Review Replies
Kia1334: Thank you very much! I do like the fluffiness, but I try not to make it drama-fluff without reason (By drama-fluff I mean, 'he knew from the moment he saw her that their love was destined to last forever . . .' etc.) . Wilt is also my fave (in case you couldn't guess.).
I was worried I hadn't quite gotten down the characters right. That's one reason I try to write after seeing an episode, that way the way they act is still fresh.
And I happen to like rambling reviews! They make me happy, so don't worry about it. : )
Also, keep on your toes, I've got a humdinger of a chapter coming up soon.
Ami: Wilt's my fave too. He just has such a nice demeanor. I saw the Where There's a Wilt, There's a Way episode yesterday and it got me inspired to get going on this chapter.
I'm trying to make it a good romance, nothing too fast (gotta add that suspense in there!) or too sticky sweet.
Light Beaver: big grin Thanks! You don't know how happy your review made me!
Cheeseisawesome: laughter Ya' gotta love cliffhangers!
Thank you so much for your reviews!
NOTE: Gonna bounce some ideas off of you. Does anyone want a story about Wilt and Jodee before she abandoned him? Satin and Natalie? (Not romance for either, just stories about them.) I've been thinking about writing those after I finish this one. Thanks!
Chapter 8: Redress and Repercussions
Wilt leaned on the doorframe, out of breath. It seemed that he'd chased Satin over half the house. He'd yelled for her but she didn't appear to hear him. Desperately worried, but ever polite, he knocked weakly on the door. When he got no response he managed a breathless gasp, "Satin? Satin? Are you okay?"
There was a soft noise on the other side of the door as she opened it an inch or so. Her could only see one tear filled green eye looking back at him.
"Wilt?" the word was a half-choked sob.
Slowly, sheepishly, she opened the door and let him in.
"Is everything okay?"
He knew it wasn't. That was obvious from looking at her. She'd lost her hat somewhere in her mad dash through the house and her blonde waves hung in tangles down her back. One hand was raised to her face, stubbornly scrubbing away tears from her blotchy cheeks. She sniffed repeatedly, holding back her runny nose.
Green eyes rimmed in red stared up at him for a long silent moment until a tremble ran through her and she looked away, "I'm sorry."
She sat on the bed and dabbed at her eyes with the edge of the sheet. Wilt cautiously came over and sat beside her, "It's okay, Satin. What happened out there?"
Trembling, she leaned against him. Wilt carefully wrapped an arm around her, petting her hair soothingly, "Hey, it'll be okay. Can you tell me what happened?"
She nodded and finally whispered between silent sobs, "Natalie. She looked just like . . . Natalie."
"I'm sorry, but who looked like Natalie?" he asked. He assumed she was talking about Valerie, but he'd long since learned his lesson about the trouble jumping to conclusions can cause.
"Valerie." came the soft reply.
"Oh Satin, I'm sorry. That must've been awful." he pulled her a little closer and continued stroking her hair.
She buried her face in his fur, and nodded again.
"Is that why you ran?" he asked, cautiously.
She let out a tremulous sigh, "They wanted to adopt me."
"You didn't want to go because the girl looked like Natalie. Is that right?" Wilt asked softly.
"I was scared . . . I don't want to replace her, I don't want another kid yet. I just want . . . I want to go home." she whispered, curling her legs up underneath her.
Wilt began to rock gently from side to side, "I know, Satin. And, it's okay to feel that way. A lot of us do."
"But I . . . I just wonder if I really belong here or not."
Wilt leaned back to get a better look at her, "What? I'm sorry, but why would you worry about something like that?"
"I just feel like I don't belong here. I mean-I do but . . . I don't. I finally feel like I belong somewhere but the moment I get adopted I won't belong here anymore. I don't want to be adopted and if I don't want to be adopted and Natalie doesn't want me then I can't stay here. I shouldn't be here. I mean, I look at all of you. Eduardo, Coco, Crackers . . . You all want to be adopted, you're ready to be adopted, even if that means leaving your friends behind. I just feel like I'm not a good imaginary friend, I can even seem to accept being abandoned." she sighed, "I'm not as strong as you, Wilt."
