The Faculty - Written for UshobWri

[prisca]

Title: Writing Fanfiction
Characters: Casey Connor, Zeke Tyler
Prompt: let one of your characters try out something you regularly do
Words: 178

:::

„What are you doing?“ Zeke stepped closer to the desk, looking over Casey's shoulder. The boy covered his notebook with both arms.

„It's nothing!“

„Understand.“ Zeke chuckled. „You have secrets for your best friend. Lemme guess. A diary?“

„Who writes a diary these days? People having blogs on the internet.“

„Hm. Sometimes, you can be so old school. So, will you tell me? You know, I will find out sooner or later anyway.“

„You are such a pain in the ass sometimes,“ Casey groaned, lifting his arms. Zeke's eyes rushed over the words. „Holy shit, that's hot. I didn't know that you have such a dirty fantasy.“

Now Casey blushed. „Geez, it's just fiction. Fanfiction, to be exact, based on X Files. Nothing wrong with it!“

„I didn't say that it's wrong to have a crush on Mulder. He's cool.“

„Pfft! Mulder is lame. It's Alex Krycek, if you want to know.'“ Casey's eyes sparkled defiantly. „Hottest guy I've ever seen... on screen. How can one not dream about him?“

The Walking Dead - written for 100 Words

[prisca]

Title: Hidden Courage
Characters: Daryl Dixon, Beth Greene
Rating: PG13
Prompt: fragile
Words: 100
Finished: June 2018

:::

Daryl's eyes rested on Beth, who was sitting beside the campfire with baby Judith in her arms. She looked so small, almost fragile, while humming an old lullaby to soothe the little girl. Hard to believe that only some hours ago, she had shot two walkers right into their heads to make sure that they would never come back again to threaten the people she cared for.

Suddenly, she looked up; for a moment, their eyes met, and she smiled shyly. Daryl felt his heart beating quicker. And he knew he would put his life into her hands without hesitation.

Lucifer - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Much Too Near
Characters: Chloe Decker
Prompt: 3 sentences only / mistake
Words: 162
Finished: June 2018

It had been a mistake; Chloe knew it the moment she had taken a seat beside Lucifer in front of the piano to play a little song together with him. But never before had she seen him in such a sad and desolate state; usually, he drove her crazy with his self-assured behavior as if he owned the world and all people living in it.

All she had wanted was to give him some comfort; now she was sitting beside him, much too close; she could smell his expensive aftershave and the whiskey in the glass he held in his hand; she could feel the heat radiating from his body, hotter than the fire buring in hell; her hands were trembling, and her heart was up to her mouth, when he suddenly turned his head, sparkles in his dark eyes, she felt the urge to run, but he held her like under a spell, then he bent forward, and their lips met.

Supernatural - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Alone at Night
Fandom: Supernatural
Characters: Dean Winchester
Words: 200
Finished: May 2018

:::

Dean turned the key, the motor of the Impala purred like a kitten, and finally, he could relax.

He was back on the roads with Sam for some weeks now. It had been the only right decision, the only possible one, as much he loved Liza and Ben, as much as he enjoyed their time together. He was a hunter, always had been, always would be, up to the end; no one could escape his fate.

But sometimes, at night, Dean felt the inner unrest growing until he couldn't endure it any longer. And there was only one cure for it.

No beer, no fleetingly one-night-stand. Not even Sam could help; his brother was long asleep on the shabby motel bed. He could always find some rest, no matter what had happened during the day.

Not so, Dean. He needed his baby to get a clear head again. Driving through the dark night in the Impala for hours, the radio playing Led Zeppelin ear-piercing loud. T’was in the darkest depth of Mordor, I met a girl so fair, but Gollum and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her. Ramble on, one of his favorite songs.

The Faculty - Written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title:Saturday afternoon
Rating: G
Words: 121
Prompt: rollerblades
Finished: April 2018

:::

Flabbergasted, Zeke stared at his best friend who was standing on his porch with … Zeke blinked once, twice, and hoped that he would wake up out of this nightmare when he opened his eyes again … but no, Casey was still there, a wide grin on his face and rollerblades in his hands.

