Compatible Silence' has come slightly to a halt due to lack of ideas. (love some inspiration peoples) This is my newwy and when i have a chance i'll add. This'll go up soon on my page (IF i learn HTML, it's taken years so far, how many more?) PLEASE ENJOY!!! TITLE: Life's never fair when you're three (1/?) AUTHOR: Lynd's ARCHIVE: Not yet but once I figure out bloody HTML (it's taken two years so far) I'll make a fight, add it to a ring and party alllllll night long! SPOILERS: Nah, none yet that is. SUMMARY: Okay, this is the starting of a series about Jack. His childhood and so on as we know so little. In this one here's the wee tender age of 3 years. DISCLAIMERS: They're not mine, all except Jack that is, he lives under my bed and his clone in my school locker, just in case. Want a clone? Call me. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hope this isn't to long, bad etc. Apart from milking, running practise, study and exams there's about five minutes a day were I DO get spare time and here is my pitiful achievement: enjoy! ******1****** "Bang bang, you're dead!" Jack Lawson's voice ran out through out the front bush paddock as he sprang down from his hiding tree, aiming his water pistol at Lucy "I win! I win!". "God Jack, grow up!" the eight year old snapped back at the little grubby boy in front of her, trying to wring out her wet shirt front. She reached out and grabbed his dirty shirt, starting to drag him towards the home stead. Jack, who really didn't like to be man handled, squirmed to his best ability until Lucy lost her grip and he slipped from her side to race back up the nearest tree. Lucy sighed, looking up the tree at her younger brother who started down, his dark eyes looking into hers. He'd been playing out here all day and she'd hoped he'd have worn himself out by dinner time but it looked like he still had some of that ever going energy. "Jack please, come down, dinner's ready" she urged, glancing back towards the house that was just out side the bush, 500 metres away at best. At the little grubby boys shake of his head Lucy quickly changed tack. "Fine then, don't come to dinner" she snapped back and with a toss of her pony tail started stalking through the thick bush, towards the house "I don't care if you starve to death as long as you clean your own body up". Jack, from where he easily sat on the third branch three metres from the ground watched Lucy storm off without worry. As in the past dinner had always kept until he felt hungry and he wasn't at the moment which showed from the blackberry stains on his shirt. The bush around him was thick, the only sounds the soft rustling of the leaves in the gum trees, the nearby creek that ran to the left and the footsteps of the night animals coming to eat. "Fine Lucy!" the half toothless boy yelled after his sister "I don't care if you don't care, watch me not care" jack watched from his perch as Lucy stopped, snorted once and started to run away. Although he wasn't hungry and still wanted to play he didn't want to play alone anymore. Lucy had stopped wanting to play with him just after Christmas when she'd started school and made other friends, other friends who loved to tease him and his hair. At that thought Jack unconsciously ran a small berry stained hand through his black hair which sat above his pale face. It was unruly as it hadn't been cut in months, not since he'd seen mum try to shear the sheep and he didn't want to turn out like them. Glancing down, Jack watched a rabbit sniff around the bottom of the tree then look up at him, then continue to munch the clover. "Hey Peter" Jack mumbled as he hung his old water pistol back around his neck, sliding from the third branch to the second. He knew Peter would run away as Jack was out here so much none of the animals really cared. Once he stood on the second branch he straightened, drew with his muddy fingers a stripe on each cheek and turned once again into cop mode. He didn't care if Lucy didn't want to play, he could have fun himself. "Freeze!" he yelled before jumping from the solid branch to the soft ground, receiving a curious look from Peter before Jack pulled his pistol in front and started to stalk towards the right were he knew a hole existed. Pushing past the bracken fern and shrub he spotted his enemy's base with the enemy inside. "Mongrel" Jack mutter softly, using the word he'd heard his father to say when the bull had charged him. Jack watched the wombat dig slowly at the ever growing hole and crept forward silently with much practised silence until he was three metres from him. He raised his gun, aimed and fired. Jack's gleeful laughed rang through out the bush as he watched the wombat shit himself