It was just after 3:00am. The lights from the street lamps outside filtered in through the window and mixed with the dimmed light from the bedside table lamp. At first Vin wasn't sure just what had woken him up. It didn't take long though, before he recognized the sounds he had heard a great many times at nights, over the weeks since their journey had started.
Pushing the covers away he moved quickly over the hardwood floor on bare feet, to the other bed in the room. Once there he climbed into the bed, next to the small and curled-up form of the whimpering boy. He knew from earlier occasions not to touch the seven year old right away. Instead Vin settled down next to Ezra before leaning closer, making sure the younger boy would hear him.
“It's ok, little brother,” he whispered. “It's just a nightmare. No one's going to hurt you anymore, I'm right here.” Carefully he wiped tears away from Ezra's small face. “Tiger, you need to wake up…” Vin moved to stroke Ezra's hair, satisfied that the boy didn't move or flinch away from him. Still talking to the child he lifted him over in his lap and hugged him tight.
“Don't you worry, I'm right here, there's nothing to be afraid of now…”
All Vin could hear was quiet sobbing. Ezra was leaned in against his chest, hands fisted in Vin's T-shirt and face buried in the nineteen year old's chest. The older boy was rocking him, still whispering soothing words. Over their weeks together Vin had seen a number of different kinds of bad dreams, as far as he could tell coming from different memories. At least this one hadn't been one of the worst ones and his little brother seemed to quieting down again.
“Vin?” The tentative mention of his name made Vin press a quick kiss into the tousled chestnut hair.
“Right here.”
He heard a soft, relieved sigh and then Ezra's body relaxed against Vin's own body, the boy snuggling closer. Scooting into the middle of the bed, Vin drew the blankets up around them.
“You ok, Tiger?” He didn't try to make Ezra tell him about the nightmare, knowing that the boy would refuse.
“Yeah.”
Vin could tell by Ezra's voice that the seven year old wasn't going back to sleep again. Normally the boy would fall back to sleep securely held in Vin's arms. But every once in a while the two of them spent the remains of the night talking, not falling asleep before the sun came up.
“You nervous about tomorrow?” Vin asked. “We're going to have to take a trip around town, you and me…to check things out, you know. Our new home. We need to get us a place to stay too, maybe with a garden?”
He felt Ezra nod.
“With some trees for climbing,” Vin continued, “and some flower beds you can help me with…and maybe we could get a dog too…”
“A cat.”
“Or a cat,” Vin smiled, resting his chin on top of Ezra's dark hair. “Or both.”
“I want a black cat,” Ezra decided. “Like in that book with the witch and the raven, remember?”
“I remember. We need to have a big garden then, if we're going to have a kitten. They need lot of place to roam about and play and stuff…” Vin's thoughts returned to the book Ezra had mentioned. He had picked it up at one of the second hand stores they had been in. It was a safe place to buy some extra clothes and other things they needed, and Vin had made sure to get some toys for the younger boy as well. More often than not it had been books, puzzles or games. Buying from second hand stores also made the money last longer. Vin had brought the credit card he had applied for when he started college. He had never used it much and he knew he wasn't going to be able to use it again in a long time, possibly never. Their biggest problem as he could tell, was their need for papers…forged papers cost a lot of money and Vin didn't really know where to get them either. In time he could probably go back to his own name, but Ezra did need a permanent new name. To Vin, Ezra Tanner sounded just fine, but for now they were going to have to settle for an alias.
Vin knew that what he had done could be seen as kidnapping, but the thought didn't bother him much. He had to do it, in order to save Ezra's life. And he didn't think that Harburg was going to the police to report Ezra missing either. Or Maude, if she ever showed up again. If she was still alive… Vin frowned. He didn't know if Harburg knew that he had heard the phone conversation, or if he even knew about Vin's friendship with his step son. His own disappearance wouldn't raise much attention either, with his bank account emptied out, his clothes and car gone as well.
“You can have a dog if you want to.” Ezra's voice cut into his thoughts.
“I can?” Vin smiled. “That's right nice of you, Ez. Do you think it'll get along with the cat?”
“I think it would,” Ezra answered right away. “The dog, he would protect the cat, because the cat is smaller, and if someone tried to hurt the cat, the dog would bite them.”
Vin nodded. “That's true. But you know, the cat has sharp claws and all…I bet if someone tried to hurt the dog, the cat would take them on.”
Ezra was quiet for a few seconds. “Yes,” he then replied. “I think it would.”
“I know he would.” Vin shifted his eyes to the windows where the curtains were drawn. “You know, Tiger, we need to come up with a name for us to use here…now that we're going to be using it for a while we need something familiar, something we won't forget. Any ideas?”
He still hadn't let go completely of the thought of both of them using his name, like real brothers. But that lay far ahead in the future, most likely for another place when he could be sure it was safe.
“How about Parker?” a slightly insecure voice asked.
“Your middle name.” Vin thought about it. “Yep, that's perfect. Vin and Ezra Parker.” He smiled. “Sounds good, doesn't it?”
“Yep,” Ezra replied, drawing a chuckle from Vin. “Good.” He shifted a little in his big brother's arms. “Are you nervous about tomorrow, Vin?”
“Maybe a little. I hope that I'm going to find a job, and a place to live for us and that we're going to like it here… It's a whole bunch of hopes.”
“I think we will like it here.” Ezra sounded a lot surer than Vin felt. “And you're going to find a great job and we're going to live in a house with a garden and cats and dogs and flowers and…” Ezra had to stop to breathe.
“And maybe one day I'll meet a nice girl and we'll get married and we'll have a hundred children,” Vin picked up, “and then you'll have a lot of little sisters and brothers to play with and boss around…”
Both boys were lost in their own thoughts of what the future could bring. It took the seven year old some time to work up the courage to ask the question he wanted to ask. Vin felt the light tensing of muscles and knew Ezra was getting ready to ask him something serious.
“Are you going to love me the same when you have children on your own, Vin?”
The teenager didn't need any time to think about the answer.
“Of course I am!” Vin hugged the smaller boy fiercely. “No matter what happens, Ez, no matter who comes into our lives, no matter how many children I might have…you're always going to be my Tiger and nothing's going to change that. We're a team, you and me. And I need you to never forget that, Ezra.”
“I won't,” the smaller boy solemnly promised.
The first rays of the morning sun edged over the window sill, finding ways into the room between the gap in the curtains. The rose embroidered fabric grew lighter until the white background was almost glowing against the dark red of the rosebuds. The shadows in the room curled around themselves, chasing their own tails for a second before they were gone.
The sun climbed surely and steadily higher in the summer blue sky. It peeked through the curtains that danced gently in the breeze and fell inside in a wash of golden insistent light to find the two in bed sound asleep, the smallest one still safely held in his big brother's arms.
The End
Sequel: A Place to Stay
