A/N Okay, I just want to say I'm am very sorry I haven't been here lately. You see about August my grandpa went into a hospital two hours away from us, so all of our spare time went into driving up there to take care of him. October 27 he finally passed away. I'm still dealing with it (I've never had someone this close to me go) but I'm trying to keep busy, so I've polished this chapter up for you guys to see.

I'm not trying to make anyone feel sorry for me or anything like that, but I feel bad for having left this so long without an update and I feel the need to tell everyone why I was gone. I hope everyone will overlook it and enjoy this chapter, it's not wonderful but I still worked hard on it.

I have finals coming up next week, so chapter three, though partly written already, may not be put up until after those are all over.

Before I forget, Carl, Luby, and Velma are not mine (nor are any of the other characters) but I have taken certain liberties concerning their personalities (though whether it is evident remains to be seen).

Enjoy chapter two, everybody!

x x x

It was perhaps two hours later that Hammy finally came to the last place he thought he'd find more animals. He had been very careful to invite everyone that he came across. Unfortunately there weren't many actual animals invited, as he met quite a few butterflies and bumblebees along the way. Now though, at last he had encountered a little group that reminded him of his own family, but much smaller since there were only three of them. He circled them once or twice, deciding how best to say hello as they stared at him questioningly. The biggest was a young she-raccoon. There was also a turtle and a rather unpleasant looking mole. They sat silently until he stopped and waved.

"I'm the invitation!" he said proudly, puffing his chest out so they could read the note. The raccoon smiled a little as she bent towards him to read it aloud to the others.

"Greetings ladies and gentlemen (but mostly ladies).

Bored with watching television? Want to spice up your summer while you've still got the chance? Then head north to this summer's biggest party, located in scenic Nate's backyard, complete with pool and grill!

(Skirts are optional)

She raised an eyebrow, giving her companions a 'you've-got-to-be-kidding' sort of look. The turtle, who had been putting away their few belongings (much to the irritation of the mole), grinned at them.

"Sounds like fun." she said, surveying the area to see that nothing had been missed. "We hardly ever see anyone else, we should go!"

"But they're going into the yards...with so many animals that's dangerous, Velma." the she-raccoon said, patting Hammy absently on top of the head.

"Come on, live a little!"

"They didn't say where-"

"I can show you the way!" Hammy piped up, thinking it was a good place to butt in. The raccoon looked him over skeptically. "I was going home now anyway, so I can take you with me!" she still didn't say anything. "My name is Hammy!" he added, as if that would give him some sort of credibility. The turtle, Velma, was grinning.

"Aw, Lu...he's so cute. How can you say no to that?" she gestured to the squirrel who, with no actual intention, had taken on a much cuter appearance. He had realized in the last few seconds that there was a certain amount of fluffiness to his tail and was hugging it happily to himself. After a moment he noticed them again.

"Hi, I'm Hammy!"

"Hey, Hammy." the she-raccoon smiled at him, offering him her hand. She had decided that she really like the little squirrel, and Velma was right: he was adorable. He beamed and shook her hand warmly.

"Nice to meet you, Lu!"

"It's Luby, actually."

"What is?" he asked, confused.

"My name: it's Luby."

"Oh. Luby! And you're Velma, right?" he asked, as she came to Luby's side and patted Hammy's head.

"Yep, that's me! And that's..." she turned around to indicate the mole, who had begun pushing around some dirt and muttering darkly. "That's Carl. He's a little funny in the head, but he's harmless."

"Wow, I've made so many new friends today, you wouldn't believe it! I hope they all come to the party!"

"Oh, the party..."

"Lu, please?" Velma pleaded. Hammy scampered up the back of her shell and peered over her shoulder, pouting hopefully. Eyeing the pair of them, Luby sighed and smiled in defeat.

"How can I say no to faces like that?"

x x x

Night had fallen. The Tiki torches were lit, the grill was fired up, everything was going great. At least, it would be if they could get rid of the butterflies and bumblebees.

Verne was having a particularly hard time of it. He didn't mind them being there, but was scared out of his shell that one would get squished. He rather liked the little guys, so he did his best to shoo them away gently. RJ, on the other hand, just picked them up and tossed them towards the hedge. Either way, by the time Hammy returned both of them were fed up with protecting them. Leaving a few to flutter around ("to add color" RJ reasoned) they met him at the edge of the yard, just after Luby and Velma had slipped away.

