Jacob: Family Vacation
I've been wanting to write this story for a while now so I was really glad to start working on it yesterday. This happens during the downtime after the Forbidden Kingdom storyline we just finished. :)
Jacob Marsh looked around Chicago-O’Hare airport before looking back at the toddler on his hip. Cole yawned as he looked up at his father and Jacob gave an exaggerated yawn right back earning a bright smile. “Welcome to Chicago, Kiddo. This is where your mommy and I met.”
“Don’t you dare tell that child that story,” Amanda hissed as she nodded in response to Maggie’s chatter.
Jacob felt his cheeks redden and the flush rose all the way to the tips of his ears. “And who told you that story?”
“Delilah,” Amanda replied with a smirk followed by a disapproving glance. “Really Jacob, couldn’t you have a little more restraint?”
Ignoring the question Jacob kicked his foot against the tile floor. “I’m not sure I like all the sharing you two are doing.”
“Get over it, Son,” Amanda said with a grin. “Caleb, come back over here!”
Caleb jogged back over and Jacob looked him over, “Is he getting taller?”
“I’m a growing boy, Dad, of course I’m getting taller. Pretty soon I’m gonna be taller than you!” Caleb proclaimed with a grin.
Jacob laughed though he had a feeling Caleb was right. “Well that’ll be a sight to see then.”
They gathered up their bags and headed outside. The bright sunshine caused Maggie to reach for the bright pink Hello Kitty sunglasses Jacob pulled out of his cargo vest pocket. “Are we going to the American Girl store now, Daddy?”
Caleb groaned and Jacob was glad his own eyes were covered by sunglasses. Maggie didn’t need to see just how much he didn’t want to go into that store. “Not yet, Princess, tomorrow OK?”
“You promise?”
“Yep, promise.” He glanced over at Amanda, “Mom, you had to tell her about that place?”
“All you were talking about were museums and basketball games; she needed something for herself on this trip.”
Jacob sighed, “I know, but do I have to go?” He realized suddenly he sounded a lot like his kids.
Amanda laughed, “This is your family vacation, Jacob, of course you have to go.”
He sighed and started towards the shuttle for the rental car lot. One hybrid SUV later, they were on their way into the city. After getting settled into their rooms Amanda took the kids down to the pool while Jacob took care of some business. The trip truly was meant as a vacation, but he also needed to talk with Nolrim and touch base with his Chicago office. He set up a morning meeting with the Chicago office and a time to meet with Nolrim the next night then went to join the rest of his family at the pool.
The next day was filled with tourist attractions. By the time Jacob tucked Maggie and Cole into bed he was practically drooling in anticipation of a beer with the dwarf Nolrim; someone Jacob considered a friend despite the relatively small amount of time they spent around each other. He put his wallet in his back pocket and slid his collapsed staff into the inner pocket of his cargo pants. "Dad?"
"Yeah, Sport?"
Caleb twisted his Cubs baseball cap in his hands without looking at Jacob. "Can I go with you?"
"I'm going to a bar, Caleb," Jacob answered almost apologetically.
"A sports bar," Caleb pointed out. He glanced up when there was silence and saw Jacob looking at him pointedly. "I saw it in your calendar when I sent a text to Svalla. You know I could do that a lot easier if you'd let me have a newer phone."
Jacob closed his eyes and shook his head. "Svalla is..." he trailed off as he considered just what to say about the attractive Valkyrie. "Why are you texting her anyway?"
"Her bike of course," Caleb said innocently.
"Of course. You know you could just text Adam and see if he could make one for you, you'd owe him big though," Jacob suggested. In truth, he'd owe his step-brother, but he'd deal with that later.
"Y'know, Uncle Adam's great and all, but I'd rather work with Svalla on it. She offered to teach me to ride."
"Too young," Jacob said immediately. Caleb scowled and Jacob realized his son was about to move straight into a full blown sulk which would probably last the rest of their weekend trip if he didn't do something to stop it. "Alright, get your shoes."
"Yeah?" Caleb sat up, dropping his hat in surprise.
"Yeah. But hurry it up OK?"
Caleb bolted off the bed as he scrambled for his shoes. Jacob knocked on the door to the room his mother was sharing with Maggie. "Mom, I'm taking Caleb with me."
"Be careful, and he'd better come back without a scratch on him this time."
