They will be like him and me, as free as a dove.

[thewisdomwithin]

Even the back pain was amazing to her. So far, there was no aspect of the pregnancy that hadn't in some way thrilled and fascinated Mokey. It wasn't all fun, but it was all so interesting - and so heartwarming, too. She'd found she was singing to herself more lately than ever before, which was really saying something. From what she and some of her non-Fraggle friends had figured, the baby could hear her by now, and she wanted to them to hear a lot of the happiest sound: music.

She wandered into the kitchen, and opened the door to the pantry, looking for a nice snack and singing all the while.

♫If that juicy pear is gooey,
Let's go find some chicken chop suey.
If that chicken chop suey is tough,
Let's go find some stroganoff...♪

That trailed off into giggle. "Well, I do think a juicy pear would be nice!" she mused aloud, rubbing the end of her snout. "I wonder if we have any..."

Comments

[moneymatters]

"Aye, I did. I even lost a few feathers meself, though ah..." His eyes drifted, watching a new bit of fur go down; Gobo, seeing that look, smiled sheepishly. "...not quite to this degree."

Sweeping the pile into the dustpan (and grabbing the new tuft on the way), he dumped it in a nearby can and then braced the broom over his shoulder. "Still, come inside you two. I might have a couple o' ideas to help, I just have to put this away first."

[talkyourwayout]

Lexi followed the other two inside, shaking her head as she did so. So much stress - how were there still children being born? Sheesh. It seemed like an awful lot of fuss... She ducked into the fridge to grab a soda, paused on her way back out, then grabbed an apple and handed it to Gobo on the way to taking a seat.

[moneymatters]

He returned shortly enough, walking over to where the two of them had settled down, though he did eye Gobo more nervously fiddling with the apple than eating it. He hummed in his throat, then started asking a few questions. Had he gotten involved with the process? Helped set up the nursery or gotten any supplies? Talked to Mokey? Talked to the doctor helping them? Talked to his friends? Helped settle on any names or other aspects of the baby's future life?

Getting an affirmative on all of those but clearly seeing he was still stressed, he rubbed his beak in thought. "Gobo... When's the last time you got a good night's sleep?" When the answer, ultimately only a trailed off uncertainty, took a few seconds getting there, Scrooge held up a finger and turned. "Hold on. I'll be right back."

Once again he wasn't gone long, and when he returned he was holding two canisters, both of which he handed to Gobo, who had to put the uneaten apple aside. "Here, use these. I keep these on hand for sleepless nights, in the event my usual doesnae work. One is oat straw, which oughtae also help you with your hair problem. The other is valerian, it should knock you out like a freight train."

[talkyourwayout]

"I didn't realize drugging him was an option," Lexi snarked, ruffling Gobo's hair affectionately. "Really, though, man - this is a good idea. Getting some sleep should help, and once you've rested well for a couple nights, I bet everything else will be easier to deal with, too."

[gobetween]

"Boober's tried. We've got chamomile, but it hasn't really been doing anything." He slid off his seat and started toward the kitchen. "Thanks, Uncle Scrooge. I'll try these right away."

[talkyourwayout]

As soon as Gobo had been gone more than about five seconds, Lexi turned to stare at Scrooge. "Oh my god. I'm not sure how he's going to make it two more months."

[moneymatters]

"Two months, nothing." He seemed worried, staring off the way Gobo had gone. "It's going to be hell for him once that baby is born. Sleep will be an unfortunate thing o' the past for the first good while."

[talkyourwayout]

"Well, what's he gonna do, then? I mean, he can't just spend the rest of his life like this!" She pointed out, throwing her hands up. "You're okay now, with the twins, right?"

[moneymatters]

"Aye, o'course I am. But I also handle stress better than he does." He eyed Lexi as if inviting comment, then breathed out a sigh. "He'll be alright, though. I'd wager this is a temporary thing, a buildin' up of the past few months until it got to its breaking point. It'll even out, particularly with the others there to support him. He just has to weather it until then."

[talkyourwayout]

"Well, anyone handles stress better than a Fraggle," Lexi muttered under her breath, but then she nodded. "But that does all make sense. I just... I don't know. I wish it didn't have to suck for him right now."

