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Wembley was reasonably sure his head was going to explode. He felt so congested, and he couldn't stop shivering. The worst part, though? He'd had to stay behind when the others headed out to get things ready for the baby. The baby may have been Gobo and Mokey's by blood, but there wasn't a single resident of Fraggle Home who wasn't anticipating their new arrival.

He smiled, a little, comforting himself with thoughts of a little puffling around- But the comfort was cut short by an abrupt (and loud) sneeze.

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"As it comes..." Wembley repeated, pulling the blankets back from his face. "Gobo, c'mon, I know you better than that. A-And you should be worried! I mean, I'll be fine, but Mokey needs to stay healthy. And Boober won't be very happy about this, either... I think I should stay with Uncle Scrooge until I'm feeling better."

He smiled up at Gobo, small but true. "I don't mind."

"I don't want you to go off by yourself, Wembley," says the person just thinking about quarantining him, "and colds aren't too bad when you're pregnant? That's what we've read, anyway."

He leaned down a bit, giving him a smile as he put a hand on his back.

"Look Wembley, I'm trying not to be worried. We all know what happens when I do that, about Mokey's pregnancy anyway." His fur was still trying to recover from that. "And this is only a cold. Boober may freak out, but that's Boober; what I'm gonna do is help you feel better."

Wembley's smile faded a bit, and he took another sip of the tea to try and cover that. "Are you sure? I appreciate it, Gobo. A lot. But... Well, I'm worried, too. And I wouldn't be by myself! I'd be with Uncle Scrooge and everyone, and I'm sure I'd see Lexi a lot."

He paused a moment, muttering 'Lexi a lot' softly to himself. He liked the way it sounded, and his cold was making it harder to focus, anyway.

"A-And you could visit me!"

Gobo breathed in deeply, then sighed after a moment.

"Fine. But I wanna get you squared away first, okay? Gotta get you feeling good enough to at least travel, and I know the manor's not far but you barely made it here."

Wembley hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right, Gobo." He chuckled. "I guess it won't do me much good if I fall over on the way."

"No, and I don't feel like pushing you in the wheelbarrow. I don't think Uncle Scrooge would appreciate that walking up to his door either."

He snickered some, turning back to the cabinets. "Drink down that tea, I'll find something else that'll help."

He pulled the blanket back up, nearly over his eyes, but his smile was still visible. "Don't even worry, Gobo. I'll just rest here and finish the tea. I'm sure I'll be fine after that, or I can call up Uncle Scrooge and maybe someone can come get me. Can you do me a couple of favors, though?"

He paused and looked over at Wembley a moment, nodding.

"Sure, whaddya need?"

"Let Mokey know it's okay? Tell her I'd rather be away for a little while than get her sick. And if you guys can try to keep Boober busy, so he doesn't worry about getting sick himself, at least, not too much. I'm gonna call when I get there, but if he doesn't want to talk on the phone, I understand! Just send him my love."

Wembley seemed to have a thought, then, and his smile warmed. "One more thing. Look after yourself, okay? Don't worry about Mokey unless you really need to... And don't worry about me at all. I'll be home soon, and I can take care of myself!" A sneeze. "...Sure, not enough to keep from getting sick in the first place, but-" A little laugh. "You get sent my love, too, okay?"

Gobo looked over at Wembley for a long moment, then smiled warmly.

"Aww, Wembley... I'd kiss you if you wouldn't get me sick, too." He did walk back over and lightly hug his head though, resting his cheek atop the blanket. "You got it. I'll take care of all that, and more."

"D'aww, yeah, I know." Wembley smiled. Between the hug and the tea, he was starting to feel all warmed up. "Thanks, Gobo, I can always count on you."

"You sure can."

While Wembley finished his tea, Gobo went to make preparations. He called the manor, and Scrooge agreed to come retrieve him. With that out of the way, Gobo set about putting a couple things together; while he knew Scrooge had plenty of cold supplies, he also knew the old duck would appreciate not having to go into said supplies. Gobo never quite understood why, but he knew he'd like it anyway. So into a small bag some things went: Boober's tea blends, a pillow, Wembley's other shirt, a few handkerchiefs for sneezing, and a hot moss pack in case he needed it. Sure, some of it got smeared with paint, but that would just have to be that way, wouldn't it?

Before long Scrooge arrived to pick him up, and Gobo sent Wembley off with his blanket, the bag, and a final hug (with a kiss to the blanket, braving contagion). Seeing him off, he sighed and turned back, aiming to at least try and clean himself off before the others got home...

Wembley spent the next few days recuperating, and while he felt pride in knowing - and being told by Uncle Scrooge, as well - that he'd done the considerate thing... He was lonely.

There were plenty of people at the Manor, and once it was determined that he was no longer contagious, he even got to entertain the twins - playing around with them lifted his spirits. But there was something about other Fraggles' companionship that was just different. The remaining symptoms, mainly chills, didn't help his melancholy mood.

At that moment, he sat in the far-too-large bed that any of the Fraggles used when visting the Manor overnight. He slid his arms out from beneath the covers, despite being so cold, and looked from one hand to the other.

