Falling Deep: Whatever it Takes

Authors Note: o.o I stayed up until 1am because I was having to much fun writing to realize what time it was; but I just love this chapter so I don't regret it!

Juniper stood beside Once-ler as his mother sent in another parade of people wearing different suits and outfits; from causal to business and everything in-between, his wardrobe was about to get much, much larger. "You have to dress for success, Oncie, if you plan on being taken seriously." she was telling him now, walking up to a model and fixing his dark green tie, "I really like this one myself, it screams money, don't you think?"

Juniper snorted derisively, however once his mother had forced him to try the suit on she did have to admit that he looked really good in it. It clashed wonderfully with his eyes and hair and make him look suave and intense with sprinklings of dangerous; but she kept the compliments to herself so that his mother wouldn't hear her agree. "What do you think, Juniper?"

She bit her lip and glanced over at his smirking mother before sighing, "You do look really good, Once." she said lightly, walking up to him and smoothing the dark green pinstriped jacked over his chest and tilting to observe the wrinkles, "You should probably use a different fabric, though, this is already wrinkling."

At those words his mother pushed her out of the way and inspected the cloth before tutting and Juniper rolled her eyes and held her arms behind her back to keep from hitting the woman. The models seemed to understand and were sending her encouraging looks which she smiled in thanks for, it was always nice when a large group of attractive men agreed with her. "Stop flirting with the models." she heard his mother snap.

"I'm not flirting, hag." Juniper told her, smirking as the woman glared darkly at her and ignoring Once-ler's warning look; it was turning into part of her daily routine to call the woman at least three names a day, however her favorite by far was hag. It affected her greatly, her face would grow red and scrunch up like someone had shoved a rotten fish under her nose; much like she was doing now.

After another thirty minutes Once-ler had managed to increase the size of his wardrobe enough that she wasn't surprised when half of the suits failed to even fit in his closet, "I don't understand why you need that many of the same suit." Juniper shook her head and picked up one of the jackets, studying it closely, "I'm not seeing any difference between them."

The jacket was jerked out of her hands and once again laid on the mattress, "That's because you obviously don't have the sense of a worm when it comes to fashion." Isabella told her in a matter-of-fact tone that had her scowling at the woman, "For your information there's corduroy, cotton, silk, viro, and, well I won't waste my breath telling you the rest since you wouldn't be able to understand anyway." the older woman leveled a pitying look and shook her head, "For different seasons? This is something you should already know as a woman, has your mother taught you nothing?"

Juniper snorted, "She taught me how to fight, that's something." she answered, flipping her hair over her shoulder and walking away from the old bag before she could shoot another barb at her and gave Once-ler a narrowed eye look, warning him that if his mother continued talking about her's all previous agreements would be null.

"Don't talk about Juniper's mother that way, Mom, you don't even know the woman." Once-ler sighed, picking up one of the jackets himself and feeling the fabric before shrugging and putting it back, "And I think I'm going to agree with Juniper, there's no way that I'll even be able to wear half of these." Juniper nodded from the kitchen as she poured two glasses of tea from the fridge and brought it over to hand to him.

Isabella held her hand out for the second glass and Juniper chugged it before giving the woman a nice satisfied smile, wiping the liquid from her lips with the back of her hand, "Now that was refreshing."

"You're atrocious."

"And you're hideous."

Once-ler yelped and pulled Juniper away just as the woman's hand sailed through the air, missing the younger girls face by only a breath, "What are you doing?" he asked her, his eyes wide with shock, "You can't hit her!"

"Sure she can, she just won't like my reaction." Juniper growled, jerking herself out of Once-ler's hold and jabbing a finger into Isabella's face, "Mark my words now, bitch, if you ever do manage to hit me I will beat you so bad a team of medical experts will have to send out your dental records for identification!"

She was pulled back again, but this time it was from a severely shocked woman and she mentally gloated her victory until she spotted Once-ler's shocked face as well. Realizing that she might have gone a little over board she sniffed and looked at Isabella, "I'm sorry, I just get a little offended when people try to hurt me. I wouldn't actually beat you that badly, just enough to let you know not to do it again."

