WBY - Adventures in Babysitting (part two)
WBY - Adventures in Babysitting part two
They show up at the Banners on time, exactly, because neither boy really want to watch Jason and Justin Banner. The less time they have to spend with the spawn the better.
The boys are only seven. They are not identical twins, thank God, but maybe they are worse. Jason is the Yin to Justin’s Yang and together they are almost undefeatable. Jason is blonde like JR and Mrs. B; Justin is as ginger as a cat. They both sport a smattering of freckles that makes them look adorable.
It is a façade. A horrible façade. They are not adorable. They are terrors. They are J squared and it is not a good mathematical equation.
Mrs. Banner greets them at the front door.
“Thank you so much boys, JR should be here in a couple of hours. Jay and Justin have already eaten, don’t let them fool you into believing they need snacks.” She looks over at Jason and Justin who are sitting like cherubs on the couch.
“Boys,” she looks at her two miscreants, “I expect you two to be on your best behavior.”
“Yes, ma’am.” They chorus.
“And River and Jamie?”
“Ma’am?” they both say.
“You let me know if they give you any trouble. Their bedtime is 10; that will give them some time to settle down after JR gets home. My cell phone number is on the fridge, so is Mr. Jeff’s. Feel free to call, but the reception at the Sheriff’s meeting is sketchy at best and well, this old phone…” she holds up what could only be described as an antique Motorola Razor, “Sometimes has a glitch or two.”
Jamie sighs, but softly. He doesn’t want Mrs. Banner to feel she is putting them out. Although, she definitely is.
“There’s food in the fridge boys, help yourself.” Mrs. Banner grabs her keys and heads out the front door.
“Watch out for…!” River yells, but it is too late, he hears Teague’s dinner plate sized paws skidding up to the porch. River’s eyes widen. Jamie bolts for the door. All he can think of is Mrs. Banner and muddy paws on her glasses and her book shredded and dog slobber in her neat shoulder length dark blonde hair.
Then nothing. No yells, no thump of Mrs. Banner hitting the deck, no scream of pain.
Just nothing.
River opens the door to see Teague sitting quietly at Mrs. Banner’s feet.
“Now, there’s a good dog,” she says and pats him quickly on the head as she heads down the steps with her book in her hand.
Jamie watches as River’s jaw drops.
“How in the hell?” River says quietly, far too quietly for anyone but Jamie to hear.
Jamie grins, the first time all night. “Even Teague won’t mess with Mrs. B, “ he says sagely.
River shakes his head in amusement and awe then he reaches down to scratch behind Teague’s floppy ears. The puppy moans with contentment.
“Well Teague, you are on guard out here,” River tells the puppy, “Unless you run into a werewolf, your job will be a helluva lot easier than ours.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Jamie acknowledges.
They turn together and head back in the house.
The twins are no longer sitting on the couch.
Jamie looks at River. River looks at Jamie. Their mutual stares are both of terror and panic and something else indefinable.
The Banner twins are loose on an unsuspecting world.
How could they disappear so fast? There is not even the sound of footsteps anywhere.
Calling for them is a moot point. They won’t come. They are worse than Teague on his bad days.
Jamie come to himself first and assumes command, “Riv, you check the house, I’ll check the outside.” Jamie’s not sure who has the best job. The Banner’s house is a great sprawling Victorian with lots of places to hide. Their farm though, has a barn and at least twenty acres.
They only have short seven-year old legs! How fast can they be?
He steps out on the back porch. The sun hasn’t set yet and the farm looks peaceful. That means nothing. The Banner boys are like fucking ninjas.
There is no telltale little sneaker prints. No sounds of carnage. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye he sees a black and gray streak. Teague is running all out across one of the fields. He’s pretty far away but he even from here, Jamie can see his intent on his prey. It could be a deer, or a fox, or maybe two little boys?
Jamie can’t take a chance so he runs out across the backyard and vaults the wooden fence into the paddock. He is fluid and quick, football and hunting have made him that way. He is fast. The fastest quarterback in high school history. Plus, he has sixteen years of Winchester conditioning behind him. All the pain of the day dissipates as fear and anger take over. He will kill them. He will kill them both and yeah, he will have to tell Mr. Jeff and Mrs. B that their kids are dead but it is just an unfortunate part of life.
Still, he has only two legs and Teague four. The twins have four legs together but that shouldn’t matter! They are fucking babies!
