Sk: Me in a wrighty mood.
Michael: That's not even a word.
Sk: Shaddap. I'm trying to write this all up before I go to bed! >_<
Jack: And we're not making it any easier.
Sk: ... I hate you both so bad right now....
---
Willow looked around cautiously as she crept into the silent town, her little sister following. Sakura followed silently, wringing her twiggy hands nervously. Caroline was seated neatly in Sakura's strong boughs, sighing gently. The town looked so beautiful when the moonlight fell over it. She gasped as she saw her uncle, along with one other outside the Town Hall. She was the blind Shelly Skellington, hugging her tail and talking with the Mayor, now in her pyjamas. Sakura walked over, and let Caroline out of her branches gently.
"Uncle!" the little blonde cried, running over and throwing her arms around the Mayor, nuzzling into his chest. The Mayor hugged her back, his head twisting to it's happier version.
"Caroline!" he beamed as she looked down at her. "Caroline, my dear girl, you're back!"
"Yes, uncle, I'm back." she smiled, holding herself close to him. She smiled and looked back at the two trees. "They helped me get back to town."
"It's the truth, Mayor." Willow whispered, a bit bashfully now. "I had just helped Sakura away from that horrid, -horrid- tree house, when we found Caroline, sitting in the graveyard."
"She couldn't remember the way back to town." Sakura piped up, smiling. Shelly smiled, reaching out and touching Willow's elbow. The tree chuckled and grasped the cat's hand gently, grinning.
"Thank you ever so much for finding her, Willow, Sakura!" the Mayor smiled at them, nodding. "Serenity and Tranquil will be ever so pleased to see her again."
"It wasn't a problem." Willow smiled. "Really. Anything for the town and it's citizens."
"Just like papa!" Sakura giggled. She looked over as Shelly's ears twitched.
"Any sign of Bayley?" she asked softly, nearly hopefully. Willow looked to the ground.
"I'm sorry, Shelly, but we've not seen him." she explained, gently rubbing the girl's shoulder. Shelly turned away.
"... alright then."
"Don't worry yourself too much, Miss Skellington." the Mayor said to her, trying to cheer her up. "We'll find him, don't worry. And I'm sure that mischievous little cousin of yours will be able to look after himself until he's found."
"Yeah... That's the Bayley I remember." Shelly smiled, nearly laughing. Sakura smiled.
"Yeah! Now, how about we all get some sleep? And Caroline, hope your ankle gets better."
"You're hurt?" the Mayor asked, his mood switching. Caroline blushed, before beginning to limp to his house with him.
"I tripped over in the graveyard, that's all..."
Willow waited for their voices to trail off and the door to shut before bending over slightly. Bayley climbed out of her thick branches, smirking.
"He fell for it! Didn't suspect a thing." the boy grinned, folding his arms. "What did I tell you?"
"Bayley!" Shelly gasped, reaching out for him. The skeleton smiled and walked over, wrapping his arms around her. She pulled him into a tight hug, lifting the boy off the ground. "Oh Bayley, it's you!" she cried happily, but quietly. He laughed softly and nuzzled into her fur.
"The one and only." he smirked as she put him down. She smiled, tears gathering in her milky eyes.
"Oh, Aunt Sally'll be so happy!" she smiled, falling to her knees. Bayley knelt next to her as he tilted her head up, finding tears running down her face.
"Hey now, hey now...." Bayley whispered, wiping them away. "What's the tears for? Thought you were happy, Shel."
"I am." she cried, wiping the forming tears from her eyes. "I'm just so happy.... Now we're all together again. Now our family can be whole again."
"Yeah... maybe..." Bayley whispered, looking at her. She blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"I-I'll explain in the morning." he told her, helping her up. "Now, come with me. I'm sure mum won't mind if you stay the night over at our house."
As the pair walked off towards the tower-like home, Sakura smiled. "Aww, ain't it cute? Bayley's just dying to help his cousin. It's so sweet!"
"And so un-Bayley-like." Willow added, a twinge of concern in her voice. Sakura looked at her, blinking. "I mean, he's never been like that to anyone by his sister. He's always nasty to Shelly and Evan. I wonder why he's treating her so nicely."
"You think.... You think something's happened to Chelsea!?" Sakura asked, suddenly frightened. Willow grabbed her hand and began leading her out of the Town.
"I don't know..." she uttered. "But we best be getting back to dad. He'll be terribly worried about you. I thought his roots had withered, he was panicking so much."
---
Jack blinked as he stared at his daughter, covered in wires and receiving oxygen from a tank. He held her hand tight, stroking it gently. Finklestein was over at his desk, feverishly writing notes down about her condition. His niece, Kelly, comatose in the human realm, walked over and sighed.
"Horrible, in'nit?" she asked roughly, her English accent thick with worry. "Seen the poor girl covered in wires. But you don't want to do anything, because they're keeping her alive."
