Drabbles for Conner.

Just some drabbles for Conner from "A Tale of Four Brothers".

*A Gift*
He felt so stupid, but it was all he can afford.

He knows that if he asked his mom or either of his brothers they�d gladly give him any extra cash he might need. But he wants to buy this all by himself.

But that doesn�t change the fact that as he sits there wrapping the tiny gift in old news papers he feel stupid.

He knows ma got him a new pair of skates, Michal got him a new set of tires for his beat up car and that Ian had gotten him a subscription to Maxim.

He yanked a strip of tape off and tried to resist the urge just to throw the whole thing away.

A half hour later he waited silently in his seat at the kitchen table until everyone else had presented their gifts to Jason.

Half eaten cake lays over the table, Conner keeps his eyes locked on his plate. He hadn�t managed to eat more then a few bits before the nerves got to him and he just gave up.

�Conner, honey,� Judy�s voice asked his gently. �Don�t you have something you�d like to give to your brother?�

Conner looks up to see Michal and Ian throwing grapes at each other, and arguing about something Conner can�t understand. While they might not be paying any attention to him, Jason�s eyes are locked on his face.

�Um..� he slowly slid his hand into his pocket and pull out the small package. �It�s not very good and I don�t know if you�ll like it but-�

�Conner,� Jason cut him off, �It�s ok. What ever you got me it good.�

Conner swallowed hard and passed the package across the table, leaning pass Michal to push it closer to Jason. �It�s Ok if you don�t like them though-�

Jason reached for the gift and ripped it open in one swift motion.

Conner held his breath, watching Jason�s face, feeling his own burn.

�This is�� Jason stumbled staring down at the bright red shoe laces in his hand.

�Lame,� Conner said quickly before Bobby or anyone else could say anything.

Jason lifted his head and stared at Conner, �No. It�s great! Exactly what I needed. Thanks kid, really�I mean it. Their perfect!�

Ian leaned over to look at the gift, he frowned slightly. �What I get you a full year subscription to Maxim and you really wanted shoe laces?�

Jason rolled his eyes, �Hey it�s not my fault I only have one observant brother who knows what I actually need.�

Conner dropped his eyes to his plate and tried not to let anyone see the bright smile on his face. He flinched when he felt his mother�s hand pat his shoulder.

He looked toward her, �Good gift Conner,�

It was later that night, after everyone had already gone to sleep when Conner crept back down stairs for a glass of water.

He stepped off the bottom step and turned toward the kitchen when he stumbled. He caught himself quickly then looked down, trying to focus his eyes.

After a moment he smiled, red shoelaces beaming in the darkness.


*Toothbrush*
"When Judy took me in, it was no different for me until she caught me with my pockets all full. And she tried to explain to me what it meant to be adopted and what it meant to have a family, what it meant to have a last name. And she would say, 'Conner. There's no reason to steal your own toothbrush anymore.' Because I would take it and I would put it in my sock drawer..."
�Conner?�

Conner froze, swallowing past the lump in his throat. This was the end. He�d be caught and it would all be over, he�d be sent back to the group home and then shipped somewhere else. He turned slowly and put his hands behind his back, a look of confused innocence on his face.

Judy was standing in the doorway of his room, her mouth folded in a thin line as though she suspected something but wasn�t going to say anything about it yet. Did she know? Or did she just guess? She might not have seen him take it�.

Judy noticed the way he had tightened up when he heard his name and she also noticed the small motion of his hand as he turned around. She�d figured out over the past week or so that Conner was a very accomplished thief and would know better than to make such an obvious motion as to put his hands behind his back. She must have caught him off guard because he had his hands behind his back now and his eyes were as wide as saucers. She watched him struggle to swallow and felt a tug at her heart. What she really wanted to do was to scoop him in her arms and tell him that everything was going to be okay. But that wouldn�t be best for Conner. They needed to deal with this or nothing was going to change.

�Conner, what��

�Hey, Ma!�

Judy let out an exasperated breath as she heard her name from downstairs. She didn�t want to let this opportunity pass. �I�ll be right down, Ian,� she called down the hall and then fixed her attention on Conner again. �Don�t go anywhere, I�ll be right back,� she said, holding him with a serious look that rooted him to the floor until she left.

She knew. Oh, help, she knew.

But still� She might not hurt him if she didn�t find it with him. Well, if he couldn�t run, he could at least hide. Conner waited until he heard the top step creak before he whipped around and rifled through his sock drawer, shoving his pockets� contents into it until he heard Judy�s voice moving up the stairs. He�d have to cover for himself and pray she wouldn�t notice. Stuffing his socks back in, he fervently hoped they�d be enough. He only had six because that was how many the store sold in a pack but he could lock the door after she�d left so no one would go through his stuff. And after all, who would look for valuables in a sock drawer?

He�d just closed the drawer when he heard Judy behind him. The knot in his stomach hardened, rising to his chest so it was hard to breathe. Any second now, she�d ask�

�Conner,� Judy said casually, �Ian went out and your other brothers seem to have disappeared. Would you mind helping an old woman with the dishes?� She smiled warmly.

Conner narrowed his eyes slightly without thinking of what he was doing. He was considering her offer and trying to decide whether it was an actual choice or a cleverly veiled command. He decided to risk it.

�I don�t really want to.�

Judy sighed. She had expected as much, but she�d wanted to talk with him about this incident while they were doing something constructive together so it wouldn�t seem so much like an attack. She was certain that he was hiding something and wanted to help him understand�

�Well, I�d like to talk to you for a bit.�

She stepped forward and Conner automatically stepped back, bumping into his dresser.

