starlightcafe | I don't want you to worry about what I've just seen, about where I've just been.

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I don't want you to worry about what I've just seen, about where I've just been.

Boy, had she been this tired since returning to Earth? Della was pretty sure she hadn't. While she was the sort who could stay up late adventuring and get up early the next day, ready for more, the little sleep she got needed to be quality. Lately? It hadn't been. Memories from the Moon, along with general insecurities about her time away - the mistake she made and all she had to make up for - were an on-and-off problem she dealt with, but since the Moon had invaded, it had been far more "on" than "off," and her sleep was suffering from it.

Of course, being so tired made it harder to focus on tasks during the day; tasks that normally provided invaluable distractions. It didn't matter how much she enjoyed something, her mind... Her heart... They just weren't in it. She had already had to back out of a fishing trip with Donald that day, offering the excuse that someone had to make sure the boys behaved while Donald fished and Scrooge did Binventory. Instead, though, she'd left the task to Beakley, and was taking a walk around the Manor grounds to try and clear her head.

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He snorted some. "I wish. Feels like I've been busier than a Doozer, trying to take care of things.

"How about you?" True he'd seen that yawn, but didn't think anything of it, yet.

"Oh, nothing that exciting here, either. Adventuring's been a bit slow lately - Uncle Scrooge has some stuff to put in order before our next big treasure hunt. I'm practically counting down the days." She shrugged. "Of course, Dewey is actually counting down the days," she added with a little chuckle. "But you know, I find things to do."

"You know you can always count on me to find something cool to do, if you ever wanted to." He snickered softly, giving her a grin. "It'd be things pretty exclusively underground, but we know you can fit anyway," he laughed again, remembering that first CHARGE, "so that's probably not a problem."

Della had to laugh, too, at the memory. "Thanks, kiddo. I appreciate that! I really do. Those tunnels you call home are definitely amazing, too, so I'll have to take you up on that sometime."

"Yeah, definitely!" He glanced up slightly as she yawned again, which definitely had him take notice. "You alright?"

"Me?" Della asked, blinking. She'd have to try stifling the next yawn, because Gobo didn't need to hear about her sleep struggles. It would just bring him down, and she didn't want that. If she could hide it from (the rest of) her family, she could hide it from him. "Of course, I'm fine! Totally fine!"

His brow furrowed a bit as he watched her. Now that he really studied her...

"Noooo no no, you look like I did about a week ago. You sound like I did, too. What's wrong?"

"A week- Gobo, I have no idea what you're talking about." A true statement, but also, hopefully a decent diversion while her tired brain tried to come up with a really good one.

"I couldn't sleep, every time I closed my eyes I kept having nightmares. Louie and Uncle Scrooge helped me figure it out, though it still took a couple days for everything to really settle down.

"And right now, you're looking about as bad as I did by the time they noticed." He leaned forward a little, looking up in concern at her. "Della, what's wrong...?"

Della glanced away - she really shouldn't, and didn't want to, discuss this with him. With anyone, really... Maybe shifting the focus was still worth a shot?

"Uncle Scrooge?"

"Oh, yeah he said I could call him that during the conversation we were having about the nightmares I was having. Now, what about the ones you're having?"

A "aw, that's sweet" had been on the tip of her tongue, but was lost to heavier subjects. She sighed, looking back to Gobo. He seemed... Quite determined to figure out her problem, and despite her reservations, it was... Well, also sweet. She held her arms out, palms facing up, and sighed.

"Has Louie ever mentioned that I was gone for the first ten years of his life?"

"...He did, yeah. He mentioned that when he found out about how my uncle had raised me."

Sensing the seriousness of the talk ahead, he put his guitar aside and pulled himself a bit closer to her, looking up at her.

Della nodded. "I'm glad he was able to talk to you about it, even if it was just a little." After all, Louie had once hated those kind of sentimental talks, and was still quite uncomfortable with them. He needed to have someone he could open up with.

She supposed, right now, so did she.

"I was on the moon for ten years, and I spent most of that time alone. It was... Really hard, you know? No one to talk to or even just be with. Unless you count the creatures I had to fight off," there was a weak attempt at a laugh, there.

"The moon??" He might not know much about outer space- the other outer space -but he did know about the moon, and that admission got a wide-eyed look from him that immediately swung right back into concern.

"Wow, I... I can't even imagine how that must've been..."

"It wasn't so bad!" she said hurriedly, her knee-jerk reaction being to reassure Gobo. But- Well, she'd already gone this far. "Not at the time... I was so focused on getting home to my boys. I didn't have the time or the energy to be scared until I got home. That's when I started realizing how upsetting some things had been, and... I don't know. They've been coming up when I'm sleeping, now."

He looked up at her quietly, unsure of asking his next question. But... she needed to talk about it, didn't she? That was one of the best ways to work through difficult memories, was getting it out. So, with a little breath beforehand to steel himself for whatever the answer might be, he asked, his voice quiet, serious.

"What kind of things?"

Della had to think about how she wanted to answer that one. Talking about this so far had - somehow - not gone badly, but that could change so quickly and easily now. "Does it matter?" she asked after a lengthy silence. "I mean that. For me, it's more about the way things made me feel. 'Cause usually, I don't get scared, but beneath everything, I was, I guess, so..." Her hands fell into her lap. "Fear and loneliness - that's what comes up in my nightmares."

His eyes dropped to her hands, then down toward the ground as he sat in silence for several long seconds. Then he moved forward, crossing the small distance between them and crawling into her lap, where he could get an arm around her for a quiet snuggle of a hug.

"Oh," Della breathed out as Gobo hugged her, and a smile formed on her face. She wrapped her arms around Gobo in return, giving him a little squeeze as her bill rested atop his head. "Thank you." She snuggled him close, in quiet awe of how he understood; had known what she'd needed even when she herself hadn't.

He lifted his head a bit up under her beak, and tightened his hug. When he spoke, his voice was gentle and soft.

"I know that... fear, and loneliness, aren't easy to deal with. I've never been alone like that for so long, but... I still know what it's like, to be afraid, and to have no one around."

He snugged up a bit closer to her, his size making him seem like a child in his mother's lap. "But you've got people around now, eh? A whole bunch of people, like me, who can help with all of that."

"I do... And I'm so glad to have you guys." It was hard to discuss with her (immediate) family, because it caused her guilt over having left in the first place to resurface, but... Still, they were there. And she knew she could talk to them about it, if she chose to. That in and of itself helped, now that she'd been reminded of the fact.

After a moment, she gave a little "heh" of contentment and adjusted her position just a bit, pressing a kiss to the top of Gobo's head. "Love ya, squirt."

He glanced up a little at that, then leaned back to look at her with a surprised smile.

"Y'do?"

Well, if that wasn't a smile fit to melt a mother's heart... Della laughed a little, nodding.

"Of course I do. With the fun we have together? And the way you're always there when someone needs you? You're family, Gobo." She paused for a second, to lightly tweak the end of his snout between two knuckles. "Besides, it's not every day I find someone crazy enough to take on the wildest adventures with me."

Gobo laughed softly at her gesture, then smiled and nodded.

"Yeah.. Yeah, I guess so! To all of that." His smile sweetened some, then he hugged her again, both arms going around her middle. "Love ya, too."

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