all ages

Poor Bobby Belden… he does get a bit tossed around in some of the books. One such tossing was fertile grounds for my imagination. So sorry guys… I got a bit daring for the series with this ending. This short comes from #21, Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Castaway Children. Enjoy Fireflies.

Trixie Belden and etc. belong to Random House.

Fireflies

by Heather(Trix15)

Trixie sighed as she sat down on the front porch of Crabapple Farm. Jim had been leaning against one of the posts and he now sat up a bit straighter and invited her to lean against him. After receiving Bobby’s spontaneous invitation to stay over after the night’s events, Jim and Honey gladly accepted. Honey, who had trouble keeping her eyes open, had gone upstairs, as had Brian, Mart and Trixie’s parents. Jim and Trixie however were strangely wired and unable to settle down. Even sitting here on the porch, they were restless, their minds racing with the latest mystery the Bob-Whites had gotten into.

"This case was certainly different in one way," Trixie said.

"What’s that?" Jim’s voice was amused in tone, but low so as not to wake anyone up in the house.

"We worked with Sergeant Molinson. I mean, he actually asked for our help."

"Yes, I imagine that will be somewhat of a memorable aspect to this case. But I would be willing to bet you that the next time you have a case here in Sleepyside, he asks you to butt out as well."

"And of course I won’t," she informed him pertly. Maybe I’ll even gently remind him of this case." Trixie tilted her nose up and waved her hand in front of her as she said this. "If he only remembered all of the times the Belden-Wheeler Detective Agency has helped the Sleepyside Police Department out."

"Yes," Jim sighed, shifting so his arm gently wound itself around Trixie’s waist. "It does seem as though he’s giving you a medal one day, and ready to banish you from the town the next."

Trixie’s surprised eyes wandered around to her right side glancing down at the hand that had landed on her side and shifted a little closer to him.

"I must admit though, that working with him has opened my eyes about him some."

"Oh? In what way?"

"Well," she paused. "I guess I discovered that however much he yells at me, he actually does have a heart."

Jim smiled into the darkness waiting for her to continue. The fireflies were beginning to settle down as well, leaving only occasional flashes of light in the black.

"I never thought he could do something so… normal as eating ice cream. I thought my eyes would pop out when he accepted. I guess when dad asked if he’d had a long day, I just sort of realized that much of what he deals with can be pretty rough and maybe he’s seen so much, it makes him in a bad mood all the time."

"Just remember, Trix, that same stuff is what you and Honey will have to deal with everyday as well. Maybe that’s why he’s so hard on you. He knows what’s out there and underneath that hard exterior, he really cares about you. Perhaps that’s the only way he feels he can show it without getting too personally involved. It makes it easier for him to do his job."

"True," she mused, remaining quiet for a few minutes. "But there is another side to him. Maybe he has a thing for children in danger. I mean, when we drove Dodgy out to the Dodge’s house, he was sort of gruff, but you know, for some reason, I could just tell that he was actually listening to what I had to say. It was as if he wanted to absorb every imaginable idea, however lu- lucridus – "

"Ludicrous," Jim whispered in her ear, giving her a gentle squeeze.

"Ludicrous. When I was looking at Moses--I mean Dodgy-- with him, I was so quiet. I was almost afraid to break the spell. He calmed Eileen down when she found out that we didn’t have Davy with us. He even called us his "friends" when we were introduced to the Dodges. It’s a good thing I wasn’t holding Dodgy at that time. I might have dropped him instead of my jaw. Hey! Maybe that’s it," she giggled softly. "Maybe it takes a baby to get on his good side."

Had Jim been drinking anything, he would have comically spewed it all over the front lawn. It’s a little early for that, Trix, isn’t it? he thought to himself. "Something tells me, Trix, that even if that were the case, he’d still not have been happy with us for going to pay the Roger and Jeff Higgins a visit."

"I supposed you’re right," she smiled. "Still,  it was nice while it lasted. I’m wondering if I should wash the hand that he shook tonight. I might never get another one," she added sarcastically.

He merely laughed.

Even though they could not see one another’s eyes, they turned their heads towards one another anyway. The comfortable silence that fell between them was an enjoyable end to the night.

It was broken however, by the arrival of Bobby Belden.

"Bobby!" Trixie gasped. "What’s wrong? You should be in bed."

Bobby moved down the steps to stand in front of them. Jim had slowly moved his arm from around Trixie, giving her one last reassuring squeeze as he did so.

"What’s up, Bobby?" he asked.

Bobby rubbed his eyes. "I can’t sleep. Those bad men who tried to kidnap us scared me. I hate them!"

