Jenner stared at Wendy with an
open mouth. He was frozen to the ground completely. Gabriel drugged her to stay
calm! How come she woke up? That quack doctor gave her a too small amount of
the calming stuff.

John, alias Jonathan moved away
from Jenner.

‘Am I Jonathan Brisby?' He slowly
said. ‘But he is dead!'

‘Dad! You must recognize him, too!
Why didn't you say anything?' Wendy said. ‘It's him, isn't he?' She continued,
sounding excited.

‘Jonathan Brisby IS dead! Won't
the two of you stop it? We've got bigger things on our minds! We must find a
solution to evacuate out of this....'

‘Madhouse?' Wendy finished.

Jenner gave her a glance but
nodded.

Wendy's mind drifted off to
Gloria. She gasped. ‘Gloria? Where's Gloria? She's wants to kill my baby!'
Wendy yelled, all of a sudden aware of what had taken place earlier.

‘Don't worry about Gloria anymore.
She cannot harm you.' Jenner said.

‘Unless she'll haunt you.' John
said with a smile on his face. Wendy frowned and suddenly understood what
Jonathan was saying.

‘She's dead?' Wendy asked
while she looked at both males.

‘Yes, Wendy, she's dead.' Jenner
said.

‘You killed her, didn't you?'
Wendy continued.

‘Yes, I....'

‘Dad! Please! Stop the killing!'
Wendy cried.

‘You have to keep calm, think
about your baby!' Jenner quickly said.

‘If you kill someone again, I
never want anything to do with you anymore.. EVER!' She said through her tears.

‘Let me calm her down.' John said
as he walked towards Wendy's bed. Jenner stepped away, aware of the words Wendy
just said to him. He was a cold-blooded killer. She was right. Why couldn't
things go back to the way they used to go.

‘Wendy, please relax. He did it
for you. To protect you. That's why he did it.' John gently said. As he looked
in Wendy's eyes her saw a familiar spark. ‘Wendy Elisabeth?' He softly said.

Wendy looked at him with a strange
look in her eyes.

‘Jonathan? What on earth happened
to you?' She asked.

‘You are Wendy Elisabeth.'
Jonathan whispered. His old life was played in front of his eyes like a movie.
He saw NIMH, the cages, Mr. Ages, Justin, Nicodemus, Wendy... his wife and
children... His wife and children! He had a wife and children!

‘My wife! My children!' He
whispered. His eyes stood strange, as if he was in some sort of trance. Wendy
noticed the strange look in his eyes.

‘Jonathan? The cat, Dragon... you
remember?'

‘The cat... the cat I drugged.'
Jonathan stumbled, still in trance.

‘Yes, Dragon! You went to drug
Dragon but you never returned!' Wendy said concerned.

‘I was a husband... and a father!'
Jonathan stumbled as memories returned rapidly.

‘You are still a husband and a
father! Your family is safe with Justin! My husband!'

‘Justin's your husband? You two
are married? That's wonderful!'

‘Wendy, John... please....' Jenner
replied from the back of the room.

‘My name is Jonathan!' Jonathan
yelled.

‘I don't care what your name is!
We are facing a certain death!' Jenner yelled.

Wendy Elisabeth looked at her
father with large eyes. ‘Then we should go to the Castle.'

‘The Castle is not an option.'
Jenner replied angrily.

‘But Justin will know what to do,
and Nicodemus....'

‘Wendy! Shut up!' Jenner screamed.

‘Let me talk to Justin, please.
Let me visit him again, tonight.' Wendy continued, ignoring her father's words.

Jenner looked her. He looked a lot
older than he used to. He was worried. And Wendy knew it.

‘I guess she's got a point there,
Jenner.' Jonathan said.

‘You can't meet Justin tonight!
Think about what Gabriel said! You need to rest!'

‘But I cannot rest here! Could
you? Let me talk to Justin, it'll do me good.' Wendy replied calmly. Her eyes
rested on Jenner's eyes for a while.

