A/N: As I promised the last time, this one focuses a lot more on Ricochet this time around, though I can't leave out my favorite adorkable deputy :D Humor, drama and friendship fluff await you!

And holy moly, I've written twenty chapters of this story in the span of a year. Super Readers' Biggest Adventure, which is currently my longest completed story, took three years to get to twenty-one chapters! And it's also totaled up to over a hundred thousand words, too...WOW.

Anyway, you guys go on and read this while I try to wrap my head around it. And this short is also a birthday gift to my friend Vulaan Kulaas-be sure to shoot her a few birthday wishes as well! I hope you have a good year, buddy!

Disclaimer: *points at other chapters for disclaimers again because I'm lazy*


Story 20: Birthday Surprise

The doors to the sheriff's office swung open and soon, Ricochet and Droop-a-Long walked inside, the former flexing his arms. "Well, that wraps up our last case for today, Deputy Droop-a-Long," he said.

"You sure showed Guzzlin' Gus a thing or two, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long replied. "There's no outlaw you can't catch."

Ricochet puffed up with pride. "Thank you, Droop-a-Long. Modesty keeps me from sayin' that myself, but I'm glad you said it," he said.

Droop-a-Long was glad that he was wearing his hat, as Ricochet couldn't see him roll his eyes, though only in jest. Ricochet was as modest and as subtle as a flying hammer; that was something everyone in town knew. "Of course, Mr. Ricochet," he said. "Oh, I'd better change the calendar."

"I thought you did that last week, Droop. We're two weeks into February!"

Droop-a-Long tensed as he looked at Ricochet. "I-It's already February?" he said.

"Geez, where have you been, Droop?" Ricochet asked. "I figured you'd notice by now, what with all the Valentine's Day decorations out."

"Oh…" Droop-a-Long sighed, and his tail dragged to the floor as he changed the calendar. "I ain't lookin' forward to Valentine's Day."

"Why's that, Droop? You at least have a sweetheart to celebrate it with," Ricochet said.

"T-That ain't the reason I'm not excited," Droop-a-Long argued quickly, though Ricochet didn't miss the blush on his face. "It's jus' that…uh…"

"Aw, come on, Droop, you can tell me," Ricochet prodded. "We've been best friends for years. We know jus' about everythin' there is to know about each other."

Droop-a-Long sighed, and turned to face Ricochet. "My birthday's on Valentine's Day, Mr. Ricochet," he said.

Ricochet's eyes widened in surprise. "Valentine's Day?" he repeated. "You told me that your birthday's in April, like mine!"

Droop-a-Long's cheeks colored. "I…I lied to ya, Mr. Ricochet..."

Ricochet frowned. "An' why did ya do somethin' like that, Droop-a-Long? You never lie!"

"It's 'cause I was embarrassed to tell ya 'bout my real birthday. People used ta make fun of me in school for it," he said, "especially the girls. They used ta say that I'd never have a girlfriend to spend Valentine's Day with. That's why I told ya it was April 14th instead, 'cause I didn't want ya to make fun of me."

"Oh…shucks, Droop, I didn't know," Ricochet answered, his tone quiet. "That must've been rough for ya."

"It's alright, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long said, waving off his apology. "'sides, it's not like I expect anybody to celebrate my birthday anyway."

"What're you sayin' Droop?"

"Well, I have some friends in Shadybrook, but most of 'em already moved to different parts of the country. My family was too busy to celebrate, an' we never had a lot of money for presents, let alone a real party. An' I don't want to leave Hoop 'n Holler to travel for three days to town. So, I usually celebrate alone." He offered a small, sad smile. "Guess I'll be doin' the same thing this year, too."

Ricochet looked aghast. "Droop, why would ya say that?" he asked. "I'll celebrate your birthday with ya. You always celebrate mine!"

"Mr. Ricochet, everyone in town celebrates your birthday. I reckon if ya tell the townsfolk about mine, they won't bother showin' up." He sighed as he turned around to fix the calendar. "It doesn't really matter anyway. As long as I'm still alive, I don' really care."

"Droop-"

"Aw, don't make a big deal about this, Mr. Ricochet. I don't make a big deal about it, and you don' have to either," he said. "Thanks for tryin' to make me feel a little better anyway." With another sigh, he walked outside, the door banging shut as he left.

Ricochet stared at the door, his mind reeling on what his friend had just said. He sighed, his ears flopping downwards in sympathy. "Poor Droop. No wonder he told me about his birthday bein' on a different month. Must've been rough with all that teasin'. Still…nobody should be depressed on their birthday." He tapped his foot, his mind turning with what to do with Droop-a-Long's situation.