„Oh, c'mon,“ he said, “you've lost the bet, and I have a wish for free, and it's raining cats and dogs today, so we can't go into the park for the planned photo session, so...“

Zeke looked into his exited sparkling eyes and he couldn't help it, he laughed out loud and said:“ Okay, okay, geek boy, I'm giving up, we will go and check out the new skate center.“

The Faculty - Written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Sinner
Characters: Casey Connor, Zeke Tyler
Words: 207
Prompt: 3 sentences only / sinner

When Zeke opened his eyes, he needed a moment to realize that this was not his small apartment but Casey's; heat rushed through his body when he thought about the last night; how could this happen, they had known each other since Highschool already, had lost sight of each other when Casey left Herrington to go to College, until they met again some months ago and started to hang around now and then.

Just old friends, until yesterday night; Casey's birthday; maybe he had been a bit drunk when he asked Zeke to go home with him, and he had been even more intoxicated and agreed without thinking about the consequences; Zeke swallowed hard, did he regret anything what he had said and done; no, it had been only the truth, he had said and done what he had always wanted to say and do, but he had never found the courage before.

When the door to the bedroom opened slowly, the reality hit him with full force; suddenly feeling awkward, he tried to hide his nudity with the blanket when he felt Casey's eyes resting on him; so deep blue and sparkling full of amusement, when he said: “Too late, Zeke, we are sinner without return now.“

The Faculty - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Raunchy jokes
Characters: Casey Connor, Zeke Tyler
Words: 196
Prompt: 3 sentence only / raunchy
Finished: May 2018

„Zeke, you need to talk with him,“ Stokely demanded, ignoring the obvious refusal on Zeke's face, “you are the only one who can find out what's going on; since he came back from this dubious adventure trip he has changed; he drinks too much, he's aggressive and his jokes... you know, he never was good with telling jokes, but now they are outright raunchy.“

Zeke sighed inwardly; yes, he had closed his eyes for too long; Casey was his friend, his confident; there was no one he trusted more; the boy had always been open for just everything and could get so angry at every kind of racism and prejudice; but Stokely was right, he had changed for the worse, did hang around with the wrong people, seemed to turn into a homophobic prick.

Usually, Zeke stayed out of other people's lives; everyone had the right to make his own mistakes; he had made a lot of them and without Casey... that was the point, wasn't it, Casey had always been there for him, had shown him the way into a better future, how could he close his eyes and let it happen that now Casey would destroy his life?

The Walking Dead - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: His world had changed
Character: Daryl, Beth Green
Words: 151
Prompt: rough / 3 sentence ficlet
Finished: May 2018

Though they barely talked during the days, every night Daryl was lying close to Beth to keep her warm, to watch her sleep; it was like an act of agreement that didn't need any words, but sometimes he was surprised by his own deep feelings, he was not used to it to care for others as he cared for her.

His rough childhood taught him early that it was much better only to trust oneself, and Merle had told him again and again that all that counted were booze, drugs, and sex with bad girls, rough and dirty sex without limits.

Beth was the most warmhearted girl he had ever met, and despite the circumstances, she still dared to dream about a better tomorrow; Daryl secretly dreamed about making love with her, not sex; no, it would be gentle and affectionate, and even if he would lose himself in her arms, he wouldn't mind.

Lucifer - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: The Devil's Secrets
Characters: Chloe Decker, mention of Lucifer
Words: 165
Prompt: elegance
Finished: May 2018

:::

Chloe stood and watched Lucifer for a while already; he was sitting at the piano in the middle of his nightclub; the LUX was full of people like every night, but he didn't seem to take any notice of them; his eyes closed, his head crocked, he was playing a piece of music she had never heard before; so full of sadness and solitude that it almost broke her heart.

This man was a riddle for her; so elegant, so smug, so self-pleased, never willing to accept any limits; he took what he wanted, and no one seemed to say 'no' to him.

Most of the time, he drove her crazy, but sometimes, in rare moments like this, she could feel a deep loneliness inside him, dark secrets she preferred not to know about, and all she wanted was to pull him into her arms, to hold him, to tell him that everything would be okay again, because she was here, ready to take care of that.

Jeremiah (TV) - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Doomed
Characters: Jeremiah, Kurdy Malloy
Words: 254
Prompt: helpless / three sentence fic
Finished: May 2018

:::

„It's over two months now, Jeremiah; Libby's betrayal was not a shock only for you,“ Kurdy said, looking down at the young man, who was lying on his bed, with messy hair, dirty clothes, as if he hadn't changed them for ages, „but if not everything Markus has done for a better future should be in vain, we need to look forward now“, and he was almost surprised when Jeremiah opened his eyes, the hate was gone, only a deep sadness was lying in them.

