I don't own The Secret of NIMH. I can claim Teresa's new friend as an OC. This is my first Secret of NIMH story, so I hope you enjoy it. There are more chapters to come.

Chapter 1: Teresa's New Friend

Teresa Brisby was the oldest of four. Her mother was a widow who had four kids to look after, so Teresa decided to grow up enough to help her mother look after her siblings. At the tender age of eleven, she had lost her father and almost drowned in mud. She never really got the chance to interact with anyone her own age. She always stayed around the house to watch over her three younger siblings. There was Martin. He was ten, had the tendency to be rude and obnoxious, and liked to pretend he was fearless. Then there was Timmy. He was six and a sweetheart. He was small, but he had a big heart like their father. Lastly, but never the least, was little Cynthia at the cute age of four. She was a cutie and a sweetheart, but she could be very naïve and always carried around a stuffed toy she referred to as her 'wubbie'.

Teresa woke up early one morning. She put her dress on and grabbed a long pink ribbon. She tied the ribbon in a large bow that concealed the mouse ears on her head. She left her bedroom to find her mother and Timmy wide awake in the living room. She greeted them, "Good morning, Mother. Good morning, Timmy."

"Hello, Teresa," Mrs. Brisby, her mother, greeted. She was wearing her usual, tattered cape. She also had the Stone, a magical amulet that her late husband, Teresa's late father, left for her.

"Hi, Teresa! You're up early!" Timmy squeaked at the sight of his older sister.

"I'm always up early," Teresa pointed out.

"Oh, yeah," Timmy realized. He was wearing his green shirt that looked a size to big on his small body.

"It looks beautiful outside!" Teresa peered outside and gasped in awe. "Mother, may I go outside for a while and pick some of the flowers?"

"Yes, Teresa, but please be careful," Mrs. Brisby approved.

"I will, Mother," Teresa promised as she skipped outside. She scampered to the part of the field where the most beautiful flowers on the whole farm were. All of those reds and pinks and yellows and blues were there, and they all caught Teresa's eyes, each eye filled with wonder and enchantment. She went to grab the stem of one flower when someone or something came up from behind her and tackled her. She screamed as loud as she could and saw her attacker hold up a dagger. She thought, I'm done for! Suddenly, a smaller figure tackled her larger attacker, and the attacker scurried off swearing. Teresa never got a glimpse of who her assaulter was, but she saw her savior. It was a male mouse about her age wearing an orange shirt. He was slim, like her brother, Timmy.

"Are you okay?" the mouse asked.

"I'm fine," Teresa gulped and answered with a whimper. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome. I'm glad to see he didn't hurt you," the mouse smiled at her. "My name is Nate."

"I'm Teresa," Teresa calmed down and introduced herself.

"May I walk you home?" Nate offered.

"Nate, you're such a gentleman," Teresa admired.

"That's how I was raised," Nate shrugged. "Are you far from your home?"

"No. It's not too far," Teresa shook her head. They began walking back to the Brisby home together. "So Nate, tell me about yourself."

"There's not much to tell. I'm just a simple field mouse who lives with his mother," Nate claimed.

"Me, too. I also live with my sister and two brothers!" Teresa exclaimed.

"You have siblings?" Nate asked. "Lucky. What about your dad?"

"He," Teresa choked up, "he's dead."

"Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry!" Nate apologized and wrapped an arm around her and placed the opposite paw on the shoulder of Teresa's that was closest to him.

"If you don't mind my asking," Teresa wiped away one of her tears, "what about your father?"

"I never knew him," Nate told her casually. "My mother said that shortly after I was born, he left one day and was never seen again. She said she saw some people take him. Those people had a truck with a word on it. It started with an 'N'."

"NIMH?" Teresa suggested.

"That's it! It was NIMH!" Nate realized. "How'd you guess?"

"Daddy was one of the mice of NIMH," Teresa stated. "He met Mother shortly after he escaped."

"Only two mice escaped NIMH. Mr. Ages is too old to be your father. The other one was…Jonathan Brisby. Your father was the Jonathan Brisby?! That mouse was a living legend!" Nate exclaimed. "And ever since she learned of NIMH and visited the Great Owl, so has your mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Brisby, widow of Jonathan!"

"Yeah," Teresa nodded. Her mother had been so brave, and it was all just to protect her and her siblings. Teresa felt blessed. "You know your facts." Though, she said this flatly. She deeply missed her father.

"I'm sorry if I made you upset, Teresa," Nate apologized again.

"It's really okay, Nate," Teresa assured. "It just means that with Daddy gone, I have to step it up and help take care of my siblings to make my mother's life easier."

"Wow, Teresa. You really care about your family," Nate admired. He smiled at her.

"Um, I-I've been thinking. Would you like to be…my friend?" Teresa asked timidly. "I don't really talk with others my age."

"Sure, Teresa. I'd love to. I don't really talk with many mice my age either," Nate claimed. "I've just felt so obligated to look after my mother."

"Aww! I'm sure she appreciates it!" Teresa gave Nate a warm smile.

They soon got to Teresa's home. She invited her new friend in, "Come on in, Nate. I want you to meet my family." Moments later, they were inside, and Teresa made introductions. "Everyone, this is Nate. Nate, this is my mother," Teresa gestured to her mother, "and these are my siblings, Martin, Timmy, and Cynthia." Teresa introduced her younger siblings in age order.

"It's nice to meet you all!" Nate beamed at the family of his new friend.

"Nice to meet you, too, Nate," Mrs. Brisby nodded to him.

"Teresa has a boyfriend," Martin sang.

"How did you two meet?" Timmy asked.

"Well, I was in the flower patch when someone or something ambushes me," Teresa began, "He was going to hurt me, there was no doubt about that, but Nate got the thing off of me and offered to walk me home."

"Thank you for protecting my daughter," Mrs. Brisby thanked the young mouse.

"It was my pleasure!" Nate exclaimed.

"He's cute," Cynthia cooed. Teresa felt herself blushing beneath the fur on her face. She did think Nate was cute, but did she actually have those feelings for her new friend?

"Oh, um, thank you," Nate awkwardly thanked Cynthia, unsure how else to respond.

Later, in the afternoon, Teresa and Nate were laying in the grass, watching the clouds. Teresa pointed to one, "That one looks like a rabbit!"

Nate pointed to another, "That one looks like a bird!"

Back in the house, Mrs. Brisby was peering out at her daughter and Nate. She was smiling, happy that Teresa finally found a friend. Mrs. Brisby said to herself, "This is probably the first time she's really gotten to act like a kid since Jonathan's death."