Author's Notes: This chapter is my celebration story - exactly one year ago, my first fanfic was posted ("Trick Or Treat" which is set in Xanthe's brilliant 24/7 Universe) I can't believe how fast time flies when you're having fun! :-) One year already! Wow! Additional Notes: Ghoulish monster-thanks to Karen who helped me with lots of priceless information on Halloween in the Wild West. This chapter wouldn't have seen the light of day without her. It's all *your* fault that I wrote another huge story. Hope you're happy now, missy! :-) Warning: This is a Western AU with a teenaged Fox who will eventually have some sort of parental relationship with Skinner. If this isn't your cup of tea, do not read on. Category: PG-13, Discipline Disclaimer: I went trick or treating at CC's house and he gave me those characters as a treat! Ain't he just the nicest surfer dude around? My addy is: gaby@gaby.slashcity.tv My home is at: http://gaby.slashcity.tv Summary: Independence is visited by ghosts and ghouls...and those grinning pumpkin thingies... INDEPENDENCE by Gaby Chapter 9 - Mischief Night Sheriff Skinner sat in his rocking chair by the fire place, reading a book. His rascal was curled up in the big man's lap, his head safely resting on the sheriff's shoulder. It was the boy's Reflection Time and Fox had argued that he could reflect just as well nestled close to his old meanie. Skinner thought that Reflection Time did help the boy calm down and focus before going to bed - his rascal was always full of pent-up energy, and having him sit down and just reflect upon the things that had happened during the day proved to be the perfect way of winding him down. The sheriff only insisted on the boy's spending half an hour sitting quietly; Fox usually drew a picture in his notebook when he did that though he didn't 'write' in it anymore. Sometimes he would just sit on the floor and stare at the licking flames in the fire place, finding some inner peace after only a few minutes. The big man had been surprised when Fox came to him the first time about a week earlier, silently asking to be cuddled during Reflection Time. Skinner had readily agreed because he loved having the boy near. So he didn't mind wrapping him in a sheltering hug when his rascal had come to him tonight as well. It was the first time the big man was allowed near the boy again after that ill-fated incident a few days earlier. Fox had settled into his new life at school pretty well; he was a good student and caught up to Alex in no time and he even enjoyed going to school - for the most part. He was generally happy with his life and it clearly showed. That was probably the reason why one day Skinner had just ignored his knowledge about never touching the boy without his consent and he had snuck up on him and wrapped his arms around the boy to lovingly squeeze the skinny body. Fox had yelled his head off in a panic attack, kicking and biting the big man until Skinner had released him. The sheriff had had to get Maggie Scully because he wasn't able to calm the hysterical boy down. Fox only reluctantly spent the night in Skinner's cabin after that and he refused to be near the sheriff for the next two days. Skinner had almost wept with relief when Fox had finally allowed him to ruffle his hair again. The big man had sworn to himself to never scare the boy like that again so he refrained from just reaching out, even if Fox was able to see the hand. Skinner patiently waited for the boy to make the first move and when Fox did finally make it tonight, the happy sheriff couldn't help but grin like an idiot. So now he sat in his rocking chair, his rascal nestled close, and his life being good. Skinner didn't care about his book, he had to admit that he had read the last page three times already without knowing what it said. He was just too busy watching the boy, taking in the even breathing, the reassuring weight of his rascal's head on his shoulder, the feel of those long, silky locks tickling his neck and chin, the way the flames cast a warm glow on the boy's slightly flushed face... The sheriff was startled out of his reverie when Fox stirred and two big hazel eyes stared up at him. Skinner had to grin. Even though he didn't know for certain, he suspected that his rascal had finally learned to tell time because since he started school he always knew precisely what time it was. The big man glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. Yep, the half hour was over. On the dot. Fox scrambled around until he straddled the big man's thighs, facing him. The boy solemnly looked at the sheriff and waited. Skinner put his book away, smiling at the boy. He knew that his rascal sometimes needed a little time to work up the courage to talk to him about something. He had also found out that oftentimes Fox was able to tackle the issue he was nervous about after Reflection Time. So he locked eyes with the boy and cocked his head. "Anything you want to talk about, Rascal?" The boy nodded hesitantly and chewed on his lower lip. Then, after a long moment he ventured, "Halloween." Skinner laughed out loud. "Ah, the so-called 'Mischief Night'? Why am I not surprised?" He slowly reached out to tap the boy's nose, giving his rascal ample time to draw back if he didn't want to be touched. Fox just grinned slightly when he felt the blunt fingertip on his nose, but he blinked in confusion when he heard the sheriff's comment. "So, what have Alex and you planned?" Skinner asked. "Planned?" Fox echoed blankly. The boy had no idea what this Halloween thing was so he had finally worked up the courage to ask his old meanie! But the big man didn't seem to be willing to explain the whole thing to him. So Fox changed tactics. "What are *your* plans?" he asked instead. Skinner winked knowingly. "I see. You don't want to tell me any secrets! Well, that's fine by me. As long as you boys don't do anything stupid or dangerous I'll look the other way." Again, Fox blinked in confusion. What was the big man talking about? "As for my plans, well, since I'm the sheriff I'll try to make sure that things won't get out of hand but I'll mostly just have fun at the barn dance." He winked again. Fox's mouth dropped open. Barn dance? "And, as I said before, mischief is fine by me as long as it's in good fun. Remember that and you won't get into trouble." Skinner softly poked the boy's ribs, making him squirm and giggle. "Oh, and before I forget! I'll carve a jack o'lantern this weekend. I thought you might like to help me?" Again the boy had no idea what the big man was talking about but nodded his head anyway. Skinner smiled when he saw that and Fox realized that the sheriff wanted nothing more than to give him a big hug but stopped himself so he wouldn't scare his rascal. So the boy wrapped his arms around the big man's neck and squeezed tight. Skinner's arms immediately crushed him close to the broad chest. Fox sighed and relaxed. That was nice. He had no idea what they had just talked about but there were still other people he could ask. He would just have to talk to Alex the next day. XXXXX Of course, Fox couldn't bring himself to talk to his friend about Halloween but he kept his eyes and ears open and he finally gathered enough information to satisfy his ever curious mind. Some townspeople had begun to decorate their shops or houses and Fox was completely enthralled by the way Independence slowly began to look different. Friday after school, he finally couldn't help himself and asked Alex, "So, did you plan anything for Halloween?" He hoped with all his might that Alex wouldn't be able to call his bluff because even though he had learned that the barn dance Skinner mentioned would be held at the livery stable and that most people would attend and that it would be a long night, he still had no idea what those 'plans' were that the sheriff had hinted at. His friend, however, just grinned. "Oh, we have a couple of things planned already. And we're glad you'll help us!" He slapped Fox's back and winked. Fox just blinked in confusion. 