sorry for being gone so long, i was busy this week. if you see any errors, i apologize. also, you are welcome to review. kthnxbai.
Sharla walked into Gideon's hospital room, which startled Gideon, and dropped the clothes on the bed. "Thank you darlin', now if you don't mind goin' out?" he chuckled.
She just sat in the chair by the bed, and looked straight ahead, like she was in a trance. He waved his paw in front of her face a few times, to see if she was alright.
She didn't even blink. Just had the saddest lookin' face ever. "uh, Sharla? Hello? Howdy?" he waved again. Not surprising anybody, she still was unresponsive.
I really will change here if I need to. He felt very nervous as he got out of bed, locked the door, and stood in a far corner in case she snapped outta her trance and saw him.
He slipped his underwear and undershirt on underneath under the gown, then took it off. He was sweatin' bullets now, as he slipped the pants and shirt on. Whew!
He walked over and laid a paw on her shoulder. She mumbled "You should get dressed." now Gideon knew something was wrong. He crouched to get to her level.
"What's wrong?" he put his paw around her shoulder now, "C'mon darling, you kin' tell m-" She started to cry, tears silently falling into her lap.
I'm making her upset he thought to himself, as more tears fell. He didn't know what to do, as he was always the mourner. What would ah' want? A hug?
"would you like a hug?" Gideon whispered. She nodded slowly, and held out her arms. "D'ya want to tell me what's wrong?" She was weeping now.
"M-my Nana was brought here this m-m-mornin' n' sh- she isn't… didn't..." she held his paw with both hooves. "Whenever yer' ready, Sharla." he murmured. He knew what was coming next.
Sharla calmed down a bit, but her voice was still a little shaky. "I didn't even tell my parents I was here, or about the accident. They we- were livid… a-and my Nana jus- just..." she teared up.
She stopped hugging Gideon, and walked over to a window that had it's blinds shut, and opened them. She stood there, holding the window sill, "Why do the best people have to die, Gideon?".
She turned around, seeing him standing there, the fox that had lost everybody. She had only lost one person, and she was blubberin' like a lamb. He's so much stronger than I am… she thought.
He had looked like he was remembering something, he shrugged, "When yer in a garden, which flowers do ya' pick?" he stepped slowly over to the window to join her.
What kind of question is that? "The beautiful ones. But what does that have to do with anything?" she crossed her arms, frowning at her answer. I shouldn't be rude, he hasn't done anything wrong!
His face brightened slightly at her answer, "Well, don't ya' think G-God would want to pick the beautiful ones, too?" he grinned and laughed shyly. Ah' really hope she doesn't hate me for this.
She looked confused by this, then she gradually looked like she understood. He misinterpreted her response
"S'just somthin' I thought up when ah' was out n' 'bout as a kit..." he twiddled his thumbs. She didn't like it, n' fer good reason, too. That was-
"It was… eyeopening. I needed that, thank you." she smiled warmly and laid a hoof on his arm. She kissed him on the cheek.
She walked past him to the door, he turned around to see where she was going, "I think I should go… my parents will get upset. Again. Bye Gideon." she left the room, leaving him alone.
He raised a paw to his cheek and felt it. "She didn't hate it… n' she kissed me fer' it… maybe ah' should write ma' stuff down now..." he left the room to go to the front desk to sign out.
He didn't even feel the pain from his broken ribs and arm. He knew he was smilin' like a fool, but he was a happy fool.
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Sharla had gone back to her parents, who were still working things out. The funeral was planned to be next week, as Gareth wouldn't be able to make it out to bunnyburrows until then.
She still felt numbed, both from losing her Nana and from forgetting to even tell her parents she was in an accident.
-before Sharla took Gideon's clothes to his room-
"What do you MEAN you forgot to tell us, Sharla?! Where was your head at?" her father exploded, cradling her face and scanning for any injuries. She shrugged,
"I just didn't think to, that's all daddy." she wasn't responding to their questions all to well. Such could be expected from somebody that just lost a loved one.
Her mother looked bothered by something, "But Sharla, if you were in the accident, why did you escape with as little as a few bruises?" Eveline put her hands on her hips.
Sharla was unresponsive for a while, then finally spoke up, "I was walking, when somebody pushed me out of the way. They didn't… didn't get hurt." she breathed.
Her father breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good. Did you thank them?" he placed a hoof on her shoulder and wiped his brow. "Yes, daddy." was all that they heard.
-back out of her reverie-
She didn't even know why she had lied about Gideon. He WAS hurt, but she said that so that her parents wouldn't bother her anymore.
Sharla felt sick, sick with herself. She was going to go home, but somebody called her name out. She looked where it came from, and saw Gideon. He was sitting on a bench near the doors.
She grinned at the sight of him, and went over to see what he wanted. "Why are you still here Gideon? I thought you'd go home by now." she asked as he stood up.
"Well, ah' was kinda thinkin' we'd still be on for a date?" he twiddled his thumbs, something Sharla noticed he did an awful lot of.
