A/N:Before I start, thank You, Jesus, for giving me this story idea and the lesson behind it. You have given me this talent to help others, and to entertain as well. I pray that those who are reading this story will come to see You as a merciful, loving God, not some tyrant who wants to kill people for the slightest offense. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Hey, hey, hey, everybody! It's iheartgod175, and I'm back with another VeggieTales one-shot.

Remember after 'Here For A Reason' that I said I was going to do a one-shot for Jimmy and Jerry? Well, here it is. Fizzy Starburst, a fellow author in the Veggie Tales archive, gave me permission to use her backstory for Jimmy and Jerry, bringing about this story. As I did with her backstory for Pa, I'm going to put in a lot more detail. There's going to be some mature subjects, and it might get downright depressing. But just like 'Here For A Reason', I hope you'll walk away from this with a powerful lesson: no matter what you think, God has, does and always will care for You.

I hope you enjoy!

Story Title: No Laughing Matter

Tags: Family/Hurt/Comfort/Tragedy/Spiritual/Friendship

Connected to: The Veggie Romance Series (consists of Hugs and Kisses and Very Veggie Romance); takes place after Here For A Reason

Summary: There are some people who hide their true feelings or their pain with a smile and a laugh. Either way, it's no laughing matter when the truth finally comes out, as Jimmy and Jerry can attest to. Takes place after Here For A Reason, and officially starts a mini arc for the Veggie Romance series. Jimmy and Jerry-centric.

Warnings: Death, depression, cutting and gang violence, among other things

Disclaimer:I own nothing of VeggieTales, which should probably be a good thing, considering how dark my fics can get. I own only my God-given imagination and my computer.

Quick Note: Thanks again to Fizzy Starburst for letting me borrow her ideas!

No Laughing Matter

I realized just how blurry my vision was getting as Pa was telling the story of his past, and how that factored into him eventually coming to Big Idea. I didn't plan on sharing this with anybody, but I knew just what the grape had gone through. I had seen some rough times myself, mostly with my brother Jerry, and I knew deep down that neither me nor Jerry would be here today were it not for Big Idea.

When Pa said that he wasn't going to leave Big Idea and that he wasn't planning to, something in my broke. The moment Junior started clapping was when I burst into tears. That story had hit me deeper than I thought. When Archie pulled out the tissues, I'm sure I took like, twenty. I was crying that much. Then again, I'm pretty sure everyone else was, too. Archie's composure finally broke after he gave Pa his tissues, and Bob and Larry were leaning against each other, bawling their eyes out.

I don't know how long we stayed in there crying, but Mr. Nezzer eventually told us that it was past quitting time and that we might get locked in if we didn't leave. We all gave Pa a hug, and then we started to get ready to leave. But right before Jerry and I walked out the door, Pa stopped us. He looked somewhat concerned.

"Jimmy, are you alright? You looked like you had Niagara Falls pouring out of your eyes," he said.

Well, that was an interesting comparison. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just really moved by your story, Pa. It kinda reminds me of the saddest things I went through in life," I replied.

"Like the time you went to dance class and you couldn't do jazz?" he asked.

"Well, that's one of the saddest things," I replied. "But well...there's more to it than that. It brought up a slew of other things that I tried hard to forget."

"Oh, I see. Yeah, my stories tend to do that to people," he answered. "But for some reason...I can't help but think that there's a different reason for you bursting into tears."

I froze. I forgot that one of Pa's specialties is discerning moods. He had told us before that he was planning to be a psychiatrist before he became an actor. Well, he certainly has the knack for it, I can tell ya that, if his constant 'let's sit down and talk about your problems' nature is of any indication.

Before I could say something, Jerry spoke up. "Well, it's kind of a sad, depressing story. I don't like to talk about it," he said. "And neither does Jimmy."

"You more or less took the words right out of my mouth, Jerry," I said, which was kind of surprising, since I usually do the talking and he talks when he's spoken to. "Besides, I might as well flood the whole room if I told everybody about my past."

I chuckled slightly, which made Jerry roll his eyes, but Pa wasn't laughing. His mouth formed an even deeper frown. My self-directed laugh stopped abruptly as he stared at me.

"Jimmy, if it's that bad, I don't consider this to be a laughing matter," he said. "I've heard that a lot of people when they're stressed out or going through tough times often use humor to conceal their pain. It's only a matter of time before they crack due to pressure."

