"So, how did things go over with the Baron?" Slippy wanted to know as Lucy and Gwen assembled bouquets of flowers on the living room floor of their cabin.
Slippy had explained to the girls that they had been flying toward the planet Venom when they finally received Great Fox's distress signal coming from Jazeloone. By the time they got there, though, the ship had left and was signaling from Tesserone. Immediately upon arrival they began their attack on Andross. Slippy, Peppy and Falco had landed to go find the girls on foot. Falco found Gwen first, who told him the direction of Lily Sue's cottage, where Monica had fled.
Many of the bouquets of flowers were from the citizens of Tesserone, indebted to the girls' participation in the war. Monica, being escorted by Falco, had gone off with half the bouquets to try and brighten the crowding orphanage. It had been four days since Andross's defeat, and the number of missing persons was still growing.
"Everything's cool," Lucy answered Slippy. "He dropped all the charges against Triple-D."
"Speaking of which," Gwen said, removing a card from a bouquet of daffodils. "Check this out…"
Lucy opened the card and read aloud: "'Thanks for everything you've done – you guys rock! Cameron, Kylie and Mindy.' Aw, how sweet…that's a relief."
"She's been hooking back up with Gretchen, too," Gwen said about Cameron. "All's well that ends' well."
Peppy came out of the bathroom, carrying a stuffed trash bag. "Your rooms and bathroom are cleared. I'll just do the study after I dump this."
"Thanks, Peppy," Lucy said. "That helps."
From the laundry room, Fox swore with a hiss as he slammed down the lid of the dryer. He growled in frustration as he came stomping through the kitchen to join Slippy at the table. "I think your washing machine and your dryer are toast."
"Big surprise," Gwen mumbled. "Well, it's not like we're staying anyway."
"You and Bill wanna come back to Corneria?" Slippy asked her.
Gwen nodded. "I can't raise a baby in these living conditions…not happily, at least."
There was a knock on the newly repaired door and Bill led the way in with Star and Katt – the latter wrinkled her nose at the sight of the accommodations (or lack thereof).
Star smiled as she went over to Fox, seating herself on a chair Peppy helped fix earlier that day. "I got ahold of Jaime. She's looking forward to you bringing Lucy home."
Lucy blushed as she suppressed a small laugh. Bill seated himself on the floor between her and Gwen. "What are you girls going to do with all these flowers?"
"Probably give them to my mother," Lucy answered. "Replanting them will keep her worried mind busy…"
"I can't wait to get home," Katt spoke up, lounging on the couch. "I've had enough of tress to last me a lifetime. I'm so sick of nature I could puke. When we get back I intend to live indoors for the remainder of my youth and hire a butler or who can –"
"Katt, come help me in the study," Peppy hollered.
Katt, rolling her eyes, got up and went reluctantly to Peppy's aid.
Fox stretched and yawned in his chair. "Well, it's going on 7…what's everyone's plans for dinner?"
"Monica and Falco are staying in town," Gwen replied. "And Lucy and I are having family dinners one last time…yippee."
"Okay," Fox said, getting up. "Be ready to leave in the morning."
"Yup," Lucy said.
"Is Monica coming?"
Lucy hesitated. "I don't know."
….
"Now, why the hell would I wanna stay here all by myself?" Monica demanded. "Of course I'm going with you!"
It was near midnight and the girls were packing up whatever valuables they had left to go to Corneria. The cabin was practically empty except for the dishes in the kitchen, broken laundry room appliances, and furniture. Lucy handed the deed of the house over to Baron Harte to let him decide what to do with it.
Monica and Falco cleaned out Lily Sue's cottage, and Monica gave the baron the deed to that house as well. Monica took Lily Sue's jewelry, rosaries and pictures. Everything else was donated to the welfare of Tesserone's citizens – including Lily Sue's finances.
"Besides," Monica went on, placing some of Lily Sue's possessions in her bag, "I don't trust Katt with Falco."
"I'm so glad you're coming!" Lucy praised, folding a tank top.
"Yeah," Monica said. "And screw those cousins of his who hate me."
"Bravo," Gwen said, sitting on her suitcase to zip it. "That's the most unforgiving speech you've ever made."
They giggled, pushing their suitcases onto the floor of Gwen's bedroom before collapsing on her mattress. Gwen turned off the light and they all looked up at the glow-in-the-dark star stickers pasted to her ceiling.
"Remember when we first put those stickers up there?" Lucy asked.
"Two years ago," Monica said. "Our first night here."
"And I fell off the bed doing so," Gwen laughed.
"My dad was like, 'Save Gewn!'" giggled Lucy.
"We didn't have any money…" Monica recalled.
"No parents…" Lucy added.
"No kids…" Gwen put a hand to her stomach.
"Just…us," Lucy said.
Monica chuckled. "Good times."
"Yeah," her friends mooed.
Monica was quiet for a moment. She snuggled under Gwen's quilt, feeling Lucy's leg against her foot and Gwen's back against her capable arm.
"Night, y'all," Monica said.
"Night," they responded.
They stayed like that all night, until hours later when Star Fox woke them up to leave for Corneria.
