4390 Words
Saturday morning Part 2. Sorta
Zake's POV
"Is everyone done already?" I looked around the table hoping that someone was still eating. But to my surprise, everyone was already done and ready to go. Dumb it! "Well, if you're all done, then I guess we should go then." Everyone was looking at me queries as to what was going on. They haven't see the letter, but the look I was giving them told them that there was trouble.
The five of us have been friends for a long time. We all started at the other academy together and have stayed together ever since. When one of needed something, the others would help. When one of us got in trouble, the others were right there. Some of us had good upstanding families. Others, not so much. But we stayed together and sorta made our own family. Between us five, we were both the best and worst of any other group of people.
Alone, any one of us were nothing special. But as a group, we were unstoppable in what ever we put our minds to. We would argue all the time about things. But we never let it get to the point where we couldn't forgive each other. When it came time to work together, what ever was said or done in the past, stayed in the past. And this was one of those times. And they all knew it.
I opened the letter and put it on the table for all to see it. They read it and then looked at me. "This means one of two things. Ether we have a big problem, or she wants to know how we are all handling Little T. I know that she knows that I have introduced you all to him. And she probably wants to know how he is dealing with all of us. But with what happened yesterday, I have no clue what is going to happen."
Tim was the first to speak up. "I like the little guy. He's one of us now. We could just pack up and leave. Take him with us and go." Tim never liked to fight. He didn't like confrontations of any kind. But if his back was against the wall, he's one of the best to have at your back.
Mary said. "That's a last resort. But good idea. I think we should talk to her and see what this is all about first. I don't see it as a trap. But I will keep my eyes and ears open." Mary liked traps of all kinds. She would make them and get out of them for fun.
Tyler was our go to guy for getting almost anything we needed or wanted. James was our bulldozer. Put any 20 people in front of him and he would go right through them. As for me, I was a planer. I would figure out how to get in or out of anywhere or anything. This little gripe of ours didn't really have a leader. But most the time the others would look to me to figure things out.
We all knew what our strengths and weaknesses were, and we worked well together. I guess being friends for as long as we have did have it's advantages. "So for now we see what she wants. I know I'm just a temp. But I'm with Tim on this. He is one of us now. One day together and I'm already ready to do what ever it takes to protect him." The others nodded there agreement.
We all got up and headed to the head mistress's office. Tim carried the diaper bag and I carried Little T. We were in a protective line. Mary the scout then Tim. I was right behind him and behind me was Tyler. Bring up the rear was James. I didn't really know why but all of us felt like there was something off about all of this. And we all wanted to protect our Little Tiggger.
When we got to the head office Mary handed the letter to the secretary. She scanned over it and then looked at all of us. To an untrained eye we looked like just a couple of students coming to see the principal. But to those that knew, we looked a lot different. And this secretary knew what she was looking at.
She gave the letter back to Mary then picked up her phone. She hit a key and said. "They're here." She paused for a response then said. "Yes. High alert like you thought they would be." She paused for another moment, then hung up the phone. She looked right at me and said. "You all may go in. She is the only one in there." I nodded to her and we walked in.
After we were all in James closed the door and stayed next to it. The rest of us kept looking around until the head mistress asked me to have a seat. I sat and Tim sat next to me. The rest kept watch over everything. The first words out of her mouth besides offering me a seat were. "At ease rangers. This room is safe." Those first 3 words changed a lot. She knew who we are. Nobody was supposed to know who, or better yet what we are. "Only my secretary and I know who you really are. And that's why you are here in the first place. You all have a new mission and you." She pointed a me. "Are holding him. Simple mission, befriend and protect. That's it. Any questions?"
The silence that fallowed her words were defining. This was something none of us were expecting. Then I felt a tapping on my chest. I looked down at Tiggger. "Daddy, what mission mean?" I couldn't help but to chuckle. This was going to be interesting.
"I really need to get you a dictionary for you to read. But a mission is like a goal. Something that we have been ordered to do. This mission is to become friends with you and to protect you." I was worried that he would get mad now. But to my surprise he didn't.
"So you have to be my daddy then. A daddy is there to be your friend. To protect you. To teach you what you don't know. So I was right. You are my daddy. And Mary is my mommy. And daddy J, and daddy T, and daddy ty." At the end he smiled and nodded like it was all settled. I smiled at him and nodded.