„My brother died about fifteen years ago; he got shot because I wasn't there to save him, and I thought I wouldn't endure it; I felt so helpless, angry, and lost, and I promised myself that if I would survive, I never would love someone so much I loved him; I would live on my own because this world is not a place anymore for love and friendship and every hope is gone; but then I met you, and I guess you are my friend and Markus; he might be a dreamer, but he can give people hope.“

Jeremiah smiled sadly while he continued: “And then I met Libby, and I left every caution behind; I loved her with all my heart, though I should have known better; she was my life, my future, and I don't care, that she tried to betray me, that she tried to betray everyone in the Mountain because now she is dead, she got shot, and I can't stop thinking, that I wasn't there to save her.“

Supernatural - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Valentine's Day
Pairing: Sam/Jess(+ Dean)
Prompt: time
Words: 350
Finished: February 2018

Finally alone, Sam dropped onto the bed of the shabby motel room and closed his eyes. They had just finished their last case, the daemon was gone, and the people of the small town in Idaho could move on with their lives without any idea of the danger they had been into.

No need to feel so dumpish. Besides, it was February 14, Valentine's Day, and the memories of his past had already followed Sam all day. Usually, he tried to avoid it to think back too often; it wouldn't change anything.

For a short time, he had lived his dream. College, a regular job, a comfy apartment. And Jess. He had fallen in love with her smile at the very first moment, and soon enough, he had learned to respect everything else of her, too. Jess loved Valentine's Day; though she was usually a down-to-earth woman, she could get so romantic occasionally.

Sam felt a painful stitch deep in his gut when the pictures in his head changed. One moment, Jess threw her arms around him, laughing loudly. The next, she was hanging from the ceiling, burning, her eyes staring at him full of reproach.

Sam groaned and squeezed his eyes shut even more. No escape. Not for her. Not for him. He should have known better. His grandfather: a hunter. His father: a hunter. Dean: a hunter. He was a Winchester like all of them, and it had been a fatal mistake to rebel against his fate.

::

The door opened, and Dean entered, carrying a big box with burgers and a bag from the bakery. He stopped whistling when his eyes fell on Sam, who was still sitting on the bed, trying to even his breath.

„Hey, you okay?“

„Sure. I hope you found some time to visit the salad bar, too.“

Dean grinned.
„Cesar's salad with yogurt dressing. A vegan burger without tomatoes. And one of their green shakes, which smell so awfully.“

Sam smiled weakly.
„I guess I can need a beer tonight,“ he murmured.
„But the rest sounds good.“

WWE written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Surprise
Pairing: Heath Slater/Adam Rose (real person)
Prompt: cute, love
Words: 115
Finished: February 2018

:::

Adam stopped dead when he entered Heath's small but very comfy apartment. He had expected a lot when he had invited him over for tonight; his friend and lover was always good for a surprise. But this was new.

The light dimmed. Soft music was coming from the CD player. The table set with china and crystalware. Candles. Even a single rose was standing there in the middle.

„Holy shit,“ he murmured after finding his words again.
„Did I miss something?“

Heath grinned boyishly and put an arm around Adam's shoulder.
„I knew you wouldn't think about it. It's February, 14. Happy Val-day, you sap, and don't worry, I love you anyway.“

The Faculty / Z Nation - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Jealousy
Pairing: Casey Connor, Zeke Tyler
written as a reward ficlet
Words: 271
Finished: February 2018

:::

Finally, he found him alone in one of the empty rooms of the ruined house. When he tried to put an arm around his shoulder, Casey shrugged him off.

Zeke frowned. „Hey, what's wrong? You know, you shouldn't be here alone.“

„So what. Maybe it would be better when the zombies would get me, bring it all to an end.“

Zeke wasn't sure if he felt more annoyed or worried. Casey had to go through a lot during the last months, but who had not? Many people they had met were just cracked, but not so Casey. He was so much stronger than he looked like and not willing to give up without fighting. So, what had happened?