At once, an idea formed in his head. "I've got it! I'll throw 'im a surprise birthday party, with a cake and presents and everythin'!" he said. "Droop-a-Long may not want anybody makin' a big deal about it, but when it comes to my friends, it is a big deal. Better head into town 'n start makin' invitations."

With a twirling of his foot, Ricochet shot out of the office. The gust of wind that followed caused the wooden planks on the floor, as well as Ricochet's desk, to be ripped from the floor. Droop-a-Long came running in seconds later upon hearing the collision of wood against the wall. He sighed upon seeing the broken table and chair.

"Aww. I jus' replaced that desk last week."


"So, your deputy's birthday's comin' up, huh?" the printer asked, looking down at Ricochet.

Ricochet nodded. "And it's a might important that I make this birthday as special for him as possible. I don' want him feelin' depressed about it," he said. "I was thinkin' of makin' some cards 'n invitations."

"Well, for custom made cards, that's gonna cost ya some, Sheriff," the printer said.

"Eh, the cost doesn't matter so long as Droop's happy with the result," Ricochet said. "I went to the trouble of makin' some sketches for the front of the cards."

"Oh, really?"

"Yep!" Ricochet pulled out a few sheets of paper from his vest and handed it to the printer. "It took nearly all afternoon, but I think I did a good job."

The printer took one look at the sheets, and his jaw dropped open. The very first sheet of paper had a poorly drawn stick figure of Droop-a-Long leaping into the air with the barrels of his guns drooping. The only parts that had any detail were his tail, hat and muzzle. After examining the other sheets, he then looked at Ricochet.

"This is what you call a good job?" he asked.

"Who did you think I was, da Vinci?" Ricochet snapped. "I'm a sheriff, not an artist!"

"I can see that," the printer remarked.

"What was that?" Ricochet asked.

"U-Uh, nothin', Sheriff," the printer replied quickly, noting the scowl that was being sent his way. "Since Droop-a-Long's birthday's coming up tomorrow, I'll have to use these for now. I'm sure he'll like them."

"Good. For a moment I thought I'd have to redo them," Ricochet said. "I'll come back later to send them out to the townsfolk. I expect a pretty good turnout, so make lots of them!"

"I'll do my best, Sheriff," the printer said.

"Good. Now it's off to the store to get the ingredients for Droop-a-Long's cake," he said. "So long!"

As soon as he'd shot out of the print room, the printer took another look at the sketches and sighed. "If this is what he considers a good job, I'd hate to see his baking skills…"


"Now…what kinda cake would Droop have a hankerin' for?" Ricochet said, looking around the store for ingredients. "I already know he ain't super fond o' carrot cake, or angel food cake, or pumpkin cake."

"That's because those are your favorites, Sheriff," the greengrocer pointed out.

Ricochet blushed in embarrassment. "Ah, right," he said. "Reckon he was eatin' those so he wouldn't have to hurt my feelin's."

"Last I heard, he's right fond of devil's food cake," the greengrocer said, "as well as red velvet and lemon cake."

"Ooh, I haven't had a lemon cake in a year or two," Ricochet said, rubbing his hands together. "I always have a carrot cake on Mondays."

"Aren't you supposed to be on a diet, Sheriff?" the greengrocer asked.

"Well…I'm allowed to break it for one day, right?" Ricochet asked with a hopeful smile.

"Eh…I guess it wouldn't hurt. Jus' make sure you don't eat all the cake from Droop-a-Long or the rest of the guests."

"I'm not that bad when it comes to cake," Ricochet said.

"Oh, right. It's donuts that you've got a weakness for," the greengrocer said.

Ricochet sighed as he started picking out the ingredients for the lemon cake. "I'm startin' ta regret sendin' Droop-a-Long to get the groceries."

"Well, he's usually not particular about desserts, Sheriff."


The next day…

Droop-a-Long yawned as he came downstairs for breakfast. He sighed as he looked at the calendar. "Another year comes and goes," he said. He put on his hat and made his way to the table, where he encountered something odd.

Usually, Ricochet was right there, serving up over-easy eggs and toast, which was what Droop-a-Long usually ate for breakfast. Instead, there was a piece of carrot cake-flavored coffee cake on the table as well as some coffee. Ricochet himself was nowhere to be seen.

"Golly, I wonder if Mr. Ricochet went on another case," Droop-a-Long pondered. "I guess that's why he left this." Sighing he picked up the piece of coffee cake and started to eat it. "Hmm….this one's got more carrots in it than last time…"

Just then the doors to the sheriff's office opened and Ricochet walked inside. He looked surprised to see Droop-a-Long there. "Oh, you're up early, Droop," he said. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long said. "I reckon you had some business to take care of this mornin'."

"I sure did, Deputy," Ricochet answered. He yawned. "I was up early doin' some work."

"Would ya like a cup of coffee, Mr. Ricochet?"