"Yes little one, you were right." Then I looked up at the one that just gave us orders. "So step one is compleat. So what or who are we protecting him from?" She looked at me and with a shaky breath she said. "Everyone." That was going to be needing a lot of explanation.
Binders were brought out and handed to all of us. All the information we could want on Tiggger was right here. Everything that anyone knew about him we now had. There was even a copy of a letter that was found with him. I was looking over the letter when I heard a hiss from him. "I want down please." He demanded, and I put him down. All eyes were on him as he walked the 2 steps and grabbed his bottle from his diaper bag. Then he walked to the other side of the room and sat on the floor. He started drinking his bottle, but when he saw that we all were looking at him, he turned and faced the wall. That's when I really looked at that letter.
"There are no digital records of any of this. I have a copy locked away in a safe place. Only one other person knows about Tiggger and that's Doctor Morpheus. Most of this information came from him. I even put a copy of the memos that we wrote each other in the back. I didn't know if they would be helpful or not." I was still keeping an eye on Tiggger, and when Morpheus's name was mentioned his ears twitched. I thought I heard him whine just a little, but that could have been my imagination.
"I am telling you all of this in front of Tiggger because I thought he should know as well. I will not be keeping secrets from him or any of you. Not about him anyway. Obviously you all have a closer bond then I thought you would. I'm looking to use that bond to keep him safe. Anything you need to keep him safe is yours. Just tell me what it is and I will do my best to get it. Now I was already thinking about moving all of you next door to him. Maybe even blocking off that hallway so no other students could somehow get near him. I'm still thinking that might be for the best. But then it might draw to much attention to him and you."
She paused for a moment and stared at Tiggger. "There's one other thing you should know. Morph should be here by Friday." That really got his attention. He quit drinking his bottle and turned around. I could see the tears as they started rolling down his cheeks.
"Morph coming? He come here?" James was the closest and he bent down to pick up Tiggger. "I miss Morph. He good. He feed me and clean me and fix arm. And, and he give me Blacky. Daddy Daddy, Morph like daddy only old. So what that make him?" I smiled and snickered.
"That would make him grandpa Morph to you." We were all looking at Tiggger. BUt when the head mistress started laughing, all eyes were on her.
"I can't wait to see his face when Tiggger calls him that. You all make sure I'm there for that one." And she kept laughing. "Grandpa Morpheus. That'll show him." And she was laughing again. I had already turned to the memos they wrote back and forth. And looking at them I could see that these two had an odd relationship. He would insult her, but she always kept it professional. And now she was laughing at him.
But when Tiggger asked his next question, she quit laughing. She looked at him and I could have sworn that I saw tears in her eyes. "That make you grandma?" He asked with a little tilt to his head. The whole room was quiet until she motioned James to bring him closer.
When he did she put out her arms and Tiggger did the same. She took him in her arms and said. "If you want to call me grandma you can. I would be honored if you would call me grandma." Then she sat back down with him in her lap. When she looked up from him she really looked like a grandma holding a little kid. "Now you all know how invested I am in keeping him safe. He is one of a kind and I clam him as my grandson. Protect him no mater what."
There was a lot we had to go over. Changing of our rooms was the easiest problem to solve. The blocking of the hallway was not going to be happening. But other measures were going to have to be taken. Calming contracts were made and signed by us, but not him. But they were made a little differently then normal ones. Instead of him belonging to one of us, we now belonged to him. We were now his daddies, mommy, and grandma. We were his family now.
He was asleep when we came up with this idea and that was the only reason he hasn't signed them. He had been lying In James's arms and was drinking his bottle. James was walking around when Tiggger just passed out. Probably from being so board. We hadn't planned on being in this office, much less for this long. But we all agreed that the moment he woke up this meeting was over.
There was however one question that was on my mind during all of this. I mean, I was barley passing my math class. Don't get me wrong, I was really good at other things. But schooling was not one of them. Even Tiggger was better at math then I was. So I had to ask. "Why us? I get that we would be good at hiding in plain sight. And we could protect him from almost anything. And we are a pretty good team too. But why us?"