1/2

[moneymatters]

"I wish it didn't, either." He walked over and picked up the apple, turning it in his hands before sitting where Gobo had been occupying earlier. "I know, at least somewhat, just what he's going through. I could tell him that it gets better, particularly when the baby is born, but it might go in one ear and out the other, right now."

2/2

[gobetween]

In the kitchen, Gobo was leaning against the counter, holding onto a mug of hot tea. He had his eyes closed and was sipping it slowly, inhaling the vapors. It certainly felt nice, if not quiiite relaxing enough to soothe his frayed nerves.

Sighing out one breath, he looked down at his reflection in the cup. Wonder how long before it took effect...

[talkyourwayout]

"It probably would, yeah," Lexi agreed. "I love Gobo, but he gets really wrapped up in being upset, you know what I mean? I- I kinda worry about that, sometimes."

[moneymatters]

"He does, but I feel fairly safe in saying by this point that that's his character flaw. Getting emotionally invested at the same time he's using his mind a mile a minute. On the good side, it's what makes him such a great leader. On the bad side..." He waved a hand toward the kitchen, making the rest of that sentence clear.

"There's not much we can do abou' it if that's how he is, other than be there when he needs us. Thankfully, he does have quite the support network, which is why he's where he is and who he is now."

[talkyourwayout]

Lexi had to smile at that, for two reasons. The first was that he was right, and she knew it. She certainly still had her concerns, but Gobo was nothing if not in good hands. Especially with Uncle Scrooge - and that lead to the second reason why it made her smile, a smile that had by now shifted into more of a smirk.

"You're such a sap."

[moneymatters]

"I could argue you are too, you know." Well if Gobo wasn't going to eat the apple, then he certainly was, shining it on his sleeve a moment. "Who knew you had emotions?"

[talkyourwayout]

Lexi sputtered, a bit more than she actually needed to, so to speak. "Wow, I hope you're ready to take that back, old man."

1/2

[moneymatters]

He laughed, though anything further was interrupted by a clatter in the kitchen, like something getting dropped. He glanced at Lexi, then ahead. "Gobo...?" When there was no answer he pocketed the apple and crossed the room, pausing in the doorway. There was momentary alarm at what he saw- then he realized what he saw and he sighed, putting his hands on his hips.

2/2

[gobetween]

The sound had been a mug hitting the floor, though thankfully it was empty and also didn't break. It had fallen from nerveless hands, as Gobo was in a heap nearby. One leg was folded under him and the other a bit out to the side with his hips, up in the air, leaning as if he were about to fall over. One arm was over the back of his neck and the other toward the handle of the mug, and his snout was pushed at an angle on the floor. All in all it looked like an intense collapse... in which he was snoring oh, oh so gently.

[talkyourwayout]

Lexi hurried over after Scrooge, saw the sleeping pile on the floor, and then sighed, "Dumbass."

She glanced up at Scrooge, shrugging a bit. "Is that because he's smaller, or like...?"

[moneymatters]

He looked over toward the counter, then reached out and put the lids back onto the canisters.

"No. It's because he mixed them. I should've warned him not to do that..." Ah well, hindsight and all that. He walked over to Gobo, carefully put his limbs back into order, then rolled him over onto his back as he scooped him up. All the while the Fraggle slept away, dead to the world.

"Come on. We'll put him in their usual beddin' down room, and get a word tae Fraggle Home that they might not see him for the next, oh, 17 hours or so."

[talkyourwayout]

Lexi snorted lightly. "I mean, you'd think that was implied, but-" Wait wait wait. "Hold on, did you say seventeen hours? Really now?" She followed Scrooge as he carried Gobo up to the room. "That's intense."

[moneymatters]

"It'd mostly be the valerian. O'course I'm just spitballing here. It could be fewer or you could be right, and his size could have played a part so it might be longer. However long it is we'll keep an eye on him, there's at least that."

1/2

[talkyourwayout]

"Cool, great," Lexi sighed, pulling out her phone. "I'm gonna call the other Fraggles, then..."

2/2

[thewisdomwithin]

Mokey arrived not too long after she'd received the call, looking worried, but not unwell. Once she'd seen Gobo with her own eyes - and decided to leave him be in peace rather than bring him home - she settled in in the kitchen. Lexi returned home not long after that, leaving just Mokey and Scrooge together as the former finally saw to that apple being consumed.

"I'm having so much fun being pregnant, Uncle Scrooge, but... I feel awful that I can't help Gobo be happy, too."