'We'? Who were 'we'? And help them with what? "We'll just meet at the barn dance and take it from there," Alex continued, totally oblivious to his friend's state of confusion. "I'm sure you can't wait to get even with Donny, eh?" Fox's eyes lit up. Get even with Donny? Oh, he liked the sound of that! The stupid bully had been pestering him and his friends on a daily basis for two weeks now and he was heartily sick of the boy. Fox nodded enthusiastically. Alex merely grinned and winked again. "See? Knew you would!" And with that, he ran home. XXXXX Sunday afternoon Fox was surprised by the sheriff carrying a huge pumpkin out of the cabin to the front porch. The boy was sitting on the fence again, softly talking to his beloved Spirit. That was the only way he was able to survive church - he knew he'd be spending the rest of the day with the little horse. Skinner smiled when he saw his rascal, sitting on top of the fence, drawn between staying with Spirit and coming close to examine what interesting thing the sheriff was about to do. The big man simply turned around and walked back into the cabin. When he came out again, this time carrying a smaller pumpkin as well as a pot, Fox was crouched on the front porch, fingering the pumpkin there. "Here, Rascal. I brought one just for you," Skinner said, holding the smaller pumpkin out for Fox to take. The boy smiled broadly and grabbed the pumpkin. "I thought we'd do this outside. It's such a lovely day today and besides, I don't want all that mess inside the cabin." Skinner winked at the boy who frowned in return. Mess? What mess? And what was that pot for, anyway? He had seen a few of those funny looking pumpkins already and they all seemed un-messy. Fox mentally shrugged and put his pumpkin next to the sheriff's. "Come on, Rascal, we need some carving knives," Skinner continued, walking over to his woodshed. Fox jumped to his feet eagerly. He had been looking for his gun everywhere - except in the woodshed. For whatever reason he just couldn't bring himself to sneak in there even when he knew the big man wasn't near. But now he could finally take a look around! This was perfect! Because even though he did indeed like his life here he still wanted to go and find his lost little sister and he wasn't going to do that without his gun... Skinner opened the door to the woodshed, ushering the boy inside. Fox scanned the room quickly but he couldn't see his gun. Well, there were so many shelves and boxes that it was impossible to find *anything* here so Fox decided he had to come back here sooner or later. He just had a feeling that his gun was hidden somewhere in this woodshed; it *had* to be - after all, he had looked everywhere else! "Now, be very careful with that, Rascal," Skinner implored, holding out a knife to the boy. "It's very sharp." Fox carefully took the knife, looking at it. The sheriff was right - the damned thing even *looked* sharp! "Can I keep it?" he asked excitedly. "Definitely not," Skinner replied, shocked. "Those carving knives are sharp and they are expensive. This is not a child's toy." "I'm not a child!" Fox exclaimed indignantly. The sheriff tried to hide his smile while he gently pushed the boy outside, a second knife in his left hand. "It's not a Rascal's toy either," he chuckled, ruffling the boy's hair. Fox shot him a dirty look but didn't say anything. "So, have you ever carved a jack o'lantern before?" the big man asked. Fox shook his head. Skinner raised a surprised eyebrow. What the hell kind of parents did the boy have, anyway? There were so many things his rascal had never done in his life before! The sheriff shook his head in disbelief. "Well, I'll show you how to do it then. Just watch me closely, Rascal. It's not that difficult." The boy nodded eagerly. Sounded like fun! He loved spending time with his old meanie and he would learn something new on top of that! Could it get any better than this? They sat down on the front porch and Skinner inserted his knife into his pumpkin. "First we have to take off the top," he explained, cutting a straight line through the upper part of the pumpkin. Fox tried to imitate him but it was harder than it looked and he couldn't keep the knife straight. Skinner gently laid his hand on the boy's and guided the knife until the top of the smaller pumpkin was cut off. Fox smiled at the big man gratefully. "And now," Skinner said dramatically before he lifted the top with a flourish. The boy was about to do the same with his pumpkin when he saw what was inside the big man's pumpkin. Eww! The carved pumpkins he had seen were all neat and tidy inside! What the hell was that stuff in there, anyway? Skinner chuckled. "Now we'll hollow them out. We can take the pulp to Maggie later on; she makes the best pumpkin pies!" Fox stared at the sheriff in disbelief. He was supposed to eat that yucky looking stuff in there? Not if he could help it! Skinner matter-of-factly shoved a big spoon in the boy's hand before he began to hollow out his own pumpkin, depositing the pulp into the huge pot. "Look, Rascal, we need the pumpkins all hollowed-out before we can cut the faces in so get cracking," he said after a long moment in which Fox didn't move a muscle. "And a jack o'lantern without a scary face isn't a jack o'lantern, right?" He smiled reassuringly. Fox merely shrugged. What the hell did *he* know what a jack o'lantern was, anyway? Well, maybe his old meanie knew... "Why is it called jack o'lantern?" he asked while he plunged the spoon and knife in his pumpkin. "Oh, that's quite an interesting story, actually. Do you want to hear it?" Skinner had to laugh out loud when he saw the look his rascal shot him. The big man knew how much the boy loved listening to stories, either told or read out loud to him. He would never pass up an opportunity to hear something new! The sheriff noisily cleared his throat before he began, "Once upon a time..." Fox stared at the big man in disbelief. Skinner grinned again and started over. "Okay, it's actually an Irish folklore," he explained. "A long time ago there was a guy named Jack. He was a well-known notorious drunkard and trickster-" "When exactly was that?" Fox asked eagerly. Skinner frowned. "I don't know, Rascal. As I said before, it's only a tale. It probably never even happened. Now, as I was saying, there was this Jack. And he managed to trick the devil into climbing a tree-" "Why would he do that?" Fox inquired, confused. "Because he was threatened with a spanking," the sheriff muttered. Fox grinned. He loved it when he could throw his old meanie off-balance. "I don't know why, Rascal. He just did. Now, do you want to hear this story or not?" The boy generously nodded his head and waved a pumpkin pulp-covered hand. "Please, continue." "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, the devil was trapped on that tree because Jack had carved a cross into the tree's trunk. And he would only let the devil down again if he was promised that the devil would never tempt him again. Well, when Jack finally died, he was denied access to Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied entrance to Hell because he had once tricked the devil. So, instead the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the frigid darkness. The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer." Fox pursed his lips. "Turnip?" he asked with a disgusted look on his face. Skinner chuckled. "Yes, a turnip. Anyway, that's how the original 'Jack's lantern' was created. When the Irish came to America later on they realized that for whatever reason there were more pumpkins than turnips here so they decided to use those instead. And that's why we're now hollowing out our pumpkins so we can place an ember inside. Or, in this case, a candle." The sheriff looked at the progress they had made, nodding approvingly. The pumpkins were empty, the pot was full. "Maggie will be able to make at least a dozen pumpkin pies," he smiled. "You'll love them, I'm sure. Now, all we need is the scary face." Skinner began to cut away pieces of the pumpkin with practiced hands and before long a really scary looking face was staring at them. "What do you think?" he asked the boy. "Looks like Evil Bill," Fox muttered causing Skinner to give a belly laugh. "Do I have to carve a face? Can't I give a horse a try?" the boy asked, looking over at Spirit. The sheriff smiled. "Well, you can do whatever you want with it, Rascal, but I think a horse would be a little difficult." "Not when you're