"Thanks, Droop, but I'll make it myself," Ricochet said. He made his way to the stove, where a steaming pot of coffee was sitting. Pulling out a mug from the cabinet, he said, "After you finish eatin', there's somethin' I want ya to do for me."

Droop-a-Long swallowed another bite of carrot cake. "Oh? What's that?"

"I need ya to pick up a couple of packages for me at the post office," Ricochet replied, pouring the coffee in the mug and then dumping a spoonful of sugar. "One of my relatives is comin' over."

"Oh, so you're getting' him a welcomin' present? That's real nice of ya, Mr. Ricochet."

"Thanks, Droop. I reckon he'll like these."

"So, which relative is it, Mr. Ricochet? Is it your cousin from Mexico?" Droop-a-Long had heard stories of Ricochet's numerous relatives, and it was hard to keep track of them all.

"Yep. That's Ricochet Chavez," Ricochet answered. "He's only stayin' for a few days, though. After that, he's gotta go back to Mexico to catch more crooks."

"Well, in that case, I'd better get those presents for ya, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long said. "I bet you'd want 'em to be stored away before he gets here."

"That's the idea, Droopy. Now, you'd better finish up before your coffee goes cold."

"Right." Droop-a-Long guzzled down his mug, then stared at the cup. "Did ya put cream and sugar in my cup, Mr. Ricochet?"

"Sorry 'bout that, Droop. I forgot you take your coffee black," Ricochet answered.

"That's alright, Mr. Ricochet. With you gettin' ready for Mr. Chavez to come over, I guess ya got distracted," Droop-a-Long said. "I'd best mosey on over to the post office. Who knows how long it'll take for them to get the order ready?"

"I agree. See ya later, Droop," Ricochet said.

As soon as Droop-a-Long was out the door, Ricochet pulled out a cookbook from his vest. "I didn't want to lie to Droop like that, but I had to give him somethin' to do 'til I get this cake ready," he said. He licked his lips as he looked at the picture of the lemon cake. "I can't wait to sink my teeth into this. Now, to get my apron and mixin' materials ready…"

Ten minutes later, Ricochet was the table, a yellow apron over his vest. He was mixing the ingredients together, occasionally checking the book for measurements. The recipe in question was titled "Best Lemon Cake Ever". Truthfully, he doubted it-he'd had his fair share of trying "Best Ever" recipes and they had turned out mediocre at best, inedible at worst-but the cake was for his best friend. Droop-a-Long was always doing nice things for him, and he wanted to return that favor in kind. Anything less than the best was unacceptable.

"'Add in vanilla extract, an' stir ingredients together until smooth'," he read aloud. After doing just that, he sampled his mixture. His lips curled upwards into a smile. "Mmm. Now this really is the best lemon cake ever." Licking his lips, he looked at the bowl. "Hmm…I bet it won't hurt to have a little more of this." Scooping up some more of the mixture, he took another bite, followed by another one.

He'd been about to take a third one when the doors to his office opened and several of the townspeople walked in-specifically the baker, Mr. Honeycomb; the greengrocer, Mr. Kingsley; and the banker, Mr. Stonewall. All three of them had their arms full of presents.

"Howdy, Sheriff! We brought the presents, like you asked," Mr. Honeycomb said.

"Yeah, you won't believe how many people sent in presents for 'im," Mr. Kingsley added.

Ricochet turned towards them, dumping the spoon in the bowl. "Great! Set 'em over here by my desk, and I'll hide 'em later," he said. "I'm currently makin' Droop's birthday cake. It's literally the best lemon cake I've ever had."

"Yeah, and we'll never have it if you keep eating the batter, Sheriff," the greengrocer said.

"I wasn't eatin' the whole thing!" Ricochet huffed.

The greengrocer shot him a knowing look, and Ricochet's expression turned sheepish. "Well…I might've had a couple o' spoonfuls," he admitted.

Mr. Stonewall, came over to see the bowl. "Those must've been some big spoonfuls. You've eaten to the bottom of the bowl!" he said.

"I couldn't help it! I didn't eat breakfast this mornin'!"

"No need to make a big fuss out of it, Ricochet," Mr. Honeycomb said. "I'll make a new cake for your deputy with the recipe you were making."

Ricochet sighed with relief. "Mr. Honeycomb, you're a lifesaver. You take care of that while I get the decorations an' presents set up," he said. "After that, I'll head out an' find Droop-a-Long. Before I come back with Droop-a-Long, I want you all to hide around the office 'til I give the signal."

"Right, Sheriff!"


"Hey, what kind of game are ya tryin' to pull here, dog?"

"Yeah, we've got stuff to send to our families!"

When Droop-a-Long walked inside the post office, there was practically a mob surrounding the front desk. The postmaster was scrambling about, trying to sort out orders.

