If you are looking at this page, THANK YOU! You are past all (well, most) of the bizarre seen setting parts, and I'm grateful for you sticking with it. It should be all story from now.

5. Bouffons?

Eddy was finally alone, safely in his office at "Edd cars" (never one for original names). He reached into his pocket, and withdrew the letter he'd placed there earlier. Now to have a proper look…

The door was opened suddenly. Eddy jammed the letter back in his pocket. Double d and Ed came in.

"What, what is it!" Eddy flustered, having been caught off guard again this morning.

"Oh it's just a small thing Eddy," Double d said bitterly, "just the staff complaining that they haven't been paid for FIVE WEEKS!"

Eddy sighed, "Well, tell them I'll pay them tomorrow, I'm busy now."

"Er, there is just one tiny problem with that."

"What."

"WE ARE THE STAFF!" Double D shouted across the desk at him.

"Alright, alright." Eddy withdrew his check book with a heavy sigh. He hesitated at every step of the process before handing over the checks.

"You okay Eddy?" Ed asked.

"Yes, fine!" Eddy snapped.

"It's just it seemed handing over that money was more painful than normal," Double D added, "trouble at home?"

"No… why do you always ask that when I seem depressed?"

"Well…" Double D hesitated.

"Oh, that's because Blossom's about sixty leagues above you, so it's only a matter of time." Ed finished for him.

"Pah, you two are just jealous. Especially you Double D, you've always been jealous!"

"Must we do this," Double D muttered. "We're all adults here and I've never expressed anything but support for you two. But what I mean is… err … Blossom is pretty special, are you shore you can meat all her needs?"

"That's ridiculous, I…"

"Double D means you as attractive as a rotting stoat," Ed cut across Eddy.

"WILL YOU LET ME SPEAK, I…"

"I was actually thinking finically" Double D clarified. Eddy stopped.

"It's fine" he said tightly.

"Really?" Eddy merely nodded far too quickly.

"Then you won't mind us looking at the letter 'with third mortgage warning' written on it," Said Ed.

"What letter?" said Eddy innocently.

"The one on the floor." lied Double D.

"It's not on the floor; it's in my pocket…, oh very clever! I bet you're feeling really smug about that." He angrily withdrew the letter and dropped it on the desk. Double D opened it and had a look.

"Does she know?" he asked.

"No."

"You should tell her sooner rather than latter Eddy, you're going to struggle to pay this."

"It will be fine. It always is." Eddy had stopped making eye contact.

"Well," Double D paused, "if you willing to risk losing her…" Eddy jumped up.

"What! You think…"

"Well you don't have much else to offer her." Ed said.

"Shut up Ed!" Eddy barked.

"Eddy, put it this way, what do you think she is going to do if she gets home and finds the bank's repossessed the house without any warning, Because that could happen on Monday."

Eddy slumped back into the chair.

"I can't lose her," he was beginning to shake slightly. "She and the kids are the only good things in my life. What should I do?"

"Well" Double D felt on safer ground now, as Ed went to try and comfort Eddy, "you could always ask someone for a loan." Eddy looked at him and Ed for a while.

"You must be joking," said Ed, "you pay us!"

"Oh, yes that's right."

"What about Blossom's family?" suggested Double D.

"No," said Eddy miserably, "Bubbles spends it when she gets, and Buttercup wouldn't help ME," he suddenly brightened up "but Butch might. They've got lots of money, and he'd probably lend some to me without telling Buttercup!"

"Great!" said Double D, "but there is one other thing."

"What"

"Tell Blossom, okay?"

When he set off home, Eddy had every intention of telling her. But as he arrived home, he got nervous. So he hid the letter under the microwave instead.

Blossom eventually arrived home at six thirty, thanks to bad traffic and vindictive hedgehogs. She paused at the door. She really wasn't in the mood to spend the evening smiling and making small talk with people who never seemed to have any problems or interests. If she spent another half hour or so driving round the block, Eddy would have to go to the stupid "Business in the Community" program meeting alone. Sure, it apparently did some good work for the city, but then Eddy had apparently only signed up for the free pen.