helping me!" Fox protested. Skinner thought about that for a moment. "Okay, fine. Though I'm sure the townspeople will be surprised to see your pumpkin, Rascal..." "I don't want anybody to see it! Except maybe Rose and Miss Dana. And maybe Alex." "But I thought you would want to bring it into town like all the others. We always have a big contest of who carved the scariest jack o'lantern." The sheriff raised a surprised eyebrow. His rascal was adamant. "No. I want my pumpkin to stay here and protect the cabin while we are gone," he stated forcefully, nodding to himself. The sheriff smiled. "Okay, Rascal. Why don't you go inside and get your pencil? Then you can draw the outline of your horse on the pumpkin before you start carving. And if you still need help I'll be happy to assist you." Fox nodded eagerly and did as he was told. And between the two of them, they actually managed to carve a galloping horse into the boy's pumpkin. XXXXX The sheriff sighed in exasperation. "No, Rascal," he repeated forcefully for the third time. "I already told you that you're not allowed to!" "But why?" Fox whined. Skinner shot him a stern look. They were on their way to Independence. It was Halloween and the big man had promised several ranchers to drop by to pick up more hay bails as well as pumpkins and gourds at their places before he drove into town. It had already been a small fight when Fox realized that they would use the wagon - the boy hated it when his poor Buck was harnessed. And now he wasn't even allowed to drive the wagon! "I already explained it to you, Rascal. We've got a lot of stuff packed in the back and we're almost in town. It's too dangerous for you to take the reins." "But you already let me try this before!" "Yes, once. When we were all alone in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't dangerous then. Now drop it or we'll have to have a serious talk - and with that I mean me and your bottom, Rascal!" Fox sulked but refrained from throwing another tantrum. He was looking forward to Halloween and that barn dance thing sounded like fun. The stuff in the back of the wagon would be used as additional decoration in the livery stable which was already packed with people. It seemed as if the entire town was crammed into the building. Skinner and a few other men quickly unloaded the wagon before the sheriff led Buck further down Main Street and into a side street so the horse wouldn't be spooked by the noise and lights. When the big man entered the livery stable again he saw his rascal happily chatting away with Maggie and Miss Dana. "So, what do you think, Rascal?" he asked the boy, waving his arms around. Fox looked around, smiling broadly. "This is great," he enthused. The place was packed and there were a couple of townsmen standing in one corner, fiddles and guitars at the ready so the rest of the people could start to dance soon. The boy led Skinner to another corner and pointed at a large pumpkin hanging from the ceiling by a long string. "What's that for?" he asked the big man. The sheriff smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. Then he pushed out his broad chest and declared in a deep voice, "Twirl a pumpkin, then strike true, for the name, depends on you!" Fox stared at his old meanie open-mouthed, blinking. Skinner chuckled and ruffled his hair again. "Do you see all those letters that stick to the pumpkin?" he asked. Fox nodded. "Well, later on someone will twist that string a few times so that the pumpkin will start to spin when it's let go. Then one of us will stick a hat pin into the pumpkin. Whatever letter you strike will be the initial of your intended." The boy's eyes grew huge. "Really?" he asked awe-struck. "Does that really work?" Skinner laughed out loud and hugged his rascal. "No, I don't think so. It's just a game. But it's a lot of fun. And, of course, only single people can take part in those matchmaking games." The big man winked. Fox chewed his lower lip thoughtfully. He now knew the entire alphabet but there were only two letters that he would want to hit with that hat pin, the L or the D. He was busy wondering if the sheriff would take a turn himself when he was suddenly tackled from behind. Fighting a quick surge of panic he turned around to glare into the grinning face of his best friend. "Don't ever do that again," he warned Alex. "Sure thing, Fox," the other boy readily agreed. Then he pointed at the pumpkin. "So, you already taking aim at the 'L' or what?" Fox blushed a deep red while Skinner raised a surprised eyebrow. L? Why the L? He mentally went through all the L's he knew, suddenly remembering Lily. From the shade of purple his rascal's face was showing, the big man surmised he had hit jackpot. The sheriff would've chuckled if Fox hadn't been so obviously uncomfortable. So he grabbed Alex instead, throwing him over his shoulder to deliver a couple of playful swats on the upturned butt. The boy giggled hysterically, squirming. "Help," he gasped between fits of laughter. "Help! Somebody call the sheriff!" Skinner grabbed the boy's ankle and held him upside down again, one hand threateningly close to the one spot where Alex was ticklish. "You looking for trouble, stranger?" he drawled ominously. Before either one of them could say or do anything else, someone cleared his throat - Sam, Alex's father. "What exactly is going on here?" he asked, smiling. "This little ghoul here attacked an innocent man, isn't that so, Rascal?" Skinner looked at Fox who needed a second before he realized that the sheriff meant him. Then he nodded vigorously. "So," Skinner added, turning to Sam again, "I'll have to tickle him into submission." "Ah," Sam replied, nodding solemnly. "I understand. Please, proceed." "But, Pa!" Alex yelled, obviously feeling betrayed. Then he resolved into a fit of giggles when Skinner tickled him above his left hipbone. Sam put his hand on the sheriff's arm to stop him. "Here's a little secret," he whispered. "There's one more spot where Alex is ticklish..." His son stared at Sam with an outraged expression on his face. He was clearly scared that this knowledge would fall into the wrong hands. His father was ruthless and quick. He reached down to tickle Alex on his neck, behind the left ear. The boy squealed hysterically, twisting, trying in vain to get away from his torturer. "Thanks for the tip, Sam," Skinner said, evilly grinning at Alex. Then he carefully set the boy back on his own two feet, ruffling his hair. "Remember that I now know your darkest secrets, Alex," he warned, receiving a pout in return. "You grown-ups are all alike," Alex muttered. "Come on, Fox, let's leave the old folks to their own devices. Maybe they suddenly have the urge to tickle themselves or something. I really don't want to be here when *that* happens!" He shuddered visibly. Fox was surprised when he saw Sam gently framing his son's face to kiss both cheeks. And he was even more surprised that Alex let him do that - in public! In front of the whole town! "Have fun, Alex, Fox," Sam said, squeezing both boys' shoulders. "And remember what I told you, Rascal. Mischief is fine by me - at least tonight." Skinner winked. "As long as you don't do anything stupid or dangerous." Fox nodded uncertainly before he broke out in a huge grin when the sheriff ruffled his hair. "Mischief? Us?" Alex asked, a shocked expression on his face. "You really wound me, Lord Meanie." And before the sheriff could swat either one of the two butts both boys ran outside. XXXXX Fox and Alex met Lily and Cal a little way down Main Street. The youngest boy grinned at his friends. "If anybody asks, you haven't seen me. I'm at home, in my bed, fast asleep." Alex grinned. "Yeah, I can see that," he commented. "As long as your parents don't find out," he shrugged. "Right," Cal snorted. "They are way too busy dancing the night away!" He laughed. "So, what are we gonna do now? It's Mischief Night, folks, so let's get into mischief!" They brainstormed for a few minutes until Alex suddenly suggested, "How about tying a cow to the church bells? I always wanted to do that!" Fox gave a cry of outrage. "Are you out of your mind? We're not going to torture a poor animal!" He stared at his friend in disbelief, still in shock that Alex would even think