"Good job, Hammy." Verne said, scratching the little squirrel's ears. Still immensely proud of himself, Hammy wriggled happily.

"Well, I see you managed to hold on to this for me." RJ said, pulling the invitation off his chest. He squeaked a little as the tape parted ways with his fur, but didn't pay much attention to it as the open back door of the house caught his attention.

"Verne, VERNE!" he pleaded, bouncing and pointing at the animals playing a video game inside the house. "Can I go play!? Please, please, please??"

"Alright, but don't let them give you any soda!" Verne barely had time to call after him as he disappeared inside.

"See? I told you he'd be alright." said RJ, clapping Verne on the shoulder.

"Okay, you were right. By the way, did you see where they went?"

"Who?"

"Those two that came in with him. I didn't get a good look at them." Verne scanned the animals scattered about the yard, shrugging. "Oh well."

"Poor Verne, can't greet every one of them. Martha would be proud of your effort, though..." Verne scowled and RJ grinned cheekily as he gave the turtle a shove. ""Now, let's go join the party!"

x x x

Luby was alone somehow, despite having tried to keep track of Velma. She enjoyed being around so many people, but the thought of being on her own among them made her nervous. So rather than wander about on her own, she had elected to sit at the edge of the pool, watching as her fellow party-goers floated by.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Luby turned, startled. A male raccoon was next to her, stirring his drink idly as he cocked his head at her.

"I'm sorry?"

"Your boyfriend." he said, as if it were obvious. He gestured at her with a smile. "Beautiful girl like you wouldn't be at a party by herself."

Oh, he's hitting on me. She shrugged and looked away from him. "I am. Not beautiful, alone I mean."

"'Not beautiful'. And what makes you say that?" he asked. Luby scowled a little, not wanting to get into one of those kinds of discussions.

"Please don't."

"Don't what?" he asked innocently. Luby gave him a knowing look.

"Don't bother about me. I'm perfectly content to sit here and...and watch those dead bugs get sucked into the filter."

"Oh, I see. Then I don't suppose you'd mind if I watched them with you?" he grinned as he settled beside her. She didn't pay any attention to him, so he quieted and they sat in silence for several minutes. A stereo was playing from behind them and he nodded his head a little along with the beat, intending to just sit for as long as it took. It wasn't long before he began to fidget, though. He hadn't thought it would take this long for her to respond. Deciding to try again, he introduced himself.

"By the way, I'm RJ." he said, smiling at her. She returned the gesture faintly.

"RJ, huh? That's original. What's it stand for?"

"You really want to know?" he asked.

"Probably not, but I'm curious. What does RJ stand for?"

"Really Juicy." RJ said it with as much solemnity as he could muster. For a second Luby stared at him, actually wondering whether or not he was kidding with her before she broke out into a giggle. RJ took this to be a good sign and nudged her with his elbow. "Good, be friendly! Wasn't so hard, was it?"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be unfriendly."

"I know."

"Good, I'm glad you know."

"Well I'm glad that you're finally talking to me instead of just telling me to go away." Luby smiled at him. Not the small grin she had given him before, but a real smile. One that actually looked as good as she felt.

"So we're both happy. Good."

"No." he waggled a finger at her and her face fell a little. "I'm not happy yet. Not until I do a little dancing to..." he paused to listen and scrunched up his nose a little when he heard what was playing. "Tom Jones? Right, I'm going to dance to Tom Jones...and I need somebody to dance with."

"Oh."

"Yeah 'oh'! Come on!"he leaped up, pulling her after him as he bounded away into the yard, ready for a full night of dancing and partying.

x x x

I think I was on something of a comic-induced fit of happiness when I wrote this chapter, so there are a lot of references to the comic strip. Just in case anyone is interested, I thought I'd mention them down here. Oh, and if anyone would like to see a particular one, tell me and leave your email and I can send it to you.

Velma and Luby

Carl

RJ and Verne saving the butterflies

Luaus at Nate and Norene's

Verne is a Martha Stewart fan

Verne sings Tom Jones (after too many drinks at a luau)

RJ and Luby