"What are you, a psychiatrist or something?" I asked. I knew it came out rude, especially since the old man had just told his about himself, but I was not in the mood for his egging.

"Well, Mr. Lunt calls me that," he said, a sigh in his voice. "But it's not without reason. I try to help people with their problems. The more they hide it, the more noticeable it is. And if you ask me, your problem could have been noticed from a space telescope."

"Wow," Jerry said.

"I thought you were on my side!" I turned towards my little brother. He offered a sheepish grin in return.

"Well, to be honest, Jimmy, we never really told Bob or anybody else about our family every time they've asked," Jerry said. His voice dipped at the word 'family'. "It's really hard to answer that question, because when they ask if we live with our parents or something-"

I had to jump in right then and there. "Okay, that's it! We're getting out of here!" I said, wanting him to shut up. I grabbed him and shoved him right out the door, cutting Pa off in the middle of a question he'd been about to ask. I didn't stop shoving Jerry until we reached the front doors.

When we were finally outside, Jerry turned to look at me with a stunned and slightly angry expression on his face. "Jimmy, what the heck was that for?" he asked.

"You know what it was for! If they ever find out about what happened to you before you came to Big Idea, he'll tell Bob about it and then they'll fire us for sure!" I shouted.

"They would only fire me, Jimmy, if they knew," he said. "I don't get why you would keep taking the rap with me."

"Because you're my little brother. I have to look after you, no matter what happens. I promised Aunt Di I would," I responded, dead serious. "And I will not ever let you go to jail again for what that monster made you do."

That stunned Jerry into silence. I could see that he remembered that incident quite well. Before we even had a chance to walk off the front steps, a heavily-accented voice said, "Wait a minute. Are you telling me that you went to jail?!"

I turned around for the source of the voice, but I couldn't see anybody. That was when the voice cleared its throat and said, "Down here, vegetable buddy."

I knew who it was after that. I looked down and saw Khalil standing there, looking horrified. "What on earth are you two talking about? I walk out the door and the next thing I know, you're talking about keeping your brother out of jail!" he asked.

"Well, let's be honest: black and white stripes do not look good on Jerry," I said automatically.

Khalil rolled his eyes. "Jimmy, let's be serious here," he said. "Your brother going to jail is pretty serious. What was it for?"

"I had this conversation with Pa already. I'm not going to get into it again," I replied. "Just drop it, alright?"

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't find out what was making you upset?" Khalil was wearing that same concerned look Pa had given me earlier.

"In case you can't tell, I don't want to talk about it," I said, and started to walk away, trying to avoid the tears that were rushing into my eyes. "Come on, Jerry. We're leaving."

When I didn't hear the set of footsteps behind me, I turned to see my brother standing there with a solemn expression I hadn't seen in ages. Khalil looked at him and then at me with a very saddened expression.

"Jimmy, I'm sorry. I really am. But this secret's been eating away at me for years after we've joined Big Idea. I know you told me not to tell anybody, but...I would feel bad about lying to Khalil. He's my friend," he said. I had forgotten that he and Khalil were best friends, and they had this sort of bond that nobody really understood. But I'm not going to deny that their friendship has helped Jerry come out of his shell, and he's been more open to talk to people.

"Jimmy, if Jerry's willing to talk to me about whatever it is you're trying to hide, it only seems fair that you should explain as well," Khalil said.

I sighed. I knew that he wouldn't stop bothering me until I talked, and Jerry wasn't going to budge.

"Alright, you got me. I might as well explain," I said. "But let me warn you...things are kind of...gritty here, so sorry if I falter on some parts."

Khalil nodded. "I completely understand that. Pa told us all the same thing when he was telling his story."

I walked back up the steps, and motioned for the two of them to sit down. I looked over at Jerry. "Do you want me to tell the story, or you?" I asked.

Jerry looked somewhat nervous and terrified. "You tell it. I can't. I don't think I'd make it through," he said.

"Alright," I said. I took a deep breath, and said, "Well, I guess the whole thing started when we were kids..."