Jacob flashed her an easy smile, "I'm just going to meet a friend."
"Uh huh. Not one scratch, Young Man."
He shook his head as she closed the door. "Thirty-five years old and she can still make me feel like I'm a child."
Caleb snickered at him but went silent as Jacob gave him a dark stare. "Well, uh...she is your mom."
"Yeah...and don't worry, she's always gonna be able to do the same thing to you too."
"She's not the only one," Caleb muttered as Jacob closed the door to their suite. Jacob hid a grin and acted like he hadn't heard him.
They reached the bar, a fairly nondescript place with a Pabst Blue Ribbon sign proudly displayed in the window. Jacob took note and hoped they had something else (Sam Adams, Heineken, Giant's Blood) on tap. The interior of the bar looked like something out of a movie. Dark and poorly lit. The TVs perched in the four corners of the main room were easy to see and the glow of the lights over the four pool tables in the back made the area a more appealing area to Jacob. No one was back there so he scanned the tables and booths until he came across a familiar face. "C'mon." He stopped at the bar and signaled for a couple of drinks, a coke for Caleb and a Sam Adams for himself. Once he had their drinks he guided Caleb through the semi-crowded bar to the back table, just outside the illuminated pool table area. "Not exactly a tourist spot, huh, Nolrim."
"You want tourist spots get a travel guide," Nolrim grunted. He glanced at Caleb who hovered just behind Jacob. "Gonna introduce me?"
Jacob stepped aside so Caleb could come forward and made introductions fairly quickly. Nolrim looked them over then shook his head. "Didn't know your boy would be with you. Would've picked a different place."
"It's no big deal," Caleb said before taking a drink of his coke.
"Place can get a little rough. Not a good place for kids." Nolrim sighed. "No help for it now. What'd you need, Jacob?"
Jacob opened the lower pocket on his cargo pants and pulled out the tusk of a troll. "I was hoping you could do something with this. I'm told it could help me channel-"
"The earth, yes, with the proper crafting. Your friend Storm's had me do work for him, this is no different."
"He has? Oh...would you do it?"
"For the right price," Nolrim answered easily.
"And that is?"
"A good solid meal with a fine brew for the family would be sufficient."
Jacob grinned, "That I can do."
Nolrim nodded and seemed pleased, though with his gruff demeanor it was difficult to be sure. "It'll take some time, but it'll be done."
"Excellent!" Nolrim asked a few more questions about exactly what Jacob wanted then the conversation turned to more mundane topics like their families and work.
Caleb listened to the stories traded back and forth but he found Nolrim's tales of the forge boring and he'd heard his father's stories before. When he started to get bored he looked over at the pool tables. No one was over there. "Hey, Dad?"
Jacob stopped mid-sentence and glanced at Caleb. "Bored?"
Caleb nodded. "Can I play?" He gestured towards the pool tables and Jacob looked around the room. After a moment he shrugged and dug some quarters out of his pocket to pay for the game.
"Any problems and you come right back here, got it? No giant baiting," Jacob said with a slight smile.
Caleb looked around, "There's no giants in here. And that was over a year ago, aren't you gonna let that go?"
Jacob shook his head, "I don't forget anything, so no - until the image of you in that giant's fist fades from my brain I'm not letting it go. Agree to the terms or sit here and be bored listening to war stories."
Caleb rolled his eyes but took the quarters. "Right back here, promise." Jacob slid out of the booth so Caleb could get out then watched as he adjusted his ball cap, turning the brim around so it wouldn't interfere with his vision and fed the quarters into pool table.
"The lad'll be fine," Nolrim said pulling Jacob's attention back to him.
"Yeah, sorry, just...a little over protective I guess," Jacob said sheepishly.
Nolrim nodded, "Father's prerogative. What's this about giants?"
Jacob grinned, pride immediately flooding his system and launched into the tale. "The first time Caleb saw a giant he attacked it..."
The story swapping went on late into the night and Jacob kept an eye on Caleb, noticing he handled a pool cue much better than Jacob would've expected. Other players drifted over towards the table and after the first few games Jacob relaxed and turned most of his attention back to Nolrim and the two other dwarves that joined them. He was laughing and enjoying his beer when he felt a slight tingle in his mind and looked over towards the pool tables. He didn't see Caleb. "Excuse me," he muttered as he slid out of the booth and moved towards the tables. In the back corner a small crowd obscured Jacob's vision but he had a good idea that his son was in the middle of the crowd.
