Falice

Raid

There was a loud knock at the door in the middle of the night. It was a continuous pain in the ass, waking FP up. "I swear if you wake up my b-" The young father scolded Hog Eye. It took them hours to get Charles down for the night.

"There's a raid at the Wyrm. They're roundin' up every Serpent they can find."

"Why?" He now had FP's full attention.

"They're pinning an outbreak of Jingle Jangle on us. You've got to get out of here before the sheriff raids Sunnyside."

"There's a bunker somewhere in the woods. Help me round up Serpents. They'll be safe there." FP had a plan to help. "Let me go talk to Alice and I'll be right out." Hog Eye waited at the door while FP went back to the bedroom. He shook Alice's arm gently. "Al," He whispered. He didn't want to wake up Charles too. "Alice, baby. Wake up."

Alice fluttered her eyes and groaned. She looked at the clock. "FP, it's three in the morning. Go to sleep."

"Al, I've got to go help Hog Eye. I'm going to call Fred to come get you. Keep the door locked until he gets here."

"What's going on?" Alice sat up.

"Don't worry about it. Everything will be okay." He kissed her on the lips. She grabbed his arm before he got to step away.

"What's going on?" She repeated. She needed answers from him.

"There's a raid for Serpents at the Wyrm. I'm going to go help hide them in that bunker we found last summer."

"I'm coming with you," Alice insisted.

"No," FP wasn't going to let her help. It was already risky as it was. "Please just stay here with Charles and wait for Fred to arrive." He slid out of her hold and backed away. He went over to the crib and picked Charles up. He cradled him in his arms and placed a kiss on his forehead. "I'll see you in a few minutes." He handed him over to Alice carefully.

"Be careful," Alice told him. There was a hint of worry in her voice.

"I will," FP promised. "Don't go anywhere, okay? Fred will be here very soon." He dressed himself and headed out with Hog Eye. Alice couldn't fall back to sleep after that. She held Charles close to her. He was still sound asleep. She patiently waited for Fred to arrive but she primarily waited for FP to come back to them.

Fred showed up at the double wide in a rush after getting the call from FP. He tried to let himself in but found it locked. "Alice, it's me, Fred." He knocked. He heard the baby crying inside. The crying got louder the closer Alice came to the door. She opened the door for him. "FP told me everything over the phone. You ready to go?"

"Yeah but I was just about to make him a bottle."

"I'll get him settled in the truck," Fred grabbed Charles from her. He placed him in the car seat, covered him in a warm blanket, and carried him over to his truck.

•••

An hour flew by and FP rushed over to Fred's house to check on Alice and Charles. He let himself in using the back door. He followed the sound of his son crying up to Fred's room. He pushed the door open to find Fred trying to calm Charles down. FP walked over to him and grabbed the baby from him. He pressed him gently against his chest, rocking him. "Hey, hey, don't cry." His son recognized his voice and slowly began to quiet down. "Did he give you much trouble? Where's Alice?"

"I'm sorry," Fred sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"What happened? Where is she?" FP's eyes widened.

"She's down at the station. Sheriff Howard came when I was getting him settled in the truck. She was fixing him up a bottle. I couldn't leave Charles alone to help her. I was waiting for you to get here."

"I'm going to go find Alice. I'm might even need to bail her out." FP ran a hand through his hair. He looked down at Charles who was staring back up at him. "Let's go get your mama."

"You're taking him with you?"

"Baby boy has to learn how I look after his mama," FP carried him out the room. Fred trailed behind with the car seat.

At the sheriff's station FP rushed in to look for Alice. Fred helped him out with the baby. "Where's my girlfriend? Where's Alice Smith?" FP demanded to see her.

"Relax young man," The sheriff told him.

"Relax? I've got a son that needs his mother right now. Don't tell me to relax. She didn't do anything. Showing up at our home and arresting her for no reason is uncalled for."

"Dial it down, FP." Fred advised his best friend as he entered the room. FP grabbed Charles and showed him to the sheriff. "My boy here needs his mother home."

"I understand, FP." Sheriff Howard remembered Fred calling him FP. "She's just in questioning. She'll be out any minute now if she's clean."

"Of course she's clean. You think just because she's a southsider like me she would be doing something illegal? Well that's where you're wrong, sir. She's at the top of her classes and is a perfect mother to our beloved son."

"Jingle Jangle is an issue occurring in this town. We had to take precautionary measures to put an end to it."

"My girl is innocent. She has no ties to whatever drugs you're blaming us for. That's all Ghoulies. Now if you excuse me I'm going to go look for her." FP walked down the hall and looked into every room for Alice. He found her in the last room in the hall. "Babe," He walked in and kissed her.

"My boys," She hugged them. "I missed you. I was afraid."

"I'm sorry, Al. This shouldn't have happened to you. They have no right to keep you here. They don't even have anything against you." FP grabbed her hand and walked her out of the room. The sheriff stopped them in the hall. FP went around him. "No, we're leaving. She shouldn't even be here."

"She can go. There's nothing on her here."

"See," FP continued to leave with his family. They ran into Fred outside. He was waiting for them. "Thank you for watching Charles," Alice hugged him.

"I found a new respect for you two. I don't know how you two manage to get him to calm down so easily."

"He loves his mommy and daddy," Alice smiled at their son.

"He sure does," FP added in. The three adored the sleeping baby together before heading back home. The sheriff wouldn't bother the couple any time soon. "You should have seen the earful FP gave the man," Fred brought up on the drive back.

"I could only imagine what he said," Alice chuckled.

"Anything for you, Al." FP smiled and pressed a kiss on the crown of her head.