Clean by tyk

[tyk.livejournal.com]

just a short litte un-beta'd piece about that transition for Benton between life with Caroline and life with Bob's parents. there's something about Ben dealing with the loss of his mother that really pulls at me -- maybe because there is no canon, so i can just make it up, but maybe because that's what partly molded him into the intriguing man he became...



He stood in the tub, water dripping down his body. "Dad, I'm finished." He began singing under his breath, "I'm washed from top to toes and it shows I'm as clean as new snow. My nose, it glows, and all the parts between do sheen. I'm clean, clean, clean." The more he sang, the more his bottom lip trembled. His father did not turn around or even acknowledge his attempt at normalcy. His mother had made up the song years ago and it was tradition to sing it after a real tub-bath rather than just a sponge-off. He refused to cry, though, and resolutely bit his bottom lip to make it stop trembling.

"Well, don't dawdle, son. Get out and dried and dressed. No use just standing in the tub waiting to get chilled."

"I...I can't reach the towel." He would not even mention that, even at age six, his mother would wrap him up in a warmed towel as he stood up in the tub; he had an idea his father would not only not warm a towel or wrap him in it, his father would probably scoff at the practice.

"Proper planning prevents poor performance, son. Words to live by. Next time, plan your bath more efficiently. Your grandparents are not likely to pander to you as your ...," his father's voice stopped for so short a time, he wasn't even sure it had broken, "as you've come to expect." His father handed him a towel, but seemed unable to meet his eyes.

"Yes, sir. I will plan more effectively in the future. I will try to do better for you and for my grandparents." He dried off quickly, and dressed himself.

He looked around the cabin and wondered when he might be having a tub-bath again there. Today they began the journey to his father's parents. He would be staying with his grandparents so his father could return to duty and patrol. He wondered if he'd ever hear his tub-bath song again.

Comments

[shayheyred.livejournal.com]

Ow. Poor, poor little boy. I think your portrayal of Bob is shiveringly, frighteningly accurate. I feel for him, too, but Benton? Ow.

Bob

[tyk.livejournal.com]

I can just see Bob, after he shook off that initial depression Benton describes in HaHS, trying to revert back to true "Mountie" form. No one's going to coddle you anymore, Benton, and you may as well understand that as soon as possible. Doesn't mean we don't love love, son, just means it's not necessary.

thanks for your comment!

[sam80853.livejournal.com]

The more he sang, the more his bottom lip trembled.

God, it's heartbreaking! ::sniffs::. Poor little Ben!

He refused to cry, though, and resolutely bit his bottom lip to make it stop trembling. ::runs to get a warm towel to wrap him in and holds him close::

[tyk.livejournal.com]

i sometimes think i overdo the distant Bob stuff, but then i think about when Benton is in the hospital after VS and Bob's mother comes "calling" and think, nah, Bob probably had it rougher than Benton... thanks for your comment -- i'm glad i was able to elicit an emotional response for little Ben!

[duesouthficrecs.livejournal.com]

"i sometimes think i overdo the distant Bob stuff, but then i think about when Benton is in the hospital after VS and Bob's mother comes "calling" and think, nah, Bob probably had it rougher than Benton... "

Totally disagree. Notice that she comes in with flannel pjs that have a cowboy print. Not sensible, one colour pjs, but cozy flannel with a print a little boy would love. She's practising tough love there because Fraser desperately needs someone to kick his ass and get him out of bed (as Jill does), not being insensitive and unkind.

As for this snippet, I think it's very close to my vision of what Bob would have been like at this time. I love the idea of the bath-time song. You packed so much into so few words.

[tyk.livejournal.com]

hmmm, i'll have to go back and attend more closely -- that's a potential perspective on Mother Fraser i've not really considered before...

thanks for the comment about the song -- i wanted to have some sort of tradition and that seemed plausible.

[akite.livejournal.com]

Poor little boy. ::sniffle:: No more warmed towels, no more tub-bath song. Makes me want to hug him tight to me.

[tyk.livejournal.com]

how many hugs would it take to make it up to him; we could all line up... i would think it's kind of exponential.

[tyk.livejournal.com]

i agree - i do beleive both Bob and Bob's parents loved him but the loss -- and what must have been a very confusing loss given how little of the true story he really knew -- had a major impact.

[cesperanza.livejournal.com]

Actually, I really dig the squareness of the rhyme--that's the part that rings so true to me. The absolute and utter squareness of children, esp. Fraser, and the total unsquareness of Bob. Bob's both supermountie but also, oddly, kind of down to earth and self-centered in a very modern way. Interesting stuff!

[tyk.livejournal.com]

thanks. i wanted to find a possible simple tradition and this struck me as possible.

[rjm-257.livejournal.com]

Fraser was a lonely boy who grew into a lonely man, and you captured that early loneliness well. That poor six year old boy, having to deal with a distant father and grandparents who were probably little more than strangers. You make me sad.

[tyk.livejournal.com]

thanks for letting me know it hit you emotionally.

[sprat.livejournal.com]

Oh, ouch. You made Caroline's absence so painfully vivid, here. Poor Ben!

[chibimonnie.livejournal.com]

oh, poor little benton! i just want to wrap him up in a big hug.