"Caleb?" Jacob raised his voice, adding just enough power to the sound to make the crowd turn towards him. Jacob felt his vision cloud when his eyes settled on a large biker holding Caleb off the floor by his shirt.
"Uh, Dad...totally not what it looks like. I didn't do any baiting."
Jacob could feel a headache starting just behind his eye. A blood vessel in his forehead pulsed and he clenched his jaw. "Later," he said shortly. Putting on an easy smile Jacob looked at the biker, "You wanna put my son down now?"
The biker snarled then let go of Caleb's shirt. The boy hit the ground and glared at the biker before moving through the crowd to Jacob's side. "Back to the booth," Jacob ordered before he looked back at the biker. He considered giving the man a simple warning to stay away from Caleb, but decided it wasn't necessary. They were leaving anyway. He turned to follow Caleb back to the table when he heard a voice behind him.
"I want my money."
Jacob turned back around, "Your money?" He looked back at Caleb, who hadn't made it out of the area yet. "Money, Caleb?"
"He made a bet," Caleb said with a shrug. "I won."
Jacob looked at one of the men standing beside him, "A bet? With a thirteen year old kid?"
The man nodded. "Kid racked up."
He was going to kill his son. No question about it. But that'd wait until they got outside. "Seems like you made the bet, the money's his."
"He cheated!"
"Did not!" Caleb shouted. "I don't have to cheat to beat some drunk jackass like you!"
Jacob shook his head as the biker bellowed and lurched towards Caleb. "What was that about baiting?"
"Ooops."
Jacob moved between the biker and Caleb, becoming an immovable object. He let the biker get a punch in. His head snapped to the side and he slowly turned his head. He cracked his neck once then said, "Walk away. You really don't want to tangle with me." He felt Caleb push up against his back and resisted the urge to see what his son was doing.
"Got your back, Dad." Oh. Great. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a pool cue wavering slightly over his shoulder. Caleb must've grabbed it before taking a defensive position.
The biker stared at Jacob incredulously, "Think I can't take a runt like you? Think you can stand up against all of us?"
Jacob blinked, "A runt? Dude, you're maybe a couple inches taller than me - hardly makes me a runt. But yeah." He looked around at the crowd of ten, all ordinary mortals. "I can take you."
When the next punch was thrown Jacob ducked it easily. He dodged two more punches before he caught the man's fist in his hand and pushed him backwards - straight into the back wall. Just watching him caused three of the men in the crowd to back out of the way. The lone woman in the group whistled in appreciation and the others took the opportunity to jump in. With Caleb behind him, Jacob had little room to maneuver. He heard a couple of oofs! from behind him and knew Caleb was putting his training to use. Still, he was just a boy, quickly growing into a man, but he was no match for three pissed off drunks. Jacob spun around just in time to see one of the men get through Caleb's defensive and knock him back into Jacob with a left hook.
"Make for the door, now," Jacob ordered. Caleb blinked and shook his head to clear it before thrusting the pool cue into Jacob's hands. As soon as Caleb was out of the way he spun the cue with ease, twisting it this way and that until it practically wound around his body he was swinging it so quickly. He was careful not to permanently damage anyone but he was pretty sure a few ribs were busted. He dropped the pool cue onto a nearby table and stepped over a couple of fallen bodies. The main area of the bar was quiet as he walked over to the bartender. Without looking around him he pulled several bills from his wallet. "That should cover the damages." He glanced back at Nolrim and gave him a two fingered salute. "Sorry to cut it short."
Nolrim chuckled and raised his glass. Jacob grinned then walked out of the bar. Caleb leaned against the wall outside, his ball cap pulled low over his eyes. Jacob tapped him on the shoulder as he walked past, not bothering to stop though he listened closely to make sure there were footsteps behind him. Once they were a couple blocks away from the bar he stopped and looked down at Caleb. "Let's see it."
Caleb looked up at him and he whistled. "Nasty bruise there. That the only one?" Caleb nodded. "Good," Jacob said before he put a hand over the bruise. "Your grandmother'll kill me if you come home damaged again." When he removed his hand the bruise was gone.
"Thanks. That...that hurt."
Jacob nodded, "I bet. Did good to keep them off you like that. But you know, if you'd done what I told you and gone back to the booth no one would've popped you."