Jenner nodded. ‘But I'll have to
figure out a way how to get you out of here. If they see you, you'll be dead.'

Wendy nodded. Her mind drifted off
to the Brisby Family. This whole affaire actually brought something positive
along as far as she was concerned. She smiled.

Jenner started moving up and down
the room again.

After a while he said: ‘I've got
an idea. John... Jonathan will deliver a letter from me to Justin. He'll come
back straight away. No nice little family-reunion, nothing.'

‘What will the letter say?' Wendy
wondered.

‘It will give Justin the
instructions to enter the tree. He'll have to come for you. It's too dangerous
for you to go out.'

‘But Justin's far too weak! What
if he doesn't have the strengths yet? This could be his death!'

‘Then so be it....' Jenner replied
and he started writing the letter. 

 

Jonathan rushed over to the
Castle. He was wearing a dark cape so that he couldn't be spotted by the
barn-rats. So far, so good. His mind drifted off to his family. To his
beautiful wife, two boys and two girls. He sighed. Why did this have to happen
to him? His mind was filled with questions. Questions that would have to wait
until later. There was no time to waste now. The first rat Jonathan came across
was Brutus. He had to think hard to remember who he was. ‘Of course, he must be
Brutus. A second Generation Rat.' Jonathan thought to himself as he approached
the gigantic rat. It took a while before Brutus spotted him. He looked alert,
though not alarmed.

‘Who are you and what are you
doing here?' Brutus asked the mouse.

‘I have a letter for your leader.'
Jonathan said, still wearing his cape. His hood was too large for his head, so
Brutus wasn't able to see his face. He was thrilled when he found out that
Justin was the new leader of the rats of NIMH.

‘Give it to me and I'll make sure
he'll get it.' Brutus said formally.

The mouse hesitated but replied:
‘I want to give it to him personally.'

‘And who do you think you are?'
Brutus said, frowning his forehead.

Jonathan shrugged. ‘An old
friend.' He answered.

Brutus looked at the stranger and
shook his head. ‘Do you have weapons on you?'

‘Weapons? No! Of course not! He's
my friend!' Jonathan replied angrily.

‘And does this friend have a
name?'

Jonathan didn't know what to say
to this question. He cleared his voice and said. ‘My name is John.'

‘John who?' Brutus asked, getting
more and more annoyed by the stranger.

‘Just John.' Jonathan said. ‘Let
me in, it's urgent.'

‘I'll see what I can do. Brutus
said and he went inside.

Jonathan peeked over his shoulder
from under the hood. He shivered. The barn-rats were still inside. There was
nothing to worry about.

‘He's willing to meet you. But
don't expect too much of him, he's badly injured.' Brutus said from behind him.
It made Jonathan jump.

‘Don't sneak up on me, like that!'
Jonathan said to the large rat.

‘Bad conscious?' Brutus replied
casually. ‘I'll be keeping an eye on you.'

Jonathan followed Brutus to the
infirmary. As he looked around him he realized that his wife and children were
in this building somewhere. His heart began to shine and a smile appeared on
his face.

‘He's in here. Don't bother him
with nonsense. Keep it short.' Brutus said and he sat by the  entrance of the infirmary.

Justin was lying on his side, his
eyes wide open. He was sunken deeply in thoughts.

Jonathan recognized his old friend
immediately. He was still the young rat he knew.

‘Justin, am I glad to see you!'
Jonathan softly said as he approached Justin.

Justin shook his head and looked
at the mouse with a puzzled face.

‘You must be John. Funny, I know
no-one by that name.'

Jonathan frowned but remembered
that he was still wearing his hood.

‘I'm sorry about the cape. I had
to wear it.' He whispered and he slowly took it off.

Justin's mouth opened wide without
saying a word.

‘Yes, it's me! Jonathan! Joni-Mouse,
remember?'

‘But... it can't be!' Justin
stumbled.

‘Can't believe it myself! The cat
must have punched my memory out, hehe. Your wife was the first one to recognize
me....' Jonathan said, but he was interrupted by Justin.  