Loud laughter followed after her words and the three looked around, not seeing where it was coming from, "Who was that?" Isabella demanded and they heard the sound of feet beating against the grass, however before they could see who it was they disappeared. She huffed, "Probably more of those strange animals infesting this forest, you should do something about that, Oncie."

"I'm not chasing the animals out of the forest, mom, they were here first." Once-ler sighed, dragging a hand through is hair, "You know, most people would find them adorable; I mean, they sing and dance! How many other animals can do that?"

"I like them." Juniper agreed, "Pipsqueak's my favorite, though, so cute!" Once-ler grinned down at her and nodded his agreement.

Isabella sighed and Juniper looked over to see her shaking her head sadly at them, "They have fleas, ticks, and lord knows what other vermin are crawling about on them. Do you think that's cute, too?" Juniper curled her lip, unable to argue with that and his mother smirked, "Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not there. That is the difference between you and I, Jennifer-"

Once-ler sighed, "Juniper, mother."

She waved him away, "I can see the big picture, and you can only see your tiny little world." her smirk deepened and she tapped Juniper's nose bravely before patting Once-ler's arm, "I've got to go now, dear, but do try to come by for a visit? I'm afraid I just can't stand that violent woman."

"You tried to hit me, first, hag." Juniper muttered as she walked out the door before it shut and she stamped her foot, "I hate her! I hate her!" she stormed over to the counter and slammed her glass down, "How can you stand her? How can you look into that vicious face and not see how horrible she is?"

"Well you're not exactly on the top of her favorites list, either." Once-ler stated, shaking his head and coming to sit at the table, "And you said that you wouldn't attack her, remember? I thought she was going to die from fear alone when you threatened her like that."

She turned around to shoot him an incredulous look, unable to believe he'd just insinuated that she'd attacked his mother, "You did not just say that." he blinked at her innocently, "Seriously, did you just say that?"

He shook his head rapidly, "No, I said you were beautiful."

"You actually just said that! The woman tried to hit me, you had to jerk me out of the way or else she would have; how could you even..." she shook her head at him, her eyes wide with shock and turned back to the counter, snatching up her glass and taking it to the fridge to refill.

Once-ler was up and shaking his head, "No, I didn't mean it like that. Juni, she's older than you, you could really hurt her." she glared at him and shoved the tea back into the fridge before slamming the door closed, "Really, she wouldn't even know how to start to defend herself."

"Well I'm sure her wonderful Oncie wouldn't mind stepping up for her." Juniper snapped before storming out of the tent and into the forest. She didn't have a destination, however if she didn't get out of the tent she wasn't sure she wouldn't be able to hold back. The very nerve of the man, he acted like she'd started it! The woman had spent the entire morning after her, from insults to 'accidents' her pride and body had been hurt so many times that she wasn't sure she could even stomach being around any of them.

She passed the Lorax as he tried to play a game of scrabble with a swomee, he gave her a greeting but she didn't really hear it before she left him behind. She didn't stop walking until she came up to a large waterfall and flopped down beside it, throwing her glass into the raging water as viciously as she could before giving a great sniff. "Prick."

Once-ler stood by the table too dumbfounded that Juniper would even insinuate that he would ever even think to try hitting her even for his own mother to realize that she'd stormed out of the tent until several moments after she was already gone. "Juniper!" He shouted, jerking the door open to run out and look around the campsite, "Juniper!" he yelled as panic engulfed him.

Where did she go? Where could she go? His stomach churned and he stared at the forest, his heart sinking If she ran into the forest the chances of him finding her were slim; could she find her way back? "Wha'd you do to her?" he turned to see Brett coming up with wide eyes with Chett shaking his head beside him.

Once-ler didn't know how to respond to that, opening his arms and shaking his head, "You didn't hit her did you?" Chett asked.

"Of course I didn't hit her!" Once-ler snapped, "How could I? Why does anyone even think that's possible for me to do?" he threw his hat on the ground and stomped on it in anger, glaring at the forest heatedly before turning to his brothers, "Where is she?"

Brett shrugged, "No clue." he answered, flinching back at Once-ler's glowering face and shaking his head, "Really, I don't know anything about the forest."

Turning his eyes over to Chett he received nearly the same answer and stomped his hat again, "Shit!" the twins gasped and Once-ler kicked his hat away before storming into the forest, "Don't tell mom about this or I will never forgive you!" he warned darkly and the twins nodded quickly. He didn't go very far in before the Lorax ran up to him and he arched an eyebrow, "Where'd she go, Mustache?"