That got the room to go still once again. All eyes were on her once again. "Many reasons. The ones you just pointed out for starters. But you all are also both suited to taking care of both a little and a pet. And you are flexible enough not to get too upset when he flexes his dominant side. I mean really, in the first five minutes you get punched in the face by him and you surrender to him instead of putting him down like a bad pet or taking control like he was a brat needing to be put in his place. You thought before you acted. You listened to him before you moved. Your instincts are some of the best I have ever seen. And as for some of your flaws, like schooling, I have an idea for that. I wasn't expecting all of you to be so attached to him so quickly, and him to you. But that works out better for him and all of you."
Then she went in to detail about one of us would be taking him to different classes. Tyler would be taking him to math. He's the best at that. Mary had language Arts to Lit. And so on. We all would meet up before classes and go to breakfast together. Then meet up at launch. Then after classes we would meet up again We would be in our normal classes and pass him between us. If there was any problems I would be notified as his primary Daddy. But there would always be one of us by his side if needed.
I was liking this plain more and more. But that did bring up the question of how she knew he punched me yesterday. That would be a job for Mary when we got back to his rooms. As I took a glance in his direction James was pointing at him. He looked like he was starting to wake up.
"Ok. Time for us to go. Tim, get our new room assignments then meet us in Tiggger's room. Maybe we should have a relaxing day today. Tyler, you're on snacks and movie detail. Mary, you have point. I'll grab his bag and bring up the rear. James, after you babysitter."
We made it to Tigggers rooms before he woke up completely. He was stirring in his sleep the whole way back and James was a little worried he was having a nightmare. So James, the big softy, kept rubbing his tummy trying to calm him down.
As I finally entered the room and shut the door, Tiggger lived up to his name. He woke up screaming with his claws out and digging in to James's hand. James however, didn't say anything about it. He just kept rubbing the tummy to help calm Tiggger down. When his breathing was under control, Tiggger looked around and then down at his hands. He looked up at James and said sorry then tried to take his claws out of his hand. Key word is try.
"Ok kiddo, hold on a moment and I'll give you a hand." I tried not to laugh. I really did. But when James started I did as well.
Then Mary said. "I thought the hole idea would be for him to let go not hold on." And she was laughing.
"Yea. And I think I'm the one that needs the hand, not Tiggger." Then James laughed more and held up his hand. "He's got three right now and I only have one." That actually got Tiggger to laugh at the stupid jokes we were telling. At least he wasn't staying upset about his accidental clawing of James.
I sat down the stuff I had and walked over to them. It took me some time, but I was able to pry them apart without hurting Tiggger. Luckily he keep his eyes on me and what I was doing. I had looked up at James a couple of times and saw him wincing at every pull. This really had to hurt him. When I was done I took Tiggger from James. Mary took James to the kitchen to get fixed up. "I'm going to give the little one a bath. Are you two going to be ok out here?" Mary said they would be fine and we headed to the bathroom.
During his bath I suggested clipping his claws so stuff like this wouldn't happen again. He was upset about hurting James and agreed that I could clip his claws for him. After the bath I put him in a pull-up. Then I started on his toenails first. He winced at first, but when it didn't hurt he relaxed. Now I knew that cats have this little nerve in there claws, so I took it extra slow when I did his. And when I did his, I made them flat at the end.
When I was done with his first hand he looked in aww at them. "I no hurt no one now." And he brought them to his own arm and played with his claws as I finished up the others. As I was finishing I was thinking. This kid is so willing to go along with what ever we told him to do. He is definitely a Little. But if you made him mad, he could defend himself. If he could knock me on my butt, what else could he do.
I told him that today was going to be a relaxing day and he just nodded at me. I suggested footie pajamas for the rest of the day and he was really happy about that. "You tell one of us if you need to go potty and we will help you if you need it. And if you have an accident in your pull-up let one of us know so we can get you changed quickly." He nodded and he picked out a pair of footies for the day.
When we came back in to the living room everyone else was already there. He ran straight to James and apologized for hurting him. James had his hand wrapped but told Tiggger it was ok. Tiggger then showed James his claws and said. "Now I no can hurt you or get stuck again." James chuckled and picked him up. After he was comfortable in James's lap Tyler put on the first movie of the day.
Oliver and company was a big hit. By the end Tiggger was pretending he was Oliver and was trying to sing to all the songs. By the time the credits started rolling Tiggger was in the middle of the living room dancing and singing with Mary and Tim. "I like Oliver. He like me. No family, but in the end him have family like me." Next was The Lion King. I personally loved that movie. But it did have it's sad moments. And our little one did cry a time to two. But he also really loved the songs. And again he was dancing throughout the show and credits. He wanted more, but by that time it was time for lunch.