„What bullshit is this?“

The boy looked up, his blue eyes dark. „Then you are free to go with them.“

„Huh?“

„Murphy. The doc. You would like to stay with them.“

„They are okay. You are like family. You want to go Minnesota, find your grandparents? We will go to Minnesota. It is that easy.“

Casey kept quiet for a moment. „10K. I've heard you tonight together with him.“

Oh. Great. That was the reason why, in their former life, he would never have started a relationship with Casey Connor. Much too complicated. „Sorry. But, c'mon, Case, life is much too short to turn into a jealous drama queen, okay? Tomorrow, we will already be far away, and he's not more than a faint memory.“

„Yes, I know.“ Casey's eyes suddenly sparkled. „But couldn't you at least have asked me if I'd like to join you two?“

The Walking Dead - written for Drabble Weekly

[prisca]

Title: Waiting for revenge
Characters: Maggie Greene
Wordcount: 200
Challenge: There's always tomorrow
Finished: February 2018

:::

Maggie felt so tired but was too afraid to close her eyes. She knew the nightmares would come.

All day long, she tried to be strong. She didn't want any pity or consideration. Because she knew well enough that she would break down when she allowed herself even the tiniest bit of weakness.

There's always a tomorrow, Glen had told her so often when all she wanted was to curl up and die. Then he held her in his arms for hours, whispering soft words. Until she finally started to hope again.

But Glen was gone. He would never hold her again. She would never hear him laughing again; they would never make love again.

The Walkers were an always present danger in their lives, and Maggi had often secretly worried about Glen. He could be so daring sometimes. But how unfair was it that he finally died at the hands of another guy? The most absurd dead she could imagine, and every night anew, she lived through it, again and again.

Only the burning hate inside her made her move on. There was always a tomorrow. And if not today, maybe tomorrow she would get the chance for her revenge.

The Strain (TV) - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Never giving up
Character: Ephraim Goodweather
Words: 359
Prompt: Stranger in a strange land
Finished: January 2018

:::

Sometimes, he felt like a stranger in a strange land. Like an astronaut stranded on a foreign planet, far away from home. No chance, ever to go back. It was only to move on and to fight for human life or to submit to the new master of the world.

A dark, ancient creature for hundreds of years, he had existed only in secrecy and had survived in old myths no one accepted as truth. But he had only waited for the right moment, and when he finally reached for the world, it had been too late. No one had been able to stop him.

Now, about two years later, most people, at least the few of them who were still alive, had accepted their fate. They would end either end on the farms, fattened as food for the vampires. Or they were so useful that they got a chance as willing followers of the Master.

Ephraim Goodweather was one of the rare people who had managed to keep his freedom, and he was still fighting against evil. There was no way that he would ever stop. Even at the very beginning of the vampire apocalypse, when most people still refused to see the truth, desperately hoping that this would come to a good end, Eff had known that it would be the end of humankind when no one would stop the Master. And he has accepted the challenge.

Not for himself. Since Kelly had left him and taken their son with her, so he had only lived for his job. He had hated it to come home into the much too silent house. A lot of booze and mindless TV shows during sleepless nights. He wouldn't have minded falling asleep and not waking up again.

The darkness had changed everything. He knew, there was barely a chance, the Master was strong, got stronger with every day. His spies controlled the parts of the world which were still habitable. But the thought of Zack, his son, forced him to stand up every morning and to fight. He had left him alone much too often; this time he wouldn't fail.

The Walking Dead - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: The Old Barn
Character: Beth Green
Words: 110
Prompt: Old barn / 3 sentences
Finished: January 2018

:::

Beth had always loved the barn; as a child, she hid here with one of her favorite romance novels and pretended not to hear her mother calling when it was time to go to bed. Now, the world had changed, and the barn had turned into a prison for poor creatures who had been human once; her mom and her stepbrother were two of them.

Her grandfather tried to look confident and told them all this was only a matter of time, and soon enough, everything would be back to normal, but Beth was too smart to fall for it; she knew that her romantic dreams would never come true because every hope had left the world.

The Walking Dead - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Sweet Dreams
Character: Daryl Dixon, Beth Green
Words: 129
Prompt: Sleep / 3 sentences
Finished: January 2018

:::

Sometimes, when the camp got silent because everyone besides the guards – and him, he didn't need much rest – were asleep, he sat down near Beth to watch her. She looked like an angel, so small and fragile, sometimes she smiled in her dreams and Daryl knew, she was at a better place at least for a while.

He actually didn't mind the zombie apocalypse; his life had never been a good one, a shitty childhood, later too much booze, too much mindless sex to fight the loneliness of endless nights; now he was not alone anymore, and there were people he cared about, people like Beth, but when he watched her at night, he knew, he would have done all to turn back the time for her.