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder and Once-ler followed it without pausing, his heavy steps breaking anything that dared be in his path. He didn't know if the Lorax followed or not, but if he was smart he didn't; if Juniper thought for a second that it was okay to just run out on him she was in for a surprise she would no time soon forget.

How could she think he'd ever try to hit her? Hadn't he already swore he'd never hurt her like that? Did she think the promise wouldn't apply when it came to his mother? He paused long enough to look around a bush before continuing on, tripping over a scrabble board and nearly hitting his head on a rock. "Why is that even here?" he snapped, picking it up and flinging it the way he'd come before standing back up.

The sound of the waterfall caught his attention and he found himself running to it when he finally spotted her sitting under a Truffula with her knees drawn up to her chest and her face tucked between her arms. "Juniper, damn it, do you know how worried I was?" He snapped, coming up to her and kneeling down before her to grab her shoulders and force her to look at him; however the sight of tears smeared across her face that she hurriedly tried to wipe away froze him.

She coughed and pushed him away, turning her head and using her sleeve to dry away the wet streaks, but there was nothing she could do about the red puffy eyes that continued to leak despite her several attempts to try to control them. He couldn't help but watch her from where he landed, his gloved hands uselessly scratching into the grass before he cursed and reached for her again.

When she slapped his hands away he frowned and reached for her again, "Juniper-"

"Shut up and go away!" She snapped, kicking out at him, "I don't' want you here, let me have some time to myself."

"Juni-"

"Go away!" She shouted again, moving to stand up so she could leave instead and he used the opportunity to grab her arm and jerk her to him. She fought, pushing and slapping at his arms but he held on, hugging her to him as tightly as he could; every shuddering gasp she took, each trembled release, he could feel against his own chest. "Leave me alone, Once-ler!"

"NO!" His voice echoed around the forest and sent birds flying from their perches, "I'm not letting you go." She kicked out again and he growled, "Stop fighting me damn it!" she scratched his hands and he was thankful for the thick green gloves that protected his skin. He managed to grab her wrists and pressed them into her stomach, rocking her slightly in effort to calm her, "It's okay."

"No it's not, you mother's horrible and there's nothing I can do about it." Her voice croaked out, sounding harsh and painful and he flinched from the scratchy sound of it. She stopped trying to jerk out of his hold and he felt her tremble slightly, "She's mean and spiteful and you don't even stop her."

He flinched, rubbing his hands against her arms soothingly as she hiccupped against him; "You're right, I'll get her to stop." he promised, but she shook her head and sniffed again. "Yes I will, you'll wake up tomorrow and find a whole new Isabella or no Isabella at all, okay?" he murmured, pressing his face into her hair. She didn't bother to respond and he frowned, "You can believe me, Juniper, I'm not going to let you down."

When she gave a small nod he released a breath he hadn't even known he had held and gathered her across his lap to curl around her, waiting for her jagged breathing to calm as he smoothed her hair. The soft strands couldn't be felt, though, and he cursed the gloves he wore silently, unable to take the long accessories from his arms without first letting go; and he wasn't letting go if his life depended on it. "You can't just run into the forest, Juniper, even if it is only full of cuddly animals that would sooner serenade than scratch." he lectured, "You could get lost, or trip and hit your head on a rock. What if you'd fallen into the river?"

She shrugged and he sighed, leaning back against the tree and trying to compose his thoughts before shaking his head, "You can't scare me like that, it's not fair. You also can't just run away when we're arguing, I don't want you hiding out and crying by yourself; you don't have to do that when I'm right here."

She remained quiet, though, and he frowned but let it go; he would bring it up again after she'd had enough time to calm down. Instead, he got to his feet and carried her back to the tent, passing a worried looking Lorax and giving him a nod. The guardian nodded back with a relieved twitch of his yellow mustache and Once-ler continued on. He wasn't surprised to see his mother coming towards him when he came out of the forest, however he sent her a warning scowl and she froze mid step.

"We're talking later." He promised darkly and she gave a timid nod as he passed. When the door opened for him he looked at Brett who gave him a thumbs up and he nodded him a thank you before slipping in and closing the door with his heal.

