had one of these.’ Jamie told him.

“Really?! Did you get to ride in it?” Chase asked. Jamie nodded. “Oh my gosh that’s awesome!”

Robbie, Jamie and Chase continued to look around at the many model cars he had. “My Mom’s toy store had a model car aisle. Every time I went to the toy store, I could buy a model car!” Robbie told them.

“Do you wanna take them home?” Chase asked.

Robbie gasped and looked at Chase with big, starry eyes. “REALLY?!”

“Yes! We can take these cars home if you want to!” Chase replied.

“OKAY!” Robbie quickly grabbed Henrik’s bag and pretty much pulled it off his back. Robbie grabbed the model cars in handfuls and dumped them into the bag. Despite Jamie’s attempts to stop Robbie from mistreating them and damaging them, Robbie continued to throw them into the backpack handful by handful. When all 53 of the model cars were thrown in, Robbie placed the backpack down and ran to one of the framed photographs.

Robbie unhooked a specific photo frame he had, of him and his parents. His Mom was dressed up in a Raggedy Ann costume, his father was dressed in a Men in Black costume, and Robbie was dressed up in a Jack Sparrow costume with a fake sword! Robbie smiled and showed Chase the picture.

“Awww!” Chase cooed. “You look great in that costume.”

Robbie smiled and pointed to his parents. Though his mother’s hair was hidden in a wig, his father’s hair was visible. And...It was surprisingly jet black. Or, the photo showed it to be. “What color was your Dad’s hair?” Chase asked.

“Black! Like a panther!” Robbie replied.

Chase nodded and looked at the picture for a bit longer before giving it back to Robbie. “Do you wanna take it home?” Chase asked. “We can find a place for you to hang it.” Chase offered.

Robbie looked at the picture and sighed. He really missed his parents sometimes. But he was scared to tell Chase about it too much. He sensed Chase would feel sad if he talked about the parents he lost. So this picture would either make this conversation easier, or even harder than before. But...Robbie decided to nod his head and place the picture frame into the backpack.

Chase continued to look around his room while Robbie did his thing. He came across nicknacks, a lamp, a kids book on top of the dresser, and a kleenex box that was covered in dust. One thing that did catch Chase’s eye however, was a dozen little wooden boxes with spinning levers. “What are these?” Chase asked.

Robbie walked up to Chase and gasped. “My music boxes!” Robbie grabbed the music box very carefully and spun the lever. An upbeat kind of song started playing through the side of the box, and Robbie started subtly dancing to the song. “It’s a circus song that plays for a trapeze swinger!” Robbie explained.

Chase smiled and listened to it for a bit. Then, Robbie put that music box down and grabbed another box. “This one’s my favorite.” Robbie started spinning the lever at the side. The song started to play, and a very familiar song started to play! Jamie whipped his head around to Robbie and quickly pointed at it. ‘I know this song!’ Jamie told him.

“Yeah! It’s Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy!” Chase replied.

“It’s from The Nutcracker!” Robbie added.

“Indeed it is!” Chase reacted. “Have you ever seen the Nutcracker ballet?” Chase asked him.

“No. Dad said it was too girly.” Robbie admitted.

Chase gasped and knelt down to his level. “No man is too girly to watch the Nutcracker. Or be a ballet dancer in general.” Chase added. “You haven’t been told the story of Billy Elliot.” Chase told him.

“Billy Elliot?” Robbie asked.

“Mm hmm! Billy Elliot was a young boy who learned he was an amazing ballet dancer. He longed to dance in a ballet class, and soon joined the ballet class when he was supposed to be boxing. His father and his brother were furious with him. No boys have ever tried dancing in ballet. The boys who’ve tried before, were often called ‘gay’ and ‘not masculine’.” Chase explained.

Robbie’s curious face dropped a frown as he looked down at the ground. Chase tilted his head in confusion and knelt down to his level. “What’s wrong? Did something I say bother you?” Chase asked.

Robbie nodded his head. “Daddy called me gay once.” Robbie told him.

Chase blinked in surprise and looked up at Jamie. Jamie had dropped his jaw and frowned in slight anger. Henrik was nowhere to be found.

“Is being gay like being darker-skinned?” Robbie asked.

Chase lifted his head up quickly. “What?! No. No it’s not. Why would being gay be like being black?” Chase asked.

But Chase felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking over, it was Jamie’s hand that was on his shoulder. Jamie was closer to him and kneeling down beside him.

“Being gay is a type of love. Being gay means for a man to fall in love with another man.” Chase explained. “Boys that are gay, will want to kiss other boys, rather than girls.” Chase explained.

Robbie looked up. “I don’t wanna kiss boys. I wanna kiss girls.” Robbie replied. “Dad was wrong. I’m not gay.” Robbie told him. “I’m Robbin. I’m a girl kisser.” Robbie replied.

Chase smiled and chuckled. “I am too.” Chase told him. Robbie looked up at Chase and smiled. “Jamie is as well.” Chase added. “Almost everyone in the house likes kissing girls. But Marvin...he likes kissing boys and girls.” Chase added as well.

“Really?” Robbie asked.

“Yup. That’s called being bisexual. Or bi, for short. Bi people want to kiss boys and girls.” Chase explained.

Robbie widened his eyes. “That’s a lot of people.” Robbie commented.

Chase giggled at that.

“Hey boys? Can you come here please?” Henrik called.

Chase and Jamie turned their heads around to the doorframe, while Robbie tilted his head to the side to see the same door frame. “What’s wrong?” Robbie asked.

Henrik didn’t answer.

Chase, sensing something bad, started walking towards the door frame and through it to the hallway. Jamie gently grabbed Robbie’s hand, and started following Chase through the hallway. As they walked down the hallway, they found Henrik staring at a couple piles of blood stains. “Is zhis…”

“-Where my Mommy and Daddy died?” Robbie finished, before looking down. “Yeah.”

Henrik bit his lip and looked at the big separate blood stains. The blood stains were somewhat splattered all over the place, yet it was still obvious there were 2 separate blood stains.

“Where’s your bloodstains?” Chase asked.

Robbie pointed to the blood stain on the right. “I fell near Mom close to here.” Robbie explained. Any other previous evidence was gone thanks to the police, and all that was left were slight chalk stains on the floor. “The knife was big. Everytime I moved, I could feel it moving around inside.” Robbie admitted.

Chase subtly curled up in paranoia. Getting stabbed from behind was one of Chase’s worst fears. And this kid actually lived to tell the tale. This kid has much more bravery than he does himself!

Meanwhile, Henrik had walked into the bedroom right near it. It looked to be a parents room. “I found somezhing else in Dawn and Austin’s room as vell.” Henrik told them.

“Why were you in Mommy and Daddy’s room?” Robbie asked.

“I vanted to learn a few more zhings about your parents.” Henrik replied. He soon walked out of the bedroom with a pile of papers, and a specific paper on the top. “Zhis vas found in a drawer vizh a gun.” Henrik told them.

“Oh yeah! Daddy always took his gun home. He said ‘no touching it’ to me. He let me look at it, but he never let me shoot with it.” Robbie admitted. Henrik grabbed the paper off the top and handed it to Jamie to read.

Jamie looked up and down the filled out paper. It appeared to be a criminal record sheet. Why did the man have a criminal record check in a drawer? And…

Oh no…

Jamie walked up to Chase and showed him the [Criminal History] chart. It was nearly filled from top to bottom with criminal offences! Chase widened his eyes as he checked the charges spot on the chart.

[Physical Assault]
[Manhandling]
[Physical Assault]
[Misconduct]
[Misuse of Firearms]
[Misuse of Firearms]
[Misuse of Firearms]
[Misuse of Firearms]
[Second Degree Murder]

Chase lowered the paper from his face. “Wow…”

Jamie gulped and looked at Henrik. Henrik was scratching the back of his head, unsure of what to do.

“What’s wrong?” Robbie asked.

Chase looked down at Robbie. He handed the paper to Jamie and picked Robbie up. “We found a paper about your Dad that worries us.” Chase explained.

Jamie’s jaw dropped. Did he seriously just tell him upright?! He’s 8!

“What was it?” Robbie asked.

Chase let out a breath. “It was a paper that all adults with jobs have to get. It’s called a record check. It’s a way to show job managers that the workers they hire, do not break the law.” Chase explained. Robbie nodded. “It was your Dad’s record check.” Chase said.

“Oh! That’s all? Okay. He’s not a bad guy. I know him.” Robbie told him.

Chase nodded and looked over at Jamie awkwardly. He seemed to have nothing to say. Or, perhaps he was too afraid to say anything. So...Jamie kept his hands to his sides and refused to sign anything on the subject.

Robbie soon walked away from the adults and wandered back into his own room. He grabbed one of the music boxes he used to love, and cranked the bottom metal twister. The song that played was a song that Robbie remembered all too well. It was a lullaby that his Mom had always sang to him when he struggled to sleep, and had always stuck with him since they died.

He listened to every note that played in the box. This music box’s note sheet was handmade by his mom. It had been a special birthday gift from her. The music box itself was painted by her as well and said ‘My Robbie Robbin’ on the top. It was a play on the name ‘Robbie Rotten’, and it had been one of the many nicknames she made up for him.

Robbie started to sing along to the melody when the song looped. 🎶You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey.
You n-never know dear, how much I lo-love you. So please don’t t-take my s-sunsh-shine away.🎶 Robbie sang, his voice breaking as he felt tears well up in his eyes.

Chase, Jamie and Henrik listened to the heart-wrenching singing from the door frame. Immediately, Chase was the first to start crying. Jamie brought Chase into a hug and not long after, Jamie was crying too. It was Henrik that ended up walking up to the boy, kneeling down in front of him and pulling him into a hug. Robbie broke down crying almost immediately after he was comforted. Henrik held onto him for a good while before he cried and sobbed.

Robbie ended up crying in that old bedroom for a while. His cheeks were super stained with his salt water tears by the end, and his hair was a dusty mess. As a matter of fact, everyone’s hair was dusty after that trip. Everyone took a shower one at a time, and ridded their bodies and hair of the dust that accumulated in the house. The boys got dressed into their PJ’s, and Robbie decided to go to bed earlier than usual. Though this was a very unusual occurrence for a child, let alone Robbie, Chase let him go to bed early so he could process everything that happened.

Robbie laid with his dog stuffy Bacon in his hands, and silently cried to himself while the Sunshine music box played beside him on the bed. He missed them. He missed them so much. What did they do to deserve getting cut up so badly? Why did the man do it? Why them? And…why was Robbie the only survivor? Is there a secret behind his rare circumstance that Robbie isn’t aware of? Did the evil man who killed his parents know about it? And lastly: Was this turnout just a weird coincidence?

...Or planned?

Chapter Text

Robbie woke up the next morning crying and hugging his stuffed dog. The nightmares of dying and waking up in the morgue had been plaguing him more and more lately. Some nights he almost didn’t want to sleep. Why would he sleep when he knows his head is gonna bring him back to what had happened?

Robbie angrily threw Bacon onto the foot of the bed. This sucked. He loved sleeping. And cuddling Chase without falling asleep in his arms was not as fun. But the nightmares were ruining it. Robbie hugged his head with his arms and started to growl to himself. Why did someone choose to kill him and his parents?! WHY?!

Robbie got off his bed, walked to the door and opened it instinctively like he always did. He grabbed the bathrobe he’d been given by Chase, and put it on. He walked out to the hallway and grabbed Henrik’s backpack filled with his stuff. He missed this stuff so much. But it didn’t fix the fact that his parents were dead and never to be seen again. He never even had a proper chance to say goodbye before the evil killer barged in and ruined his life.

Robbie walked to Henrik’s room and walked right in without knocking. He had no time for knocking when he wanted questions answered. He looked up at Henrik and immediately felt the need to hug him and cry his pain away. But he did that yesterday! And crying didn’t fix the fact that his parents were dead.

“Robbie? Do you hear me? Are you okay? Vhat’s rrong?” Henrik asked, growing worried.

Robbie frowned more. “I want answers.” Robbie told him downright. “Why did that man kill them? Why did I survive while my parents died and never came back?” Robbie asked with pain showing on his face.

Robbie noticed Henrik dropping his head and sighing. Henrik didn’t like to talk about it. He could tell. But Robbie needed to know! Now was not time to hide the pain that spiralled inside his head! Now was time to get answers!

“I wanna know!” Robbie told him.

“I don’t know. I do not know vhy your parents vere killed. I vasn’t zhere, and you do not say much.” Henrik replied. Robbie noticed how his english was more broken than usual for some reason.

Robbie walked up to the desk and looked around for the paper that Henrik, Chase and Jamie all had read. It must have all the answers! That’s why they were keeping secrets from him!

“Vhat are you-”

“Where’s the check record?” Robbie asked in a slightly demanding voice.

Henrik widened his eyes and got up. He walked to the desk and opened a drawer, revealing it and handed it to him. “Here.”

Robbie turned on the desk lamp and read it. But the words were all so big! Why must the words be so long and hard to read?! Robbie bursted out crying and threw the paper down before hiding his face in his hands. “I-I CAN’T REEEEAAAD IIIIT!” Robbie cried loudly. “Itknows w-why they died but I CAN’T REEEEEAAAD!”

Robbie leaned his head on the desk and pounding his fists on the table.

Henrik walked closer and was about to touch his shoulder…

STUPID BRAIN! STUPID BODY! STUPID PAPER!

Robbie ended up pushing all the stuff that was on the desk, right onto the floor. The room went dark again as he closed his eyes and started crying all over again. All the things he threw...It was all just stuff to Robbie. And none of it mattered compared to his parents. But Robbie’s thoughts were interrupted by a yelp and a crash. Robbie looked over with his blurry eyes and stared at the blob of adult body holding something…

Robbie quickly rubbed his eyes free of the tears the moment he heard sobs and cries from Henrik. What had happened? Did he do something wrong?

Robbie looked down and immediately noticed the shattered glass on the ground. Henrik was holding one of the large glass shards. But then Henrik threw the glass onto the ground.

“WAS ZUM TEUFEL IST FALSCH MIT DIR?!” Henrik suddenly shouted.

Robbie jumped about 5 feet away. Oh no...He’s SUPER angry! But what’s he saying?!

“Dies war ein Geschenk von meiner Tochter! Wie konntest du?!” Henrik kept going. He wasn’t yelling, but he was still speaking another language he didn’t understand. All he understood from that was the thought that it might’ve been important to him. “Wenn du wolltest, dass ich das verdammte Blatt lese, hättest du fragen können!” Henrik told him.

...What?

“Fahrt zur Hölle, Robbie.” Henrik shot at him through his teeth.

Robbie widened his eyes. It didn’t take much to understand those words were meant for him. Robbie’s eyes grew glassy as he slowly walked out of the room. But Robbie was quickly stopped by Chase. “Robbie? What are you doing up?” Chase asked him.

Robbie shook his head. He was too scared to say. Robbie turned around to Henrik, and welled up with tears. Quickly, Robbie ran down the hall from them into the dark. Robbie felt too terrible to face what he had done. He knew that he hurt Henrik somehow, and felt terrible for it. But he didn’t want to know what he had said to him. It could’ve meant anything. He could’ve yelled swears at him. He could’ve called him names. Or worse: he could’ve called him worthless without him even knowing.

The endless possibilities of what he could’ve said just filled his mind and spiralled out of control. He soon felt like a tornado of emotions and thoughts. By the time someone had walked in, Robbie was curled up on the ground, crying and sniffling.

Chase walked himself in with a paper in his hand. “2 Physical assault charges. That means he had to pay someone lots of money for hitting someone really hard two times.” Chase told him.

Robbie lessened his sobs a little to hear him better.

“Misuse of firearms four times. Firearms meaning a gun.” Chase explained. “Your father was not using the gun for good reasons.” Chase told him.

Robbie lifted himself up and looked at him. Chase knelt down and pointed at something else on the paper. “Manhandling. Your Dad was pushing someone around and treating them roughly like a football player would.” Chase explained.

Robbie walked closer and looked at the paper. “A-Austin has been given a warning of a $600 fine and...and a couple months jail time.” Robbie read out loud.

Chase looked at the paper. “Your father had to give 600 dollars over for…” Chase read a bit more. “Physical assault. Or, hitting someone really hard.” Chase explained.

Robbie looked at the signature and the name at the bottom. “I know that name!” Robbie told him.

Chase hummed in confusion and looked at the name as well. He didn’t recognize the name, but he knew from the documentation that it was the police chief. “You met the police chief?” Chase asked.

“Yeah!” Robbie ran to the backpack and came back with a car in his hand. “He gave me this police car!” Robbie told him. “It used to light up before the batteries died.” Robbie added.

Chase smiled and picked up the kid. “Let’s go put some new batteries in.” Chase decided.

Robbie smiled and leaned on Chase as he was carried to the kitchen. Chase opened up a drawer near the phone and pulled some AA and AAA batteries out of the packs.

Robbie got the police car bottom open on his own, and took out the old batteries. Then, Chase put the correct new batteries in the right way, and let Robbie put the cover back on. Robbie turned it the correct way and clicked the red and blue light on the car roof. Suddenly, the car lights lit up and a somewhat loud siren sound filled the room! Robbie gasped and giggled as he watched it. “It works!” Robbie declared.

Chase smiled. “That is a really cool toy.” Chase told him.

“I like it too! I used to pretend Dad was riding it around the city.” Robbie told him.

Then, Robbie’s smile dropped as the truth about his Dad had started to click into place in his head. Robbie looked at the police car. “If my Dad hit people, pushed people and played with his gun...then he wasn’t a good police man.” Robbie thought out loud.

Chase shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe he wasn’t. But that paper doesn’t tell us about the good things he’s done.” Chase mentioned.

Robbie looked at Chase. “So he saved people and hurt people?” Robbie asked.

Chase nodded. “That’s the best way we can look at this paper. Yes, he did some bad things. But I’m sure he did lots of good things too. Doing bad things and good things is what makes us human.” Chase told him.

Robbie nodded and thought about something. “Did you do bad things too?” Robbie asked.

Chase bit his lip and thought for a moment. Should he tell him? Or should he keep it secret?

...He decided to tell him. “Yes. I have done some bad things. I’ve lied, yelled at people, and broken things.” Chase told him.

“Why?” Robbie asked.

Chase closed his eyes and could feel his eyes growing glassy. “Be-Because anger makes you do stupid things.” Chase replied.

Robbie nodded and snuggled into Chase’s chest. Chase wrapped his arms around Robbie and sat down properly so they could cuddle. As they were cuddling, Robbie finally decided to confess what he did. “I got angry and threw some papers off the desk.” Robbie told him. “I knocked down a lamp that was special to him.” Robbie’s voice started to break.

Chase rubbed Robbie’s back. “There there. I know you feel terrible for that.” Chase said. “Do you wanna know why it was so special?” Chase asked. All it took was a nod for him to continue. “His daughter had bought that lamp and painted it for him.” Chase told him. “He also has a child that he never sees.” Chase admitted.

“Why can’t you see your kids? Why can’t Henry see his daughter?” Robbie asked.

Chase sighed. “When someone’s heart is broken from too many mistakes...they look for someone to blame their broken heart on, because it’s easier.” Chase explained. “It’s like lying. People lie because it feels easier than telling the truth. But lying breaks you more than telling the truth does.” Chase admitted.

“So telling the truth hurts people less?” Robbie asked.

Chase looked away for a moment. “...Sometimes.”

Robbie tilted his head. “I’m confused.”

Chase chuckled at that. “I imagine. The people on earth are super hard to understand.” Chase admitted.

“You’re super hard to understand, Chase.” Robbie admitted.

Chase laughed at that. “Mhm.

Robbie looked at Chase. “Henry was hard to understand. He was speaking german.” Robbie told him.

Chase nodded and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah...He does that when he’s angry, scared or laughing.” Chase told him.

Robbie lit up. “Like when he was being tickled at the doctor’s!” Robbie added.

“Yes! Like that.” Chase replied.

Robbie looked at him. “I’m scared of what he said.” Robbie admitted.

“Would you like to go over and apologize?” Chase asked.

Robbie nodded and allowed himself to be put down onto the ground. Then, Robbie turned off the police car, handed it to Chase and ran to Henrik’s room. He knocked on the door.

“Ja?” Henrik responded.

The kid held his hands. “It’s Robbie.”

Robbie didn’t hear anything after that. Just a bit of shuffling. Soon, the door opened and revealed Henrik in his PJ’s.

“I’m really sorry I broke your lamp. I shouldn’t have broken it. It was special to you and now it’s gone. I’m sorry Henry.” Robbie told him, his voice starting to break near the end.

Henrik knelt down and opened his arms to him. Immediately, Henrik felt the kid’s weight in his arms and hugged him tightly. “I forgive you Robbie.” Henrik told him. “And I apologize for yelling at you like zhat. You vere right: it vas special to me. But zhat does not excuse my reaction.” Henrik told him. “I was what the Germans would call, a dummkopf.” Henrik admitted.

Robbie giggled at the word and hugged him a bit tighter at his response. Robbie could somewhat understand what dummkopf meant, thanks to the first word’s pronunciation sounding like ‘dumb’. But beyond that: it felt nice to have the pain between him and Henrik patched up. Even though the anger lasted 15 to 30 minutes, it actually felt like hours to the small boy. The kid was just happy to have fixed up the tension at least a little bit.

Perhaps there was more he could do?

“Henry?” Robbie called softly.

“Yes?” Henrik replied.

Robbie pulled away to look at him. “Can I sleep with you tonight?” he asked.

Henrik smiled at the question and nodded his head. “Of course you can!”

Robbie smiled and fluffed up Robbie’s hair. Robbie giggled at it and fluffed Henrik’s hair right back before running to the bed.

“Ey! Come back du Bengel!” Henrik reacted, chasing after him to the bed. Robbie laughed and jumped onto the bed, wiggling his fingers. “Oooh no! No vey you’re gettin’ me and ticklin’ me!” Henrik declared.

“Okay, okay.” Robbie put his arms down and settled into Henrik’s bed.

Despite Robbie’s clear surrender, Henrik still took a couple extra steps to be 100% sure he was done. After all, he could’ve been just faking it.

But Robbie looked completely cozy and ready to sleep. So, Henrik crawled into bed and waved good night to Chase. “Gute Nacht Chase!” Henrik wished.

“Good night Henrik. Sleep tight you two.” Chase replied before closing the door.

Chase felt the door latch click shut and leaned against the door for a few minutes. He felt exhausted and quite guilty for telling Robbie everything. Even though Robbie had to know the truth, it was still a hard truth to wrap your head around. A policeman turned murderer with a wife and an 8 year old child? Talk about a heartbreaking family.

Chase’s thoughts were quickly interrupted by a yelping sound, followed by bed-rustling and laughter. Chase’s lips grew into a smile as he let out a few quiet laughs. Robbie’s an evil little kid who sucks at stopping when he’s ahead. Robbie’s simple ability to stay quiet and keep his motives hidden for so long, simply proved just how far his mischief could go. Chase had better keep his 6th sense awake in case Robbie pulls a scheme like that on him later.

But...That mischief and scheming was part of what made Robbie the boy he is. Finding the laughter in the hardest of times, and making things right when there’s tension. Maybe...Chase didn’t need to worry about how Robbie will take the new information. Robbie’s a smart kid. A lot smarter than they give him credit for. If there’s one person who knows how to fight his battles independently, it’s him. And if he’s hit rock bottom, he knows there’s an army of people to go to for help.

Chase smiled to himself as he walked away. ‘He’ll be okay...he’ll be okay.’

Chapter Text

Chase packed up a snack for Robbie and packed a sweater in case Chase and Robbie got cold. Chase collected up a couple toys for Robbie, and finally looked around the house for Robbie.

“Hey Robbie? You all ready to go?” Chase asked.

“Coming!” Robbie yelled from what sounded like across the house. Chase chuckled as he listened for Robbie’s tiny, and fast footsteps. The brittle little child ran down the stairs, down the hall and slid right up to Chase with three toy cars in his hand. “Look! I have a Ferrari Portofino, a Ford Taurus, and a Volkswagen Beetle!” Robbie declared.

“Nice!” Chase reacted. “How’d you get the Ferrari Portofino? That looks really rare.” Chase asked.

“Mommy ran a model car show one day! And there was a draw for 15 rare cars! And I won!” Robbie explained. “It was amazing! I felt like a super star!” Robbie added.

Chase smiled and fluffed his hair. “You’re not far from it, Robbie.” Chase told him.

Robbie ran to the door and just about ran out the door without his shoes. But he immediately realized his mistake the moment he stepped onto the gravel. “OW! Ow ow ow ow ow gravel! Help! Ow!”

Chase couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “You needs shoes, ya little nut!” Chase teased, showing Robbie his shoes.

Robbir jumped off the gravel and onto the steps to the door. “Thank you! Youch...That hurt my feet.” Robbie complained as he put on his shoes without socks. “There! PROTECTION FOR MY FEET!” Robbie yelled as he did the Russian dance through the gravel to the car.

Chase wheezed and bursted out laughing at Robbie’s dance move. Out of all the dance moves...Why the russian dance?

Chase got into the car and started it up. “Can I drive?” Robbie asked.

“When you’re older, maybe.” Chase replied.

“Aww...I feel like I can do it though!” Robbie begged.

Chase narrowed his eyes at him with a smirk. “How much can you see out of the windshield?” Chase asked.

Robbie pointed to the middle of the grey compartment in front of him. Chase laughed at that and shook his head. “If you can barely see through the windshield, then you’re not driving.” Chase replied.

Robbie huffed and crossed his arms with annoyance. Meanie…

Chase started to drive out to a forest-filled park about 30 minutes away. Robbie had a sad mood on his face. Robbie looked at his hands and looked at Chase. “I’m staying a kid forever...that means I’ll be this small forever.” Robbie clarified.

Chase’s thought process completely froze. Chase pulled over on the side of the country road and parked the car. “Yes...You are.”

Robbie looked at Chase with hurt in his eyes. “That means I’ll never get to drive.” Robbie told him. “Only bigger kids drive big cars.” Robbie told him. “And I will be small forever.” Robbie added.

Chase bit his lip. Damn...he has a point.

Robbie looked at Chase. “Can I drive before I die?” Robbie asked.

Chase’s heart sank right into his stomach at that question. God...What a question for an 8 year old to ask. What do you even say to that?

Well...Chase decided to try something. He turned to Robbie and uttered the next words: “Come up to the front with me.”

When Robbie was on Chase’s lap, Chase allowed Robbie to control the steering while Chase controlled the gas and brakes. Chase had done something similar to this with his kid on the tractor, which turned out okay. Though this was different, Chase could always take over if he needed to.

“Alright. Do you know how to drive a steering wheel?” Chase asked.

Robbie nodded and turned the wheel back and forth. “Cool!”

Chase smiled and raised the seat up so Robbie could see better out the windshield. “How’s that for ya?” Chase asked.

“Perfect! I can see it all!” Robbie declared.

With Chase’s help, Robbie started to drive. He started off slow so Robbie could get control of the car, and he got a little faster. Robbie smiled and steered the car, veering from the white line to the yellow line, and back again. “This is fun!” Robbie told him.

Chase was a ball of nerves, but he had to admit: Robbie was better at driving than he expected. Robbie started to get better control of the car and started heading up to a corner. “Okay. So do you know how to turn?” Chase asked.

“Yeah, like this!” Robbie said as he started turning the steering wheel. “Good! I’ll move the car, and you figure out how much to turn the wheel. And if we end up in the ditch...then it was a good try.” Chase decided.

Robbie nodded and loosened the grip on the wheel. While the gas petal made the car move, Robbie figured out he didn’t need to turn quite as strongly. “Alright, and onto the left side of the yellow line- Perfect!” Chase reacted. “Now let the wheel go.” Chase told him.

“Uh...Okay.” Robbie said, a little nervously. When he did, the car’s steering wheel turned back to its straight position. “Whoa! That’s so easy!” Robbie reacted.

“I know, right?” Chase reacted.

Robbie giggled and put his hands back onto the steering wheel while Chase had the car stopped. “What does this do?” Robbie asked as he lifted a lever up. Suddenly, the car started making a clicking sound!

“Hey! I know that sound!” Robbie reacted.

“That’s the turn signal. It tells the people behind and in front of you, if you’re gonna turn or not.” Chase explained.

Robbie quickly turned it off. “I’m not turning.” Robbie told him.

“Alright.” Chase replied.

Robbie ended up doing really well for his first driving test. He ended up learning how to turn, how to run the radio, and how to control the car.

And as they drove down the highway, they admired the trees and-

“DEER!” Robbie yelled, pointing at a running deer.

“AAH!” Chase shouted!

Chase quickly took over the steering wheel, stepped on the brakes and held onto Robbie with one hand as they heaved forward. The deer ran past the car and let out a yelling sound.

Chase was breathing heavily and wide-eyed at the whole ordeal. He didn’t hit the deer...He didn’t hit the deer...Robbie’s in his arms...He’s okay…

“Why aren’t we going?” Robbie asked.

Chase let out a sigh of relief. Robbie’s okay. They’re okay.

“Thank goodness...Are you okay?” Chase asked.

“Yeah! That was fun! Let’s do it again!” Robbie replied excitedly.

Chase chuckled with worry. “No...We’re not doing that again.” Chase told him. “But thank you.”

Robbie turned around. “Thank you? For what?”

“For telling me there was a deer! We would’ve crashed into the deer and damaged the car if you didn’t say anything!” Chase explained.

“Oh...And we saved the deer’s life.” Robbie added.

Chase nodded. “Yeah...That too.”

Robbie waited a moment to think of what to say.

“So...no more driving?” Robbie asked.

“Not today, buddy. I think Chase has had enough excitement for one day.” Chase replied.

“Awww….” Robbie whined.

“But, I will offer to get you iced cream if you would like.” Chase offered.

“Then we go to the park?” Robbie asked.

“Yes! That is what we planned to do all along!” Chase replied.

Chase stopped at an ice cream parlor, and got out of the car. Robbie got his favorite Cookies and Cream in a cup, while Chase got Mint chocolate chip on a cone.

“Mmmmm! Oreo cream!” Robbie declared.

“Oreo cream? Is that what you call Cookies and Cream?” Chase asked.

Robbie nodded. “Yeah! Cookies and cream looks like oreo ice cream! That means Cookies and Cream is actually oreo ice cream!” Robbie explained.