‘I'll be damned. Joni, it's so good
to see you! Your wife and children are here, too. Would you like me to ask
Brutus to go get them?'

‘No, no... I'm here for a short
visit. I have a letter from Jenner.'

Justin took the letter from
Jonathan's hand.'

‘Who did this to you, anyway.'
Jonathan asked as he pointed at Justin's shoulder.

‘My dear old father-in-Law did
that to me.' Justin said without looking up from the letter.

‘As in Jenner? I knew he was bad
news from the start!' Jonathan said.

‘I'm coming with you straight
away.' Justin said as took his uniform off the ground.

‘Can you? I mean, are you strong
enough?' Jonathan asked, thinking about Wendy's words.

‘As it concerns my wife, you bet I
can! Let's go!' Justin said and struggled to get into his uniform. He took his
heavy belt with his sword in his good hand and Jonathan helped him to put it
around his waste.

Brutus wanted to go along, but
Justin insisted that he stayed at the Castle. He made him swear not to tell
anyone about Jonathan yet; he wanted to inform the rats in person. That
prospective gave him another good reason to stay alive in whatever Jenner had
planned for him.

 

‘Justin, are you feeling well? You
look a bit pale.' Jonathan said. He was concerned about his friend who was
taking pretty unsure steps.

‘I'm fine Jonathan, I just haven't
been outside at all lately.' Justin said, as he slowly moved along. But he
wasn't being honest to Jonathan. He was feeling weak, and the fever wasn't
completely out of his system yet, either. The pain was bearable, but he was
still so tired. But he was also determent and eager to see Wendy again.

They arrived at the old tree
without being seen. Justin had to climb up a bit to be able to knock on the
narrow hollow which was supposed to be right here, judging from Jenner's
drawing. He knocked it three times.

A little piece of wood which was
attached to some sort of string opened. It was a small window. Jenner popped
his head out, giving Justin instructions to climb up a bit more. He had to
squeeze himself through the tiny hole. Jonathan climbed up first. He was small
enough to fit through. Justin was a few sizes bigger. He took a deep breath as
he examined the tiny window. ‘This is gonna hurt.' He told himself, and he
climbed up the branches as well. His arm and shoulder were extremely painful,
but he needed his both arms to climb. As he reached the window he told himself
that it was impossible for him to fit through.

‘Psssst, Justin! Give me your
arms!' Jenner said as he offered Justin his hands. Justin swallowed a few times
hard. ‘This is really gonna hurt.' He said again, but he did as Jenner told
him. Jenner pulled Justin inside in one fluid movement. Justin landed on the
floor next to Jenner with a grimace of pain. He shoulder felt as if it were on
fire.

‘Justin! You're here!' Wendy said as
she tried to bend down for her husband. Her stomach made that impossible,
though. ‘Are you alright?'

‘Aaggh, I guess so. I still feel
alive.... Oh God.' Justin stumbled as he struggled to get up.

‘Justin, get up. Your wife wanted
to talk to you.' Jenner said as he struggled to get up as well.

Justin took a deep breath and
forced himself to smile at his beautiful wife.

‘Let me guess, you wanted to tell
me that Jonathan is alive?' He said with an even bigger grin. The pain in his
shoulder slowly faded away.

‘No silly! We've got a problem. As
you know, Jenner got married to Gloria. She was expecting a baby, too. She had
a miscarriage, though. Right at the day that I arrived here. I wasn't aware of
that, but I guess Jenner already saw it coming. Gloria was jealous of my
pregnancy and she tried to kill Joshua and me tonight.' Wendy gave Justin some
time to let it all sink in.

‘She what?' Justin said after a
while. ‘He instinctively placed his hand on Wendy's stomach.

‘We're fine, thanks to Jenner. He
brought Gabriel here and he... kind of... killed Gloria.'

‘Good for her.' Justin replied
slowly.

‘Men... they're all the same....'
Wendy replied with a deep breath. ‘The barn-rats are very upset about this...
situation. They want to kill us... both of us.'

