Learning to Care

Chapter 10

*almost done!*

Jim pedaled furiously, trying to get to his house as fast as possible. What had Blinky been thinking? Obviously little kids didn't really think of things rationally, but really? Jim's mom had sounded terrified, and Jim was trying not to think of what she could be doing with the baby troll. With this thought he started pedaling even faster, ignoring Toby's frantic sweating.

They finally arrived at Jim's house, the three human's bikes skidding on the driveway. Claire got to the door, knocking on it with a shout of, "Mrs. Lake!" The door was flung open, Jim and his friends ushered inside the house. "What is it?" Barbara asked frantically, her eyes wide and confused. "Mom, just calm down. He's just a baby, he won't hurt you!" Blinky had been hiding behind the living room couch, shaking and crying, but as soon as he saw his friends he dashed out and attached himself to Claire, hiding behind her. Barbara raised a frying pan (of course) but upon hearing the word baby she hesitated. "It... it's... a baby? He's a baby? Oh my god I must have terrified him!" She sat down in a kitchen chair, looking suddenly exhausted. "Jim, I think we should call animal control-" Toby cut her off by shouting, "No Dr. L! He's a troll. They would just take him away and do experiments on him. We would never see him again. See, this whole thing.. Is kinda my fault. He's actually an adult, but I kinda hit him with a spell thing called a Gritnanka and basically we just have to watch him until he returns to normal." Barbara blinked at Toby, having trouble processing all of this information. "Jim, I only called you because it- er, he, seems to know you. He kept saying 'where Jim' or asking for you two" with a nod to towards Claire and Toby, "Or for something called Aargh. How does he know you?"

Jim looked into his mother's anguished eyes and said gently, "Mom, I'll explain everything, but first I'm going to make you some tea so you can calm down, okay?" She nodded, and soon Jim pressed a warm mug into her hands. Turning quickly he whispered, "Guys, we need to move quick okay? Claire, reopen the tunnel to trollmarket and get Blinky down to troll maret. Tobes, I'll need you to have the basement cleared up, please." Claire raised an eyebrow and asked, "Wakes up?" Just as Barbara slumped towards the table. Jim caught her, his face unreadable. "Jim... what did you just do? Tobey asked, his chubby face mirroring his upset state. Jim shook his head, and his face contorted in an expression of pain, "I know, I'm sorry, but you really need to go. I'll explain back in troll market." Jim's friends looked shocked, and maybe more than a little disappointed, but left to help their friend anyway.

Jim dumped the rest of the tea and replaced it with coffee, then got some of his mother's work papers and placed them by her face, adding a pen to the pile. Then he sat next to his mother for a minute, temporarily overwhelmed by guilt and shame. He knew that he had to do it, he had wanted to do it, it was just that... betraying his mother would never feel anything but wrong. Jim tried to rationalize it with himself; having a troll break into her house and scare her just wasn't how Jim wanted her to find out. He would tell her, just, well... just not today. Jim loved his mom a lot, and he wanted to shield her from the stress and worry she would go through if she knew. Leaving the group's bikes on the driveway, Jim started to walk back to trollmarket. But just before he left, he put a blanket over his mom's shoulders.

*flashback- Vendel and Jim, a few months ago*

"Vendel? It's kinda hard to explain, but I need a favor." Vendel didn't question him, but simply indicated Jim to continue without fear. "My mom doesn't know I'm the trollhunter." Vendel nodded, moving scrolls around on his desk. "And, well... I'd kinda like to keep it that way. I mean, knowing that I could be killed every time I leave the house? I don't want to hurt her like that. If she ever saw a troll it would be game over." Vendel sat down his work and pawed through his shelves for a minute, muttering indistinctly. Then he crossed the room and pressed something warm into Jim's palm. "Keep this to yourself young trollhunter. It is very powerful and can only be used once. Do not waste it, I only have the one." Jim nodded and left."

*end flashback*

Back in troll market, Claire was waiting for Jim with her arms crossed. He cringed internally as he approached her, expecting angry words, but none came. After a moment she stepped forward, so close their noses nearly touched. "Jim, that was an awful thing you had to do. But it was also right. I just don't think that it's the best time for your mom to get involved." She hugged him, and Jim let himself relax against her warm shoulder, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair.

Jim and Claire went to Blinky's library, where they found Vendel, Aargh, Toby, and Blinky. Toby was reading a children's book to Blinky (his trollish was bad at best, but it was passable) who listened with wide, attentive eyes. Vendel had given him some sort of snack, and he gnawed on it slowly, sitting contentedly in Vendel's lap. The group only had a few hours left to wait until their old friend returned to his normal age, and it was a few hours they would enjoy. Having a little kid around was fun, but it was time to get their troll dad back.