You can count on me for a helping hand.

[strikesachord]

From the moment the baby had born, Frizzle had become Gobo's pride and joy, and it really seemed that the feeling spread through all of the others, not just Mokey. And while Gobo appreciated everyone's love for their son, and all the help they offered, he couldn't help notice there was a bit less help when Frizzle woke up before dawn, screaming and crying.

He didn't blame them, honestly, but it would have been nice... Ah, well.

He and Mokey were quite tired after a particularly bad string of nights, and Gobo had insisted Mokey get some sleep now that the day had really begun. He'd take care of Frizzle, while the others were still catching up on their own sleep at the Manor. It wasn't even leadership duties... It was what a father did.

He was rocking Frizzle in his arms, hoping he could catch up on sleep as well, when he heard a knock on the door. Were the others back already- Maybe just Boober? Boober might knock, Wembley and Red never did.

"Come in!"

Comments

[thewisdomwithin]

Mokey nodded, but watched him quietly, mostly so he could enjoy the moment - and the promise the knowledge she'd shared brought... But also because she was taking him in very carefully, without even realizing it. He didn't seem much, if it all, younger than her Gobo. And yet, he was so fresh-faced, and - aside from what had happened a moment ago - everything seemed lighter for him. Easier.

It was an interesting mix of feelings, to be so proud of how far Gobo - all of them, herself included - had come, while also feeling a strong pang of nostalgia for back then.

She might discuss it with Gobo, or Red, later. For now, she wanted this Gobo to keep enjoying the feeling of a hope so real one could almost reach out and grab it.

"I think you'd be a very loving, very good father. And I think you'd enjoy every moment of raising your child. Have you and Lexi ever discussed any of this?"

[gobetween]

"Not really, no." Wow, he could stare at Frizzle all day, and he felt a swell of emotion in his chest at the thought of it, mixed with the thought of him as a parent. This wasn't his kid, and yet... And yet, he felt like he'd lay down his life if Frizzle needed it.

"She's mentioned a pet once or twice, and I know that's not nearly the same thing a'course, but that's about as much as we've talked about future stuff with us. We just take it as it comes."

[thewisdomwithin]

Mokey nodded, in her sage sort of way, then leaned in to put her hands on Gobo's shoulders.

"I think you should talk to her. Not everyone... Looks at Frizzle the way you do, Gobo. Oh, the others here do, of course, and everyone else has been so loving. But you- You need to be a father."

[gobetween]

He blinked, looking up at her.

"I do?"

[thewisdomwithin]

She moved her hands from his shoulders, and looked at him solemnly. "You do. You love Frizzle. I can see that plainly. I don't know how often you've been with him-" a little twinkle of teasing mischief in her eyes, there "-but it doesn't matter. Gobo - my Gobo - he has so much love to give... But you might have even more. Perhaps just... In a different way."

[gobetween]

He caught that look and laughed softly in a lightly sheepish way at it. But the rest... It made him glow, in a really nostalgic way. Mokey was Mokey, wasn't she? No matter what universe she was in or what sort of relationship she had with a Gobo, any Gobo.

Mokey was Mokey.

"Yeah... Yeah, I guess so." A lightly confused head tilt. "But what do you mean, 'more, in a different way'?"

[thewisdomwithin]

Mokey smiled softly, looking down at Frizzle. "Gobo and I didn't plan for this little one. I'd always wanted to be a mother, it's true, and we were both delighted when we found out I was going to have a baby. But look at you," she sighed out, still looking at Frizzle with all of the love she had for her child plain on her face. "You're planning - hoping - for a family. You seems so ready to take care of others." She gave a light laugh, and finally glanced up at him. "I have that, too. So I can see it."

[gobetween]

He was struck silent for a moment, that welling up of emotion creating a knot in his throat that made it hard to talk around. Raising his hand, carefully cradling Frizzle with his arm, he wiped away tears from his eyes that were considerably happier than the last.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think you're right, Mokey..." A faint, fond laugh. "You usually are."

[thewisdomwithin]

Mokey giggled, and shrugged a bit. "Thank you, Gobo. I'm touched to hear you say that."

She patted Frizzle's head gently, and pressed a kiss to his snout, then smiled back up at Gobo. "And no matter what you and Lexi decide to do, I want you to come here whenever you'd like. You are always welcome with us. Frizzle has so much love, but more can only be good for him."

[gobetween]

He smiled just to watch her dote on her son, and he chuckled softly in his throat. "That's definitely something I learned... Being surrounded by friends and loved ones is the best thing to grow up with.

"Why, I bet half the reason I am who I am- and, and your Gobo too..! -is because of you and everyone else. Because you all were there, to share my experiences and for me to bounce off of, I'm who I am because of that."

[thewisdomwithin]

Her smile shifted into a more excited near-grin at those words. "Gobo... Thank you, for saying so. I think you're right. I don't think - any of us, on either side, would be the same without one another." A slight pause. "I know the five of us have to be together when all's said and done. And, no, I don't think it's different for you. They're still with you, Gobo, always."

[gobetween]

He smiled up at her, knowing what she said was true, all of it. They had influenced each other, and even apart they were all still together. There was something in that, and he didn't have to think at all to come up with it.

"You cannot leave the magic."

[thewisdomwithin]

"Exactly." Mokey smiled, nodding, as she tapped the tip of his nose. "And everything's magic, isn't that right, Gobo? If you see it that way."

[gobetween]

He scrunched his nose a bit and laughed quietly. "Exactly. Like I said, everything that's ever happened to me has been magic. Whether or not I ever realized it at the time. Sure, some things have been actual magic... Solving the rhyming rock comes to mind." A bit of a snicker. "But there's magic in getting postcards and winning tug-o-tails contests and doing plays, too."

[thewisdomwithin]

She giggled. "I think so, too. The happiness and togetherness those things bring are very magic." She made a little humming sound, soft and sweet, as she tickled Frizzle's stomach, causing a giggle from him, too. "Just let me ask one favor of you, Gobo?"

[gobetween]

That little giggle suffused him with a new warmth all its own.

"Sure, what is it Mokey?"

[thewisdomwithin]

"When Lexi's pregnant, if that's how you two decide to have your baby... Take care of yourself, not just her and the little one. Try not to worry. I know it won't be easy, but I promise it will help if you can try."

Her Gobo had been such a wreck for so much of the pregnancy, and she worried that for the Gobo in front of her - with all his compassion and sensitivity - it might be even harder.

[gobetween]

He was confused a moment, then chuckled a bit. "I'll do my best, you can count on that."

[thewisdomwithin]

"Thank you, Gobo. Oh! Oh, Gobo, and if Lexi has any questions, I would be so happy to answer them."

[gobetween]

He nodded, giving her a smile. "You got it. I'll be sure to pass that right along to her, I know she'd value your input."

[thewisdomwithin]

"Thank you, Gobo," she said, getting to her feet and walking around behind his chair to give him a little squeeze. "I'm so glad I got to meet you."

[gobetween]

He leaned toward her at that, the best he could do, and smiled brightly.

"Yeah, me too." A pause, then he snickered gently. "Hey, Mokey? My arms are starting to get a little tired-..."

[thewisdomwithin]

"Oh, of course!" she giggled, and came around to scoop up Frizzle. She half-tossed him up a bit, causing the baby to gurgle in delight.