"I'm sorry, Natalie, but that's not true. Of course you should be here, this is where imaginary friends go when they need a place to stay. We love having you here. AndI don't think anyone ever really accepts being abandoned. No matter how long you live or how much you're loved you always wonder if there wasn't something you could have done to make them change their mind and still need you." brushing a stray tangle out of her eyes, he continued, "You've only been here a month, you can't be sure that someone won't come one day who you do want to go home with or not. You may just need the right kid to adopt you. And you're a great imaginary friend! Sweet, funny, talented, not to mention pretty! You're amazing with people, you always seem to know what they need. Why would you think I was any stronger than you?"
"Crackers says you've been here seventeen years and you've only been adopted once. You lost your creator but you still manage to go through every day with a smile on your face for everyone. You're helpful to a fault and you worry about everyone's feelings." she blurted, "You're probably the nicest person I have ever met in my entire life. Being able to act the way you do after losing your kid, that amazes me."
Wilt smiled in a sad way, "Satin, I'm sorry, but I'm not that strong. I'm still sad about losing Jodee . . . And I think about it a lot. But, Idon't like being sad all the time soI try to remember all the good times with Jodee instead of how sad I am she left. I know she loved me once and to me that's worth everything."
Satin sighed, he was right, she needed to put Natalie behind her. She needed to start moving on. Silently, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, "Thank you, Wilt."
Heat flared in his face as he accepted her embrace. This was becoming a regular problem in her presence he'd noticed.
"You're welcome. Hey, you look kinda tired. Maybe you should turn in early tonight, well, if you want." he said, pulling back.
She smiled at him, rubbing her hands briskly over her face, "Yeah, maybe. I believe I need a long bath first though."
Tear stains had matted the fur on her cheeks to a crisp white salt. He smiled and brushed at it gently, removing some of it. With a long sigh of contentment, she closed her eyes and let her head lean against his hand a little. His heart began to pound, what did this mean?
He received his answer when a soft snore escaped her lips. With a soft chuckle and shake of his head, Wilt carefully gathered her up and managed-with some maneuvering- to settle her into bed. She curled up with a soft, appreciative sound, huddling under the blankets as though hibernating.
Rising, Wilt made his way downstairs. He had a lot of explaining to do to Frankie and Mister Herriman and he wasn't looking forward to it.
"Wilt? Hey, what was up the disappearing act earlier, bud? I could've used your help out there!" Frankie exclaimed, looking up from where she was reading her magazine in bed. Then she gave him the Look, the one that meant, 'I know something's wrong and you'd better be ready to tell me cause you're not leaving this room until you do'. It was one she often ended up giving to house residents when they needed help. In addition to her regular house duties, Frankie was also the unofficial counselor of Foster's. Whenever a friend had a really troubling problem, they came to her.
"What's wrong?" she asked, standing to shut the door.
Wilt sighed and poured out the entire story to her. Frankie listened intently, nodding now and again and occasionally questioning.
"So, do you think Mister Herriman will understand? I mean, he has to doesn't he? She doesn't have anywhere else to go and it's not like she doesn't want to be adopted ever just right n-" Wilt was rambling.
"Whoa there big fella! Remember what I said earlier about taking a breath? It still applies." Frankie replied, "Don't worry, we'll make the bunny listen and if we have to I'll take it to Grandma, she'll understand."
Wilt sighed, relieved and then asked, "I'm sorry, are you sure? I don't want to trouble you."
Frankie laughed, "Oh please. When have you ever troubled me, Wilt? You're probably the biggest help in this house since I moved in."
Wilt smiled, he liked Frankie's assurances, they always made him feel a little more comfortable with everything he said.
"Anyway, we'll talk to him about it in the morning. It's way too late now. I think he's already in bed."
"MISS FRANCIS!" came a bellow through the old fashioned loud speaker in the corner, "I require Miss Satin's presence in my office immediately."
"I'll be damned." Frankie said in shock, "The rabbit's awake."
Wilt's eye widened in surprise. Frankie looked up and blushed slightly, "Oops . . . Sorry, Wilt. I forgot you were in the room."
"No problem, Frankie." he replied, rising.
Frankie stood and shrugged on a robe over her pajamas, "Tell you what, let's let Satin sleep for now. We can tell her all about this in the morning, okay?"
