Christmas in the Country (A Pocahontas FanFiction)

Day 3

The next morning, John woke up before everyone else and checked the time: 8 AM. He ruffled Thomas' hair between his fingers, "Good Morning, Thomas." Thomas blinked for a few minutes and focused on John smiling down at him. He couldn't help smiling, too, "Hi, John."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Good."

John looked over at their parents, they were still asleep. The boys got out of bed and started getting ready to leave. Once they were ready and had their things by the door, their parents were just starting to get up. Mr. Smith was surprised to see the boys up and ready, "Well, looks like the early birds caught the worm, huh?" The boys nodded. Mr. Smith sat up, "Why don't you boys down and get a bite of breakfast. Your mother and I will be down in a minute."

"Sure thing."

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By the time their parents had come down, the boys had just sat down. Thomas took a sip of apple juice, "Gosh, I thought they were faster than this. I was almost afraid they fell back asleep half dressed." The boys shared a laugh and started eating. When their parents were seated, John asked the very question Thomas had on his mind, "So, about what time will we get to Grandma's?" Mr. Smith thought for a second, "We'll be pulling in about eight o'clock tonight." The boys nodded their understanding.

After loading their stuff in the back, the boys got in and they were on the road again.

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Thomas took out 1984 to finish it. He was on the last few pages. Winston had just gone past treatment and he was in the separate room after having seen his reflection in the mirror. Thomas was eager to know what would happen next. John rolled his eyes a little, his little brother was always reading most of the time. He'd only checked his phone once or twice during the whole trip. Nakoma had texted him a couple times to see how he was doing, but she was like him. Not spending lots of time on a device. When he finally finished the book, though he was saddened that Winston wasn't the rebelling man he was before, he closed the book and put a hand on his head, "Ouch!" John looked up from his magazine, "What's wrong, kiddo?" Thomas groaned, "My head."

"Alright, put the books down for a minute and give your head a rest." John patted his lap and Thomas nestled his head into it. Figuring Thomas might go to sleep again, John pulled the blanket over and began stroking Thomas' head, "Cozy?"

"Mmhmm." Thomas lay still, for the first time during the trip, he didn't feel like doing anything. His head hurt too much. John ruffled Thomas' hair, "Don't worry, kiddo. Give it a few minutes and you'll feel much better." Thomas' eyelids felt heavy and he went to sleep.

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After a few hours, Thomas woke to find his head felt better. John looked up from his phone, "Well, I was beginning to wonder if you were dead as a doornail. But you finally came back to life." Thomas rolled his eyes, John had a way of saying things that you would either believe it or know he was being silly. John went on, "Honestly, I was beginning to wonder what happened to my brother and how did he become such a sweet little angel." Thomas blushed. John kept cutting up until Thomas, realizing he was still tired, went back to sleep.

"Thomas, wake up. We're at the gas station." Thomas sat up almost immediately, so John went on, "Dad's gonna fill the car up, Mom's gonna get pizza, and you and I need to get some drinks. gotta use the bathroom?" Thomas shook his head, "No, I'm good." The boys walked in and headed over to the drinks, "What d'ya think Mom and Dad want? They'll need to stay awake the whole time. You remember when they had to change places when Dad got tired and Mom had to drive."

"Yea. Let's get their favorites: Coke and Dr. Pepper."

"Good idea."

Coming back to the car with the drinks, Thomas ran a hand over his forehead and sighed, "Hey, John?" John took a sip of Vanilla Coke, "Yea?" Thomas followed his example and took a sip of his Pepsi, "What d'ya think's been the best part of the road trip." John grinned, "You know the answer to that: I have my baby brother and best friend combined into one with me and that's what I'd never leave home without." Thomas blushed, put his drink down, and pulled John into a hug. Their mom couldn't help smiling, too, "John, that was so sweet of you." Thomas giggled.

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Thomas drank his Pepsi slowly to make it last longer so he wouldn't fall asleep. He and John talked the whole way until their Dad got a call from Uncle Lon, "He said Grandma will have supper ready when we get there. She's making Sloppy Joe's 'cause she knows it's you two's favorite." The boys traded smiles and high-fived.

By the time they pulled into their Grandma's, John was excited. Thomas had his head snuggled on John's shoulder and he was asleep. John opened the door to find Uncle Lon there waiting for him, "Hey, John! How are ya?" He eyed Thomas, "What happened to Thomas? Did he have a heart attack or something?" John laughed, "No, he had a sleep attack." He gave Thomas a gentle shake when he saw the new look in Uncle Lon's eye, "Uh, Thomas? I think you should wake up, unless you wanna be tickled awake." Too late, Uncle Lon set right to work tickling his young nephew which worked on demand. Thomas started laughing his head off. When the boys finally got out, Thomas tried to settle down, "I thought I asked you not to do that anymore." Uncle Lon put his hands on his hips, "Well, what else was I supposed to do? I about decided to call your Uncle Ben and have him take you to bed. Now come on you two, supper's awaitin'."