He kicked his shoes off and walked to the bed, putting Juniper onto the mattress, unsurprised to see that she'd fallen asleep. Taking his gloves off he let them fall to his feet before shrugging out of his jacket and climbing into bed beside her. She reached for him instinctively and he slid closer, wrapping his arms around the sleeping girl and pressing his lips to the top of her head before finally letting the fear and worry fade enough to let him doze beside her.

When Juniper woke she found herself pressed tightly into Once-ler's chest and tiredly rubbed her burning eyes, confused why she wasn't on the couch where she'd taken to sleeping for the past week in effort to avoid any more morning torture from the hag. Then she remembered what happened and felt her face flood with heat from the humiliation of being caught crying so openly. It wouldn't have been so bad if she could have stopped the tears, but she hadn't been able to and had even sobbed in Once-ler's arms like an overgrown baby.

She unwrapped herself from around him and tried to get up, but his hold was tight around her waist and she had a mild flash back of her first time waking in his arms. Deciding he was a heavy enough sleeper to try, she made pull his arms from around her but was surprised when he grabbed her wrist and stopped her. "I'm awake." he informed her, bringing her arm back around him, "I'm just comfortable."

She blushed again, "I need to go to the bathroom." she excused herself, but he shook his head, "Really, Once-ler let go or you're going to have to throw you bed out."

"I already said I'm not letting go and I can afford a new bed." he told her and she frowned. "Why did you run?"

"Because you made me angry." She wiggled, trying to free herself from his hold unsuccessfully, "I'm not playing around with you, Once-ler, let me go to the bathroom! I don't want to pee all over myself even if you don't care if it gets all over you."

He shrugged carelessly, "You're probably right, I should consider you feelings, shouldn't I?" he asked and she nodded quickly against his chest. "But I'm not going to."

"Damn it, Once-ler!" She snapped, pinching his wrist hard enough that he yelped and she scrambled up and reached the edge of the bed before Once-ler wrapped himself around her again and dragged her back. Her bladder was pressed against painfully and she gasped, "What's wrong with you? Let me go to the bathroom!"

"I'm sure you'll get different answers from different people, but I'd like to think my problem is simply being misunderstood and disregarded." he muttered and she blinked, "Because it sure would be nice if my girlfriend didn't run away from me into a forest she's never been into; leaving me behind with nothing but fear and worry to guide me to her."

"Yes, fine, I won't do it again-"

"It'd also be nice if she'd slept beside me again like she used to."

"Alright, let go!" She snapped and he released her. She nearly fell off the bed head first if he hadn't reached out and grabbed the back of her shirt and she quickly scrambled off the bed and ran for the bathroom, his loud laughter chasing her down ruthlessly. She paused at the bathroom door and glared at him, "This isn't over."

"Good, I've got more to say." he smirked at her and she scrunched her nose at his fearless behavior before going in to dance around as she unbuttoned her pants. When she finished she washed her hands and crept out of the bathroom quietly, only to give a strangled yelp when she was ambushed and Once-ler wrapped himself around her once more.

"Stop clinging on me." She demanded, turning in his arms and trying to push him off forcefully, he just laughed at her attempts, however, and she huffed in indignation, "Let go and grow up!"

"But I get whatever I want when I do this!" He blinked down at her before pausing and heaving a sigh, "Wait, is that only when you need to go to the bathroom?" she glared at him and he grinned, "Want something to drink?"

She released an unwilling laugh at that and gave up, wrapping her arms around his waist and held him until his arms finally let go of her and she got to clearly see his far to pleased grin spread widely over his face, "Well aren't you proud of yourself, you managed to use my body against me, congratulations." she clapped her hands sarcastically and he took a deep bow.

"I was serious though, just because you're angry with me doesn't mean you can do whatever you want, especially not run out on me." His eyes were locked on hers, stern and intense enough to make her shift her feet guiltily, "I didn't know where you went, if Mustache hadn't found you then you might have been out there for days wandering around in circles with me running around in circles trying to find you before you died."

She rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't have died."

"Can you put a guarantee on that?" He demanded, taking a step closer to her, "I also don't want you hiding out to cry by yourself, why would you even do that? If you're mad at me and don't want me to see you cry then that's fine, I'm sure Mustache will sit with you and listen to you cuss and insult me until you're blue in the face, but not ever by yourself."

