That night, Fidget was having a nightmare about his encounter with wolves. Next, the time he opened the vultures' cage door and wished he hadn't done it. Though they were after the witch for putting them in the cage to begin with, he thought they'd be out to get him, too. Just when he had enough, Fidget woke up before anything else happened.
Stellaluna and Olivia rushed inside his room.
"Fidget, what's the matter?" Stellaluna asked.
"You wouldn't like what you hear," trembled Fidget.
"Fidget, please," she pleaded.
"It's okay," Olivia encouraged.
"I don't know. You'll be upset with me."
"No, we won't," Stellaluna continued gently, not wanting to make things worse. "You'll feel better if you tell us."
"Okay, when Olivia, her father, and I got captured by this evil witch, I opened the cage where the vultures were locked in. I shouldn't have done that! They were all over and they would've eaten me for sure."
"He's speaking the truth," Olivia said to Stellaluna.
"Fidget, vultures eat dead animals," Stellaluna informed him.
"Oh, I must've forgot," Fidget said, feeling much better. "They did eat the witch and the one guy, though."
"What else happened?" Stellaluna inquired.
"Oh, and there were these wolves," he replied, "They were after us."
"Yes, they prowl whenever they want to; I'm sure of it." Stellaluna nodded in acceptance. "When I can't sleep, I go outside to enjoy the moonlight."
At the thought of it, Fidget smiled.
…
Beneath the purple evening sky, Fidget, Stellaluna, and Olivia sat down beside a river. Of course, Olivia had to have come along with her father's permission. Thankfully, she wasn't there to pry; she was just there to ease Fidget's pain as always.
Out of the bushes emerged three furlings, a wood mouse named Abigail, a mole named Edgar, and a hedgehog called Russell, and their friend, Michelle, a little girl badger. Her uncle, Cornelius' permission had been granted since she was with the furlings.
"Michelle, be careful, okay?" Abigail warned gently as she watched Michelle run towards the peg legged bat.
"Abby, what's this?" Michelle asked.
"That's a bat," Russell answered for her.
"Russell, she was asking me!" Abigail said defensively.
"Calm down, Abigail," Edgar said politely, "You weren't answering her right away and Russell knows of forest creatures as well as you do."
"Well, sorry, Edgar," Abigail apologized sarcastically, "It's just that little things like that upset me."
"Not everything is about you, Abigail," Edgar warned, "And besides, Michelle's watching."
"Why are you mad, Abby?" Michelle asked mournfully.
Abigail heaved a sigh of guilt. "I'm sorry, Michelle," she apologized, then turned to Russell, "And I'm sorry, Russell, for yelling at you."
"That's okay, Abigail," replied Russell.
Michelle was bouncing about as she clutched onto Fidget's scarf.
"Don't mind Michelle," Abigail said, "She just likes to explore new things as much as we do."
To Fidget, Abigail is the splitting image of his dear friend, Olivia Flaversham. "No, I don't mind it," he replied.
"I'm Abigail and these are my friends…" Abigail pointed to her best friends, "Edgar and Russell."
"Hello," Russell said.
"Hi there," Edgar greeted.
"Well, I'm Fidget and these are my friends, Olivia and Stellaluna."
Olivia and Stellaluna greeted their unexpected visitors.
"Pleasure to meet you, Abigail," Olivia said, "Edgar. Russell. Michelle."
"Hi," Michelle squeaked. Without warning, she hugged Olivia, then Stellaluna.
"Hi," Stellaluna answered kindly, "And you all look so adorable. What are you doing out here?"
"We're going out for an evening walk," Abigail replied, "Michelle's uncle and our teacher, Cornelius gave us permission to go, but we mustn't stay out too long."
"Because it's sort of past our bedtime," Edgar concluded.
"So, why are you here?" Abigail asked the bats and the other mouse.
Fidget shifted his gaze from the water to the woodland mouse girl. "Oh, I couldn't sleep," he answered, "I had a nightmare, so Stellaluna brought me and Olivia here." He explained the nightmare to the furlings, especially to little Michelle.
"Sounds like a scary dream!" Michelle gasped in shock.
"I'm sorry, Michelle, that I scared you," Fidget apologized, "I don't want to scare another kid because I already scared one." That was a fact because one or two kids was enough! Did it have to be another? It was safe to say that it was unintentional.
"We're happy you told us your feelings," Abigail told him, "Whenever I have a nightmare, I go out on a boat ride with my friends."
…
The furlings, bats, and Olivia were sitting on a boat as they journeyed through the creek.
"Now, about these wolves," Fidget announced mysteriously, "I'm starting to think that maybe they carry out Frollo's orders."
"And you are correct, Fidget," Stellaluna said matter-of-factly, "We should've told you before."
"Well, why didn't you?" Fidget asked with a distraught expression on his face.
"Your parents and I thought he'd still be a holy man."
"But all this time, he was keeping secrets." Fidget folded his arms.
Stellaluna nodded. "Yes, Fidget, he was. We were, too, because we thought we'd give you a bad impression or you'd give us one."
"Abigail!" Abigail's father cried.
"Coming, Daddy!" Abigail called as she and her friends pulled in and jumped right on shore, reuniting with their folks.
"Michelle!" Cornelius shouted for his niece.
"Uncle Cornelius!" Michelle beamed.
Now that Fidget, Stellaluna, and Olivia were alone, they, too, stepped onto shore. "Fidget," Stellaluna began, "I have something I'd like to show you." With one finger, she touched the water as she, Fidget, and Olivia watched ripples surface. "Long ago, I had dreamt about you. Bartok, Batty, and Bartok's girlfriend were there, too. Together, we flew to this bar that you used to drink in."
"The Rat Trap," Fidget answered.
"That sounds about right," Stellaluna agreed.
"I don't drink anymore, but I do drink soda."
"Oh, Fidget, you're silly." Without warning, Stellaluna and Fidget kissed under the moonlight.
Olivia watched in admiration as the pairing kissed for she had found it romantic. "How romantic," she gushed thoughtfully.
After the kiss, Fidget found himself getting sleepy, so he yawned, blacked out, and was sound asleep within mere seconds.
Seeing how exhausted he was, Stellaluna bent over, picked him up, and allowed Olivia to climb on her back. Then, Stellaluna took off.
Author's note: Abigail, Edgar, Russell, Michelle, Cornelius, and the other Once Upon a Forest characters belong to Hanna-Barra. I've seen the movie once so far and I liked it. I've had a fuzzy feeling about throwing the characters in this story. Speaking of which, I hope I kept the furlings in character.
In this chapter, Stellaluna reveals her dream about Fidget and Fidget remembers his dream about her before he is rudely awakened by Ratigan. To learn about Fidget's dream (in my prospective), read my one-shot, Goodnight Fidget and Romantic Dates.