She sighed, "Gideon, Ah'd LOVE to go on a date, but I-Ah' haven't had a shower or-" "Me neither," "I need time to think about what happened today." "You can talk 'bout it on our date..."
His ears drooped, "Sorry, darlin', it's just that Ah'd never been on a-a date before, so ah' got all excited." "Oh, good. I've never been on a date either." she thought his shyness was cute.
He made a sound of confusion, "Wha'dya mean you've never been on a date before?" "How 'bout I give you a ride home and I'll tell you later. Unless your van is really here…?" she smirked.
"O-oh, yeah. It isn't. that's kinda why I've been sitting here. Heh." he grinned his big dopey grin. She giggled, "Come on, let's go Giddy." "Giddy?" "Yeah. Come on!"
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Sharla spent most of the day cleaning the house up for the funeral. By the time they had finished, it was almost time for her date with Gideon. She went up to the guest room she was staying in.
She decided to wear a dress, but nothing too fancy. She never actually asked Gideon what he was going to wear, so better to be safe than sorry. She looked at the clock. Almost time for supper.
Her mother called up the stairs for her, "Sharla, somebody's at the door, could you get it? I still need to get something together for dinner!" "Yes mama!" shoot! that's 'prolly him!
She ran down the stairs and opened the door, revealing Gideon. She took a second to see what he was wearing. He was holding a small bouquet of flowers, which he held out to her.
He had combed his hair neatly, he evidently used some kind of gel to hold it in place, as it looked a lil' unnatural. He was wearing a button-up shirt with an argyle sweater vest on over it.
He also had a cute little bow-tie on that was a little crooked. "Sharla, who is it?" her mother exclaimed from the kitchen. She grabbed Gideon's paw and went out the door,
"Just an old friend of mine, mama! We're going to be goin' out for dinner, so don't worry!" she shouted back into the house. Sharla dragged him to the van, and they got in.
"Why'd ya-" Gideon started, but she cut him off quickly, "Stop. My mother doesn't need to know I'm goin' on a date. She would never leave me alone. And I'm driving." she snapped quickly.
"Wha- why? Ah' drove here! I can drive us there!" he was buckling up in the passenger seat anyways. "Because ya' broke your arm, and I want to get out of here, fast."
She turned the ignition, and adjusted the mirrors. As they were driving off, she saw her mother in the mirror, watching them drive off.
Oh no. she growled. Oh well.
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"So, where're we dining tonight, Mr. Grey?" Sharla asked after a little while. "someplace ah' could afford, while also being able to eat a decent meal." they chuckled at this.
"is it someplace that ah've been to before?" "Yep!" "Any hints?" "Nope." "Please?" "No, darlin'." "Well, how am I supposed to know where to go?" she grumbled, squeezing the steering wheel.
Gideon did what was the equivalent of crossing his arms, and pretended to pout like a kit, "Maybe you shoulda thought of that before ya' started drivin'." "Grow up." she laughed.
He sighed when they made it to the village, and pointed to the left. "Turn here, then take a right." "Thank you." she replied.
She took his directions, and turned into Aunt Mary's diner. She gasped with delight as she parked. She looked over at Gideon, who had a little smile. "The last time ah' was here, ah' was 9..."
"Ah' know. That was the last time ah' saw you, before yer' family moved." he said, looking a little sad. "Yeah… ah' loved the milkshakes. Ah' always went there for them!".
They got out of the van, and went into the diner. Sharla shut her cellphone off, just in case a nosy mother tried to bother them. The place looked pretty much the same, except dustier.
They were directed to a booth to sit at, and waited to be waited upon. "Soooo..." Sharla breathed out, "what do you think we should do on our first date?" she looked at him.
He looked nervous. He had both paws drumming on the table, and was looking out the window. "Gideon, what's the matter? what's wrong?" she asked softly.
"N-nuthin'. Ah' just… just wanted ya' to enjoy yerself', but ah' guess that's not happenin'..." "Give yourself a break, this is your first date!" she exclaimed, before lookin' away from him.
"And mine..." she mumbled. "How could this be yer' first date?" he cocked his head, "Yer', uh, pretty." he grinned. She just scoffed, and looked at him quizzically.
"I was never interested in dating in the first place, because ah' was always studyin' 'nd all that. And not a lot of boys..." she trailed off, looking out the window.
He cleared his throat, "Well, ah' kinda know how that feels. Not a lot of gals wanted to be with me, n' they didn't even know about me as a kit." he shrugged, and started fiddlin' with a napkin.
The waitress came by, and dropped off their drinks, "Here you two go, we're going to be taking a little while with your meals, it's such a busy night!" she informed them. She was very…
Peppy. She got a lemongrass shake, and he got a root beer. Sharla started drinking, finishing half of it before Gideon even touched his. That amused him slightly, "Whoa, slow down, darlin'! You wouldn't want to fill up before yer' gets here." he smirked. She glared at him, "What are you, my mother?" she pushed the glass away from herself, crossed her arms and placed them on the table.
