| "Jaaack" came a shrill cry from the garden. |
| "What's up squirt?" Jack called back from the kitchen window. |
| "Stuck, Jack," |
| "How you stuck, Danny?" Jack asked, removing his hands from the sink and drying them on a towel. |
| "Can't get down," |
| "Down from where?" Jack said, wondering what the little tyke had got himself into this time. |
| "The Monkey bars, Jack," |
| "OK, SpaceMonkey. Hang on, I'm coming," |
| "Hurry, Jack." |
| "I'm hurrying, keep hanging on." |
| "K, Jack." |
| "Here y'are sport. I'm here. You don't look stuck." |
| "Can't go any further, arms are too tired." |
| "I gotcha. Drop into my arms and I'll catch you." |
| "Can't, Jack. Scared." |
| "Come on, Danny. You'll be fine." |
| "Scared, Jack. Lift me down." |
| "'K, Danny. Here y'are, let go now." |
| "'K, Jack. Thanks, Jack." |
| "No probs, Danny. Can I go finish the dishes now?" |
| "Yeah, Jack." |
| ~#~ |
| "Jaaack," the earlier wail repeated itself. |
| "You OK, Danny?" |
| "Stuck again, Jack." |
| "What again? I'm coming." |
| "I'm hanging on, Jack." |
| "I guessed, Danny. I'm a comin'." |
| "'K, Jack." |
| "There you go, back safe and sound on solid ground." |
| "Thanks, Jack." |
| "You think you can stay on the ground for a bit now?" |
| "Sure thing, Jack. You going back inside?" |
| "I don't know? Do you want me to?" |
| "Yeah, I'm playin'. You go and do grownup stuff inside." |
| "Ooh, listen to you 'Mr Attitude'. Tell you what, I'll go inside and bring you out a drink and some cookies in a little bit. Sound like a plan?" |
| "Yeah, Jack. I love cookies." |
| "I know, sport. I know." |
| ~#~ |
| "Jaaack" |
| 'Oh, heaven help me. That's been about four minutes.' "Yeah, Danny." |
| "Stuck, Jack." |
| "Not the monkey bars again?" |
| "Not my fault, Jack. It's got me. I'm trapped." |
| "What? How?" |
| "Shirts stuck, Jack. Look." |
| Sure enough Jack could see that the sleeve of Danny's T-Shirt had caught in the top of the swing mechanism as he'd climbed past it. |
| "OK, hold on. Careful, I've got to hold you and untangle you at the same time. Wrap your legs round my chest and hold on tight." |
| Danny did so and Jack carefully unhooked the little boys shirt from where it was trapped. |
| As soon as he realised that he was free, Danny threw his arms around Jack and hugged him tight. |
| "You OK, Sport?" Jack asked. |
| "You saved me, Jack." Danny said, his voice muffled in Jack's neck. |
| "Always will, Danny," the man said, with a tear in his eye. "Always will." |