He loses Teague in the tree line, but Teague, bless his stupid hound heart starts to bay, a deep throaty sound that is easy to track. So Jamie does. God, he hopes the dog isn’t chasing a damn deer!
The sound changes a moment later and Jamie recognizes it for what it is, Teague has treed his prey.
Well, not a deer.
Jamie jumps a fallen log and can see Teague dancing around a tree, baying his head off and jumping up like he can catch whatever is up there. He just has to try really, really hard! The branches crack under Teague’s big paws as he tries to scramble up the tree. He can’t of course, but that doesn’t stop him from continuing to scale the tree.
Two pairs of eyes meet Jamie’s in the approaching twilight.
“Hey, Jamie!” Justin laughs, “Teague almost caught us!”
His brother laughs too, blonde hair nearly covering his eyes. Jason’s hair is almost white it’s so blonde and it contrasts sharply to Justin’s bright copper and red that glints through the setting sun. They look like a strangely unmatched yet very similar pair of bookends.
“It would have been better for you if he had!” Jamie bellows then pulls his cell phone out of his pocket to tell River that he has them.
“Get your butts down here!” Jamie yells after the phone call to River.
“No way, Jamie,” Jason says. “Teague might eat us.”
“Teague is the least of your worries, kiddo.” Jamie says with as much growl in his voice as he can. His voice changed last year and he can put on a passable impression of all of the Winchester men.
Justin looks at Jason. They don’t speak but there is some kind of twin telepathy going on because it is obvious they will take their chances sleeping in the tree all night.
Jamie paces around the tree, contending with Teague who is snuffling happily about now that he has found the boys. It occurs to Jamie that Teague did a good job. He,
“Good dog,” Jamie says and Teague takes it in like Jamie is a god. His whole body vibrates with happiness, his tail whipping sharply around and he whines low in his throat. Then he offers Jamie a puppy bark, far higher and sharper than and dog his size should be able to make. Teague play bows and then when Jamie doesn't take the bait, he settles at the base of the tree. Jamie watches Teague though, the pup keeps tilting his head up as if to remind Jamie that he did his job, now it's up to Jamie. And will he get to it, please?
The boys are a good twenty feet up. Fucking little monkeys. They are settled quite comfortably on fragile branches that would never hold Jamie’s weight. There is no way he can get them down. Even if River brings a ladder it wouldn’t work, there are too many branches in the way.
He will not call Mr. Jeff. He will most certainly not call Mrs. B. They are watching seven year olds!
He glances at his watch. Less than an hour into their babysitting adventure and they are already up shit’s creek.
Jamie sits down under the tree near Teague, folding his long legs up and pretending to relax.
“Whatever,” Jamie says, “I got all night.”
He doesn’t of course; JR will be here in an hour, Mrs. B around midnight and Mr. Jeff about the same time. He most definitely will not be sitting under this tree when the twins’ parents show up.
He texts River the coordinates, it’s easier than trying to explain the wild trail he took to get to this area of the woods. He’s not even sure where he is but luckily his GPS knows exactly where he is.
The Banner twins seem to know too. Or at least they aren’t concerned.
Teague realizes River is coming before Jamie. He bounces off down the trail barking madly.
River emerges from the thick growth of trees with Teague dancing around him, tail wagging furiously.
“Jamie,” River says. He’s carrying a flashlight, which is a good idea because it is getting dark.
“Over here,” Jamie says.
The flashlight finds Jamie and he puts a hand up to ward off the bright light.
“Jesus, River. I’m right here.”
“Sorry,” River shrugs and then questions “The twins?”
Jamie points up the tree and shakes his head.
“They won’t come down?”
Jamie glares at River, his voice dripping sarcasm, “Nah River, I thought it would be fun to encourage the little shits to sleep in the tree tonight. I don’t care that JR should be home in a hour or so. Hell, I don’t care that Mrs. B is probably going to have a heart attack when she sees her babies 20 feet up a tree. The only good thing will that if she dies of a heart attack, she won’t be there to beat me black and blue for not watching them. Then of course, Mr. Jeff will beat me for killing his wife. It’s a win, win situation.”
“Well, aren’t we Mr. Optimism.” River remarks brushing back a lock of surfer boy hair from his face, and then settling down in the thick layer of leaves under the tree next to Jamie.
“Awe, c’mon Jamie, this isn’t our fault. All we did was come back into the house to find the monkeys gone.”
“I dunno, Riv. I just know somebody is goin’ down for this and the way my day has gone, it’s just gotta be me.”