She scowled at him but he continued to stare at her until she looked away stubbornly, she absolutely refused to agree to that. Her tears were her business and it was her decision alone on who she did or didn't want to share them with. Several moments passed and she could still feel him staring at her and she sighed, "I'm not agreeing to that."

He threw his hands up and stepped away from her so suddenly that she jumped and he looked at her with raw pain etched on his face, "Fine, then I just won't let you be alone even if I'm the one you're angry at." he conceded, staring at her and shaking his head, "And why would you even think I would try to fight you?"

She flinched again and shook her head, "I didn't-"

"You did, if you didn't you wouldn't have even thought to say it." He stared at her and she shook her head, not knowing what he wanted her to say, "I won't hurt you, not even if someone held a gun to my head I wouldn't hurt you. You could beat my mother with a bat and I wouldn't hurt you! That's why it's so important that you not hurt her, because there's nothing I can do to stop you if you suddenly snapped and went after her neck."

His serious eyes looked firmly into her own and she swallowed, "I won't hurt your mother." she promised, not knowing what else to say and he rolled his eyes, "Really, I'll leave if she tries to push me-"

"I don't want you to have to leave every time she's nasty to you." He sighed, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair, "I know why you hate her, I do. I know that she's making your life miserable every time she's around and I'm going to end that, I meant it when I said that in the forest. You shouldn't be run out of your home when someone else tries to chase you out of it and I'm not going to just sit back and let that happen."

She nodded, rubbing her hand on her arm before closing the distance between them and wrapping her arms around his neck. His arms slid around her waist and held her so gently that she was afraid she might actually melt from the warmth, and as she stood on her toes to press her lips against his a hot breath slid into her mouth and she shivered from the unexpected intimacy.

When he felt Juniper's lips press against his own he blinked, not expecting the gesture and unable to respond until she was already pulling away and he brought her back for a second kiss. He pressed her to him as he enjoyed the soft sweet taste, thrilled when her lips moved under his in response to his own. Every breath she gave he took selfishly and held her tighter against him, delighting in the small shivers that met his fingertips when his fingers sought the soft flesh of her lower back.

When his name whispered past her lips against his own he had to tear himself away, however he only managed to stumble into the cloth wall behind him, dragging her down with him. They tore though to the other side and Juniper recoiled from the sudden brightness as he tried to blink himself back into awareness. "Wow, what were you two doing in there?" a voice asked and he looked up to see his Uncle Ubb wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Once-ler groaned and rubbed his eyes, though he wasn't sure if it was because of his uncle, the light, or the fact that he'd just torn a large hole into the side of his tent. Juniper was already up and tugging at his wrist so he stood up as well and sent a warning look to his uncle before he could haze him to much in front of the fidgeting girl at his side, "Hi Uncle Ubb."

His uncle looked at both him and Juniper before chuckling, "Ah, to be young and in love with a pretty girl." he sighed, turning and wandering away peacefully to no doubt share his new-found gossip with his wife. Once-ler rolled his eyes and decided to just duck back into the tent before anyone else decided to stumble upon his perfectly timed screw up.

He let Juniper crawl back in first before following her and studying the hole from inside the tent, "Do you think he's going to tell anyone?" Juniper asked him and he looked at her, nodding his head to confirm that he would. "He's going to tell everyone?" he nodded and her face flooded such a bright red that he couldn't help but laugh, "Don't laugh!" he laughed harder at that and she stamped her foot, "Oh, you're unbelievable."

"Why thank you, you're pretty unbelievable yourself." she stared at him and he gave her an innocent grin before strolling over to the bedside table to retrieve a needle and thread when he finally heard her squeak something out. Turning to ask her what it was and seeing her doing some sort of spastic dancing pace thing in front of the hole he figured it would just be better to leave her be for the moment while she figured out what she wanted to do first.

Someone knocked at the door and Juniper froze in her tracks somewhere between a boot-scoot and a boogy, staring at it like she expected a monster to burst in and devour them both, "Who's there?!" she yelped, pointing at it and looking at him like he would know.