Trixie and Jim couldn’t see it but they could hear the quaver in Bobby’s voice that let them know he was on the verge of tears. She knew that Bobby had put on a brave front that night, but at his age, even the most courageous child would have been frightened. Her anger at the men came back. It was one thing for her to have narrow escapes. It was another for someone to lay a hand on her little brother.

"Come here, sweetie," she offered, holding out her arms in invitation. Being out of the range of anyone else who might offend his grown up sensibilities, he was no longer afraid to show how much the men had scared him. Next to his parents, in his big sister’s arms was the only place he wanted to be. Bobby walked up the steps and turned around, plunking himself into her lap. Jim reached over and ruffled Bobby’s hair.

"Why were those men bad, Trix? Why’d they try to do something mean to Moses’ parents, and Moses and Davy?"

Trixie sighed. "Bobby, I’m really not sure what makes bad people act the way they do. Some people just didn’t grow up the way we did, with loving parents and brothers and sisters. Some people just aren’t willing to accept the things they have in life without trying to get more and more, through any way possible. And maybe some people are just born mean. I’m sorry that you were hurt tonight. Those men did a very bad thing and they will be in trouble for it. Sergeant Molinson will see to that."

"But they might have hurt a little baby, too." Trixie could see Bobby shake his head at the thought.

"Bobby, like Trixie said, it’s hard to explain why people do what they do," Jim broke in. "The important thing is that we make sure that we always appreciate what we have and that we don’t become like those people. And," he paused, "that we don’t hate them but forgive them."

"Why?" Bobby Belden looked genuinely confused. Trixie looked at Jim, his face ever so briefly lit up by a firefly. She raised her eyebrows as if to say, "walked right into this one, didn’t you?"

"Bobby," Jim began. "Men like the bad ones from tonight-– they need help. They need people to want to help them, not to hate them. That’s not to say that they can stay on the streets while doing the bad things they do. But someone has to take the step to reach out and make a move to give some of these people aid."

"Is that why you want to start your school?"

Both Trixie and Jim were surprised at the astuteness of his question. Trixie herself, not yet to the point of wanting to forgive anyone for holding Bobby hostage, had been wondering where Jim was coming from.

"Yes, Bobby. That’s why I want to start my school. Had I not been taken in by the Wheelers, there’s no telling where I might have ended up. I know now that had I shipped off on a cattle boat, things might not have turned out the way they did for me."

"But – " he still sounded a bit confused. "Wouldn’t those bad guys and other people like that be too old for your school?"

"The way those men behave, Bobby – the way people like my step-father behave – those things start when you’re a child, maybe even as young as your age. I might not be able to do anything for people that are too old for school anymore. But I can try and help the ones who aren’t quite leading a life of crime yet."

Bobby pondered this over for a little while. "So who will help the old people? What will help them?"

Jim and Trixie sighed simultaneously. "I don’t know, Bobby," Jim answered softly. "I just don’t know. But hate and mean thoughts won’t help them, that’s for sure. Hate only makes things worse - for everyone."

The three sat in silence for a little while. Bobby lifted a finger and held it out still.

"What are you doing?" Trixie yawned.

He merely turned around towards her and Jim. In an instant, a firefly lit it’s tail on the end of his finger, walking around as if it belonged there.

"I’m nice because I get to play with fireflies. Maybe everybody doesn’t. Do you think those men would like me to bring them a jar of fireflies to play with. Maybe they’d be unmean then."

Trixie, stunned, merely managed to smile through her tears. Jim, sensing them, placed his arm back around her, this time across her shoulders, and drew her in to his body, bringing Bobby with them.

"Maybe, Bobby," Jim said gently. "Maybe."

They sat for a few minutes longer. Presently, Jim noticed that Trixie’s head had drooped on his shoulder, and Bobby’s head was propped under Trixie’s chin. He gingerly scooted out from between Trixie and the post, letting her shoulder and head rest against the post. It didn’t look extremely comfortable, but he didn’t want to wake her either. He picked up the sleeping Bobby and walked quietly inside the house and up the stairs.

Jim pulled back the single sheet from the bed and placed the sleeping child on it, recovering only his legs. Impulsively, he leaned down and placed a kiss on Bobby’s forehead, backing out of the door.

Back downstairs, he opened the front door. Trixie hadn’t moved. He stood for what seemed like the longest time, just looking at her, drinking in the sight.

Jim slowly took the few steps all at once and turned around to reposition himself back between her and the post. He let her head lean against his shoulder once more and closed his eyes.

To their left, the sun was coming up over the ruins of Ten Acres before either of them awoke again.