Part three http://wildblueyonder6.livejournal.com/53097.html
They show up at the Banners on time, exactly, because neither boy really want to watch Jason and Justin Banner. The less time they have to spend with the spawn the better.
The boys are only seven. They are not identical twins, thank God, but maybe they are worse. Jason is the Yin to Justin’s Yang and together they are almost undefeatable. Jason is blonde like JR and Mrs. B; Justin is as ginger as a cat. They both sport a smattering of freckles that makes them look adorable.
It is a façade. A horrible façade. They are not adorable. They are terrors. They are J squared and it is not a good mathematical equation.
Mrs. Banner greets them at the front door.
“Thank you so much boys, JR should be here in a couple of hours. Jay and Justin have already eaten, don’t let them fool you into believing they need snacks.” She looks over at Jason and Justin who are sitting like cherubs on the couch.
“Boys,” she looks at her two miscreants, “I expect you two to be on your best behavior.”
“Yes, ma’am.” They chorus.
“And River and Jamie?”
“Ma’am?” they both say.
“You let me know if they give you any trouble. Their bedtime is 10; that will give them some time to settle down after JR gets home. My cell phone number is on the fridge, so is Mr. Jeff’s. Feel free to call, but the reception at the Sheriff’s meeting is sketchy at best and well, this old phone…” she holds up what could only be described as an antique Motorola Razor, “Sometimes has a glitch or two.”
Jamie sighs, but softly. He doesn’t want Mrs. Banner to feel she is putting them out. Although, she definitely is.
“There’s food in the fridge boys, help yourself.” Mrs. Banner grabs her keys and heads out the front door.
“Watch out for…!” River yells, but it is too late, he hears Teague’s dinner plate sized paws skidding up to the porch. River’s eyes widen. Jamie bolts for the door. All he can think of is Mrs. Banner and muddy paws on her glasses and her book shredded and dog slobber in her neat shoulder length dark blonde hair.
Then nothing. No yells, no thump of Mrs. Banner hitting the deck, no scream of pain.
Just nothing.
River opens the door to see Teague sitting quietly at Mrs. Banner’s feet.
“Now, there’s a good dog,” she says and pats him quickly on the head as she heads down the steps with her book in her hand.
Jamie watches as River’s jaw drops.
“How in the hell?” River says quietly, far too quietly for anyone but Jamie to hear.
Jamie grins, the first time all night. “Even Teague won’t mess with Mrs. B, “ he says sagely.
River shakes his head in amusement and awe then he reaches down to scratch behind Teague’s floppy ears. The puppy moans with contentment.
“Well Teague, you are on guard out here,” River tells the puppy, “Unless you run into a werewolf, your job will be a helluva lot easier than ours.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Jamie acknowledges.
They turn together and head back in the house.
The twins are no longer sitting on the couch.
Jamie looks at River. River looks at Jamie. Their mutual stares are both of terror and panic and something else indefinable.
The Banner twins are loose on an unsuspecting world.
How could they disappear so fast? There is not even the sound of footsteps anywhere.
Calling for them is a moot point. They won’t come. They are worse than Teague on his bad days.
Jamie come to himself first and assumes command, “Riv, you check the house, I’ll check the outside.” Jamie’s not sure who has the best job. The Banner’s house is a great sprawling Victorian with lots of places to hide. Their farm though, has a barn and at least twenty acres.
They only have short seven-year old legs! How fast can they be?
He steps out on the back porch. The sun hasn’t set yet and the farm looks peaceful. That means nothing. The Banner boys are like fucking ninjas.
There is no telltale little sneaker prints. No sounds of carnage. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye he sees a black and gray streak. Teague is running all out across one of the fields. He’s pretty far away but he even from here, Jamie can see his intent on his prey. It could be a deer, or a fox, or maybe two little boys?
Jamie can’t take a chance so he runs out across the backyard and vaults the wooden fence into the paddock. He is fluid and quick, football and hunting have made him that way. He is fast. The fastest quarterback in high school history. Plus, he has sixteen years of Winchester conditioning behind him. All the pain of the day dissipates as fear and anger take over. He will kill them. He will kill them both and yeah, he will have to tell Mr. Jeff and Mrs. B that their kids are dead but it is just an unfortunate part of life.
Still, he has only two legs and Teague four. The twins have four legs together but that shouldn’t matter! They are fucking babies!
He loses Teague in the tree line, but Teague, bless his stupid hound heart starts to bay, a deep throaty sound that is easy to track. So Jamie does. God, he hopes the dog isn’t chasing a damn deer!