of doing something as horrific as that. The other boy just shrugged, not really too keen on pleading his case. He was probably not looking forward to hauling an innocent cow all through town to the church, either. They were interrupted when Lily suddenly whispered, "Hey, look over there!" She pointed at another small group of children who were sneaking their way up to a door, knocking at it and running away to hide just in time before Old Mr. Harris stepped out of the house to see what had happened. He shook his fist angrily, shouting at Lily and her friends to stop with their pranks. Then he slammed his door shut. The children stared at the house in disbelief. Finally, Alex said, "Well, that was educational." "He's asking for it if you know what I mean," Lily chimed in, grinning. "Old Harris is a mean old bastard. He deserves to be on the receiving end of some pranks!" The boys gaped at her. Cal started to laugh before he mimicked his father, "Lily, I will have to wash out that mouth of yours!" His sister merely locked eyes with the youngest boy. "I'll say it again. He's a mean old bastard. What are we going to do to him?" Lily was right, the boys had to admit. Old Mr. Harris was always mean to the town's children and he usually yelled at them just for passing his house. A little chastisement wouldn't hurt. And there were quite a few other townspeople that had earned themselves some kind of prank... "Come on, boys, we can't do the old 'knock at the door and run away' routine because there are already others who do that. Besides, most people will be at the dance by now anyway so where's the point in knocking?" The others nodded their agreement. "Okay, how about we soap their windows?" "Lard's good, too," Cal chimed in. "Paint! Let's paint the windows!" Alex exclaimed, his green eyes sparkling. "Isn't that a bit rash?" Fox asked. "I'm not sure the sheriff would approve of that." "Don't worry, Fox. Once the paint is dry you can remove it with a knife. It's actually easier than washing off the lard," Lily shrugged. "So, do you have a suggestion to make, oh wise one?" Fox blushed. Lily constantly told him that he was smart and that always made him uncomfortable. He chewed his lower lip for a second before he replied, "We could smear grease on the doorknobs." "That's my best friend," Alex yelled happily, thumping the other boy's back heartily. "And I know exactly where my Pa keeps some grease. He sometimes uses it when he's repairing the buggies." "I had to paint Rose's fence as part of my punishment," Fox ventured. "There's still some left." "Great," Lily grinned. "Cal and I can organize soap and lard. Let's get the stuff and meet back here as soon as possible!" XXXXX Soon they were prowling through town, liberately coating the windows and doorknobs with everything they had. Fox had made them promise not to go to Maggie Scully's house but Alex had laughed and explained that they would never do that. Everybody loved Maggie - her house was safe. Fox was in charge of painting the windows, and he let his imagination run wild. He drew ghosts, jack o'lanterns or the occasional witch on them. Every once in a while they saw other children playing pranks. When they finally reached the Southern end of Independence they witnessed the Fletcher Brothers, three huge boys around twenty, busily overturning outhouses. "Eww, that's so gross," Alex commented, wrinkling his nose. Then he grinned broadly. "I love it!" He took a closer look. "Isn't that Jeremiah Nelson's house? He's just as much a bastard as Old Harris is. Let's go paint his windows as well!" Alex tried to open the small front gate but froze when it squeaked very loudly. "Try to unhinge it," Lily suggested, grabbing one end of the gate while Alex held the other. They lifted it up at the same time and the gate came off its hinges without so much as a whisper. "I'm seriously impressed, sister mine," Cal said, whistling softly. "Now what do we do with it?" "How about we hide it somewhere?" Lily replied. "And where?" Alex asked, looking around. "The caves," Fox suddenly said. Everybody turned to him. "I'm not going to carry that thing all the way to the lake, Fox," Alex warned. He was impressed by the devious mind his friend obviously had and he did like the idea of using the caves which were a great place to play, especially since they were so close to the water, but it was quite a way - even more so when you had to haul an iron gate with you. "We can use the wagon," Fox suggested, eyes gleaming. "We could take all the gates in town, throw them in the back of the wagon and I'll bring them to the caves. Buck is probably bored out of his mind anyway. He'd sure love to run around a little." Alex wasn't so sure about that. Buck was a wild beast - he knew that even Skinner had his problems taming the horse sometimes. Nobody else was allowed to go near. He had seen Fox and Buck together and his friend did seem to know what he was doing but still... Alex mentally shrugged. If Fox wanted to get into trouble... "Okay. Let's go and find ourselves some gates then!" Fox told them where the wagon was parked and they went off to steal as many gates as possible. XXXXX Lily wiped her sweaty brow. They had unhinged just about every gate they could find, only leaving a few fences intact - like Maggie Scully's - and they were a little exhausted. Fox was surprised that nobody had stopped them up till now. It seemed as if every adult was in that livery stable, having the time of their lives at the barn dance. Alex argued that "those silly grown-ups" knew exactly what the kids were up to but they wanted to give them the opportunity to really give the 'mischief' of Mischief Night a chance. Fox liked that idea a whole lot. He had the time of his life. "That was fun," Lily gasped. "But we forgot someone very important. Donny." The boys shuddered. "Now, I know we're getting even with him later tonight but I think it would be nice if his windows would be soaped as well. Don't you think?" A slow smile broke out on three faces and the boys nodded. They all hated Donny with a vengeance and it was common knowledge that his entire family wasn't popular in town. The Partridges were arrogant and thought they were better than anybody else. No wonder Donny considered himself to be superior. "Let's go to the Partridge Ranch," Cal yelled, striking his small fist into the air. "Yeah, go ahead and shout a little louder. I don't think they heard you in Eastville, stupid," Alex muttered, cuffing the younger boy while he rolled his eyes. Fox spread the old blanket over the gates in the back of the wagon, patted Buck's strong neck lovingly and ran after his friends who were already half-way to the ranch that belonged to Donny's parents. He was quite impressed. Fox had never been here before and it looked as if they were one of the richer ranchers in Independence. The house wasn't nearly as huge as Old Spender's was, but they owned a nice patch of land and a few animals. The boys were busy painting the windows when Lily suddenly said, "You know, I think we should do something with that wagon here..." She pointed at a wagon that stood in the middle of the yard. "You want us to paint it?" Alex asked, brush at the ready. Lily frowned. "Nah," she said in the end. "It's hard to get the paint off the wood. We'd get into trouble for that." They stared at the wagon, each one lost in thought. Finally, Cal suggested, "We could turn it over, like the outhouses." Lily stared at her brother, less than impressed. Then she announced, "Let's put it on their roof!" Alex snorted in disbelief. "And how are we supposed to do *that*? You don't know any magic spells, do you?" "We'll just dismantle it, haul the pieces up and put it all back together on the roof," Fox suggested. The others stared at him with their mouths open. Cal thought that sounded like way too much work, Lily was just incredibly proud of her Fox's smarts again, while Alex was seriously impressed by his friend's cunning ideas. "All we need is some tools and ropes and a ladder," Fox added, blushing slightly under their scrutiny. Everybody was quiet, contemplating what they needed. "I'll go and get the Fletcher Brothers. They're strong and they hate the Partridges so I'm sure they'll help us," Cal exclaimed, running