Chase widened his eyes and blinked. “Wow...I’ve never thought of that!”

Robbie giggled. “Really? It’s obvious!”

“Oh is it now?” Chase asked, poking Robbie. “Didn’t seem very obvious to me, smartypants.”

Robbie giggled and pushed his hand away. “Don’t spill your cone trying to tickle me!” Robbie warned with a sassy tone.

“Oh I won’t. I’m gonna wait...till you’re not expecting it…” Chase decided out loud.

Robbie giggled and covered his mouth. Chase was being very evil, and Robbie was LOVING it. Robbie kept on teasing and driving Chase closer and closer to madness as they ate their ice cream. He was REALLY asking for it. No doubt about it!

The moment they reached the park, Robbie hopped out of the car and ran to the playground. Robbie’s favorite part of the park was the big slides and the monkey bars. They were always so adrenaline-inducing and fun! Chase let Robbie get his energy out on the playground while he took a moment to think, reflect, calm down from the deer attack, and finally hydrate.

Chase grew terrified and thankful that they were alright. He was more scared for Robbie in that situation than himself. The feeling of love is a strong thing when you’re in danger. Not only was Robbie mentally strong for his age, but Robbie was also physically more fragile than one would consider. Any breaks, sprains or cuts would remain for the rest of his life. He already had plenty of unhealed cuts and scrapes. And thankfully...some of the surface nerves on his limbs seemed to have died, making stitching a lot less painful than it was.

Chase started to worry a bit for Robbie’s future. People everywhere they went, often stared at Robbie. Though most of the time he would take it like he was a famous guy, Chase would often smile proudly at the people that stared for too long. He sensed that if he showed them pure kindness, they wouldn’t consider calling the cops or CPS on them. The only issue Robbie had, was the unhealed bruises and the grey skin. He looked like he was abused and slowly dying. So any amount of consideration to call CPS, scared the crap out of him. He did NOT want them taking Robbie from him. Not only would he never get better, but he would also experience more rejection and loss! And that’s the last thing any kid would want to feel once, let alone twice!

He knew he would have to explain all this to Robbie when he was mentally old enough...But for right now...it was play time.

Robbie walked himself back to where Chase was and went right back to teasing him and being an evil little kid.

...Okay scratch that! It’s tickle time now!

Chase finally caved in and gav him the tickle attack of his lifetime, for both Robbie and himself! He attacked everywhere he could, and often attacked more spots at once. Robbie was cackling, laughing, giggling, even snorting near the end of the attack! But everytime Chase would stop to give him a break, Robbie would shake his head and yell “MORE, MORE!”. He just couldn’t get enough of the tickles, and Chase found that utterly hilarious!

“Hey Robbie! How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?” Chase asked.

Robbie giggled and shook his head. “Ihihi dohon’t knohohohohow!”

“Ten-tickles!” Chase started tickling under one toe at a time. “one...Twwooo...Threeee...fooour…”

Robbie laughed and squealed like a toddler! “EEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!”

“Fiiiive…” Chase paused to pick up the other foot and continued. “Siiiix...Seveeen...Eeeiight...Niiiiine…” Chase kept counting.

Robbie covered his mouth. He knew what was coming next!

“TEEEEN” Chase started skittering his fingers all over the ball of Robbie’s foot, the heel and the toes.

“BAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CHAHAHAHASE THAHAT TICKLEHEHEHEHES!” Robbie yelled.

Chase widened his eyes and quickly stopped to let him breathe. But the moment Robbie stopped laughing, he looked at Chase with disappointment and patted his hand. “More more more!”

Chase chuckled. “You’re like a dog! You always want love, to the point that you’re a little demanding for it.” Chase told him.

“That…” Robbie looked down. “That’s because…”

Chase tilted his head and let him talk. “Because why?”

Robbie let out a breath and looked up to Chase. “It’s because I never asked for love. I didn’t need to. I wanted love, but I knew they were busy. So I never said anything.” Robbie told him.

Robbie frowned. “And then they died.”

Chase sighed and looked at Robbie with hurt, but sincere eyes. “That must’ve been really hard...being the only survivor.” Chase reacted calmly.

Robbie grabbed onto Chase’s arm. “I don’t want you to die! You could be gone tomorrow! And I don’t want that...Not again...Please…” Robbie begged.

Chase hugged Robbie as best he could with his free arm. He looked up at a lady, who had her hand on her heart with a toddler running around her. She looked as if she was having a bittersweet reaction to what Robbie had said.

‘Adopted?’ The lady mouthed.

Chase nodded with a smile.

‘Poor thing…’ she mouthed calmly.

Chase looked at Robbie and smiled before fluffing his hair. Robbie smiled as well and looked at Chase. “I love you.”

Chase’s smile was pure love at its finest. “I love you too, Robbin.” Chase replied.

“I like Robbie now.” The little guy admitted.

“Really?” Chase asked.

“Yes! Like Robbie Rotten!” Robbie declared.

Chase laughed at the reference as the meme went through his head. “We are #1!” Chase sang.

Robbie jumped up onto his feet and started imitating the trumpet while marching like he were in a marching band. This had Chase laughing hysterically. Robbie Rotten was always a classic, even long before the meme came along!

May the legendary Stefán Karl Stefánsson forever rest in peace.

Chapter Text

Robbie was helping Chase, Shawn and Jamie clean out the basement.

“And this was where I found Robbie! Downstairs, sleeping under blankets.” Chase told him.

“Really? Awww, was this your little cubby?” Shawn asked.

Robbie crawled up to it and snuggled under the covers. “Oh! My hair was snowing!” Robbit said with a laugh.

Chase laughed as well. “Oh my god, you would not BELIEVE how much dandruff that kid had! He hadn’t showered in 3 weeks when I found him!” He laughed.

Shawn let out a gag while Jamie waved his hand around his face to ‘wipe away the stench’. Chase laughed harder at Jamie’s reaction.

“He was surprisingly not that bad.” Chase told them.

‘Really?’ Jamie reacted.

“Really!” Chase replied. “He smelt a little, but it wasn’t terrible. I only realized what I was smelling when Robbie had hugged me.” Chase told him.

“HAhahaha! No you didn’t!” Robbie reacted.

“Yes I did!” Chase replied.

“Liar!” Robbie said with a laugh.

“Am not!” Chase reacted.

Jamie chuckled and covered his face with his hand. Shawn was giggling quietly too.

“What? What’s so funny?!” Chase asked.

Jamie pointed at Chase.

“Oh I’m the funny one?” Chase asked. “Oh...Oh I see…” Chase leaned over to Robbie. “Hey Robbie...Go get em!” Chase ordered.

Robbie took off running and squealed as he landed right on Jamie’s body. “TACKLE HUG!” Robbie shouted, hugging Jamie tightly.

Jamie let down his guard and hugged him.

“Aaaaand tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle!” Robbie started tickling Jamie’s sides, ribs and belly.

This ended up getting lots of reactions from the quiet Jamie! Quiet laughter, quiet giggles, and hiccups of all kinds! It was such a hilarious sight!

“Kitchy kitchy koo! Who’s a ticklish Jamie? Who’s a ticklish Jamie? It’s you! You, I say!” Robbie teased.

Jamie’s belly was filling with butterflies. When did Robbie get so good at this?!

‘STOP!’ Jamie signed.

“Aww, but do you really want me to stop? Or are you just signing that instinctively?” Robbie asked.

Now when the heck did Robbie learn that big word?! And WHEN DID HE LEARN HOW TO PRONOUNCE IT PROPERLY?!

‘HELP!’ Jamie signed desperately.

“Sorry Jamie! I’m a bit busy right now.” Chase told him.

Jamie flipped off Chase.

“HEY! Not in front of the kid!” Chase warned.

‘Sorry!’

“Save your sorry for later.” Chase ordered.

“BLANKET BOY MAN TO THE RESCUE!” Shawn yelled, cheering as he ran, tackling the kid down with a blanket attached to his neck. “I gotcha, ya little troublemaker!” Shawn teased.

“Nooooo!” Robbie giggled.

“Yeeeesss! A tickytickytickytickyticky!” Shawn teased as he tickled Robbie’s vulnerable feet.

“NUUUUhuhuhuhuhuhu!” Robbie laughed.

“Laugh, my Robbie! Laugh under my glorious fingers!” Shawn teased evilly.

“EHEHEHEVIHIHIHIL!” Robbie laughed.

“Oh I know!” Shawn replied.

Robbie laughed and giggled for a little while longer before Shawn was told to stop so they could continue cleaning. Shawn sighed and finally stopped, before helping Robbie up onto his feet.

“Thank you Shawny boy!” Robbie declared.

“Shawny boy, huh?” Shawn asked.

“YES!” Robbie shouted.

“Fine...I guess you can call me Shawny boy.” Shawn agreed.

At one point, Robbie came across a box with a metal lever. “Ooooh…” Robbie muttered.

Robbie turned the lever and listened to the melody that played out of it.

The melody that played from it, was...almost beautiful! Heartwarming...Soft...It sounded catchy...and cartoonish. It sounded like a little cartoon theme song.

“Where...Where did you find that?” Shawn asked behind him, walking up to Robbie with his hands out to grab the music box.

“I found it in a box.” Robbie told him.

Shawn waited for the song to loop around...and when it did, Shawn started to sing the lyrics to the melody that he recognized so easily…

“♫Bendy was a lil devil thing
Who was brought to life on the silver screen
Used to make em chuckle now he makes em scream
It’s bendy and the devil swing♫

Shawn smiled as he knelt down to Robbie’s level to sing the song.

“♫Dreams do come true
I was deceived by Joey Drew and now I’m coming after you…
Who’s laughing now
You thought that you could cut me out? But now the ink is pouring down…♫”

Robbie giggled as he watched the mysterious man open up about his past.

♫Dreams do come true
I was deceived by Joey Drew and now I’m coming after you…
Who’s laughing now
You thought that you could cut me out? But now the ink is pouring down…♫”

Shawn giggled next and stopped singing as the song looped.

“You sing really well!” Robbie told him.

“Thank you kid.” Shawn replied.

Robbie pushed the box of stuff over to Shawn to look inside.

Shawn opened the box and looked inside while Robbie sang the song to the best of his ability despite not knowing the words:

“♫Bendy was a little devil thing,
who would come to life on the silver screen,
used to make him chuckle now he makes him scream,
it’s bendy and the devil swing♫”

Shawn opened up some of his old clothes, and smiled as he remembered the olden days when he used to make toys for Joey Drew Studios. Shawn pulled out a plushy, and walked up to Robbie. “Hey Robbie...I think you’re gonna like this.”

Robbie turned around and looked at the plushy. “Ooooh!”

“This is Bendy the little devil.”

“Bendy the lil devil thing!” Robbie reacted.

Shawn laughed at that. “Yes...Indeed.” Shawn handed the devil creature to Robbie and let him play with it.

Chase looked at the plush and back at Shawn. “Did...Did you used to make those?” Chase asked.

“Yes...Back in the day, I used to make dolls for the studio. I still sometimes make the toys to occupy my time…” Shawn told him.

“Wow…” Chase reacted. “What happened?”

Shawn’s memories haunted him...flashbacks of ink, screaming and axes filled his mind. Shawn shook his head. “It’s a long story…” Shawn told him.

Chase nodded and decided not to push it. “Alright.”

“♫Bendy was a lil devil thing♫” Robbie sang.

Chase smiled and knelt down to Robbie. “Maybe we should keep that song to yourself for the time being.”

Shawn shook his head. “I don’t mind if he sings the song. It actually reminds me of the good ol’ days back at Joey’s studio.”

Chase tilted his head. “Joey?”

Robbie jumped up. “I was deceived by Joey Drew!” Robbie declared.

“Yup…” Shawn replied.

Shawn widened his eyes. “Joey Drew, your boss...deceived you? How?” Chase asked.

“Again...Long story.” Shawn replied.

Jamie was listening to the song and making the plushy wave at Robbie. Robbie was loving every second of it, and hugged Jamie in return.

Shawn looked at his hands and just for a moment...he flashed back to a time when his hands were covered in ink.

It took forever to try and get that ink off his hands. And yet, he feels like he’s still covered in the ink of his former coworkers. Even when the police got in contact with him...nothing really came of Joey Drew and his criminal antics. Then again, no one’s ever had ‘inked people to death’ on their record before. This was a new kind of criminal act...one that was prevented from reaching the public eye. No one knew about what he went through...and when he did tell people, no one took him seriously because it was never on the news. So...he remained a quiet man for the rest of his life.

“Shawn...Shawn!” someone called.

“Shawny boy?” Someone else called.

Shawn was kicked out of his trance and looked down at Robbie and over at Chase. “Are you alright?” Chase asked. “You look...off…” Chase told him.

“I’m sorry...I just need some ink-WATER! Water. I meant to say water.” Shawn told him.

Robbie ran up the stairs to get him a bottle, while Chase sat down with the man.

“Do you need a calm-down story?” Chase asked.

Shawn smiled and turned to him. “What kind of story?” He asked.

Chase smiled and pulled out a book.

“This book is called: Love you Forever, by Robert Munch.” Chase told him.

“Awww, I love this one!” Shawn reacted. “But are you sure you can read this one? Cause…” Shawn asked.

Shawn laughed a little. “Well...One way to find out!”

Robbie’s little footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs with a water bottle. “Here you go Shawny.” Robbie told him.

“Thanks kid!” Shawn replied and opened the bottle of water.

“Oooh! Story time!” Robbie declared.

Chase nodded and turned to the first page. “A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang: ♫I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, As long as I’m living, My baby you’ll be.♫” Chase sang.

Robbie’s smile started to slowly drop as he realized where this story was gonna go…

Chase flipped the page. “The baby grew. He grew, and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refridgerator, and he took his mother’s watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say: “This kid is driving me CRAZY!” ” Chase read.

Robbie seemed to laugh at that. Shawn giggled and elbowed Robbie in the side playfully. Robbie laughed and pushed at Shawn playfully.

Chase chuckled at this. “Boys please! I’m trying to read!” Chase joked.

“He started it!” Robbie argued.

“And you didn’t help, little munchkin.” Shawn reacted.

Chase cleared his throat extra loud.

The ‘kids’ both calmed down and focused on the story. Jamie was visibly laughing at them as he continued to clean the basement.

Chase smiled and continued to read.

“But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of the bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him, she sang: ♫I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be.♫” Chase sang.

“Red hair!” Robbie reacted.

Chase chuckled. “Yeah, he does have red hair!”

Chase continued to read through the beautiful story. In the story, the boy grew to be nine years old. He never wanted to come in for dinner, and never wanted to take a bath. She opted to sell him to a zoo! But she would still rock him to sleep at night…

And then he grew to be a teenager! He had strange friends, wore strange clothes and He listened to strange music. His mother believed she was in a zoo! And yet...she still rocked his big teenager to sleep at night…

“That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town.” Chase read.

Robbie was listening very carefully, waiting for the story to turn…

“But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into the her car and drove across town.” Chase read.

And that great big man would be rocked to sleep…

“Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said “You’d better come see me because I’m very old and sick.” So her son went to see her.”

Chase could feel the tears welling up in his eyes.

“When he came in the door, she tried to sing the song. She sang: ♫I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always...♫ But she couldn’t finish because she was too old and sick.” Chase read.

Robbie looked down and hugged the Bendy doll tightly. Shawn noticed that Chase was starting to cry. So he got up, walked up to Chase, sat beside him and rubbed his back. “Did you need me to finish for you?”

“No...No I got this. I…” Chase hid his face behind the book and sobbed. “I just wish I could see my kids again…” Chase admitted.

Shawn hugged Chase tightly and rubbed his back gently. He started to read for Chase. “The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang the song. ♫I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my Mommy you’ll be.♫” Shawn read.

Chase smiled and handed the book to Shawn to finish. Robbie walked up to Shawn as well, and sat down beside him. He wrapped his arms around Shawn.

“When the son came home, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs..” Shawn read.

Chase smiled while Robbie sobbed.

Wait…

Shawn turned to Robbie and hugged him tightly next. “Oh my gosh Robbie…” He rubbed his back and rested his chin on Robbie’s head.

“I miss her...I miss Mommy…” Robbie admitted.

Chase closed his eyes and started to silently cry a little harder for Robbie. He couldn’t imagine the pain he must go through…

Robbie sniffled and sobbed as Shawn got a better grip on the book. He wrapped one arm around Robbie, and let Chase cuddle him while he finished the book.

“Then he went into the room where his new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her, he sang: ♫I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be.♫”

Robbie smiled at the ending. “I want a baby.” Robbie admitted.

Chase smiled and laughed...his laughter grew louder and louder. “Ohoho my god…” he calmed down. “Yeah, having a baby’s great. But it’s so much work.” Chase told him. “Having an 8 year old child is so much nicer and so much more fun.” Chase told him.

Robbie brightened up. “Really?!”

Chase nodded as he wiped away his tears. “Yes! It’s so fun having an 8 year old around!”

Robbie beamed and ran to Chase to hug him as tightly as he possibly could. “Thank you for the story.” Robbie told him.

Chase chuckled. “You’re welcome.”

Shawn smiled. “Good book choice! I forgot how good this book is.” Shawn reacted.

Chase smiled and hugged Shawn too. “Hey Jamie. Do you want in on this action?” Chase asked.

Jamie laughed and ran up to get a hug of his own.

So much for cleaning the basement...

Chapter Text

Chase was running around with Robbie, keeping him entertained. “I’m gonna getcha little guy!” Chase yelled after him.

“NOT A CHANCE!” Robbie yelled back.

Chase laughed and pulled out his nerf gun before loading it and aiming at the kid. “Veeeery slowly…” Chase muttered to himself.

Robbie snuck around the island and hid there for a bit. Chase slowly snuck up to the island, and turned to find him. But…no one was there on the other side. It was just empty. Chase looked around, and stared in front of him for a few moments.

“BOO!”

Chase screeched as he felt a pair of cold, tiny hands tickle his sides. “AAAAhahaha! Rohohobbihihie!” Chase laughed as he flopped onto his back.

Robbie tickled his right side, and blew a raspberry there too.

Chase completely lost it. “BAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Chase laughed, kicking his feet wildly as he gently pushed Robbie away.

“I got you! I got you!” Robbie cheered, grabbing Chase’s dropped nerf gun and shooting him in the forehead with it. Chase dropped to the ground with his tongue hanging out, in a fake death scene.

Robbie laughed and put the nerf gun down. “You’re not dead!” Robbie declared.

“Shhhhhhhh…I am…” chase said quietly.

“Oh really?” Robbie reacted, not believing him. “Then what do you see?” Robbie asked.

“Nothing. Well, I see black.” Chase replied.

Robbie ran up to Chase and sat beside him. “Dead people see memories!” Robbie told him.

Chase laughed. “How do you know tha-” Chase looked at Robbie and immediately noticed Robbie’s greyish skin…his sewed up neck, and the truthful look in his eyes.

Chase slowly pulled himself up onto his knees, staring at Robbie with shock. “You…saw your memories?” Chase asked.

“Yeah! I saw Mommy playing duck duck goose with me! And I saw Dad pulling me around the skating rink! And I saw…” Robbie’s smile slowly dropped as he realized what he was remembering so well… “I saw…The burglar…A black man.” Robbie told him. “He…”

Chase quickly pulled Robbie into a hug. “No more guns. And no more reminicing over your death…alright?” Chase ordered calmly.

“Okay.” Robbie replied. “But…I need to talk about it.” Robbie told him. “Daddy said no keeping secrets.” Robbie told him.

Chase nodded. “Okay.”

Robbie began to explain all the things he remembered the day he died. All the fond memories he had, like watching movies with his parents. And sad moments like when his pet guinea pig died. And scary moments like when the burglar broke into the house with a gun.

“I…I tried to stop him.” Robbie told him. “But…He was too fast.”

Chase gently hugged Robbie as he started to cry. Dying must’ve been terrifying for him. Dying, and waking up in the morgue. It was all a nightmare for a lot of people, and a nightmare come true for Robbie.

“My memories were…foggy. And flashed so quickly. Some of the memories went by so fast I didn’t realize what they meant.” Robbie explained.

Chase nodded and listened.

Robbie looked down at his hands and grabbed onto Chase’s shirt before shoving his face into the shirt. “I don’t wanna die again…It was too scary.” Robbie told him.

Chase felt every part of him squeezing tears out of his eyes. Chase hugged Robbie tightly. “I don’t want you to die either.” Chase choked out.

Robbie looked up at Chase.

“Truth is…” Chase wiped his tears. “You were the greatest thing to ever happen to me. You helped give me a reason to live.” Chase told him.

Robbie slowly laid himself against Chase.

“I…I wanted to end my life for a long time.” Chase admitted to him.

Robbie looked up at him and breathed heavily. “Don’t do it! It’s scary and not worth it!” Robbie yelled at him.

Chase widened his eyes and stared at him.

“You have friends! You have family! You have me! Please don’t end your life! I won’t let you! I’ll take every bullet!” Robbie promised loudly.

Chase grabbed Robbie’s face and held it. “I will not, because I have you.” Chase told him. “So long as you are here with me, I will not end my life.” Chase told him.

“Please don’t end your life when I’m gone.” Robbie begged.

Chase smiled and kissed his forehead. “I have friends that I need to live for.” Chase told him.

Robbie smiled…but soon slowly dropped his smile and looked down. “I know what’s gonna happen to me…” Robbie told him.

Chase tilted his head. “What do you mean?” Chase asked.

“I’m not gonna live long.” Robbie told him. “I’m gonna rot like an apple. I’m gonna fall apart…” Robbie told him. “I’m a frankenstein.” Robbie added.

Chase looked at him. “How…do you know about Frankenstein?” Chase asked.

“Mommy told me about it once.” Robbie told him.

Chase shook his head. “You are not a frankenstein.” Chase told him. “But…” Chase grabbed his hand. “You are right.”

Robbie looked up at him as a tear fell down his face.

Chase continued. “You’re a walking, dying corpse. You shouldn’t even be alive right now. No one survives a death. The fact that you’re alive is…unbelievable.” Chase told him.

Robbie hugged him. “I wanna live as long as possible. For you.” Robbie told him.

Chase smiled and lifted him up. “Very well. We will count every moment you’re alive, and make it as memory-filled as possible.” Chase decided.

Robbie smiled and wiped away his tears. “Okay.”

Chase carried Robbie to the table and got the child something to drink. “Hey…if it makes you feel better, people think about walking dying corpses all the time.” Chase told him.

“Really?” Robbie asked.

“Yeah! People are obsessed with walking, dying corpses! They make movies on them! They make video games on them! They make Tv shows with dying corpses in them! They even make Halloween costumes of dying corpses.” Chase told him.

Robbie gasped. “Halloween costumes?!” Robbie asked.

Chase nodded. “Yeah! I should show you some of the video games they make around dying corpses.” Chase told him.

Robbie nodded and clapped his hands.

“Shawn of the dead is one to show you for sure.” Chase told him. Robbie clapped his hands more. He was excited to see people like him on screen.

“Though, I will warn you…No one really talks about the zombies being…alive like you are.” Chase mentioned.

“They…don’t feel?” Robbie asked.

“No…Not normally.” Chase told him.

Robbie frowned. “So they’re not me…” Robbie muttered.

“No…you’re a rare one.” Chase told him.

“Too rare.” Robbie muttered more.

Chase tilted his head with empathy. “Do you wanna have a down day? Just a…’this sucks’ kinda day?” Chase asked.

Robbie looked up. “That’s not healthy.”

“It is once in a while.” Chase told him.

Robbie got up and out of the table. “No…” Robbie walked away and headed to his room. Robbie even walked right past Marvin, who was in his cat form.

Marvin jumped up onto the table. “What’s up with Robbie?” Marvin asked.

Chase grabbed a whiskey bottle from the fridge. “He’s having a ‘this sucks’ kinda day.” Chase told him.

“What sucks?” Marvin asked.

“Life.” Chase replied.

Marvin frowned at this. “Why?”

Chase walked up to Marvin and looked at him. “Robbie remembers how he died. He remembers what it was like to die, and he doesn’t want to experience it again. But, he knows he’s going to, because he’s rotting away ‘like an apple’, and is slowly decomposing like a zombie.” Chase explained.

Marvin widened his eyes in horror. “............Oh…”

Chase tsked and drank a swig of whiskey. “Yup…It’s gonna be one of these days.” Chase muttered.

Marvin nodded. “I see…”

Marvin turned himself back into a human and sat on the end of the table. “I’m guessing he’s been like this all day?” Marvin asked.

“No…He’s been good pretty much all day.” Chase told him. “It’s when he started quizzing me on how death was like…that’s when it started to go downhill.” Chase explained.

“Oh…” Marvin muttered. “Oh yeah cause I guess he was shot and- …Yeah, gotcha.” Marvin made the realization in his head.

Chase got up and put he lid onto the bottle. “Want a drink?”

“Dude…You just drank straight up from that bottle. No thank you.” Marvin replied.

“What’s got your knickers in a twist?” Chase asked.

“Jamie’s having a ‘life sucks’ kinda day too…” Marvin told him.

Chase softened his expression. “He is?” He asked.

“Yup…He’s got…something on his mind…I can’t quite figure out what.” Marvin explained.

“Oh…That sucks.” Chase said.

Marvin removed his mask from his face and looked up at Chase for help.

Chase nodded and tipped his hat. “I’ll talk to him in a bit.” Chase told him.

“Thank you, Chase. Want me to handle Robbie?” Marvin asked.

“Sure.” Chase replied.

Chase walked himself into Jamie’s bedroom, and was immediately greeted with a huge bear hug from Jamie. Jamie looked up at Chase with teary eyes and tear-stained cheeks, and signed something to him.

‘Can I talk to you for a minute?’ Jamie signed.

Chase nodded and closed the door.

Chapter Text

Robbie woke up with a gasp. Damn nightmares were at it again. But his fear quickly diminished as he realized what day it was:

“It’s Christmas!” Robbie yelled.

Robbie threw the blanket off himself, grabbed his stuffed dog and ran to Chase’s room. “Chase! Chase! Daddy!” Robbie called. “IT’S CHRISTMAS!” Robbie shouted, climbing onto the bed and shaking Chase. “Santa came! Santa came! Santa came!” Robbie yelled.

Chase grunted and turned himself around. He didn’t really have the best sleep thanks to himself being Santa’s little christmas elf last night.

Robbie giggled, rubbed his hands together and started tickling Chase’s side.

Chase quickly started to giggle and cover up his side. “Staaaap ihihihihit.”

Robbie ignored him and tickled the back of his neck instead. “Kitchy kitchy koo!”

“HEhehehehehe! Rohohohobbihihie!” Chase laughed, turning onto his back. “Ihihit’s tooooo ehehehearly for thihihihis!” Chase whined.

“It’s Christmas, Chase! Santa came last night!” Robbie told him.

Chase got up suddenly. He completely forgot it was Christmas for a moment! How could he forget?!

“Beat you to the tree!” Chase declared as he threw the blankets onto Robbie. Robbie yelped and laughed as he was covered in blanket. Robbie could hear the loud footsteps of Chase running to the door. Quickly, Robbie threw the blankets off himself and hopped off the bed.

“Coming!” Robbie yelled.

Once the door was open, Robbie and Chase raced towards the tree. There were more presents than before! So many more!

“WHOA!” Robbie cheered.

“I’ll say!” Chase reacted genuinely. Someone must’ve added more presents under the tree! Cause there were even more than Chase helped Santa unload!

Robbie was already on his way to Henrik’s room. “NIPPLESHINE! NIPPLESHINE! SANTA CAME!”

Chase wheezed and laughed as he heard Robbie calling for Henrik down the hall. What a goof.

Robbie bursted into Henrik’s room and started tickling him right away.

“AAAH! ROHOHOBBIHIHIHIE!” Henrik laughed.

“Santa came! Hurry up!” Robbie told him.

“Nohohohoho…” Henrik rolled over so his back was towards Robbie.

Robbie huffed and was about to grab Chase. But then, Chase came walking into the room without his help! Chase walked up to Henrik’s bed, threw the blankets off of his feet, grabbed an ankle and tickled his foot. “Get up, Doc.”

Henrik snorted and kicked his other foot wildly. “IHIHIF IHIHIHI HUHUHURT YOHOHOU-”

“Nah, I’m not worried about that.” Chase told him.

Henrik laughed and snorted more as his toes were attacked with Chase’s evil fingers. “OHOHOKAHAHAHAY, IHIHI’M UHUHUHUP! HAHAHAHALT!” Henrik told them.

Chase giggled at the reaction and finally stopped. “Fine.” Chase let go of his ankle, and chuckled as the foot slithered right under the blankets.

Robbie helped Henrik get up, and gently pulled him out of the bed by his hand. “Alright, alright. I’m up, Robbie.” Henrik told him.

“Hurry up, slow poke!” Robbie told him.

“Slow poke?!” Henrik suddenly picked up the kid and blew a massive raspberry onto Robbie’s belly. “I’ll show you!”

“EEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHehehehehehe!” Robbie laughed and giggled.

“Now, let’s go.” Henrik told him.

“Oh! I need to get Jamie!” Robbie told him.

“Very well! Let’s get Jamie!” Chase encouraged.

Robbie ran to Jamie’s room, and opened the door. “SANTA CAME!”

“AAH!”

Chase widened his eyes. What was THAT?! More importantly, WHO was that?! The voice sounded…slightly crackly. But, it was certainly a scream!

“Oh! Sorry, Jamie! I didn’t mean to scare you.” Robbie told him.

Wait…that was JAMIE?!

“Did you just let out a yell?!” Chase asked.

Jamie was holding his throat as he was tearing up…with a smile on his face. He looked at Robbie, got out of bed and quickly gave Robbie a big hug.

‘That’s my first time reacting to something with my voice since my injury.’ Jamie signed.

Robbie gasped and squealed. “It’s a Christmas miracle!”

Chase laughed and hugged Jamie as well. “I’ll say!”

Robbie giggled and kissed Jamie’s cheek. “Merry Christmas, Jamie!”

Chase fluffed Jamie’s hair too. “Merry Christmas, JJ.”

Jamie smiled and tried to speak again with his crackly voice.

“Th--k -ou.” He managed to say.

Chase smiled and couldn’t help but tear up himself.

