Benched
by Kim McFarland

Stiff-bristled brooms made from brushlike bundles of needles dropped by trees around the Gorgs' garden whisked over the flat rock floor. This was a special part of the Great Hall, where the ground was worn smooth by generations of Fraggle feet. Now Fraggles were preparing it, sweeping every bit of loose dirt and grit away.

Red walked out on the clean rock, looking for stray pebbles and other imperfections. The center was clean. She restrained herself from commenting on the edges of the rink. The sweepers had started in the center and were working their way outward. It wouldn't be fair to criticize work that they hadn't yet finished. The sweepers, knowing Red was watching closely, took extra care to render the rink perfectly smooth.

When they finished Gobo, wearing a hooded sweater, walked into the rink. "Does it pass inspection, Red?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.

"Good. Go sit with the rest of the team."

Feenie, Tosh, Lou, and Mokey were sitting on a bench at the edge of the rink, wearing their rock hockey uniforms. Each had already tied a pair of greaseberry leaves to their feet. Red grunted as she sat heavily down by Mokey.

Gobo said, "Rock hockey season begins tomorrow, and Gobo's Gorgbusters have to be at our best. We're up against Rumple's Roustabouts, and they play a good game. So let's get out there and practice!"

Red thought that she could have given a more inspiring speech. However, the other players cheered and skated onto the field, sliding on the greasy leaves. At first they just skidded around, getting their skating legs back. Then, at Gobo's instruction, they got their sticks and began hitting rock hockey pillows around.

Red called, "Mokey, your grip is all wrong! Hold the stick to the paddle faces forward! The way you're holding it now, the pillow'll go to the side."

"Oh?" Mokey took a swing, and the pillow flew off at a tangent. "So it will," she said, and turned the stick in her hands.

Gobo let the team mess around. Red, however, was frustrated. "Tosh, relax! You can skate faster if you lean into your strokes instead of Doozerfooting around. Look, I'll show you."

She reached for the leaves. Gobo had expected this. He stepped between her and the pile of practice leaves and said, "No, Red. You're benched."

"For crying out loud, I'm just going to give her some skating pointers! What do you think I'm going to do, clobber myself skating across the cave?"

"No, you're not, because you're not going to skate at all."

"Give me a break!"

"No, Red. We agreed. You're co-coach this season, but you won't play."

"This is only practice!" she whined.

He folded his arms and said firmly, "Red."

She gritted her teeth and glared at him. He looked calmly back at her. "Fine," she snapped.

"Good. And keep helping us with technique, eh? Without you on the field we need your advice more than ever."

Red waited until Gobo was back on the rink before muttering "That's for sure." Most of the team was good, she admitted to herself. Not quite her caliber, but then who was besides Gobo on his best day? But now she couldn't do anything. No climbing, no high diving, nothing that might conceivably give her even the tiniest bruise or scrape. And they were all in on it, everyone in Fraggle Rock. Even Mokey. It was a conspiracy! If it wasn't for swimming, she'd go completely out of her mind!

The Gorgbusters spent several hours on the rink. Red was pleased that the rest of the team soon got their skating legs back. Their muscles remembered how it went. And they listened to her directions, and most of the time they were able to follow them. Red stopped short of telling Mokey not to get distracted by passing spiderflies, or rock daisies, or pretty reflections of sunlight on the cave ceiling; that was just Mokey being Mokey. Instead, she did her best to get her good and interested in the game so she would stay focused. Would it work? Who knew?

Finally Gobo called out, "All right, let's not overwork it on the first day. Great practice, everyone!"

While everyone skated off the rink and went to an adjacent cave to put away their gear, Gobo walked over to Red. "What'ja think?" He held out his hand.

She took it, and he helped her stand up. Not that she needed help, but she wouldn't refuse it either. "There's hope."

"That's good. Y'know, Red, the team isn't the same without you."

She sighed. "I know, I know. But I'll be back next year!"

"Yeah. 'Til then-" He laid a hand on her very round belly and said softly, "Mama's taking good care of you."

She rolled her eyes, then said, "Kick him for me, would you, kid?"

Gobo chucked. "C'mon, let's go for a swim."

"Now you're talking! Race you to the Fraggle Pond!"

"Okay," he said, and took her hand.

Fraggle Rock and all characters are copyright © The Jim Henson Company. All copyrighted properties are used without permission but with much respect and affection. The overall story is copyright © Kim McFarland (negaduck9 at aol dot com). Permission is given by the author to copy it for personal use only.