~[X]~

Jerry and I used to live in Minnesota a long time ago with our parents. We used to be a couple of really happy gourds. But the one who was really different back then was Jerry. He used to talk my ear off the whole time about stuff like Pie Wars, and had loads of friends at the school we went to. Our parents were white collar workers, and well, they earned a lot of money from their jobs. They used to be off to the other side of the country attending business meetings, but they loved spending time with us. Pop taught us how to play sports and all sorts of things, and Moms taught us how to cook...well, as much as she could, anyway. Me and Jerry were too interested in eating the food. She told us she never knew where we'd gotten those appetites from.

We didn't know that the last time they went on a business trip would be the last time we would see them again. I had a bad feeling watching the plane take off, but I figured, "Ah, they'll be fine. They're always going to all these places in different states."

I had no idea how wrong I was.

A week afterwards, and we hadn't heard a word from them. That was one of the first signs that something was wrong. They usually called not long after they touched down in whatever state they were in, or the day after. Jerry was worried, and to be honest, so was I, but I didn't want to worry him. I told they'd call us as soon as they weren't busy. That seemed to calm him down.

That was when our Aunt Diana, who we usually call Aunt Di, came in the room looking...torn up. We were startled, because she never cried. She had spent time growing up on a military base, and her dad didn't like crying, so that's why she was so uptight at sad events like deaths in the family.

When she came out of the kitchen that day with puffy, red eyes and tears streaking down her face...I knew something bad had happened.

Her words were somewhat rushed and we almost didn't understand what she said since she was sobbing and talking at the same time. It was only after Jerry asked for the third time what she had said that she screamed it at us. I'll never stop shivering when she said, "Your parents are dead! Their plane crashed!"

I didn't know how to react. I was too numb and shocked to do anything. Jerry, though...Jerry fell apart. He..h-he took off running, slammed the doors shut in his room, and screamed. It was the worst sound I had ever heard in my life.

My aunt and uncle arranged for Moms and Pop to be cremated. I cried as they poured them into the ocean, though I tried to be strong for Jerry. My uncle had to restrain him from jumping off the boat to join them, as he couldn't swim...

...

S-Sorry. Where was I? Oh, yeah...

The next few years after that, things got really bad between me and Jerry. While we still had a roof over our heads in no thanks to my aunt and uncle, Jerry and I started to drift apart. I started to cope with our parents' deaths with humor. Sometimes, it was terrible puns, while other times, it was kind of dark. But I had to find something to keep me from breaking into tears every single day. Pops used to tell me that I had Granpop's sense of humor, so I based most of my early jokes due to his attitude.

Jerry, though...Jerry had no way to cope with it. Over the years, I watched as Jerry, my vibrant little brother, became the most silent person on the planet. All of his friends eventually left him when they realized the only person he wanted to talk to was me. I became a bit more uptight because of it, since many tried to pick on my brother and I stepped up to the plate, protecting him. There were times that he would only talk to me if he was very anxious. He got rid of the Pie Wars and sci-fi stuff. He got rid of all the records from those indie rock bands that he was obsessed with before. And most of all...

...most of all, he wouldn't come to me, his big brother who only wanted to help him. I couldn't do anything to stop Jerry from turning into the opposite of himself. He started dressing in black, and started listening to some really crazy death metal freaks called Veggie Metal. I tried to throw away the CDs, but he would storm in and pick them right back up. He also had quite the anger issues, and he could swear so much it'd make a sailor cry.

But I found out that that wasn't the only problem.

For three years in a row, Jerry started wearing really long clothes. At first, I didn't really care, but then I noticed that he was wearing V-neck sweaters in the heat of summer. One time, I took him to the mall to buy some new clothes, and I ripped the sweater off against his wishes.

That's when I saw the scars and fresh cuts on his skin.

When I demanded to know who had hurt him, I was completely unprepared for his answer.

"I did, Jim. It actually helps out with a lot of stuff."

As it turns out, Jerry had started cutting himself. He told me he had been doing so for about three months or so, locking himself behind his bedroom door so nobody could see him. The marks were very visible, and that's why he had to start wearing long sleeve shirts and pants.

Needless to say, I was disturbed by what he was doing. I told him that I would be there to help him, and that we were both part of the youth group at church. We could go to the pastor for help.

That was when Jerry looked me dead in the eyes, and it scared me. His eyes were hard and cold, filled with nothing but anger.

"Church? Why would I want to waste my time going back to that terrible place?"