"Shuckins, it's gonna take me forever to sort all these out." The postmaster, who was a short, blue-furred dog dressed in blue and white, turned to address the mob. "Sorry, folks, but until I can get these here orders sorted out, you're gonna have to wait."

"Aw, come on!" one man yelled, and many more followed suit.

Droop-a-Long groaned. "Mr. Ricochet's not gonna be happy with this," he muttered.


"Uh…are ya sure the cake's supposed to turn out like that?" Stonewall asked.

"It looks more like a pancake to me," Kingsley scoffed.

"Maybe if you weren't movin' around so much, the cake wouldn't have fallen in the stove!" Ricochet growled.

"Oh yeah?" Kingsley retorted. "Well, you probably shouldn't have told us to put up the decorations!"

"Guys, this is no time to be arguing! I have no idea when Droop-a-Long's comin' back, and we still have lots to do!" Mr. Honeycomb said.

Kingsley sighed. "You're right. I guess we were in such a rush that we didn't have a proper plan."

"Or the proper design," Stonewall said. "We spent so long fighting over everything else that we didn't think to plan who'd do what."

"Yeah, that's true," Ricochet said. He sighed. Things were not going as he planned. "Well, looks like we'll be makin' another cake."

"I just hope it gets done before the deputy comes back to the office," Kingsley said.

"Oh, Mr. Ricochet! I've got some bad news!"

Everyone froze in place. "It's Droop! He's back way too early!" Ricochet said. "I'll distract 'im, while you all finish up in here!"

"Got it, Sheriff!" the greengrocer said.

Ricochet shot out of the office, and swiftly close the door. Droop-a-Long was making his way over to him, his face set into a disappointed frown.

"H-Howdy, Droop-a-Long," Ricochet said, trying to appear relaxed as he leaned against the wall, one leg crossed over the other. "You said you had some bad news?"

Thankfully, the coyote hadn't seen the chaos inside the office. "Yeah," Droop-a-Long said. "The post office is in an uproar 'cause the orders aren't set up properly. I figured I'd come back 'n see if there was anythin' else we need."

"Come to think of it, we need ta go grocery shoppin', Droop-a-Long," Ricochet said.

"Oh, okay. I'll head in and write out a list," Droop-a-Long said.

"Ah, no need ta do that, Droop-a-Long," Ricochet said quickly. "I'll come with ya. After that, we can head to the saloon for lunch."

"That sounds fun, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long said. "Looks like it's gonna be one of them quiet afternoons."

"It sure does, Deputy," Ricochet said. "And I intend to take full advantage of it."


A little while later...

"Hey, Mr. Ricochet, do ya like sauerkraut much?"

Ricochet made a face. "Blegh, not really, Droop. See if they've got any rutabaga pastries," he said.

"What happened to the ones I bought last week?"

"What do ya think, Droop? I ate 'em!"

Droop-a-Long sighed. "Sure thing, Mr. Ricochet," he said, and disappeared into the packaged foods section. "I sure hope there's some meat pastries in here, too."

Ricochet let out a tired sigh of his own as he perused the canned foods aisle. They didn't really need anything from the store, but with the people at the office, he needed something to keep his deputy busy until everything was settled for his party. He'd hoped that the list he'd given Droop-a-Long would keep him occupied, but Droop-a-Long had chosen today of all days to finish his work as quickly as possible; the coyote had come back with the items in under ten minutes, and normally it took him an hour to shop. As impressed as he was, Ricochet was running out of things he "needed"…and he was running out of patience.

As if on cue, Droop-a-Long came around the corner with five boxes of pastries and a wide smile. "Good news, Mr. Ricochet! They had a five-fer-five sale on these!" he said. "I even found a few meat pastries in here, too!"

"That's great, Droop. Now let's go ahead an' pay for these," Ricochet said.

"Oh, you don' have to, Mr. Ricochet. I'll pay for it. I've got a lot of money on me today," Droop-a-Long said. "You should take it easy, what with gettin' ready for your cousin to show up."

Ricochet had to keep himself from wincing. Droop-a-Long had chosen today of all days to remember things as well. "Yeah, I've been right busy with a lot of stuff," he answered.

While Droop-a-Long was at the register paying for the groceries, there was a knock at the window. Ricochet turned around to face Kingsley, who looked proud of himself. After making sure that his deputy wasn't looking, he went outside to talk to the greengrocer.

"So, how's everythin' going with the party?" he asked.

"Oh, it's going great! We've got decorations up, the guests are starting to come in, the presents are lined up, and the cake's in the oven," he said. "Everything will be perfectly fine by the time you get there."

"Good. And you'd better hurry; I'm runnin' out of things to distract Droop-a-Long with!"