The boys headed out to the living room, where the tree was. There, they started to open up presents. Chase received a big nerf gun from Santa, a customized ball cap, and plenty more. Robbie got a new stuffed cat, a kids book, and a new videogame for the Xbox.

“Hey Chase! Would you like to play the game with me?” Robbie asked.

Chase got up and nodded. “Sure!” He replied.

Chase and Robbie played the game together, and happily made a competition against each other. Sometimes, Chase would tickle him to distract his boy, and Robbie would usually push him back, or tickle him right back.

It didn’t take long before the game was abandoned and the boys were in a full blown tickle fight. While the boys were tickle fighting each other, Henrik opened up his presents. He received a board game, a new book and a new bag to hold his stuff in. And last but not least: He received a christmas bonus!

Marvin showed up in his cat form. “Meowy chwistmas evewywone!” Marvin cheered.

“CAT MARVIN!” Robbie cheered.

Robbie gave Marvin a big hug and a belly rub for a while. That was his christmas present. Not only that though…but Marvin got a new deck of cards, a new hat, and a new scratch post! Marvin was over the moon!

Jamie got a doll of himself (A little creepy, but okay), a new bowler hat, a new vest, and a snoopy tie! It was so cute!

Shawn eventually walked out to the bedroom, and opened up his presents. He got facepaint, a train set, a keurig machine, and a drawing book.

After they all opened presents, everyone pitched in on making a christmas morning breakfast of eggs, pancakes, bacon and sausages. They were all quite pleased with how everything turned out! Even Jackie took a piece of bacon before setting off for his shift.

Speaking of Jackie:

Jackyboy Man later came home around 1:00. Thanks to his work ethic and pressure to always be available, Jackie had to work this Christmas. Sadly, days off didn’t really come to Jackie very often. But, Jackie opened his presents a little later when he got home. He received a spider man Miles Morales suit, a DVD copy of Spider Man: Into the Spider Verse and a Nintendo switch with Super Mario Kart 8 on it!

Everybody seemed to have a merry, merry christmas that year. And Robbie prayed for the rest of the world to enjoy their merry christmas as well.

Chapter Text

Chase had begun to grow fearful of Robbie’s future. Since he would remain a child for the rest of his life, he wasn’t able to go to school anymore. Though, Chase took the time to homeschool him so he could enjoy the pleasures of reading and writing. He was also worried about the child’s inability to heal wounds. If he broke his leg for instance, he would need surgery to be provided with a plate to fix his leg, or be given a whole rod in his leg to stabilize it. Despite the usefulness of bone paste, that leg wouldn’t properly heal and it could prevent Robbie from running around ever again.

There have now been a few times where Chase woke up gasping for air after a terrifying nightmare. Not only was Robbie experiencing PTSD from his death, but Chase was experiencing intense anxiety about Robbie’s future. He knew Robbie was going to wither away into nothing…and that terrified him. He didn’t want to see his little boy suffer like that.

Over the months, his anxiety had begun to boil over. Chase was struggling to sleep, and beginning to have panic attacks during the night and day. Henrik didn’t really notice Chase’s newfound anxiety…until Chase had experienced an anxiety attack in front of Henrik. He was hyperventilating and crying heavily, struggling to control his emotions and his breathing. He even began to grow angry because of the inability to control his breathing. Henrik had given him some lavender and an Ativan to help him calm down. This seemed to work wonders on Chase.

Henrik had kept an eye on Chase as he recovered, while Robbie was playing with Marvin the cat. It was cute to watch, and Jackie had spent some time recording the two of them playing. Marvin was loving the feather and puff ball that Robbie was teasing him with, and his cat instincts would quickly give in as he tackled the ball and feather down and rolled onto his back against the ball. Robbie would raise up the plastic stick with the feather and ball, and get Marvin to reach up and paw at it. Robbie was laughing and giggling at every reach of the paw. This was 100% worth recording…and Jackie was gonna show Chase the moment he came out of Henrik’s office.

Eventually, Chase walked out and smiled a little bit as he saw Robbie and Marvin sleeping together. Marvin was still a cat by this point, and was licking Robbie’s cheek with his rough cat tongue. Robbie was breathing softly, completely limp as he laid there on the floor, the ball & feather toy still somewhat in his hand.

Jackie walked up, ready to show him the video. But Chase put up a hand, signaling that he wasn’t quite ready. “I’m sorry, but…I need to rest, read, do something.” Chase told him.

Jackie was confused. The Average bro was always up for seeing a video! What changed? “Are you okay?” Jackie asked, quite confused.

Chase sighed. “Do you want the honest answer? Or the reassuring answer?” Chase asked.

Jackie frowned slightly. “Honest, please.” He replied.

Chase sat down on the couch and looked down. “I’m not doing so well, Jackie.” Chase told him.

Jackie sat beside him, willing to listen.

Chase bit his lip. “I was diagnosed with anxiety by Henrik.” Chase told him.

Jackie nodded. “That’s okay. A lot of people have anxiety, Chase.” Jackie told him.

Chase looked up at Jackie. “I have fears about Robbie’s future.” Chase told him. “Fears of his next injury, fears of his first organ failure, fears of his death.” Chase told him.

Jackie looked down a bit. “I mean, I don’t blame you for being so fearful, Chase. Robbie’s not exactly your typical child.” Jackie mentioned. “But…people with elders think the same anxieties. They fear the next bone break, they fear the next organ failure, and they fear their elder’s upcoming death.” Jackie explained. “Robbie’s also stubborn just like an elder…and sensitive too. He still believes he’s like any other child when in reality…he’s not.” Jackie added.

Chase looked down as he started to feel tears running down his face. “I don’t want him to suffer.” Chase told him.

Jackie brought Chase into a hug. “I know…I don’t want him to suffer either.” Jackie told him. “Seeing his body wither away will be really hard on all of us.” Jackie told him next. “But, you’re not alone. You will never be alone in the struggle.” Jackie reminded him.

Chase looked at Robbie and noticed he was twitching in his sleep. Chase widened his eyes a little bit. “Does he normally twitch like that in his sleep?” Chase asked.

Jackie looked at Robbie. “He’s been twitching like that for the past half hour.” Jackie told him.

Chase tried to keep his thoughts under control. His thoughts were filling his brain with worse case scenarios.

“I’m so worried for him…” Chase admitted.

“I am too, honestly.” Jackie told him. “I wish I was able to save him from the suffering he’s already experiencing.” Jackie admitted.

“You don’t need to save me.” a voice told them.

Chase looked up with widened eyes at the familiar voice. Jackie widened his eyes and looked towards the familiar voice as well. Robbie was wide awake, sitting up and looking at the two of them on the couch. “I’ll be okay. You don’t need to worry.” Robbie told them.

Chase looked away a little bit. “I know…I’m trying to reassure myself.” Chase admitted.

Robbie walked up to Chase and crawled onto the couch with them. He hugged Chase first, before hugging Jackie next. He sat in between the two men. “Marvin’s still sleeping.” Robbie told them.

Chase smiled a little as he looked at Marvin. “I can see that.” Chase replied.

Robbie smiled. “I was playing with Marvin while you were with Dr. Nippleshine.” Robbie told him.

Chase chuckled at the silly inside joke.

Jackie was laughing. “Ihi forgot you call him that!” Jackie admitted. “Do you even know what it means?” Jackie asked.

Chase chuckled. “I don’t think he does.” Chase admitted.

“Actually…” Robbie said with a smirk. Chase widened his eyes and looked at Robbie. “I know what a nipple is.” Robbie told him.

Jackie wheezed and snickered, while Chase was dumbfounded. “Now how do you-” Chase asked before being interrupted.

Robbie lifted up his shirt. “A nipple is the red thing here! And people like to squeeze it for some reason.” Robbie told them.

Jackie threw his head back and LAUGHED! Chase was staring at Robbie, before looking away for a minute to process what he had just said. “Did-” Chase grabbed out his phone and looked in his search history.

And surely enough: there were 2 searches.

[What is a niple?]

[What is a nipple?]

[man’s nipple - Yahoo Canada Image Search Results]

Chase quickly clicked the last thing and quickly hid his phone against his chest once the images showed up. Jackie was just dying of laughter, while Robbie was staring at Chase proudly.

“...Robbie…” Chase said softly.

Robbie tilted his head. “Yes Dad?”

Chase sighed and rubbed his nose. “Please…don’t look that up again.” Chase told him.

Robbie looked down, confused. “Why?” Robbie asked.

Chase looked at him. “Because what you were looking at was REALLY inappropriate!” Chase told him.

Robbie widened his eyes and looked away, looking guilty. “I’m sorry.”

Chase sighed and shook his head. “No…I’m sorry. I should’ve had child-proof on.” Chase told him. Chase turned to Jackie with a slightly angry face. “And stop laughing! You’re so immature!” Chase ordered.

Jackie’s laughter lessened the moment he saw Chase’s serious face. “Ihi’m sorry…I can’t help it! The kid was looking-”

Chase quickly covered up his mouth. “No. Don’t say it.” Chase demanded sternly.

Jackie looked down at the hand and looked away. He nodded in response, earning himself freedom from Chase’s hand. “Sorry.” Jackie told him.

Chase sighed. “It’s fine.” Chase replied. “Let’s just…forget that ever happened. Okay?” Chase asked.

Robbie nodded thankfully while Jackie nodded as well.

“You know what a nipple is now…Does that mean you get the joke now?” Chase asked.

“Shiny nipples! And it sounds like shneep-a-stin.” Robbie told him, struggling to say the doctor’s last name.

Jackie bursted out laughing again, while Chase sighed and shook his head. “Great…” Chase said, showing a hint of exhaustion in his voice.

Robbie smiled as Marvin got up from his little nap. The cat started walking up to Robbie, and jumped up onto the couch, and into Robbie’s lap.

“Hi Marvin!” Robbie greeted, petting him.

Marvin rubbed his face and ears against Robbie’s hand, before walking away. He walked to the other side of the couch, and sat down. In a quick flash of light, the sitting cat turned into a sitting human. “Do you want me to teach you how to turn child-proof on, on your phone settings?” Marvin asked him.

Chase frowned as he was on his phone. “I know how to do it, Marv.” Chase replied.

Marvin smiled and got up. “That was fun, Robbie. We should play like that more often.” Marvin told Robbie.

“I’d love to!” Robbie told him with a giggle.

Marvin picked up Robbie and held him in his arms for a while. Robbie laid himself against Marvin and yawned. Marvin petted his hair and kissed his head, on top of his hair. Robbie looked at Marvin. “Are you scared too?” Robbie asked.

Marvin tilted his head. “Scared of what? You?” Marvin asked.

Robbie nodded his head.

Marvin, in response, laughed and tickled his sides. “No way, silly! I’m not scared of you at all! You’re too cute for that.” Marvin told him.

Robbie giggled and laughed as he wiggled around. “Hehehehey! Hahahahaha! Ohohokahay, goohohohood!” Robbie replied.

“That’s…” Chase tried to tell Marvin, but he stopped himself as he watched Robbie acting much happier than before. He quickly began to believe it wouldn’t be a good idea to mention what Robbie actually meant right now. All that mattered now was that Robbie was laughing, and enjoying being tickled for a while.

“Which spot tickles more? Here?” Marvin tickled the right side of his ribs. “Or here?” Marvin tickled his left side.

Robbie was laughing hysterically at both of the ticklish spots. “BOHOTH ARE BAHAHAD!” Robbie replied.

“Both are bad?! Goodness! Looks like I gotta tickle both at the same time then!” Marvin declared.

Robbie bursted out laughing loudly as both the spots were tickled all at once. He was giggling, squealing and laughing in multiple tones! It was quite fun for Chase and Jackie to watch.

“OHOHOKAHAHAHAY, PLEHEHEHEASE STAHAHAP!” Robbie pleaded.

“You want me to stop now?” Marvin asked.

“YEHEHEHEHES PLEHEHEHEASE!” Robbie replied again.

“Fine, fine, fine. I’ll stop.” Marvin replied before moving his fingers away from Robbie.

Robbie huffed and giggled softly as he struggled to calm down. “Thahahank you, Marvin. I…I needed that.” Robbie admitted.

“No problem, kiddo!” Marvin replied, giving Robbie a fist pump.

Robbie smiled and grabbed Marvin’s waist. He started tickling behind Marvin’s knee. “Payback time!” Robbie declared.

Marvin squealed and fell backwards onto the ground. Once Marvin was on the ground, Robbie started tickling his sides, ribs and belly. “HAHAhahahaha! Hahahaha- Rohohohobbie!” Marvin laughed.

Robbie giggled. “Tickle tickle tickle, cat man!” Robbie declared.

Marvin continued to laugh and giggle under Robbie as he was tickled and teased nonstop.

Jackie smiled and watched, before looking at Chase. But his smile dropped slightly as he saw Chase’s worried face. So, he wrapped his arm around Chase.

“Don’t worry, Chase.” Jackie told him. “Focus on the now. On Robbie’s good condition.” Jackie encouraged.

Chase looked at Jackie and smiled a little. “Thank you, Jackie.” Chase told him, hugging him back with a 2 armed hug. Jackie hugged him back properly for a little bit, before looking back at Marvin and Robbie.

Marvin and Robbie’s one-sided tickle fight was now becoming 2-sided, as Marvin started tickling Robbie back. The great part was that both of the playful boys seemed to be enjoying every second of their tickle fight…And that was a really nice thing for Chase and Jackie to be watching.

A while later, Chase decided to grab Marvin and pull him aside to explain what Robbie had really meant by his question earlier…

Chapter Text

Chase was putting out the spices to spice up some chicken for supper. Chase opened up the fridge and took a few moments to look for the chicken. But to Chase’s surprise, the chicken wasn’t there. Chase looked through the clear plastic shelves of the fridge and moved things around to try and find the wrapped-up chicken. But…it wasn’t there. It was gone.

Chase hummed in confusion, before closing the fridge. He walked to the door to the stairs, and opened it. Going down the stairs, Chase began to think of what he should make for supper instead, since the thawed out chicken was missing. He opened the door to the cellar, and walked up to the freezer. He opened up the freezer, took a look around at the meat, and realized something:

None of the meat was going to thaw out in time.

So, Chase closed the freezer, headed upstairs and walked back to the kitchen. He now had no idea what he was going to make for Robbie and himself for supper.

Chase opened up his phone and looked up restaurants nearby. He specifically wanted a restaurant that had curbside pick up. With Robbie’s gray skin, it was difficult to go out to places without worrying that someone was going to call CPS on him because of how Robbie looked. And the thought of someone calling CPS on him could drive Chase insane if he swelled on it.

He decided to order some food from Applebee’s. He went to the Applebee's website and started to order what he wanted. As he did, he walked up to Robbie’s room and knocked.

“Robbie?” Chase called.

“Yeah?” Robbie replied.

“Can I come in?” Chase asked.

Chase waited for an answer. But the answer he managed to get was the door opening for him. Robbie looked at Chase and smiled. “Hi Dad!” Robbie said.

Chase smiled. “Hi Robbie. I’m gonna get us some food from Applebee’s. What would you like?” Chase asked.

Robbie hummed as he thought. “I’m guessing they have more than just apples and bees to eat?” Robbie asked.

Chase chuckled. “Believe it or not, they do.” Chase replied. “For the kids menu, they have a cheeseburger, a chicken corndog, chicken tenders, or macaroni and cheese.” Chase told him.

Robbie thought for a couple moments. “Macaroni and cheese!” Robbie replied.

Chase nodded and clicked a couple buttons on his phone. “Sounds good. And what do you want with it? Broccoli, fries, garlic mashed potatoes, applesauce, or mozza sticks?” Chase asked next.

Robbie thought for another moment. “Hmmm…No side.” Robbie replied.

Chase looked at Robbie, confused. “Really?” Chase reacted calmly.

“I’m not very hungry…And I don’t know why.” Robbie admitted.

“Oh…Alright.” Chase responded.

Chase clicked the [No side] option and continued with the order. “And what would you like for a drink?” Chase asked.

Robbie clapped his hands. “Root beer!” Robbie replied.

Chase chuckled. “Okay! Order up!” Chase declared as he closed his phone.

Robbie giggled and held up his fist. “Choo choooo!” Robbie cheered, pretending to pull down on the cord to activate the train whistle.

Chase laughed and pretended to pull the train whistle cord as well. “CHOO CHOO!” Chase yelled.

Robbie laughed, falling onto his back into a ray of sun. There, Chase began to notice…something shiny coating his lips.

Chase narrowed his eyes a slight bit. “...Hey Robbie?” Chase asked.

Robbie got up onto his feet. “Yes?” Robbie replied.

Chase gently placed his hand under Robbie’s chin and raised his chin a bit. He wiped his fingers above Robbie’s upper lip, and looked at the residue on his fingers. “What’s this shiny stuff on your mouth?” Chase asked.

Robbie looked up at him…and shrugged his shoulders. He hummed the words ‘I don’t know’ to him.

Chase sniffed his own fingers, trying to figure out if the shiny stuff had a smell. But…it didn’t. “What have you been eating?” Chase asked.

“Uhhh…I don’t know.” Robbie replied.

“Have…” Chase paused. “Have you been drinking oil?” Chase asked.

Robbie shook his head. “That’s yucky.”

Chase hummed as he let go of Robbie’s chin. He was very curious about the shiny stuff on Robbie’s face. But, he didn’t really have much else to go on. So, he let it go for now.

“Okay. Well, I’m gonna wait for the food to be finished so we can eat. Alright?” Chase told him.

Robbie nodded. “Okay!” Robbie ran to his bed, grabbed his stuffed dog Bacon out from under the covers, and ran out of his room.

Chase smiled as he watched Robbie hop onto the couch and lay his head on a pillow. Now would be a good time to try and figure out the reason for Robbie’s oily face.

Chase walked into Robbie’s room and began to check a few places. He checked the dressers, he checked his backpack, he checked his closet and he checked under the covers of his bed.

Then, Chase took a look under Robbie’s bed.

And there, laying upside down on the carpet, was a styrofoam plate. A rectangular styrofoam plate. Chase had to do a double take. Wait…

Chase pulled out the styrofoam plate and widened his eyes as he noticed the oily stuff was literally dripping from the bottom of the plate. Chase could recognize what the styrofoam was supposed to be used for…and Chase was hoping and praying it wasn’t what he thought it was.

Chase got up and started to put the styrofoam plate into the boy’s garbage. He was planning on throwing the plate into Robbie’s garbage and then putting the rest of Robbie’s garbage bag into the garbage in the garage. But as Chase looked in the garbage to throw the plate away, Chase just about threw up at the sight:

There were dozens and dozens of raw bones in the garbage. Bones with bits of raw meat still on them! Chase was about to cover his mouth with his hand. But he quickly ran out of the room with his hands out flailing in front of him, disgusted. The oil he had rubbed off Robbie’s face was raw chicken juice!

Chase quickly washed his hands thoroughly and put some blue gloves on. He grabbed the styrofoam plate and the garbage, and walked up to the couch.

“Robbie.” Chase said.

Robbie looked up and saw the styrofoam plate.

“This was in your room.” Chase told him.

Robbie blinked and looked left and right. “I…I can explain.”

“Please do.” Chase ordered.

Robbie bit his lip and wiped off a bit of the oil from his face. “I was hungry.”

Chase frowned. “And you didn’t tell me because…”

Robbie looked around. “I didn’t know.”

Chase took the garbage pail and the styrofoam plate into the garage and threw it right into the big garage garbage. Then, Chase walked back up to Robbie. “Robbie, I want you to come with me.” Chase said, grabbing Robbie’s soiled hands with his own gloved hands. Robbie followed him off the couch and to the kitchen sink. “Wash your hands and face.” Chase ordered.

Robbie frowned. “Why?”

Chase started to remove his gloves. “Because touching raw chicken and then touching everything around you, is disgusting. Raw chickens are covered in germs. And you not only touched it, but you also touched everything around you after touching the chicken.” Chase told him.

Robbie listened to Chase and washed his hands as best he knew how to. And just for good measure, Chase made him wash his hands a second time to make sure he didn’t miss any spots on his hands.

Robbie finished washing his hands a second time, and looked up at Chase.

“Now: we are taking you to Dr. Schneeplestein.” Chase told Robbie.

Robbie tilted his head. “Why?”

“Because eating even a small bit of raw chicken can make you really sick. And you ate a whole chicken.” Chase told him. “Meaning you could be destroying your internal organs.” Chase told him.

Robbie widened his eyes and looked down at his stomach. “Uh oh…” He reacted.

Chase took Robbie’s hand and grabbed a ziplock bag. He walked to Robbie’s room, put the chicken bones into the bag and walked back out to the kitchen. With the evidence in hand, Chase took Robbie to the doctor’s office down the hallway.

Chase knocked on the door. “Schneep? You in there?”

“Ja! Come in!” Henry replied.

Chase opened the door and walked in with Robbie. “Hi Henrik.” Chase greeted.

“Hallo Chase. Hi Robbie.” Henrik replied, putting down some paperwork.

“I ate a chicken.” Robbie told him.

Henrik blinked in confusion. “I’m sarry, vhat?”

Robbie looked down while Chase handed Henrik the bag of bones. Henrik turned around and widened his eyes. He adjusted his glasses and looked closer at the chicken bone. “Cooked? Or raw?” Henrik asked.

Chase cleared his throat. “Raw.”

“Oh scheisse…” Henrik took the bag of bones and placed it onto the desk. He picked up Robbie and placed him onto the hospital bed. “Ve need to check a few zhings.” Henrik told him.

Henrik grabbed the Pepto Bismol and gave Robbie a couple of them. Robbie took the Pepto Bismol and looked at his extended stomach.

“Do you feel like you vant to zhrow up?” Henrik asked.

Robbie shook his head. “I feel fine. Just a little full.” Robbie replied.

Henrik thought for a moment and walked up to Robbie. “Vhy did you eat a whole chicken?” Henrik asked.

“I…guess I did.” Robbie replied.

Henrik narrowed his eyes. “Ound you did not zhink of food poisoning?” Henrik asked.

Robbie looked away. “I…guess I didn’t.” Robbie told him.

“Vhat vere you zhinking? I am not angry, I am curious.” Henrik asked.

Robbie thought for a moment. “Food. Food. Eat. Eat. Slurp.” Robbie said as an example.

Chase just about threw up upon hearing the last word.

Henrik hummed and walked to the fridge. He pulled out a raw steak wrapped in styrofoam and saran wrap.

“Uh…Henrik-” Chase started to say.

Henrik cut off a piece of the meat and brought it up to Robbie.

Almost instinctively, Robbie’s eyes dilated as he stared hungrily at the meat. Henrik started to grow slightly nervous, while Chase was shocked.

“Do you want it-”

Robbie started to show his teeth and growl like an aggressive dog.

Henrik widened his eyes and quickly gave him the piece of meat. Robbie caught the meat in both his hands and devoured it like an aggressive bear. He completely ripping it to shreds! Sounds of slurping and squishing filled the room for a few moments, before Robbie swallowed and looked up at Henrik.

Robbie’s eyes were still dilated as he stared at Henrik with his teeth showing. He looked at the meat and began to let out a low growl. He was hungry for the rest of the meat.

Chase was covering his mouth, both disgusted, horrified and super scared for the loving Robbie he knew. This was NOT Robbie. This was someone completely different! What the hell happened to Robbie?!

Henrik slowly grabbed a teddy bear from his chair and showed it to Robbie. “Look what I have!” Henrik told him, raising his voice.

Robbie’s pupils shrunk down as Robbie seemed to come to his senses. His mouth closed as his facial expression grew less aggressive and more soft.

Robbie gasped. “Teddy bear!” Robbie reacted, taking the teddy bear and hugging it. Henrik’s nervous look turned into calm confidence…with a mix of sadness.

“Vhat vas going zhrough your head?” Henrik asked calmly.

Robbie looked up at Henrik, and looked down as he thought. “I…” Robbie looked over at the raw meat and could feel his eyes starting to dilate again.

Robbie gasped and looked away, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’m scared!” Robbie yelled.

Henrik grabbed the meat and held it out in front of him. “How do you feel?”Henrik asked.

Robbie looked at the meat for only a minute…before his eyes fully dilated widely…his eyes had locked onto his prey.

Henrik slowly offered the rest of the meat to Robbie…and Robbie dove for it and snatched it quickly out of his grasp. He growled as he looked down at the meat and started devouring it in a disgusting manner.

“Oh-Oh my GOD!” Chase reacted. “Henrik! Do something! He’s lost it!” Chase begged.

“I vill admit…he is losing his senses a leetle beet.” Henrik told him.

Robbie put the other half of the meat into his mouth and clenched on the meat with his strong jaws. He growled as he gripped the meat in his mouth, staring straight at Chase like he was going to be his next victim.

“aaAAAH! ROBBIE PLEASE!” Chase begged. He was growing panicked. “IT’S CHASE! I’m Chase! Do you remember me?!”

Robbie growled louder and louder…

But then his pupils started to shrink. His body relaxed from its tense position. And he tried to mutter a word.

“Thathe-” Robbie looked down and realized there was a piece of meat in his mouth. The same meat that made him lose his mind before!

Robbie spat out the meat and stared at it in his hands. Even with the meat still in his hands, Robbie could feel his pupils dilating again. But Robbie SCREAMED and threw the meat away. “The meat is making me CRAZY!” Robbie yelled.

Chase, relieved to see Robbie back to normal, ran to Robbie and hugged him as tightly as he could. He didn’t care about the raw germs. Not right now. “Robbie…” Chase said, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

“Chase…” Robbie said. “D-Dad…”

Chase sobbed and petted his hair. “You’re okay. You’re safe. Chase is here. Daddy’s here.”

Robbie could feel tears welling up in his own eyes. “Am…am I going crazy?” Robbie asked, his voice breaking.

Chase widened his eyes and shut them as even more tears fell down his face. Chase continued to sob and cry as he picked up Robbie and carried him against his chest. Robbie snuggled his body into Chase’s chest and started crying with him.

Henrik slowly put the meat into the garbage and watched Robbie and Chase cry together. He would have to do more research to find out what was happening in Robbie’s brain. Something was making Robbie’s mind change from relying on the mammalian brain (emotion and feeling) to using the reptilian brain (instincts). And no one could explain why. Not even Henrik could fully tell them why he was changing so much.

All Chase could tell you was that he did NOT like it.

Chapter Text

Henrik was doing research in his lab, trying to find a medical explanation for Robbie’s physical and mental changes. He was looking at any conditions that could explain his rotting body such as flesh-eating bacteria, or necrotizing fasciitis. But these conditions could only partly explain the rotting body. So far, there seemed to be nothing in the medical world that could explain all of Robbie’s symptoms as one diagnosis. So either it was a multitude of contributors, or this was a new phenomenon that no one else had come across yet…

Henrik invited Robbie into his lab so he could test out some things. Robbie arrived at the door and opened it. “Hi Henrik!” Robbie greeted.

“Hallo, Robbie.” Henrik replied. “Come have a seat.” Henrik told him, pulling up a chair for him.

Robbie sat down on the chair and looked at Henrik. “You wanted to see me?” Robbie asked.

Henrik let out a long breath as he thought for a moment. He turned his work chair to face Robbie. “How do you feel?” Henrik asked.

Robbie’s smile dropped slowly. He looked away and twiddled his fingers. “You’re probably asking about the meat thing…” Robbie admitted.

Henrik shook his head. “No…I’m asking about something else.” Henrik told him.

Robbie thought for a moment and looked at his hands. He began to notice that his hands were becoming less and less muscley and more boney overtime. “I’m scared.” Robbie admitted.

Henrik nodded. “I understand zhat.” He told him. “I vould be scared too.”

Robbie looked up at Henrik and showed him his hands. “My clothes are getting bigger on me.” Robbie admitted.

Henrik tilted his head and grabbed Robbie’s sleeves. He put his index and middle finger into the sleeve and separated the two fingers as much as he could to see how baggy the sleeves had gotten on Robbie. And sure enough, Robbie’s sleeves were almost 2 sizes too big.

Curious, Henrik pulled out his phone and pulled up a couple photos. The photos he was pulling up were of Robbie roughly a month earlier. The hoodie in the photo seemed to fit Robbie a little bit better than his shirt fits now. Henrik brought his hands gently under Robbie’s shirt and lifted up his shirt. And the sight just crushed Henrik’s heart:

Robbie’s ribs were showing. His stomach was becoming less shaped and more floppy. And his middle had shrunk down a good inch. Henrik sighed as he lowered his shirt. “You are getting zhinner.” Henrik told him.

Robbie lifted up his shirt and looked down at his own stomach. He gently poked his own floppy belly, and looked up at Henrik. “I’m a skeleton.” Robbie told him, half joking and half serious.

Henrik let out a breath with a small smile. “You are not vrong.” Henrik told him.

Henrik thought for another moment. “I am trying to find an explanation for your changes.” Henrik explained.

Robbie lowered his shirt. “Uh huh.” Robbie replied.

Henrik looked up at Robbie. “Did you come across an animal before you met us?” Henrik asked.

Robbie tried to think for a moment. “No…” Robbie replied. “I didn’t.”

Henrik nodded as he tried to think further on the subject.

Then, Henrik remembered something:

Henrik opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a notebook. He started flipping through the pages and finally found the page he was looking for. He slapped his hand onto the specific page and read the phone number on the page in his head.

“I have to make a call.” Henrik told him. “You may stay…or you may go. If you stay, I vill put him on speaker phone so you may hear too.” Henrik told him.

Robbie nodded. “I’ll stay.” Robbie decided.

“Really?” Henrik reacted, surprised.

Robbie nodded. “Yeah. I want to meet him.” Robbie admitted.

“Okay.” Henrik replied.

Henrik pulled out his phone and put in the phone number. The person on the other line answered the phone, and they connected.

“Hello?” The voice said.

“Angus. Hallo.” Henrik replied.

“Henrik! Holy shit! How are ya, ol’ cobber?” The voice replied.

Henrik grew a toothy smile and chuckled. He really missed this man’s dialogue. “I’m fine. How are you?” Henrik asked.

“Glad to hear ya, Dag. Been decades.” Angus said.

Henrik cleared his throat and started to think for a second. “I have got somezhing to tell you.” Henrik admitted.

Henrik waved for Robbie to walk up to him. “I have a child vizh me. His name is Robbie.” Henrik told him.

“Hi!” Robbie said happily.