"That's right..." Jack whispered, nodding. Kelly sighed and shook her head, walking over toward her uncle. Jack ignored their conversation, continuing to stare at his daughter. Michael sat next to him, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, mate... She'll get through, alright?"
"I'd like to believe you as much as I did when we were young." Jack replied, looked at him. They both laughed a little, but it was short lived. Anne sat at the window, not wanting to look at her cousin. She kept on repeating the words 'Wish we hadn't done it' to herself. The door opened slowly, and a thoroughly flustered Vanda walked in, Evan asleep in her arms.
"Annelise Mavea Skellinkton, vhere have-" The angry vampire stopped mid-sentence, her jaw dropping at the scene. Anne stood up and took Evan from her arms as she hurried over to Kelly, whom was now examining Chelsea.
"Keelly?" she asked softly as the blonde finished. Kelly looked down at her as she straightened up, and smiled, adjusting her glasses.
"Oh, hello, Vanda." she smiled, nodding. Vanda looked at her niece, wincing.
"Vhat happened to her, Keelly?" she asked softly, blinking. Kelly sighed and ran a gloved hand through her mattered hair.
"She and Bayley got into a fight with enchanted items..." Kelly muttered. She motioned for the vampire to follow her. "I'll explain it outside, alright? It's a bit of a touchy subject, as you can see." she explained. Michael stood up shakily.
"I'll come too." he whispered, taking his wife's hand and following Kelly outside. Anne was already asleep by the window, Evan in her arms. Jack sighed, still stroking his daughter's hand.
He gasped as his daughter's eyes flittered open for a second. Nothing else mattered as he stared into her hazel brown eyes. She forced her mouth into a smiled as she stared up at him. Tears welled in his eye sockets and spilled down his cheeks as she spoke.
".... Love you.... daddy..." she whispered hoarsely. He tightened his grip on her hand.
"Love you too, sweetheart."
---
Sally yawned as she awoke, rubbing her tired eyes. Patches was curled up at the end of her bed, looking at her. He had obviously just woken up as well. She sighed, petting him, before getting up and stretching. She quickly changed from her nightgown to her dress, yawning again. She smiled as Patches jumped up.
"You must by hungry, eh, boy? I'll go get you and Zero some food." she laughed, petting him again. She walked out into the hall, where she was greeted by Zero - and Shelly. She cried out in fright, jumping a bit.
"Morning, Aunt." Shelly smiled, staring at the wall. Sally blinked, wrapping her hands around the cat demon's arm.
"Shelly!" she cried, blinking. "You gave me a fright there! What are you doing here, Shelly? Do your parents know? Oh, Pan'll be worried sick!"
"Don't worry about it, Aunt." Shelly smiled, turning to her. "Mum knows that I wasn't going to be sleeping at home last night. I was actually going to go and sleep over at the Witches' Shop, really. But... well, a strange turn of events convinced me otherwise. Hope you don't mind?"
"Of course not." Sally smiled, standing up on tip-toe and kissing Shelly on the cheek. Shelly hugged her and smiled.
"Missed you while we were away, Aunt." she grinned. "And I know someone else who did too."
"Who?" the ragdoll asked softly. Shelly smiled as Zero barked excitedly.
"Well, you go see who's in the lounge. I'll feed the dogs."
"Alright...." Sally said, a bit suspiciously. The ragdoll walked along the hall, turning into the lounge, her eyes drifting to the couch.
She shrieked.
"Bayley!" she shrieked, as her son pulled himself to his feet. She ran over right away and threw her arms around him. Bayley wrapped his arms around her as well, something that he hadn't been able to do for nearly a fortnight now.
"Yeah, mum. It's me, your one and only son." he smiled, nuzzling into her neck. She held him close, hugging him as tightly as her slender arms would allow.
"Oh, Bayley, Bayley, Bayley...." she cried, closing her eyes. "Oh Bayley, I've missed you! I've been so very worried! I was so worried, when Jack came back with Chelsea... I thought something might have happened to both of you!"
Bayley blinked, looking back up at her. "Mum, where is Chels?"
"She's over at the doctor's lab. Finklestein's seeing what he can do for her." she whispered, looking away. Bayley blinked, kissing her on the cheek.
"Mum, think we can go and see her?" he whispered, looking up at her. Sally looked at him, her eyes glinting.
"Of course we can!" she smiled, holding his hand. "We'll do that right now."
---
Sk: Daaawwwwwws! X3 That was so gorgeous! And the introduction of Kelly Finklestein!
Chelsea: .... my back still hurts.
Shelly: ... where's the dog food? o_O
Sk: I wanted to put the lab bit after the wakey up bit, but I have to do everything in chronological order. XD Ah well. =3 Okay, now, I'm thinking about writing a sequel - don't worry, still have a few chapters to go yet - but I need to know who wants one written, and if so, could you suggest a title? n_n;;; Other than that, 'tsall gewd. X3