Wilt grinned, "Sounds great."
"All right, now let's get down there and talk to old fuzz-butt before he gets a knot in his tail." she replied, heading for the door.
Wilt smiled to himself as they headed downstairs. He knew that, in spite of all the bickering and name-calling, Frankie really did have a soft spot in her heart for her grandmother's imaginary friend. Not that she'd ever admit it.
"Master Wilt, are you saying you can explain the outrageous behavior of Miss Satin at this evenings event?" Mister Herriman inquired from behind his desk. Frankie sat next to Wilt, almost nodding off.
"Look Mister H. Do we really need to talk about this now? Can't it wait until morning?" Frankie asked.
"No, I am afraid that some indiscretions are too big to over look just so you can acquire the appropriate amount of beauty sleep, Miss Francis." Mister Herriman announced, somehow managing to look intimidating in a night shirt and cap, "Now, Master Wilt, if you would please explain?"
"Well, you see Mister Herriman, the girl who wanted to adopt Satin today-" Wilt began.
"Was weeping when her mother came to me to report the incident and allow me to inform you, Master Wilt, that it is a sad state of affairs when a trip to Foster's brings a child to tears." Mister Herriman interrupted, obviously outraged at the very idea.
"I'm sorry, but you don't understand. The girl who wanted to adopt Satin today looked just like-" Wilt tried again.
Mister Herriman hopped towards the windows, looking out at the night sky, "An angel. And it was very upsetting to see such a wholesome, imaginative child so distressed."
"I'm sorry, but let me finish Mister Herriman!" Wilt exclaimed, leaping to his feet.
Mister Herriman turned a very furious looking monocled eye towards him. Wilt immediately sank into his chair with a soft, "I'm sorry."
"Look, Mister Herriman. What Wilt has been trying to say is that the girl who wanted to adopt Satin this afternoon looked just like Satin's previous kid, Natalie. It upset her." Frankie explained, matter of factly.
"That is no excuse for such flagrant disregard for adopter's feelings." Mister Herriman replied.
"I'm sorry, Mister Herriman, but Satin's new here. She doesn't really know how adoptions work. I think she thought someone was going to force her to leave." Wilt said quietly.
"She's really polite, Mister H. and she's a lot of help too. I've never seen her act like that before so I think it's safe to say she must've had a pretty big reason to break down like that." Frankie stated, "I don't think she needs to be punished for being upset."
"Yeah." Wilt agreed, "I don't think she meant to make Valerie cry, she just wasn't ready for this Saturday."
"And rumor has it that she helped a lot of friends get adopted out today too." Frankie pitched in, "Can't we just agree to let it slide this time?"
Mister Herriman waited a moment before replying, "I'm sure, Miss Francis, that you are well aware of my policy on 'letting things slide'. Satin will be punished for her actions," Frankie opened her mouth to protest and Wilt looked downhearted, "However, her punishment will consist of a stern warning that this is not to happen again. Miss Francis, I will leave the task of informing MissSatin of this matter in your hands. Now, I'm afraid I must retire to bed. Is that all?"
The effect on the two was instantaneous. A huge grin spread across both their faces as Frankie replied, "Yes, Mister H. That's all"
As they left the room she whispered under her breath, in a voice she usually reserved for her best friends, "Thanks, you overgrown rabbit."
Wilt lay beneath Bloo's bunk, staring at the box springs above him, a million things going through his mind. How could Satin think he was stronger than her? Did she really mean it when she said he was the nicest friend she'd ever met? What would she think of her warning? Would she want to leave the house after this? Would she want to be adopted? Would she be ready? And most of all:
What would he do if she left?
"Now why am I thinking about that? If she leaves I'll just wish her luck, that's all. I'll say goodbye. There's not much else to it is there?" he wondered.
Was there? He wasn't sure. Frankie had told him that he was the only one who could make the decision of how he felt about her. And -now that he thought about it-he'd never had a choice in the matter.
He was absolutely smitten.
"What am I going to do?" he whispered to the dark.
"How about going to sleep!" Bloo muttered above him.
"Oh, sorry Bloo." he replied softly.
With a sigh, Wilt rolled onto his side. He needed his rest if he was going to talk this over with Satin tomorrow . . .