“Ooooh! An ankle biter, eh?” Angus reacted. “Hey kid!” Angus greeted.

Robbie giggled. “I’m too big to bite ankles!” Robbie reacted.

Angus laughed. “I know, I know.” He replied.

Henrik smiled before slowly bringing up something serious. “So…Robbie is no regular child.” Henrik explained.

“No ankle biter’s the same. We all know that.” Angus replied.

“He…” Henrik let out a breath. “He’s dying, Angus.”

Angus went silent. He stayed silent for a good 3 minutes. “...Is he still there?” Angus asked.

“Yes.” Henrik replied.

“What’s he still here for? Get him outta here!” Angus reacted. “No child needs to hear that!” Angus reacted.

Robbie sighed. “Fine.” He said.

Henrik turned to look at Robbie in surprise. “Vhat? No no, you don’t need to leave.” Henrik tried to tell him.

“It’s okay. I want Chase.” Robbie told him.

“I…Alright.” Henrik responded, feeling guilty.

“Bye Snippledeen.” Robbie said sadly as he closed the door.

Henrik sighed, then frowned at his phone. “Zhe fuck is wrong vizh you?” Henrik spat.

“Don’t be cracking the shits at me, Henrik. No ankle biter should know they have cancer.” Angus yelled.

“He doesn’t- It’s not cancer.” Henrik told him.

“Then what is it?” Angus asked.

“He’s decaying.” Henrik told him. “It’s a long story. Robbie got shot by someone in his house…He should’ve died that day. But he woke up in a morgue, breathing and thinking.” Henrik explained.

Angus scoffed. “Bugger off with your Furphy’s.” Angus warned.

Henrik rolled his eyes. He knew exactly what furphy meant. “I am not making zhis up.” Henrik warned.

“The kid wouldn’t be right in the head!” Angus reacted. “The kid would be crook.”

Henrik muttered some swear words in German. “Let me send you a picture of him, Angus.” Henrik said, pulling up a picture and sending it to Angus. “Zhen you vill see vhat I talk about.”

Angus went silent for a few seconds. He was probably looking at the picture. “Fuck me…” Angus reacted. “He really is dying! He…” Angus went silent again. “He looks malnourished. But the gray skin is confusing me.” Angus admitted. “Have you found a diagnosis for him yet?” Angus asked.

“Nein. Nozhing in my records explain all zhe symptoms.” Henrik told him.

Angus thought for a moment. “Tell me the symptoms.”

Henrik began. “No healing abilities, grey skin, losing veight, saggy skin, and now…intense hunger for raw meat.” Henrik told him.

Angus went silent. “You said no healing abilities?” Angus asked.

Henrik bit his lip. “The boy’s vounds have not healed even slightly, in months. Zhe wounds look fresh…zhough zhey vere where for 3 months.” Henrik explained.

Angus went silent again. The only thing Angus had said, was “Huh…” to him. Henrik could safely assume he was trying to think. “Is the boy drooling at all?” Angus asked.

“Uuhhhhh…” Henrik thought for a moment. “I don’t know. Never noticed.”

Angus cleared his throat. “Look for these signs and come back to me: tremors or stumbling, excessive drinking and pissing, excessive drooling, and drooping head.” Angus told him.

Henrik tilted his head as he wrote these symptoms down. “Vhy?” Henrik asked.

“They’re the classic signs of the only decaying disease I know of: Chronic Wasting Disease.” Angus told him.

Henrik froze. “You mean…zhe disease in deer?” Henrik asked.

“Yup. That’s the only help I can give yous.” Angus admitted. “Docs have been fearing the day that humans get the deer disease. So…maybe it happened?” Angus suggested.

Henrik nodded and scratched the back of his head. “Let’s hope ve are wrong.” Henrik said.

“Let’s hope.” Angus replied.

“I have to go. I vill talk later.” Henrik told him.

“Alright, mate. I’ll see ya around.” Angus said. “I’m coming to England in a couple weeks, if ya wanna catch up.” Angus told him.

Henrik smiled brightly. “Really?!” Henrik reacted.

“Deadset.” Angus replied.

Henrik nodded. “Okay. I vill send you my address. I live in Brighton.” Henrik told him.

“Sick! I’ll see ya then.” Angus replied.

“Bye Angus. Zhanks for zhe help.” Henrik said.

“Not a problem, mate. Hooroo!” Angus cheered before hanging up.

Henrik hung up next, and threw his phone onto the table and groaned. It was great to talk to his friend. But…the thought of Chronic Wasting Disease maybe overcoming Robbie, was scaring Henrik. He didn’t want to see the klein Junge (little boy) slowly lose his mind and muscle mass overtime.

But nothing is confirmed yet. Henrik still doesn’t know if Robbie has CWD yet. For all we know, he could have something completely different. So yes, the wasting was still going to happen. But the future of a deer with Chronic Wasting Disease was bleak. So if Robbie does end up having it…

Then the worst is yet to come.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Komm herein.” Henrik said instinctively.

“What?” A little boy’s voice asked.

Henrik hummed as he realized what language he was speaking. “Sorry. Come in!” Henrik said.

The door opened, and in came Robbie. Robbie was holding his stuffed dog. “Are you okay?” Robbie asked.

Henrik nodded. “I’m okay.” He said as he placed the checklist in his desk drawer. “Are you doing okay?” Henrik asked.

Robbie smiled and looked at his coffee mug. “What are you drinking?” Robbie asked, completely ignoring Henrik’s question.

Henrik turned to his mug and chuckled. “Coffee.” Henrik replied.

Robbie closed his eyes and smiled brightly. “I remember my Daddy and Mommy made coffee every morning. The coffee smell would wake me up in the morning. They said it tasted really good too. And it helps wake people up!” Robbie admitted.

Henrik smiled as he heard Robbie telling him about his life with his parents.

“Can I try the coffee?” Robbie asked.

Henrik’s smile spread to show his teeth. “Sure! But I don’t know if you vill like it. Most kids do not like coffee.” Henrik let him know.

Robbie shrugged his shoulders and put his stuffed dog down. “I wanna see if I like it! If it smells good, it should taste good!” Robbie declared.

If only the world were really like that…

Henrik picked up his mug of coffee, and handed it to Robbie. It was still half full, and somewhat cooled down after a half an hour of having it out. Robbie took the mug, raised the mug up, and sipped some of the coffee from the mug. He lowered it down, revealing his puffed-up cheeks and his shocked facial expression. Henrik couldn’t help but laugh at Robbie. He looked like a chipmunk.

Robbie squeezed his eyes shut, shook his head and held out the mug for Henrik to take. He looked like he was ready to throw it up. Henrik quickly grabbed the mug from Robbie and watched as the little boy sprinted to the bathroom and spat it out, presumably in the toilet. Henrik bursted out laughing upon seeing his reaction, and only laughed harder when he heard Robbie gagging and grunting in disgust.

Robbie walked into the doctor’s office with his tongue out. “Ew! Ew ew ew it’s yucky!” Robbie reacted. “Coffee is worse than burnt toast and cough medicine mixed together!” Robbie yelled.

Henrik wheezed and just about spilled the coffee all over himself. “Ohoho mein Gott!” Henrik reacted, placing the mug onto the table as he laughed. “Not good, is it?” Henrik asked.

Robbie frowned. “You have the worst taste buds.” Robbie told him.

Henrik shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, I do. But I am not zhe only vone vizh zhe bad taste buds here.” Henrik told him.

Robbie blinked in surprise. There’s more people that drink coffee?

“Everyvone in zhis house, except for Jamie, drinks coffee.” Henrik told him.

Robbie gagged and whined. “Ewww! Everyone here is so yucky!” Robbie reacted.

Henrik just laughed even more at his reaction. With the sadness that’s been filling his mind lately, it was nice to experience a funny and childish moment from Robbie. It certainly cheered him up.

Chapter Text

[Robbie put on some clothes he found in a white bag behind a desk. He remembered these clothes, actually. They were the last thing he was wearing before he woke up in here. The last thing he wore before his mother-

HIS MOTHER! HIS FATHER!

Robbie widened his eyes and ran to one of the locker doors. Where is his mother?! Where is his father?! Where were they?! There were no other bodies on tables in the room, save for himself. So they had to be in one of these lockers, right?

Robbie opened door #11, and looked at the body’s feet. He grabbed the metal bar below the pair of feet, and tried to pull the bed out of the fridge. But the bar was freezing cold, and the bed was really heavy. He couldn’t possibly open it...Not on his own.

He finally gave up after a few seconds, and closed the fridge door. He ran around the lockers and looked for labels, names, anything. He had to find his parents. But none of the fridges were labeled. None of them.

Robbie ran up across the fridges and widened his eyes as he looked at the fridge doors’ reflection. There was a large red blotch caked right onto his back. Robbie looked at the blotch of red through the blurry steel, and bit his lip.

That’s a lot of red…But…why couldn’t he feel anything? Was that…where he was stabbed?

Robbie ran to the surgical instruments and looked around at the different items. Knives, needles, bottles, scissors, a tray-

The tray!

Robbie grabbed the tray and looked around at other items. A saw, ice picks, a hammer, tweezers, dentist pokers, wrenches-

Tweezers!

Robbie grabbed the tweezers. He put the tray into the end of the tweezers and held it out behind him so he could see his back. And the sight left Robbie horrified:

There was a really big, dark red wound in his back. The blood was still caked on it…but for some strange reason, the wound was already sewed together. Robbie dropped the tray and the tweezers, filling the room with clashing and metal sounds for a few moments.

This wasn’t a dream…This was real! He had been stabbed, and the wound was still there!

He stared at the ground as he heard screaming…It was really loud screaming, enough to make him want to cover up his ears in anguish.

But…the screaming sounded so much like his own scream…

Not knowing if he was screaming, he quickly touched his throat. His throat was vibrating! That means he IS screaming! He slowly quieted his screams down to a whisper, and to a stop with a closed mouth.

Robbie couldn’t understand. Where was he?! Why did he have this wound on his back?! Why was he in this room?! WHERE ARE HIS PARENTS?!

Robbie took off sprinting through the rooms, and started pushing open every door. A door led to another door. Another door led to a new door. Door after door after door. It was a maze of hallways and doors.

Robbie opened one more door and fell to the gray ground. His eyes squinted as bright light filled his eyeballs. It was super bright outside of that other hallway. He slowly opened his eyes as his eyes eventually adjusted to the light. He pulled himself up onto his feet and slowly looked around:

The halls were completely white, with thin wooden rails to hold onto. The only thing that was easily visible outside of all the white, was the black, empty wheelchair that was against the wall on the other side of the hall. Everything else was just white…and bright…and clean…

Robbie looked down the hall to the right, and noticed how the wall turned to the right. He looked to the left and widened his eyes when his eyes fell on a doctor in blue scrubs. The doctor was on the same side of the hall as Robbie was, and they were frozen in place as well. But…the person was staring at the kid, just shocked to see a little boy walking out of the room.

The person stared at Robbie for a few seconds longer…

“Uh…Hi?” Robbie called.

The person immediately started screaming and took off sprinting the other way. The doctor’s screams and sprints lessened the farther down the hallway they went.

Robbie tilted his head, confused as to why they were running away from him. What’s wrong? Where’s the fire?

Suddenly, red lights started flashing and an alarm that sounded similar to a school fire alarm, started going off. Robbie gasped at the sound of the fire alarm. FIRE! Quickly, Robbie began to remember what he learned in school: If you’re in the bathroom, then finish up quickly and run out of the building.

Robbie ran through the different doors, not even processing where he was going. He sprinted through the hallways, making lots of tall adults yelp and move out of the way for him. Robbie was like a missile. He just kept on running…No running out of breath…just run, run, run.

Finally, Robbie pushed open a door and fell right into a deep puddle. He groaned and pushed himself up. But when he looked at the puddle, he noticed he was able to see his own reflection. He…still had his hair…and his nose, and his eyes and teeth. But…his skin was a completely different mix of colors.

But then…the reflection started to smile…smile widely…almost too widely…

And then his eyes went black. And the reflection’s mouth started to move.

“Robbie!” The reflection said. “ROBBIE!”

Robbie screamed yet again, and pounded his fists into the puddle.

“AAH-” ]

Robbie started to come back to reality. But the process was slow…His sight was blurry and distorted. He tried to focus his eyes a little bit better…but it was really difficult.

Robbie took this moment to rub his eyes. But the moment his fingers touched his eyes, all he felt was wet…Soaking wet…His cheeks were the same way…completely wet.

The puddle…Was his hair wet too? Robbie quickly touched and gripped his hair. But…it was dry. Completely dry. That doesn’t make sense…he fell into a puddle. Why would his eyes and cheeks be wet, while his hair is still dry? His whole head was soaked from the puddle. Who dried his hair?!

“Robbie?” Someone called with a rolled R.

Robbie looked up at the voice. It was a man with a mustache and beard…and glasses. He looked familiar. Why did he know this person-

Wait…

“Henrik!” Robbie yelled without thinking before jumping right into his arms.

Henrik desperately hugged him and held him close. Robbie recognized him. He knew him…this was already such a huge step. Henrik kissed his head as he let out a shaky sigh of relief.

Robbie soon opened his eyes, moved out of Henrik’s grip and looked up at Henrik. “Where’s Chase?”

Henrik bit his lip as he turned to look at the bathroom. “He’s…He is hurt, Robbie.” Henrik told him.

“Hurt? What happened?” Robbie asked.

Henrik sighed and looked at Robbie in the eyes. “Robbie…I need to know: vhat did you hit in zhe dream?” Henrik asked.

Robbie looked down as he thought for a moment. “I…was in a puddle…and my reflection kept calling me…and smiling at me with black eyes…” Robbie told him. “I hit the puddle so the reflection would go away.” Robbie told him.

Henrik hummed lowly as he thought about how to say the truth. “It vasn’t yust your reflection you hit, Robbie…” Henrik told him.

Robbie tilted his head and got out of Henrik’s grip. He walked up to the bathroom and opened the door. There, looking at the mirror, was Chase in his PJ’s. He was wincing in pain as he felt a little spot on his forehead.

Wait…Did-

Robbie gasped as he realized what he had done. He looked down at his own hands, and back up at Chase. “I’m so sorry, Chase!” Robbie reacted.

Chase turned to look at him. Now, the bruise was completely visible. It was already turning a mix of a dark red and a bluish color. Feeling terrible, Robbie wrapped his arms around Chase as tightly as he could.

Chase looked at Robbie and hugged him back. But…the hug felt hesitant…Unsure…

Nervous…

But it was a hug nonetheless. And that’s all that mattered to him. Robbie closed his eyes and refused to let go of his father.

Chase was unsure what to do. He loved this kid to bits and he would die for this kid…but the kid was changing right in front of him. The loving, empathetic kid he met, was slowly turning into a broken, diseased kid. And now he’s beginning to turn to violence. it was breaking his heart little by little.

Robbie could feel the hug on Chase loosening. Robbie looked down in pure guilt. Either Chase is growing really tired, or…something else was going on…and telling by Chase’s ability to stay upright, Robbie was quickly starting to assume it was the latter.

“I understand.” Robbie told him as he slowly let go of him. He stepped back a few steps and couldn’t even look Chase in the eyes as he spoke. “I’m not Robbin anymore.” Robbie admitted.

Chase nodded. “You’re Robbie now…” Chase added.

Robbie rolled his eyes. “No…I’m not. Robbie would never hit his Dad. Robbie would never steal meat and eat it whole.” Robbie told him.

Robbie looked up at Chase with tears falling down his cheeks. “What’s wrong with me?”

Chase’s expression softened. He may be experiencing a relationship change with Robbie…but dammit, did those words physically kill him inside. The fact that Robbie has to watch himself disintegrate in front of him was bad enough. But being emotionally alive and feeling himself lose it in front of his father…that has got to be so much worse…Chase was quickly realizing that this is almost worse than seeing a family member lose their mind to dementia. Because even though the diagnosis is horrifying, the person experiencing the downfall of dementia mostly doesn’t even realize what’s happening. Or…that's what the family members are led to believe…

Robbie was silently crying a couple feet away from Chase. He felt like he could never handle seeing Chase like that…so, he quickly covered up his crying. He gulped a few times and wiped away the tears. He fixed his hair and put on a smile. Then, he turned around and walked out of the bathroom.

Chase widened his eyes as he saw what Robbie did. He stopped crying within 5 seconds…and he walked right out of the room. Was…was his reaction really enough to change Robbie’s emotions like that?!

Chase started to follow Robbie to his room. Robbie took a few of his clothes from the drawers and put them into his backpack. He packed up his model cars and Bacon the dog, and picked up his backpack. Robbie left the room and headed out to the kitchen. He started taking apples, cans of food, a plastic spoon and fork, and grabbed a kids cup for him to collect water with.

Chase could feel himself growing guilty. “Where…are you going?” Chase asked.

Robbie changed into his clothes and put on a sweater. He put his backpack on and turned to Chase. “I think it’s better if I leave.”

Chase widened his eyes. “No!” Chase quickly grabbed his hand. “No, you are not leaving. The last thing you need, is to be surviving out there alone.”

“Chase-“ Robbie pushed Chase’s hand away. “Living with you is just hurting you.” Robbie told him. “It hurts everyone in this house.”

Chase frowned. “Leaving us would hurt us even more, Robbie.”

Robbie sighed. “No, it wouldn’t. It would help you. No more worrying.” Robbie told him.

“Robbie, I will continue to worry even if you leave. My love for you has never changed.” Chase told him.

Robbie sighed. “Has it?” Robbie asked, not believing him.

Chase was stunned. How in the hell was Robbie feeling such complex emotions? He had never heard anything like this out of the kid before. What happened to all the tickle fights? The happiness? The kiddish Robbie they fell in love with?

“So…” Chase chuckled. Actually chuckled. But it was a dry chuckle. An unenthusiastic chuckle…almost an angry chuckle. “Was all the excitement and tickle fights just a lie?” Chase asked.

“Chase!” Henrik yelled.

“I need to know, Henrik.” Chase yelled.

Robbie scoffed. “Why would I lie to you about who I am? That’s like asking if you loving me was a lie.” Robbie reacted, growing annoyed. “I know you love me…but I also know you loving me is killing you inside.” Robbie told him. “That’s why I’m running away.”

Chase closed his eyes as his own eyes started to well up with tears. “Please…don’t leave.”

Robbie sighed. “This isn’t going to be forever. I will come back.” Robbie reassured him, though his reassurance wasn’t gentle and understanding this time…it was more cold and blunt.

Chase looked down and held his hands together. He slowly nodded as he started to process what was going to happen.

Robbie put on his backpack and headed to the door. He put on his shoes and opened the door.

Someone clapped loudly behind him. Robbie turned around, recognizing the rhythm of the claps. The person that clapped loudly was Jamie…and his clapping was used to get his attention.

Robbie smiled and hugged Jamie. Jamie hugged him back just as tightly as he always did. Then, Jamie grabbed Robbie’s hand, and gave him something cold and metallic. Robbie looked down at his hand and widened his eyes.

It was a key…a key to the house.

‘Come back when you feel ready.” Jamie told him.

Robbie couldn’t help the tears that fell down his own face. Robbie closed his hand and hugged Jamie again, a little bit tighter this time. He felt as Jamie gave him a kiss on the top of his head. Robbie smiled a little bit before letting go of Jamie.

“I love you, Jamie.” Robbie told him. “And…please tell Chase I love him as well.” Robbie told him.

Jamie nodded. ‘Will do.’ He signed back.

Robbie put the key into his pocket and turned around. He opened up the door and heard the door open up similarly to an airlock door. He looked at the dark outside, lit up by the street lights. He let out a huff and walked out of the house with a soft close of the door.

Robbie walked down the stairs of the house and walked down the driveway. He let his hand slid across the car as he walked, before letting go and turning to the right. With only the streetlights lighting his way, he began his descent back into the streets…

Chapter Text

Robbie had spent the morning sleeping under a tree in the park. It was the same park that Chase, Jamie and Robbie had all gone to for a picnic quite a few months earlier. Though he found it predictable and cliché that he would head to the same park, he didn’t care at this point. All he cared about was trying to stay out of Chase’s way.

Robbie sat himself up and opened up his backpack to review what he had in there. He had a few changes of clothes, a heavier sweater, enough food to last him a couple days, his model car collection, his water cup, and his stuffed dog. Curious as to what else he had, Robbie started to root through his bag and find a few more things. He laid them out on the grass, revealing to have found a pencil case filled with his stuff from back when he was in school, an old school notebook that was already slightly filled with old writing assignments, and a small racing-themed kids watch.

He pulled out the watch and smiled at it. He remembered when his Dad had bought him the watch so he could learn how to read analog clocks better. He remembered every few hours a day, his Dad would ask him if he had his watch on, and what time it was according to the watch. Over time, Robbie got really good at counting the hours in the circle and counting the minutes by 5’s to figure out how close or far it was to the hour. Before his parents died, Robbie had been able to read the clock without counting the minutes that time. And his Dad was ecstatic. It was a sign of his progress. And at the time, Robbie had been really proud of himself.

But reading it now, he had to count out the numbers by 5’s to figure out the minutes again. Though he still remembered how to do it, he hadn’t been reading analog clocks as often as he used to, now causing him to become quite rusty at it. It looked like, according to the watch, the time was currently 11:35am. Normally looking at the tiny rectangle that indicated am vs pm was considered cheating. But his Dad wasn’t there to tell him that. No one was there to tell him otherwise. So why would he ignore such a vital part of the watch?

He undid the watch and strapped it onto his own wrist. And as he pulled it to make the plastic piece poke through the hole to lock it in place, he realized something crazy: His wrist was 3 sizes smaller than before. After strapping his watch on, Robbie looked at both his wrists and let out a sad sigh.

He really was rotting from the inside out.

The boy felt his own shaggy hair and moved his bangs out of his own face. He felt like cutting off the piece of hair that was dangling in his face. But he knew…he may not be able to grow that piece back if he cut it. Whatever was making him thinner and more violent, was also making him unable to regrow his hair. His head of hair had been the same length since he woke up in the morgue. And for some reason, Chase had realized that Robbie’s hair didn’t need to be cut or fixed up in any way. It just needed to be heavily cleaned.

Robbie got himself onto his feet and started to walk into town. Eventually, he walked himself towards the side street of Brighton, England, and pulled out his blue kids cup. He placed it out onto the concrete in front of him, and hugged his stuffed dog while he waited for people to place change into his cup. Long before Robbie had found Chase’s basement, Robbie had spent years begging for money on the street. He always changed locations and usually ran away whenever people got suspicious, or tried to get him medical help. Even then, he was way too scared to find out what disease was plaguing his dying body.

All he knew back then, was surviving. And though he felt like Chase was in mental pain by having him stay in his house, he quickly realized that living there was a huge weight off his little shoulders. Robbie grabbed his heavy sweater out of his backpack and put it on. It was already proving to be a much colder day and sadly, Robbie didn’t have any gloves. So, he used his socks as makeshift gloves instead…Because he knew exactly what frostnip felt like on his little fingers…

[Meanwhile:]

Chase was struggling to keep going without Robbie by his side. He would end up spending the morning going to the stores and looking at clothes that were roughly Robbie's size. He would also find toys that Robbie would’ve liked, and books Robbie would’ve really enjoyed. Looking in the book section, Chase quickly remembered that for some reason, Robbie was a fan of kids horror. He seemed to grow old of the fluffy fairy tales that parents fed their kids these days, which was ironic considering his continuous love for the cutesy, fluffy side of life. He loved the classic, slightly horrifying Brothers Grimm fairy tales. He also really liked Neil Gaiman, and especially enjoyed the books ‘Coraline’ and ‘The Wolves In The Walls’. Despite only being 8 years old when he died (Technically, he would be 12 as of this April), Robbie was mentally growing up while his body refused to catch up to him.

When Chase moved to the electronics, he found a videogame that…reminded him of Shawn. He grabbed the videogame case and read the front. Chase quickly widened his eyes and flipped it to the back. Right away, he saw the description on the back of the Switch case.

After finishing reading it, Chase dropped his jaw as he remembered the song that Shawn had sang to Robbie while they cleaned the basement:

♫Bendy was a lil devil thing
Who was brought to life on the silver screen
Used to make em chuckle now he makes em scream
It’s bendy and the devil swing♫

Bendy…

Wait…

♫Dreams do come true
I was deceived by Joey Drew and now I’m coming after you…♫

J-Joey Drew…

Chase flipped the case over to read the lower line again as the song kept echoing in his mind.

♫-I was deceived by Joey Drew-♫

Chase just about dropped the case right then and there. But thankfully, he fumbled with the case mid-drop and managed to just catch it in time. He stood back up, still staring at the Switch case with horror and shock.

Holy shit! This can’t possibly be a coincidence! Does Shawn know this exists?!

Chase quickly walked up to the checkout area and bought the game for himself. He was horrified. Scratch that, angry! If this game was made against Shawn’s wishes, then only lord knows how the poor man was going to react.

Chase quickly tried to drive home with the Switch game on the passenger seat. When he hit a red light, Chase took a moment to look around for Robbie while he was stopped at the light. The main street was bustling with people. Teens, adults, and elders, there was a good variety of each generation on the streets of Brighton. And yet…Robbie was nowhere to be found. Chase could feel his heartstrings tighten. It hurt to know Robbie could sense his hesitation enough to leave. Chase felt like an idiot. If he had just covered up his feelings and used his poker face, then…Robbie wouldn’t have gone to who-knows-where.

He felt like he had made the biggest screw-up of his whole life.

Chase looked up at the light, and watched as it just turned green. He stepped on the gas slightly and started to get moving. Robbie was important to him. He knew he needed to look for him after lunch. But Chase’s current thought was the video game based on Shawn’s (or someone else’s) experiences.

Chase drove into the driveway and shut the car off. He unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed the case. He hopped out of the car, closed the car door behind him, locked it and ran to the front door. Before he went inside however, Chase checked the mailbox.

Nothing. Not even a leaf was in the mailbox.

Then, he opened the door, closed it behind him, took off his shoes and ran to find Shawn. “Shawn! Shawn?!” Chase called, looking through the house for the quiet man. “Come on man…” Chase muttered to himself as he ran to his room/studio. Chase knocked on the door and opened it before getting a response from the man. “Shawn, you in here?” Chase asked, peeking into the room with his head, while his body remained behind the door.

Shawn was sitting at his desk, painting something. “One sec, I’m almost done.” Shawn replied.

Chase huffed and walked in, closing the door behind him. He sat against the door, aching to tell Shawn about the game. But he knew Shawn’s creativity was important, and he didn’t like being interrupted mid-stroke. So, he waited impatiently for him to finish.

Shawn finally put the last bit of black paint onto the wooden toy. “Okay.” Shawn placed his paintbrush into the blackened water cup on his desk. “What did you need?” Shawn asked.

Chase sprung up and showed Shawn the videogame. “Look what I found at Gamestop.” Chase said, showing him the videogame.

Shawn narrowed his eyes slightly in an attempt to look closer at the case. But when he realized what it read, he widened his eyes. “Oh my god!” Shawn snatched the case out of Chase’s hands and read the smaller words below the title:

[BENDY AND THE INK MACHINE]

[BASED ON THE RUMORS OF JOEY DREW STUDIOS]

His face went as white as a sheet. He quickly started reading the back and pacing around the room.

[Henry, a lead animator in the 1930s, receives a mysterious invitation from his past employer to return to the cartoon workshop where their most popular and beloved character, Bendy, was created. Journey into the sketchy madness of this twisted cartoon nightmare. Fight the darkness. Escape the Ink Demon. Fear the Machine.]

“How did-” Shawn opened the case and stared at the switch cartridge inside of the case. “There’s no way.”

Chase nodded. “That song you were singing to Robbie from that music box?” Chase asked.

Shawn was too busy eyeing up the familiar devil character on the cartridge.

“Shawn.” Chase called, snapping his fingers.

Shawn quickly shook his head to get his mind out of the gutter. “B-Bendy and the devil swing?” Shawn clarified. “It’s a classic song. One that Joey was proud of when he came up with it.” Shawn added.

“Oh god…” Chase let out breathlessly as Shawn’s words confirmed his fears. “♫Dreams do come true, I was deceived by Joey Drew and now I’m coming after you♫. Are those not the lyrics?” Chase asked.

“Th-They are!” Shawn reacted. “I’m surprised you remember that.”

Chase put his hands up and closed his eyes. “Point is:” Chase looked at Shawn in the eyes and pointed to the case. “Did you know about this?” Chase asked.

Shawn shook his head and dropped the game onto the ground, refusing to touch it. “No! I had no idea anything like this existed!” Shawn reacted.

“Other than me, did you ever tell anyone else about your experience at the studio?” Chase asked.

Shawn frowned. “Hell. No. I keep it quiet for a reason. I would NEVER tell complete strangers about my nightmarish memories of that place.” Shawn told him.

“Did you tell any other friends you had over the years?” Chase asked, trying to be sure.

“No! I refused. I was actually determined to carry the secret to my grave!” Shawn replied confidently. “The only reason I ended up telling you even bits and pieces, was because I lose every bit of my filter when I’m severely distressed.” Shawn admitted.

Chase waved his hands around. “Okay, okay. But: You said you were the only survivor, right?” Chase asked.

Shawn’s face softened slightly upon hearing that. “...Yes, I did say that.” Shawn replied.

“So if you were the only survivor, and they suddenly have a game about the studio’s downfall…then how did they get the information?” Chase asked.

The toy maker bit his lip and slowly relaxed his shoulders. “.......I think I know…” Shawn said quietly.

Chase looked at him. “You do?”

Shawn read the back of the case. He read through the summary, then flipped it back over to the front. Then, he dropped the case onto the ground and walked to the basement. “Follow me.” Shawn told him.

Chase nodded and started to follow him. Shawn took the two of them down to the basement and walked deeper into the basement. “Back when I first moved in here, I moved my stuff into this house with you, Jamie, Henrik and Jackie helping me unload.” Shawn told him.

“Yeah, I remember.” Chase said.

“Well…” He pulled out a surprisingly lightweight tote bin from the back corner of the basement. “There’s a reason why I insisted on carrying the lighter totes. And…That’s because…” He dusted off the top, further revealing the name written in marker:

[JOEY DREW STUDIOS JUNK]

Chase raised both his eyebrows and looked at Shawn. “And this has been down here this whole time?” Chase clarified.