"I couldn't leave you to fight them alone! You were just doing it cuz of me anyway," Caleb said sullenly.
"Yeah, but Caleb, you haven't inherited any of my abilities yet. Let me take the licks, I can handle it." Before Caleb had the chance to respond he said, "So how much did you get?"
Any argument Caleb might've made died as he grinned, "Two hundred."
Jacob whistled in appreciation. "Nice. Hand it over."
"What?!"
"You're paying me back. I just forked over two-fifty to cover damages in that place. And like you said, I wouldn't have fought anyone in there if if weren't on your behalf. So, would you rather hand over your winnings or do chores at home for the next two months every second of the day you aren't in school or at ball practice?"
Caleb looked pained. "Pay up or get grounded?"
"Yep, pretty much."
"But I didn't-"
Jacob held up a hand. "Did you or did you not break your promise to come back to the booth when there was a problem?"
"Not intentionally. I didn't know he was going to make sure a big deal-," Caleb began.
"It's a problem when men more than twenty years older and half a foot taller than you are looking to hustle you at pool," Jacob pointed out. "The minute the betting started you should've headed back over to me so I at least knew what was going on." He watched Caleb's face carefully then nodded, "Yeah. You knew what you needed to do. So the question is, why didn't you?"
"I thought I could handle it," Caleb mumbled. "Besides," he said suddenly combative. "You wouldn't let me play them if you'd known."
Jacob shook his head, "Not true. I just would've wanted to be there to watch your back. Then maybe we could've stopped things before they got crazy."
"Really? You would've?"
Jacob put an arm around Caleb's shoulders and started walking again. "Playing pool in some bar isn't that big a deal. You just don't need to do it without some kind of back up - back up in the form of your father until you're at least sixteen got me?"
Caleb smirked, "Yeah, Dad, I've got you."
"C'mon, it's late and we've got museums to hit tomorrow."
The rest of the trip was fairly quiet. Jacob took a wealth of pictures and made sure he had some great memories to take with him on future missions. About three weeks after they returned to Oregon Jacob went back to Chicago and fulfilled his part of the bargain with Nolrim. He came home with a rune carved stone pendant he attached to his staff. Now he just had to figure out how to use it.
Jacob Marsh looked around Chicago-O’Hare airport before looking back at the toddler on his hip. Cole yawned as he looked up at his father and Jacob gave an exaggerated yawn right back earning a bright smile. “Welcome to Chicago, Kiddo. This is where your mommy and I met.”
“Don’t you dare tell that child that story,” Amanda hissed as she nodded in response to Maggie’s chatter.
Jacob felt his cheeks redden and the flush rose all the way to the tips of his ears. “And who told you that story?”
“Delilah,” Amanda replied with a smirk followed by a disapproving glance. “Really Jacob, couldn’t you have a little more restraint?”
Ignoring the question Jacob kicked his foot against the tile floor. “I’m not sure I like all the sharing you two are doing.”
“Get over it, Son,” Amanda said with a grin. “Caleb, come back over here!”
Caleb jogged back over and Jacob looked him over, “Is he getting taller?”
“I’m a growing boy, Dad, of course I’m getting taller. Pretty soon I’m gonna be taller than you!” Caleb proclaimed with a grin.
Jacob laughed though he had a feeling Caleb was right. “Well that’ll be a sight to see then.”
They gathered up their bags and headed outside. The bright sunshine caused Maggie to reach for the bright pink Hello Kitty sunglasses Jacob pulled out of his cargo vest pocket. “Are we going to the American Girl store now, Daddy?”
Caleb groaned and Jacob was glad his own eyes were covered by sunglasses. Maggie didn’t need to see just how much he didn’t want to go into that store. “Not yet, Princess, tomorrow OK?”
“You promise?”
“Yep, promise.” He glanced over at Amanda, “Mom, you had to tell her about that place?”
“All you were talking about were museums and basketball games; she needed something for herself on this trip.”
Jacob sighed, “I know, but do I have to go?” He realized suddenly he sounded a lot like his kids.
Amanda laughed, “This is your family vacation, Jacob, of course you have to go.”