and speed off as fast as a cantering horse. "Got ya!!" Jack yippied in the air before dragging the nearest limestone rocks to the hole, sealing it up tight. "JACK!" Jack froze, looking towards the south. "Drat" he muttered before turning his back on the hole and sprinting towards the house. He jumped over the large fallen log that he'd glimpsed in the dark and pushed his way through the tree fern leaves that were like that of a weeping willow. Up ahead he could see the glowing lights of the house and a figure standing on the veranda, hands on hips and yelling his name. As Jack burst from the bush his smile burst into a smile at the sight of his father and he sprinted on his little legs, his pistol hanging at his side and a shouted gleefully. "Dad!" he hurled himself up the veranda steps and into his dad's arms. "Hey little guy! I heard you wouldn't come to dinner, that you've been giving your mum a hard time?" Mr Lawson grinned down at the grubby boy he cradled in his arms, covered almost completely in purple juice "And I see you've found this years blackberries". Jack grinned back at his Pa, pulling up his gun "I got him dad! I got the bugger". "Whoa there, got who and if you're mum hears that language she'll have my hide" Mr Lawson turned towards the front door, listening as his son explained how he'd ambushed the resident announce with a typical police move. With a shake of his head he smiled, realising once again how much his son was growing up, mostly while he was away droving. "…and then I filled up his hole with stones and…" Jack's explanation was interrupted by a loud sigh as Mrs Lawson saw the state of her son as she came onto the veranda "Oh my, Lucy said you were bad but that was an understatement" she muttered, shaking her head as she tried to recognise the boy underneath the dirt "Time for a wash before dinner". At that Jack's eyes widened, his mouth fell open slightly and he started to squirm from his fathers arms. "No! Not the shower! I hate the shower! DAD!" he eventually got himself from his fathers arms and ran behind the man in his late forties to hide from his mother. "Now Jack, you can't come in like that" she scolded, leaning down and around her husband to look at her son "You look like an animal". A small smile appeared on Jack's face as he growled, glanced to the side and bolted. ------------------ To be continued... ******2****** "Get him John!" Mrs Lawson shouted as her son tore from the veranda and disappeared around the side of the house "I am in no mood". John shook his head at his sons antics but jogged off after him all the same, noting going in the same direction as Jack but the opposite way around the house, the shorter way as he knew were the boy was headed. Jack ran as fast as his legs would take him towards the spring half a k from the house, hoping to wash there before he was caught and taken to the house for a shower. "I hate showers" he muttered as he skidded to a halt at the small pier his dad had built that floated on the barrels that had planks on top. Tossing his pistol to the side he scrambled to pull his shirt off but swore softly as he got stuck, his hands above his head and stuck in the dirty shirt. "Gotcha!" the shout came from behind Jack as the shirt was suddenly pulled off and Jack thrown over the older man shoulder. "No daddy! Please no!" Jack hung helplessly from John's shoulder as he was turned but to his surprise it was to the wrong way. Before he knew what was happening he was flying through the air, pants still on and into the water. As the spring wasn't as in closed as the others on the farm and the sun had been on it all day the water was warm and as Jack surfaced he glared up at his dad who stood on the pier, laughing. That 'wasn't' how Jack normally got in. But all the same, little Jack Lawson didn't care, he was after all where he'd wanted to be, in the water and not the bath tub that he despised so much. With a smile to his dad he duck dived, swimming down until he reached the small weeds that covered the bottom, grabbed a handful and swam back up. He reached the surface, raised his arm and through the weeds with all his might. "Crap!" John Lawson almost fell on his butt as the weeds hit him smack bang in the chest. He glanced up from his wet shirt to his grinning three year old son who had swum to the middle of the acre sized dam "Good shot mate!". It was close to ten o'clock when John trudged back to the house with a sleepy Jack cradled in his arms. It'd taken hours to clean Jack up and if they hadn't both would have been kicked out to sleep in the hayshed for the night. John quietly crept up the steps and opened the fly wire door with it's familiar creaking and entered the