Chapter Text
December 19th, 1940
Calvin was in the kitchen with Ivy, cleaning the last dish from the small party they had earlier. It was Morton’s second birthday, and the Schmidt’s had left around half an hour ago with their two kits.
“So, Morton, do you like your new horsie?” Calvin asked, a happy tone in his voice. He carved a rocking horse with the equipment down at the lumber mill, while Ellie and Ivy painted it.
“Yea! It’s fun!” He hollered back from the living room, see-sawing back and forth, while Vincent giggled at him, probably drawing him on his notepad.
“I think we did good this year.” Calvin grinned, giving his wife a kiss.
She responded with another kiss, before turning off the faucet, and wiping her hands off with a rag. “Alright, it’s getting late. You kids want to go to bed? Or should we be bad parents and let you stay up another half hour?”
“Stay up!” They all said in unison, Calvin joining in.
“Oh alright-” She was cut off by Elise, who was peering out the window.
“Daaad… There’s someone outside.”
“Who on Earth… It’s 8pm, and there’s at least 3 feet of snow outside. Calvin, do you mind?” Ivy asked, turning to him with her lips moving to the side of her face.
“I’ll get it.” Calvin responded, just as confused as Ivy. He made his way to the door, and through the peephole he saw a thin figure in a ragged, thick coat, facing away from the door, into the night sky. He cracked it open with a furrowed brow. “Can I help you, sir?”
Still, he didn’t move, instead only turning his ears. “I was still thinking of what to say after you came to the door, thanks for saving me the time. I have a lot to say. But first… Can I come inside? I’ve had this coat for a while now, and there’s only a few strands holding it together, so… it’s cold.”
Calvin’s eyes shot wide, and he swung the door open and ran out to him, before wrapping his arms around the smaller figure. He could feel tears welling in his eyes, and he didn’t care. His cousin was alive.
“If I’m honest, I wasn’t even sure if you’d wanted to hear from me.”
“Calvin, is everything alright? I- Rocky?!” Ivy yelled, holding Morton.
“It… It’s good to see you two.” He choked out from his cousin’s tight grasp.
“R-right, right. Of course. Please, come in.” Calvin ushered him in as Ivy took his jacket and hung it up, before gasping as she saw his thin, frail body.. “Rocky! You’re so… You’re so thin! I’ll reheat some shepherd’s pie from earlier today.”
“Oh, it’s alright Mrs. Pepper. I’m fine-”
“No no no, you don’t get a say in this. I could probably pick you up! And please, call me Ivy.”
“I insist-”
“Maybe you’ve forgotten, but there’s no talking her out of anything when she’s made up her mind.” Calvin chuckled, before giving him another hug. “Now, there’s a few people I’d like you to meet.”
He led him to the couch and sat him down, before ushering the kids to him, despite Vincent’s protests. “Vincent, Elise, Morton, I’d like you to meet your Uncle Rocky.”
“Yay! I always wanted an uncle!” Elise jumped beside him, eyeing him up and down with a wide smile plastered across her face. “I’m Elise, what’s your name? Rocky, right? That’s a cool name! Not as cool as mine, but still really cool!” And she went on and on, before finally wearing herself out and yawning, sitting beside him on the couch.
Rocky seemed to answer all of her questions no matter how little time he had in between. Finally someone to match his energy.
Morton was second, showing him his new ‘horsie’ in the process. “Hewwo!” He gave him a hug, before recoiling. “You stink!”
“Morton!”
“Oh, don’t worry. He’s not wrong. I haven’t had a shower in…”
“Don’t answer that.”
Morton then hopped into his father’s arms, and grabbed his tail.
Finally, Vincent. He was shy, but still offered him a handshake. “H-hi, dad’s told me a lot about you. You seem a lot quieter than in his stories, but that’s ok. I like quiet.” He gave a small smile.
That was finally enough to push Rocky over the edge, and into dramatics. “Oh, my baby cousin’s all grown up! He has a family! I didn’t think you had it in you!” That caused Calvin to roll his eyes, still smiling. “I can’t believe it! After all these years on the run, I thought I was the only one left… It’s all so…”
Calvin and Ivy sat beside him, smiles on their faces as well. “We missed you too.”
