Deep inside NNY's sewers, Fry had sneaked down and knocked on the door of Leela's parents. He had an idea that he was sure would make Leela happy again.

"Hello, Fry." Munda greeted as she opened the door. "What brings you here?"

"Actually, I came to talk to you and your husband about Leela."

Munda invited Fry inside and he explained the situation to them. They weren't upset as Leela had feared but they were a bit disappointed that she tried to hide it from them.

"Maybe we shouldn't be surprised." Munda said to Morris. "After all, she's been used to not sharing things with us her whole life."

"No." Fry interrupted, "I'm sure she wanted to tell you, she just didn't because she thought you'd be upset that she'd lost something so important."

"We love her." Morris insisted, "She should know that we don't care about the bracelet. We're just happy to have our daughter back in our lives."

Fry knew that. But he also knew it wasn't quite that simple. Fry felt that he finally understood how important Leela's bracelet really was to her.

"I know, but I don't think you realise just how special this bracelet is to her. Although Leela and you were apart, you always knew where she was and that she was okay. But she didn't even know who you were or where she came from. All she ever had to convince her she was loved and that she wasn't alone was her bracelet. It means a more to her than you realise and she's not been the same since she lost it." Fry pleaded, "It was the only thing she ever really had and I know she'd be really happy if she got it back."

"But we have no idea where it is." Morris said.

"I know, but I was thinking you could maybe just, make her a new one?"

"What?"

"It would be identical! And she'd never have to know. I'd just tell her I found it behind the couch or something."

"I'm not sure."

"Please. She'd hate herself if she thought she'd lost it forever." Fry tried to reason.

Morris thought about it for a moment and looked in his wife's eyes for her answer.

"Okay, but, Fry. When you see her tell her to come visit us. She needs to know we love her no matter what."

The next morning at Planet Express, Leela was up and working busily. But not at her job, she was searching for equipment to take on a private journey. She already had an advanced metal detector propped against the conference table where the Professor, Hermes, Zoidberg and Amy were watching with concern at her unusual behaviour.

"Leela, you can't seriously be considering going up against a mud monster just to get your bracelet back?" Amy objected, "It's too dangerous!"

"She's right!" Hermes added, "you'll be finished faster than a common cold patient visiting doctor Zoidberg!"

"It's an illness with a low survival rate." Zoidberg agreed sadly.

"I don't care!" Leela replied. "I need to get my bracelet back. Besides, I should be safe with this projectile gun I borrowed from the Professor." Leela stated confidently as she showed the group a high tech looking rifle which looked very experimental. "I chose it because it looked the scariest."

"Are you insane!?" The Professor piped in, "You must have some sort of death wish if you intend on firing that thing in combat!"

Leela looked at the weapon she held in her arms nervously as though she feared it was going to explode in a nuclear blast any second before carefully asking, "Why?"

"Well for a start it's not even loaded! You'll find ammunition slugs in my middle drawer."

Leela ran off immediately as Amy scolded the Professor, "We're trying to discourage her, Professor!"

"We are?"

"What's going on, chumps?" Bender asked as he strode into work.

"Leela's lost it and is stealing the ship with an experimental high energy weapon." Amy replied.

"This should be interesting!" Bender chuckled.

Leela dashed back into the room, re-armed and announced, "Okay I'm going, wish me luck!"

"Don't go!" Amy, Hermes and Zoidberg. "Good luck/have fun!" The Professor and Bender.

Leela prepared the ship for launch and set course for Junglar 4 with determination in her eye. Fry arrived in the conference room just in time to see the ship jet off from the hanger. "What's going on?"

"Leela's gone back to Junglar 4 to get her bracelet from the jaws of death." informed the gang.

"I see….TAXI!!!"

