Pup

Chapter 4

For the entire ride home back to Hank's house Oliver's arms were stretched up to reach the pink orange sky through the opened sunroof, trying to keep his arms up against the racing wind. But with one cool blast he pulled his arms back down and tucked his hands under his legs with a shiver. Night was falling. But he still kept his eyes to the sky that was whizzing by them, turning an indigo blue that was swallowing the sky slowly like a river of blue molasses. After some time the sunset disappeared into a dark indigo blue hid behind the skyline of the windy city glowing underneath the blanket of the night. Oliver shivered, rubbing his arms and legs together against the cold wind now beginning to blow straight through his small body. He squirmed and shifted to try and find the most shielded position from the cold but he didn't have much luck. The wind followed him however he moved. With the cold darkness sweeping over Hank took off his shades and tossed them in his pocket as he drove to make the lights of the world easier to see. But when he did in the rearview mirror he saw Oliver contorted in his seat shivering and curling up against the wind assaulting him through the windows. His red curls were blowing into his eyes and tickling his nose making the wind a little less friendly. He fought to keep his hair out of his face but it was no use, the wind just kept comically flushing right back into his face as he swatted. Hank hit the buttons on his door to close the windows and turned on the heat in the back seat compartment. Oliver's body unraveled and opened up to take in the soft warmth wrapping around him and with a happy sigh he closed his eyes and laid his head back melting back into his seat without a word.
"That feel better?" Hank asked trying not to look up in the rearview mirror and focus on the road. But he still snuck himself a glance and smiled at the flash of what he saw.
"Mmmhmmm, nice and toasty" Oliver replied blissfully, turning his face towards the stream of heat coming from the vent above his head.
"Good" he replied. "Now coming up soon I have something I want to show you but you're going to have to close your eyes when I tell you too though."
"Another surprise?!" Oliver exclaimed as it seemed a lighting bolt had just hit him with new energy. His eyes darted from window to window as he squirmed in his seat trying to search for this new surprise.
"Where? Where?" his head flipped back and forth.
""Well you won't see it if you keep wippin' your head around like that" Hank replied with a grin. "I'll tell you when it's coming up don't you worry about that. But for now just stop turning yourself into a pretzel" he chuckled navigating through the crowded Chicago streets.
"Oookaaayyy, you promise?" oliver giggled.
"Yes I promise" Hank replied quickly glancing into the rear view mirror then back to the road in front of him. Oliver relaxed and sat back into his seat contently with his eyes closed absorbing the gentle steady stream of warmth wrapping around him. The white noise of the car against the cool night lulled him into a temporary slumber until the car had considerably slowed down and the noise disappeared. He sat up and rubbed his eyes looking confusingly out of the windows at the houses around him that were sprinkled with warm light lasting through the darkness like stars. But all these flashing windows weren't quite the ones he was waiting to find. He was trying to look between the window lights into the darkness for the shape of Hank's empty house but didn't have luck with this street or the other few that followed. His excitement bubbled and bubbled the more streets they turned down looking around to try and find his home. He restlessly tossed from one pair of windows to another until Hank's voice broke the silence.
"Alright Oliver I'm going to need you to close your eyes now and no peeking" he gave oliver a grin that made him giggle excitedly and close his eyes. His little feet kicked in a quick rhythm back and forth in front of him as he tried to contain his energy. Oliver tried to sneak little looks through the cracks of his fingers but Hank wasn't one to miss a beat,
"Hey mister I see you peeking back there don't try that on me" the grin on his face stayed the same as the car turned and slowed to a stop down the street. Oliver was tempted to sneak a peek but before he could let his fingers loosen Hank was already unbuckling him from his seat and picking him up as a chilly breeze swept up through his shirt and coat giving him a shiver as he was set back down onto his feet. Hank's hands provided him some warmth however as he turned oliver in the direction he wanted him to face then moved his hands under his arms to catch him in case he tripped.
" Alright kiddo just trust my lead and keep your eyes closed okay?" Hank gently lead oliver forward for some steps then stopped to turn him around until he was stopped in place by Hank's large hands on his shoulders that held his shoulders gently firm in place. It was such a new and grounding feeling Oliver became distracted in it and hadn't opened his eyes until Hank bent down to his ear and spoke, "now go ahead and open those eyes and tell me what's different." Oliver's fingers loosened from his face and clasped together against the breeze and what he saw was just a black void of where a house should have been. It was an awkward but clean cut space with just slabs of concrete in the ground. Oliver confusingly looked from the black space to the houses left and right to it and the house on the right was none other than Hank's house. So that must mean the space....was...no it couldn't be. Oliver's head shot straight up to Hank's eyes, "wha...wha what happened?" he asked.
"Look there" Hank directed, " my house is right there and you remember what was next to it" he pointed waiting for it to click in oliver's mind which took nearly no time at all to connect. He gasped and backed into Hank with his eyes frozen in shock towards the gaping black hole that was in front of him. His fingers weaved their way loosely across his lips restraining his thrilled screams. But they were able to squeak out in whispers,
"It's gone...it's all gone. It's gone it's...it's it's POOF!" he expressed wildly with his arms hitting Hank's arms on accident but he didn't care. He rubbed oliver's shoulders and bent down to reply,
"And it's never comin back. It's all over now Ollie. It's all done. Now all that's left to do is to go home" he pointed left to his house where warm light came through the curtained windows. Oliver's eyes were fixated like a moth on a lamp looking at the widows that in his eyes glittered like gold.
"Home?" Oliver's voice was so thin and broken with just that one word. But to Hank it was as strong as the wind blowing into his ears. He squeezed his shoulders a little tighter but couldn't resist pulling him into a hug with a fond chuckle.