“Yes.” Shawn replied. “A couple years after the incident, I managed to find the old studio again. I collected the artifacts that weren’t already covered in…the black stuff.” Shawn replied. “I bought a tote, and kept it in here for bittersweet remembrance.” Shawn told him.

“...But why?” Chase asked.

“Because I needed to reconcile the past in order to start over with a clean slate.” He opened the tote, revealing a filled tote with a large blanket, covering up the rest of the stuff. “But as you can tell, God clearly had other plans.” Shawn added as he removed the blanket from the top of his stuff.

In the top of the tote bin, was a large book called [The Illusion of Living] with Joey Drew’s signature on the bottom. The book seemed to be taking up half the tote. When Shawn removed the book from the top, there appeared to be a cassette tape machine with piles of cassettes in the bottom of the tote. There was also a wrench, a pair of keys, a couple of plush dolls of a woman, a dog, and Bendy, as well as a wooden train and a wooden plane.

Wait…

“You were painting a train back in your room.” Chase reacted, picking up the train.

“aAH!” Shawn gasped and stole the train back. Don’t touch it!” Shawn ordered, treating it like the most fragile thing on earth. “This stuff is almost a hundred years old. It’s priceless at this point.” Shawn warned. “It’s the only items I have left that remind me of my past.” Shawn told him.

Chase nodded and backed up a bit. “Sorry.” Chase replied.

Shawn sighed and picked up the Alice Angel doll. “You can hold this if you’d like.” He told him, handing him the doll. “The dolls seem to be much less fragile compared to the rest of the stuff in here.” Shawn told him.

Chase took the doll and looked at it up and down. It had a black dress, long black hair, and devil horns on her head. She also had black lips, a slight nose, and little splatters of ink all over her little face.

“Her name was Alice Angel. And she was voiced by Susie Campbell before being replaced by Allison Pendle later on.” Shawn told him.

Chase looked at Shawn with shock and surprise. This…was all brand new information for him. Information that Shawn had refused to tell Chase until now. He’d only heard of Bendy, and how nightmarish his work experience was…not about any other characters.

“And this…is one of the Bendy animations.” Shawn told him, holding up an old film reel.

Chase dropped his jaw at the size of it. It was huge! It was a bit bigger than his own head!

“This was how we made the animations.” Shawn told him, unrolling the reel pictures for a moment, to show him the little drawings that built up the animation. Chase was unable to fathom all this new information. He had no idea Shawn had been keeping all this down here. He thought he had known Shawn for a long time. But this…

This just makes him question everything.

“I’ll show you the proper animation when Robbie comes back. I really want Robbie to see this too.” Shawn admitted.

Chase looked at Shawn with confusion. “Why can’t you play the animation twice? Once for me, once for Robbie?” Chase asked.

Shawn sighed. “As much as I would love to, the animation is getting damaged the more it’s used. I watched it myself too many times over the years, and ended up damaging it in the process. So…I lessen my rewatchings as much as I possibly can so I can save it for much longer.” Shawn replied. “The reason I’m telling you all this is because…I have a theory that I’m not the only survivor.” Shawn admitted.

Chase widened his eyes and dropped his jaw.

“But I need to play the game to find out how accurate it is. Do you still have the console?” Shawn asked.

“Yeah. It’s up in my room. I can grab it for you.” Chase said.

“But I want to play it when Robbie comes back…that way, he’ll be filled in on the details without having to repeat myself.” Shawn replied. “Plus…” Shawn looked down and gripped his own arm. “I am far from ready to reopen those wounds again…” Shawn admitted.

Chase nodded and placed the Alice Angel doll back into the box. Chase put the Joey Drew book back into the box the way it was, before putting the blanket back on top. While he did this, Chase cleared his throat and attempted to change the subject. “Speaking of Robbie, I would like to look for him after I eat.” Chase admitted. “He’s not safe out there. And every feeling in my gut is telling me he’s not okay.” Chase admitted.

Shawn looked at Chase with sadness and worry. “Are you okay?” He asked Chase.

Chase slowly looked down, and quickly began to feel tears well up in his eyes. Just that question was enough to destroy the dam of emotions that was captured and shoved into his heart momentarily. The man broke down crying right in front of Shawn, quickly showing Shawn his full answer with zero words needed.

Shawn quickly sprinted up to the man and wrapped his arms around him. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” Shawn reacted.

“I-I’m scared!” Chase admitted through his sobs. “I don’t want him to die!” Chase yelled as he sobbed and cried in pain. Shawn could feel Chase going down, so he silently helped guide the man to his knees. It was clear that the man was falling apart at the seams. And just like Shawn, Chase had severe trauma and experienced heavy loss. But…Chase’s situation was almost even worse. Shawn may have lost many work acquaintances that he saw on a daily basis…but Chase lost close family. And to Shawn, that was ten times worse.

Shawn rubbed his back and gently hummed to him as Chase continued to cry and sob heavily into his shoulder. He could tell that Chase was physically exhausted and mentally torn to shreds. And it had only been a few hours since Robbie had left. Shawn had no idea how Chase was possibly going to handle another day, another week, or another month of Robbie being gone. If this is how he is after a few hours…

Then only the lord knows how bad he’ll be the next morning.

Shawn soon picked up the man bridal-style, and carried him up the stairs and into the kitchen. He sat Chase and himself down onto the couch, and cuddled Chase for as long as he needed. The poor man was an absolute mess. With the thought of Chase’s divorce and losing his other kid being on the forefront of Shawn’s mind, he could only imagine Chase’s inner monologues. He knew Chase would be calling himself a failure, and/or a terrible father. But Shawn knew better. Much better. Shawn knew very well that he was far from terrible. He was an amazing father. Shawn had watched how Chase dedicated his whole life and all his energy to Robbie and his well being. How much the dad cared so much for the adopted son that was effectively facing the same fate as a cancer patient.

But with Robbie gone…it was almost like Chase had lost his last purpose in life.

Shawn closed his eyes and started to mentally call out to Robbie. ‘Robbie…If you can hear this…please come home.’

Chapter Text

Chase and Shawn looked around the town, trying to find Robbie. They tried looking on the main street, but…he wasn’t there. They tried looking in the park, but he wasn’t there either. Chase kept looking for Robbie, almost like a worried mother dog trying to find her lost puppy. He was terrified that Robbie had been kidnapped or worse…died on the street all alone. That last thought was Chase’s worst nightmare of all.

Growing more and more anxious, Chase looked at Shawn with worry written all over his face.

“I know you’re worried. But you have to admit: this boy’s good at hiding in plain sight.” Shawn replied as he kept driving.

Chase looked down. “That’s not what I needed to hear.” Chase muttered.

Shawn looked at Chase. “This isn’t the first time he’s lived on the street, Chase. You told me yourself: He was living on the streets for years before you found him in the basement.” Shawn added. “I’m sure he’s just fine.” Shawn told him.

Chase gripped his own knees as he tried to look out the window and search for his boy. But it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. It was next to impossible.

Shawn drove up to an intersection. “Would Robbie have taken his library card with him?” Shawn asked.

Chase thought for a moment. Unsure, he pulled out his wallet and looked at the specific library card with Robbie’s name on it. “I have his big card in here. But…” Chase searched his wallet a bit. “I think he still has the lanyard card.” Chase told him. “I gave that one to him months ago.” Chase added.

Shawn nodded. “Let’s check the library while we’re down here then.” Shawn told him as he flicked on the turn signal and turned left. Shawn parked the car in the parking lot and turned off the car. They both exited the car and headed towards the library entrance.

While Shawn headed in to look in the computer section for the boy, Chase headed for the book shelves in search of Robbie.

Chase started to walk down the long shelf aisles of books.
A-D.

Kid wasn’t there.

E-G.

No child present.

H-J.

No Robbie here.

K-L.

No one here either.

M-P.

He kept searching. But the library was mostly empty, save for a few people sitting at the tables, and a couple adults reading magazines in the corner. Chase headed to the kids section instead, and looked around for a moment. As he walked through every corner of the kids section, he saw moms with their kids reading books together. He reached the middle of the kids section again, and turned his head over towards the sound of a child’s laughter, which strangely sounded like Robbie’s laugh.

But when he looked at the kid, it was not him. It was a little boy, aged 5 or 6, who was reading books with his Dad. The Dad had a ballcap on, and a beard. And the kid had a more fixed version of Robbie’s hairstyle. The little boy looked so happy to be reading a little book called Eyes That Speak to the Stars. The little boy looked to be having the best time of his life. He was laughing at every little or dramatic voice his father would make, and he was kissing his father’s cheek every so often. After the little boy read another sentence all by himself, Chase watched as the Dad celebrated his accomplishment and fluffed his hair, making the boy laugh. The Dad then proceeded to tickle his little boy’s belly for a few seconds, earning some Robbie-like giggles and laughter from his son.

Seeing this alone, completely shattered what was left of Chase’s already-fragile heart. Chase silently sobbed and closed his eyes to prevent tears from falling down his face. ‘Now is not the time for tears. Keep it together, Chase’ were the thoughts that quickly went through his head.

Chase walked back over to the front of the library without being noticed much, and started to look at the many movies that were in the library’s kids’ movie area. He looked at the different titles that stuck out through the thousands of movies collected in the shelf. He slowly pulled out a movie that would’ve peaked Robbie’s interest.

ParaNorman.

Robbie would bring up the movie every so often in conversations. Chase still didn’t understand the appeal. But…seeing it on the shelf in movie form, he could now somewhat understand the appeal. It was stop-motion, just like Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas. It looked to be about a boy named Norman, who can speak to the ghosts of the town. It…sounds almost sad in a way. But…Chase smiled through his tears as he held the movie in his arms. Maybe watching this movie that Robbie recommended to him, would help clear his head…Or it’ll make him cry even more. Both options sounded like excellent ideas at that moment.

Chase placed the movie onto the table for the librarian to scan. She took the movie, scanned the barcode on the top of the case, and placed it down. “Library card, please.” She said.

Chase bit his lip and pulled out his wallet. He pulled his own library card out of the wallet and gave it to her. She scanned the library card and grabbed the stamp used to place down the book’s due date. “Are you planning on watching this with your kids?” She asked.

Chase looked at her with slight hurt…and confusion. “Uhh- I…” Was all he could get out. He stared at her for a few more moments. He wasn’t sure if he should tell the truth to her, or lie to her.

“Yes, we will be.” Someone said behind him. Chase turned around and smiled a slight bit to see Shawn behind him. Shawn gave him a small nod and looked at the librarian. “He’s a big fan of movies like that.” Shawn told her.

“Stop-motion, dark movies, you mean?” She asked, holding up the DVD case.

“Yes. Coraline is another favorite of his. Right, Chase?” Shawn asked.

Chase looked at Shawn for a couple seconds, before looking at the librarian. “Yes, he is. It’s his favorite movie.” Chase replied. “Though, we’ll see if this one takes the number one spot once he watches it.” Chase added.

“That’s wonderful!” She reacted. “How old is he?” She asked.

“Eight.” Chase replied.

The librarian was taken aback. “Isn’t he…a bit young to watch something like this? It has dark themes like death, zombies, and even talks about the Salem Witch Trials.” She warned.

Chase nodded. “I warned him before, and told him we can turn it off when he gets too scared.” Chase replied.

“Not to mention that Coraline gets unbelievably creepy at the end.” She added. “I’m surprised he’s not riddled with dreams of the beldam!” She reacted, slightly laughing off her judgment.

Shawn frowned at her in response, while Chase was hugging himself, looking ready to fall on the floor and bawl his eyes out. “I…” Chase mumbled.

Shawn quickly took defense. “Why would you judge the kid when you don’t even know him?” Shawn asked.

The woman widened her eyes in surprise.

“And furthermore, there are children that see so much worse on a daily basis.” Shawn picked up the movie. “This movie barely scratches the surface of what kids his age could be seeing these days.” Shawn told her. “Childhood trauma affects millions of kids. Two thirds of children experience a traumatic event before age 16. To put it this way, that’s 1 in 7 children.” Shawn told him. “And as painful as it is, Robbie is one of those kids.” Shawn told her.

Chase nodded and looked at the librarian. “Robbie was the one who said he wanted to watch this.” Chase looked down. “And as a person who’s seen his fight-or-flight response way too often…” Chase looked up and tilted his head. “Why would I deny the child a chance to be happy?”

The librarian nodded and opened her hand. When Shawn placed the movie into her hands, she opened the movie and placed the stamp onto the white sheet in the movie case. Then, she closed it and handed it back to Shawn. “Thank you, and I hope you enjoy.” She told them both.

Chase walked out of the library with the movie, with Shawn right behind him. Shawn was muttering up a rant about the librarian. “Can you believe her?! Telling us how to parent?! Does she even have kids? If she does, then I wonder how sheltered HER kids were, growing up.” Shawn argued.

Chase looked at the street in front of him. It was filled with cars of different colors and different sizes.

“Chase?” Shawn asked, looking at the guy in front of him. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

Chase couldn’t really hear Shawn very well. All he was focusing on were the cars and the people walking up and down the streets. Slowly, he could see his vision beginning to blur as he looked at the street.

“What if she’s right?” Chase asked somewhat quietly.

Shawn walked up to Chase’s side. “What did you say?” Shawn asked.

“What if that librarian is right…” Chase asked, looking down as tears fell down his own face. “What if…I’m treating him like he’s older than he is?” Chase asked. He turned to look at Shawn. “Could Robbie feel pressure to be older than he feels he is?” Chase asked.

Shawn shook his head. “Robbie is emotionally mature for his age. He has handled more pain and trauma than an average 60 year old could experience.” Shawn told him. “We don’t even know how old he really is.” Shawn added. “He could be 8, 10, 13, we don’t know. We only know how old he was when he died, but even that’s iffy. We don’t really know what year he and his family died in, actually.” Shawn told Chase. “Either way, allll we know is that the boy has experienced anyone’s worst nightmare, and is still capable of keeping himself relatively together.” Shawn told him.

“He left because he sensed my heart was breaking because I loved him.” Chase told him.

“That’s…” Shawn chuckled dryly. “That’s love, Robbie. Chase, you of all people know that first hand. That’s what love does to anyone.” Shawn told Chase. “Technically with that logic, then Robbie’s heart would also be breaking because he loves you just as much, maybe even more.” Shawn added.

Chase shrugged his shoulders slightly. “That’s true…” Chase muttered.

“The boy can run away all he wants to. But he will never be able to stop you from loving him.” Shawn told him. “Ever.” He added just for good measure.

Chase smiled as tears fell down his cheeks all over again. Shawn pulled him into a tight, secure hug. The man patted the Dad’s back as he felt the need to keep his close friend safe within his arms for a while. “Thank you, Shawn.” Chase told him.

“No problem, Chase. You’re a good Dad. And I don’t think you get told that enough.” Shawn added, squeezing his shoulder.

“God…” Chase laughed through his tears. “Who made you the king of monologues?” Chase asked.

Shawn rolled his eyes. “No one did. I just said what had to be said.” Shawn replied.

“Not even Aaron Sorkin can top that speech.” Chase reacted.

Shawn smirked and started tickling Chase’s right side with his left hand. “Now listen here, ya little shit:” Shawn replied.

Chase squeaked and squealed, instinctively curling away from Shawn’s hands as he tittered and chuckled. “EEHEHEEK! HEHEHEHEHEY!” Chase reacted.

Shawn smiled and moved his head back to get a better look at Chase. “Come on, man. You need to cheer up at least a little bit.” Shawn told him.

“NOHOHO IHIHI DOHOHON’T!” Chase argued.

“Yes you do! You cried almost the entire time you were in the library!” Shawn recalled. “Plus, I think tickles are a good, natural antidepressant.” Shawn replied.

Chase finally grabbed both of Shawn’s hands and held them away from himself as he giggled up a storm. “Ohokahahahay, thahahat’s enohohough.” Chase told him. “Yohohohou…Yohou hahahave a pohohoint.” Chase added.

“Feeling better?” Shawn asked. “Cause I’m not above tickling you for a bit longer if you need.” Shawn told him.

Chase nodded as they both headed to the car. “Yeah, I’m okay.” Chase replied as he hopped in. Shawn hopped in next, closing the driver-side door. Chase bit his lip and looked at the movie. “Okay. Let’s go back to finding Robbie.” Chase told him.

Shawn nodded and started the car. They left the parking lot and went back to searching.

But by the time they had started searching again, Robbie had already left the main streets and headed down the side roads. Slowly, Robbie carried his things back to that same park he had woken up in that morning. He was carrying everything he had when he arrived there, plus a few new things. He had gotten 6 dollars in his cup, and had placed it into his pockets. He was also carrying a small baby blanket he had found earlier that day that had fallen out of a baby carrier a few stores down. He tried giving it back to the mother, but…she didn’t seem to want it back once it had touched his own dirty hands. So…He ended up keeping the thin blanket and putting it into his backpack. He had eaten a couple of his food options already and put the rest into his bag.

He sat himself under the big tree in the park, and opened up his bag again. He pulled out his food rations, his cup, his notebook and pencil case, and his other things. He placed his food rations out, and looked at it. It was a can of maple beans, one more apple, a can of beef stew, and a can of tuna. He sighed as he thought about how to ration out the food. Based on his decisions, he only had enough food to last him another day and one more morning. He may even be able to last a second day if he rationed out his food more. But his grumbling belly was telling him ‘HECK NO!’.

Robbie didn’t realize how hungry he would get while living out on the street. His food intake had almost doubled since the last time he was out on the street. He also didn’t realize how drained and sad he would become after just one day on the streets. He forgot how difficult it really was trying to survive on the street. This fact alone made him realize how much of a blessing living with Chase really was.

Robbie then reached into his bag to find his stuffed dog to help him feel better. But he widened his eyes and gasped when he realized his stuffed dog was gone! “Bacon?” Robbie called. He looked at the grass around him. “Bacon!” Robbie yelled. He unzipped every zipper on his backpack, and shook the bag upside down rather aggressively. And though everything else fell out of his bag, his stuffed dog was STILL missing. Robbie sobbed and laid himself down. He covered his face with his hands and bursted out crying then and there. How could he be so stupid?! It was a big stuffed dog! How does someone misplace a big stuffed dog?!

As night set in and the cold breeze started to fill the air, Robbie hugged himself and kept on crying into the grass. He felt more alone than ever. He forgot just how stressful living on his own was. He had forgotten all of it. And now, it felt like every bit of that reality was slapping him in the face. And the more he remembered what he said to Chase, the more he began to hate himself. The poor boy felt like a mistake at this point. He was starting to really hate himself for what he had said to Chase. He even hated himself for every little mistake he made while living with Chase. He hated that he had eaten that whole raw chicken. He hated that he hit Chase amidst a nightmare. He hated that he had taken Chase’s phone and looked up what nipples were. He hated every little word that had left his mouth that morning right before he ran away. He wanted to take it all back. He wished he could take it all back.

But…he knew the truth: he couldn’t take it back. Not until he talked to Chase first. And frankly, Robbie was scared to face Chase again. He was scared to face his father…Well, the only other father he really had. He felt like he had disappointed him. Like he had thrown Chase into the mud like a pile of trash. And he felt like he didn’t even deserve his love after such mistreatment.

Robbie sighed and eventually got himself up. WIth tears still in his eyes, Robbie started to put everything back into his bag. The only thing he kept outside of his bag was the baby blanket. Feeling cold, sad and frightened, Robbie wrapped himself up like a small burrito with the thin baby blanket. The little blanket had many Winnie the Pooh’s with honey pots scattered all over the blanket. It would’ve been a really cute blanket when it was collected, had the blanket not been dirtied up from Robbie’s body. Robbie knew he needed to find a place to shower tomorrow. He also needed to prioritize his new earnings in the morning. Would his money be used for food? Or a trip to the laundromat vending machine? Or maybe it would be used to buy a couple things from the dollar store.

He’d figure it all out tomorrow. For now, he needed to get some rest. The boy sighed and closed his eyes in an attempt to get some sleep. The rustling of the trees helped him with this feat a little bit. But the wind was cold and slightly nippy. It would end up taking a while for Robbie to get to sleep.

But when he finally felt his body reaching that feeling of deep sleep, Robbie said a couple words. “Good night, everyone…” He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt tears welling up in his eyes again. His voice cracked as he let out his last words of the day.

“Good night Dad.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, Jamie did his usual Saturday morning routine: He woke up at about 6:30am, got dressed, had a light breakfast and headed into his car to go out to town. He was just like an elder, in the regards that he enjoyed driving into town right when the stores opened so he could go shopping for a long while. And depending on the success of the trips, he may even eat out for lunch and continue shopping until about 4:00. While he knew he should be looking for Robbie with Chase and Shawn, he also knew that he could look for Robbie while on the main street. And why not have a bit of fun while you’re doing it?

Jameson started out on the main street, and parked the car in front of the little art store near the beginning of the street. He hopped out of the car and put some reusable cloth bags from the car, into his leather messenger bag. With that, he headed to all the stores on the left side of the street. He took his time in each store, making sure to buy at least one little thing from every store he visited. Most things he did end up needing. But there were occasionally things he wanted too. Things like calligraphy pens from the art store, a pack of scented markers from Staples™, a book from a little book store, a chocolate bar from the convenience store, and a stuffed animal from Just William’s™.

Next on his list, was an antique store owned by the son of an old friend of Jamie’s. Jamie walked into the small store and closed the door behind him. Both opening and closing the door caused an old-fashioned jingle bell to ring above the door. Jamie looked up at the back of the store, and waved to the person in the back.

“Hey, Jameson! How’s things going?” He asked, walking closer to the man.

Jamie smiled and signed his name with pride before hugging the man like he had known him his whole life. Which technically, he really had. Letting go, Jamie backed up a bit and twisted his wrist left and right to tell the man that he was ‘iffy’.

The man’s awkward smile dropped a bit. “What’s bothering you?” The guy asked, patting the top of his shoulder.

Jameson pulled out a printed out photograph of Robbie, Marvin, Chase and himself.

The man dropped his jaw and looked at the photo. “Since when did you adopt a kid?!” He asked. “Or, was it Chase?” The man asked.

Jamie nodded and drew a big, flat circle with his hand. ‘Everyone.’ He signed. Or specifically the word ‘all’.

“Congratulations!” the man reacted, gently pushing his shoulder.

Jamie smiled a bit and placed his fingertips on his chin, before bringing it out to say ‘Thank you’. He brought his hand down to his other hand, making a little slap sound in the process. ‘Good child.’ Jamie admitted.

“What’s his name?” The friend asked.

Jamie signed the boy’s name. ‘R-O-B-B-I-E’.

“Robbie…why does that name sound familiar…” He asked for a moment. He thought for a bit longer, looking around the antique store for a few moments. “Oh well. It’ll come to me eventually.” He replied. “Take your time looking around, JJ. I might even stay open an extra hour if you want to stay.” The guy offered.

Jamie smiled and made a heart with his fingers, before signing something to him. ‘You never fail to amaze me.’

Jamie spent his time looking at the old TV’s, old chairs, old records, Coca Cola collectables, lanterns, plates and Bone China, even old suitcases. In fact, the messenger bag he was wearing, happened to be a previous find from this same antique store. He even looked at the old video games and gaming consoles with or without controllers.

Jamie flipped through the different records in the box. It felt like the collection of records would never end! Despite not coming from much, Jamie was the one in the Egos house that had the most stuff. This was mainly because the boy enjoyed collecting anything he could get his hands on. From cheaper things like old records, plates and magazines, to more expensive things like typewriters, retro telephones and telescopes. He would even collect free things like sea shells and pretty rocks.

He pulled out the Elton John Diamonds album with the 2 vinyls inside. He also pulled out a 50s Jukebox Hits Vol. 1 record album. He smiled and pulled the 50’s Jukebox album completely out of the box and placed it on the table nearby. Then, he put the Elton John album back in, because he already had that one. Then, Jamie pulled out a Christmas with Disney vinyl album, and chuckled silently. He looked at the back of the album and looked at the many classic songs. He remembered some of the old Disney cartoons they made for Christmas over the decades. It was cute, and almost nostalgic. But he put the vinyl back into the box and kept looking through.

Eventually, he came across a Green Day™ American Idiot Vinyl. He raised an eyebrow. This sounded like something that Chase would listen to. He looked at the songs on the back for a moment or two, before putting it back in the collection. He saw a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 vinyl next with only 1 CD holding the album split in half on both sides. He pulled it out, thinking Chase and Jackie may enjoy listening to it with him.

And within the vinyl collection, he randomly found a CD case of the Eagles™ Hotel California album. He smiled a bit as he remembered that band from the 60’s. He remembered one of the first times Hotel California had played on the radio. He had been cruising down the streets of Ireland back then, enjoying the hilly landscape and the many animals. He remembered that there had been a blockade of cows walking the street at the time…That was when the song was announced and started playing. He didn’t really like it at first, but felt too lazy to change the song. But by the second chorus, he started lip syncing the first lyrics of the chorus. It was catchy, and almost comforting when any other person would’ve lost their patience. But thankfully, Jamie was never really one to use road rage. So he just chilled and listened to the radio until the cows went by, and the cars started moving again. Jamie quickly put the CD down on top of his own collection of vinyls. He didn’t care that the CD didn’t belong with the vinyls. He wanted it, and that was that.

Jamie flipped through the rest of the vinyls and didn’t really find anything else worth keeping. So, he moved onto DVD’s. A lot of the DVD’s were from the 2000’s, to 2010’s. But there were a few 1990’s and 1980’s DVD’s there too. Though back in the 80’s, VHS tapes were the go-to movie format. And to the right of the DVD shelf, was the VHS tape shelf. Maybe he would look through the VHS tapes next. But for now, he would look at the DVDs.

He looked at the many movies. Grease, Eddie the Eagle, The Office American TV show collection, Inception, Marley & Me, Paddington, Anastasia, Hot Fuzz, there were so many to choose from! So many, it almost overwhelmed him. There were somewhat interesting movies like Elvis On Tour, The Pianist, Ex Machina, Noah and Titanic, as well as less-interesting DVD’s like Move it or Lose it, Billy Madison, Horton Hears a Who, Martial Arts DVD’s and Evan Almighty. Good or bad, the list of movies never seemed to end.

But Jamie soon found a Charlie Chaplin™ DVD Collection on the shelf. It said “The Charlie Chaplin Collection” with the words “CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF CHAPLIN” on the left side of the cover. He smiled and opened the collection, revealing there to be several DVD’s in the 1 case. It looked to be 11 DVDs, with 1 of the DVD’s having 3 Charlie Chaplin shorts on it.

“I see you found the Charlie Chaplin DVD. I thought you’d be interested in it.” The man told him. “Actually, I thought you and your friend Shawn would both be interested in this one.” The man added.

Jamie smiled brightly and looked at the man. ‘You are right.’ Jamie signed back. ‘I love Charlie Chaplin.’ He added.

“You know…Ever since I was younger, I always thought you would make a great modern-day Charlie Chaplin.” The man admitted.

Jamie wheezed and doubled over at first. But then he threw his head back and laughed with his hand over his mouth. The man looked almost shocked to see Jamie laughing so hard…and the man slowly grew a smile before crossing his arms. “What? What’s so funny?” The man asked him.

Jamie cleared his throat and wiped a tear from his eye. He signed the man’s name by making the B letter, and drawing the downward bangs on his own forehead with his fingertips. ‘It took you this long to say something.’ Jamie told him.

“Yeah…so?” The man said, begging for clarification.

‘I’m an actor.’ Jamie told him.

“Yeah, I know you act.’ the man replied.

Jamie cleared his throat again. ‘I act in remade silent movies.’ Jamie told him, slowly spelling out the word ‘Silent’.

The man widened his eyes. “Silent…films. You act in silent films…” He started to repeat, before it finally clicked. “Oh my gosh- YOU DO WHAT CHARLIE CHAPLIN USED TO DO!” The man reacted.

‘Yes!’ Jamie replied.

Now it was the man’s turn to burst out laughing! Jamie couldn’t help himself from laughing a bit as well, as the news finally made sense to the man. Jamie covered his mouth with his fist, before finally signing something. ‘It took you this long to realize?’ Jamie asked.

“I just-” He chuckled. “I thought you were…in films with deaf actors or something.” The man mentioned. “Now I know why I was never able to find your work anywhere…I’ve been looking in the wrong genre!” The man declared.

‘Billy…’ Jamie reacted, signing and lip syncing his name at the same time. ‘God dammit…’ Jamie signed, fingerspelling the whole thing before facepalming his own forehead with a laugh.

Billy laughed, knowing exactly what Jamie had just spelled out. Mr. Jackson had done the same thing for decades now, even when Billy himself was little. And as he learned about how to fingerspell and was able to catch onto his fingerspelling really quickly, Billy finally understood what he was saying. He was literally spelling out the words ‘God dammit’. It had even become a quote-on-quote ‘catch phrase’ of Jamie’s whenever he messes up in the studio, messes up in front of his friends, or even when he’s alone.

The boys were soon interrupted by the familiar ring of the jingle bell above the door. A young lady had walked into the antique store with a grocery bag in her hands. “Hello. Are you taking donations?” She asked.

“Ah, hello! And yes, we always are. How can I help you?” Billy asked.

“Well…” She pulled a stuffed animal out of the grocery bag. “Do you take stuffed animal donations?” She asked.

“We certainly do!” Billy replied.

“Well…I found this stuffed dog outside the Costa down the street, and…I can’t read this writing.” She said.

Jamie widened his eyes as he saw the stuffed animal. Was that-

“Let me see here.” Billy looked at the cloth tag on the back leg of the dog, before attempting to sound it out. “R-Ro-”

Jamie quickly waved his hand into Billy’s peripheral vision. When Billy looked at him, Jamie started fingerspelling the name. ‘R-O-B-B-I-E’ Jamie signed.

Billy widened his eyes. He looked down at the writing, and raised his eyebrows. It certainly looked like it could’ve spelled that. “Robbie? Is it Robbie’s?” Billy asked, offering it to Jamie.

Jamie quickly took it from Billy and looked at it carefully. It looked exactly like the stuffed dog Robbie had left with before he ran away. Jamie checked the tag and felt tears well up in his eyes. It was Robbie’s. The reason it was so hard to read it, was because the ink had been smudged really badly from rain or mud.