hallway, then the kitchen. He grabbed Jack's dinner from the oven and plopped the little boy in his seat. "Eat up little buddy, you've had a long day" Jack who was still half asleep munched sleepily at his dinner as his dad got himself a beer and then sat down, watching his son. It was hard being away so much from the family, especially little Jacko who had to put up with the two females in the house. But John knew there was no other way. Every month the stock needed to be moved and that took half a week each time. But it made it easier to think that when Jack was old enough he'd be out there with him- John was cut off but a creak as Jack pushed his almost untouched dinner away and slipped from his chair "I'm gonna go to bed dada" he whispered, almost asleep on his feet again. "Sure thing buddy, inside or out?" "Outside pweeease" John got up, leaving his beer and picked up the small boy, carrying through the old house to the back veranda where Jack normally lived. He put the small boy down, pulled off his old shirt and put another on. The air was still, only a slight breeze running through every so often which disturbed the hot summer night. "Night sir" and as was the nightly custom when John was home, Jack saluted him, smiled sleepily and collapsed into his hammock that had been strung from the veranda rafters to the railing that ran around the house. "Night son" John whispered, kissing the boy on the forehead before pulling up the small blanket over him and smiling, answered the salute and left the boy to be "Night my little officer". ***** Here's some more, hope u like: ******3****** The peaceful morning breakfast on the veranda as it was going to be a warm day was broken by a loud outraged cry. "NOT FAIR!" Jack stood, hands on hips, water pistol to the side, sheriff badge on his sleeve and torn in the knee pants held up only by a belt with a large frown on his, for once, clean face. "I want a friend over to!" he added, his frown deepening as a pout erupted on his lips "Lucy gets all the fun". "Now Jack," Mrs Lawson waved a finger at her son "You could have had a friend over but you didn't ask". "But…" Jack's pout grew as he looked to the ground "But I didn't know it was friend day, I couldn't reach the calendar" he muttered, wishing he could run the calendar just to make sure. "Yeah right" Lucy muttered, rolling her eyes and sipping on her orange juice "You don't have any friends to ask over Jack". "Do to!" "Do not!" "That's enough you two!" Mrs Lawson shouted over the two, glaring pointedly at Lucy "Especially you Lucy, you should know better" she then grabbed the drink tray and went into the kitchen. The second her mother had turned her back Lucy stuck her tongue out at her younger brother "See? No friends, not even mum loves you". Jack's face crumbled as he forced the tears to not get out "I do to and I'm just gonna annoy you and your friend all day now". Lucy's voice practically shook the house "MUM! Jack said he's gonna annoy us all day!". Mrs Lawson barged out of the house, glaring at Jack "You will do no such thing young man, now go to your room and stay there". "But I…" "No buts, now" she snapped back, pointing to the house and stalked back in, leaving Jack and Lucy again. With a defeated sigh Jack climbed the steps and opened the flywire door and was about to enter when Lucy called out his name. He turned, his eyes shining with hope that Lucy'd say he could stick around with her and her friend, like in the old days. "Suck" she whispered at him so not to be heard by mum, grinning evilly as Jack's face fell. The stuck her tongue back out at him and he entered the house and went to his room. Jack slumped on his bed when he entered his rarely used room, sighing as he tried to stop the burning tears in his eyes. Just because he could reach the calendar, just because he was smaller, and just because his friends lived so far away. The nearest was about 20k's whereas Lucy's were in town and even as town was 30k's away she caught the bus in there for school, giving her options. But, Jack knew that even if it meant he could have more friends he 'never' wanted to go to school. Never ever ever. Reaching under the mattress he pulled out his only comic book. It'd been a present from Aunty Dorris at Christmas and although he could only read a few words he loved the pictures. He used to get Lucy to read it to him but now… "When I'm older and I'm an officer, I'll lock her away and swallow the key" Jack muttered, picturing fitting his sister down a wombat hole "Yeah, when I'm older". It was over an hour later when a car pulled into the yard after the long trip down the dusty drive. Curiosity won over Jack as he swung his little form off of the bed and