off. After a long moment the others started a frantic search for the things they needed. XXXXX Sheriff Skinner heavily sat down on a hay bail, trying to catch his breath. "I'm getting too old for this," he complained. Maggie Scully, who was sitting next to him, just laughed and patted his knee. "Now, now, Walter. Don't let a few dances knock you out." "A few? Maggie, I have been dancing *all night*! I'm not up for this kind of exercise! I need a break!" "Well, you are quite a ladies' man, Walter. The women just want an equal opportunity to-" Maggie was interrupted by Skinner's disbelieving snort. She tried to stifle a laugh. "And besides," she added. "I think there's a certain little boy that keeps you young and fit." She winked at the sheriff who couldn't help the big smile that broke out on his face. "You're probably right," Skinner admitted. "I wonder what he's up to right now." "Mischief, probably," a voice next to him said. The sheriff turned around to look at John Byers who had just dropped onto the rest of the hay bail, looking just as exhausted as Skinner did. "What is it with you womenfolk anyway, Mrs. Scully?" Byers asked, opening his top shirt button. "What possesses you to suddenly dance the night away as if there is no tomorrow?" The school teacher winced when he flexed his aching legs. Maggie merely grinned. "We like to see you men suffer," she explained solemnly. "And besides, you two seem to be the only ones who have given up. Look at the others," she pointed at the dancing couples. "The night's still young!" "*They* are still young," Skinner protested, nodding at the couples. "I'm just old and jaded." That elicited a very un-lady-like snort from Maggie. "I think it's Fox. Look at you two. The two men who spent most of their time with the boy are completely defeated. I think he wears you out." She winked infuriatingly. "I, on the other hand, feel like dancing right now. And I also spend a lot of my time with Fox. What does that tell you men?" She stood up, holding her hand out to Skinner. He groaned. "Please don't do this to me, Maggie," he whined. "Walter. Now." Maggie snapped her fingers, raising a stern eyebrow. Skinner sighed deeply before he slowly got up. "Yes, ma'am," he mumbled, shuffling towards the dance floor. Just as they were about to start dancing, the music stopped. The sheriff grinned happily. Maggie leaned in close to whisper, "You arranged that. I don't know how but I'm sure it's all *your* fault." The big man laughed. "I wish it were, Maggie, but I can't take credit for it." He turned his head when he heard Sam Krycek clearing his throat. The other man was acting as host of sorts and he asked everybody to gather close together. "We will now play another game," Sam explained, pointing at three bowls of water. "Who wants to go first?" A murmur went through the crowd and people tried to push a friend or loved one in Sam's direction. "For those of you who do not know what this game is about, I will explain," he said, smiling. "The brave person who will volunteer," he winked, causing the other people to laugh and clap their hands, "will be blindfolded. Then they will dip their hands in one of the bowls. The water has different colors. Red water means fortune is coming, blue means a trip across water, and the clear water means a great honor will be bestowed upon you." Sam raised his arms above his head in a dramatic gesture, his eyes wide. "So, who wants great honor to be bestowed upon them?" he whispered conspiratorially. Several people stepped forward while the rest of the crowd hollered and yelled approvingly, all joining in the good fun. Skinner saw Bill Scully among the players. He leaned down to Maggie. "Don't get this the wrong way but I really hope he'll dip his hand way deep into the blue water," he mumbled. Maggie gave the sheriff a stern look. "You're talking about my son, Walter Skinner," she said. Then she winked and added, "And besides, he wouldn't leave anyway. He'd miss my cooking too much!" XXXXX Lily stared at the wagon on top of the roof, an evil grin on her face. "That is the best prank we've come up with so far," she stated and the boys nodded enthusiastically. The Fletcher Brothers bid their farewell, obviously happy to have helped dismantling the wagon and putting it back together. The Partridges would have a hell of a time getting that thing down again. Not to mention putting their now up-turned outhouse back the way it should be. "I don't know about you," Cal said, yawning. "But I could use a break right about now." Alex nodded. "We still got some time to kill before we get even with Donny. What shall we do up till then?" "We could go back to our place. Get something to eat and to drink," Lily suggested. They all agreed that this would be the best course of action so the four children slowly made their way back to Independence. "You know, it's a real shame that we didn't do anything to Bill Scully," Alex said after a while. "We've paid back everybody who annoyed us over the last year. Except Evil Bill." "Yeah well, trouble is he still lives at home. So whatever we would do to him we would do to his sister and mother. And they are both such great ladies," Lily argued. Cal nodded. "Yeah, what sense would it make if we painted his window? He would make his poor mother clean it up!" "Or me," Fox muttered. He still helped around the house as part of his punishment though he mostly enjoyed helping his Rose in the kitchen or cleaning the sitting room while she entertained him with stories. Suddenly his face brightened. "I've got an idea," he exclaimed, starting to run down Main Street. The others exchanged worried glances before following their friend. Fox stood in front of the Scully home. He grinned at the other children. "Bill lives in the back. There are two rooms only for him, see?" He led his friends around the house to the back, pointing at the part of the building he was talking about. It seemed to have been added to the house at a later date. "Bill's got his very own fire place. After all, he's important." Fox raised a mocking eyebrow and the others chuckled. "So, he's also got a chimney of his very own..." The boy pointed at the chimney in question, waiting until his friends understood what he was hinting at. A few seconds passed then Alex suddenly exclaimed, "We can block the chimney with stuff so the smoke backs up into Bill's rooms!" Cal gave a whoop of delighted glee while Lily stared at both Alex and Fox. "You two are devious. I love it!" She grinned, rubbing her hands together. "What shall we use?" she asked. "Well, how about old rags? Or hay? Maybe wood to seal off the chimney completely once we've stuffed it with the other things?" Fox suggested. They quickly agreed to look for anything that they might be able to use while Fox retrieved the ladder he had used many times before. Soon they had enough things to stuff Bill's chimney with and Fox insisted on doing the honor himself. The other children readily agreed that he had every right to go ahead and do it. Fox was thorough. They knew that Bill would stand in a cloud of black smoke soon enough. And they couldn't wait to see his stupid face when that happened. XXXXX They sat around the fire place in the Beere family's living room, staring into the licking flames absently. Lily had brought a jug of home-made lemonade and a bowl of red apples from the kitchen and the children had devoured both. The glazing fire was the only light source and it was eerie enough to make them startle when they heard a strange sound inside or outside the house. Telling ghost stories for the past half hour helped creating a ghostly atmosphere. Alex, trying to act cool and aloof, rolled his eyes when Cal gave another surprised squeak, this time because the clock on the wall had chimed the eleventh hour. "You sure you'll be up to spooking Donny later?" he asked the youngest child. Cal gave his friend a baleful glare. "I'm the one who came up with the whole idea in the first place so shut up, Alex," he retorted. "I'll play my part, don't you worry." Before Fox could ask what the hell they *had* planned anyway, Alex decided to change the subject. He took another hearty bite out of his apple before he pointed at Lily who was just reaching for another one herself. "Did you know