He sighed and started towards the shuttle for the rental car lot. One hybrid SUV later, they were on their way into the city. After getting settled into their rooms Amanda took the kids down to the pool while Jacob took care of some business. The trip truly was meant as a vacation, but he also needed to talk with Nolrim and touch base with his Chicago office. He set up a morning meeting with the Chicago office and a time to meet with Nolrim the next night then went to join the rest of his family at the pool.
The next day was filled with tourist attractions. By the time Jacob tucked Maggie and Cole into bed he was practically drooling in anticipation of a beer with the dwarf Nolrim; someone Jacob considered a friend despite the relatively small amount of time they spent around each other. He put his wallet in his back pocket and slid his collapsed staff into the inner pocket of his cargo pants. "Dad?"
"Yeah, Sport?"
Caleb twisted his Cubs baseball cap in his hands without looking at Jacob. "Can I go with you?"
"I'm going to a bar, Caleb," Jacob answered almost apologetically.
"A sports bar," Caleb pointed out. He glanced up when there was silence and saw Jacob looking at him pointedly. "I saw it in your calendar when I sent a text to Svalla. You know I could do that a lot easier if you'd let me have a newer phone."
Jacob closed his eyes and shook his head. "Svalla is..." he trailed off as he considered just what to say about the attractive Valkyrie. "Why are you texting her anyway?"
"Her bike of course," Caleb said innocently.
"Of course. You know you could just text Adam and see if he could make one for you, you'd owe him big though," Jacob suggested. In truth, he'd owe his step-brother, but he'd deal with that later.
"Y'know, Uncle Adam's great and all, but I'd rather work with Svalla on it. She offered to teach me to ride."
"Too young," Jacob said immediately. Caleb scowled and Jacob realized his son was about to move straight into a full blown sulk which would probably last the rest of their weekend trip if he didn't do something to stop it. "Alright, get your shoes."
"Yeah?" Caleb sat up, dropping his hat in surprise.
"Yeah. But hurry it up OK?"
Caleb bolted off the bed as he scrambled for his shoes. Jacob knocked on the door to the room his mother was sharing with Maggie. "Mom, I'm taking Caleb with me."
"Be careful, and he'd better come back without a scratch on him this time."
Jacob flashed her an easy smile, "I'm just going to meet a friend."
"Uh huh. Not one scratch, Young Man."
He shook his head as she closed the door. "Thirty-five years old and she can still make me feel like I'm a child."
Caleb snickered at him but went silent as Jacob gave him a dark stare. "Well, uh...she is your mom."
"Yeah...and don't worry, she's always gonna be able to do the same thing to you too."
"She's not the only one," Caleb muttered as Jacob closed the door to their suite. Jacob hid a grin and acted like he hadn't heard him.
They reached the bar, a fairly nondescript place with a Pabst Blue Ribbon sign proudly displayed in the window. Jacob took note and hoped they had something else (Sam Adams, Heineken, Giant's Blood) on tap. The interior of the bar looked like something out of a movie. Dark and poorly lit. The TVs perched in the four corners of the main room were easy to see and the glow of the lights over the four pool tables in the back made the area a more appealing area to Jacob. No one was back there so he scanned the tables and booths until he came across a familiar face. "C'mon." He stopped at the bar and signaled for a couple of drinks, a coke for Caleb and a Sam Adams for himself. Once he had their drinks he guided Caleb through the semi-crowded bar to the back table, just outside the illuminated pool table area. "Not exactly a tourist spot, huh, Nolrim."
"You want tourist spots get a travel guide," Nolrim grunted. He glanced at Caleb who hovered just behind Jacob. "Gonna introduce me?"
Jacob stepped aside so Caleb could come forward and made introductions fairly quickly. Nolrim looked them over then shook his head. "Didn't know your boy would be with you. Would've picked a different place."
"It's no big deal," Caleb said before taking a drink of his coke.
"Place can get a little rough. Not a good place for kids." Nolrim sighed. "No help for it now. What'd you need, Jacob?"
Jacob opened the lower pocket on his cargo pants and pulled out the tusk of a troll. "I was hoping you could do something with this. I'm told it could help me channel-"
"The earth, yes, with the proper crafting. Your friend Storm's had me do work for him, this is no different."
"He has? Oh...would you do it?"
"For the right price," Nolrim answered easily.
"And that is?"
"A good solid meal with a fine brew for the family would be sufficient."
Jacob grinned, "That I can do."