“Whoa whoa- JJ…” The man walked up to him before turning to look at the lady. “Sorry, this is my friend, Jameson. He…has a kid, and I guess this is his dog?” Billy explained, looking at Jamie.

Jamie nodded. ‘He named the dog Bacon.’ Jamie signed to him.

Billy raised an eyebrow, not really understanding.

Jamie cleared his throat. ‘R-O-B-B-I-E…name…dog…B-A-C-O-N.” Jamie fingerspelled.

Billy nodded his head slowly. “Robbie named this dog after bacon?” Billy asked.

Jamie nodded his head with confidence.

“Okay. So this dog has a name…I guess this stuffed dog has an owner now.” Billy replied.

The woman nodded and smiled. “Okay. Thank you!” She replied. She waved at Jamie in an over exaggerated way. “BYE.” She replied, over-enunciating her mouth.

Jamie blushed a bit. He cleared his throat a bit before waving. “Mm- go-byee.” Jamie actually used his voice this time. It was quite hoarse and barely practiced. But the fact that it was louder than a whisper, was HUGE for him.

Billy widened his eyes and snapped his neck around at Jamie. WHA-”

“Oh! You-” The girl started to say.

Jamie widened his eyes slightly as even he himself couldn’t believe that came out as well as it did. But quickly, Jamie raised his head and attempted to look confident. “Yyyess.” Jamie repeated, his voice still quite hoarse and unusual.

The girl widened her eyes and covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry, I thought-” She looked down, clearly embarrassed. “N-Nevermind. It doesn’t matter. Pleasure meeting you, Jay…JJ. Goodbye.” She replied before leaving the store.

As soon as the door closed, Billy let out a huge exhale and held onto a table for balance. Jamie quickly grabbed under Billy’s armpit and held him up. Billy was covering his mouth with his left hand. “Wha- WHEN-” Billy got up onto his two feet and looked at Jamie. “Okay-” Billy couldn’t even get his words out properly.

Jamie narrowed his eyes as he felt a slight bit of pain from his larynx. He grabbed his throat and stiffened his lips. He cleared his throat in an attempt to get the flem out but-

OH GOD THE PAIN-

Jamie doubled over, dropping the stuffed dog in the process, and started aggressively coughing and holding his throat even tighter this time.

“Oh my god! Hold on.” Billy quickly grabbed a spare water bottle from the cooler in the back. He opened it and gave it to Jamie as quickly as he could without spilling the water. Jamie took the water without a second thought and swallowed it down as quickly as he possibly could.

“Whoa whoa DON’TDRINKSOFAST-”

Jamie interrupted Billy with even more coughing. His coughing quickly turned to wheezing as he doubled over and smacked his own chest to get the water out of his windpipe. Though the cool water felt amazing in his windpipe, the water was also causing him to aggressively cough so it could be brought out of the wrong pipe. Jamie put the water down and took a few moments to take in deep, slow breaths.

“Jesus…That was really you talking.” Billy said with bittersweet sadness. “You…You can talk.” He muttered to himself.

Jamie cleared his throat one more time and winced at the pain it brought on his throat. But he raised his index finger up and signing something to him.

‘Worth it.’

Billy smiled a bit and chuckled a bit with a horrified look on his face. “Man, you have to warn me next time! All these decades I didn’t think you could speak!” Billy reacted. “I assumed it had to do with the scar over your Adam's apple, but…I never wanted to bring it up for fear of hurting you.” Billy admitted.

Jamie sighed and scratched the back of his head. ‘I can’t speak for long. 2 words kill my throat.’ Jamie signed.

“I can tell.” Billy reacted.

Jamie looked down at the stuffed dog, and picked it up. Just looking at the abandoned dog was enough to make Jamie cry again. He hugged the dog tightly and looked up at Billy. ‘I need to go. Now.’ Jamie told him.

“Already? But…it feels like you just got here.” Billy told him. “And you haven’t even explained why you can speak-”

Jamie started backing up. ‘I’m sorry.’ He signed before turning around and running out the door of the store. The last thing he could hear from the store was Billy shouting his name muffled by the loud jingling of the bell.

Jamie started sprinting down the main street to get to his car, while also trying to find Robbie at the same time. He jumped out of the way of people like the spry elder he is, and watched the side of the road as he ran so he could find Robbie. Doing this would help him narrow down the spots he needed to look in for Robbie. Once he reached the car, Jamie hopped in and started it. He put on his seatbelt as he put the car into drive, and started driving down the road.

Looking at both sides of the street was difficult, to say the least. So he started by looking at the road his car was closest to: The left side of the road. He made a mental note to turn around and go to the right side of the street, so he could look for Robbie there. Jamie looked at the stores, hoping and praying to find a little boy with brown hair, dirty clothes and a backpack, walking down that side of the road. He looked and took a general look at every person walking the street at this time a day. Since it was about 9:00, there were only elders and early birds out. And there were not many of them out. This made looking for Robbie significantly easier.

He scanned each person as they walked by his window vision. That person’s hair is too long. That person’s too tall. That person’s too old. That person has a baby carrier. That person is too…dressed in drag to be Robbie. That person is balding. This person is wearing a dress. This other person has a dog on a leash. This little person is…

Jamie slowed down a bit to get a better look at this little kid. He was fitting the description of Robbie. Brown hair, short, has a backpack-

Wait…That backpack has Minecraft™ on it. That’s not Robbie’s backpack. Jamie sped up a bit.

He looked over to the windshield, and noticed he was reaching the end of that street. So, he turned to the right to see if he could find a driveway to turn around in. But as he drove down, he started to notice that this was the same road Chase had taken to get to the park. He drove a couple more houses down and turned the car into the driveway. Then, he put the car into reverse, backed up and turned the car, before putting it into drive again and moving forward. He was looking ahead at the road to the main street, when a flash of red caught his eye-

A backpack!

IT HAS CARS ON IT! IS THIS ROBBIE?!

Jamie parked on the side of the road, right beside the kid. He parked the car, pulled the keys out and sprinted up to the kid on the sidewalk. Jamie turned the kid around and looked at the boy. ‘Robbie-’

He gasped. “JAMIE!” he yelled, backing up for a moment. But as soon as he realized he was safe, the boy ran to him and hugged Jamie as fast as he could. Jamie wrapped his arms around Robbie’s arms and back, and bursted out crying with pure relief.

Oh my gosh he found him!

He actually found him!

“But-” Robbie looked at Jamie with surprise. “How did you find me?!” He asked. “And-”

Jamie knelt down to the kid’s height, and placed both of the tips of his fingers against the sides of his chest to sign the word ‘Backpack’.

Robbie’s shock dropped as he looked at his right backpack strap. He took it off and looked at the design on the backpack. “Oh…” He mumbled.

Jamie got up for a moment and signaled for him to wait ‘one minute’. He walked up to the car, opened it and took the stuffed dog out of the car.

Robbie widened his eyes and covered his mouth when he saw the stuffed dog again. “BACON!” Robbie shouted, grabbing the dog from his hands and hugging it as tightly as he could. Now it was Robbie’s turn to cry with relief. Robbie fell to his knees as he cried, holding the stuffed dog as hard as he could, for fear of losing it again if he let go.

Jamie placed a hand on Robbie’s shoulder as gently as he could. He expected Robbie to gently grab his hand. But he did not expect Robbie to jump into Jamie’s arms and start crying into his stomach.

Jamie held Robbie as best he could in this awkward position. But he didn’t care about how awkward this position was. All he cared about was that Robbie is here in his arms. And Jamie was never letting him leave again. Ever.

Robbie moved his face to the right so he could speak. “I’m starving…and the nights are freezing. I’m sorry for everything I said. I’m sorry for every problem I caused. I’m sorry for existing. I’m sorry for-”

Jamie widened his eyes and squeezed them shut. God…hearing Robbie apologizing for existing, reminded him so much of Chase. Back when Chase was in a much worse place, Chase would break down in front of Jamie and lose every bit of his filter. Every thought that went through his head, would be spoken out loud. And some of Chase’s deepest thoughts would come out. And in Jamie’s head, the worst thing Chase would start doing, is apologizing for everything. From apologies for expressing his emotions, to even apologizing for existing. And to Jamie…that is the hardest thing to hear from a person.

And now here he is, hearing the exact same thing from a little kid.

“I know…It’s impossible to forgive me.” Robbie told him.

Jamie widened his eyes and looked down. ‘No!’ he signed. ‘No no no. You have nothing to apologize for.’ Jamie told him. ‘I am sorry for not finding you until now.’ Jamie admitted. ‘And I am sorry for trying to have fun while you were out here suffering.’ Jamie told him.

Robbie looked down. “You’re still allowed to have fun.” Robbie told him.

Jamie lifted Robbie’s head up a bit. ‘Chase is lost without you. He is suffering too.’ Jamie told him.

“How much?” Robbie asked.

Jamie let out a silent sigh. ‘Everyday he is out looking for you. Him and Shawn.’ Jamie told him. ‘Chase feels like he failed you.’ Jamie told him.

Robbie frowned and looked down. “But…he hasn’t. He hasn’t failed me. I left because of me.’ Robbie told him.

Jamie lowered his eyebrows. He raised his hands. ‘That’s not what I heard.’ Jamie told him. He soon started to quote Robbie’s words using ASL: ‘You loving me is killing you inside. That’s why I’m running away.’ Jamie signed.

Robbie widened his eyes and stared off into the distance. “Oh god-” The boy squeezed his eyes shut and bursted out crying all over again. He sobbed before hiding his face as deep into Jamie’s stomach as he possibly could. It was like he was trying to burrow a hole into Jamie’s stomach so that he could hide and never come out. Jamie attempted to grab under his chin to talk to him more, but was pushed away by Robbie’s hand. Jamie slowly wrapped his arms around his back instead and just held him for a while.

He knew he had to say something. But…he didn’t know what to say. Maybe repeating what Robbie had said, was the worst thing to do in a time like this. Maybe…Maybe he should risk damaging his larynx for one more chance at redemption.

Jamie cleared his throat slightly. “Rrr…” He started. “Rrraaww-” He tried to say.

Robbie’s crying seemed to freeze for a moment. Even his breathing seemed to cease.

Jamie took this as a sign to keep going. “Rraaawwb-eeee. Raaawwbeeee-” Jamie’s voice gave out as he let out a breath and sobbed at the growing pain in his throat. He closed his eyes and whispered a cuss word as he grabbed his throat. He knew not to clear his throat this time, for fear of the pain it would cause him. But every instinct was telling him to cough, hack, or clear his throat anyway.

Jamie opened his eyes slightly as he attempted to endure the pain, but looked up at Robbie with slight surprise. He didn’t even realize the boy had gotten up from his belly. The boy was currently staring at him. Jamie bit his lip and slightly cleared his throat. Though the pain filled his throat a lot, the pain wasn’t as shocking and sudden as the first time. He looked at Robbie with a bit of sadness. “I tried.” Jamie whispered.

“I know…” Robbie said, looking at him. “I know you did. And…That’s really good.” Robbie told him. “But…” Robbie grabbed Jamie’s hand and held it with his own, boney hand. “Please don’t hurt yourself just to make me feel better.” Robbie told him.

Jamie sighed quietly. It…wasn’t the reaction he was looking for, to be completely honest. He was hoping for surprise, or at least a smile. But…it was like Robbie didn’t know how to smile anymore. All those smiles from those last couple months of spending time with Robbie…it was like someone had kicked every smile out of him. They just…didn’t exist anymore.

Jamie looked at Robbie. ‘Do you want to go home?’ Jamie asked.

Robbie looked down, looking quite unsure of what to say. He bit his lip and slowly closed his eyes. ‘What you want and what I want are different.’ Robbie signed to him.

Jamie closed his eyes and hung his head. That told him everything he needed to know. The child was just…not ready to go home. Jamie lifted Robbie’s chin up a bit. ‘What are you afraid of?’ Jamie asked.

Robbie shook his head and looked away. “Like I would ever tell you that. You’re just gonna tell Chase.” Robbie said.

Jamie was taken aback. That…was a very blunt and cold reply that he did not expect from a kid like Robbie. But…it told him what he needed. The kid needed to do a bit more discovering and courage-building. And no matter how much Jamie attempts to convince him, Robbie will not go home until he figures that out.

‘Okay.’ Jamie signed. ‘I understand.’

Robbie picked up Bacon the stuffed dog, and held onto it for a little longer. “I know it’s cold, and I know I’m hungry…but I can’t go home.” Robbie admitted.

Jamie looked at him with a face of sadness, yet understanding.

“I know you, Chase and Shawn want me home…” Robbie admitted.

Jamie raised his hands up and started signing names. ‘Marvin, Jackie and Henrik want you home too.’ Jamie added.

Robbie bit his lip and looked down. “I don’t know what to do.” Robbie admitted.

Jamie let out a breath and opened his own messenger bag. It looked like he still had plenty of cash left. Pulling out the wallet, he began his own little mission: He decided that he was going to use his cash to help Robbie instead of using it on himself. He put the wallet into his own pocket. ‘I will help you.’ Jamie told him.

Robbie looked up at him. “Help me?” Robbie asked.

‘How much food do you have?’ Jamie asked.

Robbie looked away. “...Not much…enough to last me a day, or two more days if I ration my food.” Robbie admitted.

Jamie raised his eyebrows. Oh my god- this boy knew about rationing?! Geez…

Jamie got up. ‘Let’s go shopping.’ Jamie told him. ‘I’ll buy you some food, and whatever you need. You can keep living outside until you feel ready to go home.’ Jamie offered.

Robbie smiled for the first time in 2 days. And though there were tears in his eyes while he smiled, it was still a smile nonetheless. “You’re the best, Jamie.” Robbie told him, rubbing his left eye.

Jamie smiled slightly back at him. Truth was…he knew this was not going to be easy for Jamie to explain to Chase. Chase was likely going to hate him for not taking Robbie home. But…the kid is too stubborn to come home. And unfortunately, you can’t really force a kid to go home. Not in Jamie’s eyes, anyway.

Jamie and Robbie headed into the car, and put their seatbelts on. Jamie started the car, put the car into drive, and drove to the nearest Asda™ store. Jamie helped Robbie pick out foods that didn’t really need to be chilled, and find foods that would last a while for him. They bought granola bars, biscuits, cookies, cans of read-to-eat soup, canned beans, canned veggies, canned fruits, and a couple other things. He bought plastic spoons and plastic forks for him to use, and bought Robbie a container to use as a plate or a bowl. And lastly…Jamie bought a heavier sweater and a blanket for the kid, so he didn’t feel as cold at night.

Once they were in the checkout, they scanned the items and stored some of the lighter food inside Robbie’s bag. Jamie even bought a couple grocery bags to fill the rest of the food with, to make it easier on Robbie. Robbie was even smiling by the end of the trip. “I feel like I could survive for a month on all this food.” He reacted.

Jamie smiled and patted the kid’s back. ‘Now you don’t need to worry about feeling hungry.’ Jamie told him.

Jamie and Robbie carried the stuff into the car. ‘Where do you live?’ Jamie asked the kid.

Robbie looked at Jamie. “In the park.” Robbie replied.

Jamie smiled a bit at that. He wasn’t far from home then. Maybe telling Chase where he is, may help him feel a bit better about the kid being alone. Jamie drove him back to the park and parked the car. ‘Want some help?’ Jamie asked.

Robbie shook his head. “I can do it. But thank you.” Robbie replied politely.

Jamie watched as the kid carried his stuff over to the same tree he had been under since the first day. He watched as Robbie opened and rolled out the blanket, placed the grocery bags down on the blanket, and placed his backpack down. But then, Robbie pulled out a writing book and pencil from his backpack and walked up to the car. “Hold on:” Robbie used the car door to write something in the writing book. It took a bit longer than a few seconds, but Jamie was okay to wait. Robbie looked like he had a lot of writing to do. So, he let the kid write.

When he was finished, Robbie signed his name at the bottom, and ripped out the page. He folded it brochure-style and handed it to Jamie. “I wrote it for Chase, but the others can read it too.” Robbie told him.

Jamie nodded and took it, placing the letter on the dashboard. ‘I will deliver it to him.’ Jamie told him.

“Thank you!” Robbie replied, giving Jamie a short hug before starting to leave the car.

“Ahem…” Jamie cleared his throat to get his attention.

Robbie stopped in his tracks, and turned to face him. “Yes?” Robbie replied.

‘Before I go…’ Jamie scratched his nose before continuing. ‘I need to know: what year did you die?’

Robbie widened his eyes a bit, and counted on his fingers. “4…No, 5 years ago. 5 years ago as of 2 weeks ago.” Robbie replied.

Jamie widened his eyes and thought for a moment. Today was April 5th. That means…Robbie would’ve died on March 22nd.

“So…2018.” Robbie told him.

Jamie nodded. ‘And how old were you?’ Jamie asked.

Robbie bit his lip. “I was eight.” He replied.

Jamie nodded and looked at Robbie with a bittersweet smile. ‘One more question:’ Jamie said. ‘When’s your birthday?” Jamie asked.

“June 21st, 2010.” Robbie replied.

Jamie let out a slow breath. Okay…so his birthday hasn’t gone by yet. He mentally celebrated that little victory…because completely missing his birthday, could’ve been a disaster waiting to happen.

Jamie soon nodded before showing Robbie the sign for ‘I love you’ with his hand.

“I love you too, Jamie. Say hi to Chase for me.” Robbie told him before exiting the car.

Jamie watched as the little boy closed the door and walked to the tree. He wrapped himself up in the blanket before opening up his backpack. When Robbie had pulled out the granola bars, Jamie finally put the car into drive. He left the parking spot and headed back to the house.

When he arrived, Chase seemed to be gone. Jamie could assume that he was up and already looking for Robbie. So, Jamie grabbed the tape from the kitchen, and unfolded the letter. He taped the letter onto Chase’s door before heading back to his room. How Chase was going to react, Jamie didn’t fully know. Perhaps it will be relief, followed by anger. And perhaps…it’ll be relief followed by sadness. All he could do was prepare himself for the upcoming storm. He took his shopping things out of his messenger bag, and chuckled to himself when he realized that he had forgotten to buy the stuff from the antique store. He had left in such a rush, he didn’t even realize until now.

But focusing on Robbie was much more important than focusing on Billy and his antique store. Though…Jamie does still owe Billy an explanation.

But for now, Jamie needed to use his math skills. 5 years ago on March 22…That would make him…

Jamie widened his eyes and sobbed as the tears flowed right out of his eyes and down his cheeks. He knelt down to the ground and started hugging himself and crying heavily. He couldn’t handle the truth that his mental math had given him:

The kid is 12 years old. He’s been an adolescent this whole time.

Not only that, but he’s supposed to be turning 13 in June. He’s supposed to become a teenager in a few months, and he hasn’t grown an inch or even slightly matured. With the health issues Robbie was dealing with, it was already clear: the kid was never going to experience puberty. The kid was never going to experience teenagehood. The kid may never experience true love. He may never experience having a family of his own.

But the worst part in Jamie’s mind…was the thought that he may not have much longer to live…

Chapter Text

Jamie was laying in his bed, mentally preparing himself for Chase’s footsteps to show up at his doorway. He knew he was going to do it. He knew Chase was going to be angry with him because of multiple reasons. But the one thing he knew he would be mad about…was the fact that he failed to tell Chase he had found Robbie. Cause that’s what led to the domino effect of ‘mistakes’ he made yesterday morning. Finding Robbie’s dog, buying Robbie food, and worst of all, his decision to not take the boy home.

Jamie couldn’t even sleep a wink that night because of all the stress. That, and the physical pain coming from his lower throat. The use of his larynx was affecting his throat tremendously. It hurt really bad, and he knew he needed to give it a break. But giving it a break didn’t stop the soreness from setting in. It still set in, and at full force. He wanted to groan in pain. He wanted to rub it till it got better. He was even willing to put ice on his throat to see if it would help. But groaning would’ve made it worse. Rubbing it wouldn’t help anything, and putting ice on it wouldn’t do anything besides make his throat cold.

Jamie closed his eyes in an attempt to try and sleep. But trying to sleep with one ear open is really difficult. And trying to sleep while also under immense stress is even harder. So…It was practically laughable that Jamie was attempting to sleep at this point. But…The man was tired and growing restless. Part of him wanted Chase to arrive as soon as possible so he could get the conversation over with so he can be stress-free. But…the other part of him wanted Chase to not arrive at all. It was a mix of complicated emotions caused by his guilt mixed with his fight or flight response.

Guilt was a complicated thing for anyone. Guilt is usually a feeling people experience when they do something wrong or lie to someone. That’s what kids were taught because it helped them stop lying. But…Guilt happens regardless of whether his choice was out of good intention. People assume others lie because they don’t want to get caught. But some people lie because they don’t want to hurt the other person’s feelings. As much as telling the truth is encouraged, telling the truth can create its own level of guilt. People feel guilt from telling the truth all the time because of how the person will react to the truth of the situation. Because let’s face it: Only your parents will thank you for telling the truth. Everyone else 一even your parents一 will get equally as angry at your mistake whether you told them the truth the first time or were found to have lied to them.

That’s just how real life works.

Jamie opened his eyes as he heard footsteps in the hall outside his room. He let out a breath as he readied himself for the confrontation to start. He got up off his bed and walked up to his bedroom door. And as the footsteps got closer, the man created a rule for himself:

No speaking. Only signs.

Jamie opened the door the moment he heard the first two knocks.

Jamie widened his eyes as a hand with a piece of paper slapped against his own face. A cloud of white with little bits of black filled his vision as he heard the words “Read this.” come from Chase’s mouth.

Jamie grunted and removed the letter from his face. Any other time, this act would’ve made him laugh! It was slapstick humor, after all. But…this was not a laughing matter. So he couldn’t laugh, even if he wanted to. Jamie looked at the letter and focused his eyes on the words. Thanks to spending his whole life reading, the man was able to finish a page in under 5 minutes. The man flipped over the letter, and read the last little paragraph:

[I know this letter won’t help much. I know it’s very hard to be separated right now. I miss you all so much. I’m sorry for everything I said and did before I left. But I am not completely alone. I have Bacon with me to hold and cry into when I feel the most lonely. And when I didn’t have Bacon, I had Jamie. Mustache man had found me and gave me my dog back when I was missing it most. He also bought me food and a blanket to keep me warm and full. He understood how I felt even when I couldn’t understand my own feelings. I’m sorry, but I’m not ready to go home yet. But, we can all be thankful to Jamie for the help.

Love,
Robbie]

Jamie lowered the letter and looked at Chase.

“You found him…” Chase said.

Jamie silently gulped.

“And you DIDN’T TELL ME?!” Chase yelled suddenly.

Jamie nodded his head and put the letter down. ‘I only intended to give him his dog.’

“And then you proceeded to BUY HIM FOOD, AND BUY HIM A-A GODDAMN BLANKET?!” Chase yelled.

Jamie frowned slightly. ‘He wasn’t ready to go home.’

Chase blinked, before rubbing his nose. “Oh my god-” Chase stood up. “If a kid said they are NOT READY…to go to SCHOOL, would you let them stay home?!” Chase asked.

Jamie frowned more. ‘You wouldn’t?’

“NO!” Chase dropped his own arms beside himself. “YOU NEED TO TEACH THE KID EARLY ABOUT PUSHING THROUGH! AND DOING IT, EVEN WHEN THEY DON’T WANT TO!” Chase yelled.

Jamie crossed his arms, but let the man listen.

“And- And another question:” Chase walked closer to him and hit Jamie’s chest with the back of his own hand. “Why does the person in this house…with NO PRIOR PARENTING EXPERIENCE…get to decide where Robbie should be sleeping tonight?!” Chase asked.

‘You fail to understand.’ Jamie signed.

“Fail to understand what?! Tell me, oh WiSe PaReNt…What could I PoSsIbLy not be understanding?!” Chase asked.

Jamie silently huffed. ‘What you want and what I want are different.’ He signed.

Chase widened his eyes. “What I want is for him to be safe at home.” Chase told him. “But you…YOU…” Chase pointed to Jamie with a fist below his index finger. “You seriously want Robbie to be sleeping outside tonight?!” Chase asked.

Jamie shook his head. ‘No no no! That’s what Robbie signed to me! Robbie signed the words ‘What you want and what I want are different’. You want him to go home but Robbie wants something different.’ Jamie signed to him.

Chase narrowed his eyes, slightly hurt to hear that Robbie was the person who said that. “What does he want?” Chase asked.

‘To just…I think he wants to have time to think about how to best approach you.’ Jamie told him.

Chase scoffed. “So you’re saying I’m unapproachable?” Chase asked.

‘I prefer the word ‘unpredictable’.’ Jamie told him.

Chase shook his head. “Anybody would be unpredictable if your child was living out on the goddamn street.” Chase said.

Jamie closed his eyes for a moment. ‘The boy knows about rationing.’ Jamie told him.

Chase softened his expression upon seeing those letters get spelled by Jamie’s fingers. “He…he does?” Chase asked.

Jamie nodded his head. ‘And the boy told me roughly what day he had died on.’ Jamie signed. ‘I did some math, and…He died on March 22nd, 2018.’

Chase looked down, visibly saddened by this new information. “...Oh…” Was all Chase could get out.

Jamie walked up and sighed. ‘He was born in 2010…’ Jamie signed.

Chase looked up at Jamie as tears fell down his own face. Chase walked up and wrapped his arms around Jamie, hugging him tightly.

With his mouth close to the man’s ear, Jamie decided to say one more thing. But this time…it was through a soft whisper of his own voice. “Robbie will be turning 13 on June 21st.”

Chase widened his eyes and stared off into the room behind Jamie. “He…He will?”

Jamie nodded his head as tears filled his eyes. “He will be a teenager in 2 months.” Jamie whispered into his ear.

Chase looked down and started to breathe slowly, but rather heavily. He slowly started to hug himself as his breaths grew deeper and a bit faster. Finally, the man collapsed onto his knees and let out long, heartbroken sighs. He breathed in and let out more cries of pain, mixed with excessive exhaustion from having to worry constantly. When Jamie had wrapped his arms around the pain-stricken man, Chase completely fell into his arms. He shoved his face into Jamie’s shoulder and just let himself bawl. He couldn’t believe that the boy was going to be a teenager in 2 months. There was NO WAY! And the kid had been living with them for 4 months by now! Which only meant one thing:

Robbie had been a homeless orphan for more than 4 years. If that doesn’t make a grown man sad, then I don’t know what will.

Jamie was crying as well, but much more quietly…and his throat was hurting quite a bit. But it wasn’t because he was using his voice this time…it was actually due to his strong need to cry. Sometimes when he feels like he has to cry and he’s unintentionally holding it in, he gets this achy pain in his throat and chest. And it never really subsides until he finally lets it out. And as much as he wanted to let it out…he didn’t feel like it was the time or place for it. So…He just let himself cry silently.

Chase eventually let go of Jamie and looked at him. He was grunting and wiping his eyes, struggling to pull himself together. But Jamie shook his head and cupped Chase’s cheeks.

“If you still need to cry…” Jamie whispered before moving Chase’s bangs out of the way. “Then cry.” Jamie finished.

Chase looked at Jamie, his eyes welling up with more tears. “This is the most you’ve ever talked to me.” Chase said.

Jamie bit his lip and let out a breath. “I know…” He said out loud in his croaky, hoarse voice.

Chase widened his eyes and covered his mouth. “You’re…going to a speech pathologist?” Chase asked.

Jamie winced as he felt his throat. ‘Not yet.’ He signed, coughing a bit.

Chase looked at Jamie with newfound worry on his face. “Maybe we should be getting you a referral to a speech pathologist…” Chase told him. “Or at the very least, get Henrik to work with you on your voice.” Chase said. “Because as much as I love that you’re talking…” Chase trailed off slowly as he bit his lip, too afraid to say it.

Jamie shrugged his shoulders. ‘I know. My voice sounds weird.’ Jamie admitted.

Chase gave him a nervous look. “Well…That, and…” Chase cleared his throat. “It looks like you’re in a lot of pain despite only saying a couple words.” Chase told him. “Do you know how much of your voice was removed?” Chase asked.

Jamie sighed and offered Chase a hand. When Chase took it, Jamie walked Chase further into his bedroom. He opened up a closet door in his room, and looked at Chase. He sighed and picked it up, staring at it for only a minute.

“...What is it?” Chase asked, not fully able to see the thing Jamie was holding in his hands.

Jamie turned around and walked up, showing him the jar of water with something in it. Jamie turned the jar a bit to reveal a sticky note with a specific date written on it in cursive.

Chase tilted his head as he read the cursive. “August 25, 1916.” He read. He tilted his head slightly. “What…” Chase looked at Jamie, who was poking his own throat, touching the scar on his throat. Things began to click in Chase’s head as he widened his eyes and pointed at Jamie. “It’s…the day you lost your voice?” Chase asked.

Jamie nodded and put the jar down on his nearby dresser. Chase turned the jar back around and looked at the tiny thing that was floating in it. It looked…really gross, to be honest. It made Chase want to hurl on the spot. But…He could slightly understand what the thing was.

Chase turned to Jamie and held out his hand. “Can…Can I touch it?” Chase asked, pointing to the scar.

Jamie softened his expression and nodded his head, lifting his chin up slightly so Chase had better access. Chase took some time to feel the scar and the larynx. Or, what was left of it. Chase drew a finger over the scar, and felt slightly up to the cage-like cover of the larynx. It was strange, to say the least.

Chase then brought his other hand to his own throat, and felt the same area. He wanted to feel any differences between his normal larynx, and Jamie’s semi-removed larynx. “I…don’t feel much of a difference.” Chase admitted. “Well…despite the hole that’s right about here.” Chase added, gently poking the dip of the thyroid cartilage.

Jamie nodded and pointed to the jar. ‘The missing piece of the cartilage is in there.’ Jamie signed.

Chase nodded and looked closer at the piece of larynx. “How long have you had this jar?” Chase asked.

Jamie froze for a moment. He thought for a moment, and let in a shaky breath. He let out his shaky breath and covered his mouth, before looking at Chase. He closed his eyes and whispered his words to Chase. “Too long.”

Chase widened his eyes and gently brought Jamie into another comfortable hug. He rubbed Jamie’s back while holding the man close, letting Jamie cry if he needed to. Jamie let the tears fall down his own cheeks, as he hid his face within Chase’s upper chest. It felt good to be held and consoled…just feeling loved no matter how much you fucked up.