"Come on let's go see your new room" Hank assured Oliver towards his house which didn't take any convincing on his part. The moment he pushed him to go Oliver had taken off across the yard and was already at the door jumping up and down waiting for Hank to get over there and open the door already. He scooped the keys from his pocket and put the key into lock and clicked it open when he had reached the door just a few steps behind Oliver who was already pushing through the small crack in the door inside the warm cozy house. His eyes were glittering as if he were in a castle. He was home. He was really home! He ran from the front halfway through the circular laid out house flying like a little free bird. He had made his way around the house once as Hank hung up his coat and loosened the laces on his shoes.
"Hey flash why don't you come and take your coat off and stay awhile?" He called around a corner where he heard the footsteps coming around the closest. Almost immediately he heard "Okay!! COMING IN FOR A LANDING! BROOOOOOMM" he flew into the room with his arms spread out wide and jumped loudly to a stop in front of Hank who already coatless and shoeless waiting for him. Oliver ripped off his coat and threw off his shoes as if he had ants nibbling at him all over. He tossed his shoes under the hallway table and tried to jump up and reach the coat hooks that he couldn't quite reach. He was like a little monkey trying to jump for a branch that was far out of reach. Hank couldn't help but watch for a few more seconds chuckling before taking the coat slowly from oliver's hands to the coat hook above. Once his fingers released his coat he flew off into the hallway again and found his way to the stairs like he had already lived there for most of his short life. But up the stairs were dark and ominous so his little feet didn't scurry any further until Hank came around the corner and flicked on the lights which was made Oliver feel safe enough to run up on all fours to the top of the stairs and to the door he remembered from what felt like years ago. His little fingers danced and fiddled with the nob and his eyes glowed in its reflection with such a glimmer you may say even the door itself had a haze of illumination. Hank's steps got louder as he got closer to the top step which was when Oliver tore his longing little hand from the door to his side again and started to jump up and down in place not able to control the excitement and joy bubbling up in every inch of his small body. His little fluttering feet sent excited little rumbles through the floor which traveled from the soul of Hank's shoes up through his body to his head where to him time slowed. He didn't even notice his hand resting on the door knob until an ecstatic glimmer of Oliver's face zapped him in a way that made his hand tingle back to its reality. He wanted to say something meaningful to Oliver before opening the door but he knew all they both wanted to say was already written on their faces and in their eyes, after years of dealing with people it was easy to read the stories everyone tries to hide from the surface so with a face this bright it was all too easy to hear. Hank gladly pushed the door open for Oliver to finally fly into the room with complete amazement at what was now all his. The very first thing to catch his glittering eye was what looked to be a small red truck in his room. In his room! Oliver took off and jumped as high as he could to try and clear the edges to fly right into the bed of the truck which was an actual bed with a comfy new mattress, blankets and pillows.
"This is awesome!!!! Is this all mine?!" he asked running his hands all over the new bed and garage like shelves surrounding it.
"Yeah it's all yours" Hank replied smiling uncontrollably at this point from oliver's joy and glee that just grew and grew. Hank hadn't realized how strong and contagious this gentle little spirit could be. When he had contact with oliver before he was silent, withdrawn and terrified. He didn't as much as talk never mind smile and run and giggle like he was doing now tonight. Maybe this was the boy that Emily talked about that Hank hadn't had the privilege of meeting earlier, could it be? Regardless Hank enjoyed staying in this moment. He normally wasn't one to entirely indulge in these kinds of moments. Well, at least publicly anyway. But tonight that wasn't the case. Tonight it was just the two of them together waking up and turning alive like neither of them had before. Hank walked over to a car garage like door close to the door and got Oliver's attention,
"Hey ollie check this out." He pulled up the door to reveal a car garage like closet which had new clothes and shoes neatly folded and organized which didn't last to long when Oliver got to it and searched through all of them with awe. This was twice as much as he ever had. The room, the clothes, this was all far more than anyone had given him. He almost could fathom this all could be real or forever. But this wasn't the end of the surprises as Hank reached further back into the closet and pulled out a dark blue backpack with dinosaur skeletons and his name embroidered on the front. He reached for the bag slowly, letting the new stiff fabric slip into his hands and rub against his skin making the new smell even stronger in his nose.
"All this is mine? Forever?" he whispered as he ran his hand over his name, feeling like he was seeing it for the first time. Hank's reality was fractured for a moment with a wave of memories of the time and people who were long gone. This left him far behind and alone, not that he minded being alone, but this was a nice change. With those bright green eyes something inside him started to breathe and kick to life again. Something he didn't realize was long gone too.
"Yeah, yeah this is all yours" he nodded. In the pause that followed they locked eyes and were frozen in each other's gaze until Oliver pushed himself to his feet and gave Hank a purely thankful and warm smile, as if he were looking at friend. Or better, someone who loved him as much as he did. Hank's usually rough and hard exterior crumbled almost immediately as he returned the smile and stroked oliver's cheek with a gentle hand. He let it fall back to his side and told Oliver to freely explore his room while Hank went back out to the car to get his things and when he did so he found something unexpected. Not only in this box was there a white bag with his name pinned to it but a black one as well with Hank's name pinned to it. This made him particularly curious as Oliver's bag was filled with his clean toys and few clothes he had. But the other was a mystery. He picked up the black bag and put it on the table and upon closer inspection he noticed the paper with his name on it wasn't a paper at all. It was a note that read,