The sound changes a moment later and Jamie recognizes it for what it is, Teague has treed his prey.
Well, not a deer.
Jamie jumps a fallen log and can see Teague dancing around a tree, baying his head off and jumping up like he can catch whatever is up there. He just has to try really, really hard! The branches crack under Teague’s big paws as he tries to scramble up the tree. He can’t of course, but that doesn’t stop him from continuing to scale the tree.
Two pairs of eyes meet Jamie’s in the approaching twilight.
“Hey, Jamie!” Justin laughs, “Teague almost caught us!”
His brother laughs too, blonde hair nearly covering his eyes. Jason’s hair is almost white it’s so blonde and it contrasts sharply to Justin’s bright copper and red that glints through the setting sun. They look like a strangely unmatched yet very similar pair of bookends.
“It would have been better for you if he had!” Jamie bellows then pulls his cell phone out of his pocket to tell River that he has them.
“Get your butts down here!” Jamie yells after the phone call to River.
“No way, Jamie,” Jason says. “Teague might eat us.”
“Teague is the least of your worries, kiddo.” Jamie says with as much growl in his voice as he can. His voice changed last year and he can put on a passable impression of all of the Winchester men.
Justin looks at Jason. They don’t speak but there is some kind of twin telepathy going on because it is obvious they will take their chances sleeping in the tree all night.
Jamie paces around the tree, contending with Teague who is snuffling happily about now that he has found the boys. It occurs to Jamie that Teague did a good job. He,
“Good dog,” Jamie says and Teague takes it in like Jamie is a god. His whole body vibrates with happiness, his tail whipping sharply around and he whines low in his throat. Then he offers Jamie a puppy bark, far higher and sharper than and dog his size should be able to make. Teague play bows and then when Jamie doesn't take the bait, he settles at the base of the tree. Jamie watches Teague though, the pup keeps tilting his head up as if to remind Jamie that he did his job, now it's up to Jamie. And will he get to it, please?
The boys are a good twenty feet up. Fucking little monkeys. They are settled quite comfortably on fragile branches that would never hold Jamie’s weight. There is no way he can get them down. Even if River brings a ladder it wouldn’t work, there are too many branches in the way.
He will not call Mr. Jeff. He will most certainly not call Mrs. B. They are watching seven year olds!
He glances at his watch. Less than an hour into their babysitting adventure and they are already up shit’s creek.
Jamie sits down under the tree near Teague, folding his long legs up and pretending to relax.
“Whatever,” Jamie says, “I got all night.”
He doesn’t of course; JR will be here in an hour, Mrs. B around midnight and Mr. Jeff about the same time. He most definitely will not be sitting under this tree when the twins’ parents show up.
He texts River the coordinates, it’s easier than trying to explain the wild trail he took to get to this area of the woods. He’s not even sure where he is but luckily his GPS knows exactly where he is.
The Banner twins seem to know too. Or at least they aren’t concerned.
Teague realizes River is coming before Jamie. He bounces off down the trail barking madly.
River emerges from the thick growth of trees with Teague dancing around him, tail wagging furiously.
“Jamie,” River says. He’s carrying a flashlight, which is a good idea because it is getting dark.
“Over here,” Jamie says.
The flashlight finds Jamie and he puts a hand up to ward off the bright light.
“Jesus, River. I’m right here.”
“Sorry,” River shrugs and then questions “The twins?”
Jamie points up the tree and shakes his head.
“They won’t come down?”
Jamie glares at River, his voice dripping sarcasm, “Nah River, I thought it would be fun to encourage the little shits to sleep in the tree tonight. I don’t care that JR should be home in a hour or so. Hell, I don’t care that Mrs. B is probably going to have a heart attack when she sees her babies 20 feet up a tree. The only good thing will that if she dies of a heart attack, she won’t be there to beat me black and blue for not watching them. Then of course, Mr. Jeff will beat me for killing his wife. It’s a win, win situation.”
“Well, aren’t we Mr. Optimism.” River remarks brushing back a lock of surfer boy hair from his face, and then settling down in the thick layer of leaves under the tree next to Jamie.
“Awe, c’mon Jamie, this isn’t our fault. All we did was come back into the house to find the monkeys gone.”
“I dunno, Riv. I just know somebody is goin’ down for this and the way my day has gone, it’s just gotta be me.”
Part three http://wildblueyonder6.livejournal.com/53097.html