Twenty Four-Nortwest Makes A Deal

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Pacifica's henchmen paused halfway through dragging me to wherever we'd been going when an order came through their earpieces. One untied my hands while the other took off my blindfold.

"Hey, wait a second! You're those two cops who were at the shack last week!" I realized. The one who'd taken off my blindfold sighed, and they both picked me up and tossed me through the snow.

I landed face-first in the snow. I didn't bother moving. Was it an attempt to gain pity from the two guys for tossing me in the snow at night? Probably, but it didn't work.

"Mabel!" I heard Gideon shout, which was followed by the crunch of him running through the snow. He lifted my face up and pulled me into his cape. "Are you okay?" I spit snow out of my mouth.

"Yeah, I'm fine. No thanks to Pacifica's henchmen." I said, glaring in the direction of the two men.

"Let's get back to the Mystery Shack. Stanford was right, I never should have brought you along." He stood up, pulling me up with him, and started back towards the shack.

"Oh, and Gideon?" Pacifica called after us, standing in the entrance to the Tent. "Don't forget about our little chat." Scoffing, Gideon grabbed my hand and dragged me further away from the tent.

"What was that about?" I asked, ripping my hand away from him. "What did you guys talk about when I was gone?" Gideon looked away from me quickly.

"I made a deal with her, Mabel. I agreed to help her if she let you go." I was confused at the uncharacteristic action. Which reminded me of something.

"Hey, wait a minute! You're actually calling me Mabel! You never call me by my first name!" Gideon shrugged.

"Don't get used to it." I frowned.

"Fine, Sassypants McNorthwest."

"Don't call me that!" Gideon sighed in frustration. We finally reached the shack and Gideon opened the door, revealing a grouchier-than-usual Ford.

"Do you know how stupid that was?" Melody joined him in the doorway.

"I can't believe you! You could've been killed and Ford and I would've been clueless!" She kept yelling for about a minute, it was the angriest I'd ever seen her.

"And you, Northwest." Ford said sternly. "You know how much I detest your family, but if you think you can just take my great niece into danger then you've got more of a reason for me to dislike you!"

"It was my fault Grunkle Ford!" I protested. "I snuck out and followed Gideon. He tried to stop me."

"But not enough." Gideon admitted, hanging his head. "I don't know what I'd do with myself had Mabel been hurt." Ford glared at the two of us.

"Well, get in before you both catch ill. Your faces are turning red because of the cold."

Twenty minutes and one removed lock later, Gideon told Ford what happened.

"I told Mabel to wait outside. But Pacifica thought a step ahead and had two henchmen apprehend Mabel."

"They were the same guys who posed as cops last week!" I added quickly. Ford nodded.

"Then Pacifica tried to bribe me for Mabel's safety. Unfortunately, because of that I agreed to aid her in her conquest for power." He finished his story.

"So, what does this mean for us?" I asked.

"One can only guess." Gideon offered. Ford closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Mr. Northwest, I cannot allow you to contact Miss Pleasure tomorrow."

"I'm afraid this is beyond any of our control. When Pacifica wants something, she gets it." Ford stood up.

"I'm going to bed. I trust you'll find your way out." Ford said, walking to his bedroom. I walked Gideon to the front door.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked. Gideon looked out at the empty parking lot. The moon shone on the icy gravel and the wind howled through the trees.

"I don't want to go home."

"Then don't." I said, closing the door.

"What?"

"I was think about what you said last night. And you're right, it is nice to have a family." I smiled at him. "So come and join ours." I was quiet for a minute. "Come and join mine." Gideon was silent for a minute, then started chuckling.

"Mabel, you're too good for this world." I blushed.

A few minutes later, Gideon was laying on a blanket on the attic floor.

"It gets pretty cold up here, so I usually sleep with four blankets. But that's all I could find, so... Not counting the blanket on the floor we have three blankets to share between us." I rambled for a few minutes about how to share the blankets, while Gideon sat silently on the floor. "What do you think?" I asked.

"Oh!" He said, surprised. "Well, we could.... Share them?" He suggested.

"Well duh. But who gets one and who gets two?" I asked. Gideon looked down.

"Well, I was thinking we could possibly... Both sleep on the floor and share all three. If you're comfortable with that." I blushed, then shook my head.

"Sure. But keep your hands to yourself."

I laid on my side, facing my bed. Gideon was laying as still as a statue, staring at the ceiling.

"Dude, do you ever relax?" I asked.

"Oh... Right." He over and over and faced the wall, and next thing I knew, we were asleep.

(A/N) Gideon Sassypants McNorthwest

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