starlightcafe | It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor

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It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor - could you be mine?

Della didn't much mind the cold, so long as she kept moving, which was (part of) why the visit to the other Duckburg's Manor had become a walk out in the slush. According to Scrooge, the snow had been fierce just a week ago, but now conditions were safe enough to be out in, though they were sticking to the Manor grounds just in case things got bad again. Della wasn't nuts about that limitation, but at least she was in good company.

She smiled over at Scrooge. "You do this regularly with my uncle, right?" she asked.

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"Aye, that I do." Walking out in old snow might not be most people's cup of tea, but this was Scrooge and the cold never bothered him anyway. With Della here this was quite enjoyable, idly picking their way through the garden and the wider grounds.

"He started it to keep my auld knee limber," a brief tap of that leg with his cane, without breaking stride, "and since then it's become quite the routine with us."

Della nodded with a laugh and nudged Scrooge with her elbow. "Good! Between the two of us, maybe we'll get you in shape soon," she teased, winking. "Really though, I never would've guessed you two would get along as well as you do. It's great."

He snorted some and returned the nudge in kind.

"Watch it, lassie." A teasing warning tone, then he laughed and smiled. "I'm no' all that surprised. I've been able to get on with just about any Scrooge I've met, and your uncle is no different."

Turning to look ahead of them, he paused when he saw something, a questioning sound in his throat.

What Scrooge saw was Gobo sitting a ways away, sticking out well in the greys and whites of the yard. He was up on a low, bare tree branch, sitting with his arms supported out over bent knees, staring out across the yard. Even without being close it was clear there was something weighing him down, the usually happy Fraggle seeming distant, pensive.

Della had already stopped short when Scrooge mentioned more Scrooges, and at the sound he made, she followed his gaze over to-

"Gobo?" It was said softly to herself, in a tone of concern. That didn't look like the happy little squirt she was used to... A quick, puzzled glance Scrooge's way, and then she started to near the branch.

"Hey, Gobo - what's up, buddy?"

He pulled himself out of his thoughts with a little shake of his head, looking over and seeing Della walking toward him, trailed by Scrooge a few steps behind.

"Oh. Hey, Della, Uncle Scrooge. Caught me out here thinkin'..." Weak, brief chuckle.

Della blinked a couple of times as she tilted her head to the side.

"Yeah?" Her parental instincts might still be underdeveloped, but alarms were definitely going off in her mind. "What about?"

He was quiet a moment, then sighed softly and shifted to a more cross-legged sort of position, bracing his feet together.

"Fraggle Home, I guess. And my friends."

He stepped up closer, looking up in concern. "You're not havin' nightmares again, are you?" When Gobo shook his head he sighed lightly in relief, though the moment was fleeting.

"Then... what's wrong? We've heard no news of Fraggle Home or anyone else bein' in trouble." He snorted softly. "Beyond you gettin' into my cellar." When the attempt at humor got no response, he passed a worried look to Della.

Della's gaze, on the other hand, stayed fixed on Gobo. "Gobo... You can tell us. Whatever's going on - the three of us can get through it."

He smiled at them, all too briefly, then sighed.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know what's bugging me. I kinda feel like... there's a song I heard once and can't quite remember the lyrics to, even though they're just on the tip of my tongue.

"I keep thinking about leaving the Rock, and the others choosing to do that too, and there's something there that I can't put my finger on."

At first, Della couldn't understand why forgetting a song was so upsetting but - oh, okay. Figuratively speaking. She shook her head to clear it of the misunderstanding, then leaned against the tree that Gobo's perch branched off from.

"Is it... I mean, do you think you wanted more time on your own out here?"

He was quiet for a moment or two, staring off to one side. Then he sighed, and his hands closed up a bit.

"Maybe. I don't know."

"You know... It all happened pretty quickly once Mokey came along, from what I've heard," Della pointed out. "And if this is something that's bothering you, it's okay - it doesn't mean you don't love them or want them around. It just means you need more time for you."

"Aye, she's right." He walked ahead a few steps so he was standing on the opposite side from Della, looking up at Gobo on the branch.

"It's entirely reasonable to want time by yourself, even from the people you hold closest."

"I know, I know. I even got to teach them that, once."

A short little half-chuckle, then he sighed a bit.

"That's not it... Not entirely anyway, I guess. I just keep thinking about leaving the Rock, and how many times I almost did before. Sometimes it would've been alone, sometimes it would've been with friends, but I never wound up doing it. ...Until I did."

Della paused at that, blinking up at Gobo. "You'd thought about leaving the Rock before? I didn't know about that."

He glanced at her and nodded. "Yeah. Heck, there was even once everyone thought about leaving the Rock." A thought visibly crossed his face and he smiled somewhat sadly, sitting forward a little to look down at her.

"That day we were in Rainbow Reminisce, and I sang that song? It was one I'd sung before, on that day where it looked like all the Fraggles were gonna leave the Rock. Wembley sang it with me, and.. I think hearing it is what convinced everyone to stay."

"Oh... Wow, I never thought-" She'd never considered Fraggles leaving the Rock without Gobo acting as a catalyst. She frowned a moment, then raised her arms towards him - not that she could reach him - and beckoned with her hands. It sure seemed like he could use a hug...

He glanced between her hands, then smiled gently, a bittersweet sort of look. Shifting forward on the branch he stepped forward and, wrapping his tail around it, dropped down below. He dangled a moment, then released his grip and dropped the couple of feet left into her embrace.

She squeezed him snugly, then gently placed him on the ground, staying crouched down in front of him as she spoke up again. "So, if there were times you almost left the rock but didn't... What changed the last time?"

He stepped back after the hug, glancing back a moment when Scrooge walked back to join them both. Then he sighed softly and looked up at Della.

"...I don't know. I guess that's what I've been trying to figure out."

Della glanced up at Scrooge for a moment, then looked back to Gobo and nodded before standing up straight. "Then we'll help you."

"Took the words right out o' my mouth, lass." He smiled some and glanced down at Gobo, resting a hand behind his shoulder. "Come on. You can join us on a walk 'round the grounds here, and we'll talk all the while. Might help you sort out your head."

When Gobo nodded, Scrooge started off again, leaving space for the Fraggle between himself and Della. At first they walked in silence, then he glanced down at him.

"So, what happened before you decided to really come out on your own?"

"Well... I guess it was that I met Doc." He tucked his hands into the bottommost pockets of his vest, pulling it a bit around him. It hadn't been cold enough out here for his full winter gear, just the hat, but without being somewhat curled into his own body heat like he had been on the tree, it was a little chilly at first down here.

"I think I've told you guys about that before, right? About the Honk of Honks, and Doc moving and all that jazz... Heh. Y'know, that was one of the times I almost left the Rock, too. He wanted me to come with him before he moved, but I got scared and went back to Fraggle Rock. Then he did leave, and... I dunno. It still all felt so different, even though the tunnel we found to his new place was almost in the exact same spot as the old one."

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