Hey Everyone!I can't believe this is chapter 25! Thank you all so much for sticking with the story so far! There's a lot of ideas I have to the story, I can't wait to write more of them for the story! I love reading all your comments!Thanks to WildKat25 for helping with the story!I don't own Trolls, but Rose is my oc.

Poppy buried her face in Branchs shoulder as she held him tightly. She still couldn't believe another troll had tried to hit him. She took a deep breath as she loosened her grip. She gave him a soft smile as she noticed King Quincy was staring at Branch. "Is everything okay King Quincy?"

"Are you sure he didn't get you Branch?" He asked, seeing Branch turned to look at him. Quincy stopped when he noticed a small mark behind Branchs ear. "What's that behind your ear?" He asked.

Branch looked at him confused for a second as he reached behind his ear. "Oh, that's just a scar. It's nothing. He missed me this time." He felt Poppys hand on his shoulder as she tried to get a better look at his scar.

"You have a scar behind your ear? From what?" She asked as she moved his hair to get a better view of it.

Branch kept still, looking away from them. "It's just a scar, everyone has scars."

"Every scar has a story. I'm guessing this isn't a good story." Quincy frowned.

Branch was silent for a moment. "I think a rock or a stick. I don't remember. Lots of things were thrown over the years."

"Thrown, as in thrown at you?" Quincy's question was answered with a lot. "From kids or adults?"

Branch could hear Quincy's tone getting serious. "Mostly kids, only a couple adults hit…"

"Hit?! Who hit you?!" Poppy interrupted him, her voice echoing in the pod causing Ray and Elise to look over at them. "Do you have other scars I don't know about?" Poppy tugged his vest, causing Branch to quickly turn around.

"What are you doing?" He asked, seeing her lift his shirt as she looked him over. He pulled his vest down, seeing her frown. "I'll show you later." He said quietly, blushing at the idea of having her look him over.

Poppy frowned but nodded as Quincy let out a frustrated sigh. "It was him, wasn't it?" He asked Branch. Branch slowly nodded, glancing at the King of Funk. Quincy looked up at the two trolls at the tower side of the pod, interrupting their conversation. "Ray, right? Had Jack ever hit you? Please, be honest. Has he hit you or anyone else? He looked like he was going to hit you earlier."

Ray was silent as Elise answered for him. "He has hit Ray before. As a child, he had bruises."

"I fell. I was a clumsy kid." Ray finally spoke up, narrowing his eyes.

"Ray. You have to tell us what he did to you. I know he's your father, and it's hard. What if Jack does what he did to you, to Jay?" Poppy explained, seeing Ray look away again.

The pods door opened as Barb and Delta returned, a smirk on Barbs face as they sat. "So, what's next?" She asked as she leaned into her chair.

"We need Ray to tell us the truth." Poppy said as she turned her attention back to Ray. "Please Ray. We need to know, did he hit you? Do you have any scars?"

Ray stayed quiet, before slowly moving his shirt off his shoulder to reveal a scar similar to Branchs. "He never meant to…" Ray muttered as he rubbed his hands together.

Branch couldn't help but stare at Ray, he knew Jack wasn't a nice troll but he never thought Jack would hurt his own kid. Poppy looked from Ray to Elise. "Has he ever done anything to you Elise?" Poppy asked. "Or the kids?"

Elise shook her head. "I haven't seen any marks on the kids, only little scratches from playing in the bushes sometimes...but Jack would yell. If we did something a different way then Jack would, he would yell at us to do it the right way."

"Have you told anyone before?" Delta asked, seeing Elise shake her head again.

"No." Ray spoke up. "He wasn't a bad father."

"We aren't saying Jack is a bad father, but his actions have us worried. He has hit you. He has hit other kids. What if he hits your kids? I can't have the risk of someone hurting another troll." Poppy explained. "We will all talk it over later what will happen with Jack at our leader meeting."

"Right now, I want to know more about what happened between you and Branch." Barb pipped up, staring at Ray.

Ray looked at her. "What do you want to know?" He breathed out.

"Why did you bully Branch?" Delta asked. "Was it because he was grey? Did Jack tell you too? Did other kids tell you too?"

Ray looked over at her as she spoke, before looking down. "I never thought about why…" He glanced at Branch before looking back down. "From what I remember, my dad told me not to go near the grey troll. I don't know if I was the one who started throwing rocks, but I do know I joined." He admitted. "We got into a few fist fights, but that's all I remember. After he started fighting back we just ignored him and barely saw him after that."

Branch saw Poppy frown as she listened. He shrugged after Ray finished. "I got tired of being hit with sticks and rocks. At the time it was the best thing I could think of. It worked though, after a few fights all the kids left me alone." He defended. "Made it easier to forage after that."

"You two have had a troubled relationship in the past. How would that affect the children?" King Quincy asked, looking down at Branch.

Branch thought for a moment. "It depends on how they act with Rose. Eva seems okay, but from what happened today Jay seems to not want to be friends with Rose. As long as Rose feels comfortable with them, then they're fine to hang out. If she doesn't want to play with them, she doesn't have to."