Nolrim nodded and seemed pleased, though with his gruff demeanor it was difficult to be sure. "It'll take some time, but it'll be done."
"Excellent!" Nolrim asked a few more questions about exactly what Jacob wanted then the conversation turned to more mundane topics like their families and work.
Caleb listened to the stories traded back and forth but he found Nolrim's tales of the forge boring and he'd heard his father's stories before. When he started to get bored he looked over at the pool tables. No one was over there. "Hey, Dad?"
Jacob stopped mid-sentence and glanced at Caleb. "Bored?"
Caleb nodded. "Can I play?" He gestured towards the pool tables and Jacob looked around the room. After a moment he shrugged and dug some quarters out of his pocket to pay for the game.
"Any problems and you come right back here, got it? No giant baiting," Jacob said with a slight smile.
Caleb looked around, "There's no giants in here. And that was over a year ago, aren't you gonna let that go?"
Jacob shook his head, "I don't forget anything, so no - until the image of you in that giant's fist fades from my brain I'm not letting it go. Agree to the terms or sit here and be bored listening to war stories."
Caleb rolled his eyes but took the quarters. "Right back here, promise." Jacob slid out of the booth so Caleb could get out then watched as he adjusted his ball cap, turning the brim around so it wouldn't interfere with his vision and fed the quarters into pool table.
"The lad'll be fine," Nolrim said pulling Jacob's attention back to him.
"Yeah, sorry, just...a little over protective I guess," Jacob said sheepishly.
Nolrim nodded, "Father's prerogative. What's this about giants?"
Jacob grinned, pride immediately flooding his system and launched into the tale. "The first time Caleb saw a giant he attacked it..."
The story swapping went on late into the night and Jacob kept an eye on Caleb, noticing he handled a pool cue much better than Jacob would've expected. Other players drifted over towards the table and after the first few games Jacob relaxed and turned most of his attention back to Nolrim and the two other dwarves that joined them. He was laughing and enjoying his beer when he felt a slight tingle in his mind and looked over towards the pool tables. He didn't see Caleb. "Excuse me," he muttered as he slid out of the booth and moved towards the tables. In the back corner a small crowd obscured Jacob's vision but he had a good idea that his son was in the middle of the crowd.
"Caleb?" Jacob raised his voice, adding just enough power to the sound to make the crowd turn towards him. Jacob felt his vision cloud when his eyes settled on a large biker holding Caleb off the floor by his shirt.
"Uh, Dad...totally not what it looks like. I didn't do any baiting."
Jacob could feel a headache starting just behind his eye. A blood vessel in his forehead pulsed and he clenched his jaw. "Later," he said shortly. Putting on an easy smile Jacob looked at the biker, "You wanna put my son down now?"
The biker snarled then let go of Caleb's shirt. The boy hit the ground and glared at the biker before moving through the crowd to Jacob's side. "Back to the booth," Jacob ordered before he looked back at the biker. He considered giving the man a simple warning to stay away from Caleb, but decided it wasn't necessary. They were leaving anyway. He turned to follow Caleb back to the table when he heard a voice behind him.
"I want my money."
Jacob turned back around, "Your money?" He looked back at Caleb, who hadn't made it out of the area yet. "Money, Caleb?"
"He made a bet," Caleb said with a shrug. "I won."
Jacob looked at one of the men standing beside him, "A bet? With a thirteen year old kid?"
The man nodded. "Kid racked up."
He was going to kill his son. No question about it. But that'd wait until they got outside. "Seems like you made the bet, the money's his."
"He cheated!"
"Did not!" Caleb shouted. "I don't have to cheat to beat some drunk jackass like you!"
Jacob shook his head as the biker bellowed and lurched towards Caleb. "What was that about baiting?"
"Ooops."
Jacob moved between the biker and Caleb, becoming an immovable object. He let the biker get a punch in. His head snapped to the side and he slowly turned his head. He cracked his neck once then said, "Walk away. You really don't want to tangle with me." He felt Caleb push up against his back and resisted the urge to see what his son was doing.
"Got your back, Dad." Oh. Great. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a pool cue wavering slightly over his shoulder. Caleb must've grabbed it before taking a defensive position.
The biker stared at Jacob incredulously, "Think I can't take a runt like you? Think you can stand up against all of us?"
