Christina woke up to sunlight the next day. As she sat up she thought about the night before. Shaggy had tried and succeeded in making her feel better. When she'd gone back to bed she'd had a nice calm dream. Christina had dreamed about a green valley covered in flowers with a clear blue river running through it. Slowly Christina got out of bed and got ready for the day. When she opened the door ten minutes later she wore a purple and green dress and black ankle boots.
She arrived in the dining room to find Shaggy and Scooby waiting for her.
"Good morning Christina" they both greeted her as she sat down.
"Good morning" Christina replied with a smile.
"Did you sleep okay last night?"
"Yes"
"that's good" Shaggy replied.
"So what would you like to do today Shaggy?" Christina asked as she ate her breakfast.
"What do you want to do Christina?" Shaggy replied.
Honestly Christina would've loved to go for a flight but that option was off the table. So instead she said:
"I would like to paint I haven't been able to paint in a long time"
"We can do that. Come with me" Shaggy said pulling Christina away from the table.
Shaggy led her down the hall then upstairs. He opened the door to one of the many, many rooms to reveal a long forgotten art studio. When the castle had been built Shaggy had tried to include as many different forms of entertainment as he could so Googie would never want or need to leave. Since she'd left him anyway this room along with many others were unused. Shaggy was secretly very happy to let Christina use the room. Maybe it would help her forget about her awful nightmares.
"Can I watch?" Shaggy asked as Christina set out her supplies and tied on an apron.
"Sure" Christina replied cheerfully as she sat down on a stool and got to work.
"How long have you been painting for?" Shaggy asked.
"Almost as long as I've played piano" Christina replied with a small shrug.
The two fell into a comfortable silence. Shaggy watched with interest as Christina painted. Christina was painting the same place from her dream with a few minor tweaks such as it being sunrise. After an hour had gone by Christina put down the paint brush happy with her work.
"You're really good Christina" Shaggy commented.
"Thanks"
"What would you like to do now?" Shaggy asked as Christina stood up.
"I don't know. Why don't you pick?" Christina suggested.
"Let's go to the library"
"okay"
...
Meanwhile Molly was pacing through the living room of her apartment while Danny watched.
"It would help if you put down that Twinkie and help me think" Molly snapped at Danny.
"Sorry" Danny said through a mouth full of food.
"We need a plan to save Christina" Molly sighed falling onto the couch beside Danny.
"What do you have in mind?" Danny asked.
"We could storm the castle and get Christina out of there"
"And how do you know we'll be able to find her before we get caught?"
"We could try to knock Shaggy out cold"
"Do you really want to do this?"
"She's my best friend and I need to save her!'
"You're right I'm sorry" Danny apologized.
"I know you are"
...
Back in the castle Christina was reading to Shaggy and Scooby.
"Remember you mustn't talk to strangers" Christina read aloud.
"Can we see the picture?" Scooby asked.
"Sure" Christina replied turning the book around to show the picture of Little Red Riding Hood and her mother.
"But of course she talks to strangers" Scooby said as he looked at the picture.
"Well of course she does if she didn't there wouldn't be a story" Christina laughed.
"You've got a point" Scooby agreed.
"Keep going" Shaggy urged.
"Okay"
"It's like you haven't heard the story before" Scooby said.
Scooby knew what was happening. Shaggy just loved to hear Christina tell the story it didn't matter what story. Shaggy was falling in love but he wouldn't admit it. Scooby saw right through him though. He wanted to make Christina feel better. He wanted to make her happy and Scooby was all for it. For the first time in years Shaggy was happy.
...
Note. Please excuse any mistakes. I'm writing on my very old iPad and it's not the best at catching mistakes. I've tried to correct mistakes but I might of missed a few. I apologize please review.