After a little whining and the promise of going back after we had food we headed out. The sad or funny part was Tiggger wasn't the one pouting and whining about having to stop and eat. It was Mary and Tom doing that. Tiggger was the one laughing at them as they did it. I swear I have a bunch of little kids I have to watch out for.
During lunch Tiggger thought that Tyler was being left out of all the fun. So he took it upon himself to sit in his lap and try to help feed him. Everyone was laughing as this little kid was trying to feed his Daddy. Tyler was having fun with it and by the end of lunch they were both a mess. The grilled cheese sandwiches were just fine. But the tomato soup was all over both of them.
On the way back Tyler stopped by his room to get a change of clothes. Tiggger offered some of his but Tyler had to explain that he would like that, but they were just to small for him. "Ok. I get some that fit you for next time." Now I know this would probably be all sorts of wrong. But I was going to make sure that Tiggger's closet had a full change of clothes for everyone. Little clothes that matched his. All the way down to diapers or pull-ups that would fit them. That would be really funny to see them in. And I know Tiggger would somehow get them to wear them too.
When we got back to his rooms I took him straight to his room. I pealed his footies off of him and cleaned him up. I was starting to change his pull-up because he had an accident. But then he told me he wanted a diaper instead. I asked him why and he said. "Because I look more like a baby. People not scared of babies. And if I look like one then people not be scared of me. That why you here. To protect me from them. And to protect them from me. I deferent and they scared of me. But I try not to hurt them. I not mean to hurt Daddy J. I not mean hurt you. I learning still and I get better. But I not there yet. But if I look like baby and act like baby then they not be scared anymore. Then I get to keep friends, and home, and stay warm, and tummy full. But if they scared of me I louse home again. An I not want to louse home or friends. So I be baby and I stay here with you."
I really didn't know what to say or do. I dropped the pull-up from my hand and picked him up. I was hugging him and a started to say. "Oh Tiggger..." But then he interrupted me.
"That another thing. I need to change my name too. That one to scary. Maybe Oliver instead. He cute kitty. I can be cute kitty too. Just not a pet." He pulled away from me a little and looked at me. "Why you crying?
"Because you're braking my heart. To those of us that know you, you're not scary. You shouldn't have to change who you are for anyone. I love the big, smart, tough side of you. I also love the carrying, thoughtful, helpful side of you. And I love the playful, cuddling, needy, Little side of you too. You are perfect the way you are. There's no need for you to change anything about you. And what people should be scared of is your daddies, mommy, grandma, and grandpa. Because we are scary and we can kick anyone's butts. So yes, we are here to protect you from others that don't know you yet. And yes, we are here to protect others from you. But only until you learn how to control your strength around others. You're not used to being around others yet. And that's part of the reason we are here. We are here to help you. And none of us are scared of you. So please, just be you and not what you think others want you to be or act like. And I really like your name. It's fun to say. And when your classes start on Monday you will see just how much fun it will be for others to say it too."
I knew I wasn't going to change his mind that quickly. He would have to see it for himself before that happened. So I did end up putting him in a diaper for the rest of the day. After a new pair of footies were on him I carried him out for the next movie of the day.
We took shifts watching movies with him. At the same time as the movies we also moved our rooms. By the end of the day we were all moved in to our new rooms. Dinner had come and passed and it was time for everyone to be heading to bed.
Tiggger didn't want to sleep alone in his rooms so for tonight I brought him to mine. Something he didn't know was that we all had moved. But now he knows where we all are. Something not even I knew about until I walked in to my room was the new crib next to my bed. It was a normal crib that could only be opened from the outside. Unlike the one in his bedroom. I also found a couple of bottles sitting on my counter in my kitchen. Those I was thankful for, I had forgotten to make him one for bedtime. When I put the warm bottle of honeyed milk to his lips he smiled at me eyes already closing.
When he was completely out I tucked him in to his crib, Blacky in his arms and a paci in his mouth. He looked so cute at that moment. But the thoughts running through my head were worrisome. How could he think that he needed to change because of others?
The last thoughts running through my head as I fell asleep were simple. I will get everyone to love him for who he is and not what they want him to be. He will be save and everyone will want to protect him. Just like me.