The alien jungle was dark and sticky like before but Leela managed to track her way back to the pit where they had rescued Bender from the ship which she had to land 20 minutes away. When she reached the muddy pool she put down her detector and readied her rifle. The swamp was quite large and surrounded on all sides by dense jungle making a landing nearby impossible. The water was brown and although not viscous it was impossible to see anything below the surface through all the dirt.

Leela waited for a few minutes but the water remained completely still and there was no sign of the water dwelling monster that stood in the way of her and her bracelet.

"Maybe it's asleep." Leela thought to herself. She eventually put down her gun and picked up the metal detector. She carefully crept to the waters edge and put the end of the device in the water. Her plan was to locate the bracelet with the detector and then pull it in with the built in electro-magnet. But without any warning, almost as soon as she put the device in the water she felt an enormous tug from below the surface that surprised her and pulled her into the water.

Leela was dragged into the mud very quickly and was in quite deep before she let go of the detector and swam for the surface. Covered in dirt she broke the surface and gulped in some air. It hit her that the monster was definitely not asleep and that it probably wasn't going to be satisfied with another metallic meal! With sharp panic squeezing at her insides she started swimming for edge of the water but she had found herself almost 20ft from the nearest edge!

As hard as she could she swam for the edge and felt the monster's large head brush just past her as she swam.

"Oh god, it's gonna eat me!" she thought. Becoming a giant slimy monster's meal 40ft under muddy water was an end that she really, really didn't want to meet. But she was beginning to fear that she would have no choice if she couldn't get to the edge soon.

In an effort to suppress her fears and take her mind off her imminent death, Leela refused to even think until she reached her goal at the edge of the water. "I can make it!" she assured herself as she punched through the mud.

Just then, Leela heard a loud noise from above that almost made her jump out of her skin in fright. Looking up, she saw Fry leaning out of an open door in a yellow space taxi!

"Quick! Go down!" Fry yelled to the driver to lower enough so they could rescue Leela from the water.

"No way!" The driver refused shaking his head, "That thing could pull this whole cab down if it wanted, we're not going any lower than this!"

"Please! You have to, she'll die!" Fry begged.

"FRY!" Leela yelled, new hope coming to her. "GET THE GUN, YOU CAN SHOO" Leela was suddenly pulled under the water before she could finish her sentence.

"Quick! Hover over there, I'll jump down!" Fry frantically told the taxi driver.

The yellow cab went straight ahead and turned to allow Fry to jump the 10ft down to the ground. He landed heavily but he was okay and the rifle was only inches away. The driver closed the door behind him and took off back home in a hurry.

Leela was helpless to stop her plunge underwater. Her right foot was caught firmly in the jaws of the monster. She was pulled all the way down despite her resistance until her predator stopped and held her tightly. Leela continued to struggle as her lungs ached for air but the monster did not proceed to eat her. She imagined it would hold her here until she drowned and then eat her like a crocodile. For a moment Leela believed this would really be the end and she felt more scared than she ever had in her life. But, not giving up she managed to reach down blindly and started unfastening her boot. To her relief she was able to break free when it was undone and made her way upwards as fast as she could.

Fry feared she was dead when she hadn't resurfaced for what seemed like an eternity but then she surged up and took in an enormous recovery breath before bobbing back under water. As she surfaced again she spluttered "FRY, HELP!"

Fry instinctively fired to protect her, assuming the creature would be chasing directly below her he fired underneath Leela. The rifle took a second to awake with electrical charge and fired a high speed bullet which fearsomely tore through the water with a heavy jolt. The following shots fired instantly and Fry succeeded in distracting the attention of Leela's attacker. The worm broke the surface and started powering through the water towards Fry. It was enormous with a circular mouth as large as a car and large blunt bone crushing teeth. Without hesitation Fry fired another few high speed rounds towards its open jaw and the snake crashed lifelessly back underneath the mud.