"Church isn't terri-"

"It is, Jim! They turned their backs on me! Everyone in that group, including the youth pastor, wanted nothing to do with me. They spent most of the time condemning me. Why should I go back to a place that's filled with so much hatred?"

Before I could talk some sense into him, he got up and left.

It was from that point on that things started getting worse. Jerry pushed me away even further, refusing to even speak to me on some occasions. Every time I tried to talk to him, he would scream at me to leave him alone. I remember every night praying for my brother's health, and that he would come to see the truth. Sometimes...I'd cry when I was praying for him.

At the same time, Jerry decided to join a gang. He came home beaten up and bloody, and I knew just what had happened. He got involved in all sorts of violence, such as breaking into people's cars and stealing stuff. I told him that if he continued down this path, it would destroy him, but he didn't listen to me. The last time I told him this was when I finally managed to get him to come to church with me. The message the pastor had been preaching was all about getting right with God. Right when it seemed like he'd finally gotten it, right when it seemed like the Jerry I knew was coming back...the leader of the gang called him on his phone. He had a job for Jerry to do, which involved breaking into a rival member's house.

It was like watching a scene transition in a movie, or something. Jerry got up and walked right out in the middle of the sermon. He didn't even look back at me, even as I yelled at him to come back. I ran out the door and saw a big black van drive away from the scene. I felt a horrible feeling in my gut, and I took off after Jerry in my car. The thing was, I wasn't sure just where they'd gone. I spent about an hour or so on the road, panicking. I didn't want to lose my little brother to whatever that monster had planned for him.

Right when I was going to give up, I noticed a flood of police lights in one of the other neighborhoods I had somehow missed in my frantic search. I turned down the street, and I saw some veggies with baseball bats and swords being dragged out. All of them were wearing black jackets with red rings on their sleeves and wearing black eyemasks. The leader of them was this scallion who had a silver eyepatch on, and wore black and white with red. He was yelling, "I'm telling you, the gourd was responsible for it!"

"Shut up, Cedric! We've got you down for assault and battery as well as manslaughter. You're not getting away from us."

I didn't care about the guy's name. I cared about one thing: my brother. When he'd said "the gourd", I knew just who he was talking about.

I saw Jerry, who was cuffed by the cops and beaten badly, getting dragged out of there by the cops...I didn't know what to think. I ran over to them and told them to let him go. They asked me if I was family, and I told them yes. They told me that even though he was my brother he still had to go with the gang to jail.

That day was the worst one in my life. I remember not sleeping the whole time after they took him to the jailhouse. The trial, which was held about few weeks later, I didn't sleep for about a few days, praying for divine intervention of some sort. I prayed that Jerry wouldn't stay in jail forever.

When the verdict came, I was shocked: they told me that Jerry would stay in prison for at least two years for what he did. He broke into tears on the stand, since the realization had fully sunk into his head. I looked over at the scallion they called Cedric, and he was smiling evilly at Jerry. I'm a really laid-back guy, but there was no other time that I wanted to seriously hurt someone.

After the trial was over, I ran to Jerry and told him that I would visit as soon as I got the chance. He nodded, and then they took him away. I...I-I walked out of there and sat on the bench...and cried...

~[X]~

"Jimmy, are you alright?" Khalil asked.

My only answer was a sob. The tears were blurring my vision so much that I couldn't see anything. I was shaking so badly from crying that Jerry had to come over to hold me.

"Jimmy, you didn't have to tell him everything..." he said.

"B-B-But how else was h-he to unders-stand?" I asked, sobbing. "I-I s-said I was going to explain, wasn't I?"

Jerry sighed. I could see that he had no words for that. There was the soft patter of feet and I felt something tickle my side. I looked over to see Khalil on my side. Tears were in his eyes as he reached over and hugged me.

"Jimmy, my friend...I am so sorry that you and your brother had to go through so much trauma through your lives," he said. "If there is anything I can do that might help you out..."

"Well, for starters, can you get us some tissues?" Jerry asked. "Jimmy's really sobbing over here."

"I will be back so fast you won't even miss me," he said. With that, he jumped down from my back and ran to the doors of Big Idea, which thankfully were still open. Jerry turned towards me.