to the door, pulling it open and running flat out down the hallway which lead to the front door. The dogs in the front yard were barking loudly at the new arrival and were soon silenced as dad exited the house to greet the visitors. Jack was about to follow him when he was grabbed from behind and turned around, looking into the stern face of his mother. "Back to your room young man!" she snapped, pointing down the corridor. Jack knew better to argue and nodded, turned and retreated with honour still intact. It wasn't intact though when he reached his room. He threw open the door, entered and slammed it so hard the small footy trophies on the shelf shook. "NOT FAIR! NOTHING'S EVER FAIR" he screamed at the closed door before throwing himself onto his bed and picking up the comic again. He didn't care, about anything. Jack glanced at his small old watch and frowned, desperately trying to put the numbers together. "One thirty six" he smiled proudly as he figured it out, looking out the window at the beautiful hot day, wishing he was out there, not in here. Anywhere but here. His thoughts were interrupted as the door to his room opened and someone entered, closing the door behind them. "Oh, sorry" a small voice floated to his ears as he didn't turn from the window "I didn't realise this was someone's room". TO BE CONTINUED>>>> "Oh, sorry" a small voice floated to his ears as he didn't turn from the window "I didn't realise this was someone's room". ******4****** "Tis okay" Jack muttered back, looking back to his comic book, ignoring the figure by his door. "Um," soft footsteps could be heard as the person walked over to Jack's bed "I'm playing hide and seek and well, could you please hide me?". Jack considered it for a sec, still lying on his stomach, his knees bent to let his feet stick up "Sure, under the bed" he answered uninterested, only interested in why the mean wombat wanted to eat the pudding in his comic book. "Thanks" There was a small thug as the kid dropped to their knees and crawled under the bed, pulling the blanket back around to hang over the gap. Although Jack had read the comic a thousand times he still bit his lip in worry as the wombat pushed away his servant, demanding the pudding. "Hey you!" At the loud voice from his door Jack turned, eyebrows raised at he saw Lucy "What?". Lucy glared at his rude response but kept on going "Has anyone come in here?". "Yep" "Well? Where are they now?" Lucy snapped, flicking her plait behind her back, adjusting the lakaband that held it tight. "Right there" Jack answered, pointing to the doorway. Lucy frowned, looking down at the floor "Where?!". "Duh" Jack rolled his eyes at his sisters stupidity "Where you're standing silly". Lucy glared back at him as she turned, "Stupid kid" before storming back off in search of her friend. Jack watched her go, yelling at her to close the door on her way out before turning back to his comic book. He was disturbed a minute later as the were sounds of movement from underneath his bed and looked up as a face appeared behind his comic book. "Thanks, thought you were gonna give me away for a minute" Lucy's friend muttered, dusting the dirt off of their hands "Thanks". "Tis cool" Jack replied, smiling at the girl that sat in front of him, her medium length brown hair hanging loosely around her smiling slightly tanned face. Her blue eyes stared intently back at him. "Anyway," she stuck out her hand "I'm Jo, nice to meet you". Jack smiled again and shook her hand, almost laughing at the grown up gesture "I'm Jack, Lucy's brother". Jo frowned for a minute, puzzled "Lucy's brother? I didn't know she had one". "I don't think she wants one" Jack whispered back, looking down at his hands, hating the truth of his words. Jo grinned at Jack, liking the younger boy who sat in front of her, his black unruly hair not to long but enough to fall slightly into his eyes which were a deep brown. "So, why are you in here?" Jo asked, jumping onto the bed beside the boy "It's a great day". "Not allowed, could ask you the same thing though" Jack replied, tossing his comic book to the side. Jo frowned, cocking her head to one side "Lucy doesn't want to go outside, but I do. I live in the town at Swift's Creek for the term with my Aunt while my parents are on holidyas, so this is kinda new" she smile at him, shrugging "Guess Lucy's not an outside person". Jack jumped from his bed as a plan filled his head and he grinned at Lucy's friend as he went to the window, pushing it open "Coming?". Jo watched the younger boy go to the window with interest, even more curious as he pushed the window open. She knew what he was up to, he was offering an escape. "Lucy'll be angry" she said, coming