Joy frowned as she stepped back from the control panel to let Anger take over. She thought today was going good for Riley, and that she was doing something right. But it turned out to be something wrong, and now Riley's father was lecturing her about it. Joy hadn't meant for this to happen, she didn't know what she had made Riley do was wrong. It had made her happy and that's what mattered to her. But now, looking up at the screen and seeing the disappointment in her father's eyes, she didn't feel any pride at all. She watched as Anger and Sadness took over Riley as she argued with her dad, before he gave the final word and Riley left in tears. Joy felt sudden guilt overcome her, and felt like she needed to be alone for awhile. Her hands grabbed onto her arms, and she sulked away. Hopefully unnoticed by the others. However, as she made her get away, Anger had stepped back from the control panel and had turned in time to catch her walking off. He frowned a bit, where was she going? He looked at the others. Sadness was busy controlling Riley at the moment, while Fear and Disgust looked on with sad faces. He decided things were under control for now, and decided to go check up on Joy. He assumed this had to do with why Riley was in trouble.

Meanwhile in a secluded corner of Headquarters, Joy came to a stop and slumped down onto the ground. She sat there and hugged her knees. She looked out the window in front of her, over all the lands and long term memories. She remembered when the long term memories used to shine a bright gold. But these days, the gold was seeming to die out. Replaced with various dull blues, purples, greens and reds. Why couldn't she take care of Riley like she used to? She knew it was because of this move. So much had changed for Riley, and so has it for the emotions. Change, it was the one thing Joy feared the most. It just made things harder for her. Harder for Riley… Joy felt tears welling up in her eyes, and with no one around, she let them out. She rarely cried, since she was usually the most cheerful and positive one of the bunch. But sometimes, even the happiest can't hold back the tears. She laid her head on her knees as she continued to cry in her silence.

Anger had followed the way Joy had gone, and saw her slouched in one of their study corners. He was about to call out her name to get her attention, when he heard something odd. Was that….sniffling? Usually if that happened, someone was crying. He thought Sadness had followed him, until he realized that it was Joy who was sniffling. The red emotion stopped in his tracks. Joy is…crying. He rubbed the back of his head, letting out a small puff. Guess what happened today really got to her. He felt like he should do something, but what good of comfort could he provide? But looking up again, and seeing her shoulders heave, he knew he had to do something. He walked slowly up to Joy, reaching a hand out to place gently on her back. Joy felt the hand and jumped a bit.

"Hey um…Joy. I.. uh….are you ok?"

Upon hearing the small voice, she felt a bit relieved. Doing her best to work up a smile, she looked up at Anger. Anger's eyes grew with concern upon seeing the poor emotion's face. Even though she was smiling, tears were dripping at the bottom of her face, and streaks were leading down from her eyes. Even with that weak smile, she just looked so…unhappy.

"Oh, Anger! Hi…uh yeah. All's good. Just emptying out the old tear ducts you know. Ha ha…"

Anger squinted at her a bit, and her smile slowly faded away. She let go of her legs, and criss crossed them.

"Ok…maybe everything isn't ok…"

Anger nodded and patted her back. Joy appreciated his comfort and looked out the window again.

"It's my fault…isn't it Anger?"

Anger looked at her with concern, hearing the hurt in her voice.

"Riley got in trouble because of me. A lot of her problems seem to be because of me lately, huh? It's not like I want them. I just thought they would make Riley happy. But they just get her in trouble or embarrass her. Maybe I should stop trying so hard…"

Joy said sadly, her head drooping down to look at the floor. Anger shook his head and walked around to face her.

"No, no no no. Joy, don't stop trying. Look, with this move and new city, some things are going to be hard for her and us. But it's our job to make sure we keep doing what we know and feel is best for her. Joy you're Riley's emotion of joy. She needs that the most in her life right now. Even if the outcomes aren't happy ones, at least she knows she can find some sort of happiness here, right?"

Joy looked up at Anger, he big blue eyes full of tears. She was touched at his words, and nodded slowly. Anger patted her shoulder, and stepped back a bit to walk away.

"Um, Anger…"

He looked back at her, turning around to look at her.

"Please…don't go yet."

He understood that she probably needed the company and nodded. He waddled back over to her and sat back down in front of her. He wanted to do more for her though, and observed the open space. He sat up and took a deep breath. he walked forward and wrapped his arms around her in an embrace. Joy gladly hugged him back, leaning against him. She felt tears again and tried not to get them on his shirt. Anger didn't care though, as he continued to comfortingly pat and rub her back. It seemed like it didn't take long for Joy to pass out in his arms. He was just glad she had stopped crying now. He decided to stay with her till she awoke. For now, he turned his head and rested the side of it against her chest to get a better look out the window.

Joy blinked her eyes a bit, realizing she had accidentally fallen asleep. But she also felt a warmth around her. Looking down, she saw Anger was still there, laying comfortingly against her. She appreciated he had stayed with her all this time. She nudged him a bit to let him know she was awake. Upon feeling her move, Anger looked up at her. Her eyes still looked heavy after all the tears she had spilt.

"Thank you…"

She whispered, feeling a couple more tears enter her eyes. Anger shook his head and placed his hands on the sides of her face.

"You're welcome, and hey…no more tears now, alright?"

He said to her, wiping the tears away with his thumbs. She nodded slowly, and leaned her face against his hand a bit. Anger still hadn't seen her smile yet. Which was odd to him. He did his best, and worked up his best smile for her. Upon seeing his smile, Joy giggled a bit and ended up smiling at him. Anger felt accomplished and patted her face.

"There, that's the Joy I know."

Joy continued to smile at him. She couldn't begin to describe how thankful she was that he had come to comfort her. Anger actually had a small smile of his own. He was happy he was able to help out a bit. He didn't know how much of that he could provide, he wasn't very good at that… He thought for a moment to himself, and looked into Joy's eyes. Quickly he stood up on his toes to reach her. His lips met hers in a quick kiss before he pulled away and patted her face.

"Alright, yep. Come on now missy, lets get you back to work, aight?"

He stammered a bit, removing his hands from her face and taking her hands in his to help lift her up. Joy blinked a bit, she was in a bit of a daze as she stood back up on her feet. She touched her lips and felt her cheeks grow a bit hot with some blush. Anger looked away from her, feeling the heat rise from his face. Joy grinned at him and nodded her head.

"Alright….I'm ready."

Anger glanced at her, seeing the happy, smiling face he knew and loved. He nodded at her and began walking back towards the room with the others. Joy watched him walk in front of her for a few seconds before following after.

Yes, today she was going to try harder. For Riley, she wasn't going to be brought down any time soon…