Fry had been waiting on the bridge for a while. The ship's auto-pilot was taking them back home, and Leela had gone to wash off in the shower. Fry noticed that she'd been in for an especially long time. Probably lost in thought. After all she'd not only still lost her bracelet but nearly her life. Well, when she got out he'd show her the bracelet he had had re-made for her. It was a perfect copy and he couldn't wait to see her face light up.

As he was playing with the copy, Fry heard the shower stop and he quickly put the bracelet back in his pocket. A few minutes later Leela appeared on the bridge clean clothed and with damp hair that hadn't been thoroughly towel dried.

"Hey." Leela greeted softly.

"Hey. Good shower?" Fry asked.

Leela smiled and nodded. There was definitely a slightly awkward feeling in the room.

"Listen Fry/Leela" the pair spoke simultaneously. "Sorry."

"Can I go first?" Leela asked.

"Sure."

Leela took a deep breath to summon up the composure she needed to say what had been on her mind for the past hour.

"Um, first of all, thanks saving my life, Fry. I'll pay you back for the cab fair it must have cost a bundle."

"Don't worry 'bout it." Fry shrugged dismissively.

"No, I'm really sorry. I nearly got killed today. I thought it was for something important but I was wrong. You on the other hand, you risked your like for me and it made me realise something that I maybe should have realised sooner.

"What?" Fry asked.

Leela looked at her feet and took a moment to say what was really hard for her to say, "That I actually mean a lot to other people." she replied. "I could have lost everyone I cared about for a stupid bracelet. And you risked your neck to save me. I had no idea I meant so much to you. I guess I took it for granted. My parents too, I'll always mean a lot to them and I don't want to ever lose them. People are a lot more important than possessions. Anyway, what I'm sorta trying to say is: You're really important to me. And I'm sorry for not saying it sooner." Leela sighed and grinned in relief at what she'd finally gotten off her chest.

Fry smiled too, he didn't know what to say! Leela had finally admitted feelings for him!

"So what were you gonna say?" Leela asked.

Fry released the bracelet he'd been playing with inside his pocket and gave Leela a hug instead.

"Nothing."

Leela succeeded in getting over her loss. She was never certain exactly where her bracelet wound up. The copy that Fry had made quietly wound up in New New York's garbage recycling system along with assorted other discarded metals and forged into some unknown object. Whatever became of it, it probably made it back into some person's life in one way or another. Leela, however, managed to gain something else she could value from her experience.

I may have lost something special forever, but it's something I could easily afford to lose. It wasn't my parents or my life or Fry. It was something I loved, yes, but all the love I had for it was attached to memories. Memories I still have and will always have. No one, not even my parents, can ever have any idea what exactly I drew from my bracelet. What the tiny piece of strange jewellery on my arm caused me to speculate about myself and who I am. But every little idea that came into my head, they were all formed by me! I love my parents and I love the gift they gave me. But the bracelet didn't give me a past, I created one with my imagination. I always had my own perception of who I was until the day I found out for sure. I shaped myself! And any inspiration I took from it that shaped me will always be a part of me, even if I wanted to get rid of it I couldn't! But I'm happy with who I am and I'm not gonna have anymore regrets. From now on I have to remember to shape my own memories and make sure to never lose the things that really mean a lot to me.

"Hey, how come we stopped?" Fry asked as he noticed the ship had come to rest in Earth's orbit rather than descended to land.

"'surprise." Leela stated simply.

"Huh?"

"Just something else I've wanted to do for a while but didn't let myself." Leela answered with a smile. She had got out of her chair and pulled Fry out of his controllingly.

"Lights." Leela commanded. The ship responded and all the lights on the bridge went off, dropping Fry and Leela into darkness save for the soft blue glow coming from Earth. Without regret, Leela kissed Fry. She held the kiss for a long time, and felt a tension in her chest that made her feel like she was kissing for the very first time. She forgot to breathe, and when she finally broke the kiss her smile was accompanied by an involuntary gasp.

THE END

Thanks to everyone who enjoyed this story and reviewed it, it means a lot to me!