He rolled his eyes and gave her a sarcastic arch of his eyebrows and she blushed, "Sorry, I'm okay." she breathed as she walked to the door and opened it to see his mother frowning at her, "I'm not okay!" She snapped, slamming the door in the woman's face and scrambling for the bathroom; he made to catch her but she managed to jump over him and lock herself inside, "I'm not dealing with her, I'm not."

The front door opened and he watched his mother walk in, her eyes scanning the room and landing on him to give him a firm look, her hands coming to rest on her hips, "What are you two in here doing?"

He looked at her and wondered if she had lost her mind, "That's honestly none of your business." he said flatly, turning back to finish sewing up the hole as she came further into the tent.

"Where is she?"

"Locked away in the bathroom because she can't stand you." he frowned and finished the last stitch, pushing against the string to test out its hold before shaking his head, "Might have to get a patch for this." he mumbled to himself when a stitch tore out of place. He turned and knocked on the bathroom door, "Want to go to town with me in a bit, Juni?" he asked casually.

The door cracked open and he seen Juniper look around until she spotted his mother and her head went back in. For a moment he thought the door would close, but she continued to hold it open as she nodded, "Can we swing by the grocery, too? We're out of bread and I'd like to restock on the coffee, Fuzzy's taken a liking to it and I don't want to run out on accident."

He nodded and stood up, looking over to his mother and arching an eyebrow, "Is there something you needed or did you just want to start our little discussion early?" she glared at him and he shrugged before turning back to Juniper, "This might take a while, want something to read while you're in there?"

"I'll take a shower, would you get me some clothes?" He nodded and walked to the closet, pulling out a simple flower print sundress before walking to the dresser and snatching up her panties as well. Smirking he tucked them in his fist and walked back to the bathroom, holding the dress out to her that she took with a grateful smile before he dangled the panties out to her as well. "Once-ler!" she gasped, trying to snatch them away, however he drew his hand back and raised both of his eyebrows, "Give those to me, why do you have them?"

"Well if you don't want them I can keep them." he shrugged and stuffed them into his pinstriped slacks, walking away and ignoring her demands for him to give them back before he heard her huff and shut the door. Grinning he walked over to his table and sat, giving his mother a large smile, "She's the cutest thing, isn't she?"

"Have you completely lost your senses?" His mother asked him, looking like she honestly wanted to know.

He shrugged, "I might have, great, huh?" she shook her head at him and he pointed to the chair opposite of him, "Well let's get this over with, I'm in a good mood and would like to enjoy it for a little while longer, so keep quiet until I'm done talking."

"Once-ler you will no-"

"First, you absolutely may not ever touch Juniper in anger, if you slap her she'll hit you and I won't do anything to stop her." his mother blinked at him and he nodded, "I've already told her this as well, so you can bet that she won't hesitate to defend herself, and since I'm pretty sure she can do a fairly good job of it without any help I'd suggest you remember it."

"You told her she can hit me?"

"I told her there's nothing I can do to stop her." he corrected factually and his mother slowly slid into the chair across from him and he nodded his approval, "You also can't come in here without someone answering the door; if there's no answer then they're no entry." she opened her mouth but he continued, "Also, and most importantly, if you insult Juniper then one of us is going to kick you out. You can't antagonize her in her own home, I'm not going to let that happen anymore so you're going to knock it off."

'"You can't kick me out!" His mother snapped at him, slapping her palms against the dining table, "I'm your mother, Once-ler, don't you dare treat me with so little respect! Who do you think raised you?"

Once-ler shrugged, "I don't think of it as disrespecting you, I think of it as respecting Juniper." he looked at her and frowned, "Would dad have let someone come into your home and treat you the way you've treated Juniper?"

"That is an entirely different situation." His mother snapped heatedly, "I was his wife, the mother of his children-" she stopped and stared at him, "Oh you're not going to-"

"Not yet, but possibly someday and I don't want her to have any reason to think I wouldn't do for her exactly as dad did for you." he interrupted her firmly and she stared at him in astonishment before nodding her head slowly and he smiled, "Excellent, that went far smother than I thought it would! Now don't be offended, but I don't think Juniper's going to come out of the bathroom until you're gone and I really do need to get a patch before nightfall to keep insects from getting in and making a feast out of us in our sleep."