Ray kept quiet, not looking at them. Poppy looked at Ray and Elise, before looking at the others. "We have been here for a couple hours now, why don't we pause this meeting until tomorrow?" She suggested, seeing the others nod their head in agreement. "Alright. Ray, Elise. Go home and think about what we talk about today. We will see you tomorrow." She gave them a smile as they all stood up.

"Thank you Queen Poppy." Elise said as she stood up before leading her husband out of the pod.

The leaders stayed in the room in silence for a few minutes. "Well, that was interesting." Barb said as she broke the silence.

"I didn't expect it to go this far, I didn't know Jack was so troubled." Poppy said as she sat back down. "I wonder if my dad knew any of this."

"Why don't you go find him?" Branch suggested. "Maybe he knows more about Jack than what he's telling."

"That's a good idea. Peppy would know more, and if Jack is telling the truth." Quincy added.

"My dad said they were going to ride around town today. They should be nearby." Barb said, looking out the window.

"Why don't we go down and see Queen Essence and see how she's doing first?" Poppy suggested, seeing Branch perk up slightly made her smile.

"I wonder how Rose did." Branch thought out loud. "It's weird not having her here, for a week she's always been by my side." He rubbed the back of his neck.

Poppy grinned as she giggled. "Aww, Branch! You miss her."

Branch's face darker slightly as he heard the others chuckle. "Come on, let's go see how they're going." Delta said as she made her way to the door.

As the other followed, Branch saw Poppy lagging behind. He took a few slower steps to keep her pace. "Hey, you okay Poppy?" He asked quietly.

"I'm…" she started, glancing up to see him. "I'm just shocked. He tried to hit you!" She frowned as she walked.

Branch could hear the frustration in her voice. "Hey, look at me." He took her hand in his, causing her to stop. "You did amazing today. I know it was hard, but I'm very proud of how you handled it." He lifted his other hand to move her bangs to the side of her face, resting it against her cheek. He saw her smile softly as she leaned into his hand. "Everything that happened is in the past. Jack may have tried to hit me, but he didn't. I didn't see what happened, but because of you and the others I'm fine."

Poppy placed her hand on his, leaning into his hand more. "I just can't believe it happened." She sighed. "But we did get through to Elise. She seemed to want to make sure everything gets straightened out. She wants to help. Maybe we can talk to others and try to get them to understand the truth. There's a lot of terrible stuff said about grey trolls, and they aren't true!"

Branchs eyes softened as his hand moved from her cheek to the back of her head, bringing her lips to his. He immediately felt her relax into the kiss. As he felt Poppy deepen the kiss, he heard a noise that coughed him to groan.

Poppy frowned as they took a step back. "Seriously Barb?!" Poppy yelled out to her, crossing her arms.

"Hurry up before I puke!" Barb called back, pointing into her mouth as she made gagging noises with a mischievous smile on her face.

Poppy huffed loudly as she dragged Branch along. "Just you wait until I catch you kissing someone!" She said as she heard Delta and Quincy chuckle.

Barb laughed, causing Poppy to frown. "Oh Popcorn, you won't be catching me anytime soon. I prefer to keep my relationships out of the public eye." She said as she walked, placing her hands on the back of her head.

Poppy perked up. "Wait, does that mean you're seeing someone?! Who?! Tell me!" Poppy asked excitedly, running behind her.

"What?! No, I'm not seeing anyone." Barb denied, her ear twitching slightly.

"Come on!" Poppy pestered, grinning. She soon stopped when she realized they made it to the bottom of the tree. "Oh, we're here! We are not finished with this Barb!" Poppy pointed to her before turning towards where Essence was earlier. She looked over to see Branch looking around, smiling to herself as she knew he was looking for Rose. "We're back!" Poppy called, seeing Queen Essence, Prince D, and Clampers look over.

Branch looked between them, not seeing Rose. He suddenly saw a blur of grey popping up behind Queen Essence, jumping over her to run towards them. He chuckled when he saw her running towards him. "Hey kid, slow down." He warned, chuckling as she ran into his leg. He felt her grip onto his leg tightly, burying her face in his leg. Branch knelt down and picked her up, feeling her grip onto his vest. He could hear her whimper as she pushed herself up and rubbed her cheek against his.

Poppy watched from behind, seeing Branch stiffen when Rose cuddled into him. She smiled as she saw Branch relax, seeing him hold her closer. She gently placed her hand on Branchs shoulder, causing him to turn towards her. "I said we will be back." Poppy said softly, seeing Rose look over at her. Rose reached towards Poppy with her hand, letting out a soft whimper as she gripped the air. Branch gently lifted Rose over to Poppy, seeing her nuzzle into Poppy. "We missed you too Rose." Poppy cooed happily, cuddling into Rose.

Branch walked over at Essence as Poppy talked to Delta and Clampers. "Thank you for watching her Queen Essence." Branch said.