But she didn't trust Eddy to get the kids to the Professor's (who was looking after them for the night) with anything more than the clothes they were in, so Blossom took a deep breath and went in. At least Eddy would be there to cheer her up, or to distract her from her problems by moaning about his.

"I'm home!" she called, forcing a cheerful tone into her voice. This actually made her feel a bit better.

"We're in the lounge," Eddy's voice replied, "your sisters are here."

Blossom had forgotten about that. She entered the room nervously, but as soon as she saw the look on their faces, she knew they weren't going to give her any grief.

Buttercup and Bubbles were recalling a recent even to MJ, who was bouncing up and down on her father's knee excitedly, and they were enjoying it as much as she was. Eddy didn't seem to mind too much either, he enjoyed seeing his daughter so happy, but Edward looked like he was in a seven hour French essay writing test.

Blossom lent on the sofa behind Eddy, how silently asked her how her day was. Blossom nodded to say it had been fine (a lie, but we all do it) as after acknowledging her sister's presence, Buttercup continued.

"… so we pressed the button, and everything exploded! It was absolute chaos!"

"But how did you know he wasn't trying to trick you?" MJ asked.

"When you've been doing this for a while," Bubbles said smugly, "you get a knack for telling when the villain genuinely doesn't want you to press a button. It's the fear in his – or her – voice that gives it away."

"So what happened next?"

"Well Mojo was so annoyed that he didn't even notice Bubbles coming up behind him. So we locked him up and then went to help Butch with a…"

"That will have to wait for another time," Blossom cut in, "you two kids need to go pack."

Edward left the room like a missile, MJ more reluctantly. (She didn't even move till, Eddy bumped her off his knee.)

"So we won't be hearing from Mojo for a while?" she asking at the door.

"Maybe," Bubbles mused, "but he's awfully good at escaping from prison."

"That and because you never lock him up properly, "said Eddy once MJ had left the room, "'cause if you did there would be less work for you so they wouldn't need to pay you so much."

"Eddy, why don't you go help Edward and MJ pack" Blossom suggested.

"I could, but I'd only do it wrong, and then you'd have redo it…" he tailed off when he caught a glance of Bubble's and Buttercup's faces.

"Tooth brushes and pyjamas right?" he said nervously, scuttling out of the room.

"So you were late home," said Buttercup, "how much work did Sonic give you today?"

"It wasn't too bad…"

"He's a bossy little arse."

"Yes, but you have to have those sort of qualities to run that place" Blossom replied, "anyway, I've only got about twenty minutes, before I have to go, so I want to hear about your fiancé Bubbles."

Bubbles smiled, while Blossom was merely glad that she'd managed to change the subject.

"Well, he's American… yes we did meat in Spain, but he was… on business. He's very sweet, funny, not particularly confident, but he's a great kisser and he we really hit it off."

"Yes, but…"

"I mean I know it was only five weeks before he proposed, but I've got a really good feeling about this." Bubbles sounded as confident as the words she used. "He even quit his job to come back here with me."

"Bubbles…"

"Of course he's not here now because he's with Butch, but he's already meeting the family, and he seems to be enjoying it. Oh, he's so…"

"Bubbles, what's his name!" Blossom finally managed to speak. Faced with this question, Bubble's confidence immediately vanished.

"Oh, yes you wouldn't know that. It's, err Boo… Boo…" she paused, "Bouffons."

Blossom blinked. "That's a strange name," she said.

"Yes, it is" Buttercup said tonelessly, her eyes hadn't move from Bubbles since she'd said it. Bubbles twitched.

"I think it's Mexican or something…" she said quietly.

"Really, so he's an American Mexican," Buttercup was still looking at her.

"Oh look at the time!" Bubbles said hurriedly, "we better be going, food doesn't cook it's self." She jumped up and grabbed Buttercup by the arm. "Have a nice evening Blossom, say hi to the Professor for us, and we'll see you latter tonight."

"Bye" said Blossom as her sisters tumbled out the door, which had barely shut when they started arguing. Blossom sighed. She could guess what had freaked Bubbles, but she was afraid of being right. So she just went to check the kids had packed clean underwear instead.

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