She nodded again and stood up, leaving the tent quietly and Once-ler grinned happily to himself, leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head, propping his foot up on the table and rocking his chair back on its hind legs in smug satisfaction. He was cool, he was calm, he was boss.

Juniper came out of the bathroom in her short sundress patting her hair dry and he lost his balance, crashing to the ground before rolling out of the chair and getting the best sight he'd ever seen. "So you don't wear panties after showering?"

His ears still rang and his face still stung, but as he handed her the pink heart print panties from his pocket he couldn't help but grin. He was king of his castle and the king had a good life indeed. "Whatever you're thinking, knock it off!" Juniper snapped at him and his grin grew even wider, "I mean it!"

An hour later they were riding into town and Once-ler was still smiling like a fool, Juniper seriously considered slapping him again but rejected the idea when his hand slipped into hers to squeeze it lightly. She squinted at his innocent face and sighed, squeezing his hand in return and earning herself a bright smile, "You're lucky you're alive."

"You have no idea." He chirped back and she couldn't help but laugh as they came to a stop in front of a small camping supply shop and went inside. There was a large kayak hanging from the ceiling as decoration, but otherwise everything was set up neatly on shelves, hangers, and hooks in straight rows, leaving only enough room for two people to cross by if they walked sideways. A happy looking man seen them come in and noticed Once-ler without having to take a second look, "Mr. Once-ler! A honer to have you in my store, sir, are you looking for another tent?" he boomed, coming closer to the couple.

He was a large man in both height and girth, Juniper could easily picture him lifting up a small bus over his head without breaking a sweat as he stepped before them. "We've got plenty more options in the back if you'd like to take a look around there; not really for sell at the moment, but I'm sure exceptions can be made for one of the most successful men in town." he gave a booming laugh.

Once-ler shook his head, "We're just needing a patch today." he answered, looking shocked when the man nodded and ran to bring back several different colored, styled, lengths, and patterned patches back with a small tube of glue. Juniper watched as he fanned the samples out for their inspection and looked at them, admiring one with little chubby pink pigs printed on it.

"That's adorable." Juniper laughed, pulling it out of his hands and looking at it; it was far to small for their hole but Once-ler let her keep it and selected a plain tan patch stripping before paying. They were nearly out of the door when the large man called out for them and ran up with a small pamphlet for Once-ler to take with him.

The cover was a collage of pictures of tents in all shapes and sizes, some even three stories high and Once-ler lifted the small booklet, "Thanks a bunch, we'll give it a look after we're done with our shopping." he promised, handing it to her before leading her out of the store and back onto the concrete sidewalk before rolling his eyes, "Why do they try to sell you a tent when you go in for a patch?"

"Because they want your money." Juniper explained promptly as she opened the brochure to look at the available tents inside when she spotted a cute little picture glass top table, letting her eyes drift to the price and snorting, "Apparently all of it, too; they're charging four hundred for this tiny little table." she held it up for him to see when he suddenly grabbed onto her and brought her to his chest, squeezing her so tight that she had to choke for breath, "Once-ler, what are you doing?"

"Are you okay? Do you feel sick or anything?" He asked her urgently, his fingers tangling in her hair to grab at the strands and she shook her head in answer, knitting her brow in confusion, "We're going back, now."

"Once-ler, what is wrong with you?" she snapped when he suddenly picked her up and made a beeline for the cart; then she noticed that she could slightly see the outline of his arm through her legs and her breath stilled. "Once, my legs-"

"We're going back, you're going to be fine." He got into the cart and flicked the reigns harshly, sending Melvin into a fast trot back towards the forest, "Hurry up, Mel, we've got an emergency!" he shouted and the mule nodded, his hooves slamming into the dirt as he strained himself. Her stomach began tying itself in knots and she lifted her hand to watch in horror as a little more color faded away, allowing her to easily see through her hand and Once-ler grabbed it, dragging her back into his lap and holding on tightly.

"You're fine!" He shouted, flicking the reigns again.

She shook her head and looked at him sadly, she was about to wake up all over again.

Authors Note: Oohhh, busted! Juniper's fading out of Once-ler's life again and there's nothing either of them can do about it... Is there?

I'd like to give a quick thanks to those of you who are reviewing, one of you doesn't seem to have an account, but your support is very appreciated! Hope you all enjoy the chapter as much as I did while writing it. :D