that there's an old superstition that says that when you peel an apple without breaking the peeling and you then throw it over your shoulder, the peeling will show a letter? And that that letter will be the initial of your future spouse?" He grinned, daring the girl to act on it. Lily matter-of-factly stood up and went to her father's desk to take a knife out of one of the drawers. Then she calmly sat back down and began to peel the apple. All three boys stared at her without blinking, waiting to see if she managed to break the peeling or not. Lily totally ignored her audience, and soon held a perfect strip of peeling in her hand. Then she looked Alex in the eye and asked, "So, and now I'm supposed to throw that thing over my shoulder, right?" Alex, swallowing convulsively, nodded. He hadn't expected Lily to go through with it. The girl threw the peeling over her right shoulder. "So, what does it say?" she asked in a bored tone, not even turning her head to take a look herself. Alex scrambled forward, an evil grin on his face. "A definite 'F' if you ask me," he smirked. Fox blushed a deep red. "Nobody is asking you, Alex," he mumbled before he looked at the peeling. "Besides, it looks more like an 'A'," he added, suddenly grinning himself. "Does not!" "Does, too!" "Does not!!!" "Does, too!!!" "Boys!" Alex and Fox jumped when Lily yelled at them. She nodded, glad that they were shocked into silence. "Whatever it says, I don't care. I'll never marry, anyway. I'll become a great writer, earning my own money. I won't need a man who supports me." She held her head high, daring the others to make a comment. Cal merely rolled his eyes heavenwards; he had heard *that* particular tale at least once too often. Alex and Fox stared at Lily open-mouthed. Alex couldn't believe that she would say something so preposterous while Fox fell in love with Lily all over again. He loved the idea of an independent, strong woman. Lily would make a great writer, he was certain of it. "Well, it was just a stupid matchmaking game, anyway," Alex muttered, not wanting to admit his defeat. "There's another one with an apple involved," Lily began, frowning in concentration. When it became obvious that she couldn't remember what exactly it was, her brother chimed in. "Eat an apple while standing in front of a mirror and your intended will look over your shoulder," he babbled. "Right, that was the one," Lily said, smiling. "But I think it had to be exactly at midnight or something." She seemed to enjoy those silly little games. "There's another one which says that you have to go out to the garden and pull up stalks. The amount of dirt that's hanging to the roots will tell you how much money your future husband will have. The more soil, the more money." She grinned. "I absolutely love that one. Maybe we should keep our eyes open and look more closely at ravaged gardens from now on!" They all laughed, each one of them picturing one townswoman or other, feverishly pulling stalks out of the dirt. Alex saw that Fox had a telltale gleam in his eyes and raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Don't tell me you believe that stuff?" he asked his friend. Fox smiled a bit ruefully, quickly glancing at the peeling on the floor behind Lily. "I want to believe," he said softly. Cal jumped up at the same moment. "I know another one," he exclaimed excitedly. "You have to jump over twelve candles which represent the twelve months of the year. The number of candles that are left burning after you jump over them will be the number of months before you are married." "Well, let's hope that there was a whole lotta dirt on your stalks before you make that jump, eh? Wouldn't want you to marry a poor woman," Alex commented, dodging the throw pillow that Cal aimed at his head. "Speaking of candles, don't you think it's about time that we get started?" Lily asked. They all stood up. "How are you going to get Donny to come, anyway?" Alex asked the girl, clearly not believing that Lily would be successful. "Oh, don't you worry your pretty head about that, Alex," Lily replied, fluffing her long blond hair and batting her eyelashes prettily at him. "It'll be a piece of cake." Alex still seriously doubted that but when he saw the cow eyes that Fox was suddenly making at the girl, he was more than convinced. XXXXX Sheriff Skinner raised a suspicious eyebrow when he saw Lily enter the livery stable, making a beeline towards Donny who was busy looking arrogant in the corner his parents had chosen to hold court in for the night, talking to the boy and leaving with him in tow. As soon as the two of them were safely outside, several other children left the stable as well, their eyes gleaming with excitement. "What would they be doing out there? It's almost midnight," Skinner muttered. Miss Dana patted his upper arm. "Dance, Walter," she instructed and he dutifully began to twirl her around again. "I think they are preparing their final prank for tonight," she said after a moment. "And somehow I have a feeling that your charge is one of the instigators." The petite red-head winked. "Maybe I should go and take a look at-" "No, Walter." The big man flinched when a tiny hand slapped his broad chest. "You're staying right here! Look, you said yourself that this is Mischief Night. Let them have fun with their mischief. You know that the children like you. And they know that you'll look the other way as long as they don't do anything dangerous or stupid." "Well, theoretically maybe. But you know how children are when they're having fun..." "Does that mean you don't trust them?" Skinner squirmed. He *did* trust the kids - at least most of them - and he knew that his snooping around would only cause the children to feel betrayed but still... He sighed. "Okay. Fine. I think you're right. I'll just wait and see. But if something does happen it'll be all your fault so I hope you'll have a lot of sleepless nights ahead of you!" The big man raised a mock stern eyebrow at his dance partner who was quite obviously not impressed by that threat. Instead, she saw that Sam Krycek was busy putting the final touches on their next matchmaking game. Her eyes sparkled when she grinned at the sheriff. "This time you'll take part, Walter. You're the sheriff. Go ahead as a good example." She shoved the big man towards Sam, giggling when she heard Skinner groan. "Ah, the first volunteer," Sam exclaimed happily when the music stopped at about the same time Skinner came to a stop in front of the other man. "This time only single people can play the game. As you can see, we have a tub filled with water. You will have to bob for the apples. In each apple there is one letter carved. So you all know what that means, don't you?" "The letter in the apple you catch is the initial of your intended," a young man shouted. Other people clapped and hollered, making Skinner blush even more. "That's right, Andy," Sam nodded. Then he turned to the sheriff. "Now, Walter, please remember: Don't use your hands. Only your mouth." Skinner grumbled and handed his glasses over to the other man. Sam took them solemnly, watching closely as the big man dipped his head lower and into the water. The apples merrily floated around, giving the sheriff a hard time. When Skinner finally managed to sink his teeth into one apple, he gave a sigh of relief. Everybody cheered and whistled when he presented his apple, still holding it in his mouth. He took the apple into his hand, grinning broadly when people started to ask what letter was carved into it. The big man took a close look at the letter, smiled enigmatically into the crowd and took a hearty bite out of the fruit, effectively swallowing the incriminating piece. Then he took his glasses, put them back on and walked away from Sam and his bobbing apples, his head held high amongst cries of outrage. XXXXX Alex led Fox to the outskirts of town, stopping at the iron gate of the graveyard. "I hope you're not scared or anything?" he asked his friend. Fox frowned in confusion. Scared? No. "Well, aren't burial grounds sacred?" he replied causing Alex to raise a surprised eyebrow. "Burial grounds?" he echoed blankly. "Never mind," the other boy mumbled. "So, what are we doing here?" Alex rubbed his hands gleefully. "Okay, Lily will bring