“Have you ever considered getting Henrik to look at your larynx, and determine what parts you specifically lost?” Chase asked.

Jamie opened his eyes and looked at Chase. ‘No.’ He signed. ‘I’m too scared to even touch the jar half the time…why I still kept it despite how disgusting it is, I still have no idea.’ Jamie admitted with a dry laugh.

Chase smiled and looked at the jar. “Maybe get Henrik to do a biopsy on it…then when he’s done, we can burn it, or throw it away, or something.” Chase offered.

Jamie wheezed and doubled over, laughing. ‘Knowing Henrik, he may want to keep it for medical curiosity.’ Jamie admitted.

Chase widened his eyes upon seeing Jamie sign that. “Wait wait…” Chase grabbed out his phone and typed [local medical museums] into the search bar. Looking at the search results, he couldn’t find anything that would suit Jamie’s ‘medical artifact’.

Jamie shrugged his shoulders and tapped Chase’s hand. ‘We can ask Henrik after he looks at it.’ Jamie told him.

Chase nodded and closed his phone. “For now, we should focus on where Robbie is.” Chase told him.

Jamie nodded. ‘I know where he is.’ Jamie signed to him. ‘He’s in the park we went to back in March.’ Jamie told him.

Chase widened his eyes. “He chose to live in the park?!” Chase asked with pure shock on his face.

Jamie nodded his head. ‘He’s been sleeping there for the last few days.’ Jamie admitted. ‘And he’s been begging for money on the street during the day.’ Jamie added.

Seeing those words signed by Jamie, almost made the man cry all over again. He hated the idea that Robbie was willingly laying in the street, begging for money. But…it also didn’t make sense. If Robbie has been where Jamie said he’s been, then now was it that Robbie was begging on the same main street that Chase and Shawn had been driving up and down on?! How did he miss the boy that easily!? He couldn’t understand it.

“Okay. I’m grabbing Shawn…and all three of us are going to pick up Robbie.” Chase told him.

Jamie let out a small sigh, before smiling a bit. ‘Okay.’ Jamie replied.

“And if the boy refuses to go home…” Chase started. “Then…I’m gonna do all I can to convince him to change his mind.” Chase added.

Jamie let out an exhale through his nose with a smile. Chase always was determined like that…Especially when it came to his family and friends. Jamie walked up with Chase to get Shawn. When Chase told him the news, Shawn practically jumped out of bed, threw on some pants and a shirt, and left his bedroom. The fact that Shawn would actually leap out of bed and skip a painting day to pick up Robbie, said a lot about him: That though Shawn struggled with social anxiety, the man always had his priorities straight…Chase and Robbie (especially Robbie) came before anything else. And it was admirable.

Though both Shawn and Jamie knew it was gonna be difficult to convince Robbie to come home, Jamie sensed that Chase knew what he was doing. He knew Robbie the best out of all of the boys in that household. Though, this fact could both help and hinder Chase in this circumstance. But they’ll just have to see.

Shawn hopped into the driver's seat, while Chase hopped into the passenger side of the car. And while Jamie sat in the back, Shawn adjusted the front view mirror down slightly so he could see and react to Jamie’s signs. Signing the word ‘ready’ from the driver's seat, Jamie looked at the front view mirror with a soft smile as he signed the word ‘thanks’ to Shawn. Shawn put the car into reverse, and turned himself around to look behind the seat.

Jamie gave a small smile to Shawn. ‘Do you know how to get to the park?’ Jamie signed.

Shawn nodded his head. “Yup. It’s that park near the main street.” Shawn replied. “But I will need help remembering which street to turn onto.” Shawn added.

Jamie nodded back. ‘Okay.’ He replied as he watched Shawn put the car into Drive, and start to drive down the road. Jamie had always appreciated the other boys’ contributions to make sure that the man felt included in their conversations. And all the boys had shown Jamie how they could contribute to making Jamie, as well as their own, lives a little bit more manageable.

But no one showed their contributions more often than Chase. Way back in the day, Jamie and Chase had actually taken their time to determine how to talk to each other while living together. Little things like having dimmable lights in the kitchen, asking for Jamie’s opinion as often as possible, and maintaining eye contact with Jamie while he signed, were crucial to help Jamie feel included.

Specifically for the car, they found that fixing the front view mirror so they could read his signs, helped dramatically with the communication gap. In fact, it worked so well that Jamie even admitted he felt better sitting in the back instead of the passenger side. When asked why, Jamie would usually say something along the lines of ‘Turning your head to the left when you’re talking to me, is only going to limit your field of vision as a driver. And lord knows that I don’t want you risking crashing the car just so you can talk to me’.

Overtime, Chase would pass on this extra information to the others as more and more friends met Jamie and moved into the house. Eventually, Chase would also pass these helpful tips and knowledge down to Shawn –who had already met Jamie a couple years prior– and who was also planning to move into the house. And even to this day, Shawn made sure to practice these little tricks often. Just like Chase, Shawn didn’t want Jamie feeling left out because of his ‘disability’. Neither did any of the others in the house.

Jamie kept an eye on the road as they drove down the main street. Jamie signed the name of the street they were looking for, into the mirror for Shawn to see.

“Okay. That’s just a couple more streets down, isn’t it?” Shawn asked.

Chase looked at Shawn. “Parker street? Yeah, it’s 2 more streets down.” Chase replied.

Jamie nodded his head as he lifted up his hand to count down the streets. When Shawn passed the next street, Jamie put his fingers down from 2, to 1. And when he moved closer to the next street, Jamie put his index finger down and pointed at the street to turn right.

When the coast was clear, Shawn turned right onto the road, and prepared himself to parallel park on the street in front of the park. And there, behind a tree, was a figure covered in a big blue blanket while a familiar backpack hung on a branch above him…

Chapter Text

Chase hopped out of the car, and walked to the little set up in the park. He noticed the food that was set up on a little toddler’s blanket near the blanket, the backpack that was swinging from a branch above the kid, and noticed the heavy sweater that…Chase had never seen before. It was hanging on another branch. And telling by the size, it looked like it could easily fit the boy. Chase began to wonder if the sweater was part of the things Jamie had bought Robbie when they were out. Chase picked up the sweater and checked the heaviness. And…it was a lot more heavy than it looked on the outside. It was even lined with sherpa. Chase smiled a bit as he looked at it. Jamie may not have brought Robbie home like Chase wanted…but the man certainly did know a thing or two about how to keep the kid from freezing.

Chase looked down at the little boy sleeping on the ground in front of him. He…looked exhausted. And a little bit dirty. Though, that was expected to happen to him while on the street over the last couple days. It broke his heart seeing Robbie sleeping under the tree. He wondered if Robbie had been comfortable while sleeping outside. Or if…it was too cold for him?

Jamie and Shawn watched as Chase slowly sat himself down beside Robbie under the shade of the tree. What were the two boys supposed to do? Sit here and wait? Or walk up and try to talk to him?

“Chase?” a little voice said beside Chase.

Chase looked down at Robbie and smiled. “Hi Robbie.” He replied. “Are you doing okay?” Chase asked.

Robbie sat himself up slowly and laid out his blanket flat. “I’m okay. What are you doing here?” Robbie asked.

Chase looked up at the sky. “Just chilling in your tree. Not a bad shade cover this time a day.” Chase told him.

Robbie looked up at the sky and hugged his knees to his chest. “I mean…How did you know I was here?” Robbie asked. “Did Jamie tell you?” He asked.

Chase shook his head. “No.” Chase lied.

Robbie looked at Chase with a blank face of annoyance. “Don’t lie to me.” Robbie said. “He’s right there.” He added, pointing to the car.

Chase looked down, and sighed. “Yeah…” Chase replied. “Sorry…”

Robbie slowly looked at Chase. “Let me guess…You read the letter?” Robbie asked.

“Yup.” Chase replied.

“And you want me to go home?” Robbie asked next.

Chase bit his lip. “That would be nice…” Chase admitted.

Robbie shook his head. “I’m not ready yet.” Robbie admitted.

Chase looked at Robbie. “Why not?” Chase asked.

“If you had read the letter, then you would know why.” Robbie said.

Chase sighed. “Okay…” He looked forward. “Why are you afraid of my reactions?” Chase asked him.

Robbie looked down, feeling tears developing in his eyes. “I don’t know…” He sniffled and wiped his nose. “I’m scared, Chase.” Robbie admitted. “I’m scared of what’s happening. I feel pressured to be happy all the time…and I can’t do that very well anymore.” Robbie admitted. “Even Jamie has been trying to cheer me up by saying my name.” Robbie told him. “But…”

“It’s painful for him to talk.” Chase told him.

Robbie chuckled dryly. “Try telling Jamie that.” Robbie shot back with a small smile. “He’s the one who wanted to do that for me. I had to tell him to not hurt himself to make me happy.” Robbie added.

Chase smiled a bit. “Yup…That’s Jamie…sacrificing his own health for other people.” Chase added.

Robbie chuckled a bit more, sounding more genuine this time.

Chase looked at him. “I’m sorry for what I said to you.” Chase admitted.

Robbie squeezed his eyes shut and hugged himself. “I’m sorry for leaving and ruining the relationship we had.” Robbie said. “I was scared that living with you was hurting you…” Robbie mumbled before sobbing. “But leaving you was so much worse!” Robbie pulled his knees up to his chest and cried into his knees.

Chase placed his hand onto Robbie’s back and started to rub gently. He could feel every rib, every vertebrae, every bone in the kid’s body. It was…almost scary at first. But…he knew Robbie needed some sort of comfort from him. So…He was trying to provide that for him. “You may have momentarily run away from home…” Chase started to say. “But not once did you run away from my heart.” Chase finished.

Robbie looked up at him. “Wha-” He sniffled. “What do you mean?” He asked.

“You and I have developed a father-son relationship that none of us can reverse, even if we tried. You could be on the other side of the world…and I will still love you and find a way to get you home.” Chase told him.

Robbie nodded and looked forward again, thinking.

“Now tell me, Robbie:” Chase looked at Robbie for a moment. “Is living with us only hurting you?”

Robbie widened his eyes and looked down more. That…is a really deep and painful question for anyone of any age to hear, let alone a kid. He bit his lip as he tried to prevent himself from crying. Right now…all he could think about was how comforting and warm being home would be…

“No…Not anymore.” Robbie replied softly. “But…I only want to be happy when I want to be happy.” Robbie admitted. “And…I want to go out more often. Even if that means…wearing makeup everytime.” Robbie added, sticking his tongue out with a little laugh.

Chase nodded and looked at the food that Robbie had. He smiled when he saw cookies hidden in the bag. “Celebration cookies?” Chase asked with a smile.

Robbie looked at Chase and chuckled. “I’m guessing you want some?” Robbie asked.

“Well…” Chase bit his lip, showing hesitation.

Robbie laughed and got up. He grabbed the cookies from the bag, and opened the package of LeClerc™ milk chocolate celebration cookies before handing Chase a couple cookies.

Chase smiled and took them. “Thank you.” Chase replied.

Then, Robbie walked up to the car window. “Wanna shut the car off and have a picnic?” Robbie asked.

Shawn smiled and turned off the car. “Sure!” He replied.

Jamie nodded his head and hopped out of the car as well. Jamie closed the door and slid his hand on the right, before sliding his hands onto the left to sign the word ‘Picnic’.

Robbie widened his eyes and tried the sign. “This is the sign for Picnic?” Robbie asked.

‘Yes. Picnic.’ Jamie signed again with a smile.

Robbie ran to Chase with excitement. “Look!” He started signing. ‘We have a picnic’!” Robbie said.

Chase nodded. ‘Good job, Robbie! You sign amazing.’ Chase signed back.

Robbie giggled and signed the words ‘Thank you’ to Chase before going back to talking in English.

The group of boys had a picnic together, eating some of what they had in the bags. Though it was a weird picnic due to all the cans, it was a picnic nonetheless.

Chase opened the can of peaches and put a peach slice into his mouth. “Mm-” Chase hummed and lit up as he chewed. “Mmm!” He swallowed. “These are actually really good.” Chase reacted, putting another peach slice into his mouth.

Robbie giggled. “That was supposed to be my dessert tonight.” Robbie admitted.

Chase froze for a second, looking at Robbie. Oh shit…he just opened Robbie’s dessert. Quickly attempting to make it up to him, Chase offered Robbie a peach. “Did you want one?” Chase asked.

“Sure!” Robbie replied, taking the wet peach slice with his hand and popping it into his mouth. Robbie smiled brightly as he chewed the watery peach slice. He continued to chew on the peach for a bit, all the while moving back and forth, almost like he was dancing.

Chase, assuming he WAS dancing, covered his mouth and started laughing. He had shoved another peach into his mouth a second earlier, and didn’t want any of the juice to spill out of his mouth. Though, he supposed it wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen. Robbie was dancing because of the peach slice, and that’s all that mattered right now.

Meanwhile, Shawn had opened up a can of soup and started eating it straight up. Jamie noticed this and signed something to him with a small smirk on his face. ‘You look like you’ve done this before.’ Jamie signed.

Shawn looked at Jamie…before looking down with a small blush filling his face. “It’s…cause I have…” Shawn admitted.

Chase and Robbie looked over at Shawn. “What do you mean?” Chase asked.

Shawn bit his lip and put the spoon into his can. “Back when I was in college, I used to feed myself with cans of food and casseroles.” He admitted. “When my parents didn’t make me food to bring back to the house I stayed in, I would buy cans and cans of food. Soup, stew, fruits and veggies, fish, you name it and I likely had it.” He admitted.

Chase and Jamie looked at each other, confused. “But…you grew up in the 1950’s, didn’t you?” Chase asked.

‘Food wasn’t scarce back then.’ Jamie added. ‘There was lots of food.’ Jamie told him.

Shawn chuckled. “I didn’t have a microwave. I only had an oven. And you can’t really put a can in an oven.” Shawn admitted.

Robbie giggled. “Aren’t pots a thing?” Robbie asked.

Chase pointed to Robbie. “Yeah, exactly! There’s pots you can use to heat up soup. Surely your place came with a pot or something.” Chase told him.

Shawn laughed. “I was too lazy.” He admitted.

Chase sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Oh my god…” He mumbled with a smile.

Shawn laughed even more. “Ahahanyway…I would eat soup out of the can. And you probably won’t believe this, but I found it really good.” Shawn admitted. “So good in fact, that I continued to do it after college.” Shawn continued with a smile.

Jamie, Chase and Robbie all laughed at him for such a funny little guilty pleasure.

“And I thought my thing for doing trick shots with tea bags was bad…” Chase muttered with a chuckle.

“I’m sorry, did you say trickshots…with teabags?” Robbie asked.

Jamie giggled silently, covering his mouth a bit before waving to get Robbie’s attention. ‘Chase used to throw tea bags into a cup like a basketball in the net.’ Jamie explained. ‘No one had the courage to tell Chase how stupid it was.’ Jamie admitted with a laugh.

Chase gasped the moment he saw the sign for ‘stupid’ get used. “Excuse me- Stupid?!” Chase gasped.

Jamie verbally wheezed and threw his head back, laughing silently. ‘Yes! Stupid!’ Jamie signed again.

Chase narrowed his eyes at him. “Say it again…I dare you.” Chase warned.

Jamie smirked and raised an eyebrow before clearing his throat. “Stooo-pit.” Jamie said despite the slight pain in his throat.

Shawn dropped his jaw, having never heard Jamie speak up until now. Did he just hear what he thought he heard?! Did he hear Jameson Jackson, whose voice has been absent the entire time he’s known him…TALK!?

Robbie was laughing and yelling the word “Burn!” a couple times over.

“Oh you fuckin-” Chase muttered before playfully tackling Jamie to the ground and tickling his sides. “Take it back!” Chase ordered. “Take it back, right now!”

While Jamie was laughing silently from the evil tickles, Shawn was looking to Robbie desperately for clarification. “Did he-” Shawn attempted to ask, pointing to Jamie.

Robbie nodded his head. “Have you never heard him talk?” Robbie asked with surprise.

Shawn shook his head super quickly and held his head with his hands. “Oooooohmygod-” Shawn muttered, struggling to comprehend such insane news. “How long?!” Shawn asked.

“Uuuuh…A couple months now?” Robbie said, not fully sure himself.

Chase was too busy tickling Jamie to realize Shawn’s mini crisis. “I said take it back, peanut gallery!” Chase told him.

‘NO!’ Jamie signed back.

“No?! Alright, that’s it.” Chase took in a big breath and blew a raspberry onto his neck.

Jamie squeaked and let out a few squeaky giggles before he went silent again. But his eyes flew open the second he realized what sound had just left his mouth.

Chase had gasped and stopped tickling, before staring at Jamie in pure shock. “Did you just-”

Robbie was the first to say it. “HE LAUGHED!” Robbie shouted.

Jamie covered his mouth with shock, and though he immediately felt tears welling up in his eyes…he also started blushing a little bit. Yes, he technically laughed, and that was huge! He had made another vocal sound! But at the same time, it was the most squeaky little girly laugh not even Robbie was capable of making! It was embarrassing! In fact, the laugh sounded more like a big voice crack rather than what his real voice was supposed to sound like.

“I wanna hear it again!” Chase reacted.

Wait, WHAT?! Jamie quickly tried to protest. But before he could sign anything or push him away, Chase blew another raspberry right onto his neck. Jamie squeaked again, letting out a few high-pitched, girly giggles before the giggles fell silent again.

Chase clapped his hands rapidly before tickling his sides again. “Can you keep it going?!” Chase asked.

Jamie quickly ordered Chase to stop by slapping the side of his hand on his palm to say ‘Stop’. The harder the ‘karate chop’, the more desperate he looked.

“Oh- Sorry, sorry.” Chase replied, removing his fingers and giving Jamie some space.

Jamie took the time to cough and clear his throat. It hurt like hell, but he had to do it. He sensed that flem may be building up on his voice, and he needed to stop it from filling his vocal cords. He signed the word for ‘tissue’ with his hands before going back to struggling with his throat.

“Quick, pass me a napkin.” Chase told Robbie. Robbie handed Chase a white napkin and watched as it went to Jamie. With the napkin, Jamie unfolded it once and tried clearing his throat from the bottom up. Though he knew he sounded like an old man by doing this, he didn’t care. It was needed. After a second, Jamie heaved up some flem and spit it out into the napkin.

Robbie winced. “Ewww! Jamie!” Robbie complained.

Chase winced too, but didn’t say anything. It sounded painful.

“Robbie, please don’t say anything. I’m sure he’s embarrassed enough by this.” Shawn told him. “Right Jamie?” Shawn asked, looking at Jamie.

But Jamie was staring at the kleenex he had just spit into…with worry and fear on his face. Though his throat felt a lot better, his napkin was clearly telling him that his throat was not. He waved for Chase to come over, before showing Chase the napkin. Chase widened his eyes in shock. There was bright red blood on the napkin…almost like he had coughed out an air sac or something. It was…not good.

“We need to get Henrik.” Chase told him.

Jamie nodded. ‘Agreed.’ he signed, before starting to crumple up the bloodied napkin.

“Wait…” Chase pulled out a ziplock bag and opened it. “Henrik will want it in this.” Chase told him.

Jamie nodded and put the napkin into the ziplock bag before closing it. ‘Time to go.’ Jamie signed.

Chase nodded and got up. “I think we need to go home.” Chase told the group.

Shawn nodded and started to pack up the stuff into the grocery bags. One grocery bag was for garbage, while the other bags were for the rest of the food. Robbie helped pack up the bags too, before rolling up his blanket and wrapping his new sweater around the blanket to keep it rolled up.

Chase, Shawn and Jamie looked at Robbie, surprised to see him wrapping up his blanket and things. The kid even grabbed Bacon and put the stuffed dog into his arms.

It looked like…Robbie was packing up to go home…

Robbie got up and held onto 2 of the grocery bags in his hands. “Ready.” Robbie said with a proud look on his face.

Chase and Shawn looked at each other with excitement. “You’re coming home?” Chase asked.

Robbie nodded. “Yup. I’m ready.” Robbie replied bravely. “Let’s blow this pop stand!” He declared with a smile.

Chase smiled as tears slowly began to fill his eyes. He could not be more happy at this moment. Robbie’s coming home and Jamie’s audibly laughing. The world was almost sunshine and rainbows with how euphoric he felt. If there was a God, then he is really blessing him today.

Chase helped Robbie bring everything into the very back of the car before hopping into the front passenger seat. Shawn hopped into the driver's seat, and looked towards Jamie through the rear view mirror. Jamie got himself into the back seat with Robbie, before finishing his coughing fit. A few more coughs, and he seemed to be okay for the time being. Jamie informally saluted to tell Shawn to get going. Shawn nodded and started the car before driving out of the parking lot, towards the main street.

Robbie held Bacon in his arms, proud of himself for overcoming his fears and going home with Chase. He felt like he accomplished a lot in a matter of an hour. The truth was, the time spent outside the house had given him time to think about his life and realize how blessed he was to be allowed to live in Chase’s home. It reminded him to be grateful, while also remembering not to be afraid to be himself while he’s home. He needed to experience good times and bad in order to experience a true, normal life. And…he was ready for that again.

But not all was okay. Jamie had taken out his handkerchief and resumed his coughing fit. He could feel something dripping into his lungs, and it irritated him and hurt him everytime he breathed. Jamie squeezed his eyes shut as he tried his best to clear out the stuff in his throat. But all that kept coming up was blood. More and more blood. And to make matters worse, Jamie could feel himself getting more and more breathless by the minute. The more he breathed in to cough, the more breathless and light-headed he became.

Jamie coughed into his handkerchief and pounded his fist onto the back of Shawn’s car seat. Shawn looked at Jamie from the rear view mirror with shock. “What- Oh god!” Shawn put his foot down on the gas to pick up the pace. “Okay, forget Henrik. We’re going to the ER.” Shawn told them.

Chase reached back and handed Jamie a kleenex box. “You’re gonna bloody-up your handkerchief. Use Kleenex.” Chase ordered.

Jamie took the kleenex and continued to hack and cough. Though by this point, Jamie was getting visibly weak.

Robbie grabbed his blanket out from his feet and put it onto Jamie’s lap so he could stable himself on it. “Jamie, hold on! We’re going to the hospital!” Robbie said, holding his back. “Shawn, faster!” Robbie begged.

“There’s a speed limit! I can’t go more than 20 over the speed limit!” Shawn told him.

Chase turned to Shawn. “Okay, move over.” Chase jumped out of the passenger seat and climbed into the driver’s seat. Shawn hopped into the passenger seat, and pulled his seatbelt all the way through so it locked tightly. “Robbie, pull Jamie’s seatbelt all the way till it locks. Then let it go back in and do the same thing to your own seatbelt. Make sure both of you are locked in.” Chase ordered.

Robbie followed his directions and got Jamie locked in before locking himself in. “Ready!” Robbie said.

“Good. Hold on!” Chase ordered, before pushing his foot down more and more. The car got faster and faster rather quickly. As he went faster, he watched the speed on the dashboard.

[110]

[120]

[130]

Chapter Text

The secretary must’ve seen Jamie’s inability to cough the moment he walked in…because the secretary had picked up the phone and called a Code Blue to the lobby. In a couple minutes, the nurses ran from the back of the ER towards Jamie, and sat him down in a wheelchair before bringing him to a bed in the Emergency room. Though this visibly pissed off a lot of the patients still in the waiting room, the boys didn’t care. Jamie was going to pass out if he didn’t get help immediately.

“Robbie, stay with Shawn.” Chase ordered as he went to the back of the ER with Jamie and the nurses. 4 nurses were on the scene, struggling to open up Jamie’s larynx. When they gave up going through the mouth, they did a tracheotomy. This essentially meant that one of the nurses (who looked to be a respiratory nurse) pulled out a scalpel, while the rest of the nurses ripped Jamie’s upper shirt and put saline solution onto the lower neck. Though the respiratory nurse seemed to notice a previous scar on Jamie’s lower neck, they ignored it and cut slightly beside the lower neck scar to create a brand new hole.

Chase gasped and welled up with tears when he saw the incision, followed by Jamie’s overwhelmingly pain-stricken face. He looked like he was frozen in fear, with the tears being the only part of his face that was moving. He could only imagine how painful being cut like that would be…but knowing of Jamie’s history and trauma, he couldn’t even begin to imagine what traumatic hell Jamie was currently experiencing.

With the hole made, the respiratory nurse placed a breathing tube into the hole and strapped the tube around his neck to keep it in place. Jamie took in as deep of a breath as he could. But this ultimately led to yet another coughing fit. The new tube began to secrete drops of blood, presumably from his lungs.

“Oh god…His lungs are bleeding. We need a 250mg dose of Tranexamic Acid immediately.” The respiratory nurse ordered.

“Excuse me, sir?” Someone said.

Chase turned around and widened his eyes when he saw it was a policeman. “Hello…can I help you?” He asked.

“Are you the owner of a 2003 Toyota Prius?” The police officer asked.

Chase bit his lip and nodded. “Yes, I am.” He admitted.

“Are you aware that you were driving 140 kilometers in an 80 kilometer zone?” He asked.

Chase looked at the police for a moment…before looking towards Jamie. “Y-Yeah…” Chase looked towards the policeman again. “My friend was struggling to breathe. I was panicking.” Chase admitted.

The policeman tilted his head slightly and looked over at Jamie. He seemed to be breathing properly again, and had slightly calmed down as a result. But…the man looked to be in a lot of pain both physically and mentally. “Is he your friend?” The policeman asked.

Chase nodded. “Jameson Jackson.” He told him.

The policeman seemed to soften his expression. “Alright.” He pulled out a breathalyzer. “I’d like to ask you to blow into the breathalyzer.” He ordered.

Chase nodded and took in a deep breath, before blowing into the breathalyzer tube. His alcohol level showed up on the screen. [0.0]

“Looks like you’re clean.” He cleaned the end of the breathalyzer and put it into his pocket. “Since this was an emergency situation, I will let it slide. However…” He pointed his finger to Chase. “Please call 911 the next time this happens. Ambulances are allowed to speed, which will save your friend’s life and your reputation.” The policeman told him.

Chase smiled a slight bit. “Thank you, officer.” Chase told him.

The policeman nodded. “Always here to help.”

“Dad!” Someone called.

Chase turned to look at the door, and saw Robbie running towards him. “Robbie!” Chase reacted as he knelt down and hugged the kid securely. “What are you doing in here? You’re supposed to stay with Shawn.” Chase reacted, before letting go and looking at him. “I’m not sure it’s safe to…” His words trailed off when he looked over at Jamie, and saw him sleeping in the hospital room. Jamie looked…surprisingly calm…like he hadn’t just gotten his neck cut open by a respiratory nurse. “...Actually…” Chase started to slowly take back his words.

“Is…Is he okay?” Robbie asked.

Chase looked over at Robbie. “I…I think so, but…I’m not too sure.” Chase admitted.

“Robbie?” The policeman asked.

Chase looked up at the policeman. “Yup. This is Robbie, my-”

“Quinn Pierson?!” Robbie reacted. “What are YOU doing here?”

“I-” The policeman stared at the kid. The policeman looked pale…almost as if he was seeing a ghost…

Chase noticed this right away. He stared at the policeman in shock. “Is…everything okay?” Chase asked.

The policeman slowly walked up to Robbie. “There’s no way…” He knelt down to Robbie’s level and reached his hands out…

“Sir, I don’t-” Chase tried to protest.

But the policeman placed his hands onto Robbie’s grayish-colored face anyway. The policeman appeared to be in shock. It was almost like the policeman couldn’t believe his own eyes. Robbie widened his eyes as he felt Mr. Pierson gently caress his cheeks…before moving his fingers over to the cuts on his little neck. “Who…who did this to you?” Mr. Pierson asked, slightly quiet due to the shock.

Robbie nodded. “A tree branch went-” Robbie made a sound effect while swishing his hand against his own neck. “-against my neck. It hurt a lot.” Robbie admitted.

Mr. Pierson shook his head and rubbed the right side of his temple. “How…You-” He felt the kid’s hair. “This can’t be real…” He muttered. “There’s no way…It’s impossible!”

Robbie looked hurt by his reaction. “I don’t understand…”

“I…I thought you were dead!” Mr. Pierson looked like he was gonna lose it. “They said you were dead!”

Robbie widened his eyes. “Who did?!”

“The-” Mr. Pierson stuttered and severely struggled with his words. “Hoooolyshit…” He mumbled, looking like he was gonna pass out.

“WhOA- Hold on there, pal!” Chase wrapped the man’s arm around his own shoulder and lowered him down. “I gotcha, I gotcha. Anyone got some water?” Chase asked the hospital staff nearby.

“I do.” A nurse that had been delivering some water with a lid and straw, instinctively gave it to Chase instead of the patient.

“Thanks.” Chase let Mr. Pierson drink some of the water to help rejuvenate him. “It’s alright, it’s alright.” Chase replied.

Robbie’s eyes had welled up with tears by this point. “I’m scaring him…Aren’t I?” Robbie asked, his voice cracking as he looked visibly ready to start crying.

Mr. Pierson looked up at Robbie, with a look of surprise and guilt. “I-No! Not at all!” He replied quickly, trying to cover up for his previous reaction.

Robbie looked down. “Please don’t lie to me…” Robbie muttered, letting the tears fall. “I know I’m scary-looking…I know you’re scared of me…”

Mr. Pierson quickly shook his head. “No no no…Don’t worry, Robbin. I’m not scared of you. I’m just…overwhelmed.” He admitted. “I was told you never survived…so to see you standing here in front of me…” He crawled himself up to Robbie and held his shoulders. “How did you survive?” Mr. Pierson asked.

Robbie tilted his head. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“You-” Mr. Pierson looked down and lifted up his hands, shocked. “Your hands are…” He stared at them with worry and confusion. “Why do they look all…necrotic?!” He looked at the fingers, and pinched them slightly. “Do you feel that?!” He asked.

Robbie nodded his head. “A little bit…”

Mr. Pierson took a double-take once he saw Robbie’s eyes. He placed his fingers onto Robbie’s right upper eye, and lifted his eyeball to see Robbie’s discolored eyeball. “Oh my god…” He looked closer at the ossification of his eye. “Can…Can you even see me?” Mr. Pierson asked.

Robbie tilted his head. “Uh…Kinda? It’s a little hazy…and blurry…” Robbie bit his lip.