"Are you sure you're alright, Jim?" he asked. "I mean, if you wanted to tell Khalil the rest-"

"N-N-No," I croaked out, barely controlling my sobs. "I-I just can't c-continue on like this...especially since t-t-thinking of all the things that I did when you were in jail m-makes me-"

"I know, Jimmy. Those times were...hard." Jerry's eyes were sad as he briefly took his eyes off me to look at the ground. "I remember Aunt Di telling me that you had nearly went down the same road I went through. You still have the cuts from when you were cutting yourself, right?"

"N-Nuh-uh. I-I used this cream t-that helps get rid of those scars. B-But I still couldn't bring myself to see you in jail. I...I feel like I failed as a brother to you, Jerry. I should have tried harder," I explained. "I-It's part of the reason I fell out with God and the church w-we went to..."

"Aunt Di told me that, too. But she said that one night, you simply stopped doing what you'd been doing. You got on your knees for the first time in weeks and prayed. You said, and I remember her saying this, 'God, if you care about me, show me that you care. Show me how things can get better from here on out'. And then..."

"A-And then...I ended up meeting Bob," I recalled, my sobs starting to slow down. "I-I-I ran into him on the bus, having just ordered four hoagies for myself. As I worfed them down, he said 'Hey! You'd be great for the new movie I'm doing!' He started talking to me about VeggieTales and what it was all about, and I decided right then and there that I would go to acting school. I signed you up to go, too, remember?"

"Yeah, the day I went was when I got out of jail," Jerry explained. "They almost didn't let me in, since I had...you know..."

"It took a lot of convincing for them to let you in, but eventually they did. I more or less talked them into it. Thankfully, they didn't really ask why you had so many cuts on your skin," I said. "Or why I looked like I had about twenty years on my face."

"I think Bob did ask, Jimmy," Jerry said, "but you never told him what was bothering you."

"I really didn't want to. I don't know what he would have done if he found out," I replied. "Maybe he would have passed me over on the spot."

Just then the doors to Big Idea swung open, and I turned around to see Khalil walk out the door. But I was shocked when I saw Bob with him. He looked very concerned and teary eyed.

Great. Now I made my own boss cry, too.

"Bob, what are you doing here?" Jerry asked. He seemed just as surprised to see Bob standing there.

"I ran into Khalil while I was getting some things, and he told me what you guys had just told him," Bob said. "I can't believe you didn't tell me about what happened to you for the last few years, Jimmy."

"I didn't want to lose the one chance to make sure that Jerry got into acting school. If they found out that he had been in a gang, they never would have let him in, or even worse..."

I trailed off, and by the looks on both Bob's and Khalil's faces, they didn't need me to explain how that could possibly be worse. Bob came over and handed me some tissues, as my nose was already starting to run.

"Jimmy, I don't look at people's past records and judge them based on who they were back then," Bob said, his tone serious. "I look at what people for who they are now. When I first met you on the bus, I didn't see a gourd who was trying to keep his entire family together. I saw a gourd who would be a perfect role for my movie. Of course, I saw that you were stressed out, but I was being very polite and didn't intrude on it. And even if I did find out about that, it wouldn't have changed my view of you two. I'm just glad that you guys are actually living normal lives."

"Yeah," I agreed.

"So...are you mad at us for keeping something like this from you?" Jerry asked. He seemed to be a bit anxious.

"Not really. I mean, I wouldn't talk about it either, if I were in your position," Bob said. "But please, Jimmy. Don't try to hide problems like that away from others."

I nodded, my eyes blurring from the tears. "Thanks, Bob. You really are the best boss a gourd could ask for."

Bob smiled. "Don't mention it."

Most people would be surprised by how much we've changed over the years. I used to be kind of uptight, and Jerry used to be violent. I have Big Idea to thank for that, naturally. Being there for years finally helped me loosen up, and it helped Jerry open up with people. We finally have something next to normal from now on.

And to be honest, that's all we really wanted anyway.

THE END

Hopefully, I didn't depress you too much when I made this story. It's just...this stuff kind of comes to mind after I read certain stories. When I read "Why They Need Big Idea" and that segment with Jimmy and Jerry, this is what I thought of. It's a good thing that Jimmy and Jerry found Big Idea, or else they would've been screwed up.

The next one-shot will probably focus on Mr. Nezzer, and after that Madame Blueberry. Then, that'll be the end of this dark miniseries that I've thought up for a while. Read and review!

God bless, iheartgod175