‘Then you two should leave this
place immediately!'

‘Easier said that done', Jenner
whispered. ‘Neither of us would fit through that narrow window! She's far too
pregnant and I'm far too... muscular.'

Jonathan softly laughed from the
back of the room.

‘What are you laughing about!
Jenner yelled. ‘besides... Wendy has to take it very easy.'

Justin looked up to the small
window again and sighed. As if Jenner's words sunk in he suddenly said: ‘Take
it easy? Why? Did something happen?'

‘I had some sort of cramps...
contractions earlier this evening. That's why Jenner went out to get Gabriel.
This was before Gloria was... murde... eh... killed.'

‘What a minute! Gabriel was here?
He didn't tell me! Why didn't he tell me?' Justin said. His neck-fur raised out
of anger.

‘Justin! He didn't tell you
because he... well, because he didn't want to upset you.'

‘But contractions! Wendy! You
could have gone into labor and I wouldn't have even known about that!' Justin
looked at his wife with large eyes. ‘I'll have a word with him when I get back
home. No, I'll kill him!'

‘Justin! Stop it! Don't worry!
It's over now! Gabriel gave me medicines!' Wendy said, trying to reassure her
husband.

‘Hey, I've got a plan!' Jonathan
suddenly screamed.

‘Shhhh, keep you voice down!'
Jenner said as he gave the mouse a glance.

‘I'll drug them.' Jonathan said,
this time a little less loud.

‘Drug them?' Justin wondered. ‘Not
a bad idea, what's your plan?'

‘There's a similar window like
this one right above the kitchen stew. I could climb up from outside and put it
in the dish. The barn-rats will eat it, you know how they love food, and
they'll fall soundly to sleep. You guys can escape in peace.'

‘Great! I'll ask Ages if he can
prepare some straight away.' Justin said with a naughty smile on his face.

Jenner's face started to smile,
too, but that didn't last very long. He thought about his own safety. He
couldn't go back to the Rats of NIMH. Too much had happened. He would lose his
daughter after all. He knew she was much better off with Justin, although he
hated to admit it, than she was with him.

He turned around and saw Justin
and Wendy cuddling and giggling a bit like teenagers who just found out how to
kiss. He couldn't help smiling. Wendy wasn't happy without Justin. She needed
him. 

‘Alright, alright...enough.' He said
as he slightly pulled Justin away from his daughter.

‘Can you arrange the powder,
Justin.' Jenner said.

‘Yes, I can. The old Ages can't
stand me, but he happens to love your little girl.'

‘Well then, get moving!' Jenner
said.

Justin placed a kiss on Wendy's
tender lips. ‘I'll be back soon.' He whispered.

‘I love you, Justin.' Wendy softly
said and she returned his kiss.

As Justin moved towards the
window, Jenner stopped him by holding his arm. ‘Let me help you.' He said, but
that wasn't the reason why he stopped him.

‘Justin, if we get out, I want you
to take good care of Wendy, do you hear me?'

‘Of course, you can rely on that.'
Justin said as he looked at Jenner's face with a puzzled impression.

‘Good... and Justin... I'm sorry about
your shoulder. I shouldn't have done that.'

Justin stopped and looked at
Jenner with a touch of amusement in his eyes. ‘It's ok.'

‘I just wanted to....' Jenner said,
but he didn't finish his sentence.

‘Wanted to ask me if you could
live with us?' Justin finished.

‘Yeah, NO! Where did you get that
idea! I cannot go back there!' Jenner snarled.

‘Why not?' Justin asked casually.

‘Don't be a fool, you know why.'
Jenner whispered close to Justin's ear.

Justin nodded. For a moment there
was understanding between the two mighty man.

‘Help me up there.' Justin said
rapidly, breaking the moment. He felt a bit uneasy.

Jenner lifted the young male,
surprised by his low weight. Justin looked down to where Jenner was. ‘Thanks
for the lift.' He casually said.

‘Eat more.' Jenner simply replied.
Justin softly laughed as he felt the cool air on his fur.