Overcoming Demons (G/t)

Chapter Seven

Nova stepped up to the front door, smoothing down her hair and opened it with a wide smile. "Todd! It's great to see you, I'm so glad you could come on such short notice. You didn't tell anyone where you were going, right?" She muttered in a low voice, stepping off to the side to let Todd and three bouncing German Sheppard pups into the house. They were each play-fighting with one another, yipping and yapping cheerfully and excitedly.

"No, of course not. Just like you asked of me," Todd replied with a smile, his well-kept blonde hair twitching with each movement. "I'm still confused about why you didn't want me telling anybody. It didn't make any sense over the phone."

"I'll show you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. You are the only person close enough to me that I trust with this. So, please, promise me?" Nova requested softly, clasping her hands together and gazing at him pleadingly. It was true. She's known Todd since the two were in preschool, and were friends even before that.

"I still say it sounds weird, but, okay," he lightly shrugged his shoulders and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Nova led Todd and his playing German Sheppards to the bedroom where she had left Kenneth. She hesitated at the last moment to open the door, a small frown twitching on her lips. She shouldn't let all the dogs in at once, she didn't want to cause Kenny to have another panic attack. However, if she were to keep an eye on the two outside the room while Todd went in and showed Kenny one at a time, the young teen might not like that. And yet, Nova didn't know if her friend would allow just her to help him with the dog.

However, before she could even get a chance to decide how this should be done, one of the pups ran through the partly open door. "No!" She cried, afraid that the animal would attack her adopted son. She threw the door the rest of the way open, only to freeze and stare at the sight on the bed. 

Kenneth laid on his back, laughing and giggling as the large puppy licked the poor boy non-stop with its tail wagging excitedly. "S-Stop, stop! It tickles!" Kenny whined through his laughs but quickly closed his mouth again to try and avoid the slobber.

Beyond relieved, Nova slowly stepped toward the bed with a gentle smile, nudging the overly excited pooch off of him. "Todd, this is Kenny. Kenny, honey, this is Todd."

Kenneth felt his entire body freeze at the mention of her friend and sat upright fast enough that it made his head spin. He didn't know how to respond and scooted closer to the edge of the bed to be closer to Nova. He wasn't afraid of how big he'd be, he was afraid that he would tell someone that he was here. "H-Hi," he mumbled shyly, looking to Nova for reassurance.

Todd gawked at the small boy, his brows furrowed and mouth moving up and down like a fish before he finally found words. "Why is he so small? Isn't...wait, isn't Kenneth the name of that missing boy?!"

Nova was momentarily distracted by a soft whimper, tiny hands reaching up and failing to grab hold of her own. Turning to look at Kenny, she frowned deeply, hating how afraid this whole thing made him. "He is...but he cannot go back there. Todd, they abused him, they were cruel to him, he can't go back." She knew she repeated herself, it was intentional. She needed to state her point.

"If you get caught, you'll go to prison on kidnapping felonies and...whatever you did to him! Nova, this is ridiculous!" Todd put a hand to his forehead, staring at Kenny and trying to debate if what he was seeing was actually happening in the first place. This wasn't real. Surely his mind was playing him while he slept.

"I won't get caught if he's tiny, like this, that's why I did it! Please, Todd! You can't tell anyone!" She begged, pleaded, scooping up her adopted son as soon as she felt him trembling against her skin. She pressed him close to her body, nuzzling the side of his face with her nose and taking deep breaths to calm herself for him.

Todd knew of her past. What had happened to her own baby. Seeing her this happy after even that made him wonder if this really was the right thing to do. Surely not, after all, shrinking and taking a boy from his assigned home without anyone else knowing? It was kidnapping, that was all it was. And yet, staring at the boy in her arms as he clung to her fingers and leaned into her touch, his heart continued to tug him two different ways. "So the dog is for him?" He questioned with a heavy sigh.

Nova lifted her head to gaze at her friend, nodding her head softly and returning her gaze to Kenny. "If this is only temporary, if I do get caught, I want to do everything I can for him."

Todd has known Nova Morgan for a long, long time. He knew immediately that what she was saying was more along the lines of 'If I'm going to be arrested, I'd rather it be because of giving a young boy something he needed.' It was always the way she was. Wanting to take care of children. She loved kids, given she was a substitute teacher. That would have to be given up now, though. Where did she plan to work? What did she plan to do? 

Kneeling to the ground, Todd rested a hand on one of the puppy's heads, stroking the fur gently. He also knew that a dog was a way to get the boy protection if he ever needed it. He was torn between running to the police and congratulating Nova for having a son. "Alright. So, we gotta find the perfect pup for you huh? Let's get to it then."