No sooner had he said that than Droop-a-Long started to walk out of the store. Kingsley quickly made his exit; thankfully, he wasn't seen as Droop-a-Long was trying not to drop the large amount of groceries in his arms.

"I've got the groceries, Mr. Ricochet. We'd best mosey back to the office 'n drop 'em off before we head to lunch."

"I'll do it myself, Droopy. You go ahead and get to the restaurant," he said.

"Oh, but I'd like to help, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long insisted.

"Nonsense, Droop. I'm good. 'sides, it's your birthday, and you should enjoy your time off," he said. "Let me hold those groceries for ya."

"Well, alright, Mr. Ricochet." After handing the bags to Ricochet, he asked, "Do ya want me ta save ya a table?"

"That'd be great, Droopy. I hear that lunch time is pretty crowded," he said.

"Sure thing. Jus' don't take too long, Mr. Ricochet," he said.

"Have I ever been known to take long, Droop-a-Long?" Ricochet countered.

"Nope, never."


Ten minutes later, Ricochet made his way back to the saloon, feeling pretty proud of himself. He'd dropped off the groceries as well as checked on the progress of the party preparations. Kingsley had been right; everything was looking great. The refreshments were set, the presents were hidden away and the cake was nearly ready. By the time lunch was over, everything would be set.

When he walked inside, Droop-a-Long was sitting at a table closest to the bar, two root beers already at the table. He was spinning the ice cubes with his straw when Ricochet came over to him.

"Oh, Mr. Ricochet, I hope ya don't mind, but I placed our orders already," he said. "Ordered the usual tomato soup for you."

Ricochet sighed as he slid into his chair. "Thanks, Droop-a-Long. That's mighty considerate of ya," he said.

"No problem, Mr. Ricochet. I ordered the open-faced sandwich," he said. Taking a sip of his root beer, he said, "I can't wait to get back to the office, Mr. Ricochet. All this runnin' around's got me beat."

You're not the only one who's beat, Droop. "You said it, Droop. After we're done, we'll head back and have a game of ping-pong," Ricochet said.

"Hmmm…I was thinkin' we could play some pool," Droop-a-Long said, motioning to the pool table in the corner.

This did surprise Ricochet. His deputy didn't have a keen interest in sports, even the less rigorous ones like darts or golf. "You like pool, Droop-a-Long?" he asked.

"Yeah. Always have, ever since I saw a couple of fellers playin' it a while back," he said. "I actually learned how ta play it the last time I came here, an' I'm not too bad of a shot, either."

"Huh. Well, as much as I'd like to play some pool, I'd really like to get back home," Ricochet said.

"Oh…okay," Droop-a-Long said. He sounded a bit disappointed, but he offered a small smile to Ricochet. "Well, no problem. I guess we'll play some other time."

At that moment, the waitress came over with their food. "Here ya are, fellas," she said. "Tomato soup for the sheriff, and the loaded open-face sandwich for the deputy." After handing both of them their meals, she turned to Droop-a-Long, and sultrily added, "Enjoy your present, birthday boy."

Droop-a-Long stammered a thank you, his face turning so pink it rivaled his fur coat. Ricochet had to hide his smile from behind his glass of root beer.

"So, apparently a few people know that it's your birthday today, Droop," he said.

"Y-Yeah," Droop-a-Long said. "I kinda told her, since she was bein' so nice to me."

"Nice? She was bein' sweet on you, Droop," Ricochet said. "I know when gals are into someone."

"Well, she wasn't too bad to look at, Mr. Ricochet…for a human, that is," Droop-a-Long said.

"Be glad Denise wasn't here to hear that."

Droop-a-Long blushed some more. "Yeah…" He then turned towards his food, cut a decent portion with his fork, and shoved it into his mouth.

Ricochet sighed. He'd told his deputy time and time again that watching him shovel meat down his mouth was a little nauseating, but as usual he always forgot. And today, he was apparently hungry, as he was now halfway through the sandwich.

No sooner had Ricochet started his soup than a loud explosion rocked the area, shaking the tables and throwing people out of their chairs. Ricochet held onto the table, his soup splashing, and Droop-a-Long fell on the floor, dropping his fork in the process. People screamed in terror.

When the room stopped shaking, nobody made a sound for a long moment. Several people remained on the floor, too afraid to even move. Ricochet looked around, and said, "Is everyone okay?"

"Y-Yeah, Sheriff," the waitress replied, wobbling unsteadily on her feet. She'd been carrying a full tray of food, which was now splattered against the floor amidst shattered glass. "I'm jus' glad nobody got hurt." A few more affirmatives filled the room.

"What could've caused that?" Ricochet asked.

Droop-a-Long coughed as he got up from the floor. "I-I don't know, but I sure hope it wasn't someone settin' off a bomb again."