The Faculty - Written for FFFC

[prisca]

Four Fills for Quick creation Game (3 sentences only)
Finished: January 2018

Title: Bewitched
Words: 107
Prompt: bewitched

This couldn't happen to him; it was impossible that he fell for a guy that much that he even followed him into his dreams; hot dreams, but not only fucking; no, it was making love. He could get every girl at school, at every party, but suddenly, he realized how shallow and empty his life had been so far; only mindless one-night stands, nothing serious because he wasn't willing to let someone deeper into his life.

Zeke closed his eyes and all he could think about were deep blue eyes and a shy smile; and he knew, there was no escape: Casey Connor had bewitched him.

:::

Title: Shower
Words: 115
Prompt: Shower

„You need to warm up,“ he told Casey when they finally made it home; the heavy rain had caught them off guard when they had been in the park for a photoshoot, and before they had reached the GTO, they both had been soaked to the skin. „Take a hot shower while I will warm up some chicken soup.“

Casey's eyes sparkled hilariously while he answered: “But you will get a cold when you don't get out of your wet clothes right now; it might be a much better idea when you join me in the shower,“ and though Zeke still was shaking with cold, he felt a heat wave rushing through his body.

:::

Title: The Crash
Words: 129
Prompt: Crash

Finally, Zeke dozed away; the throbbing pain in his broken leg was almost gone, and the meds also helped bring him into a dizzy state, so he didn't need to worry about his crashed GTO any longer.

He couldn't say how many time was gone when he opened his eyes again; he jumped up in shock, only to sink back onto the bed again loudly cursing when the sharp pain in his leg brought him back into the here and now. Though he wasn't sure if he was already fully awake; besides his bed was sitting Casey Connor, the school's geek, who had never dared to share a word with him before, with a shy smile on his lips and a get-well-balloon in his hand.

:::

Title: The Beard
Words: 113
Prompt: Beard

Zeke had to look twice before he recognized him; it was about six months that Casey had left Herrington to go to business school, and he had missed the little geek with his stupid checkered shirts and the most hilarious giggles much more than expected. Now Casey was wearing tight black jeans and a tie and, maybe this was most shocking, a beard, which turned him into a self-confident and good-looking young guy.

Zeke hesitated to step closer to greet him with a hearty hug; he wasn't sure if he liked all these changes; was this still his best friend, his confidant, the guy he had watched so many cheesy sci-fi movies with?

Criminal minds - written for 100 words

[prisca]

Title: Every Night
Character: Spencer Reid
Prompt: night
Words: 100
Finished: January 2018

:::

He was thankful that the night was over. Dreadful nightmares, cruel pictures, and, most worse, the question if maybe he had overlooked the obvious for too long.

Two years now, he was working as a profiler for the FBI, only twenty-four years old, and he had already faced countless cruelty and madness. Sometimes it was almost too much.

His thoughts wandered to Gideon, his mentor, his friend, the father he had never had. The job finally burned him out, and he left the team. Spencer had accepted his decision, but after nights like this, he still missed him.

The Walking Dead - written for Anything Drabble

[prisca]

Title: Comforting Hugs
Characters/Pairing: Daryl Dixon, Carol Peltier
Wordcount: 200
Challenge: hug
Finished: January 2018


Like through a haze, he heard Carol's cries, felt the uncontrolled trembling of her skinny body. Lost of words, all he could do was to hold her.

Finally, she had to face the truth. Sophia was gone. Everyone had known it for a while already, but Carol had refused to accept it. Daryl had prayed for a wonder together with her, though deep inside, he had long accepted it that all hope for this world would be in vain.

They had opened the barn this morning and had killed all the zombies despite Beth crying and Hershel cursing them. Then, when everyone thought it was over, Sophia stumbled out the door. Or what had reminded of her: an empty shell, only driven by her lowest instincts.

Daryl had lifted the crossbow when he suddenly remembered her soft voice, her shy smile. His hands had started to tremble, his sight blurred. The loud bang made him shudder. It had been Rick who had brought it to an end.

Carol's animal-like outcry tore him out of his reverie. He caught her in his arms when she broke down and held her tight. But maybe it was only because he needed this hug.

Patriots Day - written for Dreamwidth

[prisca]

Title: He never wanted to be a hero
Character: Tommy Saunders
Wordcount: 100
Finished: January 2018

Gasping for air, Tommy was startled out of his sleep; he needed a moment to realize that he was at home, lying in his bed, and that the cries and the droning in his head were just the aftermaths of another nightmare.