"August 22,2019

Dear Sergeant Hank Voight,
Or maybe for the sake of this letter could I just call you Hank? I wanted to sincerely thank you again and acknowledge the decision you made to take Oliver in and hopefully you realize if you haven't already, what sweet soul you've saved. You and I both know how many things are missing and broken in his life so over the years I've saved everything I could to at least give him closure on his past when he's older. To try and make it easier for him. I've seen him as a beautiful infant, happy sweet boy and now a broken child I can barely recognize. I hope with these remains of his innocence you could bring that little boy back better than he was in the beginning. And if it's not to much, could I get updates on him? Or maybe some pictures? I completely understand if you're not comfortable with it as his new guardian. It's just that I've known him so long he's like my own in a way. Thank you so much and I hope you welcome all the joy he'll bring you like he has me.

Sincerely,
Emily Cravas".

    Hank smiled putting the letter down now even more interested of what was in the bag then he was at first. So he swiftly cut it open and lifted the contents out to look at each thoroughly. He ended pulling out a couple photo albums, letters, a notebook, some dvds labeled with dates and a smaller bag of toddler/baby clothes.One of which was a blue shirt with a police car right on the front. Hank found himself chuckling at the irony and surrealness of this moment. He then flipped open the first album to be shown an infant in the same small shirt he held in his hands. Even as tiny as the shirt was it was still to big for his small body. But what kept his stare a bit longer was one little red curl that lipped out from under his hat. He took out the picture and flipped it over to see the date and a note that read "you were such a tiny boy! But don't worry little one, great things come in the smallest of packages ;)"
Hank had to stop himself for now and save these later because Ollie still needed to eat. So he slipped everything back into the bag and putting it in a corner to come back to later because he was definitely going to have to look through the albums and watch through the dvds. They may hold the key of how to bring that happy boy back.