Donny here. It's the whole 'I'm so tough and fearless' crap that idiot has been given us lately. So he'll immediately agree to walk through the graveyard with her, showing her what a manly man he is." Alex snorted. "And we'll make sure that he'll wet himself!" Now it was Fox's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Cal is rounding up the other children. They will all wait outside to see the big bad donkey run for his life once we're finished with him." Alex smirked. "Then Cal will go into the abandoned house," he pointed at one of the children's favorite playgrounds just off to the graveyard's side, "and light a candle, moving around. We've tried that once before. It looks really eerie. And the two of us will hide in the bushes and make noises. Can you do that?" "What kind of noises?" "Well, I dunno. Moaning, maybe. Or terror-filled shrieking. Or maybe rustling the bushes or something." "Oh, that kind of noise. Sure. No problem." Fox grinned, warming up to the idea. "And Lily?" "Oh, don't worry about her. She's tough as nails." Alex leaned in close. "Don't tell anyone I said that but I think she could scare the bejeevies out of every boy in town. That girl is one tough cookie!" "Tough cookie?" Fox echoed, frowning. That didn't sound like a compliment. Or did it? He was dragged into the graveyard and Alex pushed him towards a large bush a little ways down the path. "Just wait till you see them," his friend whispered. "Lily will carry a lantern so that should be easy enough. And for heaven's sake, don't fall apart on us when you suddenly see a ghost! That'll be me!" With one last smirk, Alex ran off to the other side of the graveyard. True to his friend's word, Lily and Donny approached the graveyard soon after. Fox fought down a wave of jealousy when he saw that the bully had his arm wrapped around the girl proprietarily. Then again, Lily pretended to be quite scared, balking at the iron gate and Fox admired her for her acting talents. The girl did indeed carry a lantern, using it to light the path they were slowly walking along. "Don't worry, Lily," Donny said, patting her shoulder and causing her to shudder - which he interpreted as fear. "I'm here to protect you." Fox could barely hold himself back from jumping out in front of the other boy to strangle him but his involuntary movements caused the bush to rustle. Donny flinched. "Did you hear that?" he asked breathlessly. "Hear what?" Lily replied innocently. She swept her lantern in the direction of the bush but Fox remained hidden. He did, however, make a low keening sound in the back of his throat. Donny swallowed convulsively. When Fox suddenly gave a high-pitched squeal, Donny took a deep breath, trying to work up the courage to face the demon, and stepped closer to the bush. At that moment Alex threw several pebbles he had found against one of the tombstones, causing Donny's head to whip around. Fox used that second to stealthily run further down the path, hiding behind a tall tree and beginning to make new noises. He was very talented when it came to imitating animals and he soon had Donny trembling with fear. Lily used a moment in which the bully wasn't looking to blow out the lantern, bathing them in total darkness. "Oh no," she whispered, voice trembling. Donny grabbed her fiercefully, more for his own than her reassurance. When he saw a light appear a mere second later in the old abandoned house, he gave a strangled shriek. "Did you know that this house is supposed to be haunted?" Lily asked in a low, frightened voice. "I so hope that the ghost won't come to get us..." "Don't be silly," Donny rasped. "There's no such thing as a-" At that moment Alex jumped out into the path, a white bed linen thrown over his body. He flapped his arms menacingly and moaned while he slowly made his way to the bully and the girl. Out of the corner of his eye, Donny saw the light in the abandoned house move around at the same time as he heard a strange sound coming from that old tree and the ghost was walking up towards him, and Donny finally snapped. Screaming like a girl and bawling like a baby, he ran out of the graveyard, calling for his mommy. While he ran down towards the livery stable, children of all ages stood on both sides of Main Street to laugh at the bully that was finally put into his place. They clapped and yelled, celebrating the four heroes that had taken it up with the meanest kid in Independence. XXXXX The celebration was short-lived when Fox suddenly remembered that there were still the gates in the back of the wagon. "I have to get them to the caves," he said breathlessly while he and his friends ran to the side street where Buck was waiting. "If the Old Meanie finds those gates in his wagon he'll get angry." "Are you sure he's not getting even angrier when you're stealing his wagon?" Alex asked, concern clearly showing in his voice. "I'm not stealing anything," his friend replied forcefully. "I'm merely borrowing. And besides, the caves aren't that far away. I'll be back in no time." Fox came to a skittering halt next to the big horse and patted Buck's neck lovingly. "You're going to help us, won't you, Buck?" he crooned. The horse whinnied, turning his head to nuzzle the boy's shoulder. Fox giggled. "See? No problem," he told his still sceptic friends. "You really don't have to do this, Fox. We can hide them somewhere else. In the abandoned house, for example," Lily said. "No. The caves. I'm not going to carry those gates all over town now. It'll be okay. Go and make sure that Cal's in his bed when your parents come home. We don't want him to get into any trouble. Right?" Fox winked at the youngest boy who stuck his tongue out. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Cal stated, fists on hips. "So am I. That's why I'm going to the caves." Fox climbed on the wagon's seat and sat down, taking Buck's reins in his hands the way Skinner had taught him. "Thanks for all the fun we had," he added, grinning at the other children. "I had a great time tonight!" The others agreed and waved good-bye while they watched Fox maneuver the wagon out of town. Lily and Alex exchanged worried glances before the Beere children walked home and Alex went to the barn dance. XXXXX Fox was surprised by the uproar that greeted him when he finally made it back into town. He had had a few difficulties finding his way in the pitchdark night; the full moon was only every so often peeking through the clouds, making it hard to see where they were going. When Fox had finally reached the caves, he had quickly thrown the gates inside, climbed back unto the wagon and told Buck to move. He had never imagined that the horse wouldn't obey him but the beast realized that they were close to the sheriff's cabin and he apparently wanted to go there and not back into town. So, Fox fought a desperate battle, which he won in the end, but when he came close to Independence he wasn't able to control the big horse and instead of taking the secluded side streets Buck ran full-bout down Main Street. It seemed as if the entire town was on its feet, looking for the boy. Skinner had been surprised when Alex had entered the livery stable alone and even though the boy had tried to lie for his friend, Skinner soon found out that his wagon was gone. People were about to saddle up their horses when Buck came crushing down the street. The horse sensed his master in front of the sheriff's office and came to a skittering stop inches from Skinner, whinnying softly. The big man purposefully strode to the wagon, pointing a blunt finger at Fox. "You! Down! Right now!" he thundered. The boy swallowed convulsively, looking into dozens of worried faces. Only Skinner's face seemed to reflect anger. Fox would've preferred to spend any amount of time with one of the other townspeople but another "I said, right now!" forced him into action. Trembling slightly, Fox jumped off the wagon, only to find one big hand grabbing the scruff of his neck, basically frogmarching him to Skinner's office. The big man opened the door, pushed the boy inside, closed and locked the door and shoved Fox in the direction of the prison cells. "Move it, Rascal," was all he said, causing the boy to gasp. The prison cells? "But...but I didn't steal anything," he