He missed Gobo and Boober most of all. The way their hands fit perfectly with his...

Though Wembley's ears were likely stuffed from the cold, he still might hear the front door open and close. What he wouldn't hear was footsteps, if only because of the nature of quieter feet than duck feet generally were. The door pushed open, with no one immediately visible from the bed- not so unusual either, in a home that seemed built for slightly larger Silly Creatures than actually occupied it -but the fuzzy face that popped up beside the bed was entirely un-Ducklike.

"Hey, Wembley!"

He had barely noticed the door open, and the part of him that did was willing to write it off as one of the twins playing around. As such, he was taken quite by surprise when he saw-

"Gobo!" He threw his arms around Gobo's shoulders, leaning off the bed to get closer. "It's so good to see you!"

Gobo grinned and wrapped his arms around him in kind, hugging him tightly. Pulling back a bit, he then crawled up onto the bed with him.

"You're a sight for sore eyes! How're you feeling? Uncle Scrooge has been giving us updates, but..." Hearing it right from the Fraggle's mouth would be so much better.

Wembley nuzzled his snout up beneath Gobo's as the two cuddled up together.

"Actually, Gobo, my eyes aren't sore - I'm just chilly and tired now," he explained in full earnestness. "I feel a lot better than I did when I left, but I've missed everybody!"

"Everybody's missed you too!" He nuzzled Wembley's snout, then settled back and reached into his vest, pulling out a few photos. "Here look, I finished the painting of the room I was doing the other day, and Mokey took some photos! There's ah, more in there too. She felt like journaling everything you've missed."

There were a few photos of the baby's room, as promised. Also in there were assorted shots of everyday life at Fraggle Home: Gobo and Red (or, a Blur That Could Be Red) playing rock hockey outside; Boober hanging up his laundry; a self-portrait from Mokey where Wembley could see her hand on her stomach; Red looking up from a mouthful of icecream that was half in the bowl and half on her face, and more.

Wembley chuckled as he took the stack of photos. "That was sweet of her," he whispered, and he loved that she'd covered so many things, as he flipped through... She'd probably wanted to make sure he wouldn't feel left behind. Mokey was good at thinking of others in that maternal way - she was going to be a great mom.

He giggled and hummed happily as he made his way through the photographs, and his eyes were definitely welling up - but it wasn't because he'd missed these moments. After all, he was kind of getting to experience them this way. No, he was getting emotional because... Well, gosh, what a wonderful family.

He moved to sit beside Wembley, looking over the photos with him. He hugged an arm behind him and squeezed him for a moment, then rested his cheek on his shoulder.

"Mokey got a little bit of everything, eh?"

Wembley smiled as he nodded. "These are perfect," he agreed. "I can't wait to come home, but until I do..." He hugged the stack to his chest. "...I've got all of you here with me, this way."

Gobo smiled softer and nuzzled him gently.

"Yeah. You sure do." He savored that for a few moments, then brightened and started flipping his fingers through the photos like a rolodex, looking for one in particular.

"Hey, lemme show you my favorite..." Finding the one in question, he pulled it out. It was outside in the garden, where Gobo himself was covered in mud from toe to knee and hand to elbow, with some smudged across his nose and shirt. He was grinning broadly, with several bunches of asparagus already pulled together and others in progress. Having seen Mokey with the camera, he held up a few spears, proudly.

Wembley was already giggling as Gobo flipped through like that, it was just cute, and that laughter only grew sweeter when the photograph in question was revealed.

"Aww, look at you! All mucky." He snuggled up closer against Gobo as he looked over the picture more closely. "This is a great one! And those asparagus sure look yummy."

"They are! A whole bunch came up, and of course we saved plenty for you, too."

He snickered a little, snuggling against him in turn. "That was a looonnnng bath that day, though."

"Well, of course it was!" Wembley laughed, waving the photo back and forth a bit. "Look at what a mess you were!"

He smiled over at Gobo. "I'm so glad you came to visit... You coulda told me first, but I'm kinda glad you didn't. This was a nice surprise."

He snickered through his nose, and nodded once. "Yeah, but I think the bath after I finally finished painting the room was even longer. I'm still not sure I got it all."

Gobo glanced at Wembley in turn, smiling. "I'm glad I came, too. And I'm really glad you're feeling better, soon enough you'll be back with us!"

Wembley snickered a bit, too. "You were pretty messy the day I left, so I believe that!" He kissed Gobo's cheek.

"It'll be really nice to be home, and you know what? I feel a bit more ready for when the baby comes now, because I've kinda been helping with Jade and Dunlin. I mean, I guess they're not babies anymore... But they're little!"

"You know, I didn't think about that part!" He looked at Wembley and laughed some, smiling. "That kind of experience is gonna come really in handy."

"Yeah, I think it might!" Wembley said with a hint of pride. "It's also been a lot of fun, they're good kids! Although my tail got a little singed the other day."

"Singed?" He had a flash of worry for a moment but obviously Wembley was alright, so he laughed lightly. "What happened? Jade get a little over-excited?"

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