Dreams of Stars (A Once Upon a Time/Jiminy Cricket fanfic)

Dreams of Stars Part 34

From dawn until dusk, Kaelin Mouse sat on a boulder behind Geppetto's workshop, watching the sea—straining for any sign of a boat on those waters. All that day, there was nothing but the sparkle of the waves and the slowly shifting gray of the overcast sky. The distant, rhythmic splashing on the rocky coast made Kaelin drowsy, but she kept her vigil, shaking her ears in the cold breeze. What would she do if they never returned? Wait here forever? She didn't even eat that day.

Early the next morning, Kaelin came out and climbed up to the top of the rock again, using patches of moss as clawholds. With baited breath, she scanned the coast, then started with a little gasp. There was something down there, but not a ship. Little pieces were strewn all across the rocks. Just then, one of them stirred and sat up suddenly.

"Geppetto," Kaelin breathed. Was that him? All that stuff on the shore looked like a shipwreck, and Kaelin was afraid. What would happen to Jiminy in a shipwreck? With trembling paws, Kaelin climbed from the boulder and began sprinting down the hill as fast as her four little legs could carry her. She came to the stone stairs and began jumping down every one, keeping an eye on Geppetto whenever he was visible through the grass. As she drew nearer, she decided it was certainly Geppetto. Now he had staggered to his feet, now he was running across the shore. At the next glimpse, Kaelin was a bit closer, and she saw him on his knees, rocking a small figure in his arms. Pinocchio, perhaps? But the figure was stiff and unmoving.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Kaelin started running faster, though the shale was big for her and difficult to scramble over. Now there was a tiny, glowing blue figure above Geppetto's head. Even from this distance, Kaelin recognized it as the Blue Fairy, and she wondered what was happening. The fairy gently waved her wand across the stiff figure in Geppetto's arms. A glimmer of fairy dust fell across it, and it suddenly transformed. Kaelin was close enough to see that Geppetto now held a child in his arms. A smile spread across her face. "Geppetto!" she gasped, "Pinocchio!" But she was still too far away for them to hear her.

"I'm a real boy!" came the excited squeal over the waves.

As Geppetto stood up, pressing Pinocchio's little red cap down on his head, the Blue Fairy said a few more words to them. Then, blowing Pinocchio a kiss, she flew away. Kaelin reached Geppetto and tugged on his pant leg, now too exhausted to say anything. The old man looked down and his smile spread. "Kaelin!" he said warmly and picked her up, holding her at eye level with the little boy. "Pinocchio, look! Auntie Kaelin's come to see you!"

Pinocchio's happy grin pushed up his round, freckled cheeks, making him more adorable than ever. His eyes were dark brown, and they sparkled with life and innocence. His turned-up, button nose was quite a contrast from the long, pointed one he had as a puppet, which had grown a bit longer every time he told a lie. Holding out his hands for her, Pinocchio snuggled her to his cheek, and Kaelin just had to kiss him. He was so cute. He really looks like he could be Geppetto's and Sofia's son, she thought, He has her round face and freckles, and his dark brown eyes. Even Pinocchio's slightly wavy hair reminded Kaelin of Geppetto's hair when she had first met him in the orphanage.

But then Kaelin remembered what she had been most anxious about, and she turned quickly back to Geppetto. "Where's Jiminy?" she asked urgently.

Geppetto's smile vanished. "Jimin—" he gasped, "He—he was on the raft with us. When the rain came, we—" He ran a hand through his short, wet hair, trying to remember, then looked up suddenly, glancing from one piece of flotsam to another. "There was a box...on the raft! We put him in there so he wouldn't be blown away!" He began to run across the shore, searching through the debris of their raft, overturning shattered boards. Pinocchio hurried behind him, carrying Kaelin.