Jacob blinked, "A runt? Dude, you're maybe a couple inches taller than me - hardly makes me a runt. But yeah." He looked around at the crowd of ten, all ordinary mortals. "I can take you."
When the next punch was thrown Jacob ducked it easily. He dodged two more punches before he caught the man's fist in his hand and pushed him backwards - straight into the back wall. Just watching him caused three of the men in the crowd to back out of the way. The lone woman in the group whistled in appreciation and the others took the opportunity to jump in. With Caleb behind him, Jacob had little room to maneuver. He heard a couple of oofs! from behind him and knew Caleb was putting his training to use. Still, he was just a boy, quickly growing into a man, but he was no match for three pissed off drunks. Jacob spun around just in time to see one of the men get through Caleb's defensive and knock him back into Jacob with a left hook.
"Make for the door, now," Jacob ordered. Caleb blinked and shook his head to clear it before thrusting the pool cue into Jacob's hands. As soon as Caleb was out of the way he spun the cue with ease, twisting it this way and that until it practically wound around his body he was swinging it so quickly. He was careful not to permanently damage anyone but he was pretty sure a few ribs were busted. He dropped the pool cue onto a nearby table and stepped over a couple of fallen bodies. The main area of the bar was quiet as he walked over to the bartender. Without looking around him he pulled several bills from his wallet. "That should cover the damages." He glanced back at Nolrim and gave him a two fingered salute. "Sorry to cut it short."
Nolrim chuckled and raised his glass. Jacob grinned then walked out of the bar. Caleb leaned against the wall outside, his ball cap pulled low over his eyes. Jacob tapped him on the shoulder as he walked past, not bothering to stop though he listened closely to make sure there were footsteps behind him. Once they were a couple blocks away from the bar he stopped and looked down at Caleb. "Let's see it."
Caleb looked up at him and he whistled. "Nasty bruise there. That the only one?" Caleb nodded. "Good," Jacob said before he put a hand over the bruise. "Your grandmother'll kill me if you come home damaged again." When he removed his hand the bruise was gone.
"Thanks. That...that hurt."
Jacob nodded, "I bet. Did good to keep them off you like that. But you know, if you'd done what I told you and gone back to the booth no one would've popped you."
"I couldn't leave you to fight them alone! You were just doing it cuz of me anyway," Caleb said sullenly.
"Yeah, but Caleb, you haven't inherited any of my abilities yet. Let me take the licks, I can handle it." Before Caleb had the chance to respond he said, "So how much did you get?"
Any argument Caleb might've made died as he grinned, "Two hundred."
Jacob whistled in appreciation. "Nice. Hand it over."
"What?!"
"You're paying me back. I just forked over two-fifty to cover damages in that place. And like you said, I wouldn't have fought anyone in there if if weren't on your behalf. So, would you rather hand over your winnings or do chores at home for the next two months every second of the day you aren't in school or at ball practice?"
Caleb looked pained. "Pay up or get grounded?"
"Yep, pretty much."
"But I didn't-"
Jacob held up a hand. "Did you or did you not break your promise to come back to the booth when there was a problem?"
"Not intentionally. I didn't know he was going to make sure a big deal-," Caleb began.
"It's a problem when men more than twenty years older and half a foot taller than you are looking to hustle you at pool," Jacob pointed out. "The minute the betting started you should've headed back over to me so I at least knew what was going on." He watched Caleb's face carefully then nodded, "Yeah. You knew what you needed to do. So the question is, why didn't you?"
"I thought I could handle it," Caleb mumbled. "Besides," he said suddenly combative. "You wouldn't let me play them if you'd known."
Jacob shook his head, "Not true. I just would've wanted to be there to watch your back. Then maybe we could've stopped things before they got crazy."
"Really? You would've?"
Jacob put an arm around Caleb's shoulders and started walking again. "Playing pool in some bar isn't that big a deal. You just don't need to do it without some kind of back up - back up in the form of your father until you're at least sixteen got me?"
Caleb smirked, "Yeah, Dad, I've got you."
"C'mon, it's late and we've got museums to hit tomorrow."
The rest of the trip was fairly quiet. Jacob took a wealth of pictures and made sure he had some great memories to take with him on future missions. About three weeks after they returned to Oregon Jacob went back to Chicago and fulfilled his part of the bargain with Nolrim. He came home with a rune carved stone pendant he attached to his staff. Now he just had to figure out how to use it.