over beside Jack. "Lucy's always angry" Jack replied, rolling his eyes "Why else do you think I'm locked in here?". Jo glanced out at the bush only 100 metres away, the blue sky to inviting and the jump from the window only about six metres. With a nod she grinned "Let's roll!". She was about to jump out the window when Jack's hand on her arm stopped her, she turned back to the smaller boy, then to where he was pointing. "Hah, you're all prepared" she muttered, grabbing the rope and letting one end drop to the ground, looking up to see the other tied to something on the roof. With a wild grin she slipped down the rope to the ground, landing with a soft thud and quickly glanced around. When she didn't see anyone around the house or the hayshed and feedshed to the right she looked back up at the window, where Jack still stood. "Come on!" she hissed, keeping her voice down so not to alert anyone of their presence. Jack looked a little worried as he looked down at the girl, knowing he'd get in loads of trouble if he went outside his room. But then again…wasting a day like this was a crime in its self. He grabbed the rope and with practised ease hung as he pushed the window ¾ closed and slipped down the rope. Once on the ground he took the rope, pulling it to lie tuck beside the thick wire that ran to the roof for the antenna. "Let's go!" he whispered, running with Jo and quite possibly for his life with his water pistol by his side, just in case they ran into any drug smugglers (or parents) on the way. ******5****** It was getting close to dark when Jack and Jo emerged from the bush, almost completely cover in the shadows they crept to the right, heading towards the sheds for cover. "Hah!", Jo couldn't hold in the giggles as she spotted the house "Lucy's gonna think I'm the best player at Hide and Seek eva!". Jack laughed slightly with her, imagining the state Lucy would be in my now "Oh well, happens". He held out his hand, producing the last of the blackberries that were left over from lunch. "Thanks" Jo mumbled as she munched on them, wiping away the juice on her lips "And thanks Jack for looking after me today, I didn't really want to come, Lucy ain't a real great friend, I'm just in class with her but your mum and my mum organised it, I didn't get to say no" she explained as they headed towards the ground outside Jack's room "I really appreciate it" she added, grabbing his smaller hand. "Thanks Jack, you're a gem" Jack smiled back at her, nodding his acknowledgement "Tis okay, I had a great time, thankyou". Silently they climbed back up the rope into the dark room and Jack switched on the light, lighting up the room. He smiled at the kind girl who'd kept him company, ever grateful for letting him believe that not all six year olds were shits. "Hungry?" he asked his new friend. He received a nod and they quickly departed the room, creeping down the darkened hallway towards the kitchen. "JACK! What did you do with my friend?!" "Uh oh" Jack managed to mutter before Lucy burst out of the kitchen, grabbing her brother by his shirt roughly. "Why you little-" Lucy's shouts were cut off by Jack who swung his fists at his sister, knowing if he didn't act she would and he'd be worst for ware. One of Jack's fists connected with Lucy's jaw and he was dropped and like a wombat he lowered his head and charged. With a crash Lucy hit the ground and Jack kept on going only to be captured by Mr Lawson as he exited the hallway. "Gotcha!" John lifted his son up, into his arms as he watched Lucy shake he head in confusion and her friend, Jo, watch with amusement. "DAD! He hurt me!" Lucy whined, slowly standing up with a spoilt girl expression on her face. "That'll be enough Lucy" Her father cut in right away, silencing his whining daughter. He'd seen the whole thing and was pleased that Jack had finally taken it upon himself to get his sister off of his back. John looked to Jack who sat in his arms, looking guilty. "Good on ya mate" John whispered, giving his son a wink before setting him back onto the carpet. "DAD!" Lucy shouted, stamping her feet, throwing her plait to the side. "That'll do Lucy, you can get away with those things with your mother but not me". Jo glanced over to Jack who grinned at her from behind his dad and felt a grin grow upon her face but it quickly disappeared when Lucy turned to Jo, grabbing her by the arm. "Come on Jo, we'll get the rat later on" Lucy snarled, ignoring the warning shout from her father. As Jo was pulled around the corner she glanced back at the younger boy who was waving at her and smiled, she liked the kid, there was something about him and she knew, Lucy's friend or not, she'd see him again, sometime… The end (for now)