stammered, remembering Alex's words. He couldn't go back to jail. He couldn't stand being locked up. Surely Skinner didn't mean... "Inside. Right now. Don't make me repeat myself." Skinner's voice showed barely controlled anger and Fox felt tears pooling in his eyes. He took a hesitant step to the door leading to the cells, watching the sheriff walk to his desk and opening the top drawer. Fox sobbed silently and the tears started to flow. He knew that drawer. Skinner kept the keys to the cells in there. He was actually going to lock him up again. Fox slowly made his way into the cell he had once before been in, sitting down on the cot. He looked up through tear-soaked eyelashes when he heard the sheriff enter as well. Then his eyes grew huge - Skinner wasn't carrying any keys; he held a heavy wooden ruler in his hand. The ruler that was usually kept in the drawer next to the keys. Fox swallowed convulsively. "Care to elaborate?" Skinner asked neutrally. When all Fox did was gaping at the big man, he added, "What made you think that I would condone you using the wagon? Didn't I explicitly tell you that you're not allowed to go near? And didn't I tell you that you were not to do anything stupid and dangerous?" The sheriff's voice had increased in volume until he was almost yelling. Fox flinched and Skinner drew a calming breath. "Look, Rascal, what you did was stupid. And even more so, it was very dangerous. You saw that you couldn't control Buck. And whatever made you think that you could just go ahead and drive through the wilderness in the middle of the night, all alone?" He tapped the boy's forehead, as if trying to jumpstart the brain in there. "I could've lost you, Rascal." Fox was surprised by the sheer desolation that had suddenly crept into Skinner's voice. "I'm sorry," was all he could offer. The boy stared at his hands, biting his lower lip anxiously. "I guess I wasn't thinking." Skinner gave a barking laugh. "Oh, I can assure you that whatever you've been doing, it wasn't thinking." The sheriff sat down next to the boy. "Why did you take the wagon, Rascal?" For a second Fox was surprised that Alex hadn't said anything. Or maybe he had and Skinner wanted to see if he owned up. Knowing that he was in trouble already, Fox decided to tell the truth. "I hid the gates in the caves near the lake." He gasped when Skinner grabbed his arm to turn him around to face the big man. "The caves are a dangerous place, Rascal, and you know that I don't like it when you're playing there." "But you never told me I'm not allowed to go there," Fox argued stubbornly. "No, but I definitely don't approve of you going there *alone* and *in the dark* - and since I know that you're a smart boy I can take an educated guess that you knew that. Right?" Fox broke eye contact, worrying his lower lip again. Skinner sighed, waiting. After several long moments the boy finally ventured, "Are you going to punish me now?" "Oh, you can bet on that, Rascal. I told you that you could have all the fun in the world tonight but the first thing you did was disobey me and do the one thing that I forbade you. You went and did something stupid and dangerous. And it wasn't even necessary! You could've hidden those gates somewhere else, Rascal!" "So, you're not mad that we took them?" Fox asked wide-eyed. Skinner chuckled. "No. I told you I would look the other way. Pranks are part of Mischief Night. Getting yourself into dangerous situations is not." He locked eyes with the boy. "Were there any other pranks that were stupid or dangerous?" Fox thoroughly thought about that one. Well, the whole wagon-on-the-roof thing was kinda dangerous but the Fletcher Brothers had done all the dangerous parts so that didn't count. He did, however, climb on Bill's roof. Then again, he had done so before when he had cleaned Maggie Scully's chimney or when he had searched for the hole in the roof and Skinner had been okay with that. Besides, Fox was sure that the sheriff would love to see Bill's stupid face when the smoke backed up into his room. Other than that... Fox shrugged. "No, I don't think so," he finally answered. "Okay, I believe you. Now, I'll punish you for taking the wagon though I told you not to and because you used it to get to the caves. In the middle of the night. Alone." Skinner shook the slender body in his arms. "Stupid, stupid thing to do, Rascal. Really stupid. And extremely dangerous." "Yeah, yeah. I got it the first time," the boy muttered. He was surprised to suddenly find himself over the sheriff's strong thighs, the wooden ruler smacking his jeans clad bottom four times in quick succession. "Word of advice, Rascal. Backtalk is a bad idea as long as you still got punishment coming." The sheriff righted the boy, helping him to push the jeans down to his knees. Then he frowned. "Why aren't you wearing your longjohns, Rascal?" "The wool itches," came the petulant reply. Then the boy gasped when Skinner secured him over his thighs again, smacking the now bared butt twice more. "What did I just tell you about backtalking?" "I'm sorry!" "I'm sure you are." Skinner chuckled, watching the slightly red stripes on the white buttocks. Then he brought the ruler down six more times, not very hard, just to even out the color a little. When he was finished with that, the boy was softly crying. "How many gates did you hide, Rascal?" the big man asked gently. "Six-sixteen," Fox sobbed. "Okay, I'll give you sixteen strokes," Skinner began, immediately trying to calm down the boy who was protesting at the top of his lungs. "You will count each stroke, Rascal. Don't argue with me, you know you deserve it. There's nothing more stupid than endangering yourself. Next time you feel the urge to run off and get yourself killed I hope you'll remember this punishment." And the first hard smack followed. Fox was sobbing after the fifth stroke, crying hard by the tenth. His backside was a vivid red after fifteen slaps with the ruler, and Skinner decided to issue the last stroke on the pristine thighs. The boy yelled in agony. "That was for not wearing your long underwear, Rascal. It's cold outside. You're endangering your health when you're running around half-naked." Skinner dropped the ruler, rubbing slow circles on the boy's back. "It's all over now, Rascal. You've been very brave. Come on, it's okay." The big man gently grabbed Fox under his arms, lifting him up. The boy immediately curled up in the sheriff's lap, arms squeezing the strong neck. Skinner hugged his rascal, rocking him, calming him down. After several long minutes Fox stopped crying and he wiped the tears off with the back of his hand. Skinner made him stand up, helping him get dressed again. But when the sheriff wanted to get up Fox threw himself back into the big man's arms, curling up in the lap once more. He sighed contentedly even though he couldn't hide the slight wincing that escaped his lips when his tender butt made contact with Skinner's hard thighs. The sheriff smiled, glad beyond belief that the boy didn't despise him for the punishment, and hugged the slender body in his arms. "So, aside from this," he began, gently patting the boy's butt. "Did you have a good time tonight, Rascal?" Fox nodded. "Will I be surprised when people come up to me to tell me about those pranks of yours?" At first, Fox didn't respond. When Skinner finally felt the boy's head first nod then shake 'no' against his neck, he couldn't help but laugh. "Well, that's reassuring," he commented, squeezing his rascal. They sat like this for several more minutes until Fox yawned heartily. "How about we're going home now, Rascal?" Skinner asked softly. "Okay," the boy responded, his eyes drifting close. "Can I go piggyback?" he suddenly begged, eyes wide and pleading. Skinner chuckled. "Only to the wagon! I'm not carrying you all the way to the cabin." Fox laughed, sliding off the sheriff's lap. "Deal," he said, holding his arms up to wrap them around the big man's neck. After a second, he clung to the sheriff's back, wincing again when his pants stretched over his tenderized butt. Skinner made sure that the boy was securely hanging on before he slowly walked out of the jail. "Okay, my little goblin," he said softly. "Let's get you home." THE END OF CHAPTER 9. Scare me with feedback!