Don't Be Afraid | Jonathan Crane

Chapter Five - Man's Most Glorious Task

Chapter Five – Man's Most Glorious Task

The next morning, Jonathan was rather confused as he woke up with a small child cuddled up to him, her hands clutching his shirt.

Slowly, he remembered being woken up twice during the night and sighed, gently prying Nora's hands off his clothes before sitting up. Figuring she needed more sleep, he was going to leave her be for a while more, at least until he made something for breakfast.

He stood up, grabbed his glasses, and was about to leave the room when he got an idea, causing him to turn around and walk back over to the side of the bed, looking down at the sleeping girl.

Perhaps if he did something kind for the girl, she'd trust him a little more and be easier to work with, maybe even start to talk, which would cause a lot less frustration for Jonathan.

Reaching down, he gently moved her arms away from the plush fox and plucked it off the bed.

Quietly, since if he woke Nora he assumed she'd have a fit and not let him help, he moved out of the room and down the hall to the smallest room in the house, which was Jonathan's office. Entering, he walked over to the desk and sat down, placing the plush on the flat surface.

Rummaging quietly through the drawers, he finally found a sewing kit he had bought a while ago for a certain... project he was working on. Pulling it out, he placed it on the table.

He turned the doll over in his hands, making mental note of all the places where the stuffing was pouring out. Adjusting his glasses, Jonathan grabbed a needle and some dark red thread.

Slowly, he threaded the needle, and, pushing the stuffing back in, he threaded each tear on the parts of the fox that were made with red fabric.

Then, he fixed two spots on the white parts with white thread, one on the belly and one on the tail, and then one spot on the black with black thread, on the back right leg. Satisfied with his work and neat stitches, Jonathan was about to put the kit away when he remembered the eye.

Frowning, Jonathan observed the face of the plush before smirking as he got an idea, digging around in the bottom of the sewing kit before he pulled out a perfect sized black button.

Carefully, he weaved black thread through the buttons and the fabric on the face of the fox, before he pulled it tightly and tied it off, smiling as the fox doll looked up with its shiny new button eye.

Looking up, Jonathan almost jumped a foot in the air when he saw Nora on the other side of the desk, barely tall enough to peer over at him with a worried and rather panicked look in her eyes. Jonathan knew she was wanting her toy.

Standing up, Jonathan walked around the desk and knelt down in front of Nora, who watched him warily, her eyes flickering from his to the plush and then back to his again.

"Here you go, Nora," Jonathan smiled as kindly as he could manage, while holding the fox up for her to see. "I fixed him for you. See? I stitched up all the tears and I even gave him a new eye."

It took a minute for her to react, but, when she did, Jonathan could honestly say he wasn't prepared.

Nora's entire face lit up, and a smile crossed her face that made Jonathan's heart stop. The dark haired man couldn't really say he had ever found anything cute before, but, in that moment, the happy little girl was the most adorable thing he'd ever set eyes on.

The small child took a step forward and Jonathan expected her to take the plush from him, but, instead, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.