He raised his shoulders, "Suit yerself, ah' didn't know." "Well now you do." they laughed, and then just sat and chatted, waiting for their food to arrive.
After a little while, they had gotten their food. She had gotten a rather impressive salad, and he got a Shepard's fish pie. They said grace, and started on their meal.
They said nothing for a bit, then Gideon spoke up, "Ya'know, how the other guys never really wanted to be with ya'?" she stopped eating to listen to what he had to say.
"they… they didn't know what they're missin' out on. I'm glad you wanted me to be your…" he stopped, then looked her in the eyes. "Are we actually going to try this?" he asked nervously.
She chuckled awkwardly, "Wha'dya mean, Gideon?" "ah' mean, are we… you know… an' item?" he locked his fingers together, looking at her intently. Sharla was confused.
She was under the impression that by dating, they were automatically in a relationship. But then again, she didn't have any experience with dating.
"Y'mean like boyfriend and girlfriend?" she asked to see if that's what he meant. He nodded his head. "I-I guess so." what was with those kisses, then? What did those mean to him?
"But, you know what that means, right?" he asked in a semi-serious tone. He continued, "do you know why people date?" "Be...cause? They love each other?"
"Yeah… but dating is courtin'," "i know," "When yer' done with courtin', the mammals get married," "Yes?" "And eventually… have lambs, or kits, or foals-" "Get to the point, Gideon."
Where is he going with this? He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "Then, that means yer' serious? About wanting to date me?" he asked quietly.
"Yes! Why else would'ja think ah' was dating you?" she asked, looking into his eyes. She stared, before she gasped. "You really think that's why I went out with you?" she felt hurt.
He looked a little saddened by her answer, "Well, I had no other way of finding out, so I-" he started, but Sharla talked over him, "Gideon, I'm dating you because I want to, not because you saved my life!" "Why would you want to?" he asked, confused by her statement. "Why wouldn't ah' want to?" she sat back in her seat, and waited for his answer.
He stammered a bit before he spoke, "Well, ah'm not rich, smart, handsome or very… ah' dunno, a good choice for you..." he listed off on his fingers, and slumped back in his seat.
She groaned. She held up her hoof to list off, too. "You are a successful business owner. You were smart enough to realize, as a kit, what you were doing was wrong, so you changed yourself instead of having somebody else change you. I-" she stopped, blushing hard, "I happen to think you're handsome. And don't even TRY to say you're fat, because ya'know what? I wouldn't mind.
But I don't see you as much fat as you are muscle. you're in between. Chubby enough for me to love more of you, and muscle enough to work. And you are a HARD worker, I've noticed.
You're burly, by the way. couldn't think of the word at the time. And yes, I think you'd be a good choice. You are the strongest mammal I've met, and a FOX! You put up with whatever others have put you through, and without your family! You're wrong when you say you don't deserve me. I don't deserve YOU!" she started breathing heavily, because she could only talk so long.
Gideon tried to say something, but she held up a hoof, and took a drink. "And another thing, I think you'd be a great father! You already showed me that you'd do anything to protect those you care about. You-you would probably be an amazing p-parent…" she took a breath, tears coming to her eyes, "And if nobody can see that, then too bad for them!" she said through tears.
They sat there, Sharla sniffing, and Gideon in amazement. He opened his mouth to speak, but waited to see if she would cut him off before he got to say anything.
"Well, I was pretty much convinced by the time you finished correcting all of my… qualities. But then you mentioned… me bein' a father? Where did that come from?" he chuckled.
"I-I may have come across a book in your room, when I was looking for something for you to wear..." she mumbled, wiping her tears on a napkin he handed her.
"D-do you really think Ah'd be a good pa?" he asked enthusiastically. "Yeah. You'd be a better parent than me. I don't really do well with them." "Now ah' think that's true a'tall."
"Trust me. I don't do well with them." she rolled her eyes and shook her head. He chuckled, then started laughing. "What's so funny?" Sharla looked annoyed.
Gideon struggled to stop laughing, "y'know what they say, children are like farts, you can only stand yer own!" he started laughin' again. Sharla moaned, "That's disgusting!"
"But true!" he laughed harder at this. Sharla started shushing him, "We might get kicked out if you don't quiet down!" he calmed down, wiping his tears away, "Sorry darlin'. Wanna hear another?"
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After hearing some more of Gideon's jokes, they left the diner, laughing together. When they had made it to her house, he stopped her before she left.
"would you… mind getting-" he started. She laughed, "let's take it slow. Verrrry slow. I love you, Giddy, but we can't just marry within 3 days."
"But if the time was right, would'ja say yes?" he still held her hoof. "Maybe." "Do you want a kiss? I have to work full-time for the next few days, so this is your last chance until whenever."
she placed a digit on her chin, "Hmm, aw, what the heck?" she laughed, but he placed his paws on the sides of her head, and kissed her tenderly between the eyes.
They had a hug, then she got out. "an' Sharla? How would you say that date was?" he called from the van. She turned around, and gave a thumbs up.
"The best I've ever had!" "Me too!"