Chase was taken aback. Since when was Robbie’s eyes getting blurry? And why hasn’t Robbie told him about it until now? “What…what do you mean?” Chase asked.

Mr. Pierson got up onto his feet and turned to look at Chase. “Can you see what he looks like?” Mr. Pierson asked.

Chase nodded his head. “Yeah, of course I can see him. He used to have cyanotic, grayish skin before now.” Chase replied. “Why?”

“B-Because…” Mr. Pierson held his head in shock. “I-” He lowered himself down and picked up his water again. Taking another drink, he gave it to Chase. “...I remember reading the entire Clancy family’s death certificates. I remember it very vividly!” Mr. Pierson explained. “It mentioned their cause of death as ‘homicide’! So…” Mr. Pierson pointed to Robbie. “How could Robbin be recorded dead, only for him to be standing here right in front of me?!” Mr. Pierson asked.

Chase narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know…but he clearly is.” Chase pointed to Robbie. Then Chase rapidly shook his head as he struggled to wrap his head around Mr. Pierson’s words. “W-Wait…Robbie was pronounced dead?!” Chase reacted. “When?” he asked.

“On March 22nd, 2018.” Mr. Pierson told him. “I got the death certificate on April 14th.”

Robbie stared at Mr. Pierson with shock and fear. “D-Death certificate?” Robbie asked.

Mr. Pierson looked at Robbie. “You’re…” He shook his head quickly and changed his wording. “It’s complicated.”

Robbie frowned. “I can handle it.” He told him.

Mr. Pierson scoffed with both surprise, and slight humor. “You…you really can’t…” He muttered.

Robbie sighed and nodded his head. “Okay…” Robbie looked over at Jamie. “I don’t wanna know anymore…I wanna see Jamie.” Robbie admitted, looking at the hospital bed.

Chase nodded his head. “Go ahead, Robbie. I’ll be over here.” Chase told him.

Robbie went to see Jamie, while Chase and Mr. Pierson walked further into the hallway. Mr. Pierson let out a long breath. “Ooooooh…kay. So, Robbin’s alive…” He muttered aloud.

Chase crossed his arms. “You know Robbie?” Chase asked.

“Robbin. His name is Robbin Clancy.” Mr. Pierson told him. “And frankly, there’s no way he should be alive and walking around. Not only is he legally dead in the eyes of the law…but he looks like he’s terminally ill.”

Chase nodded his head. “I found him sleeping in my basement…so I’m just as confused as you are.” He admitted.

“Basement?” Mr. Pierson raised an eyebrow.

Chase sighed and bit his lip. “It’s a long story.” He rubbed his nose. “The kid had broken into my basement to stay warm. I found him, and I’ve been taking care of him ever since.” Chase admitted.

“Has Robbin ever talked about his past?” Mr. Pierson asked him.

Chase winced and tilted his head side to side. “A little bit. It’s hard to get Robbie to talk about his past. He’ll only talk about it when he wakes up from his recurring nightmares.” Chase explained. “and from what he HAS told me…It sounds like he woke up in the morgue like that, and his body has been continuously decomposing for a few years now.” the man admitted. “Though…it seems to be really speeding up now.” Chase added.

“Jesus…” Mr. Pierson looked at Chase. “Tell me, for the love of God…that you’ve gotten him a doctor.” Mr. Pierson begged him.

“We have. It’s Dr. Schneeplestein.” Chase replied.

Mr. Pierson sighed and hung his head. “You did not…”

Chase raised an eyebrow. “Wh-You have a problem with him?” Chase asked.

Mr. Pierson sighed. “Honestly? Yes. He’s a fraud. An unqualified doctor.” Mr. Pierson explained.

Chase was surprised by this. “What the hell are you talking about?! He’s a miracle worker!” He argued.

“A miracle worker?!” Mr. Pierson laughed a little bit. “The only miracle I see is the fact that he’s still got his goddamn medical license.” Mr. Pierson said out loud.

Chase sighed and hung his head. “He’s not that bad.”

“You have to be a desperate madman to be able to trust Dr. Schneeplestein.” Mr. Pierson spat at him.

Chase furrowed his eyebrows, and looked towards Robbie…before looking back at Mr. Pierson with his index finger pointed to the kid. “You don’t call that ‘desperate’?” Chase asked.

Mr. Pierson stuttered. “I…I-” He sighed and closed his eyes. “I guess…” He muttered.

“You gotta understand that Robbie is more than terminally ill.” Chase told him. “The first thing he remembered after the accident was waking up in a bright white, sterile room with metal all over the place. Also known as: A morgue! The kid woke up in a morgue.” Chase told him. “When he found the door, Robbie escaped and lived on the streets for roughly 4 years.” Chase explained. “The only place Robbie could call home was his old house which had been abandoned since the incident.” Chase told him.

“That house was put up for sale for 2 years, before being taken off the market because ‘no one wants to buy a house haunted by a family of 3’.” He told him.

Chase raised an eyebrow. “Who said that?” He asked.

“A lady, who called 911 and demanded that the house be demolished.” Mr. Pierson explained. “According to her, she could hear children giggling in the house, and it was creeping her out.” Mr. Pierson told him. “But when I walked into the house…I didn’t hear anything. So I left it alone and continued with my shift.” He told him.

Chase raised his eyebrows. “Oh wow…” He muttered.

Mr. Pierson softly huffed and put his hands on his hips. “Which…Now that I know that Robbin is still alive, and was most likely still living there…” He shuttered and stiffened slightly. “I’m glad I left it alone.”

Chase nodded his head. “Do…do you still have the death certificates?” He asked.

Nope…Keeping physical copies of death certificates is illegal.” He admitted. “But I have printed copies of their obituaries. Those are free to access online.” He sighed and looked down. “I never could move past Austin’s death…The evil bastard is rotting in jail where he belongs…” Mr. Pierson muttered.

Chase widened his eyes and froze. “He?! Wait wait wait…” Chase rubbed his nose. “Robbie’s murderer was found and caught?” Chase asked.

“Yup. Theodus Johnston.” He said. “Convicted of trespassing with malicious intent, with the premeditated murder of 3 individuals; 2 adults, and 1 child.” Mr. Pierson told him.

Chase could feel the world slow down around him…He knew exactly who Theodus Johnston was. He could easily remember the name showing up on the news back then. He remembered the moment so clearly…

[I had a job at a small coffee shop nearby. It was not the best place to work…but the manager did allow me to bring some tea bags home. It allowed the manager to show the boss how much their tea was selling (when it really wasn’t), and…it gave me ammo for my Bro Average youtube channel at the time. Though the job only lasted about 2 months before the truth hit the surface. When the on-hand inventory stock didn’t add up to the item quantity, the manager threw me under the bus…And obviously, I was fired for employee theft.

But it had been a month into the job…I had just gotten home from work. I had made myself an earl gray tea with one of the tea bags from work. I carried my tea mug and my plate with eggs and toast over to an empty snack tray that Shawn had set up for me. Jamie was sitting there, covering his eggs in maple syrup and eating them already. Shawn was sitting on the couch, eating his eggs while changing the channel with the remote.

“News? Or HGTV?” Shawn asked.

I shrugged my shoulders as I swallowed my bite of toast. “News.” I replied. “Make it local.”

Shawn rolled his eyes. “So…SussexWorld?” He clarified.

I nodded my head. “Mhm.”

He turned on the channel and put down the remote, while I took another bite of my toast with jam.

“First, here are the top news stories from across the county: Brighton Police has apprehended 27-year-old Theodus Johnston from the Ambassador Hotel in Kemptown.”

A picture of a man walking outside of a lit hotel shows up on the screen.

“The man has been taken into custody by Sussex Police, where he is awaiting trial for the murder of a family in Brighton City.” Sam Morton said in the news.

I heard Shawn sigh. “Jesus…”

I looked over at Jamie, who had lowered his fork and placed it down on his plate. It looked like the news story was affecting him a little bit.

I spoke up. “What’s wrong, Jamie?” I asked.

Jamie shook his head and waved his hand, visibly letting me know that he didn’t want to talk about it. He got up from the chair and took his dinner with him while walking out of the living room.

I ate a bit more of my eggs while looking at Shawn. Shawn shrugged his shoulders and switched it to HGTV instead. Something about that news story was deeply affecting Jamie…And I had no way of understanding what part was bothering him.]

Chase gulped as he thought about Jamie. Did Jamie know Robbie’s family? Or did he know Johnston? Maybe Jamie struggled with murders in general. Either way…Chase never did know how to bring up the news story to him after that. He just…dropped it, and forgot about it.

“Chase Brody?” He heard beside him.

He looked up to the source of the sound, and rested his eyes on Mr. Pierson. “You okay? I’ve been calling you for 3 minutes now.” He asked him.

Chase cleared his throat and shook his head. “Sorry, officer. Just…shocked. I recognize that name.” Chase admitted.

“I’m sure you do. It was a big news story back then.” Mr. Pierson mentioned.

Chase winced as he thought about how to bring it up to Robbie. “I’m really worried about Robbie.” He admitted. “Although…I can’t think of a time when I’m NOT worried about him.” Chase admitted next with a dry laugh.

Mr. Pierson softened his expression. “I understand. It sounds like he’s been through a lot.” He responded. “Kid barely survived a murder…and according to you, he woke up in a morgue..and appears to be rotting from the inside out. I’m surprised he even recognized me with how bad his eyes appeared.” Mr. Pierson admitted.

Chase chuckled. “The kid talks about his family sometimes. He even has a police model car that he said ‘the chief of police’ had given him.” Chase admitted.

“Wait-” Mr. Pierson widened his eyes and smiled brightly. “He still has that model car?!” He reacted.

Chase looked at Mr. Pierson. “Yup, he does. I gave him new batteries so he could play the siren sounds it came with.” Chase admitted with a chuckle. “The kid has up to 50 model cars.”

Mr. Pierson chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “I remember almost every model car he showed me.” He admitted. “Austin brought the kid to work a couple times, when the boy was sick, but not contagious. He drew pictures and played with model cars while we focused on work in the police station.” Mr. Pierson told him. “Actually…” Mr. Pierson’s smile lessened slightly. “I got one of his drawings framed and placed on my desk after the funeral.” He told Chase. “I think Robbin would be moved to see I never forgot about him.” He mentioned.

Chase smiled bittersweetly. “You should bring it over and show him sometime. I’m sure he would love that.” Chase told him.

Mr. Pierson adjusted his belt. “I might…we’ll see.”

Chase started to walk back to Jamie’s hospital room, before stopping in front of the door and turning to face the policeman. “And the reason I chose Mr. Schneeplestein as his doctor, was because he was the only closest doctor who was readily available.” Chase explained. “And frankly, Dr. Schneeplestein is the only doctor who we could actually trust to be constantly available to monitor Robbie’s condition.” Chase added.

Mr. Pierson nodded. “I understand where you’re coming from.”

Chase looked into the hospital room. “Because even though the kid’s progress had been slow for a while, everything seems to be speeding up…meaning his mental health is tanking fast.” Chase admitted.

Mr. Pierson looked confused. “What do you mean ‘tanking fast’?” He leaned in slightly. “Does he have rapidly progressive dementia?” He asked.

Chase bit his lip and slowly looked away. “We’re…not too sure.” He responded.

Mr. Pierson hummed. “What else could he have?”

Chase looked up at Mr. Pierson. “It’s a lot to explain in so little time. Would you like to discuss it over dinner some other time?” Chase asked.

Mr. Pierson shrugged his shoulders. “I can do it tonight. What do you have planned for tonight?” He asked.

Chase let out a stressed breath. “We were originally planning on having garlic chicken and potatoes for dinner, but…” Chase looked over at Robbie and Jamie. “With Jamie in the hospital…we’re not sure anymore. Our plans are out the window now.” He admitted.

Mr. Pierson nodded his head. “I’ll be done with my shift at 5pm. I know of a good sandwich joint in Kemptown. It’s called ‘Social Board’, I believe.” Mr. Pierson told him. “If Robbin’s up to eating out in a smaller, more low-profile kind of restaurant…” Mr. Pierson offered.

Chase smiled and nodded his head. “Okay. That sounds really nice, actually.” He admitted.

Mr. Pierson’s radio started to go off on his chest. Mr. Pierson sighed and pulled his walkie-talkie off the hook, before placing it towards his mouth. “10-4, on my way.” He said before hooking it back to where it was. “Alright. We’ll meet at 6. And I’ll make sure to bring the framed picture to the restaurant as well.” Mr. Pierson added.

Chase smiled. “Can’t wait to see it.” He replied.

Mr. Pierson smiled. “Alright. Pleasure speaking with you.” Mr. Pierson shook Chase’s hand before moving to the hospital door and knocking. “See you soon, Robbie Robbin.” Mr. Pierson said to the kid with a wink. “And get well soon, Mr. Jackson.” Mr. Pierson added.

Jamie gave him a slight smile and a thumbs up.

“Bye Quinn!” Robbie yelled back.

Chase smiled and waved to the police officer, before walking into Jamie’s hospital room to properly check up on the boys. “Breathin’ better, Bandbox?” Chase asked.

Jamie smirked. ‘Never better, tea bitch.’ He signed.

Chase bursted out laughing at the stupid nickname. “Watch your hands, the kid’s here.” Chase teased.

Jamie’s smirk widened as he slid his fingers out from under his chin, sending Chase a good ol’ fashioned ‘Fuck you’ to the man. This only made Chase laugh even harder as Robbie stared at the two boys with overwhelming confusion. What the heck just happened?!

Chapter Text

Not long after their playful interaction, his doctor had walked into the room to check up on Jamie.

“Hello Jameson. How are you feeling?” He asked.

Jamie smiled and morphed his hand into an ‘okay’ sign.

“That’s good. Are you having any more difficulty breathing?” The doctor asked him.

Jamie shook his head.

“Alright. So the good news is, it looks like the bleeding was coming from your throat. Meaning your larynx-” The doctor leaned in. “Or rather what’s left of it…” He teased, making Jamie chuckle. “-Seems to be relatively okay.” The doctor explained. “Though the blood has clotted, we will need to make sure it doesn’t start bleeding again. If this happens, then the blood clot may cause another coughing fit. Right now, our biggest concern is the risk of blood getting into your lungs.” The doctor further explained.

Jamie nodded with understanding.

“As much as I hate to open up old wounds, I would recommend that we put a tracheostomy tube into your neck for about 3 weeks to make sure your airway is clear while your throat heals.” The doctor explained.

Jamie tightened his lips as he heard this. He sensed that they would give him a tube regardless of his history. But…he began to wonder something. Jamie signed a question to him.

“My apologies-”

“He asked ‘Will I be able to speak again?’.” Chase translated for the doctor.

The doctor widened his eyes, and looked at Jamie with a mixture of shock and uncertainty. “Uhh…Mr. Jackson…” The doctor pulled himself together and smiled awkwardly. “We will have to see. Only time will tell.” The doctor replied.

Chase shrugged his shoulders. Not a bad answer. A generalized one, but that doesn’t seem to be too bad in this case.

‘Tell me the truth.’ Jamie signed to him.

Chase’s bit his lip. “He wants you to tell him the truth.” He translated awkwardly.

“I…I’m telling him the truth the best I can.” The doctor admitted. “Only time will tell if the wound will heal properly.” The doctor admitted. “And frankly, the fact that he had lived with no tracheostomy up until this point, is a miracle in and of itself.” The doctor added.

Jamie sighed and looked down. He looked overwhelmed, disappointed and nervous all at once. No one, not even Jamie himself, could figure out which feeling he was experiencing more…all Chase could point out were those 3 emotions planted on his face. Slowly, Jamie nodded his head and signed the words ‘Thank you’.

“He said thank-”

“I know that one. No problem, Jameson. We’ll get the equipment prepped for the tracheostomy, and we’ll take you down in an hour.” The doctor told him.

Jamie nodded his head and watched as the doctor left the room. As soon as the door was closed, Jamie scoffed and held his head in anguish. ‘So stupid…’ he angrily signed. The signs were visible enough to be seen by Chase and Robbie.

Robbie walked up to Jamie and placed a hand onto his. “That’s not what you wanted to hear…was it…?” Robbie asked him kindly.

Jamie shook his head. ‘A voice is a large part of a person’s identity. Without a voice, most of the world can’t understand you.’ Jamie explained. ‘You lose your confidence, you lose your sense of self…’ Jamie continued. ‘You never know what you were blessed with until you lose it…’

Chase nodded his head. “I know…”

Jamie looked up at Chase with visible sadness. ‘Those 5 seconds…’ Jamie’s eyes began to well up with tears. ‘...Were the best 5 seconds of my entire life.’ Jamie told him, letting out an audible sob.

Chase ran up to Jamie and hugged him tightly. “Oh Jamie…” Chase said softly. “I’m so sorry…”

Robbie looked down. He began to sniffle. “You felt hope for 5 seconds…” Robbie sobbed. “And now it’s gone…” He whimpered.

Jamie looked at Robbie with a saddened smile, and pulled him into the hug as well. Jamie held both Chase and Robbie in a group hug for as long as he could. He felt unbelievably thankful to have close friends who were willing to support him through the difficult times. He had an amazing collection of friends who have always stayed by his side, even when his other friends had aged around him and passed on. His life had always been unbelievably complicated and confusing…but all he cared about right now, was this single moment.

Jamie soon let go of the boys and signed ‘Thank you’ to them both. He patted the shoulder of Chase, and booped the nose of Robbie, happy to have them there with him.

“Hey oldie.” Someone said at the door.

Jamie looked to the door, and smiled brightly. It was Shawn, holding a brown teddy bear and a little bag of candies in his hands. “You getting through okay?” Shawn asked him.

Jamie used both his hands to get Shawn to come closer. ‘Get over here, hermit.’ Jamie signed.

Shawn gasped dramatically, and threw the teddy bear at him. “How dare you call me a hermit!” Shawn reacted playfully.

Jamie caught the teddy bear with one hand, and signed the words ‘eff you’ back to him. Turning the bear around, Jamie silently laughed as he saw the cloth broken heart that had been sewn together with a needle and thread.

“There wasn’t anything lung-related…Thought the heart would be close enough.” Shawn told him.

Jamie smiled. ‘Heart and lungs are connected. It counts.’ He signed.

Shawn smiled brightly as he walked closer to him. “Good! Cause I also brought sugary heart attacks for you.” Shawn added, giving Jamie the bag of sweets. “Nuthin’ better than diabetes in a bag.” He joked.

Jamie read the bag:

[Vidal™ Cola Gummies]

Jamie threw his head back with an audible wheeze. ‘Cola gummies?!’ He reacted.

“Hell yeah!” Shawn reacted.

Chase widened his eyes. “Holy crap! Do you know how hard it is to find those?!” He asked.

“Too hard, in my opinion.” Shawn added.

‘I haven’t had these in ages!’ Jamie signed rather excitedly as he opened the bag.

“Me neither! Can I have one?” Shawn asked.

Jamie rolled his eyes and scoffed. ‘Fine…’ He gave Shawn 3 gummies and grabbed a couple himself.

“Aw sweet! Thanks!” Shawn popped one of them in his mouth, and hummed happily. “Oh my god…” He started dancing slightly. “They’re almost the exact same recipe!” Shawn reacted.

‘These bring back so many memories.’ Jamie added, happily chewing the candy.

“Can I have one?” Chase asked.

Jamie nodded his head and gave 2 to Chase, and 2 to Robbie.

“Thanks Jamie!” Robbie said, popping one into his mouth. “Mmm! They taste like coke!” Robbie reacted.

Chase laughed. “That’s because they’re coke-flavored.” he told him.

Robbie giggled. “I know…” He responded.

“Did you?” Chase asked.

“...” Robbie popped the second candy into his mouth. “No.” He said with a giggle while chewing on the gummy.

Chase bursted out laughing at Robbie’s comical reply, before doubling over and starting to cough. “Hahahaha- *cough, cough* Fuhuck-” He started coughing harder. “That candy nearly went down the wrong pipe!” Chase reacted.

Jamie smirked. ‘Don’t be stupid, bro.’ he signed, spelling out the nickname.

Chase raised an eyebrow. “I’ll stop being stupid the moment you stop being a prick.” Chase shot back.

Jamie giggled. ‘I’ll stop being a prick the moment you take down your Bro Average YouTube channel.’ Jamie signed.

Shawn dropped his jaw with a smile, and covered his mouth with his fist. “Oh my god!” He exclaimed, laughing.

Chase groaned and sighed. “Please…Don’t remind me.”

Robbie looked to Chase. “What is he talking about? What’s Bro Average?” Robbie asked.

Shawn pulled out his phone and pulled up the video. “Here you go…” Shawn gave Robbie his phone, before saying “Chase’s YouTube Channel”.

“Shawn, no!” Chase reacted, attempting to take it from Robbie.

But Robbie put up his hand to stop him, and watched the video anyway. Watching a younger version of Chase, Robbie giggled a little bit. “Why is your hair green?” Robbie asked.

“It was…a trend…” Chase muttered.

“And why are you throwing tea bags?” Robbie asked.

“Again…a trend.” Chase admitted.

Robbie bursted out laughing when video-Chase ran around, jumping around and shaking the camera as he celebrated getting the tea bag in for the ‘first time’. “Hahahaha! I’ve never seen you so happy over a tea bag!” Robbie reacted.

Shawn laughed a bit as well, watching the video with the kid.

“Please…Turn it off…” Chase begged.

“Why? Are you embarrassed?” Robbie asked.

“Come on man…” Shawn patted his shoulder. “It was just a sign of the times.”

“This is just Dude Perfect!” Robbie mentioned.

“Yeah…I know.” Chase said.

“And…Who’s Jack…setic…eye?” Robbie asked.

Chase widened his eyes, and looked at the YouTube channel. The profile picture was of a green eye with blue irises, and the name said “Jacksepticeye” with “30.8m subscribers” and “5.2k videos” beside it.

Chase sighed a bit, and smiled to himself. “He’s…an old friend. His name is Séan. He’s a youtuber like me…except, a million times more popular.” Chase explained. “He used to be a roommate of ours. We’d call him Séan or Jack usually.” He explained further. “It’s been a while since we last talked. But I’m still in contact with him. I have his phone number right here. But we’re both so busy.” Chase explained.

“What does he look like?” Robbie asked, curiously.

Chase smiled and pulled up a picture of Séan. He had long, brownish, greyish shoulder length hair, with glasses and a beard similar to Chase’s own. He had ear loops, and blue eyes. He looked quite a bit older than Chase. “Wow…” Robbie muttered quietly.

Chase smiled brightly. “Yeah. That’s a newer picture too. He never used to look like that. He used to have shorter, more brown hair. And he rarely ever wore the loop earrings.” Chase admitted.

Robbie nodded his head eagerly as Chase showed him an older picture of Séan holding a black mic, wearing a black hoodie with letters on it.

“P…M…A.” Robbie mumbled aloud. “PMA?” Robbie asked.

Chase smiled. “It’s an acronym. It stands for Positive Mental Attitude.” Chase explained. “He’s still a big inspirational influencer who’s reached high levels of success from both YouTube, charities, and touring shows.” Chase explained.

“So…He taught people to think positively?” Robbie asked.

“Yeah…And to take care of your mental health.” Chase told him.

“Oh…So…Sadness?” Robbie asked.

“Well…” Chase struggled to explain it. “It’s…more than just sadness.” Chase cleared his throat. “It’s fear, anxiety, depression, and general mood.” Chase tried to explain. “Do you remember Dr. Schneeplestein telling you that you have PTSD?” Chase asked Robbie.

“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?” Robbie clarified.

“Right.” Chase paused and did a double-take. “Wait…You pronounced that perfectly.” Chase reacted, shocked. “How did you do that?”

“I talked to Henry about it.” Robbie admitted. “It’s a mental health problem.”

Chase smiled a bit. “A mental health ‘disorder’...As in, a disruption in your brain.” Chase explained.

Robbie nodded his head. “So…I have a brain distruption.” Robbie tried to say.

Chase smiled. “Dis-rup-tion.” Chase said slowly.

“Dis-ruption.” Robbie said back.

“Nailed it, dude.” Chase offered him a high five. Robbie giggled and slapped his hand, showing his excitement. “Damn! What a slap!” Chase reacted, slightly waving his hand in pain. “Have you been working out or something? My god…” Chase reacted.

Robbie genuinely laughed for the first time since entering the hospital with Jamie. “So…Where’s Séan now?” Robbie asked.

“He’s living with his girlfriend here in Brighton.” Chase admitted.

“Okay.” Robbie looked up at Chase. “I wanna meet him.” He declared.

Chase widened his eyes. “R-Really?!” Chase looked towards Shawn and Jamie in shock. Shawn looked surprised but encouraging, while Jamie looked slightly nervous…And Chase could quickly remember why. Jamie had been roped into all of the alter stuff with Séan before…literally…and Chase could only imagine how scared Jamie was of Séan and his alter ego…and how scared he may still be.

“Well…” Chase finally started to speak up. “Maybe another time.” Chase responded. “For now, let’s focus on getting Jamie all better.” Chase encouraged.

“Okay!” Robbie responded happily, dropping the subject.

Jamie let out a breath of relief and nodded his head. He looked thankful to Chase for changing the subject. Talking about Séan was a bittersweet thing…but talking about the other one was…not a pleasant thing for Jamie to remember. So having Chase during a downward recollection of the worst moments, was a huge relief from Jamie’s stress.

“Hey Jamie! Get better!” Robbie yelled.

Jamie snickered and covered his mouth. ‘Robbie!’ he signed. ‘It doesn’t work like that.’

“Well, get better faster!” Robbie spoke up next.

This just made all 3 of the adults burst out laughing. “Rohobbie, you can’t just order people to get better faster.” Chase told him.

Robbie huffed. “But I’m boooored.” Robbie whined.

“Bored, huh?” Shawn asked.

“Very bored…” Robbie mumbled.

“You want some entertainment?” Chase asked him, smirking slightly.

“Yeah!” Robbie cheered.

“Alright! Close your eyes.” Chase told him.

As soon as Robbie’s eyes were closed, Chase looked at Shawn and gestured for him to come closer. When he did, Chase gently moved Robbie slightly closer to Shawn, and lifted Robbie’s hands above his head.

“What are you doing?” Robbie asked.

“You’ll see in a moment.” Chase told him.

Robbie sighed and impatiently waited for things to get interesting. Chase gave Shawn Robbie’s hands, and made sure that Shawn had a good grip on the kid’s wrists. Once Shawn nodded with the go-ahead, Chase looked at Jamie and wiggled his fingers towards Robbie. This made Jamie widen his eyes with a big smile, perfectly understanding what Chase had in mind.

“Can I open my eyes yet?” Robbie asked in a slightly whiny tone.

“Yup, you can open your eyes now.” Chase told him, before taking his position.

Robbie opened his eyes, and looked up at Chase, who was wiggling his fingers at him with the most mischievous look on his face. Quickly, Robbie began to clue in on what was gonna happen.

Robbie began to giggle nervously. “Uh oh…” Robbie muttered, giggling a little more as Chase’s hands got closer to his sides.

“Iiii’m gonna getcha~” Chase teased him.

“Ohoho NOHO!” Robbie squealed and lifted his one leg in an attempt to cover his belly. “Chahahase!” Robbie yelled.

“Whaaaat? Isn’t this what you wanted?” Chase asked.

“Juhust do it!” Robbie yelled.

“Okay, fine!” Chase rolled his eyes and started tickling his upper sides first. “God, so needy.”

Robbie’s squeaky laughter filled the room almost immediately. The little kid was pulling on his wrists, leaning his head back as he just laughed. It had only been 3 seconds in, and Robbie ALREADY had the biggest smile on his face. It was completely contagious, and it only took a few more minutes for Chase to start laughing along with him! Even Shawn was giggling a little bit himself!

“Chahahase plehehehease!” Robbie called.

“Please what?” Chase asked back. “What do you want me to go next?” He asked.

Robbie giggled and shook his head. “Ahaharmpihihits?” Robbie asked.

“But of course!” Chase said dramatically. “Such a wonderful choice! Shall I begin?” Chase switched to a dramatic British accent as he started tickling and fluttering his fingers against the kid’s armpits.

Right away, Robbie was squeaking and laughing in the most childish little laughter you could ever hear. You could tell from the laughter alone, that he was absolutely loving this. Though some people would’ve likely looked at them with confusion and slight worry, it was clear on his face that Robbie had no problem with this. This kid LOVED to laugh, and that was more than evident on that child’s face. It was as if he knew he was going to disneyland! And to say the laughter was a nice change to the general hospital setting, would be a severe understatement.

Slowly, Chase moved his fingers to the kid’s ribs, so the tickles weren’t so strong on the little boy. Though it lessened, Robbie was still giggling up a storm. No one could stop the little Laffy Taffy! And it was quite hilarious!

About 5 hours later, Jamie was discharged from the hospital with a tracheostomy tube to keep things open and available for the doctors to operate in the future. They also said that if things work out well, Jamie may be able to get the tracheostomy tube removed to leave a skin hole on his neck. That way, it would be easier to handle for the future.

With that done, Shawn hopped into the driver's seat and looked at Chase. “Okay. It’s 20 to 6 now. Where are we heading?” Shawn asked.

Chase spoke up. “Can you drop me and Robbie off at the Social Board? That police officer is meeting us there for a sit-down dinner.” Chase explained.

Robbie gasped and started clapping his hands. “YAY!” Robbie cheered excitedly.

Chase smiled. “And…If you and Jamie wanna eat out somewhere? Go ahead.” Chase encouraged.

Shawn smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Alright. Jamie?” Shawn adjusted the rear-view mirror to see Jamie’s response.

Jamie signed the letters ‘M-C-D-O-N-A-L-D-S’.

Shawn just laughed. “Really? You want McDonald’s of all things?!” Shawn reacted, laughing.

Jamie just responded by flipping the bird back at him. Shawn wheezed and slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “Fine, fine! We’ll go to fuckin’ McDonald’s, you basic ass bitch.” Shawn muttered aloud as he put the car into drive.

Chase looked to Shawn. “There are children present.” Chase reminded him.

“Yeah! Don’t fucking swear in front of me!” Robbie yelled back.

Chase slowly turns to Robbie, and stares him down. “...We gotta work on your fuckin’ language.” Chase muttered to him, making Robbie laugh.