"Oh, it's no problem dear." She smiled at him as Quincy sat next to her. "How was the meeting? It was longer than I thought it was going to be."

"There were some setbacks." Quincy answered.

"What do you mean by setbacks, Q?" Essence looked at him.

"Jack tried to hit Branch." He said, causing Essence to gasp and look at Branch. "We will be talking over a proper punishment for him later, but he will be going to Lonesome Flats with Delta Dawn the weekend. He won't be staying here."

"Did he hit you before?" Essence asked Branch, see him nod. "Oh my. Why did he-" she started but stopped when Poppy walked over with Rose.

"Sorry, Rose wants Branch." Poppy said as Rose reached for Branch. Poppy handed Rose back to Branch, seeing her grip his vest tightly as she looked around.

"Rose was very good while you were gone." Essence smiled as Rose rested her head against Branchs shoulder. "She did cry for a bit after you left, but she calmed down and sat next to me while she waited."

"I'm glad she was able to calm down." Branch said as he looked down at Rose to see her asleep. "The meeting today isn't finished. Would you be able to watch Rose again tomorrow?"

"I'd love to look after her again. I'll have to plan some things for us to do tomorrow! So the meeting isn't finished then?" She asked.

"We cut it short today. Everyone was starting to get on edge with what happened earlier." Poppy explained. "I also need to talk to my father about things that happened in the past."

"I had just seen Peppy not long ago. He and Thrash drove towards the little diner a few trees away." Essence looked at her. "It is getting close to dinner time, I'm guessing that's where they are heading."

"Dad really likes the punch they have there." Barb added. "I'm sure that's where they are."

"Then we should head over there. Would you like to come Dear?" King Quincy looked at his wife.

"I need to finish cleaning up here first. I will meet you down there after." She smiled at him as she stood up.

"Where is Cooper?" Quincy asked as he looked around. "He was with you earlier."

"Cooper left just after you did. He said he has something to do." Prince D explained.

"I see. I will talk to him later then." Quincy said as he walked over to Branch and Poppy. "Shall we go then?"

"Do you think it's fine for Rose to come? She is asleep." Branch asked, looking down at Rose who held onto him tightly.

"She will be fine to come." Quincy smiled at him before heading towards the dinner.

"Thank you again Queen Essence, you too Prince D." Branch said, seeing Essence smile at him before following Quincy.

"See ya later!" Poppy picked up the bag of Roses stuff and waved, seeing Prince D wave back.

"Clampers, why don't you go to the park and play for a bit? I'll meet you there in a bit." Delta said as Clampers peered out of her hair.

"Okay!" Clampers jumped down and looked at Branch and Rose.

"Thank you for staying with Rose today Clampers." Branch smiled down at her.

Clampers grinned. "It was better once Rose stopped crying. She just sat there and waited, didn't eat anything. The food was good too. See y'all later!" She waved as she ran towards the park.

"Come on guys! Hurry up!" Barb called as she walked towards the dinner. "It's gonna close by the time you get there!"

"We're coming! Poppy said, looking back to make sure she didn't wake up Rose as she made their way to the dinner.

As they caught up to Barb, she turned around and looked at Branch who was putting Rose in his hair. "Is it normal for a pop baby to sit there and wait? From what I've seen no baby just sits there."

"Not normally. The kids normally always run around." Poppy said, before looking at Branch.

"Rose probably felt alone. It's hard to trust someone you don't know. The past week Rose has never left my side, other than the meeting today. She is use to Poppy and I always being there, so today pushed her into an uncomfortable situation. Sitting and waiting was most likely her way of coping with that situation. It's actually good, she was able to calm herself down and get used to what was happening around her. Since she will be with Queen Essence again tomorrow, she will get more use to her and play for a bit if she feels comfortable. She knows now that when we say we will be back. She can relax because she knows we kept our promise today so we will keep it tomorrow." Branch explained. "A promise to her is going to mean everything."

Poppy stared at Branch as he spoke, glancing up at his hair. "I didn't realize a promise like that would mean so much to her, like a pinky promise."

"Even though she's used to us, she is still unsure of everything. That's why I'm always assuring her everything is okay." Branch said, looking at her.

Poppy stared up at his hair, gently reaching into it to touch Roses back. "Branch, make sure I don't make a promise I can't keep to her. Okay?"

"A promise is everything to a kid. You break that promise, the kid can't be sure if they can trust you after that." Barb said as she walked, feeling all eyes were on her. "Though pop squeaks, I'm quite surprised at how dedicated you are to trying to change all the pop trolls' perspectives on grey trolls." She couldn't see Poppy ready to say something out of the corner of her eye, but spoke again. "And you bunker boy, need to get things together for Rose." Barb said, getting a shocked look from Branch in return. Before either of them could speak Barb turned to them and grinned. "We're here! Let's go in." She said as before walking into the dinner.

Branch and Poppy watched as she walked in then looked at each other. They both sighed as they mumbled to themselves as they walked in