After about an hour, Calvin had told Rocky Ivy and his story, and now it was his turn.
“Well, I guess I should start from the beginning.” He frowned a bit, but seeing his family - old and new - gave him all the courage he could need. “When it happened, I was behind the stage, just tuning my violin. When a bang rang out, I just bolted. I hated myself afterwards for just leaving… well, my family, but I was a coward. Though I guess that’s the only reason I’m here today, for better or for worse.”
“Rocky.” Calvin interrupted, placing a paw on his shoulder. “You did what any sensible person would do. I- We’re all happy you’re here. Especially after having the last however many years thinking you weren’t.”
“Thanks, cuz.” He gave him a heartfelt smile, before resuming his antics. “And I see you still haven’t learned about interrupting poets.” Ignoring Calvin’s groan, he continued. “I hung around the city for another week or so, long enough to read the obituaries. It took me a little long to read it, because my vision kept going blurry for whatever reason. I didn’t see either of your names on it, which… well, it gave me mixed feelings. I know that sounds bad, but I thought they had something special planned for the both of you, considering how much trouble you caused them, Mr. McMurray. And they haven’t had trouble hurting one of you to hurt the other.” He gestured towards Ivy.
Calvin wrapped his arm around Ivy, pulling her close. It was clear that he struck a chord. “But anyways, that’s when I decided it was time to move on after I had a conversation with Miss M. for one last time.” That caused Calvin to tilt his head briefly, before understanding. “I hopped on the next train that came by, leading me to… I think it was Indianapolis? But that’s not important. I just hopped from train to train, town to town, staying for maybe a week in each place.”
“Maybe a month ago I somehow got tracked down by Ol’ Serious-face of all people, and gave me your address, but that’s really all it’s been for the past… however long it’s been. However, I do have plenty of stories I’ve gathered for the little ones.”
“Well, it’s getting late. Maybe they can wait for tomorrow.” Calvin jutted in, drawing groans from all the kids in the room.
“But we wanna hear the stories!”
“And you will! Just not right now. You want to be rested for ice skating tomorrow, right?”
“Okaay…”
“Vincent, do you mind tucking the two little ones in? Your mother and I want to have a talk with your uncle.”
“Okay. C’mon Elise. I’ll carry Morton.”
Once all the kids were up, Rocky turned to Calvin. “So? What is it, cuz?”
“You some cider? I just wanna sit down and catch up.”
“Soft cider.” Ivy jumped in. “We don’t have any alcohol in here, so sorry if that’s what you’re craving.”
“Sure, All I’ve had is rainwater and my flask. Speaking of which, mind if I refill it?”
“Rocky, we don’t have any alcohol.”
“No no no, Mrs. Pepper. You misunderstand-”
“Ivy. Or Mrs. McMurray.”
“It’s syrup, isn’t it.”
“...Yes.”
After Calvin poured the three of them some cider, and Ivy put Rocky’s flask in the sink to clean, they all moved to the front and sat on the porch, Calvin and Ivy sharing a blanket.
“So… what’s your plan? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Rocky looked up back into the star-speckled night sky. “I’ll probably go back on the rails.” He took a sip.
“Are you sure? We have a spare room, and we’d be willing to let you stay here for as long as you want.”
“Ivy’s right. We’d love to have you here. You could play the violin at the saloon!”
“The sedentary life isn’t for me, cuz, but thanks for the offer. I know that if I ever feel like I want a family, I know where mine is.”
“I… Is there any way we can convince you to stay?”
“Nope, sorry.”
“Fine, just will you stay safe? If not for yourself, for the both of us?”
“I’ll keep that in the back of my mind.”
“Just remember you can come back here at any time. Whenever you’re hungry, need some clean clothes, need some repairs for your violin… need some more syrup, I guess… You get the idea.”
“Mhm.”
“Oh, and come back for Christmas!”
“Alright, alright. I get it. I’ll come back every now and then.”
That seemed to be enough to let everyone just enjoy the company for a few minutes, before finally, Rocky broke the silence.
“Hey, do you know any cheap motels around here where I can stay the night?”
“You’re kidding, right?”