The doors to the saloon burst open and one of the townsmen ran in, shock on his face. "Sheriff Ricochet's office is on fire!"

"WHAT?!" everyone yelled.

Ricochet and Droop-a-Long ran outside, heading for the sheriff's office. Ricochet gasped in horror as he saw smoke rise out of the window. Outside, Kingsley, Stonewall and Mr. Honeycomb were arguing with each other. Their faces and clothes were covered with soot. Some of the townspeople were trying to throw buckets of water inside in order to put out the fire.

"Mr. Honeycomb! What happened here?" Ricochet asked, skidding to a stop in front of them.

The baker made to answer, but Stonewall pushed past him. "He got the great idea to get the firecrackers from out of the closet and trip," he said.

Honeycomb turned on him. "My great idea? This is coming from the person who said that Droop-a-Long deserves 'pizzazz'," he said, waving his hands at the word "pizzazz", "and you said to get the first thing I found and we could use it!"

"You guys are acting like the whole office blew up," Stonewall said offhandedly. "They only exploded in the kitchen, not the rest of the office."

"Yeah, and the kitchen is where the cake was!" both Kingsley and Mr. Honeycomb yelled.

"Hold on a minute…you brought firecrackers…in the kitchen…and set them off in there?" Ricochet growled, glaring up at the two men.

"B-By accident…" Honeycomb added sheepishly.

"WHAT IN TARNATION IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Ricochet's roar of fury made all three men jolt. "You've gone an' ruined everything!"

"Mr. Ricochet, i-it was just an accident. Why're you yellin' at them?" Droop-a-Long said. He stood behind the sheriff, wary of getting next to him at the moment.

"They ruined everythin', that's what I'm yellin' about!" Ricochet snapped, turning to face him. "They almost blew the office up with firecrackers when they were supposed to be gettin' the office ready for your birthday party!"

"Birthday party? But I thought Mr. Chavez was comin' down," Droop-a-Long said, confused. "That's why ya sent me out all over the place, to the post office an' to-"

Ricochet slapped himself on the forehead, and turned towards his deputy. "Droop-a-Long...Ricochet Chavez ain't comin' to town, alright?" he said.

"Why? Did he cancel the trip again?" Droop-a-Long asked.

"...I lied 'bout that, Droop-a-Long," Ricochet admitted.

"You lied about it?" Droop-a-Long stared at him, shocked. "B-But why, Mr. Ricochet?"

Ricochet sighed, and his ears drooped slightly. "Aw, shucks, this is jus' great…"

"Mr. Ricochet, if there's somethin' ya need to tell me, ya can tell me."

"You might as well tell 'im now, Ricochet. He's gonna find out anyway," Kingsley said.

"Ricochet...what happened?" Droop-a-Long asked.

"I…I know ya asked me not to make a big deal over it, but when you told me about your real birthday an' when I saw how sad you were, I wanted to do somethin' to help you. Nobody should be depressed on their birthday, no matter what the reason," Ricochet admitted. "Yesterday, I went around 'n got some people to help out with gettin' the whole thing together, but I had ta keep you outta the office while we were settin' stuff up today. My plan was ta surprise you with a party, but…"

Mr. Honeycomb scratched his head. "S-Sorry about that, Sheriff. I know you'd planned out everythin' down to the last detail," he said.

"Yeah, an' now the cake's burned up," Stonewall said.

Kingsley looked at the office, which still had smoke billowing out of its windows. "And most of their stuff, I reckon," he said.

Droop-a-Long looked at the office and then at Ricochet, who looked disappointed. "Y-You went to all that trouble to throw me a birthday party, Mr. Ricochet?" he asked.

"Yeah…an' now it's ruined," Ricochet said. His ears lowered even more. "All I wanted to do was give ya a chance ta have a real birthday party an' cheer you up, as well as a chance for ya to enjoy somethin' for once."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, you go to all the trouble to do nice things for me all the time. I couldn't-no, I wouldn't-call myself your best friend if I didn't do the same. It was supposed to be the best party ever, an' now it's ruined."

Droop-a-Long smiled. "Even if things didn't go the way ya wanted, Mr. Ricochet," he started, "the fact that you cared enough to do all that to cheer me up makes me feel a whole lot better. That means more ta me than a birthday party."

Ricochet looked up at Droop-a-Long then, surprise on his face. "You mean that, Droop?"

"O' course. I'm glad ta be alive, but I'm jus' as glad to have a friend like you, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long said. He paused when he saw Ricochet wipe his eyes. "A-Are you alright, Mr. Ricochet?"

Ricochet nodded. "I'm fine, Droop-a-Long. A-All this stupid smoke's irritatin' my eyes," he answered. In truth, a few tears had come into his eyes when his deputy had said that, and he didn't want Droop-a-Long to see them.