The marathon and everything that had happened on April 15, a day that started with laughter, fun, and triumph, were already four months ago. Finally, Boston began to shake off the shock and move on.

Back to normality. Not for him, though. The horror he had seen would follow him for the rest of his life.

Starwars The Last Jedi - written for Anything Drabble

[prisca]

Title: Acidic words
Characters: Rey, mention of Kylo Ren
Wordcount: 300
Challenge: acidic
Finished: January 2018

:::

Like so often when she was alone, her thoughts wandered back to Kylo Ren. He hadn't only betrayed the Jedi and killed his own father; no, he was so evil through and through that he wouldn't rest before he wouldn't have annihilated all that was good in this world.

She knew it was only a matter of time, and she would meet him again; the fight would seal her fate. Maybe she would kill him. She ached for it with all her heart, though she knew nothing good could result from so much hate.

There had been a time when she believed it might be possible to save him. She could feel a bond between them, as if they belonged together. But he had betrayed her and tried pulling her onto the dark side. And yes, for a moment, she had felt the urge to give in, to belong at his side until the end of time.

He hadn't been prepared for how deep her love still was, the love for her parents who had left her alone ages ago on a dreary desert planet. She had survived because the hope had kept her moving on, the hope that her parents would return one day. Heroes of the Resistance, who had only done what needed to be done to save their only daughter.

Kylo's words had taken away every hope and had torn her heart apart. The bitter truth. Her parents only poor day laborers; dazzled by the prospect of a better life, they finally sold her daughter to slave traders and abandoned her to her fate.

If not for anything else he had done, she would always hate him for his acidic words until the day she would kill him... or die by his hand.

The Walking Dead - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Daydreaming
Characters: Beth Greene
Words: 100
Prompt: Clouds
Finished: November 2017

:::

She was lying on the clearing, surrounded by fallen leaves. Gray clouds had chased away the last sunbeams; the air was chilly, but Beth didn't mind. She enjoyed this moment of silence; her mind drifted off. Back to the old times, when she had lain on the meadow behind her grandfather's farm together with Maggie. They loved to watch the various shapes of the clouds, cats, hearts, or flowers; Maggie had insisted once on seeing their grandfather in his rocking chair.

Innocent phantasies of two little girls who didn't sense how their world would look like only a few years later.

The Faculty (Homeland Universe) - written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Hedgehogs
Characters: Casey Connor, Jason Conner Tyler (OC)
Words: 391
Prompt: Picture of Hedgehogs
Finished: November 2017

Homeland Universe: AU stories, where Casey and Zeke are married and have adopted a little boy. All stories can be read as stand-alone ones.

:::

„Daddy, daddy, daddy.“

Casey looked up from the article he was re-reading when his little son stormed into his office. His cheeks were red from the cold outside, and he was still wearing the colorful bubble hat his grandma had made for him. It made Casey always smile and reminded him of his own childhood.

„Daddy, you need to come with me.“ Overhyped, Jason tripled from one foot to the other.

Casey smiled; it was his working time, and Jason knew well enough only to disturb him in case of an emergency. „What's happened,“ he asked.

„I will show you.“ Jason grabbed for his hand. „In the garden.“

Finally, Casey gave in; the work could wait. He followed Jason to the back of the yard, the old oak tree with the treehouse Zeke had built for the little boy last summer. Jason's favorite place to play. But right now he was not interested in the house.

„Over there. Baby hedgehogs.“

Casey looked down, and he noticed the two little fellows right away. Busy with rummaging around in the colorful leaves, they didn't seem to care about their presence or Jason's delightful giggling. „Aren't they cute? Look at their round, black eyes. I wish I could keep them. I would take good care of them."

"I'm sure you would," Casey agreed. „But a hedgehog is not a pet like Bella. They are only happy in their natural surrounding.“

Thoughtfully, Jason bit his lower lip. „But they are so small. Who takes care of them?“

„They are smart; they can care for themselves,“ Casey reassured him. „But I have an idea. It's almost winter, and the hedgehogs will look for a place to sleep. They will hibernate, only wake up a few times. We could build a hedgehog house for them, with leaves and moss so that it will be warm and comfortable for them during winter.“

Jason's eyes sparkled hilariously. „Oh, that's great. Can we start now, daddy, can we?“

Casey thought of the article still waiting for him; he would have to pull an all-nighter to prepare it in time. But he nodded, laughing, and grabbed for Jason's hand. „Let's go to the tool shed and see if we can find an old wooden box to start with.“