�About what?� he asked warily.

�Oh, just a little discussion, about school and friends and things like that. I�d like to know how you like it here, Conner. And if you had anything on your mind, or anything you need.�

A discussion. Judy had said they were going to have a discussion. That usually had something to do with yelling. He didn�t want to have a discussion. The toothbrush was his, she�d said it was. He felt a cold trickle of sweat roll down the nape of his neck. The problem was the other things in the drawer and in his pockets. She hadn�t said those were his. In fact, he was pretty sure they weren�t.

�Conner?�

Definitely sure they weren�t.

His eyes widened. Judy crouched down in front of him and reached out to take him by the shoulders. He flinched and closed his eyes tightly, turning his head away. It was a moment before he opened his eyes to see Judy�s concerned face. Conner relaxed a little. She wasn�t hurting him�yet. But she was looking into his eyes like she could see something�. He swiftly pushed his hands over his pockets as though to cover them. They were bulging with everything from loose change to dollar bills�anything he�d been able to get his hands on over the past week. He only had two pairs of jeans but every morning he transferred the money into the ones he was going to wear. He dared a glance down and saw the corner of a wadded up bill sticking out of his pocket. He tore his eyes from it in time to see that Judy had followed his gaze down. Angry, frustrated tears welled up in his eyes. He had never been able to keep up the charade, which nearly always got him sent back to the group home. But he was eleven now, almost twelve, his chances at adoption slim to none. Worse, he�d just messed up his last chance at a decent place. If Judy had suspected before, she knew now.

�Conner,� she began quietly, �what is this?�

He didn�t answer, only stared at her for a quick minute before shifting his gaze to the floor. He was biting his lip to keep the angry tears from falling.

�Conner, answer me.� She let go of his hands and began emptying his pockets, letting the valuables pile on the floor without a care. Her watch, a few earrings, bills and loose change made a pile that seemed to press on Conner�s shoulders the higher it grew. Judy looked at the amassed amount with shock. She had thought he was a clever thief but she hardly knew that he had taken this much�. Without saying a word, she leaned over his crouched form and opened his drawer, pulling out the money he�d been able to stash in there as well as the toothbrush at the bottom. Conner was panicked to see that the toothbrush seemed to shake her far more than anything else had. What kind of woman became more distraught over a kid stealing a toothbrush than jewelry?

He should run. His instinct told him to run. But, instead of running, Conner found himself crumpling on the ground next to that awful pile, hugging his knees to his chest. The look of disappointment on Judy�s face was more hurtful than he would have thought.�What is this?� she asked, ignoring the other things and holding out the toothbrush, her face looking as though he had slapped her and she was trying not to cry.

�You said it was mine,� he supplied, his voice hardly more than a whisper.

�It is yours. You live in a family where nobody�s going to take anything from you, Conner. Nothing you don�t want to give.� She held him at arm�s length and bent her head to look into his eyes. �So why did you hide this in your sock drawer?� Conner tried to twist out of her hands but she tightened her grip on his shoulders and said firmly, �Look at me, Conner. Hey, you look at me.�

He raised his eyes to hers slowly.

�You�re safe now,� she whispered. �Conner. There�s no reason to steal your own toothbrush anymore. You understand me?� She raised her eyebrows to encourage a response.

He didn�t answer.

Her voice became more commanding. �Do you understand me, Conner O'Riley?�

He swallowed and nodded.

�Alright then.� She straightened. �We�ll have no more of that, then, will we?�

Conner shook his head mutely and took the offered toothbrush from Judy�s hand very slowly. He watched carefully as she left the rest and went downstairs, pausing to swipe at her face as she turned the corner as though there was something on it. He peeked around the doorway to make sure she was gone and then gathered the pile in his shirt and carried it to her room to arrange it on her bed. He felt lighter without having to carry it all around anymore; but it was more than just that, he realized, when he put the toothbrush back in the bathroom drawer. Conner O'Riley. He had a last name that finally seemed to fit him. It felt good. Just as good as it felt to let go of his toothbrush and walk away. It would still be waiting for him whenever he needed it. Just like his last name.
*A Mothers Love*
"Hold still now," she tells him, her fingers cleaning the cut on his knee with care.

Conner squirms and bites back the whimper that's caught in his throat.

He wants to protest that he's fine, he's not a baby, and can't she see that?

Instead he looks at the way her white hair gleams in the sun that shines through the leaves, brightening the shade.

She...glows, kind hands, firm, loving words, more than he's ever known.

She smoothes the bandage, one with cartoon mice on it and Conner blinks tears of gratitude away.

She kisses his forehead, the pain forgotten.

*For Her*
Judy stood in the middle of the kitchen, hands on her hips, observing the entire mess.

And a mess it was, egg shells, yolks, flour and crumbs littered the counter. Droplets of juice splattered across the floor, more flour in the sink and streaks of syrup mixed with ketchup were dried on the stove.

"How...What on earth happened?" she said.

Conner stood before her in a too-big apron, his hands shakily holding out a full plate of food.

"Happy Mother's Day," he mumbled shyly, his eyes on the floor.

Judy hugged him tightly, tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Conner."

Author's Note

Ok, some are kinda long to be drabbles, but, oh well ^-^. Review, wich one did you like best?

Reviews

[Liza And Natasha]

Really really best work of yours yet! The editing is fine, and also, I think some grammer errors were in some of the first sentences but, the writing was magnificant!