"Shucks, Mr. Ricochet, you should move away from the office 'til the smoke clears out," Droop-a-Long said worriedly. "Let's head back to the saloon so you don't have to inhale it or nothin'."

Ricochet nodded. "Alright, Droopy."


Two and a half hours later…

Droop-a-Long sighed deeply, staring up at the ceiling of the hotel room. It had been quite an eventful day, to say the least. He hadn't realized how long he'd been on his feet until he got in the room and practically collapsed into bed. His legs felt like jelly, and he was certain he wouldn't be moving until tomorrow morning.

Then again, his moving around was probably nothing compared to Ricochet's running around. Even the fastest sheriff in the West had to stop to take a breather. But Ricochet had insisted on heading back to the office to assess the damages after leaving the saloon and see what all needed to be repaired, as well as what could be salvaged. Droop-a-Long only hoped the damages weren't irreparable. They'd have to stay here for months if they needed to replace the interior of the office.

No sooner had he had those thoughts than he heard a loud knock on the door. "Hey Droop, open up!" Ricochet shouted. Something crashed to the floor moments later. "H-Hurry up, I can't hold these things all day!"

Droop-a-Long got up from the bed and made his way to the door. "I'm-a comin', Mr. Ricochet," he said.

When he opened the door, several boxes came crashing down on top of him. "Ooh…that hurt," Droop-a-Long muttered, rubbing his head.

"Hoppin' horn toads, are ya alright, Droop?" Ricochet made his way inside and shoved aside some of the boxes to help his deputy up.

"Yeah, one of 'em jus' hit me in the head, that's all," Droop-a-Long said, getting to his feet. "Thanks."

"No problem. I managed ta get some of our stuff from the office into these here boxes, but almost everythin' else was trashed," Ricochet replied.

"Oh, no…" Droop-a-Long groaned. "We're gonna be stuck here a while, ain't we?"

"Only 'til we get a new office, Droop. We'll get crackin' on that first thing tomorrow," Ricochet said. "The folks that I invited to your party're gonna help us out, too. They feel right upset 'bout what happened to the office."

"Oh, I gets it. But I reckon it's gonna take a lot more than those three to help us out," Droop-a-Long said, closing the door.

"There're other volunteers, too, Droop, so we'll be done with it in no time," Ricochet said. "Either way, I'm jus' glad the whole office didn't burn down."

"Yeah, me too. I wish we didn't have ta move around from office to office every few months," Droop-a-Long said.

"I know, but it's necessary," Ricochet said, picking up the boxes. "Anyways, come on over an' help me sort out these boxes."

"Sure thing, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long said. He picked up the remaining boxes from the floor and set them on one of the beds. "I reckon this'll take a little while for ya to do on your own."

Twenty minutes later, the pair had finished unpacking most of their items. By then, there were only four boxes on the bed, and Droop-a-Long saw from the charred wrapping paper that these were presents.

The sheriff gave him a small, apologetic smile. "Sorry, Droop. Those were the only ones that survived the fire," he explained. "There were a whole lot more, too, from a lot of townspeople. At least, that's what Mr. Honeycomb told me."

"That's alright, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long said, turning to face the sheriff. "It was awful nice of 'em to do this for me." He picked up one of the boxes from the bed, which was a dark yellow with gold vertical stripes. "Who's it from?"

"I reckon that's from the banker, Mr. Stonewall," Ricochet said.

Droop-a-Long peeled off the wrapping paper and the bow, and quickly opened the package. He pulled out a box that fit in the palm of his hand, and he gasped as he pulled out a gold pocket watch. "Wow, this is amazin'," he said, staring at the watch in awe. "I've never had anythin' this fancy before."

Ricochet chuckled. "Keep starin' at that thing for too long, Droop, an' you'll get hypnotized," he said. "Mr. Stonewall told me that that watch has strange powers or somethin' like that."

"Oh, then I'd better be real careful when I'm usin' this thing," Droop-a-Long said, putting the watch back in the box. "I wonder what else everyone got…"

"There's only one way ta find out, Droop, and that's ta open 'em."

Droop-a-Long did so, this time taking no care to save the wrapping paper. His second present was an art kit from the printer, Mr. Inkling, which came complete with its own sketchbook. His third present was actually a set of foods from Mr. Honeycomb: a tin of peanut brittle, a set of meat pastries and a whole row of cherry tarts. Ricochet had to admit that he was a little jealous. Even he didn't get that much food for his birthday.

"Say, Mr. Ricochet, who's this last present from?" Droop-a-Long asked.

"Oh, that's my gift, Droop. Go on, open it," Ricochet said.

"Alrighty," Droop-a-Long said, pulling open the wrapping paper. "I jus' hope it's not another can 'o worms like what happened last year."

Ricochet sighed. "I keep tellin' ya that it was originally canned peanut brittle! I didn't even know they were in thar!"

Droop-a-Long opened the box, and gasped in surprise when he saw what was inside. "You…" He turned towards Ricochet, who for his part looked like a cat that had caught the canary. "You didn't!"

"I sure did." Ricochet chuckled as Droop-a-Long pulled out three videotapes from the box, his eyes wider than dinner plates. "I found 'em a while back in Youngsville when I went to that barbecue, so I asked the owner of the store to ship it to me last month. It was gonna be your Christmas gift, but I forgot 'bout it until New Years' rolled around." He smirked as Droop-a-Long tried to contain how excited he was; his tail was swishing back and forth excitedly. "I know how much you love those Mexican soaps."

"Aw, shucks, I've been waitin' for a long time to see the endin' for this; they ended it two years ago," Droop-a-Long said. He turned to face Ricochet with a wide smile. "Thank you, Mr. Ricochet. If I weren't so tired, I'd give ya a big hug."

"You're welcome, Droop-a-Long. But that ain't all I got for ya," Ricochet said, walking over to him. His hands were folded behind his back.

"What's that?"

Ricochet showed his hands, and in it was a small white box. Droop-a-Long took the top off of the small box, and came face to face with a small lemon cupcake. On top of it was a decorator that read, "Happy Birthday, Droopy" in green letters.

"Aww, shucks," Droop-a-Long muttered, taking the cupcake. "An' it's in my favorite flavor, too."

"It's not a birthday cake, or even the 'Best Lemon Cake Ever', but it's as much as I can manage. Mr. Honeycomb was nice enough to make one for ya, even though it was way past closin' time when I went to the store an' he was exhausted," Ricochet said. He smiled up at Droop-a-Long. "Happy birthday, Droop-a-Long."

Droop-a-Long smiled back, doing his best to hold back the tears that were gathering in his eyes. "Thanks, Mr. Ricochet," he replied.

"Now, how's about we watch some of those movies. A good way to celebrate, don't ya reckon?" Ricochet suggested.

Droop-a-Long nodded. "I agree, Mr. Ricochet."

It certainly wasn't the birthday celebration he'd expected. Come to think of it, he hadn't really expected anything special for his birthday at all, much less for anyone to celebrate it. But Ricochet, in his usual fashion, had proved him wrong about that. And not just him, but the townspeople as well.

No, it certainly wasn't the birthday celebration he'd expected. But that didn't mean that it wouldn't be the best one he'd ever had.


Move along, folks, you've had your fill of fluffiness for one day. :D

Anyway, I did my best to blend humor, drama and friendship fluffiness all in this short. I really liked writing Ricochet in this one, since it shows his empathetic side more than the other shorts. Seeing him trying to prep everything for Droop-a-Long's party, succeeding at some things and failing at others (i.e. the cards and the cake), just so he could cheer Droop-a-Long up shows not only how much he values Droop-a-Long as a friend, but also how far he'll go to cheer someone up. And even when things didn't go as Ricochet planned, Droop-a-Long still cheered him up—hence why Ricochet mentioned that the smoke "irritated" his eyes.

Droop-a-Long's birthday was partially inspired by an OTP prompt I saw on Tumblr, but of course, this story's about the friendship between Ricochet and Droop. And Ricochet's birthday is something I made up myself; some H-B characters, such as Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear and Top Cat, actually do have "birthdays". I figured I'd give Ricochet one-and I think April would fit, not only because of his energetic nature, but because it has the bonus of being the month for Easter. And my headcanon is that Ricochet had to be the Easter bunny a few times :D

Yes, I know video cassettes and Mexican soap operas didn't exist in the West-but this is a reference to the original cartoon again, where they were making movies and mentioned TV and what not. So, hey, if Droop-a-Long likes soaps, he likes 'em.

Another headcanon is that Ricochet and Droop-a-Long are opposites where they spend most of their energy-Ricochet's more athletic and loves sports, while Droop-a-Long's got more of a creative side to fit his more quiet nature, and likes to draw, hence why the printer gave him a sketch set for his birthday. In the modern-day AUs, he also extends this to writing, although he never, ever shares it with anybody due to his embarrassment. That'll get expanded on in a later story. *hint hint*

I think I wrote a good bit of jokes in this chapter, but my favorite has to be the da Vinci joke. That got a good chuckle out of everyone I read this to.

Next short will probably one that I've been writing for a while-both of which are Ricochet focused again. One's a Ricochet/OC short with Droop-a-Long as the wingman, and the other is Droop-a-Long and Ricochet getting into the movie business. Whichever one is finished first is going to be posted~!

Thanks for the reviews! Constructive criticism is most appreciated!

God bless, iheartgod175